A Certain Infinite Possibility
by Darkbetrayer
Summary: An ancient organization has emerged from hiding in order to bring the world into darkness. Will Touma be able to stop them or will his actions make everything worse. Will Touma finally develop the harem he deserves? Magic and Science will collide in ways no one thought possible. Touma X Harem (Maybe, he is really dense.)
1. Prisoner

**This is my first Toaru Majutsu no Index story but I got into the series a little awhile ago and just love it. I hope to have an exciting story going even with this being my first one. I am always open to suggestions from anyone.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

In Academy City there exists a certain building with no windows or doors. In this building, there is a single individual floating upside down in a cylinder full of a red liquid, that the few who have seen it would swear it resembled blood. This individual, who looks like an adult, yet also a child; like a man, yet also a woman; like a saint, yet also a criminal, was gazing upon several monitors viewing situations across Academy City. Two of these situations had caught his eye. The first monitor was watching a location outside a laboratory receiving a shipment from a large truck. The main difference between this and a normal shipment was, besides the scientists, several mechanical power suits were unloading two containers. This might not have been unusual if these suits were not armed with to the teeth with high powered weaponry. The second unusual occurrence was out of the two containers, one was just a small wooden box with several ancient style runes lining the outside edges, the other, was obviously a person.

The person was bound tight in a scientifically engineered metal wrap, while looking and feeling similar to cloth, it was stronger than steel. His or her head was covered by a sensory deprivation mask which prevented the individual from knowing anything that was happening around them. An electric field surrounded his restraints, powered by a reactor located directly behind the chair the individual was bound to. A voice was caught through the camera that was watching this scene unfold.

"Careful you idiots, if either of those containment devices break, we are all dead."

Aleister Crowley, Superintendent of Academy City, moved his eyes slightly to the second monitor. On this screen, two noticeable figures where running down a deserted street chasing a third under a full moon. The first figure was a dark haired man wearing a black cloak. The two people chasing him were a very unlikely pair. One was a spiky, black haired, kid who had to be in high school, the other was a two meter tall red headed man, with a face of someone much younger, and smoking a cigarette.

Aleister did not show his emotions, but frowned in his head. A single magician who trespassed in this city would be easy enough to remove. He had over 76000 ways of doing so. The more important problem was that the Imagine Breaker boy was getting close to the location of Project 667. Eliminating the boy would not be a problem, but with over 70% of Aleister's plans requiring that boy to be alive, this was not an option he would consider at this time. Normally, the chance would be miniscule that the boy would meet the experiment, but the Imagine Breaker always manage to find himself in situations that caused problems for others.

 _If the Imagine Breaker meets up with that boy,_ Aleister thought. _I will simply move my plans ahead of schedule. After all, that boy was the first and only successful experiment of the….._

* * *

 _How did I get involved in any of this?_ A certain unlucky boy thought to himself, as he rushed after the man ahead of him. His thoughts turned back to the beginning of the day…..

Touma Kamijou, a spiky haired high school student, woke up that morning reasonably content, and then he opened his refrigerator. It was empty; he had forgotten to buy food yesterday.

"TOOOOUUUUMMMMAAAA"

He turned around and saw his current resident, a very young silver haired nun, coming for him, Index, his friend and walking magic encyclopedia. She too had notice the fridge was empty and, putting it mildly, she always had a very healthy appetite. Touma realized the danger to late, as Index radiated a very dark aura around her and revealed her teeth.

"I'm sorry Index! SUCH MISFORTUNE!"

Touma left the apartment with teeth marks still covering his head and his day only got better. He had just finished shopping and, miraculously, managed to find a decent sale on food. He did not have a lot of money and, as Index ate for roughly four people, money was always tight. As he was walking home, a truck came speeding down the road and through a puddle, drenching poor Touma from head to toe. He sighed, his luck was the same as usual, and he turned to take a shortcut through the park. This turned out to be a bigger mistake. About halfway through the park, some kids playing tag ran by him and the last one knocked into him as he passed. Touma's arm swung back from the surprise blow and it caused him to lose his grip on the wet bag. It went flying to the side of the path and landed on a middle school girl eating ice cream on the park bench. Touma was about to apologize, when he saw who was hit and his face paled instantly.

"Onee-sama!" a tawny colored pig tailed girl cried to the other girl who was covered in food. "Are you ok?"

The girl, who was covered in food, wiped some off her face. She had short chestnut brown hair and, when she saw who had covered her in food, her gaze narrowed and sparks shot out of her eyes, figuratively and literally. Her name was Mikoto Misaka, one of the seven level 5's in Academy City's 2.3 million residents. She was the third most powerful ability user, an electro master, and famously called the Railgun. She had always seen Touma as a rival, since she has never been able to defeat him, and it did not help sooth her ego when she found out the city considered him a level 0, the weakest ability user. The tawny colored pigtailed tailed girl next to her, who was trying to wipe off the food on Mikoto with a handkerchief, was named Kuroko Shirai, a level 4 teleporter. Both were roommates at the prestigious all girl school, Tokiwadai Middle School. Kuroko idolized Mikoto and had hated Touma since their first encounter.

"How dare this barbarian ruin Onee-sama's flawless face," Kuroko cried in outrage pulling out her needles she kept strapped to her legs she used for judgment duties. "I will avenge her honor…." She stopped, because Mikoto had just stoop up and was emitting a lot of electricity. Touma took a couple steps back in response, feeling his hair stand up on end.

"YOU!" Mikoto roared and shoot a bolt of electricity at Touma. There was a sound of breaking glass and the bolt disappeared, as Touma raised his right hand instinctively. Touma had used his most powerful weapon, and only weapon, against her electricity. His right hand contained an ability called the Imagine Breaker. His hand had the power to cancel out all supernatural abilities, scientific or magical, and even God's miracles, but it could not be measured by science and that was why he was still considered a level 0. Touma blocking the electricity did not discourage Mikoto though. "Don't think you will get away with this!" she yelled at him.

Touma made the best decision for this situation in an instant. He turned, and ran as fast as he could away from Mikoto, while yelling over his shoulder back at her. "I'm sorry, it was an accident! Please don't shock me. SUCH MISFORTUNE!"

Mikoto continued to chase after him, shooting electricity, while Kuroko watched from the bench. _Why does Onee-sama look so happy?_ Kuroko thought to herself. _And how did that boy stop her attack?_

* * *

Touma sighed. He finally got away from Mikoto, but his hair was still on end from all the electricity in the air. She had chased him for ten blocks, before she finally had to stop for air. He took the opportunity to disappear into a crowd of people. His stamina was one of his best traits and he was able to continue running for quite a bit longer. Touma then stopped by a convenience store and got some flavored bread for Index.

 _Hopefully this will keep her from eating me,_ he thought to himself. As he was about to enter his dorm, he suddenly stopped. _I have a really bad feeling right now._ He put the food down, quietly opened the door, and quickly looked around. "Index, are you here?" he called out. There was nothing but silence, then…

"She is not here right now."

Touma heard a man's voice and he felt his body drop to five degrees Kelvin. He recognized that voice and it was never a good sign when he appeared before Touma. "Where is she?" Touma asked and partially demanded.

From around the corner, a two meter tall, red haired, young man walked forward. Stiyl Magnus, a fire magician, who belonged to The Church of Necessary Evil also known as Necessarius **.** It was never a good indication when he appeared, it always lead to trouble for Touma. Stiyl pulled out a cigarette and started smoking, before he replied to Touma's question.

"Kanzaki is currently leading her away for the time being. The information I have to tell you is not for her to hear," he answered, puffing on his cigarette.

"Why are you here?" Touma asked. "Is it a magician?"

"You seem to be getting smarter," Stiyl replied. "Yes, a magician has entered Academy City to get revenge on a certain individual."

"Who?"

Stiyl raised an eyebrow, "I thought it would be obvious. He is after you. Why else would I have come to you specifically?"

Touma's heart sank. _Why do all these people come after me? Don't they know I just want to live a normal high school life?_ He sighed. "Can I know why this guy is after me?"

Stiyl frowned. "Yes. He is after you because you defeated his old teacher….Aureolus Izzard."

Touma had a brief recollection of the powerful alchemist who sliced off his right hand and nearly killed his friends. "Why would you tell people that I defeated him? Shouldn't you have kept this a secret so Index could stay hidden since she lives with me?" Touma asked angrily.

Stiyl's eyes narrowed in anger at Touma's accusation. "Don't you dare say I do not take Index's safety seriously. The only four people who know what happened there are you, me, Kanzaki and my direct supervisor. None of us spread out that information and I am fairly certain you did not either."

"Then how does he know I did it?"

"That is the real problem," Stiyl said. "Several days ago we discovered a plot to uncover several of our church's secrets by an unknown organization. We manage to capture two of the intruders, but before we could question them they turned into ashes. These were not golems, but actual people. They had runes hidden to kill themselves if they are caught."

Touma coughed. "They killed themselves?"

"Yes," Stiyl verified, and then continued as if he was not interrupted. "However, an item was stolen. The Illunis, more commonly known has the Mirror of Isis. Isis was an Egyptian god of magic, since you obviously don't know." Stiyl smiled slightly, as he insulted Touma, before continuing. "Well, this mirror allows an individual to view past events. It was mainly used as an educational item in order to learn about ancient structures and events, but during war it was a useful tool to view how their enemies attacked their cities, as well as their forces. We found out they used this item to view Aureolus's research and they discovered that you defeated him. The only good news is that the mirror was cracked centuries ago and it is not as clear as it use to be. So they will not have a full view of his research or the power of your Imagine Breaker. What they do know for sure is that you defeated him. However, we need to catch this guy alive. He is not part of the order that broke in; he was just a lone alchemist from the Zurich School named Heris Gilasar. We need to find out who gave him this information and why."

"Does he have the mirror?" Touma asked.

"Yes, this makes tracking him much easier. In order to use the mirror, it takes about 30 minutes of preparation in which I can track his mana. He knows this, so he cannot use the mirror to view information about us. So the only thing he can do is come after you directly."

"So you plan to use me as bait," Touma said grimly, as realization kicks in.

"You catch on fast," Stiyl replied, rubbing out his first cigarette and lighting another. "We need to get moving before Index returns. I am not going to let her get involved."

Touma nodded. He still did not completely trust Stiyl, but if he did not help Necessarius when asked, he ran the risk of them taking Index away. He glared at Stiyl, remembering how he was willing to use Touma as a sacrificial pawn in a heartbeat, in order to fulfill the mission. Style noticed his glare and smiled.

"Good to see you have not gotten to familiar. Our relationship works better that way. Let's go."

Touma and Stiyl left the dorm and headed out into the city to set up a trap for the alchemist.

* * *

The trap they set up was simple, but worked better than expected, although the situation was different then they initially imagined. All Touma and Stiyl did was wait until nightfall and then had Touma pretend to have to run out to a convenience store. They also had to make sure Index was well away from the dorm. With Touma's luck, he was bound to run into the Alchemist. Touma had almost made it back to the dorm, without being attacked, when he saw his dorm room explode. Fire erupted from his room and he could feel the heat from outside the building. For one wild moment, Touma thought Stiyl was the one who set off the explosion, until he heard a voice from a nearby ally.

"Damn it, why are you out here and not in your room at this hour?"

Touma turned and saw a man with dyed green hair. He obviously fixed it to look like his teacher. "You idiot," Touma called out, as anger filled him. "There could have been innocent people in there."

"Nothing will stop me from avenging my master," Heris Gilasar replied. He grabbed a trash can lid and said, "Become a spear to strike my enemy." The metal lid transformed into a five foot long spear and hurled itself at Touma.

Touma raised his right hand out of reflex and as the spear collided with it. The sound of breaking glass was heard and the spear became a trash lid once again. It fell to the ground in front of Touma with a dull clang. "Just stop while you can," Touma told him, as he ran toward the alchemist.

"How did you do that?" Heris roared and grabbed the nearby metal trash bin. "Become a knight and vanquish my enemy." The trashcan warped into the appearance of a knight in full armor, equipped with a sword and shield, and rushed toward Touma, raising its sword to strike.

A 3000 degree Celsius flame suddenly came flying down from a nearby roof and engulfed the metal knight, melting it into a puddle. The alchemist looked up to see Stiyl holding a rune card in his outstretched hand. "Damn, why is the flame mage here?" he growled. Heris realized he had no chance of winning against both of them. He turned around and bolted down the street as fast as he could. Touma and Stiyl immediately started to pursue him.

The chase continued from the main residential area in District 7 to District 22. Every time they got near him, he would use his alchemy to create obstacles out of metal. He seemed to only be able to mold metal but, in a large city, that is not really a hindrance. They eventually lost track of the alchemist and had to stop to try to discern where he was hiding.

"Damn it," Stiyl mumbled angrily. "Where did he go? His mana ends here, so he must have made a door somewhere nearby."

Touma looked around. Many buildings surrounded them, most looked like research stations, but none of them look like they were broken into. He walked around the entrances of the buildings, when something caught his eye. A metal segment of a wall seemed to have moved onto the cement a little farther away from the building then the rest. Touma reached over and touched the metal. The familiar sound of breaking glass was heard, and the metal wall vanished, revealing several steps leading underground and ending at a door.

"Good work," Stiyl said. "I knew it was worth bringing you along."

They both walked down the stairs and opened the unlock door. Another set of steps lead deep underground. Stiyl let a small fire in his hand, and he and Touma descended into the darkness. At the bottom of the flight of stairs, there was another hallway going left and right. Stiyl looked both ways. "Guess we split up here. I'll take left and you take right."

Touma nodded. He did not like the idea of splitting up, but they would be able to cover more ground this way. Luckily, there were soft green emergency lights down here, so he did not have to wonder around blindly in the dark. He moved quietly listening for anything to alert him of the presence of the alchemist. He saw a door at the end of the hall and, as he was nearing it, he suddenly heard gun shots. He ducked just in time as two bullets passed through the door and above his head. "What the hell are you doing!" a voice roared from behind the door. "If you break the containment field we are all going to die."

"Get away you science dogs," a familiar voice says. There was a pause. "Wow, I knew your science did some twisted things, but this…who would have thought. HAHAHA." His laughter was becoming more twisted and dark.

Touma kicked the door open and barged in. He looked around and thought he stepped into a warzone. Several twisted remains of power suits were lining the walls and floor. Two scientists where lying on the floor unconscious, several lights were broken, and, in the middle of the room, stood Heris, He kicked the body of a scientist and turned to Touma, with a metal sword in hand.

"Well Imagine Breaker boy," he said. "You found me. I do not believe I can defeat your accursed power with normal methods."

"Then stop this madness," Touma replied gritting his teeth. "There has been enough death."

"It will never stop," Heris replied. "You killed my teacher, the greatest alchemist the world has ever seen. Science will do anything to further their advance, including getting rid of competition and sacrificing others. I bet they were behind leading you to defeat him."

"That's not true…" Touma began, but was cut off by Heris.

"You are either stupid or naïve. Let me show you the morality of science." He turned to a control panel and flipped a switch. The emergency lights in the back of the room flickered on and two walls slid away from each other, revealing a sight that made Touma freeze in place.

Strapped to a chair, was obviously a youth. His head was covered by a sensory deprivation device and his body was wrapped in a cloth like fabric, which bound him to the chair. An electric field surrounded him, like a bird cage, and his ankles and wrists were bound by iron bars to the chair's arm rests and legs.

"I wonder what this kid did to deserve this faith." Heris laughed, enjoying Touma's shocked glance. "This is why science must be stopped. Only magic will lead the way to true salvation. My master understood that and you killed him."

Touma's hand formed a fist and he clenched his teeth. "If you think killing people is your way of leading them to salvation, then I have no choice. I'LL DESTROY THAT SCREWED UP ILLUSION OF YOURS!" He charges forward and delivered a punch right into Heris's face, knocking him back into the control panel. A buzzing sound was heard for a moment, before the electricity surrounding the prisoner disappeared.

"You fool," Heris told him, holding a hand up to his bloody nose and backing away from Touma, towards the prisoner. He reached over and grabbed hold of the cloth binding the prisoner. He smiled when he realized what the fabric was made of. "Become my fist and halt my enemy." The bindings started to unwrap around the bound individual and formed a large fist in midair. The fist flew towards Touma and he instinctively reached out with his right hand to negate the magic, but the fist moved around his hand and delivered a blow right into his stomach.

"Oomph," Touma gasped, as he flew backwards and smashed against a wall. _Shit,_ Touma thought. _That might have broken a rib._ He looked up and saw the fist coming to deliver another punch. It was nearing him, when a blast of fire flew from the door Touma had originally entered the room from, turning the fist into a puddle on the floor. Touma turned and, to his relief, saw Stiyl standing there.

"Humph," Stiyl said. "I thought I heard your voice down here. Looks like you got him cornered."

"Quit interfering flame magician!" Heris yelled at Stiyl. "This is between me and the boy."

"Not quit," Stiyl replied calmly. "You see, no matter how much I dislike him, he is under our protection and you do not have the authority to change that." Touma chose to ignore the first half.

"You…" Heris started to say, and then stopped, as several loud clangs echoed across the room. All three of them turned to look at the noise.

The prisoner had stood up, as the metal bars that bound him to the chair fell to the floor. He reached up and pulled off the deprivation helmet device and threw it off to the side. He was male, probably around Touma's age, with blonde hair. He was probably half an inch shorter than Touma and his muscles were more defined. He only had a pair of blue boxers on after the cloth was pulled off. His eyes were orange and they swept around the room, taking in the three people standing amid the carnage around him. He raised an eyebrow when his eyes met Touma's, as if to say, "What's going on?"

"You boy," Heris called to the former prisoner. "I don't know why these science dogs imprisoned you, but if you help me defeat these two, I will make sure you are rewarded beyond imagining." The boy looked at him for a moment, before nodding, and moved closer to him.

"Wait," Touma called out, to both the newcomer and to Stiyl, as he had reached into his pocket to pull out a rune card. "Don't trust him. He will just use you."

"Ha," Heris laughed loudly. "Don't you see, people respect my ideals. He is obviously powerful or why else would he have been imprisoned like that. Now we will…"

His words were cut off, as the boy gave him a swift karate chop to the back of the head. Heris fell to the ground unconscious, while Touma was only able to gape in shock. Finally he got his words together. "Thanks," Touma said, "for taking him out without killing him. Umm, what is your name? My name is Touma Kamijou and this is Stiyl."

"Jason Kagere," the boy said staring at him. "To be honest, I did not do it for you. I did it to shut him up. He was so annoying and his words reeked with lies."

Touma felt a shiver through his spine. There was something about this boy; his words seemed to be normal enough, but his voice and attitude for someone just freed from a prison, were unusual. It sounded like…..he was just bored. It might have been because his eyes were a different color, but Touma felt as if this boy was staring though him.

"Are you a resident from Academy City?" Touma asked cautiously. The boy nodded in response.

"Well," Stiyl said and Touma turned to look at him and saw that he had several rune cards in his hand. "That leaves two questions that need to be answered. One, if you are an ability user, why are you radiating such an insane amount of mana? Two, why do you not have a shadow?"

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. Sorry for ending it on a cliff hanger but it was a good spot to end before finding out about the new character. Next chapter will also introduce more of the original characters. I foresee the next chapters being a lot longer as I get more experience doing this fan fiction. I have a lot of plans for this story and hope to continue it for quite a while, minus any acts of god or Touma level misfortune.**

 **I always welcome comments and new ideas.**


	2. Visitor

**Warning: Plot ahead**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

"Well?" Stiyl asked, when the strange boy did not immediately answer. Stiyl did not move his hand from his rune cards. "Why do you claim to be a member of science, when you have obviously had magic training, and why do you not generate a shadow?"

Touma could not detect mana, but that might be what was giving him that weird sensation. He looked down at the boy's feet and saw that even with the light generated from the emergency lights, there was no shadow around him in any direction. _How is that possible?_ He turned his eyes back to the boy and watched him closely. Touma was not sure what was going to happen.

"Hmm," Jason said rubbing his chin. "I do not know if the amount of mana I have is a lot, but the reason I generate mana is pretty obvious. I have had magic training. A group of people, who called themselves magicians from a Protestant Church, taught me some techniques a while back. I was told it was an experiment to see if an ability user could learn magic and it was supposed to be a way to help smooth relations between the magic and science sides." He shrugged. "At first I thought magic and science was the same thing, but I learned quickly they were fundamentally different. Though in the end, it seemed like they did it for themselves, to further their own goal."

"Wait," Touma interrupted, remembering something important he was told by Sherry Cromwell, a magician who infiltrated Academy City not too long ago. "I was told by a magician that people can't learn magic if they are an ability user. They run on different pathways or something that conflict with each other and leads to the person's death."

Jason shrugged again. "Maybe I'm special?" He started to laugh slightly, until Stiyl threw a rune card in front of him, which exploded. Touma and Jason both jumped back to avoid the flames.

"This is not a laughing matter," Stiyl growled angrily. "Do you have any idea what you are? If you can use magic and science freely, then you are breaking the balance between our worlds."

Touma and Jason both look at him in confusion, and then, in unison, they ask, "Why?"

Stiyl sighed and rubbed his head. "It would take too long to explain. Answer the second question first."

"The second question is easy," Jason said. "It was stolen by the magicians who trained me."

"They took away your shadow?" Touma asked. "Why would they do that if they trained you? Wait… can you explain how that is even possible first?"

"It was a method of control," Jason said, a little bitterly. "They felt I was a danger to them. However, they got sloppy and this group of scientists killed them and took me here. As for the magic they used, I don't know what it was. My training…. was limited."

"I want to test something," Stiyl spoke up. "Kamijou, go up and hit him with your right hand."

"Why?"

"Just do it," Stiyl demanded.

Touma sighed and walked over to Jason, who was watching him with his face full of curiosity. _I don't know what this is going to prove,_ he thought to himself. He went over and put his right hand on Jason's shoulder. "See noth…" Touma started to say, when he heard the constant breaking noise that sounded a little like glass shattering. Everyone stared at his hand, while the noise continued, but no noticeable effect seems to be happening to Jason.

"Wow," Jason commented. "Interesting hand you have there."

Stiyl sighed and scratched his head. "My job was to capture this alchemist alive, and we did that. I do not have permission to capture a resident of this city, even if he is a magician. However, I am not getting involved in their problems. I may be back if my superior decides that you are a threat." He walked over and picked up the unconscious body. "We most likely will meet again Touma Kamijou." He turned and left the way they came from.

Touma watched him go and then turned to Jason. "Where is your shadow?"

"Umm," Jason responded his face screws up in concentration, while looking around. "Sorry, without my shadow, it is very hard to concentrate. It should be one floor up and in that direction." He pointed.

"Let's go then," Touma said, leading the way to the stairs.

Jason did not immediately follow. "Why would you help me so much?" he asked suspiciously. "What is in it for you? We just met and your companion obviously doesn't trust me. He thought I was a vampire at first. Wouldn't his distrust make you doubt me?"

"I don't need a reason to help someone in trouble," Touma answered. "Besides, what makes you say that he thought you were one?"

"I can read minds a little, mainly what's on the surface. That sensory deprivation device was messing with my head. That's why he was acting so serious against me. But you, you are different. I can't get any information from you. Except you seem to be an…idiot?"

"It's my ability," Touma replied, with a twinge of annoyance. "My Imagine Breaker can destroy any supernatural ability. Also, even if I get called an idiot all the time, I will still help anyone who needs it."

"Fascinating, I definitely want to study that ability sometime. It looks impressive."

Touma laughed, "It definitely has it uses. Let's go, get your shadow, and then get out of here."

They continued up the stairs and down a corridor to a locked room. Jason moved his hand over the lock and it clicked open. They enter a room and looked around. It was empty, except for a metal table with an innocent looking wooden box covered in runes resting on it. They moved neared it and the runes started glowing.

"Seems to have a ward against living things," Jason frowned, watching the runes. "If we try to force it open, it will start trying to fry everything around it."

"Let me do it," Touma volunteered, as he touched the box with his right hand. The sound of glass shattering was heard and the runes stop glowing instantly, "Done."

"Very handy ability," Jason commented. He went over and opened the box carefully. Touma, at first, didn't think anything was in the box. The inside seems to be painted black, until the black paint started moving and exploded upwards from the box, like a geyser. The dark water-like substance then arced towards Jason and obscured him completely from sight. The dark water eventually stopped coming out of the box and Touma watched the shadow start forming around Jason. Touma then felt something weird, his right hand seemed to start pulsing and he couldn't understand why. When the water stopped, so did the pulsing and Jason was standing their smiling. The shadow seemed to give Jason brand new clothes, black denim pants and a black shirt. It would have looked pretty normal, except he also had a black cape billowing behind him. It was moving in ways no cape should be able to without heavy winds. Touma noticed Jason also started to generate a shadow like a normal person. "It feels good to be whole. Without my shadow, it was like I was missing a piece of myself."

"Can you do something about the cape," Touma asked. "It could lead to some awkward questions when we leave." _What kind of ability is that? His shadow appears to act like water, but can actually materialize physical clothes._ He stared at his right hand. _What was that feeling in my hand?_

Jason nodded and the cape rolled up and disappeared against him. "It's pretty versatile."

Touma and Jason quickly left the building. On the way, Touma stopped at a pay phone to call Anti-Skill, the police force of Academy City, to leave an anonymous tip about the lab. They both left the area as fast as possible and headed back to the residential district. They walked in silence for a while, until Jason turned to Touma.

"I really want to thank you for saving me," he admitted. "I have not met many people like you, willing to help a complete stranger for nothing in return."

Touma waved his hand, as if to say no problem. "If someone needs help, I will help them. It's not that complicated." They continue in silence, until Touma spoke up, "If you need a place to stay, you can crash with me."

"I appreciate the offer," Jason replied. "But I do have my own residence."

"Ah that's good. Thought you might have had trouble finding a place to go…" Touma trailed off as he saw all the fire trucks ahead of him, surrounding his dorm, and the crowd of people watching. "AHHHH, I forgot that alchemist blew my dorm up trying to kill me!" he cried. "Such misfortune," he mumbled to himself, while Jason looked at him with amusement.

"Toouummmaa."

A malicious voice was heard from the alley near them and they both turned to see Index approaching towards Touma. Touma started to back away in fright. "Index," he tried to explain. "I am glad you are alright, but that fire is not my fault, it was…STOP BITING ME PLEASE!" Index had attacked him before he could finish explaining.

"So," Jason said. "I see we might have to reverse that offer. You two can stay with me, as long as you need to."

Index turned toward him and then looked up at the sky. "I wish to thank you lord for sending us such a helpful person in our time of need. Excuse me, if you don't mind me asking, how do you know Touma?"

"He saved my life."

Index sighed, "Sounds like him. He always helps others and doesn't think about himself at all." She turned to Touma, "You are going to tell me where you were tonight and how you know this helpful person."

* * *

"Wow, is this it?" Touma asked, as they stood in front of a rather impressive apartment building.

"Yep," Jason confirmed. "7th floor."

They rode the elevator in silence, as Touma had finished telling Index what had happened and Index had finished giving Touma her stern lecture. When they reached the 7th floor, Jason put in a code and the door opened. They stepped out of the elevator and walked down a large white clean hallway. On the third door to the right, Jason inputted another code and the door opened to lead to a really nice living area, with a kitchen in the corner and another two open doors leading to the bedroom and the bathroom.

"Wow," Touma gasped, impressed. "It's like five times the size of my dorm."

"Touma, Touma," Index cried excitedly, looking at the view through the windows. "We are so high up." Touma joined her and agreed.

Jason yawned, "Man it's late and I'm exhausted, and I bet you two are too. Index can have the bedroom and Touma and I can share the pull out couch."

Touma quickly agreed, but Index wanted to sleep in the same room as Touma. After much arguing, she finally relented. The lights had just been turned off before Jason fell asleep. Touma laid awake, staring at the ceiling, feeling he forgot something important, but was not sure what. He even did his homework early, and then it hit him.

 _He had finished his homework, but it was in his apartment._

* * *

Touma woke up the next morning and looked around in surprise at where he was, until he remembered the events from the night before. He was so out of it because of the alchemist, Jason's imprisonment, and his dorm exploding, he didn't even question spending the night here instead of calling his friends. He realized what noise woke him up. Index had just turned on the TV. He sat up and stretched, looking at her and then around the rest of the apartment.

"Where's Jason?" Touma asked her.

"He said he had to leave and run errands," Index replied, turning to face Touma. "But he made us breakfast first. It was delicious. I'm so full."

Touma nodded in acknowledgement and walked to the kitchen area. He looked around and saw some bacon and eggs, sitting under a cover, with a note attached to the front of it. He picked up the note and read.

 _Touma,_

 _Sorry, I had to get up early. A lot of stuff came up that I needed to get done. I left food for you and Index. She woke up when I was making it, so I just fed her. How much can she eat? I will probably go through a week's worth of food by tomorrow._

 _If you want a free lunch I plan to be by Joseph's Diner around 1._

 _Jason_

Touma shook his head and smiled slightly at the comment about Index's food consumption. He also wondered what kind of person Jason was to just go out like normal after being a prisoner, for who knows how long. He stretched, grabbed the plate of food, and started eating, while looking out the window. It was finally sinking in about losing his apartment. He did not have a lot of belongings, but he lost a lot all his clothes and furniture. The only thing he had on him was his keys, wallet and phone. He smacked himself in the head, _he still had his phone_. He pulled it out of his pocket and turned it on. It had been turned off because he and Stiyl where trying to capture the alchemist discreetly. As he turned his phone on, it virtually exploded from all the missed calls and texts.

 _Kami-yan what happened? There was an explosion and your dorm was on fire._

 _Kamijou, I saw on the news your dorm was on fire, what did you do?_

 _You idiot, what did you do? Where are you so I can kick your…_

Etc., etc. and over 50 missed calls.

Touma continued to read through all the texts and noticed that most of his friends and classmates saw the fir on the news. It had been declared a stove malfunction, which lead to the explosion. The exact cause of the explosion was declared to be a gas leak in the stove. Touma shook his head and noticed several calls were from his teacher, Komoe-sensei. Touma sighed and dialed her number. It rang a couple times then…

"Kamijou-kun?" a young female child voice asked. "Is that you?"

"Yes Komoe-sensei," Touma replied. "I wanted to let you know I was fine because you seemed worried about me."

"Of course I was worried," she cried. "When I saw your dorm was destroyed, I thought one of my cute students was hurt." He thought he heard her sniff and start to cry.

"I'm fine really sensei," Touma reassured her. "Though, my homework got a little burnt in the process."

"That's fine," she replied cheerfully. "I am sure we can give you the homework Monday."

 _Great,_ Touma thought to himself, and then said, "I will see you tomorrow Sensei." He hung up and went back to Index to watch some TV. It seems like the report on the dorm explosion was still playing today. He sighed. _Nothing else to do the rest of the day, might as well start replacing things I lost._ "Index, I am going out for awhile, will you be ok?" Index nodded, but didn't really seem to be paying attention to him, because a show about a magical girl had just started, so her eyes were now glued to the screen.

Touma sighed. He spent most of the day shopping for stuff the fire destroyed. He had to use up his food budget to purchase a few changes of clothes for himself, along with school supplies. He hoped Komoe-sensei would tell the school he needed a new uniform. He gazed up at a clock outside of a store. It was almost one. _Maybe I should go and meet Jason since it's nearby._

* * *

"Hi Misaka-san," called out a girl waving to Mikoto. She had long black hair and a single flower on the side of her head.

"Hi Saten-san,' Mikoto called back to her friend Ruiko Saten. "Looks like Kuroko and Uiharu are going to be a little late because of a problem with Judgment."

Ruiko nodded in understanding. "Uiharu texted me. They just left, so they should be here soon. Want to go in and wait for them? It looks pretty busy." Mikoto nodded and they both entered Joseph's Diner.

"Wow it is busy," Mikoto agreed, looking around at the crowded tables. "I thought it would be emptier since we got here so late."

"They are having specials all day," Ruiko replied. "I think it's their anniversary of opening in the city. We might have trouble finding a place now." She looked around and then got a big smile on her face. "I think I see a spot, come on." She grabbed Mikoto's hand and dragged her through the crowd.

"Whoa," she said. "There's no need to drag me so fast…." She stopped and saw who was at the table Ruiko was heading to. _You have got to be kidding_. Ruiko was dragging her to one of the corner tables in the back, were two people were sitting. One of them was the person she had such a complicated relationship with, the idiot, Touma Kamijou. She had never been able to beat him in battle, but what really annoyed her was his nonchalant attitude about beating her. She was, after all, the third strongest ability user in Academy City and this boy tells her that he was just a level 0. She did not believe this for a moment. Mikoto saw him defeat the strongest ability user Accelerator by himself and even saved her life. Since that day, she has had weird feelings about him, but she wasn't going to talk about it to others. She noticed he was talking to someone else, probably his friend, who had blonde hair and weird orange eyes. _Is he a foreigner?_

"Hi Kamijou-san," Ruiko greeted him. "Do you mind if we sit with you two? It is really crowded today."

Touma looked up at her. "Hi Saten-san and Biri….I mean Misaka." He changed direction immediately when he saw a spark from Mikoto. He glanced over at the other person at the table, who nodded smiling. "Sure, there's no problem, plenty of room here," Touma told them. "This is my friend, Jason Kagere. Jason, this is Ruiko Saten and Mikoto Misaka."

Jason waved to them and Ruiko sat down next to Touma, while Mikoto sat down next to her. Mikoto didn't realize why she felt so annoyed at Ruiko sitting next to Touma. _Wait, when did I start thinking about that idiot with his first name?_ To stop those thoughts, she asked, "Why are you two here?"

"Lunch," replied Touma and Jason simultaneously, while Ruiko broke out laughing. Mikoto face palmed. "You know what I mean," she amended, as the waitress brought them water and menus.

"Nah," Touma said. "That's the only reason. I had shopping to do and Jason said he was going to be here."

"His dorm blew up," Jason added.

Saten and Mikoto where just beginning to drink their water, when they did a spit take. "What? How did that happened?"

"Umm," Touma answered, thinking fast. "They seemed to believe it was a gas leak with the stove. For now, I'm staying at Jason's place."

"Your luck is the same as ever," Mikoto sighed, while Touma gave her a small grin.

"Yea, I am full of misfortune. After all, that's why you like to shock me right."

"I only shock you because you deserve it, like yesterday, idiot."

Jason and Saten watched their friends bicker for a minute, before looking at each other. Saten caught Jason's eye and winked, while Jason gave a thumbs up. "So Touma," Jason asked. "Is Misaka-san your girlfriend?"

This comment caused both Touma and Mikoto to do a spit take.

* * *

"Come on Uiharu," Kuroko called out, looking behind her. "We are late already and we can't leave Onee-sama waiting."

Kazari Uiharu gasped for air, as she tried to keep up with Kuroko. She was a small girl, with short black hair and a headband decorated with many flowers. "Coming Shirai-san," she replied, following her friend. They both arrived at Joseph's Diner, only a little after their scheduled meeting time with Ruiko and Mikoto.

"They must be inside saving us a table," Kuroko said, looking around and not seeing their friends outside the diner. She and Kazari walked into the diner and made their way through the crowd.

"Wow it is busy," Kazari commented. "I hope we can find them…" She stopped when she felt a dark murderous aura coming over Kuroko. "Shirai-san, what's the matter?" She looked in the same direction Kuroko was facing.

Kuroko stopped and she had to do a double take. There was her precious onee-sama and Ruiko sitting at a table, but with TWO boys. One of them was the ape that kept taking all of her Onee-sama's valuable time. That ape was not worthy of being near such a noble and talented girl like Mikoto. Only Kuroko could ever be her partner. What was worse was it seemed like Mikoto was having a good time over there talking to the boys with Ruiko. She quickly moved to their table, with Kazari following closely behind.

"Hello Onee-sama," Kuroko said, trying to be cheerful, but still seeping her malicious aura. "I did not know these two gentlemen would be accompanying us today."

"Umm, Kuroko," Mikoto replied hesitantly. "The diner was really crowded, so Saten-san asked if we could share a table with them, since they were here before us." Touma, Mikoto and Ruiko looked nervously at Kuroko. Jason had never met Kuroko before, but noticed the change in the atmosphere.

"Shirai-san," Kazari said, tugging on her shirt. "We should sit down, we are drawing attention." People were beginning to look around to see what was causing the chills to go down their spines. Kuroko looked at her and stiffly nodded, before sitting down next to Mikoto. That left Kazari to sit between Kuroko and Jason. Jason smiled at Kazari, who blushed and looked away.

"This is Kuroko Shirai," Ruiko said to Jason, because Touma had met her before, "And this is Kazari Uiharu. Uiharu, this is Touma Kamijou and Jason Kagere." Kazari smiled shyly at both of them.

"So what have you been talking about?" Kuroko asked, with a smile that did not reach her eyes. Mikoto, Ruiko, and Touma did not want to tell her about their discussion on if Mikoto and Touma were dating, but Jason did not keep his mouth shut.

"We were just talking about if Touma and Misaka-san were dating…..ouch," Touma had kicked him under the table, while Mikoto had a red blush appear on her face.

Kuroko's eyes grew wide at this comment and Jason realized he probably said something wrong. "Onee-sama…..dating this…..this….. TROGLEDYTE?! Impossible! She is smart, talented, and the Ace of Tokiwadai. How could she ever date someone so low born, untalented and such average looks? I am the only one who could ever have enough love for her….." She was cut off, as Mikoto hit her on the head.

"You are causing a scene, sit down and be quiet," Mikoto hissed angrily. Kuroko sat down, while glaring at Touma. "We are not dating and, even if we were, that's none of your business…" Mikoto started off stern, but got a little softer near the end. This was not unnoticed by Kuroko, Ruiko and Jason. Kuroko's eyes grew wide, while Ruiko and Jason smirked to each other.

"No, it can't be true," Kuroko gasped. "My precious Onee-sama can't have been defiled by this ape…." She got cut off as Mikoto hit her again.

The rest of lunch went by uneventfully. Ruiko talked with Touma mostly, while sneaking glances at Mikoto. Kazari had begun to talk to Jason. Mikoto talked a lot with Kuroko, but kept glancing at Touma talking with Ruiko. For some reason, she kept thinking Ruiko was watching her and smirking at Mikoto on purpose. She also had to keep Kuroko off of her. Kuroko wanted to talk mainly with Mikoto and Kazari, but kept glaring at Touma, while trying to snuggle against Mikoto's arm.

"So why were you both late," Mikoto asked Kuroko and Kazari, after their food had arrived.

"There was a situation at Judgment," Kuroko explained. "We have a vigilante roaming the streets taking the law into his own hands."

"What do you mean?" asked Ruiko. "Oh, is it the legendary rumored ghost-boy that goes around and saves helpless people? People say he appears out of nowhere and takes out criminals with a single wave of his hand, before disappearing in plain sight" Her eyes started sparkling.

"Of course not," Kuroko huffed at her. "There are no such things as ghost. It's just someone who wears all black and a white mask."

"He has helped a few people," Kazari elaborated. "A few civilians who have seen him said he moves in quickly and takes out criminals with inhuman speed. It sounds like a strength boosting ability."

"But we can't have civilians taking the law into their own hand," Kuroko added. "So we need to bring them in. If they want to join Judgment, they have to go through the proper procedures."

Touma wasn't really paying attention to Judgment matters. He was thinking about the way people kept thinking he and Mikoto were a couple. _Do we really seem like one?_ he thought. They fought a lot, but were always willing to help each other if the other one needed it. He was also a little happy a cute girl like Ruiko talked to him too. The thought about how much homework he was going to have to catch up with tomorrow began to creep into the corner of his mind, ruining his mood.

Everyone finished lunch and left the restaurant. They were still talking about the vigilante and the ghost rumor, neither of which really affected Touma. Jason looked like he was off in his own little world, gazing at the shops. The four girls were talking with each other, but Touma noticed Kuroko seem to make sure she was between him and Mikoto at all times. Touma had to admit, it felt nice to have a normal day with people and not have crazy adventures with magicians or power crazed ability users trying to kill him. Then he looked across the street and his heart sank.

He saw one of his classmates, and friend, Motoharu Tsuchimikado, a blond hair high school student with sunglasses, gold chain and a Hawaiian shirt. He was staring at Touma, as if he saw something amazing, with his mouth wide open. Touma could almost read his mind from here without any special ability. Motoharu did not know Jason and, since Jason was off to the side, he obviously thought Touma just left a diner accompanied by four girls, two of which were wearing the prestigious Tokiwadai uniform. When Touma caught his eye, Motoharu gave him two thumbs up, and then ran his finger across his neck, waved and left. _I am going to regret this tomorrow at school,_ Touma thought to himself. _Such misfortune._

"Well onee-sama," Kuroko said to Mikoto. "I have a surprise for you at our dorm. You don't need to accompany this ape anymore."

"Kuroko," Mikoto sighed. "I do not want to see or think about any of your crazy ideas for surprises."

"Shirai-san?" Jason asks suddenly. "Why do you keep insulting Touma so much? Did he do something to you?"

"He dares go near my beloved onee-sama. I am her faithful watch dog and best friend. It is my sworn duty to make sure all the riffraff stay away from her. She deserves someone as great as her."

"But Touma is a great person. He even saved my life."

"Onee-sama saved mine too. She is perfect in every way. That guy is just an average student. Onee-sama is a level 5 and the pride of Tokiwadai. He is a level 0. She is way out of his league."

"Touma is quite strong no matter what levels say. If he likes her, then they should get to decide."

"Hang on," Touma spoke up, interrupting the two's argument after becoming aware they were talking about him. He had lost track of Motoharu. "Who said I liked her?"

"And what is wrong with me?" asked Mikoto angrily, electricity flowing around her. Ruiko and Kazari took a step back, while the three people arguing turned and look at her.

"Easy Biribiri," Touma said. "I meant…."

"I told you before not to call me that!" Mikoto yelled at him and shot lighting at all three of them. Kuroko teleported away, while Touma was forced to raised his right hand. The sound of glass shattering was heard and he stood there unharmed.

Touma turned and looked over at Jason, because Touma was worried he got hit. His Imagine Breaker could not negate everything in an area. To his relief, Jason appeared unharmed. A circle around him seemed to be smoking, as if the electricity got forced into the ground and left burn marks on the concrete. "I'm sorry," Touma cried and ran off. Jason followed him, but turned around while running to wave goodbye to the girls.

Kuroko teleported back, after Touma and Jason left, while Mikoto was still panting slightly in anger. "Onee-sama you really should try to avoid shocking people. If that ape's friend got hurt, you could get into trouble."

"It was partially your fault too Kuroko," Mikoto pointed out, noticing Kuroko didn't say anything about not hurting Touma. "You were arguing with him." _I wonder what he did to stop my electricity. Touma usually negates my electricity, but I felt as if my electricity was getting directed to the ground around Kagere._

"Wow," Ruiko said. "I thought Kamijou-san was a level 0, but he took Misaka-san's electricity like it was nothing." Mikoto flinched at her words.

"That was because Onee-sama wasn't serious. She would never go all out on a level 0."

"Speaking of serious," Ruiko said turning to Kazari. "I think Uiharu might have a crush on someone."

"SATEN-SAN," Kazari cried, pounding her fists on Ruiko while blushing furiously.

* * *

The next day Touma woke up early. He was not looking forward to going to school today. With his luck, it was bound to be a really bad day. Extra homework was only the tip of the iceberg. He knew his class was going to question him on the dorm explosion and now the issue with Motoharu. He saw Jason was gone, but he was getting use to him disappearing early in the morning. He went to the kitchen and started to make breakfast for himself and Index. There was a lot of food stocked in the fridge, but he knew Index would go through it quickly. He packed up and looked at the time, surprised he was actually ahead of schedule and thinking maybe his luck was finally changing. Though, something has been nagging at the back of his mind for a while and he couldn't figure out why. He finally realized the problem too late; _this apartment was further away than my dorm._

Touma rushed to school and was only a few minutes late when he entered his class. All eyes turned toward him, from the rest of his classmates and his teacher. "Kamijou," they cried in almost perfect unison. Then he got barged with endless questions and comments.

"What happened to your dorm?"

"Where have you been staying?"

"Is it true you were on a date with four girls at the same time?"

"Lucky b ^#$%&."

"You are going to die Kamijou."

"Class," cried Komoe-sensei. "Please calm down or sensei will cry because she has an important announcement for all of you." Komoe Tsukuyomi was Touma's homeroom teacher. She was one of the many mysteries of his school. She appeared to be a 12 year old girl with pink hair, but she was actually an adult. For some reason, her outer appearance never aged. "Kamijou-kun, please take your seat. You can answer questions later." Touma nodded and took his seat in the back of the class, trying to ignore all the eyes on him, including several death glares. "I have exciting news," she continued. "We were supposed to have two transfer students today, but only one showed up. Due to circumstances, both of these transfer students will be attending class sporadically. I hope you will make them feel welcome when they are here."

"Is it a boy or girl?"

"Are they hot?"

"Calm down everyone," Komoe-sensei cried out again. "Sorry boys, but good news girls, both transfer students are boys." The boys booed, while the girls waited to see how attractive the new students were. "Okay," Komoe called out to someone in hallway. "You can come in." A sporty looking guy, with blonde hair and slightly shorter then Touma, walked into the classroom and Touma opened his mouth in shock.

"Jason? What are you doing here?" he yelled out.

"Hey Touma," Jason replied back happily. "I just transferred to this school today."

"Oh," Komoe said looking at them. "Class this is Jason Kagere. I see you have met Kamijou-chan already, so I hope you don't mind if you sit next to him?"

"Not at all Komoe-sensei," Jason replied. "He actually saved my life this weekend, so I am a big fan of his."

"What," the class gasped. They all turned to look back and forth between Touma and Jason. "Well that sounds like Kamijou," someone said and the class settled down, before they started to agree that it did sound like him. They kept talking about how Touma always tried to help others. Then someone asked, "What happened after he saved you?"

"Well," Jason answered, "Afterwards, he couldn't keep his hands off me."

The class went silent as they all looked at Touma with similar stunned expressions. Touma raised his hands and said, "It's not what it sounds like."

Jason's eyes suddenly looked sad. "That hurts Touma," he said, and put his hands on his face. "We even felt the red hot flames of passion between us."

"Don't say things that can be misunderstood," Touma cried out, noticing how many of the girls in class started to get rather red, while others glared at him. 'That fire belonged to Stiyl's mag…ability."

"Kami-yan," Motoharu called out. "I knew you had a harem, but adding Yaoi to the mix too, are you trying to get every possible ending?"

"I told you it's not like that," Touma yelled back at him "Don't be stupid. I don't have a harem."

"Umm, class please settle…down," Komoe tried to say and restore order, but her words came out quite soft, so no one heard it. Her face had flushed into a deep red. Jason also didn't help at all with his next comment.

"He even stayed at my house after we were up most of the night."

It was almost lunch time by the time Touma cleared up the misunderstanding.

* * *

 **I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. There is a lot more humor here than in chapter one. Also some romance blossoming here that may continue to further chapters. Don't want to give to many spoilers. Lots of information was provided in this chapter, along with more characters. Next chapter my favorite character is going to be introduced but I don't want to give it away of who it is.**

 **I like to thank everyone giving ideas, comments, and suggestions.**

 **Poor Touma though, such misfortune.**


	3. Unexpected

**I hope everyone has enjoyed the story so far. I definitely have fun writing it.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

"Sooooo Kami-yan," Motoharu says cheerfully during lunch break. "Why were you with so many cute younger girls at once if it wasn't a date?

"Kamijou how could you?!" cried out Pierce Aogami, a blue haired self proclaimed pervert. He is a good friend of Motoharu and Touma and the three of them together are known as the Delta Force. "You spent an entire day dating several school girls. Why can't it be me surrounded by younger girls? You are part of the Delta Force. We don't get girls, how are you so lucky? What have you been doing to get your EXP up so high? I should beat you down right now."

"I told you before," Touma sighed trying to eat. "Jason and I just met them while getting lunch, it wasn't a date." He glared at Jason who looked away and whistled innocently. Because of him, Touma had gotten so many glares and questions from the girls wondering if he was in that type of relationship. _It was such a troublesome morning._ Now his friends won't leave the fact that a bunch of younger girls left the diner with him.

"Well Kami-yan," Motoharu said elbowing Touma. "They were all pretty cute, but they don't compare to younger sister types with maid uniforms."

"Maid uniforms are just one type," Pierce says. "The best type is when you have every flag going. Cat eared girls are definitely a great choice. They are spreading in popularity all over. Imagine an older cat girl in a maid uniform.

"Shut up you Siscon Sergeant," Touma says to Motoharu. "No one cares about your perversions Aogami. Besides, I thought you were a lolicon and not into older girls."

"Kamijou, Kamijou, Kamijou," Pierce says shaking his head. "I've told you before, I don't just like little girls, I also like little girls. Being a pervert is a way of life. I live my life enjoying the countless different fetishes in existence. One day everyone will realize their popularity and I will lead the revolution toward that day. I bet even Jason has a fetish he loves."

"Hmm," Jason says out loud.

"Don't answer him," Touma warns. "It just encourages him."

"Definitely naked aprons," Jason says. "But with underwear."

"Wow," Pierce gapes for a moment and fist pumps the air. "That is the high level I would expect of Kamijou's friend."

"Wouldn't having underwear defeat the purpose of having naked aprons?" Touma asks unable to resist getting pulled in.

"Ah," Pierce says. "That is obviously not a problem. The combination of a naked apron and underwear allows one to have the optimal amount of erotic tension yet still hides enough to allow the imagination to work. It's a perfect combination."

"I wonder what Maiko would look like in one," Motoharu said dreamily.

"I see the Delta Force still talks about perverted things," a strong voice said with the hint of anger. The group looked up and saw Seiri Fukiyose standing over them. A slender but solid girl with well-endowed assets and long black hair looked at them all with a steely glare. She also seems to have the strength of several people. "Why don't you guys ever talk about something useful?"

"Fukiyose-sama," Motoharu said. "We were simply discussing about Kami-yan disease. Kamijou was able to date four girls at once. Soon all the girls in the world will be under his ability."

"Shut up," Touma says to him punching Motoharu.

Pierce tackles Touma. "Don't be that way Kamijou. If we left you alone none of us would ever have a chance of getting a girlfriend. Only our Iron Wall Girl Fukiyose-sama can resist your charms. We can't let her belong to your harem."

"I don't have a harem," Touma says getting into a fight with Pierce.

Motoharu joins the fight by elbowing Touma in the back and says, "We need to find out how she resists your charms. Maybe she makes the antidote in her chest. We need to mass produce it to save all the girls."

All three of them stop when they hear a cracking sound. They look and see Seiri cracking her knuckles. She then proceeds to pummel all three of them mercilessly. While this happens, Jason asks one of the other classmates, "What's Kami-yan disease?"

"Touma is really unlucky," a girl says watching the fight like it's a show they see on a daily basis. "But he seems to be a lightning rod for all of our bad luck. So us girls help him out when we can."

"Real unlucky there," a guy says rolling his eyes. "He gets all the ladies."

"So do the girls like him?" Jason asks.

The girl says nothing but blushes and looks away and the guy says, "That is Kami-yan disease."

Jason turns back to the group after Seiri finishes beating them all within an inch of their lives. She turns to him. "I am going to let you off with a warning since you are new. You don't want to get involved in these miscreants. They are just bad news, especially Kamijou. He always blames his misfortune instead of trying to improve himself." She starts to head off.

Jason looks at the three mangled guys on the ground and smacks his fist into his hand as if he suddenly realized something. "She's the Tsundere in Touma's harem isn't she?" This innocent comment got him a merciless beating too.

A small girl with pink hair poked her head into the class. "Kamijou," Komoe said. "I have your homework that you need to make up."

Touma groaned. "Thanks Komoe-sensei."

"I'll see you after school," she adds.

"Wait, why?"

"Your remedial classes," she says looking at him with her stern 12 year old glare. "You are falling behind and I can't let one of my cute students repeat a year. You are the only one who needs it." A faint red appeared on her cheeks.

"Damn you Kamijou," Pierce cries. "You are going to be all alone with Komoe-sensei doing who knows what." Komoe blush turns much redder.

"Class work you idiot," Touma shouts back. "What does your warped mine think is going to happen?"

"Wow," Jason said. "Kami-yan disease is real. Even the teacher is affected." He and Motoharu exchange a high five while Touma groans.

"Extra homework and extra classes, such misfortune."

* * *

"Dang it Accelerator!" a women yelled slamming open the front door of an apartment. Aiho Yomikawa, a tall woman that has amazing proportions with long black-blue hair tied into a ponytail. "I had to pull a lot of strings to get you back into school and you go and decide to skip your first day. Komoe-sensei was in tears because of that."

"MISAKA told Accelerator he should go says MISAKA trying to clear herself from all blame," said a little 10 year old girl with short brown hair who looked a lot like a younger Mikoto.

"I'm not blaming you Last Order," Aiho says. "I am blaming that lazy boy who just seems to sleep all day."

"Pssh," says a boy on the couch with his eyes closed. He is a skinny teenager with pale skin, moppy white hair and red eyes. "Why do I need to go to some second rate school?" he says.

"You know damn well why," Aiho said angrily. "I work there as a teacher so it's easy to keep any eye on you and we can watch Last Order while we are there."

"Blah," the boy called Accelerator said. "It seems like too much trouble."

"MISAKA wants you to go MISAKA says trying to be whining while MISAKA pulls on your pant leg to manipulate Accelerator," Last Order says while tugging on his pant leg. "MISAKA has information through the Misaka Network that the savior is at that school MISAKA states while looking at Accelerator. MISAKA wants to meet him again MISAKA states boldly while hoping to make Accelerator jealous."

"Wait," Accelerator opened an eye. "That F%* #&% invincible hero is there." He got an evil grin. 'I might have to go now…to just say hi of course."

"MISAKA does not want you to hurt the savior MISAKA cries desperately," Last Order whines loudly.

"I won't hurt him," he says and then whispers, "Much."

"I heard that," Aiho said.

* * *

"This patrol is so boring," Kuroko complains into her cell phone. "It's really quiet today."

"Come now, Shirai-san," Kazari replies back from their Judgment office. "You do this routinely and haven't complained about it before."

"Yea but Onee-sama doesn't have anything to do after class today. Just thinking of her all alone without me…."

"I'm sure she will be fine by herself for a little bit," Kazari says.

"But she will always have a better time with me…" Kuroko started to say when a sound caught her attention.

"Someone help!"

"I'll call you back Uiharu." She teleported to the nearby alley were she heard the voice. "Stop, this is Judgment, what's the problem…." She stopped in mid sentence. A young woman was clutching her purse surrounded by several men in biker clothes who appeared to be knocked out. At the end of the alley was a male with black hair and dressed in black with a cloak rustling behind him. His face was covered by a white mask. The mask had black slash marks vertically aligned over each eyehole. "Are you all right," Kuroko asked the women while not keeping her eyes off the male.

"Yes," she says shakily. "That man saved me from being robbed."

"Thank you for the help," she said. "But I am still going to have to take you in to ask you some questions. We can't have civilians taking the law into their own hands."

The male shakes his head and gives Kuroko a quick wave and takes a step back, turns, and runs vertically straight up the 90 degree wall at inhuman speed. He quickly reaches the roof and starts running out of sight. Kuroko sighs, _why do they always run?_ She teleports to the top of the building and then teleports again in the direction the male was running. "You are going to have to be a lot faster to out run a teleporter." She quickly teleported in front of the male and he stopped as she pulled out her metal darts from her legs. "I need you to come with me for questioning. This is the last time I will ask nicely. If you do not comply, I will have to use force."

The male doesn't move immediately but continues to watch her. He bursts out laughing. His voice was obstructed by the mask which probably made it deeper then it normally was. He then stretches out a hand in front of him and suddenly, from his sleeve, darkness rushed out in the form of a black hand and flew toward Kuroko. She quickly teleports out of the way and looks at the attack. _What is that ability? He just attacked me with black water? No, it looks different then water, it's like pure darkness._ The hand was attached by a strip of darkness that was connected to the males arm and disappeared under his sleeve. His cloak suddenly lifted itself up and several of these shadow hands materialized from the cloak itself and rushed out to grab Kuroko. She had to keep teleporting out of the way because they kept moving and chasing her as she appeared. The strips that connected the hands to the males cloak seemed to be able to pass through each other so getting them tangled up was not an option.

"You leave me no choice," she says between teleports as she dodges the hands. She teleports behind the male and delivers a kick to the back of his head to knock him out. To her surprise her foot went right through him like water though she barely felt anything. "What the…?" she started to say, surprised at the lack of resistance, when the cloak flew up and wrapped around Kuroko. Suddenly everything went dark and silent for her. She couldn't move and she wasn't able to teleport out of the darkness. What felt like forever, but was probably only about 30 seconds, the darkness parted and she saw she was still on the roof. Her hands and feet were bound behind her by what looked like black rope. She still couldn't teleport the rope or herself. _What is going on? How is he blocking my power?_ She looks up and see's him standing about 10 feet away looking at the streets.

"How did you do that," she asked him while still struggling to escape.

"My reality is rather unique," he says voice still obscured by the mask.

"Let me go please," Kuroko says sweetly.

"No, you will just attack me. I did not want to deal with Judgment but you left me no choice."

"All I wanted was to question you," she said grinning sweetly. "But now, when I get free I am going to beat the hell out of you." Her smile and words did not match up and she was emitting one of her famous killing auras that could make full grown men break into a cold sweat.

The male sighed. "Yea, that's why I am not letting you go yet. The ropes will disappear in a few minutes." He starts to walk away and stops and turns. "Good bye beautiful, try not to get caught by my charms again." He laughs and jumps to the nearby building and swiftly moves out of sight.

"I'll kill you pervert!" Kuroko screams after him.

* * *

Touma sighed, he finally got out of Komoe-sensei's remedial class and, true to her word, he was the only one there. He had to do several ability exercises since he had no points for the curriculum in dealing with his abilities, which made him the worst in the class. _It's pointless; my Imagine Breaker prevents me from using any ability. Sigh, I might as well get started on all this homework._ Komoe-sensei gave him so much homework, the normal class homework, the makeup homework that had gotten burned, plus the remedial class homework. He was going to need help or there was no way he was going to get this done. Jason had left right after class was over and Motoharu and Pierce won't help him with homework. The sun was still high up in the sky and he decided he might as well get started. _Maybe a change of scenery will help me get through this easier._ He decided to go to the park and set up at a table. He went to buy himself a drink and of course, with his luck, the machine ate his money and gave him nothing in return.

"Arg," Touma cried angrily and kicked the machine. This only led to him hurting his foot.

"You know, kicking the machine randomly won't get you a drink," a familiar girl's voice said from behind him.

He grimaced from the pain and turned around and saw Mikoto standing behind him grinning. "Ah Biribiri, it's just you. Stupid machine ate my money. Such misfortune."

"I thought I told you to quit calling me that," she said angrily as she shoots a bolt of electricity at him.

Touma raised his hand, heard the sound of breaking glass, and the electricity was dispersed. Some of the extra electricity hit the machine behind him causing the machine to sputter and spit out a can of juice. "Awesome," he says. "It's the type I wanted. Thanks Misaka." He shakes her hand which throws Mikoto off balance at the sudden change in attitude.

"Wait, what?"

"Well off to catch up on all my work," Touma says and heads off to his table and starts working on his homework.

Mikoto, still in shock, decides to follow and sits down across from him. "You seem to have a lot of homework."

"Don't I know it," Touma mumbles. "Makeup homework plus remedial, some of this is familiar but most of this is completely unknown to me."

Mikoto looked at the work with interest. She had seen Touma do this type of work before and even helped him with it. Tokiwadai did not give students homework but the classes were very advanced so the students had to do a lot of studying outside of class to keep up. "Answer to that one is 6," she says noticing a mistake.

"Thanks," Touma said while making the change.

"I can help you with your work if you want," Mikoto says.

Touma looks up with gratitude in his eyes. "Really, thanks a lot Misaka-sensei; this would take me all night to finish by myself." _I feel weird getting help from a middle school student for high school work, but desperate times call for desperate measures._

Mikoto turns slightly red at his thanks and chose to ignore the sensei remark. They worked for about an hour and made significant progress through most of the homework before deciding to take a break. "Wow they give you a lot of work for outside of class," she says.

"Hah," Touma says. "You are lucky you don't have homework at your school. Thanks again for helping me."

Mikoto waves her hand brushing off his thanks. "Sooner you finish, the sooner I can have my rematch against you."

Touma groans, "Of course you would want that."

Mikoto opened her mouth to say something when a girl called out to them. "I thought that was you Misaka-san and Kamijou-san" They turned to see who had called them and they spotted Ruiko heading toward them and sat down at their table. "Wow, are you both doing homework on your date?"

"It's not a date," both Touma and Mikoto respond together as they both turn red.

Ruiko smirked as if she knew something they did not. "Well Kamijou-san, if you are not busy tomorrow. I wanted to ask if you wanted to visit the new museum that is opening tomorrow with me. I got some tickets from a lottery. We could meet there after school."

Mikoto eyes widened at Ruiko's boldness in asking Touma on a date. _It is a date right? I didn't know she even liked him that way. They have only met like twice, or have they known each other longer?_

Touma was equally in shock. This was the first time a girl asked him out on an actual date. "Umm….sure Saten-san. That sounds fun."

"Great," Ruiko says smiling. "Also, could you invite your friend Kagere-san? Uiharu has a crush on him and it would be great to set them up. She is usually too shy to talk to boys. Don't tell him I told you that though."

"Sure, I can ask him."

"Ok, I will meet you two outside of Ferns Plaza around 5. Here, let's exchange phone numbers." Ruiko exchanges numbers with Touma, waves to Mikoto, and heads home.

"Wow," Touma said. "That was unexpected."

"Hmm," Mikoto says and she seemed to be much colder the rest of the day to Touma talking only to help him with a mistake on his homework. Part of her wanted to give him a shock but Ruiko was her friend too. She had a lot of conflicting emotions inside her but she did not voice it out loud. _Why do I feel like this?_

* * *

The next morning when Touma got up, for the first time in what seemed like forever, he was in a really good mood. All of his homework was done, he wasn't being attacked by crazy magic or ability users, and he had a date with a cute girl that afternoon. He made breakfast and got packed for school and headed off much earlier then he normally would. _Wait, if I'm feeling this good now, something unfortunate must be waiting to happen. The universe isn't that kind._ He tried to shrug off the dark thought but it stayed in the back of his mind all the way to school. He had just entered the school gate when he heard a voice behind him that sent shivers down his spine. _For once, I wish it was Biribiri._

"Well, if it isn't the f&#$^% hero."

Touma turned around instantly and saw a white haired, red eyed, skinny kid being supported on one crutch. "Ah Accelerator, what are you doing here?" Touma asked nervously.

"What no welcome from the hero," Accelerator said mockingly while smiling but at the same time looking slightly insane. "I got forced to join this school, but when I found out you went here it got a lot more entertaining. I have things to settle with you."

"How did you know I went here," Touma said taking a step back. _This day was not starting off well._

"MISAKA told him MISAKA says cheerfully as MISAKA bounds forward to hug the savior." Last order jumps out form Accelerator and rushes forward and hugs Touma around the stomach.

"Last Order?" Touma says confused. "What are you doing here?"

"MISAKA will be attending another class here MISAKA says proudly as MISAKA explains her presence."

"Wow Kami-yan," an amused voice says from above him. "Looks like you have a real loli in your harem now."

Touma looks up at the school and sees Pierce and Motoharu at a window watching the scene unfold along with several other classmates.

"NOOOOOO," Pierce cries. "Curse you Kamijou. How could you get such a cute little girl? When you get up here I am going to kill you."

"It's not what you perverts think it is…" Touma yells back up at them. He feels the hug around his stomach loosen and sees Accelerator pull Last Order from him and moves her behind him. His face said a thousand words; the most obvious message was _you are going to die, slowly and painfully_. "Hey Accelerator, I wasn't…." Accelerator clicks the switch on the choker around his neck and taps his foot. The ground between them explodes and sends dirt and rock at Touma knocking him back a good 10 feet. Touma gets up quickly and decides the most prudent action is to run away. He dashes off to escape behind the school. "I'm sorry!" he calls back while running. "Such misfortune!"

"As if I will let you get away that easily, you trash!" Accelerator roars. He takes a couple steps forward to put distance between himself and Last Order. The ground around his feet explodes as he bounds forward, at inhuman speed after Touma.

"Don't hurt the savior MISAKA cries as MISAKA chases after MISAKA's two favorite people."

"Sigh." Aiho had just entered the gate as she had lagged behind her two charges. Last Order had dragged Accelerator ahead of her because she was anxious to get to school. "Well, as long as he doesn't do too much damage it's probably ok. Kamijou is pretty tough."

"What about Kamijou-chan?" asked a voice. She turned and saw Komoe standing behind her. "Ah, the other transfer student arrived and seems to be an acquaintance of Kamijou."

"Ah," Komoe said as her face brighten considerably. "That's great. I hope they are getting along."

"Yea," Aiho said looking back at the direction the two boys ran off. "They are definitely excited to see each other."

"That's one way of looking at it sensei," Pierce called down to the two teachers.

"He shouldn't have tried to steal the new guy's loli girlfriend," Motoharu added.

Komoe gasped at the thought of Kamijou stealing other people's girlfriend. In the background everyone could hear, "SUCH MISFORTUNE," followed by several loud explosions.

* * *

Touma was sitting at his desk when the bell rang. He was bruised and sore all over. Accelerator had knocked him around for a good 10 minutes before Last Order stopped him by turning off the Misaka Network. Without the network, Accelerator was unable to move. Touma bailed the scene shortly after that and manage to get back to his class without another incident. However, Motoharu and Pierce had spread the rumor all over the school that Touma had stolen the new transfer student's girlfriend. This rumor got him another beating, this time from Seiri. Jason was dying from laughter when he got to school and heard what happened.

"Class," Komoe said. "Your attention please. Today we have a really special transfer student today. I like you to meet, Academy City's very own, number 1 level 5, Accelerator." She waves him in and he enters the class looking bored and giving off the vibe, _I hope everyone dies so I can leave._

The class burst into excited whispers.

"Wow, he's the real number 1?"

"I've never seen him in person before."

"Wow, his glare is so sexy."

"Kamijou tried to steal HIS girlfriend?" This comment got Touma several astonished looks.

"Since you know Kamijou-chan," Komoe said. "Why don't you take a seat near him?" Touma wanted to shake his head and yell out no but kept quiet. "Jason Kagere is the one next to him. He just transferred too. I hope you get along since you are both new."

Accelerator shrugged and made his way to the back and took a seat. What surprised him was the class didn't seem to fear him, even after the stunt this morning. Instead, everyone thought the stupid hero was at fault. He didn't even get a chance to really enjoy his revenge, Last Order stopped him, but he wasn't sure why he went easy on Touma Kamijou. Accelerator thought he had really wanted to make him suffer. During break he ignored a lot of his classmates question and just listened to music. He noticed that the hero seemed to have a group of friends. Although, after he heard one of their short conversations, Accelerator wanted to kill them all.

"Wow Kami-yan," Motoharu said. "Your harem isn't big enough already? You had to start stealing other people's girls?"

"Kamijou you b $$& %^," Pierce says putting Touma in a headlock. "How could you get lolis to go after you in broad daylight? You need to die so the rest of us get a chance at a girl."

Touma flips Pierce over his head and onto the floor and yells at him. "I am not a lolicon, you misunderstand everything stupid." Pierce trips Touma and they start beating each other up on the ground.

"So Accel-san," Motoharu says. "I see you like lolis, got any other types you enjoy?"

"Do you want to die?" Accelerator responds.

"He looks like a tough nut to crack," Jason says. "I bet his fetishes are so specific he could walk into a group of attractive girls bathing and wouldn't even bat an eye."

"Ha," Motoharu laughs. "But seriously, Accel-san, are you a chest or ass man?"

"That's it, you all die."

* * *

"Umm Saten-san," Kazari says. "I'm a little nervous."

"Don't be Uiharu," Saten says smiling looking her up and down. "You look cute." Ruiko convinced Kazari she had to wear a dress too. Kazari decided on a yellow flowered pattern sun dress while Ruiko had a solid blue colored one. They had gotten to the meeting place about half an hour early. "I told you, Kamijou-san said Kagere-san was happy to come with you."

Kazari blushed at the cute comment. "This is my first time going out with a boy," she says softly while Ruiko laughs.

"Well, there's always a first time. I'm sure it will be fun. Look, here they come." Ruiko looks down the street and waves.

Touma and Jason were walking down the street, both in casual clothes having changed out of their school uniform. They were lucky their schools didn't require them to wear their uniform while in the city. Only the higher class schools required that. They noticed Ruiko waving to them at the end of the street and waved back and headed right towards her.

"Thought the plan was to arrive early," Jason asked quietly.

"Guess they got here even earlier," Touma replies.

When the boys got close Ruiko moved forward to meet them while Kazari, still nervous, stayed back. "Hi guys," Ruiko says happily. "I am glad you made it. They are going to open soon. Let's get in line; there should be a lot of interesting things." She grabs Touma's arm and drags him off to the line.

"Whoa," Touma said while being dragged off. "No need to rush, we will get in with plenty of time."

Jason laughs watching his friend get led away by a girl. He walks over to Kazari and offer's his arm as he says "You look really nice." Kazari looks surprised and eventually puts her arm around his but looks away as her face turns bright red. They both follow Ruiko and Touma.

The museum was a large stone building. Normally, it would have been made of metal but the architects wanted to keep the ancient feeling for when visitors came in to observe the artifacts. The group made their way in as the line moved forward. A couple guards at the entrance were checking tickets, which Ruiko presented to them, and all four of them were waved on in. The inside of the museum was full of displays showing all sorts of artifacts, tablets, and the history of ancient Greek culture.

"Where do you want to start?" Touma asked Ruiko.

"Not sure actually," she said thoughtfully. "I just thought it would be interesting. I don't know a lot about Greek history."

"I know a little about some of their gods and heroes," Jason said. "Not enough to be a good guide though."

"We could just start on one side and work our way through the displays," Kazari suggested, Ruiko noticed she was still holding on to Jason's arm. "If we see something we like we can check it out further."

"Sounds good," Ruiko replies cheerfully. "Come on Kamijou, there's some interesting statues over there." Touma was once again dragged away though he didn't look like he minded at all.

"Did you see anything you where interested in Uiharu-san?" Jason asked. Kazari shakes her head and both of them go off to look at displays randomly.

About 20 minutes later, an announcement was broadcast through the museum. "Ladies and gentlemen, please make your way to the main floor for a special exhibit. We guarantee you will not be disappointed."

Touma, Jason, Ruiko, and Kazari met up in front of a stage hidden with a red velvet curtain along with everyone else waiting for the display to start. They were late so they were all stuck in the back of the crowd.

"What do you think this is about," Ruiko asked Touma. "I wish I could see better." Touma shrugs.

"No idea, maybe a live exhibit." Touma looked at Jason and noticed he seemed to be concentrating on something behind the curtain on the stage. Touma walked over and asked, "What's up?"

"I sense mana," Jason replies quietly so the girls don't hear them.

'What?" Touma asked equally quietly beginning to feel his usual since of dread before something bad happens. "You think a magician is here?"

"I know for a fact a magician is here, but that doesn't mean they are an enemy. They could be the one giving this demonstration in a perfectly normal way."

"You know life is never that nice," Touma whispers while Jason nodded.

After a few minutes an elder man in a suit steps out from behind the curtain. "Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you to this live exhibition of our Greek artifacts. I hope you all find this experience exciting and educational. I have one special exhibit to show you though." He walks to the curtain and grabs hold of a golden rope. "This is a special exhibit we only show a few times a year. I hope you all enjoy this, it is sure to take your breath away." He pulls the rope and the curtains move apart.

In the middle of the stage a single pedestal stood innocently. On top of it was an opaque black glass case. The elder man walked up to it and grabbed the top of the glass case. "Now, I am terribly sorry about this, but I will need you all to stay here for some time." This got a lot of confused looks from the crowd, and then he pulled off the case. Underneath it was a solid gold female head with what looked to be snakes coming out of her head.

"Shit," Jason said. He lunged forward and covered Kazari's eyes with his hands while looking away.

"What are you….?" Kazari started to ask.

"Don't look at the head," Jason yelled in panic to Touma.

Touma turned to look at him, "What are you yelling about?" A giant flash of light erupted from behind him and he heard several screams then silence. _What was that?_ He turned around and his eyes almost popped out of his head. Everyone in front of him who was near the stage, all were grey, silent and unmoving. They had been turned to stone.

Including Ruiko….

* * *

 **Wow, had a lot of time this week to write and it was a lot of fun. Accelerator is definitely one of my favorite characters, the dark hero.**

 **I bet a lot of people know what happened with even just a tiny bit of knowledge of Greek culture. These dang cliffhangers are so hard on me but if they troll one person, I feel they are worth it, hahaha.**

 **I am always open to ideas, questions, comments, and reviews. Please just keep it civil.**


	4. Museum Brawl

**Thanks for reading this far, I hope everyone is enjoying the story.**

 **I bet people can tell a fight is going to take place this chapter. This is the first real battle I have written, so I hope it turns out alright. But for readers to understand some important information, I am going to turn the clock back slightly to earlier that day.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

"Onee-sama," a voice called out. "Onee-sama, you need to wake up or we are going to be late." Mikoto groaned and opened her eyes to see Kuroko leaning over her bed. "Well, I suppose you just need a good morning kiss," Kuroko says cheerfully leaning down towards Mikoto's face.

Mikoto quickly punched her in the face and sent Kuroko flying across the room. "Kuroko, you pervert!" Mikoto yelled. "Can't I wake up once without you sexually harassing me?"

"Hehe," Kuroko laughs innocently. "Sorry Onee-sama, I was worried when you got back last night. You seemed depressed. I am glad you seem to be back to normal."

Mikoto frowned at Kuroko. _She's pretty perceptive._ Mikoto had returned to the dorm after Ruiko had asked Touma out. She didn't really understand why, but she didn't want to talk much to anyone, even Kuroko. She felt weird, her stomach hurt and she wanted to both punch the idiot and wish Saten good luck. She did not sleep well that night either. She kept reliving the moment Saten asked Touma out and it made her ill.

"I'm fine Kuroko," Mikoto says forcing a smile. "I think I might have just eaten something that disagreed with me."

"Are you sure?" Kuroko asked with eyes full of concern. "You know you can talk to me about anything. If anything is bothering you I will help you Onee-sama in any way I can."

"I know," Mikoto replies smiling for real but at the same time thinking, _I can never tell her it's about a boy. I'm not even sure why I feel this way. Wait…..can I really lo….like him?_ She shakes her head and heads to the bathroom, stops and turns around the look at Kuroko. "Thanks."

Mikoto found it hard to concentrate during her lessons for the rest of the day. She was so thankful when classes finally ended. Like always, Kuroko teleported to meet her outside of her class.

"Onee-sama," she called out. "What do you want to do today?"

Mikoto didn't really have plans today, but then she thought of Ruiko and Touma. "Actually, I do have something I want to do. You can even help me."

Kuroko looks slightly confused and interested but then smiles. "Anything for you Onee-sama."

Mikoto and Kuroko hurried to the Ferns Plaza after school. Both of them had coats covering their uniforms and had acquired hats. They had bought some crêpes and sat on a bunch behind some bushes waiting for Ruiko and Kazari to arrive.

"Onee-sama," Kuroko asked, "Why are you interested and Saten-sans and Uiharu's date?"

"Uhh," Mikoto had to think quickly, "Well, I wanted to see how it goes. They are our friends. I bet you are curious too."

"That's true," Kuroko conceded. "Do you know who they are going to the museum with? Uiharu didn't tell me."

"Uh yea," Mikoto said. She didn't want to tell Kuroko that Touma was one of them, Kuroko didn't approve of Touma because she thought Touma was trying to take Mikoto from her. _Maybe that might not be too bad….no stop, don't think those thoughts._ "You know one of them; he's going with Saten-san. His friend is going with Uiharu."

"Wait," Kuroko said thinking. "Someone I know? Who could that be?" Mikoto didn't elaborate.

They only had to wait about 10 minutes before Ruiko and Kazari showed up in front of the museum. "They look nice," Kuroko said and Mikoto agreed. They watched their two friends talk but were too far away to hear anything they said. Another five minutes pass before the two boys showed up. Touma and Jason were dressed in semi casual clothes but they both looked nice too. Kuroko eyes widen when she say Ruiko wave to Touma. "That ap…." Kuroko started to sputter but Mikoto covered her mouth with her hand.

"Shush. Don't give us away."

They watched Ruiko drag Touma into the line while Jason offered Kazari his arm and she took it but seemed to avoid making eye contact. "Wow I didn't think Uiharu would be bold enough to do that," Kuroko says and Mikoto nods in agreement. "At least that ape's friend seems to be a gentleman."

Once Touma, Jason, Ruiko, and Kazari entered the museum, Kuroko and Mikoto left their hiding place. "Now what?" Kuroko asked. "We can't really follow them inside without breaking the law."

Mikoto shrugged. "I wonder what they are going to do in there."

"If that ape does anything to Saten-san, I will make him regret it," Kuroko said aggressively. Mikoto found herself thinking the same thing. "I don't know much about that Jason guy though. Except he doesn't see how great you are."

Mikoto shakes her head at this. "I don't really want people to worship me though."

"Of course Onee-sama," Kuroko says eyes sparkling. "You are above silly things like that and I know my love is enough for you." She teleports onto Mikoto and hugs her from behind. Mikoto might have let her do this as thanks for coming, but Kuroko decided to start feeling her chest.

"Can't…you…for one freaking day…." Mikoto says angrily, "stop trying to feel me up?" Lighting forms all around her and electrocutes Kuroko causing her to fall onto the ground smoking. "Sheesh, why won't you learn?" She lifts Kuroko up and puts her on the bench while she gets them drinks and waits for Kuroko's recovery.

Roughly twenty minutes later, Kuroko seemed to be in perfect health. Mikoto always was surprised at her friends recovery speed, or maybe she just developed a tolerance to electricity. "You really need to stop doing that," Mikoto says to Kuroko.

"I can't help it," Kuroko says happily. "Your beauty shines brighter then all others."

Mikoto sighs and looks back at the museum, when something catches her eye. "Umm, Kuroko, do you see something strange about the museum. Please tell me I am not hallucinating."

Kuroko scans the building. "Onee-sama," she says her eyes widening. "What happened to the door and windows?" The building's windows and doors had disappeared and the walls where now smooth with no entrances in sight.

* * *

Inside the museum, Touma, Jason, and Kazari had not been noticed by the magician. The number of people had blocked them from his sight.

"What did he do?" Touma asked quietly.

"Looks like the head of Medusa," Jason said. "She was Greek creature that turned people to stone with a glance. I don't know it she was real, but that magic artifact might have been what caused the myth."

Kazari finally got Jason's hand off her eyes. Due to her Judgment training she was able to stop herself from screaming. "Magic?" she asked quietly. "What are you talking about?"

"Long story," Touma says. "But we have to stop that guy from doing whatever he is trying to do. You know it can't be good after turning everyone to stone."

"Hmm," Jason said thinking. "Touma you should be able to destroy that head with a touch. I'll distract him, you go right and I'll go left."

"As a member of Judgment I can't let you two civilians place yourself in danger," Kazari says firmly.

Touma and Jason sighed. "We have to do this," Touma said. "Afterwards we will follow your command. Besides I can stop him, watch." Touma touched the Ruiko statue in front of him, the sound of breaking glass and a part of the statue changed back to its original color but when Touma removed his hand it turned back to stone.

"The head needs to be destroyed," Jason says watching Touma. "It won't be easy enough for you to just negate the after affect."

"He can negate this magic, well ability?" Kazari asked wide eyed. Touma nods. "Saten-san had mentioned an ability like that before."

"Ok," Jason says. "You know the plan. Kazari, you need to contact anyone on the outside. Let them know what's happening." Touma and Kazari noticed that something dark seemed to start swirling around Jason. Darkness started turning his clothes black, his hair turned black, and a black cloak started to unroll from his back.

"Kagere-san," Kazari said shakily, "You're the vigilante that's been appearing the last few days? Shirai-san said she met you yesterday." Jason nods but doesn't say anything else. He moves to the left of the group of people while Touma moves to the right. Touma had seen the shadow before and was not as surprised as Kazari was but he did not know the abilities of Jason's shadow. Touma and Jason both manage to get near the edge of the crowd on both sides of the magician.

"We have a captured audience," the man says on his phone. "Hurry and get what we came for. I don't know how many uninvited guests we will get if we take too long."

"So," Jason says stepping out from behind the statues. "There are more of you, which makes since. You wouldn't pull a stunt this big alone." He takes another step out from behind the statues. His cloak was swirling behind him. His face wasn't giving anything away, it looked almost bored. "Why don't you just surrender, you can't win, your surprised attack failed."

"Ha," the man said turning his attention to Jason. "I don't know what you are, but by your mana, I take it you are from our world. I welcome you to my stage. I am Fabula843, the one who brings myths to life." He raised the golden head again and a flash of light appeared from its eyes. "Why don't you just stay there, forever," he says while laughing. He looks again and saw that Jason had not been turned into a statue. "How?" he gasps.

"I simply blocked my eyes with my shadow." The man realized, too late, Jason's eyes were pitch black, he could not see anything. "You fell for our trap."

"What are you….?" The magician started to ask when Touma suddenly jumped out from behind him and grabbed the golden head with his right hand. The Medusa head exploded into a thousand gold pieces. "AHHHH!" the magician yelled as he jumped to the side, his hand bleeding from the pieces cutting it. "What the hell are you monster?" he shouted at Touma. "That head should have been indestructible."

"You call me a monster?" Touma says with indignation as anger fills him. "You are the one who turned innocent people to stone for your own gain. I am going to SHATTER THAT ILLUSION OF YOURS!" Touma charges and delivers a powerful right fist to the magician's face and sends him flying back unconscious. "I will always fight against people like you."

Jason walks up, "Good job. We need to get these people out of here and find out where his accomplices are."

"You sound like Judgment now," Touma says. Jason scowls at him.

Kazari ran up to them holding her cell phone, "Look," she says pointing to the statue. All the statues had started to crack all over and then, with simultaneous shattering, a thin stone layer falls off them and everyone stands there looking confused. "Everyone needs to listen up," Kazari calls out to everyone in a loud commanding voice unlike her normal one. "We were attacked by a strange ability user. He has us trapped in here but help is on the way. Everyone needs to remain calm. I am part of Judgment, follow my instructions and we will get everyone out of here." The crowd exploded in questions and Kazari was doing everything to keep order.

"What now?" Touma asked Jason. Jason opened his mouth to respond when the magician on the floor stirred.

"You fools," he gasped. "No one is getting out of here alive. " He pointed to the ceiling. "Let the stones of the wicked purify the sinners." BOOM, an explosion rocked the building's roof, people screamed, and part of the ceiling started to fall at impossible angles to center on everyone near the stage.

"Nooooo," Touma cried at the magician as everyone screamed and tried to get out of the way. Many tripped and fell into each other.

Suddenly, about 10 feet above everyone, the stone rubble stopped falling. Attached to each piece was a thin strip of darkness. Jason was standing on the stage with hundreds of darkness tendrils coming from his shadow. His shadow had caught all the falling rocks. Touma watched as the shadows lifted the stone back into the ceiling and put the pieces back in place. It was almost like a kid was putting together a puzzle. The shadow strips moved over the cracks and the cracks disappeared as each piece was placed. _What the hell is his ability?_ However, Touma noticed Jason couldn't replace the entire ceiling because some pieces were thrown outside the building or too small and where missed. Touma started to make his way to the stairs leading upstairs in order to find the magic source to stop the collapse of the building.

"Touma, YOU IDIOT," Jason yells. "This is a distraction; the real culprits are down in the basement. You need to stop them; I'll cover everyone up here till they get out." Another explosion rocked the building and another section of the roof exploded and flew at them. Jason's shadow caught the pieces again."Hurry, this spell is continuous. It's going to keep going until everyone is out of this area or the mana runs out. There isn't a specific source for you to break."

Touma makes a fist, angry at himself for not being able to stop this, but he nods and rushes toward the downstairs in order to stop the true mastermind behind this attack. He though he heard Kazari yelling "Hurry!" on her phone before he lunged down the stairs.

* * *

Kuroko and Misaka were circling the building. "How could all the entrances just disappear?" Mikoto yelled.

Kuroko teleports on top of the building. "There doesn't seem to be any access points up here either." She teleports back down. "What kind of ability do you think did this?"

"I don't know, but whatever happened, Anti-Skill has been called." Mikoto points at the several vans that just appeared and men and women in blue and black uniforms rushed out. "I hope our friends are ok."

"I'm sure they are…." Kuroko said when her phone started ringing. She looked at and immediately answered. "Uiharu?"

"Shirai-san," Kazari's voice said. "Thank goodness I reached you. We have a situation at the new Museum at Ferns Plaza. A man with a strange power has everyone in here as hostages."

"WHAT!" Kuroko yelled. "I'm nearby and Anti-Skill has already been called. They are looking for away in. All the entrances have mysteriously disappeared."

Kazari didn't immediately respond and Kuroko grew worried. Then she heard a loud voice in the background, "SHATTER THAT ILLUSION OF YOURS." Shortly afterwards she hears Kazari's voice along with several other people. _Thank goodness she's ok._ Kazari's then started to call out about remaining calm.

"Kuroko," Mikoto called out. "What's happening?"

"Looks like Uiharu and a couple other people took out the criminal and she is trying to keep everyone calm."

"That's good," Mikoto sighed with relief. Then BOOOOM, an explosion shook the building and smoke came from the ceiling. "They have bombs now?"

"Uiharu," Kuroko yelled. "Status report!"

Silence then, "They are trying to bring down the ceiling on us," Kazari replies. "Kagere-san has it under control for now but we need to get the people out of here."

"Understood," she said. "I will be there shortly."

"Hurry," Kazari yells then hangs up.

Kuroko puts her phone away and then teleports to the squad of Anti-Skill members. "I'm from Judgment; I have a status report on the situation." She quickly explains about the terrorist taking hostages, the collapsing ceiling, and an ability user keeping the civilians safe. "I plan to keep teleporting in and out to start evacuating the civilians."

The lead Anti-Skill member was a tall woman with blue black hair tied up into a pony tail. "I'm Aiho Yomikawa and currently in charge. Your plan sounds dangerous, but it is the best we have. With those explosions, we can't break the walls without risking collapse of the entire building. Rescuing the civilians is the first priority. Do not engage any targets. Understand?"

"Yes," Kuroko nods and starts teleporting near the building. _Onee-sama is gone. I hope she is not going to get involved with this mess. She needs to leave it to Judgment and Anti-Skill._ Kuroko stops right outside the wall where the entrance was originally. Thinking back about what the entrance looked like, she was able to picture how far back she needed to teleport to make sure she was past any obstacles. She took a deep breath and teleported in.

The first thing she noticed was the crowd of people standing in the middle of the museum. _Hostages look safe._ The second thing she saw was black shadow tendrils coming from a single individual connected to floating pieces of rubble. _Is that what I think it is?_ She moved forward and called out, "I'm from Judgment! Is anyone hurt?"

"Shirai-san," Kazari called out. "We need to start evacuating. I don't know how long Jason is going to be able to keep this up." Kuroko noticed who the individual controlling the shadow was.

"Kagere-san's the vigilante?" Kuroko asked shocked. The memory from yesterday flared to the front of her mind and she made a fist.

"Shirai-san," Kazari pleaded snapping Kuroko out of her memory. "Please, there's no time, he's the only one keeping us unharmed. You need to get the civilians out."

"Is Saten-san and the ape ok?"

"I'm here," Ruiko said coming out from the crowd. "Kamijou-san ran off though after Kagere-san yelled at him"

 _Damn it,_ Kuroko thought then said, "Ok, first thing first, I'm going start evacuating everyone. I can teleport two people at once. Get in line and let's make this fast." Another explosion rocked the building and several more tendrils started to catch the rubble and fix them back to the ceiling. _What is that ability?_

* * *

Touma dashed down the stairs three at a time. He had to find who was down here and stop whatever they were trying to do. They were willing to take innocent people hostage so whatever they were doing, could not be good. He turned a corner down the last flight of stairs and saw a man in a cloak at the bottom. The man turned and Touma saw that he was wearing a gold mask commonly used in theatrical performances.

"What the…" he started to say before Touma dived down the stairs and punched the man in the stomach knocking him to his knees gasping. Touma quickly kicked him in the head and knocked the man unconscious. Touma stood up, and looked down at the figure. The gold mask was a face of a sad man. _Maybe I can use this as a disguise._ He reached down and tried to remove the mask. The sound of glass shattering and the mask exploded in his right hand.

"Ouch," Touma said jumping back in surprised. "I guess the mask was magical….." He trailed off as he noticed the man's face. There was nothing to his face. It looked like someone just wiped his face clean off, no eyes, no nose, and no mouth. "What are you?" He shook his head. _Now is not the time to delay, there has to be more of them._ He ran off down the hall looking for other. Several open doors were on both sides of the hall. Touma noticed several broken artifacts and scattered instruments in each one. It looks like it has been ransacked as the intruders looked for something. _What could they be looking for?_ He reached the end of the corridor and he heard voices in the last room. He crept near the wall and stayed hidden from sight to try to hear what was going on.

"We found it," a man said.

"About time," a female voice said. "He was getting impatient. Where is Tal?"

"He was checking another room, he should be back soon."

The women sighed. "Are you really that stupid, can't you feel the person outside this room?"

Touma realized the female knew he was there. He stepped out and moved through the open door and entered the large room. This room was destroyed like the others. On the far end stood two more people in cloaks and gold masks, the male had a sad face similar to the guy Touma knocked out, and the female figure, based on her assets, was wearing a smiling mask. "Tal won't be joining you," Touma said. "Give yourself up. We took care of your partner upstairs."

"How dare you take to a priestess like that," the man said to Touma, his voice full of anger. "Sink under the weight of your own arrogance." Touma didn't know what he meant until the ground below him turned into quicksand.

"Shit," Touma said as he started sinking. "He couldn't pull his foot out." The man was laughing. _Wait, it's magic._ He reached down with his hand and touched the sand. He sighed in relief as he heard breaking glass. The sand turned back to stone and Touma was standing on top of it. "Is that all you can do?"

"You, you," the man sputtered before the women took charge.

"Silence," she said and the man instantly shut up. "Well, well, Imagine Breaker boy, I did not expect to see you here today."

"You know me?" Touma asked confused.

"He he," she says giggling. "Yes, we planned to contact you at a later date, but now we might as well take you too."

"I won't let you," Touma said angrily. "I will never go with people who are willing to hurt others for their own gain."

"Sadly," she said, yet her voice was more maliciously gleeful. "You do not have a choice in the matter. Suffer under the weight of your sins…"

There was more but Touma didn't hear it. He body exploded in pain as if he was being burned alive. He fell to the ground twitching and he felt as if he was about to die. He couldn't keep his eyes open from the pain. He was barely able to determine that his right hand didn't hurt. His mind was foggy from the pain but he focused every thought he could to move his hand to his chest. His heart and mind felt like they were going to explode. Inch by inch he finally manage to touch his chest, glass shattered, and the pain stopped. He was lying on the floor but couldn't get the strength to stand. He gasped for air but at least he was alive. He could just barely open his eyes and just make out the man walking towards him.

"His hand is indeed powerful," the male said. "It even broke your Curse of Wrath."

"That is why he is so valuable," she said. "His hand is the ultimate weapon. Take him alive."

"Understood," he said. He crouched near Touma. "Hmm, couldn't we cripple him so that he can't fight back when he can finally move?" He pulls out a long knife with an eerie green blade.

"Do whatever you want," the female said. "But first…" She walks over to him and pulls a small orb out of her cloak. She takes the orb and touches it against Touma's hand. The sound of breaking glass and a flash of blue light appears. She stands up and walks away. "At least the annoying barrier is gone, you can incapacitate him now. But DO NOT KILL HIM, we need him alive."

"Finally," the man said as he raised the knife. Touma was just getting the feeling back in his limbs and he knew he wasn't going to be able to block it. _Shit, is that how it is going to end?_

"Get away from Touma!" a voice yelled. The man looked at the door and was immediately struck by a gigantic lighting strike. Touma wasn't hit but the amount of electricity made all his hair stand on end. The man fell down next to Touma burnt and smoking. Touma was just able to make out the voice and saw the young female standing at the door.

"Biribiri?" he gasped.

"Shut up idiot," she replies. "I got another person to take out." She points to the women in the mask. "I will give you one chance to come quietly. But I will never forgive you for hurting my friends."

"A science puppet too?" the women asked. "Sigh, none of these minions can do anything right." She raised her hands. "Let my Wrath consume all." Dark red flames appeared and circled around her. "Let me see what you are made of little girl," she said laughing and threw a ball of fire at Mikoto.

Mikoto dodged to the right as the fire blew away the door frame and part of the wall. She shot a bolt of electricity in response. The female used her flames like jets to just avoid the blast and fly to the corner of the room. Several spears made of fire appeared around her and flew at Mikoto. Mikoto had to charge several metal artifact pieces in order to boost her jumping power to avoid the spears. Each spear left a two foot hole in the solid stone walls and floor.

Mikoto started sweating. In this confine space the heat from the flames were getting to her. The women didn't care if Touma got hurt as long as he didn't die but Mikoto couldn't fire electricity off everywhere because she was not going to hurt Touma. _I don't really have a choice._ Mikoto reached into her pocket and pulled out a coin. As she was doing this though the female laughed and shot a wave of fire at Mikoto. She realized she was not going to be able to fire off the rail gun in time. She tried to get a wall of electricity to block the flame when suddenly someone jumped in front of her.

Touma gritted his teeth and used all his strength to stand and jumped in front of Mikoto and raised his right hand. The entire wall of fire disappeared as soon as it came into contact with it. Touma stood between Mikoto and the masked female panting, but still being able to stand. "I won't let you hurt her or anyone else," he said.

"Such power," the female said in awe. "I see why he needs you." Before she could say any more Mikoto had shot a bolt of electricity at her knocking her to the ground and smoking. Somehow, the female was still conscious. "I won't fall that easily brat," she spit out angrily getting up on one knee

"You are cornered and no one is going to save you," Mikoto replied confidently.

"Do you really believe that?" a voice whispered.

Mikoto and Touma immediately turned to the wall at the back of the room where the voice came from. The wall was glowing white and from it stepped out a man. This man was tall, easily seven feet, and dressed in red and gold robes. The mask he wore was gold also, but it was the face of an angry man. The reason Mikoto and Touma turned around instantly was the tone of the voice. Ii was quiet, but emitted an aura of command and it was cold. His very words sent shivers down their spine. They both realized this was not a man they wanted to fight.

"I see you have taken care of my servants," he said, his voice chilling them to the bone. He turned to the female. "Do you have it?"

"Yes high priest," she said, gasping as she made her way toward him on the ground. She holds up a small red orb decorated with intricate gold designs. "We even used the boy's power to remove the barrier."

'At least you did something right," he took the orb from her hand and looked at it then looked back at Touma and Mikoto. "You both could have been a real hindrance to my plan. But because I have what I came for, I will let you live. The same cannot be said for the failures." He raised his hand.

A cry of pain came from the unconscious man. Mikoto and Touma turned and looked at him. A strange symbol was glowing yellow on his back and they watched the man start to glow white. Before their eyes he seemed to start disintegrating. In only a few seconds all that was left of the man was a pile of white dust that looked like salt.

"Why did you kill them," Touma yells at him finally regaining his voice.

"The puppets failed me," the man said simply.

"What…What kind of logic is that?" Mikoto said in shock.

"Children cannot understand the workings of this world," he said. "Now I shall leave. Come Wrath." The women nodded and stood up on shaking legs and hurried after the man.

"Not so fast monster," Mikoto called out angrily. She released as much electricity as she could at the man. She needed to stop a guy like him. He would just kill anyone in his way, regardless of their innocence. The electricity went right towards him but appeared to hit a wall of air and reflected randomly around the room.

"The wall that separates this world from the next cannot be broken," he comments and turns around to enter the white wall. The sound of shattering glass stops him and he turns around.

Touma had charged forward and punched the wall of air between him and the masked man. "Now Misaka," he yells as he dives to the floor.

"You are as big of an idiot as ever," she said but at the same time flicking a coin at the masked man. A boom shakes the room as the coin is rocketed forward at several times the speed of sound and covered in electricity. Mikoto had used her most powerful move, the rail gun. She was able to turn that coin, using electro magnetism, into a high speed projectile. The women fell through the white wall but the man was not as lucky. Through the coin missed his vitals, his entire right arm was blown away from the shoulder down and the coin disappeared through the white wall.

"ARGGGG," he yells for a second then he stops. "You brats have angered me for the last time. Next time we meet, I will not be so kind." He steps through the white wall and the glow disappears leaving only a normal wall. One last phase echoed through the room, "You both will suffer."

Mikoto fell to her knees panting. "Who was that guy? His arm was blown off and he barely noticed."

"He's not normal," Touma said trying to get to his feet. "Did you see his arm after it was blown off? There wasn't blood of any kind. It was like his arm was just a decoration."

"We made a serious enemy today didn't we," Mikoto said. Touma nodded and then they made eye contact. For a second they didn't say anything then the broke into nervous laughter. "Just another day for us, right Touma," Mikoto asks.

"Don't I know it Misaka," Touma said sheepishly. "Just my luck…"

"Mikoto."

"What?"

'Call me Mikoto, we are friends right?"

"Yea we are but it feels weird, I still prefer Biribiri."

"MI-KO-TO. Not Misaka, not Biribiri, Mikoto."

"Ok, fine you win Mikoto," Touma says. Mikoto turned away to hide her slight blushing. "But you have to avoid calling me an idiot.

"I can't make promises I can't keep," Mikoto says laughing. "Come on let's get out of here. You are a mess." She helps Touma stand and they both make their way up the stairs.

"I don't hear any explosions anymore," Mikoto said. "I hope they got everyone out."

"By the way," Touma said remembering something. "How did you know I was down here?"

"While Kuroko was teleporting people out, I snuck through a hole in the roof. Several pieces were being blown outside so even with Kagere-san repairing it, some holes remained. I jumped down and heard you had run off down here. I knew you were playing the hero so I came to help. I am glad I did, you really needed it."

"I wasn't playing the hero," Touma said with slight indignation. "They had to be stopped."

"I know," Mikoto said. "You still should have waited for back up. Though, I would have done the same."

They stopped talking as they got to the main floor. There weren't any loud noise so they walked in carefully. The only people left inside the building were Jason, Kuroko, and three Anti-Skill officers. It looks like Anti-Skill broke part of the wall to make a doorway. Kuroko was the first to notice them and immediately teleported over.

"ONEE-SAMA," she cried. "Are you ok? You look terrible." She hugged Mikoto.

"I'm fine get off Kuroko," she said while trying to push Kuroko off with one hand. The other arm was still supporting Touma.

"Onee-sama, why are you hugging this ape? What did you two do down there? You ape, I am going to kill you if you defiled Onee-sama in any way."

Mikoto hit Kuroko in the head. "What are you talking about defiled? Get your head out of the gutter. We ran into some intruders downstairs."

"That's what I want to talk to you about," a female Anti-Skill officer said to them. None of them noticed her walk up.

"Yomikawa-sensei?" Touma asked.

"You seemed to be involved in a lot of dangerous situation Kamijou," she said dryly. "This time though it looks like we can't edit you out. Too many people were involved. The higher ups want a full detailed report on everyone here."

Touma sighed, "I don't really want to be in the center of this."

"Not only you, but Kagere too," Aiho said. "He's wanted through Judgment for being a vigilante. You both cause me so much trouble." She puts her hand on her face. "I think his punishment is going to be light though because he saved a lot of people."

Kuroko and Mikoto were watching Touma and Aiho talk, they both felt like this conversation has happened before between them.

"So there's nothing you can do to get us out of here?" Touma asked.

"No," she sighed. "My direct supervisor demanded we take you all in for questioning. I can't overrule it."

"Hmm," Jason said as he walked over. "So you are saying then if someone higher above in the chain of command said you could let us go, you would?" Everyone looked at him in surprise.

"I could if that was the case," Aiho said hesitantly. "But you would need someone up near the board of director's level to do that."

Jason smiled and reached into his pocket and took out a small brown case. He handed it to Aiho.

"What's this?" she asked as she opened it. Inside the case was some kind of code with Jason's picture.

"Call that in and identify me," Jason said. "See if that does anything."

Aiho shakes her head but gives him the benefit of the doubt. She walks a little way off and activates her communicator.

"What are you doing?" Touma asks Jason.

"Trying to see if we can get out of this mess."

Kuroko glares at him. "You already break laws, how can we even trust you?"

"Kuroko," Mikoto said. "He saved a lot of people including Saten-san and Uiharu."

"Yea but…" she started, she really didn't want to say what happened yesterday because she lost.

"Besides," Mikoto said. "You should be angry at Touma for running off to fight other intruders by himself and not staying with everyone else."

"Hey," Touma said. "You get in trouble by yourself too Mikoto."

Kuroko froze, "When did you two get on a first name basis?!" she yelled. Before anyone could think of an acceptable response, another person yelled to draw everyone's attention.

"THAT CODE IS FOR WHAT?" Aiho yelled into her comm.

Everyone, including the other two Anti-Skill officers, turned to look at Jason. He smiled.

"We might get out of this after all Touma."

* * *

 **Well, that was a fun chapter to write. Not a lot of time actually passed in the story but a lot of things happened. This is the first time I tried to have two different groups of people running at the same time. It was tough to make sure the timing fit, but I felt it worked out decently.**

 **Thank you everyone who read and gave comments, suggestions, and reviews.**


	5. Discovery

**Thanks for reading this far. I got a lot of mixed reviews. I know everyone has their own preferences in what constitutes a good story. I still have fun writing this, and I hope other's have fun reading it.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

"Yomikawa-san, what's wrong?" Kuroko asked worriedly.

Aiho took a quick look at the kids and then motioned the other two Anti-Skill members toward her. She whispered something to them and nodded in acknowledgement. Then they moved toward the entrance and stood watch. Aiho turned to Kuroko and said, "Nothing, just a little surprised an old code like that was used. I thought it was discontinued, but it turns out it was reinstated recently." She looked directly as Jason. "How do you have that code?"

Jason shrugged, "I was just given it and told it could be used in these kinds of eventful situations."

Aiho sighed. "You really want to make this complicated don't you? Kamijou was hard enough, but now you too?"

"Hey," Touma said. "I don't try to get in these situations."

"I don't know what you mean," Jason said. "I didn't realize Touma was even here."

"What?" Touma, Mikoto, and Shirai all said together looking at Jason like he was mad. Aiho was faster on the uptake.

"Hmm," she said. "Maybe you are right. Kamijou was never involved in this situation; I was just reminded of the problems he caused in the past."

"Exactly," Jason said cheerfully. "We were lucky Judgment showed up when they did. Shirai-san was able to evacuate everyone while some vigilante helped prevent the collapse of the building. Uiharu-san was able to keep everything orderly even in the face of the terrorist."

"You're the vigilan….," Kuroko started to say, but Mikoto shushed her, she was beginning to get an idea of what was going on. Touma still had no idea.

"What are you two talking about?" he asked but Jason continued as if he wasn't interrupted.

"We were lucky the Railgun was also nearby and was able to stop the intruders in the basement. A level 5 was easily able to stop them, without help of course. I mean, why would she need it?"

Aiho nods, "Excellent point. Though, I am not sure how the two people who were not here are going to get out unseen."

Kuroko gasped. _How could this guy convince a member of Anti-Skill to falsify a report? That would be breaking the law._ "You can't just make…" she tried to say again but this time Aiho shushed her.

"I'll explain everything later," she whispered. "This is protocol for this situation."

Kuroko nods briefly but still glares at Touma and Jason. She was confused; nothing in her Judgment training prepared her for this situation. Touma finally began to understand what was happening and he caught Mikoto's eye. She gives a slight nod and a wink. They both know whatever code Jason gave to Aiho, it was going to let Touma and Jason escape.

"That's easy," Jason said smiling. "The vigilante was able to escape through the roof of the building. All that rubble left plenty of openings."

"Not much we can do about that," Aiho agreed smiling. "Well one thing for sure, if two of my students were caught here and were making me go through all this extra trouble and paperwork, they would certainly be running laps the next day until the coughed blood."

Touma noticed that remark wiped the smile off Jason's face and Touma knew he probably looked the same way. They both paled and were not looking forward to tomorrow now. Mikoto was trying to hold in a laugh while Kuroko looked like she wanted to yell at the boys. Touma watched at Jason's shadow started to form into large black wings. Another part of the shadow wrapped around Touma's midriff.

"Don't touch the shadow with your hand," Jason whispered. He then jumped into the air and through a hole in the ceiling with Touma getting dragged behind him by the shadow. They landed on the roof and Jason jumped to the nearest building.

Touma looked down and saw several people pointing upwards in shock. It probably was an unusual sight, seeing something dark flying from building to building. The shadow blocked any view of their faces so Touma was pretty sure they would not be recognized. But he was getting a little nauseous as they jumped from building to building. He realized the wings actually didn't allow Jason to fly; they just gave him extra propulsion and slowed down the fall to give him greater distance. Eventually they were far enough away that Jason could land in an ally and let Touma go.

Touma leaned against a wall slightly sick. "Could you have made that ride smoother?"

Jason laughed as the shadow left him and he looked normal once again. "Nah, building hopping was the fastest way to get out of there."

'So are you going to explain what that code was about," Touma asked. "And who those people were? You seemed to know they were after something." It occurred to him how little he knew about Jason.

Jason nodded. "I will," he said hesitantly. "But not here, back at the apartment. We don't want anyone to overhear. Besides, there's an eavesdropper nearby and she probably wants to hear this too." He points and Touma looks up.

"Mikoto?" he asked in shock.

Mikoto jumps down from the roof. "I snuck out of there and followed you two. I want to know what is going on."

Jason sighed, "Fine, besides, I don't have all the answers but I can tell you what I know."

Back at Jason's apartment, Touma, Jason, Mikoto, and Index were sitting in the middle of the room. Touma had brand new bite marks all over his body when Index found out he had dashed off and dealt with strange magicians by himself.

"What do you want to know?" Jason asks them.

"What was that code about?" Mikoto asked, "And what did it have to do with those intruders?"

"Oh," Jason asked. "Do you know about magic?"

"Magic isn't real," Mikoto says.

"Magic does exist," Index says angrily.

"Well to speed things up to answer your questions," Jason replied. "Magic is a lot like the abilities developed in academy city except there are two main differences. One, it follows a different set of rules, but there are rules nonetheless, this is important to know. Two, it's a lot more versatile in many aspects. If you are interested in knowing more, Index here is a lot more knowledgeable then I am. Not long ago, Touma rescued me from some rogue scientists, who captured me for some kind of weird experiment. Afterwards, I went and met with the Superintendent of Academy City." He face darkens a little. "That person never seems to miss anything important going on in the city. Well, he helped me getting back into school in exchange for two things. One was helping out in the research and development division and two, to join a special division of Anti-Skill."

"Wait," Touma said. "Why would they ask a high school student to help with the research department?"

"Because," Jason sighed. "Academics wise, I am way past college level. I just wanted to go to high school like a normal student. So I made the excuse that going through a normal curriculum would help me understand the current status of level development."

"What?" Mikoto asks in response to this announcement. "You mean you don't even need school."

"Well not for educational purposes," Jason said shrugging. "I never got to attend school so I made sure that was in the agreement. I finally got the city to agree. That's why you don't see me a lot outside of school Touma."

"I wondered about that," Touma said remembering what he thought of Jason the day after they escaped. "That explained were you went off to right after we got out of that area."

Mikoto looks back and forth between the two but decided she didn't need the specifics this time. Index had already heard this before. "So this division of Anti-Skill," Mikoto said. "What's special about it to have gotten you two out of that situation?"

"Well," Jason said hesitating slightly. "You could say it's the Anti-Magic division. It was set up to deal with rogue magicians who entered the city. Because of the tensions between magic and science, you can't have ability users directly fighting magicians alone. I, somehow, was able to survive experiments to use both an ability and magic. So they decided I would be the optimal person to restart that division. There are a few privileges such as being able to get involved in certain cases, like the one at the museum."

"Survived?" Mikoto asked.

"Remember those rules of magic I talked about," Jason said and his voice turned dark. "It turns out they conflict with the rules of ability development. The last few people to try to learn both died. Originally they didn't know what would happen."

Mikoto's eyes widened but decided not to continue that discussion.

"Why would you leading the division be any less problematic then if anyone else led it?" Touma asked.

'That's easy," Indexed piped up after being unusually quiet. "He was somehow able to break the boundaries between magic and science. So if he led a group against mages or ability users, each side could not say that the other side specifically wanted to start a war. Each side could simply say they used a neutral third party who could use magic against magic or science against science." Jason nodded in agreement.

"What were they after anyways?" Jason asked Touma and Mikoto.

Touma scratched his head. "I actually don't know what it was. It was a red sphere with gold designs on it. It was at the museum though, so it had to be a Greek artifact. The female magician touched it against my hand and there was a flash of blue light"

"It sounds like a Virlerud," Index says. "Many people originally thought they were prophecies but they are actually archives by individuals. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. By infusing it with your mana, you can learn the information stored within them. The blue light was probably a barrier to protect it and was negated by your hand Touma."

"So they were after information then," Touma said thinking.

Index nodded, "I can't tell you what kind of information though unless you know more details on the designs."

"They also mentioned they wanted you too, Touma," Mikoto said. "They just didn't realize you were going to be there."

"Arg," Touma said hitting his face with his hand. "Just another thing on my list of misfortunes"

Mikoto glanced at a clock on the wall. "Shit, I have to go, it's almost curfew and she will kill me if I'm late." With a bolt she takes off through the door.

"Sigh," Touma said. "What now?"

"Well," Jason said. "I was always curious about experimenting with your Imagine Breaker. Would you be interested? I could guarantee you would get reimbursed for your time."

Touma glared at him while Jason just smiled innocently.

* * *

The next day Touma was too busy thinking about last night's conversation to realize something was wrong. He entered his class and after a few seconds he realized the class was unnaturally silent. Touma looked around and saw that everyone was staring at him in shock. His warning alarms began buzzing but he could not think of a reason for this. He made his way to his desk and sat down, now aware of everyone eyes following him. He noticed that Pierce and Motoharu were staring too with their mouths open. Finally, against his better judgment, he asked them, "What?"

Suddenly, the class exploded as one. "KAMIJOU FINNALLY GOT A GIRLFRIEND!"

The force of the entire class's yell caused Touma to cover his ears. "What are you guys talking about?" he yelled at everyone.

He found himself in a headlock by Pierce. 'Kamijou, you b $$&%!^, how dare you get a girlfriend before me, especially such a cute younger one."

"Kami-yan," Motoharu said while shaking his head. "Do you think we wouldn't find out about this? All your denial about not having a girlfriend and were looking for one."

"Huh?" Kamijou spluttered while still trapped in a headlock by Pierce.

Motoharu pulled out his cell phone and showed a picture of him being dragged by Ruiko into the museum. The angle of the picture told him it could only be one person. _JASON, I am going to kill you._

"He's not denying it," Motoharu called out to the class who all gaped and started yelling excitedly. The noise caused Komoe to rush into the class.

"What's going on with Kamijou-chan?" she called out. No one was surprised she knew who the center of the commotion was.

"Kami-yan got himself a real girlfriend," Motoharu called out to her. Komoe's mouth dropped open in shock and tears began to well up in her eyes.

"Dang it, Kamijou," Pierce said tightening the headlock. "You always said you were into Onee-san types, yet you always seem to be around younger girls. You even made Komoe-sensei cry."

Kamijou struggled and finally loosen Pierce's grip. 'Why is everyone surprised that I can go on a date?"

"BECAUSE IT"S YOU KAMIJOU." The class yelled in unison.

* * *

Touma was glad when the school day finally ended. He was tired, both mentally and physically. He was questioned constantly by his classmates and Motoharu and Pierce interrogated him every chance they got. To top it off, Yomikawa-sensei kept her promise and had made him run laps all class period while everyone else just had to do sprints. He almost threw up before the end of gym class. He was packing all of his school supplies and was one of the last ones to leave when someone called out to him.

"Hey Hero," Accelerator said. "I need to talk to you."

Touma turned and saw that Accelerator was glaring at him. _What did I do now?_ "Yes?"

Accelerator looked at the door. "This is about Last Order," he says. "She recently found out about birthdays from Yomikawa. They decided this Saturday would be her birthday party since she didn't really have a birth date. The problem is," he grimaced and it looked like he wanted to vomit. "She wants you at her party."

"Huh," Touma asked not sure he heard right.

"She wants YOU, the F#&*!&^ Hero, at her party."

"AH," Touma said realizing he heard correctly. "That shouldn't be a problem."

Accelerator nods, "One other thing." This time he looked like he really wanted to punch someone, Touma hoped it wasn't going to be him. "I have no idea what to get that brat."

Touma stared at him with wide eyes, and then he involuntary let out a laugh before he could stop himself. He found Accelerator's hand gripping Touma's collar and nothing but anger and murder in his eyes.

"Did you want to die?"

"No," Touma says. "I was just surprised you would ask me for something like that."

"Tsk," Accelerator spat out. "I hear the brat has similar interests to the third rate, and you know her. So you are the best choice. You also don't have a big mouth and spread this crap to everyone."

 _Ah, he means Mikoto._ "Yea I can help," he says. "Did you want to go today?" _If I refused, he probably would try to kill me. But he does appear to really care about Last Order._

He nodded but looked like he wanted to do anything else besides this. "I'll meet you at the underground mall. I have to ditch the kid first."

Touma nods and thought to himself. _Well, this is going to be different._

* * *

"This makes me so mad," Kuroko complains hitting her head on a wall.

"Shirai-san," Kazari said. "There must have been a reason why Yomikawa-san let them go."

"Take his side because you like him," Kuroko snapped while Kazari blushed. Mikoto hit Kuroko on her head.

"Stop taking your frustration on Uiharu-san," Mikoto says.

Kuroko looks at Mikoto with big sad eyes. "Onee-sama, please say that the ape isn't going to steal you away from me." She teleports into Mikoto and gives her a hug, which causes her to get hit again.

"He's not going to steal me away from anything," Mikoto says turning slightly red.

"Besides Shirai-san," Ruiko says happily. "He's with me. He was so cool, saving us, and then dashing off to stop those intruders all by himself." Mikoto felt a slight sick feeling in her stomach at Ruiko's words.

"Doesn't matter how cool or brave people think it was," Kuroko sniffed. "Civilians can't just deliberately run into dangerous situations by themselves."

 _She would flip out if she knew how many times Touma has done that,_ Mikoto thinks to herself smiling slightly.

"Shirai-san," Kazari says nervously. "Is this the place you were talking about?"

Kuroko looks and smiles. "Yep, it just opened."

Everyone else just stared at the store. Kuroko had told them a new clothing store opened up at the mall and convinced everyone to come with her. None of them were told it wasn't a normal clothing store. It was a very…exotic…. underwear store. Mikoto, Ruiko, and Kazari just stared at the store as Kuroko walked in.

"She can't be serious," Mikoto said hitting her face with her hand.

"Shirai-san has a very…interesting…choice in clothing," Kazari said choosing her words carefully.

"Hmm," Ruiko says thinking. "It couldn't hurt to take a look around. There might be something I like." She grabs Kazari and drags her in. "You need to come too; you might find something to impress a certain guy."

"Saten-san," Kazari cried turning beet red as she was dragged in.

 _There is no way I am going in there,_ Mikoto thought to herself and went the opposite way. She never understood Kuroko's taste in underwear. Kuroko always wanted extremely erotic ones. Mikoto liked cute ones, like ones with Gekota, a popular frog character. She new Kuroko was going to take awhile in that store but was surprised Ruiko wanted to go in there too. She sighed, _might as well kill some time_. To let out some steam she went to the arcade and proceeded to set the daily record in the punch machine.

Feeling better, she went to check out her favorite store, they usually had a lot of Gekota merchandise and she wanted to see if they had any new ones she didn't have. When she got close to the store she saw someone she never thought to see here, leaning up against a pillar on his cell phone outside that store. She decided to sneak up on him. When she got close she finally called to him.

"Hey Touma," she said cheerfully. "What are you doing here?"

"Ah hey Mikoto," Touma said looking up. "Just here with a friend."

"Oh, buying someone Gekota merchandise?" she asked slyly nudging him in the arm. "I don't think Ruiko is interested in that stuff."

"Ah my friend is getting it for someone's birthday," Touma said nervously. "I'm just hanging out with him."

"Jason?"

"Nah, he's off doing who knows what."

"He is probably off making Judgment and Anti-Skill's life more difficult."

Touma laughs, "I wouldn't doubt that."

"Onee-sama," Kuroko's voice called, "I'm glad we finally found you… What are you doing with that ape?"

"Oh no," Mikoto sighed as Kuroko teleported between them with Kazari and Ruiko following.

"Hi," Ruiko said to Touma when she saw who Mikoto was talking to.

"Hi Saten-san," Touma said smiling at her.

"You can call me Ruiko," she said grabbing his arm. "I also never got a chance to thank you for your help yesterday."

Touma smiled and turned slightly red. "You're welcome; though I just did what anyone would have done. You can call me Touma too." Ruiko smiles back at him.

"Is Jason here?" Kazari asked.

"No, he's off working I think."

"He better not be running around as a vigilante again," Kuroko said angrily. "He caused enough problems. Do you know how much paperwork had to be done because of your stunt?"

"Well, umm," Touma sputtered. "I didn't know much about what happened."

Mikoto was trying not to laugh as Kuroko put Touma on the spot. Kazari was trying, unsuccessfully, to keep Kuroko calm.

"Hey Hero," a voice said. "I've finally got this trash. Stupid people kept holding up the line." Everyone turned to see the white haired skinny kid approach Touma. He looked around at all the newcomers. "Pssh, I see everyone at school was right about you."

"What are you doing here?" Mikoto said in surprise but also with a hint of anger. She still had a grudge against him for what he did in the level 6 experiment.

"If it isn't the third rate," Accelerator says sarcastically while sneering. "I wonder what I could possibly be doing in a mall." Mikoto saw he was carrying a large bag.

"How dare you refer to Onee-Sama that way," Kuroko raged. "She is the number three level five, the Ace of Tokiwadai, and known as the Rail Gun. Who are you to talk that way to her?" She grew redder when Accelerator burst out laughing. "How dare you…"

"Kuroko stop," Mikoto says putting her hand on Kuroko's shoulder. "Don't mess with him."

"But Onee-sama," Kuroko said. "I can't let him talk that way about you. Who does he think he is?"

Mikoto sighs, "You know the number one level five in the city?" Kuroko nods. "That's Accelerator."

Kuroko's eyes widen while Accelerator just laughs. "So girl, do you want to go at it," he says smiling, though smiling just makes him look slightly insane.

Kuroko's face goes white. Everyone present has heard how powerful Accelerator is. She realized how big of a mistake she made. "Even so," Kuroko says trying to sound tough but her voice dropped a notch. "He shouldn't talk that way about you."

Touma stepped in between them. "Accelerator, there's no need to fight." _Accelerator doesn't know how to hold back. Someone could get seriously hurt if they fight._

Accelerator glares at him, "Pssh, you and your hero act." He turns to walk away when Ruiko calls out.

"Wow, you are the number one? I've never seen you in person before." She reaches out and shakes his hand before he realized what happened. He just stares at her like she's something he has never seen before. "So how do you know Touma?"

Touma and Mikoto both gulped, neither of them knew what Accelerator was going to say. They noticed he gave them a quick glance before shrugging. "We met unexpectedly and sort of got stuck together." Touma let out a sigh on the inside. While it was true, he at least left out a lot of details that would have been problematic for others to hear.

"So Touma," Ruiko said turning back to him. "I never got a chance to ask, what level are you? You were able to fight off the terrorists and you know several high level ability users. You must be a pretty high level right?" This question caused everyone to stare at Touma. Mikoto was the only one who knew he could negate her ability but she didn't know his full power or level.

"Actually," Touma said, aware of all the eyes on him. "I am only a level 0."

"Huh," Ruiko, Kazari, and Kuroko said. Mikoto hit her face with her hand. _That idiot always says that but it can't be true._ Accelerator however punched the pillar. "Bullshit, there's no way you are a level 0." Everyone looks at him in surprise. "If you are going to lie about that shit, maybe I'll force it out of you." He reaches for the collar on his neck.

"Now Accelerator," Touma said backing away. "There's no need for that, such misfortune." He turns and runs down the corridor with Accelerator in close pursuit. While the rest of the group watches with confusion and a hint of amusement.

"That was interesting," Kazari said. "I didn't know he was friends with Accelerator."

Ruiko was laughing, "Yea, they certainly seem like a fun pair."

Kuroko just stared off watching those two run off. "Should we be worried a level five is after a level zero?"

"I'm sure he will be fine," Mikoto says. "I doubt he is a level zero."

"That does seem unusual that he would be considered a level zero," Kazari said. "From what I saw, he definitely did have an ability."

"Well, why don't we look up his power?" Ruiko suggested.

"Hmm," Kuroko said. "I am slightly interested in his power but there's no way that barbarian could be a high level ability user."

"I actually want to know his ability too," Mikoto said.

"It's settled then," Ruiko says cheerfully. "Mission to discover Touma's hidden power." The four girls head off and find a table in the corner of the food court and watch Kazari pull up the information on Touma.

"Well?" Mikoto says.

"According to the database, Touma Kamijou is labeled as a level zero," Kazari says while examining her laptop. "Hmm, results show he does not have aptitude in any area of ability development. That's unusual but not unheard of."

"Unless he somehow can hide his ability or hacked the city's database to change his information," Kuroko said. "I guess he is a level zero."

"Dang," Ruiko said. "I thought he would have some amazing ability. Well, that makes what he did even more impressive."

Mikoto sighs. _Maybe he is really telling the truth. Then how does he keep negating my power?_ "Would it be possible that his power couldn't be detected?"

"With the latest technology," Kuroko responds, "that should be impossible."

"Umm," Kazari says suddenly. "I think I might have found something. I dug into the database a little bit more and may have done something I shouldn't have done, but I found this." The other three girls crowd around the computer.

"Category: Unranked?" Mikoto asks. "What's that?"

Kazari clicked on the Category link and read off, "The following three individuals unique abilities have been classified as Unranked. The reason for this hidden classification is that their abilities have not been fully or are incapable of being measured."

"Whoa," Ruiko said her eyes widening. "I bet you hacked this didn't you. Keep going."

Kazari turned pink but just kept reading. "The following three individuals are as followed, Suzuki Hibatani, Touma Kamijou, and Jason Kagere."

"Kagere-san in on there too," Kuroko said. "Click on his link first, I want to know his ability." Kazari nods and clicks.

"Let's see, Name: Jason Kagere, Age: 15, school, birth date, and here we are, ability. He is currently labeled a level 4. His ability's name is Shadow World. Weird, they gave him the nickname, thought that was saved for level 5's, Nightmare."

"Sounds ominous," Ruiko interrupts.

"His ability, Shadow World, has not been fully studied," Kazari read as if she had not been interrupted. "While first glance indicates it is level 4 ability, there have been indications in the research that his ability is much higher. For some reason, he is either hiding his ability or has some problem where he can't or won't access his power. The ability, as of now, allows him to manipulate his shadow into a physical form. This allows him to use his ability both to attack and defend along with providing many types of utility, such as basic flight and tools."

"Well," Kuroko says. "That would explain what he did yesterday. Creating vines and wings in order to fly and stop the falling debris."

"Look at Touma's next," Ruiko says.

"Hold on," Kazari says. "How is this possible?"

"What is it?" Mikoto asks.

"According to this, Kagere-san has been appointed as the head of the Research and Development for Ability User's Curriculum and is a member of an organization called LOCK-DOWN."

"What," Mikoto asked. "He is in charge of setting up the curriculum for ability development?" _He mentioned that last night but didn't specify which area he worked in._

"Looks like it," Kazari said. "But I don't understand how this would be possible. No student should be appointed to a head research position. I've also never heard of LOCK-DOWN before, have you?" Everyone else shook their head.

"Could this be a fake page?" Kuroko asked.

"If it is," Kazari said, "this would be one of the best forgeries I have ever seen. It appears to be legit."

"Look up Touma's," Ruiko said again.

"Let's see, Touma Kamijou age 16," Kazari said. "Ability's name is Imagine Breaker and, wow, his nickname is God of Misfortune."

"Cool," Ruiko said. "So he does have an ability and what's with that nickname?"

"With his luck, that kind of fits," Mikoto said smirking.

"Imagine Breaker is an unknown ability. Field tests have shown that it has the ability to directly interfere and cancel another individual's reality. How this occurs, further testing is required. It is hypothesized that long term exposure to his ability could cause permanent destruction of others reality."

"What?" all four of them gasped.

"His ability can cancel out other abilities?" Kuroko asked shocked.

"Ha, I knew that rumor was true," Ruiko said fist punching the air. "The individual who could cancel abilities was Touma."

"So that's his ability," Mikoto mumbled. She had expected this but now she had actual evidence to support her theory.

"What's scary is his ability may be able to permanently negate others ability," Kazari said. "There's more. Imagine Breaker has shown it can cancel any level of ability. Touma Kamijou has faced and defeated two level 5 abilities. Current technology has not been able to measure this phenomenon so he is temporarily classified as level 0. It is hypothesized that should this ability be controlled, it may pass that of a level 5."

Everyone turned to Mikoto. "Onee-Sama, is the rumors about you and Accelerator being defeated by a level 0 true. Was this ape the one who beat you?"

Mikoto looked at them and sighed she didn't really want to admit it, but now would be as good of time as ever. "Yes, I have challenged him many times but could never beat him. In fact, my attacks could never touch him unless he deliberately let them. He never fought back either, even when he had a chance to. I also saw him defeat Accelerator with my own eyes. But for whatever reason he doesn't spread that around." Ruiko and Kazari's eyes widen while Kuroko looks dumbstruck.

Before any of them can question Kazari further, her phone rings. She looks down and smiles. "Ah it's Kagere-san." Before she picks it up Kuroko grabs it from her hand.

"Kagere-san," Kuroko says into the phone. "You got a lot of explaining to do about yesterday." Silence. "I don't care about that, you will tell me." Her face turns white then red with anger. "Like hell that will happen." Silence. "Arg, I'm going to get you back." She tosses the phone to Kazari and grabs her head. "I can't deal with him."

"What did he say?" Mikoto asked thinking he probably did something sarcastic.

"He says he will tell me about yesterday but says I have to do something impossible first."

"I expect he said that so you would stop questioning him," Ruiko says smiling.

"I won't let him win," Kuroko says with fire in her eyes. "I'll do the impossible even if it kills me."

Everyone looked at her like she was crazy.

* * *

 **I figured now would be as good as time as any to introduce Jason's ability along with my take on Touma's Imagine Breaker. Accelerator is definitely going to have a much bigger part in the future. I plan for him and Touma to have some fun escapades. Not always willingly though.**

 **As for the impossible task for Kuroko, you will have to wait till next chapter, I'm sure everyone will enjoy it.**

 **After writing this, I realized a pairing may occur that I did not originally plan for. I try to make sure everything that happens occurs as naturally as possible, just another joy of writing.**


	6. Girl Trouble

**I have a lot of fun writing these and it seems like a lot of you enjoy reading these too. Some people don't but everyone has different tastes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

Touma was staring blankly at the board as Komoe was instructing the class on kinetic motion and its relationship with telekinetic abilities. He wasn't really paying attention though. The last couple days really wore him out and all he wanted to do was sleep. A simple date became a life and death struggle against magicians, then the next day he helped one of his most temperamental classmates with what should have been a simple task. Accelerator chased him around for a good 20 minutes because he didn't believe that Touma was just a level 0. Afterwards, when Accelerator decided to head home, Touma decided to buy a present for Last Order too.

Touma did get to release some stress though. Jason had attended class today and the first thing Touma did when he saw him was put him in a headlock for passing out that photo to everyone. Motoharu and Pierce decided it looked fun and joined the fight too. This led Seiri to issue out another dose of pain to all four of them. So now, Touma had to try to pay attention while bruise and aching all over. He gazed out across the field as another class was playing soccer. _I wonder when I can meet Ruiko again._ He thought of her but for some reason Mikoto's face kept popping into his mind. _Why am I thinking of her so much?_

"Komoe-Sensei," Pierce called out. "Kamijou is watching the cheerleaders instead of your lesson." The entire class turned to look at him and Touma wasn't fast enough to pretend he was paying attention.

"No I wasn't," Touma strongly denied but it was too late. He saw Komoe had tears in her eyes, a fact everyone else in the class noticed.

"I didn't realize my teaching was so boring," Komoe sniffed. "Sensei will work harder to make sure class is exciting for you Kamijou-chan."

The entire class glared at Touma while several of them shouted encouragements to Komoe about how she is a great teacher and Touma's just being Touma. Pierce, Motoharu, and Jason were cracking up at the fact Touma got into so much trouble. Accelerator was looking at the class like they were monkeys at a zoo. After two days with them, he started to get use to everyone's shenanigans but it still surprised him how quickly they went insane, even over little things. He would never admit it, but because the class work was so easy for him, these types of situations were the most entertaining part of the day.

"Oh yes," Komoe said clapping her hands together. "Before I forget, as many of you know, starting next week is the annual Grand Ability Dual Tournament between schools. It is a chance for everyone to use their abilities to the fullest in supervised two on two simulated combat. Every class gets two students as their representatives and you will have a chance to compete with all the other schools if you place first in ours. We need to decide on who will be our representatives."

"Why even bother," someone called out. "Those rich advance schools and their high levels always win these kinds of tournaments."

"Don't think like that," Komoe said wagging her finger. "You should never give up before you start. It's also a chance for you to push your skills to the limit. In some cases, we have had students increase in level after a match. Combat experience has shown to be a great factor in improving your abilities."

"Finally!" Seiri stood up and shouted boldly. "A chance for us to show victory is achieved through guts and determination and just because they go to a fancy school, doesn't mean they are better than us." The class, getting fired up, started yelling at each other on who should represent their class. Eventually, their eyes all started to turn to a certain white haired youth.

"What?" Accelerator said noticing everyone was staring at him. He had stopped paying attention at the word tournament. Being the strongest, he never cared about entering those kinds of events. It was just for lower levels to try to fight stronger opponents to make themselves believe they were special.

"Accelerator," Seiri said. "You would be the best choice to lead our team to victory in this tournament."

"Pssh," he grunted. "That sounds stupid and I don't want to deal with the hassle. I'm already the strongest."

"Don't be like that," Seiri said marching near him and speaking for the class. "We know you're strong and, even if you don't think it, all of us see you as part of the class. You should represent us. We would even let you choose your partner since you would know who could work the best with you."

Accelerator opened his mouth for a second to refuse but gave the room a quick glance. He saw that the majority of the class was looking at him hopefully. He sighed, he really didn't want to do this, but with this class, he would never hear the end of this no matter how many times he refused. That would be just as annoying as participating in the actual tournament. Then he thought of the person who he would want as his team member, not that he needed help, and smirked with ill intentions. "Ok, if I can decide who the other member is, I suppose I can use this to relieve some stress." The class cheered in unison.

"We actually have a chance this time."

"We are going to show those snobby rich schools what's up."

"Excellent," Seiri said cheerfully. "Who did you want as your partner? Yana-san is a level three pyrotechnic." She points to a short girl in the corner of the class who shakes her head frantically. Accelerator's smirk widened and he pointed to one student. This caused everyone in the class to gap at him.

"KAMIJOU?!" they yelled in unison.

"ME?" Touma shouted in surprise.

"Yep," Accelerator said grinning and leaning back in his chair. "I won't accept anyone else."

"Well," Seiri said with surprise. "Looks like you are going to represent us too Kamijou. Don't you dare try to weasel your way out of this or give up halfway. If you do," she cracks her knuckles, "It won't be pretty."

"But," Touma sputtered. "I'm a level 0, I'll get massacred."

"Kamijou-chan," Komoe said kindly recovering from her shock. "Accelerator-chan chose you, so he must have confidence in your strength. Besides, you get extra credit for participating in this tournament and you definitely need it. If you do well, you might be able to avoid summer supplementary classes. Who knows, your abilities may finally awaken during this event."

"Ha, Kami-yan," Motoharu said laughing. "You can't get out of this one."

"Such misfortune," Touma cried slamming his head on the desk while Accelerator laughs silently to himself.

 _I will discover the hero's ability; this tournament will be the perfect opportunity._

* * *

Touma had no idea what happened to the rest of the day. One minute class had just started and he was forcefully dragged into a dangerous tournament where high level ability users demonstrated their destructive prowess. The next minute, the last bell rang and he left school with the rest of the class. He barely even registered what Pierce and Motoharu were talking about.

"So Kami-yan," Motoharu says smacking him on the back. "Looks like a lucky break, getting a chance to get out of supplementary classes."

"Who are you kidding?" Pierce replies laughing. "Kamijou and luck in the same sentence? You know the only thing that will happen is he will lose, yet somehow end up with several girls falling in love with him. His luck is only with women."

"Curse you Kami-yan," Motoharu said punching Touma in the arm. "Stop getting girls to love you. Don't you have enough already? Save some for the rest of us mortals."

The punch seemed to wake up Touma. "I don't have girls falling in love with me. I just recently went on one single date with ONE girl, then the museum got attacked….luckily Judgment took care of the situation." He quickly added that last part because he didn't want people to know the part he played in that struggle. "That's my luck."

"Don't give me that," Motoharu said. "You can't go one day without a girl falling for you."

"Hey who's that?" Pierce said pointing at the school gate. "That looks like a Tokiwadai uniform."

Touma froze. _Why would Biribiri be here?_ However, when he turned to look it wasn't Mikoto. Instead he saw a pair of pigtails, it was Kuroko. She was leaning on the school gate frowning slightly. Touma instinctively gulped. He had no idea why she would be here. _Please be after Jason._

Pierce had walked up to Kuroko ignoring the stopped Touma. "Hello there, waiting for someone?"

Kuroko nodded in response and as she turned slightly she spotted Touma. She quickly teleported right in front of Touma and gazed up at him to directly look him in the eyes. Touma had no idea what was going to happen but he had a feeling it wasn't going to be good. Usually when she met him, it ended with him getting kicked or chased around with those spikes she keeps on her for Judgment duties. _What's with her eyes? It doesn't look like she's angry but seems to be fighting with herself._ Suddenly, Kuroko burst into a big smile.

"Kamijou-sempai," she said cheerfully. "I finally found you." She suddenly gave him a hug and he felt her chest right up against him. He had no idea what to do in this situation and looked at his friends for help. Both of them were just staring at him with their mouths open in shock.

"Umm, Shirai-san," Touma asked hesitantly, she looked up at him. "What are you doing here?"

"To see you of course silly," she said giggling. Touma's blood froze. This was not like her at all. He had the feeling something bad was going to happen.

"What did you need me for?" he asked knowing he was going to regret the answer.

"I just wanted to tell you something important," Shirai said. She took his hand and cupped it in her hands. Then, way more loudly then needed, shouted "I LOVE YOU KAMIJOU-SEMPAI, please go out with me."

It was Touma's turn to be frozen in shock as he just gaped at Kuroko. He felt as if he had fallen into a parallel world. She hated him, so why on earth was she doing this? He looked at her face, she was really red, but he noticed something else appeared in her eyes, something familiar he knew all too well. Beneath her fake innocent confessing girl exterior, he saw an endless abyss of hatred and rage.

"Uh, what?" Touma sputtered both shocked and afraid. He was well aware of everyone staring at him. Kuroko stood on her tiptoes and it looked like she was about to kiss him on the cheek but instead she whispered…

"I am going to kill you after this, enjoy it while it lasts ape."

Everyone around them was beginning to take out their phone to get a picture of Touma getting a love confession. Motoharu was still in shock, but Pierce regained his voice. "KAMIJOU, you glorious B $$%^#, you got another one. CAN'T YOU GO FOR ONE DAY WITHOUT GETTING A GIRL?"

Kuroko realized she can't stay here any longer and grabs Touma and runs off at high speed before everyone gets a chance to get a good shot of both of them together. Motoharu and Pierce were yelling at Touma as the very red Kuroko dragged him away out of their sight. On the second floor of the school, unknown to Touma and Kuroko, a very amused Jason was leaning out the window. He had watched this entire scene unfold with his phone out.

"Wow," he muttered to himself. "I can't believe she actually did that. Did I misread her? I thought for sure that would be an impossible task for her. Shit, I'll have to keep my end of the deal then. Well, for now, let's see…and send." He clicked a button on his phone.

* * *

"I'm telling you it's true," said Ruiko to Kazari and Mikoto as the three of them hung out at the park. "Lots of new rumors are appearing online, but some have been verified."

"You need to stop believing all those rumors," Mikoto said rolling her eyes. "It's not like they are true."

"You mean like the stripping lady and the boy who can cancel powers?" Ruiko replied with a smirk.

"Fine," Mikoto grumbled. "You got me there."

Kazari smiled trying to humor Ruiko. "Most rumors usually have some basis in fact."

"Exactly," said Ruiko beaming. "I know not all of them are true, so I look for the ones with enough witnesses to verify it."

"Still, the ghost girl who makes single girls fall in love can't be true," Mikoto says. "Ghosts don't exist."

"But there's been a lot of sightings," Ruiko said pointing to the webpage on her phone. "Plenty of girls have said the ghost made them confess to people and they started a romantic relationship afterwards."

"That does seem unlikely," Kazari said hesitantly, and then her phone beeped. "Hmm, it's a video message from Jason."

"Open it," Ruiko and Mikoto said. "If he sent it, it's probably funny."

"Ok," Kazari said and opened it. All three of them gathered to watch the video on her phone and every one of them froze in shock. When they heard "I love you Kamijou-senpai," they all looked at each other in disbelief. The last bit they saw, before Kuroko ran off with Touma, was her leaning up to Touma's cheek. The video ended and Kazari looked up to the other two at a loss for words.

Silence permeated the air then, "WHAT THE HECK IS SHE DOING?" Mikoto yelled flaring up.

"How could Shirai-san confess to Touma?" Ruiko asked in shocked. "She knows he's with me."

"But, " Kazari stuttered, "Shirai-san doesn't like boys, does she?"

"Well, judging by the fact she tries to do perverted things to me every day," Mikoto muttered. 'I don't believe so, though it's possible."

"Well," Ruiko said. "She's our friend so I want to give her the benefit of the doubt, but, "Mikoto saw Ruiko had clenched her fist as she trailed off with a sad look in her eye.

"I'm sure she had a good reason," Mikoto said putting her hand on Ruiko's shoulder. "If she doesn't, I'll make sure to give her a good shock." Ruiko smiles in thanks. "Uiharu, can you find out where they are?"

Kazari sighs while nodding and pulls out her laptop.

* * *

Kuroko didn't stop till she and Touma were far away from his school and no one would be able to recognize them. When she finally stopped, she leaned up against a wall panting slightly, her face red from embarrassment and fatigue. Touma was in the same condition as he put his hand on the wall to balance himself. "What was that about?" Touma gasped bewildered.

"Shut up ape," she said still bright red. "Let me think for a moment. Arg, I can't believe I did that. Onee-sama, please forgive me." Touma just watched in amazement as Kuroko beat her head against a wall. This situation seemed oddly familiar to him.

"Umm, Shirai-san?" Touma finally asked again timidly. "What was that all about?" She turned and glared at him and an aura of death appeared around her. Touma saw that her eyes were glowing red and he felt like his life was about to end, as it begun to flash before his eyes.

"I have no choice," she says her eyes glowing. "Ape, you have to die. I'll apologize to Saten-san later." She took out the spikes she kept attached to her leg.

Touma took a step back. "Now there's no need to get hasty." He began to feel like this was going to be the end for him when a lighting strike hit Kuroko and she fell to the ground unconscious. Normally in this situation he would have ran from the only person he knew who could do that. This time he turned in gratitude. "Thanks a…." he started to say but saw Mikoto had a red gleam in her eye and it was not much of an improvement from Kuroko's. He barely registered that Ruiko and Kazari arrived panting as they tried to keep up with Mikoto.

"What the hell were you two doing?" she roared.

"Touma?" Ruiko asked hesitantly. Touma saw her eyes looked afraid of what his response was going to be.

He raised his hands, "Nothing, I swear. Someone please explain to me what just happened. How did you all know about this anyways?"

Kazari took out her phone and showed the video of the confession. "Jason sent it."

Touma slapped his head with his hand. "Jason," he muttered. "Somehow, I know this is his fault."

"It might have been the ghost girl," Ruiko said. Touma just looked at her confused. "Ah never mind, it's just a rumor."

"In a minute we will hear it from Kuroko," Mikoto said watching the charcoaled body at her feet start stirring. "I'm sure she will have a great explanation for us." She dragged Kuroko's body to a bench and waited for her to awaken. When Kuroko finally opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Mikoto.

"Onee-sama," she called out. "I had the worst nightmare…." She stopped as Mikoto hit her on the head.

"What could you have possibly been thinking?" Mikoto said through gritted teeth. Kuroko saw that Touma, Kazari and Ruiko were standing behind her and Ruiko was holding onto Touma's arm.

"Ah," she started to say her face turning bright red then she burst into tears. "I'm so sorry Onee-sama for betraying you. I shouldn't have done that but I didn't have a choice."

"What do you mean Shirai-san," Ruiko asked. "Are you in trouble?"

"It was the only way I could find out what happened at the museum," she said calming down a little. "I tried to get him to tell me but he wouldn't. Then he said if I publically confessed to him," she pointed at Touma, "at his school, he would tell me."

"Wait," Mikoto said. "Was this what you talked to Kagere-san about yesterday?" Kuroko nodded.

Touma rubbed his head. "I am going to kill him."

"Shirai-san," Ruiko said. "I think he just told you that because he never thought you would actually do it. He wanted you to stop asking him."

Kuroko nodded and looked at the ground, "It was the only way left though. I couldn't force him to tell me."

Kazari frowned. "It's ok Shirai-san, I'll make sure to talk to him about what he did." Everyone suddenly felt a shiver when they heard this but no one said anything. "Come on, I'll buy you some ice cream." Kazari led Kuroko away from the rest of them.

"Thanks a lot for saving me," Touma said when they left. "She wasn't in her right mind."

"She's rarely in her right mind," Mikoto replied. "I don't think she would have killed you, hospitalization maybe, but death, probably not."

"Because that's so much better," Touma said rolling his eyes and Mikoto laughed.

Ruiko watched them with a strange look in her eye, and then smiled slightly. She moved closer to Touma and grabbed his arm again. "Hey Touma, are you free to hang out with me this weekend?"

"Huh," Touma said surprised. "Well, I got something Saturday but Sunday should be ok."

"Great," Ruiko said cheerfully. "Want to meet out by Joseph's around one?"

"Sounds good," Touma said smiling. "I got to go but I look forward to Sunday." He waves as he leaves.

"Well," Mikoto said with her voice a little bitter, "At least no one got hurt." She turned and started walking to where Kuroko and Kazari were.

"Wait," Ruiko said. "I need to ask you something Misaka-san."

"Sure Saten-san," Mikoto said turning back to her friend. "What's up?"

Ruiko stared at her for a moment, "Do you like Touma?" she asked bluntly.

"Huh, what," sputtered Mikoto turning red. "What are you asking?"

"Well," Ruiko said smiling slightly. "You seemed to be the most upset over this incident without even checking with Touma first. You also seem to be really cheerful when you are around him."

"We are friends you know," said Mikoto turning even redder and looking at the ground.

"So you wouldn't mind if I asked him into a serious relationship?" Ruiko questioned.

"Huh?"

"Well, to be honest I thought you liked him so I tried to make you jealous so you would confess to him," Ruiko confessed. "But after I got to know him, I realized I do like him a lot."

"Seriously?"

"Yep," Ruiko said smiling, "But if you don't have those feelings for him I guess it's ok to confess." She starts to head off in the direction of Kuroko and Kazari.

"Wait," Mikoto says meekly.

"Yes?"

"I…I…" Mikoto tried to say but the words were not coming out.

"I don't understand you," Ruiko says but there was an odd glint in her eyes.

"I…I'm not ok with it," Mikoto had closed her eye and then yelled. "I like him a lot and I just got him to start calling me by my first name! I want to go out with him! It's so embarrassing!" She stops and takes a deep breath her face now a crimson red and she couldn't look Ruiko in the eye.

Ruiko stands there and smiles. "I knew it. You finally admitted it."

"Huh?"

"I do like him, but not in the romantic way you do. I like him as a friend, but I don't actually see myself dating him." She leaned close to Mikoto, "To be honest, he's a little to plain for me. Now his friend Accelerator, that guy I wouldn't mind dating. That glare of his is so hot."

Mikoto could just gape at Ruiko. Mikoto had been tricked by her into confessing she likes Touma. Her face was still bright red, and she knew it would be awhile before she could get the courage to confess directly to him.

"So Misaka-san," Ruiko says. "What made you fall for him in the first place?" Mikoto didn't even here this. She was so embarrassed and you could virtually see smoke coming out of her ears. It was lucky she didn't look directly at Ruiko and wasn't really listening, or she might have noticed the hint of sadness in her eye and the slight change in her tone.

* * *

Touma was wondering around in the city. After what just happened, he completely forgot what he was planning to do after class. He ran through all the possibilities in his mind, won't need any food for Index, he has the present for Saturday, and nothing at the moment was trying to kill him. _I know I needed to do something but what was it?_ He was thinking so hard he wasn't watching where he was going and crashed into someone standing in front of him.

"Ouch, sorry, I didn't see you," he apologized quickly looking to see who he bumped into. A familiar short brown hair met his eyes, for a wild moment he thought he had somehow bumped into Mikoto but then he saw a pair of striped underwear beneath the girl's skirt.

"You should watch were you are going Misaka says as she expresses her disproval," the girl said in a monotone.

"Ah Misaka Imouto," Touma said realizing who it was. He stood up and helped her to her feet. "What brings you here?"

The girl stared at him for a second. Although she looked exactly like Mikoto, her eyes had a slightly different gleam to them and she had an unusual way of talking, always in a monotone. She was still wearing the necklace Touma had given her awhile back. Misaka Imouto was actually a clone of Mikoto made during an experiment to try to get Accelerator to transcend from level 5 to level 6. Touma had stopped the experiment and saved what remained of the sister clones.

"Misaka is shopping for a present for the superior model Misaka replies in a bored tone."

"You mean Last Order," Touma asked. She nodded. "Do you know what you are getting for her?"

"The network has decided to get a Gekota accessory Misaka states decidedly." She points to a nearby store.

"That's good," Touma said glad she seemed to be doing well. "I won't keep you then."

"Misaka need your help Misaka states as she looks at you pleadingly."

"What do you need?" Touma asked.

"The merchandise Misaka wishes to purchase is only on sale to couples Misaka says blushing."

"Huh?"

"I need you to go with her in order to purchase the item in question Misaka says exasperated at your lack of understanding."

"Ah ok," Touma says avoiding eye contact and scratching his head. "I should be able to help with that."

Misaka Imouto put her arm around his and pulled him into the store. Touma noticed the store was really busy today and they had to wait in a long line. He was also aware that Misaka Imouto was still holding him and his arm was right in her chest. He could feel it though her school vest and he looked away blushing slightly. He saw several older couples looking at him and talking to each other. One older man gave him a wink while his wife said, "Ah, the joy of youth." Touma blushed more and tried to avoid eye contact with anyone.

A young child in front of them turned around. "Hello," she said politely.

"Hello Misaka says exchanging greetings."

"Are you here for Gekota?" the girl asks.

"Yes. Misaka is present with her boyfriend in order to buy my sister Gekota Misaka says happily."

The girl giggled and said, "You talk funny." She turned around and started talking to her parents.

Touma was definitely blushing now at Misaka Imouto's words. He could feel her eyes on him and he tried to avoid direct eye contact knowing it would be even more embarrassing. His heart was pounding slightly faster too. He really didn't know how to react in these kinds of situations. Mikoto had taken him on fake dates before, but the way Misaka Imouto said these kinds of things tended to affect him differently.

They manage to get the merchandise and leave without any trouble. After they walk away from the store Misaka Imouto bows to Touma.

"Thank you for your company Misaka says gratefully."

"It really wasn't a problem," Touma said smiling. He suddenly found Misaka Imouto's face right next to him and he quickly took a step back. "What are you doing?" he asked nervously.

"Isn't it proper to give a kiss goodbye to a boyfriend Misaka asks questioningly," she said tilting her head to the side.

Touma gaped for a second. "Well, that's what couples do, but weren't we just pretending?"

Misaka Imouto sighs. "Misaka wishes you could read the mood Misaka replies brimming with disappointment." She bows again and starts to walk off. "Misaka hopes to see you at the Superior's birthday celebration Misaka states expressing her desire."

Touma waved good bye to her and said, "I will be there, goodnight." He then took off toward his current home thinking to himself. The sun just started to set so he had plenty of time before curfew. He didn't have to rush like usual. But, of course, his luck, or lack of it, kicked in and he stepped on a dog's tail partially hidden by a trash can. He had to run for over 10 minutes before the dog finally gave up the chase. Touma leaned against a wall panting and planning to rest for awhile when he heard a male's voice.

"Hah, is this seriously all Judgment is capable of?"

It came from a nearby ally. Touma moved quickly and quietly and peered around the corner. He saw a girl who had his back to him standing in front of three conscious guys. Two guys were lying on the ground and appeared unconscious. The girl was leaning against a wall and she looked hurt.

The guy in the middle of the three still standing laughed. "I thought members of Judgment were supposed to be strong, but all you can handle is a couple level 0s. Get her you two." The two guys started advancing on the girl and Touma found his body was moving before his mind had a chance to think. He charged straight pass the girl, who gasped in surprise, and punched one of the guys in the face sending him to the ground. The other guy swung a right hook at Touma who ducked and brought his knee up into the guy's stomach and he gasped and fell. Both of them were taken down in just a few seconds.

"You ok?" Touma asked without turning around.

"Yes," the girl said breathing heavily. "But you shouldn't get involved in Judgment matters."

"Damn you brat," the last thug said. "You just had to stick your nose in where it doesn't belong."

"Careful," the girl warned. "You should get out of here. His ability is Solidification, he can increase the density of his body to make it as strong as steel.

"He's not going anywhere," the thug said angrily. "He is going to learn not to mess with my gang." The guy charges forward and his footsteps echo in the ally. It sounds like he is a lot heavier than a normal person but Touma thought that might be the side effect of his ability. This didn't discourage Touma and he charged right back at the thug. Touma ducked under the thug's fist, _wow he was slow_ , and brought his right fist up into the guy's jaw. The sound of glass shattering was heard, almost as if the thug's jaw was glass, and he flies backwards unconscious.

'Ganging up on one person," Touma said. "You should be ashamed of yourself." He turned around and walked to the girl to make sure she was ok. It was dark in the ally but Touma could just make out the girl had short dark hair, glasses, and she had a quite attractive body. He was just going to check if she was ok but as he got close he slipped on a small pool of water and his face fell right into her chest. His eyes glanced up and he thought, or believed, the girl's face had gotten red. Luckily she didn't fall when he fell into her. He quickly stepped back embarrassed then turned and ran. "I'm sooorrrrry," he called over his shoulder. _Such misfortune, she probably thinks I'm a pervert now._

The girl raised a hand, "Ah, I didn't get a chance to thank him." She felt her heart beating heavily and her face reddening watching the strange boy run off. She pulled out her phone to call Anti-Skill to pick up the unconscious gang members.

Touma kept running until he was right outside the apartment complex before stopping. _So much misfortune today, what did I do to deserve this. First, I get forced to join this tournament were I will probably get humiliated by higher levels, then the entire issue with Shirai. I had to go on a pretend date, which to be honest, wasn't too bad, just a little embarrassing. Now someone else thinks I'm a pervert. Could this day get any worse?_ Almost as if the universe decided to answer his prayer, he heard a voice coming toward him.

"Found you Kami-yan," Motoharu's voice said "I need to talk to you."

"What now?" Touma says exasperatedly.

"Don't be that way," he said seriously. "It's important."

That changed Touma's perception, if Motoharu was serious that meant….

"Magicians?"

"Right in one," he says.

 _I hate today._

* * *

 **So I had to think a bit how to add Misaka Imouto into the story. How could I do this naturally? I figured, Touma's luck would always lead him into the right direction. Running into her by accident would be the most logical conclusion.**

 **The tournament will be fun to write for sure, lots of ability fights but still plenty of opportunities for humor, romance, and adventure.**

 **Will Mikoto be able to confess her love?**

 **Will Accelerator cause the hospital's to be filled with patients?**

 **What about the magicians?**

 **Find out next chapter….maybe, I could be lying to you.**


	7. Experiment

**Wow, a lot of great comments from people who liked my story and people who didn't.**

 **I saw a ton of great ideas and there is one I definitely plan to use later. It actually helped with an issue of trying to connect some events together. Naturally, I won't say which idea it was now because it could lead to spoilers but I will be sure to give credit to them at the bottom of the chapter I use it in. I am a firm believer in giving credit where credit is due.**

 **I feel like some people have missed something important in earlier chapters. That might have been my fault in the clues I gave. I figure it will get cleared up in later chapters. Once again, I can't give out to much information without leading to spoilers.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

Touma watched Motoharu for some clues, but besides his tone of seriousness, he looked like he always did, calm and cocky and a little like a delinquent. Motoharu was actually a magician who infiltrated Academy City disguised as a student. Overtime, Motoharu had gone through enough ability development curriculums that he could no longer use magic without severe repercussions to him. Death was a very real possibility if Motoharu tried to use too much magic. Touma always wondered why he stayed as a student but over time came to accept this. When Motoharu wasn't actively working for the magic side, he was a good friend to Touma and Pierce, even if he was a little annoying and perverted. He also has shown he cares deeply for his adopted sister.

"So what's the deal with the magicians?" Touma asked. "Were they caught or identified?"

"Nope," Motoharu said shaking his head. "They definitely wanted to remain hidden. The area they broke in had an electrical issue and the guards were found sleeping. Anti-Skill determined there must have been a malfunction and some gas was released causing everyone to pass out. There was some damage to a gas pipeline so the story works. We only know magicians ACTUALLY infiltrated the city by the mana left behind at the scene. Naturally, Academy City's forces were not designed to detect that."

"Do you have any idea what they want?" Touma questioned fearing the answer. He had a good idea of what they were after but he wanted confirmation.

"Well," Motoharu said smiling. "After verifying with Stiyl and Kanzaki, there are two possibilities."

"Are they here too?" Touma interrupted.

"Nah, they are currently overseas. They won't be back for at least two weeks. So it's up to us to take care of any problems till they get here."

"Are they after Index?" Touma asked worried.

"No, not this time," Motoharu replied shaking his head. "We believe they are after….you."

"Me?" Touma gasped in shock. "Why?"

"Who knows?" Motoharu shrugs, "Maybe your hand. It can't be your looks."

"Arg," Touma grumbled remembering the museum incident and how he was almost captured. "Very funny, more misfortune, wait. You said there were two possibilities. What's the second?"

"The other possibility, though smaller, is they are after Kagere."

"Is it because he can use both magic and an ability?"

"Most likely," Motoharu says and frowns slightly. "Stiyl told me about him. He actually can use both without hurting himself. The knowledge on how he does that could be devastating in the wrong hands. I tried watching him at school but he doesn't seem to do anything unusual at all except he's a lot smarter than he appears."

"Yea he is," Touma admitted remembering the conversation about Jason working for research and development division. "But I think your first guess is probably right. The masked magicians at the museum said they wanted me."

"Well that confirms our suspicion," Motoharu said smiling and smacking Touma on the back. "I wish I knew about that earlier. Try not to die or get captured."

"By your tone," Touma said irritated. "I almost think my misfortune is funny to you."

"Of course it is," Motoharu said laughing then turned serious. "I got something else to ask you."

"What?"

"How many of those girls you hang out with have you done so far?"

Touma punched him in the face.

* * *

Touma had planned to once again beat up Jason for the stunt he pulled with Kuroko but things never go as planned for him. Touma entered the apartment and found only Index there, and she immediately jumped on Touma to feed her. Touma didn't see Jason that night or even in the morning, so he planned going to find Jason at school. When he first entered the classroom everyone who arrived already started barraging him with questions about how he had got someone from the prestigious Tokiwadai school to come all the way here to confess to him. He tried to ignore them and pushed everyone away who tried to block his way to his desk but was eventually stopped by Pierce and Motoharu.

"Ahhhhh," Pierce yelled pointing to Touma horror struck. "You couldn't have Accelerator's loli so you want and got another one. Touma, how dare you, give one of your lolis to me." He tackled Touma and brought him to the ground. Touma kneed him in the stomach but Pierce was either so full of adrenaline or rage the blow didn't do any noticeable damage.

"Get off me you lunatic!" Touma yelled. "Nothing happened."

"I doubt that Kami-yan,' Motoharu said grinning broadly. "The way she grappled you was anything but ordinary. In fact, the direction you two ran off is known to have several hotels. I bet something hot and steamy happened, didn't it?"

"How many times do I have to tell you guys nothing happened?!" Touma yelled angrily. He was too focused on beating Pierce to notice someone else had entered the room and was watching their exchange with an amused grin.

"Well he didn't get back till pretty late so I wonder,' Jason said thoughtfully while the class gasped.

"You…" Touma started to say angrily but was winded by a punch from Pierce. Before he could get his revenge on both Jason and Pierce, Komoe entered the classroom and called for quiet.

"Good morning class," she says sweetly. "Please pass your homework up to the front."

 _Damn it,_ Touma thought grimacing. He finally remembered what he was supposed to do last night.

"Next week, as you all know, we will be starting the two on two tournament. Kamijou-chan and Accelerator-chan, we need you both to decide on your team name, and also any specific titles you want to be called should you two be the school's champion for the main tournament." She held up a piece of paper.

"I don't care about a team name," Accelerator said yawning. "I'm the strongest and this tournament will just prove it to everyone."

"I don't know," Touma said and sighed. "You could just call me unlucky, such misfortune." Several girls in the class giggled.

"Well, fill this form out by the end of the day if you have any preference," Komoe said. "I also recommend you take time this weekend to practice or discuss tactics. The first round starts Monday afternoon."

"That's it!" said Seiri standing up suddenly and slamming her hand on her desk. "We should take the opportunity this weekend to train. Kamijou, you definitely need it. Kamijou," she points directly to him, "You need to meet here tomorrow for special training. I'll come up with a schedule tonight"

"Umm," Touma said hesitantly. He knew how well Seiri took to people rejecting her ideas and demands. "I can't." He took a quick look around the room and saw most people were in shock that he actually denied the class's Iron Wall Girl. He also noticed, with a quick glance, Accelerator looked at him seriously.

"Why not?" she asked coldly and Touma's blood froze when he looked her in the eye. He could tell she was not happy.

"I…ummm….' Touma stuttered. He wasn't exactly sure how he should word this. Saying he was going to a birthday may not be good enough for her. "I promised a friend," Accelerator raised an eyebrow at this, "that I would help him with something important tomorrow."

"What's so important about it that you can't prepare for such an important tournament on Monday?"

"I can't really talk about it, but I promised," Touma said meekly. Seiri came over and looked at him directly in the eyes.

"Hmm," she said. "You seem to be telling the truth. I guess there is no helping it, we always have Sunday to get you in shape."

"I actually can't do that either," Touma says meekly realizing he probably just dug his own grave. The class froze in shock. He resisted Dictator Seiri, not just once, but twice. Several of them looked at each other in wonder. _How could he tell her no? Does he want to die?_

Seiri's expression quickly turned into a glare. "And what are you doing Sunday?"

"I…" Touma said but he knew saying it was a date would cause more problems than it solves. He looked at the ground. "I can't say."

Seiri slammed her fist on his table and Touma nearly fell backwards off his chair in surprise. "You can't say?" she hisses. "You are representing our class in an important tournament that will be broadcast through the city and it will reflect on us and our teacher. You want to skip special training to not embarrass us and you won't even tell us why it's important?"

"Umm," Touma said staring at his desk, but he really didn't have a good answer.

"He probably has a date," Motoharu says grinning. "That's why he won't talk." The class stared at Touma and he felt his face turn slightly red and he deliberately avoided their stares. Everyone gasped in shock and awe. Touma had denied Seiri's training, just so he could go on a date….with a girl.

"He didn't deny it," Pierce said wide eyed. "He actually stood against the Iron Wall Girl just to go on a date. Damn you Kamijou, when did you get to such a high level."

Seiri turned red, not with embarrassment but with anger, and looked like she was going to yell at Touma, and probably mortally wound him with her superhuman strength, when two unexpected people came to his aid.

"It's not like he needs it," Accelerator said nonchalantly. "His stamina's fine and he's use to taking a beating like a champ. I plan to release all my pent up stress and if I fight two people it might make the challenge more fun."

"Besides," Jason said adding to the conversation. "If he is going on a date, would it be fair to the girl, who actually managed to break through his denseness, to get that far and suddenly get denied?"

"Hey," Touma said irritated at their insults. "I'm not dense and don't get beat up all the time." Most of the class rolled their eyes in response to his statement. They all knew the truth.

Seiri smacks her hand on her forehead. "You both make some sense but…" She turned back to Touma and smashed his deck again in anger. "I will let you skip this training, but if you embarrass us by not giving it your all and at least showing you care about this tournament. The punishment will be dire. Do you understand?" Touma nods quickly. "Good." She goes and sits down and lets Komoe take over.

Komoe nods happily, glad the issue was resolved without violence. "It's good to know all of you care deeply for each other," she says smiling. "If you do your best, I am sure you will do well in the tournament." She turned to Touma. "Oh yes," she clapped her hands together. "Touma, your dorm is fixed and you can move back in this weekend."

"Finally good news," Touma replied.

"Awww," Jason sighs. "There goes my house sitter." Touma turned to him in surprised at his choice of words and he saw Jason wink at him.

 _Jason needs to choose his words better._

Unknown to all except Pierce, Motoharu had silently moved around the class during this heated discussion and wrote something down on the piece of paper on Komoe-sensei's desk. Everyone else was too busy watching the shenanigans that took place.

* * *

"Shirai-san," Kazari said into her phone. "How far are you from the target?"

"I'm still a couple minutes out," Kuroko replies on her phone. "What's the status?"

"Konori-senpai just reported in," Kazari said. "It looks like the situation was taken care of but she still needs help doing the final clean up."

"What?" Kuroko asked shocked. "Who took care of the robbery?"

"Well, judging by the reports, it looks like it was Kagere-san."

"Him again," Kuroko snarled. She was still upset about how he, somehow, was able to do whatever he wanted to without repercussions. A recent report was sent out to Judgment offices that the vigilante, code named Nightmare, was actually a higher up in Anti-Skill and was allowed by Academy City law to investigate crimes and take action if needed. "How bad was it?"

"Well, there were only two robbers, but they used explosives and took out a good chunk of the bank wall. A few civilians were hit by the debris, no serious injuries, but lots of debris still remains in the street. Though, I wish you would get along better with him."

"I think I see the target," Kuroko says quickly interrupting Kazari as she sees an area with a lot of activity. "I will call you back if needed." She teleported down to the streets and looked around for her senpai.

"Konori-senpai," Kuroko called out locating her and teleporting right beside her. "What's the status?"

Mii Konori turned to look at Kuroko. She was taller with short black hair and glasses. "Shirai-san," she said in acknowledgement. "Looks like the robber's were captured and Anti-Skill has started to redirect traffic until the roads are clean of the remaining debris."

"Where are the culprits now?" Kuroko asked.

Konori sighed. "It seems Nightmare went a little overboard in the way he caught them."

'What do you mean?" Kuroko asked suspiciously.

"Follow me," Mii said and they walked to the side of the building and looked at the ally between the bank and the shop next door. A really weird sight met Kuroko's eyes. Two people were wrapped up like cocoons with threads of pure darkness. Kuroko now knew these threads were part of Jason's shadow due to his ability. They were suspended in midair by more threads that branched out in all directions connecting the cocoons to the walls of the building. It almost looked like a giant spider web made of shadow was set up in this ally and the robbers were caught like flies. The web was so well designed Kuroko wouldn't have been surprised if a giant spider started crawling down the web. The thought sent a shiver down her spine. As she gazed up she saw a dark figure sitting on top the wall with several threads connecting him to the web. She had a good guess who was up there.

"I'll be right back," Kuroko says to Mii and teleports to the top of the building. "So," she says to Jason. "You decided to do something dramatic now that you are authorized too?"

"Eh," Jason says absentmindedly. "I wanted to try something but it didn't work the way I thought it would. Besides, what's with your attitude? I prevented anyone from getting seriously hurt."

"I still don't like you," Kuroko says angrily.

"Yea," Jason admitted. "I figured that out funnily enough and I probably deserved it. I am sorry for what happened before though. I said it as more of a joke and didn't think you would actually go through with it." Before Kuroko could respond, Jason's phone rang. He picked it up, "Hello."

"Don't just ignore me," Kuroko fumed.

"Sorry," Jason said to Kuroko. "Important business so I can't talk." He turns his attention to the phone, "Of course Touma, the offer still stands."

"Trying to get rid of me just to talk to that ape," Kuroko raged.

"Shush you."

* * *

Touma had gone back to the apartment after school and informed Index that their dorm was repaired and they were going to move back tonight. Index did not take the news well. She loved the fact the refrigerator in the apartment was always full of food so she never starved when Touma was gone. Eventually they reached a compromise. Touma allowed Index to pack a couple bags of food to take back with them. Touma did not have a lot of stuff to take with him so he was able to carry most of the bags. _Jason won't mind if we take some food. He owes me anyways._ After he dropped Index off at his dorm, which looked brand new, he left to go to the bank. He needed to withdraw some extra cash for the weekend, until he discovered he only had 500 yen left in his account.

"Shit," he cried falling down on his hands and knees. "I won't get paid till next week. How can I live on just 500 yen for a week?" Academy city was a giant experiment environment with their main focus on researching abilities. Each student was paid a stipend every two weeks for participating. However, since higher levels were more involved in experiments, they were paid significantly more. So level 0s like Touma did not make very much and because he had to replace several of his belongings this week, his money was spent well before the two week period. _What am I going to do? The food we took will only last a day or two._

He ran through every choice he had available to him but nothing seemed doable in this situation. He even thought briefly of asking Mikoto for money, as a level 5 she was quite wealthy, but immediately disregarded that thought. She had helped him plenty of times in the past and he wasn't going to beg her for money. He still had some pride. Then he thought of an offer he received a couple days ago and he sighed. _Well, if he was serious this might work._ He pulled out his cell phone and dialed.

"Hello," the male voice on the other end said

"Jason," Touma asked and he thought he heard a female voice in the background. "Were you serious about paying for the chance to research my Imagine Breaker?"

"Sorry, important business so I can't talk," Jason's voice came but softer. It sounded like he was talking to someone on his end. "Of course Touma, the offer still stands."

Touma thought he heard someone say ape but it was probably his imagination. "Turns out I really need some money. These won't be painful experiments will they?"

"Nah," Jason said dismissively. "First couple ones you won't even notice. But if you want something painful, I could try to accommodate you. I'll text you the address. Can you meet me there in about 30 minutes, have to finish up some…..uh…..work? Yea, work."

Touma didn't believe for a minute Jason was doing any type of work besides making trouble for someone. "I would prefer the non painful ones and I can meet you there."

"Just go to the front desk, give your name. They will direct you." Jason hangs up.

Touma sighs. _Well, least I will have some money this weekend to take Ruiko out. Jason's a little unusual but he's not a bad guy. I'll probably be ok."_ His phone beeped and he saw Jason had already sent the address. He searched for the location on his phone and stared at the directions. It was in the main research division in district 1. He ran for the nearest bus stop, he might be able to make it if the buses were on time and if nothing unfortunate happens.

Somehow, he made it to the destination only 5 minutes late. He gazed upwards at the skyscraper. _Do I have the right location? Does Jason really work here?"_ He hesitantly walked in through the front doors to the well maintained lobby. There was even a large decorated marble water fountain. He walked up to the front desk where a young woman, probably in her late 20s, was looking at him like she knew he was lost.

"Can I help you?"

"I hope I am at the right place, Touma Kamijou, here to see Jason Kagere."

Her eyes widened in recognition. "Ah yes, Kamijou-san. Take those elevators to the 16th floor and make an immediate right to the end of the hall. Kagere-san will meet you there."

Touma nods in thanks and rides the elevator to the 16th floor. As he gets off he notices the walls are grey and several cameras lined the ceiling. He turned right and walked down the short empty hallway and opened the only door on the right side. He walks into a large room with only one other door. Several complex and expensive looking machines lined the rest of the wall. In the middle of the room was Jason, sitting in one of two chairs, the only things in the center of the room. He looked up when Touma walked in.

"Touma," Jason said cheerfully. 'So glad you came. Sorry to hear about the money issues. You got that big date coming up right?"

"Kind of," Touma said a little embarrassed. "Though, I just would like to survive the week without starving. Can you explain what kind of experiment with the Imagine Breaker you want to do first before I agree to anything?"

"Of course," Jason said, his tone instantly changing from his normal happy go lucky school tone to a more serious business like tone. "I know you hand can negate abilities and even magic, but for some reason, after looking through Academy City's archives, your ability was never detected. I hypothesized your ability would only reveal an AIM field when it is actively negating something. But in order to save time, we also are going to be measuring several other variables while you are here. The main goal is to find out if your Imagine Breaker generates any sort of AIM field, if not, what sort of field it generates."

"Ok," Touma said nodding. So far everything Jason said made sense. "So you mean…."

"Yep," Jason said smiling and Touma saw his shadow rush out from behind him and circle the two of them. "We are going to measure every possibility while you negate my shadow ability. I suggest you take your hand and move it away from your body to avoid any accidents." He pulls out a small radio, "Is everything ready?"

"All systems operational," a female voice said from the radio. "We have locked onto your AIM field and will remove its signature from the scan. We are ready to detect any abnormalities from the target."

Touma moves his right hand off his chair and held it away from his body. The shadow started circling them and splitting into thin strips and soon uncased them in a semi-transparent dome of fast moving threads of darkness. Suddenly a tendril flew at his right hand and the sound of breaking glass was heard and the tendril disappeared. A second tendril flew at his hand from another direction to have the same thing happen. This happened three more times before Jason turned on the radio again.

"Anything?"

"Nothing," a male's voice said. "Kiyama-san is currently checking all frequencies. It appears that your AIM field just disappears when it comes in contact with the Imagine Breaker. I have never seen anything like this. Your field is completely covering both of you but there is a void directly around his hand."

"Hmm, I am going to try a continuous negation next. Examine anything that differs, no matter how slight." Touma was quiet, he could tell Jason was being serious in the experiment and didn't want to interrupt him.

"Ahh," Touma let out a small yell. A large tendril, about half a foot wide, came out of nowhere and collided into his hand. Unlike the other ones, this one did not disappear. This one kept hitting his hand even though he heard the sound of it being negated. He realized Jason was constantly throwing more of the shadow at it as fast as it was being negated. This continued for a couple minutes and Touma was no longer getting surprised as the shadow tendrils constantly attacking him. Finally, it stopped and Touma watched as the dome covering them slowly disappear back to Jason.

"Was that it?" Touma asked. _It seemed way to short._

"Depends what we find," Jason replied turning to the door behind him as it opened and a women stepped through. She was wearing a long white laboratory and has long wavy brown hair. Touma also noticed she seemed to have bags under her eyes like she hasn't gotten a good night sleep in days. It _must be tough being a scientist._ She walks over and hands Jason a tablet and he quickly goes through the information on it and his eyes narrowed the more he read.

"Is this accurate?" he asked after a couple minutes.

She nods, "This isn't my primary area of expertise but that is the only conclusion we have right now. He's still checking every other possibility but that's the only conclusion that is consistent with the data."

"It actually destroys AIM fields with an opposite frequency. But how does it conform itself to match the exact frequency. No two fields are exactly the same." Jason mutters to himself while staring at the screen.

"It's so hot in here," the women complained pulling at her collar.

"If you start stripping again, I'm locking you in the closet," Jason commented absentmindedly still staring at the screen. Touma just stared at them discussing something like that as if it happens all the time. "Well, it's a start. You think the Imagine Breaker's adaptability corresponds with the interface of the AIM field…

Touma started losing track of what was being said, the conversation was becoming more and more advance and started going way above his head. Jason and the women scientist were continuing to debate and point at the information on the tablet. Eventually Touma had to ask, "So what did you discover?" They both turned to him in surprise, almost like they forgot he was there.

"Well," Jason said. "At the risk of simplifying this, I'll try to explain the basics. We started off using my AIM field wavelength around the room. You are aware of An Involuntary Movement, the invisible energy ability users create that also defines our realities. Your Imagine Breaker was causing a small void in the field and that is what we focused on. We originally thought your hand was producing a different wavelength that was extremely versatile. The wavelength it produced would match a needed frequency to cancel out the frequency on the AIM field you were negating, virtually jamming it and preventing abilities by affecting an individual's personal reality. Well, it looks like that is not what happened. You know how matter and anti-matter work, right? They destroy each other in equal amount and release radiation energy. Your hand, as crazy as it may seem, may produce an anti-AIM field with virtually anti-matter AIM field. We don't have the technology to measure it here at this time to be a hundred percent sure but I believe the noise you hear is the energy being released when the anti-AIM field meets the active AIM field."

"Huh," Touma said. "My hand interferes with actual realities and not just the abilities produced by the realities?

Jason sighed as Touma didn't understand his simplified explanation. "Sort of, it's a lot more complicated than that but that's a really simplified version of it, as expected of your Touma. You hand is destroying AIM fields and that directly affects an individual's reality and therefore their ability."

"Well," Touma said, he had a suspicion that he was being insulted, "Could my hand permanently destroy an AIM field and prevent someone from being able to use their ability ever again or prevent someone else from gaining one?"

"Worried about having a girlfriend?" Jason asked smirking.

"No of course not," Touma denied shaking his head knowing he wasn't believable. "I just didn't want to accidently destroy someone's ability they may have worked hard to obtain. It has been on my mind for awhile but no one ever had an explanation on my hand so I couldn't really ask about it."

Jason smiled. "Always worried about others, but I guess that makes you, you. As it is now, no, your ability only would interfere with the active AIM field. All they have to do is activate their ability again. Now, if you held on to someone, they shouldn't be able to activate their ability because you would create a direct connection with your hand to their AIM field. But as soon as you let go, they could use their ability."

"What do you mean as of now?" Touma asked.

"Because," Jason said shrugging. "We don't have enough information to tell you how powerful your ability could be. Can the range be extended? Can you cover your body with its anti-AIM field? Once we have more information, I will let you know. I don't believe in keeping secrets from people who are willingly helping research." He turns to the women, "Keep examining this and start sending the requests for the equipment needed. You know how slow those dang bureaucrats are." The women nods and takes the tablet and leaves. Jason turns back to Touma. "Think that's all we can do today. I finally got to examine your Imagine Breaker. It is quite fascinating. What's scary is it is still just passive. It has so much power and you can't even control it."

"I never really considered how it worked anymore," Touma admitted staring at his hand. "Since no one else could explain it I just stopped questioning it."

"That's the great thing about science," Jason said happily. "If you don't know why something works you find out why."

"Well," Touma said sheepishly. "I'm not great in science. My money situation was becoming desperate, I don't get a lot."

"Yea," Jason said his face darkening slightly. "They don't treat lower levels that well here." He reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. "Here is your reimbursement for the experiment. If you are willing to do more, just let me know."

Touma takes it and he cries cartoon style tears. "Now I won't starve and I can treat Ruik….." He quickly shut his mouth as he watch Jason's face burst into a huge grin.

"I was right. You do have a big date coming up."

"Me and my big mouth," Touma muttered.

* * *

Touma manage to catch the last bus leaving district 1 to take him back to his dorm in district 7. On the ride back he just stared out the window and thought about what he learned. He found himself often glancing at his hand. He always knew it was unique, but he never thought of himself as special. To him, it was always a part of himself, just like his heart. This was the first time he started to learn about how it actually worked. Touma actually found himself thinking he WANTED to learn more about his right hand. Index told him a long time ago when they first met it was destroying his luck and that is why misfortunate things always happened to him. Now, he felt something swell up inside of him. If he knew more about it, maybe he could control it, not just to save himself form misfortune, but to protect the people close to him, Index, Ruiko, Mikoto….. Her smiling face appeared in his mind bright and clear. He shook his head to try to get her image out of his mind to stop the weird feeling in his stomach. To distract himself he opened the envelope to see how much he was paid and his mouth dropped.

"What the…." He got roughly a month of his current stipend from the city in one shot. _I got paid this much for an experiment that lasted less than an hour? Was it really that special?_ He got off at his stop still in a daze and walked to his dorm. A couple lights were on but most people seemed to have retired for the night already. He went up to his dorm and quietly unlocked the door. He walked in and as he closed the door he felt a chill down his spine. He turned around and saw a very angry nun revealing her unusually sharp teeth at him.

"Touma," she said angrily. "You said you would just be gone for a minute."

Touma realized his mistake. He had told Index he was just going to run out to the bank before it closed. Because he had decided to join in Jason's experiments, he was over two hours later then he planned to be. "Index," he said shakily backing away from her. "It took longer than I thought it would but I do have the money I went for."

She glared at him, but she hadn't pounced on him yet which is a good sign. "You were late because you ran into trouble didn't you?"

Touma shook his head, "Of course not, look I'm fine and no injuries what so ever." He didn't tell her he was late because of trouble with his bank balance but it was so minor he didn't want to worry her. She also wasn't the biggest fan of science and saying someone was examining his hand would probably cause her to panic.

Index leaned forward and looked him in the eye. "You are not lying to me are you?"

"Nope, not lying to you at all," Touma said quickly but he couldn't look her in the eye.

"Touma…." Her teeth flashed and she bit him on the head.

"SUCH MISFORTUNE!"

* * *

 **This chapter didn't have as much humor as the last one but it has the most magical of all things…..Plot. I started down the road of my explanation of how the Imagine Breaker works.**

 **Definitely want to add a few new characters in the next couple chapters but I'm not through all the light novels yet. Just hope I can write to keep them in character. Some guys are really hard to keep in character and have them actually do something important.**

 **Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. I know several people have high hopes for this story and I would hate to disappoint. Except for you, you know who you are. I am going to disappoint you specifically in every chapter. That will teach you what you did to me.**


	8. Party

**This chapter turned out pretty different then what I had originally planned, but I think it was worth the changes. I wanted to keep it earlier in the Index time line but decided to bring a character normally met in the future forward. I feel it adds more oomph to the chapters. Ah, the joys of fan fiction.**

 **WordsOfTheWise, he knows too much. He must be eliminated. As for that saying, I love that saying. I have said it to people before and you could easily say that is a pretty good summary for this story lol. He has a lot of interesting ideas though. Sadly I can't confirm or deny anything because it could lead to spoilers and the ending is always subject to change.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

"Touma, where are you going?" Index asked.

"I told you," Touma sighed. "I'm meeting with a friend who wanted me to come to a birthday party."

"I want to come," Index suddenly demanded.

"Why?" Touma asked.

"You never spend time with me anymore," Index pouted. "Also, at birthdays, isn't it traditional to have cake?"

 _Ah, that's the real motive._ Touma sighed again. "Well, I suppose you can come, but you have to promise you won't eat all the cake. It is someone else's birthday."

"I promise," Index said holding up her hand. "I will not eat all the cake."

Touma eyed her suspiciously because of her lack of argument but then shrugs. He grabs the present he bought for Last Order and they both head to Accelerator's apartment. Accelerator had sent Touma his address and told him to be there at 10am. They left early because Touma knew, with his luck, they would still be late. They were taking the shortcut through the park when they heard a clang and saw Mikoto kicking the famous vending machine that loved to eat everyone's money. She had just reached down and pulled out a drink.

"Hey Mikoto," Touma said as they passed.

"Huh," she jumped and quickly turned around. "What are you doing here?" Her face turned bright red when she saw him. The memory of her conversation with Ruiko was still fresh in her mind and she had not heard him approach.

"Just going to a birthday party," Touma said then frowned. "Your face is pretty red, are you ok?"

"I'm fine, no problem at all," Mikoto stammered and shook her head and her face slowly became its normal color.

"Hello Short Hair," Index said. Touma noticed she didn't have a very polite tone.

"I have a name you know," Mikoto replied to her irritated. "It's Mikoto Misaka."

"Short Hair is Short Hair," Index said shrugging but grinning at the same time.

"Well maybe I'll keep calling you Silver Sister then," Mikoto said grinning evilly.

"How rude," says Index indignantly. "I have a proper name, it's Index Librorum Prohibitorum."

"Eh," Mikoto said shrugging and imitating Index. "Silver Sister is Silver Sister." Index got all red and puffed out her chest.

"How rude…." She started to say again.

"Can you two please not fight?" Touma rubbed his head and sighed. He stepped in between them. "We need to get going, Last Order isn't very patient. She would probably run out looking for us if we are late."

"Wait," Mikoto said turning slowly to look at Touma. "The birthday is for Last Order? She is still being watched by Accelerator, right?"

"Yea, they decided to hold her birthday today since I guess she didn't really have a birth date."

Mikoto slaps her face. "Hang on. I want to get her a present. She is my sister and I want to see how she is doing with that jerk. Wait right here."

"Ah, but," Touma started to say but it was too late. She already ran off to the nearby stores. "Ah, we are going to be late now." He sighs and sits down on a bench. "Maybe she will be fast."

"Touma, why are we waiting for Short Hair?" Index asked.

"Because she doesn't know the way and she does have…umm…. reasons for seeing Last Order," Touma said trying to find the right words.

"Well, as long as she doesn't eat a lot of cake," Index said pouting. Touma smiled slightly at her expression.

The one thing Touma can say for sure about Mikoto is she is efficient. In less than 10 minutes, she had come back with a gift already wrapped. "I'm back," she said panting. "Sorry about the wait, I had to get it wrapped."

"No problem," Touma said and looked at his watch. "We need to hurry though." The three of them left the park and started wondering around a neighborhood. "Let's see, it should be around here." He looked at the number on the buildings. "There it is." He goes up to the door with Mikoto and Index behind him and rings the doorbell. They only wait for a few seconds when they hear a voice.

"Yea, yea, Misaka heard it. If they ring the bell again Misaka is breaking their hand." The door opens and a female looks at them. She looked a lot like an older Mikoto, a couple centimeters taller, a slightly larger chest, and longer hair. She also had dark circles around her eyes, which were orange instead of brown like Mikoto's, and was wearing a white and pink ao dai. Worst was the next generation of clones designed for special operations. She was more powerful than the original clones but still nowhere near as powerful as Mikoto. She has a very bad personality because she absorbs all the negative emotions from the Misaka Network. "Huh, what are you doing here?" she says looking right at Touma then mutters. "Onee-tama too, along with some shorty Misaka doesn't know."

"Uh, hi Worst," Touma said nervously. "We are here to see Last Order for her birthday."

"Humph," Worst sniffed. "Misaka doesn't really care." She turned around and walked into the apartment but left the door open. Touma looked at Mikoto who shrugged and, taking the sign to mean they could come in, they followed Worst. The apartment was larger than Touma's dorm since it looked like several people were living here. They reached the living room and saw Aiho sitting in a chair with Accelerator on one side of the couch and Worst sitting down on the other side. In the middle of the floor sat Last Order looking at a small pile of presents with child-like wonder. When they walked in her eyes grew wide and she stood up and ran towards them.

"It's the savior and onee-chan cries MISAKA in surprise as she rushes over to hug them." Last Order ran at Touma full force and crashed into him as she hugged him then hugged Mikoto. Afterwards, she turned to Index. "Misaka doesn't know you, hello, MISAKA says to the new person while trying to be polite."

"Hello," Index says shaking her hand. "I am Index Librorum Prohibitorum. You can call me Index." Last Order nods in understanding then turns to Touma.

"MISAKA is surprised you are here MISAKA says confused at the strange occurrence." She tilts her head while looking at Touma.

"Huh?" Touma asked surprised. "Didn't you ask Accelerator to invite me?" He looked at Accelerator who quickly shook his head looking at Touma.

"Misaka wasn't planning to invite you to her party because MISAKA didn't want Accelerator to end up attacking the savior again says MISAKA admitting to her protective decision."

"Really?" Touma asked confused. "Then why did he invite me?" He didn't notice Mikoto holding her had to her mouth trying not to laugh. Worst, however, was not nearly as nice.

"HAHAHA," she laughs loudly. "Misaka can't believe it. Tou-san actually wanted a friend at her party. Who knew he had such a soft spot for the hero?"

"Good to see you making friends," Aiho said also grinning and sipping a beer. "Maybe you won't end up being a neet after all."

Accelerator was determinedly avoiding looking at any of them. "I don't have any idea what any of you idiots are talking about. I only invited the damn hero because Last Order would whine if he wasn't here."

"Misaka believes Accelerator is not being honest with everyone Misaka says disbelieving his words," came a monotone voice from the hallway. Misaka Imouto walked into the living room and joined the conversation.

"Hah," Worst said laughing at Accelerator. "Even Misaka knows you full of shit tou-san. Just come out and admit you're a lolicon."

Accelerator made a fist. "You want some of this?"

"Oooo," Misaka said sarcastically. "Well if you insist, Misaka could go with you into one of the back rooms and have some fun." She pulled her collar over her shoulder a bit seductively and revealing more of her chest. "Think you are up for it tou-san?"

Mikoto gasped, turned slightly red and watched Accelerator rise from the couch in anger while Last Order jumped between him and Worst to try to stop the fight.

"Does this happen a lot," Touma asked Aiho.

"More often then you know," she replied. "Good to see you Kamijou, I hope you are doing well. You must be Mikoto Misaka, and I believe you said your name is Index?" Index nodded happily, she didn't really follow what was happening. "You can put the presents with the others. When Kikyou gets back Last Order can open her presents. She's out picking up the pizza and cake."

"Yay, cake," Index cheered.

"So how's he fitting in your class?" Aiho asked Touma as everyone was watching the fight between Accelerator and Worst while Last Order was trying desperately trying to stop them but with no luck. "Is he still being a loner?"

"What?" Mikoto asked. "He's in your class? I thought you two were just hanging out."

"Hah yea," Aiho laughed. "It took awhile but we finally got him back into school."

"Our class is pretty accepting of anyone," Touma said smiling slightly thinking about how Worst had said almost the same exact things as his friends said about Accelerator. "So he kind of gets forced to participate in our fun."

"That's good," Aiho said opening another beer. "I was shocked when I heard he was elected to participate in the tournament next week. How did that happen?"

"They can be very persuasive," Touma said getting depressed remembering he got roped into the tournament too. "We have a couple people who don't take no for an answer."

"No way," Mikoto gasped looking at Touma. "He's going to be your schools participant?"

"So what if I am?" Accelerator yelled over to them as Worst knocked him down.

"Wow tou-san," Worst said giggling. "Misaka easily overpowered your scrawny body." The fight between them resumed.

"I take it as the 'Railgun' you are going to participate too," Aiho asked Mikoto. "As a level 5, people tend to want you participate in these things."

She nods, "Assuming I win the school's class matches."

"Onee-chan," Misaka Imouto says. "Misaka believes you will be able to rise to the top of your school Misaka says rolling her eyes at the obvious outcome."

"I figure you will too," Touma said smirking. "I've seen your power first hand."

Mikoto elbows his side, "You know I go easy on you. If I was serious you wouldn't stand a chance."

Aiho watches their friendly bickering smiles, and asks, "So, Kamijou, dating the Railgun, pretty impressive."

"What," they said in unison. "We aren't dating." Aiho raised an eyebrow and smirked but didn't say anything else.

"Touma…" said a dangerous voice behind him and he turned around. Index was bearing her teeth and a dark shadow had appeared behind her. Before he could say anything she chomped down on his head.

"SUCH MISFORTUNE!" The sight of a young nun biting Touma's head caused Accelerator, Worst and Last Order to stop fighting and watch this unusual sight. Both Accelerator and Worst found it hilarious and burst out laughing at his suffering while Last Order cheered Touma and Index on because it looked like they were having fun.

Eventually Kikyou Yoshikawa returned with pizza and everyone settled down enough to gather around and eat. There was no such thing as peace in this place though. Worst snuck a couple peppers onto Last Order's pizza and she ran around crying and waving her arms. Accelerator in turn hit Worst in the face with a pizza. Worst did not take this lying down and she started throwing pizza back at him. Aiho finally had enough of their antics and yelled at both of them. She made them clean up while everyone else watched Last Order open her presents.

"MISAKA is so excited MISAKA says jumping up and down with joy." She grabbed the first present, which was from Accelerator. She opened it and pulled it out with delight. It was a pair of Gekota pajamas. Accelerator had been tired of Last Order stealing his T-shirts to use as pajamas so he got her a pair that she would like more than his shirts. "MISAKA wants to try them on now MISAKA says as she starts taking off her clothes." Mikoto and Aiho stopped her while Touma turned away very quickly. He could feel Index's eyes on him to see if he dared to look. After they convinced her there would be plenty of time to wear them later, Last Order went back to opening the other presents. Aiho and Kikyou had gotten her clothes, Touma a stuffed Gekota doll, Mikoto a Gekota hat, and Misaka Imouto a Gekota key ring. It turns out Worst didn't get Last Order anything, but no one expected anything from Worst. "MISAKA is so happy with all the gifts MISAKA shouts as she runs around the house with enthusiasm to express her joy."

"Anything else you want to do today?" Aiho asked. "It is your big day."

"Anything, MISAKA asks hesitantly."

"Go ahead," Aiho says smiling.

"MISAKA wants to go to the amusement park MISAKA says hopefully."

"Hmm," Aiho says. "It is pretty early and as long as you are with everyone, I don't see a problem."

"I can't go," Kikyou says. "To tired from all the excitement today. Just let the kids go and have fun. We can stay back and relax."

"You're the one who asked her," Accelerator said irritated to Aiho. "Don't go dumping the responsibility on me."

"MISAKA really wants to go MISAKA pleads putting on her sad face to manipulate Accelerator." Accelerator tried to avoid looking at her but her sad face could melt even the coldest hearts. Mikoto and Touma exchanged smirks as they watched Accelerator sigh. This led to Touma, Mikoto, Accelerator, Last Order, Worst, and Misaka Imouto all going to the amusement park. Index had fallen asleep on the couch after somehow finishing two left over pizzas and the remainder of the cake. Everyone decided to let her sleep it off and Aiho promised to watch her till they returned.

* * *

A stranger to Academy City might think it would be strange to set up an amusement park in a city purely designed for scientific research. However, with the vast majority of the city being students, there has to be something for them to do to have fun and relax. District 6 was the vast recreational area which included a rather large amusement park. During the bus ride to the park, Touma thought they must be a pretty weird looking group, four girls who looked like they could be sisters traveling with two guys. He also noticed Worst and Last Order seemed to be staying close to Accelerator who was asleep, or pretending to be sleeping, to avoid talking to anyone. Touma was sitting between Mikoto and Misaka Imouto. He thought for sure some of the guys on the bus were looking at him and wishing him nothing but ill.

As soon as they got into the amusement park, Last Order almost immediately disappeared into the crowd. If it wasn't for Accelerator quickly grabbing onto her collar she would have definitely gotten lost. Touma could tell this sort of thing has happened before. After Accelerator berated her a little bit, she promised to stick with the group. She then wanted to look at everything so the group followed her and ignored Worst's constant complaining.

"Do you want to go on a ride?" Mikoto asked Last Order after a while.

"MISAKA forgot about rides MISAKA admits embarrassed as she was taking in all the new sights."

"It's your party, so whatever you want," Mikoto said smiling. Touma raised his eyebrow at how kind she was to Last Order. _She must like kids._

"Hmm," Last Order said and looked around at all the nearby rides. "MISAKA wants to go on that one MISAKA says pointing to a fun looking ride." The group turned to see what she was pointing at and everyone's jaw dropped. She was pointing to the… Tunnel of Love.

"Not a chance brat," Accelerator said instantly while Worst burst out laughing again.

"Do you know what that ride is?" Touma asked wondering about how much Last Order knew.

"Yes," she says nodding. "MISAKA knows close friends ride it and it improves their relationship MISAKA says boasting about her vast knowledge." Touma, Mikoto, and Accelerator all face palm.

"Misaka believes your information may be incomplete Misaka says amused." Misaka Imouto says to her. "Misaka believes that ride is for those who are considered a couple Misaka says informing you of your mistake."

Last Order's eyes got wide as she realized what Misaka Imouto meant. She turned to Accelerator and tugged on his sleeve. "MISAKA wants to go with you MISAKA says using her spoiled child tactic." Touma and Mikoto just stared at her while Accelerator just shook her off his shirt.

"There is no way I am going on that," he says.

"Besides Last Order," Worst said smiling evilly. "You're too small for the ride. Misaka however isn't." She grabs Accelerator's arm and pulls him toward the ride. "Misaka will let you know how it is," she says laughing while Accelerator tries to get free. "Misaka will also make sure to share with you all the adult things later."

"Get off me you…"

"NOOOOOOOOO MISAKA cries as MISAKA chases after them to stop Accelerator from getting corrupted."

Touma shook his head trying not to laugh. "What on earth…." He started to say when he felt someone grab his arm. He turned and saw Misaka Imouto latched onto his arm and pulling him to the ride.

"Misaka wants to go on that ride with the savior Misaka says determined."

"Whoa, hang on…." Touma starts to protest when his other arm is grabbed my Mikoto.

"Hey," she says angrily. "You can't force him to ride with you."

"Does the savior not wish to ride Misaka asks with tears in her eyes?" Touma couldn't see tears but he was use to them saying what they felt because they always talked in monotone.

"Well," he muttered. "That ride should be shared with someone special to you. You don't need settle for someone like me."

"Misaka once again wishes the savior could read the mood Misaka says deeply disappointed." Touma felt a sting of guilt.

"Don't make him feel guilty," Mikoto said irritated. "He always falls for that and what do you mean once again?"

"Wait," Touma turned to her. "What do you mean by that?"

"Ah nothing," Mikoto says blushing and focusing on Misaka Imouto.

"Misaka thinks onee-san is not being honest with herself Misaka states boldly."

"What do you mean by that," Mikoto said turning redder.

Misaka Imouto doesn't respond but instead pulls Touma's arm harder and he feels his arm pressed tightly against her chest. Mikoto wasn't letting go of his other arm and he could just see what people passing by thought of this situation. He was being pulled two different directions by twins. He prayed to every deity he ever heard of, or thought he heard of, to not allow anyone from his school to see this.

"Well young man, having girl trouble?" a male voice asks. Touma turns to look and sees the ride operator grinning at him. It seems Misaka Imouto had used the tactical training she received to fight Accelerator to maneuver all three of them to the ride while they argued. Touma shook his head quickly so the guy wouldn't cause this situation to escalate. The guy raises his eyebrow. "It's ok, the boats hold up to three people. You and the twins can all ride at once." He gave Touma a big wink.

"Thank you Misaka says politely pleased at the outcome." Misaka Imouto nods her head in thanks and continues to drag Touma into the ride, who in turned was pulling Mikoto in.

The ride itself wasn't too bad. They just sat on a boat in a small river and passed under hearts, and cupids, and different colored lights. Touma was sitting in the middle with Misaka Imouto hugging his right arm tightly to her body and Mikoto held on his left arm but wasn't trying to pull him towards her. He was glad the lights were mostly red or they might have noticed how red he turned being held by two attractive girls. Eventually the ride ended and the three of them left and he was finally free from their grips. Mikoto was determinedly not looking at him and he really didn't blame her.

"Where did the rest of them go?" Touma asked.

"Misaka checked the network and the superior model is currently running around being chased by Accelerator and Worst, Misaka replies. They will meet us near the Ferris wheel Misaka adds as she relays the new available information."

"Let's find them quick," Mikoto says worried. "Worst and Accelerator aren't the best role models."

The three of them make their way to the large Ferris wheel in the middle of the amusement park. They only waited for a couple minutes when they saw Last Order running to them holding a large stuffed lion. A short ways behind her they see Worst and Accelerator. Last Order ran towards them and immediately showed off her lion.

"Look what Accelerator won for MISAKA as MISAKA happily shows off her prize." Accelerator and Worst finally catch up to her and both have an angry look in their eyes. Accelerator chops Last Order on the head but Touma and Mikoto both realize the chop wasn't that hard. It was more of a sign from him telling Last Order she was wrong.

"Brat," Accelerator growled angrily. "You said you would behave if I got you that stupid toy. Running off is not behaving."

"But you wouldn't get this Misaka a toy if she promised to behave," Worst said with a pout.

"Like anyone would believe any damn thing you say," he shot back at her and she stuck her tongue out at him.

"MISAKA is sorry but MISAKA just wanted to see everything MISAKA says lowering her head in apology." Accelerator rolled his eyes but didn't say anything.

"How about I get you some cotton candy?" Mikoto offered and Last Order's eye went wide with delight.

"Really, MISAKA asks as MISAKA stares with hope in her eyes."

"Onee-san," Misaka Imouto said. "Misaka would also like some cotton candy Misaka asks hopefully."

Mikoto rolls her eyes but Touma saw her smirk a little bit, "Sure why not, Worst, you want some too?"

"Misaka doesn't really care either way," Worst says shrugging nonchalantly but she quickly follows them as they head to the candy cart leaving Touma alone with Accelerator. The silence lengthened and Touma didn't know what to say to break it. Suddenly the silence was broken.

"I just wanted to say thanks," Accelerator said out of nowhere leaning against a tree.

"For what?" Touma said surprised.

"For coming along to her party, I haven't seen her this excited in a long time."

"You definitely care for her eh," Touma said smirking.

"Shut up," Accelerator snapped. "If you tell anyone about this I'll kill you."

"Relax," Touma said. "It's fine, I won't tell anyone."

Accelerator looked him up and down for a second then asked, "So how do you do it?"

'Do what?"

"Being a damn hero all the time."

"Huh?"

"How do you go and risk your life all the time for complete strangers, even your enemies?" Accelerator asked annoyed.

Touma thought for a moment and shrugged. "No idea really, I just can't stand to see people hurt and if I have the power to help them I will. I don't see why people find that complicated. You would do everything possible to save Last Order wouldn't you?"

"Tsk," Accelerator said looking at the little girl getting her treat. "I have a small group of people I will protect, they are like family but I don't think I could go halfway around the world to save random strangers. My phone holds the important people."

"Heh," Touma said smirking realizing something. "Didn't you put my number in there?"

Accelerator stares at him for a moment and quickly takes out his phone. "That's it I'm deleting you." Touma laughs but quickly turns it into a cough when Accelerator looked up at him. Neither of them talked again until all the girls came back with candy. Mikoto handed Touma one too and Last Order handed Accelerator one. They took it and ate with everyone else.

The rest of the day went smoothly. Last Order took them on every ride she could go on. She was incredibly sad she wasn't able to go on the roller coaster because of her height and cried for several minutes. Of course Worst teased her to no end about it, but other than that, Worst didn't behave too badly. Touma was glad everyone seemed to be having fun, even Accelerator though grudgingly. He found himself watching Mikoto more often then was natural and every time she looked at him he immediately looked away to not get caught. He felt something weird in the pit of his stomach when she laughed at something. Eventually the sun began to set and they had to physically drag Last Order out of the amusement park. On the ride back, she fell asleep on the bus but still held on tightly to her lion while her head rested on Accelerator's shoulder. He didn't seem to mind. Worst had fallen asleep too and was holding a balloon she had somehow acquired when everyone had their backs turned. Touma was sure there was a sad kid out there somewhere.

"That was pretty fun," Mikoto whispered to Touma.

"First normal day for me in awhile," Touma replied.

"Heh," Mikoto grinned. "Not surprising with your luck. I'm surprised you kept it under control for the entire day."

"Because I can obviously control it," Touma said sarcastically rolling his eyes but grinning a bit. "I plan to save it until your next school test and give all of my misfortune to you."

"My grades would still be higher than yours," Mikoto said punching him in the arm.

"Ouch," Touma said faking serious injury. "Two low blows at once." Mikoto laughed.

They finally get back to Accelerator's apartment and saw both of his guardians passed out in a mountain of beer cans. Index was awake and watching TV but looked like she was about to doze off too. Touma waved to her and she smiled but started to drift backwards and forwards on the couch. Everyone was going to be quiet to avoid waking the sleeping drunks except Worst had other plans and slammed the door behind her. Aiho woke up with a start.

"Ah," she said yawning and standing up slowly. "You guysss are back." Her words were slurring a bit.

"Hello sensei," Touma said. "We came to pick up Index before heading back."

"Do you know how much ssshe can eat?" Aiho asked hiccupping. "Ssshe would eat usss out of houssse and home in a week. I gave her some beer and ssshe went to sleep pretty quickly."

"You gave her alcohol?" Touma yelled. "You call yourself a teacher?"

"She's just a kid," gasped Mikoto.

"Not ssso loud," Aiho said grasping her head.

"Hah," Worst laughed. "Misaka wonders what would happen to Yomikawa if others found out about her giving alcohol to a minor."

"Look, Look," Last Order cries showing off her lion. "Accelerator won MISAKA this lion MISAKA says jumping up and down trying to distract everyone with her cuteness."

"Bunch of idiots, all of you," Accelerator groaned. "I'm going to bed." He turned and headed into his room and Last Order tried to follow him but was unceremoniously thrown out.

"Misaka wants to sleep too. You all can find your own way out." Worst heads to her room.

Touma walks over to Index who holds her arms up for Touma to pick her up. He kneels down in front of her and she falls forward on his back and promptly falls back to sleep. He lifts her up, steps around Aiho who passed out again on the floor, and he and Mikoto left, closing the door quietly behind them. They both walked together since they were traveling in roughly the same direction.

"Is she really a teacher?" Mikoto asked in disbelief.

"Yea," Touma sighed and nodded. "She is pretty serious when she needs to be but tends to be pretty relaxed most of the time. You saw what she was like when working for Anti-Skill."

"But giving alcohol to a minor?"

"She was probably pretty wasted herself and I bet Index grabbed the beer first."

"Hmm, if you say so," Mikoto says thoughtfully. "Oh yea, I want to ask you something."

"Sure, what?" Touma asked.

"How serious are you and Saten-san getting?"

That stopped Touma in his tracks. He turned to look at Mikoto who was watching him closely. It was dark so he didn't notice, but she had turned bright red. "What do you mean?"

"Are you in a serious relationship with her?"

"Ah," Touma said thinking. "Right now, I don't think so. We only went out once and didn't get to spend a lot of time together because, well you know. We plan to hang out tomorrow though. We still need to get to know each other better before we can be in any type of serious relationship. And with my luck, something will keep postponing getting to know each other. In fact, I know you better than I know Ruiko."

Mikoto started to laugh at his comment about his luck but the last sentence he said stopped her. She felt her face flush and she couldn't talk for a moment. The fact he said he and Ruiko weren't in a serious relationship yet made her heart pound. The memory of her conversation with Ruiko from two days ago jumped in the front of her mind again and she could have sworn smoke was coming from her ears. "W-well," she stammered. "We have been through some pretty weird stuff."

Touma laughed, "Yea, even the few times we hung out alone, some other disaster usually happened."

"You saying, I'm bad luck?" Mikoto teased but his words hit her in the heart. _He remembers our time together._

"Don't be silly," Touma said dismissively. "We both know who has all the bad luck. You just tend to be a catalyst for my luck." He grins at her. "I still remember all those duels. Thanks to you, I can never get my hair to lie flat ever again."

"I…Like your spiky hair," Mikoto mumbles.

"Sorry what?"

"Nothing you idiot." She blurted out angrier then she felt was necessary.

"Ah," Touma sighed depressed. "You went back to calling me that again. Thought we moved pass that."

"Heh," Mikoto said. "I might stop if you can get better grades then me."

"Now you want the impossible too," grumbled Touma and they both laughed.

Mikoto eventually parted ways with Touma to go back to her dorm while Touma headed back to his. It wasn't too late but it still was dark out and he didn't want to draw attention to himself. How many people would jump to the wrong conclusion if they saw a high school boy carrying a drunken foreign child on his back? Somehow he managed to get back to his dorm unnoticed, even by Motoharu who had his lights on next door. He quickly unlocked his door and carried Index to the bed where he gently put her down and covered her up with sheets. He thought he heard her mumble something about cake and he smiled. He went to the bathtub where he slept since he only had one bed, and went to sleep thinking about his date with Ruiko tomorrow. His dreams, however, had other plans. He kept thinking about a certain brown short hair girl in ways only high school students could but probably shouldn't.

* * *

 **So when I started this scene I didn't originally plan for it to take an entire chapter but I had fun writing it and decided to keep it as is. No point in writing anything if you don't enjoy it.** **I hope I kept Misaka Worst in character. I am not very far in the light novels and only skimmed many of the later ones.**

 **Special thanks to Hahahah for the idea of making inviting Touma Accelerator's idea instead of Last Order's. It really tied the beginning together and reinforced my idea of wanting to add Worst.**

 **Thanks to everyone who read this. Feel free to drop a comment, review, suggestion, message, ideas, etc.**


	9. Honesty

**So due to father's day last weekend, I didn't have any plans to keep me busy outside the house and I got a lot of work done on this chapter Saturday and part of Sunday. I still hung out with my Dad most of Sunday. Hope everyone had a good Father's Day.**

 **I like to take a moment to thank everyone who has commented, I look forward to all reviews. I really enjoy ready about the things people like, didn't like, look forward too, and all of their interesting ideas and suggestions. I notice some of you seem to find hints of what is going to happen later on, good for you. It also seems many of you are looking forward to the tournament. Good news, it will start next chapter.**

 **However, I am looking for ideas for some interesting powers to round out the tournament matches besides the normal ones like elemental or telekinesis. Any ideas feel free to leave in a review or send me a private message, which ever you prefer. Thanks for the help.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

Touma woke up early in the morning feeling guilty, but wasn't quite sure why. He felt as if it had something to do with his dream last night, but he never remembered them when he woke up. Touma stretched while yawning, yesterday really tired him out. Keeping up with Last Order is not an easy task. Like most kids, she was virtually a little ball of energy. He got up, showered, brushed his teeth, and left the bathroom to see how Index was doing. She was curled up into a little ball on the bed and was clutching her head. He realized he didn't know how much alcohol Index managed to get a hold of last night, so she might have a pretty serious hangover. He went to the kitchen and brought her a glass of water.

"How are you feeling Index," he asked concern. Only a grunt from the bed was her answer. "Here's some water to help you feel better. Not so fast," he quickly said as Index tried to get up, "Slowly." He handed her the water and she gulped it down gratefully.

"What happened," Index asked groggily. "I feel sick."

"You got your hands on alcohol," Touma said shaking his head. "It's not really good for you."

"Why do adults drink it then?" she asked.

"Well," Touma said but he didn't have a really good answer. "It's not bad in small amounts for them but too much of a good thing causes problems you know."

"That's not true," Index said indignantly. "You can never have too much cake."

"Ok, you got me there" Touma said smiling humoring her. "But still, some stuff you shouldn't have."

"I will never have alcohol again," Index said slumping back in bed. "I don't want to do anything today."

"That's fine," Touma said. "I'll make you some food before I head out. You can just rest for today and call me if anything comes up."

"Thank you Touma," Index said sounding more cheerful. "You're the best. I promise not to bite you for leaving me yesterday." He grimaced slightly at the thought of her biting strength.

Touma made her some breakfast and, after she gulped it down, Index went back to sleep. He also prepared some lunch for her to microwave but that might have been a pointless endeavor. Index was not technologically savvy at all. It took Touma a long time to teach her how to use a cell phone. After Index was taken care of, Touma left the dorm. He wasn't sure what he was going to do for a couple hours before meeting Ruiko, but he figured his luck would probably ruin anything he planned to do anyways. _Maybe I'll get her something as thanks for the museum tickets._

Touma's Law, when anything bad can happen, it probably will. Touma found himself trapped in an ally at a dead end and coming towards him were ten thugs. He had been in plenty of street brawls before, taking one to two guys at once was doable, sometimes three to four, but ten, there was no way he would win. If they were ability users who relied only on their power he might have a small shot, but judging by the fact most of them were muscular guys, they probably weren't.

It's not like Touma purposely got in these kinds of situations. He was simply walking down the street looking at shops and debating what would be a good gift for Ruiko. He didn't want to get anything elaborate because it was only their second date, but rather, something different she might like. _I don't know a lot about her interests but maybe I'll see something._ He didn't know if it was his fault for not watching where he was going, or if it was the person who bumped into him, but the bump from some random stranger knocked Touma into a girl who was walking next to him. His bump caused her to spill her drink all over herself. Touma was a nice guy and he immediately apologized, but the girl's boyfriend next to her wasn't very forgiving. It turns out the girl's boyfriend was the head of a gang and within about 30 seconds, Touma was backing away as ten guys started to surround him.

"Get him honey," the girl said maliciously. 'Teach that loser his place."

"Anything for you babe," the big muscular shaved head leader said.

Touma turned and bolted as fast as he could while calling over his shoulder, "I'm sorry." He heard the thug's footsteps right behind him as he dashed through the crowds. "SUCH MISFORTUNE!"

That is how Touma ended up in this dangerous situation stuck between a dead end street and several thugs who just wanted to pummel him into paste. He took up a fighting stance with his fists held up but realized, even if he could take out a couple of them, he would eventually be overwhelmed by numbers. _Dang it, but I guess this is what I get for having a day of fun._

"Hold it right there," a female voice called out from the entrance to the ally. "Judgment, stop what you are doing." Everyone in the ally turned to see a female, probably in high school, with short black hair and glasses. "We had report some hooligans were chasing a civilian." She looked familiar to Touma but he didn't really have time to spare about where he met her before.

The leader of the thugs laughed. "Come on girl," he said. "Let us take care of business here first then we can play with you if you like." He looked her up and down. "Not a bad body on this one. You three go get her."

Three of the guys moved forward to take care of the Judgment girl but it didn't go as they hoped. Judgment may be formed from only students, but as these thugs forget a lot, they are trained in self defense and many of them are ability users. One of the thugs tried to grab her and she rotated out of the way, grabbed his arm, and threw him over her shoulder and he landed on his back. The second guy yelled and threw a punch at her. She side stepped the blow and tripped him causing him to fall the ground. The third guy actually might have been able to jump her if another smaller girl didn't dive around the corner tripping him too and causing him to fall on the second guy. Touma saw this girl had a lot of flowers in her hair.

"Uiharu-san?" he asked bewildered.

"Kamijou-san," she said eyes widening. "You're the civilian?"

"What the hell is this?" the main thug roared. "You lot are being taken down by girls. "You two, kill that guy. Rest of you with me and get those two girls." They may have been a street gang but they clearly had a chain of command. Two guys were beginning to move to Touma and the remaining five guys started to move to Judgment when the leader suddenly found him being hoisted into the air by his foot. Everyone stopped and looked up at their leader who screamed. Touma saw a black tendril wrapped around the leader's ankle and followed the line to the guy who stepped into view behind Kazari and the other judgment girl.

"Sup Touma," Jason said grinning. "I thought I heard your battle cry."

* * *

"I don't see why I have to apologize to that ape," Kuroko said crossing her arms. She, Mikoto, and Ruiko were all sitting down at Joseph's waiting for Touma to arrive. "I rather not think about that event, and besides, why should such a brute be worthy of an apology from me." This caused her to get hit by Mikoto.

"Because," she said through gritted teeth. "You decided to make a scene and cause trouble for him. He did nothing to you. You also gave all of us a heart attack when we saw what happened."

"Come on Shirai-san," Ruiko added. "Can't you try to be nice to him?"

"I can't understand Uiharu's and your taste in boys," Kuroko said shaking her head. "I don't know what you see in them. They don't compare at all to the beauty and grace of my onee-sama. Even a minute without her is a lifetime of loneliness." She teleports into the lap of Mikoto and snuggles against her chest. The moment doesn't last as a spark of electricity and Kuroko falls off smoking slightly.

"He's really nice," Ruiko said. "He also is willing to help anyone in trouble."

"Tell me about it," Mikoto said snickering. She stopped when she saw Kuroko and Ruiko watching her closely.

"Misaka-san," Ruiko said covering her grinning mouth with her hand. "It sounds like you know Touma quite well. But I suppose since you said you were always getting into fights with him, I guess that's natural."

Kuroko's head snapped back and forth as she looked between them. "Onee-sama, please tell me you aren't chasing after that troglodyte. Is that why you always have those weird dreams and sleep talk when you get back late?"

"I-I have no idea what you are talking about Kuroko," Mikoto sputtered trying to deny it but her face turning bright red did not go unnoticed by Ruiko and Kuroko. She, in fact, usually dreamt about Touma after those long nights of chasing him while trying to get him to duel her.

Kuroko face paled and head fell onto the table. "It can't be. Onee-sama rejects my pure and honest love…..for an ape. How could this happen?"

"By pure and honest do you mean jumping her when she lets her guard down?" Ruiko asked.

"I demonstrate my boundless love through intimate physical contact," Kuroko replies looking up and puffing out her chest. "I also keep all of our special moments forever immortalized."

"If you are talking about the picture binder where you have all those pictures of me in personal places," Mikoto said through gritted teeth. "I burned it weeks ago."

"Onee-sama," Kuroko cried while jumping on Mikoto. "How could you be so cruel? I worked so hard on that album for us." She started to rub her head into Mikoto's chest which just led to another shock. She fell back into the booth. "I guess we just have to make new memories then," she said still smoking and grinning while staring into space. "The bathroom is such a great place." A line of drool came out of her mouth.

"Leave me out of your perverted delusions," Mikoto groaned while Ruiko grinned.

"You two are such great friends," Ruiko said. "Ah, I see Touma, and it seems Uiharu and Kagere-san are also with him. Hang on." She gets up and heads over to them.

"Be nice and make sure to apologize to Touma," Mikoto warns Kuroko. She sighs and nods reluctantly.

Outside of Joseph's, Jason, Touma and Kazari were talking. Touma still had fifteen minutes before he was supposed to meet with Ruiko. They had just started to talk about Touma's involvement in the unfortunate event earlier that day when suddenly….

"UI-HA-RU." Kazari found her skirt being flipped by Ruiko from behind. "Blue stripes today eh, thought for sure you would where those new ones.

"SATEN-SAN!" Kazari cried loudly turning red and started lightly pounding on Ruiko with his fists. "How could you in front of boys? Don't talk about my underwear." She quickly turned around and saw Touma looking away red faced from her and Jason pretended to not see anything but was grinning. Kazari's face turned crimson and she almost passed out but was caught my Jason.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't do that in public," Jason commented as he helped Kazari into the diner. "New ones?" Kazari shook her head really fast and looked at the ground.

"But it relaxes me, and I figured you would enjoy the show," she said grinning looking at Jason. "I wanted to check something too."

"I never said I didn't like it," Jason grinned. "Touma enjoyed it too didn't you?" He nudged Touma in the side.

"Don't drag me into your situation," Touma said. "I have enough bad luck as it is."

"Liked getting chase across town by gangs?"

"Touma, you got into problems with a gang?" Ruiko asked astonished.

"It was pretty funny," Jason commented.

Everyone took their seats together with Mikoto and Kuroko. Touma noticed Kuroko seemed to be smoking slightly and he had a pretty good idea why. Kazari regained consciousness but was still bright red and couldn't look Jason in the eye. Mikoto kept nudging Kuroko but Touma didn't know why, usually it was Kuroko who bothered Mikoto. He turned to Ruiko.

"What do you want to do today?" he asked her.

"Hmm," Ruiko said sipping her drink. "I figure we get lunch then visit the mall. Maybe visit the batting cages, the actual ones, not the virtual ones."

"Sounds fun," Touma said. "You like playing sports?" Ruiko nodded.

"Fine onee-sama," Kuroko said out of nowhere but looking like she was being forced to eat something unpleasant. "Hey ape," Mikoto jabbed her in the side with her elbow again, "Eh, Kamijou-san, I want to apologize for that scene earlier at your school. I shouldn't have caused you problems."

Touma looked at her and he thought she wouldn't have done this if it wasn't for Mikoto. "It is fine Shirai-san," he said at last. "We all know whose fault it was." Everyone turned to Jason.

"Hey, I apologized to Shirai." Jason said raising his hands in front of him in surrender.

"Don't address me so casually," Kuroko snapped at Jason.

"Did Uiharu make you?" Ruiko asked interested.

Jason's expression changed dramatically. He crossed his arms, fear etched over his face, and he started shaking. Everyone stared at him. Touma saw his eyes dart quickly to Kazari. "She didn't…..make me," he said slowly, as if he was weighing his words. "We talked and agreed I should apologize. She did not threaten me with anything horrible should I refuse." Everyone turned and looked at Kazari in shock.

 _I thought she was the quiet gentle one,_ Touma thought to himself.

"W-what," Kazari gasped. "Nothing like that happened. Jason, don't say things like that."

"Ha," Jason said finally laughing as his face broke into a grin. "I finally got you to call me by my first name. I knew it was my fault. We just talked a bit but nothing else happened." He put his arm around Kazari and pulled her close which just made her turn red again. Everyone else relaxed. "I couldn't resist teasing you all a little bit."

"I really can't believe anything you say anymore," Touma said shaking his head. "Your acting was really good though."

"He always lies," Kuroko muttered. "He's probably use to it."

"So Touma," Ruiko interjected before any arguing could start. "What happened with that gang?" Both Mikoto and Kuroko's ears perked up at this news.

"Ah," Touma said rubbing his head. "An unfortunate accident spiraled out of control and some guys wanted to fight and cornered me in an ally. Uiharu-san, Jason, and Konori-san jumped in and helped me." Mii Konori was Kazari's and Kuroko's senpai in their Judgment branch. Mikoto and Ruiko had met her before since they sometimes hang out in the Judgment branch office. "Well, we captured those guys and Anti-Skill took them away."

"What kind of accident?" Mikoto asked grinning.

"Nothing worth mentioning," Touma shrugged. "Just bumped into someone and they didn't like it."

"Some people over react to everything," Mikoto sighed shaking her head. Touma raised an eyebrow at her. She did not over look his gesture and glared back at him as if she dared him to say something else.

"It turns out Konori-senpai and Kamijou-san actually met before," Kazari said. "He helped her a couple days ago fighting some criminals, including a level 3 ability user. She almost didn't recognize him."

"Always rescuing girls right Touma," Jason said grinning.

"Shut up, I did rescue you," Touma shot back grinning.

"Well played. But how come she turned red when she recognized you?"

"No idea," Touma lied. He knew exactly why she turned red but he wasn't going to tell Jason about it, especially in front of all these girls. He noticed Mikoto and Kuroko seemed to be interested in his answer too.

"Well," Kazari continued. "She said Kamijou-san took out the ability user's Solidification in one punch. It should have been like punching a steel wall."

"Eh," Touma said sheepishly trying to think of an excuse. "I was probably lucky and he hadn't activated his ability."

"Maybe you negated it," Ruiko said her eyes sparkling.

Touma coughed on his drink, "What?" He looked around, only Jason appeared confused, everyone else was staring at him intently. _Do they know? If they do, how did they find out? It doesn't look like Jason told them._ "I'm just a level 0," he said thinking fast. "How could I negate anything?"

"Well," Ruiko said offhandedly. "If your power couldn't be detected you would be labeled a level 0, even with an ability."

Touma stared at her. _She obviously knows, but how did she find out._ He looked at everyone, Mikoto was smirking, Kuroko was staring at him intently, Ruiko was staring at him with her eyes still sparkling, Kazari looked embarrassed but still focused on him, and Jason was mouthing, ' _They know.'_ Touma sighed. "How did you find out?"

"Uiharu," Ruiko said boldly. Kazari turned red and looked at the ground.

"Should have guessed that," Jason said as realization took hold. "Elite hacker, finding confidential information on students, good news is she can't get mad at me for bending a few rules now." He looked at Kazari and she turned even redder.

"We looked up you too," Kuroko said. "All about your head researcher position and LOCK-DOWN."

"Hmm," Jason said thoughtfully. "Going to have to make some head rolls tonight. They said their system was secure."

"So Touma," Ruiko continued focusing on him. "Tell us about your Imagine Breaker."

Touma sighed. "It's not that impressive."

"It was able to block my electricity like it was nothing and you defeated Accelerator," Mikoto snapped. "We promise not to spread it around so tell us." She looked around and everyone nodded including Jason.

 _Damn it Jason,_ Touma thought. _He's pretending not to know anything. Guess I can use some of the explanation he gave. Well, as much as I remember._ "Well, the Imagine Breaker was something I was born with. It negates any supernatural abilities it comes in contact with, levels don't seem to matter. I don't know exactly how it works but it seems to interfere with individual's reality."

"You were born with it so does that make you a gemstone?" Ruiko asked.

"I don't think so," Touma said. "I don't emit an AIM field so it might not be a scientific ability. I just recently started going in for some testing to start figuring out how it works."

"Is the effect permanent?" Kazari asks.

"No," Touma replied shaking his head. "It only negates the ability currently hitting me. If I make direct contact though, the ability can't be used until the contact is broken.

"That explains why I can't teleport you," Kuroko says as Touma's words reminded her. Touma nods.

"How does it interfere with someone's reality?" Mikoto asked generally interested.

"It somehow jams the AIM field ability users emit," Touma said. "I don't really know anything beyond that. As I said, they just started researching it."

"So all those rumors about a boy negating powers, was you?" Ruiko asked hopefully.

"Yea," Touma said nodding. "Most people get confused when they see it the first time and think they messed up in the heat of battle. It's probably why it has just remained a rumor."

"I can't believe this troglodyte manage to beat onee-sama," Kuroko fumed biting a napkin and looking daggers at Touma.

"I wouldn't say beat," Touma said laughing. "I mostly ran for my life in the other direction while keeping her lightning bolts from turning me into a scorch mark on the ground."

"Pssh," Mikoto said waving her hand dismissively. "I never struck at you seriously."

"Those iron sand blades said otherwise." Mikoto blushed in response.

"I take it you two would spend all night playing tag then?" asked Ruiko a huge grin appearing on her face. Both Touma and Mikoto turned red.

"Onee-sama?" Kuroko said in shock. "Tell me this troglodyte hasn't forcefully conquered you and taken your innocence. Please tell me you are still untouched for me." Everyone started at her in shock and wide eyed amazement.

Mikoto opened her mouth then closed her eyes, shook with enough rage she couldn't speak, and several sparks started appearing around her and the lights in the restaurant started flicking. Everyone started backing away from her and Kuroko realized she might have gone too far. Touma, on instinct, quickly lunged across the table and grabbed Mikoto's wrist and all the electricity stopped and the lights went back to normal.

"Shirai-san," Kazari said nervously. "You went too far."

"Onee-sama," Kuroko whispered hesitantly. "I'm sorry."

Mikoto opened her eyes. "I'm sorry too, I shouldn't have overreacted." She looked down and saw Touma grabbing her wrist and she turned crimson.

"Wow," Ruiko said amazed. "It's true. His hand completely stopped her ability."

"We should probably head out," Touma said looking around. "The manager doesn't look to happy with us." Everyone threw down some money on the table for their drinks and rushed out of there before the manager freaked out and called Anti-Skill.

* * *

Since they had to leave before ordering food, they just grabbed some sandwiches and ate in the park. It was unusually quiet because Kuroko wasn't trying to show her "pure and honest love" to Mikoto. She was letting Mikoto cool down before trying anything else. Eventually they decided to go to the batting cages as Ruiko suggested since it was further away then the mall and they could stop on the way back to do shopping. On the way there, Ruiko and Mikoto were constantly questioning Touma on his Imagine Breaker.

At the batting cages, everyone started acting normal again and had fun. Ruiko, since she loves baseball and comes to the cages often, was doing great. She hit nearly every ball she swung at. Mikoto was in the same league, after all, she was very athletic and spots came easy to her. Kuroko and Touma were doing about average because both of them did a lot of physical activities, Judgment and saving people, but neither of them played baseball except occasionally in school. No one expected Kazari to be good at sports because she spent most of her time on computers. She at least tried to hit a couple balls before giving up and stopping. Touma however, expected Jason to be good, but to his surprise, Jason was horrible. He managed to hit about one out of ten pitches by pure luck. Touma could tell he did not play baseball. Jason eventually gave up and hung out with Kazari while everyone else alternated between batting and talking.

"Ruiko," Touma said. "You are pretty good at this."

"I came here often," she said smiling. "Great way to let off some steam and relax after a tough day of school. You aren't too bad either."

"I tend to get involved in a lot of things so it keeps me pretty active."

"That's an understatement," Jason called out laughing.

"I don't see why you come way out here Saten-san instead of the virtual ones near the schools." Kuroko said looking around. The batting cages weren't exactly new but they were still relatively well maintained.

"It's not the same," Ruiko said as if stating the obvious. "The feel of the bat in your hand as you hit a real ball can't be compared to hitting a virtual one."

Crack, Mikoto had just hit another ball. "I can see truth in that Saten-san. It's definitely more fun than the virtual ones." She exited the cages and took off her helmet. "Who's next?"

"I think Uiharu needs another turn," Ruiko says smirking. 'She gave up to easily."

"No no I'm fine," Kazari replied quickly shaking her head.

"I agree with Saten-san," Jason said smirking. "Little exercise won't kill you." He takes the laptop she always carries and pushes her to the cages. Mikoto hands her the helmet and the bat.

"Good luck," Kuroko says trying not to laugh as everyone forces Kazari into the cages again.

"You'll be fine," Touma said to her noticing how nervous she was. Everyone else also shouted encouragement but Kazari was not the most sports oriented among them. _Well,_ Touma thought. _She's definitely trying._ No one could deny that. She swung at every ball even if she wasn't anywhere close to hitting one. Finally, her bat made a solid crack as it hit a ball and everyone cheered. She left the cages slightly embarrassed but still happy she manage to hit at least one.

"Hey Jason," Touma asked. "Why are you so bad at baseball? I thought you were good at spots."

"I'm a soccer player," Jason replied dismissively. "I don't play baseball."

"I finally beat you at something," Touma said.

"Don't get cocky," Jason warned. 'The universe will make sure your luck goes against you." Mikoto laughed at this.

"I've been wondering," Kuroko said. "You three seem to have this inside joke about the ape's luck. What is with that? Onee-sama, why do you keep secrets from me?"

"I don't keep secrets," Mikoto said while Touma rolled his eyes behind her, "It's just not my explanation to give."

"Well," Touma said. "I suppose I can tell you, most of my class knows about it but not about my ability. Someone told me once my Imagine Breaker is actually nullifying my luck as a side effect. That's why a lot of bad things happen to me."

"I think I've noticed that," Jason said thoughtfully. "That's interesting."

"Oh come on," Kuroko said dismissively. "There's no way that's true. Luck is just a set of probabilities."

"He does have an unusual amount of bad luck for just being a probability," Mikoto said.

"Everyone in class say's he acts as a lightning rod for their bad luck," Jason added.

"What kind of bad luck?" Ruiko asked curiously. She loved strange rumors.

'Well," Touma started to say when a bird flying over him decided to drop a number two on his head and everyone took a step back in response. "That was a great example of my luck," he sighed. Everyone else was trying to hold in a laugh except Kuroko who openly laughed loudly. They decided to head out after that and hang out at the mall because several of the girls wanted to go shopping. Of course, Touma had to get cleaned up first.

* * *

At the underground mall, Mikoto, Kuroko, Kazari, and Ruiko were checking out summer clothes while Touma and Jason just hung back outside of the stores. These were not stores high school boys wanted to be caught in by people they knew. They were not the only ones there either, it seemed like a lot of other guys were waiting outside these clothes stores. This was Touma's first real experience waiting for girls with other guys and he actually wasn't being dragged around to pretend to be a boyfriend. He actually was hanging out with girls as friends. The rest of Delta Force would hate him if they saw him now.

"Are you nervous about the tournament tomorrow?" Jason asked.

"I hadn't really thought about it," Touma said then sighed. "Thanks for bringing it up."

Jason grinned. "Well, I think Accelerator will probably steal the stage from you."

"I'm surprised he even agreed to be our representative," Touma stated still amazed. "I figured he didn't care about those things."

"Maybe he has an alternative motive." Jason said thoughtfully.

"I doubt it. He seems to be the kind of person who says what he thinks."

"Hey what are you two talking about?" Ruiko asked as all the girls returned.

"Just talking about the tournament next week," Jason replied.

"Our school isn't going to be participating," Ruiko sighed.

"Why," Touma asked.

"We don't have many high level ability users," Kazari said. "There are a couple level threes but they didn't want to join."

"Our class felt that way till they got Accelerator to agree," Touma said understanding their reasoning.

Kuroko's, Kazari's, and Ruiko's jaw dropped. "Accelerator is your representative?"

"Ah yea," Touma said rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "He joined our class a while ago and he sort of got pressured into it."

"Onee-sama will still win," Kuroko said determinedly as if stating the obvious. "But if she had me as a partner we would definitely win with the power of love."

"Oh yea, you are in different classes," Touma said and Kuroko glared at him.

"She cried for days after that," Mikoto sighed still remembering the incident. "She tried everything to allow her to team up with me."

"Onee-sama," Kuroko cried lunging at her. "I was sure our love could override the silly rules to keep us apart." Mikoto quickly kicked her and sent her spinning across the floor.

"So luckily another level four in my class volunteered," continued Mikoto as if nothing happened. "She's pretty skilled so we shouldn't have any problems with the class matches. By the way I didn't ask yesterday, whose Accelerator's teammate?"

"Let me guess, Kagere-san?" Ruiko asked looking at him. Jason shook his head.

"Nah," he said unable to contain his glee as he smiled, "We got someone else much better than me."

"Who?" everyone asked him and Jason's eyes shifted to look at Touma.

"Touma?" Mikoto said eyes growing wide in shock.

"Do they all know about your ability," Ruiko asked. "I thought most people saw you as a level 0."

"No," Touma said. "They don't."

"Why would they send a level 0 to represent them then," asked Kazari curiously.

"Because they are all crazy, so I kind of got forced to join," Touma said depressed. "They wouldn't take no for an answer. Even the teacher was willing to give me extra credit for participating."

"Your class sounds like so much fun," Ruiko said eyes sparkling. "My teachers are so boring."

"You will definitely be defeated by onee-sama," Kuroko said loudly. "There is no way she will lose to you ape."

"Hah," Jason laughed. "Touma will obviously win. No one can beat him." He and Kuroko glared at each other and Touma could swear sparks flew between their eyes. _Well, as long as Shirai-san has someone else to take her anger out on I guess it's ok._

"Wait," Kuroko said thinking hard. "Onee-sama, when did you talk to this ape yesterday?"

"Ah," Mikoto said avoiding eye contact. "We have the same acquaintance and sort of met up with them."

"Oh really," Kuroko eyed her suspiciously. "You wouldn't have happened to meet him and spent the entire day with him while I was in Judgment?"

"Well," Mikoto said still avoiding direct eye contact. She could not tell Kuroko about spending a day with Touma at an amusement park, even if it was someone's birthday. Her eyes darted to Touma for a second asking for help.

"Shirai-san," Touma said exasperatedly. "We ran into each other and met a friend of ours. Nothing else happened." _Except for the one ride, but she doesn't need to know about that._ "Besides, there's no way we could be together. She's way out of my league." Mikoto wanted to yell at him right there but she felt a sharp pain through her heart at his words. He sometimes said really insensitive things sometimes without realizing it. Jason raised an eyebrow and Kazari and Ruiko looked at each other.

"Humph," Kuroko said. "At least you know your place." She turned and walked away to the next store with Ruiko and Kazari following her. Jason looked like he wanted to say something but, being uncharacteristically quiet, he too followed Kuroko. Mikoto looked at Touma and her face got really red, but she wasn't entirely sure if it was anger or embarrassment.

"Should we get going too?" Touma asked her because Mikoto didn't seem to be moving. He turned to leave but felt a hand grab his sleeve. He looked and saw Mikoto had a hold of him. "What is it Mikoto?"

"I have something important to tell you," she said her face turning bright red.

"Ah," Touma replied slightly nervous. "Is it about what I said before?"

"No you idiot," Mikoto said angrily then took a deep breath, her face was still bright red and she wasn't looking directly at him. "I wanted to tell you it today but I think I am going to wait till after the tournament so neither of us get's distracted."

"If it's important…" Touma began.

"It is," Mikoto said interrupting him. "But I don't want it to be a distraction for the tournament. So I will tell you right afterwards, regardless of the outcome. So make sure you do your best. I won't forgive you if you lose before facing me." She looked at him and he saw a strong resolution in her eyes.

"Ok," Touma nods. "I promise and I'll meet with you after the tournament." He saw her smile and he felt his heart leap. He watched her turn and head after their friends. After a moment hesitation, thinking about what she possibly wanted to tell him, Touma followed her.

A short distance away from them, a pair of teens was hiding behind a pillar. Jason and Ruiko had separated from Kuroko and Kazari and were spying on Mikoto and Touma. Only after Mikoto and Touma finished their conversation and went off in the direction of Kuroko and Kazari did they step out from behind the pillar. They both were interested in what was going to happen.

"Ah I thought she would finally confess," Ruiko said putting her hands behind her head and looking at the ceiling. "It sounds like something good happened yesterday and after what Kuroko said, it would have been good timing."

Jason looked at her in silence, his face passive and unreadable. "You might be right," he said. "But are you ok with this?"

"Huh?" Ruiko asked surprised. "They make a cute couple and I know Mikoto has liked Touma for awhile. She is just really shy with the truth around him."

"That's not what I asked." Ruiko opened her mouth to respond with something but nothing came out. She closed her mouth and looked at the floor her face turning a slight red. "I thought so. I think you need to be more honest with yourself too." He smirked slightly and walked away looking for Kazari leaving Ruiko to think about her choices.

* * *

 **Well, all the main characters except Accelerator know about the Imagine Breaker now. I could have just summarized the explanation but those are so boring. Also, now Mikoto knows Touma is in the tournament, I wonder what would happen if they face off? Could Ruiko really like Touma too? Stay tuned.**

 **Thanks for reading and feel free to leave any comment, review, ideas, or suggestions.**


	10. Tournament Begins

**There were a lot of good comments since last chapter and I can tell people are eagerly waiting for the tournament. Wait no longer and I hope you all enjoy it.**

 **I want to give special thanks to Bandit, as he gave me a lot of great ideas.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

Touma woke up that morning feeling pretty conflicted. Yesterday, he had a lot of fun with everyone but it seemed near the end of the shopping trip, Ruiko was a little distant with him. She still talked with him, smiled, and laughed a lot but there was less of the closeness he felt when being around her. He didn't know if he did something wrong but part of him felt like he probably did. In the end, he and Ruiko had some time to talk alone without everyone else around. They decided to keep it casual for now and if something happened later they would cross that bridge when it came. At least she was still his friend and they decided to keep using each other's first name. Part of him felt relieved, as if he didn't think a serious relationship with her was right at this time. As he got up, he tried to sort everything out in his head until he realized it was Monday. The tournament he was forced into was going to start today and his spirits sunk. He did his morning routine, prepared food for index, and headed to school.

"Kami-yan," Motoharu called out when Touma arrived. "How are you feeling?" He said the last line with a huge grin on his face.

"I hate you guys so much right now," Touma said. "I can't believe everyone wants me to fight."

"Think of the positives," Motoharu said. "If you win, even more girls will fall for you."

"Kamijou!" Pierce yelled. "Stop trying to get even more girls for your harem. I bet you asked Accelerator to pick you beforehand knowing full well he would do all the work."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Touma yelled back. "You think I want to make a fool of myself?"

Accelerator opened an eye as he leaned back in his chair. "He did ask," Accelerator lied. "I didn't care either way." Normally, he would never have sunk that low as to join these idiots in a conversation, but Worst had been bothering him constantly since the party and he felt like the hero needed some annoyances in his life too. It made him feel slightly better watching the aftermath.

"KAMIJOU," Pierce roared and tackled him. "I knew it. You pretend to not be interested in getting girls but you secretly work at it constantly. Who's next in your harem? Goths? Maids?"

Motoharu joined Pierce beating up Touma. "Don't you dare go after maids. If you do anything to my sister I will make you regret it."

"I never wanted to be in any of this!" Touma grunted loudly as he fought off the two attackers. "Damn it Accelerator." He thought he heard a small laugh at this. "I don't want to die at this tournament."

"You probably won't die," Jason said seriously. "Lots of Judgment and Anti-Skill will be there to help make sure matches don't get out of hand. I got forced into it too." He looked slightly disappointed he had to do actual work. "Though, you may be hospitalized for awhile if you are unlucky." He smirked.

"Why does everyone think me going to the hospital is funny?" Touma asked.

"Because you keep picking up the nurses," Motoharu said elbowing him in the back and knocking him to the ground.

"All of you idiots shut up," Seiri said stomping over. "Kamijou and Accelerator are going to represent us, stop beating one of them up before the match." However, her words were slower than her actions and Touma, Pierce and Motoharu were all beaten violently.

"Settle down," Komoe said entering the room. "I know everyone is excited about the tournament this afternoon but we still have classes until lunch. Kamijou-chan, do your best. Sensei will be so sad if you get hurt that she would have to help nurse you back to health…." She trailed off red. "Because, sensei got you into this tournament."

"Curse you Kamijou," Pierce yelled. "Even the teacher."

"Arg," Touma sighed. "I'm going to regret this."

* * *

The morning passed to quickly for Touma and all too soon it was lunch time, his last violence free hour. Everyone in class was wishing Touma and Accelerator luck including Seiri.

"Don't give up Kamijou," she said. "If you persevere, I know you will win."

"Awww," Motoharu commented. "She's so into you Kami-yan. You finally broke the Iron Wall." This got him a switch kick in between his legs by Seiri and he fell to the ground.

"Ignore the idiot," she said. "Accelerator, good luck to you too." He waved his hand dismissively as thanks.

"Um, good luck to both of you," a very quiet voice said from a girl who seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"Ah, a ghost!" Jason yelled and jumped back tripping over a chair and even Accelerator looked around in surprise. The girls name was Aisa Himegami. She had long black hair, a necklace with a cross around her neck, and a very neutral expression on her face. She would have looked perfect in a shrine maiden's outfit. Even though she looked like a very average girl, she held a very big secret within her. Within her was Deep Blood, the power to kill vampires. The cross necklace was made of a piece of the Walking Church to seal it. Only Touma and Motoharu in the class knew about her power. She is also very quiet and has a very weak presence which is why Jason and Accelerator haven't noticed her before.

"Don't be mean," Seiri said bopping Jason hard on the head. "It's rude to Himegami."

Komoe stuck her head in the class, "Excuse me," she called out happily. "Kamijou-chan, Accelerator-chan, you both need to come with me to get ready for your first match." Both of them stand up and walk after her with the class clapping and cheering behind them.

"We will come visit you in the hospital Touma," Jason called out while Pierce and Motoharu laughed.

Accelerator and Touma followed Komoe through the school and out to the sport fields in the back, occasionally passing other teams being escorted by teachers. Komoe was explaining the rules one last time for them. "Because these are qualifying matches there are time limits of 30 minutes each. A winner is declared when one side is unable to continue or forfeits. In rare situations, if deemed dangerous, judges can rule in favor of one side to prevent serious injuries. Each field has am outer ring, if you land outside the ring you will lose. This rule will not apply to the main tournament, only these qualifiers. We do have Judgment and Anti-Skill watching each match to help if it gets out of hand. We are looking at three rounds today and two tomorrow, any questions?"

"No sensei," Touma said shaking his head wearily. He still did not want to do this. Accelerator didn't seem too bothered by the rules or he just didn't show it on his face.

"Good luck to both of you," Komoe said softly. "We will all be rooting for you."

Touma and Accelerator went to the registration booth and finished the registration with their information and signed some waivers. They were then directed to field four to meet the judge who would be supervising their match. When they arrived the other team had not arrived yet, and there wasn't a judge either, the only person there was Jason who waved to them. Touma looked at him in shock.

"Please tell me you aren't the judge," Touma pleaded.

"Nah," Jason said. "I am the Judgment representative member overlooking the fight. Not a lot of high levels here so they placed me as a level four to watch the fight of the highest ability user here." He nodded to Accelerator. "But I'm sure both of you won't kill anyone today."

"No promises," Accelerator smirked.

"You're planning to let me get hospitalized," Touma said glaring at him.

"Of course not," Jason said dismissively. "Though our class has a pool going on how long you will last before going to the hospital." Touma groaned and Accelerator laughed.

They noticed more students exiting the school to come to watch the class matches. Touma was busy looking for his class and didn't notice the other team show up till they were right on top of him. Touma turned and looked at his two opponents. Both were male, one was about half a foot shorter then Touma with brown hair and a really nervous expression on his face. The taller one was about two inches taller than Touma with long jet black hair in a pony tail. His expression was a lot more intense but it was focused purely on Accelerator who appeared indifferent to the new comers. Eventually the judge walked up to get the match started.

"Ok both teams to their side of the field," the judge said pointing. "The match will begin in a minute. I will signal the start, do not go before my signal." Everyone nods and heads to their side of the field.

"So what do you think of the other team?" Touma asked Accelerator.

"Weaklings," Accelerator said bored. "It will take about five seconds to wipe them out."

"Try not to go overboard," Touma warned.

"Pssh," Accelerator replied with a very slight smirk. "When do I go overboard?" Before Touma could respond, the judge signaled the start of the match and both of them entered the ring. The ring was about 400 feet in diameter and flat with a thin layer of grass. They didn't have to worry about destroying the field as an earth ability user would fix the ground after each match. Touma watched the other team move towards them, the taller one was stretching his arms and the smaller one had some rocks levitating around him. _He must have telekinesis._ Touma opened his mouth to ask Accelerator what he wanted to do.

BOOM! The ground next to Touma exploded as Accelerator flipped the switch on his choker and lunged forward like a bullet covering over 300 feet in about 10 seconds. The other team jumped in surprise and started to scatter but they were both only about five feet away from Accelerator who stopped between them. He tapped his foot on the ground and half of the field virtually exploded. It was if someone had placed a large bomb under the field. The rocks and dirt around Accelerator flew at the two opponents pelting them while large cracks spread throughout the field separating the ring into about 10 different segments. Some of the segments started to rotate on their axis upwards, forming small makeshift hills on the field with a deep ditch surrounding them. The smaller opponent was blown away by the rocks and dirt and landed near the edge of the ring, but the larger guy was made of sterner stuff. He got knocked back and crashed into one of the makeshift hills but manage to stand back up. Touma had once been on the receiving end of Accelerator's earth blasts before and it was like being hit by a shotgun.

"Is that all you got?" Accelerator sneered, and Touma saw a hint of the old Accelerator.

"I won't give up," the guy yelled and he charged at Accelerator while swinging his arm back in a punching motion. Touma had to admire his courage. The guy's charge, though useless, was full of determination but Accelerator just tapped the ground again and another shotgun blast of dirt and rock pelted his opponent forcing him to stop. Accelerator then took a single step forward and lightly flicked the large guy in the chest. His ability caused his opponent to fly backwards, crashing though one of the makeshift hills, and flying outside of the ring then rolled on the ground unconscious.

"Tsk," Accelerator said more to himself than anyone else. "He just had physical strengthening, how boring."

The smaller guy just now manages to stand up in time to see his teammate get thrown out of the ring with a mere flick from Accelerator. He shakily raised his hand and several rocks floated up behind Accelerator and flew toward him like cannon balls. When they connected with Accelerator they just immediately went the exact opposite direction they were going, as if they had just bounced off of him. Touma knew this was Accelerator's deflect vector ability where he just automatically changed the direction of a vector a full 180 degrees. The smaller kid gasped and raised his hands to quickly pick up a few more rocks.

"Sorry," Touma apologized "But it's over." Everyone's attention was on Accelerator and Touma just snuck up behind the other opponent. The kid jumped and started to turn toward Touma but was knocked out by a single punch. The judge blew his whistle and the crowd cheered. Touma and Accelerator saw their class was cheering the loudest from the nearby stands as several medics rushed onto the field and were checking the conditions of their opponents. They left to talk to their class.

"Great job Accelerator," Seiri said. "Touma, good job staying in the game even if you let Accelerator do all the work."

"Ha," Touma laughed weekly. "He definitely took center stage."

Accelerator briefly acknowledged his classmates praise with his hand. A couple things were bothering him. Normally, when Accelerator fought an opponent, he just let them attack him and he would reflect everything back at them. The stronger the opponent, the faster they lost, and the more wounds they received. By charging forward and simply knocking them around, they usually only received minor bruising and losing consciousness unless Accelerator wanted to hurt them. Usually he went with option one and just let his opponent beat himself. He wasn't sure why he wanted to do it the second way, maybe a part of him just wanted to get it done quickly. His opponents didn't have any combat experience and he immediately thought of the similarities between them and himself before he met the hero. The smaller kid had revealed his power right at the binning which was a terrible tactical choice. Everyone knew his power by now but he never bothered to learn anyone else's besides the other level fives. If his opponents kept the power hidden, they still wouldn't have had a chance, but at least they could have put up a greater challenge. When he first attacked them he purposely hit the telekinesis kid with less force then the larger stronger kid. When he found out the larger kid had a body strengthen ability he decided to flick him out of bounds knowing he could withstand the impact.

 _Blah, I wonder when I changed,_ he thought and found himself subconsciously glaring at Touma. _It's his fault, ever since I met him, the brat, and even the bigger brat. I need to hold back even more so the Hero will have to show off his ability._

"Ah Kamijou," Pierce cried in disappointment throwing his arm over Touma's shoulder. "I lost already. I thought for sure you would end up hospitalized after the first match."

"What do you mean you lost?" Touma asked but his question was answered.

"Everyone who bet he would get hospitalized first round throw your money in," Jason called walking around with a box as several of their classmates threw in money. "Remember, we have your names written down, don't try to lie." Motoharu was marking people's names as they put money in the box."

"I can't believe you were serious," Touma said flabbergasted. "Well I can, but what the hell are you guys thinking? Betting when I will end up in the hospital? Don't you have any faith in me?"

"Nope," said most of the class at once in unison.

"Such misfortune," Touma sighed. "Even my classmates don't believe in me."

"Hey Kami-yan," Motoharu said. "That's not true. Jason and I think you will get to at least round one of the interschool tournament."

"Besides," Jason said pointing. "Himegami-san and Fukiyose-san both believe you will get to the finals. Fukiyose-san even believes you will finish the tournament without being hospitalized."

"Thank you two so much," Touma said crying rushing over to them and grabbing their hands. "I'm so happy someone believes in me at least." Aisa turned slightly red when he grabbed her hand but her facial expression didn't change much.

"I will always believe in my classmates," Seiri said proudly. "As long as they do their best."

"Wow," Motoharu said. "Is she crushing on Kami-yan for trying?"

"Kamijou," Pierce yelled. "Quick, go to sleep or something and stop trying. We can't have you break our last beacon of hope, the Iron Wall."

Touma let go of Seiri and Himegami's hands and backed away quickly as Seiri's face got red with anger. She proceeded to punch Pierce in the face and deliver a roundhouse kick into Motoharu's gut. Himigami looked a little disappointed when Touma let go of her hand. "Stop with the jokes, idiots," Seiri said. "They both have a couple more rounds to go to compete as representatives for our school. I wonder how long we have to wait for the next match line up." She looked around across the field. "It seems like all the matches are done."

Accelerator had grabbed a seat on the bleachers and just fell asleep. _Can he sleep anywhere?_ Touma thought to himself. Touma gazed out across the field. It seems the besides the ring he and Accelerator were on, only one other ring had noticeable damages. It looked like several explosions went off leaving large circular craters in the ground. The rest of the rings had little or no damage to them. He took a seat on the bleachers and decided to rest for the next events. The rest of his class kept talking about the time when Touma's bad luck would kick in and he tried to ignore them.

Eventually they saw the small pink haired form of their teacher approach the class. "Sorry for the delay," Komoe said cheerfully. "I do have some news for all of you." Everyone turned and faced her. "Originally we planned to have several rounds, but after the first round several teams dropped out."

"Why?" Seiri asked.

"Well," Komoe smiled sadly. "They said they didn't know Accelerator-chan was participating and they didn't want to face him. They teams that still wanted to participate were watching your match and most of them decided to drop out after the first round."

"Heh," Accelerator smirked without opening his eyes. "Well, at least they are smart."

"So how many more rounds are there now?" Seiri asked.

"Uh," Komoe looked at her clipboard. "It looks like only one other team is willing to participate. So the next round is choosing our school's champion."

"Those guys," Seiri said shaking her head angrily. "How could they just quit in the middle of a tournament?"

"Well," Touma said trying to avoid another incident. "Maybe they just want to cheer our class on?" This got him a kick in the middle of his back.

"Quit trying to make excuses for your fellow slackers," she stormed at him.

"Now now," Komoe said keeping the peace. "Please go easy on Kamijou-chan. He and Accelerator-chan are about to start the final match." It was thanks to her Seiri decided not to continue to beat Touma into the ground. "Jason, they need you over there too." Jason nodded and followed Touma and Accelerator.

When they got to the ring they saw who their opponents were. One was a girl a little shorter then Touma with long black hair and brown eyes who seemed to be able to smirk almost as well as Accelerator. The other member was a tall, medium build, guy with short red hair who looked nervous but determined. Touma nodded in acknowledgment to them but only the other guy returned the nod, the girl ignored him. The judge made sure everyone was ready and sent them to their respective sides. He would signal them when to start.

"Do you know their powers?" Touma asked but knowing the answer.

"Don't care," Accelerator said. "But it doesn't matter."

The judge signaled the start of the match and Accelerator flipped the switch on his choker. This time he decided not to just run forward like last round, but instead he swaggered across the field smirking at his opponents. Touma followed but kept several paces behind him. The other team started moving toward them too and the girl was rubbing her hands together. _She is up to something._ He stops while Accelerator keeps walking forward. Touma looked around to try to see what the girl was up to. Nothing noticeable was happening till he saw something in the air that shined brightly for an instant. He squinted and saw floating bubble like objects slightly shimmering in the air occasionally catching the sun's light at the right angle and shining.

"Accelerator," he yelled out. "She is doing something in the air."

"To late," the girl called out in a mocking tone. The guy flicked his fingers and shot several thin fire needles at the bubbles. As soon as the fire arrows hit the bubbles…..

BOOM. BOOM. BOOOM.

Each bubble hit by the needles exploded in a huge burst of flame and heat. Then every explosion set off other nearby bubbles. The explosions kept chaining together until the entire middle of the field was covered in fire and dust. Accelerator had walked right into the middle of their trap. If Touma had not stopped, he would have walked into it too. He put his right hand up to cover his face from the blast of heat that almost knocked him backwards. _Ah, I could have died._ He tried to see what happened to Accelerator and where the other team was, but with all the dust in the air, it was impossible. He started to move to the side and was getting ready to make his way through the dust storm as soon as it settled enough to see.

"Hah," the girl's voice called out through the dust. "How do you like our combo? Nothing like explosive gas bubbles to make a great surprise attack."

Touma faced palm. _What kind of person just tells their opponent their ability in the middle of combat? Especially, if you haven't won._ Touma peered through the dust and saw a dark online of a figure in the middle of the explosions. The dust cleared and Accelerator was still standing there, the entire area around him was charred and disfigured but he looked just fine, except, maybe a little annoyed. Touma saw the girl's smug facial expression fall comically into shock.

"Ah how annoying," Accelerator said rubbing his ear. "Well, at least it was interesting." The ground around him exploded and he stepped forward effortlessly covering over ten meters at a time and closed in on the male opponent. The guy looked surprised and shot several fire arrows at Accelerator while trying to back away. The arrows hit Accelerator but they instantly were reflected back against the poor guy. He fell on his back in surprise and the arrows passed harmlessly over his head. However, a second later, Accelerator arrived and looked down on him, a fate much worse than being hit by a couple flame arrows. "So, any other tricks." The guy shook his head quickly. "Shame." Accelerator moved one foot under his opponent and flicked him like a soccer ball outside the ring.

The girl saw everything happen from her position and she started to create a large gas bubble in front of her. "If explosive gas won't work, maybe something to knock him out will." She had just made the concentrated gas bubble when a hand slipped over her shoulder from behind and touched it. The sound of glass shattering was heard and the bubble disappeared. "What the hell. Who did that…?" She turned around and looked at Touma who was standing right behind her.

"It's over," Touma said. 'Just give up."

"Never," she yelled and raised her hand. Since she was surprised, her quick turn threw her off balance and all Touma had to do was give her a slight push to cause her to fall on her back. Touma had to admire her determination. Even after falling, she tried to raise her hands to attack him with some kind of gas. He simple knocked her hand away, made a fist, and slammed it into the ground right next to her head. He purposely avoided hitting her face.

"Give up now?" Touma asked. She nods in shock and he steps away from her and offers his hand to help her up. She refuses and gets up by herself as the judge sounds the signal indicating the end of the match. Touma heard his class cheer in the background and turned to see them rushing onto the field. Before he could do anything his class lifted him and Accelerator up and carried them back to the school chanting and cheering. Accelerator struggled but was quickly overpowered. Komoe followed the class smiling extremely happily.

Accelerator had seen what happened when Touma touched the girl's gas bubble, but he couldn't be sure what had happened. _Did his touch actually destroy the bubble while it was being formed or did he do something else? I know my ability doesn't directly affect him either. The stupid brat just had to be a novice. For all I know, she was just surprised and lost control of her ability._

Back in the classroom everyone was celebrating their class's victory. Accelerator tried to leave but no one was going to let him without having fun first. Grudgingly, he joined in the celebration with everyone else. The day got better when Komoe informed her class tomorrow would only be a half day of school since the school tournament ended early.

"Hah," Jason called out. "Everyone who bet Kamijou would be hospitalized before the interschool tournament we need your money." Motoharu was going around again making sure no one skipped out on paying their dues.

"So looks like only four of us are left," Motoharu said.

"Hah," Touma called out to his classmates who lost. "Bunch of jerks, all of you." This caused him to get pelted by paper, pens, pencils, and other small items.

"Don't get cocky," Pierce said kicking him from behind. "Accelerator did most of it. All you did was surprise that girl and mess up her ability."

"I still helped."

"Accelerator," Jason called out. "Make sure Touma has to do some major fighting in the first interschool match." Accelerator grins and nods in acknowledgment and Touma groans.

"Such Misfortune."

* * *

The next day, as soon as school finished, Touma rushed out as fast as he could. He didn't want to think about the next day. Komoe told the class they would be meeting at the arena where the Daihaseisai was held the following morning. It was the only arena big enough for ability users to have real battles with enough seating for all the spectators. Touma was incredibly nervous but Accelerator couldn't care less and Touma couldn't really blame him. Accelerator was incredibly strong. The only reason he was even participating in this event was because of the rest of the class.

Touma was planning to hang out with Index today but when he got back to his dorm, he saw a note she left behind. _Hanging out with a friend, be back tonight. I want meat._ He sighed, hanging with a friend could be a couple people but he was sure Index wrote it because of the second part. _Oh well,_ he thought to himself. _I actually have money to buy real meat, might as well celebrate a little bit._ He yawned and decided to take a quick nap first. He originally planned to only nap for an hour or two but his alarm clock decided not to go off. It was almost four before he woke up. Touma cursed his luck and left in a hurry to go shopping and forgot to lock the door.

Touma was walking through the shopping area looking for a good sale on meat. He knew where to get all the good vegetables and other ingredients, but finding meat was always a challenge. Even though he had money, having to live thriftily for several years makes it become a habit. He rarely splurges on anything, let alone high end groceries. After searching he finally saw a great sale on beef, and rushed over. Touma has no idea how he was so lucky, but he managed to get the last bit of meat they had on sale. He was just turning to go pay for it when he accidently bumped into a girl.

"Ah, sorry…" He started to say and then saw who it was. "Ruiko?"

"Hey Touma," she said cheerfully. "You saw the sale too?"

"Yea," Touma said holding up his bag.

Ruiko moved past him to buy some meat too but found they were sold out. "Oh no," she said depressed. "I knew I should have come sooner."

"Here," he said handing Ruiko his bag. "You can have this, I'll find some more somewhere else."

"Really," Ruiko looked up at him seriously. "I don't want to ruin your meals."

"It's fine," he said dismissively. "I came into a little money so my budget is a little flexible right now."

"Thanks a lot," Ruiko said hugging him.

Touma was a little embarrassed but turned and bought some slightly more expensive beef. When he paid for it though, he found the price was the same as the sale meat. He looked at the employee who winked at him. _Did he overhear us?_ Touma was not this lucky, so he started to feel a sense of dread. _If I have luck now, it means something really bad is going to happen soon._ He shook his head to get the thought out of his mind and went back to talking with Ruiko as they both shopped for groceries.

"So is Uiharu-san not with you?" Touma asked.

Ruiko shakes her head. "She has to be at Judgment today. I planned to drop by to visit her on the way back. She said Kagere-san was planning to drop by to hang out with her, but I think he also does that to annoy Shirai-san too."

Touma laughed. "Yea, I could see that. He tends to multitask a lot but he does like Uiharu-san." Ruiko nods. Both of them finish their shopping and take a slight detour to the Judgment 177 Branch Office. When they entered they heard two people laughing and saw Mikoto and Jason talking at a table while Uiharu and Kuroko were working though a pile of paper work.

"Hello," Ruiko called out to everyone. "Look who I found shopping." Touma waved to everyone and looked around. This was his first time visiting a Judgment office without having been taken there for questioning for various incidents.

"Why did you bring him," Kuroko sighed. "We already have one barbarian."

"That hurts Shirai," Jason called out sarcastically putting his hand over his heart. "And here I thought we were getting along so well." Kazari gives a slight giggle but tries to hide it.

"Be nice you two," Mikoto says exasperated. "Seriously, I feel like a baby sitter half the time."

"So how did your school tournaments go," Ruiko asked Mikoto and Touma.

"We ran out of time yesterday," Mikoto says sighing. "So today took forever, but my class won in the end."

"Of course we knew onee-sama would win," Kuroko called out from her desk. "Before her grace and power, no one can beat her."

"What about you Touma?" Ruiko asked cutting off Shirai's rant.

"We actually won," Touma said taking a seat and leaning back in a chair. "It only lasted two rounds. Most people forfeited after seeing Accelerator in action. He put on a good show."

"Was anyone really hurt?" Mikoto asked worriedly.

"Actually no," Touma said. "There were a few minor injuries but nothing major. He really has changed."

"That's good," Mikoto said smirking. "I hope he doesn't get mad when we beat you guys."

Touma raised an eyebrow. "Is that a challenge?"

"Maybe."

"I'll make sure to tell Accelerator that," Touma said smirking back and Mikoto paled.

"You wouldn't…" She stops when Touma shakes his head holding back a laugh. "You…" She shoots a bolt of electricity at him and he blocks it with his right hand.

"No matter how many times I see it I still can't believe it," Ruiko exclaimed as Touma negated Mikoto's electricity.

"Can't wait to see you two go at it seriously," Jason said smirking.

"Well," Touma said. "Accelerator might decide to do everything himself."

"I'm sure a couple high levels will make it so you can show off your stuff."

"Jason," Uiharu called out. "You still need to fill out this form for tomorrow since you are one of the security positions."

"Blah," Jason groaned grabbing the paper and quickly filling it out. "Reason I try to hide form Judgment, too much paperwork."

"You're just a slacker," Kuroko said irritated.

"Hey remember," Mikoto says to Touma. "I expect you to keep your promise."

Touma sighed. "You really want this don't you?"

A broad smile forms on her face. "Yes, you finally will face me seriously."

"Onee-sama," Kuroko asked pale faced. "What promise is that?"

"Touma's probably going to ask her out if he wins," Jason joked absentmindedly finishing the form. He didn't even look up to see Kuroko's reaction. She grew paler and then red in anger and pulled out all of her needles.

"The ape needs to die." she roared and leaped at Touma. A quick electrical burst from Mikoto left her on the ground twitching and smoking.

"Dang it Jason," Touma said. "It was just a promise for us to both give it our best."

"Huh," Jason looked up at him. "Sorry I wasn't paying attention." Touma faced palmed.

"She will get over it," Mikoto said sighing. "Once she cools down."

"I need to go anyways," Touma replied holding up his food. "I have to get this home."

"Nice to see you Kamijou-san," Kazari smiled and went back to work. Ruiko and Mikoto both had to leave too and followed Touma out of Judgment.

"Wish Kagere-san wouldn't mess with Kuroko so much," sighs Mikoto.

"He timed it well though," Ruiko said still laughing slightly at Kuroko's reaction.

"He has too much fun doing those kinds of jokes," Touma said shaking his head. "He can be serious when he needs to be." They stopped at an intersection waiting for the light to change when someone called out to him.

"TOUUUMMMAAA!"

All three of them turned and saw Index waving and walking toward him and another girl was following close behind her. The girl has long dark brown hair and golden colored eye with glasses. A part of her hair is tied off to the side of her head and left hanging down. She also had a very large chest which did not go unnoticed by Mikoto and Ruiko who looked at it with a hint of jealousy. Her name was Hyouka Kazakiri, the first friend Index made in Academy City, not counting Touma. Though she looked like it, she was not human. She is the conscious form of the aggregation of the AIM Diffusion Fields of ability users in the city. Touma however, did not care. To him, she was still a friend to both him and Index.

"Hey Index," he called back waving. "Hello Kazakiri-san." She waves back but doesn't say anything when he notices two other people are with him. She is really shy around new people.

"Touma," Index asked, "Why are you always with girls?"

"Huh," Touma said taken aback while Mikoto blushed slightly and Ruiko grinned.

"You are with Short Hair again," Index pointed out then turned to Ruiko, "Hello, my name is Index Librorum Prohibitorum, you may call me Index. Are you a friend of Touma?

"Yep," Ruiko said. "We met a while back and started hanging out recently. Oh, my name is Ruiko Saten. It is nice to meet you Index-san." _She has a weird name but she seems friendly enough._

"Oh this is my friend," Index started to indicate to the girl behind her but she was gone. "Ah, looks like Hyouka had to leave."

"Huh," Mikoto said looking around. Everyone was busy talking to Index they didn't notice the girl disappearing. "How did she disappear so fast?"

"She might have had something to do," Touma said sheepishly but Ruiko caught the tone of his voice and was suspicious.

"Wait," she said thinking. "If she just disappeared in front of us, could she be the rumor ghost girl?" Her voice started to get louder as she got excited.

"She's not a ghost," Index said indigently. "She's just shy."

 _She's actually the combination of AIM fields,_ Touma thought to himself. He always had to be careful not to touch her with his right hand.

"Aww," Ruiko said disappointed.

Mikoto shook her head. "I told you, the ghost girl rumor wasn't real."

"I won't give up," Ruiko declared boldly. "I will find her."

"Touma," Index said looking up at him. "You have weird friends." He shook his head at her.

Above them Jason was watching from the window of the judgment building and rubbing his eyes. _What the hell was that?_

* * *

The next day Touma had to wake up early in order to meet his class before the tournament started. He found himself walking slower and slower to the arena. He really didn't want to participate. It was one thing to fight in matches at his school but another in front of a huge crowd he didn't know. He felt nauseous, the fighting wasn't the problem. It was the fact thousand's of stranger's would be watching him. He was especially worried about the fact his unique ability would be displayed in front of everyone. He never hid it, but broadcasting it to the world wasn't something he wanted to do. Before he realized it, he had arrived and went to the changing rooms to look for his class.

"Nervous Kami-yan," Motoharu said out of nowhere causing Touma to jump.

"Shit," Touma said gathering himself. "Don't scare me like that. You know damn well I'm nervous."

"We figured as much," Motoharu said grinning as Jason and Pierce stepped out from a side passageway. "You don't want to be shown off to the world. We prepared a disguise for you."

"Hmm," Touma said taking a step back. "I don't know about this." Motoharu, Pierce, and Jason didn't take his rejection of their well thought out idea and shoved him into a room with a box and didn't let him out till he got changed. It wasn't as bad as he thought it would be coming from them. It was a solid gold shirt with black stripes, and black pants along with a white mask with black stripes along the eyes. If he remembered correctly, the mask is what Jason used during his vigilante days. "It could be worse coming from you guys," he said and everyone grinned. As they walked down the hall to their class's main room the rest of his classmates were wishing him luck and patting him on the back. No one was surprised about his outfit, including the teacher, so they obviously all knew about it.

"Heh," Accelerator smirked when he saw Touma's outfit. "They actually got you to wear it."

"Least I don't have to worry about being recognized."

Accelerator shrugged. "I'm surprised most people don't know me. They usually apologize after they get their ass kicked though."

"So I heard we are first," Touma said conversationally. "Know which school we are up against?"

"Don't care," Accelerator said. "But I'm going to make sure you get to fight at least one of them."

"Why?" Touma asked.

"Because you keep spouting the bullshit you are a level 0," Accelerator said testily. "There is no way in hell that is true."

"Ah it is," Touma said sincerely. "But…." He was interrupted by an announcer on the loudspeakers who was signaling the start of the tournament.

"Good morning ladies and gentleman. Today we gather to watch several of Academy City's top students participate in this two on two tournament. It is sure to be an exciting day and we hope everyone enjoys the demonstration. Will the first two teams please make their way toward the main arena?"

Touma and Accelerator got up and headed out to the field, and stood at the main entrance. They were told in order to make their entrance more dramatic for the spectators, the announcer would introduce them and they should enter after their introduction.

"The first team, are the twin sisters, HIBIKI and HANABI NAKANO. These two level 4's fought their way to the top of the famous Tokiwadai High School, so you know they both have great skills. I also hear they have legendary teamwork. I present team number one, FIRE AND ICE"

Touma hears the crowd burst into applause but he couldn't see the two girls they were going to fight against from his class's entrance. At least they were high school students, the tournament was open to middle schools and high schools, but fighting younger girls was not something Touma wanted to do. Mikoto would not give him a choice though.

"Hey, did we ever get a team name?" Touma asked Accelerator. He shrugged in response. _I got a bad feeling about this._

"The next team is definitely unusual, made up with a level 5 and a level 0." There was a pause and the announcer talked softer as if he was clarifying something with the person next to him. "Seriously, this is their introduction? Why don't we screen anything? Fine, if that's what they want."

Accelerator and Touma looked at each other in confusion. _What could be going on_ , Touma thought. The crowd in the main arena was mumbling between themselves.

"First, I would like to welcome Academy City's very own number one level five, ACCELERATOR." The crowd gasped, and then exploded into applause as he strutted out into the arena. The sound was defining. Touma realized no one expected Accelerator to be there except his school. "His teammate may be a level 0 but to be able to keep up with a level 5 he has to be anything but normal. In fact, we don't even have his full name, just a nickname. Welcome to the arena, KAMI, THE HAREM KING."

Touma's mouth dropped open in shock. If anyone saw this they wouldn't have noticed because of the mask. He finally realized who could have done this.

"Together, I present team number two, they are THE LOLICONS OF MISFORTUNE."

* * *

 **So I saw in one comment someone labeled Guest was able to predict what was going to happen here. He knew what I was going for. When I originally planned this I had initially thought of "Team Raising Flags" at first but it wasn't quite funny enough for what I wanted to do. I had planned to go back and think about the team name more. When Guest gave some ideas, his third idea was absolutely perfect for everything that has happened so far. Thanks a lot.**

 **I had to think about the fights a bit too. A Certain High School doesn't have a lot of high level ability users so I didn't expect fights to be very long, especially against Accelerator. Second fight was a lot more interesting with combination attacks. The inter school section though will be a lot more interesting with everyone level 3 and up, except of course for the Harem King.**


	11. Charisma

**Thanks for all the reviews and comments guys. They actually help me a lot with everyone giving interesting ideas and reminding me of things I may have missed. A guest reminded me of something important I missed.**

 **I want to give a shout out to several readers who review constantly. They have followed the story for quite a while and I am glad you all still enjoy the story. They are Agent Nine, Ultimate10, and Handsomistic1. There are also a lot of anonymous reviews that may be from the same people, I appreciate all the ideas, comments, reviews and suggestions for fun future events from everyone.**

 **Really hoping to see HAHAHA comment again, His comments make me laugh so much and he has such great ideas.**

 **(I'm going to say the team name again because I can, don't be a hater.)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

"Together, I present team number two, they are THE LOLICONS OF MISFORTUNE!"

Touma had just walked out onto the field near Accelerator, who was laughing as the announcer mentioned Touma's name, or the nickname he was somehow given, Kami the Harem King. He was stunned but his body still moved automatically into the arena. When the announcer mentioned their team name, he froze and Accelerator stopped laughing. Only two, maybe three, people could have come up with this act and would dare to pull it off.

"What the F& $ is this?" Accelerator raged. "Who did this shit?"

"It had to be Aogami and Tsuchimikado with possibly Jason," Touma said almost equally as angry. "I can't believe they would go this far."

"They are your F&#$ * friends," Accelerator spat at him. "After this match I am going to kill them all."

"I want to help," Touma said bitterly cracking his knuckles and Accelerator seemed to accept his response. After this match, they would team up to destroy a common enemy.

* * *

The rest of the audience had a much different reaction then them. After the initial chorus of laughter and many shouting insults at the one called Kami, a fair number of them started chanting, "KAMI, KAMI, KAMI." It was being led by a certain class's blond haired delinquent. Soon, about half of the audience started chanting and cheering for the one with enough nerve to pull this stunt. Touma's friends however had a variety of reactions.

Pierce had no idea what Motoharu actually wrote on the paper during class but he did notice it. When Touma's code name and team name were announced, he slapped his friend on the back while tears filled his eyes from laughing. He then joined in the chant Motoharu started as they cheered for Touma. The rest of the class was initially stunned but then broke out into laughter and joined their two of three favorite trouble makers in cheering for Touma. Seiri sighed, gritted her teeth, and decided to punish them all later and cheered for Touma and Accelerator. Jason was separated from the rest of Touma's class because he was tasked with patrolling around the arena and taking action if things got out of hand. At the moment though, he was completely incapacitated. He had fallen on his knees clutching his stomach with tears of laughter at the joke Motoharu pulled. He had no prior warning of the prank or who pulled it but, like most of the class, he had a good idea who did it.

"His life really is a galge," Aisa muttered but then quietly cheered along with everyone else.

Several girls in another part of the stadium had a very different reaction. Three of them, Ruiko, Mikoto, and Kazari were sitting together in the bleachers. Mikoto's school was the last round of the tournament so she was able to hang out with her friends for most of the day. Kazari was with them because she did not get called to participate as a member of Judgment for the event, but Kuroko did. All three of them had vastly different reactions from each other. Kazari eyes widened and looked shocked something like this could have been allowed while her face turned bright red in embarrassment. Ruiko had clutched her gut laughing and Mikoto had closed her eyes, made a fist, and shot off a few sparks in anger.

"That idiot," she growled through gritted teeth. "What was he thinking?"

"I can't believe his class let them name themselves that," Ruiko said gasping for breath at laughing so much. "How much courage did that take?"

"His class might not have known," Kazari said speaking at last. She pointed to a Judgment security member on his knees laughing. "Jason is laughing really hard for a joke he pulled, so it might have been a surprise to him."

"You think he willing named his team that?" Mikoto asked in surprise. "There is no way that idiot would have the courage for that. I don't think Accelerator would have gone along with that either."

"Maybe someone in the class played a trick on them," Ruiko said reasonably unable to hide her smile.

"I can ask Jason," Kazari said. "It looks like his patrol will pass near us, so I can ask him then."

"If that idiot did something like that on purpose," Mikoto said. "I swear he will taste the full force of my electricity."

"No need to get jealous Misaka-san." Ruiko said slyly. "I'm sure Touma doesn't have too many girls."

"I-I'm not jealous," yelled Mikoto while her face turned bright red.

Ruiko grinned but didn't continue instead she asked. "Anyone know what the mask is for?" Mikoto and Kazari both shook their head.

Another section of the bleachers held three people who had come to watch Accelerator participate and they had very similar reactions. Worst had fallen from her seat laughing much harder than needed with tears in her eyes. Last Order looked up at hey guardian in confusion. "What is a lolicon MISAKA asks as MISAKA pulls on Yomikawa's pants to indicate the desire to learn." Aiho had face palmed as Accelerator's team name was called but she had grinned all the same.

Luckily everyone was in different parts of the audience because in one corner of the stadium a dark and malicious aura was spreading and causing everyone in the vicinity to get nervous. A small girl in pigtails was radiating anger and hatred at a certain individual. If anyone made eye contact with her they would be sure she was capable of murder. The girl however only had eyes on the single masked participant in the arena.

 _That despicable troglodyte,_ Kuroko fumed silently. _So everyone knows he is a player. He's trying to add onee-sama and Saten-san to his harem. HE MUST DIE!_

* * *

Touma and Accelerator walked up to meet the other team in the middle of the arena. Touma was still stunned but his shock was slowly being replaced by anger. Accelerator was still just plain pissed and Touma felt like he might not hold back as much as he usually did. Touma took a deep breath and looked at the arena they were about to fight in. Unlike the preliminaries, the field was not purely flat. It was a giant ring with no plants, just dirt. The biggest difference was there were a lot of obstacles in the arena. The arena was not flat and several areas had inclines and shallow pits to force the contestants to plan more with their footing. There were also many different size boulders dotting the landscape with a large boulder formation in the middle to make it difficult to see the opposing team. Touma assumed they could be use for cover and launching surprise attacks, along with being used as projectiles for certain ability users. _This is going to be tough,_ he thought and sighed. He turned his eyes to the opponents he and Accelerator were about to face.

As the announcer said, they were obviously twins and looked exactly the same except one had her hair parted on the left and the other parted it on the right. They both had shiny long black hair which reached pass their shoulders and deep brown eyes. They were both slightly shorter then Touma and he noticed they both had pretty good proportions and their faces were quite attractive. The one with the hair parted on the right looked at them intensely with a look of disdain. She obviously did not like their introduction. The other girl with her hair parted on the left was red faced, she was obviously embarrassed to meet them, and after their introduction, Touma couldn't blame her. She didn't look at them in the eyes and instead looked at the ground.

"I can't believe you two," the right parted hair girl said harshly. "What kinds of idiots name themselves something so perverted?"

"Shut up," Accelerator snaps back at her. "I plan to kill them after I crush you."

She takes a step back then stops and stands her ground. "I don't care if you are THE Accelerator. I, Hibiki Nakano, will definitely beat a perverted monster like you. Levels are not everything."

Touma took a step between them before they started fighting before they were allowed to. "Can't we….

"No!" they both yelled at him and he took a couple steps back instinctively.

"I'm going to take you out first," Hibiki pointed at Touma. "As a level 0, you should go down fast. Then we can take out Accelerator."

"Oh?" Accelerator said raising an eyebrow. "I kind of wanted to crush you first, but if you go after him, I suppose I can avoid standing in your way."

"What?" Touma and Hibiki asked simultaneously.

"What kind of teammate are you?" Hibiki asked.

"Eh he needs to pull his own weight," Accelerator laughed shrugging. "Besides, I know he won't go down as easily as you imagine. I might end your sister first before you can take him out." He looked at the other girl who shook a little under his piercing glare.

"You are insane," Hibiki said to him and Accelerator just laughed.

Touma sighed and turned to the other girl who must have been Hanabi, "Good luck," he said to her. "Sorry about this."

"You too," she mumbled in response and glanced up for a moment to look him in the eye, the only part of his face that could be seen, and she blushed and looked away immediately.

The judge finally walked up to them to explain the rules. "The rules are similar to the preliminaries. As you can see a wall was constructed around the arena to avoid people getting knocked out into the audience. The round ends when both members of one team are unable to continue, surrender, or when we consider it too dangerous to continue. In case of the last instance, a loud alarm will ring and all combat will immediately stop. We have several members of Judgment ready to jump in should things get out of hand. Are there any questions?" Everyone shakes their head and he nods. "Team Fire and Ice to that side and Team …...you guys to that side."

Touma recognized the guy didn't want to acknowledge their team name but decided not to say anything. Accelerator didn't say anything either but on the walk to their side he caught him grinning. 'What's so funny?" he asked.

"They might actually make a good warm up match for me." Touma rolled his eyes but didn't respond. He was so glad he was not on the receiving end of Accelerator's attention again. They both got to their side of the ring and leaned up against the wall waiting for the round to start. Eventually they heard the announcer.

"The first round is about to start. When the signal goes off both teams may begin. Good luck to everyone." A horn sounds in the distance. "The round begins!"

Accelerator dashed forward and immediately headed left at the first group of boulders. As soon as he was out in the open, a large fireball came out of nowhere and hit the ground right in front of him. The explosion of fire and dust obscured him from Touma's view. Before Touma could call out if he was ok the ground in the dust cloud exploded and the force pushed all the dust away. Accelerator stood there and grinned evilly. "Not bad, try not to die to fast," he calls out. After another small explosion at his feet, he dashed after the girl who threw the fire at him. The boulders hid him from Touma's sight as Accelerator chased one of the sisters.

"You should be more concerned about yourself then him," a voice said behind him. Touma turned and saw Hibiki standing about fifteen feet behind him with a grin on her face. She had just rounded the boulders after Hanabi distracted Accelerator. A white mist started to wrap around her and Touma noticed a bunch of ice beginning to form around her feet. Before he could react, ice suddenly expanded from her feet and rushed toward him like a small wave growing taller the closer it got to him. He raised his right hand to block and the ice completely engulfed him like a small tsunami. "Heh," she said grinning as the ice covered Touma and she started to turn around. "I guess the so called 'Harem King' really was just there to fill a spot. Don't worry we will thaw you out after the round. Though I doubt you can hear….." She stopped as she heard the sound of glass breaking. She turned around in and saw Touma standing there unhurt with the remains of ice shards on both sides of him, but the area right behind him was completely clear of any ice except for a few broken pieces. "What the…" she said in shock. "What did you do?"

"Nothing," Touma lied. "I just stood here, but man, that ice is cold."

"You…" Hibiki said angrily and gathered a ball of ice in her hand and threw it at Touma. As the ice left her hand it extended into the shape of a spear flying directly at her target. She watched as Touma didn't even try to dodge. Instead he raised his hand lazily in front of him and simply backhanded the front of the ice spear and it shattered into nothing. "What are you Harem King?" she asked in shock.

"Can't say," Touma responded ignoring the nickname she called out. "But I made a promise to try to win so sorry about not going easy on you. It's my turn this time." He dashed forward towards Hibiki. He made a fist and was about to hit her when she suddenly flew backwards. _How did she move that fast?_ He stopped and looked at the ground. There was a thin layer of ice where she had been standing and continued behind her. Touma noticed she had ice on her feet and was using it as a makeshift ice skate to navigate the ice covering the ground. This was giving her increased mobility and speed. _Shit, it's going to be hard to get near her._ He quickly touched the ice road Hibiki made and the ice started to disappear after her.

"Shit," she said and jumped off the ice road as it started crumbling apart. "What level are you?" she yelled at him. 'You shrugged off my ice like it was nothing so you can't be a level 0."

"I AM just a level 0," Touma replied walking to her. He didn't notice it but, because of the way the uniform and mask he was wearing was catching the light, it looked a lot like he was strutting towards the girl after brushing off her attacks. He wasn't even paying attention to the announcer.

"Wow, Harem King hasn't been fazed at all by Hibiki's ice attacks. Is he really a level 0?"

"You b $$&^#*," she said angrily. "Are you looking down on me?" She put her hands together in front of her and the white mist started circling around between them. "You leave me no choice."

Touma felt the danger immediately and stopped. The temperature dropped at least ten degrees instantly and it was getting colder. He saw the mist was concentrating right in front of her and it looked like the air itself was beginning to solidify. Some of the gases in the air had begun to freeze in her hands because small shards of ice were falling out of the vortex onto the ground. The ground around her was beginning to get a thin layer of frost on it. "What is that?"

"Heh," she said smirking glad she caught Touma off balance. "This is my Arctic Vortex. It removes all the heat in an area. Once I release it, everything caught in within its range will be frozen solid instantly. It's not absolute zero but, to a human body, they won't notice the difference."

"Are you insane?" Touma asked bewildered. He wasn't sure if he would survive being frozen solid, even if he was thawed out immediately afterwards.

"I won't let you look down at me," she spat angrily at him. "Try not to die. It will look bad for me."

"I don't know what Hibiki is doing but the temperature in the arena just took a nose dive."

Touma didn't have a choice, running away may not work this time because he had no idea on the range of the vortex. He used his only other option. He charged forward and moved his right hand in front of him. Hibiki obviously didn't expect him to do that, probably because most people would run the other way. However, she stood her ground and pushed the Arctic Vortex at Touma. As he closed in he felt the tip of his hair begin to freeze and his skin was being chilled to the bone but he kept moving forward. His hand met the vortex about 1 foot in front of her and dispersed it before the true temperature manages to hit him directly. The temperature around him immediately warmed up considerably. The force of his charge kept him moving forward and Hibiki instinctively put her hands up to protect herself. Touma punched her arm guards and sent her falling back several feet and she slammed into a boulder behind her. That was lucky for her because it kept her on her feet.

"How?" she gasped and started to form a wall of ice to protect herself.

Touma didn't answer and kept pressing his advantage. He knew leaving a powerful opponent alone to collect their thoughts would not turn out well for him so he punched the ice wall shattering it like it was made of paper. He fist kept moving forward causing Hibiki to panic and jump out of the way as Touma punched the rock behind her. Hibiki's random jump caused her to trip on a rock when she landed. She fell to the ground hitting her head on another rock and knocking her out. Touma panicked and thought she was seriously hurt so he checked her vitals and she appeared to be fine. One of the judges nodded to him and a male teleporter jumped to the field and collected Hibiki. Touma, relived, rushed off to join Accelerator fighting Hanabi while shaking his fist next to him. Punching the boulder hurt a lot.

"I can't believe it. Somehow, the Harem King just smashed through all the ice Hibiki made and knocked her out. Team Fire and Ice is now down to one person."

Accelerator was getting pissed again. After the initial surprise attack from his opponent, all she did was keep her distance while constantly engulfing him with flames. She was at least smart enough to avoid direct attacks against him. Accelerator figured she most likely knew about his deflection ability. It did not escape his noticed she kept trying to circle him with rings of fire. He didn't worry about this too much, even though lack of oxygen was a weakness of his ability. The large arena and his constant moving kept him out of the fire rings to get plenty of oxygen. Any flames he passed through were just redirected away from him.

He kept chasing after her, plowing through all the flames in order to catch her, but she continued using her fire as mini rocket propulsion to keep away from him. Angrily he stopped and touched a large bolder with a single finger which flew at Hanabi with the force to smash a truck flat. She had to roll out of the way to avoid it and then set a wall of fire between them obstructing her from Accelerator's view. This annoying catch and mouse game has been going on for far too long for him. The he heard the announcer.

"I can't believe it. Somehow, the Harem King just smashed through all the ice Hibiki made and knocked her out. Team Fire and Ice is now down to one person."

"Damn it brat," Accelerator roared through the fire. He was more pissed the hero finished his fight before he did and Accelerator didn't get a chance to see the hero's ability. "Quit running and fight." She didn't answer him or maybe he couldn't hear her. Accelerator angrily stomped his foot and caused huge cracks to flow through the ground, across the fire wall, and covered the other side. Several sections started to flip over causing hills and ditches all over half the field. The fire wall was broken by the moving earth and Accelerator saw his target trying to keep her balance. He touched a few nearby borders causing them to fly in an arch and slam into the ground surrounding Hanabi. He trapped her in a U shape so she couldn't boost out of the way of his attack. He was prepared to jump if she attempted to rocket herself upwards but, by the look of panic on her face, was not going to be a problem. "I finally got you now." He boosted forward and pulled back his fist as Hanabi collapsed against the bolder looking terrified. He was about to enter the boulder formation with another final boost when a hand grabbed his fist. He found himself slowing down almost instantly and unable to propel himself forward. "Damn hero!" he yelled at Touma. "Move!"

"It's over," Touma said panting for air. He had run as fast as he could to stop Accelerator. If Accelerator hadn't slowed himself down for dramatic effect, he wouldn't have made it. "She looks like she gives up." He points to Hanabi who suddenly looks relieved.

Accelerator rolled his eyes and turned around. "You and saving girls," he grunted. "Fine, I got bored. Do what you want, Harem King." He said the last part sarcastically.

"Thanks," Touma said but Accelerator didn't respond at all. _He probably just got caught in the heat of the moment._ Touma walked over to Hanabi, who was still sitting on the ground with her back up against the boulder, and she looked up at him. "Do you give up?" he asked. She nods but doesn't say anything else. Touma reached out a hand to help her up and she took it while blushing madly.

Touma swore he heard people in the audience yelling, "KAMI DISEASE!"

"It looks like Hanabi has given up and may have fallen for the Harem King. I guess we know how he got his name. The winner of the first match is THE LOLICONS OF MISFORTUNE!"

* * *

Out in the audience, a couple girls were talking about the end of the round with a member of Judgment.

Mikoto made a fist when the announcer mentioned Touma picking up the girl from the other team. Even though she knew it was a joke, she could not keep the jealousy she felt seeing him with other girls. She knew this was silly of her since Touma would rescue anyone who needed help. "I can't believe him."

"Looks like he saved her from Accelerator," Ruiko said after she cheered with the rest of the crowd. "I don't know how many people would have stood in front of his attacks."

"I almost had to jump in," Jason sighed. "That would have been tough."

"At least you are serious when you are working," Kazari said smiling and poked him lightly. "Shirai-san needs to see this side of you."

"Nah," Jason said smiling. "It's more fun if she doesn't know."

"Why did they decide on the nickname Kami?" Ruiko asked Jason.

"Just a joke on Touma's last name," Jason said shrugging.

"Then why are they shouting Kami Disease?"

Jason sniggered but adamantly refused to tell them about that. He wasn't that mean.

* * *

Touma followed Accelerator to their locker room while Hanabi went to hers. Both of Touma and Hanabi were bright red with embarrassment. Touma had a double dose of embarrassment. The first was people thinking he was picking up a girl he beat in the tournament and the other was being reminded of the horrible team name he and Accelerator were stuck with. But now, they could go and get their revenge. When they got back to the locker room their entire class was there cheering for them. Touma and Accelerator both immediately started looking for Motoharu and Pierce but found them both bruised and unconscious already.

"I took care of those two idiots," Seiri said as she dusted her hands together. "They ruined the professionalism of the tournament. I tried to see if we could change the team name but it looks like we can't. Great job you two."

"Kind of boring," Accelerator said. "All my opponent did was run away."

"I almost became a popsicle." Touma said. "Was Jason with those two?"

Seiri shook her head. "It doesn't seem like he was according to them. Anyway Touma you did a great job, but how did you get through all those ice attacks from the one girl?"

"Ah," Touma said aware Accelerator was listening intently. "You see…."

"It was the power of Kami Disease," Motoharu called from the floor. "He made her fall in love with him and she didn't fight him seriously so his fist broke through the haft-hearted attacks."

Seiri turned around and kicked Motoharu in the gut. "Don't say stupid things. You already made him a laughing stock of the tournament just because you were jealous."

"Jealous," Pierce said weakly. "Who would be jealous of the guy who gets every girl he comes into contact with?" This got him a kick too. Touma almost felt sorry for them, almost. At least Seiri was distracted and didn't ask more about his ability.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the next round will begin shortly. Please make your way to your seats."

"I don't have time to beat you two up anymore," Seiri said and called out to the rest of the class. "Let's go and watch the next match everyone." Everyone followed her to their bleachers and got ready to watch the next match. Touma actually was planning to enjoy watching from the spectator seats. He didn't really like violence but watching a tournament safely from the stands was the best thing that happened to him today. Accelerator ignored everybody and just listened to music while letting his choker recharge.

The fight didn't last very long, but Touma paid special attention to the winners. This would be the first fight he actually knew the abilities of the team he was going to compete against. The winners were two males, one was of a sturdy build with brown hair and the other was really skinny with shoulder length black hair. The sturdy guy had a geometric ability where he was manipulating the earth around him. He was definitely a power house type making small earthquakes, earth shaping, and throwing rocks. All of that was useless against Accelerator and if Touma touched the ground the guy's ability probably would not work. The other guy was more of a problem. The skinny guy seemed to release a very thin electric thread from his fingers. He was some kind of mind manipulator because when the thread connected with his opponent, the opponent started to attack his former ally. The geomancer protected his teammate once the threads were attached and they went two on one to win. Touma wasn't sure if the ability would affect him because of the Imagine Breaker but he sure didn't plan to let it try.

The other fights were just a series of high level ability users going all out but Touma didn't really pay attention to them. There was going to be a total of eight rounds because sixteen schools decided to participate in the tournament. The only other round he was interested in was seeing Mikoto's. He heard she was going to be last, maybe it was planned for both level 5s to meet at the final, so he had to wait five more rounds for hers to start. Seiri actually let him drift in and out of sleep, probably because she figured he was resting for his next match. Finally it was Mikoto's turn.

Touma had been on the receiving end of Mikoto's electricity more times then he cared to remember. Luckily, she was rarely serious against him and she had very good control over her ability. She always knew how much electricity a person could take to just get knocked out and not have any serious lasting injuries. After watching her fight, he realized how much she holds back most of the time. Only a couple of their fights had been this brutal.

The fight lasted less than two minutes and the other team didn't get a chance to show off any of their abilities. Mikoto's teammate, Touma missed her name, lifted her arms when the match began. She must have been a wind manipulator because a lot of dust moved away from her as several gusts of air started to flow around the arena in streams, bouncing around obstacles and causing mini dust storms as dirt and debris were picked up. Touma didn't know what this was for but less than a minute later the girl leaned over to talk to Mikoto. She pointed to the general direction of her opponents. She shouldn't have been able to see them but Touma could, as he was up in the audience stands. He realized what had to be happening. The girl used the wind to locate her opponents and was relaying the information to Mikoto. Mikoto started getting the same electric glow around her Touma was all to use to seeing when she got angry at him. Mikoto arched several large electrical bolts dozens of feet over the boulder obstacle in the middle of the arena and completely covered the area of the arena the other team was currently in. Without any warning to set up some sort of defense, both of them were electrocuted and fell to the ground unconscious and smoking. Touma had to stifle a small laugh as he thought they looked a lot like Kuroko when she upset Mikoto. It was good strategy making use of a surprise attack.

"Well, that ended quickly. I guess Railgun has lived up to her reputation. The winner is TEAM THUNDERSTORM. Everyone, please enjoy a short break while we prepare for the next round with the remaining eight teams."

The crowd dispersed as everyone left to talk about the fights, get snacks, or whatever else people do when they don't have to compete. Accelerator didn't move and still sat there listening to music while the rest of the class scattered too. Touma wasn't sure what he should do to kill time. He stood up and stretched. _Guess I'll go and congratulate Mikoto on her flawless victory._ He left the stands and was immediately surrounded by people from the audience. It turns out he was somehow really popular though, he was not sure if it was because of his skill or the fact everyone thought he was brave and/or insane. A lot of people wanted a picture with him, including many girls, a fact that was not missed by Motoharu and Pierce who jeered at him from the top of the stands.

He finally got away from a group of girls, who surrounded him and took several pictures, and he decided to sneak along the hallway near the locker rooms away from the main audience entrance. Touma figured and hoped there would be a lot less people there. His footsteps echoed along the deserted hallway while the voices of the audience got further away. _This really is a large arena. It is going to take forever to get to the other side this way. At least there is no one else._ He cut his thoughts short when he heard another set of footsteps coming toward him from around the corner. _Looks like someone else had the same idea._ But something caused him to freeze in place.

He didn't know why he stopped, but something was wrong. He felt a shiver go down his spine. Every sense in his body was warning him to turn around and run. Logically, there was no reason for this feeling. The arena may be a large place, but with the number of people here, seeing someone go the long way should not be unusual. However, after many battles with magicians and powerful ability users, the constant surprise attacks from Mikoto, Touma began to rely on his sixth sense for danger. He took a couple steps back and waited for the person to get into view before he did anything drastic. When the person came into view Touma realized he really should have run.

It was Kuroko Shirai, and she was emitting one of the darkest auras he had ever seen. It was filled with bloodlust and rage which made the hair on his neck stand up. He wasn't sure why Kuroko was like this but he guessed it had something to do with him. She turned and looked at him and revealed her hands. Both hands were filled with her metal spikes she kept strapped to her legs for Judgment duties. She looked him up and down once then smiled. The smile was ice cold and did not extend to her eyes. Touma knew he was in trouble and a bead of sweat went down the side of his face.

"Ah Ape," she said her voice as cold as her smile. "Or should I call you Kami? Are you prepared to die so I can protect Onee-sama and Saten-san?"

* * *

 **Hmm, Touma looks to be in trouble. Maybe someone will save him, any preferences from the readers or should Touma try to save himself?**

 **Tournament is going well, and no one has died yet. The announcer is so awesome isn't he?**


	12. Complications

**So it looked like the three main options people were looking at with Kuroko was either Touma saves himself, Jason saves him, or Hanabi saves him. All three ideas have merit and I experimented with all three of them but decided on one. Thanks to everyone who put forward an idea. I always tend to run though them to see if they will work well with the story.**

 **HAHAHA you did it again. I freaking love your comments. I laughed a lot.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

"Umm, hi Shirai-san," Touma stuttered and took a step back. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh you know what I mean," she said in her sweet but deadly voice. The ice cold smile never leaving her face. "I see everyone knows the way you act around girls. First you try to seduce onee-sama, and then you add Saten-san to your list. In order to protect them, you have to die."

"Whoa," Touma said holding out his hand and taking another step back. "You got it all wrong. This was just a trick played on me by my classmates. Even Jason could vouch for that."

"Like I will believe anything you or that liar says," Kuroko said her smile faulting for a minute. "If you hold still this should be relatively painless." She twirled the metal spikes in her hand. "I suppose those points will be the fastest way with the least blood," she muttered to herself.

"Wait Shirai-san," Touma said. "Mikoto wouldn't want her friend to be a murderer."

"How dare you call her by her first name," Kuroko yelled at him. "Someone like you should only call her by sama. I was going to make in quick but now I'm going to teach you a lesson first." She took a step toward him.

Touma was actually worried now. Kuroko was pretty violent to him a lot, but outright murder? Something must have happened to her. His first priority right now was to protect himself. He took a step towards her but he wasn't very confident. If he could touch her and prevent her from using teleportation he might have a chance, but Kuroko was trained in hand to hand combat though Judgment so it was still risky. As soon as he let go she could begin teleporting. "I'll stop you," Touma said confidently even though he didn't feel it. "I can't let Mikoto's best friend go past the point of no return."

Kuroko hesitated for a second. "Of course I am her best friend," she said hesitantly. Touma saw in her eyes she was beginning to doubt this course of action. "But I need to protect her from you."

"Do you think she would want this?"

Kuroko opened her mouth to speak when suddenly a wave of dark water like substance engulfed her from behind and Touma was no longer able to see her. "Ah, I wondered what she was up to when she left her post," a familiar voice said. Touma looked and saw Jason walking toward him as his shadow formed a sphere around Kuroko with a string attached to him. "Hey Touma, I think she got a little too much sun and freaked out."

"Yea thanks," Touma said relieved. "She looked ready for murder."

The shadow started to recede from Kuroko and she was now being levitated upside down a couple feet off the ground and a couple feet behind Jason but with her arms bound to her side and legs bound together. "So Shirai," Jason said casually to her. "You left your post when we needed a teleporter. I hope you have a good reason."

"I had to protect onee-sama!" Kuroko began yelling. "Dang it, why can't I teleport out of this."

"No viable reason I see," Jason said sighing. "Dang, now I'm going to have to write you up or just throw you somewhere." He walked off the way Touma had come from. "Good luck with the tournament Touma, even though you lost the bet for me." As he left he could hear Kuroko still yelling unrepeatable unladylike things at Jason and about Touma.

Touma smiled remembering Jason thought he would be hospitalized after the first round. _Serves him right but I got to remember to thank him later for saving me._ Touma continued down the hallway and after awhile he heard other student's voices informing him he was close. He got several looks as he was still in costume, but Touma ignored everyone. He was reading the names of the schools next to each locker room until he found the one he wanted, Tokiwadai Middle School. Previous experiences have told him never to open a door without announcing anything because it always ended up with a girl half dressed and trying to kill him. Instead, he tried a new tactic, he knocked. A couple seconds later the door opened a little and a girl stuck her head out.

"Can I help you?" she asked then seeing who it was her eyes widened.

"Hello," Touma said cheerfully. "Is Mikoto Misaka available to talk?" He was worried he might have been a little too polite but, with some of this rich ojou-sans, it might work to his advantage.

She looked him up and down for a moment then said politely, but maybe a little stiff, "One moment, I will check." She went back into the locker room and the door closed.

Touma sighed and leaned up against the wall of the hallway opposite of the door and waited patiently. Because he was no longer looking for the right room, he was now painfully aware of the people nearby pointing and talking about him. It happened to be all young girls. It made sense for the sponsors to put the all girl schools together in the same vicinity.

"Is that the Harem King?"

"He's not as tall up close."

"You think he would give me his autograph?"

"What are you doing here?"

Touma recognized the last voice and turned to see Hibiki marching toward him with a look of disdain in her eyes. She still had a bandage wrapped around her head where she hit it during the first match. He should have known the Tokiwadai would have the high school was near the middle school. "Just waiting for a friend," he said nonchalantly. He really didn't want to get into another fight with this girl like Accelerator had. She obviously was very prideful.

"A likely story," she sniffed. "I bet you are here trying to pick up girls."

"You caught me," Touma said rolling his eyes and his voice dripping with sarcasm, though no one could see him rolling his eyes because of the mask. He wasn't normally sarcastic but he was tired and still nervous for the rest of the matches. He was also aware of the other girls watching him. "I am obviously here doing exactly that." _Maybe some of them will leave now. Please hurry Mikoto. I don't want to be here for very long._

"Are you sassing me?" she asked getting angry but Touma was spared any further conversation with her when the door in front of him opened and Mikoto walked out.

"Sorry I took so long," she said to Touma a slight smirk on her face as she saw he was in costume. "What brings you here?" Touma noted her demeanor was a lot different in front of the other girls then she was with him and their friends. She was a lot more polite and emitted a nobler aura.

"I wanted to talk to you," he said and looked around. "Preferably without an audience."

She nodded, turned, motioned him to follow her and said, "Ok." Touma took off after her in stride but he still heard all the other girls whispering. Hibiki was in shock.

"Wow, he knows the Railgun."

"You think they are dating?"

"Is the Harem King really flirting with her?"

"Hey Harem King," someone called out and he turned around to see the girl who answered the door. "She took so long because she went and did up her hair when I told her it was you." Touma's face turned red but the mask prevented anyone else from seeing it, but Mikoto was not as lucky. Touma saw out of the corner of his eye she had turned bright red.

"Is that true?" he whispered unable to hide a smirk.

"Shut up," she whispered back determinedly not looking at him. When they were away from everyone else she turned to him. 'So what did you need?"

"Just wanted to congratulate on your flawless victory," Touma said leaning up against a wall.

"That it?" she asked surprised. "You could have just called or texted me."

"It's more personal this way," Touma laughed and Mikoto blushed slightly. "Besides, I left my cell phone at my dorm."

"You really are an idiot," she laughed shaking her head then sighed. "Now I have to deal with all those rumors of The Harem King coming to see me."

"I'm actually surprised you didn't shock me for wearing this getup."

"You want me too?" she asked a little angrily as several sparks surrounded her.

"No no," Touma panicked waiving his hands in front of him. "Please don't shock this poor Kamijou. I was just surprised."

She laughed and the shocks disappeared. "I heard from Uiharu-san and Saten-san that some classmates did a prank on you. Originally I was going to electrify you into a scorch mark on the ground. Jason really saved you there."

"I guess he did."

"Oh," she said remembering. "I'm glad you took your promise seriously. I watched the first match and saw you try. You also saved an opponent from an overzealous Accelerator."

Touma waved his hand dismissively. "When I make a promise I will carry it out to the end."

"I know," Mikoto muttered looking at the ground blushing as she remembered another promise she overheard him say a long time ago to an imposter. She then gathered her resolve and looked at him in the eyes. "When we meet in the finals, I want you to go all out and not hold anything back, understand?"

"When, not if?" Touma asked laughing then met her sharp gaze and he became serious. "Yea I understand." She looked satisfied. "I have to get back to my class though. The next round should be starting soon." She nodded again in understanding and waved to him.

"Good luck," she called out and she went back to her classroom after he waved back and disappeared around a corner. She sighed. When she heard he had come to visit her she thought of so many other possibilities besides just wishing her luck. Since she heard he was acting polite, she knew it wasn't an emergency. She shook her head, was she really having those kinds of thoughts. _What was I really expecting?_ She looked up as she entered the locker room and saw a lot of girls staring at her.

"Umm?"

"So Misaka-san," a girl called out. "Tell us about your boyfriend."

"EHHHH?"

* * *

Touma and Accelerator once again found themselves in the middle of the arena facing their opponents for round two. The two males were just as Touma saw in the last match. The geomancer had a sturdy build with brown hair and the mind control ability user was really skinny with shoulder length black hair. Touma still didn't know how it worked except the electrical string comes from his hand and could manipulate people. Both of the teams greeted each other, _at least there wasn't a fight like last time,_ and then each team went to their respective corners.

"What's up?" Touma asked noticing Accelerators expression. "You looked pissed."

"Worst," Accelerator spat out. "She really enjoyed the damn team name we got stuck with. To make everything worse, she lied to Last Order about the definition of lolicon."

"What did she say?" Touma asked curiously. "I know Worst likes to make life difficult."

"Tell me about it," he muttered. "She told the brat lolicon was the adult way of saying a person who is watching a kid. Now the brat is going around saying I'm….Damn it, I want to kill the b!^$#." Touma let out a small chuckle and Accelerator turned to him. "You want to die too hero?"

"Don't take it out on me," Touma said defensively waving his hands in front of him. "I'm a victim too."

Accelerator glared at him and stopped talking. He wasn't sure why he talked to the hero about his problems. It wasn't like him. What made it worse was he actually felt microscopically better talking to the hero. _Damn_ , _I really have changed,_ he thought to himself. _I still want to know what his damn power is._ He was spared thinking about useless things when the signal rang indicating the start of the match.

It took everything Accelerator had to hold back but he managed to do it. Instead of dashing forward he just moved with Touma around the large bolder formation. They looped around the bolder but still didn't see the other team. "Where the hell did those losers go?" Accelerator raged at Touma.

"I don't know," Touma said looking around. "One of them has a type of earth ability, so let me try something." He bent down and touched the ground and the sound of broken glass was heard. The earth around them sunk a little and both of them swayed back and forth as they kept their balance. About 10 feet away the earth parted and both members of the other team jumped out as the tunnel behind them collapsed.

"What happened?!" the skinny guy yelled at the geomancer.

"I don't know." He replied shocked. "My ability just stopped working." They both turned to see Accelerator and Touma looking at them only a few steps away. "Shit, it's them. Quick take one of them." The skinny one nodded and shot his thin electrical cord from his hand at Accelerator who just eyed it with a bored look on his face. As soon as the cord touched accelerator it immediately rebounded easily twice the speed back at its creator.

"Arg," the guy cried as the cord made contact with him and he fell back stunned. His eyes were wide open but he wasn't moving.

"You ok?" the geomancer called out to his companion but received no response. "Shit." He looked at Accelerator. "You could have seriously hurt him. His ability interferes with the brains neural activity and he can manipulate the flow of the signals. But now you stunned him and no one is sending any signal, he could be out for days."

"Sucks for him," Accelerator said shrugging. "I didn't do anything."

"A$$hole," the guy spat at Accelerator and he punched the ground sending a ripple though the ground at Accelerator and Touma. Accelerator yawned and taped the ground with his foot right before the ripple hit him and the ripple just reversed direction. The geomancer did not react fast enough and consequently was knocked down. He immediately found Accelerator standing over him.

"Pretty dull," Accelerator said as he reached a hand toward the terrified geomancer's face with a very evil smile on his face

"I give up," he yelled before Accelerator could touch him and the signal for the end of the round echoed though the stadium. Accelerator stopped, shrugged again, and walked away while the geomancer took a breath of relief.

"Your friend is fine now," Touma said standing up. While Accelerator had been talking with his opponent, Touma had gone and touched the skinny guy in the head. The skinny guy woke up to find Touma walking away from him.

"Ah did we lose?" the skinny guy asked his teammate.

"Yea," he replied sighing. "We didn't have a chance in hell. The Harem King guy even saved you from your own ability."

"The winner of the match is Team LOLICONS OF MISFORTUNE!"

* * *

Their class once again celebrated their classmate's victory in the locker room and this time they brought a cooler of drinks for everyone. The party lasted only for about five minutes before the announcer said the next match was starting and everyone else went to watch the next match. Touma had stood up to follow them but then he heard Accelerator call out to him.

"Wait up Hero. I want to talk to you."

"Sure, what's up?"

"What the hell is with your ability?" asked Accelerator angrily. "I watched you last round and all you did was touch things with your hand and you canceled out their ability. I know my reflection doesn't work on you either. How do you interfere with everyone's ability?"

Touma sighed, he knew this was coming. "My ability is called Imagine Breaker. My right hand can cancel out any supernatural ability." Touma held up his right hand. "I don't really hide it, but I tend not to spread it around to everyone. However the system scans do not detect anything from it so I am labeled a level 0."

"Bullshit," he spat. "If you have an ability like that, you should be at least level 5 since you can cancel out other level 5 abilities. How the hell did you get that ability?"

Touma shrugged. "No idea. I was born with it and since I don't generate an AIM field it probably isn't a scientific ability."

Accelerator stared at him but his glare was less hostile and more like he was thinking. "So it sounds like a Gemstone ability science can't explain yet. It reminds me of a certain annoying person."

"I just started getting it examined last week," Touma added. "They hypothesized it actually negates the AIM field of individuals and that causing abilities to get canceled."

"What kind of shit did they tell you?" Accelerator said. "Canceling an AIM field? That shouldn't be possible."

"I don't know much about it either," Touma said. "But direct contact with my hand will prevent someone from using any abilities."

"Who the hell is the scientist who told you this?" Accelerator demanded. "I'll wring the answers I want from him."

Touma smiled and thought this was perfect chance for some revenge. "You won't believe me, but it's Jason from our class."

"You want to die?"

* * *

The rest of the round went pretty smoothly even though all the teams fought well. Match two and three were pretty intense with even the winning teams suffering some severe injuries. Mikoto's team was the only other match that went as smoothly as Touma's and Accelerator's. After her first round demonstration of her powers, the other team immediately split up during the start of the match in hopes of avoiding the rain of electrical energy. This did not work as all Mikoto did was take down one first then the other. It seems their abilities of camouflage and metamorphosis were not very well suited to stop a rain of lighting. The final round looked like it was already decided by the audience as everyone was chatting about which team with the level 5 was going to win.

For some reason an announcement went out saying the next round was delayed. As it was only about 11a.m., a lot of people were moving around and getting lunch while they waited. Touma got up to stretch a bit but regretted it instantly. He got bombarded by more people asking for autographs and pictures. He wondered why so many people were interested in him instead of Accelerator. However, when he turned and looked at Accelerator, he was surrounded by a large number of people. He was obviously sleeping though and ignoring them. This did not stop the fans who were taking pictures but as long as no one disturbed him, Accelerator stayed asleep.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are terribly sorry about the delay. We had to check the status of a couple of our teams. It seems like two of our four remaining teams will not be able to participate in the next round. They received too many injuries in their last match for us to allow them to continue. As you know, safety for our students is very important. The final match will start in ten minutes between teams Lolicons of Misfortune and Thunderstorm."

The audience started booing because they wanted to see more matches but it quickly subsided when everyone started to talk about finally seeing the level 5s face off. Though, a certain number of people in the audience had very different reactions to the news.

Touma's mouth dropped. He knew he would meet up with Mikoto eventually if they both kept winning but he didn't prepare himself for the fight yet. Accelerator was a little happier. "Finally," he muttered. "One more round till I can leave."

Mikoto gasped when she heard the news too. _I knew this was going to happen but I thought I would have another round to prepare for this._ She smacked her cheeks with her hands. _Get a hold of yourself Mikoto, you can do this. He promised to do his best and afterwards you can con… You can do this._

"Onee-sama is going to destroy him," Kuroko said mainly to herself from her Judgment position in the arena Jason had forced her back into. "There is no way that creep and troglodyte can beat her."

Kazari and Ruiko were conflicted and looked at each other. "Who do we cheer for?" Ruiko asked."

"You obviously want to cheer for Kamijou-san," Uiharu said grinning. "If I cheer for Misaka-san then we even it out and we help both of them."

"Maybe I want to cheer for Misaka-san," Ruiko said trying to sound casual but failed dismally.

"Sure you do Saten-san," Kazari said sarcastically but still smiling.

Ruiko looked at her then said, "You are hanging with Kagere-san too much," she said then flipped Kazari's skirt. "Pink this time, not bad."

"SATEN-SAN!"

"Both teams are making their way into the arena. The first team sure had made a big impression on all of us, made of a level 5 and a level 0. But after the last two matches, does anyone believe he is really a level 0? I present the first team, THE LOLICONS OF MISFORTUNE." Touma and Accelerator walked into the arena to a round of cheers and applause. It seems like the audience did not care about their name anymore after seeing their matches. Though a lot of people wanted to see Accelerator in action against a powerful opponent, a large number of people were holding up signs and chanting Kami's name. "Their opponents are no pushovers though. The team is made up of the third rank level 5 along with a very experienced wind user. They won their previous matches in a very efficient and one sided manner. I present team THUNDERSTORM." Mikoto and her teammate entered the arena while waving to the audience as they received applause and cheering. They met Touma and Accelerator in the middle of the arena.

"Hey, don't I know you?" Touma asked the girl next to Mikoto.

She nods, "I delivered your message to Misaka-san." Touma looked closer and she was indeed the girl he talked to at the locker room. She had her long black hair tied up into a ponytail instead of combed down like she had it earlier. She also had bright green eyes and looked a lot more comfortable with him then last time. "So," she said smiling. "You and Misaka-san…."

"Umm," Touma said rubbing the back of his head but before he heard a crackle coming from his right side and saw Mikoto had a weird smile on her face, her eye was twitching, and she was letting out some sparks.

"Flirting with my teammate right in front of me, eh," she said coldly.

Touma waved his hands in front of him while taking a step back. "Of course not, I just thought I met her before." The girl giggled.

"You two are such a good couple."

"We aren't a couple," Touma and Mikoto both said together. Both turned red but no one could see Touma's face due to his mask, only Mikoto's. The girl laughed but her eyes showed she didn't believe them.

"Quit your flirting," Accelerator sighed. "Let's just get this over with so I can leave."

Mikoto pointed to Touma, "Remember you promised not to hold back. I definitely won't so make sure you are prepared."

"Yea I know," Touma sighed. "Let's not turn me into a burnt mark on the ground though."

"That's up to you," Mikoto said smiling.

"Ugg," Accelerator groaned. "I don't even care about this and you two obviously want to fight. Hey girl," he turned to Mikoto's teammate who stiffened up at being addressed by Accelerator. "Don't get involved and let those two fight it out. They obviously have some issues to sort out." She looked confused and opened her mouth to argue. "If you argue I'm going to go after you only and crush you." She quickly closed her mouth and agreed. _Well, now I can observe the hero's power without interference. Let's see if he was telling the truth._ He walked up to the large center bolder formation they were standing near and touched it. The boulders flew every direction leaving the center of the area clear.

The judge ran up, "Hey, you can't alter the arena before the match."

Accelerator rolled his eyes then looked at the judge. "Don't care, besides, we decided only those two are going to fight. Both of us are going to sit this out." He points to Touma and Mikoto then to himself and the other girl.

"This is a two on two tournament," the judge said paling under his stare. "You can't just…"

Accelerator strengthened his glare. "Try saying that again." The judge's face went pure white and he dashed over to the other judges and started talking to them. Accelerator chuckled to himself and he and the other girl walked away from the center of the field and found a place to sit near the edge of the arena to watch.

"We have a small change in the main event. It seems like only two of the contestants are going to fight in the final match. First, she may be young, but she is the third most powerful level 5, the Railgun, MIKOTO MISAKA!" The crowd burst into cheers as Misaka waves to everyone from her side of the arena. "Her opponent, the mysterious individual who has no background, the man who can attract any women he meets and smashes through all of his opponent's abilities, KAMI THE HAREM KING." The crowd's reaction was instantaneous. There were a huge number of cheers from a lot of Touma's classmates and followers along with a good section of people yelling insults at him. "This is sure to be an exciting match. I hope both of them are ready to give it their all." A horn echoes throughout the arena. "Let the match begin!"

The second the announcer said they could start, a huge electrical bolt flew from Mikoto right at Touma. This was nothing new to him and he simply put out his right hand and the electricity dispersed on impact. He looked across the field and saw the familiar sparks around Mikoto. He sighed. _How can I beat her without hitting her?_ While he was thinking another two bolts flew at him and he negated them as well. So far, he has yet to take a single step. He suddenly got a bad feeling and jumped to the right dodging an electrical arch from above him. He put his hand on the ground to stabilize himself. "You really are serious," Touma yelled. "And you learned some new tricks too."

"I told you I was going to be," she yelled back smirking. "I learned a lot from our past fights." She raised her hands and black sand started to fly from the grounds all around them. The iron sand, as Touma had seen before, started to gather in her hands and form the shape of blades. In just a few seconds, she was now holding two 3 foot long black blades. These blades were vibrating at incredibly high speeds and were incredibly deadly. He faced these before but with how easily they could cut, they still scared him. To demonstrate for the audience she slashed a nearby rock and the blade went right through it like a hot knife through butter.

"Those blades look dangerous. I hope the Harem King has a plan or this fight could be over and pretty messy."

"I think you are trying to kill me," Touma called out taking a step back. She smiled and charged straight at him crossing her arms and keeping the blades at her sides. Touma didn't have much choice so he charged right back at her. He could tell this surprised her and when they closed in she swung one of the swords at him as he raised his hand. The second the sword connected with his hand it started to revert back to the black sand.

"Hah, I got you…." Touma started to say but then the sand started to swirl around him obscuring his view.

"You think I would keep doing the same move?" he heard her call out from somewhere behind the wall of sand.

The sand was swirling around a couple feet from him. He would have to step up to touch the sand and that could be a trap set by Mikoto. His danger sense suddenly went off and he ducked. An iron sword extended through the sand wall right where his head was. _Dang it, she's getting careless. I could have died right there._ He raised his hand and grabbed the sword which reverted back to sand then he ran at the wall in the direction the blade came from. The wall parted like a curtain with just a slight touch and he saw a surprised Mikoto. He didn't slow down and charged right at her.

He was still a good twenty feet away and another electrical bolt came right at him which he blocked. He was only fifteen feet away from her now. The next attack wasn't a single bolt but several scattered tendrils of electricity come at him from several directions. He rolled to the left and blocked the one headed right at him while the others passed through where he was only seconds before. He looked at her and saw she was smiling and he found himself smiling too. He knew she wasn't trying to kill him, but wanted to go all out against him. He doubled his resolve to give it his all for this fight, but he would beat her without hitting her. He got to his feet and charged her again. "You are getting better," he says.

"You really seem to be trying," Mikoto said unleashing another set of electrical tendrils. "Show me what you got."

Touma had to keep moving but couldn't touch every one of those electrical tendrils. He dived to the ground and only had to use his right hand to block one of them and rolled towards her while closing the gap between them even more. He kept rolling and jumped to his feet using the momentum to keep moving forward. Mikoto looked surprised and tried to quickly move backwards. Touma's danger sense went off again half a second before a giant lighting strike decided from the sky and struck him when he was only five feet away from Mikoto.

"Wow, I don't think anyone could survive that. I hope Harem King is ok. There is too much dust to see what is happening. Wait, what's that? I can't believe it. HAREM KING IS STILL STANDING! What tenacity and resolve."

The dust cleared and Touma stood there with his hand raised. The dust was caused by the extra electricity around Touma and the wind from the sudden electrical burst. Mikoto stood there in shock. She thought she finally managed to surprise him. Touma took advantage of this second and charged her once again. She started to generate sparks but he finally got close enough to grab her wrist. All the electricity around her immediately disappeared. "Got you," he said smiling.

"Dang it," she yelled trying to break his grip but he held firm. _I can't feel any of my electricity. This is the power of his Imagine Breaker? I should never have let him get close._

"Give up?" Touma asked.

"Never," Mikoto cried. "I still have a trick up my sleeve."

"What…?" Touma started to ask.

"CHASER!" she yelled and then she kicked him in the leg.

Touma was shocked long before he felt the pain. He knew Mikoto used that battle cry when kicking the vending machine but he never thought she would use it on him. Once the pain hit, he felt his leg buckle under his weight and he knew he couldn't stand up. As he was falling he used all of his determination to not let go of Mikoto's wrist and brought her down to the ground with him.

"It seems like Misaka has given up on using electricity against the Harem King and has resorted to hand to hand combat. It might even become a wrestling match as the Harem King still has not let go of her."

Touma struggled and managed to hold Mikoto's right arm against her back and grabbed her left arm from behind her. His leg was still aching and partially numb. If he let go of her, he was going to be in trouble. With his hurt leg, dodging was going to be tough, if not impossible, and Mikoto would be aiming around his right hand. He had to keep his hold on her. Mikoto was very athletic and knew a little hand to hand combat but with his current hold on her, they both had to resort to pure physical strength. Touma had the advantage as he was bigger and stronger and he was able keep her pinned. He was kneeling on the ground on his hurt leg and stood on the foot of his good leg. Mikoto was sitting in front of him with both of her arms pinned against her back by Touma.

"Let go," she yelled as she struggled.

"I don't want to get shocked," Touma replied. "Just give up. You can't use your electricity on me."

"I never give up," she said. "Besides you haven't won yet. I am still able to fight."

"There's your competitive side again," Touma sighed then said seriously. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"Eh, what?" Mikoto sputtered turning red.

"I don't know what they are talking about but with that position Harem King is whispering something in her ear and she is turning red. I bet this is how he got his name."

 _That b $%^$,_ Touma thought to himself as he turned red too but once again, thanks to the mask he was safe from others seeing it. The announcer was just making this worse for him. His words seemed to awaken Mikoto and she started struggling harder than before. Touma sighed and figured out the only course of action available to him. "Please forgive me Mikoto," he said then…..

He let her go.

She found herself suddenly falling forward and caught herself. She turned around and Touma was struggling to get to his feet. His leg must have still been hurting. "What are you doing?" she yelled at him. "You could have won this."

"I can't hurt you," Touma replied. "So I'm giving up."

"Don't you give up idiot," Mikoto yelled angrily. "You promised to try your best."

"I did try," Touma replied slightly irritated. "I still won't hurt you."

"Why you…ouch," Mikoto cried as she put her hand on the back of her head after a small spark flickered.

"What's wrong?" Touma asked concern.

"It felt like someone tried to enter my mind," she said shaking her head. "I have felt something similar to this before but it's definitely different."

"Hey hero," Accelerator called out. "Something is going on." Both Mikoto and Touma turned to see Accelerator heading toward him supporting Mikoto's teammate who seemed to be falling asleep. "Look." He pointed to the crowd. Mikoto and Touma had been too preoccupied so they didn't realize the crowd had gotten quiet. When they looked around, they saw nearly everyone in the audience was asleep or in the process of falling asleep.

"What's happening?" Mikoto asked looking around surprised.

The sound of breaking glass was heard and Touma looked at his hand. "I think it's magic." Mikoto and Accelerator looked at him.

"You sure?" Mikoto asked quietly.

"Magic?" Accelerator sneered. "You hit your head again?"

"I can't be sure but my Imagine Breaker went off and it doesn't seem to be an ability user."

"Looks like we have company," Mikoto said bitterly. "Friends of ours." All three of them looked around and saw men wearing robes and golden masks of a sad man running through the bleachers of the sleeping crowd. They were jumping down onto the field. "Those guys again."

"Who are these pieces of trash?" Accelerator asked.

"They attached a museum last week," Touma said. "They were stealing artifacts. Mikoto and I chased them away but they are incredibly dangerous and will kill without hesitation."

"Hmph," Accelerator said grimly flexing his hand. "I'm glad the brat's asleep. She won't have to see this then."

Suddenly several loud foot prints echoed though a hallway and across the arena. All the masked men turned to the noise and saluted. Through the hallway a man of outrageous size ducked through the entrance to the arena. He had to duck because he was at least ten feet tall, and extremely muscular. He could have been playing American Football and been a star lineman. He was completely bald, not a single hair on his head, and his muscular body was heavily scarred. Touma thought it would be harder to find a spot on him that wasn't scarred. He was wearing a golden mask too, but like the women from the museum, it was a human with a happy face and he did not have a shirt, only black pants. He slowly walked towards Touma's group in the middle of the area while all the masked men watched the exits. He stopped when he was about thirty feet away from them.

"Come…with…me…Imagine…Breaker…" the huge man said slowly and deliberately as if each word was difficult to say.

"Who are you and what have you done?" Touma demanded.

"I…am…Sloth…," the huge man said in the same slow way. "We…put…them…to…sleep..."

"He must be around the same level as the women called Wrath," Mikoto said as several electrical sparks started to form around her.

Accelerator looked at both of them then at the man then. "So I guess there won't be any complaints if I go all out then?"

"Nope," Touma and Mikoto replied at once.

"Great," Accelerator said smiling evilly.

"I…don't…like…to…fight…," Sloth said and he sounded even more tired as he raised his hand. "My…curse…sends…you…into…the…endless…abyss…"

Touma opened his mouth to reply but found himself becoming dizzy. Everything had gotten fuzzy and started to fade away. His strength left him and he could no longer stand up. As he fell to the ground and the last of his sight was fading to nothing, he looked at the blurred outline of the man called Sloth and muttered, "Shit." Then everything went black.

* * *

 **Well Touma died. Guess we need a new protagonist. I'm leaning towards Accelerator or Mikoto.**

" **Don't kill me off yet," Touma cries.**

" **Hmm, I could be the main character now," Accelerator says thoughtfully.**

" **Don't get any ideas," Mikoto yelled. "We need a female lead."**

" **Why?" Touma muttered. 'Such Misfortune."**

 **So the plot thickens. I might actually have to start going over some ideas with someone soon. A lot of big things are going to happen and having someone review my ideas might actually make things easier. Though anyone who helps will have extreme spoilers and won't get to enjoy the new chapters as much. It's just something for me to think about.**

 **Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter.**


	13. Nirvana

**Wow, quite a few comments/reviews for the last chapter. This chapter will probably answer a few of the questions if you read all the way through it. It is a little confusing at first.**

 **Hmm, Last Order as the main Hero, I could see that lol.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

" _Wake up."_

Touma groaned and pulled the covers over his head, after all the dangerous and exciting events that happened to him yesterday, all he wanted to do was sleep. However, even after the tournament yesterday, he still had supplementary lessons today with Komoe-sensei. At least he would have Friday off from school because, as a reward to all the schools who participated in the tournament, they get tomorrow off, but sadly not today. He didn't immediately open his eyes but thought about the strange occurrence that happened yesterday at the end of the tournament.

He had passed out due to the man called Sloth's magic. He had just lost consciousness when the sound of breaking glass echoed in his mind and his Imagine Breaker saved him. His eyes snapped open and he struggled to his feet as his leg was still aching from Mikoto's kick. He glared at Sloth and said, "I don't know what you want with me but I am not going to go with you people. I have seen the destruction and evil your group causes."

"How…did…you….break…my…curse…?" Sloth demanded. While his voice and way of speaking did not change, his eyes grew wide in astonishment.

"You should have known my Imagine Break destroys all supernatural abilities."

"Of…course…" Sloth murmured. "Take….him….alive…" The rest of the masked men who surrounded the arena started running towards Touma.

Touma knew he couldn't take them all by himself, especially with his injured leg, so he reached down toward Mikoto and touched her head. The sound of glass shattering was heard and Mikoto woke up. He then rushed as fast as he could on his bad leg to Accelerator and touched his head too and woke him up. Both Accelerator and Mikoto stood up together as the masked men rushed towards them.

"Arg," Mikoto muttered. "My head hurts."

"Wake up third rate," Accelerator spat out looking around. "Looks like these guys want to die."

Mikoto nodded and replied, "Let me take care of the small fry." The crackle of electricity in the air surrounded her and she released bolts of lightning at the men. They either weren't magically defended because they thought they were safe due to Sloth's ability or they weren't important enough to be protected. Mikoto's lightning rained down upon them and they all fell to the ground smoking and unconscious. "Want to take care of the big guy?"

Accelerator grinned, as the grounded around him exploded, and he dashed toward Sloth. Sloth raised his hand to smash Accelerator but was to slow, Accelerator punched him in the stomach but the action was more symbolic than actually an attack. Accelerator wasn't very strong but all he had to do was touch something to manipulate its vector. A single touch from him could cause more damage than a shotgun blast. Sloth curved into a C shape as the force from Accelerator's touch into his stomach threw him back into the arena wall with a resounding crash. Accelerator didn't stop there though. He jumped to a nearby bolder and sent it flying through the air into Sloth who was pressed up against the wall. "He shouldn't be moving after that," Accelerator said.

He was wrong. The bolder started to crack and then exploded. Sloth stood up slowly, cracked his neck, and started to walk toward them. He wasn't even scratched. "Why…make…things…difficult…?" he asked slowly.

"Can't make it too easy for you," Mikoto called out and sent a lightning strike from the sky right at Sloth. As the ground exploded and dust flew everywhere she asked, "Did that work?" Her question was answered as the sound of footsteps echoed through the arena as Sloth walked through the cloud of dust. "Is this guy invulnerable?"

"It might be his magic," Touma replied looking at Sloth. "If I can get close I might be able to stop him."

Accelerator sighed, "Fine, if you want to be the hero let's try this." He grabbed Touma by the collar and leaped at Sloth dragging Touma along behind him. Using his manipulating of vectors, holding Touma was like carrying a piece of paper. Sloth reached out to grab them but Accelerator ducked both of them under Sloth's outstretched arm then threw Touma. Touma found himself flying through the air at high speeds toward Sloth's face. He had less than a second but made a fist and slammed it into Sloth's jaw. The sound of breaking glass was heard following by what sounded like bone breaking as Touma's impact crushed Sloth's jaw. Sloth crumpled and fell backwards unconscious with Touma landing on him.

"You could have given me a warning before you threw me," Touma yelled out angrily to Accelerator cradling his bruised hand.

"I thought you asked to get close to him," Accelerator said grinning as he walked up to Touma. "It worked, so why are you complaining?"

"Quit fighting both of you," Mikoto said walking up to them and slapping them both on the back. "But good job, we took them down before anyone could get hurt. Look, everyone is waking up now." Accelerator and Touma turned and looked around and everyone in the crowd was indeed getting up looking confused.

"I don't know what happened but looking at the arena, it seems like some unexpected intruders interrupted the tournament. Anti-Skill has just been called and they will take them away. Everyone please remain calm."

Anti-Skill arrived quickly and took all the masked guys away. Jason was personally supervising the transport of Sloth. Since Sloth was a magician, Touma figured Jason was probably going to get involved in his special kind of removal and transport to a specific religious organization to await justice. _Keeping balance between magic and science sure is troubling._ The tournament was canceled because of the magicians and he was questioned by Anti-Skill along with Accelerators and Mikoto about what had happened. They were questioned and detained for quite a while. When they were finally released everyone in the arena had already left, so they decided to head back to their dorms. Touma figured tomorrow he was going to get interrogated by his class about what happened while they were all asleep.

" _Wake up."_

Touma opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling of his dorm room and sighed. He really didn't want to get up. He was comfortable in his bed and even his leg didn't hurt anymore. All he wanted to do was stay here today and avoid the crowds who would sure to be trying to question the "Harem King." His only complaint in his bed was he felt incredibly hot. _Please say the air conditioner didn't break again. It just started to get hot._ Touma was about to curse at his misfortune when he felt something move under the covers next to him. _Dang it, did Index sneak into my bed again?_ Then he felt something move under the covers on his other side and he got suspicious. He pulled up the covers and looked under them.

On his left, cuddling tightly next to him was Mikoto Misaka. It had to be her as she was wearing very childish bright green Gekota pajamas. On his right, also cuddling with him was another person who looked exactly like Mikoto except she was wearing a short sleeve blue top and pajama pants. That one had to be Misaka Imouto. They both looked up when he lifted the covers and they yawned.

"Do you have to get up for school already?" Mikoto asked sleepily.

"Misaka would like it if you would stay longer Misaka says hoping her demand will be heard." She cuddled closer to Touma as she said this.

"We really need you get though those supplementary lessons," Mikoto says. "Try not to wake Kuroko. She can sleep late since she can teleport us to school. We don't get today off either way."

Touma raised the covers more and saw Kuroko sleeping at the foot of the bed perpendicular to him and holding tightly to Mikoto's legs but laying on top of him and Misaka Imouto at the same time. Touma turned slightly red when he saw she had once again decided to sleep completely nude instead of putting on the pajamas, even the see through ones, he knew she had. He shook his head. _She really needs to wear clothes at night._ He yawned and got up trying to disturb everyone else on the bed as little as possible.

Touma shakes his head a little to get rid of the last bit of drowsiness and headed to the bathroom. He opened the door and saw a very voluptuous woman in a very revealing maid costume cleaning the mirror. Her name was Kaori Kanzaki, a friend of Index and also a member of Necessarius. She is 18 years old and very tall with long black hair tied up in a ponytail that reached her hips. She has pure white skin that could be associated with a princess. When not wearing her maid outfit, she usually wears a short white T-shirt tied into a knot at the bottom, revealing her navel, a pair of jeans with one side sawed off, revealing her thigh. She is also one of the only twenty people in the world who could be called a saint. These people resemble the Son of God and have a small, but still considerable, portion of his power. Touma was once told about the Idol Theory where a replica of a more powerful being or item can gain a small portion of the original's power. She often visited Touma and Index but Touma recalled a lot of awkward events when he met her.

"Good morning master," she said bowing.

"Ah good morning Kanzaki-san," Touma said. "Sorry, I got to leave soon so I need to use the bathroom." He forgot she was working here as a maid as thanks for the help he provided with saving the Amakusa, her old group before she joined Necessarius.

"No problem master," she said and exited the bathroom.

After his morning routine, he went to his dresser and started to change. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Mikoto and Misaka Imouto watching him change. "What?" he asked a little self conscious. This happened almost every day but something felt off today.

"Just enjoying the view," Mikoto said smiling.

"Misaka enjoys watching the savior without clothes says Misaka embarrassed." She however gazed at him unblinkingly.

Touma finished getting dressed and headed to the kitchen with his stomach growling. He wasn't surprised he was hungry with how much exercise he got yesterday. It wasn't surprising either that Index was already at the table and had eaten what looked like three plates of food already. He was glad Kaori was staying with him. She had a very large budget with Necessarius to keep Index in good health so she did a lot of the shopping and paying for all the food Index kept in the black hole she called a stomach. Ruiko was busy cooking breakfast for everyone. She had drawn the short straw yesterday night since everyone rotated on all the chores. With so many people living in a small dorm the biggest chore was cooking.

"Hello Touma," said Ruiko cheerfully. "You want anything special or are bacon and eggs ok?"

"That's fine Ruiko," Touma said and his stomach growled loudly and she laughed. He took a spot next to Index who smiled at him with her mouth of food and he laughed. These days were the best. He enjoyed being with everyone but for some reason something felt different today. Ruiko came out with his plate of food and he decided to worry about it later. After she set her plate of food down she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and went back to the kitchen. He smiled and glanced at Index and saw her staring at him strangely.

"Touma," she cried and jumped at him. He raised his hands over his head instinctively but all Index did was kiss him on the cheek too. "I love you Touma. But why did you cover your head?" She looked at him confused.

"I don't know actually," Touma admitted. _Why did I?_ He looked at the clock and quickly ate his breakfast. "See you guys, I got to head out." Index and Ruiko waved to him as he ran out the door. _Sometimes I wish Kuroko could teleport me._ As he left the door he ran into Motoharu who was hugging his sister passionately. _They make a good couple._ He waves to Motoharu after he broke the hug from his sister and he waved back.

"So Kami-yan," Motoharu said cheerfully. "Soon you won't need these supplementary classes anymore."

"Yea," Touma agreed. "Mikoto really has been helping me a lot, and with Komoe-sensei coming over for private lessons too, I am almost caught up."

"So many girls at your place at once," Motoharu said smacking him on the back. "That's our Kami-yan or should I call you Harem King now."

"Kami -yan is fine. You are just as happy as me, eh Siscon Sergeant," Touma replied. "She likes you as much as you like her."

"Yep," Motoharu called out excited. "When she is finally eighteen we can get married at last." Touma again had the thought something was wrong here but this is how it has always been. Before he could worry about that though, he and Motoharu had to race off to school.

They finally arrived at school. Touma was glad without the mask people did not recognize him as the Harem King. He was worried people would mob him in the streets but nothing came from it. They arrived early and the only other person in class was Accelerator. Touma knew he had to take supplementary classes because he never did his homework. His excuse was usually something among the lines of, "This stuff is stupidly easy and it's a waste of time to do it." In his lap, clutching his arms was a smiling Last Order in a bright blue dress. She waves at Touma when he entered the classroom and he waved back. Next to him, Worst had move a desk close to Accelerator and was leaning against his shoulder sleeping,

Accelerator gave Touma a brief nod of a greeting. "So hero, you actually showed up today?"

Touma shrugged. "My studies are important. I can't be a genius like you." Accelerator rolled his eyes.

The supplementary classes taught by Komoe were pretty ordinary. Thanks to the private lessons with her and Mikoto tutoring him after school, he actually understood most of the subjects that were being taught. Normally he would understand the first couple sentences then get lost no matter how hard he was paying attention and writing notes. Maybe it was also because his life has been improving over all. Even with the magician attack on the museum and the tournament, he made a lot more friends including Accelerator, though Accelerator won't admit it.

"So Touma-chan," Komoe called to him after class ended. "You and Accelerator did really well yesterday, even against the intruders."

"Thank you Komoe-sensei," Touma said smiling.

"You know you can just call me Komoe when we are alone," she said blushing.

"I know," Touma said chuckling a little. His teacher was pretty cute when she was embarrassed. "But you will always be my sensei." He always enjoyed teasing her a little when they were alone.

"Hey Touma-chan," she said. "Lean down for a moment." Touma leaned his head down next to her and she gave him a light kiss on the cheek and then a quick smack on the back of his head. "You shouldn't tease adults."

"Yes sensei," Touma said as he left the school. He was heading to Josephs to meet the girls when something felt wrong with what happened. He didn't know what, but everything seemed just like a normal day. But no matter how much he thought that, the feeling this was wrong wouldn't go away.

" _Wake up."_

He stuck a finger in his ear and looked around. He knew he heard something but he didn't know who said it or from where. The feeling something was wrong intensified. _I have had this feeling all day but I don't know why._ Touma learned to trust his feelings so he needed to talk to someone he hadn't met yet today. He snapped his fingers, _Jason._ He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, but something weird happened. Jason was not on his contact list. In fact, he couldn't remember his number and had a hard time remembering what Jason looked like. _What is going on?_ _Maybe the girls will know more._ He ran the rest of the way to Joseph's diner to meet with them as soon as possible.

"Hey Touma," Mikoto called out when he arrived. "What's wrong, you look out of breath." She, Ruiko, Kuroko, and Kazari were all looking at him concerned.

"Well," Touma said. "I have something to ask you. Do you remember Jason's phone number? I seemed to have lost it on my phone."

"Jason…?" Kuroko asked. "You know Mikoto and I go to Tokiwadai so we don't know a lot of guys. What's his last name?"

"I don't know anyone named Jason either," Ruiko said as she looked at Kazari who shook her head too.

'What?" Touma asked shocked. "But Uiharu-san, weren't you going out with him?"

Kazari turned bright red. "W-what are you saying Kamijou-san. I haven't gone out with anyone before."

"You knew that," Ruiko said with a confused look on her face to Touma. "We were going to convince her to come over to your dorm tonight and join us. Are you feeling ok?"

"I don't know," Touma said. "I feel like something's wrong and I forgot something important."

"Anything we can help with?" Kuroko asked while Mikoto watched him closely.

"I don't think so," Touma said slowly as he stood up. "I will let you know though. Thanks for the offer. I'm sorry I have to leave after just arriving." He quickly left the restaurant to get some air and headed to the park to think. _Why did I think Uiharu-san was dating Jason? Ruiko told me yesterday she was single._ A sudden shiver went down his spine as he felt he was being watched. He turned and looked across the street and froze.

A young girl was standing across the street sporting long straight golden hair. She wears a pair of white gloves and stockings, both adorned with laces along with the Tokiwadai Middle school uniform. For being a middle school student she had a really large chest. None of those were a problem to Touma. What made him froze was he could not see her face. It wasn't like the masked men who didn't have a face. He just couldn't see it. She had a face, eyes, nose, mouth, and so forth but it was like there was a fog around his mind when he tried to remember it. The face kept slipping out of his mind like water through his fingers. A large truck passed between them and when it finished passing the girl was gone. _What the hell was that? Am I going crazy? Is this feeling I am getting have something to do with her?_

He finally crossed the street and walked into the park and stopped at the vending machine. He just stared at it. How many times has this machine stolen his money? He chuckled at the thought. He couldn't be to mad at it because he met Mikoto so many times here that it sort of became habit. He sat down on the bench near it and looked at the sky. _Think, who was Jason and how did I meet him? I remember helping him with Stiyl and he had a shadow ability. But why is everything else so fuzzy? Does he have something to do with this?_

"Hey Touma," a girl called out and he turned and saw Mikoto walking toward him.

"Hey Mikoto," Touma said slightly depressed. He wasn't upset at her but rather at this problem he was dealing with.

"What's wrong?" Mikoto grinned holding up drinks. "A cute girl is bringing her boyfriend drinks, how can you be sad?"

"Thanks a lot Mikoto," Touma said taking a drink from her and taking a large swig. "It is really hot out."

"What was with your weird questions earlier today?" Mikoto asked. "It seemed like something was wrong."

"I don't know to be honest," Touma admitted. "It feels like something is different and it is bugging me. I remember details of some things but other details are getting fuzzy. I thought something was messing with my memories, but my hand isn't doing anything."

Mikoto sat next to him and grabbed his hand. "I don't know what's wrong but I don't remember the person you asked about either. My electricity should protect my mind from mental influence. But remember, if anything is troubling with you talk about it with me. I'll listen to your problems anytime." She kissed him on the cheek and he felt a lot better.

" _Wake up."_

"Thanks Mikoto…" Touma said then he heard the voice again. His head turned so fast he almost snapped his neck. Across the park he saw the girl again. He still couldn't grasp her face. It was if she was there but shouldn't be there. He felt several more shivers down his spine. _Was she causing this?_ "Mikoto look to your left, do you see anything unusual. Don't make any sudden moves though." He saw her eyes dart to the general area of the girl.

"Nothing unusual," she muttered. "Why?"

Touma looked again and he didn't see the girl anymore. "There was a girl, but something was wrong with her face. It was there but at the same time wasn't."

"What are you talking about?" Mikoto asked concern in her eyes. "You may have a fever." She leaned forward and put her head against his and he blushed a bit but Mikoto didn't notice. "You don't seem hot but you should probably rest just to be safe."

"You are probably right," Touma agreed. "I will head back home in a moment. I take it you will be there tonight too?"

"Yea," Mikoto nodded. "Kuroko wanted to go shopping for some new underwear." She sighed. "It's not like she has enough already, but she wants to change it every day. Hopefully Uiharu-san will join us too."

"Ok," Touma said. "I look forward to seeing you girls tonight." He winked at her and she giggled.

"Oh," she said almost seriously but with a glint of amusement in her eyes. "Are you going to show us the power of the Harem King?"

Touma groaned. "I thought you promised not to call me that." She laughed and ran off waving to him. He sighed. Maybe he was just being stupid. The excitement yesterday must have been getting to him. He stood up and stretched. _At least tonight was going to be really fun as Uiharu-san was going to join them._ A pang of guilt went through him as he thought about that. _Why am I feeling guilty?_

" _Please wake up."_

Touma nearly had a heart attack as he turned around instantly. The girl was standing just a few feet away looking directly at him. Well, he assumed she was because he still couldn't quite grasp her face. "Who are you and what do you want?" he asked.

He thought she gave him his name but he couldn't grasp it either. No, she definitely told him her name but his mind couldn't remember it and it slipped away as fast as he heard it. He did get part of an answer of the second half of his question. " _I needed to contact you. He is trying to keep…_ " Her voice was like a whisper from far away even though she was standing a few feet from her. Touma knew she was about to get to the important information when he heard a girl yelling at him.

"Touma-sama!" He turned and saw Kuroko walking toward him. She had obviously teleported to the park. Normally he would have been happy to see her, she always was really nice to him, but this time she interrupted something important. _Wait, her being nice to me seems strange but she always was right?_ He turned back to the girl he was talking to and she disappeared. "What are you doing in the park all alone?" Kuroko said as she neared him and grabbed his arm.

"Hey Kuroko," Touma said. "I am just finishing a few errands."

"OK," Kuroko said and looked at him with eyes full of concern. "You know you can tell me if anything is bothering you. You seem a little distracted today."

"I know," Touma said smiling sincerely but inside he was conflicted. _Something is wrong here and I can't be sure who to trust right now. This is becoming a huge problem._ "Mikoto stopped by a little while ago and said almost the same thing. Sorry for making you all worry."

"If you are sure," Kuroko said. "Remember the party tonight. Uiharu-san is going to be joining us."

"I know, thanks Kuroko," Touma replied as he watched her leave. _She chose a bad time to show up. Wait, that may be the problem. Every time I got this bad feeling I either had some place to be or someone showed up to distract me. I need to find a place to be alone for a little while._ The image of Jason's apartment swam to the front of his mind. _That's it._ He dashed as fast as he could to the apartment building. Luckily he remembered the code from the time he stayed there and he was able to enter without any problems. He looked around at the deserted apartment. It looked brand new and perfectly clean but it didn't look like anyone has been here for a long time. He sat down on the couch and thought about everything that happened yesterday and today.

" _Can you hear me?"_

Touma turned and looked at the girl. Her face was a little clearer but he still couldn't make out her exact facial features. It was as if she was getting stronger the more he realized something is wrong. Even her voice was getting louder and clearer. "I can hear you. What is going on?"

" _He is trying to keep you trapped in your own mind. You need to fight it. I am trying to help but we do not have much time_."

"Who is he?"

" _Sloth_."

"But we defeated him yesterday," Touma argued. "How could he still be here? Jason took him away."

" _That was all a dream. You are stuck in a dream inside your own mind. He is trying to keep you in a blissful state to make it easier to control you. I don't know how much longer we can keep him at bay. Please wake up prince_."

He shook his head and opened his mouth to reply when the door to the apartment opened up and Mikoto, Kuroko, Ruiko, and Kazari all entered. _How did they find this place? Wait if it is a dream then I shouldn't be surprised._ "Um, hello," Touma called out to them aware the mystery girl disappeared again. "What are you all doing here?"

"I could say the same thing to you," Mikoto said angrily. "We were worried when you disappeared so we hacked the street cams and found you coming in here. What are you doing here?"

"It's just a friend's house," said Touma nonchalantly trying to gather his thoughts. "He said I could use it whenever I needed to."

"It belongs to the Jason person?" Ruiko asked curiously. Touma nodded. "Well it is huge, he must be rich. We could have a great party here tonight." The other girls nodded in agreement.

"Well," Touma said hesitantly. "Tonight might not be the best…." His words failed him as all four girls started to undress. "Eh, what are you all doing?" He took a couple steps back.

Mikoto looked at him, "We do this almost every night. Why are you embarrassed now?"

"I bet he thinks Uiharu is cute," Ruiko said grinning lifting her skirt to reveal her purple underwear. Kazari blushed deeply but didn't say anything.

Kuroko and Mikoto moved over by Touma and each of them grabbed his arm to pull him to the couch. "Come on Touma-sama," Kuroko said giggling. "Let's have fun like last night."

"Wait we can't," Touma said. "This isn't right." The girls didn't hear him or chose to ignore his words as they surrounded him. He closed his eyes and shouted, "This is just a dream and I need to get out." He waited a few seconds and didn't hear anything. He slowly opened his eyes and everyone in the apartment was gone. In fact, most of the building was gone as an endless abyss started consuming the walls of the apartment and was slowly heading toward him. He looked out across the darkness coming at him from all sides and saw no end. Nothing at all existed in the darkness. Touma stood in the middle of the collapsing apartment without any idea how to get out of this.

" _Hurry_!' The girl's voice resounded through the remains of the building and she appeared next to him. _"Take my hand."_ Touma didn't hesitate and grabbed her hand right before the darkness swallowed up the apartment. He and the girl were the only things floating in space and all that was holding them together was their hands. Then for a second, there was nothing at all.

Touma opened his eyes and he was staring at the blue sky. Everything was still fuzzy but each time he blinked, everything started getting clearer. He heard yelling and some small explosions in the distance and tried to sit up.

"Easy," a girl said. "I had to delve deep in your mind to get through his ability. You might still have some after effects for a minute."

Touma looked at the girl who helped him. The voice was familiar to the one in his dream, but louder and more pronounced. She looked just like his dream, long blond hair, white stockings and gloves, and a very well endowed chest. This time however, he could see her face. She was extremely pretty and had bright golden eyes. The noticeable thing about her eyes was that she had a gold star design in them. "Thanks for helping me out of that dream, but who are you?"

"Shokuhou, Misaki Shokuhou at your service," she said cheerfully then got serious. "We need your help though to defeat this monster."

* * *

 **Aww, poor Touma, he wasn't happy in his dream. On the plus side I get to do the Sloth fight again, but this time, with his real magic ability. Agent Nine should be happy, they get to fight Sloth twice for interrupting the tournament.**

 **Out of curiosity for the readers, how long did it take for you to realize most of this chapter was a dream? Come on be honest, I am not going to judge…..much. I figured a lot of people thought of it pretty early or shortly after the first Sloth fight.**

 **But YAY, Misaki is finally in the story. Someone asked if there was going to be other level 5s in the tournament and I didn't want to say anything to that lol. The dream landscape worked a little differently than Touma's and Misaki's complicated situation but that was a combination of Sloth's magic and mind delving.**

 **Or is this all another dream within a dream?**


	14. Sloth

**So, when I posted last chapter I thought, hey, maybe someone will be shocked about what happened. I came back later that night and found a huge number of reviews. Seriously, there was a huge number that sprung up compared to any other chapter. I know I said I wouldn't judge but I judged several of you lol. But the fact the majority of you really enjoyed the chapter made me feel good. I enjoy writing it and I am glad others enjoy reading it. It seemed like the majority of people discovered the main theme when Touma woke up and found a lot of other people OOC.**

 **My favorite review was by Okaidi, "You know that feeling when you know you just got mind f^$% #, and it feels great? That just happened."**

 **Also it seems we have a lot of people who like Misaki/Touma**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

Touma heard the name Misaki Shokuhou before. She was the fifth rank level 5, also known as Metal Out, the strongest mind control ability user in Academy City. _What is she doing here? Actually, it doesn't matter._ "What is happening Shokuhou-san?" he asked her. Everything in the distance was still blurry but he heard several loud explosions and someone shouting.

"That intruder called Sloth put the crowd to sleep," she informed him. "I and a couple other people were able to resist the initial sleep. However, you, Accelerator, and Misaka-san all were hit with a more powerful sleep ability. They are still asleep but I finally manage to wake you up. I even tried using your hand but it wasn't waking you up."

Touma turned and looked at the sleeping forms of Mikoto and Accelerator. Mikoto had a weird happy grin on her face and Accelerator looked content. "Ok but….Wait, you know about my hand, how?"

"We have met before, but it's a long story so I knew how to bypass some of the restrictions. Feel free to ask me later if you remember," she said but Touma caught a slight glimpse of sadness in her eye. "Anyway, a friend of yours is currently holding off that thing. I took care of the other masked guys"

"Ok," Touma replied. "Well they know about my hand too, so it makes sense they would create methods to bypass it." Touma turned and looked in the direction of the noise and rubbed his eyes. It looked like Sloth had stopped moving and was covered by a black blanket. When his sight finally cleared up he saw Jason standing between them and Sloth with his shadow binding Sloth in place. However, it looked like the shadow wrap wasn't completely effective and Sloth was slowly struggling and loosening the bindings. Other masked men were lying slump against the outer end of the arena.

Jason glanced at them and Touma saw he was covered in dust. "I see you finally woke up sleeping beauty," he yelled to them while Misaki made a cute innocent pose at him with one hand holding a V over her eye.

"It took a little longer then I thought," she replied sweetly.

Jason sighed and ran over to them. "We have a few minutes to plan. Touma, did she catch you up on what happened?"

Touma nodded. "Sloth came in and put everyone to sleep." He points to his sleeping friends. "They are still under his ability. Can you do anything to get them out like you did me?" He turned and looked at Misaki who shook her head. "Jason, is his ability also affecting the crowd?"

"I can't," she replied sadly. "Misaka-san's electricity prevents my ability and Accelerator will just automatically reflect anything that comes into contact with him, including my control. If you kept your hand on them to negate their abilities, I might be able to but your hand could weaken my ability too."

"I don't believe so," Jason said to Touma. "A friend of yours said there was another source for the crowd. I thought he was with the masked guys but he seemed reliable and told me to tell you the Backstabber was helping.

"I see," Touma sighed at both of them and knowing who Jason was talking about. "He is on our side and can be trusted but Jason, it seems like you have him bound up now so why are you still fighting him?"

"It's only temporary." He turned and looked as Sloth was slowly removing the binding. He sent another couple shadow pieces to wrap around him. "This was the only thing that worked on him. Every one of my attacks against him just seemed to be shrugged off. Besides that, he is also incredibly strong. One fist of his went and smashed a boulder into pieces. I even stabbed him with shadow spears, hit him with fists, and dropped an actual boulder on his head and it just rolled off. He didn't break it, but it just sort of rolled off him like there wasn't any force…. That's it. His magic is some type of Weakening. Any force that comes at him get's its force reduced to near zero. That would explain why none of my attacks hit him and why Shokuhou-san's mind control wouldn't work. She still has to send an electrical force to manipulate the mind."

"Magic?" Misaki asks curiously.

"We can explain later. How come the binding still works then?" Touma asked watching Sloth continue to break them.

Jason looked him in the eye. "Did you ever think about how I turn a non physical item such as a shadow, which is just the absence of light by having something solid block the light, into a physical substance?

"Actually no," Touma said sheepishly still watching Sloth out of the corner of his eye. "But now that you mention it…"

"It's a combination of spatial manipulation and bending dimensions. The reason I have limited amount of shadow is the amount of calculations of using it is huge so the space is limited by my calculation abilities. However, I can replace the shadow indefinitely since it is just a lack of light. By limiting how I affect the shadow, I don't turn it solid, so I just control the location. By moving the non solid shadow around Sloth the force isn't getting weakened because it's just a spatial displacement instead of a solid force. Once I turn it solid, force gets involved while I bend dimensions. I don't actually go through them like teleporters. He starts affecting it when the shadow turns solid but if the force is in one location instead of moving toward Sloth, his ability seems to work slower. I don't know why that is though. This is based on my experience fighting with him while Misaki was freeing you."

"I didn't understand most of that," Touma said and Misaki giggled. "But if you can hold him in place for a moment I should be able to hit him. If that doesn't work I can just hold onto him and you should be able to strike him right?" Jason nods. "Ok, then." Touma stands up and runs toward Slot while Jason throws several more shadow bindings at Sloth. "Cover me," he yells as he gets closer and several more shadow bindings fly over him. It looked like the plan was going to work but when he was about 10 feet away from Sloth, his legs suddenly felt incredibly heavy and every step was becoming a challenge. It was like he had run up hill in the mud for hours. About five feet away his legs collapsed under his weight. "Shit." He looked up at Sloth who just noticed him.

"Imagine…Breaker…," he said as he realized who was near him. Several shadow bindings shattered as he reached a giant hand towards Touma who still couldn't get up. All the energy had left him. "I…have…you…now…" Suddenly a wall made of shadows came between them blocking Sloth from view. Another shadow tendril came up and grabbed Touma around the waist and pulled him back through the air and he landed on the ground near Jason.

"What happened?" Jason asked watching Sloth pound at the shadow wall.

"All the energy in my body just left when I got close to him," Touma said standing up. "Hmm, seems like it returned when I got away from him." He stretched feeling like normal. A crash caused him to turn around and Sloth had punched the shadow wall, smashing through it, and hitting the ground with a boom. Sloth looked surprised Touma was gone. _He doesn't seem like the smartest person._ Jason sent several more bindings around Sloth to give them time.

"Dang," Jason said thinking as he digested the new information. "I thought he was limited to right next to him but it looks like you were affected ten feet out. Maybe his ability works better on living things."

"Do you have any idea how to get near him?" Touma asked. "If I can touch him his defense should go down."

"Didn't you say you dropped a rock on him and it just rolled off," Misaki asked Jason.

Jason nodded and then he smiled. "I think I see what you mean. That is a really good idea."

"What?" Touma said. "I'm still a little behind. What's the plan?"

"She reminded me dropping the boulder on his head still managed to touch him," Jason pointed out. "His ability might not completely negate all forces, just enough to prevent damage, so if you come at him from above it might work. It would still dangerous because it looks like he affects living things differently."

Touma turns to Misaki. "Great thinking," he said smiling encouragingly. Misaki looked him in the eye and blushed slightly. Touma then turned to Jason. "Think you can get me above him?"

Jason nodded. "That shouldn't be a problem. I'll strike at him as soon as you touch him."

'Good luck," Misaki says to Touma. _You always look like a prince to me._

Jason's shadow wrapped around Touma's lower half and lifted him into the air. Touma was carried about twenty feet above Sloth, who was just breaking out of his current bindings and looking around for his target. He was right above Sloth and the shadow holding him up started to lower. When Touma was about ten feet above Sloth, he felt the weakness start affecting his body again, but this time he had gravity helping him. The shadow supporting him shook slightly then broke and he fell through the remains and landed directly on top of Sloth. As soon as his hand made contact with the magician's skin, he felt his strength return. Touma moved both of his arms and gripped around the trunk like neck of Sloth to hold on while Sloth was shaking trying to shake him off.

"Imagine…Breaker…" Sloth said loudly, maybe that was yelling for him, and reached a massive hand toward Touma's head. "I…have…you….OOMP." It sounded like all the wind was knocked out of him. Touma glanced down and saw a large shadow fist had connected with Sloth's gut. It was quickly followed by several more fists pounding away at Sloth while his defense was gone. He started to fall backwards and Touma was afraid he was going to get crushed by the giant mass. Right before Sloth landed on his back, Touma pulled himself over Sloth's shoulder and manage to get on his chest as the huge man crashed backwards into the ground.

"You ok?" Jason called out walking towards him with several shadow fists connected to his shadow still raised in preparation if Sloth was still conscious.

"Yea," Touma said waving, getting off Sloth, and walking towards Jason and Misaki. "His ability sure was annoying. I am surprised an obvious weakness like that existed."

"Same here…" Jason said thoughtfully. "SHIT, TOUMA GRAB HIM AGAIN QUICK."

Touma turned around instantly, his reflexes kicking in as he lunged toward Sloth but he was too late. He collapsed two feet away from Sloth who just managed to sit up. The weakness aura was back and it was stronger than ever. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Jason and Misaki fall too. Sloth's magic seemed to be covering the entire area this time. Sloth stood up, and with one hand, picked up Touma around the midriff. Sloth looked directly into Touma's eyes as he was dangling from Sloth's grip. "You…are…mine…"Sloth told him. "Just…surrender…" His grip tightened and Touma found it difficult to breath.

"Never," Touma gasped. He used the last of his strength to move his right hand ever so slightly. One inch was harder than running a marathon, but he managed to get his right pinky on Sloth's wrist. This simple act caused the weakness to fade instantly and he made sure to grip the wrist right afterwards. "We will stop you."

Sloth opened his mouth to say something when he gasped and several drops of spit spattered all over Touma's face. As soon as the weakness had faded Jason sent another fist into Sloth's gut. His grip weakened and Touma seized the opportunity to deliver an upper cut with his right fist right into Sloth's jaw. Just like in the dream, he heard the sound of the jaw bone breaking. It would seem Sloth was incredibly strong physically but still had a glass jaw. Sloth fell backwards and Touma fell several feet onto the ground. His leg started hurting again. He got up and hobbled away as Jason and Misaki stood up again.

"He almost got us," Touma said. "Thanks for the assist Jason."

"We were in trouble," Jason acknowledged. "Your imagine Breaker is definitely powerful."

"Umm guys," Misaki says as she grabs their attention. "He is still awake." Jason and Touma both turn to look at Sloth slowly trying to get up.

"I…will…not…fail…" Sloth stated. Suddenly, everything around him started to shake. Rocks and boulders started to flout a couple feet above the ground. Touma was sure he was feeling the effects too as he felt his body getting lighter. Each second more objects were beginning to float ever higher.

"Dang it," Jason yelled. "He is weakening gravity." His shadow appeared and wrapped around all three of them along with the still sleeping Mikoto and Accelerator and then the shadow speared the ground to act as an anchor. "Touma, you have to knock him out. I am going to give you a boost."

"Do it!" Touma yelled and braced himself.

Jason's shadow wrapped around his midriff and rushed him at Sloth. Touma was about ten feet away when weakening ability started to affect him again, but the shadow was able to keep moving forward since it wasn't living. Jason must have been constantly replacing the forces to get as close as possible. Five feet away the shadow launched Touma and he used all his strength to deliver his fist into the sitting Sloth's jaw once more. The sound of bone shattering was more prominent, and Sloth fell backwards. His last words, before he fell completely unconscious, were, "He…should…have…sent…Pride…" Touma tried to stand but his leg was hurting like hell and he was exhausted. At least the gravity was back to normal.

"Look out Kamijou-san!" Misaki cried out.

It was too late for Touma to dodge, especially with his leg. The weakness magic kept the boulders and rocks flouting in the air for a few moments after Sloth lost consciousness, but eventually the magic faded and they started to fall. One large boulder was falling right towards him. He thought he heard a small explosion from behind, it didn't sound like a crashing rock, and something was moving in his peripheral vision as the rock hit his skull and then everything went black.

* * *

The next thing Touma saw when he opened his eyes was the pure white ceiling of a hospital room. His head had a constant dull pounding but other than that he really didn't feel anything. He looked around and saw one machine connected to his arm that was probably pumping him full of drugs. No one else was in the room. He tried to sit up, but most of his muscles were not listening to him. He sighed loudly but he was worried. _Was everyone else ok?_ A moment later the door opened and a very familiar doctor walked in.

"Welcome back Kamijou-san," he said looking at a clipboard. "It has been awhile. I thought you might have been tired of our nurses."

"Very funny," Touma said rolling his eyes. This doctor was known as the Heaven Canceller. This guy was virtually the best doctor in Academy city and possibly the world. He is bald-headed and all of his remaining hair was grey. His face reminded many people, including Touma, of a frog. "So what happened, is everyone ok?"

"Once in awhile you should worry more about yourself," the Heaven Canceller replied but smiled. "Yes, from what I hear everyone is ok and you were the only one who suffered any serious injuries. But I have to say, even with your friends help, you still have an astonishing recovery speed. It has only been six hours and you are almost fully healed."

"That's good," Touma said as he relaxed significantly. "What do you mean about my friends help?"

"Ah," he said. "Accelerator-san managed to keep the rock from doing any major damage to your head. It seems you only got a small fracture from the falling rock instead of a serious blow. Kagere-san managed to create small enough specialty tools from his shadow ability in order for me to operate immediately to repair your fracture. He can use his ability just as good as I remember. While I was in there I fixed a couple small clots that looked like they were from a year or more ago. This was the first time I got a serious look at your head. Usually it is your arm I have to fix."

"Wow they both saved me," Touma muttered then said. 'You sound like you met both of them before."

"Who do you think I am, chopped liver?" he scoffed, probably. "I am the Heaven Canceller. If they aren't dead I will save them with every means at my disposal and yes. I have met both Accelerator-san and Kagere-san several times before."

"Thanks doc," Touma said gratefully.

"I suppose you are well enough to allow a few visitors for a short time as long as they don't touch your head."

"What do you mean…?" Touma began to ask when the door opened and the Heaven Canceller waved to someone outside of the door. He stopped midsentence when Mikoto, Ruiko, Accelerator, Last Order, and Jason entered his room.

"All of them were waiting outside for you to recover," the Heaven Canceller said. "I will give you some time alone but stay clear of his head. It is still tender." He left the room leaving Touma alone with his friends.

"What happened?" Touma asked everyone. "Last thing I remembered was a boulder about to smash my head."

"You can thank Accelerator for that," Jason said pointing. "As soon as Sloth lost unconscious, he and Misaka-san woke up. He reacted quickly enough and was able to knock the boulder away right after it hit you."

"I wasn't going to let the hero's head pop like a balloon," Accelerator said nonchalantly but not looking at Touma. "Only I get to beat him."

"MISAKA thinks Accelerator is not being honest MISAKA says slyly while MISAKA believes Accelerator likes his friend."

"Shut up brat," he said giving her a small chop on the head. "Don't say stupid things."

"I'm glad you are ok Touma," Ruiko said looking at him kindly. "Looks like you saved as all again."

"I can't believe that guy was able to affect both me and Accelerator," Mikoto fumed. "We could have kicked his ass."

Touma laughed. "You probably could have. But I didn't do it alone, other helped a lot too."

"That reminds me," Jason said. "Hang on." He exited the room and they heard a scuffled and some muffled arguments between him and a girl. After a minute he came in dragging a blonde haired girl who looked extremely embarrassed and wanted to leave.

"I told you I am not good at these sorts of things…" she said but stopped when she saw everyone staring at her. She liked to remain behind the scenes and rarely wanted to take the front stage.

"Come on," Jason said. "I am sure Touma wants to thank you personally."

"But…" she started to say.

"He's right Shokuhou-san," Touma said smiling kindly at her. Mikoto noticed that and crossed her arms but didn't say anything. She and Misaki had a long time rivalry. "If it wasn't for you I would probably have been captured, so thank you."

He knew saying thank you made a lot of people act weird, especially his friends, but he did not expect what happened next. Misaki looked at him, not embarrassed, gratitude, or even indifference, but with wide eyed bewilderment. "You… you remember me?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yea," Touma said slightly confused. "That blow didn't give me amnesia or anything." He then couldn't believe what was happening. He looked into Misaki's eyes and saw them fill up with tears. "Er, is something…?"

"I love you Kamijou-san," she cried grabbing his arm and holding it tightly against her chest. She wiped the tears away from her eyes. "I didn't think you would ever be able to remember me."

"What?" Touma asked completely bewildered. He didn't know what was going on. He looked around and saw everyone else had similar expressions of shock except for Last Order who seemed interested in the confession.

"W-what are you doing?" cried Mikoto as she grabbed Touma's other arm from the other side of the bed and pulled him.

"Oh my Misaka-san," she says nicely but the edges of her mouth started to form the beginning of a grin. "Is my confession to much for a young girl like you to handle?"

"W-w-why are you confessing to him?" Mikoto stammered unconsciously holding his arm tightly into her chest. This was not unnoticed by Misaka whose grin became more pronounced.

"Because I love him," Misaka stated obviously looking Mikoto up and down. "He needs a more mature girl anyways, not someone who is… lacking… in areas."

"W-why you!" Mikoto said angrily several sparks crackling around her but she still didn't let go of Touma's arm.

"Touma is hospitalized," Ruiko said stepping up and holding onto Touma's leg. "Let's not put any more stress on him while he is here." Both Mikoto and Misaki look at her and temporary forget their feud for a second.

"Oh my," Misaki said putting a hand to her mouth. "Do you like Kamijou-san too?"

"EH," Ruiko stammered. "W-well he is a good friend of mine but…."

"I was just joking with you," Misaki said kindly and Ruiko relaxed but was still holding onto Touma's pant leg.

Touma was aware of everything going on but he was stunned and his brain didn't seem to be working properly. He was being reminded of the dream he had and would take the secret to his grave before he told anyone else about it. He hoped Misaki wouldn't talk about it either but she seemed like a pretty nice girl so he wasn't worried. He was painfully aware of both of his arms being held tightly against Misaki's and Mikoto's chest but with the pain medications in him, he could not feel a thing. _Such misfortune._

"MISAKA wants to join the dog pile on the savior MISAKA exclaims as MISAKA prepares to jump."

Accelerator however was too quick for her and he manages to grab her right before she jumps. "That's it," he said angrily pulling her away from Touma's bed. "We are leaving before you catch stupidity or whatever they all have."He picks up Last Order and walks out briefly waving to Touma before he was out of view.

"I got to go too," Ruiko admitted. "I am glad you are ok Touma." As she was leaving she whispered to Jason, "Don't let anything bad happen to him tonight." Jason smirked and put away his phone he had out and gave a short nod. Ruiko smiled appearing satisfied and left too.

"I should get going too," Misaki said sadly giving Touma's hand another squeeze. "We will definitely meet again." She then turned to Mikoto. "Try not to take advantage of Kamijou-san when I leave."

"A-as if I would," Mikoto yelled at her. Misaki laughed, she loved making fun of Mikoto. "But I have to ask, why were you at the tournament? I heard when you were asked you said you didn't want to participate in such a 'barbaric event'."

"Oh my yes," she said giggling. 'While brawling in front of people would suit someone as uncivilized as you, I prefer not to fight. But I decided I should still support my school so I came." She got up, waved goodbye to everyone and left before Mikoto could yell a comeback at her.

"Ok," Jason said seriously doing a preemptive strike against Mikoto to stop her raging about Misaki. "Now that everyone left, I can fill you both what happened after Sloth and his men were taken away."

"What happened?" Touma asked and Mikoto let his arm go and looked at Jason.

"During transportation, a rune glowed on all of them and they disintegrated into salt," he said looking disgusted. "It seems like this organization doesn't want anyone captured alive."

"It is just like the museum," Mikoto said bitterly. "We know what they want, but what do they plan to use the Imagine Breaker for?"

"That is the important question," Jason agreed. "But we have a clue and I called a specialist over here to help. She should be here any minute…speak of the devil."

Index just entered the room gasping for air. "I came as fast as I could, is Touma alright. I also brought his phone." She looked around and saw Touma lying in the hospital bed. "TOUMA have you been doing dangerous things again?"

"Not on purpose Index," Touma said in his defense. "I was participating in an interschool tournament and the magicians interrupted it." She glared at him but luckily for him, she decided not to bite him. Instead she turned to Jason.

"You said there was something I needed to look at?"

Jason nodded and walked over to Touma right side near Mikoto. "I asked the doctor to wrap this up but here it is." He removed the cloth wrap around Touma's upper arm and on the back of it was a weird symbol. It looked like a Z that was rotated 90 degrees to the right and the corners were rounded instead of sharp. A small dot was on the upper right side of the rune. "Index, can you tell us what this is and why the Imagine Breaker didn't negate it?"

Index looked closely at it and gasped. He sat there thinking for a few minutes and looked at Touma and Jason. "This is the symbol of Sloth from Christianity and one of the seven deadly sins. There is an old saying, 'Evil exists when good men fail to act.' Sloth is the embodiment of that when people are unable to do what they need to do. The placement of it is strange though, normally it goes on the hand but with your Imagine Breaker, it got placed on your arm were you can't touch it. But the mana around this rune, it's a curse."

"A curse?" Mikoto asked lost.

Index sighed at her which just irritated Mikoto. "Short Hair, curses are types of magic where a specific continuous affect is directed at one person, usually a bad one for revenge. However, a curse from the seven deadly sins is different. It grants them a specific ability, in exchange for a side effect where you start taking on the attributes of the sin. This one looks like it allows one to put individuals to sleep and control dreams. It is incredibly powerful but it had a limit on how many times it can be used per day."

"We encountered that ability," Touma said. "Even the Imagine Breaker didn't work on it."

"So it would seem these guys have a curse affect and some kind of magic ability like Sloth's weakening," Jason said seriously rubbing his head. "That is going to make things much more complicated."

"It might be because it only traps the mind and doesn't extend to the rest of the body," Index said thoughtfully. "If the magic bypasses the outside of the mind and only works on the inside, your hand might not be able to touch it. But with just the remaining mana, it is hard to tell for certain. I don't recommend trying to use the curse because of the possible side effects."

"Lucky we had help," Jason muttered. "Things would have gotten really bad."

"Magic is complicated and it gives me a headache," Mikoto said rubbing her head while Jason and Touma laughed. "I can't wait for the seaside break this weekend. Finally, a chance for me to relax after this tournament."

"Ah Kazari mentioned something about that," Jason said. "Tokiwadai take a three day trip after this tournament and the students can invite one female guest. You are Shirai are taking Saten-san and Kazari, right?" Mikoto nodded. "There goes my weekend plans with her." He put his hands behind his head and looked depressed.

"I wish we went to a rich school," Touma sighed. "I would love a vacation."

"I bet she would have invited you if they could bring a boy," Jason said grinning while Mikoto turned red.

"W-what makes you think that?" Mikoto asked while Touma sighed and Jason laughed.

"Well," Jason said secretly and pretended to look at the clock. "Shouldn't you be heading back to your dorm or you might be late for curfew."

"What?" Mikoto gasped and looked at the time. "You're right, catch you guys later." She dashed out of the room as fast as she could.

"Hey Index," Touma said. "I have to ask Jason a couple questions privately. Can you head back to the dorm yourself? I'll contact Tsuchimikado and see if they can feed you." She looked at him carefully but decided to nod and headed out.

"What you need?" Jason asked curiously.

"I wanted to know when another experiment on my hand was going to be."

Jason looked surprised at his question. "Really, you are still interested?"

"Yes," Touma said nodded. "I realized with the battle with Sloth my right hand as it is will not be enough against these guys. Without you and Shokuhou-san, I would have been captured and used for who knows what." He wanted to make a fist but the drugs made moving difficult. "I can't protect everyone as I am now. You are the only one who actually was able to give me some answers about the Imagine Breaker. If there is even a small chance to control it better, I want to do it."

Jason sighed then smiled. "I wouldn't expect anything else from you Touma. We still need two more pieces of equipment and I hope to get it within the next couple days. Stupid higher ups take too long to give any funding and process requests. I have a meeting Sunday with them so I plan to yell at them all then. Oh yea, that reminds me." His expression got serious. "Why did you tell Accelerator about the research? He bugged me with thousands of questions about your hand and magic along with threatening to kill me if I didn't tell him."

"Heh," Touma said sheepishly. "I kind of had to."

"Uh huh," Jason said and Touma could tell he didn't believe him in the slightest. "Well anyways, it will be sometime next week but I will let you know as soon as I can. Until then, you really should take a vacation because I am pretty sure the experiments will take a bit out of you. After the events at the museum, the tournament, and Sloth, you really need to relax for a bit."

"Oh course," Touma said sarcastically rolling his eyes. "Let me reach into my deep pockets of money and go on a cruise."

Jason snickered. "Hey, don't get all mad at me. I'm just telling the truth. On the plus side you probably be released early tomorrow and can make your supplementary classes."

"Oh joy," Touma groaned. "Can you do me a favor though?"

"Sure, what?"

"Can you ask Tsuchimikado to look after Index tomorrow, since I won't be back till late. I don't think he has the supplementary classes."

"Sure, no problem. I wanted to talk to him anyways."

* * *

Motoharu Tsuchimikado had just gotten ready to go to sleep. He had just sent his report about the magician's activity during the tournament. As a double agent he had to constantly balance both his duties with the magic side and keep himself anonymous enough for his duties on the science side. It was thanks to him, _Fallere825,_ the backstabbing blade, that the magic circle on the audience was canceled. Thanks to the efforts of Touma, Misaki, and Jason against the leader, he wasn't discovered and everything worked out in the end. He then heard a knock at the door. _Wonder who that is this late. Did Kami-yan get back already?_ He did not expect Jason to be there holding a medium size box.

"Sup," Jason said. "I got a couple things to talk to you about."

"Ok," Motoharu said cautiously. He knew Jason was part of both sides like him, but his past was still unknown. 'I take it you confirmed my status with Kami-yan?" Jason nods.

"That's all done with," Jason said dismissively. "Touma did ask if you could watch Index while he was in the hospital though until tomorrow night."

"Shouldn't be a problem," Motoharu said. "Besides, it would kill Stiyl to know I spend more time with her then he does." Jason grinned.

"I also wanted your opinion on something too," Jason said setting down the box and opening it. He pulled out a clay pot about a foot tall and half a foot wide supported by three legs. It had the picture of a feathered serpent wrapped around the pot. "Do you know what this is?"

"An Aztec urn," Motoharu said looking at it closely. "It seems to have a lot of mana flowing through it. I believe, with the markings on this one, is it temporarily seals an attribute from someone in order to teach them a lesson."

Jason nodded, "Good, that's what I thought but I wanted to confirm it." He put the urn away carefully in the box. "Well now that is out of the way, I need your help with something. You see, our good friend Touma has gotten involved in so many things lately. I believe he needs a vacation before everything gets out of hand. However, I need your unique skills to bypass the silly Academy City rules."

Motoharu raised an eyebrow, he was intrigued. "So what do you plan to do that requires my assistance?" Jason pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to him. "Hmm, you need these two items." A huge grin split across his face. "I think I see what you are planning with that urn now, but two issues come to mind. One, will it even work on him, and two, who are you going to get to bring him along? You can't just let him go off on his own with this organization after him."

"I believe this can bypass his hand since the way it takes is a little unique and it is not a curse. It will just take a little longer," Jason said grinning. "As for his companion and body guard, she shouldn't be a problem to convince tomorrow."

Motoharu grinned, "So I expect I'll have to take care of Index longer then he thought then?"

"Oh," Jason said. "I think he will be having to good of a time to worry about Index." Both of them suddenly burst out laughing for about a minute. When they calmed down Jason asked, "I have a question though. Are we bad people?"

Motoharu thought about this for a second. "Nah, we are just helping a friend with a much needed break and as thanks, we get a little bit of entertainment."

"That's what I thought," Jason said and gave Motoharu a high five. "I'll stop by tomorrow to pick up the items."

As Jason left Motoharu had other plans. _If the location is where I believe it is, Kami-yan doesn't know Kanzaki is going to be nearby investigating that area. Things might actually be more of a hassle for all of them._ He grinned. _If Kami-yan complains I can always blame him._ He did call out to Jason though, "Thanks for the photo."

* * *

 **You know an Arc is over when Touma ends up in a hospital. So now the Tournament is done, time to keep moving forward with a little fun and some interesting predicaments. I wonder what Jason and Motoharu have in store for our hero. Next arc is planned to be 4-5 chapters but like everything else I write, new ideas and realizations can change things.**

 **I realized I never explained Jason's ability and a friend of mine asked how he made a shadow into a physical existence. I figured now would be a good time as ever. Luckily I originally planned Sloth to not be very bright, just strong and hard to approach. His curse cheats though and bypasses a lot of abilities otherwise Accelerator would have crushed him.**

 **Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter.**


	15. Surprise

**So I both love and hate this chapter. When I first thought of this arc, it was kind of one of those ideas you see a lot of short hilarious stories people write without much plot. I planned to put this aside for a story like that. But my brain had other plans and it kept thinking about how to put that idea into this story while I was busy doing other stuff, like working. Eventually my brain connected all the dots and now refused to come up with other ideas that did not continue off of this arc's line.**

 **So now, there is a really close style crack fic plot event in this arc, but other than that, it is going to have a lot of character development, new harem girls, plot, and action. For some reason, everyone likes Misaki. Don't hate me, but this arc is only going to be a couple chapters long because it only lasts a short period.**

 **Several people, I think, saw what I was planning to do. Let's see if they connected all the dots.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

Touma woke up the morning with a small headache but otherwise he was feeling pretty good. The Heaven Canceller said he was free to go first thing in the morning. All the drugs had worn off over night and his body felt back to normal. The only thing he had was a change of clothes someone left him and his cell phone. He did not know who took away the costume he was wearing, but he was relieved he wouldn't have to run back to his dorm wearing it. He still needed to run back to pick up his school stuff for his supplementary classes. Right after Touma left the hospital he noticed he had a message from Jason.

 _Hey, Touma, I advise not going to school today and try to stay out of sight. I am trying to calm the situation down but if you need a place to law low you can use my apartment. Code is 2278 now._

Touma stared at the message. The problem was Jason played a lot of jokes on him before, so he wasn't sure this was a serious message. If it was, he probably would have put a reason why. He sighed and put his phone away. _I can't miss more class time so I guess I can just keep my eyes open in case it is true._ He walked at a brisk pace back to his dorm but felt like a lot of eyes were watching him. He looked around at a stoplight and a couple people were pointing at him, well, more specifically his hair. He heard their whispers as people talked about him.

"His hair looks the same as the Harem King. You think that guy is him?"

"Can't be, he looks to plain, the Harem King have movie star looks. I bet he dyed his hair."

Touma sighed in relief. At least no one was going to suspect him, but he still felt a twinge of irritation as people called him plain. Several people had similar reactions but after awhile he just ignored them. No one was bothering him so the Harem King must not have caused too many problems. _I bet this is what Jason was talking about. It doesn't seem like a big deal._ He crept quietly into his apartment and noticed Index was still asleep. He grabbed his school bag and snuck out without her waking up. _Whew, dodged a bullet there._

He got to school early enough that there was almost no one around. He didn't expect many people since today was purely supplementary classes. Pierce would be there and a few other people from his class. The reason Pierce was there is he sometimes purposely didn't do his homework to get extra lessons with Komoe. He was about to enter the classroom when his sixth sense kicked in warning him danger was about to occur. _What now?_ He slowly opened the door, half expecting the ceiling to fall on him, and walked inside. Only Pierce and two other guys were in the room, but all three looked at Touma in amazement.

"What?" Touma asked taking his seat while looking at them.

"Wow," Pierce said still wide eyed. "I'm surprised you decided to grace us with your presence."

"I didn't take too much damage from the tournament," Touma scoffed. "They let me out of the hospital first thing this morning. You still mad about the bet?"

"Oh yea, Himegami-san won that bet," Pierce said rolling his eyes. "But I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the promotion."

"What are you talking about?" Touma asked confused. He was obviously missing something.

"Wait," Pierce said shocked. "You don't know yet? It's all over the place."

"Tell me already…." Touma started to say irritated at the lack of information Pierce was giving him when suddenly Komoe walked in.

"Good morning class," She said brightly. "I know you all want to be out enjoying the nice weather but sensei really wants you all to pass this year. So let's work hard together…." Her voice trailed off when she saw Touma. "Kamijou-chan, you showed up?"

"I didn't get that injured yesterday," Touma said indignantly. "Why does everyone think I was just going to skip class?"

"I didn't mean that, though I am glad you are ok," she said blushing slightly. "I meant after your advancement, I thought you probably would skip today to celebrate."

"What is everyone talking about?" Touma called out looking around and Pierce grinned.

"Komoe-sensei," he said. "Kamijou doesn't know yet. You should show him."

"Kamijou-chan," Komoe said brightly. "I think you will be happy about this news." She pulled out a laptop from behind her desk and started typing. "Come on up and read this, you will be surprised." Touma had no idea what was happening, but he followed Komoe's direction, walked up to her desk, and looked over her shoulder at the laptop.

His jaw dropped and crashed to the floor when he saw it.

 _The mysterious individual known as 'Kami', real name unknown, who participated in the Grand Ability Dual Tournament yesterday, has been identified. He is the new Rank 8 Number 5. During his duel with Rank 3 Level 5 Mikoto Misaka, The Railgun, he demonstrated his fighting prowess and his ability, Negation. Due to this uniqueness of his ability, and the fact it has not been fully researched, his rank may be subject to change._

There was a lot more including a link to his battle with Mikoto and some quotes from researchers, but he didn't read on. His mind had gone numb. _They considered me a level 5 now?_ He knew he was going to get unwanted attention from the tournament, but with the costume he thought he would get away without too much of an incident. His class was obviously not telling anyone who the Harem King was but it would be a matter of time until Academy City put the pieces together. He shakily found his way to a nearby chair and sat down before he collapsed. _This must be what Jason was warning me about. I should have listened._

"Ah Kamijou-chan," Komoe said happily oblivious to his suffering. "I knew you had a lot of potential, but going form level 0 to 5 in one jump, that is amazing. The class decided as a whole though not to spread around your identity though. If you choose to do that, it is purely your choice, but we all wanted to leave it up to you."

Touma felt a wave of relief to his class. He half expected Pierce and Motoharu to rat him out to the news stations immediately after the tournament. He quickly realized that even though they like to mess with him, they were still his friends and wouldn't betray him. They just try to embarrass him at every opportunity.

"I got to go," Touma said and rushed out. "Sorry about missing class." Komoe just nodded in understanding.

"You better not be running off to meet girls Kamijou," Pierce called after him. "I'll make you regret it." Touma made sure to stop and give him a rude sign before he dashed out of sight while whipping out his cell phone.

"Hey, did you get my message?" Jason asked as a greeting.

"Yea but you could have been more specific," Touma said dashing out of school. "I am heading to your apartment. You should have warned me about the advancement. How did this happen and how did you know?"

"Well, it wouldn't have been a big deal except you and Misaka-san decided to just go and show off," Jason replied as if stating the obvious. "To be honest, they have no idea how your ability works, they just make assumptions and I've been calling them out on it. We just had a huge discussion on what constitutes scientific information."

"That's all well and good," Touma said. "But what do I do when they find out it's me?"

"Oh, that might take a long time," Jason said and Touma heard the laughter in his voice. "You see, two things happened that are throwing them off the trail. One, everyone in our class said they didn't know who the masked guy's identity was. He just came to represent our school. Tsuchimikado made a fake student register and we hacked the Academy City's system to add a fake student. Two, the mask I lent you was special, that's why I took it back. When worn, it emits a weak AIM field. The AIM field isn't specific to any ability, so now they are spending all their time trying to track it and figure out how your ability works with it. Hahaha."

Touma was shocked. He had no idea how much time and effort his classmates put into planning this entire shenanigan. They thought of everything and, because Motoharu has a lot of spy skills with knowledge of higher ups and Jason being a higher up himself, it made since they could pull off some of these insane stunts. "So what do you have planned now? I never wanted this attention. Who is going to watch Index while I am hiding?"

"Well," Jason said. "Tsuchimikado agreed to watch Index till this ends. Now I recommend you take a vacation outside of Academy City while this blows over. Something similar happened like this when you beat Accelerator right? There were some details in a memory bank. I recommend staying in my apartment to keep a low profile till you are ready to leave."

"Yes," Touma sighed remembering the Angel Fall incident. It wasn't a relaxing vacation at all, but Jason didn't know that. "I need to pack and plan everything out. I hope my vacation isn't as bad as that one was."

"There shouldn't be a problem," Jason replied happily. "A friend of ours is going to take care of everything. I won't be back until tomorrow though because I'm stuck cleaning up this mess along with several meetings with higher ups about why I insulted 90% of the board of directors."

"Do you ever do your job seriously?" Touma asked. "Who is this friend?"

"It's a surprise," Jason said laughing. "And I take stuff seriously when I need to."

"I am going to regret this right?" Touma asked.

* * *

Touma may not have immediately heard about his promotion to the eighth level 5, but seven other important people did. They had a variety of reactions when they heard the news.

"That stupid hero finally got recognition. I knew him being a level 0 was bullshit."

"Will he be another tool for this city or will he actually be something interesting?"

"That idiot is a level 5 now? He should be if he can stand up to me and Accelerator. I suppose I should congratulate him. As a friend of course…"

"Who the F $% is this idiot?"

"Oh my, it may be time for the prince to become a king."

"…"

"Hey, that guy looks familiar. I feel like he has a lot of guts and is a good choice for a level 5."

* * *

That afternoon, the sun was shiny bright over several very noble looking girls outside of a fancy tea shop. Misaki Shokuhou was sitting there sipping her tea surrounded by five other very attractive girls. These girls were all part of Misaki's clique. Tokiwadai didn't have school today because they wanted their students to rest after the grueling tournament during the first half of the week. They were not leaving to their beach side school vacation until tomorrow but everyone was looking forward to it except Misaki. Due to recent events, she wanted to stay in the city for once, instead of leaving, but she had to keep up appearances. It would be easy to manipulate enough people's minds so she could stay but in the long run it was more hassle then it was worth.

"Good afternoon Shokuhou-san," said a familiar voice from behind her. She turned her head, along with everyone else at the table, to look at who called her. A blond hair, orange eyed, sporty youth was walking to her. Jason Kagere, the person who fought Sloth while she freed her prince from his mind.

"Oh my," Misaki said loftily while feigning ignorance in front of everyone at her table. "What do I owe the pleasure of your company Kagere-san?"

Jason raised an eyebrow. 'My Shokuhou-san," he said imitating her talking style. "Your manner of speaking is quite different then yesterday, is it not?"

Misaki blushed slightly remembering her little outburst last night. Luckily one of her clique member's jumped to her rescue and gave her a chance to clear her mind. The member stood up and marched between her and Jason. "How dare you talk to the Queen so rudely," She said angrily. "You need to know your place."

Jason smirked. "Sorry, I am a busy person and can't talk to puppets. Please excuse us."

"Why you…" she started to say but stopped and her eyes stared blankly into space. In fact, all the girls at the table had similar blank expressions, except for Misaki. She had taken out a remote from her handbag and pointed it at everyone.

"Come back in 15 minutes," she told them and they nodded and left without any complaints. Jason took the now vacated seat across from her. "You really should give me more notice if you need to talk to me," she said looking at him twirling the remote in her hand. "I am only giving you this time because you helped yesterday. What do you need?"

"I come to offer you a proposition that involves a mutual friend of ours," Jason said pulling out an envelope and passing it over. "That is the details of my plan and your part in all of it."

Misaki raised an eyebrow. She was definitely curious about what this proposition was because she had a good idea of who their friend was. They sat in silence as she opened the envelope and read it, and then her eyes went wide. "Is this even possible?" she asked.

Jason nodded. "It took a while but everything should be ready now. After yesterday you shouldn't be so skeptical, right? I hope you didn't decide on anyone already. I believe the deadline is tonight."

She shook her head. "It is, but why do you need me to be there so early?"

"Because there would be certain items he would need to get before going. I think I can trust you to help him get everything he needs."

"Hmm," she said thoughtfully. "Let's say I believe this is all possible and you handle everything on your side and I do my part. What is in it for you?"

Jason looked her directly in the eyes and became serious. "I want to help a friend. After everything that has happened to him, you can't deny he needs it." Then he smiled. "It is also pretty hilarious for me."

"I think there is more then you are telling me," Misaki said shrewdly. "What is going to stop me from just reading your mind and getting all the information that way? You obviously know about my ability."

"Nothing," Jason said dismissively. "But I should warn you. My mind is not what you call normal and others have tried reading it before. It never ended well. I'm not asking you to trust me. Instead, you will know my part is done when you meet him tomorrow morning. If not, you just lose a small sliver of your time. There is no risk for you at all."

Misaki raised an eyebrow this time. She was definitely temped to try to read his mind but something stopped her. Few people were able to look her directly in the eye when they knew about her mental abilities. After years of mind control she became quite good at reading people even without her ability. When she looked in his eyes, she didn't see boasting or lies, she saw him telling the truth in absolute confidence. She normally didn't trust anyone whose mind she could not read, but after he saved her and her prince, she could see if he was trustworthy this time. "Alright, anything else I need to know?"

"There are three conditions though before I go any further."

"Oh course," she said nodding. "I didn't expect anything less."

"First, no taking advantage of him."

"I have no idea what you mean," Misaki said feigning ignorance and Jason raised an eyebrow but just stared at her. After about a minute Misaki caved, "Fine, what are the other two conditions?"

"Two, you need to watch him and protect his identity. I know you can't alter everyone's mind but take reasonable steps to prevent him from being discovered. It is going to be weird for him too so he might slip up. Also, a major reason I am leaving him in your care is a level 5 is some of the best protection right now in case more of those guys come looking for him."

"Makes sense," Misaki agreed. "The last condition?"

Jason smiled. "Since this is benefiting you so much. At some point in the future, I may need your help. Think of it as you owing me a favor."

Misaki sat up to this and looked at him while thinking. Overall this was exactly what she wanted by staying in the city, but owing someone else a favor is something she detested. Worst of all was that she didn't know what the favor would be. This guy was shrouded in mystery but he was a friend of her prince so she didn't want to do anything that jeopardized their newly established relationship. "Within reason," she said at last.

"Of course," Jason said. "I might just need a mind wiped or something is all I thought of. I may not show it but I despise mind control." He gave her a sincere smile. "It always leads to people killing their friends and family."

"Humph," Misaki said irritated. "My mind manipulation is an art. I wouldn't do anything as uncivilized as make people kill each other. That would leave a bad taste in my mouth."

"That's good," Jason said. "I can leave him in your capable hands then." He got up and turned to leave but quickly reached and grabbed one of the expensive pastries on the table. He waved to her and left while biting into it.

Misaki watched him leave and put her remote on her lips thinking. _What an unusual man,_ she thought. _At some point I need to read his mind to see what is really going on. His plan though is exactly what I wanted with a few interesting twists. Did he plan on that too? He might be a better manipulator then me. I guess I have my own plans to make now._

* * *

"You idiot, what did you think was going to happen if your participated in the tournament."

"I told you before," Touma said back to Mikoto though his phone. "I didn't choose to be in it in the first place."

"Well now you can't keep using the excise you are a level 0 to run from fights." Touma could just see her smirking at his misfortune.

"You say that," Touma sighed. "But my ability is still useless against normal people. It only affects ability users and magicians."

"Don't worry," she said still sounding like she was holding in a laugh. "As your fellow level 5, Mikoto-senpai will make sure to protect you."

"Now you're the senpai now?" Touma asked as he began to smile.

"Well," she said as if stating the obvious. "I have been a level 5 longer then you."

"That is true," Touma admitted laughing.

"Anyways, I probably won't be able to talk to you much this weekend. I'm going to be busy keeping Kuroko at bay." Touma thought he heard a door slam in the background. "Speak of the devil, I got to go." He thought he heard someone yelled out "Onee-sama" before the line went dead.

Touma laughed at the thought of Kuroko tackling Mikoto as soon as she got back to her room. He immediately thought of them wrestling and then his teenage youth kicked in and he smacked his face to stop thinking those thoughts. _They are my friends, stop thinking of them like that._ It didn't work but at least he tried. He finally decided to go to bed and prayed all the hype about a new level 5 would blow over. It was on the TV all day and that was all people were talking about.

Late that night, well past midnight, Jason crept quietly into his apartment. He knew Touma was a very heavy sleeper because they had been roommates for a little while. He was carrying two boxes while using his shadow to support them under his arm. One of the boxes he placed on the kitchen table with a big note taped to it. The other one he set on the floor near the couch Touma was sleeping on. He pulled out the ancient Aztec urn he showed Motoharu last night along with a white shirt and some small figurines. His shadow crept out of his sleeve and formed a circle on the ground along with a star shape and several rune markings. He placed the figurines on the corners of the main star and put the urn in the middle of the arrangement. He lifted the lid and put the shirt into the urn then put the lid back on.

"Let's see if this works," he muttered. He got on his knees and clasped his hands as if he was praying. He started muttering something in another language while holding his hands together and looking at the urn. After five minutes of chanting the lid of the urn started to shutter. It slowly started to rise a couple inches from the top of the urn. Jason looked at Touma but didn't stop chanting. Touma started to glow slightly, except for his hand, and a green mist started to drift off his head into the urn. This continued for about thirty minutes until Touma stopped glowing and the lid lowered itself on the urn. Each of the figurines had melted. Jason grinned and carefully packed the figures and the urn away and crept out of the apartment. _Dang this was complicated. It took forever to memorize those incantations. You better appreciate this Touma._ The last thing he did was snap a picture of Touma's face with his phone.

Touma woke up that morning feeling slightly sick and really groggy. _I was so worried last night I didn't sleep well. This sucks._ He yawned and stretched, his body felt strange but he couldn't place why. He slowly got up and walked to the bathroom. He washed his face and looked into a mirror.

He nearly passed out right there.

 _This has to be a dream, please for the love of god let this be a dream._ The reflection in the mirror wasn't of him, but a very attractive and shocked looking girl wearing his shirt. Instead of his normal spiky black hair, she had wavy shoulder length black hair. She was a couple inches shorter and his body was slightly thinner. He moved his hand automatically to his chest and quickly let go, he had felt something about average size and very soft. He almost passed out. _WHAT IS HAPPENING!_ Then the doorbell rang.

He didn't even realize his body had moved automatically to the door. His mind was still frozen in shock. He got a dose of reality when he opened the door and, outside of the apartment, there stood a blonde hair girl with stars in her eyes while wearing a Tokiwadai middle school uniform. Touma shook his head and stared at her. "Shokuhou-san," he said and his voice came out high pitched. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh my Kamijou-san," she said wide eyed looking him up and down. "You seem different today but I still see your noble aura all around you."

"Do you know what happened?" Touma said and put her hands on her shoulders and looking her in the eyes. "Is that why you are here?"

She blushed at him being so close. "Yea," she said softly. "But I don't know how it happened. I thought there would be a note waiting for you." Touma looked at her in shock and dashed back into the apartment leaving the door opened. Misaki took it as an invitation into his room and followed him while politely closing the door behind her.

Touma had found a box with a note attached to it. He ripped the note opened and read. _Touma, if you are reading this hopefully Misaki Shokuhou will be there or she has already arrived. I bet you are wondering what happened. You see there comes a time in every young girl's life,_ Touma's hand shook with anger but resisted tearing the paper in half, _when they need a break. Naturally with the uproar about the new level 5 and the organization after you, it allowed a perfect opportunity. I need you out of the city for a little bit while this gets cleaned up but I couldn't leave you alone. What if the organization came looking for you? So I did what had to be done. I got you a ticket for the earliest vacation possible along with a level 5 as a body guard. Shokuhou-san accepted and will be taking you to the Tokiwadai sea side field trip as her guest. This is why your gender was temporary switched. I hope you have a good time. If you don't go, I plan to spread several very provocative pictures of you to everyone in class, Jason._

 _PS, There should be some girl clothes in the box. I didn't know your new size so hopefully something fits. Good luck, Touya Kamiko. See the attached ID. I had to use some computer skills to get your eyes open._

Touma almost fainted again but held onto the table to stabilize. "Jason I am going to kill you," he muttered to himself but decided to look in the box. He pulled out several sets of shirts, pants, socks and, he almost dropped them in surprise, underwear. They were obviously all girl clothes but none of them was incredibly girly at least. He turned and looked at Misaki who curtsied and made a cute pose.

"I helped pick out the clothes," she smiled sweetly. "We need to get going soon to pack your luggage for the weekend. You should hurry and get dressed."

"But, huh, why?" Touma sputtered at her and she smiled.

"I also believed you need a vacation," she said honestly. "Also, I finally get you to remember me and I want to spend time with you." She got up close to him and cupped his hand in hers. "Unless, you don't want to spend time with me." She looked up into his eyes.

Touma looked into her eyes that were full of sadness and truth. She was a very attractive girl and he found his willpower weakening. He knew he couldn't say no to a girl when they looked at him like that. He sighed, "Ok, you win. I suppose a weekend at the beach would be ok. But why go through all this hassle."

"Yay," Misaki said hugging him. "They limit how often we can leave the city, you need a body guard, and this trip is for girls only. We had to."

Touma hung his head defeated. "Fine, let me change." He couldn't believe what he was about to do and grabbed the box and walked to the bathroom.

"Do you need help?" she asked smiling knowingly.

"NO!"

* * *

One thing Touma could say about Misaki is she was efficient. As soon as he got changed into a light blue shirt and pants, Misaki dragged him to the mall in order to get him everything he needed for the weekend. He didn't feel comfortable during any of this. First, Misaki was willing to pay for everything which made him feel bad but she insisted and ignored any of his attempts to pay. Second, getting any of the items, clothes, luggage, bath products, and worst of all, the swim suit, was killing him. He may have looked like a girl on the outside but walking into female clothing stores was making him sweat. He thought he saw a couple girls watching them throughout the mall but every time he turned and looked they were either talking among themselves or disappeared. The only positive thing was Misaki listened to his demand of not wearing dresses but just shirts and pants.

"Do we have everything yet?" Touma sighed pulling the luggage packed with everything.

"Yep," Misaki said happily holding onto his arm. "Now we just need to grab some quick lunch and head off to school. We leave in an hour."

For the first time Touma got to appreciate the extravagant lifestyle of Tokiwadai. He has been in the middle school a couple of times, he found out later boys were not suppose to be in there, and saw how well the school was decorated and equipped. Mikoto had told him before they also get complementary dining services unlike the poor school he goes to. This time however, he got to experience the noble environment first hand. He tried to stay as anonymous as possible but Misaki made sure he was always within arm's reach. He noticed he was getting a lot of looks by many of the girls but Misaki assured him they were part of her clique and were harmless. They were just interested in who she was bringing. All the buses were extravagant too, perfectly climate controlled, lush cushion seating and plenty of leg room. Misaki pulled him after her to a seat in the back.

"If I remember correctly, the ride is a couple hours," Misaki informed Touma. "I'm going to take a quick nap. I normally don't get up early on my days off." She leaned her head on his shoulder and went to sleep. He was well aware of very prominent chest was right next to him but he tried to ignore it, but being surrounded by other attractive girls, his places to look were limited.

Touma actually wasn't too embarrassed about this. She wasn't the first girl to fall asleep on his shoulder. What bothered him was a lot of the girls near the back of the bus were watching them closely. Eventually one of the girls with long brown curly hair asked him, "Who are you and how do you know the Queen?"

"Queen?"

The girl narrowed her eyes slightly as if Touma was trying to be funny. "The Queen of Tokiwadai, you know the amazing person right next to you."

Realization kicked in as he thought he heard Misaki being referred to as the Queen before. He wasn't sure what to tell them but finally decided on the truth, with a few revisions. "She really helped me out a few days ago and asked me recently if I was free to come as her guest."

The girl raised her eyebrow. "Was it a problem with a guy?"

Touma immediately thought of Sloth. _I guess he was a guy._ "Yea, she really helped me out with him."

The girl looked at him and smiled. "That sounds like her. She is so kind and will help anyone." The other girls appeared satisfied at his answer too. They started talking among themselves. The girl who was questioning Touma looked at him once more and said, "I don't know what you are to her but I have never seen her this relax." She turned and started talking with the other girls.

Touma sighed in relief. At least he got out of that situation without any problems. He decided to ask Misaki a few questions during the trip when she woke up, like how she knew him before the tournament. Don't ask him how he did it, but even being surrounded by so many very attractive ojou-samas, he fell asleep too. It had been a long day for him too and the surprises took a toll on him. When he woke up he saw a very large and expensive looking hotel in the distance overlooking a really nice beach with gold sand and bright blue water. Misaki was still sleeping and he gently shook her awake. "Hey Shokuhou-san," he whispered. "We are almost there."

She put her hand over her mouth and yawned then looked around. "I hope they gave us a room overlooking the beach. I really don't want a room on the other side." The buses stopped and everyone got off. Several members of the hotel staff came out to greet them while taking their luggage up to their room. There was a lot of bowing among the staff and Touma was beginning to see even more of a difference between these rich girls and the people he knew. After Touma and Misaki got their room key, they both headed upstairs. It seemed like Misaki got her wish. Their room was on the top floor and on the side of the beach. When they got close to their room's door, they heard a couple girls talking.

"Those must be our roommates," Misaki said. "I forgot they put us in groups of four to make sure everyone can get accommodated. There should also be a door leading to the groups next door too. I suppose we should introduce ourselves as a common courtesy." Touma nodded but then he heard something that made his blood freeze.

"…This room looks so amazing. I can't believe you invited me."

"I told you it wasn't a problem Saten-san," a VERY familiar voice said. "These trips are always more fun with friends."

Misaki's smile faulted as she opened the door and heard the voice and this confirmed Touma's fear. They opened the door and saw Ruiko and Mikoto sitting on one of the two very large and elegant looking beds. When they entered the room, Mikoto and Misaki's eyes met. Simultaneously they pointed at each other and yelled, "What are you doing here? What am I doing here? This is my room." This would have been extremely funny if the situation wasn't so serious. He looked at Ruiko who was watching this with a slight grin on her face and when she caught Touma's eyes she gave a friendly wave.

 _Thank god she doesn't recognize me._

"My, if it isn't Misaka-san," Misaki said smiling insincerely. "I didn't realize I would be paired up with you."

"Likewise," Mikoto said and they both glared at each other and Touma was sure sparks were flying out of their eyes. "Who's your friend Shokuhou-san? Last I heard you hadn't decided to invite anyone."

Shokuhou giggled. "This is my good friend Touya Kamiko. She was kind enough to accept my invitation." Touma wanted to crawl under a rock right now but he grabbed hold of his resolve and looked at Mikoto and smiled friendly.

"Hello," Ruiko said walking forward and shaking his hand. "My name is Ruiko Saten. I hope we get along this weekend. This is Mikoto Misaka. She was kind enough to invite me."

"Uh likewise," Touma said feeling really guilty right now. He had successfully infiltrated one of the most holy grounds for mankind. "It is a pleasure to meet both of you."

Mikoto smiled and shook his hand too. "I expect we are going to meet our suite mates pretty soon," she sighed as she pointed to the door connecting their room to another. "She's going to burst through any second." As if on cue the door exploded open and a small pigtailed girl barged into their room.

"Onee-sama," she cried lunging at Mikoto. "Why couldn't they put us in the same room?" Mikoto instinctively kicked her in the head and sent her flying into a wall.

"Sorry Misaka-san," Kazari said walking in through the door. "I tried to hold her back as long as I could."

"It's not your fault Uiharu-san," Mikoto said reassuringly. "No one can stop her when she's serious."

"Misaka-san is quite violent," Shokuhou said to Touma but she seemed slightly amused. Mikoto glared at her.

"Don't you corrupt her," she said pointing to Touma. "So, Uiharu, who are your roommates?"

"Surprisingly, we got paired up with high school students," Uiharu said. "Ah here they come."

Everyone turned and a pair of twins walked in. "Ah I know you," Ruiko said. "Hibiki and Hanabi Nakano, you two participated n the first round of the tournament." They nodded in acknowledgement.

"How are all of you?" Hibiki said politely smiling. "I know Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san, but who are you two?"

"I'm Ruiko Saten."

"Tou..ya Kamiko," Touma said and he almost blew his cover. If that happened there was only one outcome at this point. Three of the seven girls would probably kill him. He could not let them know who he really was.

"I don't know about the rest of you," Mikoto said. "But I'm pretty hungry. I'm going to order room service, does anyone else want anything?" At her words everyone else agreed they were hungry and shortly afterwards an assortment of fancy dishes found their way into the room. Touma couldn't believe the quality of this food. It was all high class ingredients and they could eat this for free. He was beginning to feel a little jealous of these ojou-samas. Everyone started talking to each other about their plans for tomorrow and getting to know each other.

Touma's phone started ringing which almost caused him to faint. He was so lucky it was on vibrate. If it actually rang, someone might have recognized the ring tone. He took a quick look at who was calling him and he was shocked, it was Accelerator. He couldn't answer as he was now, so he did the only other option. He hung up. Now Touma knew this was probably a very stupid thing to do and Accelerator would not be amused. He quickly sent a text, _Can't talk now, what you need?_

"Who are you texting Kamiko-san," Shokuhou asked looking right at him.

"Ah no one," Touma said quickly but he was about to put his phone away when Accelerator's response came though. _Just got attacked by two people who seem to be in the same group as the Sloth guy, watch your step hero._ Touma stared at the text wide eyed. Maybe it was a good thing he was here.

"I bet it's your boyfriend," Ruiko said eyes widening and this caused seven set of e yes staring at him now.

Touma coughed on his food and he was sure he felt a little vomit in the back of his throat when he gave a brief thought about him and Accelerator. Then he quickly destroyed the image in his mind and vowed to never think of that again. "Nah, just a friend asked me something," he tried to saw casually as he sent a short reply, _Thanks,_ turned off his phone and put it away before anyone got a good look at it. He was painfully aware Shokuhou was trying to keep from bursting out laughing. He noticed Ruiko was watching him with a slight smirk.

"Ah," Ruiko said depressed. "I guess Uiharu is the only one with a boyfriend then, unless…" She turned, "Hibiki-san, Hanabi-san." Since Hibiki and Hanabi are twins with the same last name they told everyone they could call them by their first names. "Either of you two have boyfriends?"

They shook their heads. "I don't have anyone I like," Hibiki said. "Most guys I know are pigs."

Hanabi looked at the ground, "Well, I would like one," she said softly. "But I'm not sure he would remember me."

"Oh," gasped Mikoto. "Who is it Hanabi-san."

"Umm." she said but didn't want to elaborate. It seemed like she was even shyer then Kazari.

"For some reason she likes that Kami guy from the tournament," Hibiki said irritated. "I don't know what she sees in him." Mikoto, Kuroko, Ruiko and Kazari all shared a look. They all knew who Kami was and a couple of them had complicated feelings about him ranging from obsession to loathing. Misaki was still trying to hold in her laughter and Touma felt his face get red.

"Oh," Misaki said clapping her hands together. "Since we have nothing planned for tonight. How about we play a game, with all of us, to get to know each other?" She looked around at everyone but when she looked at Kamiko she got a big grin on her face.

 _This is not going to end well. Why did I get stuck with everyone I know? Such misfortu…_

* * *

 **I am going to stop Touma right here. How dare he say misfortune? He has entered one of the most sacred grounds many people would kill for. He should be thanking god, and Jason, and just go with the flow. As long as he doesn't do anything stupid he should be fine. All the enemies are attacking the city but Accelerator is there so it's cool. If he says he is misfortunate again this arc, I'm going to write him being struck by lightning.**

 **But man, all of his neighbors are people Touma knows and many like him. I wonder what would happen if he revealed himself. Jason actually got a lot of screen time in this chapter, but to be fair no one will see him much next couple chapters.**

 **Anyway, you got to love Misaki. I wonder what game she is planning. Any suggestions from the great pool of readers? Remember, this is rated T, so all your perverted ideas will be ignored. Well not ignored, I will probably laugh and enjoy them, just won't write them in this story. Instead, please direct them to a rated M story and enjoy.**


	16. Fun and Games

**So I wasn't sure about this arc, but from everyone's responses, I take it you like it and look forward to more. There were a lot of comments, reviews, and suggestions. I appreciate them all, even the negative ones from one guy who has moved to constructive criticism so I am not even annoyed. Someone even mentioned something I meant to address in the last chapter but I forgot. Luckily it won't matter until the next chapter where I will make sure to mention it.**

 **Everyone knows how great Misaki is in everything she does. I know everyone wants to read about the game, but we are going to go and follow Accelerator a little bit first to get some idea of the happenings in Academy City while Touma enjoys his little vacation.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

Accelerator was not in a good mood. Every since the tournament, Worst has not let him have a single peaceful moment. She always reminded him of the horrible team name that he and the stupid hero got stuck with. He never did get his satisfactory revenge against the classmates who did it. After a little work, he finally got Last Order to stop calling him a lolicon by telling her Worst was full of shit, and gave her a better definition. Even though he told her in a slightly more respectful way, the same intentions were there. To top it all off, Aiho wanted him to go get her beer since she found she was out after coming home late from her Anti-Skill duties. He had initially told her no but she kept reminding him about how he was a freeloader with her and then Worst joined her to mock him. He left the apartment just to get a little peace and quiet away from those two. Only to find out it was misty and foggy to make the trip even more enjoyable, by making him wet and decreasing visibility. _Can this day get any worse?_

"Seriously," he muttered irritated holding a heavy bag of alcohol. "What kind of adult sends an underage student to pick up beer?"

"MISAKA thinks it is because Yomikawa-san believes Accelerator is responsible, MISAKA say as MISAKA tries to cheer up Accelerator."

Accelerator looked behind him and to the left as Last Order was bounding after him. He didn't really ask her, she just answered while jumping around puddles. He didn't plan to have her come with him but she just followed when he left t he apartment. He was about a block away from the apartment when he first noticed her and had forced her to go back and wear a jacket. He didn't hate the fact she accompanied him, but he wished she would be a little quieter. "Hey brat," he snipped at her. "Don't go falling into a puddle. I won't help you dry off."

"MISAKA won't MISAKA promises as…OOPS," Last Order had turned to look at him and immediately tripped and fell into a shallow puddle soaking her pants and shirt. "MISAKA is sorry MISAKA says sheepishly as MISAKA tries to act nonchalantly as the water soaks her underwear."

"Dang it brat," Accelerator growled dropping the bag on the ground and pulling her out. "I just told you not to fall in. Now you are going to catch a cold." He looked around. "Dang it, there's no place nearby," he says and pulls off his jacket and gives it to Last Order. "Wear this till we get back. I don't want you being sick around me." Misaka smiles and hugs him the water now soaking his pants too. "Hey, get off…." He stopped and looked around. Something was wrong and he knew it but he didn't know exactly what. The only thing on the deserted street besides him and Last Order were two other people. They were walking on the other side of the street right at the borderline of Accelerator's sight in the heavy fog. They had stopped and looked right at him then, without missing a beat, started walking toward him. When they got closer he saw a very unlikely pair.

One of the two was a woman who was holding a bright red umbrella. She was about average height and probably in her mid to late 20s but what caught Accelerator's eyes was her looks. Even Accelerator knew she was extremely attractive by normal standards and would not look out of place in a movie. She had very long wavy black hair that fell down to behind her knees. Hey eyes were a bright sky blue and she was wearing a very revealing red dress that looked to be made out of an expensive material. It barely covered her ample chest and there were thin straps over her shoulders but the dress reached down almost to her ankles. Even though it was not raining anymore, it was still misty and everything should still get slightly damp, but she looked completely dry, even her red heels didn't have any water on them. She smiled at him as she noticed him checking her out, but her smile didn't meet her eyes.

There did not seem to be any reason for why the guy accompanying this women should be with her, there was no logical explanation for it, he had to be just a punk. He was wearing a leather jacket over a white shirt and black pants and looked to be in his early 20s. His hair was brown, shot, and spiky but at least his hair and clothes looked slightly damp from the weather. He smirked at Accelerator and his brown eyes seemed to have a look of someone sizing up the competition. "Well," he said to Accelerator. "We didn't expect to run into you here."

Accelerator glared at him. Normally he wouldn't have given a punk like this a moment of his valuable time, but something was wrong here. This guy and the women next to him were not normal but he didn't know why. Their presence felt familiar and he realized where he knew it from. They gave him the same feeling as the one from the tournament, Sloth, gave him. He mentally cursed and whispered to Last Order. "Get out of here and back to the house. Don't argue." Even she could tell the situation was serious, nodded and started to back up then ran off down the street.

"Dear me," the women said in a very sultry voice gently putting her hand on her cheek. "He thinks we are here to do something unpleasant to him. Why do you think that is? I told you to wear something more presentable."

"Well," the guy said shrugging. "I like wearing comfortable clothes and I don't think I would look good in one of your dresses."

She raised an eyebrow. "Your manners still haven't improved, I see."

"Besides," he replied gesturing to Accelerator. "He's a friend of the target so let's just get him to tell us where he is. After all, he wasn't at his home and it would be better then walking blinding around the city."

Accelerator just stared at them. They were obviously idiots but why did they give him a sense of danger. If they were anything like Sloth he couldn't underestimate him. As for their target, he had a good idea of who they were after and like hell he was going to let them do what they wanted. "If you go now I guess I can let you leave in one piece."

The women smiled insincerely. "You seem to be confused dear. You see, you can either answer our questions or my uncivilized partner will have to resort to barbaric measures to get your cooperation." The guy smiled. "I would prefer this to go as painlessly as possible for all of us. Though, I just love young boys with such fire in her eyes." She licked her lips seductively.

Accelerator felt a slight shiver down his spine but he ignored it. "Like hell I am going to tell you were the F %$*#$ hero is. I rather crush you here and get MY questions answered."

"Oh my," she said pretending to be shocked and raising a hand to her mouth and then glanced at her partner. "Such foul language. Please go retrieve the girl. He should be more cooperative after we have her in custody." The guy grinned and suddenly dashed in the direction Last Order had run off in.

A half second and a small explosion later, Accelerator had appeared in front of him. The guy raised his fist and threw a punch at Accelerator which wasn't the best idea for someone in his position. His arm flew backwards as soon as it made contact with Accelerator's skin with a resounding crack. Accelerator then simple pressed his hand against the man's chest and watched the man fly back twenty feet into the street as if he was hit by a truck. "If you try to harm that girl, I WILL kill you," Accelerator growled his eyes filled with fire. He turned to look at the women but she disappeared. "Where did that b #$% go," he asked looking around. "She couldn't have gotten far…." His voice drifted off as something moved in the corner of his eye. He turned to look at it and saw the man he threw like a ragdoll stand up again.

"Nice hit man," he said smirking while standing up and taking his left hand and grabbing his right arm. "You broke my arm and three ribs. You sure are someone who likes to go all out aren't you." He started shaking his right arm and stretched it. "Ok, all better. Man, you should be careful. You could have hurt me if I wasn't me. But I am glad you seem to be strong, I want to see the despair in your eyes when I crush you." The look in his eyes changed from someone goofing around to a tiger hunting his prey.

"What the…" Accelerator said but was interrupted by the women's voice.

"While you two were enjoying each other's company," the women said. "I brought the girl back."

Accelerator spun around on the spot and saw the women crouching behind Last Order who was just standing there with a blank look on her face. The normal smile and life in her eyes were gone and Accelerator had the feeling like he might have been staring at a puppet. "Last Order, if you can hear me get out of here." There wasn't a single response from her. "What did you do b#$%*?!" he roared.

"Such foul language," she said unfazed at his tone. "I simple requested her help and she was kind enough to agree." Last Order nods slowly. "See?"

"Bullshit," Accelerator said taking a step closer. "You did something to her. Let her go or nothing will be left of you except a stain on the ground."

She shook her head. "Dear me, it seems like you still won't cooperator. Last Order darling, could you please take away his ability to fight." Last Order nods slowly again.

"Shit…" Accelerator started when he collapsed on the ground.

"Please let him have access to his voice so he may kindly answer our questions." Last Order nodded again.

"I am going to kill you. Last Order, you need to fight it."

"I am afraid that is impossible," the women said shaking her head. "Of course, should you answer my questions, I can let her go. We have researched everyone around the Imagine Breaker who might be or become a problem. I am pleased to say this weakness of yours is quite convenient."

"It's way too boring though," the guy said putting his hands behind his head and looking disappointed. "I was hoping you would put up a fight."

"Damn it," Accelerator said still unable to move and only talk.

"I only have one question of any importance," the women said. "Where is the boy known as Touma Kamijou?"

Accelerator glared at her but decided the truth wouldn't hurt. "I don't know and even if I did I wouldn't tell you pieces of shit."

The man walked up to him and gazed down at him. Then out of nowhere he delivered a swift kick into Accelerator's gut. Accelerator gasped in pain and rolled several feet on the ground from the blow. "Heh, I like the look in his eyes," the man said laughing. "Even stuck laying on the ground his eyes are saying he would kill me in an instant. Is he telling the truth?"

The women looked at Accelerator who was glaring at them, a little blood running out of his mouth. "Oh my, it seems like he is. I suppose it is possible they moved the Imagine Breaker out of the city but I thought it unlikely. After all, Academy City is the stronghold of science. Let us take another stroll around the city and check once more. If we still cannot locate him, then we need to report back."

The man sighed. "I never get to have any fun. I wanted to fight someone strong." He turned to Accelerator. "You should feel lucky you just met us. If Wrath or Greed were here, you wouldn't walk away from this."

"F#%$ you." The man laughed at his response and followed the women as they walked away and disappeared into the fog. Last Order didn't move and just stood there blankly while Accelerator lay on the wet ground mentally cursing himself for letting his guard down. This continued for about five minutes until Last Order suddenly shook her head.

"What happened, MISAKA asks as MISAKA tries to determine why the memories of the last few minutes are blank."

"Brat, don't just stand there. Reconnect me."

Last Order looked at him and panicked. "Right away, MISAKA cries as MISAKA reconnects Accelerator." As soon as she said this Accelerator found he was able to move his body and stood up wiping the gravel off of him. "What happened, MISAKA cries again as MISAKA wants to know how Accelerator ended up disconnected." Accelerator didn't answer her and walked over to her. He then did something to completely surprise her. He knelt down next to her and gave her a quick hug. "What are you doing MISAKA cries while MISAKA secretly enjoys every second of it."

Accelerator stops and gives her a quick chop on the head. "Shut up and follow. We are getting you back to the apartment, and then I am hunting those two b#$$!#^." Last Order looked at him wide eyed and nodded. Together they walked back in silence to Yomikawa's apartment. On the way back Accelerator pulled out his phone. He decided to warn the hero two individuals were in the city, in case he ran into them. The phone rang three times then got disconnected. _Did he just F#$ &^$ hang up on me? I am going to kill him. _Before he could think about how he was going to kill Touma for daring to ignore his good will, he received a message.

 _Can't talk now, what you need?_

Accelerator calmed down. _It is possible the hero is helping someone and can't talk._ _He is also an idiot so he might have left his phone on._ Accelerator gave him a quick message of, _Just got attacked by two people who seem to be in the same group as the Sloth guy, watch your step hero._ He figured Touma would know what to do with that information. He got quick thanks as a reply and Accelerator put his phone away satisfied. Now all that was left was to get Last Order back to the apartment then he could go out hunting.

* * *

Mikoto's eyes narrowed at Misaki's suggestion. "What are you planning Shokuhou-san?"

"I don't know," Misaki said thoughtfully but Touma had the feeling she knew exactly what she was doing. "Since it's just us girls, how about a good old fashion game of, Truth or Dare?"

"Oh," Ruiko said clapping her hands together. "That sounds like fun."

"We haven't played that game for years," Hibiki said grinning while Hanabi nodded.

"I hope I can get Onee-sama to do my dare," Kuroko muttered as if thinking out loud.

"Will everything here be our secret?" Kazari asked.

"Of course," Misaki said smiling kindly at her. "We wouldn't want any boys knowing about our secrets."

"I don't think this is the best idea," Touma whispered to Misaki. "For obvious reasons."

"I'm sure it will be fine," Misaki said. "It is just for fun and a chance for all of us to get to know each other as friends." She smiled sweetly at everyone but Mikoto glared back at her. "Is something the matter Misaka-san?"

"No," Mikoto said hesitantly. "It looks like everyone else wants to do it." She knew Misaki was planning something but she didn't know what. Misaki was not the kind of girl Mikoto liked to hang out with. Misaki was manipulative, full of secrets, and liked to work behind the scenes. Mikoto always preferred the direct approach to problems and was more open and honest. Mikoto also noticed Misaki seemed to be glancing at her friend, Touya, often. _Maybe she is trying to make her friend have fun. I'll give her a chance._

Everyone gathered around together in a circle in the room with Hibiki on one of the beds and Ruiko on the other. Everyone else was sitting on the floor. To Touma, everyone seemed to be really interested in playing except for Mikoto who seemed to be watching Misaki intently. _I think they have some sort of rivalry if I remember correctly. Please don't let this game get out of hand._ Part of Touma thought this game might be fun since guys rarely did this when hanging out but he was also embarrassed. Who knows what girls do at these kinds of events?

"Who would like to pick first?" Misaki said graciously letting someone else start the game.

"I do," Ruiko called out and everyone agreed. "Kamiko-san, Truth or Dare?"

Touma was surprised he got asked the first question and decided to play it safe. "Truth."

"Do you have a boyfriend?" she asked eyes sparkling.

Touma was aware of everyone staring at him intently and his eyes widened. "Of course not," he said trying to act casual but voice shook a little because of how embarrassed he was.

"Hmm," Ruiko said. "Are you sure you are telling the truth?"

"She is Saten-san," Misaki said giggling coming to Touma's rescue and he looked at her gratefully. "You see, she doesn't like boys. Kamiko-san is into girls."

"EH," everyone gasped looking back and forth from Misaki to Touma. Touma gaped at her and she simply smiled at him.

"Shokuhou-san," he cried but in his female voice it came out high pitched and sounded pretty cute. Several of the girls giggled including Misaki. Kuroko on the other hand was gazing at him thoughtfully.

"But it's true," Misaki said pretending to pout. "I just wanted to show them you were telling the truth." Touma sighed and looked at the floor. Technically she was right but that didn't change the current situation.

"It's your turn to ask someone," Ruiko said encouragingly.

Touma looked around to see who he should choose. Everyone was watching him but Kazari and Hanabi seemed to be the most nervous. He decided to not call on them. "Hibiki-san, Truth or Dare."

"Truth."

Touma had to think quickly of a question. He was not use to this game. "When was the last time you went out with a guy?"

"Hmm," she said crossing her arms and thinking. "It was about a year and a half ago. I was a freshman and an upperclassman asked me out. I guess the first date went ok he was really nice but afterwards things got out of hand and I dumped the loser." She sounded a little bitter and no one decided to ask for elaboration of comment. As it was her turn she turned to Mikoto. "Misaka-san, Truth or Dare." Mikoto opened her mouth to respond but Misaki interrupted.

"I hope Misaka-san is brave enough to choose dare," Misaki said giggling. "I mean being a level 5 and all."

Mikoto glared at Misaki for a second then said, "Dare." Misaki smiled.

"How about this?" Hibiki asked and grinned. She gave a quick glance at Kuroko who looked back slightly confused. "I dare you to give Shirai-san a kiss." Everyone started snickering except Mikoto and Kuroko. Mikoto looked stunned but Kuroko was not.

"Hibiki-san you are the best," Kuroko cheered and teleported in an instant into Mikoto's lap. "Onee-sama, grant me your love." She closed her eyes and leaned forward for a kiss on the lips. There was a quick flask of electricity and Kuroko fell off of Mikoto hitting the floor. Mikoto then leaned forward and gave a very slight kiss on the cheek. Even though Kuroko was stunned on the floor she still gave a wide smile.

"There you go," Misaka sighed. "If she didn't act like that, I wouldn't have had to shock her. Why on earth did you dare me to do that?"

Hibiki laughed. "All Shirai-san talked about how she was so sad about not rooming with you. I thought it would cheer her up."

Mikoto groaned. "Well it's my turn now. Shokuhou-san, Truth or Dare? Of course being a Level 5…"

Misaki smiled insincerely. "I feel like lowing myself to your petty taunts would be childish of me but I am sure any dare you can come up with shouldn't be too difficult. Dare."

Mikoto grinned evilly. "Ok… I dare you to go the entire weekend without eating any sweets." Touma was confused, _how was that a dare_? It seemed like a really easy dare to do. When he looked at Misaki he could tell this wasn't the case.

Misaki had the look of a child who was just told Christmas had been canceled. She looked stunned and horrified at the same time. Mikoto's apparent grin confirmed that this dare was obviously Misaki's weakness. Misaki quickly tried to act unconcerned but she loved sweets. "Such a silly dare Misaka-san. It will be quite easy for me…" The look on her face said otherwise.

"If you say so." Mikoto said sarcastically and wore the expression of someone who beat her arch rival.

"Well anyway," Misaki said trying to regain her composure. "Hanabi-san, True or Dare?"

"Umm, truth," she said softly.

"What do you like about the Kami guy from the tournament?" Touma gulped and Mikoto exchanged looks with Ruiko and Kazari. Kuroko just watched Hanabi with occasional looks at Touma. Touma really didn't think he should hear this. Misaki though, was actually interested in what made Hanabi fall for Touma, but she had a good idea why.

"Well," she muttered but as she went on she got a little louder. "When we first met I thought he would be intimidating. But while Hibiki and Accelerator were arguing he was really nice to me. He even tried to get them to stop fighting. Then in the tournament he went out of his way to save me from Accelerator. I mean, with the tournament, nothing Accelerator did would have been against the rules and he could have defeated me his way. Kami actually stood in front of him to save me and was really nice to me afterwards too." Mikoto, Ruiko, Shokuhou, and Kuroko sighed. They all knew about that side of Touma and none of them could hate him for saving someone and being nice, except for Kuroko. Touma felt himself turn red with embarrassment.

"How romantic," Kazari said sparkling while Hibiki made a noise of irritation but didn't say anything.

"Um, Uiharu-san, Truth or Dare," Hanabi said trying to direct the attention to someone else.

Kazari was quiet for a moment then said, somewhat nervously, "Dare." Everyone just looked at her in amazement. No one thought she would be that bold.

"I believe Saten-san mentioned you had a boyfriend," Hanabi said mysteriously. Kazari say up a little straighter and everyone leaned forward. "How about you call him, put him on speaker, and tell him you love him?" All the girls except Kazari simultaneous went "Oh!" Touma wanted to laugh but felt sorry for Kazari when he saw she had turned crimson. To his surprise Kazari pulled out her phone with a look of determination on her face, still bright red, and dialed.

"Hey Kazari," Jason's voice came from the phone which she had set to speakers so everyone could hear."You usually don't call this late, is everything ok?" All the girls had their hands covering their mouths trying not to laugh as they watched Kazari.

"Everything is ok Jason," Kazari said her face, if possible, turned even redder. "I just wanted to say I love you and I am glad we are together." Everyone was pressing their hands as hard as they could to their mouths to not make any noise but Touma saw many of them were struggling.

After a brief pause Jason responded. "I love you too but this was unexpected. Did Saten-san put you up to this? This sounds like something she would do. I mean, if half of those things you tell me is true…"

"Ahh," Kazari cried interrupting him. "She is here, but she's not the one who was responsible for this."

"No wait," Ruiko said covering Kazari's mouth. "What were you going to say Kagere-san?"

They heard Jason snickering. "I knew you had to be there Saten-san. I wasn't serious, but who else is there? I take it there's a reason you called me."

"Ah it's us, Misaka-san, Shirai-san, Hibiki and Hanabi Nakano, you know from the first round of the tournament, Shokuhou-san and a friend of hers, Touya Kamiko. We were just playing a game and Uiharu got dared to call you."

There was now definitely laughter on Jason's end. While the girls thought he was laughing about the dare, Shokuhou and Touma knew what he was laughing. Touma made a fist no one noticed and he swore he would make sure to punch Jason next time they met. "Well if that's it," Jason said. "Have fun with your trip Kazari. I'll see you Monday." Suddenly they heard a loud boom come from the phone.

"What was that?!" Kazari asked immediately while everyone else sat upright and stopped laughing.

"Umm," Jason said. "It was….work? Yea work. Nothing big."

"Liar," Kuroko cried angrily. "You never tell the truth and I always see you slack off. There is no way you are working."

"You watch me eh," Jason said suggestively. "You shouldn't flirt with your friend's boyfriend. Kazari and Misaka-san might get jealous." Mikoto sighed while shaking her head and Kuroko choked on her words from rage and before she could reply another boom came from the phone. Jason said, "Nice talking to you all, got to go." Then he hung up. Everyone else was snickering except Kuroko.

"So that's your boyfriend," Hibiki said laughing. "He sounds interesting."

"He is and really nice," Kazari says smiling but still bright red. "He just jokes a lot and likes messing with Shirai-san."

"I can't stand him," Kuroko fumed.

"Let's continue," said Misaki clapping her hands. "We haven't even made a full circle yet. It is your turn Uiharu-san."

"Umm," Kazari said looking between Kuroko and Ruiko. "Saten-san, Truth or Dare?"

"Dare," Ruiko said grinning. "I want to see what you came come up with."

"Ok," Kazari said then grinned back. "I dare you not to flip my skirt for a week."

The grin fell off Ruiko's face and crashed into the floor. "You can't be serious." Kazari's grin did not leave her face. Ruiko grabbed her own head with both hands. "NOOOOOO, that week is going to be so stressful if I can't have my favorite relaxation therapy." Mikoto and Kuroko were laughing since they knew Ruiko liked to flip Kazari's skirt. Hibiki, Hanabi, and Shokuhou did not get the joke but were laughing at Ruiko's reaction. Touma just shook his head.

Ruiko collapsed on the floor and said sadly. "Eh, Shirai-san, Truth or Dare?"

Kuroko thought for a moment and looked at Mikoto and caught her eye and shrugged. "Dare."

A slight grin appeared on her face. "Ok, Shirai-san, I dare you to not grope Misaka-san for a week."

Kuroko gasped in horror and tackled Ruiko. "Saten-san, how could you?" Behind her Mikoto gave Ruiko a thumb up. "I won't last a week without my lovely Onee-sama's contact."

"This way I have someone to suffer with me," Ruiko said grinning. "Misery loves company right." Kuroko just grabbed her head and muttered several very un-lady like things under her breath. Everyone else was laughing even Touma. A knock on the door interrupted their fun. Hibiki answered the door and everyone saw a couple older girls. Hanabi got up and joined her sister to talk with them. After a few minutes Hibiki called out to everyone.

"Sorry," she said. "We are going to meet up with our classmates. We will talk to you later." They both waved and left.

"Aww," Ruiko complained. "They had to go. The game was just getting good." This got daggers from Kuroko's glare directed at her.

"Well," Mikoto said. "They are high school students. They have their own group of friends instead of us."

"That reminds me," Shokuhou said standing up. "I have a couple things I must attend to." She turned to leave and Touma got up to follow her. He was a little afraid of being alone with his friends in case he was recognized, but Misaki had other plans. "You can stay here Kamiko-san. I should not be long." She looked at Touma, winked, and left.

"Looks like the game is over," Kazari said standing up and yawning. "It's not very late but I think I am going to go to bed. I was so excited I didn't sleep much last night." She waved good bye to them all and went through the door connecting their rooms.

Mikoto stood up and stretched. "I promised to visit a few classmates of mine tonight too. I'll be back in a bit."

"Oh can I come?" Ruiko asked. "I would love to meet Misaka-san's classmates."

"Sure," Mikoto said. "Kuroko did you want to come?" Weirdly she decided not to and just continued to be slumped against the bed. _She must still be stunned by Saten-san's dare. I'll check up on her when I get back._ Mikoto and Ruiko left the room and closed the door behind them.

Touma had sat down on the bed when Misaki told him she didn't need him to follow her. _She must have had something personal to do. After all, she has her own life to live._ He was pretty uncomfortable for two reasons. The game wasn't as embarrassing as he thought it would be but Hanabi's confession made him feel bad for hearing it. The other reason was he was alone in the same room with Kuroko. The last time this happened, he was almost killed, or as people kept telling him, hospitalized.

"Hey Kamiko-san," Kuroko asked out of nowhere. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure Shirai-san," Touma said a few beads of sweat formed on his brow.

"When did you start liking girls?"

Touma looked at her wide eyed. He wasn't sure how to answer this because he had to make sure he didn't let her find out he was actually a guy. "Well, I suppose always. I always found myself attracted to girls and not boys. I mean, I have friends who are boys, but I don't like them the way I like girls." All of this was true so he didn't feel bad as if he lied.

"Hmm," Kuroko said thoughtfully. "I think it was a little different for me. I didn't really like boys or girls then I met Onee-sama and she saved me and I just sort of fell for her after that. No one was able to match how wonderful she is."

Touma shrugged. "Other people can't tell you who to like." He thought her response sounded a lot more like infatuation then actual love but he wasn't exactly sure how girls think. As a guy, he would probably never know. He hoped his response was pretty reasonable, but he got a surprise.

Kuroko teleported right in front of him and cupped his hand. "I knew you would understand. Most people don't understand the purity of girl love. I don't know who you like, but I will support you. If you ever need someone to talk to you feel free to contact me. I am sure we will be good friends." She smiled kindly at him.

Touma was taken back. This was a completely different Kuroko then the one he knew. The one he knew cared deeply for Mikoto and was willing to destroy anyone who would harm her. That Kuroko also hated his guts to the point of pure loathing. The Kuroko he saw now was kind and caring. She actually thought Touma might need support for, since he was a girl now, loving another girl. He didn't know what quite to do or think but settled on thanks. "Thank you Shirai-san," he said. 'It means a lot."

She smiled again at him. "You're welcome Kamiko-san." Her smiled faulted for a moment and she glared at him. "However, Onee-sama is off limits. Is that clear?"

'Crystal."

* * *

Touma laid wide awake in the hotel bed. After the strange conversation with Kuroko, she went back to her own room. Being the only one left in the room, he turned on the TV and just flipped through channels until everyone got back. Shortly before the curfew for lights out, Misaki, Mikoto, and Ruiko all started changing to their sleep wear. Touma caught a full glimpse of their underwear before excusing himself to the bathroom to change. If he had stayed there, he was sure he would be the biggest piece of human garbage in existence. Of course his normal male mind would only concentrate on what he saw, Misaki's red lacy garments, Mikoto's childish Gekota ones, and Ruiko's black plain ones. What was worse, because there were only two beds, he had to share with someone. It would be too suspicious if he tried to sleep anywhere else.

Even though Misaki assured him she would not do anything and she trusted him not to do anything, he still felt uncomfortable. He was laying on the right side and Misaki had fallen asleep while cuddling him. He could feel her very well endowed chest touching him, which didn't help him to sleep. He still wasn't sure why she liked him so much, he wasn't anything special to deserve such an amazing and talented girl like Misaki. He sighed, got up quietly in order to not wake anyone, and opened the screen door leading to the small balcony. He silently closed the door behind him and looked out across the beach and past the ocean. Outside of the city there were virtually a limitless number of stars surrounding an almost full moon. It was quiet, calm and the cool night breeze felt good through his dark blue long-sleeved pajamas Misaki had picked out. He heard the door behind him slide open and he turned to look who it was.

Mikoto had joined him on the balcony. "Hey Kamiko-san, what are you doing out here?"

Touma gulped. "Nothing Misaka-san," he said forcing himself to remember to address her differently then he normally did. If he said Biribiri by accident, his life would be over. "I just couldn't sleep."

"I see," she leaned against the railing and looked out at the ocean. "It is really beautiful out tonight."

"Yea," Touma agreed but he wasn't looking at the scenery but the girl in front of him lit by the moon. She seemed to admit a glow that didn't belong in this world to him. "I hope I didn't wake you." She shook her head.

"No, I was already awake," she said. "I was just thinking of someone and couldn't sleep." He swore her face got a little red but it was dark.

"I see," Touma said. He decided not to pry and looked at the ocean again. After a minute he felt her eyes on him and he looked at her.

'Can you keep a secret," she asked. "I know it will be hard to keep it from Shokuhou-san since she can read minds, but can you try?"

"She actually hasn't tried to use her ability on me at all," Touma commented. "If you need someone to talk to I will listen, but wouldn't one of your friends be better?"

"Well," Mikoto said hesitantly. "I can't really talk to them about this yet. I have a problem that I really need to get off my chest until I can solve it. I think they might suspect it already but I can't ask in case they don't."

"Okay," Touma said a little confused of what the problem could be but he was always willing to help anyone. "I will help in any way I can." She smiled at him and he felt his heart beat harder. She looked beautiful in the moonlight. Even her hair seemed to be sparkling.

"Well," she said embarrassed and looked back out at the ocean. "I really like this guy back at Academy City but I can't ever get the courage to confess. Every time I try it turns out wrong."

Touma felt his heart drop at the news she likes someone. He didn't know why. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I get really embarrassed and just shock him whenever I try to confess. I thought I would get courage after the tournament but due to the unexpected incident, I never got the chance."

"He must be a pretty good guy if you like him," Touma said but inside he felt sick thinking of another man with Mikoto. _Was he jealous?_

Mikoto laughed. "Well he is an idiot, dense, unlucky, and always runs off on his own and leaves me behind even if he knows he needs help." Touma felt a wave of irritation but wasn't sure why. "But he is kind to everyone and will never leave someone who needs help. The reason he always leaves me behind is he never wants me to get hurt. It makes me so mad because I can protect myself, but I can't stay mad at him though. The reason he does what he does is his only goal is to get everyone to smile at the end. He even saved my life once for no other reason then I needed help." Realization was finally penetrating Touma's skull about who the person Mikoto likes is. "But I think the reason I really like him is that he always treated me like a person. Other people see me as the Level 5, the Railgun, or some celebrity, but not Mikoto Misaka. This idiot always treated me like a person regardless of my status. I am happy just being around him and my heart beats so fast it hurts when I think of him. I think I might be in love with him even if he considers himself misfortunate." She laughed. "It's hard to confess because we just got closer as friends and I am afraid he won't feel the same way and it would ruin our friendship."

Touma didn't know how to respond to this. He didn't want to think she was talking about him but the second to the last line confirmed it. "I see," he said. "I never had a serious relationship before so I don't think I can give you any good advice."

"You don't need to," she said. "I feel much better talking to someone about it. When we get back, I am going to make sure to confess to him." She gave him a hug. "Thank you so much for listening to my problem. It feels really good to talk to a friend. If you ever need help with anything let me know." She smiled, he was transfixed by it, and she slid the door open and went back into the room.

Touma just stood on the balcony for what seemed like ages as he was lost in his own thoughts. He heard something he knew he shouldn't have. Eventually he entered the room quietly and snuck back into his bed, Misaki started snuggling against him again. However, he was too preoccupied to be nervous about that. _How was this possible?_ He looked at the beautiful girl sleeping right next to him and the beautiful girl sleeping on the other bed. He knew Misaki loved him for some reason but he thought Mikoto saw him as a friend/rival. He realized now, _Mikoto loves me._

* * *

 **Seems like a good point to end the chapter before the following day. Mikoto accidently confessed to Touma and now what is going to happen at the beach tomorrow? Touma better hope his disguise holds or, well, let's say it won't be pretty. This was planned out for awhile and I know a commenter mentioned that should happen. Tomorrow might be a little awkward.**

 **Accelerator is pretty pissed off to but you know him. He will destroy a couple buildings and be back to his old self in no time. I wonder who the two people he met were. He is still my favorite character and will be in a lot more chapters.**

 **Next chapter will be fun, an entire day at the beach surrounded by noble girls. Touma has to be the luckiest guy in the world even if he won't admit it. Next chapter is The Forbidden Garden.**


	17. The Beach

**Wow, within 1-2 days of posting a new chapter I got so many reviews. I am glad to see so many people enjoy my story and looking forward to the next chapter. This chapter was a little tough to write because I cracked up laughing too much trying to write this. Seriously, beach scenes are not easy to write when talking about girls. I tried to add character development into the chapter besides just fan service. Of course, last chapter ended on a pretty serious note.**

 **I am going to take a second to mention a few individuals who commented.**

 **Tiken: I read your comment on my phone at work and nearly died laughing. Now everyone in my department thinks I am nuts.**

 **Banditz: Make an actual account and message me privately. I can use you to help me fill missing spots in the story.**

 **CamSpams: Glad to know you liked it. But reading almost 100k words at once probably took awhile lol.**

 **So I take it a lot of you are looking forward to the beach scene, endless number of girls in swimsuits and for Touma to do something stupid and ruin it for him. I wonder if everything will work as planned.**

 **Side note, this chapter will brake 100k words. I am so excited.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

The day was not off to a good start. Touma did not get much sleep that night. In fact, he was surprised he got any sleep at all. After hearing Mikoto admit she liked him and with a very attractive Misaki snuggling up to him all night, his mind was not interested in sleeping. Then in the morning the storms rolled in and unleashed torrents of rain while the sky was split by lighting. A lot of girls were depressed about not being able to go to the beach. Touma on the other hand was glad. He wouldn't have to be forced into the really skimpy bikini Misaki forced him to purchase. Misaki was thinking the same thing but she was depressed instead of happy. However, that didn't stop her plans and she immediately tried to force Touma to model for their roommates. Right when he got shoved into the bathroom…

He woke up.

The sun was shining in through the glass balcony door and he looked at the clock. It was about 15 minutes until their alarm was set to go off and, judging by the presence next to him and the two lumps on the other bed, no one was up yet. _Stupid dream, well at least I can get the bathroom first._ He was half hoping it would rain so he wouldn't have to go to the beach. His other half, the male portion, told him he had to go and enjoy himself. _I'm spending too much time with Jason._ He got up quietly, to avoid waking anyone, and snuck into the bathroom with a change of clothes. He looked into the mirror, for the first time at the hotel, and examined his female face. _Shit, am I getting turned on by myself. Aogami would have a field day with this._ He couldn't deny, to a guy, his female form was attractive, but it still made him feel awkward. His biggest challenge was taking a shower but he closed his eyes and tried not to notice anything. Somehow, he finished and got changed without incident when he heard the alarm go off in the other room. _Just made it._

He reentered the room right when everyone else was getting up. Misaki stuck her head out of the covers and looked up at him. "Wow, you get up early." Touma grinned. Mikoto and Ruiko had just sat up and stretched. The girls took turns getting ready and to Touma, it took forever, but at least they did not change in the room this time. There wasn't a good spot for him to hide since the bathroom was occupied. When everyone had changed into casual clothes for breakfast, the school uniform not being required on this trip, they all headed downstairs to the first floor banquets hall area for breakfast.

Touma expected a large style buffet, like what he has seen at hotels he has been to before. He did not expect circular tables, cushioned chairs, and menus waiting for them. He let Misaki lead the way to a table in the corner of the cafeteria. Surprisingly, Mikoto followed them dragging Ruiko along. Touma thought Mikoto would avoid Misaki since they seemed to be rivals. Misaki sat down, and then Touma sat on her left, followed by Mikoto on his left, then Ruiko. He could tell Misaki was not pleased Mikoto followed her. Touma was still embarrassed about talking to Mikoto but, his curiosity got the better of him and he looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"I have to make sure she doesn't have any sweets," Mikoto whispered grinning. "I know she will cheat if left alone." Touma looked over at Misaki and, by the look on her face, Misaki was planning to do just that. Touma grinned at her.

"She got you good last night," he whispered.

"Oh well," whispered Misaki back to him. "If I get to spend time with you, it doesn't matter." He blushed and she smiled at him. They were shortly joined by Kuroko and Kazari, who sat next to Ruiko, and then several of Misaki's friends sat next to her. The table filled up quickly and everyone ordered breakfast.

Touma wasn't very hungry and just had a couple pieces of toast with some jam. Even the jam was high quality. Misaki was barely touching her food and looked a little depressed. He heard one of the girls comment on the fact the Queen didn't get anything sweet this time, and judging by the smirk on Mikoto's face, she heard it too. Kuroko looked depressed but still talked normally to her friends and Touma caught her smiling at him. He knew why but it was still weird to see Kuroko not want to kill him.

"So Misaka-san," Ruiko said. "Are we going to the beach after this?"

Mikoto nodded. "Yep, it's such a nice day too."

"I get to see onee-sama in her new swimming suit," Kuroko said with her head in the clouds and a small touch of drool.

"You can look but not touch," Kazari said smiling. This brought Kuroko crashing back down to reality and she glared at Ruiko who whistled innocently. Even Touma and Misaki had to laugh along with them.

Mikoto turned to Touma. "Do you want to come with us Kamiko-san?"

Touma gave a quick look at Misaki who shrugged but she looked a little distant. Touma had a guess why and he didn't want to hurt her so he chose the option that would not, hopefully, upset anyone. "Sure," he said with a grin. "But only if Shokuhou-san joins us. I promised to hang out with her this weekend."

Mikoto nodded, if a little bit stiff, but Misaki was outright surprised. She did not expect Touma to drag her with him. She was use to being the one dragging him around. _Ah, I can't say no to him._ "Sounds like fun," Misaki says clapping her hands together. "It would give us the opportunity to learn more about our roommates."

"Yay," Kazari says cheerfully. "The more the merrier."

"I'm ok with them," Kuroko adds.

"So let's eat and get changed," Ruiko said happily. "I can't wait."

Ruiko, Mikoto, Kuroko, and Kazari finished breakfast quickly and ran off while Touma stayed back with Misaki. Misaki was talking to the girls to her right and they seemed agreeable to pretty much everything she said. After she was done she turned to Touma, "I'm surprised you wanted to hang out with them. I thought you would be worry about your cover."

"I am," Touma said sighing. "But as you and Jason told me, I need a break and have fun. They are also my friends even if they do not know it. Besides," he smiled at her. "It was thanks to you we all started to get along and I can tell you really are a good person. So I want you to have fun with us too."

Misaki blushed at his sincere words. "We shouldn't keep them waiting too long," she said resigning herself to the fact she was going to hang out with her rival Mikoto. She might get a chance to mess with her a bit too as revenge for the dare. "I suppose you want them to clear out while you change." She raised an eyebrow then smiled and whispered. "Or do you want to go up right during the best time to see everything."

"Of course not," Touma denied immediately. He was a guy and could imagine that but he was too nice to go through with it on purpose. "I don't even know if I can go through with changing to a swimsuit." He sighed. "This is going to be bad." Misaki laughed.

They waited a bit and went up to their room to change. The hotel was right next to the beach so there were no changing rooms outside. They entered their room and saw everyone had already left. Touma walked over and grabbed the blue and yellow stripped two piece Misaki picked out. He sighed, aware Misaki was staring at him with a wide smile on her face, and he went into the bathroom to change. He shut his eyes in embarrassment and tried to get everything on. Somehow, he succeeded, without too many problems, and looked at himself in the mirror. His face turned bright red and he felt ashamed. He didn't want to think about it, but the swimsuit really showed off his female form. The swim suit wasn't what many would call skimpy, but it didn't cover everything completely. Because he wore baggy long sleeve shirts he didn't realize, but in the swimsuit, his chest was quite prominent, though not as much as Misaki's. Then he saw something that made him freeze.

"Shokuhou-san," he called out. "We may have a problem."

She quickly entered the bathroom. "What do you mean?" Touma showed her the mark on his arm. "What's that?"

"After we beat Sloth," he explained. "This appeared on my arm. I forgot about it because of the promotion and body change incidents. But Mikoto and Jason know about it so if she sees this…"

"Hmm," Misaki said thinking fast. She wanted her prince to enjoy the day with her but Mikoto was immune to her mind control and knew about the mark. It would be risky to even just try to avoid her since the beach was only so large. "Is that more magic?" He nodded. "Can't you just wish it away or something?"

Touma burst out laughing. "If it was that easy everyone could do it." Even Misaki had to give a small smile. "But I'll try since we don't have many options." He concentrated on the mark and thought, _Disappear._ He didn't expect anything to happen but when the mark faded away his jaw dropped. _Was it really that easy?_ He tried to make it appear again and it slowly faded back into existence. He made it disappear again. "Wow, it really was that easy. Maybe they needed to be able to hide their marks."

Misaki clapped her hands together in excitement. "Well I am glad it was easy and will not spoil our day at the beach. I still need to get changed." She grinned and looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "Unless you want to stay in here with me?" She winked at him.

"NO!" Touma cried shaking his head. "I can't do that." He turned red and ran out of the bathroom.

Misaki pretended to pout as he ran but she already knew he was too much of a gentleman to do anything. _That's one of the reasons I love him so much._ She quickly changed into her bright red two piece and admired herself in the mirror. Her suit really showed off her curves and made her well endowed chest stand out. She was every guy's dream but she only had eyes for one guy. When she left the bathroom, she knew it had the desired effect based on how his eyes tried to look away from her but kept drifting back. She smiled, both on the outside and inside, and looked him up and down. "My Kamijou-san, you are quite attractive. Shall we get going and meet up with everyone? Unless of course, you want to stay here alone with me and we could have some fun." She pulled playfully at her strap on her shoulder.

"Umm…I…." Touma stuttered but words failed him as his mind stopped working. He was a very kind person but he was still a guy, even if he didn't look like one right now. His gentleman side wanted to say no but everything time he tried the rest of his brain refused to let him. Every male instinct wanted him to say yes. "I…er…umm." He still couldn't get any words out.

Misaki giggled and grabbed his arm. "I know you wouldn't do that. You are too much of a prince. I love you so much. Let's go down and have fun on the beach. You came here to relax and have fun after all." Touma couldn't do anything except get dragged behind the beautiful girl in front of him.

* * *

Down at the beach Kuroko was standing in the shallow water watching Mikoto splashing around with Ruiko and Kazari. She was so excited she could see Mikoto in a swimsuit, but two things were killing her. One, Mikoto was wearing a very childish swimsuit and not a two piece a noble girl like her should. It was a white frilly polka dotted one that wasn't cupped but covered her entire chest. The second reason is Kuroko couldn't get physically intimate with her because of yesterday. It was taking all of her restraint to hold back. _If onee-sama can do her dare, I can do mine._

Ruiko was wearing a sky blue two piece that wasn't very revealing but still showed a lot of skin. Kazari had brought a one piece covered in a bright floral design, but no one was surprised at that. Kuroko on the other hand wore a maroon two piece that covered almost nothing. It got a lot of weird looks from other girls but people who knew her didn't spare a second glance. Her friends had stared at her with mouths gaping when she first wore it. They did eventually got use to it and all started playing in the water.

"What's wrong Shirai-san," Ruiko said splashing her. "You are just standing there. Come and have fun with us."

Kuroko shook her head and teleported behind Ruiko and pushed her into the water. "It's your fault I can't fully enjoy this," she said tears filling her eyes. "How can I express my love for onee-sama without intimate contact?"

"I would prefer you not express your love for me," Mikoto groaned.

"Onee-sama, why must you be so cruel?" Kuroko said pretending to faint into the water.

"Ah there's Kamiko-san and Shokuhou-san," Kazari cried waving to them. "Over here!"

Everyone turned to see what those two were wearing and their jaws dropped. Misaki looked like a model in her bright red two piece, 'Touya' looked just as good in a blue and yellow two piece, and they were drawing looks from other girls as well. Both of the girls walking toward them not only looked good but had very well endowed chests. Mikoto, Ruiko, Kazari, and Kuroko all looked down at their own chests and sighed. Mikoto actually had to fight the urge to cry slightly. Kazari, in the back of the group, actually shed a few tears.

"Hello everyone," said Misaki pulling Touma along behind her. "How are you all? I hope we look ok, we just got these a few days ago."

"You two look great," Ruiko said as she snuck up behind Kazari and splashed her.

"Ah, Saten-san," she said splashing Ruiko back. "But she is right. You two look amazing."

"You two are so kind," Misaki said giggling. She turned to look at Mikoto and looked at her swimsuit. "I see Misaki has the same taste in swimsuits as she does in….clothes."

Mikoto glared at her then smiled insincerely. "It must have been hard putting on your swimsuit with your figure."

"Oh my yes," Misaki said smiling the same way back and gently touched her chest. "I know you don't have the problem, nice and easy for you to slip your suit on." Both of them glared at each other and sparks flew from their eyes.

"Hey Kamiko-san," Kuroko said. "You look nice."

"Hello Shirai-san," Touma said then noticed what she was wearing. "Your swimsuit is quite…daring." He didn't know any other words to describe the thin piece of string she was wearing. He looked away as soon as he could from embarrassment.

She giggled, "I know, but onee-sama still won't look at me." She sighed. They both turned to watch Mikoto and Misaki argue politely with each other but the dark aura between them started to grow. Ruiko and Kazari were starting to inch away from them but watching their exchange closely. Touma began to wonder if bringing those two together might not have been the best idea.

"AHHH!" Touma yelled out in surprise causing everyone to look at him. Kuroko had teleported behind him, wrapped her arms around him and groped his chest.

"Hmm," she said feeling him up. "C-cup I think, ah, but it still isn't the same as onee-sama." She let go and patted Touma on the shoulder.

"Shirai-san," he said irritated, finally understanding how Mikoto felt, but everyone else had burst out laughing including Mikoto and Misaki. They all found Kuroko groping someone besides Mikoto hilarious. Mikoto was just glad she wasn't the one this time. Kuroko then teleported back near Mikoto.

"Onee-sama, no one can replace you," she cried sadly. "This week needs to end already."

"Hahaha," a voice laughed. "I thought I heard Shirai's voice after a girl's scream." Everyone turned and saw Hibiki walking toward them holding a volleyball, with Hanabi and a couple other high school girls following her. "Hello everyone."

"Hi Hibiki-san," Kazari said.

"Anyone interested in joining for a game of volleyball," Hibiki asked holding up the ball. "We are a few players short."

"Sure," Mikoto said and looked around to see who else wanted to join.

"If onee-sama is, I will play," Kuroko said immediately. "Kamiko-san, you should join too."

"Ok," Touma said. Sports were at least something he was use to. "Shokuhou-san, you should join us."

"I don't know," she said. "I think I will join Saten-san and Uiharu-san to cheer you on."

Everyone left the water and went to the sand volleyball field. A net was set up along with the boundary. They divided into two teams of five. Mikoto, Kuroko, Touma, Hibiki, and Hanabi were on one team versus the other team who were all high school students. They agreed to no powers before the game started and Touma thought the high school side was going to have the advantage. However, the game turned out quite differently.

Mikoto and Kuroko were both very physically fit and active and were able to keep up with the high school students. Hibiki was definitely the best though. It was obvious she played a lot. Hanabi was decent but nowhere near as good as her sister. Touma started off decently, even though he hasn't played volleyball except occasionally in PE. However he quickly got distracted by the other bouncing orbs in front of him and this caused him to miss several easy saves.

"Kamiko-san," Mikoto called out. "Keep your head in the game."

"Don't get to distracted," Kuroko said helping Touma up when he fell trying to make a save. She winked at him as if she knew exactly what was distracting him. He had to look away and she grinned. He focused more on the game and they won barely.

"I need a break," Touma said breathing heavily. "I'm going over by Shokuhou-san." After they found a substitute for the next game, he left and sat down on the blanket under the umbrella next to Misaki who was watching the game. One of Misaki's friends had brought the umbrella over for her. "So how come you didn't want to play?"

"I'm not the most athletic person," she said hesitantly. Touma laughed and she scowled at him.

"Sorry," he said quickly. "I didn't mean it in a bad way."

"I know," she said smiling scooting closer to him. "So you came over here just to keep me company?"

"Yea," Touma said. "You invited me so it felt weird to leave you alone for too long." Misaki smiled at him. They watched the game in silence but Touma enjoyed the peaceful scenery then he remembered something he wanted to know. "Hey Shokuhou-san, can I ask you something personal?"

"Sure," she said looking at him. "I'll tell you anything I can."

"Well," Touma said hesitantly rubbing the back of his neck. "Why do you love me? You mentioned in the hospital you were surprised I could remember you. Have we met before?" She sighed and looked really sad. "I'm sorry," Touma said quickly. "If it's that personal it's fine."

"It's not that," she said smiling sincerely and looking at him. "Yes, we met awhile back. We ran into each other by accident. Then several really, as you put it, unfortunate incidents happened, and you saved me when I was in a very deep state of depression." Touma's eyes widen and she smiled while looking into his eyes. We hung out a lot during the summer even though I was younger then you. Those were some of my best memories. Then an accident occurred." She stopped and her hand shook and Touma put a hand on her reassuringly. She stopped shaking and continued. "You were badly hurt, and I had to use my power on you to save your life. However, there was a complication and though your life was saved, you couldn't remember me or make new memories with me. So I had prepared myself for you to forget me after the tournament incident. That is why I was so surprised you remembered me. After I got to know you, I am glad you are still the person I remember." She leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder.

Touma just looked at her, his mind reeling with this information. She had loved him before he lost his memories and even mentioned he was still the same. He had lost all of his past memories not terribly long ago but, besides not remembering everything about himself, people seemed to think he was still the same. Maybe there is more to a person then just their memories. He looked over at Misaki who was watching the volleyball game and his heart started beating heavily. She was incredibly attractive and was really nice. She even broke countless rules to get him on this vacation so he could rest and enjoy himself. However, part of him remembered Mikoto's confession yesterday night and he felt conflicted.

Eventually Mikoto came back over, "Hey Kamiko-san you want back in, someone else needs a break."

"Sure," Touma said taking a quick look at Misaki who smiled. As he stood up, she spoke up.

"My Misaka-san," she said her hand on her mouth. "Are you trying to take my friends away from me? I thought you were a wolf but are you starting a clique now?"

"No," Mikoto denied. "I happen to think she is a good person. But if she stays around you too much, she might get corrupted."

"Oh," Misaki says her smiled become forced. "Why would you say such things about me? I just like to enjoy my school life, but with such slanderous rumors coming from you, it really hurts me."

"You know what I mean," Mikoto says crossing her arms and Touma decided to step in between them to prevent this from escalating any further. He actually thought of a plan to try to get them to get along.

"Ok you two," he said. "You shouldn't be fighting." Both of them looked at him and he continued. "I have an idea, Misaka-san please follow me, you too Shokuhou-san."

"Why?" Mikoto asked confused.

"What are you planning?" she asked, but Touma grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. He then grabbed Mikoto's hand and pulled them to the volleyball field. He let go and walked up to Hibiki. They saw him conversing with her for a few minutes and Hibiki smiled. She called over a couple of her high school friends and told them something. They all nodded and laughed. Mikoto and Misaki looked at each other confused until Touma walked back over.

"Ok," he said smiling. "You two are going to have to get along. It is going to be two on two games and you two can't quit till you win."

"What?!" they cried. "Work with her? No way!"

"See you two are in sync already," he said laughing.

"Why should we do this?" Misaki demanded and Mikoto agreed.

"Well," he said shrugging. "I guess if two level 5s are scared of a little volleyball game and don't believe they can do it…"

"I can do it," Mikoto said immediately. "Shokuhou-san probably isn't able though."

"I take offense to that," Misaki said puffing out her chest. "I shall participate."

Touma smiled and called out. "They agreed, get the teams set up. Who wants a chance to beat two level 5s?" A bunch of people laughed and started forming teams while Mikoto and Misaki glared at each other. Touma knew he normally couldn't have gotten them to team up like this but their rivalry was so strong, neither would back down in front of the other. He didn't really like manipulating them but he really wanted his friends to get along.

The first game went exactly like he thought. They didn't work together and constantly got in each other's way. He did enjoy watching them in their swimsuits but he tried to suppress that urge as much as possible. After the third straight game they lost at, both where getting tired. Mikoto was trying to cover nearly every position so she was tiring out quickly. Misaki was not athletic at all. She was worse than even Touma realized and missed even the easiest hits. Touma had to suppress a grin when she glared at him and instead cheered her on with everyone else. Eventually, they manage to win, barely, against another team who were not very good either.

"Glad to see you two working together," Touma said grinning. He was finally having fun.

"Not… funny," Misaki panted.

"You should exercise more," Mikoto said breathing heavily but everyone could tell she was exhausted too.

"That is easy for you to say Misaka-san," Misaki said smiling insincerely. "Some of us have extra weight we have to carry." She delicately put a hand on her chest and Mikoto's face turned red.

"Who would want all that useless fat?"

"Fat?" Misaki said outraged. "How dare you!" Touma and Kuroko decided it was time to separate them. Touma dragged Misaki away and Kuroko took Mikoto. Kuroko finally realized as long as she didn't grope Mikoto, she could still get skin time.

Since it was around noon, everyone went back into the hotel for some lunch and a break from the sun. During lunch Misaki broke apart from everyone and started catching up with some other girls who Touma assumed where also her friends. Ruiko and Kazari were still talking about the volleyball matches and Mikoto was trying to not look embarrassed. Eventually everyone went back outside. The afternoon was pretty uneventful for Touma since he was getting use to everyone in swimsuits. It was a pretty normal day at the beach to him except for one thing.

He and Misaki were sitting under an umbrella watching the ocean and talking. "Are you still mad at me?" Touma asked.

"No," Misaki said determinedly not looking at him.

"I said I was sorry," Touma replied looking downtrodden. "I was just trying to get you two to get along better. What can I do to make it up to you?"

"Hmm," Misaki said glancing at him and putting a finger to her cheek thinking then smiled. She started rummaging in her bad and pulled out a bottle. "You can put sunscreen on my back," she said sweetly. "I can't reach it."

"Ah...eh?" Touma sputtered.

"You can't expect me to go out into the sun again without more sunscreen," she said winking. "My fair skin could get burned."

Touma stared at her and Misaki turned up the pleading in her eyes and the last shred of resistance he had melted away. He took the bottle and applied the sun block to Misaki's back. It either felt good to her or she did this to embarrass him, but she moaned when he applied it to her back. He felt his face grow red and swore he saw a hint of a smile on the side of her face. He didn't notice Kuroko looking at him from the beach looking a little jealous.

* * *

When the sun started to set, everyone came in for dinner and went back to their rooms. Nearly everyone was exhausted from being outside in the sun all day. Back in Touma's room, Ruiko, Mikoto, and Misaki all crashed on the bed while Touma closed the door behind them. His endurance was his best physical trait, not counting his right hand. Everyone started changing back into their casual clothes so Touma immediately dashed off into the bathroom to change. When he got out, everyone else was enjoying lying down on the beds.

"That was a lot of fun," Ruiko said. "Wish I could go to the beach every weekend."

"It would get boring if you did it too much though," Mikoto pointed out.

"Oh Saten-san," Misaki called out. "I saw you taking pictures, think you could send me a couple?"

"Sure thing Shokuhou-san," Ruiko replied smiling. "I already promised Jason to send him a picture of Uiharu. She doesn't know though." She gave Misaki a big wink and Misaki laughed.

"I want to send Touma a couple pictures," she said happily. "I am sure he missed me." Touma had to resist rolling his eyes. She was just trying to mess with them or most likely him. But he remembered Mikoto's confession last night and he got worried about how she would react.

"What makes you think he wants to see a picture of you?" Mikoto sniffed.

Misaki gave a quick glance at Touma, who was trying not to hear any of this and focused on the TV, then looked at Mikoto and smiled. "Why wouldn't he? I mean, any boy his age would love a photo of an attractive young girl."

"So what you are saying is any girl would be ok with him?" Mikoto said raising an eyebrow. "Maybe I should send him one along with yours."

Misaki glared slightly at her then pretended to smile. "Oh my Misaka-san, are you perhaps jealous? Do you like him?"

Mikoto turned red then looked at her. "It doesn't matter, he is still my friend. I don't know what you are playing at but I'm not going to let you toy with him. Who knows what you would do with your ability?"

"You seem to be misunderstanding something," Misaki said seriously. "I really do love him. That's also why I will never use my ability on him." Touma felt his ears turn red but still tried to ignore the conversation.

Mikoto's eyes widened at her response. She did not expect that. "If I did like him," she said hesitantly and turning bright red. "What would you do then?"

"Hmm," Misaki said pretending to think. "I would just have to make sure he sees me more favorably then you. Or we could both go out with him and fulfill every fantasy of his." She smirked at the last comment.

Mikoto's face turned crimson and Misaki laughed. Mikoto opened her mouth to response but nothing came out, she was too embarrassed. However, she was saved by Ruiko who said something unexpected. "I like him too," Ruiko declared. "I am going to try my best to get him to like me back."

Mikoto gasped at her friend's confession. "But you said…."

Ruiko looked down at the ground slightly ashamed. "Sorry Misaka-san," she said nervously. "I actually like him a lot. I just wanted to slow down a little since I didn't know him very well. But the more I got to know him the more I liked him." Touma was shocked and wanted to run away, He knew this wasn't something he should be hearing but if he fled now, it would be suspicious. He tried to tune out their argument.

"Oh my," Misaki said frowning slightly. "He seems to have several girls around him. I thought I just had Misaka-san to contend with." _I will have to investigate every girl around him now._

"What do you mean contend with?" Mikoto snapped.

"Oh Misaka-san," Misaki said giggling. "You are so pure, but it is so obvious."

"You…" Mikoto started to say when the door to their suite burst open and Kuroko barged in.

"Onee-sama," she said then stopped and looked around. "What's going on? Why does everyone look so serious?" All the girls turned and look at Kuroko but didn't say anything. The tension was still thick in the air.

To this day, Touma still did not know why he said this. It might have been the tension, embarrassment, a slight fever from the sun, the desire to get rid of the awkward moment, or maybe he just hung out with Jason too much. In the end, the reason didn't matter. All the mattered were the words he said without thinking them through. "They were talking about a boy they all like." The effect was immediate, all the girls turned to look at him in shock. They had forgotten he was there for a second, though there was a slightly amused look in Misaki's eyes. Kuroko was the most shocked and turned to Mikoto.

"Onee-sama," she cried and lunged at her. "Say it isn't true." Mikoto was still stunned and didn't react fast enough to knock her out and Kuroko tackled her to the ground. "I'm the only one who deserves to be with my onee-sama."

"Ahhh," Mikoto yelled. "Get off Kuroko. It's not what you think."

"Why would Kamiko-san lie to me?" Kuroko said through teary eyes. 'We are like sisters. She even promised not to chase after you."

"Huh," Mikoto said looking over at Touma. He didn't know what to say and just decided on shrugging.

"There shouldn't be a problem then Shirai-san," Misaki says kindly. "I will be the one to win in the end and Misaka-san will be all yours."

"Hey!" Mikoto and Ruiko said at the same time. "Don't just decide things on your own," Mikoto added.

Kuroko looked at everyone confused. "So even Saten-san likes this guy? So it has to be something you all know… IT CAN'T BE!" She suddenly shouted as realization hit her. "You can't be talking about that ape, that vile barbarian?" Touma felt a twitch of irritation at her.

"That's not very nice Shirai-san," Misaki says frowning. "He is a gentleman. Please don't try to make me angry."

"I told you before," Mikoto said finally kicking Kuroko off her. "You need to stop calling him that."

"Come on Shirai-san," Ruiko said. "He is really nice. At least try to be friends with him."

"Arg," Kuroko groaned grabbing her head. _Why does everyone like that ape?_ She teleported again and this time ended up in Touma's lap. "Kamiko-san," she cried. "They are all ganging up on me for that ape." She buried her head into Touma's chest. Touma looked around embarrassed and confused and saw Mikoto's slightly angry face, Ruiko's look of surprised, but Misaki was actually quite amused. After all, with Kuroko clinging tightly to Touma and complaining about the ape, it leads to only one word.

Irony….

* * *

A short way down the beach, standing on a small cliff overlooking the sea, stood a very attractive woman. She was tall with long black hair tied up in a ponytail that reached her hips. She had on a short white T-shirt tied into a knot at the bottom, revealing her stomach, and her jeans had one pant leg cut off to be very short. She held a two-meter-long nodachi blade in her hand. She stood right at the precipice of the cliff with nothing below her except the waves crashing against the rocks. Hey eyes were glued to the ocean, more specifically, to the location of the moon's reflection from her point of view.

She had to remain out of sight during the day because in the nearby hotel, students from Academy City were staying there for a field trip. She was there investigating an unusual occurrence that happened at this beach on a full moon. Tonight would be a full moon and so far she has seen nothing suspicious. Normally, there would be no reason for her to investigate personally, but there were two reasons why she did go. One, there was rumors the organization that infiltrated Academy City several times would be there and they were extremely dangerous. Several magical items were stolen because of them and they also manage to steal 23 grimoires from around the world. They were now a top class magical threat. The second reason was that Motoharu mentioned Touma Kamijou was in the nearby vicinity and may be able to help her. She wasn't sure how he would be able to help, but she believed if there was a way for him to, he would. But what confused her was the students at the hotel were all females. _So where in the world is Kamijou staying?_

Her eyes narrowed as she saw two boats approaching her location. She unsheathed her sword and jumped off the cliff falling toward the rocks below.

* * *

 **I hope I manage to troll someone at the beginning.**

 **So now Touma knows 4 girls who like him, three of which he is definitely going to see a lot. I don't know right now if Hanabi and Hibiki will be making more appearances after this arc. I feel a few people want them too and they might help with some issues later on. I will have to think on it. I have the main plot planned out with a few gaps I fill in as I come up with ideas.**

 **I see World War Four at some point with the girls. Touma finally can no longer 'pretend?' to be dense.**


	18. Kaori Kanzaki

**Judging by the comments we have two main groups of people. One group wants to see Touma survive and not get caught, the other group wants to laugh at him and have his disguise wear out at the worst possible time. Let's see which direction this heads. But man, some of you are mean. You want to see him die? He went there to relax.**

 **And, let us not forget Kuroko Shirai. Either way, it is hilarious for us if she doesn't know and if she finds out, even more entertainment for us.**

 **Thank you everyone for commenting and reviewing my story. I am glad so many people enjoy it and even new people are beginning to read this too.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

Back in the hotel room, tensions were running high. Kuroko was clinging tightly to Touma while Mikoto, Ruiko and Misaki watched her. Touma had no idea what he should do or say. He just found out a third girl liked him and he was sharing a room with all three of them. He also was a little uncomfortable with Kuroko sitting on his lap but he was too much of a gentleman to just shove her off onto the floor.

"Umm Shirai-san," he said. "Can you get off me?"

She looked up at him and he thought he saw her debate this question in her eyes, but she nodded and moved off of him to a spot on the bed next to him. "Sorry about that," she said. "But your lap was really comfortable." She turned back to Mikoto. "Onee-sama," she cried. "Is my love not enough for you?"

The sound of a hand hitting a face was heard as Mikoto face palmed loudly. "Kuroko," she said. "You are my friend but, once again, I am not into girls."

Kuroko puffed out her chest in response. "That is fine because I am a women, not a girl," Touma and Mikoto sighed but Misaki and Ruiko had put their hands to their mouths to stop from laughing out loud. Mikoto opened her mouth to say something but Kuroko teleported behind her and wrapped her arms around Mikoto. She grabbed her chest and said, "Onee-sama's chest is still the best." This did not go well for her as Mikoto snapped and unleashed a bolt of electricity. Kuroko fell to the ground with a thud, crispy and smoking.

"Why does she keep doing that?" Mikoto complained to no one in particular.

"I'll take her back to her room," Ruiko said. "I wanted to talk to Uiharu anyways." She gave a fleeting glance at Misaki before closing the door to Kuroko's room. Misaki and Mikoto went right back to glaring at each other. Touma was trying to think of away to get them to stop fighting but at the moment Misaki's phone started ringing. Without taking her eyes off of Mikoto, she picked up the phone and answered.

"Hello?" There was a short pause then, "Ok, I will be right there." She hung up and looked over at Touma. "Sorry," she said. "I have to take care of something real fast. I will be back in a little bit." Touma nodded in understanding and she left the room.

Mikoto sighed and fell back on the bed. "I can't stand her sometimes," she complained and looked at Touma. "I don't know why you like to hang out with her."

"She is really nice when you get to know her," Touma said. "But it does feel you two have some kind of rivalry going on."

"You could say that," Mikoto conceded. "But it's more of a personality thing. She is always so manipulative." Touma could understand that but merely shrugged. Mikoto got up and went to the bathroom and Touma let out a sigh of relief.

 _At least everything calmed down now._ He stood up stretched and went out into the balcony. He pulled out his cell phone to check his messages. He had hoped to find something from Accelerator on the status of the people who infiltrated Academy City but to his disappointment the only messages were from Motoharu. However, there were a couple of them and all were sent today. He skimmed the texts.

 _Touma, I know you might be busy enjoying the garden, but keep an eye out for Kanzaki, she might need your help._

 _There's a rumor that something happens on the beach during a full moon so keep an eye out for anything strange._

 _Watch out, the organization that infiltrated Academy City is rumored to be scouting the beach._

Touma frowned and was just about to text a reply for clarification when the door behind him opened. He quickly turned around while jamming his phone into his pocket. Mikoto had just walked out onto the balcony.

"Thought I would find you here," she said smiling. "I hope we didn't make you to uncomfortable tonight." Her voice indicated she was worried.

"Maybe a tiny bit," he replied, well he knew it was more than a tiny bit but he didn't want her to feel bad. "Shirai-san didn't help though."

"Well that was partially your fault," Mikoto said raising an eyebrow. "I didn't think you would say something like that after knowing her for a day." He laughed and she smiled. "You probably guessed it was the same guy I talked about last night." She said the last part with a slightly red face and Touma nodded trying not to look embarrassed. "Well anyways, he is…what is that?"

When Mikoto suddenly pointed, he turned and looked at the ocean. The sun had just set and left an orange and red tint in the horizon but the full moon was shining brightly high in the sky. However, he figured he knew what Mikoto was pointing at. Coming out of the ocean, a little offshore, was several blue strands of light which seemed to be originating from the same location. "It looks like blue lights. But why would they be there…?" He stopped and saw something he was more familiar with. A small pillar of grey smoke was drifting into the sky close to where the light was coming from. "There is smoke near it. Someone might be in trouble."

"I'm on it,' Mikoto said. "Stay here and get help." She emitted several electrical sparks and jumped off the balcony. She seemed to fly through the air to a balcony on the floor below and just kept jumping down effortlessly to each of the following floors. She must have magnetized her feet to land on each metal railing. She immediately bolted toward the source of the smoke when she was on solid ground.

Touma turned and ran through his room and out into the hotel. He didn't have any plans to get help from the supervisors. If Motoharu was right, this was probably something form the magic side. He wished Mikoto hadn't acted so rashly but it would have been hard to warn her. He bolted right past Misaki who looked confused but Touma was only able to utter a quick, "Emergency." He exited the hotel and ran out onto the beach. While he was running he pulled out his phone and called Motoharu. After two rings he picked up.

"Sup Kami-yan," he said. "You get my messages."

"Yes," he said. "And I think it is happening right now. Some lights are coming from the ocean and now there is smoke."

"Well Kanzaki is there," Motoharu said sounding like he was thinking. "Though that might pose a problem."

"What do you mean and thinking about it, how do you know where I am?"

"Who do you think helped Jason?" he asked but with the air of stating the obvious. And Touma kicked himself for not thinking of that. "Anyway, the reason is those cursed sin marks some of these guys have. You remember how Kanzaki has the Stigma marking to allow her to use some of God's power?"

"Yes."

"If what we saw back at the tournament is correct, you defeated one of the people with the sin mark and then the mark was transferred to you. Until more information is available, we have to assume all the marks work like that. There should be 6 more people with those marks. It most likely prevents the sin from disappearing from the world that way."

"So if Kanzaki beats one of them, she would have the mark and whatever power it has?"

"Exactly."

"That doesn't sound so bad. What's the problem?"

Motoharu sighed. "Well the seven deadly sins directly go against God and have historically been called Abominations unto God. So what do you think would happen to someone who has both the power of God and something that goes against God?"

"I don't know," he said truthfully but he knew it couldn't be good and he picked up his running pace.

"Well," Motoharu replied. "I don't either, but we believe it most likely would be one of two possibilities. One, the opposing forces would destroy her from the inside as they fought each other." Touma gulped. "The second option is worse. It could corrupt her yet allow her to continue to use the power of God. In this case, she would be considered a Demon God to the church and would need to be eliminated or there would be untold casualties."

"I can't let that happen," Touma said determined.

"I will count on you," he said then his voice got the old humor Touma was use to. "Let me know what happens, Kamiko-san." Motoharu hung up while Touma wanted to punch him. As he got closer to the light he saw two paths. One led him up a small cliff and the other to the water's edge. He wasn't sure which way to go until he heard several explosions coming from the cliff. He immediately ran in that direction.

* * *

Kaori landed effortlessly on the rocks below the cliff. The cool water washed over her feet but she ignored it, preferring to focus on the two boats getting closer to the shore. Her well trained eyes saw several people on both boats. There were 5 masked individuals and one unmasked individual on each boat. One of the two not wearing a mask was female with bright red hair. The other one was an older male with grey hair slicked back and a monocle. Both of them were focusing on a single spot where blue threads of light were emerging from the surface of the water. Something warned her that those two would not be easy to deal with. Not wasting any more time, she dashed gracefully across the surface of the ocean toward the nearest boat where the woman was. Her footsteps barely made any impact on the surface.

She was 50 feet away from the first boat when the women turned her head and looked directly at Kaori. When Kaori was spotted, the women broke into a wide smile. Several jets of flames erupted from her hands toward Kaori. She sidestepped the initial flames, feeling the intense heat on her skin, but when the flames hit the water, steam erupted all around her obscuring her vision and threatening to cook her alive. Thanks to all the strengthening magic she uses, it would take more than that to stop her. She swung her blade and a thin blade of blue energy left her sword in a straight line parting the steam and continuing forward, slicing the first boat in half. She heard several panic shouts but ignored them. There was still one more boat to take out, but before she could get closer to it, another jet of flame rushed toward her and she was forced to jump back ten feet to avoid it. Another cloud of steam was formed obstructing hew view again.

"Wow," a mocking female voice echoed through the steam. "Who would have thought, a legendary saint would be at this out of the way spot." Kaori said nothing and just watched as the red haired women strutted through the steam on the water. She was able to walk on water just as well as Kaori. The women's eyes were blood red and the smile on her face would send shivers down most people's spines. "He will be pleased if I destroy you here." Fire appeared and circled around her like a snake but did not leaving her side. "I would draw this out but I can't let my guard down around a saint. Suffer under the weight of your sins and learn you place before my wrath."

Kaori wasn't sure what the woman was going to do, so she held her blade out in front of her in a defensive position. She did not expect the intense pain that suddenly wracked her body and almost made her drop her sword, but her training to never let the sword go until she died, kept it in her hand. Her eyes blurred and she almost lost her concentration to continue to stand on the water. The pain did not stop, if anything it continued to grow. She felt as if every part of her body was being burned alive. She tried to focus on the women in front of her and she immediately jumped back another 10 feet to avoid another flame jet. The woman was laughing at her pain and she couldn't concentrate enough to fight and stand on the water simultaneously. She had to draw the women back to land. She might have a chance if she could focus purely on offense. The pain was getting worse and she used every bit of her concentration to ignore as much of it as possible. She turned and ran back to the shore as fast as she could, but kept her guard up in case the women tried to attack when her back was turned.

"I didn't realize saints were cowards," the women laughed mocking her again. Fire erupted behind her like wings and she flew a couple inches above the surface of the water after Kaori. When they got to the cliff, Kaori ran vertically up the cliff and disappeared over the top. The women flew over it and landed on the precipice as Kaori faced her about 30 feet away. "Finally you stand and fight like a warrior. I will enjoy roasting you alive. Though I am surprised you are still standing but judging from the look in your eyes, the curse is putting a toll on your body."

Kaori didn't want to admit it but the woman was right. The pain was increasing and she had a hard time concentrating and everything kept getting blurry if she let her guard down for even a moment. This was preventing her from using several of her abilities. Her best chance was to try to find an opening and strike with her speed. Even though she didn't show it, Kaori was worried. The woman standing in front of her was obviously a professional. There were no obvious openings while the fire circled around her. The women raised her hands and several fire orbs appeared in front of her then flew at Kaori. Using her speed, she was able to just avoid them, but her reaction speed was significantly delayed due to the pain. When the balls of fire hit the ground or nearby trees, they made ten foot diameter explosions. As the dust cleared Kaori was on one knee, she was barely standing from the pain and had several burn marks from the explosion. While her speed was still far above a normal human, she was unable to dodge all of the fire explosions the women created.

"Hahaha," the women burst out laughing. "I am sure to get praised for taking out a saint. I wonder what I will be known as after this. A god?" She raised her hands and the fire circling her grew larger and the Kaori felt the heat on her face increase. "Any last words?"

"I got some. You are going down b#%^$!"

The women looked around in surprise and just manage to wrap herself in fire before a bolt of electricity came out of the woods striking her. The fire flickered away after blocking the electricity but the women was unharmed. Standing in front of her was the girl she met before in the museum. The one who humiliated her, Mikoto Misaka, the friend of the Imagine Breaker, was standing before her. She could not believe her luck. She was going to get the opportunity to kill two of her enemies today. She burst out laughing. "I can't believe it. I get another chance to kill you for the disaster at the museum. This is going to be so much fun." The fire erupted around her and kept growing burning everything to ashes within ten feet of her.

"Same situation, same ending Wrath," Mikoto said. "I doubt your boss is going to save you twice."

Wrath grinned and raised her hand. "You are lucky I can't hit two people with my curse at once. The saint is far more of a threat then you are." Fire separated from her hand and formed orbs that started floating all around her. The orbs stretched out into the shape of burning spears then flew toward Mikoto.

Mikoto dodged several of them and released several large bolts of electricity to the entire area. The spears started to explode before they hit anything and the electricity kept flying towards Wrath. Fire erupted from the ground in front of Wrath creating a wall to block it. "You need to learn some new tricks," Mikoto called out. She held out her hand and the black iron sand started to form into the shape of a sword. "Hey, are you ok?" she asked Kaori then quickly shot several more bolts of electricity at Wrath to keep her on the defensive.

"I am thanks to you," Kaori said slowly standing. "I know you. You are friends of Touma Kamijou are you not?"

"I am, but how do you know?"

"I heard he should be around here," Kaori said panting slightly. "I need to use his hand so I can fight."

"He can't be around here," Mikoto said confused. "This is a female only area right now. No guys came with us." Now Kaori looked confused, Motoharu's information was rarely wrong, incomplete maybe, but rarely wrong. I thought crossed her mind as she processed the girl's words.

 _Tsuchimikado said something about Kamijou being different than usual. Could it be?_

"You annoying pest," Wrath yelled as the fire around her grew in size again and threatening to engulf the entire cliff. "I am going to kill you both right now." The fire turned into a tidal wave at the top of the cliff and then flew towards them.

Mikoto reached into her pocket for a coin to use the Railgun to split the fire wall. She mentally cursed herself when she realized she left the coins back in the hotel room. After changing, she forgot to move her change to her new clothes. The firewall was getting close and she had run out of ideas and even Kaori realized something was wrong. Mikoto couldn't leave without abandoning the women on the ground and she couldn't generate enough electricity to reliably block everything. The iron sand started wrapping around them forming a shield and she also strengthened it with electricity but it might not be enough. Mikoto closed her eyes and yelled the first name that appeared in her mind, "Touma, help!"

The sound of breaking glad echoed across the cliff and the wall of fire split in half as easily as pulling back a curtain. Standing in front of her, looking impressive against the full moon, was a youth who had punched the wall of fire. She stood tall between them and Wrath. "Sorry I'm late," she said. Mikoto couldn't believe it. In her eyes, it was not Touma but Touya who split the wall of fire with a single hand.

It seems like Wrath couldn't believe it either. "Who are you and how do you have his power?" Touma didn't explain and charged forward. Wrath tried to defend herself with another wall of fire but Touma split it apart again with a slight touch. He pulled his fist back, and punched Wrath in the face with every bit of strength he could muster. She flew back several feet and slipped on the edge of the cliff. She fell cursing loudly. Touma dived to grab her before she fell but he missed. He was going to look over the edge but a giant continuous fountain of fire erupted from below the cliff's edge and he pulled his head back just in time to avoid getting incinerated. "I WILL KILL YOU ALL!" Wrath screamed. The fire didn't seem to stop and was easily 30 feet taller than the cliff.

Touma ran back to Kaori and Mikoto. Mikoto was still stunned but Kaori was able to talk. "I see," she panted. "You were disguised. Quick, remove the curse so I can fight." Touma nodded and touched her in the chest, well slightly above her chest, and the sound of breaking glass was heard. He had been hit by the curse before and it was a testament to Kaori's power she was able to move, let alone fight. Kaori immediately stood up and walked forward. "Thank you Kamijou, now I am going to finish this." She walked forward to the giant fountain of flame. Wrath was emerging from it, or at least what remained of Wrath. While it was in the shape of a human, it was an entity of pure fire. The flames were deep crimson red while the fire around her was normal orange. Her eyes had become white but still radiated hatred. Her red hair was now just pure strands of flame whipping around her head. The former female Wrath, now made of fire, took a step onto the cliff and the earth itself started to melt after just making contact.

"I don't care who you are. You all will die," Wraths voice echoed all around them. Kaori just walked forward without any trace of fear on her face. Faster than the human eye can follow she swung her blade as an enormous blue light came out and directly hit Wrath in the chest knocking her flying back several hundred feet into the water. Steam erupted and completely obscured the ocean from their view.

"It's not over yet," Kaori said calmly. "She will be back up here in a moment."

"You can't defeat her," Touma said trying to warn her.

"I will defeat her," Kaori said stating a fact.

"That's not what I mean," Touma said quickly elaborating. "If you beat her the sin curse mark will transfer to you and will react with your Stigma and either killing or corrupting you." Kaori stopped.

"Then what do you propose?"

"I don't know." Then they heard a scream.

"This is not over, I will have my revenge!" A giant hand made of fire emerged from the steam and came right at them.

"Salvare000," Kaori called out and Touma knew things were getting serious. Kaori did not like using her magic name unless the situation called for it. Touma saw several flashes as a large number of wires reflected the light of the moon and the wires formed a dome around the cliff. The giant flame hand hit the barrier and exploded, but none of the flames went through the barrier. After the smoke cleared they saw Wrath fly towards them with wings of crimson fire. She made contact with the wire barrier and her hand started to dissolve it. Slowly, she made a big enough opening for her to slip though and land back on the cliff floating a few inches off the ground while the earth beneath here turned into a puddle.

"Rejoice," Wrath said. "Few have seen this form and even less have survived to tell the tale. It is an honor for trash to be destroyed by me."

"Like hell we will," Mikoto yelled standing up as several bolts of electricity surrounded her. She was finally getting over her shock at the turn of events and was prepared to fight to the end. An enormous lightning bolt came down from the sky and through the hole Wrath made in the barrier. Wrath yelled in surprise or pain as she was engulfed by the electricity. When the dust cleared Wrath was still standing but her humanoid shaped flame body was a little warped like she was having trouble maintaining it.

Kaori didn't waste a single moment. The wires surrounding them disappeared and she dashed at inhuman speed and slashed her blade at Wrath along with several of the wires. Touma watched as pieces of the fire body were cut off of Wrath and fell to the ground, leaving a scorched mark as they disappeared. However, Kaori seemed to avoid giving any fatal blows. Wrath's body was slowly reforming but Touma believed there was a limit to how fast or how much it could continue. Wrath glared at them all with utter loathing. "I will not die here without taking you all with me." She started to glow and the crimson fire turned even darker red, and getting closer to black. Kaori tried to get close and attack again but she immediately retreated over 50 feet in an instant. Several wires fell to the ground with their bases melted. Kaori looked surprised but did not say anything.

"Hahaha," she laughed mechanically. "The stronger my rage, the more powerful my flames are. My black flames have never been stopped. I don't care if I die. I will take all three of you with me."

"Wrath, we have what we came for," an elderly man's voice said. "We have been here to long and need to go. He will not be patient." Everyone turned to look at who the voice was coming from was. On the edge of the cliff stood the man Kaori had seen with grey hair that was slicked back. He wore a fancy suit with a dark green tie and a monocle on his left eye. He was probably around 50 or 60 but the feeling he gave off was not something that a normal elderly person would give. He was just as dangerous as Wrath was. Touma was getting worried. They were just pulling ahead of fighting one of these guys, now a second one appeared.

"Shut up Greed," Wrath roared at him as her flame body reformed. "These pests have angered me for the last time." She waved her arm at him and one of the dark red, almost black, flames whipped at Greed and passed through nothing but air. Greed had disappeared and reappeared on the other side of Wrath.

Greed sighed. "Wrath was always temperamental but adding the fact you are also the newest member of our group. If you continue to fight I will have no choice but to take you by force and you know how much I hate to do something for nothing. I could always tell him about you ignoring his orders. That way you regret it even more if you don't die here."

Touma realized Greed's words had a noticeable effect on Wrath. The dark flames started to get lighter and her outline was slowly becoming more defined. Eventually, she looked the way she did before becoming the flame creature. "Perhaps I was too hasty," Wrath admitted. "If we have what we came for there is no reason to stay."

"Excellent," the man said then turned to the rest of the group. Mikoto, Kaori, and Touma were all watching him closely. "We are going to take our leave, unless any of you want to try to stop us. But by the looks of it, I don't think you are." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small rune card and the ground below them started to glow white. Greed and Wrath slowly descended into the white circle and disappeared. On the horizon, there was a flash of white light and it seemed like to Touma, they teleported back to the boat. The blue lines on the ocean were gone and everything looked peaceful and serene once again. A gust of wind blew the last bit of the steam away and in the distance they saw the shape of a boat drive off in the distance, away from them, which confirmed Touma's theory.

"It seems they got what they came for," Kaori said sheathing her sword. 'This is not good, I need to report this." She turned to Kamijou. "I am not sure why you were here but you were quite useful." She bowed. "I thank you for saving my life. I am in your debt once again. But If I may be so bold to ask, what is with this disguise?"

"It is a long story," Touma said depressed looking at the ground. At least Kaori looked at things a lot more rationally then others. "I kind of got forced to look like this, but I didn't expect something like this was going to happen."

"Hmm," Kaori said. Touma looked at her face and he thought he saw a slight smirk on her lips and an amused gleam in her eyes. He couldn't believe it.

 _She was laughing at him._

"Anyway," she continued. 'Your friend was also quite helpful. Thanks to her I survived long enough for you to break the curse on me. Tsuchimikado did mention she knew a little bit about the magic world. Again, thank you both for your help."

Touma froze when she mentioned Mikoto, he had completely forgotten about her and the unusual circumstances that were now revealed to her. He turned around slowly and saw Mikoto slowly dusting herself off, her face was bright red but she didn't seem to be hurt. He walked cautiously over to her and asked, "Are you ok?" She didn't immediately answer but nodded slowly. Her eyes did not meet his and he started to grow worried. "Well that's good," he said nervously. He didn't know what else to say. She then slowly looked up into his eyes and he was unable to read her face.

"So," she said slowly. "This entire time, Touya Kamiko was actually Touma Kamijou?"

"Yes," Touma couldn't do anything else but tell her the truth.

"And Shokuhou knew this and invited you?"

"Yes," Touma said giving the only reply he could.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"No," Touma said. "I was forced to look like this, but I could have refused to come. I take full responsibility." He was aware of Kaori standing behind them as they talked.

"I see," Mikoto said and several sparks flickered around her. Touma noticed a lot of clouds seemed to be gathering above them. Her eyes were clouded over and she had a weird grin on her face with a vein throbbing on her head. "One last question," she said slowly and Touma gulped. "Do you remember everything that happened yesterday?"

Touma knew this was going to be the straw that broke the camel's back and he slowly nodded and said the word that would seal his fate. "Yes."

"Are you prepared to die?" Mikoto asked with the weird grin on her face then she suddenly yelled. "FORGET EVERYTHING YOU SAW AND HEARD YOU PERVERTED IDIOT! I HATE YOU! JUST SHUT UP AND DIE!"

"Such Misfortune…"

The largest lightning storm ever recorded in that part of the world happened that night. The lightning strikes rained down and turned a good portion of the beach and surrounding cliffs into a pile of charcoal. It was if the sky itself despised the earth and wanted it destroyed. There were no survivors.

* * *

 **I warned him back in chapter 15, if he complained about his misfortune he would be struck by lightning. I never said it would be natural lightning though. I think he is really dead this time. Now we might need a new main character.**

" **MISAKA volunteers MISAKA says as MISAKA jumps around indicating her desire to be the new main character."**

" **Heh," Accelerator shrugs. "I can live with that."**

" **I'm ok with this," Mikoto said. "As long as I still get some scenes."**

" **MISAKA promises to be the best main character MISAKA declares as MISAKA prepares for her next adventure."**

 **Next chapter finishes this arch and sets up the next one. I figured, by the comments, a lot of people enjoyed this arch. This chapter is a little shorter than the last couple but this one had such a great ending point I had to use it. I think the fight scenes are improving a lot the more I write.**


	19. Good Times

**I know a lot of people are going to be sad to see this arc end but just remember. All new adventures will begin. I do love reading all the comments people have left behind and to be honest, it's one of my favorite things to do. But, people seem to not be all too happy with Mikoto right now. Killing Touma and all does make some people not like you.**

 **Speaking of comments, I saw a lot of people who want Misaki to wear a nurse outfit. You all should know better. You have to wait till Touma gets hospitalized and she would visit him as a nurse. But of course Mikoto and Ruiko wouldn't let her do it unless they were dressed up too… Well, that is now being archived for future use. You all happy now?**

 **Anyways, back to the main story.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

Last Order was not very happy. She had thought she would get to spend the entire weekend with Accelerator. Friday night started off that way, until they met two strange people in the street, and then she lost some of her memory. Several minutes passed and it was only thanks to the Misaka network she even knew something happened. She had woken up to found Accelerator lying on the wet street telling her to reconnect him. After she connected him, he did something to completely surprise her. He came up and hugged her passionately. Last Order knew Accelerator acted tough but he was a good person deep down. He occasionally showed her obvious displays of affection, but they were few and far between.

Afterwards, he immediately dragged her back to Aiho's apartment and made her promise to stay here while he went out to find those two. She knew something big was going on and promised to stay put, but it was so boring sitting here all alone. What made matters worse was she didn't even have Worst to play video games against. Shortly after Accelerator left, Worst left too saying she had things to do while ignoring all of Last Order's protests. So now, she was all alone in an apartment, waiting for her guardians to get back. Aiho and Kikyou were both out drinking and she knew they wouldn't be back till late. Friday turned out to be a really boring day for her after she left school.

Saturday was not much better. Aiho was called away for Anti-Skill business. It seemed something happened late Friday night involving a Judgment member and a lot of cleanup still needed to get done. Kikyou disappeared shortly after waking up. She said it was for a job interview but Last Order was skeptical. Accelerator had also disappeared after waking up about two in the afternoon. He had returned late Friday and fell asleep immediately. He didn't even budge when Last Order crawled into his bed. Worst was still asleep, getting back later then even Accelerator, and now refused to get up. So with no one else around, Last Order was virtually alone and she was hungry. She now had to face her greatest challenge.

Cooking.

Last Order was never good at cooking but she was determined to succeed this time. Last time she tried, Accelerator told her "if you was going to cook something, make it fit for human consumption." She was going to practice and be more self sufficient. _Maybe he will praise MISAKA, MISAKA thinks to herself while MISAKA smiles widely._ She rummages through the refrigerator and pulls out all sorts of leftovers. If she remembered what she saw Aiho do before, she mixed several ingredients and stuck it into the oven. Last Order wanted to make a casserole and she knew she needed pasta, meat, and vegetables. Luckily the leftovers had all the ingredients, along with other stuff, so she mixed them all together in a big pan. She then put the pan in the oven and turned it on. She smiled and was incredible proud of herself. In hindsight, she probably should have used the Misaka network to make sure she was doing everything correctly, but she wanted to do this herself.

Afterwards, she went back to the living room to play video games while she waited for the food to cook. Little did she know, she forgot to set a timer. As a young kid, she was also very easily distracted. After a couple hours of playing a game, the apartment was soon filled with black smoke. Worst woke up and came dashing out of her room. She did not appear to be grateful to Last Order for making dinner.

* * *

"Then what happened?" Misaki asked. She was walking next to Touma along the beach back to the hotel. Touma was currently carrying Mikoto on his back and he was still smoking slightly. He had just finished giving Misaki an explanation on what happened at the beach. Misaki had just arrived at the beginning of the path that led up to the cliff when the lightning storm struck. It was pure luck she was just out of range or she could have been seriously hurt.

"Well," Touma said. "When the lightning came down I thought we were going to be in a lot of trouble. Though, I don't blame her for acting the way she did. I suppose she could have found it out in a worse way, but still. Most girls would have tried to kill me in an instance if they found this out. If I was anyone else besides me, and you found out Shokuhou-san, would you have acted any difference?"

"I suppose not," Misaki conceded. "I would have erased his memories of the event at the very least. I suppose your hand protected you, but what about your friend from the church, Kanzaki-san," _I am going to have to research information on her too now. She is older than him and he was always into those types._ "And how did you knock her out? Did she just use up all her power with that storm?"

"No," Touma said shaking his head. "Kanzaki-san is more than capable of protecting herself with magic, but you were right about my hand protecting me. Though, I could not block all of it and got a little shocked from the surrounding electricity. That's when something weird happened."

"Weird? Can you be more specific? A lot of stuff happens around you."

"I heard a voice in the back of my mind," Touma said frowning. "It told me to use the mark." He and Misaki looked at the Mark of Sloth on his arm. "I felt like I instinctively knew how to use it," Touma added. "I knew what to say and how to channel the magic. Even though, because of my hand, I never had any experience with using magic or abilities."

Misaki frowned too. "That doesn't sound safe."

Touma laughed nervously. "I agree completely, but at this point I was running out of options. Mikoto was temporarily out of her mind from shock and I was afraid Kanzaki might have hurt her to stop the lightning. I tried to talk to her and she might have calmed down but I didn't know how long it would take. I said, 'My curse sends you into the endless abyss,' and as I said before, I just instinctively knew those words, and the electricity stopped and Mikoto fell asleep."

Misaki eyes widened. "You were able to use the same sleep spell Sloth used on you?"

Touma nodded. "I panicked and realized I shouldn't have used it because I didn't know of all the possible side effects or how it was going to affect Mikoto. But it just swam to the front of my mind blocking everything else out. However, I also know now how to release her from the sleep so we might be able to pass this off as a dream."

"Hmm," Misaki said thoughtfully. "That would probably be the best. If she remembers everything, she might try to blame me too."

"I wonder why," Touma said rolling his eyes. Misaki looked at him out of the corner of her eyes and grudgingly smiled.

"But if she thinks it is a dream, we could all get off," Misaki continues as if she wasn't interrupted. "I can't modify her mind but I can make sure we sneak back into the hotel without problems."

"Thanks," Touma said. He didn't tell Misaki about the other effect of the sleep spell. If he focused, he could actually see Mikoto's dream and, if he wanted to, he could manipulate it to various degrees. He began to understand why Sloth made him have a dream he wouldn't want to wake up from. It would be easier to keep people under if they weren't trying to wake up from a nightmare. He deliberately tried to avoid looking at her dream, but he continued to see flashes of it when he got distracted. Mikoto seemed to be happy with a dream about her and all her friends, including him. He still wanted to protect that dream and make it into a reality, but he began to realize he had feelings for Mikoto that went beyond that. "I have to remember to thank Kanzaki-san next time I see here," he added as an afterthought. "She volunteered to use her magic to fix the landscape instead of leaving it burnt."

"Hmm," Misaki said halfheartedly. Touma missed it, but she was obviously jealous that he was talking about another girl. She barely put up with talking about Mikoto. Together then snuck back into the hotel. Well, sneaking was a strong word as they really just walked in to main door closest to the beach. They were seen by several hotel staff and a couple Tokiwadai girls but Misaki just pulled out a remote and they just stood still and let Touma and Misaki pass. Touma was glad to have Misaki's ability. It would be incredibly hard to explain why he was carrying an unconscious Mikoto into the hotel late at night. When they entered their room they found Ruiko and Kuroko both awake and waiting for their return.

"Where have you all been?" Ruiko asked immediately when the door opened and she gasped when she saw Touma carrying Mikoto.

"Onee-sama!" Kuroko cried and ran forward. "What happened to…" She suddenly stopped in mid sentence and just stood there in silence. Touma noticed Ruiko just stood there in silence too. Both of them had stars in their eyes.

"Whew," Misaki said holding her remote out in front of her. "That was close. Shirai-san could have woken up the entire hotel if we let her get carried away."

"Are they ok?" Touma asked as he set Mikoto down on the bed. He wasn't very use to seeing Misaki's power. He waved his hand in front of Ruiko's face.

"Oh yes," she said. "Just don't touch their head or they will wake up. I simply commanded them to stand still and ignore everything. Before we finish, I will modify their memories so they believe Misaka-san was never missing. Ah, that reminds me." She pointed her remote at Kuroko's room. "I'm not sure if they know Misaka-san was missing so better safe than sorry." Touma raised his eyebrow impressed at Misaki's planning ability and foresight. "Sigh, I need to change. My clothes have so much sand on them." She started to walk toward the bathroom before she stopped and turned. "Unless of course, you want to come in and wash up with me?" She winked boldly at Touma.

"No you go ahead," Touma said turning red and shaking his head frantically. Misaki giggled and went into the bathroom. He sighed and sat down on the bed next to Mikoto. After he saw Mikoto's reaction to finding out who he really was, he felt extremely guilty. He still did not blame her for her reaction. It was about what he expected. Instead, he was mad at himself for making her feel that way. He was about to stand back up when he felt a hand grab his shirt. For a wild moment, he thought Mikoto had woken up but when he looked at her she was still deep asleep.

"Touma, don't leave me behind," she muttered. He felt another ping of guilt as soon as he heard this from her. He knew now she had feelings for him and didn't want to intrude on her privacy in her dreams, but he focused on making the dream better for her. He saw a smile on her face and he felt a little better. Then he got up and grabbed his sleep ware as Misaki came out of the bathroom.

"Your turn," she said. "I suppose we have to get Misaka-san into her pajamas or it would look suspicious." She got a wide grin and looked at Touma. "I am going to need your help." Touma looked at her wide eyed but stopped when she laughed. "Just kidding, I can take care of this." Touma let out a sigh of relief. Misaki may be a good person but she liked to joke with him a lot like Jason did. At some point he should try to joke back at her to throw her off guard. He quickly went into the bathroom when he saw Misaki pull out Mikoto's pajamas.

He quickly cleaned himself from all the dirt and burnt clothes and changed. He cracked the bathroom door opened slightly and called out, "Is everything decent?"

"All done," Misaki replied. "It's a good thing her clothes weren't burnt, just dirty." He entered the room and saw Mikoto in her Gekota pajamas sleeping on the bed. Misaki looked down at Mikoto and shook her head while looking disappointed. "I still can't believe her choice in clothes. It's just like a little kid."

"I don't know," Touma shrugged. "It's kind of cute." This got him a sharp glare from Misaki but he wasn't sure why. He still didn't get girls.

"Well," she said a little snippily. "I suppose we should send Shirai-san and Saten-san back to their beds now." She pulled out a remote and twirled it but stopped. Then her eyes lit up and she walked towards Touma. "Of course, we can always mess around a little bit first if you want." She walked up and put her arms around Touma's neck and looked him in the eyes. "I hope you don't mind they are in the room, it is not like they see anything."

Touma just stared at her unable to think with her so close. "I, umm, we shouldn't?" Misaki smiled and leaned in before he could react and kissed him passionately on the lips. It was only a second but to both of them it felt like ages. She finally pulled back and their lips broke apart and she looked up at him in the eyes. She was blushing madly and Touma knew he probably looked the same. He now couldn't make any sounds with his mouth as his mind was no longer working properly. Misaki slowly let go of him and stepped back still blushing wildly.

"Sorry," she said. "If that made you uncomfortable. I really love you and, even if you do not feel the same way about me now, I will do everything I can to get you to feel the same way about me," Touma still had no words for her right now and Misaki took his silence as her answer. She used her remote and Kuroko went back to her room while Ruiko went to sleep back into her bed next to Mikoto. Misaki didn't say anything else and went to sleep on her side of the bed. Touma stood there for a few minutes trying to get his brain working. Eventually, he too went to bed but laid awake most of the night thinking. With the lack of his bedmate snuggling up to him, he wasn't the only one lying awake.

* * *

Mikoto woke up the next morning, to the sound of the alarm they set, and the sun was shining brightly through the balcony door. She was not a morning person but today was especially bad. Her head hurt and the sun just made it worse. For some reason last night was kind of blurry to her. _Maybe I am exhausted from yesterday. I did a lot more sports then usual thanks to Kamiko-san._ Her mind switched gears when she thought of Touya. _Why do I feel like I am forgetting something really important about her?_ She got up and stretched feeling that when she woke up completely she would remember. She looked around the apartment and it seemed like Touya and Misaki were already up. Touya had just exited the bathroom and Misaki just entered it. Mikoto sighed. _Now the bathroom is going to be filled up with hair products._ She discovered yesterday Misaki had a lot of hair care products she used and always left a mess behind her. Mikoto was hoping she would beat Misaki to the bathroom today. Touya just appeared to be an early riser.

"Did anything happen yesterday night?" Mikoto asked Ruiko. "I feel like I forgot something important."

Ruiko yawned and turn to her. "I think you and Kamiko-san were talking then went to bed early. I know Uiharu and I did. We were exhausted."

 _That sounds plausible,_ she thought. She glanced over at Touya who was packing away stuff in her bag and she immediately knew there was something else she was missing. It had something to do with Touma. She had admitted to Touya she liked Touma on Friday so that didn't happen yesterday. The more she thought about it something happened after her discussion with Touya. _It is possible Misaki did something to everyone else's memory if something did happen. But she shouldn't have been able to affect me. This could get complicated. Think Mikoto, think._ She caught Touya's eye for a second and Touya immediately looked away. _Ha, I knew something happened. I will find out what._

Mikoto was careful to observe Touya and Misaki throughout the morning. They didn't seem to be any different than usual, except Touya seemed to be avoiding Mikoto. Touya still answered her questions normally but Touya didn't purposely go out of her way to talk to her. Part of her was upset about this because she thought Touya was her friend, and now Touya stopped talking to her. She didn't want to interrogate Touya about yesterday but she still wanted to talk to her alone. If Misaki was there, she would definitely get in the way.

Back in the room everyone was packing up. They were going to leave in two hours and somehow it felt like all their stuff was spread out everywhere. "Ahh," Ruiko complained. "It was only a weekend. How did all of my stuff get all over the place?"

Mikoto laughed at Ruiko's reaction. "This happens every year. This is the reason nothing is planned this morning except packing. Most of us sleep late because of exhaustion from yesterday. And some of us," she looked at Misaki. "Bring way to much hair products."

"Oh my Misaka-san," Misaki said laughing slightly. "Some of us enjoy looking like proper young ladies. We can't all pull off the tomboy look as well as you."

"Oh really," Mikoto said forcing a smile but a vein throbbed on her forehead. "Are you jealous some of us can look good without a million products? Maybe if you ate fewer sweets and instead had something healthier to help you keep your skin clear."

Touma moved between them. "Come on you two. Let's not argue on the last day. I'll make you both play some more volleyball before we leave." He, Ruiko and Mikoto all laughed and even Misaki gave a grudging smile. Misaki then went to the bathroom to pack her supplies. Touma continued to pack what was left of his stuff, though most of it would get thrown away as soon as he got back to Academy City. He turned around and saw Mikoto had walked over to him and sat on his bed. "Hey Misaka-san," he said nervously. "Did you need something?"

Mikoto looked at him seriously. "Yes, what happened last night? I know something did but when I think back to it everything is fuzzy. I know you were involved." She knew she was right when the girl in front of her looked away. _She knows._

"I don't know what you mean," Touma said nervously. He didn't know how much she remembered.

"Quit lying to me," Mikoto said a little forcefully. "I thought we were friends?" Touma could see the pleading in her eyes and felt immensely guilty. He opened his mouth and decided she needed to know. He hoped he could explain it without it leading to more violence though he wouldn't blame her if she did.

"Misaka-san," Misaki said emerging room the bathroom. "You seem to be harassing my friend. That's not very nice."

Mikoto froze. She had the nagging feeling Misaki was involved in this too and she also knew Misaki would never tell her this information willingly. Mikoto took a step away from Touma. "I'm just talking to her. It's not harassing."

"I see," Misaki said her eyes narrowing. "Well then, Kamiko-san, I need to meet with a couple friends. Would you please accompany me?" Touma nodded and followed. However, Touma turned around and mouthed to Mikoto.

 _I'll explain everything later._

Mikoto nodded slightly glad her friend was willing to talk to her. She waited a minute then left the room and rushed to the beach. The last thing she clearly remembered last night was heading to the cliff near the hotel. She ran as fast as she could to the cliff and it only took a couple minutes. When she got to the top she looked around and thought it was strange. She heard last night a huge lighting storm passed through and struck this area several times, but nothing looked out of place, then she saw something white. She walked over to it and picked up a small piece of white cloth from a bush. It looked like a piece of a T-shirt. She suddenly remembered fighting Wrath along with a female holding a sword who was wearing a white shirt. _What is going on? When did I fall asleep? Who saved me?_ She remembered a wave of fire coming at her and someone saved her. She thought that was part of her dream last night but the more she thought about it, the more she was sure it was Touma. She pulled out her phone and called him but his phone was turned off and it went to voice mail. She cussed silently then called the only other number she knew that might be able to tell her where Touma was.

"Hey Misaka-san, what's up?"

"Kagere-san, do you know where Touma is? His phone is turned off and I need to talk to him."

"Ah," Jason said hesitantly. "He is currently indisposed outside the city."

Mikoto opened her mouth when she suddenly remembered. The person who saved her last night was Touya, but she used the same power Touma did. If Jason wasn't lying and Touma was out of the city, then it was possible they were the same person. "Did he go to the beach?"

There was a noticeable pause which confirmed her suspicion. "I can't discuss that right now," Jason replied. "We had to get him out of the city in disguise in order to make sure no one else from that organization found him. Accelerator actually ran into two of them Friday but no one was hurt. I didn't find that out till Saturday or I would have helped."

"No one was hurt?" she asked. "That doesn't sound like him."

"Well," Jason said. "They researched all of us and know our weaknesses. You need to be careful since you are around Touma a lot too."

"Thank you," Mikoto said then hung up. Once she heard the information from Jason, it triggered her memory and everything that happened last night came back to her. She walked back to the hotel thinking. Jason could use magic and knew about the Imagine Breaker so it is possible he was able to disguise Touma as Touya. Misaki obviously was willing to bring him along with her, but Mikoto knew by now Misaki would do anything for Touma. If he was indeed moved out of the city for his protection, the disguise would be needed. She was still upset about how he snuck into a beach full of girls but she also regretted the way she acted last night to him without at least giving him a chance to explain. She could have hurt him, along with the other girl. He had even told her he was forced but was still willing to take responsibility. She sighed. _He makes everything so complicated._ She remembered that Touya, well Touma, always ran into the bathroom when they were changing. _He was still a gentleman. Any other guy would have watched us. Ah, I have to apologize for last night and I think I will forgive him, this time. Next time he better tell me if something like this happens._

When she got back to the hotel, a lot of people were outside enjoying the last bit of sun before they headed back to Academy City. She saw all her friends out back and made a beeline towards them. When she got close she heard Ruiko and Kazari laughing at something Kuroko was doing. When she got closer, it seemed that Kuroko had jumped on Touma's back and was groping him while yelling at him to tell her where Mikoto was. She couldn't take it and burst out laughing. Kuroko, the person who hated Touma's guts, had developed feelings for him while he was disguised as a girl. This had to be one of the funniest things she ever saw. Any lasting bits of anger she felt toward Touma about deceiving her were gone as she headed toward this hilarious sight. She quickly got annoyed when Kuroko teleported on her and started groping her. It was only funny when she did it to Touma. A quick spark flared and Kuroko fell on the ground crispy and smoking.

"Hello," Mikoto said and looked around. "Where is Shokuhou-san?"

"She said she needed to talk with a couple of her friends," Touma said rubbing his neck where Kuroko had been clinging to him. "Where did you go?"

"I just had to make a phone call and decided to walk on the beach while doing it," Mikoto said.

"Oh," Ruiko said. "Was it to Touma?" Kazari and Touma both glanced at her and then back to Mikoto.

"Ah no," Mikoto said which was technically true. "I needed to ask Kagere-san a couple things." She shrugged. "He was pretty helpful."

"What did he help you with?" Kazari asked interested.

"Secret," Mikoto said laughing slightly. Kazari raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. Mikoto then turned to Touma, "I need to talk to you in private."

Touma looked at the ground for a second then resigned himself. "Sure," he said and followed a good distance away from the others to avoid being heard even if they shouted. He figured she remembered last night and he was prepared for it. At best he was hoping for just a shock, the worst, he was going to lose a friend. He swallowed and looked at her and got a surprise. She was leaning against a tree and looking at him straight in the eye and smirking slightly. "Eh, I suppose you remember then?"

"Yes."

Touma sighed. "I'm sorry…" he started to say but Mikoto put her hand to his mouth.

"I remembered what happened and I had Kagere-san verify some information for me. You got forced to look like this by him and then Shokuhou-san brought you here. He also mentioned it was to hide you from the organization that infiltrated the city Friday. Did I miss anything important and how did you put me to sleep?"

"Pretty much," Touma said then took a minute to explain about using the mark to her. "I know I shouldn't have used it but it sort of happened accidently."

"You can say that again," she said frowning. "Index said not to use it."

"She did… wait, you said they attacked Friday? I didn't know about that."

"I heard they met Accelerator but got away. They seemed to have researched all of us who are near you and know our weaknesses."

"Dang it," Touma said looking at the ocean. "I didn't want to drag everyone into my problems."

SMACK!

Touma recoiled as Mikoto slapped him across the face. "What was that for?!" he demanded.

"YOU IDIOT!" Mikoto yelled at him. "We are your friends. Do you think any of us would be happy if you get hurt or went missing? Do you know what I go through when you disappear and I find out you are stuck in the hospital? I have faced them twice and I will do it again in a minute if it meant helping you or any of my friends. Why don't you understand that I want to help you?"

"I do know," he said. "But if you get hurt…"

"I don't care," Mikoto said stomping her foot and her eyes started watering. "Do you think I would feel any better if you died and I might have had a chance to save you but didn't get the chance to try? I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

Touma opened his mouth but was speechless. He knew she didn't like him leaving her behind but he wanted to protect her. Then he saw the tears in her eyes and knew he made a big mistake. She cared about him and couldn't live with the thought of being unable to save a friend. It was one of the things he really liked about her. He realized, if he was in her place, he couldn't stand being protected and left behind if one of his friends was in danger. "You are right," he admitted. "I was being selfish."

Mikoto smiled at him. "I am glad you know now. If you ever need help let me know. I will do the same for you." Touma's heart started beating wildly when he saw her smile. Then she turned her back to him and looked at the ocean. "You remember everything Friday right?"

"Yes," he said nervously afraid of what was about to happen.

"T-t-that makes everything easier," she said stuttering quite a bit. "I really do l-lo…like you a lot." She then said something he couldn't quite make out.

"Sorry, I couldn't hear the last part," Touma said.

"I said," she started and turned around her face a brilliant crimson color. "Please go out with me next weekend!" She closed her eyes and yelled out the last bit.

"EH!" He was expecting a vast number of reactions but not for her to ask him out. _She is asking me out right? For an actual date? Not a punishment game or anything?_ He gaped at her for a minute. "Are you sure?"

"YOU IDIOT!" she yelled and it took all of her resolve not to shock him. "I finally get the courage to ask and that's your response? Do you not like me that much?"

"I do like you," Touma said and Mikoto's heart started to beat wildly. He smiled at her and was finally able to realize her true feelings. "Sure, how about this Saturday?"

Mikoto looked at him and her heart felt like it was going into overdrive. Her face stayed bright red and she looked up into Touma's eyes. She didn't say any hesitation or cowardice. She saw only him smiling down at her and resolution behind his eyes. This was completely and undisputedly the happiest moment of her life and nothing could ruin it, except for one person.

"Ah Misaka-san," a girl's voice said from behind them and they both turned around. Misaki was looking at them with a slightly angry glare. "I turn my back for one moment and you are trying to steal him away from me?"

"He's not yours," Mikoto said back gritting her teeth. "I can go out with him if I want."

"But you are lagging behind," Misaki said grinning. "We already kissed."

"I bet you forced it on him," Mikoto said turning red with anger. "He was probably shocked and just let you."

"Oh my, you can see everything," Misaki said stepping up right in front of Mikoto. Both girls were glaring daggers at each other. "Even so, I will not lose him to you." She turned and walked back to the hotel calling over her shoulder. "Kamijou-san, I hope you won't let her take advantage of you. I will definitely make you fall for me over her."

Mikoto watched her leave and finally sighed. "She makes me so mad sometimes." She thought it was weird Misaki left so easily but Mikoto realized Misaki was probably planning something bad for later. Then she turned to Touma who was deliberately looking away from her. His face was red too, he was obviously embarrassed. "Awe," she said teasing him. "Are you embarrassed to see two girls fight?"

"Well," he said. "A normal fight wouldn't be bad...but…" He trailed off not able to complete his sentence.

"Don't let it go to your head," she said smiling. Even after her argument with Misaki, she was still extremely happy Touma was going to go on a date with him. "Should we head back to everyone else now? I bet they wonder where we went, especially Kuroko."

"Can we keep this a secret from everyone else," Touma asked hesitantly. "Ruiko and Kazari MIGHT not hate me but Kuroko would try to kill me more than ever."

"Hmm," Mikoto said pretending to think. "I think they might have the right to know." She started to strut back to the hotel grinning. "Kuroko might be interested to find out who her new friend really is." She started to whistle innocently.

"Please Mikoto-sama," Touma called out in the most respectful way possible. When she turned around he prostrated himself on his hands and knees before her. "I don't want to die."

Mikoto looked surprised and then burst out laughing. She had to clutch her side from laughing too much. "You idiot," she said still smiling at him. "Stand up. I was never going to tell them as long as you don't do something like this again without telling me first." She walked back still laughing as Touma stood and ran to catch up with her. She wasn't going to let him get killed right after he finally accepted a date with her.

Seeing her smile like that made Touma think this entire trip may have been worth it. She was virtually glowing.

* * *

That same morning, in Academy City, another fight was going on. Well, fight might be too strong of a word, but there was definitely arguing. In the tallest building, some of the most influential individuals in the city were having a conference meeting. On one side of the room, twelve places were set up but only 7 had actual people filling them. The other 5 seats had a monitor each showing another individual. These were the Board of Directors, the ones who held absolute authority in Academy City, with only the Board Chairman above them. They rarely met as a group but they were facing a problem they still were unable to solve. Facing them was around 20 other people who looked like scientists in white coats or fancy suits. These individuals were some of the top researchers and developers in Academy City and they were summoned to find a solution to this problem. Out of everyone there, only one youth seemed to be calm to an almost mockingly degree.

"We understand your concern," the head scientists from one of the tables said. "But we still have no idea how this Kami was able to negate all these abilities."

"And why have you not been able to locate him?" one of the directors said.

"We have tried many times," the scientist replied nervously. "We cannot locate his AIM field. It is almost like he can hide it."

"You know that is impossible," the director replied. "He had one at the tournament and it is impossible to hide an AIM field completely. We made him a level 5 after seeing his capabilities but it will make us look like fools if we can't give more information about it."

"That is why I told you everyone acted hastily," the blonde haired youth said smirking. "You need to understand something before you just mark it a level 5."

"Ah Kagere-san," a female director said speaking up through her monitor. "We took your advice into account but anyone who can match up blow for blow with the rank 3 Railgun has to be a level 5."

"Well," Jason said shrugging. "We don't know his ability except we all assume it is negation, By the way I don't approve of assuming either. But what if it's something else that just resembles negation and actually is a pretty weak ability once you know what it does? Maybe he just has combat experience. I mean we can't find him or anything. I suppose we can always tell people he is outside the city for a specific experiment so we can ignore the media."

His smile was so prominent on his face a lot of the other people near him scooted away from him while others looked at him in disbelief. They all thought the same thing. _How could this kind talk to the Board of Directors this way?_ A few people didn't look too interested in his remarks, including 3 men and 2 women in the back. They were more interested in the Board's responses to the kid's comments.

"Well you refused to help find him didn't you?" the first director said irritated.

Jason shrugged. "And as I told you before, my job is not to go looking for someone just because the trackers were incompetent. My job was to help develop the ability curriculum and work part time helping Judgment and Anti-Skill in exchange for grant money to do stuff I wanted."

"Yet you continue to ignore many requests from us about what to develop for the curriculums," the female director said crossing her hands on the screen.

"Ah yes," Jason said leaning back in his chair. "You mean like making a level 6, the AIM burst, Duel Skills, and Ability Change? In two weeks I gave you 117 different ways to improve the curriculum in order to develop more and higher level abilities. You implemented only a handful of them but you already have seen a significant increase in level 1s and 2s. Yet you still complain?"

"Why don't you just work on helping us develop a new tree diagram?" the female asked. "You always told us it was filled with flaws even with it being one of the most sophisticated pieces of machinery in existence."

"Now you are just being silly," Jason said grinning. "Like one person could repair the Remnant."

"You dare mock us," a second male director said slamming his fist on the table. "We recently approved your application for new equipment but if you can't show us real progress in developing a high level ability user, then maybe we will stop giving you free reign. Then you would be forcefully assigned to the projects you detest so much."

"Progress?" Jason said waving his hand dismissively. "I could turn a level 0 or 1 to a level 3 to 4 long before you could."

The director turned red and opened his mouth in anger but was cut off by an elder male director with black hair with a streak of grey. "If I may interrupt," he said calmly and the other director shut his mouth immediately. "I think I can come up with a solution. Why not give him a couple weeks to find and develop a high level ability and see if he can? We know his ideas work in improving the curriculum even if we haven't implemented them all due to their complexity. If he can show real progress in making a level 0 into let's say a 3, then he obviously knows what he is doing. Would that be agreeable to all?"

"That sounds acceptable," the other director said and several other members nodded with him. "But if he fails, then he is getting moved to a project of my choice."

Jason narrowed his eyes at them. He did not expect them to call him out on his claims. Trying to find a subject and improving them on an individual basis would cut into his valuable time and there is always a small chance it won't work in time. He sighed. "Fine," he said a little irritated. "Then when I show you how skilled I am, he can't question my methods again." The other male director glared at him.

"Very good," the elder director said. "We will discuss options later about Kami, but I think Kagere-san's idea was the best. If this Kami is outside the city then we won't have to worry about people snooping around." Other nodded in agreement. "Meeting adjourned then. Kagere-san, follow me I have something to discuss with you about your attitude today." Jason nodded frowning and the other director smirked.

Jason followed the elder director out a different door then everyone else and they walked down the hallway in silence. They entered an elevator and went down several floors, still not talking to each other. It wasn't until they reached a very large and decorated office, did the director turn to Jason and said. "One second." He fiddled with the watch on his arm and held it out in front of him while Jason smirked. He knew this director long enough to know his watch was a sensitive piece of equipment that could detect any sort of electronic spy equipment. After a minute he said, "Everything is clean." They both looked at each other then burst into laughter.

"I thought that geezer was going to have a heart attack," Jason said laughing. "His blood pressure must have risen considerably."

"He needs to exercise more," the elder director replied. His name was Osamu Miyagawa, the longest serving director on the board at this time. He has known Jason for many years. While they were talking, he pulled out a marble chess set and set it between them. "Well anyway, you shouldn't have antagonized him that much."

"You said he was going to try to crew me out today anyways," Jason said sitting down in a chair. "After the last few days, it was to be expected. But the plan went well, not as good as I would have liked, but definitely better then it could have been." He made the opening move and the game took off.

"Now you have to find a level 0 who you can raise to level 3," Osamu said as he made a move. "Though, it shouldn't be hard to find a willing participant. Hmm, interesting move." He muttered and started concentrating more on the game.

"Yea," Jason said. "Luckily it was just a single person. He could have tried to make a group. My time is already limited with my research, experiments, Judgment/Anti-skill, and enjoying high school."

"How much specifically do you have going on?"

"Going to start spending more time on researching a most interesting ability," Jason said offhandedly as he watched the board. "And my main experiment is going well, even with the interruption of that weird organization that keeps sneaking into the city."

"How far are you in the experiment?"

"Just hit 43% in phase 1, I could move to phase 2 at anytime now but I would prefer to get to 57% or 71% for best results. Hitting 100% right now is improbable and the effort is not worth the slight increase in success."

"Sounds challenging," Osamu remarked moving his knight.

"And last Friday as part of my peacekeeping duties I go and meet a small group led by a powerful psycho. I chased them away but I could have died if the fight continued."

"I heard about that," he said looking up for a moment. "But I am more interested in the experiment of yours."

"Well right now," Jason said. "It's tough to not let people know what you are doing but at the same time guiding them. Hopefully, another piece will meet soon."

"You are such a devious kid," Osamu remarked leaning back in his chair. "The old you would have just plowed through with anything that interested you and taken the main lead. Now you just hang out backstage."

"You know why," Jason said as his face darkened.

"Yea," he said frowning. "I do. It shouldn't have happened. Is that why you allowed yourself to join Judgment?" Jason nodded but didn't say anything. He just moved his bishop to take Osamu's knight. "You know, if you worked with the other groups more, you could have a lot more help and influence."

"I've seen the so called experiment's they tried and failed at," Jason said his face still dark. "If you are going to do something like that, you at least make sure you have every variable accounted for. But I won't lower myself to that level. I have my own goals and method to achieve them. I will not do the crap those old farts will do."

"Why don't you help recreate the Remnant then?" Osamu asked. "They currently are unable to solve a couple problems which I am sure you would be able to fix. Oh, check."

"What if I told you I already fixed it and made myself my own tree diagram to use it to further my plan of world domination?" He made a move.

"I would castrate you with a rusty pair of scissors," Osamu said in a matter of fact voice not missing a beat. He made a move.

"Good thing I have no plans for world domination," Jason said quickly and laughed. "Checkmate." He got up and left the room with Osamu looking in shock at the board. "You should always make sure when you move forward, that your opponent isn't sneaking around your side."

* * *

 **That Vacation Arc is officially done and the next arc is now being set up. Be prepared to see more Accelerator, new characters, and Touma stuck in the middle of World War Girls. Also, we will begin to learn more about Touma's right hand, though that may not be a good thing. How many different plots are going on in Academy City at once? Maybe Crowley might be planning something too? Who are we kidding, he is always planning something.**

 **Ruiko hasn't had a lot of Touma time. Hope she gets to do something later but she is up against Mikoto and Misaki now.**

 **Next chapter starts a new arc and new adventures.**


	20. Psychopath

**It is the start of a brand new arc. I don't have a lot to say right now except thanks for reading this far. I see a lot of people review who have been with me from the beginning. It is good to see the story still interests you. Several new characters are going to be introduced this arc.**

 **Over 250 reviews wow.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

The ride back to Academy City was anything but comfortable. Touma and Misaki were going to travel together since everyone knew they were friends. However, Mikoto refused to leave him alone with Misaki now that she knew who he was. This led everyone to board the same bus. Kuroko was fine with it as she got to hang out with her new friend and Mikoto. Kazari and Ruiko knew something was up, but didn't know exactly what and followed. Touma was stuck in the middle of the back seat with Misaki on one side and Mikoto on the other with Kuroko next to Mikoto. Kazari and Ruiko decided to take the seat in front of them to avoid the weird feeling in the air. Touma was at least relieved Mikoto and Misaki were not clinging to him, but they were glaring at each other occasionally. There was still a lot of tension between them, but they seemed to be deliberately avoiding each other's eyes as much as possible.

"Hey Kamiko-san," Ruiko said. "Want to do something with us when we get back to the city? It should be awhile before curfew."

"Ah," Touma said thinking fast. "I can't. I promised to meet some of my friends when we get back."

"That's a shame," Ruiko said leaning back in her seat. "Kuroko sure has taken in interest in you." She grinned back at him.

"That's because we are like sisters," Kuroko said proudly. "We have a lot of similar interests."

"Like being into girls," Mikoto sighed but she smiled all the same. _Kuroko still has no idea. This is so funny._

"Don't be that way," said Kuroko snuggling next to Mikoto. "You will always be the only one for me, be it boy or girl." Mikoto sighed again but avoided the urge to shock her on the bus full of people.

"So Kamiko-san," Kazari asked. "What school do you go to?"

"A Certain High School," Touma said without thinking and immediately realized his mistake. Misaki and Mikoto both glanced at him in warning. It would be a lot harder to hide the fact that Touya Kamiko doesn't actually exist.

"Hmm," Kuroko said thinking. "Isn't that were the ape goes to school?"

"Ape?" Touma asked pretending ignorance.

"Ah ignore her," Ruiko said cutting off Kuroko before she could start ranting. "She's referring to Touma Kamijou, you heard us talking about him last night." She turned slightly red while Kazari looked at them all interestedly. She had missed out the shenanigans last night.

"Oh yea," Touma said his ears turning red.

"You should meet him sometimes," said Misaki grinning. "He is a really great guy." Touma and Mikoto both looked at her and raised an eyebrow. She smiled back innocently.

"Don't go near him," Kuroko said loudly. "He will just corrupt you."

"I haven't heard of him," lied Touma. "I'm only started this year and don't know everyone in the school."

"That's good," Kuroko breathed a sigh of relief. Misaki and Mikoto were trying not to laugh at her. Kazari and Ruiko started talking while everyone in the back seat except for Kuroko fell asleep. Yesterday was a long day for most of them. Kuroko was just happy she could snuggle up to Mikoto without being shocked.

* * *

When they got back to Tokiwadai, everyone started to retrieve their bags, and scatter. Some of them went back to their dorms while other groups went out to enjoy the afternoon. Touma thought about where to go. He needed to contact Jason on how to change back but he couldn't go to his dorm to get clothes once he changed back. Because if people saw him, well they would see a girl entering Touma's apartment, it would lead to a lot of awkward questions. He did leave a pair of clothes at Jason's apartment so if he headed there, he might get lucky and find Jason there to punch him in the face.

"It was nice meeting you all," Touma said. "I have to get going." Kazari and Ruiko waved goodbye to him but Kuroko ran up and hugged him.

"I am going to miss you," Kuroko said. "Make sure you come visit us in the dorms."

"I'll try," Touma said sheepishly. Mikoto and Misaki were watching them while grinning.

"I'll accompany you," Misaki volunteered. He looked at her and she winked.

 _She knows where I am going,_ Touma thought. He and Misaki walked off toward Jason's apartment. He was glad Misaki wasn't clinging to him but she seemed to be happy walking with him. _What do I do, both Misaki and Mikoto like me and they are both my friends. I think I may have feelings for both of them, this is really awkward._

"Onee-sama!" Kuroko yelled back in the school lunging toward Mikoto. "Let's go back to the dorm and have some private time." Mikoto responded to Kuroko's love with a swift kick sending her flying.

"You can't Shirai-san," Kazari said. "We have to go back and report to Judgment now that we are back in the city and fill out the paperwork."

Kuroko groaned. "Judgment keeps interfering with my alone time with onee-sama. I think maybe HE might actually have a point about to much paperwork." She was referring to Jason but refused to say his name. Kazari sighed and started to drag Kuroko back to their Judgment office.

"Guess I'll be going too," Ruiko said beaming to Mikoto. "Thanks again for the invitation. It was a lot of fun."

"I had fun too," Mikoto said and waved good bye to her friend. When Ruiko was out of sight she ran off after Touma and Misaki. She knew the Dorm Supervisor would not be pleased with her for leaving her items on the bus, but they would get delivered to her room since her stuff was labeled. Mikoto shivered slightly at the thought of the Dorm Supervisor's displeasure, but she had to go after Touma before Misaki got him alone. They weren't heading toward Touma's dorm so they must be heading toward Jason's apartment. It made since because Jason was the one most likely to have cast the magic. She saw a flash of familiar blonde hair and headed in that direction.

Misaki and Touma were waiting at a crosswalk when they heard a girl call out to them. They turned and saw Mikoto walking towards them. Touma was surprised but Misaki narrowed her eyes. "Hello, Misaka-san," she said stiffly. "Why are you here?"

"I came to accompany Touma to make sure you don't try anything funny," Mikoto said smiling insincerely at her.

"Like I would try something with him," Misaki said pouting. "Anything that happens will be entirely consensual, if you know what I mean."

Mikoto's face grew red and Misaki laughed. "That is exactly why I can't leave him with you," Mikoto growled.

"Awe," Misaki said putting her hand to her cheek. "You are cute when you blush. I see that's how you trick him. You pretend to be tough on the outside and all shy and embarrassed on the inside."

"Shut up," Mikoto said. "You don't know what you are talking about."

"Isn't that right Kamijou…?" Misaki started to say and trailed off. Touma had disappeared and both of them turned to look for him. When they finally spotted him they rushed after him. "Kamijou-san," Misaki called out. "Why did you leave us?"

"It's been a long day," Touma sighed. "If you two want to argue, I am going to find Jason and get changed back."

"We won't argue anymore," Mikoto said and turned to Misaki while faking a smile. "Right Shokuhou-san?"

"Of course Misaka-san," Misaki said faking a smile just like Mikoto.

Touma sighed again and continued walking. He was getting use to them arguing, but it was still tiring. _Are all level 5s this way? Mikoto and Accelerator tend to argue a lot too._ Eventually they got to Jason's apartment and they went in, but found no one here. Touma pulled out his phone and realized he should have called Jason first to make sure he was here. After a couple rings, Jason picked up.

"Hey Touma," Jason said cheerfully. "You finally back in the city?"

"Yes," Touma said. "I am at your apartment. When are you going to change me back?" Misaki and Mikoto leaned forward to listen to the conversation.

There was a pause. "About that," Jason said hesitantly. 'There may be a slight problem?"

"What kind of problem?" Touma said trying to stay calm while looking at the panicked faces of Mikoto and Misaki.

"Well," Jason said. "Try not to get mad, but I had to do some modifications to the spell to bypass your hand and it make have some unintended side effects."

"Like?" Touma was getting irritated at Jason's lack of explanation.

"Umm, it might be permanent?"

That is when shit hit the fan. All three of their mouths dropped open and they simultaneously yelled out, "WHAT!" There was silence then they heard a soft laughing.

"You!" Touma growled. "If that was a joke I am going to murder you."

"I figured you were going to anyways," Jason said cheerfully. "I wanted to give you a good reason to and it sounds like there are other people with you. I figured Shokuhou-san is there, but I thought I heard Misaka-san too. Anyway, you can remove it since you are in my apartment. In my bedroom there is a box on the ground near the lamp. It contains an urn. DO NOT TOUCH IT WITH YOUR RIGHT HAND! I can't emphasize this enough. If you touch any part of the urn, it will shatter. It is on loan and worth around 10 million yen. All you need to do is remove the lid and take out the shirt in there."

Mikoto ran into the room and pulled out the urn and brought it back into the main room. She removed the lid and reached in it to remove a white shirt that belonged to Touma. Immediately Touma's body started glowing in a soft yellow light, except for his hand. After a couple seconds he felt himself growing taller. Suddenly there was the sound of clothes ripping and Touma remembered something. _I am still wearing girl clothes._ "Crap," he said as his shirt and pants split. Both Misaki and Mikoto were watching him because of him glowing and both turned bright red when his clothes were torn. Mikoto immediately covered her eyes but still peaked through her fingers, Misaki just stared wide-eyed at him. Touma was mortified, but quickly ran into the bedroom and slammed the door behind him.

"That was great," Misaki said grinning her face still bright red. She turned to Mikoto who was also red and had a glazed look over her eyes. Misaki wouldn't have been surprised if smoke came out of Mikoto's ears. "Wow Misaka-san," she said. "It's almost like you have never seen a male before."

"S-shut up," Mikoto stuttered and grew irritated at the sight of Misaki's grinning. She had gotten a very good look at Touma's chest and, when he ran into the room, his ripped pants gave her a very nice sight. What made it more interesting was it was all girl clothes. _Did he go through this over the weekend?_ After a few minutes Touma came back into the room still talking on the phone to Jason.

"I still have to check up on Index," he said then silence. "What do you mean Index is with you? Put her on." Misaki and Mikoto stood up, still slightly red, and moved near Touma to listen.

"Yay Touma," Index's voice rang out. "You are finally back. You should join us for dinner at this new restaurant. I was angry at you for leaving me alone but Jason explained everything to me. He kept me from starving to death while you were hiding."

 _Hiding? What all did he tell her? "_ Sure Index," he said. "Can you put Jason back on?"

After a brief pause, "Yea?"

"Thanks for taking care of her."

"Wasn't a problem," Jason said dismissively. "She teaches me a lot about magic. I wish I had a chance to learn more but my knowledge and time is limited. Oh and Index found a friend so expect more company."

"Who?" Touma asked but Jason didn't elaborate and only gave him the address of the family restaurant. He turned to Misaki and Mikoto who both looked at him then glared at each other.

"I am coming too," they said simultaneously. Touma sighed knowing there was only going to be problems.

* * *

In another location in Academy City, four girls were sitting in a corner table sipping drinks. All four of these girls were very attractive and looked to be in middle school and high school. The strange thing is these girls emitted an aura around them that warned passerby's they were not to be messed with. Even the delinquents in the nearby areas left them alone where ever they went. This is why they could sit in the corner of a restaurant for hours and talk without being interrupted.

The first girl was a young blonde girl with blue eyes named Frenda Seivelun. She was wearing a black sailor top and a dark red pleated skirt. She has a dark-colored beret on top of her head. She also wore a pair of pumps and dark-colored pantyhose. She was busy trying to open a can of some kind of food and was ignoring everyone else around her.

The next girl was named Saiai Kinuhata. She was a young girl with short brown hair. She was wearing a fluffy knit dress, a sweater dress to be precise. What was unusual was it was long enough she didn't have to wear pants, the only thing she wore on her legs was long striped socks that reached almost to her knees. That meant her thighs were clearly exposed.

The next girl looked to be in high school and her name was Rikou Takitsubo. She had shoulder length evenly cut black hair. She was wearing her usual choice of a pink track suit. She wore it because she chooses her clothes based on functionality instead of appearance. She appeared to have a permanent look of being tired.

The last girl was also a high school girl and appeared to be the one in charge. Her name was Shizuri Mugino. She is tall and has a slender figure with soft tea color hair. She was easily the most attractive and well endowed of the group. Many people would consider her a model. She was currently wearing a bright yellow long sleeve dress. Those that knew her have learned quickly not to judge her by her appearance. She was someone who had a drive for victory that bordered on pure obsession. She has killed a number of people in order to achieve her objective for her group, only known as ITEM. Few could match her power as she was the 4th rank level 5, also known as Meltdowner.

As electrons have the properties of both particles and waves, Shizuri's ability allows her to forcibly control electrons in the "ambiguous" state of an electron where it is both particle and wave, and when they strike other objects the electrons are unable to react either as particle or a wave because of their state. Normally, electrons had a mass that was close to zero, but because they are stuck or "stopped" at this state they take the form of a seemingly solid object, which has become a pseudo-"wall" due to the "stopped" state, and then creating a highly destructive beam of high-speed electrons that pierces through a target at the same velocity that it was fired. Her ability could piece through metal and other obstacles like it wasn't even there.

All four of these girls were part of the organization called ITEM. Their primary purpose was to monitor the upper echelons of the Academy City, including the Board of Directors and prevent them from gaining too much power and abusing their positions. ITEM was not above eliminating groups who threaten Academy City and they do the jobs that have to be done, no matter how unpleasant it may be. Officially ITEM does not exist, just like the other Dark Side of Academy City factions. They had just recently finished a mission but it left an unpleasant taste in their mouths because they were interrupted by a Judgment member who almost foiled their mission. They had to retrieve sensitive information about a director left on a computer in District 17.

"Basically," Frenda said to the table as she finally managed to open her can of food. "We should have chased him down and killed him. He knows too much and almost took the information before we got there."

"I agree," Saiai replied looking at her. "But could it you just be super mad he took you down first before you could do anything?" She smirked at Frenda.

"That's not what happened," Frenda said slamming her hands on the table to indicate her frustration. "Basically, he was an unknown individual we had no data on…."

"Enough you two," Shizuri said leaning back in her seat sipping her drink. "Your arguing is annoying." Both of them immediately closed their mouths and left her to her thoughts. She may have silently agreed with both of them to a point, but there was no point in dwelling on it now. When they arrived at the location to destroy the computer they had found a male Judgment member downloading the information. Shizuri had shot her Meltdowner ability at him but he must have known they were coming. Shortly before the blast hit him and the computer, dark vines had emerged from him and lifted him up to the railing above. In his hand was a small flash drive that probably contained the information. A fight ensued and Shizuri was still pissed she underestimated her opponent. He used some kind of darkness ability. It could not stop her ability, though but it made targeting him a pain in the ass. The male was obviously combat trained. During the fight, his darkness, or as he called it, his shadow, slipped behind Shizuri and tied up the other three girls before they could spread out to surround him.

What really pissed her off, more than having her teammates captured, was during the fight, the male pulled out a cell phone and started chatting with someone who might have been his girlfriend based on a few words she manage to hear. She thought he wasn't taking this seriously. She had fire off several powerful beams at once and managed to destroy the flash drive but the male escaped as soon as his objective was gone. He didn't seem to care too much about it though. Before he disappeared, she remembered his final words.

"Wow, you are just like the rumors said. Hope you have some fun once in awhile." This just served to increase her irritation even further.

"The reason it didn't matter was that it would be a waste of time chasing him," Shizuri said to the group. "Takitsubo has memorized his signature and we will find him when we need to. Right now, he is not part of the mission and there is no point in causing unnecessary trouble right now. As much as I would enjoy killing him too, the heighten security from those recent intruders makes it a pain to operate. I was told our missions will be on hold till the heat dies down. For now, we just stick to being normal." Well she didn't mind killing and sometimes, reveled in the thrill, but she was also a very good strategist. However, she was relentless when it came to victory and hated to be made fun of or defeated. The male escaped her clutches and she would definitely find and kill him, but right now, there would be a time and place to do it. She tended to calm down and think rationally after fights but during fights, she will stop at nothing to complete her objective. She turned to Rikou. "Since he was brought up, where is that guy located now?"

Rikou nodded and stared off into space. Her ability was called AIM stalker. This ability allows her to record any AIM field she has seen and be able to track it no matter where it is. She could accurately gauge the distance and direction of the target if she focused. After a minute her eyes widened slightly and she turned to look at the group. "He is right outside this building…" she said in a very lethargic voice.

"Huh," Frenda and Saiai said and turned to look out the window. Shizuri narrowed her eyes and followed their stare. The restaurant was not very crowded so they had an uninterrupted view to the window. Outside there was two guys who appeared to be talking along with two young girls near them. One of them had blonde hair and the other one had spiky black hair. The two girls were the ones who were unusual. One was some kind of church nun dressed in white with silver hair. The other girl had short brown hair that reminded Shizuri of another level 5 she detested. The guy they fought had black hair but it was not spiky.

"Which one is he?" Shizuri asked.

"The blonde one…"

"Basically, now's our chance," Frenda said. "We could launch a surprise attack like he did and take him out."

"I super like that idea," Saiai said. "Frenda go ahead and go first. I'll watch and help you if you need it." Frenda glared at her and opened her mouth but Shizuri spoke up before she could.

"What the f%#$?" she said surprised but focused on the new event. She expected the male was in disguise and she did not doubt for a second about the accuracy of Rikou's ability. What surprised her was the next person who just joined them. A white haired albino, who was leaning on a cane, walked up to the other two guys and the brown haired girl immediately ran up to him. Accelerator, the first rank level 5, had joined those two and was talking to them like they were friends. "That's Accelerator. Why is he with them?"

All three girls were watching this scene with shock or interest. This changed a lot of things for them. Attacking a friend of Accelerator was not the smartest move. They heard he was weakened awhile back, but he still held his rank of number one to show how strong he really was. Frenda had been interested in a tournament that was held last week and Accelerator had been a part of it. Shizuri had not seen the entire tournament, she had more important stuff to do, but she did catch a couple fights. Accelerator had shown that even when he held back, no one could stand before him. The onetime Shizuri had tried to fight him, she couldn't even touch him. The defeat still burned her pride, but even she could tell the difference in power.

"Why would the number one hang out with some commoners?" Saiai muttered. "Both of those guys look super plain."

"I don't know," Shizuri said thoughtfully stirring her drink. "The blonde haired guy is part of Judgment but who is the black haired guy. He looks familiar."

"Ah," Frenda said. "Basically, he looks like the Kami guy from the tournament." Everyone turned to look at her in surprise. "You know, the guy who they said was the next level 5."

"There is no way…" Saiai started to say then stopped. A blonde long haired girl had snuck up behind the group and grabbed onto the spiky hair kid's arm. She seemed really please with herself while the guy looked surprised. Another girl quickly showed up and tried to separate the blonde girl and the spiky hair guy. This new girl had brown short hair and seemed to crackle with electricity. When Shizuri saw this new girl she crushed her glass in her hand. Luckily it was empty but the glass pieces still fell on the table. "Wow, that is super definitely the Railgun and, Mental Out? Both the third and fifth know them?"

"Well this changes things," Shizuri said crossing her fingers and a slight trickle of blood went down her hand but she didn't notice it or just didn't care. "We are going to put the Judgment member on hold for now. Instead, we are going to investigate the spiky haired kid to see if he is really that Kami guy."

"But Mugino," Frenda whined. "Let's kill the other guy first…"

"Shut up Frenda," Shizuri growled. "We can track him down anytime. Rikou, memorize his AIM field, we will pay him a visit when the others leave." Rikou looked at her and nodded. She had watched with a little interest in the sight before her, but the others were far more interested in the guys then she was. Once Shizuri gave her an order though, she immediately complied.

"That's weird…" Rikou said her eyes widening slightly.

"What," Shizuri growled as she thought Rikou was going to try defy her orders.

"He does not have an AIM field…"

"What the f%^$," Shizuri said and this time she was actually shocked.

* * *

Touma had rushed to the address Jason had given him. Along the way he lost Mikoto and Misaki but they were surely right behind him. They started arguing again and Touma decided it was best not to step in between them. He also wanted to find Jason and give him a good punch in the face for what he did, but a part of him also wanted to thank Jason. He figured he would sort everything out when he got there. When he got to the restaurant, Jason was outside leaning again a lamppost with Index talking, to his surprise, to Last Order. Now he knew who the company was probably going to be.

"You couldn't have chosen a place closer," Touma said gasping as he neared them.

"Index wanted to try this place," Jason said shrugging. "And as you were indisposed for awhile, I promised to take her. We ran into Last Order here and Index invited her."

"Touma," Index said running up to him. "I am glad to see you are ok." However, the smile and dark aura she let off said otherwise.

"Ah Index," Touma said backing away but it was too late. Index jumped up and bit him on the head while Jason and Last Order laughed. She only bit him once which actually surprised him.

"Jason told me everything," Index said. "But you should have told me when you were going to be gone." Touma wasn't sure exactly what Jason told Index but he nodded in agreement which seemed to please her.

"MISAKA was happy when Index invited MISAKA, MISAKA says as MISAKA expresses her joy in hanging out with friends." Touma turned to Last Order and saw she was beaming up at him. He couldn't say no to her and figured it was just easier to let them be friends. He and Jason started talking while Last Order and Index were chatting away about some TV show.

"So what have you been doing this weekend?" Touma asked leaning against a wall opposite Jason. They were waiting for everyone else to arrive. He knew two people were coming for sure, but he expected three.

"Ah, doing research, some Judgment work," Jason said dismissively. "Oh," he whispered so Index wouldn't here. "We can continue the experiment on your hand Tuesday. I got something planned tomorrow."

Touma nodded. "Thanks, I will definitely be there."

"That reminds me," Jason said looking at him. "I've been trying to figure out exactly how much food Index can eat. It has been pretty entertaining." Touma looked at him for a moment then both started laughing at the thought of how much she could eat. Their laughter was cut short from the arrival of the first person meeting them and he was not happy.

"Dang it brat," Accelerator said walking up to them. "You run away while I was sleeping then text me to meet you across the city. And why are you two here?" He turned to Touma and Jason.

Before either of them could answer, Last Order ran up to him. "MISAKA believes Accelerator needs to get out more and hang with friends MISAKA says as MISAKA nods sagely to indicate her understanding. Yomikawa believes Accelerator is becoming a neet MISAKA says as MISAKA relays the information."

"We aren't friends," Accelerator told her while indicating to Touma but she just smirks at him and Touma immediately saw the resemblance to Worst.

"Oh cool," Jason remarked. "That means we are friends then?" Accelerator glares at him for a moment.

"MISAKA thinks Accelerator is not being honest MISAKA says shrewdly while MISAKA smirks."

Accelerator opened his mouth to refute her but then saw Touma and Jason were laughing. "Shut up you two!"

"Come on," Touma said. "It won't kill you to hang out with us. We are just waiting for a couple more people who wanted to come." Accelerator glared at him too for a moment while Jason looks amused. Shortly after that, their other friends arrived.

"Kamijou-san," Misaki called out as she grabbed his arm from behind him. "You really shouldn't run off on your own." She looked up and received quite a surprise. "Wow, I did not know Accelerator was going to be here."

"Let go of him," Mikoto said arriving right behind her and pushing Misaki off Touma. "It's her fault we were late."

"So we were just waiting for the hero's girlfriends?" Accelerator asked irritated. "Everyone in class should see this crap."

"She's not his girlfriend," Misaki and Mikoto shouted pointing at each other.

"Nice Touma," Jason said smirking. "Your relationships have really improved." Touma glared at him.

"Touma…." Index said her eyes glowing red and the dark aura appeared again. She revealed her very sharp teeth.

"Such misfortune," Touma muttered before Index bit him again. Mikoto, Jason, Last Order, and Accelerator had seen this before but Misaki had not. She was shocked but when everyone else laughed she shrugged and laughed with them.

After the entertainment, they all entered the restaurant and sat at a round table. It started at Touma and went to the left, Mikoto, Index, Last Order, Accelerator, Jason, and Misaki. Index was not happy about not sitting next to Touma but she was able to sit next to her new friend so it worked out. Mikoto and Misaki kept shooting glares at each other. Touma knew he wasn't in the best predicament and when he saw Jason smirking at him, he double his resolve to knock some sense into him. Accelerator had been annoyed at first but seeing how uncomfortable Touma was it gave him some amusement.

"Hey Accelerator," Touma asked. "What ever happened to those guys on Friday?"

"Those b#$^%$# got away," Accelerator spat out. "I searched all night and nothing."

"I even helped Saturday," Jason said frowning. "They are really good at sneaking in and out of the city. They must have help on the inside feeding them information. That's how they know so much about us."

"Is that why you sent Touma out of the city?" Index asked and Jason nodded.

"How much do you think they know?" Misaki asked. She had already resolved in finding out more about this organization hunting Touma but it would take time for her people to get results. It would be best to find out how much Jason knew and work from there.

"They know about his… ability," Jason said cautiously keeping his voice down. "They also seem to know about everyone close to him. They knew Accelerator's powers which is unusual for a magic organization. This leads me to believe they have someone on the inside of Academy City. If that is true, that could lead to a bigger problem."

"Why," Mikoto asked.

"There is suppose to be a balance Short-Hair," Index said. "If both sides start working together the balance will be broken. It is one thing for Jason here to do that himself, but if an entire organization does that, it could be a threat to the magic side and the science side."

"At worst case," Jason said solemnly. "It could lead to war. I wish we had more information what they wanted Touma's hand for."

Their food arrived as they discussed this problem and then ate in silence. Everyone was busy thinking about what the organization is doing, except for Last Order. She seemed to be enjoying her food and talking to Index. Index stopped focusing on the serious conversation and started talking to Last Order again. Touma was glad both of them could still enjoy the normal things in life. Touma glanced at Accelerator and he was just picking at his food but didn't seem to be really eating. He caught Touma's eye and shook his head slightly to indicate he didn't want to talk right now.

Touma looked around after the conversation died down. He had felt like someone was watching him since he entered the restaurant. The only people he could see were a group of four girls in the corner of the room. He had to admit, they were attractive. Two looked to be pretty young, a blonde girl in a beret and sailor shirt and a girl with short brown hair in a long sweater. The other two girls looked to be a little older. One girl had short black hair and a track suit but she might not have been looking at him specifically since her eyes seem to be staring off into space. The last girl had to be a model or at least a noble lady. She had tea colored hair and a very impressive figure. She was obviously staring at him and he didn't know why. He quickly looked away because he had a very bad feeling about her and he didn't know why. He had never met her before.

After they finished eating Accelerator dragged Last Order with him. She obviously didn't want to go, but Accelerator said she had to. "Bye everyone MISAKA says as MISAKA waves goodbye to all her new friends."

"Oh Touma," Jason said. "I never got a chance to ask. Did you enjoy your break? Ouch." Touma had kicked him hard in the shins under the table.

"I think he enjoyed it," Misaki said winking. "Even with," she turned to Mikoto. "Some people over reacting."

"I hate to see what you would have done," Mikoto said glaring at her.

"Touma what happened," Index asked confused at the conversation.

"Nothing," Touma said. He would prefer to live another day without Index trying to punish him for what happened. She would not have been so understanding if she found out he had been sent to a girl's only vacation. "Jason just likes to joke around." Misaki and Mikoto were both grinning at Touma's explanation.

"I'm sure he didn't do anything," Misaki said reassuringly.

"Touma wouldn't do anything," Mikoto said shaking her head. "He would leave everyone behind and do everything on her own."

"Touma will be Touma," Index said and all three girls shook their heads. Touma did not know why but he felt really irritated when all three girls were talking about him in this way. He wasn't sure what they meant but Mikoto's comment stung. He even promised he wouldn't just leave her behind anymore.

"Don't you two have a curfew," Touma asked trying to move the topic away from himself. "That Dorm Supervisor of yours is pretty scary."

"It is kind of you to worry," Misaki said smiling. "But it is not that late."

"Besides, she isn't that scary…" Mikoto started to say when she glanced at a wall clock and her mouth dropped. She point to it and Misaki had the same expression when she saw it. Misaki and Mikoto bolted out of the restaurant and just had time to say goodbye. It turns out they had been at the restaurant much longer then they though, being caught up in the conversations. Touma thought it explained why Accelerator had dragged Last Order out. It was probably getting close to her bed time. He realized he should probably take Index home too. He watched the retreating forms of Mikoto and Misaki thinking the Dorm Supervisor had to be a hidden level 5 to introduce so much terror into Tokiwadai students. He, Jason, and Index left the restaurant. Touma did not notice the four girls get up shortly after them.

"So what do you have going on tomorrow?" Touma asked.

"Date with Kazari," Jason said smiling. "She was gone all weekend so haven't got to see her in awhile."

"So you are finally getting serious?" Touma asked smirking.

"It almost seems like you are trying to make fun of me," Jason remarked glancing at Touma out of the corner of his eye.

"Well," Touma said laughing slightly. "Anytime I ever am near a girl, you seem to make fun of me ever getting a girlfriend."

"Everyone expects me to have one," Jason said mockingly. "I mean, look at me, good looks, brains, money, and a great sense of humor. You are… you."

"What's that suppose to mean?" Touma said irritated.

"Ask Tsuchimikado," Jason said laughing. "Nah. I'm kidding. You just need to be more observant about your surroundings and the people who like you."

Touma looked at him for a moment watching Jason smirk at him then looked in front of him. He thought about what Jason said. He remembered Motoharu and Pierce saying things similar to him about how he doesn't know all the obvious girls around him. He kept telling them they were stupid but, after Mikoto, Misaki, and Ruiko confessed they like him, _could there be truth in what they said_? It's not like he was trying to go out of his way to get girls to like him. All he was trying to do was help others who needed it. He never expected others to like him in return or reward him. He was so lost in his thoughts he wasn't paying attention where he was going and he found himself lost on a deserted street.

"Do you know where we…" Touma started to ask Jason but he stopped when he realized Jason and Index were both gone. _What happened to them?_

"You know, walking out alone late at night isn't the smartest thing to do," a female voice said from behind him.

Touma turned around and noticed the girl with soft tea colored hair he saw at the restaurant. He got a full view of her figure and she had an extremely attractive body. However, there was something about her eyes that took away from her beauty. Her eyes seemed cold, calculating, and had darkness hidden in them. It reminded him of Accelerator's eyes when Touma first met him. She was smiling at him but he felt it was more of a business smile with no real intent behind it. "Umm hi," he said nervously. "I was just taking a short cut. Can I help you?"

"I figured as a fellow level 5 I should introduce myself. I am Shizuri Mugino, rank 4 level 5. You must be the one nicknamed Kami." Her eyes never left him and she seemed to be seizing him up.

Touma gulped. He just met another level 5 and this one did not seem to be on friendly terms with him. He didn't know why, but he felt the girl in front of him was dangerous and his instinct was to flee as fast as possible. He didn't know why she thought he was Kami but maybe if he feigned ignorance he could get out of this. "Uh," he said nervously. "I really don't know what you mean. I'm just a level 0."

Her eyes narrowed in anger and he realized he said the wrong thing. "Do you think I am f$%#&%^ stupid?" she growled at him. "I know Kami hangs out with Accelerator and I just saw you with him and you fit the description. Not only that, you were also in the company of the third rank and fifth rank. If you try to play dumb with me you little shit, I will make sure it is the last thing you do."

Touma realized this girl might be a little insane, and he had no idea how right he was. He hoped he could get out of this without violence but his extensive experience with level 5s, it was highly unlikely. If she was indeed the forth rank level 5, she might have looked him up for the purpose of fighting. The level 5s seemed to have a rivalry going between them. Touma was going to hope he could use the, I am a level 0, reasoning to get out of this. "I really don't have any idea what you are talking about. I really am just a level 0."

"I see," she said her eyes narrowed. Then she did something to surprise him, she smiled. The smile sent shivers down his spine. The girl's beauty seemed to change into the perfect picture of a psychopath. The smile was of someone who was about to do something bad. "Well," she said her voice still calm. "If you are really just a shitty level 0 no one will look into this." A green orb appeared over her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Touma asked but it was too late.

"Die you F%^$#&* piece of shit!" Shizuri roared at him. The orb shot a green beam right at Touma and the ground below it seemed to melt.

* * *

 **I know I am using the old ITEM group, but I happen to like Frenda. I also used the book version of Saiai's clothes instead of the pullover the Railgun show used. At least Touma's life is back to normal. Being hunted down and attacked is something he is used to. There is nothing like a good Psychopath to liven things up. Touma had it too easy for too many chapters and people would have killed to be in his spot**

 **Need more Ruiko I think, she hasn't had any big adventures.**


	21. Boys and Girls

**I love and hate you guys. Some of you have such great ideas and some of you post the wildest things I would never think of. Then occasionally one of you guys post something so crazy it disrupts my thought process and made it really hard to write. I am talking about a Guest who posted in the comment section:**

" **And that was the moment Shizuri Mugino fell in love lol."**

 **I laughed so much at this and thought about this seriously. Would she really fall in love with Touma if things were set up right? Probably not, she would only pay attention to him if he was useful to her in some way but I suppose there are other ways. Then this next person continued the chain of events and virtually destroyed my train of thought. It was posted by Anan who said:**

" **Suppose Kamijou in a rare moment of "being done with this shit" lets Mugino blow his right hand or right arm off, at which point, "Dragon" comes out to lay the smack-down on that Level 5 psycho-b^ &%#'s candy-ass. After which (I'll be nice and let her live) she becomes an extreme "M", and also gets added to the harem (heh-heh-heh)."**

 **You have no idea how much this crept into my mind constantly. I could not get it out and my brain started going through every possible idea to make it work. It didn't but that would be a hilarious crack fic if someone wanted to do it.**

 **It seems like everyone enjoys Item and Mugino so I am glad they went over well with all the loyal readers. Anyways, back to the story.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

Shizuri watched as her Meltdowner ability shot straight toward her target, the spiky black haired boy. At this range and his lack of knowledge about her ability, there was no way she could miss. The last thing she saw him do was raise his hand to protect himself from her attack. That was probably the stupidest thing he could have done. All it would accomplish was his arm and half of his body would be instantly disintegrated while the rest of him would burn from the heat. She smirked and started to turn around when the sound of breaking glass stopped her. The green light from her ability disappeared. She turned back and looked at the boy, and her eyes widened in shock. The boy was still standing there completely unharmed. For the first time she could remember, since fighting Accelerator, she was completely speechless. No one else could have just stood still in front of her ability.

"Hey," the boy said looking over his outstretched hand. "I could have died, why would you just attack someone out of nowhere?" His words brought her back to her senses and she smirked.

"Are you still going to continue that shit you were spouting earlier?" she said watching him closely. "You took one of those most destructive abilities in Academy City head on without so much as a scratch." She was pissed because of this, but her interest in his ability surpassed her irritation for now. The boy sighed which made a vein throb in her head.

"What do you want?" the boy asked nervously.

"I want you to answer my damn questions without all that shit you were spouting," she told him. "Now, why don't you introduce yourself to me? I am not going to continue to call you that stupid made up name."

Touma thought about this for a second. He did not want to give any information about himself to this girl. She was obviously unbalanced and was prepared to kill him without a second thought. If she had information about him she might turn him in as the identity of Kami, but there was also the chance she would continue to hunt him down. The second option actually might be the most likely one. Also, she could look up his personal information, like where he lived and the school he went to. It might put other people in danger. His pause did not go unnoticed and only seemed to further irritate the girl.

"Answer the f#$%*#^ question," she yelled as two more orbs appeared around her and shot green beams at him again.

Touma was at least prepared this time. He rotated his body sideways to avoid the left most one and used his hand to negate the second one. He could feel a lot of heat from the one he dodged and realized it would burn his skin if the beam was just close to him. He probably shouldn't stick around much longer but he needed her to let her guard down. "Fine," he said.

"Glad you know your place," Shizuri said smirking again. She was going to get all the answers and then probably end his life if she wasn't impressed. She crossed her arms and said, "Again, what is your name… WHERE THE F&#$ ARE YOU GOING?!" As soon as she let her guard down, Touma turned and bolted down an alleyway as fast as he could. "YOU PIECE OF SHIT I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!" she roared and ran after him. When she entered the ally, she stopped and shot another beam of light at him but he turned and ran around the corner before the beam hit him. The ground where he was seconds ago was disintegrated. She cussed and continued the pursuit. She had told the other girls of ITEM to surround the area to make sure he didn't try to escape, but the surrounding areas had a lot of side routes so they couldn't cover them all.

Shizuri pulled out her phone and called Frenda. After two rings she picked up. "Frenda, he is heading your direction. Cut him off but don't kill him. His ass is mine."

"Umm Mugino," Frenda said hesitantly but her mouth seemed to be muffled. "That moff be touff."

"FREENNNDDAAA," Shizuri said dangerously. "Are you eating on duty? You know what will happen if he gets by you." She heard Frenda swallow.

"Yes Mugino," she said quickly. "Basically, I am looking for him now." Shizuri closed her cell phone more pissed off then she was before. If she had known that Frenda had actually left her post to get ice cream, Frenda probably wouldn't live to see the next day. Frenda did not doubt for a second Shizuri would take care of the weak looking commoner, so she thought it would be fine to get a snack. This was one of her shortcomings. She tended to not act professional during inopportune times. Frenda immediately threw her ice cream away with a sad look and ran as fast as she could back to her post.

Back at her post she kept looking around for the spiky hair boy. She couldn't understand how that boy escaped from Shizuri but he must have used some kind of trick. She didn't know how right she was. There were only a couple people out at this time so someone running would draw a lot of attention. After about 30 seconds, she saw the boy dash out of an ally at full speed and run towards her. She smiled, please Shizuri wasn't going to kill her, and she stepped forward to meet him. However, his eyes widened when he saw her and immediately dashed down another ally. Frenda frowned, he must have recognized her, and chased after him.

"Come back here!" she cried at the retreating boy.

"Why?" Touma called over his shoulder.

"Basically," Frenda yelled back. "So Mugino can kill you."

"I'm definitely not stopping now," he yelled back. "I didn't do anything, such misfortune."

Frenda continued to chase after him. She was not slow and was fit enough to run continuously for an extended period of time, but the boy ahead of her was larger and definitely just as athletic. She could have tried to shoot him but with his speed, she had to focus on keeping up with him and couldn't risk slowing down to aim. There was also the possibility she might accidently kill him and she knew Shizuri wanted that pleasure. She wasn't sure what would upset Shizuri worse, the boy getting away or him dying to Frenda so Shizuri could not enjoy doing it herself. Frenda decided not to shoot, if the boy got away, they could always locate him again with his description. If he was killed, Shizuri would never be happy with Frenda.

However, the boy managed to continue to out run her and got to a main street. He slipped out of sight and disappeared into a crowd of people still out this late. Frenda stopped and gulped, _Mugino is not going to be happy with me._ She didn't have a chance at finding him now and she knew it. She pulled out her cell phone, her hand shaking, and called Shizuri to give her the bad news.

* * *

Touma woke up the next morning exhausted. He ran around a lot last night trying to get away from that crazy girl and her friends until he finally lost them. He then headed back to his dorm but took the long way to make sure he wasn't being followed. _How many other people have to deal with so many level 5s constantly?_ When he got back to his dorm he found Index waiting for him and upset he was back so late. It turned out that Index had disappeared because she sensed mana and went to investigate the source. When Jason noticed, he immediately followed her because he was also interested in who caused it. They found out the source was just a rune used to make colored lights and some kids, out past their curfew, were playing around it. Neither Index nor Jason knew who set it up but when they looked around Touma was gone. They had completely forgotten about him. Jason had advised Index to wait back at Touma's dorm until he got back. Touma was relieved at this; _at least Jason did something good for me. Searching for Index would have been even more trouble if those girls were still looking for me._

He left his dorm early to get to school as soon as possible. When he got to school, only three people were in class, two of which were Jason and Motoharu. They both looked at him when he arrived and grinned. Touma knew, he just knew, they were both thinking of his weekend trip and were laughing on the inside. Touma walked over to them.

"Sup Kami-yan," Motoharu said still grinning.

"Hey Touma, where did you disappe…" Jason started to say but Touma interrupted him, not with words but with a fist. Touma delivered an uppercut directly into Jason's jaw with all the force of his misfortune and stress the last couple of days. The blow was powerful enough to lift Jason a couple feet off the ground and fly over the desk behind him before he crashed to the ground. Touma stood there breathing deeply, quite pleased with himself.

"I didn't get a chance to give that to you yesterday," Touma said smirking. "Too many people around." Motoharu was watching their exchange with interest. The other guy in the room looked at them briefly then went back to sleep thinking this was pretty normal for them all.

"I…regret…nothing…" Jason said weakly from the floor.

"You two seem to have some unresolved issues," Motoharu remarked grinning.

"Don't think I forgot your part in this," Touma said glaring at him.

"I have no idea what you mean," whistled Motoharu innocently. "We were simply talking about your amazing achievement with two girls from Tokiwadai."

Touma sighed, "I am not in the mood to argue whatever weird ideas you two have. I am really tired form last night, being chased by a psycho and all."

"A psycho Kamijou?" Pierce's voice suddenly came from behind him. He had entered the class while they were talking and Touma didn't notice. "I didn't know that was your type. Bold move, but I expect nothing less from you. Psychos are known for being amazing in bed but have a lot of drawbacks if you make them mad outside the bedroom."

"Get your mind out of the gutter," Touma said irritated. "I wasn't trying to get anyone. I was running for my life."

"Did you try to pick up the girlfriend of a psycho?" Jason asked from the floor. "Or was your next girl the psycho?" Touma gave him a swift kick in the side. He still didn't feel sorry for Jason.

"I'm not picking anyone up you idiots," Touma said.

"They come to him naturally," Motoharu said then turned to Pierce. "Touma now has two Tokiwadai girls clinging to him now."

"Kamijou you bastard!" Pierce cried and tackled Touma to the ground. "How could you keep getting girls when I can't have anyone?"

"Maybe if you weren't a pervert," Touma said kneeing Pierce in the gut while Motoharu joined in. "Besides, even if I did get a girlfriend, why is everyone surprised? No one was surprised at Jason for getting one." He pointed to Jason with his free hand who still wasn't moving from the ground.

'Well Jason has looks, brains, money, and he's funny, girls love funny guys," Motoharu pointed out. "It would be strange for him not to have one. Kami-yan, you are…well…you."

"That's what I said," Jason remarked.

"You all suck," Touma said tripping Motoharu during the fight with Pierce. All three of them were too busy trading blows to notice Accelerator walking up. He gave them a quick look and then glanced at Jason. It looked like he knew exactly what happened but decided to confirm it.

"So this is…?" he said gesturing with his hand.

"Just talking about Touma and his millions of girlfriends," Jason said still laying on the floor clutching his side.

"I don't have millions of girlfriends," Touma tried to yell but his voice came out muffled as Pierce got him in a headlock.

"Hey Accel-kun," Motoharu called. He and Motoharu had finally decided on this nickname at the end of last week since they were getting tired of calling him Accelerator. "You hang out with Touma a lot. How many girls does he have?"

Accelerator glanced at Touma and Jason. Jason gave him a thumb up from the floor and Touma shook his head at him frantically to not make things worse. A very evil grin appeared on Accelerator's face as he decided to add fuel to the fire. "Not sure of the numbers," he said taking his seat. "I have to say at least three that I saw yesterday, he insisted they hang out with us, and I remember seeing him with four at once at the mall." This made him feel good watching the aftermath directed at the hero.

"Why Accelerator?" Touma cried still trying to beat up Pierce and Motoharu.

"Dang it Kamijou!" Pierce yelled at him and doubled his effort to destroy Touma for daring to get more girls. Motoharu continued just because it was fun.

None of them noticed Komoe entering the class and gasping at them all fighting. She tried to get them to stop but all of them were too distracted to notice her. They did notice when they heard the sound of bones cracking as Seiri stood over them cracking her knuckles. They all immediately lost to the final boss of the class.

* * *

All four of them received detention, even though Jason had been laying on the floor injured and wasn't currently trading blows, it was assumed he had been part of their fighting. They were being forced to write reflection essays for their fight, but they decided to get side tracked with one of their usual discussions.

"Come on," Motoharu said. "One piece bathing suits are infinitely better than a two piece. By hiding a lot of skin, it leaves more to the imagination."

"Bull," Touma scoffed. "Two piece suits let you enjoy the female's curves. One piece covers too much."

"One piece is fine," Pierce added. "But it has to be a school swimsuit. It fits best with younger girls."

"You are just a lolicon," Touma said. "Anything is fine for you if it involves younger girls."

"That's not true," Pierce huffed indignantly. "Adults can wear school swimsuits. Imagine it tightly pulled over their chests and around the waists."

"Looks like Jason is the tie breaker," Motoharu said looking at Jason. "Come on, which style is best for the beach?"

"Hmm," Jason thought out loud, his mind thinking hard. "Well swimsuits are fine, but I think skinny dipping is definitely the best."

"No way!" they all replied united for the first time since the conversation started.

"That completely defeats the purpose of swimsuits," Pierce argued.

"Exactly," Motoharu agreed. "Any suit is better than nothing."

"You can't even enjoy the different designs which really make the beach unique," Touma added. "Otherwise it would just be an entire wall of drab color."

"You miss the point," Jason said trying to defend himself. "The best time is at night under the full moon, the light shining off a girl's wet skin. If it's a little foggy when they get out and the light reflects through the fog…" Everyone stops for a moment and think about it.

""Well in that particular circumstance," Pierce said. "I can see your point, but the fact is over all school swimsuits are the best."

"Bull!" Motoharu yelled. "There are plenty of one piece suits so much better than a boring school one."

"You both are delusional and…," Touma started to retort before the teacher watching over them interrupted.

"Enough of your stupid conversation!" he yelled. "Finish your reflection essay and get out of here. I don't want to see you all here again." Everyone got quiet and immediately started to finish their essays. After a few minutes Jason whispered to Touma so no one else could hear.

"Jokes aside, what did you mean by a psycho?"

"Last night after you and Index left," Touma whispered. "The forth rank level 5 decided she wanted to talk about me being a level 5. Then she tried to kill me just because I tried to tell her I was a level 0."

"Well," Jason said quietly shrugging. "That was your problem. Sometimes you just need to bluff. If people think you are a level 5 and you act like it, many times they will back off. If you say you are a level 0, a lot of assholes will try to bully you."

"So in other words," Touma said grinning slightly despite himself. "Lie a lot like you?"

"Exactly," Jason said. "I avoid a lot of trouble just with reputation when needed on the field but I also have the strength to back up if needed. You do to, but if you can bluff well, you can avoid unnecessary fights."

"I'll keep that in mind," Touma said.

"Well I got a date so I got to go," Jason whispered back grinning. He stood up and presented the teacher with his essay and left the classroom.

 _Dang,_ Touma thought to himself. _I'm not even halfway done._

* * *

"Chaser!"

Mikoto kicked the notorious vending machine in the park that loved to steal people's money. A second later, a drink popped out. She picked it up and drank deeply. She sighed and just stared off into space. She has been kind of spacey today because she kept thinking about yesterday. "I finally get the courage to ask him out and now I can't think of what to do," she said loudly grabbing her head in frustration. She kept reliving the moment he agreed to go on a date with her on Saturday but she couldn't think of what to do on the date. Since it was going to be their first official real date, she wanted to do something memorable they both would enjoy. _Calm down and think rationally, you have plenty of time._ She took a few deep breaths and ran through ideas, but most of them were boring or cliché. _I could ask someone for ideas but it would be really embarrassing. Uiharu would give something out of a romantic novel and I can't ask Saten because she likes him too. Kuroko is not even an option. I suppose I could ask Jason…_ She actually glanced down at her phone debating that last option then shook her head. _That would be a last resort, maybe I can offhandedly ask someone from school._

"Hi Misaka-san," a cheerful voice said from behind her.

Mikoto turned around quickly and saw Ruiko walking toward her waving. She had been too busy with her own thoughts to see her approaching earlier. She quickly turned red. _I hope she didn't hear me._ Mikoto regained her composure and smiled at her friend. "Hey Saten-san, what are you doing?"

Ruiko put her arm around Mikoto's shoulders and whispered. "I am on a super dangerous reconnaissance mission and I could use your help."

This surprised Mikoto and she stared wide-eyed at Ruiko. "What do you mean?" she asked curious and slightly worried. She hoped Ruiko wasn't in any trouble. "What's happening?"

"Uiharu is on a real date," Ruiko explained. "And as her friend, it is my responsibility to watch and make sure everything goes ok."

Mikoto let out a loud sigh. _Of course this was her plan._ "Why are you spying on her?"

"I want to know how well it goes and it might give me ideas for when I want to date someone," Ruiko said as if stating the obvious.

"I can't..." Mikoto started to say but stopped. _This might be what I need. Saten is right, they could give me ideas. Jason seems like the person to know this stuff and it would be less embarrassing then asking him directly._ "You know what," Mikoto said. "I'm free because Kuroko is busy with Judgment, so I will go with you. At the very least to make sure you don't interfere with them."

"Of course," Ruiko smiled at her knowingly. Together they walked carefully off the main path and crouched behind some bushes. In the distance they saw Kazari sitting on a park bench in casual clothes instead of her school uniform. She was wearing a light pink dress and, of course, her normal flowery headband. They were looking for Jason when Ruiko spotted and pointed him out. He was dressed in a black undershirt, an open button down navy blue shirt, and jeans. They watched him sneak up behind Kazari and cover her eyes. "I wish we could hear them," Ruiko muttered and Mikoto nodded in agreement. After a couple seconds Jason removed his hands and Kazari turned around and hugged him. After that they held hands and continued through the park.

"Let's go," Mikoto said and Ruiko followed her. They walked through the park too but kept far enough back so Jason and Kazari were just barely in sight. Mikoto and Ruiko had to duck behind a tree once because they thought Jason has turned around and looked in their direction. However, it seemed like he didn't notice them and they breathed a sigh of relief. They watched as Kazari sat down at a wooden table while Jason stood in line for ice cream for them. After a minute, a couple guys walked up and started talking to Kazari.

"Looks like Uiharu is getting hit on," Ruiko said grinning. "She always tries to tell me guys aren't in to her."

"Well she does look pretty cute," Mikoto said watching to see what would happen. Kazari was obviously uncomfortable by the way she was fidgeting but the guys didn't leave. Jason walked up with two cones and simply moved one of the guys out of his way and sat down next to Kazari. He wrapped his arm around her while handing her the ice cream. He gazed up at the other two guys and Mikoto saw him glare at them. The boys shook their head and left. "Ha, Jason's pretty aggressive when it comes to her. He always seems laid back."

"I heard dating someone does that," Ruiko said watching them closely. She seemed to be taking notes in her head.

Mikoto thought about this and wondered if she would be possessive once she started dating Touma. Then she thought about how she always gets mad at Misaki for jumping on Touma all the time. _Am I already possessive?_ She shook her head and went back to watching them. After a short walk through the park and talking they left the park and headed into the city. Mikoto and Ruiko kept them in sight and it was a lot easier for them to hide in the city since there were a lot more people. Jason and Kazari headed into the underground mall and they followed.

Nothing really exciting happened in the mall. Jason and Kazari were just browsing through the mall. Ruiko and Mikoto stopped waiting for them to leave the current store. "Ah," Ruiko sighed. "I thought they would do something interesting."

"There's still time," Mikoto replied even though she felt the same way. The only thing she noticed was both of them seemed to be happy doing anything. _I wonder if it's because they are with the person they like. Will Touma and be like that someday?_ She leaned up against the wall and was lost in her own thoughts when Ruiko's voice broke her out of her thoughts.

"They are moving." They immediately started following Jason and Kazari again. Another couple of minutes passed then something actually happened. Kazari went into a clothing store while Jason waited outside. He waited a little bit then looked around through the windows to the store. They did not know what he was looking for, but then he left and walked away from the store Kazari was in. Mikoto wasn't sure what he was doing and Ruiko voiced her thoughts. "What is he up to?" Mikoto shrugged in response. "Let's find out." They trailed him a little bit and they saw him standing at a small kiosk that sold flowers. He was pointing to different ones and talking to the vender. "Awww," Ruiko squealed. "He's buying her flowers."

"Wow, he is good," Mikoto said. "Uiharu doesn't even know he's getting them in the middle of the date." Jason bought a small bouquet of flowers and headed back to the store Kazari was in. They noticed he seemed to be keeping the flowers out of view from the store entrance. Kazari came out about five minutes later. Mikoto and Ruiko watched with excitement and then amusement at Kazari's reaction. She turned completely red and looked like she was going to pass out. Jason put his arm around her to make sure she didn't fall and Kazari took the flowers holding them tightly against her chest. They saw her saying something and Jason laughed. He leaned forward to the side of her face. It was on the other side so Mikoto and Ruiko couldn't see it but by Kazari's eyes going wide it had to be a kiss. Ruiko squealed softly again. Jason grabbed Kazari's hand then they continued around a corner.

"Hurry or we will lose them," Ruiko said and Mikoto hastily followed her. They just rounded a corner and saw Jason and Kazari looking right at them a couple feet away.

"Told you they were watching us," Jason commented calmly leaning up against the wall.

"Saten-san," Kazari said a little angrily. "Why did you follow us?"

"Ah," Ruiko said sheepishly but still grinning. "I couldn't let my best friend go on her first solo date without seeing how it goes." Kazari stilled glared at her but she seemed to be pacified.

"Sorry Uiharu," Mikoto apologized clasping her hands together. 'Saten convinced me into it."

"How long did you know?" Ruiko asked.

"Jason told me shortly after giving me these flowers," Kazari said. Mikoto realized it wasn't a kiss but him whispering to her they were being watched.

"When did you know?" Mikoto asked Jason

"In the park," Jason shrugged. "I thought it was a coincidence but I caught glimpses of you constantly so I figured it out."

"Well since you are here," Kazari said cheerful again. "Why don't you join us for some food?"

This led all four of them to go and sit down at a restaurant and eat while talking about their weekend. Kazari and Ruiko were telling Jason about meeting Misaki and her friend. Jason looked quite amused and Mikoto was avoiding his eyes or she would definitely burst out laughing. Mikoto went back to thinking about her future date instead. She saw a lot of Jason doing romantic things but she didn't know how that was going to help her. It felt like it was up to the guy to do everything but she definitely didn't want to be that kind of girl. She liked to take the lead and wanted to choose the first date since she asked Touma. Her eyes wondered around the restaurant and she saw someone had left a piece of paper on the table next to her. She reached over and picked it up. It was a flyer for a special carnival coming to Academy City this weekend. It looked like it would have special performances from all over the world and tons of unique events and food. _This is perfect._

"What you got there?" Ruiko asked. Mikoto hadn't noticed she was grinning while reading the flyer and that attracted Ruiko's attention.

"Ah just a piece of paper I found," Mikoto said shrugging but Ruiko was too quick for her and whipped it out of her hand.

"Hey it's a carnival this weekend," Ruiko exclaimed showing Kazari and Jason. A knot formed in Mikoto's stomach.

"I knew about it," Kazari said sadly. "I have to work a lot this weekend because of all the people coming in from outside Academy City."

"They are forcing me to work Friday night and Saturday," Jason said dropping his forehead on the table. "It's not like I have enough to do already." He muttered something incomprehensible on the table while Kazari gave him a pat on his back.

"No point in going alone then," Ruiko said a little disappointed.

Mikoto felt the knot in her stomach unwind. _If they can't go, that means Touma and I will be alone all day. I'll have to make sure Kuroko is busy that day too but this could work out._ Mikoto stood up. "I have to go," she said. "See you al later." She waved and headed off on her own. She was thinking of the carnival and all the activities she wanted to do with Touma but there were many things to take care of first. She hoped Misaki would not interfere but Mikoto knew it was going to be tough to get the jump on her.

Back at the restaurant Ruiko was still talking to Kazari while Jason was still depressed and kept his head on the table. "She's acting suspiciously."

"Do you think she plans to ask someone to the carnival?" Kazari asked quietly.

Ruiko slapped her forehead, "That's it she must be planning or she already asked Touma. Ah, she beat me." Now it was Ruiko's turn to be depressed. "How am I supposed to compete against Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san? Both of them are really pretty, smart, talented, and level 5s."

"From what I know about Kamijou-san," Kazari said thinking. "He doesn't seem to be a person who cares about levels."

"Still," Ruiko said. "He recently got promoted and it seems like he gets involved in a lot of dangerous things. I wish I could help. During the museum and the tournament I couldn't do anything to help and he and Kagere-san saved us." Jason stirred slightly and rotated his head so one of his eyes was looking at Ruiko. "I wish I had an ability."

"I'm sure you will get one," Kazari said encouragingly. "You are right at the border to level 1 right?" Ruiko nodded.

"If you were a high level," Jason asked suddenly. "What would you do with that power?" Both Kazari and Ruiko looked at him.

"I would help people," Ruiko said with fire in her eyes. "Not just my friends but anyone who needs it, doesn't matter if they are powerful or not. Everyone at some point needs help and if I can help I will. I know what it's like to be powerless and needing help. When someone's in trouble, no matter the challenge, it won't stop me." Kazari and Jason grinned at the truth that rang in her voice.

"Would you be interested in going through a special curriculum then to get to level 3?"

"What?" Ruiko and Kazari said turning to him in shock.

"You know how I lead a research division for ability development?" Jason asked still not lifting his head up but just turned it to look at them. They nodded. "Well I got into an argument with an old fart and he doubted my ability. They want me to raise a level 0 to a level 3 in a couple weeks because they were not happy with the ordinary changes to the curriculum I wanted them to do. So now I have to complete this bet with them. So would you be interested?"

"I would be able to hit level 3 in just a couple weeks?" Ruiko asked almost dumbstruck. Ruiko was looking back and forth between them.

"That's the plan," Jason said. "But there is a chance it won't work. You might end up lower like 1 or 2."

"That's fine," Ruiko said excitedly. "Even if it is just a low level ability, I don't care. I want to do it."

Jason smiled. "I hope if we succeed, you will still remember what you told me about why you wanted the ability." Kazari smiled at his words.

"Of course," Ruiko said putting her fist out in front of her. "I will use my power to help people like Misaka-san and Touma."

"Excellent," Jason said. "I found someone I can trust with power then. I'll text you the information later but for now, I am going to enjoy the rest of the afternoon with Kazari." He looked at Ruiko. "I trust you won't stalk us." Kazari laughed.

Ruiko shook her head but as she watched them leave, her insides were jumping around. _I'm finally going to have an ability._

* * *

 _Finally done,_ Touma thought to himself. He didn't really know what to write for the reflection essay as everything was Motoharu's, Pierce's and Jason's fault. He was the last one done and it was easily another 15 minutes after Pierce left. Motoharu left about 10 minutes after Jason and Pierce kept talking to Touma so they both were a lot later. The teacher even fell asleep reading his magazine while waiting for them. When he presented the essay to the teacher, the teacher didn't even read it. He just told Touma to leave and stop getting in trouble. _I guess he was annoyed he had to stay late too._

When he got back to his dorm late, Index immediately attacked him and demanded to know why he was late and to make her dinner. He opened his refrigerator and used up what was left of the vegetables and some meat to make a stir-fry for them. The only thing he had left in the dorm was a lot of rice and some spices. He really needed to restock on food, but last weekend he was outside the city and couldn't go shopping. He sighed and started going through the papers and flyers he had on hand and one caught his eye. The sales on the front page were unreal, easily 75% off, and it was a one day special only. Then his stomach dropped when he saw the date was today. He looked at the clock, it was almost 7 and the store closed at 8. If he hurried, he could just make it in time. "Index," he called out as he grabbed his wallet and keys. "I have to run out to get catch a special on food for tomorrow. I will be back in a bit."

"But Touma…" Index began but he didn't hear the rest. Since she had just eaten he figured she wouldn't be too angry at him. He ran off at full speed to catch the train. The store was across the city but he couldn't make it if he ran and his only option was to catch the train, He actually managed to get onto the machine without his ticket getting destroyed or eaten or blown up. The train also left on schedule which surprised him. _Ok, I am having some good luck that means the universe is setting me up for something big. I will worry about that after I get the food._ Touma always tried to keep a positive attitude but he knew how his luck worked. He got off the train and looked around. He did not know the area well and he only had about 30 minutes to find it. He quickly looked at the map and ran off in the direction toward the store.

Because he was in a hurry he missed the short blonde haired girl in the dark beret coming out of the convenience store. She however did not miss his very obvious spiky black hair as he ran past her. She dropped the small bag she was holding and pulled out her phone. "Mugino," she said following Touma. "I found him."

"You understand what will happen if you lose him."

"Basically, I will not let him out of my sight."

"That is what I expected to hear."

Touma's luck ran out. He got lost and wondered around the streets for half an hour before finding the store five minutes after they closed. He couldn't believe his luck. Well he could, but he had to try because the deal was too good to be true. He was depressed, but he figured he could always find another sale. Touma never let his bad luck control him and started walking back to the train station. He noticed he could cut through an abandoned lot and it would save him a good 5 minutes then trying to go around the buildings. _Maybe my luck is changing._ Then the universe reminds him of just how much it hates him.

"I finally found you," a cold voice said from behind him. He turned around and saw the soft tea colored hair of Shizuri Mugino standing on the sidewalk right in front of the abandoned lot. He eyes were watching him but it was clear she was pleased with herself. Behind her were the three other girls Touma saw at the restaurant yesterday. "You left before we could finish our talk. That wasn't very nice." Her voice seemed calm on the surface but he could feel the cold fury radiating through it.

"Well," Touma said taking a step back. "I had important things I had to do so sorry about leaving." He knew going one on four was not going to work at all. One of the girls was a level 5 and he figured the girls behind him had to be high levels to. He shifted his left hand into his pocket to grab his phone and he moved his right hand between Shizuri and himself. He knew pulling out the phone would just cause trouble so he hoped he could call the right number without looking.

"Are you trying to be f$%^$% funny?" she asked her eyes narrowing. "You do understand what is going to happen if you piss me off."

"Basically," the blonde girl called out to him. "You are so dead."

"I still don't understand why we are after him," the young brown hair girl said. "This plain guy super can't be Kami." The black hair girl didn't say anything and just watched him.

Shizuri sighed. "I suppose you should see why I am after him." An orb of green light appeared in front of her then short a large green beam right at Touma. Frenda and Saiai just shook their heads. Both of them knew what happened if someone was hit by Shizuri's Meltdowner. It wasn't pretty and always messy. They froze and looked up in shock when they heard the sound of breaking glass and the green light disappeared. Standing in front of them, appearing uninjured, was the spiky haired boy with his right hand held out in front of him. "That is why."

"How?" Saiai asked.

"B-basically, that is i-impossible," stuttered Frenda. "He really is the Kami guy."

"Now that you understand," she turned back to Touma. 'Do you have anything to say?"

Touma looked up over his hand at her. He didn't want to give her his name but then a conversation with Jason came to his mind. _Sometimes you just need to bluff._ Touma figured he wasn't going to get out of this with just giving her the information she wanted so it was worth a try. "What can I say? This just isn't your night."

She gave a brief laugh and asked. "What do you mean by that?"

"I just wanted to remain anonymous then I get dragged into all this mess," Touma said trying to glare at her. "Your ability won't work on me. Just leave, I don't want to fight right now."

"Oh really," she said. "I suppose I could keep trying till it worked. Maybe if I hit your legs so you don't run away?" Several orbs floated around her but didn't fire.

Touma shook his head exasperatedly. "You know my power is negation," he said remembering the information he read in his classroom when he first found out about his promotion. "Do you think just blocking an attack is a level 5 ability? What do you think will happen if I become serious?" He knew his last statement had an impact when her facial expression changed.

This time her eyes narrowed at him. Shizuri was not stupid and even she realized that he had a point. The number of people who could survive her Meltdowner could be counted on just one hand. Someone who saw her ability would quickly cower and run. But this boy was different, even after her attacks. He continued to look her directly in the eyes. She thought he was just a coward but now she thought there might be more to him then she first thought. His words intrigued her. Maybe he could permanently negate powers? She was weary of this but she still wanted to see his full power. "There is only one way to see, isn't there?" she said. "If I go all out on you, I bet you will be forced to show me everything you got."

"I'm not going to leave without fighting am I?" Touma sighed and began to resign himself to his fate.

"I doubt you will leave at all until you die," Shizuri said smirking.

"Fine," Touma said. "I will fight on one condition."

"Basically, you aren't in a position to make…" Frenda started to say but Shizuri cut her off.

"What is your condition?" she asked. "If I don't like it, I will just ignore it." A vein throbbed in her head. For some reason this guy really annoyed her.

"Let's move to a more open and secluded spot," he said. "There is a field near a bridge I have fought at before. This way we won't risk being interrupted by others."

Normally, Shizuri would have told him to f$%^ off but this time she thought about it. Because of the intruders, security has been heightened all over the city. If they fought seriously, it wouldn't be unusual for Anti-Skill or Judgment to find them. While she could kill a lot of them without any repercussions, it would still be troublesome. If too many people saw her, it couldn't be covered up. She didn't want to admit it, but his words made sense and she might be able to fully enjoy this fight before killing him. "Fine," was the only answer she gave. The other girls looked at each other in surprised but they kept silent and followed.

A short time later all five of them were sitting on the train heading toward the bridge. There was a station close by so it would save a lot of time and they managed to catch the last train of the night. Touma was sitting on one side and Mugino was directly across from him staring at him impatiently. The blonde hair girl and the black hair girl were sitting to his right and left while the brown hair girl stood off to the side watching him with a slight smirk on her face. At first he wasn't sure why she was doing this but realized they were the only ones on the train and Touma was surrounded by girls. He figured she must have a very wild imagination.

Touma had lied about why he wanted to switch places. His real reason was a lot nobler. He had a couple glances of Shizuri's ability and saw its pure destructive power. He was worried some innocent person would get involved. She didn't seem like she would care if she had to kill someone who got in her way. He would have loved if a Judgment or Anti-Skill stopped her but with her being a level 5, the odds were high someone else would get hurt. At least this way, he could avoid casualties. When the train stopped and they got off he pointed to the bridge. "The field is right next to it."

"About time," Shizuri said. "You better be worth this trouble or a swift death will be a mercy for you." Touma gulped, he did not doubt her words at all. The other girls looked at each other and wondered why their leader was being so accommodating. They did not have the intelligence or planning skills she had. They arrived at the field about 10 minutes later and she turned to face him about 30 feet away. "Now let's see what you are made of." Three green orbs appeared around her and shot beams toward Touma.

Shizuri watched him jump back dodging the first two and blocking the third one with his right hand. She had thought he would have run towards her to close the gap and she adjusted two accordingly. _I was right. He has a lot of combat experience. This could be fun._ She continued to fire a barrage or beams at him and every time he seemed to barely dodge and only block one of them at a time. He seemed to be running in a circle around her with an occasional change in direction when she aimed her beams in front of him. She was annoyed for two reasons. One, he didn't seem to be able to do anything but dodge and block. Two, he face wasn't showing fear but seemed to be concentrating on more than just dodging. He was still a good 25 feet away. _WAIT 25 FEET?_ This entire time he was dodging by circling around her but he was slowly gaining ground on her. _What kind of guy is he and why is he only using his hand to block?_

Touma was busy trying to predict how the beams were going to come at him. He had a second or less to decide how he was going to move without getting killed. She seemed to be keeping at least one targeting him but then she fired one to three other beams around him to catch him as he tried to dodge the first one. Shizuri was obviously someone who has fought a lot of people before so he couldn't take her lightly. He needed to get close but he had to keep moving to make her think all he could do was dodge. He continued to circle her. He then noticed a slight change in the pattern of her green orbs and knew it was time. How he knew, he wasn't sure but the instincts that led him through countless battles was steering him. He slid slightly then moved a couple feet toward Shizuri as several beams flew right through the location where he would have been if he continued circling. Now he was a couple feet closer to her. He had to keep this up.

"Wow," Saiai said watching the fight. "He can super keep up with Mugino."

"Basically, it is just his power," Frenda said shrugging. "He can't beat her and it is only a matter of time."

"I still don't see an AIM field…" Rikou said softly and the other two looked at her briefly.

"Stop dodging and accept your fate like the pest you are!" Shizuri yelled at him.

"How often do people do that when you ask?" Touma yelled as he dodged two beams and blocked a third with his hand.

"Shut up you piece of shit," she yelled and a large orb appeared in front of her.

Touma was prepared to dodge as he kept moving but he realized a second before the beam was fired, the other three girls where behind him and they were in the path of the blast. Shizuri was to focus on him to notice the danger to her friends. "Get out of the way," he yelled to the girls the second the large beam flew at him. The girls saw the danger and tried to move but they were going to be too slow. He saw the look of fear on the blonde girl's face and she would definitely be hit directly by it. The other two would just get hit by the explosion that would follow. Touma's body was already moving before his mind could think.

Frenda fell backwards in shock as the large green beam came right at her while Saiai and Rikou jumped out of the way. She was about to yell when a shadow appeared between her and the beam. The boy reached his hand forward and right as Shizuri's Meltdowner hit his hand, it stopped. He moved forward pushing the most destructive ability in Academy City forward with a single hand. The beam died down and he stood unhurt with his back to her. The way the moon was positioned over him and in her view from sitting on the ground, he looked oddly tall.

"You ok?" he asked without turning around.

"Yeah…" Frenda muttered. It was dark so it was hard to see but she felt her face flush.

"Watch where you aim those things," Touma yelled at Mugino walking toward her. "You could have killed her." This was the first time any of them heard him angry.

"Frenda," Shizuri called out. "Get far back I don't want this to happen again. You two go with her. I am going to finish this guy." All three of them quickly got farther back and Shizuri looked at Touma with interest and annoyance. She could not figure him out. He wasn't angry at Shizuri for trying to kill him, but for threatening someone else he didn't even know. _What goes through that idiot's brain?_ She also wasn't happy that he was now walking toward her like he had already won. Four orbs appeared in front of her as she watched him but he didn't stop. "It is going to end right now," she said when he was 10 feet away.

"You're right," he said making a fist. "It is." He started to run toward her as she fired. Instead of trying to dodge to the side or move back, he dived forward. One beam had been aimed to his right and left while the last two were aimed at his head and chest. He dived below three of them and his right hand grabbed the lowest of the middle ones causing it to disperse. He then used the momentum to carry him forward right in front of Shizuri. Several orbs appeared but before they could fire he jumped up and grabbed her left wrist with his right hand and the orbs disappeared instantly. The momentum also carried Touma to tackle Shizuri to the ground. Her right arm was trapped beneath her and his right hand was pinning her left arm to the ground. He was sitting on top of her holding her firmly to the ground.

"Get off you pest," she spat at him while struggling but couldn't get free. She couldn't even feel her ability. _Damn it, he is negating my activation. I was stupid and let him get close._ Shizuri was prideful and tried to be a perfectionist but even she made mistakes. When she did, she immediately found out what she did wrong and learned from it to never make that mistake again. In the middle of life or death on battlefields, one mistake will cost you, like it did right now. She glared at him while struggling. She wasn't a weak little girl but Touma's weight along with his physical strength was enough to keep her pinned.

"Give up," he said staring at her right in the eyes. "You can't win."

She glared at him and it pissed her off to no end but he was right. Right now she couldn't do anything and if he wanted to he could easily kill her. She knew it was entirely her fault but this boy didn't seem capable of murder _. In the worst case scenario, he might be able to permanently negate my ability. If he does he would have to let me up afterwards and then I will kill him when he lets his guard down._ However, part of her was interested in the kind of person this boy was. He didn't seem to care about himself but when someone else was threatened he suddenly changed the entire tide of battle. She didn't understand why he didn't flaunt his power. Shizuri lived in a world where the strong survived and ate the weak so she didn't understand about protecting others. In fact, the only reason she worked with others was to accomplish an objective. If they could not perform their job, they were removed. _Maybe I should see what makes this guy tick._ She looked up at him again and narrowed her eyes. "Those are some interesting words, especially in the position you are in."

Touma looked down and saw that he was sitting on her thighs and with his right hand was holding her arm onto the ground. The other hand however, was grabbing her rather ample chest while pushing her down and keeping her other arm pinned below her body. Her chest was really soft but he realized what this looked like. He was pinning a girl to the ground and telling her to give up. "I-it's not like that..." he started to sputter turning red but Shizuri just seemed slightly amused at his reaction. However, the universe decided to give him another punch to the gut.

"YOU IDIOT WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"

He turned and looked to the bridge. Coming toward him, at the worst possible time, was Mikoto sparking wildly looking at him and the position he was in. His stomach dropped and he realized how bad this looked. "Mikoto," he called out. "It's not like what it looks like." She continued to walk toward him grinning slightly and the electricity doubled around her.

The other three girls were discussing what they were looking at since none of them knew what was going on or why the Railgun was there. "Mugino…" Frenda cried out softly.

"Wait," Saiai asked. "Was this whole thing just a lover's quarrel?"

"I'll be rooting for you Mugino…" Rikou said softly.

* * *

 **Longest chapter so far for this story but I had a lot of stuff I wanted to put in it. This one set up a lot of things for future chapters. Now Shizuri Mugino is interested in Touma, though maybe not in a romantic way. Maybe she won't cause too many problems for him… hahaha. If you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you. Tried to think of away to have Touma beat her without just punching her in the face.**

 **Ruiko should have some fun escapades too. No idea how the readers will react to this, some will probably like it and others will want her to stay a level 0 because it is part of her charm.**

 **Oh, help settle the Delta Squad's argument. The best type of swimsuit is?**

 **Feel free to let me know what you think. I enjoy reading reviews, comments, and suggestions.**


	22. Progress

**A couple of things need to be addressed here. This chapter should answer a lot of questions people had in the comments but I will personally address three things.**

 **First, most of you are horrible perverts. I approve.**

 **Second, Touma won the argument about which swimsuit is the best. It seemed like most people who answered liked the two piece spider suit. BUT, there will not be a swimsuit contest where Touma is the only judge. Well, there is no plan for that any time soon.**

 **Third, I was going to have an accidental kiss with Mugino but many of you immediately talked about wanting it. So in order to troll you I edited it out. HAHAHAHA. I did not want to be too obvious.**

 **Enjoy the chapter. Wow 300 comments, I love you all.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Mikoto yelled at him again. Earlier that night, she received a call from Touma but when she answered, he wasn't speaking to her. She was pissed he might have accidently called her, but then she heard him and another girl talking. The girl in the back sounded familiar but the volume was too soft to be sure. It was like Touma's phone was still in his pocket. She was listening to the conversation and was confused at the way Touma was talking. He sounded a lot more confident then he normally did. _Was he trying to act tough?_ Then she heard the girl say he was going to die. Mikoto realized Touma must have called her for help like he promised, but she didn't know where he was. Then she heard Touma say they should move to a field near a bridge he fought at before. _He must mean there._ Mikoto fought him a couple times near an old bridge when she was still trying to beat him. She snuck out of her dorm and ran as fast as she could.

She missed the last train so she had to run. Luckily, she could magnetize her shoes to just run and jump over several roof tops to save a lot of time, but it was still a long way to the bridge. When she got close, she saw a flash of green light in the distance followed by a small explosion and her stomach dropped. She had seen that light before and it was not a good thing. It looked like the Meltdowner ability from Shizuri Mugino. If it was really her, _no wonder he called_. She ran even faster knowing one hit would be the death of him if he missed the attack with his hand. Mikoto knew Shizuri was ruthless and would kill without hesitation. The last time they fought, Mikoto was barely able to win. However, when she got there, she found Touma sitting on top of Shizuri grabbing her chest. She was confused at first but confusion was quickly replaced by anger.

"I can explain…" Touma started to say but he was interrupted by a large bolt of electricity headed right toward him. He stuck out his right hand in front of him and managed to negate the blast before it hit him and Shizuri. "CAN YOU GIVE ME ONE SECOND TO EXPLAI…OMPH." This time he was not interrupted by Mikoto but Shizuri. Touma had to move his arm from holding her left arm to block Mikoto's last attack which meant Shizuri now had a free hand. She immediately used it to punch Touma in the gut. She was really strong and Touma was left breathless and in pain. His body immediately keeled over, and since he was leaning forward already on his left hand, he only had one direction to fall. He fell face first onto Shizuri who was not expecting that result. She had just automatically hit him as a reflex when her arm was free.

"TOUMA!" Mikoto shouted angrily.

He tasted something sweet before he felt the final blow.

Shizuri just kneed him right between the legs.

Touma gasped in pain and entered the fetal position rolling off of Shizuri. No man could resist a blow below the belt. He was in so much pain and was about to vomit. He could barely register Shizuri standing up and towering over him with a look of pure fury on her face. Her hair was standing on end as she gazed down at him. Several green orbs appeared in front of her. "You…" she started to say but was interrupted by Mikoto.

"Get away from Touma!" Mikoto yelled. Shizuri turned to look at her the orbs not moving. Mikoto had pulled out a coin and was preparing to flick it at her. Shizuri's anger changed slightly to an almost amused look as she looked Mikoto up and down.

"Well well," Shizuri said. "Why are you here? I guess the rumors are true, you are his girlfriend."

"Shut up," Mikoto snapped. "Turn those off and get away from him." He hand was shaking slightly. She may be mad at Touma right now, but she was also scared because he couldn't move to defend himself.

Shizuri looked at her then back to Touma, who was still on the ground unmoving, and back to Mikoto. She was considering all possibilities. The guy interested her in a weird way, but she assumed it wasn't romantically. Shizuri never had those types of feelings. If someone got her interested in them, she would keep them close until they didn't anymore. When she looked at this guy, an ordinary boy with a weird power, she got a weird feeling in her stomach. She glared at him thinking. If he let him leave she could take her time to figure out why he interested her. She could also find out why he was able to look her in the eyes and seemed to be stronger when someone else was in trouble. On the other hand, he could be a threat to her at some point. Also, the Railgun obviously liked him so it would hurt her if Shizuri killed him. Both ideas had merit, but the threat of being shot from behind tipped the scale. It would be risky to try to defend against the Railgun attack when she wasn't facing Mikoto.

"I was bored anyways," Shizuri says as the orbs disappear. Mikoto lowered her coin in response. She looked back at Touma who was beginning to get some feeling back besides pure pain. "I'm sure we will find time to talk again. It will be a lot easier if you just don't run." She turned from them and walked away with the other three girls following her.

"That wasn't like you," Saiai commented once they were out of earshot. "You super would have just killed them normally." Shizuri didn't say anything to this because she was too busy thinking.

"Basically, it is surprising," remarked Frenda offhandedly. "But I am glad you didn't."

"Oh," Saiai said turning to her smirking. "Could it be you are super into him after he saved your life?"

"T-that's not it at all," Frenda denied venomously but it might have been more convincing if she didn't stutter and blush at the same time. 'Basically, it would at most be returning a favor."

"Shut up," Shizuri snapped and both of them quickly stopped talking, but Saiai continued to smirk at Frenda. She didn't know why she suddenly got annoyed, but at least it was quiet now. Right now, she wished everyone could be more like Rikou and talk a lot less. _So the Railgun called him Touma. I guess it is time to dig up information about him._

Back at the bridge a much more romantic scene was taking place. While Touma was recovering, Mikoto sat next to him and put his head in her lap. It had been a long time since this occurred. It was right before he beat Accelerator for the first time so long ago. He looked up at her when the pain subsided enough for him to focus. She had one hand on his head. "I can explain," he said.

She shook her head. "I caught enough from the phone call to know roughly what happened. As for when I found you, I can guess what happened with your luck. I am glad you survived her though. She normally doesn't care about killing."

"I noticed that," Touma chuckled. "Thanks for coming so fast."

"I had to sneak out of the dorm," Mikoto sighed. "I hope Kuroko doesn't question me to much when I get back."

"You have it rough," Touma commented.

"Not as much as you do," Mikoto laughed. "Really, I'm surprised how much trouble you get into. Is there any of the level 5's you haven't met yet?"

"Uhh," Touma said thinking. "Numbers two and six?"

"Hmm," Mikoto said thinking. "I haven't met them either." Touma started getting to his feet. "Whoa, not so fast. Are you ok?"

"Yea I think so," Touma said getting shakily to his feet. "I have to head back anyways."

"You have something on your face," Mikoto pointed out. And he wiped his face with his hand and something red came off. His ears turned red when he thought of what it was. He looked at her and Mikoto seemed to be glaring at him slightly.

"It was an accident," he said quickly.

Mikoto sighed. "I know but now let's see, you kissed Shokuhou and now Mugino. Do you kiss just anyone?"

"You know I don't," Touma said and then he thought he saw sadness in her eyes when he looked at her. _Ah crap, I made her sad again. I really need to think about what I say first._ Maybe it was the adrenaline, but he grabbed Mikoto's hand as she started to walk off.

"W-what are you doing?" Mikoto said red faced.

Touma gave her a hug and it just made her redder. "Thanks for coming all this way to help me," he said. Mikoto looked up at him and saw him looking down at her smiling. She couldn't say anything and she felt her face burning. "I am also looking forward to our date Saturday." That was the last straw for Mikoto and her vision blurred slightly as her brain started to fry. She managed to get a hold of herself quickly enough to avoid passing out.

"I think I know what it will be," she said trying to sound casual. "A carnival is coming to Academy City. It should be fun."

"Hmm," Touma said. "Sounds interesting and hopefully nothing crazy will happen so we can enjoy ourselves."

"Haha," Mikoto laughed. "You make it sound like every time we hang out something bad happens." Touma opened his mouth and she punched his shoulder while quickly added, "Don't you dare." He closed it again smirking. "I got to go, Kuroko is going to freak if I am not back soon."

They walked back to their dorms for most of the way in silence with occasional small talk. Then they split up to go back to their respective dorms. The only problem was neither of them was aware of another person who was watching them since Touma had used Mikoto's head as a lap pillow.

* * *

Earlier that night at the Tokiwadai dorms, Kuroko had just exited the shower when she saw Mikoto sitting on her bed and seemed to be really concentrating on a phone call. "Onee-sama I'm out," she called out cheerfully.

"Hush," Mikoto said waving her silent while she was listening to her phone. Kuroko was now interested in who she was talking to, but after a while, she still didn't hear Mikoto say anything. When Mikoto finally hung up and suddenly stood up, Kuroko finally broke the silence.

"What was that call about?" she asked.

"Sorry," Mikoto said clapping her hands together. "I got to go out for a bit, please cover for me." Before Kuroko could say anything Mikoto had dashed out of the room.

Kuroko's forehead narrowed as she thought about it. _Onee-sama is dashing out after curfew so she has to be meeting someone. But I didn't hear her say anything so who could it be? Don't tell me…the ape?_ Kuroko quickly teleported off her nightgown and switched to a shirt and skirt then teleported out of the dorm by looking out the window. She instantly teleported onto the roof in order to see which direction Mikoto ran off in. Catching sight of Mikoto running down the streets, Kuroko followed her by teleporting from roof to roof. She watched Mikoto dash to the train station but when she walked out it looked like she missed the last train. _Where is she trying to go?_ Kuroko was about to teleport down to talk to Mikoto directly but suddenly Mikoto dashed away at full speed. She actually used her electricity to magnetize her feet to jump from building to building.

Kuroko knew something big must have happened to cause Mikoto to run so fast. _Maybe she isn't meeting someone but trying to help them?_ Kuroko stopped for a moment, thinking, but realized she had to keep moving to keep up with Mikoto. She just lost sight of which way Mikoto went. She teleported up to a taller building and looked around trying to find out which direction she went. Running around blindly was not going to do her any good. For now, she had to look for a sign of what could be causing Mikoto to head there. After a minute she couldn't see anything and started to teleport to nearby buildings.

"ONEE-SAMA!" Kuroko called out but there was no answer. Mikoto was either too far away or just didn't answer. She sat down on the roof with her eyes watering. "Onee-sama," she sniffed. "If you just told me what the problem was, I would have helped you." She looked around again and in the distance, near a bridge, she thought she saw a flash of lighting. "Onee-sama," she said a little louder. She recognized that electricity anywhere. She could cover that distance in just a few minutes but the buildings ended a good distance before the bridge. She would be spotted for sure if she got to close. She teleported as fast as she could to get to the last building and see what was happening.

When she got closer she saw a couple girls walking down the street from the bridge area where she saw the electricity. None of them looked like they had been electrocuted but the one in the middle seemed to be a little muddy. Kuroko decided to ignore them. Interrogating them would waste precious time to find Mikoto. She thought she saw a small figure in the distance sitting in the field near the bridge. She decided to approach cautiously by teleporting around them from the other side of the bridge entrance. She peered out from behind the bridge and her jaw dropped.

 _IT CAN'T BE,_ she yelled in her head. Sitting on the ground was Mikoto with the ape lying down next to her with his head in her lap. What was worse, Mikoto looked really happy to have him in that position. Kuroko couldn't hear them but it looked like the ape was hurt. After a minute, he stood up shakily and Mikoto stood up next to him. They talked a bit more and Mikoto pointed to his face. He wiped his face with his hand and said something to Mikoto. Mikoto turned away from him and started to walk away but he grabbed her hand and pulled her close. Kuroko started to bite her hair in anger and emitting such a powerful killing aura she was surprised they didn't feel it. The only thing stopping her from attacking him now is that Mikoto had been getting angry at Kuroko for saying and doing bad things to the ape and Kuroko had to see what was going to happen. They said a few more words and walked back into the city. _At least they aren't holding hands. I need to talk to onee-sama about this._

Kuroko teleported back to the roofs and watched Mikoto and Touma walk back to their dorms. After a while they split up and Kuroko decided now was the time to get back to the dorms first to meet Mikoto there. She rushed back to her room and waited for a couple minutes before her phone buzzed. Mikoto had texted her to teleport her inside without being seen. Kuroko looked at the message for a moment then teleported outside to meet Mikoto. Mikoto waved to her and Kuroko shook her head at her.

"You need to stop breaking curfew," Kuroko said.

'Sorry," Mikoto said sheepishly rubbing the back of her neck with her hand. "Something important came up and I had to take care of it."

'Oh really?" Kuroko said but her voice came out slightly cold and Mikoto noticed.

"Is something wrong?" Mikoto asked confused.

"Nothing onee-sama," Kuroko said and teleported them back into the room. Mikoto started to change into her sleepwear while Kuroko just sat on her bed and watched her. Mikoto could feel Kuroko's eyes on her but it didn't feel like then normal predatory gaze, it felt darker.

"Ok Kuroko," Mikoto said sitting on her bed, crossing her arms, and looking directly at Kuroko. "Something happened. Are you going to tell me?"

Kuroko looked closely at Mikoto's face. It was full of concern for her but Kuroko wasn't sure if she should just come out and tell her yet if Mikoto was keeping secrets from her. "Who did you go out to meet this late?" Kuroko asked crossing her arms too.

"Ah there was a sale I needed to catch," Mikoto lied and her eyes looked away from Kuroko. Kuroko felt a stake pierce her heart. She was hurt Mikoto was lying to her.

"Why are you lying to me onee-sama?" Kuroko asked. "I know you went to meet that guy."

"How did you know?" Mikoto asked in surprised but then changed direction. "Did you follow me?" Kuroko nodded. "You shouldn't have done that."

"You shouldn't have lied to me," Kuroko said a little louder. "I worry when you keep sneaking out at night or coming in late. Then it turns out it is just to meet that ape!" She started to get even louder.

"I told you to stop calling him that!" Mikoto said loudly. "Besides, I can meet anyone I need to."

"Onee-sama," Kuroko said tears filling her eyes. "I thought we were a team and yet you leave me in the dark just to rush off seeing that worthless barbarian. Who knows what kind of inappropriate stuff you do with him?" A vein pulsed on Mikoto's head but she managed to avoid shocking Kuroko, for now.

"Let me get this through your head," Mikoto slowly said irritated. "One, he needed my help and called me specifically. Two, if any of my friends were in trouble I would do the same for them, including you. "

"But you want to be more then friends with that ape?" Kuroko asked. She took the way Mikoto's face turned red as an indicator she was right.

"Three," Mikoto continued as if she had not been interrupted. "Stop insulting him all the time. He is one of the nicest guys I know. Everyone else thinks well of him, why don't you? He even saved your life and doesn't bring it up at all."

"Because he is trying to steal you away from me," Kuroko said her eyes filling with tears. She suddenly teleported behind Mikoto and wrapped her arms around her grabbing her chest.

"Kuroko!" Mikoto said shocked and turned red.

"I can't lose you to that ape," Kuroko cried and teleported all Mikoto's clothes off of her along with her own. "I only have one option, I have to take you all for myself now….." Whatever she was going to save after was cut short as Mikoto shocked her with a lot more electricity than usual. The lights over their head flickered then turned off as they short circuited and, from the sound of several other girls yelling, most of the floor was probably out of power.

"KUROKO!" Mikoto yelled angrily and threw Kuroko off her bed onto her own. A normal person would have been unconscious from the shock but Kuroko had developed a strong resistance to Mikoto's electricity from constant exposure. She stirred feebly letting Mikoto knew she could hear her while Mikoto covered herself with her arms to keep some dignity. "I am tired of you constantly trying to molest me and insulting Touma. I can't talk to you anymore right now." She grabbed her clothes and got dressed and covered herself in her sheets to go to sleep. She didn't turn and see the tears running down Kuroko's face.

* * *

The next day Touma was heading to school early. There were a couple reasons for this. One, Index was not happy with him because he took forever to come back last night and didn't bring any food. He woke up early and quietly made breakfast with what little ingredients were left in the dorm. He knew Index would not be happy with the bland breakfast so he snuck out of the house before she woke up. Second, Motoharu said it was important for them to discuss something before school starts. When he arrived he saw Motoharu, Pierce and Jason at their desks discussing something with serious looks on their face.

'Why did I need to get here so early?" Touma asked yawning.

"How could you forget?" Pierce asked incredulously. "Don't you remember what comes out today?"

Touma opened his mouth but then remembered. Today was the going to the release of one of the most anticipated Gal Game of the year Ultimate Paradise World G. It was suppose to be a very complicated and realistic dating game with 250 possible girls in it. What the company promised was every decision you made, no matter how small, would affect the entire game. The game developers said it would be improbable, though possible, to get all 250 girls in one play through so they issued a challenge. Anyone can upload their game to the company's website and the first person to get all 250 girls would get a fully paid week's vacation for them and a group of friends anywhere in the world. The Delta Force naturally decided to take up this challenge but with all the recent events, Touma forgot about it. "That's right, it comes out today."

"Now he remembers," Motoharu said face palming. "Now we can buy the game today but it won't activate until 8 a.m. tomorrow morning. So after school we need to get it and then start planning."

"Ah," Jason said sheepishly. "I can't. I have work after school today. Can you pick me up one if I give you the money?" Motoharu nodded and Jason handed over a wad of cash.

"I can't go with you either," remembered Touma. The reason he and Jason couldn't go was they were going to research his hand this evening. "Pick it up for me too."

"I'm charging you a service fee to do it," Pierce said seriously.

"What why?" demanded Touma.

"Skipping out on us to go on a date," Pierce said glaring. "It's supposed to be bro's first."

"It's not a date," Touma said indigently.

"Sure it isn't Kami-yan," Motoharu said smirking.

"Nah it isn't," Jason said leaning back in his chair. "He is helping me with something before I have to do any Judgment work."

"Fine," Pierce said. "I suppose I can waive the service fee."

"Your kindness knows no bounds," Touma said rolling his eyes.

"Hey," Jason said. "Look who just walked in. I bet he could help us." Everyone turned and saw Accelerator walk in and take his seat near them.

"Hey Accel-kun," Pierce said. "Want to join us on the most important mission of our lives?"

Accelerator looked over at him for a moment his interest was barely aroused but he knew this couldn't be true. These idiots probably had some stupid or perverted idea and just wanted help or a distraction. "Ok I'll bite," he said. "What is this so called important mission?"

"There is this new ultimate masterpiece of a game where we have to capture all 250 girls…" Pierce began but Accelerator immediately tuned him out.

"Sounds stupid, I don't want any part in it."

"Don't be that way," Touma said. 'The winner gets a week paid vacation to anywhere in the world from the company."

"Still don't care."

"Dang," Jason said but his smirk indicated his thoughts didn't match his words. "I thought Accelerator was a real ladies man and he would be a prime candidate to get all the girls. But if he can't do it, we might have to rely completely on Touma. After all, he can get any girl he wants."

"Who said I can't do it?" Accelerator said angrily. _No way was the hero better than him._

"Well obviously you," Jason said shrugging while Touma, Motoharu, and Pierce smirked behind their backs. Jason was really good at manipulating people. "Someone of your skills should obviously be able to get the ladies and be able to clear this game in no time, but for some reason you don't think you can."

"I can do anything," snapped Accelerator.

"Prove it," Touma said joining in while Accelerator glared at him. "Let's see you beat all of us in the number of girls you can get."

"Fine," Accelerator said. "Get me a copy of this game and I'll show you who the best is."

Touma, Jason, Pierce, and Motoharu all smirked. Accelerator was so easy to manipulate if you pretended he couldn't do something.

* * *

Mikoto was walking down the street after school alone. She didn't speak to Kuroko at all in the morning and Kuroko did not meet her after school. She felt a little angry at herself for over reacting so much to her friend but the stubborn part of her did not want to apologize. She purposely went a different way than usual because she did not want to run into Ruiko or Kazari. She was worried they might know about Kuroko's and her fight and she was not in the mood to explain it. She stopped and sighed. _Why did I act like that? Was it because she kept insulting Touma?_ She shook her head and continued walking. Then she saw something to surprise and interest her.

She saw Touma and Jason walking toward the middle of the city. Since they were friends, this was not what surprised her. As she was about to call out to them she stopped because she noticed Accelerator staying a good distance away from them but obviously watching and following them. Curiosity made her sneak around behind Accelerator and ask, "What are you doing?"

Accelerator turned around and glared at her. "Shut up. I'm following the f#$%*$ hero to see what research station he is going to."

"Research station?" Mikoto asked. "Why?"

"They finally are examining his hand," he said as he began walking after Touma and Mikoto followed interested. "I want to know about it. I was told some pretty stupid things about how it worked that can't be true."

"Like what?" Mikoto asked frowning.

"That it actually destroys AIM fields." Accelerator spat out.

Mikoto's eyes widened. "That's impossible, interference maybe, but not outright destroying." Accelerator nodded in agreement and both of them continued to follow Touma and Jason. It took awhile but eventually they arrived in District 1 and watched both of them enter a skyscraper. "Do you know which research division this building is with?"

"Nope," Accelerator said just strutting into the building without a care and Mikoto quickly followed. They entered the well decorated lobby and past the large marble water fountain. They walked up to the front desk where a young woman looked at them. 'I want to see the two people who just entered a minute ago."

"Do you have an appointment?" she asked.

"No," he said but then grinned evilly. "You have 1 minute to get them or you find out why I am called Accelerator." The women's face paled and she grabbed the phone on her desk and started dialing while Mikoto sighed.

 _He's a big of a bully as ever._ However she was glad he was here, it sure made it easy to get in.

"Sorry to bother you," the women said. "We have two people looking for you."

They both heard Jason's voice, "Is it a crazy looking guy and a girl?" Accelerator's eyes narrowed and the woman was afraid to respond but Mikoto just shook her head.

"Yes," Mikoto said loudly to the phone ignoring Accelerator's glare now directed at her.

"Send them up," Jason's sighed but he sounded almost amused.

"Right away," the women said and hung up. "Take those elevators to the 16th floor and make an immediate right to the end of the hall." Mikoto thanked her but Accelerator just glared at both of them and they went up the elevators. When they got to the room, they saw Touma sitting in a chair in the middle of the room and he waved to them in acknowledgment. The room was filled with a lot of equipment and several smaller machines were close to Touma rotating around him measuring something.

"Hey Mikoto, Accelerator," he said. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard they were going to experiment more on your hand so I wanted to watch," Accelerator said in the tone of someone who can do whatever he wants. "There is no way the bullshit you fed me was true. The third rate just followed me because she was bored."

"Hey," Mikoto said indigently.

"And I told you everything I knew," Jason said walking up to them from the corner of the room. "Not my fault you didn't believe me."

"The bullshit about creating an Anti-AIM field can't be true," Accelerator said. Jason shrugged but the only other person in the room, a brown haired woman, spoke up.

"It is possible it is in fact not that," she said. She wore an expression of being tired with dark bags under her eyes. "But our last scans only led to that conclusion. Now that we have the proper instruments, we are hoping to get a full picture of his hand's ability."

Mikoto gasped when she realized whop the women was. "Harumi Kiyama, what are you doing here?"

Kiyama looked at Mikoto. "Ah Misaka-san, it has been awhile. I still work part time as a researcher. Kagere-san here specifically requested me to help him." Mikoto looked at Jason who shrugged.

"She is good at what she does," he said. "Well anyway if you two can just take seats away from the middle of the room we can start."

Mikoto and Accelerator took their seats and watched the experiment. As level 5s, they both have been subjected to countless more experiments then most people in the city. They also had really bad experiences with the results of those experiments so they were watching the experiment on Touma with a weary expression. Jason took a seat across from Touma and his shadow surrounded him and Touma in a semi transparent dome. "I am going to start the same way we did last time to verify the same results," Jason announced and Kiyama nodded. Several shadow tendrils moved from random directions at Touma's hand and kept being negated with the sound of breaking glass. After a couple minutes of this, Jason said, "Moving to continuous negation." A larger tendril crashed into Touma's hand and the sound was heard while it was being negated. However, the tendril kept flowing into the hand but was being negated as fast as it hit. After a minute of that Jason got up and went to talk to Kiyama who was monitoring the data.

Mikoto walked over to Touma. "So doesn't seem that dangerous of an experiment."

Touma laughed. "I specifically requested the non painful ones. So far they just did exactly the same thing as last time but it seems like they have a lot more equipment."

"So they are trying to figure out if you hand destroys AIM fields?" Mikoto asked. "That sounds unlikel.." She was cut off from a shout from Accelerator.

"What bullshit is this," he said. Accelerator had walked over to observe what Jason and Kiyama was doing. "This isn't possible."

"Well this seems to say otherwise," Jason said grinning but looking at the data flash across the monitors. "His hand is emitting an Anti-AIM field capable of negating even level 5 abilities."

"We even have the wavelength it uses," Kiyama said scanning the information. "Hmm, Kagere-san, take a look at this." Jason leaned over her shoulder. "After I isolated the Anti-AIM frequency, I started trying to see if there was a frequency that would cause some kind of reaction. This frequency here had the only results, albeit just a small one." Jason frowned. "Do you think you can duplicate it by modifying yours slightly?"

Jason's eyes flashed and he nodded. "Though I am not sure why that frequency should have caused a reaction." He walked over to Touma and Mikoto. "We might have something so if you could stand back Misaka-san. I am going to try something." She nodded and moved back to her seat. Accelerator was still standing next to Kiyama watching the monitors. Accelerator may be a student, but the stronger the ability user, the smarter they were. Ability users had to be smart to do the complex calculations for their abilities. Accelerator could understand most data better then a lot of top level scientists.

"So what did you find?" Touma asked curious.

"Well," Jason said. "There is a certain frequency that when we projected on your hand there was a very small reaction that was almost unnoticeable. I am going to try to modify my shadow's frequency to imitate that specific frequency to see if we can cause a larger reaction. I am not sure what will happen but should be interesting."

"Wait what," Touma asked. "You don't know?"

"Nope," Jason said. "But that's why we are going to find out. Stay still and don't talk. I need to concentrate." The shadow tendrils started wrapping around them again creating the transparent dome. This time however, at the top of the dome, several shadows were joining in one spot creating a small black orb. A piece of the orb extended downwards and from it came a single black sharpened point, like the end of a pencil or a spear. It continued to stretch toward Touma's hand and it was vibrating ever so slightly.

Touma frowned looking at this but didn't say anything. He didn't know why it was moving so slowly, but judging by the look on Jason's face as he was watching his tablet, he was doing something that took all his concentration. Touma never saw Jason's shadow vibrate either. _Has he done this before or is he trying something new?_ When the shadow spear was about a foot away he felt something. His hand was pulsing like the first time he met Jason and helped him retrieve his shadow. He looked at it but he didn't see anything unusual but he FELT it. It was like his heart was beating fast in his hand. The closer the spear got to him the faster and harder his hand pulsed. "Uh Jason," Touma mumbled unable to take his eyes of the spear about to hit his hand. "This might not be a good ide.." The spear made contact with his hand before he could finish.

CRACK.

The sound of a single piece of glass breaking, like a rock hitting a car windshield, echoed through the room. At the same time his hand let off a white light. The light turned into a wave of light and emitted from his hand in all directions causing all the shadows within a couple feet of him to disperse instantly. The force did not cause any damage to Jason who was right in front of him but his hair and clothes were blown back slightly as if a breeze came through the room. The rest of the shadows disappeared after that. "What the..." Touma said as he felt angry for no reason. Everyone suddenly stood up in alarm but a huge grin split across Jason's face.

"Well," he said rubbing his face. "That was definitely progress. Kiyama, what happened there?"

"He expanded the Anti-AIM field as a wave to about 5 feet away from his body where it faded away instantly," she said her eyes scanning all the information on the monitor. "Your entire AIM field disappeared from all scans when the wave encompassed you. It's as if by being covered in that wave caused you to temporarily lose your AIM field."

Jason raised an eyebrow and walked over to her. "Let me see." He examined the information while Accelerator looked at the monitor too with interest. "Hmm, it seemed like that was the case. I couldn't feel my ability when the wave hit me for a second. If we slow down the data we can see just the ability and AIM field being destroyed here," he pointed to the monitor, "then when it hit me, here, the rest of my ability disappeared even though it wasn't within the five feet."

"It looks like his signature disappeared right after that wave ended," Accelerator said pointing to a sudden drop in the Anti-Aim field wavelength.

"It seems like after the wave his hand takes a moment to recollect so his hand won't negate for a second or two after using it. That's weird but not unexpected. However if you look here, the wavelength is not quite as strong…" He, Kiyama, and Accelerator started talking in detail about this and eventually Mikoto walked over to Touma.

"Wow," she said to Touma sitting on Jason's recently abandoned chair. "That was unexpected."

"Yea," Touma muttered. "Tell me about it," He stared as his hand. The pulsing stopped and it felt just like normal but he couldn't let go off the strange feeling. Right when the shadow touched his hand, the pulsing stopped, but he had felt a sudden rush of anger coming from deep within him he couldn't explain. It disappeared as fast as it came, but he still remembered the feeling. Mikoto's hand reached and gently grabbed his and he looked up at her. She was staring at him with concern because of the way he was acting.

"You are hiding something," she said watching him closely. "What happened?"

"I felt strange there for a second," he said.

"Strange how?" Jason asked. Neither of them had heard him move toward them. Mikoto quickly let go of Touma's hand.

"I felt a rush of anger for no reason," Touma muttered and he realized how stupid it seemed. "Ah never mind... It's nothing."

"No tell me," Jason said looking at him while writing down everything he said. "I don't care what it is; tell me anything that was even slightly unusual."

"I felt a sudden rush of anger when your shadow hit my hand," Touma elaborated. "It felt like part of me wanted to punch you. It disappeared just as fast but it was definitely there."

"Hmm," Jason said frowning. "I can't say what might have caused that. Do you want to continue? I was planning to do that same thing a couple more times."

Touma nodded. "I was just surprised but it wasn't anything really bad. I will let you know if it gets worse." Jason nodded and looked at Mikoto who just got out of his seat.

"Well then let's do this a couple more times," Jason said taking his seat. "Kiyama, you ready?" She nodded.

Touma watched Jason do the exact same thing again. As soon as the shadow spear hit his hand the wave of light caused all the nearby shadows to disperse. Jason had moved back a couple feet so he was just outside the range of the light burst. This time all the shadows did not disappear, only the ones in the blast. A few minutes passed while they took notes and then they tried something else slightly different. Several thicker tendrils were right outside the estimated radius of the light that came off Touma's hand. The third time Jason used the spear to strike Touma's hand, right when it made contact, the thicker and stronger tendrils came forward at the same time. The blast of light dispersed most of the tendrils but some of the ticker ones remained near the end of the blast. They were smaller but still managed to stay intact. After the third time Jason got up and started talking with Kiyama. Touma felt the same familiar rush of explainable rage every time his hand sent out the light wave.

"What the f%&^ is your hand made of," Accelerator said walking forward to Touma. "If I saw those readings anywhere else I would have said the machines were broken."

"Was it that unusual?" Touma asked.

'Unusual doesn't begin to describe that," Accelerator spat out and sat down without explaining anything else.

"Now we know how you manage to beat us," Mikoto said. "None of us would have expected an ability that could actual destroy AIM fields." Accelerator made an angry noise at this but didn't say anything.

After a few minutes Jason walked over with looking at the screen on his tablet. "OK well," he said. "We have a lot of solid data now and definitely discovered some interesting things. It does in fact appear your hand generates an Anti-AIM field that actively destroys any AIM fields and the abilities created through them that enter its range. We still do not know why it stops just around your hand, but until we can replicate the Anti-AIM wave, we won't be able to experiment with it. I don't know how we could do that yet though."

"You want to replicate it?" Mikoto asked. "Why?"

"Because it would be easier to experiment with the frequency and wavelength of the Anti-AIM field without any risk to Touma," Jason said as if stating something obvious to a kid. Mikoto glared slightly at him. "But that is still a long ways away before we could do that."

"What did you find out about the burst of light?" Touma asked.

"A lot of things actually," Jason said grinning. "It was really amazing. The light wave was the boundary of your Anti-AIM field. It was forcefully expanded by contact with this specific frequency. We still don't know why it just decides how far it can go before it just stops. The force of the expansion should have carried the field a lot farther than just a couple feet. But now we have a lot of information about that field and the wave so we should be able to eventually experiment on it specifically. This might tell us more about your hand and the possibilities it holds."

"Why does that certain frequency cause the range to forcefully extend itself?" Accelerator asked. "From what I saw, there shouldn't be a reason for it."

Jason frowned. 'I don't know either. While I focus on keeping that specific frequency with my shadow, it actually loses all of its offensive ability. Even if it wasn't the Imagine Breaker, the shadow at that frequency probably couldn't pierce a piece of paper. There has to be a reason why Touma's hand reacts so strongly to that specific frequency. That frequency might also be what causes those rage flashes of yours, Touma."

"Anything else?" Touma asked. "It is getting late and I still need to do some shopping before heading back."

"There is one other thing," Jason said. "When your hand does the expansion of the field, it leaves you vulnerable for 2 seconds after the initial blast. Your hand won't negate anything during that time so be careful if it ever activates. We still have to go through all this information before I can give any more specifics or explanations. Oh that's right." He reached into his pocket for a small envelope and handed it to Touma. "It's the normal payment for your participation." Touma nodded in thanks while Mikoto and Accelerator looked at him curiously. They all left Jason to continue his research and left the building together.

"What's with the money," Mikoto asked.

"Ah," Touma said. "I originally joined because of money problems and Jason said he would pay to research my hand. Though now it is less about the money and more about actually wanting to learn about it." He held up his right hand.

Mikoto's forehead narrowed in confusion. "That's weird."

"Why?"

"Because," Accelerator said speaking up. "Experiments are just part of being in Academy City. We usually don't get paid for each individual experiment. Exceptions are some shady experiments that can't be advertised to the public." His face darkened and Touma knew what kind of experiments he meant. "However, even those kinds of experiments had money directly deposited to our account from different sources to make it appear legit."

"I'm not sure what you are getting at," Touma asked but he had a feeling it wasn't going to be good.

"Idiot," Mikoto said looking at him. "If he is paying you cash that might mean this experiment might not be authorized by the higher ups. He is doing this all on his own or in a small group."

"What?" choked Touma. "Jason may be unusual and have his secrets, but he hasn't done anything bad. He even helped us several times."

"I'm not saying he is up to something shady," Mikoto said quickly. "I know he seems like a great guy, but I am just saying it might not be authorized."

"He could be doing this experiment on his own time," Accelerator said shrugging. "He could be paying you with his own funds. He mentioned to me when I 'questioned' him, after the tournament, that he worked for the curriculum research division. I heard they made a lot of breakthroughs recently in making level 1s and 2s so he might have gotten some kind of bonus."

"I would just be careful," Mikoto said patting Touma on the shoulder. "I bet a lot of people would want to know about your hand so I probably wouldn't spread that information around."

"Thanks," Touma said smiling at his friends. Mikoto smiled back but Accelerator looked away. Their words made him think a bit though about how much he knew about Jason. Jason saved him and his friends several times and he was a good friend at school. But outside of that, he really didn't know much about him. He began to realize how Mikoto felt when he kept running off and disappearing while she had no idea what his life was like except when she found him in the hospital. _Maybe I should try to find out more about him._

Little did they all know, walking in the same direction as them were two normal girls with long hair. They were laughing and talking about clothes for next weekend but one thing was different about them. One of them had yellow stars in her eyes.

* * *

 **Not a lot to say down here this time, but there is lots of plot in this chapter and many unresolved issues. They need to get resolved in the next couple chapters though. But does anyone really believe a good guy like Jason could be up to anything bad?**

 **Yay more stuff with the Imagine Breaker. Can't wait to see how far the research goes.**

 **Shizuri and Misaki will obvious try something at some point. We all know no one will feel sorry for Touma because he can get at least one girl no matter who wins. Also, I lied about the accidental kiss.**

 **Feel free to let me know what you think. I enjoy reading reviews, comments, and suggestions.**


	23. Conflict Resolution

**Tons of fun comments for last chapter I see. I'm glad a lot of people like the fact this story explains my take on the Imagine Breaker. I noticed a lot of people just go, oh it is what it is, but I plan to have the information build up and it will make a lot of sense eventually. But now there is debate on how far the research should go and what should happen. I saw some pretty interesting ideas.**

 **Good advice from a Guest: "Never go full yuri rape Kuroko." Though I do feel sorry for her a little bit, Touma steals all the girls.**

 **Okaidi, you have no idea how much I would love to see that. Not sure if it is possible yet, but we will see. I try to keep everyone in character, something I try to focus on but also allow them to change through experiences in this story, but not sure if Accelerator has the power to beat the Delta Force in a gal game.**

 **Anyway, that's enough with my boring chatter, back to the story.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

In Joseph's Diner in Academy City, three girls were sitting at a table. One of them looked incredibly depressed while the other two were trying to cheer her up. Kuroko had her head resting on the table looking like Christmas was canceled while Ruiko was patting her on the back. Kazari looked sympathetic but was also enjoying her large sundae in front of her. Kazari had a big weakness for sweets. Ruiko and Kazari had been enjoying their afternoon eating sweets when they saw Kuroko walking by miserable and they pulled her over to find out why.

"Why was onee-sama so cruel?" Kuroko said through the tears.

"From what you told us," Ruiko said. 'It sounded like you forced yourself on her while insulting her friend. You really couldn't expect anything else."

"I'm just trying to express my love for her," Kuroko cried sadly.

"Shirai-san," Kazari said kindly. "You are Misaka-san's friend but she just isn't into girls."

"But I am a much better choice than that ape."

"Maybe if you tried to stop insulting Touma every opportunity," suggested Ruiko. "Try saying Kamijou-san."

Kuroko glared at her while Ruiko tried to smile, but under Kuroko's stare it was hard. "Kamijou-san," Kuroko finally spat out but her face had the expression of per disgust.

"See," Ruiko said. "That wasn't so hard."

"It was horrible," Kuroko replied. "You can just say it easier because you like him too. I can't understand your taste in guys."

"He's really nice," Ruiko said slightly red. "And he is always willing to help others."

"If you become his girlfriend," Kuroko said eyes sparkling. "Onee-sama will stop chasing him and come back to me. I'll root for your Saten-san."

"Ah, what?" sputtered Ruiko turning red.

"I'm sure Misaka-san will forgive you," Kazari said softly diverting the conversation back to the more serious matter. "Misaka-san wouldn't hold a grudge very long. She might have been stressed out about helping Kamijou-san. I would just let her cool down for a day or two and I bet it will all work out."

"You're probably right," Kuroko acknowledged. "I will apologize and see if she will talk to me again. It was so painful after school to not meet up with her." Her eyes started to water again.

"Oh Shirai," Ruiko said suddenly trying to change the topic to something more pleasant to get Kuroko's mind off Mikoto. "I'm going to be participating in a special development curriculum to try to advance to level 3 in a couple weeks."

"Really," Kuroko said curiously while wiping her tears with her sleeve. "That's great. You are finally going to get an ability. How did you get selected and who's leading it?"

"It was kind of an accident how she got selected," Kazari commented while taking a bite of her sundae.

"Kazari and I were talking about abilities and we were overheard," Ruiko grinned purposely omitting the most important details from Kuroko till the end. Kazari raised an eyebrow at Ruiko who continued. "Turns out Kagere-san is going to lead the development."

"That guy?" Kuroko choked on her drink. "He can't be trusted. He lies every chance his gets."

Ruiko and Kazari looked at each other and grinned. "Umm Shirai-san," Kazari said looking at Kuroko. "We really need to tell you something."

"What?" Kuroko asked.

"Kagere-san just jokes a lot in front of you," Ruiko said unable to contain her amusement. "He actually doesn't lie a lot when you aren't there."

"He also helps a lot with Judgment and Anti-Skill," Kazari added smiling. "He told us he just likes to mess with you."

"That guy," Kuroko said balling her hands into fists. "I will make sure to get my revenge on him for…" Suddenly she went quite and just stared blankly ahead. Kazari and Ruiko also were not moving and had the same blank look in their eyes. Sitting at the table next to them was Misaki twirling her remote. She had been using her mind control ability to avoid notice from everyone in the restaurant. She had noticed them and caught a few words about Mikoto and Touma in the early part of the conversation when Kuroko had been dragged into the restaurant. Curious, she sat next to them and read Kuroko's mind for more details while they were talking.

She was upset for several reasons. One, Mikoto was getting close to Touma and Misaki did not want Mikoto to take her prince away. Two, for some reason, it looked like the rank 4 had met Touma based on Kuroko's memories. Misaki had met Shizuri once and neither of them liked each other. Shizuri was just outright violent while Misaki was noble and lady-like. She was not sure if Shizuri would be interested in Touma but she wouldn't be surprised if Shizuri tried to kill him. Misaki would have to watch her closely now too. _How many girls are going to get near my prince? I'm going to have to be more aggressive publically._ She had stopped the other three girl's conversation because she didn't really care about Jason or Ruiko's ability. She already found out Jason was part of curriculum development and that did not interest her at this time. She got up and left the restaurant while hitting her remote one last time to cause the other three girls to resume talking. She only heard one more thing from them before she was out of earshot.

"SATEN-SAN, stop stealing my sundae!"

* * *

Touma woke up early again the next morning. When he had returned back to his dorm last night, it was pretty late and Index had initially been quite angry because of how hungry she was. Her anger quickly changed to excitement when Touma held up a bunch of groceries and promised to fix her a large supper. He went to bed shortly after eating. However, he didn't fall asleep easily because his mind was going through all the new things he learned about the Imagine Breaker including the wave of light. He also looked at the mark on his arm and couldn't figure out why the wave if light didn't negate the curse. It had skipped his mind due to the new discovery earlier. He didn't remember when exactly he fell asleep, but he woke up early even though he was tired. He had to meet the guys at school early to prepare for the game challenge. He quickly made breakfast and lunch for Index and stored them in the fridge. Then he rushed out of the dorm.

As he reached the first floor and rushed out into the street, he almost ran smack into Misaki who was waiting outside his dorm. When he saw her he quickly stepped to the side and slipped falling on the ground. He looked up and was glad when he saw Misaki was fine. "What are you doing here Shokuhou-san?" he asked in surprise.

She reached down with her hand and helped him to his feet. "To see you silly," she said smiling brightly. "I have something to give you." She reached into her bag and pulled out a bento. "I thought you would prefer a homemade lunch."

Touma stared at her in surprise. He was not expecting something like this. This flag was something he thought only occurred in video games. He reached out and received it. "Thanks Shokuhou-san," he said gratefully. "This means a lot." When he took the bento, he saw there were some bandages on her fingers. _She must have hurt herself making this for me._ He had no idea how right he was. His heart beat faster when he looked into her eyes.

Since yesterday, Misaki found out Mikoto had been steadily getting closer to Touma. Misaki started to plan on how to monopolize Touma's affection. She remembered he mentioned long ago home cook food was one of the best gifts a girl could give a guy so she set out to make him a lunch. However, she had absolutely no experience making anything since she either bought food or one of her clique members made it for her. The initial results were not pretty and it was almost to the level of Last Order's cooking skills. Several memories were modified heavily as a result. She eventually decided to use her power to get a couple other girls to help her. While she still tried to do everything herself, she used their knowledge of cooking to make sure everything came out correctly. Touma was the only person in the world who she would have done this for.

"I knew you would like it," she said blushing lightly. "And you can call me Misaki," she added. 'After all, we have been through a lot."

"Sure Misaki," Touma said smiling and she turned redder. "And it is only fair for you to be able to call me Touma."

"I need to get going," Misaki said still smiling. "I don't want to be late for school. I'll see you later Touma." Before he could respond, she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek and ran off. Touma felt his face turn red. He instinctively looked up at Motoharu's window to see if he saw anything. Touma breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't see anyone.

 _If someone from school saw that, I wouldn't hear the end of it._ He put the bento into his bag and headed to school. _Misaki looked extremely cute._

When he got to school he found Jason, Motoharu, Pierce, and Accelerator already there in the back of the class holding their new games. When Touma got close Pierce tossed him his copy. He looked at it and turned it on. The screen showed the world but it did not continue past the start menu. Instead a timer in the upper right corner was counting down till it was unlocked. "So what's the plan?"

"We were just discussing that," Motoharu said. "I think we decided we should all play it though by ourselves to see how well each of us does. Then we compare notes and work on whoever does the best."

"Soon we will complete the most difficult and important game in history," Pierce said punching the air.

"Make sure everyone takes detailed notes on what they do," Jason reminded them. "We need to collaborate to make sure we can clear every route."

"I'll just complete it the first time so I don't have to put up with this stupidity any longer," Accelerator said offhandedly.

"Good luck with that," Touma said rolling his eyes. "If you do that I'll be your slave for a week."

"Pssh," Accelerator spat. "Who would want someone as useless as you as a slave?"

"I bet some girls would," Jason said smirking and Touma punched him in the arm.

When eight o'clock came around, all five of them started playing simultaneously. Touma stared at the character development screen. He didn't have any plan for what strategy to try so he just decided to make his character based on himself. He gave the avatar spiky black hair and medium height. When he got to the stats screen he put most of the points into stamina and strength. He smirked to himself while he decreased his character's luck as far down as it would go. He glanced up and saw everyone else was concentrating on their own game. He looked back down and pressed start.

Komoe entered her classroom and immediately knew something was wrong. It was too quiet and there didn't seem to be anyone fighting. She looked around and there did not seem to be anyone absent. However, she noticed several of her students had turned around in their seats and were watching the students in the back. She stood up on her stool and looked at the back of the classroom. She saw five of her students focused entirely on a handheld game. Tears immediately filled her eyes as they thought the game was more important than her lesson. Several of the students in the front row noticed this and immediately started barraging the students in the back with insults. Chaos followed and the most important game of history was put on hold.

Our five heroes met again at lunch on the roof of the school building to discuss how far they managed to get. They constantly played throughout the morning except for Touma who, whenever he started to play, got caught by the teacher every time he tried to play and he had to keep putting it away. It seemed like Pierce had gotten the farthest but even he felt he missed several girls.

"Wow this game is tough," Pierce said concentrating on the game. "It feels like the routes led you to choose one of two girls and then you lose the second one. There has to be an opportunity to loop around and raise flags with them."

"Love the younger sister on here," Motoharu commented. "She's the perfect example of sisterly love."

"I thiff you got sisterly love confuthed with perversion," Jason remarked with his mouth full of bread.

"Sisterly love is the greatest form of love on earth," Motoharu argued back.

"Can't we just hack the game and unlock all the girls?" Accelerator asked. 'It would save a lot of time."

"No way!" Pierce, Motoharu, and Touma all said at once. "You can't just cheat when you are collecting girls," Pierce added. "Besides someone tried that already, it's all over the forums. It turns out they have ways to detect if you hack the game."

"I barely got to play," Touma said depressed pulling out the bento he got from Misaki. "I kept getting caught."

"That's because of your…" Motoharu started to say glancing at him then froze going wide-eyed. "Kami-yan, is that a bento?"

"WHAT?!" Pierce said jumping up and grabbing the box from Touma. "Jason pin him down."

"What are you doing?!" Touma shouted as Pierce grabbed his lunch while Jason tackled and pinned Touma to the ground. "Damn it Jason, get off!"

"Open it," Motoharu said leaning over Pierce's shoulder. Even Accelerator looked up in interest. He had just bought some food from the cafeteria.

"Let's see what we have here," Pierce said opening it. "KAMIJOU, you glorious b#$$%&#$. Which girl gave you such a high-class bento? Assorted seafood dishes and there is even a heart drawn in the rice. I don't think we can let him eat this."

"Obviously not," Motoharu said shaking his head. "How dare Kami-yan progress so far and leave us all alone with no girlfriends?"

With a sudden burst of strength, Touma knocked Jason off of him but for some reason he felt Jason wasn't trying that hard to keep him down. He stood up, kicked Motoharu and the gut knocking him down and punching Pierce in the face while grabbing the box. "All of you idiots need to quit stealing my food." Touma yelled at them. He took a couple steps away from them sat down and started eating. He found out Misaki was indeed a good cook, it was delicious.

"Stealing another man's food," Jason said shaking his head. "That's low guys. I couldn't participate in that."

"He has around five girls," Accelerator said shrugging. "I'm not surprised at least one of them can cook. I wish I knew one that could cook." He muttered the last line.

"Maybe you are right Jason," Motoharu conceded. "We can still beat up Touma but stealing his food was definitely a step too far."

"You're right," Pierce agreed hanging his head in defeat. "How could I lower myself to stealing food? As punishment I won't beat him up for having that lunchbox."

Touma wasn't entirely sure what just happened but it allowed him to eat his lunchbox in peace. He gave a quick glance at Jason and was surprised to see him smirking. This was not a good sign for Touma. _I'm going to regret eating this in front of them._ The food was really good though that he decided to worry about it later. _I need to remember to thank Misaki._

* * *

"Where are we going?" Mikoto asked Ruiko. Mikoto had woken up that morning and left again without talking to Kuroko. Mikoto wanted to talk to her but she was still really embarrassed how mad she got even though she knew Kuroko deserved it. It was just really awkward and she didn't know how to approach Kuroko. Kuroko probably assumed she was still mad at her because Kuroko didn't talk to her last night or meet her after school today.

"You'll see," Ruiko said mysteriously as she led Mikoto to their destination. "You seemed down, so this should cheer you up." Mikoto looked at her confused.

"What are you planning?" she asked but Ruiko just kept smiling. Ruiko led them into a diner and Mikoto saw why. In the corner of the room, Kazari and Kuroko were sitting in a booth. "Ah no..." she started to say but Ruiko pulled her to the table anyways.

"Found her Uiharu," Ruiko said cheerfully and pushed Mikoto into the booth and sat on the outside so Mikoto couldn't run. Mikoto couldn't look Kuroko in the eyes.

"We both feel you two need to sit down and talk about this," Kazari said softly looking at both of her friends. "You both are obviously upset with not talking to each other."

Mikoto knew they both where right and she had wanted to apologize to Kuroko for awhile but couldn't find a good opportunity to. This was probably the best she could hope for. Mikoto opened her mouth but Kuroko beat her too it. "Onee-sama," she said looking at the table. "I'm sorry for stalking you and then forcefully undressing you." A couple guys in the nearby table suddenly coughed on their drinks.

Mikoto sighed, _She's still not sorry for insulting Touma. Oh well, I'll take what I can get._ "I'm also sorry for over reacting so much too. But Kuroko understand, if one of my friends needs help, I'm going to go and help them regardless of when or where."

"I know," Kuroko said nodding. "And that is one of the things I love about you, but I wish you would tell me instead of just lying to me about it. You know I will help you save anyone right?"

"Yea," Mikoto agreed and smiled at her friend. She suddenly felt like this conversation was familiar. Then she realized it was the same conversation she had with Touma at the end of the beach vacation. Kuroko was upset Mikoto was running off and leaving her behind. She suddenly felt really guilty because she knew exactly how Kuroko felt. 'Ok, I will try to keep you informed of anything like that. But some stuff is private for a reason, so stop following me around and taking those pictures."

"Of course onee-sama," said Kuroko happily. Mikoto doubted if she would stop but Kuroko seemed to be happy just being back on speaking terms.

"Also, stop trying to grope me all the time."

"Onee-sama is so mean!"

"Yay, everyone seems to be friends again," Kazari said happily clapping her hands. "I can call Jason over now. He needs to drop something off for Saten-san." She pulled out her phone and texted him.

"Why does Kagere-san need to see you?" Mikoto asked turning to Ruiko.

"Ah you don't know," Ruiko said beaming. "You know how he is part of the ability curriculum development?" Mikoto nodded. "I don't know all the details but it seems like he got into an argument with someone and now has to develop away to fast track a level 0 to around level 3. We were actually discussing something else and he asked me. So over the next couple weeks I am going to be participating in some additional ability development curriculum. My school just told me about it today. It seems they received some information about it."

"Wow," Mikoto said smiling at the good news. "That's great. You are finally going to get an ability."

"I still don't think it's possible to just develop an ability that quickly," Kuroko said frowning. "I hope there aren't any side effects." Mikoto silently agreed but she didn't want to ruin the good news for Ruiko. She also had the nagging worry about the discussion she had with Accelerator and Touma about Jason. She didn't think he could be up to anything bad, but she would make sure to constantly check up on Ruiko to make sure nothing happened.

"I'm sure he knows what he is doing," Ruiko said dismissively. "He did warn me I might only get to level 1 or 2 but an ability is an ability."

"I hope you get one you like," Kazari commented.

After a couple minutes of waiting and talking, Jason entered the diner and headed toward them. "Glad it was nearby, but I don't have a long. Got to meet the guys in a little bit."

All the girls greeted him, except Kuroko, who glared but he just smirked at her when no one else was looking. "You said you had something for me?" Ruiko asked.

"Yep," he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small music player. "This has a song you need to listen to once every day. It's only thirty minutes long but you need to listen to it every day from now until Sunday."

"That's it?" Ruiko asked.

"Yep," Jason said. "Though, I did rig this player to not play more than once every 23 hours. In the past we had some overzealous people who tried to get ahead and overload themselves. I know you wouldn't do this," he winked at her, "but I always take precautions. After that, I'll need to take some readings on Monday to see the progress. If you develop any sort of ability before then stop listening to the music immediately and let me know."

"Sounds pretty simple," Ruiko said picking up the music player.

"Any side effects?" Kuroko said watching him closely.

"Umm," Jason said thinking. "Slight headaches are not uncommon while listening to it, but they usually disappear about a minute or two after the song ends. If you get a serious headache stop using it and let me know."

"Yay," Ruiko said pocketing the music player. "I'm going to listen this when I get back to the dorm tonight."

"How was your day Jason?" Kazari asked. 'And what are you doing tonight?"

"Touma and I, along with some other friends from school, are trying to win a contest by being the first people to beat a new game. We played a lot in school," he grinned, "but we didn't get very far. So we are going to marathon it tonight."

"What game?" Ruiko asked interestedly.

"Ah," Jason said his ears turning red. "Secret."

"Ah come on," Mikoto said. "Tell us." Jason just shook his head. She opened her mouth but her brain made a connection first. "Is it one of 'those' games?" Her face turned red and when Kazari and Ruiko saw her expression they realized what she meant and they turned red too.

Jason narrowed his brow in confusion. "I am going to assume that it is not, based on your reactions," he said slowly. "But I am still not saying."

"You and your friends are perverts," Kuroko scoffed.

"Thank you," Jason said turning to her and smiling.

"That wasn't a complimen…"

"So anything interesting happen at your school?" Kazari asked cutting across Kuroko. "Nothing ever happens at ours and, from what you and Kamijou-san talk about, a lot of fun stuff happens at your school."

"Nothing big happened," Jason said thinking again. "We were involved with our new game all day. Only thing that caused any commotion was Touma had a bento from some girl but none of us knew who it was from."

There was a sound of a glass hitting the table and everyone turned. Mikoto had accidently hit a glass of water over on the table. She quickly picked it up and started wiping the water up with napkins but she looked embarrassed. Ruiko also looked shocked but Kuroko looked oddly content. Kuroko assumed, because Mikoto had reacted so strongly, she didn't give him the bento. So that meant someone else might grab Touma so Kuroko could have Mikoto all to herself.

"Thanks for waiting for us to finish our conversation Jason," Kazari said beaming at him.

"Anything for you," he said and leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. Kazari turned red and deliberately avoided everyone's eyes. Jason waved and left the diner.

Kuroko looked at the bright red Kazari and smirked. "I see your relationship is progressing." Kazari opened her mouth but nothing came out. She was still very embarrassed about public displays of affection beyond hugs and holding hands. Kuroko may not be a big fan of Jason but she does notice how much Kazari likes him.

"So what type of game you think they are playing?" Ruiko asked changing the subject. Kazari shrugged.

"Probably something perverted," Kuroko said. She was close but not quite there.

"What about you Misaka-san?" Ruiko asked.

Mikoto was preoccupied in her own thoughts, she didn't hear Ruiko. She was too busy thinking about who gave Touma the bento. She didn't know every girl he knew, but she had a good idea of who it could be. _It has to be Shokuhou. Why_ _did she suddenly decide to make it for him now?_ She had no way of knowing it was because Misaki had read Kuroko's mind. However, she was too busy trying to figure out what her response should be to think about why Misaki did it. If she tried making Touma a bento, the girls at her school would obvious learn about it and hassle her to no end. Her next idea was just to spend as much time with him as possible before Saturday to limit Misaki's opportunities.

"MISAKA-SAN!" Ruiko called out waving her hand in front of Mikoto's face. "You still here?"

"Ah sorry," Mikoto replied sheepishly. "I was thinking about some stuff. What was the question?"

"Do you have any idea what game they are playing?"

"No idea," Mikoto said. She played a couple of fighting games in the past, but she didn't keep up with all the new games comings out.

"Ah, oh well," Ruiko said her mind roaming around for the next topic to discuss. "How's it going with Judgment on those intruders?"

"Horrible," Kuroko sighed.

"We have no leads," Kazari explained. "Higher ups believe the museum and the tournament were isolated incidents so they aren't trying to look too far into it. Instead, they just want to know how they slipped into Academy City undetected."

Mikoto forced herself to remain silent. She knew this was not an isolated incident but she didn't have any proof to present to Judgment or Anti-Skill to show Touma was the target. Jason knew, but he probably wasn't enough to cause the city to move. She was also worried Touma might get in a lot of trouble if they found out. For now, she would keep an eye out for him. Accelerator and Misaki were also watching for this organization, but Mikoto did not want Misaki near Touma too much.

"For now," Kuroko explained. "We are just told to watch out for suspicious people and report them. We have permission to detain them if we have reason to suspect they might be accomplices of those guys."

"Like those two?" Ruiko asked pointing out the window to a pair of unlikely people. Everyone turned to look at who she was pointing at. A male and female were walking together but neither of them looked like they would belong together. The female looked to be around eighteen and was tall with long black hair tied up in a ponytail that reached her hips. She had on a short white T-shirt tied into a knot at the bottom, revealing her stomach, and her jeans had one pant leg cut off to be very short. Her clothes were really casual and just showed off her curves. The guy next to her had flaming red hair with a barcode tattoo on his very young looking face. He was dressed in black robes and a cigarette in his mouth. He also had a look of being extremely displeased.

 _Kanzaki?_ Mikoto thought to herself stunned. She was not sure of who the red haired guy was but was sure she saw him hanging out with Touma before. Since he was with Kanzaki, he must also be part of the magic side. _Why are they here?_ She thought about it and the only reason she could think of was they were going to meet Touma but they seemed to be going the opposite way of his dorm.

"That girl is really beautiful," Kazari said in awe. "But only the guy looks suspicious."

"We can't just follow them based on their looks," Kuroko sighed. "They have to do something to warrant that and I am not in the mood to stalk them right now."

Mikoto stood up. "I have to go." She turned to Ruiko. "Thanks for bringing me here, I really needed it." Ruiko smiled back at her. "Kuroko I'll see you back at the dorms."

"Don't be late onee-sama," Kuroko said. "The Dorm Supervisor is checking more frequently," Mikoto nodded and casually left the restaurant to avoid attracting attention. When she was out of eyesight from the restaurant she dashed after Kanzaki.

* * *

"Why couldn't he just be at his dorm?" Stiyl growled irritated.

"Lots of reasons," Kaori replied indifferently. "But we can't wait at his dorm as long as Index is there, unless you want to involve her."

"I know," Stiyl sighed. "But the ban on magic while we are here unless we see them is a pain."

"Do you want to advertise we are here?" Kaori asked.

"Yea yea," Stiyl said bored. "Our job is to protect him and locate the spy. This organization is becoming way to much hassle. One of them was able to fight with you, which in itself is a huge cause for concerned." Kanzaki didn't say anything to this but continued walking until a voice came behind them.

"Kanzaki-san."

They both turned around instantly but for two completely different reasons. Stiyl did not recognize the female voice but there should be few, if any, females on this science side who knew Kaori's name. Kaori turned around because she recognized the voice. They turned around to see a middle school girl in her uniform with short brown hair. Kaori recognized the girl as the one who saved her life against the individual known as Wrath. "Ah it's you," Kaori said.

"What are you doing here?" Mikoto said walking up to them.

"Who is this?" Stiyl asked Kanzaki.

"This is the friend of Touma Kamijou that saved my life during my last mission." Kaori explained.

"Ah that's right," Stiyl remarked and looked at the girl in front of him. "If I remember, she is the boy's stalker?"

"I'm not a stalker," Mikoto said indigently turning red. "I'm his friend. I take it you are from the mag…other side from science."

"Very good," Stiyl commented grinning. "You are certainly smarter than him. Perhaps you could help us with another problem. We went to see him at his apartment but he was not there. Due to unusual circumstances we are to abstain from using our abilities for as long as possible. Where is your friend Touma Kamijou? We need to meet with him as soon as possible and that idiot turned off his phone."

"I think he is currently with some of his friends from school," Mikoto said. "I can give one of them a call to see if Touma is there."

"That would be most helpful," Kaori said politely cutting across Stiyl. Mikoto pulled out her phone and called Jason.

"What's up?" Jason asked.

"I need to talk to Touma and his phone is off," Mikoto said. "You're with him right?" She heard several people yell around in the background on Jason's side.

"What the f&#% is with this game?!" This voice sounded familiar.

"Don't destroy it, we need the data!" A voice of someone she didn't know shouted.

"Yea hang on," Jason said. He then yelled at Touma on his end. "Hey Touma, your girlfriend is trying to contact you and your phone is off." Mikoto's face immediately grew red in embarrassment.

"Which one?" someone else yelled back and Mikoto didn't recognize the voice but she immediately switched from embarrassment to irritation.

"Misaka-san," Jason replied.

"Ah the third rate." Mikoto knew now that had to be Accelerator.

"The Railgun?" the first voice she didn't recognize said. "Kamijou, you b#$&#*!"

"Wow Kami-yan," the second voice she didn't know said. "Nice, how far have you gone?" Now Mikoto was back to being embarrassed.

"Shut up you moron!" Touma's voice reverberated through the phone. "Hey Mikoto, I'm sorry about my phone. I forgot to charge it."

"That doesn't matter," Mikoto said quickly looking at Kanzaki and her companion. "Kanzaki and a red haired guy are here looking for you. They said it's important they talk to you." She heard him groan and she got worried.

"It's never good when they want to see me," he said. "Can you lead them to Jason's apartment in an hour so we can clear out the other guys?"

"Yea," Mikoto said. "I'll let them know."

"Thanks a lot Mikoto." Touma hung up.

Mikoto turned to Kaori. "He said give him an hour to clear the other guys out so you can talk in private. I can guide you to where he is then."

"Thank you," Kanzaki said. "Oh yes, this is Stiyl Magnus."

"Are you friends with Touma?" Mikoto asked interested.

"No," Stiyl said flatly without hesitation. "We keep our relationship purely professional. He is just a means to an end when we need his power." Kanzaki shook her head slightly behind him with the corner of her mouth twitching.

"I see," Mikoto said trying not to smirk. _This guy reminds me a lot of Accelerator._ "I figure you can't tell me anything out here, so do you want to grab something to eat since we have time to kill?"

"Your hospitality is most kind," Kaori said. Stiyl shrugged and followed anyways.

* * *

It took a little bit, but Touma finally manage to get Accelerator and Pierce to leave. Pierce thought Touma was trying to clear everyone out so he could go meet Mikoto who just called. Pierce decided Touma needed a lesson for abandoning his friends and proceeded to fight with him for a good five minutes before heading out. Accelerator knew something was up, but he left too after watching the fight. Touma let Motoharu stay because he was also part of Necessarius and involved in the magic side.

"So I take it something happened?" Motoharu said looking at Jason and Touma.

"Yea," Touma said. "Stiyl and Kanzaki are coming here to talk about something."

"I bet it's about that organization," Jason said leaning back in a chair.

"I haven't been in contact with them for a bit," Motoharu said thinking. "But I think I know why they had trouble finding us."

"Why?" Touma asked.

"Since those guys form the organization seem to know about us," Motoharu said. "It's most likely there is a spy in Academy City. If they use magic, it's like broadcasting a beacon on their location. If they avoid using magic, their presence would remain secret, at least for a bit."

"Makes sense," Jason said. "I haven't really been disguising my magic, but no one really cares and they already know about me."

After waiting for a bit there came a knock on the door. Jason opened it and Mikoto, Stiyl and Kanzaki walked in. Jason has never met Kaori and he definitely looked her up and down. He did however recognize Stiyl and his eyes narrowed. He never forgot about Stiyl throwing fire cards at him. As he closed the door and everyone sat down, he called out, "Hey it's the flaming guy." No one expected that and Touma and Motoharu burst out laughing before they could stop themselves. Even Kaori smirked slightly at this. Mikoto didn't get the joke but she quickly got it when Stiyl pulled out a run card and threw it at Jason. It exploded into flames right as Jason's shadow engulfed it to prevent the room from catching on fire.

"So why are you guys here?" Touma asked trying to prevent a fight from breaking out.

"We came to tell you what we found out about this organization," Kaori said. "And also to explain our future movements since it impacts you."

Touma raised an eyebrow. He wasn't sure what their movements had to do with him but they usually meant he would find himself in a dangerous situation. "Ok," he said hesitantly. "What's the news?"

"Well," Stiyl said lighting up a cigarette. "It seems that after they retrieved the Virlerud of Neptune, the artifact at the beach, they moved west into Russia and stole another grimoire."

"They stole a grimoire? Touma asked. "Aren't those books some of the most protect objects on the magic side."

"They are," Stiyl said nodding. "But it's not just one. That one makes 26 of them in total."

"26?" Touma asked wide-eyed.

"Excuse me," Mikoto asked. "Why are these grimoire valuable?"

"They are books of magic," Motoharu explained. "But they are so potent they are harmful to people who try to read them. Normal people would be driven insane just by reading one. We can't even destroy them because the words themselves become magical circles and make the books virtually indestructible. Well except for maybe one way," he gave a brief glance at Touma's hand, "But they are too valuable to just randomly destroy. Most magicians could only comprehend a small handful of these books."

"Anyway," Stiyl said. "With the information from the latest grimoire and from what they have stolen, we believe we know what they are after."

"It can't be good," Touma muttered and everyone nodded in agreement.

"Indeed," Stiyl says. "They look like they are planning to revive someone or summon something. Both options are possible with the knowledge they have at their disposal."

"You don't know?" Mikoto asked.

"There are a lot of possibilities Misaka-san," Motoharu said. "Magic knowledge can be used many different ways depending on how you focus it."

"We believe at this time," Stiyl continued as if he wasn't interrupted. "They are planning to reform the leader of their cult. The knowledge they took will not be complete enough to try to pull a deity class being into our world. They would need one other grimoire and we have that locked up tightly with extra security. "

"At least we have some idea of what they are after," Touma said. "But that does not explain why they want my hand."

"Well," Motoharu said. "They use Christian style magic so their leader probably died during a period of turmoil or they wouldn't resort to magic to reform a long dead person. It would be a lot easier to collect the remains and revive them that way. They wouldn't need several grimoires then. I would bet it was during the Crusades or the Dark Ages."

"Reviving the dead," muttered Mikoto more to herself than anyone else. She had started to delve into the world of magic and already it seemed like a dream, or maybe a nightmare. She never thought it would be possible to revive the dead. She looked over at Touma who was watching her with concern. He mouthed _it's going to be ok._ She smiled at him and resolved herself to listen.

"This leads us to why we are here," Stiyl continued. "Because we have the real grimoire under heightened security, it is possible they will come here to capture Index. We KNOW they are after you," he pointed to Touma, "so we can watch two of their targets at once."

'So you two will be staying at Academy City?" Touma asked. He was both relieved and nervous. Both of these two were very strong and reliable. However, Stiyl had a sort of interesting relationship with him that usually involved a 3000 degree Celsius fire sword being swung at him.

"Yes," Kaori said. "Since Index is not use to Stiyl," Mikoto and Touma noticed a dark look appeared on Stiyl's face, "I will be staying at your apartment in order to guard both you and her when you are isolated from others."

"What?!" Touma and Mikoto said simultaneously embarrassed. Touma immediately thought of the dream he had when Sloth attached and his ears turned red. He could still picture Kaori in the maid outfit. Mikoto's embarrassed reaction was because another very attractive girl was hanging around with Touma and worse, she was going to live with him. It was for his protection, but she was still worried something would happen for Kaori to steal Touma from her.

"I on the other hand," Stiyl said ignoring them, 'will be patrolling the city as much as possible in order to see if I can detect them if or when they enter the city. I still need a place to stay. I would stay with you and Index too, but we want to spread our forces so we can cover more ground and avoid a single target."

"Then might I make a suggestion," Jason said speaking up for the first time in awhile. Everyone turned and looked at him. "You can stay here Stiyl. I have a lot of extra room and since I don't hide my magic, the remaining traces should help hide your presence longer."

Stiyl looked at him thinking with the expression on his face saying he would rather eat dirt then stay near this kid. Finally he nodded. "I can't think of a better solution at this time." If anything, Stiyl was a professional and would take the best option available to him. "Are there any other questions?"

"Is the information about the curse marks and Saints accurate," Touma asked. "If Kanzaki-san is protecting us, wouldn't that make it risky since they would be coming after us?"

"We don't know for sure," Motoharu admitted. "So we would prefer not to run into that situation but making sure you and Index do not fall into their hands is more important. They have a lot of power already, and we do not want to know what they want you for."

"Then I guess we can call this a night then," Jason said. "I assume you will share with us any further developments?"

"If it concerns you yes," Stiyl said narrowing his eyes at Jason. "Anyway, thanks for letting me stay here."

"No problem," Jason replied. "Just don't set the place on fire."

"No promises."

* * *

Touma was walking back to his dorm with Kaori. Mikoto left them just a short while ago because she had to take a different route to her school dorms. Before she left she gave Touma 'The Look.' Touma knew if he tried anything to Kaori, Mikoto would not be pleased with him. It wasn't like he was going to try anything anyways. He was too nice and wouldn't even consider it. Kaori was extremely powerful and could easily beat Touma into the ground if she was serious. When Mikoto left everything was silent for awhile until Kaori spoke.

"So that was Jason Kagere," Kaori said to Touma. "I heard a bit from him from Stiyl and Tsuchimikado. I didn't think someone could use magic and science ability so easily."

"What all did they tell you?" Touma asked.

"Stiyl doesn't trust him at all," Kaori said simply. "He thinks Kagere is a spy for some group and is more then he lets on. Tsuchimikado couldn't dig much dirt up on him and, besides doing some advance research for the city at a young age, doesn't really do anything unusual."

"He is a little strange," Touma admitted. "But I'm surrounded by so many strange people I don't really notice it until someone mentions it." Kaori's lips twitched into almost a smile. When they entered his dorm they were immediately greeted by Index.

"TOUMA!" she cried. "You are late! Ah Kaori," she just noticed her. "What are you doing with Touma?"

"Hello Index," Kaori said smiling warmly. "Due to some circumstances I need a place to stay for a little while. Kamijou-san has been kind enough to let me stay here."

"Humph," Index said looking at Touma. "You should have talked to me first but we can't leave a good person out in the cold. Of course you can stay with us."

Touma rolled his eyes. _Since when was Index the owner of his apartment?_ But he knew better then to mention it.

"Thank you," Kaori said smiling going along with Index. "As thanks, why don't I make dinner?"

"Yay," Index cheered. "Finally Touma brings back a nice girl." She follows Kaori into the kitchen. Touma could only shake his head in amusement at Index's reaction. At least she didn't bite him in the head for bringing Kaori back. _Maybe my luck is changing._

Dinner was really good. With a combination of the ingredients Touma bought yesterday and Kaori's skills, everyone was satisfied. Touma was worried about the sleeping arrangements since his apartment was small but Index was perfectly happy to share the bed with Kaori. It was getting late, but Index had her eyes glued to the TV watching a late night anime about teenagers who could use magic. Touma got up and stretched. He was exhausted and wanted to use the bathroom before bed. His first mistake was opening the door without knocking because he was not use to having guests late at night. The second he opened the door he saw Kaori who was right in the middle of changing. His second mistake was not backing up, apologizing, and closing the door immediately. He could only stare at her smooth skin and amazing body before finally getting his words out. "Ah, I'm sorr…" He didn't get the words out fast enough as a shampoo bottle came out of nowhere smacking him the face knocking him backwards and out of the bathroom. The door slammed shut in front of him.

"TOOOUUUUMMMAAA!" A very angry Index said standing over him as he laid on the ground. She started to reveal her dagger like teeth.

"Such Misfortune," he muttered before Index chomped on his head.

* * *

 **Well, that ends a very uneventful Wednesday. That means only two more days before the weekend and Touma get's to go on a date with Mikoto. I'm sure nothing could go wrong in between then. It's just two days before Touma's big day. What could POSSIBLY go wrong?**

 **Touma: It sounds like you want something to happen.**

 **Frenda: It will be my time to shine.**

 **Shizuri: Shut up Frenda.**

 **Me: I'm sure it's going to be fine Touma but just to be safe I'll decide on someone to replace you.**

 **Accelerator: It's obviously going to be me.**

 **Mikoto: Yea right.**

 **Accelerator: What makes you so sure third rate?**

 **Motoharu: Until you can get a non loli girlfriend, you won't have the drama to be a main character.**

 **Accelerator: I have a girlfriend.**

 **Everyone: WHAT!**

 **Me: Who?**

 **Accelerator: Why would I tell you morons anything?**

 **Me: Jason, stop trying to take over the world and find out who she is.**

 **Jason: Understood boss.**

 **Touma: Dang, I might get replaced.**

 **Misaki: I'll still love you Touma.**


	24. Dawn of War

**This is a long chapter for me but I feel it was worth it rather than splitting it up to partially be in the next chapter. Wow, a lot more people read this story than I originally thought would. The best thing is I still see a lot of older names that have been around since the beginning and I really appreciate it. Knowing you guys like this story makes me feel good. For all the newer people, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy it.**

 **Couple responses to some of the reviewers:**

 **Anon: No, just no. I can't go there, horrible, horrible memories. *Shivers***

 **Agent Nine: Pssh, no main character in Japan knocks. If he started knocking Accelerator would become the main character.**

 **Why are people still discussing Misaki wearing a spider two piece swimsuit? Lol, the chapter ended awhile ago. You people make me laugh.**

 **I'm sure you are all tired of my boring ranting so have fun with the chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

"Touma Kamijou…"

Shizuri Mugino was lying on the couch looking at a binder full of papers and talking to herself. Frenda and Saiai where sitting at a table reading magazines and Rikou had her head on the table sleeping. They were all skipping school today. Shizuri had paid a pretty penny to one of her contacts for the file on Touma and she did not regret it. She completely ignored the files on the level 5 Kami after a brief glance. One look at his file told her whoever made it had no idea what they were doing and it was obviously fake. Touma's file on the other hand was quite interesting.

Just like Rikou had sad, his file showed he had no AIM field for being a student of Academy City. That alone was enough to draw her attention. Even other level 0s had an AIM field since it was something ability users could not normally hide. Occasionally, an ability would let them hide their AIM field, but those abilities were unusual. However, having no AIM field, even when equipment was actively measuring it, was obviously wrong. _It is possible someone purposely falsified this report, but why? His ability is certainly unique and incredibly powerful but during our fight he only ever negated my ability with his right hand. I never heard of an ability that was specific to one body part._ Touma was interesting Shizuri more and more as she continue to read his file. She now had access to his school and dorm location along with information about his arrival into Academy City and immediate family.

Shizuri threw the files on the table and sat up stretching. "That may have been expensive but it definitely was worth it," she said gazing at the others.

"Basically, what did you find Mugino?" Frenda asked.

"It looks like Takitsubo isn't the only one who didn't detect an AIM field," Mugino said staring across the table at the other girls. "It seems like his file also shows he doesn't have one. But we know that has to be impossible since you all saw his ability." The girls nodded. "So I think we are past the point of trying to dig information up on him from secondary sources. Someone obviously has been tampering with his file. The files on Kami are full of holes and false information. It had to be made up to cover someone's tracks."

"You should send Frenda to talk to him," Saiai said grinning broadly. "She super wants to meet her savior again."

"Shut up!" Frenda said turning bright red. "Basically, you have no idea what you are talking about!"

"Good luck…" Rikou whispered.

"Not you too!"

"Maybe you super could and give him a kiss as thanks?" Saiai said adding fuel to the fire.

Shizuri watched them all with a combination of irritation at their useless squabbling, and amusement at Frenda's face. She was still quite pissed about losing to Touma but she was more interested in learning about him and his ability. _Why am I interested in him anyways? I just want to know about his ability._ Anyway, she knew sitting here and making fun of Frenda wouldn't answer any of her questions. "Ok," she said taking charge and everyone went silent looking at her. Shizuri reached into the file of Touma and pulled out a sheet of paper. She passed it to Frenda. "This is his school. Meet him after class and get him to come here. If he doesn't come willingly, feel free to use force."

"M-Mugino," Frenda stuttered. "Basically, why do you want him and why me?"

"My reasons are my own," she said crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes. Frenda went slightly pale in fright. "But you can say he interests me to no end," she continued. Frenda's scared expression changed to a look of worry but Shizuri ignored him. "Besides, I am sure he doesn't have a favorable impression of me right now. You, on the other hand, he saved, so I'm sure you want to talk to him and you can use that to your advantage to bring him here."

"Aww," Saiai said laughing. "She's super worried about him or maybe she doesn't think she can do it?"

"I can definitely do it," Frenda said confidently. "Basically, I just don't see why we need to bring him to one of our safe houses. Shouldn't we just kill him before he becomes a problem?"

"It doesn't matter if he knows about this one," Shizuri said frowning at Frenda. "I also said he interests me so he is not going to die unless I decide he does. Now get going before I get mad."

"Yes Mugino," Frenda said saluting and running out of the room.

* * *

Across the city, around noon, at Tokiwadai middle school, Misaki Shokuhou was sitting at a table surrounded by several very attractive girls who belonged to her clique. They were all talking about normal things including school, clothes, and boys. A lot of the girls were interested in who the boy Misaki was in love with. Somehow, the knowledge she made a bento for Touma got around and she did not know how. She had modified the memories of the girls who helped her but it was possible someone saw her when she was distracted. She started to trace the source of the rumor but since it had spread out so far, it just wasn't worth the hassle to her.

"So Queen," one of them asked. "What is he like?" She was obviously talking about Touma and Misaki noticed all the other girls looking at her in anticipation. She briefly thought about using her ability to make them not talk about him, but she found she actually wanted to talk about how special he was.

"He is like a prince," she said smiling to them all. "He is kind, handsome, brave, and will risk his life to save people. He is also quite strong but doesn't like to brag about it."

"Wow," another girl said. "He sounds amazing."

"He is," Misaki said warmly and a bunch of the girls giggled. "I plan to surprise him after school today."

"Oh," the first girl said. "Can we meet him?"

"I don't think so," Misaki said pretending to think for a moment and several of the girls looked depressed. "At least, not right now. He doesn't like to stand out so I want to respect that."

"Ok," she said and all the girls nodded in agreement. They avoided obviously talking about the topic but kept whispering about how special the guy must be to attract the Queen's attention. This continued all the way through their lunch hour and into the halls as they made their way to class. Several of the girls wanted to follow the Queen to see this boy but everyone respected her to much to disobey her. However their conversation was heard by a certain short brown hair girl.

 _Shokuhou is going to surprise Touma,_ Mikoto thought to herself as she eavesdropped on Misaki's clique. _I knew she was up to something. Ah, but Kuroko wanted to spend the afternoon with me. I guess we can accidently meet up near his school before Shokuhou get's there._ She started planning the best way to 'accidently' run into Touma and hang out with him.

* * *

Unknown to the others, another couple of girls were talking about a certain spiky haired youth during their lunch at Sakugawa Middle School. Ruiko and Kazari were sitting together at a table discussing Touma. "So again, why don't you just tell him you like him and want to go back to dating?" Kazari asked.

"I was going to," Ruiko said. "But then I found out Misaka-san likes him too. I don't want it to ruin our friendship. Ah, if he doesn't like me back the same way I don't know if we can still be friends. It would be really awkward."

Kazari sighed thinking. She really wanted to help her friend and it was also thanks to Ruiko that she met Jason. "I don't think it is really good to keep it hidden," she said. "If you are really bothered about it, maybe you could talk to Misaka-san about it first? I bet if you are honest there won't be any tension between you too. "

"Maybe," Ruiko said stirring her food thinking. She really treasured her friendship with Mikoto but she also really liked Touma. "Maybe if the right situation arises."

"Well," Kazari suggested. "Why don't you just go and surprise Kamijou-san after school? If he is free, you could hang out with him as friends."

"I get the feeling you are trying to set me up with him," Ruiko said looking intensely at Kazari.

"You set me up with Jason," Kazari pointed out. "And this is just like this book I am reading. The best friend helps the main character find true love with a guy who the rival is also in love with."

"So I'm the main character and Misaka-san is my rival?" Ruiko asked Kazari grinning.

"I suppose it depends on your perspective," Kazari shrugged. "But you are my best friend and I want you to be happy."

"Thanks a lot Uiharu," Ruiko said. "I promise to only flip your skit once this week."

"I would prefer if you don't do it at all," Kazari huffed.

"But Jason likes it when I do it," Ruiko replied grinning.

"Only when he is arou…" she replied irritated but then turned crimson and quickly covered her mouth with her hands. Ruiko couldn't help it and she burst out laughing at Kazari's embarrassed reaction. Kazari avoided looking at Ruiko and instead focused on her food. "So how was the first part of the experiment for your ability?" Kazari asked trying to change topics.

"No change yet," said Ruiko sighing and looking sad for a moment. She then looked up and her eyes burned with passion. "I am not giving up though. It is only the first day. It is suppose to be through Sunday and then Monday we have the periodic school examinations to measure our levels. I hope something will show up then."

"I'm sure it will," Kazari said encouraging her. "So are you going to see if Kamijou-san is free after school?"

"I suppose," Ruiko said but the look on her face told Kazari she was looking forward to it.

* * *

Touma woke up with a start. It was almost the end of the day and when he glanced at the clock, class would end in ten minutes. He yawned and looked around. Most of the class was packing up but Motoharu, Pierce, Jason, and Accelerator were still playing the game. Pierce had mentioned earlier that day he was almost through the game. Touma had stayed up late last night playing because his face hurt too much to just fall asleep.

"You look tired Kamijou," Pierce said looking up. "Playing the game all night?"

"A little," Touma said yawning again. "I have a lot of stuff going on so I have to play when I can."

"I bet he found a new girl," Jason said without looking up but with a noticeable grin on his face. "He probably brought her home and spent all night with her."

"Hmm," Motoharu said also grinning. "That would explain the weird noises last night." He was Touma's next door neighbor and knew exactly what happened.

"So he kicked us out to meet a girl?" Accelerator said glancing over. "I guess that's why you call him the Harem King. Who knew the hero had it in him?"

"KAMIJOU!" Pierce yelled and everyone in the class turned to look at him. "How can you just bring girls back to your place and keep them there all night?"

"It is not like that you stupid pervert!" Touma yelled back face palming. He was well aware of all the students and the teacher staring at him wide-eyed. "I don't have a harem." Luckily he only had to endure a couple minutes of people staring at him and muttering before the bell rang. He left the classroom as quickly as he could.

"Wait up Kami-yan," Motoharu said quickly catching up to Touma outside of the school. "Man, you really should wait for your friends."

"Yea," Touma said. "But after saying that stupid stuff in the classroom, I didn't want to get gawked at." He turned around and saw Pierce walk quickly up to them.

"Wow Kamijou," he said. "You run fast."

"It's your fault," Touma muttered.

"Don't be that way," Pierce said putting his arm around Touma's shoulders. "We are just trying to make sure you don't forget us when you finally complete your harem."

"For the last time," Touma said irritated. "I don't have a harem."

"Wow," Motoharu said looking ahead of them. "Who's that blonde?"

Touma turned to look. He only knew one blonde that stood out in his mind, _Misaki?_ It wasn't her and, when he saw who it was, he froze. The blonde girl was in a beret, a black sailor top, a red skirt and had blue eyes. Touma recognized this girl as a friend of Shizuri Mugino. His blood froze when he remembered Shizuri had tried to kill him for no reason Touma could think of and he started sweating. This girl had chased him to try to allow Shizuri to kill him the first time they met. _I believe Mugino called her Frenda._ He also recognized her from earlier this week when he stood between her and Shizuri's ability. If Frenda was here, it probably meant she was looking for him. He sighed at his misfortune wondering why Frenda wanted to find him so badly.

Frenda noticed Touma and immediately walked up to him. She stared at him for a moment before pointing. "Finally, I found you. I need to talk to you… but it's not like I wanted to."

"Kamijou," Pierce cried out. "Who is this tsundere foreign loli that is obviously in love with you?"

Frenda snapped her head and glared at him angrily. Before Pierce could say another word she delivered a swift and unmerciful kick in between his legs. "A commoner like you should just be silent. Be lucky I don't kill you."

Touma watched Pierce fall like a sack of bricks. Normally, he would this find this hilarious but he had recently been hit like that too and understood the severity of the pain. He was also worried about why this girl wanted to talk to him. "Umm…Frenda?" he asked and to his relief saw her turn her head to him. _At least I got her name right._ "Can we talk somewhere else? We are getting a lot of looks." It had not escaped his notice a lot of people were watching them after Frenda had kicked Pierce.

She looked around and noticed the stares too. "Fine," she huffed. "Follow me." She marched out the school gate. Touma sighed and, against his better judgment, followed her.

Motoharu watched in interest as Touma followed the blonde girl then looked down at Pierce. "It looks like she is a yandere not a tsundere." Pierce groaned and Motoharu took that as him agreeing.

Accelerator had walked up near them shortly before Pierce had been swiftly defeated. He originally just thought the same thing as the other two. He even laughed slightly when Pierce fell while briefly thinking this girl wasn't too bad. Accelerator, however, was curious as to why Touma's face suddenly looked pale and worried. _I wonder what the stupid hero did to make him scared._

Frenda was leading the way away from Touma's school but he still had no idea what she wanted. He thought about asking her, but he was worried she might stop and he wanted to make sure they had plenty of distance between themselves and his school. She didn't seem to be paying attention to him at all but focused on heading somewhere. After a couple minutes he finally asked, "What did you need to talk to me about?"

She stopped and looked around before answering. Looking satisfied she turned and stared at him. "Basically, Mugino wants you to join us at our safe house to talk."

Touma thought about this for a moment. "Why?" he asked figuring it was best to get as much information as he could, but he really didn't want to meet Shizuri.

"I don't actually know," she said narrowing her forehead thinking and tapping her head. "It doesn't seem like she wants to kill you right now."

"Well that's good," Touma said dryly. "I would hate for her to keep trying to kill me." He remembered something he wanted to ask. "Oh, are you ok from the other night? It was a pretty close call."

"W-what," Frenda stuttered turning red. She didn't expect him to actually be worried about her. After all, she was part of a group that just a few days ago tried to kill him. _Is he really kind or just plain stupid?_ "Of course I'm ok," she said. "Basically, something like that wouldn't kill me. No one asked for your help."

"I know," he said grinning slightly. "I get told I get involved in things I shouldn't but I am glad you are ok." He always worried about others even if they didn't care. He would never be able to live with himself if someone got injured and he did nothing to help them.

Frenda took his words completely differently. Her face turned redder and she couldn't say anything. Instead, she decided on a simple action, kicking him in the shins. He cried out in pain and hopped on one foot. "Don't say such stupid things," she said turning away from him so he couldn't see her face. "Only idiots just rush into other people's problems."

 _She didn't have to kick me,_ he thought to himself rubbing his shin. He turned his mind back to the main situation. "So explain to this idiot," he said. "If I say I don't want to go meet her, I doubt you will just let me go?"

"Yes," Frenda said turning back to him now that she calmed down. "Basically, I was told I could use force to bring you back. If I don't, Mugino will get mad at me." She shivered slightly. "Then she will come for you personally."

"I figured as much," he sighed and resigned himself to his fate. "I'll go if she doesn't keep attacking me."

"No promises," Frenda said cheerfully glad she is going to accomplish her objective and partially because she wasn't forced to hurt him. She didn't mind killing, in fact, it made her feel weird in a good way. It was as if she was able to change someone's destiny into being fated to be killed by her. However, she did not want to kill this boy in front of her. If Shizauri ordered her to, she probably would, but she knew it wouldn't give her the same feeling. He did save her life and didn't even ask for anything in return. She really couldn't understand that. "Thanks for the help," she muttered softly with her back turned to him.

"Sorry," Touma replied. "I missed that."

"I didn't say anything," Frenda denied quickly. "Basically, don't talk till we get there." Touma shrugged and followed Frenda for awhile paying close attention to where they were going. They were walking down a well lit street with several high class buildings on both sides. He was actually surprised because he thought a safe house would be a small unassuming location, not a high class apartment. He followed Frenda into one as she swiped a card. They took the elevator up six floors and Touma followed her into an apartment.

Three other girls were in the apartment when they entered. Shizuri was sitting at the table on a laptop looking at something on the internet. A girl with short brown hair and wearing a fluffy dress was sitting on the couch watching an old black and white movie on the television. The third girl with black hair and wearing a track suit was sitting at the table opposite of Shizuri laying her head on the table with a half full glass of tea in front of her. All three of them turned their heads when they entered. "I brought him like I said I could," Frenda bragged.

"Good job Frenda," Shizuri said staring at Touma. "Judging by the fact he is not trying to escape, I assume you told him about me?" Frenda nodded. "Good, that saves time. Chasing him would have made me irritable."

"So Kamijou," the girl on the couch said. "Did she super kiss you to get you to come?"

"Kinuhata!" Frenda yelled. "Shut your mouth." Frenda threw herself on the couch next to Saiai and looked between Touma and Shizuri.

"How do you know my name?" Touma asked. "And while we are on the topic, how did you know where I went to school?"

"Easy," Shizuri said the corners of her mouth twitching into a slight sneer. "The Railgun called you Touma. So with your name, and physical description, I found your file."

"But those files are suppose to be classified," Touma said wearily.

"Oh they were," she replied. "But I have contacts. It wasn't cheap but it was definitely worth it."

"So you know about me," Touma sighed. "What do you possible want with this Kamijou?"

"I figured you could answer some questions for me," she said leaning back in her chair. "I looked at your level 0 file and your level 5 Kami file. The Kami one is obviously fake, hastily made and full of holes, if you look closely. Your level 0 file is wrong but for a different reason. Takitsubo here," she gestured to the girl with her head on the table who was staring in Touma's direction, who seemed to not be focusing on anything specific, "Can track AIM fields and she verified you don't have one like what is in your file. However, you have the ability of negation, so my first question is, does your power not generate an AIM field?"

Touma sighed, he knew he shouldn't tell everyone about the specifics of his ability, especially with the Anti-Aim field, but he could just tell her what he used to tell everyone. "My ability is called Imagine Breaker and it does negate abilities as you saw," he said and she nodded. "I did not develop this ability in Academy City, I was born with it. So it is probably not a scientific ability and doesn't have an AIM field."

"Sounds like a gemstone," Shizuri said thoughtfully not taking her eyes off Touma.

"I have heard of that term before," Touma said confused. "But what is a Gemstone."

"A Gemstone is someone who was born with an ability they can control without the use of science," Frenda piped up from the couch. "There is only a small number in existence so they are really valuable."

"Really," Touma said looking at his hand. "I knew my hand was different but didn't really think too much of it."

"Different doesn't begin to cover it," Shizauri said a little irritated. "You verified something for me. I didn't think an ability would be limited to one body part but after our fight I guessed yours was. It was able to stop my Meltdowner like it wasn't even there. Oh, out of curiosity, why did you jump between me and Frenda when you could have easily dodged it and got rid of a potential enemy? None of us were obviously going to help you."

Touma frowned at her and she raised her eyebrow in response. "Why did I help someone?" he asked a little confused. "I don't need a reason to help someone. She was in danger…"

"No I wasn't"

"Shut up Frenda."

"…and I had the power to help her." Touma continued. "I would not have been able to live with myself if I didn't save someone when I had the power to."

"Hahaha," Saiai said almost falling off the couch laughing. "He is super just playing the hero."

"Why are you laughing?" Touma asked irritated.

"Because no one does anything for nothing," Saiai stated simply. "You must have thought you could super get something in return. Maybe you wanted her to notice you?" She winked boldly at him.

"Basically that didn't happen!" Frenda yelled next to her.

"She has a point," Shizuri said examining Touma closely. "The world isn't so kind for people to just help others for nothing. Did you want to flirt with us as the Harem King, or did you think saving her would cause me to let you go?"

"Not at all," Touma denied shaking his head. "I didn't think about any of that. I just moved by reflex to protect her. Even if all of you are attractive, I didn't do it to get thanks…." He trailed off realizing what he said by accident. It was true though, now that he was able to look at them in a brightly lit room, all four of those girls were quite attractive. "I would help anyone," he added deliberately not looking at any of them in the eye.

The girls stared at him for a moment. Frenda blushed heavily and looked away pouting to hide it. Saiai just stared at him in surprise but she smirked when Touma looked uncomfortable. Rikou eyes widened slightly in surprise but overall her expression did not change. Even Shizuri raised an eyebrow at his response. "So if I was in trouble," Shizuri asked smirking slightly. "You would try to save me without any expectation of a reward."

"Of course," Touma said instantly without pausing to even consider anything else. "I would do anything I could to help." He stared at her seriously. The one thing he would never do is ignore someone who needed help.

Shizuri stared at the boy in front of her. All of them were use to compliments. Being attractive girls always caused a lot of losers to try to flirt with them and it usually ended badly for those guys. The boy in front of her, however, complimented them without flirting, but it was his eyes that interested Shizuri. She couldn't see any deceit in his eyes, only his honest conviction. She knew he was telling the truth and he would risk his life to save her if it came to that. _What kind of world did he grow up in?_ These girls grew up in a world full of death and darkness so for him to be the opposite of them, he would have to have been raised in a world of light. But someone who was pampered in that life could never hold the conviction the boy in front of her held. His eyes held a strength she never saw except those surviving on the bottom. She briefly thought about telling him what her group ITEM did, but decided that was an unnecessary security risk at this time.

"Not bad," Saiai said nodding. "But if you were trying to target Mugino, you missed and hit Frenda instead. She's totally into you."

Everyone had turned to look at her when she spoke up then they all looked at Frenda who had turned scarlet. "B-b-basically," she stuttered. "She is a liar and nothing like that happened. He's too plain for a beautiful girl like me."

"Sorry for being plain," Touma said slightly annoyed and rolling his eyes.

"I meant…" Frenda started to say but stopped when she caught Saiai opening her mouth in response to her.

"So Kamijou," Shizuri said. "Do you have any plans this afternoon?"

"Ah what?" Touma asked surprised and the other three girl's heads swerved so fast their necks almost cracked to look at their leader.

 _Is she going to ask them out?_ All three girls thought this and were watching in apprehensive. Even Rikou was staring at Shizuri.

"I asked," Shizuri said getting slightly irritated Touma wasn't hanging on to every word she uttered. "What are you doing today?"

"Ah," Touma said scratching his head wondering where this was going. "Not really, I was going to try to finish something…but it's not really important." He hastily changed directions when he saw Shizuri's eyes narrow into a glare.

"Excellent," she said but her tone didn't have any happiness or excitement in it. It was like she was merely commenting on the weather. "Then why don't you hang out with us today since you have nothing to do?" Frenda and Saiai stared at Shizuri with their mouths opened in surprise. Rikou eyes were already wide but she actually looked focus on Shizuri. Touma was just staring at her in shock.

"What? Why?" he stuttered. _Was she asking me on a date? This kind of flag doesn't happen, besides she's totally a yandere. I'll probably die if I say no and I'll probably die if a say yes._ He had no idea why she would want to date him when, just days ago, she tried to kill him.

"It's quite simple," she said crossing her fingers together in front of her while staring at him. "You interest me. So by keeping you close I can learn more about you. Besides, I need to do some shopping and I could use someone to hold my bags." Touma gave an involuntary shiver. While on the outside it may have sound like a confession and a request for a date, her eyes said something completely different. She had the look of a predator stalking its prey. She was monitoring him to figure out what made him tick.

Touma sighed and out of the corner of his eyes he saw the other girls were staring at Shizuri in shock. "I guess," he said. "You are just planning to use me as a pack mule aren't you?"

Shizuri smiled. "Your observation skills are quite exceptional." She stood up and flicked her hair behind her with her hand. "Okay," she said looking at the other girls. We are going." Everyone got up obediently but, by the looks on their faces, everyone was still surprised by this turn of events. She led the way out of the apartment. While what she told Touma was true, there was more to her plan to have him close to her. He had the strength to continue to look her in the eye and could defy her demands if he wanted to. His lackluster responses and constant sighing was proof of this. When he spoke to her she felt a weird feeling in her stomach and she was determined to know why. She was going to put him under careful observation for as long as it was needed.

Saiai left the apartment after grabbing something off the table. Frenda followed but gave a quick look back at Touma. When he caught her eye she blushed and looked away immediately. Touma shrugged and left too with the last girl close behind him. He could still feel her gaze on him as they left the apartment complex and finally he turned around. "Umm," he asked. "Why are you staring at me so intensely?"

She tilted her head to the left like she was confused by his question. After a moment she answered, "It's nothing…" She stopped staring at him and walked by. She didn't like to talk a lot but she was also interested in why her ability could not gather any information from him. However, she did not want him to think she was stalking him without a real reason so she decided to keep her mouth shut. There was no need to start unnecessary conversations anyways.

Shizuri led the way to a huge mall Touma had never been in. The people shopping where obviously wealthy and he felt completely out of place. He thought Shizuri might have brought him here just to make him feel uncomfortable for her own amusement. For a moment he caught her glancing back at him and smirking. _She did!_ Touma thought bitterly. For the most part it wasn't too bad. The girls went to several stores that sold outrageously expensive clothes, but he was able to just wait outside with their bags. Most of the stores had seats outside of them, so it wasn't too bad. For some reason Frenda seemed to like the displays near the window and he often saw her examining clothes within his line of sight. He had the feeling she was glancing at him more often then necessary.

The last store was obviously a ploy by Shizuri to destroy what was left of his dignity. He was already holding about 10 bags as the girls moved from store to store, but now, he was adamantly refusing to go near the next location. It was a very provocative underwear store he had never seen before. This time he definitely saw Shizuri smirk at him before she walked in. Frenda gave him a slight wave before she went in while Saiai was eyeing them both with interest. Rikou followed but seemed to just drift along with them without being completely aware of where she was. Touma sighed and sat on a bench with the bags next to him and stared at the ceiling. He tried not to think of which store he was outside of.

"Could this get any more embarrassing?" he muttered to himself.

"Touma?" a very surprised voice exclaimed from behind him.

When he turned around and saw who it was, he realized the universe was once again out to get him.

* * *

Mikoto rushed out of school early. She was able to convince her teacher she wasn't feeling well and snuck out of class before the final bell. She knew there was going to be trouble for doing this, but she heard Misaki was going to sneak out early to meet Touma too. There was no way she was going to let her monopolize him. Mikoto's only option was to get to his school before or the same time as Misaki. Luckily Tokiwadai wasn't to far away from Touma's school but she still had a decent run ahead of her. When she finally got there it was only 10 minutes after school let out. If she was lucky Touma would still be here. Mikoto smiled slightly seeing a familiar blonde hair girl standing near the school gate waiting. Misaki did not appear to notice her yet, so Mikoto snuck up on Misaki, leaned up against the wall behind her, and asked. "So, what are you doing here?"

Misaki jumped and Mikoto's grin widened. "Why Misaka-san," she said in fake politeness but Mikoto saw a vein twitch in anger. "I am simply here waiting for a friend of mine. Why are you here?"

"Same reason," Mikoto said smiling insincerely. "I can't let him be alone with you too much. Who knows what you will try with him?"

"You make it sound like I'm horrible," Misaki said pouting. "We would only have clean wholesome fun."

"You probably have a warped definition of clean and wholesome," Mikoto replied.

Misaki's eyed narrowed. "Misaka-san," she said a little irritated. "It is up to him if I can be around him. You are not his girlfriend."

"Neither are you," Misaka snapped back. _But I want to be._ She wanted to yell at Misaki about her date with him on Saturday but she knew that would be stupid.

"Then maybe we should let him decide if you are going to be this way," Misaki said crossing her arms.

"Maybe we should," Mikoto said angrily then sighed. "I don't think it's really fair to him though to pressure him so much. He should be able to decide on his own."

Misaki sighed too. "For once I am going to agree with you." Both of them knew how kind Touma was and if they pressured him he would probably panic and flee. He was friendly with both of them and if he was forced to choose one of them it might jeopardize his friendship with the other. He probably would reject both of them just to try to remain friends with everyone.

"Misaki san, Shokuhou-san?" A familiar voice said from behind them and they turned to see Ruiko standing there looking surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Ah Saten-san?" Mikoto said surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Can't you tell Misaka-san?" Misaki said suddenly displaying her usual cheerful outwards appearance. "She is obviously here for the same reason as us." She turned to Ruiko. "You are here to see Touma right?"

"Ah yea," Ruiko said nervously. "I wanted to see if he was free to hang out and since class let out early I thought I would meet him before he left." Both Misaki and Mikoto could tell she was lying by the way a faint pink tinge appeared on her cheeks but they were kind enough not to say anything. Mikoto was just mainly against Misaki being too close to Touma while Misaki didn't really see Ruiko as a serious threat yet.

"I was actually thinking the same thing," Mikoto said. "I bet it would have been smarter to call ahead though but I thought a surprise would be fun."

"I haven't seen him yet," Misaki frowned. "I hope I didn't miss him." Mikoto and Ruiko turned to look at her and she looked up at the school.

"I bet I know why all three of you are here," an amused voice said form the school gate. They all turned and saw Jason looking at them while leaning on the gate. "You three are getting a lot of attention." He motioned to the group of guys looking at them and then pointed to a group of girls looking at them with jealousy.

"Hey Kagere-san," Ruiko said cheerfully. "Is Touma still here?"

"You missed him," Jason said shaking his head. "There was an interesting argument with his classmate and he rushed out as soon as class ended."

"Oh no," Misaki said holding up her hand to her mouth. "I wish I had gotten here sooner." She turned to Ruiko. "Since we are all here would you like to hang out this afternoon? I wanted to go shopping at this one mall for a new skirt."

"Oh sure," Ruiko said surprised but smiled. "Misaka-san, you should come with us." There was a brief moment of tension from both Misaki and Mikoto and even Ruiko felt it but she stared hopefully at Mikoto.

"Ok," Mikoto said deciding to smile at her friend. "I wanted to take a look for some new spring clothes."

"Glad that's cleared up," Jason said. "Have fun, I have to answer some questions now because of all of you."

"Why?" Mikoto asked.

"Don't ask," Jason responded sighing. He walked back through the school gate. All three girls looked at each other in confusion then they heard him shout, "They were here for Kamijou!" The sound that followed nearly blew their eardrums.

"KAMIJOU!" The voices were a combination of excitement, anger and jealousy.

"What was that?" Ruiko asked confused.

"I don't know but I think we should probably leave," Mikoto said wearily.

"I agree," Misaki said nodding. She did not like to be the center of attention but preferred to control things from the background. All three girls rushed off before there was more commotion. They finally stopped a couple blocks away to catch their breath, especially Misaki who looked like she ran a small marathon.

"You need to exercise more," Mikoto said smirking while watching Misaki.

"Some of us have more weight to carry," she replied while making a slight movement with her hand to her chest. A vein in Mikoto's head throbbed.

"Let's not fight," Ruiko said trying to avoid the argument beginning to brew. "I see what Touma and Kagere-san said about their school being interesting. I wonder why they acted like that."

"Who knows?" Mikoto said sighing. "I hope we don't become crazy when we enter high school." She and Ruiko laughed and even Misaki grinned grudgingly.

"Do you two want to get a quick snack before we head to the mall?" Ruiko asked. "I'm kind of hungry. I didn't have much lunch."

"That sounds great," Misaki said clapping her hands. "There is a new cake shop near the mall I wanted to go to. So we can stop there on the way."

"Cake does sound good," Mikoto agreed. "But won't Uiharu-san be sad we went without her?"

"Let's not tell her," Ruiko suggested. "She needs to eat fewer sweets anyways." All three of them laughed.

After a short time at the new cake shop, they moved to the mall. Mikoto and Ruiko were in awe at the size of the building and how high class it seemed. When they looked at Misaki, she did not appear to be phased by it at all. Since Ruiko was a level 0, she didn't receive a large stipend from the city but Mikoto and Misaki did. Mikoto however didn't really by fancy clothes. She preferred a slightly different kind of clothes that Kuroko often called childish. Most of Mikoto's money went to finding rare and valuable Gekota merchandise. They walked through a couple clothing stores while Misaki was looking at skirts. Ruiko could not believe the prices here and she realized the difference between her and girls who went to Tokiwadai. She glanced at Mikoto who was looking at some of the clothes with a bored expression on her face.

"Let's go check out the other shops," Ruiko suggested walking over to Mikoto. "The one over there seemed to have some nice dresses." Mikoto agreed but before they could head out on their own Misaki walked up disappointed.

"They still don't have what I am looking for," she said dejected.

"I'm sure you will find it eventually," Ruiko said encouragingly.

"It can't be," Mikoto said surprised and the other two girls looked at her. She was looking toward a store selling adult underwear for only people with tastes like Kuroko, as no normal person could be caught wearing it.

"What is it Misaka-san?" asked Ruiko.

"The guy over there," she said pointing. "Doesn't he look like Touma?" They could only see his back and there was a large pile of bags next to him, but the spiky black hair looked like him.

"Can't be," Misaki said frowning. "I mean it looks like him but he wouldn't come and ship here."

"Could he be with someone?" asked Mikoto. Before she could say anything else, Ruiko walked forward toward the boy.

"Touma?" she asked surprised. When she got close she was sure it was him. The guy turned around when she called out to him.

* * *

Touma turned around and saw Ruiko walking toward him with a surprised look on her face. He panicked for a moment. He was sitting in front of a very provocative women's undergarment store with several bags of women clothes next to him. In addition, he was being dragged around by four very attractive girls. Ruiko was pretty level headed so he might be able to explain the situation without anything getting out of hand. He opened his mouth to explain when he saw two familiar girls following Ruiko and his heart sank.

"Touma," Mikoto said also surprised looking at him. "What are you doing here?"

"We were looking to meet you after school," Misaki added. "But Kagere-san said you left immediately after class ended."

"It is a long story," Touma said sighing. "And I'm not even sure how this happened."

"That's not a very nice thing to say Kamijou," a voice said from behind them and Misaki and Mikoto froze and slowly turned to see Shizuri walking toward them followed by three other girls "We simply invited him and he accepted." There was a look of slight amusement on her face at his predicament but also disdain when she looked at Mikoto and Misaki.

Mikoto had seen all the girls behind Shizuri before. She knew the blonde haired girl was named Frenda but she didn't know the other two. Last time they met, before the bridge incident, they tried to kill her, so they did not have a very good relationship. "I doubt that," Mikoto said looking at her with an equal amount of disdain. She still hadn't forgiven her for almost killing Touma on the bridge. "I bet you blackmailed him."

"Shizuri Mugino," Misaki said narrowing her eyes. "It has been awhile. You are still the same as ever."

"Not long enough," Shizuri said glaring at Misaki before turning to Mikoto. "A brat like you wouldn't understand, but I did not do anything. The person who invited him was Frenda. I believe she has a thing for him."

"Mugino!" Frenda cried and Touma's ears turned red. "Basically, that's not it."

Mikoto turned to Touma. "So you just follow any girl that says she likes you?" she asked slowly.

"It's not like that," Touma denied then turned to Shizuri. "Quit saying things that will make people misunderstand."

"I have no idea what you mean," Shizuri replied simply.

"Why are you even hanging around him?" Misaki asked stepping forward. "You are not the type of person who likes to be associated with guys."

"You seem to be misinformed," Shizuri said with a smirk. "That is quite unusual for you." Misaki glared at her. "Let's just say he interests me in more ways than one so I like to keep him close by." All the girls, including Frenda, Saiai, and Rikou stared at her.

Even Touma was confused. _Did she just say she likes me?_

Ruiko had been quite because of the think tension in the air but she got the courage to speak up after Shizuri's comment. "So you like him?"

Shizuri turned slowly and look at the black hair girl in front of her. She did not know who this girl was but the girl seemed to know him. She watched the girl's expression turn slightly nervous under her glare. "He interests me," she said slowly. "That is all. I don't know who you are but as you can see we are talking. So why don't you be a good girl and leave before you get hurt." It was true she was interested in him but she got slightly irritated when she found another girl who seemed to be near Touma.

"Hey," Touma said irritated. "Don't talk to my friend that way."

"Touma," Mikoto said suddenly. "Why don't you come with us instead of hanging around those people?"

"I agree," Misaki said giving Shizuri a glare.

"Why are you even here?" Frenda said speaking up. "Basically, he is with us and you can wait till we are done."

"Wow," Saiai said to Rikou. "He is super popular with the girls. Even Mugino might be into him."

"Good luck…" murmured Rikou.

"Frenda has a point," Shizuri said. "He is carrying our merchandise." To illustrate the point, she added another bag next to him she acquired from the store she just left. "I suppose we can let you have him after we get back. Assuming he wants to go with you."

"Don't just go using him as a bag boy," Misaki and Mikoto said at the same time as Shizuri watched them. Touma looked back and forth between them and he wasn't sure how to diffuse this situation and he was worried this was going to erupt into violence. To make matters worse, another individual decided to join them.

"What the f&#$ is this?" a mocking voice said. "A level 5 family reunion without me, I'm hurt." Everyone turned and saw the white haired boy, Accelerator, walking toward them smirking in amusement but his smirks always made him look slightly insane. "If it is the third, fourth, and fifth rates all in one spot, along with the f&$^#$ hero."

"Accelerator," spat out Shizuri. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh you know," Accelerator said waving his hand. "Just doing whatever I want, cleaning up trash on the streets," he grinned clearing meaning something else, "and overall just being the best. I see the third and fifth are still always around that guy."

"This doesn't concern you Accelerator," Mikoto said glaring at him.

"I beg to differ," he replied. "You see, I need him to do something for me and he agreed. So because he was taking too damn long I came to forcefully drag him back to fulfill his end of the deal. Of course," he looked at Shizuri's group then back to Mikoto and Misaki, "if anyone gets in the way, I might have to use force to remove them." His evil grin widened.

Touma had no idea what Accelerator was talking about. He didn't remembering promising to help him with anything but then something inside of his mind clicked. _Was he helping me get out of this situation?_

"Why should I listen to you?" Shizuri said. "Maybe I want to kill you right now." The atmosphere changed considerably and the girls behind her tensed up to prepare for a fight. Misaki reached into her purse and grabbed a remote while Mikoto crackled slightly. Ruiko took a step back and Touma stood up and got between her and the rest of the group.

"I suppose you could try," Accelerator said sounding bored. "But you should know by now how futile that is. I could crush you easily and even if this mall is destroyed in the process, I won't get in any trouble. You on the other hand would be dead or locked away for life if you get lucky. After all, before me, you are just trash."

Shizuri glared at him. She hated this but had to admit he was right. Accelerator was in a league all of his own. If he wanted to, he could have everyone there killed and think nothing of it. Even with the third and fifth there helping, she knew they couldn't beat him. She glared at him then looked over at Touma, who didn't seem to be worried about Accelerator's rampage. He was focusing on protecting the girl she didn't know. "Tsk," she made a noise with her mouth.

"My logic is always impeccable," Accelerator said laughing while turning around. "Let's go," he said to Touma. "My time is too valuable to waste it here talking to trash." He walked away and Touma gave a slight shrug to the girls and followed.

"You still want to fight?" Mikoto asked Shizuri. "It seems like Accelerator took your bag boy away."

"Of course," Frenda said. "Basically, if he didn't show up we would have taken you down and we still can."

"Shut up Frenda," Shizuri said. "We have no reason to stay now. All of you grab our stuff and let's go. We wasted too much time on these brats." The three girls grabbed the bags Touma left on the bench and they all followed their leader as she left the mall.

"What was that about?" Ruiko asked looking at Misaki and Mikoto.

"We have a complicated history," Mikoto sighed.

"If she likes Touma too," Misaki said frowning slightly. "He could be in trouble. She is not the nicest person and won't stop until she has what she wants."

"Tell me about it," Mikoto said. "I didn't think she would be into guys like him. I don't know much about Frenda, if she likes him too." _Every girl he meets seems to fall for him. Only Kuroko is immune to his charms. I can't really talk though because I fell for him too._

"Well," Misaki said turning to Ruiko. "After that tense meeting, I think some tea is called for to calm my nerves. Would you like to join?"

"Sure," Ruiko said. "That sounds great."

Mikoto sighed and followed them knowing whatever Accelerator had planned with Touma, Accelerator wouldn't let her interfere.

* * *

Touma followed Accelerator out of the mall. He had no idea what Accelerator wanted but he felt that without his interference the situation would have gotten messy. _Come to think of it, why was he even there?_ During the conversation it felt like Accelerator had some of his old personality but for some reason, to Touma, it also felt kind of forced."Hey Accelerator," Touma said.

"What?"

"Why did you help me?"

"Help you?" Accelerator scoffed. "Why would I help you? I happen to be passing through and saw several level 5s arguing in front of you. I simply walked up to make them understand they are all lower beings before me. Besides, I don't like the fourth rate and it gave me another great chance to make fun of the third rate." Accelerator wasn't going to tell him he followed because he was interested in why Touma looked afraid when following the blonde girl.

"Well thanks anyways," Touma said. Something didn't quite add up with what Accelerator said. He didn't seem like a person to buy stuff from a high end mall. From what Touma saw, he usually wore cheap shirts and drank canned coffee while eating out a lot. "Even if you didn't mean to help me you did, so if there is anything I can do to repay it just let me know."

"Like there is anything you could possibly do for…" Accelerator stated to say but then stopped. Something came to his mind that has caused him a lot of problems in the past and he might be able to use the guy in front of him to solve it. He could solve a lot of problems with a little violence, but this one unique situation could not. "Actually there is something you could do for me," Accelerator said slowly as the idea formed in his mind.

"Sure, what?" Touma asked.

Accelerator sighed. He hated to ask for this but he couldn't take much more of this problem. It caused too many headaches with his everyday life. "It involves Last Order."

"Why, is something wrong with her?" asked Touma worried.

"No," Accelerator said. "I need you to teach her how to cook."

"What?" asked Touma thinking he heard wrong.

"Teach the brat how to cook," Accelerator spat out irritated. "I am tired of coming back to the apartment and seeing it fill with smoke or some charcoaled remains of what was once food. The problem is she won't give up and keeps trying without improving. It's not like anyone else in there can cook and Worst just teases her more while gives incorrect instructions. She won't let me teach her how saying how she wants to cook lunch for me or something. Anyway, if you can teach her how to cook so I could eat something once in awhile from her that is fit for human consumption, consider your debt cleared. Otherwise she continues to cry all the time that she failed."

Touma looked at him in surprised but figured it could have been a lot worse. "Okay sure," he replied. "I'm not the best cook but I can teach her a few things."

"Good," Accelerator said then walked off on his own waving slightly with his right hand as a sign the conversation was over. Touma watched him leave and felt a small smile form.

 _He may act tough but he really cares for Last Order._ He felt his phone buzz and when he looked at it he found a message form Mikoto. He felt something in the pit of his stomach but opened it anyways.

 _I don't know why you were with Shizuri Mugino but I am sure there in a logical explanation. I expect you to tell me Saturday. Remember 10 o'clock and if you are late I definitely won't forgive you._

* * *

The next day after school Touma, Jason, Motoharu, Pierce, and Accelerator met at Jason's apartment to discuss their game progress. They decided it was the best place to hang out with a group of people because he lived alone. Motoharu had his sister, Accelerator lived with a couple people, Pierce's dorm was small, and Touma refused for them to even consider his dorm room. Everyone except Touma managed to complete a run through the game and none of them got close to all 250 girls. They were all sitting in the main room relaying their information and conquests while Touma tried to finish.

Touma was really far behind and he didn't get to play much during school today either. For some reason everyone in the school found out three girls came to meet him yesterday and were waiting outside the gate for awhile plus Frenda who picked him up moments before. He did not know who spread the information Misaki, Mikoto, and Ruiko were waiting for him but he wished them nothing but ill. He was forced to answer so many questions that he couldn't play the game.

Motoharu was examining Pierce's game. "Only 18 girls?" Motoharu asked. 'What were you doing? You only got the loli's and a couple bunny girls. You were supposed to try to get all 250."

"I got the ones I liked most first," Pierce said. "How was I supposed to know focusing on them would remove the other routes? Besides, you are one to talk. You only got four, the younger sister and three maids. You didn't even try."

"After I got her," Motoharu snapped back. "None of the other girls came anywhere close to her beauty. The only thing left was maids to take care of us. Maybe you forgot the true purpose of these games."

"Both of you are idiots," Accelerator said leaning back in his chair. He was not keen in trying to play that game again.

"How many did you get Accel-kun," Motoharu asked.

"He got 49," Jason said looking at Accelerator's game. "Let's see the girls he got where…loli's, older sister, several tsunderes and yanderes, wow the teacher too nice, childhood friends, and some random ones I think he just accidently got."

"Ah just below 20%," Pierce sighed. "I guess the vacation is out of our league unless somehow Kamijou beats the game in the first pass. Even Jason only got 153, which is really good, but still not nearly close enough."

"I'm trying," Touma said. "But I keep dying."

"What?" Motoharu asked confused. "You don't die in this game. The only fighting part is when you have to rescue a girl from a robber or fight an overly attached ex-boyfriend. You don't die. You just get knocked out if you lose."

"Tell that to the stupid game," Touma replied through gritted teeth.

"Let me see," Jason said swiping the game out of Touma's hand and examining it. "What the…?" Everyone turned and looked at him as Jason was going through the log in the game looking at past events and girls. "You can really die in this game. That's weird in a dating game. There are 250 girls in this game correct?"

"Yep," Pierce said. "The design was for this town to have 250 girls and all of them could get their hearts captured by you."

"Ok," Jason said wide eyed still looking at Touma's screen. "Well it seems like Touma captured the hearts of 251 girls and now all the males in the town are trying to kill his character."

"What?!" Motoharu and Pierce shouted while standing up and bolting to look over his shoulder.

"Who's the 251 girl?" Pierce asked.

"Looks like it is the goddess of the town," Jason said. "Did the contest require the user to beat the game of just collect all the girls?"

"Just collect all the girls," Motoharu said looking at his phone.

"Let's send this in then," Jason said. "He got all the girls."

"Fine," Touma said. 'Hand it here and I'll put my information in." Before Jason could pass it to him, Pierce and Motoharu jumped between them.

"There is only one name you can use for it," Motoharu said. "Jason, put in his true name." Touma didn't know what he meant but knew it couldn't be good. Jason appeared to understand and started filling out the information. Touma stood up to try to stop them before anything bad could happen but Motoharu and Pierce held him back.

"Done," Jason said tossing the game to Touma who opened it and looked in horror at the submission.

"DAMN IT GUYS!" he roared. "You don't submit stuff like this under Kami the Harem King."

"Why not," Accelerator asked bored. "It seems like after yesterday you really can't deny it any longer." Touma glared at him while Accelerator smirked.

"So Kami disease has spread to the 2-D world," Motoharu said shaking his head.

"Curse you Kamijou," Pierce yelled punching Touma in the stomach. "You just can't keep the girls away."

* * *

Late that night, long after everyone went to sleep, a very ominous meeting was taking place on top of a tall building overlooking the city. Six individuals had formed a circle and were talking. The air around them was many degrees colder than normal for this time of the year. All six of these individuals were wearing cloaks. They did not have masks but a couple of them were familiar as they had entered Academy City, illegally, before.

"So is it finally time for us to make our move?" a very attractive women with long wavy black hair said.

The punk wearing a leather jacket with short spiky brown hair nodded. "We can finally move out tomorrow. We have our targets."

"You know if we fail I can't remain in this city," a man said while pushing his glasses up his nose. The tip of his head was bald and the remainder of his hair was white. He was holding a bag of chips and was eating them periodically during their conversation. "There is too much suspicion on me already."

"Yea yea," the punk said. "You told us several times. It just got a little more complicated because the Saint and another magician are here."

"That is easy enough," The man with grey hair slicked back and a monocle said. "We can simple cause two distractions on opposite sides of the city and they will rush to investigate."

"Let me kill the Saint," a women with red hair said.

"No," the man with the monocle said. "Our job is to capture the targets, not fight extended battles. We need to act swift and efficient this time to take what we want."

"Infiltration is easy," another woman said. She looked completely ordinary except she had short black hair that covered her eyes. "I can get target number one."

"I'll take target number two," the punk said.

"I will convince target three to come with us," the attractive women said. "It is much less barbaric then fighting one of the magicians."

"That leaves me with target four," the man with glasses confirmed.

"Then I'll take the Saint…" the women with red hair said but she was interrupted by the man with the monocle.

"No Wrath," he said. "You will get carried away with revenge on her. It is not time for that. I will take the Saint. You will take the other mage."

"Fine," she spat at him angrily. "I better get my revenge on someone at least."

"You know as well as I do," the monocle man replied looking slightly irritated at the women's reaction. "Our primary objective is to get the Imagine Breaker and his companions to come to us."

The punk grinned. "Glad everything is finally sorted out. Seriously this is such a pain to meet with all of you. Anyways, there is only one thing left to say besides fail and die." He paused while the rest of them looked at him.

"LET THE HUNT BEGIN!"

* * *

 **Wow this chapter was long. I wanted to finish several smaller side events along with the main event. Next chapter starts a major arc for this story so I can't really give much information down here. I did like writing this chapter even though it took awhile to write.**

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or idea. I love reading them.**

 **Motoharu: Jason, you ever find out who Accel-kun was dating?**

 **Jason: If we ignore Last Order and Worst, I have narrowed it down to three people. Hopefully I will have more soon.**

 **Accelerator: All of you can go die.**

 **Jason: Don't be that way, our readers want to know.**

 **Accelerator: Tsk, maybe after next arc, IF I feel like it.**

 **Mikoto: Has anyone seen Touma?**

 **Me: Misaki was dragging him into a hotel last time I checked.**

 **Mikoto: WHAT?!**

 **Motoharu: Wow she can run fast.**

 **Me: I wonder why. What could POSSIBLY happen in a hotel room with a male and female teenager alone together?**

 **Last Order: They play Stratego, MISAKA says as MISAKA demonstrates her vast knowledge of teenage social interactions.**

 **Me: Stratego is a really fun game.**

 **Motoharu: Tournament?**

 **Everyone: Sure.**


	25. Calm Before the Storm

**Man these chapters are slowly getting longer over all. My original chapters were usually around 5-6k each. Then they started growing to 6-7k, now many of them are 8k+. It feels like it is getting easier to write these chapters. Must be all the experience doing this. Let's open with some interesting reviewer comments responses.**

 **TheTrueMasterofTempest: Well duh, Accelerator is the greatest being in existence. Touma being mean? No idea how that could happen.**

 **CD DC: Now he just needs a princess to fall for him and he can have his own country. Soon the entire world will be affected.**

 **Guest: Touma is a game shark. He cheats and the only downside is the viruses cause bugs to happen in the matrix and make unavoidable things happen to him which he calls misfortune.**

 **And everyone knows Touma cheated in the game. I'm sure he will regret entering that competition under Kami the Harem King. Anyway, back to the story.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

Touma woke up early Saturday morning and just laid in the tub staring at the ceiling. The big day finally had come for him to have a real date with Mikoto. It was not just a punishment game, randomly meeting and hanging out, or trying to save someone. It was going to be just an actual normal date. He looked at the clock reading seven and knew he had to meet Mikoto at ten. He had to admit to himself, he was really nervous. It was easy to talk to Mikoto as a friend but he wasn't sure what it was going to be like on an actual date. He stood up and stretched. He did his morning routine and headed to the kitchen to make his and Index's breakfast.

Luck may have been on his side because last night Index said she was going out after breakfast to hang out with Last Order, so he did not have to worry about lunch for her. One thing he was really happy for was Index had made a friend around her age in Academy City. Not only did it mean she did not have to cling to him all the time, but he believed it was important for people to have friends. Last Order was really Index's second friend after Hyouka. Touma hoped Index would start getting use to Academy City now that she was making more friends. She still had almost no skill with any sort of technological devices, except her phone and television. After making breakfast and killing some time watching TV, he left well before the time he was suppose to meet Mikoto.

Maybe it was because he left extremely early or maybe it was because luck was finally on his side today, Touma met no misfortune on his route to the location he was suppose to rendezvous with Mikoto. It was almost nine and he sighed. _Now I have to wait an hour._ Past experience told him if he tried to do anything to kill even just a little bit of time, it would backfire and he would end up being late. He wiped his brow and realized he didn't check how hot it was going to be today but luckily he choose to wear a short sleeve white button down shirt over his orange undershirt. He looked around and saw a nearby vending machine. _I might as well get something to drink while I wait. At least it isn't THAT machine._ He walked over and was able to get a drink without any hassle. The day was looking good for him so far. He sipped his drink thinking, turned to head back to look at the meeting spot, and stopped. He looked at the person who just showed up and checked his watch. It was just slightly after nine, but Mikoto had arrived.

* * *

Mikoto had also been lucky today. When she woke up this morning, Kuroko was just beginning to head out. Kuroko told Mikoto yesterday she was responsible for helping Judgment monitor visitors since there were a lot of people coming from outside of Academy City to see the carnival. This meant Kuroko would not be able to follow her today. As long as Mikoto was careful, Kuroko would not find her with Touma. Mikoto looked at the time and saw it was about half past seven. She started digging through her clothes and holding them up in front of the mirror to find something suitable. She had worried so much last night about what they would do today at the carnival, she didn't stop to think what she was even going to wear. She briefly thought about wearing a dress but decided not to. _We are probably going to walk around a lot so I should wear something more comfortable._

Normally Tokiwadai students were suppose to wear their uniform all the times while on the school grounds. This included the school dorms as they were considered part of the school. Most students wore them all the time because it was easier to just wear it after school then go all the way back to the dorms and change. Since Mikoto was going to leave the school grounds she would be able to wear casual clothes. She finally decided on a black off the shoulders t-shirt and then a blue denim skirt. She of course wore a pair of shorts under it but the skirt wasn't short enough for anyone to notice unless they purposely tried to look.

She looked herself up and down in front of the mirror. She smiled and twirled around making sure she looked ok then headed out of the dorm. She tried to avoid attracting any attention as she did not want anyone following her. She finally arrived at the meeting spot and, of course, Touma was not there. She glanced at her phone and saw the time was only slightly after nine. She sighed. _I was so anxious I arrived almost one hour early. I really am an idiot now I'm going to look silly sitting here forever. I hope he comes soon I really want to see him._ She gazed up the clouds lost in her thoughts as she waited for Touma to arrive.

* * *

Touma gave a quick look at the girl and verified it was indeed Mikoto. _Wow, she's already here. Did she want to beat me that badly?_ Something told him that probably wasn't the case since it had been a long time since Mikoto tried to beat him at anything. He gave her a quick look over as she had not noticed him yet. She was wearing a black shirt that was cut to reveal more of her shoulders and a blue denim skirt. While it may not have been the most girly choice of clothing, the shirt was tight enough to show off her curves. The skirt was also a surprise since he expected her to wear shorts. _It looks casual but has a really nice charm to them. I am so glad Aogami isn't here. He would lecture on this for an hour._ He quickly finished his drink, threw it in the trash, and walked over to Mikoto. When he got close he called out, "Sorry, did you wait long?" He didn't want her to know he had been there the entire time.

She jumped and came out of her thoughts and looked him up and down examining his clothes. The shirt wasn't exactly the most romantic choice of clothing, but she had to admit he looked good in it. "No," she said. "I just got here. I'm glad to see you actually were able to get here on time."

"You make it sound like I'm always late," Touma replied grinning.

Mikoto raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Only most of the time," she said. "You seem to like to keep me waiting. Anyway, let's head to the carnival." She handed him a flyer about the carnival. "This is what I was planning for today."

"Looks fun," Touma said handing it back to her. "So we have a little bit of a walk then. Good thing it is a nice day."

"Yea," Mikoto said and they took off together. _Though, it is always a good day when I'm with you._ Her mind turned to something she had to ask him about. "I trust you…" she said hesitantly and Touma turned to look at her. "But what were you doing with Mugino Thursday?"

Touma sighed. He knew this was going to come up. "I'm not even sure myself. Frenda showed up at my school and told me Mugino wanted to see me. We moved out of earshot of everyone at my school, that's probably why you missed me, and she added Mugino would come searching for me personally if I didn't show. I figured I didn't have much choice but to follow." He frowned. "Funnily enough it didn't seem like she wanted to fight, but she somehow was able to look up my file and that is how she knew where I went to school."

"She acquired your file?" Mikoto said shocked. "She could get into a lot of trouble for that."

"I don't think she cared," Touma said and Mikoto grudgingly giggled. "Anyway, after trying to embarrass me a bit, she said she took an interest in me." He shrugged. "No idea what she meant but she kind of forced me to be her bag boy when you found me. Nothing else really happened." He purposely left out all the remarks about Frenda being in love with him since he thought the other girl was probably just making fun of them.

Mikoto looked at him suspiciously. _If it wasn't Mugino, I would think he was being extremely dense. But she doesn't seem like the person to be attracted to someone, I doubt she even knows what being in love is. She probably just wants to know more about his hand._ She eventually decided it wouldn't do any good to keep worrying about it. Touma wasn't the kind of guy to try to flirt with every girl he met. "Ok thanks for telling me," she said smiling at him. "I really appreciate you being honest with me."

When Touma saw her smile he felt butterflies in his stomach. He always thought Mikoto was beautiful when she smiled and he would do anything to protect it. He really didn't know what to say to her in response to that though. He finally settled on, "I wouldn't do anything to hurt you."

Mikoto turned bright red at his words and looked away from him. _What did he mean by that? Did he mean he wouldn't go out with anyone else or he wouldn't lie to me? Ah, I'm freaking out over every little thing. CALM DOWN._ She too k a few deep breaths and manage to quiet her mind but her face was still slightly red. "Thanks," she said softly but avoided looking right at him. Their talking died out for a little bit but then moved to more normal topics about their friends and school. Mikoto made sure she needled him about his school work since he was always so far behind. They started laughing a lot and the day started to pick up again.

As they approached the location of the carnival, they looked around. A large section of District 6, the recreational district, was fenced off and several open gates were beginning to allow people in. They got in line and waited. Touma glanced up and saw the price of admission and shook his head. _Those prices are insane. I'm lucky I have money from those recent experiments._ Then he noticed couples got a rather large discount. _Coming together was a pretty good idea._ He glanced at Mikoto, who was trying to see what he was looking at. She eventually noticed the sign of prices, turned red, and immediately looked away. _She is really cute when she blushes._ Touma was going to pay, but Mikoto literally pushed him out of the way with her elbow and paid.

She looked at him as they passed the gate. "It was my idea to come so I wanted to pay."

"Fine," he said rubbing his side. "But I pay next time."

"Oh?" she said grinning while nudging him with her elbow. "You sure there will be a next time? Not many people get to go on a date with the great Mikoto Misaka."

Touma looked at her and knew she was just teasing him. _Maybe a little teasing her back won't hurt._ He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. She must have been so shocked by this he didn't feel any resistance. He grinned when he saw her face turn crimson. "And here I thought we would do something like this every day oh great Mikoto."

"Y-you idiot," she stammered. "W-what are you doing?"

"Hey you two!" a male's voice called out and they both stopped messing with each other and turned to look. A man was calling them over to his booth. They looked at each other, shrugged, and walked over to him. "Welcome you two," he said grinning boldly. "How would you two like to leave a picture at our couple's booth? You could win a fabulous prize."

"W-we aren't one yet…" Mikoto started to mutter but stopped when she saw one of the prizes. There was a large stuffed green Gekota doll as one of the prizes. She changed direction immediately. "What do we have to do and what are the prizes?" Touma raised an eyebrow at her but she was too busy staring at the doll to notice. He eventually noticed what she was staring at and sighed but still grinned.

"It's quite simple," the man said. "All you need to do is take a picture here," he pointed to a roped off section with a white background, "and we hang it up here. People who pass through can vote on their favorite couples. If you win you get this limited Gekota stuffed doll here. Second place is a Pikachu and third is the Wedding Bears." He pointed to two bears, one brown wearing a tux and one white in a dress. "You fill out this form and if you win, we will mail the doll to you just in case you can't stay till the end. Simple, right?"

"Let's do it," Mikoto said turning to Touma with fire in her eyes.

"Sure," he said. There was no arguing with Mikoto at this point. They quickly scribbled their information down and moved to take the picture. They both stood side by side in front of the man holding a camera. Both of them were slightly red and embarrassed.

"Come on," he said looking over his camera. "Don't look so stiff you two. Come on and have fun."

Touma looked down at Mikoto's serious expression and he could tell she really wanted to win the Gekota doll. He found himself relaxing because he was amused by her face as she tried to relax. He knew the only way to get them both to relax was to forget the camera was there. He took his right hand, wrapped it around her back, and put his hand on her side while pulling her close to him. She turned bright red and he knew he was slightly red too. Instead of looking at the camera he glanced down at her smiling and she looked up at him surprised. Slowly a smile appeared on her face as she looked up at him.

*Click*

"Perfect," he said taking the camera to his booth. "You both look amazing." He took the camera back to the booth, plugged it into a printer, and printed out two copies. One was large, he was going to hang it up, while the other copy was smaller. He gave them the smaller copy. "We will contact you if you win."

"Thank you," Touma said and Mikoto nodded in agreement. She was uncharacteristically silent. Touma hoped she wasn't too embarrassed, but he really wanted to help her win the doll because he knew how much she loved Gekota. _Worse case she might shock me._

Shocking Touma was the furthest thing on Mikoto's mind right now. She was still embarrassed but her attention was focused on the picture she clutched tightly in her hand. Neither of them were looking at the camera but glancing at each other in it. They were still facing forward enough so you could see their faces, both were slightly red, but she saw the happiness in both of their eyes as they looked at each other. _Is this what I look like when I am with him?_ She never saw herself when she was thinking of him but Kuroko would always seem to know when she met Touma before heading back to the dorm. Kuroko always said she looked happy and slightly red. She glanced at Touma who was looking at her slightly worried. He opened his mouth and Mikoto has a pretty good idea what he was going to say. "It's fine," she interrupted him. "Thanks to you we got such a good photo. We are sure to win first now."

"I hope so," Touma said. _Not for me but for you._ They started walking and taking a look around the carnival. The main event's first show wouldn't start until one so they had plenty of time to kill. "Oh," Touma said as something occurred to him. "What if someone we know sees the photo?"

Mikoto froze for a moment. She did not think of that. _What if Kuroko sees it? Or even Misaki?_ She took a deep breath. "I'm sure it will be fine," she said trying to sound calm. "Kuroko, Uiharu, and Kagere-san, are all on duty and Saten-san said she will probably skip this carnival. I think we can risk it for Gekota."

"You really love that frog," Touma said laughing. "As long as my friends form school don't see it everything should be fine."

"Gekota is adorable," Mikoto said looking at him sternly as if she dared him to say anything bad about it. He laughed again.

The carnival was full of all sorts of games. While the shows were free to anyone who paid the admission price, the games still cost a little bit. People could win tickets to exchange for prizes at the main booths near the exits. Touma and Mikoto didn't know what prizes were available but they walked around and played a couple games. Touma was easily able to handle anything that relied on physical force. He rang the bell in the test of strength with a single swing of the hammer and was able to knock several heavy bottles with a single set of balls. Mikoto on the other hand could handle anything that required agility and skill. She excelled in shooting games and any games were they had to throw objects into or on other things. Most of these were kind of childish games, but they were having fun with a nice break from their normal school life and anything dealing with magicians or crazy experiments.

After they spent the rest of the morning playing games and gathering tickets, they started sampling all the exotic food. There was a lot of weird food from all around the world and they had a lot of fun sampling the most unusual foods they could find. It was probably a good thing they didn't know what some of the food was made of, like rocky mountain oysters and haggis, or even ask what was in it. Mikoto even tricked Touma into eating some fried escargot without telling him what it was. She was shocked when he said it was delicious and she forced herself to try some too.

"Onee-chan!"

Mikoto and Touma immediately spun around in panic. If Kuroko found them right now it would cause a lot of problems. However, it turned out to be a little girl running up to an older girl who looked like her sister. They should have realized it was Kuroko when chan was used instead of sama. The girl must have gotten lost because the older girl was reprimanding her about running off on her own. Both Touma and Mikoto sighed in relief and continued to sit and enjoy their weird collection of food, until they noticed the familiar Judgment member who found the girl. They both coughed on their food as Jason walked over to them waving.

"Hello Touma and Misaka-san," Jason said grinning. He had his Judgment band in plain sight. He usually tried to avoid wearing it. "Nice place for a date but you should hurry for the magic show. It fills fast so you will want to get in line early."

Mikoto instinctively wanted to deny this was a date but she stopped herself. _It is a date and I want Touma to enjoy it with me._ Luckily Touma was able to find words.

"Thanks," he said to Jason. "We were planning to get some dessert and head over there."

"I'll get the dessert," Mikoto volunteered standing up immediately. "I'll be right back." She ran off before anyone could object.

"I think she's embarrassed," Jason said grinning. "So how's the date going?"

"Pretty good," Touma replied honestly. "I hope the show is good too. Please don't tell everyone at school about this yet. I don't want to cause trouble for Mikoto."

"Yea no problem," Jason said dismissively. "I wouldn't do that."

"Who are you and what have you done with Jason?" Touma asked suspiciously and Jason laughed.

"I'm serious," Jason said and stopped laughing. "I know how important a date can be. It is one thing to make fun of you when you randomly meet girls, but if you work hard to get an actual date, nothing to be ashamed of."

"Well ok," Touma said surprised and suspicious, but still grateful. He had to admit to himself this was an actual date, so he could not deny that.

"Bit of advice for the show though," Jason said. "No matter what happens don't volunteer or let them volunteer you."

"Why?" Touma asked.

"Because your hand negates magic and they will not be happy if their spells fail."

"What…" Touma stopped and made the connection. "They are real magicians?"

"Yep," Jason said. "I met one of them. They are really cool so don't ruin their show. Anyway they don't mean any harm as they have done this show all over the world for years. Have fun with Mikoto. Let me know how far you get with her." He gave a big wink before waving and walked off. Touma just shook his head at him feeling Jason was still making fun of him.

"Hey," Mikoto said a couple minutes later bringing back some gelato. "You chase Jason away? Is he going to tell anyone?"

"I don't think so," Touma said. "He seemed like he was going to let us enjoy our date." Mikoto got slightly red when he said that word. "Oh and he mentioned the people in the magic show are real magicians."

"What?" Mikoto gasped mouth opened ignoring her dessert.

"He said they weren't evil," Touma explained. "He just advised I not volunteer because of my hand."

"Ah," Mikoto said calming down. "That makes sense. You would make them look pretty bad if you kept negating all their tricks."

They finished eating and joined the line beginning to form for the building in the middle of the carnival. It seemed the city modified this building to house the main magic show, since there were no available locations to set up a large enough tent. Because they arrived early, they manage to get good seats. The seats were arranged as a circular stadium. The center of the building was open for the performers while the seats completely circled it. There were doors leading to the center from four directions below the seats for what they assumed was for the performers to enter. Touma and Mikoto manage to get seats in the first row while grabbing some popcorn to eat while watching the show. The stadium slowly filled up while music played in the background. The building was huge and there was a ton of seats, but it seemed to fill up quickly. The lights dimmed down and they clapped with everyone else as a single man walked into the middle of the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he cried as his voice echoed all over the building. "It is a pleasure to be invited to the legendary Academy City. We are most honored to be here. I, the ringmaster, welcome you all to one of the most mysterious and intoxicating performances in the world. What you see will shock and amaze you but remember, no matter what happens no one will get hurt. We are all professionals. NOW LET"S BEGIN!"

The audience started to clap then gasped as the ring exploded into fire. No one could see anything in the middle until the fire died down. A platform appeared in the middle supported by four elephants. On top of it, the ringmaster stood with his arms in the air. He was surrounded by two very large tigers. They circled around him and many in the audience gasped. They lunged at him as he leaped off the platform and floated in mid air. The music increased in volume and hundreds of colored lights turned on and shined all over the ring. From the ceiling, several ropes and trapeze platforms descended. The tigers on the platform walked around and suddenly stood up and several people emerged from the tiger costumes and jumped off on the platform and started swinging among the ropes. The ringmaster suddenly fell toward the ground and, right before he hit it, disappeared in a cloud of smoke only to reappear back on the platform.

Even in a city full of ability users, the performance in this magic show defied all explanation for most of the audience. The only reason Touma and Mikoto weren't astonished as much as everyone else was they knew it was all done by magic. However, they continued to enjoy the show the same way people enjoy movies with special effects. Because of the sheer number of people, neither of them were chosen to participate in the show. However, they both enjoyed it tremendously. The show lasted for an hour and when it ended everyone gave a standing ovation. As everyone started leaving all at once, the force of the crowd threatened to separate them. Touma was planning to hold Mikoto's hand but, before he could get the nerves, Mikoto had grabbed his hand tightly. He instinctively squeezed her hand back. He looked at her and saw her looking back into his eyes. Her face was quite red but she looked determine. They left the building together talking about the performance. Even after they left the building neither of them let go on each other.

"I have to admit," Touma said. "Even knowing it was done with real magic, it was still a great show."

"I need to ask you," Mikoto said smirking slightly. "Was this your first time meeting magicians that did not end in trouble?"

Touma thought about this for a second, sighed, then grinned. "I think so, if you count Jason being nothing but trouble."

Mikoto laughed loudly at this. "I really liked the way the volunteers had no idea what happened even when they disappeared in the lockboxes."

"Yea," Touma laughed too. "It is hard to explain real magic if you aren't familiar with it."

"Want to go see if any of the bands are any good?" Mikoto asked. She didn't know what kind of music he liked.

"Sure," Touma replied. "I like listening to live bands. They give it more personality then when they record." Mikoto smiled and pulled him after her as they headed to the band stage. They still hadn't let go of each other since they left the magic show.

 _I really need to calm down,_ she thought to herself when she realized this. She started to panic and took several deep breaths to calm down. _I'm having a lot of fun just being with him. I hope he is too._ She looked up at him and he was nodding his head slightly to the music. She smiled glad he was enjoying himself. His hand felt warm in her hand and she could swear she felt his heartbeat. The band was really good and she soon found herself leaning up against Touma enjoying the moment. Eventually, the band stopped and there would be a short intermission before the next band started.

"Wow it's hot," Touma said wiping his forehead. "It's still spring and shouldn't be this hit for another couple months. Want to get some drinks?"

"Yes I do," Mikoto agreed feeling the heat in more ways than one. They moved away from the stage and bout some drinks and sat on a bench under a tree enjoying the shade. "Are you having fun?" Mikoto eventually asked nervously.

"A lot actually," Touma said leaning back and looking at her. "This has been one of the most fun days I have had in a long time." He was actually being completely honest. As he got to know Mikoto more, he found her less and less prone to violence. He still remembered when they first met and he thought she was incredibly violent and quick to anger. Now, she was one of his best friends. In fact a part of him felt a little more strongly than even that.

"That's good," Mikoto said softly blushing. Then she muttered, "I hope we can do this all the time…" However, the last part was interrupted by an uninvited guest.

"Tooouuummmaaa, Miiiissssaaakkkaa-saaaan!"

 _YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME,_ Mikoto fumed in her head while turning. Misaki ran up to them and sat on Touma's other side grabbing his arm and putting it into her chest. "Why are you here Shokuhou-san?" she asked angrily.

"Hmm," Misaki said playfully pretending to think. "This is such a lovely carnival to enjoy with so many interesting sweets. You know I had to come. Then I saw my beloved Touma and had to embrace him." To demonstrate her point she wrapped his arm around him before he could do anything.

"He's with me," Mikoto fumed grabbing Touma's other side.

"Poor him," Misaki said looking at Mikoto. "I'm sure he would like to spend the rest of the day with me."

Touma had no idea what happened and by the time his brain was able to process this information, Mikoto and Misaki were glaring daggers at each other. _What do I do?_

* * *

"Out of everyone in Judgment," Kuroko fumed. "Why do I have to be paired up with you?"

"Because even the higher ups like to mess with you," Jason sighed but still grinned at her. "Believe me; listening to your constant complaining is music to my ears."

"Humph," Kuroko said irritated walking next to him. "You are lucky to just be in my presence. I would rather be with my lovely onee-sama today. Why did they want us to patrol in groups now?"

Jason's grin widened slightly at her onee-sama remark, but then answered her question. "Way too many people show up for this event than originally expected. They figured it would be easier to handle things with small groups. Mostly, it's been lost kids and an occasional drunk." They followed their patrol route which looped around near the main entrance.

"So how's your relationship with Uiharu?" Kuroko asked nonchalantly.

Jason raised an eyebrow at her. "Wow Shirai-san," he said shocked. "I had no idea you cared so much."

"Shut up," Kuroko retorted angrily. "She's my friend and you better treat her right."

"I know," he said seriously and Kuroko seemed mollified. They walked in silence for awhile looking around for any disturbances when something caught Kuroko's eye. She stopped and walked toward a stand full of pictures where people could vote for their favorite couple. Jason was interested in what caught her attention and followed. When he got close, he smirked but then realized what the obvious reaction was going to be. Kuroko was looking at a picture of Mikoto and Touma holding each other close and looking at each other with very passionate eyes. Jason turned to watch in amusement as Kuroko's face became pale and horrified then quickly changed to red and furious.

"T-THAT APE," she roared and everyone nearby jumped in surprise. Her murderous aura exploded and everyone near her except Jason took several spots backwards. "How dare he defile onee-sama?! I'm going to kill him!" Before anyone could react to her outburst, she teleported away to look for Mikoto and Touma.

Jason sighed and shook his head. _Now I have to report her or chase after her._ He thought about it for a second then turned to the man operating the booth who was looking in the direction Kuroko disappeared. "I want to vote for that couple."

"Excellent choice," he said. "They were one of the first couples this morning. A lot of pairs tried to differentiate themselves by kissing passionately but since everyone started doing it, they stand out more. They really have that pure innocent love going."

"Tell me about it," Jason said laughing. "I know them personally."

"Your girlfriend seemed upset when she saw them," he remarked.

"She actually hates my guts," Jason replied snickering.

"Really?" he said surprised. "You two look great together."

Jason laughed again, voted, and then left to find Kuroko. _How on earth does Kazari control this girl?_

* * *

"Let's go there next MISAKA says as MISAKA points excitedly." Last Order pointed to a shaved ice stand.

"Yay," Index said following her lead. "I love shaved ice." Both of the young girls ran toward the shop to stand in line to get their cold treat since the day was getting hot. Shortly behind them Accelerator was walking behind them grumbling to himself.

"Do those two ever run out of energy?" he muttered watching the two girls closely. Earlier this week Last Order had returned home with a flier in her hand. She informed everyone a carnival was coming to Academy City and she wanted to go. Aiho told Last Order she was too busy with Anti-Skill duties to take her. Aiho had also grounded Worst from going because she tried to teach Last Order some very inappropriate things best left unmentioned. Last Order was almost in tears when Accelerator returned and she looked at him and begged to go. He really couldn't say no to that face and grudgingly agreed to take her. He felt a lot better when she stopped crying and broke into a huge smile.

Shortly afterwards, Last Order told him she wanted to bring a friend with her. Since he knew she only had one close friend, the nun who hung around the hero, he agreed. When they arrived at the carnival the first thing the nun wanted to do was eat. This trait of hers still baffled him. He could not understand how she could eat so much food. Even Last Order was amazed at the quantity Index could consume. It sort of became a game for her to try to keep up with Index's food consumption, a game that almost made her sick. Accelerator brought a bit of money so the food wasn't a problem, he simply didn't like to be out in crowded noisy areas. The only thing that made this worthwhile for him was how much fun Last Order seemed to be having. She was out eating new food, watching magic shows, and hanging out with a friend. This wasn't something she did normally. He stood in line behind them as they talked a bit about the magic show they just saw.

"The show was awesome MISAKA says and MISAKA tries to express how amazing the show was."

Index nodded. "Those Russian Orthodox magicians really know how to put on a show. They were really able to use magic efficiently so you could barely notice the mana from the runes they had hidden." Last Order tilted her head in slight puzzlement. She didn't know about magic at all.

Accelerator on the other hand looked at Index. _So they were real magicians? That makes sense. Even with smoke and mirrors with abilities, some of those combinations would have still been impossible to pull off._ He had come to accept magic as a possibility after the battle with Sloth and discussions with Jason. However, to him, magic was just abilities that followed a different set of rules he did not know yet. After they all got their flavored ice, Last Order and Index ran to play some more carnival games. He stood back slightly and watched them have fun. Occasionally, they would rope him into helping them win a game, but for the most part he let them have fun while he supervised.

"What's up Accelerator?"

Accelerator turned to see Touma walking toward him waving in greetings. "Babysitting the brat and your nun. What are you doing here?"

'Ah that's right," Touma said. "Index mentioned she was going to hang out with Last Order. I didn't realize they were going to be here. I'm just enjoying the food here now that I finally have some free time."

"Speaking of food," Accelerator said glancing over at Index. "How much can your nun eat? I have never seen someone eat like that."

"Ah yea," Touma said rubbing his neck laughing slightly. "That is a mystery to me too. It puts a strain on my food budget after awhile for sure."

"This will be the last time I babysit both of them," Accelerator grunted. "It's way to exhausting to keep up with them running in every direction."

"If you want I can watch them for a bit," Touma said shrugging. "I don't have anything else going on today."

Accelerator turned to Last Order and Index. "Hey you two," he called out and they turned. "The hero is going to watch you both for a bit. I'll get you later." With that he walked off.

"Hi Touma," Index called out.

"Yay, MISAKA gets to hang out with the savior MISAKA cries as MISAKA expresses her surprise and happiness."

That was the last thing Accelerator heard before the voices got swallowed up by the crowd as he walked away. He walked a bit through the carnival stopping only to get a drink then leaned up against a tree. He felt kind of bored. _What happened to me? I think I actually miss those two brats._ He threw his empty drink bottle away and continued to walk around without really looking at anything. He heard some familiar voices that caught his attention.

"Why don't you just mind your own business?" _That sounded like the third rate._

"Maybe if you weren't so violent all the time it wouldn't happen." _That sounded like the fifth rate._ Accelerator frowned and walked toward them. They usually only fought in public over something serious or the hero. They mainly ignored each other or put on a fake smile. When he got closer he couldn't believe it. _How did he get here?_ He saw Mikoto arguing with Misaki and Touma was standing between them trying to get them to stop fighting. Accelerator looked around and didn't see Index or Last Order so he walked up to confront the hero regardless of what was happening.

"Hey hero!" he called out and everyone turned to look at him. "Where are the brats?"

"Who?" Touma asked a look of confusion on his face.

"What do you mean who?" snarled Accelerator. "You just took them off my hands."

"I've been here with them for a while," he said surprised pointing to Mikoto and Misaki.

"Shit!" Accelerator yelled eyes widening as his mind realized what happened. _Whoever that is I am going to kill them._ He flipped the switch on his collar, took a step and jumped high into the air. He modified the vectors in the air to allow him to jump through the air and moved as fast as he could over the crowd to where the Touma imposter was last seen. He landed, ignoring the surprised looks of everyone around him, and dashed the opposite way he had originally headed. _Let's see, if I was them, I would go the opposite way I was heading in order to maximize distance._ However, he realized quickly looking blindly in one direction was hopeless and the girls were gone. He had no way to track them. He punched a trash can in anger and crumpled it into the ground. Something caught his eye and he turned to see a familiar figure walk behind some shops. Accelerator quickly followed.

He rounded the corner of the shop and he saw, leaning up against a wall on the far side of the small clearing, was the punk in the leather jacket he met before. Accelerator walked toward him making a fist. "You have five seconds to tell me where they are. Prepare for a fate worse than death if they are hurt."

"They are fine… for now," he said grinning at Accelerator. "One of my partner's took them away. She is quite good at infiltration and sabotage. You were fooled quite easily. Even I didn't believe you would fall for that." He laughed.

"Where are they?" Accelerator said through clenched teeth. "Tell me or I will make you wish you were never born."

"They are on their way to Rome," he said smiling. "We offer you an invitation to join us. I hope you will accept." He started laughing like a maniac and the wall behind him glowed white as he fell into it and disappeared before Accelerator could react.

"That f#%$*&% b#$$%#," Accelerator roared. "I will hunt him down and slaughter him!"

* * *

"U-I-HA-RU!"

Kazari had just gotten off her shift for Judgment and was set to meet Ruiko when she felt her skirt fly upwards as she heard Ruiko call out to her. "SATEN-SAN!" she cried her face turning bright red turning to face her friend. "Stop flipping my skirt!"

"Red and pink today?" Ruiko asked. "Not bad." A couple guys were slightly red and whispering as they passed and Kazari just turned redder. "Hoping to meet Kagere-san accidently?" Ruiko nudged Kazari with her elbow.

"I don't know what you mean," Kazari said feigning ignorance as she and Ruiko walked toward the carnival. "I just finished my Judgment duties back at the office. Lots of paperwork for all the excitement but it's finally done. Shirai-san got the physical patrols."

"Ah she mentioned that," Ruiko said thoughtfully. "She was complaining she couldn't go to the carnival with Misaka-san." She laughed.

"You seem to be in a good mood Saten-san," Kazari said. "What happened?"

Ruiko's grin widened and she reached into her pocket. "Something amazing," she said happily. "Want to see?"

"Yes," she said. Her curiosity was aroused but she hoped it wasn't another silly myth for Ruiko to obsess over. She was confused when Ruiko pulled out the crush remains of a leaf. "What's that?"

"This isn't what's special," Ruiko said barely able to contain her excitement. "Just watch." They both looked at the remains and then they started moving. They lifted up into the air and started circling around Ruiko's hand. "Look what I just got."

Kazari stared wide-eyed then clapped her hands together in enthusiasm. "Saten-san that is amazing. You have an ability."

"I know," Ruiko said equally as excited. "I won't know the extent of it until the system scan Monday but I can do this easily. I'm so excited."

"We need to tell the others," she exclaimed.

"I contacted Kagere-san already," Ruiko said. "He said to stop using the music player until after the examination Monday."

"Misaka-san and Shirai-san will be happy for you," Kazari said cheerfully. "And you can show it off to Kamijou-san too."

Ruiko blushed slightly. "I don't think he will be that impressed."

"He will surely be happy for you," Kazari said encouragingly. "After all…" They were interrupted as a guy ran out of a nearby ally clutching a large purse and barreled right into them. They both were knocked down and the guy tripped and fell forward.

"You stupid brats," he snarled trying to get up. Before any of them could respond a boy, probably around Touma's age came out of the ally and jumped over all of them and landed in front of the man who knocked them down.

The boy had a modified white uniform. He wore his jacket over his shoulders as a make-shift cape and had a white headband on his forehead. The most noticeable part of his ensemble was his Rising Sun shirt. His hair was black while somewhat windswept and spiky, but not nearly as spiky as Touma's. He stood in front of the first guy who was backing away slowly. "You have guts to go and steal in front of me, but you shouldn't take things that do not belong to you. Return what you stole and apologize to those girls for knocking them down." He pointed to Ruiko and Kazari.

"Shut up," the guy said angrily and pulled out a small knife. He charged forward and jabbed the knife at the boy with the white uniform. The boy simply side stepped it and flipped the guy over his shoulder and knocked him out on the ground.

"I guess we should call Anti-skill," he said. "Are you two alright?"

"Yes thank you," Kazari said bowing.

"Wow," Ruiko said. "You are strong. What's your name? Mine is Ruiko Saten and this is Kazari Uiharu."

"Sogiita Gunha," he said. "Nice to meet you Saten-san and Uiharu-san."

"Wait," said Kazari thinking. "That name sounds familiar." She gasped. "You are the seventh rank number 5 aren't you?"

"Ah yea," he said shrugging. "It's not a big deal. Level's shouldn't interfere with your ability to help people."

"You sound just like a friend of ours," Ruiko said laughing. "He always tells us levels don't matter."

"He sounds like a good guy with lots of guts," Sogiita said. "I would like to meet him sometime."

"We can introduce you if you want," Kazari said.

"Sounds good," he replied. "Let's get this guy to Anti-Skill first thoug…." He frowned. "Something feels wrong."

"What you mean?" Ruiko asked confused.

"Suddenly," he said and looked around. "No one is here." Ruiko and Kazari both looked around and saw he was right. No one else was here which was strange since they were right next to the carnival.

"Where did everyone g…" Kazari started to say then stopped and just stood motionless with a blank look on her face. Ruiko looked the same way and even Sogiita felt something trickle into his mind.

"No," he said and focused his thoughts. He felt the presence leave his head and he felt better. "Show yourself villain!" he called out. A sound from behind him caused him to turn around.

"Not bad dear," a very attractive female said in a long red dress. She had very long wavy black hair that fell below her knees. Sogiita felt slightly attracted to her as he looked into her blue eyes but resisted the urge. "You were able to resist my mind manipulation. I guess you are a powerful individual. However we do not have anything to do with you, so if you two lovely ladies will follow me we must be going." Ruiko and Kazari turned automatically and started walking after her but Sogiita grabbed on to their wrists.

"Stop," he called out. "You need to fight her control. Use your guts and focus."

"It's no use," the women said putting a hand up to her mouth as she laughed. "Once they are under my control, escape is quite impossible. However, my acquaintance will stop you from interfering with us."

"Who?" Sogiita asked then suddenly he felt a huge force from above smash him into the ground. He laid on the ground as his body was being crushed against it. "Damn it," he grunted and was just able to see another individual walk up next to the women.

The man looked down at Sogiita through his glasses. He was bald on top of his head with snow white hair around his head. He held out on hand which was most likely causing the pressure on Sogiita and in his other hand he held some carnival food on a stick. He was wearing a lab coat and he would not look out of place as a scientist in the city. "Hmm," he said. "Fascinating, he is still alive under the constant force multiple times earth's gravity." The ground was sinking under the weight.

"I'm off," the women said. "We acquired the targets. But before I go, one other thing." She reached into Kazari's pocket and pulled out her cell phone.

"Hold it," Sogiita said angrily as his body began to glow. "Don't think I am going to let you two kidnap them." He gritted his teeth and slowly got up on his knees. Then he stood up all the way under the dense gravity and managed to get to his feet. The guy's eyes widen in surprise. Sogiita looked at them seriously and shouted. "With enough guts, nothing can stop me!"

"Interesting," the man said biting into his food. "I accept your challenge."

* * *

Touma, Mikoto and Misaki all watched Accelerator dash at full speed over the venders. "What was that about?" Mikoto asked and Misaki shrugged. Both of them had been arguing for awhile and Touma was trying to get them to stop when Accelerator interrupted them.

Touma frowned at Accelerator's expression and the speed at which he ran. _Index was supposed to be with Last Order so it makes sense they would be together. If he's looking for them and somehow thought they were with me… shit._ "We need to find them," he told Mikoto and Misaki. "Index and Last Order are probably in trouble." He dashed in the direction Accelerator ran off in. Mikoto and Misaki gave each other a confused look and a second alter they were running after him.

Touma dashed through the crowds as fast as he could but it was going to be difficult to catch up with a serious Accelerator. However, he heard a very loud clang echo through the carnival and he ran toward the noise. He arrived at a smash trashcan, obviously crushed by Accelerator, and looked around. Touma didn't see him but he heard some loud swearing. Figuring it was his best shot, he ran toward the noise. He found Accelerator kicking the ground in frustration. "What happened?"

"Those b#$%#&# from that magic organization tricked me and took Last Order and Index," he roared angrily. Touma's face turned white.

"Do you know where they took her?" he asked.

Accelerator looked at him. "They said Rome."

"In Italy?!"

"Do you know another f#$&%$ Rome idiot?" he snarled.

"So what's the plan to get to Rome then?" Mikoto asked. They both turn to look at her as she walked toward them with Misaki panting right behind her.

"You aren't coming third rate," Accelerator spat out. "This has nothing to do with you."

"Bullshit," she yelled back angrily. "If my sister is kidnapped then I'm going to help save her."

Touma nodded but getting several level 5s out of the city is going to be a problem. They could contact Anti-Skill but if the organization took Index and Last Order out of the city there wasn't anything they could do. They city certainly wasn't going to let a bunch of level 5's leave either to go fight the magic side. He glanced at Misaki who caught his eye and she nodded seriously. "Ok, Misaki might be able to alter a few minds to help us leave the city but it is still going to be tough. We need to find a plane of some kind. It is going to be really dangerous though, these magicians will usually be willing to kill without hesitation." His face darkened at the thought of what could happen.

"Why would they tell us were their base is anyway?" Misaki asked.

"Because they want my Imagine Breaker," Touma said immediately looking at her and Mikoto nodded. "They probably want me to follow them because they can't magically transport it."

"So it's your fault," spat out Accelerator. "I'm going to rescue the brat and kill that punk for making a fool out of me."

"So let's get going," Touma said seriously and everyone nodded.

"I can't let you do that." They all turned to see who spoke and saw Jason walking toward them. "I figured you guys would be in the middle of explosions and cussing."

"Why not?" Touma asked.

"We need to save Last Order and Index," Mikoto exclaimed.

"I will follow Touma to help him with whatever he needs," Misaki said.

"I would like to see you try to stop us," Accelerator said sneering.

"I'm not going to stop you three," Jason said pointing to Accelerator, Mikoto, and Misaki. "However, I can't let Touma run off and go into what is obviously a trap of an organization who wants to use his hand for something obviously evil. It would be the stupidest thing that you could do."

"I'm going," Touma said firmly.

"No you are not," Jason said seriously. The usual fun loving and carefree look on his face was all but gone and shadows were emerging wrapping his body in darkness. "As I said, I can't let you go. I will stop you Touma if needed."

"Please Jason," Mikoto begged.

Misaki pulled out a remote and pointed it at him. "I will use it." But Touma stood between them looking at Jason directly in the eye.

"Just knock him out and let's go," Accelerator said. "Or I'll do it. We are wasting too much time talking."

Touma pulled his resolve together, made a fist, and put it out in front of him. "Jason you are my friend, but you will move and let us go. I would appreciate your help but I will not let you stop us saving a friend."

Jason sighed and opened his mouth to respond but his phone started ringing. He pulled it out and looked at the number. He quickly opened it, put it on speaker so he could keep it away from him while he stood before Touma and said, "Now is not a good time."

"Oh my," a sultry woman's voice said and Jason froze. "And here I thought I would tell you something important Kagere-san."

"That b#&$%," Accelerator said making a fist as he recognized the voice. Everyone looked at him and Touma waved him quiet.

"What do you want?" Touma asked.

"This is wonderful," she replied warmly. "The Imagine Breaker boy is there too and he seems to be civilized. I just wanted to make sure Kagere-san didn't stop you from coming to visit us in Rome. I'm sure you will love our hospitality. We kidnapped his girlfriend along with her friend for the trip to Rome too. We are to kind. So I hope you all will come visit us soon. After all," her fake warm tone dropped and sounded like ice. "We won't be responsible for what happens if you take too long." She hung up.

"They have Uiharu and Saten-san?" Mikoto gasped and made a fist. "They are going too far."

Touma gritted his teeth. He was furious they took Index but he knew she was a target and he was angry at himself for not guarding her. _Where are Stiyl and Kanzaki?_ He could not let his friends get hurt. They were all important to him. He looked around and saw the resolve in everyone's eyes. He knew he could not convince them to stay back and then he looked at Jason. "We now have even more reason to go," he said seriously. "Please help us."

Jason looked at him and Touma, for the first time, saw his eyes full of rage. "Plans change," he said and Touma felt venom in his words. "I'll get us to Rome and then we will kill every last one of those b#$%#^#s."

"Finally," Accelerator laughed evilly. "Someone is speaking my language."

* * *

 **Rescue Arc is now in full swing. I briefly thought about the magicians attacking during the magic show but I figured it would be way too obvious. Did anyone think it was strange when Touma met Accelerator? I tried to keep it in character because of the person's ability and unique persona. Anyway, not a lot to say but it should be fun to smuggle a ton of level 5s out of the city.**

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or idea. I love reading them.**

 **Mikoto: They day was going so well too.**

 **Touma: Don't worry, we should have more opportunities.**

 **Motoharu: So what happened in the hotel with Shokuhou?**

 **Misaki: Great things then Misaka-san showed up.**

 **Motoharu: Was she modeling the two piece spider swimsuit for him?**

 **Misaki and Mikoto: How did you know?**

 **Me: The readers told him so many times in the comments.**


	26. Operation Rescue

**Another fun chapter to write, especially near the end. There is an important note at the end of this chapter. I figure though I'll start off though by answering a couple questions from people who commented.**

 ***********TRANSMISSION INTERRUPTED***********

 **We apologize for this interruption for an important announcement:**

 **Are you not happy with your life? Do you feel you are doing horrible things and need someone to save you? Have you hurt a lot of people? Now we have the solution.**

 **Presenting: The Touma Punch**

 **The Touma Punch cures all ailments including but not limited to, psychopathic tendencies, misguided justice, desire to sacrifice others, outside religious influence, and for those who are just not living their life correctly.**

 **The Touma Punch: improving your life one bruise at a time.**

 **Side effects may include: bruising, pain, broken nose, lost teeth, unexplainable attraction to Touma, and development of your own harem with anger issues if someone touches your girls.**

 ***********TRANSMISSION ENDED***********

 **Hopefully I answered everyone's important questions but I'm sure you are tired of my talking. Anyway, back to the story.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

 _Damn he's fast,_ Kaori thought as she swung her blade at the man, only to find it sailing through the air. The man in front of her grinned and swung his dagger at her. She leaned back to avoid it by inches while slicing downwards, but once again the man virtually disappeared in front of her.

Kaori and Stiyl had met near Touma's dorm to share all the information they had discovered. So far everything had been quiet, but both of them sensed something was wrong that morning. Kaori realized she should have tailed Index when she left the dorm, but Index was adamant about being left alone with her friend. So Kaori could not do much except spend the day looking for any magicians who entered the city. The problem was a carnival entered the city the same day and it was full of magicians from Russia performing, so there was a lot of magic in the air. However, while she was discussing options with Stiyl, they felt two larger sources of mana from opposite directions heading directly towards Touma's dorm.

"You feel that?" she asked.

"Yea," he replied looking behind him. "They seem to be heading this way. We should split up and stop them before they get too far in the city. Knowing these types, they will probably try to use civilians as shields." Kaori nodded and they both dashed away from the dorm to handle the magicians.

Kaori was surprised when she arrived at a deserted street except for a single elderly man standing in the middle looking directly at her and shaking his head. He had grey hair slicked back and a monocle. _So it's him._ She met him last week on the beach when fighting Wrath. Kaori walked toward him pulling out her blade. "Leave," she said. "I don't want to be forced to hurt you."

"Sadly," Greed said but his grin said otherwise. "I can't leave until the Imagine Breaker boy comes with me."

"That is not going to happen," Kaori said seriously. "I won't let you pass."

"Then violence is the only option," Greed said. He pulled out a dagger a couple inches long. The blade was glowing with an eerie green light. Kaori had a bad feeling when she saw the blade.

 _I don't know what is special about it but I sense a lot of mana in it. I can't allow myself to get hit by it._ She lunged forward and covered the distance between them instantly. As she swung the blade at him, he vanished from her sight. She ducked and the dagger swung over her head. She turned around while at the same time swinging her blade upwards. Greed glided backwards effortlessly as her blade missed him by millimeters.

"Hmm," he said thoughtfully. "I thought a Saint would be tougher. Maybe I can actually finish you off quickly." He twirled the blade in his hand, leaned forward, and swiped the blade at Kaori's neck.

She moved her blade in front of the dagger and blocked the strike. She then spun around as seven wires extended from her sword and started to wrap around him. Greed however managed to take what looked like a single step but moved thirty feet away from her. Wires fell on the ground where he stood. His dagger cut through them like they were paper. "What is that blade?"

"You like it?" he asked looking at it. "It is nice isn't it? I took them from some Aztec magician years ago. Anything cut by it can't be repaired. Wires, buildings, people, none of it can be healed. It's quite convenient for me and my speed. Since it is small, it is easy to use and limits collateral damage. I always hated ruining nice things people were wearing."

Kaori couldn't do much but just stare at him. _He's insane? His strength isn't much but his speed exceeds mine. The dagger however is the problem, I need to destroy it._

* * *

Stiyl was not faring much better. He had run to meet the magician coming from the other direction and found a red haired female on a deserted street. Stiyl could feel the magician's mana covering the entire area. She was not trying to hide it at all. He looked at her and pulled out several rune cards. In his other hand he summoned his 3000 degree Celsius flame sword and lunged at her. Hey laughter echoed through the street as a wall of fire erupted in front of her. Stiyl's sword cut through the wall and it parted like curtains. He had to immediately duck as a ball of fire flew right where his head was. He threw his sword at her while moving back, to put distance between them, and simultaneously throwing rune cards in several directions. The female's feet exploded in flames and she sidestepped his sword.

"Your flame reminds me a lot of mine," she said laughing at him. "Though, you have to invoke my wrath long before you get to experience it with your body."

"I don't often get to meet another fire magician," Stiyl replied casually lighting a cigarette. "I assume you are Wrath who fought Kanzaki before?"

"Oh, the b$*$^ mentioned me," Wrath said as her eyes narrowed. "I am pissed she didn't decide to greet me. I would have loved to finish her off. I didn't realize a Saint was so weak."

Stiyl narrowed his eyes at her. _She considers Kanzaki weak? That doesn't make sense._ He realized her words had to possible outcomes. One, Kanzaki did not display her true power or, two, this female was incredibly powerful. "I'm sure she had her reasons."

The women laughed harder than ever. "If it wasn't for the little electric brat, I would have killed her. Oh, but don't think you will get off easy either." She circled her hand above her head and several fire arrows flew out in different directions and incinerated Stiyl's rune cards. "I wouldn't want to make it too easy for you to summon your pet. Let's have some fun first."

Stiyl frowned. _She knows about Innocentius and her fire magic is quite impressive. But something feels off. It's like she wants to keep me occupied. Wait…that's it."_ Even after he realized her plans, he couldn't notify Kaori or Touma about it. _He better keep Index safe or else._

* * *

"So do you have any idea how we can sneak out of the city," Touma asked Jason. "Security is always really tight."

"Let's just blast our way through," suggested Accelerator. "It's not like they can stop us."

"Then we will waste a lot of time and energy fighting," Mikoto said. "We need to rescue them as fast as possible."

"We might not have to," Jason said turning his head and looking into the distance. "I feel a lot of mana nearby. A magician is fighting someone. They might not have gotten too far."

"Quick, lead the way," Touma said. Jason nodded and everyone chased after him. Touma kept his eyes glued on Jason. When they found out Kazari had been kidnapped, Jason changed immediately. He felt the same murderous aura he was use to seeing on the old Accelerator. He was not use to seeing this on Jason. Jason was usually aloof and joked around constantly but serious when dealing with research experiments. This was the first time Touma had seen him truly angry. It actually worried him a little bit as the thought crossed his mind Jason might be capable of killing. However, he trusted Jason to make the right call when the situation called for it.

They ran out of the carnival and ended up in a deserted street with only a single boy standing there in a dirty modified white uniform. He turned around when he saw them running toward him. "Hey did you guys see…?" he started to ask then his eyes widened in recognition. "Wow, it's the first, third, and fifth. Hey, it's you." He added as he noticed Touma. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Sogiita Gunha," Misaki said in surprised as she recognized him.

"Have you seen two young girls around here?" Touma asked ignoring their introduction. "One of them is in a nun outfit."

"Sorry no," he said. "I was chasing a purse snatcher when I met a couple of girls. Suddenly two strange people showed up and kidnapped him. Even with my guts, they still manage to get away."

"Was one of them wearing a flower headband?" Jason asked seriously. Sogiita nodded. "Shit," Jason spat. "We missed them."

"Were they friends of yours?" Sogiita asked concerned. Jason nodded again. "Okay," Sogiita announced. "I will help you find and rescue them. A hero can't leave an innocent person in trouble."

"Great," Accelerator sighed. "Another idiotic hero. Well, he is a level 5 and should be of some use. It looks like he fought someone from that group." He indicated the damage around the street.

"Yea," Sogiita said. "He had some weird gravity ability. It was tough but with my guts I still chased him off. A woman took the two girls away though."

"So they left the city then most likely," Mikoto said turning to Touma and Jason. "What now?"

Touma opened his mouth to respond when a girl suddenly appeared above him and dropped kick him in the head. He fell forward and landed on the ground. Everyone else turned to stare at Kuroko as she stood over him. "You ape!" she snarled. "How dare you defile onee-sama…?" Her rant was cut short as Mikoto shocked her with several bolts of electricity.

"Kuroko," Mikoto said over Kuroko's smoking body. "We don't have time for this. Uiharu-san and Saten-san were kidnapped along with friends of Touma and Accelerator. The kidnappers left the city and said our friends will be killed if we don't travel to Rome." Normally this story would half to be followed up with a lot of questions but Kuroko looked into Mikoto's eyes and saw the seriousness and urgency of the situation.

"Ok," Kuroko said immediately. She would not doubt Mikoto. "What do we need to do?"

"Sheesh," Accelerator spat out. "Now it's turning into a field trip for brats. Someone come up with a bright idea to get out of the city or I am going to destroy everything until I find a f#$^ing plane."

"Just find a pilot," Misaki said. "And I'll convince him to fly us."

"We really need a slightly less noticeable plan," Touma said sighing. He had to do something soon or Accelerator really would destroy everything in his way to save Last Order. "Jason, you normally have some idea what to do." He watched Jason think about it for a moment.

"Getting a bunch of level 5s out of the city on a mission not sanctioned by the city," Jason muttered. "I might know someone who can help."

"Call him then," Touma said looking at him. "We don't have much time." Jason nodded and pulled out his phone.

"Hey Osamu," Jason said talking to someone Touma didn't know. "I have an emergency and need to leave the city with some other people secretly. I'll explain everything later but I need the faster plane available to go to Italy." There was silence. "I know, but it's an emergency. There are a lot of circumstances too since it involved the other side." Silence again. "If that idiot tries to cause a fuss, tell him I will release his folder marked CP-0847 from his computer. Even if he tries to erase it I can still access it. The best thing he could hope for is getting kicked out of the city." More silence but then Jason smiled. "Thanks, I owe you a lot. How long?" Jason hung up after the answer.

"So what's happening?" Touma asked as everyone else watched Jason.

"We have 45 minutes to get to the district 23," he said. "He got us a fast jet and will take us directly to Rome."

"Who on earth do you know?" Kuroko asked shocked.

'Who cares," Accelerator said. "He got us a plane. Now I can go there and kill those b#$&#%."

"An old friend," Jason said as he texted someone. "He helps me out a lot. If you need to get anything you better hurry. We leave regardless if everyone shows up or not. I'm having someone drop off some supplies."

Touma nodded and turned to everyone. He really didn't want to put them all in danger, but he knew this was going to be their only chance and he also knew he could not do this alone. He looked at everyone and Mikoto nodded to him indicating his resolve, Misaki smiled reassuringly at him, Accelerator started making his way to the airport, Sogiita hit his chest showing he was ready, Kuroko was looking between Mikoto and Touma, and Jason was busy with his phone. "I can't thank you all for helping," Touma said to them. "But I don't want to put anyone in danger. So if you want to stay I understand." Everyone just stared at him and shook their heads. _I knew it._ They all made their way to the airport together.

No one paid them any attention as they all boarded a bus, but something weird happened after they got off. They decided, based on advice from Misaki, to get off a stop early so if anyone was watching them it wouldn't be obvious they were heading to the airport. They agreed even though Accelerator grumbled about it being too slow. When they got to the airport, the side gate was unlocked and they snuck in. It was quiet with the occasional hum of a car engine in the background.

"That's the plane over there," Jason said pointing. "It's not the fastest the city has, but it should get us to Rome in a couple hours."

Touma looked around, "It's really quiet and I don't see anyone…Ouch." Mikoto had smacked him in the back of the head.

"Don't say that out loud," she hissed. "It's a jinx."

"Don't be silly…" he started to say but the several spot lights from nearby towers shined right on them. Before any of them could say anything, a large number of armored Anti-Skill personnel rushed out of hiding and surrounded them about 50 feet away. They had a row of riot shields and all of them were heavily armed with high powered weapons. Several members in power suits followed shortly behind them. Many of them were pointing their weapons at them in between the shields. Touma looked around and a lot of the Anti-Skill members didn't seem to be truly happy with aiming their guns at everyone in his group. "Jason," he asked out of the corner of his mouth. "What's going on?"

"His contact obviously betrayed him," Accelerator said reaching for his choker. "Give me 30 seconds to deal with this."

"I'm sure I can convince them all to leave without violence," Misaki said reaching into her purse.

"Wait," Touma said and they both looked at him. "One of them is coming forward."

One man walked forward through the circle perimeter and headed straight toward them. He didn't have a high powered gun but a pistol was strapped to his waist. He still had full body armor, but he had a gold symbol on his chest. Touma guessed this guy was the commanding officer of the group. He appeared nervous, but who could blame him? Standing in front of several level 5s, with all the rumors surrounding them, was probably not the easiest task for anyone except Touma. When he was about ten feet from them he stopped and called out, "Which one of you is Jason Kagere?"

Jason stepped forward. "Stand down captain," he said sternly. "You know my rank and we need to get on that flight."

"I can't do that," he said shaking his head. "Your rank has been suspended." Jason raised an eyebrow in disbelief. Accelerator was about to say something but Touma waved him quiet. He felt this guy had something else to do besides just tell them to leave. The captain pulled out a communicator and set it to speaker. "We are to detain you until you speak with our superior."

"Who the hell is your…" Jason said sounding irritated but then a voice came through the device.

"I'm sure we can skip the name calling Jason," a voice said from the line and Jason froze looking at the communicator with a mix of disgust and apprehension. "You do not have much time and I have a few things discuss with you." Touma never heard a voice like it. He had no idea who could be on the other end and he couldn't make out any clues from the voice. The voice sounded male and female, young and old. It sent a shiver down his spine but also made him feel at peace. He never heard a voice like it. He looked around and everyone else had similar looks of surprise and interest at who was on the line. Except for, surprisingly, Accelerator, he looked like he wanted to smash something.

"There is only one reason for you to contact me at this time," Jason replied coldly. "You know we want to leave the city."

"Exactly," the voice said. "I can't let the level 5s leave with you. If you want, you can go by yourself, but leave the others. Should you try to take them, I will have no choice but to shoot down the plane." Kuroko and Mikoto gasped but everyone else had a grim look on their faces.

"I don't think so," Jason said and Touma heard a little more of the old mocking tone he was use to with Jason. Out of the corner of his eyes everyone else seemed to calm down slightly too. "You would not shoot down a plane full of high level ability users. You would lose too much material, plus other assets. You just want to talk to me about something, what is it?"

There was a brief silence from the other side. "When you return, you will come see me and we will discuss a couple of important topics. You may go. Captain…"

"Yes, sir?" the man asked.

"His rank is restored. You and your people are dismissed."

"Understood," he replied. He turned around walked back to the Anti-Skill members and they started to disburse after a quick order.

"Who was that?" Mikoto asked Jason.

"The biggest a$$&^%* in Academy City," Jason replied grimly.

"You can't stop joking around even when our friends are kidnapped," Kuroko fumed at him.

"Brat," Accelerator said and Kuroko looked at him. "That WAS the biggest a$$&^%* in the city." Kuroko opened her mouth to say something to him but Mikoto silenced her.

"I don't know who it was," she whispered to Kuroko, "But they both agreed so he probably is. Just drop it for now till we save them." Kuroko nodded.

"That took a lot of guts to stand up to whoever that was," Sogiita said. "Their voice was not natural."

"This is going to sound stupid," Misaki said. "But was that person a human?" Everyone looked at Accelerator and Jason.

"Debatable," they said together.

Conversations died out as everyone walked forward to the plane. They saw a pilot waving down to them from the cockpit. Everyone entered the plane, Accelerator led them in, except for Touma who grabbed Jason's sleeve and whispered, "I need to talk to you real fast." Jason nodded and stayed back. "Who was that?" Jason frowned but looked him in the eye.

"He's technically my boss," Jason replied. "Though he is the worst type of person in existence and should be avoided at all cost. He wasn't serious about shooting us down though, I called his bluff."

"What could…" Touma asked but he was interrupted.

"Excuse me," a female voice said from besides them and they both jumped. Touma looked at a girl with straight dirty blonde hair holding a silver suitcase out to Jason. "I brought everything you requested."

"Thanks Kat," he said. She bowed slightly turned away from them took two steps and just disappeared. Touma stared at the spot for a moment. It didn't look like teleportation, he was use to that with Kuroko, but she just simply disappeared and was nowhere nearby.

"Who was that?" he asked.

"The only other member of LOCK-DOWN," Jason said as he turned to the plane. "Her ability is Stealth Field, which really just means she can't be detected by anything. Sight, sound, infer red, etc, she is our information gather when needed. Her nickname is Kat but she won't answer to anything except that. I forgot her full name anyways."

"HURRY THE F&%^ UP!" Accelerator roared from the plane. Touma and Jason jumped and ran into the plane.

The plane may not have been huge but there were enough seats for everyone to sit down and strap in with a few extra seats open. They took off without any problems and saw Academy City disappear into the distance. When the plane leveled off they were able to walk around a bit. Kuroko dragged Mikoto into the back area to learn about what was happening in more detail. Sogiita said something about "resting his guts," and was taking a short nap. He was the only one who actually fought one of the members of the organization today. Accelerator and Jason moved to the front of the plane to discuss something. Touma just sat next to the window staring out across the clouds worrying about his friends. _Please be alright. Ruiko, Uiharu, Last Order, Index, we are coming to save you._ He felt someone occupy the seat next to him and saw Misaki staring at him with concern in her eyes.

"Are you ok?" she asked hesitantly. Touma looked at her and tried to smile but he wasn't able to do it. She could tell how scared he was at losing his friends and she placed her hand on his. She knew what it was like to lose a friend when they were so close. She remembered the pain when she almost lost Touma long ago and swore to herself she would not let him go through the same pain. "We are all going to help you and bring our friends back," she told him. She saw his eyes soften and he managed a small smile.

"Thanks Misaki," he said his voice beginning to have the warmth she was used to associating with him. "That means a lot to me. Thank you for helping us."

"I'll do anything for you Touma," she said. She decided now was not the time to cause his mind to worry about unnecessary things and decided not to lean in for a kiss. Instead, she gripped his hand tightly for a second and stood up to go talk with Kuroko and Mikoto.

Touma stood up and looked at Misaki's retreating back. _She really is special. Not a lot of people would run off and help me save people they barely knew._ In fact, he looked around at his friends and saw the same look of determination in all of them. Even Sogiita, who was sleeping, but his brow was narrowed in concentration. _I really am lucky to have so many amazing friends._ He saw Mikoto watching him from behind Kuroko and Misaki who were arguing about something. She winked at him, but he could tell she was worried about their friends too. He turned around and walked up to Accelerator and Jason who were checking out a couple of guns.

 _WAIT…THOSE ARE GUNS?!_

He approached them slowly and saw they were indeed guns, but only the handheld variety. They both looked at him when he approached. "Jason," he asked. "Why do you have those?"

Jason looked at him in disbelief. "We are going to siege the enemy's stronghold AFTER they invited us. Do you think they are just going to let us walk in and free our friends? You know as well as I do it is a trap."

"Use your brain once in awhile," Accelerator snapped holding up a gun examining it. "Don't be so dense. Hmm, I like this one. It's got a good sight and packs a punch." He slipped it into his waist band.

Jason pocketed a small metal case and pulled out some cards showing them to Touma. "I made these rune cards before in case of emergencies. They let me channel simple spells without having to make seals out of what I find around me. I'm taking all precautions. Besides I am fully authorized to use weapons and I found out Accelerator is too, so nothing wrong here. Now why don't you go and give our troops a pep talk as a morale booster." Jason added the last part while giving him a slap on the back.

Touma shook his head. "I'm not good at those sorts of things," he said. He walked away from them. No matter how desperate he was, he wasn't going to use a gun. Now that he thought about it, Jason was part of Anti-Skill along with Judgment. While Judgment was not permitted to use guns, Anti-Skill was, so Jason was probably perfectly use to using one. _I have never seen him with one before though. I hope he won't go overboard trying to save Kazari._ His phone started to ring and he answered it before he even looked at who was calling him. "Hello?"

"Kami-yan," Motoharu's voice came through perfectly clear. "How could you leave without even checking up on the people you know from the magic side already in the city?"

"What, Tsuchimikado?" coughed Touma. "How did you know we left?"

"You know what my profession is," he replied cheerfully then got serious. "Anyway I figured we couldn't get you to stop. Kanzaki and Stiyl are upset they got duped. Turns out two of those sin guys locked them in fights and they couldn't come to help you. After the sins captured your friends they retreated. Kanzaki and Stiyl are going to meet you in Rome. When you get there, stay at the airport. If you start wondering around you could fall into the sins' trap. We believe we know where their base of operations is. Stiyl will give you the full explanation when they meet you."

Touma groaned and remembered Motoharu was a professional double agent. However, the fact the sins were able to fight Stiyl and Kanzaki to a standstill, so they couldn't come back to help him, was an indicator how powerful this organization was. "Thanks for letting me know," he said. "Keep me updated with any new information."

"No problems Kami-yan," he said. "Take care and try not to pick up to many Italian babes when the fighting is over."

"You…!" Touma said but Motoharu hung up first. _How can he think about that when people are in danger?_ He sat down in a chair and looked out the window thinking while trying to keep himself calm.

Mikoto was in the back of the plane trying to bring Kuroko up to speed and answer her thousands of questions. It didn't help that for some reason Misaki joined them and got into an argument with Kuroko after she called Touma an ape. Mikoto saw Touma looking a little depressed and she tried to cheer him up by making him believe everything was ok by winking at him. She then tried to get Kuroko and Misaki to stop arguing right before they were going to have to work together, but it didn't work. She sighed. _Guess they can work it out themselves._

She noticed Touma was talking to Jason and Accelerator for a bit then answered a phone call. Afterwards, he looked slightly drained and a little irritated. He threw himself into a seat near the window and stared outside. Mikoto briefly thought of going over there to cheer him up, but she could tell he needed a minute to himself to think. She really wanted to talk to him, but instead, she turned away to Jason who was waving at her to come over. She shrugged and walked up to him. "What?"

"I have something for you," Jason said rummaging around in his suitcase. He eventually pulled out a small choker that looked a lot like's Accelerator.

"What is that?" Mikoto asked cautiously. She didn't think Jason was into anything really weird based on what Kazari told her. _Why would he choose now to do this?_

"This isn't going to bring up pleasant memories," Jason said seriously looking at her and her doubt on his intentions flooded away instantly. "This is the remainder of the Exterior Project that has come into my possession."

For a second, all thought left Mikoto as she remembered what happened when the Exterior experiment affected her. She turned into a monster bent only on destruction and almost killed Touma and Sogiita. She did not remember a lot of the details during her transformation but in the end, Touma manage to save her. The Exterior Project purpose was to try to forcefully turn her into a level 6 while destroying Academy City at the same time. She would have died when the transformation was completed if not for Touma. "W-why do you have that?" she asked stunned and angry. "You know what will happen and how many people could die."

Jason nodded. "That is the reason I refused to join any experiments trying to create a level 6, but I manage to steal some information from them. This choker is designed to allow you to temporary access the Misaka Network, though it will only work for you. And before you say anything, I do know about Accelerator's level 6 experiment. If you use this choker, you will be able to access part of the power you had when they forced you to transform."

"You can't be serious," Mikoto told him. She was getting even angrier and couldn't believe what she was hearing. _I knew he worked for the curriculum development but how could he have this information about those horrible experiments and talk about it normally._ She looked up directly at his face but saw in his eyes something she believed she saw occasionally in Accelerator's eyes. _Regret…_

"I know what you are probably thinking," he said slowly. "I did modify it though. It will only let you access the power for one to two minutes then forcefully disconnect you. The downside is you probably won't be able to move, let alone fight after your access is severed."

"Why would you do this and why now?" Mikoto asked as she found herself having to know the answer. The fact he added a safety switch told her Jason must have been thinking of her safety.

"I don't want anyone to die," he said his voice shaking very slightly. "I can't… never mind. As to why I'm giving this to you now is because we are walking into the enemy's stronghold. I'm preparing all my trump cards I have at my disposal. I would prefer you not to use it as it couldn't be tested on anything or anyone else. It is a last resort for you. So I decided you would, no should, be the only one with the choice on if it should be activated."

Mikoto looked at him and looked at the choker. She reached out a hand and took it. "I'll hold onto it and if I decide I have to, I'll use it."

"Only advice I have for you is, remember why you're fighting," Jason said and walked away.

After thinking about all possibilities Touma got up and walked over to Accelerator, who was pretending to be asleep. Touma knew he was pretending by the way his finger kept twitching as if he was thinking about something really unpleasant. "You ready to save them?"

"Don't ask stupid questions hero," he said without opening his eyes. "I'm just going to kill those b#$%&^$ for tricking me and taking Last Order." Touma sat next to him and Accelerator opened one eye but didn't say anything. "I've been meaning to ask you this for awhile," Accelerator said after a minute of silence. "What is the nun girl to you?"

Touma looked at him because he didn't expect Accelerator to care. "She's family to me and I promised to protect her. She might have even had a tougher childhood then either of us." Accelerator raised an eyebrow but decided not to argue with him. "Anyway, I was the first friend she had when she came to Academy City because she was connected to the magic side. Anyway, certain things happened and I really can't give you more details but she is incredibly important to me."

"Sounds about right for a f$%&*$ hero," Accelerator muttered.

"So why do you care so much about Last Order?" Touma asked."I know she lives with you because she has nowhere else to go, but why are you risking everything to save her? I never did hear how you two met. The first time I met her you were trying to rescue her too. I mean, I'm stupid enough to dash into anything, but you seem to avoid going out of your way for others."

"You make it sound like I'm a monster."

"That's not what I meant," Touma said quickly shaking his head. "I know you are a good guy but…"

"I know what you meant," Accelerator sighed. He didn't want to hero to continue and say something really stupid. "Fine," he huffed. "The reason I'm going to save her is because she saved me."

"What really?" Touma asked. "From who?"

"She saved me from myself."

* * *

A couple hours later, they landed in Italy. Because of the time difference between Japan and Italy, it was around noon. However, if the weather was any indication on what this trip was going to be like, they were not in for a good time. The rain was coming down in sheets and the storm was supposed to last all day. They exited the plane and entered the main building in the airport. It was really crowded and Touma started looking for Stiyl and Kanzaki. They found them sitting in the main lobby off to the side waiting.

"About time you got here," Stiyl said. "We have been waiting for over thirty minutes."

"How did you beat us?" Touma asked. 'We left really quickly."

"You underestimate us," he replied smirking slightly. "Don't doubt the power of our magic."

"So where is their base?" Mikoto asked.

He turned and looked at her closely then his eyes moved to each of the other members of Touma's group. "You brought more people then I was told."

"Things happened and we picked up more people," Touma said dismissively. "But she's right. Where are they?"

"It's not a good place to talk about it yet," Kanzaki said softly and Touma looked at her. "We have been making preparations and have transportation to bring us there."

"Then let's go already," Accelerator said. "We are wasting too much time with this useless talking."

"I agree," Stiyl said standing up and leading everyone to a large city bus waiting outside of the airport. Everyone filed in and Touma was the last one to enter. The driver was an elderly man who gave him a wink as he entered. Touma recognized him as a member of the Amakusa. He sat down as the bus started to move and asked Kanzaki.

"Are the Amakusa here too?"

"Yes," she nodded. "They are forming a protective perimeter around the target. This weather is keeping a lot of people away but we still have to take certain measures to make sure the battle does not leak out and involve normal people."

"So where is their base?" Misaki asked. "Since you didn't tell us in the airport, I assume it is in a pretty well known place."

"We located the source of their activities in the Roman Coliseum," Stiyl said glancing at her.

"What?" asked Mikoto in shock. "That is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Rome. How could they operate there without anyone noticing?"

"You are new to magic," Stiyl said shaking his head slightly in frustration. "Hiding in plain sight is one of the most basic skills for us." Mikoto glared at him for a moment. She never really liked him ever since she met him.

"Magic?" Kuroko whispered but no one answered her.

"Wow the coliseum," Sogiita said making a fist. "One of the most well known places where men gathered to show off their guts. I can't wait to see it."

"We aren't going there for a vacation," snapped Accelerator. He was still in a very irritable mood.

"Anyway," Stiyl continued. "You all may not know this being from the science side, except for those two." He pointed to Touma and Jason. "Due to the tensions between the magic and science side, this operation is completely unauthorized. If we get into trouble, there is no back up. You are all on your own. If you fail, our side will most likely move in full force to take these guys out. This means you won't be able to rescue your friends."

"Are you threatening us?" Accelerator asked angrily standing up slightly.

"No," Stiyl said looking at him without the slightest trace of fear. "I am simply telling you what is going to happen."

Touma stood up between him and Accelerator. "Thanks for the warning," he said. "But we won't fail." He shot a look at Accelerator who sat down. _We can't be fighting between ourselves now._

"That reminds me," Stiyl said standing up and grabbing Touma's collar. "Where were you and why did you let Index get captured?!" He said the last part in a snarl.

"You think I tried to let them take her," Touma said grabbing his wrists and forcing Stiyl to let him go. "I want to save her as much as you do."

"Besides," Accelerator snapped. "It was my fault for falling for such an obvious trick. I was looking after her when they kidnapped her." Everyone from Academy City looked at Accelerator because they were not use to him admitting he failed at something. Stiyl looked like he was about to say something but Kanzaki put his hand on his shoulder and shook her head.

Kuroko leaned next to Mikoto and whispered. "I don't trust the red haired guy. He seems really suspicious and I don't doubt he might kill someone."

"I don't like him much either," Mikoto whispered back. "But from what Touma told me, he is a professional in dealing with these types so he is going to be useful. Kanzaki is really strong too and she is a lot more likeable."

Touma sat down and sighed. The day started off so well for him and then it turned into this. Tensions were high and everyone could snap in a moment's notice. _I believe in them though. We will rescue everyone and go home._ He saw Misaki sit next to him but didn't say anything. She also had a determined look on her face. He knew there wasn't really anything to say at this time. However, he thought to himself, _I won't let anyone die._

They arrived a short distance from the coliseum. The weather seemed to be getting slightly better because the rain stopped, but an eerie thick fog started to form all around the city. They couldn't see very far. The bus stopped and everyone exited and they walked towards the coliseum. Touma looked around but could not see through the thick fog. He was aware of how eerily quiet it was. He could understand the lack of people because the Amakusa were keeping them away, but there was no sound of any machines or animals. The only sounds were their footsteps as they walked forward.

"So what's the plan?" Touma asked Stiyl.

"They obviously know we are coming," he said lighting a cigarette. "So I figure we just walk in and beat the crap out of them."

"Excellent," Accelerator said grinning evilly. "I like simple and efficient plans. Sneaking around is beneath me."

"We are going to show them no matter what traps they set up," Sogiita said throwing out his fist. "With guts we can overcome them all."

"You two are so uncivilized," Misaki sighed.

"Are all guys idiots?" Kuroko asked bewildered.

Touma opened his mouth to say something but Mikoto threw a hand over it. "They are Kuroko," she said. "It's in their genes." All the girls laughed and even Kanzaki gave a grudging smile. Even with the tension of the upcoming battle, everyone was still able to joke around.

Touma thought one person was being uncharacteristically quiet. He turned to Jason and said, "Don't worry we will save them."

"I know," Jason said. "I'm just worried about the sheer amount of magic coming from the coliseum. Stiyl and Kanzaki appear to have noticed it too."

"We just have to beat everyone in there and bring our friends with us," Touma said. "Just a normal day for me." Jason smirked and Touma saw the normal face of his friend again.

"If you kids are done acting stupid," Stiyl said sighing. "Let's go. The longer we stay out in the open the more opportunities they have to attack."

They moved quickly through the open field to the coliseum. Most of the entrances had gates but the main entrance was suspiciously open. Stiyl didn't hesitate for a second and walked right through it with Kanzaki right behind him. Everyone else followed since they all knew the organization knew they were coming. They walked down a dark tunnel and emerged into the main ring. For some reason the main ring seemed to be repaired. Touma thought he remembered reading the center area was mostly destroyed and you could see the areas were prisoners below the ring were kept. But as they walked out, it seemed to be completely repaired. The coliseum was empty except for them and a lone figure access from them.

"Umm," Mikoto said looking around. "Where did Stiyl and Kanzaki go?" Everyone gave a quick look around but found out she was right. They were gone.

"Damn it," Touma said. "They are trying to separate us."

"They should be able to handle themselves," Accelerator said shrugging. "Let's focus on that guy and force him to give us answers."

"Well he seems to be walking right towards us," Misaki pointed out while pulling out her remote. "One way or another he will answer our questions.

The single figured was walking toward them. If Touma could describe him in one word it would be, jester. To him, the guy looked just like a medieval jester you would see around royalty to act as entertainment. He wore a red and yellow suit with black stripes. His head gear had several spikes coming from it with a bell on each end. There were also bells on his shoes and wrists. Every step he took toward them was accompanied by bells. His face was covered by a gold mask with the face of a sad man. He approached them, put his right hand across his chest, and bowed to them. "Welcome," he said. His voice seemed oddly normal from behind the mask with just a hint of amusement. "To the headquarters of The Fallen. We hope you find it to your liking."

"Where are Stiyl and Kanzaki?" Mikoto asked angrily.

"The magicians?" the jester asked ironically. "They simple entered the coliseum in a space parallel to ours."

"What?" Mikoto asked.

"It's spatial magic to allow several different spaces to exist in the same location," Jason explained. "They tend to get created between dimensions. Most likely that is how they operated here without notice. Each pocket dimension exists as a model of the original location. I believe there is a limit to how big they can get before they fall apart."

"What kind of things can they do with magic?" Kuroko asked shocked as she looked at him. Mikoto had given her a brief rundown and the two people they met in Italy mentioned magic too. _Magic can't be real? But what if it's like our abilities except developed a different way?_

"A very simplified explanation," the jester said nodding. "But correct in essentials. You see, they are currently being occupied because my masters are interested in fighting you all."

"By masters," Touma said. "You mean the other guys with the sin marks." He held up his arm displaying the mark of sloth.

"Exactly," the jester appeared satisfied at his response. "As you are here to rescue your friends," he raised both arms out to his side. "There is a simple game you must participate in." The sound of stone grinding against stone echoed across the arena. Every looked and saw seven archways slowly form around the arena as the stones separated smoothly like water. The entranceways were glowing white and nothing could be seen behind them. "Each of these doors will go to one of the sins personal spaces and the seventh one, since sloth is already dead, will lead to our leader."

"Tell me why I should play your game and not just torture you until you tell me what I want to know?" Accelerator roared at him.

"Because your friends are behind four of the seven doors," the jester explained. "If you don't go through them all, you may miss some of them."

"Tell us which doors they are in," Sogiita demanded.

"I don't know," the jester said shaking his head and causing the bells to ring more.

"Allow me," Misaki said pointing her remote at the jester. He froze in place. "He actually doesn't know. I guess it was a safety precaution." Her eyes widened. "How…?"

"What is it Misaki?" Touma asked worried.

"This guy doesn't know anything else besides what he told us," she explained shocked. "All of our questions were predicted by some guy called The Herald."

"He predicted which questions we would ask?" Mikoto said surprised.

"It doesn't matter," Accelerator said. "We simply go through each door, kick their ass, and rescue the hostages. Whoever gets the leader, crush him extra for me."

Touma looked at everyone and saw their determination. "I guess we really don't have a choice. Everyone has to take one doorway. Be careful everyone. Let's all make it back."

"Heh," Accelerator sneered. "You need to work on your morale building speeches."

"I agree," Jason said. "You didn't even tell us to beat them."

"As long as you reach deep within yourself," Sogiita said loudly fire in his eyes. "You can draw the power from your guts and defeat all the villains who stand before you! Show off your splendor and guts to those villains who use cowardly tactics! OVERCOME EVERYTHING WITH GUTS!"

"What an idiot," Kuroko sighed.

"At least that was a speech," Mikoto said. She elbowed Touma in the side. "You need to give speeches like that."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Touma replied to them all dejected.

"I still liked your speech," Misaki said patting him on the shoulder.

Everyone took their positions in front of a doorway and, simultaneously with a look of determination, took a step in.

* * *

Stiyl and Kanzaki had found themselves in the middle of the arena surrounded by humanoid like golems made of stone. There were several hundred just in the middle of the coliseum, but the stands were also full of them. They were all moving toward the two magicians. Kazari had instinctively cut several down but they just kept regenerating and coming toward them.

"Looks like this might take some time," Kaori said to Stiyl as her wires cut several more into pieces.

"Seems they will infinitely regenerate unless we take them all down," Stiyl said examining the flow of mana in the air. "I'll need you to cover me while I place these." He pulled out a stack of rune cards. "This way we can take them all out at once."

Kaori nodded. "Do you think they will be alright?" She was obviously referring to Touma and his friends.

"Probably," Stiyl said throwing several rune cards into position as Kaori cut down the stone golems. "The boy is with them and he usually somehow pulls through."

Kaori turned away while slashing several more golems down in front of her. She didn't want Stiyl to see her smile. He may not show it, but he was obviously worried about Touma. _Please be alright Kamijou. I still need to repay you for everything you have done for me._

* * *

Accelerator found himself walking down a short hallway that led back to the center of the coliseum. _What the hell, I know I walked in a straight line._ He looked around and realized this coliseum was slightly different. In the stands appeared to be some modern appliances like a bed, some dressers, and a table. He took a couple more steps into the center of the arena.

"About time you got here," a familiar voice said and Accelerator turned to see the punk from before watching him. The punk was sitting on a pile of what looked like human skulls. He noticed Accelerator looking at them and smiled. "I see you like my trophies," he said laughing slightly. "Don't worry, when I kill you, your skull will be an excellent addition."

"You think I would be intimidated over a pile of bones," Accelerator said throwing his head back and laughing. "Now tell me where she is and I'll make your death quick and painless."

"You seem to think highly of yourself," the punk said. "I look forward to wipe that grin from your face. The girl is over there unharmed for now." He pointed to a stone alter where Last Order was laying on it unconscious. It was surrounded by a faint blue dome of light. "You can't get her out of there though until one of us dies, that is the rule for the barrier."

"Sounds easy enough," Accelerator said cracking his knuckles. "You just have to die."

"My name is Pride, and I look forward to crushing you and bask in your look of despair." He jumped down and joined Accelerator in the ring.

* * *

Jason walked through his hallway and entered the arena. He looked around and saw huge piles of all sorts of things imaginable. Cars, beds, chests of assorted goods, stands of weapons, and anything else one could desire were arranged all over the stands surrounding the arena. _Wow, someone's a collector._ A faint buzzing sound echoed through his mind. _Yes, I know it's a trap, but still, some of this stuff is amazing._

"Well well," a familiar voice said. "Jason, your interest in exotic goods hasn't changed even after all these years."

Jason froze, he recognized that voice. _Damn it, it can't be. Why is he still alive?_ Jason turned slowly and looked at the monocle man with slick grey hair. "How are you still alive you b# &$^#."

"I go by Greed now," he said with a slight smirk. "But is this how you greet someone you haven't seen in five years?"

"You were supposed to be dead," Jason growled between clenched teeth. _I saw his body personally._ More buzzing. _Stop doubting me, he WAS dead._ "Where is she?"

"So sorry," he said shrugging but his face showed he wasn't sorry at all. "She is with Gluttony. Oh interesting piece of information for you. Gluttony's former name was Dr. Ricane, someone I believe you know."

"I'm going to slaughter you again!" Jason yelled in anger as his shadow erupted around him and formed several arms each holding a large black blade. Even though they were just shadows, they looked incredibly sharp. Jason knew that name. The doctor helped him learn about his shadow and was an expert in spatial displacement. _Why is he helping them?_

"Is this how you treat your old mentor?" Greed said sadly shaking his head. "Without me, you wouldn't even know magic existed."

* * *

Mikoto walked through her hallway and found herself back in the arena. _I hate magic, I was sure I walked in a straight line._ This arena was full of the remains of a lot of destroyed furniture, cars, and what could have been a small building. Some of the wreckages were torn into pieces and a lot of it was burnt black. The smell of charcoal was strong and it made her sneeze. She had a really bad feeling about who was here.

"Hahaha," a loud crackling laugh echoed through the coliseum. Mikoto saw Wrath walking down the steps from the upper levels of the arena. "It's time to finish what we started. You are so lucky. You survived against me not once, but twice. There will be no third time."

"Where are my friends Wrath?" Mikoto yelled at her.

"I don't see why that matters since you are going to die," Wrath said. "But since you asked, I might as well tell you. One of your friends is there." She pointed to a stone alter were Ruiko was laying unconscious surrounded by a faint blue dome of light. "The barrier will only go down when one of us dies. So after I kill you, I'm going to kill your friend. Now you know what you are fighting for." She threw back her head and laughed again.

Electricity started to crackle around Mikoto as she felt anger engulf her. _How dare she threaten Saten? I'm going to stop her._ 'You lost twice before," Mikoto called back. "Same situation, same outcome."

Wrath's face twisted from amusement to anger as she jumped into the arena. "There's no one to come in and rescue you this time brat," she hissed. "You are all alone."

* * *

Misaki walked through her hallway and found herself in another arena. _At least I didn't have far to go._ She could tell this arena was different because the stands were full of masked individuals, both male and female but none of them were moving. A stroke of worry crossed her mind thinking she was going to have to fight all these people. Her ability could target a lot of people at once, but, if their minds were shielded, she would be at a disadvantage.

"Sigh," a sultry female voice said. "Out of all the possibilities, I got stuck with a girl whose nutrients must have gone to her chest instead of her brain. I wish I got one of those attractive guys." Misaki turned to see a very attractive woman with long wavy black hair and a bright red dress in the stands. She was sitting on a throne like golden chair supported by six of the masked individuals. A flash of irritation went through her mind as she looked at the women in front of her.

"Jealousy is not very attractive," Misaki replied smiling insincerely crossing her arms under her chest. 'In fact it is known to cause wrinkles, but I see you found that out the hard way obaa-san."

Both Misaki and the women glared at each other and sparks came out of both their eyes. Then the women smiled at Misaki. "I'm sure you will change your attitude dear," she said. "After all, you are about to find out why I am called Lust."

"I can't wait," Misaki said dryly.

* * *

Kuroko walked through her hallway and found herself in another arena. She looked around and was surprised at all the ordinary stuff she found. _Whoever is here must like clothes._ There were a lot of wardrobes in the stands along with a lot of tables, beds, and mirrors. She walked towards the center of the arena carefully because she did not see anyone.

"Kuroko?"

Kuroko turned around instantly and saw Mikoto walking into the arena from a different doorway. "Onee-sama," she asked. "Why are you here?"

"I don't know where here is," Mikoto replied. "I just found myself here. I thought we would all go to different areas."

"I did too," Kuroko thought out loud. "It could be possible two of them are here."

"You are wrong," a female voice said form the stands. Kuroko and Mikoto turned to look at a cloaked figured gliding down the stairs in the stands. "I am Envy and I am more than capable of taking you both down together."

"As if," Mikoto said.

"Together we are invincible!" Kuroko yelled puffing out her chest.

Envy laughed at Kuroko. "But bonds are so easily broken girl."

* * *

Sogiita dashed through the hallway and entered his arena. He looked around to see who was in here. _It's up to a hero to stop the villains. I need to move fast to save the hostages._ This arena seemed to be divided into two parts. Half of it was full of scientific equipment, monitors, scanners, tables, and more but Sogiita had no idea what most of it did. He was not the most technologically advanced person. The other half seemed to be full of food storage devices, vending machines, refrigerators, freezers, microwaves, and cupboards. "Hello!" he called out. "Come out and fight me like a man!"

"There's no need to shout," someone said causing him to look at the source of the voice. The bald top scientist with white hair in the stands looked over a laptop at Sogiita. He was sitting in a chair with a large wrapper pile next to him. Most of the wrappers seemed to be assorted junk food. His feet were propped up on a small table in front of him.

"It's you," Sogiita said. "I'm going to show you my guts are stronger than your brand of villainy."

"I have to admit," the scientist said. "Your gemstone ability is quite impressive. Shame you can't explain how it works. It would save us researchers a lot of time on experiments."

"Where did you put the hostages?" Sogiita asked.

"Ah," he said. "One's over there," he pointed to a stone alter where the black haired girl with a flower band was laying unconscious surrounded by a faint blue dome of light. "Really," he sighed. "It's such a pain to watch over them. I would give her to you if I could, but I can't."

"Why?" Sogiita asked.

"Cause the barrier will only fade if one of us dies," he answered while opening a bag of chips. "Since you are going to die, there is no real point of giving her to you."

"I'm going to show you how powerful guts are," Sogiita said as he took up his favorite karate position.

* * *

 **Before anyone asks where Touma is, read below:**

 **Each of the next chapters will have one of the sin fights. The reason is these fights need to be resolved first before we get to Touma's fight. You might have guessed he is going to meet the leader by process of elimination.**

 **Because all the fights happen simultaneously, it doesn't matter which one goes first as a chapter. I also feel these fights will be better as one continuous fight instead of breaking them up. I have all the fights planned out but not written yet. If a fight isn't very long, I might combine it in the same chapter as another shorter fight. But I feel most of the fights will be worthy of their own chapter.**

 **Now, I am leaving a choice up to you, the readers. I will be looking at comments and messages to see if a majority of people want to see a certain fight first. If so, I will try to accommodate. If no one cares, I'll just choose.**

 **Accelerator vs Pride (Best fight)**

 **Jason vs Greed (Plot fight)**

 **Mikoto vs Wrath (Round 3)**

 **Misaki vs Lust (Catfight)**

 **Kuroko vs Envy (Weird fight)**

 **Sogiita vs Gluttony (Guts fight)**

 **Even if you do not care about the order of the fights, feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or idea. I love reading them.**


	27. Lust

**Wow, such an overwhelming majority wanted two fights to go first. I expected the first one, but not the second choice. Victory by far goes to Misaki Shokuhou. Kuroko Shirai was second. I was really surprised by the runner up. I knew we have a lot of Misaki fans here after the beach arc.**

 **To be honest, the Misaki vs Lust fight was the toughest fight to describe because it involve a lot of mental combat. I did scan the NT LN but I am going to take some liberal interpretations on some of the metal interactions between magic mind control and science mind control. I hope you all enjoy it.**

 **Misaki: I won yay. Thanks everyone.**

 **Mikoto: Don't get conceited. You have no combat skills if Mental Out fails.**

 **Misaki: You don't know that.**

 **Mikoto: Let me refer to the earlier chapters were you could barely run a couple blocks.**

 **Misaki: You are just jealous the fans like me more for my personality.**

 **Me: I think they just want to see you in a spider web swimsuit and a nurse outfit.**

 **Misaki: Only if it's for Touma.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

Misaki stood across the arena looking at the female called Lust. She knew she was at a disadvantage. It was impossible to tell how long these people have been gathering information on them. They most likely knew all about her power and she had no idea what Lust's power was. She glanced around at the stands again looking for more information. There was nothing else except a very large royal looking bed with red sheets and curtains. Every other space in the stands was occupied by the unmoving masked individuals. Misaki turned her attention back to Lust and watched as the six masked men carrying her thrown lowered it to the ground. Lust stood up and took a step off of it into the arena.

"You look concerned dear," Lust said smiling taking a couple steps toward Misaki. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing," Misaki said forcing a fake smile. "Just enjoying the scenery."

Lust looked around at all the masked people and laughed. "I think you might be confused dear. You see, those are just blank slates, not real people. We use them as disposable minions for missions."

Misaki raised her eyebrow in surprise. "So those masked men who accompanied Sloth into the Tournament…"

"Correct," Lust confirmed. "They were just my mind controlled puppets."

"How?" Misaki asked confused. "When I put them to sleep, their minds were definitely human."

"Oh their minds were human at that time," Lust said laughing. "But I am not surprised you could tell. After all, your power is quite similar to mine. It was the reason I chose you."

"That didn't…" Misaki started to say then changed direction. "Wait, what do you mean you chose me? I thought it was random." She shook her head as realization took place. "Of course, it wouldn't be. I was being stupid."

"Finally you understand," Lust said shaking her head. "I thought you would guess it sooner. All the others wanted to fight your other companions, so I got stuck with you. It wouldn't matter which door you entered, you would have still arrived here."

"So you are also a mind manipulator too?" Misaki asked. _That's not good since she seems competent. If I let my guard down for even a moment she could control me. Attacking blindly will just lower my defenses, but that would also apply to her. What to do? Let's see how long I can keep her talking._ "What did you mean their minds were human?"

"Eternal Devotion," Lust said smiling coldly and Misaki felt a shiver go down her spine. Lust took her left hand and pulled back her dress to reveal the upper left part of her chest. The black mark was quite obvious on her pale white skin. It looked like a curvy number seven with a small dot below the top. "It is quite a fascinating ability bestowed to me."

"I assume it is the power of your sin mark like the sleep affect from Sloth," Misaki said with her guard up. _If that ability is anything like his, I might not be able to stop it._

"You don't need to be so tense dear," Lust said smiling warmly at her. Misaki felt her heart beat faster for no discernable reason. "My ability requires consent to use unlike Sloth's sleep. I simple ask if you will pledge your eternal life to me, if you say yes, my mark activates."

"I already see how you do it," Misaki said somewhat coldly. Even though she was use to manipulating people to get what she wanted, she didn't change someone to completely fall for her. She simply encouraged people to support her, without asking anything in return. "You control their minds to have them agree, and then you use your mark. How devious, but what does it actually do?" She figured the more she knew the better chance she would have to win. But she also took everything with a grain of salt. _It is possible she is lying to me to surprise me with her actual power._

"My mark simply makes them eternally bound to my command," Lust said simply looking at the masked men still kneeling behind her. "They can never disobey me after they pledge themselves, even in death."

Misaki opened her mouth to reply, but the last part caused her to freeze. _What does she mean by that?_ She quickly closed her mouth and made sure to hold onto her remote tightly. She watched Lust closely while guarding her mind. She didn't know why but just being near Lust was causing her problems including a faster heartbeat and butterflies in her stomach. She figured it was probably a minor affect of Lust's mark.

"I think it will be easier to show you since you seem to be questioning it," Lust said. "Tal! Come forward."

One of the masked men from behind her stood up and walked up and kneeled next to her. "Yes mistress?"

"Tal here was my first love," Lust said smiling. "But he betrayed me. I got my revenge and before his death he pledged himself to me. He died shortly afterwards but he is still here."

"W-what?" croaked out Misaki completely bewildered. "You can't say you can resurrect the dead."

"Oh no nothing like that," Lust said waving her hand dismissively. "You children of science always immediately rush to magic raising the dead. While it is true some spells can, it's not as easy as you would think. No, instead I simply bind their soul to my mark. I can then transplant it into golems. It keeps all their memories and skills intact."

 _Golems? Souls?_ Misaki was confused but she read enough books to have a basic understanding of it. _Golem's are like robots I can understand, but for now ignore the soul comment. Just imagine it's a memory copy thing. It won't do you any good to question it now._ Misaki was always able to think under pressure and plan ahead. Blocking out unnecessary information from clouding her thoughts was easy for her. "So these masked individuals are golems then?"

"Exactly," Lust said. "They were made by our leader for me to use as needed. They minds are controlled exactly like human brains. They also make good containers for when I want to put the souls I collected into."

 _So many golems,_ Misaki thought to herself. _But if they can be controlled like normal people then I should be able to use them. But she knows my ability so why would she tell me this? Maybe it's because… I want to surrender to her…. NO._ Misaki shook her head and forced the presence that had been creeping into her mind. She focused on Lust who was smiling.

"Not bad," Lust said acknowledging Misaki pushing Lust's power out of her mind. "Most people get distracted by all this and let their guards down. Maybe your brain did take some of the nutrients instead of your useless blobs of fat."

"There you go adding more wrinkle lines," Misaki said cheerfully. "Jealousy is not attractive at all. I might have some moisturizing cream I could lend you to make you look younger. I'm sure you could pass for an 80 year old."

"It's a shame I have to kill you and lose your wit," Lust said but there was a roaring fire in her eyes and her voice was ice cold. "I'm sure you will pledge yourself to me and then I will kill you. After I can leave, I will revive you into a very unattractive golem. Then I will make you clean out every dirty toilet with your tongue. You will relive nightmare after nightmare."

Misaki frowned but in her mind she was determined not to lose. Not only to avoid the god forsaken punishment Lust's warped mind came up with, but to see Touma again. She decided to turn the topic back to matters important to now, instead of the possible futures. "So why were you telling me all about these golems? Didn't it just ruin the advantage of the element of surprise for you?"

"Ah yes of course," Lust said calming down and her voice resumed the normal sultry tone. "You see it would be so barbaric for us to fight each other."

"I agree with you there," Misaki said.

"I knew you would. However, because one of us has to die before the other can leave, we really have no choice. So I came up with an interesting game. You see, we will control these golems around us and try to kill each other. The winner is the last one standing. I simply told you about the golems because this way you might be able to actually put up a slight challenge."

"It is still such a barbaric game," Misaki muttered out loud. "I assume we can still attack each other with our minds?"

"Oh I will for sure if you ever let your guard down for a moment," Lust said happily. "What you do is entirely up to you. If you want to try just to control as many dolls as you can to kill me, which works too."

"Why are you being so accommodating?" Misaki asked suspiciously. _She is doing the exact opposite of what I would do in her situation. I love having advantages. Maybe she actually is a really good person and I should…GET OUT._ She focused her mind and once again pushed out Lust's presence. "You really aim for even the slightest opportunity," Misaki commented twirling her remote and trying to look undisturbed. "So this is why you are full of surprises."

"I also like having a challenge in a game," Lust explained. "Unless something is really important and time is of the essence, I tend to see if my opponent will play a friendly game. It's much less barbaric then stabbing someone with a sword."

"You might end up regretting it," Misaki said smiling. "I tend to be very competitive even if I don't show it. I thank you for taking the time to explain everything to me."

Lust raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Most people look at me as if I am crazy. I am glad you seem to have a least a shred of civility…" She paused for a second then smiled. "This might actually be a fun game for once. You purposely surprised me in order to try to breach my defenses. I was right in thinking this game would be great with another manipulator."

Misaki always kept the remote in her hand and twirled it around a lot like a prop. As planned, Lust had slowly come to ignore it. People tend to ignore things that they see constantly compared to something different that occurs once in awhile. She had also purposely thanked her enemy in front of her. No one in their right mind would expect someone they are trying to kill to suddenly thank you. Misaki saw a crack in Lust's defense through her eyes and did not hesitate to try to incapacitate her. She had used her remote to channel her ability and tried to put her to sleep, but Lust managed to easily repel her in a second. "We both seem to have experience attacking weak points," she said twirling her remote around again. "I think this game might not go as smoothly as you think."

"We have yet begun to fight," Lust said raising her hand high above her head. "My minions should make this more entertaining for us all." The golem she called Tal stood up next to her and pulled out a sword. The five golems who were by her throne chair stood up too and started making their way forward. "Oh I forgot to mention, some of the golems have weapons," she said as an afterthought. "You won't be able to tell until you actually have control over them so luck is still a factor." She pointed at Misaki. "Go on dears. Bring that brat within an inch of her life."

Misaki was prepared for this right when Lust said fight. She had already used her remote to take over six golems of her own from behind her. They jumped down into the arena as Lust's army advanced. They crashed in the middle and started fighting. Misaki was lucky and two of her golems pulled out weapons. One had a spear and the other had a flail. Misaki was not new to controlling several people at once directly. However, the more people she tried to control, the harder it was. As long as it was under a dozen or so, she could easily manage it. Otherwise she would have to use only very basic commands. For now, she decided to try to get a feel on how Lust wanted to fight. Misaki was also paying close attention to any mental attack Lust might throw her way.

Misaki seemed to have the advantage as two of her golems had weapons while only one of Lust's golems had one. Misaki used the weaponless ones as shields while her weapon wielders mowed down her enemies. She managed to get a good understanding of the golems physical attributes during the fight too. While she could tell their minds were similar to humans, there was no sense of self so they were just a blank slate and easy to control. She originally had no idea how durable these golems were. During the fight they seemed to shrug off minor wounds from punches and scratches, but once they suffered a mortal wound, such as a spear into the place a heart would be, they collapsed. She frowned as her golems won easily. _It can't be this easy. She must have a plan._ Lust did not seem to be worried at all and merely smiled. Then Misaki heard a thud behind her.

She turned around and saw several golems jumped down from the stands. _Of course she wouldn't just pull them from behind her._ She quickly commanded her golems to rush to her aid and another battle started. The golem with the flail fell to a golem with a mace, but her spear wielder was keeping them back. More thuds from another direction caused her to panic slightly and quickly rush to gain control of several more golems. _It seems like Lust is trying to surround me._ Another couple of thuds forced her to control another handful of golems in order to protect herself. So now she had about 14 golems in a semi-circle protecting her from around 20 of Lust's. Behind her Lust was watching with an amused expression.

"You won't get anywhere by just defending dear," Lust called out helpfully. "You really must attack at some point."

"Like I need your advice," Misaki said smiling insincerely. Her only advantage at this time was she had more weapon users then Lust did and they kept her alive with that significant advantage. However, Lust kept summoning more to replace the weak ones as fast as they fell. Misaki had to alternate between protecting her weapon wielders and gathering more as the ones she controlled fell. Several times she automatically just told a golem to protect her, but it would be quickly ambushed by several golems control by Lust. _She really has had more practice, no wonder she gave me so much information. Maybe I should just surrender… NO!_ She quickly pushed out Lust's influence. Lust was quite skillful of sneaking in the moment she let her guard down for even a moment. _I need to attack her if I want to win. But if I attack her mentally, my guard will decrease and it will give her an opportunity._

She twirled her remote around so Lust couldn't pinpoint what her target was. Several golems quickly ran and attack the golems to her right from behind and quickly scattering them. At the same time she sent a simple command to two golems behind Lust. _Knock her out quietly._ The golems started moving, but slowly, and climbed down the wall behind Lust without a thud. Misaki quickly ignored them and focused on all the other golems slowly encroaching on her location. She sent several basic commands to as many golems as she could such as 'defend me' and 'attack them." She only directly controlled a small handful with weapons she kept near her as guards. She glanced at Lust and the two golems were standing almost directly behind her and raising fists. Misaki smirked as the golems swung their fist at Lust.

"Nice try," Lust said as the golems stopped inches from her. Misaki's smiled fell from her face. "It wasn't a bad plan but you were too obvious."

"How?" Misaki asked.

"You didn't think we could take control of golems from each other?" Lust asked. "I'm surprised at you. It is quite simple to wrestle control from others, especially if you just give them simple commands." The golems behind her walked past her and headed right for Misaki. "You seemed to catch on to the basics, but your strategy needs work."

"I see," Misaki said sarcastically pretending to consider it. In reality that piece of news was important. _I don't know which golems she is controlling specifically or if she is just sending out basic commands. I might have to risk it._ "Thanks for the advice," she said sweetly. "I know how much trouble it is for an obaa-san to remember all the little details."

"Your insults are as childish as your strategies," Lust said but her eyes narrowed. "But I suppose I have toyed with you for long enough."

Misaki frowned. _What does she mean by that?_ "Have you been going easy on me?"

Lust smiled broadly. "You have no idea. Let me show you." She raised both hands. "I think you should probably run. You might last longer."

Misaki opened her mouth to respond when all the golems, besides the six she had direct control over, suddenly stopped fighting and turned to face her. "This doesn't look good," she muttered. She suddenly lost control of all the golems she had programmed with basic commands.

"You suddenly realize the position you are in," Lust replied mockingly. "If you prostrate before me and apologize for everything you said, I might forgive you and not torture you forever with my curse."

"Nah," Misaki said in the same mocking voice. "I can't serve anyone who isn't as cute as me. Besides, at your age, you really need a full time nurse maid to change your adult diaper." She was currently running through every possibility she could in her mind on how to win. _Lust seems to be focusing on trying to force me to serve her with her curse. I might be able to get her to drop her guard._

Lust eyes widen in anger and her voice became much colder. "You really want to suffer that badly?" she hissed. "Maybe cleaning toilets with your tongue was going too lenient on you. I might have to ask Pride, he knows how to break people. Maybe I can make sure to show you off to the Imagine Breaker boy. I'm positive your love will enjoy watching you embarrass yourself in the worst ways possible."

Misaki froze and she grew red in anger. She didn't care for Lust threatening her, lots of jealous girls did that and most of them were just ignored, while the dangerous ones were 'encouraged' to drop their issues. However, she was angry that Lust would dare do anything to hurt Touma. She knew Touma would freak out if any of his friends were forced to do anything they did not want to. Misaki, surprisingly, decided to smile. "Well then," she said. "I guess I don't have a choice. It looks like I am going to lose so I might as well not give you the satisfaction."

Lust narrowed her eyes. "What are you planning?" she asked suspiciously.

"You want me to serve you while you torture me like you are doing to the one called Tal," Misaki pointed out and Lust gave a curt nod. "I am simply not going to give you the satisfaction."

"What do you mean?"

"Simple," Misaki said holding her remote in her right hand pointing to the side of her head. "If I completely erase my memories you won't have the opportunity to enslave me and torture me. You will simply have an empty shell just like these golems."

"You wouldn't," Lust said but her voice made her sound unsure. "No one would be brave and stupid enough to permanently erase their own memories. You know if you make it just temporary, I can find out with my magic."

"Oh it won't be temporary," Misaki said. "You researched us so you probably know how I lost Touma once already. I could not bare that pain again. So if I just permanently forget everything I won't have to suffer anymore. Then even if you use your Eternal Devotion, you won't be able to torture me or him."

"Hmm," Lust said processing this piece of news. She really wanted to torture the girl forever, but her primary mission was to just kill her. There was a possibility she was serious, but there was a good chance she was bluffing. If she in fact went through wiping her memory, Lust was pretty confident she could reawaken the memories with her magic. If she couldn't, then she would just have another puppet which she could learn to live with. She was actually interested in what Misaki would do. "Let's see if you are all talk or not girl."

"Ok," Misaki said shrugging and pressed the button on her remote. Her eyes suddenly had a glazed look and her arm fell to her side. She just stood there unmoving. The remaining golems still surrounded and protected her because she never removed her ability. Now Lust had to clear them out first before she could examine Misaki.

"Well that was a boring ending," she said walking forward slightly and reaching out to take control of the golems. "I thought she would put up a fight to the very end. I hope I can remove her memory deletion so I can enjoy this victory." She focused her magic and slowly removed the mind manipulation on the remaining golems. _She might have been an annoying brat, but her mind control ability was quite powerful. I probably wouldn't be able to wrestle control from these golems if she was still conscious._ After a couple minutes of removing all of Misaki's remaining control, she gave all the golems the basic command of 'stand still,' so she could examine Misaki. There was still no movement and she did indeed appear to be a mindless doll. "Shame I have to kill her," Lust sighed. "She could have been an excellent spy to use to infiltrate Academy City for future use." She pulled out a small steel dagger and reached out toward Misaki's neck.

Misaki's head immediately moved backwards while her body fell to the ground and the blade missed. 'What the…?" Lust asked shocked. Before she could completely grasp what happened all the golems around Misaki suddenly ran at her and grabbed her. Two of the golems with swords held them to her throat. "What are you useless dolls doing!?" she yelled. She reached out to turn them off but they started to shake her violently and forced her to lose focus. "What is going on?"

"I think I can explain," Misaki said slowly standing up and brushing the dirt on herself off. "I realized I needed to have you drop your guard, but you wouldn't do it unless you believed you won. So I pretended to erase all my memories. I couldn't guess how long it would take you to try to kill me so I set up a small bomb in my mind. If you approached me and got within a foot, I would fall backwards onto the ground."

'What if I didn't approach you though?" Lust asked bewildered. "I could have used a golem to stab you with a weapon."

"That was a risk I had to take," Misaki said nodding solemnly. "However, you are the type of person who wants to win completely and perfectly. I know someone just like that." Her thoughts turned to Shizuri Mugino for a moment. "So I knew you would want to kill me yourself if you could. But you are also cautious so I knew you would take over the few golems still under my control in order to see if I was up to anything."

"How did you take them all over so fast?" Lust demanded.

"When I held up the remote to pretend to erase my memories, my other hand clicked two other remotes. I sent two pieces of broken signals that, by themselves, would do nothing, but, once I sent a third signal to connect them, they will cause the golems to capture you."

"So you sent the third signal immediately after you landed on the ground," Lust mused. "Impressive. I assume it was part of faking the memory erase?"

Misaki nodded. "It was another bomb I set. My hand would immediately reach for the correct remote as I fell backwards. I knew fighting you head on in a game you prepared, and probably had a lot of experience, would not end well for me. So I simply pulled the fake, you won, strategy. Oh yes, if you try to use your ability, they will immediately shake you to make you lose concentration."

"You really thought of everything while at the same time planning several steps ahead," Lust said slightly impressed. "If you had more time to learn this game dear, I assume you would probably beat me the right way. I should have just forced you into a direct mind confrontation, but those are so boring."

"That is why you lost you know," Misaki said irritated narrowing her eyes. 'You treat everything like a game instead of trying to win with everything you have. Also, the more you taunted me the more desire I had to win. When you threatened Touma, I resolved to fight you to the death and do everything in my power to win."

"I see," Lust said thinking. "That does make sense but if that is all you can do then you are years away from being a match for me."

"What...?" Misaki asked but Lust interrupted her.

"I'm just going to cheat," Lust explained and Misaki felt her control over all the golems fade away. Before she could do anything to stop the sudden betrayal, the golems surrounded her, pinned her to the ground, and took away her bag full of remotes. "You see," she said standing over Misaki. "I don't let my guard down. I simply wanted to see what all you could do. You read me well, but you didn't see my safety net."

"How did you take them over so fast?" Misaki asked. "The instant I felt you taking them I lost control of everyone." Misaki knew she was in trouble. Lust had taken her remotes away from her, so it would be much more difficult to control her powers without them. She still could, but the efficiency would drastically decrease. She probably wouldn't be able to control more than a couple of golems now.

"Do you think I would just tell you about everything involving my pet golems dear?" Lust said laughing slightly with her hand covering her mouth. "I told you about the game and everything involving the golems so when you actually controlled them, you would believe my words. But I always have a backup plan. It is the reason it was so easy to infiltrate Academy City."

Misaki thought about this for a moment and she hated to admit it but Lust made sense. She should have believed something was off by the way Lust explained everything so clearly to her. "I assume you have some way to override all mental controls on these golems then?"

"Correct," Lust said still laughing. "With a simple thought, I can automatically gain control of every golem and erase all previous commands. If I had not made you believe my words then you might have delve deeper into their blank minds and find the tiny trace of my command. But instead, you believed me and just controlled them like puppets. You pulled some interesting counters to my game strategies but, in the end, you are still just a kid."

"So are you going to kill me then?" Misaki asked frowning. She was worried and right now she was really out of options. She didn't see how she was going to get out of this alive. _Sorry Touma, I might not make it back._ She looked up into Lust's eyes from the ground. Lust's eyes were filled with amusement and just a slight amount of contempt.

"No," Lust said coolly eyeing Misaki carefully. "I plan to make you my newest puppet. I hope you have prepared yourself for a life of endless suffering and embarrassment." She looked directly into Misaki's eyes and unleashed a wave of her mind manipulation magic against Misaki's defenses.

Misaki felt the mind assault from Lust and focused on keeping up her mental defenses, but Lust was incredibly powerful. She realized Lust was just toying with her since the beginning and she could have challenged her to a direct confrontation at any time. The game with golems was just entertainment for her. She concentrated on keeping the walls in her mind up and she was able to stop Lust's initial assault. "You won't take my mind that easily," Misaki said through gritted teeth. She had controlled a lot of different people's minds before, but this was the first in a long time she was on the receiving end.

"Oh I am just starting," laughed Lust. She doubled the assault on Misaki's mind. "You will slowly feel your mind slipping away as I take control."

Misaki felt her defenses began to fail. Lust's presence started to slip in through the cracks and invade her mind. She could fell Lust going through her memories and skills looking for a place to establish a foothold and dominate her. Misaki could not be sure, but she felt the invading presence was looking for memories on how she could use her power. Fear went through her mind and she doubled down. If Lust erased or blocked off access to her memories on how to use you her ability, she would be completely defenseless. _I have to find a way to stop her._

 _Or you could simply relax and allow it to happen._ Misaki's heart started racing as she heard Lust's voice in her head. _No need to be so terrified dear, all you need to do is let go and accept your fate._

 _Never,_ Misaki thought. _I will find a way to win._ She focuses and manage to push the presence further from her mind. _At least the voice stopped. Ouch._ Her concentration slipped as a golem gripped her arm and twisted it causing her a sharp burst of pain. During that one instance of pain, her mental defenses wavered and Lust's presence flooded her mind.

"Hahaha," Lust said out loud laughing as Misaki went limp. "You put up a decent fight for someone in your position I will admit. However, our experience is years apart. I'm going to enjoy having you as my servant. Release her." The golems let Misaki go, stood up, and stepped away from her. Misaki manage to get up on her knees and looked up at Lust. Her eyes were glazed over and she could barely move but twitched occasionally. "Do you still want to resist me dear?"

"Yes…No…" Misaki said as her mind continued to battle the foreign presence. However, everything was so jumbled up she started to lose track of what were her thoughts and what were the thoughts Lust was putting into her.

"You still resist?" Lust asked raising an eyebrow. "I admire your perseverance, but you really should quit when you are behind." She focused her magic again and Misaki stopped twitching. Lust walked forward and stood right before Misaki who was still on her knees. "Why don't you just pledge yourself to me? You won't have to worry about anything else and you will have eternal life. All you need to do is say yes." She held out her hand. "Take it and pledge yourself to me."

"I won't have to worry about anything?" Misaki asked in a monotone.

"No dear," Lust said but an evil grin split. She obviously meant none of it. "Just take my hand and pledge yourself."

Misaki reached out slowly with her right hand and grasped Lust's outstretched hand. Lust's smiled widened. _I suppose she is right, I can't win so why resist._

 _Let's all make it back._

Touma's voice echoed from the back of her mind and as it reverberated she felt her thoughts becoming clearer. Lust had not noticed because she was watching Misaki beginning to pledge herself, so she was overconfident she already won. _I will make it back to you my prince._ "I…" Misaki began to say.

"Go ahead dear," Lust said a little impatiently. "Pledge yourself to me." She watched Misaki open her mouth and still held Lust's hand with her right one. Then she noticed something strange, a smile had appeared on Misaki's face. "Why are you…?" she started to ask when she found Misaki's left hand make its way up to her head and grab hold of the back of her neck.

"I have someone important waiting for me," she whispered then focused the full power of Mental Out onto Lust's mind. Normally, Misaki had a personal rule to divide her power into preset categories, such as sleep, ignore passage of time, defend her, and more. This time she ignored it and focused all of her power through touch into the mind of the women before her. She did not care about defending her own mind. The only goal for her at this time was to defeat Lust and return to Touma's side. Lust couldn't even yell out in surprise because she had to use every ounce of concentration to keep her mind intact from the overwhelming assault. Misaki's determination, along with Lust's surprise, allowed her to overpower Lust's defenses and break into her mind. Ignoring all the undesirable information, Misaki focused on only one thing. Destroying her memories of her magic and how to use it. Every memory on training and magical applications was forcefully erased. Misaki did not leave a single memory of using magic behind. After a couple minutes of this intense battle both of them broke their mental battle. Lust took a couple steps back and Misaki got shakily to her feet.

"What did you do!?" Lust yelled. Her voice had lost the sultry tone and sounded harsher and raspier.

"I simply erased your memories of how to use magic," Misaki explained. "I don't understand exactly how your magic works, so I figured removing your understanding of magic would prevent you from using your ability."

"You have no idea what you have done you brat!?" Lust roared at her, all sense of etiquette she had disappeared. Her voice sounded old and raspy.

"You don't need to be a sore loser…" Misaki started to say smiling slightly but the smiled faded to be replaced by a look of horror. She watched as Lust's silky black hair started to turn white and straw like. Her smooth face started to dry up into wrinkles. Misaki could do nothing but stare as Lust fell to her knees. She looked like she aged 100 years in seconds. Misaki wanted to ask but was not able to form any words as she watched the strange transformation.

"I used my magic to keep my youth," Lust said weakly. "Now I don't remember how to. My age is catching up to me now. Thanks to you."

"I…didn't…I had no choice…" Misaki said weakly. She wanted to win and, even though Lust tried to kill her, Misaki didn't want to kill anyone.

"Stupid brat," Lust muttered weakly and fell to the ground. A symbol on her back started to glow brightly with white light. The glow encompassed her entire body and she started to disintegrate.

"No," Misaki yelled but it was too late. All that was left of Lust was a large pile of salt. "It wasn't suppose to… AHHHH." She suddenly fell to her knees as a burning pain appeared on the upper left part of her chest. It stopped shortly after it started. She pulled her shirt down to see what was causing the pain. The symbol that was originally part of Lust was now on her. "It's like Touma's mark. I guess they all work the same way. If you defeat them they transfer. But why?"

"What now mistress?" a voice said causing Misaki to jump. She looked around in alarm. All the other golems had collapsed where they were standing except for one. It somehow was able to talk.

"You are, I believe, Tal," Misaki asked hesitantly after she regained her composure. "How are you still here? Lust is gone."

"If I may speak freely mistress," he said and Misaki nodded. "You see, I am cursed and bound to the Mark of Lust, as are many others. Even if she is gone, as long as you do not free us, we will be bound to your orders for eternity or until the mark gets passed on to someone else."

"I take it Lust used this mark as a punishment for everyone," Misaki said and Tal nodded. "What did you do to cause her to use it on you?"

The golem looked down and Misaki felt as if the golem was feeling true remorse. "It was my fault, I fell in love with her but betrayed her for another. She killed the other and had me bound to her. I do not know about the others. They were bound before I was."

"I see," Misaki said and her head started spinning. She had to quickly sit down or she might have passed out. "I do not have any reason to keep you all bound to me because I have no intention to use this curse. How do I free you?"

"I do not know."

Misaki thought about this for a moment and remembered what Touma told her on the beach. He did not know how, but he instinctively knew how to use the curse. She tried to think but her head hurt too much from the recent fight with Lust. She laid on the hard ground and looked up at the sky. It was oddly peaceful and quiet. She felt something inside of her and the more she concentrated on it, the clearer it became. She understood how to use the mark. Anyone who pledged themselves to her while she was using the curse would be bound to her. She knew that already. A thought floated to her mind on how to release the previous bonded person. She turned her head to look at Tal who was still standing there. "I release you from your pledge and may you find peace."

"Thank you so much mistress," Tal said as the golem collapsed. She felt an overwhelming since of relief grow from deep within her. She felt a tear running down her face but it was not her own. So many emotions from the souls of the people she released were overwhelming her. She closed her eyes and tried to block them out but it was futile. She heard different voices whispering in her mind as emotions flew through her.

"Thank you!"

"We are finally free."

"No one asked you to free me."

"I can see my kids again."

Eventually all the voices stopped, Misaki took a deep breath, and sighed in relief. She opened her eyes and stared up at the sky from the ground. She shook her head slightly. _I'm to kind for my own good. Touma is such a good influence on me._ The sky above her started to crack, but she was to mentally drained to move right away. She felt she was going to see everyone again. _I'm coming back to you Touma, just like I promised._

* * *

 **An entire scene devoted to a fight. Was a little tough but was definitely fun. I am glad each sin and ability users have different strategies. It will make the fights vary a lot and stretch my imagination to the limits. Each sin also has a backstory but not sure how far each one will be reveal, but just something else to add some depth. I know I changed the mental battle a lot from the books about how it affects body fluids and bioelectricity. I justified it by having magic work differently than science abilities so when they interacted, the opposite powers changed how they interacted. I think it made a good fight scene though. Also all the back and forth was really good too. Lust and Misaki are good strategists.**

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or idea. I love reading them.**

 **Misaki: Yay I won.**

 **Touma: Nice job Misaki, I was worried there for a moment.**

 **Mikoto: She got lucky Lust let her guard down.**

 **Misaki: No it was the power of love.**

 **Sogiiha: She had a lot of guts.**

 **Accelerator: I guess for the fifth rate, it wasn't too bad. Nothing compared to me though.**

 **Jason: Accel-kun you are just too modest.**

 **Mikoto: Ha, Accel-kun?**

 **Accelerator: Shut up Jason. The teleporting brat already irritated me enough today.**

 **Mikoto: Where's Kuroko anyways?**

 **Me: She's the next fight so she has to prepare.**


	28. Envy

**Even after computer problems and finally caving in to get a new computer, I still manage to save all my writing stuff so none of this story was lost. I'll start with responding to a couple of commenters today.**

 **Shuko: I can't really answer your questions now because it would lead to A LOT of spoilers. I can tell you by the time these fights are over and Touma meets the boss, your questions should be answered.**

 **Several people: It seems like a lot of people enjoyed the Lust fight and I hope you all enjoy the Envy fight too. It also seems like there might be some confusion between the curse marks and the sin's normal magic powers. Lust's mind control was her actual magic, the Eternal Devotion was her power form the Mark.**

 **Guest who mentioned he liked Kuroko: You may not like me after this chapter.**

 **I thought this chapter would be a lot shorter but I just kept typing and it turned into a chapter all on its own. This is the first time I thought of Kuroko actually entering a fight all on her own, well she is with Mikoto, but it focuses around Kuroko. Envy is pretty mean though so fight was fun. Anyway, I talked enough, back to the fights.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

"Let our friends go," Kuroko called out to the cloaked figure who called herself Envy.

"Hmm," Envy said pretending to consider Kuroko's request. "I probably wouldn't if I could, but to humor you, let's say I would. I can't though, because none of your friends are here. You two chose the wrong route."

"So we don't have anything to do with you then," Kuroko huffed. "Surrender and tell us where our friends are."

"Oh I can't," Envy said. "You see this area is restricted to only let the survivor leave. If you can't kill me you will not be able to leave. When I kill you, I can leave. It is sort of a, as your science people say, failsafe to make us fight."

"What kind of sick game is that?" Mikoto asked wide eyed. "You actually want us to fight to the death?"

"I don't know why you two are so scared," Envy told them surprised as she jumped down into the ring. "You two are part of the haves, not the have nots. You should be use to towering over others."

"What are you talking about?" Kuroko asked. She did not trust this women, but with Mikoto next to her, she was confident they would win. She did however reach down to her thigh and touched a couple of her spikes.

"You two are powerful ability users of Academy City," Envy explained but with an air of boredom. It was like explaining the same thing over and over again to an idiot. "So obviously you had the potential to reach those levels. Lots of other people in that city will never reach the level you two are at. They are the have nots."

"That is not a fair comparison at all," Kuroko said. She had heard this argument before from a lot of delinquents who caused trouble in the city during Judgment. They always used it as an excuse to explain their problems and to just give up. When Kuroko came to the city, she did not expect to develop a high level ability, but she worked hard and manage to reach level 4. She turned and looked at Mikoto. She knew how hard Mikoto worked in order to achieve level 5. _Envy must have been someone who didn't succeed and found it easier to blame others. I guess that explains her name._ Mikoto was looking at Envy with a sour look on her face.

"I worked extremely hard to hit level 5," Mikoto retorted. "I didn't just start at that level. Anyone can be strong if they work hard. I'm proof of that."

Envy just laughed at them. "You poor deceived girls, you say you worked hard, and I don't doubt that. But how many other thousands of people worked hard and still did not reach the same level as you. There is more to power then just hard work. Luck and fate plays a large part of it too. I bet you don't even know about the secret Parameter List kept within the board of director's grip."

"What is that?" Mikoto asked and Kuroko could heat the curiosity in her voice.

"Onee-sama," she said. "We probably shouldn't listen to her. She might be trying to distract us." _I can't lie I am curious about the list too. She seems different then a normal jealous person._ Kuroko was still suspicious as to why Envy was talking so much to them.

"You don't have to believe me," Envy said shrugging. "But while we were staking out Academy City, we discovered something interesting. It appears the special curriculums designed to develop higher level abilities are not randomly selected, but predicted shortly after an individual gets their ability."

"You can't be serious," Kuroko said indignantly. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. At school they were always told they could become higher level if they worked hard. She even knew a lot of people who said they worked hard to get to level 3 and up. If what Envy was saying was true, it would mean everything they were told was a lie. _She doesn't sound like she is lying, but it can't be true._ Kuroko felt a small pain in her chest, but still continued to watch and listen to Envy. She never let go of her spikes though.

"After they initially develop your ability," Envy continued. "They look at the cost to develop an ability compared to how high they can develop yours. People fated to reach higher levels get preferred treatment, while those who will plateau at lower levels are left in the basic curriculums. Why do you think she," Envy pointed to Mikoto, "went through so many special sessions even when she was young and had not developed her powerful ability yet?"

"I worked constantly to improve myself," Mikoto denied taking a step forward. "Everyone gets experimented on when they develop their abilities. We all agreed to it when we join the city."

 _That is true,_ Kuroko thought, _but a lot of us don't get a special development sessions. All the level 5s have their own research areas devoted specifically to their abilities._ Kuroko always admired Mikoto because of her work ethic and how she treated everyone the same, but if what Envy said was true, Mikoto was destined to be a level 5 while others were not. "Don't listen to her onee-sama," Kuroko called out. 'She is trying to mess with our heads." Even though Kuroko said this, she felt another small ache in her heart. She imagined she might have said it for herself too.

"I see you two just don't want to admit the truth," Envy sighed. "But it doesn't really matter. I just told you out of boredom. You could always verify it with your friend Kagere, I believe he had access to it at one point. Well, and to see the look on your face girl," she turned her covered head to, assumingly, face Kuroko. 'When you realized you will never hit level 5 no matter how hard you work." She laughed.

"I'm not going to listen to you anymore," Kuroko declared. "I am going to detain you for kidnapping and force you to tell us where you have our friends." She teleported right above Envy and delivered a kick right at her head. To her surprise, Envy faded right before Kuroko hit her and reappeared a couple feet to her left. Envy swung a small dagger at Kuroko, but she teleported away instantly landing daintily on the ground fifteen feet away. "You can teleport too?"

"I have a lot of abilities," Envy said smiling. "If you last long enough you might be able to see more of them." She turned to Mikoto. "You might want to help your friend or she might end up with a knife in between her ribs." Mikoto glared at her for a moment.

"Kuroko take a step back," Mikoto said and Kuroko nodded teleporting further away from Envy. "You might regret saying that." She shot a bright bolt of electricity form her hand at Envy. Envy didn't teleport, like Kuroko expected, but instead simply held out a hand. The electricity headed directly towards her, but right before it came into contact with her hand, the electricity flew up into the air eventually disappearing. "How?" Mikoto asked in shock. Kuroko was stunned to. Envy had easily deflected a level 5 ability like it was nothing.

"Ah it's the power of my mark," she said laughing. She pulled up her sleeve revealing a black mark on her shoulder. It looked like a capital C that fell over to the right and has a small triangle facing downwards in the middle of it. "Curse of Envy allows me to copy any ability near me. Since you both are in my space, I have full and clear access to both of your powers."

"You are lying," Mikoto called out sending another bolt of electricity at Envy. She laughed again and simply knocked the bolts away as easily as swatting a fly. Kuroko took advantage of her apparent lack of concentration and teleported to deliver another kick to her head. Envy just faded away right when her kick would have hit her and Kuroko's foot went through thin air. Kuroko quickly teleported herself right side up and landed on her feet.

 _This is bad,_ Kuroko thought. _She definitely is teleporting but it feels like her teleporting is different. I disappear instantly while she fades away. But as soon as she fades away she becomes incorporeal. I also haven't seen her actually fire electricity. Maybe she can only copy a single ability at a time or there is some other rule I don't know. I wish I knew more about magic._ She began to realize how much she didn't know. Right now, she could act as if Envy had the legendary duel skill, but if Envy could use Mikoto's full power, Kuroko would get fried instantly.

"Kuroko stand back," Mikoto called out. "If she can use my power, you won't stand a chance."

"But onee-sama," Kuroko called out in shock. _How could she expect me to stay out of this? Does she not believe in me? No, don't think like that. Onee-sama just doesn't want me to get hurt._ She didn't want to admit it, but part of her was still thinking about what Envy said, about some people born to be strong. _She just doesn't want me to get caught in the crossfire._

"Kuroko," Mikoto said holding out her hand. 'Please stay back."

"But…" Kuroko started to say but saw the look of seriousness in Mikoto's eyes. "Ok onee-sama," she agreed. Then her eyes went wide. "Look out!" she cried. Envy had teleported right behind Mikoto and placed a hand on her back.

"To late," Envy said triumphantly. Suddenly she unleased a huge about of bright electricity into Mikoto. Kuroko knew a small amount of electricity, like a Taser or stun gun, would have no effect on Mikoto, but a lot of electricity unleased into her while she was distracted was sure to cause real damage. Before Kuroko could react, Mikoto staggered forward and fell onto her knees smoking.

"ONEE-SAMA!" Kuroko called out and teleported forward delivering a kick into the chest of Envy. Her foot passed right through thin air as Envy faded away. Kuroko landed on her feet and grabbed Mikoto. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yea I am," Mikoto said shakily. "She just surprised me….MOVE KUROKO!"

Kuroko looked up, about thirty feet away Envy stood holding a coin. She flipped the coin into the air as if she was about to fire Mikoto's railgun. Kuroko grabbed Mikoto and teleported thirty feet away. She looked back to where Envy was, but she was gone too. "Where did she go?"

"Right in front of you," Envy said and Kuroko turned to see Envy as the coin started to fall. "I can teleport just as easily as you." The coin was about to hit her hand and Kuroko closed her eyes in fear for a brief second. She heard the boom of the railgun, but it sounded like it was further away. She opened her eyes and saw Envy in the distance firing the coin at Mikoto. However, she was saved by a black spikey haired boy standing in front of her. Touma Kamijou had appeared in front of her with his hand out. The coin had hit his hand and fallen harmlessly to the ground. All of this took place over fifty feet away from Kuroko.

Kuroko's legs gave away and she collapsed on the ground in shock. She sighed in relief. Her mind had gone blank as she saw Envy begin to fire a railgun at Mikoto. Kuroko didn't even have time to worry about herself. Now that Mikoto was safe Kuroko had a moment to think. _I can't believe he arrived_ , she thought. Even though she did not like him, she was relieved to see him. _He saved onee-sama, but why is he here and when did he get here? Wait, how did Mikoto and Envy get over there anyway? I was standing between them. What is happening?_

She watched Touma charge at Envy. Envy shot several bolts of electricity at Touma who simply negated it with his hand. He got close to her and delivered a powerful right hook into Envy's face. She flew back several feet and fell to the ground unconscious. Touma, panting slightly, stood upright and walked back to Mikoto. He reached down and helped her to her feet. Kuroko opened her mouth to thank him for saving Mikoto, but then her jaw dropped and hit the floor. Kuroko watched in shock as Mikoto wrapped her hands around Touma's neck and leaned forward. Kuroko's face paled and her mind just stopped working as she witness Mikoto and Touma exchange a passionate kiss.

 _Onee-sama, why?_ Kuroko finally managed to put herself together and form real thoughts. _Onee-sama and the ape. He saved her but why would she kiss him now? I knew she had a thing for him, but I'm the only one for her. ARGGGGGGG._ She silently screamed in her mind. Her voice would not come out. She saw the look in Mikoto's eyes as she broke the kiss with Touma. It was the same look Kuroko always gave Mikoto in their dorm room. As she finally thought maybe she would lose Mikoto, she suddenly remembered something. _The ape wouldn't do something like that now. He would make sure everyone was alright first. He didn't even look at me once._ She knew something strange was happening, his sudden appearance, the weird displacement of positions, and his actions.

"She will never love you," a mocking voice whispered in her ear.

Kuroko quickly turned around to see who spoke, but she couldn't see anyone else. The only people she saw were Touma and Mikoto still holding hands along with the unconscious form of Envy laying on the ground. "Come out whoever you are!" she called out. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Touma and Mikoto turn to look at her. 'Someone is still here!" she yelled at them. They nodded and let go of each other. She pulled out several spikes from her thigh and gripped them tightly in her hand. Suddenly a thick unnatural fog started to engulf the arena blocking everyone from sight. Kuroko lost sight of Mikoto and Touma along with Envy. "Onee-sama!" she called out. "Ape?"

"They don't want to be with you," the mocking female voice whispered. It was becoming clearer, but Kuroko couldn't tell where it was coming from with all the fog. It seemed to be echoing around the arena.

"You must be Envy," she said to the fog as she looked around. "Where is onee-sama and the ape?"

"They left you all alone," Envy's voice said. "Why would they want to be with a weakling like you?"

"I'm their friend," Kuroko replied angrily. "Besides I am not weak."

"Do you really believe that?" Envy asked. "After the way you treat them?"

"You don't know what you are talking about," Kuroko spat out.

"Oh really," Envy's voice said but Kuroko could tell from the tone she was smiling. "Watch." The fog split up and Kuroko watched several events of her life form from the swirling fog. These weren't just cheap imitations, or fog like forms. The fog actually changed color, became solid and turned into Mikoto and Kuroko along with several nearby props related to the scenes that were playing, like beds and chairs. She saw several times when she had lunged at Mikoto and groped her in various ways. Mikoto's face usually went bright red and Kuroko watched herself get shocked, beaten, thrown, pummeled, and all sorts of punishment for every one of her expressions of love. Kuroko always knew Mikoto got annoyed at her antics, but she always believed one day her love would be returned.

 _I think I understand what Saten and Uiharu were talking about when they tell me I go overboard,_ Kuroko thought to herself. _It does look bad from a third person perspective. But I love her and I know one day she will love me back._ She felt a slight twinge of guilt from her actions though.

"And let's not forget the Imagine Breaker boy," Envy said. "I wonder if he likes you." The scenes changed and Kuroko watched her interactions with Touma unfold. She saw the untold number of times she had attacked Touma, by teleporting and kicking him whenever he was near Mikoto. She also watched herself chase Touma around Academy City while wielding spikes in her hands. She had always wondered why he let her attack him so easily, even though she knew now he was so strong. She also purposely held back most of the time, but she did admit some of her kicks were harder than they could have been.

 _Was he purposely letting me vent my anger? Or did he just not want to fight me._ "It doesn't matter what you show me," Kuroko aid stubbornly. "I won't regret my actions. I love onee-sama and, even if the ape isn't as horrible as I once thought, I won't let him have her. She will only be happy with me."

"Do you truly believe that," Envy asked again as the fog theater faded away. "Or do you keep telling yourself that every day to get yourself to believe it?"

"I do," Kuroko said boldly. "One day she will realize my love." However, she suddenly felt something deep within her heart. Envy's words began to cut deep within her. Part of her had always been worried because Mikoto did not seem to be getting any closer to her romantically. They were best friends and shared a lot of secrets, but Mikoto did not share everything with her. Lately, Kuroko discovered how much time Mikoto was spending with Touma and it hurt her deeply because Mikoto did not tell her about the meetings with him. She always seemed happier when she was around Touma then anyone else. _Am I really jealous of that ape? Onee-sama would never leave me for another person._

"Are you doubting yourself already?" Envy asked mocking her. "I can see in your eyes all your doubts beginning to surface."

"I won't listen to your poison tongue!" Kuroko called out covering her ears.

"I am simply speaking the truth," Envy said slightly gleefully. "The doubt exists inside you already. I am only making you realize the truth."

"I may not be perfect," Kuroko said. "But I believe in my friends." She tried to teleport out of the fog but, since she couldn't see, she was purposely limiting the range of her teleportation because she could accidently teleport into something solid. Teleportation required complex eleventh dimension calculations in order for her to travel from one spot to another spot instantaneously. When she reappears in the targeted location, her body pushes out any matter that was in the location. Kuroko knew all the horror stories about teleporters who accidently found themselves in solid objects. It mentally scarred a lot of them. Her skill with teleporting her spikes could cause a lot of damage to a person if she wasn't careful because of this principle.

"You are fact from perfect," Envy said laughing. "In fact, most of your friends don't see you that way."

"I'm not going to listen to your lies," Kuroko said. Even though she tried not to show it, these images were getting to her. She wasn't sure how Envy knew what all her friends were like, but she knew these couldn't be real. _Wait, that could be it. All the fighting with that cloak figure, I never got a solid hit and she never attacked me. Maybe all of this, even from the beginning was an illusion._ "I think I figured out your trick Envy," Kuroko said boldly. "Your illusions and misguided representation of my friends will not get to me. In fact, I think your ability of copying our powers was a lie too." _Though how was I able to teleport the fake onee-sama? I'll cross that bridge when I get to it._

"Aren't you a clever girl," Envy said mockingly. "Yes, I enjoy toying with people with illusions. I simply make them realize how shallow and jealous they are of other people. I get such a tingly feeling when they fall of their high horse and sink into sin." Her voice shook with ecstasy. "It was so much better than being on the receiving end."

"You are one sick individual," Kuroko spat out. "I'm not sure how you came up with these horrible illusions, but you need to do a lot better if you think you can beat me. I've been through much worse."

"I didn't come up with these illusions," Envy said her voice full of malice now. "You did."

"What are you talking about?" Kuroko asked. "I can't make illusions."

"Oh," Envy said correcting herself. "I didn't mean you personally made them. The fog you see is part of my favorite magic. It brings your deepest thoughts forward and manifests them into the real world. These performances you see are your own insecurities. I just enjoy watching them."

"What?" Kuroko sputtered. "I don't believe this."

"Are you sure?" Envy said and Kuroko could hear the mirth in her voice. "I think differently. You seem to be affected by them more then you know. You seem kind of defensive now. In fact, your friends probably also say some pretty mean things about the way you act."

"You are lying," Kuroko said, but her voice shook slightly. She would never admit it, but Envy was right. She knew her friends wouldn't say anything bad things to her, but some of them occasionally acted like they thought that way many times before. Kuroko did not know what they talked about when she wasn't around, but now her heart was beating faster as she thought about it. _No, don't think about those things. They are your friends and would never hurt you._ "I don't know why you are trying to confuse me, but it won't make me lose to you."

"I don't know about that," Envy's voice said gleefully. "Many people commit suicide when confronted with their worst fears. Well, as I started to say before, let's see what your friends think about you." The fog began to split again and Kuroko saw Kazari and Ruiko standing together talking.

"I don't know why Kuroko always clings to Misaka-san," Ruiko said. "It seems to really bother her."

"It must because Misaka-san always tries to be friendly with everyone," Kazari said. "That is a true ojou-san for you. It is a shame she has to live with a pervert like Shirai-san. I hope she can find a new roommate soon. She always looks so exhausted dealing with her antics. It's not good for her."

"I know right," Ruiko said. "Besides, she likes Touma a lot and Shirai-san can't stand him, so obviously she can't be friends with both of them. It would be really awkward for all of them."

"It's not like that," Kuroko said stepping forward before stopping herself. _Remember no matter how real these illusions are, they are not real._ However, it did hurt her seeing her friends talking that way about her and Mikoto. No matter how much you know something isn't real, it can still hurt to see and hear them. In response to her outburst, the fog solely covered the scene and the voices disappeared.

"You seem to be troubled," Envy commented. "I thought you said these, how did you say it, horrible illusions would not affect you. Maybe it's because your friends are forming relationships while you are being left behind." The fog cleared away from Kuroko again, revealing all her friends together in small groups. Kazari was hanging tightly to Jason's arm looking incredibly happy. Jason was holding her close while talking to Touma. Touma laughed and looked at the girls holding onto him. Next to him, on either side, were Ruiko and Mikoto holding tightly to his arms. Misaki was leaning on his back and all three of the girls looked incredible happy and laughed along with Touma. Kuroko couldn't hear what they were saying and had to take a couple steps closer.

"I'm glad Shirai finally left us alone," Touma said. "I haven't seen her for weeks."

"I know right?" Mikoto said happily. "I thought she was my best friend, but after she requested a transfer, I finally realized how good of a sleep I can get without fear of being felt up at night."

"You sure you didn't enjoy it Misaka-san?" Misaki asked innocently but with a huge grin on her face.

"No I didn't," Mikoto said crossly while Touma and Ruiko laughed. "I was waking up to find my underwear missing, clothes scattered around or, even worse, Kuroko standing over me taking pictures. Uh, it was the worst."

"Well she quit Judgment too," Kazari said. "There's actually a lot less paperwork now because she's not here to use force unnecessarily like usual."

"Only thing I miss is making fun of her," Jason added. "It was the best part of the day."

"I like the fact everyone seems happier without her," Ruiko said. "I just put up with her because I thought she was your friend, but she was really annoying."

Kuroko froze. She knew all of this was just a fake show and she kept telling herself that. However, actually seeing something looking just like her friends speaking badly of you was hard to process for her. They looked like them, sounded like them, and even their mannerisms were the same. If Kuroko didn't know for certain these were fog illusions, she would have sworn on her life they were real. Her heart felt like it was being ripped to pieces as she heard the voices of her friends talk about her like that. _It's not real. It's not real._ She wasn't moving and trying not to listen to the voices. But no matter how hard she tried, Mikoto's voice always reached her ears.

"It looks like I struck a nerve," Envy said mockingly. "Why are you frozen so pathetically? I thought you said you were strong and I wouldn't be able to beat you. We have barely started and you are already falling. The other sins finish their fights to quickly for my tastes. I like to drag it out for as long as possible as I slowly draw you into despair. Only Pride truly understands my work."

Kuroko opened her mouth to yell at Envy and deny everything she said. However, no words came out. A look of horror came over her face as she realized Envy was slowly getting to her. She was beginning to have trouble distinguishing the illusions form reality. _Maybe this is part of her magic to mess with mind._ Since Kuroko did not have any experience with magicians, she could not completely rule out the possibility, but she did not know how magic worked or how to stop it. All she could do is put up with it while trying to find a way out of the fog and stop Envy.

"You got so quiet all of the sudden," Envy commented but with a hint of laughter. "Are you, perhaps, beginning to feel the pain of jealousy of others? Those whose lives are complete and do not have to worry about their love leaving them for another? You may be above average with your abilities, but you can't stand on the same stage as the one you love. You will never reach that high. She belongs to the Imagine Breaker boy."

"No matter what happens I won't quit," Kuroko called out defiantly. It took a lot of strength to hold back the tears she was slowly feeling well up deep inside of her. The illusions were slowly breaking her and she was holding on to the last few threads of her confidence.

Envy didn't say anything in response to her declaration but instead laughed loudly. The fog began to swirl around Kuroko instead of parting. She didn't know what was in store for her, but she knew it wasn't going to be good. Envy enjoyed messing with her mind and didn't even need to use mind control. What was worse was Envy could use her magic to prey on her fears and insecurities no matter how hard Kuroko tried to ignore them. At this point, unless Kuroko could pinpoint Envy's location, she did not believe she could win this battle. At some point her mind would break. She realized Envy has had countless hours of mastering this kind of mental fight. As she tried to mentally prepare herself again, several figures stepped out of the fog and started to approach her.

Each of the figures was made to look like her friends. Mikoto, Touma, Kazari, Ruiko, and Jason all walked out of the fog toward her. This time Kuroko knew it wasn't going to be a display of a past memory or a fake reenactment this time. They were all looking directly at her. "What are you planning now Envy," Kuroko said wearily.

"Your friends probably have something to tell you," she replied in amusement. Kuroko's heart fell into the pit of her stomach. When Envy was amused, she knew it wasn't going to be good for her. The illusions of her friends kept walking toward her until they surrounded her about five feet away.

"Kuroko," Kazari said. "You won't ever be with Misaka-san. Just give up and let her be with Touma."

"I agree," Ruiko added. "It is getting really annoying watching you to cling to her so much. We tried to be understanding but now, just stop it you pervert."

"Shirai," Touma said and Kuroko felt a sudden intense dislike she normally felt when she saw him with Mikoto. "Mikoto and I are going to be together and all you do is cause problems. Please leave and don't bother her again. All you do is cause her to feel sorry for you." Uncontrollable jealousy engulfed Kuroko for a moment and she shouted before she could stop herself.

"Shut up ape! You don't deserve her! Onee-sama belongs with m…" She slammed her mouth shut when she realized she fell for Envy's trap. She heard the laughter from behind the fog and knew she was just providing her amusement. _She mentioned something about suicide, but if I don't do that, how is she going to defeat me? She enjoys torturing me, but I don't know what combat skills she possesses._

"Kuroko," Mikoto said and she turned around instinctively to look at the illusion. "He is right. I love him and you are just annoying. To be honest, because of the way you act, I really hate you." The last two words were emphasized.

Kuroko knew this was false, she knew it was just an illusion, but seeing Mikoto tell her she hated her pierced through her heart like a stake. She was already mentally weakened from the constant illusions slowly poking at her own insecurities. She covered her ears and turned away from Mikoto while shouting, "NOOOOO! It's fake, I won't believe it." Something caught her eye as she stared ahead for a moment. Jason was smirking at her like usual, even as an illusion he irritated her, then gave a brief jerk of his head to the right. Kuroko frowned for a second and by reflex turned her body to the right to see what the illusion was indicating to. She suddenly felt a sharp pain in her left shoulder. Instinctively, she teleported forward ten feet. She turned around and looked to see what hit her.

Mikoto was standing there with a small knife. The blade had a red rust smelling liquid on it, Kuroko's blood. She took her right hand and covered the knife wound in her shoulder feeling the blood slip between her fingers. She was lucky the knife didn't hit any vital place and the wound wasn't horribly deep due to her reflexes. If there was too much pain she wouldn't have been able to teleport. Since moving through the eleventh dimension required complex calculations, too much pain would prevent her for being able to calculate the formulas and not be able to teleport. She had been through much worse pain so a small knife wound would not immediately stop her. However, the loss of blood over a long period of time could be problematic. As Kuroko looked at Mikoto, Mikoto stepped back into the fog and disappeared. Following the example, the other illusions disappeared into the fog too.

 _Ouch, how did an illusion hurt me?_ Kuroko was still slightly traumatized from the fake Mikoto's announcement. _It was lucky I turned or the knife would have gone toward my neck. But why did the illusion of Jason help me? If these are all Envy's illusions then they should all be out to get me._ She thought about it for a second then remembered something Envy said. _The fog brings your deepest thoughts and insecurities forward and manifests them into the real world._ She took a few steps forward to keep moving and tried to find the wall. She thought she might be able to get up to the crowd stands and get above the fog. While she teleported forward in small jumps, she pondered the information.

Kuroko knew everyone would have negative thoughts at some point in their life, mostly small ones they usually can ignore without problem. The fog took the occasional small dark thoughts she had and turned them into the illusions she had seen in front of her. The reason the fog impacted her so much was she knew about the dark thoughts she has had before several times, and the illusions just increased her fear they might be true or become true. Her friends always supported her, but her fear was they might turn away from her while Mikoto would find someone else. _This explains everything except for why the illusion of Jason helped me._ Her thoughts always turned to the way Jason acted to her, making fun of her and lying to her constantly. However, she also acknowledged every lie he told never led to anyone getting hurt when she found out about them. She frowned. _Was it possible I subconsciously thought he was helping me? I hate magic so much. There doesn't seem to be a lot of rules I can understand._

Kuroko felt a sudden sharp pain in her thigh. She looked down to see another small knife lodged in her. She kept her mouth closed to avoid yelling out to let Envy know she was hit. She knew it was probably pointless since Envy seemed to know where she was, but Kuroko did not want to give her any satisfaction at the very least. She also didn't pull out the knife because she would probably lose a lot more blood and couldn't risk it right now. She finally found an entrance in the arena wall and ran through it and up the stairs. She found herself up in the stands above the fog. She couldn't see anything in the arena but at least the fog did not cover the stands. Running with the knife in her leg was causing her a lot of pain. along with the constant loss of blood from her shoulder and thigh slowly turning her uniform red.

"You finally left the fog," Mikoto's voice said. Kuroko turned to see Mikoto walking toward her holding a knife. "I thought for sure you would try to teleport out of the fog and I set up precautions, but actually using the stairs, impressive."

Kuroko narrowed her eyes. "You have to be Envy but why are you still disguised as onee-sama?" She realized now Envy was disguised as Mikoto the entire time.

"Oh this," Envy said indicating to her body disguised as Mikoto. "This is the true power of my Mark of Envy. It allows me to copy anyone I have seen before. It's quite convenient because it also lets me copy the mannerisms so almost no one can tell the difference. Even Accelerator couldn't tell it was me when I disguised myself as Touma Kamijou. Also, I want to see your expression when you are killed by the person you love."

"Now that you are here," Kuroko said pulling out several spikes. "I can win. I won't lose to someone who hides in the shadow with cheap tricks."

"Cheap tricks?" Envy said faking sadness. "I am hurt. But will it be as easy as you think." She held out her hand and the crackle of electricity was heard a second before a bright bolt shot toward Kuroko. Kuroko thought this was another illusion but immediately felt the pain and she fell to her knee. Her body was smoking slightly. "I sent you some of your onee-sama's love. Did you enjoy it?"

"How?" Kuroko asked.

"My mark allows me to copy my target," Envy said sighing. "I just told you that, were you not paying attention? As you just saw though, it also lets me copy their abilities to a certain extent. I may not be able to use her full lighting power, but it is more than enough to kill a human. I am so glad the mark allows me to ignore the rules between mixing abilities and magic."

Kuroko stood up slowly. The knife fell out of her leg and blood was trickling down staining her sock. She didn't have too much longer before the loss of blood would serious impact her. "A weak shock like that won't do anything to me. I've been on the receiving end of the true Ace of Tokiwadai."

"Well I guess the knife will have to do then," Envy said. She took a small step then dashed forward. Kuroko had easily incapacitated people running before with her needles and she started calculating the trajectory though dimensions. Right before she teleported a spike into Envy, she hesitated for a second as she saw Mikoto's face looking at her sad and worried. Her needle teleported half an inch behind Envy because of the moment of delay. Envy's face twisted back into a grin, she obviously planned it, and ran forward jabbing her knife forward. Kuroko jumped back but once again she got distracted for a second as she saw her Mikoto attack her. The knife cut deep into her side and the blood drenched her uniform. The pain overwhelmed her for a moment and she fell backwards.

Envy stood over her laughing. "People always hesitate when they see their lovers attack them. It is the weakness of being human. Any last words before I end this?"

Kuroko stared up weakly. Her vision was beginning to blur slightly from the blood loss and pain. She couldn't teleport out of the way because of the pain interference. She opened her mouth and asked, "Why do you enjoy torturing people so much?" Kuroko could not understand how someone would purposely want to cause pain to someone they didn't even know. At least when she attacked Touma it was because he was monopolizing Mikoto.

Envy laughed again. "I'll show you." The image of Mikoto vanished leaving a very plain looking girl with shoulder length black hair and brown eyes. Well, she would have been plain, average height and chest, but there was a horrible burn across her face like she had been branded with a hot piece of metal. "I was just a plain girl growing up. One day I tried to attract a guy I liked, he was kind, attractive, athletic and more. Well, I dolled myself up like any normal girl and asked him out. He agreed and I was really happy. Well it turned out some other girls liked him too and were not happy with me." Envy's voice grew bitter. "They ambushed me and burnt my face with a hot metal rod. They also stabbed me many times and I was hospitalized for months. The mark on my face will never fade. What was worse was I found the girl dating my man when I got out. He took one look at my face and distanced himself from me."

"That doesn't explain it," Kuroko said weakly. "I feel sorry for the pain, but they should have been arrested."

"They had powerful fathers," Envy explained. "Nothing happened to them because there was not enough 'proof.' Afterwards I met The Herald and he gave me this mark to have my revenge. I killed both of the girls who made me suffer then took the place of the girl dating him. After a year, I reveal myself to him and then killed him. The look on his face at the betrayal gave me goosebumps." She put a hand to her face as she remembered the event.

 _She's insane,_ Kuroko thought. _She just enjoys other people's suffering._

"I plan to kill you here so I can leave," Envy continued. "Then I will take on your appearance to live your life. If Wrath doesn't kill Mikoto, I will. I bet she will have the ultimate look of shock at the betrayal on her face." Envy's body shivered in excitement. "Now die girl." She suddenly stopped as spikes appeared in all of her joints. None of them were lethal hits but they prevented her from moving her arms and legs. Pain wrecked Envy's mind and she fell down. "How?"

Kuroko was standing up in front of her with a look of cold fury on her face. When Envy told Kuroko she was planning to kill Mikoto, rage flew through her mind blocking out all the pain. Kuroko would not let this vile women hurt Mikoto as long as she was alive. She used every piece of her mind for the calculations and teleported every spike at her disposal into the joints of Envy. Now, any move, no matter how small would cause intense pain for her. It took all of her remaining strength to stand up and tower over Envy's body. Her clothes were drenched red and her pale face made her look ghost like. "I won't let you hurt her," Kuroko said softly, but with an aura of strength. "I may be jealous of how much time the ape spends with her but if she really chooses him I will accept it. It also doesn't mean I will give up. If he slips up once, I will be there to help onee-sama back up. You call yourself Envy, but you are just a weak willed girl. What happened to you was horrible, but I am not going to die for you because of that. My love is stronger than your power."

Envy had no choice but to believe Kuroko. Envy could not move and every time she tried, her body was wracked with pain. She hated the girl in front of her but still admired her unlimited willpower. Even on the verge of death she was still fighting. "You will die even after you beat me." As soon as Envy realized and admitted she lost to Kuroko, she felt the pain of the rune on her back. Her body began to dissolve into a pile of salt. After a few seconds the pain stopped and she lost consciousness while her body disappeared.

Kuroko stood swaying as Envy's body disappeared. Her vision was blurry and she couldn't really comprehend what was happening. She fell to her knees and tried to stabilize herself. She clamped a hand on her side to try and stop the blood flow, but it was useless. She was bleeding form her shoulder, side and leg. A small puddle of blood was forming below her as drops of blood kept falling down. She looked up to the sky and couldn't even register it was cracking. _Onee-sama, if I don't make it. I love you. Ape, you better treat her right._ The blurry scenery turned black as she lost consciousness.

* * *

 **Wow, this chapter was a little depressing. When I originally planned this chapter, it was one I thought would be short. After getting into it, and really thinking of what envy should be like, it stretched out a bit. Before anyone freaks out, the fight ended in 'virtually' a draw for a couple reasons. Out of all the people, I feel Kuroko is the weakest on Team Kamijou. She is the lowest level, not counting Touma's awesomeness, and doesn't have magic to supplement it like Jason does. Envy I just don't see being very combat oriented but more messing with people's minds like Lust. The ability to copy others was from a big part of envy, like jealousy, jealous of other people and wanting to be them.**

 **All the other fights will be much more combat oriented. Sogiita Gunha's fight is going to be next. I need a more uplifting fight after this one.**

 **Sogiita: She fought to the end with real guts.**

 **Mikoto: Someone is going to save her right?**

 **Me: It's possible I guess, all the fights are taking place at the same time so someone could save her if you hurry.**

 **Mikoto: Kagere-san, you can use magic to heal right?**

 **Jason: I'm a dark mage.**

 **Touma: If that was some kind of pun or joke, it wasn't funny.**

 **Jason: Was it real PUNishment?**

 **Accelerator: You deserve to die for that joke alone.**

 **Jason: Totally worth it.**


	29. Gluttony

**Don't really have a lot to say up here except this is the first main scene with Sogiita Gunha and Gluttony. Gluttony was the last sin I finished and had some help designing him. It took forever to decide on his abilities and how to use them to make an exciting fight. Sogiita is sure to have to use all his guts.**

 **Okaidi: AHHHH, I should have done that. Now that your mentioned it, it was so obvious. I realize millions of things I could have done with that to make it a little less depressing chapter. Dang, too late now, maybe I can change the chapter and no one will notice…**

 **Ultimate10** **: It was, hoping this one will be a little more uplifting with some humor. I should have used Okaidi's idea, but, to be fair, it kind of made the fight pretty unique. All the sins have a reason for joining the organization. I purposely made a backstory for each one; some have a better reason than others.**

 **There are a lot of comments about Kuroko too. Some like her and some don't. We will learn her fate in four chapters after this one. There are still three fights to finish. Fights are now halfway done with this chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

"Sigh," the scientist said typing on his laptop. "This is why I hate kids. They always say the stupidest things when they get riled up."

"Who are you anyways?" Sogiita asked looking up at the man sitting in the stands. "I should at least know the name of my opponent. I am Sogiita Gunha."

"My name is Dr. Ricane," he replied. "But you can call me Gluttony. That's the name I took after leaving Academy City to pursue my real goal."

"And your goal is so important you are willing to kidnap innocent people?" Sogiita asked. "Nothing could be worth that."

Gluttony sighed. "You kids only think in the short term," he said. "I specialized in spatial displacement when I joined Academy City. I worked a lot with teleporters and others who did dimensional calculations. However, my favorite field was robotics. I designed many interesting designs that would have changed the world. But they never wanted to use them. I always got passed up for someone else or some other objective. Funding dried up and I had to close my research."

"You should have had the guts to stand up for what you believed in," Sogiita replied. "If your research was so life altering, you should have found a way to continue with your own power."

"Of course that's what I did," Gluttony said looking up from his laptop. "I created several robotics automatons that could easily defeat the power suits designed by Academy City. But then I was questioned on what good robots designed purely for combat would benefit mankind. No one ever sees the big picture."

"Then tell me the big picture," Sogiita said. "I don't understand either, but I will listen."

"And here I thought all the rumors said you were a hot-blooded person who just jumped into everything head first," Gluttony said raising an eyebrow.

"I will jump in to protect anyone in a heartbeat!" Sogiita yelled out raising his fist in the air. "My guts will help anyone in need. But as she is not in any danger," he pointed to Kazari, "I was hoping we could come to an understanding instead of fighting to the death. Of course, I will duel you anytime if you want without our lives on the line."

"I can't understand you at all," Gluttony sighed. "But I you want to listen to the truth I will be more than happy to provide the explanation. You see, as long as humans rule, we will fight. My dream was to develop an artificial intelligence that will take the place of governments and stand above humans in order to prevent any more global catastrophes. No more war, no more murder, the AI will make sure all humans are kept in line and live in peace."

Sogiita frowned and narrowed his eyes. "That doesn't make any sense," he said. "Even if you made an AI that could do that, mankind would never accept it. We all use our guts to lead to our own path. Humankind would stand up to such oppression."

"Yes they would," Gluttony nodded sadly. "I realized that but I was young and idealistic. No matter what calculations I did, the AI would always fail. It is the way this world is set up, people care only for themselves, but if they have a common enemy they will fight together to protect our species as a whole. After the threat is gone, they will go back to fighting each other. So I betrayed Academy City and joined The Fallen in order to help others with similar goals. They may not agree robots should rule, but they agree this world is warped and we must change it. I am gathering all the knowledge I can in order to make the most powerful scientific robots and combine it with magic to create the ultimate soldiers for our master. We will use them to defeat those that resist as our master reaches out and rules over all."

"You master is just a tyrant," Sogiita called out angrily. "If you force others to bow with violence, it is just pure evil."

"Even if it will save countless lives in the long run?" asked Gluttony as he opened a bag of chips next to him.

"You can't be sure of that," Sogiita said. "For all you know, this war between your master and the rest of the world could end in even more countless deaths over years."

"Only in one generation," Gluttony said through a handful of chips. "More lives will be saved in the long run if everyone is united in one generation. Our master may use any means at his disposal to win, but he only looks at the big picture. The Herald has told us all about him."

"I see," Sogiita said thinking. _So he doesn't know who the master is and just blindly following him. My words armed with my guts probably won't be enough to convince him. In order to save Uiharu-san, I have no choice but to defeat him and make him free us._ "You seem devoted to the Herald and I admire you guts. But I can't let my friends get hurt because of you, so I will fight. I do not believe your way of violence is the correct path."

"How about this?" Gluttony said rationally. "If you kill yourself now, the barrier around the girl will fade, and she will wake up shortly afterwards. I will guarantee she will be allowed to leave unharmed."

"No," Sogiita replied instantly. "I can't trust you guys as you have used underhanded methods already. You will probably just try to kill her right after the barrier falls."

"You aren't as stupid as you look," Gluttony said smirking. He typed something on his laptop and pressed a button. "I guess we have to fight. Here, try these robots on for size. They are some of my first generation models, the MK-1s." The sound of heavy stomping caused Sogiita to turn around. Out of one of the side entrances, five large mechanized humanoid like constructs walked forward. Each one was slightly taller than a normal human with what could have been a suit of armor. The heads were slightly flatter and wider sideways then tall. It was like their heads had been squashed by something heavy. Each was armed with a metal staff with small blades on the ends. They marched out of the passageway and formed up in a line. "I kind of want to judge your strength now. After you resisted my gravity in the city, I want to see if your beliefs will trample my robotics. I'll get good data no matter who wins."

"Excellent," Sogiita grinned and slamming his fist into his palm. "I'm not good at complicated issues, but a brawl I understand perfectly. I am going to use all my guts to take down everything you send at me and prove your way of thinking is wrong."

"So you want to force me to see your way of thinking," Gluttony said smirking slightly. "I thought you just told me that was wrong. Oh, well, you are a kid." He shoveled another handful of chips into his mouth and pressed the keys on his laptop. The MK-1 robots suddenly became more lifelike, spun their weapons around, and charged at Sogiita. The nearest one jabbed at Sogiita with its bladed staff.

Sogiita just side stepped the blow effortlessly and grabbed the staff. "To slow," he said. He kicked the machine holding the staff and it went flying. It flew a good 30 feet and crashed into the arena wall with a dull thud. "Your robots lack guts." Two of the remaining robots flanked him and jabbed their staves at him. He jumped ten feet into the air to avoid them, and then did a spin kick, as he came back down, knocking their heads off. "Easy."

"Really?" Gluttony said smirking before hitting a button. Both of the headless robots exploded in a sudden flash of light. The dust cleared and Sogiita was still standing, his uniform was dirty and slightly burnt, but he otherwise looked unharmed. "Hmm, normal explosives don't do anything to you, interesting. Your durability and recovery skills are impressive." He looked at another nearby monitor where a camera was showing the fight along with several measurements. "It is about what I expected after meeting you once."

Sogiita was going to open his mouth to respond, but the last two robots lunged at him with their staves. He simply reached out and grabbed both of the staves a couple inches below the blade and stopped them instantly. "These robots don't seem to be that impressive." As if the robots were annoyed by his words, they both suddenly sent electricity from their hands, through their staves, as both of them tried to electrocute him simultaneously. The voltage was enough to kill a normal person, but Sogiita barely felt it. To him, ii was a slight tingly sensation. "Did you try to do something?" he asked before using the staves to lift the robots, they would not let go, into the air. He slammed them down into the ground and they exploded. The explosion had no effect on him except obscuring the view for a moment. "To be honest," Sogiita called out to Gluttony. "I am a little disappointed.

"No worries," he replied. "Those were just first generation. I was going to dismantle them anyways for parts. But you know us old folks; we get so sentimental with our toys. I figured they deserved one more field test." Two more monitors had appeared next to him while Sogiita had been fighting. "You obviously need more of a challenge."

"No matter what you send…" Sogiita started to say but stopped when he heard the sound of rapid guns firing. A second later he felt prickly pain all over his body as he was barraged with bullets from four different directions. He covered his face with his arms and jumped to the side dodging another wave of bullets. He gave a quick look around and saw four new robots rapidly shooting him with automatic rifles. They seemed to be a little thinner than the first batch, but it might have been because they were set to shoot rather then enter melee range. They didn't have weapons with the greatest piercing power, so Sogiita's high durability protected him, but he still felt some pain. It was like being attacked by a swarm of mosquitos constantly biting. He suddenly dashed at roughly Mach One, a loud boom followed, and covered the distance to the first robot almost instantly. He grabbed the wrists of the robot and pulled. The screeching sound of metal tearing echoed around the area as its arms were pulled off.

"Ouch," Gluttony commented as he opened a can of soda. "If that was a real person, imagine the pain he would be in." He typed something into his computer and one of the robots stepped back into the doorway out of sight while the other two kept shooting at Sogiita. The bullets were still not very effective, but Gluttony knew no power was limitless so everything was designed to slowly tear down his stamina. _Besides, he is only on the MK-2s. I wonder if he will last to five._

Sogiita turned around to attack another one of the new robots, but the broken robot didn't fall with just its arms ripped off. It self-destructed right behind him and the explosion was twice as big as the first group. _Ouch,_ Sogiita thought but the pain quickly resided. _I'm going to have to replace another uniform._ His clothes on his back had burned away and the slight bruise from the explosion was quickly fading. _The explosion was definitely stronger. This fight might get interesting._ He knew he needed to defeat Gluttony but if what he said was true, then one of them would have to die before the other could leave with the hostage. Sogiita was hoping he could convince Gluttony that his guts were stronger than his robots and Gluttony would surrender peacefully. Sogiita would not kill anyone, a hero never killed if they could help it.

Sogiita dashed again at roughly the speed of sound and covered the vast distance to the next robot virtually instantly. Instead of tearing apart the robot, he punched it in the stomach. His fist went right through it with little resistance. The robot started to glow, but this time he was ready. He quickly kicked the robot off his arm causing it to fly backwards and crash into the arena wall. It exploded half a second later further damaging the arena. He had become so use to the barrage of bullets coming from the last robot, he barely noticed it. He simply did the exact same thing and blew the robot up away from him to avoid the explosion. He turned to Gluttony. "Looks like that group didn't fare much better."

"You might be miscounting," Gluttony said without looking up from his screen and another bag of junk food. "This should hurt." He pressed a button and less than a second later Sogiita felt something hit him square in the back. It knocked him forward and a loud crack was heard as one of his bones broke. He felt a warm liquid trickle down his back.

He forced himself up and turned around. One of the robots had moved back into the hallway leading to the arena. The robot was lying on the ground with what looked like steel boxes bolted onto a steel tube that was as wide as a human ankle. The barrel was supported by a tripod and the entire rifle had a cable attached to the robot. "Ouch," Sogiita said. "What weapon is that? It hurt a lot."

"Oh it's just a modified MSR-001," Gluttony explained. "It's a sniper rifle which uses principles similar to a railgun. Since it uses magnetism to shoot, there is almost no recoil. However, I modified it so it shoots larger ammunition then normal at higher speeds, great against armored vehicles. It uses a lot more power than a normal MSR-001, but instead of a battery pack, it can be plugged right into a robot. Such a great advantage and you should be careful. Try to avoid it if you can, but the aiming systems of the MK-2s are quite good."

"Not a bad strategy," Sogiita taking a deep breath. "But a little guts are more than enough to repair bones." Even his bleeding stopped. He ran towards the last robot in a zigzag pattern to avoid the ammo. While the ammo did not kill him from behind in the back, if it hit a softer area, it could cause serious damage. Right before he managed to close the gap, the robot shot the rifle. He managed to avoid the bullet hitting him square in the chest, but it hit him directly into his shoulder joint. _It was almost like the robot knew which way I would drive._ Sogiita drove the thought form his mind and kicked the robot sending it flying down the hall and exploding when it hit a wall. His arm laid limply on his side, the bullet had dislocated his shoulder. He used his good arm, took a deep breath, and popped the bone back in. He flexed it and smiled. "Good as new." He walked back into the arena. "Anything else or are you finally going to surrender?"

"No I have a couple more tests to run," Gluttony said typing on several keyboards in front of him. He was no longer goofing off and pretending not to care. He was watching six monitors that had appeared around him and he was typing at blinding speeds. "Range seems to do nothing against you," he mumbled then got louder. "Try the MK-3s. They are tough and should provide some good melee brawls for you." He hit a button and three robots marched out of another doorway. They were about eight feet tall and built solid. Their skin was silver like the others but looked smoother and undamaged. They were humanoid, but definitely looked a lot more muscular then normal people. They did not have hands, but just metal balls at the end of their arms. "The MK-3s were designed to crush enemy power suits, so they can take a hit and have powerful blows. You should find them entertaining."

"You never give up," Sogiita noted. "If your guts weren't so misplaced, you could do a lot of good for the world." He slammed his fists together. "I will just have to knock some sense into you." He lunged toward the middle robot and swung his fist. He was surprised the robot sidestepped him and swung a fist right back at Sogiita's side. He spun around and kicked the fist, the blow rang through the arena, and he knocked the fist away. He could not however, dodge the blows coming from the other two robots. One of the fists hit his side, and the other hit him in the side of the face. He started to spin in midair before taking a deep breath and yelling at the top of his voice. The sound wave pushed the robots back two feet while sending him flying backwards, allowing him to twist his body in midair and land on his feet. "They are definitely tougher and can use teamwork," Sogiita admitted to Gluttony. "However, they are still machines and can't stand up to guts." He focused his thoughts, the pain in his side disappeared, and then lunged back into the fray.

Gluttony watched as Sogiita continued to trade blows with his machines. Their armor was a titanium alloy so it could take anti-armor blasts from even Academy City's advanced weaponry, but even it wasn't immune to Sogiita's fist. Every blow rang out and caused a large dent in the robots. The only positive thing in the encounter was he was measuring all of Sogiita's habits and attack patterns. No matter how random someone appeared to be, they always had some kind of fight plan. Every battle added to his information and he passed the information on to the next generation of machines. He expected Sogiita to win against the MK-3s but still take some damage and reveal any trump cards he has. The sound of metal tearing was heard followed by an explosion. Sogiita had finally managed to crush the body of one of them and it exploded as it fell apart. _Show me your trump card._

"Two more," Sogiita called out confidently. "Time for a show." Gluttony grinned broadly. Sogiita jumped right in between the remaining two robots. They both swing a fist at him and a huge colorful red explosion appeared around him. One of the robots was knocked back, but Sogiita quickly grabbed the arm of the other one. He threw it to the ground and delivered a powerful fist through the chest. He jumped back avoiding the explosion and turned to face the last one. The last robot was getting up but was not fast enough. Sogiita jumped a good 20 feet in the air and slammed both of his feet into it causing it to sink into the ground. He delivered a powerful fist to its head shattered it into pieces. He jumped again riding the explosion in midair before landing back on his feet and turning to Gluttony. "Not bad," Sogiita called out. "They actually put up a decent fight but I told you machines can't beat me."

Gluttony was reviewing the information from the explosion Sogiita created on his screen while chugging his tenth soda since the fight started. "I wish you could tell me about your ability," Gluttony said. "But I heard all the rumors about the stupid and impossible explanations you give." Sogiita opened his mouth to respond. "I don't care," Gluttony said interrupting him. "I love watching your fights though. It gives me such nice data on my mechanized units." He tapped a few more figures and the sound of two more machines was heard before they entered the arena. _He should be slowly getting tired even if he doesn't show it._

The two new machines were humanoid too. They were only about six feet tall and had the same proportions as an average adult male. They may have been slightly thicker in some places but over all, if they were not silver, they might have passed as humans. In one hand they held a sword and in the other hand was a large shotgun style weapon. Sogiita did not know why, but he felt something weird coming from them. He immediately got into a defensive pose and was glad he did. Both of the robots were extremely fast, moving almost as fast as he did. He dodged the first blade coming right at his neck but the second one he had to swing his fist at it. Right before his fist hit the blade, he rotated it at high speed and knocked the blade to the side, while at the same time bringing his fist into the face of the robot. He heard the clang as his fist made contact, but the robot's head only moved about two inches from his powerful punch. The response was it aimed the shotgun directly into his chest and pulled the trigger.

"Shit," Sogiita said as he rotated his body at the last second. The blast from the shotgun wasn't simple ammo, it looked almost like pure energy, and the ground below them exploded sending pieces of rock flying. He rode the momentum of the explosion to move about ten feet away from the two robots. They did not appear to be phased by the explosion and instead both of them aimed their guns at him. He now noticed a large cable was attached to the guns and ran up the arms of the robot into the torso area. _Are they energy weapons? But it seems more than that. Best not to get hit by it._ As both of the robots shot a blast of white energy at Sogiita, he ducked and charged forward. As he about to deliver a punch into the leftmost one, the blade held by the right one swung at his neck. He quickly back stepped and the blade just nicked him causing a left a tiny cut under the ear. He felt the warm blood trickle down his neck. A small wound like that would heal instantly for him. After a second or two, the blood slowed but it did not stop completely. _Something is wrong with those blades._

"Do you like them?" Gluttony asked. "They are the MK-4s, the first true machines combined with magic. Their weapons are infused with Aztec charms to slow healing. I'm surprised your ability was even able to heal that much. Normally, even a small nick with these weapons can lead to unconsciousness from blood loss. Of course, they aren't as good as Greed's knives, well they use to be. I heard Greed got pretty pissed when the Saint destroyed both of his daggers. He lost one during the museum fiasco too. Oh well, that's why mass produced things are the best. You can always replace them."

 _Magic, charms, and a Saint? What is he talking about? Are these some new types of guts? I'll think about it later, I need to destroy these two._ He took a deep breath and focused his power. The two robots moved and held their swords in front of them. Then, together, they rushed at him without warning. Both of them were able to move near the speed of sound, almost as fast as he was moving. However, Sogiita focused his strength to his legs and moved at his full speed, Mach Two. The new burst of speed surprised even Gluttony and the robots could not react fast enough.

Since he was twice as fast as them, he charged forward and delivered a punch powered by his momentum. Since momentum equals mass times velocity and, he was moving twice the speed of sound, he had a lot of power behind him. His hand shred through the robot on the right. His hand did hurt from the blow, the robot was built quite solid, but he didn't stop until he was on the other side of the arena. A huge explosion occurred in the middle of the ring blocking all sight. He took a deep breath. While his max speed was Mach Two, it still put a drain on his body. He could not keep it up indefinitely. Suddenly he heard the sound of energy buzzing coming from behind him. He turned around as a blast of white light came toward him. "Punch Guard." He felt the energy materialize around his fist as he knocked the energy away from him. The defense was not perfect and he received a burn on his hand and arm. _It broke my guard, can't take it head on for sure._ As the dust cleared he looked at the last robot standing.

Gluttony was getting annoyed. He thought for sure the MK-4s would be able to take out Sogiita. However, he just lost one to a simple fist. He could always build a new one, but it took time to infuse them with magic after he built them. He looked at the monitor showing the vital signs of Sogiita after he used his full speed and grinned. _Moving at full speed does take a lot of his stamina. He might be able to do it a little while longer, but he can't keep it up forever. I suppose I can lose the other one. I still have my greatest creation left. It should be able to make quick work of him. And I still have my power though I really don't want to fight._ He opened a bag of pork rinds and chomped them down while preparing his next move.

Sogiita stood up straight and walked toward the last robot in front of him. He took deep breaths to restore his stamina and focused his guts. The burns on his hand started to fade and it looked normal again. The robot looked at the gun, disconnected it, and the gun fell to the ground with a loud thud. The robot then grabbed its sword with both hands and held it in front of him. Sogiita knew the sword was unusual and damage caused by it did not heal like usual, so one good hit with the sword would end this fight. He walked closer and it finally decided to move.

The last robot lunged at him and swung the sword sideways at his stomach. Sogiita did a quick step back and the blade missed him my millimeters. He aimed a sweeping kick at the ankles of the robot. To his surprised, the robot jumped and swung the sword downwards at him. Sogiita rolled to the right and jumped up to deliver a punch to its face. The robot turned its head and, out of its mouth, a torrent of fire engulfed Sogiita. Sogiita fist came out of the fire and still delivered the powerful blow to its head. The robot flew backwards twenty feet but remained in one piece. Sogiita felt a pain on his leg and looked down to see a shallow cut on his ankle. It bled a lot then slowed down, but did not stop. He realized he got cut by the sword as the robot was launched backwards. He frowned and realized dragging this out was not in his best interest. One accidental deep cut would finish it. "Guess I have to end this." He took a deep breath.

The robot stood up and charged at him with the sword pointed directly in front of it as if it was going to spear Sogiita. It moved at roughly the speed of sound, but it was no match for Sogiita's speed. Moving at Mach Two, he easily dodged the blade and kicked the machine in the torso. His foot just exploded through the robot and he stopped over fifty feet away to watch the explosion. He felt another sharp pain in his ankle and looked down. Because the wound had not healed, Sogiita used his full speed on a hurt ankle. The wound had opened more and blood stained his sock. _I probably shouldn't use my full speed again unless I want to lose my foot._ He looked up to Gluttony who was surrounded by monitors and a pile of junk food wrappers and containers. "See," he called out triumphantly. "With guts, nothing can stand before you."

"Do you have any idea how much those cost," Gluttony sighed. "You sure make a mess everywhere you go." He glanced at the computer and smiled. "I got one more for you to play against. I hope you find this one to your liking. It has some unique abilities you might find familiar." The arena started the shake and part of the floor separated. Sogiita watched as a metal floor started to lift a giant machine. "I like you to witness the MK-5, aka Scorpio." The name was quite fitting for it. Its main body was about the size of two large cars lined up in a row. It had eight legs, four on each side, and its head had several optical lenses watching 180 degrees in front of it. What made it look intimidating was the black long upward curving tail connected to the back which ended into a cylinder at the end. It was probably twenty feet long. The MK-5 really looked like a giant scorpion. It also had several turrets located all over its body. "Let's see how much strength you have left."

Sogiita looked at the machine for a second then suddenly yelled "That is AWESOME! I have never seen a machine that amazing before. I hope it's strong, but if it's a new generation from your last models I bet it is. I can't wait to fight it." Gluttony gave him a look as if saying, _are you an idiot,_ which Sogiita did not notice because he was too busy staring at the machine. "Let's test it out." Sogiita moved into a crouching position and suddenly dashed at high speeds toward Scorpio. He was only moving around Mach One in order to limit the damage to his ankle that still had not healed. He aimed for a leg but, a second before he grabbed it, the leg moved out of his way. He slid on the ground to jump at the leg when he was hit by several high powered rounds coming from turrets on the underside of the machine. Since these were more than just simple hand held guns, they actually caused him some pain and he jumped back to get out from under it. The machine turned to face him and several compartments opened on its back. A second later several missiles shot out at Sogiita's location.

The sound was defining. These were advanced weapons designed with Academy City technology. The explosions would have blinded Gluttony if he didn't look away at his monitors. Clouds of dust covered the arena. "I see you are still alive," he said munching on some beef jerky while looking at the monitor keeping track of Sogiita's vitals. "But you seem to getting slower." He looked at the arena when the dust settled to see Sogiita on one knee using his arms to protect himself as he glowed slightly. There were some minor wounds on him that were slowly healing. Gluttony did make note the wounds were healing slower than they did before. _So his regeneration has a limit and it appears to be weakening as he gets tired, excellent._

"If that is all it has," Sogiita said standing up. "It doesn't have nearly enough guts to defeat me."

Gluttony frowned annoyed Sogiita did not find his masterpiece formidable enough for him. He decided it was time to unleash its true power. "You really can't understand a work of art. This is why I hate kids so much. I guess I can show you its ultimate weapon". He clicked a button on his computer and Scorpio turned to directly face Sogiita while lifting its tail at him. He stood in a karate pose with his hand out front in order to take on whatever it is going to do. The base of the tail started to glow green and kept rising up near the end by one segment at a time. "You see, its tail is a collection of systems capable of allowing the MK-5 to manipulate the power of unstable electrons. It forcibly controls these electrons and channels them in the state between particle and wave to create a powerful destructive cannon. It was based off of another level 5 in Academy City, the number four, Meltdowner."

Sogiita raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Wow," he said, and then he remembered the scientist was trying to kill him. He briefly forgot that important fact as he was distracted by the new machine. "If it's your greatest weapon, I will use all my guts to show machines can't beat me." The final segment glowed green and a glow appeared at the tip of the tail. Sogiita took a martial-arts stance, took a deep breath, and then slammed his arms down on the ground. A wall of pressure appeared between him and the machine as Scorpio fired a powerful green beam at him. The beam collided with the wall and another huge explosion followed.

Gluttony watched in interest and surprise as the wall managed to hold back most of the energy. Controlling unstable electrons to the point of making particle beams was not a simple task. The number four could do it easier than his machines could do at the present time. However, the beam should still have dissolved anything between it and about 200 feet out. The monitor showing Sogiita vitals dropped significantly and he grinned. Whatever the wall was it did not protect Sogiita completely. "You seem to have taken a lot of damage. Are you sure you can continue, it would be boring if the Mk-5's first field test ended so soon."

"Heh," Sogiita voice came through the cloud of dust. The dust cleared and Sogiita was on a knee again. His arms were bleeding from cuts and he coughed out blood into his hand. "I survived it. That is the power of guts."

"Will you survive another blast though?" Gluttony asked and Scorpio started to glow again at the base of its tail.

"It's my turn to show you an attack now," Sogiita said. He took a deep breath and forced himself to his feet. He took his favorite karate pose and stuck his right hand out. He pulled his right hand in, leaped forward and shot his right hand out while yelling "AMAZING PUNCH!" Suddenly a huge red explosion, larger than any of the ones caused by the machines, engulfed Scorpio and sent it flying. It crashed into the wall of the coliseum and just kept going. It flew out of sight as about a fourth of the coliseum collapsed into rubble, along with a lot of Gluttony's food and electronics. Pieces of its remains fell down from the sky because the explosion blew a lot of pieces into the air. Standing in the middle of the metal rain was Sogiita, panting hard but still on his feet. Using Attack Crash while tired and injured was quite tough for him, but that never stopped him before. "That is how you use guts."

"How?" Gluttony gasped in shock. His greatest invention was destroyed by a kid yelling out stupid and incomprehensible things such as using guts. No matter how much he studied this kid, he could not figure out the limits of his power. Now he lost countless hours of development because he had to use it all against Sogiita, ineffectively. However, even though he abandoned Academy City to pursue his own research, he was still a scientist at heart. When something failed, he wanted to figure out why and fix the problem. "There might be something to your words," he said slowly rubbing his chin. "Though I don't understand them, I might have to think about using guts in my inventions." He turned to look at Kazari who was still sleeping in the barrier. "I wonder if the girl would make a good cyborg. Combination of technology, reinforced with magic, then added to, as you say, guts." He grinned evilly.

Sogiita realized what he was planning and immediately became angry. "I won't let you hurt her," he yelled and jumped easily thirty meters into the air at Gluttony. As he was about to exit the arena he immediately was stopped in midair as he hit some kind of electric field. He felt pain course through his body as the electricity flowed through him. At the same time, several turrets from behind Gluttony started to shoot high powered bullets at him using magnetic propulsion instead of gunpowder, like the rifle the second generation robots used. The force of the bullets, as the electric field slowed him in midair, knocked him back into the arena.

"Nice try," Gluttony said standing up slowly. "I have a lot of defenses to keep you in the ring. But now, you blew up all of my machines. I'm not going to goof around any longer." He unbuttoned his shirt revealing a black symbol on his stomach. It looked like an upside down U with a small triangle on top of it. The tips of the U were curved into the middle slightly. "My curse doesn't really do much, but it makes traveling around easy without exerting a lot of effort. No more waiting, so I can focus on the pleasures in life, food and machines." The ground below him glowed white and he disappeared into the ground. He appeared on the other side of the arena. "It also has the handy ability of allowing me to put it on cards so others can use it once. Infiltrating Academy City was ridiculously easy because of it."

"You know I can overcome your gravity," Sogiita said turning around to face Gluttony. "And you are out of machines. You can't win and it is only a matter of time before I break through your defenses."

"Gravity is an interesting force," Gluttony said ignoring Sogiita's words. "Out of the four fundamental forces of nature, gravitational, electromagnetic, strong nuclear, and weak nuclear, we understand the interactions between three of them, but not gravitational, even though it is the weakest of the forces. However, we still developed a gravitational theory to explain it, but the theory breaks down under a specific circumstance."

"What's this have to do with our fight?" Sogiita asked.

"Good question," Gluttony said and walked over to a large six foot cube. "This cube is made of Osmium, the densest material naturally found on earth. I like to use it as a focal point, though any heavy metal works fine for me. You see, our current gravitational theory breaks down under one specific circumstance, during a black hole."

Sogiita frowned then realization hit him. "You control gravity and a black hole is just a well of gravity at a specific point. You can't be serious…" He trailed off. _He wouldn't risk it since he is trapped in here._

"You look like you got it," Gluttony said his smile widening. He bent over and lifted the cube of Osmium like it was made of paper. Since he controlled gravity he could make things lighter as well as heavy. He then tossed the cube high into the air above the arena. It suddenly fell down and smashed into the ground with a sickening crunch as all the stone below it broke. Sogiita wasn't sure why he did it until he saw the cube start to shrink as sections of it started to collapse into itself. The ground nearby was also getting sucked into the mass.

"You can't do this," Sogiita yelled. "You will kill her," he pointed to Kazari, "and yourself." He didn't even stop to think of his own safety.

"If you willingly jump into the black hole and die early enough," Gluttony said. "I can still stop it. If you don't, we will all get sucked in. Let's see what you got _hero._ " He said the last word with nothing but malice. He obviously was still holding a grudge against Sogiita for destroying his machines.

"Fine," Sogiita said turning around and facing the threat. He felt himself being pulled toward the center of the mass. Everything near it was being warped as light and gravity were being sucked into the black hole. Dust and other gasses were spinning around the dark point in the middle while the outer rings were emitting a faint glow as heat and energy were generated by the friction of all the particles colliding into each other. _I have one chance to stop this or we all die._ He took a deep breath and took up a karate pose.

"You can't be serious," Gluttony said in astonishment. "You are going to try to punch a black hole? Are you stupid?"

Sogiita ignored him and focuses all his strength into his fist while taking a deep breath. This was one of the times he would use all his guts and more. He vividly remembered the first time he met Touma Kamijou and saw what real guts were. That guys guts were strong enough to create a dragon and now it was his turn to do the impossible. He opened his eyes and only had one target to focus all his thoughts and energy on. He released his breath and delivered a punch with all his guts yelling…

"HYPER, ECCENTRIC, ULTRA, GREAT, GIGA, EXTREAME, MEGA, SUPER, AMAZING, PUNCH!"

The explosion was beyond understanding. Half of the coliseum just disappeared instantly and the shockwave spread out causing massive damage to the rest of the structure. Gluttony was blown back by just the wind pressure and he slammed against the wall. Rubble from the upper floors fell down all around him. He tried to use his magic to save himself, but he had used it all to create his final trump card. He started to laugh, not because he knew he was safe, but because he saw the stupidest thing ever succeed. It defied all reasoning. He was about to be crushed by the falling debris when several more explosions erupted above him. A second later, a battered, bleeding, half dead, Sogiita was standing over him and reached down to pick him up.

"A hero never leaves someone to die." Sogiita carried him into the middle of the arena and set him down. "Now free the girl."

"D-did you just punch a black hole," was all Gluttony old ask completely bewildered.

"With enough guts you can do any…" Sogiita started to say.

"NO!" Gluttony yelled out interrupting him. "NO, NO, NO! One does not simply PUNCH a black hole. That defies all reasoning. No matter how much energy or mass you have it defies physics. You can't just punch gravity."

"But with guts…" Sogiita tried to explain again.

"ARG!" Gluttony screamed in anger ripping out clumps of his white hair. A trickle of blood went down his neck. "I can't stand you anymore. I don't want to live in the world where you can just punch a black hole with your ridiculous reasoning. You win, I'm done with this." As soon as he mentioned his defeat, a rune on his back began to glow and he started to dissolve into salt. There was pain at first, but it quickly subsided. He smirked slightly as he realized he would finally leave the idiot and his unreasonable power.

"What are you doing?!" Sogiita yelled in surprise and tried to help him. It was too late and all that was left was the pile of salt. He suddenly felt a stinging sensation on his stomach. He looked down, through the tatter remains of his uniform, and saw the mark Gluttony had on his stomach now appear on his. "What's this?" _No time, I have to check up on her._ He ran as fast as he could to where Kazari was lying. The blue barrier was gone and he gently shook her awake.

"Where am I?" she asked rubbing her eyes, sat up, then saw Sogiita. "Gunha-san, Did you save me?"

"I'm not the only one here," he replied. "They are all fighting the other guys as we speak." He looked up at the cracking sky. "I hope that crack means we are going to leave this place soon. Even with all my guts these wounds will take a while to heal."

"Thank you for saving me," Kazari said politely. "I'll follow your lead. Let's go find everyone else."

* * *

 **So I realized, when writing this chapter, this focused on a difference aspect of a character then the previous fights. The previous two fights focused on character development. This one was Sogiita Gunha's first real appearance so it was more of character introduction. I like how the fight was split up to give plenty of opportunity to see how Sogiita likes to fight and his obsession to fight strong opponents.**

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or idea. I love reading them.**

 **Sogiita: And that is real guts.**

 **Accelerator: You are just so ridiculous to the point of sheer stupidity.**

 **Kuroko: All guys are idiots though.**

 **Mikoto: You ok from your last fight Kuroko?**

 **Kuroko: No, still bleeding out, but after seeing that fight I had to point out the stupidity too.**

 **Jason: Fine, I'll save you so you can be my slave until you repay your life debt.**

 **Kuroko: That's not going to happen.**

 **Touma: That's actually a thing in a lot of cultures.**

 **Accelerator: Now you force girls onto you hero?**

 **Mikoto: Please never let that happen, most of the world be his slaves then.**


	30. Wrath

**Fourth out of six fights, Mikoto vs Wrath. Round three but their can only be one survivor. The fate of Ruiko Saten is on the line. Who will win? But first, let's answer some questions and give some comments. Oh this is also Chapter 30 of the story, it has been going on for awhile.**

 **Ultimate10** **: I answered him privately but just some little science fact for everyone. It was a very small black hole and would have probably burned itself out after swallowing everything around it. It was not big enough to maintain itself indefinitely. Besides, we all know magic black holes are not nearly as awesome as naturally occurring black holes. But, Sogiita punching it was still awesome.**

 **Guest: FACEPALM-TALITY, I love that word.**

 **Okaidi: Each sin has their own decorated arena, so they could resemble junk yards. If you remember in 26, Gluttony had a lot of machines and Wrath has a lot of junk, so your imagination isn't too far off.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

It would be an understatement to say Mikoto was worried. She had fought Wrath twice before and both times she would have been in big trouble if Touma hadn't stepped in and saved her. During their second encounter on the beach, Mikoto saw Wrath's true power and it was only thanks to Kaori and Touma they all walked out alive. She also knew Wrath's sin mark could cause excruciating pain to the point of incapacitating people. _If I get hit by that it is all over for me._ However, she didn't know how she would be able to avoid getting hit by it since she never saw it activated. Kaori and Touma had both mentioned it to her, but just about the pain effect. She looked at Wrath and for some reason Wrath had stopped as soon as she stepped into the arena. Wrath was also watching her grinning widely.

"Where is the confidence you just had?" Wrath asked mockingly. "Don't tell me you just now finally realized the position you are in."

"Who would be scared of you?" Mikoto replied back. "I know your powers so you can't catch me off guard. I was just looking around and admiring your home. The charred remains suit your personality perfectly. I see where you got your fresh scent from."

"Petty taunts from a scared little girl," Wrath said laughing. "I am going to enjoy extending your suffering. As for my home, it gives me such pleasure destroying things. I need an outlet for my anger when brats get away from me by sheer luck."

"Well now you can't blame luck," Mikoto said as white-blue sparks flickered around her. "It's just you and me."

"I know," Wrath said her creepy grin stretching over her face. "Sucks for you." Bright red flames erupted instantly behind her creating several pillars. They wrapped around her constantly obscuring her from sight. "It's time for you to suffer the same humiliation I did before you die." One of the pillars arced and flew towards Mikoto. A bolt of white-blue electricity was her instant response and the blasts collided in midair. The energy from both dispersed into an explosion and the light temporarily blinded both of them. It faded away and they just stood glaring at each other.

"You are going to have to do better than that," Mikoto said grinning. "I'm the strongest electromaster." She pointed her hand at Wrath and let lose another bolt of electricity. It crackled as it flew through the air. Wrath lifted herself effortlessly into the air as the fire collected under her. She flew above Mikoto's electricity and performed what looked like a simple backhand motion. Several flames in the shape of arrows flew from her hand. Mikoto jumped to the side as the arrows hit the ground. She thought she had avoided them but, a second after the arrows hit the ground, they exploded. She was just at the border of one of the explosions and felt the intense heat hit her skin. She rolled to avoid most of the blast and minimize damage. Her shirt got a little burnt in the process but overall, she was still fine. _I'm going to have to make sure I move far enough away to avoid those._

"Ah," Wrath said in a mocking baby tone. "Is the wittle baby going to cry from a little heat?" A vein in Mikoto's head throbbed a little. "I hope you don't die to fast. I want to be sure I get to fully enjoy my revenge." Mikoto's response was to shoot anther blast of electricity at Wrath, but she merely shot a jet of flame at her side to avoid it in midair. "The wittle baby is getting mad. I bet she starts crying." Mikoto made a very rude gesture with her hand and shot several more bolts which Wrath just continued to fly around by using her flames as a propulsion system. Eventually she got bored. _Is this all she can do, I overestimated her. How dull._ Six jets of flame came out of her back, almost like wings. They twisted around her body and all converged at Mikoto's location. Mikoto couldn't dodge all of them and Wrath was about to believe she won, when she saw it.

Mikoto was smiling.

Suddenly, a piece of metal flew from Mikoto's right and she grabbed it. The force of the movement pulled her out of the way as all six jets hit the ground. The flames started to melt the stone and the smell made Mikoto retch slightly. She was far enough away from getting burnt, but there was nothing she could do about the smell. She did, however, focused on something else and ignored the smell. While Wrath was talking, she had been using her magnetism. She not only made sure she had magnetized pieces of metal to allow her to move around the arena quickly, she also started collecting her favorite weapon, after her railgun. She lifted her hand and the ground beneath Wrath exploded. Wrath looked down and saw a brief cloud of black sand before it engulfed her.

"The fire shouldn't be able to melt it fast enough," Mikoto mumbled to herself as the iron sand she collected surrounded Wrath. She didn't want to kill Wrath, but she had to defeat her so she could save Ruiko. She forced the sand to fly toward the stands of the coliseum to slam Wrath into them and knock her unconscious. Right before the sand hit the stone, an explosion blew away all the sand as a giant ball of flames erupted from Wrath. The iron sand still near her melted and fell to the ground. Mikoto gathered the rest of the sand in her hand forming the sword of finely vibrating iron particles. "Shit. I thought I had her that time."

"You worthless brat!" Wrath roared emerging from the circular mass of flames. "Here I was going easy on you and planning to give you a quick clean death. And this is how you repay me? I'm going to burn you slowly, one limb at a time." The fire around her grew slightly darker and expanded. The stone ring and metal junk started to melt under the intense heat. Even standing a considerable distance in the area from Wrath, Mikoto could feel the temperature rise. Wrath pointed at her and a giant hand made of fire was formed from the flames. Wrath reached out toward Mikoto and the giant hand moved toward her. Mikoto pulled a magnetized metal sheet towards her and stepped on it as it slid by her. She magnetized her feet to stay on, and used it as a surfboard along the ground, controlling it with her power as the hand chased her.

"You seem upset," Mikoto called out humorously to Wrath. "Is it really that difficult to beat a brat like me?" She lifted the metal sheet out of the area and started to skid along the stands in the arena. The hand was following her, occasionally melting pieces of stone and other junk it passed through. It was just as fast as she was, but it couldn't turn as well so she was able to dodge all the junk while the hand had to burn through it or take a wider route around. The hand occasionally got close to her since Mikoto was sliding on the ground while the hand flew, but Mikoto kept managing to make sharp turns to avoid it.

"You are going to get you're a$$ handed to you," Wrath yelled as she laughed at her own joke. Mikoto groaned at the horrible joke and thought the flames might have become a little brighter. "But the game is over. You die now." The hand started to move faster toward Mikoto and, within a minute, caught up to her. Mikoto however grinned because her plan worked.

"The game IS over," Mikoto said. "But you will lose." The entire time she was sliding around in the stands, she was pretending to be chased by Wrath's flame hand. She had purposely let it get close right before she dodged. All of this was used to lure Wrath into a false sense of security. What was funny was this was a strategy Touma had used against her frequently. He lured her into his own pace and before she knew it, he was the one in an advantageous position. Of course, he never made full use of it against her, which had pissed her off a lot, but she knew now he just didn't want to hurt her.

Anyway, she was slowly making her way towards Wrath's position. The flame was getting closer to her but she knew she had to keep it near her or Wrath might realize what was happening. She had purposely circled the long way around the arena to make Wrath focus longer on controlling the hand and make her believe Mikoto was running from it. She was less than a fifty feet from Wrath before she realized what Mikoto was planning. She raised her other hand in response. "Oh no you don't brat," she called out.

"Catch," Mikoto called out suddenly. She suddenly veered to the right less than thirty feet from Wrath. Under the metal sheet she was using to surf, another one of almost equal size flew out. Mikoto used her magnetism to propel it all full speed right toward Wrath. She did make it fly flat instead of on the edge because, if Wrath did not block it, it would just knock her out instead of slicing in half. Wrath smiled and moved her hand toward the flying piece of metal. Flames appeared from her arm and melted the metal ten feet from her. The metal and flames blocked her sight for a moment.

"Not bad," Wrath called out. "At least you have some skill…AH!" She stopped and yelled out in surprise. The flame hand she had been using to chase Mikoto was less than ten feet away. The flame hand had been traveling in a straight line towards Mikoto who had been rushing at Wrath. Wrath ignored it for a moment and left it on roughly what could be considered autopilot, in a straight line, while she was going to roast Mikoto with her other hand. But because Mikoto had surprised her, she completely forgot about the hand and focused on the metal flying at her. The brief lapse in concentration and the explosion blocked her view for a moment allowing the hand to get close to her. Her surprise also delayed her reaction speed for a split second and the hand collided into her. A huge explosion of flames engulfed her, along with a twenty foot radius around. The flames erupted into the air like a geyser.

Mikoto had kept moving on her metal surfboard even after throwing the other piece of metal. She knew standing still around a flame user was not a smart idea. You had to keep moving until you had an opening. One hit on a person with flames can cause serious and sometimes fatal damage. She stopped a good 100 feet away as the explosion faded and only a cloud of dust was left. He couldn't see through it, but the sudden quiet let her relax. _She can't continue fighting after that right? She hit herself with her own flames point blank._ She gave a small sigh of relief, but was worried Wrath might have killed herself. Mikoto did not want to kill anyone because she had seen firsthand what killing was like.

Her worry wasn't warranted. A second later a dark red flame erupted like a volcano. From the dust and flames Wrath's figure emerged into the air. She was no longer human anymore, but resembled the creature made of pure flames she saw on the beach. The humanoid shape of her body was now just a dark crimson red while her previous red her was now fire wiping around behind her. Her white eyes pierced through all the other flames and dust to glare daggers at Mikoto. Mikoto shivered slightly as she felt the pure hatred and murderous aura around Wrath. She reached into her pocket and grabbed a coin, but part of her didn't think it would be enough.

"YOU B%&$^!" Wrath roared as the flames continued to grow. Mikoto felt the temperature in the arena increase again. The stone floor and wall near Wrath started to melt without any contact. "You dare to hit me with my own ability. There is a limit to your arrogance. A slow death still isn't enough for you. I will burn your skin, scorch your bones, and turn your head into a trophy. But first, you will suffer more then you have ever before. Screw the rules. I have power and I think I will kill your friend first. I don't care what the Herald has his so called law say." She started to levitate toward the blue shield covering Ruiko. "Let's see how calm you are after that."

"Get away from her," Mikoto yelled in fear and anger. _There is no way I'm going to let her touch Saten._ She shot several enormous bolts of electricity at Wrath, or the monster formally known as Wrath. The flames just wiped around Wrath and intercepted all of Mikoto's electricity. Wrath wasn't even paying attention to her anymore. She just moved over to where Ruiko was laying. Mikoto rushed towards Wrath and pulled out her coin. She flipped it into the air. When it fell and hit her finger, she flicked it. A loud boom echoed around the coliseum as the coin was jettison by her electricity at several times the speed of sound. The railgun flew right at Wrath and intercepted her right in the middle of the humanoid torso. Wrath yelled out briefly in pain as her form started to disperse. A second later it started to reform again. The face of fire looked at Mikoto for a moment.

"You will pay for this," Wrath said softly, but anger permeated her voice. "You can't hurt me. I have become pure flames and will just reform my body as soon as you try to damage it."

"Y-you're immortal?" Mikoto asked shocked.

"Only Pride can claim true immortality," Wrath said simply moving toward Ruiko. "I am just pure fire and will just reform like the phoenix. My flames are rage incarnate." She raised her hand above the blue shield protecting Ruiko. "Now your pain and my revenge will begin."

"NOOOOO!" Mikoto called out. She called a thunderbolt from the sky directly on Wrath. For a second, her humanoid form disappeared completely, but a couple seconds later it reformed. "Don't do it!" she cried out desperately. She couldn't stop Wrath from attacking her friend as fear overwhelmed her. She reached for the choker Jason gave her as Wrath slammed down on the blue barrier with her hands.

A sudden burst of blue light emitted from the barrier as Wrath touched it. The light was so bright Mikoto had to look away, her hand frozen over the choker. Wrath was blown backwards and the majority of her flames disappeared. Her flame body was still intact along with a small number of flames around her. The barrier was also still resolutely intact. "Why won't you break?" Wrath yelled out angrily as fire erupted around her again. Mikoto watched her once again slam her fists on the barrier. This time she kept her hands on it as she engulfed the barrier with fire. Mikoto wanted to yell at her, to get her to stop, but her voice failed her. She was frozen in fear and confusion. If she flipped the choker she might be able to win, but if she couldn't, she and Ruiko would die. She also didn't know if the barrier would hold against Wrath.

"Break already you piece of shit!" Wrath yelled pounding her flames on the barrier. Once again a burst of blue light emitted from the barrier and pushed Wrath back while extinguishing a lot of her flames. She staggered backwards and while her flame body was intact, she looked a lot more solid. Mikoto lowered her hand. Whatever the shield was made of, it was protecting Ruiko and Mikoto might not need to use her final trump card yet. "Damn it!" Wrath yelled. "I want to see her suffer, break already."

The barrier changed from blue to white and an image of a man appeared above it. Mikoto did not recognize the tall man with long white silky hair, until he spoke. The voice was ice cold, chilling her to the bone, and she knew who he was. He was the man who saved Wrath from her and Touma at the museum. _Damn, I should have guessed he was the leader. Whoever met him is probably in trouble._

"Wrath," he said his voice calm, but it sent shiver down Mikoto's spine. To her surprise, she saw Wrath's flame body shaking in fear when confronted by this man. "I knew you would not be content with following my laws, so I set up this reminder. Should you attempt to break this barrier again, you will die. There is no second chance, there is no compromise, if you attempt to, you WILL die."

"But Herald," Wrath tried to say.

"You have been warned," the Herald said. Mikoto felt the weight of his words even though his tone had not changed. His words were final and nothing Wrath could say would change it. Wrath knew this and stopped talking. "You will still be punished." The image raised his hand and a bolt of blue light hit Wrath. She flew back a good fifty feet and smashed through a stone wall. The flame body disappeared as she stood back up and she looked normal once again. "Do no fail me."

Mikoto had no idea what happened but she realized Wrath looked weaken. _I guess this Herald doesn't care about his allies._ She started to spark with electricity figuring this was probably her best chance to defeat Wrath. She arced a bolt of electricity at Wrath, who was still stunned by the recent event, and she yelled out in pain as she was electrocuted. "Give up," Mikoto yelled at Wrath. "He doesn't care about you at all. I don't even know why you follow him."

"You have no idea how this world works," gasped Wrath getting back to her feet glaring at Mikoto with pure loathing. "You were sheltered in the city and born with power. The darkness of this world consumes everyone. The Herald pulled me out and gave me a way to channel my wrath."

"What are you talking about?" Mikoto asked. "Nothing that happened could justify killing others."

"I am Wrath!" she yelled out suddenly. "I am the incarnate of hatred and rage. I will not lose to a mere spoiled brat!" The flames grew around her and started to expand engulfing everything near her. Metal started to melt, stone dissolved, and anything still flammable disappeared. "Ever since I was a child, I learned the power of rage and over the years harnessed it to annihilate all my enemies. Brats like you could never understand me."

"Try me," Mikoto said still sparking and gathering as much iron sand as she could under the ground. She began to realize something. The angrier Wrath got the more fire she seemed to control. When she got surprised or happy, her fire diminished. _Maybe if I get her to talk, her fire will weaken so I can defeat her. When he was completely engulfed in anger, she was virtually untouchable._ "I've seen a lot of horrible things." This was true as she had walked through the dark side of Academy City. Her eyes darkened as she remembered those times. During Accelerator's level 6 experiment, he killed over ten thousand clones of her, the first sisters. She saw firsthand the darkness people in this world contained in order to achieve their goals.

For a second Wrath looked at her directly in the eyes and smiled slightly. "Maybe you aren't quite as spoiled as I thought. Your eyes have anger and darkness deep down, not nearly as much as mine, but anger and hatred is present in everyone." Her flames continued to spiral around her, but they did not have the same intensity as when she entered her fire form. "Do you think you could survive in the world of light if you watched your entire family being butchered by rebels?"

Mikoto's eyes went wide and words failed her. Finally she managed to choke out, "W-what are you saying? You better not be threatening my family."

"Not this time," Wrath said smirking evilly. "Though, that may be fun later. I was six years old when my village was invaded by rebels and all of us were slaughtered except me. I wasn't as lucky. I was taken away and spent years as a slave. I knew who killed my parents and I saw those b#$^%#* every day. Do you know how painful that is? I pretended to be broken and was abused daily."

Mikoto took a step back at her words. "Y-you," she stuttered but she really didn't have any words to respond to Wrath's statement. _If she's telling the truth, no wonder she is so angry and messed up._ A shiver went down her back when she thought about if she was in that situation.

"It ends well though," Wrath said as her grin widened. The grin made her face turn scary, it wasn't a happy smile. "I manage to sneak a knife with me and, during the night, I slaughtered the two drunken fools who killed my family. As the blood rushed over my hands I felt something I didn't feel for years, pure bliss. I laughed and continued stabbing them as I unleashed my years of anger. All those years of hating them came to fruition and I won. Another person entered and I killed him too. It was so great. I killed four more of those invaders before I was shot. They threw me into the river to die."

"How did you survive?" Mikoto asked softly. The story was getting to her even if she didn't want to admit it.

"The Herald saved me," she explained. "He said I had a future, but needed to learn magic. He sent me to learn under one of his subordinates. I discovered the wonders of flame magic, as it was linked with my rage. No one could stand before me. Less than five years ago, he called me and bestowed upon me the Mark of Wrath since the previous vessel died. Now I can kill anyone who dares anger me." She threw back her head and laughed wildly.

"Y-you're insane," Mikoto said sparking up again. "I can sympathize with having a tragic pass, but I can't throw away my life. Other people are counting on me. I will win no matter what it takes." She felt her determination grow as the faces of all her friends came to her mind. Not just Ruiko whose life was on the line now, but Kuroko, Kazari, Jason, Misaki, and even Accelerator. Touma's face swam clearly to the front of her mind and she would make sure to help him to her last breath, no matter who his enemy was.

"I see," Wrath said her eyes narrowing. "I am done playing around with you now. It is time for you to feel my curse for yourself." Mikoto froze knowing the power of her curse ability. She had only thought of one possible way to protect herself, but it was risky and if she failed, it would probably allow Wrath to kill her. "Suffer under the weight of your sins and learn you place before my wrath."

"AHHHHHH," Mikoto screamed as the worse pain she ever felt washed over her. She never had an opportunity to block the attack. Every fiber of her being was on fire. She couldn't think straight and everything became blurry. She fell to her hands and knees. She never realized how much pain a human body could feel without passing out. If she was able to think straight she might have realized this was part of Wrath's curse. It was designed to make an enemy suffer and if they passed out, they wouldn't. She continued to yell in pain as she struggled on the ground.

Wrath just kept laughing. She knew she had won. Her curse was unblockable and even the strongest individuals would fall to it. She watched Mikoto writhing on the ground yelling in pain and trying to get up, but barely able to move. It filled her with joy as she reveled in Mikoto's suffering. _How shall I kill her?_ Her mind started thinking of several interesting ways to prolong Mikoto's suffering. She still wished she could kill the friend first and watch as Mikoto's last rays of hope disappeared. She looked up at Ruiko still in the impregnable barrier. _The Herald is quite powerful._ A movement caught her eye and she looked back at Mikoto and gasped. "How? That's impossible?"

Mikoto was sparking slightly and was slowly struggling to her feet. "Heh," she grinned looking at Wrath. "I hoped this would work, but it's still really difficult." A human body feels through their nerve endings. When someone would feel pain, the nerves send a mixture of electrical and chemical signals to the brain indicating something had irritated the nerve endings. Mikoto knew enough about biology to know this fact. She used her electricity to block most of the nerve endings from sending this signal to her brain, therefore numbing the pain she would be feeling. She had to make sure she did not numb all the endings or she wouldn't be able to move without using her ability constantly to move her nerves and muscles. The only reason she could numb the nerve endings with just electricity is she could generate it constantly. If she also used it to control her muscles, most of her focus would be just on her body. She used the minimum amount of electricity to block nerves so she could still focus on fighting. The end result was the pain was nothing more than her entire body feeling slightly sore, but she could still move like normal. "I was worried on how your curse affected me," Mikoto said. "But it looked like my electricity was able to cancel it out."

"You… you insufferable brat," Wrath growled. "My curse is unstoppable. The pain will keep increasing till you beg for death." Fire began to wrap around her and raised a hand while pointing a finger at Mikoto. "Die already!" A line of flame flew from her outstretched hand and flew toward Mikoto. She quickly dove to the side as the fire shot right through where her chest would have been. It drilled straight through the stone behind her and left a two inch wide hole in the stone wall behind her. "Quit dodging you brat." Flames exploded under her and she lifted herself into the air once again. She made slicing motions with her hands and several blades of fire flew at Mikoto.

Mikoto magnetized herself to pull herself to a nearby metal pile to dodge the flames. The flames left deep gashes in the stone floor a couple inches wide and several feet long. "I might if you ask nicely," Mikoto called back. She focused on the iron sand she collected below the surface. She didn't have a lot because the space was finite and Wrath had melted a lot of it, but she still had enough to work with. The sand erupted from the ground behind Wrath and formed a solid ball as it flew towards Wrath. Wrath was to focus on Mikoto to notice it and the mass of metal sand collided into her back knocking her to the ground. "You should just give up."

"Never," Wrath roared angrily as red flames erupted all around her. Her body rose into the air and started to turn crimson again. "You will die." She raised both hands into the air and several streams of pure fire started to collect above her. The amount kept increasing as she fed more flames into it. "I'm not going to miss this time. Nothing will be left of you except a charred stain on the ground." Wrath was tired of these games and only had one thought on her mind, kill.

Mikoto didn't really have a chance at dodging but it didn't stop her form trying. She used her full power to pull all the metal she could from the stands. All the metal debris from the remains of countless encounters with Wrath's temper started to gather in front of her. _I need more or it's not going to block it._ She reached out to her limit pulling more than she had before. The ground beneath her, weaken by Wrath's flame blades and the weight of the metal wall, began to crack.

"DIE!" Wrath yelled and she released the giant ball of fire at Mikoto. The enormous fireball collided with the metal wall Mikoto had made and the explosion rocked the entire coliseum. The flames went in every direction along with pieces of metal as the force from the explosion blew the debris everywhere. The blast of heat melted the nearby metal and most of the remainder of the metal became red hot. The dust cleared and a huge puddle of liquid metal was left in the middle of the arena with a few small piles of debris surrounding it. Wrath could feel the heat emitting form the remains. She started to laugh madly. "I win!" she yelled triumphant. "No brat can stand before my rage." She continued to laugh but then stopped. "No it can't be." She looked at the blue barrier surrounding Ruiko. _It should have disappeared when she died. If it is still up then…_

Her question was answered. The ground exploded as a coin came flying through it right at Wrath. The sudden explosion surprised her and the coin blew straight through her flame body. The flames scattered as her torso disassembled. A minute later it started to slowly form back together. _Damn, the fight has gone on too long, I can't maintain this form much longer._ She backed up from the hole in the ground as Mikoto flew up out of it, riding another piece of metal. This metal actually looked like a skateboard, about three feet long and a foot wide. "How did you survive?"

"The ground below me broke right before your attack hit," Mikoto explained dusting herself off. "I admit it, I was lucky." She looked at the remains of the wall she made and the large puddle of liquid metal. "I'm glad it did, I don't think I would have survived otherwise." She rode her metal board up into the stands to move away from the carnage in the middle of the arena. "Most of the heat went upwards and to the side, while a minimum amount went down into the area below the ring. I just guessed where you were because I figured you wouldn't move after thinking you had won. People like you tend to be really arrogant and let their guards down when they think they won." She stepped off her board and shot another bolt of blue-white electricity at Wrath.

Wrath was stunned and couldn't believe Mikoto's good luck. She still managed to shoot a jet of fire to intercept Mikoto's electricity. She was pissed but another feeling was mixed in, one she was not use to feeling. She was impressed at Mikoto's tenacity. Most people would have accepted their fate after witnessing her power, but the girl in front of her kept fighting. Of course, she knew it was all in vain. No matter how much Mikoto tried to win, she would burn like all the others. "I see," Wrath said slowly. "You have the devil's luck. But luck will wear our eventually and you will die."

"I don't need luck," Mikoto said. "I will…" She was interrupted by thin line of fire that flew from Wrath. Wrath had aimed her finger through her flame body so Mikoto did not see the attack till it was already coming at her. She was barely able to move to the side and the line of fire tore through the right side of her shirt, setting it on fire. "Shit," she said and didn't really have a choice as the flames were spreading fast. She pulled off her shirt and threw it to the ground. _This is embarrassing,_ she thought to herself. _I hope Touma doesn't see me._ She looked up in anger at Wrath. "I really liked that shirt!" she yelled angrily. She stopped and frowned when Wrath started to make a weird noise. It took a second to realize what it was as the tone changed to something she knew.

Wrath was laughing.

More specifically, Wrath was not laughing at the prospect of winning or the fact she burnt Mikoto's shirt, she was laughing at Mikoto. "Are you really a middle school student?" Wrath asked.

"What do you mean by that?" Mikoto growled angrily a vein throbbing in her head. _If she is making fun of my chest, I'm going to…._

"What is with… that… childish… underwear?" Wrath asked between gasps as she just kept laughing.

Mikoto looked down at her chest and saw she was wearing her favorite Gekota brand underwear. It was bright green just like the frog and had his symbol on it. She grew red, with both embarrassment and anger. "You have no idea what you are talking about," she yelled back. "Gekota is a perfectly respectable brand."

"Yea if you are in primary school," Wrath said smirking. Mikoto was so angry at her she didn't even realize Wrath was slowly turning back into her human form as she was laughing so hard at Mikoto's choice of clothing.

"You really like making me mad," Mikoto said while the vein in her head started throbbing madly. She was so close to just exploding into a rage like Wrath had done several times before. "Just because you can't understand how cute Gekota is. All you like to do is destroy."

"Destruction is an art," Wrath replied still smirking. "But I wouldn't expect a brat to understand. After all, you obviously have not matured yet. With your childish choice in underwear, your terrible preference in guys, and your undeveloped body," Wrath looked at Mikoto's chest and put a hand on hers smiling broadly," it will probably be awhile for you."

Wrath said it.

Something inside of Mikoto snapped.

Mikoto gave Wrath an evil grin as her right fist shook in anger. Her left arm was covering her chest in embarrassment. "You, You," she stammered as the words would not form. Suddenly she yelled out with a voice full of rage. "YOU B^$&%!" Lighting started crackling all around her and shooting off in every direction. Several bolts headed toward Wrath, but she just intercepted them with jets of fire. Dark clouds started to form above them and lighting crackled in the sky. Mikoto wasn't even paying attention anymore. Her mind was clouded with the desire to beat Wrath into the ground for her remarks. "How dare you make fun of… of my…." She couldn't finish the sentence, something not noticed by Wrath.

Wrath wasn't sure what her motive for doing this was. Maybe it was fun for her, maybe she wanted to make Mikoto suffer, maybe she wanted to embarrass her like Mikoto did to her. For some reason, she couldn't get the anger she once felt toward the girl in front of her. Anyways, Wrath did not stop there and continued to belittle her. "With such a small chest, I don't know how you would attract any kind of guys. I'm sure Lust could give you some pointers on how to make yourself look good. Envy told us that boy who wields the Imagine Breaker, Touma Kamijou, likes girls with large chests. So the blonde mental user is way ahead of yo…"

"SHUT UP AND DIE!" Mikoto yelled. The dark sky flashed with lighting and then unleashed its full fury. Thunder echoed across the sky as several lightning bolts struck different places around the coliseum. Wrath looked up in time to see one of the larger ones come straight toward her. She flung her hand into the air as fire erupted from all around her and intercepted it about thirty feet above her. Her flames however where not able to block it completely and she felt her skin tingle as some of the electricity got through. She turned to look at Mikoto who didn't seem to care what she was hitting. The lighting was striking random places. The problem was there was A LOT of metal everywhere, including the large puddle of liquid metal in the middle of the arena. As lighting hit the metal junk piles the energy was transmitting all over the place. Even with her fire, Wrath couldn't defend against simultaneous strikes from all directions. If the electricity gets to close, even if she hits it with her flames, the explosion would still impact her.

"You stupid brat!" Wrath yelled as her anger rose. "I'm going to kill you for doing this shit! How dare you threaten me?!"

"I don't want to hear that bull coming from you!" Mikoto yelled back. "You tried to kill me first. Don't get upset when people try to defend themselves."

"This is more the just trying to defend yourself!" Wrath roared back. "You are destroying the entire coliseum. I still had some stuff I liked in here." She felt her anger rising to the breaking point. "You will die now." Her body started to turn blood red as the crimson flames once again wrapped around her turning her into a living entity of fire again. "Your body will burn before my wrath."

Mikoto didn't waste a second. When Wrath started to transform back into her flame form, Mikoto immediately hopped on her makeshift metal skateboard. She propelled it using her magnetism into the arena and skidded across the surface of the metal pool until she arrived safely on the other side. She put some good distance between them as Wrath fulling transformed. Wrath was pissed and Mikoto knew it. _Come on fall for my trap._ The thunderstorm above them was growing as Mikoto was also pissed. Even though she says die to people a lot in anger, she has never killed before and she didn't plan to start. However, Wrath's flame form was way too powerful to deal with normal means. Even her railgun didn't seem to faze Wrath in that form. "Catch me if you can."

"There is no hope for you," Wrath's voice echoed across the arena. For some reason her voice was softer, but was more venomous then her previous tantrums. Mikoto gave an involuntary shiver as she heard those words. _There is so much rage in them._ Wrath's crimson flame body started to turn pitch black; the flames around her slowly disappeared, except for the blood red flames dancing around on her head like hair. Even though the flames had shrunk, the temperature in the ring was increasing and Mikoto felt a lot of sweat form. Wrath's flame body was so refined, yet the danger it emitted was real. Wrath raised an arm and brought it down to her side. A strip of black flame extended into the side of the coliseum. In an instant, a strip of the structure disappeared. Well it didn't quite disappear, there was some liquid on the ground as stone and other materials melted, but it was like the coliseum was a cake and someone just cut out a triangular piece. The air became slightly opaque as different gasses floated up into the air.

Mikoto could only stare in shock. _Was that sublimation?_ _She actually turned solid stone directly into gas? What the hell are those black flames? They defy common sense. I only have one shot. If it doesn't work it's over._ She remembered the choker. _Well, guess I have one other final trump card, but will it be enough for that?_ She gazed at the black flame form of Wrath as it levitated toward her from the stands. It seemed like she was not in a hurry and Mikoto could not blame her. With a simple wave of her hand, she could disintegrate the area Mikoto was in. The storm above them was growing in intensity. _It's ready, but will it be enough?_

"Flames of Hatred," Wrath called out. "My black flames will destroy anything they come in contact with. They are the true embodiment of my wrath. There is no future for you." She floated over the pool of metal and it began to bubble as she passed over it. When she was right in the middle Mikoto grinned and Wrath stopped. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"You walked into it," Mikoto said simply as the sky roared. A single bolt of lightning she had been nurturing in the sky struck right at Wrath. This lightning bolt was gigantic and completely covered Wrath. Not only that, Mikoto had lured Wrath over a pool of liquid metal. When the lightning bolt struck, some of the energy was absorbed into the metal, but a lot of it was reflected. The electricity hit Wrath directly and reflected to hit her again. The remainder of the electricity scattered in every direction. For some reason the electricity that was scattering all over the place was hitting piles of conveniently placed metal and flowing back to the middle. Stone and concrete were not the best conductors and the coliseum was made of it.

Wrath yelled in pain as the electricity kept finding its way back to her, helped a lot by Mikoto. "What did you do brat?"

"When you made my really angry," Mikoto explained as she kept cycling the electricity and adding hers into the mix. "The lightning was just a distraction. I was using magnetism to move the remaining metal to be able to focus electricity into the middle. When I finally got you in position, I released the lightning and now it will keep flooding back to you. One strike, but you will get hit so many times."

"YOU BRAT!" Wrath roared as she exploded in black flame. Mikoto slid on her metal board all the way to the stands on the far side to escape the flames. When she stopped and looked, the entire center area of the coliseum was gone. A hole, over 100 feet deep was all that was left. The nearby walls were crumbling into it and the rocks kept echoing as they fell and bounced off the sides of the pit. At the bottom a single figure could be seen.

Wrath was lying on her back looking up into the sky. She could not believe she lost to a mere kid. The black flames do not last long and the seemingly endless cycle of electricity caused her to lose focus and the flames backfired. _It really was a double edged sword._ She looked at her left arm where a black symbol was printed. It looked like a V shape with the top ends sticking to the right and left and a small diamond in the middle. _Brat, I can't believe it, you beat me. I wish I could see you die horribly to the Herald._ The rune on her back glowed and she felt pain through her body and then nothing. All that remained was a pile of salt.

Mikoto watched as Wrath glowed white in the giant hole then disappeared into a pile of salt. She refused to look away even though she wanted to. She didn't want to kill, but those magic symbols kept forcing those people to die. She made a fist. _The Herald guy must be the one making those symbols. He has to be stopped._ She suddenly felt a pain on her left arm and looked to see the symbol that was on Wrath appeared on it. _Dang, I forgot about this .It's the same thing that happened to Touma._ She decided to worry about it later and instead looked in the direction of Ruiko. The area she was in was undamaged and the blue barrier was gone. Mikoto quickly ran over to her. She saw Ruiko did not appear to be hurt and she gently shook her awake.

"Saten-san," she said. "Are you ok?"

"Eh Misaka-san?" Ruiko said sleepily as she sat up. "I knew we would get rescued. Eh…?" Mikoto suddenly gave her a hug.

"Thank god you are alright," Mikoto said as tears filled her eyes. "I was afraid they might have killed you and just pretended to keep you alive."

Ruiko smiled slightly and patted Mikoto's head. "I'm fine," she said. "I'm sure I can guess who else came with you and they should be able to rescue Uiharu."

"I know," Mikoto said wiping her tears. "I believe in them."

"Same," Ruiko said then smiled. "I can see now why Shirai-san always complains about your choice in underwear."

Mikoto looked down and quickly covered herself with her arms turning red. "Don't you start with me. Wrath burned up my shirt." Ruiko laughed at Mikoto's embarrassed expression. They both looked up as the sky began to crack. "I hope those cracks mean we are leaving this place, I'm exhausted."

* * *

 **So I bet a lot of people thought she would use the choker of ultimate power. But that would have been too easy. I like the drawn out fights more and using the surroundings to your advantage. Wrath had a crappy childhood yes, but she really was insane and couldn't stick around. Electricity and the nervous system is pretty interesting stuff, I simplified it greatly, if you are into biology. So I think I am going to save Accelerator for last so next fight will be Jason vs Greed.**

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or idea. I love reading them**

 **Jason: Bout time I get a chance to show off. My first solo fight, yay.**

 **Accelerator: No one cares about your fight. They all want to see mine.**

 **Jason: Ouch that hurts. I'm going to tell everyone who your girlfriend is now.**

 **Accelerator: I'm prepared to kill you.**

 **Me: No fighting, you both are going to have plenty of that soon.**

 **Mikoto: Is anyone going to congratulate me?**

 **Kuroko: I knew you would win onee-sama.**

 **Misaki: It was kind of barbaric though.**

 **Mikoto: No one asked you.**

 **Touma: You did well Mikoto.**

 **Misaki: Better than me?**

 **Touma: …**

 **Mikoto: Answer the question.**

 **Accelerator: Wow, I didn't think the hero could run away like that.**


	31. Greed

**These last couple of chapters came out faster than others because since Friday, I had a really bad sore throat. It was so bad I could barely talk. SO I got to stay home and do nothing but watch TV and write awesome Index stories. You all benefit by getting chapters released early and I do not get bored out of my mind. Everyone wins. Enjoy the next fight, Greed vs Jason.**

 **There was a conversation about adding** **Othinus to this story. I can't say it is impossible, but there are no plans anytime soon to add her. I have several plans already and a big arc once the Sin Saga finishes so the story really is just beginning.**

 **Agent: BOOOOOOO. Go sit in the corner.**

 **Anyway, let's go to the fight. These two fighters like to talk a lot about nothing important. They are both cheaters too so the fight is a little different and less explosions everywhere like Mikoto's and Sogiita's.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

"Without you," Jason growled. "I wouldn't have had to go through a living hell." His shadow swords were still being held around him by the shadow hands. He was preparing himself for anything. The only power he knew Greed had from years ago was magic to increase his speed. But through experience, Greed would never enter a fight he believed he could not win.

"Doesn't progress require some sacrifice?" Greed asked brushing some dirt off his suit. "After all, isn't that what science does? Experimenting with animals and so forth?"

"You can achieve progress without killing others," Jason said glaring at Greed. He balled his right hand into a fist. _I'm glad no one else is here. They wouldn't want to see me like this._ The buzzing in his head grew louder. _Yea, I should find out how he survived._

"I know you can," Greed acknowledged. "But it is faster and more efficient with some sacrifice."

"How did you survive?" Jason asked. "I know my memory is blurry of that event, but I could have sworn I personally ripped out your heart."

The smile flicked on Greed's face for a second as he remembered. "When you lost control and killed our previous Wrath I had to step in. However, your newly established power was too much for me at the time and you did take my heart. But you left immediately afterwards. I was dying but the human brain can still function for a short time after your heart stops. I saw the body of Wrath, her heart was still intact."

Jason's eyes widened. "You were able to take it from Wrath? In your condition?" The buzzing grew loud again, but he ignored it.

Greed smiled. "Even at that time, I was part of The Fallen. I was tasked with other responsibilities while the Herald finished gathering the necessities to revive our master. Remember, I am Greed. Anything I desire belongs to me. It doesn't matter who owns it and what it is, if I want it, I take it. I desired her heart and I took it." He put a hand on his chest over his heart. "When I see you my heart still pounds in rage. Wrath has not forgiven you and her vengeance still exists within me."

"How?" Jason asked. "You shouldn't have been able to move let alone perform a transplant."

"You do not know my magic," Greed said smiling widely. "I kept it hidden from you and the others. I did think that one girl who hung out with you a lot managed to guess some of my power. She never did trust me. I believe her name was…"

"SHUT UP!" Jason interrupted. "You do not deserve to speak her name with your foul tongue. It was your fault she died."

"Really?" Greed said, his smile slipping slightly. "I seem to recall you killed her after she tried to save you."

Jason stopped and the buzzing in his head grew more pronounced. "Everyone else died because YOU made us cast that spell after we developed our abilities in Academy City."

"Yes it was pretty tragic," Greed said nodding. "Your ability allowed you to survive though. And you got the powerful shadow ability in the process. Though, I always wondered why you don't use it to its full potential. When I first saw it, you crushed skilled magicians in an instant. Now you have to use a lot more strategy then raw power."

"I refuse to give you the satisfaction," Jason said. "But before I finish what I started, what spell did you make us cast back then. I feel like I deserve to hear that from you." _Maybe I can figure out what their plan is. Greed is pretty smart so it's probably a waste._ Angry buzzing filled his head. _No need for that language. It's simply a small gamble with no downside._

"I'm hurt," Greed said insincerely with his hand over his heart again. "The spell's primary purpose was a failure because too many of the casters died. The development of your shadow was a completely unexpected development. As for what the purpose was." Greed stopped and shook his head. "You have not earned the right to know. Why don't you ask the Herald, if you survive."

"I see," Jason said glancing around the coliseum. He knew Greed must now know about all of his abilities. Jason hated rushing forward into things. He always liked to plan several steps ahead and then have back up plans for every one of his plans. For the last couple years he mastered this art. He only knew of one person with the ability to outplay him. The person he referred to as the biggest a$$&*^$ in Academy City. Greed only knew him for less than two years, plus whatever the spies told him, but, during that time frame, Jason was young and a lot more reckless. _I might be able to use this against him._ He heard more buzzing but just ignored it. "I'm good at surviving and I see you are too. But I don't know how you expect to beat me. I'm stronger then you."

"You might be," Greed acknowledged Jason's words. "If you could use the full power of your shadow. You won't, and I know this. You are nothing but a coward."

"You don't know anything," Jason argued.

"You won't even use your magic name I helped give you," Greed said and his smile widened. "You liked it when you first heard it."

"Shut up," Jason growled again. "I didn't know what it meant then, now I do. I am never going to say that garbage."

"But it's such a great name," Greed said. "I mean only one person held it before you. I personally like it." He said something but Jason's immediate response was covering his ears to block out the name. "I see, you really hate it. I'm hurt."

"You really like talking," Jason said angrily. "You should have just stayed dead and did the world a favor."

"Talking is just people being civilized," Greed said. "You mean I should have stayed dead like the girl who cast the spell with you. Didn't you lov…" He disappeared from the spot he was in as a shadow hand with a sword extended suddenly from Jason. It slashed where he was half a second before.

"I thought I told you not to speak of her," Jason growled looking toward the spot where Greed now stood. _He's just as fast as I remember._

"Quick to temper," Greed said shaking his head. "Here I thought you would have matured and not be so impulsive like when you were younger." He pulled out a short sword from behind him. "I guess you leave me no choice. I have to end your life. You see, this space is set up so only one of us can leave when the other dies. I hope you have said your goodbyes."

"I have reasons to live," Jason said seriously. The normal joking tone he always used in Academy City had disappeared completely when he met Greed. Greed was from a part of his past he thought he left behind him. He realized, however, scars still remain no matter how long ago they were obtained. Greed had caused him irreversible harm years ago and now he had reappeared in front of him. _He's leaving me no choice but to kill him again._ He put a hand up to his head as the buzzing seemed to yell at him. _You are right, I did promise._

"You don't look well," Greed said studying Jason's face. "As a favor to our friendship, I'll try to make this fast." He vanished from view for an instant. He didn't really disappeared though; his speed was just so fast it was hard to see with the human eye. A couple of Jason's swords flew at him, but he effortlessly dodged them. He moved behind Jason, and before Jason could turn around, Greed jabbed the sword at his back. He stopped when the sword was less than an inch away from Jason. Greed quickly took a step back and put a good thirty feet between them. "Hmm," he said. "Your shirt is just part of your shadow. You really are full of surprises. If my sword made contact, your shadow would have stopped it and probably engulf it and me."

Jason turned around. "It is," he said. One of my favorite defenses and it saves me a lot of money on shirts. You will not believe how many fights just make clothes unusable. All those explosions, bullets, and blades flying everywhere are not shirt friendly." Jason sent two of his shadow sword wielding hands at Greed. Greed sidestepped the first one effortlessly, but Jason predicted the direction he would move. The second hand was slightly behind the first and moved into the direction Greed went. Greed still managed to dodge it, but the sword made a small tear in his suit.

"You have improved," Greed said. "Actually predicting my movements and controlling multiple shadow creations at once. I might have to revise my strategy."

"You won't have time," Jason said as his shadow hands wielding the swords started to strike. The hand stretched out and swung the blades at Greed. Greed's speed allowed him to continue dodging easily. As soon as a blade was near him, he quickly added a burst of speed to move out of the way. He kept circling Jason, but Jason noticed he wasn't trying to approach. _He's planning something._ Jason upped the speed of his attacks but Greed was still able to avoid them. His blades kept slicing into the ground and walls, leaving deep cuts in the solid stone and concrete. The blades didn't seem to be taking any damage like normal metal ones would.

Greed kept moving watching Jason. It was not like he didn't want to get close, he just couldn't. While the shadow hands wielding weapons were a threat, he could deal with them with his speed. There were two other problems. The first one was the shadows Jason kept near him to prevent any close range attacks. If he tried to strike him with his sword, it would probably be caught by the shadow. The second issue was the way Jason used his shadow. Several arms would seem to attack Greed and he would be forced to dodge, only to find another sword stabbing at the location he moved into. Jason was purposely attacking him from specific directions in order to force him to dodge the way Jason wanted. Then Jason would attack with a hidden blade he kept back out of Greed sight. Greed was slightly impressed, but there was something he realized that made this fight much less interesting.

"You pretend to be angry," Greed called out to Jason. "But there is no killing intent behind your attacks. You are just trying to incapacitate me. That won't work here."

"You say that," Jason replied. "But you don't have any way to stop it." He frowned slightly as the angry buzzing reprimanded him. _I'm keeping my guard up, but I want him to believe I'm being overconfident._ The buzzing calmed down slightly. _I never get overconfident anymore until I am 100% sure I won. I know what happens when you do._

 _That is not entirely true,_ Greed thought to himself. While it is true his favorite magic to boost his speed is useless, he is not such a weak mage he can't use other magic. He was not like Wrath or Gluttony though. He did not have powerful offensive magic like fire or gravity. If he had either of those kinds of powers he could have forced a direct confrontation and attack without a physical weapon. The reason he liked to use knives and swords is, because of his speed, he can defeat people quickly and efficiently. Also, by using small blades, he can avoid ruining anything he liked, such as jewelry, weapons, clothes, and other things people would carry that could be destroyed with flashy explosions. No, he was much more subtle then that and his curse mark ability was the very definition of unfairness.

"Do you honestly think I would have fought you one on one with only speed based magic?" Greed asked. "You know me better than that. I am quite resourceful." He pulled off one of his thin black gloves on his left hand to reveal a black mark. The symbol looked like a backwards C with a boomerang shaped arrow on top. Between the ends of the C was a perfect equilateral triangle. "This is my curse mark. You should be aware of the power it grants to the wielder."

When Greed had revealed his mark, Jason immediately put more distance between them. _Shit, I don't know anything about the mark's power. If it is anything like Sloth's power, it is going to end the fight in an instant._ His shadow arms retracted and started to swirl around him defensively. The buzzing sound turned into a worried tone. _I'll be fine. I prepared backups for hopefully everything._ Jason casually reached into his pocket and held tight to a stack of cards. "Going to use your trump card already?" Jason asked trying to taunt Greed. Jason was hoping Greed would become overconfident, even if it was a long shot. "If you use it now and fail, it's all over for you."

Greed smiled, but it wasn't an understanding sort of smile. It was the smile of someone who just got away with doing something bad and knowing they succeeded. "It is my trump card, but it is also my favorite ability." He raised his left hand and stretched it out toward Jason. "Everything I desire I can reach out and take." He closed his hand.

At first Jason didn't think anything happened. Everything was silent and he did not immediately notice anything was different. Greed was just standing there looking smug like usual. Jason frowned when he felt a light breeze chill him slightly. He looked down and saw nothing except his pants and dark blue undershirt. He looked back at Greed who was just watching him closely. _What did he do?_ He didn't hear anything and his eyes widened in shock. _DAMN IT, HE IS GREED._

Jason's shadow was gone.

Jason didn't even feel it disappear like the time it was ripped from him before it was complete. Even the way he applied the calculations to controlling his shadow were gone from his mind. He still knew them and could picture them in his mind, but he couldn't remember how he actually used them with his shadow. He watched the darkness start to emerge slowly from behind Greed. The shadow started to swirl around Greed and form a layer over his clothes, just like how Jason used it. _Shit, shit, shit. He took my shadow and it looks like he can use it. Did he steal my calculation process too? What do I do now? If he uses speed and my shadow I won't stand a chance. Don't panic, calmly analyze and be prepared to use everything you have prepared._ "How on earth did you manage to take my shadow ability?"

"The Mark of Greed allows me to steal anything I want as long as I can see it," Greed explained in a bored tone. "This is what allowed me to survive when you ripped out my heart. Maybe I should do the same thing to you so you can understand the pain I went through." He looked down at his arm with his face screwed up in concentration and the shadow started to swirl around it. "Interesting."

"Oh trust me," Jason replied. "There are a lot of things worse than simple physical pain."

Greed laughed. "Only for the weak that form emotional bonds and, even then, when you give them real pain, they quickly forget their loved ones. Isn't that why you are dating that one girl in Academy City?"

"Don't you dare…" Jason began.

"You know when Envy gave us information on her," Greed continued as if he had not been interrupted. "I thought she sounded familiar. She was quiet, hardworking, got along with everyone, and loves flowers. She reminded me of someone. Now who was that?" He put his hand up and rubbed his chin pretending to think.

"Shut up," Jason growled.

"Oh yea it was the girl you don't want me to talk about," Greed smiled as Jason's face contorted into pure anger. "Maybe if Wrath is defeated and she survived I will go and pay the girl a visit. Maybe keep her as a trophy of your defeat. I could probably freeze her in some type of metal and capture her look when I tell her your fate…"

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Greed was so surprised he barely reacted fast enough. He tilted his head to the side while simultaneously controlling his newly acquired shadow to protect himself. Jason had pulled out a pistol and shot three perfectly aligned shots at his vitals in quick succession. The first shot, which went directly toward his right eye, he was able to dodge because of his reaction speed. The second shot was toward his throat and the third shot was right where his heart was. He did the calculations to move his shadow to intercept the second and third bullets. They collided into the shadow about an inch away from his skin and the bullets stopped moving right when they hit. They flattened and fell to the floor with a soft clang. Greed was not able to do the calculations fast enough for the first bullet, but he could for the second and third. _These are tough, and against him even a tenth of a second could be deadly. But he actually pulled out a gun?_ What surprised him most was there was killing intent behind those shots and a single one of them could have been lethal. "Wow," Greed said with a look of shock on his face. "There was killing intent there."

"Don't you dare threaten her," Jason said his voice seeping with hatred. When Greed looked into his eyes, Greed saw nothing but anger and malice. "If you threaten her again, I promise you, death will be the best thing you could wish hope for."

"I don't believe it," Greed said shaking his head. "The loner actually develops attachments to his friends. I bet you are willing to go to the ends of the earth for all of them."

"You seem to be mistaken," Jason said his tone turning back to normal. "I don't have friends." He emphasized the S. "I have one person and everyone else are just part of the environment and have a specific use."

"There's the ice cold kid I know," Greed said excitedly as he recognized the tone and his words. "I knew you couldn't have changed that much."

"Then that is bad news for you," Jason said looking up and sneering. "It just makes killing you easier without unnecessary emotions." His mind was still racing around thinking of every possible way he could win. When Greed took his shadow he lost a lot of his combat ability. The good thing was during their talking, he realized he could still use magic. Greed had only taken his ability. Jason was also surprised at his own reaction to Greed's threats against Kazari. He had planned to pretend to be angry to make Greed drop his guard, but actually pulling out his gun and shooting Greed happened before his mind could think. _Damn, I can't act rationally when she's in danger. Damn it Jason, when did you get so soft._ He remembered Greed's words about the similarity between Kazari and her. _He may be right about that._

"Still so confident," Greed sighed. "I don't know how you do it, but I think killing you with your power will be the most fitting way for you to die." He frowned for a second and scrunched up his face in concentration for a moment, like he had a headache, then his face went back to normal. He lifted his right hand over his head and the shadows stretched above him. As the shadows formed together, Jason realized it was turning into a ten foot long shadow axe. The blade itself was a good four feet long. "How about I just slice you into two?" Greed asked. The handle of the shadow axe landed on his hand and he swung it at Jason.

Jason was a good forty feet away but at Greed swung the axe the pole stretched. Jason dodged to the side right before the axe hit with a defining boom. It cut right through the stone ground and left a large gash as the shadows retracted back to Greed. "You seem to be pretty good at controlling them," Jason said. "I figure you stole the information how to use it too?"

"Yes," Green answered. "I took all the information on how to control it and make the calculations. It really is an interesting ability, but it seems to be purely scientific, I thought it would have some kind of magic element." He frowned again and held a hand up to the side of his head. "What the hell is that noise?"

Jason realized what was happening and a grin found its way onto his face, even in this dangerous situation. "It's true those calculations are pretty difficult, but you get use to them. As for the magic side," he shrugged, "I think you are beginning to realize some of the magic aspects."

"What is this?" Greed said holding his head with both hands as the shadows swirled around him. "This voice keeps echoing in my mind."

"That's the magic side of my shadow ability," Jason said seriously. "Part of my shadow seems to have some level of sentience. It is like how grimoires are sentient enough to disclose its contents to people who desire information from them, or even how they will cooperate with those who will spread its influence. My shadow is like that." He shrugged. "It took a long time to figure out how to block it when needed. You stole the information how to use my shadow, not how to block it out." He laughed at Greed's mistake.

"It can't be," Greed said frowning while holding his hands on his head. He gave his head a good shake before continuing. "Your shadow ability can't be a grimoire. There is no writing in it." He pulled some of the shadow closer to his face and looked at it closely.

"Don't be silly," Jason said dismissively. "It would be much simpler if it was just a grimoire." _I hope he doesn't figure out how to combine it with magic._

Greed concentrated a bit and looked like he was thinking hard. His face relaxed and looked back at Jason. "Well I'll keep it quiet while I finish you off." The shadow moved in front of him as Jason emptied his gun as soon as he uttered those words. "You really need to let people finish talking before you shoot them." Several shadow tendrils began to form behind Greed.

Jason looked at the empty gun in his hand and threw it away to his side. "You don't really say anything I need to here." _He's got really good at handling the shadow. The longer this goes on the worst chance I have. I need to finish this one shot, but I need time to plan and prepare_. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a stack of cards. "Here catch." He pulled off the top card and gave it a flick. He flew through the air and Greed reached out a hand and caught it.

"What's this?" he asked and the card started to glow. He didn't originally plan to catch it, but people tend to instinctively try to catch something if someone tells them to catch it. He dropped it a second before it exploded in a flash of light.

"Cya!"

Greed heard Jason's voice, but the flash temporarily blinded him. He had wrapped the shadow around him as a defensive cloak in case it was an exploding rune. Since there was no heat or damage, Greed assumed it was just a rune used to obscure sight. He did not however, immediately drop the shadow around him in case Jason tried to attack when he couldn't see. _He is still able to think well under pressure, but his magic should be limited. His main power was his shadow and now it is mine._ When his sight returned he moved the shadow and saw the ring was empty except for him. He turned and looked at the nearest entranceway of the ring where Jason had stood. _So he is afraid and ran. This could be fun._ The shadow wrapped tightly around him, forming a thin cover over his suit, and he started walking toward the stairs to follow Jason. "A game of cat and mouse it is then!" Greed called out. "Since there is no escape from this space, the game ends when I find you!"

Jason had indeed run away. Not so much out of fear, though it was there. He ran to give himself more time to think about his next step. As long as he was in the middle of the arena with Greed and his shadow, he did not stand a chance. The cards he brought were designed to supplement his shadow, not fight against it. They were mainly utility style cards, though there were a couple of attack runes mixed in on them. However, they were not strong enough to defeat Greed. They would be minor nuisances to him. _I could try to use some of the items he has here I suppose._ As he exited the stairs and entered the stands, his view of the ring was blocked with all of Greed's collection everywhere. He passed several cabinets of weapons and he gave them a quick look. Several of them had magic properties, but he had no idea what they could do without spending time to identify them. Time was something he did not have, especially when Greed called out about the cat and mouse game.

To Jason, this really was like a game of cat and mouse. Greed had all the cards and Jason knew it. _This isn't a fun game at all._ Even if Jason did run across something powerful enough to use against his shadow, he would have trouble mastering it in a few minutes. Not only that, he did not know which artifacts could be cursed or Greed could have implemented protective spells. Jason knew he was a collector and he would not have doubted for an instant Greed did not do that. That left two realistic options for him. Option one required a complicated set up and option two would probably cause them both to die together. Jason would prefer not to die, so he narrowed the option to number one. He patted the long metal container in his pants pocket, smiling to himself. _I need to find some wood._

"Where are you?" Greed's voice echoed out through the stadium. It sounded like he had reached the top of the stairs and had reached the stands. Jason was not stupid enough to yell back. "I guess I'll just follow your magic trail."

Jason mentally cursed himself and hid his magic presence. He normally did not do this, not because he liked to be the center of attention, but if he did, he could not control his shadow. His shadow required scientific calculations, but also had to have mana flowing through it to operate. It really was a combination of both sides. He ducked between a couple of cars that looked to be from a good fifty or more years ago and made a right turn to get higher up in the stands. He was hoping to see a pile of wood somewhere or something he could rip the wood off of. _Come on, there has to be something, the entire stands are full of his collection. There we go._ He saw what looked like the remains of playground equipment and moved silently in that direction. As he did, he saw in the distance several shadow tendrils lifting things as Greed walked past.

"This game is getting boring," Greed called out. "Haven't you found something to use against me? I'm slowly catching up to you."

Something in Greed's words made Jason slow down and think. _With his speed, he should have been able to catch up to me instantly and it's not like him to give an opponent an advantage no matter how much he pretends to like the challenge. Is it possible he can't use his speed when he has my shadow ability? The curse mark allowed him to take it and use it, but maybe it still conflicts with the pure magic side. If that is the case, I might have a chance._ He ran silently to the wood pile and looked around. Most of the wood was rotting, but it seemed to be supporting a large blue vase. Jason didn't care what the vase did and just focused on the wood. He saw a four by four and pulled it out. To his luck it was a good seven feet long, the end was slightly burnt for some reason. _Perfect, now I just need something a little longer._ He looked around, and kept his body low to the ground. Greed was down in the stands closer to the ring and his shadows were reaching out in between his collection looking around.

Greed kept walking past him and did not decide to move up higher into the stands. Jason gave a sigh of relief. _That was close._ He waited a few minutes to let Greed get some distance and then turned back to look for another piece of wood. After digging around he found a long enough piece to use. The problem was it was too long, nearly twenty feet long. He only needed roughly ten feet. Jason weighed his options and pulled out several cards. _Let's see, five of these should be good as a distraction. This one should be able to form a rope, this one should be able to cut it, and this one should hide them. I will not have much time._ He glanced up over a cabinet and saw Greed walking in the opposite direction of him. Jason was quite lucky Greed was not willing to destroy all his stuff to locate Jason or this would have been over fast. Jason smiled at Greed's weakness and took a deep breath.

 _Damn it,_ Greed thought to himself as he walked through his collection. The shadow was doing a great job at moving in between spaces to detect Jason, but he was nowhere to be found. Greed wished he could use his speed, but something warned him about using it as long as he had Jason's shadow. In order to use his speed, he would have to give the shadow back. _This collection is priceless so I can't destroy it. Why is he not trying to use any of the gear I have here. I would know immediately if he started to mess with any weapons or artifacts._ He was hoping one of his traps would kill Jason too; _it would have been quite entertaining_. He sighed and realized no matter how funny something would be, he should not have dropped his guard and said it out loud. It was a lack of judgment on his part. _Wrath's hatred in my heart is still strong enough to mess with my judgment._

Suddenly he felt Jason's magic on the far side of the coliseum. _That kid hid himself over there, I should have realized it._ He started to run over to the source of magic. He tripped over a box of trinkets and cussed. His shadow started to form large black wings and he used them to jump into the air and into the ring to make a direct path to Jason. About halfway through the center ring he felt Jason's magic split up into five different directions. _Clever, he is trying to make me chase decoys. It won't work though._ One of the sources was slightly stronger than the others. He used the wings to lift himself into the air as he jumped in the direction of the most powerful source. He was able to catch up quickly by jumping over the shelves of goods.

"Got you now," Greed said as the wings split up into hands and wrapped around Jason who was moving behind some book shelves. However, when the shadow hands lifted it up, it was just two cards stuck together. "That boy," Greed growled and then yelled out in anger as he tore the cards up.

"You sound upset," Jason called out. Greed turned around and saw Jason standing in the middle of the arena waving to him. He used his wings to jump into the arena and walk toward Jason as the wings shrank back into the normal shadow.

"So you finally gave up," Greed said. "After you ignored all my weapons and armor, I was wondering if you would think of a plan, but I don't see any of it on you."

"Nah," Jason said dismissively. "I don't need any of your stuff since I have something that is worth more than your entire collection."

Greed frowned, but raised an eyebrow. He was curious about what Jason was talking about. He did not let his guard down, but kept the shadow wrapped around him as a shield. "You piqued my interest. Let's see what you have that you claim is worth so much."

Jason reached into his pocket and pulled out a small metal case, longer than it was wide. "This."

"What's in the box?" Greed asked. Something felt wrong to him about it, but he was not sure what it was.

"Well, first, the case itself is made of a very specific metal," Jason said. "This metal does not occur naturally in nature, but is only created when several high level scientific abilities clash in a specific manner. It's normally really rare, but recently a large amount was recovered after an unfortunate incident. Man, I wish I had been there to see it in person. I was lucky enough to acquire some."

"So the metal is valuable?" Greed said slightly disappointed. "How dull."

"Well it is," Jason nodded. "But it's not the important thing. You see this metal, commonly referred to as Shadow Metal, has extremely high resistance to scientific abilities. Ability users find it hard to affect it. However, I discovered it also has high resistance to magic so it made the perfect container for this special artifact of mine." He opened the end of the case.

Greed immediately jumped back ten feet. It was not fear, but pure shock. He expected something magical to be in there, but there was only three unimpressive rusty nails. The nails were also slightly brown as if they had been stained in blood years ago. However, what made him retreat was the sheer amount of Telesma, divine power that normally only angels of heaven have, emitting from them. He could not believe three nails could release so much power. "What are those?" he asked unable to take his eyes off of them.

Jason grinned slightly. "These are the Nails of Caiaphas." Greed's mouth dropped in shock. "I take it you know what they do since you are a sin of Christianity?"

"They are the nails the bound the Son of God to the cross," whispered Greed. There was a hunger in his eyes as all attention was focused purely on the nails.

"Exactly," Jason said slowly removing the nails from the box. "They still contain an enormous amount of Telesma that cannot be explained. In fact, even if the power is used, it replenishes it over time. I acquired it accidently, but it's one of my two most prized possessions."

"So you think if you trade it to me," Greed said smirking as he realized Jason's plan. "I'll let you and your friends go?"

"No," Jason said simply. "Fighting you when you have my main source of power is not smart. So I knew I have only one shot of taking you down, so I need to use everything in one attack. I plan to defeat you with it."

Greed looked at him for a moment in shock and burst out laughing. "Y-you think you can control the power of the Son of God? That is hilarious. The best you could hope for is not dying yourself. AHAHAHA." Greed grabbed his side as he laughed. Jason just smiled.

"Of course I can't control his power," Jason said. "I'm not a Saint or an angel. Instead, I plan to use them as a targeting beacon. I'm glad I was the one to fight you. If you had stolen anyone else's ability, they would not have stood a chance. But I can use magic too."

"What?" Greed asked confused. Suddenly behind him, a rune card hidden under a thin layer of dust started to glow. A large wooden cross, lashed together with rope, landed behind him with a dull thud. Greed turned his head around and looked at it for a moment when it dawned on him. "Damn you," he said. "You plan to…"

"Yes," Jason said grimly holding out his hand with all three nails resting on his palm.

Greed never saw what happened next. One moment he was looking at Jason, the next, he was up in the air with pain in his wrist and ankles. His arms were nailed to the sides of the cross and his ankles to the bottom. He was about three feet off the ground. He could not move at all and he could not feel his mana. The Telesma form the nails were overpowering everything. He could not even control the shadow. "Damn it," he said again. "You actually plan to crucify me?"

"What better way to destroy a sin?" Jason asked. "I'm no Saint to take in that power, so I will use it to have God judge you. This is the magic of God's Judgment."

"You will destroy your shadow in the process you know," Greed said. "I can't give it back to you if I am dead."

"A small price to pay," Jason said. "I know if I defeat you the sin mark will transfer to me. I don't know what your master is planning, but it has something to do with all the marks. I figure this will defeat you and ruin his plan at the same time." Jason watched as a line started to appear and draw a circle around the makeshift cross on the stone ground.

"Didn't you promise that one girl you would never kill again?" asked Greed beginning to sound desperate. "What would your friends think if they found out you kill people?"

"First, I don't have friends," Jason said glaring at him. There was no warmth in his eyes, only disdain. "Just one important person. Second, if I did, some of them wouldn't care. Other's would not be happy, but believe it was a life and death situation. Third, I am not actually killing you. God is passing judgment on you. You could survive if he finds you pure. If not, you will be purified."

"You b $% #*," Greed yelled, all pretense of reasoning gone. "You are just trying to become a god, aren't you? Already you are beginning to use his power to defeat your enemies. Soon you will be after his power purely for yourself."

Jason threw back his head and laughed. "You are hilarious. I have no intention in becoming a god. I have much bigger plans and they are already in motion. You guys are just interfering with mine when you forced us all to come here." The ground beneath Greed started to glow white. The clouds above him started to swirl focusing on a single point high above Greed.

"You fool," Greed said. "I'm going to take your shadow to the grave and you will never stop the Herald. His power is greater than all the sins put together. He will kill you all."

"I have one more trump card left," Jason said narrowing his eyes. "If it comes to that, well, at least I won't die alone." A hole in the sky started to open and reveal a golden light. 'Any last words?"

"The girl you loved is not dead," Greed said suddenly. "You will never find her and she does not care about you. Find solace in the darkness as all will turn against you. I am Greed and my last act will be to take any chance of you finding happiness to the grave."

Jason's eyes went wide and he took a step forward. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN!" he yelled. "EXPLAIN YORUSELF?" Greed just laughed.

The golden light grew in intensity at the hole in the sky. The white light below Greed grew brighter too, so much so neither Jason nor Greed could look at it. The golden light rained down upon them messing with their perspective of colors. Everything now had a golden tint to it except the white circle of light on the ground. From the hole in the sky, a cylindrical beam of pure golden light shot down toward the ground. It complete covered Greed, but stopped at the boundary of the circle on the ground. The light made everything in the circle vanish from Jason's view, except Greed, who looked like he was floating while being bathed in the golden light.

"NOOOOOOOO!" Greed yelled as his body slowly became transparent. Jason turned away as Greed's body completely disappeared in the light. After Greed was gone, the golden light from the sky started to fade and the hole in the sky started to close. The beam got smaller and smaller until it eventually disappeared. Jason looked back at the spot Greed was at and all that was left was the cross and nails. All which fell down onto the ground. Jason shook his head and started to walk toward it to pick up the nails.

His legs shook and he fell to the ground feeling as if he had just run a marathon. It was hard to move and he was taking deep breaths. His entire body was tired and sore. _Using a divine artifact takes a lot out of you, even using it with minimum power._ He looked up at the sky where the golden light rained down. _So that was pure Telesma huh. It was amazing and descriptions do not do it justice._ He grabbed his head as he remembered something while he sat on the ground. "It takes several years for those nails to recover their power after use. Greed always causes me problems. At least I know he is gone for good this time. Only a few individuals in history have been able to avoid being purified by God's Judgment." He was mumbling to himself more in frustration then anger.

"Well, he was part of Christianity so I bet he was use to crucifixions." Jason looked around embarrassed. "I'm glad no one heard that." As Jason felt his strength return enough to stand, he got shakily to his feet and collected the nails. He put them back in the metal case and slipped it into his pocket. He gave one last glance at the cross still lying on the ground and started to turn away. A small movement caught his eye and he stopped turning his head slightly. A small piece of shadow was moving out from under the cross. Jason stared wide eyed as more pieces of the shadow started to sneak out from under it. The fragments of the shadow started to move toward him and, as Jason watched, they joined with him slowly reforming his shadow.

"Seriously?" Jason asked out loud. "God's Judgment didn't kill the shadow. Ouch." He looked down at his left hand and the mark Greed had worn was now on his hand. "F*$%!" He had planned to destroy the Mark of Greed and his shadow was just going to be a casualty. Now, whatever the Herald had planned was probably not going to be affected by Greed's death.

 _I hope everyone else is ok,_ he thought to himself. He heard the familiar buzzing sound in the back of his mind. _No I'm not going soft. They all have a purpose still._ More buzzing followed which sounded almost inquisitive. _Yes, even Shirai._ A more humorous buzz was the response. _What? That's it I'm ignoring you._ Jason shut out the buzzing noise and looked up at the sky. Cracks started to appear and were slowly growing larger. _Kazari better be ok._

* * *

 **Yea, Greed cheats and that is why Jason was the only true option to fight him. I was briefly deciding on Accelerator but what would happen if Greed took his power? Having magic and science for versatility is definitely a cheat on its own. Now I can focus on the last fight with Accelerator. If I can write it half as well as I picture it, the fight is going to be amazing.**

 **Mikoto: I didn't understand half of the conversation going on.**

 **Me: Don't you try to break the fourth wall now.**

 **Jason: I'm sure everyone will find out eventually with Touma, being the main character, learning it first.**

 **Accelerator: I feel like breaking the forth wall now. If I learn the secrets first, it means I'm the main character.**

 **Touma: Don't do it, save your strength for your fight.**

 **Accelerator: I'm the strongest, so no one can beat me.**

 **Mikoto: Unless he punches you in the face.**

 **Accelerator: GRRRRR.**

 **Everyone except Touma: OOOOOOOO!**


	32. Pride

**Yay, we are finally at my favorite fight. I hope I explained it half as well as I envisioned it. It was incredibly tough to have an Accelerator fight that lasts an entire chapter. He normally ends his fights in seconds. Luckily for us, Pride is no pushover. It is time for Academy City's strongest vs The Seven Deadly Sin's Strongest. It is sure to be an exciting fight with twists around every turn.**

 **Okaidi: Ok I have to ask. Can I please have whatever you took before writing that comment? You made sense then I could tell the drugs kicked in. After a while you ALMOST made sense so I assume you took more drugs because your comment exploded again. If you share the goods I am sure it will help with the creative process for this story.**

 **Shuko & Szen: Yea, site had problems for a couple days but no worries. It usually gets cleared up fast. Just gave me more time to write.**

 **I see some knew names on comments so I am glad you guys liked it.**

 **Oh, Accelerator is pretty dangerous so this fight is a little more violent in some places. This story is rated T so everyone should be ok with some violence. I just wanted to warn you all since this is the most violent chapter in this story I wrote so far. Otherwise, enjoy it.**

 **Or die.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

"Crush me?" Accelerator laughed. "You should know what it means to stand before me. There is only one fate for you."

"Yep," Pride agreed. "I will win like normal. I hope your choker is at full power to make this fight fun for as long as possible."

Accelerator's grin flickered to a frown for just a moment. "I don't see why you care," he said. "I can end your life in just a few seconds." He wasn't surprised they knew about the choker. After all, the first time he met Pride, the female who was with him control Last Order and incapacitated him. What briefly flickered in his mind was he had a little under half of the battery life left. Using it during the festival and not having time to recharge it was an unforeseeable complication. This was still plenty of time in normal mode, but when he turned it on, he had less than fifteen minutes of actual combat time. However, he could finish off an enemy almost instantly so, unless Pride had a lot of back up, the fight would be over pretty fast.

"Talking about killing already?" Pride said smirking while raising an eyebrow. "Here I thought you were a hero trying to save that little girl?" He frowned when Accelerator burst out laughing.

Accelerator couldn't believe his ears. The very thought of him being a hero was hilarious. "You are stupid," Accelerator said when he stopped laughing. "I'm no hero, that other guy is. I am a villain like you. But there are different levels of evil. A first class villain doesn't target honest lives. Now I am going to show you the terror of The One Way Road."

"Things never go as you plan," Pride said his grin stretching across his face. "But enough talking, you and I are men of actions. I hated Lust's round about methods."

"I couldn't agree more," Accelerator said as he reached up to flick his choker on. "I still remember your cheap shot back in Academy City." When he flicked the choker on, the ground around him broke and sent cracks spreading all over the arena floor. At the same time, Pride ran toward him. Accelerator was briefly confused for a moment. Pride had no weapons on him and Accelerator could not see anything special about his attacks. _He should know about my ability so why is he attacking straight on?_

Pride didn't seem to care and delivered a powerful right fist toward Accelerator's face. Accelerator watched it with an almost bored expression. A sickening crack echoed through the ring as Pride's arm was suddenly in the opposite direction it had been a fraction of a second ago. Pride looked undisturbed by this and spun his body on his left foot to aim a kick at Accelerator's side. Accelerator raised an eyebrow at this futile attempt and the exact same thing happened. The bone broke and the leg had suddenly moved in the opposite direction. The force caused Pride to lose his balance for a second.

"How boring," Accelerator yawned as he reached out his hand and tapped Pride in the chest. Pride went flying backwards like a bullet and crashed into the wall of the arcana. "I thought you would be strong, but you only know how to talk big." He turned to look at Last Order and saw the blue barrier was still up. _Huh, I thought he said it would disappear when one of us dies. The force of that crashed should have crushed his chest._ He heard something moving behind him and he quickly turned around in surprise. Pride was standing up and his arm and leg were bent in weird angles but, a second later, they looked perfectly fine.

"As I said," Pride laughed. "Things never go as plan. You have to try a lot harder than that to defeat me." He started to walk toward Accelerator.

"I see," Accelerator said thinking. This same thing happened back in the city. Pride would regenerate his wounds almost instantly. "You have some type of high speed regenerative ability. If you think you can outlast me with just that, you have a lot more to learn." _I could cause damage faster than he could regenerate or just kill him in one shot so he doesn't have a chance to heal._

"If you try to rationalize magic like your science," Pride said the grin never leaving his face. "You won't get anywhere and just end up as those other poor souls." He motioned to the pile of skulls.

 _There is that magic crap again,_ Accelerator thought. He had come to terms that magic existed. There was enough evidence over the last couple weeks. However, to him, it was just abilities that followed a different set of rules. _There should still be rules. I guess I can just systematically try things until something works._ He lunged forward and Pride copied his movement. Pride was larger and more athletic than he was, but Accelerator's vector manipulation made it all useless. He reached out with his left hand and lightly touched Pride's punching arm. Prides arm made an immediate right angle away from his body as the bone cracked loudly. With his right hand, Accelerator reached out toward Pride's head. Pride tried to dodge by moving his head back, but Accelerator's hand brushed against his face.

CRACK.

Pride's head rotated on his shoulders over 180 degrees instantly. His head was facing directly behind his body instead of forward. Accelerator watched as Pride fell onto his back and face. Accelerator shook his head and turned around. "Garbage," he muttered. "Regeneration doesn't do any good if you die to fast." He started to walk away when he looked up and froze. "That's not possible." The blue barrier around Last Order was still there.

"HAHAHAHA."

The horrible laughter made Accelerator slowly turn around. The laughter was obviously Pride, but it sounded as if he was laughing while his mouth and throat were full of water and did not have full access to his windpipe. It was a hideous gurgle like laugh that sent a chill even down Accelerator's spine. He saw Pride slowly rising to his feet. His head was still facing directly behind him. Accelerator didn't have any words to say to this and just watched. As Pride slowly got back to his feet, his arms grabbed his head and with popping sounds slowly put his head back into its proper place. There was a strange lump in his neck, like something inside of him was pushing out against his skin, but while Accelerator watched the lump slowly shrank until it disappeared. Finally, he spat out, "That's impossible. You should have died."

"To a small wound like that?" Pride asked incredulously. "You should know breaking a neck doesn't cause death that fast. Even if it would normally instantly kill someone, it would have no effect on me."

"What?" Accelerator asked narrowing his eyes. "You saying you can't die?"

"Yes," Pride said. "I am immortal. No matter how much you struggle, no matter how strong you are, no matter what you do, you cannot kill me." His words started to resonate with authority.

"Challenge accepted," Accelerator said grinning. "Immortality is a bunch of bullshit. I'll destroy you so badly, no matter how fast your regeneration is, you won't be able to survive."

"You aren't listening," Pride said sighing. "But go ahead if it suits your fancy." He stretched his arms out wide like he was offering Accelerator a hug. "Let me see what you have you fake hero."

Accelerator rushed forward again and pressed his hand against Pride's chest. Instead of propelling him forward, Accelerator decided to see if he could out damage Pride's regenerative ability. He manipulated all the vectors on every one of Pride's bones and broke them all simultaneously. He then changed the vector on Pride's body as a whole and smashed him into the ground. The ground below Pride collapsed into the hypogeum, the tunneled area below the ring, and buried the body in a pile of rubble. Accelerator looked down with a satisfied look on his face. "Let's see you recover from that." He started to laugh but then stopped. _"F$ &^ no, he couldn't still be alive." _

The rubble pile began to move and several pieces rolled off the top as a hand appeared, followed by an arm. The arm was in several very weird angles and bleeding heavily from the open fractures caused by most of his bones. As Accelerator watched, the bones started to move back into place and the wounds began to close. The arm grabbed a large rock and pushed it off the pile. The pile began to move some more as Pride's head appeared followed by the rest of his body. Pride stood up, dusted himself off and looked up at Accelerator. "That hurt you know," he said almost as if was commenting on the weather. "You said you were going to destroy me. If you hold back, you won't be able to do it before your time runs out."

Accelerator frowned and flipped his choker off. He had less than 10 minutes left of power and Pride's regenerative powers were quite powerful. He backed up a couple of steps as Pride climbed out of the hole. _I guess I have to use an instant kill. Reverse his blood flow or his electrodes in the brain?_ Suddenly, he felt something in the middle of his gut. It was a feeling he wasn't accustom to. When he thought of killing Pride with one of those moves, he immediately thought about the level 6 experiment.

 _It was raining and a girl was lying on the ground injured by a bullet from her own rifle. The girl looked up at him and her appearance was exactly like the rank 3 level 5 Railgun. Accelerator looked down at her expressionless face. He mocked her explaining all about his ability and how she never stood a chance. He reached a single finger slowly down towards her. He stuck it in to her bullet would with a squish. He never stopped taunting her the entire time he was doing it. Her blood did not faze him in the least. "What do you think will happen when I change the direction of your blood?" She didn't answer, but he could still remember the look of fear in her eyes. He smiled as he changed the direction. Blood flew everywhere and he simply walked away leaving the corpse on the ground._

Accelerator shook his head to clear it of the memory and focused on the man before him. Pride had finished climbing up back into the ring and started to walk away from the hole. Accelerator followed him still lost in thought. He wasn't sure why he felt sick killing by reversing the direction of the blood or electrodes in the brain. He had killed many other people after that, the Hound Dogs who captured Last Order and many other criminals while working for Group. The only reason he could think of was the only people he killed with those abilities were the clones. _Shit, I still remember those times. I don't have a choice though. He won't die a normal death._ He flipped on his choker again when Pride suddenly rushed at him.

Accelerator reached out a hand and grabbed Pride's outstretched arm. His vector manipulation allowed him to stop Pride who looked confused as all his momentum disappeared. He looked directly into Pride's eyes. He didn't see any fear or worry there, just the desire to fight. Accelerator mentally sighed and braced himself. "Die," Accelerator said simply as he reversed Pride's blood flow. The effect was instantaneous. Pride's organs and blood vessels exploded and a large pool of blood formed beneath his remains. The blood that would have hit Accelerator was reflected away keeping him clean. He did not immediately let go of Pride though. He used his other hand to check Pride's pulse and other signs of life to determine if he was still alive. As there were no signs, Accelerator dropped Pride's corpse onto the ground. He took a couple steps back. "I am the strongest and you are still trash. No matter how powerful your regeneration is, you can't beat instant death."

The pool below Pride was getting bigger and Accelerator turned around and walked away. He suddenly felt sick and held a hand up to his mouth. _Damn it, I can't use that move on another person. I can't let go of those past memories yet._ He could still kill to protect people he considered important, but reversing blood was mentally damaging to him now. That is why he stopped using it. He took another step away when he heard a voice that caused him to stop.

"Leaving already," the snide voice said. "I told you it's pointless to try to kill me."

Accelerator balled his fist in anger as he turned around. "How are you still alive?" he demanded. "I checked your body signs and it all showed you where dead. No regenerative ability should have been able to bring you back." He could not understand how this was possible.

"I told you I can't die," Pride said exasperatedly. He hated explaining things over and over to people, especially people of science who didn't understand magic. "I am immortal."

"Again that is bullshit," Accelerator said. "Immortality does not exist. The only thing certain in this world is death."

"Hahaha," Pride laughed. "Are you are a philosopher now? My Mark of Pride defies all those silly rules." He pointed to his forehead as a black mark appeared. It looked like a Y with the top left side longer than the right. A small triangle was in the middle of the top half of the Y. "My curse grants me high speed regenerative abilities and my immortality. I can't die and my wounds all heal. The only downside is I still feel pain, but after a while all physical pain sort of becomes the same."

"What kind of f&%*ing power is that?" Accelerator spat out. _Screw this magic shit. When I get out of this I'm going to strangle Jason and the hero until they tell me everything they know about this shit._ He gave a quick glance up at Last Order who was still sleeping. "I don't care about your power. I am going to kill you and save her."

"There you go again," Pride said sighing. "You are trying to play the hero. But it is pointless if you can't kill me and I bet you don't have much time left."

Accelerator frowned, but Pride was right. He had a little more than five minutes left on his choker. At the rate this fight was going, he was not going to be able to kill Pride. If Pride was truly immortal, then he could keep attacking Accelerator indefinitely. He thought of several ways to fight and decided on the only other course of action truly available for him. He could try to use an attack that would completely destroy Pride until there was nothing left. It had been a long time since he used that technique. _Last time I used it was against the fucking hero. I might be weaker than I was back then but, in this confined space, I should be able to._

Pride was watching Accelerator with a look of amusement on his face. He could tell, as he glanced into Accelerator's eyes, he was not planning to surrender, but there was now a slight trace of doubt. Accelerator was beginning to doubt if he could win the fight. Pride grinned widely. _It's only a matter of time until his battery wears out, and then he is mine._ He started to walk forward. "I can't wait to see your look of despair as your last few minutes tick away. When do you think you will realize you can't beat me?" He stopped when Accelerator grinned. "What is so funny?" he asked. Accelerator said nothing, but reached his right hand into the air.

The sound of wind roaring whipped through the arena. A vortex appeared in the air above them. As Pride watched, it started to form into a sphere. The wind was spinning in the sphere at high speeds and it was getting larger the longer he watched it. Dust was being blown around creating small dust storms and the broken rubble from their fight was scraping and clattering on the ground as the wind pushed them around. "Well that looks interesting," Pride commented. "Is this your last attack?"

"Not even close," Accelerator said. He was planning one more attack after this. However, the next attack, after this one, would take an enormous amount of calculations in order to use. With his weaken state, he would need to focus all of his brain's processing power on it. That includes turning off his automatic reflection. This was dangerous for him because, if Pride managed to get close and land a hit before he finished, he would be defenseless. In the worst case scenario, he could be knocked unconscious and, even if he didn't, he could lose focus for a moment and be unable to complete his attack. So the first thing he would have to do is put some distance between them. _I'll use his weakness of not dodging attacks against him._ Accelerator noticed Pride rarely seemed to try to dodge attacks. It made sense if you thought about it because he wouldn't need to dodge anything if he was immortal. _It still takes time for him to regenerate major damage._ He focused on the giant sphere of wind he gathered and threw the 120-meter-per-second maelstrom at Pride.

Pride's eyes widen in shock and pain as the storm hit him full force. He felt his feet lift up into the air as he was thrown backwards out of the ring. He crashed into the stands and kept smashing through the seats as the wind forced him upwards. The seats and walls blew to pieces as his body crashed through them. He slammed into a stone wall near the middle of the stands and finally stopped. Most of his bones were broken by the impact. However, he still smirked, because to him, this was nothing more than a desperate attack from a cornered animal. His wounds were already healing and he started to stand up. Something caught his eye and he frowned. _What is that?_ He looked up into the sky and saw a white light. He started to walk back toward the arena to investigate the strange occurrence.

Accelerator had one more plan at his disposal. He had raised both of his hands and started laughing. The last time he tried to use this technique was the first time he met the hero. If he had succeeded, the hero would have died, but Accelerator was interrupted by the third rate and the sisters. He frowned slightly at this thought. _Am I glad he didn't die? However,_ now there was nothing to stand in his way. His eyes darted to the stands where Pride had been thrown. There was a straight line of destruction as his body had smashed through everything in its way. Accelerator had made sure to keep the wind pushing him as far as possible. Now, he was taking all the air in the sky and compressed it into a single point. The number of calculations almost exceeded his weakened state but, now that he now longer was wasting any on his automatic reflection, he was just able to do it. A brilliant white light appeared, like a full moon coming out of the clouds on a pitch black night. He laughed again when the light started shining.

Plasma.

The temperature of gas rises when it is compressed because it takes on heat; internal combustion engines use this principle. Accelerator was shrinking as much air as he could at an extremely high rate. This was creating a superheated ball of energy that was more than ten thousand degrees Celsius. The atoms in the nearby air was breaking into cations and electrons, it becomes ionized, then completing its metamorphosis into a high energy plasmatic state. Above Accelerator was now a tremendous amount of energy in a single location, which he could control, and it could uproot a nuclear shelter right out of the ground.

Pride did not know this. He knew basic science, but he was part of the magic side and did not know about plasma. He knew Accelerator could control the movement of wind, the blast he just took proved that, but he had no idea what the white light was. _It almost looks like a star. Is he trying to access the heavens?_ He frowned trying to think what Accelerator could be up to. The laughter from the boy echoed across the arena. "No matter what you do it won't work," Pride said strutting forward faster. He was curious about the white light, but he was not scared. Once he got use to his immortality, he no longer got scared. Why would he? Nothing could kill him and, after a while, pain stopped mattering to him. He could still feel it but, after being 'killed' by virtually every means possible, he got used to it. As he got closer, he suddenly felt a searing heat as his arm started to burn. _It generates so much heat. What is he trying to do?_ He jumped into the ring as his body continued to burn, but repaired itself instantly.

"I never got to use this on the hero," Accelerator said. "You are going to be my first guinea pig. Prepare to be incinerated." The white light swallowed more currents of air and grew to ten meters in diameter. It was a little smaller than the one in Academy City, but with less air in this space, it was to be expected. It also made it easier for him with the calculations. He felt it was ready and the grin on his face grew. At ten thousand degrees Celsius, a human body would disappear instantly.

"Ha," Pride laughed. "You probably can't even control it. You are just a coward."

"Eh?" Accelerator asked narrowing his eyes.

"Suicide is the coward's way out," Pride smirked. "You just want to die with me. I won't be able to see you fall into despair then."

"Let's test your theory," Accelerator said. Pride nodded and broke into an all-out run towards Accelerator. With barely a flick of his wrist a large bright segment of white light flew from the mass above him. Pride stuck his hand out to knock it away. He did not expect what was going to happen next. His arm, and part of his body, just disappeared. He didn't even have time to feel pain. The heat was so intense and concentrated, his arm disintegrated instantly. He wasn't even bleeding as the heat scorched and cauterized his wound closed. The intense heat also destroyed all his nerve endings. The remainder of his ride side was burnt worse than most third degree burns. The strip of plasma also burned a large ravine behind him into the floor of the arena and all the way to the stands.

"Die!" Accelerator yelled as the rest of the plasma ball flew at Pride. A quarter of the coliseum was disintegrated as the blast came forward like a cone of light from Accelerator. Pride disappeared in a flash of white light and the entire area behind him did too. There were small explosions to the left and right, but most of it had melted or disintegrated instantly. The floor was a good fifty feet deeper as the floor, hypogeum, and the thirty feet or so of ground below it had disappeared. There was some type of liquid left on the ground, what was now the new floor, which remained from some material that did not get disintegrated instantly.

"Tsk," Accelerator made a disgusted noise with his mouth and turned around and walked away. When he was far enough away, to not feel the remaining heat from the ground, he flicked his choker off. Due to the time it took to create the plasma, he had less than one minute of using his ability. It translated to a fair amount of time of being able to move normally though. If the fight lasted much longer, he would be in a lot more trouble. He started to walk toward the location where Last Order was laying. _Now I have to wake the brat up and get out of here. Everyone else better have beaten their opponent too. I can't baby sit everyone._ He looked up and stopped.

The blue barrier was still around Last Order

"What the F#&$?" he spat out confused. Pride had told him if one of them died the barrier would disappear. He glanced behind him quickly and saw nothing. There was no way he could have survived being wiped away by the plasma. His entire body was disintegrated by the heat and energy. _It is possible he was lying to me. I guess I have to smash it the old fashion way._ He started to walk forward when he felt it. An unexplainable shiver went down his spine. Something in the back of his mind told him to turn around again. He did and saw something he could not explain. A small tan lump was forming on the ground right near the destruction caused by the plasma strike. As Accelerator watched, it slowly grew bigger. _This can't be possible. This isn't real._ All the moisture left Accelerator's throat, leaving it as dry as a desert. He couldn't speak. All he could do was watch as the lump began to resemble a human as it started to grow appendages. Its face was the last thing to develop, but once it reached adult size, Pride's face formed. "How?" Accelerator asked finally finding his words. "I vaporized you into dust."

"You really don't listen," Pride said. He was stark naked because his clothes did not reform with his body. He did not appear embarrassed at all though. "I am immortal."

Accelerator really had no response to this. He began to have the same dreaded feeling he had when he fought the hero. Touma Kamijou would not stay down no matter how many times he was knocked down. Touma was not even immortal. Pride and Touma fought for two completely different reasons, but Accelerator felt they were similar in how they defied all common sense. They stood up again no matter what happened to them. He did not know how he could defeat Pride. His last option did not work.

"Speechless huh?" Pride said shaking his head. "Can't say I blame you, I would be too if I stood before someone as awesome as me. Do you have anything left in your bag of tricks or will you just surrender?"

"F#%& you," was Accelerator's response.

"I see," Pride said sounding disappointed. Then his face broke into a grin and he sounded cheerful. "I do have good news for you. I know how we can both get out of this space alive."

"Huh?" Accelerator said surprised at this sudden turn of events.

"You see the barrier on the girl won't go away until one of us dies," Pride explained. "However, I know how to trick the system into thinking I died and the barrier will disappear. Then I regenerate and we all can leave."

Accelerator was confused. _He suddenly wants to help me?_ "Why?" he asked unable to contain himself. "Earlier you wanted to kill me."

"I didn't really want to kill you immediately," Pride explained. "I want you to sink into a state of utter despair when you realized you couldn't save her. So after we free her I plan to kill her right in front of you."

"You a$$&%*!" roared Accelerator anger consuming him.

"Maybe I'll break her neck or stab her multiple times," Pride said conversationally as if he was not interrupted. "I wonder what your face would look like when you watch her die in front of you because you could not save her. I'm sure the despair will be…"

He didn't finish his sentence as Accelerator flipped his switch. The ground around him exploded as he rushed forward grabbing Pride and slamming him in the side of the coliseum. He then took his left hand and stuck it into the wall. It went through it like paper. He yelled out in anger as he lifted an entire segment of the stands with a single hand. Turning his head to look at Pride with pure hate in his eyes, he slammed the segment down onto Pride, crushing him under a ton or more of rubble. Accelerator quickly flipped off the switch. He didn't have much time left on the battery. If he flipped it on again he would probably use up what was left before he could do anything. It was going to get used up soon anyways, just keeping him in the normal state. He hobbled away from the rubble to put distance between him and Pride. Accelerator knew Pride couldn't be dead after that. He had been disintegrated moments before, but Accelerator was out of ideas. The gun on his waist wasn't going to do anything.

He leaned up against an unbroken part of the ring wall and watched the rubble begin to move. Pieces started to roll off as Pride forced his way out of it. As he stepped out of the rubble he stretched. "So that was your last rage induced attack huh. So now you realize that girl is going to die."

"F&*$ you," Accelerator said definitely. "I'm going to kill you."

Pride sighed. "You still won't fall into despair? I guess I have no choice. I believe you live with three other females too?" Accelerator froze and Pride smirked. "I'll keep you alive after killing the girl up there and then I will kill those three in front of you, maybe some of your classmates too. Which ones do you like the most?" He laughed a terrible vile laugh as he revealed in Accelerator's stunned face.

Accelerator pushed himself off against the wall. He never felt so much hatred to a single person. Not only was Pride trying to kill the girl he sworn to protect, but also everyone else in his life. He didn't understand at first, but realized how important they all became to him, even if he didn't want to admit it. He wasn't afraid of dying but, if he did, Last Order would be sad. He was afraid of leaving her alone in this world. He reached up to his choker. _Please last even just a little bit, I want to save them._ Pride watched him as he flipped the switch. _It is up to fate._

Fate was not on his side.

Accelerator barely managed to take one step and collapsed as the battery ran out.

Pride looked at him wide eyed for a moment and burst out laughing at his suffering.

 _Damn I can't move at all._ He barely could look up toward Pride, who was laughing and saying something. Accelerator could not comprehend what he was saying as most of his brain functions were not working without the choker. Pride then made a motion with his hands. He reached out in front of him as if he was grabbing something, and then made a quick 90 degree motion with his hands as if he was breaking the thing he was holding. He pointed to Last Order still in the blue barrier then started walking toward her.

Accelerator was screaming in rage and fear inside his head. He could not let Pride go near Last Order. His body would not move and all he could think about was his memories with her. Last Order had found him and pulled him out of the darkness. She had given him a chance to live in the light. He had promised to be there for her and protect her from harm. It was because of her he was able to live a normal life, meeting people like Aiho, Kikyou, and even Worst. Even the memories of his school days flashed before his eyes, with the class full of monkeys. He remembered hanging out with Piece, Motoharu, Jason and the hero. He even found himself having fun with them all. Last Order's face once again swam to the front of his mind. His heart ached. His hand clenched the dirt in his hand as his anger grew.

He would kill Pride, no matter what it took. He was going to stop Pride, not just for himself, but to protect everyone else in his world. _Stand up and save them._ He could not make even simple calculations such as balancing his body to stand up straight or even count on his fingers. He would lose track halfway through. But in his mind he would not give up. He would not allow Pride to hurt Last Order. He would continue to fight, even without his powers. He felt his arms begin to push himself up. No matter what the rules were, no matter what science and reason said, he would not lose.

Pride was laughing loudly to himself. He had just shown Accelerator what he was going to do to Last Order. Pride was going to take her right up to Accelerator, who was lying helpless on the ground, and break her neck in front of him. _The look of despair on his face will be priceless. It feels so good to take down the arrogant strong types._ He walked over to Accelerator first, who was struggling on the ground, and gave him a good kick, in the side. Accelerator gagged loudly and a little blood came out of his mouth. Pride laughed and started to walk toward Last Order.

He was about thirty feet away when he felt it. A chill ran down his spine. There should have been no reason for this feeling. After all, he was immortal. He had been killed, or what would have killed a normal person, more times than he could count in every way possible. He should have no use for this feeling, but he still felt the familiar overwhelming sensation.

Fear.

Pride was use to fear, but he never let it control him. Before he received the Mark of Pride, he actually was one of the weakest magicians in existence. He was not gifted with vast intelligence, extreme creativity, or anything special. He had trouble casting even the weakest spells, but he was a hard worker and always tried to better himself. The world however is not kind and he was bullied by other magicians whose powers were greater than his. The weak magicians especially were the worst. Since they constantly got overshadowed by the gifted ones, they took out their frustration on people like Pride. Over the years, something grew within Pride, tenacity and desire.

He wanted to win and the more he fought, the more he realized right and wrong are just based on perspective. The winners are right and the losers are wrong. It didn't matter what you believed in, history was written by the winners. He stopped playing fair and fought dirty, ambushes, traps, assassinating, the method did not matter. The only thing important was winning. He especially enjoyed defeating those who considered themselves powerful. He would make them realize just how weak they were before he killed them. He wasn't sure when he started to think killing was ok to prove his point, but he believed it was when he accidently knocked someone out and they hit their head on a rock. He never gave up, no matter how many times he failed at defeating someone. He just tried a new tactic until it worked. He was injured near death so many times, but he always found a way to win. Until one day.

Pride picked a fight with the wrong person. A powerful magician visited the town he was in. He had heard the guy enjoyed picking on weaker magicians and planned a surprise. Pride was overpowered with power he had never imagined before. The magician controlled fire and all the skin on Pride's body was burned away. The magician didn't even acknowledge his existence and walked away leaving Pride for dead. He was in pain beyond recognition. It was then the Herald found him and granted him the mark. He survived and never lost again, no matter how powerful the opponent was. He now felt the same fear he had when he first met that magician. He finally turned around when he heard the rustling of clothes and the sound of air blowing all around.

Accelerator had stood up. His eyes looked murderous as he looked right at Pride. His eyes had red veins through them, and he started staggering toward Pride. Pride was about to laugh at Accelerator's final attempt, but his words got stuck in his throat. Out of Accelerator's back came a pitch black substance that seemed to swallow the very light around him. It formed into roughly what looked like two wings as it flowed away from him to both sides. They actually looked more like jets then wings. "What the hell are those?" To him they felt similar to Telesma, but still fundamentally different. _I wasn't told anything about that?_ He realized what was causing the fear to build up inside of him.

Before Pride could react, the ground behind Accelerator exploded. Accelerator flew forward and landed right in front of Pride. He reached up and grabbed Pride by the face. Pride struggled and delivered a punch to Accelerator's face, but he might as well have punched a stone wall for the amount of notice Accelerator gave it. Instead, he said a simple thing that was hard for Pride to hear, but easy to understand. "ihbfKILLwq." With a single flick of his wrist, Accelerator sent Pride flying backwards at the speed of sound crashing into the side of the coliseum, plowing through several stone walls and stands.

"What happened to him?" Pride muttered as he started regenerating. "Does he even know what kind of monster he became? It's like he became a demon…" His eyes widened. _Did science really come that far? They are actually able to create an artificial demon? No wonder his Telesma was so warped._ His thoughts were interrupted as Accelerator leaped up to follow him. It seemed to Pride, Accelerator wasn't interesting in mercy, only destruction. Accelerator reached down and grabbed Pride by the arm. "You still can't win," Pride said in an undertone as he stared into the demon's eyes. The demon grinned back at him.

A ripping sound split the air.

Accelerator tore of Pride's arm and threw it away from him. He then used his other hand to pick up Pride's body and threw it, once again, at the speed of sound into the far side of the coliseum. Pride crashed far into the stone walls of the coliseum and blinked. His bones were broken and he was bleeding because he was missing his arm. After a second his bones started to regenerate and he started to stand up. A sharp pain continued in his shoulder. His arm should have grown back but it seemed to be regenerating at a much slower pace than it had before. _That's impossible. There is no limit to how often I can heal. Even if he destroyed my body every second for a year, I would still regenerate. Is it just my imagination?_

An explosion came from the far side of the coliseum as Pride watched Accelerator start heading toward the blue barrier holding Last Order. Pride walked out of the hole in the wall his body made and started to head toward Accelerator while watching him closely. Accelerator stood over the blue barrier while raising a hand. He brought the fist down into the barrier with a crash. A white shockwave emerged from the barrier and filled the entire arena. Accelerator's black wings got pushed back slightly but they still held. The wave passed through Pride and he felt the hairs on his neck stand up. _He can stand up to a barrier made by the Herald? He really is a demon._ He didn't have a choice, but to keep walking toward the monster.

The monster formally known as Accelerator slammed his hand on the barrier again creating another white shockwave. He felt it push his body back, but he did not care. He howled in anger and smashed it again with both hands. This time the shockwave pushed him back a foot while the ground all around the stone alter was blown away several hundred feet. "You can't break it," a voice behind him said but he ignored it. His only thought was to destroy this barrier in front of him. "Can't even hear me anymore huh?" the foreign voice continued despite being ignored by Accelerator. "I can't die and you will run out of power eventually. She's going to die and nothing you do can stop it." This time the creature stopped and slowly rotated his head to see who was talking.

Pride watched as Accelerator's head turned slowly to look at him. His eyes were like a wild beast and only had destruction etched in them. "I know you can't keep that power up forever. Just give up and let her die. You caused me a lot of problems." His voice suddenly got harsh as he too got angry. "I am going to make sure I kill all those others you lived with. I will personally guarantee every one of them suffers. I will even throw in the death of all your friends who came with you, but first the girl dies." He started to laugh when he was suddenly was forced to stop.

Accelerator threw his head back and roared in anger as he turned to face Pride. Pride did not, he could not, know the impact the words he just said would have. Accelerator may have been controlled by his anger, but he still had his main objective, protect the girl. Pride had just broken his last thread binding him to his goal. The two jets of the dark black substance split and spread into murky black wings from his back. This pair of wings contained something which could blow away the mind, anger that shattered his last shred of humanity, grew instantly over tens of meters. The nearby stone walls and concreate floors were shaved just being in mere contact with these new wings. Pride felt a new feeling he only felt once before, right before he was burned alive by the one magician.

Terror.

There is a big difference between fear and terror. Fear is like driving along an icy road late at night. One would be afraid of sliding off the road into a ravine and being trapped. That would be an example of fear. You worry something bad will happen, but there is no proof it will. Terror is when you slide off the icy road over the side of a cliff, and there is nothing below you as you plummet to your death. You know you are going to die, and there is not a damn thing you can do about it. That is terror. Pride felt terror when he saw those new wings. He didn't know why he was terrified, he couldn't die. But no matter how hard he tried to reason with himself, he could not calm down. He knew he was going to die, but did not know why. Before he could react, Accelerator struck.

One of the jet black wings tore through the air with a boom. The explosion was air being pushed away. Simply by moving, these black wings produced a powerful gale blowing away everything next to Accelerator. The next second, Pride looked down as the wing pieced right through his chest. Pride could do nothing but open his mouth and coughed up blood. The black wing retracted out of him, and Pride fell to the ground. Accelerator roared in anger and pain. Even stabbing Pride, the person who caused it, did not stop his rampage. His wings split up into separated into countless sharp wings and aimed at Pride who was still on the ground.

Pride was lying on the ground bleeding out. His wounds were closing, but incredibly slowly. _I'm having trouble regenerating these wounds? What is he and how does he make the wounds unable to be healed?_ Before he could try to explain this impossible situation, his entire body was stabbed by the countless razor sharp wings. His wounds were not healing, but he was not dying either. The symbol on his head was glowing brightly, but Pride could not see it. _Hah, immortal but can't heal, this sucks._ He now had to live through the intense pain that would not end. A second later, he felt his body being lifted into the air.

Accelerator was using the black wing to lift Pride up. It was still split up into the countless sharp points so gravity was pushing Pride's body weight down onto the spikes. He could not move so Accelerator's wing instead moved Pride to face him two feet away. Pride looked into the monster's eyes and only saw death. All trace of humanity was gone. Accelerator howled in anger and pain then stabbed Pride in the chest with his other wing. More specifically, Accelerator stabbed him in the heart. Pride still would not die.

"I am immortal," he called out through the blood that was threating to choke him. "I can't die. You can only fall into despair…." His words where cut short when he saw something. Something was beginning to appear on Accelerator's head. It was faint at first but started to grow darker. "It can't be." The Mark of Pride was appearing on Accelerator. Pride could not see his own forehead, but he felt his power beginning to leave him. _He's stealing my curse mark. That can't be possible._ His wounds were not healing and everything started to get blurry. The last thing he saw was Accelerator's eyes. They did not appear to even be aware Pride was losing his mark. They only had the desire to kill in them.

"kceyuiREASONplwq lihxDIEwqx"

There was no mercy. Afterwards the slaughter of Pride began and ended in seconds. A roar echoed across the arena. A roar that was more frightening than a beast's and more terrifying than a demon's. But it had the sadness of the crying sounds of a helpless child. Accelerator's youth had been nothing but a tragedy and now it was beginning again. The monster turned around as the blue barrier faded away. He glided over to it and looked down at the sleeping child before him.

Liquid started to flow from his eyes, but they were not tears. It smelled of rust, was dark red, thicker, and full of pain. The roar became more of a howl as the creature fell to his knees and reached out. He picked up Last Order and held her close to him. The black wings behind him began to shrink. He sat on the ground, holding her tightly against his chest as he leaned against the stone alter. She was breathing and his heart did not ache anymore. He looked at her sleeping face and his mind was now miraculously clear and he began to think once again.

His sight was blurring as he slowly was beginning to pass out. He looked up at the sky and saw everyone's faces again. He saw Aiho, Kikyou, Worst, everyone form his class, and even the hero who did more for him then he could ever hope to repay. As he saw all of their faces he realized how large his world had become. He looked at the sleeping Last Order, who was clutching his shirt, and he pulled her close to him. He swore to protect the people close to him, but he just now began to realize how many people that was now. He saw Last Order smile while she was snuggling against him. Before he realized it, a smile grew on his face too. Not a smirk like he normally wore, but a true smile of happiness.

 _Maybe being a hero once in a while isn't a bad thing,_ he thought to himself. _I may have too much anger inside to be one though._ Everything went dark, but before he lost consciousness he thought he heard a song in the distance, a calming song, full of hope. He didn't see the remains of his black wings beginning to break apart into pieces. The pieces turned white as they fell down around him, like snow, while he held Last Order.

* * *

 **Everyone: (Silence)**

 **Mikoto: Did he just admit he likes us?**

 **Touma: I think he did.**

 **Jason: Awesome fight though, full of ups and down. But yea, he likes us all but is just shy.**

 **Accelerator: Shut up all of you.**

 **Misaki: It's ok Accelerator. We like you too.**

 **Motoharu: I think we are missing the important part above.**

 **Touma: What?**

 **Motoharu: He admitted he was a lolicon for Last Order.**

 **Accelerator: WHAT THE F &*$%!**

 **Mikoto: Damn, now he is going to be a step brother.**

 **Jason: Good job Accel-kun**

 **Misaki: How sweet.**

 **Accelerator: I'm killing all of you.**

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or idea. I love reading them. Next fight we get to see what happens to Touma. I did like this chapter though. It was the very first fight I envisioned when I originally thought of this arc.**

 **Oh, out of curiosity on my part, who was your favorite sin and which fight was your favorite?**


	33. The Herald

**Whew, all of the single one on one fights are done with all the other characters. Now it is time to get back to plot taking shape. I am glad people seemed to like the Accelerator fight. It was definitely my favorite. I was surprised at the really high approval of Sogiita vs Gluttony since that was the very last fight I actually planned and it took forever to get Gluttony's powers/skills set.**

 **Agent Nine: You had to point that out didn't you? Now I imagined that fight that way. MY EYES. But that is the kind of funny comments I expect from you. Good job at pointing that out.**

 **Back to the main plot, hopefully the comedy mixed in will help offset seriousness from some of the last chapters. Fair bit longer then the last couple.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

Touma walked down the dark hallway while touching the wall to make sure he didn't trip and fall. He didn't see an end to the corridor, until he heard the sound of breaking glass coming from his right hand. _My hand negated something?_ He looked at it and didn't pay attention to where he was going until he bumped into a stone wall that appeared out of nowhere. He rubbed his nose for a second then started to feel around. It seemed he reached a dead end and his hand was not negating anything else. _Are you serious? I can't even go and meet my opponent because my hand negated the magic. What do I do now? I hope everyone else is ok._ He turned around and walked out the way he came in. When he exited the archway into the arena, he saw a completely different sight.

The arena in the middle of the coliseum was the same, empty except for him, but the sky caught his attention. Due to the time difference between Japan and Italy, it should be around mid-day right now. However, the sky above him was a star filled night sky with no moon. Something else was flouting up there and he squinted to see what it was. His eyes widen in recognition. "Index!" he yelled out to her. She was suspended high above the coliseum and appeared to be sleeping. She did not stir when he shouted, but someone else answered him instead.

"There is no need to shout," a male's voice said. "No matter how loud you are, she won't hear you." The voice was quiet, but sent shivers down Touma's spine. His voice was ice cold and emitted an aura of command. Touma felt like part of him wanted to be quiet in response to his words, but he managed to ignore it. "She is fine though, I just put her to sleep while I examined the grimoires in her head." Touma turned around to face the individual.

The man was sitting on a golden throne in the stands, with his legs cross in front of him and his hands entwined together under his chin. Even sitting down, Touma could tell he was tall, probably around seven feet. He had long white silky hair that was slicked back. His eyes were bright blue and, as Touma met his eyes, he realized there was no warmth in them, they were like ice. He was looking into the eyes of someone who would do anything to accomplish his objective. "I take it you are The Herald?" Touma asked.

"Yes," he said simply.

"Let Index go," Touma demanded stepping forward.

"I'm afraid I can't do that until the ceremony is complete," The Herald responded unblinkingly.

"I don't care if you are trying to revive your leader," Touma said waving his arm. "I'm not going to let you hurt my friends. We all came to stop you and we will."

"It would have been a lot simpler if you just surrendered yourself," The Herald commented. "Then none of your friends would have been involved. But your personality would not allow you to come and work for us willingly."

"I will never work for people who are willing to involve innocent people," Touma said making a fist. "Index has nothing to do with this."

"That is actually incorrect," The Herald said as he slowly got to his feet. "You see, I needed information and the grimoires were the only place I could get them. The organizations that held those grimoires would not let me see them willingly, so we started taking them. The process was slow and inefficient. Since we needed you, taking the girl was just killing two birds with one stone."

"What are you trying to do," Touma said through clenched teeth. _Maybe I can reason with him without violence._ He knew that wasn't going to work, but he wanted to at least try.

The Herald spread out his arms as he indicated the entire arena. "We have put together a spell more potent than anything that came before. We have taken the artifacts all around us, each representing the beginning of power and knowledge from all religions throughout the age of man. Each has fragments of the truth, but none of them know it all. Over the centuries we have researched and collected these fragments. We have now achieved all the pieces to cast the spell. Look around, the altars have been specifically placed."

Touma looked around and periodically through the coliseum were many large objects flouting over the stone altars. The coliseum stands were divided into several levels and each of those levels had their own set of altars. The nearest ones he saw had a blue orb that looked it was just water swirling in midair and the other one had a small metal hammer that looked like it would be used in smelting weapons. He had no idea what any of the relics did, so he turned back to The Herald. "So you plan to revive your master, but I was told there were easier ways to do it then all of this and why did you choose such a public place like this for your spell?"

"We choose this location because of the way it was built," The Herald said. His tone sounded like a professor at a university now, monotonous while explaining basic information. The coldness in it did not change though. "Romans built this place to hold public spectacles, like barbaric gladiator contests and executions, but the magicians during that time period had other plans. During the construction they made sure to have the structure built so it magnifies the natural leylines of the earth in this area. Now any ritual performed within this amphitheater will be amplified tenfold. As for the other part of your question, if our master was human, yes it would have been much easier."

"Dang," Touma muttered. "You are trying to summon some kind of deity." He saw firsthand the kind of power an angel had during the Angel Fall incident. The angel, Misha Kreutzev, power was unimaginable and could have destroyed the world if it wasn't for Motoharu and Kaori.

"Well," The Herald said smiling slightly for the first time. "Yes, but there is more than just that. Our deity was struck down in combat during the dawn of man and now we need to revive him first. So this spell will allow us to revive our fallen master and bring him into this world."

Touma frowned. All of this information was new to him so he was not sure what to do. He knew he couldn't let them succeed. After all, they showed they would involve anyone in their plans as long as it benefited them. Even innocent people like Kazari, Saten, Last Order, and Index. "Who is your master?" Touma finally asked. _The more information I have the more I can give Stiyl and Kanzaki in case this goes south._

"Our master," The Herald said raising his left hand into the air. "Is the first fallen angel, the one who broke free from the bonds of servitude and could challenge the creator himself, Lucifer."

"Lucifer?" Touma said. The name sounded familiar to him before he realized where he heard the name before. When Vento of the Front, from God's Right Seat, invaded Academy City, she compared Hyouka Kazakiri to Lucifer. She called them both fallen angels. "He was struck down by another angel if I remember right."

"Lucifer was the first and most powerful archangel God ever created," The Herald explained. "Angels don't normally have any will of their own and just follow God's orders, but Lucifer managed to develop free will. How, we do not know. He determined God was wrong and challenged him while leading a third of the angels who believed in him. God created the Archangel Michael and gave the new angel his blade. Michael used it to cut down our master. Now we will revive him and give him another opportunity to kill God."

"So you want to kill God?" Touma asked stunned. "That is no reason to bring innocent people into your fight." _A sentient angel? I'll have to ask Motoharu about that if I get a chance._

"They got involved because of you," The Herald said darkly narrowing his eyes and pointing at Touma. Touma looked shocked and gulped.

"What do you mean?" he asked. "I never asked for any of this."

"The last part of the ritual requires all seven sin marks," The Herald explained. "Since you did not come with us when we asked, Sloth was sent to retrieve you. You defeated him and took his mark. Now we needed you to come more than ever. However, your friends kept getting in the way. Several of the sins had developed personal grudged against your friends and so we lured them here so you would have no choice but to come. You all played right into my hand."

"We just have to defeat all your sins then and leave so your plan will fail," Touma said defiantly.

"Well," The Herald said. "You should also hope none of your friends defeat two sins because anyone who acquires two sin marks will die. There are no exceptions. The sins conflict with each other and will kill the host if two of them are on one person."

Those words had a direct impact on Touma. _Shit, I need to warn them._ If any of his friends died, it would be entirely his fault for dragging them into this mess. He started thinking again he should have come alone.

"But I am a nice guy," The Herald continued. "I separated each of the sins with their specific target. Now it is up to your friends to survive. It does not matter to me who has the sin marks. In the end, all of you will be sacrificed to the ritual. Sadly, we will lose the Imagine Breaker, but reviving the master is more important."

Touma made a fist as anger started to overwhelm him. "You see my friend as disposable pawns," he said through gritted teeth. "I don't care if you come after me, but when you threaten my friends... You think you can revive an evil god at the expense of my friends, I'M GOING TO SHATTER THAT ILLUSION OF YOURS!" He started running toward the direction of The Herald. There was a nearby stairwell that lead up to the area The Herald was in. Before he had gone ten steps, he felt something solid hit him in the stomach, missing his right hand. He fell backwards coughing and severely winded.

"Now, now," The Herald said taking a couple steps down to the edge of the ring. "There is no need to get upset. You and your friends play a big part in the recreation of this world. Once we kill God, we will use the energy of his death to fix the problems infesting the core of this rotten world."

"Just because you think something is bad doesn't mean you should sacrifice innocent people," Touma said slowly getting to his feet. "Just because you say the world is rotten, doesn't mean it is. You pretend to be a savior, but you are just a villain."

"Do you think so?" The Herald said softly raising an eyebrow. His voice dropped a couple more degrees. "I know you have seen the dark side of your city. You can't deny it. We have seen the darkness of the entire world for centuries. In fact, every one of the sins here has lived through the darkness. We work for a common goal."

"What?" Touma asked. He could not deny Academy City had its own problems, but he always believed people were overall good.

"Let me brief you on their struggles and see if you can still cling to the childish dream of this world being pure," The Herald said smiling. The smile sent shivers down Touma's spine. The smile wasn't warm and it made him feel fear, but he did not know why. "Sloth was born a slave and was forced to work in mines his entire life. He only wished for the chance to sleep as it was his only relief from suffering. Envy was burned by jealous people and no one helped her. Her boyfriend left her for one of the culprits. Lust's most important person betrayed her for a younger woman. Gluttony was never appreciated, always got passed over for promotions, while other people said his inventions were useless, but they used the technology for other things. Then they stole the credit. Wrath's family was slaughtered by rebels and she was forced into prostitution. Greed was born poor in an area were only the rich were safe. People died on the streets and nothing was done. Police only worked if you were rich enough to bribe and anyone could be killed at any time from a bored wealthy individual. Pride was bullied for being weak and left to die by an overzealous fire magician who picked on the weak. If the world wasn't dark, they would not have been created."

Touma was speechless for a moment. He could understand their pain and why they joined the sins, but he could not let this path continue. Not just for his friend's sake, but theirs as well. "I'm sorry those horrible things happened to them and no one deserves that. However, I can't let you hurt my friends. You made the mistake of bringing me here. I swear I will stop your ritual with my right hand." He held out his fist. "Why did you want my hand anyways? All it would do is interfere with your ritual."

"You hand was going to be a present for our lord when he returns," The Herald explained. "We wanted to give him the advantage and what better way than the hand that can 'purify God.' Your hand has the power to kill even God and our master will make full use of it. After all, when Lord Lucifer and Michael fought, Michael wielded God's weapon so the perfect revenge is to have Lucifer wield a more powerful weapon. As for why I let you here, I have two reasons. One, I didn't want you to accidently defeat another sin and take their mark, you would die. Two, I knew I could contain you."

Touma felt it. The Herald was not boosting, he was not overconfident. He was simply stating facts. It was like something telling a kid the sun is a star. While it may be hard to believe for some kids, it was an undeniable fact. Touma made a fist with his right hand. _I'm going to stop him, save my friends, and, I promise when this is all over, I'm going to find a way to reward everyone who helped me._ "You are going about this the wrong way. I am going to stop you and save everyone." He charged at the Herald again. He took several steps as The Herald flicked his finger slightly.

Touma tripped on something.

He looked down and saw nothing, but his foot was laying on something hard and invisible. He touched the invisible block with his right hand and heard the familiar sound of breaking glass. He felt a small rush of air over his hand. _I can't see it, but it felt solid._ Touma stood up again and looked at The Herald. The Herald had walked down a couple more steps to stand at the edge of the arena wall. He was staring at Touma with a slightly amused look on his face. "You can control air," Touma said looking at him. "You either solidified it or froze it in place so I would move into it."

"Very good," The Herald said. "Your school records and observations lead us to the conclusion you were not the most intelligent individual. I see your real talent lies in actual combat."

"I've had a lot of practice," Touma said. "Why don't you come down here if you don't want me to go up there?" _There is no way a simple taunt will work against him. My instinct tells me he is powerful and not just intelligent. He did create the plan to lure us all here._ To his surprise, The Herald just leaped up effortlessly to the top of the wall and started walking across the air like he was going down an invisible set of stairs. He stepped onto the ground in the arena and looked at Touma. _Why did he come down? He would have had the advantage in the stands._

"I suppose you want to know why I came down here," The Herald said and Touma tried to hide the shock on his face as he felt like his mind was being read. "If I stayed up there, I would be in the spell vicinity. Now I can go all out without problems while I am down here." He flicked his hand and Touma moved his right hand in front of him for protection. Compressed air hit Touma in the side sending him sprawling to the ground.

"Ouch," he said getting to his feet clutching his side. His side was sore, but nothing felt broken. He couldn't tell which direction the attacks were coming form. The Herald seemed to be able to control the direction of wind instantly with the slightest movement of his left hand. Since the air was invisible, he couldn't see it to react fast enough. He took a deep breath and sighed. _This is so unfair. I guess I have to trust my instincts._ He jumped back, as his instincts warned him, and he stuck out his right hand forward. Right where his chest would have been, his hand touched the air and the sound of glass shattering echoed across the empty ring. Touma looked up at The Herald and, for the first time, saw a look of mild surprise on his face as he raised an eyebrow.

"You seem to be able to figure out where I target," The Herald commented. "That should be impossible, but it is still within my calculations. I simply need to make attacks you can't block with just one hand." He made a small movement with the fingers on his left hand and the air around Touma started to swirl. Small vortexes of air started to form in every direction around him. He wouldn't have been able to see them except the dust from the arena floor got mixed in. The vortexes formed a dome all around him about twenty feet away as he watched. "Don't worry. I will make sure to avoid any vital spots. You may have some broken bones though."

Touma glared at him, but he knew he was in trouble. His hand could block one attack out of the hundreds around him. He didn't have a plan on how to stop this. Usually his magic opponents didn't understand how his hand worked and it gave him an element of surprise. This time, his opponent knew everything about his ability. "Shit," he muttered to himself. He clutched his fist in anger, not at The Herald, but at himself for not being strong enough. His hand started to pulse and Touma remembered something. _Maybe this guy doesn't know everything about my hand. After all, I just learned about it too. He did say an attack I could not block with just one hand._ Touma grinned as his hand pulsed again.

The Herald looked at him curiously. "With the information we know about you, it is too much to hope you finally realized your situation and planned to surrender." He sighed. "You probably just thought you could try something to beat me. Just save me the effort, sit down, and wait for all the fights to conclude. Accept your fate and help us save the world."

"You think you know everything," Touma said. "But what if I use something I didn't even know about until recently. Would you have that information? Also, don't give me that crap about trying to save the world. You just want to make it a better place for you. You don't care about others."

"Children," The Herald said rubbing his head with his hand. "As for your plan, I guess I will get to see it if you try to move." Touma grinned and suddenly dashed forward. The Herald closed his hand in response and the vortexes of air shot toward him like spears. Right before they connected with him, Touma pulled back his right hand near his chest. A white light exploded from his hand and engulfed everything around him. The vortexes all dispersed instantly as if they had never existed. The light faded about five feet away from Touma. "What?" The Herald said and for the first time he looked shocked. Touma did not hesitate though and kept running forward. The Herald was surprised, but quickly regained his composure. He raised his hand and turned the air right in front of Touma's knees solid. But to his surprise Touma jumped over it and kept running. When Touma got close, he threw his fist forward at The Herald's face.

His fist found nothing but air.

Touma stopped and looked around. The Herald was a good fifty feet away. After the light wave from his fist negated the air vortexes, he remembered he had to dodge for two seconds because his hand would not negate anything during that time. He didn't know how he knew, but he jumped over something he could not see. His instincts told him something was going to be there. As he was about to punch The Herald in the face, a gust of wind suddenly formed and lifted The Herald into the air and carried him away from Touma's fist. The breeze blew some dust into his face and he had lost sight of The Herald for a moment. He looked at the surprised look on The Herald's face and grinned again. "You wouldn't know I started learning about my hand," he said. "It has a lot of surprises."

"Hmm," The Herald said contemplating. "You found a way to harness your hand to completely protect your body. That actually is a major setback. Now I have to develop a new plan to incapacitate you without killing you." He sighed. "Why do children insist on making things to complicated?"

"Because you are evil and are trying to kill people," Touma yelled at him.

"Good and evil are just perspective," The Herald said. "If I must do acts some people consider to be evil in order to help the greater good, I will. Do you know why Lucifer is considered evil?"

"Because he tried to kill God?" Touma answered unsure where this was going.

"Partially," The Herald said. "While it is true God is considered the epitome of good, why is that? How many people have been killed in his name? No, the reason he is good and Lucifer is evil was because God won against Lucifer. History gives us the same lesson. The winners are good and the losers are evil."

"You can't be serious," Touma said. "Killing people is evil no matter how you try to spin it."

"You know the difference between terrorism and rebellion is? Terrorists lose while rebellions win. They are simply coined by the winners. If the old regime wins, they write about the terrorists. If the new regime wins, they write about the rebellion. Good and evil is never black and white. I can see we will not agree so there is only one choice left." The Herald reached out a hand and the wind in the arena started to whip around like a storm. "We will see whose ideals are stronger."

Touma gritted his teeth. He could understand a strong desire in a belief, but his words had to be twisted Even if his words did make some sense, Touma could not believe killing people was good. He made a fist and held it out in front of him. "I will break that illusion of yours. After this is over, I will go back to Academy City will all my friends." A strip of wind whipped at him and he reached out without looking and negated it. As Touma stared at The Herald he felt as if he knew where the attacks would come from. He ran forward blocking wind and dodging any solid air The Herald created. Several strips of wind surrounded him again and he was forced to use the pulse of white light to protect himself. That was when the fight started to go downhill.

Right after Touma negated the wind surrounding him, The Herald sent a concentrated ball of spinning air at Touma. He did not expect it to hit, but it was part of his multiple attack plan. He was going to force Touma to move his hand in the direction The Herald wanted. What happened next, even he didn't see coming. The ball of wind hit Touma's hand, but instead of negating, it exploded on impact. Blades of wind expanded form the ball cutting Touma all over his body and the majority of it collided with his chest knocking him back a good ten feet. "Interesting," The Herald commented. "It appears after negating everything around you, your hand can't be used immediately. There goes your trump card."

 _Shit,_ Touma thought. _He figured it out to soon._ He body was covered with minor cuts and ached all over. The wind was still whipping around all over the arena. He knew The Herald had to keep him alive or he would have been finished already. His only choice was to continue to fight and hope he can find an opening. _He is, at least, distracted so he won't be able to interfere with any of my friends._ _I just need to find a weak point to exploit._ "I'll believe in my friends," Touma said getting to his feet. "Until I am sure they are all safe, I am going to keep fighting."

* * *

"MISAKA can't breathe MISAKA gasps as MISAKA slowly asphyxiates, but secretly enjoys being held tightly."

Accelerator woke up to something fidgeting in his arms while speaking. He looked down and saw Last Order trying to get out, but his vector power was keeping his arms from moving. He loosened his arms slightly and Last Order poked her head out and took a deep breath. _Ah, what happened? My head hurts like hell. At least she's ok._

"MISAKA has a question MISAKA asks as MISAKA looks at you with wondering eyes."

"What?" he asked looking at her as she sat on his lap.

"How are you using your powers when you are not connected to the Misaka Network MISAKA asks as MISAKA can't explain this situation. Does it have something to do with that mark on your head MISAKA asks as MISAKA bops your forehead." She actually reached up and tapped him on the forehead while saying "Bop."

Accelerator's response was a quick light chop to her head. Accelerator then ignored Last Orders whining about child abuse as he thought about the situation. She was safe and that was his primary concern. Now he looked around to see where he was. He remember being near a stone altar, but was now in the middle of an undamaged arena leaning up against the wall. He then furrowed his brow while he thought about Last Order's words. He was not connected to the Misaka Network, but he could still use his powers. She also mentioned the mark on his head. _Pride had the mark and a regenerative ability. The hero mentioned Sloth's mark transferred to him after Sloth's defeat. It makes sense Pride's mark would transfer to me. So I gained his regenerative ability and can use my full power now, convenient._

"Nice job Accel-kun," a voice said full of humor. "You rescued her and are now cuddling with your loli" Accelerator turned to see Jason. Jason had suddenly appeared in the ring nearby. He looked a little tired and walked slowly, but otherwise appeared to be in good spirits. Accelerator quickly pushed Last Order off him causing her to complain again about mistreatment of minors.

"She's not my loli," Accelerator snapped at Jason. "And don't you call me that stupid nickname like those idiots unless you want to die." He was pissed, but part of him was glad things seemed to be going back to normal. He didn't remember everything that happened near the end of the fight with Pride, but he remembered quite a bit. He didn't like the feeling, regardless of how much power he had.

"Don't be like…" Jason replied grinning, but he was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Mikoto and Ruiko. "Great, looks like Misaka-san won."

"She sure did," Ruiko said grinning. "She definitely saved me."

"Accelerator, Kagere-san," Mikoto acknowledged them. "Yea it was a tough fight. I just wish they wouldn't have those runes that killed them when they were defeated."

"Yea," Jason agreed. "The same thing happened to me. They really have powerful abilities, but that's not a reason to commit suicide."

"Mine was a pushover," Accelerator claimed. "It just took a while because of his regenerative powers."

"Is that why you are sitting on the floor exhausted?" Mikoto asked teasingly. Ruiko and Jason grinned.

"Oh?" Accelerator raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Coming from the girl who's dressed in her underwear? The hero isn't here, so your sex appeal, well," he grinned evilly. "lack of it, is wasted." Mikoto immediately used her arms to cover her chest.

"Y-you," she stammered and electricity sparked around her. Jason continued to add fuel to the fire.

"When I got here, he had Last Order on top of him while he held her close."

"MISAKA can confirm this MISAKA says as MISAKA confirms Accelerator's exploits."

"PERVERT!" Mikoto yelled and shot a bolt of electricity at Accelerator. It hit him and flew upwards eventually dissipating into the air. "Stupid reflection," Mikoto mumbled.

"Now, now," Ruiko said stepping between them. "We have bigger things to worry about. Like the fact we are missing half of our friends. Misaka-san told me who else came with you." As if response to her words, two more people appeared.

"KAZARI!" Jason cried and ran toward her. He pulled her into a big hug and Kazari turned bright red, but didn't try to push him away. She instead hugged him back.

"I'm glad to see you safe too Jason," she said softly.

Jason looked over at Sogiita. "Thanks for saving her, I owe you one."

"No thanks necessary," Sogiita said puffing his chest out. His clothes looked horrible, his shirt was just a shredded remain, but he appeared undamaged. "I just did what anyone would do when they saw someone getting kidnapped. Besides, the fight was really awesome. I got to use my guts to the fullest and fight robots and even punch a black hole." Accelerator and Mikoto both looked at each after that statement. They decided not to say anything. Sogiita usually did stupid things that defied common sense.

Everyone sat down on the arena floor waiting for the last two people. There did not appear any noticeable direction for them to go. They figured everyone else would appear when they finished their fights with their opponents. As none of them knew how to travel through different magic zones, they really couldn't do anything else.

"I hope Kuroko is ok," Mikoto mumbled out loud.

"I'm worried about Shokuhou-san," Jason said. "Shirai can handle herself in a one on one fight. Shokuhou-san is not really a front line fighter. If they can resist her mind control, she would be helpless."

"True," Mikoto muttered. She did not like Misaki a lot, but Misaki did come to help save Mikoto's friends so she was determined Misaki would at least come back alive.

"She's a level five," Accelerator said nonchalantly leaning back against the arena wall. "She can handle herself." He was trying to ignore Last Order who kept trying to poke the mark on his forehead. Everyone else glanced at the mark that appeared on them when they defeated their opponent, but no one said anything. Jason had his arm around Kazari while she was talking to Ruiko. Mikoto was staring out across the arena looking for Touma and Kuroko. Sogiita seemed to be the only one who couldn't sit still and soon stood up and started pacing around.

"There's Shokuhou-san," Mikoto called out suddenly and every looked around. Misaki had appeared in the middle of the arena. She was lying on her back and looking up at the sky. "I think she might be hurt." Mikoto rushed over followed be everyone else. She looked down as she stood over Misaki. "Are you ok?"

"Of course Misaka-san," smiled Misaki. "Just a little tired from my adventure. By the way, I see your choice in underwear has not changed. Don't think you can seduce Touma with it just because I wasn't here."

"Y-you," sputtered Mikoto covering her chest again then yelled out. "My shirt got burned by Wrath, this wasn't by choice!" Misaki, Accelerator, Ruiko, and Jason all smirked and avoid each other's eyes.

"It seems our guts were greater than those villains," Sogiita said punching his fist into the air. "Another one of our comrades have returned."

"Accelerator said the same thing to her," Jason said helping Misaki to her feet.

"At least I wasn't the last one to finish," Misaki said looking around. 'We are missing, Shirai-san and Touma?"

Mikoto nodded. "I hope they are ok. None of us seemed to have fought the leader, so it leaves one of them, unless it was you?"

Misaki's face darkened. "Lust told me the selection wasn't random. Each of the sins chose one of us ahead of time. So I think Touma actually went and met the leader."

"Makes sense," Accelerator said. "It was too much of a coincidence I fought Pride." Jason and Mikoto nodded as they remembered their own fight. "Though the hero should be fine, he is pretty tough." Mikoto raised an eyebrow in surprise at Accelerator's compliment about Touma. Then she saw another person lying on the ground in the distance.

"I think I see Kuroko," she called out and ran over while everyone else followed. Mikoto was the first one to reach her. The smell of rust overpowered her and she saw Kuroko was not moving. She knelt down and grabbed her shoulder. She suddenly let out a scream as she noticed a pool of blood forming below her. "HELP! SHE'S BLEEDING OUT!"

"Damn it," Sogiita said kneeling down. "She's losing blood fast."

"Shit," Accelerator said and bounded forward. He reached down and touched the blood. "Ok, I am keeping the blood rotating inside her so she should not lose any more. The problem is how much she lost already. Even if I rotated it manually, if she doesn't have enough blood in her body, she will die. I am just extending the time. It seems like she lost a lot, so I do not know for sure how much time she has." He was able to analyze everything calmly. Seeing blood and destruction was not unusual for him.

"What can we do?" Kazari asked worriedly clutching to Ruiko.

"If we were near a hospital we would be fine," Accelerator said grimly. "Once I stop touching her she is going to start bleeding out again and she won't have much time."

"Oh no," Misaki said. "I can't use my power to help reduce the pain when someone has extremely low blood presser. My powers will just cause more problems if I try."

"Kuroko…" Mikoto said softly. She was full of fear at the mere thought of losing her best friend. She felt tears well up in her eyes because she couldn't think of what to do. She could cauterize the wounds, but it wouldn't solve the problem of lack of blood and it might cause even more problems down the road. _If only I could use magic, I could save her. Wait…_ She remembered one person in the group could use magic. "Jason," she called out suddenly and he jumped. "Can you heal her with magic?" Kazari and Ruiko looked at each other in surprised and mouthed 'magic?'

Jason looked at her into the tear filled eyes. "Magic could healer her…" he said slowly and Mikoto opened her mouth. "But," he interrupted her before she could say anything. "Healing is not a simple process with all the differences in religions, sects, rules, and spells. I don't really know how to perform any pure healing spells."

"Please," Mikoto said and tears started falling. "There must be something you can do. I don't want to lose my friend." Jason looked at her and then looked away for a moment.

"There is one thing I could do," Jason said his face darkening. "It is not pretty, but it should be able to heal her." Accelerator and Misaki looked at him. They both knew magic existed, but it usually looked like abilities with weird differences. Examples were the sin guys they just fought. When Jason said something wasn't going to be pretty they didn't know what to make of it or how he could heal massive blood loss. Ruiko, Kazari, Last Order, and Sogiita were completely lost. They did not understand magic at all. Mikoto looked at Jason with tears on her face and he nodded. "I'll try."

He moved away from the group as his shadow started to move out from under his jeans to the ground. The shadow spread around in a circle about three foot radius. Once the circle was made, lines spread inwards, intersecting and forming intricate designs while writing series of runes along the outer edge. As this was happening he spoke to Accelerator. "I'm going to step out of this circle when it's done. You will need to set Shirai right in the middle where I am now. When I say so, you need to immediately get out of the circle without disturbing the earth. You need to be fast so there is limited blood lost. Afterwards, I will cast the spell. This spell is very disturbing in appearance so I advise not watching it." His face was still dark as he concentrated on finishing the circle and stepped out. "You ready?"

Accelerator nodded and carried Kuroko to the circle while keeping her blood circulating. "This had better work. I still don't trust magic." Mikoto clasped her hands together as she watched. She wasn't going to turn around while her friend was in danger. Kazari and Ruiko turned away, but they held on to each other. Sogiita watched, but was uncharacteristically silent. His skills would not be able to help heal someone and he had never seen magic before. Misaki turned away too as she did not have the strongest stomach, especially when she was mentally drained from her fight. Last Order wanted to watch, but a glared from Accelerator made her turn around.

"Go," Jason said simply. Accelerator removed his hand and jumped back landing outside the circle. Jason clasped his hands together and started to sing in an undertone. None of them could make out the words, or even the language, but they felt the spirit of the song. It was a haunting melody that invoked deep feelings of despair and regret. At the same time something appeared above Jason. A white outline of a humanoid figure started to flicker into existence. As the figure grew solid, they recognized it as an angel. They may not have believed in angels, as students of Academy City, but they could recognize it from books. The angel was white with long hair and looked female, but one of its wings was bent at an odd angle, almost as if it was broken. Surrounding it was a pitch black vine with thorns on it. The vine was wrapped around the angel tightly as if the vine was choking it. The thorns were pressed into the angel's body and black blood was leaking out from the wounds.

The angel opened its mouth and looked like it was screaming in agony, though no sound came out. Accelerator had a look of disgust on his face as he watched it. Sogiita looked a little disturbed, but was watching it intently with interest. Mikoto felt her body shake in fear as the song and angel affected her greater than the others because she was terrified Kuroko was going to die. The song suddenly changed and she felt something start rising deep form within her. It was hope. She tore her eyes away from the angel and looked at Kuroko. Her body was glowing slightly and black mist was slowly rising from her body and disappearing into the angle. This continued for about a minute and Jason stopped singing. The angel faded away and Kuroko stopped glowing. Jason took a step back staggering while the shadows retracted back to him. Mikoto ran forward and kneeled by Kuroko. "Kuroko?" she asked hesitantly. The wounds on Kuroko had disappeared.

Kuroko's eyes flickered. "Onee-sama?" she asked as she sat up.

Mikoto pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank god you are alright. I thought we were going to lose you."

"Is it over," Ruiko asked turning around. Seeing Kuroko was sitting up, Ruiko grabbed Kazari and they both ran over to her. "You look as good as new."

"Onee-sama," Kuroko said as confirmation. "Last thing I remembered was beating Envy." She looked at her body confused there was no wounds. "What happened? I was sure I was badly hurt. Did you save me?"

Mikoto shook her head and pointed. "Kagere-san healed you with magic."

"It was weird," Kazari said shivering slightly. "That song was so dark, but it did end on a more positive note."

"Really?" Kuroko asked as she turned to look at Jason. "How did he heal me and why does he look so bad?" Everyone turned to look at Jason. He had staggered away from the group. He turned to glance back at them and they saw his face was deathly pale. He held up a hand to his mouth ad he took a couple more steps away. He suddenly fell on his knees and vomited onto the ground. "Kagere-san, are you alright?" Kuroko asked. Kazari got up and ran over to him helping him back to his feet.

"I've been better," he said weakly as Kazari helped him back to the group. "That spell has a heavy toll, but it was the only way I could think of healing her. I won't be able to do that again for a long time so no one else get hurt."

"What did you do?" Accelerator asked. "Her wounds were deep and she had lost most of her blood. The wounds are one thing, but how did you replace the blood?

"They used guts to replace blood," Sogiita explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Don't be stupid," Misaki said. "He obviously used this magic of his. It follows a different set of laws."

Mikoto had not said anything because she was still hugging Kuroko. Kuroko did not want to say anything because Mikoto might stop holding her tightly against her chest. Kuroko was well aware of Mikoto being shirtless, but for her it was pure bliss. She did, however, turn her head to look at Jason as he explained what he did. _He saved me? By his expression, it was not an easy task for him._

"It was a spell called Sacrifice," Jason explained. "It was developed during the Dark Ages when Christianity had a very prominent role in Europe. It was used to heal people by transferring the wounds of someone to another person. It was used after battles with enemy prisoners. They would transfer their soldier's wounds to the enemies they captured, using them as virtually life batteries."

"Wait," Mikoto asked. "You transferred her wounds to you?"

"Let me finish," Jason said looking slightly annoyed. The color was slowly coming back to his face as he leaned against Kazari. "Transferring the wounds to me would not have helped us. Instead, over the years, the spell has changed. By increasing the backlash of the spell, the wounds do not transfer but are lost between the two participants. In other words, I took double the pain from Kuroko as her wounds disappeared during the transfer process."

"So all you took was a little pain?" asked Accelerator. "Sounds pretty convenient."

"Well, if I lose concentration for even a moment we both would have died instantly," Jason explained. "It really is an all or nothing spell. The instant burst of near death pain can interfere with the song. It is really taxing on my mind, so I won't be able to do that again for a while." He held his hand up to his mouth as another wave of nausea went through him.

"How could you use something like that?" Kazari reprimanded him. "You could have died too."

"Didn't have a choice," he replied. Everyone was surprised as Kazari suddenly gave him a slap across the cheek.

"Don't you ever do something like that again," she said as her eyes watered as she hugged him.

"Well now that this touching reunion is over," Accelerator interrupted everyone. He jerked his thumb indicating the direction behind him. "A new door formed and it appears to be glowing. I think we need to go that way to find the hero." Everyone turned and looked at it. A new archway had opened and was glowing with a white light.

"It does seem like the most obvious direction," Misaki said. "But what if it is a trap?"

"Then we will use our guts to smash through the trap," Sogiita said pounding his fists together.

"We will teach him not to mess with us," Mikoto said sparking.

"Onwards then," Jason said.

"I have a debt to repay," Kuroko added.

"Heh," Accelerator said smirking. "Oh brat," he turned to Last Order, "You go with those two," he pointed to Kazari and Ruiko, "outside of the coliseum."

"MISAKA doesn't want to go MISAKA cries as MISAKA refuses to abandon Accelerator."

"Quiet brat," he replied chopping her on the head. "These guys are the real deal and you don't know how to fight. So get out of here where it is safer." Last Order opened her mouth, but quickly shut it under his glare.

"Uiharu-san and Saten-san," Mikoto said turning to her friends. "Can you make sure she gets out safely? There should be a bus outside of here with an elderly guy standing guard. He is on our side. Can you go there and wait for us? We have to rescue Touma and stop these guys."

"Sure thing Misaka-san," Ruiko said giving a salute. She then reached down and took Last Order's hand. "You heard them. Let's go." She dragged Last Order with her and Kazari followed. She didn't want to leave, but she knew she did not have a lot of combat abilities compared to the level 5s. She agreed it was the best course of action to make sure Last Order and Ruiko were safe.

After they left, the rest of the group turned to face the new doorway. "That b%$&*^% is going to regret messing with us," Accelerator said leading the way. Everyone else followed close behind him. With four of the seven level 5s and two level 4s after a single person, one would assume that person did not stand a chance in hell of surviving.

"Oh girl," Accelerator called out to Kuroko as they neared the archway. "Don't go dying again. You heard him, he can't save you twice."

"Don't worry about me," Kuroko said defiantly. "I won't drop my guard again. Envy just cheated."

"Besides," Jason said. "She owes me a life debt already. If I have to save her again, she will never be able to pay me back."

"No way in hell will I ever owe you anything," Kuroko yelled.

"I wished Touma owed me something," Misaki said wishfully. "He could join me in my room for some private time with just the two of us."

"Don't you go imagining something perverted with him," Mikoto snapped at her.

"Coming from the girl without a shirt?" Misaki replied smiling. Mikoto shook with rage.

"Good to see everyone is in high spirits," Sogiita said. "Time to take out the leader with our combined guts."

"I can't wait for this to be over," Accelerator groaned. "Then I can leave all you idiots behind."

The euphoria from winning their respective fights and healing Kuroko faded as they approached the archway. They all grew serious as they stepped through the portal to find Touma.

* * *

Touma leaned against the wall of the ring panting slightly. His body was bruised and covered with small scratches. _This is not going well, he knows all about my ability._ By alternating randomly between using his hand and using the burst of light, he was able to push The Herald back slightly. The problem was once The Herald got use to his burst, he made adjustments to his battle strategy. Now he would use attacks that would force Touma to use the burst then immediately hit him with a direct attack. Touma was not always able to dodge.

"Where was that confidence you had not too long ago?" The Herald asked. "You have just been running around for a while."

"Just warming up," Touma said defiantly. "I'm still going to stop you."

"Unless you have another trump card up your sleeve," The Herald said. "All you are doing is wasting time. The only reason I have not killed you already is I need you alive for now."

Touma frowned, but he knew The Herald was not lying. All of the attacks were made to deliberately incapacitate Touma, not kill. It was only thanks to his quick reflexes and intuition on where the attacks would strike from that he was still standing. Otherwise, he would have been knocked out already. "I still believe I can win," Touma said. He didn't know why he believed it, but he just knew he had to win. If he did not, he and his friends would die.

"Childish beliefs," The Herald sighed shaking his head. "I suppose this charade should end."

"I couldn't agree more," said a female voice as a crackling sound was heard. A second late a bolt of electricity flew over Touma right at The Herald. He was able to react though and the electricity bounced harmlessly off an invisible wall.

Touma turned around. "Mikoto," he yelled out happy to see her. He was surprised Mikoto was shirtless and using her other arm to cover herself. He felt his ears go red

"Not just me," she said. "Everyone is here too." As she said this, everyone else was exiting through the doorway into the ring.

"Looks like the hero is having a tough time," Accelerator said smirking. "We finished off all of our fights. What is taking you so damn long?"

"How dare you hurt my prince!?" Misaki asked angrily to The Herald as she pointed her remote at him. "His mind is shielded," she muttered.

"Nothing a little guts can't fix," Sogiita said.

"I feel like something is wrong," muttered Jason. Kuroko who was the only one close enough to hear him looked at him.

"What do you mean?" Kuroko asked not taking her eyes off The Herald.

"We got here to easily," Jason replied.

"I told you we would win," Touma said to the Herald. "I believed in them. Now all that's left is to stop you." However, he got worried when the Herald smiled.

"Did you forget the last part of the ritual," The Herald said. "I believed I told you."

"What do you mean?" Touma said thinking. "We defeated all your guys carrying the sin marks."

'The last part of the ritual requires all seven sin marks," The Herald said still smiling. 'I didn't say who they had to be on."

Touma froze. _He said the sins would be sacrificed to the ritual so if all of us have them, that means… shit!_ "Guys get out of the arena quick!"

"What?" Mikoto asked.

"To late," The Herald said. A gust of wind carried him into the air. "Final Stage: Activate!" he called out. All of the artifacts on the stone altars started to glow brightly. "Say your farewells before your lives are sacrificed to our lord."

Touma suddenly felt pain on his aim as the sin mark glowed. At the same time, he felt all the energy drain from his body and he fell to the ground. He was barely able to look around at everyone else. He saw runes glowing on different parts of their body. _Damn it, I should have remembered sooner. He got us._ Touma could barely move. He looked up at The Herald who was mouthing something, but was too far away for Touma to hear what. The space next to The Herald was cracking and opened into a small hole with nothing in it. It looked like a small void had formed and was slowly growing. _We have to stop him._ He looked at his friends to see if any of them could do anything, but even Accelerator was struggling. Jason, however, caught his eye.

Jason had the expression of something thinking hard and his face darkened. When he caught Touma's eyes he smiled, but Touma knew that smile. It was the smile of someone about to do something incredibly stupid because there was no other choice. He had used that smile before on Mikoto and many other people. Touma was about to call out for Jason not to do it, but he was too late. "Everything I desire I can reach out and take," Jason called out as he reached his hand out. It was not toward The Herald, but to everyone else. A second later Jason cried out in horrible pain, "AHHHHHHHHH," and then collapsed unconscious.

The weakness and pain left Touma and he was able to get back to his feet. Around him everyone else was getting to their feet too. Touma had no idea what Jason did, until he saw Jason's body. All seven runes were glowing on his body in different parts. "Shit," he rushed over to Jason and tried to use his hand to stop the runes. The runes just faded away when his hand got close and reappeared when he moved his hand away. "Damn it Jason, why did you do that? It's going to kill you."

"What do you mean?" Mikoto asked running over.

"The Herald said someone can't have more than one mark on them or they will die," Touma explained quickly. "He must have stolen them with his mark so we could escape."

"Can you do anything?" Mikoto asked.

"No, my hand isn't working." They were interrupted by a roar of anger from above them.

"You brat!" The Herald roared. "How dare you interrupt my ritual?" He looked at the void next to him and reached into it with his left hand. He pulled out a small green gem that glowed unnaturally bright. "The ritual was supposed to revive our lord, but with just his energy all we received was this because the spell did not complete." He held up the gem. "Die!" He swept his hand at Jason and a blade of win flew at him.

Sogiita was the first to move. He jumped forward and pounded his fist on the ground in between Jason and The Herald. The blade of wind hit the wall of pressure Sogiita created and stopped. "I'm not going to let you hurt someone who is unconscious," he declared.

"Annoying brats," he said the moved to the left as a chunk of the arena flew past him. Accelerator had ripped off a segment of the coliseum and threw it. He frowned. "How is he still alive? He should have died instantly when all the marks appeared on his body. What is his body made of?" He shot a ball of wind at Kuroko who was trying to get nearer to teleport her spikes forcing her to retreat. "I will personally kill every one of you. Do you know how long…?"

He stopped and looked at his left hand that was holding the green gem. The gem had fused into the palm of his hand. He reached his hand above him and suddenly ten enormous white circles of various complicated designs appeared high in the air all around them. Each one had to be around fifty meters in diameter. Everyone had a bad feeling about these circles. "So much power in such a small object." As he looked at his hand, green veins started to spread out through his arm. "I see, this is a fragment of Lucifer. The ritual could not bring his entire being into this world, but with just a single fragment, I will be able to kill you all." He pointed at them and several white beams shot out of his hand at them.

Touma reached out his hand and blocked one, but the beam did not disappear instantly. He felt the hairs stand up on his arm as his hand slowly negated the beam. Accelerator didn't move and the beam hit him. It reflected into the stands and left a large creator. He frowned because he had planned to reflect it right back at The Herald instead of the stands. For some reason the vectors were different. Kuroko just teleported herself and Misaki out of the way. Mikoto managed to dodge of her own accord. The beam that was targeting Sogiita pieced his pressure wall, but he managed to move his body out of the way as the beam just missed him. It left another crater behind him.

"I don't care who this Lucifer is," Mikoto yelled out angrily. "No one tries to hurt my friends." She shot a bolt of electricity at him. An intricate white magic circle appeared in front of The Herald. Mikoto's electricity hit it and dispersed instantly.

"Fine," The Herald said. "You can die first." He raised his hand and Mikoto found herself frozen in place.

 _Shit,_ she thought to herself as she started sparking. _He's doing something so I can't move._

"Die!" The Herald said simply as he made a slashing motion with his hand. A white blade flew at Mikoto. Everyone thought she would just dodge so they didn't immediately come to her aid. Touma was the first to notice something was wrong and his body moved before he could think. He reached out with his right hand and pushed Mikoto out of the way. The sound of glass shattering was heard when Touma touched Mikoto. The blade passed through the spot Mikoto had been less than a second before. Something else was there instead.

The blade sliced through Touma's arm right below the shoulder.

Mikoto's eyes went wide as Touma's arm fell to the ground. Blood sprayed out and she screamed in horror as she fell back from his push. "TOUMA!" She was able to move again and caught herself before she hit the ground.

"Damn it," Accelerator muttered and leaped toward Touma. He reached down to try to stop the blood and his eyes narrowed. "What the hell, I can't stop it. I thought his power was just his right hand? He's negating everything around his arm." He made a fist in anger as he couldn't help the person dying in front of him.

"That means I can't cauterize the wound," Mikoto said softly as her voice shook with rage. She made a fist too and she started sparking madly. "Shokuhou-san, your power doesn't work on The Herald, so do everything you can to stop the bleeding." Shokuhou nodded and Sogiita tossed her the remains of his shirt.

"Here use my shirt to stop the bleeding," Sogiita said. "I'll make sure none of his attacks get through to him or Jason."

"Onee-sama?" Kuroko asked nervously looking at Mikoto. She saw rage in Mikoto she had never seen before and even felt killing intent. Accelerator was also issuing enormous killing intent. Kuroko saw Mikoto's hand reached up to a choker on her neck Kuroko had never seen before either.

"He was weak," The Herald called out. "All of you will die helpless like him. I have the power of the first Archangel, the one who could challenge God."

At his words, all hell broke loose.

"B&$%&#!" Accelerator roared. Two murky pitch black wings began to form on his back. They started splitting and spread out over tens of meters. They radiated of anger and hatred, and threaten to shatter his, and everyone else's, mind. Kuroko took a step back instinctively, Misaki looked up in fear while holding the shirt against Touma's arm, and even Sogiita was uneasy about those wings. Accelerator turned around and started walking toward The Herald. His wings were spreading the ground around him like paper. The killing intent from him was almost visible. The only person who did not appear to be focused on Accelerator's wings was Mikoto.

At the same time Mikoto was also overcome by rage. "HOW DARE YOU?!" she hollered and flicked the choker on her neck. The electricity around her was normally blue-white, but it suddenly turned pitch black like Accelerator's wings. Her hair became swept back, with a few fringes gathering together to form two horn-like appendages on her head. The sclera of her eyes darken, but the most obvious change was the appearance of two ribbon-like objects with diamond shaped objects attached to them that hung around Mikoto's arms. The black lighting spread out further around her as she also started walking toward The Herald. She also emitted an aura of rage and hatred around her.

Kuroko was frozen in shock. She did not know what happened to Mikoto, but it felt similar to what happened to Accelerator. _It feels like they are above level 5._ She knew trying to stand before them was futile so she put her faith in Mikoto. She would have known about Mikoto's shift if Misaki did not erase her memories of it after the Daihaseisai. She was still full of fright at Mikoto's transformation.

Sogiita and Misaki had both seen the Mikoto in this form, but neither of them knew how she was able to access the form now. Misaki had stopped the level 6 shift for Mikoto and the sisters. They both were also nervous about what Accelerator had become. He did not change as much as Mikoto, but the wings of his caused primal fear within them. Sogiita shook his head and punched the ground creating another pressure wall to protect Misaki, Jason and Touma. Misaki shook her head and focused on trying to save the most important person to her while the others stop The Herald.

The Herald frowned as he watched two of the children transform. He had part of the power of an Archangel in his hand, but the two kids before him still caused him to worry. _It feels like Telesma, but it's darker. I don't believe it. Academy City actually created artificial demon gods._ He burst out laughing. "Academy City really is a beacon of destruction for this world." His words were interrupted as Mikoto raised her hand and the ribbon pointed up into the air. A lighting strike form the sky flew down at The Herald. Well, it wasn't really a lighting strike. It looked more like a pillar, easily thirty meters in diameter, of pure electricity. It smashed through two magic circles above The Herald, shattering them into pieces and they disappeared, and kelp going. The Herald raised his hand and another circle appeared above him. The lighting pillar crashed into it. The circle held, but a cracked appeared in it. The Herald frowned slightly again but said, "Impressive power but it is not enough to defeat me."

Accelerator didn't take his words kindly, but it could be debated if he even heard them. The ground around him exploded as he flew toward The Herald. Another white circle appeared between them, but Accelerator didn't care. His black wings moved forward and pieced through it. They ripped the circle apart and continued to fly toward The Herald. There was a flash of light and the black wings were pushed to the side away from The Herald's main body, but they passed through his arm. The arm was torn off with no resistance. The Herald looked at his arm and shook his head. The arm started to reform, but for some reason it looked hollow. Accelerator roared in anger as his attack did not do anything and his wings split up into countless blades.

At the same time lighting flew from Mikoto's ribbons at The Herald and he had to create several layers of circles to block it. Then he sent a wave of light to intercept the black blades from Accelerator's wings. _Even with some of my master's power, these kids are still a threat. They have stepped into the world of demons and must be destroyed._ He made a swipe with his hand and two blades of light flew at both Accelerator and Mikoto. Accelerator blocked it with his wings, but he was still pushed back as his wings flickered for an instant. Mikoto blasted the light with a lightning pillar and the explosion between both attacks blocked her from view for a moment. The fight was pretty even, but The Herald seemed to have a slight advantage.

Misaki however was not paying attention to the fight. She was doing everything she could to try to keep Touma from bleeding out. She managed to slow the bleeding, but there was nothing else she could do. Tears were running down her face as she faced her worst nightmare again. She was going to lose the most important person in her life. "Please don't die," she whispered under her breath. She held his head in her lap and did not care about the blood she got on herself. She closed her eyes as the tears started flowing faster.

She felt something touch her head.

She opened her eyes and saw Touma's left hand patting her on the head. She opened her mouth in surprise, but no words came out. Touma stopped touching her and sat up using his left hand to push himself to his feet. He staggered slightly, but still stood up. He looked around at the carnage before him and the fight between Accelerator, Mikoto, and The Herald. He clutched his left hand into a fist and took a step forward. Kuroko noticed him and her eyes widened in shock. She mouthed something, but no one heard it. Misaki finally found her words. "You can't," she whispered. "Your injury…" She trailed off as he turned his head to look at her and he smiled.

"Don't worry Misaki," he said. "I'm going to end this and we will all go back together. Believe in me."

She didn't have any rational to do so, but she always trusted everything he said. He did not lie to her. She closed her eyes, held her shaking hands together, and she believed in him. She knew he would stop this fight and they would all go back to Academy City.

About 30 seconds passed since Mikoto and Accelerator went berserk.

* * *

 **Accelerator: I could have finished it without the third rate.**

 **Mikoto; Bull, you should just stay out of it.**

 **Kuroko: Wow, both of you have turned evil.**

 **Jason: I wish I could see it, but I had to save everyone, and Shirai twice.**

 **Kuroko: If you start talking about that life debt again….**

 **Jason: I'm calling it in.**

 **Kuroko: Just die.**

 **Misaki: Yay quality time with Touma and now he's going back to Academy City with me.**

 **Touma: I think you might have misund…**

 **Jason: Shush Touma, just accept it. You need this.**

 **Touma: What are you talking about?**

 **Accelerator: Wow, just how dense are you?**

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or idea. I love reading them. Next chapter will officially end the sin arc. I know some people can't wait to see Touma be awesome. Good times for all, except The Herald. Two powerful level 5s+ and a berserk Touma against him.**


	34. Revelations

**So I simply set up the chance of fluffy to make an appearance and everyone flocks to the comments. I'm going to assume everyone likes fluffy and his amazing powers. People also seem to want the Herald to get wrecked, I can't blame them. He's an a$$. I have a couple things to point out before the chapter.**

 **Hahaha: Glad to see you return man. Your comment made me laugh a lot. Glad you didn't stop all the drinking and drug use. Don't be a quitter.**

 **On a more serious note, I do not care if you do not like my story for any viable reason. The biggest thing I see is people not naturally liking the OC Jason, which is fine. I'm not going to get mad and start randomly yelling at people, everyone has their own preferences. What I do not want to see is people just going around and insulting others with posts. I have only had to delete like two over the entire story, but I don't want to do it. Please just be respectful to others.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

Kazari, Ruiko and Last Order rushed out of the arena in the opposite direction of everyone else. The main entrance was still opened and they were able to escape the coliseum without any problems. Ruiko had a tight grip on Last Order's hand so she would not decide to run back after Accelerator. They continued to move quickly through the open field around the structure until they saw a bus in the distance.

"There it is," Kazari said pointed. "Hurry up."

"I think we may have some company," Ruiko pointed out. Kazari and Last Order turned to look to see who she was pointing to. A red haired young man and a long black haired young women were also running out of the coliseum and heading toward the bus. "They don't look friendly."

"We have seen them before," Kazari pointed out frowning as they continued to approach the bus. An elderly man was leaning against it and waved to Kazari and Ruiko as well as the two suspicious people. "I think he knows them so they are probably on our side." They ran up to the elderly man, who greeted them friendly enough, and they were soon joined by the other two.

"I take it you are the people he was sent to rescue," the man said lighting a cigarette. "Have you seen a girl in a white nun robe?"

Kazari and Ruiko shook their heads. "We just got rescued ourselves," Ruiko added. "They were going after Touma since he was the only one who didn't come back yet. They think he is fighting the leader."

"Umm," Kazari interrupted. "Can you tell us who you two are?"

"Stiyl Magnus," Stiyl said swiftly and then pointed to the girl. "That's Kaori Kanzaki, we are acquaintances with Touma Kamijou. Shit," he muttered under his breath. "He better not let anything happen to her."

"I'm sure he will succeed," Kaori said confidently. "He has never let her down before." Stiyl frowned and looked a little crossed at her words.

"Were you two helping our friends?" Ruiko asked.

"We brought them here," Stiyl replied as he turned to look at the coliseum. "I wish we had been more help, but they sent us into a trap and we can't reenter the coliseum now or we have to fight that trap all over again."

"What trap MISAKA asks as MISAKA wants to know what a real life trap is." Stiyl and Kaori looked at her curiously at her way of talking.

"We get attacked by a large group of golems," Kaori said also turning to the coliseum. "It took a while to clear them so we could leave." Ruiko and Kazari looked at each other and mouthed 'golems?' They had read enough books to have a basic understanding of what golems were, but they were not familiar at all with magic. They have been lost for quite a bit of the conversations going on around them since they were rescued. "You feel that?" she asked Stiyl.

"Yea," he muttered. "There is a small amount of Telesma, and it's growing."

"What could be causing…?" Kaori asked. She stopped when several very large and elaborate white magic circles instantly appeared high in the sky. At the same time the amount of Telesma exploded. "We need to do something," she said. "If those kids are in the middle of that, they are going die."

"You think I don't want to," Stiyl growled biting his cigarettes in half. "You know it will take us at least thirty minutes to assess and bypass that spell. By then it will be over one way or another." They really couldn't do anything but watch, as Kaori got a really ominous feeling in her gut.

"What's happening?" Kazari finally asked after watching those two stare at the coliseum. Before any of them could answer, Last Order had opened her mouth and shouted.

"WARNING! Unauthorized access to the Misaka Network has been detected. First security layer breached, second security layer breached, intruder has acquired full access. Will initiate automatic restart to reset security measures in two minutes." Everyone suddenly looked at each other in confusion. None of them knew anything about the Misaka network or what Last Order's primary purpose was.

"What is that girl yelling about?" spat out Stiyl. "Can't you keep her quiet…?" He got silent as he felt something start to form in the coliseum. Kazari, who could not sense it, had knelt down next to Last Order and tried to talk to her, but her eyes were glazed over and she seemed to be in a trance. "Kanzaki?"

"I feel it too," she muttered shaking slightly. "It's definitely Telesma, but it's so twisted and dark. Do you think they are summoning a demon?"

"It's possible," Stiyl said. "But why is there more than one source of Telesma. The first source hasn't chang…" He was interrupted as a huge lightning pillar descended from the sky into the area, smashing through two of the magic circles in the process, and disappeared. "It seems like the magic space they are in absorbs power form the outside."

"I never saw a lightning strike that big," Ruiko gasped. "Misaka-san, was that you? It couldn't be natural."

None of them knew what was going on in the coliseum. They saw magic circles continue to appear in the sky, along with flashes of lightning and white light. Kaori and Stiyl were busy trying to figure out what was causing the different sources of Telesma. There was a brief pause in the flashes of light and everything went silent as they all almost thought the fight was over. Then they heard it.

A roar came from the coliseum and echoed across the grounds to them. It was not human, it could not be human. It was more fearsome then any demon and threaten to shatter their minds with fear. It stirred primal terror in all of them, even Kaori and Stiyl. Ruiko and Kazari screamed in fright, even Last Order came out of her trance, as the roar rolled over them and she cowered behind Kazari.

* * *

Misaki and Kuroko could only watch as Touma staggered toward the fight between Accelerator, Mikoto, and The Herald. The shirt Misaki had used to try to stop his bleeding was still attached, but it was completely soaked with blood. Misaki had no idea how he was even conscious, let alone able to stand and walk. However, she still remembered his words and continued to believe in him achieving victory. Kuroko was dumbfounded and couldn't even utter a single word. As Touma was a couple feet away from Sogiita, Sogiita turned around as he heard Touma's steps and his eyes went wide.

"You can't go out there in that state," he said, but Touma just ignored him. Touma took a step past him and the pressure wall Sogiita had been managing shattered instantly. Sogiita fell backwards as the recoil hit him, but he got back up to his feet quickly. "How did you do that?" Touma did not answer and just kept walking forward. The shatter did not go unnoticed by the three fighting. They all turned around and looked at him.

"You seem to be on your last leg Imagine Breaker," The Herald said giving him only a brief word as he conjured more light blades at Accelerator and Mikoto.

"You didn't think you could defeat the Imagine Breaker by simply cutting it off?" Touma asked loudly. At his words, The Herald slowly turned his full attention to Touma. Mikoto and Accelerator blocked his last attack and both turned to face him too. The vortex of despair and hate around them, including the killing intent, seemed to lesson slightly. All three of them felt something… inhuman and monstrous. Something so powerful it made the three monsters stop fighting and focus on a single individual.

"What are you?" The Herald asked as fear began to swell up inside of him. _I don't sense any mana or Telesma from him so why am I afraid? I am powerful and backed by Lucifer's might, I should be unstoppable._ He could not talk himself out of the feeling and what he saw next could not be unseen.

Touma grabbed the shirt with his left hand and pulled it off his arm. Blood immediately began to pour out from his wound, but it did not gush out to the ground. Instead, the flow of blood started to trickle in midair as it slowly made its way away from his wound. _Slosh._ As everyone watched, the blood was not randomly flouting in midair. It was outlining something, something very large, with very sharp teeth. Drops of blood started to fly off the tiny rivers of blood and splattered over the transparent creature, like throwing paint onto a glass sculpture. The outline started to move away from Touma's wound and continued to grow larger. As the outline finished, the speckle of blood covered it and the blood sparkled in the light, almost like it was covered in scales, The Herald could make out the shape. It was a head of a beast only talked about in legends, with a jaw over ten meters long full of razor sharp teeth.

It was the head of a dragon.

Its eyes were covered by Touma's dark red blood. When the Herald looked into it, he only saw one outcome.

His death.

The dragon opened its mouth and let out a roar. Its roar was so powerful; everyone could swear they saw the shockwave carrying the sound. As the roar ripped through the air, everything that it touched was impacted by its power. Sogiita and Misaki covered their ears and yelled as the roar threatened to make them lose their minds. Kuroko was unable to bare it and lost consciousness as she fell to the ground. As the sound wave hit Accelerator and Mikoto, they seemed to weaken. Accelerator's black wings dissolved to about half of their previous length, while Mikoto's ribbons tore into pieces around her. About half of the magic circles in the air shattered and their pieces turned to dust. The Herald was blown back a good twenty feet but continued to hover in the air.

A side effect none of them knew was Mikoto and Accelerator were now able to think much more clearly, after their powers dropped. Before, they had both been overcome by rage and hatred at The Herald for hurting Touma. The power had become a manifestation of that anger and overpowered their minds. The dragon's roar managed to shatter that darkness to give them their minds back. Both of them had the same thought. _What the hell is that?_ Neither of them could do anything except stare at the monster coming out of Touma's right side.

"I won't lose to you monster," The Herald called out raising his left hand. "I wield the power of the first Archangel." As if in response to his boosting, the green gem glowed brighter and the green veins on his arm spread further into his side. From his back, a single ray of light exploded outwards. It was about ten feet long and suddenly disappeared at a point for no discernable reason. It was pure white on the outside, but the center core was platinum. It looked like a single wing made of light grew from The Heralds back, a strong contrast to Accelerator's pitch black wings. "Hahaha," The Herald laughed as Telesma flowed through him. "My master has granted me even more of his power." He no longer feared the Imagine Breaker or the dragon apparition that had appeared. He reached out his hand and an orb of light appeared. It stretched out until it became the shape of a spear. "I shall strike down that beast and bring forth a new world. I wield the power of the one who can rival God himself."

"My Imagine Breaker holds the power to erase even God's miracles," Touma stated. "Your illusion ends now for threatening my friends." The Herald smiled and started to fly toward Touma with the spear of light in hand. The head of the dragon stretched, almost like a neck was forming, as it moved toward The Herald with its jaw opened.

"He's not alone!" Mikoto yelled. She had regained her sanity and held out her hand, in it was a coin. The last remains of her ribbon started the wrap around her arm. She flipped the coin and launched it with all the power her form currently had. The ribbon added an enormous amount of electricity as her finger made contact. The boom was easily ten times as loud as her normal railgun and flew as a bolt of pure energy at The Herald.

"No one said I was out of this!" roared Accelerator as his black wings grew again. This time they did not shatter his mind, but he was still full of rage at The Herald. A boon was produced as his pitch black wings stretched out and pushed all the air out of his way. The ground was shredded by just being in their presence. The black wings split into many spiked feathers and flew toward The Herald at the same time. The Herald thrust the spear of pure white light forward and simultaneously struck Accelerator's black shards, Mikoto's empowered Railgun, and the dragon head.

An explosion rocked the entire coliseum and everyone was knocked backwards by a wave of light and force.

When the light faded away and everyone was no longer blind, Misaki and Sogiita stood up and looked around to see what happened to everyone else. Mikoto had fallen backwards and was sitting on her butt with her hands propping herself up. She looked normal again, but seemed to be barely able to move. Accelerator was in a similar position as his black wings had faded away. Touma was still standing, but was swaying slightly. They gasped when they saw his right arm was back to normal and the dragon head was gone. Touma was looking upwards and everyone else followed his gaze.

 _He's back to normal,_ Mikoto thought happily when she saw Touma then looked up. _How is he still alive like that?_

 _When did the hero have a monster in his arm?_ Accelerator thought then looked up. _That f$^ &er won't die._

 _I believed he would win,_ Misaki thought to herself blushing as she looked at Touma noticed the figure in the air. _Wow, he's still alive, but Touma still won't lose._

 _His guts are amazing as ever,_ Sogiita thought before he looked upwards. _Heh, I knew The Herald guy didn't have any guts, but what a monster to still be alive after that._

Unknown to everyone else, the first roar from Touma's dragon had weakened the cursed marks currently on Jason and he regained consciousness. He was still in a ton of pain, but he could at least think. He could not move, except for his eyes, and all he could physically do was watch the fight. _Heh, who would have thought THAT dragon would be hiding in his arm. It was worth all the pain to come here just to verify that._ The explosion caused by the combined attacks knocked him out again as he could not defend himself in his state.

Touma felt his body start to collapse under its own weight, but he refused to fall until The Herald was defeated and Index was safe. He looked up and his eyes went wide. _How is he still alive!_ Half of The Herald's body was gone, his entire right side. What made this even stranger was what the remains of him looked like. His body was hollow while his skin started floating away like tiny pieces of paper. Touma saw one last look of rage from the remaining side of The Heralds face before it disappeared into the wind. All that was left was the green gem floating in midair. The sky was sunny again and the few remaining circles cracked and fell apart into nothingness. Then he saw something that made his heart sank. "INDEX!" he yelled. Index had begun to fall from the sky as the magic holding her up disappeared. _Move,_ he roared at his body, but it took all his strength to take a single step. She was going to fall to far away.

"I got her!" Sogiita called out as he ran by Touma and jumped high into the air. He caught her effortlessly and held her tightly as he landed back on the ground. He walked over to Touma. "Looks like we rescued your friend too, it's our complete victory."

"Yea," Touma agreed and looked at Index. She was sleeping peacefully and appeared unhurt. "Well, let's get out of here…"

"TOUMA!" Misaki called. "Above you!" Touma looked up and a small piece of space behind the gem was beginning to crack. The crack spread out to about a ten foot diameter circle, then the air just disappeared. It looked like a small section of night had pieced the sunny day. It felt to Touma he was looking at the night sky through a telescope with an endless array of stars. Out of it stepped two people who just appeared instantly. One of them was a boy who was maybe a year or two older than Touma. He had jet black dark hair, and was a fair bit taller than Touma. His face was emotionless as he reached out and grabbed the green gem flouting in midair.

"That makes the seventh wing," he said to the girl next to him. "Five more to go." She nodded. The girl was around Mikoto's height with bright blond hair that reached her shoulders. Her eyes were sky blue and she seemed to have a permanent look of cheerfulness on her face.

"But this one was the hardest one to obtain," she said happily. "The last five should be easy."

"They almost ruined it," the boy said motioning to Touma and his friends. "We should kill them before they cause more problems." Everyone tensed up at his words, but he still betrayed no emotions. It was like he was simply commenting on the weather.

"Now there is no need for that," the girl said cheerfully. She looked down at them all and suddenly appeared right in front of Touma. She looked up at him with bright eyes and smiled. "I'm terribly sorry for all the trouble my doll caused for you. I hope you can forgive us."

"Doll?" Touma asked surprised.

"Oh let me show you," she said continuing to smile. She held out her hand and a book instantly appeared and flipped open. Several pieces of paper started flying out of it and tore into millions of pieces, way more than a couple pages of book sized paper should be able to make. Behind her the paper started to swirl into two spirals. The paper started forming together and Touma watched in stun silence as two people, who looked exactly like The Herald they just fought, materialized. "See, they are just dolls I make. I give them a task and they fill it out. My last doll got a little overzealous in his mission and got you all wrapped up in it. Again, I am so sorry." She closed the book and the paper dolls broke apart into dust and disappeared.

"How?" Mikoto asked shocked as she made her way cautiously over. "You mean the person we spent so much time fighting was just a doll you made?"

"Yep," the girl said smiling. "We just wanted to gather the wings of Lucifer but he must have gathered some weird information from the grimoires he stole." She pointed over to a corner of the arena near an altar. "The stolen books should be there. Feel free to take them back to their rightful owners with our apologies."

"Are you f^&$ing kidding me," Accelerator said stumbling over to them. His legs were really weak and his head was hurting him. Without the Mark of Pride, his wounds wouldn't heal and he felt like he was slowly reverting back to his old self. "You capture people we know and think an apology will suffice?"

"Be lucky she is willing to even apologize," the guy said in a monotone. "We both have enough power to destroy this entire country. Don't push us."

Touma felt a tug on his sleeve and saw Misaki had wondered over to him. "I think we should let them go," she whispered. "We have a lot of injured and they give off a weird vibe." Touma nodded in agreement. He did not think letting them go was a smart idea, but fighting them now would be even stupider. He never had a feeling like this before, his body both feared the girl in front of him, but at the same time he felt peaceful being in her presence.

"So The Herald had just gone crazy and talking nonsense about killing God?" Touma asked.

"Oh no," the girl said giggling. "We plan to revive our master and kill God. We just need to find the remains of his wings in order to resurrect him. This is the seventh. Lucifer was the most beautiful angel under God and brought forth light. While most angles only had four or six wings, Lucifer, as the oldest and most powerful, had twelve. Once we have all twelve wings, we will be able to perform the ritual to revive him."

"You can't be serious," Mikoto said as she began to process the information. She realized magic was real, but hearing of Gods and angels really began to stretch her imagination about these things. She did not, however, rule out the possibility anymore.

"Oh one other thing," the girl said putting a finger up to her cheek. "We promise to leave you all alone and not involve any of your friends in our work if you do not interfere with us. Doesn't that sound like a good deal? We would hate to have to kill you all now after you put up such a good fight against a wing of our lord."

Touma looked at her darkly, even through her smile, he could tell she was not to be trifled with. _But why is she willing to make a deal when she is so much stronger than us?_ His eyes flickered to his hand. _They must be afraid of the Imagine Breaker._ He felt Misaki tug on his sleeve again and her eyes pleading with him to let them go. His eyes flickered over to Sogiita, who was staring at the boy with Index in his arms. Touma could tell he wanted to fight, but protecting the girl was his top priority. He sighed knowing he couldn't stop those two kids. "Fine," he said simply. "But before you go, what are your names?"

"I'm Eve," the girl said. "That is Adam." She disappeared from in front of him and appeared next to Adam in the air near the void circle. "That is excellent news. Now no one has to die. So long Imagine Breaker. No one told me how cute you were." Adam rolled his eyes as they disappeared into the void and it closed behind them.

The last thing Touma felt was a couple pair of eyes glaring at him like daggers before his fatigue hit a breaking point and he collapsed unconscious.

* * *

Touma opened his eyes to see a light above him. He was lying on a bed in a familiar looking hospital. He raised up his right arm and looked at the back of his hand. _Damn, I always seem to end up here. At least I don't hurt._ He sat up and stretched while looking around. No one else was in the hospital and there was one machine connected to his left arm measuring his vitals. There was also a small pile of assorted goods on the window ledge. _How did I get all the way back here?_

"Welcome back Kamijou-san," the Heaven Chancellor said as he walked into the room.

"Do you have to say that every time?" Touma asked grinning slightly. "How did I get here, and what about my friends?"

"Your friends brought you here," the Heaven Chancellor said. "You actually weren't really injured. It seems like you just had a complete lack of energy. You have been resting all night and most of the morning. It's Sunday now and almost lunchtime. Your friends refused to leave until they were sure you woke up."

"Can I see them?" Touma asked.

"In a little bit," he said. "I'm going to check some of your vitals first, and then I will let them in. I think a couple of them have a surprise for you." Touma raised an eyebrow confused at what it could be. After a nurse came in and monitored a couple stats on the machine, he was finally allowed visitors. He heard his friends before he could see them.

"I can't believe you got us to wear this."

"It looks good on you Misaka-san."

"This is so embarrassing."

"I was willing to do this by myself, but both of you wouldn't let me."

"Like we would let you take advantage of him while he's stuck in bed."

"Besides, he helped all of us."

Touma recognized the voices but didn't know what they were doing until Misaki, Mikoto and Ruiko walked into his room.

His jaw dropped.

They were all wearing pure white nurse outfits with even the matching hats. Misaki might have had trouble putting the uniform on because it was stretched tightly across her rather voluptuous chest. Her blonde hair really stood out compared to most dark haired nurses. She really was just stunning in that outfit. Mikoto could not pull that part of the uniform off, but for some reason she had a very short skirt. To top it off she also did not seem to be wearing her shorts underneath it so Touma could have sworn he saw flashes of her underwear. His eyes kept wondering to her smooth white legs. Then he saw Ruiko. She was sort of in between Mikoto and Misaki's good points. Her chest wasn't as large, but she still filled out her uniform well. What made her stand out was she seemed to radiate the feeling of a nurse. This wasn't something you could achieve with just a uniform. It was something you were born with. Pierce would tell Touma this constantly… for hours. Until today, Touma didn't think he would actually see someone who was not a nurse pull it off. His first reaction was covering his nose with his hand as he felt the beginning of a nosebleed as he turned red.

"See I told you he would like it," Misaki said cheerfully coming to the side of his bed and pulling his other arm into her chest. "I hope you are feeling ok. Would you like me to take your temperature?" She leaned forward toward Touma's face and he felt himself turn even redder.

"H-hey," Mikoto said running up next to her. "If anyone should do that it s-should b-b-be," she started stuttering and wasn't able to finish her sentence. Her face turned crimson while Misaki smiled insincerely at her.

"Well let's have Touma decide," she said and turned back to him. "Who would you prefer take care of you, me or Misaka-san?" She looked into his eyes and he couldn't speak.

"Hey don't just push it onto him like that," Mikoto protested.

Ruiko watched her two friends argue while she approached the foot of Touma bed. He caught her eye and smiled at her as she felt her heart beat faster. She clenched her hand tightly and took a deep breath. _Come on Ruiko, you practiced this and even got help._ She focused her willpower on the words she needed to say that Touma's friend helped her with just earlier that day.

* * *

"MISAKA wants to dress up too MISAKA demands as MISAKA tries to escape Accelerator's clutches." No matter how hard she tried through, Accelerator did not let her go. He started to pull her away from the others, who were holding up nurse uniforms and discussing how to greet Touma when he woke up.

"No," he said simply. "You are not going to catch their stupidity. Besides, you need to go back or Yomikawa is going to scream at me some more. Arg, so annoying." He muttered incoherently to himself while Last Order whined until he heard someone speak behind him.

"Um, excuse me, Accelerator-san?" He turned around and saw the long black-haired girl. He recalled her name was Ruiko Saten.

"What?" he asked.

"I was wondering if you could help me with something since you are Touma's friend and all," she asked hesitantly.

Accelerator raised an eyebrow in curiosity. He knew they were not enemies anymore, but calling them friends may be a little much for him. He opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly felt weird and frowned. He didn't really care about denying it and instead said, "Make it fast."

"Well," Ruiko said turning red. "I really like Touma, but so does Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san. They are both level 5s like you, so I was wondering if you could give me any advice in getting him to notice me over them." She couldn't look him in the eyes anymore and looked at the ground.

Accelerator was conflicted. His first response was going to be, throw yourself naked at Touma, but he stopped himself just before he blurted that out. _Hmm, should I really help the hero get a girl? He always has like four around him all the time._ The girl in front of him looked really embarrassed and he remembered she was a low level ability user. He thought about it for a second and grinned. He could help her AND mess with the hero too. _Everyone wins._ He walked over to the nurse's desk and took a piece of paper and wrote something on it. He handed it to Ruiko and said, "If you read that it should work, but the timing is up to you."

Ruiko looked surprise and read the note, then immediately turned scarlet. "I-I can't say this," she gasped.

"Up to you," Accelerator said shrugging, but his grin was plastered on his face. "I gave you my advice. It will be affective." He grabbed Last Order, who was trying to see what was written on the paper, and left the hospital. Ruiko could just stare at the writing on the paper in complete bewilderment.

* * *

"So how about a backrub from us Touma," Misaki suggested. "That way Misaka-san and I don't have to fight." Mikoto gave her a poke in the side. She was still bright red.

"I-um-eh," Touma stuttered as his brain refused to work properly surrounded by attractive girls in nurse outfits who were actively trying to take care of him. He was a man, so he was incredibly glad he was under the sheets to avoid an even more awkward situation. The male part of his brain was yelling at him to say yes. Then Ruiko spoke up.

"Or maybe I could give you a sponge bath to make you feel good," she said with her face pure red as she leaned over him smiling. Mikoto and Misaki both turned wide eyed at her boldness. Neither of them had thought she could pull something like that off.

This was the last straw for Touma. The combination of being surrounded by beautiful girls, Ruiko's aura in a nurse outfit, and her words, he could contain it no longer. His heart started pounding incredibly fast and blood gushed out as he started to have a massive nosebleed. His sudden change in status caused the machine to start beeping loudly distracting everyone. A minute later the Heaven Chancellor barged in and, with one glance, figured out what happen. He reprimanded them all for overstimulating one of his patients.

After Touma was able to calm down and the girls changed back to their regular clothes, they were brought lunch and ate in his room talking about what happened when he was asleep. It turns out, shortly after he passed out from exhaustion, Stiyl and Kaori showed up and brought them all back to the bus. Mikoto said Stiyl mentioned getting them out of the city as fast as possible before others could interfere. They assumed it was another magic group who did not like people from the science side. Anyway, since no one was in life threatening condition, they boarded the plane and flew back to Academy City where an ambulance was waiting for them. They were brought here and waited until Touma woke up.

"Accelerator-san and Last Order left shortly before you woke up," Ruiko added. "They were going to watch Index until you woke up. Gunha-san had to leave shortly after he got back to the city. He wanted us to let him know how things work out."

"What about Jason?" Touma asked and he suddenly got worried when their faces darkened. "What happened to him?"

"Well," Ruiko said hesitantly.

"We were hoping to cheer you up before we gave you the news," Mikoto said finally. "He's still unconscious. They don't know when he is going to wake up. Kazari was there for a while, but she had to go to Judgment and planned to be back tonight."

"They can't do anything?" he turned to Misaki. "Can't you help with it? I know they have used mental abilities to help people awaken from comas."

"I tried," Misaki said disappointed. She was actually sadder she let Touma down by not helping his friend then actually helping Jason. "He is not in a normal coma. It is like his mind had been shattered. It might be because of the magic symbols on him, but it was like smashing a glass vase into thousands of pieces and putting it back together. It's possible, but takes a lot of time and energy. I never messed with a mind like that and if I tried anything big, it could cause even more damage."

"I see," Touma muttered then smiled at her. "Thanks for trying Misaki." She blushed slightly.

"I'm sure he will be ok," Mikoto said looking at Touma. "He did save us after all. Even Kuroko thanked him when she was sure he was unconscious and couldn't hear her." Everyone felt their lips twitch into a smile at that thought. She sighed. "Any idea how long they plan to keep you here?"

"Actually, the nurse said they just wanted to monitor me for a little longer and I should be free to go this afternoon," Touma said glad he could give them some good news.

"That's great," Ruiko said. "We should celebrate tonight, and when Jason wakes up, we can celebrate again." Everyone laughed. Afterwards they all waved goodbye and left. They mentioned the dorm supervisor at Tokiwadai was going to be mad at them for disappearing last night so they had to think of an excuse. Ruiko also wanted to check up on Kazari.

Touma sighed and leaned back against his pillow. He was so bored now that all his friends left. _Wish Accelerator had stuck around. I wanted to thank him._ He slept for a little while to restore his strength and pass the time. When he looked at the clock he knew he should be released soon. He turned and looked at the small pile of gifts on the window sill. Most were cards from his friends, because they didn't know when he was going to wake up, along with some fruit they brought. One unusual present caught his eye. It was hastily wrapped and he opened it. It was two cans of mackerel and a note.

 _Touma Kamijou, I heard you got hurt and fish is good for you so I brought it over. It's not like I did it specifically for you though. We might need your help later so we need you fit. Frenda. P.S. Here is my number, let me know when you get this. I don't trust that doctor._

Scribbled below it was her phone number. Touma sighed and laughed slightly. He texted her a quick thank you and watched some TV. What seemed like ages, but was probably at most ten to fifteen minutes, the doctor finally said he was free to go. Touma packed up so quick to leave, he was almost to the front desk when he realized he forgot his phone. He left it on the table next to his bed after he texted Frenda. He had to walk all the way back to his room, which was near the top floor in the farthest corner. He passed a room when he heard a familiar voice.

"Thanks for telling them I wasn't conscious."

"I don't know why you wanted your friends to think that though. I'm also surprised you managed to fool the number 5 Mental Out." Touma's eyes widened and he leaned up against the door listening to Jason and the Heaven Chancellor talk.

"Well since I got these marks, my shadow ability has been running wild. If I try to use it, I'll probably accidently destroy everything around me. I already destroyed one room with just trying to move a shadow in my hand. If I try to actually use it for something, I'll probably blow up a building."

"That is a problem. I know you are ok with your ability now, but do you ever wish for your old one again?" Touma frowned. He thought it was impossible for someone to get a new ability after they developed one.

"Not really," Jason said. "This one has more uses and fits me better. Besides, I wouldn't have met Touma Kamijou without it." Touma leaned up harder against the door to hear better and the door opened and he fell through. He looked up to see the Heaven Chancellor looking down at him. Jason was sitting up in the bed looking at him in surprise.

"Umm," Touma said. "Sorry about that." The Heaven Chancellor sighed.

"I'll let you two talk," he said and walked out closing the door behind him. Jason looked at Touma and grinned sheepishly.

"I suppose you want to know why I faked the coma?"

"Yes," Touma said nodding. "Also, what did you mean you have a new ability compared to before? Your shadow wasn't always your ability?"

"Ah that is a really long story, but it does kind of fit with the sins we just fought."

"I got time," Touma said sitting down on a chair. "If you want to tell me that is."

Jason sighed and looked at the ceiling. "I suppose it started when I entered Academy City at the age of four. It turns out I was a gemstone and the city welcomed me with open arms."

"Well your shadow is really impressive," Touma said. Jason smiled.

"That's just it," he said. "My ability was not my shadow then. I had a completely different ability." Touma felt his eyes widen in shock. "Yes I know it is supposed to be impossible to change an ability once it develops, but listen to the entire story first. My ability was regeneration, but they called it Reconstruction. On first glance it acted just like regeneration, your cells split and are able to specialize into the injured cells. They ranked me as a level four with my high speed regeneration. However, they discovered something else. After I regenerated, the injured part got stronger."

"What?" Touma asked confused.

"Let's say I burnt my palm on something really hot to cause third degree burns. I could heal that pretty fast. After it finished healing, the skin on my hand would be more resistance to heat. Not a lot, but some. So I could handle hot things easier with my palm."

"So if you got injured enough times you could be completely immune to certain types of damage?" Touma asked. _That sounds ridiculously strong._

"Possibly," Jason said. "The main flaw is that only the damage spot would get stronger, the rest of my body would not. I would have to keep throwing myself into boiling water to have my entire skin get more heat resistance. Then do it thousands of time and heal after each one. If a knife stabbed me, only that small part would become more resistance to cuts. It wasn't really that useful except for the regeneration. I wasn't stupid enough to try to injure myself entirely just to get a slight resistance to that particular damage."

"Ok but that doesn't explain how it changed to being a shadow."

"Well at the age of six, they realized I was incredibly intelligence and put me in a fast pace curriculum. For the next two to three years I finished all my work through high school. Shortly after I turned nine, I was offered to join a special experiment group. They said I would learn some special abilities outside of science. I was interested, but skeptical. For the next year I was outside of Academy City learning magic with five other Academy City students, two boys, and three girls. We never cast spells, only learned theory and basics. We were warned trying to cast magic without preparation would kill us. They would tell us when we were ready. The magicians watching over us kept pitting us against each other and encouraged rivalry. Only one girl actually was kind to everyone," his face darkened for a moment. "Finally they told us we were going to cast our first spell. They told us the spell we were going to cast could be done as a group to make it easier for newer magicians. This was a lie. It turns out they knew magic was dangerous to ability users."

Touma made a fist in anger. He knew exactly what Jason was talking about. He remembered being told what happens when someone tries to use both magic and an ability. They run on different laws and the laws conflict so they destroy the caster. Motoharu was the only one he knew, besides Jason, who could use both, but it always nearly killed him. "Those bastards," Touma growled. "Experimenting on kids."

Jason nodded his face dark. "We were chosen because they calculated, with some machine, we had the best odds of survival. Anyway, the spell we were told to cast was a forced continuous type of magic. It meant we could not stop until we ran out of mana or died." He stopped and put a hand to his mouth looking sick. Touma opened his mouth to say Jason could stop but Jason shook his head. "I'm good. Let's just say the results were not pretty. All the others fell one by one as blood erupted from their bodies. Finally, I fell as blood soaked my clothes. I was in pain beyond imagination."

"How did you survive?" Touma asked.

"Regeneration," Jason said turning pale. "I kept healing the damage the conflict between magic and science was causing in my body. I was constantly on the verge of death, unable to stop the magic. All I could feel was pain and all I could taste was blood."

"So regeneration allowed you to survive," Touma said thinking. "But that doesn't explain how you are able to use magic now."

Jason sighed. "Reconstruction's second step."

Touma frowned. _His ability allowed him to make his body slightly stronger after repairing damage. So his body could withstand the conflict…._ He stopped and stared at Jason for a second. "Your body was slowly repairing itself and making it resistance to the conflict of laws?"

"Yes," Jason said nodding. "I never died outright so my body was barely keeping up. Finally after ages of my body destroying itself and rebuilding, I collapsed. I assumed my body at this time was changed enough to handle the magic and ability at the same time, or maybe I was out of mana, I don't know. I could not move and my vision was blurry. I heard the voice of Greed, one of the sins who I fought in Rome, say the spell was a failure and to kill the survivors."

"Survivors? As in plural?"

"It turns out the girl I mentioned before survived too," Jason said and Touma saw him shake slightly. "Because I took the brunt of the spell, she barely survived. Anyway, I was unable to move and knew we were both about to die. I cried out for help with the remains of my link to the spell. I think that was the first time I ever really asked for help. Then I felt something surround my body. It was darkness covering me like a blanket. I still don't know exactly how or when I changed to allow the new ability. My reality must have been forcefully changed during the experiment. I could no longer use Reconstruction after this point. This is when things get cloudy for me. I heard shouting and yelling, but I was so full of rage and anger. I killed them; I killed all those magicians that used us for their own ends. I woke up surrounded by bodies. I ONLY woke up because the girl who survived used the last of her strength to wake me up." Jason clutched his head and looked like he was about to cry. This was one of the first times he ever showed weakness in front of others.

Touma sat there for a second in shock then answered forcefully. "You can't blame yourself. You were going to die and had no other choice. It was self-defense. You are not the first person who let their emotions control them, and you won't be the last. The important thing is what you do in the future." He held out a fist. "If you ever need someone to knock sense back into you let me know. I'll be sure to punch you in the face as many times as needed."

"My jaw still hurts from last time." Jason laughed and fist bumped him back. "After that, I wondered around aimlessly for a while and a small group of magicians taught me how to control my mana and my shadow. Afterwards I came back to Academy city to finish off my studies until I was captured by a rogue group of scientists and mages working together to study my ability. Then you found me and, well, here we are."

"If you hang out with me enough," Touma said. "You will learn about this hospital a lot more." Jason laughed again. "Well anyway, you should let Uiharu-san know you are ok. If you can't use your shadow, you should still be able to leave the hospital right?"

"Yea," Jason said nodding. "Until I can find a way to calm my mana, I can't use my shadow or it will go out of control. The best I can hope for is using the sin marks. While I was pretending to be in a coma, I was learning about them. Interesting abilities, immortality, steal, eternal devotion, sleep, pain, transformation, and travel."

"That reminds me," Touma said getting up. "How did you fool Misaki into believing you were not awake?"

"Reconstruction," Jason replied. "It messed with my brain enough after the magic experiment. She is use to reading a normal person's brain. She would have to study my brain for a long time to figure out how to use her powers on me. It was an unintentional side effect of the damage I took. If she studies it long enough, she should be able to affect me without problems. Don't tell her that though."

"You probably shouldn't use those powers though," Touma warned. "Index said they might have side effects. Anyways, I'm going to tell everyone else you're ok so we can all celebrate tonight. You need to tell Uiharu-san though. She probably wants to hear it from you."

"When did you knowingly become a ladies man?" Jason asked.

"Pssh," Touma said. "That's common sense isn't it? What do you mean knowingly? I have never been a ladies man." Jason rolled his eyes at his denial.

"So how did you defeat The Herald?" Jason asked.

Touma gave him a brief rundown about what happened. He briefly thought of editing his story to avoid talking about the dragon that came out of his hand. _Jason has been studying it so he might know something._ He started on what the Herald was trying to do and moved on to mention Mikoto's and Accelerator's transformation, followed by the invisible dragon head that emerged from his arm. "Then two people came out of a rip in space. The girl was young, blonde, and called herself Eve. The boy was, maybe, a year or two older than me with dark hair and called himself Adam." Touma continued to explain their power and the conversation he had with them.

"Hmm," Jason said thinking as he listened to Touma story. "The head could be a lot of things. I'll think on that for a bit before I can say anything for certain. As for those two, you probably did the right thing in leaving. They sound strong and we were definitely not in fighting shape anymore. As for Lucifer, I only know he is the fallen angel of Christianity."

"Well I thought I would let you know," Touma said shrugging. "So when you get out let me know and we can go meet up with everyone else." He reached down, to tell his friends Jason was ok, but his phone beeped before he sent any messages and he looked to see who it was.

"I have to do one thing first before I can meet with you," Jason said pulling out his phone too. "I'll let Kazari know I'll meet you all wherever."

* * *

Shizuri Mugino walked out of the shower with nothing but a towel around her body and her hair wrapped in another towel. She went over to the fridge and pulled out a drink. She then looked around the room at the other girls. Frenda was sitting in the corner of the couch playing with her phone and looking happy for some reason. Rikou was laying her head on a table watching the TV with a bored look on her face. Saiai was more involved in the movie, but she constantly threw glances at Frenda while smirking. They had all finished showing already. "Tsk," she clicked her tongue. "Blood is such a pain to wash out of hair. It smells really bad if you don't get it all."

"You wanted to super punch them instead of using your powers," Saiai pointed out. This was true. Their group, ITEM, had finally received a mission after their reprieve because of the intruders. The group they were sent to eliminate consisted of just normal people who smuggled guns into Academy City. They quickly fell before the girl's abilities, but Shizuri made sure to keep some of them alive. She then proceeded to pummel them mercilessly to relieve all the stress that had built up the last couple of days.

"It was necessary," Shizuri replied offhandedly. "I just felt like blowing off some steam. Frenda, what are you so happy about?" She turned her attention to blonde girl on the couch.

"N-nothing Mugino," Frenda said nervously hiding her phone. She was not going to admit Touma had just texted her, but Saiai could not resist the chance to mess with her.

"She super got a text from the Kamijou guy," Saiai blurted out grinning at Frenda. "She must be super happy."

"Good luck Frenda," Rikou said passively looking at her.

"Not you too," Frenda cried glaring at her. "Yes he texted me, so what? Basically, he was just saying thanks. I left him some food since he was hospitalized." Saiai raised an eyebrow and laughed again. It had been completely accidental Frenda and Saiai saw he was hospitalized. They were walking down the street outside the hospital and saw an ambulance pull up. They noticed the Number 1 and Number 3 ability users leave first followed by Touma.

"Whatever makes you happy," Shizuri said in a bored tone as she sipped her drink. "His number might be useful though. Make sure you save it and send me it." Frenda nodded. Shizuri turned away from Frenda, but for some reason she felt annoyed. She wasn't told Touma had been hospitalized and it bothered her for some reason. _He was able to stand up to me, so what could possibly have harmed him. I need to watch him closer._ When she thought that last part, she felt a weird feeling in her gut and she frowned unsure of what that was. She was spared further thinking about it when her phone started ringing. She picked it up after looking at the number. "What is it? We just finished the mission."

"An emergency popped up," a female voice said from the other line. Shizuri never did learn this person's name, but she was just a liaison who passed out ITEM's next mission. "I know this is last minute, but you need to be able to move out tomorrow. Your pay will be doubled."

"Oh?" Shizuri asked raising an eyebrow in interest. _They normally don't offer more. It must be important so they don't want me to say no._ "Let's hear it then."

"It seems one of the higher ups of Academy City is planning an assassination on the director Osamu Miyagawa. The way they planned it is the problem. We can't strike at this guy directly, so we need to take out his ability to assassinate Miyagawa."

"Sounds simple enough," Shizuri said yawning slightly. "We kill the assassin and…"

"No," the informant interrupted. "This mission requires two parts. If either part messes up, the assassination attempt can succeed. They plan to use a new design of nanobots which are programed to detect a specific biological organism and dismantle them at the subatomic level. The mission will consist of two parts. The first part is the easy one, there will be a shipment to a warehouse and I'll send you the specific location. The vial of nanobots will be in this shipment. The problem is the activation switch will be in another location, a very public one. If the switch is activated before the vial is destroyed, the nanobots will spread out over the city until they find their target. Once a single one finds them, all the others will converge and he will die. We can't let this happen."

"Ok," Shizuri said making a mental note. "That side sounds simple enough. What's the location of the switch?"

"The Yanadem Tower," the informant said.

"F#$%!" Shizuri shouted suddenly causing the other three girls to jump. "How are we supposed to just walk in from the darkness into that damn hotel? It's right in the middle of the city and the activity never stops there." The other three girls looked at each other confused. They had no idea what Shizuri was talking about, but they were smart enough to stay silent while she was pissed.

"We have two invitations for the auction being held tomorrow in the ballroom at six o'clock," the informant said. "We also have one room reserved tonight and tomorrow for one person. You can sneak someone in tonight. The issue is the invitations are for a male and female pair. We can send one of our men to act as your date. We recommend you go in disguised. I'll send you the description of the switch, though it will probably be disguised as something else."

"I don't want of your shitty subordinates ruining our job," snapped Shizuri. "Get those invitations here immediately. I'll handle the rest." She hung up and made a fist. Her eyes traveled over the other girls and stopped for a minute on Frenda. She felt a smile grow on her face. _He did say if I ever needed help he would come. This should be fun._ Frenda shivered when Shizuri's eyes stopped on her and fear radiated from her when she saw Shizuri smile. "We have a mission starting tonight into tomorrow," she said to the other girls. "Listen up because I don't want to repeat myself." She spent a good period of time explaining their jobs and the plan for the following day.

"Ok," Frenda said thinking hard. "Kinuhata and Takitsubo will take care of the warehouse." Saiai and Rikou nodded. "Basically, I'm going to get there tonight and set up surveillance equipment. But Mugino, who is going to accompany you? A single person going to one of those auctions is unusual and will draw attention."

"I plan to ask someone for help," Shizuri said her smile widening. "After all, he promised to come help us." Frenda's eyes widened when she realized who she was talking about. "Call him Frenda, and tell him I need his help."

"But what if he doesn't come?" asked Frenda.

"Tell him you super want to sleep with him," suggested Saiai. That innocent comment earned her a shoe to the face.

* * *

In the certain windowless building, Aleister Crowley, superintendent of Academy City, floated upside down in a cylinder of red liquid. The liquid resembled blood, but it did not seem to bother him. Instead, all of his focus was on the blonde haired boy standing in front of him. "Since everyone was brought back unharmed, we can skip the conversation about interfering with the magic side."

"That's good," Jason said grinning. "I was worried I would have to sit through another one of your lectures without a chair. Seriously, get something for guests to sit down on."

"Your humor is charming as always," Aleister said emotionlessly. "Let us move to the next topic at hand. I have been requested several times to persuade you to assist the Kihara's research again. You continue to pique their interest, especially after your outburst with the last meeting of the board of directors."

Jason pretended to think about that for a moment, but his face darkened. "I'm going to give you the same answer I gave them." He made a very rude gesture with his hand. "I don't care for their ways of doing things anymore. I'm past that point of my life."

"They will be disappointed to hear that," Aleister said, but in a tone that said he could care less. "Let us move to the most important topic today." Jason nodded. "Before you arrived at Academy City, only one of the level 5s had potential to surpass level 5. Due to outside influence, the experiment was cancelled. Two of the level 5s, had the power to awaken. I know you know what the awakening process entails," Jason had opened his mouth to say something and he shut it again frowning, "We will get nowhere if you pretend to be ignorant. Accelerator and Kakine Teitoku are the only two who possessed the potential. You have seen the black wings of Accelerator, have you not?"

"I did," Jason replied. "They were not complete though. They were still warped."

"I'm glad the information I gave you was not wasted," Aleister remarked. "Anyway, you said you were not interested in continuing any experiments on having the level 5s awaken or surpass to level 6. But something unusual happened I was hoping you would be kind enough to explain it."

"What do you mean?" Jason asked.

"You see," Aleister explained. "For some reason, a couple other individuals have suddenly developed the potential to surpass level 5. Though the chance is small, it is not zero. Number 3 has a 5% chance to reach level 6, Number 4 has a 1% chance, Number 5 has a 4% chance, and Number 7 has a 1% chance. These percentages did not change until shortly after you arrived to Academy City. Why do you suppose that is?"

Jason looked at him for a moment. "If I understand your underlying tone correctly, you believe I am secretly turning the level 5s into level 6s?" Aleister did not say anything so Jason took his silence as a yes. He started laughing loudly and clutching his side. "Best of all," he gasped. "You think I am doing this under your nose and you have no idea how I am doing this. I must be good." He suddenly got serious. "I want a pay raise since I am so amazing."

"I have several theories on what you are doing," Aleister said calmly, unfazed by Jason's laughter. "When you arrived, you made your very first priority to show the Parameter List was faulty. You did this by raising low level ability users, who should have been stuck at level 0 or 1and raised them to 1 and 2. It is also predicted your research will allow them to grow even further over the years. It makes sense for you to have knowledge to raise higher level abilities too."

"Sounds like a good theory," Jason acknowledged. "But why would I care about high level users? They already have power."

"Yes," Aleister conceded. "That does propose a quandary. I know you like to give strength to the powerless in order to satisfy your own curiosity. Your belief was, correct me if I am wrong, power does not change the strong, only the weak."

"I said that once or twice," Jason said. "But it's a lot more interesting to see what people without power do. Will they hold to their convictions or will they become what they hate."

"Is that why you do not use your research on yourself? You do not wish to be level 5?"

"I cannot achieve what I want to achieve with just power," Jason said. "Therefore, I have no point in giving myself power. These sin marks have set me back a lot. I need to control my mana or the shadow will run out of control and destroy everything around me."

"What do you plan to do when people see you with more than one power?"

"I'll just say I created multiskill or something," Jason said smirking. "That would be sure to drive the Kiharas into a frenzy. Most of what I say is a lie anyways." He laughed and turned around. "If you excuse me, I have people to meet with."

"One last thing," Aleister said. "We have recently received word For MultiMaxlon Entertainment. It seems that one of our level 5s have won a contest of theirs. Now, a liaison needs to be established between them and the level 5. However, few people know the identity of this individual. I take it you will volunteer for this duty?"

"Of course," Jason said. His back was turned from Aleister and a huge grin spread over his face. "It sounds so fun, I won't even ask for pay." He walked over to the wall and leaned against it as it turned white. "Lots of interesting things are sure to happen soon." He fell through it and disappeared.

Aleister turned his attention back to his monitors. _I have many ideas of what he is planning, but no viable motive yet to narrow down the possibilities. I am 92% sure of his objective, but with him, I need to be at least 95% or he can outplay my predictions. Maybe I should just kill him and be done with it. I suppose I will just monitor him until I know for sure if he is a threat to my plans. If he insists on destroying my nanobots around him and the Imagine Breaker, I simply have to monitor them another way…_

* * *

 **Season 1 is officially over with the Herald's death, but the story is just beginning. Now that the boring plot is out of the way, along with backstories, we can go and do all the fun hilarity that is sure to arise with the return of ITEM.** **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or idea. I love reading them.**

 **Mikoto: I'm worried about what Mugino is going to do to Touma.**

 **Ruiko: I'm sure it won't be too bad.**

 **Jason: He probably will just change from Touma to Tou-MAN.**

 **Mikoto: What are you talking about?**

 **Accelerator: Are you that dense? He means the fourth rate will take the hero's vi….**

 **Misaki: NO! Only I can do that!**

 **Mikoto: Who said you get to?**

 **Ruiko: Guys wait up.**

 **Accelerator: Think the fourth rate will actually do that?**

 **Shizuri: Maybe if I benefit somehow.**

 **Jason: She is good.**


	35. S2 ITEM

**First chapter of Season 2 is officially here. It is quite long for me because of so many things happening. I wanted something filled with information and excitement with plenty of humor sprinkled in. This chapter will set the stage for future events, but only time can tell what will happen. The winds of change keeps blowing and powerful forces are on the move. Also, thanks for all the positive comments and interesting suggestions.**

 **Guest and** **whwsms: I wish I had your idea earlier. This chapter was almost done before I read that. It would have taken a lot of changes to try to add that. But, I'll keep an idea your comments gave me for something later.**

 **Several people wanted to see certain girls. Many more will be introduced overtime, but there are limits how many I'll introduce at once so I can keep their character development going. This season will focus on one main group of new girls after a certain point.**

 **PrinceRazor: I could see that, but also Adam with an emotionless voice might also work better. But it's all pretty funny.**

 **I noticed the thing most people were sad about was the dragon in Touma's hand did not stick around. But when you think about it, all the times it shows up, it doesn't stay very long and usually dominates. I'll make a promise for you all though. Next time, well if, it appears again, I'll make sure it lasts longer, just because I like you all.**

 **Anyway, enjoy the new chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

"We did it!"

The diner was crowded as a large group of students took an entire corner of the establishment. They included, and sat in this order around the table, Misaki, Touma, Mikoto, Kuroko, Ruiko, Kazari, Jason, Index, Last Order, and, looking like he was dragged there against his will, Accelerator. Everyone else held their glasses up into the air and cheered they all got back in one piece. To them it was a celebration along with talking about the events they had just participated in. Since they took the back corner of the diner, as long as they were not too loud, they could discuss magic without being heard. They had finally given a brief explanation to Ruiko and Kazari about what magic was and how that organization was involved. Both of them were skeptical, but really had no choice but to believe it with all their friends telling them.

"But remember," Index said. "Do not spread the information around. Magicians like to live in secret. It was only due to this special situation we were involved." Kazari and Ruiko nodded, but they were a little excited about everything that happened.

"Don't look so down," Mikoto said to Index. "It's a party so we should enjoy ourselves, even with Mr. Grumpy Pants over there." She nodded her head to Accelerator who growled slightly under his breath.

"What are you, a primary school kid?" Accelerator asked sneering. "I don't even know why I'm here."

"MISAKA believes you should attend more social interactions to avoid being a neet MISAKA explains as MISAKA wants Accelerator to be a productive member of society." Everyone, except Index, at the table had to avoid looking at each other for fear of bursting out laughing. Index looked confused and Touma realized she did not know what a neet was.

"Anyway," Touma said steering the conversation back to the more important matters. "Index, what can you tell us about Lucifer? All we know is he was a fallen angel in Christianity. The Herald guy said he was the first angel and developed free will."

"But that's impossible," Index protested. "Angel's don't have free will or any personal identities. They are just designed to fulfill God's orders and act as messengers to humanity."

"So they are like blank computers?" Kuroko asked. Index looked at her blankly.

"She doesn't know a lot about technology," Touma interrupted. "She meant they are just blank slates until someone, God in this case, inputs an order." Index nodded in understanding.

"If an angel malfunctions and can't understand the orders or does something God does not order," Index continued. "They can become what are known as a fallen angel or demon. They still act similar to normal angels, but they follow different orders. So this free will of Lucifer should not exist. He should be just following different orders as he malfunctioned. Anyway, about Lucifer, he was the angel closest to sitting at the right hand of God. He was the oldest and most beautiful of angels and known as the Light-Bringer. "

"What happened to him?" Ruiko asked.

"When he rebelled against God, he was struck down by the Archangel Michael," Index continued. "Michael used the might of God as a blade to strike down Lucifer who was leading an army of angels against God. Michael then became the leader of angels and more powerful then Lucifer, even though they were once equal."

"How powerful is an angel?" Kazari asked looking around.

"Their power is supposed to defy reason," Jason muttered. "They can cast spells that defy all common sense and could annihilate the world." Everyone looked at him in disbelief.

"I can agree to that," Touma said. "The archangel Gabriel would be able to turn half of the world into ashes. Anyway, we can't allow an angel to materialize on earth."

"Then why did you let them go," Accelerator snarled. "We should have stopped them before they could cause any problems."

"We were in no condition to fight them," Touma retorted. "You saw the girl's power. She could make more The Herald guy we fought. If we had problems with fighting him, do you think we could have fought her while exhausted?"

"Couldn't you just summon that dragon thing," Accelerator asked and everyone flinched. "It worked pretty well the first time."

"Dragon?" Index looked at Touma curiously.

"I'll explain later Index," Touma said hastily glaring at Accelerator. When Index was looking away he shook his head slightly indicating for them not to talk about it in front of her. Accelerator raised an eyebrow and shrugged, but kept his mouth shut. Everyone else knew about it to a certain extent if they were there or not, but they wanted to avoid talking about it until Touma was ready to.

"Anyway we should celebrate while we have the chance," Ruiko said moving the conversation forward. "Only one week left till Golden Week. Sucks we have all those tests this week. I haven't been studying much." She got a little depressed, but everyone got distracted when Touma face palmed.

"Damn I forgot about those exams," he grumbled. "I haven't been keeping up with studying and I know I am going to fail." He slumped down on the table while Mikoto and Misaki started to pat him reassuringly on the back.

"I'm sure you will do fine," Misaki said honestly.

"You just need to cram a little," Mikoto added.

"I doubt the hero can do it with just a little," Accelerator said laughing. "With how many supplemental classes he has to take for being so far behind."

"Shut up," Touma said. "It's not like I don't want to do. It's just, with my hand, all the ability related fields go right over my head. I can't relate to them at all."

"If you need help," Misaki purred. "I'll be glad to answer any questions you may have. Maybe you would like to meet in my room for a pirate lesson?" She leaned up close to him and Touma's heart started pounding.

"If he went over I'm sure he will fail even more," Mikoto snapped at Misaki. "I can help him if he needs it."

"I knew you were just an ape," Kuroko said shaking her head. She was annoyed Mikoto was jumping up to help Touma. "Just how stupid can you be to not study? We have to study constantly and can't fall behind because Tokiwadai has a really strict curriculum." Mikoto and Misaki nodded in agreement. Tokiwadai was a very elite school and even though they were in middle school, their lessons were more advanced them Touma's. Kuroko also had a secondary motive of trying to keep Touma away from Mikoto as much as possible too. "You should study more with your own power. I know onee-sama has helped you before with work, you should be grateful someone as noble, smart, and beautiful would give you the time of day."

"Come on Kuuuuuro-chan," Jason said emphasizing the new nickname. "Don't be so hard on him. We can't all be geniuses."

"What did you call me?!" Kuroko snapped completely distracted. "How dare you address me like that?" Everyone else at the table started to giggle, but tried to stop when Kuroko shot sparks out of her eyes. She and Jason started to argue and everyone else turned back to their conversation.

"Why don't you and Jason look worried about exams?" Kazari asked Accelerator.

He grinned. "It's super easy for us. We don't even study and can pass these exams."

"Must be nice," Kazari said depressed. These exams were always tough for her. _Jason will probably help if I ask._ Jason put his hand around her shoulders in response to her words and she blushed.

Accelerator turned his gaze over to Ruiko. "Hey girl," he called out and Ruiko looked up. "Did you do what I recommended at the hospital?" Ruiko opened her mouth and got really red fast.

"You told her that?" Misaki and Mikoto yelled simultaneously and even Touma looked surprised. Kuroko, Kazari, and Jason looked confused. Index and Last Order were busy talking about magical girls and stopped paying attention to the teenager's troubles. Accelerator merely grinned in amusement at the sudden reactions.

"Though I can't wait for the system scan Monday," Ruiko said changing topics fast again. She held out her hand and pieces of a paper napkin started to swirl in it. "I can't wait to see how my ability is developing." She looked over to Jason. "What's next?"

"Well I'll have to look at the data from the scan to determine what will happen next," Jason said looking at her. "Due to some unforeseen circumstances dealing with the sin organization, I've been told to cut a lot of my experiments short. Once we get you to level two, you will probably just continue with the normal curriculum."

"Ok," Ruiko said sounding slightly disappointed, but quickly smiled. "I don't care. It's still an ability. I'm interested to see how far I can go with my own strength."

"I'm sure you will do great," Kazari said encouragingly. Mikoto and Kuroko nodded in agreement too. They really wanted Ruiko to be happy with her ability since she was a level 0 for so long and never complained about it. Now that she had a chance to get one, they wanted her to succeed. The party continued for a while and ended on a high note, as they stopped talking about the magic ordeal they had just been through and focused more on everyday school like. Everyone had a good time poking fun at Touma about his school work and then all got depressed at the upcoming exams. Eventually, Accelerator had to leave and started to drag Last Order away when everyone else realized it was getting late. They all left together, still talking, until they got to a point they needed to split up.

Accelerator and Last Order were heading to their apartment, Mikoto, Misaki, and Kuroko were traveling to their school dorm, Kazari and Ruiko to theirs and Touma had to go to his. _Maybe I can get an hour or two studying tonight for the review session Komoe-sensei is sure to have tomorrow,_ Touma thought to himself. Jason decided to go and walk Kazari back to her dorm to spend time with her. Touma wanted to make a joke to get revenge for all the times Jason made fun of him for hanging around a girl, but before he could think of something, someone else spoke up.

"Hey I need to talk to you," Kuroko spoke up. She wasn't talking to Touma, who immediately gave a sigh of relief, but to Jason.

"Sure," Jason started to say. "But wha…." No one else heard anything because Kuroko grabbed his shoulder and teleported them both away. Everyone looked at each other in surprise at Kuroko's weird unexpected action.

"What do you think that was about?" Touma asked. Everyone else just shrugged, except one person who grinned before walking away.

"Obviously she was going to confess her love to him," Accelerator said laughing slightly. Mikoto didn't know if she should laugh or not. Everyone else had a look of pure shock on their faces at his words.

* * *

Kuroko teleported herself and Jason far away from the rest of her friends, and the ape. She took a breath and looked at Jason who was watching her curiously. "I need to ask you something."

"Ok," Jason said raising an eyebrow.

"When I was fighting one of magicians named Envy," Kuroko began after taking a breath. "She mentioned something really disturbing. I think she was just trying to mess with me psychologically, but she mentioned you." Kuroko was watching Jason's face closely as he frowned slightly. "What is the Parameter List?" She knew she struck gold when his face darkened ever so slightly for a second. If she was not watching him closely, she would have missed.

"Well..." Jason started to say.

"So it's true," Kuroko said turning away from him. She felt as if she died a little bit inside. _So our powers are known from the beginning and hard work doesn't matter. They knew onee-sama was going to be a high level even when she was just a level 1._ Worst of all, for Kuroko, she was worried her friends were also going to be stuck at a low level and no matter how hard they worked, they would not be able to develop a high level ability. _It's so cruel, after all those things they tell us about hard work to get stronger._ _It also diminishes all the hard work onee-sama put in to level up._ She almost felt like crying slightly until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Jason staring at her, but she also saw a look of kindness in his eyes.

"I'll tell you something," he said and Kuroko didn't hear the normal joking tone he always used when talking to her. "It did exist, but they scraped it because it was flawed."

"What?" Kuroko asked. _Flawed? What does he mean?_

"The first thing I did in the curriculum development division when I found that list was to prove it was false," Jason said. "I developed a process to turn people who were supposed to be stuck at low level into higher levels. Then I had to show someone important I could turn a specific level 0 into a high level. I purposely chose someone who the Parameter List said could not be one."

Kuroko's eyes widened in surprise. "Saten-san?" she asked and Jason nodded.

"According to that list she should not have developed level 1 for a couple years and then she would be stuck at it," Jason continued. "If I get her to a higher level, the list will be scrapped for good. Not only do I help a friend, I get rid of that cruel list that defies the very essence of what the city tells us."

Kuroko didn't know what to say. She always thought Jason just goofed around and never did anything. His words this time actually felt like it mended her heart. _I won't be bound by that list. I can get stronger by working hard. I can be like onee-sama._ She looked Jason over. "So you are trying to show anyone can become a high level ability user." Jason grinned and nodded.

"I bet if you work hard you can stand side by side with Misaka-san," he said grinning. Kuroko did not want to admit it to him, but she loved the sound of his words. "Oh," he added. "For obvious reasons, don't go spreading that information out. I shouldn't have even told you about it, but I don't care what those guys think." Kuroko frowned.

"You are certainly carefree about your job," she stated. "But even so, you did answer my question. So thanks, it was important to me."

"Anything for you Kuro-chan," Jason said smirking. Kuroko smiled evilly in return.

"For that, you can walk back to everyone else." The last thing she saw was his surprised face before she teleported back to the group.

* * *

Touma was walking back to his dorm with Index who was really happy. Sure she had bitten Touma on the head, when he was out of the hospital, for putting himself and others in danger to save her, but then she hugged him sincerely while thanking him. Touma was just happy everyone managed to get back alive and no one was traumatized by the events. As they walked, his thoughts turned to something else that came out of nowhere earlier that day.

After leaving Jason's hospital room, and before he met everyone else at the diner, Touma had received a message from, he had no idea why, Frenda. The message said, _we need your help, call me immediately._ He told Jason he had to run, and left the hospital before pulling out his phone and calling Frenda. The phone rang twice before she answered. "What's the problem," Touma asked concerned. "Are you ok?"

"I-I'm fine," Frenda stuttered before regaining her composure. "It turns out we have an important mission tomorrow and Mugino needs your help with it."

"A mission?" he asked. He had no idea what she meant by that. "I don't know…"

A second later Shizuri's annoyed voice came on the line. "You always said you wanted to help people, well someone's life is on the line if you don't help us. Are you still unsure?"

"Can you give me more information?" Touma asked quickly. "Where should I meet you?"

"Calm down," Shizuri said impatiently. "I can't give information over a non-secure line, but right now you need to meet us tomorrow after your classes let out. Hurry over to the same location you met us when Frenda picked you up before. I'll tell you the information then."

"Ok," Touma sighed. He had no idea what this mission was going to be about, but if someone's life was on the line, and he could help them, he would without a second thought. "Anything else?"

"Yes," Shizuri said and Touma felt her tone indicated she was smiling. "What size jacket, pants, and shoes do you wear?"

"Eh?" Touma asked shocked.

* * *

Touma was exhausted the next day. Even though he slept well, he still felt like he did not have a lot of energy. He forced himself to get up and make breakfast for himself and Index then headed to school. As he left his dorm, he ran into Motoharu leaving too. "Hey Kami-yan," he called out. "You look terrible. Were you with too many girls last night?"

"Don't be stupid," Touma said yawning. "I was stuck in the hospital most of the day and then we had a small celebration because we all came back. How are things on your side?"

"A lot more peaceful that's for sure," Motoharu said smacking Touma on the back. "Thanks to you and your friends help. We got back most of the grimoires back from that organization. Best of all, your direct participation was not identified thanks to the Amakusa."

"Wait," Touma said slowing down. "Most?"

"We recovered twenty grimoires form the arena," Motoharu said seriously. "However, a total of twenty five grimoires had gone missing recently."

"Eve and Adam must have kept them to try to revive Lucifer," Touma muttered and his words stopped Motoharu in his tracks.

"They are trying to revive Lucifer?" Motoharu asked suddenly. "As in the fallen angel Lucifer?"

"Yes," Touma said looking at him before realizing Stiyl may not have known about it to tell Motoharu. "Eve and Adam said they were trying to collect his wings to complete the ritual to revive him." Touma grew concerned at the serious look that came over Motoharu's face. "I know an angel on earth is a serious matter, but what's with that look."

"Ah nothing," Motoharu said and his face broke into a wide grin. "Just thinking about things." Touma knew he was hiding more information than he was telling, but Touma also knew he couldn't get any more information from Motoharu unless he chose to give it.

Back at school, they were greeted by Pierce who looked like he was trying to talk to Accelerator before they arrived. Accelerator looked like he wanted to smash Pierce over the head with a desk though. "Hey Kamijou," Pierce called out. "Help me settle an argument with Accelerator. What's the best color of a girl's underwear?"

"White," Touma said instantly. "White is the sign of a pure heart."

"Ah what are you talking about?" cried Pierce. "Everyone knows bright colors are the best. Girl's need to keep their child-like innocence."

"You are both wrong," Motoharu said. "Purple is the best by far. It represents mystery with eroticism."

"Accelerator was trying to say black was the best," Pierce said jerking his thumb at him.

"It's more adult than his stupid choice," mutter Accelerator. "Now keep me out of your damn argument." He leaned back in his chair and went to sleep. Of course, the Delta Force could not let such an important topic stop without serious debate. Their debates usually turned violent and this one was no exception. They were still trading blows when Seiri entered the room. She walked in and heard them yelling about something.

"White!"

"Purple!"

"Bright!"

"What are they fighting about now?" she asked someone.

"Underwear colors." Those two simple words made the Delta Force suffer blunt force trauma as Seiri sighed, made a fist, and proceeded to pummel all three of them. Accelerator opened one eye and was glad he managed to avoid their stupid argument. When the bell rang the Delta Force pulled themselves up from the floor into their seats. Touma noticed Jason was not here today and frowned.

 _That's weird; I thought he would have to be here for the system scan?"_

"Good morning class," Komoe said as she walked into the classroom and stepped up onto her stool so she stood above her desk. "As you know, the next couple of days we will be focusing on exams before you all forget everything over Golden Week. Before then, please focus on working hard this week, because I know none of you want to stay here over break. Of course, if any of you have to stay and have supplementary classes, I will be teaching them. As a teacher though, I hope you all can enjoy your break. Right Kamijou-chan?" Several of Touma's classmates snickered when she singled him out.

"Yes sensei," Touma said quickly. Most of the morning was taken up by the periodic system scan to determine every student's development. After Touma was hooked up to several machines and completed the test, he saw the scientist measuring his ability shake his head and mutter, "Still Level 0." Normally this would bother him a little bit, even though he never let it worry him in the long run, but now he knew his hand emitted something different then a normal AIM field. Only Jason, Accelerator, and Mikoto knew about it, so it would make sense these scientist did not know unless Jason told them. He went back to his class and joined Motoharu and Pierce to celebrate continuing to be Level 0s. Touma watched Accelerator return nonchalantly and go back to sleep.

The rest of the day was devoted to reviewing for the exams they would have the next couple of days. Komoe was going over all the main topics that would be covered and Touma was desperately taking notes and trying to pay attention. He did not want to have to stay and take supplementary lessons. It was hopeless though. He got lost about twenty minutes into the lessons. He occasionally knew what she was talking about, but overall, anything relating to abilities was over his head. He could at least understand the math, science, and language easily enough. It was the ability credits that were most likely going to be his downfall. _I hope I can memorize these notes at least,_ he thought looking at the pages of notes he was scribbling down as fast as he could. _I might be able to just remember them and put them down as an answer and pass that way._ It was a small ray of hope, but it was the only thing he could think off.

"Hey Kami-yan," Motoharu said about five minutes before the end of the day. "Want to come hang out. We found a new video store that rents out ANY movie to anyone." He gave a big wink and a high five to Pierce. Touma shook his head at their antics and even Accelerator looked at them.

"Come on Kamijou," Piece said. "Even Accel-kun is coming." That made Touma turn his head in shock at Accelerator. Accelerator suddenly looked pissed.

"I never said that b#$*%!&," Accelerator growled. "Don't go putting words in my mouth."

"You would come anyway," Motoharu grinned. "You can't resist our fun." Accelerator looked like he was about to reach out and strangle them.

"Sorry guys," Touma lied. He was not sorry at all. "I'm busy tonight and can't do stupid things with you, maybe next time."

"Going to hang out with girls Kami-yan?" Motoharu asked grinning.

"Kamijou you b#$$^&%," hissed Pierce. "Blowing off your friends to hang out with your girlfriends, I'm ashamed at you. How many is it this time?"

"You know what?" Touma said exasperatedly. "Yes, I am going to meet a bunch of girls. Does that make you all feel better? I am going to hang out with girls instead of you tonight." They both looked at him stunned with their mouths open. Even Accelerator looked surprised as he raised an eyebrow.

"Huh," Pierce said regaining his tone. "I guess he is just going to study for the exams. There is no way Kamijou would tell us that. He must be trying to be sarcastic."

'Well played Kami-yan," Motoharu said grinning. "We almost believed you."

"I think it was mentioned yesterday some girls from Tokiwadai were planning to help him study," Accelerator said grinning evilly. Touma looked at him and mouthed 'why?' Accelerator shrugged and laughed slightly.

"There's the Harem King we know," Pierce said shaking his head. "He will just sit at home and the girls will come to him. I guess he is trying the passive strategy now. He's at such a high level."

"If we hurry," Motoharu whispered. "I'll be able to monitor them after we get the videos. I'll let you know what happens." Pierce gave him a thumb up and Touma groaned.

As soon as the bell rang, Touma ran out of the classroom. Not only was he trying to escape whatever plan Motoharu and Pierce had set up, he had to go meet Shizuri and Frenda at their base. _I hope I remember where their place is. Mugino could have been more specific on the details of what they need my help for. I hope she wasn't lying about saving a life._ He wasn't exactly sure where to go since it had been awhile, but he saw a few familiar landmarks and finally found the place. He put in a code Shizuri had given him to bypass the card reader on the door and he entered the apartment complex. He went up six floors, found the apartment, and knocked. A second later the door opened and he was greeted by the short brown hair of Saiai.

"Wow," she said looking slightly surprised. "You actually showed up." She let him into the apartment.

"I was told it was important," Touma replied looking around. The only other person in the apartment was the black haired girl, Rikou, who was actually standing up and stretching. "Where are Mugino and Frenda?"

"Frenda had to move out late last night," Saiai said as she sat down on the couch. Touma thought he could almost see under her fluffy dress, but it always seemed to just barely cover the important parts. "Mugino is getting ready in there." She nodded to a door and Touma assumed that was the bathroom. "Mugino he's here," she called out. The door opened and Touma was momentarily speechless.

When Touma was told mission, he thought they would be running around back alleys fighting some weird organization. That was how his missions usually went when he went to help someone. Normally, you would wear practical old clothes since they were sure to be destroyed. He did not expect Mugino to step out of the bathroom in a full length revealing bright red dress. It was a backless type with the front barely covering her well-endowed chest. It was long and reached down to her feet. Since Touma usually hung out with girls his age or younger, he forgot the beauty of an older girl until now. He wasn't sure how old she was, but he assumed, at the very least, she was his age, but she might have been a year or two older. However, he was captivated by her looks, something that Shizuri did noticed. She smiled.

"Close your mouth Kamijou," she ordered and he snapped it shut immediately. She flipped her hair back. Touma almost didn't notice, because of her dress, but her soft tea-colored hair was now pitch black. She had obviously dyed it for some reason. "I suppose you want to know why we need your help."

Touma nodded. "I take it has something to do with your new look?" The corner of her mouth curved downward slightly at his lackluster tone.

"Very astute," she said. "I suppose I should give you a rundown of the organization you are a part of tonight. We are called ITEM, Frenda, Takitsubo, Kinuhata and me. Our group's purpose is one thing, keeping the balance of the upper classes of Academy City, including the board of directors. We do whatever needs to be done, no matter what it takes."

"What do you mean balance?" Touma asked. He didn't like the sound of her last statement though.

"You see," Shizuri explained. "Once some of those people get in power, they want more. Many times, they try to stop others from gaining power because they see it as a threat to theirs. In some situations, they will even kill to stop them." Touma gulped but kept listening. "That is what is happening now. Someone is trying to kill a member of the board of director using a very special nanobot technology. The nanobots are designed to target a specific biological DNA pattern and will break apart the DNA inside the person, dismantling them apart from the inside."

"What kind of person would do that?" Touma asked slightly sick.

"I didn't ask," Shizuri said. "We were told we can't touch him for some reason. Our purpose is to stop the nanobots. Kinuhata and Takitsubo," she motioned to the other two girls in the room," are going after the container with the actual nanobots. We are going after the activation switch for them. Frenda has always infiltrated the location we are going to, in order to set up surveillance devices."

"Where are we going to find this switch?" Touma asked.

"The Yanadem Tower, are you familiar with it."

"Vaguely," Touma said. "It's a really fancy hotel for the upper class right?" _That would explain why she is all dressed up. Going into the tower dressed in casual clothes would certainly attract attention._ He had heard of the tower, but never had any reason to go near it. He was a poor high school student after all.

Shizuri nodded. "A simple, but accurate, description, as expected of you." Touma chose to ignore the slight insult and focused on another question that had been bugging him.

"Why do you need me to help?" Touma asked. He was confused at why she wanted him to help her infiltrate such a high class place. _Surely she wouldn't be suspicious the way she looks. I mean, she looks really high class just by herself._

"The answer is really quite simple," Shizuri said crossing her arms. "The switch is going to be disguised and sold during an auction in the ballroom. Our informant got us two invitations to the auction. However, these kinds of things are always designed for groups or some wealthy business man. They were willing to send one of their men as an escort, but they always draw attention. I thought about it and decided someone closer to my age would draw less attention. Some people might overlock a thirty plus year old man with me as an escort, but others will not. While there are a lot of shady people at these events, some are actually decent human beings. You also have combat experience which may be necessary if things go south."

"So you want me to escort you to this auction so you can find the switch?" Touma asked to clarify. "But I'm just in my school uniform and I know I don't have any fancy enough clothes for something like this."

"You are doing more than just escorting me," Shizuri said and this time there was a definite smile on her face. "YOU are going to this auction and I am simply accompanying you as your date."

"EHHHHH!" Touma gaped at her in surprise.

"Close your mouth," Shizuri said irritated. "I know you consider yourself lucky to be in my company." Her smiled widened again. "As with the problem with your clothes, why do you think I asked for your sizes? Bring his new clothes out." Rikou walked over to the closet and pulled out a black suit, white undershirt, tie, pants and shoes then brought them over to Touma. She immediately walked away after handing the clothes to him.

Touma looked at the clothes and his heart stopped. The suit and pants were very high class and he doubt he would have even been able to afford them even if he saved up for a year. _How much money does she have?_ He didn't know the brand of the shoes, but they looked to be of similar quality. "These must have cost a fortune," he stammered.

"They did," Shizuri admitted. "However, it is a small price to pay to accomplish our mission. Now get in that bathroom and put those clothes on before I get impatient and make Kinuhata force you into these." Saiai grinned at him and cracked her knuckles. Touma didn't think she looked dangerous, but he lived in Academy City long enough to not judge a book by its cover, for example Mikoto and Kuroko. He sighed and went into the bathroom to change.

 _This doesn't look bad,_ he thought to himself. He looked at himself in the mirror. The black suit and pants fit him really well. The tie was dark blue and went with the suit. He still couldn't get his hair to lie flat. Touma sighed knowing Shizuri was not going to be happy with that excuse. He unlocked the door and walked out while straightening out the sleeves. He could feel all three of the girl's eyes examining him.

"You were right," Shizuri said muttering to Saiai. 'He wouldn't make his hair flat, go ahead." Before Touma could react Saiai jumped up behind him and hit his hair with some kind of gel. He thought about struggling, but he froze under Shizuri's glare. It said simply, 'move and die.' Saia stopped and wiped her hands off on a towel as Shizuri inspected him. "Hmm, he really doesn't look bad." Shizuri walked up to him and straightened his tie. "He is at least presentable and will not attract any attention to us."

"I think you will attract more attention them him," Saiai said and Shizuri grinned.

"Well it's a good thing then," Shizuri said. "If he was unattractive, then no one would believe he would actually be able pick up someone like me up." Saiai nodded in agreement while Rikou just stared at Touma making him very uncomfortable, especially as he realized something else.

 _Did she just compliment me?_ Touma wasn't sure, but he definitely felt she did. It made him feel slightly better getting complimented by an attractive girl. He glanced at himself in the mirror with his hair slicked down. _I look weird without spiky hair_. He shook his head slightly as he remembered why he was here. _We are saving someone life._ "When are we leaving?"

Shizuri looked at the clock. "Kinuhata and Takitsubo, you both need to go now." They nodded and left quickly. "We will get picked up shortly by a limo and be taken directly to the tower. Any other stupid questions?"

"When we get there," Touma asked figuring now would be the best time to understand what he was supposed to do besides stand there. "What all am I going to be doing?"

Shizuri glared at him as if she thought he was trying to be funny. "First, don't attract attention, I'll guide you. We are simply arriving, and heading straight for the auction. After determining which item is being sold with the switch, we will meet Frenda in her room to steal it. Tsk," she made an impatient noise with her tongue. "I hate doing this the subtle way. It would just be easier to go in blasting."

"Can I ask why you colored your hair?" Touma asked cautiously. Shizuri looked at him, but Touma had a hard time figuring out what the look was. It seemed to be a combination of irritation and amusement.

"Even though I am a level 5," Shizuri told him. "I am involved in the dark side of Academy City, I cannot let me name and appearance be widely known or it could be dangerous for me. So I simply changed my appearance a little to avoid detection. As long as I don't cause too many problems, even with just a simple change of appearance, they won't recognize me. We also have people to help make sure information doesn't get leaked. Why did you even asked?"

"No reason," Touma said quickly and looked away. "It just looks good…," he added sheepishly.

"You sound like a normal guy now," Shizuri said. Touma was looking away so he didn't see her smile. The only thing he could think of was his words did sound like he was flirting. Luckily, he was saved from any further embarrassing talk by the arrival of the limo. "About f$%*ing time they show up," growled Shizuri. "Let's go." They left the apartment and entered the limo. During the ride, Shizuri handed him a card. "This is your name now if a situation comes up." He looked at name on the card, 'Munoto Karubo.' It sounded a little ordinary to him, but it could have been worse. They drove off in silence and he gazed out the window for most of the trip. He could have sworn he saw Shizuri watching him out of the corner of his eye but, every time he glanced at her, she was looking out the window.

Touma was nervous since this would be the first high class event he ever attended, but Shizuri seemed bored by the entire thing. He had realized through their conversations, she was more of a girl of action rather than infiltration. When they arrived at the tower, Touma looked out and noticed all the very high class looking adults walking into the building. His eyes fell on the women and he began to realize the difference between commoners like him, and these rich individuals. Even Tokiwadai wasn't as impressive as the Yanadem Tower. He saw the marble statues outside the main entrance tower over them as they pulled up. _This is an entirely different world._ He did notice many young people around his age, and slightly older, come and go so he shouldn't draw to much attention.

"Don't gawk idiot," Shizuri hissed at them as they got out. She clung to his arm as they walked up the steps to the tower. He could feel a lot of people's eyes on him. Many women were looking at Shizuri with jealousy while the men were looking at Touma with jealousy, along with them wishing him nothing but ill. Touma could feel Shizuri's chest right up against him, but he tried to focus on walking forward and not attracting attention to him for not belonging here. He passed the invitation to a man inside the main lobby and he was given a number to use for the auction. They walked into the ballroom and sat down side by side at a table in the back without any problems. "Now we wait," she whispered to him.

"I thought it would be harder to get in here," Touma whispered back.

"These events are all about appearance," Shizuri said as a waiter brought them drinks. She sipped hers and looked toward the stage. "Hurry the f%&$ up already," she muttered angrily. "This is such a waste of time being here." People were slowly making their way into the ballroom and taking their seats. Of course, some of the males did not bring dates. One male guard was standing in a corner that Touma did not notice, but this guard did notice him.

"Is that really Kami-yan?" the guard muttered to himself.

"Hello gorgeous," one male said walking up to Shizuri, grabbing her and Touma's attention. He must have been forty years old at least. "How would you like to sit at my table and we can talk about the future?"

Shizuri rolled her eyes and clutched Touma's arm. "I'm sure that would be lovely," she said smiling insincerely. "But I'm with Karubo-san today. Please leave." Touma raised an eyebrow slightly at her lady like response. That was not the usual reaction he knew from Shizuri. The guy looked like he was thinking about arguing, but as Shizuri told him, appearance is everything here. He left without incident. Touma saw a glint in Shizuri's eyes as she wanted to kill the guy. To keep other guys away, Shizuri hung onto his arm often and laughed as though he said something funny. Touma did find himself constantly staring at her as she was an incredibly attractive girl. "Finally," she whispered. "It's starting." The light dimmed and a man walked up on stage.

"Welcome ladies and gentleman," the man said speaking into a microphone. "As I know you are all eagerly waiting for today's auction, let's not waste any time. Just a quick reminder all purchases are made at the end of the auction. Our first item is this lovely…"

Touma stopped paying attention. He did not know what he was looking for, but Shizuri apparently did. She was staring intently at each item that was brought out. Touma didn't understand why any of this stuff was considered valuable. A single painting went for ten million yen. He could not comprehend how anyone would pay that much for something to hang up on their wall. _I guess this is the difference between the rich and poor._ He couldn't talk to Shizuri because he might distract her as she was looking for the switch. Touma knew what would happen if she missed it because Touma distracted her.

"There it is," Shizuri whispered and smiled. Touma turned his attention from her to the item being sold. The item being sold was some kind of medical kit with several vials. The man on stage was saying it could extend someone's life by easily fifty years. It was developed as a side project of Academy City's plan to extend the average individual life expectancy. However, this particular project was discontinued because it was too time consuming just to make enough dosage for a single person. Touma couldn't believe something like this existed and the bid opened at fifteen million. "It is number twenty two," she whispered and Touma saw she was whispering into a microphone hidden in her dress. "Ok Kamijou, let's go."

"Where we going?" he whispered as they got up.

"To our friends room," she muttered then smiled and said louder, "I'm bored Karubo-san, let's go to your room and have some fun." Touma immediately felt his ears go red as they started to leave the ballroom. He heard whispers from several nearby guys.

"Lucky b#^*!&^."

"He must be rich to score a girl like that."

"Hate those brats who get into these events with just their parents influence."

They left the ballroom and took the elevator up to the tenth floor. They went down the hall to the fifth room on the right. Shizuri knocked twice before she slid her key card into the slot. The door opened so they walked in then shut and locked the door behind them. Touma looked around at the fancy hotel room. There was a huge king size bed and a large desk in the corner. A huge flat screen TV covered an entire wall and there was a door that probably let to the bathroom. Frenda walked through that door holding a headset and laptop. She was wearing a very revealing bright blue dress too. It did not suit her nearly as well as Shizuri's, but it made her look a lot older then she probably was. She looked Touma up and down and blushed slightly, then turned back to Mugino.

"You look good Kamijou," she said red then to Mugino, "I have good news and bad news. The good news is the storage area for the items is on this floor since they didn't want it near the ground to be easily stolen."

"What's the bad news?" Mugino asked glaring at her and Frenda coward under her stare.

"B-basically," Frenda stammered. "It's not my fault. They heightened security because they found an unauthorized individual near the ballroom. Several security personnel chased him out of the hotel, but now they are worried he might be part of a group. One of the guards was late to return saying he was almost ambushed, but managed to get away. So now, even though the storage area is down the hall to the right, there are a lot of security personnel there. Basically, we won't be able to sneak in and will have to rely on force." She pointed to her laptop were several cameras were showing the guards. "They haven't found my hidden cameras so we still have the advantage."

"Damn it," Shizuri growled. "Some idiot made a mess for us. What did he look like?"

"Basically, they just said he had brown hair," Frenda said shrugging. "It could be a disguise, but they didn't provide any other information."

"F#%^!" Shizuri spat out and sat down on the bed. "Let me think." She did not expect someone else to try to infiltrate here. It might not have been too bad if they didn't mess up and make security tighter. _Then again, if they were smart, they might have a reason to add more personnel. They could be after something else here for some other reason._ She glanced over at Touma who had taken a seat on a chair and Frenda who was monitoring their communication. "Keep me updated Frenda, you know what will happen if you slip up." She started to flex her fingers.

"Y-yes Mugino," Frenda stuttered turning pale and went back to work focusing on the security conversations.

"So Kamijou," Shizuri asked. "What do you think of this world?"

"Well," Touma said rubbing his head. "It's a little weird being in such a high class environment. We really haven't done much."

"True," Shizuri conceded. "Usually there is a lot more violence. Give it time."

"I'm not really looking forward to violence," Touma said honestly and Shizuri smirked.

"You are to pure Kamijou…" she started to say when Frenda interrupted her.

"Mugino!" Frenda cried. "Something is happening." Both Shizuri and Touma crowded behind her and watched the screen. One of the guards was walking up to the storage area before being halted by all the guards at the door. They were talking, but to softly to be heard from the camera's microphone. It looked like the new guard was trying to get through the door. Suddenly, a younger guy in the back shouted out.

"He's an imposter, shoot him!" He might have had some sort of mind reading ability.

All the guards started to pull out his weapons. The imposter guard was faster and pulled something out of his pocket and tossed it. The small metal orb released a green cloud of gas and all the guards fell to the floor. The green gas disappeared quickly and the imposter guard walked to the door and reached for it. Several bullets exploded through the wooden door and the imposter just managed to dive to the side to avoid them. He turned and ran down the hall and turned a corner out of sight of the cameras Frenda set up. The door to the storage room burst open and about twenty guards burst out. One of them yelled out, "search every room on this level and kill anyone the least bit suspicious. Then, A group move upstairs and B group move downstairs."

"Yes sir!" They said and ran out. They had some kind of master key cards to open doors and started systematically checking all the rooms. So that meant even Touma's, Frenda, and Shizuri's room was going to get checked.

"Shit they are almost here," Shizuri spat out. "Frenda hide the equipment then get on the bed." She grabbed Touma and threw him on the bed before he could even ask. A second later Frenda jumped on the bed too. Shizuri shot a quick look at the door as the footsteps were getting closer. She pulled down one of the shoulder straps of her dress over her arm revealing her black underwear. She then moved on top of Touma and looked down at him.

"Eh!" Touma explained.

"Mugino…?" Frenda said looking at him.

"Shut up and flirt," Shizuri growled and right when they heard the door click unlock, she bent down over Touma, half undressed, and kissed him passionately on the lips. At the same time, Frenda grabbed Touma's hand and slipped his hand under her dress onto her chest. She looked over at Touma and Shizuri's kiss when the door burst opened by two men. The guards stopped for a second, and closed the door quickly. Shizuri lifted her head and listened.

"What was that? You didn't even check the room?"

"A guy was currently doing it with two attractive females."

"Lucky b#$&*^%. I want to kill him."

"SHUT UP AND FIND THAT INTRUDER!" The stomping slowly got softer as the groups spread out. Shizuri stood up and pulled her dress back up. Frenda, who was beet red, moved herself away from Touma and refused to look at him. Touma was also bright red, but he was so stunned he couldn't move or think. The surprise attack had clouded his mind. It was a very passionate kiss along with him feeling another girl's chest. Being in that position was any man's dream. Finally, he shook his head and stood up.

"Wha… What was that?" he gasped.

"Hiding in plain sight," Shizuri said simply while glancing at Frenda, who was still bright red, and smirking. "They were looking for a suspicious individual, not a rich man making love with two girls. You two just need to grow up and stop acting like a grade school couple."

"Basically," Frenda protested, but was obvious embarrassed. "It's not like that."

"Shut up," Shizuri snapped and Frenda's mouth closed instantly. "I don't know who that was, but he just made our job easier. They lost most of their guards. We should still assume there may be one or two guards still in the storage area, but now it's our best chance. Let's go." She headed to the door and Touma and Frenda quickly followed her. They made their way to the door at the end of the hallway and stepped over the unconscious guards. The door was closed so Shizuri knocked. They saw someone looked through the bullet holes in the door.

"Move it girl, this area is off limits."

"So sorry about that," Shizuri said smiling. Out of nowhere, she spun around and delivered a powerful kick to the door and sent it flying off the handles. It smashed into the guy's head, knocking him out, as it flew backwards. Shizuri walked forward while Frenda and Touma followed right behind her. Frenda jumped to the side and kicked another guard who was pressed up against the wall near the door. There didn't seem to be any other guards as Shizuri looked around. "There it is," she walked over to the corner of the room and reached down to pick up the metal box containing the medical equipment and, supposedly, the switch.

Suddenly, from behind one of the cabinets, a brown haired guy leaped out and stretched his hand out toward Shizuri. His hand was glowing red and the air around it was shimmering slightly. Shizuri recognized it immediately as an ability to concentrate heat at a single point. Heat focused at one point could turn someone's hand into an incredibly sharp blade. It was coming right toward her chest. Shizuri's Meltdowner ability is incredibly powerful as an attack, but has a fatal weakness. She needs a certain amount of time to aim her ability. If she doesn't, it could shoot off in a random direction or, even worse, hit her. Frenda reached under her skirt for her bombs, but she was not fast enough. _I can't believe I made such a rookie mistake. I'm going to die for this._ She was incredibly pissed at herself, until she saw a blur out of the corner of her eye.

Touma had already begun moving as soon as the man appeared form behind the cabinet. He did not know what the man was able to do. All Touma knew was the man was going after Shizuri. He reached out his right hand and knocked the heat blade hand the man made. There was a sound of breaking class, and the blade disappeared. The man opened his mouth to yell in surprise, but Touma drew back his fist and delivered a powerful blow into the man's jaw. The man flew backwards and smashed into a heavy cabinet with a dull thud. He looked up in a daze and saw Shizuri standing over him. A green orb appeared next to her and she was looking at the man in pure anger. She grinned, but it wasn't a happy grin, it was an evil grin of someone who was about to kill another person.

"Please…" the man whimpered.

"Would you have shown me mercy?" Shizuri asked.

"Don't do it," Touma's voice called out from behind her. She turned around and looked at him. 'He's already beaten. You don't need to kill him."

Shizuri kept one eye on the guy before her. He was still dizzy from the punch so he wouldn't be able to concentrate on his ability for a bit. She didn't know why, but after hearing Touma's words, she was actually debating on whether to kill this guy or not. Normally, she wouldn't leave anyone alive during a mission like this, but she was told to keep it subtle as much as possible. _It is possible someone could recognize my ability._ She also knew leaving someone alive who saw her face would come back to bite her later. When she saw Touma's eyes, she again saw the strength and determination she saw in it before. He was one of those guys that she always believed to be weak, always spouting about helping others. Now, one of those weak guys had not only beaten her once before, but even saved her life. Her heart started beating heavily and she felt like her stomach was slightly nauseous. "Fine," she said bitterly as the orb disappeared. The man on the ground sighed in relief, and then Shizuri turned and delivered a kick to his head. The man fell down unconscious. "Frenda, wipe his mind of this incident, along with the guy by the door."

"What are you doing?" Touma asked nervously as Frenda pulled out a small electric handheld device from under her skirt.

"It's a handy little device," Shizuri said as she reached down to the medical kit for the switch they had come for. "If you use it on someone unconscious, it sends a little electrical impulse into their mind that wipes out the last thirty minutes or so. It is quite handy to use on people we can't kill, but also can't allow ourselves to be recognized. It's not nearly as nice if you use it on someone conscious though." She gave a slightly evil laugh and Touma felt his stomach turn. "Got it," Shizuri said pulling out the switch. She stuck it into her chest. "You finished yet Frenda?"

"Yes Mugino," Frenda said standing up after shocking the second man. "Also, I just sent the signal to fry the laptop so they can't get any information from it."

"Excellent," Shizuri said. "Good work both of you. When we get back, we will be sure to celebrate. Let's move." Touma and Frenda both nodded and followed her. They took the elevator and, right before they got to the ground floor, Shizuri hung on to his left arm, while Frenda hung on to his right arm. The door opened and they walked across the main lobby. Touma could swear he was receiving death glares from several of the other men, but he did his best to ignore him. He was used to death glares from his classmates, so they did not bother him horribly. He just didn't want to get shot in the back. To his relief, they managed to leave the hotel without incident. They all got into their limo waiting for them before the girls let go of him. They spread out in the seats and Touma finally relaxed.

"Now if Takitsubo and Kinuhata did their job," Shizuri said. "This mission will be a complete success." She actually appeared to be in a good mood to Touma. But he didn't know she was still slightly annoyed she didn't get to kill anyone.

"That was stressful," Touma said leaning back in his seat. "Keeping a low profile with you two clinging to my arms was tough."

"Oh?" Shizuri grinned evilly. "What do you mean by that Kamijou?" She leaned over and grabbed his arm and pushed her chest against him. Touma turned red and avoided eye contact with her. She winked at Frenda who got the message. She grabbed Touma's other arm and pressed her chest against him. She wasn't as big as Shizuri, but she still had a chest.

"W-what do you mean by that?" Touma asked franticly toward Shizuri.

"Basically, it almost sounds as if you didn't appreciate us," Frenda said. Touma noticed she and Shizuri were grinning slightly, though Frenda was slightly red. "Are we not attractive?"

"Umm, err," he stuttered before finally crying out. "Ah, you two need to stop messing with me!"

* * *

Outside of the warehouse, Saiai and Rikou were monitoring the shipment of the nanobots as they crouched behind a large crate. They had to wait for quite a while, until the shipment was delivered by trucks. Saiai turned to Rikou. "Do you see any ability users among them?"

Rikou shock her head. "They all appear to be normal people, but there could be a chance someone can hide their AIM field." Saiai nodded in acknowledgement to her warning.

"This is going to be over super fast then," Saiai said cracking her knuckles. "Simple guns can't stop my Offense Armor. I only count about fifteen of them." She stood up and started moving toward the warehouse. "Contact me if you detect any ability." Rikou nodded and Saiai ran forward. Because of her small body, and the sun beginning to set, she wasn't noticed until she was almost to the nearest guard. The guard started to raise his gun and Saiai reached over picking up a heavy crate and threw it. It smashed into him and continued flying forward a good twenty feet before it stopped in a resounding crash. Suddenly, the air was filled with the noise of gunfire as many of the guard started firing at her. For some reason, the bullets seemed to stop just short of her skin. She smiled.

Saiai's ability was known as Offense Armor. Her ability allows her to control the nitrogen in the air in order to create a barrier around herself. It was the result of the nightmarish experimentation done to her in the Dark May Project, where a portion of Accelerator's thought patterns were inserted into her brain. Saiai received an idealized version of Accelerator's Redirection, and this allowed her the ability to create a 360 degree barrier around her. The barrier is made of super-compressed nitrogen instead of Accelerator's vector manipulation. She can also control compressed mass of nitrogen and lift heavy objects, like the crate she just threw, and deliver extremely powerful punches. All the bullets were stopped by her armor. They would need extremely powerful weapons to break through her armor, handheld automatic guns just would not suffice.

"Is that all you got?" she laughed and ran forward punching two more of guards. She heard their bones break before they collapsed. The other guards spread out and kept firing, but they might as well have done nothing for how much damage they did. She grabbed another heavy crate and crushed another one. The fight was over pretty quickly as Saiai systematically killed each of the guards. "Easy," she said into her microphone. "Luckily these guys are part of the dark side or I might have felt super guilty killing some innocent stooges. I'm heading inside."

"Understood," Rikou said. Right when Saiai walked into the warehouse, Rikou saw it, an AIM field. Her eyes widened as she recognized it and she felt shivers down her spine. A monster was heading directly to the warehouse where Saiai was. "Kinuhata?" she whispered. "Kinuhata?" No reply came back and all she heard was static. _There must be something in the warehouse blocking the transmission. Be careful Kinuhata_. All she could do was watch the two AIM fields get closer and closer.

Saiai on the other hand was too busy dealing with a couple more guards inside the warehouse. "Hah," she laughed. "These guys are a joke. Where are the anti-armor rifles? If you guys know you are doing something illegal, you should be super prepared for a fight." Her Offense Armor also prevented any blood from getting on her which kept her clothes clean. She walked over to a large crate and grabbed the side of it. She ripped off the side and threw it away as she looked at the contents. Inside was a large machine with a large vial of some kind of green liquid. "I found it Takitsubo," Saiai muttered into her microphone. "What was the process of destroying them again? Takitsubo?" All she heard was static. "Damn it, we are super close and I can't even hear her on how to destroy these." Before she could decide on what to do, a loud explosion rocked the warehouse. She turned around and gasped in shock and horror.

The wall behind her was ripped apart and several nearby machines exploded from the force of the wall crushing them. A lot of fire and smoke was filling that side of the warehouse. From out of the smoke, a skinny albino youth emerged. He was completely unfazed by the smoke and fire around him. Saia could only watch as the most powerful ability user walked toward her. She was alone and there was no way she could stand up to him. For some reason he seemed annoyed as he held up a phone to his ear. "What do you mean the f$#&ing hero is at the tower?" Accelerator asked the person on the phone.

* * *

Motoharu, disguised as a guard, was standing in the corner of the Yanadem Tower's ballroom waiting for the auction to begin. He saw something that shocked even the famous double agent so much he had to do a double take. A young man and a very attractive young woman walked into the ballroom. The woman had dark hair and was clinging to the male's arm. The male's hair was slicked back, but Motoharu was sure he recognized the face. When he looked at the girl closer he recognized her as the fourth rank level 5, Shizuri Mugino. "Is that really Kami-yan?" he muttered to himself. He didn't have much time to dwell on it as he received a message from Mitsuki Unabara.

They were part of an organization called GROUP. GROUP was formed to take care of internal affairs of Academy City's Dark Side. They have been described as a small group that exists in the underworld, working to defend the mainstream society. Motoharu looked at the message and saw Mitsuki has successfully taken on the disguise of one of the guards and was planning to try to infiltrate the storage room. GROUP had received information someone was planning to release a strain of powerful nanobots to kill a member of the board of directors. Their job was simply to neutralize the activation switch or the actual nanobots. Accelerator was taking care of the warehouse where the nanobots were supposed to be, while Motoharu and Mitsuki tried to infiltrate the tower.

Motoharu shook his head and tried to ignore Touma, but inside he was wondering what could possibly have lured him here. _Does he know about the nanobots? Is that why he is with the fourth?_ His suspicions were confirmed when they left right after the auction item that held the disguised switch was presented. He left the ball room and called Accelerator. "Where are you on your end?" he asked.

"About to enter the area with the warehouse," Accelerator reported. "Hang on, there are a couple guys with guns. I'll call you back." The line went dead and Motoharu sighed. He waited for a bit wondering what was taking Accelerator so long when he received a message from Mitsuki. They had some mind reading ability user and discovered his disguise. _Shit,_ he thought to himself. It would have been a lot easier for them if they could kill the guards, but they were told most of the guards were just innocent people who had nothing to do with the dark side of Academy City. They were simply acting as guards for a lot of wealthy individuals. Motoharu couldn't go up to the storage area to help out because all the guards had been notified to find the intruder. He would be label suspicious if he went up there now. He trusted Mitsuki could conceal himself. Finally, Accelerator called back.

"Yea," he said annoyed. "There were some issues with a couple snipers hiding and avoiding my reflection. It's taken care of."

"That's good," Motoharu said. "I got some bad news on our end though. There is a lot more security, including some mind reading that makes stealth almost impossible."

"Well as long as I take care of my job it's all good right," Accelerator asked. Motoharu heard the sound of ripping metal and a couple explosions.

"I'll leave it to you," Motoharu said then he smirked slightly. "Oh, funny thing, it seems like Touma Kamijou is in at the tower."

"What do you mean the F$#&ing hero is at the tower?" Accelerator asked.

"It seems he is on a date with the fourth rank level 5," Motoharu said snickering. "Complete your side and head back. I'm going to make sure there is nothing left I can do on this side." He hung up as Accelerator tried to reply and he walked toward an abandoned security room on the first floor. There he pulled out a laptop from a hidden compartment and opened it. He was monitoring several cameras. When he came to scout out the location the day before, he found those cameras hidden on the floor. But whoever set them up had either been careless or just plain stupid. They were complete unguarded without any security locks on them, so he was able to access them via Wi-Fi. _Let's see what's happening._

* * *

"What the hell?" mumbled Accelerator as Motoharu hung up. _There's no way the hero could be on a simple date in that place at this time. He must know about the nanobots._ He looked up and saw a small girl with a fluffy dress that reached down to her thigh. "Well look who it is. You look familiar. Aren't you a friend of the fourth rate and the hero?"

"W-what are you doing here?" Saiai asked nervously taking a step back. She was strong, but standing up to a monster like Accelerator wasn't something she could do and live. She felt nothing but fear and shivers went down her spine.

"Oh come on," he said smirking. "You can't be that stupid. I'm probably after the same exact thing as you. Now why don't you be a good brat and step away from those nanobots."

"Yea right," Saiai said. She knew Accelerator got injured a while back so he was weaker than before. She had to take the risk if she was to succeed in her mission and not get killed by Shizuri for being a coward. Fight or flight was her only options and neither would end well for her. She suddenly charged Accelerator. "I'll just take you down here and finish my mission."

Accelerator yawned and simple tapped the incoming girl. Saiai flew backwards and crashed into the wall leaving a good human size dent in the wall. Saiai had a small body and even with her Offense Armor, a strong blow could still knock her back, but with Accelerator it was different. He could manipulate vectors, so even the smallest tap would send her flying if he wished it. What surprised her was she was still alive. Accelerator could kill with a single hit. She groaned slightly from the force of the wall hitting her and stood back up. "Why did you keep me alive?"

"No particular reason," Accelerator said as he operated the machine with the nanobots. "You know the hero so I decided to spare your life for being stupid enough to think you can challenge me. I won't be generous a second time. If you attack me again, I WILL kill you." He flipped a couple switches and the green vile in the machine turned orange. While what he said was true, nowadays he tried to avoid killing if he could help it. _The stupid hero is rubbing off on me and making my life more difficult._

Saiai could feel the truth behind his words. They were not a threat, but a simple fact of what would happen if she attacked him. _He's such a monster. After a single blow I'm frozen in fear._ "What are you planning to do with the nanobots?" she finally asked.

"Are you blind," he asked with his back turned. "I'm destroying them." The vile turned red and started to bubble. "Let's see," he muttered. "I overloaded it, changed the composition of the liquid, so self-destruction should occur in thirty seconds." He sighed and pushed another couple buttons and several lights began to flash. "If you value your life, you should leave. This machine is about to blow right after the nanobots self-destruct. But if you want to stay, I won't force you." He laughed as he left the warehouse.

Saiai was completely confused, but managed to grab hold of her senses and rush out of the building before the machine exploded and collapsed half of the warehouse. She didn't waste any time and headed for the rendezvous point with Rikou. "What an asshole," she muttered but she still remembered the shivers she felt when he glared at her. _He at least completed my mission for me and his glare was super hot._ She found Rikou and waved.

"I saw your AIM fields clash," Rikou said. "Are you alright?"

"Yea," Saiai nodded. "For some reason he was doing the same thing we were. I think he knew Kamijou was at the tower too. Well let's head back. If we are too late Mugino is going to get mad." Rikou nodded and they headed back to their safe house.

* * *

Touma, Frenda and Shizuri had arrived back at the safe house first. Shizuri let Touma use their bathroom so he could change back to his school uniform before she and Frenda took their turn. He had time to remove the gel from his hair and it was back to being spikey. They had just finished changing back into their normal clothes when Saiai and Rikou arrived. Shizuri looked up from the couch. "Well?"

"We were interrupted," Saiai said shaking her head. "Accelerator arrived at the warehouse, but it seemed like he had the same objective we did."

"Accelerator?" Touma asked surprised. "How did he know?" He reached down and looked at his phone, He had turned it off before entering the tower, but the only messages were from Motoharu, Jason, Mikoto, and Misaki.

"Who knows?" Shizuri said. "Doesn't matter anyways, the job is done and that it all that matters."

"So how did Kamijou do," Saiai asked turning to Frenda. "Did he super make your heart flutter at his usefulness?"

"Shut up," Frenda cried. "Basically, he did fine from what I saw, but you should ask Mugino. She was with him longer."

"He's too noble," Shizuri said disinterestedly. "Other than that he did fine. He took down an ability user who managed to surprise me so he was definitely worth bringing. We got the switch, but it didn't really matter with the nanobots gone."

"I wasn't going to let you kill someone who was no longer a threat," Touma said angrily. "You took care of it without killing."

"It was still a waste of time," Shizuri said glaring at him. "In our line of work, a second could mean life or death. Would saving one person and allowing countless others die be acceptable to you?"

"I'll just have to save everyone," Touma said clenching a fist. Saiai and Frenda both sighed at his words.

"There you are super playing the hero," Saiai added. "You are just talk."

"Basically," Frenda said shaking her head but smile slightly. "You want to do the impossible."

"Maybe not," Shizuri muttered causing several heads to turn to her. "He saved me without a moment's hesitation after I made a stupid mistake. He definitely is not all talk." Touma was shocked. That was the first time Shizuri actually paid him a straightforward compliment. "Anyway Kamijou," she said turning to him. "We don't need you anymore tonight. Leave the dress clothes here in case we have another need for you again."

"Yes," Touma said sighing in relief. He was finally free to go. While he was surrounded by attractive girls, they had some issues he wasn't ecstatic to be around. He got up quickly and almost ran out of the door.

Shizuri watched him leave and frowned slightly. He was definitely useful to her. After being dragged suddenly into the darkness, he not only exceled, he managed to keep the light in his eyes. _If I had met someone like him earlier, would I have traveled so deep into the dark side?_ Her heart started to beat fast again and it annoyed her because she felt weird. _It can't be._ She glanced at Frenda who had also watched Touma leave and was blushing slightly. Saiai and Rikou had gotten drinks and turned on the TV. Shizuri glanced at them and noticed something on the table.

"That idiot forgot his cellphone," Shizuri snapped. "Frenda, return it to him. How could he be so stupid? What if we need to contact him again?"

"Yes Mugino!" Frenda said standing up quickly and grabbing the phone. "I'll be right back," she said as she dashed out the door. Shizuri sighed and looked out the window. Her eyes narrowed when she saw a group of girls walking near the building.

* * *

Touma walked down the stairs thinking back to what happened. If what Shizuri told him was true, missions where they had to kill were the usual for them. Touma did not like it and would always try to save others, even if they were an enemy, but he knew everyone else could not do that. He wished they could leave the dark side and if they ever needed help, he would be there for them. He was glad he could show they would be able succeed even without violence. He opened the door at the bottom of the apartments and walked out into the street. He did not expect what was about to happen.

"Touma?" two voices asked. Touma recognized both of them.

"Ape?" a third voice asked. He recognized the third one too and he felt his stomach drop.

He turned to see Mikoto, Misaki, and Kuroko. He was surprised to see Mikoto and Misaki together, because they did not get along very well. Kuroko on the other hand seemed to be walking between them. He wasn't exactly sure why they were here, but he realized the circumstances could have been much worse. They could have seen him with Shizuri. _They all seem to have issues when they meet. Do all of the level 5s have to be so aggressive to each other, even Gunha likes to fight._ "Uh hi," he said nervously.

"What are you doing here?" Mikoto asks curiously looking up at the apartment complex.

"You can't be thinking of living here?" Misaki asked excitedly. "It would give us a lot more private time." Mikoto gave her a glare.

"There's no way the ape can live here," Kuroko said crossing her arms. "Someone like him has to live in a small run down room."

"Don't be rude Shirai-san," Misaki said. "I won't introduce you to Kamiko-san if you act like that to Touma." Touma frowned slightly at this and Mikoto just looked like she had given up.

"Ack," Kuroko's voice got stuck in her throat and she glared at Touma but didn't say anything else.

"So what are you doing here?" Mikoto asked again. "This is a pretty high class area. You normally don't hang out here."

"I…. was just helping out a friend," Touma replied after a moment of hesitation. The pause was not lost on the girls as all three of them caught it. Kuroko raised an eyebrow and Mikoto and Misaki stared at him as if trying to see through his words. "What? I was told they needed help so I helped them. Why do you all looking at me like I did something wrong?"

"That's so like you Touma," Misaki said smiling. "Of course I believe you."

Mikoto shook her head then grinned. "So you planning to get stuck with remedial classes during Golden Week since you aren't going to study?" Kuroko snickered.

"Don't remind me," Touma cried as crocodile tears fell. "I'm heading home now to get an hour or so of studying for tomorrow. So I really need to get going if I don't want to repeat this…" His words were cut short when someone opened the door behind him.

"Hey Kamijou," Frenda said. "You forgot your ph…" She stopped short when she saw who was talking to Touma. "AH! What are you doing here?" she asked pointing to Mikoto.

"I was in the area," Mikoto said glaring at Frenda. Mikoto did not like her because Frenda had once tried to kill her along with Shizuri. However, her anger right now was targeting someone different. "So Touma, the friend you were helping out…?" She was beginning to radiate a dark aura.

"See onee-sama," Kuroko said pointing. "I told you he's no good and a player."

"Well, well," Misaki said placing her hand on her cheek as if she was thinking, but there was definitely a dark aura radiating around her too. "Would you care to explain this Touma?" She smiled, but it was a strained smile Touma was unused to seeing on her.

Touma sighed and his instincts told him he was not going to get out of this easily. "I told you, I had to help someone. Nothing else happened."

"That's not nice Kamijou," a cold female voice said from behind him and his blood froze. The voice was angry, but it was a controlled anger that put even more fear into him. Mikoto's and Misaki's eyes widened in shock while Kuroko, who only met the girl in passing once, did not know who she was, but she sensed the danger immediately. "After all we went through tonight, you still say that."

""Touma!" Mikoto yelled at him as she started sparking. "What is she talking about!?"

"You really should explain," Misaki said almost as coldly as Shizuri. She reached into her bag. "I would hate to be forced to read this girls mind and possibly over extend my power."

Kuroko looked at both Mikoto and Misaki, who were suddenly furious, and asked. "Who is she?"

"Shizuri Mugino," Mikoto said not taking her eyes off Touma and Shizuri. "Also known as the number 4, Meltdowner."

"What?" Kuroko asked shocked. _How many of the level 5s does this ape know?"_

"Don't say stuff that leads to misunderstandings!" Touma shouted at Shizuri as she walked out of the building until she was next to him.

"M-Mugino?" Frenda asked. 'What are you doing out here?"

"I was seeing what was taking you so long," Shizuri said glaring at her and Frenda paled. "I see you found the third and fifth rate again."

"What did you do to Touma?" Mikoto asked angrily. Shizuri just glanced at her and smirked.

"Tell us," Misaki said raising a remote. "Or I'll force it out of her." She pointed to Frenda.

"Just try it," Frenda said reaching under her skirt and pulling out several handheld missiles. Kuroko realized the danger and pulled out her spikes.

"Stop!" she shouted. "I'm part of Judgment. I will take you all in if you start fighting here, even you onee-sama."

"I would like to see you try," Frenda replied her hands still on the missiles.

"Kuroko it's dangerous," Mikoto said not keeping her eyes off Shizuri. "You should step back. This fight could get ugly." _Damn it, I don't know how many of her people are in that building._ She knew when level 5s started fighting, there ended up being a lot of collateral damage.

"Onee-sama," Kuroko began. "As part of Judge…" She was interrupted as several green orbs appeared next to Shizuri.

"If you want a fight," she said half laughing and half in anger. "I'll be more than happy to oblige." Shizuri saw Mikoto tense up, then she felt a hand grab her wrist and the green orbs immediately disappeared. She looked at Touma as he kept a firm grip on her. "What the f%&^ are you doing?"

"Stop!" Touma said, half shouting to indicate he was talking to all of them. "There is no reason to fight." Mikoto, Misaki, and Frenda both gave him a look. When he shouted, he seemed to radiate an aura of command. Mikoto stopped sparking as she stared at him with a slightly red face knowing she acted childish in front of the guy she liked. Misaki lowered her remote as she looked at the most important person in her life. Frenda couldn't believe Touma suddenly acted like that. She was use to a much tamer guy, but now he was the person who only showed his true colors in hostile situations. When she saw Mikoto and Misaki no longer in fighting stances, she lowered her handheld missiles and looked at Mugino.

Shizuri was conflicted. She hated Mikoto, the Railgun, for many reasons, beating her, ruining a mission, and, worst of all, being a higher level than her and being just a brat. As for the girl known as Mental Out, she just didn't like her personality. All were good enough reasons to get rid of them if she had to, but for some reason she stopped. Not just because Touma was canceling her power, but for some reason she did not want him to hate her. _What the f$*^ is with that thought. Who cares what he thinks?_ She sighed under her breath. "Fine," she growled looking at Touma and pulling her wrist out of his grip.

"So what were you doing with him?" Mikoto asked finally beginning to use her words again instead of preparing for a fight. Now she was actually curious as to what Touma was doing with her. _She had to bully him into helping her. Ah no, that idiot probably volunteered to help her without even knowing what she was doing._

"I told you," Touma said exasperatedly. "I was just lending her a hand with something important."

"That is true," Shizuri admitted. Misaki and Mikoto raised an eyebrow and looked at her skeptically. Frenda and Kuroko were confused at this surprising turn of events. Shizuri immediately felt annoyed at their looks of disbelief. "Don't give me that look brats," she snapped. "I needed a guy to help me with something and he was available. But that reminds me." She suddenly thought of something deviously evil. It would cause both the third and fifth pain and it would repay her debt. "That reminds me, I forgot to pay him for his help." She grabbed Touma's shoulders.

"What are y.,,?" Touma started to say but was quickly muffled.

Shizuri had just learned in and gave him a deep passionate kiss, on the mouth, right in front of everyone.

"M-MUGINO!" Frenda cried. Not only was she surprised but she was also upset Shizuri kissed the guy she liked, though she would never admit that. Mikoto, Misaki, and Kuroko were all staring at them with their mouths opened as their jaws hit the floor. All of them looked like they had been hit over the head with a club. None of them expected that with what they knew about Shizuri.

The kiss didn't last very long before Shizuri pulled herself away from Touma. "Come on Frenda," she called out as she walked back to the building. After a moment of hesitation, Frenda rushed after her. Frenda was trying to think of what she could possibly say to Shizuri when they were back in their private room. Shizuri didn't glance back once before entering the building, but she felt weird again. It was an odd combination of accomplishment at hurting Mikoto and Misaki, but it was also mixed with happiness. She frowned at the weird feeling of pure happiness that surpassed the time she beat several losers into bloody pulps to relieve all her stress. _There is something about that guy._

Back in front of the apartments, Mikoto and Misaki were not amused. "TOOOOUUUMMMAAAA!" They both called out in anger and surprise. Kuroko was still shocked that anyone could like the ape that much.

Touma shook his head and snapped out of it as he realized the danger. He had been completely thrown off guard when Shizuri ambushed him. He only had one thought pass through his mind as she kissed him.

 _She's using tongue._

He was surprised at how good she was at French kissing. It had felt really good and he had to shake his head again to clear away those thoughts. "It wasn't my fault," he said as he slowly started to back away from them.

"Touma," Misaki said, and then she jumped at him. "If you wanted a kiss so bad all you have to do is ask. I'll do it anytime. Let me wipe away the taste of hag." Touma suddenly had Misaki wrap her arms around him and she also kissed him deeply. He was once again stunned by the turn of events. Misaki stopped the kiss and pulled her head back looking up at him and smiling at his surprise look. "See, I'm better then she is."

 _Crackle._

They both turned to look at Mikoto beginning to crackle with electricity. Her face was bright red with embarrassment and anger. Kuroko was smart enough to teleport several feet away to avoid getting shock. She had a smug look on her face as she glanced at Touma. Touma felt like he could read her mind, _you are going to die._ Misaki noticed the danger and spun around Touma and hid behind him as a bolt of electricity flew at them. It disappeared with the sound of breaking glass as Touma held out his hand. "Why don't you listen to me Mikoto!" he yelled at her.

"Shut up idiot!" she cried. "You are always flirting with other girls."

"I don't even know how to flirt!"

"IDIOT!" she yelled again and ran at him. She knew he would just block her electricity, but she was so angry she wanted to hit him just once. She was blinded by rage and tripped when she was almost within striking distance of him. Her last clear vision was Touma moving forward and reaching out his arm while crouching slightly. She closed her eyes and felt her body crash into his and they both fell with her on top of him. She felt something on her lips and opened her eyes.

Her eyes were staring right into Touma's as their lips were pressed firmly together.

"Oh my Misaka-san," Misaki said feigning ignorance at the situation. "How unromantic for a first kiss."

A dark aura full of rage and murderous exploded near them as Kuroko started walking toward them with her spikes out. The aura was clearly visible. "AAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEE!" she cried out in pure anger. "How dare you defile onee-sama's perfect lips? Even I haven't… only I can touch them. Must. Kill." She was prepared to teleport those spikes into every place on his body.

Touma had tried to catch Mikoto when he realized she was falling. He knew she was mad at him, but part of him felt like it was his fault for not explaining himself better. He still couldn't let her get hurt. He managed to position himself under her in time as she fell on top of him. He did not expect for her to lay on top of him with her lips pressed against his. He could also feel her chest pushing down on his as he stared into her eyes. He saw a combination of confusion and sadness in her eyes and his heart hurt. Then he saw her face change from anger red to embarrassed red. Storm clouds began to gather as he heard Kuroko walking toward them. His heart sank.

 _Such misfortune._

Part of Academy City was wrecked by another enormous thunderstorm and many areas lost power, including Shizuri's apartment. She was not amused.

* * *

 **Jason: Achievement unlocked: Triple Level 5.**

 **Motoharu: I'm so proud of him.**

 **Accelerator: Even though he did it by accident, it's still impressive.**

 **Motoharu: Speaking of impressive, I see you got a fan in this chapter.**

 **Accelerator: Huh? You mean that girl in the fluffy dress?**

 **Motoharu: Yep.**

 **Accelerator: I rather date Musujime.**

 **Jason: I thought she was your girlfriend?**

 **Awaki** **: They don't know me yet, but there is no way I would date him.**

 **Accelerator: She's a shotacon, so watch out Jason.**

 **Jason: *shiver***

 **So I feel this was a good opening chapter for season 2. There are lots of fun adventures ahead for everyone.** **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or idea. I love reading them.**


	36. S2 Kiharas

**Whew, had a little writer's block there for a couple days, then I suddenly got inspiration. You know, the kind you find with certain substances the man tries to keep us from enjoying.**

 **Well, that is enough joking around. I think I need to get a beta reader because trying to proof read my own stories sucks. If anyone wants to volunteer, you will receive no pay, no vacation times, no holidays, and no tips. You WILL receive the chapter before anyone else, occasional compliments, and the glory of knowing you help make the story better for everyone.**

 **Readers:**

 **Guest: A** **Certain Beauty-Sempai would do that, maybe at some point in the future when the total number of girls reaches the breaking point.**

 **Agent: Why not both? Then add a little embarrassment.**

 **Glad everyone enjoyed the ending of last chapter. When I first started writing season 2, I wanted to end the first chapter at that point. Everything else was just filler.** **Let's rewind the clock a bit and follow Mikoto and Kuroko a little earlier in that day before they run into Touma. There will be an overlap at one point.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

"So onee-sama," Kuroko asked as they walked back to the dorm. "What do you want to do today?"

"I don't know," Mikoto said thinking. "I should probably review for the tests tomorrow, but they are pretty easy right now."

"Of course they would be easy for you," Kuroko said admiringly. "You are one of the top students in Tokiwadai. Why don't we go out and do something fun? Even you need a break once in a while."

"You sometimes have weird ideas of what constitutes fun" Mikoto said suspiciously as they entered their dorm. "I wish Saten-san and Uiharu-san could hang out with us if we do, but they said they needed to study. I hear Kagere-san is helping them."

"Humph," Kuroko said. She was still holding a grudge against Jason for giving her a weird nickname yesterday. However, she was also slightly happy he was tutoring them because it meant she would be alone with Mikoto. "I bet he is just distracting them."

"From what Uiharu-san told me," Mikoto said grinning. "Saten-san is the one who needs all the help. " Kuroko snickered as they both approached their room.

"Hold it Misaka-san," A woman's voice said from behind them and they both froze in fear. Behind them stood their dorm supervisor, a tall and slender woman with shoulder-length brown hair and wearing glasses. They were glinting and hid her eyes from view, which meant she was upset about something. Her anger was legendary and she had no problem with using physical force on rule breakers.

"Yes ma'am?" Mikoto asked as she snapped to attention and shivered slightly under her glare.

"A rather large package for you has arrived," the dorm supervisor said. "You know you need to check often to ensure the mailroom is not over crowded. Do you understand?"

"Yes ma'am," Mikoto said again, but inside she was confused. _I didn't order anything._ "I'll go get it right away." She hurried to the mailroom and the dorm supervisor left. Kuroko gave a sigh of relief, glad she was not on the receiving end of the dorm supervisor's anger. A couple minutes later, Mikoto came back carrying a box about two-thirds her size.

"What did you order?" Kuroko asked curious sitting on her bed.

"I didn't order anything," Mikoto said puzzled. "It's pretty light though. Hmm, here's a note." She tore the tape off of it and opened the envelope.

 _Dear Mikoto Misaka and Touma Kamijou,_

 _During the carnival in Academy City, you both registered and took a picture at my booth this weekend. I am pleased to inform you, when we closed Sunday evening and tallied the totals, you two won by a single vote. Congratulations. Because you two were not available to receive it in person, I have mailed it to the address you provided me. Please enjoy your limited edition Gekota doll along with a framed picture of you two. You both deserve it._

The guy had signed his name below the letter, but Mikoto didn't pay attention to it all. _We won!_ She immediately crumpled the letter into her pocket and started ripping open the box. She reached in and pulled out the large Gekota doll and gave it a squeeze as she couldn't contain her glee. Kuroko's voice brought her back to reality. "Really onee-sama, another one?"

"This is a limited edition," Mikoto bragged not caring about Kuroko's opinion on Gekota. Mikoto set it down in the corner of their room, quite pleased with herself. "I had to win it in a competition. I didn't know it was coming in the mail today."

"There's something else in here," Kuroko said reaching into the box and pulling out a picture frame. Mikoto's heart sank when she remembered the second part of the letter. She turned around and saw Kuroko stared at the picture with a look of horror; her face had gone pure white. Mikoto lunged forward and grabbed the frame from Kuroko's hand before she could do anything to it. "Onee-sama… and the ape…. together… She's been defiled, her purity tainted. I forgot they were together Saturday. He… must… die…" She was muttering more to herself then to Mikoto with her hands gripping her head.

Mikoto had to shock her to bring her back to her senses. "First, nothing happened Saturday. He was a perfect gentleman. We had just met Shokuhou-san when that magic group kidnapped our friends. We just entered this contest to win the Gekota prize." She looked down at the picture. Touma had his arm around her back and holding her close. They were both looking at each other with slightly red faces and smiling. The cameraman really caught a good angle and Mikoto really liked the picture, not just because it was her and Touma. She walked over and set the picture on her nightstand next to a picture of her, Kuroko, Ruiko, and Kazari.

"Why would you put his picture out in plain sight?" Kuroko asked shocked at Mikoto's boldness.

"Because he's a friend and it's a good picture," Mikoto quickly explained, but then shook her head as she decided to tell the truth. _I guess I can't really hide it anymore._ She took a deep breath, gathered her courage, and finally told Kuroko the real reason. "And I l-l-like him a lot," she muttered. Mikoto was glad she was facing away from Kuroko as her face turned bright red. She suddenly felt chills as a dark aura exploded from the other side of the room. She turned around and Kuroko's eye was twitching and she had a weird half grin on her face. Mikoto thought to herself she might have broken the news to Kuroko a little too soon.

"Nooooooo," Kuroko whimpered, her face still showing the stunned expression. "He can't have taken onee-sama's… The ape has to die… Kill…Trogledyte…Evi…" Her sentences slowly turned to harsh words and then incoherent mumbling. Mikoto suddenly felt worried Touma might be in trouble. She vowed to send him a message warning him of Kuroko. Then she recognized a potential threat and was determined to stop it immediately.

"Kuroko," Mikoto said turning to look directly at her. "If anything happens to this photo, I will blame you. I don't care if a meteor comes flying down from space and destroys the dorm. If the picture is broken or disappears, I will blame you."

"But that's not…" Kuroko started to stammer.

"I WILL blame you," Mikoto repeated with emphasis looking Kuroko directly in the eyes. "If you do anything to it, I will make sure we are no longer roommates. Understand?"

"But…" Kuroko tried to say again looking horrified.

"UNDERSTAND?"

"Yes onee-sama," Kuroko muttered defeated and looking at the ground.

"Good," Mikoto said pleased she would not have to worry about the picture getting destroyed. Then she felt immensely guilty seeing Kuroko's depressed face. _I need to cheer her up._ "You are my best friend Kuroko," Mikoto said and saw Kuroko look up, her face slightly more cheerful. "But he is my friend too. So please just TRY to get along with him." The look on Kuroko's face told her that was never going to happen. "Anyway, we haven't spent a lot of time together lately, so how about we go shopping. You mentioned there were some new stores you wanted to check out."

Kuroko looked at Mikoto then smiled. "Yes onee-sama," she said breaking out into a smile. She was incredibly happy about spending the evening with Mikoto. _She may have feelings for the ape now, but she will be sure to fall in love with me in the end._ "There's a pretty high class mall that has some really nice clothing stores. Since it is getting warmer out, I wanted to update my summer ensemble. "

"I think I need to get a new swim suit," Mikoto said thinking. "My old one is getting to small."

"Onee-sama is growing into such a fine woman," Kuroko said with tears in her eyes. "I'm so happy for you." She teleported behind Mikoto and wrapped her hands around Mikoto's chest. "Hmm, they do seem to be a little bigger."

"KUROKO!" Mikoto yelled and the room was filled with blue-white sparks causing Kuroko to fall to the floor twitching in happiness and smoking. Mikoto sighed and sat on her bed thinking while waiting for Kuroko to recover. Something had been nagging her in the back of her mind, and she had been meaning to ask Kuroko about it. _What did she need to ask Kagere about yesterday? I probably shouldn't have shocked her so much, but she really needs to stop groping me._

Eventually, Kuroko got up and dusted herself off. "Onee-sama's love never changes," she said happily. "I can't wait to spend all afternoon shopping. Maybe we can finally get you some more adult like underwear and spend all day trying them on."

"I'm not getting any underwear you think is good," Mikoto said crossing her arms as she remembered Kuroko's fondness for very revealing and see-through kinds. "Though, I do have a question for you."

"Sure."

"What were you talking to Kagere-san about yesterday?" Mikoto asked. "Your expression made it look important."

"Ah," Kuroko said thinking fast. She did not want to tell Mikoto about the Parameter List, even though Jason told her he had debunked it. She also didn't want Mikoto to doubt her own abilities and effort she put forth into becoming a level 5. However, she couldn't really think of a valid reason so she decided on something vague. "It was really important," Kuroko said shrugging and pretending it wasn't a big deal. "But it was kind of private so I didn't want to share it with everyone." She kept thinking of a possible excuse to use if Mikoto kept questioning her.

"Really?" Mikoto said suspiciously staring at Kuroko, who nodded. _She's lying. I can see it in her eyes, but why?_ She thought about what kind of question it could be for Kuroko to not want to tell her. _It can't be…_ A thought crossed her mind and she started to smirk while watching Kuroko.

"Why are you smiling?" Kuroko asked tilting her head slightly to the side confused at Mikoto's unexpected action.

"Did you confess to him?" Mikoto asked still grinning. Kuroko's response was so hilarious to Mikoto that she wished she had brought a camera. Kuroko's expression turned to shock as she looked like she had been clubbed over the head. Her face turned red with embarrassment, then deathly pale in horror. A green tinge slowly spread across her face and she looked like she was about to be sick. She held a hand up to her mouth and the other hand clutched her stomach. She teleported to the bathroom and slammed the door behind her. Mikoto walked up and knocked. "You ok?"

"No!" Kuroko's muffled voice came through the door. "How could you even suggest something so horrible?" Mikoto thought she heard Kuroko slightly retching and Mikoto shook her head laughing, under her breath, at Kuroko's overdramatic reaction.

* * *

"Jason," Kazari asked looking at him. "What's wrong?" Jason had suddenly looked out the window with a serious look on his face.

"I don't know," Jason said frowning slightly. "I feel like I missed something important."

"Did I get this right?" Ruiko asked pushing a piece of paper with a long problem on it over to him.

Jason looked at it for half a second. "No," he said and circled a part. "You mixed up those two formulas here." He pushed it back to her. "Try again."

"Arg," Ruiko sighed while grabbing her head in frustration. "These tests are horrible. Why would they put so many in a single week?"

"Well if you would study more instead of just right before we have a test," Kazari pointed out. "It would be easier to review."

"We are lucky Kagere-san is willing to help us," Ruiko said. "We wouldn't be half as prepared."

"You mean you wouldn't be," Kazari said shaking her head slightly while Jason laughed.

"Just be glad Kazari kept good notes," Jason said to Ruiko. "Or I wouldn't know where you two were at in the curriculum. Now go and finish that problem." Ruiko sighed and continued to scribble away on the paper.

"Oh Jason," Kazari said as she remembered something important. "Shirai-san said Misaka-san's birthday is next week, May second. It's during Golden Week so we can celebrate with her the entire day."

"Is Shirai going to throw a party then," Jason said leaning back on his pillow.

"From what she said," Kazari frowned. "Misaka-san told her not to throw a big party. She just wanted to hang out with her friends."

"Hmm," Jason said thinking. "That means we need to get her a present and I should probably tell Touma too. He probably doesn't know." He pulled out his phone. "So Misaka-san only said Shirai couldn't throw a party? I guess it's up to us then." He grinned while Kazari looked unsure.

"I don't think that was what she meant…" Kazari started to reply when Ruiko interrupted.

"Finally got it," she said leaning back onto the floor and looking at the ceiling. "Can we take a break?"

Jason looked over the problem and nodded. "Sure," he said and Ruiko sat up to celebrate when he added, "As soon as you finish those review problems." He pointed to a small stack of papers. Ruiko saw them and collapsed depressed. Kazari and Jason looked at each other and laughed.

* * *

When Kuroko told Mikoto she wanted to visit a new mall, Mikoto did not know Kuroko was referring to a mall Mikoto had been to before. It was the one she, Ruiko, and Misaki had been in just last week. The same day, they also met Touma and Shizuri in there together. _If Accelerator hadn't shown up and been his usual self, it could have ended badly._ Mikoto still never did find out why Accelerator was there. It wasn't like he was going to tell her. However, she knew the mall did have a wide selection of clothing stores, so Mikoto decided to follow Kuroko. _At least she looks like she is in a better mood now._ Kuroko had been severely depressed when she found out Mikoto was able to admit she liked Touma.

"Hurry up onee-sama," Kuroko called over her shoulder. "We have a lot of places to check out."

"I'm coming Kuroko," Mikoto sighed then smiled as she followed Kuroko into the first store. _At least this one looks pretty normal._ Kuroko headed to the summer outfits while Mikoto headed to the swimsuits. She started rummaging through them and occasionally holding one up in front of the mirror. She liked some of the colorful ones, but she knew other people saw them as childish. She wanted something more adult like the time, but still would suit her tastes. She held up one that was an adult style two piece, but was still a nice sky blue. As she held it up in front of the mirror she thought _, I wonder if he would like it._ She shook her head as her face turned red. _I'm buying this for me, not for him. He will like anything I wear, right?_ She still remembered the fun they had on their date before the magic group interrupted them and she smiled.

"Oh my," a sickening sweet voice came from behind her and Mikoto's blood froze. "If it isn't Misaka-san. Are you looking for a new swimsuit?" Mikoto turned around and saw her arch-rival, Misaki Shokuhou. Misaki was waving to her cheerfully next to another attractive girl whose hair was in curls. Misaki bounded forward to meet Mikoto. "Hmm," she said tilting her head slightly to the side as she looked at the swimsuit Mikoto was holding. "That doesn't seem like your usual choice in swimwear Misaka-san." She smiled again and rummaged through the swim suits until she found what she was looking for. It was a child one piece with a lot of rabbit's characters on it. "This is more your style right?"

"You…" Mikoto said angrily sparking slightly. "What makes you think I would wear something like that?" She may enjoy cute things, but something like that was way too childish for her.

"Is our little Misaka-san finally growing up?" Misaki asked putting a finger on her cheek as Kuroko walked up to them.

"Onee-sama what do you think of this?" Kuroko asked. "Oh, hello Shokuhou-san. I didn't see you. How are you?"

"I'm fine Shirai-san," Misaki said sweetly. "Thank you for asking. I just saw my good friend Misaka-san and had to come over." She turned over to her friend. "I think I'm going to hang out with these two for a little bit. Please go on without me." The girl nodded and left without any hassle.

"So onee-sama," Kuroko asked again as she held up an outfit. "What do you think of this?" She held up a purple summer dress. The straps were very thin and it wouldn't cover much above the chest. The dress looked nice, but Mikoto thought it would be a little difficult for Kuroko to pull off with her "body type.' It really was designed for someone with a larger chest. Of course, Misaki always had the opposite opinion of her.

"It looks great Shirai-san," Misaki said clapping her hands together. "It makes you look so adult like."

"Well," Mikoto said grinning insincerely. "I can certainly see that."

"Great," Kuroko said smiling. "I'm going to get it then." She walked over to the register while Mikoto turned to Misaki.

"What do you want?"

"Why Misaka-san," Misaki said pouting slightly. "What makes you think I want anything?"

"Because I know you," Mikoto muttered. "And you can't affect me with your ability."

"Very perceptive," Misaki said smiling. "Yes, there is something I wanted to talk to you about, but we were so busy yesterday I didn't have the time. So, what all happened with you and Touma on Saturday at the carnival?" Her smile was still on her face, but Mikoto could feel the dark aura began to seep out of her.

 _Damn,_ Mikoto thought to herself thinking fast. She was debating what to say to Misaki. Mikoto could lie, but since Misaki caught them halfway through their date, she would see through it immediately. "I was on a date with him," she replied the corners of her mouth beginning to smirk and she couldn't stop. "I still don't see what business it is of yours." For the first time Mikoto could remember, she actually saw real anger flash in Misaki's eyes.

"How bold of you Misaka-san," Misaki still in her playful tone, but now it sounded like poisoned honey. "If I remember correctly, your admirer, Shirai-san knows about it too. How does she feel about it?"

"She…" Mikoto said then paused. "Will get used to it… eventually." However, part of her was worried about what would happen if she didn't. Her words sounded surer then she actually felt.

"I see," Misaki said surprised, but narrowed her eyes slightly. "Maybe I should ask her myself. Ah, here she comes now." Mikoto's blood froze when Kuroko walked back over to them carrying a bag.

"Thanks for waiting," Kuroko said then frowned when she felt the tension between them. "What's wrong?"

"We were just talking about Misaka-san's date with Touma," Misaki said quickly before Mikoto could stop her. Kuroko's face suddenly darkened and she looked depressed.

"Onee-sama… ape…. defiled…," she muttered. Mikoto glared at Misaki who just smiled back at her. Misaki was rather pleased with herself. She had begun to punish Mikoto for daring to go on a date alone with Touma.

"Ignore her Kuroko," Mikoto said putting her hand on her shoulder. Kuroko immediately took the opportunity to grab Mikoto and embrace her while burying her face into Mikoto's chest.

"How could onee-sama fall for such a player like the ape?" Kuroko cried into her chest. A vein throbbed in Mikoto's head as Kuroko took the chance and moved her head around in her chest, but she gritted her teeth and ignored it. _Let's get it out of her system._

"Kuroko," she said finally. "You are drawing a lot of attention, let's continue our shopping trip." Kuroko sniffed one last time and let go of her.

"Okay," she said sounding slightly better. "Shokuhou-san, would you like to join us?" Mikoto grimaced and started to walk away.

"It would be my pleasure Shirai-san," Shokuhou said smiling at her. When she noticed Mikoto was out of earshot, she whispered, "I'm trying to get Touma to go out with me. If he does, Misaka-san is all yours."

"I'll be rooting for you then," Kuroko whispered back. "I don't understand what people see in him, but I'll help you anyway I can." When she said those words, she suddenly felt a sting of regret. She was plotting against Mikoto, with someone who Mikoto did not like for some reason unknown to Kuroko. After all, she never knew all the rivalry Mikoto and Misaki had behind the scenes. _I know I should be supporting her, but she would be better off with someone who is as amazing as her. Not some ape that just happens to have some strange power .In the long run, onee-sama would be happier with someone else._ She still felt extremely guilty when she and Misaki followed Mikoto to continue their shopping.

For being with Kuroko and her arch-rival Misaki, Mikoto had to admit the shopping trip could have been a lot worse. The worst things that happened was Kuroko trying to get her to wear see through underwear and Misaki trying to pass her little kids clothing. She was suspicious at how nice Misaki and Kuroko were to each other, but since Misaki did not seem to be using her powers on Kuroko, Mikoto let it pass. _They did seem to get along on the beach trip. As long as Kuroko doesn't insult Touma in front of her, they at least seem to have fun together._ After the crazy stuff that happened last weekend, Mikoto was kind of glad for this normal shopping trip. She was at least able to buy a new swimsuit for the summer. It was bright cheerful yellow two piece that was a normal adult style, so Kuroko at least couldn't say too much about it.

After they left the mall, all three of them were heading back toward the Tokiwadai dorms. Kuroko was walking in between Mikoto and Misaki, while alternating talking between them. "Shokuhou-san," Kuroko said. "I haven't had time to ask you. Do you have Kamiko-san's number? I never did get it at the beach." Mikoto coughed in surprise at the sudden question, but quickly looked away when Kuroko glanced at her.

"Hmm," Misaki said putting a hand up to her face. "I haven't been in contact with her recently. I believe she had to change her phone number for some reason. I'll see if I can contact her and maybe we can all hang out again. She is in high school and has her own friends, so she may be busy."

"That would be great," Kuroko said beaming at her. "We had such great chemistry ever sense we first met."

Mikoto was glad Kuroko was looking at Misaki rather than her, because Mikoto had covered her mouth to prevent herself from bursting out laughing. Kuroko always said how much she hated Touma, but as soon as he was turned into a girl, he suddenly became Kuroko's close friend. He didn't even change his personality. _The only reason Kuroko doesn't like him is because I hang out with him. She really needs to back off on who I want to be friends with. Well, with him I want to be mor…"_ She shook her head slightly to get rid of that thought. She caught Misaki's eyes and saw the twinkle of laughter there about Kuroko's reaction. It was one of the few times Mikoto could actually laugh with Misaki.

They were walking down a street surrounded by high class apartments. The sun was just beginning to sink behind one of the buildings and the street lights had just turned on. Kuroko was still asking Misaki questions about Touma's female persona, when Mikoto saw something that surprised her. Out of one of the apartments, she saw some familiar spikey hair. She noticed, out of the corner of her eye, Misaki saw it too and looked stunned. _At least I know I am not imagining things._ Both Mikoto and Misaki called out to him.

"Touma?"

Kuroko noticed him right after them and asked, "Ape?"

Mikoto watched Touma jump and quickly look around at them. "Uh hi," he said nervously.

"What are you doing here?" Mikoto asks curiously. Misaki and Kuroko questioned him too. They never thought he would be in a high class apartment neighborhood. She looked up at the apartment he came out of. He quickly explained he was helping out a friend. However, he had a suspicious pause in his words and Mikoto stared at him for a moment. Misaki then announced she believed him and Mikoto found she believed him too. _After all, the idiot would probably run halfway around the world to save someone._ "So you planning to get stuck with remedial classes during Golden Week since you aren't going to study?" Kuroko snickered and the atmosphere lightened considerably. The encounter went south immediately after that.

Suddenly, out of the apartment, Frenda emerged and looked like she was trying to give him back his phone. Mikoto realized the person he was helping had to be Frenda. Right when Touma was trying to explain under the girl's glares, Shizuri stepped out of the apartment and the situation became even tenser. Mikoto started involuntarily sparking in anger as Shizuri started taunting her and Misaki. Misaki had pulled out her remote, Frenda pulled out her missiles, Kuroko her spikes, and green orbs started to glow around Shizuri. An all-out brawl between several high level ability users was about to begin.

"Stop!"

Touma shouted at them all, his voice ringing with authority. At the same time, he grabbed Shizuri's wrist and caused the green orbs to disappear. To Mikoto's disbelief, Shizuri actually followed Touma's orders. _What happened to make her listen to him?_ She knew Shizuri was strong willed and didn't like taking orders from anyone else. She tried to question them, but then all of those questions were pushed out of her mind when Shizuri leaned toward Touma and gave him a passionate kiss on his lips. Shizuri left right after the kiss before Mikoto could recover from her shock.

"TOOOOUUUMMMAAAA!" Mikoto and Misaki called out in anger and surprise.

Before Mikoto could gather her senses enough to shock Touma within an inch of his life, Misaki had acted first. She leaped at Touma and kissed him passionately on the lips too. Now, Mikoto was furious, but also had other emotions, embarrassment, rage, sadness, rage, confusion, and more rage. She knew she was going to regret this later but, after her initial tactic of shocking him failed, she still needed to cause him at least a little bit of pain. Mikoto rushed forward, to give him one good punch in the gut before she would listen to what he had to say, but then she tripped. She watched as Touma moved forward and caught her before she hit the ground. She knocked them both down and her lips landed directly on his.

Her mind stopped working at this point as her embarrassment rose to new levels. She was hurt that shortly after their date, other girls were kissing him. She was also hurt because this was their first kiss and it was very unromantic. Her face flushed bright red and she felt her powers begin to go out of control as the clouds above them began to gather. She was vaguely aware of Kuroko saying something.

* * *

Touma finally manage to get back to his dorm and immediately collapsed from exhaustion. He ran around the city for several hours as he was being chased by Mikoto, Kuroko, and Misaki. Kuroko, of course, wanted to skin him alive and out running a teleporter is not an easy task. She kept cutting him off and forcing him to improvise on his escape route when she suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Misaki, on the other hand, kept confusing Touma. He knew she wasn't the most athletic person, but somehow he always kept finding her in the direction he was running. It was like she had a network of spies telling her where he was, so she knew the direction he was always planning to go. He also had a powerful sense of déjà vu when he was being chased by an angry Mikoto. It had been awhile since she had chased him, but the conversation was pretty normal.

"Get back here," Mikoto yelled. "I just want to talk."

"That would be a lot more convincing if you weren't shooting lightning at me," Touma said as he negated a bolt of electricity Mikoto threw at him.

"Just accept your punishment," she retorted. "Then we can talk."

"I told you I didn't do anything," Touma yelled. "It was an accident. I didn't enjoy it!" The last part was a lie, but he was saying anything he could think of to calm her down. However, all it seemed to do was fuel her anger even more.

"Take responsibility for your actions!" There were still people on the streets as they ran by and a lot of them shook their head at Touma as they heard the shouting.

 _That poor girl, the guy must have done something horrible._ So of course, no one came to save him.

So finally, after running around and eventually losing the girls, Touma manage to sneak back to his dorm. Only to be attacked by a hungry nun, who was furious at him for leaving her alone without food. After he managed to get her razor sharp teeth off his head, he found out she had gone looking for him and ran into Jason, Kazari, and Ruiko. They had fed her supper, but she was still angry at Touma. He promised to make sure she would have food if he was going to be late to mollify her. The only thing he had the energy to do, before collapsing in the tub to sleep, was look at the messages he received from his friends earlier that day.

 _How's the date going Kami-yan?_ Touma decided to ignore Motoharu's text. _There is no way he could know what happened. He just wants to annoy me._

 _I just found out Misaka-san's birthday is next week, the second, you need to get her something._ Touma's eyes widened at Jason's useful information. _I need to think of something soon. She may have some anger issues and overreact, but she is still a good friend._

 _Kuroko remembered our date Saturday, so you should avoid her till she calms down._ Touma stared at it for a moment and shook his head. _Shirai-san is probably a lot angrier at me now._

 _Would you like help studying for the tests this week? I'm sure we can sneak you into my dorm for a private study session._ He stared at Misaki's text and realized that was not going to happen. _There is no way I will be able to study there._ He fell asleep with the phone in hand.

His alarm woke him up the next morning and he had to force himself to get up. He was still exhausted and his muscles hurt from all the running last night. He slowly lifted himself out of the tub, made Index her daily food, cleaned up, and marched off to school. He was so groggy, he didn't realize he left early and was the first one to arrive to class. He sat down and promptly fell back to sleep with his head on his desk. He was woken up by Motoharu.

"Must have been a long night after your date Kami-yan," Motoharu said grinning as Touma lifted his head. "Wow, you look terrible."

"Thanks a lot," Touma grumbled stretching. "Big misunderstanding last night and spent most of it running for my life."

"Did you try to date several girls at once again?" Pierce asked as he joined the conversation. "You may be good, but doing that is dangerous. It's best just to rent out a hotel room for all of them."

"Nothing like that happened you perverts," Touma denied venomously, but then realized something. _That was actually pretty close to what did happen at the tower._ If he didn't know how these two were normally, he would have sworn they had seen him last night.

"Did you do any studying then?" asked Motoharu grinning.

"I wish," Touma said getting depressed.

"We told you Sunday you should have," Jason said as he and Accelerator entered the classroom. "I helped Kazari and Ruiko last night, but if you ask nicely, I can probably help you tonight."

"I doubt any amount of studying will help me at this point," Touma sighed as he finally admitted defeat.

"If you just want to pass the tests," Accelerator suggested. "Why not just steal the test answers?"

"Because that would be wrong?" Touma mentioned as if stating the obvious.

Everyone around him shrugged. "Desperate times call for desperate measures," Motoharu said.

"We could probably get you some drugs to increase brainpower for a short time," Jason pointed out.

"I can't believe you guys want me to find a way to cheat on the tests," Touma said shocked.

"Who's trying to cheat on the tests?" Seiri demanded marching over to them.

"Them," Touma said instantly pointing to his friend's direction. He was not planning to take the fall for them today, not after everything he went through last night.

"Traitor!" Pierce said pointing at him dramatically.

"It's supposed to be bros before hoes," Motoharu added.

"Technically drugs aren't cheating," Jason pointed out.

Even though Accelerator had been the one to suggest cheating, he didn't say anything after Seiri showed up and that might have been the reason she didn't try to beat him up too. Instead, Pierce, Motoharu, and Jason were beaten, again, by her superhuman strength. Touma sighed in relief and leaned back in his chair, glad he escaped Seiri's wrath. Komoe entered the classroom and everyone went to their seats to start the day of grueling tests.

At least the tests today were just normal subjects, math and science. Touma may not have been the smartest person, but he wasn't dumb. He just could not relate to the ability development curriculum because of his hand. Normal subjects he was slightly above average. It's just a zero in one subject tends to lower your average. He did notice two people seemed to complete the tests in about a quarter of the time allotted for each one. Accelerator and Jason stood up, almost simultaneously, and passed their exams in. It was almost like the time it took to complete was the time it took to read the question and write down the answer. They must have not used anytime for actual thinking of the question. When the day finally ended, Touma sighed and packed his bag, glad for the day to be over. Before he could leave, Jason spoke up.

"Hey guys before you go," he said. "I have something to tell you all." Pierce, Motoharu, Accelerator, and Touma all looked at him then shrugged. They left the school together and found a table at the nearby park. "Sorry, this information is top secret and only for Touma, so naturally, I'm going to be sharing it with all of you."

"What kind of logic is that?" Touma asked.

"The best kind," Motoharu remarked. "So what is it?"

"This," Jason said pulling out a brown envelope out of his bag and passed it over. Motoharu opened it and he read it with Pierce looking over his shoulder. A grin appeared on both of their faces.

"Yes," Pierce said fist pumping. 'I knew Kamijou would win."

"What?" Touma asked.

"You won the contest for Ultimate Paradise World G," Motoharu said passing the papers over to him. "You were the first person to beat the game completely."

"I just checked the website," Pierce said holding up his phone. "No one else has done it yet. The closest person got 249 but has been unable to get the last girl."

"Tsk," Accelerator said. "How does this involve me again?"

"Because it was a team effort," Jason said. "I figured everyone should know "

"Wait," Touma asked. "Why did this go to you and not to me?"

"They don't know who you are," Jason said with a smirk.

"Huh?"

"Few people know the identity of the eighth rank level 5 Kami the Harem King," Motoharu pointed out. Accelerator burst out laughing.

"Hah," he said. "I forgot you signed him up under that name."

"You idiots," Touma said. "But that doesn't explain why Jason got it."

"Because," Jason explained. "We worked hard to protect your identity. All they know is you represented our class. As I am the only member of Judgment, in our class, they turned to me to pass on the information to you. I said I could do it and I just fulfilled my promise. I would have done it yesterday, but I was busy and skipped class. You need to fill that out for the interview tomorrow. The CEO is coming to personally conduct it then."

"Tomorrow?" coughed Touma surprised it was so soon.

"Yea," Jason said. "I figured they could help you prepare." He jerked his head to Motoharu and Pierce. "I'm supposed to act as the liaison between you and MultiMaxlon Entertainment." He sighed. "Not like I have enough work to do already."

"Heh," Accelerator laughed again. "I may have to watch his first interview as a level 5. I just ignore those people who try to get me to do boring things like that."

"I don't want people to recognize me though," Touma said nervously.

"We will prepare your disguise," Jason said. "I figure some hair dye and no one will recognize you."

"Aogami and I can help you with what to say," Motoharu volunteered. "Should be easy enough to guess what questions they will ask."

"Like I can trust you two," Touma said rolling his eyes at them.

"That hurts," Pierce said holding his hand over his heart. "After all we have been through together."

"Just fill it out," Jason said. "I need to drop it off. After school tomorrow, I will take you guys to the location of the interview. You can change on the way Touma."

"I'm going to regret this," Touma sighed scribbling down the needed information on the form. "You a$$&*%^ just had to sign up that stupid nickname."

"Not our fault you guys decided to call yourselves the Lolicons of Misfortune and attract worldwide attention during the tournament," Motoharu pointed out.

"Yes it was!" shouted Touma and Accelerator together.

"Oh," Motoharu said thinking. "I guess it was."

"You also get a free weeks' vacation to anywhere for you and a group of friends," Jason reminded Touma.

"Sweet," Pierce cheered. "Kamijou can take us all to a famous beachside resort to pick up girls."

"Like hell I'm taking you two anywhere after that shit you pulled," Touma said pointing at them. "I might take Accelerator and Jason because they help me a lot, but not you two."

"Who would want to go with you?" Accelerator asked rolling his eyes.

"Don't be that way Kami-yan," Motoharu said. "I'm sure once you cool down and think about it, you know it won't be as much fun without us." Jason and Pierce both smirked. While Touma still didn't trust them all, everything seemed to be settled. He finished filling out the forms and handed them to Jason, who stuck them in his bag. Pierce and Motoharu left together and Accelerator waved and headed back to his apartment. Jason decided to hang out with Touma and they were talking about the tests they just took, while on the way to the drop-off location for the forms.

"How did you do?" Jason asked.

"I should have just barely passed," Touma said relieved. "Everything looked familiar at the very least. It's the ability related fields I am going to fail."

"Well," Jason said shrugging. "If you don't w ant to cheat, I can probably guess what is going be on them for you."

"That might be ok," Touma said thinking. He wasn't going to cheat but, if it was just like a review session, he would be ok with it. "Oh, where were you yesterday? I'm surprised you skipped out on system scan."

"Wouldn't do me any good," Jason said. "The sin marks are messing with my shadow ability. I couldn't risk letting it go out of control during the scan. Besides, the time was well spent instead. I spent most of yesterday experimenting with the data from your hand."

"What did you find out?" Touma asked.

"Well," Jason said hesitantly. "I was working more on how your hand actually negated things. We found the Anti-AIM field that explains how abilities are negated. But we don't have science equipment to detect how your hand cancels out mana. Magic follows a different set of rules so, whatever your hand produces to cancel mana has to be something else besides just an Anti-AIM. I was hoping we would see something in the equipment that would give me a clue. So far, I think I need to study magic more."

"I see," Touma said slightly let down. _I hoped he would have found out more._ "Did you come up with any explanation on the dragon I told you about?"

"I have theories," Jason replied. "As you know, I was unconscious and, if I saw it, I could have probably been surer then I am now. I have two possibilities. The first is the dragon is a manifestation of the true power of the Imagine Breaker. If it is, that means there must have been a reason it took on that form. Your mental and emotional state, at the time, could have caused the monster. Without any evidence though, I think this is rather unlikely. The second theory I have, I think this one is more likely, is the Imagine Breaker is a seal for whatever that dragon is."

"What do you mean a seal?" Touma asked confused. "You mean that dragon lives inside me?"

"That is the theory," Jason replied nodding. "How, I don't know. As I said before, my knowledge is limited with magic. I study with Index when I get a chance, but she is limited to what she can tell me besides the basics for security reasons."

"Must be tough for a scientist to have to think about magic," Touma commented.

"Oh I keep that piece of information to myself," Jason replied laughing. "There is a group of scientists who will never accept the ideas of the occult. They have been bothering me for a while, but some of their data is useful."

"I suppose I need to think of a place to visit," Touma said changing topics. "I'm surprised the free weeks' vacation is during Golden Week. Not a lot of time to change plans."

"You know Academy City's level of security," Jason said shrugging. "They probably had to pass like 10 background checks before they would let anyone in to see a level 5. But enough of the boring information," he grinned, "Which of your many girlfriends are you going to invite with you." Jason nudged him in the side with his elbow.

"Don't you start acting like those two," Touma growled while Jason laughed. "I'll probably invite everyone who came and helped us fight the sin organization as thanks." They continued to argue for a little bit as they walked down a less crowded street. Jason ran into a building to drop the forms off, and then they left and started to head back to Touma's dorm. Jason had promised to help Touma study so he could hopefully pass the ability curriculum tests.

"Hey Jason," Touma said as he looked around. "Is this area normally this deserted?" Jason looked around and shrugged.

"There's no mana so maybe?" Jason replied. "I don't come here often unless I'm about to argue with some people."

"Well usually this is a sign something bad is going to happen," Touma whispered as he kept up his guard. Jason laughed.

"You and your paranoia, if we get attacked, I am blaming yo…"

Suddenly, Jason was thrown forward as an explosion erupted right behind him. Touma turned around and saw a power suit standing behind them, the ground below it was destroyed as if it just jumped down from the roof. Another one jumped down, confirming Touma's suspicion. Before he could do anything, the first power suit swatted him away with its arm. Touma was lifted into the air and thrown ten feet away. The second one held out its arm as Jason stood back up. With a bang, two wires shot out of a launcher on its wrist and wrapped around Jason. Touma heard a familiar crackle, and saw sparks fly off the wire as the suit transferred electricity directly into Jason.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he cried as he fell to the ground.

"What the f%&^ are you b#$%&$^ doing!" Touma yelled in anger as he stood back up to his feet. The power suits ignored him. The second one picked Jason up off the ground and threw him over its shoulder. Both suits rolled off down an alleyway at high speeds, so there was no way Touma could catch up to them. The last thing he heard was Jason saying, "Nineteen dash twenty one U." He yelled in pain again as he was shocked into silence.

Touma stood there panting slightly in anger. His body hurt from being smacked around, but nothing felt broken. He ran in the direction the power suits went off, but they were already long gone. _Whoever those guys were,_ Touma thought. _They were professionals. But how did they have Anti-Skill power suits?_ He was worried whoever kidnapped Jason might be someone high up in Academy City so he didn't want to call for help from Anti-Skill. He also knew he was going to need help because his hand was useless against machines and normal weaponry. He reached down and pulled out his phone. He dialed Accelerator's number. _He should be able to help._

No one picked up the phone and it went to voicemail.

"Shit," Touma muttered to himself then left a message. "Jason's been kidnapped by guys in power suits, call me back." He sighed to himself as he dialed another person's number. _I hope she isn't still mad at me._

The phone rang three times and Mikoto picked up. "What do you want?" Her voice was dripping with anger.

"Is the ape really calling you after what he did yesterday," asked Kuroko's shocked voice in the background.

"Look I'm sorry about that and I'll explain it to you later if you don't shock me," Touma said quickly. "But right now Jason was just kidnapped by two guys in power suits. I need help rescuing him."

"Kagere-san has been kidnapped?!" Mikoto yelled out in surprise.

"What?" Kuroko asked loudly. Her voice was louder, so she must be right next to the phone too.

"I don't know why," Touma said. "We were walking back to my dome when they jumped down from a nearby building. I don't know where they went, but Jason said something before they took him away, 'nineteen dash twenty one U.' Any idea what you think that means?"

"No," Mikoto said.

"I do," Kuroko said. "It's Judgment shorthand. Its district 19, building twenty one, and the U stands for underground."

"How would he know where he is being taken, if he is being kidnapped?" Mikoto asked both Kuroko and Touma.

"It does sound suspicious," Touma said thinking. "He might have known he was targeted or recognized something on the power suits."

"I'll question him later," Kuroko said. "Right now we should try to rescue him. Did you notify Anti-Skill ape?"

"No," Touma said. "The power suits looked like the type Anti-Skill used so they may be working for someone higher up. If we notify Anti-Skill, the perpetrator may receive warning."

"Sounds plausible," Kuroko sighed. "Guess it's the hard way. As a member of Judgment, onee-sama, I'm going to requisition your help in this matter. Let's go."

"I'll meet you there," Touma said.

"No you won't ape!" Kuroko snarled, probably more aggressively then needed. "This is Judgment business now and civilians should not get involved."

"Besides," Mikoto added. "Your hand is useless against machines right?"

"Yea," Touma reluctantly agreed and the line went dead as Mikoto hung up. Of course, he wasn't going to sit by and do nothing when he friend was in trouble. He rushed over to the nearest map terminal and found out where the building was. He memorized the route and rushed to the nearest train. As he boarded the train, he knew this was not the smartest move on his part. He was pretty useless against guns. _Screw logic, I'm going to help my friend anyway possible._ He made a fist in determination and looked out the window as the train began to move.

* * *

Kuroko was teleporting herself and Mikoto across the city toward district 19. Since they could move above the buildings, it was the fastest way since they could travel in a straight line. It took a while to reach their location, since they had traveled all the way from their school dorms, but they finally saw their target. Kuroko dropped them off at a nearby building overlooking building number twenty-two. "Do you think he was really kidnapped?" Kuroko asked.

"Touma made it sound like he was," Mikoto said. "And he's not one to lie without reason, but I can't think of a reason to make something like this up."

"Well let's go rescue him," Kuroko sighed. "He is our friend." Mikoto's eyes widened as she looked at Kuroko then smiled. "What?" Kuroko asked noticing the strange reaction.

"You called him OUR friend," Mikoto pointed out. "Normally you just call him a liar."

"Well," Kuroko said looking away to hide her slightly embarrassed face. "He did help us rescue Uiharu and Saten-san. So he can't be all bad. He is still a liar though and annoys me to no end. Anyway, we should be focusing on the task at hand." Mikoto nodded.

"I don't see anyone," Mikoto said. "The area looks deserted."

"If the base is underground," Kuroko said. "We either need to find the entrance, which is probably in the building, or blast our way in from above. If we do that, there is a chance the ceiling will collapse completely."

"I guess we should check out the building first," Mikoto suggested. "Before we try to blast our way down." Kuroko nodded in agreement. Kuroko teleported them down to the ground in front of the building. It looked like an abandoned storage garage. It was slightly run down, there were no lights on, and the large metal sliding doors had graffiti on them. That alone was suspicious to the girls as cleaning bots usually kept everything spotless. As they approached the building, several of the doors suddenly slid open with a clang. From inside the darkened building, several orange lights appeared as power suit after power suit started to roll out. They spread around the two girls with their guns aimed at them. There had to be at least twenty of them. "I think we found the right place," Mikoto commented as she began to spark.

"Be careful," Kuroko said. "They look like they mean business." Gunshots rang out across the silent street, but Kuroko and Mikoto disappeared and reappeared behind one of the suits. Mikoto unleashed a powerful electric blast causing the suit to collapse in a smoking mess. The fight had begun.

* * *

Touma on the other hand was running toward the building's location on foot, after he got off the train. As he got close, he saw some familiar looking blue sparks fly into the air. _Looks like they got here first._ He figured he wouldn't be able to get through the fighting so he tried to find a way around it. _If the kidnapper's base of operations is underground, they should have more than one entrance in case of emergencies. If Anti-Skill sieged them, they would want a back way out._ He looked around at the nearby buildings while Mikoto and Kuroko were systematically taking out the power suits. _If I was trying to sneak in, where would I go?_ He looked around for anything unusual. His experience in looking for anything out of the ordinary paid off as he saw a manhole cover slightly askew. He walked over and lifted the lid and looked down into the sewer. There was a ladder and it was lit by emergency lights. _If this isn't the right place, no one can know of this._ He climbed down and gritted his teeth as a horrible stench overwhelmed him.

He was lucky as there was a walkway below him and he didn't have to travel through the sewers. He walked in the direction of the building he believed Jason was in. Eventually he got to a stone wall and looked around. When he inspected it further, he realized the stone wall wasn't real and a slight chip revealed a metal wall behind it. _Well, I'm at the right spot, now to find an entrance._ He continued to circle around until he finally found a door. He actually almost missed it, as it was concealed, but he had tripped and fallen directly into it. The thud was different and sounded hollow. He ran his fingers around the fake stone wall until he found a small handhold and forced the door open. He slipped in and walked down a dirty, but now metal, hallway. He approached another door and slowly opened it. He heard some people talking and crept into a large room full of equipment. He hid behind one of the large terminals and looked around.

Jason was strapped upside down by metal bars into the wall. His body was spread out in an X-shape. Touma was glad he at least appeared to be conscious. Several wires were connecting Jason to several machines. Judging by his constant twitches, they were feeding some sort of electrical shock into his body. Touma moved his head and saw two other people in the lab. One was a bald man with white hair around the side of his head and a white lab coat. He was standing in front of Jason and was in the middle of a conversation with him. Touma was surprised who the other person was. It was a woman with tea colored wavy hair, tied up in a ponytail, and was wearing casual clothes. What really surprised him was she was in a wheelchair. She was monitoring equipment and typing something on a keyboard. The man was still talking to Jason and Touma noticed, while Jason appeared in slight discomfort, he had a bored expression on his face.

"So your friends found us here," the man said. "Doesn't matter, Byouri, activate Capacity Down and weaken those girls." The women nodded and hit a lever near her. "There's only a couple suits left, but if they can't use their ability, they will fall soon enough." Touma's stomach dropped. He knew he had to turn off the machine, but how. He didn't know who else was here or if those two had any weapons. Capacity Down was a device that produced a sound that can disrupt ability user's concentration to use their abilities.

"I'm sure they will be fine," Jason said confidently. "I know them both, they are quite strong." Touma felt his stomach unwind at Jason's words. "Your voice is quite annoying though. Can you just tell me what you want already? I assume these electric shocks have a purpose?"

"The electric shock should interrupt your calculations enough so you can't use your shadow," the main said. "But you are intelligent, I'm sure you know what we want with you."

"Are the Kihara's still mad I won't join them?" Jason asked bemused.

The man smiled coldly. "It still surprises me you refused us so many times. We work toward the pinnacle of science. We will do any experiments others are too weak to do. You are someone who works toward science few others could even comprehend, yet you waste it by refusing to join us. We could share information and speed up all of our research by decades. Well, we are now done asking. We will remove your brain and access your memories and the information within. Without your personality, you won't have any way to resist because your mind will be nothing more than electronic and chemical signals, which we can convert to imagery."

Touma felt slightly sick at the man's words. _They are going to remove his brain?_

"I don't join you because I actually have morals on what I am willing to experiment with," Jason said simply. "While I can't say I approve of your plan for me, the science is sound so can't really complain. It would be easier to read the signals from a brain being kept active in a machine then trying to read a live person's mind."

"I knew you would understand," the man said happily. "Now we can find out your top secret experiments you are working on." Touma was about to jump out form his hiding place and stop them from dissecting Jason when Jason said something surprising.

"I can just tell you what I'm working on if you want," Jason replied.

"What?" The man asked in surprise and Touma thought the exact same thing.

"What I'm working on will change the world as we know it," Jason explained confidently. "No one has been able to figure out the formula, but I have almost succeeded."

"And what is it?" the man said impatiently with a look of hunger in his eyes.

Touma was also leaning forward as he too was curious to what Jason was going to say. _Is he planning to mention the imagine breaker?_

"I am making…" Jason paused dramatically. "Hot ice cream."

"What?"

"I always thought it sucks to only be able to enjoy ice cream to the fullest during summer," Jason explained. "My invention would have the texture, consistency, and taste just like ice cream but, you could eat it hot like soup. It is perfect for those who enjoy sweets to eat during the cold winter months. It will change the world and make me a fortune." The man just stood there and stared at him for a moment. Touma just face palmed

 _Seriously? There is a time and place for jokes Jason._

"How cute," the man said sneering slightly. "You are still trying to be funny before you die."

"I'm adorable," Jason said grinning. "It's why people come to save me." If Touma's hand wasn't already hitting his face, he would have face palmed again.

"Byouri," The man said. "Get him ready for dissection. Let's also make it painful for him, no anesthesia." The wheel chaired women nodded and scooted off to the opposite side of the lab.

"Delay that order," the man's voice said. But he didn't move his mouth. The women paused and she, along with the man and Touma, turned to look at Jason. They were shocked when they saw it wasn't Jason hanging upside down, but an exact duplicate of the man, even his voice and tone were exactly the same. "He already told us his plan. Once he gives us the formula there is no reason to kill him. It would be a shame to waste a potential resource that could further our goals."

 _He's using a sin mark,_ Touma thought to himself. Jason told him once, at the hospital, he got several new abilities when he took the marks and transformation was one of them. _Index warned us we shouldn't use them though._

"How?" the man said and he looked a lot more surprised than Touma thought he should. Until he said something else which made Touma realize why. "Your ability should be Shadow World. You can't have a Metamorphosis ability too. Duel skill is impossible."

"You dare to use the word impossible?" Jason, still disguised as the man, growled. "You call yourself a Kihara? You should kill yourself for uttering garbage. Nothing is impossible for science."

Touma frowned at Jason's words. They sounded pretty dark, but he also acknowledged his way of talking mimicked the man's exactly. _Does his transformation mimic the person?_

The man opened his mouth slightly then burst out smiling. "You are right," he said. "Sometimes I have to talk to myself to remember important facts. You really should have just joined us in the first place." He walked over to a terminal. "I'm going to remove your brain now. Try not to cry too much." Touma realized now was the time to act.

He jumped out of his hiding place and ran at the man. "Over my dead body." The man turned around in surprise but Touma delivered a powerful punch to his face. The man fell back, toppled over a nearby computer, and crashed into the ground. Touma stood up straight and stretched his fingers. He looked around at the female in the wheelchair who watched him with surprise on her face. She did not appear to be willing to try anything so Touma turned to Jason. "How do I get you down?"

"I would advise turning off Capacity Down first," Jason recommended. "Yellow lever to your left. Pull down slowly." Touma nodded and followed the instructions.

"So I take it you know these two?" Touma asked Jason.

"Yea," Jason nodded. "The guy there was just upset I wouldn't help him with his experiments. The woman behind him is kind of a prisoner herself. He blackmailed her into helping him." Touma nodded in understanding, but unknown to him the women's shock changed to a quizzical look as she raised her eyebrow.

"So how do I get him down?" Touma asked the women.

She shook her head and shrugged. "Only he knew the passcode, I was just forced to help with some calculations and organ preserve."

"Damn it," Touma said gritting his teeth in frustration then turned to Jason. "So what do you think we should do?"

"Wait?" Jason asked trying to shrug while upside down. "I'm sure help will arrive any moment." Touma realized who he was talking about and grinned. They only had to wait for about two minutes when they heard a loud bang from up the stars, like a metal door being thrown open. There was a sound of footsteps echoing down the stars and Mikoto and Kuroko both appeared. They stopped and looked surprised when they saw Touma.

"How did you get here?" Mikoto asked.

"Ape," Kuroko added. "Did you turn off the Capacity Down?"

Touma nodded. "I came in through the underground entranceway. I knocked out the scientist in charge of the kidnapping there." He pointed to the man. "The women there," he pointed again, "Was forced to help him remove Jason's brain."

Mikoto made a disgusted face. "Seriously?" she asked. "That's what they were trying to do?"

"Yep," Jason said from the wall. "They were mad I wouldn't help them with immoral experiments."

"So what are you doing here?" Kuroko asked Touma. Before he could respond, Jason took the opportunity.

"Just hanging around," he said grinning.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Can we leave him here?" Kuroko asked.

"I think we should," Mikoto added. 'That was bad."

"We can't," Touma sighed. "Can you free him Shirai-san." She nodded grudgingly and walked over to Jason. She reached up and touched his head.

"I knew you cared Kuro-chan," Jason said grinning. "Why else would you come help me?" She grinned back evilly and teleported him out of the metal bindings. He reappeared five feet above the ground and fell on his back as he was made perpendicular to the floor. "Ouch," he grumbled as he got back up to his feet.

"You never did tell us why you are here," Kuroko said to Touma.

"I couldn't let my friend get kidnapped and do nothing," Touma stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Kuroko sighed but Mikoto let out a reluctant grin. "You can't just interfere in Judgment work as a civilian," Kuroko said exasperatedly. "I should take you in, but you did help us a lot."

"Well," Jason said. "Touma and Misaka-san should head out so they don't get involved. Kuro-chan can take that guy out of here and call Anti-Skill to take him away. I'm going to check to make sure there is no other important information on these computers, like if he was working for someone. Sound good?"

"Stop calling me that!" snapped Kuroko.

"No objections," Mikoto said grinning darkly. "I need to talk with the idiot here." She jabbed her thumb at Touma while sparking slightly.

"Wait Mikoto," Touma said taking a step back in fear. "When did you go back to calling me an idiot? Nothing happened, don't shock me please. It was an accident."

"What happened between you two?" Jason asked looking between them. Kuroko's face turned dark as she remembered.

"Onee-sama… defiled… by…. Ape," she muttered angrily under her breath as she remembered.

Jason looked between Mikoto and Touma then compared their look of anger and fear to Kuroko's words. His male brain came up to one conclusion. "NIIIIICCCCCEEEEE," he said giving Touma a thumb up.

"It's not like that!" Touma and Mikoto yelled simultaneously. However, Mikoto took the opportunity to grab his arm and drag him up the stairs and out of the lab. Kuroko followed by teleporting herself and the unconscious man after them. Jason reached into his pocket and pulled out a flash drive and plugged it into the computer. He started typing while looking through the data.

"So why did you lie to them?" the women, Byouri, asked Jason. He didn't even turn around.

"You still have use," Jason said. "I didn't expect to see you here, but you were remarkably fast on the uptake."

"No one expects a helpless crippled woman," Byouri pointed out. "Your words just added weight to my disguise. But what are you planning and when did you master duel skill?"

"It's not really duel skill," Jason revealed still working on the computer. "It's something unique to only me right now. You can put the gun away, it won't work. I'm virtually immortal right now." He heard the clink of metal as the women holstered her gun. "But I am interested in a trade."

"Oh," the women asked. "Information I assume?"

"Yep," Jason said turning around and looking at her. He was smiling, but the smile was creepy, almost inhuman. It was a smile she saw once from a higher Kihara who was about to bypass the peak of science. "It may be coincidence I met you here, but I am interested in all your research on dark matter."

"Interesting," she said and smiled back. Her smile was creepy to, but nowhere near his. "What do you offer in exchange?"

"Information on duel skill," Jason said simply. "It should put you quite far ahead. The higher ups don't know I mess with it during my free time."

"I like the sound of that," Byouri replied. "But out of curiosity, why do you want information on dark matter."

"I plan to encounter the number 2," Jason said simply. "And I know little about actual dark matter. His information is in the databanks, but I need more."

"You know manipulating a level 5 is just asking for trouble," Byouri said. "Amata tried that on the number 1 and he was killed for it. Number 2 is even more temperamental."

"Hasn't been any trouble so far," Jason replied shrugging. "But your warning doesn't change what needs to be done."

"You are more like a Kihara then you want to admit," Byouri said wheeling up next to him. "I'll accept your trade."

"We should get out of here then," Jason commented.

"Why?"

He hit a button the computer. "I seem to have accidently hit the self-destruct switch for this lab." Red and orange lights started flashing.

* * *

 **Ruiko: He's only developing the ice cream for Uiharu.**

 **Jason: Maybe I want it for me.**

 **Mikoto: Nah it's for her.**

 **Kazari: I can't wait for it.**

 **Misaki: Ice cream during winter sounds nice.**

 **Touma: Anyone going to ask what Mikoto's going to do to me?**

 **Accelerator: Nope.**

 **Motoharu: Just lie back and accept it.**

 **Jason: Don't cry, it shows weakness.**

 **Mikoto: What do you idiots think I'm going to do?**

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or idea. I love reading them.**


	37. S2 Interview

**This chapter took a little longer then I originally planned to finish because I was busy most of the weekend. New Magic the Gathering series released and plenty of tournaments. Anyway, a lot of people were obviously looking forward to the interview and I definitely had fun writing it. Lot of people I want to reply back to their comments today. A couple people I replied to privately because of possible spoilers to some questions.**

 **Guest (Who asked about the sin marks): Those are all good questions.**

 **Guest (Who mentioned** **Sphynx): Dang, how did you know? I didn't even mention him yet. Now I have to rewrite everything.**

 **Handsomistic1** **: Got to hate Japanese games that don't come out in other languages, such misfortune.**

 **general ironox** **: You know it, but I was pretty obvious about it. I really look forward to writing it.**

 **FireDusk: "Ah, so much love in the air...and hatred" I love this comment for the last chapter.**

 **Anyway, no one likes to hear me talk so onwards to Touma's misfortune, enjoy everyone.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters.**

* * *

Touma was dragged out of the building by Mikoto. He didn't get a chance to talk because Kuroko was teleporting herself and the unconscious guy right behind them. When they got out of the building, Kuroko pulled out her phone and called Anti-Skill. Mikoto continued to pull Touma until they were out of earshot. They stopped and Touma gulped because Mikoto was staring daggers at him. The silence lengthened and sweat started to form on his brow. He wasn't sure what to say, but decided on his fall back. He clasped his hand together in front of him, bowed, and said, "I'm really sorry Mikoto."

"Huh?" Mikoto said looking surprised.

"I didn't mean to kiss you last night," Touma kept apologizing. "I was just trying to catch you and I fell. I didn't mean to force you,"

 _That idiot, I'm mad at him for kissing the other girls,_ Mikoto thought. Of course, she couldn't really tell him that, it was too embarrassing for her. "I… may have overreacted," Mikoto mumbled. _I can't stay mad at him when he is apologizing so sincerely._ " I accept your apology."

"This may be as good as time as ever then," Touma said looking at her. She tilted her head slightly to the side looking confused. "A while back Jason, Accelerator, I, and some of our friends form school were participating in a contest for a new electronic game."

"Kagere-san mentioned that once before," Mikoto said thinking. "He didn't tell us what game it was though. So it was it one of 'those' types of games?" She looked at him smirking slightly.

"Of course not," Touma said quickly. "It was just a normal game. Well, this surprised us all, I won the contest."

"You won a contest?" Mikoto gasped overdramatically. "With your luck? Is the world coming to an end?" She couldn't keep the amused look off her face.

"Very funny," Touma said rolling his eyes, but he couldn't resist smiling either. "Well the prize is a week's vacation for me and friends. I don't know how many people I can bring, but I want to try to bring everyone who helped me against the magic organization, along with a couple of my classmates. It would be during Golden Week."

Mikoto blushed furiously. _He's inviting me to a trip with him? Think Mikoto, he just meant as friends with everyone else. But if I go with him, maybe I'll have time to spend alone with him. Maybe even the same room…. Bad, don't think those things._ To distract her from her thoughts she asked, "Where were you planning to go?"

"I don't know yet," Touma admitted. "I was planning to decide by tomorrow since I'm being forced to be interviewed about this then." He sighed and looked at the ground. "I don't want to be on television. Jason and my idiotic friends thought it would be funny to register my score under Kami." He looked up when he heard Mikoto snicker.

"So," _snicker,_ "you are going to interview," _snicker,_ "As the level 5 Kami from the tournament?" Mikoto asked between laughs.

"Don't laugh at my misfortune," Touma told her, but that just made her laugh more.

"It's something I'm forced to do a lot," Mikoto shrugged. "You just answer a couple questions and try not to think about the people watching you."

"I rather not be watched by people at all," Touma said depressed. "We can't all be as amazing as you."

"What kind of person do you think I…?" Mikoto started to say slightly annoyed when she was interrupted by Jason rushing out of the building pushing the woman in the wheelchair.

"You guys will want to clear the area," Jason yelled out as he rushed by.

"Why?" Touma and Mikoto asked simultaneously.

"I accidently trigger the self-destruct switch," Jason called back. That got their attention and they all ran away from the building. Kuroko, of course, brought the man to safety. The explosion was big enough to collapse the building, but not large enough to damage the other nearby structures. Lots of dirt and dust covered the street and a pillar of smoke launched into the sky. Shortly afterwards, a couple of Anti-Skill vans showed up. Jason and Kuroko did most of the talking, but Mikoto and Touma had to give their account on what happened. Eventually, they were let go and the man was taken away. They escorted the woman into one of the vans and Touma heard one of the Anti-Skill officers say they will give her a lift back to her home. After they left, Kuroko turned to face Jason.

"Why the hell did you set off a self-destruct switch?" she yelled at him.

"It was an accident," Jason replied. "The system was pretty advanced and was rigged to explode if tampered with. As I told Anti-Skill, there were more peopled involved then just him."

"Well you obviously failed," Kuroko sniffed.

"I'm not perfect," Jason pointed out then smirked. "No matter how good you think I am."

"You..!" Kuroko sputtered before Mikoto grabbed her arm. Touma grabbed Jason's arm.

"I'll pass you the information later," Touma called out to Mikoto as he and Jason left toward his dorm.

"Ok," Mikoto nodded. "Try not to get kidnapped again. I'll tell the others about it." Touma shook his head and laughed. Mikoto and Kuroko then headed back to their dorm.

"I thought you were mad at him," Kuroko asked confused at Mikoto's sudden change in attitude.

"We resolved the… misunderstanding," Mikoto replied.

"Misunderstanding?" Kuroko gasped. "He forced his nasty ape face onto your perfect lips. Only I can do that."

"You will not," Mikoto said sternly. _What the heck was she watching? He forced it on me?_ "Besides, it was an accident."

"Then what information is he going to send you?" Kuroko asked suspiciously.

"Well," Mikoto started to say and quickly thought about how to say it. _I need to make sure she understands it is just a 'thank you for helping gift' from him to all of us._ "Because we helped Touma save his friends, he wanted to thank us. He actually won a contest to let him and some of his friends take a weeklong trip during Golden Week."

"HOW DARE THE TROGLYDYTE INVITE YOU?" Kuroko roared in anger. "He's trying to take you away from me. He needs to know his place."

"Kuroko," Mikoto said sparking in anger. "Be quiet and listen." Kuroko closed her mouth and looked at Mikoto, but there was still anger at Touma in her eyes. "You are invited too."

"Huh?"

"He was planning to try to bring EVERYONE who helped fight that magic group," Mikoto explained. "Including you."

"Oh," Kuroko said softly. She looked slightly guilty at calling Touma names now. Mikoto was glad Kuroko was beginning to see he was a good person. "That means Uiharu, Saten-san, and Shokuhou-san will be able to come. That does seem like a fun trip. I suppose I can put up with those guys as long as they don't try to defile my onee-sama."

"Why do you keep thinking they want to defile me?" Mikoto asked exasperated. Then her stomach sunk slightly. _Shokuhou-san will definitely want to go, dang. I need to make sure she doesn't take advantage of Touma. He's too nice and idiotic to say no when he needs to._

* * *

On the way back to Touma's apartment, Touma and Jason picked up several meals to go, one for each of them, and three for Index. They got back about half pass six and Index tried to attack Touma as soon as he entered the dorm. His safety mechanism kicked in and he held up the food in front of his face. Index appeared to stop in midair, and flout gently down to the ground. She grabbed the food, ran with it to the table, and started to devour it. Touma sighed in relief as he avoided her unusually powerful bite. He turned to Jason, "So are you going to help me with the tests tomorrow?"

"I suppose I could," Jason said pretending to think. "You saved me twice, so it's the least I could do."

"You aren't going to purposely teach me the wrong information right?" Touma asked suspiciously.

Jason opened his mouth then closed it again thinking. "That's actually a pretty good ide…ouch! What was that for?" Touma had just punched him quite hard in the shoulder.

"If you want to come to the trip next week," Touma threatened. "You better pray I pass the test."

"I feel you are getting better at manipulating people," Jason commented.

"Learned from the best," Touma laughed. "I just had to watch you annoy Shirai-san." Touma started seriously studying to pass the tests for the rest of the week. Jason was actually a pretty good teacher, but strict and made sure Touma truly understood the topics. He was really motivated because he had already told Mikoto about the trip. He was determined to make sure he could fulfill his promise of taking her and their friends along. Finally, after about 2 hours, they took a break. Suspiciously, Motoharu chose that very moment to knock on the door and Touma let him in.

"Hey Kami-yan," he waved. "You decided yet where you plan to take us next week."

"Us?" Touma said feigning ignorance. "Who said you were going?"

"Ouch," Motoharu said dramatically holding his hand over his heart. "That hurts. But seriously, where were you planning to go?"

"Are we going on a trip?" Index asked Touma from her spot in front of the TV.

"Next week," Touma told her. "If I pass all these tests. I won a contest to get a free weeklong trip. Just need to decide on a destination."

"Can we go to England?" Index asked her eyes glowing. "I would love to show you my home and we could visit all the historical sights and even my church."

"That is an idea," Touma said thinking. "Anyone else have a suggestion?" He really didn't have any idea where he wanted to visit.

"I like that idea," Jason added. "England is said to be the stronghold of magic so I could learn a lot there. Not only that, we know people there who might be able to give us more information on these sin marks." Jason held out his hands and also pointed to the one on his forehead. "If I focus I can keep them hidden, but it is a pain to keep all of them hidden all the time."

"Not only that," Motoharu interjected. "There are some really nice beaches. Knowing Kami-yan, he will be surrounded by girls when he arrives. What better place than the beach for that to happen."

"I like the way you think," Jason said and high fived him.

"I feel like you two want something bad to happen to me," Touma replied suspiciously.

"Only if we can watch," Jason pointed out and he and Motoharu high fived again.

"Well," Touma said ignoring their stupidity. "It's not a bad idea though. I don't really have any other place I wanted to go. Guess we can work the details out the rest of the week."

"Can I invite my friends?" Index asked immediately.

"Wait until after tomorrow," Touma told her. "I need to know how many people I can bring." Index nodded, but she looked really excited. _I'm glad she looks happy. After she was kidnapped, I hope she can have fun like a normal girl. Not only that, I get to hang out with my friends._ He suddenly had some very interesting thoughts of Mikoto, Misaki, and Ruiko, but he shook his head quickly. _No, they are my friends, don't think of them like that. Even if they like me, I…._

"As you know," Motoharu said cutting into his thoughts. "I know a lot of people in England. If you want, I might be able to get a couple as guides to some of the nicer tourist attractions. So you can impress all the girls you know." He winked at the last part.

"Tooouuummmaaa," Index said dangerously revealing her sharp teeth.

"He's just joking Index," Touma said quickly. "But the guide idea sounds good. I don't know what would be good spots to visit, so if they can make the trip fun, go ahead. Although," Touma glared at Motoharu. "Since this is going to involve my friends, don't you dare ruin it just to mess with me."

"Kami-yan," he said shaking his head. "Why would I want to ruin my own vacation? Because we all know, in the end, you will take me and Aogami too. You can try to deny it, but you know you will."

Touma narrowed his eyes at him. "Maybe I won't."

"Oh you will," Motoharu said winking. "We will make sure of it. Anyway, I got studying to do too and have to contact my friends about the guides. I'll see you all around later."

"You know he's right," Jason remarked. "You will take them."

"Probably," Touma said. "If there is room. I still don't know how many people I can bring. Anyway, let's get back to work. You may not have to study, but I need all the help I can get." They went back to studying and Touma tried to memorize a semester's worth of formulas all over again.

* * *

"So Kami-yan," Motoharu asked after school the next day. "Did you actually pass or are you going to be stuck in supplementary classes next week?"

Touma leaned back in his seat looking quite pleased with himself. "I actually think I did reasonably well. Most of what Jason helped me with appeared on the test."

"I only charge 50,000 yen an hour," Jason grinned from his desk. "That's why he is so poor."

"I was poor long before I met you," Touma pointed out and everyone laughed.

"You ready for your big interview?" Pierce asked as he smacked Touma on the back.

"No," Touma said banging his head on his desk. "I don't want to do this."

"I think I will definitely watch it now," Accelerator said laughing. "I can't wait to see the hero look like a fool in front of everyone."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Touma sighed.

"Cheer up Kami-yan," Motoharu said. "We took care of everything. No one will recognize you so just pretend you really are the number 8 level 5. Be cool, confident, and not afraid to say anything you want to."

"That's easy for you to say," Touma grumbled. "Next thing you are going to tell me is you prepared note cards for my speec… You guys did, didn't you?" He changed direction when he saw Motoharu and Pierce grin.

"Sure did," Pierce said giving him a thumb up. "It's in the limo taking us to the interview location."

"Speaking of which," Jason said glancing at the clock. "We need to get going. You sure you don't want to come Accel-kun?"

"Nope," he replied. "The brat's been bothering me about something, so I need to find out why. I'll catch it on TV though. Make sure to suffer hero, so I can enjoy the show."

"You really just want me to make a fool of myself," Touma realized. Accelerator just laughed and left. Touma, Pierce, Motoharu, and Jason left the school grounds, through the back entrance, and down a street to where a limo was waiting behind a large building. They got in and Touma saw a box with his outfit in the corner of the seats. He picked it up and found, along with the original uniform, a vial of red hair dye and some styling gel. When they all got in, Jason shut the door and the limo started moving.

"We got about half an hour," Jason said looking at his watch. "You should change Touma and I believe those two wrote some answers to common interview questions."

Touma nodded and quickly switched into his uniform. "What about this?" he asked holding up the hair dye.

"It's a new special spray on," Motoharu explained. "It doesn't affect clothes, just spray it in your hair and it will turn red. Then use the gel to make your hair lie flat so no one will recognize you. See, we took precautions to make sure you aren't recognized."

"How kind of you," mumbled Touma. "It's not like you got me in this mess or anything…" He trailed off as he dyed his hair and tried to smooth it flat. He had too much hair and had to slick it backwards. He looked at the mirror and was instantly reminded of Stiyl's hair. He glanced at the others and saw Motoharu and Jason holding back their laughter. _They obviously think the same things, b#$% &^#." _Pierce wasn't laughing because he didn't know Stiyl. Touma put on the mask to make sure it still fit and, when he looked into the mirror again, he couldn't recognize himself at all. "I guess this will work, but what will people say if my hairstyle is different?"

"That's easy," Motoharu said as he passed over some flashcards. "We wrote down several plausible questions and answers as a level 5 would answer. These should get you through the interview easily enough. The questions they ask may be slightly different, but you should be able to use the information here."

"Hmm," Touma said reading the questions and answers. He didn't want to admit it, but it was well done. The answers were a little more… bold… then he would have given, but they did kind of fit the Kami persona those idiots set up for him. _If I give these answers, some people might not like me, but they wouldn't expect me of being Kami. Could I actually say some of these answers out loud though?_ "These actually aren't as horrible as I thought they would be coming from you guys. They are still pretty bad though." Touma looked at them and noticed Jason was fast asleep at his seat. "What's with him?"

"The secret is confidence," Pierce responded. "If you act like you are all that, no one will question you."

"So just be the opposite of yourself," Motoharu added. "As for Jason," he shrugged. "He said he was up late and didn't sleep much. Just let him sleep, he does all the boring work anyways, so it's best if he can keep doing it so we don't have to." All three of them laughed and Touma resumed reading the cards.

The limo stopped shortly afterwards and the stop jerked Jason awake. "Ah good we are here," he said. He turned to everyone else. "I get off here. The limo will take you three to the back and let you out in about five minutes. Everything should be set up then. Someone else will guide you." He yawned. "I'm going to be somewhere and leave with you guys when it is over." He got out and left before anyone could object.

"Good job Kamijou," Pierce said shaking his head at Touma. "Making our good friend Jason do all the work for you."

"It was your fault," muttered Touma as he flipped to the last card. When he read it, his jaw hit the floor in shock and horror. He turned to yell at Motoharu and Pierce. "Are you two that stupid!? What the hell is this!? If I say this out loud I'll get killed!"

"Kami-yan," Motoharu said putting his arm over his shoulders. "That is the most important answer out of all of them. It's the only way to truly bring the disguise together."

"Go to hell! There is no way I am saying this!"

"Oh I think you will," Pierce added while nodding and Touma noticed he was unusually serious. "You see, if you get asked that question, and you DON"T give that answer, well, we can't guarantee what will happen."

"Are you threatening me?" Touma said, but inside he was nervous. If those two seriously ganged up on him he would lose. Pierce was extremely strong and Motoharu knew martial arts. _They aren't the kind of people to physically force people to do what they want though. So what does he mean?"_

"Isn't it obvious Kami-yan," Motoharu said finally explaining. "You see, we worked really hard to help you and we would be very disappointed if you don't use our material. So disappointed in fact, we might, accidently of course, let it slip to a reporter who Kami, the eighth level 5, really is." He smirked when Touma's eyes widened in surprise.

"You b#$^*&# can't be serious," Touma gasped. _Those two are blackmailing me. Do they really want me to make a fool of myself that badly?_ He knew the answer was a resounding yes and he would be forced to play along. Knowing those two, they wouldn't care if Touma was hounded around by people wanting to fight or meet a level 5. He already was aware of the attention Mikoto and Accelerator got, and he was not interested in that at all. _Two can play this game._ He leaned over to Motoharu and whispered, "What if I tell people about your double life?"

"Oh you don't want to play that game with me," Motoharu said raising an eyebrow. "First, no one would believe you. Even if they did, all that would happen is you would be in more danger from people on the other side focusing on you because you associate with me. Then Index would also be in trouble and we both know you won't put her in danger." Pierce was watching them closely. He didn't know about the magic side, but he could tell what Touma had been trying to do and laughed when Touma's face fell because of Motoharu's response.

"Damn it," Touma grumbled falling back into his seat defeated. "I'm going to get killed and it is all your fault. I swear, if I live, I'm getting my revenge on all three of you."

"To be fair," Pierce interjected. "Kagere doesn't know about this, but he will appreciate it all the same."

"I don't know why I'm friends with either of you anymore," Touma groaned and they both laughed.

The five minutes passed and they all left the limo, and then entered the backdoor of a building. Touma was in full disguise as Kami and he was incredibly glad no one was around to recognize him. They were greeted by a man and a woman. Both were dressed in formal suits. The man was in a normal black suit, but the woman was wearing a grey skirt suit, which Pierce immediately noticed and pointed it out to Motoharu. The woman motioned for Touma to follow her and Motoharu and Pierce left with the guy, both of whom looked severely disappointed.

"I'm going to give you a brief rundown of what is going to happen," the women said briskly. She didn't sound impolite or annoyed, just rushed. She had black hair tied up in a bun and glasses. She was looking at a clipboard the entire time she talked to Touma while they walked through the building. "First, Danjuro Fumihiko, he's the CEO of the company, wants to meet you. It should be just a friendly greeting. As for the actual interview, try to keep your answers free from any swear words or grossly inappropriate remarks. We have people to block those, but the less they are used the better. Any questions?" Touma shook his head and she finally looked at him and smiled. "No need to be nervous, Fumihiko-san is actually really nice." She opened a door and he entered what he guessed was the meeting room.

Touma walked in and looked around. It was a large room with several tables and chairs. On the far side were two comfy looking sofa chairs. An elderly looking man with grey hair was sitting on one of them. When Touma entered he stood up and ran up to meet him, well, not so much running, he kind of bounced. The man was about the same height as Touma, but incredibly round. He obviously didn't eat a lot of salads, but he had a really jolly expression on his face as he shook Touma's hand.

"I am so glad to finally meet you Kami," he said shaking his hand. "You have caused a lot of excitement in the recent news. My name is Danjuro Fumihiko, CEO of MultiMaxlon Entertainment."

"Nice to meet you too," Touma said politely. "What do you mean by… er… excitement?"

"Well you see," Danjuro explained. "When we created Ultimate Paradise World G, our developers swore no one would be able to beat it for a couple months at least. Then, just a couple days afterwards, someone using a nickname beat it. We looked up your public information from Academy City. We found out you had just won a tournament and were considered one of the strongest ability users in the city. Of course, when I saw your nickname, I could see how you would be able to destroy our predictions." He grinned.

"Well," Touma said rubbing the back of his neck. "It really was a fun game."

"Glad to hear it," Danjuro said sincerely. "When we put you as the winner on our website, suddenly everyone wanted to defeat your time. There is some rumor going on the internet now that if someone can defeat your score time, they will be the new Harem King."

"Really?" Touma asked in a disbelieving tone. He had to admit though, he was slightly amused.

"No idea who started it," Danjuro admitted. "It has, however, caused a huge demand for our game. We really need to thank you for that. Anyway, I bet you are wondering what we are going to do here." Touma nodded. "It is pretty simple really. You and I will be sitting on those chairs up on the stage. A microphone will be clipped on your shirt so everyone can hear you. I'm just going to ask you a couple questions about you, what you thought of the game, and what you plans are for the prize next week. Oh that reminds," his eyes suddenly lit up. "If you want to answer in a humorous way, I encourage it. My secretary wants us to be serious, but that would be so boring. She has no idea what you are like so she can't plan ahead of time." He gave Touma a big wink.

Touma raised an eyebrow, which Danjuro didn't see because of the mask. _He wants me to be funny and a little crazy? I suppose I can use those idiots' responses then, but please don't ask the one question that will ruin my life._ "I think I can do that," he said. "I have some stup… unorthodox friends."

"Excellent." Danjuro said then held a hand up to his ear and smirked. "I take it those friends came with you."

Touma nodded, "Why?"

"They just got slapped by a couple of our interns. It seems like they started fighting about something with panties and asked the girls what they thought." Danjuro had a huge grin and obviously thought it was hilarious.

"Sounds like them," Touma said laughing. For some reason he really liked this guy. He expected a CEO to be really strict and intimidating, but Danjuro was really laid back and seemed to enjoy being eccentric. They took their seats on the chairs and talked a little bit before the secretary came in and warned them the interview would start in a few minutes. They didn't say much as several reporters entered the room and took their places at tables or around the stage with their cameras. Touma noticed Jason enter too but stayed in the back. He was wearing a suit and actually looked professional. However, the grin and thumbs up told Touma he was still the same guy. Touma noticed he still looked tired when Jason sat down and leaned up against a wall. _I hope he didn't go through too much trouble for me. No wait, this was partially his fault too. Serves him right._

Eventually, everyone was seated and Danjuro stood up. "Good afternoon everyone, my name is Danjuro Fumihiko, CEO of MultiMaxlon Entertainment. Today we are interviewing an exciting guest, all the way from within Academy City. Please help me welcome Kami, the Harem King." Touma raised his hand and waved to the crowd who clapped enthusiastically. He was, once again, glad he was wearing a mask because that introduction turned his face red in embarrassment.

 _How the hell am I going to last through this entire interview?_

"Recently," Danjuro continued. "MultiMaxlon Entertainment released Ultimate Paradise World G, a technological masterpiece dating simulator. Every decision you make will affect the game and there were 250 possible females you could interact with. We wanted to challenge our customers with the game, so we added a little contest. The first person, who could date all 250 females in one play through, would get a free week long vacation for themselves and their friends. We didn't expect anyone to win for months. Then Kami the Harem King comes along and, in a just a few short days, beats it. He really is the master of dating games." Touma could feel is red face growing even hotter. "Anyway, let's ask our guest a couple questions." Danjuro sat down in his chair. "So Kami, what did you think of the game itself?"

"It was pretty challenging," Touma replied. "But my friends and I have lots of experience with those kinds of games, so it wasn't impossible. Besides, my life is a lot more complicated."

"Oh?" Danjuro asked. "What do you mean by that?"

"When your nickname is the 'Harem King'," Touma said reciting the lines Motoharu gave him. "You attract a lot of attention. Guys are jealous of you and just want to fight, and girls either are disgusted at me or want to see if I really am all that. Which of course, I am." He added the last part because Motoharu really wanted it and it wasn't that bad, just a little conceited. Of course, he didn't believe it.

"So I take it the fights developed you martial skills?" Danjuro asked. "You were just recently in a tournament in Academy City to demonstrate the abilities the city has developed. I believe you were partnered with the person considered to be the most powerful ability user, Accelerator. Are you friends with him?"

"Yes," Touma said. He actually considered Accelerator to be a friend. "We hang out every now and then. The tournament was pretty fun too. Lots of powerful opponents made the fights challenging."

"Now you are considered a level 5," Danjuro continued. "Academy City ranks abilities from level 0 to 5, so you are one of the strongest. Since you were just recently named the eighth, out of the remaining seven, how many do you know?"

"I've met five of them," Touma said. "I am actually friends with them too."

"Really?" Danjuro asked surprised. "No rivalry or anything as you all try to be the best?"

Touma frowned. "There actually is a lot of rivalry going on between them. I tend to avoid that, because I don't care about being the strongest."

"Well," Danjuro continued, and then he surprised Touma by smiling. "I know we are supposed to talk about the game and the prize you just won, but can you humor me while we move on to a different topic?"

"Sure," Touma said but felt slightly confused. _I wonder what he wants to ask._

"During the tournament," Danjuro said. "In the final match, you fought against another level 5, the Railgun. She is the most commonly known level 5. She's quite popular because she has demonstrated her ability around the world before."

"Yes," Touma nodded, but then he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. _Please don't ask what I think he is going to ask._

"Well," Danjuro said and an evil grin appeared on his face. "There were a lot of interesting rumors arising over the internet from that fight."

"Ok… I don't really pay attention to those types of rumors," Touma said slowly, but every danger sense in his body just went off.

"Are you dating the Railgun?"

 _DAMN IT._

There it was the question that was going to get him killed. _Motoharu must have known this or met the CEO before. I'm so dead._ He could feel everyone's eyes on him and he swore he felt Motoharu and Pierce watching him through a camera from another room. A simply yes or no wasn't good enough for those two. Instead, they thought of the worst possible answer for Touma to give. He could either give their answer, or everyone would find out his identity. He couldn't help people as easily if he was always being watched and followed. He sighed to himself. _If I am going to die, then I am going to go out with a bang._

"It's a lot more complicated than that," Touma stated, but sighed under his breath again. He thought he sounded more confident then he normally was because he had just prepared himself for death.

"Oh, how so?"

"How much do you know of the level 5s?" Touma asked.

"Well there are seven, besides you, and I believe three are female and the other four are males. I heard their abilities are all different, but extremely powerful."

"You are well informed," Touma said glad he wasn't going to have to explain that.

"So what does that have to do with you dating the Railgun?"

"You see…" Touma began and he took a deep breath. _Just do it, you have to do it anyways, so be a man. Don't let them think they won._

"I'm actually dating all three of the level 5 girls!"

When Touma stated this, his voice came out a little louder and more forcefully then he had planned because he was so embarrassed. At the time he didn't know, but to everyone else in the room, it sounded like he was bragging. There was silence as everyone in the audience just stared at him for a moment. Touma gave a quick glance and even Jason was staring at him with wide eyes and the corner of his mouth twitching.

"What?" Danjuro asked with a look of pure shock on his face.

"I told you," Touma said again and leaned back in his chair. "I'm dating all three of them at once." He didn't like repeating it, but he just resigned himself to his fate. The room exploded as all the reporters started barraging them with questions.

"How long has this been going on!?"

"How far have you gotten with them!?"

"Do they know!?"

Touma knew he was doomed so he might as well go out in style. This was against everything he believed in, but his embarrassment, along with his friend's enjoyment of his suffering, brought the new strength forward and he continued the lines that would bring upon his doom. "They do know," Touma stated. "After all, why do you think I am called the Harem King? As for how far I've gotten, well, some things are best left as secrets." He suddenly felt a shiver down his back and looked around. He didn't see anyone but he knew something bad was about to happen. The audience however exploded and several members of the security detail were trying to restore order. Touma took another deep breath and hated himself for what he was about to say. "I plan to use this vacation to spread my influence all over the world. My goal is to have every girl as part of my harem."

 _Please don't let them see this,_ he prayed silently to himself as the room exploded into even more noise. Because none of his other friends, who were not already at the interview besides Accelerator, played these games, there was a good change none of his other friends would see this interview.

Of course, with his luck, that was not going to happen.

* * *

"Move it brats," Accelerator growled sitting on the couch watching Last Order and Worst play video games. "I told you, there is something I need to watch."

"We are almost done MISAKA replies while MISAKA doesn't take her eyes off the game."

"Misaka will win in a minute," Worst adds. "But that is so unlike you tou-san. When did you care about watching TV? I bet it's some romance drama isn't it. You like to put up a tough front, but Misaka knows you are just a big softie."

"Hurry the hell up," Accelerator spat at her. "Or I'll blow up that game myself."

"Hmm," Worst thought out loud. "Should Misaka destroy the moderator quickly or bother tou-san by making the game take longer. Both are such great possibilities."

"I hear the hero is going to make a fool of himself," Accelerator said grinning.

"Well that settles it," Worst laughs and quickly gets serious. The game ended twenty seconds later with Last Order's complete defeat.

"NO! MISAKA cries as MISAKA stomps her feet angrily on the ground. You cheated MISAKA accuses as MISAKA points her finger at Worst."

"Misaka is just better then you," Worst stated still laughing while tossing the TV remote to Accelerator. He flipped through the channels till he found what he was looking for.

"It's just starting," he said grinning and leaned back on the couch. "I can't believe he's wearing that getup. His red hair looks stupid."

"Coming from Whitey," Worst pointed out and Accelerator threw a pillow at her.

"Is that really the savior MISAKA asks as MISAKA tilts her head at his new look." However, she believed Accelerator and started to broadcast the show over the Misaka Network. She knew the other clones liked the savior so she wanted them to enjoy the show too.

"He was complaining about not wanting to be recognized," Accelerator explained. "So we gave him the new look. Let's see what happens." Accelerator smirked at Touma's introduction then waited for him to say something stupid. Accelerator got bored quickly at the lackluster responses Touma was giving. Though, when Touma mentioned they were friends, he raised an eyebrow. _Eh, I guess we are, probably._ Then the CEO asked the question.

"Are you dating the Railgun?"

"Hahaha," Worst was enjoying the show now. There was a long silence before Touma began to answer.

"Oh I can't wait to see what he says about the third rate," Accelerator said grinning. _We should record this. I could give it to her next time I see her. That would be fun._ After a couple back and forth between the CEO and Touma, Touma finally said the words that even Accelerator didn't expect.

"I'm actually dating all three of the level 5 girls!"

There was a stun silence in that apartment, then Worst and Accelerator couldn't contain it anymore. "HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Both of them were clutching their sides and laughing harder than they ever had before. "I can't believe the f$^*&$ hero actually said that." He kept laughing then noticed Worst had stopped and clutching her head. "What's wrong with you?"

"Misaka suddenly got overwhelmed by the other's Misaka's emotions. They are all jealous. Shit, so much negativity even for this Misaka." Worst was grabbing her head and looking really pissed off.

"Ahhhh," Last Order suddenly cried and looked around in panic.

"What now?" Accelerator asked annoyed.

"All the other Misakas want to come back to the city. If they all try to come back to the city at the same time, they will draw a lot of attention MISAKA cries as MISAKA explains the gravity of the situation."

"Well tell them to stop," Accelerator said rolling his eyes.

"MISAKA is!" Last Order wailed and went back to concentrating.

 _Stupid hero just makes my life more difficult. I hope the other level 5s see this and give him a good beating for me._

* * *

Mikoto, Kuroko, Ruiko, and Kazari were all gathered in Mikoto's and Kuroko's dorm. Mikoto had invited them all over to tell them about the contest Touma had won and his plans with the prize. Of course, Kuroko had been really suspicious, but Ruiko and Kazari were interested. "He's supposed to tell me more information when he gets it. I don't know where he plans the trip to be yet." She was actually looking forward to it because it would let her spend time with him, even if Misaki was going to be there. _Maybe we can finally do something that doesn't end in some crazy fight._

"Wow," Ruiko said. "A trip to anywhere in the world? That sounds like a dream come true."

"Who's going to chaperone?" Kazari asked. "They wouldn't let a bunch of students travel the world alone, especially from Academy City."

"Hmm," Mikoto said crossing her arms and thinking. "I don't know. He didn't have a lot of information. He probably is going to get it during the interview today."

"Ooooo," Ruiko interjected. "Can we watch it?"

"I don't see why we should," Kuroko said bitterly. "It's not like he's going to say anything important."

"Oh hush," Mikoto said to Kuroko shaking her head. "He was nice enough to want to invite all of us, even you who constantly insults him."

"His friends insult me," Kuroko protected.

"Jason just likes to mess with you," Kazari pointed out. "He doesn't mean it and only does it in good fun. Owwww." Kuroko had grabbed her cheeks and pulled them in frustration. "That hwwwerts Shira-san!" she cried. Ruiko took the opportunity, when Kuroko was distracted, and turned the TV on and started flipping through channels.

"And Accelerator is just being Accelerator," Mikoto explained.

"I think this is the channel," Ruiko said backing away from the TV. "Looks like it hasn't started yet."

"Humph," Kuroko said sitting on her bed after she finished punishing Kazari. "I can't believe you want to watch him make a fool of himself. The ape doesn't understand how hard it is to be a level 5 in the public eye. Onee-sama is smart, noble, pure, and amazing in everything he does. He is just some normal guy."

"A normal guy doesn't rush halfway around the world to save friends," Ruiko pointed out. Kuroko crossed her arms but couldn't think of a reply to that.

"Let's not fight," Kazari told them as she tried to stop the fight before it started. "Let's just watch and see if he says where he plans the trip to be."

"I hope he doesn't say anything to stupid," Mikoto mumbled. "He sometimes says things without thinking them through." Kuroko huffed in response to Mikoto's words but didn't say anything else. The girls sat on the beds as the watched the TV in anticipation. When the interview finally started, Mikoto saw the outfit he was wearing and suddenly laughed and, at the same time, tried to prevent herself form laughing. It sounded like a cough. "What is with that outfit?" she questioned and couldn't keep the amusement out of her voice.

"The ape is still wearing that stupid disguise," Kuroko sniffed. "He just dyed and slicked his hair back."

"Are you sure that is even him?" Kazari asked.

Ruiko looked closely. "I think so," she said. "But it is hard to tell. Do you think someone else is doing the interview for him?" The person, who introduced himself as the CEO, just started talking about the contest and game. However, Kuroko suddenly fumed when they found out what kind of game Touma had played and won.

"That ape!" Kuroko snarled. "He's playing dating games? He must be using those techniques on onee-sam…" He suddenly got quiet as Mikoto hit her on the head.

"Who cares what game it is?" she snapped, but her face was slightly red. "Shush, I can't hear." She was interested in the questions being asked and Touma's answers. At first, she was a little puzzled as he talked about being the Harem King, but she eventually realized what he was doing. _It sounds like he is just reading from a script. I bet someone told him ahead of time what to say to keep the Harem King persona. It sounds like something Kagere would do. Wow, he said on TV Accelerator was his friend. I wonder what he would think of Touma saying that._ She watched the conversation turn to the level 5s. When he mentioned the rivalry, she frowned. _Does he mean me and Shokuhou? That idiot doesn't even realize we are fighting over hi… our differences._ She knew what she wanted to think, but even thinking about it too deeply was embarrassing for her. The CEO started turning the conversation toward the tournament Mikoto, Touma, and Accelerator had all participated in a little while ago. After a couple questions about Touma's match against Mikoto, the CEO asked a question that silenced everyone in the room.

"Are you dating the Railgun?"

Mikoto froze wide-eyed as her brain stopped working temporarily. She had no idea what he was going to say and she suddenly became afraid. _We went on a date once, but we never said we were going steady. Ah, I'm so nervous? What if he says yes? What if he says no?_ Her face flushed bright red as all her thoughts raced through her mind. She then realized everyone else was looking at her with stunned looks on her face. She knew she had to say something. "How could that guy ask something like that?" she demanded as if she was madder at the CEO asking about something personal then the actual question itself.

"Onee-sama," Kuroko said holding up her bed sheet and biting down on it. "You can't be dating him. Please tell me there is no way that could happen." Ruiko and Kazari looked at each other in shock. Both had completely different reasons though. Ruiko was surprised because she didn't think Mikoto's and Touma's relationship had progressed that far. She knew if Touma said yes, she wouldn't be able to be his girlfriend. Kazari on the other hand was more appalled about the actual question. However, she was also interested in the answer because she wanted Ruiko to be happy and be able to date Touma. Then Touma gave the most unlikely reply.

"I'm actually dating all three of the level 5 girls!"

There was silence as all four girls stared at the image on the TV screen. No one said anything as Touma and the CEO continued to talk. Then they heard a sound.

 _Crackle._

Kuroko, Kazari and Ruiko all stared at Mikoto as several blue-white sparks started to surround her. Mikoto had clenched her fists and her face was red, but no longer because of embarrassment. She stood up slowly. "Onee-sama," Kuroko said angrily while looking at Mikoto seriously. "We can't let him get away with insulting your good name…" She stopped when she saw the dark look in Mikoto's eyes. Mikoto's head turned slightly to look at her.

"I'll be right back Kuroko," she said through clenched teeth. "I need to have a talk with that idiot." She cracked her knuckles and walked out the door of the room. They heard the sound of running footsteps right when the door closed.

"Ah onee-sama," Kuroko called out as her senses kicked in. She got up and ran to the door after Mikoto. "I want to help you teach that ape a lesson!" She ran off too leaving Kazari and Ruiko in the dorm. They both looked at each other in confusion.

"I've never seen Misaka-san act like that," Ruiko said nervously.

"Love makes a girl act strange," Kazari pointed out. She looked back at the TV. "Do you think he is really Kamijou0-san? I never heard him talk like that."

"I don't know," Ruiko admitted honestly. "We can't see his face, hair is different, and voice is disguised. It could be anyone. But if he told Misaka-san it would be him, we probably should assume it is. Let's keep watching, we might learn more." Kazari nodded and they both continued to watch the remainder of the interview, which after the initial uproar, calmed down and became a lot more normal.

* * *

In another dormitory within Tokiwadai, a group of very attractive girls were sitting around a table and drinking tea. Among them was Misaka Shokuhou and all the other girls kept looking at her admiringly. Her clique met periodically to talk about anything interesting some of them heard and just catch up with each other. Misaki was only partially listening as her mind kept flicking toward thoughts of Touma and Mikoto. _I can't believe she actually manage to ask him on a date. She's more of a wolf then I gave her credit for. How should I progress my relationship with him. He didn't contact me back with my offer of helping him study._ Another girl at the table started to say something that caught her attention.

"There seems to be a lot of commotion today. There are quite a few people from outside the city coming to visit one of the other level 5s."

"Oh?" Misaki asked interestedly. "Do you know which one?"

"I believe it was the new rank eight, Queen," she replied.

"How interesting," Misaki commented sipping her tea while her mind started working in overdrive. _Why would they want to see Touma now? There could be a lot of reasons so I really just need an excuse to go and see why._ She found her reason when another girl spoke up.

"There is some kind of interview going on," she added. "I don't know why though. He seems to be able to slip out from everyone's eyes. We have almost no information on him at all."

"Then wouldn't this interview be a perfect chance to gather some information on him?" Misaki asked in a tone that it was the most obvious thing in the world. "What better chance would we have?" Of course, she had a completely different reason in wanting to watch. _I wonder what my price is doing on there. It should be entertaining watching him interview as a level 5. I really want to see it._ The other girls took her words to heart.

"Excellent idea Queen," several of them chirped. Two of the girls left in a rush to bring the TV in and set it up. Their group didn't watch it much because they preferred to talk over their tea. After the TV was set up, one of the girls started surfing through the channels. "I think this is it," she said backing away.

"Excellent," Misaki said kindly. "Good job." The girl blushed at her praise. Misaki was eagerly waiting for the interview to start, but she purposely kept her face impassive to avoid attracting unnecessary attention. She wanted the other girls to believe she was doing this for information only. It was difficult, but she avoided grinning at Touma's new look. She did, however, raise an eyebrow unconsciously when the CEO, who was interviewing Touma, mentioned he won a contest for a weeklong trip for beating a dating game. _That looks promising. Can I convince him to take me so we can have some alone time together?_ She forced herself not to chuckle at some of his comments. The other girls were staying quiet as they watched the interview. They were more focused on trying to find out who Kami was, then his actual answers. Misaki did notice a flicker of disgust on some of their faces over a couple of his answers. _Rivalry huh. I guess Misaka and I do have one, but not for the reason he thinks. He is so innocent._ The CEO then asked something which caused her to freeze.

"Are you dating the Railgun?"

All the other girls leaned forward slightly in anticipation. They were still young girls and loved gossip. Misaki on the other hand frowned slightly in annoyance. _What should I do if he says he is? I suppose I will have to show I am just a better choice than Misaka._ Touma was silent for a second then seemed to try to dodge the question. What came next, even Misaki could not have predicted.

"I'm actually dating all three of the level 5 girls!"

There was a stunned silence from all the girls, even Misaki was speechless. However, she couldn't stop the small grin appearing on her face. _He's too noble to say something like that. It sounds like he was forced to say it as a joke or to remain in the Kami persona. It seems like something Kagere would do._ However, even though Touma didn't say her specifically, she was still happy. She was included in his response so it meant she still had a chance. The other girls were not as pleased and they were not afraid to express their disproval.

"How dare he say something like that about the Queen!?"

"Queen would never go out with someone like him!"

"Besides, she already has a boyfriend."

"He needs to be taught a lesson."

"I'm sure the other two will be more than happy to teach him a lesson," Misaki commented causing all their heads to look at her. "There is no need for us to resort to something so uncivilized. Instead, let's keep watching in case he gives us any other information. Afterwards, I think I'm going to go meet my friend." She just said friend, but the other girls knew who she meant. "I'm sure if Kami continues the charade, we can help him understand what lying means." The other girls nodded. They knew what would happen if someone challenged the Queen of Tokiwadai.

* * *

"There's nothing good on," Saiai said as she flipped through channels. "For some reason they are only playing super popular movies. They only play the good B rank movies during super odd times."

"Just choose something," Shizuri said exasperatedly as she flipped through a magazine. "Your constant channel surfing is annoying."

"…It's hard to sleep with the noise," Rikou added as she laid back in a recliner.

Frenda just entered the main room from the bathroom wearing just a robe with a towel on her head. "Is Kinuhata hogging the TV again?" She had just stepped out of the shower. "Basically, I've told you before, just choose something if you have the remote."

"I super can't watch just anything," she said scowling. "I can only watch something with a super good story and not just special effects or what is considered popular." She suddenly stopped and stared at the TV. "I think I super found something you might be interested in Frenda," she said smirking.

"Huh?" Frenda asked as she started to put on her clothes.

"Looks like Kamijou is doing an interview as Kami," Saiai answered pointing to the TV. Frenda nearly tripped on her half put on clothes as she rushed toward the couch. Even Shizuri looked up in interest. When she saw the disguise Touma was wearing, she grinned in amusement.

"I see he took my advice about not getting recognized," Shizuri commented. "But he is still wearing that stupid disguise."

"The hair looks good," Frenda commented as she finished putting on her clothes

When the interview started and the CEO gave the introduction, Saiai burst out laughing again. "He won a trip because he super beat a dating game. Not only that, his nickname is the Harem King. Well, that explains how Frenda super got mesmerized by him."

"B-basically," Frenda stuttered. "Quit saying that. I'm not into him." However, her face turned bright red to reveal her true feelings. It did not go unnoticed by Saiai and Shizuri who smirked at her embarrassment.

"This should be good though," Shizuri said leaning back and watching the interview. "Any bets on how long it takes before he makes a fool of himself."

"Two minutes in," Saiai said instantly.

"I'll take that bet," Shizuri replied. "But I say one minute." Both of them laughed and turned their eyes to the screen. Because ITEM just recently had two big missions, they were told they would not be receiving any new ones for a while to avoid detection on their movements. While this may sound like a good break, it was quite boring for them. They just went back to school and pretended to be normal high school girls, except Saiai who was in middle school. Because of this, they jumped on the chance to watch Touma make a fool of himself. They were disappointed at first because all they found out was Touma was friends with Accelerator, something they already knew. When he started talking about rivalry between the level 5s, the corners of Shizuri's mouth twitched upwards. _He's not wrong._

"Are you dating the Railgun?" the CEO asked.

Saiai burst out laughing while Frenda and Shizuri grew quiet. Frenda was worried what would happen if Touma said yes. Even though she never admitted it to anyone, she actually liked him. Shizuri on the other hand was irritated at the question. She didn't know why she was pissed at the question. But once again, she felt that weird feeling in her stomach. It wasn't a bad feeling, but it was unknown to her. However, she knew if Touma said yes, she might have to kill him. _Why did I think that? Who cares what that loser thinks?_ After Touma tried to dodge the question, his unexpected answer blew them all away.

"I'm actually dating all three of the level 5 girls!"

There was a stunned silence at this bold statement. Saiai was about to burst out laughing again when the small table next to the couch flew past her head toward the TV.

 _Boom._

The TV was destroyed and Frenda and Saiai jumped back to avoid the remains. Shizuri was standing up and had thrown the table. She was breathing heavily and her face was red in anger. Her hair was standing on end and she was being enveloped by a dark murderous aura. "KAAAAMMMMIIIIIJJJJOOOUUUU! That piece of shit!" she roared. She normally would have been pissed if someone made that declaration public, but for some reason, she was beyond angry. _How dare he…?_ "I'm going to kill that f&*$^% and spread his remains over the city for the rats!" She stormed out of the apartment.

Frenda was silent and hesitated for a moment. She didn't think for a moment Touma could have said something like that, but she knew Shizuri was in no mood to hear it. _Maybe if I warn him, I'll increase my reputation with him. Of course, Mugino can't know about it._ "I'm going to help her kill him," she lied to Saiai and Rikou. "Basically, we will be right back." She dashed out of the apartment.

Saiai turned and looked at Rikou. "I super want to see how this plays out. It's like a real life movie." Rikou nodded in agreement and they both left after Frenda.

* * *

The rest of the interview ended without incident and Touma left right afterwards with Jason. They quickly moved out of the building and into the limo. Touma had mentioned he was planning to go to England as his prize and Danjuro agreed that was an excellent choice. He also told Touma, because of the amount of publicity he manage to get for the company, he could bring quite a few friends. A private plane will leave Saturday evening to take them to England. Touma was glad to finally leave. Even though Danjuro was a good guy, he inadvertently caused a lot of trouble for Touma. _I hope no one I know saw that. I will never live it down._ He sat in his seat, with his head in his hands, completely mortified with what he said.

"Well," Jason said trying to sound indifferent, but the corners of his mouth were still twitching upwards. "Do you want to wait for those two or make them walk?"

"They can go to hell," Touma said with his head still in his hands. "I'm never going to live this down."

"I'm sure no one we know saw it except Accelerator," Jason replied trying to cheer him up as the limo began to move.

'With my luck I'm sure someone saw it and will spread it around," Touma muttered.

'Cheer up," Jason said. "I'll help you study again tonight for tomorrow's tests."

"Thanks a lot," Touma said relieved. "At least one good thing happened today."

"So I plan to drop you off a couple blocks from your house," Jason started to explain. "I'll then take the limo back and meet you at your house. Sound good?"

"Yea," Touma replied nodding. "That way no one will see a limo pull right up to a student dorm and attract attention."

"That was the idea," Jason said leaning back and closing his eyes. "Wake me up when we get there."

They rode in silence with Touma smirking slightly to himself about leaving Motoharu and Pierce behind. _Serves those guys right._ When they were three blocks away from his dorm, the limo stopped and he got out. Jason waved to him and the limo left. Touma sighed and started to walk to his dorm with his bag over his shoulder. When he was a little over a block away, he suddenly felt cold sweat run down his neck and he immediately hid behind a building. He slowly looked out and saw a familiar head of short brown hair standing near his dorm. Mikoto was leaning up against a building watching his dorm. _She has to know,_ he thought as his stomach started turning. _I'm so dead. She won't let me explain everything, and I don't blame her. I hate myself for saying it too._ Something warned him and he suddenly ducked as a foot came flying right where his head was a moment ago. He rolled to the side and stood up again and looked in horror as he saw who it was.

Kuroko Shirai.

"Uh hi Shirai-san," he said while slowly backing away. 'What are you doing here?" Judging by the dark murderous aura seeping from her, he had a pretty good idea why.

"So ape," she answered him and her voice was ice cold. "Or should I call you Kami the Harem King. You trampled on onee-sama's feelings and dare say you are dating her just because she is one of the level 5s. The penalty for that is death." She pulled out her spikes and Touma realized she meant business this time. "You can make this quick and painless or slow and painful. Your choice." She grinned evilly. "I prefer option two though."

"I can explain," Touma said backing away. "You see…"

"No excuses," Kuroko snapped. "If you are a man, take your punishment." Touma ducked right when she delivered a kick to his head again. He glanced behind him and bolted as fast as he could. "Running from a teleporter isn't going to do you any good." Touma had to admit she was right. Kuroko was faster than him and only thing he could rely on was he knew the area and the short cuts while Kuroko did not. The only positive thing he could say was Kuroko did not call out to Mikoto so he wasn't getting electrocuted too.

No matter how hard he tried, he wasn't able to lose Kuroko. Even when he lost her for a few minutes, she always found him. Her teleportation allowed her to travel on roof tops which meant she could travel in straight lines while he had to twist and turn down alleys. _This isn't good._ He made an immediate right turn to dodge a couple needles he felt were coming. As he was running down an alleyway, after temporarily losing Kuroko, he saw a door open and a white gloved hand wave to him. _I probably shouldn't but finally someone appears to be on my side._ He dashed in through the door and it shut behind him. He looked around and saw a familiar girl with blonde hair.

"I'm glad you all right," she said. "I saw you were being chased around by Shirai-san. I'm impressed you could run like that, even with your school bag."

"What are you doing here Misaki?" Touma asked. "Did you happen to see…?" He sighed and lowered his head. She giggled.

"I did," Misaki said. "So it really was you? I thought it might have been someone else. Were you forced to say it?"

"Kind of," Touma said rubbing his head. "You see…" The door burst open and there stood Kuroko.

"Found you ape," she called out triumphantly. "Ah Shokuhou-san, what are you doing here?"

"Sorry about this Shirai-san," Misaki said with a smile saying she really wasn't. She held up a remote and Kuroko went limp. Then she turned around mechanically and walked out. Misaki turned to Touma. "She won't remember she found you here," Misaki told him smiling. "She will just think she lost you awhile back. You were saying about being forced?"

Touma frowned slightly, because he was feeling conflicted. He didn't like the fact Misaki kept using mind control on people, but he was also glad he wasn't about to be killed. He decided to let it pass because he only saw Misaki use her powers to help out and didn't do anything bad with it. "Some friends in my class thought it would be funny and threatened to tell others who Kami really was if I didn't say it. I was hoping no one I knew would see it."

"Oh Touma," Misaki said laughing. "You have a lot to learn about being a level 5. If you do anything public, everyone knows about it. That is the reason I like to remain hidden. So what are you going to do now?"

"Well," Touma said thinking. "Mikoto is watching my dorm and I don't think she will be in the mood for me to explain until she cools off."

"That's perfect then," Misaki said cheerfully clapping her hands together. "Why don't you come with me back to my dorm? I could help you study while you wait for the heat to blow over."

"But guys can't go into Tokiwadai dorms," Touma protested even though he had been there a couple times.

"Oh it will be easy to sneak you in," she replied smiling broadly. "Besides, didn't you say you needed help or you will have to go to supplementary classes?" She looked at him with teary eyes. "Unless you don't think I can be a good teacher. I'm just as smart as Misaka-san."

Touma looked at her and suddenly felt guilty. All she wanted to do was help him and he was just making excuses. "Ok Misaki," he said smiling. "Just studying though." He wanted to make it perfectly clear about his intensions because Misaki was quite obvious about her intentions.

"That's fine," Misaki said happily. She grabbed onto his arm and pressed herself up against him. "I'll help you study so we can have fun later." She started to drag him along with her to the dorms. Touma wasn't sure what all was going to happen or how it was going to end, but he felt one thing for certain.

 _Something misfortunate is going to happen._

* * *

 **I realized I could have made the interview much worse, but I wanted it to be professional with one major question Motoharu would have set up. I figured that would be the best question and answer that was both hilarious and would benefit the plot. If this was a crack fic, I could have made that much crazier.**

 **Motoharu: Wow, I thought for sure Misaka would be in the lead to make Kami-yan a man.**

 **Accelerator: Eh, the fourth rate was closer than her. She can't be honest with herself.**

 **Mikoto: Hey!**

 **Touma: You two like causing me problems.**

 **Jason: Touma, if you play this right, you could end up with all three of the level 5s in one bed with you.**

 **Mikoto: No way that could happen idiots!**

 **Shizuri: F#^$ you!**

 **Misaki: I suppose I could do that.**

 **Touma: …**

 **Motoharu: Eh, one out of three. Work on the other two in the next chapter.**

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or idea. I love reading them.**


	38. S2 Luck or Misfortune

**Ok, so wow. I had a lot of fun writing the last chapter and I did have a good laugh at my idea with the interview and I figured people would enjoy that because it wasn't to over the top craziness, but something that could happen naturally. What I didn't expect, was the sheer number of responses compared to many other chapters. Someone needs to explain why so many people loved the last chapter to me sometime.**

 **Also, due to a couple responses, I realized I must update my disclaimer to prevent liability.**

 **Handsomistic1** **: I really appreciated your comment. It made me feel like my writing is improving.**

 **FireDusk: We all enjoy the roller coaster.**

 **dragon100977** **: All I can say is, couple chapters.**

 **Guest: Ah no, Kongou was not Mikoto's partner, but that gives me an idea. I'm going to make a slight change to the actual story, but it's better this way.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

 _I can't believe I'm going to do this,_ Touma thought to himself as he and Misaki walked toward the Tokiwadai dorms. They took the scenic way to avoid attention in case Kuroko and Mikoto where still looking for him. Touma was nervous, and kept glancing over at Misaki who was still clutching tightly to Touma's arm. Touma could feel her well-endowed chess pressed right up against him. If he wasn't constantly looking around worried someone he knew would spot them, he might have actually enjoyed it. _How on earth does she plan to sneak me into her dorm? I don't want to get her into trouble._ He still was having trouble believing she wanted to sneak him into the dorm.

Misaki, on the other hand, couldn't be happier. She finally had Touma all to herself. Even if this was just a study date, she was excited she would get to show her worth to him again. _Maybe afterwards we could have a little fun. Maybe I should take it slow. After all, he's a real prince and wouldn't try to take advantage of me. Hmm, how should I approach this?_ However, she really just enjoyed hanging on to his arm and purposely kept herself pressed up against him. She wasn't careless though and kept her other hand in her bag clutching tightly to a remote in case someone tried to interrupt them. Her eyes kept darting around to identify any trouble before it could start. When her school came into view, she felt Touma stop and turn to look at her.

"I hope you have a plan," Touma said. "I hardly think I can just walk up through the front door."

"Since you are with me," Misaki said smiling sincerely. "We probably could, but I did have a slightly less obvious solution." She pulled out her phone and started texting. After a couple minutes she put her phone away and smiled up at him. "Ok," she said. "We are going to go through the side entrance. Some of my friends are keeping the hall clear so we shouldn't be seen."

"You really are good at planning," Touma said impressed as she lead the way to the other entrance. "Say, when you texted me earlier this week, did you have this planned too?" Her response was simply to giggle and Touma took that as a yes. He shook his head slightly amused, but his nervousness came back as Misaki opened the door to the dorms and they stepped in. They walked down a hallway and up the stairs to Misaki's room. Touma thought it was weird he didn't see anyone, but when he looked closely, he saw some people disappearing down side hallways. Misaki opened her room door and pushed Touma in, then closed the door quickly behind her. Touma looked around at her room. It seemed to be slightly larger than Mikoto's and Kuroko's room with only a single bed. Instead of a second bed, there was a table with three large sofa chairs around it. "Do you not have a roommate?" he asked looking at her.

"Nope," she said shaking her head. "I was originally assigned one, but I convinced them to let me have my own room. I prefer my privacy. I rarely allow people in here and only if I trust them." She beamed at him.

"Uh," Touma said scratching his head. He really didn't know how to respond to that. _She actually trusts me that much? What did I do to deserve this?_ Because he lost his memories last year, he had no idea. "Thanks Misaki. That means a lot." He swore to himself there, he would never betray the trust she put in him.

Misaki made a cute pose and a V-shape with her right hand over her eye. "As much as I want to have fun with you today, I know you need to study or you won't be able to go on the trip you won next week. So Misaki-sensei will teach you anything you need."

"Thanks a lot," Touma said gratefully as he pulled out his review notes from his bag and putting them on the table. "There is going to be a lot of stuff about personal reality and the formulas involved in quantum theory for their calculations."

"Sounds like pretty basic stuff," Misaki commented taking a seat to his right. "What problems are you having?"

"Well I need to review the formulas for sure," Touma said skimming his notes. "I definitely need to be able to use them for basic calculations and how they relate to each other. Then I need to try to understand the basic concepts. Anything dealing with AIM fields and personal realities goes over my head. I can't relate to them at all." He grabbed his head in frustration.

"Hmm," Misaki said thoughtfully holding a finger up to her cheek. "I might have an old test paper with a couple simple problems that use those." She walked over to her desk and pulled open a drawer and started rummaging through a folder.

"Oh," Touma said as he realized something. "Before we start, I wanted to ask you something."

"Yes?" she turned and looked at him.

"Since you saw the interview," Touma continued slightly red as he remembered what he said. "You know I won a weeklong vacation for me and my friends. I wanted to bring everyone who helped rescue my friends from the magic organization. Are you free during Golden Week? The plan was to take the trip to England."

"I am!" Misaki cried quickly then closed her mouth before resuming her normal light hearted manner. "A trip to England sounds lovely." She didn't even care it wouldn't just be them, because she knew Touma would invite a lot of his friends. She was just glad he invited her. It meant she would have a lot of opportunities to find private time with him. _Maybe we could even share a bed. I just need to make sure Misaka doesn't get in our way. I can't believe he invited me though._ She was incredibly happy and smiled the entire time her back was to Touma while she looked for the test paper. "Found it," she said triumphantly and handed him the test.

"Wow," Touma exclaimed looking at the paper. "These are all really advance. I knew Tokiwadai pushed their students because Mikoto could easily solve my homework, but these tests are crazy."

"There is quite an accelerated curriculum," Misaki acknowledged choosing to ignore the mention of Mikoto. She didn't want to bring her up more than absolutely necessary. "But we should be able to get you to a level to pass your exams."

"Thanks a lot Misaki," Touma replied smiling sincerely at her. Her face turned bright red and she started to talk about the material while purposely avoiding his eyes.

* * *

Mikoto was getting impatient as she continued her stakeout of Touma's dorm. She had actually walked up and banged on the door only to find Index at home. She briefly debating of telling Index what he did, but decided not to. Instead, she apologized, because Index really had nothing to do with in, and left to wait. _It probably was a good thing he wasn't home,_ she thought to herself. _I was pretty mad but I think I calmed down._ Now that she had time to cool off, she actually began to think of what possibly could happen. _That idiot isn't brave enough to say those kinds of things all on his own. I bet someone else disguised themselves as him._ She yawned and looked at the time. It wasn't too late, but she realized she might have to wait here for a while and now Kuroko had disappeared. _This is boring._ Then she saw a familiar blonde hair boy walking toward Touma's apartment. "Kagere-san!"

Jason jumped and turned around. "Misaka-san? What are you doing here?" Then he grinned. "Never mind, I know why. Trying to visit Touma late at night eh?" He winked at her.

"S-shut it," Mikoto stammered growing slightly red. "You know why I'm here. That idiot decided to say some crazy stuff on TV."

"Jealous?" Jason asked raising an eyebrow. "Did you want him to say yes?"

Mikoto opened her mouth to deny it, but stopped. She closed it quickly and looked at him, thinking fast, and then resolved herself. _I really need to be more honest with myself._ "Y-yes," she answered as her face turned redder. "You knew we had gone on a date once. Do you know if it was really him during that interview?"

Jason sighed and his smile faded. "It was," he replied then quickly continued as Mikoto opened his mouth. "However, a couple of our friends at school forced him to say that. So try not to be too hard on him."

Mikoto looked at him for a moment. "Why would you tell me that? Wouldn't it be more fun for you have not said that last part?"

"It would," Jason said nodding. "However, both of you are my friends. If it was just something small I would have done that in a moment, or if it involved Kuro-chan. But I'm not going to get in-between people and a real relationship. I'm not even on Shokuhou-san's side. I might help if asked, but it's up to Touma to decide who he wants to be with." He burst into a grin. "So you might need to work harder. I think she's winning. Anyway, I need to help him study tonight."

"He's not here though," Mikoto pointed out.

"What?" Jason turned to her confused. "Impossible, we dropped him off not too long ago." At that instant Kuroko decided to make an appearance next to Mikoto.

"Onee-sama," she said panting. "I found him, but he managed to escape me." She noticed Jason. "Oh, it's you," she sniffed. Jason waved back to her.

"You lost him?" Mikoto asked surprised. "That doesn't seem like you to lose someone you are chasing."

"That was kind of weird," Kuroko agreed while rubbing her head. "He sort of just disappeared." At her words, Jason's phone buzzed and he looked at it and frowned.

"You tell me that now," he muttered annoyed. "See if I volunteer to help you again." He looked up at Mikoto and Kuroko who were staring at him. "Oh, Touma said he found another tutor tonight and asked if I could feed Index." He shook his head while Mikoto frowned slightly. 'Well guess I should go see if she is alive. Probably just go out to eat, Misaka-san, Kuro-chan, want to come?"

"Drop dead," was Kuroko's reply.

"Ah don't be mean Kuro-chan," Jason said grinning while looking over his shoulder as he walked over to Touma's dorm. "I thought we were past that point in our relationship."

"We don't have a relationship," Kuroko huffed.

"Oh well," Jason shrugged. "I hope Kazari is free at least." He pulled out his phone. "You sure you don't want to join us?"

Mikoto ignored their bickering and thought about what Kuroko and Jason said. _Kuroko lost Touma and thought he just disappeared. Jason got a text from Touma saying he found a different tutor. Who do I know that would tutor him? Accelerator probably wouldn't… shit. It has to be her. I wouldn't doubt she would sneak Touma into her dorm to teach him._ She noticed Kuroko and Jason were still arguing and she took a couple steps back to move out of sight. Then she took off running toward the Tokiwadai dorms.

After a couple minutes of arguing with her mortal foe, Kuroko realized Mikoto had disappeared. "Onee-sama, where did you go?" she called out while looking around.

"She left a while ago," Jason pointed out helpfully.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!" Kuroko yelled.

"Because I thought we needed to spend some time together to work out our differences," Jason explained.

"Ahhhh!" Kuroko growled pulling at her hair. "I'm going to go find her. Don't follow me." She teleported away and after a second teleport, she was out of sight.

 _She is so much fun to tease,_ Jason thought to himself as he walked up to Touma's dorm room. _Sorry Kazari, I can't help myself. I still don't know why, it has no real benefit for me to do it._ He pounded on the door and yelled into the room. "Hey Index, It's Jason. Touma's dead and his last wish was for me to make sure you didn't starve to death."

* * *

Mikoto ran as fast as she could, toward the dorms, and she may have set a new record for herself. She entered through the main doors, panting slightly and went up the stairs to Misaki's room. She had only been there once before, but she knew which room it was. She usually avoided it because they did not get along. Two girls, who Mikoto recognized as part of Misaki's clique, tried to block her way with the pretense of asking if she would help them, but Mikoto just ignored them and passed by them. She stood in front of Misaki's room and reached for the handle. A few sparks came off her hand and the electronic lock clicked open right before she barged in.

"What are you doing Shokuhou-san?!" yelled Mikoto angrily.

"Misaka-san," Misaki replied, her voice stern. 'You know it is bad manners to barge into someone's room unannounced."

"Mikoto?" Touma asked confused. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," Mikoto said panting slightly as the door closed behind her. "What are YOU doing here?"

"Misaki is helping me study," Touma said pointing to the table. Mikoto finally looked around and saw both of them sitting on chairs around a table with a lot of papers in front of them. Since Tokiwadai didn't have homework, she could tell this was Touma's work. "Also…" he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I was hiding from Shirai-san. She was not happy with me." He sighed and looked at the floor depressed. "I take it you saw it too since she did."

"I did," she said looking at him and couldn't resist smirking slightly at how sorry he looked. She knew she had always been quick to anger, but she could never stay mad at him. "Kagere-san told me everything though. I can't believe you let your friends force you to say those things."

"Well," Touma said sheepishly. "They sort of blackmailed me."

"I think she's just jealous you didn't say yes to that question," Misaki pointed out with her hand over her mouth to conceal her grin.

"N-no one asked for your comment," Mikoto stuttered which just made Misaki laugh. She gazed down at the pile of work, once again interested in it. She grabbed the other sofa chair next to Touma and sat down. "What are you working on?"

"A big part of tomorrow's tests are related to personal realities and the formulas involved in quantum theory for their calculations," Touma told her. "Misaki helped me a lot with the formulas, so I should be proficient enough with those."

"They are pretty simple," Misaki pointed out. "He's a quick learner too if you can explain it in terms he can relate to. I'm sure he can learn anything in the right environment." Misaki winked at Mikoto and Mikoto felt a sting of annoyance.

"I don't understand the concept of personal realities though," Touma said scratching his head with one hand. "It has something to do with an ability user altering the reality around them by allowing them to select a reality that suits them. I don't understand at all what that is like."

"Personal realities allow ability users to completely ignore the Uncertainty Principle," Mikoto explained. "Then, combined with Schrödinger's cat thought experiment, we can choose the possibility we want, or more specifically, distort a micro world using different laws. Well more accurately, we control our microscopic observations of the world."

"I know about Schrödinger's cat experiment," Touma said. "Komoe-sensei has gone over that may times with me. What's the uncertainty principle again?"

"Heisenberg's uncertainty principle," Misaki said in a tone that sounds like it was something she memorized long ago. "Is any of a variety of mathematical inequalities asserting a fundamental limit to the precision with which certain pairs of physical properties of a particle, known as complementary variables, such as position x and momentum p, can be known simultaneously."

"What?" Touma asked completely lost.

"Simply," Misaki explained. "You can never simultaneously know the exact position and the exact speed of an object, because everything in the universe behaves like both a particle and a wave at the same time."

"In order for us to observe particles," Mikoto added. "We have to bounce something else off of it. When we do that, we change the position and momentum of the particle. We can measure one accurately, but if we try to measure both, the combination can't be more accurate than the Heisenberg's constant. Even if one is more accurate, the average of both can't be less."

"Ok," Touma said scribing their words down on his paper. It was beginning to make sense to him. Both Mikoto and Misaki were very smart and they obviously were good teachers. He felt like he could learn the material much easier after talking with them then most of the teachers in his school. He was glad they had stopped fighting at least, but he didn't know why. The real reason was they were not fighting was they both considered him more important than their rivalry. Also, both girls wanted to go on the trip with him, so they wanted to make sure he could pass all his exams. Finally, Touma rubbed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. "I think I reviewed everything. Thanks a lot for the help you two. I really appreciate it." He looked at the time, it was almost eight and he was glad it wasn't too late. It gave him time to get back to his dorm at a reasonable time.

"Anything for you Touma," Misaki said cheerfully.

"It was nothing," Mikoto waved her hand dismissively, but her face had a slightly pink tinge to it.

"Well I think I should be going," Touma said standing up and stretching. He gathered all his papers into his bag and started to head toward the door when he felt a tug on his arm. He looked and saw Misaki had gotten up and grabbed onto his right arm.

"Ah let me escort you out," Misaki said smiling. "We want to make sure the dorm supervisor doesn't see you." Touma was about to respond when he felt another tug on his arm, but this time it was his left one. He turned and saw Mikoto had grabbed onto it.

"It's fine Shokuhou-san," she said smiling insincerely at her. "I'll escort him out and you can use your ability to make sure no one notices us leave."

"Oh no I insist," Misaki said narrowing her eyes slightly at Mikoto. Both girls started to develop a dark aura and Touma felt sweat begin to form on his brow.

"There is no need to a…" Touma started to say to try to calm them down when they were interrupted.

"I'm sorry Queen but…," a middle school girl with short black hair and glasses had burst into the room. She looked slightly out of breath, as if she ran a good distance. Her eyes suddenly got wide when she saw the scene before her. This girl had just entered the room of one of the level 5 girls, in an all-girl dormitory, only to find Misaki and Mikoto, another level 5, both grabbing onto one guy in Misaki's room. Her face turned bright red. "I-I'm s-sorry Queen," she stammered and immediately closed the door and ran off.

All three of them stood there for a moment stunned. The door was supposed to lock automatically when the door closed, but, none of them knew this, Mikoto's electric shock had caused the electronic lock to temporarily malfunction. When the door closed this time, it clicked as it locked. Misaki was the first one of them to regain her senses. "This isn't good," she muttered and reached down into her bag and found the remote she was looking for. She pointed it and clicked, frowned, and clicked it again. She looked down and realized she was still holding onto Touma's arm subconsciously and his right hand was touching her hand. She had to let go and then ran toward the door. She threw it open and stepped out into the hall and looked around. She shook her head and walked back into the dorm. "This rumor is going to spread around the entire dorm," she said slightly embarrassed.

"Ah great," Mikoto sighed. "Like we have enough rumors going on about us, let's add the fact we both brought a guy into a dorm room together. It probably already spread through the dorms through a telepath."

"Well if you would have just left us alon…" Misaki started to point out.

"This is not the time," Mikoto hissed.

"I have a question," Touma asked and they both looked at him. "I know boys are not supposed to be in this dorm. If this rumor gets spread around, what is the chance of the dorm supervisor finding out?" He didn't want to say it out loud, but she scared him. By the looks on the girl's faces, he could tell they were afraid of her too.

"Oh my…" Misaki said quietly as the color began to drain from her face. She looked over at Mikoto.

"She always is on top of those rumors…" Mikoto muttered staring back at her.

"We are in so much trouble," they said together and Touma felt his stomach churn.

"What do we do then," Touma asked them nervously.

"We need to get you out of here," Mikoto said looking at Misaki who nodded. "Worst case, you have to hide till late and I'll disable some of the cameras, but I rather avoid that. Security is really tight at night."

"I'll go first then," Misaki said opening the door a crack and peeking out into the hall. "I'll try to cut off any problems before they start. If things get to bad, you two can make a break for it." She hated the fact she was leaving Touma with Mikoto, but if they were caught, he would get in a lot of trouble. Not only that, she and Mikoto could be kicked out of school for breaking a serious rule. _I made a mistake and let my guard down. This is my punishment._

"If we get caught," Touma said and they both looked at him. "I'm just going to say I snuck in on my own so you both don't get in trouble." He didn't realize the impact his words had on them. Both of their faces turned red and their hearts started beating faster. Neither of them could look him in the eye.

"We won't get caught," Mikoto said firmly and Misaki nodded. Misaki waved them both into the hall and they started to make their way out the side door. There were way too many people at the front entrance and a lot of them would be discussing the rumors. Misaki might have been able to use her powers on all of them, but there was a chance some of the girls, with mental resistances or abilities that blocked her ability, wouldn't be affected. So they decided to go back out the side entrance. They were almost home free, and the side door out of the dorms was in sight, when it began to open. Mikoto pushed Touma through a door while Misaki and Mikoto stayed in the hallway. Touma looked around and saw the room seemed to be a public locker room of some kind. He figured the girls must use it as a public changing room or storage area during the day. He suddenly had some very male like thoughts, but he shook his head and leaned up against the door to listen to the conversation in the hallway.

"So Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san," a very strict voice said and Touma blood froze as he recognized the dorm supervisor's voice. "It is unusual to see both of you together."

"We have been hanging out recently," Misaki voice echoed as she tried to sound cheerful, but Touma could hear the nervousness in her voice. "We found out we have a lot of similar interests. Isn't that right Misaka-san?"

"Of course," Mikoto's voice said and Touma could hear the stress in it too. He might have found it slightly humorous if the situation wasn't so serious. "Sure we have some differences, but after hanging out with her, we have a lot of similar interests."

"I see," the dorm supervisor said. "Like in a boy?" There was silence and Touma got worried.

"W-whatever do you mean?" Misaki asked stuttering slightly.

"I heard an interesting rumor spreading around the dorm tonight," the dorm supervisor replied coldly.

"What kind of rumor?" Mikoto asked nervously. "I usually don't pay attention to them."

"I heard in passing," she began. "That a boy was seen in the dorm and was accompanied by both level 5s. But that is, of course, impossible." There was a short silence. "There is no way two of Tokiwadai's top students would break one of the most iron clad rules. Not only would you both be kicked out of the dorms, you could possibly lose your admission into the school." Touma suddenly had a premonition of doom so he looked around and he got an idea.

Back in the hallway, both girls were still trying to convince the dorm supervisor the rumors were ridiculous. "There is no way that could be true," Misaki said trying to fake a laugh. "Misaka-san and I have completely different interests in boys."

"We would also never break such an important rule," Mikoto added.

"I see," the dorm supervisor said suspiciously glaring at them as her glasses glinted blocking her eyes. "So you two are saying these rumors are completely false?" Both girls nodded quickly. The dorm supervisor looked around the hallway and started walking forward and stopped. "You two seem to be hiding something." She looked at the door Mikoto had pushed Touma through. She walked up to it and both girls started sweating. "So if I open this door there will be no one behind it?" she asked as she threw open the door. She looked in and saw no one. "Okay," she said closing the door. "I believe you. But be warned, if I find out you two snuck a boy in here, I will punish both of you severely. Understand?" They nodded. "Good come with me. I need to talk to you two anyway." She started to walk away and they didn't have a choice but to follow.

"How did he hide in there?" Mikoto hissed.

"I don't know," Misaki whispered back but grabbed one of her remotes. "If he is still in there I'll tell him to flee in 15 minutes. It should give us enough time." Mikoto nodded and they hurried after the dorm supervisor.

Back in the locker room, Touma stuck his head out of the laundry cart. He was glad he listened to his gut when it told him something bad was about to happen. Before the dorm supervisor had chosen to check out the room, he had jumped into the laundry cart and hit under several left over towels. It may not have been the nicest smelling place, but it was still better than getting caught. Suddenly he heard Misaki's voice in his mind and he had to force himself not to touch his head with his right hand.

 _HEEEEYYYY Touma,_ Misaki's voice rang from inside his head. _Don't touch your head with your hand or this prerecorded message will be erased. I can't hear you so don't argue. Misaka-san and I are distracting the dorm supervisor. Give us about fifteen minutes and make a break for the exit. The door is right outside that room. We will try to make sure you aren't recognized._

 _Well this could have been a lot worse,_ Touma thought to himself. He remembered having to hide in a dumpster from a gang and someone dumped in a half full pot of chili in it without looking. A few dirty towels covering him wasn't too bad in comparison. He figured he would just wait out the time and get out before anyone else saw him. He was more worried about Mikoto and Misaki's reputation and dorm life then his own problems. If he would be the only one who would have gotten in trouble, he would have taken the blame for them. Fifteen minutes slowly passed and he was about to try his escape when the door to the room opened and three girls walked in. He immediately ducked back down to remain hidden. There was a small hole in the cloth siding of the cart and he peaked through it.

The first girl had shoulder length dark-bluish hair and eyes. The second girl had short wavy light-brown hair and blue eyes. Both girls had decent sized chests, but the second girl had a slightly larger one. The third girl, who was between the other two, stood out a lot. Her most distinguishing feature was her prominent forehead which was flanked by two fringes of black hair which is rather long and neatly kept. Touma also noticed she had an attractive and well-endowed figure compared to the other two. She was holding a small handheld fan.

 _Crap,_ Touma thought to himself. _How am I supposed to get out now?_

"So this is the place where the ghost appears?" the black haired girl asked curiously. The dark-blue haired girl nodded.

"Yes Kongou-san," she said. "No one wants to be here now, that is why it is empty. There's a rumor a ghost will appear if you use this room late at night."

"Ghost's don't exist," the girl called Kongou said haughtily.

"I hope so," the brown haired girl said nervously. "I rather not meet a ghost." All three girls walk toward the back corner and put their bags down on a bench.

"So all I have to go is start changing and this ghost is supposed to appear?" asked Kongou. The other two girls nodded. "Ok," she said and pulled out what looked like PE clothes. "Sounds simple enough, I am not afraid of a rumor." She started to remove her top and Touma immediately looked away. If he continued to watch he felt like he would be lower than garbage. He could still hear though. "See," Kongou continued. "Nothing, ghosts aren't real."

"I guess it was a false rumor," the dark-blue haired girl said slightly depressed, when suddenly the brown haired girl screamed. Touma almost jumped, but he had to force himself to remain still or he might draw their attention.

"What is it Wannai-san?" Kongou asked immediately.

"C-c-cockroach!" she screamed.

Touma refused to laugh because they might hear him, but a moment later, laughter was the furthest thing from his mind. He suddenly felt a gust a wind fill the room then the laundry cart he was in flipped to the side and he fell out of it. Luckily, his head was covered in towels but his face was only half covered. He could still see out of one eye. He saw all three girls staring at him. The girl named Kongou didn't have a shirt on and her black bra was clearly visible, along with her very prominent chest. "Umm," Touma said unable to think of anything. So instead, he got to his feet as possible and started to break toward the door.

"No so fast pervert!" Kongou yelled as she dashed in front of him to block the exit. "How dare you spy on us?!" At the same time, she flicked her fan at Touma and a gust of wind flew at him. He reached out with his right hand and, with the sound of breaking glass, the wind disappeared. She looked shocked, but kept moving in front of him. His center of balance was slightly off because he had to reach out with his hand and he couldn't dodge. He collided into the girl and they both fell down with Touma on top. When they stopped on the floor, he was kneeling over her with a perfect view of her face and chest. She had a perfect view of his face, but a towel, still miraculously on his head blocked his hair from view. He felt his face grow hot.

"I can expla…" he tried to say, but suddenly he felt a stinging pain in his cheek. Kongou had slapped him with her right hand as her face turned bright red. The other girls finally came to their senses and screamed in surprise.

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

Touma knew he didn't have any time left, so he did the only thing he could do in this situation. He stood up as fast as he could, kept his left hand on the towel on his head, right hand on his bag, and ran for his life. He threw the door open and ran toward the exit door that lead to the side entrance to Tokiwadai. He could hear several doors opening behind him and a lot of girls talking as they peered out into the hallway. Right when he got to the exit door and thrust it open, most of them screamed.

"THERE'S A GUY IN HERE!"

Touma didn't stop to try to explain he just kept running. As he neared the gates, he saw two guards and fear gripped him. _Damn it, I can't escape._ He was about to slow down and try to run in a different direction when both guards suddenly went limp and stepped aside for him. As he passed he saw they both had star's in their eyes. _Misaki, thank you so much._ As he passed, one of them whispered that Mikoto had taken care of the cameras. He sighed in relief as he exited the grounds. _At least no one will recognize me._ He was glad he had a towel covering his head to prevent any of the other girls from seeing him. Only the girl called Kongou saw his face and he doubted he would see her again. When the school was out of sight he threw the towel into a dumpster and started to head back to his dorm. It was late and he had a ways to go.

He was worried people might have been following him so he took some back streets until he was well away from Tokiwadai. He finally felt better and no longer worried about messing with Mikoto's and Misaki's school life. _It has been a really hectic day._ The street was deserted and his instincts immediately kicked in because a deserted street usually meant a magician cleared away everyone. When no one attacked he relaxed slightly. _Touma, you are getting paranoid,_ he told himself. It was late and he was using a side street so he knew no one would be there. He continued toward his dorm, and right when he could see the roof of his dorm in the distance, he suddenly felt something dark and dangerous coming from behind him. He turned around and the dark aura stepped out of a side alley. For a wild moment he thought it WAS Kuroko. When he realized who it was, he WISHED it was Kuroko.

"KAAAAMMMMMIIIJJJOOOOUUUU!" a deadly voice called out to him.

Touma took an involuntary step back as Shizuri started walking toward him. Her hair was standing on end as a dark malicious aura surrounded her. She started walking toward him with her arms hanging down at her side and her fingers constantly flexing like she was about to use them to strangle him. He could tell instantly she had seen the interview. There was no other explanation for what would have caused her to hunt him down tonight. "Mugino-san," he said taking a couple more steps back. "What are you doing here?"

"You know damn well why I am here you little f&^&," she snarled at him. "I was nice enough to you for helping me out on a mission and you dare say such bullshit on the news? Did you want to die that badly?"

"I can explain…" Touma tried to say but suddenly a beam of green light flew at him and he had to hold out his hand to block the attack. The beam disappeared when it came into contact with it. "Will you let me explain for a just a moment?!"

Five more orbs of light appeared around her. "Ok," she said anger still etched on her face. "I'll humor you. You have ten seconds." But a green beam still shot from one of the orbs and Touma had to hold up his hand again.

"I was blackmailed to say that stuff by my idiotic friends," Touma explained as his words began to blur. He still didn't let his guard down in case she kept shooting at him. "I didn't have much choice and didn't think a lot of people would see it. I'm sorry."

Shizuri stared at him for a moment. His words didn't really exonerate him for what he said, but she was slightly amused at his explanation. She had expected him to say he got carried away from being on TV as a level 5. _I should have known better, he really is just an idiot._ However, she didn't want people to think she was getting soft, so she had quite a quandary of what to do. She didn't want to kill him anymore, but she still wanted to punish him. Someone else appeared out of nowhere and gave her a great opportunity. Frenda had rushed toward them and stood in front of Touma facing Shizuri.

"Frenda?" Touma asked confused.

"Please don't kill him Mugino," Frenda begged while Shizuri looked amused.

"Move it Frenda," she said dangerously taking a couple steps forward. "I have a score to settle with him." Touma couldn't believe Frenda was standing up for him, especially to Shizuri who Frenda seemed to follow unconditionally.

"Please don't kill him," Frenda said shaking slightly in fear as Shizuri got closer to her. "Basically, he saved us both once. Can't you let him go this time?" This was the first time Frenda actually admitted Touma had saved her and Shizuri frowned.

 _He technically did save me when I made a stupid mistake,_ Shizuri thought to herself. When she made a mistake, she was always the hardest one on herself. She always learned from her mistakes and remembered every one perfectly to ensure she didn't make them again. _I do owe him, but letting him say what he wants about me weakens my image. What should I do?_ She stopped in front of Frenda, a couple orbs still glowing around her. "Move," she told Frenda sternly and Frenda turned white under her stare. Her eyes still had a lot of defiance, but she slowly moved out of the way looking depressed while giving Touma a quick apology glance.

Touma caught Frenda's eye and gave her a small smile while shaking his head. He didn't blame her for moving. Shizuri was incredibly strong and if Frenda stood in front of her, all that would happen was she would get hurt. _I'm glad she is willing to risk herself to help me, but I can't let other people get hurt because of me._ He stood up straight and took a step toward Shizuri and looked her in the eyes. Shizuri was glaring at him, but he took the fact she was not firing her lasers as a good sign. "What I said was wrong," he explained to her. "No matter the circumstances, I shouldn't have said something like that about y…" He suddenly felt pain across his face and he fell backwards onto the ground, landing on his butt.

When Shizuri saw Touma stand up and walk forward to accept his fate, she was surprised. Most people would turn and run when they realized they had invoked her wrath. _This guy actually is willing to still look me in the eye._ For the first time, she felt embarrassed when she looked him in the eye. Touma had started to apologize to her and she realized she didn't really care. All that mattered to her was not appearing weak before him. She decided to be lenient with his punishment. As he was talking, she backhanded him across the face with her hand, knocking him to the ground. She smirked when he started to rub his face and the green orbs disappeared.

"I deserved that," he said slowly getting to his feet. He was glad he had been in a lot of fights and his neck was tough. Shizuri was incredible strong and that blow might have broken his neck otherwise. He saw Shizuri smirk again and gave him a light kick, not hard enough to hurt him, but enough to knock him down again. "What was that for?"

"My amusement," Shizuri replied shrugging. "I feel better now, but if you ever say something stupid like that again, you won't get off so easily."

"Well that's good," Touma grumbled still sitting on the ground. "Glad my pain makes you happy. Believe me, I don't ever want to be interviewed again."

"Well looks like the rest of the group is here," Shizuri said looking away from him. Frenda and Touma turned their heads too. Saiai and Rikou both came running up to see the excitement going on.

"Are we too late?" Saiai said gasping. "Did Mugino super punish him yet?"

"You missed it," Frenda called out. "Basically, she is letting him live."

"Bet that makes you happy," Saiai said elbowing Frenda in the side. "After all, you are super into him."

"Be quiet!" Frenda cried turning red and Touma felt his ears turn red too. Shizuri was about to say something to indicate Touma was her property, but she wasn't sure how she wanted to phase it. She didn't want to sound like she wanted him as a boyfriend, but a mere acquaintance wasn't good enough for her. Before she could form the correct words, someone interrupted their conversation causing all their heads to turn to look at the newcomer.

"Well," the male voice said with a trace of amusement. "I didn't expect the hero to be here. Though being surrounded by girls isn't unusual for you." Everyone looked in surprise as Accelerator walked toward them carrying a bag of canned goods. "Judging by your position, you like to be on the bottom eh?" He laughed.

"What are you doing here Accelerator?" Touma asked bewildered. While Accelerator's apartment wasn't terribly far away, being over here this late didn't make much sense.

"I needed my coffee," Accelerator said and then looked annoyed. 'The brand I liked was sold out near me. The closest place was over here. All the other brands taste like shit. Don't ask stupid questions hero." He turned to Shizuri. "What are you doing with that guy fourth rate?"

"Punishing him," Shizuri replied glaring at Accelerator. _This guy arrives at inopportune times._ "He decided to mock me on TV so he needed to suffer the consequences."

"Ha, I saw that interview," Accelerator said laughing. "That was hilarious." He looked at Touma still sitting on the ground. "Though, about us being friends, you're making a lot of assumptions there."

Touma opened his mouth but Shizuri interrupted him. "I was just getting him to prostrate himself in apology and then I would decide how he could make it up to me."

"Really?" Accelerator asked skeptically, and then looked amused. "I figured he was about to invite you all along to his vacation. It seems like something he would do."

"Where's he going?" Saiai asked and Accelerator glanced over at her.

"Oh it's you," he said bored. "Are you going to freeze up again standing before me?" Saiai glared back at him and he smirked. She didn't tell Shizuri she had actually fought Accelerator, only that Accelerator had destroyed the nanobots. "I believed England was the plan if what he said was true." He looked over at Touma who nodded and he sighed. "The brat found out from the nun and has been bothering me all afternoon about it."

Touma looked at him and again tried to stand up. This time Shizuri just glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes, but she didn't try to stop him. He stood up and looked over at Accelerator thinking. _Why on earth would he say something like that? Though, it isn't a horrible idea. I did do something stupid and maybe if she hangs out with us, she will realize there is more to life than just working for the dark side of the city. It's a long shot, but hopefully she can also smooth over everything with Mikoto, Misaki, and Accelerator. I have no idea why level 5's like to fight with each other so much._ He knew he could bring a lot of people, Danjuro even said they were allowing him to bring more people because of all the attention the company received because of him. "You know what," he said brushing himself off. "He's right. How would the four of you like to join us next week for a vacation to England?"

"Hmm," Shizuri muttered glancing at the other girls. "What do you three think?" She had already made up her mind, but her wording in her reply would change based on the others. _I like the sound of a vacation, especially getting out of the city. Plus I get to be around Kamijou and see what gives him such a powerful light in his eyes._ She wouldn't admit it, but she wanted to spend time with him.

"I super like the sound of a vacation," Saiai said boldly, but her eyes were looking at Accelerator who seemed indifferent.

"Basically," Frenda added while trying to sound nonchalant. "It sounds fun." She of course desperately wanted to go because she might be able to spend time alone with Touma. However, she didn't want to seem too eager in case it pissed off Shizuri.

"…I don't have anything else going on," Rikou said passively.

"Well," Shizuri said looking back at Touma. "It seems like we will come." Inside she was pleased with the outcome, but she kept an indifference attitude on the outside.

"Great," Touma said then looked her in the eyes. "Can I leave without getting shot in the back? I have a lot of stuff to do."

Shizuri thought about this for a moment with her hand on her chin. "No promises," she said smirking and Accelerator gave a short bark like laugh. Touma sighed, turned around, and headed back to his dorm, all four girls and Accelerator watching him go. When he was out of sight, she turned to Accelerator. "He obviously wasn't going to ask that," she said glaring at him. "Why did you encourage it? It's not like you think highly of us." The other girls turned and were eagerly listening too.

"Of course I don't," Accelerator confirmed. "However, while I no longer want him dead, the interview he said did cause me some problems. So if your presence can make the trip more interesting and cause him some headaches, I win." Then he grinned evilly. "The main reason though is I know he is inviting the third and fifth. You especially don't get along with them." His grinned widened at the dark look she gave him at the mention of the other two. "This will provide me the ultimate form of entertainment."

"Maybe we wanted to go and won't cause conflict so you get nothing," Shizuri remarked then Accelerator burst out laughing. "What's so funny?"

"I can't believe you got affected by it," he said clutching his side. "I didn't think it was real, but here it is."

"What?" She looked around at the other girls who all shared similar looks of confusion. "What the f$^% do you mean by that?"

"Kami Disease."

Touma was almost to his dorm when he felt a shiver run down his spine. He knew something happened which would cause him misfortune. He tried to sneak in quietly hoping Index would not hear him, but he was out of luck. Right when he closed the door behind him, a dark shadow jumped down from above and he felt the familiar intense pain on his head as sharp teeth sunk into his skin. "WHHYYYYY INDEX!" he yelled trying to get her off. "I made sure you would have food."

"I thought you were dead." Index cried as Touma finally pried her off him.

"Why would you think that?!"

"Jason said your dying wish was to make sure I wouldn't starve!" she wailed.

 _Damn it Jason, why did you do that?_ Touma looked at her and saw she was upset, mostly because he was late. "I have good news for you," Touma said trying to cheer her up. "We will be able to bring your friends with us next week. There will be plenty of room."

"I already contacted them," Index said happily. "Last Order will come, but sadly Hyouka said she couldn't make it."

"I thought I told you to wait till after today before inviting them," Touma asked exasperatedly.

"I tried," Index admitted. "But I was too excited. It all worked out anyways."

"I guess it did," Touma said and started getting ready for bed. He wasn't sure what was going to happen when everyone else found out Shizuri and her friends were coming. _It's not going to be pretty, such misfortune._

* * *

The next day, Touma, Accelerator, Jason, Pierce, and Motoharu all hung back after class instead of leaving immediately. They were discussing everything that happened yesterday. When Touma got to school that morning, he, Pierce, and Motoharu immediately all got into a fist fight. Touma was pissed at them for blackmailing him and the other two were angry he left them there and had to walk back. Accelerator and Jason just stood back and watched their fight with amusement until Seiri came in and quickly stopped their fight with her unbeatable fists of fury.

The only good thing for Touma was he actually felt like he did well on the tests. Mikoto's and Misaki's tutoring came in really handy and he thought he did reasonably well. A lot of the problems he actually recognized and when he had to recite the concept of personal realities, he grinned. He finished the test well ahead of Motoharu and Pierce, who looked up at him in shock, but nowhere near Accelerator and Jason. There was only going to be one test Friday morning and, because it was a special surprise test, they didn't have much information on it so they figured studying was pointless. Then Pierce and Motoharu dropped a big surprise on all of them.

"So Aogami can't go with us," Motoharu said seriously while Pierce smashed his head onto his desk.

"Why not?" Touma asked concern. _There is no way he would willing miss this trip knowing girls would be there._

"I have a family reunion," Pierce explained depressed. "Parents said I can't miss it. I'm so screwed."

"That's karma for you," Touma said shrugging then Pierce jumped at him and put him in a headlock.

"Damn you Kamijou!" he yelled out. "You just want to keep all the girls to yourself. I bet you are going to sleep in a hotel room surrounded by girls in swimsuits."

"Die you pervert!" Touma replied flipping Pierce over his shoulder and onto the ground.

"So Accel-kun," Motoharu said. "You said you had important news for us?" Touma and Pierce stopped fighting and looked at him.

"So last night I met the hero," Accelerator began and Touma's eyes went wide.

"No stop…!" he cried out then was forcefully gagged by Pierce and Motoharu. He struggled but was no match for both of their combined strength.

"Continue," Motoharu interrupted and waved his hand at Accelerator.

"Well it turns out," Accelerator said grinning. "He met the fourth rate and convinced her and her friends to come with us to England." Touma tried to struggle and explain, but Motoharu and Pierce kept him pinned and gagged.

"Wow," Jason said. "He knows the fourth too? Damn, he's turning the Kami persona real."

"So a vacation with four of the seven level 5s," Motoharu said shaking his head. "Dang Aogami, sucks for you. It's going to be interesting for sure." Touma finally broke free from their grip and threw both of them off him.

"It was your idea," he said pointing to Accelerator. "If it wasn't for you they wouldn't have thought to come."

"I have no idea what you mean," Accelerator replied innocently. "You invited them. I was just picking up coffee."

"That doesn't sound like something Accelerator would do," Jason pointed out. "He would be a neet without us, so I doubt he would try to invite anyone… ouch!" Accelerator had hit him in the back of the head.

"So how many does that make now?" Motoharu asked Touma who sighed.

"Well us four, Mikoto, Misaki, Shirai-san, Uiharu-san, Saten-san, Last Order, Worst, Index, and now Mugino-san and her three friends, so looks like sixteen," Touma said counting on his fingers. I invited Gunha-san, but he said something about a mountain and guts, then the phone went dead."

"Hello," a female voice said from next to them and they all saw Komoe standing next to Touma's desk and staring at them all. "It is unusual for all of you to stay late. What were you talking about?"

"Ah nothing much Komoe-sensei," Touma said quickly. "Just planning for our week off."

"Good for you," Komoe said smiling. "You really have improved a lot on your tests Kamijou-chan. I don't think you, or anyone else, will need supplementary lessons from my class. I'm so proud. Though, sensei will miss all of you." She looked slightly sad at the thought.

"Going to be lots of fun," Jason said leaning back in his chair grinning. "I get an entire week to hang out with Kazari and annoy Kuro-chan. Plus it is a week of not having to meet annoying higher ups."

"I hope you all have fun," Komoe said sincerely. "Just remember you are still high school students so don't do anything bad and stay safe." At her words, Motoharu's eyes lit up as a very devious idea came to his mind.

"Kami-yan won a vacation to England," Motoharu said and he glanced over to Pierce who instantly knew what was going on. "We all get to go with him."

"That sounds wonderful Kamijou-chan," Komoe said beaming while clapping her hands together. "I knew if you worked hard good things would come your way." Touma felt his face grow warm at her praise.

"Not only that," Pierce added and then Touma felt a sense of doom. "We also invited a ton of girls to come with us. What was the ratio again?" he turned to Jason.

"Three to one," Jason calculated for him knowing where they were going with this.

"Yea that's right," Pierce continued. "Should be great, no adults and Tsuchimikado got them a couple guides so they can find all the out of the way spots to visit." Touma slammed his head onto his desk when he realized what they were doing. Accelerator also realized it and shook his head, but he was amused all the same. Part of him couldn't believe he hung out with these guys, but they sort of grew on him.

Komoe's face turned white in shock. "You are all high school students and can't go with girls without adult supervision. That would be totally inappropriate."

"Hmm," Motoharu said thinking. "I don't know where we could find an adult willing to come at such short notice."

"Do you know anyone?" Pierce asked Komoe who started thinking.

"Yomikawa-sensei might be free," Komoe said looking at Accelerator who shook his head.

"She has some kind of Anti-Skill training next week," he said. "She was glad when I told her I would be gone so she didn't have to worry. That translates into she can come back at three in the morning wasted."

"Well guess we can just promise to behave," Motoharu said smirking and high fiving Pierce. Touma had just given up and slumped over his desk. He knew what was going to happen and it really wasn't a bad thing.

"Of course nothing inappropriate will happen," Jason said with his hand over his heart, but he was smirking too. "We would never do anything like that." Everyone except Komoe burst out laughing and even Touma couldn't prevent himself from chuckling.

"I-I-I will go with you then," stuttered Komoe as she turned slightly red. "I can't let my students go all the way around the world without proper adult supervision."

"I don't care," Accelerator said gruffly.

"It sounds reasonable," Motoharu said shrugging. "It's up to Kami-yan though since it is his show."

"It is fine Komoe-sensei," Touma said with his face still on the desk. "It would be nice to have some authority there. I feel like something bad is going to happen anyways."

"I wonder what that could be," Accelerator said sarcastically while laughing.

"Please give me the details tomorrow Kamijou-san," Komoe said as she started to head out the door. "Thank you for the invite." They watched her leave and then Motoharu and Pierce both slapped Touma on the back before leaving.

"Even the teacher," Accelerator muttered shaking his head. "I don't know how you do it hero." He also left leaving only Jason and Touma in the room. Touma finally got up and started rummaging through his bag, frowned, and started pulling stuff out.

"What's up?" Jason asked watching him unload is school stuff.

"I can't find my school ID card," Touma said frowning. "I have my city ID so I should be fine, but looks like I need to replace the school one. That's like the tenth time I've lost it this year."

"When was the last time you had it?"

"Yesterday afternoon," Touma muttered thinking.

"Well you probably lost it when you went to the other tutor," Jason said then turned slightly irritated. "Oh by the way, thanks for letting me know last minute about that."

"Yea sorry about that," Touma said absent mindedly as he thought. Then his stomach sunk. If he lost the ID at Tokiwadai, he was so screwed.

 _Such Misfortune!_

* * *

In the country of England, St. George's Cathedral, the headquarters of Necessarius, stood. It was designed based on Gothic architecture, such as narrow and pointed arches, crockets upon the gable of the pediment, traceries on the windows of the pediment, and finial that crowns it. Two towers with finials of their own flank the pediment. There is a tympanum above the paneled doors of the pediment. There are also flying buttresses with pinnacles, flanking a tower behind the façade to support it. Upon the tower are two statues. Inside of the cathedral sat a woman and next to her stood Stiyl Magnus

The women appeared to have crystal-white skin, clear blue eyes, and shining golden hair, many people compared her appearance to that of a gem sold in shop. The most striking characteristic of her appearance was her long blonde hair that is 2.5 times her height. It extended all the way to her ankles, then folded up and went behind her head through the large silver hairpin that was holding it in place, and then returned down to her waist. She was wearing a beige robe, decorated with threads of gold. She appeared to be eighteen, but everyone who knows her knows her appearance has not changed for many years.

Her name was Laura Stuart, the archbishop of Necessarius. As the Archbishop of an entire Christian denomination and the head of its secret anti-magic organization, she is one of the most politically powerful characters in the world.

Stiyl lit a cigarette and looked at her. "Are you sure this is wise?"

"I'm sure it will be fine," she said holding up a hand delicately to her mouth to hide her smile. 'After all, it is a favor for a loyal acquaintance to someone we owe a lot to."

"But still," Stiyl muttered. "This will just end in disa…" He was interrupted by a knock on the door to their chamber.

"Enter," Laura said and two young girls walked in.

The first girl, named Agnese Sanctis, had reddish hair is tied into with multiple pencil-thin braids, which from a distance bear an uncanny resemblance to dreadlocks. She wore robes with the sleeves being so long that it nearly covers her fingers, the hem of her robes however was short enough for her thighs to be exposed, this was due to the fact that she unzipped and removed the rest of lower of half of her robes. She also wore platform shoes, called chopine, which have 30cm thick soles. She was a former member of the Roman Catholic Church, but was now part of Necessarius. She was a year or two younger then Index.

The second girl, named Itsuwa, was a young Japanese girl with black hair that reached her shoulders. She wore her hair in a bobcut with short fringes. She was around sixteen years old and was a skilled member of Amakusa. She wore a pink sleeveless tank top and white capris. She also had a very well-endowed chest that made most girls jealous.

"You summoned us?" Agnese asked.

"Yes," Laura said nodding. "I have an important mission for both of you."

"What does it entail Archbishop?" Itsuwa asked politely.

"I have recently been informed there will be some important quests arriving in England in two days," Laura explained. "These are VIPs visiting our great country for a little vacation. As they have done a lot for us, we have volunteered to be their guide for the week while they are here."

"Who are they?" Itsuwa asked nervously.

"I'm afraid that must be kept a secret until you meet them," Laura said. "There are security issues that need to be taken into account. Once they are here though, there should not be any problems."

"I understand," Agnese said. "But I am curious; wouldn't others be more suitable for this task?" She looked at Stiyl. _This sounds too simple. I feel like we are also supposed to be bodyguards, since we both are combat trained._

"Kanzaki is overseas and will not be available for several days," Laura explained. "If she returns before they leave, she can replace you as a guide if you desire. "As for Stiyl…" She paused.

"Go ahead," he said taking a draft of his cigarette. "I'm interested in hearing your reasoning."

"He is not… a people person," Laura finally said. "He does not have the ability to make people feel at ease. It is the reason I chose you two."

"Understand," Agnese said nodding,

"We will do our best," Itsuwa added.

"Thank you," Laura said smiling kindly at them. "You may go and prepare." They both bowed and left. She turned to Stiyl. "You look like you don't agree with my decision."

"I do not think it is wise to leave females around him," Stiyl said. "His… unique gifts might corrupt them."

"I'm sure you are just overreacting," Laura said giving a slight laugh. "Besides, with them as a guide, I might finally get to meet that boy you speak of so highly."

"I don't recall speaking highly of him," Stiyl said frowning slightly.

"Let me get my notebook," she replied smiling. "I made sure to write down several of your stories." Stiyl smiled coldly back at her and pulled out a rune card. She stood up and backed away slowly. "Now Stiyl, there is no need for that. This is a place of worship."

Stiyl smiled and threw the card.

* * *

 **If you are interested in learning more about Uncertainty Principle and the Schrödinger's cat experiment, Wikipedia has a lot of good information. Schrödinger's is a real example of animal cruelty, but the actual thought behind it is really interesting. I recommend looking at it.**

 **Jason: Touma has finally embraced the Kami persona.**

 **Motoharu: Today is the day the real problem begins.**

 **Accelerator: Huh?**

 **Motoharu: Since Touma now is actively seeking out girls, which means most of us won't have a chance.**

 **Jason: I don't know about you, well I do, but Accelerator and I have girlfriends.**

 **Touma: Accelerator has a girlfriend?**

 **Jason: A blonde girl, she said he was her apprentice, but I know better. He's just into roleplay.**

 **Accelerator: F^% & you and all of you can die.**

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or idea. I love reading them.**


	39. S2 Boys and Girls II

**This chapter took a while to write, for an unexpected reason. I did not have writer's block, but it was hard to sit down and write for a long period of time. Someone mentioned to me it was because I was eagerly waiting for the trip to England, I didn't want to write anything else. However, when I started writing this story, I swore to myself I would not rush just to get to a scene I want to write about. I wanted everything to move together smoothly. Last few chapters I have had so many amazing comments from all of you readers and it really helped me continue to move forward. I wish I could give everyone one of you credit, but that would take a while. So over all, thank you everyone for your kind words and great ideas.**

 **Kog6943** **: I don't believe I have seen you comment before so I believe you are new, but thank you for the kind words.**

 **Handsomistic1, zakou ahotsu, and Guest piggybacking: All I can tell you three, two chapters after this one. Enjoy the suspense until then.**

 **Anon Guest: You might enjoy the end of this chapter.**

 **Anti-H3r0** **: wouldn't be a trip to England without those.**

 **Shuko: I did not notice that until you pointed it out because I just write this for fun. Funny enough, MrQuestionMark's story was one of the first fanfics for this series I read on this site. We actually have been in communication for quite a while too, but you are correct. I shall strike them down without mercy when they least expect it.**

 **Anyway, enjoy the story.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

"Why are we buying a gift for Short Hair?" Index asked again. "After all, you won this trip and invited her. Isn't that enough?"

"It's her birthday next week," Touma explained for the third time. "The trip was a thank you to her for helping save you, remember." Sometimes he believed she had a selective perfect memory because he often repeated himself and it was like Index never heard him. He noticed it happened a lot, especially involving technology.

"Humph," Index said grumpily. She originally wasn't going to come, but Touma had promised her supper after the shopping was done. Touma and Index were walking toward the underground mall in order to shop for a present. The problem was Touma had no idea what to get Mikoto. He knew she had an obsession with Gekota, but he wasn't sure what items she had with the mascot. He brought Index along because he was worried he would be late and knew she was upset at getting left behind all the time. He figured he could use this as an outing to spend time with her. She turned her head to look at him. "We could give her food," she suggested.

"Not everyone is obsessed with food as much as you," Touma replied rolling his eyes. "I think we need something a little more specific to what she likes."

"Then what do you suggest Touma?" she asked a little grumpy her idea was shot down.

"I don't know," Touma said scratching his head. "That's why we are going to the mall to look around. Promise me you won't run off to go to the food courts. I gave you a snack before we left."

"A handful of cold dumplings can hardly be considered a snack."

Touma decided not to argue. He had given her an entire package of microwavable dumplings that were supposed to be enough for four people. She got impatient and took them out of the microwave before they were fully cook and devoured the entire bag in just a few seconds. Instead, he continued walking into the mall while keeping one eye on Index to make sure she didn't wonder off if she saw something that interested her. They had just started looking through windows when Touma heard a friendly voice.

"Hi Touma. Hi Index."

Touma looked and saw Ruiko walking toward them waving and smiling. He smiled and waved back. _I'm glad it's a friendly face._ "Hey Ruiko," he replied. "How are you?" Index also waved to Ruiko because, unlike with Mikoto, Index didn't have any problems with her. Ruiko had the ability to just get along with everyone.

"Not too bad," Ruiko said. "Little lonely, because Uiharu is off with Kagere shopping for Misaka-san's present. So I figured, why not take the time to shop too?"

"That's actually what we are doing," Touma said. "It has been busy the last few days and we finally have time."

"I bet it has," Ruiko said smirking slightly in amusement.

Touma noticed her grin and sighed. "You saw it too?" She nodded still grinning. "Did Mikoto at least tell you what happened?" She nodded again, but this time her grin wasn't as prominent. _Thanks Mikoto._

"Why did everyone choose today to shop for Short Hair?" Index asked Ruiko.

"Well," Ruiko explained. "Shirai-san is keeping Misaka-san away from the malls today so she won't accidently run into any of us. We also had a lot of tests this week, so we had to study. That meant we didn't have time to shop."

"Oh," Index said nodding as she understood. "Well, you are nice. Would you like to shop with us?" Touma still did not understand why Index never got along with Mikoto.

"I would love to Index-san," Ruiko said. "We might be able to think of something nice to get her." Touma shrugged at the unexpected development, but was glad to have a girl's advice on what to buy. All three of them entered the mall and started to walk through countless stores. Touma's head spun around as he thought of all the possibilities he saw as they moved from store to store. His first thought was trying to get a Gekota items, but when he stood in front of a large collection of the series, none of them looked right to him. One other store, they visited, had a lot of what he would consider decorative junk. It had small desk statues, many made of glass, music boxes for girls to store valuables, ornaments, and all sorts of things ojou-samas would like. They also walked through countless clothing stores, but Touma didn't know what girls liked or what size Mikoto wore. Ruiko on the other hand found what she was looking for.

Touma had to admit spending time with Ruiko was fun. He always thought, out of all of his friends, she always seemed to be the most normal. While they shopped, they talked and he found himself smiling and laughing a lot in her company. He constantly asked about gifts and was glad when she gave him her opinion. _I would have a made a big mistake if I had decided on some of the stuff._ Index was moody most of the trip, mostly because she was bored, but near the end it turned from boredom to hunger. "We are almost done Index," he sighed while Ruiko laughed at his reaction. He had looked at her right when she laughed. His ears turned slightly red when he thought, _she looks really pretty when she laughs._ He shook his head to clear his mind, but he also remembered they had been on a real date before. While they had agreed to just be friends, he couldn't stop thinking about her. _I'm such a horrible person. I keep having those kinds of thoughts over several girls, and worst of all they are my friends. Am I turning into one of those two idiots?_

Ruiko on the other hand was quite happy. Not only did she get a present for her friend, she had been about to hang out with Touma. She briefly thought of trying to hold his hand several times during the trip. She actually managed to gather the courage to try once, but Index had caught her and Ruiko felt a dark glare emit from her eyes. _I wonder what their relationship is. They don't seem to be a couple, but Index is awfully protective of him._ Nevertheless, she was enjoying their time together. Part of her really wanted to admit she was in love with Touma, but the problem was Mikoto was also in love with him. She had decided to wait until there was a perfect opportunity, even though Kazari had told her she needed to go for it the next time they were alone.

They had sat down on a bench and bought some soft pretzels to eat, mainly because Index was complaining about starving to death. Touma had finished his and was still thinking about a gift. _Nothing really stood out._ He frowned as he remembered Jason's words when he had asked him for advice on what to get.

 _Get her something special. After all, you are really important to her. Try to be unique._

An idea came to his mind and he grinned. _If nothing stands out, I just need to make it stand out._ " I got an idea for a gift," he told Ruiko and Index. "I'll be right back." He stood up and ran off.

"What did he think of?" Index asked Ruiko curiously.

"No idea," Ruiko replied looking around to see if anything might have invoked an idea into Touma. Nothing was obvious so she shrugged. "He will be back soon though."

"Yea," Index agreed. "He always returns." The way she said that made Ruiko raise an eyebrow as she thought Index meant something more. They started to chat a bit to pass the time, but Ruiko avoided the topic because she could feel it was something sensitive for Index.

"Index! Misaka yells as Misaka rushes to hug her friend." Suddenly a little brown haired girl came out of nowhere and collided with Index.

"Last Order!" Index yells happy to see her friend. They hugged each other and started talking so fast Ruiko's head started to spin.

"Last Order?" she asked. "How are…?"

"Dang it brat," a gruff voice called out and Ruiko turned to see Accelerator hobbling towards them looking annoyed. He had a bag in one hand. "How many f%^&#$ times do I need to tell you not to run off like that?" He glanced over at Ruiko who waved to him. "Oh it's you. What was your name again? …Saten? Why are you with the nun?"

"Ah Touma should be back any moment," Ruiko explained quickly. "He thought of a gift for Misaka-san's birthday."

"Tsk," Accelerator made a noise at the sound of Touma's name. "I should have known the hero would be on a date with a girl." Ruiko's face turned slightly pink, something Accelerator did not miss, and he grinned.

"They aren't dating," Index protested. "They met here and were both shopping for Short Hair." Ruiko looked surprised at Index's sudden denial, but Accelerator grinned for another reason.

 _Shot Hair huh, I need to remember that next time I meet the third rate._

"We are shopping for the original too, MISAKA adds as MISAKA points to the bag Accelerator is holding that contains their gift."

"Really?" Ruiko raised an eyebrow at Accelerator. "You actually bought her a gift?"

"The brat kept nagging me until I agreed," grumbled Accelerator. "She called it…"

"A non-optional social obligation MISAKA interrupts as MISAKA recites her skills as manipulating Accelerato…ouch! MISAKA cries as MISAKA clutches her head." Accelerator karate chopped her on the head again looking slightly annoyed.

"Quiet brat," he said.

"Accelerator," Touma asked walking up to them holding two bags. "What are you doing here?"

"He's performing a non-optional social obligation," Ruiko said unable to keep the grin off her face. Touma looked at her confused so she explained. "He and Last Order also are buying a gift for Misaka-san."

"Really?" Touma raised an eyebrow at Accelerator. "You actually bought her a gift?"

"That's what the girl said too," Accelerator said irritated, jabbing his thumb in Ruiko's direction. "I know what a damn birthday is and what to do."

"Then why did Last Order have to drag you here?" Index asked curiously. Touma and Ruiko grinned while Accelerator just looked more annoyed.

"MISAKA thinks Accelerator is not being honest again MISAKA states as MISAKA is suspicious of Accelerator's actions."

Now Accelerator was past the point of just being annoyed, to just being pissed, since everyone was teaming up on him. What was worse is they were still just being friendly and weren't purposely trying to annoy him like his classmates. "Let's go brat," he said stiffly. "We still have stuff to do. If you argue I'm not getting you anything next year." Before he had met Touma, if someone spoke to him like that, they would have left with a broken arm.

"Can Index come hang with us? MISAKA asks as MISAKA hopes she can hang with her friend while running errands."

"I guess," Accelerator said rubbing his head with his hand. "If it's ok with the hero."

"Touma?" Index asked as she stared at him with big round hopeful eyes. Touma knew he wasn't going to be able to say no.

"That's fine," he said smiling at her as she cheered with Last Order. He liked to see Index happy. "Can you drop her off at my dorm?" he asked Accelerator who nodded in response. Accelerator left carrying his bags with Last Order and Index talking happily as they followed him. Touma and Ruiko watched them leave with grins on their faces.

"Think I am going to get something to eat," Touma said stretching. "Want to join me Ruiko?"

"I'm sorry," Ruiko said and the look in her eyes said she really meant it. "I really need to get going." She really wanted to hang out with him longer, but she did have school work to finish and she was far enough behind as it was. She was happy she had been able to hang out with him for a while today at least. They waved goodbye and Ruiko left. Touma sighed and thought about where to eat. He started to walk out of the mall when he heard a voice call out.

"Hey Kamijou!"

* * *

Unknown to Touma, two girls had seen him in the mall and were discussing tactics about how one of them could just run accidently into him. The problem was, he was shopping with two other girls and they were waiting for the right opportunity. One of them was nervous, but the other one thought the entire situation was rather amusing. Of course, the nervous one didn't want to admit she liked Touma.

"I don't know who the nun is, but we super saw the other girl the last time we were shopping with him," Saiai said as they looked around a corner watching Touma talk to Ruiko.

"Do you think they are dating?" Frenda asked.

"I don't think so," Saiai said watching Touma and Ruiko's interactions closely. "I super think they are just friends, but she may have feelings for him. But why would you care? I thought you were super not into him?" She smirked at Frenda's flustered reaction.

"I… eh..." Frenda stuttered for a moment thinking fast. "Basically, he is useful to us and if starts dating another girl, it might affect his availability."

"That's almost a good excuse," Saia said thoughtfully. "But we super know that isn't true. Why don't you just go up and say hello? Maybe you could super hang out with him tonight?"

"Why are you trying to push me with him?" Frenda asked staring at her. "Basically, what do you get out of this?"

"Oh no reason," Saiai said grinning at her. "Little amusement, helping out a friend, and possibly hurting the Railgun when she can't date him."

"You just want to mess with my life don't you?" questioned Frenda as she glared at her. Saiai just whistled innocently. "Basically, you are just a jerk. Anyway, we got out shopping done so we should probably... Hey, he disappeared."

"Seriously?" They both looked around and didn't see him anywhere. They had glanced away at the wrong time and Touma had left. "The nun and the other girl are both still sitting down," Saiai pointed out. "I bet he had to super use the bathroom or something."

"I guess we can just wait then," Frenda said as her eyes darted around.

"So when he gets back are you going to go and super flirt with him?" Saiai asked. "Maybe show him your legs you always brag about?"

"W-what are you talking about?" stuttered Frenda as her face turned red. "Who would do that to an acquaintance? If I was going to show them off to a guy, he would have to be really special, not just a plain guy."

"Like saving your life?" Saiai asked slyly. "What could be more special than that?"

"Arg," grumbled Frenda. "Fine you win." Saiai grinned and they both continued to wait for Touma's return. They were surprised when Accelerator met Touma's friends, but the little girl next to him, who looked a lot like a younger Railgun, had ran up and hugged the nun. They all started talking when Touma showed up holding a couple bags. After talking a bit to Touma, Accelerator left with both the nun and the girl that came with him. Touma started talking to the black haired girl and then she left shortly after. Saiai finally had to push Frenda out of their observation spot before Frenda would start walking over to Touma.

 _I wonder if I should tell Mugino about this. I can't wait to see the ending, it's like I'm super watching a movie. I can't understand why so many people like him so much. Accelerator super looks much cooler. I want to see the finale, when all of them go for him at once. It should be great._

* * *

Touma turned around to see a very unlikely person waving to him. "Frenda?" he asked surprised. She was wearing a black sailor top, but this time her skirt was pure white. He shook his head and realized he was being rude. "How are you?"

"Day just got better," she said smiling but her face turned slightly pink. "Are you here shopping?"

"Yea," Touma replied. "My friend's birthday is next week and it took a while to find a gift."

"Basically I hope you put some thought into it," Frenda said almost scolding him. She knew how important a proper birthday gift was for a friend.

"I did," Touma said grinning. "Little more complicated then what I had originally planned, but I'm sure it will go over well."

"So what are you up to now?" Frenda asked curiously. She had wondered why everyone else had left and yet he had stayed. _You can do this. If he's going to do anything take the opportunity to go with him._

"Well now that my shopping is done," Touma said. "I was going to stop somewhere to grab a bite to eat." He shrugged. "Want to join me?"

Frenda could not believe her good luck. _He asked me on a date?_ Of course, Frenda had not known Touma long enough to know he was just being polite and did not mean anything romantically about it. "I would love too," she said hastily then composed herself. "Basically, I haven't eaten so I suppose I could grace you with my presence."

"Thanks for accompanying this Kamijou," Touma said almost rolling his eyes. Frenda could hear the tone of his voice and shook her head, but felt a slight grin on her face. "Did you have any place in mind?"

Frenda thought for a second. "Yea I do," she said nodding her head. "It's a little shop, so Mugino won't go with me, but a friend took me there once. Basically, I'm told they have really good food, especially their Donburi, so you should like it."

"Sounds good," Touma agreed. "Lead the way." _Wait, if she has been there before, why didn't she say she knew they had good food? Maybe I'm over thinking things._ He followed Frenda who boldly led the way out of the mall. They had walked a good ways in silence when they were interrupted.

"Hey looks guys, it's a cute little foreigner." Touma and Frenda both looked to see three guys walk out of an ally at them. All three of them were bigger then Touma and wore leather jackets. They looked just like typical punks. All three of them were pointing and laughing at Touma.

"Shame she is accompanied by such a lame looking guy," the second one said.

"Hey girl," the third guy said walking up. "Why don't you ditch this loser and come hang out with us?" Touma got a little irritated, but he was thinking of how to end this without violence when Frenda responded.

"I thought you said I shouldn't hang with losers," she commented coolly her eyes narrowing slightly. She flipped her hair back. "Basically, I would just be trading down if I left him for you." Touma knew her words hit the mark when the guys face flushed in anger. However, part of him felt some pride that Frenda considered him better than those three punks.

"You little b#%$^," he growled. "I was trying to be nice, but now I think I need to teach you a lesson." He reached out for her, but Frenda just looked bored. When his hand was about to grab her hair, she turned, grabbed the guys arm, moved towards him, then flipped him over her shoulder and slammed him into the ground. The other two guys had stun looks on their face.

"See," she said looking down at the unconscious guy. "Trading down." One of the remaining two guys finally seemed to gather his thoughts together and moved forward pulling his fist back. Before he could throw a punch at Frenda, Touma had already begun to move. The guy was completely focused on Frenda that he didn't see Touma's fist coming at him and it smashed into the side of his face. The blow sent the guy flying along the ground and slamming into the side of a building unconscious.

"Don't you go trying to hit her!" Touma yelled in anger. Frenda's face flushed slightly as she watched him knock out the second guy.

 _He gets angry when people attack me,_ she thought as her face burned slightly. _He reacted the same way when Mugino accidently fired her ability at me._ She was so distracted by Touma, she missed the last guy pulling out a knife. She was only able to react because he decided to yell out.

"I'm going to cut both of you until your faces aren't recognizable anymore!" the last punk roared at them as he swung his knife at Frenda. Frenda's eyes followed the path of the knife. It was only a three inch long blade and she didn't have the slightest trace of fear on her face. After all, she had fought people with guns, high level ability users who could kill with a thought, and fully armored power suits. A single knife was so far beneath her, she didn't even bother to worry about. She simply rotated on her heel and her body gracefully moved out of the way. She swung her leg up, revealing her white thighs, and delivered a powerful blow into the guy's face. His entire body lifted slightly into the air and fell backwards unconscious, just like his companions. She pushed her skirt down to avoid any wrinkles and looked at Touma.

"Easy," she said winking at him while smiling. "I hate these types of losers." Then she noticed his face had turned bright red and his hand was over his eyes. 'What?"

"Blue stripes," Touma muttered and looked away. He was unable to look her in the eye.

"Huh," Frenda asked tilting her head slightly in confusion. Touma nervously pointed his finger down with his other hand. Frenda's eyes widened and her face turned crimson when she realized what happened. During her last kick, she had to lift her leg high into the air to be able to reach the last guy's face. During that time her skirt had flown up. Touma had been turning to try to help her and he saw everything. She shook in embarrassment and the suddenly kicked him in the shins. "HENTAI!"

"OWE!" Touma yelled in pain. "What was that for?"

"For looking up my skirt!"

"It was an accident!"

"Basically, that's no excuse!" Frenda scolded him, her face still red. She turned away from him and her heart was beating really fast. _He helped me again and even though he saw my panties he is still acting like a gentleman instead of a pervert. He's the first guy I've met like that. I suppose I should clean up this mess._ She reached into her skirt and pulled out a small bomb.

"What are you going to do with that," asked Touma wide eyed.

"Basically," Frenda replied. "I'm going to make sure these losers never bother anyone again."

"You can't kill them," Touma panicked. "They may be punks, but that's not a capital offense."

Frenda looked at him in surprise, and then remembered Touma would try to protect anyone. _That nativity is going to get him killed one day._ She looked at the guys lying unconscious on the ground. To her they were just human garbage she really should get rid of, but Touma did not like killing. She also did not want him to hate her. She sighed and put the bomb away knowing these guys weren't really a threat, so there really wasn't a reason to cause a scene. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Touma relax and smile at her. Her heart started beating rapidly and she turned away. She started walking but refused to turn around and look at him. She did however call out, "Well come on. Basically, we are almost to the restaurant and you still haven't had anything to eat."

"Yes ma'am," Touma agreed glad a kick to his shins was all the punishment he got for seeing a girls secret garden and Frenda didn't kill anyone. He followed her in silence a little confused at her reaction. _Is she mad at me? It was an accident, but I think I should apologize._ He didn't immediately apologize because part of him was worried if he brought up the incident, Frenda would get mad again. They continued to walk in silence as Touma gathered his courage. "Hey Frenda," he said.

"Yes?" she replied turning around to look at him. Touma took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry for looking at your underwear!" he said bowing, because he was nervous he said it a lot louder then he needed to. Two guys were walking past and started coughing when they heard him. Frenda however turned scarlet.

"Y-you idiot!" she said waving her arms like a little kid. Then she kicked him once more in the shins. "Don't say that out loud. Basically, are you trying to draw attention to us?" She took a couple deep breaths to calm her nerves. "A-anyway, here it is." Touma looked up and saw a very normal looking restaurant. Even if Frenda had said it wasn't an extravagant place, he didn't expect it to be such a hole in the wall. They had walked quite a distance from the mall so all the shops here were smaller, but even so, this one appeared to be one of the smallest.

"Are you sure?" Touma asked hesitantly.

"Yep," Frenda said throwing her fist into the air. "Come on and don't be a baby." They entered the restaurant. There were only five tables on one side and a small bar on the other. An elderly man was wiping glasses and there was only a single customer at the table in the far back typing on a computer while eating some type of curry. Frenda took a seat at the one in the middle and Touma sat across from her. A moment later the man from the bar slid two menus in front of them. Touma took a few moments and order just a basic Gyūdon, or beef bowl. The food came out surprisingly fast and Touma dug in, but one thing did bother him as he watched Frenda.

"Why are you eating foods out of cans when you are in a restaurant?" Touma asked. He was watching Frenda use a can opener as she struggled to open a couple cans of mackerel. He thought it was weird she would take him to a restaurant, but then just eat her owned canned food.

"I like the taste," Frenda replied as she opened the first can and started eating. "I grew up on it and I now just like the taste. Two, a high quality can will prevent germs from getting into the food. With all the food left out in the open, you have no idea what's on it. At least the airtight seal offers some protection. They also last a long time and basically can be taken anywhere." Touma shook his head thinking that was not quite how it worked, but the first part interested him and got him thinking of something he had been wondering about for a while, but he wasn't sure how to ask it.

"You sure you don't want to try any?" Touma asked pushing his bowl over to her thinking she might open up a little before he asked his main question.

"I-I'm good," she stuttered slightly as her face got red. _Wouldn't that be an indirect kiss if we eat from the same bowl?_ Touma shrugged and went back to eating then looked up at her.

"How did you get involved in…. the line of work you do?" Touma said trying to phrase his words carefully. He had been warned not to talk about ITEM in public if he could avoid it.

"My sister and I were sent to this city at a young age," Frenda said absentmindedly eating her fish. "Basically, I don't know much about our parents, but while we were here, we could only barely survive off the stipend from the city. I was looking for a job to raise money so we could live a better life. But, as you probably guessed, making money is tough, especially for a very young girl if I didn't want to do… certain… things. One day, I got home late and was ambushed by a lot of losers like we met earlier. Basically, I was saved by Mugino then she sort of trained me after that and we got into the same business together."

"You have a sister?" Touma asked curiously. He was asking questions because he was trying to figure out how someone could get so wrapped up in the dark side of Academy City. After her story, he realized she didn't do it just for herself. _She did it for her sister too._ Touma felt conflicted again. He didn't believe killing was ever the right answer, but by her story, it seemed she didn't have much choice in order to help herself and her sister. He knew firsthand how the city treated level 0s. Since he never saw her use an ability, he assumed she was also a level 0. Unless they improved, they were treated poorly by both the higher ups and higher level ability users. There were people like Mikoto who didn't care what level people were, but she would be in the minority. Even Accelerator had looked down at everyone because he was the strongest in Academy City, but he changed a lot.

"Yea," Frenda said looking up at him as she noticed him staring at her. "She's a little younger than me, but I doubt you will see her. I make sure she is well away from our line of work." She paused and smirked at him. "I hope you aren't thinking of trying to be the Harem King and add her. She's way too young for you." She was joking, but, seeing the face he made, definitely made her feel better after talking about something so serious. She wasn't sure why he was asking so many questions, but she was even more confused at why she was answering them. _Mugino doesn't even know my past that much, so why did I tell him?_ She felt something she never experienced before with Mugino and the other girls from ITEM. She actually felt safe and secure around Touma. _Kinuhata was right, I really do like him._ Of course, she was not going to admit it to her. "I have a friend watching her. He's kind of stupid, but he's reliable when you need him to be."

"I-it's nothing like that," denied Touma stuttering in indignation. "I just wanted to know more about your is all." Frenda's face went red and she couldn't think of anything else to say. Touma realized he said something really embarrassing and decided to finish his food to avoid the awkward silence.

"I wanted to ask you something," Frenda said breaking the silence.

"Go ahead," said Touma waving her on. Since she had answered him, he was planning to answer her. He was a little perplexed about why Frenda seemed to go red.

"Are you actually da… da… seeing any…?" Frenda tried to ask but she couldn't get the words out. She could have sworn her face was glowing red and smoke was coming out of her ears.

"Seeing…?" Touma asked confused at what she was asking.

"Ah never mind," muttered Frenda. "It wasn't important."

"If you're sure," Touma said then he phone buzzed. He glanced at it and saw a message from Misaki.

 _Hey Touma, call me when you are free. I have something important I need to ask you and I don't think you want anyone else to hear this._

He frowned at Misaki's vague message. Knowing her, it could be a lot of embarrassing things, but it could also be something serious so he knew he needed to contact her soon. He looked over at Frenda who appeared to be lost in her thoughts. He sighed, wondering what misfortune was about to unfold, and pulled out his wallet to pay for the food. "Hey Frenda, something just came up and I need to get going. Thanks for showing me this place. Their food really was good."

"It wasn't a problem," Frenda replied grinning. "Basically, I had fun talking to yo… I mean, I was bored so you helped kill some time."

Touma grinned. "Well glad I could help you out then," he laughed and handed the money to the bartender. He waved to Frenda and left.

After he was out of sight, the bartender walked by Frenda who was still sitting at the table. With a slight motion a small crumpled up piece of paper left his hand and landed on the table next to her empty can. Frenda barely moving her hand, the paper disappeared, and her eyes darted downwards. She frowned while her eyebrows narrowed and she slipped her hand into her pocket. _Mugino is going to want to know, but it shouldn't interfere with our trip. Basically, when we get back, someone's going to be pissed._

* * *

Across the city in the Tokiwadai dorms, two girls were staring at each other suspiciously from across a room. It was unusual for Mikoto and Misaki to be in the same room at the same time, unless Touma was with them. This was not one of those times. They were both in Misaki's room waiting for Touma to call Misaki back. The tension was thick in the air while both girls just glared at each other. Finally, Mikoto broke the silence.

"How long do you think it will be?" she asked.

"I told him it was important," Misaki said thoughtfully. "But I don't know what he is up to."

"Is this really a good idea though?" Mikoto asked for the umpteenth time.

"It was your roommate who kept asking me," Misaki sighed as she explained again. 'She's the one who wanted to meet…" Her she looked down at the table where her phone was ringing. "It's him." She answered her phone. "Hi Touma, I'm putting you on speaker because Misaka-san is here and she will get violent if I don't let her listen."

"Why you…!" Mikoto growled while Misaki laughed.

"Hey Mikoto, Misaki," Touma's voice came through loud and clear. "You said you had something important to ask me?"

"We do," Mikoto sighed. "It's about Kuroko."

"What did Jason do this time?" Touma asked immediately.

"Actually nothing," Mikoto replied but she and Misaki could not stop grins from appearing on their faces. "It's actually about you?"

"What did I do?"

"Well it's what Touya Kamiko did," Mikoto said.

"I'm confused."

"Kuroko really developed an attachment to you when you were disguised as Kamiko-san," Misaki elaborated. "She has been bothering me about it for quite a bit. Even Saten-san and Uiharu-san have been asking about her too. Since you told Shirai-san that Kamiko-san went to your school, she actually started debating if she should go look for you."

"That might cause some problems for you," Mikoto added. "And if she still couldn't find you, I would be the one to have to listen to her complain. So we came up with a plan that does not involve Shokuhou-san messing with her mind. I don't trust her to let her use her ability on my friends."

"You are so paranoid," Misaki interrupted and pretended to pout. She had in fact offered that solution to make Mikoto's friends forget about Touma's female form, but Mikoto adamantly refused.

"I'm going to regret this," they heard him sigh. "What's the plan?"

"Well," Misaki said. "We figured Kamiko-san can make an appearance tomorrow since schools are off at noon before Golden Week. You hang out with us and Shirai-san, and then we can try to invent an excuse why you can't see each other after this."

"So in other words…" they both realized he sounded hesitant. "You want me to get turned into a girl AGAIN. Then hang out with Shirai-san. I can't see anything going wrong with that idea." He said the last part quite sarcastically.

"Please," Mikoto begged. "It's the last time."

"Fine," Touma sighed. "I suppose if you two will be there nothing TO bad could happen. But with my misfortune…" He trailed off for a moment. "Wait, did you contact Jason? He's the one who needs to do it."

"I did," Shokuhou said proudly. "I got everything set up before you called." She was quite experienced at setting up complicated plans involving a lot of people. Something on this scale was quite easy for her. "After he laughed for about five minutes, he agreed to turn you into Kamiko-san after school tomorrow."

"Of course he would agree," Touma muttered. "Ok, I guess I can't really argue since I don't have anything going on tomorrow, except to finish packing."

"I'm looking forward to the trip," Misaki said excitedly.

"Me too," Mikoto added and they both glared at each other for a moment.

"We will meet you at Kagere-san's apartment tomorrow," Misaki told Touma. "We will then accompany you and meet Shirai-san, Uiharu-san, and Saten-san."

"I'll see you there," Touma said resigning himself to the fact he was going to be turned into a girl again. He hung up and both girls looked at each other.

"You better not let Shirai-san do anything to him," Misaki said seriously.

"She woul…" Mikoto started to reply irritated then stopped. "I'll talk to her tonight." She narrowed her eyes. "I'm still not going to let you have him."

"Oh my," Misaki said holding her hand up to her mouth. "You seem to have grown bolder the last few days." Mikoto's glared intensified as she stood up and left Misaki's apartment. Misaki watched Mikoto leave and continued to sit in her chair thinking. _If she becomes more aggressive in her attempt to attract Touma, then I should too. Though I think her quick to anger attitude will turn him off, I still need to watch her closely. I can't wait till we go on this trip. There will be plenty of opportunities to sneak off and be alone with him._ Her face turned red as her daydreams began to run wild.

* * *

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Touma muttered as he sat on the couch in Jason's apartment the following day. "Why did you agree to it?"

"Eh I didn't have a reason to refuse," Jason replied sitting at his computer and printing off a large piece of paper with a magic circle on it. Because he could not use his shadow reliably right now, he had to manually make a magic circle to activate the Aztec urn. His trash can was full of discarded paper where he had tried to hand draw the circles. He eventually gave up and just made it on the computer. "I was pretty surprised when Shokuhou-san called me, but I wasn't going to turn down another favor she would owe me."

"I think you just like messing with me," Touma said suspiciously turning his head to look at Jason.

"Well," Jason said winking. "There is that. There is also the fact you didn't tell me you found another tutor before I spend my valuable time to come over to help you study. Though, the test this morning was kind of pointless. I'm just glad I can still cast spells. I practiced to make sure I could do this before I agreed. My mana seems only to be problematic when it involves my shadow, not when I cast normal spells. I can't figure out why. "

"Tell me about it," Touma muttered referring to the test. He couldn't give Jason any advice on magic. The surprise test turned out to be a physical test. It turns out all the tough PE lessons over the last week had been carefully monitored to determine each student's physical abilities. Their grade on the test would be how well they could do compared to their assessed ability. That way, students with physical enhancing abilities did not have an advantage over people who didn't. Each student's grade was based purely on their performance against their past performances. Touma remembered running till he almost passed out in order to pass the exam. "You almost done?" he asked impatiently. He just wanted to get this over with.

"You want to be a girl that badly huh?" Jason asked grinning as he started setting up the circle, figurines, and the urn on the ground. "I never asked, but did you constantly look at your body back then?"

"Get your mind out of the gutter," Touma snapped irritated. "There's no way I would do something like that?"

Jason frowned. "Are you gay?" he asked uncertainly. "I mean it's cool if you are, but as your friend…"

"Of course I'm not!" Touma yelled. "I like girls."

"I don't care either way," Jason said shrugging. "So do you find Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san attractive? Is that why you are doing this?"

"I'm doing this because Shirai-san keeps asking for Kamiko," Touma said getting slightly annoyed. "And, you know what, yes. Both Mikoto and Misaki are quite attractive. You happy?" He said the last part loudly right when the door to Jason's apartment opened and Misaki and Mikoto had walked in. Jason and Touma both turned and looked at the girls whose faces had turned red with a mix of both happiness and embarrassment. Touma could feel his ears burned as he saw them. _They obviously heard that._

"Oh my Touma," Misaki said holding her hand up to her cheek. "Why thank you."

"Y-you i-idiot," Mikoto stuttered. "Thank you though."

"Actually," Jason said turning to look at Touma. "That did make me happy." Touma punched him hard in the arm. "Can you two wait over there?" Jason asked the girls as he rubbed his sore arm. "I'm about to cast the spell." They nodded and moved off to the side watching what he was doing with interest. Neither of them had seen a magician cast a spell before so this was a new experience for both of them. Jason kneeled before the urn and clasped his hands together. He started chanting and several minutes passed. Mikoto was getting skeptical anything was going to happen until the lid started to shutter. It slowly started to rise a couple inches from the top of the urn. Touma started to glow slightly, except for his hand, and a green mist started to drift off his head into the urn. When the spell was complete the lid settled back on the urn. Everyone looked at Touma, now Touya. He had completed turned back to his female form and his clothes hung loosely on his body. His female form was a little smaller then his male form and his hair was no longer spikey, but wavy and shoulder length.

"Wow," Mikoto said looking him up and down. 'That's pretty cool."

"I brought some new clothes for you Touma," Misaki said cheerfully. She passed over a bag with several outfits. "Choose one you like." Touma took the bag by reflex and looked inside. He pulled out a shirt and pants and passed the other two outfits back.

"There's no way I am going to wear those two," Touma said and his ears burned just at the thought. Mikoto was curious and looked into the bag. She burst out laughing.

"What?" she asked through the tears. "You didn't want to wear the revealing dress?"

"NO!" Touma said indignantly. He walked away embarrassed and changed in the bathroom, making sure to lock the door. When he finished and rejoined the others, he looked over at Jason. "Are you sure you don't want to join us?"

"Can't," Jason said shaking his head. Touma could tell he really wanted to come by the look in his eyes, probably to laugh at him though. "I have something I need to do tonight since I am going to be gone for a week. There are some people who really make my life a pain just because they think I slack off. They must have been talking to Kuro-chan." Touma, Mikoto, and Misaki all snickered at him. They waved goodbye and left. Jason grinned when Misaki grabbed one of Touma's arms and Mikoto immediately grabbed the other one. The door closed behind him and Jason staggered slightly. His vision blurred and he had to grab a nearby chair to steady himself. "Shit" he muttered. "It's hard to keep up appearance."

 _Then you should do what I recommended instead of heading to England. It will not be good for us if you go now._

"Shut up," Jason growled. "It's your fault I'm like this. Maybe they can finally make you shut up. You have gotten really loud since we got back."

 _You are the one who begged me for help._

"Go to hell!"

 _I already have._

* * *

Touma on the other hand was glad when they got near the Tokiwadai dorms. Misaki and Mikoto had to let go of him to avoid suspicion of why both level 5s were fawning over another girl. Touma began to get nervous after that when Tokiwadai came into view. When they were a couple blocks away, Misaki stopped them and turned to Touma. "I almost forgot," she said. She reached into her bag and pulled out a pink cellphone. "Use this as your phone when you are Kamiko-san. My number is programmed into it. This way, you can give it to Shirai-san who I am sure is going to want your number. Feel free to mess with her whenever you feel like it."

"Hey," Mikoto snapped. "Don't go telling him to mess with my friends." She grabbed the phone out of his hand and put her number in it. She tossed it back. "I trust you Touma, but let's just try to appease her today then make an excuse why you probably won't be able to meet anymore."

"If she finds out it is me," Touma said depressed. "You know I'm going to get killed right?"

"She didn't find out it was you all weekend," Misaki pointed out helpfully.

"Let's just get this over with," Touma sighed.

Because Misaki and Mikoto were focused on Touma, they did not see the guy walking on the other side of the street when they got near Tokiwadai. Accelerator had noticed them, but he wasn't the kind of guy to call out to people he knew unless he had a reason, or was just bored and wanted to bother them. He recognized Mikoto and Misaki, but he had to do a second glance at the third girl with them. _She looks familiar,_ he thought to himself. He normally didn't forget faces, but this time, he could not remember where he saw that girl. This annoyed him because he didn't like leaving mysteries unsolved. He made a mental note to find out who that girl was later, but for now, he had somewhere to be.

Misaki smiled broadly and grabbed his hand while pulling him into Tokiwadai. Mikoto followed with her hands behind her head grinning. They walked in through the main entrance this time. A few girls glanced at him when he passed, but they seemed to be looking at Misaki and Mikoto more. He figured they only looked at him because he didn't have the Tokiwadai uniform. When they got to Mikoto's room, Touma knocked.

"Come in," Shirai's voice came through the door. "It's unlocked." Touma took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Hey Shirai-san," he said nervously giving her a small wave. He watched her face change from a look of simply politeness for an unknown guest, to shock at his sudden appearance, then her face burst into a wide smile.

"Kamiko-san!" she yelled and jumped off her bed and plowed into him. Touma was almost knocked backwards from her momentum, but he managed to stay standing because she wasn't that big. Kuroko wrapped her arms around him as she gave him a big hug and buried her face into his chest. "I haven't seen you forever. How did you get here?"

"Your friends Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san invited me," Touma told her smiling, but trying to gently get her to let him go from her vice like grip. One of the reasons he actually agreed to do it was because Mikoto really wanted Kuroko to cheer up so he decided to help her help her friend. He was also conflicted for keeping up this lie though. At his word, Misaki and Mikoto stepped out from behind the door and waved to her.

"Surprise," they said grinning at the sight of Kuroko forcing herself on Touma. "I know you missed her," Mikoto continued. "But we need to meet Uiharu-san and Saten-san soon. Remember, we are meeting them for a late lunch."

"Ok," Kuroko said, but still refused to let go of Touma. "Come on Kamiko-san," she said pulling on his arm. "You remember Uiharu-san and Saten-san from the trip right." Touma nodded. "Great, let's go and spend the afternoon together." She dragged Touma who just decided to go with the flow while Misaki and Mikoto followed still grinning. To them, this was still hilarious. Kuroko hated Touma, but as soon as he was Touya, they were suddenly compatible.

On the way to Joseph's Diner, Kuroko did nothing except talk to Touma. Naturally the first question she asked was why it was so hard to contact her. Touma had rehearsed some excuses since he knew that was going to be the first question she asked. He simply told her high school keeps him really busy along with his friends and everything else going on outside of school. He rounded it off by sharing his new phone number with her so she could contact him. She quickly changed from being slightly upset to extremely happy. When all four of them got to the diner, they found Kazari and Ruiko waiting for them. Touma's group took their seats and they waved to him. It turns out Mikoto had told them Touma was coming and it was going to be a surprise for Kuroko.

"Hi Kamiko-san," Ruiko said grinning. "I haven't seen you since the beach trip."

"It's good to see you again," Kazari said politely.

"It's nice to see you two again too," Touma said pretending this was the first time he saw them since their first encounter with Touya. He sat down with Kuroko on one side and Misaki on the other. Mikoto was obviously annoyed she couldn't sit next to him, but she put up with it because everyone else believed Touma was Misaki's friend. "What have you been up to?"

"We have been pretty busy with school work," Kazari replied. "Though, we did have a little too much excitement last weekend." If Touma did not know what she was talking about, he would have been confused, but because he did, he was able to notice the slight glance between Ruiko, Kuroko and Kazari. He figured they didn't want to tell him about the magic organization and with good reason.

"Though Uiharu has been getting along pretty well with Kagere," Ruiko grinned. "You know the guy she called during the trip. I know they have had a lot of alone time together."

"SATEN-SAN!" Kazari said turning bright red. "Don't say it like that!" Even Touma had to laugh along with everyone at her embarrassed reaction.

"I still don't know what she sees in him," Kuroko sighed leaning against Touma. "He's almost as bad as the ape."

"Really?" Misaki said thoughtfully. "But you two get along so well. I thought you liked him." Before Kuroko could respond, Mikoto also joined in.

"I thought the same thing," Mikoto said grinning unable to contain herself. "I asked her that once before and I don't think she ever gave me a direct answer."

Kuroko turned green at the thought of her and Jason and then her face paled in horror. "Don't even say something horrible like that," Kuroko told them. "Even if it is just a joke. That is too horrible to imagine. Let's say in some alternative universe I did, I couldn't move after someone my friend is with." Everyone was grinning at her powerful denial, but then Touma realized something and couldn't help himself.

"She never actually denied it," he pointed out and everyone except Kuroko laughed. Touma usually was on the receiving end of people's jokes, so he was proud he was finally on the other end. He regretted it almost immediately as Kuroko turned her frustration onto him. She teleported not his lap, and started to grope him.

"Ah Kamiko-san!" she cried. "How could you be so mean?" Kuroko put her head into his chest and held tightly to him. Touma tried to push her off, but she refused to budge.

 _How is she so strong?_ Normally Mikoto would just shock Kuroko to get her to let go, but now Mikoto was watching with an amused look on her face as Kuroko felt someone else up for a change. Misaki had a similar look of amusement on her face and neither of them looked like they were going to help him anytime soon. Eventually, Kuroko stopped feeling him up and he pushed her off him.

"Hey Uiharu," Ruiko said turning to her after she was done watching Kuroko's and Touma's spectacle. "You should invite Kagere over so Kamiko-san can meet him."

"That sounds like a good idea," Kazari said pulling out her cellphone. Misaki and Mikoto both looked at each other in surprise. Neither of them had a good reason why she shouldn't call Jason, but neither of them knew how Jason would react. Instead the grabbed their drinks to have something to do with their hands while the listened to Kazari's conversation. Touma was nervous and knew Jason was probably going to make his situation worse.

"Hey Jason," Kazari said. "Are you free to meet a friend of mine?" There was silence. "Oh, what are you doing?" More silence and Kazari's eyes widened. "I don't think you should do that." Everyone at the table leaned forward at this. "Ok, if you say so." She hung up and looked at them all. "He's busy tonight and can't come."

"Ah to bad," Kuroko said, sarcasm oozing in every word.

"What's he doing?" Ruiko asked.

"Ah well," Kazari said looking at them. "He said he and Kamijou-san were following Accelerator."

Touma frowned at this. _So I think he is covering for me, but why would he use Accelerator as an excuse._ Mikoto and Misaki were thinking similar things and their curiosity was evident on their faces.

"Why?" Mikoto and Misaki asked simultaneously.

"Well," Kazari answered hesitantly. She didn't look all that comfortable with discussing it, but she continued. "He said Accelerator was with a blonde they didn't know and wanted to see if he was on an actual date." There was a stunned silence and everyone at the table, except Touma and it took a lot of his willpower not to, said the exact same thing.

"WHAT!?"

Their stunned expression was pretty funny to Touma. Touma didn't believe Jason was telling the truth, he was to use to him joking around even during serious situations, but he did have the perfect response to their reactions. Technically, as Touya Kamiko, he never met Accelerator so he figured this was a good time to get back at Mikoto and Misaki for watching him get felt up by Kuroko. "This Accelerator guy," Touma asked and everyone turned to look at him. "Was this the guy you were talking about during the trip?" The reactions were about what he expected.

"No," Ruiko said her facing turning red. "He's someone completely different."

"That dang ape," Kuroko fumed as her malice started seeping out of her. "He dares to approach onee-sama."

Kazari looked at them with a quizzical look on her face. She had not been in the room when the discussion on Touma took place and turned into a fight. Misaki and Mikoto both looked at Touma with a shocked look that he would bring that up. Misaki poked him, hard, in the side and he knew she was angry at him. When he turned to apologize, he saw she was trying to conceal a grin and he realized she wasn't angry, just annoyed to be on the receiving end of a joke. He glanced at Mikoto who had the look that said simply.

 _You are going to regret that later._

After they had eaten, Kuroko dragged Touma around while everyone else followed. Their first stop was karaoke. Touma wasn't sure how often everyone else did karaoke, but they were all pretty good. Karzai's only problem was she got embarrassed and sung really softly. Naturally, Mikoto and Misaki were stars on the stage. Kuroko and Ruiko were pretty good themselves. When it was finally Touma's turn, he had to give a quick glare at Misaki because she had selected a love song for him to sing while grinning. He normally might have been able to sing, but with his different voice, it sounded pretty awkward. No one seemed to mind because karaoke isn't about sounding good, just having fun with friends.

The next activity, Kuroko dragged them to, was probably the most embarrassing for Touma. Kuroko of course wanted to go shopping, but Touma noticed very amused looks on Mikoto and Misaki's faces. Kazari and Ruiko also seemed to be slightly nervous, but he didn't know why, until Kuroko tried to lead them into a very revealing underwear shop. Touma adamantly refused, and he was backed up by everyone else. Eventually, they settled on a more normal clothing store. Kuroko wanted Touma to try a lot of different dresses on and it took all of his creativity to make excuses. Finally, Kuroko started looking for herself and Touma decided to just pretend to browse.

"Having fun?" Misaki asked him. He didn't hear her sneaking up on him.

"I should not be here," he hissed back. "I have nowhere to look and with my luck I will see something I shouldn't."

"Well," Misaki replied putting a finger on her cheek. "If you see something you would like to see me wear, feel free to suggest it. I could try it on for you, privately in the changing room of course." Touma's eyes widened and he quickly shook his head as his ears burned. Misaki giggled because she couldn't resist teasing him like that, knowing full well he would never agree to that because of how kind he is.

"Shokuhou-san," Mikoto said angrily walking up to them. "Quit teasing him."

"Misaka-san, are you sure you are just not jealous you don't have the courage to try something on for him?" Misaki asked smirking. "Maybe you don't really like him."

"Y-you," Mikoto said angrily sparking slightly. "Just because I'm not a slut doesn't mean I don't l-like…" Touma immediately left before he could hear anything else between them fighting. Though, he did hear Misaki respond back angrily, but he didn't' hear the exact words. He wished the day would hurry, he felt like such a horrible person pretending to be a girl in a clothing store for women.

Eventually they left when Kuroko wasn't able to find anything she wanted. They walked around the mall and a few stores for a bit before heading back to Tokiwadai. Kazari and Ruiko waved good bye as they needed to head back to their dorms to finish packing for the trip tomorrow. When the rest of them entered the Tokiwadai dorms, they were greeted by the dorm supervisor and all of them froze. "Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san," she said. She didn't sound angry, but still strict. They all relaxed slightly. "I'm glad you both filled out all the paperwork for leaving the city next week, but I still need to discuss a few things with you. This should not take long, but please come with me." Mikoto and Misaki nodded and Mikoto told Touma she would meet them back at her room. When they left with the dorm supervisor, Touma could not help thinking.

 _Their dorm supervisor is really attractive._ He was glad none of the girls were reading his mind at that time. He always slightly worried Misaki might read his mind, but he doubted it. He always saw Misaki use her powers pretty responsibly, unlike a lot of other ability users in the city. Of course, he could not know all the times she used her powers when he wasn't around, which is one of the reasons Mikoto was always suspicious of her.

Kuroko and Touma headed back to Mikoto's and Kuroko's dorm room. Kuroko, of course, always sat on Mikoto's bed, so Touma sat on Kuroko's bed. He only knew this because of his past visits to this dorm, even though he was not allowed to be there. He realized Kuroko was staring at him. "Did you need something Shirai-san?" he asked nervously. He wasn't sure what all to say because he was not use to talking to Kuroko alone.

"I need to ask you something," Kuroko said and Touma was surprised she sounded hesitant.

"Sure," Touma said looking at her. _I wonder what this is about._

"I need some advice," she continued. "You know how I like onee-sama?" Touma nodded and wasn't surprised about the topic of the conversation. Everyone who met her once knew how much she obsessed over Mikoto. "Well I found out recently she actually likes someone else." Touma raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. "I first thought she would just get over it and eventually accept my feelings. But it seems like she is just falling for him more." She pointed to something on the far side of the room and Touma turned and was greeted with a surprise.

On the nightstand next to Mikoto's bed, he saw two pictures. One was of Mikoto, Kuroko, Ruiko, and Kazari. The other was a picture of him and Mikoto. He recognized it as the picture they took at the carnival before the sins interrupted them. _She got a copy? I'm surprised she puts it out in the open, with Kuroko living in the same room. I expected her to destroy it._ "I take it this is the guy," said Touma and Kuroko nodded.

"I can't understand how she likes him," she fumed grabbing her head in frustration. "He's just an ape, uncivilized, stupid, plain, and unlucky." Touma felt a vein throb in his head in irritation, but didn't say anything. "His only possible redeeming quality is he is willing to help anyone who needs it. But then he goes and hangs out with other terrible people." Touma immediately thought of Accelerator and Jason, both of whom have made fun of Kuroko. "I need your advice on how I can get onee-sama to fall for me. You are in high school so you probably have more experience with love then me, especially since we both like girls."

Touma now was really conflicted. It felt weird to give someone advice on love matters. He knew Mikoto thought of Kuroko as her best friend, but Mikoto never had romantic feelings for her. He found out she liked him instead right after Misaki had confessed her love for him too. He was worried if he started dating one of them, it would ruin his friendship with the other. Also if they broke up, they might not remain friends. There was also the possibility of this just being a crush and they would grow out of it. He sighed and figured some generic advice would probably be the best course of action. He still believed Kuroko just liked Mikoto out of admiration instead of real love, but he couldn't be sure. "The only thing I can really say," Touma answered hesitantly. "Is if you really like her, all you can do is tell her then show her. You also need to respect her feelings if she doesn't feel the same way. People change, so even if someone doesn't feel the same way as you, they could. Also," he decided to add the next part to try to help Mikoto. "I don't think she appreciates it when you teleport and start groping her. If you avoid doing that, she might open up more instead of remaining guarded against your advances."

Kuroko thought about that for a moment. She really did enjoy the feel of Mikoto's chest, but conceded Touya had a point. She grinned at the thought of eventually having Mikoto all to herself. If she had to avoid going all out in order to make sure they final goal was in sight, she could do that. "Thank you Kamiko-san," she said happier then she had been for a while. She teleported into Touma's lap and gave him a hug. Touma didn't know what to do so he settled with patting her on the back with his left hand. He remembered a warning from Mikoto about allowing Kuroko to touch his right hand. If she couldn't teleport, she might realize who he was. Then to his surprise, Kuroko leaned up and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Of course, his misfortune would kick in at the exact moment. The door opened and Mikoto and Misaki walked in during that exact moment. There was a stunned silence as everyone looked at each other. Mikoto broke the silence first. "KUROKO WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"ONEE-SAMA!" Kuroko called back in shock as she teleported off Touma. "It's not what it looks like."

"Kuroko, why are you trying to flirt with my friends?" asked Misaki irritated.

"We were just talking," Touma said raising his hands. "Nothing happened."

"You are the only one for me onee-sama," Kuroko said teleporting and hugging her. This time, she didn't try to grope Mikoto's chest and that might have been the reason Mikoto didn't shock her. Instead, Mikoto just tried to push her off.

"Get off Kuroko," she said irritated as she tried to pry Kuroko off her. Mikoto also turned to Misaki "It's late and Kamiko-san needs to get going anyways. Can you escort her out the dorms while I handle things here?"

"Of course Misaka-san," Misaki said happily while nodding. "I'll leave you two love birds alone." She grabbed Touma's hand and pulled him out of the dorm, shutting the door behind her, and avoided hearing Mikoto's retort. As they exited the dorms, Misaki turned to Touma. "So," she asked him slowly. "You are flirting with other girls?"

"No," replied Touma shaking his head quickly. "I gave her some advice and she kissed me in thanks. I didn't do anything to…"

"I know," laughed Misaki. "I just wanted to tease you. I know what Shirai-san is like. Anyway, here we are." They reached the gate. "I'll see you at the airport tomorrow. I'm looking forward to our trip."

"I am too," Touma agreed. "It has been awhile since I have left the city for an actual vacation rather than going somewhere and trying to save someone." He sighed. "Seriously, my life is just a roller coaster." Misaki laughed again and she waved good night and headed back into the dorms. Touma left thinking about the vacation tomorrow and how Kuroko reacts around him when he looks like a girl. He started heading back to Jason's apartment to get himself changed back out of this ridiculous disguise, glad nothing absolutely horrible happened.

He did not realize he forgot to tell them Shizuri and her friends were going to join them on the trip.

* * *

Across Academy City, Motoharu, Pierce, Jason, and Accelerator all looked up into the sky. It was impossible to tell how they all knew, but all four of them felt it. _Kami Disease had just reached a new level._

* * *

In the famous windowless building, a conversation was taking place that will never reach the outside world. Aleister Crowley was communicating secretly with Academy City's ally in the Anglican Church. While their tones were light, they tension in the air was palpable. The female, on the other end of the call, was just as devious as Aleister though she tended to have more emotion in her voice them him.

"I understand you have agreed to guide the Imagine Breaker during his trip to England," remarked Aleister. "Though, you did not confirm with me to see if he had my permission to leave."

"I was sure everything was cleared before I was contacted," Laura Stuart replied mildly.

"Were you also aware a rather large contingent of ladies from Academy City will be in his company?" asked Aleister. "Along with a few gentleman, many of which are quite powerful."

"I was aware he would be accompanied by a large number of people," Laura confirmed. "Oh my, now that I recall, I've not yet mentioned it to the ladies of Necessarius that Kamijou-kun is coming to England. I also am looking forward to meeting him."

"You would not be thinking of trying to get the Imagine Breaker to stay in England," Aleister remarked. "Hoping he might find an attraction with one of your subordinates?"

"How could you suggest such a thing?" Laura gasped, but there was a trace of amusement in her voice. "Necessarius deeply values their friendship with Academy City. Though I am curious, are you sure you are not setting up one of your students with the boy?"

"Someone else is pulling those strings," Aleister said. "It is not interfering with my plans and, if it causes the Imagine Breaker to return, then I have no problems with an individual's experiment."

"It sounds like someone is trying to join the game," remarked Laura mildly. "I hope you are not too hard on them. After all, trying to outplay you would be suicidal on their part."

"Indeed."

"On a related note," Laura said. "I am interested in the individual who bares the sin marks. I am pleased you are letting him travel here for us to examine."

"Those marks are a slight inconvenience," Aleister said. "If you can remove them, it will benefit both of our sides."

"I will see what we can do." The call disconnected between them.

 _I wonder if he knows about the storms brewing in England,_ Aleister thought to himself as he turned to watch several screens of Academy City. _I should contact him to show he is much further behind then he wants to admit._

* * *

 **Yes Anon Guest, I used your idea, modified slightly to keep them more in character. You helped add to a scene I needed to do. To everyone else, next chapter is officially the England arc.**

 **Jason: Touma help!**

 **Touma: What's wrong?**

 **Jason: Accelerator's trying to kill me.**

 **Touma: What?**

 **Accelerator: JAAAASSSSSOOONNNN!**

 **Jason: Shit, got to run, hold him off for me.**

 **Touma: Accelerator, what are you doing?**

 **Accelerator: Move hero.**

 **Touma: What are….?**

 **Accelerator: MOVE SO I CAN KILL HIM.**

 **Touma: Ok.**

 **Motoharu: I'm really interested if there was any truth in Jason's words.**

 **Touma: I kind of want to see it to. We probably won't know till after we get back from England.**

 **Motoharu: Yea, that sucks.**

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or idea. I love reading them.**


	40. S2 Arrival

**Well, this chapter is my first attempt trying to write scenes with a ton of people. It is both challenging and rewarding along with tons of unfortunate hilarious situations. I feel it definitely pushed my creativity and skills a lot farther then previous chapters. It was a great opportunity for me to evolve as a write and I hope you all enjoy reading it as I enjoyed writing it.**

 **yakutsu zaishiro: Ok, because of your kind words, I'll upload this chapter. But it's just for you, don't tell anyone else. I don't want them to think I play favorites.**

 **Ultimate10: That means a lot. I've been using this fanfic to improve my writing and I definitely see results. I'm glad others are too and are also enjoying it.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: Might have to hold off on that until later down the road. We need to ultimate misfortunate scene to get it to work.**

 **Agent Nine: It wouldn't be an Index fanfic without Touma's misfortune.**

 **Anyways, time to start the story. I feel people should pay special attention to the disclaimer for this chapter, but it could just be me.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

Touma woke up late the next morning. Last night he had gone back to Jason's apartment and, of course, Jason was not there. Touma had given up trying to figure out what he does late at night, but he knew now how to remove the magic. Jason had given him the code to enter the apartment and he was able to locate the urn without problem. After changing back to male clothes, learned his lesson from last time, he removed the shirt inside the urn with his left hand, as to not destroy the urn, and changed himself back. Afterwards, he headed back to his apartment to finish packing. It was easy for him to finish packing his stuff, but was much harder to make sure Index was packed. She wouldn't let him go through her bag because it was packed with her delicate items Touma was not allowed to see. He had to list off items, while she confirmed they were packed. He then made sure they had their passports and finally crashed. It had been a long day for him.

He got cleaned up and made breakfast before looking at the tickets. The plane would leave at three pm and would be about a ten hour flight since they were using a normal plane instead of Academy City's top speed jets. With the eight hour differences in time, it would be about five pm when they landed, but would feel closer to midnight. He figured he could sleep on the plane in hopes he wouldn't have too much jet lag. Oh, how people fool themselves. Index came bounding into the kitchen as she smelled the food. While they ate, Touma had to explain the plans to her again. She obviously did not listen last night because her very first question was…

"When are we leaving?"

"I told you last night," Touma sighed. "The plane leaves at three, but we should be there early to meet everyone else as they arrive. I figure we get there about one thirty to two. That was we can eat lunch before we have to wait."

"I can't wait," Index said happily. "I get to go back to my home country with friends. But what are we going to eat on the ride there?"

Touma checked a list of instructions he was given. "They will provide some snacks and a meal for us."

"Yay we won't starve on the flight," Index cheered. "I only could bring a little bit of food with me."

Touma eyed her carryon bag suspiciously. "Did you just fill you entire bag with food?"

"Don't be silly Touma," Index said shaking her head at him. "There's water too." Touma face palmed, but glad she carried her phone with her even if she had trouble using it. "Wait," Index said suddenly. "What are we going to do about Sphinx? Does the plane allow pets?"

"Tsuchimikado's younger sister is going to watch him," answered Touma reassuringly. Index looked slightly depressed her pet cat would not be coming, but she was relieved he would be watched by someone she knew. Touma finished eating and went back to checking his luggage again. He tripled check all his items and questioned Index on her packing once again. She was obviously annoyed and complained that she wasn't a little kid, but she at least complied with his request. Then he double checked his actual luggage bag to make sure there were not rips or tears, the zippers were ok, and nothing was obviously worn out that it would break under stress. In his experience with his luck, he could never be too careful. The rest of the morning was uneventful and Index just watched TV to kill time because Touma did not want her leaving the apartment and getting lost. After they ate lunch, they left Touma's apartment with their luggage, locked the door, and headed to the bus stop.

The trip to the actual airport was uneventful. Touma was surprised nothing happened, and then became suspicious something horrible would happen soon. He half expected the bus to explode or get hijacked because of his misfortune. Instead, he and Index were dropped off right in front of the airport. They walked in and the airport was really crowded. After checking the information he was given, Touma realized they needed to go to the terminal on the far side of the airport. It took a while to get through the main airport of Academy City, but as they got closer, the number of people lesson. Judging by the signs, this side of the airport was for private planes. By the time he got to the needed terminal, there was almost no one there except an occasional employee. He checked his watch and realized it was only a little after one thirty. There was still an hour and a half before they had to board. He sighed and headed toward the seating when he saw a familiar individual.

"Tsuchimikado?" he called out. "Why are you here so early? And what's with that large bag of popcorn?" As Motoharu turned around to look at Touma, Touma glanced at the giant bag of popcorn sitting in the chair next to him.

"Oh popcorn!" Index cried. "Can I have some?"

"I figured some people might need a snack," Motoharu answered grinning passing over an extra-large serving in a bag to Index who accepted it gratefully. "Also, when you watch a show, popcorn is the traditional food is it not?"

"Yea but," Touma started to say then changed direction. "What show are you talking about?" Motoharu didn't reply, but his grin widened and Touma felt a sense of impending doom. Touma sat down in a chair next to him and helped himself to some of the popcorn while they waited for everyone else.

"Oh I have a question for you," Motoharu asked. "Why did you and Index decide to go through the main entrance on the far side? There's an entrance right here." He pointed out through a nearby window were the road came right up to the airport.

"We took the bus and didn't know there was a closer entrance," Touma replied as he face palmed. "It would have saved us some time if we knew." Motoharu shook his head amused. They were only waiting for about ten minutes when a black car pulled up to the nearby entrance. Touma and Motoharu turned to see who it was and watched the door open. Last Order bounded out of it and ran toward the airport. She threw open the door and ran inside. She saw them and waved.

"We're here! MISAKA yells as MISAKA announces her group's arrival."

"Yay you're here," Index called back waving. Both girls ran up to greet each other and talk so Touma turned his attention back to the rest of Last Order's group.

Accelerator and Worst had exited the back seat of the car and were pulling luggage out of the trunk. Well Accelerator was, Worst was just hanging back and laughing about something, but didn't do anything to help him. She did take her bag after he got it out of the car. They were both dressed like normal. Touma also saw his teacher Aiho exit the passenger seat in the front and grabbed a small pink luggage bag which he assumed belonged to Last Order. All three of them then walked up to the entrance and joined Touma's group. Aiho waved to Touma, but both Worst and Accelerator did not. Accelerator, instead, went over and chopped Last Order on the head for running off.

"Hey Kamijou," Aiho called out and put her arm around Touma's shoulders. "Thanks for taking these three off my hand for a week. Now I don't have to worry when I get back late after my adult responsibilities."

"By adult responsibilities," Accelerator elaborated. "She means coming back at two in the morning drunk."

"Adults have a lot of responsibilities," Aiho scolded him. "If I have to relax by drinking with some friends, it's perfectly acceptable."

"If you're an alcoholic," Worst added.

"They are your problem now," Aiho said grinning as she turned back to Touma. "Oh, can you thank Tsukuyomi for chaperoning. I have Anti-Skill training next week I couldn't miss." She then leaned closer to him and whispered so no one else could hear. "Don't do anything to bad. You are still young to make a very life changing decision."

"W-what are you implying?" stuttered Touma and Aiho grinned wider. She didn't elaborate and waved goodbye as she headed back to the car. Accelerator grabbed a seat, put his headphones on, and promptly went to sleep, or at least pretended to. Worst just sat next to him and tried to bother him, while Last Order and Index chatted away. Touma couldn't believe what Aiho implied to him. _She's a teacher so of course she can't condone those actions, but seriously, why did she only target me?_

Shortly after Aiho left, another black car rolled up. This one was much fancier and looked like something a VIP would travel in. Touma wasn't sure who it was and when the door opened, he got a shock. Jason jumped out of the back seat and waved to someone Touma couldn't see. He pulled out his luggage from the trunk and headed into the airport. Whoever was driving did not get out and left right after Jason closed the trunk. When Jason saw everyone, he made a beeline straight toward them. "Did I miss the show?" he asked Motoharu and Accelerator.

"Nope," Motoharu said grinning.

"Only those three were here when I arrived," Accelerator muttered opening one of his eyes. "It should start soon."

"What show are you three talking about?" Touma sked bewildered. None of them answered, but all of them, including Worst, snickered loudly. Touma was about to try to force them to tell him what was so funny, but was interrupted by a girl calling out to him.

"TOOOUUMMMAAA!" He turned, along with everyone else, to see Misaki walking toward them dragging a large luggage bag behind her. It must have been heavy because, even though it was on wheels, Misaki looked tired as she struggled to drag it towards them. Touma, unable to resist helping people, got up and met Misaki halfway. He took charge of dragging her luggage and she looked up at him slightly red. "T-thank you," she said gasping a tiny bit. "It was quite heavy and I wasn't sure of which terminal to go to until I arrived."

"It's no problem," he said smiling back at her. "I did the exact same thing." Suddenly, Misaki grabbed his arm that was not pulling her luggage and held on tightly to him. As he approached the rest of the group, he could see smug looks from Accelerator, Motoharu, and Jason. There was also a slightly dangerous look from Index as she glared at him, but for some reason she did not try to bite him. Touma looked at the time and saw it was getting close to two, so they still had plenty of time for everyone else to show. He sat down and, of course, Misaki sat down next to him and only wanted to talk with him.

 _I hoped if I arrived early I could spend some alone time with Touma before everyone else arrived,_ Misaki thought slightly depressed.

A short while later, another group, this time four girls, arrived, one of which immediately noticed Misaki snuggling up near Touma. _She beat us here, why did Kuroko have to take so long._ She had been packed quite early, but Kuroko kept repacking her bags because she couldn't get everything she wanted to bring fit. Mikoto finally had to threaten to pack for her and Kuroko quickly decided not to take everything. They had met Kazari and Ruiko on the way. When they got to the airport, it took a little white to find where they had to go. Touma did not tell them, but she knew he probably didn't know, where the terminal they were supposed to go to was. When Mikoto tore her eyes off Misaki and Touma, she saw Accelerator, Worst, Last Order, Index, Jason, and a blonde guy she didn't know had already arrived. She was going to call out to them, but Ruiko beat her to it.

"Hey guys," she called out excitedly. "We're here."

"Hey Ruiko," Touma called out turning to look at them. "Glad you all found the place ok." He missed Misaki's slightly upset face as he turned his attention away from her.

"You could have given us better direction's ape," Kuroko sniffed.

"Shirai-san," Kazari whispered. "You should be nicer to him. He was kind enough to invite us all."

"Hey Touma," Mikoto said as she greeted him. "Yea, we came in through the main entrance so had a bit of a walk."

"Misaki and I did that too," Touma admitted. "Those guys," he pointed back to Accelerator, Motoharu, and Jason, "came in through the nearby entrance."

"Because we planned ahead," Motoharu said grinning then turned to the girls. "Oh my names Motoharu Tsuchimikado, I'm a classmate and neighbor of Kami-yan."

"Are you related to Maika Tsuchimikado?" Mikoto asked interestedly. _Kami-yan?_

"Yep," Motoharu said proudly. "She's my adorable younger sister."

His words weren't really bad but, for some reason, Mikoto suddenly felt uneasy about the way he said it. She decided to ignore the feeling because he didn't seem like such a bad guy. "I'm Mikoto Misaka, and these are my friends Ruiko Saten, Kazari Uiharu, and Kuroko Shirai."

"You can call her Kuro-chan," Jason interrupted. "It's her nickname."

"No it's not!" Kuroko yelled at him. "Stop calling me that!" Mikoto and Motoharu laughed at her reaction. While they were talking, Kazari walked up and sat down next to Jason. Ruiko went and sat down near Accelerator, because Mikoto had sat down next to Touma, on his other side then Misaki, and of course, Kuroko followed Mikoto. There was tension in the air as Mikoto and Misaki made eye contact.

"My my," Misaki said sweetly, but it was obvious by her eyes she didn't feel that way. "You should have told me when you were leaving Misaka-san. We could have left together."

"I would have," Mikoto replied while forcing a smile. "But I knew you could take while trying to pack all your cosmetics. We know how hard you try to look good."

"Not all of us can pull off the tomboy look," Misaki replied her smile flicking for a moment. "I'm sure you could benefit from some makeup."

"I agree she needs to dress more feminine," Kuroko added. "But onee-sama is beautiful and you shouldn't call her a tomboy."

"Come on you two," Touma said leaning forward to block their views. "There's no need to fight." Naturally, Misaki and Mikoto started glaring daggers at each other and continued to argue, while Kuroko was conflicted. While some of what Misaki said was true, she didn't support her saying those things about Mikoto. Kuroko, as long as she could remember, had told Mikoto needed to dress more feminine. Misaki was saying roughly the same thing, but was slightly meaner about it. She didn't understand why those two did not get along. She got along fine with both of them. Touma on the other hand was trying to keep the peace. While they were arguing, everyone else started talking.

"There always seems to be tension between Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san," Ruiko commented as she watched them.

"I'm sure it's because they are such good friends," Jason replied with his arm around Kazari. "And as level 5s, I'm sure there is always some rivalry. Right Accel-kun?"

"I told you not to call me that," snapped Accelerator while Worst laughed.

"Are we waiting for anyone else?" Kazari asked the guys around her.

"Yep," Jason said. "A few people haven't arrived."

"Then the real show begins," Motoharu said unable to hide the laughter in his voice. Kazari and Ruiko looked at him curiously and accepted some popcorn while Accelerator, Jason and Worst snickered. Index had realized, while her back was turned talking to Last Order, Touma had, once again, started to get surrounded by girls. She didn't want to stop talking to Last Order though, so she decided to punish him later.

"This should be good," Accelerator added as his eyes caught another person entering the airport. The others looked and saw a little girl with bright pink hair pass through the entrance near them.

"Kamijou-chan!" she called out. "I hope I'm not too late."

 _Kamijou-CHAN?_ Mikoto, Kuroko, Kazari, Ruiko, and Misaki all thought simultaneously as they turned to see who had just joined them. They saw what looked like an elementary school student with bright pink hair and a pink backpack dragging along a luggage bag. They watched the little girl walk up and wave to Touma and Touma waved back to her. Mikoto was curious who this little girl was and got up to meet her.

"Hello," Mikoto said to the new girl. "Who are you and how do you know Touma?"

"I'm his teacher," Komoe said proudly looking up at her. "I'm also going to be the chaperone for this trip."

Mikoto could not stop a grin from appearing on her face. The thought of an elementary school girl being a teacher was not only unbelievable, but just downright funny. _I wonder who she really is._ "Come now," Mikoto said leaning down. "You shouldn't tell lies. How do you really know him?"

"W-what?" Komoe stuttered looking shocked and her face turned slightly red. "I'm not lying…"

"Onee-sama," Kuroko said coming up next to her. "Who's the little girl?"

"She said she is Touma's teacher," Mikoto said grinning.

"Come now," Kuroko said kindly to Komoe. "How do you really know him? Did you come to see him off?"

"N-no," Komoe said still stuttering and turning redder with embarrassment. "I'm the chaperone for the trip. I may look like this, but I'm an…."

"Who's the cute little girl?" Misaki asked coming up to them. "And how does she know Touma?" She didn't really consider an elementary school student a threat with her relationship with Touma, but she made sure to investigate any girl around him.

"She says she's the ape's teacher," Kuroko told her. "She must be lost. I can take her to the airport's security desk to wait for her parents."

"Listen to me!" Komoe shouted stomping her foot and all three girls turned to look at her. "Despite my looks I'm an adult and a teacher. I deserve at least a little respect." The girls were about to decide what to do when they heard several people making sounds from behind them. They turned around and saw all the guys behind them trying not to laugh, but being unsuccessful. Motoharu was collapsed in his seat watching their encounter and holding his hand over his mouth to keep himself from laughing out loud. Jason was in a similar situation. Even Accelerator had a hand over his face, but his grin was clearly visible. Ruiko and Kazari were looking around confused at their reactions. Then they saw Touma and he had both hands over his face, but he was grinning too.

"Hey Touma," Mikoto called back to him. "Is she serious?" Both Kuroko and Misaki looked at him too for his confirmation. Touma looked at the other guys and they all nodded.

"Hello Komoe-sensei," they said together. Mikoto's, Kuroko's and Misaki's eyes widened and they looked back and forth between Touma and Komoe. What they didn't know was that when all three of them had walked over, Jason told Kazari and Ruiko who the girl was. Motoharu suggested they all greet Komoe at the same time since it was obvious the girls didn't believe she was the teacher. Accelerator just went along with it because it would annoy the third and fifth rate. Touma just gave up trying to use reason with his friends and just went along with it. Kazari was about to say something, but Jason quickly pulled her close to make her embarrassed and unable to talk. Touma shook his head at Ruiko and she grinned as she decided to see what they were going to do.

"You guys could have told them who I was," admonished Komoe looking at them.

"It was more fun this way sensei," Motoharu replied grinning.

"So she is an adult?" Misaki asked Touma. He nodded.

"How do you look like that then?" asked Kuroko.

"It seems like the city found a way to stop the cellular aging process," Accelerator said.

"How sad, MISAKA cries as MISAKA thinks of all the experiments that must have happened to the girl."

"Misaka is just imagining her trying to drive," Worst said clutching her side from laughing.

"It's not like that!" Komoe cried at them. "I told you that the first time I met you two. Why are you bringing it up now?" Accelerator laughed and patted Last Order on the head. He had told her what to say. "You guys shouldn't be making fun of your teacher or I'm going to be forced to make you all do the Columbus Egg." That wiped all the grins off the guy's faces as they thought of that horrible punishment. The Columbus's Egg is a test where an ability user would keep a raw egg upside-down on a surface without any support. Even a student with telekinesis would have to work their brains to the brink of exploding because if they put too much effort, the egg would break. All the girls looked at their expressions and laughed, except for Index and Last Order because neither of them knew what the test was.

Komoe then introduced herself to all the girls who didn't know her. Index greeted her enthusiastically, because Komoe had helped her out significantly shortly after Index came to Academy City. Misaki and Mikoto sat next to Touma and started berating him about not telling them she was his teacher and causing them to embarrass themselves. Kazari and Ruiko looked surprised at Komoe's appearance, but both were too nice to mention anything about it. Kazari looked relieved to have an adult there, no matter what she looked like. Kuroko went back to trying to engage Mikoto and keep Touma from monopolizing her. Last Order started digging in Motoharu's popcorn bag while he was talking to Accelerator. Worst was just being herself and waiting for someone to do something she could make fun of.

"Was that the show you guys were talking about?" Kazari asked Jason. She was aware of Ruiko leaning in to listen too.

"Nope," Jason said. "That was really just an opening act."

"The real show is going to be much later," Motoharu whispered to them. "It revolves around Touma's luck so it will probably be best if you just watch with us." Both Ruiko and Kazari looked at each other in confusion. Both of them knew about Touma and his bad luck, but they had no idea what was going to happen. Even Accelerator seemed to be interested in what was going to happen and he always appeared nonchalant about everything.

"Hey Touma," Mikoto asked. "Are we waiting for any more of your friends?"

"Ah yes," Touma replied absentmindedly. "We have a couple more…" He stopped when something in his mind click. _OH SHIT! I never told Mikoto and Misaki about Mugino and her friends. They don't get along so I should have given them some warning. Mugino knows about them though. How could I forget something so important?_ He turned his gaze and saw the smug looks and the twinkle of amusement in the eyes of Motoharu, Accelerator, Jason, and Worst. _This jerks, they knew I forgot and didn't tell me. They want me to die, don't they? Ah shit, this is going to be bad._ Mikoto recognized something was off when she looked into his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Mikoto asked.

"You suddenly got quiet," Misaki pointed out. "Is there something you aren't telling us?"

"You see," Touma said trying hard to think of how to tell them. "There's one more group coming, and they… well… and…" He couldn't think of how to tell them gently. He took a deep breath and was about to just come out and say it, when his luck kicked in and the last group of girls came into view. _Well, I'm dead._ Four very attractive girls where walking toward them talking to each other. Misaki and Mikoto's eyes followed to where he was looking and their mouths fell open in shock. Motoharu, Accelerator, Jason, and Worst had their bag of popcorn ready and were watching the real life show with their undivided attention.

Shizuri, Frenda, Saiai, and Rikou were walking toward them talking but, when Shizuri noticed them looking, an evil grin appeared on her face. She said something to the other girls and gestured to the group around Touma. As they got closer, everyone else noticed them approach. Ruiko's eyes widened in recognition. She was surprised and a little nervous because she remembered their last encounter. Kazari, Komoe, Last Order, and Index didn't know who they were.

"Why are they here?" Kuroko asked. She recognized them but narrowed her eyes. She remembered her last encounter with them that almost ended in a fight involving three level 5s, her and the blonde girl. She did not recognize the other two, but assumed they were Shizuri's friends.

"That's a good question," Mikoto replied coolly. She turned her eyes toward Touma and grinned. But it wasn't a happy grin. It looked force and Touma could see darkness in her eyes and a vein twitch in her forehead. "Would you care to explain why she is here?" A dark aura began to radiate from her that caused even Kuroko to take a step back.

"I would also like to know," Misaki said her eyes narrowing slightly. Touma could feel a dark aura radiate from her too. Touma looked at both of them and sighed.

"It's a really long story," he said nervously.

"I'm sure you will tell us later," they both said and turned to face Shizuri who had approached them with a smug look on her face. Frenda was at her side, but Saiai and Rikou where standing a little ways back. Both of them were watching Shizuri, Mikoto, and Misaki with the same look of interest as the guys behind Touma.

"Hey Kamijou," Frenda said cheerfully, and then she glared at Mikoto and Misaki.

"What are you doing here?" Mikoto asked Shizuri. She was trying to keep her voice calm, but it was difficult.

"I assume the same reason you are," Shizuri responded coolly, but there was a gleam of amusement in her eyes. "He invited me."

"I doubt he just invited you," Misaki interrupted. "Did you force him too?"

"Of course not," Shizuri said smirking. "I met him one evening and he invited us because of all the time we spend together."

"What?" Mikoto's and Misaki's eyes widened in shock. Then they looked back at Touma. He had opened his mouth to respond, but then his friends betrayed him.

"He tried to tell us at school Accelerator invited them," Motoharu said shaking his head.

"We all know that can't be true," Jason added. "Accelerator's wouldn't invite anyone to anything. After all, he is a…" He stopped as a murderous aura radiated from Accelerator.

"You should choose your next words carefully," Accelerator interrupted irritated.

"… he is a super neet," Jason finished knowing full well of the consequences. His response got him a punch in the back of the head from Accelerator. Most of the group laughed, except Last Order, Index, Komoe, Kazari, and Touma. Touma found it funny, but the situation was still serious because the laughter was short lived and everyone else turned back to the conversation. Last Order and Index didn't see why it was funny. Komoe was admonishing Accelerator for hitting Jason and Kazari was reprimanding Jason on calling Accelerator names. Worst was just plain laughing at their actions. She was enjoying the entire show, probably more than anyone else.

"I still doubt he just walked up and invited you," Mikoto told Shizuri who smiled.

"It doesn't really matter what you think," she replied. "The fact is he did and here we are."

"So it's true," Misaki muttered. She didn't want to believe it but, for Shizuri to actually come here, it had to be true. "I thought you were just pretending to, but you actually like him?" Touma couldn't contain his surprise when he heard this, and even Mikoto was shocked. Mikoto had been thinking similar thoughts as Misaki. Frenda has also opened her mouth in surprise, but didn't say anything. She knew what would happen if they angered Shizuri, and she did not want to fuel Shizuri's anger and cause Shizuri to turn her wrath to herself. Saiai and Rikou were silent as they watched, interested in Shizuri's reaction.

Shizuri debated exactly what to say. She had told Saiai, Frenda and Rikou she was planning to make fun of Mikoto and Misaki, but right now she had two possible choices. _I can deny, or I can agree. I think I know what to say._ She knew which would hurt them the most. She took a step forward and grabbed Touma's arm and pressed her chest up next to him. "Didn't he tell you?" she asked almost purring. "We are actually dating. I'm pretty sure he said it publically." Their reactions were exactly what she had hoped for, and they were priceless. She also had a surprise feeling well up inside her. _Why do I enjoy holding him?_ Everyone else, except Last Order and Index, just stared at them in shock.

"M-Mugino?" Frenda stuttered while Saiai and Rikou looked on with interest.

"Wha… WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Mikoto and Misaki yelled.

"Mugino," Touma asked bewildered. "Stop m…"

"I thought I told you to call me Shizuri," she whispered, but just loud enough for Misaki and Mikoto to hear. "After all Touma, we have been through a lot together." She blew softly into his ear and he felt a shiver go down his spine. That was the last straw for Mikoto and Misaki. Both of them jumped forward and grabbed onto Touma.

"Get away from him," Mikoto hissed while she and Misaki pulled him out of Shizuri's grasp. She was not going to let Shizuri have him. Mikoto knew as soon as Shizuri got tired of Touma, she would probably kill him.

"I knew you were the possessive type," Misaki said glaring at Shizuri as Touma stumbled behind them. "But I never thought you would fall for him." _He somehow attracts every girl in existence. I guess it's because he is so amazing, but I wish it wouldn't affect people like her._

"Oh," Shizuri said as her grin slipped and she glared at them. "Are you two trying to pick a fight with me? You understand what that means right" The tension was thick in the air as the three level 5 girls all stared at each other. Everyone else was staring at them and many thought a fight was about to break out. No one wanted to make any sudden moves in case it caused a chain reaction, except Worst and Accelerator, but they wanted to see what was going to happen next. Kazari and Ruiko were both sweating bullets while Jason eye's narrowed slightly and his arm twitched. Touma was about ready to jump into the middle of them. Surprisingly, the person who moved first was the last one any of them expected.

"Young ladies shouldn't be fighting," Komoe cried out as she jumped in between the girls. "You are all about to go on vacation and spend a week together. You should be making friends not enemies." Mikoto, Misaki, and Shizuri all looked at her like she was something strange.

"Who's the little kid?" Shizuri ask pointing at Komoe.

"How rude," Komoe said as she stomped her foot. "I'm an adult and a high school teacher."

"Yea right," Frenda said laughing. "Basically, you're obviously a kid, look how short you are." Touma thought it was kind of ironic as Frenda wasn't too much taller herself.

"Doesn't matter anyway," Shizuri growled at Frenda who shut up immediately. She turned her attention back to Mikoto and Misaki. "Anyway, were you two going to do something?" There was silence for a moment as all three glared at each other. Komoe then interrupted them all again.

"Come on you three," she cried again and her eyes started to water. "There's no need to fight." Tears started to run down her face as Mikoto, Misaki and Shizuri looked down at her.

"Look away," Jason said and he, Motoharu, and Accelerator all turned away. They knew the power of Komoe's sad face. Even Accelerator could develop feelings of regret if he looked at it. Ruiko, Kazari, Last Order, Index, and Kuroko didn't understand why they should and they saw the power of her tears. They felt sorry for how their friends were acting. Worst even stopped laughing as she saw Komoe's face. Mikoto, Misaki and Shizuri, along with Frenda, Saiai, and Rikou took the full force of it though.

"AH!" Mikoto yelled. "We are sorry, we won't fight anymore." She looked down at Komoe and forced a grin to show there wasn't any animosity anymore.

"We were just joking around," Misaki hastily added.

"Mugino," Saiai called out. "I think you super made her sad."

"Basically," Frenda added. "If we keep arguing we are going to miss the flight."

"…You shouldn't be mean to kids," added Rikou.

"I'm an adult!"

Shizuri looked at her friends, then looked at the sad face little girl before her. _Dang, does she have an ability? I'm feeling bad when I look at her._ "Fine," she said flipping her hair back. "I was just greeting them." She looked at Komoe who smiled.

"That's good," she said cheerfully now that everyone had stopped fighting. "We should get boarding. The plane leaves soon. Index Last Order, you should come with me."

"Yes Komoe-sensei," they said together and followed her.

Touma sighed and grabbed his suitcase. He was glad the fight ended without violence. "We really should get going," he called out to everyone. Immediately, Misaki and Mikoto grabbed their bags and followed, as close as possible to him. They both looked back and glared as Shizuri, who grinned. She knew she had won the first battle.

"Onee-sama," Kuroko called out rushing after Mikoto with her bag. "Wait for me!"

Shizuri grabbed her suitcase and saw Accelerator and Worst pass her. "Oh fourth rate," he called back over his shoulder. "She really is a teacher. If she wasn't teaching the rest of the morons in my class, she could actually teach somewhere highly advance."

"Obviously tou-san is in the class because he's a moron like the rest," Worst said elbowing him in the side as they followed Touma, Misaki, and Mikoto.

"Shut up," he snapped.

Shizuri watched them leave and Frenda moved up next to her. "I can't wait to go to England," she said excitedly. "Basically, it has been forever since I've left the city."

"And she super wants to spend time with Kamijou," Saiai added sneaking up behind them causing Frenda to turn red.

"Shut up," she wailed.

"…Good luck," Rikou said softly. "I'll root for both of you." Both Frenda and Shizuri gave her a quick glance.

"If you want him," Shizuri said to Frenda. "You need to be more aggressive. He's pretty dense." She started to walk after Accelerator. "Come on. You don't want to miss the flight. I'll kill you if you hold me up." The other three girls quickly followed her. The only people left were Ruiko, Kazari, Jason, and Motoharu.

"That was the show," Motoharu told the two stunned girls.

"Did you know this would happen?" Ruiko asked him and Jason.

"We figured Touma would forget to tell Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san," Jason explained. "Since it was last minute and he has been pretty busy. Those level 5s do seem to have a little rivalry going on."

"I think I know why," Kazari said softly glancing at Ruiko then Jason.

"We all know why," Motoharu said grabbing his bag and heading off after everyone else. "I just wonder when Kami-yan will figure it out." When he was out of sight, Jason turned to Ruiko.

"Given any thought about what you are going to do?" Jason asked.

"W-what?" Ruiko replied shocked. "What do you mean?"

"When are you going to make your move?" Kazari demanded.

"How are you only tough in this situation?" asked Ruiko.

"Don't avoid the question," Jason said reaching down and picked up his bag. "If you don't make your move soon, he's going to go with someone else. You should have plenty of time this week if you plan it out." He and Kazari followed the rest of the group. Ruiko hesitated, grabbed her stuff and followed them thinking.

 _How can I get Touma to notice me?_

* * *

Everyone left their bags at the luggage drop off and went through the normal security procedures for when they leave the city. Touma hated the fact they took a blood sample, but he didn't say anything in front of everyone else. After they finally passed the last security checkpoint, they finally were allowed to board the plane. Touma thought there were more stringent security measures, as he walked up the stairs to the plane, then the last time he left the city. _I guess with a bunch of level 5s, it's to be expected._ _The city wouldn't want any of them to disappear._ He entered the plane and got a pleasant surprise. He had been expecting a normal commercial plane.

His experience on commercial planes usually had six small seats in a row that barely fit one person. This plane had four luxury seats per row, two on each side with the aisle in the middle. They were dark blue and looked comfortable with thick cushions, unlike normal plane seats. He could tell this wasn't an individual private jet, because it would still hold a lot of people. But with the corporation's symbol on the ceiling and walls, he could tell it was probably used to shuttle important guests. While he was admiring the plane, everyone else had started to board too and several of them realized a serious problem.

There were only two seats to a side.

That meant only one of them could sit directly next to Touma.

Some of the pairs formed smoothly as several of them took their seats. Jason and Kazari were the only actual couple so they sat together, Kazari was on the outside so she could talk to Ruiko who sat across the aisle from them. Komoe grabbed a seat in the back away from everyone else because she believed in letting the kids have fun. Index and Last Order immediately sat down together with Last Order near the window. Accelerator didn't care too much and was about to sit down when Worst pushed pass him and took the window seat. He glared at her for a moment and sat down anyway. Saiai and Rikou grabbed a seat further in the back. Motoharu grabbed a seat next to Ruiko, turned around, and watched the remaining girls begin to argue. Kuroko, of course, wanted to sit by Mikoto, but she had other plans. Misaki had tried to sneak past her, but Mikoto had grabbed her sleeve.

"Where do you think you're going?" Mikoto whispered narrowing her eyes.

"I was going to sit down," Misaki replied smiling innocently.

"You seem to be mistaken," Mikoto replied forcing a smile. "I was going to sit there."

"I don't see your name on it Misaka-san," Misaki said narrowing her eyes slightly.

"Excellent point," Shizuri said interrupting them as she started to walk past them. They both immediately stopped arguing and blocked her path.

"You caused enough problems today," Mikoto told her.

"I have no idea what you mean," Shizuri replied.

"Stay away from him," Misaki whispered. "I know your type. I won't let you hurt him."

"Why don't you go sit with your friends?" Mikoto said her eyes darting toward Frenda who was looking between them and Touma. Mikoto didn't know Frenda was debating on trying to slip past them to sit next to Touma.

"You could sit with yours then," Shizuri said smirking slightly as her eyes darted toward Kuroko who was watching them.

"Those are excellent ideas," Misaki interjected. "I know Shirai-san wants to sit by you Misaka-san." She gave Mikoto and Kuroko a warm smile. Shizuri also grinned slightly, but hers was more sinister. While she did not want either of the other level 5 girls sitting next to Touma. It was worth seeing Mikoto's face drop when both she and Misaki teamed up against her. Shizuri hated Mikoto, after their first encounter when Mikoto beat her, while she only disliked Misaki. She was waiting to see if Frenda would grow the courage to sit by Touma, but she failed. _If I need her to kill someone she does it easily, but if I need her to flirt with a guy, she suddenly becomes a child._ She gestured to Frenda to join her, and the sat down next to the window in the seat across the aisle from Saiai and Rikou. Frenda sat next to her in the aisle seat.

Mikoto was about to protest, but Kuroko took the opportunity and dragged Mikoto with her to their seats. A vein throbbed in Mikoto's head as she saw Misaki's smug grin, but there wasn't much she could do about it. At least Kuroko took the window seat so Mikoto could sit on the aisle side, directly across from Touma. Touma had been nice enough to give Misaki the window seat. Mikoto didn't know Misaki thought about it and decided she wanted Touma in between them so she wouldn't have Mikoto's death glare aim at her the entire flight. Everyone was finally seated and waited for the flight to take off. A door opened in the back of a plane and a stewardess came by to check everyone had their seatbelts fastened. After she had made sure everyone did, she left them alone through the same door. A moment later a man's voice came through the plane's intercom.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentleman. This is your captain speaking. We are going to take off momentarily. It looks like a smooth direct flight all the way to England today. Please keep your seatbelts fastened until the indicator light at the front turns off. Afterwards, you are free to move about. I would also like to congratulate the winner of the contest and hope your vacation goes well. Though, I do have one last thing I need to mention." Touma felt his stomach sink. He knew this wasn't going to be good. "With our guest being known as Kami the Harem King," Touma face palmed and he felt a lot of eyes on him. "We do ask you do not do anything… adult rated… on the flight. Please also do not try to pick up the stewardesses, both of them are married. Also, our cleanup crews don't like it when people get frisky. Thank you. Snacks will be served, along with a meal around the halfway point on the flight."

Touma could feel his ears burn as he heard laughter coming from Accelerator, Motoharu, Jason, Worst, and Saiai. He couldn't see everyone, but Komoe, Ruiko, Kazari, and Frenda had turned red. Last Order didn't realize what was going on, but Index started to emit a murderous aura and Touma could feel sweat form on his brow. Rikou didn't seem to really care and was beginning to fall asleep. Shizuri grinned at the comment and pulled out a magazine. Kuroko noticed Mikoto smirking slightly and she leaned forward to glare at Touma, which only caused him to sweat more. Misaki, on the other hand, patted his hand while smiling at him and allowed him to relax slightly. He had no idea what she was thinking though.

 _If those stewardesses try to flirt with him, I'll make them regret it._

The plane started moving and they took off without a hitch. Touma half expected the engines to blow with his luck, but nothing happened. When the seat belt light turned off, everyone unbuckled and started talking and turning around in their seats. It wasn't too bad at this point. The only thing that happened about thirty minutes into the flight was Worst shocking Accelerator's music player so he couldn't use it to drown everyone else out. Everyone watched them fight for a bit before a stewardess came and passed out water, tea, and soda to everyone. She didn't stick around and Touma couldn't blame her after the captain's announcement.

"Touma," Index called out from the seat in front of him as she poked her head over to look at him. "How long until we get there?"

"We just left," Touma said exasperatedly. _Please don't start this already._ "It's roughly a ten hour flight. I suppose we could have taken one of those supersonic ones…" Index eyes went wide and she shook her head frantically. Neither of them had a good experience on it when they left Italy a long time ago. Mikoto, Misaki, and Kuroko all gave him curious looks, but he didn't say anything else about it.

"Hey Touma," Mikoto asked. "How did you do on your exams?"

"I at least passed or I wouldn't have been able to come," Touma said leaning back in his seat. "It was thanks to you, Misaki, and Jason."

"Kamijou-chan has been doing a lot better in class," Komoe said from the back. "I'm glad he has such good friends willing to help him. He hasn't needed supplementary classes for a while."

"He's smart," Misaki pointed out. "He's just always busy helping people so he can't study." Mikoto rolled her eyes, but she grinned in agreement. Touma was surprised someone actually talked him up. He was use to his class's reaction to his friends.

"And getting girls," Motoharu called out.

 _There it is,_ Touma thought. He frowned slightly, someone was being uncharacteristically quiet. He turned in his seat and looked back diagonally at Jason. He was whispering to Kazari and her face was slightly red, but she seemed to be involved in their conversation. Jason caught him looking and winked.

"Touma," Jason called out and Kazari turned her head. "I can't give you all your relationship advice, talk to Accelerator. He should be able to help you." Kazari's face turned redder, but she smiled slightly. Mikoto and Misaki both laughed when Touma turned around embarrassed.

"Why would I give him any advice?' Accelerator asked irritated he was getting dragged into their conversation.

"Yea," Worst said. "Tou-san would never be able to ask a girl out. He's a neet." This started another fight between them.

"Onee-sama," Kuroko said. "I never asked, but do you know what the plans are for this trip?"

"Ah," Mikoto said turning to face Kuroko. She had been staring at Touma who was talking to Misaki. "We are going to meet a guide and I believe the trip will be planned out either tonight or tomorrow."

"Ok," Kuroko said leaning back in her seat. "I wish Kamiko-san could have joined us." Mikoto felt a grin form on her face. "This trip would have been amazing if she was here too."

"How easy was it to get out of Judgment to come here?" Mikoto asked trying to change subjects.

"We just had to fill out all our paperwork and made sure our current work was finished," Kuroko said in an almost bored voice.

"I had to help her with her share," Kazari added form behind them. "She was so far behind." Kuroko stood up on the seat and reached over to pull on her cheeks. "Owe, it hurts!" she cried.

"I told Uiharu she should have made Shirai-san finish her own work," Ruiko said.

"Don't be mean to her Kuro-chan," Jason said conversationally. "Otherwise I'll have to mess with you more then I was planning to."

"Stop calling me that," Kuroko snapped at him. "All you do is lie and mess with me. Like the stuff you said yesterday when Uiharu called you."

"That actually wasn't a lie," Jason admitted. "Accelerator was on a date and I wanted to know with whom." There was a sound of several people spitting out drinks and every head was looking at Jason and Accelerator.

"What the hell?" Accelerator growled as he turned around. "What bullshit are you making up now?"

"Hah," Motoharu said from behind Touma. "Don't lie, Touma and I both witnessed it." Touma frowned, but remembered Jason has covered for him, and it looked like Motoharu had also joined him. That meant he also knew Touma had been disguised as a girl.

"You're kidding," said Shizuri's amused voice from the back. "You're telling me someone is actually willing to go out with him? Did he threaten her?" Even Frenda and Saiai were leaning out into the aisle to watch and listen to their conversation about Accelerator.

"Yea," Touma added. "It was some blonde girl." He didn't know what really happened so he just repeated what Jason said over the phone. Besides, he never really had a good chance to make fun of Accelerator until now. Mikoto and Misaki grinned because they knew he was making stuff up on the spot.

"I super can't believe it," Saiai added.

"I never caught her name," Jason said thoughtfully glancing over at Accelerator who was in the front. "But I heard her call him master once, so I think he's into some kind of roleplay." That was followed by a very loud silence as everyone turned to stare at Accelerator. The silence was broken not by Accelerator, who was looking capable of murder, but by Last Order.

"HE WAS WITH ANOTHER GIRL! MISAKA cries as MISAKA points angrily at Accelerator!" She was standing up on her seat and was clearly visible to everyone.

Worst grabbed her head as a torrent of negative emotions flowed through her from Last Order. She had found it hilarious Accelerator could have been with a girl, but now jealousy flowed through her from Last Order's connection. "It looks like this Misaka needs to punish you for your infidelity," Worst exclaimed as she slammed her heel down on Accelerator's foot. He grunted in pain and began another round of fighting with Worst. He did say one last thing to everyone else though.

"When this plane lands," he roared. "Every one of you is going to die." Everyone except Index, Last Order, and Komoe were laughing at him. Shizuri found herself having fun and no idea why. It might have been the sheer absurdity of the strongest level 5 being picked on by people obviously weaker then him. She didn't know what changed the Accelerator she knew, but now her interest has been aroused and she was determined to find out.

Overall, the rest of the flight was pretty uneventful compared to the beginning. Everyone, generally, just talked to each other. Ruiko was sitting behind Touma and he found out she was right at the border of becoming a level 2. Of course she was really excited, but he thought he saw a wishful look in Kazari's eyes who was sitting across the aisle from her. Shizuri's group kept mostly to themselves, but Frenda kept making eye contact with him. Accelerator tried to ignore everyone, but Jason, Motoharu, and Worst wouldn't let him. Index and Last Order mainly talked to each other, but would occasionally call out to someone else to get their opinion or advice. Kuroko really only wanted to talk to Mikoto, but she also talked to Ruiko and Kazari a lot too. Jason, who just enjoyed it, would keep antagonizing her periodically during the flight which was a constant source of entertainment for many. Misaki didn't talk a lot to everyone else, but she talked almost nonstop to Touma as she asked him a lot about himself and he found out a lot about her too. Mikoto, though she got to talk to Touma a lot too, looked at them with a jealous gleam in her eye.

When they were finally about halfway to England, the stewardesses brought out dinner for them all. Of course Index was not satisfied with her meal, so Touma threw her some chips he had packed away for this very situation. After their in-flight meal, most people started to fall asleep as the food coma took effect. Touma had gotten up to use the restroom and the only person he saw awake was Shizuri who was reading a book. She had looked at him as he passed, gave a curt nod as acknowledgement, and went back to her book. When Touma returned to his seat, he found himself falling asleep almost instantly too.

* * *

When most people had fallen asleep, Shizuri had taken the opportunity of the peace and quiet to read. When her phone started buzzing, she glanced at it briefly and her eyes narrowed. "What?" she hissed softly. "I don't you not to contact me this week." Her eyes darted to the right as she watched Jason walk to the back to the plane to use the bathroom.

"I know I know," the female on the other side said apologetically. "But I needed to make sure you got the message we left with your associate, the blonde girl." Shizuri's eyes narrowed slightly at Frenda who was sleeping. Under her stair, Frenda's body shivered slightly, but she didn't wake up. Frenda in fact had not told her about receiving any reports. "We have your temporarily replacements, but you will want to think about what we said. It will have serious implications on your future missions."

"Ok," Shizuri said. "Now don't f#%^ing call me again this week." She hung up and leaned back in her seat and her eyes kept darting to Frenda. _I can't strangle her with everyone nearby. Tonight, I'm going to have to punish her for withholding information._ Frenda's body gave another involuntary shiver.

* * *

Jason had moved to the back of the plane, not to use the bathroom, but because he had also received a call. He was probably as excited for this call as Shizuri's was for hers. He locked himself in the bathroom and answered. "What do you want?"

"You sound suspicious," Aleister commented.

"Who wouldn't be?" Jason asked. "Again, what do you want?"

"Maybe I simply wanted to wish you luck in removing your sin marks."

"Bullshit," Jason hissed. "Like you care about them at all."

"On the contrary," Aleister corrected him. "I care about them very much. I would prefer them to be destroyed, but I guess it really doesn't matter if you die with them. Either way, my plans would not change."

"That sounds like you," Jason said but he didn't have any humor in his voice. "But you wouldn't call me without reason. What do you want?"

"I was just curious about how prepared you are for the events about to take place," Aleister answered. "Surely you took appropriate precautions to minimize casualties."

"What are you talking about?" Jason asked as he frowned. _Does he know something is going to happen?_ "What do you know?"

"I know quite a lot," Aleister said, and Jason thought if Aleister was capable of expressing emotion he would have been laughing. "But when I scanned your luggage, you seem to be woefully unprepared."

"You b#$^%!&," Jason growled. "Tell me what's going to happen."

"You mean I know something that you do not?" Aleister asked. "I must be good."

"I… wait," Jason asked shocked. "D-did you just hold a grudge?"

"Impossible," Aleister denied. "I do not hold grudges. I just wanted to warn you so I do not lose important pieces. I know you have that weapon on you, feel free to use it to save your group. I am interested to see it used and if it will kill you or not. If you are unable to save everyone, try to keep the Imagine Breaker and the level 5s alive, the rest of the group can be replaced easily. Losing several level 5s would put me behind schedule." He hung up before Jason could try to get more information from him.

 _Damn it,_ he thought. _How much does he know about the world? I thought his surveillance was limited to Academy City. And worst of all, he didn't warn me. I knew he would get rid of anyone if it would speed up his plans, but he's gone too far. There is one, maybe two, people I can't allow to die._ He pocketed his cellphone, took a deep breath, and regained his composure as he exited the bathroom in case anyone woke up. As he walked back, he couldn't suppress the voice.

 _We will regret stepping foot into England now._

* * *

Everyone started to get up when they heard the captain's voice again. "We will be landing shortly. Please buckle up until we have come to a complete stop. I would like to thank Kami for keeping all activities to a family friendly level." Touma face palmed again as a lot of people laughed. A stewardess walked through the aisle again to check everyone had their seatbelts secured then left. They looked out of the window as the plane began to descend and saw the city of London. Even though the flight was long, the 8 hour time difference between England and Japan made it early evening now, but to all of them, it felt like the middle of the night. The plane landed and they exited without any problem. As they entered the airport, Touma noticed two individuals who seemed to be waiting for their flight. They both looked oddly familiar and he suddenly was overcome with shock.

 _Why are they here? Don't tell me they are our guides?_

Across the lobby was a red haired girl with braids and wearing a nun robes, but with part of the lower half removed. The other girl was young Japanese girl with black hair that reached her shoulders. When both of them saw who exited the terminal of the group they were supposed to wait for, they both were shocked just as much as Touma. "What is the boy doing here?" the red haired girl, Agnese, demanded.

"I-I don't know why K-Kamijou-kun is here," the Japanese girl, Itsuwa, replied stuttering. _There seems to be a lot of girls with him too._

"We have a job to do though," Agnese said as she walked forward to Touma's group. She appeared confident, but her face was slightly red. Itsuwa followed her, but her face was much redder.

Touma watched both of the girls approach him and he felt sweat begin to form. He could hear some of the others behind him whisper about the two girls. While Itsuwa looked fine in her normal clothes, Agnese stood out a lot in her nun outfit. When they got close Touma waved to them. "Agnese, Itsuwa, how are you?" After his innocent greeting, he felt several death stares.

 _How many girls does he know?_

 _Oh my, I'm going to have to investigate both of them._

 _That ape has even more girls and he still wants onee-sama, ARG._

 _I'm not sure why I'm so pissed, but I feel like I need to kill someone._

"Not too bad boy," Agnese said as she stood right in front of him. "Glad to see you remember my name."

"Well after Italy…" he went quiet as he remembered a very embarrassing incident involving his right hand and her magical clothes. He felt his ears burn. Agnese's eyes went slightly wide, her faced flush and she too went silent. This was not missed by many of the girls behind him and Touma felt their glares intensify by ten.

"Hello Kamijou-san," Itsuwa said politely. "It is good to see you again."

"It has been awhile," Touma said smiling, but rubbing the back of his head.

"Hey Agnese, Itsuwa!" Index called out bounding to the front of the group.

"Hello Index," they both said together.

"Hello," Komoe said as she stepped forward. "My name is Tsukuyomi Komoe. I am their chaperone for the trip. Are you two the guides I heard about?"

"It's nice to meet you," Agnese said putting on a smile and leaning down. "But I don't think a little girl could be their chaperone."

"How rude!" Komoe said waving her arms. "I may look young, but I'm an adult and a high school teacher."

"She is," Index said trying to avoid an incident like at the airport. "She helps me a lot when Touma disappears and leaves me to starve to death." This got him a couple surprised looks from Agnese and Itsuwa, but they started talking to Komoe and quickly realized Komoe was more than just a little girl. Touma then felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Mikoto and Misaki looking at him while emitting dark auras.

"Would you like to tell us how you know those two?" Mikoto said grinning, but the grin looked forced and he could swear he saw a vein in her head twitching.

"I, for one, would love to know," Misaki added smiling. Her smile seemed to be more sincere, that was probably because she practices a lot more, but she was also emitting the dark aura. Touma tried to explain how he knew them from Index's church, while whispering so he could explain about the magic side. He left out a lot of embarrassing details though to prevent the girls from getting mad at him.

"Wow," Saiai said elbowing Frenda. "You super have more competition."

"Shut up," Frenda wailed at her.

"…He certainly seems to know a lot of girls," Rikou remarked.

"I don't know how," Saiai said shrugging. "I super don't understand why every girl falls for him." Shizuri had been quiet as she watched. She was deeply irritated there were more girls near Touma, but she had always been good at hiding her emotions. Instead, she was thinking about why she was irritated. She had come to the very unattractive conclusion, on the plane, that she had somehow developed feelings for Touma. She was pissed at herself, not for realizing it, but for it happening. She had never been in loved before and had no idea what to do, except for some of the fake motions she did for her jobs.

"Who are those two?" Kazari asked Jason. "And are you ok?

"I'm fine," Jason said then shrugged, but he looked slightly green. "I didn't know Touma knew people in England."

"They look pretty friendly," Ruiko said, but they could hear her slightly depressed tone.

"That just means you have to try extra hard," Motoharu said patting her on the shoulder. He couldn't conceal the grin plastered on his face.

"The savior is quite popular MISAKA comments as MISAKA expects nothing left of the one who saved all the sisters." With Index gone to speak to the newcomers, Last Order was left with Accelerator and Worst.

"Shut up brat," Accelerator said annoyed at the smug look on Last Order's face.

"Ohhhh," Worst laughed while grinning evilly. "Tou-san is jealous of all the attention the hero is getting. Did you want to be center of attention, you diva."

"Shut up b$%^&!" snapped Accelerator which only fueled Worst's laughter more.

"Onee-sama," Kuroko said pulling on Mikoto's sleeve. "We still need to get our luggage." Mikoto turned to look at her and sighed, but agreed. When they left to go get their bags, everyone else actually followed them to get theirs too. A lot of different conversations were going on, but Touma noticed everyone seemed tired and the conversations were beginning to dwindle. Itsuwa seemed to have noticed it too.

"I believe everyone seems to have a little jet lag," Itsuwa said clapping her hands together. "We have a bus ready to take you to your hotel once everyone has retrieved their bags." Touma look at her gratefully, something Misaki and Mikoto noticed, and they grabbed onto his arms and glared at Itsuwa, who looked embarrassed.

When everyone had retrieved their bags, they all left the airport and boarded a bus. Everyone sat in seats similar to how they sat on the plane, but there was a lot less talking. An old man was driving the bus and Touma recognized him from when they rescued their friends from the sin organization. From what Itsuwa and Agnese told them, they were going to a hotel near the ocean. The plan was, because of the jet lag Touma and his friends were bound to experience, the next day would be a relaxing day at the beach. Then on Monday, they would start their tour in London and move out from there. Touma was trying to pay attention, but he kept experience a dull pounding in his head. He also noticed Jason seemed to be a little sick too, but didn't know why. Most of the group seemed to fall asleep on the ride there. Touma couldn't help smiling as Last Order and Index were leaning on each other to keep themselves in their upright position. When they finally reached the hotel, everyone seemed to be pleased with the location. It wasn't the fanciest hotel, but it was several steps above a cheap motel.

"The church owns this hotel," Agnese told Touma winking as they all walked in to check in at the front desk. Itsuwa and Agnese handled signing the paperwork and retrieved the keys. Touma noticed they looked at the keys and started talking quietly among themselves and looked serious. He didn't know what they were talking about, but knew it couldn't be good. The girls finally seemed to agree on something and motioned for Touma and his group to follow them. They could only fit in the elevator four at a time with their luggage. Agnese, Itsuwa, and Komoe went first, then Touma, Mikoto, Misaki, and Kuroko, following them was Shizuri, Frenda, Saiai, and Rikou, then Index, Last Order, Accelerator, and Worst. The last group was Kazari, Ruiko, Jason, and Motoharu.

When everyone was on their floor, Agnese and Itsuwa led them down a hallway. "These four rooms are reserved for you," Itsuwa explained helpfully while Agnese held up the key cards. "But… there is a small problem."

"What is it?" Komoe asked and Touma knew his luck radar had been right on the mark.

"Well each of these rooms was only designed to hold four people," Itsuwa said nervously. "So since there are seventeen of you, Agnese and I will be bunking separately, someone will have to share a bed."

"I volunteer to share with Touma!" Misaki immediately called out. She looked pleased with herself for being the first one.

"Well that problem was solved easily," Motoharu said smirking.

"Like hell it is!" Mikoto yelled.

"But Misaka-san," Misaki said cheerfully. "Touma and I have already slept together a couple times. So we are used to it." This caused Kazari's, Ruiko's, Komoe's, Frenda's, and Index's faces to turn bright red.

Mikoto wanted to deny it, but she knew it was true because of the Tokiwadai beach trip. "Don't put it like that," Mikoto said angrily. "You know full well it wasn't anything like that."

"If we are talking about just sharing a bed," Shizuri said putting her hand up to her chin and pretended to think, while at the same time thinking she could crush both of the other level 5 girls. "He shared one with me and Frenda once in a hotel." There was a long silence.

"Liar!" Mikoto and Misaki yelled simultaneously.

"Don't say things people will misunderstand!" yelled Touma.

"What do you call it then when all three of us were together, I was halfway out of my clothes, and you were feeling up Frenda?" Shizuri asked innocently.

"MUGINO!" Frenda cried bypassing red and turning scarlet. The other girls who were watching were almost equal shades as well. Even Kuroko was stunned as she heard all their confessions. Kazari and Ruiko couldn't do anything but gasp.

"Wow," Saiai said impressed. "I didn't know you super got that far Frenda."

"Kamijou-chan!" Komoe called out. "You're too young for those activities!"

Accelerator, Jason and Motoharu were watching this interaction with amusement. Worst was leaning up against a wall for support as she almost fell over laughing. "Wow," Jason said also impressed. "I did not know he was that advance."

"Did the hero finally grow a pair?" asked Accelerator.

"Dang Kami-yan," Motoharu said as he shook his head. "Aogami would be trying to kill you right now if he was here. I'll make sure to let him know about your sudden level increase."

As all the conversations were going on, Touma could only sit there in stunned silence. Then he felt a darkness emit from a single individual. His eyes moved and saw a dark aura flowing out from a single little girl. Index had reached a breaking point and had revealed her sharp teeth. "Index," he said taking a step back. Everyone turned to look at him when he spoke up out of nowhere.

"TOOOOUUUUMMMMAAAAA!"

"SUCH MISFORTUNE!" he cried as Index lunged at him and sank her teeth into his skull.

* * *

 **I did a little bit near the end from laughing to hard. I felt the interactions between everyone came together quite well and just flowed together.** **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them.**

 **Motoharu: This was the point Touma's harem was officially established.**

 **Jason: This day will go down in history.**

 **Touma: Shut up idiots. I'm glad the girls aren't here or you two are going to get me killed. I don't have a…**

 **Accelerator: Can you still spout that bullshit after this chapter? Or are you just in denial?**

 **Me: Guys I think you are missing the important point of this chapter.**

 **Jason: Hey, it's the author, haven't seen him in a while.**

 **Accelerator: What point?"**

 **Me: It has now been established Accelerator has been meeting with an unknown blonde girl. I think the readers know who it is.**

 **Motoharu: Wait, Accel-kun never denied it and just got mad at us.**

 **Touma: Holy…**

 **Jason: Told you.**

 **Accelerator: ….**

 **Me: Hey Accelerator, you don't need to look at me that way. There's no need to use the choker….AHHH!**


	41. S2 Relaxation

**Wow, this chapter is long. I did not plan for it to be, but it sort of took on a life of its own so I just kept writing until I reached the spot I wanted to end at. So many people cause the chapter to expand so much. It has a lot of slice of life writing along with the formation of real plot. Sorry the chapter was later then my normal release schedule, I was really busy last week and went camping last weekend. Yes, I have a life and friends.**

 **Sadly, there are reasons I am not giving shout outs on this chapter, but I promise to next time. I did however, was able to use several ideas people gave, not because I'm pandering, but because it set up opportunities for things I wanted to do.**

 **I hope you all enjoy the chapter and that the wait was worth it.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

Touma had no idea how this happened but, with everyone standing in the hotel hallway, now it looked like a fight was about to break out. There was a momentary lapse of seriousness, as everyone watched Touma get bitten by Index. When it ended though, everyone went back to their previous argument. Mikoto, Misaki, and Shizuri were glaring daggers at each other with murderous looks in their eyes. Touma saw, out of the corner of his eye, Kuroko was alternating between looking at Mikoto and glaring at him with murder in her eyes too. Motoharu, Accelerator, Jason and Worst were just leaning against a wall watching this spectacle with amused looks. Frenda's face was bright red and she was speechless at Shizuri's confession of the hotel room. Saiai wanted to nudge Frenda more, but was too busy watching Shizuri argue with Mikoto and Misaki. Ruiko and Kazari were just stunned by the sudden confession from Shizuri and the, seemingly unavoidable, fight between high level ability users. Last Order and Index were confused at why everyone was fighting, so it took an unexpected, but thinking back quite obvious, individual to try to solve the problem.

"Stop arguing," Komoe said stepping in between them and causing all eyes to turn to her. "There is not going to be any fighting. You are all old enough to be able to choose your rooms in an adult manner. Naturally, the four boys will be together, so that leaves the other three." Touma was extremely glad she had come along on the trip.

"Just let the hero sleep in his own room," Accelerator said in a bored tone, but his face still showed an amused expression. "Then let whoever wants to room with him go too. Otherwise, the rest of us are going to be bothered when those girls come to see him." He motioned to Mikoto, Misaki, and Shizuri.

"There's an idea," Motoharu agreed. "I think that would work too."

"No," Komoe said stamping her foot in a 'this is final' way. "It is completely inappropriate for boys and girls your age to share a hotel room." Touma breathed a sigh of relief as everyone reluctantly agreed with her and started breaking up into groups.

Naturally, Mikoto, Kuroko, Ruiko, and Kazari formed one group and Shizuri, Frenda, Saiai, and Rikou formed another. That led Misaki, Worst, Komoe, Index, and Last Order to share the final room. Index and Last Order had volunteered to share which Komoe agreed was fine. Worst wasn't that happy, it would be harder for her to annoy Accelerator from another room, but she was nowhere near as unhappy as Misaki. She was experienced at concealing her emotions, but inside she was quite displeased with the arrangements. First, she didn't get to room with Touma, which was her initial plan even if they wouldn't share a bed, but now she had to share it with four people she didn't know. She was not easily discouraged though and immediately started thinking about her next move as everyone entered their room to unpack.

The only two remaining girls were Itsuwa and Agnese who were still in shocked over what just happened. They had been ignored by everyone as soon as the argument started. They looked at each other and Agnese broke the silence. "How did that boy convince all those girls to come with him and not have a grudge match start before now?" She didn't want to admit she had been slightly jealous at the way those girls could convey their feelings honestly.

"I don't know," Itsuwa said shaking her head slightly depressed. She really liked Touma and did not know a lot of the other girls from Academy City liked him too. _I need to work hard to get him to fall for me,_ she thought to herself as a fire lit into her eyes and made a determined fist. "But that does not change anything."

"What's gotten into you?" Agnese asked as they started walking to their room.

"Nothing," Itsuwa replied quickly. She didn't want to tell Agnese about her feelings, the only others who knew were some of the other Amakusa forces. They tended to keep trying to get her to confess. Itsuwa believed Agnese had feelings for Touma ever since he rescued her from the Roman Catholic Church. Agnese would pretend to talk harshly about him, but there was a sort of fondness when she said 'that boy' to someone.

Agnese looked at her curiously and they walked the rest of the way to their room in silence.

* * *

Misaki had only been unpacking for less than ten minutes and she wanted to pull her hair out. Index and Last Order were just small bundles of energy while being extremely loud and irritating. Last Order seemed to bounce of the walls and Index would talk nonstop. It didn't help that Worst was constantly antagonizing them and causing them to yell way more than necessary. Komoe was the only sane one, but her taste in clothes was just as bad as Mikoto's. Misaki was sure she saw a bunny pajama suit in Komoe's bag.

"Why can't MISAKA room with Accelerator? asks MISAKA as MISAKA uses her childish voice to try to get the desired results."

"Because," Komoe explained. "It is not appropriate for a boy and girl around your ages to sleep together alone in a hotel room."

"Especially since he is a lolicon," snickered Worst. She started to whistle innocently when Komoe glared at her.

"What's a lolicon?" asked Index.

"It's an inappropriate adult way of saying a person who is watching a kid MISAKA explains as MISAKA shares her information gathered from Worst and Accelerator." Index nodded in understanding while Misaki face palmed and Worst laughed clutching her side. Komoe just sighed, and continued to unpack.

 _Well,_ Misaki thought to herself. _It's not completely wrong in some ways and it is probably the best if they continue to think of it being inappropriate._ She wasn't entirely sure how long she was going to last rooming with them. However, her thoughts now moved to her plan to monopolize Touma this week. _Starting tonight I'll…._

* * *

Mikoto on the other hand was in a slightly better position than Misaki, but even she wasn't completely satisfied. She was glad Misaki did not get a chance to be in the same room of Touma but, deep down, she kind of wanted to room with him. She doubted she would have had the courage to admit it out loud, but she could tell she wanted to. Mikoto sighed and continued to unpack her things she would need for tonight and tomorrow. She glanced over and saw everyone else was doing the same. Naturally, they started talking about what just happened, something Mikoto was not keen on discussing.

"I can't believe how bold Shokuhou-san is," Kazari said slightly red faced.

"She knows what she wants," Kuroko agreed. "I don't know why though."

"Shirai-san," Ruiko said shaking her head. "You're the only one who doesn't like him. Is it just because he hangs out with Misaka-san?"

"It's not only that he is trying to defile onee-sama…" Kuroko tried to explain again, but was interrupted.

"Will you quit saying defiled!?" Mikoto asked loudly. "He's really nice to all of us, even you, which surprises me because you insult him all the time."

"He's still an ape," Kuroko huffed and continued. "He's uncivilized, plain, and not very smart. His only redeeming quality is he is willing to help anyone, but he is not a match for onee-sama. She needs someone who is as smart, beautiful, and talented as her by her side." Mikoto face palmed as Kuroko once again kept talking her up like she was some kind of celebrity.

"Like you?" Ruiko asked grinning slightly.

"I am working hard to make sure I will be the best possible partner for onee-sama," Kuroko said proudly. Mikoto face palmed and Kazari tried to smile, but it looked forced. Kuroko pretended to be confident, but she did have a lot of questions on her mind and wasn't sure how to ask them. She had noticed Worst and Last Order looked a lot like Mikoto. She wanted to know if they were her sisters and why they were with Accelerator. However, Mikoto did not introduce them as her sisters, so Kuroko was wondering if something happened Mikoto didn't want to talk about. _I'll wait till she is willing to tell me._

"I'm looking forward to this trip though," Mikoto said ignoring Kuroko's declaration. "It should be fun… even with some unexpected guests. We are going to have a relaxing day at the beach tomorrow."

"It will be good to get some sun," Kuroko said staring off into the distance. "Onee-sama… in her swimsuit…" Mikoto wanted to shock her, but resisted the urge because she didn't want to knock out power in the hotel.

"I'm just glad Uiharu is finally stuck here with nowhere to run," Ruiko said mysteriously.

"Huh!?" Kazari asked as she turned to look at her eyes wide in shock. "What do you mean by that Saten-san?" Mikoto and Kuroko watched Ruiko walk up to Kazari and put her arm over Kazari's shoulder.

"Now you are finally going to tell me how far you have gotten with Jason," Ruiko said grinning. "You always avoid the subject." Kazari's face got red and Mikoto sat on her bed watching her with an interested look. Even Kuroko looked interested, but she tried to pretend not to care. "You are going to tell us everything."

"WHAT!?" Kazari yelled out in surprise as she turned scarlet, but this time there was nowhere for her to run as all her friends stared at her expectedly.

* * *

"How could you say something like that Mugino!" Frenda asked waving her arms in frustration.

"Hmm?" Shizuri asked innocently. "Wasn't that the truth?"

"Basically, you still don't say it like that!" Frenda continued frustrated. As soon as they all got into their room and started unpacking, Saiai and Shizuri had been needling Frenda about her reactions. It was one of their sources of entertainment when they didn't have much to do.

"How much did he feel?" Saiai asked interestedly.

"Basically, it's none of your business," Frenda replied angrily. "Besides when are we going to get revenge on Kamijou's friend?"

"That is a super good question," Saiai added looking at Shizuri. "Wouldn't this trip be perfect to super take him out and make it look like an accident?"

"Possibly," Shizuri said frowning as she thought about it. She really didn't have any professional reason to kill Touma's friend Jason, it was purely emotional. She was pissed about the way he acted when he escaped from her. The problem was Jason was a friend of Touma. If he was killed, Touma would be upset and possibly never contact her again if he found out. She supposed she could forgo her revenge, because Jason did not appear to be willing to talk about meeting them. He had acted as if it was their first meeting, so she knew he must have worked for the dark side of Academy City at some point. Now, she was more focused on enjoying herself, and exploring these new feelings she felt for Touma. "Nah, he's not worth it. If he interrupts us again we can but, for now, let's just enjoy ourselves."

"…That's unusual," Rikou commented as she crawled into bed.

"Even I want to relax now and then," Shizuri snapped at her. Rikou stared at her for a moment longer, and then disappeared under the covers.

"Well that's good," Saiai said turning back to Frenda. "You should super sneak into his room tonight and sleep with him."

"As if I could do that!" Frenda yelled embarrassed.

"That sounds fun actually," Shizuri said thoughtfully. "Imagine how the third and fifth would react to that. I agree. You should do it. If you don't, I guess I'll do it." Frenda and Saiai stared at her wide eyed. Shizuri realized she had mixed feelings about her advice, but the entertainment value alone was worth it. Also, she didn't think Frenda or Touma would be bold enough to do anything.

"B-basically," Frenda stuttered. "He's too pure. What if he doesn't like it if I do it?"

"No guy alive would super hate waking up next to an attractive girl," Saiai said grinning. "You may not be as hot as me, but you are still above average. If he doesn't like it, he might be gay."

"I'm way hotter then you," Frenda argued. "Basically, my legs alone are higher quality then your entire body."

"Oh," Saiai replied angrily. "You think you are all that just because you super fell in…" She stopped when Shizuri smacked her in the back of her head along with Frenda.

"Both of you shut up," she said. "I'm tired and I'm going to read a bit before going to sleep. Frenda, I recommend waiting about an hour or so before sneaking in." She changed into her pajamas, grabbed a book, and then ignored everyone as she sat in her bed. Saiai shrugged and followed suit as she grabbed one of her fashion magazines. Frenda was embarrassed as she looked at the other girls, but still made a determined fist.

 _I can do this!_

* * *

"So Kami-yan," Motoharu said giving Touma a thumb up. "You seem to be doing pretty well with your harem. They haven't kill leach other yet and they are all together. That's a pretty high level of skill."

"Shut up idiot," Touma said. "I knew the level 5s have a rivalry, but they just seem to be at each other's throats all the time."

"Are you really that stupid?" Accelerator asked him incredulously. "Of course we have a rivalry as level 5s, well they do. I don't consider anyone my rival. But they are obviously fighting for a different reason."

"All three of them are madly in love with you Touma," Jason finally explained. "It's fine being dense and all, but your level is way beyond that."

"There's no way Mugino likes me," Touma said shaking his head. "She's almost as bad as you guys in messing with me." He knew Mikoto and Misaki had feelings for him but, now that Accelerator and Jason told him why they fought, it was obvious. "Plus she will probably kill me if I piss her off by accident."

"It's called a yandere," Motoharu explained. "So you brought an interested collection of girls with you, yandere, tsundere, obsessive, normal, teacher, and a sister. You're harem is growing fast."

"I don't have a hare…" Touma tried to say.

"Don't you spout that bullshit," interrupted Accelerator. "After what we just saw, you obviously do. Just accept it hero."

"I think what Accelerator is trying to say," Jason paused pretending to decipher his words. "He is happy for you and wants you to enjoy yourself?"

"If you put words in my mouth again I'll kill you."

"Anyway," Jason said hastily changing the subject. "If you use your harem powers to attract Kazari, I'll cut off your manhood with a rusty blade." He grinned, but Touma felt a dark presence behind his eyes. He also noticed Jason was still pretty green, like he was going to throw up any moment.

"I wouldn't try to take anyone's girlfriend," Touma replied defensively. "Are you sure you are ok though? You have looked bad ever since we arrived."

"Yea," Jason said waiving his hand dismissively. "I bet it is the lack of sleep from last night and jet lag today. I'm sure after we relax at the beach, I'll be fine." He reached and started fiddling with a camera while Touma continued to unpack everything he needed for tomorrow.

"Hey nice camera," Motoharu said looking at Jason.

"Thanks," Jason acknowledged. "It cost a lot, but should be worth it. Waterproof, scratch proof, can drop it off a twenty story building and it won't break, resistant to electrical shocks, and can store thousands of pictures along with taking short videos. I figure the last test is giving it to Touma for an hour and see if his luck will break it. It not, then it's the best camera around." Accelerator and Motoharu both laughed at this.

"I can hear you," Touma said irritated turning to look at Jason.

"Does that mean you will test out my camera?" Jason asked grinning. Touma rolled his eyes and made a rude gesture. It did not escape his notice however, while everyone was making fun of him, they all looked tired. Accelerator was the first one to actually get in bed and sleep, after threatening to kill them all if they woke him. Motoharu and Jason went to sleep soon after. Touma turned off the light and he found himself lying in bed staring at the ceiling and thinking.

 _There's no way Mugino could like me,_ he thought to himself. He knew Mikoto, Misaki and Ruiko had feelings for him, but he wasn't sure how to proceed with accepting or rejecting them, which made him feel like garbage. _It's like I'm toying with their feelings._ He had a slight feeling Frenda might be into him too, but he wasn't good at reading those kinds of signals. It took someone to tell him outright if they liked him or not for him to be sure. Eventually, his exhaustion overtook his thoughts and he fell asleep.

The guys were deep asleep so they didn't notice anything strange, but there was a slight buzz and the door to their room opened. A small girl with brown hair and an ahoge started moving silently across the room. She climbed into Accelerator's bed and snuck under the covers next to him. She smiled pleased at herself and fell asleep. She had used her electrical ability to short circuit the lock. The problem was the door would not lock again and the door could be opened by anyone from the outside. During the night, the door opened three times and three different people passed through with nothing to stop them.

* * *

Far away from England, two men were walking through an underground passageway in Europe, more specifically the catacombs under St. Peter's Basilica. It was the world's largest cathedral and the greatest Roman Catholic stronghold. Night had fallen and the tours were no longer running. These two men, however, were going deeper the any tourist was allowed to go and talking with serious expressions.

"Our plans are falling far behind schedule with the interruption of The Fallen," the first man stated as if this was a minor annoyance. He was a young man with a lanky physique, golden eyes and fiery red hair, who wore a simple red suit. His face was calm and seemed to hold a calculating expression while he was smiling slightly.

"Interruption?" the other man replied harshly. The older man has tea-colored hair, and his face was straight-lined, which made it look like it was chiseled from stone. His muscular look was not the ones that a body builder has, but of someone who has gone through many battles. He was taller than the first. He wore a shirt that looked similar to a polo shirt with blue as the base, as well as blue pants. "That organization has cause untold destruction to the Vatican. We managed to keep it from leaking out but, if this goes on for too much longer, the rest of the world will know soon."

"It matters not," the red haired man said still walking while the other man followed him. "I can handle them as long as my hand holds, but we need to complete our main objective."

"Vento is still weakened and Terra died to the one who called himself Adam," the second man said beginning to grow annoyed with the overconfident attitude of the first. "Our comrades are falling, our religion is under attack, and all your care about is the Imagine Breaker."

"You are mistaken," the first man replied simply. "I am going to show you the reason why both of these goals coincide." At the bottom of the catacombs, they came to a stone wall. The first man put his hand on it and whispered something under his breath. The wall shimmered and vanished leading only a spiral staircase leading deep under the city. He started walking down the stairs and the second man, after frowning slightly, followed. They walked in silence down the stairwell until they came to a wooden door. The first man opened the door and they walked in. "We are God's Right Seat and now our worst enemy has arisen."

"What do you mean?"

"The Fallen are trying to bring Lucifer back into this world," the first said simply and the second man's face darkened. They stopped in front of the only objects in the hidden room. Two ten foot tall stone statues depicted two twelve wing angles in combat. One of them wielded a sword, the Archangel Michael, and the other one was being struck by the sword, the fallen angel Lucifer. "Our goal is to save mankind and stand next to God. Lucifer is God's enemy, therefore, he is ours. The organization is also after the Imagine Breaker, but instead of saving the world, they want to destroy it along with God. As you see, our goals are one and the same."

"Why is this room here?" the second man asked. "What secrets are you keeping?"

"This room is only told to the leader of God's Right Seat," the first man explained. "It is to remain secret, until the time Lucifer tries to reenter our world. Look," he pointed to the statue of Lucifer. "In the chest, that is what they are after." A dark blue gem was set in the stone chest of the statue.

"What is it?"

"When Michael struck down Lucifer from Heaven," the first man continued. "He removed Lucifer's wings of light to prevent him from being able to ascend back to heaven. One of the wings was hidden here to protect. It was the reason the Vatican was built here and St. Peter wanted to be buried over it. He wanted to increase the protection of the wing."

"So while we still have this wing," the second man said out loud to make sure they were on the same page. "We need to obtain the Imagine Breaker before they do."

"Precisely," the first man confirmed. "I have received information he has gone to England so he is no longer under the protection of Academy City."

"Then I will go retrieve the Imagine Breaker," the second man said.

"He is accompanied by the Anglican Church," the first man continued. "Are you willing to walk into their stronghold and make enemies of them all Acqua?"

"No matter who the enemy may be, what I must do does not change," he replied simply, yet his tone was deadly serious. "When I return, you will tell me everything of your plans Fiamma." He left the room and went back up the stairs, not bothering to listen to Fiamma's response.

* * *

Touma woke up early, well early for England's time but pretty late for Japan. He glanced out the window and the sun had not started to rise, but the sky was just beginning to get lit up. He had been in a deep sleep and actually felt well rested for the first time in a while. The pressure from his exams and all the Kami incidents last week kept him worrying about a lot of things. _It's good to be on vacation. All I have to worry about is some of my friends fighting._ He was going to get up to make breakfast, but realized they were at a hotel and he didn't need to. He was lying in bed trying to decide what he should do, since he didn't want to go back to sleep, when he felt something move under his covers. He felt sweat on his brow as he suddenly worried Index had somehow snuck into his room. He used his right hand, and pulled the covers off him and nearly had a heart attack.

Lying on top of him, she was really light so he almost didn't notice, was Agnese. Best…worst of all was she was naked except for her underwear, which was pure white. He might have been able to do something about her, as the first night he met her she had done something similar, if it weren't for two other problems. To his left, clutching him tightly like a body pillow was Misaki. She was wearing a bright pink nightgown that was almost see-through. To his right, Frenda, who was wearing a dark blue night gown, was leaning her back up against him and was facing away from him. Two thoughts had crossed through his mind as he saw them.

 _Is this real and am how do I get out of this?_

His first action was to pinch his cheek to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He still remembered the Sloth incident. The pain told him it was not a dream, so his thoughts changed to how to get out of this before someone caught him. He tried to slowly pull himself up with his arms from under Agnese and out of Misaki's grip, but that didn't work. Agnese muttered something in another language, and Misaki muttered incoherently and gripped him tighter. Frenda hadn't moved, which he took as a good sign, but he had no idea what to do now. _If the other guys wake up now, I'm never going to hear the end of it. Plus, Mikoto will probably kill me._ _She really gets jealous, but it's pretty cute._ He realized what he was thinking and his ears burned. He was going to try to gently get Agnese off of him, when movement caught his eye.

Motoharu had sat up and was stretching soundlessly, and Touma's heart stopped for a moment. Motoharu got up and was heading to the bathroom when he glanced over at Touma and froze. Their eyes met and Touma knew this wasn't going to end well, but he was running out of options. _Help me,_ he mouthed soundlessly to Motoharu. Motoharu looked at him for a moment, nodded, and turned around. He walked over to where Jason was sleeping and took the camera off his nightstand. He moved a little closer to Touma, took a picture, then put the camera back down. Touma couldn't get up to punch him, so he settled with mouthing some very inappropriate words at him. Motoharu grinned, gave a thumb up, and went into the bathroom. Touma was really pissed at his friend and had to go back to thinking of what to do next. He didn't want to admit it, because he felt like it made him a bad person, but he was really comfortable, even with three other people in the bed. Then the door opened and he was forcibly reminded of how his luck worked and how much the universe hated him.

Index had stumbled in holding a pillow. Why she had waited this long before finding her way in, Touma never did find out. All that he knew was he was about to be very sorry. Index had walked in and stood at the foot of his bed looking at him and the three girls. She shook her head and looked again. "Ah," she said sleepily. "I must be dreaming. There is no way Touma would do something like this. Because this is a dream, I can take out all my frustration out with no consequences."

"Wait Index," Touma pleaded softly raising a hand towards her as her teeth appeared. He might have been able to stop her, with all the experience he had, but Misaki opened an eye and spoke up.

"Ah Touma," she purred sleepily. "Can we stay like this a little longer?" That was the last straw for Index who pounced.

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

Mikoto had woken up a little earlier and was staring at the ceiling when she heard someone yell. _That sounded like Touma._ She bolted out of bed, glad she her green pajamas covered herself completely, and ran toward the door. His scream woke up everyone else who sat up groggily. Kuroko and Kazari, who were part of Judgement and used to emergency situations, were up first and following Mikoto. Ruiko had gotten up and was trying to pull on some pants before following them. They met Komoe and Saiai who had rushed out into the hallway to see what happened. Worst was walking out of the room, not in panic, but in interest. Komoe did not, but Worst did, notice Index, Last Order, and Misaki were missing.

"What happened?" Komoe said and Mikoto had a sudden thought of 'cute' when she saw her in pink bunny pajamas, but shook her head because of the seriousness.

"We heard someone scream," Mikoto replied. "I think it was Touma." The girls headed toward his room and, Mikoto was just reaching for the door handle, they heard loud voices and stopped.

"Index, get off of me!"

"Just accept it!"

"Ahhh, it hurts."

"Quit trying to run!"

"I'm too young for this!"

"Stop trying to run away!"

"You're biting me to hard!"

"What the hell is that idiot doing?" Mikoto fumed as she grabbed the handle and threw open the door. She was surprised the door was unlocked, but she was planning to use her ability to open it anyway. "Weird, the lock is broken." Everyone in the hallway peered in through the open door to see what was happening. What they saw was Touma standing up with Index clamped firmly to his head as he tried to pry her off him. Misaki and Frenda were sitting on a bed and watching the spectacle. Agnese was too, but she had wrapped herself up in a sheet and her face was bright red. Motoharu was leaning up near the doorway to the guy's bathroom watching too. The lumps on Accelerator's and Jason's bed didn't move, so they probably didn't care or were still sleeping. Finally, Touma got her off of him and turned to look at Mikoto.

"I can explain," he stated instantly raising his hand in case Mikoto started to discharge.

"What are you doing in here?" she demanded pointing, but she was not talking to Touma or Index, but to Misaki, Frenda, and Agnese. Agnese and Frenda looked away, but Misaki was able to look her directly in the eye.

"Sleeping with my beloved Touma," Misaki said unashamed. "It was dark and didn't know those two had the same idea." She frowned as she glared at Frenda and Agnese. _I had a feeling that braided girl had feelings for Touma._ She was debating on what to do about her now.

"I just wanted to hang out with him," Frenda shrugged as she pretended to act nonchalant about the entire thing, even as she was quite embarrassed. "Basically, I must have fallen asleep."

"Nice job," Saiai said giving her a thumb up.

"I think I was sleepwalking," Agnese said rubbing her head. "I apologize for any inconvenience." She might have been able to pull off being nonchalant about the whole thing too, if she hadn't wrapped the sheet tightly around herself.

"It doesn't matter your reason," Komoe protested. "You can't be sneaking into the guy's room at night."

"This is why we wanted the damn hero to have his own f$%^*# room," Accelerator grumbled as he pulled the covers over his head. "We knew this would happen."

"Yea," Jason muttered imitating his action. "It's too damn early. I'll make fun of Touma and his harem later."

"That's pretty funny coming from tou-san," Worst said leaning up against the door peering in and smirking. "Because the fact is the brat snuck in first." That comment caused Accelerator to stick his head out to look at everyone. He pulled up the covers and noticed something because he frowned. He unceremoniously threw Last Order out of the bed on her butt, and then went back to sleep. Last Order shook her head and looked around confused. She didn't know why everyone was there.

"Let MISAKA back in MISAKA cries as MISAKA tries to get back under the covers." Accelerator manipulated vectors to keep the covers from moving so she couldn't get in. Komoe had to walk up and take her hand to drag her away.

"You too Last Order," Komoe scolded her. "You can't be sneaking into guy's beds."

"But…" she tried to protest but Komoe wouldn't hear any of it. Everyone thought it was pretty funny because Komoe was about the same size as Last Order, but there was a big difference in their maturity. Even Jason stuck his head out to watch.

"You should all follow her example," Misaki pointed out which immediately angered Mikoto.

"Don't get to comfortable," Mikoto glared grabbed her wrist. "You're coming too. I need to talk to you privately."

"So Last Order broke the lock?" Ruiko asked looking at the door.

"MISAKA is sorry MISAKA says as MISAKA admits to not controlling her power."

"No one was blaming you," Kazari said kindly. "Accidents happen. But you really shouldn't sneak into other people's room. Komoe-sensei was worried about you when you disappeared." Last Order nodded.

"Let's get out of here onee-sama," Kuroko said tugging on Mikoto's sleeve, who didn't let go of Misaki. "You can tell how much this room stinks with all these guys in here."

"Hey," Touma said feeling slightly insulted. He finally got a word in since all the girls had barged in. Accelerator was use to noisy people, so he wasn't fazed too much by the noise. Jason, however, was getting annoyed because he wanted to sleep and everyone was still talking loudly.

"You people aren't going to let me sleep are you," Jason muttered as he sat up and knocked off the blanket. "Sorry we haven't sprayed mass air freshener around the room Kuro-chan." Kuroko opened her mouth to snap at him but stopped. Jason didn't have any clothes on, except some boxers. The girl's faces turned red and many of them covered their eyes as a reflex. The only two who didn't was Shokuhou, because she only had eyes for Touma, and Kazari, who was peeking through her fingers.

"That's it!" Komoe yelled loudly as she started pushing everyone. "Time for everyone to leave now!" She finally managed to get all the girls back in the hallway and shut the door behind her. Agnese quickly rushed toward her room, still in a blanket, to get her clothes. Mikoto was dragging Misaki to her room to question her while Kuroko, who was still red faced, followed. Ruiko was poking fun at Kazari about her reaction as they followed their friends. Komoe took Last Order and Index back to their room while Worst followed them still chucking to herself. Saiai on the other hand put her arm around Frenda and grinned.

"So," she said. "I need you to super tell me what all happened."

* * *

Itsuwa had visited all of them shortly after this scene and was surprised everyone was already up and moving about. She did not know when they would be up but, if they were, wanted to let them know the hotel was going to be serving breakfast shortly. While the girl all seemed to be tense, the guy's room, when she was allowed in, seemed to be in high spirits. She saw Motoharu putting Touma in a head lock while Accelerator and Jason were looking at a digital camera's pictures. She found out what happened, over a protesting Touma, and nodded in understanding. When she left the room, she thought, _I'm really far behind everyone else._

Back in the guy's room, Touma was relieved he managed to get out of that situation alive. During that entire scene, Motoharu had remained silent and watched it with amusement. Jason and Accelerator were laughing at the picture Motoharu took and Touma had enough for this morning and decided to go eat breakfast. It was still early in the morning, but the sun was at least visible now. He took the elevator down and headed to the dining area. There were only a couple people there and he was surprised to see Shizuri sitting there drinking tea. _That's right, she wasn't there this morning._ He grabbed a plate of eggs and some toast, thought about it, and decided to join her. She looked up when he sat across from her.

"You're up early," she commented sipping her tea and looking at a magazine.

"Most of us are," Touma sighed. "Kind of an eventful morning."

"Oh?" Shizuri replied raising an eyebrow. "How long did you sleep with Frenda?"

Touma coughed on his breakfast. "H-how did you know?"

"I gave her the idea," she answered the corner of her mouth twitching in amusement. "She was a little jealous of the other girls."

"Why would she be?" Touma asked confused. Shizuri face palmed.

"I realized you were stupidly pure," she said annoyed. "But your friends are right, you are dense too. She likes you, just like most of those girls up there. Seriously, I don't know how you attract every girl you meet."

"Hey," Touma said becoming annoyed himself. "I don't attract every girl. I mean, you aren't attracted to me." She didn't say anything to this and just raised an eyebrow. Touma realized what he said and smacked his forehead with his hand. "Ah sorry," he apologized. "I didn't mean that. It was a rough morning and my friends are jerks. Out of curiosity, why are you down here so early?"

"I tend to go for a morning run," she said simply going back to sipping her drink. "It keeps me in shape." There was silence between them for a moment as they continued their breakfast. "Let me ask you something now."

"Hmm," Touma said with his mouth full. Shizuri grinned.

"What would you do it I said I've fallen for you too?" His reaction was just like she imagined it would be. She hadn't known him as long as the others, but she could easily read someone like him. The only thing that still puzzled her was the strength he wielded when protecting someone. She was brought back to reality from her thoughts when Touma was finally able to speak up.

"You're messing with me," he said annoyed but red faced, and then taking a long drink. "There's no way a beautiful girl like you could be into someone plain like me." His eyes were closed so he didn't see a very light pink tinge on Shizuri's face, but it disappeared quickly. Before she could reply, they were interrupted. She became pissed as Mikoto and Misaki appeared behind Touma.

"Hey Touma," Mikoto said more cheerfully then he expected. He noticed Misaki seemed to be a little less happy, so he assumed Mikoto had gotten her way with something. "We wondered where you gone off to."

"What are you doing here?" Misaki said narrowing her eyes at Shizuri. She still hadn't forgiven her for her actions yesterday.

"I was actually just leaving," she said irritated. She did not enjoy the company of those two. She turned to Touma. "Maybe I am, and maybe I'm not." She left without another word and Touma stared wide eyed after her.

"What were you two talking about?" Misaki asked.

"And why were you sitting together?" Mikoto added.

"She was the only one I knew here this early," Touma said shrugging. "It was just small talk I guess, nothing big." There was no way he was going to tell them it was Shizuri's idea for Frenda to sneak into his bed, or tell them what she had said. They both stared at him and had the same thought.

 _He's hiding something._

They couldn't be sure what it was though and let the matter drop while they went and got breakfast. They were soon joined by everyone else and they pushed several tables together. Everyone started talking and, of course, Touma's friends brought up the subject of this morning. Several of the girls had red faces as they remembered the morning, and most couldn't look at Jason who seemed to be busy trying to get Kazari to talk to him. She was looking away from him with her face crimson. Accelerator had only come down for food, but Last Order dragged him to sit with everyone else. _At least the conversations are moving away from this morning's misfortune._ The talks began to gravitate toward the beach they were going to go to today.

"Hello everybody," Itsuwa said as she and Agnese joined them about halfway through. Touma noticed Agnese was also quite red and purposely avoided looking at him.

"Good morning," Agnese said quickly to everyone. She was still embarrassed about last night and she could feel the intense glares from Mikoto and Misaki on her.

"Itsuwa-san," Ruiko asked. "Which beach are we going to?"

"We were planning to take you all to Botany Bay," Itsuwa replied. "It's on the east side of Kent. It's not the largest beach, but it really is quite nice. It is backed by white cliffs in the distance."

"Oh," Kazari said turning to look at her. "That sounds beautiful."

"It also looks like the weather is going to be nice today too," Agnese adds. "The rain got pushed to later this week."

"That's weird," Accelerator said. "With the hero's luck, I expected a tsunami."

"That just means something horrible will happen later," Motoharu said grinning which Accelerator smirked in response.

"I'm glad my luck is your favorite kind of amusement," Touma sighed.

"Frenda super wants to show off her swimsuit," Saiai piped up as she volunteered the information.

"Shut up!" snapped Frenda.

"I got a new one," Misaki said as she leaned up near Touma. "I hope you would give me your opinion on it." Touma turned red and had to look away.

"I can't wait to see onee-sama in her new swimsuit," Kuroko said gazing up at the ceiling drooling slightly. "Her grace will shine…" She was cut off abruptly as Mikoto smacked her in the back of the head.

"Enough of your perverted fantasies," Mikoto said.

"MISAKA has a new swimsuit too MISAKA adds as MISAKA adds to the collection of new clothing."

"I only have one," Index said wistfully.

"I'm sure it will look fine," Komoe said patting her on the back.

"I hope tou-san turns into a tomato," Worst said snickering. "I would love to slap him when he's burnt raw."

"Go to hell," Accelerator snapped.

After breakfast, everyone started heading back up to their rooms. It was still early and Itsuwa had informed them the bus would not be here to pick them up for another two hours. Touma was able to shake off Mikoto and Misaki and continued to converse with Itsuwa and Agnese, since he couldn't really talk about their professions in front of the others. "So Agnese," he asked. "How have you been since… the Italy incident?"

"It took some adjusting," she shrugged nonchalantly. "But the Anglican Church has been pretty accepting of us." She glanced at Itsuwa who nodded. "I know some of my forces want to thank you in person if they see you boy, so you might get a little overwhelmed when we tour London."

"Great," Touma said sarcastically thinking how Mikoto and Misaki were going to react seeing a bunch of nuns around him. Itsuwa noticed his tone and giggled.

"We will make sure they keep it civil," Itsuwa reassured him and he smiled at her. He forgot how kind she was. When they first had met, he had been part of Agnese's forces trying to defeat the Amakusa, the group Itsuwa was part of. In the end, Touma was forced to fight Agnese in order to save another person. They later had all teamed up against the Roman Catholic Church when he rescued Agnese in Italy, who had been taken hostage. Funny enough, Itsuwa tended to offer him a hot towel a lot and he didn't understand the significance of it.

"I have a question I've been meaning to ask you," Touma said looking at them. They both watched him with a curious expression. "How come you two were chosen to act as our guides?" They both looked surprised and he immediately put his hands up apologetically. "I don't mean I'm not glad to see you, but isn't Agnese from outside of England and Itsuwa travels around with the Amakusa a lot? Wouldn't someone native and lives here most of their life be a better choice?"

"We actually thought that too," Itsuwa admitted.

"The fact they chose us shows the higher ups are worried about something," Agnese explained. "But you shouldn't need to worry. I doubt that organization would be stupid enough to attack us here."

"By that organization," Touma said. "You mean The Fallen group?" Agnese nodded solemnly. Itsuwa noticed the sudden change in tone the conversation moved towards.

"As she said," Itsuwa hastily added. "You are on vacation and shouldn't need to worry. I believe they also chose us because they figured you would be more comfortable with people you knew." She smiled at him and Touma's heart skipped a beat. Touma knew Agnese was a little harsh most of the time, but she was a good person. Itsuwa, on the other hand, was always kind to everyone and, he noticed, especially to him. "If you need anything or want to do something, please let us know."

"I will," Touma nodded. "Thanks Itsuwa, Agnese."

* * *

The bus had arrived to take them to the beach about two hours later but, to Touma, it felt a lot longer. Jason was sitting in the chair next to him and he looked almost as tired as Touma felt. Touma was sure Jason had caught something, but Jason just kept saying he was fine. Accelerator was actually looking forward to finally leaving too, but for a completely different reason than Touma. Touma was looking forward to getting some fresh air and sun, plus seeing the girls in swimsuits. He was a high school guy after all, even if he wouldn't allow himself to take advantage of anyone. Accelerator, who was behind him, was getting fed up with Last Order running saying how excited she was since it would be her first beach adventure. Motoharu, who was next to Accelerator, was just being himself and was quite happy to be heading toward a beach to admire girls in swimsuits.

The girls were quite excited. Mikoto, Kuroko, Kazari, and Ruiko loved the beach and were talking excitedly about their plans. Kazari admitted she was going to spend most of the time with Jason so Ruiko needled her a bit about her new swimsuit. Kazari counted by reminding her on what she should be doing during the trip and Ruiko's face turned red. Mikoto was curious about what they were talking about, but Kuroko kept distracting her. She had noticed Kuroko had been a lot less forward in her advances, like grabbing her chest, though Kuroko hadn't stopped trying to spend as much time as possible with her. _I wonder what got into her._

Frenda and Saiai were talking about the beach too, but with a magazine in hand. They were debating on the best types of swimsuits for them. Because the trip had been rushed for them, they didn't get a chance to get new swimsuits. Instead, they were just debating what they would get the next time they went to one. Of course, Saiai would constantly imply Touma would like certain kinds of swimsuit to enjoy Frenda's reactions. Shizuri was just staring out the window thinking, while Rikou was looking at a magazine next to her. Shizuri was annoyed at herself for what she let slip to Touma this morning. She had constantly told Frenda she needed lot be more assertive, but Shizuri just acted like she was joking with Touma. _How should I proceed?_

Last Order and Index were pressed up against the window trying to be the first ones to see the beach. Komoe was trying to keep them in their seats for safety purposes, but she was not having luck. Worst was egging them on and then calling out to the bus driver to suddenly slam on the breaks. Of course he didn't, but Worst continued to try to persuade him using threats, bribes, seduction, and blackmail. Agnese and Itsuwa were near the front talking and pointing to a list Agnese had in her hand. Index suddenly called out.

"I can see the cliffs!"

Everyone else looked out the windows and they saw the tall chalk white cliffs. The bus parked near the end of the beach and Itsuwa turned to face the group. "The changing stations are over there," she informed them pointing. "We got here early, but it will get pretty busy later on so if you want to rent any beach towels or an umbrella, now's the time. Anyway, it is your vacation, so I hope you all enjoy yourselves. If you need anything let us know."

The girls started to rush off and the guys were the last group to leave because they were in the back. Of course, they were stuck grabbing and renting the towels and umbrellas from the nearby shops. After grabbing the items the girls requested, Accelerator grumbled about it the entire time, they headed toward the changing room. There were a few guys there, but otherwise it was pretty empty. Without much to do, they began to talk as they changed.

"Wearing dark blue swimming trunks Touma?" asked Jason, who was wearing bright yellow ones. "What are you going to do about your luck washing your trunks away when you go swimming? You will never find it."

"Accelerator has black and white ones," Touma pointed out. "Why don't you make fun of him?"

"Because my luck isn't bad enough not lose them." Accelerator stated.

"Once again you try to deflect jokes and fail," Motoharu said laughing as he put on his green trunks.

"Why don't you hide that mark," Touma asked pointing to Jason's forehead while trying to keep the topic off his luck. "You hide the rest of them."

"For some reason I can't," Jason said frowning rubbing the mark of Pride on his head. "So I just use my hair to hide it."

"Hey Accelerator," Motoharu asked. "What's with the hoody? Won't you be hot?"

"Tsk," Accelerator said irritated. "My vector manipulation ability causes me to have this androgynous appearance. I automatically deflected ultra-violet rays so my skin hasn't built up resistance. Now, with my condition, I don't deflect it automatically anymore. So I burn easier than most. F#^$, this is such a hassle."

"I guess there are downsides to being too powerful," Jason commented while Accelerator gave a curt nod.

"We should hurry," Motoharu said as he stretched. "We can't keep Touma's harem waiting to much longer or they might come in looking for us."

"I doubt they would do that," Touma said, but thinking Misaki might if Mikoto let her. "Wait, I don't have a…"

"You're right," Jason agreed cutting of Touma's denial. "But don't lie to us. You just want to see the girls in swimsuits."

"I never said I didn't" Motoharu replied and they high fived.

"Bunch of idiots all of you," Accelerator grumbled turning to leave.

"Don't keep your loli waiting," Motoharu and Jason said together which caused him to turn around in anger.

"I'm going to kill you both."

Touma was torn between stopping the fight and the amusement of watching their argument that did not involve him. "We should get going though," he finally said. "The girls are going to wonder where we went." Everyone looked at him, shrugged, and followed. They got to the beach and looked around, but they did not see the girls. Accelerator was annoyed at lugging all the stuff around, so he just found a spot and started throwing what he had up. Jason looked around a bit more and started setting up too, then threw himself down on the ground under the umbrella. Touma and Motoharu followed their example. Touma had to admit the beach was pretty nice, gold sands, clear water, and white cliffs. He was admiring the scenery when Motoharu nudged him in the side to get his attention and then pointed. Touma looked where he was pointing and his eyes widened slightly.

Mikoto, Misaki, Kuroko, Kazari, and Ruiko where walking toward them carrying ice cream. _At least we know where they went,_ he thought. Misaki and Mikoto were arguing, each holding two ice cream cones along with Kazari and Ruiko. Touma, however, was too busy focusing on their clothes. Mikoto was wearing a bright yellow two piece and, although it wasn't completely revealing, it showed off more than her last one. Kuroko, who was walking next to her, was wearing her maroon two piece that really didn't cover anything and was receiving a lot of stares from other people. Ruiko was also wearing the same swim suit she wore last time, her sky blue two piece. Kazari was wearing a flowery designed two piece, which surprised Touma, but he looked over at Jason who had his eyes glued to her and Touma smirked. Then he saw Misaki and his mouth almost fell open. It had been awhile since he saw her in a swim suit, but this time she was wearing a golden two piece that highlighted her well-endowed chest and curves.

Behind them Last Order, Index, Worst, and Komoe were walking together. Last Order was wearing a blue and white polka dotted one piece, which looked similar to her normal dress she liked to wear. Index was wearing her pink-purple one piece and was enjoying her ice cream. Komoe was wearing a bright pink one piece and seemed to be reprimanding Worst about something, but she just seemed to find it amusing. Worst was wearing a striped blue and white two piece. Touma remembered she was supposed to be an older form of Mikoto and he had to look away when his mind started focusing on Worst's curves, which were highlighted by the style of her swim suit.

"We brought ice cream," Kazari said as they got close and handed Jason one of the cones she had and sat down next to him under the umbrella.

"Here you go," Ruiko said handing Motoharu one and he looked surprised. When Ruiko had seen everyone else getting cones for the guys, she felt like he would be left out if he didn't get one. Touma began to get an inkling of what Misaki and Mikoto were fighting about now.

"Touma I brought you an ice cream cone too," Misaki said cheerfully holding out a vanilla one.

"Unless you prefer chocolate," Mikoto said holding out the second cone she was holding. Both of them were standing right in front of where he was sitting, each of the holding out a cone. Out of the corner of his eye, Touma saw Jason, Motoharu, and Accelerator watching him with amused expressions on their faces. Kuroko didn't say anything, but glared at him as if daring to take Mikoto's cone. Touma looked at both their faces and thought the best option was just to be honest.

"Thank you both," he said but reached for Misaki's. "I actually prefer vanilla." Misaki glanced at Mikoto with a triumphant look on her face. Mikoto looked a little disappointed, but then did something he didn't expect. She walked over and handed the chocolate cone to Accelerator.

"Here," she said thrusting the cone into his hand. He was actually so shocked he took it my reflex.

"What the…" he sputtered. "What's this third rate?"

"I'll let Last Order explain," Mikoto said shaking her head and looking at her.

"MISAKA wanted to bring you ice cream MISAKA says while MISAKA hangs her head in disappointment. After MISAKA bought ice cream and was heading back, Worst knock it into the ground MISAKA cries as MISAKA points angrily at Worst."

"Misaka enjoyed it," Worst said laughing at Last Order's expression.

"I scolded her," Komoe added still looking at Worst, who turned away and whistled innocently.

"I can't believe she would waste perfectly good ice cream," Index said shaking her head. Touma had a feeling Komoe had to stop her from eating the ice cream off the ground.

"We figured whichever Touma didn't want you could have," Mikoto continued. "None of us knew your preference."

"I don't want the damn hero's leftovers," Accelerator snapped.

"But MISAKA wanted to enjoy ice cream with you MISAKA said as MISAKA lowers her head sadly." Accelerator looked at her sad face, glared at the other guys as if daring them to say anything, then actually started eating the ice cream. Last Order's face suddenly changed from sadness to happiness and she sat down beside him followed by Index. Misaki and Mikoto sat down on opposite sides of Touma. Kuroko sat next to Mikoto. Ruiko sat on the other side of Kazari. Worst sat down next to Accelerator, while Komoe sat down under her own umbrella. Touma was informed Agnese and Itsuwa had received a phone call and they had said they would meet up with all of them a little later. They all started eating ice cream and discussing their plans for the day when they finally saw Shizuri's group heading toward them. Touma didn't know why they were late, none of them had ice cream, but he got another eyeful as he was reminded of what high school girls look like.

Rikou was wearing a tight pair of black shorts and a pink sleeveless shirt. It really wasn't a bathing suit, but she could still swim in it. Touma was really shocked to see one thing. Since she wasn't wearing a track suit anymore, he realized she had a really large chest, even bigger then Shizuri or Misaki. Saiai was wearing a shoulder less white two piece with just a strap around her neck. She really didn't have a chest, so it wasn't as erotic as if other girls wore it. Frenda's swimsuit was on the same level as Kuroko's. It seemed to be an orange-red strap that wrapped around her neck and just over her chest as it wrapped around her back into her lower half. It covered just enough, barely, to be called a swim suit. However, it was Shizuri that made his jaw drop.

She was wearing a black two piece with a cloth wrapped around her lower body covering the bottom half. The suit design was pretty simple, compared to Frenda's or Kuroko's, but she filled it out so well. Misaki might have had a nice figure, but Mugino was filling out her swimsuit like a professional as it wrapped around her curves. Touma was watching her closely while they approached until he felt two fingers jab him from both sides. He looked and saw Misaki and Mikoto glaring at him. They obviously saw what he was staring at. From a distance, it looked like Mugino was watching him, but he couldn't be sure.

"Well," Shizuri said looking them over as they approached, he eyes lingering on Touma slightly longer than the others. "So what are you all up to?"

"Waiting for you four," Mikoto said glaring at her.

"Nice of you to keep us waiting," Misaki added. Touma noticed they only seemed to be allies against Shizuri. Shizuri grinned.

"We had… things to take care of," she replied mysteriously, but seemed to focus on Mikoto who frowned.

"Kamijou," Frenda said. "Want to go swimming with me? I love the water."

"He's already going to hang with me," Misaki said interrupting Touma before he could say anything.

"You also seem to be mistaken," Mikoto added. "He's hanging out with me."

"Noooo onee-sama," Kuroko pleaded as she grabbed Mikoto's arm. "Hang out with me instead of the ape."

"Get off," Mikoto muttered shaking her. "Stop calling him names too."

Frenda, Misaki, and Mikoto glared at each other then turned, all at once, to Touma. "Who are you going to hang out with?" Touma did not expect them all to join forces against him all of a sudden.

"He's going to hang out with me," Index declared. "Right Touma." She looked back at him and Touma gulped slightly as he realized what would happen if he didn't spend at least part of the day with her.

"Umm," he said hesitantly. "We are going to be here all day, so there's no need to fight."

"The savior sure is popular MISAKA comments while MISAKA watches everyone try to interact with him."

"Shut up," Accelerator snapped. He found himself annoyed for some reason. He was enjoying watching the hero get put on the spot from the girls but now, when Last Order spoke up, his good mood faded away.

"Aw," Worst asked nudging him. "Is tou-san jealous?"

"Go to hell," he growled.

"When do you think he's going to finally admit it?" Motoharu asked Jason.

"I think he will keep denying it for a while," Jason replied as they both watched the sight in front of them with amused looks on their faces. "I think it would be easier for all of them if he just did."

"What are you guys talking about?" Ruiko asked leaning closer interested.

Motoharu grinned. "Just something we talk about in class," he answered. "But it's kind of a class secret, so we can't go into details unless we get really bored." Jason nodded while Ruiko looked confused. Before she could ask anything Kazari leaned close to her.

"You know," she whispered. "You need to try to spend time with him too if you want to get anywhere."

"But how am I supposed to get involved in that?" Ruiko whispered back pointing a figure at Frenda, Mikoto, and Misaki arguing while Index was pulling on Touma's arm. Shizuri and Saiai were watching with amused looks similar to the rest of the guys besides Touma.

"We need them to stop fighting," Kazari said thoughtfully as she looked at them. "Maybe some kind of distraction?"

"On it," Jason said who was next to them and overheard their conversation. He stood up and stretched. Without warning, he reached down and lifted Kazari up in his arms in the traditional princess carry. Kazari squealed in surprise and wrapped her arms around his neck for balance, which caused everyone around them to turn and look. Jason nodded in response to their sudden attention. "These conversations are fun and everything, but the day is short and I need to throw Kazari into the water. See ya." He turned and walked toward the ocean.

"Ah, nooooooo!" Kazari yelled struggling slightly as she was carried off. Everyone was silent for a moment, then burst out laughing at Kazari's red and shocked face. Ruiko had to admit, Jason's plan worked well and everyone had stopped fighting.

"Fine," Misaki said turning to Frenda, Mikoto, and Index. "He's right. The day won't last forever, so let's split up the time." The others nodded and they walked a little way from the group. Touma noticed they were talking quickly and, by the looks of it, arguing a lot as someone would shake their head or stomp their foot. It didn't last too long though and they came back and stood in front of Touma. "Ok," Misaki said quickly. "In order to avoid any argument, we agreed we are going to split the time so there won't be fighting. You are going to hang out with each of us for an hour. You will be with me until lunch, Index-san after, then Frenda-san, and finally Misaka-san." The other girls nodded, none of them seemed completely happy, but they appeared at least satisfied. "We left time afterwards because you may want to hang with your friends."

"Wait," Touma asked as he was being told what he was going to be doing. "Don't I get a say in this?"

"No," they replied in unison. Misaki grabbed his arm and pulled him after her as they headed into the beach. Mikoto, Frenda, and Index glared after them for a moment, but then turned to their groups. Index left with Komoe to go play in the water. Komoe really just wanted to make sure Index would not get lost.

"Let's go swimming," Frenda said to Saiai and Rikou. They nodded and all three of them headed to the beach. Shizuri on the other hand moved a blanket out from under the umbrella and laid on it to bask in the sun, drawing a lot of attention from passing guys.

Saiai put her arm around Frenda. "We can super discus what you should do when it's your turn."

"Basically," Frenda said loudly. "I know what I want to do." Saiai grinned.

"Onee-sama," Kuroko said tugging on Mikoto's arm. "Let's go swimming."

"Ok Kuroko," Mikoto sighed giving one last look at Misaki and Touma. "As long as you don't try anything funny."

"I would never," Kuroko said innocently and Mikoto glanced at her suspiciously.

"Ok then," she said then turned to Ruiko. "Want to join us since Kagere-san seemed to have kidnapped Uiharu?"

"Ok," Ruiko said cheerfully. She was hoping she could spend time with Touma in the afternoon but, for now, though she was going to have fun with her friends on the beach. All three of them left for another part of the beach.

"Well," Motoharu said to Accelerator. "I'm going to try to hit on some girls."

"Like you could get anyone," Accelerator laughed slightly.

"Oh," Motoharu replied. "1000 yen says I can."

"1500."

"Deal." Motoharu looked around and headed toward a side of the beach with the most girls.

"Misaka wonders what mischief Misaka can pull while we are here," Worst said grinning mischievously. "Maybe start with stealing some ice cream and…" She started mumbling as she walked off into the distance.

Accelerator shook his head and pulled out a strong sun block and started applying it on himself. If he wanted to go out into the sun for any length of time, he needed it. It was one of the reasons he tended to be a night owl and shop later at night, at least till he was forced to go to school. He looked up and saw Last Order staring at him with a slightly nervous look on her face as she fidgeted. It was obvious she was trying to hide the fact she wanted to ask him something. "What?" he finally asked.

"MISAKA will help you apply sunscreen to your back MISAKA volunteers as MISAKA grabs the bottle."

"No," Accelerator answered immediately as he reached for the bottle but wasn't quick enough to grab it before her.

"Please MISAKA begs. MISAKA wants to enjoy her first time at the beach with you MISAKA adds as MISAKA begins to develop tears in her eyes."

 _Damn it,_ Accelerator thought as he looked at her. He glanced at Shizuri who was nearby, but she didn't appear to be paying any attention to him. She was lying on her front sunbathing. "Fine," he spat out. "But make it quick."

"Yay!" Last Order cried as Accelerator laid down. Instead of kneeling next to him, like any normal individual, she sat on his hip with her legs on both sides of him.

"What the f#$% are you doing?" he demanded.

"MISAKA is small MISAKA explains. MISAKA needs to be on top to reach everywhere MISAKA adds as MISAKA spreads the sunscreen." Accelerator flinched slightly as she rubbed it on his back, but refused to say anything more. _Those idiots and the brats better not see this._ He moved his head slightly and, to his dismay, saw Shizuri looking at him and grinning.

"What?" Accelerator snapped at her.

"You look like you're having fun," Shizuri responded.

"I hope you die," he retorted. Shizuri just smirked in response.

* * *

Touma had spent time with Misaki before, both as a male and when he was transformed into a girl. This was the first time he was on a beach and alone with her as a male though. They walked on the beach and talked as Misaki held his arm tightly and leaned close to him. He could feel a lot of jealous looks as they passed other guys, but no one interrupted them. _I guess they are used to seeing people walk together here._ He turned to her. "Do you want to go swimming?"

"Oh my Touma," she said after a slight hesitation. "Did you want to see me all wet? You have such a dirty mind."

"W-what?" sputtered Touma. "I didn't mean like tha…."

"I know," giggled Misaki. "You fall for it every time."

"Maybe I'll do what Jason did to Uiharu-san," Touma grinned back at her. Misaki's eyes widened in fear and she took a step back.

"You wouldn't," she said nervously.

"Probably not," admitted Touma. "But why are you so… Hold on. Don't tell me you can't swim."

"W-what are you talking about?" This time it was Misaki's turn to stutter. "O-of course I can swim."

"Oh really?" Touma asked changing directions and walking into the water. "Then of course you wouldn't be scared to follow me right?"

"When did you become so bold?" Misaki asked standing hesitantly near the end of the water.

"I'm spending too much time with Accelerator and Jason," Touma answered shrugging. He took a couple more steps into the water. "So are you going to follow me?"

"Y-yea," she said and took a couple steps in. A wave came in and knocked her in the knees and she wobbled. "Fine you win. I can't swim you happy?"

"A little," Touma said grinning as he walked back to her and she grabbed his arm while they were still standing in ankle deep water. "You know it's not deep, you don't have to hold on so tight. Come to think of it, when we were at the beach before, you never entered the water."

"I'm not good in water," Misaki admits clutching him even tighter until they walk out of the water.

"I can teach you how to swim if you would like," Touma offered.

"I don't want others to know I can't swim," Misaki added. She was suddenly reminded of the time she met him long ago and she couldn't swim then either. _It has been awhile since I've tried swimming. I usually make an excuse or use my ability to get out when we have swimming in gym class. Maybe I can learn now._

To respect Misaki's wishes, they walked to the end of the beach and found a small pathway between the white cliffs. The pathway opened up to a small cove on the beach and would block them from the other's sights. The water was clear and there weren't a lot of waves right now as the wind died down or was blocked by the cliffs. Touma knew people had different proficiencies at swimming, but Misaki's skills were about as good as his everyday luck. They were going to practice in roughly meter deep water, so if things went wrong she could just stand up. Somehow, even while holding onto him, she started sinking and panicked. He tried to help her and she grabbed on to him and pulled him under. They struggled for a few seconds and he finally pulled her to her feet, but now she wouldn't let go of him. He sighed and dragged her back to shore until she caught her breath and calmed down.

"Don't tell anyone about this," Misaki said sternly at him.

"The drowning?" he asked to clarify. "Or the drowning in the meter deep water? Ouch." She had hit him in the arm. "I won't don't worry, but only if you keep practicing."

"Do I have to?" she asked. And he nodded. She sighed, but she really enjoyed their alone time and the fact he was trying to help her with something she was not good with. _I wonder if he felt this way when I helped him with school work._ They practices until they had to meet everyone for lunch.

Misaki never did get better.

* * *

They all met up for lunch at a nearby restaurant and Agnese and Itsuwa had joined them. They apologized for being away but, since everyone was having a good time, no one was mad at them. Touma looked around and listened to other's conversations after Mikoto had grilled them on what he did with Misaki since she lost track of them. Touma said they walked around the beach and went swimming a bit, which was technically true. Misaki managed to swim about five seconds before beginning to drown. Misaki also agreed and didn't add anything to pretend something more happened. Which, because of Misaki's usual reactions, Mikoto found suspicious.

It turns out Jason had actually thrown Kazari into the water. From what Touma heard, he carried her into the water till about his belly and dropped her in gently. By the way he was laughing; Kazari had gotten upset and had started splashing him for a while. Mikoto, Kuroko, and Ruiko had been swimming around in the beach. From what Ruiko had said, they had been hit on a couple times, but Kuroko had chased the guys away. Index and Last Order had been building sand castles while Komoe and Accelerator watched them. Touma noticed Accelerator seemed slightly red, but he didn't want to say anything after a quick glare from Accelerator. There was a rumor going around someone had been knocking down sand castles, pushing people, stealing food, and causing people's chairs to break and everyone knew who that was. Frenda, Saiai, and Ruiko had been swimming, and Shizuri had been sun bathing. Shizuri had mentioned something funny involving Accelerator, but he had flicked his choker on and was about to bury them all with sand so Touma never did find out what it was. Motoharu's face looked red as if he had been hit a lot, but still appeared to be in good spirits as he talked to Accelerator about a bet.

He looked over at Itsuwa and Agnese wondering what they had been doing. He figured it was probably for the church or magic side so he didn't want to question them too much. Itsuwa was wearing a bright orange one piece with the back removed and it showed off her very prominent chest which several of the girls, mainly Mikoto's friends, looked at in envy. Agnese was wearing a red and white stripped two piece, but her chest wasn't nearly as prominent. She seemed a little more tense then Itsuwa. She looked up. "What?" she asked.

"Huh?" Touma asked confused as he didn't say anything.

"You've been staring at us boy," Agnese said. "Did you want something?"

"Oh no," Touma replied quickly. "I just thought you two looked nice." He couldn't ask what he really wanted to in a public place like this. He also didn't know the impact or the consequences of his words.

"Oh," Agnese said looking surprised and a pink tinge appeared on her face. "Thank you."

"T-thank y-you," Itsuwa said nervously not expecting his response.

"You seem to be giving out compliments to everyone," Shizuri remarked mildly from across the table and Touma felt a shiver run down his spine. It didn't come from her, though she was watching him coolly, but from Mikoto and Misaki.

"She has a point," Misaki commented. "I can understand you being kind to everyone, but still."

"You seem to get quite friendly with everyone too," Mikoto added.

"He's just a player," Kuroko sniffed.

"Don't make me sound like a guy who just tries to flirt with girls," Touma replied indignantly.

"Yea," Motoharu agreed and Touma felt a rush of thanks to him until… "He doesn't try, it happens unconsciously." Accelerator, Worst, and Jason snickered.

"That makes sense," Saiai said thinking back to when ITEM met him. "So that's what happened." Most of the girls, except Index, Last Order, and Shizuri turned to look at her while the guys, besides Touma, laughed again. Touma slammed his head onto the table as everyone seemed to gang up on him.

* * *

After lunch, it was Index's turn to have fun with Touma. Misaki stared wistfully after Touma as he and Accelerator followed Index and Last Order. Everyone else slowly split off to do their own plans. Itsuwa looked around after everyone left and decided to follow Touma. She didn't get many opportunities to speak with him. When she caught up with them, Index seemed fine with her being there and didn't voice any complaints. She and Last Order were running along the beach looking for sea shells well Itsuwa, Touma, and, occasionally, Accelerator talked.

"So what were you and Agnese-san doing this morning?" Touma asked as he kept his eye on Index.

"The church sent us an updated message," Itsuwa replied. "Originally, we had planned to bring you all to Buckingham Palace, since there are some public tours, and a chance to see the royal family tomorrow, but it appears they have been delayed. So we were going to give you a tour of London, allow everyone to shop if they choose, and, if desired, you can see our church. Index told me she wanted to visit."

"Sounds good," Touma said nodding. "I know a lot of them will be happy with that plan. I was worried it might have been that organization." Accelerator, who was nearby, gave a very slight twist of his head to Touma's words.

"So far their movements have been limited," Itsuwa told him, but she gave a quick glance at Accelerator.

"It's ok," Touma reassured her. "He knows about magic and can keep a secret." She nodded.

"They seem to be attacking the Roman Catholic Church if our spies are correct," she continued. "But their church is quite powerful and so far it looks like the siege has failed. It's been officially called a terrorist attack as a cover up to keep a lot of the public away."

"I hate the fact those guys will involve innocent people," Touma muttered clenching his fist.

"There's no use worrying about it," Accelerator said and they turned to look at him. "If we see them we crush them, until then, we do what we want."

"He has a point," Itsuwa conceded. "You are on vacation, so just relax and have fun."

"Ok," Touma relented, but part of him was still worried about what the organization was going to do. _They are right though, I am going to have fun on this vacation with everyone._ He was lost in thought and didn't notice Index come up to him.

"Touma look at this," she said holding up a sea slug right up to his face.

"AHHHH!" he yelled and fell backwards as Accelerator, Itsuwa and Last Order laughed.

Afterwards, Index and Last Order noticed Kazari, Komoe, Ruiko, and Jason playing with a beach ball and ran to join them. Touma shrugged and followed. He and Itsuwa joined in, but Accelerator refused to, even after Last Order tried to fake cry to get him to. Jason winked at Touma and knocked the ball toward Accelerator, hitting him in the face. Accelerator didn't take it lightly and Touma watched him chase Jason around the beach as Accelerator tried to kill him. Kazari and Ruiko were laughing. Last Order and Index thought it looked fun and chased after Accelerator. Touma looked around and found himself having a good time.

* * *

"Is she ok?" Touma motioned to Rikou who was lying face down in the water and floating. He was standing in chest deep water watching her float by.

"That's how she relaxes," Saiai said as she passed him. Rikou looked up at him, nodded, and went back to floating. "Besides," she said nudging him in the side. "Shouldn't you super be paying attention to Frenda?" She gestured a little ways out were Frenda was swimming effortlessly, clearly enjoying the water and showing off in front of Touma. Touma swam over to her.

"Enjoying yourself?" Touma asked her as he treaded water.

"Yep," she said stopping next to him. "I love the water, but I rarely get to leave Academy City. Basically, I only get to swim in a hotel pool occasionally."

"Want to race over to that rock," he asked gesturing.

"Sure," she grinned. "Want to make a bet on who wins?"

"No," Touma said shaking his head. "I've gone down that route before. Not happening again."

"Basically," she said smirking. "You are scared."

"Yep," Touma acknowledged. "With my luck an octopus will grab my leg and pull me under halfway through the race." They both laughed and did a couple races while enjoying the water. The beach was getting crowded and more people were slowly going into the deeper water so they couldn't race much longer. Touma was athletic, mostly from running from people who wanted to beat him up but he had gotten in quite a few number of fights before. In the water, Frenda was a lot better than he was. She beat him every time, though a couple of the races were close. Eventually, they moved into the shallow area to rest.

"So why is Mugino-san not joining you three," Touma asked Frenda as he looked towards Rikou and Saiai.

"She doesn't like swimming I think," Frenda said tapping her head and looking at the shore were Mugino was lying. "She said she wanted to work on her tan." She shook her head. "Those guys are idiots. They are lucky we are outside of the city or she would have killed them all already." Touma looked over and saw four guys surrounding her. She had sat up and, even from his location, Touma could see she was not amused. Touma sighed and knew what he should do. He left the water and walked up towards them as Frenda, Saiai, and Rikou watched.

"Sorry I took so long," he said pushing through two of the guys and reaching for Shizuri's hand. "You said you wanted to go swimming right?" Shizuri raised an eyebrow at him, but she knew what he was doing. The other guys surrounding her started mumbling and two of them opened their mouth to tell Touma off. Touma didn't think it would work, based on what he knew about Shizuri, but he received a shock.

"I thought you got lost," she said smiling, but Touma could tell from her eyes it was more of a smirk. She reached out her hand, grabbed his, and got up. She held on to his arm and turned to the other guys. "Sorry boys," she told them. "I'm taken." She walked off and Touma was pulled along, while the guys looked disgruntled and left. "About time I got rid of those losers," she hissed under her breath. "I was this close to shooting them all."

"I'm glad you didn't," Touma muttered. "It would have ruined the trip." She leaned over and blew in his ear and an involuntary shiver went down his spine. He didn't want to admit it, but it still felt good.

"Aww," asked Shizuri. "Are you worried about me or just wanted to spend some alone time."

"Stop trying to mess with me," Touma whispered back exasperated as they headed towards Frenda, Saiai, and Rikou. Shizuri laughed at his expression and when they got close she motioned Frenda forward to grab his other arm. They dragged him across the beach to a shaved ice stand, purposely acting flirty towards him in front of other guys. Touma felt like he was actually getting use to Shizuri's antics and found they didn't bother him much anymore.

* * *

"Really?" Mikoto asked as she and Touma walked along the beach. "Mugino actually did that?"

"She really enjoys messing with me," Touma sighed. "I can't understand why people find it fun."

"Ask Jason," Mikoto suggested and they both laughed and turned to look at their friends. Jason and Tsuchimikado were playing beach football with some other guys while Ruiko, Kuroko, and Kazari sat on the side lines watching. The only reason Kuroko was not bothering them was that Mikoto told her if she even got a hint of her tailing them, Mikoto would make sure they wouldn't be roommates. After many tears and groping she finally got away. "Shokuhou-san didn't do anything inappropriate did she?"

"What do you mean?" Touma asked innocently trying to avoid looking at her and her face turned slightly red.

"I-I m-mean…" she started to stutter and Touma laughed.

"I know what you meant," he said. "We just went swimming and…ouch!" He started rubbing his shoulder where she punched him. "What was that for?"

"Not funny," Mikoto said looking at him. "I'm tired of her trying to steal…" she quickly shut her mouth.

"Huh?"

"Nothing," she said quickly. "You know I think this is one of the few times we have been alone since the d-date at the carnival." It was the first time she brought up their date and her face went red again. Touma also felt his ears turn red. He remembered that day and the fun he had with Mikoto.

"It has been a pretty busy week," he remarked. "You were like a gentle kitten then."

"What do you mean by that!" she said loudly her face scarlet. Touma looked at her for a moment and remembered the picture.

 _She seemed to be weak against surprise attacks,_ he thought. He reached his arm over and put it over her shoulder and pulled her close. He didn't feel any resistance as she fell against him. He felt his heart beat speed up when she fell against him.

"W-what are you doing?" she asked but her voice came out like a whisper.

"Sorry," Touma said looking away. "I think I spend too much time with Jason."

"Idiot," she answered. "I never said I didn't like it." That surprised Touma as they continued to walk with his arm around Mikoto and she continued to lean up against him. He thought about how much Mikoto had changed, from the girl who chased him around the city shooting lighting at him to the girl he knew now. He didn't really know what to say, but he enjoyed the silence between them as they leaned up against each other.

"Hey babe," a guy said from behind them and they turned around. Touma didn't understand English well, but he knew enough to be able to piece together the words he knew and the way the guy acted. "Why don't you ditch this loser and come hang out with us?" A couple guys, either late high school or early college, were standing behind him also looking at Mikoto. Touma felt Mikoto stiffen slightly in anger, so he took a step forward before anything escalated.

"She's with me," he said with an arm out stretched in front of Mikoto. Not only was he annoyed at the guys, he didn't want Mikoto to shock them all. Since they were outside of Academy City, she could get in a lot of trouble if she used her ability.

"I didn't ask you," the guy in the center said. He appeared to be the leader of the group. "Obviously a girl like her wouldn't want to hang out with a two timer like you."

"Huh?" Mikoto and Touma said at the same time.

"This guy was hanging out with some blonde this morning," the guy continued as his friends shook their head. "Then he was with another group of girls not too long ago. Why don't you come hang out with me? I'll make sure to treat you right." The other guys began to laugh, but they constantly glared at Touma as if daring him to try anything.

 _I hate guys like these,_ Mikoto thought. _I can't really shock them either. They have to be referring to Shokuhou and Mugino's group, but why would they bring it up. Are they acting jealous? Guys are weird. His friends just seem to make fun of him when he's around a girl._ She turned to Touma. "Let's go, there's no reason to escalate this." Touma nodded and they turned to leave.

"Not so fast," the guy said reaching out and putting his hand on her shoulder. Mikoto was about to shock him when Touma acted first. He grabbed the guys hand with his right hand.

"She's not interested," he said loudly. What surprised him was the sudden sound of breaking glass, which Mikoto heard too. _My hand negated something?_ The guys shook his head and looked at his friends.

"Let's go," he said. "It's not worth it." He looked a little confused, as did his friends at his reactions, but they all left.

"Why did my hand react?" Touma muttered out loud staring at it.

Mikoto didn't answer him, but her eyes started darting around the beach as she knew what caused it. _Where is that witch,_ she thought. The beach was really crowded and she couldn't see the person she was looking for. _She doesn't want me to have a peaceful time with him. If I see her, I swear I'm going to electrocute her._ In order to piss off her rival, she went back to leaning against Touma. "T-thanks for protecting me," Mikoto said softly her face red.

"It was no problem," he said looking away his face red too. "Though I think I was protecting them more then you."

"Beast," she said jabbing him sharply in the side with her finger. "I wouldn't shock normal people out here." They both laughed and continued walking down the beach. Mikoto, however, kept her eyes open for the girl who tried to mess with her alone time with Touma.

* * *

After they had hung out for a while, Touma met up with Jason and Motoharu, while Mikoto marched off looking a little annoyed. They were still playing beach football and he was able to join in. They played for another hour or so until everyone was getting tired. The game had gotten pretty big with the number of people who joined and they took up a large section of the beach. Touma saw most of his friends in the audience, the only one he didn't see was Worst. It was early evening, when Touma noticed a crowd starting to form in the distance of the beach. He called out to the others. "What's happening over there?"

"No idea," Motoharu replied wiping his forehead. "Let's check it out." Their group didn't have anything else to do. They weren't planning to get any supper for another hour or so. They wondered over when someone with a portable amplifier shouted out.

"Welcome everyone," a guy with sunglasses and spikey blonde hair called out from a makeshift stage. He looked like he may have been in college. It appeared some people set it up during the day because Touma knew it wasn't there that morning. "We are going to see who can win today's swimsuit competition."

"Yes," Motoharu said fist pumping. Touma didn't make any noticeable reactions to the news, because he felt several pair of eyes from behind start staring at him.

"Some of you know we have been doing it every day this week," the guy continued. "Today is the last day my crew and I will be here though. We leave tomorrow." He paused while a large number of people booed. "Now now," he continued. "Let's make this a memorial finale. We have a special prize today for whoever wins." He pointed to another college aged girl who was holding up a black and white frilly swimsuit. "Today's winner will receive the Mythic Spider Web Maid Swimsuit, guaranteed to attract any boy you desire." The crowd burst into cheers and questions.

"I want that," Touma heard Misaka whisper from behind him. He remembered her gloves and stockings tended to have the spider web designs on them.

"Any guy Frenda," Saiai said nudging her. "You should super enter." Rikou didn't seem to care either way. Saiai thought Shizuri would say something, but she just stayed silent looking toward the stage. Since this was only a private group outside of Academy City, she knew they could participate without making their faces known to groups that opposed ITEM.

"I am," Frenda said puffing out her chest.

"Onee-sama," Kuroko said turning to her and drooling slightly at the image of Mikoto wearing it. "You should enter."

"Don't put me in your sick delusions," Mikoto snapped back instantly. Her thoughts however, were going in the exact opposite direction. _I wonder if Touma would like it._ She looked at him and he was looking at the swimsuit. She also noticed the other guys were looking at it too.

Itsuwa also noticed Touma looking at the swim suit. _I'm going to win it,_ she thought and a fire of determination lit up in her eyes.

"Hey Uiharu," Ruiko said turning to her friend, only to find her hiding behind Jason. "I was just going to suggest we should enter too, for fun." Kazari shook her head and slinked further behind Jason.

"I don't know why she is hiding behind me," Jason commented. "I want her to enter too." Ruiko and Jason both laughed and then high fived. Kazari poked him in the back and he wrapped his arm around her.

"MISAKA will enter MISAKA volunteers as MISAKA expresses her desire to win the swimsuit." Before she could run forward a hand grabbed her. She looked up and saw Accelerator looking down at her.

"No."

"I don't see why people want that outfit," Agnese said shrugging. "I've never been big into swim suits, but I suppose I could enter." She had glanced over and saw Touma staring at the swimsuit.

The announcer said anyone interested had to line up near the stage. A panel of judges sat on the other side and the top three would have a face off. After some arguing and pressuring each other, Ruiko, Misaki, Mikoto, Itsuwa, Agnese, Frenda, Rikou, Saiai, and, to Touma's surprise, Shizuri. Last Order sat on the ground pouting at Accelerator's refusal to let her enter. Index and Komoe were also sitting down watching. Neither of them had any desire in that outfit and decided to cheer the others on. Everyone else was standing together watching and talking as they waited for the event to start.

"Looks like some stiff competition," remarked Motoharu to Touma.

"Yea," he nodded and then he felt Kuroko's death stare.

"Onee-sama is going to win ape," she said. "I don't like you, but you better support her."

"I don't think she's going to win," Jason said looking at the line of females, and then the judges. "The judges look like they are all in college."

"They will be captivated by onee-sama's charm," she snapped back.

"I was thinking they would be looking for something el…" Jason started to say then stopped. "Never mind."

"I'm prepared to bet she will win," Kuroko said confidently. Jason took the challenge up in stride.

"What's the bet?"

"If I win," she replied. "You have to wear a monkey costume and a shirt saying you are a loser in Academy City."

"Sounds doable, but oddly specific," Jason commented. "If I win then, you need to do something for me when we get back to the city."

"What thing?"

"I don't know yet," he admitted. "I'm sure to think of something though. I think I'll choose her." He pointed to a girl and Kuroko nodded.

"Deal." They shook hands and glared at each other, well Kuroko glared, Jason just looked amused.

"What are you going to make her do?" Kazari asked. "Nothing bad right?"

"Nah," Jason said. "Something a little embarrassing, but nothing real bad. She is our friend." Kazari smiled at this and held his hand. Touma shook his head and turned back to the competition.

"Speaking of bets," Accelerator remembered. "Remember to pay up when we get back."

"Fine," Motoharu said, but he didn't look disappointed at all.

"What bet did you two do?" Touma asked.

"Just that he didn't have skills," Accelerator said smirking.

"You shouldn't be gambling," Komoe reprimanded them all.

"It's all in good fun sensei," Motoharu said laughing.

The competition started and they all turned their attention to the stage. There were about 50 females participating, from middle schoolers to college girls and a couple of women around their late twenties. There were all kinds of swimsuits, two piece, one piece, string, slings, micros, strapless, neck wraps, and more. Touma noticed the judges seemed to give the more well-endowed girls higher scores and he understood what Jason was originally commenting on. _He probably stopped so Uiharu didn't get upset._ He glanced over to see Kazari looking slightly depressed at some of the girls and Jason talking to her to cheer her up. Accelerator was next to them and he appeared to be bored, but Touma caught him looking at a few of the girls. Motoharu was watching each girl closely.

The funniest thing that happened occurred about halfway through the competition, Last Order had run up onto the stage when Accelerator wasn't looking. Of course he was pissed, but everyone else found her adorable. The judges even scored her. Her score was actually fifth overall of the girls who had gone so far. Last Order was quite pleased with herself and left the stage so they could continue. She then bragged to Accelerator about how attractive she was, but he just ignored her.

Touma clapped along with the others as their friends participated. Ruiko, Mikoto, Saiai and Agnese were greeted by applause and placed in roughly the middle. Kuroko was furious the judges didn't recognize Mikoto's greatness and she despised the smug look on Jason's face. Touma knew why they scored them as such, but he didn't want to die if he said it out loud. Frenda got more cheering, but it was mostly because of her revealing swimsuit. Misaki and Rikou both placed high, and Touma knew why but he applauded loudly with everyone else. Surprisingly, Itsuwa was greeted with enormous enthusiasm. She had an embarrassed, innocent look that seemed to appeal to a wide audience and she had the curves and chest to attract the others. When Shizuri strutted out on stage, there was silence for a moment before everyone burst out into cheers and yells. She was attractive enough her swimsuit didn't need to be that provocative, she still had the black cloth wrapped around her lower half, but it still revealed to everyone a view of her thigh. She also carried herself gracefully, which probably added to her charm. There were only a few more people after her and then the announcer guy came back on stage after talking to the judges.

"We have narrowed it down to the final three contestants," he told them all enthusiastically. "I will point to the top three and they need to come up on stage. Then you the audience will decide who wins. Whoever gets the loudest cheers wins." The crowd yelled in excitement. The guy grinned and pointed to a black haired girl with a silver two piece that had one of the biggest chests of the competitors, Touma saw how she got in, and then he pointed to Shizuri and Itsuwa. Touma was surprised two of his friends were chosen, but he cheered with everyone else. He did notice Misaki looked really upset.

"You ok?" he asked her softly.

"I really wanted that swimsuit," she sighed. "I should have used my powers."

"I'm glad you didn't," he said. "You shouldn't need to cheat to win. I mean, you are quite attractive already." He couldn't look at her as he tried to cheer her up. She smiled at him slightly red faced. Touma was glad no one else heard it because it was embarrassing to say.

When all three contestants were on stage, the announcer went one by one and monitored the cheers of the crowd. It was close, but in the end, the winner was Itsuwa, who accepted the swimsuit price as her face glowed red when the crowd applauded. Everyone began to disperse after that and Touma's group started heading toward the nearby restaurant to grab dinner.

"Looks like I won," Jason said smirking at Kuroko.

"Arg!" Kuroko yelled.

"What happened?" Ruiko asked.

"They had a bet on who would win," Kazari explained.

"What were the bets?" Misaki asked interested as she walked next to Touma.

"If Shirai-san won," Kazari answered. "Jason would have to wear a monkey costume and a shirt saying loser back in Academy City." Everyone nearby laughed as they imagined that. "She wanted Misaka-san to win. If Jason won, Shirai-san would have to do something for him back at the city, and he said Itsuwa would win."

"Really," Itsuwa asked surprised. "Thank you for your confidence."

"This can't be good," Mikoto groaned. "Those kinds of bets never end well."

"Tell me about it," Touma muttered smirking and Mikoto poked him in the side, while glaring at him as if daring him to say anymore.

"Speaking of which," Jason said pulling out his phone. "I may know what I want to happen now. Hang on." He dialed and held it up to his ear while everyone looked at him. "Hey, sorry this is really late for you." Silence. "Yea, trips going well." Silence. "Yep, Touma's doing what he does best." Touma got annoyed, but wasn't sure why. "I wanted to know if you still have that thing you ordered last week." Silence. "Yep, that's the one, perfect. Do you remember the pigtailed girl who confessed her love in front of Touma a while back?"

"DON"T EVER BRING THAT UP!" Kuroko roared. Mikoto, Ruiko, and Kazari all hid their laughs behind their hands. Touma didn't laugh because he almost died that day.

"Do you think it will fit? Awesome. When we get back to Academy City I need to borrow it. Sure, you can have one. Thanks a lot Aogami." Touma's eyes went wide when he knew who Jason was talking to.

"I'm going to apologize ahead of time Shirai-san," Touma said.

"Huh?" Kuroko looked at him confused.

"Wow Jason means business," Motoharu added impressed.

"I even feel sorry for you brat," Accelerator said speaking up for the first time in a while.

Kuroko felt the color drain out of her face as she thought of what horrible thing was going to await her that made even Accelerator feel bad for her. Mikoto, Ruiko, and Kazari all looked at each other wide-eyed then turned to Jason, but he did not elaborate. Misaki knew who Aogami was because she knew most of the people around Touma, but she didn't know exactly what made him scary.

* * *

After dinner they headed back to the hotel. Everyone appeared to have fun at the beach and several people looked sunburn, especially Accelerator. When they had met up for dinner, they met Worst who had a bag of collectables she said she had 'found' on the beach. Touma was sure they were taken without the consent or knowledge of the owners. The talk was a little subdued, as some of the girls were disappointed they didn't win the swimsuit, but most people were pretty tired after the eventful day. When they got back to the hotel, the girls left quickly to get cleaned up and changed. The beach had changing rooms, but the showers were not the best. Touma, however, hung back and grabbed Jason by the shoulder.

"What's up," Jason asked.

"You aren't planning to do anything weird with your bet to Shirai-san, are you?" Touma asked.

"Really?" Jason replied. "That's what you asked? Not, Jason, what were you planning to do with those twenty sea slugs you collected on the beach?"

"Don't do anything that will be really…" Touma stopped. "Wait, was that why I thought your bag was moving slightly?"

"No," Jason said quickly. "I planned something a little embarrassing, but nothing really bad. Kazari would be mad at me if I did."

"Sometimes I think she is the only one who can keep you in line," Touma groaned and Jason laughed. "Oh, one other thing. What is really wrong with you? You disguised it well during the beach, but I can tell you are still sick since we arrived."

"Perceptive," Jason remarked. "Jet lag and too much sun probably."

"Bull," Touma said. "There's something else. Is it those sin marks?"

"What are you my mom?" Jason snapped then rubbed his head. "Sorry. I don't think so. I just haven't been feeling right since we got here. While we are here, I plan to sneak away for a bit and have someone investigate these marks. Tsuchimikado is planning to introduce someone to me. If we disappear, just try to make an excuse for us so no one else worries."

"Ok," Touma agreed reluctantly. "Just let me know if you need help." Jason nodded and headed back into the hotel. Touma shook his head and followed. When they approached their rooms, Touma head some girls arguing.

"I can't believe you tried to sabotage my time with him!" Mikoto yelled.

"It was your fault in the first place!" Misaki replied back.

"I didn't do anything, you always interfere with me!"

"You sure are popular," Jason laughed. "I would advise staying out of the hotel until things calm down." Touma nodded and took the elevators back down.

 _What am I going to do now?_ He walked out the back entrance of the hotel and felt the cool evening air. The sun was just beginning to set and it was quite pleasant outside. He looked and saw what might have been a bike path leading away from the hotel. _I'm not really tired; maybe I should just go for a walk to kill time._

"Touma," a girl called out. "What are you doing out here?" He turned around and saw Ruiko sitting at a table looking at her phone.

"There are… reasons I can't go back to my room now," Touma explained. "I was going to kill some time and go on a walk. Want to join me?"

"Ah yes," Ruiko said surprised and quickly put her phone away. "Sounds like fun."

They took off and just enjoyed the evening as they talked. They talked about their day at the beach, since Ruiko didn't get much time with him, and about their friends. They had a fun time guessing what Jason was going to have Kuroko do but, no matter their idea, they did not have any solid leads. Touma always enjoyed hanging out with Ruiko. He felt that between all the other girls, she was someone who he could talk easily with about anything. Misaki and Mikoto were good friends, but he found it harder to talk to them about normal everyday things. Their topics moved to school work where they both had fun talking about how badly they failed tests and homework. Touma found himself watching her more the longer they talked.

Ruiko was having fun talking to Touma too. She missed the fact they hadn't spent much time alone together recently. Now, she was alone with him and talking about completely normal things instead of anything with being kidnapped or magic. _I should take the chance to tell him how I truly feel._ She normally wasn't a timid person and usually tried to get her friends to talk about getting boyfriends. When it came to actually confessing to Touma, she always had a hard time trying to say she liked him. They talked and laughed for easily a half hour and the path they were following had a valley on one side and thick trees on the other. There was a guard rail to protect people from falling into the valley and she noticed it would be a great place to watch the sunset. _This is perfect._

"Hey Touma," she said a little timidly as she stopped. Touma stopped and turned around.

"What's up Ruiko?"

"I wanted to tell you something important."

"Sure," Touma said and he suddenly felt nervous, but was not sure why.

"You see," she said hesitating slightly, but then she took a deep breath and continued. "I wanted to tell you I really li…" There was a loud boom and they both turned around in panic. "What was that!?" she yelled in shock.

"I don't know," Touma said and he ran to the guard rail and looked down into the shallow valley. He saw what looked like a carriage. The carriage appeared to be highly decorated, having gold and other precious metals on it. It was large and he thought it was the perfect picture of a carriage from a fairy tale. It looked like the front wheel was blown off and the carriage crashed to the ground. The horses pulling it had fallen and where unable to get up. The door of the carriage burst open and two knights, in full armor, emerged from it while drawing swords. A female followed them, but she was not wearing armor.

The women appeared to be in her upper twenties with blonde hair, tied in the back. She wore a red dress composed of bright red leather, which gives off an impression of bondage-related clothing, with a long skirt. Her ensemble also contained red gloves that nearly reach up to her shoulders and she wore a golden crown. She appeared annoyed and was yelling what appeared to be orders at the knights around her.

Touma then noticed the carriage was surrounded by about ten cloaked men, each of them carrying a long spear. _Shit, what's happening?_ One of the knights had rushed forward to confront two of the spear wielders. The knight dodged the spear of the first one and swung his blade at the second. The second guy parried the blade, giving the first guy a chance to jab the spear again. The knight moved to the side to just avoid the spear, which hit a tree behind him. The base of the tree exploded and fell over. _Those spears are infused with magic and looks like one hit would be fatal. They are in trouble._ The knight's sword moved upwards as he dodged and the hood of the second guy was cut. Touma's heart froze when he saw what was underneath it.

The man was wearing a golden theater mask of a sad man.

"What should we do Touma?" Ruiko asked turning to look at Touma. To her surprise he was halfway over the guard rail having leaped over it and he was running down to where the fight was taking place.

* * *

 **Motoharu: So Touma's going to get another girl to add to the harem?**

 **Me: Probably, you know what he's like.**

 **Jason: Hey, it's the author, haven't seen him in a while.**

 **Touma: What do you mean what I'm like?**

 **Accelerator: He means how you attract every girl around you.**

 **Me: I feel like I let you guys comment on the chapters down here more than the girls.**

 **Accelerator: That's because the readers like us more.**

 **Jason: I doubt that. I bet they like the girls in swimsuits more than us.**

 **Me: To be fair, everyone wants to see Accelerator's harem.**

 **Motoharu: Yea, but I think you implied we wouldn't see it till Academy City.**

 **Jason: Or if Saiai ever makes her move. Where you going to do anything with that?**

 **Me: Not sure.**

 **Accelerator: Why would I want anything to do with a shrimp like her?**

 **Touma: She has a lot of similar traits as you.**

 **Accelerator: There's a long reason for that and I don't want to talk about it.**

 **Motoharu: And he's a lolicon so he probably wants her.**

 **Accelerator: I'm going to bury you outside the hotel.**

 **Me: That's it, next chapter is going to be a girl's only chat down here.**

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them.**


	42. S2 Signs of Trouble

**I just love it when chapters virtually write themselves. All I need to do is find the time to actually write everything down. I have a lot of people I want to do shout outs too, so I might as well start quickly so we can all move to the main story.**

 **First, Banditz. He has been around since near the beginning and he has helped me a lot with the story. He always has weird ideas and helps me plan out a lot of the story whenever I hit a wall or have writing blocks. His comments have helped keep the chapters flowing out smoothly.**

 **Next I want to give out a shout out to someone, but I promised to keep his name hidden. He's a young guy who writes some good stories on fanfiction too. He's still old enough to be called a Mr. as a sign of respect, but we need to keep his face hidden. SO just imagine a black head picture whenever you think of him. Since you don't know his face, imagine a big question mark over his face to represent mystery. Let's call him Mr. Questionma…. Mr. Questionhead. He and I enjoy talking about the actual Index LN and have a lot of fun speculating on what's to come.**

 **yakutsu zaishiro: I'll see what I can do. You should be pleased with the chapter though.**

 **Agent Nine: Because for some reason, seeing people in underwear is embarrassing, but seeing people in swimsuits with even more being revealed is not. Society is weird.**

 **Whwsms: Sure is, good times eventually.**

 **EpicReads: I just thought it was hilarious you finished the story right when I started putting up chapter 41. Glad you enjoyed it.**

 **Guest777: I do not have any plans at this moment of a Christmas chapter since it currently is late spring/ early summer. If I do, it will just be a small Omake chapter where the girls try to give him presents while Touma tries to stop Krampus from ruining Christmas.**

 **Some of you have read the light novels, as everyone believes the woman at the end of last chapter is someone specific. You may start seeing very familiar stuff now with some interesting changes. Well played people, well played. Anyway, let's move onwards with the main story.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

Touma didn't even stop to think, as he jumped over the guardrail and started running down the incline toward where the fight was taking place. To him, helping someone in trouble was as natural as breathing. He didn't have a plan, but there was a fair amount of distance between him and the others, so he planned to think of a plan on the way. His only thought was not to yell and hide his presence as long as possible. He got closer and the masked members still had not notice him. He couldn't see the faces of the knights, as they were hidden by armor, but the woman did notice him and she raised an eyebrow in surprise at his presence. He was about ten feet away when the closest masked man heard him and turned around.

"Behind us!" he yelled, but was to slow to raise his spear in time. Touma delivered his right fist into the golden mask of the man. The sound of breaking class echoed across the valley as everyone turned to look and the mask shattered. The faceless man fell backwards onto the ground. The body started to fall apart in strips of paper and disappear.

 _It looks similar to The Herald's body,_ Touma though as his eyes darted around. _Does that mean that the Eve girl is here?_ He couldn't think too much about it because there were still nine more masked men with spears, which could kill with a single touch, still standing. The woman, however, laughed when Touma knocked the man out.

"Here I thought this would be a challenge," she said laughing. "But a single surprise attack from a boy throws you all into chaos." She pulled out a sword too, thinner than the knight's swords though, and spun it around in her hand. "I'm surprised you manage to break the Traveling Fortress enough to make it stop." She turned to look at the damage. "You must have used something that was specially designed to break it."

"It matters not," one of the larger masked men said stepping forward. He spun the spear spun around in his hand and it turned into a large curved sword. "He will die just like you." He raised his hand and pointed. The other eight masked men charged forward at the woman and her knights, while the leader turned and walked toward Touma.

Touma charged forward and reached out with his hand to knock the guy out. He realized that, like the museum, if the mask broke they would lose their powers. The man side stepped him effortlessly and tripped Touma as he passed. Touma rolled on the ground, but got quickly back to his feet. "You seem different," Touma said to the man.

"Some of us were given more intelligence to lead," the man replied pointing his sword at Touma. "We were specially made to kill that woman by our Lady Eve herself."

"I figured she was behind this," Touma said eying the blade carefully. _Is the blade magical or just enchanted?_ He knew if the blade was created with magic, his hard would destroy it. If the blade was normal, but just enchanted, even if he touched it with his hand, he could still get sliced by the edge. The man was obviously skilled. _But why didn't he strike me._

"It was my understanding you had made a deal with our Lady," the man continued. "If you get involved with us, she will not guarantee your safety."

"I don't care about that," Touma replied fiercely. "I'm going to help anyone who needs it." He quickly glanced at the fight, out of the corner of his eye. The woman and the knights seemed to be holding their own, but then a spear hit the knight's armor. It was only a glancing blow, but a piece of the armor was blown away. The woman frowned and swung her blade at the neck of the spear wielder who hit the knight. Her blade collided into the neck of the man and knocked him down. It did not, however, cause any noticeable cut along his skin. The woman looked annoyed as she fell back into formation with the knights.

The leader of the masked men turned his head to watch the fight too. "Your interruption was unexpected, but will not change anything." He pointed his free hand toward the fight. "Our weapons were designed to pierce their wards, our skin molded to avoid their blades. They may be strong, but they shall falter under our might." While they watched, one of the knights was hit by two spears in the chest and was blown backwards, his chest plate in pieces with his undershirt burned. The woman muttered something under her breath and her sword started to vibrate. With a quick downwards slash, she manage to cut one of the masked men and he fell apart into paper and then disappeared. "Eight versus three and both sides lost one. You can tell how this battle will go. If you leave now, the deal with our Lady will still be valid."

"No," Touma said fiercely, glaring at the man, and raising his fist. "I don't care about trying to protect myself if someone else is in danger. I'm going to take you out and help them." The woman heard him and glanced over at him curiously as she avoided a couple of the spear wielders. She really was quite graceful in battle. Touma figured she must have had a lot of martial training.

"Brave and foolish," the man said. "It's no wonder why our Lady took an interest in you." He raised his sword and started to walk forward. "I'm going to cut off your arm, and take it to her as a gift." Touma knew he would have one chance. He had to dodge the initial strike and touch either the sword with his right hand or hit the man's mask. He took a step forward and they charged each other at the same time. The man was a hair faster than Touma and he realized it too late. The blade swung down and was heading right for his shoulder. Touma gritted his teeth and tried to move inside the blow, but it wasn't going to be enough.

"Don't touch him!" a female voice called out at Touma felt a very slight breeze pass between him and the leader. Something invisible hit the sword and pushed it about an inch and it just barely missed his shoulder. As the sword came down, Touma manage to touch the side of the blade with his pinky as it skimmed the outside of his shoulder. The blade shattered into dust with the sound of breaking glass. Touma couldn't see the man's face, but he was sure it was one of surprise. The man's head turned and looked at who interfered and Touma reached up and hit the man's mask. The mask shattered, leaving the man faceless, and the body collapsed as it disappeared. Touma panted and looked up to see who helped him.

It was Ruiko.

Ruiko was standing there panting slightly. She was scared but, after seeing Touma rush forward, she knew she had to do something. She looked around and saw no one so she followed him to see if there was anything she could do to help. She had hidden behind a nearby tree and heard everything. When she saw Touma standing up to the man with the sword, she wanted to do anything she could to help him. As the sword came down, she used all her power and concentration to focus a sphere of air and threw it at the sword. She had just recently hit level 1, so her air manipulation ability was not very powerful. Unknown to her, because of the desperate situation, she had forcefully pushed herself to her limit, and then broke it. She had reached level 2 trying to help Touma. Level 2 was still not very powerful, but a small focus point of pressure at the end of a beam can move it quite easily due to leverage.

"Thanks," Touma said looking at her. "But stay hidden. I need to help them."

Ruiko nodded and moved back behind a tree. Her head was pounding and her vision blurred slightly for a moment. She pushed herself to hard and she was paying the price for it. She did not regret it at all though, because she had helped Touma. _I was finally useful. Finish those guys off Touma,_ she silently cheered.

Touma rushed over towards where the main fighting was going on. One of the masked men saw him and tried to stab him with the spear. Touma reached up and grabbed the head of the spear and it shattered. The man lost his balance and Touma destroyed the mask as the man fell. He looked up and another masked man was about to spear him through the chest. _Shit, I got to confident._ He wasn't going to be able to dodge fast enough or block it with his hand. He would have been killed, if a sword blade didn't come out of nowhere and knocked the guy backwards. Touma looked up and saw the knight and the woman standing next to him. "Thanks," he gasped relieved.

"Save the thanks till they are defeated," the woman reprimanded him as she watched the remaining four masked men surround them. Touma noticed the knight was barely on his feet and most of his armor was broken. "We took down a couple, but they have really powerful defensive abilities. It seems like you are able to bypass their spells, right?"

"Yea," Touma nodded. "If I can destroy their masks they will fall apart."

"Then we will give you the opening you need," the woman said curtly. "Just be prepared to move quickly."

"Is this wise?" the knight asked.

"Be quiet," she snapped. "They were designed to kill us. You should be embarrassed that boy took out more of them then you." The knight nodded in silence and turned his attention to the remaining enemies. All four of the enemies charged forward at the same time. Touma felt a hand on his back as the woman pushed him forward. She, Touma, and the knight charged a single opponent. The knight knock the spear from the man's hands, as all three of them rushed forward, leaving Touma free to use his hand and punch the gold mask. The masked man fell down and dissolved. Touma looked behind him and saw the woman making quick sword movements as she parried the other two spears. The last masked man's spear was too far away to hit them and Touma understood why they rushed forward.

 _She's a pretty good strategist,_ Touma thought. He couldn't spare too much time, thinking about who the woman was, because one of the spears came dangerously close to stabbing him. He reached out and grabbed the spear, causing it to shatter. The woman moved around him and shoved her sword through the golden mask, taking another one down. The knight swung his blade knocking the third one to the ground and allowed Touma to grab the mask. The last one looked at them, set the bottom of the spear on the ground, and dissolved all on his own as he realized he could not win. Touma took a deep breath and turned to the other two. "What now?" The woman didn't answer him and walked over to the fallen knight.

"I suppose we should thank you," the knight said. "Though your timing is rather convenient." His grip on his sword tightened. Touma was about to respond when the woman's voice interrupted him.

"Get up you fool," she said kicking the unconscious knight. There was a groan and the knight slowly got to his feet. "Thanks to you, we needed some random boy's help. Go make yourself useful and reattached the wheel. It should be enough to get us back." The knight saluted and immediately went to work. After she appeared satisfied, she turned to Touma. "At ease," she said to the knight and his grip relaxed. "If he was with them he wouldn't have helped us. He also seems to have a girl with him." She motioned to Ruiko who was peeking out from behind a tree. "Thanks for the assistance I guess. You should forget everything you saw here though if you know what's good for you."

Touma nodded, turned around, and left rather quickly. He had a weird feeling about that woman, like she was someone important and was quite prideful. _She probably didn't appreciate my help._ He also felt like if he stuck around, she would drag him into something misfortunate. He grabbed Ruiko's hand and they left back up the hill to head back toward the hotel. _I need to tell Agnese and Itsuwa about this._

"Is it wise to let them go," the knight asked the woman as they watched Touma and Ruiko leave.

"No," she said simply as she sheathed her sword. "But it would be worse to keep them here. The SOS signal went off so if we don't hurry, help's going to arrive. I do not want to explain to mother we had to be saved by some random teenage boy. She will probably make me marry him." She sighed and got into the carriage. "I doubt we will see him again." The second knight managed to get the wheel back on and the horses up, so the first knight followed the woman into the carriage and they took off.

* * *

A young girl was sitting on a tree branch, far away from where the carriage battle took place. She had bright blonde hair, blue eyes, and was swinging her legs over the edge of the branch as she watched the fight. Magic was concealing her presence, so she knew none of them would find her. She was wearing a simple green t-shirt with the word 'Love' on it in pink letters and blue shorts. She looked extremely happy, even though the men she sent to attack had been defeated. "Who would have thought he would be here?" she sung out excitedly. "I see he didn't honor our deal. So sad. What do you think we should do now?" She looked down at the base of the tree to see another girl leaning up against the trunk.

"Even if I recommend anything," the girl replied. "You would just do whatever you want Eve. All I care about is you honor our deal." She had long dark brown hair that reached the middle of her back. Her eyes were also a dark brown. Her face seemed to hold the appearance of a kind elder sister, but if someone looked closer, it was now etched with dark lines. She had a single rose tucked behind her left ear and wore a shoulder less red dress that ended at her knees. She couldn't be more than fifteen or sixteen.

"My dear Juliet," Eve giggled. "I plan to honor our agreement completely."

"I hate when you call me that," Juliet sighed. "I wish you would use my real name."

"But Juliet suits you so well," Eve said jumping down from the branch and onto the ground. She turned and started to rub Juliet's cheek, while looking at her directly in the eyes. "A tragic love, cut short by fate. But I'm willing to give you a chance to reunite with your lost love."

"And kill that harpy who stole him," Juliet mumbled.

"Yes yes," Eve laughed. "You have been blessed by our master with your gift, just like him. You two belong together. Of course, I would like it if the young man who wields the Imagine Breaker would join me too. He is quite cute."

"I don't even know why you play these games," Juliet said slightly exhausted with Eve's attitude. "You have only been making weak minions to bother England. If you made use of the cabals under your control or create stronger users like The Herald, you could do so much more."

"It's all part of the long term goal," Eve sung out spinning in a circle with her arms outstretched. "I may be chaos and life, while Adam is law and death, but you cannot have one without the other. So our goals will always join in the long run. We need to make it appear as if England is weakening. So I am simply causing mischief wherever I feel like it."

"Why though?" Juliet asked.

"If a single important individual thinks England is too weak to face the rest of the world," Eve explained in her sing-song voice. "She will do something drastic and chaos will erupt all over England. During the change of power, the defenses of the wing will be weakened. Right now, it is still under the Archangel Michael's protection. You can feel the influence on yourself just being here." Juliet nodded.

"Now we know the Imagine Breaker and many more from the science side are here," Juliet said thoughtfully. "More than we expected anyways. I assume they will cause more problems during the transition."

"Based on how he reacted, yep," Eve said happily. "His action may have even sped things up. I am sure that woman will not be happy she needed his help. I might need to thank him for breaking out deal." Eve stopped spinning around and pulled out her book. When she opened it, hundreds of papers flew out and spun around her. Masked men appeared as the papers started to join together. "Your job is to simply cause mischief," Eve told them. "Spread chaos and make all of England fear the shadows as they realize their own weakness." All the men nodded and disappeared in flashes of light.

"Why do you make them with masks instead of just faces?" Juliet asked. "The masks are just their weak points."

"I happen to like them," Eve replied, pretending to pout. "Ever since they first started using those centuries ago." She wagged her finger at Juliet. "I never make anything I don't like. Besides, the weakness only exists as long as I will it to. When I'm ready to win, I will remove it."

Juliet sighed and turned to leave, but not before giving the hotel, far off in the distance, one last look. _You will be mine again,_ she thought. She and Eve started walking away into the woods. Eve waved her hand and the air itself cracked and fell apart, leaving only a void for them. Juliet shook her head, she hated traveling this way, as darkness flowed out from under her dress and surrounded her, creating a few stairs, and she stepped into the void.

* * *

Touma and Ruiko were heading back towards the hotel as fast as they could. They were moving a lot slower than they wanted to, because Ruiko was still a little unstable on her feet. Her head was constantly pounding and it was interfering slightly with her balance. She was holding onto Touma's arm, as they walked as fast as they could without Ruiko falling. "Sorry about this," she said apologetically.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Touma reassured her. "It was thanks to you I got out of there alive. I should be thanking you." He was looking forward, so he didn't notice the slight pink tinge on Ruiko's face.

"I'm glad we saved them," Ruiko continued. "But wasn't it really dangerous for you to charge into the middle of the fight like that?"

"And stupid," Touma laughed, but then he got serious. "I couldn't just leave someone in trouble though. I saw a mask when one of their hoods slipped and knew I had to help."

"It's one of you best qualities," Ruiko said laughing slightly. Touma thought she was joking at first, but her tone felt more truthful. There was a short silence, and then Ruiko asked the question he was thinking about, but wasn't sure what he should do. "Are we going to tell the others about this?"

"I don't know," Touma said truthfully. "I know there is a lot of tension between the magic and science side. When we went to Italy, that was a special occurrence. I don't think the magic side would want us getting involved. The problem is I think I got us involved without thinking." He sighed and Ruiko patted his shoulder. "Technically, Index and I, plus Jason now, are the only people who are supposed to be allowed to work officially with the magic side."

"So what do you want to do?" she asked.

"I figured the first step would be to talk to Agnese and Itsuwa," Touma answered thinking. "They should be able to warn their side and they might be able to give us an idea of what they want us to do. It's also possible we might have to leave England early, and I know several people who won't like that. Until we talk to them, we shouldn't tell the others."

"It might be hard convincing everyone if we don't mention magic," Ruiko said thoughtfully. "Most of us were involved in Italy."

"Yea," Touma said hanging his head. "But I know Komoe-sensei, Mugino-san, and her friends won't believe in magic." They walked in silence as the hotel grew close. Suddenly, Touma remembered something. "Hey Ruiko, you said you had something important to tell me. What was it?"

Ruiko's face went red as she immediately realized what she had wanted to say. The fight had completely removed it from her mind. _I could tell him now, but is it really a good time?_ She thought about it for a moment and finally decided. "I don't remember," she lied. "The excitement pushed it completely out of my mind. I'll let you know if I remember." She didn't want to distract him from the important matters at hand.

"Ok," Touma said nodding. Ruiko was feeling better and was no longer using him to steady himself. They walked in through the back door and entered the lobby. Touma saw two girls sitting on opposite ends of a couch and glaring at each other. When he and Ruiko entered, they both look up and noticed him. Mikoto and Misaki both immediately rushed over to him, pushing each other in the process.

"Touma," they said together. "Where did you go?" They both glared at each as they said the same thing.

"Long story," Touma explained. "I was just enjoying the weather and met Ruiko. Excuse me," he added as he moved pass them. "I need to use the restroom." He ran off before any of them could respond. Both Misaki and Mikoto knew he wasn't telling them everything, so they turned and looked at Ruiko.

"What happened?" Mikoto asked and Ruiko felt sweat form on her brow.

"Well…" Ruiko replied thinking fast and coming up with no good explanation. Misaki moved up beside Ruiko and put her arm around Ruiko's shoulder.

"I'm sure you had a perfectly good reason for being out alone with Touma," Misaki said smiling, but the smile did not reach her eyes. Ruiko felt a very uncomfortable talk was about to take place and she unconsciously took a step back. Mikoto glared at Misaki again.

"Don't you dare think of threatening my friends," Mikoto snapped.

"I would never dream of it," Misaki replied faking cheerfulness. "I just want to talk with her because she feels the same way we do." Mikoto and Ruiko realized what she was talking about. Ruiko's nervousness doubled as she, Misaki, and Mikoto walked outside to talk.

* * *

Touma knocked on Agnese's and Itsuwa's room and was let in. They both looked surprise he had come to visit them, but there were too many important things he had to discuss with them to feel nervousness about it. He sat down in a chair and quickly explained what happened. He told them about the masked men attacking a fairytale like carriage and how he had interfered. They both listened patiently while he explained and, when he finished, Agnese looked exasperated with him. Itsuwa tried to hide it but, he felt like she was thinking similar things as Agnese, though probably a little kinder based on her personality.

"You got involved in something you shouldn't have boy," Agnese sighed. "But I suppose it is just like you. From what you told us, you probably could have avoided jumping into that fight. She could have handled herself."

"How was I supposed to know that?" Touma asked incredulous. "I know how dangerous those guys are."

"Did you not recognize her?" Agnese ask raising an eyebrow.

"I've never seen her before though," Touma said. "How could I have recognized her?" Agnese face palmed.

"Do you know any…?" she started to ask then shook her head. "Actually, never mind. I know how you are boy."

"What the…" Touma asked incredulously.

"Kamijou-kun," Itsuwa interrupted. "You wouldn't know, but she is quite capable of defending herself. I feel we should move on to the more important part. We were told about the deal you made in Italy. Since you got involved, your deal may no longer be valid. The Fallen may come after you now."

"I realized that afterwards," Touma sighed. "I didn't tell everyone else about the incident because I wanted to know what you two thought. What should happen now? Should we even stay in England or go back to Academy City?"

"Y-you don't need to leave," Itsuwa said hastily turning slightly red. "Neither of us are suggesting it."

"Besides boy," Agnese said crossing her legs and waving her hands dismissively. "If they are after you, it would be better for you to be near us. While Academy City is well defended, magic should be dealt with magic."

"Are you suggesting I should just ignore what happened?" Touma asked surprised.

"Not ignore exactly," Agnese said shaking her head. "You shouldn't let your guard down completely, but continue to enjoy your vacation here with your friends."

"The purpose of us coming with you," Itsuwa added. "Was not only to thank you and your friends for helping us, but we were told, at the beach, our job was to watch over you guys discreetly. It seems the higher ups were worried that Eve and Adam would not keep their end of the bargain."

"I guess that makes sense," Touma said thinking. "It would explain why both of you were assigned to us." They nodded and he stood up. "Well, now I need to think of a reason I was gone. I'm going back to my room then." He waved good bye to them, left, and then entered his room. To his surprise, he found not only Accelerator, Jason, and Motoharu sitting at a table playing cards, but also, at the table, were Shizuri, Frenda, and Rikou.

"What's going on?" he asked shutting the door behind him.

"They came to see you," Jason said throwing his cards on the table in anger. "You were not here so Mugino-san decided they would wait."

"Then we started to play cards," Motoharu continued.

"You sure took your sweet time to get back," Shizuri said slightly irritated, as her eyes moved to look at him.

"I'm surprised you got Accelerator to play," Touma said.

"Shut it hero," Accelerator grumbled. "I don't have anything else to do so what the f#%$ is wrong with playing cards."

"You look pretty dirty," Frenda commented looking him up and down. "Basically, what happened?" Touma noticed everyone stopped playing and looked at him.

"Well," Touma started to say when he was interrupted.

"He probably was rescuing a girl," Motoharu answered.

"Then got attacked by people trying to hit on the girl," Jason added.

"Then he ran away after the fight," Accelerator finished with a bored tone. He threw down his cards in disgust too. The three girls looked between Touma and the other guys. "You going to stand there all day or join us hero."

"I guess," Touma said pulling up a chair between Jason and Shizuri. He decided to avoid mentioning anything as long as possible. "What are we playing?"

"Poker," Motoharu replied. "I've had a pretty good winning streak so far."

"Cause you're a damn cheater," Jason muttered.

"Don't be a poor sport," laughed Motoharu.

"You are a damn cheater," Accelerator added.

"He did get an unusual amount of good cards when it's his turn to deal," Shizuri said narrowing her eyes. "If I catch you cheating, you are going to find out why I'm called Meltdowner."

"Come on now," Motoharu said raising his hands innocently in front of him. "There's no need to get violent over a game." Touma had a funny feeling he was cheating.

"How about a new game then?" Frenda asked. "I'll toss you a grenade and we see how much damage it does." Everyone laughed, except Touma because he wasn't sure if she was joking or not. Jason was about to deal when Shizuri spoke up.

"It's boring without risk," Shizuri said while leaning back in her seat. "How about we make this more interesting?"

"Oh," Motoharu said his eyes twinkling. "Like?" Touma got a bad feeling about where this was going.

"I suppose we could gamble," Jason shrugged. "Money? But then Touma can't play." He, Motoharu, and Accelerator laughed at him. Touma made a rude gesture and even Shizuri laughed at his reaction.

"Nah," she said. "That's too easy. As we are all high schoolers, let's do something fun." She wore a devious smirk which caused everyone to stare at her with anticipation.

"I'm going to regret this," Touma said. "But what did you have in mind?"

Shizuri smiled; a smile of pure wickedness and evil. "How about some strip poker?" Touma's jaw dropped and he wasn't the only one. Frenda's jaw dropped too, and everyone else looked at her in surprise. Even Rikou and Accelerator, though, they managed to keep their faces more passive.

"MUGINO!?" Frenda called out embarrassed. "How could you suggest that?"

"You can't be serious," Touma said still shell shocked.

"Tsk," Shizuri replied annoyed to Frenda. "We just spent an entire day at the beach, they saw you wear almost nothing anyways. Why do you care about that now?"

"Basically, swimsuits and underwear are completely different."

"I have to say no too," Jason said and Touma thought for a brief moment that Jason was going to help him. "None of us," he motioned to Motoharu, Accelerator, and himself, "Want to see Touma naked and he's going to lose."

"What makes you think I'm going to lose?" Touma instinctively said defensively.

"You need luck to win poker," Motoharu pointed out. "With your luck, even if you manage to get a decent hand, all of us would have better."

"I agree with Jason," Accelerator said adding his opinion. "I don't want to see him naked either."

"I-I'll play," Frenda stuttered turning red face. Her motives for playing were not completely pure though. She in fact wanted to see Touma lose his clothes. She also thought if she lost, Touma wouldn't be able to keep his eyes off her.

"…I don't care either way," Rikou said. Touma felt like she just went along with whatever Shizuri told her to.

"So it looks like I's three for and three against," Shizuri said irritated because everyone didn't jump on her idea. Touma noticed she counted Rikou's response as a yes. "So, Tsuchimikado what do you say?"

"Ok," he said and Touma groaned.

"That's it," Accelerator growled standing up. 'I'm out of here."

"It's cool," Jason said. "It's natural to run from something you can't win at." Touma saw Accelerator give Jason a death glare at the mere mention of him not being able to win. Accelerator sat back down.

"After I win," Accelerator growled. "I'm throwing you out into the hallway, so all those brats can see you nude."

"It would be funnier if you did it to Kami-yan," Motoharu said and he and Jason laughed.

"Are you ladies going to deal or not?" Shizuri said smirking as she got them all to play her game.

"Hang on," Jason said standing up and grabbing a piece of paper. "Just going to put a sign up not to disturb us so we don't get unexpected guests." He quickly opened the door and put the sign up and closed it. Touma, who didn't really want to play but at the same time could not refuse Shizuri's demands, was glad Jason was taking steps so the other girls didn't see it.

"Ok," Motoharu said shuffling the deck for a minute or two. "Let's play." He started to deal out the cards. Touma looked at his hand and was overwhelmed by despair. They all turned around as they heard a voice from outside their room.

* * *

Mikoto and Ruiko were taking the elevator up to their room in silence. They had talked for quite a while after Misaki dragged them outside. Mikoto was relieved to learn that nothing happened, but when she had that thought, she suddenly felt like a bad person. She knew Ruiko had feelings for Touma, so she was torn about wanting her friend to be happy and her own feelings. She noticed Misaki had also appeared to be pleased nothing happened, but Mikoto could not read anything more from her. _She is really good at guarding herself._ Ruiko finally cracked and admitted they saw a magic fight happen and Touma was going to talk to Agnese and Itsuwa about what they should do now. Mikoto did not want to leave, but she could see that as a reasonable outcome. _It's quiet, so he must still be talking to them._ She and Ruiko walked into their room to see Kuroko and Kazari talking.

"Onee-sama," Kuroko said jumping at her. "What kept you?"

"I was just talking with Saten-san and lost track of time," Mikoto said truthfully, but left out the topic at hand. "What are you two up to?"

"We were watching television," Kazari replied pointing to the TV. "They have a lot of interesting shows we don't have back in Japan. I wish my English was better though, I'm just lucky they have subtitles."

"What are you watching?" Ruiko asked sitting down at the end of her bed.

"Some romance drama," Kuroko said. "It's a couple episodes in, but it's really interesting."

All three of them were watching it while Mikoto shook her head. She knew Kuroko wanted her to watch more adult type shows, but romance dramas were never really her thing. She also knew Kazari loved them and Ruiko had some experience with them. She sat down on her bed and watched with them for a bit while glancing at the clock. After waiting for a short time, she figured Touma would be done with his conversation by now for her to be able to talk to him. She got up and said to the others, "I'll be back in a minute." Then she left through the room, closing the door behind her.

"Onee-sama," Kuroko called out before the door closed completely. "Where are you going?"

Mikoto didn't respond. She took one more step out into the hallway, turned, and saw Misaki standing in front of the guy's room reading a sign that was posted. This surprised her for a moment, and then irritated her. "What are you doing?" Mikoto demanded marching up to her. "Don't keep trying to sneak into his room."

"I wouldn't sneak into this room," Misaki said pretending to pout. "I would march in boldly to be by his side. No, I was just reading this." She pointed to the sign on the guy's door. Mikoto frowned, walked up and read the sign over Misaki's shoulders.

 _High school students only._

"What does that even mean?" Mikoto fumed.

"I believe it means only students who are in high school are suppose…" Misaki began.

"I know what it means," Mikoto snapped. "I mean, why is it up?"

"Then you should have asked that in the first place Misaka-san," Misaki replied evenly. "It's really unladylike to ask silly questions."

"Why you…" Mikoto said angrily.

"Onee-sama," Kuroko said from behind her and Mikoto and Misaki turned around. She, Ruiko and Kazari had entered the hallway. "What are you doing?"

"Reading this sign," Mikoto pointed and they all moved up to see what it said.

"That looks like Jason's writing," Kazari said.

"But why would he put up that sign?" Mikoto asked.

"Maybe they just want guy time?" Ruiko answered reasonably.

"Then why not just put up 'guys only' or 'do not disturb' if they want to be left alone?" Kuroko asked.

"We are in middle school," Misaki muttered softly.

"…Except for Mugino and her frien...," Mikoto continued slowly, and then stopped. "You don't think?" Her mind was suddenly filled with delusional and he inappropriate thoughts of a young girl.

"There's no way that could happen," Misaki said dismissively. "Accelerator aside, Touma couldn't do that, and Kagere-san doesn't seem like the kind of guy to cheat. It's possible Tsuchimikado-san might, I don't know a lot about him, but I doubt it."

"You're probably right," Mikoto said. "I think we are overthinking things."

"Why are you even worried about what the guys do?" Kuroko said exasperatedly.

"Technically," Ruiko said. "Uiharu is the only one who really should be worried about the sign."

"What do you mean by that Saten-san?" Kazari said surprised. "I trust him."

"How can you trust him when he lies all the time?" Kuroko asked.

"Only to you," Ruiko pointed out.

"I suppose I can wait till later," Mikoto sighed and was just about to turn around when Saiai emerged from her room while complaining loudly.

"Where did they go?" she fumed. "I get back a few minutes after them and they just super disappear." She turned and noticed all the other girls in the hallway. "What are you all super up to?" Mikoto's and Misaki's eyes widened and they leaned up against the door listening. Saiai walked over and read the sign with a surprised look on their face. Everyone else tried to lean up against the door and listen too.

"Hah, I won again."

"You are a damn cheater!"

"Check the b#$&%*& sleeves for hidden cards."

'Why are you two even mad? Kami-yan is the one who lost."

"Such misfortune."

"Sounds like those apes are just playing a card game," Kuroko said and Mikoto, Misaki, and Kazari sighed in relief.

"I guess," Mikoto agreed.

"And here I thought something interesting would happen," Misaki said disappointed.

"So nothing super fun is happening," Saiai said with her hands behind her back. "Now, where did Mugino go?" Then they heard Shizuri's voice.

"Quit your whining and take them off," she said. "Or I'll have Frenda here force you to." The girls jaws dropped and they all looked at each other.

 _I'll kill her,_ Misaki thought to herself but managed to avoid bursting out in anger. Her hand trembled slightly in anger though. Mikoto was not as silent.

"What is that idiot doing!" she yelled and grabbed the door throwing it open, while using her ability to bypass the electronic lock. She and Misaki barged in while the other girls stood at the entrance way looking in slightly red faced. They had expected to see something highly inappropriate.

They were disappointed.

Mikoto and Misaki burst into the room and looked around. All they saw were Touma, Accelerator, Jason, Motoharu, Shizuri, Frenda, and Rikou sitting around a table. There were cards spread out proving they had been playing cards. Motoharu was covering Touma's mouth with his hands. Shizuri looked back at them, with a clearly smug look on her face. "I told you there were some brats listening at the door," she told everyone at the table.

"Huh?" Mikoto and Misaki said while everyone stared into the room in surprise.

"You were right," Accelerator said grinning as he leaned back in his chair. "It was pretty entertaining to see their reaction."

"What's the point of putting up a sign if no one read it," Jason said sighing.

"Yea," Frenda agreed. "Basically, it's high school students only. You all can come back later." She noticed Saiai in the back giving her a thumb up. There was a bang as Touma finally threw Motoharu off him and onto the ground. He looked at Mikoto and Misaki apologetically.

"Sorry," he said. "I didn't realize what they were planning until it was too late."

"They were remarkable quick on the update," Shizuri said commending them.

"We do stuff like that all the time," Motoharu said grinning as he stood back up.

"So it was all a joke," Ruiko asked and Touma nodded.

"We heard Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san's voice first," Jason explained. "Then everyone else joined up. She's the one who wanted to mess with you all the most." He pointed to Shizuri.

"And here I thought you would appreciate a good prank," Shizuri said dismissively.

"All of my pranks are tailored specifically to one person," Jason bragged. "Each one is planned out to the smallest detail to maximize their effectiveness. It's why I can mess with Kuro-chan so easily.

"Stop calling me that," Kuroko snapped angrily. "I knew you were a ter…." She was interrupted by Touma.

"Anyway," Touma said sighing again but trying to prevent a fight breaking out. "Why are you here?" He looked at Misaki and Mikoto.

"I needed to talk to you," Misaki answered.

"We needed to talk to you," amended Mikoto.

"Ah sure," Touma said wondering what they wanted to say to him. Then he saw Ruiko make an apologetic face. _Ah, she must have told them about what happened._ He didn't blame her because both Mikoto and Misaki could be quite persuasive. "One minute." He turned to Jason. "Before I forget, whatever you were planning to do with those things you got from the beach, I doubt you should." Everyone looked at him and Jason sighed.

"Fine, ruin the surprise for everyone." He walked over to his side of the room and pulled a bag from under the bed. He opened it and looked inside and frowned. He looked up at everyone and asked, "Has anyone seen Worst?" Everyone shook their heads and he turned to Accelerator.

"What am I," he snapped annoyed. "Her keeper?"

"Well," Jason said as he closed his bag. "I would recommend everyone check their rooms, thoroughly, before going to bed tonight." Everyone stared at him and Touma face palmed, while Kuroko started yelling at Jason. Kazari tried to keep the peace between them, but Touma left with Mikoto and Misaki before he saw much more.

* * *

Touma got up the next day and was relieved to see none of the girls snuck into his bed that night. Last night he had told Mikoto and Misaki what had happened and explained what occurred during his conversation with Itsuwa and Agnese. While they both asked if they would stay in England or leave, they seemed relieved when he told them they would stay for now. Then he saw something he didn't expect. Mikoto and Misaki looked at each other and agreed one of them should be with him at all times, if Jason or Accelerator wasn't there, to help him if needed. Touma was going to say they wouldn't need to, but they both gave him a look that said his opinions would be ignored. They went to bed shortly after that. He actually was glad someone cared about him enough to be willing to go into harm's way to help him.

Touma got up and looked out the window. The sun was up and when he looked at the clock, saw it was about nine. _One of the nice things with vacation and separate rooms is Index isn't waking me up early to make breakfast._ Accelerator and Jason where still asleep, but Motoharu's bed was empty. He used the bathroom, got changed, and went downstairs to grab breakfast. He saw Motoharu, Itsuwa, and Agnese talking at one table, and Shizuri, Frenda, and Saiai at the other. He wasn't sure who to sit with, but his decision was spared when Motoharu waved him over after he grabbed some food.

"Sup Kami-yan," he said. "I see you didn't receive another eventful night." At his words Agnese purposely looked away from Touma.

"Yea," Touma agreed relieved. "It helped a lot Accelerator found Worst and threw all the sea slugs out of the hotel."

"How far did you think they went?"

"Probably to the sea." He and Motoharu laughed at the idea of a bag of slugs flying through the air.

"So Kamijou-kun," Itsuwa said. "After everyone gets up and has breakfast, the plan is to tour London today. I know Index wanted to visit her church so we felt we should start with that. Anyone who is not interested in can continue on to the mall. Several of your friends had mentioned they were interested in shopping. Afterwards, we planned on giving a tour of the sights. Tomorrow, the royal family will make a public appearance, so we planned to stay in London till after that. Is that ok with you?"

"Sounds great," Touma said. "I know Index will like that. I'm glad you are our guide because I would have no idea where to go here."

"Hey," Agnese said indignantly. "I helped plan this too."

"I know," Touma said quickly. "Thank you too Agnese." She seemed slightly mollified by his words.

"Oh," Motoharu whispered leaning close to Touma. "About what happened yesterday, try to keep it on the down low until we get to the church. I know Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san know about it, and obviously Saten-san because she was there."

"You always know everything," Touma whispered back.

"All part of the job," he replied and leaned aback in his chair.

Everyone else joined them a short time later and Itsuwa explained the day's plan. No one voiced any objections. A few people ran upstairs after breakfast to pack a day bag, but they all still left shortly after everyone finished eating. They left in their bus and headed into the main part of London. They stopped at the mall first and dropped off Shizuri, Frenda, Saiai, and Rikou. To Touma's surprise, Worst got off to saying something about not caring about churches. There was a slight pause, and then Komoe took off after her. It turns out, after yesterday's incident, Komoe decided she needed to watch Worst. The bus continued forward and Index was bouncing in her seat next to Touma.

"We're almost there," Index said happily.

"I know," Touma said as he tried to keep her sitting down. "You shouldn't be standing up on a bus while it's moving."

"I don't think I've ever been in a church since I've been in Academy City," Kazari said to Ruiko and Jason.

"Me either," Ruiko admitted.

"Been a couple years for me," Jason said offhandedly, but Touma noticed the dark look that appeared briefly on his face.

 _I guess he doesn't have a lot of good memories about churches,_ Touma thought.

"Being part of a city dedicated to science really doesn't focus a lot on religions," Mikoto said turning around to talk to them.

"That's because they believe things without any proof," Kuroko said dismissively. "At least with science we have evidence to back up claims and disprove false ones."

"Shirai-san," Kazari warned her. "You shouldn't say things like that when we actually get there. People take their religions seriously."

"I know," Kuroko sighed. "But still, I would like to see some proof."

"Wouldn't magic be proof?" Misaki asked from across the aisle. Touma was the only one she really liked to talk to, but she was still listening to their conversations since they were all close together.

"What they call magic is just abilities that follow different laws," Accelerator said in a bored tone as he laid back in his chair with his eyes closed.

"MISAKA thinks you should be more respectful of magic reprimands MISAKA as MISAKA recalls the magic event in Italy."

"There is more to magic then that," Agnese said irritated as she turned around. "As people of science, we don't expect you to know much about magic."

"Magic is a complex system of arts, disciplines, and traditions that are firmly grounded in laws and knowledge," Itsuwa said trying to prevent an argument from breaking out. "It is true though the laws are wholly unknown and beyond the normal grasp of science. We use it to manipulate and distort certain aspects of reality."

Kuroko opened her mouth to say something, but Jason interrupted her. "Think of it like personal realities. Magic, instead of being based on an individual, is based around a certain ideological premise. Because of this, ideas are broader than just an individual. This leads to magicians being able to use broader arrange of abilities, but in exchange, we have to use certain structures to be able to cast magic, like circles and runes."

"Exactly," Agnese said. "I'm still not sure what to make of it as having a group of science members knowing about magic. The sides are supposed to remain separate."

"Yea," Jason said grinning. "I broke that rule a long time ago."

"No surprise there," muttered Kuroko.

"We didn't really have much choice," Touma said.

"What's this magic you all keep talking about?" Motoharu said room from the back of the bus. Most of the girls jumped, except Agnese and Itsuwa. They had forgotten he was there and remembered they were not supposed to talk about magic in front of others.

"Well," Mikoto said unsure of how to answer.

"Let me take care of this," Misaki said pulling out her remote.

"Wait!" Motoharu raised his hand quickly. "Don't erase my mind, I know about magic. I have known Kami-yan for a while."

"He does," Touma said putting his hand on Misaki's shoulders. "Please don't erase his memory yet."

"What's with the yet part Kami-yan?" Motoharu asked quickly and Accelerator and Jason laughed.

Before Touma could reply, Itsuwa called out, "We have arrived." Everyone looked out the window and saw St. George's Cathedral towering over them. "We made sure to arrive after mass so it should not be overly crowded." Itsuwa and Agnese got off first and everyone followed. Touma looked up at the church impressed. He had seen a couple churches before, but none as magnificent as this one. He remembered it was the Anglican Church's headquarters so it made sense for it to be large and imposing. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the other's look at it with similar expressions, except Accelerator who barely acknowledged it. They started heading to the entrance when they saw another nun standing next to it. Touma's mouth dropped open in surprise.

"O-Orsola?" he asked bewildered. Before him stood a woman, dressed in a nun habit, unmodified unlike Agnese's. She was wearing her headdress which covered her short blonde hair, but he could still make out her face and her blue eyes. While the habit was unrevealing, Touma had firsthand experience on her womanly figure as he had walked in on her by accident once when she was in the shower. Her chest was still quite prominent in her outfit. She was very kind, but was pretty aloof, while moving at her own pace. He heard a lot of people refer to her as somewhat of an ahead.

"It is good to see you again," she replied smiling at him, apparently not disturbed by his shocked expression. "Hello," she said turning to everyone else. "My name is Orsola Aquinas and I welcome you to St. George's Cathedral. I hope you will enjoy your visit."

"She seems nice," Kazari whispered as everyone started to follow her.

"Yea," Ruiko agreed. "How do you think Touma knows her?"

"The hero probably saved her," Accelerator mumbled from behind him. "Are you just going to stand here or move?" They quickly followed everyone else in.

Mikoto on the other hand was having an internal fight with herself. _How many girls does he know? Since she is part of the church I assume she's part of the magic side._ She spared a quick glance at Misaki who had a hand on her cheek staring after Orsola as if thinking. However, her thoughts were interrupted by Index who spoke to her like an old friend.

"How are you?" Index asked. "We haven't seen you since Italy."

"Italy?" whispered Mikoto to Touma. "We didn't meet her there."

"Separate instance," Touma muttered back. "It was near the end of the Daihaseisai. I sort of got roped into it."

"Sounds like you," Mikoto said smirking while nudging him in the side with his elbow.

"I have been busy," Orsola explained. "Since the Anglican Church has been kind enough to accept me, I have been studying to complete my nun training. I also help out others in the library, mainly Sherry." The name sounded familiar for Touma, but he couldn't remember who she was.

"How did you meet Index and Touma?" Misaki asked curiously and Mikoto realized by asking how she met both of them, it didn't sound as rude. She, however, wanted to know about the woman who kept appearing around Touma. _He has done so much I don't know about._

"They helped me out when I was at a low point in my life," she said holding a hand up to her cheek. She appeared to look at Touma, but he could see her eyes travel over his shoulder to Agnese. Orsola smiled and Agnese diverted her eyes.

"Onee-sama," Kuroko said. "Isn't this place amazing?" They had just entered the actual church and were looking at all the decorations and Kazari, Ruiko, and Last Order gasped. Everyone else looked around in awe at church, and even Accelerator was glancing around with a slightly interested look on his face. The decorative stained glass windows reflected a myriad of colors in the sunlight over the rows of seats. They depicted scenes, Touma guessed form the bible but he didn't know much about religions, in the stained glass. There were white decorative arches throughout the chapel. A large glass chandelier hung from the ceiling.

"It is," Mikoto agreed taking in the sights.

"It's like from a fairy tale," Kazari said looking around.

"Always thinking of those books, eh Uiharu," Ruiko said grinning. Kazari grinned sheepishly.

"I had a similar reaction when I first saw this place too," Itsuwa reassured her.

Orsola started to explain the history of the cathedral to Mikoto, Kuroko, Kazari, Ruiko, and Last Order. Index already knew it, but she listened to it too. Accelerator was leaning up against a pillar and was only half listening. He felt something when he first entered the church, like something trickling down his back, and flicked his choker automatically. He felt his vectors manipulating something, but they were weird. The calculations on these vectors were different than usual. He didn't really care about the history of this church so he studied them to figure out how these unknown vectors would operate. _Is this some kind of their magic? I might as well learn about it in case I ever face it._

While they were listening, Agnese pulled Touma aside. "Hey boy," she said. "I know Stiyl wants to talk to you today. He's down below dealing with some other matters."

"Huh?" Touma asked surprised. "He wants to talk with me?" He sighed. "Every time he 'talks' with me, I usually end up in a dangerous situation."

Agnese laughed and smacked him on the back. "I'm sure it's not that bad. An important person from our church is looking forward to meeting you. Stiyl is with them."

'Why would they want to meet me?" Touma asked and Agnese face palmed.

"Are you dense boy?" she asked. "You've helped us so much and a lot of people owe you. You even saved me…" She died off for a moment then shook her head. "I believe they want to thank you in person."

"I don't really like publicity," Touma said leaning against a pillar. He noticed a couple nuns entering through a door and stop when they noticed him. They whispered and waved to him. He felt his face turn red and he waved back before they disappeared out of another door. "How's the rest of your group doing Agnese," he asked her. "Are they are here in London?"

"Some are," Agnese said leaning up against the pillar next to him. "Most are currently in Scotland. There have been some strange signs over there. It seems like a magic cabal has been doing some excavation in some ruins and we are investigating." She sighed. "I kind of wish I was there, but they choose me specifically for your guide so…" She shrugged.

"Think it has anything to do with The Fallen group?" Touma asked quietly.

'I doubt it," Agnese said dismissively. "There have been random skirmishes with them, but this group seems to be small, but skilled. I suppose they could be working for them though…" She trailed off thinking.

"But you shouldn't have to worry about it though Kamijou-kun," Itsuwa said. She obviously over heard them. "The Anglican Church is quite skilled with routing out magic groups if needed."

"TOUUUMMAAA!" Index called out and all three of them looked at her. "Come and join us. Don't go off by yourself." Touma noticed Mikoto and Misaki, who just noticed he was standing off with alone with Agnese and Itsuwa, started glaring at him. He didn't really have much choice, and he joined them. Misaki immediately clung to his arm, while Mikoto stood close to him on his other side. Index grabbed the front of his shirt and started trying to explain everything he missed as fast as she could. They continued to learn about this history of the church, when Kazari looked around.

"Where did Jason and Tsuchimikado-san go?" she asked.

"I don't recall either of them saying anything for a while" Kuroko said looking around. "They better not be planning something."

"Try calling him," Ruiko suggested to Kazari. She did, sighed, and hung up.

"It's turned off," she said a little worried. "I hope they are ok."

"I'm sure they are fine," Mikoto reassured her. "Kagere-san can take care of himself and Tsuchimikado-san is Touma's friend so he can probably handle a little bad luck." That got a small chuckle out of everyone. Touma thought about it for a moment and realized he didn't recall Jason or Motoharu entering the church with them. He realized they must have snuck away before entering. Jason's words from last night echoed in his mind.

 _I plan to sneak away for a bit and have someone investigate these marks. Tsuchimikado is planning to introduce someone to me. If we disappear, just try to make an excuse for us so no one else worries._

"Jason mentioned something important he had to take care of yesterday," Touma said and they all looked at him. "So he probably thought now was as good as time as any. As for Tsuchimikado, he probably just went with him out of boredom."

"Knowing them," Accelerator commented. He had obviously heard their conversation even if he pretended to be ignoring them all. "I bet they are planning a prank or something."

"MISAKA believes that sounds plausible MISAKA agrees as MISAKA nods her head furiously."

"He better not," Kuroko fumed. "I had enough of that last night."

"He said he wouldn't be pulling any more pranks though," Kazari muttered and Ruiko patted her on the back.

"He's fine," she reassured Kazari. "He's too smart to get lost. I bet he meets up with us later." Kazari nodded, but still looked worried.

Touma sighed softly under his breath, glad his half-truth covered Jason's disappearance. Out of the corner of his eye, Touma noticed Misaki staring at him. "What is it?" he whispered.

"I can tell you are covering for him," Misaki whispered back. "Just tell me if it's something you know and we don't need to be concerned about it. I'll trust you."

"He told me yesterday," Touma replied softly. "It's just private so he didn't want me to spread anything around." She nodded, apparently satisfied with his answer. Then noticed Mikoto looking at him and he smiled reassuringly at her. She turned red and immediately looked away. They heard a door opened near them and noticed a familiar man enter the cathedral.

Stiyl walked in in his usual black outfit looking really annoyed. He looked over at Touma and his friends, and gave them a curt nod in greeting. He turned around and held the door open for another person. A woman walked in and Touma's eyes widened in shock. The girl looked to only be around eighteen years old, but she was like a porcelain doll. She had crystal-white skin, sparkling blue eyes, and shining golden hair that was incredibly long. She was wearing a pink robe and she closed a white umbrella. She turned her head and looked at them. She gave them such a dazzling smile, Touma thought light was actually shining from it. The girls were in similar states of shock, and even Accelerator was staring at her in interest. The unknown woman walked up to them and stopped before Touma.

"Wow," Ruiko said star struck.

"She's like a princess," Kazari added. She was having some of the best days of her life. First she got to go on a trip with her friends and boyfriend, then they went to the beach, afterwards they entered a cathedral that looked like a scene from her romance novels, and now they got to meet someone who looked like a splitting image of royalty.

Kuroko gazed at the female with her mouth slightly opened. _She has the same aura as onee-sama, no, even more so. I hope, as an adult, onee-sama aura will be as brilliant as this woman._ Her eyes glazed over slightly as she imagined Mikoto slightly older and more ladylike. She snapped back to reality quickly and continued to gaze at the noble woman.

"She's really beautiful," Mikoto said softly, more to herself than anyone else. Even being part of Tokiwadai, which was full of talented girls from famous families, this woman was in a league of her own. She glanced out of the corner of her eye and saw Touma staring at the woman with a similar expression as everyone else. She felt a wave of annoyance. _Is he interested in those noble types? I can't really blame him for staring though. It doesn't look like he knows her._ She didn't let her guard down and vowed to make sure Touma didn't fall for her.

Misaki watched the woman carefully. She was also briefly captivated by the woman's beauty. _Touma's staring at her. How could he like someone like her? She's just physically attractive._ Misaki was quite skilled in reading people, with and without her power, after having years of experience. While the woman looked attractive and innocent, there was something dark behind her eyes. _I feel like she is not as kind as she appears._ Misaki vowed to watch the woman to make sure Touma was not bewitched by her charms.

"Is she royalty asks MISAKA as MISAKA tugs on Accelerator's shirt to get his attention."

Itsuwa and Agnese did not say anything as both of them knew who she was. They were surprised she was here. The last thing they were told was she was in northern England. Stiyl was being quiet as he had a specific mission he needed to do and was waiting for the right opportunity.

"No," Accelerator said simply. While the woman looked highly attractive, he doubted a member of the royal family would be in the church at this time. He didn't care either way though. He was more focused on the weird feeling he felt coming from the woman. It was a similar feeling he felt from people in the dark side of Academy City. They could appear to be pleasant, but secretly plot behind your back. _She's not normal._

"Hello Touma Kamijou," she said sweetly, her voice was like silk, as she held out her hand. She was speaking to them in Japanese, but Touma thought her accent was a little weird, like she was speaking an archaic form. He decided not to mention it to her though. "I have wanted to meet you for quite some time. Stiyl speaks quite highly of you." Touma's eyes darted to the look of disdain on Stiyl's face and he doubted Stiyl said anything good about him, except his use as bait.

"It's nice to meet you too," he said a little confused as he shook her hand. "Umm, you know who I am, but who are you?"

"Oh my," she said holding up her hand to her mouth looking slightly embarrassed. "My name is Laura Stuart. I am the Archbishop of the Church of England. Your assistance in helping many of our members has been most appreciated."

"Oh," he said as recognition took hold. _Archbishop? That means she's one of the ones who ordered the memory wipes on Index._ He had mixed feelings meeting her now. Index had to have her mind magically wiped every year as a form of control, and it was ordered by the church. As the leader, Laura must have known about it. He didn't want to bring it up, but he doubted he could fully trust this woman. "It's… nice to meet you too."

Laura smiled at him and then turned to everyone else. "It's nice to meet you all too." She delicately shook each of their hands as they introduced themselves, Kazari looked like she was about to faint when their hands touched. Last Order shook her hand way more enthusiastically then was needed. Accelerator just gave a brief nod as recognition, while Last Order introduced him. "How are you all enjoying our country so far?"

"It's lovely," Kazari answered immediately and Laura beamed at her then turned to Agnese and Itsuwa.

"Have they seen any of the sights yet?"

"No ma'am," Agnese replied. "We are planning to start touring them this afternoon."

"Excellent," Laura said clapping her hands together then turning to everyone else. "I know it is early, but how would you all like to join us for some tea and biscuits." Kazari, Ruiko, Kuroko, Mikoto, Index, and Last Order quickly agreed, but Misaki and Accelerator were hesitant. When Touma followed the other girls, they decided to go too. They left the main room and went down a hallway to another, more private, room.

There was a large round table in which everyone sat down around it. Mikoto and Misaki sat down next to Touma, with Kuroko on Mikoto's other side, then Ruiko, Uiharu, Laura, Accelerator, Last Order, and Index. Stiyl declined to join them and stood up against the wall behind Laura, while watching the clock on the wall. He kept denying Laura's invitation to sit down. A couple nuns came in with trays of tea and cookies, which Index immediately attacked. Everyone else took a cup of tea and started talking between themselves and to Laura. Accelerator looked at the tea and pushed it away, he rather have coffee. Also, the girl talk around him was driving him nuts, since Jason and Motoharu disappeared.

"How are you enjoying being back in England Index?" Laura asked.

"It's great," Index said with a mouth full of cookies. "The food is really good too."

"How long have you been the Archbishop Stuart-san?" Kazari asked.

"Quite a while actually," Laura laughed.

"You look so young," Ruiko said surprised. "What's your secret?"

"Thank you for the compliment Saten-san." She smiled and Kazari beamed up at her. Kazari felt like nobility at the table, using fine china, and sitting next to the Archbishop of a major church. "I don't think I really have any secrets," Laura continued. "I do enjoy long baths with herbal remedies." Kazari made a mental note to look into those.

"Onee-sama," Kuroko whispered. "You're holding your cup wrong. As a perfect representative of Academy City, you should make sure your actions are presentable."

"Come on," Mikoto sighed. "We are on vacation." She enjoyed the tea, but hated formal events. _If I'm not careful, Kuroko's going to try to make me do this back at the city._

"How very unladylike Misaka-san," Misaki said from the other side of Touma. "As a member of Tokiwadai, you should be at least able to present yourself properly." She sipped her tea looking smug.

"I don't want to hear it from someone who spends all their time lying around doing nothing," Mikoto hissed back.

"I don't lie around doing nothing," Misaka responded indignantly. "I'm a very busy person. Anytime I have some free time I prefer to spend it with Touma." She leaned up against him.

"Hey," Mikoto said putting down her cup and grabbing Touma's other arm.

"Can you both stop arguing?" Touma asked nervously, painfully aware Laura and Stiyl were watching him. "Isn't this being rude?"

"My Kamijou-san," Laura said laughing slightly. "You are quite popular with the ladies. Many of our members talk about you often." She gazed over at Agnese and Itsuwa who both turned red and tried to avoid her look. They have been quiet most of the time since they sat down, only answering when someone talked to them directly. Touma felt like they were nervous in front of Laura. Laura's words had good and bad results. The good news is Mikoto and Misaki let go of him, the bad news was he felt three glares aimed at him, the third one was Kuroko.

Stiyl glanced at the clock again, moved silently behind Index, and whispered something into her ear. She looked up and nodded while grinning, got up and went through the door they had entered. Stiyl then moved behind Touma. "I need to talk to you privately," he whispered. "Come with me." Touma felt something fall into the pit of his stomach and he left with Stiyl, aware of all eyes on him.

"I'll be back in a bit," Touma said to them. "Just catching up with Stiyl." Stiyl didn't turn around, but frowned at the way Touma was casually addressing him.

"They are such good friends," Laura added. Stiyl's frown deepened.

When they exited the room and started walking down the hall Touma looked over at Stiyl. "What's happening?"

"You've grown perceptive," Stiyl said simply, but didn't answer his question immediately. They exited through a backdoor of the building and Touma saw Index standing next to a fancy black van. It had three rows of seats and looked to be armored. A man in a black suit was standing next to it, apparently waiting for them. The door closed behind them before Stiyl finished. "Index has been summoned to a meeting with a very important individual. As her guardian, you need to come along too. As much as I dislike it, I do not believe we require your presence at this meeting."

"Don't be mean to Touma," Index reprimanded Stiyl and he looked at her.

"My apologies," Stiyl said quickly and Touma, once again, had that thought that Stiyl liked Index. Otherwise, he would never have apologized to Touma. "It has been a stressful day. Our Archbishop should distract your friends long enough before they realize we are gone. We require Index to examine some magical disturbances that may be related to the organization you are familiar with." Touma gulped as Stiyl continued. "As it involves magic, we would prefer your friends not get involved, even though they now know about it. It is the reason I asked you to talk privately."

"Who are we meeting?" Touma asked as curiosity overpowered his nervousness. Touma noticed the man near the van opened the doors for them.

"For security purposes," Stiyl continued. "I can't say until we arrive." He frowned and rubbed his head. "I wish Kanzaki was here. She's better at these things then I am."

'Where are we…?" Touma asked nervously, but before he could finish he was interrupted as the door banged open. Touma turned around and saw Mikoto barging through the back door, and, to his surprise, Accelerator was following her with the expression of mild amusement on his face. "What are you two doing here?"

"Why is Short-Hair here?" Index asked.

"You think I'm going to let you go off on your own with that weird guy?" Mikoto demanded ignoring Index. Stiyl's face twitched at the term 'weird guy.' Mikoto did not notice, or didn't care, and continued. "Every time you go off on your own, something bad happens if I'm not there to save you."

"Hey," Touma said indignantly. "It's not every time, and why is Accelerator here?"

"He followed me?" Mikoto said shrugging.

"I was not going to spend another f##%*& minute in that room listening to brats talk about stupid things like beauty secrets and clothes," Accelerator said rubbing his head. "Following you seemed a lot more interesting. Plus I was curious why you looked like you were about to head into a firing squad. Judging by the third rates whining, I can see why."

"Whining...?" Mikoto replied indigently rounding on Accelerator, but was interrupted by Stiyl, who looked annoyed.

"I tried to bring those two quietly to avoid this," he said face palming. "We are in a hurry and I know you two are stubborn as mules. Fine, get in the back and you can come. Just be quiet when the meeting starts." Accelerator and Mikoto climbed into the back row, Index and Touma took the middle row, while Stiyl took the front passenger seat. The man in the suit was obviously the driver. Once they set off, Touma felt it was ok to ask again.

"Who are we meeting so urgently?" Touma asked again.

"One of the most important people in England," Stiyl said without turning around. "We are going to meet the queen."

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Mikoto: Hah, I managed to get involved in Touma's adventure. Take that Shokuhou-san.**

 **Misaki: You win this round, but mark my word. Tonight, I will make sure he is mine.**

 **Mikoto: Maybe he won't get back in time tonight. We might have to stay out for a while.**

 **Misaki: You are growing bold Misaka-san. I hope you don't choke.**

 **Shizuri: You two are such kids. We all know he will somehow meet up with me.**

 **Misaki & Mikoto: Yea right.**

 **Kazari: Everyone just split up into groups. I hope no one gets lost.**

 **Ruiko: I think the author did it because he was having trouble giving everyone screen time when we were all together.**

 **Kuroko: NOOOOO ONEE-SAMA, don't leave me behind for the ape! The author better give me alone time with her.**

 **Last Order: MISAKA gets a line down here MISAKA interrupts as MISAKA makes sure the audience is aware of her presence.**


	43. S2 Royalty

**This was a fun chapter to write with several things going on at the same time. Sometimes it is hard to keep all the timing right, but definitely worth it when it is done. Those of you who have read the light novels will see some very familiar scenes when Touma meets the Queen and the main guy under her. I kept some of the scenes very close to the light novels for a couple reasons, even using some exact dialogue, but then it branches out to include the different information. One, it introduces the personality of the Queen and others. Two, it leads to where I need to go for my story. This arc is turning into an AU England with the science side involved a lot. If you don't like it I have a few choice words for you. You can go….**

 ***********TRANSMISSION INTERRUPTED***********

 **The author has gone on a rant that would no longer make this fic rated T. SO while he gets all the frustration out of his system, please enjoy a message from our sponsors.**

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 ***********TRANSMISSION ENDED***********

… **in a bucket. I feel better now. Oh, for those who have not read the light novel, there are spoilers for future events. Explanations do not go as far as the books do so I still recommend reading the Light Novels.**

 **Dragon, Yakutsu, and Haku: Well, I'll be. I had to google that to see what you all were talking about lol.**

 **I'm also glad the poker scene went over well with everyone.**

 **Food for thought: Every story you read on this site, is just a different combination of 26 letters. Enjoy this combination.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

"The Queen?" Touma and Mikoto gasped simultaneously. Accelerator raised an eyebrow in surprise, but avoided blurting out his shock.

"Yes," Stiyl confirmed, rubbing his head. "The Anglican Church works closely with the royal family, so it is not unusual to arrange meetings between our groups. We are investigating the magic group you are all familiar with. We need Index to analyze a couple of locations that were the site of magic attacks. We are working directly with the Queen now because her knights are going to act as body guards."

"Is she really that important?" Mikoto asked looking at Index.

"Of course Short Hair," Index replied, as she turned around looking smug. "I have the knowledge of 103,000 grimoires. There's not much I can't decode."

"Oh I see," Mikoto said, a vein in her temple throbbing, but she forced a smile. "They just want to use the Silver Sister as a walking encyclopedia."

"Don't call me that," Index said puffing out her cheeks in anger. "I'm much more than just an encyclopedia."

 _I see why he tried to keep this a secret,_ Accelerator thought to himself. "So the reason you tried to drag the hero away quietly is to avoid everyone else interfering with the meeting."

"You again appear to be pretty intelligent unlike him," Stiyl said agreeing with Accelerator. "Obviously too many people would interfere with the meeting. That's not even counting that you two are from the science side, but I guess the current situations affects us all. Besides, having too many people entering Buckingham Palace will draw attention." He leaned back in his chair and sighed. "I hate these types of meetings. Kanzaki usually handles them, even if she doesn't like them either."

"Wait," Touma said. "The palace? Won't my hand interfere with the security measures? I mean, the Queen should be protected by something like a magic fortress right?" Stiyl laughed briefly, and then sighed.

"Strongholds like that do exist. Windsor Castle, the secondary residence of the royal family, is an example." Stiyl said sounding slightly bored. "We even had to take precautions when you visited St. George's Cathedral. Buckingham Palace is used for meetings with important people from other countries. If they use magic in the defenses, it could seem like a trap. Also, the queen doesn't need that kind of security anyways."

"Is the Queen a magician too?" Mikoto asked amazed.

"Yes," Stiyl said. "But it's a lot more complicated than that."

"You probably wouldn't understand Short Hair," Index said looking superior again.

"I don't want to hear that from someone who can barely operate a cell phone," Mikoto snapped back. They glared at each, started to argue a little bit, and then there was silence in the car for a while.

Accelerator leaned back in his chair thinking. _The Queen must be pretty powerful if they don't need security around her. It's the opposite of Academy City. The higher ups are always worried about their security. It's kind of interesting seeing the difference between magic and our abilities. It might be worth the hassle to be here._ He just ignored the bickering between Mikoto and Index, but was glad when it finally stopped. He enjoyed the silence until Touma turned around and spoke to him.

"Aren't you worried about Last Order getting into trouble?" Touma asked.

"Eh, Worst isn't there to cause problems," Accelerator said indifferently, though for a brief moment he was worried Last Order would do something stupid. "Plus the Flower Girl is there and she seems like the kind of person to take over watching the brat."

"Uiharu-san would definitely watch her till you got back," Mikoto said thinking about it too. She knew the way Last Order like to run around and get lost. "She has a name you know, not Flower Girl. It would probably not be good if she came with us anyway. Last Order in a palace?" She paused for a moment. "At least 'she' didn't come with us." Touma felt the way Mikoto said 'she' that Mikoto was referring to someone else. Accelerator, on the other hand, knew exactly who she was talking about.

"You might still have uninvited quests," Accelerator warned Stiyl.

"What you mean?" he asked turning around slightly to look at him.

"The fifth rate is quite resourceful," Accelerator said shrugging. "She's also weirdly infatuated with the hero. If he's gone too long, she will probably find out where he is and come sneaking into the palace."

Stiyl sighed. "He does seem to have some weird ability with females. Even on missions, he finds times to flirt with them."

"Hey!" Touma said indignantly as Accelerator smirked. Stiyl's comment brought him back from his thoughts about meeting the Queen. He was insanely nervous since he had never met such an important person, such as a ruler of an entire country. He temporarily forgot all about it as he tried to defend himself, painfully aware Index and Mikoto were no longer fighting and glaring at him. "I don't flirt with people. I don't even know how to flirt."

"It comes naturally," Accelerator said continuing to smirk as he repeated a line from their classmates.

"As much as I enjoy making fun of him," Stiyl said. "We are here." The palace itself and the grounds were huge, almost like an entire section of England's capital city was left open as a combination of two adjoining parks. There was also a square rest area that had guide lights, so it could be used as a heliport. The van pulled in around the back of the palace and Stiyl motioned for them to hurry up. They entered quickly and the door closed behind them. The door may have been small, but the hallway beyond it was a scenery all of its own.

When Touma had heard they were going to the palace, he had been imagining a world of sparkling gold, but that was not what actually laid before him. The hallway was as wide as a small room. Inside the hallway, there were carpets that seemed meant to be looked at instead of stepped on, paintings and sculptures scattered around periodically, and even a maid carrying around a tea set. He glanced at Mikoto, who also had a stunned expression on her face. Accelerator was looking around, but his face was passive and Touma could not get anything else from him.

Mikoto had been used to living in Tokiwadai's glamorously decorated dorm, but even it paled in comparison to the palace. _Wow, so this is what living as royalty is like, and this is just the back area._ She stared at some of the paintings as she recognized a couple of them from her history classes. She also made note of the maid carrying around a pure silver tea set. _That actually reminds me of school._ She glanced over at Touma whose mouth was still slightly agape. She nudged him with her elbow and whispered "Close your mouth, it's impolite." He did and smiled, embarrassed, at her.

Accelerator also looked around but, unlike the other two, he wasn't someone to be impressed by luxury or wealth. He only paid attention to things that interested him, usually something complex, funny, or something that may be problematic in the future. Well recently, he was discovering that he was slightly enjoying himself, going on some of the random adventures with his classmates. He, of course, was never going to admit out loud he actually had fun on most of them. "About what I expected from a palace," he muttered more to himself than the others.

"There you are," a male's voice said as the man, who it belonged to, came out a side door and into the hallway. Touma, Mikoto, and Accelerator turned to look at the man. He spoke in Japanese and was wearing a suit. However, this was not the kind of worn-out suit someone in a packed train would be wearing; it was a suit one wore to display one's status at a party. Normally, it would have been a suit in a world Touma never would have been part of, but it reminded him of the auction he had gone to with Shizuri. The man's well-kept blond hair, looks, body build, the quality of the suit worn, and even the dignified way of walking were stained with the format of royalty from the palace.

"Woah," Mikoto said softly and Touma felt a twinge of jealousy as Mikoto stared at the man. Accelerator, however, scowled. He could sense this man was not someone to trifle with.

"Knight Leader," Stiyl said nodding slightly. "Thank you for the transportation. We had a couple… unexpected guests." Mikoto and Accelerator gave him an innocent look, or as much as they could, because they both knew they were not innocent at all.

"I noticed," Knight Leader acknowledged. His eyes turned to Accelerator, Mikoto, and Touma in turn. His gaze seemed to be passive, but Touma felt like the Knight Leader was able to see through them completely. "So you are the one carrying the duty of being Index Librorum Prohibitorum's guardian," he commented when his eyes stopped on Touma.

"Well," Touma said nervously while under his stare. "I'm not really her guardia…"

"Touma's my friend," Index said fiercely. "He's not a guardian. I can protect myself." Stiyl raised an eyebrow, but did not say anything. Touma had the feeling Stiyl looked a little annoyed.

"My mistake," Knight Leader replied looking at her. ""I had been curious as to what kind of person was accompanying the 103,000 grimoires." He looked Touma over again. "I heard a lot about you, but rumors tend to be misleading." Touma felt like the Knight Leader was not impressed by his appearance and he felt slightly irritated.

"I wouldn't know of what rumors you heard," Touma said carefully. He wasn't sure exactly how to act in front of important people, so he didn't want to embarrass himself or his friends if possible.

"He has done a lot of impressive deeds," Mikoto said coming to his defense.

"The only thing Touma is guilty of is trying to handle everything on his own and leaving me behind," Index added. Touma wasn't sure if that was a compliment or insult.

"I did not mean any disrespect," Knight Leader continued. "One cannot just blindly believe rumors. Many deeds are exaggerated, but it should not diminish the actual deeds of an individual." Mikoto and Index nodded slightly, appearing satisfied. "Please follow me. We do not want to keep her majesty waiting." He turned and lead Touma's group down the hallway toward the center of the palace.

 _Royalty,_ Accelerator thought, slightly bored as he followed everyone. _They really know how to use their words._ The only one behind him was Stiyl. They walked in silence until Touma broke it by whispering to Stiyl.

"Who is he?" he asked.

"He's the leader of the order of knights directly under the royal family," Stiyl whispered back. 'That's really all you need to know about him."

"Some conversationalist you are," Mikoto muttered. "You're almost as bad as him." Her finger moved slightly to point at Accelerator.

"Can you tell us more why we are here?" Touma asked the Knight Leader as he tried to gather more information. "We were only told Index needed to examine some magical areas leftover from The Fallen."

"Stiyl could have been clearer on his explanation," Mikoto muttered again.

"I told you all you needed to know at the time," Stiyl stated simply. "Maybe your lives are too sheltered to understand secrecy."

"Sheltered?" Mikoto snapped furious and a couple sparks flickered near her head under her hair. "Do you know what…?" She stopped when Touma put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head.

"Stiyl's just like that," he whispered. "He doesn't mean anything too bad from it." Mikoto was about to open her mouth to respond in disbelief, but Knight Leader answered Touma's original question.

"Something like a strategy meeting is about to take place. It's true that she will be needed for the examinations, but there is more to it. Members of the royal family, the knights, and the church have gathered here for it. However, the top members of the royal family, those who have royal blood, are present, so it is officially an audience." He looked Touma, Mikoto, and Accelerator up and down. "As such, it would be best if you were dressed more formally, but I suppose nothing can be done about it at this point. And they aren't the type to get angry at you for wearing a T-shirt and casual trousers."

"It was kind of sprung on us at the last minutes," Touma said sighing. He hated the fact they were not dressed at all for an audience with royalty.

"More like getting pulled away into a car at the last minute," Mikoto said grinning and Touma groaned.

"Whatever," Accelerator muttered. "If they can only judge someone based on their clothes, they can't be that special."

"You can't talk about the royal family like that," Mikoto hissed at him.

"Who cares," Accelerator shrugged. "They aren't here."

"It's still rude and he's standing right there," Mikoto replied indicating the Knight Leader. Knight Leader had glanced over at Accelerator, when he mentioned the royal family, but he didn't say anything. Stiyl was in the back trying to suppress a grin. He wasn't a big fan of these audiences either. He preferred to leave them to Laura or Kaori.

"Why are we having a strategy meeting?" Touma asked quickly trying to move the topic away from Accelerator's passive insults.

"That will all be explained shortly," Knight Leader responded. "The Queen personally summoned you, so you can understand how serious the situation is right now." The Knight Leader stopped in front of a set of large double door. The doors were large, even for the palace. As the Knight Leader reached for the knob, Touma felt all the nervousness, he had in the van, return in full force. He did not know what he was expected to do, but he hoped it wouldn't be too much. Mikoto also looked apprehensive at meeting the Queen, so Touma was glad he wasn't the only one who felt out of place. Accelerator looked like normal, passive faced, as if nothing bothered him. Index seemed to be dozing off slightly, as all the cookies she had eaten back at the cathedral was finally hitting her.

* * *

While Touma and Index were dragged away by Stiyl out of the room, Misaki, Mikoto, Kazari, Ruiko, Kuroko, Accelerator, and Last Order were still in St. George's Cathedral having tea with Laura and Itsuwa. Agnese had gone to talk to some of the other nuns, since she was at the cathedral. Misaki was sipping her tea slowly while the others talked. She had been aware of Touma and Index being called away by Stiyl. She was curious at why Stiyl wanted to talk to them, but realized it had to be something related to the magic side. Based on her previous conversations with the other magic side users, they did not want the science side involved if it could be avoided. _I can't really blame them for it. Different groups with different philosophies never liked working together if they could help it. Tokiwadai is the same way._ She watched Kazari and Ruiko chatting excitedly with Laura, while Kuroko kept trying to talk to Mikoto, who watched Touma leave with a slightly serious expression on her face. _I know what she is planning to do._

Misaki's predictions were normally perfect, and this time was no exception. Less than thirty seconds after Touma had stood up, Mikoto had excused herself. Misaki frowned ever so slightly. She knew Mikoto was curious as of what Stiyl and Touma were going to do. _I'm curious too and I don't want her to be alone with him._ Before Misaki could get up, Accelerator randomly stood up and muttered something about stupid conversations and left. Misaki was so surprised, she forgot to stand up. _Is he going with them or did he just want to leave because he was surrounded by girl talk?_ She sat there thinking for a moment before she realized what she was going to do. She also excused herself and exited the room. The hallway was empty as she looked around.

"Where did they go?" she muttered impatiently. She figured she didn't have much time before her absence would be suspicious. She looked into a couple rooms and only saw a couple nuns in one. When she reached the back door, she opened it cautiously and looked out. There was no one outside and she shut the door. "If she tries to monopolize Touma," Misaki muttered irritated. "I'll make sure she regrets it." She went back to the tea room and sat down in her spot. Everyone continued to talk until Kuroko, who was the first to realize Mikoto was missing, voiced her opinion something was wrong.

"Where's onee-sama?" Kuroko asked. "She left and still hasn't come back."

"Come to think of it," Ruiko said looking around and thinking. "Touma and Index left with Stiyl a little bit ago and they aren't back either."

"Accelerator is gone too MISAKA cries as MISAKA pulls herself away from the delicious cookies."

"I'm sure he will be back soon," Kazari said trying to reassure Last Order who was looking like she was about to run off to look for him.

"Onee-sama," Kuroko fretted as she looked like she too was about to rush off. "Don't tell me you are planning to go off alone with that ape and jerk…." A vein in Misaki's head's throbbed for a moment and it compelled her to take action.

"Stuart-san," she said somewhat coldly. "When I came back I did not see them either. Could you tell us what happened to them?"

"Oh my," Laura said putting her hand up to her cheek. "Stiyl always seems to take matters into his own hands. I'll find out for you, one moment." She snapped her fingers and a nun quickly rushed into the room and bowed. "Could you please see what happened to our guests?" The nun bowed again and quickly left. Laura turned to everyone else. "We should know where they are in just a moment."

"Thank you," Kazari said bowing her head in thanks.

"MISAKA is thankful too MISAKA agreed."

"I hope they are ok," Ruiko said.

"I'm sure they are fine dear," Laura reassured her. "If Stiyl is with them, they should not be in any trouble."

"Your help is most appreciated," Misaki said. However, her eyes narrowed ever so slightly, even with the smile plastered on her face. She knew Laura was hiding something, but it was hard to gain much information from her. _She's really good at keeping secrets._ Misaki was skilled in information gathering, so she could tell something was happening but nothing else. _She better hope nothing happens to him. She's the Archbishop so she should be in charge of Stiyl. I would not doubt it for a moment if she told Stiyl to take them._

Someone else was being uncharacteristically quiet now. Kuroko was pretending to sip her tea, but was staring intently at Laura. _She's hiding something._ Kuroko was not the most skilled person at distinguishing lies from truths, but the last couple weeks, she had a lot of practice. While Jason constantly lied to her in order to mess around, she had been slowly learning how to tell when he was lying. Sometimes, he didn't have any obvious signs, but other times there were slight indicators in the tone of his voice and small changes in facial expressions. _I guess being around that liar has benefits. Nothing better have happen to onee-sama._

They all sat in silence for a few minutes when the nun came back inside and whispered into Laura's ears. The nun then left while Laura turned to them all. "It seems young Index was called away to help with an investigation. As Kamijou-san is her legal guardian at this time, he and Stiyl went with her. It seems like Misaka-san and Accelerator-san both followed them. Due to the importance of the meeting, it seems that Stiyl did not want to waste time and took them too." The other girls immediately burst out in questions.

"Who are they meeting?" Kuroko asked immediately.

"Touma is Index's guardian?" Ruiko asked. "I thought they were friends?"

"Why did they need Index?" Kazari asked curiously.

"Why didn't he take MISAKA along? MISAKA cries as MISAKA is sad she didn't get to go too."

"One question at a time," Laura said in an understanding tone. "Please give me a moment to explain. There are some secrets known to only our church and some to only the magic side. What I am going to tell you does not need to be shared with others. Index is from the magic side as you might know." Everyone nodded, to them a nun would be. "She is quite skilled in reading and interpreting magic, so she helps a lot with problems on our end. Due to certain circumstances, she currently lives n Academy City where Kamijou-san watches her. There have been some strange occurrences here, so they took the opportunity, since Index is visiting England, to have her take a look. I do not know when they will be done."

"Is Index-san really important on the magic side?" Kazari asked.

"Yes," Laura responded sipping her tea. "For security reasons I can't tell you anymore. I'm sure you understand, being from Academy City, the importance of secrecy."

"It sounds like you have been there," Kuroko stated.

"I know a couple individuals there in order to check up on her," Laura said smiling.

"Why would you tell us all that?" Misaki asked. "I believe the magic and science side were supposed to be separate."

"You have already been involved more then you should have been," Laura replied as her smile faded. "At this point, we rather give you the information instead of you trying to find it all out yourself." Misaki understood what that meant immediately. Laura was pretty much saying, _don't go digging around, because you don't know what you will find._

"I'm sure Accelerator is fine," Kazari told Last Order, while patting her on the shoulder to try to prevent her from leaving on her own.

"MISAKA knows MISAKA replies. MISAKA can tell if something happens to him through the Misaka network MISAKA adds as MISAKA brags about her superior tracking technology." Kazari smiled, glad to know Last Order was ok, although she did not understand what Last Order was talking about.

"Then are we supposed to wait here for them or are they going to meet us somewhere else?" Ruiko asked.

"I do not know how long they will be," Laura said evenly. "I would recommend you all continue with the plan Itsuwa-san and Agnese-san had prepared. I will personally make sure Stiyl brings your friends to meet with you."

"I can't have fun knowing without knowing where onee-sama is," Kuroko sighed depressed. "Can't we just go to where their meeting is and wait for them?"

"That would be quite impossible at this time," Laura said. "The location is not easily access."

"Where is it then?" Kuroko asked feeling irritated at the lack of help.

Laura glanced at the clock on the wall. "Buckingham Palace."

"Wait," Kuroko said frowning then her eyes went wide. "Isn't that…?" Laura nodded.

"They are having an audience with the Queen." There was silence in the room, and then simultaneously, from all the girls present except Laura…

"EH?!" All the girl's jaws dropped and their eyes went wide. No one expected their friends to have an audience with the Queen, even Itsuwa. Misaki had noted she appeared to know Index and Touma were going to a meeting, but she did not know with whom.

"Wow," Ruiko added.

"I wish I was able to go," Kazari whispered amazed. "To actually see the Queen up close and in person…"

"I didn't know the Queen summoned them," Itsuwa said shocked.

"MISAKA hopes Accelerator will be polite MISAKA adds as MISAKA understands Accelerator's neet like behavior."

"Wow onee-sama is going to meet the queen," Kuroko said gazing into the distance with a glazed look on her face. "I mean, she is amazing so it's only natural. But that also means the ape and jerk are going with her. Oh no," she snapped out of it and grabbed her head. "That ape is going to make a fool of himself and make the Queen despise Japanese people."

"Come on Shirai-san," Ruiko said trying to keep a joking face, but she actually had a similar feeling. "I'm sure he will be fine. Accelerator on the other hand…"

"Hey MISAKA cries out as MISAKA can't believe your lack of faith in him."

"Accelerator-san is smart," Kazari added. "He will probably just be quiet most of the meeting. Kamijou-san is a little, accident prone, but he's a good person."

"Besides," Laura continued smiling. "The Queen is a little… unorthodox… in private meetings. She's not one to condemn someone for accidents."

"It still is impressive to meet face to face," Misaki said recovering. She had never envisioned anyone she knew would have met the Queen in person. She was glad none of her clique was hear because if they used her nickname, The Queen, these conversations would get confusing quickly. "I take it the Queen is a magician then?"

"Of course," Laura replied. "England is a stronghold of magic so it is only natural for the Queen to be a magician."

"I hope they can get a picture," Kazari whispered to Ruiko and she nodded.

"We could hang up a picture of onee-sama and the Queen at school," Kuroko added happily. "It would really show off how special she is."

"If you ladies are interested," Laura said. "I know something you could do to kill some time while you wait for your friends. Not too far away is another church called St Bride's Church. There are a lot of rumors circulating around it that I think you all might find interesting.

"Ooo," Ruiko said immediately. She loved rumors. "What are they?"

"The main one is if you go there and make a wish to marry the person that you love," Laura explained. "You will get a proposal from them in an unimaginable way and will live happily ever after." There was silence as every girl stared at her for a moment.

"I feel we may have overstayed our welcome," Misaki said trying to keep her voice calm. She did not believe in rumors like that, but it was too good of a chance to pass up and Mikoto was not there. _With all this magic around, there might even be truth in the rumor._ "Why don't we take her advice and take a look."

"That sounds like an excellent idea," Kuroko agreed evenly, but Misaki could see the excitement beginning to seep out of her voice. Kuroko felt the same way Misaki did. _Anything to increase my chance and destroy the ape._

Ruiko had similar thoughts. _Even the archbishop heard the rumor, so it must be true. After all, England is full of magic. This will increase my chance with him._ "I can't wait to check it out," she said excitedly and looked over at Kazari. Kazari was staring off into space, her face turning red and Ruiko smiled. "U-i-ha-ru!" she exclaimed loudly using her ability to flip up Kazari's skirt from a distance. This broke her out of her daze as she hastily pushed her skirt down and turned to look at Ruiko.

"SATEN-SAN!"

"MISAKA should relay to the sisters the important news MISAKA mumbles as MISAKA knows there is one in London."

* * *

As Knight Leader turned the door knob and the door was opened a crack, they heard someone say in English.

""Gwohhh… This dress is a pain in the ass. Couldn't I just wear a track suit?"

Knight Leader froze and turned to Touma's group. "…Excuse me a moment," Knight Leader said quietly and then slipped through the cracked door.

"Hey, at least knock before you come in!"

"I apologize for that, but I need to have a word with you. …Were you really thinking of wearing a track suit to an official appearance? You idiot!"

"Yay, Knight Leader's the first in!"

"The order we enter the room does not matter! Please, just act like a queen! No, that isn't necessary. No one is expecting you to have some surprising character, so please don't bring out an electric guitar!"

Touma heard sounds of a struggle. His English was not great and he caught a couple words that he thought he recognized, but they seemed way out of place. _Maybe I'm even worse than I thought._ He turned and whispered to Mikoto, "What are they saying?" Mikoto didn't answer him and he looked at her. She had a shocked face, as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. He looked over at Accelerator and Stiyl to ask them instead. Stiyl had face palmed while Accelerator was smirking with amusement. _What are they saying?_

A moment later, Knight Leader stuck his out through the crack. "…Sorry for the trouble. Everything is in order now. Queen Elizard has had her eyes opened."

"What do you mea…?" Touma started to ask, but was pushed forward by Stiyl as the door opened.

The room did not contain a large throne on a stage with stairs leading to it as was often seen in RPGs. The spacious area looked more like a party hall. A number of tables were set up in concentric circles like the rings of a tree. It reminded Kamijou of the UN conference room he had occasionally seen on TV. And in the center was the Queen of England, Queen Elizard, as Knight Leader had called her. She was around 50 years old. Her skin and hair were beginning to show the shadows of age, but in some more fundamental way – perhaps you could call it her core or her frame – she outdid even a teenager like Kamijou.

She was wearing a long dress that covered even the tips of her toes. The dress was colored white and black and it looked expensive enough that Kamijou would have to spend the rest of his life paying for the cleaning costs if he got gum on it or something. She held a sword in her right hand. It looked like a stereotypical double-sided western sword that was about 80cm long, the hilt included. However, it had no tip and no blade. It looked like a long square board was attached to the hilt.

"What is with the sword," Touma asked pointing in shock. "It gives her such individuality."

"No, that is normal! The electric guitar, the soccer ball, the cup-and-ball game, the surfboard, and all the other unneeded tools have been taken away! You may not be familiar with it, but that sword is the symbol of Queen Regnant Elizard!" Knight Leader was holding his head in his hands as if he were recalling a nightmare.

"This sword is unique to the royal family," Elizard said smiling, She spoke in English, which Mikoto quickly translated for Touma; since she knew he didn't know English well. "It is known as Curtana."

"Curtana?" Touma and Mikoto asked.

"It doesn't seem very useful without a blade or tip," Accelerator pointed out.

"It does not require a blade," Knight Leader said his eyes slightly narrowing at Accelerator's lack of respect. "It is a sacred sword passed down through the royal family. It may look odd to you, but it would be helpful if you could get over such cultural differences."

"Is it really that valuable?" Mikoto asked looking around.

"He is making too much of it," Elizard said. "I admit it is a useful tool, but the royal family would not be destroyed if it was broken. The sword is used as a coronation of the king or queen. It is not the sign of being the queen, but the proof of being the person who chooses the ruler."

"Is it really that special?" Touma asked Stiyl.

"I didn't expect you to know anything about it," Stiyl whispered harshly. "But do you truly believe in a land of magic, even the ceremonial items would not have value?

"I don't…" Touma said slightly irritated.

"Curtana was forged with the same powers as Archangel Michael," Stiyl considered smirking slightly as he insulted Touma. "It allows the bearer to control his power. It is hardly a normal sword, let alone just a prop for ceremonies."

Touma flinched slightly as he remembered all the instances where he had seen the power of an angel. The Angel Fall incident would have destroyed the world, and then there was The Herald who only had a fragment of Lucifier's wing and nearly killed him and his friends. "So she has the power of the most powerful archangel?

"So you do have some knowledge of religion," Stiyl commented and Touma ignored him.

"There are restrictions," Elizard explained. "It can only be used in the United Kingdom, specifically England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and then it can only be used by the Royal family. Curtana provides Telesma to the Queen and the knights in order to protect the United Kingdom."

"So you could use that power to cast magic beyond what a normal magician could do?" Mikoto asked. She had some understanding of magic, including Telesma, but she still wanted to verify what all could be done with Telesma. She also had seen firsthand how much damage a normal magician could do.

"Sounds handy," Accelerator commented. "No wonder it was made."

"Curtana was made for more than just its power," Knight Leader said. "King Henry VIII wanted freedom from the influence of other countries and the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. He created the Anglican Church for the governance of his own country. In order to get rid of all external influence, he proclaimed that the country would never be violated by foreign influences and made the monarch the Head of the Anglican Church. He established that the king of the Anglican Church is the leader of the angels, as it was a position higher than the Pope, and that the knights as an army of angels. To do this, Henry VIII made use of the nations of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales for his 'All-English Land', four representing the element of earth, in order to construct that magical meaning."

"Leader of the angels refers to the most powerful of the angels," Index said quickly looking at Touma.

"So it's also a symbol for independence?" Touma asked and the Knight Leader nodded. _It sounds like it was political, rather than a necessity though._

"And more," Elizard said. Then she turned to look at Mikoto. "Even if I have Telesma, I am still human. Using angel level spells is not that easy."

"Even as a member of the Anglican church," Stiyl added. "I do not receive Telesma. Think of Curtana as giving a lot of power to the Queen and the knights."

"So that's why there are no defenses set in the palace," Mikoto said as realization hit her. "You are already protected by Curtana."

"Do you know of any human that could defeat the leader of the angels?" Elizard ask them.

"No," admitted Touma and then he sighed. "But I know a couple of people who would think of it as a challenge." Mikoto covered her mouth quickly to hide her laugh and Accelerator smirked. Touma looked at the sword and moved his right hand back unconsciously, as the thought he had to be careful with his hand.

"I have heard about your hand from the Archbishop," Elizard said smiling at Touma as she noticed his drawing back slightly. "Even if you accidently destroyed it, it would not matter. This is historically Curtana Second. Curtana Original was lost long ago. Even if this one is destroyed, another one could be made."

"That's good I guess…" Touma said, but still promised himself he would be careful around it.

"She is not telling you the entire truth," a female voice said interrupting him. Everyone turned to see who the voice came from. The female was slender and appeared to be in her early thirties. She had long black hair that reached her shoulders and it appeared shinier then what was natural, almost as If it was dyed. She wore a long blue dress that stuck to the lines of her legs. She had a monocle over her eye, which made her give off a demeanor of being intellectual and cool-headed. "While Curtana Second is indeed the second sword to be made, the methods to make it have been lost. A new sword could not be made as easily as mother would have you believe."

"That's the first princess Rimea," Stiyl whispered to Touma, Mikoto, and Accelerator. Touma noticed the Knight Leader appeared shocked at her sudden appearance.

"If you had asked, one of my men…no, I would have gone myself to get you," he said.

"Oh, no," she replied. "I can't have others accompanying me. That just adds to the risk of being stabbed in the back. I have no intention of putting my trust in those who know me." Knight leader sighed in defeat as if this was the princess's normal behavior.

"You are so distrusting of others sister," said another woman entering the room from another door accompanied by two knights. Everyone turned to look at her and Touma temporarily forgot where he was."

"IT'S YOU!" he shouted pointing as he recognized the blonde hair and the red dress. She turned her head at his voice and froze when she also recognized him and made a tsk sound with her mouth. Touma felt pain on the back of his head as two people hit him.

"You idiot," Mikoto whispered angrily at him. "You can't call a princess 'you'."

"Are you retarded?" Stiyl snapped and then grabbed Touma by the neck and forced him into a bow. "I apologize for this idiot's rudeness." Touma moved his eyes to look up and saw the contemplating look on the woman's face.

"Touma," Index called out reprimanding him. "You need to show respect."

"It's fine," the woman said dismissively. "I can overlook it this one time."

"Oh," Rimea said gazing at Touma. "That's quite unlike you sister. Normally, you would demand he be whipped for his disrespect. Do you perhaps know this young man?"

The woman made a tsk sound with her mouth. "He interrupted a skirmish I had with some of the magical organization men we were going to discuss. He's brave, but the interruption was unnecessary." She moved her gaze over Mikoto, Accelerator, and then Touma. "I am the second princess, Carissa."

"It's rare for you to give a complement," Elizard commented. "Was this when the SOS signal went out on the traveling fortress? I don't recall any mention of another individual helping in your report." Carissa looked annoyed as she was being questioned by the Elizard and Rimea. Touma felt sweat drop as he felt Mikoto's glare on him.

 _I know he mentioned he helped a woman,_ Mikoto thought. _But who would have thought it was a princess? What kind of weird luck does he have?_ She had to stop herself form grabbing her head and instead gazed at Carissa. Her appearance looked a little gaudy to her, but her eyes fell on Carissa's chest and she felt depressed again. _It's like all the girls form the magic side have large… is their MAGIC for that? Those…_

"He's doing it again," Accelerator mumbled and Stiyl had to resist hitting Touma again.

"Hmm," Carissa said looking to her left. "Looks like Villian has come too. How dull." Touma turned to see who Carissa was staring at and he saw a woman with long blond hair, tied in a sort of ponytail, and pure white skin. She had blue eyes and wore a green dress with a spread out skirt. She also wore arm length gloves, a veil hanging from behind her hair, and jewelry, like necklaces, earrings, and a small crown. To Touma she looked just like a stereotypical princess. Villian didn't say anything about the way Carissa talked about her.

"Looks like everyone has arrived," Elizard said. "We have representatives of all three factions. Have a seat everyone. We have a lot to talk about and very little time." She turned to the Knight Leader. "Make sure you men keep everyone else away. I'm not in the mood to listen to a bunch of people think they have ideas, but refuse to carry them out." Knight Leader nodded and left for a moment. When he returned, everyone was already sitting down. Touma sat down and Mikoto sat down to his left. Accelerator sat in one of the chairs closest to him, even if it was away from everyone else. Index took a seat near the Queen in order to talk to her easier. To Touma surprise, Carissa took the seat next to him. He looked over at her, but she didn't seem to pay him any attention. He looked over at Mikoto who shrugged slightly.

Touma looked around the room at the Queen, the three princesses, Knight Leader, and a priest clad in black robes. It was like something out of a fairy tale book. He felt really out of place as he looked around. He now understood why Accelerator tried to keep away from the center of the room. He figured Mikoto would be someone who would be use to these sorts of environment, being from a school full of ojou-samas, but, when he looked over at her, her face was full of apprehensive. He pulled out his phone to look at the time. _It's not as late as I thought._ He was really, tense due to the atmosphere, and he felt they had been at the palace forever. As he looked at his phone to check the time, he remembered something.

There was a camera on his phone.

 _I really shouldn't do this, but would I ever get a chance like this again?_ He was internally arguing with himself as debating if it would be proper etiquette to take a quick picture. He raised his camera slightly, to see if he could take a picture of the Queen, when a smaller hand grabbed his hand.

"What are you doing?" hissed Mikoto.

"It's a once in a lifetime opportunity," Touma whispered back.

"You can't just take a picture like that though," Mikoto hissed back. "It's not right."

"I just want to get a quick one," Touma responded. "As a souvenir. I'll send you a copy."

"I still don't think we should," Mikoto whispered hesitantly. _I really want to take a picture too._ She was debating if she should take out her phone and snap a picture too. Touma heard Mikoto change her words to 'we' so he was going to press his advantage, until he realized Carissa was a lot closer to him, her bare shoulder almost touching him.

"W-what are you doing?" Touma asked, barely keeping his voice to a whisper. Mikoto just realized what the princess was doing too. Before Mikoto could say anything, Carissa answered Touma.

"I thought you wanted to take a picture," she said. Touma didn't know what he was expecting, but he sure didn't expect that response. He looked down at his camera and turned it. He realized Carissa was leaning close so her face was clearing in the picture. Mikoto was staring at them with a shocked expression too. She was just as surprised as Touma.

"Is this ok?" Touma asked nervously. "We aren't making a mistake using a phone, are we?"

"It's true most people would not use a phone," Carissa said. "But wanting to leave behind as lovely a face as possible is something of a conditioned reflex. Lean closer too girl," she added looking at Mikoto. "Or else you won't be able to get into the shot."

"Ah ok," Mikoto said scooting her chair over so she was shoulder to shoulder with Touma.

"We were too slow," Carissa mumbled. "Here comes my sister. She has the same habit as me." Touma and Mikoto turned their heads and saw first princess Rimea move silently over to them and appeared, on Mikoto's other side, leaning towards them while she looked at the camera.

"You have such a nice shot of my little sister," Rimea said. "But I'm not fully in the picture. That just will not do. Let's see… if I move here…can you move over here." Fitting four people in a small frame was not an easy task. In the end, Mikoto and Touma were pressed up right against each other, turning to each other slightly. They have full views of each other's faces, which were both red in embarrassment. Carissa and Rimea were pressed against both of them, their chests right up against their shoulders.

 _I think I know what Touma feels like when Shokuhou and I do this now,_ Mikoto thought as her eyes flickered for a moment onto Rimea's chest. She felt a familiar pain of jealousy.

"How did it end up like this?" Touma whispered. He saw Accelerator watching them with an amused look on his face. Touma saw him pull out his cellphone and hold it up like he was texting, but Touma saw the glint of evil in his eyes. _Damn it Accelerator, don't be like those idiots._

"I don't really mind," Rimea said. "But we should hurry. Knight Leader tends to disapprove of these things and might draw his sword." That snapped Touma back to reality from imagining what Accelerator was going to do with that picture. When he raised the camera to snap a picture, he noticed a fifth head in the shot. At some point, Villian had moved silently and was standing behind Mikoto and Touma and just managed to get into the frame.

 _Here I thought she was the only proper princess,_ Touma thought to himself.

"You only ever take the initiative when taking photos," Carissa commented.

"I was… just…," VIllian said softly and then went quiet. Touma was about to take the picture when a voice stopped them.

"…Really, where do you people think you are?" Elizard said suddenly. Touma and Mikoto turned to look at her. Next to her, Knight Leader was nodding in agreement, while Stiyl had his head buried in his hands in exasperation. Elizard continued. "This is the United Kingdom, the nation of the queen. Why are you taking pictures leaving out the leading part!?"

"Ahh," Knight Leader called out. "You fool! Don't show off your unrestrained love of festivities in front of someone from another country! This is a strategy meeting!" Elizard had started to dash at Touma and Mikoto, but Knight Leader, after grabbing his hair in frustration, stopped her with a full force tackle. As the two of them fell to the ground, Touma and Mikoto could only watch in stunned silent, until Carissa poked Touma in the side.

"Ignore those idiots," she said. Touma gave a slight nod and the click of the camera was heard.

"Nooo!" Elizard cried. "How could you take it without me? You can redo it. How about taking another one with me?" Rimea and VIllian left and returned back to their seats. Carissa moved her chair slightly further away from Touma. Mikoto was able to move her chair away from Touma too. Her face was still bright red because of how close they were. Touma noticed Elizard looked depressed as she was on the ground. She shook her head and looked like she remembered why they were here. She stood up, dusted herself off and turned to the rest of the group. "We are here to talk about the magic organization that has been attacking England. The one called The Fallen."

"Before we do," Carissa said. "Can you tell me who these three are? I feel if they are part of this strategy meeting, I should know their relevance."

"Those three had faced off The Fallen before in Italy," Elizard said and Touma and Mikoto introduced themselves. Accelerator just gave a brief nod in acknowledgement, so Touma introduced him. "Touma is also the guardian of Index as well as possessing the Imagine Breaker."

"Touma's my friend," Index said indignantly. "Not my guardian."

"Really?" Carissa said ignoring Index and looking at Touma well, more specifically his hand. "So it's the hand that can negate all magic, interesting. That would explain how he was so effective against those men yesterday…" She trailed off thinking.

"Speaking of that," Elizard said looking at Touma. "Would you tell me your involvement yesterday with my daughter?" Touma gulped and felt stares from everyone at the table, though Elizard's gaze was by far the strongest. Carissa had a look on her face like she was regretting ever bringing up the topic. Rimea and Villian also glanced over at him. Knight Leader was glaring at him, but Touma felt like he was always stuck in a serious mode.

 _I guess dealing with the royal family's antics forced him to have to be,_ Touma thought to himself before answering. "A friend and I were walking along the road from the hotel we were staying at and talking when we heard an explosion. I saw the familiar masks from The Fallen attacking a carriage with two knights and a woman." He nodded towards Carissa. "I didn't know who they were, but I knew how to beat the masked guys. Their masks are the weak point and my hand can destroy them with a single touch."

'I see," Elizard said thinking then turned to Carissa. "Do you have anything to add about his involvement or about The Fallen men you fought?"

"His assistance was unexpected and unnecessary," Carissa said. "It did make the fight easier though. I will admit his power is quite useful. As for the men, they seemed to be designed to bypass our usual wards. After all, destroying the Traveling Fortress is not easy."

"Their attacks have also been increasing," Knight Leader said. "Casualties have remained low, but we still don't know what they are after. The information on their masks is useful, and I will make sure to relay that information."

"They told us in Italy they want to collect Lucifer's wings to bring him back into this world and kill god," Touma informed them.

"We know that part," Elizard replied. "The problem is, we do not know of any wing in England. England has been protected by Archangel Michael's power, so Lucifer's followers should be weakened just being here. We looked through our information here to try to discover if it was hidden, but so far we had no luck. Rimea had been doing research into it."

"Everything I have learned led to a dead end," Rimea replied looking up from some magazines on horoscopes. "Isn't that why you wanted the Index Librorum Prohibitorum."

"How unusual for you sister," Carissa said smugly. "I thought you were supposed to be the intelligent one."

"I found references to Michael removing Lucifier's wings," Rimea continued. "But no references or possible lore to direct where it might have been hidden."

"This leads me to believe it was a closely guarded secret that was lost throughout the ages," Elizard said and turned to Index. "Do you have any information you could add Index?"

"I don't have any information on the actual wings being divided into gem like objects," Index explained to the Queen. "All the information I have is about his rebellion and defeat. If it wasn't for the battle in Italy, I would not have any information on these wings."

"That is disappointing," Elizard sighed. "But not unexpected. Then let us move to the next topic at hand. The actual Fallen members, who are currently causing problems in our country." Knight Leader took charge of this topic.

"For several months," he told everyone present. "We have seen small skirmishes from masked individuals who have been causing problems throughout England, attacking knights, destroying property, and trying to steal magical relics. It was only recently that one of them revealed herself. It was a young blonde girl who called herself Eve."

"Ah," Touma and Mikoto said together as they recognized the name and appearance.

"I take it you know of her?" Knight Leader said.

"We met her in Italy after we defeated a guy called The Herald," Touma said quickly. "She appeared right afterwards and took the wing."

"She also seems to have the power to create people from paper with a book," Mikoto added remembering how Eve was able to create copies of The Herald.

"Wait," Knight Leader interrupted looking at Mikoto. "Explain yourself."

"Well she demonstrated her ability to create copies of The Herald we fought," Mikoto said quickly. "She held out a book and paper flew from it and created them."

"Are you telling me," Carissa said sounding irritated. "All those masked men we kept fighting where just her creations?"

"They fell apart into dust when their mask was destroyed," Touma pointed out. "It was the same as with The Herald, except he did not have a mask when we fought him."

"You don't understand the significance of some of those masked soldiers," Stiyl said. "The Herald, as you explained to us, actually had intelligence and self-awareness."

"What's that have to do with anything?" Mikoto asked surprised. "Isn't that just part of magic?"

"Short Hair," Index said exasperated, using the same tone she used when Touma asked a stupid question about magic. Mikoto glared at her, but kept quiet because she wanted to hear the answer. "What she should be making is a golem. Golems are principles found in the Kabbalah, as an attempt by man to mimic God. Men were golems originally made of clay, formless and soulless, until God breathed life upon the dirt and called it Man. Mankind learned the secrets from a group of fallen angels on how to make golems through oral traditions. However, mankind could not understand the divine language of angels, so the information could not be passed on perfectly. What were left were soulless machines that can only be puppets to men. Mankind does not have the knowledge to create life from nothing."

"So she found out how to make intelligent puppets," Accelerator said shrugging. "What's the big deal?"

"Arg," Stiyl sighed rubbing his head. "This is why I hate talking with science side individuals. The big deal is that by creating puppets with human intelligence, they are stepping into the domain of god. They are surpassing the powers of normal magicians and it could lead to being a magic god."

"Magic god?" Touma asked.

"They are beings that can shape reality as they see fit," Index explained. "They could destroy the world if they wanted to with little effort. Defeating a magic god with normal magic is impossible. Even using angel class spells might not work."

"Which leads us to the situation of determining what kind of magic they are using," Knight Leader said turning to Index. "Do you have any information on the spells Eve used with your prior meeting in Italy?"

"I was unconscious," Index admitted. "I woke up shortly after they left and we were forced to leave quickly so I only had a brief moment to analyze the magic in the vicinity. It was definitely Christian based magic, but there was something else mixed in. It seemed… older, but I did not have time to study it further. But thinking about how Eve was creating people out of paper from a book, I have some theories. She might be using the Book of Genesis as a base for her theory, focusing on the creation of man. Using paper as a medium instead of mud will only require a small change to the spell. It does not explain how they are able to give their creations intelligence. I will have to see it in action to have any chance of deciphering it."

"Could they be using a piece of Lucifer" Touma asked. "The Herald used it and gained a lot of power."

"That reminds me," Stiyl said. "When Kanzaki and I were there, we felt a dark Telesma coming from more than one source. Do you know where that came from?"

Touma exchanged a briefest glance with Mikoto and Accelerator. Both of them looked like they didn't want to say anything about it. Touma shook his head. "We can't detect Telesma since we aren't magicians. Jason would have been the only magic user with us and he was knocked unconscious."

"Sounds like a disappointing person," Carissa yawned, but her eyes never left Touma's face. Touma felt like she knew he was lying.

"Anyway," Elizard interrupted. "Back to the situation on hand, since you three have met her, what can you tell us about Eve and her accomplish Adam?"

"Is he here too?" Mikoto asked and Elizard shook her head.

"Adam is currently besieging the Roman Catholic Church," Elizard said. "They have passed it off as a terrorist attack, but we have no more information than that."

"Adam seems straight forward," Touma said remembering their brief conversation. "He was prepared to kill us all just because we MIGHT be a hindrance in the future."

"I guess he was right," Mikoto joked quietly and Touma gave a brief grin.

"Eve…," Touma began thinking. "She appeared aloof. Like she would do whatever interested her at that time. She was the one who made the deal for us to stay away from their activities and they would not bother us."

"But then he goes and breaks it rescuing a princess," Accelerator commented.

"I did not need rescuing," Carissa said narrowing her eyes. "I just used an available resource."

"Eve actually came to Buckingham Palace not to long ago," Elizard said.

'What?" Mikoto, Touma, and even Stiyl said in shock.

"She wanted free access to do some research in London," Knight Leader said. "We might have actually listened to her if she didn't go and turn ten of my knights into snakes. The Queen used the power of Curtana to chase her away, but we have no idea what she is planning."

"I might be able to turn them back with my Imagine Breaker," Touma offered.

"I will hold you to that then," Knight Leader said. "But for now, other matters need addressed first."

"It sounds like she wants to find information on the wing too," Rimea continued. "Trying to acquire knowledge without interference is the best way."

"So when do we get a chance to take the fight to her?" Carissa demanded looking at Elizard and Knight Leader.

"Once Index has a chance to analyze the sites of her recent activities," Elizard said. "We will start planning our counter strategy."

"For now," Knight Leader added. "Her creations have spells that appear to counteract our normal defensive spells. We need to figure out how she is making them so we can alter our defenses to prepare for an assault."

"So I'm going to go with them for a while to analyze the magic sites," Index told Touma like he didn't realize she was going to.

"I should go with you," Touma said quickly.

"Impossible," Carissa said suddenly. "While your ability is quite useful, and I intend to make full use of it if the future requires it, but your hand could interfere with the remaining magic. Then she might not be able to analyze it completely and it will be a wasted trip."

"That makes sense," Touma sighed. Mikoto looked at him and gave him a brief pat on the back to reassure him. Suddenly, a most surprising ally came to his aid.

"If I go to watch over her," Accelerator said speaking up. "Then that should not be a problem." He ignored both Touma's and Mikoto's incredulous looks. His reasons were not completely selfless though. _I owe that damn hero for my mistake before. I should never have let the nun be captured from right under my nose._ The Queen exchanged a look with the Knight Leader who shook his head slightly and spoke up.

"I will personally go with the princesses and her as protection," Knight Leader said. "Along with a squad of my knights. That should be acceptable, no?"

Touma wanted to speak up, but he knew the Knight Leader was offering a perfectly acceptable condition. _They obviously don't want the science side butting in too much._ "I guess," he said.

"Excellent," Elizard said. "Now we have one more matter to discuss." She turned to Stiyl. "I do not know if you know yet, but there have been some strange activates in Scotland." Stiyl nodded. "Has the church uncovered anything related to it?"

"Well it appears there was a small magic cabal doing some excavation in an old ruin," Stiyl said. "They must have finished, because the trail is showing they packed up and left."

"Do we have any idea where they are headed," Rimea asked.

"They appear to be heading to London. They were found with a map of London marked with every surveillance system in use."

"The church has some inspection points set up to detect magical items correct?" Elizard asked and Stiyl nodded. "But if this group is skilled, they probably can avoid them. I was hoping the church could take charge in tracking down these magicians," Elizard paused for a moment then continued. "We do not know if they are part of The Fallen or not, but they obviously are planning something. Your group is more experienced in tracking down those types."

"Understood," Stiyl said. "I will personally take charge until Kanzaki returns." Stiyl's eyes darted over to Touma and he realized he was going to get roped in no matter what his opinion was. Mikoto also noticed because she whispered into his ear, in an almost threatening manner.

"Don't you dare think of leaving me behind."

* * *

Laura Stuart was walking down one of the stone passageways beneath St. George's Cathedral. Not a lot of outsiders knew the full extent of the underground labyrinth that runs for many kilometers under London. Not only did it confuse intruders and protect the many valuable spirit items of the church, it was also good training for the members of Necessarius as there were real and fake traps, along with detour hallways to easily get lost. Laura had been traveling through these halls for years and knew them like the back of her hand. She approached a room marked by an ordinary wooden door. There were no identification markers on the door, and, as she reached for it, she stopped for a moment when she heard voices coming through it.

"Wow, who would have thought he would get a picture like this?"

"Hah, he really came through. Kami-yan always takes things to the extremes. No one is immune to his charms."

"I knew not to take that bet, but, even so, I'm not sad at all. Seriously, two of them. I actually think he's losing his touch. Misaka-san looks embarrassed though."

"She now understands the pain, punishment, and sheer enjoyment of what is the Harem King."

Laura sighed and composed herself before she entered. In the room were two blonde haired young men in high school sitting at a table looking at their phones. "Hello you two," she said. "I hope I am not interrupting anything."

"Not at all," Motoharu said putting his phone away. "A friend of ours just sent us a funny picture."

"Did you find anything out about these marks?" Jason asked holding out his arms revealing two of them.

"We have," Laura said. "After analyzing them, we have determined we can seal two of them immediately."

"Which ones?" Jason asked immediately. "And why only two?"

"Gluttony and Lust," Laura answered. "As for why, each one requires very specific components in order to seal them. We only have the material for two of them right now. Later this week, we should be able to acquire more. We would prefer to destroy them, but as of now, nothing we do could permanently remove them. They would simply find a new host and we would like to prevent them spreading. As of now, you are a very interesting subject by being able to host all seven."

'Yea," Jason said narrowing his eyes at her. "I have heard that before."

"It seems you have something to say to me," Laura commented looking him in the eyes.

"I don't trust you," Jason explained. "I am only working with you out of necessity. You have the same scent as him."

"How rude," Laura said pretending to pout. "I bath on a regular basis unlike him." Motoharu looked between them as they spoke. Neither said who 'he' was, but Motoharu had a pretty good guess.

"It's the scent of secrets and manipulation," Jason clarified though he knew Laura knew exactly what he meant. "Either way, sealing two of them sounds fine. When can we get started?"

"Immediately," Laura said. "We should be able to finish within an hour. Your friends have already left. I did not tell them everything, but they know Kamijou-san and two of his friends are meeting the royal family, which I see you two know too." Jason and Motoharu grinned. "We are currently setting up the room to seal those two marks now. Someone will come in to get you shortly when they finish. Tsuchimikado, I do need to speak with you for a moment." Motoharu nodded and followed Laura out of the room, while Jason leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling. Motoharu closed the door and followed Laura down the hall.

"You found out more," Motoharu stated as he followed her.

"Quite a bit," Laura admitted. "He is a very unusual case, but not for the reasons he believes."

"Huh," Motoharu said slightly confused. "What do you mean?"

"After careful examination of the sin marks," Laura explained. "It appears, even with all seven, they do not have any effect on his mana. So he can still cast normal spells, though his knowledge of them is limited."

"But he hasn't been able to use his shadow reliably since we got back from Italy," Motoharu said holding a hand up to his chin thinking. "Except for when he demonstrated it for us. He used it once and it almost spiraled out of control. He believes it was the marks causing his mana to go haywire, since it was the only difference."

"I will admit I do not know anything about the abilities developed in Academy City," Laura admitted. "But even as a combination, the mana is not the problem. The only side effect we found was his body is constantly destroying itself and regenerating from their power. The Pride mark will not disappear because it is always active. He must be constantly in a lot of pain."

"He mentioned he couldn't make it disappear at the beach," Motoharu agreed. "So that sounds true. Then why is his shadow unusable?"

"Telesma."

"What!" Motoharu said stopping in his tracks and staring at her in shock. "Are you saying he has Telesma?"

"No," Laura said also stopping at looking at him. "His body is not producing Telesma. The Telesma is coming from the shadow itself. What is weird is the shadow is not producing it. It just has the Telesma running through it. It's like it absorbed Telesma at some point and is now containing it."

"I wasn't at the battle in Italy," Motoharu said. "But from what Kami-yan told me, Kagere fell unconscious as soon as the battle started when he took the sin marks onto himself. He might have encountered some from the guy he fought I suppose."

"His shadow must have found some source of Telesma," Laura said. "It was like it was bathed in it. From what I gleamed from him as he told us what happened, I doubt he knows of it. It appears when he uses his shadow, the Telesma is empowering it. It probably took some time for the Telesma to spread throughout the shadow, so it would be possible it was exposed before Italy."

"So then what are we planning to tell him then?"

"Nothing," Laura answered simply. "We will modify the rituals when we seal the mark, to dilute the Telesma without him noticing. It should give him more control of his shadow and have him keep believing the sin marks were the cause of it."

"Quite ingenious," Motoharu complimented her. "It wouldn't be good for the science side to have knowledge of Telesma. It could tip the balance."

"Exactly," Laura said and she started to walk again. "I need your help preparing and then you and Kagere-san can go meet up with your friends. I had to tell them an old rumor about the St. Bride's Church in order to come down here to meet with you without drawing suspicion. The blonde girl seemed to be quite perceptive." Motoharu stared at her and burst out laughing.

"Wow," he gasped still laughing. "That rumor is ancient and has been proven false. They are going to be so disappointed." He stopped laughing and looked at Laura. "Oh yea, Shokuhou-san is one of the top ability users in the city. She's quite good at gathering information. Give it a decade or two and she might be as good as you."

"I doubt that," Laura said smiling. "But only time will tell."

* * *

Outside a small ordinary gas station, three girls were talking quietly while waiting for their car to fill up. The oldest looking one was about eighteen with silver hair. She has a long-sleeved sports shirt on, with the collar undone making her cleavage slightly visible. The portion of her legs sticking out of the miniskirt had blue leggings on them down to the ankles. She has hearing aid-like devices behind her ears, which look like two vacuum tube-like objects. She looked at the other two as she leaned against the car. "This is the last time we let Lessar pick the vehicle."

"It was partially your fault Bayloupe," the blonde haired girl replied as she watched the fuel nozzle. She was around fifteen and was wearing a white jacket with red and blue sleeves. She wore a skirt and had spats on under it. The weirdest thing about her appearance was she was wearing decorations on her back that looked like small dragon wings. "You told her to find a small cheap inconspicuous car."

"Small does not mean cramped Floris," Bayloupe sighed. "It's easier for you and Lancis, but I have to deal with her antics in the backseat."

"Anyway," Floris said turning to the last girl. "Lancis, how long till we get to London?"

"Hee hee," Lancis giggled but tried to keep her composure. She was a short girl with short brown hair that was forced up with a headband accentuating her forehead. Her clothes were a lacrosse uniform-like set of a shirt, a miniskirt, and spats. "We should be there in a little over an hour. Aheh, it tickles so much haha." She looked down at her hands where small talons were on her fingers.

"Were did Lessor go anyways?" Floris asked.

"She said she wanted to go get some drinks," Bayloupe replied looking at the store. "She better not cause a scene again." She looked up at the convenience store as a girl left with her arms full of drinks. She had the same jacket and skirt as Floris, though she did not have on any spats. She had blue eyes and long black hair, with yellow dye on both sides of her bangs, and sported pink headband. Unlike the other girls, she did not have any noticeable accessories.

"I got drinks," she called our cheerfully.

"Finally," Bayloupe muttered irritated. "Floris just filled up so let's get going. We have a lot of work to do."

"Eh hee," Lancis said getting into the front passenger seat. "Let's hurry…. Hee hee, it tickles so much."

"Damn it," Floris said clicking her tongue. "You always get that tickling feeling whenever you start channeling magic and it makes you incapable of fighting." She got into the driver's seat while Lessar and Bayloupe got into the back seat. Lessar started passing out drinks.

"What's this?" Bayloupe asked angry. "Did you purposely grab the brand of tea I hate the most?

"Of course not," Lessar answered unconvincingly. "I wouldn't do that just because you pulled my tail and hit my butt."

"I knew it," Bayloupe said and grabbed Lessar's cheek. "I never said anything about your tail. If you didn't shove your ass in my face I wouldn't have had to."

"You always get so mad before a mission!" Lessar cried out in pain. "Floris, Lancis, help!"

"I'm focusing on driving," Floris replied evenly. "Lancis won't be able to do much as long as she's using magic." She sipped her drink, perfectly fine with the selection. "Anyway, Lessar, have you finished the preparations with Skíðblaðnir? We have 'it' now so we need to make sure the container is functioning perfectly."

"Huh?" Lessar asked temporarily distracted and allowing Bayloupe to get the advantage in their fight. A long thin tail was sticking out from under her skirt as she fought. "All four of the cases have been prepared."

"Good job Lessar," Floris said praising her.

"About time you do your job correctly," Bayloupe said and let go of Lessar. Lessar started rubbing her cheeks which had become red due to the excessive pulling.

"Let's focus everyone," Floris said now that the excitement had died. "We're about to destroy the very framework of the United Kingdom."

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Motoharu: Hmm, four girls? I guess Kami-yan's harem is going to grow.**

 **Accelerator: The majority of them sound like idiots. They fit perfectly together.**

 **Touma: Hey, there's no way some random magic cabal girl is going to fall for me.**

 **Motoharu: …**

 **Accelerator: …**

 **Jason: …**

 **Stiyl: …**

 **Pierce: …**

 **Readers: …**

 **Everyone else in the world: …**

 **Touma: Wait, what do you mean by everyone else in the world?**

 **Motoharu: You know what it means.**

 **Accelerator: Can't wait till see the third's, fourth's and fifth's reactions.**


	44. S2 New Light

**There are so many different groups of people doing different things in this chapter. All of the events interact with each other eventually. I think it was actually easier than when I had everyone in one scene. I was able to sit down and write longer, at least, as everything kept being broken up. I thought it would be harder because of trying to keep the timing with everyone being in different groups and places. It was definitely a change of pace and quite fun.**

 **LESSAR! We all love her. Those who don't know her from the light novels will soon love her too.**

 **Rider & Anon: Lessar might actually do that. Hey Anon, after nine months, there could be girls too besides just boys.**

 **Yakutsu: Jason doesn't get to be happy, but I think you are the first person to cheer for him lol.**

 **Mythfan & ****whwsms: You two make it sound like nothing interesting has happened yet. Now I feel so sad. Oh well, lots of fun stuff planed for the future.**

 **Generation Zero: They have not been revealed as magic gods. They were just talking about it during the meeting. They could just be extremely powerful magicians. But I understand your concern. I felt the same way when reading the Light Novels. If they are revealed to be magic gods, they will not be defeated easily.**

 **This chapter is still very similar to the light novels, but now the science sides has gotten involved and have begun changing things. I am looking forward on how this arc will end in a different way than the LNs. Alternate universes are fun in their own ways.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

"Wow," Kazari said as they looked up at the St. Bride's church. "It's so tall." She was right. It was the second tallest church in London and clearly visible in all directions as it stood 226 feet high. Its main floor was a rectangle base, but its height was mainly attributed to the great spire that reached up towards the sky. It took them a little while to get here, by the time they left St. George's Cathedral and went through the midday traffic of London.

"It kind of reminds me of a wedding cake," Ruiko commented looking at the spire.

"Let's go in," Kuroko urged. "We should take a quick look around, and then head out. We need to be meeting everyone else soon anyways." She of course was going to see if the rumors were true, but she also knew they were supposed to meet the others for a late lunch. _I don't really like Mugino and her friends, but they are part of our group while we are here._

"Yay MISAKA cries as MISAKA rushes in to see if the rumors are true." Kazari had to reach down and quickly grab Last Order before she ran in and collided with someone. Kazari was not that strong and it was slightly difficult for her to slow down an excited Last Order.

"There is no reason to run," Kazari said quickly to her. "The church is not going anywhere and you don't want to bother other people." Last Order looked at her and nodded. She slowed her pace and walked with everyone else though she kept fidgeting with anticipation.

"Do you think the rumors are true?" Ruiko whispered to Misaki.

Misaki turned and looked at her in surprise for a moment. As these girls were all Mikoto's friends, Misaki had temporarily forgotten Ruiko still talked to her often. _I guess we have met several times._ She thought about Ruiko's question for a moment and replied friendly, but honestly, "I don't think so but, with magic being real, it could be possible. I still bet it is just a rumor for tourist." _Of course, I am going to try anyways since Misaka is not her._

"That's what I thought," Ruiko said looking slightly crestfallen. "Be fun anyway to see if it might be true." Ruiko loved rumors and strange things so she was always willing to check them out, regardless if they seemed possible. Misaki nodded and they went in.

Itsuwa was the last one to enter the church since Agnese had not gone with them. Agnese had been called away on her phone shortly before they left. She had heard of the rumor circling the church before, if you pray for love you would find it. There was no verifiable evidence the rumor was true, but even Itsuwa wanted to try it while she was here. _I need to be more aggressive, and do anything to give myself an advantage. I still wish I knew how Kamijou was doing in front of the Queen._

The inside of the church was more modern then St. George Cathedral. Its interior was spacious and elegant. The main aisle was long, easily 100 feet, with molded wainscot, and was composed of a lofty nave, covered with a vaulted ceiling, and aisles separated by coupled columns. It was not very crowded, with only an occasional person passing them, and they approached the altar. When they got close, a woman dressed in nun clothes approached them. "Hello," she said smiling. "May I help you?"

"Ah yes," Itsuwa said stepping forward. "These ladies are visitors to England and have heard of the legends of finding love by praying at this church. They would like an opportunity to try."

"That sounds nice," the nun replied her smile not leaving her face. "Many people come here hoping to find love. The practice is quite simple." She pointed to the altar. "You just need to kneel before the altar and pray you and the one you love will find happiness together."

"Does it really work?" Kuroko asked, still a little skeptical.

"It all depends on your belief," the woman responded kindly. "If you truly love the person, there is no reason why it should not be possible."

"Ok," Kuroko said nodding and, since she was the closest, walked up first and knelt before the altar. They could all see the concentration on her face as she closed her eyes. They all knew what she was praying for. A moment later, she came back to them and shrugged. "Now to see if it works." She didn't feel like anything had changed and then felt a little embarrassed at her action. _I believe in science and still did something as unorthodox as this. England is a strange country._

"I'm next," Ruiko called out excitedly and moved forward. She knelt down and did the same thing as Kuroko.

While Ruiko moved forward, Misaki, on a whim, reached down and grabbed her remote. She was interested to see if the nun's mind was protected. To her surprise, it wasn't and Misaki was able to stand there looking at her thoughts. The nun was definitely kind and was not putting on a show, but her main thought was, _Foreigners always seem to be here because of that rumor. There is no evidence for it, but I hope they find true love, even if it is not with the person they expect._ Misaki felt very slightly disappointed. She was hoping there might have been some truth to the rumors. _I can still do it for fun and not ruin it for the others._ When Ruiko finished, Misaki went up and imitated their actions. Her only wish was to be together with Touma. She took less time than the other two, because she knew exactly what she wanted. When she stood back with the others, Kazari walked forward and, at the same time, Itsuwa had backed up to answer her phone in private. Misaki was curious, since Itsuwa had looked like she wanted to be here, so she used her ability to see if her mind was unshielded. It turned out, Itsuwa's mind was also unshielded at this time. While Misaki was too far away to hear Itsuwa's voice, she could hear her thoughts loud and clear.

 _If I leave,_ Itsuwa asked. _Who is going to guide the group? They would be suspicious if they are suddenly left alone._

 _One of the other Amakusa will take your place,_ the man on the other end of the phone told her and Misaki recognized him as Stiyl. _They should be there momentarily to replace you. Take their car and go to the rendezvous point. We need to make sure the cabal, known as New Light, gets stopped._

 _Understood,_ Itsuwa said. _I'll meet them outside._ Misaki could tell she was upset she wouldn't get a chance to try to ritual to find love, but Itsuwa knew she had a mission to do. While everyone else was distracted by the altar, Itsuwa moved silently toward the exit. Misaki smiled to herself and followed just as silently.

"What were you thinking of Uiharu?" Ruiko asked smiling, while nudging her friend with her elbow. "Your face was bright red when you were up there. Thinking of those kinds of things with him?"

"Saten-san!" Kazari cried defensively, turning even redder. "It wasn't anything like that."

"How do you even stand him?" Kuroko asked rubbing her head.

"MISAKA's turn MISAKA says excitedly as MISAKA bounds forward to try the unscientific ritual." Kuroko, Ruiko, and Kazari all sighed, hoping her choice of words didn't offend the church patron. The nun just smiled at the enthusiastic reaction of the little girl, even as she thought the girl's way of speaking was strange. After the girls finished they turned around and saw another young female waving to them. She was dressed in casual clothes, thought different, like Itsuwa.

"Hello everyone," she said sounding a little nervous. "Itsuwa-san had to be pulled away for official church business. I was asked to take her place until she returned." The girls looked at each other, they knew something was up, and immediately began barraging the poor new girl with several questions. She was surprised at how much attention to detail the girls had, though none of them realized Misaki had disappeared.

Itsuwa had exited the church and passed the other Amakusa girl on the way to the car. They exchanged a brief greeting and Itsuwa moved into the driver seat. She was sixteen and knew how to drive most types of vehicles, though she still couldn't fly a plane. She sat down, turned on the car, and drove off. She was about a block away when someone asked. "So where are we heading?"

Itsuwa nearly had a heart attack.

She swerved slightly in surprise and looked over at the passenger seat. Sitting there, looking completely normal was Misaki, who was twirling a remote in her hand. Itsuwa was not some new magician. She was quite skilled in many forms of magic, along with other skills like infiltration and intelligence gathering. It was one of the reasons she was sent to aid in the search, rather than stay as a guide. _How did she sneak up on me? Not only that, she was able to get right next to me and I had no idea._ She shook her head and asked, "How did you get here without me noticing."

"I simply made you ignore my presence," Misaki said smiling. "My ability allows me mental control. It was easy to make you unable to see me until we were far enough away. I also manipulated the others slightly, so they wouldn't notice my disappearance until it is far too late for them to look for me. Now I'm going to ask again, where are we heading?" Itsuwa gulped slightly at the look in Misaki's eyes. It was a look saying, there is not going to be any arguing.

* * *

Touma and Mikoto were dropped off by Stiyl in the northern part of London. Stiyl had told them they would meet someone from the church to work with. They sat on a bench, waiting, as people passed by. "This is boring," Mikoto complained leaning back and staring up at the sky, noting the clouds rolling in that indicated rain was going to follow. "When you work with these guys, do you normally have to wait this long?"

"Sometimes," Touma said shrugging. "Most of the time, I'm minding my own business and Stiyl just walks up and drags me into fights."

"He rubs me the wrong way," Mikoto muttered as Touma brought him up. "He barely gives us information and just throws us into this. Then the look he gave me when I refused to just ignore everything that happened." Touma saw her fist clench slightly.

"They don't want Academy City people to get involve…" Touma said and changed direction when Mikoto glared at him. "But we are already involved now. Besides, it is just the way he is. I doubt he ever takes a break. He is always straight to the point and talks as little as possible."

"And one of the most grumpy people I have ever seen," Mikoto muttered again and Touma laughed.

"On the plus side," Touma said trying to cheer her up. "You got mad at me for not telling you about these kinds of things. Now you get to see it firsthand. But, please be careful, I don't want you to get hurt."

 _What?!_ Mikoto thought turning bright red. _Does he mean he really cares about me? Am I over thinking things?_ "I-I… d-don't need you to be worried about me," she stuttered and then managed to keep her voice calm. "I can take care of myself. This time, I can watch over you and make sure you don't end up in the hospital again." She then muttered quietly, but Touma could still hear it, "Thank you for being worried about me."

Touma turned red too and looked away as his heart started beating faster. _She's so cute when she's embarrassed._ "I have to admit," he said after a moment's pause. "It is nice to have someone reliable watching my back." He could not look directly at Mikoto, he looked down the street instead, or he would have seen her face turn pure crimson.

"Do you know who we are waiting for?" Mikoto asked as she tried everything possible to keep her voice calm, along with changing the topic since smoke was coming out of her ears. She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep this topic up. She may have had the courage to confess she liked Touma a while ago, but it was still very awkward to say anything like it out loud, plus they were about to fight magicians so they couldn't be distracted.

"No," Touma sighed. "Typical Stiyl just saying they are going to meet us here. After all, we don't have any way to track magicians. Neither of us can locate mana, so we need someone from the magic side."

"Couldn't you contact Jason?" Mikoto asked.

"He's in the church working on getting rid of those sin marks," Touma revealed to her. "Sorry to keep it a secret, but he did ask me to. I felt it was important for him."

"I can't argue with that," Mikoto said. "Though after this is all over, you owe me."

"Anything you want," Touma said grinning at her.

"Then let's do something just the two of us," Mikoto said quickly turning red again. "After this is over of course," she added quickly.

"Sure," Touma said embarrassed scratching his cheek. _So another date? Would this make us a thing or is it just testing? Arg, I have no idea about dating._ He was spared thinking about it when a car pulled up to the curb next to them. A moment later, Agnese got out and looked at them.

"Kamijou, Misaka," she greeted. "You two are with me."

"What's the plan?" Touma asked.

"We have my forces and the Amakusa scattered throughout the city," Agnese told them. She turned and started walking while they followed. "As soon as we detect someone, all the nearby forces will converge on that point." Her shoes clacked with each step because of the soles. "We would have the patrols by car, but with midday traffic, it would actually be tougher to chase someone than on foot."

"So we are just going to walk around till someone contacts us or we find something?" Mikoto asked.

"Exactly," Agnese replied. "We have check points and several people coordinating our movements. If they enter the city, we will find them. We already found out information from their previous base. They go by the name New Light."

* * *

Accelerator was leaning up against a building waiting for some person from the magic side. He needed someone who had skills in tracking mana or he wouldn't know where to start. He had a personal vendetta against The Fallen for capturing Last Order and made him look like a fool by taking her right under his nose. _They better get here fast or I'm going to be pissed. Stiyl said they would be here soon. At least I'm not paired with the third rate. I couldn't stand listening to her complain about the hero._ He looked up as a small black car parked in a lot near the building. He recognized the two females getting out, but was surprised who the second one was. He walked over and asked, "What is the fifth rate doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" Misaki asked in equal shock.

"Accelerator-san is helping us," Itsuwa explained. "I told you we were going to meet someone," she stopped and looked at him, "though they did not tell me who. That must mean Agnese-san is going with Kamijou-kun and Misaka-san."

"Why is she here though?" Accelerator said irritated pointing to Misaki. "I kept hearing your side talking about how they shouldn't involve science and blah blah blah. Yet, you bring her along?"

"She kind of followed me," Itsuwa admitted lowering her head in disappointment at her own mistake. "I didn't realize till it was too late."

"She didn't guard her mind closely," Misaki said as she made a cutesy pose with her fingers making a V over her eye. Accelerator was not amused.

"Whatever," he said rubbing his head annoyed. "I suppose her mind reading ability will be useful, as long as she doesn't talk too much to me."

"But here I thought we could have a nice long chat while we wait," Misaki said pretending to pout. "I feel we don't spend much time getting to know each other." Accelerator glared at her and opened his mouth.

"Umm," Itsuwa said, sounding more confident than they had heard her sound before, as she stepped in between them. Itsuwa had entered mission mode and was a lot more forceful then when she was worrying about normal things, like crushes on a certain someone. "We need to start the patrol. After talking to Shokuhou-san about her ability, we are going to watch a crowded area around a major subway station. She can scan people's minds, while I start tracking mana sources. We also have other members scattered as a net around the city. Any issue we detect, we will all be able to converge on one point."

"Then you just call me if you need muscle," Accelerator added yawning. "Sounds about right. The plan is solid." Itsuwa nodded and led the way for Accelerator and Misaki.

* * *

"About time they finished," Jason sighed as he and Motoharu left St. George's Cathedral. "At least the sealing was successful."

"Top of the line magic healing," Motoharu grinned. "Just be thankful they aren't charging you. You need to go meet up with the others at the mall."

"Just me?" Jason asked. "What are you going to do then?"

"Going to talk with a few of my friends who live here," Motoharu explained.

"Sure," Jason said rolling his eyes and turning around waving. He knew that was not true at all, but he didn't have a reason to press for more information. "I guess I'll walk there instead of taking the bus. After all, sitting in that cramped room forever was a pain. Maybe I'll get a chance to use my shadow, since it has been awhile." He held out his hand and his shadow emerged from his sleeve and started wrapping around it. "Calculations changed slightly, but it was easy enough to modify them."

"Try not to cause too many problems here," Motoharu said. "Normal people are not use to seeing magic or abilities."

"Yea yea," Jason brushed off Motoharu's warning and walked away. The weather wasn't too bad, but the clouds starting to roll in ruined the mood for him. He wanted to think, so he used the less crowded back streets because it was quieter. He was thinking of what he learned from Laura about the marks, but he felt she wasn't telling him everything. _The pain lessoned since the marks were removed and I can use my shadow, but I still feel sick._

 _I told you coming to England was a mistake._

 _Shut up,_ Jason thought to himself as he walked. He wanted a chance to use his shadow without repercussion but, even taking the back allies, people still kept passing by occasionally. _Why don't you just make yourself useful?_

 _Like indicating there is a magician only fifty feet in front of you carrying magic items?_

 _Now you are just mes…_ Jason moved his gaze to take in his surroundings. In front of him was a blonde girl, probably around his age or slightly older. She was carrying a brown box and had a wing shape accessory on her back. Her hand was up to her ear as if she was using a phone, but Jason could detect a slight trace of magic. _The wings aside, those could pass as cosplay, but I want to know what is in the box. I'm not generating mana so she shouldn't be able to detect me._

 _Just steal it. You have the Mark of Greed. She won't be able to detect your mana, unless you cast something or activate Shadow._

 _Stealing is wrong,_ Jason thought to himself, but he grinned. _I should at least ask first. Though, I suppose being a magician and learning what others do could be considered part of the trade._

* * *

The oldest member of the Cartel known as New Light, Bayloupe, was leaning up against a wall outside a subway entrance. She had an old brown case on the ground next to her as she watched people pass by. She held up a small piece of paper in her hand with a symbol marked on it. She was using it as a communication device to stay in contact with the other three girls.

"They found our old base in Scotland by now," Bayloupe told the others. "We need to start right away. You all know the plan. Lancis in the keeper and everyone else get into positions. Remember to keep a low profile to avoid attention. LESSAR THIS MEANS YOU!"

"Can I at least get something to eat?" Lessar asked through her own communication device.

"Fine whatever," Bayloupe said. "Just do it normally. You are still a part of this, so don't get caught." She heard Floris mumble something but it sounded like Floris wasn't talking to them through her device. "Floris, did something happen?"

"No," Floris responded evenly. "Some random guy, looked like a tourist, tried to flirt with me. I told him to get lost."

"Nice job Floris," Lessar's voice came through loud and excited. "I knew you had the charms to attract the guys. Now you just need to reveal more skin to show off your body…"

"Lancis," Bayloupe said cutting off Lessar. "How is everything on your end?"

"I-it tickles," Lancis replied. "Ahhh, e-everything is fine."

"Everyone you are on your own," Bayloupe told them all. "Try to limit the damage to London if things get bad." She picked up her box and moved towards the subway entrance. She wanted another possible option to escape if she was caught. As long as one of them made it, the plan would succeed. _And right under the nose of the Anglican Church._

* * *

Lancis lowered her communication device and stared up at the sky. She giggled as the constant tickling sensation flowed through her body and she sat down under a nearby tree. She also had a brown suitcase next to her which she made sure to always keep one hand on. Her hand still had the dragon claws on the end of her fingers. She tucked the communication rune in her pocket in case Bayloupe tried to contact her again. _I hope they don't get into too much trouble_ , Lancis thought while trying not to laugh too much from the tickling. _I wish we could have waited, but the entire plan got pushed ahead of schedule. It's so much work._ She wanted to just go to sleep against the tree, but then a shiver went down her spine as she thought what Bayloupe would do if she found out Lancis had been sleeping on the job.

* * *

Floris was walking down a side street, a bit off the main road, and was holding a brown bag over her shoulder. She knew as long as she didn't use any obvious magic, she would not get discovered easily. _I wish I could use a people clearing field, but that would just broadcast where I am._ Most people ignored her, but occasionally someone would come up and bother her for some reason. The most annoying person was some blonde kid, around her age, who kept talking to her. At first he just seemed helpful and offered to carry her bag, but she told him to get lost. _Guys really are stupid if they think they can just go up and flirt with anyone they see._ The guy was not easily deterred and walked next to her, talking and trying to get her to respond. She really wanted to hit him, but, there were enough people around, it could cause a scene. She noted a side ally and figured she could knock him out there without attracting attention.

She turned down the ally and, when she was about halfway through, turned around. To her surprise, the guy had stopped about ten feet away from here and smirked. Before she could say anything, the guy spoke first. "Before you say anything or misunderstand my intentions, I have a girlfriend. I am purely interested in the magical case you have there. Would you be so kind as to tell me what it is and what it does?"

 _Damn,_ Floris thought. _Is he from the church?_ She took a step back and immediately thought of her options. _He doesn't look like someone from the Anglican church, but seems to be a foreigner. It doesn't seem like he knows about Skíðblaðnir. He knows about magic so he has to be a magician. A magic fight right now is not going to be good. That leaves me two choices, give him the case, or…_ She decided on option two. "Ok," she said and the guy nodded understandably.

"Glad we could resolve this without violenc…" he started to say when Floris turned around and bolted towards the main street. Her plan was to pass through a populated street and lose him. She got to the end of the ally and started to turn when she heard the guy mutter something. Suddenly, she no longer felt the case in her hand. It wasn't like the case was pulled from her hand, it actually just vanished. She turned around and the boy was no longer in the ally. A small movement near the room of the building caught her eye and she gritted her teeth.

"If that is how you want to play," she growled. "I'm not going to hold back." _Losing the case is worst then being found by the church._ Her wings spread out and she hopped up on the fire escape and ran up the stairs. She had felt mana when the guy took the case and moved up to the roof. She reached the roof and pulled out the metal rods that formed her spear. More specifically, it had a metal shaft about 1.5 meters long. The end had a blade on it, about 40 cm long. However, this wasn't just one blade. It had three blades on the top of that end and single blade on the bottom of that end. The guy was standing in the middle of the roof examining the case. "Give it back," she said as she pointed her spear at him. "You do not know who you are messing with. I have a mission to complete."

"I heard some rumors from passing nuns about a cabal invading London," the guy said looking at her. "I really don't want to turn in a cute girl, so how about I take this to them and you go free?"

"Sorry," she said spinning the spear. "That case is worth a lot more than my freedom. Thanks for the compliment though." She started to walk forward when she felt a rise in the guy's mana. Darkness seemed to emerge from him like dark water. Floris had never seen anything like it. The darkness flowed around him in a circular formation as he watched her.

"Shame," he said. "Guess it's the hard way."

* * *

Lessar was walking down a more run down district in northern London, looking for a place to eat, while carrying a brown case like the others. She didn't have a lot of money so she had to find a cheap place to grab food. She eventually found an old bar open in the middle of the day. The bartender didn't look at her to kindly, but still took her money for some friend fish and juice. She was stuffing her face and wasn't paying attention to her case. A couple older men sat down at the bar, on both sides of her, to drown whatever troubles they had with large beers. She was busy enjoying herself and was kicking her feet, while waiting for the final stage of their mission. She was waiting for the signal or any communication from the others.

"Yum," Lessar said into her communication device. "This food is really good. Bayloupe, you are always so grumpy before a mission, maybe you should eat something."

"Shut up Lessar," Bayloupe growled. She did not want to admit it, but she was hungry too. "Don't clutter up the communication link with your idle chatter." _I hate that we have to rely on someone like her, even though she is the most combat oriented among us._

"Your thoughts are leaking through," Lessar said happily. She heard Bayloupe curse and started to respond when Floris's voice interrupted her.

"I've run into some problems," Floris said. "Some random magician took my case. He's using magic I have never seen before. It's like dark water."

"What?" Bayloupe snapped. "Get it back quick."

"I've been trying," Floris replied, in a tone that said it was stupid to suggest anything else. "His magic is more suitable for combat."

"Yay I wasn't the one to mess up," Lessar said, but she was worried for Floris. She knew Floris was not the most combat specialized among them.

"SHUT UP LESSAR!" Bayloupe roared and Lessar was forcefully ejected from the communication line.

Lessar shrugged and went back to eating. _The plan should still work as long as we are not all caught. I hope Floris can get away though._ She finished and stretched on her stool, vaguely aware the person to her right got up and left. She glanced lazily toward the door when it opened and her heart stopped. The guy, who was leaving, was holding a bag that looked exactly like the one Lessar had. She looked down at her feet and saw the brown case, but it was in a slightly different position. She didn't know if she accidently kicked it or if the man grabbed it by mistake. She panicked, knowing what Bayloupe would do to her if she lost the case. Since Floris had been tracked down, her case was even more important. She dashed out of the bar yelling "WAAAAIIIITTTTTT!"

* * *

Itsuwa, Misaki, and Accelerator had positioned themselves near the main entrance to the subway. Itsuwa was busy scanning the area for mana, while Misaki was scanning people's minds as they entered and exited the subway. Accelerator couldn't do much, until they actually found the magicians, so he was leaning up against a wall watching people. _I suppose if anyone looks strange I could point them out,_ he thought. _This is really f#$%( & boring though. _He looked at the other two girls who actually appeared to be working, but he could tell they were trying to remain inconspicuous. _I wonder, since we have all these check points, would it be safer to stay in one place? "_ Hey girl," Accelerator turned to Itsuwa. "If we assume they know we are looking for them, wouldn't it be better to stay in hiding instead of moving around."

"He has a point," Misaki said. "We are watching the exit, but it will only work if they are moving. What if they found a place to hide and are waiting for something, like a signal?"

"Hmm," Itsuwa said taking their comments into account. "We have patrols for that reason. Can you expand your ability to the actual subway below us?"

"No problem," Misaki nodded. She rotated her remote slightly and concentrated. _Hmm, what's this. Someone has a mental block on their mind, but I have never seen anything like this._ She turned to Itsuwa. "Found one," she said smiling slightly. "They are near a staircase in the subway."

"Can you stay here?" Itsuwa asked. "Let us know if anyone else tries to sneak up on us." Itsuwa hit a button on her phone. "Others are going to surround this position. Accelerator, when we go down, can you cover the other direction so they can't escape?" They both nodded and then Itsuwa and Accelerator went down the subway entrance.

* * *

 _Damn it,_ Bayloupe though to herself. _First Floris gets found, and then Lessar causes a scene. If she gets caught, I swear I am going to give her such a spanking, she won't be able to sit down for a week._ She leaned against a wall near a staircase. It was not the main stairway, so only an occasional person passed by her. She suddenly felt something, in the back of her mind. It did not last, but she frowned. _I don't like this. Are they searching for magical defenses? If so, they know I am here. Better be careful then._ She pulled out metal rods and quickly assembled a spear, just like the one Floris had. Her instincts had been right. Shortly afterwards, she was surrounded by several males and females. They stood out to her because they were all Japanese and most of the nearby people she had seen were English.

"We are from Necessarius, the 0th Parish of the Anglican Church," Itsuwa said stepping forward. She was holding a spear of her own, though it looked more traditional, in her right hand. "You will come with us. Do not make any sudden moves."

"You certainly are efficient," Bayloupe said conversationally. "But I don't plan on being captured." She moved her foot into the handle of her case and threw it up into the air, and then grabbed it with her left hand. Itsuwa immediately stabbed with her spear to incapacitate Bayloupe but, as Bayloupe grabbed the case, she swing her body and her right hand holding her spear collided with Itsuwa's spear. Sparks flew as a loud clang echoed around them and both Itsuwa and Bayloupe were knocked backwards. "Sorry I can't stay and play," Bayloupe continued and swung the spear at the wall behind her. The concreated cracked and exploded, several pieces rained down toward Itsuwa and her group forcing them to cover their eyes.

"Everyone watch the exits and put down people clearing fields," Itsuwa ordered as she realized Bayloupe had escaped further down into the subway. "Quick, before any more people get involved. They should have heard the explosion. We can't let them be used as shields." The other guys nodded and scattered. Itsuwa jumped through the hole made by Bayloupe and dashed down the tunnel after her.

Itsuwa chased Bayloupe to an old subway stop that did not appear to be used anymore, or just under construction. There had been construction tape across the entrance as Bayloupe tore it down when she ran through the entrance. Itsuwa jumped over the ticket gate and the old ticket machines to find Bayloupe standing looking at the tracks. It seemed to Itsuwa she was planning to run down the tracks, rather than getting back up to the surface.

Their eyes met and both of them jumped at each other. Their spears clashed again. Another loud clang and sparks was followed by them both getting pushed back. Bayloupe used her spear, which seemed to have a hand on the end, to grab a sign above her and threw it at Itsuwa. Itsuwa nimbly side stepped it as it crashed into the wall behind her. Itsuwa's eyes noticed a symbol on Bayloupe's weapon. "The Norse symbol of strength? It appears to be based on the thunder god Thor, but it seems different."

"Don't be stupid," Bayloupe responded looking superior. "There's no way we could be using Thor's famous weapon, the hammer Mjölnir. He uses many other weapons besides the hammer. Instead, we developed these steel gloves based on items in a story involving him and a female giant, a belt that increased arm strength, a club with enormous destructive power, and the iron gloves. But we thought, wouldn't it be more convenient to have them all in one item?" She smiled and sunk the blades of spear, known as the steel glove, into the stone floor. A large piece of stone was lifted up and thrown at Itsuwa as Bayloupe swing the steel glove like a golf club.

Itsuwa ducked and coughed as a large amount of dust was kicked up into the air. The actual stone crashed and exploded into the wall behind her. _Her strength is a problem,_ Itsuwa thought. She looked up and realized too late. The stone had not been the real attack. Bayloupe had raised the blades on her weapon above her and they seemed to grab the very dust in the air. Itsuwa instinctively jumped to the side as something exploded were she was only a moment ago. _She can even use the dust in the air? This is not good._ Bayloupe grinned and used her weapon to smash the ground again, causing more dust to fill the area.

"You reap what you sow," Bayloupe said and jumped into the air. Her steel glove spun around in her hand and grabbed most of the dust. She then swung the blade downwards at Itsuwa. Itsuwa knew she couldn't block the attack so instead she tried to dive out of the way again. The ground exploded like a volcano throwing stone shards in every direction, along with more dust.

 _This is bad,_ Itsuwa thought as she managed to land on her feet. _Arm strength, plus she can use even dust as a weapon._ She had several small cuts over her arms from the shrapnel when she protected her face from the explosion. She raised her spear to try to strike back, but Bayloupe was already swinging her spear again, grabbing the dust in the air from the last attack. Itsuwa finally realized how Bayloupe was using the dust as an attack. The steel glove was grabbing the dust and compressing it. When it was thrown, it quickly expanded to create an explosion. Even though she knew how the attack worked, she was off balance and trapped in a corner. She moved her spear in front of her to take the attack as the dust explosion hit her square on. She was blown backwards and crashed into the wall. She fell to the ground as the segments of her spear clattered in the distance, blown away by the force of the explosion. Her entire body screamed in pain and she looked up as Bayloupe stood over her.

"Looks like you can't go on," Bayloupe commented while looking down at Itsuwa. "If you can stand up, we can continue. I don't recommend it though. I'll use the horn of wisdom, Gjallarhorn, next. By adding wisdom to the steel gloves, I can gain access to the thunder attribute of Thor. I am prepared to turn you into ashes." Footsteps echoed from behind her and she turned around. She immediately ducked as an old ticket machine flew right where her head was. She saw a skinny white haired young male walking towards her with a smug look on his face. "Who are you?"

"That's right," Accelerator said sarcastically. "You wouldn't know me because I'm just here on vacation. I guess you can call me a monster. Most of the people I face do."

"Great," Bayloupe said rubbing her eyes exasperatedly. "Another headache, as if Lessar doesn't give me enough already." She sunk the blades of her steel glove into the ground again and threw the stone block at Accelerator. Accelerator didn't even flinch as the concreate hit him, and immediately rebounded against Bayloupe. She barely had a chance to duck again as the concreate missed her by inches. "What the…"

"You need to try harder than that," Accelerator mocked her. "I'm the strongest person alive. If you don't come at me seriously, you won't have a chance."

Bayloupe narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. "If that's what you want," she said and she activated Gjallarhorn, the hearing like device s on her head. A spark appeared at the tip of the steel glove, but that was the only indication it activated for her enemies. She was the only one who could tell the thunder attribute was active in her weapon. She spun the steel glove in a circle collecting the remaining dust from her last attack. She looked at Accelerator, who only laughed at her serious expression, and charged at him. She jumped at the last moment and swung downwards, creating the explosion right in front of Accelerator. The explosion blew up the stone floor in front of Accelerator, pelting him with shrapnel. Bayloupe did not stop there to try to see through the dust cloud. Before the dust could clear, she slammed the blades into the ground again and the thunder attribute transferred into it. She lifted a piece of stone with the glove and threw it at Accelerator's feat. When it hit the ground, it exploded in a line of white electricity, from the floor to the ceiling. It was so fast, it looked like a lighting strike had occurred. "How was that?" Bayloupe asked through the dust. "Oh, I suppose you would be just a pile of ashes now." She turned to leave, with one last look at Itsuwa, but stopped when Itsuwa's eyes went wide. She turned around and saw Accelerator stepping out of the cloud of dust, looking completely fine.

"Little flashy," he said evenly. "But points for effort, though your electrical attack is quite weak compared to the third rates. I suppose it is my turn to end this. Try not to die."

"You monster!" Bayloupe spat out, while her eyes widened in surprise. She could not understand how someone could just stand there and take her attacks like they were nothing. Fear was spreading through her body and she realized, far too late, she should never have tried to fight him.

"Nice," Accelerator laughed. "You called me by my suggestion."

 _Kamijou's friends are so powerful and skilled,_ Itsuwa thought. _I need to work harder if I want to stand out to him. I'm still too weak._ She managed to get to her feet and glanced at the remains of her spear. She reached into her pocket and grabbed the wires. _I still got these if I need it._

Bayloupe looked at Accelerator, and then her eyes glanced over to Itsuwa when she stood up. _This isn't good. I can't take on both of them. I should run._ However, she couldn't find the strength to turn around. Something told her trying to escape from the monster in front of her was a useless endeavor. _What is he? Damn it. LESSAR IF YOU DON"T SUCCEED I AM GOING TO MAKE SURE TO COME BACK AS A GHOST AND PUNISH YOU FOREVER!_ She put her weapon out in front of her and charged Accelerator. He didn't even move as her steel glove's blade hit him in the chest were his heart should be.

The glove exploded into pieces.

Bayloupe's expression turn to shock as Accelerator casually reached out his hand and tapped her in the shoulder. Her body rocketed backwards and crashed into the wall. She slumped down on to the ground unconscious. Accelerator turned to Itsuwa. "You need her alive, right?"

"Yes," Itsuwa answered while nodding. "We need to question her on New Light's plan." She walked over and picked up the brown case. "We need to examine this case too, as it might have clues to their mission. Sherry should be able to tell us what it is and its purpose." Itsuwa grabbed her communication device and contacted the other Amakusa to have Bayloupe taken away for questioning. When they arrived, Accelerator left the subway with Itsuwa and met back up with Misaki.

* * *

"I thought a patrol would be more exciting," Mikoto said to Touma as they followed Agnese. "So far nothing has happened except she's been on the phone for a while. I think I understand why Kuroko always complains about her Judgement patrols."

"Trust me," Touma said dryly, but he was feeling slightly bored too. "You don't want anything to happen. These kinds of things tend to spiral out of control quickly."

"I wish Agnese-san would tell us what is going on at least," Mikoto said. "She's been on the phone the entire time." They both looked at Agnese in front of them and saw she still had her phone to her ear. As if she heard Mikoto or noticed their stares, Agnese put down the phone and turned around to talk to them.

"Seems like two disturbances have already been found," Agnese informed them. "Itsuwa's group ambushed one member of New Light in the subway, a fight's breaking out now, and there seems to be two magicians fighting in another location. Seriously, those magicians are fighting only a couple blocks away from our headquarters. What kind of idiot would do something like that?"

If on cue, Touma's phone began to ring. "Hello," Touma answered.

"Hey Touma," Jason said. "I have a question for you."

"Make it fast Jason," Touma said rolling his eyes at Mikoto who raised an eyebrow.

"Let's say I run into another magician," Jason said. "And we fought and I captured them. I'm sure the fight attracted attention. I just wanted to examine this magical case she had, but she attacked me. What should I do? Can you ask Agnese or Itsuwa?"

"Seriously?" Touma said face palming. He could have sworn he heard someone yelling in the background on Jason's end. "Hey Agnese-san," He called over to her. "I think I know who the two magicians fighting are."

"Huh?" Agnese stopped and looked confused. Touma explained to her quickly what Jason was most likely doing, so she contacted her people to pass on the message. "So two down. That means there shouldn't be too many more. From what we found out, New Light should only be a small group."

"Does Kagere-san always get involved in these things?" Mikoto asked Touma.

"I think he does it on purpose," Touma shrugged. "After all, he does have a problem with authority figures."

"Kuroko complains about that all the time," Mikoto laughed. "I have to agree with you."

"Do you think they have a…? Oomph," Touma began to ask her when someone bolted out of an alleyway and collided into him. Touma fell to the group as a young girl with black hair, yellow bangs, and a white jacket with red and blue sleeves fell on top of him. "You ok?" he asked while looking at her.

"Yea sorry about that," she said quickly and stood up. She immediately started running off and Touma realized she was carrying two brown cases and seemed to be comparing the two.

"What was that about?" Mikoto asked helping Touma up. Touma shrugged and looked at Agnese who was staring at the girl running from them.

"Shit," Agnese muttered, and then yelled at them. "Don't stand around you two, that was a target!" She immediately bolted off and they followed her. Mikoto wondered how she was able to run in her shoes, but didn't question it. They chased after the girl, who didn't seem to notice them. She was holding both of the brown cases and was constantly looking between them. Appearing satisfied, she tossed one of them off to the side of the road. She turned around and her eyes went wide when she noticed them chasing her.

"I already apologized!" she yelled back over her shoulder. "I don't have any money!"

"People clearing field," Agnese muttered and through a couple rune cards in different directions. "In the name of Necessarius, I command you to come quietly."

"Umm no," the girl called over her shoulder. Touma watched her pull out poles and formed them into a type of spear with several blades at the end. "I have a job to do."

"Sorry about this," Mikoto called out, Touma immediately moved to the side, and Mikoto fired a bolt of blue-white electricity at the girl. Her electricity at full power could easily kill someone, but Mikoto was quite skilled at limiting her power to make sure she didn't accidently go too far. She had a lot of practice with thugs in Academy City. The girl was too far away, but Mikoto thought she looked familiar. The girl turned around then jumped backwards away from them. She swung the spear at the bolt of lightning as she was in the air. _What is she doing? That metal spear will just act as a lightning rod… No way!_ The blades at the end of the spear opened up like a hand and her electricity hit it. Instead of traveling down the spear, the electricity seemed to consolidate at a single point, almost as if the spear grabbed it. Mikoto's attack formed a solid ball of electricity at the end of the spear.

"You have got to be kidding…" Touma muttered and jumped forward as the girl swung the spear at them. The ball of electricity turned into a blade of electricity and traveled in a line from her spear as she swung it. Touma jumped in front of Mikoto and held out his right hand. The electricity disappeared with the sound of breaking glass as it collided with his hand. He and Mikoto were fine, but Agnese was not as lucky. She was hit by a corner of the electric blade and was knocked backwards. "Are you ok?" Touma called out to her.

"Yea," she said. "My legs are numb though. Go after her, I'll catch up with reinforcements." Touma and Mikoto nodded and dashed off after the girl.

The girl thought she had won with her surprise attack. _None of them would have expected that, but that electricity… Could she be here?_ She didn't stop to consider it as the electric blade disappeared just by the boy reaching out his hand. "How did he…? Shit." She turned around and ran as the boy and one of the two girls kept chasing after her. _Bayloupe is going to get pissed. How could I just run into people from the Anglican Church like that? Is Loki playing a trick on me?_ She heard a crackle as another bolt of electricity soared at her. She turned around in panic and raised the brown case in front of her. The electricity hit it and she felt her arm grow slightly numb. 'AH! I used the most important thing as a shield without thinking!" She made a mistake and spoke to loudly.

"It seems like that case is important to her plan," Touma said as they stopped about twenty feet from her. "Let's focus our attacks on it."

"I can't believe you discovered my weak point," the girl said. "Well done. But I can't let it be destroyed or my a$$ will be crushed by Bayloupe."

"Hang on," Mikoto said taking a step forward as she recognized that name. "Lessar?"

"Wait," Lessar said in surprise, looking Mikoto up and down. "You are that Railgun girl from the mall."

"Huh?" Touma asked completely confused. "How do you know her Mikoto?"

"I did a demonstration in Russia once," she replied not taking her eyes off Lessar. "There was a little bit of trouble and she helped me."

"Have you been able to eat oranges since that incident?" Lessar asked grinning.

"I wouldn't let one bad experience prevent me from eating them," Mikoto replied shaking her head.

"I don't suppose you would let me go?" Lessar asked. "I don't really want to fight someone called the Railgun and her boyfriend. You know, for old time's sake?"

"B-b-boyfriend?" Mikoto stuttered turning bright red. Normally, she would immediately deny it, but she actually kind of liked it. Touma also turned bright red, he couldn't think of anything to say, but tried to keep his focus on Lessar in case she made a break for it.

"I'm wrong?" Lessar asked looking between them and smirking. "Doesn't really matter, so will you let me go without a fight?"

"I can't," Mikoto said. "Come with us and I promise we will make sure you are treated fairly."

"You don't know how the magic side works at all," Lessar sighed. Touma noticed her skirt move and a long golden tail emerged from under it. "If I get captured, death will be the best thing I could hope for. Besides, you know what Bayloupe is like and what she would do to me if I get caught." Her tail moved like a pendulum and she suddenly jumped straight up into the air and landed on a nearby building. "Sorry I can't stay and chat some more Railgun." Lessar waved and jumped to the nearby roof.

"That must have been four stories," Touma gasped. "Can you follow her Mikoto?"

"No problem," Mikoto bragged. "Try to keep up." She used her magnetism to jump up onto the building and kept jumping until she landed on the roof. She saw Lessar in the distance and started running after her. "You can't escape Lessar!" she yelled. Touma ran along the streets trying to keep up with them. Luckily the buildings were built along the street. It meant Touma could run along the side of the buildings to keep up, rather than trying to go around them.

* * *

On the shores of England, a small boat landed on the rocks. A single man stepped out of the boat. His tea colored hair rustled slightly in the breeze. When he was completely off the boat and on the shore, the boat started to break apart and sink beneath the waves. He looked at the gray clouds moving in from his back. _A storm is coming. I should make this quick._ He was carrying a large mace in his right hand, but it was more than just a simple one handed mace. It was five meters long, shaped like an old European knight's lance, and looked like a huge umbrella created from steel that was used to construct a building.

Acqua stretched as he looked in the direction of London. "It is time for us to meet once again Touma Kamijou." He swung the mace over his shoulder and started walking in the direction of the city.

* * *

Touma kept running along the buildings and occasionally saw a flash of electricity from the roof tops to inform him he was still going in the right direction. He didn't see anyone in the direction he was running and the sun was high in the sky. _Agnese's forces must have set cleared out everyone._ He heard a crash as Lessar jumped through a window from the roof she was currently on. _Really, why is she breaking windows? Mikoto wouldn't give up with just that._ He glanced up and saw Mikoto jump over an alley and through the window Lessar broke. He heard something moving above him and, when he looked up, he saw a small fist size jack-o-lantern floating above his head.

"Can you two tell me why you are chasing me?" Lessar's voice came through. Touma noticed she said 'we' which meant Mikoto probably had a pumpkin too. "Neither of you two are magicians nor do I think we did anything to Academy City."

"Are you from New Light?" Touma asked.

"So you know us," Lessar muttered. "That means you are involved, but why?"

"Are you working for The Fallen," Mikoto's voice came through. "We heard you were planning some kind of attack against London."

"The who?" Lessar asked and Touma didn't think she was lying. "But our plan will affect more than London. The entire UK will be changed for the better. You two are not qualified to participate. Just leave before anything happens."

"Not qualified?" Touma asked slightly angrily. "We have friends here we want to protect. Whatever New Light is trying to do, we will stop you."

"I'll make sure you are treated fairly Lessar," Mikoto added. "For old time's sakes."

"I can't," Lessar responded. "I love this country too much. As it is now, the UK will slowly weaken and be absorbed by outside influences." There was silence on the line for a moment and Touma was about to ask what she meant, but she continued. "Oh I was wondering Railgun," she said and Touma heard the joking tone he was used to hearing with Jason.

 _This is not going to be good,_ Touma thought.

"Did your chest grow since Russia?" Lessar asked. "You were so concerned about it before. Is it because your boyfriend likes them bigger, like mine?"

 _And there it is,_ Touma thought as he suddenly felt worried Lessar might not make it out of this unscathed. Of course, he felt his face burn as he thought about the subject.

"Y-y-you," Mikoto stuttered and then exploded. "WHEN I CATCH YOU, I AM GOING TO TURN YOU INTO A SCORCH MARK ON THE GROUND!" The building, she and Lessar were in, lit up as blue electricity blew out a couple windows. Touma kept running forward to avoid some of the falling glass. He saw Lessar jump into the next building and he groaned.

 _How much damage are those two going to cause?_ He thought as he tried to keep up with them. He turned to the pumpkin still floating near him. "Lessar," he said panting slightly from the constant running. "All we have to do is destroy that case of yours and you won't be able to succeed. Just give up whatever is in it."

"Heh," Lessar laughed. "You don't need to get involved in things that don't concern you."

"Trust me," Mikoto said her voice still coming through clearly. "That doesn't work on him. He sticks his nose into everything."

"Hey!" Touma said indignantly.

"He's one of those guys then," Lessar remarked mildly. "Then I guess words won't work then." The pumpkin next to Touma's head exploded into streamers, like a party cracker. Touma was annoyed and battered the streamers away and suddenly came to a stop. There was a large road in front of him and no nearby building next to the last one beside him. He turned and looked up to see Lessar standing near a window on the top floor looking down at him. _Why doesn't she just jump down? She can jump high, but can her magic not soften landings?_ He glanced at the street and noticed it was empty. _Good job Agnese._ He ran into the middle of the road to make sure she couldn't escape.

Suddenly, a blue-white bolt of electricity hit the ground behind her causing a small explosion forcing her to jump through the window. Her jump was farther than a normal person, but it was obvious she didn't use her full jumping power. "You are either dead or captured!" Touma called out triumphantly moving forward to catch her. Then he stopped and realized something. The window broke when she jumped through, followed by the explosion which propelled the shattered remains, and the large amount of glass was raining down towards him. _Oh shit!_

Lessar immediately notice Touma didn't run forward far enough to catch her because of the glass. "Hey," she yelled. "I'm so dead if you don't catch me!" She suddenly felt herself moving away from the building. It wasn't her body, but her steel glove seemed to be moving, while she held to it tightly, away from where the glass was going to rain down and Touma was moving back to catch her. Lessar turned her head around and saw Mikoto standing at the broken window holding out her hands as electricity crackled around her. Mikoto was not going to kill her, no matter how mad she was at Lessar, and was using magnetism to push Lessar out from the path of raining glass. This only lasted a couple seconds and Lessar collided with Touma, who had his arms out stretched to catch her.

Mikoto sighed as she saw Lessar fall into Touma's grasp. _At least she's ok, we can question her now…. WHAT IS HE DOING!_ Her eyes went wide in anger as she saw what happened.

 _How did this happen?_ Touma thought to himself as he laid on his back, sore, because Lessar collided into him. She didn't weigh a lot, but falling from a height of several floors put a lot of momentum behind her. Lessar was lying on top of him groaning in pain. The majority of her weight landed on him, but it looked like her legs had hit the ground hard. The problem was Touma could not speak, not because he was winded, but because of the way she fell on him.

Lessar's face had hit Touma's face directly and somehow they ended up kissing with her on top of him. She opened her eyes in surprise when she realized her position.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU IDIOT!?" Mikoto roared from the top of the building, her electricity beginning to shoot dangerously in all directions. "I'M GOING TO TURN BOTH OF YOU INTO CHARCOAL! HOW DID YOU EVEN END UP LIKE THAT!?"

Her words seemed to snap Lessar out of her stupor. She rolled off Touma and sprung to her feet, wincing slightly. "I'll forgive you because you caught me," she told Touma as she turned around. "By the way, that was my first kiss."

"What?!" Touma asked trying to get to his feet.

"Hah," Lessar laughed. "Just kidding. But if you want to go any further, I'm going to have to charge you." She bolted when Touma managed to get to feet. He felt a killing aura coming from the building and his eyes traveled to where Mikoto was standing.

"IDIOT!" Mikoto yelled again. "Don't you dare let her get away after your mistake!" Touma nodded and ran after Lessar, as Mikoto scaled the side of the building.

 _She's going to keep calling me an idiot for a while now,_ he thought to himself with a sigh. _Such misfortune._

* * *

"What do you think of this?" Itsuwa asked the woman next to her. The woman was around 25 years old with dirty blonde hair and brown skin. Her hair was messy, like a cheap wig, and if looked at from behind, would remind someone of a lions main. She was wearing black gothic style clothes with white lace. Her name was Sherry Cromwell, a member of the Anglican Church. She had once invaded Academy City, but was defeated by Touma.

"Let's see," Sherry said as she to move her hands around the case while looking at it. "It is made of oak, but there are no nails or screws used to put it in this shape. They bent the oak by making it only a few millimeters thick and using steam, similar to bamboo baskets. It seems like it was designed to transform, since the case is not the original form." She moved her hand, hit the latch, and stepped back. The case began to expand and unfold until it formed the shape of a small boat. "So it's a boat huh. Did you see what kind of magic they used?"

"Yes," Itsuwa replied. "They seemed to be using Nordic based magic."

"So I guess this would be a replica of Skíðblaðnir then," Sherry said eyeing the boat.

"Skíðblaðnir?" Itsuwa asked. "Wasn't that the boat that held all the gods including Odin? I heard it could be folded up so small, it would fit into a bag."

"So they are transporting something," Sherry said thoughtfully. "Have you discovered any clues on what it might be?"

"No," Itsuwa said. "But we received word they seemed to have had a factory in Scotland where they were mass producing items. The girl I fought had one, and I heard another girl was captured with it."

"So that means the other members probably have one too," Sherry added. "Let me see." She knelt down next to the boat and peered inside. She moved her hands around the inside of the case looking for runes and examining the mana fused with the item.

"I have no idea what they are talking about," Misaki muttered as she and Accelerator were leaning against a building wall. "Skíðblaðnir? Gods? Is this magic stuff always so complicated?" She had only a limited experience and a short explanation of magic. In order for her to understand it, she would have to do a lot of studying with religious texts, something she was not keen on doing.

"It's just abilities that follow a different set of rules than ours," Accelerator said gruffly looking at the roofs across the street bored. _It's true, but I still don't quite understand how some of these vectors work with magic. I had some practice with them in the cathedral, plus some of the vectors I memorized in Italy. Sometimes magic uses completely normal vectors, and other times they don't make a lot of sense and are hard to direct. I need to find someone who can last more than just a minute to really learn._ He yawned and wondered when they would be done so he could go back and sleep. Then he remembered Last Order would bother him about where he was and he sighed.

"Touma and Misaka-san are working together," Misaki said irritated as she puffed out her cheeks. "I should have been the one to work with him." _As soon as this is over, I am never letting him out of my sight._ "I feel pretty useless now that we found the magician. You are better for the brute force work."

"Whatever," Accelerator muttered rolling his eyes. He did not like Misaki, but he didn't like most people so it wasn't really a surprise. He was halfway through another yawn when he saw something. A girl, who he recognized as Kaori Kanzaki, was running on the roofs in a straight line with a determined look on her face. Accelerator frowned when he saw that look. _She looks like she is prepared to walk into a death match,_ he thought. He recognized it as the same look Touma had on his face when they first met. He got up and started to head in the same direction.

"Where are you going?" Misaki asked.

"None of your business," Accelerator snapped and walked away.

"Fine then," Misaki said sticking her tongue out at him. She turned to Sherry and Itsuwa. "Have you two found anything about what they are carrying?"

"Not yet," Itsuwa said shaking her head disappointed. "It has to be something dangerous or they wouldn't take so many precautions. It looks like several of them have similar cases, so we have to assume this is being mass produced. But the item one of them has to have, we have no idea what it is."

"It's worse than that," Sherry said standing up.

"What do you mean?" Misaki asked nervously.

"It looks like these cases are set up so they can teleport the item in between the cases. I can't tell if there is a certain order from just this, or if they can go to any of the cases."

"So if one case is still in New Light's hands…?" Misaki said trailing off as she realized the problem.

"Yes," Itsuwa nodded noticing the serious look on Misaki's face. "They still have the item they brought."

 _Touma,_ she thought turning around so Itsuwa didn't see her face. _Be safe and catch them._

Accelerator tried to figure out what to do to keep up with Kaori. He had walked into an ally and used his powers to move to the roof of the building. He used it to follow her for a short distance then stopped on a roof watching her run off in the distance. _She seems to be traveling in a straight line out of the city. I still have 25 minutes using my ability, but I don't know how far she is going. At least she's traveling in a straight line so I know where she is headed. I want to know what she is doing. I still owe the church a debt for helping me save Last Order._ He heard someone say something and looked around. He was standing near the edge of the building's roof and did not see anyone else on the roof. He heard someone call his name again and he looked down into the alleyway. His eyes widened in surprise and he jumped down. After landing on the ground, he looked them up and down.

"I didn't expect to see one of you here," he said, but smirked. "I need to borrow your motorcycle." He pointed to the vehicle next to the individual.

* * *

Eve was sitting on the top of the famous clock tower, Big Ben. Her legs were hanging off the edge as she gazed across the city of London. She was singing softly to herself and looked like she was having the time of her life. Magic concealed her from view, both mundane and magical. She was simply waiting for her companion and was enjoying spying on all the fights happening between the different factions. "It's almost time," she said suddenly. Behind her a shadow moved all on its own and slowly rose from the flat surface until a female form emerged from it.

"They still do not appear to know where the wing is," Juliet told her. "The protection is still the same."

"Of course," Eve giggled. "They could not know where the wing is. It took centuries of research to find it. The reason is because it is located in plain sight, but has changed constantly over the years. I doubt their predecessors know the importance of it. It wasn't until Curtana and Michael's blessing made it impossible to take."

"I'm surprised," Juliet said smiling slightly. "I thought someone with your power could easily just go and take it, even if the Queen herself was protecting it."

"I could forcefully take it," Eve admitted. "However, it has been soaking in the power of Michael for hundreds of years. Lucifer's power and Michael's power have always been at odds. If someone like me grabbed it, the clash of powers would cause the gem to break. If you tried to grab it, Michael's power would destroy you."

"So you want to wait for her plan to take shape?" Juliet asked. "It will weaken the hold on Lucifer's wing?"

"When control changes," Eve explained. "There will be a short window of opportunity for you to grab the wing as Michael's power will be unstable. Afterwards, you will take it to our base and start replacing Michael's remaining power with Lucifer's. After that is done, then I will fulfill my end of the bargain."

"Then he will be mine," Juliet sighed and smiling broadly. "Any problems though?"

"Adam is slacking off," Eve said her smile faulting for half a second. "He was supposed to keep the Roman Catholic Church in Europe, but a member of God's Right Seat has just entered England. Now I have to use my puppets to lure some of the knights and Anglican troops toward him. They will get slaughtered, but it will slow him down. I can't let him take the Imagine Breaker or ruin her plans." She stretched. "I deplore violence. I suppose I can make something specific to fight him, but his power is annoying. Oh that's right," she added grinning broadly at Juliet. "I already took precautions. I delivered two messages to important people about his arrival. He shouldn't get anywhere near the Imagine Breaker."

"I'll move into position then," Juliet said bowing. "I should have known you would have everything planned out, even if you plan doesn't make sense to anyone until it is complete." Her body began to melt into a shadow and started moving along Big Ben. Eve gave her one last look before going back to staring across London. She started singing again as grey clouds started covering all the blue sky.

* * *

Far outside of London, Carissa and Knight Leader were talking while they waited for Index to finish examining the magic left behind by Eve and her creations. They were leaning against a tree while the other knights constantly patrolled the area for any ambushes. Carissa looked annoyed and bored, while the Knight leader's face was unreadable. "I can understand my older sister not coming," Carissa muttered to the Knight Leader. "She does not trust anyone, but even Villian had a change of heart at the last minute."

"It will not matter," Knight Leader said. "You planned for this to happen anyways."

"Of course," Carissa replied. "It is almost time. Notify me as soon as you receive it."

"Understood," Knight Leader replied. He reached down and picked up an old brown case and made sure to keep hold of it at all times.

* * *

 **For those of you who don't know how Lessar and Mikoto know each other. There is a side story light novel that explains their meeting in a shopping mall. It happens early July, so it's shortly before the Index series starts.**

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Enjoy a small skit created by MrQuestionmark and me as he and I had fun times talking about random stuff and the amazing series which is Index.**

 **Motoharu: Ok guys, I finally got the new dungeon crawl for D &D. You all are seeking the elixir of life.**

 **Index: Touma, what is this elixir of life? D-Don't tell me that Academy City has perfected the pinnacle of alchemy?**

 **Touma: Index...it's a board game. It's not real. And why am I always rolling the lowest numbers? Is it even possible to always roll ones on a twenty sided die!? Such misfortune!**

 **Accelerator: Why the f### am I even playing this?**

 **Pierce: Where are the nurses? I at least want a fantasy RPG like setting to come to life.**

 **Jason: Touma already took all the nurses as they try to bandage up his character.**

 **Touma: Shut up! There are no nurses in dungeons! What kind of event are you thinking of playing?**

 **Motoharu: Kami-yan, you rolled a one again.**

 **Shizuri: Hah I got a picture of the number one playing a nerd game. This is going on 4chan.**

 **Accelerator: Delete that or I am going to kill everyone here.**


	45. S2 Acqua, Man among Men

**So I think the most important thing to do tonight is wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. May your potatoes be mashed, your beans be green, your gravy flavorful, and your turkey moist. Heh, moist. It's such a great word to say, Moist. I should use that more often in future chapters. If you say it out loud a couple times it just keeps getting better. Moist. If you don't celebrate Thanksgiving, it's fine. Oh, and everyone have a safe Black Friday. It gets dangerous because people are evil.**

 **CamSpams: Yea, a lot has happened since Ch. 25. One does not simply stop reading fanfiction. Good to see you back.**

 **Handsomistic1: Next chapter and they will be doing fun things.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: You should write the skits at the end of my chapters for me lol.**

 **A lot of fun things are about to happen, and this chapter sets everything up. Now, I do have one thing to talk to everyone about before the main event. I was talking with a friend and we were discussing favorite pairings that do not involve Touma or an OC. When I told him mine, he couldn't understand it. What are your guy's favorite pairs that do not involve Touma or an OC? They can be any cannon characters, actual pair or shipping pair. I know some of you will choose the same thing as me.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

Touma was running through several alleys as he tried to keep up with Lessar. _How can she run with that leg?_ When she was within his view, she was running easily as fast as a normal person while limping slightly, with her tail swaying back in forth, almost like it was helping her keep balance. A normal person would not be able to run like that with an injured. She showed no signs of fatigue, so Touma had no idea how far she could run. When Lessar changed direction and cut down a different street, Touma would lose sight of her for a brief moment. This worried him because he still did not see Mikoto or Agnese anywhere nearby. If he lost her, she would be gone for good. Lessar ran around a corner and Touma sprinted to get her back in sight. As he turned the corner after her, he stopped.

She was gone.

His first instinct was to look up to see if she used her tail to jump, but it didn't seem like she did, as there was no movement. _Besides, I don't think she can jump or land with that leg anyways._ The street was pretty long, so Lessar shouldn't have been able to get far enough to round another corner, or she would have gotten away a long time ago. The only other option was a closed door to his left. He grabbed the handle and pulled. _It's unlocked. I knew it. She must have gone though here._ He walked in and left the door open to let in light because the room was dark. There were no other windows as he looked around. It seemed to be some kind of storage unit and boxes of some item lined the walls and rows of containers sat in the center. He moved slowly, constantly looking around in case Lessar tried to ambush him from behind one of the rows. The ceiling was about thirty feet high and had a metal walkway up top. A loud clang broke the silence and he looked to his right.

Lessar had been trying to move silently up the stairs, but her metal tail had hit the metal railing. He could barely see her, except for her outline and the little light reflecting off her tail, but she froze when Touma turned his head towards her. She was obviously hoping he would overlook her but, with the light from the open door pouring in, she was able to see him start moving towards her. "Stop right there!" he yelled at her as he bolted towards her.

"Never!" Lessar called back as she ran up the stairs as fast as she could. She managed to get to the top of the stairs, and onto the metal walkway, by the time Touma had started up the stairs. "Just leave me alone, you don't have anything to do with this."

"Like hell I don't"

"Fine," Lessar called down exasperated. "If I give you my panties as a gift, will you go away? They would still be warm."

"No!" Touma shouted as his ears burned from embarrassment at the thought. When Touma reached the metal walkway he continued. "I told you I have friends here. If you threaten them, I am going to stop you with everything I have." He realized Lessar was trapped as the walkway ended against the wall on the far side. He ran towards her and the walkway shook slightly under his steps. Lessar also noticed she was trapped and her face turned determined. She raised her steel glove and slammed it on one side of the walkway railing, near where it connected to the wall. The thick metal shattered under her powerful blow and the entire walkway started to twist under there weight.

"You won't catch me," Lessar declared confidently.

"Hey now," Touma said quickly raising his hand while his other hand held the railing, that was still attached to the walls, tightly. "Don't do anything drastic…"

"To late," Lessar said smiling and hit the other side of the walkway with her steel glove. The entire walkway fell with them on it. It crashed into the columns of boxes and pallets of the stored items with a resounding crash. Touma held on, with both hands, to the railing as they fell. The containers soften the blow slightly and, instead of falling thirty feel all at once, they fell, crashed and slowed down, and then fell some more. They finally hit the ground with a clang, which shook through their bodies, and containers were thrown all over the place. When the walkway slammed into the ground, Touma had stumbled and fell to the ground. One of the piles of boxes must have had some kind of flour like substance, as a lot of dust was in the air. Touma's body hurt from the sudden stop on the floor, but he rolled to his feet and looked around, squinting as he tried to see through the dust. He saw a movement to his left and ducked as Lessar jumped through the dust and aim her spear at him.

Lessar passed over him and, when she hit the ground, turned around while grabbing a large wooden palate with her glove. She threw the palate at Touma like a Frisbee and he had to dive behind a half fallen column of boxes to prevent the palate from crushing his midriff. The shelter was shot lived as Lessar picked up a heavy box with her steel glove and threw it. It collided with the column of boxes and Touma had to abandon his shelter to avoid being crushed. When he rolled out into the open, Lessar took her chance. She rushed at him and stabbed at his chest with the blades on the end of her glove. Touma reached up and grabbed the spear with his right hand, a second before being impaled. It shattered instantly. "How…?" Lessar asked wide eyed.

"It's my power," Touma said and watched her closely. Even after losing her weapon she didn't let go of the brown case and they collided. Touma fell backwards and jumped up to his feet as Lessar also got to hers. "Now surrender. You can't use your jump power with that leg, and now you are weaponless."

"That doesn't mean I will just give up," Lessar said backing away from the boy who held an unknown power to her. _He destroyed my steel glove with just a touch. I didn't even feel any magic._ She heard another door open from behind them and light shined in through all the dust in the air. Lessar couldn't see the person's face, but figured it had to be Mikoto. _She's here too damn. Maybe I can use her temper against her._ "Ah what are you doing," she called out suddenly and Touma looked confused.

"What…?" he asked having no idea of her plan.

"Ah don't touch me there," Lessar called out seductively as she bent her knees preparing to run. "I'm soooo sensitive. Your hands feel so good…" Suddenly she looked like she was hit in the side as her body was lifted slightly into the air, flew a couple feet, and slammed into the floor. She shook her head and looked at who the person was.

"Cheap lies won't work on me," stated Agnese proudly, stepping through the dust with her Lotus Wand in hand. The Lotus Wand was a staff that allowed her to render attacks based on the effects that happen to the Lotus Wand, similar to the method that is used with voodoo dolls. For example, striking the staff on a solid object can summon an invisible blunt force attack directed on the opponent. "I could tell you two were separated from your outlines. Besides, he doesn't have the guts to try anything like that. Good job boy, you got her cornered."

"I'm here too," Mikoto said coming from the door Touma and Lessar had entered. "Wow, you two ran pretty far."

"It's over," Touma said steeping forward. "You can't run from all three of us. Give us your case and the item you have."

"Do you know where Lancis is?" Lessar asked suddenly.

"Who?" asked Touma looking at Mikoto and Agnese.

"I know who she is," Mikoto said slowly, "But I haven't seen her."

"The other two we just captured were named Floris and Bayloupe," Agnese informed them. "But it's only a matter of time before we find her."

"I don't think so," laughed Lessar. "Lancis isn't in London."

"What?" Agnese asked shocked while staring at her. "Why not?"

"She is thirty kilometers outside of London," Lessar explained. "All of us were just relay points. We simply had to get in position and wait for the signal. As long as one of us manages it, we will succeed."

"Quick!" Agnese suddenly yelled. "Destroy the case boy!"

"Why didn't you think we could make more than just a couple cases?" Lessar asked still laughing and moved the case away from Touma as he lunged toward it with his hands out stretched. A blue beam of light, ignoring the walls and boxes of goods, came out of the wall behind them, hit her case, and then changed direction and disappeared through another wall. Touma's hand touched the case a second later and it collapsed into normal strips of woods. "You failed," Lessar continued. "We transferred the item already. I lost the fight, but completed my objective. Our alliance is complete."

"What did you transfer?" demanded Agnese, as she slammed the end of her Lotus Wand on the floor next to Lessar's head with a bang.

 _What does she mean by alliance?_ Touma thought.

"If you want to silence me," Lessar continued determined, while looking Agnese straight in the eye, "Do it now." Touma reached forward and grabbed Lessar to shake some sense into her, when something happened. A small hole appeared in the wall far above them, and then a small whistling sound, like something was traveling at high speeds, passed by them. Something hit Lessar in the shoulder, nearly tearing her arm off and spraying her bright red blood all over the place. It may have been a combination of shooting blindly through a wall and Touma grabbing her at the last minute, but the projectile missed any vital organs. The destructive force though still caused Lessar to start losing a lot of blood.

"A sniper!?" Mikoto yelled while diving in the ground.

"Shit!" Touma muttered as he pulled Lessar toward him as he moved behind cover. "Try to find something to stop the bleeding! Agnese, can you use healing magic?"

"Not much," Agnese admitted as they quickly moved behind some boxes to avoid being seen by the sniper. "I should be able to slow down the bleeding at the very least." Touma moved away to make sure his hand didn't interfere with her magic. He turned and looked at Mikoto who was picking something off the ground.

"What are you doing?" he called to her. "They could snipe at us again."

"I don't think so," she said. "If they wanted to keep attacking they could have. They obviously have a way to see us through the walls. I think they just wanted to silence her." She held out an arrow in her hand. "They didn't fire a bullet, it was this arrow"

"Done," Agnese said rubbing the sweat from her head. She had stopped the bleeding, but Lessar still had lost a lot of blood. We need to take her to someone more specialized in healing, but we have more time now." She saw the arrow in Mikoto's hand. "How do you have that?"

"Do you know what it is?" Mikoto asked.

"It's a projectile from the magic item known as Robin Hood," Agnese said as her face turned serious. "This should have been in our possession at the church and is only lent to the knights as needed. As you can probably guess, it specializes in long range attacks."

"So it was either stolen or…" Touma said grimly as he walked over to Lessar. There was a lot of blood on the ground, but the wound was at least closed.

"Or there is a traitor," Mikoto mumbled.

"Why…?" Lessar asked weekly as she barely kept Touma in focus. Everything was blurry in her eyes.

"I'm not going to let someone die right in front of me," Touma told her. "Mikoto, can you help me carry her." Mikoto nodded and together they lifted up Lessar, careful to avoid the shoulder where she was shot. "Agnese, can you have a car meet us here?"

"They are already nearby," Agnese said pulling out her phone. "It's how I got here. They will meet us out front."

"Hang on Lessar," Mikoto whispered to her. "You're going to make it."

"We were transporting…" Lessar said after a moment of silence while they headed toward the exit. They all stopped talking and turned to her. Her eyes appeared softer, as if she was thanking them. "Curtana Original."

Agnese's face turned pure white. "It can't be," she said her voice shaking.

"What is it?" Touma asked her quickly. "Curtana can only be used by the royal family, right? So it would be useless in anyone else's hands."

"Oh no…" Mikoto said as realization hit her. "Are you sure Agnese-san?"

"Robin Hood is a military weapon normally used by a small order of knights," Agnese said again, but extended her explanation. "Those knights are under the direct control of second princess Carissa." Touma's and Mikoto's face paled at her words. "If Curtana Original was the cargo…"

* * *

"I have finished my analysis," Index told Carissa and Knight Leader. "It is as we thought, but I have not found any new information on what type of magic they are using to distort the Christianity base. The good news is there is no trace of Telesma, so they should not have trespassed into god's domain."

"In your professional opinion," Carissa said eyeing her closely. "How do you think Eve is able to actually create intelligent golems?"

Index sighed and shook her head. "I don't know for sure. I have one theory, but it is so unusual it couldn't be true."

"Go ahead," Knight Leader said. "We need to investigate all possibilities and you have the most knowledge of anyone here."

"Well," Index said hesitating for a moment. "You know magic is based on ideologies. Well, based on the distortions of their Christian based magic, they have created a new system."

"Keep going," Carissa said waving her hand impatiently.

"They have their own beliefs and rules," Index continued. "While it may be similar to Christianity, some of the core beliefs are different. They would have to create an entire system of rules and traditions from the ground up if they wanted to create a new branch of magic. Instead, they changed a couple core principles of Christianity. While this would still take a while, since they have to find out how each change affects all outcomes, it would take much less time than a new system. This is why I am detecting the base being Christian with distortions of the actual magic. I can't give any more information than that with just this location. Are there any other locations?"

"None that are relevant right now," Carissa sighed and dismissed Index with a wave of her hand. Index nodded and ran over to a maid to try to get some more food. Carissa turned to Knight Leader and spoke quietly. "Well, it seems like they are not magic gods, but I didn't think they were. A magic god would have just forced their way to retrieve what they wanted."

"That is both good news and bad," Knight Leader replied. "As they are not gods, they should be at a level we can handle. The bad news is they use unknown magic based on their own principles. If they are indeed following Lucifer, it is possible they have knowledges obtained directly from him to enforce their beliefs."

"It will all be irrelevant soon," Carissa responded. "When it arrives, we will change the path of this country for the better and we will have the power to face them directly."

"Of course," Knight Leader agreed nodding. "You have our full…" He stopped and his eyes traveled down to the case he was holding. "…It has arrived."

"Excellent," Carissa said as she took the case from him. "Notify all the knights around the country. I, Carissa, have obtained Curtana Original, the sword which decides the ruler of the United Kingdom. All those who desire for our country to regain the power it has lost, it is time to rise…" Her speech was interrupted as Index ran towards her and she eyed the case.

"What happened?" she asked instantly. "I suddenly feel Telesma coming from you."

"Of course you would notice," Carissa said as a smirk appeared on her face. She opened the case and pulled a sword with no blade or tip, Curtana Original. Her grinned widened at the astonished look on Index's face. "I have recovered Curtana Original and am now the new ruler of this country. As the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, your duty is to serve this county, and me."

"So you intend to start a coup," Index said glaring at her and then continued defiantly. "I won't help you in any way."

"It was not an option," Carissa responded mildly, and motioned her hand to Knight Leader. Faster than a blink of an eye, Knight Leader delivered a kick into Index's stomach. She gasped in pain and fell unconscious. He reached down and picked her up with one hand, threw her over his shoulder, and looked at Carissa.

"What now?"

"Before we head back to the palace," Carissa said, as she held up Curtana Original in the light admiring it. "There is one more resource we need to pick up on the way there. Have your knights locate him for me."

"The Imagine Breaker?" The knight Leader confirmed raising an eyebrow slightly.

"Of course," Carissa said. "His power will be useful, and we will prevent the church from using his power against us." She turned and walked back to the carriage. Knight Leader, after hesitating for a moment, followed her. His face was impassive, but his mind was considering the possibilities. While he knew Carissa was right about the boy, if he hadn't known her for so long, he would have thought there was more to it than just what she said. He immediately banished the thought because he knew there was no way anything could happen.

 _I am just overthinking things._

* * *

"After all this time, the first thing you ask for is Misaka's bike Misaka questions?"

"I need to run someone down," Accelerator explained irritated the conversation was taking so long. Standing in front of him was one of the clones who looked exactly like Mikoto. He knew they had been scattered all over the world, but it did not occur to him one would be living in London. He briefly debated taking the bike by force, but he swore to himself he wouldn't use his powers against the sisters after what he did to them. "You know why I can't just chase her down. I have a f&$%*^ time limit. Are you even old enough to drive here?" He remembered Mikoto was almost fifteen and this girl was a clone of her.

"Technically," she said. "Misaka is under a year old says Misaka while smirking at her joke." Accelerator face palmed and glared at her until she continued. "Misaka has a driver license with a different birthday given to her from Academy City before coming here Misaka explains quickly."

"I don't have time for this nonsense," Accelerator growled. "Just lend me it."

"No Misaka says flatly." Before Accelerator could open his mouth to yell at her she continued. "Misaka will however drive you to your location Misaka offers helpfully."

"Fine," Accelerator conceded. He didn't want her to come along, but he had no idea how far he would have to travel to follow Kaori. His battery might not last the entire trip, so a motorcycle would be a better option. Before he could get on the seat, the Misaka sister handed him a helmet.

"Safety first Misaka says smirking." Accelerator had a hard time resisting the urge to hit her on the head. He could see a resemblance between her and Worst. He snatched the helmet from her hand and put it on while glaring at her. He was surprised to actually see the corners of her mouth twitching upright. The sisters normally did not show emotions on their faces. She hopped on the front and, when Accelerator got on behind her, they took off. "Where are we going Misaka asks?"

"Straight ahead," Accelerator replied gruffly. "You will know when we get there." He was scowling under his helmet. He knew what they looked like with him holding onto the Misaka clone. The helmet was covering his face, but he still didn't like the fact he was being given a ride by a girl. _None of those brats that came with us better see me,_ he thought. _Specially the fourth. I might have to kill her to make her forget._

* * *

Acqua was walking along the countryside of England toward the city of London. His face revealed no emotion and his mace was gone. There was nothing to distinguish him from a normal man, except his very presence. If a normal person saw him, they would immediately slink away quietly. He had that kind of effect on people. After thinking it through, he decided to arrive at the city shortly before nightfall. It would give him time to locate Touma Kamijou and, if their confrontation ended in a fight, there would be less chance of civilians getting involved. He had his mission, and he would carry it out, regardless of who got in his way, but he still did not like involving innocent people. He stood atop a small hill, stopped, and looked down into the valley at the chaotic scene before him.

Below were three factions fighting, though two appeared to be allied with each other. He recognized the armor of the English knights and the symbols of the Anglican Church. The third faction was numerous, but seemed to be slowly getting thinned out by the other two. The third faction soldiers all had gold masks. _So The Fallen is causing problems here too. I heard the rumors the one known as Eve took in interest in something here. Regardless, it had nothing to do with me._ He continued to walk and changed his course slightly to move around the battlefield. He was not one to slink away from a fight, but he had no quarrel with them, until one of the masked soldiers noticed him and raised a spear into the air.

"He's here," the masked man called out to his remaining soldiers. The ten men that were left retreated and headed directly toward Acqua. Acqua was about to attack them, when he hesitated. He did not feel any hostility from them; instead they appeared relieved he was there. He frowned in thought. The knights and nuns grouped up, but stopped when they saw the masked soldiers fall back around a single man. "My Lord," the masked man said and kneeled before him. "We knew you would come. We are unable to fulfill our mission. We give our lives at our disgrace." Before Acqua could respond to this sudden announcement, the masked man stabbed himself in the chest, and all the others followed suit. Their bodies collapsed and dissolved into dust as Acqua watched. He raised his eyes when the knights and nuns raised their assorted weapons of swords, spears, and bows.

 _So that is their plan,_ he thought as a knight stepped forward. _Turn us against each other._

"You are to surrender immediately," the knight said loudly. "If you make any action that is perceived hostile, we will…" The knight stopped and his eyes went wide, though no one could see it as his helmet covered his face. "William Orwell…" he muttered and Acqua sighed. The sound of an explosion took place and the knight flew over fifty feet and landed onto the ground with a crash. Acqua's five meter long mace appeared from his shadow as he swung it with a single hand. The other knights and nuns could only watch in shock at the sudden attack.

 _I cannot afford to be recognized by that name right now,_ Acqua thought to himself. He was on a mission to capture the Imagine Breaker as a member of God's Right Seat. As great calamities swept through Europe, like the plague, God's Right Seat was born from the necessity of needing to have people that can talk to the Pope regarding the matters of the Roman Catholic Church. They had power and knowledge that even the Pope had to rely on, and were considered a special existence separate from the hierarchies of the church. The goal of God's Right Seat was to purge the original sin from mankind. Using their knowledge, God's Right Seat had diluted the sin within themselves to give them powers similar to angels and far outstripping normal magicians. Acqua's power was aligned with the Archangel Gabriel, also known as the Power of God, the center of the Angel's Fall incident. If that was not enough, he had another type of strength.

Acqua was also a Saint.

He was one of less than twenty people who could claim that title. His body was similar to the Son of God and allowed him a portion of that power. His strength, reflexes, and speed were at superhuman levels. His body could channel a larger amount of mana than normal humans, which only increased his affinity with the power of God's Right Seat. Acqua turned to the remaining individuals who stood before him. There were only twenty knights and five nuns left. "I am Acqua of the Back, member of God's Right Seat. My mission does not require me to have a quarrel with you. If you leave without a fight, you will live. If you insist on fighting me, I will show you no mercy." He saw many of the knights exchange glances and make signal at each other.

"Like we would ever slink away from the Roman Catholic Church," one of the knights called out and several of the others cheered. "You may not be part of The Fallen, but you are still our enemy. For stepping on our soil and attacking a knight, we will capture you for trial." The other knights pointed their weapons as they all moved forward as a single unit. The battle nuns spread out among them to support them with their spells.

"I see," Acqua muttered. He slumped his mace against his shoulder, as he watched the knights and nuns approach. "I respect your courage, even if it is futile." Acqua would forgo killing if he could, as long as it meant he could still accomplish his mission, but only if there was no need. In combat, he recognized only two sides, enemies and allies. When the knights and nuns raised their weapons against him, they declared themselves to be his enemy. He watched the knights get closer, but he didn't move a single inch. An arrow flew at him from one of the nuns, and he just tilted his head a few centimeters to dodge it as his eyes tracked the arrow's trajectory. When the knights were about fifty feet away, he made his move.

He vanished from their sights instantly.

Well, the knights saw him vanish. All that happened was Acqua moved at superhuman speed and appeared right in the middle of their formation. Normally, that would have been a suicide tactic, deliberately putting oneself in a position to be surrounded by enemies. But for Acqua, it wasn't suicidal, it was just strategy. He put himself there because he could cause the greatest destruction with his blows. He swung his mace horizontally, as easily as if he was just knocking down a spider web in front of him. There was the sound of crunching metal, as his mace hit several knights, followed by a boom of displaced air, and then a shockwave. Four knights, with destroyed armor, were sent flying, while several others were blown backwards just from the shockwave. The others turned to look in shock and horror as Acqua didn't stop his attack there. He vanished from sight once again as several others tried to turn their weapons toward him. Another boom reverberated through the area as several more people were blown away. One of the knights managed to predict where Acqua was going to move and swung a blade at him. Acqua blocked with his mace, and delivered a kick into his chest. The armor broke under his leg strength and knocked the knight back ten feet.

Acqua wasn't even using the power of God's Right Seat. This one sided fight was being won only with his innate abilities of a Saint. A Saint was a power that normal people could not hope to match. After two more blows, he looked around and saw only three of the nuns and one knight left. The nuns were chanting while the knight held up a shield in front of them to block Acqua's view. _That knight has courage, shame all the struggling is pointless._ He was about to finish them off, when his body suddenly felt heavy. It was like a huge weight had appeared on top of him. He looked at his feet and saw he wasn't sinking, so the magic was only affecting his strength. "Is this your final attempt?" Acqua asked.

"Weight of Sin," one of the nuns said panting slightly. "We can't inflict the entire judgment upon you with just us, but it should weaken you. David admitting the weight of sins was crushing him in the Psalms was the basis for the spell. Few people are without sins, the more sins you carry, the more weight you feel." She figured it would take a large number of nuns chanting the spell to actually stop someone like Acqua. She did not know how many sins he actually carried.

"I appreciate your resolve to win," Acqua said. "Impressive." He understood why it affected him so much. Normally, even with a spell like this, a normal person would only feel a slight weight difference. Acqua's list of sins, however, was quite long. His beliefs lead him to do many things he was not proud of, but his reasons for doing them did not change. The number of people who fell at his hand was almost endless. "However," he added. "Such a spell is wasted against me."

"What…?" the nun said and she gasped as the spell broke. "How?"

"I could tell you," Acqua said as he raised his mace. "But I have wasted enough time already and have a mission to accomplish." The knight charged forward as Acqua swing his mace down. The knight's plan was to reduce the momentum of the attack before the swing allowed the full force of the strike to hit them. He rammed his shield into Acqua's mace about halfway through the swing. It did not do anything noticeable, because the shield simply shattered and the knight was thrown back from the blow, pieces of his armor flying in every direction. "I doubt you would be able to comprehend it anyways. Take solace in the fact you have stood this long before me." He raised his mace as the three nuns looked on in fear, they did not have the ability to avoid his blows. He brought the mace down with enough force to destroy everything in its path.

The nuns shut their eyes as a gust of wind from a shockwave knocked them down.

But they survived.

When they opened their eyes they saw a female with long black hair holding a two meter long sword. The sword was still sheathed and the young woman had both of her hands on the sword to withstand the direct blow from Acqua. Kaori Kanzaki looked back at the nuns and said simply, "Retreat, I will handle this." The nuns nodded and fled as they realized they would not be any use in a fight between Saints. Kaori turned to Acqua. "I see the rumors that you have returned are true. I take it you are after Touma Kamijou then too?"

"I am here to take him back with me," Acqua said, leaning his weapon against his shoulder again and then took a step back. "That is my mission, no more and no less. If you tell me where he is, no one else will need to be involved."

"I see," Kaori said softly as she took a step back. She withdrew her sword from her sheath. "I will not let you take him. He has done so much for us, and me, that I will not let you hurt him."

"I was told the Saint of the Far East, leader of the Amakusa, hated fighting," Acqua commented. "Do you truly wish to fight me?"

"I do."

"Do you have any last words then?" Acqua asked shifting the weight of his body slightly.

"We may both be Saints," Kaori said raising her sword while shifting her body. "But I am interested in how you broke their Weight of Sins punishment spell so effortlessly."

"As respect to your strength and resolve," replied Acqua. "I will tell you what you are facing. My attribute mirrors Archangel Gabriel, the Power of God. Gabriel was the angel who delivered the prophecy to the Divine Mother about the birth of the savior. With this connection, I can use the power of the Divine Mother's Worship. As a member of God's Right Seat, I can use that power to be blessed with the gift of the Divine Mother's Mercy, the ability to negate any punishment. The Divine Mother gave birth to the Son of God. She may have been mortal, but she held a special bond with God, a single unique existence. All humans are born with the original sin, we of God's Right Seat have taken steps to weaken it within ourselves, but the Son of God was born without that sin. To do this, the Divine Mother's body purified the sin from the Son. She also had the power to save others from sin."

Kaori understood what he meant. Gabriel was the angel associated with punishing sinners and saving believers. She was the one who rained destruction down upon Sodom and Gomorrah when the city had been completely consumed by sin. Acqua's bond with Gabriel would only intensify his connection with the Divine Mother. With the power of the Divine Mother's Mercy, spells that reply on sin or punishment were useless. The nuns had replied on a spell to use the weight of Acqua's sins but, with his power, even the sin of killing was nullified. To defeat him, she would have to use her strength to stand before him.

Their eyes met as they stared at each other.

The Saint, who only had the desire to protect a boy who meant so much to her, moved her blade.

The Saint, who only had the desire to complete his mission and remove all obstacles, raised his mace high.

As the two forces clashed, the land itself recoiled from their power.

* * *

"We got to go," Itsuwa called urgently to Misaki. "I just got word from Agnese."

"What's happening?" Misaki asked quickly, but she heard the urgency in Itsuwa's voice so she followed her to the car.

"I'll explain in a moment," Itsuwa replied and they hopped into the car and took off toward the mall. After they were driving on the actual roads, Misaki noticed they were speeding, Itsuwa turned back to her. "An issue occurred on our side and it appears The Fallen may not be the only problem right now."

"Huh?" Misaki asked. 'What could be worse?"

"It appears one of the princesses may be leading a coup against the Queen," Itsuwa quickly explained and continued as Misaki opened her mouth. "The knights have already begun moving against the church's bases. St. George's Cathedral has already fallen, but we moved all the dangerous items out of it as soon as Agnese sent out the warning. While the public is mostly unaware at this time, some of the police are rounding up people in smaller cities. We need to meet up with the others at the mall and get everyone out of the city. Can you help me convince them with your ability? I know there's a small group who doesn't know about magic."

"What about Touma and Misaka-san?" Misaki questioned. While she might be willing to warn the others, Touma always was a more pressing matter for her.

"They are with Agnese," Itsuwa revealed. "They captured a member of New Light, but it appears they transferred the contents they had to the designated individual. We have little time and they are going to meet us at the hotel outside the city when they finish their half. Everyone else should be at the mall by now and will be shuttled out of the city as fast as possible."

"I don't like leaving them," Misaki muttered, but she had to concede in the end. _Her plan is sound and Touma and Misaka are both capable of taking care of themselves and Accelerator can go get beaten up for all I care. ARG, I hate the fact Misaka is alone with him._ She turned to look at Itsuwa. _She sure is reliable in an emergency. I see why Touma spoke highly of her. After this is over, I may need to explain to her why she should give up._ Itsuwa managed to weave in and out of several other vehicles on the road before they ended up near the mall where everyone else was supposed to be. Itsuwa felt Misaki stare at her, but didn't know why, and sweat formed on her forehead.

Things never happen the way they expect though.

* * *

"Are we finally meeting everyone at the mall?" Kazari asked as she, Ruiko, Kuroko, Last Order and their guide had just gotten back on the bus.

"Aww," Ruiko said wrapping her arms over Kazari's shoulders from behind. "Is someone missing their boyfriend?"

"Maybe…" Kazari replied blushing slightly. "But I also want to know what happened with Misaka-san and Kamijou-san's meeting with the Queen."

"We haven't heard any announcements of them being jailed," Kuroko added. "So I bet Accelerator and the ape kept at least a modicum amount of restraint and etiquette."

"MISAKA told you Accelerator would MISAKA announces as MISAKA is pleased her prediction came true."

"We would have been there sooner if someone didn't notice a French clothing store and demand we stop," Ruiko said and glanced at Kuroko.

"They do not have a store like that in Academy City," Kuroko huffed looking unembarrassed. "That chain doesn't have many stores worldwide and only allow you to buy in stores, not online. Besides," she motion to the back with their bags. "You and Uiharu bought something too."

"They had some really nice things," admitted Ruiko. "Though, I pretty much went through most of my vacation money today." She looked down slightly depressed. "Uiharu at least can trick Kagere-san into buying her stuff when they meet up at the mall." She nudged Kazari with her elbow smirking.

"I wouldn't do that," Kazari said indigently. "It feels wrong to use guys like that."

"Nah," Kuroko said dismissively. "You should do it. That's what he is good for I guess." She, of course, was perfectly ok with people using Jason. _If Uiharu benefits and he doesn't, it's a good day._ She looked out the window. "At least that store had what I wanted. It took a while to find the perfect summer outfit." _I can't wait to show it to onee-sama, plus I found something nice for her birthday._ She noticed something odd though. She could see the mall in the distance, but the bus turned down a side road and made a U-turn back the way they came. She looked at the driver and saw their guide on the phone while talking to the driver. "Hey," she called out getting to her feet and walking over to them. "What's going on? Why are we turning around?" She was aware Ruiko, Kazari, and Last Order's eyes turned to look at her.

Their guide looked at the driver, who gave a brief nod, and she turned back to them. "There has been an emergency and we are picking up a couple of people. Stiyl will explain everything when he boards."

"He's so rude," Kuroko muttered, but she kept her complaints to herself. She could feel the tension in the air. _Something big is happening on their side._ She moved to the middle of the bus with the others.

"What's happening?" Ruiko asked quietly.

"They didn't tell me much," Kuroko said. "There's been an emergency and we are picking up some people."

"I hope everything is ok," Kazari whispered. "If they have gotten this serious, something big must have happened." Last Order was shifting her gaze between all three of them, but did not say anything as she did not have knowledge of magic.

"They said Stiyl was going to be one of the people boarding," Kuroko added.

"I doubt we will get much from him," Ruiko sighed. "He doesn't talk much." The others sighed too as they knew how tight lip he could be. They didn't talk much while the bus rolled along the road, but they occasionally glanced at each other. The bus took a less conspicuous side road and came to a stop. A moment later Stiyl entered and was followed by five nuns, all of whom were carrying gym bags full of unknown items. As soon as they entered, the bus started moving. Stiyl was muttering to the driver and pointing at a map. The driver nodded and muttered something back. It was only then Stiyl stood up straight and walked to where the girls were.

"Sorry about this," he said lighting a cigarette and Kuroko glared at him. He must have realized what she was mad about so he inhaled deeply before putting it out. "State of emergency, so we needed to commandeer the bus." He didn't look like he was sorry. It was more a look saying, I did what I had to do, deal with it.

"What happened," Kuroko asked him. "Judging by her tone," she indicated the guide, "something serious happened."

"Arg," Stiyl glared outing his hand over his face. "I don't want you all to get involved anymore, but I guess it's too late. The Fallen is not the only issue we face right now in England. It turns out one of the princesses is staging a coup against the Queen. She controls most of the knights and police in England."

"WHAT!" Ruiko, Kazari, and Kuroko all gasped.

"What about everyone else, MISAKA asks as MISAKA worries about her friends."

"Kamijou and the Misaka girl have been warned and will meet us at the hotel," Stiyl explained. "That is our destination as it is outside of the city and not a major stronghold. Itsuwa is leading the team to evacuate your friends at the mall."

"What about Jason and Tsuchimikado-san?" Kazari asked immediately.

"They…" Stiyl said, but there was just a tiny pause, easy to miss, so only Kuroko managed to catch it. "Were found and taken to St. George's Cathedral. Kagere uses magic so we were able to track them down easily. They were planning something before the coup started and we evacuated them with the others."

"That's good," Ruiko said relieved.

"Thank you for helping them…," Kazari started to say, but Kuroko spoke up.

"You are lying," she said suddenly and Kazari and Ruiko turned to look at her.

"What do you mean Shirai-san?" Ruiko asked.

"He doesn't know where they are," Kuroko explained glaring at Stiyl. "And if he is lying about that, he might not know where the others are either." Stiyl met her glare with his own, looking irritated she caught him.

"Is she telling the truth?" Kazari asked.

"Fine," Stiyl said glaring back at Kuroko. "Kagere helped us with a church matter and was last seen at St. George's Cathedral. Shortly after we received word of the coup, we had to take preventive actions against the princess's forces, and I lost track of him. He knows were to meet us though. While I don't know the exact status of your other friends, at this time, they are with Itsuwa and Agnese so they should be fine. Both of them know we plan to meet at the hotel."

"You should have told us that first," Kuroko said trying to keep her voice calm, but her face was turning red in anger and her voice was shaking. "Onee-sama and the others could be in trouble now and you are keeping secrets from us."

"Shirai-san," Kazari said weakly. "You should calm down."

"This is a magic side operation," Stiyl said also trying to keep his voice calm, but his irritation was seeping out. The nuns were deliberately looking away from them as the tension in the air thickened. "Some of you may force your way into our matters, but there is a limit. You will just get hurt if you try to interfere with it and possibly make things worse."

"I don't care," Kuroko fumed. "I'm not going to sit back and do nothing." She turned to Kazari, Ruiko, and Last Order. "I can search faster on my own, go with them." Before any of them could say anything, Kuroko disappeared and reappeared outside of the bus. She kept teleporting into the distance and quickly disappeared.

"DAMN IT!" Stiyl yelled slamming his fist on the wall of the bus in anger. "Fine, if she gets hurt it's not my fault." The other nuns clutched their bags close to them, but still did not say anything. The bus continued to move down the street, heading for the city limits.

"I hope Shirai-san is ok," Kazari muttered to Ruiko. "She shouldn't have run off like that." She pulled out her phone and looked at it, questioning if she should call Kuroko and try to get her to come back.

"I don't like the fact Stiyl lied," Ruiko replied quietly and gave him a quick glance. "I know he had his reasons, but still…"

"MISAKA believes our friends will be ok MISAKA interrupts as MISAKA pats your shoulders."

"Thanks Last Order," Kazari said smiling at her. "I believe in them."

"Touma will make sure everyone gets back for sure," Ruiko declared. "He's never let us down before. Misaka-san, Shokuhou-san, Accelerator-san and the others are also strong. I doubt they would get captured so easily."

* * *

A little earlier, back at St. George's Cathedral, Jason was leaning up against a wall watching several of the nuns run into the lower catacombs. He had a hand to his mouth and was on the verge of vomiting. His face was a sickly green and he was leaning up against the wall to steady himself while looking nonchalant. He was mostly fine, until a short while ago, when something hit him and his health deteriorated suddenly. _Damn it, why am I so sick all the time._

 _It just became worse to be in this country ._ Jason frowned in response to its whispering.

After he had captured Floris, the nuns had arrived before he had time to thoroughly inspect the case. He went with them to try to find out more information about the magical items Floris possessed but, of course, the church didn't share their findings and it annoyed him. From what he understood, based on a few short sentences he heard, someone was throwing a coup against the UK. He didn't hear who, but it seems like they controlled most of the knight and police forces. He looked over at Floris bound to the floor and leaning up against the same wall, several runes placed on her. She glared at him when she saw him looking at her. "Thanks a lot," she said sarcastically. "Now the knights are going to kill me to keep me quiet."

Jason looked around and didn't see any more of the church's nuns. "It seems they did flee and leave you behind."

"They don't care about people once they lose their resourcefulness," Floris said. "Once the knights break through the church's defenses, I will be taken away." Jason felt a slight twinge of pity looking at her bound and helpless. A boom was heard as something pounded on the cathedral's main doors.

"How about a deal then?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" questioned Floris as she gazed at him suspiciously.

"I am willing to let you go on the condition you deliver something for me," Jason explained quickly. "You are a courier aren't you?"

"I doubt you can hold off the knights long enough for me to escape," Floris laughed. "But to humor you, what would I have to deliver?"

"Just a message," Jason said and grabbed a piece of paper and tore it into two pieces. He wrote on both of them and then folded them in half. "One is the message I want you to deliver, the other is a way to get out of trouble if you run into a church member."

"You have that kind of sway with them?" asked Floris.

"They owe me," Jason replied grinning. Another boom echoed through the cathedral and the door started to crack. "You better make up your mind fast."

"I don't want to die like this," Floris said. "So fine, I'll deliver your message."

"Excellent." His shadow turned into a hand and reached down toward Floris. The hand sent mana into the runes, temporarily disabling them as it peeled them off. He reached down and helped Floris to her feet. "If you betray me, I'll track you down and make you regret it." He grinned at her, but she felt a shiver down her spine. He told her the address as a final boom was heard and the front doors exploded. Several knights started to rush in.

"Get on the floor and surrender!" one of them yelled raising a sword. "Or we will kill you!"

"Surrender?" laughed Jason putting a hand over his face. "You all don't know me very well." His eyes narrowed slightly as he felt it. _SHIT, they have Telesma? I thought they would just be regular magic knights._

 _No, it's perfect._

 _Huh?_

 _Just fight like you normally do. The Shadow can handle this Telesma._

"Run when you get a chance," muttered Jason to Floris and she nodded. Suddenly, his shadow exploded from behind him into large tendrils and knocked the closest knight back into the others. For just a moment, Jason felt the Telesma weaken in the knight and he didn't know why. Nor could he spare the time to think about it as the rest of the knights rushed at him and it took all his concentration to keep them at bay. The Telesma was powering them up and giving them vastly increased abilities.

"One of The Fallen's leaders is here!" a knight called out. "Notify the Knight Commander!"

Jason blinked in surprised. "Woah there," he said hastily, raising his hands as Floris bolted out a side exit. "There seems to be some kind of mistake. I'm not a member of The Fallen…"

His words fell on deaf ears.

* * *

Explosions echoed across the empty field as Kaori and Acqua exchanged blows. Each time their weapons collided, sparks and a shockwave were produced, destroying everything in their immediate vicinity. The ground was torn, trees snapped in half, and bushes were ripped form the ground. Kaori could draw her blade so fast, that normal people couldn't even see the blur of her blade. As the former leader of Amakusa, she knew a wide variety of a spells and would use the spells best suited for the situation. If Christian spells were ineffective, she would use Buddhist spells. If Buddhist spells were ineffective, she would use Shinto spells. If Shinto spells were ineffective, she would use Christian spells.

However, none of that was effective against Acqua.

Acqua was a member of God's Right Seat and has access to a wide variety of knowledge through the Roman Catholic Church. It was obvious to Kaori he knew just as many, if not more, spells then she did. Acqua was also a Saint and could match her attacks blow for blow. Kaori jumped over the mace as Acqua swung it horizontally. She swung her blade downwards at his head, but he shifted out of the way. He moved, but a more accurate term would be glided away in a fluid motion without even raising his feet. Her sword swung harmlessly though the air and as soon as she touched the ground, she was forced to jump backwards to avoid Acqua's next blow. His mace crushed the ground where she had stood less than a second ago. _That movement is not normal, even for a Saint. How is he doing that?_

She didn't have much time to think as Acqua pressed his advantage and swung his mace upwards, bringing up a torrent of dirt and grass. The dirt clouded her view for only a moment, but in battle between super humans, a single moment can be deadly. She dashed to the side only to find the mace moving directly toward her head. She moved her sword in front of herself and the weapons collided again. She was off balance and the blow threw her backwards twenty feet. She twisted her body in midair and managed to land on her feet. Her blade was raised in a defensive stance as she slowly stepped to the side, not taking her eyes of Acqua.

"How exciting," Acqua commented as he waved the five meter mace, that looked like a lance, as easily as a kid with a stick. "It has been so long since I have fought another Saint. Please don't tell me you are going to give up. I have only begun to warm up." He had a mission to capture Touma, but he enjoyed a worthy challenge too. What made this great for him was they coincided with each other. Kaori would prevent him from accomplishing his mission so she had to be eliminated. That meant the fight was not a waste of time.

"I was just testing the waters," Kaori said as she continued to shift to the side looking for Acqua to reveal a single opening from his over confidence. _I need to figure out his high speed movement spell, but from our spies, God's Right Seat can't use normal spells for some reason. It has to be part of them gaining their unique powers like his Divine Mother's Mercy._ She saw the shift in Acqua's center of gravity and she lunged forward instantly. Their weapons rang as they struck each other and stopped. Both of them gazed into each other's eyes and both saw only resolve, but for completely different reasons. They both jumped back and dashed towards each other again. Each time their weapons hit, the top layer of ground around them was blown away from their power. They appeared evenly matched.

But that was not the case.

Kaori's initial strikes were evenly matched with Acqua's, but she was beginning to feel the strain of exchanging these blows. Each time their weapons struck each other, she felt the shockwave travel through her arms. She didn't want to admit it, but her arms were getting tired and she would not be able to maintain her power forever. What was worst, Acqua's blows seemed to be steadily increasing in strength. _How is he so strong? This isn't normal for a Saint._ Acqua suddenly disappeared from her line of sight. She ducked and rolled out of the way as his mace passed over her head. She swung her blade at him, while the mace was too far away to be used as a shield, but Acqua managed to glide backwards without even lifting his feet.

"Are you getting tired already?" Acqua asked. "And here I thought this would be a challeng…" He stopped when he saw something shiny fly in the air around him. Seven wires surrounded him and began to split into even more as they begun to weave and overlap. This was Kaori's main attack the Nanasen, also known as seven flashes. There was no space for him to dodge, so the wires wrapped around Acqua and his weapon. Kaori did not stop there as she was not going to hold back against another Saint. Using her wires as a three dimensional magic circle, she created powerful offensive and defensive spells, such as when she blocked Wrath's flame form on the beach. Acqua was suddenly surrounded by bright red flames. The flames around him exploded and he disappeared from view, though Kaori did not worry. The wires would tell her where he was. She gritted her teeth as the wires broke and she had to instantly move to avoid his mace coming at her head. The wires disappeared as she raised her sword in attack position against Acqua.

"An admirable effort," Acqua commented looking at her. He did not appeared injured, even his clothes were still fine. "If you had managed to finish me off quickly, you might have had a chance, but now it is too late." Kaori did not know what he meant and, as she opened her mouth, she felt it. It had begun to rain. It wasn't a torrential downpour, so it did not block everything from view, but it was hard enough to make sure everything was sufficiently soaked in just a few minutes.

"Do you think I am going to be bothered over a little rain?" Kaori asked.

"Yes," Acqua answered. "Remember, I have the same attribute of Gabriel, who is aligned with the element of water."

Kaori's eyes widened as she understood what he meant. They were now being surrounded by water which would just increase Acqua's power. "Members of God's Right Seat shouldn't be able to use normal magic."

"I see you have done your research," Acqua said raising an eyebrow. "Normally, that is true. If we tried to use normal magic, the backlash with the powers similar to God's would cause severe punishment within our bodies." He watched as Kaori's eyes widened further as she processed the true meaning of his words. Their bodies were punished by using normal magic as a member of God's Right Seat, but his particular power, Divine Mother's Mercy, removed all punishment.

 _He can use normal magic too,_ Kaori thought as she figured out how Acqua could do his unusual high speed gliding movement. He controlled a small amount of water under his feet to glide on all surfaces, like an ice skater on an ice rink. _Is there any limit to his power?_ She raised her sword again and watched him closely. "It doesn't matter," she said, her voice calmer then she really was. "I will still fight."

"I admire your resolve," Acqua said honestly. "Because of that, I will use all my power to defeat you." He traced a symbol with the rain water on his mace. The rain around him started to twist unnaturally in the air and surround Kaori. Her eyes darted back and forth, her blade still held high, as she prepared for his attack. In a 360 degree dome around her, the water formed hundreds of different weapons, swords, spears, maces, and more. A moment later, all the weapons made of water flew at Kaori. In response, she swung her sword and all the weapons were spliced into pieces, and then turned into steam. She had used Nanasen to channel her flame magic into the wires. As they sliced Acqua's water creations, the flames erupted and turned them into steam.

She couldn't stop to catch a break though. Acqua charged forward and swung his mace at her the moment her wires started striking his magic attacks. Kaori jumped, twisted her body, and struck the mace with her blade. The force of the blow threw her into the air, but she landed softly on her feet. Acqua continued to push his advantage summoning more weapons and creating whips of water to constantly attack her. Kaori would counter with her wires and flame magic. All the time both sides were clashing with their spells, their weapons struck each with enough force to blow normal people away. Sparks flew off with each hit and the sound of metal reverberating, made their blows appear like lighting. Neither side was giving an inch, but Acqua was slowly pressing his advantage. Kaori was knocked backwards, by the force of one his blows and she landed in a puddle.

 _Shit._

The moment she stepped in the small puddle, the water grabbed onto her food. All the rainwater around Kaori converged toward her and encased her in a sphere of water. The density of the water slowed her swing and the wires started to burn the water, but Acqua was replenishing it as fast as it was evaporating. There were bubbles coming from her lips as some air escaped her lungs. She could hold her breath for a very long time, due to her attributes of a Saint, but even a Saint had to breathe eventually. "What will you do now?" Acqua asked raising his mace effortlessly. "Drown, or be crushed by my mace?" He jumped, covering twenty feet instantly, and prepared to swing his weapon.

An explosion of bright red flames engulfed the location where Kaori stood, blowing the water away, and forcing Acqua to jump backwards to avoid being struck. The explosion faded away and Kaori stood in front of him, panting. Her clothes were slightly burnt but, overall, looked ok. "Quick judgment too," Acqua commented. Regardless of who he fought, a well thought out plan could still impress him. "But how much damage did you take? How much longer will you last?"

"I will keep fighting to my last breath," Kaori said raising her blade, but Acqua could tell her hand was shaking slightly.

"I see," he said sounding slightly disappointed. "I am not going to preach of ideals, on a battlefield they mean nothing. The strongest survive and the weak fall. We all have reasons to fight, but require the strength to back it up. When you take that step onto the battlefield, you accept those outcomes." The rain lessoned as he talked and stopped.

"You make it sound like you have already won," Kaori replied. She was glad the rain finally stopped. It hadn't rained long, but everything around them was wet. _At least his water magic will lesson._

"I am going to finish it with my next blow." He raised his hand, the one not holding the mace, into the air. Kaori didn't know what he was planning and moved her sword into a defensive position. The water around them started flowing into the air behind Acqua, converging in a single location and grew, creating a large sphere of water. The sphere began to rise into the air. "Remember, I have the same attribute as Archangel Gabriel. Do you know the other names commonly used to refer to that archangel?"

"Power of God," Kaori mumbled. "The Governor of Blue, Protector of the Rear Side, and Guardian of the Moon… It can't be…" Her eyes glanced toward the sky where the blue water sphere hovered in midair. It was still early afternoon and there was cloud cover, so the sky was blocked. However, she understood what Acqua did. _He created an artificial moon to augment his powers._ The water rippled to catch even the smallest ray of light slipping in through the clouds. The orb appeared to glow slightly as the light was reflected at just the right angles. Acqua jumped high into the air and raised the mace above his head. Kaori could feel an enormous power form behind him.

"The Divine Mother shall remove all evil."

Kaori bent her knees and prepared to jump to intercept Acqua to prevent him from casting his spell. A ripple of pain shot though her leg as she realized she took a lot of damage from her own fire. Her body had slowly accumulated damage from trading blows with Acqua. When she was forced to strike herself with her own magic, the damage merged and caused her leg to collapse for a moment. With no other choice, she swung her blade and created a barrier using all her wires to stop the attack.

As Acqua began to descend upon her, the power behind him grew exponentially. He brought his mace down with both hands, until now he only used one. The mace hit her shield and she felt it. The power was not in the mace, it was merely a symbol of good striking down evil. The true attack was the immense power he gathered that radiated its own pressure. All that power was brought down on Kaori, destroying her barrier like it was paper. An explosion of blue-white light erupted like a pillar. Anyone nearby would have felt the earth shudder from that blow, like a meteor had fallen. Acqua landed and watched the dust clear. He raised his eyebrow, ever so slightly, when he could see his opponent.

Kaori was on all fours, her sword lying on the ground next to her. Her hair was a mess, cloths town, and she was bleeding from cuts all over her body, but she was alive. Blood began to soak into her cloths. She looked up at him from the ground, her eyes only radiating anger, not only at Acqua, but at herself for being too weak to stop him. _His power is far beyond a normal Saint and I finally know why._ Saints may have enormous power compared to normal people, as their bodies mimic the Son of God, but they are not all powerful. Saints are weak to attacks that resemble how the Son of God was killed such as being stabbed, a crown of Thorns, and the crucifix. The other more common way was a Saint using too much power. Saints were still human and if they used their powers beyond what their bodies could handle, they would self-destruct. Kaori knew Acqua was drawing power far beyond what his body should be capable of, and she finally realized how.

"You survived," Acqua said. He did not say it in an impressed way, but simply stating a fact. "As you are in no condition to continue, if you tell me where the boy is, I will let you live." Acqua enjoyed a good fight, but he was willing to let people live if they agree to his conditions. If they did not, he would strike them down where they stood.

Kaori took a deep breath, grabbed her sword, and struggled to her feet. She glared at him and her hand tightened on her sword. "I finally figured it out."

"Oh?"

"Why you are so strong, even beyond the limits of a Saint. You taint the very nature of the Divine Mother's Mercy. The Divine Mother spent her time saving everyone equally. It did not matter if they were rich, poor, good, or evil. Her mercy was not made to be used this way. You use that power, not to save, but it remove your own burdens as you commit more and more sins. You lesson the punishment you should face for your choices, including lessoning the impact of your power on your body. You can use the full power of a Saint because of the Divine Mother's Mercy without destroying yourself. SO WHY DO YOU USE IT TO HURT OTHERS INSTEAD OF PROTECTING THEM?!"

"We of God's Right Seat are trying to save all of humanity," Acqua replied after a brief pause. "We do what we have to do, not just what is considered good." He raised his mace and leaned it against his shoulder while looking her over. "It is a shame to see a Saint in such a pitiful state. Now will you accept my offer, or will the world lose one of its Saints?"

"No," Kaori said simply. "I will never give up someone else to save myself, especially him. We may be called Saints, but that boy is more of one than either of us. He is just an ordinary boy willing to throw himself into a fight between people with powers far beyond his own, purely to save others. The world needs more people like him. I will not slink away with my tail between my legs. I will continue to fight, and I will stop you." Her blood dripped onto the ground below her but, when she stood up, she admitted an aura of pure strength.

"Bravado," Acqua said shaking his head. "To the point of foolishness." He was planning to end the fight with his next attack when they both paused. In the distance they heard a motorcycle. Kaori was puzzled, even more than Acqua was, because she had set up people clearing fields before she arrived. They both turned their eyes slightly, still keeping each other in view, towards the sound. A moment later, two people riding the motorcycle passed them. At first it looked like they were going to pass, but the boy on the back jumped off. His face was hidden by a mask, but his jump was unnaturally high and landed on his feet about fifty feet away from them and he scratched his neck. The girl driving the motorcycle drove off into the distance. Acqua could not feel any mana coming from him, but his instincts told him this person was not normal.

The person didn't say anything and simply took off his helmet, revealing his red eyes and pure white hair. "Wow Kanzaki," Accelerator commented. "You look like you got beaten pretty f#$%*& badly."

"You have to leave," Kaori shot back. "This guy is a Saint, you don't stand a chance." Accelerator stared at her for a moment, and burst out laughing.

"That's a good one," he laughed. "To think someone could stand before me. A Saint huh? The hero mentioned something about Saints once. They could take on an entire city at once, that's pretty cute. I was told I could take on the world's military without batting an eye. It might be fun to test out whose rumors are true. I was looking for someone on the magic side who won't faint after just one hit. I want to test some things."

"Leave kid," Acqua told him. "If you step forth onto the battlefield, I will show you no mercy."

Accelerator grinned. "Well, if you put it like that." He turned as if to walk away, and he brought his hand up to his neck to touch his collar. A moment later he took his hand and touched a nearby tree. His hand just sunk right into it like the tree was made of mud. He moved his arm up and the entire tree was effortlessly uprooted. He looked over at Acqua for a moment, and threw the tree like a spear. Acqua dodged it easily and put some distance between him and Kaori.

Acqua still did not feel any magic so he assumed the boy was part of Academy City and someone who knew Touma. "Who are you?" he asked.

"If you're a Saint," Accelerator said sarcastically. "I guess you can call me a Sinner."

The fight between the strongest ability user and a Saint, who was also a member of God's Right Seat, was about to begin.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Shizuri: What the hell? Where am I in all this?**

 **Frenda: Yea, basically we deserve screen time too.**

 **Me: I swear you will be in the next chapter and get to beat up people. Don't hurt me.**

 **Shizuri: We better.**

 **Misaki: Sucks, it looks like I'm going to meet them instead of Touma.**

 **Mikoto: Don't worry, I'll protect him.**

 **Misaki: I rather you not, you always turn into a wolf in those situations.**

 **Mikoto: What do you mean by that?**

 **Frenda: Basically, where is he anyways?**

 **Shizuri: He's with the other guys playing some nerd game through that door. If you're quiet you can hear them.**

…

 **Index: Touma no matter how much power, you can't just split your soul for immortality!**

 **Touma: For the last time it is just a game…**

 **Motoharu: I think it's weird how Kami-yan's character is becoming evil and Accelerator's character is killing everyone, but he's considered good.**

 **Accelerator: Violence solves all problems.**

 **Pierce: The only maid in the game still fell for him. DAMN YOU KAMIJOU!**


	46. S2 Bad to Worse

**Well, I hope everyone had a good holiday and didn't get hurt during Black Friday. Some people might be disappointed a big fight isn't going to happen, but I want to get every group roughly to the same point chronologically. There is a lot of stuff going on besides some major fights. I actually had to start making a time line for this chapter and the next.**

 **G96 Sabre: Thanks a lot for those kind words. You bring up an interesting point, as even in the LN he doesn't really change. I feel he has changed a little as he began to realize other people's feelings.**

 **DivineDemonDragon: They have, back in the early chapters. I said I was going to make some changes to the time line, but I suppose I could include a flashback of how Accelerator met Worst at some point. I'll keep that in mind.**

 **Guest with List: Motoharu calls him Kami-yan, Pierce calls him Kamijou I believe. Though I did realize I missed it at the end of the chapter and corrected it. Esper is the English way, but ability user is the more correct term. Anime she did, but books gave her black hair.**

 **So everyone wants Acqua vs Accelerator, I figured as much. Now, that fight is still being planned completely and I actually got a lot of ideas and advice from other people. Some people believe Accelerator would win and others Acqua. It's definitely going to be one of the biggest fights I have planned. But the ending might surprise all of you. No one can guess who will win.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

"Where the hell are the others?" Shizuri muttered to herself. She, Frenda, Saiai, and Rikou had finished shopping and everyone else had still not arrived. In their defense, they had taken quite a while, as evidence from the many bags next to them on a bench. But after several hours of making their way through every store that interested them in the slightest, they eventually had seen everything at the mall. "I needed Kamijou to take our stuff to the bus. I swear when he gets back…"

"Well you super had to buy half the mall," pointed out Saiai.

"…You should think of others Mugino…," Rikou added as she looking up at her from her seat.

"Are you saying this is my fault?" Shizuri asked coldly, narrowing her eyes.

"Of course not," Frenda said quickly shaking her head. "Basically, we all bought a lot of stuff, but you bought a lot more." She coward under Shizuri's glare, but then, to her relief, Shizuri sighed and leaned back on the chair she was sitting in and stared up at the ceiling. Frenda turned back to Saiai and started talking.

 _Why did I buy so much stuff?_ Shizuri wondered to herself. Buying clothes she didn't need really wasn't a big deal to her. After all, she made a lot of money working for the dark side of Academy City, so she could buy pretty much anything she wanted. When she got bored of an outfit she would just throw it out and get new ones. There were different designs in England then at Academy City but, even so, she bought more than she normally would have. It reminded her of a couple times she tended to go overboard when she was stressed, like if Frenda messed up during an important mission with her carelessness. She frowned and remembered what she thought when she bought the clothes. It definitely wasn't stress this time. She had been looking at a mirror, when she tried on some outfits that revealed a little more skin then she normally wore, and Touma's face came to the front of her mind. _F &^% this, I'm not some love stuck brat like the third and fifth. _She shook her head and turned her attention back to the others.

"Still seems weird for them to be gone so long," Frenda said. "Basically, you think they forgot about us?"

"If they did," Saiai said cracking her knuckles. "They will super regret it. Besides, all you care about is Kamijou being with the other girls."

"T-that's n-not t-true," stuttered Frenda. "Basically, I want to go sightseeing and we can't if we are stuck here, unless we want to grab a cab everywhere. Besides, you should be more worried about yourself. Accelerator hasn't even noticed you. He pays more attention to the two girls that came with him."

"I have more appeal them both of them put together," Saiai snapped. "You are super just trying to direct your insecurities onto me."

"Hah," Frenda said shrugging her shoulders and giving Saiai a shifty look. "He wasn't able to keep his eyes off my legs at the beach."

"You were just seeing things," Saiai retorted.

"…I'll root for both of you," Rikou interrupted. That caused both of them to stop talking, as the realized how loud they were getting, and turned to her.

"You two are just too passive," Shizuri said slightly bored, but couldn't resist teasing them a bit. The crowd around them was thinning out so they could talk louder without being over heard by to many people. "Frenda finally took a few steps, but you haven't made a real move. I'm surprised Accelerator even has an interest in girls, the way he acts. His friends keep making fun of him about it."

"Then do you have a suggestion?" Saiai asked.

"You could try…" Shizuri was going to suggest with an evil grin, but then she stopped. "There's our guide and the fifth. They finally arrived." Everyone else turned to see Itsuwa and Misaki looking around and, when they spotted Shizuri, they made a beeline directly toward her. "About f&*^%&# time you get here. Where is everyone else?"

"There has been a slight change in plans," Misaki said panting slightly. "We have to head back to the hotel." This got her some confused looks, and Shizuri narrowed her eyes at her.

"You better have an explanation for the shit that's coming out of your mouth," she said her voice ice cold. "Before I get angry."

"Would you be willing to let me explain everything through my ability?" Misaki asked. "It would be faster." She knew the attempt would be futile, but if she tried to do it by force, she would probably be killed.

"If you try to use your ability on me, or any one of us," Shizuri hissed. "I will make sure there is nothing left of you except a smudge on the ground."

"You are just as uncivilized as usual," Misaki retorted and they both glared at each other. Frenda, and Saiai raised their eyes in surprise, knowing the outcome if their argument continued. Sensing the same thing, Itsuwa immediately stepped in between them to prevent a fight breaking out as she knew time was of the essence.

"Please don't fight," Itsuwa interjected. "We don't have a lot of time." She turned to Shizuri and the others. "There has been an issue with the government. One of the princesses has started a coup to overthrow the Queen. Her forces have been systematically taking over the country. We want to get everyone out of the city before the main fighting begins." She knew Shizuri was the type of person to need the truth or she wouldn't act.

 _Wrong way to approach this,_ Misaki thought to herself. _Mugino is obsessed with fighting. She will probably want to join in, just for fun._

"Seriously!?" Frenda exclaimed.

"That sounds super exciting," Saiai added.

"…Mugino?" Rikou asked turning to face Shizuri. She hadn't done anything except raised her eyebrow in surprise. When Misaki had told her they were going to head back to the hotel, her first thought was one of the brats forgot something important. She was prepared to teach them life did not revolve around them. She did not expect Itsuwa to say there was a coup going on. She had several mixed emotions, but wasn't able to suppress the grin forming on her face.

"So a princess is starting a coup…," Shizuri mumbled. "I did not expect some royal brat to actually pull something off like that. I assumed they would just be some spoiled kids and act as a figure head. Consider me impress." She turned to the others. "I guess it would put a damper on our trip." Frenda, Saiai, and Rikou nodded, and then Shizuri turned back to Itsuwa. "So your plan was to get us out of the major city? Is everyone else out already?" _So that's why everyone hasn't returned._

"Yes," Itsuwa confirmed. "But everyone else is not out of the city yet." She sped up when Shizuri glared at her, but Itsuwa did not appear nervous. After all, she had entered mission mode and she would always try to act professionally. "Most of them have boarded the bus back. My job was to evacuate everyone left at the mall. We are still missing two others, have you seen them?"

You mean the teacher who looks like a brat and the pain in the a$$?" Shizuri asked. "They are around, I would just follow the people yelling. She tends to try to prank people."

"What about Kamijou?" Frenda asked Itsuwa.

"Due to some… unusual… circumstances," Itsuwa replied slowly, now looking slightly nervous as she relayed that new. "He got separated from the others and is being evacuated through different means."

Shizuri thought about this for a moment, and it did not escape her notice that Misaki's face had darkened at Itsuwa's words. "I see," she said. "I feel you holding some information back, but I suppose that's fine. I'll make you tell me everything later." Itsuwa felt sweat form on her brow and began to dread when later would finally arrive. "So let's hear your plan."

"We have a car," Itsuwa said. "But it will only hold five. Another car is going to meet with us momentarily to take everyone else."

"Can't we stay and super watch the fighting?" Saiai asked hopefully.

"Maybe later," Shizuri said grinning. "Frenda's going to freak out if we don't find him first."

"MUGINO!" Frenda cried while her face turned red.

"Ok," Misaki said. "Then all we need to do is find Worst and Komoe-s..." Her words were interrupted by a loud boom and then several people started screaming. They all turned to look in the direction of the noise. Some smoke was rising from one of the entrances and several people in police uniforms were spreading out through the mall and rounding up all the civilians. Behind them, countless people in full knight armor were marching in.

"We are too late," Itsuwa said, putting her spear together. "Those forces are Princess Carissa's. I bet the mall is surrounded. I heard rumors they were rounding up civilians. Looks like we need to fight our way out. I'm glad we didn't park the car right next to the mall."

"This looks like fun," Shizuri said while standing up and stretching. "Everyone, get into your positions and be ready for a fight." She looked over at Itsuwa. "Which exit is closest to your vehicle?"

"That one," Itsuwa said pointing. "Far side from where we are. We better hurry. I don't think we have time to find the others, unless they are on the way." They started running toward the exit, leaving their bags behind. Normally, running through the mall would have made them look suspicious, but because of the explosion, everyone was running around in panic. Police officers were rounding up people, while the knights prevented anyone from leaving. As the exit came into view, they heard someone familiar.

"Misaka swears she was only borrowing it." Misaki turned and saw Worst trapped in a corner, holding a small snake, with two policemen surrounding her.

"You are under arrest," one of them said. "You will come…" To Worst's surprise, they both collapsed on the ground. She looked up and saw Misaki walking toward her, a remote in hand, with their guide, Shizuri, Frenda, Saiai, and Rikou standing behind her.

"Not bad," Worst said impressed petting her snake. "If you work with Misaka, there's no limit to the mischief we can achieve."

"Now's not the time," Misaki said quickly. 'We got to get out of here."

"Misaka doesn't think she did anything that bad," Worst said. "But you are probably right. There are other places needing Misaka's special touch."

"There's a lot more than that," Misaki said impatiently. "The world doesn't center around your antics. Where is Komoe-sensei? She was with you, right?"

"She was rounded up by some police," Worst replied. "Misaka was too fast and got away from them."

"That's not good," Itsuwa said walking up and frowning. "She shouldn't be hurt though, because she is just a normal person. If she doesn't cause any problems, she will just be locked up with everyone else."

"We will have to save her later then," Misaki said. "First, we need to get out of here and rendezvous with the others."

"If you two are done chatting," Shizuri called to them. "Things are about to get ugly."

"Basically," Frenda added. "There are quite a few guards at the exit."

"I hope they are strong," Saiai said. "Otherwise, they are all super dead." Misaki, Itsuwa, and Worst ran back to them and saw a row of police officers, with a row of knights behind them. One of the officers was yelling into a megaphone.

"Everyone remain calm," he said. "You will all be escorted to a holding facility. No one will be harmed as long as everyone complies." He put down the megaphone and looked directly toward the girls. "This means all of you too. You, girl," he pointed toward Itsuwa, "Drop your weapon."

"Looks like it's the fun way," Shizuri said grinning.

"Let me try first," Misaki said whipping out a remote. "My power's a lot more civilized then yours." Shizuri glared at her, but Misaki ignored her. She pressed the button and concentrated her ability towards the group blocking their path. The police officers immediately went limp and started moving off to the side, out of their way. Misaki frowned to herself though. _The knight's minds are shielded. I can't be sure if it is the helmets or their magical protection, either way, I have to leave it up to them. We don't have time to bypass their defenses one at a time._ "The armored knights have shielded minds. It would take time to try to break through. Try not to kill them."

"No promises," Shizuri said cracking her knuckles and taking a step forward.

The knights realized the police were being controlled or manipulated. "One of them can control minds, keep your minds sharp and advance. Take them alive if possible, if not, kill them all. We are backed by the leader of angels." The other knights raised their weapons and started to flank their group. Shizuri grinned.

"You seem tough," she said holding out her right hand, four green orbs formed and started spinning in her hand.

"I don't sense any magic coming from her," one of the knights called out as he slowed down and began approaching her cautiously.

"Magic?" Shizuri said slightly confused, but then laughed. "You are all adults and still believe in that shit. Let me show you what science is then." A large, bright, green beam shot out of each orb, too fast for anyone to react, and each one hit a knight directly in the chest. An explosion followed each hit and they were blocked from sight. A moment later, the four guards were lying down on the ground, their armor completely destroyed. "Wow," Shizuri commented impressed. "They are all still alive. What the hell is that armor made of?"

"It's super weird all of the armored shattered and not just the front half," added Saiai. "I wonder if that's how they survived."

"If you call that surviving," Frenda said shrugging. "Basically, their entire body is covered in burns and they probably won't live without immediate medical attention."

 _How can they talk about injuring people like that so easily?_ Misaki thought to herself, disgusted at their actions, as she started concentrating on one of the remaining knights. She figured it would be important to learn how to bypass their defenses since she didn't know how many of them they were going to have to fight. To her, the shielding of their mind was different then she normally encounters with other mental ability users. _It more closely resembles Lust's magic, but even now, it's still different. I guess magic has a lot of variety like our abilities._ One of the knights charged at them and raised his sword.

"Oh no you don't," Saiai said, and she slid on the ground below the knight. She kicked him in the leg and he came crashing down onto the ground. She jumped up to her feet and grabbed him by the ankle. Saiai lifted him up, almost effortlessly, and threw him into a wall. She grinned as she heard the resounding crash. "It's super too early to challenge us."

"I haven't let lose for a while," Frenda said happily and reached under her skit. She pulled out several handheld missiles, which she lit and they flew off toward two more of the knights. A barrage of explosions and dust concealed them from view. When the dust cleared, both of the knights were still standing, but their armor was a lot scruffier looking. "Man their armor is tough. Basically it has to be if they don't die immediately from your ability Mugino."

"I'm kind of interested in what they made it out of," Shizuri said slightly impressed. "Maybe when this dies down, we should steal a suit." Her eyes turned to the last knight as he jumped forward to attack them. Before she could use her ability, Itsuwa jumped past her swinging her spear. A small explosion from the end of her weapon caused the knight to get flung backwards. Itsuwa landed daintily on her feet and kept the end of her spear facing them. "So you can fight too. It's almost like you were deliberately assigned to be our guide. We have a lot to talk about when we get out of here." Itsuwa felt the sweat appear on her forehead again. Shizuri turned and fire two more of her green beams at the knights hit by Frenda's explosions. Their armor was destroyed while the men fell to the ground covered in serious burns and smoking slightly. Itsuwa was about to attack the last one again, but the knight suddenly slumped to the ground and seemed to fall asleep.

"Finally," Misaki said cheerfully. "Their defenses are weird, but I think I know how to bypass them now."

"Their armor is really nice," Frenda said. "Basically if they can handle Mugino's Meltdowner, the helmet is probably weakening your ability too."

"Misaka didn't even get a chance to do anything," Worst said slightly disappointed she didn't get to hurt anyone.

"There's more to it than that," Itsuwa interrupted them. "Their armor is designed to transfer damage they would receive to the actual armor. I know a similar spell, but we should get moving."

"Don't think you will be leaving alive," a voice called out and they all turned to see the knight Saiai had thrown into the wall stand up. He had pulled out his sword and it appeared to be glowing slightly. "I don't know what sick power you all have, but it ends here." Instead of charging them, which was proven to be a futile attempt, the knight swung his sword at a nearby column. The sword went right through the concrete like butter. He had cut at an angle which caused the column to slide down and break from the ceiling under its own weight. It began to fall at them, with pieces raining down. A moment later, two bright green beams appeared next to Shizuri, one hit the knight and the other hit the top half of the column to prevent it from slamming down on them. Shizuri had reacted on instinct, most of them could have dodged it, but that was all twenty-twenty hindsight. While the knight was incapacitated, another problem occurred.

Her Meltdowner beam caused the column to explode and larger chunks of concreate started raining down on all of them.

It wasn't a bother for a couple of them. Saiai's Offensive Armor protected her, even if she got knocked around by a large piece of rubble, Shizuri just blasted any that came at her, and a large part of the wall behind it was destroyed as a result, while Frenda and Itsuwa had good enough reflexes to dodge them, and Worst was far enough back to avoid the rubble easily. That still left problems for Misaki and Rikou. Misaki had absolutely no athletic abilities, so dodging falling rocks would be impossible for her, except for dumb luck. Luckily, Itsuwa noticed this and was able to save her by knocking away the debris with her spear. Rikou on the other hand wasn't so lucky. She was ITEM's tracker and while she had decent athletic abilities, it wasn't enough. Saiai tried to cover her, but she was a lot smaller than Rikou, and a piece of concreate hit Rikou in the head, causing her to collapse. When the rubble cleared, everyone else was ok.

"Takitsubo!" Frenda called out rushing over to her.

"…Ouch," Rikou said weakly on the ground. "I'm ok Frenda…"

"Pick her up and let's go," Shizuri commanded them. Saiai and Frenda nodded and helped support Rikou onto her feet. Shizuri turned to Itsuwa. "Lead the way to your vehicle." Itsuwa nodded and led the way while everyone else followed. Misaki was in the back and she stopped for a moment and reached down and picked up a small case.

 _It must have fallen out of her pocket when she got hit,_ Misaki thought. Curiosity filled her and she opened it. Inside of the container appeared to be a fine powder. _What is this? Is she a drug user?_ She couldn't resist the urge to see what it is and put her hand into her bag, around one of her remotes. She was careful to only hit Rikou with it. _I've never heard of body crystal before. It seems to boost abilities, but why isn't it readily distributed._ She didn't have time to continue to peruse Rikou's mind, as she had to almost run to keep up with the others. Eventually, they managed to reach the car before any other unwanted forces found them. They ran into another problem though.

The car was designed for, at most, five people. They could probably squeeze a sixth in, but that means one of them would have to stay behind. It was doubtful they all could fit inside such a small car. Shizuri also appeared to realize the problem. "You think we can all fit in that tiny piece of crap?"

"The other car has not arrived yet," Itsuwa apologized. "I don't know when they will be here, or even if."

"She needs to get out of here anyways," Frenda said referring to Rikou. "Basically, she's in no condition to stay here."

"We don't have a reason to stay either," Shizuri said making an annoyed sound with her mouth. "The alarm has probably gone out by now and they will be looking for us."

"Then I have an idea," Misaki interjected. "My ability will let me remain hidden. You all can go without me."

"But…" Itsuwa started to say but Shizuri cut her off.

"You make a good point," Shizuri grudgingly admitted. "None of our abilities are quite useful for remaining undercover. Plus, I don't care if you get yourself killed playing the hero. Have fun, I have a lot of questions for her." She pointed to Itsuwa and then turned toward the car. Everyone, except Itsuwa, got into the car. Even Worst, though that was because she didn't really care about others. Itsuwa turned to Misaki before she got into the driver's seat.

"I will make sure help arrives," she said and Misaki say fire in her eyes. "Stay safe."

"I will," Misaki nodded while smiling. "I think I'm more worried about you." Itsuwa sighed and her face paled slightly, before she got into the car. Misaki watched them go, knowing Itsuwa would keep her promise. However, her actions were not entirely noble. She had already gone over several plans in her head and chose this one. While it was true she had the best ability to remain undetected, but there was a lot more. She wouldn't be able to locate Touma as easily from the hotel. She was determined not to leave the city until she was sure he was ok. _I lost him once because I was weak, not again._ She moved deeper into the city to start reconnaissance. If she found anyone else beforehand, she would help if possible, but she wasn't planning to go out of her way to find them.

* * *

"How's Lessar?" Touma asked leaning against a wall as Mikoto walked out of a room. Agnese had taken them to a small safe house where another nun, from her forces, was hiding. According to Agnese, she specialized in healing spells, but Touma had to stay out of the room until it was finished because of his hand. The house was small and unassuming, a little out of central London, so they figured they wouldn't be found easily. There was a hidden passageway below the house to escape into the catacombs below, if absolutely needed.

"She's conscious but still weak from blood loss," Mikoto replied, but she looked relieved. "The healing is finished and all she really needs is to rest. Are you still worried about Index?"

"Yea," Touma sighed, depressed. Index had gone with Carissa and now Index was her hostage. Agnese had informed them she was captured, but kept reassuring him she would be fine. Carissa would want to keep her alive because of her knowledge. "I should have gone with her." He knew he couldn't rally have done anything, but he at least wanted the chance to try to save his friend.

"Don't talk like that," Mikoto said patting him on the back. "Berating yourself isn't going to help. Once we find everyone, we can organize a rescue." Touma looked at her and saw her staring at him with compassion and determination.

"Thanks a lot Mikoto," Touma said feeling a lot better. He smiled at her and she felt her face grow warm.

"You can come in boy," Agnese called from the room. Touma and Mikoto turned around and entered. Lessar had been moved to the bed in the corner of the room and she was now sitting up against a pillow and looking at them all suspiciously. Her face was quite pale, but otherwise looked ok. Agnese was sitting in a chair watching Lessar, but turned to look at Touma when he entered. The other young girl, who had performed the actual healing, was putting the blood stained clothes and rags into a basket and left the room.

"I know she wasn't our ally," Touma said to Agnese. "But thanks for taking care of her wounds."

"We are part of the church you know," Agnese huffed, but a slightly pink tinge appeared on her cheeks at his thanks. "Helping others is what we do."

"Healing magic is really useful," Mikoto added impressed. "I wish we knew someone with an ability that convenient." Touma nodded in agreement. As part of the science side, they had to reply on medicine and surgeries for major wounds.

"So what are you going to do with me?" Lessar asked. "I doubt you just healed me out of the kindness of your heart."

"Hey!" Mikoto said indignantly. "We saved you because we wanted to."

"Though if you want to give up information," Agnese added. "That would be alright too. We know you were a courier for Curtana Original, but that isn't technically against any laws. The only thing we could possibly get you on is transporting a powerful magical relic without proper clearance into a major city. Even then, you didn't use, or have any intention to use, it. As long as you didn't know Princess Carissa was going to stage a coup, any punishment you receive will be minor."

"We knew," Lessar said instantly, and there was a note of pride in her voice. "She is planning to bring the UK back to the height of its power. As of now, the UK is constantly declining and outside forces are taking root, the European Union, the Roman Catholic Church, and now same random magic group is attacking our country. I love my country and I will do anything to protect it, even having to help throw a coup to save its future." She said the last part so forcefully, Touma didn't doubt for a moment about her truthfulness.

"Ah," Agnese moaned. "Why did you have to say that…? Ah, I must have water in my ears or something and I'm hearing things. I'll be right back to get your answer. I need to check with the others anyways." She left the room shaking her head at Lessar's reply.

"So Sparky," Lessar said cheerfully turning to Mikoto, quite pleased with herself. "What brings you to the UK?"

"Don't call me Sparky!" snapped Mikoto. "My name's Mikoto Misaka, get it right. I remembered yours." Touma noticed she used the same tone against Lessar as she used against him when he used to call her Biribiri.

 _She really hates nicknames, doesn't she?_

"So what brings you to the UK?" Lessar asked again. "Whatever the reason, you sure picked a bad time."

"Touma here," Mikoto said pointing at him. "Won a weeklong trip in a… contest… for him and his friends to anywhere in the world. We are here on vacation with our friends. Well, it was a vacation until this happened." Touma felt like burying his face into his hands, when he remembered how he won the contest and the interview that followed.

"Heh sorry about that," Lessar said grinning sheepishly. "I didn't mean to interrupt you and your boyfriend's date."

"B-b-boyfriend!" stuttered Mikoto as she turned bright red, and even Touma felt his ears burn. "We are friends… but we went out once…. But we never officially became…." Her voice got softer and softer and died out.

"Oh," Lessar said raising an eyebrow and her face brightened. She turned her eyes onto Touma and looked him up and down. "So your name is Touma…?"

"Kamijou," Touma informed her.

"Thanks for saving me," Lessar said sincerely. "Not only after I was shot, but catching me when I fell from the building." She closed her eyes and put her hands up to her cheeks and Touma thought her face turned slightly red. "I still remember the warm embrace of your lips." Mikoto's face turned scarlet as she remembered that incident too. Touma opened his mouth to try to diffuse the situation, but Lessar continued and did not allow him to. "Then after we fought in the warehouse, I still remember the way you fought. You effortlessly knocked me down and told me to surrender, so powerful. It's almost like we are engaged now."

"WHAT!" Touma and Mikoto shouted.

"What did you do?" Mikoto fumed at Touma.

"Nothing," Touma replied quickly raising his hands innocently. "How on earth did you come to that conclusion?" he cried at Lessar.

"You know Touma," Lessar said and Touma was painfully aware she used his first name. "When they changed me out my old bloody clothes, they didn't give me any underwear. Want to see?" She moved her hands, pushed the covers off her lower legs, and grabbed the end of her skirt.

"No," Touma denied immediately out of reflex, but a small part of him, the true male part, wanted to see if she was telling the truth. "Why would you tell me that?"

"Just so you can truly see I'm the best girl," Lessar said sweetly. "You won't think of anyone else with me around." Before Touma could respond to this sudden announcement, he heard crackling coming from beside him. He turned to see Mikoto surrounded by blue-white sparks and her face was dark. "Easy Mikoto," he said quickly. "She's just messing around with us."

"I know we can't legally get married yet," Lessar said adding fuel to the fire. "But we can do it a lot earlier if we have a kid togeth…"

"WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?!" Touma yelled taking a step back. "You're too young to be thinking about that!" Suddenly, Mikoto shot a bolt of electricity, not at Lessar but at Touma. He survived because his right hand reacted immediately and negated the blast. "What was that for?!"

"Your face turned red!" she yelled at him. "You were thinking about it!"

"Of course I thought about it!" Touma replied. "She just said it! I'm the one trying to get her to stop."

"It doesn't mean you have to imagine it!" Mikoto shot back. "After all we are…" She stopped in mid-sentence. _What exactly are we? We are more than friends, but we aren't dating…_ Everything might have been fine, if Lessar didn't open her mouth again. Touma was unsure if she was serious, or just enjoyed messing with them.

"I don't mind if you want a harem ending," Lessar sad grinning up to him, her hands never leaving her skirt. "But I get to be first. Then you can stay with me in the UK. We could protect this country together."

"Stop acting like my stupid friends!" demanded Touma reflexively. Motoharu, Pierce, and Jason would say things like that constantly to him, even Accelerator joined in occasionally. Another bolt of electricity flew at him, and then he had to stop Mikoto from hitting an injured Lessar.

* * *

Kuroko was kneeling at the edge of a building looking down on the street below. She had been observing the interactions between the police force, civilians, and people in full knight armor. Due to her eavesdropping, she found out the knights were their own faction under the Queen's control. _Stiyl was right, the princess controls them now. How am I going to find out where onee-sama is? They already rounded up most of the civilians on the streets._ She watched a lot of people being forced into police vehicles and shuttled to hotels, movie theaters, and other large buildings to consolidate them in as few places as possible. A couple times she was seen and the knights had started to chase her, but she easily lost them around corners by teleporting to rooftops and hiding. She teleported to the next building and saw some knights talking loudly. They sounded bored, but they would immediately stand at attention when someone else passed by. She quietly sat down on the roof and leaned forward listening.

"She sure is efficient," the first one said.

"The revolution is proceeding on schedule," the second one said. "I wish we got a more exciting job though. Watching the streets for civilians is boring."

"I heard a couple other units had some problems," the first replied. "One group was decimated when they were storming the mall. Most where hospitalized with severe burns, their armor completely destroyed. What was strange is we were told there weren't any signs of magic from them."

"What kind of monster could destroy our armor so easily and defeat knights powered with Telesma?" the second one said while making a noise of disbelief.

"I don't know, but I'm glad we don't have a job like that. I suppose we are close enough to the eastern troops to be pulled in to chase that Fallen leader."

 _The mall might be onee-sama,"_ Kuroko thought. _But those Fallen guys are here too? As if there aren't enough problems already._ She rubbed her head and continued to listen, hoping she would gather some idea where anyone was.

"Why are we here if one of their leaders is on the loose? Are we sure it's one of them?"

"It could be a distraction. Right now, we have our orders and we will follow them. From what I heard, the leader uses some weird dark magic. He creates weapons and can weaken people with just a touch. It's just like the darkness the magician Eve had with when she attacked the palace. Though, it only came from a young male, it was like dark water."

"The princess is heading back to the palace right?"

"Unless she decides to do something else." They both sighed as if knowing something about the princess and continued to watch the street. Kuroko on the other hand stood up and started heading east.

 _I bet the person they think is a Fallen leader is Kagere,_ Kuroko thought to herself as she quickly moved from building to building, occasionally taking a detour around lookouts stationed on roofs. _His ability would appear evil to people who don't know it, but what was that about being similar to Eve? I'll worry about that later. Right now, he being in the east is the only lead I have. He might have an idea were the others are._

* * *

Agnese walked back into the room, sighing slightly to herself. She had left to contact the other members of her forces to check on their status, along with everyone else from Touma's group. The good news was most people were accounted for, the bad news, the situation was getting bad. She stopped after taking two steps into the room. She watched Touma holding back a struggling Mikoto, who was red face with anger, from Lessar, who was laughing. "It's good to see everyone so energetic," she said looking at them. They all stopped and turned toward her and Touma let Mikoto go. "I have news for all of you."

"Are our friends alright?" Mikoto asked immediately.

"I have confirmation on most of them," Agnese said taking a deep breath. "Everyone is on their way to the hotel except the following. It seems Accelerator-san ran off on his own and Itsuwa lost track of him. Shokuhou-san decided to remain in the city to allow the others from the mall to escape in the car. We have not heard anything about her being captured, so she should still be on the loose. We were too late for Komoe-san, and she was taken to a holding facility for civilians, so she should be fine for a while. Stiyl was yelling about Shirai-san running off on her own looking for you guys."

"Arg Kuroko!" Mikoto cried grabbing her head in frustration. "You should have stayed with everyone."

"I hope they are ok," Touma muttered. "I know Accelerator would probably jump into something he found entertaining, but I'm worried about Misaki. If her power gets blocked, she probably won't be able to get away." Mikoto nodded in agreement. "But Komoe-sensei is detained? We have to rescue her."

"If she's safe in a holding facility," Mikoto said rationally. "Then trying to rescue her now might not be the best option. Finding everyone and regrouping would be better. She doesn't have an ability, so they should just consider her an ordinary person."

"I guess you're right," Touma reluctantly agreed with her logic.

"I do have some other news," Agnese said and they were surprised to see a slight grin on her face. "It seems the knights believe Kagere-san is a member of The Fallen and they are chasing him across London. I hear he is giving them a lot of problems though. Even if it seems he is just trying to escape the city limits."

"Sounds like him," Touma said face palming while Mikoto gave an unwilling giggle. "But I wonder why they think he is part of The Fallen." Lessar didn't know who they were talking about and just looked confused. A moment later Agnese's phone rang, she answered it, and her face paled. She whispered something and hung up. "What's wrong?" Touma asked hastily.

"Things just got worst," Agnese said. "We received reports Acqua of the Back, a member of God's Right Seat, landed in England and attacked a group of knights and my forces. Kanzaki managed to intercept him, so it should be ok. But it's not like we need another faction fighting here. He's supposed to be ridiculously powerful."

"Acqua is here?" Touma asked gritting his teeth.

"You know him?" Agnese asked surprised.

"Vento attacked Academy City awhile back," Touma told her. "Acqua came in and evacuated her after I stopped her. He said we would meet again. He definitely wasn't normal." Mikoto had never seen Vento and had unknowingly helped Touma and Index without actually seeing the magic side. She had fought a group of people with guns instead, so she didn't know anything about God's Right Seat. Lessar was listening intently, but remained quiet.

"So I guess that means he is after you," Agnese sighed. "Could this day get any worse?" Touma felt a shiver down his spine at those famous last words.

"Sister Agnese!" the other nun girl cried bursting into the room. "The house is surrounded by knights!"

"What?" Agnese cried in shock. "How did they find us?"

"I don't know," she continued. "But it seems like even the Knight Leader and Princess Carissa are here."

"Oh no," Agnese said clutching her Lotus Wand tightly. "One knight we could probably take on, but Knight Leader AND the princess? Dang, I can feel the Telesma radiating around us." She turned to the others. "I think we might have to just surrender."

"There's no way we can do that," Mikoto said indignantly. "Can we escape through the tunnel?" The other nun shook her head.

"The wards were destroyed," she answered sadly. "It collapsed about twenty feet out and would just be a dead end."

"Well," Lessar piped up for the first time in a while. She slowly got out of bed and struggled to her feet. "Doesn't look like we are going to get out of this. It was nice meeting all of you." She took a couple uneasy steps and stumbled. Touma and Mikoto moved forward and caught her.

"You shouldn't be on your feet yet," Touma told her.

"It doesn't really matter," Lessar sighed. "But if I'm going to die, I want to die on my own two feet."

"We are all going to make it out of this alive," Mikoto replied confidently, even if she didn't feel like it. _I don't know how strong Knight Leader is, but he gives of a bad vibe. I don't really want to fight him. Plus, the princess is powered by Telesma. Will she be as powerful as The Herald was?_

"I guess we make our last stand here…" Agnese said and then was interrupted. The front door was blown off its hinges, followed by a good chunk of the rest of the wall. Touma coughed from the dust, but he, Mikoto, and Agnese instinctively moved in front of Lessar while the other nun moved to support her. Light poured into the darken house, but was cut off as several knights in full armor marched in. They were followed by the Knight Leader and Carissa, both of whom were giving off an intimidating aura.

"Such a quaint hideout," Carissa said smirking. "It was easy enough to track you though. We can track anyone with mana in London now, and we knew you had her." She looked over at Lessar. "Thanks again for bringing me Curtana Original."

"We did what we had to for our country," Lessar said weakly. She could feel the pressure just being in her presence.

"As you should," Carissa commented holding Curtana next to her. "Now, I came here for a specific purpose." She raised her hand, the one not holding the sword, and pointed it at Touma. "You are going to come with me Imagine Breaker boy."

"Why?" Touma asked instinctively.

"Your power will be useful," Carissa said simply. "Plus I want to make sure the Church does not have a useable weapon against me. It's killing two birds with one stone. Also, I want to have a nice long chat with you. You see, what kind of idiot would save their enemy like you did?"

"Someone who sees other as humans," Touma replied through gritted teeth.

"I'm not going to let you take him," Mikoto said as several sparks appeared next to her.

"You don't really have a choice," Carissa replied smirking at her. "You may be powerful where you come from, but here, you are just a kid."

"We should hurry," Knight Leader said. "We have several appointments to keep." Carissa nodded.

"Let me put it this way," she said forcefully. "You can come with us willingly, or it will be a blood bath, your choice."

Touma glanced back at his friends. Agnese and Mikoto looked like they were prepared to fight, but Lessar and the other nun were not battle ready. If they fought, they would all likely be killed. _I don't know if I can trust her, but do I really have a choice._ He looked her directly in the eye. "If I go with you willingly," Touma said. "Will you my friends go and leave London without violence?"

"You can't," Agnese whispered.

"I won't let you," Mikoto hissed grabbing his shoulder. Touma moved his hand up and grabbed her wrist and moved it off of him. He looked at her and she saw pure determination in his eyes. _I'm not going to be able to change his mind,_ she thought. She mentally cussed at herself and contemplated what would happen if she fired a Railgun at Carissa.

"It's good you understand the situation," Carissa said snapping her fingers. One of the knights threw a pair of handcuffs in front of Touma. "Just to be safe, put those on. I want to make sure you don't try anything funny." Touma reached down and grabbed the cuffs off the ground and put them on. They closed with a sinister snap. "You two," she said indicating Agnese and Mikoto. "Step away from him." They glared at her, with looks that said they wished her nothing but ill.

"Please do it," Touma whispered so Carissa couldn't hear him. "I'll be fine. Go find the others." They looked at him and hesitantly took a couple steps back. Two knights flanked him, each putting a hand on his shoulder, and led him out of the building. Carissa watched him leave, and then turned to the others.

"You have one hour to get out of London," she said. "If you return, you will be arrested, and possibly executed. I'm in a good mood today, so if you wish to reside in England, you may, just not in any major city." She turned and left with Knight Leader and the rest of the knights followed her. When they all left, Mikoto slammed her fist in anger at the wall.

"That b*#^&," she growled. "How dare she take him? He only went with her to protect us. Damn it. I even told him I don't need his protection."

"It's just the kind of guy he is," Agnese added scowling. "He always sacrifices himself for others." They both sighed and shook their heads but, inside, they both liked that part of him. Lessar kept turning her head to look at both of them.

"I know I haven't known him long," Lessar joined in. "But I have to agree with you two. But that self-sacrifice is kind of hot."

"You stay away from him!" Mikoto and Agnese turned and shouted at her. She jumped back slightly in surprise and grinned at them, obviously knowing what their reaction meant. Agnese turned to all of them, regained her composure, and said in a more normal tone, "We need to leave. Knowing Princess Carissa, she is serious about the hour time limit. If we are still in London, she will no doubt attack us." Mikoto did not want to go, but she didn't want Touma's sacrifice to be in vain.

"We don't really have a choice," Mikoto said, hating every word. They all left the remains of the hideout and loaded up into the car. They started driving and about ten minutes in, Agnese suddenly made a sharp turn down a side road. At the same time Mikoto felt something hit her and she let out a small spark from her head. "Where are we going?"

"I just got word from one of your friends," Agnese said and pulled over next to a building. Out of the doorway, Mikoto saw a familiar blonde head of hair and she knew why she suddenly sparked up. Misaki opened the car door, and then squeezed in the back with Lessar and the nun. Mikoto noticed she looked exhausted, as sweat drenched her clothes.

"Thanks a lot," Misaki said panting slightly. "Even with my ability, trying to keep hidden when every magical person is looking for you is tough. A couple knights said there was commotion over here, so I figured a broad range transmission was the best way to find someone. They don't appear to be able to sense my ability." She looked around the car briefly. "Misaka-san," she said slowly turning to face her. "Where is Touma? Last I heard he was with you…"

Mikoto took a deep breath. She didn't really want to talk about it, especially to Misaki who was sure to flip out. "He left with Princes Carissa in order to let us escape the city," she said quickly hoping to get out as much as possible before Misaki could interrupt. "I don't know any more than that." There was a pause as Misaki processed her words.

"WHY DIDN"T YOU STOP HIM!?" Misaki shouted suddenly, almost causing Agnese to have a heart attack and crash the car. "You said you could watch him and you let him get taken away by the leader of this coup?"

"You think I wanted him to?!" Mikoto yelled back at her. "He knew we couldn't take her and her guards on by ourselves, so he went with them so we could escape." Her voice trembled slightly and Misaki eyes softened a little. "He wouldn't take any arguing. Arg," she held her head with her hands, "Why can he only be decisive in these kinds of situations?"

"I guess I can't really blame you now," Misaki sighed. "I know what he's like."

"Besides," Agnese spoke up. "It's not like this is the end. We are grouping up near the hotel with our remaining forces. We plan to siege the palace anyways to stop the princess by force. That boy is tough too," she added in an admiring tone, "so I know he will be fine by the time we get there." She felt everyone staring at her and gave them a quick glance. "What?"

"If we are heading back to the hotel," Mikoto said. "We got time to kill. Why don't you tell us how you know Touma?"

"W-what's that have to do with anything about the present situation?" Agnese asked shocked.

"This car trip is more fun than I expected," Lessar said grinning in amusement. The nun next to her was slinking down in her seat, hoping not to draw any attention to herself.

"Tell us," Misaki said smiling sinisterly. "Or I will have to read your mind. We will find out one way or another, right Misaka-san?"

"Oh definitely," Mikoto added. Agnese felt sweat form on her brow and there was little she could do since she was driving.

 _I shouldn't have said anything._

* * *

Touma was escorted to a limo by the knights, the door was opened, and he was pushed inside. The limo was long, and then he noticed someone was already inside. His eyes widened in amazement at the girl sitting on the seat with her hands tied behind her back. "Index," he said shocked. "You're ok?"

"Touma?" Index said, equally surprised. "You got captured again didn't you? I told you not to get involved in this." Carissa and Knight Leader also entered the limo and sat on the far side, opposite of Touma and Index. Touma and Index were too busy arguing to pay attention to them.

"What do you mean again?" Touma asked. "I don't get captured. I came with them to save my friends."

"You always get involved in magic," Index scolded him. "And it always leads you to get hurt."

"I'm fine aren't I," Touma replied indignantly. "Besides, you are the one who gets captur…" He stopped when Index's teeth flashed dangerously and she started to emit a dark aura.

"Are you saying this is my fault?" Index asked slowly.

"Of course not…" Touma said quickly.

"You were off hanging with Short Hair while I was stuck here and starving," Index continued. "Then you try to blame me."

"It's not like that," Touma said raising his handcuffed hands hoping to defend himself from the inevitable punishment he was about to receive.

"TOUMA!" Index yelled as she opened her mouth of razor sharp teeth. She lunged at him and clamped down on his head hard.

"SUCH MISFORTUNE!" Touma yelled in pain as he tried to shake her off to no avail. His hands were bound together and it was a lot harder to try to drag her off him. A combination of anger and hunger kept Index clamped firmly to his head. There was no fury like a hungry Index. He turned to Knight Leader and Carissa. "Can't one of you give her some food before she eats my head," he cried through the pain.

"You both seem to take the situation you are in lightly," Knight Leader said, his eyes never leaving their struggle.

"Technically," Carissa said with an amused expression. "You both are prisoners of England now. I don't know why you seem so carefree while being held by your enemies."

"Huh?" Touma asked confused temporarily forgetting Index was clamped to his head. "I don't see you as my enemy." Now it was Carissa's turn to become puzzled. She shared a quick look at Knight Leader, who shrugged slightly, and then turned back to Touma.

"So you don't see me as an enemy?" Carissa asked raising an eyebrow. "Even after capturing you two, overthrowing my mother's rule, waging war against the church, and trying to kill the girl you saved?"

"I think there is more to it then what you said," Touma said slowly as Index finally let go of him. "While you did start the coup, you are trying to keep as many civilians as possible out of harm's way. Plus you kept your promise and let my friends go if I went with you. A truly evil person would have gone back on their deal. I may not approve what you are doing, and I plan to stop you if I get even the slightest opportunity to do so, but I feel you have a reason why you are doing this." He remembered what Lessar said about the UK weakening due to outside influences. _If she truly cares about her country, there has to be more then she is letting on._

Carissa looked at him with bewilderment, as he stared at her defiantly directly in the eyes. She saw no trace of doubt or hesitation and knew, if she did give a single opening, Touma would take complete advantage of it. She threw back her head and started laughing uncontrollably. "I knew it," she said between laughs. "I have never seen anyone like you. When I first saw you, I thought you were an idiot with a brave streak. There's just something about you boy, actually Touma Kamijou. I think you have received the right to be called by your name." Touma stared back at her unmoving, not aware of everyone else's reaction. Index's eyes had gone wide in surprise at Carissa's words and even Knight Leader could not contain his shock.

 _She normally doesn't recognized commoners outside photo shoots,_ he thought. _This boy is not normal. It is not wise to let him, with his right hand, near Curtana. In fact, I do not trust him near the princess either, but she is too stubborn to listen to my warnings._ His phone buzzed and he picked it up. "Yes?" he asked, but his eyes never left Touma.

"Let me tell you my plan then," Carissa said and while the grin never left her face, the rest of her face grew dark. "Obtaining Curtana Original was phase one, phase two was to take control of the country. As of now, it is over ninety percent complete. Do you know what phase three would be?"

"No…," Touma said slowly, but a part of him felt like it wasn't going to be good.

"I plan to kill both my sisters and my mother," Carissa informed him, as she stared directly at him, and her grin disappeared.

"WHAT?!" Touma and Index both yelled out in surprise. Whatever they had been expecting, it certainly wasn't that.

"If you think about it," Carissa said leaning back in her chair looking superior now that Touma was shell shocked by her revelation. "It is the only logical outcome. As only a member of the royal family can use Curtana, in order to prevent any chance of rebellion, I need to make sure I am the only user capable of wielding it. The Anglican Church is most likely mobilizing against me now. If they can't use Curtana's power against me, they will not have a chance. My rule will be set in stone. It's such a good plan, won't you agree."

"No," Touma muttered, as he looked at the ground, gritted his teeth, and balled his hands into fists.

"Oh," Carissa said waving him on. "Do tell me why."

"I'll stop you," Touma said looking up at her. "Right now, you still have a chance to be redeemed. I'll stop you before you go past the point of no return. If you think you can kill someone just because they might pose a threat to you, I will shatter that illusion of yours!" He raised his voice and it was filled with determination.

"That's the Touma I know," said Index proudly.

Carissa smiled and held out her hand, palm up. "I welcome you to try," she said as she closed it. She glanced over at Knight Leader, who had just put away his phone and turned to her. "How goes the fronts?"

"All major cities are under our control," Knight Leader said calmly. "With miner skirmishes scattered around the country. There are two problems that need to be resolved however. It seems the Queen escaped with help from the Archbishop and they are currently hiding in the countryside."

"Damn it," Carissa muttered angrily. "I know Rimea and Villian still need to be tracked down, but I figured we could capture mother before she could regroup with the church. Curtana Second still has some of its power, though it is nothing to what I wield now. After all, it is just a copy. What's the second problem?"

"I have received reports a Fallen leader is on the east side of the city," Knight Leader informed her. "Several of my knights have been defeated already. It appears he is using some darkness, similar to Eve's accomplice. Though, his darkness seems to weaken the Telesma in my men with every strike." Touma began to have a sinking feeling as he remembered Agnese's words from earlier.

"That does propose a problem," Carissa said. "Magic that can remove Telesma? This needs to be resolved quickly. Go, and take him down." Knight Leader nodded and the car stopped.

"I can be on the east side in minutes," Knight Leader said as he reached for the door. "I will take care of this swiftly and effectively."

"Wait," Touma said as realization hit. "It's not a Fallen leader. He's one of my friends who happens to have a shadow ability."

"Academy City people do not have the ability to use magic," Carissa told him as she narrowed his eyes at him. Touma could tell she believed he was lying.

"It's true," Index added. "Jason is a rather… unusual individual."

"Then let me tell you something," Knight Leader said. "When we told you Eve attacked the palace, she was not alone. A dark shadow creature was with her. While it appeared to move around on its own as a fluid, like dark water, it systematically appeared as a humanoid shape. We believed some individual was hiding within the shadow."

"It couldn't be him," Touma protested. "We didn't arrive till Saturday night."

"I remember hearing the Fallen were after your Imagine Breaker," Carissa said in a bored tone. "Do you really think they wouldn't have a spy within Academy City?"

"But he helped us against the Fallen…," Touma added.

"And they still got the wing," Knight Leader finished.

"I leave the decision up to you," Carissa told Knight Leader. 'While I would prefer to interrogate him, you have permission to eliminate him if capture is not possible."

"It will be done," Knight Leader replied calmly. It was not a tone of bragging or overconfidence. It was a tone of a man who was simply stating what he was going to do. "I heard he took a direct shot with Robin Hood and lived. I doubt he is normal." He left the limo and two other knights took his place. They sat between Touma and Carissa. Touma opened his mouth, but Carissa had an expression of someone who was no longer interested in discussion. Instead, she changed topics.

"You two will be taken to Buckingham Palace," she told them. "You will be detained there until I send for you." Touma glared at her, and she smirked at him. Touma glanced at Index and saw she also had a determined expression as she watched Carissa. "If he is indeed your friend and surrenders," Carissa continued. "He might live. If he resists…," she shrugged.

"He's not the kind of person to respect authority," Touma told her. "He's also pretty skilled in combat." Carissa laughed at his optimism. _Jason,_ Touma thought to himself. _You need to get out of the city fast. Knight Leader definitely is not normal._

* * *

 _Even if I know he's in the east,_ Kuroko thought to herself. _The city is still large and trying to find someone randomly is almost impossible._ All she knew was the knights were chasing someone, who she assumed to be Jason based on what she heard, out east. She was moving from roof to roof looking around for any sign of movement or struggle. It was easier now that the streets were clear, but she still had to be careful not to get spotted by an occasional knight lookout. She looked over the edge and smiled to herself. _I should be close._ She saw a couple knights leaning against a building, and the street around them showed signs of a struggle. There was a car flipped over, several large cracks running through the street, a bent light pole, and several different weapons stuck in walls. There were a couple men not in armor walking around and examining the area. It _doesn't look like he was captured. Now which way did he go...?_

She got her answer when she heard an explosion in the distance and saw a black trail of smoke rising into the air.

 _At least he is making it easy for me,_ Kuroko thought moving immediately heading in that direction. Teleportation made traveling to any location easy as she could just travel in a straight line over, or through, obstacles. She glanced over at the street and saw a couple knights running in the same direction she was. However, she didn't have to make any turns and easily out stripped them. She got to the scene and saw the smoldering remains of the car. A nearby electronic store had a broken window and shards of glass where all over the ground. _Looks like he made a mess again, well, I hope it is him. I really don't want to be chasing a murderer or something._ She teleported down to the ground and looked around quickly before anyone else arrived. No one appeared to be in the store, but she found out what caused the car to explode. A large spear was sticking out the side of it and into the engine. She heard the clank of footsteps and immediately teleported back up to the roof.

"Damn it!" a knight yelled kicking a piece of the car on the street. "What the hell is with that guy? We definitely have more power than him, so why does he keep slipping away."

"Those Fallen guys sure have a lot of power," another knight said. "We struck him with five different weapons and he still can retreat."

"It doesn't matter," a third said, picking up a piece of metal armor. "He uses mana and we can track him. If he tries to remain hidden, then he just gets surrounded. He will fall like the others." They first two knights nodded and began to move in the same direction.

 _How can they run in full armor like that?_ Kuroko thought to herself as she started teleporting in the same direction. _But they have away to track him, so if I follow, they should lead me to him._ She kept them in sight, but remained hidden among the roofs in order not to distract them. Eventually, they passed a small strip mall with several stores and one of the knights pointed to one. The other two nodded, pulled out their swords, and charged. They jumped through the windows, shattering them and Kuroko couldn't see what happened next. A moment later they were both thrown out when two large shadow fists punch them. Jason took a step out into the open and glared at the last knight standing. He was definitely not in the best of shape. His clothes were torn and his face covered in dirt, but didn't appear to have any wounds. The knight looked at him and held out his sword.

"You can't escape," the knight told him. "You are being surrounded. Your organization will be destroyed by the knights."

"For the last time," Jason sighed loudly. "I am not part of The Fallen."

"You can tell that to the judge," the knight said. "When I take you back in chains…" He suddenly stopped as the armor he was wearing disappeared. "What the…" A moment later he disappeared and reappeared upside down, ten feet in the air, and landed on his head.

"Huh?" Jason said then his eyes widened. "Kuro-chan? How?" Kuroko had teleported directly behind the knight, so Jason and the knight had not seen her. Kuroko's teleportation was limited by weight, and her limit was roughly an adult or two middle or high school students. She had to teleport the knight's armor before she could teleport the actual guy. She was extremely glad he had clothes under his armor.

"We got to go," Kuroko told Jason, as she teleported next to him. "I overheard them saying they can track mana so they will keep coming."

"That explains it," Jason said as they both began running down the street. Kuroko didn't teleport them yet because it made it easier to talk. "I was wondering how they kept finding me so easily."

"Come on," Kuroko said reaching out to grab him. "I'll get us out and then I have to find onee-sama."

"I can't leave yet," Jason said moving away from her. He pulled out a small device and started fiddling with it. "I still need to find an access point."

"Access point for what?" Kuroko asked.

"There are a lot of cameras in London," Jason said. "I believe most are connected. If I can find a major access point, we should be able to access the system wirelessly. But if what you said is true, I don't have much time. If I don't use my shadow, they should have a harder time pinpointing my location."

"I can teleport us there," Kuroko volunteered. "Do you know where the nearest one is?"

"Yep," Jason said proudly. "I saw a map a while back and memorized the route. I've been heading there, but trying to make my movements look random."

"Tell me where," Kuroko said. "Sooner we can get this set up, the sooner we can find everyone." She teleported them both as Jason gave her directions. _As long as he doesn't use his shadow, I can teleport him. I will have to ask him why that is at some point. Wait, when did I start thinking about him normally? This guy is a liar and can't be trusted. Arg, right now, his plan is my best hope for finding onee-sama._ Thanks to Kuroko's ability, they came to a small building, and Jason slipped into it. Kuroko kept a look out for anyone else, but Jason came back out in less than a minute.

"All done," Jason said. "Kazari should be able to access it with my password. I already sent a note ahead explaining everything. We should be able to find anyone left in the city, and spy on the princess's forces."

"So we ready to leave the city then?" Kuroko asked and Jason nodded. "I don't like trusting you, but your plan is better than trying to run around here blindly. I only found you because of the knights thinking you were part of The Fallen."

"Yea," Jason frowned and crossed his arms. "I don't know why. They weren't very talkative, except saying they were going to arrest me." Kuroko started teleporting them in a beeline toward the eastern edge of the city. Once they were outside the city limits, they would go around and head toward the hotel to meet up with everyone. They didn't see anyone else and they managed to arrive outside the city without any problems. Kuroko stopped and looked around.

"Think we are far enough?" she asked.

"Yea," Jason said as they started to walk to give Kuroko a small break. "Wish I had my phone, but I had to use a couple parts from it."

"I'll send them a message," Kuroko said pulling hers out. Her eyes widened because she had missed a text from Mikoto. "Onee-sama's ok," she said cheerfully. "She's heading to the hotel with others."

"So everyone's outside the city then?" asked Jason. "I haven't been in contact with anyone."

"I believe so, but she wants me to meet her as soon as possible. We should get going."

"I wish we had a car," Jason sighed. "Teleporting is weird on the senses."

"You get used to it," Kuroko said shrugging. "It's easier for me because I'm doing the exact calculations. Speaking of which, how do you keep blocking my teleportation with your shadow?"

"A simplified version is my shadow is a combination of spatial manipulation and bending dimensions," Jason explained. "The displacement lets me move my shadow, while the bending dimensions make it solid. When I bend the dimensions, it interferes with your eleventh dimensional calculations."

"So don't you have to calculate every location?" Kuroko asked thinking.

"Yea," Jason nodded. "It limits how my area my shadow can cover, but I found ways to do it rather efficiently." He realized something and grinned. "You know this is the first time we have talked this much in a long time Kuro-chan."

"Will you stop calling me that?" Kuroko asked irritated. "It's so annoying. If you can't call me respectfully, at least you can call me by my real name." She had given up on trying to get him to refer to her by her last name.

"Okay," Jason said then grinned again. "But only if you call me Jason."

"Like hell I will."

"Kuro-chan it is then," Jason shrugged.

"Fine," Kuroko said irritated again.

"Kuroko it is then," Jason said. Kuroko was going to open her mouth and respond, but closed it. Jason calling her by her actual name, instead of the nickname he created, didn't annoy her much. In fact, she didn't even care if he called her by her first name. Then they heard an unmistakably male voice.

"Am I interrupting your lover's quarrel?" The both turned around immediately and stared at the male. Neither had heard or felt him approach. The man had blonde hair, wore a top of the line suit, and emitted an aura of nobility. They both stared at him in silence, taking in his appearance and demeanor. "Forgive my rudeness. I am Knight Leader, and I heard you took care of several men under my command. I am here to take you captive leader of The Fallen." Both Jason and Kuroko finally found their words.

"We aren't lovers!" Kuroko forcefully stated.

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Jason said exasperatedly. "I am not a Fallen leader."

"Either way," Knight Leader said. "You both are coming with me. If you resist, your life may be forfeit." Jason could feel the change in Knight Leader, Kuroko could not, and Jason panicked slightly at the sheer amount of Telesma that just radiated from Knight Leader.

"Run Kuroko!' Jason shouted.

"Huh?" Kuroko said turning to him. Everything happened in a blink of an eye. Jason pushed Kuroko out of the way with a shadow hand, right when Knight Leader disappeared. Kuroko thought for a moment he could teleport, but realized it was pure speed. Knight Leader appeared between them and he punched Jason, sending him flying into a tree. Due to Jason's shadow, Kuroko was just out of his reach. She teleported away and stood there wide-eyed.

"You two are no match for me," Knight Leader said simply. His tone was not overconfident; he was just stating a fact.

"I'm not out yet," Jason said getting to his feet. Kuroko teleported next to him and turned to face Knight Leader.

"That blow should have knocked you out immediately," Knight Leader commented. "It appears you possess high speed regenerative abilities. No wonder my knights had difficulty with you. It is easily remedied." Jason's shadow erupted from under his clothes and surrounded him, while Kuroko pulled out her needles. Both were staring at the person in front of them.

Neither of them were feeling confident in their chance of victory.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Accelerator: Where the f%^ & was my fight? Everyone wanted to see that.**

 **Shizuri: You got plenty of time last chapter, now I get some. Go cry in a corner or something.**

 **Accelerator: You want to die?**

 **Jason: So anyone notice Carissa's reaction to Touma?**

 **Motoharu: Looks like he is going to get his own country soon.**

 **Touma: No I'm not. She's going to lock me away while she takes over.**

 **Motoharu: So she's possessive?**

 **Touma: That's not what I meant!**

 **Jason: Well if he wants to rule a country, he needs a decent side force of military trained individuals swearing loyalty to him.**

 **Accelerator: He's got almost ten thousand of those.**

 **Jason: Oh, well, then he needs some strong body guards who would never betray them.**

 **Motoharu: There are the level five girls.**

 **Jason: Hmm, if he marries Carissa and expands the royal family. Ok… sounds possible.**

 **Touma: YOU ARE ALL IDIOTS! THERE IS NO WAY THAT COULD HAPPEN!**

 **Carissa: I'll keep this in mind.**

 **Touma:…**


	47. S2 Strengths

**So I think my releases will be on Thursdays from now on. It seems to work better with my schedule then Wednesday did. As some people pointed out, they wanted to see Acqua vs Accelerator. So I decided to start their fight in this chapter, because I love you all. SO many things going on at once still, hard to make sure everyone gets their scene in each chapter, but it's slowly coming together for the big event. Time line helps a lot. If you are new and thinking of writing a story with several events occurring simultaneously, time lines are life saviors.**

 **RPGPersona: I have to admit, a couple times, I had to look at the chapter you are commenting on to remember what all happened. Glad you are reading it at a relaxed pace. Some people try to marathon it and that must be tough for them. Story has gotten long.**

 **Swoob: Hope you didn't exhaust yourself to much trying to marathon it. It's pretty long now.**

 **Salishious: That information will be passed on to the delta force, well, I guess they are now the Penta Force with Accelerator and Jason.**

 **FireDusk: You are one of like three people who feel that way lol. Well, of the people who commented at least.**

 **General Ironox & Guest: If Touma did, Knight Leader would take a sword to him, but he is a noble so he would do it like a sir.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: I love that skit so much. Carissa definitely will get more screen time soon.**

 **Handsomistic1: You have touched on something that will happen, but you are a little off on how. I don't want to spoil anything though, and it won't occur for a bit, so you have to wait.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

Acqua wasn't sure what to make of the situation before him.

The person before him was definitely an anomaly. While Acqua had fought countless individuals, many of whom would be considered monsters to others, nothing was quite as strange as the boy standing so confidently before him. The boy did not use magic, which was obvious due to the lack of mana. However, he seemed to be able to rip a tree out of the ground and throw a simply as if it was a normal spear. While a Saint might have been able to do that, a boy from the science side should not be able to. _Could they have created an artificial Saint in Academy City? Their power suits are impressive, but still nothing compared to a skilled magician._ He was one of the world's strongest warriors and, while he had absolute confidence in himself, he wanted to analyze the boy's power before rushing in blindly. He knew if someone made a single mistake on the battlefield, it could cost them their life.

"If you aren't going to attack," Accelerator said grinning. "I guess I will make the first move." The ground around him exploded as his body was propelled forward like a rocket. Accelerator reached out his hand towards Acqua as the distance of sixty feet closed almost instantly. Accelerator's grin flicked as Acqua virtually disappeared in front of him. He stopped, the ground below him cracking, and looked around. He saw Acqua standing a good thirty feet away and he reached a hand up to grab the side of his face in an irritated gesture. "Ah come on," he said annoyed. "Don't just run away. Show me what a Saint can do."

Acqua did not say anything, because he was not someone to respond to petty taunts. Instead, he was focusing on what he saw from the way Accelerator attacked. _His speed is fast, still well below mine. That movement though, it seems like it wasn't a jump, but he propelled himself forward. His attack pattern is full of openings, like he doesn't care about defense at all. That kind of attack would get him killed instantly on the battlefield. He must have some secret behind his reasoning. I guess it really doesn't matter._ Acqua stopped trying to think of why Accelerator does what he does. Acqua had absolute confidence in himself and he prepared himself to do what he had to do. The white haired boy stepped willing onto the battlefield and stood against him. He only had himself to blame for his unfortunate outcome. Accelerator charged at Acqua again, and this time Acqua was ready to strike back. He easily side stepped Accelerator's assault and swung his mace with enough force to crush a full grown adult male in full armor. A normal boy would not have a chance.

Something happened that through even threw the composed Acqua off balance.

As soon as his mace collided with Accelerator's skin, the mace suddenly moved in the opposite direction with the same force as was originally applied. Acqua felt the shift in the force instantly. The momentum threw his arm back and it would have shattered if he had been a normal person. He was, after all, a Saint and his body was strong enough to ignore attacks that could destroy normal people. He saw Accelerator's eyes shift to his location and then he reached out a hand toward Acqua's face. Acqua's danger sense warned him of the impending threat and he used his water magic to glide backwards away from Accelerator's strike. He looked at his mace, and then flexed his arm to make sure everything was still in working order. _He didn't just block my attack and then force my arm back. My mace immediately changed directions. I think I know his power now and why he is so confident._ "You have the power to reflect," Acqua commented.

"Bingo," Accelerator laughed. "Right in one. Most people I have to tell them before they realize how screwed they are. Do you realize you can't win now? Even if you are physically stronger than me, it is completely useless."

"While annoying," Acqua said. "No single power is invincible. We know Academy City's abilities are limited to one per person, which makes them inferior to magic. I will simply find the hole in your armor."

"While true," Accelerator grinned. "Reflection is only a small part of my power." He tapped his foot onto the ground and an explosion of rocks and dirt pelted Acqua. He simply swept his mace in front of him to blow it all away, he eyes never leaving Accelerator's.

 _So reflection is just part of it,_ Acqua thought. _Physical attacks are useless, so now to simply go through every option until I find his weakness._ The water on the ground around him started to rise into the air and form the shape of many different types of weapons. Some of the water weapon began to freeze into ice. They moved around Accelerator until he was completely surrounded by a dome of Acqua's weapons. Accelerator didn't look worried though and just started walking toward Acqua. Every weapon attacked Accelerator simultaneously from every direction, even above. Even though the weapons didn't seem to do anything to Accelerator, both he and Acqua noticed the same result, but reached different conclusions.

Most of the weapons didn't get reflected outright, but shattered into pieces or dissolved apart and flew in random directions.

Accelerator frowned. His original plan was to change the direction of the water and ice weapons towards Acqua. Instead, when he had calculated the change in vectors, the water and ice did not go the direction he wanted them to. The magic, he assumed, in the attack had different vectors then the ones he was use to with normal attacks. _Damn, these calculations are annoying. I still haven't figured out the formulas yet. But I guess this is what I wanted, so I can't complain. The main issue is if all magic attacks follow the same rules or they change based on attack. I finally find someone who can fight toe to toe with me, and I can't even get excited._ He glanced at Kaori who was seemed to be concentrating on something while mumbling and Accelerator figured she was trying to heal herself. _Ever since that damn hero, fights just don't have the same ring._ While he pretended to enjoy fights on the outside, he didn't really think they were fun.

Acqua noticed the frown on Accelerator's face and it raised many questions for him. _He didn't reflect my attacks? They just sort of exploded. Can he just reflect physical attacks or is there more? He could reflect my mace like it was nothing. It can't be just solids because the ice shattered too. Maybe… of course, he's a member of the science side, so he doesn't have experience with magic. I know what to do now._ Acqua swung and threw his mace into the air and it landed with a dull thud, end first, into the ground twenty feet away from him, it sort of resembled a flag pole. Accelerator raised his eyebrow at this strange action, but Acqua didn't say anything to explain himself. Instead, he held out his right hand. Water started to rise from the ground all around them and began to consolidate in his hand.

"Whatever you are trying," Accelerator said. "It won't work."

"Your lack of true battle experience is obvious by your overconfidence," Acqua replied. "I believe I have seen through your defense."

"Oh do tell," Accelerator smirked as he opened his arms in a wide motion. "I am going to enjoy thoroughly examining your magic."

"Finish him quickly!" Kaori yelled from behind him. Accelerator turned around and glared at her as if he was annoyed she was telling him what to do. "He may normally use his strength to defeat everyone in front of him, but he's not a stranger to real fights. He's survived countless battles and knows how to find his enemies weak points." She began to stand up on her feet, her wounds partially healed.

"I would listen to her," Acqua said as the water around his hand stretched into the same shape as his mace. The water then froze into ice as his hand wrapped around the hilt. More water began to flow around the mace in small spiral streams, going faster and faster, until water was spinning complete around the ice mace like a vortex. Acqua channel a large amount of his magical power into his mace. His plan was simple and straight forward, but still had a cold calculating designed to thoroughly destroy his enemies. He abandoned an attack that would not work and, instead, use an attack imbued with his mana.

Accelerator didn't like to listen to anyone else, but he had a feeling Kaori might have a valid point. The ground around him exploded as he lunged again toward Acqua, the distance between them closing in an instant. While the speed of his charge wouldn't be possible for a normal person to dodge, it was still extremely slow for someone as powerful as Acqua. Acqua side stepped him and swung his ice mace, surrounded by water, horizontally at Accelerator's chest. Accelerator was barely able to register the speed of the blow and just manage to move his hands in front of his chest. The blow hit him directly, and this time, it did not immediately move in the opposite direction. A fierce battle was being waged, during fractions of a second, between their exchange.

 _F^ &% THIS! _Accelerator roared in his head as he felt himself collide with an enormous amount of the unknown magical vectors. He wanted to just deflect the blow with his basic reflection formula, but he would not be able to. The vectors in the magical attack seemed to be going in every direction simultaneously, while the attack as a whole moved at him. As he found out before, trying to reflect a magic attack like a normal physical attack would cause unknown results. It could explode, go a random direction, or possibly keep moving in the same direction. His normal reflection calculations were causing the sheer number of magic vectors to go in random direction, and some where being forced back at him. He couldn't develop a formula to reflect them all since he needed to calculate the direction of the original vector and then how he wanted to change it. Right now, that was impossible. He felt his body began to get impacted, as a percentage of the unknown vectors collided into his body. He had to do something he never had to do before.

He retreated from the attack.

Accelerator couldn't remember the last time he retreated form a fight. If someone else got involved, he would make them leave, but he always stayed to fight. This time, he used his vector powers to move in the same direction of the blow to give him more time as he tried to understand how the magic vectors worked. While he was getting to the point he could redirect most of the vectors away from him, a fair number of them were still getting through. The part of the blow hit him as he used his ability to fly backwards. He couldn't resist gasping slightly, as he felt himself being pulverized in the stomach. He flew about twenty feet into the air and was able to land on his feet for a moment. Then he fell onto his knees and held a hand up to his mouth as he felt himself on the urge of vomiting from the blow. A small amount of blood trickled out of the side of his mouth. _Damn this magic crap._ He got to his feet and glared at Acqua. He wasn't use to feeling a lot of pain due to his ability, but over the last year, he has had a lot more experience with it. "Arg magic sure is a pain," he said trying to keep his calm demeanor, but all hints of the self-confidence he had was gone, something Acqua did not fail to notice.

"You seem to now realize the difference in our strength," Acqua said holding out his ice mace and pointing it at Accelerator. "You and the Saint of the Far East are no match for me. I will give you the option of telling me where the Imagine Breaker is and getting out of my way. If you do, you both may live. This is the last time I will give you this opportunity." He actually had another reason of giving them a chance to surrender this time. When he struck with the mace, he could feel his hold on my magic weakening the longer it remained in contact with Accelerator. _He was dispersing my magic with his redirect, but it seems incomplete. I rather not draw this out if possible. He is a threat and if I did not have my mission priority, I would kill him now before he masters that ability._

"Not happening Acqua," Kaori said raising her sword in front of her. "Thanks for giving me a chance to catch my breath Accelerator."

"That guy's after the f#$%*^ hero?" Accelerator asked angrily and Kaori nodded. _So that's why those two were fighting. I can't let him meet the hero for whatever reason this a$$hole has._ "Guess I can't let you go with just a warning. I'll take you down with a single touch." He didn't like the fact on what he was getting forced to do, but normal methods were not working. It was unusual for him to fight someone who could give him trouble like this.

"Were you not able to understand with that last exchange?" Acqua asked. "Here I thought you were intelligent. I will end this charade with my next attack." More water began to flow around his mace like a vortex as he gathered power. _I will also create a backup plan in case they survive._ Kaori could feel the immense power gathering in his blade, but missed the water beginning to flow behind him.

"I can block his next attack," Kaori whispered to Accelerator. "Your attack patterns are sloppy, but it appears like you just need to touch him for your attack to stop him?"

"Yes," Accelerator answered, slightly pissed at her remark. "His speed is annoying. Stop him for a moment and I'll end this fight."

"Ok," Kaori said taking a couple steps forward. She didn't know what he was going to do, but he had already demonstrated his power. She knew she couldn't take Acqua alone, so she was left with no option but to team up with him, and trust Accelerator could stop Acqua. She moved her eyes over Acqua's face and noticed he did not appear concerned about fighting both of them. She bent her knees automatically when she saw his muscles twitch. Acqua vanished from sight and she felt his presence behind them. She turned and swung her blade at the ice mace. She still wasn't at her peak condition and could not block it directly. Instead, she swung the blade upwards to knock the mace over their heads. She then saw, out of the corner of her eye, the ground explode and Accelerator lunging at Acqua. Acqua noticed him too and used high speed gliding movement to avoid his touch.

Acqua knew they were trying to get Accelerator to hit him, but did not know why. _So his name is Accelerator. If he touches me and redirects my body, it would just send me flying backwards. There has to be more to it than that. I will just avoid him and crush the Saint first._ He dodged the sloppy attack from Accelerator and swung an overhead attack with his ice mace down towards Kaori. She side stepped it to conserve her strength and delivered a swipe with her blade at his side. He moved back to avoid the blow by a fraction of an inch, and then brought his mace diagonally upwards to crush her body. Right before his mace collided with Kaori, he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye. A rock came flying directly at his face and he had to lean back to avoid it. During that brief second, Kaori manage to duck under his blow. He glanced downwards and saw Kaori directly below him. She swung her blade, now glowing, at him and his first instinct was to move backwards as a bright blue light came out of her blade.

Yuisen.

It was Kaori Kanzaki's ultimate attack. It was an attack which infused her sword with powerful magic, giving her the capability to harm even angels. She never would use this attack lightly. She would only use this attack when necessary and normally only when a defeat was guaranteed. The bright blue light from her blade moved toward Acqua's chest and, at the same time, he spun his body and brought the mace between them as he retreated with his gliding movement. Their two weapons collided. The mace was consolidated with Acqua's strength and Kaori's sword was empowered by her magic focused as a single blade. Kaori was blown back by the explosion that followed, and Acqua's ice mace shattered, but he kept his footing. Whether it was because his power was greater to avoid the backlash, or his strength kept him standing, it did not matter. What mattered was the flash of light form Kaori's blade, and the pieces of ice flying in all direction. Acqua was temporarily blinded and did not see the pale hand reaching toward him until it was too late to dodge. He also saw the red eyes filled with determination and something else as the hand grabbed his wrist.

 _Hatred at himself._

A moment later, Acqua's body was wracked with pain as his blood circulation was reversed and he collapsed.

Kaori had no idea what Accelerator had planned. All she saw after being blown away was Accelerator grabbing Acqua's wrist. A moment later, Acqua collapsed. She opened her mouth to call out to Accelerator, when she stopped and jumped forward to help support him. Accelerator had staggered, held up a hand to his mouth, and looked sick. She helped him walk away and said, "You did it, but what did you do?" She didn't think Accelerator would kill Acqua, but the way he laid their motionless was not a good sign for him.

"I reversed his blood circulation," Accelerator replied simply. _Every time I use that I always think of the level six experiments. It doesn't get easier, even against freaks like Pride and Acqua._ It was mentally taxing on his mind because of his past and it made him weak and nauseous.

"So he's dead?" Kaori asked cautiously. As part of the magic side, she didn't have full knowledge of biology, but she was pretty sure changing the blood flow would kill someone. Her body was in severe pain from taking the blow from Acqua, but she didn't show it. She knew if the fight lasted much longer, her body would probably collapse if she tried to block two or three more blows.

"The only person who ever survived it was immortal," Accelerator replied shrugging. He was going to leave and Kaori was going to take Acqua's body back to the church when they both stopped. They heard the slight whisper of clothes from behind them. They turned around and couldn't do anything but stare in shock, as Acqua slowly stood back up to his feet. His eyes were no longer bored or curious. They were filled with excitement and a hint of pain.

"It has been ages since someone could hurt me this bad," Acqua stated as he stared at Accelerator. "I can feel all my blood moving in the opposite direction. So your power allows you to change directions of anything you touch. I see why you were so confident early on. It was warranted. But I have a mission and will not fall to something like this." The water on the ground rose back up into the air and started to surround him. While he may have been in pain, he still radiated the unbreakable aura of strength.

"What the hell are you?" Accelerator asked completely shell shocked. _People can't survive with their blood flow reversed. Half of their blood vessels can't handle the change in pressure caused by the change in direction._ To him, this shouldn't be happening. Pride was one thing, as he had a mark giving him immortality, but the man before him was just strong, and still appeared to be human. But after what Acqua said, Accelerator had to believe he was still alive and his blood was just moving in the opposite direction.

"I am a Saint," Acqua explained, his voice calm and powerful. "My body is similar to the Son of God's. A Saint's body is much more powerful than a normal person's. I also wield the Divine Mother's Mercy to weaken any punishment. Your attack may have worked, but it is not enough to stop me."

"Damn this guy," Kaori muttered and moved her sword in attack position.

"After I kill both of you," Acqua continued. "I will travel into London and find the owner of the Imagine Breaker. Afterwards, I will kill him and take his hand. If any of the other members from Academy City or the Anglican Church try to stop me, they will be killed too. I gave you the opportunity to surrender and live, but you refused on multiple occasions. If you had just given me the boy, none of this would have happened."

"What the f$%^ did you say?" Accelerator said as he snapped out of his shock when Acqua explained his plans. His eye's had narrowed in anger and his hand made a fist.

* * *

Ruiko was pacing back and forth in her hotel room, while Kazari watched her as she sat on the bed. Last Order had bounced around the room for a while, annoyed she was stuck inside, but then just stared out of the window. No matter how hard Ruiko tried to get information out of any of the nuns, they were all tight lipped and told her nothing. Many of them apologized and said they were under orders not to talk about it. Ruiko had a good idea of who they were referring too. "I can't take it anymore," she cried holding her hands on her head. "We are the only ones who have no idea what is going on. It's been ages and still nothing."

"I feel the same way," Kazari said depressed, and Ruiko could tell she was really nervous because her hands were shaking on her lap. She had the TV on, but wasn't really watching it. Kazari had her phone next to her and was constantly glancing at it to see if she had any new messages. "But there really isn't much we can do. Neither of our abilities are really combat oriented and we don't know anything about magic."

"There has to be something we could help with though," Ruiko complained. She felt the same way, but sitting in silence just made her feel worse, so talking about anything was better. "Do you see anyone we know yet Last Order?"

"No MISAKA sighs as MISAKA stares intently down at the parking lot."

"What are you watching?" Ruiko asked Kazari trying to keep the conversation going.

"Oh I'm not sure," Kazari said uninterestedly reaching for the remote. Ruiko sat down next to her and started watching some teenagers at school. As they didn't know all the English sitcoms, it could have been any of them. They briefly discussed trying to reach the others, but decided against it. If someone was in hiding, their phone might give them away. Ruiko went out and checked the hallways a couple more times to try to talk to any of the nuns, but she still got nothing. Eventually, they got some good news.

"MISAKA sees people MISAKA cries as MISAKA notices familiar faces." Both Kazari and Ruiko jumped up from the bed and ran to the window and looked down. A car had pulled up and they saw Itsuwa, Shizuri, Frenda, Saiai, Rikou, and Worst emerge from it. A couple nuns led everyone except for Itsuwa into the building. Itsuwa had stopped and was conversing with a couple guys who wore normal casual clothes instead of church uniforms.

"Whew," Kazari said slightly relieved. "It's good that they got out ok."

"I don't think they will tell us what is going on though," Ruiko said sighing. "They are a little…" She decided not to say the world she was thinking. "Anyway, the church still seems to be evacuating people, so I bet everyone else is on route." She said it to cheer up Kazari, but it was also to make herself more confident.

"Yea," Kazari agreed in a slightly more positive tone. "So that makes almost half our group here now. I bet we hear from the others soon." They waited a moment and opened their door when they heard Shizuri and her friends storming down the hall. Storming was really the right world as Shizuri was complaining angrily about what happened and how she wanted to shoot the hotel down. Last Order pushed past them and joined up with Worst. While Worst made some snarky remark and retreated into her room, Last Order was not deterred and followed her.

"What's happening?" Ruiko asked as they got near. "They aren't telling us anything."

"Oh it's you," Shizuri said looking at her disinterestedly and then started to walk past. "They are just evacuating everyone out of the city. But then she tries to give me some bullshit about people using magic. Magic doesn't exist."

"Well," Ruiko said hesitantly. "What they call magic has been described to us as abilities that follow different rules."

"Wait," Shizuri said as stopped and focused on Ruiko. Ruiko felt sweat form on her forehead under her stare. "Go on."

"Basically," Frenda said. "Tell us everything you know about this magic."

"I'm super interested in it too," Saiai added. Rikou blinked, but see seemed to focus on Ruiko.

"I don't know a lot either," Ruiko confessed as she remembered the conversation on the bus a while ago. "But from what I heard. Magic is like our abilities, except it is based on ideas rather than an individual. It allows them to have a broader range of powers, but to use them, but they have to use certain structures and rules outside of an individual. They can't use it as efficiently as we can. I don't know much more." She looked over at Kazari and she shrugged.

"We would have to ask Jason when he gets here if we want to know more," Kazari added.

"I wanted to talk to him privately anyways," Shizuri said cracking her knuckles. "Now I just have another reason to." Both Ruiko and Kazari looked at each other in surprise. Neither of them knew what Shizuri was talking about, but they both felt sorry for Jason. They knew Shizuri wasn't the nicest person around.

"Did you hear about anyone else?" Frenda asked Ruiko and Kazari. They shook their heads.

"They aren't telling us anything," Kazari sighed. "What about you?"

"I think they mentioned everyone had not been evacuated yet," Saiai said crossing her arms and thinking. "The fifth stayed behind because we couldn't all fit in the car."

"Shokuhou-san is still out there alone?" Ruiko asked gasping slightly.

"She's fine," Shizuri said in a bored tone. "I know what she's like."

"She's a level five," Frenda added nodding her head. "Basically, she can handle herself. I bet she found someone to take her outside the city."

"I don't really care," Shizuri said stretching and started walking to her room. "Let me know if you here about Kamijou or Accelerator. If Accelerator loses to someone, I'll treat everyone to a meal." She entered her room and the door closed behind her.

"She super knows that won't happen," Saiai said in an almost admiring tone. Something Ruiko did not miss.

"Oh?" she said grinning. "Sounds like someone may have a crush on him."

"What?" Saiai asked surprised. "Who said that?"

"She does," Frenda added grinning. "Basically, she liked him ever since she challenged him to a fight and lost." Saiai's face turned red and Frenda was finally glad she got revenge after all the times Saiai made fun of her and Touma.

"Oh yea," Saiai said evilly. "Frenda's in love with Kamijou."

"Don't tell them that!"

"You super started it!"

"…Good luck both of you…" Rikou said speaking up at last. When everyone stared at her, she left and went into their room after Shizuri. Frenda and Saiai started arguing as they followed Rikou. They all seemed to have completely forgotten about Ruiko and Kazari.

"Well that wasn't as informative as I hoped," Ruiko sighed as they went back into their room. They left the door open in case someone else they knew arrived. Itsuwa still had not come up.

"You might have some competition though," Kazari said feebly as she attempted a joke. Even though the situation was dire, she understood jokes could make people feel better in stressful times.

"That's not important right now," Ruiko said slightly embarrassed. "If they got here ok, everyone else should be back soon too." They sat down on the bed feeling slightly better. Once they had proof their group were being evacuated, it raised their spirits. They started watching the TV, actually paying attention to it this time, but they would constantly shoot glances at the clock or their phones. When they heard footsteps coming down the hall, they bolted toward the door way and looked out.

Stiyl was walking down the hall, looking serious, with Itsuwa closely behind him. Behind them were three more people, a blonde girl they didn't know, and two other nuns. The blonde girl had her hands tied up behind her and she didn't look happy either. Stiyl stopped and looked at them. "Which one of you is Kazari Uiharu again?" Ruiko and Kazari shared a surprised look.

"I am," Kazari said nervously stepping out into the hallway.

"Here," he said handing her a letter. "This is from Kagere. I believe the information in that letter will be of use for all of us. It is addressed to you and encoded." Kazari looked at him, slightly suspicious as he appeared to have opened it, and hastily opened the letter. Ruiko leaned her head over Kazari's shoulders and read it too.

 _Kazari,_

 _I can't say everything I want to, in case Floris is captured or just decides to run off on her own. I'm not sure how reliable of a courier she is right now. Anyway, I plan to escape the city and meet up with everyone. If this letter reaches you, it means the meet up location is still under church control. I'm setting up something big in London before I leave so I won't be answering my phone. Below is information I hope you will know what to do with._

 _I believe in you,_

 _Jason_

Below it were some random numbers and then a combination of letters and numbers. Ruiko was confused. She was glad Jason was alright, but she didn't know what he was talking about. "What does he mean? Uiharu?" Kazari had remained silent as she read the letter. Ruiko noticed her head was scrunched slightly indicating she was thinking.

"Do you understand what that code means?" Stiyl asked.

"We are hoping he was trying to find a way to help us," Itsuwa explained. "We figured it must be some science code. Floris here," she indicated the blonde girl, "delivered the letter from him. She was part of the magic cabal that helped the princess start her coup. She was under suspicion when she arrived, but Jason wrote us a letter asking her to be let in." Ruiko noticed a slight grin appeared on her face while Stiyl's face looked irritated.

"He said that letter would get me out of trouble," Floris grumbled. "I'm just glad that he," she nodded toward Stiyl," didn't try too hard to fry me. Is that what the boy meant by Flaming Mage?" Stiyl grimaced for a second and looked like he wanted to burn someone. The nuns took Floris back downstairs since it appeared she did not know anything else.

"I think I have an idea," Kazari said slowly. "I have to check first." She quickly went into her room and grabbed her laptop. She sat on the bed and started typing. Ruiko, Stiyl, and Itsuwa entered the room behind her and stared at the screen. Ruiko was getting a headache as she watched the screens and information flash on the screen. Kazari's eyes were moving back and forth so fast, they were almost a blur. There was silence for a while, as Kazari kept trying different things and no one wanted to interrupt her. Suddenly, the screen changed to what appeared to be a camera view, looking at a deserted road. "Finally got it. He sent an address and password for me to access remotely. I think he created a transceiver for us to hack into London's security camera network. I have access to one and I should be able to start connecting into others. If I had more computers, we could do this faster." She kept a hand on her computer to prevent it from overheating. Her ability allowed her to control temperature to a point and with her abilities on computers, they tended to overheat quickly.

"Excellent," Stiyl said looking impressed at the empty street on the screen. For the first time, his face had something else besides a serious or annoyed expression. "The princess would most likely start to rely on magical means to watch the city now that the civilians are rounded up and detained. We wouldn't be able to send spies into the city, because she should be able to track individuals who can refine mana. I can't believe that guy thought that far ahead, or he's just lucky. Itsuwa," he said turning to her. "Go find a couple more computers and set them up. She can get us access, and then have it all monitored. We need to see what the princess's plan is and her troop's movements."

"Understood," she said and left the room.

"Have you heard anything about our other friends?" Ruiko asked after Itsuwa left. "No one's told us anything about them. If Uiharu is helping you, then you should be able to tell us the status of our friends." Ruiko was determined to find out and Kazari's eyes widened at her tone. She, of course, agreed with Ruiko and looked up at Stiyl with determination too.

Stiyl stared at both of them and sighed. "Fine," he grumbled. "Agnese is bringing two of them with her. She reported she had Misaka and Shokuhou. The one girl who teleported from the bus is still unaccounted for and so is Kagere."

"I knew she shouldn't have run off," Kazari sighed and she was afraid Kuroko might have gotten in trouble.

"What about Touma and Index?" asked Ruiko.

"They have…" Stiyl said and paused. The pause was only for a moment, but both Ruiko and Kazari had a terrible feeling in the pit of their stomachs. "Been captured by Princess Carissa and are being held hostage. We believe they have been taken to Buckingham Palace."

"What?!" they both cried and surprisingly a third girl's voice came from the doorway. Frenda had quietly been eavesdropping on them.

"Is there a plan to save them?" Kazari asked immediately.

"Not at this time," Stiyl explained. "The princess controls too many forces in London for us to attack directly. Plus, they are all infused with the power of Curtana Original. She also has Knight Leader, who is virtually a one man army. If we attacked directly, we would suffer untold casualties. The situation does not look good. It is the reason the information Kagere sent will be useful. We might find a weakness we can exploit."

"That idiot got himself captured?" Shizuri asked in a cool voice from the hallway. She had suddenly appeared "I suppose we can lend a hand." Stiyl looked back at her and wondered once again how Touma was able to attract so many girls.

* * *

Touma and Index were silent the rest of the ride. It wasn't like they didn't try to get answers, but the two knights who replaced Knight Leader were not conversationalists and Carissa appeared distracted on her phone. She was constantly checking with different knight divisions, as they searched for her sisters and her mother. Touma had tried to convince her she should change her plans, but she just ignored him, most of the time she didn't even acknowledge his words. At some point, he realized she didn't have anything more to say to him and he fell silent. He looked at Index who was lying down on the seat next to him moaning slightly in hunger. _If we don't get somewhere soon and get her something to eat, she's going to pass out._

His needs were met about five minutes later as the car stopped. The door opened and Carissa got out first. The other two knights flanked Touma as he half dragged Index out of the limo. It was pretty difficult with his hands bound. He looked around and saw they had arrived in front of Buckingham Palace. Carissa turned to look at him. "You two will be escorted to a holding room until I call for you. It would be unwise to try to escape."

"Can we at least get some food for Index," Touma asked. "She's about to pass out from hunger." Carissa didn't answer or even appear to acknowledge his question. Instead, she turned around and entered the palace. Touma felt one of the knights push him in the back, telling him to move, and he and Index followed Carissa. When they entered the palace, they were lead down a different magnificent hallway from Carissa and into a large room. The room wasn't as elaborately decorated as the main meeting room they had been in earlier that day, but it wasn't empty. There were three couches by each wall and a large circular table in the middle surrounded by chairs. There were paintings on the wall and a large gold chandelier was suspended over their head. Marble columns stood in each corner

"Touma…" Index said weakly. "Need food…" Touma turned to the two knights.

"Can we please get her something to eat?" he asked again. Neither of the knights answered him and closed the door, leaving him alone with Index. . Touma wasn't sure what to think about their situation. He had expected the knights to lock him in a prison cell, not a fancy waiting room. Index dragged herself to a couch and laid down while Touma paced around the room. He knocked on the walls and moved the paintings slightly. He had hoped the room would have been something like the video games he played, where castles always have a secret escape path. He found nothing, and then threw himself on a couch feeling useless. He looked over at Index. "Did you find out anything about the Fallen before you were brought here?" Touma asked Index. He figured there wasn't much else they could do but talk. He was pretty sure the room was bugged, so all he wanted to do was catch up on what Index had found when she was with Carissa.

"Eve is definitely not a magic god," Index told him. "So I believe Adam isn't either. Their unknown power comes from Christian base magic, but they distorted it with a couple of different core beliefs and practices. It is possible they might be able to communicate with Lucifer directly to gather lost knowledge. We were going to examine another location, but then she received Curtana and knocked me out."

"That sounds bad," Touma said, slightly angry at Carissa having Index knocked out. While he didn't understand magic bases, the fact their power came from a former Archangel was not at all reassuring. "I hate being stuck in this room," he burst out suddenly and punched a wall. All that did was cause him to hurt his hand. "We should be out there helping end this coup before people get hurt. We can't let Carissa kill her family members."

"You shouldn't say her name so casually," a male voice remarked, as the door opened simultaneously with Touma's outburst. A muscular man in his thirties with short brown hair entered the room. He did not wear armor and instead wore a suit. It wasn't as fancy as Knight Leaders, but it was several steps above any suit Touma had owned. "If you continue to do so, people might think there is something going on between you two."

"Who are you?" Touma asked, as he instantly raised his guard and ignored the last comment. The voice sounded familiar, but he could not remember where.

"Don't you remember me?" the man asked smiling slightly as he stepped into the room. "It hasn't been that long and we even fought side by side. You timing was rather convenient."

"AH!" Touma yelled pointing as those words jolted his memory. "You were one of the knights accompanying her."

"Yes," he acknowledged, then turned serious. "My name is George Clarke, one of the knights directly under Princess Carissa, and I am here because I need to talk to you."

"About?"

"Several things," George started to say, but then he motioned for someone at the door to enter. A maid walked into the room and was pushing a cart with a plate of sandwiches on it. Index raised her head at the smell of food and immediately lunged at it from the couch, stuffing her face with three sandwiches at a time. The maid looked shocked at her reaction and quickly excused herself. "I was told you had requested food. I hope this shows I do not have any ill intentions."

"Yea," Touma said looking at the sight of Index devouring the food. He wasn't that hungry, but Index had to eat all the time for some reason. He never learned why her stomach was like a black hole. "So what do you want?" He was still suspicious.

"First," George said as he sat down in a chair and Touma sat across the table from him. "I came to tell you what is going to happen to you. I bet you can tell you are not getting a normal treatment for a prisoner. In fact, it is very unusual for the princess to bring anyone back to the palace, even if she has to talk to them."

"I did notice that," Touma admitted. "I thought it was because Index was too valuable to her to just leave somewhere."

"That is part of it," he acknowledged. "But there is more. You see, Princess Carissa is quite prideful, but she respects brave and strong individuals. When you rushed out to help us, even if she believed you didn't need to, she respected that. I believe she kept you here, not only to keep Index Librorum Prohibitorum from trying to escape by having her friend here, but to also protect you."

"Protect?" Touma asked incredulously and almost laughed from the ridiculousness of the statement. "You can't be serious."

"Protect might be a bit of a strong word," amended George. "Maybe, keeping you from battle would be a better choice of words."

"Huh?"

"You see," George explained. "Your hand is powerful, as you are well aware. The Anglican Church is in a desperate situation right now. They would use any means at their disposal to destroy Curtana Original and defeat Princess Carissa, including you. If she met you on the battlefield, she most likely would be forced to kill you. I believe she wishes to avoid that situation."

"Do you think my hand could destroy something as powerful as the Curtana Original?" Touma asked.

"If you touched it directly," Index piped up. "I believe it would. Trying to negate the Telesma she is feeding to the knights wouldn't affect it at all though." Touma nodded in thanks for the explanation and turned back to George.

"What you say makes sense," Touma admitted to George. "But that doesn't explain why she put us in a fancy room like this instead of a prison cell. She doesn't seem like the kind of person to treat captives differently, regardless of their status."

"I have to agree," George said while closing his eyes, crossing his arms, and nodding. "She does seem to be treating you two special, even for helping her out without being forced to. I expected her to have you held at another location. The palace is bit of overkill." He looked up and stared at Touma for a moment. "What are you to her?" he asked suddenly

"What?" Touma asked shocked. "I haven't done anything to warrant an attention of a princess. There is no way something like that could happen. I tried to stop one of the magic cabal members from delivering Curtana, but she succeeded. There was no opportunity to raise any flags. I left immediately after helping you two fight the Fallen guys."

"Tooouuummmaaaa," Index hissed dangerously and Touma felt and saw the dark aura seep from her body.

"Judging by her actions," George said thoughtfully, more to himself then Touma. "While she is not going to let it affect her plans, which is a sign of a good leader. But, I believe she might be harboring some kind of admiration for you."

"Are you serious?" Touma asked with his mouth agape. He was too stunned to notice the extremely dangerous girl behind him.

"TOUMA!" Index cried angrily and jumped at him, sinking her sharp teeth into his head.

"Index!" Touma yelled in pain trying to get her off of him. "Stop biting me! There's no way she could have any feelings for me!"

"Stop… flirting…with… girls!" Index yelled at him between bites. George watched their interactions with a small amount of amusement on his face, until Touma finally got Index off his head. George stood up and stretched, aware Touma was glaring at him, and then sat back down.

"I did not mean to cause any strife," he apologized, but Touma still saw the glint of amusement in his eyes.

"Did you just say that stuff to try to get me on her side?" Touma asked suspiciously. "There's no reason to try to lie to me. I'm not going to give you any information on my friends."

"I'm not either," Index added defiantly.

"It would be easier if that was indeed the case," George sighed and Touma felt a small bit of pity towards him. He realized being a knight under Carissa's command was probably not the easiest task. He saw the way she acted in combat and when strategizing. She was strong and smart, but carried out her strategy ruthlessly and efficiently. Touma also realized she probably did not accept any sort of failure. The knights, who lost track of the Queen and the other princesses, were probably not in the best condition. "Anyway," George continued. "If she isn't, everything will be easier. If she is," he looked at Touma, "I feel sorry for you kid." Touma felt a shiver run down his spine and realized George was simply warning him from man to man.

"Thanks," Touma said thinking George was a pretty good person.

"It is the least I can do," he said standing up. "I am in charge of your security till the princess comes back. Please do not attempt to escape. The guards outside were told to stop you by any means necessary and I don't want this to get violent. If you need me, tell the guards by the door." He left and gave them one last smile. "Seriously though, I feel sorry for you."

"Wait!" Touma called out a moment before George grabbed the handle.

"Yes?"

"Do you really support what Carissa is doing?" Touma asked. "You seem like a good guy. Can you really get behind her when she's trying to kill the Queen and her sisters?"

"You should address her more formally," George told him again. "As a knight, my duty is toward this country and the ruler. Princess Carissa is the one chosen my Curtana."

"You didn't answer my question," Touma interjected while Index watched them. "Do you support what she is doing?" George did not answer him, or even look him in the eye, and left the room. Touma realized things were just going to get worse, long before there was a chance they could get better.

* * *

Kuroko's eyes could not see everything that happened. One moment, she and Jason were staring at the man who called himself Knight Leader, the next, Jason had shoved her with his shadow and Knight Leader disappeared. Jason had been hit, thrown a good five feet, and collided into a nearby tree. She had been pushed just out of his reach or she would have had the same outcome as Jason. She instinctively teleported backwards and when Jason stood back up, she teleported next to him. _His speed is as fast as my teleportation. How are we going to fight a monster like that?_ She glanced at Jason who seemed to be back to normal and his shadow spun around him. "Do you have a plan?" she whispered.

"Run as soon as you get a chance," Jason muttered unusually serious. Kuroko didn't hear any of the humorous tone he always used when speaking to her. "I might be able to hold him off while you escape."

"You got to be kidding," she whispered back. "I can't just abandon someone. Is he that powerful?"

"You have no idea how much Telesma he has," Jason replied dryly.

"You know I can hear everything you are saying," Knight Leader said conversationally, but seemed to be willing to let them finish their conversation. "Escape is quite impossible. If you surrender, you will not be harmed. If you resist, I will use force." There was not a trace of emotion on his face. He did not see them as any sort of threat. That might have been the reason why he didn't just attack and incapacitate them.

"Yea right," Kuroko replied disdainfully. "Like we can trust you." Kuroko noticed a longsword on his hip, but he didn't seem to have any intention to draw it.

"I never asked you to trust me," Knight Leader pointed out. "I told you the two possible outcomes of our meeting."

"Well," Jason said trying to smirk, but it was obviously strained. "I always liked to choose the option not given." One of his shadow tendrils extended at high speeds and the end seemed to sharpen, like a sword. It slashed across Knight Leader's chest. Well it would have, there was a slight afterimage as Knight Leader disappeared and the shadow blade passed harmlessly through the air. Knight Leader reappeared right behind him and reached out a hand. Two more shadow blades spun around Jason and made slashing motions at Knight Leader, but he just disappeared and reappeared back in front of Jason. Knight Leader pulled back his fist to deliver a punch to Jason's gut when Jason disappeared a second before his fist connected.

Knight Leader looked around and located Kuroko grabbing Jason's arm fifty feet away. Jason glanced over at Kuroko and muttered thanks. "That did not appear to be speed," Knight Leader said looking at Kuroko. "You appear to be able to instantaneously move from one point to another and can take others with you. That is a most interesting ability. I assume those spikes you hold in your hand are a weapon you can use with it. Your power," he said turning to Jason, "is just like the reports. You have a shadow that appears to absorb Telesma. You also radiate mana, which leads me to believe you can use magic." His eyes moved between them as he examined both of them. "How did I do?"

Both Kuroko and Jason were stunned. Knight Leader only saw their abilities for a moment, and already analyzed them to that extent. Kuroko saw him move at speeds she couldn't possibly defend against and held her spikes tightly in her sweaty hand. _I guess I have to try to hit him directly. But with that speed, trying to aim is going to be really tough._ She looked over at Jason. His face looked surprised, but she saw his forehead narrowed slightly and she could tell he was thinking about his next step. "Can you slow him down for a moment?" she asked quietly.

"I can try," Jason replied, but she could hear the uncertainty in his voice. "If it was just speed, I might be able to handle it. I have fought those types before. The problem is he also has incredible strength too. My shadow won't be able to keep up with him, but I have a couple other things I can try if I can hit him. I hope you can take advantage of the opportunity."

"Who do you think I am?" Kuroko asked. "Give me an opening and I'll use it." Jason nodded and started walking toward Knight Leader, who raised an eyebrow in interest. Jason's shadow started circling around him like a vortex in strands five feet away. He took a couple more steps, and then started to dash at Knight Leader. His speed was only around a normal athletic person's, so it was like standing still to someone like Knight Leader. Two shadow swords emerged form Jason's sleeves as he ran towards him. They extended while circling around Knight Leader and, as they started to close in on him, he disappeared and the shadow vortex around Jason shattered under Knight Leader's strength. Knight Leader broke though the shadow vortex simply by plowing straight through it, and his fist lifted Jason up into the air. Jason gasped in pain as the wind was knocked out of him. He was thrown several feet into the air and landed with a thud. Knight Leader took a couple steps towards him and Kuroko saw Jason grin.

Shadows erupted from the ground around Knight Leader's foot and rooted him to the ground. At the same time, several others tendrils flew at him and started wrapping around his body. The shadows started to merge and his lower half was completely covered by darkness. Knight Leader looked down at his legs and then looked at Jason. "Did you think this was enough to stop me?" he asked. "Your shadow may steal Telesma, but you can only take a drop of it from the sea if power I wield." All he had to do was take a single step and the shadow shattered like glass and disappeared. Knight Leader took another step as he looked down at Jason. "You overestimate yourself."

"'My curse sends you into the endless abyss," Jason muttered, as he pointed at Knight Leader.

For a moment Knight Leader stopped while his eyes closed, and Kuroko thought for a minute it worked. Then Knight Leader opened his eyes and a smile stretched across his face. "That almost worked," he said slightly impressed. "I am glad you are giving it your all. I almost fell asleep, but my mind is far stronger than a cheap trick like that. Curtana is protecting me and strengthening my resolve." Knight Leader walked up, stopped next to Jason, and looked down at him. He reached a hand down to pick him up and he stopped, but the action wasn't his choice.

Every major joint in his arms and legs had a metal spike embedded in it.

Kuroko took the opportunity during the second Knight Leader let his guard down. Jason's ability and magic had failed, and Knight Leader was going to capture him. She teleported next to Jason, grabbed his hand, and then teleported them away from Knight Leader. "You ok?" she asked Jason.

"You cut that kind of close," grumbled Jason. "I'm healed back up, but I still remember the pain."

"I had to make sure he wouldn't suddenly move out of the way," Kuroko huffed. "I knew you would keep him occupied." They turned to look at Knight Leader and Kuroko's mouth fell open. Knight Leader was moving and pulling the needles out of his body. "How is he doing that? He shouldn't be able to move his joints with those needles in it."

"Damn," Jason yelled running toward Knight Leader, as his shadow erupted around him. "He's controlling the Telesma to force his body to move. Take him down before he is back to full strength." Jason lunged at Knight Leader and swung a shadow blade at him, who only had an arm free. Knight Leader looked up and with that one arm, drew his sword and swung it at speeds Jason could not see. His shadow blade was blown away and a deep wound appeared on his chest. Jason staggered backwards with bright red blood erupting from him and soaking the remains of his shirt.

"Jason!" Kuroko yelled in panic, as she teleported to him. She grabbed him and teleported them both out of range from Knight Leader. "Shit, there's a lot of blood." However, she calmed down as the wound began to close. "How…?"

"Curse of Pride," Jason said standing up straight. "It gives me high speed regenerative abilities. I'll explain it all later, but nice of you to call me by my first name." He looked at her and then at Knight Leader who had finished pulling the rest of the needles out of his body. He crushed them all in his hand and let the small metal ball of needle remains fall to the ground. Jason looked Knight Leader up and down and didn't see any blood from where the needles had been stuck. _His regenerative abilities must be strengthened by the Telesma too._ This his eyes traveled to the longsword Knight Leader held in his hand. Kuroko noticed it too.

"What is that?" she asked nervously pointing to the sword, ignoring Jason's attempt at comedy. The longsword Knight Leader had carried on his hip was no longer looked to be gray steel. Instead, it was deep red and the surface looked rough. As they watched, the surface bubbled. The bubbling was not mealy a result caused by a chemical reaction. Some of the bubbles were about the size of basketballs. Then hundreds of those large bubbles, wider than the sword itself, appeared and started to merge. His longsword grew until it was over three meters long. It was a sinister, slightly curved blade.

"This is not good," Jason remarked.

"I underestimated your power," Knight Leader said stretching out his arm and holding the sword perpendicular to his body. "I figured your power could transmit items directly into a person's body, but I did not realize you could bypass all of my defensive spells. I made a mistake, but this will be the only time. You wasted your one chance of a surprise attack. You should have aimed for my vitals instead of trying just to incapacitate me. This sword is known as Hrunting. Do you know it?" Kuroko shook her head, but Jason spoke up.

"I think I remember reading something about that," Jason said slowly. "It was the sword used by Beowulf and would become stronger as it was stained with the blood of enemies."

"Correct," Knight Leader said. "I substitute the Telesma I receive from the princess in place of blood. Though, the blood it received from you only fueled it more. It is quite useful in defeating foes with unusually powerful regenerative abilities." Jason felt a shiver run down his spine as he realized Knight Leader was referring to him. Also, the sword gave him a bad feeling.

 _Just leave the girl behind. You can get away._

 _Shut up._ "Spread out," Jason whispered. "If we are to close, he can get us both at once." Kuroko nodded and teleported about ten feet away. He didn't know everything the sword could do, but Knight Leader was already overwhelmingly strong without it.

"A wise plan," Knight Leader said. "But futile, Movement Speed." He vanished and the last thing Jason felt was a slight wind behind him before Knight Leader's sword plunged into his back and through his chest. The sword's momentum knocked him forward and he fell onto the ground. Knight Leader grabbed the handle of the sword, and pushed it down, virtually staking Jason into the ground.

"AHHHHHHH!" Jason yelled in pain, and then went silent.

"JASON!" Kuroko screamed again. She wanted to go help him, but stopped when Knight Leader looked at her. She froze under the strength of his gaze. The pressure Knight Leader emitted wasn't something a normal person could bare. Kuroko may have been a skilled ability user and fighter, but her experience had not prepared her for this. _What kind of guy would stab a student with a sword without any hesitation?_ Knight Leader started walking toward her, not fast or slow, but at his own pace. He knew he had won.

"I had fought individuals who could regenerate so fast, it was as if they were immortal," Knight Leader said to Jason, before he started walking toward Kuroko. "You were no different. Now I will capture the girl and take you both back to the Princess."

"Get away from her," Jason growled, but he was unable to move. He could feel his wounds healing, but his strength was leaving his body as fast as he gained it back. _Is that damn sword draining my blood as fast as the mark is regenerating?_ Jason didn't know enough about this artifact to be able to accurately examine it, but it appeared that was the case.

Kuroko's eyes darted back and forth from Knight Leader, Jason, and her surroundings. She was hoping to find anything to use as a weapon, since she had used up her metal needles trying to stop Knight Leader before. She picked up a rock and took a couple steps back as Knight Leader approached her. "Drop it," Knight Leader ordered her. "You are not someone who is experienced in killing others. As soon as you try to move that item at me, I will kill you. Drop it."

"Take that sword out of him," Kuroko said through gritted teeth.

"You are in no position to make demands," he said. "Besides, your boyfriend is still alive, the sword just keeps him helpless."

"Shut up and let him go," Kuroko spat out again, ignoring the boyfriend comment.

"I guess it's the hard way…" Knight Leader said, but then the stopped and staggered for a moment. Kuroko had no idea what happened, but she dropped the rock and used the opportunity to teleport next to Jason. She then teleported the sword out of his body. With the sword out of his body, Jason's wounds closed, he stood up, and then leaned against Kuroko.

"Thanks again," he said weakly.

"What did you do?" Kuroko asked Jason, as she stared at Knight Leader.

"Curse of Wrath," Jason said grimly. "Pain slowed him down, but his mental fortitude is insane. It's not going to stop him.

Knight Leader's body had been wracked with pain, as if every nerve in his body was on fire. This was more than just taking wounds and the burst of pain accompanying them. The pain was constantly growing and threatened to overwhelm his senses. He focuses all the training he had endured, through his years of training as a knight, and forced his brain to ignore those pain signals. He turned and glared at Jason. "That was unexpected," he said. "You are full of surprises. But this charade must end. I was going easy on you because you are kids, but now, I will treat you as adults."

"Well," Jason replied. "Here's your sword back." His shadow wrapped around the handle of Hrunting. It stretched as he thrust the sword toward Knight Leader, who was still slightly disoriented from the Curse of Wrath.

Knight Leader said three words. Those three words did not sound like much, but Jason and Kuroko would find out how dangerous they were.

"Turn to zero."

* * *

"What the f$%^ did you say?"

Accelerator did not know what Acqua truly wanted until now. He had followed Kaori because of her determined expression, one of someone going into battle, and he wanted to know why. When he found her completely overpowered, he stepped in. During his fight, he could tell why she had trouble. Acqua was a veteran of battle and, his way to instantly examine his opponents, was a pain to deal with. The magic vectors, that did not follow the normal rules of physics, stressed Accelerator to no end. _I thought he was just trying to capture the hero._ _So that bastard is trying to kill him? Like hell I'm going to let that happen. But can we stop a monster like this._ His head was pounding from the damage he received from Acqua, and the stress he obtained from reversing the blood flow.

"I am a Saint," Acqua said patiently. It was probably a sign of respect to Accelerator's power he explained himself again. "We are born with bodies similar to the Son of God. I am also a member of God's Right Seat and…"

"F%^$ GOD!" Accelerator yelled and Kaori pretended she didn't hear that. "Did you just say you were here to kill the hero?"

"I am going to kill the owner of the Imagine Breaker," Acqua confirmed. "Then take his right hand back with me. I will make it quick. He will not feel a thing."

"Like hell that is going to happen," Accelerator said taking a step forward and cracks in the ground started spreading out from him, like he stepped on thin ice.

"We will stop you," Kaori added holding her sword out.

"Why do you insist on stopping me?" Acqua asked. "Why would you be willing to die for the sake of a single boy?"

"He went out of his way to save people I considered my family," Kaori replied glaring at him. "And has never once asked for anything in return. I owe him a great debt. Plus, I admire the strength of his resolve to overcome any adversary." Accelerator remained quiet, but gritted his teeth in frustration. Acqua stared at him for a moment and shrugged.

"It seems unlikely you would just come and help out of the goodness of your heart," Acqua commented. "But I guess there are stupid people like that."

"You know what," Accelerator mumbled. "I do have a reason." Something rose in his chest, something he wanted to get off for a long time, but never had a good opportunity. Now, there were only two people, both of whom appeared to be people who didn't give others unnecessary information. "You said you are a Saint and a Member of God's seat. Where the hell was your God when I was walking down the road to hell? Where was he when I was abusing my power for the sake of only gaining strength? I hurt countless numbers of people and didn't think anything of it. Everyone else around me encouraged it. I thought it was just a part of life. I never had a family to teach me what was right and wrong. Was it God who saved me?" He stopped and his next words he yelled.

"No, It was the f#$%^& hero! He saved me! He stopped me from walking down that path! I have traveled to far down that path to be a hero myself, but thanks to him, I have everything I missed out on. I have people who actually care about me, people I want to protect, and even friends." His mind turned to Last Order, the people he lived with, and his friends from school. He took a deep breath and his red eyes flashed with conviction. "You know what, f$%^ it, that hero is my f^&**$ friend, the best I have ever had! It was thanks to him that I have a family now! I owe him more than I could ever hope to repay in my lifetime! I know what he is like now. He will continue to help everyone, something I can't do. So I will do the only thing I can. I will protect him from you, so he can help more people like me! I will do what has to be done from the dark so he can keep that light!" His mind started pounding again, and he felt the familiar, and dark, sensation he felt back when fighting in Italy.

Kaori and Acqua felt it to. It was the twisting of raw power emitting from Accelerator. It was definitely Telesma, but dark and warped. Kaori had been standing near him and jumped back several feet in response to this power. Acqua was far enough back, but he stopped when that power engulfed him. From Accelerator's back, two pure black wings erupted and started spreading out. They started expanding and splitting over several meters. The ground around him exploded and the tips of those wings ripped the ground like paper. Accelerator's eyes became more beast like as the only had one target, Acqua.

 _So that is where a source of the Telesma came from in Italy,_ Kaori thought. _But how could a science side individual, let alone a kid, be able to create Telesma. What kinds of experiments are being performed there?_

Acqua stared at the monster before him. He could feel killing intent and hatred emitting from Accelerator and those wings appeared to be an embodiment of those feelings. _In a sense, he is a lot like me. To protect others, we become monsters. I wonder what would happen if he could purify those wings. It is a shame I have to kill him. A monster like that can't be allowed to live._ Water all around him started to converge in his hand as he created another ice mace. "I respect your conviction."

Accelerator looked at him. Even though he appeared to be a monster, his mind was still miraculously clear. _I hate this feeling, but I have to stop this guy no matter what._ He could feel the overwhelming hatred threatening to take over his mind as he stood there. If Accelerator lost concentration for a moment, he would truly become the monster he had once before. _I won't let that happen._ He took a step forward, his wings extending over several meetings. "I am going to stop you, even if I have to tear you into pieces!"

A moment later, the ground exploded as the true monster's clashed once again.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter. Enjoy a skit MrQuestionMark and I created.**

 **Accelerator: What kind of bullshit is not dying when blood circulation is reversed?**

 **Motoharu: Saint power #34, blood vessels that can withstand sudden change in direction.**

 **Jason: Actually, Saint power #1. Just accept it. Don't think about it. Just accept it. Saint power #1 paragraph (j): when in the face of the power known as Imagine Breaker one must think about it.**

 **Kanzaki: What the hell is this?**

 **Acqua: Eastern Saint...I find it remarkable, that a person and Saint of your caliber, has failed to read the basic manual of your abilities. They come naturally when you gain your powers.**

 **Kanzaki: That is ridiculous. What kind of logic does that come from? And where do they come from?**

 **Touma: It's not that ridiculous.**

 **Kakeru: How do you think that we have such a good understanding of our powers? All powers come with a manual.**

 **Jason: That's how I learned the formulas for my shadow. I believe you can pick up copies on Amazon.**

 **Touma: I lost mine though. And my memories. There are still some things I don't get.**

 **Invisible Thing: I know right? My host, do you know what I've have to put with?**

 **Touma:...Did any of you guys here that?**

 **Motoharu: No, but I heard Accelerator mention his love for Kami-yan.**

 **Mikoto: Oh my god!**

 **Misaki: No, you can't have him!**

 **Accelerator: SHUT UP ALL OF YOU!**

 **Jason: Guy love at its finest.**

 **Accelerator: I'm going to kill you all!**

 **Shizuri: Except Kamijou.**

 ***World Explodes***


	48. S2 Why We Fight

**So I thought I was going to release these on Thursday, but due to holidays getting closer, a lot of stuff I do every week gets cancelled. I had a lot more free time to sit down and write. I also enjoyed finishing up the fights to move the plot along so I wrote a little more each night. I feel the fights ended well and now everyone else is beginning to take action. I will say, they follow chapter after this one is going to be an explosion and I am sure everyone will know why. I feel it is obvious, but who knows, I may just be high again.**

 **Handsomistic1: It kind of turned into a weekly thing as the chapters got longer. The Accelerator fight just broke up so easily, there was a good point to stop it. I imagined it like anime fight scenes were they stop right after a big event before finishing the fight.**

 **Whwsms: Don't question it…. Just accept it and move on.**

 **Agent Nine: There is a method to the madness. We shall build up his misfortune to the breaking point, and then have fun as it all collapses on himself. Plus, have to get rid of some of the good fighters so Touma can do more in the fights that are bound to come.**

 **FireDusk: Never, now because of you, Jason will die. People can't be happy. What do you think this is? A romance novel with a harem ending…. Never mind, disregard that.**

 **I am pleased to see everyone liked Accelerator's fight so far. I had the feels when I wrote it too. It had been slowly building up to that moment, he just needed a good opportunity to express it. Of course, he won't want anyone to find out about it.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

Mikoto and Misaki were sitting in silence as Agnese drove everyone back to the hotel. Lessar had fallen asleep, which was good for her as she needed to recover from her ordeal. The other nun was sitting quietly, afraid if she did anything to attract attention, another shouting match would occur. Agnese was also concerned about one starting up again, but she was also worried about Touma. She was thinking of what Carissa was planning to do to Touma and why she even wanted him in the first place. After careful consideration, she had arrived to the conclusion Carissa wanted to keep the Imagine Breaker in her grasp to use against any church counter attacks. _But how does she expect to use him like that?_ A small smile appeared on her face despite herself. _Knowing him, he's going to accidently ruin all of her plans. Besides, I know for a fact he wouldn't work with her willingly._

Mikoto and Misaki were also deep in thought about Touma's fate at the hands of Carissa. Misaki was fuming silently to herself, as she stared out the window, deeply upset at Mikoto's lack of resistance to prevent Touma from being captured. After she had time to think, she knew Touma wouldn't want others to get involved and he sacrificed himself to save Mikoto and the others. _I can't really expect anything else from him. After all, he really is a prince._ She didn't want to think of what the princess was doing to him, but anything she imagined had made her furious. _If anything happens to him, I swear I will not rest until her, and everyone under her, is taken down._ Now that Mikoto had told her the known conditions of everyone else, there wasn't much reason to talk to others and she remained silent.

Mikoto was in a similar position, as she too was worried about what was going to happen to Touma. She was furious at herself for being unable to stop Touma from leaving with Carissa. Based on what she had saw of the princess, Carissa was tough, willing to fight, and highly efficient, but also appeared to not be willing to needlessly waste resources. _She probably wants to keep his hand and Index's knowledge for her use. I doubt she will hurt him, but she is also a girl and he seems to attract…_ Her face flushed, and she grew slightly angry and embarrassed at her thoughts. _There's no way that will happen. She's a princess and she would never go for him. Besides, Touma wouldn't willingly go with her, he has me... friends he would want to go back with._ Her eyes traveled down the road they were traveling on and her eyes saw their hotel in the distance. "I hope Kuroko returned by now," she muttered out loud.

"We will know in a minute," Agnese replied as the hotel grew closer. "She shouldn't have run off on her own, regardless of the circumstances. While it will be harder for them to track her, since she cannot use magic, it's not safe in the city."

"I know," Mikoto agreed gritting her teeth. She was still angry at Kuroko for running off on her own, even with good intensions to look for others. Mikoto had tried to contact her, but she never received a reply back. _Kuroko's tough and resourceful, I'm sure she will be ok. Hopefully, when she sees my message, she will leave the city and meet back up with us._

"She was really worried about Misaka-san that much huh," Misaki whispered behind Mikoto. "Maybe you should just return her feelings. Not a lot of people would do that for someone else. Risking life and limb to find someone they care about." Misaki figured teasing Mikoto, a little bit, would help keep her mind off Touma until they knew more.

"Shut up," Mikoto snapped. "She's my best friend and I am not in the mood for your games right now."

"Aww," Misaki replied pretending to pout. "And here I thought we were best friends. I'm really hurt now." She made a little sniffle sound from the back seat.

"Where did you get a stupid idea like that," Mikoto said, turning around and glaring at her. Misaki smiled at her and winked, like she was flirting with her. "Our friends are missing and you can't even be serious. I thought for sure you would be upset over Touma getting captured."

"I am and panicking right now isn't going to help us at all," Misaki pointed out her grin slipping off her face. "You should take a deep breath and relax until we get to the hotel and find out what is happening. Shouting angrily and thinking of running off on your own will not only increase the chance of getting captured, but could also impact others, if they are enacting their plan as well. You are not the only one worried about them." Though Misaki was more worried about Touma, Kuroko was just a secondary target, she wanted to make sure Mikoto would not run off on her own. _While I don't like her, her power will most likely be required to save Touma._

"You were the one who started yelling when you got in the car," Mikoto mumbled in her defense and turned around to face forward again. _I don't want to admit it, but she's right._ Mikoto took a deep breath and tried to turn her mind to something more positive. She was going to meet up with Kazari and Ruiko so her stomach, previous in knots from her worries, began to untangle itself. As she calmed down, she knew this wasn't the end. _After we regroup, we will rescue him once we have a plan._ She sighed slightly. _I feel better… wait, was she actually trying to cheer me up? It couldn't be…_

"We are here," Agnese announced, as she pulled in front of the hotel. "You two should go back up to your rooms. Your friends should be waiting. We need to move Lessar with the other prisoners."

"Other prisoners?" asked Lessar. She woke up and was looking around. "Who else do you have?"

"We have your two companions who entered the city with you," Agnese said. "You should be glad we got them out of the city. Otherwise, the knights would have captured them." She didn't mention one of them had been left in St. George's Cathedral and was only here because she delivered a message.

"Floris and Bayloupe are here?" Lessar asked slightly excited. "You haven't done anything bad to them right?" She looked suspiciously at Agnese before continuing. "At least Bayloupe can't spank me for messing up," she muttered and her hands moved instinctively to her butt.

"They cooperated to an extent," Agnese said shrugging. "Though Stiyl's form of interrogation can be a little rough, nothing noteworthy happened to them."

"He does seem a little too serious," Misaki added. "Would it kill him to smile once in a while?"

"He never tells us enough information either," Mikoto complained. "He barely lets us know anything is happening, unless it's going to cause a mess on this kind of scale."

"I heard from the Archbishop he is more talkative around Kamijou," Agnese said with a slight grin.

"Seriously?" Mikoto and Misaki asked interested. Neither of them knew the full relationship between Touma and Stiyl, so they were interested in anything she could tell them.

"That's what I was told," Agnese said shrugging. "Kamijou helps Stiyl with missions, usually when a magician infiltrates the Academy City." They all got out of the car and walked into the hotel. None of them were surprised to see a lot of nuns running back and forth while carrying equipment, ranging from computer parts to weapons, and even food. Agnese led Lessar and the nun down a side hallway, while Mikoto and Misaki took the elevator to their room. It was quiet as they went up to their floor. Misaki was still slightly embarrassed she raised her voice publically in front of Mikoto and Mikoto was wondering if Misaki had actually tried to cheer her up earlier. Neither of them talked to each other during the ride. When they got off on their floor, Ruiko and Kazari burst out of their room to great them.

"Misaka-san!" Ruiko called out as she ran up to her and gave her a hug. "Shokuhou-san!" She stopped hugging Mikoto and hugged Misaki too. Misaki's face turned from amusement to embarrassment as she was embraced by Ruiko. Mikoto couldn't conceal her grin at Misaki's reaction.

"I'm glad you both are all right," Kazari said, her eyes full of concern. "We were relieved when we heard Agnese-san picked up Shokuhou-san on the way back. Mugino-san and her friends arrived a little while ago and they told us you stayed behind."

"Any word on Touma?" Misaki asked. Ruiko and Kazari shook their heads sadly.

"All we know is he and Index have been taken to Buckingham Palace by the princess," Ruiko told her. Mikoto realized Agnese had called ahead and gave them the information.

"I suppose you haven't heard from Kuroko either?" Mikoto asked hopefully, and they both shook their head again sadly. Mikoto's stomach sank into the floor as her fear something happened to Kuroko returned.

"We only received a letter from Jason," Kazari explained and she had a curious expression on her face. It was a cross between nervousness and determination, but it looked like she really wanted to give them good news. "He set up an access point for us to remotely hack the London security cameras before leaving the city. Magnus-san said Princess Carissa was most likely going to rely on magical means to monitor the city, so the cameras will be unguarded."

"And Tsuchimikado-san had evacuated with another group to a different location," Ruiko said. "He won't be able to come back here until the heat dies down."

"That's good news," Misaki said nodding her head slightly. "Touma's friends are safe, and we have a way to start tracking him." She turned to Mikoto and smiled. 'See, isn't this better than just running around blindly? Don't you feel better now?"

"Yea," Mikoto grudgingly agreed, but she did indeed feel better. "I wish Kuroko would have thought of that."

"Well she is a brat," Shizuri said, walking up to them with Saiai and Frenda behind her. No one had noticed her approach them until she spoke. "You can't expect her to act logically all the time. So if I understand the situation, there are four people missing, and then Accelerator's off doing who knows what?"

"Any word on him?" Saiai asked.

"Just that he ran off on his own shortly before the coup," Mikoto answered. "I have no idea what goes through his head."

"I wonder what got his attention," Misaki said thoughtfully. "Must have been something big."

"Knowing him," Shizuri formulated. "I bet he found someone strong to defeat, maybe one of these so called magicians, because of their unusual powers."

"I don't think he would go out of his way," Mikoto said thoughtfully. "He always seems so… wait, you know about magic?" She looked at Shizuri in shock.

"You think after this event," Shizuri asked, sounding like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "We wouldn't find out about it? We interrogated the Itsuwa girl until she gave us a quick description of what was happening."

"Basically," Frenda added. "We may not know the specifics, but we have a general overview. It's good…"

"Their abilities are super weird yet powerful," Saiai interrupted. "The knights can take a blast of Mugino's Meltdowner and live. That is super impressive."

"You're shooting your ability at people?" Mikoto asked stunned, as she turned to Shizuri. "Your ability is ridiculously destructive. You can't go shooting it around at normal people! They could have died!"

"They could hardly be called normal," Shizuri replied nonchalantly, while using a hand to flick her hair back over her shoulder. "Besides, they attacked us first, so it was legitimate self-defense. Besides, they didn't die… probably… we didn't bother to check… so what's the big deal?"

"How uncivilized," Misaki muttered, more to herself then anyone else. She had a bad taste in her mouth because she knew how deadly Shizuri's ability is. Even if the knights could somehow survive, if she missed and hit someone else, Misaki did not want to imagine the outcome. Ruiko and Kazari looked at each other in worry. Neither of them had seen Shizuri's ability first hand, but they knew how strong a level 5 could be. Their worry was based on the way Mikoto talked about Shizuri's ability's destructive potential.

"You know what the big deal is…" Mikoto started to reply, her voice slowly getting louder, when they were interrupted by Stiyl, Itsuwa, and Agnese walking toward them. Everyone stopped arguing and turned to look at Stiyl, who was leading the group.

"Everything has been set up," Stiyl said, looking at Kazari. "We need you to access the security cameras now." He stopped and looked at the rest of them. "We aren't interrupting anything, are we? You know what, I don't even care. The current situation is more important than petty arguments. Are you ready?" He turned back to look at Kazari.

"Ah yes," Kazari said hastily. Stiyl turned and started walking back towards the elevator, while Kazari followed.

"They need her to hack London's security camera's right," Mikoto asked Itsuwa and she nodded.

"Thanks to Kagere-san's help," she explained. "He did something in London to allow Uiharu-san to remotely access them. Now we don't have to try to send spies into the city."

"Sounds like he put up bypass with wireless access," Shizuri said almost impressed. "Not a bad plan on his part."

"So we should be able to start gathering information to rescue Touma?" Misaki asked hopefully.

"Yes," Itsuwa nodded with resolution in her eyes. Mikoto and Misaki both noticed the change in her facial expression. "We have a couple people testing London's defenses, but anyone capable of using magic can't get anywhere without being immediately detected. We are hoping we can get some information this way without taking to many risks. The knights have to at least keep their forces spread out to intercept our small groups."

"Though," Agnese said being the voice of reason. "Depending on how many cameras we can access, we probably can't see all of London and monitor it effectively. We are hoping to find any information relating to weak points in their security that we can exploit."

"Makes sense," Misaki muttered. "Running blindly into an enemy's base is suicidal. Learning their defenses is good strategy."

"Do you think we can locate anyone else inside the city?" Ruiko asked.

"If your friends are still inside the city," Itsuwa answered. "We are hoping to locate them too."

"I'm not someone who likes to sit around and wait," Shizuri said sounding slightly irritated. "I kind of want to blast a couple more knights."

"It's a good plan," Frenda said shrugging. "Basically, it increases the chance of success."

"Do you think I didn't know that?" Shizuri asked, eyeing Frenda coldly.

"Of course not Mugino," Frenda denied, violently shaking her head.

"Well," Saiai said putting her hands behind her head. "That means we have to super kill time while the computer girl helps hack the system."

"I don't know about you all," Mikoto said dryly. "I'm not really into doing anything till I know my friends are safe. Also, her name is Uiharu not computer girl."

"Are you sure?" Shizuri asked with an evil glint in her eye. "I found out something really interesting and I was going to share it with you out of the kindness of my heart." That got everyone's attention.

"Oh," Misaki said raising an eyebrow. She doubted Shizuri would, or has ever done, anything out of the kindness of her heart. If Shizuri was going to give them information, it either would increase the odds of her getting something she wanted, or the information would cause problems for someone else. _I bet it's the second option._ However, her interest was aroused and she really wanted to know. Judging by the looks Ruiko and Mikoto exchanged with each other, they wanted to know too. Frenda and Saiai shared a confused look, telling Misaki they did not know what Shizuri was going to say.

"It seems she," Shizuri said pointing a finger at Itsuwa. "Appears to be in love with Kamijou too. Thought you all should know."

"What?!" Itsuwa said, turning immediately to look at Shizuri, as her face turning scarlet. Itsuwa didn't know what Shizuri was going to talk about, but that was the last things she expected to hear in their current situation. She could feel the stares coming at her from all directions without even looking. _Why did she have to say that? It's like having another Tatemiya here._

* * *

Touma and Index had only a moments warning, from the thud of heavy boots, and then the door to their waiting room was thrown open. George walked in and he was followed by four other knights. While he was still not in his armor, just his suit, the others were. Touma could feel the tension in the room increase and he realized Carissa must have finally either called for him, or determined his fate. Touma had no idea how long he had been waiting, since there was no clock in the room and his phone was taken away, but it felt like he had been there forever. Though, that could have been because there was nothing to do and it made the time move slowly. He looked at George and opened his mouth to ask what was going to happen, but George interrupted him. "You have been summoned for an audience with Lady Carissa." He nodded slightly to one of the other knights, who walked forward with handcuffs. "You will put these on. The Index Librorum Prohibitorum will stay here as security to ensure you do not try to cause any trouble."

"I want to go with Touma," Index demanded standing up and rushing to Touma's side.

"Our orders were to keep you here," George said sternly and Touma realized, from his tone, Carissa had given him a direct order and he would not disobey.

"It's ok Index," Touma reassured her." He put the handcuffs on and the knight made sure they clicked into place. As they did not break apart when his right hand touched it, they must not have been magical. "I'll be back before you know it." His voice sounded a lot more confident then he felt. He just didn't want Index to worry, but he did not know what fate had in store for him. _Carissa seems to always have several things going on at once. I can't really read her intentions._

"Don't you get into trouble when you are out of my sight," Index told him sternly, but Touma could see the concern in her eyes. He smiled.

"When do I ever get in trouble?" Touma asked chuckling slightly. Touma could see her eyes roll at his remark and then she glared at him, as he was led out of the room. They walked down the hallway in silence, but Touma could feel something was wrong. George looked a lot more serious then when he first met Touma. "Something happened didn't it?" Touma muttered to him so the others did not hear.

"A lot of things happen," George muttered back. "None of which I can talk about freely. Let's just say she is not in a good mood." He paused for a moment. "I do not envy your position right now. I don't believe she is going to be that merciful to you and your companions."

"Great," Touma said dryly. "I'm going to have to convince her then to stop this."

"Good luck with that," George said and a shadow of a grin almost appeared on his face. They came to the main meeting room, where Touma had first met the royal family, and George pushed the door open while announcing his presence. Touma saw Carissa sitting in a chair in the middle of the room, while several other people had left through side doors. He could see what George meant. Carissa was scowling at some papers in front of her and was emitting a dark irritated aura, as she pursued the information. Touma was forced into a seat about ten feet from her and she didn't even look up. All the other knights left except for George, who stood slightly behind Touma. Neither of them said anything for a moment, while Carissa studied the papers.

"I take it phase three is not going well," asked Touma as he broke the silence. _I guess it's good news the Queen and the other princesses have not been captured yet. I'm sure someone would have mentioned it by now if they had._

"If you were a normal individual," Carissa said softly, not looking up, Touma noticed she still held Curtana in her right hand. "I would have you killed for speaking to me like that. You are lucky you still have a purpose, but you better be mindful of your tongue boy. You are not beyond a good thrashing."

"What purpose would that be?" Touma asked. "I figured you wouldn't keep me so close without a good reason. If you simply wanted to prevent my hand from being used against you, you could have just killed me. I don't know what you want with me, but I am not going to turn on my friends."

"Once again you surprise me," Carissa said, finally looking up from her work and staring directly at him. He felt a shiver go down his spine as his eyes met hers. "You show remarkable perception in these things. Yes, I have many plans for you, but I didn't expect you to turn and fight your companions, willingly or not."

"Then what?" Touma asked confused at what her plan was for him.

"The Church and my family know the only chance they have to defeat me is to remove Curtana Original from my possession," Carissa explained. "That is, of course, impossible with how much power I have at my disposal. So, they would have to find a way to destroy it, even as I wield it. They would need your hand in order to accomplish that. As long as I have it, they will not be able to stop me."

"I see," Touma said, thinking that is similar to what George told him. "But wouldn't that mean…" He suddenly felt his stomach drop.

"They will come for you," Carissa said and a smile stretched across her face. It wasn't a friendly smile. It was a slightly sinister smile of someone who knew they were going to win a game. "But that also means, they will come to me. The church will have to send their elite members and there is a good chance my mother will even come. Though, I am afraid if your friends get mixed up again in this, the outcome will not be good for them."

"Damn it!" Touma yelled standing up. "Don't you dare threaten them." George put his hand on Touma's shoulder and pushed him back down into this seat. "I swear if you do…" Touma started to threaten her through gritted teeth, but she interrupted him.

"Silence," Carissa said forcefully. "Let me finish before you rudely interrupt or I will have your mouth gagged. Which might be kind of fun. From what I have seen of your companions from Academy City, they do not appear to like to keep their noses out of other people's business. By your actions," Touma actually saw her smile for real this time, "I determine you would not sit quietly and wait while they fought my forces."

"You have that right," Touma muttered. _I would stop you myself if needed._

"So I called you here to make an offer," Carissa continued and Touma tilted his head slightly in confusion. "The fighting has not escalated right now, so this may be the only opportunity you have. I want you to call your companions and let them know if they head toward the airport and leave England, I will not stop them. I will let them go without incident."

"Why?" Touma asked immediately. To him, that deal was too good to be true. _I would prefer they all were able to avoid the fighting, but there has to be more._ "What's the catch?"

"No catch," Carissa said smiling. "Your companions will be free to go. You and the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, however, will be staying here and no longer allowed to return to Academy City."

"WHAT!" Touma yelled shocked. Whatever he was expecting, it wasn't that.

"Well having the Index here is only natural," Carissa explained. "She was created here and should remain here for me to use as needed for the country. You on the other hand," she paused, "are just too valuable to let leave. You will also stay here, become a citizen of this country, and be trained as part of the knights under my command."

"Why would you want me?" Touma asked incredulously and he heard George shift uncomfortably from behind him.

"Should I give you the real reason?" Carissa asked pretending to think. "Well, I think I can, as it doesn't really matter either way. First, your power will be quite useful in defending this country. The ability to destroy an enemy's most powerful magic would be a huge benefit. Second, you are brave, even if it is to the point of foolishness. You would carry out your duties as a knight well. Third, well… let's say I am intrigued by you as a person. I would like to know more on what makes you tick."

Touma immediately thought of what George told him and he had to shake his head in amazement. _Think,_ he thought to himself. _She has to mean something else then what you are thinking. There is no way a princess could be attracted to you. She's older, strong, famous, and attractive… why am I thinking that?_ He looked at her and did notice how young she looked, even being in her upper twenties. He figured stalling for time and asking questions might give him more information. "Why would you ask me this, instead of just forcing me to stay, and stop my friends with your forces? From what I heard about Curtana, your knights should be incredibly strong."

"Simple answer," Carissa replied, but her smiled faltered for a moment. "If I forced you, you would plot behind my back. I know you well enough to know if you accept this conditions, you would not betray me as long as I kept my word. Besides, I rather not waste any forces on your companions when I have other matters to attend to."

Touma stared at her for a moment thinking fast. He could tell there was more to it, but he wasn't sure what. Some of his friends wouldn't go quietly, Mikoto and Misaki wouldn't leave any of their friends behind, him included. He also knew Shizuri would never take someone else's orders if she could come up with any reason not to. Jason and Accelerator wouldn't want to follow any authority figures telling them what to do, just out of principle. _Geeze, all my friends are so stubborn. Everyone else could probably be convinced. Shirai would go if Mikoto went. What do I do? I hope Jason is ok. Knight Leader went after him… It's been awhile, shouldn't that have been resolved._ "I have one more question."

"I suppose," Carissa said almost bored and waved him to continue.

"Knight Leader went after my friend," Touma said and, with those words, he knew he had struck gold. Carissa's eyes flashed from bored to suspicious and he heard George shift behind him again. _Ha, something did happen._ "You told Knight Leader to capture him alive if possible. What was the outcome and where are they now?"

"He will carry his job out efficiently and effectively," Carissa answered, her eyes flashing dangerously, but Touma could tell she knew something she was not telling him. "I'm surprised you would be worried about a possible Fallen leader.

"He's not a Fallen leader," Touma protested. "I take it he wasn't able to capture him yet? Jason is pretty resourceful."

"He is indeed," muttered Carissa softly, and then her voice turned normal. "Now, this will be your only opportunity. Will you accept my proposition? You will be able to contact your 'friends' and let them know they will be able to leave England unharmed. In exchange, you and the Index will become part of England."

Touma remained silent as his mind processed the strange events. _Damn, what do I do? I can't let my friends get involved in the upcoming fight. I know the church isn't going to stop and neither will Carissa. I guess I don't really have a choice. If I can prevent any of them from getting hurt, then I guess it's worth it. I don't know how Academy City is going to take this, but I'm sure she thought of this ahead of time. I hope they aren't going to be too mad at me. It's going to be tough to convince them all._ He took a deep breath and looked at Carissa. "I accept," he said slowly. _At least this way, Index won't be left alone._

"Excellent," Carissa exclaimed, pleased at his answer. "Remove his restraints and give him his phone." George nodded and followed her orders. Touma looked at his phone and saw there were a ton of messages from his friends. He sighed, moved to the top one, saw it was from Mikoto, and dialed.

* * *

"What the…?" Jason asked, and he and Kuroko could only stare in shock. Jason had used his shadow to grab Knight Leader's sword and succeeded in using it against him. The sword had sliced right across Knight Leader's chest. Knight Leader had said something and then it appeared he didn't even try to dodge. The sword hit him directly, but nothing else happened. It was as if the sword had grown dull and his chest was like iron. There was no sign of any kind of damage. Knight Leader reached out and ripped the sword from Jason's shadow.

"How?" Kuroko asked, teleporting next to Jason. "That sword was really sharp."

"I know," Jason replied equally shocked. "He must have used some defensive spell."

"Yes and no," Knight Leader answered them. "It is an offensive spell to use on your opponent, so that defense is not necessary. Have you heard of the Norse hero Thororm?" Jason and Kuroko shook their heads. "He used magic to reduce the sharpness of his opponent's blade to zero. Therefore, his opponent could not harm him and only his sword could cut. I used this as the basis for my spell and constructed this technique. Anything I recognize as a weapon will have its offensive power reduced to zero." He smiled. "This spell also does not differentiate between science and magic. Grenades and rockets will not explode; arrows and bullets will not pierce anything. I can theoretically even use it on a nuclear weapon, though it has not been tested. It only lasts for ten minutes, but that makes it more than enough time for me to take down my opponents. I have to admit. It has been a long time since I have had to use it on my own weapon."

"That doesn't make any sense," Kuroko sputtered. "How do you just reduce that to zero? Even a dull blade should cause damage if you put force behind it."

"It's magic," Jason sighed. "As long as he constructs it from some belief, there really are no limits." He retracted his shadow and formed a couple swords of his own. "Try to find an opening." He ran forward, his shadow stretched out to surround Knight Leader, and all the swords converged on Knight Leader's location from different directions. Knight Leader didn't even appear to be concerned.

"Turn to zero."

All the shadow blades collided against Knight Leader and nothing happened. They simply hit him and his suit didn't even move. "I recognized your shadow as a weapon," Knight Leader commented. "I have taken away your main attack." The shadow swords turned into axes and swung at Knight Leader. The same thing happened. "Changing the shape isn't going to matter." He started walking towards them nonchalantly. He suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind Jason. He delivered a karate chop at Jason in the back of the head, causing him to fly forward, face first, into the ground. Jason rolled a good five feet before stopping.

"It's not over," Kuroko yelled at Knight Leader. He turned to look at her. She had immediately teleported away as soon as she saw him disappear. She discovered it would be too late, if she tried to teleport, after she saw Knight Leader reappear. She had to teleport immediately to try to stay out of his attack range. She picked up several sticks and was preparing to use them as weapons. With teleportation, the exact item she used didn't matter, when it was teleported directly into someone.

"Put those down," Knight Leader sighed rubbing his head with a hand. "And just surrender. You should not be involved in our fight."

"Like hell I'm not going to go and help a friend," Kuroko yelled back.

"Hah," Jason said standing up. "She called me a friend."

"Shut up! Not the time!"

"I see," Knight Leader said. "Admirable, but foolish." They looked at each other and simultaneously unleashed their powers. "Turn to Zero," Knight Leader said as Kuroko tried to teleport the sticks into him.

Without previous experience, no one knew what the results would be. Knight Leader recognized anything Kuroko held could be used as a weapon, due to her power, so his spell could activate. If she tried to teleport something near him, using the momentum to damage him, it wouldn't do anything. The issue arose when trying to teleport something directly into his body. Teleportation forces the teleported object to push out the matter occupying the space, but could it do that with all of its offensive power reduced to zero? That was the question all three of them had run through their heads. Jason and Kuroko knew the more technical aspects of her ability, while Knight Leader just knew she could move items directly into him.

Instead of teleporting into Knight Leader, the sticks appeared right outside of his clothes. Kuroko stared in shock and then frowned. She knew her calculations were correct and, because Knight Leader didn't suddenly move out of the way, he shouldn't have been able to dodge her attack. She analyzed it and it seemed because the offensive power was reduced to zero, it couldn't push out the matter occupying the space. Instead of being stuck in the eleventh dimension, where teleported items travel though before reappearing, the item moved to the nearest point, it could reappear at, to the calculated location. _His magic defies logic. How are we supposed to stop him?"_

"I was debating what the outcome was going to be," Knight Leader muttered. "But it appeared to work fine. I now recognize anything you touch can be used as a weapon." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a fraction of a second. "The pain is annoying. Do I just need to incapacitate you to remove it?"

"I'm just going to say it's permanent," Jason replied shrugging. While he may have used a light tone, his mind was going through the possibilities. His shadow was useless as any sort of attack, while the Thororm Spell was activated. His Marks of Sloth and Wrath didn't work, though Wrath was slowing Knight Leader's reflexes by a fraction, not enough to make it useful for them though. Mark of Greed wouldn't really be useful here, because Knight Leader didn't have any other weapons on him. Also, the mark couldn't steal mana, which was what spells were created from, unlike an ability. Jason had experimented and found out he could steal an ability, like Greed did, but not magic which made the mark pretty useless when fighting magicians. Envy wasn't really an offensive mark, and was primarily used for espionage. _What should I do?_

 _Use the girl to attack, use the true power of Envy, or use your last resort._

 _The last resort will kill me._

 _I'll take precautions with the Telesma you stole from the knights._

"I shall take you out first then," Knight Leader said, ignoring Jason and looking at Kuroko. "You still have the power to attack." He reached down and picked up a tree branch. It was about a meter long and two to three inches thick. In his hands it could be used like a club, something Jason and Kuroko immediately noted. Kuroko teleported away in response, to put some distance between them, but Knight Leader had disappeared and covered the distance in only a moment. She teleported again to try to escape him, but Knight Leader looked around and chased her down as soon as she reappeared. It was like a bad game of tag, where if Kuroko was half a step to slow, she was going to get struck by a monster. Jason couldn't do much, except watch the two of them move around the area. He had finally devised another plan, but the timing was important.

Kuroko barely had time to think of anything except the calculations. She was able to speed things up, by plotting a simple shaped route, as she teleported around, reducing the time needed to examine her surroundings. While this gave her the advantage early on, it did not escape Knight Leader's notice. He was a veteran of countless battles and was able to identify her route easily. When she reappeared at a location, she was shocked to see Knight Leader, right in front of her, bringing down the tree branch toward her head. She panicked and closed her eyes right before it hit her. She thought she heard Jason yell something, but couldn't make out what it was.

The branch shattered when it hit Kuroko's head.

Kuroko opened her eyes in shock. She heard the branch break, but she felt nothing hit her. She saw Knight Leader's surprise face, as the broken branch he held didn't do any damage to her. She teleported back ten feet, out of reflex, and stared. _How?_ She moved her eyes to Jason, the only other person in the area, and couldn't hold back a gasp. Instead of Jason, another exact copy of Knight Leader stood pointing at the Knight Leader who had attacked her. She stared for a moment and her brain clicked. After all, she had encountered that power once before. _He transformed into Knight Leader. He must have used the Mark of Envy because it allows him to copy abilities. Ah, he used that Thororm spell against Knight Leader. That was close._ She watched as the real Knight Leader turned around and stared at Jason.

 _What the…?_ Knight Leader thought, his mind processing the new information. Having someone transform into him was not the problem, there was a lot of different kinds of magic that could do that. What made him freeze for a moment was the fact his Thororm Technique spell, which took him years to develop, was copied too. _How could he mimic that?_ He stared at Jason and saw something else that unnerved him. It was like staring into a mirror. Not only did he look just like him, the way he held himself, and the mannerisms on how he moved, was also the same. Knight Leader calmed his mind, ignored the pain still wrecking his body, and examined Jason again. _His transformation is perfect to a degree, but he isn't able to fool Curtana. He doesn't seem to be infused with Telesma._ "What kind of power is that," he asked dropping the remains of the branch. "To actually be able to copy my spell?

"It really is an interesting technique," Jason replied. "But something tells me I can't cast it directly on people. Is it a flaw in the spell?"

"I can't lower an extension of the body to zero," Knight Leader replied. "Nor can it be used against any member of the royal family. As a knight loyal to them, I made sure to include that rule in my theory when I developed it."

"You speak of loyalty," Jason replied, his tone seemed to be more like Knight Leader's then his usual self. Kuroko assumed it was part of the mark's power. "Yet you are willing to betray the queen and two princesses to follow a third."

"It is for the sake of this country," Knight Leader replied.

"I think I understand now," Jason said slowly. "Words will not reach you." He took a step forward and prepared to attack. His shadow began to seep out from under his clothes and form a thin protective layer around himself. While he could not attack with it still, it could still be used for defense. "We must settle this with strength."

"Indeed," Knight Leader agreed. He felt like he was talking to himself, but in a way, that made it easier for him. "However, I know what you are trying to do, but I will not be distracted." Jason gritted his teeth and leaped forward, but Knight Leader was much faster. The Mark of Envy could only copy someone's abilities up to a point. While Jason's strength and speed increased, because Knight Leader was far stronger than him, it was still only a fraction of his normal strength, without even including the Telesma empowering him. Knight Leader disappeared, but he didn't go for Jason.

He went for Kuroko.

Kuroko had been listening to their conversation intently, but wasn't prepared for Knight Leader's sudden attack. She wasn't able to react in time and Knight Leader delivered a blow directly to her stomach. She gasped and collapsed unconscious at his feet. Knight Leader was no longer playing around. He learned their abilities and took down the greater threat. While Jason had a lot more powers then Kuroko, Knight Leader could handle them. Kuroko's teleportation bypassed his defenses, which made it the primary target. To stop it, he would have to constantly use Thororm's spell on everything she touched. He calmly thought it through and decided on the best course of action.

"KUROKO!" Jason yelled in anger as he swung his fist at Knight Leader's face. Knight Leader sighed and tilted his head slightly to dodge it. He didn't appreciate seeing his face looking so contorted with anger and fear, it bothered him. He drew back his fists and delivered a couple blows at superhuman speed. Jason opened his mouth and a small amount of blood came out as his transformation failed and he turned back into himself. Knight Leader then delivered a powerful kick to Jason's chest. They heard a couple cracks, as some ribs broke, and Jason was sent flying a good thirty feet. Jason hit the ground and rolled a couple more feet. His hand gripped the dirt and he looked up at Knight Leader, his wounds healing already. He got to his feet as Knight Leader took a couple steps forward.

"Are you ready to surrender?" Knight Leader asked. "Beating up kids leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I was going to capture you both, but the girl's ability is dangerous. It would probably be best if I killed her, since I do not know if we can hold her effectively."

"Don't you dare," muttered Jason.

"I don't believe you are in a position to make demands," he commented as he turned around and looked at Kuroko. He took a step towards her and suddenly found his body wrapped up by shadow bindings. "You know this isn't going to work." He could feel Telesma being absorbed by the shadow, but it was such a tiny amount, compared to how much he had due to Curtana. He broke the bindings simply by stepping forward.

 _Damn, I'm out of ideas. He's way to powerful for me. I might as well surrender._

 _That would be foolish, and most likely a waste. You are in a position where he can do what he wants. He is either going to kill her or not, regardless of what you do. Your only option to guarantee her life is to use that._

 _Great, then I die._

 _I can take some precautions with the Telesma you absorbed. You 'might' survive._

… _That's reassuring. Fine, let's do it._

Knight Leader looked down on Kuroko and debated with himself. His primary mission was to capture the boy who used the shadow magic in case he was a member of The Fallen. After the fight, he didn't really believe Jason was a part of them. _His magic is powerful and unusual, but the world was a wide place. The girl however…_ He had not encountered someone who could bypass all his defenses and hurt him like she could. He had fought people who could break through them, but bypassing them entirely had never been done. _These science powers of theirs are strange. I suppose getting rid of it would be the wiser option._ Killing a kid did not sit well with him, but as a knight, he did what had to be done for the country. He was about to reach down when he heard a sound and turned around.

Jason held a hand up to his face and was laughing uncontrollably. Around him, thin shadow ropes were spinning around and intersecting each other. Knight Leader noted the shadows could pass through each other without issues. It might have seemed like Jason was caging himself in, but then Knight Leader noticed a small dark circle started to form above Jason. "What are you planning? Your shadow is unable to touch me for several more minutes."

"I can't believe you forced me to use this," Jason laughed, his hand still clutching his face. "I suppose you made it easier for me by knocking her out. This way I can keep my disguise on longer."

Knight Leader raised an eyebrow. "Are you confessing?"

"Yes," Jason smiled. "I am a member of the Fallen. My job was to watch over the Imagine Breaker until the time came to use him. Being a double agent is tough. I had to do a lot of stuff I was not proud of for Lord Lucifer. Ending a powerful knight of Michael will please him greatly." To his right a shadow hand emerged from behind him. It was slightly larger and longer then his real right hand. "Rejoice," he continued. "Few mortals have ever seen this, and less have lived."

Knight Leader started walking toward him, his face changed from passiveness to determination. He had been going easy on them, using only enough force to try to incapacitate, now he was facing a threat against the UK. He was going to go all out and crush The Fallen Leader. He lunged forward and grabbed Hrunting on the ground. The blood red outer layer started to shrink until it was back to being a normal longsword. When he had used Thororm's spell on it, he used it on Hrunting, not the longsword, so now his normal blade was still useable. He was not going to let Jason use any of his spells. He lunged forward and crashed through the shadow ropes around him. To his surprise, he went right through them without resistance and collided with Jason, knocking him back while simultaneously stabbing him in the chest.

Knight Leader noticed Jason's smile never left his face, even as his face grimaced in pain from the wound. For some reason, Knight Leader felt he was walking into the boy's trap, but he had no idea what the trap was. All that happened was, as Jason moved, the shadow cage followed him, almost like he was the focal point. Knight Leader muttered something under his breath and his sword started glowing. He pulled it out of Jason and jumped back, while simultaneously making a slashing motion. A white blade came out of his sword and crashed into Jason. A second later, an explosion followed, obscuring both of them from each other's view. "That should be enough to take him in," Knight Leader said to himself.

"Do you believe that?" Jason's voice came out of the dust. As the dust cleared, Knight Leader saw the shadow cage was still intact. Jason's shirt was destroyed from the explosion, and the deep wounds were healing before their eyes. _Damn, even if I finish this, can I even hit him with it?_

 _That is the important question and our survival hangs on the answer._

"I see," Knight Leader realized. "Your shadow is creating a magic circle. I do not know what you are doing, but I will not stop and let you complete it." He charged forward holding his sword high and Jason gritted his teeth. While he wouldn't die to normal blows, he couldn't finish the complicated design if he was constantly being stabbed and blinded. All Knight Leader had to do was last long enough for the spell on Hrunting to finish. Once Jason was stabbed with it, he knew the fight was over. He watched Knight Leader cover the distance between them in an instance and was drawing back his sword.

A moment later, Knight Leader was blown backwards. He caught himself, and looked to see what hit him. At first he though Jason had used some attack, but with his shadow having no offensive capabilities right now, he would have had to use a magical attack, as physical attacks were useless. The magic attack he felt hit him, did not come from Jason and both of them stared at the source. Between them was a shadow, almost identical to Jason's shadow in appearance, except for one main difference. Unlike Jason's it was not connected to anything, and instead spun in a spiral while hovering in midair. _What the hell is that?_ Jason thought.

 _Don't question it and finish your summon._

"So I guess it is true," Knight Leader said. "That was the darkness that accompanied Eve. I see now you are truly part of the Fallen."

 _So that's her plan,_ Jason thought. _Makes sense, but I guess I don't have a choice._ He started focusing and the shadow ropes started to finish the complicated circle above him and the dark sphere grew larger. _Almost done._ Knight Leader seemed to notice it too and charged forward. The living shadow moved on its own and intercepted him. He was knocked back by the force of the blow, yet the shadow did not appear to be attacking, only protecting.

"Turn to zero," he said pointing toward it. He charged forward again to try to intercept Jason's magic circle, but the shadow collided with him again at high speeds, forcing him back. _It still has offensive power? Since I recognize it as a weapon, that means the shadow is the body itself, unlike him, or it can circumvent my spell. This is troublesome._ He had no idea what Jason was planning, or what this new shadow was capable off. "Movement Speed," he muttered. This was a magical attack pattern that let him travel at speeds surpassing even superhuman. He appeared on the other side of Jason and raised his sword to strike him, when the shadow collided again with him. _It's fast._ He stopped and jumped back when he felt something was wrong.

"Finally finished," Jason said turning to look at Knight Leader. "You wouldn't know, but my shadow involves the bending of dimensions. Because of this, I created a very small pocket dimension for a very specific item. It was a pain in the a$$, but it was the only way I could keep it." From that black sphere, a long sword descended slowly. The shape was very unassuming, though the hilt was solid gold and there were no markings on it to identify. What stood out most to Knight Leader was the blade itself. It was pure white, like fresh snow, and it did not appear to be solid. The edges of the sword flickered like flames, but it kept the general shape of the blade.

"What is that sword?" Knight Leader asked. He couldn't feel any mana or Telesma coming from it, but he could feel a chill creep down his spine as the sword levitated in front of Jason.

"I do not believe it has a name," Jason replied. "I didn't want to use it because, while it can defeat you, it will probably kill me in the process. The power is quite unstable, or maybe I just can't use it right. Either way, I wanted to avoid this, but you seriously pissed me off and left me no choice."

"No matter what you do," Knight Leader said. "It will not work. Turn to zero." He recognized it as a weapon, even if he didn't know what it was. "Regardless of what you based that sword on, a weapon is a weapon."

"I wonder if that will work," Jason said thoughtfully, as the shadow right hand behind him reached forward and grabbed the hilt. His face grimaced in pain as a white mist seemed to flow from his body. Suddenly, as they were talking, the living shadow that interrupted their fight moved and wrapped around Knight Leader's legs. Jason looked at it curiously.

"It seems it wants to be sure you won't miss," Knight Leader commented.

"I don't know why," Jason admitted as he raised the sword. "To be honest, I lied to you about being part of The Fallen. I also plan to destroy that shadow with you since you told me it is part of them." He had lied in order to draw Knight Leader's attention toward him and away from Kuroko. In response to his words, the shadow appeared to try to flee and released Knight Leader, but Jason swung the sword. Knight Leader's reaction was slightly delayed as he processed Jason's last words.

There was a flash of light.

Then there was darkness.

Then there was nothing.

The last thing Jason saw, before falling unconscious in the light, was Kuroko lying on the ground in the distance. _When did I become so soft? Arg, I hate everybody._

* * *

Boom!

Air was displaced as Accelerator's black wing collided with Acqua's ice mace. Both of them were not conceding even an inch as they exchanged blows. Accelerator's fury manifested itself as raw power in his wings, while Acqua condensed his own considerable power into his mace. The reason Acqua was able to exchange blows was because Accelerator's wings did not appear to be as powerful in vector manipulation. While he could feel a tiny bit of his power get deflected with each blow, the overall mass of power did not change. It just collided with the mass of power in the wings. He did not know if it was because Accelerator had to focus on maintaining the wings, or they were just a mass of power rather than actual extensions of his body. _It could even be incomplete. Either way, this boy is way more powerful then I had imagined._

Accelerator was struggling, because he was waging two battles. The obvious one was his clash with Acqua. His body couldn't keep up with Acqua's speed, but he noticed Acqua had slowed down slightly. _At least his reversed blood circulation is messing with him._ His black wings were mainly protecting his body and allowed him to attack and defend simultaneously. They seemed to move based on his thoughts, rather than his actions or calculations. The second fight was an internal battle with himself. The dark feelings, in the back of his mind, were trying to take over and he had to constantly focus to keep them back or he would lose himself to the dark wings completely. He could still feel them affecting him, making him angrier and wanted to crush Acqua, but those feelings were still manageable.

His right wing extended and swung at Acqua. He dodged by moving around the wing and avoiding the sharp feather shaped shards. Acqua didn't stop and kept moving around the wing, at speeds far beyond a normal human, until he was behind Accelerator. He swung his mace downwards, but the other black wing intercepted the blow. Acqua was forced back and Accelerator was forced forward from the resulting explosion. "Stand still and die!" he roared at Acqua.

Kaori was watching this fight while holding her sword tightly in her hand. She was waiting for any sort of opening in order to strike at Acqua. She had rested and mended some of her more serious wounds, but she was still far below her optimal form. She could tell Acqua was in a similar position, but he was still far stronger than her if she tried to fight him alone. However, the fight before her was not normal. If she jumped in carelessly, there was a good chance of being killed. Accelerator was obviously not in his right mind and might accidently attack her if she appeared suddenly, and the attack could leave her open. Acqua would take any opportunity to strike her down if he was given a chance. She gritted her teeth and watched the two monsters clash.

Acqua jumped back and swung his mace horizontally, as one of the wings swung at him. Instead of hitting it directly, Acqua lowered his mace at the last second and brought it upwards, knocking the wing above them. This left a brief opening between him and Accelerator. Of course, Acqua made full use of it and lunged forward swinging his mace down at Accelerator's head. Their eyes met and Accelerator grinned as he reached out a hand. The mace stopped when it made contact and Acqua could feel his magic being reflected. The magic was dispersing faster than it had before and Acqua understood why. _He's learning…_ While some of the magic still got through, it was less then what had before. Acqua retreated back thirty feet and just missed the wings closing in on him. The ground where he had just stood was torn apart into pieces and flew every direction. _I can't let this go on any longer. He is slowly gaining the advantage, so I will end this with my last attack._ He took a deep breath and inscribed a rune on the ice handle.

Accelerator gripped his head with his free hand. After that exchange, he learned something about his new power. His head was pounding and he had almost been consumed by the negative emotions. _Using the wings and calculating the magic vector trajectories is too much._ He was learning how to manipulate the magic vectors, and it was slightly easier this time, but as he started processing it, the defense against the dark emotions waned. As he was redirecting Acqua's magic, he felt his mind begin to submerge in hate and fear. He begun to want not just to kill, but to maim and slaughter. He was lucky Acqua retreated when he did, a few more seconds under the pressure of being crushed by magic and consumed by darkness and he would have fallen to those emotions. He would have become the monster he had been in Italy and would have killed anyone near him. "Running away like a coward," Accelerator taunted to hide his weakness. "Why make everything so difficult. You should just keel over and die already."

"With as much power as you wield," Acqua said. "I find it hard to imagine you had to be saved." He did not appear to be worried, but was instead focused on his weapon.

"Not everything can be obtained with just power," Accelerator said and his voice lost part of his mocking tone. Acqua and Kaori both noticed it and stared at him. "I found that out the hard way." Even Kaori found herself feeling the same way. After all, she had left the Amakusa because she was afraid of the way her power affected others. People would sacrifice themselves to save her or innocent people would get stuck in traps designed for her.

"This is the first thing you said I understand completely," Acqua acknowledged. "We do what we can with the power given to us. It is a shame we are on different sides."

"People fear us," Accelerator said stretching out his arms to his side, almost like a gesture of a hug. Kaori and Acqua noticed he changed from just referencing himself to all of them. "They pretend to befriend or understand monsters like us, knowing we could kill them in an instant. They simply try to remain on our good side." Neither Acqua nor Kaori said anything. "It doesn't matter what we go through, how tough a fight is, or how much we suffer. The worst part about being strong is that no one ever asks if you're ok. We are alone, but the damn hero is different. No matter what happens, that is the first thing he asks, even to the point of annoyance. No matter how much power I had, I could not save myself, because I did not know what I truly wanted until I found it." The wings behind him grew larger. "So f%^& your words, and f*#$% your attitude," he roared. "Just because you haven't been saved, doesn't mean I will let you kill him. Go use your strength, step off the path you are on, and find the path you are truly looking for."

Acqua froze. He knew Accelerator could not know how those words would affect him. Acqua had originally been a mercenary before he joined God's Right Seat. He left his homeland because he thought he could do more good for it outside of its boundary. He joined God's Right Seat because he wanted to save everyone from his country. They were supposed to remove the original sin from mankind, but somewhere along the way, Acqua began to realize there was something more. _Fiamma is up to something and I will make sure I find out what. Regardless, my mission has been set. I will follow it through to the end._ "I will consider your words," Acqua said. "But for this fight, I will still take you down. The reason I fight is to express myself with my body and sword" He pointed upwards and Kaori and Accelerator looked up.

A large sphere of water was floating high above them.

"When did he have time to do this?" Kaori mumbled and then realized the answer. While they were talking, and possibly long before that, Acqua had been slowly using his magic to move the water from the field around them into the air. He did it slowly and constantly so they would not notice all the water condensing to a single location. They had been distracted by his ice mace and fierce attacks. Kaori had been on the receiving end of that attack and barely survived. This water sphere was easily twice as large and was shimmering to catch every speck of light.

"What is that?" Accelerator asked. He had no idea how Acqua was planning to use it. "Is that water? You should know that won't work on me."

"Each member of God's Right Seat," Acqua informed him. "Is aligned with a specific archangel. I am aligned with Gabriel, who governs over the moon. Under the light of the moon, my power increases. Gabriel was also the angel who gave the news to the Divine Mother about the birth of the Son of God. I wield the power of the Divine Mother's Mercy, which only strengthens my bond with the archangel. I will use all my power to defeat you."

"Interesting," Accelerator said grinning and flexing his fingers. "You created an artificial moon to recreate the effect? That is ingenious. I will return your challenge and crush you at your best."

"Don't!" Kaori yelled reaching out a hand. "You don't know how much power he can wield under the moon!"

"It is too late," Acqua said as he bent his knees and used his full Saint power to jump high into the air. He leaped several times higher in the air then he had before. Kaori could only watch as Acqua raised the mace high above him. It grew easily three times its size as all the water vapor in the air began to converge. The light reflecting form the artificial moon made his ice and water mace sparkle in the air. Then she felt the tremendous magical pressure began to form above him. If his previous blow had been like a meteor, this one would be like the entire moon was about to come down and crash into the earth. Accelerator looked up as Acqua voice echoed across the field. His voice was filled with the strength and resolve worthy of being a Saint. "The Divine Mother shall remove all evil." As he descended, the pressure grew and seemed to be following his weapon as he brought the full force down upon Accelerator.

"I will break that confidence of yours!" Accelerator yelled back. The ground around him exploded as he jumped. He rocket into the air straight towards Acqua, his hand outstretched in front of him. "I will show you what real strength is!" He had an ominous feeling coming from Acqua's mace as he closed in on it, but he ignored the feeling. Right now, he only had one goal, to completely destroy Acqua. As they closed in on each other, Accelerator's black wing stretched forward, the tips like daggers. Right before they collided he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye. Kaori had jumped up, her sword glowing bright blue.

"This is also my fight," Kaori called out to him as she swung her blade.

A mace made and infused with all the magic from a Saint and member of God's Right Seat, wings of pure darkness from the strongest ability user with his ability to redirect, and a Saint's Yuisen which had the power to hurt even angels collided in midair. If two of these powers simply clashed, the result would cause the world to shake under their power. When three monsters, that surpassed even the power of superhuman, collided in the air, you could hear the world breaking. An explosion of blue and black light erupted in a sphere around them and spread out from their collision point. As it touched the ground, everything simply disappeared. Trees, rocks, dirt, grass, it did not matter. The power consumed it all. From a distance, it might have looked like someone set off a large chemical explosion. Luckily, it was day time, or everyone within countless miles would have seen it. Instead, only those who could feel mana felt the clash of power. As they had traveled a good ways away from the city, only a handful of knights felt it, and none of them wanted to go investigate, along with one other.

The earth looked like a meteor had collided with it. There was a huge dome shape indention in the ground. From the sky two figures fell, a man and a woman. The man had been blown backwards and, when he hit the ground, he bounced back several times until he collided into a thick tree. He somehow managed to land in a sitting position as he heard the crack from the tree. His eyes followed the female, Kaori, as she fell into the side of the indention and disappeared from view. His eyes traveled upwards toward the last figure that was slowly lowering himself to the ground. Acqua tested every part of his body, and found out he couldn't move any muscle in his body except his head. He wasn't paralyzed; he just took too much damage and didn't have any strength left. "So this is how it ends." He did not feel regret or anger toward Accelerator. He knew he would one day meet his fate on the battlefield.

Accelerator's wings were still present, reaching about five meters each direction. He was slowly lowering himself toward the ground, but even he had not escaped that explosion unscathed. His right arm hung useless at his side and a trail of blood ran down it. His eyes were no longer human, but crimson red and looked beast like. Though, they might have had a darker look because of the thin trail of blood running down from under his eyes, like red tears. Another trickle of blood ran out the side of his mouth. He didn't look like he could stand on his own without his wings, but the wings did not appear to be finished. Accelerator opened his mouth, and let out an animalistic howl.

"He appears to have lost all reason," Kaori mumbled trying to get up, but her body no longer listened to her. She was in a similar state as Acqua. Given time, their bodies would heal much faster than a normal person, but until then, they were helpless. "Damn it, move…" she told herself through gritted teeth, but to no avail.

Acqua watched the beast, formally Accelerator, slowly approach him. It was like Accelerator was slowly savoring the feeling of annihilating his enemy. His wings flickered in the air, sending small gusts of wind across the remains of the field. He stopped lightly on the ground and took a couple steps toward Acqua. _So the Imagine Breaker fought a monster like this and won? I must reevaluate his ability, though I may not get a chance. If he truly saved this guy, then it appears as if I put him back in the path to hell. I have failed as a member of God's Right Seat._ For the first time, Acqua felt regret at himself, not for losing, but for causing someone to lose their path of salvation. Accelerator grinned, and his wings stretched out and rushed toward Acqua, preparing to tear him apart. Acqua briefly imagined him as an angel of retribution or vengeance. He accepted his fate and punishment, and then closed his eyes.

He did not feel pain.

In fact, he felt nothing at all.

Instead, he heard Accelerator's voice.

"WHAT THE F#$% ARE YOU DOING?! ARE YOU TRYING TO GET YOURSELF KILLED?!"

Acqua opened his eyes and saw a small figure standing before him. It was a girl with blonde hair in a ponytail, pure white skin, and wearing a green dress. She was standing with her arms out stretched, to block Acqua from view. Accelerator's wings had stopped about a foot away from impaling her. Her surprise appearance seemed to snap Accelerator back to his senses.

Princess Villain had put herself in harm's way to protect Acqua. "Please don't kill William," she pleaded, her voice shacking, but filled with determination.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Accelerator: Well, the hero is about to start WWIII.**

 **Motoharu: We knew this would happen. He had to just use his Kami Disease to attract a princess.**

 **Touma: It's not like I try to do this!**

 **Jason: Well, he's now taken. I guess we should change this to 'The Adventures of Jason Kagere and Friends' now.**

 **Accelerator: Pssh, you obviously died. If anything, it's going to be 'Accelerator and his Minions.'**

 **Last Order: MISAKA wants to be minion number one MISAKA yells as MISAKA uses her favorite spoiled child tactic to get what she wants.**

 **Motoharu: Fine, I get minion number three.**

 **Jason: Four.**

 **Pierce: Fo… damn five.**

 **Touma: Why did everyone skip two?**

 **Motoharu: That's for the blonde girl who calls him master.**

 **Accelerator: F#$% you that never happened!**

 **Me: Lies it totally did.**

 **(In another location)**

 **Mikoto: I have a feeling we are about to have some really bad news.**

 **Misaki: I'm sure you are just paranoid. Once we find Touma I will rescue him and we will fall in love and be together forever.**

 **Mikoto: Now you are just delusional.**

 **Ruiko: I bet he escapes and manages to get to us.**

 **Shizuri: Nah, we go in blasting and just take him. That's how you are supposed to do it, not wait around for a prince to save you. Disney movies are very unrealistic.**

 **Misaki: It sounds like you hold a grudge.**

 **Frenda: She always wanted the villain to win.**


	49. S2 The Call

**I hope everyone is having a good holiday season, whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, or any other. I personally like Festivus for the Rest of Us. Anyway, hope everything is going well for everyone and you get what you want for your preferred holiday. Not a ton of action in this chapter, the last one finished the recent big fights. But, this chapter is important as it brought a lot of information together and is preparing for the big scenes coming up soon. Misfortune will soon start flying everywhere as science and magic collide.**

 **Guest: This story took on a life of its own and blew up a lot bigger then I originally planned. I'm not sure everything that's going to happen anymore and I just let the story write itself half the time. I do have plans that are slowly coming to fruition.**

 **Handsomistic1: Well, Accelerator kind of used magic or a hybrid of magic/science with his wings. Even the novels never really explained those wings. Besides, Accelerator is one of the strongest characters in the series. Saints are powerful, but there are plenty of magic beings higher than them.**

 **FireDusk: You did and it's entirely your fault. Nah, just kidding. It doesn't matter if I do or not. There are always three main groups, one that likes OC, one that doesn't, and one that just goes "eh, it's a plot character, they sometimes die." This chapter will answer the question though.**

 **Nothing at all: Babysitting Fremea back in Academy City.**

 **Agent Nine: No, he attached that other shadow existence that interrupted the fight.**

 **Generation Zero: Swords important, but you might want to pay close attention to what is discussed about Knight Leader's defeat. Everything will be revealed, but only at the perfect time.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

It happened ten years ago.

Villian was across the Strait of Dover, the small waterway separating England and France, and was traveling in the famous carriage known as the Traveling Fortress. She had been visiting France in order to help smooth relations amid the growing tension between the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Church. France was slowly being influenced by the Catholic Church and Villian had volunteered to help prevent hostilities from arising. Each of the princesses had a different trait, Rimea had intellect, Carissa had military might, and she possessed virtue or benevolence. This made her the best choice to keep the peace, something she desperately wanted. Even at a young age, she hated violence of any sort and wanted everyone to live in peace. She didn't even like learning magic because of all the ways it could be used for violence. She had only learned how to use magical items in order to help others.

She sighed and leaned back in her seat as the carriage begun to head back to England. She had a small squad of guards in the surrounding carriages, but not of her own accord. It was customary, when any member of the royal family traveled, to be protected wherever they went, in case of an attack. _I wish I didn't need them, it feels like we are showing we don't trust the French._ Even though the meeting had been uncomfortable, she did not have to talk much and left it to the diplomat who came with her. Villian's presence there was just a formality and showing the royal family was supportive of peace between the countries. She had been pleased at how well everything went and was looking forward to peace.

Her thoughts were interrupted, when she heard an explosion, and the carriage suddenly lurched forward and then stopped.

She fell forward and hit her head at the sudden stop. Rubbing her head, as it throbbed with pain, she pulled the curtain back on the carriage window and looked outside. Smoke was coming from one of her guard's carriages and she noticed the horses in front of the traveling fortress had been released. She didn't know what was happening, and was about to call out, when one of her guards yelled at her. "Stay in the carriage princess, we are under attack!" She leaned back and put a hand over her chest as her heart started to beat rapidly. As a princess, she rarely had been attack out in the open like this. She remembered only one time when she had been attacked by an assassin, who infiltrated the palace, but he was swiftly defeated by Knight Leader, who oversaw the palace's protection. She was afraid, not for her life, but for all the others who were going to fight for her. If she had time, she might have been able to talk them out of combat, but now, it was too late since the fighting had started.

The sound of blades clashing and people screaming started all around her carriage. She covered her ears and shook silently in her seat. She was only fourteen and had been through a lot for someone of her age, but she had never been on a battlefield before. She didn't know at the time why the Traveling Fortress was broken, it should have been impregnable. It was designed full of magical protections that a nuclear weapon shouldn't have been able to break it. She found out later, from a rumor, it had been purposely sabotaged for political reasons. The yelling outside of her carriage was dying down, which meant one side was about to win. She didn't have a lot of guards and the knots in her stomach warned her the outcome was not going to be in her favor. A moment later, the door of her carriage was blown off and a bald man in a robe, with a scar over his eye, looked at her.

"You are coming with us," he said without giving any explanation. He grabbed her shoulder and dragged her out of the carriage. Villian didn't say anything, nor did she put up a fight, but it was more of the fact she didn't have anything to say and knew she couldn't escape. Several men circled her and dragged her off, even though she wasn't putting up a fight. The first thing she noticed was her guards lying on the ground, blood staining the grass. She had to fight back the tears and helplessness she felt, as others had sacrificed their lives for her, and she turned to look at her attackers. She recognized symbols on then men's outfit and identified them as part of the Spanish Astrological Sect, a major faction of the Roman Catholic Church.

 _They finally made their move, but why me? I don't have any power in England._ They did not appear to want to ask her anything, and instead dragged her to their vehicle. She was shoved unceremoniously in the back seat and locked in. Villian looked out toward the countryside as she was taken. Her last chance was the SOS signal the Traveling Fortress emitted, when it gets damaged, would attract help. She didn't know, at the time, all the knights knew about the situation from the distress signal, but could not do anything, as it would cause a political incident if Britain's forces invaded France's soil. She was taken away in silence until the sect reached a small castle. They dragged her inside and shoved her into an isolated prison cell.

She didn't know how much time passed as she sat in the corner of the small dirty cell. She had tried to talk to the guards, but they immediately left and ignored her words. Judging by the whispers she overheard, none of them were supposed to talk to her. If they had, she might have been able to convince some of them to end the fight. The only thing she could do was think, and her mind came to a very unattractive conclusion. Her capture would give England a reason to attack the Roman Catholic Church if they find out she was captured by one of their sects. If they did, war would be bound to follow. Her eyes welled up with tears as she thought about how many people would die because of her. She buried her face in her hands.

BOOM!

She and the entire cell vibrated as something crashed through a castle wall. She stood up out of reflex and ran to the bars on the door to see what caused the commotion. Her guards were already running down the hallway toward the noise. She had no ideas what where happening, and her tears had stopped as she tried to see what was going on. There were several more explosions and then all was silent. Whatever had caused the commotion had finally stopped. Then she heard a single set of footsteps walking toward her. She couldn't do anything but wait as a single man walked around the corner and towards her cell.

She recognized him as a mercenary, who had worked with the English knights on several occasions. The man had tea-colored hair, and his face was straight-lined. She believed his name was William Orwell and she also believed he was a friend of Knight Leader. She had heard rumors they drank together often when he was in London. He walked towards her and stopped outside her cell. He made a motion with his hand for her to move back, and then he ripped the iron bars out of the doorway. He looked her up and down.

"Are you ok princess of my country?" he asked, his voice passive, but full of strength. She couldn't say anything, as her words were stuck in her throat, and she simply nodded. He held out his hand toward her. "We must get back in order to stop the war." She put her small hand into his large one, and felt the strength and warmth flow from it into her. Her eyes began to water and tears fell once again. This time however, they were not full of sadness.

* * *

"Why shouldn't I?" Accelerator demanded staring at the princess. As she watched, his black wings began to dissolve. "That b #%$^ tried to kill me and someone I know. Give me a good reason not to or get out of my way!" His eyes flashed dangerously and Villian gulped, but she refused to let her fear stop her from saving someone.

"Please," she said again, watching Accelerator closely. "He must have a reason. William is not someone to attack without a purpose. He has always been against bringing civilians into conflicts."

"I know his damn reason," Accelerator spat out. "He wants to kill the damn hero. You met him at the audience earlier, spikey black hair, always jumps into other people's problems." He elaborated when Villian looked confused at the hero comment. Her eyes widened in recognition then turned to look at Acqua.

"Is this true?" she asked him, her voice shaking slightly. She had no idea why he would be after Touma, especially someone who only seemed to be willing to help others. She based the observation on what she heard about him and saw herself.

"Yes." Acqua had no reason to lie. He had a mission and had failed at it. In his current condition, even a strategic retreat was not possible, as his body still refused to move. Though, after facing both a Saint and someone from Academy y City whose power was just as great, he had begun to question if his decision to follow Fiamma was the correct one. _If so many of the strongest individuals gather around a single boy, it could shake the foundation of the world. But in the end, I believe Fiamma also intends to do just that. Who is really on the correct path?_

"Why?" Villian asked.

"Our job as God's Right Seat was to cleanse humanity from the original sin," Acqua explained simply. "Fiamma of the Right said the Imagine Breaker was the key to finishing our mission."

"And you believed him?" scoffed Accelerator. "From what I understand, that hand should just negate anything you try to do with it."

"The Imagine Breaker is much more entwined in history then you would understand," Acqua said. "At the time, I believed giving up one to save all was an acceptable cost. Recently, I began to have my doubt of Fiamma's goal, and I question if the boy's hand really is needed. But I have lost this battle, so my fate belongs to the winner. I will not beg for my life."

"Pssh," Accelerator said annoyed. "Emotionless people like you disgust me, at least show something human like when you are about to die."

"So the question right now is to determine what should be done about Acqua," Kaori said, as she approached them slowly. She had managed to find the strength to stand up and walk towards them. "Excuse me, William Orwell. If I recall, you were offered a place along the knights, but refused." Acqua didn't say anything, but she took his silence to mean she was correct. "This does leave an interesting predicament. He is an English citizen, but he is also a member of the Roman Catholic Church. The only people, who are injured, are mainly the knights, but I believe they will live."

"Can you let him go," Villian asked. "We need…."

"Let the f^&%er go?" Accelerator asked incredulously. "You want us to let this freak go so he can possibly come after us again. Like hell I'm going to…" Kaori cut him off.

"Please continue princess," Kaori said waving her on.

"We could use his help to stop my sister's coup," Villian continued. "His strength…"

"What?" Kaori and Accelerator asked immediately, and even Acqua's face had a slight trace of surprise.

"Do you not know?" she asked, her eyes wide. Kaori shook her head.

"I left the city shortly after our forces started capturing the cabal members," Kaori said. "I shut off communications." Accelerator looked down and pulled out his phone.

"I usually keep my on vibrate so I can ignore it," he muttered. "Looks like it was destroyed in our fight. Damn, now I have to get another one."

"What is this about the second princess's coup? " Kaori hastily continued. "And how did you even find us?"

"The magic cabal who entered London," Villian explained quickly. "Were transporters hired by my sister Carissa. They found and transferred Curtana Original." Kaori's eyes went wide, and Accelerator raised an eyebrow. Acqua kept his face passive but, now that he was no longer concentrating on fighting, he could feel the enormous amount of Telesma far in the distance, in the direction of London. "She has started a coup to take over London and crown herself Queen. The knights are also under her control. Those that did not follow her were… persuaded or silenced." She looked down at the ground and her faced paled. "Most of England is completely under her control."

"Ok," Kaori said, trying to keep a calm demeanor. "I need to meet up with the church and find out our current position. There is no way our Archbishop or Stiyl stayed silent on this. Do you know where the church retreated to?" Villian shook her head. "Then I guess I should contact Stiyl and see what our situation is. Also, we will need to find transportation."

"I have a car over there," Villian pointed. "I was able to get here with help from a couple others from the palace."

"That makes it easier," Kaori said nodding slightly. "We shouldn't stay out in the open too long. I wouldn't doubt our fight caused unwanted attention. Is that how you found us?" Villian nodded.

"The explosion caught my attention," she confirmed. "I knew you were around here, but I didn't know the exact location. I'm just glad it was so far out of London, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to come undetected."

"That's all well and good," Accelerator said irritated. "But how did you know we would be here? I just followed her." He pointed at Kaori.

"I received a letter," Villian replied and frowned. "It didn't say from whom, but it managed to pass all of our security details, so it must have been safe. It informed me William Orwell would arrive near this location and be heading to London." Acqua frowned at her explanation. As far as he knew, no one besides Fiamma knew of his mission.

"That is unnerving," Kaori said and she also frowned. "I received an unmarked latter too. It said Acqua of the Back, from God's Right Seat, was after Touma Kamijou and was spotted in this location."

"So both of you received an anonymous letter and didn't bother to question it?" Accelerator asked incredulously.

"There were…. indications… that it could have been a trap," Kaori admitted. "That is why I came alone to scout. I was supposed to have back up, but it was kept quiet because we didn't want to cause a scene. The coup would explain why no one else came."

"It appears someone is manipulating events from behind the scene," Acqua said. "My arrival was supposed to be kept secret to avoid an outcome like this." Everyone looked at him for a moment. "The masked members of the Fallen led a group of knights and nuns toward my location, while pretending to be my subordinates."

"Damn Fallen b^*$#^$," Accelerator said kicking the ground. He wasn't using his powers so nothing noticeable happened. "Who else could it be? Now there's a coup too? Did they manipulate the princess into doing it?" _Damn, I left the brat in the hands of the flower girl and the other brats .If she's not okay…_

"They do seem like the most obvious suspects," Kaori said. "I also would like to know if this coup is part of their strategy too. Their mission, if you don't know already, is to collect the wings of Lucifer. How would this coup further their plans?"

"Does the Curtana Original have any sort of gem on it?" Accelerator asked Villian thinking. She shook her head.

"It should look just like Curtana Second," she replied. "The fact they need to look the same is part of the crafting process. From what I understand, the instructions of the process to craft Curtana are hidden within the palace."

"We need to contact the others," Kaori muttered. "We need to let them know the Fallen may be manipulating the war for their purpose. We already know Eve is somewhere here."

"Yea," Accelerator said. "That was mentioned already at the meeting. But what do we do about him?" He jabbed his thumb at Acqua. His wings were completely gone now and his thoughts were a lot more rational. The side effect was he found it difficult to stand, and it was taking a lot of his strength to pretend he was fine. "We can't just let him go around free."

"That is true," Kaori said and stepped up towards Acqua. Villian shifted slightly, as if debating trying to stand between then, but stopped. "I don't want to kill you," Kaori told him. "And I rather not force him to do it," he pointed at Accelerator.

"You really don't have to force me," Accelerator said grinning evilly, but Kaori ignored him.

"So here are my conditions," she continued as if she wasn't interrupted. "If you will swear you will not go after Touma Kamijou, not interfere with our ability to fight back against the princess's coup, and leave this country immediately, we will let you go. I have no desire to openly take out one of the Roman Catholic's Church's top people on English soil. If you are even truly part of them, I know your reputation. You still hold England close to you as your birth place, even denying the rank of knight to protect it from outside of the country."

"You have been talking to Knight Leader haven't you," Acqua sighed.

"We have spoken on occasion," Kaori said, the edges of her mouth tightening. "But will you accept my conditions?"

"You're letting him off easy," Accelerator interrupted, in an irritated tone, as he tapped his foot in impatience.

"No one else was harmed," Kaori replied. "If he had managed to hurt him then…" She let her voice trail off and Accelerator nodded, but his irritated look didn't change.

 _Can't say I disagree, but looks like she's infected by Kami disease too. Seriously, the damn hero sure has a way with females, even though he's too dense to realize it._

Acqua eye's shifted between them as he thought about what to do. He had unquestionably lost, and he was not petty enough to try to deny it. They both could at least move, while his body screamed in pain and would not. He wasn't one to surrender except when he died but, to him, suicide was pointless, unless you were protecting valuable information. As they did not try to force information out of him, suicide was not needed. "I accept your conditions," he said slowly, and Villian let out a breath of relief. She had no idea what option he would take.

"Then we are done here," Kaori said sheathing her sword. She turned to Accelerator and Villian. "Let's go. We need to meet up with the church's resistance, and we can act as your bodyguards for you princess." Accelerator shrugged and was about to follow, when Villian surprised them all by shaking her head.

"I can't go with you yet," she said.

"Huh?" Accelerator said staring at her. "What bullshit are you spewing?"

"What do you mean," Kaori said more politely, but she glared at Accelerator for his lack the professional tone with a princess. He didn't care. After all, he was someone who went for results, not etiquette.

"I need to talk with William," she said pointing to Acqua. "It's really important."

"We can't leave you alone with him," Kaori told her. "Make it fast so we can leave."

"It's personal," she said and her voice was getting quieter. "I can't talk about it in front of others."

"Do you think we have the luxury to just stay here and talk like it's some stupid tea party," Accelerator blurted out, he couldn't contain his anger any longer. "If there's some coup going on, the stupid brat could be in danger!" None of them knew who this 'brat' was, but they sounded important.

"Please," Villian pleaded.

"Make it fast," Kaori said as she grabbed Accelerator's shoulder, she was lucky his power was turned off, or it could have been bad for her hand, "We will be within eyesight, just in case. That is the only courtesy I can give you." Villian nodded in thanks. She waited until Kaori and Accelerator were away before she knelt down in front of Acqua.

"I'm glad you returned," she whispered.

"I returned for a different reason," Acqua said, but Villian dismissed it.

"Your specific reason didn't matter," she said and smiled while putting a hand on his cheek. "Knowing you, you did it to save as many people as you could, even at the cost of another. You say you understand the necessity of sacrifice, but you go out of your way to prevent as many as possible."

"Your kindness shames me," Acqua replied.

"You may have left before becoming a knight," Villian continued. "But we still have a space in the palace for you. I knew someday you would return. Now, I have something important to ask you."

Acqua looked her directly in the eyes, and saw tears had begun to form around her eyes. He felt like he didn't deserve kindness after what he had done. _This is a first for me, to actually question my resolve. Fiamma is up to something, and the princess needs my help. Do I try to fulfill my mission for the Catholic Church, or England and her?_ To him, the choice was painfully clear. "What is it princess?"

"Help us stop my sister, help us end the coup, and help us protect everyone."

He stared at her for a moment, and opened his mouth.

* * *

Kuroko woke up with a start. She had no idea where she was and looked around. The first thing she noticed was she was sitting in a car and leaning up against someone. When she saw it was Jason, she jumped slightly in her seat and moved off of him. He didn't move and she realized he was sleeping. "I see you're awake," a male voice said form the front seat and she turned to see a guy with short spikey blonde hair.

"Tsuchimikado-san?" she asked.

"Yours truly," he said and she saw him smiling through the rearview mirror. "You two looked so cute together, I couldn't bear to wake you up." Kuroko's face had a slight pink tinged to it, but she ignored his comment. After all, she had a lot more important questions on her mind.

"What happened?" she asked and the questions poured out of her. "Where are we? How did you find us? Is onee-sama and everyone else ok? Is he going to be ok?" She asked the last question while pointing to Jason.

"Slow down," Motoharu replied looking at her through the mirror. "One at a time, I have to concentrate on driving."

"Do you even have a license?"

"Sure?" he laughed. "Anyway, we are almost back to the hotel and from what I heard, everyone else is back there expect Kami-yan, Index, Komoe-sensei, and Accelerator."

"What happened to them?" Kuroko asked sighing slightly as she realized Mikoto was safe.

"They are all accounted for," Motoharu said slowly. "They just aren't back to the hotel yet. Well, except Accelerator. He ran off on his own."

"Where were you?" she asked. "And how did you find us?"

"I got evacuated with another group from the church," he explained. "I had to wait till everything calmed down enough for me to head back. It was lucky I did, or I wouldn't have found you two." Kuroko looked at him curiously. "I saw a large explosion and my curiosity got the better of me. When I found you two, Jason was carrying you on his back and had that sword tied to his belt." Kuroko gazed over at Jason and saw two things. First, he had the sword tied to his pants, she recognized it as Knight Leader's sword, and the second was his right side seemed to be covered in his shadow, even though he was unconscious.

"What happened to him?" Kuroko asked rubbing her head as it started pounding again. "The last thing I remember was Knight Leader knocked me out." Motoharu coughed at the name. "Do you know him?"

"I heard about him," Motoharu muttered. "He's supposed to be a master of combat and directly under the princess's control."

"He was a monster," Kuroko added remembering the fight.

"If you were knocked out," Motoharu said, his eyes shifting to Jason. "Then what ever he did to get you both away took a huge toll on him. I think he was keeping himself awake out of pure determination. As soon I pulled over and he saw it was me, he collapsed."

"I guess he saved us then…" Kuroko trailed off. "But why did he take Knight Leader's sword?"

"Souvenir?" Motoharu shrugged. "I really don't have an idea. Anyway we are here. I know your friends are probably worried sick about you. Did you have to run off on your own?"

"I kind of had too," Kuroko said slightly sheepishly, but she didn't regret her decision. Though she didn't find Mikoto, she did manage to help someone else, even if it was Jason. Motoharu pulled up and they both got out and pulled Jason out of the car. They got on each side of him and walked into the hotel lobby. Before they had gone even a couple steps, they heard yelling.

"Kuroko!"

"Jason!"

"Tsuchimikado!"

Kuroko turned her head and saw Mikoto, Misaki, Ruiko, Kazari, and Last Order running toward them. "Onee-sama!" Kuroko said, as happiness filled her when she saw Mikoto was fine. She wanted to teleport into Mikoto's arms, but she was still supporting Jason. "I'm so glad you are…. Ouch!" She was interrupted as Mikoto hit her hard on her head.

"You idiot!" Mikoto fumed at her. "How could you run off on your own!?"

"I'm sorry," Kuroko said and lowered her head. She felt guilty for making Mikoto worried, but she still believed she had to do it.

"Jason!" Kazari yelled and ran up to help them put Jason down in a large sofa chair. "What happened to him?" She sat down next to him and felt his pulse to see if he was ok.

"I'm not sure," Kuroko said. "We were fighting a guy named Knight Leader and I was knocked out. Tsuchimikado-san found us afterwards."

"You fought Knight Leader?" Mikoto asked amazed. The impression she got when she met him at the palace was he was incredibly powerful. She was secretly glad she didn't have to fight him.

"Do you know what happened?" Ruiko asked Motoharu.

Motoharu shook his head. "I just found them on the side of the road. Kagere was still conscious, but immodestly lost it when I pulled over."

"Do you have any information on Accelerator MISAKA asks as MISAKA steps up and stares intently at you."

"Or Touma?" Misaki added also stepping up close and looking at him.

"Sorry," Motoharu said taking a step back and raising his hands in a surrendering gesture. "I only saw an explosion and that led me to them. I don't know what happened before that."

"I can't understand why his shadow is covering his right side," Kazari said from next to Jason. His right arm and part of his torso was coated with it like blank paint. "Was he injured? Does he need a hospital?"

"He has some regenerative power," Kuroko said and everyone looked at him. "It was one of the curse marks, because I saw he also had the transformation power from the person I fought. Some of the blows he took against Knight Leader were pretty bad, but he was still able to stand back up."

"Could it be a side effect?" Misaki asked and Kuroko shrugged.

"I'm afraid at the time," Motoharu told them. "To get to a hospital would require us to go back into the city."

"And Touma is currently prisoner of Carissa," Mikoto moaned rubbing her head. "His hand should have been able to remove any magical remains."

"Do you think Itsuwa or Agnese could help out," Ruiko asked. "They might know healing magic."

"I suppose they could help," Mikoto replied. "But they are currently in a conference with Stiyl and a few others. It might be awhile and they aren't letting us in."

"MISAKA is going to stay on the lookout for Accelerator MISAKA proclaims as MISAKA bounds toward the window."

"He's waking up!" Kazari called out and everyone crowded around Jason. They were all interested in what happened, also if he had any information on the others, especially Touma. Motoharu snuck away and passed another group of girls who were seeing what all the commotion was about. Jason groaned and fidgeted before opening his eyes. "Are you ok?" Kazari asked.

"I'm better now," Jason said smiling. Everyone present noticed his voice was pretty weak and the smile was slightly forced. He tried to sit up, but kind of just leaned his head forward "Was the message I sent useful?"

"It was," Kazari nodded. "We hacked the cameras and the church group is currently monitoring the city."

"That's good," Jason said leaning back in his chair.

"Your shadow is weird MISAKA comments as MISAKA pokes your arm." Jason flinched from what was probably pain, and Kazari had to admonish Last Order.

"I was surprised how useful you were," Shizuri said from behind everyone else. They all turned to look at her. She was accompanied, like usual, by Frenda, Saiai, and Rikou. "At least one of you had a purpose, besides the computer nerd."

"Don't talk about Uiharu-san like that," Mikoto snapped.

"It's fine," Kazari muttered and she felt Jason squeeze her hand. She smiled at him.

"What happened to you?" Ruiko said turning to Jason. "We got your message about the security cameras and Kuroko said she was knockout while fighting a guy named Knight Leader."

"You look like the fight didn't go well," Misaki added. "Do you have any information on Touma or Accelerator?"

"Basically," Frenda said. "Is he alright?"

"Kuroko was the only other person I encountered in the city," Jason replied, while shaking his head. Mikoto and Kazari noticed he used her first name, instead of the nickname he made for her, but didn't say anything. "As for the fight, the end was kind of blurry."

"Do go on," Stiyl said and everyone jumped. They were all busy talking they didn't hear him approach. Agnese and Itsuwa were behind him. "I heard parts of it and it sounded like you defeated Knight Leader. That seems like a heavy fabrication."

"We defeated him," Jason said gesturing to Kuroko. "He was a monster and none of my plans worked against him. Her teleportation bypassed any defenses he had in place, so he prioritized incapacitating her first. He found me because of my mana and…"

"I know why he attacked you," Stiyl said waving him on. "And how he found you. The question was how did you escape or defeat him. That should be a feat even the most skilled mages would find difficult to overcome."

"Well…" Jason said slowly and took a deep breath. "I was backed in a corner so I had to do something stupid. I forced all my mana through an incomplete magic circle." None of the girls knew what he meant, but Stiyl, Agnese, and Itsuwa stared at him.

"Are you serious?" Agnese asked and Jason nodded.

"I knew you knowledge of actual magic was limited compared to a normal magician," Stiyl said through gritted teeth. "But I didn't think you acted as stupidly as Touma Kamijou does on a normal basis." That got him a lot of angry glares form the girls around him, but he ignored it all.

"Umm," Ruiko turned to Itsuwa, who was closest to her. "What makes what Kagere-san did so dangerous?"

"Mana is energy," Itsuwa told her, along with everyone else who was listening intently. "Magic circles are used to channel that energy to a specific effect. If he channeled all his mana through an incomplete circle, it would be like… electrical lines going down everywhere when you try to use electronics. Most people who try it get swallowed up by their own attacks. You can get a lot of destructive power from it, but there is a very good chance the caster will take even more damage. It's a double ended sword. Plus, using an incomplete magic circle usually has unknown results, which probably led to his injuries not healing."

"I don't feel sorry for you now," Stiyl said shaking his head. "On the other hand, you somehow took down Knight Leader, we intercepted some chatter about it, and it has demoralized many of the knights. I take it your shadow is covering the wounds your arm took from the backlash." Jason nodded. "I suppose we can set up a healing area for it in a little bit as thanks. Anyway, I need to take care of a few more things while the timing is good." He turned and left, leaving Agnese and Itsuwa to talk with everyone else.

"Well," Jason said. "I'm going to take a short nap, if the interrogation is over." Jason leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes, and everyone except Kazari left him alone. She still held his left hand.

"So if we assume Accelerator is fine," Mikoto said taking a seat at a large table across the hotel lobby. "He can take care of himself. Is there a plan to rescue Touma yet?" Itsuwa shook her head.

"We are monitoring the streets," Itsuwa said sadly. "But unless we can find a way to take out their ability to detect mana, we can't sneak in any groups."

"That's what you told us last time," Misaki pointed out. "You still don't have any other news?"

"Surveillance takes time," Agnese said, her expression fierce.

"So what you are saying," Shizuri said leaning forward in her seat and crossing her arms. "Your incompetence comes from your ability to use this magic." Agnese opened her mouth, but she was interrupted by Shizuri's friends.

"Basically," Frenda added. She was happy she knew enough to follow the conversation. "You simply need to send some of us because we aren't magicians."

"That sounds fun," Saiai said cracking her knuckles. "I super want to punch a couple more of those knights."

"You are all as civilized as always," Misaki sighed.

"Will they even let us go?" Frenda asked looking at Itsuwa and Agnese. "Basically, they kept stressing up the importance of keeping magic and science separate."

"That's a good point," Kuroko said looking at Itsuwa. "Stiyl wasn't too happy when just I left, was he."

"You could see the vein in his head pulse when you left," Ruiko told her.

"After talking," Agnese replied looking around. "We agreed several of you would try to take matters into your own hands." Shizuri, Frenda, and Saiai grinned, while Misaki, Mikoto, and Kuroko all avoided eye contact and put on an innocent look.

"We are grateful for your help earlier," Itsuwa expanded on Agnese's explanation. "Since this coup will undoubtedly involve you all. We figured we had no choice but to keep you informed of the process. Your skills are also powerful and may be required. We agreed it would be better for you to work with us, rather then run off on your own and possibly interfere with our plans."

"Doesn't sound like a bad plan," Shizuri said twilling a strand of her hair in boredom. "I doubt any of us have any contacts we can us here, so using you as a resource would be the best option."

"I didn't think I would ever do this," Misaki sighed. "But I agree with her."

"How strong are the knights?" Kuroko asked. "I had limited exposure to them."

"Since you fought Knight Leader," Itsuwa answered. "The others will be a lot weaker in comparison. A couple commanders might have similar strengths, but it also depends how much control Carissa has over Curtana Original. It is still early and we doubt she would be able to control it completely yet."

'So the longer we wait," Mikoto muttered as Itsuwa's words sunk into her mind. "The stronger the knights will be?" Agnese nodded.

"That is one of the reasons we immediately made use of Kagere's information," she said. "We needed as much information as possible quickly."

"Do you have a plan?" Ruiko asked.

"Obviously we need to attack immediately," Shizuri said slamming her hand on the table. "We can go in and blast that spoiled b…." She was interrupted as Mikoto's phone suddenly started ringing. Mikoto frowned and was about to shut her phone off while they talked, when she saw who was calling her.

"It's Touma!" she yelled out in surprise as she flipped her phone open. "Finally you…" She barely began to speak when she was jumped at by Misaki and Frenda.

"Let me talk to him!" Misaki called out reaching for the phone.

"I want to talk to him," Frenda added.

"Get off me you two!" Mikoto yelled at them, as she struggled to hold onto her phone. Frenda had jumped at her form the side, and Misaki was in front of her. She suddenly couldn't see when Misaki's chest blocked her view and she felt something soft. She finally got mad and pushed her off. "I'll put it in on speaker, so get those blobs of fat off me!"

"How rude!" Misaki cried. "Just because your chest is small…" Mikoto suddenly pushed Misaki further away from her. Misaki was mad at Mikoto, but her desire to see Touma overrode her desire to get even with Mikoto. She sat down anxiously and glared at Mikoto. Frenda was going to protest, but a single glare from Shizuri caused her to freeze and sit back down. Mikoto glared at both of them and noticed everyone was staring at her. She put her phone on speaker and set it in the middle of the table.

"Touma," Mikoto asked. "Can you hear us?"

"…Yes," Touma said after a moment's hesitation. Mikoto and Misaki understood he must have heard exactly what he said and both of their faces flushed. Then Mikoto, Misaki, Frenda, Itsuwa, Agnese, and Ruiko all asked at once, while Kuroko, Shizuri, Saiai, and Rikou watched.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Touma said. "I am currently in Buckingham Palace and they are monitoring this call." Itsuwa and Agnese looked at each other and nodded slightly. They knew what he meant. Touma did not want them giving any information that Carissa's forces could use against them. "Is everyone on your side ok?"

"Yes," Mikoto answered. "Only Accelerator is unaccounted for. Besides me and Shokuhou-san, Kuroko, Saten-san, Itsuwa, Agnese, Mugino-san, Frenda-san, Takitsubo-san and Kinuhata-san are here."

"I hope he's ok…" Touma's said. His voice softer like he was thinking.

"Don't worry about him," Shizuri said dismissively. "He's not someone to lose easily. The bigger question is, how do you have a phone when they are monitoring you?"

"Basically," Frenda continued. "Why are they letting you contact us?"

"It's a long story," Touma sighed.

"She didn't hurt you?" Misaki demanded angrily. "If she did…" Her voice trailed off and malice filled her voice.

"I'm fine Misaki," Touma told her again. "Thanks for worrying about me, but I got something important to tell you all because I can't be there." Itsuwa and Agnese shared a look with slightly surprised expression, but no one else picked up the importance of the last couple of words, except for Ruiko.

"What is it?" Ruiko asked nervously. "It sounds like you can't come back." Touma sighed and the tension at the table intensified.

"I can't come back with you all," Touma told them all finally, and the effect was immediate. Everyone exploded at once and he almost lost an eardrum from the noise.

"You idiot, what are you saying?" Mikoto asked loudly.

"Are you stupid ape?" asked Kuroko.

"Touma you can't be serious!" Misaki yelled.

"Touma please say that is a joke!" Ruiko pleased.

"Boy," Agnese spat out. "Do you realize what you are suggesting?"

"Kamijou-san," Itsuwa asked loudly for her. "Why?"

"What the f^%& are you saying?" Shizuri demanded her face scowling instead of being shocked.

"Basically," Frenda said. "Tell us why."

"I bet he's super playing the hero," Saiai commented.

"…That sounds like him," Rikou said sleepily.

"You better explain yourself properly," Mikoto told him leaning forward closer to the phone.

"Yea," Touma agreed nervously. "After I was taken here, I had to wait for a while so I'm sorry I couldn't contact you all earlier. Anyway, I talked with Cari… Princess Carissa." They all noticed him changing how he addressed her and warning bells started blaring. "I managed to… have her agree to let everyone… who came with me, to leave England before the fighting really starts." His pauses were a little strange, but if he was being watched, most of them realized he was choosing his words carefully. Shizuri was probably the most familiar with this and crossed her fingers as she began processing the underlining meaning of his words.

"That sounds… reasonable?" Ruiko said a little confused. She looked around at the others.

"I know Stiyl would prefer you all not be involved," Agnese muttered loudly. "And I kind of have to agree with him. You all really shouldn't get involved in a civil war."

"Why not?" Saiai asked.

"One it puts more stress on the magic and science sides," Itsuwa explained. "There is already a lot of tension between them, if one sides appears to be stronger, the other side won't sit back quietly. Also, if word that Academy City's ability users are fighting in England, it would cause diplomatic troubles too."

"We can't really argue with that," Misaki said slowly nodding her head. She didn't like violence, and didn't want to get involved with a war at all. The only reason she was getting involved was because Touma was.

"Though I don't really want to leave and leave you all here fighting," Mikoto said looking at Agnese and Itsuwa. While she didn't really like Stiyl that much, she did like Itsuwa, Agnese, and Kaori, even though she didn't know them very long. "Leaving friends alone isn't something I do."

"That's kind of you to say Misaka-san," Itsuwa replied smiling. "But we are trained for situations like this. Please do not worry about us."

"We also need to think about the others safety too onee-sama," Kuroko whispered to Mikoto. "Uiharu, Saten-san, the teacher, Last Order and Index aren't fighters."

"Yea," Mikoto replied and sighed. "I think we should accept this. I mean, this is more than just a petty squabble."

"Hey Kamijou," Frenda spoke up suddenly. "When you said you can't join us, did you mean you were going to meet us at the airport?" Everyone got silent for a moment as they waited for his response. There was a long paused before he finally responded.

"As part of the agreement," he said and they heard him take a deep breath. His next words were said quickly, as he tried to get them out before they interrupted him. "Index and I are staying here and won't be going back to Academy City." The silence was deafening, and then everyone shouted all at once, except Rikou.

"WHAT!"

"It was the only way…" Touma tried to say, his voice weak, but the girls were having none of that.

"YOU IDIOT!" Mikoto screamed.

"NOOOO!" Misaki cried. "We aren't going to leave you!"

"No one asked you to do that!" Kuroko yelled.

"You can't sacrifice yourself for us Touma!" Ruiko added.

"How can you be so stupid boy?!" Agnese fumed.

"Kamijou-kun," Itsuwa said weakly. "You don't understand what is going to happen if you stay…."

"Your part of my group Kamijou," Shizuri said fiercely. "You don't get to decide when you leave. I do." Mikoto and Misaki stared at her for a moment, but the situation was too dire to worry about her words at the moment.

"Basically," Frenda called out. "You can leave when Mugino is done with you."

"Do you think his way with girls worked on the princess?" Saiai asked Rikou. Rikou looked at her and blinked once before nodding.

"How can we…?" Mikoto started to say, but they heard words coming from Touma's end and she got quiet. The voice was coming from a female, instead of Touma, and the voice was hard and calculating, but was etched with amusement. She seemed to be talking to Touma, but her voice was loud enough to be heard clearly over the phone to everyone at the table, almost like it was on purpose.

"… Oh, don't forget to tell them how you swore to serve me faithfully as my knight."

"Don't say things people will misunderstand!" Touma said to the female on his end. "It's not what it sounds like," he told the girls who had all gone silent. "Hello?" The silence was deafening as everyone at the table processed the information. Suddenly, Kuroko, Saiai, and Rikou pushed their chairs back slightly in surprise, as every other girl at the table suddenly emitted a dark murderous aura. It was the same kind of Kuroko generated when she first found out Mikoto and Touma were together often. Even Jason and Kazari felt it from their side of the room and they went silent and watched.

"I take it that was the spoiled brat of a princess," Shizuri said. She was the first to find her voice, but it was so cold, even Touma could feel it on his end. She kept her demeanor calm but, on the inside, she was furious and contemplating fifteen different ways to kill the princess.

"Mugino you can't…" he started to say, then was forced to change direction. "Wait, don't take it…"

"I feel like I should address this rude individual personally," said the female voice. "Yes, I am Princess Carissa, soon to be Queen, and you should remember that when you speak about me. You are lucky I am in a good mood today, or I would strike you down for your disrespectfulwords. But after my coup has been this successful, and I now have a valuable pawn, nothing a child can say will hurt me."

"He's my prince," Misaki shouted suddenly, banging her fist on the table. "You can't have him you old hag." She was normally reserved, always planned things out, and rarely displayed acts of anger but, this time, she was prepared to get violent.

"There's no way he willing went over to your side," Mikoto added angrily. "You had to threaten us to get him to agree, didn't you?" _How does he get roped into these things?_ Mikoto was always jealous when she saw Touma around other girls. She had been recently trying to keep it under control, but Carissa caused her to snap again.

"I didn't threaten him at all," Carissa replied, and her tone was filled with amusement. "I offered him the exchange and he agreed to serve me as a knight under my DIRECT command." She appeared to over emphasize the word direct, and they weren't sure if she did it on purpose or not. It did arouse anger in many of them though.

"You b&$%^," mumbled Mikoto through clenched teeth.

"What do you want with him?" Ruiko asked.

"Oh he has a variety of uses," Carissa replied, her voice still held a trace of amusement, but was more serious now. "I'm sure you are all aware of his power, plus he exhibits all the qualities of a knight, loyalty, courage, brave, and strong. I really don't have a reason NOT to bring him in."

"I can't believe this," Kuroko said leaning back in her chair. "A princess actually abducted the ape and wants him to be a knight. What kind of world is this?" Mikoto elbowed her to be quiet, but she quietly agreed, though she did admit, silently, Carissa had a point.

"Let him go," Itsuwa said fiercely and everyone at the table turned to her. They had always seen her act polite and friendly to everyone, with occasional determined looks. This was the first time she actually looked angry, that any of them could remember, even Agnese. "He has done nothing to warrant being taken hostage."

"One could argue just standing on a battlefield has that risk," Carissa said with a bored tone. "Anyway, I am not holding him hostage. He accompanied me to the palace after I asked him to, and then I gave him this deal, which he graciously accepted."

"You didn't give him a choice," Mikoto pointed out, her hands balled into fists.

"We were there," Agnese added. "It was just a threat."

"Oh it was a choice," Carissa laughed. "The other outcome just didn't sit well with him. You always have a choice, just like now. My offer still stands, you all may leave the country, but he and the Index Librorum Prohibitorum belong to me now. The plane leaves in two ours at the London City Airport. You will not be attacked if you head there. But," her voice suddenly lost all trace of amusement and became deadly serious and cold, "If you choose not to go, all of you will be treated as hostiles if you so much set foot into any major city, at least until I have been anointed Queen. This is not negotiable, you WILL be killed." Her voice smoothed out." Now, you can talk to him for a moment longer, and then I have certain duties for him. I'm sure you can guess what they are." They heard her laugh before Touma got back on.

"I have no idea what she is thinking," he sighed. "Please, just go without me. She let Mikoto and Agnese go, so her word should be good. I don't want any of you to be hurt." That caused all the girls to blush except Saiai, Kuroko, and Rikou, they seemed to be immune to his words. Even Shizuri was slightly impacted but she kept her passive face.

"I'm surprised you don't just escape," Saiai told him. "Your power should make caging you hard since they seem to use magic for everything."

"Kamijou, does she have better legs then I do!?" Frenda burst out loudly. "Basically, is that why you're staying? Ouch!" She rubbed her head after Shizuri had hit her hard.

"They can still lock me in a room," Touma explained. "Anyway, I wouldn't leave without everyone else and Index is still held here. Besides, this is the best way to make sure all of you can get out of here safely. I thought about it…"

"Did you think about how we felt?" Mikoto demanded. "We don't agree."

"Well…" Touma tried to say.

"I refuse to leave unless you come with me," Misaki declared forcefully.

"You see…" Touma tried again.

"Don't worry boy," Agnese said. "We've been in worst situations then this."

"Really?"

"No," Itsuwa said honestly. "But Kamijou-kun, we will not abandon you with her."

"Listen…" Touma said loudly.

"We are your friends," Ruiko interrupted. "None of us would be able to sleep at night if we left."

"I know but…"

"I may not like you much," Kuroko said. "But I would never forgive myself if I left one of onee-sama's friends as a captive."

"Thanks, I think, but…"

"Basically it's my turn to save you," Frenda told him.

"But…"

"Besides," Saiai said. "She annoys me. I want to ruin her plans."

"You don't…"

"You better not let that b*#$% control you," Shizuri warned him, speaking up for the first time since meeting Carissa. "Be a f#!$%^ man! We are not some damsels in distress. Shut up, and let us do what we want. We took your advice under consideration and decided against it."

"Basically," Frenda added. "Your opinion will be ignored."

"I'm going to have to agree with them," Misaki added.

"Same," Mikoto said.

"We will rescue you," Itsuwa declared.

"You saved so many of us," Agnese interjected. "It's about time we returned that favor."

"It's super time for a rampage," Saiai said excitedly.

"I have no idea how you somehow seemed to help everyone," Kuroko said shaking her head.

"Wait for us Touma," Ruiko reassured him.

"…I feel sorry for her," Rikou said, one of her few words all day.

"You guys," Touma said slightly angry they would risk their lives to help him, and then he stopped. "Thanks," he said, and his tone told them he truly meant it. "Please be…" His voice was abruptly cut off.

"Touma!" Misaki shouted, but the connection was gone. They all sat in silence, thinking of what they heard from Touma and Carissa. None of them were coming up with an immediate solution but, they silently agreed, after looking at each other, that the choice to leave Touma behind would never be on the table.

After a minute, Mikoto broke the silence. "Ok, we need a plan to rescue him from the princess. From the looks of it," she looked over at Itsuwa and Agnese, "she is holding all the cards."

"Sadly yes," Itsuwa said. "We gathered most of our forces, but an outright attack against her forces would be suicidal. Every one of them is being infused with the power of Curtana Original. We might be able to last with guerilla warfare, but they can just detect us if we enter London."

"How about we just go in and kick some a$$ to get that idiot back? Shizuri suggested leaning forward and resting her chin on her interlocking fingers. "I can handle a few of those knights, and those two should be able to handle a couple easily enough." Her eyes flickered to Mikoto and Misaki. "I'm sure we can make them cry at least."

"I think maybe we should come up with someth…" Mikoto tried to reply as she glared at Shizuri, but she was interrupted by Misaki.

"I agree," Misaki said, surprising Mikoto. She was use to Misaki being the strategist and hating brute force. "It's time to show that old hag Touma belongs to me." That got her a glare from most of the girls at the table while Kuroko, Saiai, and Rikou sighed. Ruiko was two nice to glare, but she felt a sick sensation in her stomach at those words.

 _Of course she would want to rescue him as soon as possible,_ Mikoto thought to herself. "We still need a plan… a viable plan." She quickly amended the last part.

"The issue is," Agnese explained, "Is that we may have to do that." Everyone turned to look at her. "Right now, the princess is learning to control Curtana's immense power. The longer she has it, the more she will be able to use and the stronger her forces will get. Mugino-san also has a point. Right now, only you all can sneak into the city undetected. Anyone from our side will be found immediately."

"That settles it," Misaki said firmly. "Then let's plan our strategy to enter the city."

"Won't Stiyl be upset if we get involved?" Kuroko asked Itsuwa. "He is already angry at me."

"Who cares?" Saiai said shrugging her shoulders.

"Basically," Frenda chimed in. "He can't stop us."

"He will," Itsuwa acknowledged to Kuroko. "But if the plan is good, he won't be able to argue much."

"I'll work on convincing him after we are done," Agnese added.

"Then let's get started," Ruiko said. "Anyone have a good idea we can build off of?"

Across the room Jason and Kazari had been talking, but they had been silent as they listened to the other girls talk to Carissa. Kazari didn't know what to do, and Jason was barely awake, mainly to pay attention, but in his condition, he wouldn't be able to help much. Kazari was worried about what was happening to Touma too, but she also didn't want her other friends to rush into a warzone. She knew Ruiko, Mikoto, and Misaki all liked Touma, but over the course of the trip, she found a lot of others like him too. _Of course they want to save him. I wish I could help more._ She felt Jason squeeze her hand and she looked back at him. He shook his head slightly and she realized he guessed what she was thinking. She sighed and nodded. Suddenly, they heard a familiar voice coming from behind them.

"Sorry to interrupt you two lovebirds," Motoharu said. "What happened? I heard a lot of shouting."

Jason tilted his head slightly to glare at him with a look that said, your timing is terrible. "Well, Touma found a way to get everyone out of danger."

"Really?" Motoharu said skeptically raising an eyebrow. "How? Did Kami-yan seduce the princess and convince her to end the coup?" Jason and Kazari looked at each other for a moment, but it was long enough for Motoharu to notice. His eyes widened and mouth fell open. "You… can't be serious?"

"It seems like Kamijou was offered a deal," Kazari explained. "If he and Index remained here, the princess is going to let all of us leave and go back to Academy City."

"He also had to agree to be one of her knights," Jason added, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"Seriously?" Motoharu stared at them like he thought they were joking. When no joke came, he continued. "Well, Stiyl would jump at that opportunity, he hated we all were involved in magic, but I take it," he looked over at the table, "they didn't take it so well." That might have been an understatement as all three of them looked over at the other girls planning to siege a city. The dark murderous aura hanging over them was almost palpable.

"From what I see," Jason told him. "They are planning to fight against the princess's forces. It's really going to be full out war. Touma's harem," Kazari elbowed him as he grinned, "versus Princess Carissa and her knights, with Touma as the prize."

"Two days in a foreign country," Motoharu sighed. "And he already started a war."

"It really isn't his…" Kazari said, but Jason covered her mouth with his good hand.

"Seems like it," he agreed. "They are over there strategizing. They really need to relax slightly. Seriously, it's like I can see the tension."

"Leave it to me," Motoharu said grinning. He turned and walked over to the girls at the table. Jason removed his hand from Kazari's mouth and she looked at him quizzically. Jason raised a single finger while he watched Motoharu, and Kazari followed his lead. Motoharu leaned up against the table and addressed them all. "So I heard Touma finally became a man thanks to the princess?"

The girls were not amused.

* * *

Accelerator was sitting in the back of the car looking out the window. He was dozing off slightly, but his mind was too active for him to actually fall asleep. It also did not help that his body was sore all over from his fight with Acqua. At least Kaori had healed the most serious wound on his arm, and he was no longer bleeding. He was constantly going over the fight in his head, and thinking about how he manipulated the magical vectors that did not follow the normal laws of physics. He was also pissed that Villian let Acqua go. Accelerator was convinced Acqua would just attack again and would be more prepared for the fight. He glared at the front seat were she sat. Kaori was driving them and they were almost to the hotel.

"… and that's all I know," Villian finished. She had just finished going over all the details of Carissa's coup she knew off. One thing she did not know was the location of the Queen or her eldest sister Rimea. "Do you really think that Fallen is behind all of this?"

"Based on what has happened," Kaori said slowly. "I believe they may not be tricking Princess Carissa into working for them, but they are manipulating the events between each faction. They lead knights to Acqua, sorry William, and sent me and you letters. I believe they did not want him interfering with the coup."

"You shouldn't have let him go…" muttered Accelerator. Villian looked back at him with a look that made him feel slightly guilty, but his feelings still didn't change. _That guy is dangerous, even if he saved her before._ The hotel came into view and he sighed loudly. _At least I can check up on the brats. I bet the damn hero saved everyone and brought them here._ Kaori had contacted Stiyl while they were driving, but she didn't give him all the details. What she did tell him was the hotel was being used as their main base, and everyone was gathering there, including everyone from Academy City. They finally arrived and he got out of the car and had barely taken ten steps toward the door when it opened and a small brown haired girl burst out and ran into him.

"MISAKA is so happy to see you MISAKA cries as MISAKA embraces you through the tears!"

"Yea yea brat," Accelerator said pretending to be annoyed, but he didn't chop her on the head this time. Instead, he gave her a gentle pat on the head. "I'm heading inside," he stated and started walking, while Last Order held on to his hand. Even she was able to notice something was different, because he didn't appear to try to pull away.

"You seem different MISAKA states as MISAKA examines your new demeanor." She looked him up and down and stared intently at his face.

"I finally got something off my chest," Accelerator explained without looking at her. She tilted her head in confusion as she stared at him, but he didn't elaborate. During the heat of the moment, he had said some embarrassing things that had been bothering him. He swore to himself he would never repeat it again, and it appeared that Kaori was not going to talk about it. He could feel her eyes on him as he walked into the hotel with Last Order holding his hand, but he discovered he didn't really care. _Seems like all I needed was a good rant._ He entered the room and immediately realized something was wrong.

On the far side of the room, sitting around the table, he saw Mikoto, Misaki, Shizuri, Saiai, Frenda, Rikou, Ruiko, Agnese and Itsuwa. A dark aura appeared to be surrounding them, as they talked, and several large pieces of paper sat between them. He frowned at the strange sight. _Weird, a lot of those brats don't get along. Something must have happened._ "What's that about?" he asked Last Order and she shrugged.

"MISAKA was waiting for you MISAKA answers as MISAKA reveals her dedication to making sure you were ok."

"Whatever," he said rolling his eyes. "You know nothing can beat me when I'm serious." She nodded happily and Accelerator felt something well up in his chest, when she told him she was waiting for him. He looked around and saw Motoharu laying on the floor, bruised and smoking slightly. _At least that is normal._ He turned and saw Jason and Kazari sitting in the corner and he walked toward them. "What's going on?"

"Great your back," Jason said. Accelerator noticed his voice was pretty weak and part of his right side, along with his arm, was covered in shadows. "It seems we have a slight problem."

"What problem?" Accelerator asked raising an eyebrow. "And it looks like you have seen better days."

"I can say the same thing about you," Jason replied grinning slightly referring to Accelerator's stained and ripped shirt. "Fighting ridiculously powerful people does that. It appears Touma decided to sacrifice himself to save everyone."

"What?" Accelerator snapped. _Is the f#$% &^ hero…_

"He joined the princess's knights in order to allow us to leave the country and head back to Academy City," Kazari explained.

"Are you kidding me?" Accelerator asked irritated, as he grabbed his head with his free hand. Last Order was still holding tightly to his hand. "What would a princess want with him? Wait… Kami-disease?"

"Definitely looks like it," Jason replied grinning. Kazari looked between them and then at Last Order who smiled at her. "Though don't tell them that," he continued indicating the girls at the table. "Tsuchimikado did that and they didn't take it too kindly."

"Whatever," Accelerator said rolling his eyes, and then he walked over to the girls. "Brats," he called out. "Is it true the hero went and did something stupid?"

"You don't know the half of it," mumbled Mikoto, and then she looked up as recognition hit you. "Hey you're back."

"Judging by torn clothes and bruised body," Shizuri said, looking him up and down. "I take it you did fight someone strong. What could possibly be tough enough to cause you trouble?" She had a grin plastered on her face, most likely pleased Accelerator finally got injured in a fight.

"You know," Accelerator said pretending to be nonchalant. He probably would have looked cooler if Last Order didn't give a victory sign with her free hand as she held him tightly. "Someone had to pick up the slack and fight monsters. Destroying those who stand in my way is just a part of my normal routine. It was some guy who called himself a Saint from God's Right Seat." Itsuwa and Agnese made surprised noises of recognition at his words, but he ignored them. "I suppose you could call it a tough fight, with him being a monster and all."

"So uncivilized," Misaki said shaking her head. "Always trying to get into fights."

"You sure you aren't getting soft?" Shizuri asked still grinning.

"I super hope he isn't," Saiai said.

"Me too," Frenda added. "Basically, we need his power to rescue Kamijou."

"I almost thought that," Accelerator said mockingly to Shizuri, and he grinned evilly at her. "Then I changed the direction of his blood…. and he still survived." The smile fell off Shizuri's face and crashed onto the floor, while her eyes widened. Everyone else stared at him. They all knew what would happen if blood flow was suddenly reversed. "Monster enough for you? Oh, I found two people you might be interested in." He pointed toward the door and everyone turned.

Kaori and Villian had just entered the hotel lobby. They had a few things to discuss privately and talked outside, since Accelerator left. Everyone in the room, except Shizuri and her friends, knew who Kaori was, but only Mikoto knew who Villian was. She stood up in surprise and stared at them. Whoever she had expected, it wasn't the princess or Kaori. "I take it introductions are in order." Kaori turned to Shizuri and her friends. "My name is Kaori Kanzaki, an acquaintance of Stiyl Magnus. This here is the third princess, Villian." Villian curtsied slightly to them and Ruiko's eyes went wide.

"Wow a princess," Ruiko said excitedly. "I never thought I would get to meet one up close. Oh my name is Ruiko Saten." Villian smiled warmly at her.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," Villian said. "I wish it wasn't during such a serious time."

"Do you know why your sister kidnapped Touma?" Mikoto asked.

"Ah you were at the meeting," Villian said. Shizuri raised an eyebrow slightly. She didn't know Mikoto met the princesses. "I'm afraid not, though she was acting a little odd with him even back then."

"Odd as in how?" Mikoto pressed her for answers.

"She was a little more lenient with him then she usually is with people," Villian explained. "I assumed it was because he helped her when her group was attacked."

"So besides taking the thrown," Misaki asked Villian. "Is there anything else your sister is after?"

"Yes," Villian said and looked at the ground. She fidgeted and everyone knew, whatever it was, it made her uncomfortable.

"I'll tell them," Kaori said putting her hand on Villain's shoulder. "The second princess finished the first part of her plan, acquiring Curtana Original and gathering the knights to overthrow the queen."

"We know that already," Shizuri scoffed irritated.

"And it's been a problem to deal with," Agnese muttered.

"She then has to make sure her rule can't be overthrown," Kaori continued. "For us to do that, we first need to get Curtana Original away from her. We either need to destroy it or use it against her."

"Destroy it…" Kuroko said and her eyes widened. "The ape's hand!"

"Of course," Frenda said hitting her palm with her other hand. "Basically, she doesn't want us to use his hand against her."

"But wouldn't having him close to her be super dangerous?" Saiai asked turning to Frenda. "Knowing him, he super would try to stop her."

"The deal," Misaki said, her eyes lighting up. "She must have planned all this. If he willing made the deal for her to let us go, he wouldn't try to destroy Curtana. He's too much of a gentleman to go back on a promise."

"That idiot," Mikoto face palmed. "He walked right into an obvious plan."

"He keeps trying to play the hero," Shizuri added shaking her head. "What an idiot."

"I think there is more," Villian spoke up. "Carissa also hates wasting resources that she can use. She most likely also wants to use his power for her own goals. Though, it does seem like the method she chose was rather convoluted. Normally she would just make someone submit to her rules, but it seems like she doesn't want to try to force him."

"It's obvious," Accelerator yawned. "She fell for him, like most of the brats here." He gestured to all the girls around them except Kuroko, Saiai, and Ruiko.

"I doubt that," Kaori said immediately, but her face said otherwise. Many of the other girls opened their mouths, but Itsuwa was first.

"There's more though," Itsuwa interrupted trying to keep the topic on the important matter. "You said something about using Curtana against her?"

"Curtana can only be used by a member of the royal family," Kaori said. "So it would be possible for the queen or one of the other two princesses to use it if we can take it away from Princess Carissa."

"I can't use it," Villian said. "I never learned magic that could be used to hurt people. Even if I possessed it, I wouldn't be able to channel its power."

"Spoiled brat," Shizuri mumbled.

"You should learn more skills," Frenda suggested. "You never know when you might need them."

"That still leaves the queen and the first princess," Kaori continued. "In order to prevent that, she would have to ensure they would never be able to wield it."

"Ensure how?" Ruiko said, but she gulped knowing she wouldn't like the answer.

"It's obvious," Accelerator spat out. "She plans to kill them." Kaori and Villian nodded solemnly. Everyone else's face darkened as they thought about it.

"As we don't know the location of the Queen or the first princess," Stiyl said and everyone turned to look at him. He had just entered the lobby. "Rescuing Touma Kamijou is actually the best strategy at the moment. Knowing him, he might even escape on his own. He always acts on his own and interferes with my plans anyways."

"That would mean sieging the palace," Kaori said. "We would have to fight an army of knights, Knight Leader, and the princess herself.

"Not quite," Stiyl said pointing to Jason. "He appeared to have taken out Knight Leader. It's why he is injured." Jason gave a slight wave from his chair.

"What…?" Kaori said opening and closing her mouth. This was the first time Mikoto saw her completely speechless, even when she was on the receiving end of Wrath's onslaught. "How did he?"

"Long story," Stiyl said irritated. "I'll brief you later. For now, we have a plan to try to rescue him. There are a few minor issues we need to sort out, but it should be done in an hour. We will however," he looked like he bit into something bitter, "need help from the science side to actually infiltrate the palace." Kaori, Agnese, and Itsuwa nodded in understanding. London's mana detection was still in full operation.

"I'm in," Mikoto said immediately.

"Me too," Misaki added a split second alter.

"Same," Frenda stated.

"I want to blast a couple more of those knights and teach the spoiled brat a lesson," Shizuri grinned.

"I super want to beat them up," Saiai said cracking her knuckles.

"I can't really fight," Ruiko said, but her face was determined. "I'll do whatever I can."

"I suppose I owe him one," Accelerator said in a nonchalant tone, and Kaori had to suppress a grin. "Give me the details when you are done. I want to sleep a bit until then." He walked away thinking about the issue at hand. He knew there was no need to worry about Touma right now because of the deal. He also needed to charge his choker or he wouldn't be able to fight much longer. While it was recharging, he planned to get some sleep. He noticed Shizuri staring at him and realized Last Order was still holding tightly to his hand. Shizuri grinned evilly at him and he replied with a rude gesture. He went up to his room, plugged the choker in and collapsed on the bed. His body ached, his head pounded, and then he felt Last Order jump on top of him and not move. Even so, he felt better then he could remember in a long time. _Guess it's my turn to pay back a little of what I owe._

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **So many restrictions when I have everyone together, guess it's time to split them up again.**

 **Pierce: So what's going on guys, haven't heard much from you.**

 **Motoharu: You know the usual, Kami-yan starting a war by infecting princesses.**

 **Pierce: Sounds like him.**

 **Jason: Attracting the crazy one of three princesses, I wouldn't expect anything less.**

 **Accelerator: Now it's the hero's harem vs the princess's forces.**

 **Touma: Dang it guys, it's not like that!**

 **Motoharu: Who do you think will win?**

 **Pierce: Well from the above chapter, Accelerator's probably weakened a bit, and Kagere is out of it, so should be a good fight. Hope the battle causes some people to go beyond their limits.**

 **Jason: Think Misaka-san is going to hit 5.5 without help this time?**

 **Accelerator: Well the author did show us one of the sister's is in the city.**

 **Motoharu: I kind of want Mugino-san to hit 5.5.**

 **Jason: There would be a lot of death and destruction.**

 **Accelerator: Sounds fun.**

 **Touma: How do you all know have this information?**

 **Me: I was bored, so I told them, but they promised not to use the information in the actual story.**

 **Touma: You believed them?**

 **Me: Nope, I just vowed to punish them if they did.**

 **Touma: Can you at least tell me when I get to do something.**

 **Me: Next chapter.**

 **Motoharu: The author is grinning evilly, yes!**

 **Touma: Such misfortune.**


	50. S2 Knights

**Another Christmas come and gone, and it is now almost the New Year. Couple hours left for me, but for many of you, I am sure it is already 2016. The first month, everyone will still be putting 2015 on dates. I worked hard to get this out before the New Year, as my gift for you. I am also happy to say this is the fiftieth chapter, quite a mile stone. When I first made this story, I told myself I wanted it to be long and involved. More than just a short crack fic, in which I wanted to improve myself as a writer. I expected it to be long, but I did not expect it to balloon into what it is now. A lot of people have asked questions on what I have planned for future arcs. I have to answer too many of those questions with just don't know. The story has taken on a life of its own and I just have to write down what happens. I have a couple major events in future arcs, but priority now is to finish this with the optimum level of misfortune for Touma and everyone else being happy.**

 **Generation Zero: Oh, the ending will be great. As for WWIII, that proposes an entirely separate issue. The current events will definitely affect the final outcome so it will be vastly different then canon.**

 **Agent Nine: How much damage did the wall do to your fist? We can't all have a fist of steel like Touma Kamijou.**

 **Guest: I can't wait for A Certain Beauty-Sempai to make her appearance. After all, she and Misaki have such a colorful history together.**

 **general ironox: With that scenario, there would be no survivors.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

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"Why would you say those things to them?" Touma demanded at Carissa, after she had George forcefully take the phone away from him.

"I simply informed them the seriousness of the situation," Carissa responded, completely passive. "I have done everything I promised. The plane is getting ready as we speak and you have told your friends the deal you made. If they accept it, then this will be the end of it. If they don't, well… they know the consequences of their actions. I almost want them to refuse my offer though. That one girl was quite rude to me and I would like to teach her the proper meaning of respect." Touma felt his stomach sink. He didn't like it, but he had to admit she was right and did fulfill her promise. The issue was, he knew, she was serious about treating his friends as enemies if they refused. If they did not choose to accept the deal, by their responses they weren't, there was a distinct possibly they would be hurt, or even killed. At that moment, he resolved to do everything in his power to work on stopping the fight.

"You don't have to continue this war you know," Touma told her. "There are other ways to end this peacefully. The knights follow you, so they obviously believe you would make a good leader. You don't have to kill your family."

"I am afraid I am forced to," Carissa said as she stood up. "As long as one of them is alive, my rule is not secured. The threat of them trying to take Curtana away from me will always be a possibility. My mother was weak, and England is suffering on the world stage, while both of my sisters are not any better."

"What do you mean?" Touma asked. He wanted to get as much information as possible from Carissa in order to find out the best way to stop this. He didn't want her to lose and get branded a traitor, but he also didn't want her to succeed in killing her family. _One you go down that route, there's no turning back. I will save her before she does something she will regret._ Touma didn't see people as good and evil, he focused on what they did. He would do anything in his power to help people go down the right path.

"You haven't been here long," Carissa sighed. "I also don't know how much information Academy City allows their citizens to view on current events, but England's place in the world has been shrinking ever since my mother took over. She's been known as the Pacifist Queen." Carissa spat out those last two words in disgust. "Due to her wanting to prevent any conflict, she has been signing all sorts of treaties with the European Union. Part of the agreement was disarmament and we lost most of our advanced weaponry. The first thing I am going to do is void all those treaties and reassert England as its own true sovereignty. We will build up our military once again."

"Isn't preventing war a good thing though?" Touma asked confused. _Does she only care about actually fighting?_

"If it's real peace maybe," Carissa said waving her hand dismissively. "The hidden fact is the Roman Catholic Church is pulling the strings to weaken England. They know trying to take us out in a straight out war will not work. They are giving more and more power to other countries, especially France, who really is just a puppet for them. Now, they are allowed to hold the technology for advanced warfare and we are supposed to get rid of all of ours. Because we appear weak, other outside forces are trying to take advantage of us. The Fallen have begun to test our defenses, because we have shown them our weakness. This can't be tolerated. My people deserved better than this. I won't wait for when England fails the test of time and becomes a puppet to the Catholic Church."

Touma's eyes widened slightly and he gave her a brief nod. "I see," he said slowly as realization hit him. "I knew there was more to this coup. You are doing this for the people, not just yourself."

"Oh," Carissa said in mild amusement, but raising an eyebrow. "So you do understand. My name will go down in history as the Queen who brought England from the brink of annihilation."

"But," Touma continued. "Regardless of your motives, killing your family is still wrong. Just because they didn't follow your idea of the best path, doesn't mean their choice was incorrect. We can't predict the future and can only follow what we believe is the best choice for the future. Killing people, however, is wrong, because there is always another way. If you talked it out with your mother, I'm sure you could have come up with a better plan then either of yours put together. I can't really give you advice on the path to go for protecting an entire country but, if you insist on traveling down the path of a murderer, I will shatter that illusion of yours." He held out his right fist, but didn't make any attempt to charge at Carissa. George had shifted his weight in anticipation of an attack, but stopped when he realized what Touma was doing.

"Not a bad speech for a high school student," Carissa commented. The look of amusement did not slip from her face. "Have you practice it before?" Touma didn't reply and instead kept his eyes focused on her. "Did you think I haven't talked to her about this? She is quite stubborn, I inherited that trait from her, and she will definitely come to try to take Curtana away from me. If she does, I will be branded a traitor and the country will go back to the slow decline as it did before. However," She stopped and gazed back into his eyes, a slight smirk on her lips. "That resolve you have… I definitely choose correctly to make you a knight and serve me. I have only witness that type of resolve in two others, Knight Leader and an old mercenary. When I finish my business, I will make sure to supervise your training… personally. Anyway," her tone suddenly became crisp and business like as she turned to George, "You are in charge of watching him until my return. Your unit is on reserve, so you might as well introduce him to them. It would be good for him to understand what being a knight means."

"Yes ma'am," George replied putting his fist on his chest. She nodded in acknowledgement and dismissed them with a wave of her hand. George grabbed hold of Touma's shoulder and led him out the door they had come through. Right before the door shut behind them, Touma turned and looked at Carissa. She looked distracted until he caught her eye. She immediately smirked at him as he opened his mouth.

"If my friends don't leave," Touma called over his shoulder. "And they get hurt. I will never forgive you." Carissa didn't reply and the door shut behind him. Touma and George walked in silence down the hall. Touma glanced at George's passive face, but couldn't read anything about what he was thinking. Touma turned his thoughts back to what he heard Carissa tell him, and he couldn't understand why she wasn't able to come up with a better option. He snapped out of his thoughts when George guided him down a different hallway, instead of heading back to the room Index was in. "Aren't we going back for Index?" he asked.

"Not right now," George replied. "She will be monitored in that room until Lady Carissa says otherwise. This was a direct order from her."

"Why?"

"Because of her knowledge," he answered simply. "You know her ability to analysis magic correct? Would you let an enemy tactician move around at leisure to examine your military might? The risk of her sabotaging our defenses still exists."

"She's not an enemy," Touma protested, but then sighed. "Though, I see your point. So where are we going?"

"I am taking you to meet my unit," stated George. "Just like Lady Carissa said. They are waiting in the far wing, as they just got back from their patrols. We are on standby right now until we are ordered to move out, which probably won't be long if the church decides to attack." His voice was calm, but Touma could tell there was a lot more on his mind then he was letting on. Touma figured this would be one of his few opportunities to try to get some answers.

"Do you support what she is doing?" Touma asked him again, as they walked down the deserted hallway. There was a moment's hesitation, like he was thinking if he could get away easily like last time, before he spoke.

"As a knight," he said slowly and deliberately, like he was weighing every word. "My duty is to the ruler and the country. I can't bring personal feelings into this. I follow orders as directed and will give my life if needed. While her actions may be slightly… distasteful… we swore to follow her. We had to choose what we believed was the best direction for England."

"I understand your feelings," Touma told him, and he truly did. The knights were worried about the direction England was going too, and they followed Carissa because they believed her choice of action was the one with the greatest chance of success. Touma didn't know all the politics involved between England and the Roman Catholic Church but, because England was a country rich in magic, he could tell there would always be some disagreements. "But there has to be away for England to exist without killing the other members of the royal family. I don't believe the country is as weak as you think."

"Your optimism is refreshing," George said and there was a sad smile on his face. "I suppose there is always that possibility, but there is not always time to discover it. The other forces move while we sit and deliberate. Lady Carissa is a woman of action, something us knights can understand and support. Queen Elizard may have meant well, though former queen now, but many of us felt she was too passive when dealing with other countries. Though, I personally approved of our alliance with America and Academy City. Even then, they begin to influence our country too."

"Having allies doesn't mean you are weak," Touma told him. "Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. When you join forces you just make yourself stronger by covering each other's weaknesses. Also, the opposite is true with regards to influence. We learned globalization in school and even if they influence you, you are also influencing them. Alliances are two way streets and I'm sure if England is in trouble, they will come and help you. While I'm here, I am going to do everyone I can to convince Carissa not to go through with her plan. I don't know anything about ruling, but I am going to stop her from going past the point of no return. I know what it is like to try to do everything myself, and it took an important friend of mine to make me realize I can't."

"When we introduce you to the others," George told him, changing topics. "Remember to address her correctly. You do not want to show off your relationship to my men."

"W-we don't have a relationship," sputtered a surprised Touma.

"Regardless," George said, interrupting him and a small grin appeared on George's face. "You do not want people to perceive one if one does not exist. It leads to problems, and may start undermining her leadership if people believe she is playing favorites. I know she is not one to do so, because I have seen your actions first hand. I will vouch for you. But if you plan to continue to try to persuade her to change her plans, I do not like your chances."

"What do you mean?"

"She is not one to change her mind when she sets her sight on something," George answered seriously. "Ever since she was a kid, once she decides on a course of action, she would follow through with it to the end."

"I've been told I'm pretty stubborn too," Touma said while laughing slightly.

"You two have a lot in common then," George muttered. "Oh, I just remembered." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper. "Most of the knights under me can't speak Japanese. Lady Carissa and I have been speaking it to make the transition easier. Tuck it under your collar and don't touch it with your right hand. It will translate words into English so they can understand you and you them." Touma frowned slightly. He was so use to people speaking Japanese to him, that he completely forgot people don't speak it normally in England. The few times they spoke English in his presence, there was a translator. He took it with his left hand and did what he was told.

They continued the rest of their trip in silence until they stopped at a door. "Let me introduce you before you say anything," George told Touma. Touma nodded and George pushed open the door. It was a large room, with an open door on the far side that led outside. It was not elaborately decorated like the other rooms he had been in. The rug looked worn and the furniture was simple. There were two large tables and many wooden chairs, but no couches or sofa chairs he had been used to seeing. The room was occupied by about twenty men, ranging in age from mid-twenties to upper fifties. Three of them were wearing full armor, except the helm, and the rest were in casual clothes, most likely what they wore under their armor. Every one of them turned and looked up at George and Touma. When they walked in and shut the door behind them, all of the knights stood up immediately and put their hand to their chest in a salute.

"Sir!" they said in unison.

"At ease," George said raising his hand. All then men relaxed and went back to either sitting down or leaning against a wall. "I have come to introduce you to this young man. His name is Touma Kamijou, a student from Japan. Due to… circumstances… he is the guardian of the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, and they are now staying in England. It appears Lady Carissa, specifically, wants him to be trained as a knight. Since the country is currently experiencing a revolution, his training will be put on hold. For now, she wants him to get to know the knights and learn about what we do, until we get summoned." All the knight's eyes turned to Touma and gazed intently at him. He shifted slightly during the uncomfortable silence, until someone spoke up.

"It seems like an odd time to join us sir," a knight with short black hair and around his mid-thirties spoke up suspiciously. "Doesn't he need to go through the proper training before joining an actual unit? Besides, if he joined now, wouldn't it be likely he might be a spy?"

"Timing is the reason WHY he joined us in the first place," George replied. "As for a spy, well he has worked for the church before and previously was a student from Academy City in Japan."

"Doesn't that make him an obvious spy?" the knight asked incredulously.

"One might think so," George responded nodding solemnly. "However, he and Lady Carissa have had an arrangement made. Right now, he is not a spy." Touma felt all the knights turn toward him again, this time in surprise rather than curiosity, when George mentioned he talked to Lady Carissa.

"You talked with her directly?" one of the knights near Touma asked him. The knight was younger, around mid-twenties, with shoulder length blonde hair and blue eyes. He looked impressed. "Usually only the commanders get a chance to have a private audience with her. How do you know her, if you're from Japan?"

"Well," Touma said rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. He was painfully aware of all the stares and he wanted to make sure to heed George's warning about not causing anyone to think he was involved with Carissa. "While I was on a trip to England, I accidently saw the princess and two knights getting attack by members of The Fallen. I jumped in and helped out as best I could. During her cou… revolution," he decided to use the term George used, "we ran into each other and she brought me back to the palace. We reached an agreement, and now I am here." He didn't lie, but he wanted to keep several parts of the conversation a secret, unless it was absolutely necessary. The young knight stared at him for a moment in shock, Touma didn't know why, until he spoke again.

"You actually helped her in a fight?" he asked. "But she's incredibly strong."

"Yea well," Touma said rubbing his neck again. "They were equipped to fight English magicians, but they didn't expect my involvement."

"I doubt you were any help to her, except maybe as a distraction," a large man in the corner snorted. His head was completely bald, but it looked like he shaved it. "Did you just wave your hands and yell while they turned around? I don't sense a single drop of mana within you."

"I was with Lady Carissa at the time," George interrupted glaring slightly at the knight. The knight lowered his head slightly, but his stern gaze did not leave Touma. "They had enchanted weapons that could bypass our magical defenses. Our armor was blown away with just a light tap from their blades. While I had no doubt Lady Carissa would have made it out alive, his interference was indeed helpful. He could take down one of them with a single hit." The bald mana looked very much like he didn't believe it, but he wasn't going to publically denounce a superior office. George wasn't fooled though. "Do you doubt me?"

"Never sir," the man replied instantly.

"I think you are," George replied sternly. "Your doubt is understandable though. I think a demonstration is in order." He grinned. "Since you seem to doubt him, you would be the best opponent for him Frank."

"Demonstration?" Touma asked quickly turning to George. "No one said I would need to do something like this."

"Think of it as a sparring match," George replied still grinning and smacked Touma in the back. His strength caused Touma to stumble forward a step. "They all have been cooped up here too long. A little warm up match to help some of them stretch their legs isn't a bad thing. There's a small ring outside that door we can use."

"Heh," Frank laughed. "I could use the exercise and I'm interested to see what this kid can do without any mana." He stood up and left out the back door and the rest of the knights followed, talking between themselves excitedly. Touma, however, turned to George.

"You can't be serious," Touma said to George. "These guys are trained for combat and infused with Curtana's power right? You know the power of my hand, it only works on magic, and even Index said it wouldn't negate the Telesma the knights received. I'll get killed if I fight him in a fist fight."

"Oh I doubt that," George said, dismissing all of Touma's concerns with a wave of his hand. "You'll be fine, but we need to do this and get it out of the way. It is only a matter of time before they find out the preferential treatment you are receiving from Lady Carissa. It's best to show that her judgement is correct, otherwise they may begin to doubt her leadership."

"She's showing me preferential treatment?" Touma asked dubiously. "What does normal treatment entail then? Actually, on second thought, I don't want to know. But your answer doesn't say how I am supposed to fight someone who's trained for combat, like a knight."

"He is trained in physical combat yes," George agreed, as he led Touma outside. "But he tends to… ah I don't want to spoil the surprise." He grinned. "This will be a good lesson for him too. I don't play favorites but, as the underdog, a word of advice for you. Try to end it quickly."

"You have a lot of confidence in me," Touma replied dryly and hung his head in despair. "If I make a fool out of myself, it's your fault." He had no idea what George saw in him. Even if the knight didn't use the Telesma given by Curtana, he would undoubtedly be trained in some sort of hand to hand combat. The only training Touma ever received was all the street fights he got into. His technique was more centered on trial in error, and he still had the bruises to prove it. He also had never fought a knight before and had no idea how they fought. He briefly thought back to the fight against the Fallen, when they were on his side, but they were using weapons. _I hope he doesn't use a weapon._ He sighed, depressed, as they walked over to the others. "Such misfortune."

"I'm sure you will do fine," George reassured him. "If not… well try not to get hurt to badly. I'll only step in to stop a life threatening blow."

"What?" Touma asked stunned and spun to look at him. "Do you think it would be funny if I get pulverized?"

"Maybe a little," George shrugged and Touma glared at him. "Hey, I may be a knight, but I'm still a human. We can't be as strict as Knight Leader all the time. But as I said, I am sure you will do fine." They walked over to a dirt patch area, surrounded be a small dirt mound to mark the ends of the ring. All the knights were gathered around it and Frank was standing in the middle, stretching his arms above his head. "Go on then," George said giving Touma a slight push into the ring. "Oh yea," he said, as if the thought almost slipped his mind. "Since he has not gone through the rite to be a knight yet, he can't access Curtana's Telesma. Well there's other reasons he probably can't too." He muttered the last sentence under his breath, and then his voice got loud again. "Frank don't use yours either, just rely on your skills as a knight. No physical weapons, but magic is allowed."

"Sounds good," Frank said cracking his neck. "I don't want people to think I'm bulling a kid." Touma didn't say anything in response. He didn't want to fight, because he didn't have a reason to fight. Frank looked really confident and Touma noticed, while he didn't have any armor, Frank was muscular. He also had a couple scars on his arms, which made Touma believe he had been in several fights. George looked at both of them and raised his hand.

"Begin."

Touma immediately went into a defensive stance, because Frank seemed like the kind of guy to charge straight ahead. To his surprise, Frank grinned and pulled out a small silver sword handle. He gripped it and mumbled something under his breath. The handle started to glow and then the silver hilt began to stretch until it was a couple feet long. Frank swung the sword in front of him, as if testing the weight. "Hey," Touma protested, turning to George. "Didn't you say no weapons? That definitely looks like one."

"The hilt isn't a weapon," George replied mildly. "The blade was made by magic, so it's allowed." Frank grinned and Touma groaned.

"I'm beginning to think you hold some grudge against me," Touma mumbled and George grinned. A couple of the nearby knights laughed. Touma sighed and pulled his attention back to the fight. Frank was obviously confident, since Touma didn't appear to have any power. _Wait if the sword is made of magic… ah, that's why he allowed it._ His eyes darted to George who gave him a quick wink. Touma took a step forward and Frank responded by dashing towards Touma. Even though Frank wasn't using the power from Curtana, he was still fast compared to a normal person, though Touma believed he might have had body enhancing spells. Touma moved to his left, in order to position his right hand in between himself and the sword. However, Frank didn't swing the sword at him, and instead kicked at his legs. Touma jumped back at the last second to soften the blow. The hit didn't do any real damage, but the momentum was enough to make him fall to the ground.

"You're ten years too early to fight a knight," Frank laughed. "Are you sure this is the kid the princess had her eye on?" George nodded. "Is this all he can do?" George shrugged. Frank looked annoyed at the lack of useful information and turned his attention back to Touma, who had stood up again. Most of the knights were shaking their head at this seemingly one sided fight. The younger knight who talked to Touma earlier was one of the few who looked apprehensive. "I'm disappointed. I heard a couple of the people from Academy City caused some commotion at a mall. If they are as weak as he is, there's no doubt they will fall before us. But of course the weak get weeded out for the strong." Touma froze for a second and then got angry.

"Don't you dare think of trying to hurt my friends," Touma told him through gritted teeth.

"Oh," Frank said, raising an eyebrow. "Well, maybe they shouldn't be so weak and foolish. They are just going to die if they oppose us."

"They aren't weak," Touma shot back. "Apologize." He didn't care if he was insulted, but he would always stand up for his friends.

"Make me," Frank dared him and jumped forward, while swinging his blade. George might have stepped up because the fight, which was just supposed to be a sparring match, was turning personal, but he could tell Frank was only going for a shallow cut with the sword and decided against it. Touma simultaneously brought up a fist. He was determined to sock that guy once for insulting his friends. The sword came down on his fist, and shatter with the sound of glass breaking. Everyone could only stare in stunned silence as Touma continued to bring his fist into the side of Frank's face. When his hand hit the target, they heard the sound of breaking glass again. Touma's fist connected and Frank was knocked backwards. He moved his foot back reflexively and prevented himself from falling over, but he immediately jumped back and looked at the hilt in his hand.

"What the…?" he said. "You destroyed my blade… and my defensive spells. What are you?" The other knights' expressions turned to shock, and they started to whisper among themselves. The younger knight and George were grinning. Frank muttered under his breath and the hilt formed another silver sword. His face no longer had an amused expression. "I might have under estimated you."

"Apologize for insulting my friends," Touma told him again, as he stared intently at Frank. Frank didn't reply and Touma got a deadly premonition, so he immediately shifted to his right. The sword Frank was holding had extended and moved like a whip, right where Touma had been standing a second earlier. It retracted and started to spiral in front of him. _I'm glad I listen to my instincts, or I could have lost an arm. He's getting serious, why didn't George stop it._ Touma didn't know it, but George was just about to jump in. He stopped himself at the last second because he saw Touma move. The circle of knights was deadly quiet. They too could feel the tension in the air.

"Shut up boy," Frank snapped. "I don't care who you are or who chose you. The look on your face pisses me off." He knew this was just a sparring match, but he wanted to cause a serious injury to the boy in front of him. He wasn't entirely sure why, but the boy really irritated him. It might have been the fact the boy was chastising him in front of everyone else. He could shape the metal in his sword like a whip, but with even more control. His next attack was going to be a faint and, instead, the blade would circle around Touma and strike at him from the side. He grinned as he swung his blade. It whipped forward in a slight arc and, right before it struck Touma, it changed direction and looped at his right side. Frank was sure he won, when Touma stuck out his right hand and grabbed the end of his sword. The blade shattered and broke apart from where Touma touched it, like it was being disintegrated.

"Are you done?" Touma asked him softly and Frank looked at his eyes. They seemed to be staring straight through him. Frank had no idea what happened. It was like this boy could destroy magic, but he refused to believe that. Before he could clear his mind and think logically, Touma charged at him. Metal erupted from his hilt and formed a circle in front of him. He had instinctively made a shield, but he had no way of knowing how useless that was against Touma. He heard the sound of breaking glass, right before his shield exploded into dust and the first continued to fly right towards his face. He felt the blow and, though it wasn't strong enough to knock him out, it had hit him in the jaw. The blow disoriented him enough to knock him down onto the ground. He shook his head and looked up to see Touma standing over him. There was silence, and then the rest of the knights burst into cheers.

"I see we have a clear winner," George said stepping into the ring. "I believe you have something to say Frank?"

Frank looked at the ground in shame. "I'm sorry for the disrespect."

"Thanks," Touma said and reached a hand down to help Frank to his feet. After he was standing up, George smacked him on the back.

"That's what I call a sparring match," George said. "Keeping your cool in the situation and striking when your opponent lets their guard down." He turned to Frank. "You know you could have beaten him if you just used basic training instead of relying on your magic. Touma Kamijou here," he spoke louder to the rest of the knights, "has the power to neutralize magic. Because of this, and his determination to help others, he fought besides myself and Lady Carissa against The Fallen. If you all noticed, even after he won, he showed his opponent respect. Do any of you still believe he is not worthy of being a knight?"

"No sir," every knight in the circle said in unison.

"Good," George told them all. "Anyway, the main reason I brought him here was for him to get to know about the knights. He still has to go through most of the training, so don't spoil too much for him." Several of the knights laughed and Touma felt a sinking sensation in his stomach. "Answer questions, tell him what it's like, what kind of things you have done, and so forth. At least until he is summoned back." He turned and walked back inside, while calling over his shoulder, "Who thinks they can beat me in poker? I could use a couple games to relax." Most of the knights headed back inside, but a couple of them, including the young one, stayed back.

"That was impressive," the young knight told him. "Oh, my names Zach by the way. Your power is really impressive."

"Thanks," Touma replied. "It has gotten me involved in a lot of problems though. I was told my power negates my luck too."

"That would explain how you got involved with the princess," the knight with short black hair said. 'You must have interested her or she wouldn't have pressured you into the knights. She usually doesn't recruit and only supervises our training."

"How do you know I got forced?" Touma asked turning to him.

"Her personality," he said shrugging. "If you had volunteered, you would have just gone through basic training before meeting a knight unit."

"She has an eye for talent," Zach added. "She's also very strong and has the innate ability to lead. So, you actually fought alongside her? What was that like?"

"Well," Touma said shrugging. "At the time I didn't know who she was and we fought some masked Fallen members. She was incredibly quick and figured out how to fight them when she just learned of my power."

"Sounds like her," Zach said impressed.

"So," the black haired knight continued and grinned. "Has anything happened between you and the princess?"

"What?" Touma asked shocked. "First George and now you? Why does everyone think something happened? What do you all think could happen?"

"Well if she took interest in you," the knight pointed out. "But judging from your strong reaction, nothing happened yet."

"What do you mean YET?" Touma asked wildly. Even Zach looked at the other knight in interest.

"I don't think he knows," another knight said behind the black haired one. "And Zach wasn't a knight then."

"Ah well," the black haired knight said sighing. "Probably shouldn't tell him then. It's better if he can live a normal life a little longer before he finds out."

"Tell me," Touma said desperately. "I need to know what to expect."

"Fine," he sighed again. "About seven to eight years ago Lady Carissa developed an interest in someone else. She personally oversaw his training and was harder on him then any of the other knights. There were a lot of rumors she was going to choose him as a husband, since knights, above a certain rank, can marry into the royal family. Anyway, from what I heard, he was a very rebellious person, who didn't like taking orders and stood up against her. I think that may have been what drew her interest in the first place. I can't really say attracted because no one knew if she really loved him. She eventually dropped him after he was sent somewhere."

"I heard it was up north," the third knight said and he nodded.

"Ah that's right."

"What happened to him?" Touma asked.

"Why did she lose interest?" Zach added.

"This is only a rumor," he said and put his arms on both of their shoulders. "I heard he had a nervous breakdown and his mind broke. He sort of became a yes man and she lost all interest. So Touma, try not to lose your mind or you might join him." He got off them and stretched. "I feel sorry for you."

"Poor b#$$%^&$," the third knight said shaking his head. They both looked at each other and laughed.

"Now I know you too are messing with me," Touma sighed and, while his heart stopped beating wildly, a reluctant grin formed on his face. Zach started grinning too, when he realized it was all a joke, or believed it to be one.

"It's true," the black haired knight said looking straight at Touma. Touma felt his grin slip off and crash to the floor. "She's really picky on who she wants as a partner." He stopped and looked around to make sure no one else was listening. "You didn't hear it from me, but I heard the Queen was getting impatient with her."

"There's no way that could happen," Touma said trying to laugh, but his voice came out hoarse.

"Well if it does," the third knight told him. "Run if you see a whip in her hands." He and the black haired knight left Touma and Zach to themselves.

"Please tell me they are joking," Touma whispered to Zach, who just shrugged.

"I don't know," he replied. "I have heard rumors the Queen wanted her to start seriously looking for someone. The ensuring fight shook the castle and I heard Knight Leader had to intervene. Wish we knew where he was now. This revolution could end a lot faster."

"What do you mean?" Touma asked interested. He knew Knight Leader had gone after Jason, who must have gotten away, but he didn't know why Knight Leader didn't come back.

"Since you haven't gone through the rite yet," Zach said hesitantly. "You wouldn't know and I probably shouldn't say. But a little while ago, there was a ripple in the Telesma as Knight Leader's presence just vanished. It's not like he died, but more his power was severed. We have no idea what happened."

"That's weird," Touma said frowning. _Did Jason do something? Or did someone else interrupt them?_

"That's enough depressing talk," Zach said slapping Touma on the back. "I'll introduce you to everyone and warn them you're the princess's eye candy."

"No!" Touma told him firmly. "Don't you dare. I have enough idiotic friends who do stuff like that to me."

"I'm just messing with you," Zach laughed. "Come on, I'll introduce you to everyone." Touma followed him back inside and started to mingle with the others.

After an hour or so, Touma learned a lot about the knights and the order. What surprised him the most was how normal everyone was. There were so many personalities and everyone joined the knights for their own reasons. Some joined for glory, others wanted to help England, and some it was tradition. Either way, they all seemed to get along, with only an occasional fight. It seemed like the thing they grumbled about the most was, since they were on reserve, they couldn't drink. About two thirds of them complained about it within ear shot of him. One elder knight complained too much and George threw a chair at him to get him to shut up. _The atmosphere feels just like my class. It's like we all grew up and kept the same maturity._ Touma was told about several of the missions the unit carried out, including a rescue operation against a Roman Catholic magic time passed,he briefly forgot all these men were trained knights, who were quite capable of killing, until the door to the room burst open and Carissa entered.

"ATTENTION!" George roared at his knights as soon as he saw who it was. As one unit, all the other knights jumped into a standing position and stood side by side on each side of the room. Touma, who had no idea, was left in the middle, painfully aware of everyone watching him.

"Did he perform well?" Carissa asked George.

"Exactly as you predicted," he replied.

"Excellent," Carissa said smirking and looking right at Touma. He gulped, afraid what was about to happen to him. The fear of the other knight's words echoed in the back of his mind. "You," she pointed to Touma, "are coming with me and George." She turned and looked at George. "I have a couple things I need to discuss with you. The rest of your men," she turned to them, "are to get ready to move out immediately. The church has begun to marshal on London's west side."

"Yes ma'am!" they chanted in unison. Carissa turned to leave and George motioned for Touma to follow. He didn't really have any choice in the matter and his legs moved automatically after them. The door shut behind him and he heard muffle footsteps as all the knights started to put their armor on.

"You don't have to figh…" Touma started to say, but Carissa cut him off.

"Don't be so ignorant," she snapped at him. "You know damn well the church chose the option they are going to take. I do have good news for you though. It appears your friends have accepted my deal."

"What?" Touma asked in genuine shock. After the phone call, he expected them to do something stupid, like he would do. "How do you know?"

"They contacted me through your phone," she said holding his phone out in her hand. "The bus had just entered the airport a moment ago. They tinted the windows and added a couple protective spells to it in case I decide to go back on my word. My knights reported there is only one person capable of using magic, the others fourteen can't. Does that much up with your group?" Touma quickly counted everyone.

"Yes," he said. He was glad they were going to be out of harm's way, even if he was going to be left alone in England with Index. The knowledge they wanted to help save him was enough for him. _I rather be the only one in trouble then have all my friends share it._ He suddenly remembered Mikoto's speech back at the beach during the Tokiwadai trip. _Maybe I am just being selfish…_ _Wait, only one person who can use magic? Wouldn't Tsuchimikado also show up? Could he have stayed behind because he works with them? But she said fifteen total so he should be there. What is going on?_

"Shame," Carissa said softly. "I was hoping that rude girl would decide to attack. I would love to meet her on the battlefield, to teach her respect, and talk your magic user friend, who somehow managed to escape Knight Leader. Do you think he would accept a job if offered?"

"Maybe?" Touma said shrugging. He gave up trying to figure out what Jason would do. He always seemed to do the opposite of what people expected.

"Anyway," she turned to George. "Your troops will move out and join up with the other knights to intercept the main church forces."

"The church should know a frontal assault would be futile," George replied sternly. "This sounds like a diversion."

"Oh it is," Carissa laughed. "They are using the majority of their forces in hit and run tactics. They want us to move all of our forces toward the west. A scout detected a small unit moving stealthily on the east side. Most likely, that unit has their skilled individuals and is part of the rescue mission for the boy. Since his friends have unusual powers, I saw the reports from the mall, I stationed several knights to monitor them as the head toward the airport. The church was waiting for my troops to spread out so they can attack. It's not going to work."

"Since Knight Leader has not returned," George said. "Who are you sending to intercept the small group?"

"I'm sending the first elite squad under Knight Leader," Carissa smirked. "They should be enough to take out even a couple Saints. Plus, they want revenge for their commander. Since we know their objective," her eyes flickered to Touma, "I will be stationed here in case they somehow manage to get through."

"You appear to have thought of everything Lady Carissa," George acknowledged.

"Of course."

"Isn't there some other method we could do to avoid the violence?" Touma asked, though he really didn't believe Carissa would go with along with his suggestion.

"You really are dense," Carissa sighed. "I suppose you could tell them you won't help them but, knowing you, if you thought going with them would save lives, you would. Either way, they will force you to help them. That's the kind of games the church plays behind the scenes. They are always trying to manipulate the royal family."

"Huh?" Touma asked.

"It's the triangle to maintain balance," George told him. "The Royal family controls the knights, the knights monitor the church, and the church advises the royal family."

"If they would just accept my rule," Carissa continued, as if she wasn't interrupted. "There wouldn't be violence, but they refused, so they chose this path." She and George started discussing a couple different plans before moving out and Touma got lost in his thoughts.

 _Stiyl's really stubborn and has a lot of influence in the church. I doubt the church will want Carissa to rule England. My best bet is to convince her, which seems unlikely, or destroy Curtana._ He looked at Curtana which was attached to Carissa's belt right in front of him. _Did she let her guard down?_ He started to reach toward it and then stopped. _Can I do this? I promised to serve her as a knight if she let my friends go and they accepted. If I try to grab Curtana now, I'm betraying her after I made a promise. But if I grab it now, I could prevent the war from breaking out. Would it even stop the war? What if the knights keep following her?_ Touma's hand dropped to his side as the debate raged in his mind. His thoughts were interrupted when Carissa's voice cut through them.

"I was wondering if you were going to try," she told him. "I purposely let myself appear to be open to see if you could keep your word. I am pleased you can. After all, if you had tried I would have been forced to break your fingers." Touma let out a silent sigh of relief that he didn't go through in trying to destroy it.

"We are here," George said and opened the door. It appeared to be a living quarters, as Touma saw a small bed, when George pushed him inside. A moment later, he heard his name and saw Index running at him.

"TOOUUMMMAAA!" Index cried and collided with him. Touma fell back into the wall and Index fell to the ground rubbing her head. "I didn't know what happened to you. And I'm hungry."

"Good to see you to Index," Touma said, rubbing his gut, before turning to Carissa and George. "What now?"

"You will wait here in the extra living quarters," Carissa told him. "Count yourself lucky, most commoners, actually most people, do not get this opportunity." George grinned at Touma behind Carissa and he felt his ears burn, as his mind went back to what the other knights teased him about.

"Why here?" Touma asked. "I figured you would stick me with the other knights."

"I can hardly leave someone as important as the Index Librorum Prohibitorum in the same living quarters as the knights," Carissa said in a tone, as if questioning his intelligence. "As her guardian, it is only natural for you to stay with her. There is only one bed, so I recommend not doing anything you won't mind getting interrupted. You have no privacy here." Touma looked at her incredulously.

"What are you saying?" he asked wildly. "There's no way I could do something like that! People need to stop thinking that!" Carissa and George both smirked at him and he realized Carissa was just messing with him for her amusement. Index tilted her head. She was confused at what they were talking about. Carissa appeared satisfied with making fun of him and turned back to George.

"Lock him in and go lead your unit," she told him coldly. "Show no mercy to those traitors."

"Understood," George said bowing his head slightly and Touma could feel his demeanor change completely. His facial expression turned stone cold and he stood up straight. His aura changed to someone who was going to fight to the death for his cause. Touma remembered that, while George did enjoy normal things, he was a leader of a group of knights and Carissa was his direct superior. He wouldn't get to that position with charisma alone. The door shut and Touma heard it lock.

"Did they treat you ok?" Touma asked Index and he sat down on a chair and Index sat on the edge of the bed.

"Yes," she confirmed nodding her head and kicking her feet. "None of them would keep me company though, so it was really boring. The room also didn't have any magic in it so I had absolutely nothing to do." Touma felt a small smile on his face form as she complained like a normal girl. "Seriously, they only gave me the small snack of cookies over an hour ago. Do they want me to starve to death? They are as bad as you Touma with regard to food."

"You shouldn't need to eat every hour!" Touma protested.

"A growing girl like me needs to keep her strength up," Index huffed.

"Growing?" Touma asked. "You're the same height since I've met you..." The flash in her eyes told him he made a big mistake.

"Are you calling me fat?" she asked in a quiet, but dangerous, voice.

"Of course not," Touma said shaking his head. "I mean… please don't bare your teeth… Index… NO AHHHHH!" He stood up and tried to get the angry nun off his head as her teeth sank into his skin. After about five minutes, and getting bitten on his arms, he managed to pry her off him. She sat down on the bed, crossed her arms, and glared at him. Touma kneeled down on the floor in front of her and was apologizing profusely. After a couple minutes, she finally appeared to have forgiven him.

"So what happened to you when George dragged you away?" Index asked.

"A lot has happened," Touma admitted as everything came flooding to the front of his mind. "Where should I start? Well first, it seems Carissa is letting our friends go back to Academy City before the fighting starts getting serious. So they should be ok."

"That's good," Index said nodding. "They shouldn't be involved in magic side affairs. They have already seen more than they should." Her eyebrows narrowed and she frowned. "But Touma," she asked. "Why would the princess allow this? It seems like it would be troublesome instead of just getting rid of them, if they interfered. How did you convince her?"

"Well," Touma said rubbing his neck. "She wasn't going to let you leave, so I agreed to stay and work for her if my friends could leave without any problems."

"Touma how could you?!" Index yelled raising her hands above her head in anger. "Don't you stop to think about your actions?! Why would you involve yourself in magic affairs? How many times have I told you not to?!" Touma opened his mouth to apologize when he stopped. His eyes widened as tears started to fall from Index's eyes. "But thanks," she sniffed. "For not leaving me alone." Touma smiled warmly at her, stood up, and put his hand on her head.

"I told you I would protect you," he said. "I intend to keep my promise." Index looked up at him, her eyes were still watery, but the tears stopped. When she looked at him, she knew he would always be there for her, no matter what problems she was involved in. It was the same look he had when they first met.

"I know," she sniffed and then composed herself. "You have been gone a lot longer than just for that. What else happened?"

"I met the group of knights under George's command," Touma continued, slightly embarrassed at her previous reaction, and glad to change topics. "It seems she wants me to join the knights after her coup is over."

"Really?" Index said and her eyes widened in surprise. "I wonder how she is going to have that work. Your hand would interfere with the rite they go through to have access to Curtana's power." Touma shrugged.

"I don't even know what the rite entails," he told her honestly. "Oh, Carissa told me right before we arrived, it seems our friends have accepted her terms. They are heading to the airport now. Also, the church is making their move too." His face darkened and he made a fist. "Their forces are about to clash and there's nothing I can do to stop it." He punched the floor with a dull thud. His hand hurt, but he ignored it.

"You couldn't stop it," Index told him reassuringly. "The church and Knights have long been at odds."

"I wish I could say good-bye to my friends at least," Touma said after a moment of silence. He sat down on the floor and leaned up against a wall. He resigned himself to his fate. He couldn't come up with a plan to stop the fighting, unless he could stand in front of Carissa for long enough to get through her thick head.

"You can use my phone," Index offered.

Touma stopped thinking and stared at her for a moment in complete disbelief. "You have your phone on you?" he asked slowly.

"Yep," Index said happily, pulling out her phone from under her nun habit.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Touma asked, as he quickly stood up.

"You never asked," Index pointed out. "Plus I can't use it very well and the only people to call me are you, Hyouka, and Last Order. Hyouka is busy and you and Last Order are with me. So I haven't needed to use it." Touma wasn't sure if he should be grateful or irritated at her. He settled with just grabbing her phone and quickly dialing Mikoto's number.

* * *

Mikoto was leaning up against a door frame. Surprisingly, she was not at the hotel. She had unlocked an office building door in London and was currently looking out from the third floor window. Next to her was a most unlikely individual, Shizuri, who was leaning up against a wall. Both of them had snuck into London and found a building with a view of the palace. Mikoto had been impressed how detailed the church's plan was and how it appeared to try to consider every possible contingency. While the bus was a distraction, she and Shizuri had snuck into the city. Thanks to Kazari, Jason, and a couple of the church nuns, they were able to avoid the patrols, as they approached the palace. She and Shizuri were quite athletic and ran a good portion of the way, since they could only go so far with a car before the patrols became to frequent. Right now, they were waiting for the church's signal. "I hope she doesn't cause any problems," Mikoto mumbled to herself more than Shizuri.

"You know," Shizuri told her. "If the plan is good, stick to it. Only deviate if outside forces make the original one impossible."

"Sounds like you have had a lot of experience with this," Mikoto replied rolling her eyes.

"Brat," Shizuri said glaring at her. "In my line of work, a single mistake can lead to your death. You quickly learn to follow the plan if you don't want to die." She sighed and rubbed her forehead. "I can't believe I get paired up with someone as inexperienced as you. I would even have preferred Frenda over you."

"It's not like I begged to be paired up with you either," Mikoto mumbled dryly. Their groups had to be small to avoid detection, and there was a lot of debate on who was getting paired up with whom. Mikoto and Shizuri were in charge of the actual infiltration and rescue of Touma. It was determined there team needed mobility and firepower in case they encountered any knights as guards. Mikoto would have preferred Kuroko to help her infiltrate, but Stiyl and Itsuwa had a much more important role for her teleportation. She had no idea what happened to Accelerator. Stiyl and Kaori were talking to him after assigning her here. "I'm more surprised you agreed to help."

Shizuri sneered slightly at her. "As I said before, he's part of my group and he is really useful. I'm not going to let some spoiled rich princess take my property."

"He's a person not property," Mikoto snapped at her. "You really need better motives to help people."

"How about this one," Shizuri replied and her grin faded. "I'm returning a debt I owe. He saved me when I made a stupid mistake on a mission, which would have cost me my life. So now I'm returning the favor. I hate owing anyone anything." Shizuri grinned when Mikoto snapped her mouth closed. Mikoto had no idea what Touma had helped her out with, only that he did and she and Misaki found him leaving Shizuri's apartment. "How much longer till we move?" Shizuri asked her.

Mikoto pulled out her phone. "Stiyl gave us a rough estimate but, since we have to wait for the forces to actually clash, maybe ten to fifteen minutes?"

"Good," Shizuri said looking out the window towards the palace. "I'm getting bored waiting. I want to blast a couple of those knights."

"I can't believe how bloodthirsty you are," Mikoto sighed, but she was kind of glad she had someone with her power helping her. "Shokuhou-san is right about you. Anyway…" she stopped when her phone started vibrating. She didn't recognize the number, but she thought it might have been someone from the church. "Hello?"

"Thank god it made it," Touma's voice said hastily. Mikoto's eyes widened in surprise. "I'm using Index's phone, they must not have realized she had one. I don't know if we are being monitored, so I have to make this quick. Is everyone on that bus heading to the airport?"

"Not quite," Mikoto told him, but the line suddenly went dead. She looked at her phone and cussed loudly. "Idiot, if you are going to call, at least find a way to stay on for more than a moment." She tried to call back, but she just got the voice mail immediately.

"What did he say?" Shizuri asked. She had recognized who the word idiot referred to from Mikoto and she wanted to know why he called.

"He knows about the bus," Mikoto replied. "He was asking if we were all on it."

"So the plans working," Shizuri shrugged. "Depending on their response, it will affect if they get out of the bus alive."

"You concern for them is admirable," Mikoto replied dryly. She was getting really pissed at Shizuri's lackluster attitude. People she knew were going into a warzone.

"They knew the risk," Shizuri replied irritated. "Stiyl, Itsuwa, and Agnese made it perfectly clear what the possible outcomes would be. We accepted that risk. You're the one who demanded you get to help, even if you ran in on your own." Mikoto sighed and, though it pained her greatly, admitted to herself Shizuri was right. She glanced back out the window, waiting for the signal, so they could move out.

 _Be careful everyone. We all need to make it back alive._

* * *

Near the airport, a couple knights were monitoring the bus that was heading toward them. They couldn't sense normal people, but there was one magic user on the bus and it agreed with the report they were sent. The bus rolled up and stopped about twenty feet from the gate. Two of the knights walked up and the door opened. They stepped into the bus and looked around at all the teenagers and then left. One of the knights waved the gate open and the last two knights obliged. The bus rolled in slowly and parked outside the airport. Besides the four knights, there was one more knight in a tower with a communicator in case the students from Academy City tried to attack. He reported the number of individuals on the bus to the palace and then stopped. A moment later, all the other knights walked off into the airport, found a small room, and collapsed.

"Whew," Kuroko sighed and leaned back in her seat, her heart pounding. "When they walked in, I thought for sure our cover was going to be blown. It's was so weird to just seem them look at us."

"You power is really useful," added Itsuwa.

"Thank you for the kind words," Misaki smiled at her, while twirling her remote. "I told you Shirai-san, I know what I am doing. I had experience with bypassing their defenses from earlier today. I'm glad I checked their minds to see if anyone else was hiding, or I would have missed the one in the tower. He's programmed to relay everything is fine and I'll be listening to anyone he talks to."

"Now comes the tough part," Itsuwa said and the bus started moving again. They drove to the side of the airport closest to the palace. She got out of the bus and used her spear to cut part of the gate away. She walked back in and sat down in the driver's seat. "I don't like the fact we have to wait out in the open, even with the defensive spells placed on the bus, but we have to be ready to go in a moment's notice."

"I'm worried about onee-sama being with Mugino-san," Kuroko said. "She doesn't appear to be completely stable." She had wanted to be in Mikoto's group, but had been convinced she was needed more in this group.

"You don't know the half of it," Misaki replied seriously. "But they have a clear objective so I don't think she would cause any problems. The biggest issue will be if the princess is still in the palace or leaves to join the fighting."

"We believe she will want to be on the front lines," Itsuwa replied. "She is not the kind of person to slink away from a fight."

Misaki nodded and, based on her opinion of Carissa from the phone call, she believed the church was correct. The church had laid out a very detail plans that impressed even her. She was use to planning several steps ahead at all times, but this was completely different. The church had used every means at their disposal. Their plan was for their large group of combat members to act as the main bait and pretend to be trying to siege the palace. They would take out a couple of patrols before slowly retreating from the main knight forces. A small strike team of skilled magic users were supposed to pretend to be the rescue group. Carissa would be sure to send her elite guards to intercept them. Mikoto and Shizuri were supposed to be the actual rescue group. They could move quickly and had enough fire power to incapacitate any hostiles quickly. It would be a hit and run tactic.

Kuroko would have been a good person to work with Mikoto but, it was decided, she would be stationed with Misaki and Itsuwa at the bus. They had one of the riskiest roles in the rescue operation. Misaki would use Mental Out to take over the guards and prevent the alarm from being activated. One magic user had to go with them because, while Misaki could control what people see, they needed someone with magic to act as Jason. Since they didn't know exactly how the knights were detecting mana, they couldn't rely on Misaki's power if the detector was too far away. Kuroko was there in case Misaki's power failed. Her power would let them escape if things went south. As soon as the signal was sounded, Mikoto and Shizuri would move in. Simultaneously, Itsuwa would drive the bus as close as possible to the palace to pick them up. The bus had been fortified, with as many spells as the church could do in short notice. Misaki would also use her powers to try to prevent back up and stop knights chasing the rescue team. If everything failed, Kuroko's power would be essential in combat, as proven when she fought Knight Leader.

"We have no choice but to reply on them though," Misaki sighed. "I'm sure Misaka-san wouldn't want to fail her part and, while Mugino-san is pretty barbaric, her ability is very powerful. I do have one thing I can use if problems arise on our end."

"Like what?" Kuroko asked curiously.

"Secret," Misaki said winking, but her hand automatically clutched her purse holding her remotes. It also contained one other item. A small case filled with white powder. She had debated trying to read Rikou's mind to find out more information on this body crystal, but she never got the opportunity. Shizuri was in a bad mood and if Misaki was noticed, she knew she wouldn't get out of the encounter alive. She had one other option and it had gone better then she had planned. She was still thinking about the warning Jason gave her though, back at the hotel, when she asked him about it.

" _Hey Kagere-san," Misaki had called out. "I need to ask you something real quick."_

" _Sure, what's up?"_

" _Since you work with the research department," Misaki said. "Do you know anything about Body Crystals?" She knew he knew about it by the way his eyebrow rose ever so slightly._

" _How… never mind," he sighed changing direction. "I'm sure I know how. Why though?"_

" _I heard it could boost abilities," she continued, which was true since she had read Rikou's mind. "But it hasn't been widely dispersed."_

" _With good reason," Jason replied and he frowned. "I guess a brief explanation wouldn't hurt. In short, it pushes an ability user's power to the extremes. It allows them to access a higher level power then they could do on their own normally. Usually, it will only work well with certain abilities. I don't know how it's made, but it has something to do with that process. The few successful cases allowed level 3s to use level 4 powers, and a couple level 4's can push the boundary to level 5. I believed they were even debating on using it on Accelerator at one point, but he wasn't compatible."_

" _It sounds handy," Misaki said. "Why don't they give it to more people?"_

" _Side effects," Jason answered and his face went dark. "Indefinite comatose states, unstable control of their powers which could lead to self-destructing, and deterioration of health if used too much .It's too dangerous to rely on, though a couple people are working on trying to get rid of the dangerous side effects."_

" _I see," Misaki said thoughtfully. She had decided to bring it just in case. If she had no other option, she would use it as a last resort._

"Don't say that," Kuroko admonished, bringing Misaki back to the present. "You can't keep secrets during a mission like this."

"I know," Misaki nodded. "It's just a part of my power and may prevent me from doing anything else later. It should be enough to allow you to get everyone out though." Kuroko and Itsuwa stared at her, but she didn't elaborate.

* * *

Touma stared at the phone when his call with Mikoto disconnected. His first thought was the signal must have been blocked or she was in trouble. Then he noticed the real issue. The phone's screen was dark and it looked dead. "Index," he said slowly turning to her. "Did you remember to charge your phone?"

"Charge?" Index asked tilting her head. Touma face palmed.

"Well there goes that plan," he mumbled. _What did she mean by not quite?_ Touma pondered on these words as he stared at the wall. _I figure the church has a plan, but how would it connect with the bus taking my friends back to Japan?_ He sat down and sighed. He had no idea what was happening outside of the palace and he wasn't sure what he should be doing in here. If his friends were allowed to leave, he would have to fulfill his end of the promise he made. If they weren't, well Touma didn't really want to think about that. Index was being uncharacteristically quiet and staring at the same wall he was. "What are you thinking about?" he asked her.

"Oh just why that wall there has a magic circle embedded in it," Index replied not taking her eyes off of the wall. "It was so weak I almost missed it."

"Huh?" Touma said and he stood up. He walked towards it and put his hand on the wall. He heard the familiar sound of shattering glass, but nothing happened. He pushed the wall and it wouldn't budge. He turned to Index and shrugged. 'What was it supposed to do?"

"Assist with the opening," Index said shaking her head. She decrypted the spell a moment before Touma's hand touched it "Seriously Touma, why do you always act first without thinking?" Touma opened his mouth to defend himself when he stopped. He put his ear toward the wall and heard the sound of boots echoing on stone. The footsteps stopped right behind the wall and he could feel the wall moving. He jumped back and stood between Index, who also stood up, and where the person was pushing the wall. He heard the person on the other side say something very inappropriate and then the wall started to move. A moment later, a young man in old clothes stepped through and looked at them. He wiped his brow and smiled.

"I'm so glad I found you," he said gasping slightly for air. "She said you would be here. But why was that door to the passageway so hard to open, is it old?"

"Why do you think that is Touma?" Index asked with a superior look on her face.

"No idea," Touma lied quickly and turned back towards the man. "Who are you, and who told you we would be here?"

"I'm just a servant of the palace," he said saluting. "Many of us escaped when the princess began her coup. I volunteered to return when a young noble woman asked me to deliver a message. She said you would eventually end up in one of these rooms and I was to deliver you a message." He held out a small envelope. Touma took it and looked down at it. There was no writing on the outside, but it was slightly heavy, like it contained more than just paper in it.

"Why would you take this risk?" Touma asked him.

"I don't believe the princess is correct in throwing this coup," he replied. "I don't have any knowledge of the magic she is using and this is all I could do. I'm sorry I can't be of more help. If it wasn't for her predictions of the princesses moves, I wouldn't have been able to do anything."

"Just because you can't use magic," Touma praised him. "Doesn't mean you can't do what is right. Thank you for bringing this to me." He gave the man a short bow to show his respect. The man's eyes widened and he bowed back too.

"Thank you sir," he said. "I need to get going and report back." He exited back the way he came and sealed the wall behind him. Touma couldn't tell the wall had even moved.

"What does it say?" Index asked Touma.

"No idea," Touma responded and opened the letter. He was curious about the contents too. Index stood on the bed to read over his shoulder. His eyes scanned the letter and then widened in shock.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Next chapter is definitely going to be fun.**

 **Motoharu: Good job Kami-yan, impressive strategy.**

 **Touma: Huh?**

 **Motoharu: Getting all chummy with the knights. When you become king, you need them to support you. Impressive thinking, coming from you.**

 **Touma: That wasn't the plan, and what do you mean king?**

 **Accelerator: If he becomes king, the entire country is going to fall into ruins in a week.**

 **Jason: You give him too little credit.**

 **Touma: Thanks I think…**

 **Jason: Three days tops.**

 **Touma: And there it is.**

 **Mikoto: There is no way he is going to be with that princess.**

 **Misaki: I agree, he can only be a king with me as the queen.**

 **Mikoto: No one asked you, and there is no way he is going to end up with you.**

 **Misaki: Better then with someone with an underdeveloped body...**

 **Mikoto: Better then someone with blobs of useless fat…**

 **Motoharu: Hang on.**

 **(Short Intermission)**

 **Me: I'm getting tired of them always fighting.**

 **Accelerator: The only destroyed a building.**

 **Jason: And that's only because Shizuri and Lessar joined in.**

 **Touma: I don't know why they fight so much anyway.**

 **Motoharu: Seriously?**

 **Accelerator: Are you this dense on purpose?**

 **Jason: He might have hit his head one to many times.**

 **Me: Well, I'm getting tired of answering everyone's questions and so forth. One of you needs to do it for me next week.**

 **Motoharu: I'll do it.**

 **Me: Cool, it will give me a break to do RL stuff.**

 **Touma: NO! Don't give him any power! Do you know what you have done?**

 **Motoharu: I'll be answering questions and comments next week everyone. Be careful though, you may not like the answer.**


	51. S2 Rescue Operation

**Hey everybody, Motoharu Tsuchimikado here. Darkbetrayer is letting me do the opening announcements this week. He's been busy with some random game called Minecraft. He did make me promise not to give out certain information, but I am free to answer most questions. Best of all, everyone else can't read this so I can say anything and they won't know. Hahaha. Anyway, let's get onto the comments and questions.**

 **Handsomistic1: Kami-yan has always been into on onee-san types, especially the sophisticated ones like the Tokiwadai Dorm Manager. I know Nee-chin likes him, but she really needs to make a move. I'll do my best to help both of them, but Kami-yan is pretty dense, or just a really good actor. Maybe that's how he draws all the girls into his harem. I don't know much about Kagere's condition, I'm sure it will be revealed at some point. Komoe-sensei was captured, but fear not, we shall rescue her. Well, the church forces probably will while Kami-yan's harem will be most likely fighting the princess. Saten-san hit level 2? I didn't hear about that, but it has been awhile since a system scan.**

 **Savaris: Ah, Kami-yan could never be controlled by just one girl. His ability to walk into a random situation and attract every girl near him can't be controlled that easily. I think I know who you are referring to though and it's hilarious the person below your comment wants the exact opposite. I know the author is working on making some interesting pairings, so don't be surprised if something happens.**

 **Swoob: Nice, a question directed at me. That is an interesting question though. Two Yanderes would probably not be a lasting couple, as one would kill the other. Accel-kun, as he is now, is probably more of a male Tsundere. Not sure if that would work though. He's tough on the outside, but deep down is a real softy. Look at the way he takes care of his loli and Index. Plus he admitted his bro love for Kami-yan. Mugino-san might not be able to break his tough exterior to make the romance work. She's to strong willed.**

 **Well, that's all from me. I'll leave you some fun information though. Kagere, Aogami, Accel-kun, and I are working on making the list of Kami-yan's harem. We are arguing over the top four spots though. I am interested in who everyone thinks are his top for candidates, whether it be how close they are, or if you think they would be the best pair. This is purely for research purposes on our end and will no way affect the story (Wink). I probably won't be able to do comments next week, but I should be able to read them. Don't tell whoever is up I mentioned this. Just let them be confused. None of them can read the comments in the top half of the chapter, only he skits at the end and the comments.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

Touma's eyes darted back and forth as he scanned the mysterious letter. The person obviously knew him, or about him, because whoever had written the letter had done so in Japanese along with using his full name.

 _Hello Mr. Touma Kamijou,_

 _I am sorry I am not able to tell you who I am or where I am from. Doing so would pose great danger to myself, along with the man who volunteered quite willingly to help end this coup. From what I have heard about you, I hoped you would be willing to help put an end to the princess's coup. Based on her behavior in the past, I assumed you would be locked up in one of the guestrooms .Inside the envelope, you will find a small key. I do apologize for it being hastily made, but time was of the essence. It should be close enough to unlock the doors. The key is not magical, so your hand should not affect it. I had heard rumors about your unique ability and do not worry. I promise to keep it a secret._

 _As for what you can do to help the resistance, it is simple, but very important. Buckingham Palace's design was created for a purpose kept secret from the public. Curtana Original is incredibly powerful, but there is the risk of that power running out of control. Should this situation occur, the first person to be destroyed by it would be the princess herself. There has been one case in which Curtana has gone out of control in the past, so it is possible. The palace had a facility constructed into it in case this situation occurred again. I believe the princess moved a special railroad car under the palace. This railroad car has a magic circle on it. This circle is extremely complex and the core of the facility. Should it be destroyed, the facility would be useless. Once discovered, the circle could be replaced, but only after a couple days. It is quite complex. Should Curtana start to go out of control, the princess would not be able to use the facility if this circle was broken._

 _I understand you may have the fear your actions might cause her death. Please do not. The princess would have two options at her disposal for this situation. One, she could try to contain it by force. This option would most likely lead to her death, and she would know this. Two, she can release a great deal of Curtana's power. This would allow her to regain control, but would weaken how much power she would be able to wield for a while._

 _I understand I cannot force you to do anything. But I hope you take my suggestion to heart._

 _Signed,_

 _A concerned citizen_

Touma read the letter twice before looking at Index. "What do you think?"

"It seems like this person knows about you and Curtana," Index said nodding her head and closing her eyes while she thought about it. "The man said she was a noble woman, so there is a good chance she might be a magician too. What she wrote does make sense. Though, I would have to see the circle to be entirely sure, but the design of the palace's structure does appear to be able to focus Curtana's power."

"Since the royal family lives here," Touma said rubbing his chin. "It would make sense the palace would help contain the power of Curtana. They live here most of the year right?" Index nodded. "But from the letter, it sounds like she met me before."

"I think so too," Index agreed, and then her eyes narrowed. "Have you been meeting other girls behind my back?" she accused him. "Like when you left me alone in that room?"

"No!" Touma denied, raising his hands in front of him defensively. "I just met the knights under George, I swear. They were all guys, so please don't bite me again." He didn't know if any knights were women so he wanted it to be perfectly clear. Index eyed him closely, and then nodded as she believed he was telling the truth.

"So," she asked. "Are you going to do it?"

"Huh?" Touma asked confused.

"If you do it," Index said, sitting down on the bed and watching him carefully. "You will be going against Princess Carissa. Didn't you say, in exchange for letting our friends go, you would work for her?"

Touma stared at her for a moment as that information slowly sunk in. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "Your right," he said slowly and the he grabbed his head. "Ah, what do I do?" _She kept her word and let my friends go, so I should keep my word and work for her as a knight. But if I go and destroy the circle, it could save a lot of lives by possibly helping end the fighting sooner. But can I be sure of this? It might make the sides more even and cost even more lives. The knights are also good people and just trying to protect their country. The church is doing the same thing. Damn it, I think that was why Carissa wanted me to meet them. She knew it would make going against her more difficult for me._ While Touma was busy waging a small debate war in his head, Index continued to watch him carefully, without saying anything. After a couple minutes of silence, broken only by Touma's occasional mumbling, she finally spoke up.

"I can't really tell you what to do in this case," Index said seriously. "You made the promise to her and you should be the one to decide. Naturally, I want to protect my church, but you are not part of either side. If you choose to follow her you are choosing the knights and saving your friends, if you don't, you are breaking your promise to her. I know how important your word is to you." She was quiet for a moment before continuing. "I promise, whichever path you decide, I will support you. You stayed with me through every problem I faced, so I will stand with you during yours."

"Thanks Index," Touma said gratefully. Those words meant a lot to him and he understood what Index must have felt, when he declared he would protect her. He was determined to stop the fighting, but the issue for him was how. He needed some reason to fight against Carissa and not serve as a knight. _If only my friends didn't accept her deal, but that really is selfish of me. It's better if they go back to Academy City._

* * *

Stiyl watched, as the knights began to close in on their location. He lit a cigarette and took a deep breath before sighing. He and Agnese were leading the largest church group as they began to siege the city. While Agnese's nun forces were battle trained, they could not stand up to the knights in a direct battle. Instead, they began to take lessons from the Amakusa. The Amakusa were masters of moving quietly and unseen, while still being able to strike suddenly and viciously. They surrounded several of the knight's patrols and took them down with sheer numbers. It was obvious the knights knew they were coming, by the way they started to retreat nearer to other groups. Stiyl looked over at Agnese and a woman, from the Amakusa, named Tsushima. She had blue eyes and long blonde flurry hair. "Is everyone in place?" he asked Agnese. "They do understand this is not a battle we will, or need to, win."

"They do," Agnese replied. "Though, if we can take down a knight or two, without losing anyone, we will, but we plan to slowly retreat." Stiyl nodded.

"Very good," he commented. "I don't like the fact we have to rely on those kids from Academy City but, judging from the fact we haven't heard from Itsuwa, I take it their side is performing well?"

"I heard back from the rescue team. They are in position outside the palace," Tsushima informed him while nodding. "The magic we put on the bus is also still intact so there shouldn't be any problem there either."

"Things are going to well," Stiyl said looking toward the direction of the approaching knights and rubbing his chin. "I feel like we missed something important."

"There's going to be a lot of collateral damage," Agnese pointed out.

"A small sacrifice," Stiyl said puffing on his cigarette. "Besides, I won't be causing any damage. I know how to prevent buildings and surroundings from burning. Both your forces and the Amakusa also do not have any wide damage spells for this battle. Any major collateral damage will be from the knights."

"Your runes are finished being placed now," Tsushima informed Stiyl.

"It's definitely going to look realistic," Agnese said grinning. "At least we don't have to fight the princess's elite guards."

"Kanzaki's group will handle them," Stiyl said, but for the first time there was a flicker of worry on his normally passive face.

"We have the priestess, Tatemiya, and Sherry acting as the strike force," Tsushima counted and looked up at Agnese who nodded. "They have one of the riskier parts of the mission, and they should be facing at least one platoon of elite knights, probably trained directly under Knight Leader. Are you sure those three will be enough? I still feel we should have sent more."

"I agree with you," Stiyl said throwing his cigarette onto the ground. "But the force needs to be kept small, so I sent one more with them. Someone Kanzaki personally recommended. Based on his past achievements, he should be more then capable."

"Who?" Agnese asked, turning to look at him in surprise and curiosity.

"It doesn't really matter anymore," Tsushima answered instead while pointing. "Let's stop talking about useless things. The others are relying on his to distract the knights, and they are here." Agnese and Stiyl turned to look and saw a small army of knights marching toward them.

"Ah," Agnese mumbled. "I knew there would be a lot, but they outnumber us five to one."

"You have your assignment," Stiyl told them walking towards the main church group, his black robes whipping behind him. "Let's make it look like this is a real fight. "MTWOTFFTO. (One of the five great elements from which the world is constructed.) IIGOIIOF. (The great flame of the beginning.) IIBOLAIIAOE. (It is a light of blessing that raises life and a light of judgment that punishes evil.) IIMHAIIBOD. (It is overflowing with calm blessings and with freezing misfortune that destroys cold darkness.) IINFIIMS. (Its name is fire and its role is the sword.) ICRMMBGP! (Be manifested and become the power that eats into my body!)"

Agnese and Tsushima both knew what his chant meant. They had seen it before when their forces had clashed in the past. His robes flickered and expanded, as flames erupted all around him. The mass of crimson fire grew until it was several stories tall. These unnatural flames had something black and dripping, like fuel oil, at its core. It had a very generic form of a human, one could see its face, arms and legs, but it was far too sinister to be called a human. The dark oil in its core was only in the shape of a human. Its size was limited to how many runes Stiyl could place but, thanks to the Amakusa and Agnese's forces, several thousand were placed around the east side of the city. The knights might have noticed the runes, before their forces ran into the circle, but the two large masses of magical energy, from the armies, overshadowed the tiny bit of magical energy from the runes cards. It was Stiyl's most powerful magic, the virtually immortal Innocentius, The Witch Hunter King.

"We will give them all the time they need!" Stiyl yelled to his troops and they cheered. The two forces rushed at each other, weapons drawn, into what would surely be a death match.

* * *

Outside of London, on a small hill, two men were leaning up against a tree and watching the large scale battle begin. They were an unlikely pair, both coming from different sides, but drawn together for a common purpose. Knight Leader and William Orwell, formally Acqua of the Back, were talking. Both of them were not participating in the battle for their own reasons. Knight Leader, who would risk his own life for England, and William, a mercenary who would fight for who paid more, seemed to be incompatible like water and fire. In actuality, they were good friends, who drank with each other often, but have not seen each other in years.

"You seemed to have suffered a defeat," William commented. "That seems unlike you when you had the power of Curtana."

"The boy I fought against wielded a rather unique blade," Knight Leader responded. "It severed my ties to not only the Telesma, but my mana as well. Right now, I am working on recovering my mana, but it will be awhile before I can cast even the simplest spells. He appeared to have stopped short of the killing blow. He is not suited for the battlefield." Knight Leader glanced over at William. "Your heartbeat seems to be off. I take it you were also unfortunate."

"I fought the Saint of the Far East and a boy who changed the direction of my blood," Acqua said. "It has been a long time since I fought such an opponent."

"Did you finally decide to leave God's Right Seat?"

"I can no longer protect England from there," William answered. "You appear to have decided on your own path too."

"I follow Princess Carissa," Knight Leader said. "She is trying to bring England back to its former glory."

"I talked to the third princess," William informed Knight Leader, who looked at him. "She asked me to help end this coup."

"I see," Knight Leader murmured. "What did you say?" William did not speak, but his silence gave Knight Leader more information then William's words ever could. "It would now appear we are on opposite sides then."

"It would appear that way."

"When I recover," Knight Leader continued. "I would like to face you again. I will show you how far I have come in the last ten years. I still have not forgiven you for going to rescue princess Villian without me."

"Then we can have a drink," Acqua said standing up and walking toward the city. "Like old times."

* * *

Mikoto and Shizuri's jaws dropped when they saw Innocentius rising above the buildings in the far distance. Shizuri had never seen Stiyl's magic before and Mikoto had only seen him use it once briefly. It was afternoon, the sun was still high up in the sky, but the flame creature was visible for miles. "That has to be the signal," Mikoto said, as she finally got the words out of her throat. "He said he would send a large amount of flames into the air, but… that thing is insane. What the hell is it?"

"You seem to think I know a lot about magic," Shizuri answered, regaining her calm composure. "It really is different than our abilities. It's so… I like it. Anyway," she started heading down the stairs. "We going to stand here and talk all day or are we going to move." Mikoto nodded and she ran down the stairs after Shizuri. They threw open the door to the outside and looked around at the deserted streets. They then proceeded to run as fast as they could toward the palace. The crossed three streets before they had to duck behind a brick wall. They had glimpsed a group of ten knights running down the street toward the flame creature. "Let me blast them," Shizuri said trying to stand up. "I can hit all of them before they can react."

"No," Mikoto hissed keeping a hand on Shizuri's shoulder. "We have to stay incognito as long as possible. We don't know how many knights are nearby who can come to their aid. Your ability is too noticeable." Shizuri sighed, but knew Mikoto was right. Shizuri enjoyed carnage, but still would prioritize a mission success over personal feelings. She could get revenge after a mission. After all, she can always blast a couple knights later _. And it will probably come up soon anyways._ After the knights were out of sight, Mikoto and Shizuri crossed the street and headed through the gardens surrounding the palace. They dived behind a large bush as they saw another couple knights patrolling. "I guess we can't go in through the front door," Mikoto joked.

"Shut up," Shizuri replied irritated. "I'm not in the mood for your jokes. You know damn well we couldn't go through the front." She peeked out from behind the bush. "Stiyl told us they wouldn't have any magical defenses, so the windows should be locked at the most. You can at least open them, right?"

"If the locks are metal, easily," Mikoto replied, insulted Shizuri would suggest she couldn't do something so simple. "If they are just sealed, we might have to force our way in." Shizuri grinned and Mikoto realized the mistake she made. "Let's avoid drawing attention though," she added hastily. She stuck her head out too and looked around. "There, near the side. If we time it right, none of the patrols will see us." Shizuri followed her gaze and nodded, after she calculated the distance between patrols. "On three," Mikoto said. "One… two… three." They both ran as fast, and quietly, as they could, until they arrived at the window. Mikoto touched the window frame and grinned, as her magnetism caused a small click of the lock. "Get in," she hissed as she pushed the window open. "Hurry." They both climbed in and close the window. Shizuri relocked it with her hand and they dove out of sight, as another group of knights rounded the corner a few moments later.

"At least you can use your power to a degree," Shizuri said, standing up and walking through the darken room to the door. She pushed her ear up against it and listened for a moment. "Hallway is clear."

"I know my capabilities," Mikoto said through gritted teeth. She had briefly thought about reminding Shizuri she had beaten her once before. But, Mikoto could not risk starting a fight and jeopardizing the rescue of Touma and Index. "Ok," she continued changing the topic. "We need to decide which way we should go." Shizuri nodded, slightly pleased Mikoto was not being completely stupid on their mission.

"We are closer to the knight wing," Shizuri said. Stiyl had given them a map of the palace, before they left the hotel, to memorize. "The guest wing is a little further away."

"We agreed these two would be the most likely choices," Mikoto mumbled. "But there's a possibility she took them somewhere else. If we choose wrong, we probably won't be able to avoid detection."

"We need to choose fast," Shizuri told her. "You met the b$%^& before, so you choose. You will have a better idea how she thinks. If you're wrong, I can at least get a chance to crush a couple of the knights." Mikoto glared at her, and then sighed.

 _Think Mikoto._ She grabbed her head and concentrated on what she knew about the princess, and how Touma and Index would react. _If he's going to serve as her knight, the knight wing seems the best place to hold him. But, Index is supposed to be really important. I believe someone said something about having a lot of knowledge about magical books. If Carissa knows about that, and she probably does, then Index wouldn't be kept with normal guards. Knowing Touma, he would want to make sure she is safe and fight to remain near her._ Mikoto nodded her head slightly and looked at Shizuri.

"Well?" Shizuri said, tapping her foot impatiently.

"We are heading to the guestrooms," Mikoto said confidently.

"You better be right," Shizuri mumbled. She leaned up against the door again for a moment. Appearing satisfied, she opened the door and they both ran out into the hallway. Their steps echoed softly down the deserted hallways, but there was nothing they could do about it, since they had to move quickly. They were just lucky the rug was thick and it muffled their noise as much as it did. They were also not wearing heavy armor like the knights. This saved them when they heard thudding coming from a side hall. They opened the nearest door and dove in as a couple knights passed where they would have been moments before. "It sounds like there was only two," Shizuri said. "We could take them." Mikoto clicked her tongue, but didn't respond. They manage to cross most of the palace, to the side with the guestrooms, before their luck ran out.

"You two there!" a muffled male voice called out and Mikoto and Shizuri turned around. A knight in full armor was looking at them. He reached down to his hip and grabbed a large mace. "Identify yourselves!" Shizuri decided to identify herself first, in her own special way. Before Mikoto could say anything, a green beam flew past her and collided into the knight's chest. A loud boom echoed down the hallways and shook the floor beneath them. The man fell, his armor in pieces and covered in terrible burns, onto the ground unconscious.

"How's that for an introduction?" Shizuri asked Mikoto grinning.

"You just alerted the entire palace we are here!" Mikoto shouted angrily. They both sprinted, as fast as they could, toward the guestrooms. They no longer worried about being quiet, as Shizuri had ruined that approach. They encountered several knights along the way. Those in armor, Mikoto let Shizuri blast them, since they appeared to be able to survive the blast and still get incapacitated. Mikoto handled the non-armored security. She found out quickly she had to shock them with several times the amount of electricity, as she would a normal person, to knock them out, but it was still within her capability. The hallways made aiming easier for both of them because it was harder for the knights to dodge. It was also harder for Mikoto and Shizuri to get surrounded as they could only be attacked from two sides at a time. They turned down one hallway and saw three knights at the end of it. The knight in front was carrying a large metal tower shield and it blocked most of him from their view.

"They never learn," Shizuri sighed and a green orb appeared in her outstretched hand. A moment later, a large green beam shot out, from the orb, and down the hallway. Shizuri was use to her powers destroying the knights, anything actually, in one hit. This time, when the beam hit the knight's shield, the green beam exploded and there was a small crackle of bright light. When the explosion cleared, the shield was untouched. "What the f%^&?" She fired two more beams and the exact same thing happened. "Damn it," she snarled. "What the hell is that shield made of?"

"Let me try," Mikoto said and she shot out several electrical arcs down the hall. She was planning to try to avoid the shield, since it appeared to be indestructible, but all the electricity was stopped by a white light, originating from the center of the shield. The light came out in small waves and blocked the entire hallway. When the knights realized the shield was holding, they started to march down the hallway. The knights didn't run, because the one holding the shield had to lead. The shield was too large to run with. 'Well this isn't good," Mikoto mumbled. "Is that shield powered by magic to make it indestructible?"

"Nothing is indestructible," Shizuri replied grinning slightly. Several orbs appeared around her. "I'm going to crush their defenses and show them what true power is."

"Great," Mikoto said dryly.

* * *

A loud boom violently shook the entire room Touma and Index were staying in. Touma stumbled against a table in surprise, while Index fell off the bed. "What was that" Touma asked rubbing his sore knee. He had hit the corner of the table and now his leg was on fire.

"Sounds like a fight is taking place," Index answered as she picked herself off the floor. "Weird, I don't sense any mana from the intruders, but several of the knights are being taken out."

"What…?" Touma asked surprised, but then focused his thoughts. The room shook again from another explosion. "No mana, but definitely a fight. It can't be. I think our friends have come, but that's impossible. Carissa said the bus arrived with them at the airport."

"How did they manage to sneak in?" Index mused to herself. "Ah, they can't be tracked because they don't use magic."

"I was told church was moving most of their forces against the palace," Touma added. "Also a small group was trying to flank from the other direction." Index shook her head.

"Think about it logically Touma," she scolded him in a superior tone. "The knights track people who can use mana. Since people from Academy City don't use magic, they can't be tracked easily. They were probably sent in to rescue us while the church drew the knights away. They shouldn't have gotten involved." She cross her arms and looked grumpy. "Your friends sure take after you. They like to do stupid things, regardless of the consequences."

"Guess it's my normal luck then," Touma said as another couple of booms echoed through the palace. He might have been imagining things, but they seemed to be getting louder and closer. "If my friends are here, it means they didn't accept Carissa's deal. The knights are going to treat them as hostiles," another boom shook the walls, "and I seriously can't blame them. Let's go and find them. I'm not going to help Carissa if my friend's lives are at stake." He ran to the door and pulled out the key. Another boom, which sounded really close this time and almost like it came from the end of the hallway, made him drop the key. He finally managed to get the key in the lock, amid the continuous explosions, and opened the door. The door opened into the room and Touma was about to take a step out into the hall, when three bright green beams flew down the hallway in front of him. If he had taken a step out a second earlier, he would have been right in their path. He stuck his head out carefully to look around.

"IDIOT!" Mikoto yelled at him. "GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Touma pulled his head back inside the room, as a bright white light shot from the other end of the hallway. A moment later, Mikoto and, to his surprise, Shizuri barreled into him as they entered his room. They slammed the door behind them with a loud bang.

"What are you doing here?" Touma asked. "The last I heard the bus was heading toward the airport."

"That's what everyone was supposed to think," Mikoto answered hastily, as she used her magnetism to lock the door. "Shokuhou-san, Kuroko, and Itsuwa are on the bus confusing the guards. We don't have long till they burst in." She looked around. "Damn, no way out."

"Short hair," Index called out. "You should have just left!" Mikoto ignored her.

"So have you been relaxing in this room the entire time," Shizuri asked Touma.

"No," Touma answered shaking his head. "Index and I got locked in here a little while ago."

"Anyway out?" Mikoto asked and Touma nodded.

"There's a passageway through that wall," he said pointing. "You can't open it from this side though."

"We might have if you didn't destroy the circle," Index pointed out. Touma grinned sheepishly, but Shizuri took charge.

"I beg to differ," Shizuri said holding out her hand. A minute later a green orb appeared and Touma immediately jumped at her and grabbed her hand. "What the hell are you doing?!" she demanded staring at him.

"We can't leave yet," Touma told them. "We need to get to the basement."

"Why?" Mikoto asked.

"I received a message from someone using that passageway," Touma explained as fast as he could. He could hear the knights slamming against the door and, even though it was thick wood, it was about to break. If they used magic, it would be destroyed instantly. "There's a magic circle there, if disturbed, should weaken Curtana."

"You want to do it before we leave," Mikoto said carefully, glancing back at the door about the break. Touma nodded.

"That's all well and good," Shizuri snapped. "Anything to annoy the princess brat, but just how long are you going to hold my hand?" Touma immediately let go and looked embarrassed. Mikoto might have been mad, but there were more pressing issues on her mind at the moment.

"They have a shield that can block our attacks," Mikoto told Touma. "We can't stop them. They are also using bows that seem to be turning arrows into small missiles."

"I'll take care of the shield," Touma told them. He ran to the wall, next to the door, a second before the door exploded and shards of wood flew across the room. The knight in full armor, with the metal tower shield, entered the room and Touma stuck his hand out. The sound of glass shattering echoed as his fingers lightly touched the shield. He pulled his hand away a moment before Shizuri shot her Meltdowner beam at the knight. The explosion destroyed the shield and his armor as he flew backwards into his two companions. They crashed into the wall, on the other side of the hallway, and were left tangled up in a small pile. Touma exited the room first and Mikoto and Shizuri followed him.

"Good plan," Shizuri complimented Touma, as she started to pass him. She suddenly stopped and looked at the knights. The two in the back were getting up, but froze as several orbs appeared around her. "Your combat skills are still up to par I see. Anyway, let me just finish these guys off and we can go." Her grinned turned malicious as the knights looked up at her with fear on their faces, but they also looked determined. One of the orbs shot toward them, but Touma had already been moving long before she even aimed. He reached out a hand and negated her beam. "Do you want to die?" she asked angrily. Touma waved his hand at her and turned to look at the knights. Shizuri crossed her arms and looked furious, but didn't do anything, even though she had a perfect opportunity to shoot him in the back. Mikoto couldn't believe her eyes at this sight.

 _She's not going to attack him for interrupting her? What happened between them?_ A couple possibilities flashed through her mind, making her embarrassed and angry, before Touma spoke up to the knights.

"I rather we avoid violence," Touma said looking down at them. He kept his face and voice calm, even though he was nervous. "If you leave now, there will be no need for bloodshed. You can take your comrade and leave." The knights gave each other a brief look. They knew who Touma was, and his reputation with Carissa. They were also impressed the two girls, who had been causing them so much trouble, appeared to be following him. They nodded slowly and Touma took a step back. The knights dropped their weapons and grabbed the unconscious knight. They dragged him off down the hall while Touma turned and walked the other way. After the knights were out of earshot he turned to Index, Mikoto and Shizuri. "Um," he said rubbing the back of his neck. "Do any of you know the way to the basement?"

"As soon as you do one impressive thing," Shizuri muttered and face palmed. "You show your uselessness. I swear you are as bad as Frenda sometimes. We need to hurry. They are going to bring backup because you were stupid and let them go."

"We memorized the palace layout before we came," Mikoto informed him. "Come on, the nearest stairs are this way. We can't stay here or more guards are bound to show up."

"We can take them," Shizuri grinned. "If they have the shields, Kamijou can just break them."

"We don't know if they have even more powerful weapons," Mikoto said irritated. "Why do we need to go into the basement again? Something about a magic circle right?" The last question was directed at Touma.

"Yes," Touma nodded as they reached the stairs. "I received a message from a guy who said it was from a noble woman. She must have been a magician, because she knew about Curtana. There is a train car with a magical circle that is used to help control Cortana's power when it starts to run out of control. If I touch it, Carissa won't be able to use it."

"How will that help?" Shizuri asked. "If it doesn't run out of control, then this plan is a waste of time."

"Because," Index piped up and they all turned to her. "Princess Carissa has just found an incredibly powerful artifact. Even if she learned the theory, practical application is a completely different subject matter. At some point, she will try to draw more power then she can contain. This will cause Curtana to run out of control. If she tries to forcefully contain it, she might die as a result."

"So what was the problem?" Shizuri asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The problem is," Index continued, glaring at Shizuri slightly. "Is the resulting explosion from a mass of uncontrolled Telesma could destroy London. She would have to choose to release Curtana power in order to survive. This would limit how much power she could grant to her knights and, overall, weaken her forces. She would be able to regain the power eventually, but the struggle for the throne would be over long before that."

"Speaking of throne," Touma said turning to Mikoto. "Has there been any word on the Queen or other princesses?"

"Kanzaki-san and Accelerator found Villian," Mikoto told him.

"Really, Accelerator did?" Touma asked surprised.

"It appeared he followed Kanzaki in order to fight a strong opponent," Shizuri added. "It must have been a tough battle. He wasn't in the best of shape. Though, he wasn't nearly as bad as Kagere. He got wrecked."

"Jason did?" Touma turned wide eyed to Mikoto. "Is he going to be ok?"

"I think so," Mikoto said and they got quiet for a moment, because they hit the bottom of the stairs. They looked around, didn't see or hear anyone, and continued in the direction of the subway tunnel. Mikoto and Shizuri had a rough idea from the map where it was, but they couldn't be completely sure. They had not planned to go out this way. "Anyway, he was pretty exhausted and was injured, but he was alive and appeared to be getting better. The church was going to heal them when they got a moment."

"That's good," Touma sighed. "When I heard Knight Leader went after him, because they thought he was a member of The Fallen because of his shadow…" He stopped talking and went silent as he heard people talking loudly around a corner. He leaned up against the wall and Mikoto, Index, and Shizuri imitated him. Touma peeked around the corner and saw two men talking.

"I can't believe someone was stupid enough to attack the palace," the first one said. "With all the knights patrolling the area."

"Actually," the second man pointed out. "Most left to fight the traitors who refuse to accept the princess's rule. Anyway, get back to work. We need to make sure this railcar is working perfectly or she will have our heads."

 _Bingo,_ Touma thought, smiling slightly. He walked out into the open, toward the two men, and the girls followed him. The men had their backs turned and didn't see them approaching until Shizuri spoke up, causing them to turn around.

"If you make any unnecessary movements," she said grinning with four orbs circling around her. "You die."

"She's serious," Mikoto said sighing. "You really don't want to make her mad."

"You must be the intruders," the first man said quietly. "What do you want? We are just mechanics and can't fight."

"Sorry about this," Touma said and nodded to Mikoto. She knew what he wanted her to do. She let loose a bolt of electricity, causing both men to fall to the ground unconscious. Touma didn't like hurting them, but it was better for them to be unconscious, instead of seeing what they were about to do. This way, it would look like they at least fought back and Carissa might go easier on them. Well, he hoped that would be the case, but wasn't that optimistic. They approached the side of the tracks and looked the car over. "Index," he said. "Tell us what we got." They waited a moment, as Index climbed into the car and looked around.

"It looks like she was right," Index said referring to the woman who wrote the message. "Just get in and touch here," Index said, pointing to a spot in the center of the car. '"This is the center focal point. If your hand touches it, the entire car will become useless. She will have to remake the entire circle from scratch, in order for it to be operational again."

"Couldn't we just destroy the car?" Shizuri asked. "It would be a lot more permanent."

"Yes," Index nodded. "But they would notice it sooner. The circle won't emit a magical aura, until it is properly positioned. They won't have any reason to use the car, unless Curtana starts to run out of control. That is when they will notice it has been tampered with."

"And by then it will be to late," Mikoto finished wide-eyed. "If we blew it up, they would start replacing it immediately."

"Fine," Shizuri said raising her hands in exasperation. "Whatever, I don't care." She tapped her foot impatiently, while Touma negated the magic circle with his hand. "What now?"

"We could try to leave through the tunnel," Mikoto said pointing. "Going back up into the palace seems like suicide. They should be combing every inch of it looking for us. It's only a matter of time before they find us down here."

"Might be sooner than you think," Shizuri said, pointing her finger at the end of the underground tunnel the railcar could travel down. Everyone was silent as they heard heavy boots, in the distance, marching towards them. The knights must have been a good distance away, but their footsteps echoed down the empty tunnel and alerted them. "Sounds like they plan to surround every escape tunnel."

"Then we have to go back up," Touma said taking a step back to the stairs.

"I can't tell how many there are," Mikoto said, squinting slightly as she looked toward the noise. "It's pitch black except for that small light."

"If we go up through the palace again," Index informed them. "We are sure to be surrounded. We might have to resort to forcing our way out."

"Sounds like my kind of plan," Shizuri grinned.

"Wait," Touma said pointing. "What's that?" Everyone turned to look and saw a small door with a latch. Mikoto ran over to it and leaned down to examine the lock. A moment later, along with a small spark, the door opened and she peered inside. "It seems like a maintenance walkway tunnel that leads parallel to the subway tunnel. It's really dark, but some of the areas have holes to be able to see lights from the trains. We could probably hide behind the solid area before the knights get here." She pulled her head out and looked back at them. The only lights were by the rail car where the two men were working and the small light in the distance from the knights.

"Better than nothing," Touma said. "Let's hurry." Mikoto nodded and waved them through. Index went first, then Shizuri, followed by Touma, and Mikoto was last. She locked the door with her power to make it look like the door was undisturbed. The corridor was dark and narrow, and they didn't want to try to use any lights to avoid giving away their location. The knights were only a couple minutes away. This forced them to feel around blindly, as they made sure they didn't bump or trip on anything jetting out of the walls.

"I can't see anything."

"Just keep going straight."

 _Bang_. "Ah that hurt."

"Shut up idiot, you're going to get us caught." _Bang_. "Ouch. Warn me the pipe is there."

"If you're stupid enough to hit the same thing as him… Who just touched my a$$? I'll kill you."

"Sorry, please don't hit me, ouch." Someone got smacked. "I'm sorry."

"There's a time and place to be frisky, do it with Frenda later."

"Shut up, he's not going to do anything like that."

"They are approaching."

All of then snapped their mouths shut and leaned up against the wall. The area, in front of them and behind them, had walls with viewpoints. They had to squeeze close to each other, to avoid the light illuminating them. Touma felt his hand touch something soft behind him and then heard Mikoto gasp quietly. He couldn't tell what it was for sure, but quickly moved it back towards his body and his face burned. Shizuri and Mikoto where both pressed tightly up against him, as the knights got close enough for them to hear the knights talk. They sounded annoyed, but continued to march in file, their footsteps thundering down the tunnel. Touma, Mikoto, Shizuri, and Index knew all the knights had heightened senses, so they tried to avoid moving and even tried to breathe silently.

"I can't believe the trouble those intruders are causing."

"To actually sneak into the palace and harm several knights, what are they?"

"Enemies," a more commanding voice said. "We are to secure the tunnel entrance and kill any intruders without mercy. If I hear any of you complaining about your task again, I swear I will make you run marathons until you die."

"Yes sir!" The knights passed them and headed toward the railcar. As they were about to finish passing Touma, he realized they had left the two unconscious men out in the open. The men were on the other side of the railcar, so it would take a few moments for the knights to see them, but they would be spotted soon enough. Touma nudged Shizuri forward. He knew she probably didn't know what he was thinking, but she figured out what the sign meant easily enough. She pushed Index forward and everyone else followed as fast as they could, while still staying silent. Their luck finally ran out when a male's voice echoed down the hall. "We have two casualties. The intruders were here."

"All men guard the exits. There are only two directions they could have gone. Down the tunnel we came through or back up the way they came. They must have gone back up. I'm calling this in. Move out your bloody idiots! Don't let them escape." The thud of men in armor, stomping around the railcar area, echoed down the tunnel.

"Hurry," Touma whispered and all of them ran, as much as they could in the narrow tunnel, until they reached the end of the maintenance line. Mikoto had to squeeze past everyone else to unlock the door, without causing an explosion. Something Shizuri had offered. They exited into the tunnel and started running. There were now soft emergency lights on the ceiling, so they could just barely see and not trip over the tracks.

"There's a door," Index pointed out. The stopped for a moment, turned to look in the same direction as Index, and then ran toward the door. Mikoto unlocked it and they ran up the stairs into a small building with no windows and a single metal door. There were shelves of tools and several large cupboards.

"Looks like a mechanic station," Mikoto said. "Makes sense after we went down that tunnel."

"Well," Shizuri said crossing her arms. "I guess the mission was a success. We got these two and escaped. Now, we just need picked up." She glanced over at Touma. "I think I still need to punish you for trying to grab my a$$."

"It was an accident," Touma replied defensively. "None of us could see in the darkness."

"Yea," Mikoto added defending him. "He accidently hit me too. We couldn't do anything about it."

"Oh?" Shizuri replied, raising an eyebrow. "Where?" Mikoto didn't reply and her face turned red. Shizuri grinned.

"Touma," Index demanded. "Why didn't you touch me? Are you trying to flirt with them? Do you not see me as a girl?"

"No!" Touma denied. "You were in front of Mugino, so I wouldn't be able to accidently run into you."

"This is fun and all," Shizuri said, still grinning. "But call the others already so we can leave. Standing around in enemy territory is stupid and suicidal."

"I agree," Mikoto said. She pulled out her phone, and just started dialing, when Index jerked her head and started at the wall.

"GET DOWN!" she yelled. Everyone reflexively dived to the floor, and it was a good thing they listened so quickly. A moment later, everything three feet off the ground, walls, shelves, celling, were blown away in a flash of light. It happened so fast, not even dust was left in the air. Touma looked up and saw nothing by sky above him. He pushed himself up, looked around, and felt despair rise up within him. He couldn't say anything, when he saw the position they were in. They were completely surrounded, by countless number of knights in all directions. Leading them, around a hundred feet away from him, and looking quite pleased with herself, was Princess Carissa. She had Curtana slung over her shoulders in a nonchalant manner while staring directly at him.

"Your plan wasn't bad," she said grinning. "But you are a hundred years too early to think you could outwit me. I think you require some discipline boy. But first," her glare grew cold. "I believe I have to get rid of those two pieces of baggage. No one steals from me."

* * *

"What is that?" Kuroko gasped pointing. Misaki and Itsuwa turned to look in the direction she was facing, and then Misaki gasped too. A giant flame monster, in the rough appearance of a human, was rising above the city.

"That's Stiyl's flame magic," Itsuwa explained. "It's called Innocentius, the Witch Hunter King. It's also the signal for Misaka-san and Mugino-san." She glanced down at her watch and noted the time. "We are only to move out at the last minute. If we start moving to soon, we will be noticed and the escape route will be compromised for all of them."

"How long?" Misaki asked, unable to take her eyes off the flame creature.

"Ten minutes top," Itsuwa replied nervously. "If they contact us earlier, we will move out."

"We can't see anything from here though," Kuroko said looking around. She didn't want to just stand around doing nothing when Mikoto was risking her life. "Can we watch from that tower up there? We brought binoculars."

"I suppose we could," Itsuwa said thinking. "I would like to see how the knights around the palace are moving."

"Ok," Kuroko said happily and grabbed Itsuwa and Misaki. A moment later they all found themselves on the tower. As soon as they got the signal, Kuroko would teleport them back into the bus to head out. They all pulled out binoculars and started to scan the palace. She was surprised at how far the binoculars could see. _Maybe there's magic on them._ "Does anyone see them?" There was silence for a little bit, until Itsuwa spoke up.

"They just snuck in through a window," she informed them. "They timed it well and slipped between the knight's patrols." She put the binoculars down and sat down on a chair. "Now we have to wait. I don't know how long it will take them. They have to move quickly."

"They studied the palace layout," Misaki said. "And I saw Mugino-san's power can defeat a knight in one shot. So as long as they don't run into the princess, or to many guards, they should be fine."

"Onee-sama can also handle herself," Kuroko added. "She should be able to rescue those two and get them out safely. They should be heading east if, possible, toward us to make picking them up easier."

"They are both smart and know the plan," Itsuwa said standing up again. Nothing noticeable happened for a little bit and Misaki started pacing back in forth in worry. They only message they would receive was when Mikoto and Shizuri were ready to be picked up. Kuroko sat down, but the look of worry on her face didn't change. Itsuwa was carefully monitoring the palace and something happened to make her frown. "I think they ran into trouble. Some of the knights are running in and out of the palace. This is bad. They are now surrounding the palace."

"What do we do now?" Misaki asked standing up immediately. "It will take us a few minutes to get there, even without anyone on the roads."

"We obviously need to help," Kuroko said determinately.

"We can't yet," Itsuwa replied, but her face was looking anxious too as her hand made a fist. "If we leave now, we are guaranteed to get surrounded and Misaka-san and Mugino-san will be stuck in the palace. I know it's hard, but we have to wait."

"But…" Kuroko started to argue when she felt Misaki put a hand on her shoulder. Kuroko turned to look at Misaki's face and she shook her head slowly. Kuroko wanted to argue, but when she looked into Misaki's eyes she stopped. Kuroko could tell Misaki was just as worried as her, if not more, but she was trying to keep herself calm. _She's in love with the ape, but she can still keep a clam demeanor. I need to learn from her. If I act rashly, I could cause problems for onee-sama._ She took a deep breath to calm herself and turned back to Itsuwa. "Let me know when." Itsuwa nodded and kept monitoring the situation. She suddenly gasped and Misaki and Kuroko turned to her.

"What happened?" they asked in unison.

"This is really bad," Itsuwa said putting her binoculars down for a moment. "The princess just walked out of the palace. We thought for sure she would be leading the knights against Stiyl's group. If they try to leave and run into her…" Her voice died out which did not alleviate Kuroko's and Misaki's worry

"She's supposed to be a lot stronger than all the knights, right?" Misaki asked softly and Itsuwa nodded. The pit of her stomach dropped and she was trying to keep her composure, mainly to stop Kuroko from acting rashly and jeopardizing rescuing Touma. Her hand unconsciously reached into her bag grabbing her remote. _If she did anything to him, I swear I will make her regret it._ She mimicked Kuroko and took a deep breath to remain calm. "What's she doing?"

"I can't hear them," Itsuwa replied gazing intently through her binoculars. "But she's talking to one of the higher ranking knights." There was a pause. "What is she planning? She's leading the knights away from the palace in our direction."

"What?" Kuroko said anxiously. "Is she coming for us?"

"I don't think so," Itsuwa said slowly. "They wouldn't be simply marching. We are too far away. She seems to be following something underground…. oh no." She put her binoculars down and reached into her pocket to pull out a folded piece of paper. She unfolded it and smoothed it out on the table while Misaki and Kuroko watched. "I knew it. There's a subway tunnel under the palace. It has several purposes, including evacuation and having a railcar to use as part of a magic circle. The basement is used to help control Curtana's power. Stiyl said that was going to be our next goal once we rescued Index and Kamijou-kun. They must be trying to escape through the tunnel."

"And the princess and her knights are chasing them," Misaki finished.

"We have to help them now," Kuroko yelled.

"I know," Itsuwa said running her finger along the subway route on the map. "These are the access points… and it looks like only one is close enough for them to reach. Got it, let's go, we don't have much time." She grabbed the paper, just as Kuroko grabbed her and Misaki. Kuroko teleported them all back down into the bus. Itsuwa hopped into the driver's seat and put on her seatbelt. "Hold on," she said, a fire burning in her eyes. "This is going to be a bumpy ride." Kuroko and Misaki gave each other a surprised look because of Itsuwa's sudden attitude change. They sat down, holding tightly to the metal seats.

They were not prepared for Itsuwa and her driving when she was serious. They tore through the remains of a small fence and landed with a thud on the road. Itsuwa spun the wheel and they barreled down the streets, avoiding the few abandoned cars left on the road. Misaki and Kuroko could feel themselves being thrown to the side every time Itsuwa made a sharp turn. She was ignoring all traffic laws and working on getting them to their destination as quick as possible. _I am never riding with her in an emergency again,_ Misaki thought to herself. She was getting nauseous and probably wouldn't be able to hold it in much longer. She got a sudden moment of relief when the Itsuwa slammed on the breaks, though she almost hit her head on the seat in front of her. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know what happened," Itsuwa said pointing. "But take a look." Kuroko and Misaki both stood up and looked through the windshield.

"It's like a warzone," Kuroko said. They looked out across the street in shock. There were large craters in the road and the nearby buildings had deep gouges in them, like someone was cutting them with a large blade. About twenty knights were lying all over the street. Some looked better than others, but it appeared as if they had fought a powerful enemy and lost.

"Sorry to ask you this," Itsuwa said. "Can you remove the knights out of the way?" Kuroko nodded and proceeded to teleport them out of their way, as Itsuwa navigated between the craters.

"What do you think caused it?" Misaki asked.

"I don't know," Itsuwa said truthfully. "None of the church forces should be here. Whoever did it really helped clear the way for us. But we can't stop and think about it now." Her eyes were still glued to the road. "We have to meet up with the others." Misaki nodded, but she knew they couldn't tell Touma about this. He would be upset they didn't try to help the knights instead of coming for him.

 _He always worries about others over himself. He's such a prince in that way, but I wish he would think about what I would do if I lost him again._ The memory of the despair and loneliness, she felt when Touma could no longer remember her, haunted her once again. She swore to never let that happen again. She would do whatever it took to rescue him, the way he had saved her so long ago. It didn't take long for Kuroko to finish and teleport back in, but it was still a delay. As soon as they got through the street, Itsuwa floored it once again. Misaki turned a delicate shade of green and Kuroko did not appear much better, but they kept staring straight ahead, with determined looks on their faces. They were able to continue for a couple minutes, and were approaching their target, when something suddenly hit the bus form the side with a loud thud. The bus started to spin and crashed into a street lamp pole. The bus's wards held, though there was a large dent on the side, and all three of the girls saw who had attacked them.

Several knights were jumping down from the rooftops around them. One of them called out loudly, his voice magnified. "Come out and surrender or we will use force."

"Dang it," Itsuwa fumed, pulling out her spear. "If we try to pass them they will just blast us off the road."

"I'll stop them," Misaki said pulling out her remote and pointing at the approaching knights. She had meant to control all of them, since she knew how their defenses worked, but she only managed to grab control of two of them. "Their minds are shielded differently. I need time to break through." She ordered the two she managed to take over to act normally until needed.

"I'm going out to stall them then," Itsuwa said. "If they destroy the bus getting to us, we can't evacuate the others."

"I'm going with you," Kuroko volunteered instantly. "I'll be able to get you out of there if things go south." Itsuwa didn't like Kuroko taking risks with her, but she had to admit Kuroko had a very good point. She nodded and they stepped out of the bus, while Misaki kept her head down and worked on trying to take over the knights. She frowned as her power was blocked. A normal person's mind could be manipulated effortlessly, though people with abilities that generated electromagnetic fields, like Mikoto, could block her ability. To bypass the magic defenses, the earlier knights had, Misaki had to apply her powers in slightly different ways. She had to keep trying different things until something worked. Now, it felt like she was trying to solve a Rubik's cube without knowing the formula on how to do it. It was similar, but nothing she did gave her the desired results.

"We surrender," Itsuwa said raising her hands above her head. Kuroko noticed she didn't drop her spear, but the knights didn't really seem to care.

"I see you decided to pass on Lady Carissa's kind offer," one of the knights said looking at them. "Shame, it was your only way out of this. You may have had an easy time with the earlier knights, but we have been blessed with much more power." He raised his hand and two of the knights moved instantly. Kuroko braced herself to teleport away, but the knights didn't go after her or Itsuwa. They moved, at speeds her eyes could barely follow, and they struck two other knights in the back of the neck. They fell to the ground unconscious with a thud. "They volunteered to take less of Curtana's power so we could identify your powers. You won't be able to corrupt our minds like theirs." He raised two fingers, and pointed toward Kuroko and Itsuwa. The two knights attacked immediately again with the signal.

This time, Kuroko was completely ready. She teleported herself and Itsuwa away as the knights tried to flank them. She had guessed correctly the knights would try to flank them and she teleported out of the way. When she looked at them, she saw they hadn't drawn their weapons yet. _Are they underestimating us, or trying to capture us alive?_ She was impressed at the way Itsuwa was able to correct her form immediately after teleportation. She leaped at one of the knights and jabbed her spear into the knights back. There was an explosion and the knight stumbled forward, but he remained on his feet. He reached down and pulled out his sword, turned, and swung the blade at Itsuwa. She raised her spear and blocked it, but the force of blow knocked her back several feet. The second knight moved to flank her and swung his sword. His blade passed harmlessly through the air as she disappeared. They looked around and saw Kuroko pressing a hand against Itsuwa's back. "What's the plan?"

"We have to defeat them or we can't save the others," Itsuwa told her. "I can barely penetrate their armor with the amount of Telesma they are receiving."

"Then we just have to…" Kuroko started to say but stopped as the knight who was in charge yelled at them.

"I suggest you surrender," he told them. They turned and saw he had Shokuhou-san by the hair with one hand and a sword pressed up against her neck with the other. "Or she dies. Do you think we wouldn't notice her trying to take over our minds?" He shook Misaki and she winced in pain. "What's in her bag?" he asked another knight.

"Remotes and a small case of an unknown white powdery substance, sir."

"What the…" the knight said. Remotes were the furthest thing from his mind. He had no idea how Misaki would be using those as weapons. He considered what the white powder was and concluded it was some type of drug. "Anyway," he turned his attention back to Kuroko and Itsuwa who hadn't moved. "Drop your weapons and surrender." Itsuwa opened her hand and her spear clattered to the ground.

"No!" Misaki called out. "Don't worry about me."

"Shut up," the knight said shaking her by the hair again. He nodded to one of the knights and he threw Kuroko and Itsuwa handcuffs. "Put those on," he ordered. Kuroko and Itsuwa didn't say anything, but complied. "Good," he dragged Misaki over to them and threw her into Itsuwa. "Inform the princess we caught the intruders. Ask her what she wants done with them."

"I can get us out," Kuroko whispered. "They can't block my teleportation, but what should we do?"

"I'm out of ideas," Itsuwa whispered. "They are infused with Telesma and their skills are far beyond what normal people can handle."

"That white case there," Misaki whispered. "It's the last chance we have. If you can get it to me, I might be able to do something."

"What is it?" Kuroko asked softly.

"It could possibly give me a temporary boast to my ability to bypass their defenses," Misaki answered back. "Other than that, I'm out of options and I rather not be used as bait for the others."

"Possibly?" Kuroko asked.

"It hasn't been tested yet," Misaki smiled weakly. "It's the reason I didn't really want to resort to it."

"It sounds like it is our only option," Itsuwa said. "if you are sure, we have to try." Misaki nodded and Itsuwa looked at Kuroko. "As soon as we get an opportunity, grab it."

The knights lined them up against the bus and had them sit on the ground. Kuroko watched and noticed the Misaki's bag was unguarded, the knights didn't see remotes as a threat, but they were constantly under watch. She wasn't going to get an opportunity to grab the case. _I wonder how it magnifies her ability anyway._ "We have to trick them into giving it to us," she whispered. "I can't get an opening."

"Sounds easy," Misaki said, sounding a lot more confident then she felt. "I know a couple ways. Play along." Her plan was going to rely a lot on if the knights were as chivalrous as in stories she had read. They didn't try to kill them immediately, so Misaki was hoping the stories were true. She started coughing loudly. One of the knights near them turned his head slightly to glance at her, but he didn't move. She continued, slowly getting louder, but pretending to try to cover it up. The knight looked like he was getting a little concerned, and Misaki knew she had him. She then pretended to collapse onto the ground and made her breathing sound ragged. That drew the knight's attention and he moved over to them.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Medicine…" Misaki said weakly.

"She needs her medicine," Kuroko said, understanding what Misaki was doing. "It should be a small case in her bag. If she doesn't take it regularly, she can't breathe."

"Huh," The knight said, not sounding convinced. "Sir, we have a situation."

"It better be important if you are bothering me," the knight in charge said walking over.

"The girl here can't breath and she said the medicine is in her bag."

"They are probably going to die anyway," the commander said but he rubbed his chin thinking. "I can't in good conscious let a prisoner die while in my custody. The powder does not appear dangerous or magical. Let her have it, but do not release her cuffs. If she tries anything funny, kill her." The knight nodded and walked over to Misaki's bag. He grabbed the white case and brought it over to Misaki and opened it. Misaki was not happy at how she would have to eat it, it was really degrading, but the thought of Touma overrode any sense of pride she had. She leaned forward and licked the powder once. The knight clicked the case shut and threw the case into the bag, before walking away. Misaki had no idea how long it would take before the Body Crystal took effect, but she was aware of Kuroko and Itsuwa watching her.

What happened next, she was not prepared for.

Her brain suddenly started pounding, like it was being smacked against her skull. Her pupils dilated and her vision blurred for a moment. She slowly got back up in a sitting position, but she barely seemed aware of what was happening. She turned her head to look at Itsuwa and Kuroko, barely noting their surprise. Itsuwa looked concerned, but Kuroko looked surprised at the change in her eyes. Misaki turned her head back toward the knights and concentrated. Normally, she had to follow the rules she made for herself, to control her power and not cause damage to herself or others. She used her remotes to channel a specific mental ability, like sleep, forget, and others. It took a rare situation for her to not use them. Now, she didn't even think of using them. Everything was so clear to her and she could feel her power slipping into the knight's minds. The defenses that were once so complicated, seems like a child's puzzle to her. She took over all the minds of each one of the knights, besides the commander, immediately. Her power continued to pulse in her mind and she was surprised at how easy this was.

"Shokuhou-san?" Itsuwa asked cautiously. "Are you ok?" Misaki nodded slowly, not bothering to answer.

"Did it work?" Kuroko asked and Misaki smiled.

"Yes," she said simply, her voice sounded normal to the others, but to Misaki, it came from so far away. Her mind didn't care what she said because she could hear it in her mind. A moment later the commander was completely surrounded by his men.

"What are you all…" he started to say then spun around and looked at Misaki. "You b#$^%!" Misaki didn't rise to his taunts and instead stood up slowly. Kuroko and Itsuwa imitated her actions and Kuroko teleported off all of their cuffs. "How could you take over their minds so easily?"

"Like this," Misaki answered. A moment later, the commander went limp as his mind was overwhelmed by Misaki's power. She looked around at all the knights and she had them stand at attention around her.

"Wow," Kuroko said impressed. "You took over all of their minds so fast."

"I thought you were having trouble using your power on them," Itsuwa said.

"That powder is giving me a temporary boost to my ability," Misaki informed them. She clutched her head as it started pounding. "We should hurry. I don't know how much longer it will work before I suffer withdrawal." She walked over to her bag and picked it up. Kuroko and Itsuwa nodded, though both looked concern, and reentered the bus. Misaki followed, but decided to bring the ten knights with them. If she got too far away from them, her hold would break and they would call ahead, so the other knights would be prepared. The knights grabbed the metal rails and stood silently as Itsuwa shifted the bus into drive.

"You sure it's wise to bring them?" Kuroko asked.

"It's better than leaving them here," Misaki replied. Kuroko opened her mouth and then shut it again as Misaki used her power on her. Misaki's head was pounding and she didn't want to answer Kuroko's questions. She also slightly manipulated Itsuwa's mind to avoid asking about her power. She sat down and grabbed the metal rail on the seat in front of her. She put a hand over her mouth as she was overwhelmed by the urge to vomit, and this time it wasn't Itsuwa's driving. She closed her eyes, as the bus swayed, and they headed in the direction of Touma, Mikoto, Shizuri, and Index. Her mind was only focused on Touma though, even more the usual.

She could not know this was a side effect of her taking Body Crystal not made for her. It actually overloaded her ability, and because her ability was mental, it had unintentional side effects. Her mind was able to focus much easier, but only on a single target. When she targeted the knights, she was focusing on bypassing their defenses and taking over their minds. Now, her mind had traveled back to Touma, and all she cared about was finding him. All of her concentration was now solely focused on locating and saving him. She kept her control on the knights, only because they would help her accomplish that goal. She opened her eyes and stared straight ahead, unblinkingly. _I swear my prince, I will save you. No matter the cost._

There was one other side effect that was a lot more serious, but she had no way of detecting it. Her mind had established links with the knights. Because she was keeping direct control, she normally could do this with around a dozen people but she could probably handle several times more in her current state, there was a two way information system connecting them. There was her mind going towards the knights, and all the memories, sights, sounds, and more coming from the knights to her. Somehow, the link was mixing with the sheer amount of Telesma the knights had and it was flowing back, through the link, into her body. Normally, if an ability user tried to use magic, they would suffer from the two different sets of laws clashing. She, however, was not casting spells. Instead, the Telesma was flowing through her ability and fortifying it and herself. If Kuroko and Itsuwa had not been manipulated, to not bother with questioning her, they might have noticed the first change.

The stars, in her golden eyes, had changed to such a dark blue, they was almost black.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Motoharu: The opening announcements were really fun. I definitely would be interested in doing it again.**

 **Touma: You did something bad didn't you?**

 **Motoharu: I have no idea what you mean.**

 **Touma: AH YOU DID! Dang, I can't see what he put.**

 **Accelerator: It can't be that bad.**

 **Touma: You wouldn't say that if he talked about you.**

 **Accelerator: He wouldn't dare.**

 **Me: Well, those comments were informative and he followed all the rules. I'm impressed I didn't have to ban you. You didn't mention 4chan once.**

 **Motoharu: Told you.**

 **Me: Guess I need to find someone else now.**

 **Misaki: I volunteer.**

 **Mikoto: No, I don't trust her.**

 **Me: Eh, she was first. Ok Shokuhou-san, you can answer questions and comments for next chapter.**

 **Motoharu: SO Kami-yan, I saw you cooping some feels. Nice to see you getting bolder.**

 **Touma: Don't bring that up…**

 **Frenda: Wait, what happened?**

 **Shizuri: He grabbed my a$$.**

 **Misaki: WHAT!**

 **Mikoto: It was an accident, he accidently touched me too.**

 **Shizuri: Heh, you have nothing to grab.**

 **Mikoto: WHAT DID YOU SAY?!**


	52. S2 Escape

**Good day everyone, Misaki Shokuhou here. I am honored to be narrating the opening comments this week. My time is limited, but I will do my best to answer all your questions. I did notice many people listing several people I know, and I think I understand what Tsuchimikado-san asked for in his previous comments. I want to thank many of you for understanding Touma and I would be a good match. I am disappointed so many of you listed Misaka-san though. She's such a tomboy and doesn't fit with a prince.**

 **Salishious: That is an easy question. Even with her vulgar personality, he would be able to. Touma has this way with people. No matter how far someone has fallen, no matter what things we have done, he will save us from anyone, even ourselves. It's one of the reasons I love him so much. I feel, given time, even Mugino-san can be saved. But, if she tries to take him from me….**

 **wildarms13: I'm not submissive to him. I simply enjoy spending time with him. Being with him makes me happy, and I want to make sure he is happy too. If Touma saves her, and he really wants her around, I won't object, as long as he still prefers me. I don't trust her right now. She's obviously up to something. I bet she can't admit she likes him.**

 **Guest 10032: That is not even a question to consider. I would give up sweets forever, if I could spend every day with my prince. I enjoy sweets yes, but Touma is far more important. Just being with him makes me forget all my troubles, and I feel like the world revolves around us. Sweets are just a food, but I love him.**

 **Lord: Oh my… anything? A young noble lady, like myself, really shouldn't be going into those types of topics. Let's just say, nothing is off the table yet. Though, I would be happy if he just let me lie in his lap while he strokes my hair. My wildest dream would be if the two of us could just be left alone with each other.**

 **Whwsms: I would not be opposed to such an action, especially if I can stand between him and that old lady. I think he would be opposed to it though, not because he doesn't want me to be near him, but because he would think of my future. I feel he would think my talents would be wasted in his school and I should be participating in a more accelerated institution. Always thinking about others, it's one of his most admirable traits.**

 **Anon: Hehe…. All he has to do is ask.**

 **I am running out of time, I hope you all appreciated my answers. I don't know when I will be up again, but I hope it will be soon. Maybe I can answer questions besides just my relationship with my prince, though, I am not opposed to talking about it. It is quite nice to talk about something that makes me happy, over dangerous things like we are facing now. I promise I will make sure everyone returns from the princess's trap alive.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

 _What are these people?_ The knight, who commanded the first elite battalion, was watching the battle between his men and four individuals. His squad was made up of ten skilled men, each one trained specifically under Knight Leader, and himself. He was told, by Carissa, they would be intercepting a small group of possibly powerful individuals, but he had the upmost faith in his men. When they discovered there were only four individuals in the group, he was confident they could finish it up quickly. Of course, his personal feelings wouldn't cloud his judgement and they handled it by the book. _I didn't expect them to go down easily, but they are holding their ground admirably. We are even powered with Curtana's Telesma._ His men were fighting hard, and while the enemy couldn't take them out, they couldn't take any of them out. He sighed and made a hand signal to change their strategy. His eyes moved over each enemy as he analyzed their abilities.

He was not surprised to see the Saint, Kaori Kanzaki, among them. As one of the church's strongest members, it was only natural for her to be here. _If we were in equal numbers, we might need Knight Leader to take her out. There have been reports of her taking out platoons by herself before._ Her blade was faster than a normal person's eyes could follow. She also controlled numerous wires, which whipped around her, and could be used as attack and defense, along with creating magic circles to cast flame magic. As a Saint, her strength and speed were as great as, probably even greater than, one of the higher ranked knight, powered by Telesma. She was able to fight three of his knights on even grounds, so he had four of his knights fighting her to push her back. He made note of the way she moved and calculated several counter measures to use against her. He then changed his attention, his eyes shifting slightly, to the second individual of the church's group.

She was a messy, dirty blonde, dark skinned woman wearing a black gothic outfit. She appeared to have a serious grudge against the knights, as she kept screaming at them to die horrible deaths. She was standing on the shoulders of a large golem, he heard her call it Ellis, made up of earth, asphalt, concreate, and anything else on the ground. Her golem was roughly two stories high and delivered punches strong enough to crush walls, metal poles, and the street. The commanding knight saw through her weakness at once. Her golem was regenerating, no matter how much damage the knights did to it, but once the caster fell, it would too. He had three of his knight's concentrate on attacking her, and it would have worked if not for the third member.

He was a tall and skinny man, in his mid-twenties, with black messy spikey hair. He wore very lose and casual clothes, including an oversized t-shirt with a red cross, and, weirdly, tennis shoes. His aura made him appear unimpressive, but the knight commander realized it was just an act. His specialty was working alongside others and he would always strike the knights when they tried to attack the blonde woman. This allowed the woman to continue her destructive assault with her golem. If they concentrated on the man, he would slip back and lead the knights into the golem's mighty fists. It appeared the woman was just doing her own thing, and the man was just adapting his movements to fit her needs. _He must be part of the Amakusa. They always were good at dealing in stealth and with others._ But even their combination, didn't confuse the commander as much as the fourth member of the group.

A young white haired boy was, there was no other word for him, an anomaly. The boy had no magic powers to speak of, yet he simply strutted forward against three of the commander's knights and proceeded to utterly crush them. No matter what the knights did or how they attacked, their blows were redirected back against them, a light touch from the boy would send them flying, and the boy could effortlessly rip lamp posts out of the ground and throw them like spears. Even so, the knights kept standing back up again, causing the boy to frown. The amount of Telesma at their disposal was causing even the most serious wounds to heal almost instantly, their stamina was restored, and their determination was unwavering. The boy looked irritated at their persistence, and turned to look directly at the commander.

"Hey f#$%^%," the boy told him. "I'm sick of dealing with small fries. Those guys rely too much on the power given to them. How about you show me what you got? This fight is getting boring." The commander looked at him for a moment, thinking. He sighed and pulled out his sword. He had come to the realization this boy was dangerous and needed to be dealt with immediately. The boy grinned as they looked at each other, and then the ground beneath them exploded as they lunged with killing intent.

* * *

Back at the hotel, Jason, Kazari, Ruiko, Frenda, Saiai, and Motoharu were in the hotel conference room, where dozens of computers had been set up. Each one of them was monitoring a screen. Last Order, Worst, and Rikou were outside the room doing whatever they wanted to. After discussion, and several verbal threats and raised voices, they convinced the church to allow them to help monitor the city. As most of the church forces were occupied sieging the city, and Academy City students were skilled with computers, the church conceded. It was actually beneficial for them, because Kazari was a genius on the computer and could monitor three times more than anyone else, plus her power allowed her to control the computers temperature and prevent them from overheating. Jason and Frenda were also experienced and monitored a large area. Ruiko and Saiai had the least experience with computers, but they were still students of Academy City, thus far above what most people in the world could do. Motoharu seemed to be doing something else, but no one could spare time for him.

"Ah this sucks," Jason said leaning back in his chair. "We can't see anything near the palace or the airport. They run on separate security systems."

"You mentioned that three times already," Kazari reminded him, not taking her eyes off her screen. "We got most of London, so be happier."

"Basically," Frenda added. "Stop complaining. The cameras you accessed were more then we could have hoped for in this situation."

"Ah I got a glimpse of the rescue team moving in," a nun piped up and they all turned and looked at her screen. They managed to see a glimpse of Mikoto and Shizuri running toward the palace, but then lost sight of them as they disappeared. "They moved outside our range."

"Guess the fight super started," Saiai said. "I wish I could have joined. Mugino gets all the fun jobs."

"You shouldn't try to get into fights," Ruiko piped up. Saiai glanced at her out of the corner of her eyes.

"I happen to enjoy them," she said. "They are super fun sometimes. Don't act like you understand me."

"No need to fight," Jason said interrupting them before anything bad could happen. "There will be plenty of time to debate later about hobbies and interests. For now, focus on the task at hand."

"Should you even be able to monitor this?" Frenda asked him. "Basically, you have a hard time walking by yourself."

"But I happen to be sitting down now," Jason said grinning and Motoharu snickered.

"You really should be resting though," Kazari told him, but Jason ignored her advice after glancing over at her. The time past slowly, and nothing noticeable was happening. They talked a little to kill time, but it was pretty strained. They all were imagining what was happening in the palace. They had guided Mikoto and Shizuri as best as they could but, as soon as the girls got close to the palace, they had to implement radio silence. All they could do is wait, until they received more information. Ruiko sighed and leaned back looking at everyone else. She could tell Jason and Kazari had training, probably form Judgement, with this kind of work. She based this assumption on the fact their eyes rarely left the screens. She also noticed Frenda and Saiai seemed to be in similar situations, but she didn't believe they were part of Judgement.

 _I wonder what they do to be so calm in this situation._ Ruiko had been in a couple of dangerous situations before, but she always ended up okay in the end. This time, she was worried for her friends, instead of her being the one worried about. If it wasn't for Kazari and Jason reassuring her, and occasionally Motoharu, she wouldn't be able to sit still, let alone help out. After what seemed like hours, though was probably only a few minutes, she frowned as she saw something move on her screen. "Guys," she called out. "Something is happening here." A couple nuns, Jason, Saiai, and Frenda turned to look at her screen. Kazari was keeping watch on her screen, as she had the area around the airport, and it was a very important location because they would have to notify Itsuwa's group if something happened near them. On Ruiko screen, a single blonde girl was standing in front of a group of knights.

"That girl matches the description of Eve," one of the nuns called over her shoulder to another one. "Camera 517." She nodded and ran out of the room. Jason and Ruiko gave each other a grim look and Kazari froze. They were the only ones from the science side in the room who knew who Eve was. Though, none of them had actually seen her in person. Frenda and Saiai had no idea who she was.

"Eve?" they both asked.

"She's the leader of a third faction fighting for power," Jason answered. "From what I heard, her group has been causing a lot of trouble around the world." Ruiko and Kazari understood how he was presenting the information. He was purposely avoiding telling Frenda and Saiai the details involving Italy.

"You sure she's a leader?" Frenda asked. "Basically, she's so young and looks harmless."

"Appearances can be deceiving," Jason mumbled distracted and glanced at Saiai, who grinned.

"You are super right about that," she added.

"What's she doing?" Ruiko asked.

"She appears to be talking to the knights," the nun said. "You know we don't have sound, so all we can do is watch." They are leaned over her shoulder and watched to see what was happening. Whatever Eve was telling the knights, they did not appear to be interested. All of them pulled out their weapons and charged at her. The first knight to reach her swung his blade down at her head. She reached her hand up, grabbed the blade, stopped it, and lifted it, with the knight, into the air. Everyone watched her use the knight as a club and smashed him into another knight. Another knight swung his blade at her neck and she responded by leaning backwards, like she was doing the limbo, and slipped under his blade. She twilled on her heel, like a ballerina, to dodge another knight's blade, and then kicked the knight in the back. The remaining knights surrounded her and she looked around at them. Eve shrugged, and then jumped, straight up, twenty feet into the air. She then stopped in midair, like she was standing on an invisible balcony. She held out her hand and a book appeared in it out of nowhere.

"Wow she's flexible," Ruiko commented, unable to contain how impressed she was.

"Basically," Frenda added. "She's had a lot of combat experience. You can tell the way she holds herself."

"She's fighting the knights," the nun said quietly. "That should be good for us, as it will split the princess's forces, but why would she help us?"

"She's obviously not helping us," Jason answered grimly. "She's doing it for her own reasons. The knights must know who she is."

"Then we can use this to observe what type of magic she uses," the nun said. Everyone stopped talking as the battle got more intense.

Paper had started to fly from Eve's book and swirl in a vortex in front of her. It was obvious she was laughing, as the knight's raised their weapons against her. The paper began to converge and a giant tentacle emerged from the paper. The tentacle reached down and slammed into the ground, causing the knights leaped away from it. The paper creation did not stop and kept expanding. Seven more tentacles emerged from the paper vortex, followed by a mouth, and then finally the head emerged. A giant octopus landed in the street, it's tentacles as thick as tree trunks and its body was like a small house. The knights reacted immediately and used the most obvious strategy against it, cutting off its tentacles, but their attacks only caused minor damage and the wounds healed almost instantly. The octopus grabbed one of the knights and slammed him into the street. Several other knights were grabbed and were squeezed until they stopped moving. They fell lifelessly to the ground. The last knight was in the back, holding a glowing spear. He threw it, not at the octopus, but at Eve. Eve raised her hand in response and the octopus jumped into the air. It used its body to block the spear.

A giant flash of light blinded the screen for a moment.

When the light cleared, the remains of the smoking octopus littered the ground, but Eve was lowering herself back to the ground, obviously unhurt. Only one knight was left, the one who threw the spear. Eve walked toward him, skipping slightly. The knight pulled out his sword and held it out in front of him. Eve looked at him for a moment, and then held out her book. The paper rose and formed into a giant fly swatter. She grabbed it and swung it down at the knight at incredible speeds. The knight tried to dodged, but the paper twisted itself unnaturally to adjust for his movements. He was squashed against the streets and did not move. The paper disappeared back into her book and the remains of the octopus dissolved into dust and disappeared. Eve stretched her arms into the air, and then stopped. She slowly turned to look at the nearby camera, and grinned. She jumped over and held up two fingers in a V-shape, while mouthing a single word, _victory._ A moment later, the screen everyone was watching went black.

"She knows we are watching," Ruiko said softly.

"We need to inform the others," the nun said standing up. "Eve is in the city."

"Itsuwa-san's group is moving out of the airport!" Kazari called out to everyone. They all turned to look at her. "They are driving at full speed towards the palace."

"Something must have happened," Motoharu said speaking up. "It's possible Eve did something to make them move."

"That's even worse," the nun moaned. "If The Fallen are using this war for their own purposes, we are all walking into their trap." She ran out of the room and everyone looked at each other seriously. Ruiko walked over and glanced out a window into the distance.

 _Be safe everyone._

* * *

Touma had no idea how they were going to get out of their current predicament. They were surrounded by easily a hundred, though probably more, knights. To make matters worse, Carissa was walking towards them. He knew the knights were powerful, but Carissa was supposed to be in a league all of her own. Touma instinctively moved in front of Index, while Mikoto and Shizuri moved to either side of him. Both of them knew how dangerous the current situation was. "Any ideas," he muttered under his breath to them.

"No," Mikoto answered. "This is the worst possibly outcome."

"I guess we resort to plan b," Shizuri said. "We take out the princess and the entire coup fails."

"It's not going to be that easy," Index informed them. "She has the full power of Curtana behind her. Her strength is going to be exponentially greater than even the strongest knight."

"Can you interfere with her magic?" Touma muttered.

"I would have to analyze Curtana Original extensively," Index replied. "It is an incredibly complicated and powerful artifact. I can't give you an accurate time frame on it."

"Then we make time," Shizuri grinned and she took a couple steps forward. "I've been interesting in meeting you face to face," she said loudly to Carissa. "I was wondering how a spoiled brat of a princess would be able to handle herself." Touma notice several of the knights flinch slightly at the way Shizuri was addressing the princess. He couldn't see their faces, but he was sure they were not amused at her tone. Since they didn't move forward to attack Shizuri, Touma guessed Carissa told them to stay back, unless she ordered them forward.

"Ah," Carissa said, her eyes narrowing in recognition. A large grinned appeared on her face. "I recognize that disrespectful tone. I have also been looking forward to meeting you. Anyone who speaks to me, as you did, deserves nothing but punishment."

"You," Shizuri snorted. "Punish me? Don't make me laugh. Some spoiled brat in a palace wouldn't know the strength of someone who lived their entire life in the dark parts of the world."

"Why don't you show me then," Carissa laughed. "I would be interested to see how strong you are. After all, speaking to me this way, you must have some skill. I will crush any hope you have and make you submit before I finish you off."

"Oh," Shizuri said raising an eyebrow. "Well, if you insist. I am never one to disappoint." She held out her hand and a green orb appeared in it. "I hope you are willing to accept the consequences." Carissa didn't say anything, but she moved Curtana off her shoulder. Touma heard Mikoto take in a sharp breath, and he realized this fight was going to get ugly. He knew he had to try to stop it any way possible, and he took a couple steps forward.

"There's no reason to fight…" Touma began trying to defuse the situation, but those two were not in the mood for his speeches.

"Be quiet boy!" Carissa yelled at him.

"Yes!" Shizuri added. "Shut up Kamijou. Get out of the way or I will blast her through you." Touma opened his mouth, but he felt two pairs of arms grab him and pull him back. Mikoto and Index both realized the situation wasn't going to end well and wanted to stop Touma from getting hurt. "Now that the interruption is out of the way," Shizuri sneered, turning her attention back to Carissa. "Let's see what you got." She held out her hand and a green orb appeared above it again. "Let's try not to end this too fast."

"I was thinking the exact same thing," Carissa replied. She didn't have a trace of fear on her face. "Show me what you can do." She did not bother sensing for mana. From the reports, she knew ability users from Academy City could not be detected like normal magicians.

"Careful what you wish for," Shizuri said. A green beam shot out of the orb in Carissa's direction. Carissa didn't move at all, except for her eyes, as the beam flew right by her and hit the ground behind her. An explosion followed, throwing dust and dirt into the air. Shizuri frowned. She had planned to spook the princess with her initial attack, but she was disappointed. _The princess didn't even flinch. She followed the beam with just her eyes. Guess I can't go easy on her._ Four more green orbs appeared around her. "Try to make this at least a little enjoyable." She started firing her Meltdowner beams as fast as she could at Carissa.

Carissa dodged every single one effortlessly.

It looked like she simply stepped around each beam and they flew past her. Each one caused explosions when they hit the ground, which only added to how impressive Carissa looked. The knights standing in the outside circle moved slightly, as Shizuri attacked Carissa, but after seeing how one-sided the fight appeared to be, they stood still again. Carissa's dress blew from the displaced air of the explosions but, other than that, she didn't appear to even notice them. Shizuri gritted her teeth in anger and continued to fire as fast as she could. No matter how she changed her attack patterns, Carissa appeared to instantly move out of the way. _Why won't she just die?_

"You have destructive power," Carissa commented. "But your execution needs a lot of work. Is this all you can do?"

"Big talk coming from someone who can only dodge," Shizuri laughed and fired another four beams. Carissa continued to dodge all four and Shizuri got pissed once again. A large green orb appeared in front of her outstretched hand. "Just die already!"

"I guess it's time to show you how weak you are," Carissa said, her eyes flashing, right before Shizuri fired a large beam directly at her. She side stepped it, turned Curtana so the flat side of the blade faced Shizuri, and swung it at the beam. Normally, Shizuri's Meltdowner would destroy any matter it came into contact with, as it was just a beam of destructive high speed electrons. Against a sword, empowered with an archangels might, it was nothing more than baseball hitting a metal wall. She swung the sword and the beam reflected back at Shizuri. Shizuri couldn't do anything in response, as the beam flew past her head. The ends of her hair got burnt and the ground behind her exploded. She stumbled slightly, but kept her footing. "Hmm," Carissa said looking at Curtana. "I forgot to take in effect the slight curvature. Would you like to try again? I promise I won't miss this time."

"You b#$%^," Shizuri growled through gritted teeth. Six orbs appeared around her as she glared daggers at Carissa. This was the most she ever created at once. They were smaller then if she just fired one, but the numbers would make it easier to box in her opponents. "I'm going to kill you!" she roared. "No one looks down at me."

"Now you're just throwing a tantrum," Carissa sighed. "I guess it was too much to think a kid could be any sort of challenge." This didn't do anything to calm Shizuri down as she fired off six beams, all different angles, at Carissa. Carissa dodged five of them, and reflected the sixth. This time, Shizuri was ready. She ducked under the returned beam and charged straight towards Carissa, quickly reducing the space between them. Several orbs appeared around her and she fired them all at Carissa. It was obvious to everyone that Shizuri was trying to reduce the distance between them to reduce the time Carissa had to see their trajectory and dodge. While this plan was sound and would have worked on a normal opponent, Carissa was far beyond the realms of using a normal plan against her. She dodged all of Shizuri's attacks effortlessly, her speed slowly increasing. It was like an adult toying with a toddler. A moment later, Shizuri found Curtana pressed up against the side of her neck, as Carissa stood behind her. "Brat," she said. "You are a thousand years too early to challenge me." Before Shizuri could respond, she heard Mikoto call out a single word.

"DUCK!"

Shizuri didn't think twice and dived to the ground, as a boom echoed across her surroundings. Carissa didn't know what Mikoto was yelling about, as she turned around, and only saw a beam of light traveling at her three times the speed of sound. Her senses were heightened to superhuman levels, but even she was barely able to move in time. A small chunk of her hair was disintegrated as a small metal object blew it away. Carissa jumped back as Mikoto, Touma and Index ran up to Shizuri. "I didn't need your help," Shizuri spat out at Mikoto, as she stood up.

"Yea right," Mikoto sniffed. "But now's not the time. She's way too powerful to fight one on one."

"You seem to have similar power to her," Carissa said to Mikoto. She didn't show it, but that attack was fast enough to hit her. She realized Mikoto didn't try to hit her directly, and instead was just firing a warning shot. _Stupid girl, she might have actually done damage._ "But neither of you will be able to hit me. No human can harm the leader of angels. I thought you understood that girl."

"I don't care who you are," Mikoto told her. "I'm going to fight anyone who attacks my friends."

"We aren't friends," Shizuri spat out.

"Wasn't talking about you," Mikoto muttered.

"Now's not the time to be fighting between ourselves," Touma said. "The only way we will have a chance is if we can destroy Curtana Original."

"Which is impossible," Carissa informed him. Her hearing was obvious enhanced by Curtana's power.

"Guess we go all out then," Mikoto said holding out her hands. A moment later, black metal sand erupted from the ground and spun all around them like a tornado. It then converged in Mikoto's hands as two vibrating black iron swords. Touma had seen how sharp those particles could be when they were vibrating at high speed. She could cut through rocks like they were made of paper.

"That actually looks pretty impressive," Carissa commented on Mikoto's ability. "As a gift for the show, I'll show you Curtana's real power." She held out the sword in front of her. "Curtana is a ceremonial sword that was used to cut the United Kingdom apart from the rest of the world. You may be part of the science side, but I assume by now you have a basic understanding of how magic works. By using that unique quality, I can perform something like this." She made a simple swipe in front of her.

For the first time in their lives, they saw a dimension being severed in front of them.

It was impossible to describe, as the air itself was just cut and there was nothing occupying the space from the cut. A second later, something similar to white plastic, like the kind used in models, fell out of the space and remained motionless in midair. It was about five meters long, and only as wide as Curtana was. "I am sure you are aware, a cross section of a three dimensional object, is a two dimensional object, and a cross section of that is a one dimensional object. Humans can only perceive three dimensional objects, so if a dimension higher than three is cut, we can only perceive up to three dimensions. This debris is what appears in our three dimensional world." The white plastic strip stopped levitating and fell to the asphalt below with a loud thud. "With Curtana, I can cut every dimension. It doesn't matter if they are higher or lower." She laughed.

"That's impossible," Shizuri spat out, after a moment of stunned silence. "Something that insane can't exist."

"If it's true," Mikoto said, her face growing pale. "It won't matter how many defenses we have, she can cut right through dimensions to us."

"This is the All Dimensions Severing Spell," Carissa told them, a cold grin plastered on her face as she watched. She enjoyed the way their faces turned white as the implications dawned on them.

Touma didn't say anything. His mind was trying to comprehend the power Carissa was wielding before him. It was like trying to understand the workings of the world with limited knowledge. Her power was so much greater than his mind could process, but his hands shook instinctively. He couldn't really feel fear, but his instincts were warning him they needed to run. Of course with Carissa's power, and a wall of knights surrounding them, that was impossible. If they tried to run, they would be killed. _Our only option is to fight, even if it's a long shot._ He mentally roared at his legs to move and he took a step forward, until he was between Shizuri and Mikoto and in front of Index. They both looked at him as he opened his mouth. "I don't care what kind of power you wield. As long as you continue to use it to hurt others, I will not sit back and watch. I won't let you continue down this path. You know what you are doing is wrong, and I'm sure many of your knights agree with me. They follow you out of loyalty, and all you do is abuse it." He made a fist and held it out in front of him. "If you insist on continuing, I… we are going to shatter that illusion of yours." Mikoto grinned, as she released what he did.

"About time you start relying on others," she said. Her face was returning back to her normal color. Mikoto was still afraid, in front of Carissa's overwhelming power, but standing next to Touma, strength was filling her up, like a warm drink on a cold winter day. She held out her iron sand swords in front of her and her eyes never left Carissa. Mikoto noticed Carissa did not pay her any attention and her focus was purely on Touma.

"You're saying some pretty idiotic things," Shizuri said sighing, her hand on her head. "But I guess there really isn't another option. I'll team up with you two, JUST to teach this b#$%& a lesson." She wouldn't admit it, but Touma's words seemed to give her a sliver of hope. For the first time, she was looking forward to fighting with him, instead of against him. Of course, most of her being wanted to slaughter Carissa and make her beg for mercy, but a part of her wanted to stand next to him. _Damn, what the hell is with him? Even the stupidest things that come out of his mouth make me feel weird._

"Hahaha!" Carissa threw back her head and laughed. "Even after seeing my power, the strength still hasn't left your eyes. Let's see if you can continue to be so arrogant after you taste my true strength." She swung Curtana in front of her and a large block of the heavy white plastic appeared where she cut, about the size of a van. This time, it didn't just fall to her feet. Carissa flung the debris, at high speeds, like a projectile at them. The dimensional material blocked them from her sight, right before it collided with them. She was looking forward to seeing them either dodge or get smashed by the material's weight. She did not expect to see smoke coming from the debris, as it slowly disappeared. When the wreckage cleared, she saw what happened. A bright green shield was blocking her view. "So they had other tricks," she muttered, partially pleased the fight didn't end so early.

When Carissa had propelled the material at them, Shizuri moved up, so she was in the center of the others. An orb appeared in front of her and it started to spiral, until it formed a large enough circular shield in front of her. When the material hit it, it started to burn away as her ability turn it into dust. The shield was one of the few other ways she could use her ability. Even being a shield, anything that came into contact with it would meet the same fate as being her by one of her beams. The center faded away and the shield disappeared in a spiral originating from the same location it started at. Shizuri grinned as she effortlessly stopped the princess's attack. "Well now," she said. "Regardless if your claim is true, I still don't want to be hit something with that much mass."

"I hope you have other tricks or you are going to die," Carissa yawned. "I really should end this soon." A knight walked up and whispered something into her ear. "Ha," Carissa laughed and the knight left to take his position back into the circle. "The church forces are retreating. Soon they will be decimated and you will have no one to back you up. All you can do is surrender or die. If you get on you knees and, how do you Japanese say it, prostrate. I might be willing to let you live. Think of it as a favor from me boy." She turned her attention back to Touma. Several of the knights moved slightly, and then became still again. They were not use to Carissa showing generosity like that.

Touma might have actually done that to save his friends, if Mikoto and Shizuri simultaneously made rude gestures at Carissa. "Like that's going to happen."

Touma sighed, but he admired their determination. "I agree with them," he said. "I can't let you use force and threats against everyone. If we surrender, all you are going to do is kill your family and become a tyrant." Mikoto nodded, but didn't take her eyes off of Carissa. Shizuri grinned, glad they were planning to keep fighting, and four more orbs appeared around her.

"Stubborn to the head," Carissa said, shaking her head. "I guess I should finish it then since it doesn't seem like you can do much else."

"I beg to differ," Shizuri said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small silicon card. Mikoto recognized it when they fought so long ago. It would split one of her beams into dozens of them. It made up for her ability to only create a couple at once. Shizuri didn't care if she had to use items to win. To her, the ends justified the means. If she had to resort to cheap tricks, to cover her own weaknesses and destroy her opponents or accomplish her mission, she would do it in a heartbeat. "You remember what this does?" she asked Mikoto.

"Yea," Mikoto said. "Do you think it will work?"

"With her speed," Shizuri said thoughtfully. "Probably not." She had seen enough of Carissa's power to understand how strong she was. Shizuri would not underestimate a dangerous opponent because, in doing so, it could end up costing her life. Instead, she was going to use Mikoto and Touma to defeat Carissa. Right now, she hated the princess more than Mikoto. "It should, however, restrict her movements. This should give you an opportunity. Use your iron blades and strike the b#^$% down." Mikoto nodded.

"If I get an opening," Touma said, clenching his fist. "I will grab Curtana." Shizuri nodded, pleased, and turned her attention back to Carissa.

"Remember," Index reminded them. "Until Curtana is destroyed, her physical abilities will be exponentially higher than a normal person. Even if you can knock the sword out of her hand, don't let up until it's destroyed." They all gave a curt nod.

"Are you done with your strategy meeting yet?" Carissa asked bored. "I'm interested in trying out a couple more things with Curtana."

"Yes," Shizuri said simply and threw her card into the air. She fired one of her beams into the card. The card shattered, but it split her single beam into a torrent of multiple smaller beams. They fell down upon Carissa like deadly rain. Carissa did not know what the card's purpose was, so the attack was a surprise. Her reflexes were too good though. She could easily dodge something of this caliber. As she begun to move in between the beams, she was forced to lean back and dodge, as a black iron sand blade pelted past her. She shifted to the right and started to move diagonally through the beams, while also dodging Mikoto's iron blades, to quickly approach Shizuri's location. Mikoto realized the danger first and unleashed a torrent of electricity at Carissa.

"Oh no you don't," Carissa said, glancing at Mikoto out of the corner of her eye. She swung Curtana at the electricity and a wall of the white material rose up between them. The electricity hit it and bounced off harmlessly to the ground or dispersed into the air.

 _Damn it,_ Mikoto thought. _Whatever that material is, it's not conductive. Can I control it will magnetism?_ Mikoto tried to push the material out of the way, but it didn't move, though Mikoto could feel her power interacting with it. _Arg, what is it made of, it's not very magnetic._ During the brief delay, Carissa had closed the gap between her and Shizuri.

"I've grown tired of you," Carissa said drawing her sword back.

"Eat shit and die," Shizuri replied, shooting a beam at her with one hand, while creating another shield with the other. Carissa ducked under the beam, and then used her high speed movement to bypass the shield. She stopped behind Shizuri and raised Curtana.

"You are weak," Carissa said simply and swung her blade as the dimension began to tear. She was so distracted by Shizuri's and Mikoto's assault, she forgot about the third person. This one person was quite good at predicting his opponent's moves and positions himself accordingly. Shizuri was not very far away from him, and he had started running to her side before Carissa decided to rush towards her. Carissa was faster than him, way faster due to Curtana's power, but he had less distance to travel, didn't have to dodge attacks, and he moved first. As Carissa was focused on crushing Shizuri with the dimensional material, she didn't notice Touma's hand reaching up toward Curtana. The dimension was being torn apart, Shizuri was turning around, and then Touma's hand touched the tear in space.

The sound of breaking glass was heard as the tear disappeared, leaving the space looking completely normal.

"What the…" Carissa said and then for a brief moment, she felt something she hadn't felt in years, panic. She saw his hand heading straight for Curtana and her mind froze. When his hand was less than an inch away, her mind clicked back into place and she turned on her heel, forcing Curtana away from him. Touma stumbled, as his hand missed, and barely managed to steady himself. A moment later, Carissa continued to whirl and kicked him in the back, sending him flying forward and rolling a good twenty feet. This brief moment gave Shizuri time to turn, jump backwards and fire another volley of her green beams. Carissa dodged them and was going to initiate another attack, when a bolt of electricity hit her. She had completely forgotten about Mikoto, who had climbed on top of the white debris wall. She jumped back, smoking slightly, but appeared to be unhurt. The mocking expression, she had worn, now changed into irritation, as she looked at Mikoto.

"I hope you didn't forget about me," Mikoto said proudly, as white blue electricity surrounded her. "I'm still mad at you too." Carissa looked at each one of them in turn, before her eyes stopped on Touma. She threw back her head and laughed loudly.

"I knew I chose correctly," she proclaimed. "That hand of yours can even negate the All Dimensions Severing Spell. You are way too valuable to lose in a simple squabble." She turned to the knights, who had started whispering among themselves when Touma negated Curtana's power. "I told you fools who dared to question me. He has power to even control Curtana and that power will belong to England." She turned back to him, and Touma felt sweat form. "I have been playing around, but fun and games is over. Join me, or your friends die."

"I can't join you," Touma said shaking his head and standing up. He wanted to protect his friends at all cost, but he couldn't join forces with someone who would resort to killing people just to gain power. "I won't let you kill my friends either. I'll fight you myself if I have to." He knew how pointless it would be, after seeing her strength, but he was not someone to just give up. He was determined to stop her, for her sake, as well as everyone else's.

"Then you have sealed your friend's fate," Carissa told him and then she vanished from his view. She didn't teleport, she just moved at high speed. He looked around and saw her standing at the base of the wall Mikoto was standing on. Judging by her expression, she didn't see Carissa move.

"Mikoto!" Touma yelled. "Get away!"

"Ha," Carissa laughed, and she hit the wall with Curtana. The wall lifted up into the air and flew high over the circle of knights. It landed with a resounding crash into a nearby building, crushing it into the ground. Mikoto was able to jump off at the last second and land, hard, on the ground. She rolled to minimize the impact and quickly jump back up to her feet. She back up closer to Touma and Shizuri, never turning her back to Carissa.

"That wall had to be over a ton," Mikoto said in shock.

"What the hell is with her strength?" Shizuri asked. "I would expect something like that from Accelerator, but her?"

"This is the power of Telesma," Index told them and all three of them turned around. During the excitement of the fight, they had forgotten she was there.

"Any luck analyzing it?" Touma asked quietly.

"I'm about halfway," Index replied. "She needs to use it constantly to speed up the process."

"Damn," Touma muttered. It took most of their strength to get this far, and Index wasn't even close to finishing.

Carissa looked at them and grinned. "Boy, you and the Index Librorum Prohibitorum are coming with me. You do not have a choice in the matter. You two," she looked at Mikoto and Shizuri. "I'm still in a good mood. If you turn now and leave, you may live. This is your LAST chance." Touma glanced at them, and both Mikoto and Shizuri realized what he was about to say. Both of them spoke up before he got a chance to utter a single word.

"Not going to happen," Mikoto declared. "I'm not abandoning him."

"F#$^ you!" Shizuri told Carissa, giving her another rude gesture. "No one tells me what to do."

"Idiots," Carissa sighed. "All of you. Though, I didn't really expect anything else from his companions." She raised Curtana and they could swear they saw it start to glow. Carissa lowered it slowly as her body was flowing with power. She was going to strengthen her body with Telesma and move at speeds they could not possibly defend against. The fight was going to end in two blows, one for both of the girls causing her problems. Her knees bent slightly, when she stopped and turned to look in the distance. Something was approaching her at full speed, something she hadn't felt before. _It's definitely Telesma, and it's similar to Curtana's power from Michael. But why does it feel warped? Are the Fallen finally making their move?_

* * *

Misaki's headache was not subsiding, it fact, it was getting worse. Her head was pounding like someone was beating her head like a drum. Her body felt like it was on fire, but she ignored the pain. Her vision kept fading in and out and it was hard to think of anything else. She wasn't able to hold onto the bus railing, whenever Itsuwa made a sharp turn. She commanded two of the knights to help steady her, as she focused her concentration on the one objective in her mind. _Touma, I know you are nearby. I can feel you._ She did indeed feel something, but if she was in her right mind she might have realized it wasn't him. She felt like she knew where something was, like a light beckoning and calling to her. She was definetly not thinking straight, being high on her overloaded ability and the massive amount of Telesma invading her body, would normally have realized what the massive power source, similar to what she was taking in, was.

"We have to be getting close," Itsuwa called over her shoulder to them. "Be prepared for any surprises."

"Do you see anyone yet?" Kuroko asked.

"There's something going on up ahead," Itsuwa replied. "There appears to be some smoke so someone is fighting."

"Then that is where we are heading," Misaki declared. "Hurry up. Who knows what Carissa could be doing to him?" Kuroko and Itsuwa were too focused on what laid before them, that they did not notice Misaki only referred to Touma. To be fair, Kuroko would probably have felt the same way about Mikoto. Itsuwa was the only one of those three who had experience putting aside personal feelings to rescue groups, because of her years fighting with the Amakusa. Misaki felt the source pulling her in grow stronger, as they approached, and then it suddenly surged, like it was increasing its concentration of power. _Wait,_ she finally realized. _This can't be Touma. He doesn't radiate power like this._ Her mind had just started to clear when she learned Telesma started to flow into the knights. She only knew this because the knights could feel it, and she was reading their mind. Her head suddenly felt like it was splitting open and she fell to the ground clutching her head. Her control on the knights remained, but the slight modifications on Itsuwa and Kuroko broke.

"Shokuhou-san!" Kuroko called running to her side. "You shouldn't have taken that substance. You look… what happened to your eyes?"

"Huh?" Misaki said looking into the rearview mirror. "I don't know…" Another wave of pain flew through her mind, blocking out all other senses. Her mind was slowly breaking and she didn't know why.

"Itsuwa!" Kuroko called out. "Misaki's at her limit! I don't know what's wrong."

"What did she take…?" Itsuwa asked as they rounded a corner, then she slammed on the breaks, causing Kuroko to slam into a seat. "SHIT, GET DOWN!" Everyone ducked, purely by reflex, as the roof of the car was ripped off, like pulling the tab off canned food. Kuroko looked up as she pushed herself off the floor, and realized they had found Mikoto, Touma, Shizuri, and Index. The bad news, there was a great deal of knights, along with the princess. When they had turned the corner, they ran straight into the circle of knights. The knights jumped out of the way of the bus, but cut the roof off as they moved. There were now armed knights on both side of the bus.

"So this is how you planned to escape," Carissa said, looking at the bus. "It wasn't the worst plan imaginable, but you are far from being a match for me." She frowned and then growled. "Why are some of my knights with you? Are their traitors among them?"

 _Defend us,_ Misaki commanded the knights with her mind. They jumped up out of the bus and formed a circle around them. Misaki knew they were far outnumbered, so she fought through the pain and started to dominate more of the nearby knights.

"Kuroko," Mikoto called out. "Get away. You don't know what she's capable of."

"There goes our escape route," Shizuri groaned. "Seriously, they drove right into the circle? What the hell were they thinking?"

"The bus should still be working," Touma muttered. "If we can get to it, we should be able to escape."

"I'm sure the knights will let us just walk right over there," Shizuri snapped. "Besides, the princess's speed and strength could easily prevent us from reaching it. She might even crush it with her dimensional cut. I doubt she is really cutting dimensions though." She mumbled the last sentence under her breath. Several orbs appeared around her and she looked around.

"Damn," Mikoto said, staring at the bus with Itsuwa and Kuroko. "How can we get to them?" She started sparking slightly and then frowned. _Wasn't Shokuhou with them too? I don't see her. But her ability would explain why the knights are protecting the bus. Maybe she's nearby._ She looked around at the surrounding buildings and alleys, but she didn't see any sign of Misaki.

"We have another major problem," Index spoke up behind them, causing them all to turn slightly to look at her. "There is another source of Telesma coming from behind Itsuwa. It resembles the Telesma the knights are using, but it has been twisted to some degree. It appears the princess has also noticed it."

"What?" Touma said turning his attention back to Carissa, who was now staring, with a murderous look, at the bus. "How…?" He started to say but stopped when the nearby knights turned around and started to attack the other knights, pushing them away from the bus. Carissa didn't seem to care about them, all her attention was on the bus. _They are turning on each other? It has to be Misaki, but she doesn't use magic, so what are they sensing?_

"You two brats," Carissa told Kuroko and Itsuwa. "Get out of the way. I want to see what that thing behind you is." Itsuwa pulled out her spear and Kuroko pulled out some needles.

"We aren't going to let you," Itsuwa replied.

"Then you will die," Carissa said raising her blade.

"STOP CARISSA!" Touma yelled at her. To his utter surprise, and everyone else around him, her hand stopped. Then she slowly lowered her blade. "Wha… thanks…?" He was confused and not sure what happened.

"Shut up," Carissa snapped, not taking her eyes off the bus. "Look you moron." Touma, Mikoto, Shizuri, and Index turned to look at the bus and saw Kuroko and Itsuwa had lowered their weapons. A moment later Kuroko reached over and grabbed Itsuwa. They disappeared and reappeared next to Mikoto. Touma realized their eyes appeared glossed over, and he recognized Misaki's power. He tapped both of their heads and they came to.

"What happened?" Itsuwa asked looking around.

"Onee-sama!" Kuroko yelled putting her hand on Mikoto's shoulder. "I'm so glad you are ok, but how did we get here?"

"Shokuhou-san," Mikoto said, pointing to the bus. "She took control of you two so you didn't try to stand in front of the princess. She's a monster. She was just playing around with us, and we couldn't do anything about it."

"The fifth seems to be taking care of a lot of the knights," Shizuri commented, as the knights appeared to be having a civil war. If the knights got to close to the bus, they would be taken over. "When did she get this strong?"

"Ah Shokuhou-san!" Kuroko cried, as she remembered. "She took some weird drug to boost her powers and it's having some serious side effects."

"Drug?" Shizuri asked raising an eyebrow.

"What do you mean side effects?" Touma and Mikoto asked.

"She's been collapsing and her eyes change color…." While Kuroko was trying to explain as fast as she could, Carissa started walking toward the bus.

"Come out," Carissa ordered Misaki. "Or I cut the remains of the bus in half." She glanced over at her knights, and channeled more of Curtana's power to them. Suddenly, the warped Telesma coming from the bus grew in response. "Hurry up! I am not in the mood for games. This is your final warning." Misaki heard Carissa's voice and pushed herself up off the bus floor, so everyone else could see her. Touma, Mikoto, Shizuri, Itsuwa, and Kuroko gasped.

Misaki Shokuhou no longer appeared completely human.

Her bright blonde hair was lighter, closer to silver, with just a tint of the original color. The stars in her eyes were still such a dark blue, they were almost black. Above her head, there were three small black triangles, moving in a circular orbit, like a small halo. A white liquid was appearing in thin air and slowly spreading from her neck down, almost as if it was liquid clothes. The most ominous threat was dozens of blue threads, the same color as her eyes, spreading out from her body. Each thread seemed to be moving in the direction of one of the knights she controlled. They got lighter and lighter, the further away from her body they got, until they vanished. Several of the blue threads, from her back, seemed to slowly curve and connect with each other in a specific pattern, about a meter away from her. They sort of reminded Touma of fairy wings. Touma felt goosebumps as he stared at her.

"What are you?" Carissa asked. "You seem to be absorbing Telesma from my knights." A thread flickered in front of Misaki toward Carissa and she frowned. "You won't be able to control me, so don't even try. Yes, I can hear you." There was silence. "How dull. You are not in any position to make demands."

"What's happening?" Index asked.

"She appears to be communicating telepathically," Mikoto mumbled looking between Carissa and Misaki's new appearance. "But what happened to her…?" _It can't be. She's just like me when I was forced to try to pass level 5. Is she in the same stage? I couldn't control myself, but will she be able to? The situation just went from bad to worse._

"Can drugs really do this?" Kuroko asked.

"There's plenty of substances that can boost an ability," Shizuri said crossing her arms, but her eyes never stopped darting around to make sure none of the knights snuck up on them. "Most likely she's losing control of her ability, or her mind, but I don't understand the transformation."

"I've seen something like this before," Touma muttered and everyone turned to look at him. He could feel Mikoto's eyes on him and he wanted to make sure he didn't mention her name. "Someone gets forced above what their body can handle they start to develop strange transformations. The stronger the ability, the more complete the transformation is. Misaki is a level 5 so…"

"The transformation could be complete," Itsuwa finished. "I can't understand why she is radiating Telesma though."

"It's possible she made a connection with the knights and the Telesma has been leaked into her body," Index said. "But I don't know how her ability allowed this to happen."

"We can worry about that later," Touma said. "Right now we need to…" he stopped when he heard a voice in his head.

 _Make a break for the vehicle and I will cover you._ He grabbed his head with his right hand and the voice disappeared with the sound of breaking glass. His eyes widened when he realized what happened and quickly removed his hand. _It will only be for a moment so you need to hurry._ Touma nodded to himself and realized everyone was giving him strange looks.

"We need to what?" Shizuri said, clicking her tongue impatiently.

"What's wrong?" Mikoto asked.

"We need to make a break for the bus," Touma told them "Misaki is going to make a distraction, but it won't last long." He turned his gaze over to Carissa who appeared to be in conversation with Misaki. The only reason she didn't attack immediately, was her curiosity was aroused at the creature before her. The annoyed look on her face told Touma she was about to go back to using violence. "Everyone ready?" They all nodded and Touma looked at Misaki. For a brief moment, their eyes met. "Go!" They all bolted, as fast as they could, toward the bus. Carissa noticed them almost immediately.

"Stop them!" she yelled at the knights, and they all moved as one unit toward them. Right before they got near, and Shizuri was about to blast the closest ones, they stopped. All the knights nearby turned and attack Carissa instead. Touma thought he saw countless light blue threats, but it was too hard to tell and he was focusing on running. "Damn you all!" he heard Carissa yell.

"Get on!" Touma yelled as everyone climbed in through where the door would be normally. Luckily, the knights weapons where sharp and the windows did not shatter when the walls were cut. It was like they were in a convertible bus now. Itsuwa leaped into the driver seat and turned the bus on.

"HOLD ON!" she yelled over her shoulder, as she backed up the bus.

"Wait!" Touma yelled. "We can't leave Misaki."

"Kuroko!" Mikoto yelled, looking at her friend.

"On it." Kuroko teleported next to Misaki and grabbed her. Suddenly, all the blue threads seemed to bend in midair and swarm at Kuroko. She noticed the danger and immediately teleported them both, before Misaki could incapacitate her. She went lifeless as they touched her but, by then, they were already in the bus. Touma leaped at Misaki and grabbed her wrist with his right hand. The sound of breaking glass was heard and most of the blue threads appeared to break, and her wings started to fade.

"Damn you boy!" They all heard Carissa's thunderous yell from behind them and turned to look. Carissa blew back several of the knights with brute force, but she was surrounded and it would take time to knock them all out. Touma couldn't be sure, but there was more than anger in her eyes, maybe excitement. Then Carissa did something completely unexpected. She took Curtana and jabbed it into the ground. While it may have looked strange, Carissa was channeling the power of the All Dimension Severing Spell into the ground around her. A moment later an explosive shockwave blew all the knights away, and a couple hundred meters evenly around her were impacted. Touma could see the shockwave, as knights, earth, debris, and tress were thrown like paper. Itsuwa was going as fast as she could and the bus managed to outstrip the explosion.

"That was close," Mikoto sighed.

"What's that?" Kuroko asked pointing and they all looked up into the air. A large object was coming down from the sky toward them. It looked like a large clunk of white plastic.

"Oh crap," Touma said. "She can throw the dimensional debris this far?"

"Move it!" Shizuri said pushing him aside. He fell into the seat and, since he was still holding onto Misaki, she fell on top of him. Shizuri stood up, grabbed two metal seat rails, and green orbs appeared around her, as she looked up at the debris. She had to wait for it to get closer, to ensure she hit it, and then she fired all her beams simultaneously. Every beam made direct contact with the debris, and caused chain explosions. Pieces of it, which didn't get disintegrated, fell into the street and on nearby buildings behind the bus, as they drove further away from Carissa.

"We made it," Mikoto sighed and collapsed into a chair.

"Onee-sama!" Kuroko cried happily and jumped into her lap, burying her face in Mikoto's chest. A quick spark and Kuroko fell onto the ground.

"Seriously?" Mikoto asked annoyed. "We just got out of a dangerous situation and you try that?"

"My love for you will never waiver under any circumstances," Kuroko declared, still smoking on the bus floor.

"You two look comfortable," Shizuri said calmly, but her voice was quite cold. She wasn't looking at Kuroko and Mikoto though, she was looking at Touma. Misaki was sitting in his lap and he was still holding onto her hand. Touma gulped as Mikoto and Index also glared at him. Itsuwa was focused on driving, so she was only able to listen to their conversations and occasionally comment. Touma looked at Misaki, glad she was looking closer to being normal again. Though, her eyes were still dark and her hair was still silver. The white liquid clothing had disintegrated when Touma's hand had made contact with her hand. Her eyes started to lighten, as she gazed up into Touma's eyes.

"Are you yourself again?" he asked. She didn't say anything and continued to stare at him. "Misaki…" He started to say, looking for any response from her. She suddenly wrapped her arms around him, stared at him for a moment unblinkingly, and then gave him a deep passionate kiss, right on the lips. Touma was too stunned to do anything, and he couldn't say anything with her lips on his.

"What are you doing?!" Mikoto demanded, her face flushing.

"TOUMA!" Index yelled and she was beginning to be enveloped by a dark murderous aura.

"How bold," Kuroko said, grinning slightly. She still didn't understand why everyone seemed to like Touma, but part of her was pleased it was Misaki kissing him, instead of Mikoto. Though, she still felt slightly guilty for supporting Mikoto's rival.

"Flirting in the middle of a warzone," Shizuri said, her eyes flashing dangerously. "You really are quite carefree. But I suppose I could join in with the others and hit you a few times myself." She cracked her knuckles threateningly.

"Please don't be too hard on him," Itsuwa pleased over her shoulder. She wanted to try to help Touma, but couldn't because she had to get everyone out of the city as fast as possible.

Touma finally managed to push Misaki off him. "Misaki," he said. "This isn't like…" He stopped as Misaki's eyes flickered closed and she collapsed into his arms. "MISAKI!" She was definitely unconscious and her pulse was weak. "Misaki!" he called out again and she barely stirred. "She's really sick." He felt her head and it was burning up. A moment later, Index kneeled next to her and stared intently at Misaki.

"I think she is having a negative reaction to the Telesma she absorbed," Index diagnosed. "I still don't know how she managed to do that without dying."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Kuroko asked.

"Do any of you know anything about her ability?" Index asked her.

"It's a mind manipulation ability," Touma said, speaking up. "I don't know the specifics on how it works though."

"Wait," Mikoto said, as an idea came to her and she pulled out her cellphone. "Kagere-san does research right? He might know."

"Go ahead," Touma said nodding. "I don't think any of us can do anything."

"So he's a researcher?" Shizuri said thoughtfully and Touma nodded. _Weird for someone so young to do anything major, but it's not unheard of._ Her eyes widened slightly as she remembered the first time she met him. _He was looking at data from the dark side of Academy City. What is he up to?_ She decided to remain unusually quiet, so not to draw attention to herself, and the others tried to help Misaki. Shizuri didn't really care about Misaki, now that the mission was over, and, as there was nothing she specifically could do, she was going to let events play out as they would.

"Kagere-san," Mikoto said on her phone and Touma looked at her. "Really, how much have you seen?" There was a slight pause. "We don't know what happened, but Shokuhou-san collapsed. Index said her body is reacting to the Telesma. Do you know what happened?" There was another pause. "Ok," she said. "I'll hand you over to Index." She passed the phone and Index started explaining everything on her end and asking questions.

"What did he say?" Touma asked, while Kuroko and Shizuri looked at Mikoto too.

"Since we left the palace area," Mikoto informed them. "They were able to monitor us through the security cameras. He doesn't know what happened, but is trying to get information about it." She took a breath and looked at Misaki. She did not like Misaki, for many reasons. She didn't like the way she manipulated others and flaunted her positon, plus the added fact she was also in love with Touma. But right now, Mikoto was going to do everything to help her. Not only did Misaki save her, she also saved Touma and Shizuri. She even took a drug to achieve it, risking her own well-being. _She probably did it mostly for Touma, but still. She does seem to help me when the situation really is bad. Maybe she's better than I thought. I still won't let her have him though._

Kuroko was watching Index examining Misaki, while talking to Jason on the phone. She had a lot of conflicted emotions. She was glad everything worked out and they had saved Mikoto, Shizuri, and even Touma, but she didn't like the fact Misaki had poisoned herself to do so. Kuroko actually liked Misaki and she couldn't understand why Mikoto and Misaki seemed to squabble a lot. _I guess they are rivals and they like hi… the same person… for now, but I can tell onee-sama is worried about Misaki._

"Ok," Index said hanging up the phone and passing it back to Mikoto. "From what we can infer, she overloaded her ability, most likely to surpass the knight's mental fortifications. Her mental ability established a connection between her and the knights. The issue occurred when this connection stayed opened. She kept control of the knights for a long period of time and Curtana was constantly feeding the knights an enormous amount of Telesma. It started to leak back through this connection, into her mind, and continued into the rest of her body. The Telesma would have fortified her ability and created those changes around her."

"So is there anything we can do?" Touma asked. "From what I've heard before, you can't use magic and science without dying, with small exceptions." He thought of Motoharu and Jason.

"The thing is," Index said looking at him. "She DIDN'T use magic. The Telesma just strengthened her ability. She was still only using science, not magic. The issue is her body is not accustomed to mana or Telesma, so it's fighting it, like an infection. As of right now, you are the only one who can do anything."

"What do I have to do?"

"Keep your right hand on her head," Index said. "Since she's not casting a spell, the Telesma won't be immediately negated. It will be negated overtime, so until we get back to the hotel, keep your hand on her head." Touma nodded and he and Mikoto helped Misaki lay on the seats next to Touma, while he kept his hand on her head in his lap. He couldn't hear the sound of breaking glass, but he was hoping this would work. After everything she did for him, he wasn't going to let her die. He could feel her soft hair and skin, as he rested his hand on her forehead. He didn't notice Mikoto and Index, even Itsuwa turned around, for an instant to look at him. Each of them had an odd combination of jealousy and wistfulness.

Shizuri, on the other hand, though she felt the same way, looked for something to distract herself from that scene. She glanced at Misaki's purse and noticed a familiar white case. "Did she seriously…?" she muttered to herself and Kuroko looked over at her. Shizuri reached down and pulled out the small white case. "That stupid brat actually stole Takitsubo's Body Crystal. No wonder she had such a reaction. She's lucky it didn't kill her immediately. It was made for Takitsubo and she can have some serious side effects herself, if she over uses it."

"What does it do?" Kuroko asked. "Shokuhou-san just said it was a drug to boost abilities."

"Pretty much," Shizuri nodded. She wasn't going to give any other information to the others, as the information was more or less a secret for them. "It was made specifically for one person. The fifth used it and she was lucky it was at least partially compatible with it, or she would have collapsed immediately. As soon as she wakes up, I'm going to have a long talk with her about stealing from my team…" Kuroko, Mikoto, Touma, and even Itsuwa felt chills run down their spines. None of them were looking forward to hearing that conversation.

* * *

Carissa watched the green beams of light disintegrate the dimensional debris she threw at the retreating bus. She sighed, but didn't really expect any different outcome. While she knew Shizuri was incredibly violent, she did have combat experience and wouldn't let her guard down during a retreat. _I wonder if she learned the difference in power. That one girl, however, is definitely a problem. She could control a large group of my knights and her control didn't break their connection to Curtana. In fact, she even appeared to absorb part of the Telesma, interesting. Though they took him, this will not stand. It's time to move out in full force to crush the church._ She looked over, as a knight approached her. He walked up the crater, which surrounded Carissa, because of Curtana's explosion, and bowed.

"My apologies," he said. "They are moving to the city limits and we will not be able to catch them in time."

"No need," Carissa said frowning slightly, while she looked into the distance. "They will be back."

"Are you sure?"

"The boy will not rest until he stops me," Carissa said and looked down at Curtana in her hand. "Even if he wanted to leave, the church wouldn't let him. Hmm, Curtana seems to be acting strange." It was vibrating in her grip, like it was upset. _Causing that explosion wasn't the correct way to use Curtana._ "I guess using it in an incorrect way causes problems," she muttered.

"I do have good news for you," The knight said and Carissa raised an eyebrow. She waved a hand for him to continue. "The former Queen has been spotted in the company of the Archbishop. Our forces are moving to capture her as we speak."

"Excellent," Carissa said, and this time a real smile appeared on her face. "Remember, even weaken, she still has Curtana Second. It probably has about twenty percent of its original power. You will need a large force to subdue her." The knight nodded. "Go and take a couple squads to intercept her. Everyone else," she looked around at all the bodies of the knights in the distance, who had been caught in Curtana's blast, "gather the others." She knew they were alive, because the blast hadn't been used to kill, only remove the obstacles in her path.

"Right away," the knight said, bowed, and turned to gather the others.

Carissa looked back into the distance Touma and his friends had fled. _Looks like you were unable to stop me, shame. My plan will be carried out, regardless of your interference. I control all airports out of this country, so you have nowhere to run._ She laughed and felt Curtana vibrate again, this time stronger. It gave off the ominous feeling the vibrations would destroy Curtana if she kept using it incorrectly. _I guess my plans will have to be put on hold, until I give Curtana a proper tune up._ She turned and walked back to Buckingham Palace.

* * *

Misaki's eyes flickered opened and she didn't know where she was. When she looked up she saw Touma's face and he had his hand on her head. Her face flushed, when Touma looked down and their eyes met. "She's awake," Touma called out to the others. Misaki tried to sit up, but Touma pushed her back down. "Don't get up," he told her. "We need to make sure you don't have any Telesma left in your body." She realized her head was in his lap, and her face turned a brilliant shade of red.

"What happened?" Misaki asked nervously. "Ah, my head is still pounding."

"You took some weird drug and almost died," Mikoto said disapprovingly. "You did save us, so I guess I should thank you."

"You are to kind Misaka-san," Misaki said smiling, a little happy Mikoto owed her.

"It's not funny," Kuroko reprimanded her. "You nearly died."

"I'm sorry Shirai-san," Misaki replied. "But I had to or we would have lost everyone."

"I know," Kuroko conceded. "But…" Her voice trailed off because she really didn't have any good rebuttal.

"I'm glad she's okay," Itsuwa called out form the driver's seat. "It will be a little bit before we get back to the hotel. We just got out of the city, but we have to take the long route back in case we are being followed. We don't want the knights to find out headquarters."

"I don't mind," Misaki told her, smiling slightly. Right now, her head was in her prince's lap and he was holding her head. She shifted slightly into a more comfortable position and snuggled her head against Touma's lap. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Mikoto giving her an icy glare, so Misaki winked at her. Misaki saw a vein throb in Mikoto's head, but she stayed unusually quiet and reserve. Misaki didn't notice Index giving her an almost equal glare. Misaki was about to be lost in her own paradise, when someone spoke up and caused her to crash back to earth.

"So," Shizuri said, her voice calm, but it sent shivers down everyone's spines. "You decided to steal from one of my girls, and then decide to use the stolen drug, without knowing the side effects. Would you care to explain yourself?" Misaki's grinned faded and she quickly prepared her excuses for the inevitable discussion that was about to take place.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Motoharu: I knew it would work, look at all the information we got from the fans.**

 **Aogami: Nice, we need to total up the score and see how this season finishes it out.**

 **Accelerator: Well, we knew the other level fives would be popular.**

 **Jason: Though, Princess Carissa was really popular. Did you see Swoob's comment? I forgot about Mikoto's mom because I never met her in the story.**

 **Touma: Guys, do not go there…**

 **Mikoto: Did you all say something about my mom?**

 **Me: Well, I was debating having her make an appearance. She would love to meet Touma again.**

 **Jason: Hahaha.**

 **Mikoto: NO! Don't do it! She always embarrasses me.**

 **Misaki: Oh, I would like to meet her.**

 **Accelerator: This will be great.**

 **Me: Maybe I could have Touma's mom make an appearance too. Both moms hit it off when they met before.**

 **Touma: …**

 **Mikoto: …**

 **Misaki: Oh, maybe not then. I would rather have Touma's mother meet my parents.**

 **Me: Oh, nice job on the comments Shokuhou. No one got insulted too much. I need someone who hasn't done it yet to do so.**

 **Mikoto: What did she say about me?**

 **Misaki: Oh, you sure are conceited. Why would I say anything about you?**

 **Kuroko: I'll do it. I didn't get a lot to do this chapter, so I rather do it now when I have time. Plus, there are others I wouldn't want to do it…**

 **Jason: (Whistles)**

 **Me: Sure, Kuroko will be answering questions next chapter. I'm sure the internet will ask the right question.**

 **Kuroko: What's that supposed to me?**

 **Motoharu: You will see.**


	53. S2 Preparation

**Hi everyone, this is Kuroko Shirai and I am pleased to be able to present the opening comments. I was really worried the ape or one of the ape's friends would be doing it. After the first round of comments, I was worried those idiot boys would say harmful things about onee-sama. I was told I have limited time up here, so I will move on to answering as many questions as I can.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: EWW. How could that even be a contest? Onee-sama is smart, kind, brave, beautiful, and all around perfect. Jason, I have to use his first name or the author will tell on me and he will use that stupid nickname again, is just an annoying guy. But, I guess I can admit he is a friend, a bad friend, but a friend. He OCCASSIONALLY seems like a good person. Let's say for a wild moment I was interested in him, I would never move on a friend's boyfriend.**

 **Swoob: I met her mother, and her brilliance was indescribable. I hope to see onee-sama blossom as bright, if not brighter one day. As for the others, I would be surprised, onee-sama has not mentioned she has sisters, but I would make sure to treat them with as much respect as I do her. Though, my love for her would remain true. I would never cheat on her.**

 **Handsomistic1: If the ape DARES to violate onee-sama's perfect skin, I will cut off his hand. As for Konori-sempai, since she is our direct supervisor, she is the first person we have to notify to take time off. I have texted Kamiko a couple times at the beginning of the trip. I told her our plans and she said she hopes I have a great trip. She's so kind and caring, almost as much as onee-sama.**

 **wildarms13: Eww, that's almost as bad as naru's comment on Jason. There is no way I would ever have feelings for him. If we do it purely hypothetically, ONLY HYPOTHETICALLY, then probably. I am not one to hide my feelings. I don't understand what you mean I have been with him? You mean when I kick him after he dares to flirt with onee-sama?**

 **Anon: It's not so much an out of body experience, but more my life flashing before my lives. I usually see a lot of scenes between me and onee-sama, so if it lasts for a while, it's not that bad. I really love when I relive our shower love and we have skin on skin contact. I also remember the first time she saved me. She looked so cool and heroic. As time goes on, her beauty just keeps growing.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

 ***Author Note***

 **Quick comment, because I saw something that needed to be answered. Yakutsu Zaishiro, I have not forgotten about those things, especially the ID. It will be revealed when the group heads back to Academy City. Well if, they could all lose to Carissa's forces. I let the story tell me the ending.**

* * *

The ride back to the hotel wasn't pleasant, but it could have been a lot worse. Touma could tell Misaki was happy, though he wasn't entirely sure why. He thought it was because everyone got out alive, but he didn't realize the position he held her in just improved her attitude too. He could tell Mikoto and Index were staring at Misaki and radiating a dark aura, but Touma figured they were mad at Misaki for doing something stupid and dangerous. Touma mentally shrugged and realized he would have done anything he could to save his friends too. The conversation Shizuri had with Misaki was probably the most stressful situation, since they left the city limits. Shizuri had interrogated Misaki for several tense minutes, but all Misaki replied was she had already known about Body Crystal. She had picked up the case, when Rikou dropped it in the mall, and forgot to give it back. When she realized this, they were already in the field and she kept it as a last resort. _It sounds realistic, though she even admitted she didn't know how her body would react to it. She really took a big risk._ Misaki had never given Touma a reason to doubt her, so he believed her every word.

Shizuri on the other hand doubted everything Misaki told her. _Her explanation is… reasonable, but there is a lot more then what she's saying. Damn, I don't have proof though. Someone had to tell her about it. I didn't even know about Body Crystal until Takitsubo told me about it. But, I looked into it and it wasn't disbursed to any of the level 5s._ She crossed her arms and frowned. _Now's not a good time to look into this, but she might have only survived because of this magic crap. When we get back to Academy City, I am going to interrogate any higher ups I can find, until I know just what happened._

Mikoto and Kuroko did not have any previous knowledge of Body Crystal. They also didn't know Rikou was in possession of some. The only information, they had, was what they learned from watching Misaki use it and from what they were told. However, they both felt like Misaki was concealing something and vowed to dig deeper, after they were out of harm's way. _I'll have to talk to Kagere when we get back,_ Mikoto thought. _He at least has some information about the drug._ Kuroko had a similar mindset, though her thoughts were not quite as nice about talking to Jason.

The bus ride was long, as Itsuwa had to take a roundabout route to lose anyone who might be following them, before beginning to head back to the hotel. After Misaki's interrogation, they all became pretty subdue. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts and worries. When they finally arrived at the hotel, Mikoto, Touma, Misaki, and Index burst out first to see what happened to everyone else, and Kuroko trailed closely behind them. Touma was supporting Misaki, and his hand was still resting on her head. Shizuri followed them, but she was more subdued in her exit, still lost in thought and planning for future endeavors. Itsuwa waited until they left and pulled out her phone. "I'm back and dropped everyone off," she said. "How's everything on your end?" She listened to Stiyl for a moment and smiled. "That's great. I'll let them all know everything worked out perfectly then."

As soon as Touma, Mikoto, and Index entered the hotel, they were greeted by Kazari, Ruiko, Motoharu, Frenda, Rikou and Saiai. Ruiko was the first to reach them and threw her arms around Mikoto and Touma. Her eyes were slightly watering, as she pulled them into a hug. "I'm so glad you are all alright," she said weakly. "We saw the fight with the princess through the security cameras."

"I told you we would save them," Misaki said, smiling at her.

"I'm here too," Kuroko said slightly annoyed and Kazari patted her on the shoulder.

"We are glad you are safe too Shirai-san," Kazari told her. "Saten-san only has two arms." In response to her words, Ruiko threw her arms around Kuroko and gave her a hug.

"Let's get Misaki sitting down," Touma told them, as Shizuri entered the hotel. "Then we need to get one of the church healers to look at her."

"Mugino," Frenda said looking at her. "I knew you would be alright. Basically, we saw the entire fight."

"Did you," Shizuri said coolly, raising an eyebrow. She didn't like the fact others saw her being completely overpowered. "Could you hear everything?"

"Nope," Saiai said. "The cameras didn't have any sounds. What was that super white material she conjured out of the weird cut in the air?"

"The princess b#$%^ said her blade could cut through dimensions," Shizuri told Frenda, Saiai and Rikou. Her eyes followed the others as they say down in the distance, talking, before she continued. "The debris is what occurs after she makes the cuts."

"Huh?" Saiai asked looking surprised.

"Basically," Frenda added. "It sounds like fiction. Cutting dimensions?"

"That's what I thought," Shizuri said nodding. "Though, I can't rule it out, since we don't understand all this magic crap yet. What I know for sure is the b#$%^'s strength is real. She could even deflect my Meltdowner with her sword."

"…What is the plan…?" Rikou asked. "…Will you join the final attack…?" Shizuri glanced at her and raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"The church is super planning an assault to destroy Curtana once they rescued Kamijou," Saiai explained. Shizuri felt a grin form on her face as her eyes flickered over to Touma and the people around him. "I super like that look." Saiai grinned too and cracked her knuckles.

"Oh," Frenda spoke up. "Basically, I just remembered. We saw on a camera another faction seems to be fighting in London. It was led by a young girl called Eve. She took out an entire knight squad by herself by conjuring a giant octopus out of paper."

"Tell me everything you know," Shizuri said curiously. "I don't want to be left out of anything."

* * *

Touma had just sat Misaki down on a sofa chair, and then he continued to lean up against the back of it. His hand was never going to leave her head, until they could have her examined by the church. Judging by the fact Kazari and Ruiko didn't question the location of his hand, Jason must have told them about what he and Index discussed. Motoharu, on the other hand, stood behind the girls and gave Touma two thumbs up. Touma immediately gave him a warning look, about not opening his mouth, and then turned to the others. "How long till the church can look at Misaki, and what all has happened?" He looked around. "And where's Jason?"

"He's currently being healed," Kazari told him. "Once they finish with him, they will examine Shokuhou-san. Most of the church forces who acted as the bait have returned and the healers are prioritizing their injuries. One healer was tasked with helping us when you returned."

"Jason's still injured?" Touma asked. "I heard Knight Leader disappeared and he was supposed to go after Jason, but I thought he would have been healed by now." With the excitement of escaping the palace, he never had a chance to ask Mikoto and Misaki about everyone's condition. During the phone call, he was told they were all okay and only Accelerator was unaccounted for at that time. They only briefly discussed a couple people during their escape. Mikoto told him Accelerator was fine, he had fought someone strong and found the princess, but the details were unknown to her.

"He and I did fight Knight Leader," Kuroko started explaining, crossing her arms and looking slightly cross. "It wasn't going well and I got knocked out. From what he said, he used magic in an improper way and caused a lot of damage to himself. He seems to be fine, except his shadow is covering his right arm like a protective layer. Uiharu said the arm was causing him pain."

"Improper way?" Index asked. "Could you be more specific?"

"Something about channeling magic through an incomplete magic circle," Ruiko said thinking back. Index's eyes widened.

"That is dangerous," she said nodding. "There could be countless results, and it probably wasn't pretty. He's lucky to be alive, if he did it with any decent size circle or magical power."

"Stiyl wasn't too pleased about it either," Mikoto added, remembering Stiyl compared it to Touma.

"Is everyone back yet?" Touma asked. "I overheard Carissa talk about a couple groups attacking her knights."

"We are missing one small group," Itsuwa said walking up to them and taking a seat. "Stiyl is monitoring all the troops right now. There were some injuries, we expected nothing less, but the planned work perfectly. We are waiting for the Priestess's team to return. She contacted us and said everyone was fine and they were on the way."

"That's good," Touma sighed in relief.

"I told you it would be fine," Misaki said looking up at him. "Accelerator was with them and he's not one to lose."

"I'm glad it turned out well," Kuroko said. "If they had lost… I didn't want to be responsible for causing it. They were supposed to be a distraction for us."

"On a more negative note," Itsuwa continued, her face darkening. "Uiharu-san and Saten-san here saw Eve on one of the cameras." Touma, Index, Mikoto, Kuroko, and Misaki shared a look. "She took out a group of knights."

"What?" Touma said shocked. "Why is she helping us?"

"I doubt she is helping us," Misaki said and Touma looked down at her. She looked up and shook her head. "I bet she's just using us for her personal gain. Even when we saw her in Italy, she was just using the Herald to do her dirty work, even if she said he was out of control."

"Did she do anything unusual in her fight?" Index asked.

"She created a giant octopus out of paper," Ruiko said. "And then a giant fly swatter."

"Hmm," Index said crossing her arms. "Making a large physical object wouldn't be difficult, but she can make golems besides humans. It really looks like her book of Genesis is complete. Either way, it's not good for any side if she's getting directly involved."

"Exactly," Itsuwa agreed nodding. "Whatever she is planning, involves us fighting Princess Carissa's forces. You see, the group of knights she took out would have been in front of our route to pick you up."

"Ah," Ruiko said slapping her head. "I missed that, but now that you mention it. I do remember you going through that area."

"Oh Kamijou-kun," Itsuwa said turning her full attention to Touma. "While you were held captive in the castle, did she hurt you?" Her words were kind, but Touma felt a sort of strength radiating from her. Misaki, Mikoto, Ruiko, and Index turned to look at him too.

"No," Touma said quickly shaking his head. He suddenly felt a fire in Itsuwa's eyes he wasn't used to seeing, except in exceptional circumstances. "Index and I were locked up most of the day. Though," he paused for a second when he remembered meeting the knights. This pause was enough for all the girls' heads to turn in interest toward him. Touma's danger sense went off and he continued. "I was escorted by one knight named George Clark, and met some of the knights under his command. Part of the deal for allowing you all to leave the country was I had to serve under Carissa. She said it would be a good for me to learn about the knights. The only information I heard was Knight Leader was missing and a couple slips about the church's offense." Then he remembered something important. "Carissa is planning to kill the queen and the princess's," he added hastily.

"You can calm down," Itsuwa said smiling slightly. "We know that already and one of the princesses is here already. Look, here she comes with Stiyl." She pointed and they all turned to see Stiyl, Villian, Agnese, and two other nuns begin to approach them. Villian bowed slightly and Agnese, along with the nuns, nodded in greeting. Stiyl, however, walked right up to them with a serious expression on his face.

"You," he said pointing to Touma. "Come with me. I need to discuss a couple things with you in private." The words were simple, but Mikoto and Ruiko immediately jump between Touma and Stiyl. Misaki tried to get up and join them, but Touma put his other hand on her shoulder and forced her back into her seat.

"Wait," Mikoto told him. "You can't expect him to just go with you on some dangerous mission. He just got back."

"Besides," Ruiko said. "He has to keep his hand on Misaki to prevent the magic poisoning her body, right?"

"Damn it," Stiyl said rubbing his head and looking annoyed at the girls. "First, I just need to discuss a few things with him. There is no mission for him. We just got back from the field and are currently patching up. Second, when he comes with us, these two," he pointed to the two nuns behind him, "are going to heal her."

"Did they finish healing Jason yet?" Kazari asked.

"No," Stiyl sighed. "There have been complications. It's one of the reason's we need his hand right now."

"Wouldn't his hand negate any magic you try?" Misaki asked.

"It will," Stiyl nodded. "And that's why we want to use it. None of the normal healing methods are working and there may be traces of magic from his stupidity interfering with it."

"I'll go too," Index volunteered. "I should be able to analyze what happened and find a way to heal it. Though, running magic through an incomplete circle to cause destruction has a lot of possible side effects."

"He really makes things complicated," Kuroko mumbled. "So you want to use the ape's hand to remove any leftover magic."

"Exactly," Stiyl said. "Now come with me." He turned around and motion for Touma to follow. Touma gave the girls a, I'll be back in a bit, look and followed. Motoharu also went with them, but none of the girls paid him attention. They were either looking at Touma or Misaki.

"Please go with them," Itsuwa told Misaki and she nodded. The two nuns escorted Misaki down another hallway. Mikoto noticed Misaki staggered a bit and one of the nuns had to help support her. Itsuwa turned and looked at Agnese. "Did you have to go too?" Agnese shook her head.

"Not right now," Agnese responded. "I was asked to accompany the princess until we are ready to move out."

"The bravery you showed for your friends is quite admirable," Villian told them all kindly. "I wish I could have the strength to do the kinds of things you do."

"I could never leave one of my friends behind," Mikoto said waving her hand dismissively. "I would have done it for any of them." _Well, I might have been a little more anxious because it was him._ Kuroko, Ruiko, and Kazari beamed at her.

"What's the next step?" Kuroko asked. "I bet the princess isn't too happy we took her prisoners."

"Our spies indicated she actually went back into the palace," Itsuwa said frowning. "Yet her troops are moving out to the country side."

"They must have the location of my mother or sister," Villian said grimly. Her eyes were full of sadness.

"Now now," Ruiko said patting her on the shoulder. "I'm sure it will be alright. From what we heard, your family is quite capable."

"Ahh Saten-san," Kazari said quickly, reaching over and pulling Ruiko's arm off Villian. "You can't just go and touch a princess so casually."

"Oh right," Ruiko said sheepishly. Villian had been nearby since the rescue operation began, she had forgotten she was royalty. "I'm sorry your highness."

"It's fine," Villian said smiling warmly at her. "You don't need to address me so formally now. Villian will be fine. If my sister succeeds, I really won't have any place as a princess anymore."

"Do you know why the princess isn't heading her forces?" Kuroko asked Agnese.

"Well," Agnese said slowly and looked over at Itsuwa, who nodded. "Thanks to your encounter with her," Agnese looked at Mikoto. "She started to use more of Curtana's power. This led her to understand it more fully."

"I noticed she did appear to get stronger," Mikoto acknowledged, and then she sighed. "Sorry I made things worse."

"No need to apologize," Itsuwa said quickly. "She would have figured out how to wield Curtana's power fully anyways. You are Mugino-san's fight could actually work to our advantage. She started to use a lot of power without preparation. The explosion she caused, near the end of the fight, made us lose connection, but we have a good idea what she's going to do next."

"Is she going to do some test runs with it before joining the fight?" Kazari asked. "That's what I would have done. If you start using something without fully understanding it, you could break it."

"Exactly," Agnese said and grinned. "But those two forced her to use more power than she was used to. She was originally only using it to strengthen herself and the knights gradually. So, during you fight, she probably didn't use it correctly or, at the very least, control the power properly. She would have to take Curtana and retune it to make sure it didn't start self-destructing. That's why she is staying in Buckingham Palace. The palace was designed to contain the power of Curtana. If it needs to be properly tuned or fixed, that would be the place."

"So now," Itsuwa added. "While most of the knights are away, we are going to try to attack Curtana directly. If we can either cause enough destruction to the palace, or disrupt the tuning ritual, we should be able to weaken Curtana dramatically."

"That would definitely make the fight easier," Kuroko mumbled. "If she could take on onee-sama and Mugino-san at once, her power shouldn't be underestimated."

"The issue would be getting near enough to the palace to interrupt the ritual," Villian explained. "I believe a key point should be in the basement, so we would want to hit there. But my sister would have guards stationed all around the palace and her strength would just be increasing."

"Wait a second," Mikoto said thoughtfully and everyone looked at her. "Would it be some kind of railcar down there?"

"Most likely," Itsuwa said, looking curiously at her. "It would make sense to be able to move the key component at will. Also, being underground would make it safer from aerial assaults." She frowned slightly. "But how did you know?"

"You are going to love this," Mikoto laughed and a huge smile appeared on her face. "The reason we took so long to get out of the palace was because…" She spent a couple minutes explaining what she, Touma, Index, and Shizuri had done in the basement of the palace. As she talked, Itsuwa and Agnese's faces became brighter and brighter, until Agnese burst out laughing.

"Ah!" she said through her laughs. "I love that boy. He always seems to do what we need without realizing it." Her words got her looks from Itsuwa, Mikoto, and Ruiko, but they didn't voice their thoughts externally.

"He does seem to help during the most crucial times," Villian added. "He even helped my sister before we were formally introduced."

"It's just the way he is," Ruiko said grinning. "He will save anyone and everyone he can, without even considering the consequences."

"And that is why he gets involved in so many messes," Kuroko sighed.

"Stiyl will probably want to know about this," Itsuwa said. "He was planning to lead the assault."

"If you have spies watching the palace," Kazari mentioned to Itsuwa. "How big of an impact would Curtana running out of control cause?"

"It really depends how much control the princess will be able to maintain," Itsuwa said, her grin slipping. "Out spies are a good distance away, but they can't use magic. It's the only reason they can still remain in the city. If Curtana completely runs out of control, it could level all of London."

"I don't think my sister will allow that," Villian said. "She will try to contain as much power as possible, though if the stories are true, she won't be able to contain it all without destroying herself."

"As long as she's weakened," Mikoto said. "It's definitely the first good news we had in a while."

* * *

Touma followed Stiyl down the hallway to a room near the end of the hotel. They passed several nuns running back and forth, delivering messages, food, supplies, and any other task that needed to be completed. They noticed Touma and he could feel them staring at him, as he passed, but he ignored them and focused on the task at hand. Also, he could feel a dark aura around Index, when the girls stared at him, and he knew getting involved with any of them was not a good idea at this time. He looked over at Stiyl, who seemed to be ignoring everyone, until they reached a room. "Try not to freak out and get all skirmish on me when you see his injury," Stiyl told him. Before Touma could ask anything, Stiyl opened the door and shoved him in. Index and Motoharu followed and Stiyl closed the door behind them. There were only three other people in the room, Jason and two nuns. Touma looked at Jason's arm and his jaw dropped.

Jason's arm looked like it had died.

Well, to be more precise, it looked more like a dried mummy arm. Jason's skin was rustic brown and his arm was withered, almost completely dehydrated. It looked like the skin was wrapped around the bone, with nothing much left in between, and Touma was surprised Jason could even be conscious. _What could have happened to make his arm look like that? It probably hurts like hell._ He felt slightly nauseous looking at it, but he was able to compose himself. "What the heck happened to you?"

"Sup Touma," Jason replied cheerfully. "You finally finished goofing around with the princess. I heard you wanted to stay with her. She must have been good, or you were good and enticed her."

"She's not good," Index said puffing out her cheeks. "Do you know they didn't feed me for over an hour?" Motoharu and Jason snickered.

"She does sound like a bad person," Jason said, still smirking.

"You don't know the half of it," Motoharu laughed. "Luckily Kami-yan's harem certainly was efficient in carrying out their duties."

"With his life on the line," Jason smirked. "They probably would have taken on more. How's Shokuhou-san?"

"Damn you guys," Touma growled at them, as Index started seeping a dark aura again. "I don't have a harem. The church is looking at her right now. Do you know what happened?"

"I had some theories after talking with Index," Jason shrugged. "But without all the Academy City equipment, I can't tell you for sure of any lasting effects or changes to her body."

"If you are done talking about the boy's unnatural popularity with females," Stiyl said lighting a cigarette. "Let's get on to why I brought him here. I would prefer to get back to the main problem in England. His arm is rejecting all forms of standard healing, correct?" He looked at the two nuns and they nodded. "We figured your hand would be able to negate any magic left that is preventing the healing. If that doesn't work, Index could analyze the wound."

"Okay," Touma said and moved next to Jason.

"Careful," Jason said. "It's pretty sensitive." For one wild moment, Touma debated punching him in the arm, for all the times Jason messed with him, but he couldn't go through with it. He reached over and touched Jason's arm with his fingers. He saw Jason flinch and realized even a light touch caused him a lot of pain. The skin felt rough and sort of sandpapery, like it was scabbed all over. Right when he thought he couldn't take touching it much longer, he heard the sound of breaking glass. Touma didn't immediately move his hand as he looked at Jason.

"Is it any better?" Touma asked.

"A lot actually," Jason grinned. "I no longer feel sharp agonizing pain when someone lightly touches it. Plus, I can move my hand." Everyone looked down at Jason's right hand, and watched his fingers move slightly. "Hmm, still can't get full movement. At least I'm left handed, so this shouldn't affect me too much."

"Looking on the bright side of things?" Touma asked, almost sarcastically, as he pulled his hand away. "Seriously, you need to take things more seriously."

"That sounds boring," Jason complained, and then he laughed. "I take things seriously when I have to. Right now though, putting up a strong front for the others is a better option.

"He's right Kami-yan," Motoharu agreed. "If he acted like a wounded puppy, it would just cause hassle for the others. They would be worried about him and unable to concentrate on what they need to do. You don't want them to be distracted in the middle of a life or death situation."

"Maybe you're right," Touma conceded. "You know you can just tell us if you need help. We are friends you know." Jason looked at him for a second and grinned.

"I usually try to avoid situations I can't handle myself," Jason replied. "But…" He stood up and lunged at Touma hugging him, knocking him down. "I knew you cared. Are you finally returning my feelings?"

"What… huh?" spluttered Touma, shocked at the turn of events.

"Geeze Kami-yan," Motoharu said, looking down at them. "Kami disease is moving to guys too. I think you got a level up after seducing the princess. I think I need to put some distance between us."

"Toouuuummmaaa," Index said dangerously.

"You damn idiots!" Touma yelled, punching Jason in the stomach, and kicking Motoharu in the shins. Jason rolled off of him with a grunt, and Motoharu fell to the ground with a crash. "Even in a serious situation like this, you two still spout all this garbage?"

"Feeling better though?" Motoharu asked, still grinning up at him. "You seemed pretty down so we needed to cheer you up. Everyone here chose to participate in your rescue. Kagere purposely risked himself, of his own choosing, to set up the access to the security system. You can say anything you want, but that fact still remains."

"We talked a bit, when you were on the way, and decided to bring you back to your normal everyday life," Jason said rubbing his gut. "But ouch, did you have to hit so hard?"

"You'll heal up quickly with the pride mark," Touma commented, but all the anger he felt disappeared. "Thanks."

"Well if you idiots are done messing around," Stiyl said. "Have you finished analyzing his arm Index?"

"Yes," she nodded. "Touma's hand destroyed a layer of magic that was causing problems." She turned to look at Jason. "It feels like a normal arm now, right?"

"Yes," Jason confirmed. "If I didn't look at it, I would swear it was fine. Though, I'm trying and still can't really move it. I was using my shadow to control my arm."

"Well if the problem is gone," Stiyl said looking over at the two other nuns, who were watching the guy's exchange in interest. "Then you two should be able to heal him." He looked over at Touma. "Your hand is going to interfere with the healing process, so leave and take him with you." Touma nodded and he and Motoharu left. Stiyl felt Index pull on the hem of his robe and he leaned down to listen.

"I have something to tell you privately about my analysis," Index whispered. Stiyl nodded curtly and he and Index left the room, and then walked into a nearby empty room.

"Do you know what he did?" Stiyl asked. "While his explanation appears plausible, the odds of this outcome are virtually nonexistent."

"I think so too," Index agreed. "His arm, at first glance, appears to be burned. This isn't accurate. The arm's been purified with refine Telesma. It was faint, but it was definitely there. A human body still carries sin, so it caused the mummified state we see. If he had the power of God's Right Seat and reduced the sin in his body, he might have taken less damage."

"Refined Telesma?" Stiyl asked. "But there's only been two cases in history were that has happened. Both of them required an artifact, unless you think he actually found a way into the domain of god."

"He definitely did not do that," Index said shaking her head. "His body would have been saturated with it, if that was the case. I think for him to have found one of the two artifacts would be a better guess. The issue is I don't sense the artifact on him. I suppose he could have it hidden away, but I would have noticed it if he used magic. His ability might be able to hide it without me noticing…"

"Hmm," Stiyl said staring at the ceiling. "It would explain how a kid defeated Knight Leader and obtained a serious injury like that." He sighed. "Seriously, if he has it, he should have just used it on the princess and end this entire coup. He's obviously up to something."

"Maybe he was afraid of using it?" Index suggested. "This is of course all hypothetical. We have no hard evidence he has one of them anyway. He's also a good friend of Touma, so I doubt he could do anything bad." Stiyl's lips tightened a bit at Touma's names. "Also, it could be possible his incomplete circle fused with Curtana's Telesma and created a similar effect. This would be another unlikely case, but it is possible."

"I guess," Stiyl agreed and sighed. "It's still suspicious and I intend to keep an eye on him. He did help us and even if he has one, he's broken no obvious laws."

"Uh Stiyl, I have something important to tell you." Stiyl and Index turned to the door and saw Touma standing there.

"What?" Stiyl asked.

"While we were at the palace," Touma told him, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a piece of paper. "I was given this letter from a guy who risked his life to deliver it." Touma held out the letter. Stiyl took it and read it silently. His eyes narrowed at first, then widened slightly in surprise. His face became passive as he looked at Touma.

"Did you manage?" he asked calmly.

"Yes," Touma nodded. "Index found the location and I used my hand on the circle." Stiyl glanced over at Index and she nodded to confirm Touma's story.

"Well," Stiyl said. "I'm going to say something I never thought I would have to." His face looked like he ate something sour. "Good job. This was actually our next objective. Now that you have already performed the task, we can focus on taking the fight directly toward the princess." He grinned. "Final battle is about to take place. You both should grab something fast to eat. I plan to martial our forces as soon as possible." His grin faded as he remembered something. "Oh yes, since we require your presence, I take it your friends are going to want to participate. Make sure they UNDERSTAND this. We are fighting to take her down, if they are not willing to risk their lives, make them stay here."

"Yes," Touma nodded, though his mind was now thinking of ways to try to convince his friends to stay behind. His mind was still in high gear as Stiyl left the room. _Mugino will be impossible. She has a grudge against Carissa. Mikoto gets mad if I leave her behind and she will obviously follow regardless what I say. Misaki should stay behind because of her condition, but she won't want to stay behind either. I might have luck with the others, except Shirai._ He sighed. _This is going to be tough._ It would be an understatement to say he was afraid of actually fighting Carissa, after she had demonstrated her power, but he knew he had to fight. He was going to save all his friends, both from Academy City and the Church, the countless civilians who got caught in the middle, the knights, and even Carissa. _Too many people are relying on us to stop her._

"Touma?" Index asked tugging on his sleeve. "What are you thinking about?"

"Oh just what we are going to have to eat before we leave," Touma lied.

"Yay!" Index cheered. "I'm starving." They both left the room to join the others and then grab some food. Index knew Touma was lying about his thoughts, because even she could guess what he was thinking. She didn't want to make him worry either and decided to focus on her hunger issue. _He will tell me when he's ready._

* * *

That night, control of Curtana Original was lost.

A powerful explosion erupted from Buckingham palace, and passed through the entire city of London. The explosion was completely magical and normal people would not be able to detect it. Every window in the palace shattered and glass shards flew outwards, away from the palace. Other buildings throughout London shook slightly, like they were being impacted by sound normal people couldn't hear. An eerie yellow glowing mist began to converge above the city, making the sky look like dawn was arriving, even though the sun had already set and the sky had been dark. Inside the palace, one individual stood, panting and coughing up blood, but she was still alive.

"Damn it!" Carissa raged at the knight across the room. "How the hell did this happen?" She held up a hand to her mouth. as another coughing fit covered her glove with blood.

"L-lady Carissa," the knight said nervously. "We found out the main railcar in the basement, the one that acts as the key for the containment, was disabled. While it wasn't destroyed, it was no longer operational. We are starting to repair it now, but we couldn't detect it until it was too late."

"I see," Carissa said, standing up straight. Her voice became normal again, and she glared coolly at the knight, who remained petrified under her gaze. "I understand what happened. Though, I was still able to suppress Curtana by myself. I no longer can focus on playing around anymore and fully examining Curtana. We need to crush all resistances and my mother. You may leave and pass on my instructions." The knight bowed, and hastily left the room. Carissa walked over to the broken window and stared out across the palace gardens into the distance. The garden was lit by an eerie yellow tint. _Well played boy. I knew you were the one I needed to keep an eye on. If circumstances were different... If we meet on the battlefield, I will most likely be forced to kill you._

Shortly before the explosion, she had been sitting down in the middle of the room, with Curtana on her lap, while the railcar was being moved into place. The sword was continuing to vibrate rapidly and she knew the power had to be contained soon. She started to perform the complicated ritual to remove the power from Curtana, stabilize it, and put it back. At the same time, she would tune the blade to fit her needs. Everything was going well, until she removed too much of Curtana's power. She discovered, too late, the power was not stabilizing. Before she could put the power back, the instability caused Curtana to start emitting massive amounts of Telesma, far faster than Carissa could control. The power flowed into her and damaged her body, before she was forced to release it into her surroundings. If she hadn't, she would have died. The power she had sent to the knights was fading, and she could feel herself lose some of her own power too. Curtana has released about half of its power, and it would be many days before it could regain all the power it lost.

Carissa knew she now had to contend with the knights doubting her leadership. She usually used Knight Leader to pass on her orders to the knight organization, as a whole. Now that he disappeared, the knights had begun to question if she truly was worthy of being their leader. At first, they were suspicious of her, when she brought a common boy into the palace, but their doubt was dispelled by the display of his power. Given time, Carissa was confident, even if Knight Leader was dead, she would still have their complete loyalty. But because she lost control of Curtana, even for just a moment, the knight's doubt would definitely return, stronger then ever.

"I suppressed it," Carissa said, louder then was needed. She wasn't talking to anyone but herself. "They tried to cause it to self-destruct, but I held on. This is proof I am destined to wield Curtana Original. Even my mother wouldn't have been able to contain it this well." She laughed loudly and then narrowed her eyes. _The church won't let this opportunity pass. They will attack, and most of my knights are after my mother. The Telesma they received is gone too. They aren't weak, but those science kids have a lot of power at their disposal. I guess I don't have a choice. I will welcome them, and then take care of them personally._ Though Curtana's overall power was weakened, it actually made the blade easier to control, if she just focused the power on herself.

Right now, she was even stronger then when she fought Touma and his friends before.

* * *

Touma's prediction was perfect. The girls did not take it well when he told them what Stiyl said. Misaki was the most passive. She simply told him she was going to go, with or without his permission. After all, Misaki told him she could sneak into any place manned by people. Mikoto looked at him for a moment, and then shot a bolt of electricity at him, and then yelled at him for a couple minutes for even thinking he could leave her behind. When he talked to Shizuri, she didn't say anything, but immediately punched him in the gut. He fell to the ground while she looked down at him. Frenda sighed and shook her head, but when Shizuri left, mumbling something about idiots, Frenda helped him back up to his feet. The good news was Jason seemed to be better, though his arm didn't look normal, and he and Motoharu watched Touma try to persuade the girls not to participate.

"You could have helped," Touma said glaring at them.

"But I'm just a normal friend of yours Kami-yan," Motoharu said grinning. "How would I persuade a bunch of level 5s not to do something they wanted to?"

"Well," Jason said. "I'm not in really in any position to tell them anything either. They know the dangers and chose to continue. Shokuhou-san is even fully healed, unlike me. I still plan to help out, since I'm healed enough too…" His words were interrupted by a loud cry. They turned around and saw Kazari marching toward Jason. "Ah shit," he mumbled.

"Jason," Kazari reprimanded him. "You aren't in any position to go. You're seriously injured and you can't possibly be healed yet."

"But…" Jason tried to explain.

"No buts," Kazari interrupted. "If you were fully healed, you wouldn't be using your shadow to protect your arm." She grabbed his uninjured left arm and pulled him down the hall. "I'm not going to let you go." Jason tried to argue, but she wouldn't hear any of his excuses. Motoharu and Touma looked at each other for a moment, and then burst out laughing.

"I always pegged her as the quiet type to get dragged into everything," Motoharu commented.

"Usually," Touma agreed. "But occasionally I see her stand up to Jason and Shirai-san. She's really the only one who seems to be able to control them." They conversation was interrupted when they recognized a familiar person entering the hotel.

"Hey Accelerator," Touma called out, as he and Motoharu walked over to him. "Glad to see you are back. Everything ok?"

"Of course everything is ok," Accelerator snapped. "Why wouldn't it be? I am the strongest after all. I'll be right back. I need to check up on the brat and the bigger brat." He left them and headed up to their room.

"He doesn't want to admit he was worried about them," Motoharu grinned. "He's totally a mother bird watching over his loli."

"Don't let him here you say that," muttered Touma. "He's likely to make you regret it."

"Yo Kamijou!" a males voice called out, causing Touma and Motoharu to turn around and look at the new person. The guy was in his mid-20s and wore loose clothing, including an oversized t-shirt with a red cross on it. His hair was black and spiky, like Touma's, but was shorter and messier looking. He walked up and gave Touma a slap to the middle of his back. "It's been awhile."

"Tatemiya-san," Touma greeted him. "It's good to see you again." The man's name was Saiji Tatemiya, the former Substitute Supreme Pontiff of the Amakusa. The last time Touma saw him was when he and Index stopped the Roman Catholic Church from attacking Venice. Saiji was a little strange, but he cared deeply for his comrades and would sacrifice himself in a heartbeat if it would save the others. Recently, Kaori had taken up the Supreme Pontiff title again and she currently led the Amakusa. "I didn't know you were here."

"You think something this big would happen and I wouldn't take part in it?" Saiji laughed. "We owe a lot to the Anglican Church, and we are also part of it now. We can't stand back and do nothing. I was part of the smaller distraction group when your friends rescued you. I have to admit, your friends are strong. That guy, Accelerator, never saw anything like him before."

"He's known as the number one in Academy City," Motoharu said, and then held out his hand. "Oh, my name's Motoharu Tsuchimikado, a good friend of Kami-yan." Saiji nodded and shook his hand.

"We actually saw you guys earlier this week," Saiji told them. "We were supposed to keep any eye on you in case The Fallen got involved. Did you enjoy the swimsuit contest?" He grinned.

"Did you set that up?" Touma asked surprised.

"We didn't run it," Saiji explained. "But we persuaded some college students to hold it every night, since Itsuwa and Agnese planned out the trip. We blended in the crowd and cheered for our companion."

"Ah," Motoharu said. "That's why Itsuwa-san won. I thought for sure Mugino-san was going to win."

"This actually makes a lot of sense," Touma sighed. "Don't you guys normally keep an eye out on Itsuwa?"

"Well yes," Saiji laughed. "We just wanted to see when she was going to get the courage to admit she lo…" he suddenly stopped and Touma and Motoharu understood why. A dark murderous aura caused them all to freeze in fear. They could feel their bodies start to be covered in cold sweat. Before they could see who it was, someone moved and smashed a chair on Saiji's head, knocking him to the ground unconscious. Touma and Motoharu turned around to see who it was, but the person was already gone around a corner. They only saw a hint of cloth disappearing.

"Umm," Touma asked, looking at Motoharu. "Who was that?"

"Eh," Motoharu shrugged. "Probably just someone who gets embarrassed easily, and had a grudge against him." He put his arm around Touma's shoulders. "Let's go grab some food while we can. You don't know when the church is planning to move out. Touma sighed, and figured he was probably right. He followed Motoharu and glanced back at Saiji, who gave Touma a thumb up from the ground, before hoping back up to his feet. Touma grinned slightly, glad to see he was okay, and headed off in slightly better spirits. Motoharu remembered he had to stop at their room, so they both took a detour before heading back downstairs.

The dining hall was packed with tables and most were occupied. Many of the nuns didn't get to eat since that morning, and were devouring the food as fast as it was being made. Touma noticed there was a small crowd gathering around a table, where a familiar white garbed nun was eating through a mountain of food. The other nuns were having fun and trying to see what the limit of Index's stomach was. Index, of course, was enjoying the food, but was slightly confused at why she was getting so much attention. Touma looked around, and saw most of his friends, the girls, at a large table. Accelerator and Jason were sitting at a smaller table and there were two spots open with them, so Touma and Motoharu joined them. As Touma approached them, he overheard the ending of their conversation.

"… They weren't nearly as strong," Accelerator said. "But the vector direction was completely different from the other magicians I encountered. Shit, what is with these rules?"

"Magic is based on traditions," Jason explained. "Different traditions and beliefs will have different magical bases. I can't tell you exactly how the vectors work, but I bet every magician is slightly different. You can't just create a basic formula to cover everything. I bet you would even find my magic to be different…. Hey guys," he said as Touma and Motoharu approached. "Grab a seat. What kept you all?"

"I needed to talk to a couple people," Touma said sighing. He sat down and reached for one of the sandwiches resting on the table.

"I remember that and it was priceless," Jason said pointing over to the girls table. All the guys glanced over and saw many of the girls looking at them, Mikoto, Misaki, Shizuri, Saiai, Frenda, and, to Touma's surprise, Kazari. "I know who Kazari is glaring at, and I assume I know who the others are glaring at. You still couldn't persuade them I bet."

"Yes," Touma acknowledged.

"You should know how stubborn they are," Accelerator yawned. "You would have better luck sneaking out."

"Pot calling the kettle black?" Motoharu asked him and Accelerator scowled.

"Do you…" Accelerator snapped, but was interrupted as Last Order bounded over to their table and stood next to Accelerator, looking at them all.

"What are you all talking about MISAKA asks curiously as MISAKA looks at you all for information." Hey eyes did not have any malicious intent, she was just curious because she was just worried about Accelerator being gone constantly and off fighting. She wanted to spend more time with him and so she wanted to join their conversation. "Nothing," he said, changing direction. "Pull up a seat and eat something brat. We are going to leave soon and I can't watch you all night."

"Ok MISAKA agrees as MISAKA grabs a chair." Last Order pushed a seat over to the table, moved it so it was right next to Accelerator, and looked at everyone else again as she grabbed a sandwich. She stuffed her face before asking them, her mouth full, "Soaf what were you talking abouf MISAKA asks as MISAKA tries to tolf with a mouf full of fud."

Before Touma could say anything, Motoharu spoke up. "We were just beginning to question Kami-yan on his ideal girl." There was the sound of a glass falling over, but Touma ignored it. His attention was focused on Motoharu for saying something like that out of the blue.

"What the hell are you saying?" Touma demanded as Accelerator grinned. "That wasn't happening at all…"

"Well we were starting a list," Jason interrupted. "Using all the information we have gathered but, from what he told us in school, the type of girl he is into is a little strange compared to the girls around him. It's made the order difficult to pinpoint." Touma didn't know, but several people at the nearby table got quiet, as they listened to the boys talking about Touma's preference in girls.

* * *

When the girls arrived in the dining hall, before any of the boys, they managed to grab one of the slightly larger tables so they could sit down together. This was one of the few times Mikoto, Misaki, and Shizuri all agreed on the same thing. None of them wanted to stay back while everything else was planning to go off and fight. They were joined shortly by Kazari, Ruiko, Kuroko, and then Frenda, Saiai, and Ruiko came over together. They had let Shizuri be alone for a little while, as she had been emitting a murderous aura and her friends didn't want to be anywhere near her, until she cooled off. At another table, Worst was bulling Last Order and stealing food from her plate. Last Order's response was waving her arms angrily and throwing food at her.

"I can't believe that idiot wanted us to stay behind," Mikoto muttered, not really hungry, but forcing herself to eat a little before they left.

"If you knew him as well as I do," Misaki pointed out. "You wouldn't be surprised. I bet he knew we wouldn't agree with it, but wanted to try to persuade us anyways."

"I know that," Mikoto snapped indignantly, annoyed Misaki would even consider Mikoto didn't know him that well.

"Nothing is going to prevent me from getting my revenge on that b#$%^," Shizuri said coolly, but her eyes had a dark gleam in them. Though this was her primary goal, part of her did not want to let Touma run off on his own. She tried to tell herself it was because she would lose a powerful pawn if he was killed, but a small honest part of herself said there was much more than that.

"At least we super get to participate," Saiai said grinning. She and Frenda had been really upset they didn't get to participate in the earlier fighting. "They need anyone who can fight."

"Yea," Frenda nodded. "I heard some of those nuns talking about how they couldn't attack the palace yet. Basically, they are waiting for something to pass."

"I can tell you why," Itsuwa said and the girls turned to look at her, as she sat down with Agnese. "Thanks to the valiant efforts of Kamijou-kun, Misaka-san, Mugino-san, and Index, Curtana ran out of control a little while ago. A massive amount of Telesma leaked out and is currently hovering over the city."

"What does that mean?" Ruiko asked. "Does it have something to do with the delay?"

"Think of it as a massive amount of explosive material sitting right on top of the city," Agnese said. "If someone lit a fuse, in this case use magic, it would cause a chain reaction and wipe London off the map in a large explosion."

"Then it's perfect," Shizuri said. "Someone use magic and we wipe out all of her forces."

"That could be a last resort," Itsuwa acknowledged. "If it wasn't for all the civilians being held hostage in movie theaters, hotels, and other large buildings, we might consider it. Our job is to save those people. The princess doesn't appear to care about people's lives so we have to stand up to her, but we can't storm the city until it thins out. Your abilities shouldn't be affected but, if you attack, one of her forces might use magic."

"Do you know when the Telesma disperse?" Kuroko asked.

"We predict shortly before midnight," Agnese said. "By then, we will have already begun to move into the city. So we leave in one to two hours."

"When will we know our responsibilities?" Misaki asked seriously.

"I would say about thirty minutes or so," Itsuwa said and she and Agnese stood up. "There are a couple details Stiyl is working on. Please be certain if you wish to go. None of you are under any obligation to." She bowed slightly and they both left. There was silence, but none of the girls, who were planning to go, looked like their mind was going to be changed. Mikoto sat in silence before she noticed a worried look on Kazari's face.

"You don't need to worry about us," Mikoto reassured her. "We are all going to get back in one piece."

"I believe that," Kazari nodded, but the look on her face said differently. "I'm also worried Jason is going to try to sneak off with them. I overheard him telling Kamijou-san he was planning to go." All the girls glanced at where Kazari was looking and they saw Accelerator and Jason sitting at a nearby table, talking in undertones about something. Jason appeared to be trying to avoid eye contact. Accelerator saw them watching, but he just ignored them all.

"So that's why I saw you dragging him down the hall and yelling at him," Ruiko said wide-eyed. "I was wondering what he did."

"I wasn't yelling Saten-san," Kazari denied.

"It was pretty close," Ruiko said shrugging, but she was grinning.

"I think that was the first time I saw him actually look sorry," Kuroko said satisfied. "About time you started reining him in."

"Didn't he get injured because he super saved you?" Saiai asked.

"That's not important!" Kuroko exclaimed, but a slight pink tinge appeared on her cheek. "We both fought together, so it wasn't a save each other thing. Besides, he's so full of secrets and just lies all the time."

"We all have secrets," Shizuri said glancing over at Jason. She had unfinished business with him too, but she couldn't question him when Accelerator was nearby. Accelerator wasn't the kind of person to leave if asked.

"Besides," Ruiko said, unable to resist joining in. "I heard from Tsuchimikado-san he carried you on his back."

"So what?" Kuroko demanded, her face turning slightly red. "It's common Judgement practice to evacuate anyone who's injured. There's not like there was any special meaning behind it." Of course, no one believed her and Misaki, Ruiko, Saiai, and even Frenda needled her about it while Mikoto turned to Kazari.

"I don't really believe they would be together," Mikoto told her. "It's just kind of fun to see her reaction." She thought she saw worry in Kazari's eyes, before she smiled and nodded.

"I know," she said. "I'm just glad everyone's spirits seems to be better. Everyone was quite solemn while we waited for news. Though," her smile flickered, "I'm still worried for you all tonight. I know they need Kamijou-san to stop the princess, but please be careful."

"We will," Mikoto nodded. "Someone has to save him when he gets in trouble."

"I'll take care of that," Misaki said turning to them. "You can stay behind and keep the others company."

"Like that's going to happen," Mikoto said. "I already told that idiot I was going."

"You still insult him?" Misaki asked. "You really should be more lady-like."

"If he does something stupid," Mikoto told her. "I'm going to call him out on it. It's good for him if he knows when he makes a mistake." Before they could argue anymore, they noticed Ruiko turning and looking at someone with interest. Both of them turned to look and saw Touma and Motoharu enter the dining hall. They immediately turned away to see if there were open spots at their table, but there wasn't. Mikoto and Misaki both had the same thought

 _Damn it._

They watched Touma and Motoharu sit at the same table as Jason and Accelerator. Mikoto and Misaki were the closest and they could just barely hear the guys through the noise in the dining hall. Shizuri noticed them listening and a small smirk formed on her face, as she looked over at the guys table. All three of them were watching the guys, and they noticed Jason pointed over at them to Touma. The guys had just begun to talk about Touma asking the girls to stay behind, when Last Order had bounded over to their table to see what they were doing. What came next shocked the girls.

"We were just beginning to question Kami-yan on his ideal girl." Mikoto accidently knocked over her drink and quickly picked it up, embarrassed. Misaki and Mikoto both leaned back in their seats and focused on listening to the guy's conversation. It was lucky for them the others were still needling Kuroko about her supposed relationship with Jason, they weren't being bothered. Shizuri was the only other one who noticed, and she leaned over to listen too. They frowned when Jason mentioned a list and waited anxiously to hear more.

"What is this about a list?" Touma asked.

"Oh we were placing bets on which girl you would finally go out with," Motoharu stated. "But it wasn't going anywhere, so we started putting a list together of the most probable candidates."

"Why?" demanded Touma.

"Mostly boredom," Accelerator shrugged, but he was grinning. "You kept denying you had a har…"

"Because I don't!"

"Lies or just denial," Jason said. "But let's assume we believe that. What type do you prefer?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"He's into older girls," Motoharu said, betraying Touma's trust. "He specifically mentioned dorm manager onee-sans types before."

"Don't the Tokiwadai dorms have a dorm manager?" Jason asked sarcastically.

"So that's why your friends with the third and fifth," Accelerator laughed. "You just want to get invited over."

"Is something wrong?" Kuroko asked Mikoto and Misaki. She noticed both of them had their hands over their mouths and looked slightly ill. Shizuri also put her hand to her mouth, but it was to prevent herself from laughing loudly.

"Ah nothing," Mikoto mumbled and pretended to continue eating while turning her attention back to the guy's conversation. Misaki was frowning slightly, because she wasn't entirely sure how to proceed if this was true. Shizuri enjoyed her current feelings, because she was older then Mikoto and Misaki.

"No," Touma said. "I hang out with them because they are my friends and I like them." Misaki and Mikoto blushed slightly.

"You like them huh," Motoharu said winking. "So which one do you prefer?"

"Huh?"

"He's asking which one would you asked on a date," Jason elaborated. Before Touma could respond, Accelerator stepped in.

"Well if he likes older girls," Accelerator said. "Then wouldn't the fourth be a better option?" This time, Shizuri could not hide the look of pure amusement on her face, while Mikoto and Misaki thought the same thing.

 _No way in hell!_

"There's also Kanzaki nee-chin," Motoharu pointed out.

"Why are you only focusing on me?" Touma protested, trying to evade the question. He had a strange feeling, if he said anything on the subject, his luck would kick in and his life would be forfeited. "What about you guys?"

"Well," Jason said. "I'm happy with my relationship, Tsuchimikado's a pervert, and Accelerator's a lolicon." This time, Misaki, Mikoto, and Shizuri all had to stifle a laugh.

"There's nothing perverted about honest love," Motoharu declared passionately. The girls didn't have any idea who he was talking about but, they had to admit, the line sounded good.

"Who's a lolicon?" Accelerator demanded. "I'll kill you."

"You're totally a lolicon," Motoharu pointed out. "I bet you're totally into Mugino-san's friend. She has the right build for you." Shizuri made a mental note to tell Saiai everything later.

"F$%^ you!"

"He has never told us his type," Touma pointed out.

"Maybe he doesn't have a type," Jason said reasonably. "Or he's into guys?"

"That makes sense," Motoharu said nodding. "Or maybe, remember he has an interesting relationship with that one girl, he's like Aogami."

"Don't you EVER compare me to him!" Accelerator snarled, beginning to stand up in unyielding rage.

"Who is Aogami-san? MISAKA asks as MISAKA doesn't know him." All four of the guys turned around and looked at her in shock. They had been so involved in their argument, they had completely forgotten Last Order was there. They also conveniently forgot her appearance started the entire conversation. While they enjoyed making fun of each other, as most guys do, they knew they shouldn't do it in front of her. Especially since Accelerator was very overprotective of her.

"Brat," Accelerator said grabbing her by the collar and tossing her away. "Go bother them." He pointed to the girls at the nearby table. "You don't need to hear this." Last Order protested, but Accelerator was hearing none of it and she grudgingly walked over to the other girls.

"Hello Last Order," Ruiko greeted her, scooting over so Last Order could drag a chair over and sit down. "How are you?"

"MISAKA got thrown out of their conversation MISAKA complains as MISAKA is overwhelmed by the feeling of rejection." She sat down and pouted, while Kazari patted her on the back. Kuroko, Frenda, Saiai, Rikou, and Ruiko looked over at the guys, who were slowly getting louder as they continued arguing. The issue was the guy's argument was slowly turning from an actual discussion or debate into just them insulting each other. It was impossible for the girls to know what they had been talking about, though Mikoto, Shizuri and Mikoto knew.

"What are those idiots arguing about?" Kuroko said turning her attention to them. After a minute or two, she sighed. "Can't boys have a civilized conversation? What on earth are they arguing about?"

"I wonder indeed," Shizuri said sipping her drink and grinning at Mikoto and Misaki. Both of them glared back at her thinking the same thing.

 _She overheard too._

"MISAKA knows MISAKA declares proudly as MISAKA has valuable information to share." Mikoto's eyes widened and, before she could speak up, Last Order started explaining everything she overheard of the boy's conversation. Misaki almost smiled, as the conversation was pretty funny a second time, but she was too busy trying to decide what to do if Touma was really only attracted to older girls. She didn't believe he was, so she was just planning out a couple different tactics to try later. Ruiko and Frenda were quite interested in the information about Touma and everyone, even Rikou, was listening intently. Kazari turned slightly red, when she heard the topic, but she seemed quite pleased at Jason's response. Kuroko slammed her head on the table in disbelief.

"Seriously?" she said. "They are so stupid. How would that even be possible? There's no way the dorm manger would even consider him."

"I don't know," Mikoto said neutrally, well she tried, but her voice shook ever so slightly. "Looking back, we have had some pretty stupid conversations too."

"AH!" Last Order exclaimed. "MISAKA was so involved in their conversation, MISAKA forgot to ask them MISAKA's important question, MISAKA says as MISAKA is saddened be her forgetfulness."

"What was it?" Misaki asked interestedly.

"Since they were talking about girls, MISAKA says. MISAKA was wondering if Accelerator saw MISAKA as a girl, MISAKA explains as MISAKA is unsure of the answer." All the girls either cloaked on their food, or their mouths fell open in shock. Mikoto made a mental note to do everything to kill him if he tried anything on Last Order.

* * *

Itsuwa finally got a break, as everyone had been served food, and she was sitting down in the back room, glad everyone was finally fed. She might have overreacted when Saiji had been talking to Touma, but her mind had gone blank with embarrassment and, before she realized what happened, she knocked him out. She was nibbling on a sandwich, thinking. She had debated going out to the main dining hall and getting the nerve to sit with Touma, but she saw he and his friends were arguing over something and decided not to intrude. She was suddenly joined by another person, his unexpected entrance nearly causing her to fall off her chair in surprise.

"Itsuwa," Saiji called out. "You shouldn't be sitting here all alone. You need to go out and enact the Cinderella Plan!"

"Why are you suddenly jumping out of nowhere?!" Itsuwa demanded. "And what's this about a plan?"

"Naturally after this event is over," Saiji said confidently. "You need to go up to him wearing your newly acquired Mythic Spider Web Maid Swimsuit."

"I couldn't do th…" Itsuwa said nervously, and then her voice got harsher. "How do you know about that?"

"We cheered you on in the crowd," Saiji said giving a victory sign. "We all wanted you to win to attract the boy you love."

"You mean this was planned?" Itsuwa asked weakly, as she became slightly dizzy.

"Yep," Saiji replied confidently. "If we win, there is sure to be an after party. It will be the perfect time for you to go up and confess. Of course, if you aren't satisfied with it, I also have this. Ta dah!" He held up another outfit. "Great Spirit Revealing Maid outfit." He pushed it into Itsuwa's hand, before she could protest, and she instinctively held it up.

"When did you have the time to spare to be able to do something like this!? And how did you get my personal information!?" She was freaking out how well the size seemed to fit her.

"You need something to fight against the priestess," Saiji said. "As a favor to her, I saved her outfits, the Fallen Angel Maid and the Fallen Angel Ero Maid. This reminds me, I have to go present them to her." He left the room before Itsuwa could say anything else. Itsuwa gazed at the pink design and the fairy like wings of the outfit.

 _There's no way I could,_ she thought, but then got more honest with herself. _I wish I knew if Kamijou-kun liked these sorts of things, or which one he would prefer. You know what, I will. If we stop the princess's coup, I will confess in one of these outfits. He has a lot of attractive girls around him and Tatemiya is right. I need to be more assertive._

* * *

That night, the church forces began to move out toward the city of London. There were over twenty large trucks carrying the troops from different directions. The plan was to assault the palace from three different points. The church decided these routes would be the best positions for a straight on assault, rather than getting caught up in smaller back roads and wasting valuable time. The city was eerily quiet. Touma frowned as he didn't see any inspection points, or even signs of the knights or military police. It was like the knights gave up on defending most of the city. Itsuwa and the other Amakusa had prepared to blast their way through this points. _I suppose they are consolidating their forces around the palace,_ Touma thought. _That actually might make the fight tougher since we can't take out the knights in small groups._

He recalled the arguments that arose when his friends were told what group they would be part of. Stiyl had a good grasp of his friend's abilities, based on his observation and reports, and he chose to divide them up, to even out the assault group's power. Touma's group contained Kaori, Mikoto, Itsuwa, Index, and surprisingly, Villian. She had refused to stay behind while the people of her country were in trouble. She had a small cross bow in her lap, but Touma doubted she would be able to use it. The second group contained Accelerator, Saiji, Saiai, and Agnese. The third group had Stiyl, Shizuri, Misaki, and Frenda. Each group also had a number of Agnese's nun forces and the Amakusa. Touma knew Misaki was not pleased with the arrangements, but she eventually caved in. Stiyl purposely divided Touma's friends, because he wanted powerful offensive abilities in each group.

The church's objective was clear. This time, they would stop Carissa, or fall trying.

"Remember," Kaori told them all. "Our job is to reach the palace is fast as possible. The fastest way to end the coup is to take down the leader."

"Will the knights really surrender if we defeat the princess?" Mikoto asked.

"Yes," Villian nodded. "The knight's hearts should be weakened by the loss of Knight Leader and my sister losing control of Curtana. If Curtana is destroyed, it would break their resolve."

"This is true," Index said, speaking up. "But it is easier said than done. She probably can't feed her knights Curtana's power, but she most likely wields most of it on herself. She's going to be just as strong, if not stronger, then when we fought her the first time."

"I'm surprised we haven't seemed to be noticed yet," Touma commented. "I thought for sure the knights would have intercepted us by now."

"Our spies told us most of the knights left the city," Kaori said frowning, as she looked at the palace. "The princess must have found another objective she considered more important than us. She still has some forces near the palace, so we will meet them sooner or later…"Her words were interrupted as an arrow flew form a nearby building and hit one of the truck's tires. The driver, Itsuwa, grabbed the wheel and tried to regain control. The truck swerved to the side of the road and scraped against several abandoned cars. "Looks like now." She pulled out her sword and jumped up toward the building, where the arrow had come from. Itsuwa grabbed and assembled her spear, and then jumped out of the truck.

"Get out," she called to the others. "We can't continue in this one. Get into one of the others while we take care of this. Misaka-san, can you help?"

"Yep," Mikoto confirmed and she used magnetism to propel herself up to a nearby building. Touma lost track of her, but saw the familiar light from her electricity shocking someone. He, Index, and Villian got out and ran to another one of the trucks. The other forces scooted over to let them in and they continued to move forward. Touma occasionally saw flashes of Kaori, Itsuwa, and Mikoto near the edges of the roofs. He wished he could help them, but he couldn't just instantly get to the top of building, like they could. He had one responsibility, to touch Curtana Original with his right hand.

The battle for Buckingham Palace had begun.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Me: Good job Shiri, glad you finally admitted your love for Jason.**

 **Jason: Seriously?**

 **Kuroko: WHAT?! THAT NEVER HAPPENED!**

 **Mikoto: We can't see her comments, so…**

 **Kuroko: Onee-sama, don't believe their lies.**

 **Kazari: Shirai-san?**

 **Accelerator: Pssh, I bet it's not true. I don't think the brat can say something like that.**

 **Kuroko: Finnally someone who believes… wait, whose a brat?**

 **Frenda: Basically, you.**

 **Saiai: Can I super do the comments next time?**

 **Me; Sorry, Mugino threatened… I mean persuaded me to let her. I was surprised.**

 **Everyone: Really?**

 **Shizuri: Yep, I felt like I should be able to answer some of those questions.**

 **Touma: Everyone, next chapter we are fighting the princess, be careful.**

 **Motoharu: Just walk up to her, and say you will marry her if she surrenders.**

 **Touma: THAT WOULDN'T WORK! Besides, I would never do that. Wait… why is everyone staring at me? Mugino, please put those orbs away. Mikoto you don't need to be sparking. Misaki, you too? AHH SUCH MISFORTUNE!**


	54. S2 Battle for Buckingham Palace pt 1

**This is Shizuri Mugino and yes, I am going to do the opening announcements. Deal with it. The author actually told me about restrictions for doing this. For some reason, I'm not supposed to insult every one of you and keep the profanity to a minimum. F$%^ that, no one tells me what to do. I just wanted to make fun of a couple people and clear some things up. I beat the author up, so he has no say in my answers.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: Well of course he would like older girls then those shitty brats that hang around him. The third and fifth have no idea what a real women is. If I really wanted him, I could get him. Right now, I'm going to let Frenda try. Kinuhata was right. It's really fun to push her to him.**

 **KhaosKhan: What kind of stupid question is that? You know, if you asked that question before this trip, I probably would have blasted you for saying it. After seeing all this magic crap, I wouldn't be all surprised. Though… that might explain the strength I see in his eyes sometimes.**

 **Handsomistic1: If I feel like it, I might. Maybe I'll do it when the third and fifth are nearby to really rub it into them. Kamijou is fun to tease for sure. A thank you? He should be thanking me for just being allowed in my presence. If Kamijou chooses Frenda, I can still use him however I want. Frenda's possessions belong to me too.**

 **Swoob: How dare you say I am inferior to that a$$^ &%*? One day I'm going to kick his ass and make him cry! Then I'm coming for you.**

 **wildarms13: Pssh, hypothetical questions. Let's see, possibly. As long as he was kept available for when I needed him, I don't care. Though, I wouldn't let the two level five brats near him. Ha, seeing their reaction when they can't see him anymore would be the best.**

 **Salishious: No, I would definitely make him join me. I'm not some damsel in distress waiting to be rescued. I find what I want, and take it.**

 **Yakutsu Zaishiro: Who says I can't cook? I just don't have time for something so pointless, when I can get higher quality food easier. If I really wanted to, I could make five star meals.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

Back at the hotel, Ruiko and Kazari were pacing around the main lobby in worry. There were only a handful of noncombat trained nuns, who stayed behind. Motoharu and Jason were sitting at a table, playing cards, but neither of them looked like they were very into the game. Kuroko was staring out the window in the direction of London. She had desperately wanted to go and help, but Mikoto was adamant about not letting her. There was a long and heated argument between them, and even Ruiko and Kazari stayed out of it. They had seen Kuroko and Mikoto argue before, but the attack on the palace was in a league all of its own. Mikoto eventually had to shock Kuroko, until she fell unconscious, to get her to stay at the hotel. Everyone could tell Mikoto hated doing it, but her friend had been more important than her own feelings. Rikou was sitting down and her head was resting on a table in front of her. Her eyes were open, but she seemed unresponsive. One of the few remaining nuns poked her head into the lobby and spoke.

"Sorry to disturb you all," she said and every head turned to look at her, except Rikou. "We promised to let you know when our forces were about to enter the city. Sadly, the princess discovered our plan of monitoring the city with the cameras, and she shut them all down. I just wanted to let you know the situation."

"We figured the princess would catch on it eventually," Kuroko sighed, trying to keep a calm demeanor. Her hands were balled up into fists though, something Kazari noticed. She walked up and patted Kuroko on the shoulder, trying to reassure her.

"We knew that would happen," she agreed. "Misaki-san also knew the risk involved and she didn't want anything to happen to you."

"I wish there was something we could do to help," sighed Ruiko wistfully. "Even with my advancement, it's still nothing compared to the knights."

"Don't think like that," Motoharu called over to them. "How about using those feelings to improve so you can help the others next time?"

"Easier to say then do," Kuroko complained, staring at the city. "Onee-sama, I know why you did it, and I'm not mad at you, but I should definitely be by your side."

"Well you could teleport to the city," Jason suggested. "But it would most likely cause you to be exhausted for covering that distance."

"Jason," Kazari said quickly. "Please don't give her ideas."

"Sorry I couldn't give you more information," the nun apologized. "If I hear anything else I will pass it along."

"You did more than enough," Kazari replied. Kuroko, sort of, fell into her seat and just stared ahead with a vacant expression.

"Think it's time?" Motoharu asked Jason, as he threw down his cards. "You wanted them to be close to the city."

"Yea," Jason nodded. "You managed to get a car?"

"Lots of abandoned ones to choose from," Motoharu grinned, tossing Jason a set of keys. "Some even have keys. I grabbed a nice convertible, should get you there fast."

"Awesome," Jason replied, as he stood up. "Well then I guess I'm off." He hadn't even taken three steps when Kazari ran up and blocked his path. She held her arms out and had a determined look on her face.

"I knew you would want to go," she said. "But I can't let you. I told you already, you're not fully healed."

"It's enough," Jason said dismissively. "I don't rely on physical strength, and my shadow ability is working perfectly. They need all the help they can get."

"I'm not denying that," Kazari answered softly. "I understand you want to help, but if you aren't at full health, the odds of you coming back…" Her voice trailed off as the words got caught in her throat.

"Kagere-san," Ruiko adding, stepping in. "She's right. You're our friend and we may not be that high of a level, but we can't let you go." She also blocked his path, while everyone else watched. The nun appeared frozen, forgetting she had to leave. Jason sighed, and his face revealed the expression he was making a difficult choice.

"I'm sorry," Jason said, his face darkening slightly. "I promise to make it up to you later." Before either of them could respond to his ominous pronouncement, he raised his hand. "My curse sends you into the endless abyss." Kazari and Ruiko's eyes snapped shut and they began to collapse unconscious. Before they hit anything, their bodies were supported by Jason's shadow and he set them gently down onto chairs. A moment later, Jason was kicked in the head by Kuroko and he fell to the ground.

"What are you doing?!" she yelled at him. Her eyes were flashing dangerously and her face was red with anger. She couldn't believe Jason used his powers against Ruiko and Kazari.

"I'm keeping them safe and out of the way," Jason said solemnly, rubbing his head and standing up. "By the time they wake up, I will be gone. This way, they can't be tempted to follow." He turned to look at Motoharu. "You can watch over them?" He nodded. "Then I'm heading out," Jason said walking to the door. Kuroko could only stare at him. She was not use to seeing him with such a serious expression on his face. She also could not remember him ever treating Kazari like that. She looked over at the nun, who had rushed over and examined Ruiko and Kazari, before she made up her mind. Jason had just stepped outside the hotel when she teleported next to him.

"Wait up," she said. "I'm coming with you."

"Ok," Jason said, pulling out the keys Motoharu gave him.

"I'm going to go no matter… huh?" Kuroko was stunned. She had expected Jason to deny her, not accept her demand. "Why are you letting me come?"

"Because I have limited uses of the Sloth Mark," Jason answered. "I used it once and I might need it to defeat some of the knights. Besides, you would probably fight me to come and we can't waste any time. I also know how capable you are and we will probably need your help."

"Really?" Kuroko didn't really know what else to say. She felt her face get hot when Jason complimented her. She followed him in silence. _So he thinks highly of me? But then why does he always annoy me so much? He actually seems like someone from Judgment should be like now. Maybe I got him all wrong. Worry about it later Kuroko, wait till you finish helping onee-sama._ She shook her head and wasn't paying attention, until she bumped into Jason, who had suddenly stopped. She looked around him and saw why. A large grin appeared on her face as she looked at the car.

The convertible was bright pink and quite girly.

"That b#$%^&#," Jason growled, and then sighed. "I guess beggars can't be choosers." He jumped over the door into the driver's seat, buckled up and put in the key. The engine hummed to life instantly. "At least it sounds like it's working perfectly." Kuroko hopped into the seat next to him.

"Let's go," she said impatiently. "We need to catch up with the others." She paused. "Do you even have a license? I thought you were only 15."

"I am and don't," Jason grinned. "Hold on tight." He floored the pedal and the car flew forward down the road. For a moment, Kuroko questioned this decision, as Jason sped as fast as he could toward London. She instinctively put her seatbelt on.

* * *

Accelerator was sitting down in the back of a truck, with his arms crossed, looking out at the buildings. While he appeared nonchalant, he was ready to flip the switch on his choker at the slightest sign of trouble. He only had about thirty minutes, so he couldn't just leave it on. Sitting across from him was Saiji, who was in a similar position. While Accelerator knew she liked to joke around, she was quite serious in battle, especially when fighting with her teammates. Accelerator didn't know much about Agnese, but she seemed to be a capable leader, when she wasn't acting like an idiot during down time. _Let's get this over with. It's not like this princess could be much stronger than that William guy. At least most of these people have combat experience. I am not in the mood to baby sit._ He remembered Last Order wanting to come, but he adamantly refused. His eyes moved over to Saiai and he noticed she was staring at him. "What," he snapped at her.

"Just thinking," she answered. "This is the first time we are super fighting on the same team."

"So?" Accelerator sneered. "Did my amazing battle prowess astound you last time? Don't tell me, you're going to confess. That's rich." He couldn't suppress a chuckle.

"As if," Saiai huffed. She wasn't going to admit she liked the way he sneered at her. It gave her goosebumps. _Man he is so hot when he looks down at people._ "Just leave some for the rest of us before you go on a rampage."

"No promises," Accelerator laughed.

"I'm sure you both will get plenty of chances to fight," Agnese told them sighing. "Why do I get stuck with the battle crazed ones?" She muttered the last sentence under her breath.

"Good to see you all in high spirits," Saiji said pulling out his sword. "We have company." He stood up suddenly, in the back of the truck, and swung his blade. An arrow was deflected into a metal light pole, denting it. Agnese pulled out her staff, while Saiai turned around to see where the attack came from. Agnese was a mid-range fighter, since there was a range limit on her staff's ability to redirect damage. Saia was a close range fighter with her Offense Armor. She could stop projectiles easily enough, though something with enough force, like anti-armor piercing rounds, could break her armor. She also could deliver powerful blows and lift heavy objects by controlling concentrated nitrogen at her fingertips.

Accelerator didn't have weaknesses like that.

Four tornados of air rushed from behind him as he stood up, like wings, and he jumped straight from the truck onto the building, in the direction the arrow had come from. He saw a single knight holding a bow looking at him. The knight shot another arrow at Accelerator, but he didn't care. The arrow hit him squarely between the eyes. Accelerator knew the calculations of the unknown vectors, along with the normal ones. He was use to the magic around the knight's weapons and could reflect it without a problem. The arrow flew back and destroyed the bow the knight was wielding. The knight managed to avoid the arrow piercing his arm by rolling to the right. A moment later Accelerator was standing over him. He reached down ad picked up the knight, as easily as if he was lifting a piece of trash, and looked over his shoulder, as he felt another arrow hit him. On a building across the street, another knight had shot at him. Accelerator grinned and threw the knight he was holding, like a high speed baseball. He hit the second knight squarely in the chest with the first, and they both flew off the roof and down to the ground out of sight.

"Good job at handling them so quickly," Saiji said jumping up to the roof. "I took out the other archer and there doesn't seem to be more. Let's get going." Accelerator nodded and jumped back down in the truck. The truck shook as he landed and Saiji joined them a moment later.

"Move it now!" Agnese called to the driver and their group kept moving forward. They traveled several streets and didn't see any other knights. "I can see them using those knights to take out specific people," she muttered. "But there should have been more defenses then this. I doubt they would just leave one side unguarded, even if they focused their troops in another location."

"I agree," Saiji said, keeping his sword out. "There's no way the princess would make it this easy."

"Well," Accelerator said plopping down in his seat and flicking his choker. "It really doesn't matter. I'll take down any defense they have set up."

"You super seem confident," Saiai pointed out and he laughed.

"You know damn well how strong I am," Accelerator said, "He does too." He jerked his thumb over at Saiji.

"Confidence is good," Saiji said. "But don't underestimate her resourcefulness. She's a master at military affairs. The power she received from Curtana only gave her physical abilities."

"At the rate we are moving," Agnese said looking at the street signs. "We should reach the palace around the designated time. Assuming nothing else happens."

The ride was going smoothly, since they took care of the archers, but they all knew something was wrong. Saiai was probably the one with the most experience in running into traps, as part of her job experience back in Academy City. It might have been because she was looking for scientific traps, instead of magical traps, that she noticed it first. There were small strings laying across the road, about a foot off the ground, connecting cars on both sides of the street. She recognized what those strings meant. "They got mines set up!" she yelled a second before the truck tripped the first one.

Two huge explosions appeared on either side of them.

* * *

"Finally some action," Frenda said excitedly, as she looked out towards London. She was turned around in her seat and was holding the edges of the truck. "Basically, this trip was fun, but was a little boring."

"I agree completely," Shizuri muttered, while nodding. Her arms were cross under her chest as she glanced at Frenda for a moment. "It's time for my rematch."

"You should rethink your strategy if you think you can defeat her by simply attacking head on," Stiyl commented, puffing on a cigarette. The girls noticed he was the only one who looked calm. The other nuns, in the truck, had anxiety etched on their faces. "If we had more time to prepare, we probably would have instigated a full on bombardment of the palace."

"Really," Shizuri said, raising an eyebrow. She looked interested in the prospect. "You really think highly of her."

"You fought her first hand," Stiyl replied, also raising an eyebrow. "You seem smart. Can you honestly say her powers did not far exceed yours?

"How dare you suggest such a thing," Frenda chimed in. "Mugino wouldn't be scared of anyone. Basically, she's one of the strongest ability users in Academy City." Frenda had witnessed Shizuri's fight versus Carissa, but she had absolute confidence in Shizuri's ability. Frenda also knew Shizuri's skills to adapt to fights, along with her brains, would allow her to win in the end. She had heard of Shizuri's encounter and loss with Accelerator, but that was a unique situation.

"Shut up Frenda," Shizuri snapped and Frenda's mouth closed instantly. Shizuri had to admit Stiyl had a point. Out of everyone they met, she actually respected Stiyl. He was serious and was able to think rationally under pressure when assisting in these assaults. _I hate this, but I really am no match for that b$%^ & on my own. I'm going to make sure to hit her cleanly, at least once, before we crush her._ "Overconfidence in these situations only leads to death." She had thought about all possibilities, when her group was split up, and decided Rikou was to stay behind. Her ability was powerful, but would be useless against magic users, as they did not have AIM fields.

"Glad to see at least one person near that idiot has sense," Stiyl said, a slight grin forming on his face.

Misaki was sitting silently in her chair. She was still upset about who she was forced to team up with. She didn't like Shizuri, for multitudes of reasons, and, by extension, her friends. She also didn't care for the way Stiyl seemed to insult Touma at every opportunity. He always slipped in an insult in during conversations that didn't require it. _I rather be with Touma's group, actually, I think I rather be partnered with anyone else besides these three, even Accelerator. I don't know why Touma talks like Stiyl is an old friend. At least when Accelerator, Kagere, and Tsuchimikado insult each other, they sound like jokes._ She fidgeted slightly in her seat at the other's conversation, but didn't want to speak up unless needed. Her remote was clutched tightly in her hand, as her eyes scanned the surrounding buildings.

"Look Mugino," Frenda called out suddenly pointing. "We have company." They all turned to look, as the truck came to a stop. At the end of the street, a large makeshift barrier of vehicles was set up, and several knights were standing on top of it, watching them. They were all carrying different weapons; swords, bows, or maces.

"Seems like they intend to slow us down," remarked Shizuri. "Though, I bet they wished they had more time to prepare."

"Seems like it," Stiyl agreed. "I bet they want each group to arrive at different times. Most likely to allow the princess's forces can pick us off bit by bit. Not a bad strategy, but a wall like that isn't going to stop us. Any of you want to take care of it, or should I?"

"I can do it nonvio…" Misaki started to volunteer, her remote already in the air. Her plan was to have the knights move out of the way, so they could just go straight through without any issues. She had just started to view their minds, when Shizuri stood up in the truck. Several green orbs appeared around her.

"They think a flimsy wall like that is going to stop me?" she laughed, a gleam of her old malice in her eyes. Misaki realized what was about to happen and shut her eyes to avoid seeing the destruction. She had still established a connection and realized the knights had seen Shizuri fight before. The same thought went through all of their minds.

 _Damn, it's her…_

Shizuri fired.

It was lucky they recognized the orbs, as it allowed them to start moving before she fired. Her beams ripped through the wall of metal like paper and several explosions followed. The original explosions from her beams tearing through cars, and several more explosions as other nearby vehicles exploded too. When the smoke and dust started to clear, they saw the barricade was in shambles. "To easy," Shizuri grinned.

"Good job Mugino," Frenda cheered.

"Looks like it's not over yet," Stiyl said taking out a couple rune cards. "The wall wasn't a real defense." The smoke had fully cleared and they had a clear view of a large number of knights lining the street.

"Great," Shizuri grinned. "I was hoping it wouldn't be this easy."

"Here we go again," Misaki mumbled to herself, her mouth dry.

* * *

"May I be so bold as to ask you something?" Villian asked Touma suddenly.

"Huh?" Touma turned to look at her surprised. He was watching the tops of the buildings as Itsuwa, Kaori, and Mikoto were scouting for any more knights. "Yes, what you need?"

"You have no duty to risk your life for England," Villian pointed out. "Yet you immediately agreed to help the church. Once you and your friends were safe, you could have just stayed away from London and not get involved. Why are you helping?"

"I don't need a reason," Touma admitted to her. "If someone's in trouble, then I simply want to help them in any way I can. Of course I would prefer not to rush in dangerous situations, but I can't just ignore people's suffering. These aren't enemies like in a video game, who only exist to die and give you experience. Everyone here is a living being, with hopes and dreams. I want to be able to protect everyone, even your sister. If fleeing would save everyone, I would run and hide in the darkest hole I could find. If fighting would save others, I will be the first to stand up." Villian stared at him long enough that he began to feel uncomfortable. "Did I say something wrong?" Index shook her head and sighed, but avoided saying what was on her mind.

"I understand your words," Villian said slowly. "But I have a hard time understanding your meaning. I never saw a person who would risk everything for complete strangers so readily."

"Isn't that why you demanded to come," Touma asked her. Villian had been quite persistent in coming. The crossbow she carried was slightly different than a normal one. For one, it wasn't made of metal. It was made of a polished amber wood. It also seemed to have a slide, similar to that on a pump-action shotgun, installed on the bottom. There were probably gears or a pulley system that made it easier to pull back, which would allow someone with slender arms, like Villian, to use.

"I couldn't let everyone fight without me," Villian said softly. "I hate violence, in all forms, but I can't let my people suffer like this. Worst of all, it is my sister that is causing their suffering. All around me, I see people risking their lives, when it would be easier to hide and let the events play out. The church is only fighting because my sister is hurting the civilians. They do not have any real reason to support any one of us specifically, but their support is to the people of England." Touma thought he saw a couple of the nuns turn their gaze away from them. "I can't stay hidden and let others fight for me. I realized I need to do everything I can, including helping stop my sister's coup."

"I don't think you should be on the battlefield," Touma said truthfully. "Your sister is after you personally, but I'm not going to stop you." He gave her a small smile. "I get told all the time I can't go but, somethings, you have to do what others don't think you should." Villian opened her mouth to thank him, when they were interrupted by the arrival of Mikoto, Kaori, and Itsuwa. Itsuwa took over driving and the previous driver scooted over.

"I think we got them all," Kaori said, sheathing her sword and sitting down when the trucks began to move again.

"There weren't a lot of them," Mikoto sighed, throwing herself down next to Touma and leaning back. "They just had bows that shot like high powered rifles, so they were spread out. Luckily, their armor could be magnetized. I simply pulled them toward us." She grinned at Touma and he couldn't resist laughing slightly, as he pictured a knight flying across the rooftops from Mikoto's power. "We knocked them all out so they shouldn't be able to strike us from behind."

"Thank you for avoiding any more casualties then absolute necessary," Villian said.

"We are lucky we can afford that luxury," Kaori told her, nodding slightly. "We had people specializing in movement, while also being able to strike quickly and effectively. I don't believe the other groups will have that luxury."

"Yea," Touma said grimly. He didn't know if Stiyl had anyone capable of taking down the knights easily, without killing them. Stiyl wasn't the type to hold back against an enemy, and Shizuri was with him. She also tended to go all out without regards to her opponent's safety. _She did grow up in the darkness, but I'm sure she can be a good person if shown the way out. Hopefully Misaki can keep the injuries to a minimum._

"What's that sound?" Mikoto asked. "A helicopter?" Touma frowned and turned his head upwards. He also heard the sound of air being cut repeatedly above them. Something was hovering high above them, but it wasn't a helicopter. He wasn't sure what it was, until it started getting closer. It was a large, white, plastic looking, fan shaped object, around fifty feet and at a right angle. It was spinning around and slowly coming down toward them.

"It's the debris from Curtana," he called out and he felt the truck lurch. As if the debris knew Touma had warned the others, it titled itself in midair and started to fall, unable to support its weight any longer. It started to spin downwards, looking like a giant spiral saw, right at the truck Touma and the others were in. "We have to move!"

"Hang on," Itsuwa said and the truck started to accelerate. The trucks behind them started to spread out, down any side streets they could fit, to try to avoid the impending blade. The debris hit the street and sunk a good twenty feet into the ground. Even stuck deep in the ground didn't stop its momentum. The debris kept rotating forward, cutting the street in half as it continued to spiral forward. Thanks to Itsuwa's acceleration and emergency lane change, they managed to avoid being hit directly by the debris. However, the shockwave, caused by the debris ripping up the street, hit their truck directly. Waves of asphalt, dirt, and concreated collided into their truck. The truck was forced to the side and crashed into several parked vehicles. The sudden impact caused them all to fly forward in the truck. Touma hit his head, and his vision blurred for a second, before he looked up.

"There's another one!" he yelled. He noticed a small figure in the distance, growing bigger. "Get off the street." Kaori grabbed Villian and jumped off, and the nuns and Amakusa spread out in every direction. Touma jumped off the truck and ran to the other side of the street. Mikoto was right behind him. They just managed to flee down another ally, when the large piece of debris slammed into the middle of the street. This one wasn't a fan shape, but a large rectangular block, like the trailer of a semi-truck. It was so heavy several vehicles were smashed flat under its weight, while others vehicles exploded when they had part of their body crushed. A shockwave blew vehicles, asphalt, dirt, and concreate all around it. Nearby buildings had their windows shattered and light poles were ripped from the ground. Touma and Mikoto managed to dive around a corner of a brick wall to avoid the majority of the debris. When the dust settled he looked over at Mikoto. "You okay?"

"Yes," she said nodding. Touma was aware she was panting slightly. "We can't continue down that street though. Let's go down that one. Remember, if we get separated, everyone is supposed to make their way to the palace."

"I know," Touma said, reluctantly nodding. _Hope they all made it safely. I saw Index run off with several other nuns. If we get to the palace, Carissa will be too busy to continue to throw Curtana's debris at everyone._ "Let's go." They started to run down the street, keeping near the side of the buildings and between cars parked on the street. They were hoping to avoid detection, since the street was quiet and appeared deserted. Of course, Touma's luck wasn't that good. They rounded a corner and nearly got impaled by two knights holding spears. "Shit," Touma groaned, his reflexes saving him. He was barely able to duck under the sharp tips.

"Stay down," Mikoto yelled and she shot a blue-white bolt at the knights. They both collapsed, smoking, before they could do anything else. Mikoto helped Touma to his feet. "They don't seem to have as many defenses anymore. It looks like they really lost Curtana's power."

"Well," Touma said, turning around until he and Mikoto were back to back. "Looks like those two weren't alone." Around ten more knights were emerging from nearby buildings, holding a variety of weapons. They surrounded Touma and Mikoto, about thirty feet away from them, and then stopped. One of the knights stepped forward and removed his helmet. Touma recognized the shoulder length blonde hair and blue eyes.

It was Zach.

Though, the Zach Touma was looking at was completely different than the one he met back at the palace. Zach was a young knight, with a rather cheerful deposition. Now, his eyes were full of malice, and his face contorted with rage. Touma had a feeling he knew why Zach was upset, and when Zach spoke up, Touma realized he was right. "Traitor," Zach snarled at him. "You betrayed us and Lady Carissa. You even struck at her through Curtana. She brought you in, and introduced you to us. We treated you as one of us, and what do you do? You betray her after she was willing to let your friends avoid this conflict."

"I didn't betray anyone," Touma rebuked. "You know what she is doing is wrong. I'm trying to save everyone by stopping this coup, including her."

"We aren't going to listen to your lies," Zach said raising his hand. Before Touma or Mikoto could respond, several strings of white light flew from the other's knight's hands and wrapped around Touma and Mikoto. Neither of them was fast enough to dodge, but Touma was able to raise his right hand high enough to touch the string. It flickered out of existence with the sound of breaking glass. Touma frowned slightly. He knew they knew about his power, and he wasn't sure what they expected to accomplish, until he heard Mikoto yell loudly. He turned around and saw two knights pulling her away from him. Two other knights moved and stood between him and Mikoto.

"Get off me," Mikoto yelled angrily as she began to spark. "What the… Why can't I break these?"

"We knew it wouldn't work on you," Zach said pulling out his sword and pointing it at Touma. "But your friend isn't immune to magic. Those bindings were designed to withstand lightning, so they will be able to hold her long enough to strike down if she causes trouble."

"Don't worry about me!" Mikoto called out to him. "Kick his butt!"

"Let her go," Touma said fiercely, taking a step toward Zach.

"We were asked to take you alive if possible," Zach said staring at Touma unblinkingly. "But we can strike down your companions if required. George Clark is currently fighting on another front, so the decision is left to me. Come quietly and your friends might live."

"Do you truly believe Carissa is right?" Touma asked him. "I know I only spent a short time with you guys, but you guys have a strong code of honor. You know what she is doing is wrong. I know George didn't feel it was right to go after the Queen or the other princesses. If she kills them, she's going to go down a dark path where she won't be able to return. I plan to save her from that. I'm here standing against her to save everyone. Zach, please step aside." For a brief instant, he saw Zach's eyes soften with doubt, before he shook her head.

"I can't trust you," he said. "I swore an oath to England and the Royal Family. You are an outsider who just stepped into our country and don't understand how things work here. Curtana chose her to be the ruler. She is the best option to bring England back to its former glory."

"You can't be sure of that," rebutted Touma. "For all you know her choices will only cause more strife. I can see it in your eyes, you know she's wrong. Help us stop her. She can still be saved. As a knight, her safety should be your priority."

"SHUT UP!" Zach yelled and then he took a deep breath. His next words were calmer and more refined. "I know about your hand. As long as I avoid it, you won't be able to defeat me. I'm going to strike you down here and take you back. What your punishment will be for betrayal will be up to the princess. Your friend will most likely be executed. If you defeat me," he looked over at the knights, who nodded. "We will let you both go. This is the only deal I can make with you. I still have my honor as a knight."

"Then I don't have a choice," Touma said taking another step toward him. "I'll just have to defeat you here and we will go join the others." They looked at each other for a moment, and then charged. Touma didn't know, nor could he tell, the knight's strength was far below their normal fighting prowess, even without the Telesma from Curtana. When Curtana had overloaded, the shockwave caused many nearby artifacts to be destroyed or broken due to the powerful magical force. This included the knight's armor, since it was enchanted to increase their physical might and magical defenses. Right now, Zach was using his own strength, but wielding a hastily forged magical sword. This wouldn't have been much comfort for Touma, if he had known, because Zach was far bigger, stronger, and faster than Touma.

As they charged each other, Touma made a fist and pulled it back. When they closed in on each other, Touma flung his fist directly at Zach's head. Zach swayed to the right, and used his left hand to knock Touma's blow harmlessly to the side. Zach raised his sword and swung it downwards at Touma's shoulder. Touma managed to roll out of the way of the blow, but Zach was able to kick him in the stomach. Touma grunted in pain and rolled over, but quickly spring up to his feet, staring at Zach. Touma dashed at Zach again and swing his fist at Zach's face. Zach swayed out of the way again and punched Touma in the gut. Touma gasped again in pain and staggered backwards, but was able to continue to stand. _Damn it,_ he thought. _I have to hit him with my fists, but with his armor, only his head is exposed, and he knows this._

"You seem to realize your situation," Zach told him. "I know your ability, and I have the ability to avoid it. Your hand can't break my armor anymore, it's not magical."

"Shut up," Mikoto yelled sparking up again. "I'm going to break these bonds and turn you into a crisp." The nearby knights were holding the white magic threads, but they turned to look at each other, slightly anxious. Carissa had informed them of Touma's friend's abilities. After Curtana exploded, they couldn't use magic, but they had been able to prepare. They had used the time to create some spells to work on the students from Academy City, who had power to fight evenly with the knight forces. Their preparation had included these magical strings, which were resistance to lightning. Mikoto was trying to use her ability to break out, but the strings were suppressing most of it. Some electricity was escaping, so the magic was not perfect, probably because it was assembled hastily. The knight's knew this and realized it was only a matter of time until it broke.

"She's pretty strong," Zach commented, glancing at her. "I'm going to finish this quickly. Your hand is dangerous to Lady Carissa and, if you won't join her, you area liability. Though, once you understand it, you can easily avoid its power."

"Understand it?" Touma asked slowly. "I don't even understand it. I don't think anyone truly understands it. I know people researching it who can't understand how it works." Mikoto looked at him and understood who he was talking about. "But just because I'm at a disadvantage, it doesn't mean I'm going to give up." He knew he still had one trick up his sleeve, and he hoped Zach was wrong.

"It would be easier if you did," Zach sighed. "I don't really want… never mind. I will execute my orders to the letter." He held out his sword in front of him, drew it back, and charged forward. Touma imitated the actions with his fist. They approached each other, when Zach felt something was wrong. He didn't know what, and couldn't see Touma acting any differently than normal. _It doesn't matter. I know what I'm going to do._ He stabbed his sword at Touma, as Touma's fist moved forward. Before his sword could make contact, a white light burst from Touma's hand. The wave of light engulfed Touma and Zach's sword for a moment. Zach saw the sword shattered, but he couldn't react in time for what was happening next. Touma's fist did not slow down and he delivered an uppercut into Zach's jaw.

The blow lifted Zach off the ground for a moment, before he fell down unconscious.

Touma stood over Zach, rubbing his fist as he looked at the other knights. Touma had hoped Zach's sword was magical, and it was a big risk he took. If the sword was not magical, the Imagine Breaker burst would not have affected it and the sword would have pierced his body. _It's been awhile since I have had to use that move,_ Touma thought to himself. He turned to look at the other knights. "I beat your leader and he promised you would let us go. Are you going to keep it, or do I have to fight every one of you?" He seriously hoped it was the first option, and he breathed a sigh of relief when the lights binding Mikoto faded away.

"I guess we should go?" she said running up to him. "Thanks for saving me."

"Yea," Touma nodded and then he looked back at the knights. "They follow a strict code and you can trust their promises. Hey," he called loudly to the other knights. "I promise we will save Carissa before it's too late and she does something irreversible." He and Mikoto took off running toward the palace before they could respond. When they were gone, one of the knights walked up and prodded Zach with the sole of his boot.

"They're gone," he said and Zach opened an eye. He stood up slowly and rubbed his jaw.

"Well," he said. "I certainly did not expect that flash of light. It looks like he can extend the range of his power. Does Lady Carissa know about this?"

"I don't believe so," another knight spoke up. "But, if you don't mind me saying so, it looks like you purposely let him win."

"Of course I didn't," Zach denied. "I made that deal in the heat of the moment, his words were getting to me. But I did make that promise and, as a knight, we had to keep it." The other knights knew what really happened, but none of them said anything. They knew Zach purposely left himself open, so Touma could hit him. While it was true the light had been a surprise, Zach's speed and reflexes would have allowed him to dodge. He was only pretending to fight in case anyone else, besides them, was watching. The reason was shared among all of the knights there. They believed Carissa was wrong in her approach and wanted Touma to succeed, but they couldn't directly stand against her. Zach looked in the direction Touma and Mikoto ran off in.

 _Best of luck, both of you._

* * *

Touma and Mikoto continued to run down the street towards Buckingham Palace. To their relief, it seems the debris from Curtana appeared to have stopped. They ran around a large chunk of the white material, avoided the collapsing street into the subway below, and had to climb around destroyed vehicles and piles of rubble before Mikoto realized something. "If she's not throwing that debris at us anymore," she asked. "Does that mean someone on our side managed to get to her?"

"I don't know," Touma admitted. "I would guess so, but she could be avoiding destroying the city as much as possible." Touma kind of hoped that was the case, though he didn't really believe it. He knew Carissa long enough to understand how ruthless she could be. He had no doubt she would level the entire city if it meant winning. Mikoto raised her eyebrow slightly, she also had the same thought, but she decided to not voice her concerns. They ran the rest of the way in silence, until the palace came into view. Unlike the rest of the city, the garden and palace looked relatively untouched. Carissa had not been throwing Curtana's debris as weapons here, like in the city. They jumped over the fence and landed in the garden with a soft thud.

"Looks like the windows had been destroyed," Mikoto said. "Think it was caused from the backlash of Curtana?"

"Probably," Touma said shrugging before they started to make their way closer. They jumped as they heard an explosion coming from the backside of the palace. "Someone is there!" he yelled out and pointed. "Let's go!"

"You don't have to tell me twice," Mikoto replied, and they dashed as fast as they could toward the noise. Several more explosions echoed, before they reached the side of the palace and turned to see the source. The scene behind the palace was much different than the way Touma and Mikoto came in. The lawn and asphalt had been torn to pieces, like an angry giant had pass through. Many large white objects had been created, from Curtana slicing dimensions, and many were sunk deep into the ground, making the scene look like an obstacle course. Standing in the middle of it carnage were three women, two of them were facing a third. Though it was the middle of the night, many decorative lights from the surrounding area allowed them to see everything clearly.

Villian was leaning up against one of the white objects, her fancy green dress torn and dirty, and her blonde hair messy. Even looking like she had been on the receiving end of a disaster, she still held herself in a way that emitted nobility. She was holding tightly to her crossbow, but it wasn't pointed at anyone. Standing in front of her was Kaori, her sword drawn in a defensive position and she never took her eyes of Carissa. Her clothes were also dirty, but looked in better shape than Villian's. Kaori's clothes just appeared to be covered in dirt and dust, most likely because she couldn't avoid the dirt from the explosions.

Across form them, with a smug look, was Carissa. She was still wearing her bright red dress, with leather coverings, and was resting Curtana on her shoulder. Though she was smiling, Touma felt an odd feeling of dread emitting from her. While the sword looked to be in a relaxed position, it felt like Carissa could lunge forward at any second. Carissa and Villian appeared to be talking, while Kaori kept watch to make sure Carissa did not attack Villian. Touma and Mikoto could not hear what they were discussing, but by the way Villian was growing slightly flustered, it was not going well. They started to approach the women cautiously when Carissa and Kaori turned to look at them.

"Good to see you two are ok," Kaori said.

"It will take a lot more than trying to squash us to stop us," Mikoto said, sparking up.

"I see," Carissa commented, eyeing them closely. "Looks like your back up arrived. I was wondering how many were going to survive my barrage. Though, I knew you would survive." She referenced Touma directly, and he involuntarily shuttered. "Are you still going to spout your nonsense?"

"No," Touma answered, shaking his head, but his voice was full of determination. "We are past the point of trying to convince you with words. We are going to have to show you why you are wrong." He made a fist and stared at her, straight in the eyes.

"I like your resolve," Carissa said. "One moment, I have to finish my sister and then we can settle this." Before Touma could respond, Carissa turned and made a horizontal slice with her sword. Every dimension were Kaori and Villian were standing was sliced, and a long white belt appeared where they were just a moment ago. It fell to the ground with a loud thud a moment later. Due to Kaori's reaction speed, she had been able to grab Villian and move them both out of the way. Thankfully, she had never let her guard down, even when Carissa had been talking to Touma.

"You..." sputtered Mikoto angrily as she let lose a torrent of electricity. The blue-white electricity arched through the air, but Carissa just swung Curtana and deflected it away. "Damn, I hate that sword."

"If you don't go all out," Carissa said laughing. "This won't last long. I wonder though, how many knights did you have to kill to get here. Well boy, you are the kind of person to avoid killing anyone, like my weak sister here. "

"Do you even care about the knights?" Touma asked incredulously. "Or do you just see them as tools?"

"They understood the risks when they joined," Carissa said, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Every one of them will give their lives if it means protecting England's future." She held out her sword and pointed it at him. "What I think of them doesn't matter. As the leader, I will use them as needed, regardless of the outcomes."

"They follow you out of loyalty," Touma replied angrily. "And you treat them as disposable pawns."

"It is all for the sake of England's future," Carissa said again. "You could have been part of it and you sti…" She stopped and blocked another bolt of electricity from Mikoto. "Do you mind? I am having a conversation here. I will deal with you in a moment."

"Like hell you will!" Mikoto yelled, for the first time in a long time, she was completely overcome with rage. "I'm sick of people like you. You always say, well it's for the greater good, but you really just do it for yourself. It doesn't matter if you are from the magic side or the science side. People always justify their horrible deeds. How many people have died because of that kind of reasoning? You aren't some kind of savior, you are just a dictator."

"Shut up," Carissa said slowly, her grin fading. "Children, like you, have no idea who I am. I was going to finish you after my sister, but now I think your disrespect pushes you to the front of the line." She flickered out of their view and appeared next to them, before they could barely move. Carissa raised her sword above her head and begun to bring it down at Mikoto. A second later, Touma and Mikoto were thrown backwards, as Kaori moved between them, and brought her blade upwards to meet Carissa's. Their two blades collided in midair with a clang, and a small shockwave blew their hair back. Kaori's blade was pushed back, obviously she wasn't as strong as Carissa, so Kaori tilted her blade and parried Curtana to the side. The dirt and grass next to her was blown away, as a gash appeared on the ground.

"Thanks for distracting her," Kaori commented, jumping back to stand slightly in front of Touma and Mikoto. "Princess Villian has retreated to a safe distance. We can go all out now."

"Oh really," Carissa said mocking. "Even with your powers as a Saint, you aren't a match for me." Kaori looked at her for a moment, and then moved at superhuman speed. She swung her blade so fast, it appeared to be flashes of light. Wires scattered around her and tried to encase Carissa, while Kaori continued her assault. Even with her speed and strength far surpassing normal humans, to Carissa, it was still child's play. Carissa simply dodged or deflected every blow. When the wires threatened to surround her, she used the All Dimensions Severing Spell and slashed through them like paper. As a result, a thin, white, belt-shaped debris was created, ten feet long and flew at Kaori. She sliced through it, but Carissa took the opportunity to kick Kaori in the chest, knocking her back. Kaori grunted in pain and landed on a knee to stabilize herself. Carissa saw movement out of the corner of her eyes and turned to look at the source.

Carissa had to raise Curtana to avoid getting hit in the shoulder from the surprise attack. She saw the movement before she heard the echoing boom. Mikoto had fired her railgun at Carissa and, since it moved faster than the speed of sound, the boom was heard after the shot was fired. The attack didn't break Curtana, but the force pushed Carissa back a foot, her feet leaving grooves in the soft dirt beneath her. "Not bad," Carissa said. "Though, you should aim for a vital spot, rather than a shoulder to incapacitate. Hmm, I couldn't reflect it. It seems like your attack isn't pure energy like your friend's beam. Their destructive potential is similar though."

"Monster…" Mikoto mumbled. _I saw her deflect Mugino's attack, but mine too? Do we even have a chance?_

"No mere human can stand against the leader of angels," Carissa laughed. "If you beg for mercy now, I might give you a quick death."

"L-like I would do that," stuttered Mikoto. She was definitely scared. She had seen Accelerator demonstrate his full power, and even he didn't give off the kind of pressure Carissa was giving. _Maybe the fact Accelerator, at the time, believed he was killing dolls, but she… she knows exactly what she is doing. They told us we would need a small army to fight her, but still, this is insane._ Her hand began to shake when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked and saw it belong to Touma. She felt her hands stop, as he stepped up next to her.

"We have to hold on," he told her. "As everyone else arrives, our chances improve. We knew how strong she was already." Touma didn't like the fact other people had to risk their lives to stop Carissa, but he knew they wouldn't be able to do it alone. If it was possible for only him to stop her, he would have gone off on his own in a second. After seeing Carissa's strength firsthand, he had to admit to himself he couldn't do it alone. _The final boss is standing right before us, and we can't do anything._ What kept him focused was he knew taking down the leader would save more lives, than trying to take down every knight scattered around the country.

"Precisely," Kaori said standing up. "The longer this goes on, the more backup we will have." She nodded slightly toward their left and Touma and Mikoto turned. Itsuwa had emerged from behind a group of trees, and five other nuns followed her. Itsuwa had her spear already drawn and she pointed it at Carissa. The other nuns had drawn their weapons and stood behind her. Touma recognized a couple of them from the Agnese forces.

"Sorry we're late," Itsuwa called out. "Lot of destroyed buildings and the knights kept blocking us."

"Doesn't matter," Kaori said. "The fact you are here is blessing enough."

"Great," Carissa sighed. "More weaklings. Can't you all just keel over and die already?" She whipped Curtana out in front of her, causing the dimensions to sever and sent a gigantic block of dimensional debris at Itsuwa's group. Itsuwa jumped, at the last second, on top of it, while the nuns dived to avoid being crushed flat.

"Sorry," Itsuwa told her. "We are here to stop you." Itsuwa's eyes met Kaori's and they both lunged at Carissa simultaneously. While Itsuwa was not nearly as fast as Kaori, she was a normal magician and not a Saint, Itsuwa was well versed in working with others. They were able to match the timing of their blows and alternated their strikes perfectly in sync.

 _Well this is annoying_ ,Carissa thought. Both of them were far weaker than she was, but she wasn't able to get a clean hit on them. They always kept dodging by a hairs width. After she dodged several more blows, she realized why. _Their alternating strikes are forcing me to dodge and throwing off my aim. Impressive, but let's see them keep up with this._ Carissa's blows become faster, and each blow had more weight behind it. She swung her blade at Itsuwa, who was forced to block. The blow was directly aimed at her body, so Itsuwa took the full force of the blow. It knocked her back several feet and she lost her breath, but she was still alive. Kaori tried to take advantage of this and strike Carissa with her sword, but Carissa rotated on the ball of her foot. Kaori's sword missed her, as she spun 360 degrees, and Curtana was then aimed at Kaori's throat. Right before it struck Kaori, Carissa had to adjust her trajectory to avoid two arrows flying at her from the other nuns. Thinking back, she realized she really didn't have to dodge, it was more based on instinct. The dodge cost her, as Kaori slipped out of the reach of her blade, and Kaori brought up her blade to cut into Carissa's cheek.

 _That was close,_ Kaori thought, raising her blade again. _I'm glad the others are here or I would have fallen already._ She watched a small drop of blood slide down Carissa's cheek. Carissa stuck out her tongue as the blood hit her lips. She looked surprise for a moment and then laughed. Everyone noticed the wound already healed.

"Even if they are weak," Carissa said. "Numbers do add up. But I wonder if you realized the weakness of your plan yet." Kaori and Itsuwa didn't say anything, and jumped back into the fray. Blades flashed, sparks flew, and clangs echoed across the garden. The other nuns spread out in a semi-circle to try to get a clean hit, if an opening arrived. On the other side of the fight, Touma and Mikoto could only watch.

"I don't know how they can find an opening in that fight," Mikoto said, trying to keep her eyes on the blades. They were moving so fast, she kept losing sight of them, only seeing them stop for a brief moment when they collided. She held one of her coins tightly in her hand. So far, she had only seen her Railgun have any effect against Carissa. Her electricity was just knocked away, like the princess was swatting a fly. "I want to help, but I'm afraid I'll hit Itsuwa-san or Kanzaki-san."

"I know it's hard," Touma said through gritted teeth. "But we have to wait for an opening." Waiting was probably harder for Touma then it was for Mikoto. He wanted to rush in and grab Curtana with his right hand, but he knew that was impossible. He and Kaori had a long conversation, before they left for London, on what he had to do. Kaori told him he wasn't supposed to rush into the middle of the fight, until the church forces had worn Carissa down. If he rushed in blindly, there was a chance he would be killed and the entire plan would have been for naught. They were going to weaken Carissa as much as possible, and try to stop her movements long enough for him to touch Curtana. Even though he knew this, and Kaori had reiterated it many times, it was still one of the toughest things he had to do. His very instinct roared at him to jump in and help stop Carissa.

"This is getting annoying," Carissa mumbled and she stepped up her game. Rather than just relying purely on physical powers, she started to mix in her dimensional cuts. She parried a blow from Kaori, and made a slashing motion at Itsuwa. Instead of physically cutting at her, the dimension was severed and a white object, several feet long flew out. Itsuwa had to duck under it, to avoid a concussion, and it interrupted her timing for a counter attack. Carissa took advantage of this to turn and swung a powerful blow at Kaori. Kaori raised her blade and blocked it, but Carissa delivered a powerful kick into her stomach. With her strength and speed, it was like being hit by a machine gun, instead of human martial arts. Kaori was sent flying, and Carissa turned her attention to Itsuwa. Itsuwa thrust her spear and Carissa's head, and her response was to tilt her head slightly to avoid it. She felt a wind brush past her face and she grinned. She was about to swing her sword when she was forced to step back. A beam of light flew through where she had been standing a second earlier, followed by a loud boom. _Her aim is better, but she only fires it when I'm in the open. Such weakness can be exploited._ Keeping track of her priorities, she swung Curtana at Itsuwa, sending her flying back. If Itsuwa hadn't blocked, she would have been cut in half.

 _Arg, why can't I hit her?_ Mikoto though desperately. By knocking Kaori back, Carissa gave her a perfect opening to fire a railgun. Even though Carissa had powers far surpassing human, Mikoto fired the railgun at Curtana, She didn't want to kill anyone, but she knew holding back wasn't going to work.

"Brat," Carissa growled at her. "I'm getting really tired of you butting in." She made a large horizontal cut and sent a large piece of debris flying at Mikoto. Mikoto used her magnetism to propel herself towards the palace and narrowly avoided the attack. Touma ran the opposite direction and managed to avoid being crushed by the debris' weight. When it hit the ground and sunk deep into it, it was obvious to him it weighed more than steal of the same size. It was lucky Touma was standing farther back then Mikoto, who had moved forward to fire her railgun, he had time to dodge. Carissa was about to create another large piece of debris, when she quickly turned and blocked a blow from Kaori. "Attacking while my back is turned? That seems quite unlike you."

"When fighting someone of your caliber," Kaori replied. "I need to take advantage of every opportunity." Their faces were less than a foot apart with just their blades cross between them. Carissa's face was smug, with a hint of annoyance, and Kaori's face was full of determination. A moment later, they separated and continued to strike at each other with superhuman speed. During their exchange, Itsuwa stood up, clutching her arm. Though she had managed to block, she was forced to take the blow head on. Her spear had been designed and crafted to withstand powerful impacts, but it didn't prevent the force from traveling through to her body. Her arm was numb and she was trying to restore feeling to it. Touma had dodged around several large pieces of debris to reach her.

"Where are the others?" he asked.

"They were currently fighting the knights," Itsuwa mumbled. "We heard the sounds of fighting, so we had to send a small group to assist. The others are making sure we don't get flanked."

"You ok?" Touma asked.

"Yes," Itsuwa nodded. "Please don't worry about me. You know what you have to do. After this is all done, we can thank you properly for your help." She looked back over at the fight between Carissa and Kaori. While they both were incredibly powerful, Carissa was overpowering Kaori. Carissa's blows were faster and, everything their blows clashed, Itsuwa saw the strain on Kaori's face. _I have to help her,_ Itsuwa thought desperately. She flexed her arm, while it still hurt, she had full movement again. She raised her spear and was about to jump into the fray, when a large dumpster flew out of nowhere at Carissa. Kaori noticed it a moment before impact and jumped backwards.

"You aren't the only one who can throw things around!" Mikoto yelled from near the palace. A couple more large metal trashcans started to float, and then she propelled them forward using magnetism. Carissa looked bored as the approached her. She jumped over two of them, and then cut the third one in half with a simple slashing motion. A long, thin, white belt debris flew at Mikoto and she was forced to jump to the side to avoid it. It crashed into the side of the palace, leaving a large indention in the wall. Carissa raised Curtana again and this time it appeared she was targeting Mikoto. Before she could, several arrows flew at her and she reversed direction and created a large white debris wall to block them. This wall also prevented Itsuwa from approaching.

"It's just one pest after another," Carissa said angrily. "All of you can die already." She kicked the debris wall and it was lifted into the air with just her strength. It flew at the nuns and they had to scatter before

It came crashing down on them. It hit the ground with a large thud and continued to slide, smashing into the fence, leaving a large barren grove in the garden. "As soon as one pest arrives, more follow. It's time for a thorough extermination." She raised her sword and prepared to make an enormous cut to crush all of them with a single move. The nuns, Mikoto, Itsuwa, and Touma began to retreat, while Kaori was beginning to lunge forward to try to stop the attack. Carissa had just started to swing Curtana when she stopped. Touma didn't know why, but he noticed Kaori had stopped too. Both Carissa and Kaori turned to look up into the sky in the same direction.

"Why did they…" he muttered when he heard it. He looked in the same direction and his words were caught in his throat. Something large was flying through the air directly at them all. As it got closer, he saw it was a large white shape. _That's a piece of Curtana's debris, but how… Ah crap, it's to close._ He turned and continued to run. The piece was easily 100 feet long. It was around the size of one of the pieces Carissa had been throwing across the city. It was heading toward were Carissa and Kaori were fighting, but it was large enough the impact would affect every one there. Kaori and Carissa were in the most danger, but their speed allowed them to dodge by retreating in opposite directions.

The debris smashed down onto the ground with an earth shattering boom. Dirt, asphalt, and foliage were thrown like a small tidal wave from the point of impact. Touma dove behind one of the large pieces of Curtana's debris to avoid being suffocated. He pulled his shirt over his mouth and nose, as dust was thrown up into the air. A moment later he peered out from behind his cover and looked around. The dust was beginning to settle, but he couldn't see anyone. Laughter began to echo through the dust and smoke, and then Touma heard several familiar voices.

"Ha, I was right. This was a lot faster than walking through all those f$%^*& mines."

"That was super awesome. We definitely have to do it again."

"I think I'm going to lose my lunch."

The dust cleared and Touma saw three people standing on top of the debris. He grinned when he recognized Accelerator, Agnese, and Saiai, all of whom seemed to be perfectly fine. _I'm glad they are all okay. We really need help._

"About time you got here!" Mikoto yelled when she saw who it was. "I'm surprised you didn't just barrel through everything to get here."

"What?" Accelerator said turning around and looking at her. "How did the third rate beat us?" He glanced over his shoulder at Agnese and Saiai. "You two slowed me down."

"It super wasn't my fault," Saiai said, raising her hands in front of her.

"We needed to clear the path as much has possible for everyone else," Agnese told him, sounding like this was the millionth time she had to explain it. "Just be glad she gave you a convenient way to get here."

"Good to see you Accelerator," Touma called out. He noticed Kaori grinned at Accelerator's presence and he remembered she knew how strong Accelerator was. Itsuwa started to make her way, silently to avoid attention, over to Touma.

"Well now that we are here," Accelerator said jumping down onto the ground and turning to look at Carissa. "I guess it's time to finish you off." He didn't even bother to look at Saiai and Agnese as they hoped down too and spread out to either side. Neither one of them wanted to get in his way.

Carissa was silent as she looked at the unexpected arrivals. Well, their way of arrival was unexpected, because she had known more of the church forces would be making their way here. She didn't recognize two of them, but she didn't spare them anything more than a passing glance. To Carissa, those two were garbage, it was Accelerator she had her eyes on. She knew who he was, she met him at the audience earlier, but she didn't understand his powers. From the reports she obtained, he had effortlessly stood against even battled hardened knights. She understood a single touch from his could destroy objects and send people flying. _He's not a magician, I know that. His science power isn't pure strength, but I don't know the trick behind it. He is actually a threat I need to get rid of immediately._ She swung Curtana horizontally in front of her and the dimensions severed. A large piece of white debris appeared and she flung it at Accelerator.

Accelerator frowned at her action, not because he was scared but because he had never seen a dimension severed before. He had been told of the power, but he didn't believe it. Now that he saw it with his own eyes, he couldn't understand it. It was like Carissa cut a void into the very world with nothing behind it, until the white debris appeared. _How the hell does this even work?_ The chunk of debris flew at him, but he didn't even bat an eye. The debris collided with him and then immediately revered direction. Right before the debris hit Carissa, there was another void and the debris split in half. Each half flew past either side of Carissa and collided into the side of the palace. The wall and roof collapsed and starting crashing into the ground until it turned into a large pile of rubble. "Oops," he laughed, not sorry at all. "I hope you have good insurance on the palace."

"Interesting," Carissa muttered, ignoring his comment and looking at him. "At last, a real test for Curtana's power." She didn't understand his power, but she didn't care anymore. She wanted to test the full power of Curtana and she needed a strong opponent. They looked at each other for a moment, their eyes clashing, and they charged at each other. Accelerator held out his hand, as he blasted his way forward, and Carissa swung her blade forward, to slice off his arm. His hand touched Curtana and for an instant, Touma didn't have any idea what was going to happen. On one side there was a powerful magical artifact, on the other Accelerator had the ability to manipulate any direction. The outcome surprised everyone.

Accelerator flew backwards, uninjured, and landed on his feet.

 _What the hell?_ Accelerator had never encountered anything like that. When he started to redirect the magical vectors, he found out something. Curtana had almost an infinite number of vectors. No matter how strong a computer was, there was always a limit to how much data could be processed. The human brain was exactly like a computer. Even though Accelerator was one of the smartest people in Academy City, he still had limits. He immediately made the decision to retreat, rather than getting hit by the sheer mass of power. _I can't affect the sword directly, so I guess I have to aim for her body._ Before he got a chance to plan his attack, Carissa was already approaching him.

"Don't tell me that's all you have," she said grinning. She had felt some of Curtana's power being deflected, but it was only a drop in an ocean, so it didn't affect anything for her. She wanted to see what he could do against Curtana's real power, so she unleashed the All Dimensions Severance Spell. She drew back her blade, and aimed her slash at Accelerator's throat.

Accelerator felt fear before he had an idea what happened. It was the same kind of fear he felt when he had first fought against Touma. It was the fear of facing an existence that shouldn't even exist. His body moved by instinct and he flung his body to the right. His quick movement caused the slash to miss his neck, but it cut into his shoulder. There was no reflection at all. Accelerator's eyes realized this immediately. How were there no vectors? He could only come up with one explanation. Carissa was slicing something that had no proper calculation. After all it's not like a temporal plane is just made up of vectors. _If she's cutting scalars, I wouldn't be able to alter the trajectory because there is no direction. If I had time to thoroughly examine the building blocks of dimensions… f#$% that. Who knows how long it would take to do that shit?_ He grabbed his left shoulder with his right hand, as he felt the pain. His vector manipulation was preventing blood from flowing out, but it still hurt like hell. "So I guess the stories are true," he said slowly. "That sword really is special."

"About time you showed me some respect," Carissa laughed. "It's far too late for you to beg for your life though." Across the garden, Mikoto and Saiai could only stare in shock. They had never seen Accelerator retreat, or be so obviously overpowered. The fact Accelerator was injured by an attack, that should have been reflected, surprised them both. Mikoto had only see Touma affect him so easily, and Touma was rather unique. Kaori was also surprised, but not quite as much as the others. She knew there was a limit to his strength, because of her observation against Acqua, but his power could be said to be above a normal Saint. Agnese didn't expect any outcome, but she knew Accelerator had to witness Curtana's power at some point. "It appears your power can't stop Curtana." She drew her sword back and prepared to make a much larger cut, one he couldn't avoid.

"Shit," Accelerator muttered. For the first time in a long time, he wasn't sure what to do. With just that brief exchange, he realized Carissa was faster than him. He also couldn't reflect Curtana and he knew Carissa realized this. The void began to appear and was traveling toward him, when a hand reached past his shoulder and collided with the void. With the sound of shattering glass, the void disappeared. Carissa was forced to jump back, as the hand narrowly missed Curtana. "Who told you to get involved?" Accelerator snarled.

"Sorry," Touma said sincerely. "Damn, thought I had it that time." He noticed Carissa's sole focus was on Accelerator, so he snuck around the debris and waited for the perfect moment. "I can't erase the actual debris, it seems to be a physical byproduct of her cut, but I can negate the cut itself." He slammed his fist into his other hand. "How about a team up?" Touma grinned at him.

"Pssh," Accelerator huffed. "I could take her down myself. But I guess I can give you the honor of fighting with me."

"Thanks," Touma said resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "It's our first official team up isn't it?"

"Shut up."

"You two really are an interesting combination," Carissa commented. "It is a shame you won't join me, such a waste of potential. But you two can't possibly defeat me alone. After all…" She stopped as a large lightning bolt came down and struck her. The bright flash faded and Carissa still stood looking annoyed, but appeared to be uninjured, though smoking slightly

"They aren't alone," Mikoto yelled at her. "I'm here too."

"So are we," Kaori added as she and Itsuwa joined Touma and Accelerator. Both of them had their weapons drawn and pointed at Carissa. The other nuns, who had hid from Accelerator's big entrance, had also prepared their weapons on the opposite side of Carissa.

"I haven't had a chance to show off my power," Agnese said holding out her Lotus Wand threateningly.

"We will stop you," Itsuwa declared.

"Don't forget about me," Saiai piped up. "I super want to punch her once or twice."

"Hmm," Carissa said, looking rather amused. "You certainly are confident. After all, thinking of standing up to the leader of angels is foolish bravado. But, I have many more tricks under my sleeve. Did you think I had not prepared for every eventuality?"

"No matter what tricks you have," Touma told her. "We can overcome it. You are alone while our numbers will just grow as our allies make their way here."

"She is not alone," a strong confident male voice said. While the man did not yell, his voice reverberated through all of them. Every one of them, including Carissa turned to see who it was. Walking toward them, still dressed in his fine suit, was Knight Leader. He walked confidently toward them, his eyes never leaving Touma's face.

 _No,_ Mikoto groaned silently. _We are barely standing up to her alone, now he's here? Kuroko said he was ridiculously powerful too._

"So you finally showed yourself," Carissa snarled, though there was a slight hint of fondness. "You disappeared after chasing down one person."

"I'm sorry my lady," Knight Leader said and bowed. "He used an unknown style of magic, and he was accompanied by a member of the boy's group. She also had a strange power that could bypass my defenses."

"I expect a full report," Carissa told him. "For now, let's end these fools. Oh, keep him for last," she gestured at Touma. "I have a special punishment for him." Knight leader nodded and Touma felt a shiver down his spine. He also felt several dark auras coming from Mikoto, Itsuwa, Kaori, and Agnese. Accelerator also noticed this and grinned, but his grin was for something completely different. Knight leader pulled out his sword, from his waist holder, and stood next to Carissa, facing them.

There was silence as the two forces stared at each other. An ominous feeling hung in the air and the wind itself seemed to die, as if it was afraid.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Mikoto: So…. How did Mugino-san do?**

 **Me: Well, she only threatened to kill a couple readers.**

 **Accelerator: Sounds about right.**

 **Motoharu: Well, could have been worse, right? Good luck you guys in facing Carissa.**

 **Touma: We are going to succeed because we have to.**

 **Misaki: When I get there and stand besides my beloved Touma, we definitely will.**

 **Mikoto: I'm already here. We will take care of it long before you show up.**

 **Misaki: My Misaka-san, you are so violent.**

 **Mikoto: You…**

 **Motoharu: You can always ask Kami-yan who he wants to fight with…. Oh he disappeared. Well, who is doing the next chapter comments?**

 **Me: I wanted Accelerator too, but he just flicked me off and put on his headphones.**

 **Ruiko: Uiharu and I cou…**

 **Last Order: MISAKA wants to do it MISAKA yells as MISAKA raising her hand and waves it wildly.**

 **Me: Hmm**

 **Accelerator: No.**

 **Me: Well if Accelerator won't do it, I suppose you could. Some of the readers though post things that may not be suitable for… Nah, I'm sure you will be fine.**

 **Accelerator: Fine, I'll f$%^ &% do it.**

 **Motoharu: Mother hen.**

 **(EXPLOSION)**


	55. S2 Battle for Buckingham Palace pt 2

**Fine, this is Accelerator, as you all damn well know if you paid attention to the end of the last chapter.** _ **MISAKA is here too, MISAKA announces as MISAKA revels in the glory of being able to open.**_ **Last Order is here too. I guess I have to answer questions and not kill people. No promises though. So many questions, but I guess I am the strongest so people would admire me. The author gave me limited time, so I guess I'll answer maybe around five random ones. This is such a pain.** _ **MISAKA wants to choose one MISAKA demands as MISAKA stomps her feet.**_ **Fine whatever.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: It was bound to happen eventually.** _ **MISAKA thinks Accelerator isn't being honest MISAKA suggests slyly as MISAKA nods her head knowingly… Ouch.**_ **Shut up brat.**

 **Swoob: … I seriously have no idea how to respond to this. I think I have to kill you so this never gets out. How do you forgive yourself when what you have done can't be repaid in a lifetime?**

 **Handsomistic1: Fine, I'll answer these damn rumors, if you don't tell those idiots. The girls name is Estelle Rosenthal. She's actually a magician, thought I didn't believe it until just recently.** _ **She's trying to take Accelerator by not covering herself up when he's around MISAKA shouts as MISAKA can't understand her reasoning!**_ **Shut up. Don't give those idiots any ideas. Since the IB cancels my AIM field, even if I could discover the IB vectors, I wouldn't be able to defect them. For the rest of the stuff, go to hell.**

 **Salishious: I would get popcorn and watch the death battle. Though, I was voting for the Saten girl to win, but she's not really assertive enough to get through the damn hero's denseness.**

 **Guest: Eh, some scientist tried to get her to assassinate me, she failed, I brought her back, other people fixed her up and now she freeloads at the apartment.** _ **MISAKA remembers a lot more than that MISAKA interrupts…**_ **No you don't.** _ **But…**_ **No. You. Don't.**

 **Anon: Who the hell is Suzushina Yuriko? It sounds like a stupid made up name to fool people as part of a prank and will never have any basis in reality.** _ **Are you okay MISAKA asks worriedly, as MISAKA realizes Accelerator's change in attitude.**_ **Yea, I just got really pissed for some reason. I guess you can choose a question.** _ **Yay MISAKA cheers as MISAKA jumps up and down in joy.**_

 **wildarms13:** _ **MISAKA wants you to answer this one MISAKA declares after MISAKA finished reading the questions.**_ **Damnit, I need to kill him.** _ **What type of girl do you like MISAKA asks as MISAKA watches Accelerator's reactions carefully.**_ **Whatever, I don't have one.** _ **LIES MISAKA accurses as MISAKA points a finger at you. MISAKA demands you tell her MISAKA demands.**_ **Fine, but first…** _ **Wah, don't cover MISAKA's ears MISAKA cries as MISAKA tries to remove your hands. MISAKA can't hear anything.**_ **I prefer a girl who doesn't annoy me.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

Touma wasn't sure what the plan was. Being so close to Carissa and Knight Leader, they couldn't say anything secretly, without being overheard. He had never seen Knight Leader in action, but Touma heard his strength was at Saint level, even without being given Curtana's Telesma. _Damn it, we were having trouble dealing with just Carissa. By diverting her focus, we slowed her down slightly, but now he can interrupt our strategy._ His eyes darted to Kaori and saw she had a serious expression on her face. _She knows the situation isn't good either._ He looked over at the others. Mikoto was nervously biting the corner of her lip in anticipation, Accelerator was focusing all his attention on Carissa, and the other's had anxiety etched plainly on their face. "What do we do?" Touma mumbled to Kaori.

"I hate to ask this," Kaori said, her lips barely moving. She spoke so softly, he could barely hear her. "But Itsuwa and I will distract Carissa, and the rest of you need to take down Knight Leader as fast as possible. I know this is asking a lot, but we have to be able to focus all our strength on her."

"Ok," Mikoto nodded hesitantly. "Any idea of his powers?"

"He's a physical fighter mostly," Kaori explained. "Watch out for his speed and strength."

"We will give you as much time as we can," Itsuwa added. "But it needs to be fast."

"My forces will support you as much as we can," Agnese said grimly. Her forces usually relied on superior numbers to accomplish task. So fighting an individual, with a handful of nuns, was normal for her. But with only a small number of nuns, versus someone at Saint Level, it would not guarantee success.

"Whatever," Accelerator said dismissively. "None of you need to bother with him."

"What?" Saiai exclaimed looking at him. "I'm super ready to fight."

"You think you can handle him yourself?" Mikoto asked. "You have seen what these kinds of people can do."

"Trust me," Kaori told him. "You will want back up when fighting him." Accelerator laughed in response.

"Oh," he said grinning. "None of you will be needed."

Touma frowned. _He's smart enough to know how strong they are. Carissa even managed to injure him effortlessly. What does he know to give himself so much confidence? Is Knight Leader injured?_

"Look at them strategizing," Carissa mocked. "Though, the white haired boy has an unusual power with physical contact. Take out the pests and leave the Academy City brats to me. I have a score to settle with that girl." Her eyes darted to Mikoto, and Mikoto gulped, but then stared back at Carissa with a determined expression. "Be quick about it. You took you own sweet time coming back."

"My injuries were severe," Knight Leader said taking a step forward and swinging his sword downwards. "But I will not fail you a second time." The grey steel on his sword sparkled slightly in the light from the surrounding decorations, and then it began to bubble. The color changed to a deep red, the red bubbles grew larger, and then began to merge. The normal sized long sword grew three meters long, and it started to emit a dark aura.

"That does not look good," Touma said. _What is that?_ He turned to look over at Accelerator, who didn't look nervous at all, just a bit curious. _Well, it's not Curtana's power, so he might be able to deflect it._

"I'm surprised you can use Hrunting without Curtana's Telesma," Carissa commented, slightly impressed.

"I managed to save a small amount after my battle," Knight Leader answered. "It won't last long, but it should be enough to end Kaori Kanzaki and a few others."

"Then let us not keep them waiting," Carissa said raising her sword and making a horizontal cut. A large piece of debris flew from the void at everyone, forcing them to scatter, except Accelerator. He just stepped forward and knocked the debris casually away with his hand. It flew to the side and crashed into a tree, knocking it over. "Take out the church members first," Carissa told Knight Leader again, as she prepared to make another cut. Her instincts told her something was wrong, and she ducked immediately.

Knight Leader had swung his sword horizontally at her neck.

If her instincts hadn't warned her, and her speed wasn't superhuman, that blow would have decapitated her. A few strands of her hair fell down around her, as the blade shaved the ends. She drew Curtana and made an upwards slash, from Knight Leader's lower left hip, to his upper right shoulder. The wound was deep, and bright red blood sprayed out. Knight Leader staggered backwards, held his hand up to his chest, and pressed down on the wound. "Nice try," Carissa growled.

"I thought I could end it with a single blow," Knight Leader gasped, through the pain.

"What happened?" Touma asked bewildered, unable to rationalize the event he just saw.

"Did… did Knight Leader betray her?" Mikoto asked the others in shock.

"I don't know…" Itsuwa said and trailed off. Agnese and Kaori had similar expressions of confusion. They all knew Knight Leader, Kaori knew him the best, and they all were positive Knight Leader would follow Carissa to the end. A betrayal from him was the furthest thing from their minds. Touma turned and looked at Accelerator, who was frowning.

"How did you know?" Touma asked.

"It didn't go as well as I pictured," Accelerator mumbled, and made a fist. "He messed up the timing." He looked like he was about to dash forward to fight Carissa, when she spoke up again.

"Who are you?" she asked, pressing Curtana against Knight Leader's neck.

"I hoped you wouldn't see through it so fast," Knight Leader replied. Carissa spun and kicked him in the stomach, sending him crashing, with a bang, into a piece of Curtana's debris.

"Who are you?" she demanded again. She raised an eyebrow when she saw the wound on his chest had already closed. _So, high speed regeneration, not bad._ Knight Leader grinned and slowly shrank, until a blonde haired, orange-eyed boy appeared. "A kid?" she asked. "Were you the one who defeated Knight Leader?" _But his arm seems to be covered in the shadow I heard about, it must be injured._

"I was," Jason acknowledged. "Though, I had help."

"Would you be interested in a job?" Carissa asked. She continued after she saw Jason's eyes widen in surprise. "I appreciate strength. If you can defeat Knight Leader, it means you are strong. I am not one to waste a useful tool."

"What sort of benefit plan would I expect?" Jason asked curiously. "I don't think I'm getting paid enough for my…"

"JASON I SWEAR FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!" Touma roared across the field. "THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR THAT!" He was pissed Jason was joking around, when so many lives hanged on the outcome of this fight. Mikoto, Itsuwa, Agnese, and Kaori just watched with dumbfounded looks on their face. Accelerator and Saiai weren't even trying to conceal their grins. Accelerator had known from the start who it was, with only one small piece of information. The sword, Knight Leader had been carrying, had been stolen by Jason.

"You won't be killed," Carissa told him in a monotone. She looked him over, and turned her attention to the sword. "How were you able to use Hrunting? He should never have taught that skill to anyone."

"I stole his sword with traces of magic left behind in it," Jason answered, looking at the sword. It had become its normal length and grey color again. "Plus I had absorbed some of his Telesma, but only enough for a moment, since it devours so much. I then had Index decode it for me and, with my transformation ability, I had a rough idea how to use it. She filled in the gaps I was missing. How did you know I wasn't Knight Leader?" He stood up and took a step toward her with the sword held loosely at his side.

"He would not have been able to save any of Curtana's Telesma after the explosion," Carissa told him, as she raised her sword. "You were closer than most, take solace in that fact." She thought she heard something from behind him, so she brought Curtana down. It passed through air as he disappeared. "What?" _That wasn't speed. I would have been able to keep up with it. He actually disappeared instantly._ She turned and saw him standing near the others with a small pigtailed girl next to him. _That girl must have a teleportation power._ They started talking and Carissa paused for a moment to listen.

"Seriously?" Kuroko reprimanded Jason. "You joke at a time like this, and you aimed for her neck? Were you trying to kill her?"

"I told you," Jason said seriously. "We can't treat her like a normal person. A fatal blow for us might not even slow her down. She… Ouch!" He turned toward Touma. "Why did you hit me?"

"For you being incredibly stupid," Touma told him. "You aren't healed and Shirai-san is right. It is not a time for jokes."

"It was super funny," Saiai said, shrugging.

"Hah," Kuroko laughed at Jason's pain. "Serves you right… Ouch!" She clutched her head as Mikoto hit her. "Why onee-sama?" she cried.

"I told you to stay behind," Mikoto said angrily, a vein throbbing in her head. "This is dangerous."

"Which is why I had to help," Kuroko replied, defending her actions. "I can't let you run off into a warzone by yourself."

"This isn't a place…" Mikoto started to say. But she was interrupted by Accelerator.

"If you idiots are done goofing around," Accelerator interjected. "She appears to be running out of patience." They all turned to look at Carissa, except Kaori who had never taken her eyes off Carissa. Carissa's face had turned from curiosity to annoyance. She just raised Curtana into the air when she suddenly grinned. Before any of them could figure out why, she pointed upwards. Touma frowned, looked up, and his jaw dropped as something large passed over them.

It was shaped like a red hang glider, but it was exponentially larger. It was easily eighty meters long. The size resembled a passenger jet, rather then a glider. It passed overhead and began to circle back around over them. It was reinforced with silver metal parts, almost like armor. "Don't look so shocked fools," Carissa laughed. "You are in England, the land of magic. You do realize my forces control almost all of the magical facilities? This is one of my favorite weapons, the mobile siege fortress Griffon Sky." Seconds later, five, ten, and then twenty more of these gliders came into view and started circling above Buckingham Palace. Though they were flying, there were only several hundred meters in the air, not nearly as high as a plane would travel. "They are designed to attack strongholds and specialized in linked attacks. Mindless and stupid, but they follow orders to the dime. They are the perfect military tools."

"What do you plan to do with them?" Touma asked, his mouth dry. Though, he was sure he already knew the answer. He had no idea what sort of attack these fortresses had, but he knew it wasn't going to be good. With Carissa and her superhuman power standing before them, and Griffon Sky above them, their prospect of victory was diminishing fast.

"Isn't it obvious," she sneered. "As your forces begin to approach the palace, they will no longer be spread out. I can then swoop in and crush them all with a single strike." Her grin faded as she looked at them. "But you won't be alive long enough for that happy moment." She raised her sword again, but Kaori, Itsuwa, and Accelerator all dashed forward at high speeds to intercept. They approached her and she disappeared from view. "Time to die." Her voice came from behind Agnese. Before they could finish turning around, Curtana was already moving Curtana towards her throat. Agnese dived forward, as Kaori jumped above her. Kaori swung her blade to meet Carissa's and was thrown backwards, but the strike had been stopped. Itsuwa appeared a second later and brought her spear downwards at Carissa, but Carissa just blocked it with an upwards motion.

"Die," Accelerator muttered as he brought a hand up toward Carissa. Carissa turned to look at him as he brushed her arm. Accelerator found he couldn't manipulate her body directly. There were too many of the magic vectors. If Curtana was infusing her body with that power, it made sense. Instead, he manipulated the vectors on her dress and forced her away from Agnese. It sent her flying backwards and crashed into a piece of debris. She didn't looked phase at all, as she took a step forward. A moment later, Mikoto unleashed a torrent of electricity at her. Saiai picked up a smaller piece of debris and threw it like a baseball at Carissa. Carissa cut the debris in half with Curtana and stood up, smoking slightly, but looked fine.

"That's it insects," she sneered. "Fight as you try to resist the inevitable. You can't stand against me." She felt something hit her in the shoulder, and realized it was the transmission magic from Agnese, but Agnese's blow wasn't strong enough to bypass her normal defenses. "Pathetic," she laughed and sent a piece of debris flying from a slash at Agnese. Right before it crushed her, Kuroko appeared and teleported them both to safety. Carissa stopped laughing and looked annoyed, as she raised her sword to block an attack from Kaori. _This is getting annoying. One of them needs to die already. The only ones who are truly a threat are the Imagine Breaker, the Saint, and possibly the white haired boy._ Itsuwa joined the assault against her and Carissa continued to deflect their blades and strike at their vitals. To her increasing annoyance, the other nuns were constantly shooting arrows at her, forcing her to spend some of her reaction time to dodge or block those.

"Spread out!" Touma called out as he rolled out of the way of a piece of debris. Carissa was constantly throwing them and creating walls to break their line of sight. "And cover each other. We can't let her get behind all of us." He rolled out of the way as another piece flew at him. He looked up and saw Accelerator kick a block of debris at Carissa, as Kaori and Itsuwa jumped out of the way, but Carissa just knocked it to the side. Saiai was also throwing debris, though smaller pieces then Accelerator. She didn't want to get in range of Curtana's blade. After all, seeing Accelerator get cut wasn't a motivator for her. Touma stayed back, looking for a good opportunity to jump into the fray, when one of the nuns ran up to him.

"Stay back for a bit," she said gasping slightly. "We can't risk you getting hit until she's worn down."

"But…" Touma started to argue, but they were force to separate, because a piece of Curtana's debris came flying at them. He hated to do it, but he knew he couldn't stand in the middle of the fight and remain unharmed. He was just a normal person and couldn't negate the debris with his hand. When he had retreated a decent distance away, he climbed on top of a piece of debris, to get a good idea how the fight was progressing. Kaori and Itsuwa were doing a good job in preventing Carissa from moving freely, but they weren't a match for her in strength or speed. Saiai and Accelerator were focusing on attacking Carissa with rubble to avoid getting within striking distance of her blade. _Accelerator doesn't seem to want to attack with melee for some reason. It must be because she can hit him._

Mikoto and Agnese were attacking from midrange, but their attacks didn't seem to be doing anything. Mikoto's lightning had to be doing some damage, but Carissa wasn't slowing down. Agnese had used a dagger to cut at her staff. The slash was transferred to Carissa, but the only noticeable effect was her clothes ripped on the sleeve slightly. The other nuns interjected when they could, but it was obvious the fight was far above their skill. Kuroko was focusing on making sure people weren't crushed from the flying debris. There had been several close calls. Jason's attacks didn't seem to be doing any good either. Carissa cut through his shadow just as easily as any other material. _He mentioned once his power involved folding dimensions, so doesn't that mean Curtana is really his worst opponent._ Touma figured Jason knew this, and started to use his shadow as support. He created wide strips for the others to jump on and assault Carissa from above, as well as the sides, and constantly moved it over Carissa's eyes to blind her temporarily.

Even with everyone working together, Carissa was pulling ahead.

Kaori and Itsuwa were taking the blunt of Carissa's attacks. Their clothes were torn and they had several cuts on their bodies. They were drenched in sweat and taking calculated deep breaths. Carissa on the other hand looked fine, except for a few tears on her dress. Accelerator's and Saiai's attacks were doing little more than annoying her. Touma knew Accelerator had a limited time frame to fight, Last Order warned him about it, and Accelerator wasn't able to end the fight instantly like he was used to. If they fell, Mikoto and Agnese would fall shortly after. They could not keep up with Carissa's speed. Kuroko was the only one who might be able to, but not for long. Carissa could then finish off the rest of the nuns with impunity. Another lightning bolt struck Carissa and this one had at least a noticeable effect. Carissa winced slightly, and her angry expression grew.

"You damn pests," she growled, but on the inside she was smiling. She could tell the others were getting tired, but her strength was slowly growing, as Curtana saturated her body with power. The constant barrage of lightning and transferred damage was actually hurting her, but they would have to keep it up for years to do real damage. Her priority was taking down the melee fighters, as they were preventing her movements the most. _When they fall, the others will to._ She focused her power to increase her speed, and disappeared as Kaori brought down her blade. She appeared behind Itsuwa and was about to bring down Curtana, when an explosion above her caused everyone to pause.

Several explosions appeared on one of the Griffon Sky gliders.

This particular glider had dived lower to avoid a different one, and that might have been the reason it was attacked. Touma didn't see them do anything except continue to circle in the sky, but the church probably knew their full capabilities. There was a lot of smoke coming from the glider, but it still remained afloat. A moment later, Touma could see who was attacking it. Several green beams flew from a building outside of the palace ground. _Mugino, good she's okay. Wait… oh shit, it's coming down._ The large glider was falling, speed increasing, toward the palace. "RUN!" he yelled out to the others. "It's coming down!"

Everyone scattered, except Carissa. Kaori and Itsuwa immediately started sprinting away from Carissa and the palace, with Mikoto and Saiai right on their heels. Kuroko grabbed onto Agnese and started teleporting them away. Jason's shadow grew wings and he grabbed two of the nuns closest to the projected impact site. He yanked them away and leaped away over the debris blocking the path. The other nuns began to scramble away in the distance. Accelerator looked like he was debating if he should continue to stand there or not. He shrugged and the ground exploded beneath him, as he launched himself backwards. Carissa was staring at the falling glider and one thought crossed her mind as the glider crushed the remainder of the palace, with an ear shattering boom, and created an explosion that engulfed her.

 _That b#$%^!_

Touma ducked behind a large piece of debris, as chunks of the palace and Griffon Sky glider flew across the palace grounds. A wave of dust and heat roared and expanded outwards from the collision site. When the force passed, Touma stuck his head out. The palace was a smoldering pile of rubble, with flames shooting high into the air. The area near the palace was stripped bare and formed a crater. Walls of the palace had been thrown hundreds of meters away. Smoke was billowing out into the sky, blocking most of the remaining Griffon Sky gliders form view. He looked around and saw the others emerge from their shelters, dirty and shaken, but unhurt. Accelerator appeared to have just stood in a position near the edge of the palace garden, the ground behind him untouched. Touma was relieved his friends were okay, but he couldn't see Carissa. _Could she survive that? Accelerator's the only one I know could…_ His thoughts were interrupted as Mikoto ran up to him.

"You ok?" she asked.

"Yes," he nodded. "What about you?"

"It was close," Mikoto admitted. "But with the amount of cover from Curtana's dimensional debris, there was lots of hiding spots." Kuroko teleported next to them, and then glared at Touma.

"You could have given us more warning ape," Kuroko huffed.

"Be glad he had time to warn us at all," Jason laughed walking up.

"What caused it?" Itsuwa asked. "There was a flash of light, but I was watching the princess."

"Mugino," Saiai said proudly. "She must have gotten upset at it from some reason. Or she super wanted to return the favor of trying to crush the princess." Saiai shrugged. "Mugino doesn't take kindly to being attacked."

"I can tell," Mikoto said dryly. "She could have remembered we might have been fighting already."

"Wasn't a bad plan though," Agnese admitted. "She took out an enemy weapon and used it against the princess."

"What do those gliders do anyway…?" Jason began to ask, when he was interrupted.

"Shut up all of you," Accelerator said suddenly. Everyone turned to look at him.

"She survived," Kaori said softly. "Look." She pointed as everyone turned to look at the palace remains. The fire was casting large shadows from the debris impaled in the palace grounds. One of the shadows was moving unnaturally. Touma's eyes followed the shadow to a dark human shape emerging from the wreckage. Carissa was walking toward them, all amusement wiped from her face. Curtana was gripped tightly in her hand. What shocked Touma the most was how uninjured she appeared. Her dress was burnt and ripped in many places, but she barely had a scratch on her. A couple small bruises and scrapes were on her arms but, from an impact like that, there should have been a lot more injuries.

"Is she a monster?" Mikoto asked quietly, as she tried to process this.

"How…?" Kuroko trailed off, her eyes widening.

"Eh I could have survived something of that level" Accelerator shrugged, but narrowing his eyes slightly. He wasn't showing it, but he was beginning to question their odds of winning now. He had used up a good portion of his battery with fighting through the city, and the actual combat with Carissa. His power was also not very effective against Curtana's severing dimension ability. This was only the second time his power ever completely failed him. _Seriously, I really f#$%^ & hate magic._

Carissa continued to walk toward them until she was far enough out of the flames and smoke. She brushed herself off and looked at them, a superior gleam in her eyes. "Does this really shock you all that much?" Carissa said cutting off their thoughts. "What human can kill the leader of angels?" There was silence as everyone held up their weapons. Touma didn't know what to do. Everything they tried didn't work. He glanced at the others and saw similar looks as the others reached the same conclusion. However, one person stepped forward, toward Carissa.

"That sounds like something interesting to try," Jason laughed and Carissa raised an eyebrow at this unexpected action. "Interested in seeing if that's true?"

"Oh," Carissa replied, her mocking tone held a slight bit of interest. "Since you defeated Knight Leader, even empowered by Telesma, I suppose I can address you directly."

"I defeated him in one strike," Jason bragged. "I think I can cause even you trouble."

 _Huh?_ Kuroko thought in disbelief. _That liar, he barely could do anything until he committed to a suicidal attack. Wait, is he going to do it again? I can't let him he's impor… why am I thinking like that._ She heard a shout from far behind her and her eyes widened. _So that's his plan…_

"Let's see your power then," Carissa mocked, raising her hand and moving her fingers for him to proceed. "Impress me trash."

"With pleasure," Jason said. He raised a hand and his shadow began to swirl around him like a vortex. Each shadow strand kept crisscrossing with each other around him and above him. Touma saw a circle form above Jason, but its design kept changing with each passing second.

"What's he doing?" Touma asked Itsuwa quietly.

"I'm… I'm not sure," Itsuwa said hesitantly. "I keep seeing partial magical circles, but he keeps changing them so I don't know what he's trying to do."

"Is he going to do that incomplete magic circle he used before?" Touma asked wildly. "I wish Index was here, she could tell us."

"I think I know what he is doing," Kuroko spoke up.

"What?" Mikoto said shocked. "Tell us?"

"I can't," Kuroko admitted. "If she overhears us, it will ruin his plan."

"Will it work?" Kaori asked her.

"I think so," Kuroko said turning her head and looking over her shoulder. Everyone else looked too and it dawned on them and they grinned.

"He's super clever," Saiai said. "Now hope he doesn't die before it's complete."

"A well thought out plan," Kaori admitted. "But it comes with high risks." Accelerator didn't say anything, his hand up to his choker. He had turned his choker off to save batteries, but was prepared to flip it if Carissa began to move.

"Are you going to do anything or not?" Carissa asked after a moment of silence. Her patience was wearing out. "If you aren't going to move, I will!" She made a horizontal cut, and then raised the sword, like she was opening a window. A large wall of the white debris appeared and she propelled it forward at Jason. Jason's shadow stopped spinning, as he tried to dodge, but he wasn't fast enough for the large piece of debris. It looked like he was about to be crushed by it.

Until, a large beam of green light flew over Touma's shoulder and past Jason, to disintegrate the wall.

Touma turned around and saw a large number of people running toward them. Shizuri, Stiyl, and Frenda were in the lead, but Index, along with other nuns, and Misaki were close behind them. Touma was relieved Jason's plan worked. "Good shot," he told Shizuri.

"Eh if I hit him oh well," Shizuri shrugged. "I just wanted to piss of the b#$%^."

"What?" Jason called back over his shoulder. "Seriously?"

"You damn piece of trash." Carissa flared up in anger as she realized what happened. "You dare to sprout lies in my presence to stall for time? I gave you a chance to prove yourself and you do this." A vein throbbed in her forehead as she raised Curtana. Before Jason could open his mouth to respond, Carissa had moved. She appeared in front of him and raised her blade high. She brought it downwards with a void following the blade. She was going for a surefire kill.

"NO!" Touma and Mikoto yelled.

"Shit," Accelerator muttered, as he dashed forward in a small explosion. Kaori and Itsuwa also saw the dire situation and dashed forward. The issue was Jason and Carissa were too far away from any of them to get to in time. Kuroko was the only one who reached him first. She grabbed his shoulder and teleported the exact same time Carissa swung her blade. They disappeared as the white debris occupied the space they had just been in.

"That was close," Kuroko sighed. "You really are stu…" She stopped when she felt a warm liquid fall on her ankle. She looked over at Jason and let out a scream. Jason was holding his left wrist with his right hand. Blood was pouring out onto the ground, because his left hand was gone. Her face went white in shock as she tried to realize what happened. She definitely teleported, so the blade should not have hit them. _I wasn't slow, so how? My calculations through the eleventh… dimension… I'm an idiot! She can cut through all dimensions. Teleportation can still be interrupted._

"Jason!" Touma yelled running up to them, Mikoto right behind him.

"It looks bad," Mikoto said, ashen face.

"D-don't worry," Jason grinned, but his voice was weak. "Give me a moment to heal and it will be fine." They noticed the mark on his head was glowing brightly.

"What happened?" Misaki asked, breathing heavily. "What … oh my…" Her voice trailed off when she saw the blood.

"Go," Jason said again, and Touma could see the blood slowing. "It's healing, but slowly, must be Curtana's power interfering with the mark. You need to stop her." He stood up and took a couple paces to lean up against a tree. "When I can, I'll support you."

"You can't think of rejoining…" Kuroko said, but Jason glared at her and she stepped back in surprise. "Fine." She teleported away, to continue helping the nuns and Amakusa forces. Many more were joining the fight against Carissa.

"What's the situation," Stiyl asked Touma and Mikoto, as he approached them. His eyes flickered to the explosions and shouting, from the church forces fighting Carissa, and then to the Griffon Sky gliders above them.

"Nothing is working," Mikoto told them immediately, aware Shizuri, Frenda, Index, and Misaki were still nearby and listening. "All of our attacks are barely making any impact, and she's been constantly pushing us back. We have been stacking up injuries, while she just continues to heal. Even Accelerator isn't able to stop her. She cut him like it was nothing. Now, Kagere is seriously injured."

"What?" Shizuri asked shocked. This was the first time she ever heard of Accelerator being injured, except the rumors when Touma beat him. "How?"

"The dimensional cut," Touma answered. "He couldn't reflect it."

"Why?" Misaki asked.

"No idea."

"It was within our prediction," Stiyl said flatly. "I told you we needed an army to fight her. I do have good news for you all though." He paused for a moment and his eyes traveled back to the fight. "Most of the knights have retreated, surrendered, or been incapacitated. The princess is all alone, except for any long range support she may have."

"Excellent," Shizuri laughed. "Time for some payback." She strutted off toward the fight. "Looks like Kinuhata is enjoying herself." She watched Saiai continue to throw large chunks of debris at Carissa.

"Mugino!" Frenda cried, racing after her. "Basically, wait for me."

"Mikoto…" Touma said slowly looking at her.

"I know," she said softly. She didn't need him to say anything else for her to understand. She knew he wanted to help, but until Carissa was weakened, he wouldn't be able to get close enough. They had been through enough crazy adventures to know what each other were thinking. She sighed and turned toward the fight. "I'll do what I can, so don't you dare do anything stupid." She ran back off to the fight.

"Index," Touma asked turning to her. "What happened to you?"

"After you and Short Hair got separated from us," Index said, frowning at him. She was upset he got lost, and Touma decided not to say anything about it. "I joined with several others and we ended up in a fight with the knights. They didn't have any of Curtana's power, so we were able to win using strategy. We met up with the others and came here, after blasting down one of the Griffon Sky."

"Index," Stiyl said, cutting her off. "Sorry to ask you this, but please continue to analyze Curtana. Anything you can do to weaken her control will be valuable."

"Okay," Index nodded and ran off to get closer to the fight to observe. Stiyl had an expression on his face like he ate something that didn't agree with him. He obviously wasn't happy sending her into the fight. Touma always thought Stiyl had a thing for Index. His thoughts were interrupted when Stiyl turned to him, his face becoming deadly serious. "You left her alone in the city, surrounded by enemies. What were you thinking?" Touma could swear Stiyl's hand twitched down to his pocket. For a moment, Touma pictured a flaming rune card flying at his face.

"It wasn't my fault," Touma said immediately. "Curtana's debris separated us, and Kanzaki told us to head to the palace if something like that happened." Stiyl glared at him for a bit, but sighed.

"Yea I know," Stiyl sighed, though his eyes still held a trace of anger. "As of now, all forces are focusing on Second Princess Carissa. You need to stay back with her." He indicated Misaki with a wave of his hand. "Her ability will most likely not affect the princess's mental defenses." He pulled out several rune cards, threw them in a couple different directions, and proceeded to the battlefield before Touma could reply. A second later, he felt Misaki grab onto his arm.

"I'm so glad you are safe," she said honestly. "When Mugino-san dropped that plane on the palace, I was worried sick. Then I saw Kagere…"

"There have been some injuries," Touma acknowledged. "So far we managed to avoid any serious ones. But, she doesn't seem to be weakening at all. No matter what we throw at her, she just pushes back with an even greater force. Even Accelerator couldn't stop her. Kanzaki and Itsuwa skills have kept us fighting, but there is no doubt they are getting exhausted. Jason bought us time for you all to arrive, but Carissa was too fast, even for Shirai-san's teleportation."

"So even two level fives and all these church members can't stop her…" whispered Misaki, more to herself. "Do you think we have a chance? Please be honest." She was worried, but if Touma told her they would win, she would believe it, regardless what the evidence said. _He's not the kind of person to lie and everything he has ever done makes me believe in him._

"It doesn't look good," Touma said solemnly and Misaki looked at the ground in worry. "But…" She looked up. "We have injured her, even if only slightly. She may have enormous power, far beyond anything we have individually, but she's not invincible. She has a key weakness."

"What is it?" Misaki asked curiously.

"She's alone," Touma told her. "She distanced herself from the knights, after losing Knight Leader and control of Curtana. She has to rely only on her power. We have everyone here working together to stop her. To be honest, I was once like that. Thinking I had to do everything myself. But then I had friends who told me I shouldn't." Misaki noticed him smiling slightly. "That's our advantage over her, and it's a big one." Misaki felt herself smiling too, even in the dire situation, and both of them turned to watch the fight. Touma had to be prepared to enter when the situation called for it. Misaki was hoping there was something she could do to help Touma.

The church forces were growing exponentially, as they started rushing toward the battle from every direction. Every passing minute their forces grew, and Carissa realized this. Her problem was she was currently in an all-out melee brawl with Kaori, Itsuwa and the other Amakusa. The Amakusa were the church's best group for close quarter, high speed, combat. Carissa was getting irritated as she was forced to constantly dodge, parry, block, and even retreat to avoid them. They were being supported by the church nuns, who either had range weapons, or were chanting support spells to protect them. Occasionally, one of the students from Academy City would attack, throwing off her rhythm. When she saw the green flash of light from Shizuri's beams, she grinned to herself.

 _Finally,_ she thought. _They are all here._ Her confidence flowed through her as she effortlessly blocked a blow from one of the Amakusa, kicked a second one, and then created debris to fling at the others. Two nuns in the back were hit with glancing blows, sending them flying, but she didn't give them a second thought. A green beam flew at her head and she used Curtana to deflect it at another group. Dirt and debris were thrown into the air from the explosion, forcing the church forces to scatter. _They may be numerous, but they can't work as a team, unlike the Amakusa._ She jumped back to avoid a spear jab from Itsuwa, and created a large wall of debris to stop Kaori rushing at her. She was about to focus on the other melee individuals, when the wall she may suddenly flew at her and she was forced to cut it in half. On the other side, as Kaori lunged at Carissa, Accelerator was lowering his foot. _That damn bastard. He's not affected by weight._ Another couple arrowed flew by her head and she ducked. She then brought her blade upwards to match Kaori's strike, when she appeared out of nowhere. The Saint was the only true threat to her in close combat, the others were just merely insects biting at a superior force.

"Give up," Kaori told her, their faces less than a foot apart. "End this fight now, you lost."

"Give up?" Carissa laughed. "You all fell for my trap." Kaori's eyes widened, as Carissa pushed her back. Curtana was a one handed sword, while Kaori's blade used two hands. Carissa's free hand was pointed up toward the sky.

"Griffon Sky," Kaori said through gritted teeth. "You actually plan to use them?"

"Of course," Carissa said forcing her blade closer to Kaori. Her free hand reached out, grabbed a spear from one of the Amakusa and hit another with it. An arrow flew at her, but she adjusted herself slightly to allow it to miss her by less than an inch. "Why would I hold back on crushing my enemies?" An evil grin formed on her face. "I was just waiting for you all to converge at single location." She used her force to throw Kaori backwards, and then pointed the bladeless tip at the church forces. A moment later, all the gliders in the sky immediately altered their courses and headed towards the palace air space. Touma was well away from the major fighting, but even he wasn't out of range of all the gliders flying above the city. Touma had been wondering how they attacked, and now he knew.

The gliders began to swoop down closer to the ground, but still a good distance above them. There was no change in the glider and it did not appear to have any guns or bomb on board. Touma was confused on how Carissa would use them to attack, when he noticed the shadows below them. Their giant shadows, created by the moonlight, began to twist into a three dimensional shape. Its form changed as if it were rotating from the ground into the air. The shadow took on the shape and weight of a knights' lance, turned deep blood red, and floated roughly a foot off the ground. The lance and the glider seemed to be moving in unison.

Their direction was right into the church forces.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Touma bellowed at the top of his lungs toward all his companions. Most of the church forces saw the issue immediately, but the gliders were too fast for most of them. The Griffon Sky gliders flew over the ruined palace and the large twenty meter lances flew right below them. Debris, walls, trees, and anything else in front of the lances were blown away. Touma realized Carissa's plan to late. With the large number of people, it was impossible for all of them to get out of the way. Touma and Misaki watched in shock and horror as the lances plowed straight through large groups of people, sending them flying in different directions. Screams of pain echoed across the palace grounds, followed by Carissa's laugh. He saw Sherry's golem Ellis get blown into pieces and the rubble rained down on the others nearby.

"There's a limit to automatic calculations," Carissa huffed, looking around at the carnage. She seemed to be completely unconcern, of all the Amakusa surrounding her, and appeared dissatisfied at the destruction caused by the Griffon Sky. "These things are supposed to destroy fortress walls and other land based defenses, but their automatic calculations are set to use the least force to do so. Guess that backfires when calculating human destruction." She laughed. "I know, I'll set them all to Windsor Castle level. That should give them enough force to blow a human body to smithereens."

"You…" Kaori stuttered through gritted teeth. She was well aware of the forces beginning to stand up in pain. None of them had been killed, but many of them probably had broken a bone. If Carissa set them with enough force to destroy Windsor Castle, one of the greatest strongholds in England, the church's forces would be obliterated. "Itsuwa!" she yelled and Itsuwa gave her a brief nod. Itsuwa and the rest of the Amakusa all moved as one to distract Carissa. Kaori turned to help the rest of the forces stop the Griffon Sky when she stopped. One last glider was coming straight for them. It must have been near the edge of the city and took longer to arrive. A nearby building was blown away and pieces were thrown hundreds of meters away. The glider and lance combination had more force then it should have, most likely due to its magic. Kaori was planning to use her Saint strength to stop it, but before she could get close enough, she stopped.

The glider had stopped in midair, as if it had been frozen.

Kaori looked down at the lance, and a huge smile appeared on her face. Accelerator was standing right in front of the lance, a single hand out stretched. He had stopped a weapon, which contained enough force to blow away a magical fortress, with a single hand. Accelerator grinned and prepared to completely alter the trajectory to throw it at Carissa, when the lance unraveled back into a shadow, and passed right through him. "What the f$%^!" he roared.

"They have an emergency cancel feature in case they get stuck," Kaori yelled at him and then shouted to the others. "Split into two teams, one team focus on Carissa, the other team the Griffon Sky. The more we take down the more people who can focus on the princess."

"Perfect," said a cold voice near her and she turned around as several bright green beams flew over her head. Shizuri had fired her Meltdowner at the passing glider. In order for the gliders shadow to be large enough to turn into the lance, the glider had to fly lower to the ground, which gave Shizuri the perfect opportunity to attack. The smoking remains of the glider started to descend as it passed over everyone. It continued to fall slowly, before colliding into a building outside the palace garden and exploded, destroying two other nearby buildings. "One down," Shizuri grinned looking into the sky. "Plenty to go." She had avoided firing her Meltdowner at Carissa, because all she did was reflect it at others. It served no point for Shizuri to use a useless attack, so she bided her time until an opportunity for carnage presented itself.

"I wish I had brought more explosives," Frenda said sadly as she moved up next to Shizuri, several bombs in her hands. She had been tossing them at Carissa whenever the princess had been out in the open, but the explosions didn't seem to affect her at all.

"It's definitely a pain," Saiai added. She had been one of the people to be blown away by the lance. Her Offense Armor protected her but, due to her small frame, she had been blown away with just a light touch. "Accelerator can actually stop them."

"I can stop them too," Shizuri snapped, but she knew what Saiai was referring too. A large lightning bolt flew down from the sky and caused major damage to another glider. It was still in the air, but its speed dropped considerably and began to smoke heavily. "It looks like the third is at least doing something too."

Carissa frowned as the church forces began to muster a counter attack against the Griffon Sky. She swung her blade and one of her opponents fell backwards, a deep gash in his arm. Without Kaori there to take most of the attacks, the Amakusa were getting easily overwhelmed. "Get out of the way trash," she snarled at them, as the force of her blows threw several of them backwards. She dodged Itsuwa's barrage, spun around, and kicked her twenty meters away. She dashed away from the Amakusa, only to be barraged by dozens of arrows and range magical projectiles, including pieces of wood and small bags of coins. _This is getting annoying._ She swung her blade into the ground. She made a cut and a large wall of debris formed and jettisoned toward the church forces. The dirt, asphalt, concreate, and some pipes under the garden were pulled up as the wall tore through the ground. It was like a tsunami of earth was flying towards them. The Anglican forces had to scatter, but many of them were blown away by the force. Carissa jumped out into the open, to find the one person who was actually a threat to her, when something stopped her for an instant.

Kaori was standing in front of her, with one of the Griffon Sky lances in her possession.

Unlike Accelerator, who could just change the direction of vectors to fit his need, Kaori used her physical Saint strength to stop the lance and she was panting slightly with the effort. She held the lance tightly in her grips as she spun it around. As the lance and the gliders were linked by the shadow, the glider spun around in midair too. Also, unlike Accelerator, Kaori could use magic. She had to use some highly advanced magic to disable the automatic cancel feature, so she could continue to hold the lance without the glider connection being severed. Carissa glanced around and saw all of her opponents had retreated far away from her. _Those damn cowards…_

Kaori swung down the lance and the glider came down, like a giant hammer, at Carissa.

The glider collided with Carissa and the earth shook under everyone's feet. A wave of dirt and dust washed over them all, causing most of them to divert their eyes. When the dust cleared, there was only the large burning wreckage of the Griffon Sky. Kaori was breathing heavily, but she couldn't rest yet. Many of the church forces were still trying to bring down the other gliders. They were using magic to help them hold the lances in place, so individuals with heavy firepower, like Shizuri, Mikoto, and Stiyl, could bring them down. Touma saw another couple gliders being brought down, but there were still countless more circling above them. He and Misaki turned when they saw Agnese approaching them.

"I don't think that will be enough to finish her," Agnese said gasping for air. She had been in the middle of the fighting, her clothes were torn, and she had a lot of small injuries on her exposed skin. "Boy, we need you to get closer now. With the Griffon Sky being taken down, we have openings. We need you close to take advantage of any openings the princess shows during the fight."

"Ok," Touma nodded and took a step forward to follow her. He stopped when he felt Misaki grabbed the back of his shirt. He turned around and saw Misaki had a worried look on her face. "It will be ok," he reassured her. "We both know I have to do it."

"I know," Misaki replied, nodding slightly. She watched Touma walk away and her heart started beating heavily. Touma's words echoed in her mind and she truly wanted to believe the fight would turn out the way he wanted. He had never let her down before but, after witnessing Carissa's power, doubt had slipped into her mind. _Come on, Touma will succeed. He always survives and will rescue everyone like he always does._ She reached into her bag and pulled out a remote. Regardless, she was going to help, regardless of how small.

Back in the fight, Kaori had been planning to help the others, but she stopped when she heard the sound of dimensions being sliced. A moment later the, burning wreckage was split in half and a piece of dimensional debris flew into the air and fell down upon her, forcing Kaori to dodge. From the fire, Kaori saw a humanoid shadow move, before Carissa stepped out into view, a very annoyed expression on her face. "Using an opponent's weapon against them," Carissa said. "Impressive, but futile. You and your forces are getting exhausted, while my strength still remains. All it takes is one slip up in your formation, and the ground will be soaked with your blood."

"Like hell that's going to happen," Mikoto yelled and a giant bolt of lightning descended from the sky. Carissa made a slashing motion and a large piece of debris intercepted the attack. She made a similar move to block a torrent of flames from Stiyl.

"I'm going to kill you first," Shizuri declared, as she fired several large green beams. Carissa blocked two of them, by making a sweeping motion with Curtana, and they were reflected with Curtana's broad edge. Shizuri was forced to jump to the side, as her attack was sent back at her. The ground behind her exploded and she made an annoyed sound with her tongue. Frenda and Saiai joined her barrage, as Saiai checked a large chunk of a building and Frenda fired a couple hand held missiles. Carissa knocked Saiai's attack away with her hand, but Frenda's missiles hit her and exploded. They didn't appear to have any affect though, as Carissa appeared uninjured when the smoke cleared.

Not to be undone, the people with range attacks let loose a volley of arrows and magical strikes. Carissa conjured another wall to block most of the attacks, but some attacks, like Agnese's damage transfer, relied on coordinates. They could bypass a simple wall, but Carissa's defenses were still far beyond anything considered normal, even in the magic community. She barely registered their presence. The next attack, she was actually required to defend against.

A large chunk, of a fallen glider, had been thrown into the air and flew downwards upon her. She swung her blade and sliced it in half to avoid being struck. It exploded at her cut, and her view was blocked by fire and smoke, as both pieces flew past her. The smoked cleared and she saw Accelerator standing next to a fallen glider. _He's only been using range since our first exchange. He is right to be scared._ She didn't know the entire reason though. Accelerator was defiantly weary of Curtana's power. After all, he couldn't reflect the cut and Carissa's speed surpassed his own. But, there was another reason, known only to him, Last Order, Worst, and recently Touma. His battery was running low and he couldn't leave it on. He had been flicking it on and off, using it only to attack and defend. Right now, he had less than five minutes of full use. After his attack, the Amakusa and Kaori jumped back into the fray.

"You are all getting on my last nerve!" Carissa yelled and spun around, as she started to create a large dimensional cut. It looked like she was about to make one of the largest pieces of debris she had made yet. She knew with so many people, the fight would take a little while, even with Curtana's power, but she was pissed she hadn't gotten a clean kill on any of them yet. Over half the church forces were injured, but they would survive. She was about to complete the cut to easily crush half of her opponents all at once, when she heard the sound of breaking glass. A minute later, the void disappeared. She turned her gaze and saw Touma had managed to hit the beginning of the dimensional cut. His appearance had been methodically blocked by the Amakusa's assault. "BOY!" she roared and then she flickered out of his sight.

"Huh?" Touma said looking around, trying to find were she went. A moment later, he felt a foot collide with his back and he was sent flying forward. Kaori jumped to the side and caught him, but the force knocked her backwards. Touma landed on top of Kaori, and immediately rolled off of her. Kaori catching him prevented him from getting knocked out, but his body ached all over from the kick. He turned around and saw Carissa, looking at him with an odd combination of rage and amusement.

"You were out of the fight so long," she said, making a slash at a nearby person, causing them to retreat as blood fell to the ground. "I almost forgot you were still here." She made another couple of quick slashes and sent debris flying into crowds of people. "Just because you defeated my knights, did you think you level up by defeating some low level enemies?" She laughed as she deflected several more blades and arrows. She reached her free hand into her cleavage and pulled out a radio. "But, I never said those were the only low level enemies at my disposal."

"What are you talking about?" Touma asked, as he was overwhelmed by a feeling of dread.

"Calling the destroyer Wimbledon patrolling the Strait of Dover," Carissa spoke loudly into the radio. "Prepare one of the cruise missiles loaded with a bunker cluster warhead. Set the detonation depth of the warhead for minus 5 meters and aim the missiles for Buckingham Palace…Fire immediately."

"A-a bunker cluster!" Touma heard Mikoto yell from crowd. Touma also had a rough idea of what they were, being part of the science side, and he didn't doubt the others knew too.

"Oh, you're familiar with them?" Carissa grinned, turning to look in Mikoto's direction. "Good, that makes things simpler. They are special warheads developed to destroy military shelters. They scatter around 200 smaller bombs in the air. Because you took out the Griffon Sky that was blocking the path, you gave me a perfect opportunity to use them. Even if my mother got rid of most of our advance weapons, we still have enough to make quite an impact."

"Are you insane?" Touma asked bewildered. "That attack won't just hit the palace, but a good mile around it!"

"Sacrifices have to be made to achieve victory," Carissa shrugged, as all the church forces froze in realization. "After all, your side was prepared to lose a lot of members to stop me, so you know all about sacrifice. I was planning to draw my mother into the open before using this. Since she is with the Archbishop, drawing her to me will be easier than tracking her down. You forced me to move the schedule up a bit. You better think of a plan fast." She smiled. "With current technology, the missiles can easily reach Mach 5 in low altitude. I guess… it will take less than a minute to get here."

 _A minute,_ Touma thought stunned. They would have to run over a mile and there was still no guarantee they could escape the explosion. _Kaori might be able to with her Saint speed, but the rest of us… Accelerator could probably ignore it, but everyone else can't. There's no way we can escape._ Something sparkled and moved above him, drawing his attention. He looked up and saw seven wires crisscrossing in the sky above them. The wires formed a three dimensional magic circle and then a bluish-white light ran across them, creating a thick wall covering up an entire city block. _Kanzaki!_

"Covering a mile," Kaori said, as the wires continued to expand from her location. "Is not impossible. I just have to intercept them before they hit the ground." Using her power as a Saint, the wires shield began to spread over the city.

"While it may be true you can deal with the missiles using magic," Carissa laughed. She was confident she could survive the explosion thanks to Curtana's power. "If," she held out Curtana in front of her. "I let you try." She lunged forward and swung the blade at Kaori's neck, the dimensions severing along the attack. Kaori was forced to jump out of the way, but she wasn't fast enough. A deep cut appeared on her shoulder and she grimaced in pain. However, the huge length of debris coming from the cut didn't stop at Kaori. Carissa continued to swing Curtana and propel the long thin length of debris into the sky. The barrier in the sky was hit by the debris and broke apart in a thin line. While the tear did stop, the area above the palace and the nearby grounds was no long protected.

The entire time, the cruise missile carrying the bunker cluster approached.

Touma stood frozen in place as Carissa continued to assault Kaori. The Amakusa tried to help, but she just made debris walls to halt their advances. Kaori was completely focused on defense, and couldn't continue to apply the defensive shield. Touma vaguely heard a couple people yelling "run" or "throw up defensive spells," but he barely registered it. _She's planning to kill as many of us as possible. She cut the shield above us, but at least part of it will protect the city if anyone is left in there. But why would she care…_ He stopped thinking as a small movement in the sky caught his attention.

About 4000 meters in the air, the cruise missile split into four pieces. Because the outer shell broke apart, around 200 explosives inside it jettisoned out and spread across the sky. They rained down like spears, because they used the energy from their high altitude fall to penetrate into shelters buried deep in the ground. Carissa had ordered them to explode at minus five meters, so they weren't going to explode in the air, but after they landed. This would cause the most destruction among the church forces. Not everyone had given up hope though.

"F&%$ this!" Accelerator roared, as he stuck his hand into one of the fallen gliders. He lifted the giant magical device into the air, supported only by his arm, and everyone around him scattered. He threw the glider, as hard as he could, into the air, towards the cluster bombs. While he couldn't get all of them, he tried to intercept as many as possible before they scattered. The glider exploded as dozen of missiles collided with the glider, setting off a small chain of explosions.

Getting the idea, Mikoto unleashed a torrent of electricity into the sky. "Take down as many as you can while they are in the air!" Mikoto yelled to the nuns. She didn't know how many of the nuns could use long range attacks, but she hoped some of them could. Her electricity hit one of the bombs and caused it to explode, which caused several nearby bombs exploded as well and set off another small chain reaction. A couple other people let lose magical attacks to destroy a couple more, but they probably only got about half before the missiles started colliding into the ground. One hit the ground about twenty meters away from Touma, the ground shook and he fell.

There was a flash of light, but he didn't hear anything, something happened to make him deaf. He couldn't see anything except pure white. He felt a wave of air and heat before a shockwave passed through his body. He felt his entire body shake and he closed his eyes in shock. He expected the explosion to engulf him, but he felt nothing. He couldn't hear anything, so he had no idea what happened. He opened his eyes, and saw a blurry figure crouched in front of him. He wasn't sure at first, but there appeared to be a green light in front of him. He blinked rapidly and his vision returned. His eyes widened in surprise. Shizuri was crouched in front of him, a large green shield in front of her. He realized someone else was leaning on him, and he turned to see Frenda. It looked like they both moved together and Shizuri blocked the explosions from hitting them directly. There wasn't anything she could do about the shockwave though and his body still ached all over.

He heard Shizuri mumbling something, but he missed the first part because his hearing hadn't returned yet. "Sorry, couldn't hear, can you repeat that?"

"You still able to fight?" Shizuri asked through clenched teeth, as her shields disappeared.

"I think so," Touma said shakily. He was surprised he had his all limbs. "Thanks for saving me."

"You are still needed," she huffed, her back turned him.

"Basically," Frenda said rolling off him. "We really need you to destroy her sword. She's a monster."

Touma stood up and looked around at the carnage and destruction. While it appeared most of the damage did not spread far into London, probably thanks to Kaori's barrier, the palace grounds had been annihilated. Dirt had been torn up, nearby buildings had collapsed, remains of the Griffon Sky littered the grounds. He didn't see anyone else, a lot of dirt and dust was still in the air, so he called out. "Kanzaki, Mikoto, Misaki, Jason, Agnese, Itsuwa, anyone?" No response came. "Did you see what happened to everyone?"

"Most of them retreated," Shizuri told him. "But many couldn't escape the explosions. They might still be alive, if they have magic defenses. It may take the others a little bit to get back through all the destruction around us. Right now, she's the only one left." Touma turned his head to where she was indicating and he gritted his teeth. The smoke was clearing and he saw countless people collapsed all around him, more were probably buried under rubble. This struck the very center of Touma's soul.

 _I couldn't stop Carissa and people got hurt,_ he thought to himself. He wasn't angry at anyone except himself. He hadn't been able to make Carissa realize she was wrong, nor was he able to stop her. A faint wind blew more smoke away and Touma could make out a single figure standing in the middle of all the destruction. Carissa turned to look at him, her radiance seeming to transcend the scene around her. Her dress was torn and there were cuts all over her, but she appeared far to uninjured after what she went through. Curtana was resting on her shoulder, as she started to walk toward them. He saw Frenda grab one of her bombs and several green orbs appeared around Shizuri. Touma quickly stood up, but he knew they didn't have a chance with just the tree of them.

"Do you have any hope left?" she asked him softly. "Or are you prepared to surrender and accept my rule?"

"Bite me," Shizuri replied instantly.

"Yea," Frenda agreed. "Basically, we hate you."

"Hah," Carissa laughed. "I'm glad you survived brat. I was interested in making sure you were punished for your insolence toward me. I think I'll take you alive after this." She grinned in amusement. "It's not like you can hurt me." A vein throbbed in Shizuri's head and she fired a beam from one of her orbs. Carissa tilted Curtana so the beam was reflected to the side. It seemed like she was purposely avoiding trying to end their lives. "Oh boy," she said turning to Touma. "You seem awfully quiet. Where was all that attitude you had earlier about saving me? Do you finally understand?"

"You are strong," Touma answered quietly. "It would be childish to say otherwise." He took a deep breath. "You are still wrong. As long as I am still standing, I am going to oppose you."

"With just three of you here," Carissa laughed. "Well, three in any shape to at least fight. The rest of the trash has either ran away or collapsed. You are alone."

"I don't think so," Touma replied, and he couldn't prevent a small grin from appearing on his face. "I have a lot of friends." Carissa opened her mouth to respond, when her danger sense went off. She swung Curtana around to block another blade. Normally, her blow would send the person flying, but when she saw who it was, she couldn't bring her full force behind the blow.

She was staring into her own face.

She felt the imposter's blade edge nearer to her face before she snapped back to her senses. She blew the imposter away and sent her crashing into a large piece of Curtana's debris. "You," she growled. Her anger was twofold. The first was this person dared to impersonate her and, second, that they dared to try a sneak attack on her. "You must be the garbage who disguised them self as Knight Leader. I thought I cut off your hand. Anyway, more importantly, why would you disguise yourself as me? It's not like I would have noticed it wasn't you."

"Regeneration," Jason laughed, still in disguise. He stood up and twirled the sword he had stolen from Knight Leader. "I was interested in testing something, but why do you sound so disturb? It's like you don't like seeing yourself."

Carissa frowned, but did not argue against his last statement. It did bother her slightly that Jason's impersonation of her was almost perfect. The way he held himself, his voice and tone, his attack pattern, and even the facial expressions gave her a sense of déjà vu. The only difference was his power was below her normal strength without Curtana. "Elaborate you pest," she demanded.

"Judging from your expression," Jason replied. "You are impressed with my disguise ability and the depth of its detail. I acquired it rather recently, so I'm not sure of all its uses. I was trying to see how perfect the disguise was by testing it against Curtana. Do you think I could fool it in having it believe I was you?" Jason grinned and Carissa's eyes widened slightly.

 _It shouldn't be possible,_ she thought. _Curtana is one of the world's most powerful items. There is no way an outsider could use it. But this illusion magic is different than any I have seen._ No matter how hard she tried, doubt crept into her mind, before she realized what he was up to. _So that's how it is. He's quite good with mind games to maximize the use of his unusual powers. He already knows his shadow magic is unable to harm me._ "Let's say it did work," she laughed, as all the doubt left her and Jason frowned. "You wouldn't know how to activate its power."

"The other effect of this power," Jason continued, pretending to be unnerved at her reaction. "Allows me to have a slight understanding of your magic. I don't disagree I probably couldn't use it, but if I could just disrupt it, I wonder how well you would fair." He actually didn't believe he could do that, but fighting Carissa wasn't Jason's plan. He was out matched in every way, and he knew it.

"Sacrificial pawn huh," Carissa said, raising an eyebrow. "You would try to weaken me, so the girl over there could disintegrate me and you would most likely get caught in the blast."

"Yea," Jason nodded. "I know she wouldn't hesitate. After all, she holds a grudge against me from a while back."

"Damn straight," Shizuri said loudly. Touma looked at her confused for a moment. He didn't know what went on between them.

"Your presence here doesn't change anything," Carissa said raising her sword.

"Actually," Touma interrupted her. "It does. If he survived, others did too." He turned to Jason. "How many people are left?"

"I'm not going to say it's good," Jason replied, and Touma felt his heart sank slightly. "I protected a handful, but a large number got caught. Thanks to Accelerator and Misaka-san, the damage was a lot less than it should have been." He grinned. "Kaori prevented a lot of damage to the surrounding city and the others are marshalling toward us right now. Stiyl told me I just needed to be a distraction till they could get here."

"What!" Carissa demanded, rounding on him. She slashed Curtana and a large piece of debris flew at Jason. He rolled to the side to dodge it as it smashed into the debris behind him. "You dare to make a fool of me, not once but twice?"

"You make it too easy," Jason laughed loudly, holding a hand up to his face. If Touma didn't know better, he would have sworn Jason was actually Carissa. "I'm not one to respect authority. You will always find me plotting against them. Touma's a good friend of mine because he keeps himself as an outsider of power struggles." His Carissa disguise faded and his shadow burst out from under his clothes. "Well, my job is done. I rather not get cut again." He lunged over some rubble with his shadow before Carissa could respond. Instead, she rounded onto Touma, Shizuri and Frenda.

"I suppose I don't have time to punish you now," Carissa sighed and raised her sword again. Touma prepared himself to try to dodge, but Shizuri was standing confidently in front of him. Carissa was just about to bring her sword down when she sudden jerked her head to the side. A high powered bullet flew past her cheek and exploded into the rubble behind her. "Is there no end to these insects? Now they have snipers?" She swung her blade and threw a piece of debris through the air at the sniper, but Shizuri shot it down with one of her beams.

"I'm not usually one to help someone," Shizuri grinned. "But if they caused you to be annoyed, they can't be all bad."

"You really want to be tortured don't you," Carissa growled.

* * *

(Operation Distraction is a success, informs Misaka 15617.) She was lying down on a roof top far away from the destruction of the palace. A long range, high powered sniper was propped up on a small tripod. She had aimed and fired the sniper rifle in response to Carissa trying to attack Touma. Now, she was communicating with the Misaka Network around the world. After much discussion, the Misaka network decided Misaka 15617, the only one of them nearby, should help out Touma.

(Is your positon secure, asks Misaka 17856.)

(The princess is aware of my location says Misaka 15617. She had planned to attack, but was interrupted by the hero's friend, adds Misaka.)

(Be prepared to continue supporting the hero, says Misaka 19090. We can't let him come to harm, Misaka adds.)

(Misaka knows her role, says Misaka 15617, annoyed at the repetitious phrases. Misaka also would like it to go on record she is tired of Misaka 10032 and 19090 nagging her.)

(Misaka would like to put on record she was not nagging, Misaka 10032 refutes.)

(The record should only contain facts, not opinions, adds Misaka 19090)

(Any sign of Accelerator MISAKA asks as MISAKA tries to escape the locked room Accelerator threw her in.)

(Misaka has lost sight of Accelerator, states Misaka 15617, as she laughs to herself at the moderator's predicament.)

* * *

"You three have…" she stopped and jumped back as ten arrows and a flame rune passed through where she had been a second ago. "Damn it, why won't you pests just die."

"Sorry," Stiyl said throwing a cigarette at the ground in front of him. "That wasn't part of my plan for today. Maybe tomorrow if you still are in charge."

"Touma!" Mikoto yelled out from on top of the wall. "Are you okay?"

"Yea," Touma called back. "Mugino saved me. Are the others okay?"

"Accelerator stopped a lot of the explosions," Mikoto called back. She chose to ignore the smug look Shizuri was wearing when Touma told Mikoto of the situation. She decided other things were more important, for now. "So the injuries weren't too bad."

"Then we simply have to add some more," Carissa hissed loudly. She pulled out her radio again and spoke. She was louder than she needed to be, and Touma believed she was doing it for their benefit. "Destroyer Wimbledon, prepare another bunker cluster…" She stopped when she heard another familiar voice echo across the grounds.

"This is First Princess Rimea of the royal family," a voice echoed across the grounds. "I am sorry for this crude method of communication, but most of the transmission items had been disabled around the palace." Carissa made an annoyed sound with her mouth as she looked for the source. It must have been through still operating loud speakers somewhere near the outer edge of the grounds. She was surprised it was still working, but the echo made it impossible to locate. "I have discovered the true aim of Carissa's coup and the reason behind it." Touma also froze as he listened.

"As the princess with the attribute of Military Might," Rimea continued. "She would most likely felt the external pressure, from the Roman Catholic Church influence and the European Union banning most of our military weaponry, was causing England to decline in the world stage. She believed other countries would be looking down on England and its people, something she would not allow. She went behind our mother's back and continued to strengthen the military, so England would not appear weak. But she did not have the most important piece under her control, Curtana."

"When the Fallen began invading, our current strength was insufficient to deal with their unique magic. If Carissa could not protect her country from a threat from within, how would she be able to fight all the external threats? She hired a magic cabal to help her locate Curtana Original, since she would not be able to steal Curtana Second from our mother. They specialized in the creation and locating artifacts. While they were searching, she was left to ponder another problem. She had planned to use Curtana Original as a final trump card, but Carissa was no stranger to history. She understood what happens when an individual acquires too much power."

"Enough!" Carissa yelled loudly, but Rimea continued, as if uninterrupted. Touma, along with everyone else, never took their eyes or weapons off Carissa, but they were listening intently.

"She needed away to keep herself grounded to reality as she wielded Curtana. There was no magical means of defeating Curtana in a fight, so she turned to her humanity. She started looking for someone who would stand against her, no matter how strong willed she was, when she was wrong. She didn't have any luck in this regard, and The Fallen continued to harass our land. The magic cabal she hired was close to finding Curtana and she had all but given up hope of finding someone. I remember years ago, she had been looking for the same thing, but never succeeded. Then by a weird twist of fate, she ran across a certain boy, someone who immediately attracted her attention." Touma felt many eyes on him, and even Carissa glared at him for a moment.

"This young man exhibited many qualities found in a knight, courage, self-sacrifice, and humility. Yet he also had strength to back up his words. From what I understand, Carissa took an interest in him and coaxed him into joining the knights. Her plan was divided into three main parts. First she was planning to kill the other members of the royal family, to ensure Curtana could never be used by anyone but her. Second, she planned to use the power of Curtana to defeat England's enemies completely and decisively. Now, the third phase relies more on guesswork."

"After all of England's enemies were defeated, there would be no need for Curtana or a monarchy. Since she, and many others, believed our mother was leading England down the wrong path, she wanted to create a system where someone could stop a ruler that was leading the country down the wrong path. Having a relic like Curtana made this impossible, as the wielder was virtually untouchable. Even killing all the members of the royal family and destroying Curtana, she could not guarantee a new royal family would emerge after centuries or someone would be able to recreate Curtana. She would need to destroy every clue for making them. She did not choose to stay in the palace grounds on accident. She wanted it destroyed and all the clues it held within." Touma saw Carissa's face darken and he remembered she had seemed to be hiding something when he had talked to her in the limo and the palace.

"I rationalized her third phase is to mess with Curtana Original and Second so they could never be recreated. This is where the young man Mr. Touma Kamijou came in. Holding a relic of unimaginable power, she was afraid she too would be corrupted and lose sight of her final goal. Finding someone to keep her tied down was essential. Almost as if he was a blessing to her, Mr. Kamijou also has the power of complete negation. He can destroy Curtana with a single touch of his hand. To her, he would be the ultimate emergency backup if she lost sight of her goal." Carissa made a fist, and cut a large piece of debris in half. Touma saw, out of the corner of his eyes, the church forces standing up and reappearing in large numbers.

"I cannot agree with my sister's choice, but I can understand it. She decided to make the world her enemy to save England's future. She purposely made herself the enemy for her people. I can't force any of you to help, but if you truly pity her, not as the second princess but as a woman throwing herself into the fire, please listen. I heard Mr. Kamijou, who has no ties or duty to help, has always promised to save everyone, including her. Will you fight beside him, and help save her? She needs to know there are people who are willing to fight for her, not just with her." Her voice cut off and there was only silence, until one person broke it.

"Sister!" Villian yelled from on top of a pile of rubble. Her dress was torn, her hair a mess, and she was covered with cuts and bruises, but there was a look of determination Carissa had never seen on it before. "I promise to stop you, not just for the people, but for your sake as well."

"Just because you know," Carissa said softly. "Nothing changes." Her eyes widened as she shifted her weight to the side to dodge the arrow Villian shot at her. _She actually fired a weapon. She has become stronger during this coup._ "I'm actually impressed, but it doesn't matter. The second bunker cluster has always ready been fired. I doubt your forces can withstand another one."

"You f#$^%$ b#$%^," Shizuri snapped.

"Basically," Frenda added. "Suicide is a coward's way out."

"You seem to be mistaken," Carissa laughed. "I will survive. I may have used up a lot of power, but I can still easily survive this."

"Damn it," Touma shouted taking a step forward. "I'm not giving up."

"Show me," Carissa said quietly, using her hand to motion for him to try. "Show me the strength you think you can save me with." Touma charged at her past Shizuri, who had a look of surprise at his stupidity, with his hand clutched tightly into a fist. While he ran as fast as he could, his speed was in super slow motion to Carissa. She couldn't draw her eyes away from his face, because she still could not understand him. _Why does he fight so hard? He knows he can't win. Does he really want to save me that much?_ She raised Curtana as he approached, but before he could get near her, Kaori grabbed him by his collar and threw him back.

"Calm yourself," Kaori reprimanded him, drawing her sword and holding it up towards Carissa.

"But…" Touma protested. He had to stop her before anyone else got hurt.

"CALM YOURSELF!" Kaori told him forcefully. "If you get struck down, this entire endeavor would be for naught."

"Touma," Mikoto called out. "I know what you're thinking, but you can't charge forward. The next missile is almost here."

"Stupid ape!" Kuroko yelled. 'Stop making onee-sama worry."

Touma gritted his teeth. He knew they were right, but there was nothing he could do. "Idiot," Shizuri said slapping him in the face. "Pay attention to your surroundings and don't just blindly charge in like a retard." Touma's face hurt, Shizuri was really strong, but he nodded in agreement.

"It's too late for all of you," Carissa laughed and pointed up. They looked and saw the cruise missile coming at them. Touma gritted his teeth, but knew this wasn't going to end well for any of them, when he heard something.

"Turn to zero."

The cruise missile appeared to have malfunctioned. Instead of the outer shell breaking apart and scattering the smaller explosives, it remained as a single missile, falling towards the palace. The flame propelling it from behind disappeared, and it crashed into the ground with a loud thud. It must have been weighted quite a bit, because it sunk deeply into the ground. It was an unnatural scene, almost as if all of the attack power had been stripped away. Touma turned to see who had stopped the missile. His jaw dropped when he saw Knight Leader walking between piles of rubble, holding a longsword. It was not the sword Jason had taken, but a normal sword like a regular knight would have used.

"AH!" Kuroko yelled pointing. "It's him."

"That's the guy you and Kagere-san fought right?" Mikoto asked.

"Yea," Kuroko nodded. "He's super strong and merciless."

"That sounds like Knight Leader all right," Stiyl agreed. "He always fulfills his duties perfectly."

"Until he met Kuroko and Kagere-san," Mikoto smirked slightly and Kuroko beamed at her. They turned slightly, as Saiai climbed up the debris next to them.

"I hope you are prepared for your punishment," Carissa growled at Knight Leader.

"Yes," Knight Leader replied instantly. "I will accept any punishment, including decapitation, when this coup has ended. But for now…" He dashed at high speeds toward Carissa and swung his blade. She blocked it and gazed directly into his eyes. "We have decided to save you."

"We?" Carissa asked, raising and eyebrow. She turned and saw a large number of knights in beaten up armor approaching the battle.

"Split into two teams," Knight Leader ordered them. "Team one, focus on healing the Anglicans, Team Two, commences attacks on Lady Carissa." The knights nodded and split up like a single well-oiled machine. He pulled his sword back and continued to strike at Carissa, his speed making his sword a blur. Carissa continued to block every strike, her gaze never leaving his face. "I have much to atone for."

"Then atone with your death." Carissa swung the sword, causing the dimension to split, slicing his sword in half. He jumped backwards, barely avoiding the attack. "Without Curtana's Telesma, your level is only around that of a Saint. You can't defeat me. You simply walked to your death."

"Knight Leader!" Villian called out. "Don't you dare die! If you truly want to atone for your deeds, then live and repay it with your service to the people!"

"Hah," Jason laughed jumping up next to her. "Well said." His shadow stretched out from behind him and the stolen longsword flew through the air. "I'll lend you your sword back. Lend. I won it fair and square and you have to earn it back if you want to keep it." Knight Leader grabbed the sword in midair and turned to face Carissa.

"More and more annoyances," she groaned. "I guess I'll just send every bunker cluster I have available to this location. You might be able to stop a couple, but you won't be able to get them all."

"We thought of this already," Knight Leader replied. Touma was surprised to see the shadow of a grin appear on his serious face. "A good friend of mine just took care of that." A moment later, on the other side of Carissa, William Orwell jumped over a large piece of debris. He swung his five meter long mace over his shoulder and looked at Carissa. "Is it done?" Knight Leader asked him.

"All communication towers have been taken down," William answered. "She won't be able to call for help anymore." He turned toward Carissa. "Now you cannot send reckless orders to the British military. They are English citizens and should not be forced to fire on the capital. They should be protecting not destroying it because of some ruthless dictator's orders."

"Perfect," Knight Leader said and walked up next to Touma. "I apologize for leaving her fate, and the country's, up to you."

Touma didn't even have to look at Knights Leader. The heard the truth reverberate in his voice. Knight Leader regretted his decision and was determined it make it up. "Let's save her then. Leave all the apologies for later, after this is done and everyone can smile again."

"I don't care how many of you stand against me," Carissa yelled. "All of you will die here."

Knight Leader didn't reply and raised his sword. On the other side of Carissa, William raised his mace. Without any signal, both of them charged at Carissa simultaneously. They weren't the only ones though. Kaori had also charged and all three struck with different blows. Carissa blocked Kaori's blade, dodged Knight Leader's blow and ducked under William's mace. Carissa was matching them blow for blow, but it quickly became obvious to Touma, for the first time since the battle started.

Carissa was finally being overpowered.

Three Saint level beings were matching their blows effortlessly to maximize each strike against her. The remaining Anglican forces and knights began to converge on Carissa. The combination of magic and physical blows began to rain down on her from every direction. No matter how many barriers she made with debris, the sheer numbers broke them apart. Shizuri was actually focusing on blasting the barriers instead of Carissa. Touma thought this was more because she knew it was pointless to fire at her and, instead, it would piss Carissa off more to lose her shields. "You may have the advantage of numbers," she said suddenly and then laughed. "But you are just individuals." She spun around a blow from Knight Leader, and he suddenly found an arrow in his shoulder.

"What!" he said surprised, and looked toward the direction it came from. The nun who fired it looked horrified. _Accident, but it's to be expected with so many people._ Touma also realized it and spoke it out loud.

"She's beginning to use our own attacks against each other," he said through gritted teeth. "Even cornered, she still won't give up."

"Let me try something," Misaki said and Touma jumped. He had been so distracted by the fight, he didn't notice her approach. Touma looked at her and she winked. She held up a remote and clicked it. Touma didn't know what she did, but she saw her eyebrows narrow in concentration. Before he could ask she spoke up again. "It's tougher than I thought and it didn't work on everyone, but I'm acting as a control tower. They should have a faint idea what the others are doing now."

"Good job," he said, patting her on the shoulder, and she beamed at him. He turned his attention back to the fight and saw the entire flow of battle change instantly.

 _What happened?_ Carissa thought to herself. She continued to exchange air shattering blows with Kaori, Knight Leader, and William. Every time one of their weapons clashed, a small shockwave was produced and a loud clang echoed across the field. She was beginning to acquire numerous small wounds, as they pushed her farther and farther into a corner. What confused her was how all the church and knight forces were suddenly able to synchronize. Their attacks missed each other by inches as they flew toward her and forced her to expand more energy just to dodge. Whenever she managed to escape the Saint level individuals, she was assaulted by lightning, explosives, debris, and magical long range attacks. The Academy City students were mainly aiming during this gap. As Touma watched the fight, he heard someone walk up behind him. He immediately turned around and saw Accelerator.

"You're here?" Touma asked shocked. "I thought I missed you in the crowd." Misaki noticed him too, but had to remain focus on the battle.

"I have enough time for one more attack," Accelerator told him. "I'm going to make it f$^%&$ count. Got a plan?"

"I have to hit Curtana with my hand," Touma muttered, and then gestured toward the fight. "But there's no way I can get near that." Carissa, Kaori, William, and Knight Leader were moving at speeds normal people could barely register. They kept flicking out of sight, reappearing only as they stopped and exchanged blows. Their blows were so powerful, anything in between them was annihilated in an instant. "If they could hold her still for just a moment…" He felt Accelerator grab onto his shirt.

'Her fifth rate," Accelerator said. "Tell them all they need to focus on immobilizing her."

"Huh?" she asked confused.

"Do it," Touma said nodding. He realized Accelerator's plan immediately. "Think you can aim?" Accelerator glared at him.

"Don't ever doubt me," he said.

"If you're sure," Misaki said weakly, and she focused all her power to give a single message to all the forces. _We have a plan. Do anything possible to immobilize Carissa for as long as possible._ She then sent a message to Kuroko and Frenda to tell Mikoto and Shizuri the plan. Both of them could prevent her ability from affecting them. They didn't get a response, but Misaki could tell it worked.

Acqua jumped into the air and swung his mace downwards with his full strength. Carissa was forced to raise her blade and block it. The force of the strike caused her to sink slightly into the ground, the shockwave blowing away the top level of dirt under her. Before Carissa could strike back, Kaori and Knight Leader dived forward and grabbed her arms. Normally, she would still be able to free herself, when she felt a shadow wrap around her, draining tiny bits of Telesma the longer it bound her. Black sand began to rise from under her and cover her lower legs in a small mound. She saw hundreds of the nuns chanting, before she felt the spells take effect. Her body felt heavy and slow. She struggled to break free, but she had used up a lot of her power already, and fighting three Saints, along with hundreds of supporting individuals, is not easy, even for her. She freed her arm from Kaori and was about to bring her blade down on her, when Carissa heard someone shout.

"CTOOCU!SAARTST! (Move Curtana's trajectory up! Stop the slice and redistribute the excess Telesma!)"Index yelled. She had finally finished analyzing Curtana. Carissa felt the blade jerk back upwards and she had to concentrate on keeping the Telesma within it. Her gaze caught something moving and she realized the true attack.

"Damn you all!" she screamed as Touma flew through the air at her, his hand clenched tightly in a fist. He pulled it back and swung it at Curtana.

Curtana shattered into hundreds of pieces, and those pieces dissolved into dust.

But his fist didn't stop there.

It continued into the side of her face. At the point of impact, everyone, who was holding her, jumped back. The force of Touma's momentum caused Carissa's body to twist and fly backwards, her feet lifting up off the ground. She fell, but Touma continued to fly toward a wall made from Curtana's dimensional cut. He closed his eyes, but instead of crashing into a hard surface, he felt something soft. He opened his eyes and saw Kaori had caught him and his head landed directly in her chest. She collided into the wall, but her Saint constitution withstood the impact much better than he could. Touma's wrist hurt like hell, but he turned his eyes back to Carissa.

She was lying sprawled out on the ground.

The battle was over, Carissa was defeated.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Touma: Dang, she was impossible.**

 **Motoharu: It was like one of those RPG games were the final boss has almost unlimited health.**

 **Jason: Wow Touma, you actually punched a girl in the face. Stiyl and Accelerator is one thing…**

 **Accelerator: Watch it…**

 **Jason: But a girl? I thought you were better than that.**

 **Touma: There wasn't any choice, you were there.**

 **Motoharu: There is always a choice.**

 **Touma: But…**

 **Jason: How many other girls did you punch?**

 **Sherry Cromwell: Well, I sort of attacked Academy City.**

 **Agnese: I tried to kill him once.**

 **Oriana Thomson: I nearly killed a couple of his friends.**

 **Accelerator: To be fair, I punched a teleporter girl once.**

 **Touma: See, I don't do it because I want to.**

 **Jason: I didn't see a single viable reason there.**

 **Mikoto: What are you guys talking about?**

 **Motoharu: Gender equality.**

 **Me: I feel this is a meme.**

 **Motoharu: It is.**

 **Mikoto: Okay… So how did Accelerator do at the beginning?**

 **Me: He only threatened to kill most of the readers.**

 **Last Order: MISAKA made sure to keep him in line informs MISAKA as MISAKA remembers reprimanding Accelerator.**

 **Accelerator: Whatever.**

 **Mikoto: Can I do next week then?**

 **Me: If you're sure, some of those guys are ruthless… Okay, go for it.**

 **Touma: Good luck Mikoto.**

 **Misaki: Don't choke too badly.**


	56. S2 Eve

**Hi everyone. This is Mikoto Misaka and I'm glad to finally have a turn to answer your questions. For some reason, the author was hesitant about me answering, but he allowed Accelerator, Mugino, and Shokuhou to do it. That doesn't make a lot of sense. I was told there are a lot of tough questions and limited time, so I will do my best to answer as many questions as I can. I know there will probably be information you can never let Kuroko know about.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: They didn't outshine me. Mugino just kept having her attacks reflected and she was forced to defend against the debris. Her best timing was protecting Touma after the cluster bomb. They needed me to focus on tiring out the princess. Shokuhou only managed to do something near the end.**

 **Yakutsu Zaishiro: Well, I would prefer it didn't come to it. Kuroko's my best friend, but sometimes I need to be tough on her to establish boundaries. If I can get permission to change roommates, all I need to do is find someone else who wants to change. I know a couple people who might be willing, but I rather not have someone who treats me like some celebrity, just because I'm a level five.**

 **Haku Katsuki: There have been some close calls, like a couple times when she ambushed me in the shower… Anyway, she's still the best roommate I have had at Tokiwadai so far.**

 **Chen: I don't know. I suppose he might like that when we get back to Academy City. He might think of me more lady-like since he likes older… Ah… about the new technique. If I learn one, it will be using my ability in a new way. I've been trying to learn to fire two railguns at once, but it's kind of hard to aim both properly.**

 **GStride: Ah… well, I would like to hang out more and maybe have dinner alone…. Spend the night together…. Kiss… I need to be more assertive, Shokuhou is trying to monopolize him and I won't let that happen.**

 **Banditz: Gekota Land is a real place, it just opened and I was planning to get tickets before Touma told us about the trip. Well, I hope it doesn't come to this. The best bet is to distract her until she forgets about Kamiko, but that is a long shot…** _ **sigh**_ **. Arg, why does every girl he meets seem to follow him! It's hard enough with a couple people from Academy City. She did what? That's it, I'm not going to play nice anymore. Ah, well, Touma of course, but I'm glad I don't have to choose.**

 **dragon100977: She wasn't going to tell me even if I asked, and Touma didn't seem to know her. I wasn't sure how to proceed and forgot about it. I'm more worried about what she is doing now. I can already cook, though nothing to complicated. I technically did already at the Tokiwadai retreat, and we went on a date.**

 **Swoob: That's for the confidence, but your suggestion might be…. A bit much. I rather not have my mom involved.**

 **I'm really sorry I couldn't answer all your questions. There was a lot more than I thought there would be and the author wants to limit the length of the introductions. If I get another chance to answer, I'll try to do more. Have fun with the new chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

The silence was deafening. Touma only could only stare at the unconscious form of Carissa. Lying on the ground, she looked just like a normal woman, unlike the invincible warrior they had fought so furiously moments before. His eyes traveled to the others and saw they had similar looks of disbelief. The fight had ended abruptly and everyone was still trying to process it. "Would you be so kind as to get off, I'm a little exhausted at the moment." Touma turned his head slightly to look at Kaori's slightly red face. His eyes widened as he realized he was laying his head in her chest.

"Ah sorry," he said quickly scrambling off her and standing up. His right wrist was killing him, but he didn't say anything because he saw Kaori's wounds. Her clothes were torn and her body was covered in cuts and bruises. Some of the more serious wounds seemed to be partially healed, as if they were healed with magic halfway to save time. He could put up with a possible sprain compared to the injuries the others had endured. He reached down, with his left hand, and helped her up. "It seems like I just woke up from a bad dream."

"Everyone probably feels the same way," Kaori replied, and then a slight smile appeared on her face. "Maybe they need some encouragement from the person who delivered the final blow." Touma stared at her, and she nodded slightly in encouragement. He sighed and turned to face everyone else, who were slowly approaching the scene, unsure if the fight was truly over. He wasn't sure what to do either, but he let instinct take over. He formed a fist and raised his right hand into the air.

The instantaneous roar of cheering nearly knocked him over.

A moment later he was surrounded by girls hugging him. Misaki, Mikoto, and Index were the first to reach him, but Itsuwa, Agnese, Frenda, and several others he didn't know joined in. He felt a powerful hand slap him on the back and he turned around. Zach was grinning and looked in high spirits, even with a small gash on his head. It was obviously, they finally had something to rejoice about. Even Touma was beginning to smile, the excitement was contagious, glad the issue had finally resolved and his friends were safe.

"I'm so glad you're safe Touma," Misaki said hugging him tightly.

"When I saw you flying through the air," Mikoto told him, also holding him tightly. "I didn't know what to make of it. You really do things in the most insane way, idiot." She sniffed slightly. "I'm glad you are okay."

"Touma!" Index cried. "Stop doing stupid things." She had tears in her eyes as she hugged him tightly.

"You were so cool," Frenda exclaimed, punching him lightly in the shoulder. "Basically, flying through the air and socking her in the face was perfect."

"Not bad," Zach said slapping him on the back again. "You definitely have courage. Going to celebrate with all your girls now?"

From a distance Accelerator and Jason were watching Touma get mobbed. "A single well placed blow is all it took," Jason said, grinning. "Yet he still got enough experience to have Kami Disease level up. I have to report to this Tsuchimikado and Aogami."

"That is one of the stupidest things you have ever said," Accelerator replied. "But, I hate to admit it, I agree with you completely."

"Shut up," Touma told Zach. He was painfully aware of Accelerator and Jason watching him with amused expressions on their faces. He was worried what they were going to say after this was over. He also had felt goosebumps running down his neck. A dark aura was coming from Kuroko and, to his surprise, Shizuri. "I'm glad my friends are safe, but we really should be helping all the injured now, right?"

"He is absolutely correct," Kaori said. She turned to the rest of her forces. "We can celebrate later. For now, everyone able to heal, get to work. Evacuate anyone with serious injuries first." The Anglican forces nodded and split up to help their fallen comrades. The knights followed suit, after a brief nod from Knight Leader. Kaori walked over to where Carissa was laying and looked down. Carissa's eyes were opened and she was staring up into the sky. The only sign Kaori saw Carissa noticing her presence was Carissa's eyes flickered onto her ever so slightly. A moment later, Kaori was accompanied by Knight Leader, Stiyl, and Villian. "You have lost," Kaori told her simply. There wasn't any major reason to say it, it was obvious she lost, but Kaori had said it purely as a diplomatic gesture.

"Yes." Carissa didn't utter anything else and she seemed resign to her fate. Her eyes darted to Curtana's hilt, still grasped tightly in her hand though the blade was completely destroyed, and she sighed. Even wielding one of the most powerful artifacts in history, she still lost. The power would most likely return to her mother's blade and the rest would disperse.

"What is your plan for us?" Knight Leader asked Stiyl.

"It's not really up for me to decide," Stiyl answered, looking at Villian. "Queen Elizard is still in charge, and she will have final authority. I will say this though," he paused and took a deep drag from his cigarette. "Her actions will not be forgiven easily and I don't plan to try to convince anyone otherwise."

"I understand," Knight Leader said. "I am also prepared to face judgement for my transgressions."

"No," Villian said firmly, shaking her head. "Your presence is too important. You are the linchpin that holds the knights together. We need everyone to band together, more than ever, for the future of our country. If you executed, it will only widen the strife between the factions. We need to rebuild the trust between all three of our groups. You are not allowed to die." Her normal kind expression suddenly held strength, as she looked at Knight Leader. "If you are truly sorry for your actions, then it's time to make it up to the people you betrayed."

A brief jolt of surprised showed on his face, before the shadow of a smile appeared. "You have grown Lady Villian."

"I had to."

"I agree with her," Kaori said sheathing her sword. Her eyes darted over to Touma and his friends. They had moved out of the way so the Anglicans and the knights could work uninterrupted. One of the nuns taught Jason a basic healing spell, so he was helping them out, since they needed everyone possible. "We need all of our strength to survive the trials ahead. Due to Curtana's control being broken, the protection on England will surely be diminished for a while. I have no doubt The Fallen will try to make use of this. You all know their strength and purpose. We must stop them from summoning Lucifer."

"You make it sound so easy," a girl's singsong voice rang out across the palace grounds and everyone froze. They looked up and the joy they had felt faded away, as a blonde girl slowly walking out of a dark void in the air above them. She was wearing a pink shirt and a white skirt. Since she was standing above them, they all had a view of her white panties, but she seemed to not care. "You speak of stopping us, but all you ever did was follow my plan perfectly."

"Eve!" Touma yelled in recognition. "What are you doing here?" He took a couple steps forward so he was standing in front of the others. He was aware of all them watching her too. The knights and Anglican's started to draw their weapons, but they continued to watch in silence. Every one of them knew who Eve was, and how dangerous she could be.

"Was this the girl you said created the creatures out of paper?" Shizuri asked Saiai and Frenda.

"It super is," Saiai replied.

"Definitely," Frenda agreed.

"Why is she here?" Mikoto gasped.

"Obviously," Misaki answered, her face dark. "She's taking advantage of our exhaustion."

"If she makes more of those paper humans," Kuroko said, reaching down and grabbing her needles. "We could be in trouble."

"Damn it," Accelerator growled. He had a personal vendetta against Eve, but he didn't have any more time left in his battery. If he turned it back on, he most likely would collapse almost instantly.

"Hi Imagine Breaker," she said sweetly, looking right at him. "Thank you so much for helping out more than I expected." She blew him a kiss and Touma felt several murderous auras, not just from behind him, but a couple other places scattered throughout the church forces. "I was just having fun while waiting for my plan to come to fruition. My associate is picking up the wing as we speak." She disappeared from sight, as a giant torrent of flame erupted around her.

"Then the best option now would be to remove you from the picture," Stiyl said calmly.

"Yea," Eve giggled. She had appeared directly behind him. "If you had the power to do so." Stiyl turned around instantly, rune card in his hand, but Eve disappeared again and reappeared in the middle of the destroyed palace grounds, flouting a couple feet above the ground. It almost looked like Kuroko's teleportation, but she sort of became transparent before she actually teleported. A moment later, Knight Leader, William, and Kaori surrounded her, weapons drawn. William made sure he was between Eve and Villian, who hadn't left but was staring at Eve with a mixture of shock and awe.

"Surrender," Knight Leader told her, authority resonating in his voice.

"Or we will use force," Kaori finished. William didn't say anything, but his muscles tighten in preparation. To their surprise, Eve raised her hands in the air, like she actually planned to comply. "Tell us where the wing is," Kaori demanded.

"It's in the most obvious place possible and you never even thought of it," Eve said, still giggling. She brought an arm down and pointed far into the distance. Kaori turned to look and saw black smoke rising high into the sky. "Looks like Juliet has taken it. I hope she doesn't get corrupted by its power. We all know what a little bit of power does to someone." Her eyes flickered to Carissa, who was sitting up now, leaning against a piece of debris. Carissa gave her a death glare, but did not say anything. Stiyl on the other hand frowned and slunk over to Jason, who was watching Eve closely.

"I need you to do something for me," Stiyl mumbled. Jason raised an eyebrow before Stiyl whispered his plan. Jason grinned and nodded.

"I could definitely do that." Stiyl nodded, pleased, and moved towards Eve, pulling out a rune card. He wasn't sure when Eve would try something, so he had to be prepared. While he had gotten Jason to agree to his to plan, the others continued to talk with Eve.

"What did she attack?!" demanded Kaori.

"I think it's the Tower of London," Villian said, squinting in the direction of the smoke. "The distance appears right."

"Bingo," Eve laughed, touching a finger to her nose." Now, what could possibly be in that tower I want? Think carefully, it's not that hard." It was obvious to Touma that Eve was enjoying playing around with them. She didn't have to appear before them all, but she chose too for some reason.

"No," Knight Leader said, his eyes widening in realization. "The Crown Jewels."

"Exactly," Eve beamed at him. "I'm surprised none of you realized this sooner. You knew Lord Lucifer's wings were in gems, yet you completely ignored them."

"Impossible," Villian spoke up, addressing Eve directly for the first time. She didn't know Eve's plan, but it was clear Eve wasn't planning to fight them. "Those were the first items Rimea investigated when we learned Eve was looking for the wings of Lucifer. They have cultural significance, but they didn't have any magical power."

"I have to agree," piped up Index. "I have seen the Crown Jewels and they do not have any magical power. Even a fragment of an angel would stand out."

"You both were wrong," shrugged Eve. "But for a specific reason, which leads to my very simple plan you all fell for."

"Which is?" Kaori asked. She was determined to get, as much information from Eve as possible. _We barely have information on her and her organization. She seems to be in a talkative mood, so let's try._ She caught Knight Leader's, William, and Stiyl's eyes. They seemed to be agreeing with her. All the other church and knight forces were waiting for the signal to attack. As long as Eve was just talking, they were holding position. _The only unknown factor is Kamijou's friends. They can be quite reckless._ Her eyes darted over to them, and saw Mikoto and Misaki standing firmly next to Touma. Shizuri and her friends were behind them, along with Kuroko and Accelerator.

"Well," Eve said, swaying in the air and putting her hands behind her head in a nonchalant way. "It's a long story, and the main reason I had to put this plan together." She smiled at them all. "But now that we have the wing, I'll tell you. Let's start at the beginning, so everyone can be caught up. When our lord challenged and lost to Archangel Michael, Michael severed Lord Lucifer's wings and cast them down upon earth to prevent our lord from being able to renter the domain of god, or more commonly referred to as Heaven. Our lord could not be killed, as his power was too entwined in the fabric of your world, being the first archangel. His body was destroyed and his soul sealed away. Our research told us one of the wings had found its way into England."

"But many of the jewels have been replaced over the centuries," Villian protested. "How could you guarantee his gem holding the wing would not?"

"Excellent question," Even commented, pointing at her. "You see, the Crown Jewels were supposed to be collection of more than a 100 historic ceremonial objects, correct?" Villian nodded. "That is actually incorrect. The Crown Jewels were not formed because of tradition. It was created to hide the gem in plain sight. After all, would any enemies think the most powerful item in the world will be hiding in the open? This almost fooled even us. I believe there is a long list of rules for adding and removing items from the Crown Jewels. If you took all those rules and applied them to every piece, what would you get?"

Villian frowned, because she didn't know all the rules by heart, but knight Leader did. "There are three gems and a gold relic that could not be removed unless the rules were ignored." He made a fist in recognition.

"The other three pieces are insignificant," Eve said floating horizontally to the ground, almost like she was laying down on her chest in midair. "Only one of them mattered."

"But that doesn't explain why there was no trace of Lucifer's power," Index interjected.

"The answer begins and ends with Michael," Eve told her, smiling slightly. It seemed like no matter what was talked about, Eve was always cheerful. "Each wing was sealed with a small piece of Michael's power. But over the years, with humans growing and learning magic, the seals slowly started breaking. This is when Adam and I started making our move after so long. Over the centuries, we started collecting the wings. We waited so long and now we were so close. These last few years were brutal, we had been unable to locate many of the wings, so we had to continue to watch and wait." Her eyes widened and her smile stretched farther. For the first time, Touma began to feel this girl was not quite sane. "But we know where the last ones are. This is the tenth, and Adam is currently taking the eleventh from the Roman Catholic Church. The last one's location is known to us and will soon be within our grasp."

"Centuries?" Mikoto asked unable to keep quiet. "How old are you?" _Is she immortal or does she mean her organization? I can't be sure with magic._ She couldn't read Eve's intentions except that she had developed an interest in Touma. _I won't let her near him. There's something… off with her._

"How old do you think I am?" Eve asked, staring at her. Mikoto gave an involuntary shiver. While Eve was smiling, her eyes seemed to pierce right through her. Mikoto didn't answer and Eve shrugged. "Oh yes, where was I? The seal for the wing in England had almost broken long ago and we had begun to divine its location. Then something terrible happened." She held her hand over her heart. "England created Curtana Original and separated the UK from the rest of the world. The seal which was about to break, was suddenly saturated with Michael's Telesma. This caused our lord's power to remain dormant and we lost track of it. Over the centuries, the power continued to be absorbed by the gem, until there was no trace of his power left."

"Then why are you after it?" Touma asked. "If Michael's power destroyed Lucifier's power…"

"Not destroy," Eve interrupted, shaking a finger as if reprimanding him. "Overshadowed would be a better word. This caused a problem for us. When we finally learned of its location, we could not retrieve it."

"Why?" Kuroko asked, unable to contain her curiosity. Most of this information details were over her head, but she could follow the basic premises of the conversation.

"We had received blessings from Lord Lucifer himself," Eve declared proudly. "The issue is Michael's power and our lord's power conflict and start to annihilate each other. If Adam or I forcefully take it, the sudden burst of our lord's power would react with Michael's power, which had been saturating the wing for years. We were planning to let one of our underlings take it, but then Michael's power would overwhelm them. Even if they could remove the Telesma in the wing, it would just be replaced by the power flowing through the country. This was quite a dilemma. It took years of thinking and planning before we discovered a single flaw in the defenses. Michael's blessing on England had weakened only once, and we could have stolen it during that time if we knew."

"When was this?" Kaori asked, narrowing her eyes. She couldn't remember ever hearing about a period when England lost Michael's blessing.

"The actual affect wasn't known to most of the world," Eve admitted, nodding her head sagely. "But the protection of the country weakened during the single most important event for the royal family's history. When the people rebelled against the ruling family in the past, Curtana's control was lost, and the blade was lost in history. Well, until it was found by the second princess there" She gestured to Carissa, whose eyes had widened slightly.

"You were waiting for Curtana's control to be lost again," Kaori asked, frowning. "But even during the rebellion, there was no guarantee that happening. In fact, wouldn't you have gone after the wing hours ago when she actually lost control?"

"That is partially right," Eve laughed. "You see, we couldn't be sure the second Curtana would ever be lost, so we came up with another plan. During our research, we found out the second princess had been searching for Curtana, to further her own plans to fight the Roman Catholic Church. We decided this would be a perfect chance for us. I sent my forces to cause England as much trouble as possible, to force her to speed up her plans. Our plan was simple, for Curtana Original and Second to clash."

"That doesn't make much sense," Touma said frowning. "Unless, you wanted them to destroy each other?"

"I knew it," Eve said, smiling at him. "You are smart. That was the plan exactly. You see, when both Curtana's clashed, they would be drawing Michael's power to them, except for what was being distributed to their forces. If one of the blades was destroyed, the other would begin to draw in all the power. During this brief occurrence, my underling could grab the wing and leave the country. We could then begin to safely remove Michael's power without the risk of damaging the wing."

"How did you know Curtana's would clash," Stiyl asked. "As you can see, they didn't."

"We had assumed Curtana Original's power would force the queen to face the princess head on," Eve conceded. "We did not expect someone else to be here." Her eyes turned to Touma. "When I discovered you were in England, I was surprised, but your presence proved invaluable to us. Even without the Curtana's power clashing, the protection's distribution was interrupted by the forceful takeover. The original stole most of the power from the second, and the queen was forced to keep the remaining power in her blade, rather than spreading it out over the country. This did weaken Michael's protection, but it wasn't enough for us to guarantee success, so we waited."

"You used me," Carissa mumbled, her hand clenched into a fist.

"You did what you did for your own reasons," Eve corrected her. "We just took advantage of it and sped up the process. I was watching the fight and it was quite entertaining. I kind of wanted to jump in earlier but, as I said before, I have received Lords Lucifer's blessing. Michael's power and our lord's do not work together. People who have received his blessing find themselves weakened greatly in England. My power included. When the second princess took control of Curtana, I felt some of my strength return as the protection over the country weakened, but I still couldn't risk opposing Curtana directly. I don't know how much damage I would receive. Michael's power can cause a lot of negative side effects for our lord's followers. But then, the Imagine Breaker goes and surpasses all expectations."

"He actually destroyed the most powerful of the Curtana's," Eve laughed. "I felt the restriction of my power disappear the moment his hand hit the blade." She twirled in midair. "I have to admit, it feels good to be at full power again. It will take a little while before the Queen can regain control over the excess Telesma and reestablish the protection. I just came over to tell you the situation and enjoy your shocked expressions."

"What are you planning to do next?" Touma asked, his fist clenched tightly. He knew his friends, the church forces, and the knights were all exhausted. If Eve decided to attack, he didn't know how many causalities there would be. _We need a plan to stop her, but …._

"I was planning to leave," Eve shrugged, interrupting his thoughts.

"What?!" Touma exclaimed in shock. Most of his friends wore similar expressions of disbelief, except Shizuri and Accelerator, who frowned.

"I have no real reason to stay," Eve explained, smiling. "We have the wing, I don't care about the princess's punishment, and I have no grudge against England. I need to start planning to retrieve the last wing anyway." She stopped and her grin grew. It was like she thought of something important and fun to do. "I really should reward you though," she said, staring directly at Touma. "You really made it possible for all of this to occur. I don't think a regular thank you will be enough for all you did for us."

"What are you talking abo…" Touma asked confused, when he stopped talking. Well, it wasn't that he choose to, but the fact his words had been forcefully stopped. Eve had disappeared and reappeared right in front of him. Her hand had reached up and grabbed his collar. He tried to resist, but she was incredibly strong. She was a head shorter than him and she pulled him down to her level, the force cutting off his words. Before he could ask or say anything, he was completely silenced.

Eve had leaned forward, put her lips directly on his, and kissed him passionately.

Touma's eyes went wide in surprise, before his mind could realize what happened. He wanted to push her away, but his body felt heavy and frozen. He thought his mind must still be reeling in shock, when he heard the sound of breaking glass. His body felt normal a moment after. _Was she doing something to me?_ He decided to worry about that later and pushed her off. "Gah," he said taking a deep breath, now that he could breathe again. He looked at her, and saw her normal happy go lucky expression faltered and she was frowning. Before he could say anything, she vanished and a green light flew past him, about a foot away. He could feel the heat on his skin as it flew by. He turned to see Shizuri, with an extremely pissed off expression.

"That was rude," Eve said, reappearing in the distance. She was glaring at Shizuri.

"Shove it," Shizuri replied. "You piss me off." While this was true, she had only found herself getting pissed when Eve had ambushed a kiss from Touma. _Damn, this feeling sucks. If I kill her, I bet I'll feel better._ The beam she fired hadn't hit anyone, but she didn't really care. When she aimed, she made sure to avoid hitting Touma, but that was the only calculations she made.

"I was just thanking him for all his help…" Eve started to reply, crossing her arms. This time, she was interrupted by a blade being swung at her. Kaori had jumped, forward at superhuman speeds, and forced Eve to use her version of teleportation again. This was the first time Touma ever saw Kaori looking extremely angry. Kaori's covered the distance to Eve in a second and continued to unleash a barrage of strikes, along with flashes of wires. Eve, however, continued to dodge and vanish to avoid all the blows. A moment later, Itsuwa caught up and delivered several jabs, each one causing the air to explode. Between the two of them, Eve was forced to vanish and reappear high above them. Eve's shirt was now torn. Kaori and Itsuwa looked upwards, as the radiated a dark aura.

"This was my favorite shirt," Eve complained loudly. "Why does everyone attack me for no reason?"

"For no reason?" Itsuwa asked incredulously. "You tried to do something to Kamijou-kun. We heard his hand go off."

"Whatever you're planning," Kaori added. "It won't work on him. We also owe him a lot for helping us, so we will not let you try."

"I wasn't trying anything really bad," Eve admitted. "I was multitasking. He deserved a reward from me, and I wanted to acquire some information from hi…" She stopped as a lightning strike came down from the heavens, completely engulfing her. When the flash of light no longer blinded him, Touma saw Eve's clothes were burnt, and she was smoking slightly. "Ouch, why would you do that?"

"You admitted it," Mikoto yelled, red faced. She was beyond angry. First, Eve had tried to do something to her friend, even if she wasn't sure what at the time. Mikoto had also head the Imagine Breaker's power activate and realized something had to have happen. Second, was Eve's so called reward. _That… that… whore. How dare she kiss him? I haven't even had a real kiss with him yet. Ours was only accidental._ She suddenly realized how far she was behind the Misaki, and even Shizuri. After all, both of them had kissed him willingly. When this realization dawned on her, her anger intensified. The clouds above them started rumbling and was constantly broken with flashes of lighting.

 _Onee-sama's really upset,_ Kuroko thought, as she eyed the sky. She decided to take a couple steps back. _Why don't you get this upset for me?_

"I figured I could also get some information from him during that reward," Eve told them. "I wanted to see if what information he had on… a certain thing." She frowned. "I'm surprise though. I was only able to obtain less than a year's worth of memory. What happened?"

"I don't know what you mean," Touma lied, feigning ignorance. "Whatever dangerous thing you did, my hand negated it." He could feel Mikoto and Misaki looked at him when Eve mentioned the memory issue, but he kept his gaze on her. It was true he had lost all his memories last summer, but he didn't want to cause any of his friends to worry. After all, he became friends with them after he lost his memory.

"It wasn't like it was dangerous," Eve protested, and then a small missile hit her in the back. The smoke cleared and she appeared fine, but the back part of her shirt was falling apart. She turned around to see who hit her and saw Frenda holding two more missiles.

"None of us care about that." Frenda said. "Basically, we all just don't like you."

"Touma," Index cried waving her hands. "Do you feel anything?" Touma shook his head and she looked relieve.

"Should we really be trying to fight her in our condition," Touma muttered to no one in particular, but his words were heard by Accelerator.

"We outnumber her greatly," he shrugged. "Besides, maybe if you didn't go and attract the f$%#$% enemies, your harem wouldn't be starting another war."

"I don't have a hare…" Touma protested, as Accelerator rolled his eyes, but then changed direction. "What do you mean another war?"

"You know what I mean," Accelerator snapped and turned his attention back to the fight. It wasn't really a fight, just several random people, apparently mostly girls, attacking Eve who was mainly just dodging. "I still have a score to settle with that b#$%^, but I'm out of time." He was mumbling to himself, unaware Touma could still hear him, and Touma declined to speak up about it.

"I think," Misaki said, as she walked up to them. "We should use this time to gather some information."

"What do you mean?" Touma asked, while Accelerator glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. Misaki smiled and held up a remote.

"While all the others are distracting them," Misaki explained. "I'll peek into her mind to see what her plan really is. We might even get information on the last wing. I doubt very much what she told us was the entire truth."

"I have to agree," Accelerator added, looking at Eve continue to dodge the barrage of attacks from many of the church members, Shizuri and her friends, and Mikoto. "What kind of idiot would just give their enemies information like that?"

"We don't know anything about Eve," Touma protested to Misaki. "You don't know what you will find or if she has a way to stop you."

"Then wouldn't this be the perfect opportunity to find out about her?" Misaki asked, patting him on the shoulder. "Thanks for worrying about me, but I'm going to do this. Who knows how many lives can be saved with information I find." Touma opened his mouth, but closed it right after. He knew she was right and it would be childish to argue. He nodded and Misaki gave him a small smile. She held up her remote, point it at Eve, and clicked it.

At first, Misaki saw flashes of the most recent memories, Eve watching their fight, talking to a girl, most likely the Juliet she mentioned, and talking to Adam about the plan to take England's wings. So far she didn't see anything they didn't really know about already. What happened next, Misaki didn't expect. It felt like she was being drawn deep into Eve's mind, almost as if she was standing in quicksand and she was slowly being pulled under.

The scenes that unfolded in her mind confused her greatly. She saw buildings and cities that were built far differently than anything she knew about today. They twisted and warped in ways that should have made them impossible to stand. She really couldn't concentrate on them though because her mind was reeling in shock and confusion. There were colors she had never seen before. There were no names for these colors, because they didn't exist. If Misaki didn't see these colors through Eve's mind, she would never have been able to imagine them. People can't just imagine a new color, it's impossible. The human brain has to use memories of colors in order to imagine them. If someone tries to invent a new color, they have to use known colors to try to describe it. You can't describe the color red without using red. But now, Misaki's mind was actually seeing new colors.

Something moved high in the sky of the memory. A large mouth descended through something gold that resembled clouds, eyes black and soulless, every shade of green rippled through its scales, along with several brand new colors. One of the eyes seemed to look directly at her. _This is impossible, it's only a memory._ The creature roared, and the buildings began to collapse into dust. An explosion of light appeared in the distance and engulfed everything, and then the memory disappeared.

"Misaki!"

She looked up at Touma standing over her, a look of panic on his face. She looked down and realized she had fallen on her knees. She reached up and grabbed Touma's hand to help herself stand up. She took a deep breath and looked at him, vaguely aware Accelerator stepped between them and Eve. "I'm okay," she said, her voice shaking slightly. "Her memories…. I don't think she's completely human."

"What do you mean?" Touma asked quickly. He didn't like the fact Misaki had almost collapsed completely by just peeking into Eve's mind.

"There were colors that didn't exist in her mind," Misaki continued, her strength returning as she was able to focus on her surroundings. "She either sees things differently than us, or something happened involving a monster. The only other memories involved things we already knew."

"Monster…?" Touma began to ask, but Accelerator interrupted him.

"Explain later," he said. "Right now, whatever she did really pissed off Eve." Touma and Misaki looked up at Eve and had to agree. Eve was glaring right at them, her cheerful expression gone and replaced by anger. Their friends, the church, and knights all felt the situation change in the atmosphere too. They were preparing for another violent struggle when Eve spoke up.

"You saw something you shouldn't have seen girl," Eve said, her bubbly soft voice now hard and cold. "I was going to leave peacefully but, now, I should finish you off first. What creation would be most suitable for your destruction?" Eve held out her hand and her book reappeared. "I think I know which…" She stopped when the book disappeared from her hand. "Who dares…?" She turned her head to see Jason holding her book in his hand, grinning. Stiyl stood near him, with a triumphant look on his face.

"I figured you would use your book," Stiyl said loudly, looking at Eve. "Since he still had those curse marks he acquired from your servants a while back, I knew this would be a perfect time to take your relic. With it, your powers should be diminished if you can't conjure your creations."

Eve looked surprised for a moment, and then she burst out laughing. It wasn't a kind gentle laugh, it was a mocking one, much like Carissa used. "Oh, I can't fault in that thinking," she conceded. "But I guess humans can only think along those lines." She laughed again. "While it's true, many magicians need symbols or objects to cast their spells…" She paused. "I am under no such limitation." She spread her hands and several books appeared around her. "I can make these effortlessly, but your constant attempts have irritated me slightly. I am going to show you the difference in our power." She spread her arms wide, like she was going to embrace them all, and the books started to spin around her, faster and faster. "I am not limited to creatures that exist in your world. I have access to the creatures God deemed unworthy to exist in his!"

Thousands of pages flew out from the books and swirled around her, before spreading out under her and easily covered ten meters on both sides of her. The papers twisted and folded together into what looked like wings and then roughly an outline of a large bird. Unlike her other creations, this one still looked like paper. Her older ones had the paper turn into the outer appearance of the animal she created as they combined. The large paper bird flapped its wings, while Eve stood triumphantly on its head. "I hope you appreciate this. You should be the first ones to witness this animal in this world."

The bird suddenly exploded into flames.

Even as far away as he was, Touma felt the intense heat on his skin. He could only imagine how hot it was near Kaori, Itsuwa, and the other melee specialists were. His friends, on the other hand, were looking at the creature, with varying degree of surprise. Most of them had been in London, when Stiyl used Innocentius, and had seen a large fire creation. Jason, Frenda, and Saiai had been monitoring the security cameras and had not seen it. They were the most shocked at it, while everyone else prepared for combat. Only Index was actually staring at the bird in completely disbelief.

"What is that?" Touma called out to anyone who could answer him. "Is it similar to Stiyl's magic?" Even as he said it, he knew it wasn't true. The fire bird's flame was crimson red, with streaks of a lighter red outlining it. Its eyes and core seemed to be made of a deep golden flame. Even though the creature was entirely made of see through flames, no paper was visible. The gold flames in its eyes seemed to be looking around. _It seems to be alive,_ " he though, as a shiver went down his spine.

"No…" Index spoke up. "She actually created a phoenix."

"A what?" Mikoto asked. She had retreated back toward them to get away from the heat. "Wait, that's a bird that is supposed to be born from fire, right?" Her mythology was rusty, because the schools don't teach it and the only experience she had was a random novel that mentioned them. _Uiharu would know more about it then I would then. She reads those kinds of books. I only just started skimming a couple since Italy._

"I would say those don't exist," Shizuri commented. "But this trip is throwing off what use to be facts."

"What's a phoenix?" Touma asked and Index sighed. Accelerator, Saiai, and Frenda also looked curious, while the others were just listening. Mikoto, Shizuri, Kuroko, and Jason all had a rough idea what a phoenix was, but they decided to let Index explain, since what they knew may not be accurate. Eve was sitting there and appeared to be letting them finish, but Touma believed she was just enjoying basking in their shock of her creations. She always appeared to enjoy being the center of attention. _I guess that could be considered her weakness._

"It's a bird that symbolizes rebirth," Index explained quickly. "Originating in Greece, it's a bird that revives through the ashes of its predecessor. Though common knowledge says it is a bird that bursts into flames when it dies, it actually is a flame that has taken on a life of its own. The bird was the most common form it took. It is believed because it gave itself the greatest amount of freedom. Herodotus, Lucan, Pliny the Elder, Pope Clement I, Lactantius, and Isidore of Seville have all continued the story through the centuries and the story became a living bird that rises and dies in flames. They are the reason people associate it with an actual animal. Salamanders are also common forms living flames have taken in the past."

"Precisely," Eve squealed in delight, now that they knew what they were facing. "This little baby here was just born now, so it obviously wants to play." As the phoenix flapped its wings, a single strand of flames fell off. It floated gently toward the ground, like a feather. It didn't look threatening, until it hit a piece of Curtana's debris in the ground.

A dome shape explosion roared to life.

The dome was easily ten meters wide and disintegrated everything, leaving a crater in the ground. There was a small puddle of white plastic like liquid left, the remains of the debris bit by the attack. "Wow," Eve exclaimed, dancing slightly on the phoenix's head. "It's even more powerful then I remember. I wonder how you would fair if hundreds or thousands of the feathers fell."

"Are you insane!?" Touma yelled at her. "Are you really going to try to kill everyone?"

"I'm pretty sure they attacked me first," Eve replied, putting a finger up to her cheek.

"Liar," Mikoto yelled pointing a finger up at Eve. "You attacked England first."

"All forces," Kaori ordered. "Defensive spells prioritize flame resistance. Double-time."

"Do it," Knight Leader ordered all the other knights. All the forces immediately started chanting spells, throwing runes, or forming barriers. They were prepared to use all their powers to avoid being obliterated by the phoenix's power. Itsuwa, meanwhile, ran over to Touma and his friends.

"We are all going to be focused on defense," Itsuwa told them. "Can you focus on attacking? It might be possible to disrupt her magic. Everyone else should stay back."

"Maybe," Index said shaking her head. "It has a real body now, so I can't use spell intercept on it. However, because it is real, enough damage should disperse the body, like all of her other golems. The issue is, how much damage can we do to it as we are now? It should be able to regenerate if she infused the aspect of rebirth with it."

"We just need to blast it faster than it can heal," Shizuri grinned and several orbs formed around her.

"Hate to say it," Mikoto added, sparking up and smacking her fist into her palm. "But I have to agree with you."

"I guess I have no choice but to leave the violence to you two," Misaki sighed.

"Be careful onee-sama," Kuroko said.

"Good luck Mugino," Frenda said, and Saiai nodded. Both of their weapons wouldn't do much against a creature of fire.

"Do you think I can negate it," Touma asked Index, who frowned.

"I would advise not trying unless absolutely needed," Index replied. "Your hand doesn't negate her golems on touch, unless you hit their masks. Her phoenix must have a point similar to it. As for the phoenix feathers, you might not be able to negate them entirely before they explode. We are trespassing in unknown territory."

"Great," Touma muttered.

"Have fun my pet!" Eve cried, as the phoenix rose higher into the air. The phoenix flapped its great wings and hundreds of feathers fell down like snow. There were flashes of reflecting light, as Kaori's wires flew high into the air, intercepting the first wave. The air was full of fiery explosions as the feathers made contact with the wires. While the wires were disintegrated into ashes, they managed to stop over half, but that still left many more to go. Getting the idea, the knights and Anglicans unleashed a barrage of range attacks and shields, to intercept the feathers before they hit the ground. Kaori used their support to fling another protective magic circle using her wires. Eve looked down through the explosions and frowned at the lack of destruction. "Aww," she said kicking her foot. "I was hoping for more." The phoenix suddenly shock and she heard a loud boom.

Several green beams and another beam of light flew through the left wing of the phoenix, causing the wing to break apart and the bird tilted in midair for a moment. A second alter, the flames from its body stretched out and reformed the destroyed wing. Eve stabilized herself and grinned at Mikoto and Shizuri. "Aim for the body," Mikoto told Shizuri. "Wings aren't doing any good."

"Don't tell me things I already know," snapped Shizuri. They unleashed another barrage composed of Meltdowner beams and a Railgun. The body split, almost in half, as the flames were blown to the side but, just like before, the phoenix regenerated as the flames began to converge back to the body. "Damn it, it's still not working."

"No," Index disagreed. "It definitely is working. The regeneration takes a lot of its strength. When it was regenerating, the feathers stopped falling."

"Then we need to blast is even more," Mikoto said. "But how?" While Shizuri could fire more than one beam at a time, though the more she fired the smaller they got, Mikoto was limited to one. "I'm going to try just electricity," Mikoto told Shizuri. "I should be able to hit more of it then."

"Whatever," Shizuri rolled her eyes. "If it takes down that damn bird, I don't care." Mikoto nodded and began to spark up.

"On three," Mikoto said. "One, two… WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU IDIOT!?" Everyone turned to look at Touma sprinting toward the middle of the field. Because they had all been busy either defending against the feathers or attacking the phoenix itself, they missed one feather that hit the ground and didn't explode. It was sitting in the middle of the field, like an old ember. Touma was the only one to notice it and he didn't know why, but he felt, if it was left alone, someone would get hurt. He saw Itsuwa dodging one feather, which did explode, and she was moving near the first one. He had already begun moving before his brain could think of the optimal response to the situation.

"What the…" Shizuri asked, her eyes tracking his route. She noticed the feather and raised an eyebrow.

"Ape!" Kuroko yelled. "You were told to stay back!"

"Kamijou-kun?" Itsuwa asked, turning around in surprise. Touma ignored everyone as he dived past Itsuwa and reached out with his hand toward the feather, which started to glow brightly.

"Will you make it?" Eve called down from above. "That was one of the core feathers."

 _Come on!_ Touma yelled at himself as his hand wrapped around the feather, right when it started to explode. The force threatened to force his hand open, but he gripped down on it tightly. He heard the continuous sound of breaking glass, as the Imagine Breaker continued to negate the explosion. Then he felt his hand getting hotter and hotter. _Damn it, it's too powerful and my hand can't negate it fast enough._ He had no choice and his hand was blown opened from the force and heat. Instead of engulfing him, the fire was thrown away from him in a cone shape, melting the ground and some rubble into a puddle. It stopped and Touma sighed in relief no one was hurt, even if it couldn't be negated completely. _Why did it go away from me? It's like my hand was reflecting it._ The force had made his hand open up, but nothing else happened, so he was confused.

"How did you know?" Itsuwa asked him.

"It was…" Touma began.

"TOUMA!" Mikoto yelled in panic. "GET OUT OF THERE!" Touma instinctively looked up and saw several more feathers flying straight at him. Unlike the others, which fell slowly, these were coming at him like needles.

"It seems like he doesn't like you," Eve commented.

Touma mentally cussed in his head. He started to stand up to try to avoid them, but he knew he wasn't going to be fast enough. He shut his eyes, awaiting the inevitable, when he felt a hand grab his collar and pull him away at high speeds. His eyes opened when he landed with a thud, and saw Itsuwa next to him. "Thanks Kan…" He had originally thought Kaori had saved them, because she had the superhuman strength to pull both him and Itsuwa away from the explosions fast enough. He also wouldn't have been surprise if Knight Leader or William did it, they had the same power. When he had looked up to thank Kaori, his words caught in his throat and he could only stare. Itsuwa was in a similar state.

It was Princess Carissa who had saved them.

She was standing with her back toward them, looking up toward Eve. Because of the fires in the background and the giant flaming bird in the sky, she looked rather impressive to him. Still, Touma had to wonder why she saved him. "Thanks, but…"

"If you are going to try to save someone," Carissa told him, without turning around. "At least take into account your surroundings. You were right under the phoenix and in direct attack range. Seriously, how someone so stupid could beat me is a complete mystery." She made an annoyed sound with her mouth. "The fact I have so much strength means she must be nearby, damn."

"Who?" Touma asked, but Carissa didn't answer. Instead, her eyes were focused on William. During the struggle, he had moved around to the back side of the phoenix, out of Eve's line of sight, and formed a giant mace of water and ice. His presence went unnoticed because of all the other magic spells going off. _Makes sense though,_ Touma thought when he noticed, u _sing water to take out fire._ Any other time he might have been impressed with Williams magic but, after the display from Carissa and Eve, he felt like he had his full of magic for the rest of the year. Right now, he just wanted this day to end.

"Your presence had disrupted this nation long enough," William said, as he jumped high into the air. Eve turned around in surprise and watched as the giant mace was brought down, engulfed by a massive amount of magical power, and collided into the back of the phoenix. Steam exploded from the point of impact, when the water met fire. It was so thick, even the phoenix turned to a soft glow as Touma tried to watch. He saw William fall to the ground and land with a thud. Unlike Touma, who just stood under the phoenix, William jumped sideways to avoid staying under it for too long. When the steam finally dispersed, the phoenix's head was still formed, but the shape of the rest of its body was broken. The flames were all over the place above them, held together by small strings of flames. As he watched, the flames slowly started to merge back together, but the feather's had stopped falling.

"Nice try," Eve laughed. "The phoenix's power of rebirth makes it immortal."

"Then we just need to try killing it more," Shizuri grinned and a green beam shot out of an orb through the bird's head. Eve seemed to stumble as the shape of the head broke apart, and she raised a hand to, presumably, counter attack. During the moment she turned her attention to Shizuri, Knight Leader had appeared behind her. He obviously kept his intentions hidden until Eve's focus was divided. Eve seemed to barely notice his strike in time, and one of her books appeared between them. Knight Leader's sword hit it with a loud clang that echoed loudly. It was like the book was made of steel instead of paper. A small jet of flame from the Phoenix's body forced him to block and fall back down to the ground.

"I can see why the princess constantly complained of irritations," Eve said. "It really is…." Another lighting strike fell down on her and halted the phoenix's regeneration. Eve had flinched in pain but, besides smoking, appeared to still be fine. "Seriously, will you stop that? It hurts." She noticed the church and knight forces were turning their attacks back to the phoenix, now that the feathers had been stopped completely. Their attacks didn't seem to hurt Eve, but they were constantly splitting the flames apart to prevent regeneration.

"We are slowing its recovery," Kuroko said. "But it won't go down."

"She's just as ridiculous as the princess," Mikoto mumbled. "And the phoenix keeps reforming. Can we win?"

"Regeneration is a super annoying power," Saiai muttered and across the battlefield Jason turned to look at her.

"We can," Index said, and all the girls, along with Touma and Accelerator, looked at her. "It is on the verge of breaking now. Its regeneration is barely keeping up." Her gaze was focused only on the phoenix. "We just need a single powerful attack to finish it."

"I guess he could use that mace again," Accelerator said shrugging. "It seemed pretty effective."

"It takes him a little time to charge it," Kaori said, she had been listening to Index's information. "I have something I can try while he…"

"That will not be necessary," Carissa said. Evidently, she too had been eves dropping. Everyone looked at her and she continued before any of them could interrupt. "She's arrived." Before they could get her to elaborate, a solitary figured jumped on top of a piece of debris and leaped up towards the phoenix. The figure raised their blade high. With a single swipe, the phoenix was cut in half, and Eve was forced to fly up into the air to avoid the strike. Touma's mouth fell open. The strike itself didn't stun him, it was how the strike destroyed the phoenix. The strike had created a void as the dimensions were severed.

The person was Queen Elizard.

She turned around and faced Eve, Curtana Second slung over her shoulder. "You seemed to have caused quite a mess," Elizard said. "I hope you don't mind I broke you toy."

"No!" Eve moaned, as all the flames flickered out of the existence. "He was just a child, in the prime of his life! How could you be so cruel?"

"As much as your complaining amuses me," Elizard told her. "I raised Rimea and Carissa, nothing you say could bother me." Carissa's face darkened and became annoyed. Mikoto, Shizuri, Misaki, Kuroko, Frenda, Saiai, Accelerator, Agnese, and Kaori couldn't contain their smirks.

"Oh well," Eve replied, back to her old bubbly self. "Curtana's power is greatly weakened and I bet it took most of what you had to use that strike. It's not like you can defeat me either. Maybe I should make another couple of creatures to defeat you. What do you think would be a good choice?"

"That may be true," Elizard conceded. "Curtana's power is a little overused at the time. However," she smiled up at Eve. "I didn't come alone." Eve opened her mouth, and then noticed something small and sparkling flying at her. It looked like a small piece of diamond. Eve reached over to grab it, when it exploded in a flash of light. The light lit the area up, like a giant firework.

"You… *Gasp* could have… given me… more time…" Laura panted, stepping up to them and leaning against a piece of Curtana's debris, a hand on her chest. "I don't have Telesma… strengthening my body like you…"

"You did a good job keeping up," Elizard complimented. "Plus, you managed to attack too." Everyone turned their eyes upwards as the light faded. They saw Eve's shadow first as the light slowly faded, but when it cleared, they were in for a surprise. Eve emerged, shaking her head, looking slightly drained, but there was something obviously wrong with her.

All of her clothes had disintegrated from Laura's attack.

Touma immediately felt someone cover his eyes from behind. "What…?"

"Sorry," Misaki said. "You can't see this. You can only look at me with those eyes."

"What eyes…?" Touma tried to ask.

"Don't you dare look Idiot?" Mikoto yelled at him. "Ignore everything she says too."

"Why would she do that?" Frenda asked wildly, looking at the newcomers. She, Shizuri, and Saiai had not seen the Queen or Archbishop before.

"Seems like the attack was ineffective," Shizuri answered, a cold hard tone to her voice. She obviously wasn't pleased Touma saw even a flash of Eve's body.

"Some people seem super possessive," Saiai commented, looking around. She wasn't just referring to Mikoto, Misaki, Frenda and Shizuri, but also to several other church members, including Itsuwa, Agnese, and Kaori. When they realized Eve's predicament, their first instinct was to look back at Touma.

"If you look at her!" Touma heard Kuroko shout, he still couldn't see anything. "I'm going to tell Uiharu!" Touma had to suppress a grin, imagining Jason looking away guiltily.

"EEEEEEEEEKKKK!" Eve screamed in embarrassment. "How could you?!" The sound of paper rustling filled Touma's ears before Misaki's hands uncovered his eyes. He looked up and saw Eve was wearing plain brown clothes, t-shirt and shorts. "I was seen by so many guys," she wailed, her eyes filling up with tears. Touma felt pity for her rise within him, but he had to force it down.

 _She did bring it on herself._

"Archbishop," Kaori said to Laura. "It is good to see you unhurt."

"Sorry I was out of touch," Laura smiled back. "The Queen and I had to take the back roads to avoid detection. I would like to hear the details later on defeating the princess and Eve's arrival." Kaori nodded. "But first, we need to deal with her."

"I don't feel like fighting anymore," Eve scoffed at them. "We have what I came for so really, there is no point." She waved to them all, but gave Touma a wink, causing several girls to radiate dark auras again. Touma began to think she was doing this on purpose. The sky behind her began to crack and a dark void appeared. Touma first thought she was going to leave, but his face turned serious when Adam stepped out, followed by an elderly man, with white beard hair and brown robes. His head was covered by a hood so Touma couldn't see the man's face. "Adam," Eve said in surprise. "Why are you here?"

"You are late," Adam said, seriousness reverberating through his voice. "Juliet arrived with the wing and I have acquired the wing from the Vatican. You should have been back by now."

"I was just playing with them," Eve laughed, and then she sighed. "Well, until they stripped me and continued to attack me relentlessly."

"Lies!" Mikoto yelled. "You attacked us and we defended ourselves. Just because you can't protect your clothes…" Her face turned slightly red and she stopped.

"I see," Adam said slowly. "They will pay for their transgressions" He raised his hands and a white mist started to flow from them. It moved eerily, like small rivers over their heads.

"No!" Index gasped. "That spell, it's the Plague on the Firstborn."

"What?!" Laura said, snapping her head toward her. Kaori, Knight Leader, Acqua, Carissa, Itsuwa, Elizard, Carissa, and most of the church and knight forces did the same thing.

"The what?" Touma asked quickly.

"It's the final plague that God sent onto Egypt in Exodus," Index said, her eyes wide. "It killed every families first born child as punishment for the Pharaoh's sins."

"What?" Mikoto, Misaki, and Kuroko gasped. Shizuri, Saiai, and Frenda looked at her too.

"He's planning to kill us all?" Kuroko asked.

"Damn," Stiyl said, from across the battlefield. "This isn't good. If we had time to set up wards… you wouldn't happen to have any defenses?" Jason, who was standing next to him, shook his head. "Well f^&$."

"Wait!" Eve yelled, grabbing onto his arms and forcing them down. The white mist disappeared. "You can't kill them yet." Everyone froze to find out why Eve had prevented Adam's attack.

"Why?" Adam asked.

"I want some of them alive for now," Eve pointed out. "Your magic can't differentiate between people. So hold your horses." Adam looked at her for a moment and then nodded slowly. "Good," Eve said, looking satisfied. "Who's your new puppet?"

"I picked him up at the Vatican," Adam said. "He helped me retrieve the wing." The man in the robes pulled his hood back to fully reveal his head and face. His hair was also white, the back part fell to his shoulders, and he was partially bald near his forehead. His eyes were brown and overall, to Touma, he looked like a rather unremarkable man. The only clues he gave to being on the magic side was his robes had crosses on them. When he heard Kaori, who was standing next to him, take a sharp breath, he knew this wasn't the case though.

"Who is that?" he asked quietly.

"It can't be," Kaori said and then she glanced at Index. Her face went slightly white when Index slowly nodded to confirm her suspicion. "That vile…"

"Who is it?" Mikoto asked, looking at Index.

"He revived St. Peter," Index whispered softly. "One of the apostles of the Son of God."

* * *

The Vatican had seen better days.

A third of the city-state lay in ruins. Buildings, chapels, shrines, and streets were crumbling. Unusually, the area was deserted, except for two individuals. One was a young man with flaming red hair, Fiamma of the Right, the leader of God's Right Seat. He was standing on the steps of St. Peter's Basilica, his arms crossed. His eyes were watching the young man, with jet black hair, an expressionless face, and eyes like coal. _Even with all the defenses of the Vatican,_ Fiamma thought. _Adam was still able to break through._ Many of the church guards had been slain. Adam appeared not to be the type to take pity on his enemies. _Merciless, as expected of a leader of Lucifer's sect. At least their deaths weren't pointless, I was able to observe Adam's power. If only they didn't serve him now._ Fiamma saw two main powers of Adam. One was white mist of light, which passed through the guards, causing them to die instantly. While a few survived, Adam appeared next to them, his hands glowing black, and grabbed them. They gasped and fell. The second power was what was currently over powering the remaining defenses.

Necromancy.

Adam didn't appear to use any special rituals to revive the fallen soldiers. As he passed by them, a dark mist emerged from under his black pants and shirts, covering the bodies. A moment later, they all stood up, and followed him. Instead of moving straight toward Fiamma, Adam raised a hand and all the soldiers spread out and started to destroy anything they could get their hands on. Individuals who were raised by necromancy did not have their memories. They were much like golems, capable of basic orders and functions, though necromancy adds what would be considered a false soul to them. If the brains and vocal chords are intact, they can speak, but still are incapable of independent thought. Their advantage laid in the fact they did not have to control their strength. A human body subconsciously puts limits on how much physical strength to avoid damaging themselves with the backlash of their physical exertions. The risen soldiers were able to blow concrete away with a single hit, even as their bodies began to break part.

 _Not a bad idea,_ Fiamma conceded. Since the Vatican's defensive ability was directly related to the amount of relics that held significance to Christianity, Adam was breaking apart as much of the city as possible, to prevent any chance of a counter attack, as he approached Fiamma. There were two main reasons Fiamma chose to stand back and protect the basilica. St. Peter's Basilica was the greatest stronghold of Roman Catholicism. The weakness was destroying even a small part of it, like a pillar, might cause problems with its defensive functionality. Therefore, Fiamma had to prioritize its defense, since it acted as its own stronghold inside the Vatican. Second, he can't use his main power frequently, until he could complete it, for that he needed the Imagine Breaker. The Fallen had been delaying his plans for too long and he knew this would turn into an endurance game.

"Move," Adam ordered Fiamma. "Or suffer the same outcome."

"A member of God's Right Seat would never cower away from Lucifer's servants," Fiamma replied. "I am aligned with the Archangel Michael, your sworn enemy. Think of our battle as a repeat of the beginning."

"You think highly of yourself," Adam said. His expression and tone resembled one who didn't care about anything. "But you will still fail. This is absolute." He raised a hand, pointed, and all the soldiers rushed at Fiamma. They were running at speeds close to what Kaori could move at, though the sounds of ligaments tearing could be heard, as their bodies were pushed to their limits. It was clear Adam didn't care about them, he just wanted Fiamma gone. When they approached him, the soldiers jumped twenty feet into the air and begun to bring their weapons down upon him.

A moment later, every one of them had been swept away.

As first it looked like Fiamma had just knocked them all back, but the bodies started to dissolve as they flew through the air, until every one of them had disappeared. A large red hand had appeared out of Fiamma's right shoulder. Though it was a hand, it looked more like a malformed giant bird talon. This third arm of his had simply made a sweeping motion, and every of the risen soldiers had been annihilated. Adam stopped and looked at the hand. "Quite powerful for a human."

"The right hand has a lot of significance through history," Fiamma told him, as he began to descend the stair in front of the basilica. "The Son of God used his right hand to cure the illnesses of the sick and revive the deceased. It was the right hand which drew the cross and scattered the holy water used for the Baptism of Christ." Fiamma smiled. "As you probably know, the right hand has the distinction of being the greatest weapon in history. Your lord, The One Who Challenged the Light, was defeated when he was opposed by Archangel Michael, who used his right hand to wield the Sword of God. It has such overwhelming power, it can even create miracles and destroy evil."

"Then it is a shame," Adam said, emotionlessly. "This battle will be over faster than I thought." He started to walk toward Fiamma, radiating purpose. It was as if he had no purpose in his life except to retrieve the wing.

"Yet you continue despite this power," Fiamma said, as he made another simple horizontal swing with his Holy Right. Fiamma's Holy Right was absolute. He didn't have to try to win. His third hand will use the precise amount of force to defeat the enemy, no more, no less. He also didn't have to aim, his hand would always hit, whoever the target was, without fail. His hand swung at speeds no human could possibly dodge, even if they were a Saint. The hand collided with Adam. "How?" Fiamma asked shocked.

Adam had reached out with his left hand and grabbed Fiamma's Holy Right.

This should have been impossible.

"Eve's aspect is Chaos," Adam told him. His sentences were mainly short and to the point. "Her Book of Genesis is based on that power. Life is chaos. My aspect is Law." He paused. "What I do is absolute. There is only one true law in this world, eventually, all things shall pass. Death is the absolute law. You claimed your hand has the power of miracles, let me tell you this. Miracles are events that go against the laws of this world. They should not occur. I am the incarnation of law. Just like the Ten Commandments, my orders are crystal clear. Anything that goes against Law will not work around me. When two people fight, the stronger one will win. There will not be some miracle of last ditch strength or the sun blinding the one considered evil." His hand tightened on Fiamma's Holy Right, causing small cracks to spread out. "If you were the one before, Acqua of the Back, you might have had a sliver of hope. You, who rely on miracles, can never beat me." Dark mist began to flow out from under his clothes and head toward Fiamma. "The only one who can defy the laws of this world is currently in England, under Eve's supervision."

"This is a first," Fiamma said, trying to keep calm. "You b#$%^&$. You purposely came at a time Acqua was gone and only pretended to be affected by my earlier attacks." The dark mist flew over him, but his right arm had enough strength to prevent the mist from coming within a foot of him. Instead, the mist circled him for a moment, and then headed behind him into St. Peter's Basilica. "We seem to be at a stalemate. For some reason I can't move my hand or disperse it, and you don't appear to be able to approach me." There was silence for a minute before Adam responded.

"It is taking an impressive amount of strength to keep your power in check," Adam told him. "But we only need to wait a few moments longer. I can feel the power of the accursed angel in you, but I will endure."

"Accursed?" laughed Fiamma. "I'm pretty sure you are getting our angels confused. Michael is the strongest archangel, who wields the aspect of fire, the greatest of the elements. Lucifer was struck down by him, his wings torn asunder, and cast down to earth."

"Petty taunts," Adam said in a monotone. "The last act of a desperate man. Michael was only able to strike down Lord Lucifer because of the Sword of God. If he did not have God's sword of fire with him, he would have been annihilated."

"Words of a loser," Fiamma said. "Now why don't you let me go, and I will strike you down where you stand. Your organization has wasted too much of my valuable time. The timing was perfect for me to achieve the position as The One Above God. When Acqua returns with the Imagine Breaker, my plan will commence, without your interference."

"Grandiose schemes like that have been tried by countless individuals," Adam told him. "Yet they always fail, the world always returns. If you want to change the world's foundation, you need to exist outside of it, but enough about the impossible for you. I have won." Adam's eyes were no longer on Fiamma, but behind him.

"What are you blabbing on abou…" Fiamma said, turning his head to see where Adam was looking. His words were cut short when he saw an elderly man walking out of the basilica. The man had simple brown robes, with crosses embroidered on them, and white hair, though he was partially bald. In his hand, he held a dark blue gem, Lucifer's wing. "You desecrated St. Peter's grave to have him retrieve the wing?"

"Breaking through the defenses would be troublesome," Adam told him. "There is no telling how much strength I would need to defeat you, but I knew I wouldn't have enough to break the church's wards afterwards. The flaw, like most places, is they do not have defenses for people leaving. The last time I was here, I studied your wards and found a way to bypass them to revive him. He should be honored. My lord's necromancy lets me keep their power, instead of just physical puppets. He can help us retrieve the last wing." St. Peter moved at high speeds and appeared next to Adam. "My orders were to retrieve the wing as soon as possible. Your death is not required now that I have it."

"First you mock me," Fiamma said through gritted teeth. "Then you insult me by raising an apostle right under my nose. I will not take this lightly." He forcefully ripped his Holy Right out of Adam's grip. Not without injury, as the cracks in his hand spread further. The hand rose into the sky, and clamped around the air. A large thirty meter sword of pure fire extended from his hand. "I will strike you down the same way Michael struck down the Betrayer." The flaming sword was a symbol for the Sword of God Michael used. As it was also wielded by Fiamma's divine right hand, which contained the aspect of Archangel Michael, and Adam was using the power of Lucifer, the strike was probably the closest anyone had ever gotten to recreating the world shattering event.

For the first time, a flicker of worry crossed Adam's face. The air behind him and St. Peter broke apart and they stepped in it, as the strike was brought down upon them. An explosion of fire and stone flew into the air as the great flaming sword struck the ground. When the dust cleared, the only thing left was a giant groove in the street. Because Adam had the ability to block miracles, the strike was only superhuman instead of a surefire kill. Fiamma cursed under his breath, before regaining his calm demeanor. He walked over and picked up a small scrap of black fabric, burnt around the edges and a small drop of blood on it. A piece of Adam's clothes had been cut off.

"Well," Fiamma said pocketing the scrap. "Miracles may not work, but they can still be harmed with Michael's power. Acqua, return with the Imagine Breaker quickly or my plan won't succeed."

* * *

"So this guy was one of his followers?" Touma asked Index, who nodded.

"He usually is listed first when people talk about the twelve apostles," Index added. "But his body should be buried in the Vatican."

"So it means the Roman Catholic Church failed then," Kaori said.

"Fiamma said he could prevent the theft," Acqua told them. "He must have fallen."

"Is there a plan then?" Mikoto asked.

"Hit them till they die," Accelerator told her.

"I like that plan," Shizuri said with a smirk.

"You all had trouble with just Eve," Kuroko pointed out. "Do you think you can fight both at once?" She took a step back when she received several death glares.

"We may not have the option to fight," Knight Leader spoke up. He turned his eyes up to where Eve and Adam were arguing. "I think they are planning to leave." They watched Eve raise her hands in frustration, before kicking Adam through the void behind them. St. Peter turned and followed him.

"It looks like we know who's in charge," Elizard pointed out, with a small smirk. Curtana was slumped on her shoulder.

"Bye everyone!" Eve called out waving her hand, all animosity towards them forgotten. "I hope to see you all soon, especially you." She pointed to Touma and blew him a kiss before walking through the void in space. It closed immediately behind her.

"She is…" Touma sighed, and then stopped as he felt many dark murderous glares on him. He was going to say 'unpredictable,' but felt even that word was going to cause something bad to happen to him. He decided to use a slightly harsher word to avoid being hurt. "… insane."

"You can say that again," Mikoto said walking up next to him. She suddenly felt woozy and leaned up against him. "Ah my head hurts, it's been a long day."

"Umm…" Touma said, unsure what to say, as her head rested on his shoulder. Misaki noticed it and decided to lean on his other shoulder, effectively cornering him from being able to run away.

"I'm really tired," Misaki yawned, her eyes half closed. "I don't know how much more excitement I can take."

"Go," whispered Shizuri, pushing Frenda. Frenda turned around, her eyes wide, and she opened her mouth. "If you argue with me, you know what happens." Frenda gulped and nodded. Saiai watched her run over to Touma, but try to act nonchalant about it.

"Hey Kamijou," Frenda said leaning up against his back, pretending not to notice Mikoto and Misaki looking at her. "What are we going to do now?"

"I…ummm," Touma started to say, but he was having trouble thinking. _What's happening here?_ Accelerator sighed and shook his head at the expression he saw on Touma's face, and across the destroyed gardens, Jason was laughing. "It's up to them." He pointed over to Kaori, Laura, Knight Leader, Stiyl, William, Carissa, Villian, and Elizard, who all were talking quietly. He was trying to ignore the murderous aura coming from Kuroko, as Mikoto continued to lean up against him, and Index.

"If we act fast," Elizard said. "We can disguise the coup and pass it off as an internal extremist attack. The media won't let it slide, but a couple press releases and they won't be able to argue too much."

"First thing we need to do is clear the debris caused by Curtana's dimensional severance," Stiyl said. "That can't be explained easily."

"My knights can move it to a storage area easily enough," Knight Leader said. "Then we can dispose of it secretly."

"What about the people?" Villian asked.

"They are all safe right now," Knight Leader told her. "After the debris is cleared, and as much damage is fixed as humanly possible in the short time we have, they will be released and the Queen can address the nation. Do you have anything to add Kanzaki?" Knight Leader turned to her.

"Ah… yes," Kaori said, turning her attention to him. She had been looking back at Touma, surrounded by girls, with a slightly jealous ping. She saw Itsuwa and Agnese walking toward him and sighed. "What would you have us do? Most of our forces are exhausted, but they should still be able to help."

"My preference would be for the church to move out of the way and avoid attention," Elizard said.

"You don't want anyone to think religion was involved," Laura nodded slightly, while thinking. "Clever. If you can keep only the knights in view, you can push all the magic under the rug and pretend this was a military operation." Elizard nodded.

"A wise plan," William agreed. He didn't have anything to add. He was planning to leave as soon as the conversation was over, but he felt Villian's eyes never leaving him. He knew she wasn't going to make it easy for him to escape.

"What about the princess?" Stiyl asked, and everyone turned to look at Carissa, who was also uncharacteristically quiet.

"I will not beg," Carissa told them defiantly.

"We will discuss that all later," Elizard said slowly. "As a mother, I would want to be lenient, but as the ruler, I know she must be punished for her actions."

"Then we will move out of your way," Stiyl agreed. "I suppose all that's left is to get those kids from Academy City out of here then." He sighed. "They are just like him, butting their nose were it doesn't belong."

"But Stiyl," Laura said sweetly. "We know how highly you think of him and his friends." Kaori and Elizard couldn't keep the grins off their face when Stiyl gave Laura a death glare.

"Knight Leader," Elizard told him. "Start moving your forces out. I need to talk with Mr. Kamijou and his friends and then I will head to Windsor Castle, to prepare for the national address. You know what needs to be done."

"Understood," He saluted, turned and walked toward the knights, and then bellowed orders. The knights scattered, as they begun carrying them out. Stiyl and Villian accompanied Carissa and Acqua away from the gardens. They were going to jail Carissa until her trial was formally announced. Elizard, Laura, and Kaori walked over to Touma, who now had Index biting his head. Jason had also joined them and was talking to Accelerator.

"Everything has been decided," Kaori told them all. "We are sending you all back, with our forces, to the hotel. The Queen has decided on a plan and the knights are carrying it out as we speak."

"Do you need our help?" Mikoto asked quickly. "We still have some strength left and there is a lot of damage."

"It would be best for you not to be seen involved," Laura said sincerely. "We don't want any appearances to cause incidents, but we appreciate the offer."

"What do you mean?" Touma asked.

"We don't want anyone to recognize someone from Academy City is involved after a large scale incident like this," Itsuwa explained. "It would cause diplomatic incidents."

"Basically," Frenda explained, simplifying her explanation. "We would get a lot of publicity, but it won't be good for us or Japan."

"Use your head once in a while Kamijou," Shizuri sighed.

"But you can all join us for a party later," Agnese told them. "I know many of us want to celebrate the victory, and it will cheer them up after today."

"Is a party really a good idea at this time?" Kuroko asked. "With all the destruction that needs fixed?"

"The church is not going to be involved in the actual cleanup," Laura told her. "And we have given first aid to anyone who needed it. The only thing left is for the knights to clear Curtana's debris and the Queen to give a public declaration on what happened. We are trying to avoid any mention of magic, but this has to be handled delicately."

"Sounds super reasonable," Saiai said.

"Also," Itsuwa said. "It would be a good mental break for everyone. Even we aren't use to something this big, a little rest and relaxation will be good for all."

"Also," Elizard said, a grin appeared on her face. "I would hate to try to stop the church when they have such a great excuse to cause a great deal of mess and noise."

"Best queen ever," Jason laughed, and even Accelerator gave a reluctant half smirk.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Motoharu: Something wrong with the author? He seems upset.**

 **Jason: Ah, he didn't expect this chapter to take so long. He wanted to add something else, but it would make it too long.**

 **Touma: Am I safe?**

 **Me: No, plenty of misfortune for you later to make me feel better.**

 **Touma: Why? What did I ever do to you?  
Motoharu: Even the author is jealous of your harem.**

 **Jason: If he gave Accelerator a harem, would it even things out?**

 **Accelerator: Pssh, I wouldn't even care. I wouldn't get flustered like the stupid hero does.**

 **Mikoto: I kind of want to see that.**

 **Misaki: Can you make it happen?**

 **Shizuri: This should be amusing.**

 **Me: The party is going to be fun, I wanted to start it this chapter, but oh well. Some special guests for sure.**

 **Touma: I have a feeling this is going to be bad.**

 **Frenda: Oh, I have a question. Basically, who's going to be introducing the next chapter?**

 **Me: Well, after seeing the Misaka-sans fan club face the Index fan club, and the Shokuhou-san's fan club, and every other fan club…**

 **Mikoto: Huh?**

 **Misaki: Oh those people are harmless.**

 **Index: Fan club?**

 **Me: Anyway… I was planning to let Lessar do it, but I realized that would be disastrous, funny as hell, but disastrous all the same. So I decided, next week I go back to doing announcements. I will leave everyone with the title of the next chapter, they will know what it means. "Alcohol."**

 **Accelerator: Oh, this will be great.**

 **Me: You aren't getting off scot-free either.**

 **Accelerator: I'll kill you if you try.**


	57. S2 Memories and Alcohol

**First, I want to say sorry Mikoto Misaka wasn't able to answer all your questions last chapter. She got a TON of questions and I try to limit how long these introductions are. I never want it to take away from the story. If I let them do the introduction in the future, I promise to allot more time to them.**

 **When I decided to introduce Eve last chapter, the reactions I got were pretty surprising. I designed her to not be the stereotypical villain, Adam's that, and I wanted someone to be his opposite. I designed her specifically to mock what a normal villain would do. Though, she is smart, as she didn't tell the main cast her plan till after it was done, stupid bond villains tell the hero what the plan is so he can ruin it. What I saw in the comments was she is extremely popular and I'm glad. She and Adam are going to have a lot more scenes in the future.**

 **Sergioqsc: In the novels, he actually started gaining a small amount of control over it. I think it's unlikely, but with this story, nothing is off the table.**

 **Swoob: No, I was lucky to get B's in English. I write purely for fun.**

 **Handsomistic1: A lot of people did. It was put in there for a reason. I figured, memories and alcohol, why not?**

 **d3mystic: You picked up on a big thing in this story. Characters can change based on the events that happen to them, but it's hard to change their core personality.**

 **Guest 10032 & Agent Nine: Please read the chapter below to answer your questions.**

 **Itherael: Dang I messed up, you're supposed to hate him and ignore him. Most OC characters are either hit or miss to people, you either like them or you don't.**

 **Haku Katsuki: Already done, couple chapters and you will see them.**

 **Brosephg: Always glad to see new readers who enjoyed the story. Thanks for commenting.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly. Also, if you are underage in your country, I cannot condone you drinking, no matter how funny this story makes it look.**

* * *

Several of the church's trucks were heading back to the hotel. The battle was finally over, Eve had left, and now they had to deal with the aftermath. The Anglican forces were leaving as fast as they could, before the knowledge they were involved became public, and the knights were mobilizing in mass to clean up the city as much as possible. Touma was sitting In the back of one of the trucks, with Misaki and Mikoto on each side of him. Kuroko was sitting next to Mikoto, and Jason was next to Misaki. Accelerator was sitting across from Jason and next to him were Saiai, Shizuri, Frenda and Index. Itsuwa was driving and Agnese was sitting next to her. They had been rather subdued, exhaustion had a firm grip on them, but the ride was bumpy and they could hardly fall asleep with all the adrenaline still in their veins.

"So how long have you known about magic?" Shizuri suddenly asked Touma, breaking the silence. This caused everyone's heads to turn to look at him. Even Jason and Accelerator looked interested. Shizuri had thought about it and came to the conclusion Touma knew about it for a long time. It would explain how he knew all the people from the church and how they knew his hand could negate.

"Uh," Touma replied, surprised at the sudden question. "Quite a while actually." He wasn't really sure how to answer, because he didn't actually know. He had lost his memories before meeting Index, so he didn't know if he had known about it before.

"I'm kind of interested in the story too," Mikoto said, turning to look at him. "We've been involved with magic several times, but I don't remember ever asking when you learned about it."

"I suppose," Touma said slowly, thinking fast on what to say.

"It was my fault," Index spoke up suddenly, causing everyone to look at her. "I got him involved almost a year ago." Everyone turned to look at her. "I was on the run, a lot of things had happened, and he stumbled upon me and fed me." She stopped, and looked at the ground for a moment, a slight sadness in her eyes. "He said he would protect me and he saved me, even though he got severely injured in the process. I've been staying at his place since then, even though the problems have been solved."

"Why?" Kuroko asked. "Couldn't you go home once you were no longer in danger?"

"It's not really that simple," Index sighed.

"What did you do?" Frenda asked. "Basically, they should have a reason why they are after you."

"Nothing," Touma said firmly, before Index could answer. "She knows a lot about magic, and people wanted that knowledge. She had done nothing wrong." Touma purposely avoided saying anything about the grimoires in her memory. Even when Mikoto had been briefed by Stiyl, Kaori, and Motoharu back in Jason's apartment, they never told her Index contained that kind of knowledge.

"So in other words," Saiai said filling in the blanks. "You super played the hero again."

"Sounds like him," Accelerator mumbled.

"Can't argue with that," Jason nodded.

"Helping others is one of his best qualities," Misaki added, leaning against Touma.

"I wish he would think of the consequences once in a while though," Mikoto sighed, then caught Misaki's eye. Misaki winked at Mikoto from her position, and Mikoto's face turned slightly red. She defiantly leaned up against him too. Kuroko noticed this and gave Touma a death glare, which he tried to ignore, sweat forming on his neck.

"I can't leave someone alone who needs help," Touma told them.

"He even promised to help me if I needed it," Shizuri said with a slight smirk. She didn't have to say anything about that. She just enjoyed the annoyed looks of Misaki's and Mikoto's face. It was one of her favorite past times, since she couldn't kill them because Touma would get upset at her.

"Touma will be Touma," Index said, shaking her head, and Misaki, Mikoto, and Frenda sighed, while Jason and Accelerator gave a slight laugh.

"I have another question," Kuroko said, crossing her arms, as something came to her. "It was something Eve said." Everyone turned to look at her, and Touma felt a moment of dread for some reason. "She had tried to find out something from you, and your hand went off." She purposely avoided saying kiss, because she couldn't believe it actually happened. Jason winked at her from behind the other girls, and she ignored him. "Well she was only able to obtain less than a year's worth of memory and Index said he met her almost a year ago. Would them meeting somehow prevent her reading his mind before that?"

"Depends on the magic I guess," Jason shrugged and turned to look at Agnese and Itsuwa.

"Most likely," Agnese said. "She was using magic to read his mind and the Imagine Breaker broke her contact. She, probably, only saw the most recent memories. Any idea what she was looking for?"

"No idea," Touma said truthfully. "I couldn't even tell she was reading my mind until she told us." He then had to lie, even though he didn't like it. "I don't see why there should be any relationship between meeting Index and her power." He didn't want to talk about it. Just thinking about the fact he lost his memories made him nauseous. He still remembered the look of Index's face when she thought he had lost his memories before, until he played it off as a joke. He wasn't sure how the others would react, but he didn't want to see that kind of expression again on anyone. The hurt in her eyes while she forced a smile nearly broke him.

"True," Itsuwa agreed. "The fact she got any information at all shows she has a lot of information about your hand. It also looks like Eve might have a slight grudge against all of you now."

"Bring it on," Frenda declared. "Basically, I'll teach her who's boss."

"I see," Shizuri said, frowning slightly. However, she was frowning about something different then the news Eve was after them, as her eyes flickered onto Touma. She could tell he was lying. _He really is terrible at hiding things and is so easy to read. There is a connection between his memories being read and meeting that nun. What on earth could it be?_ Her mind went through several possibilities, but none of them seemed likely. _I guess I will find out later. I will get an answer, one way or another._ She wasn't the only one who sensed it too.

Misaki excelled at reading people, both with and without her power. When Touma said he didn't know about any correlation between the two events, she knew it wasn't true immediately. He didn't use the same tone he normally used when reassuring her. _He knows something about what happened, but I don't think he would keep anything important secret from us without a reason. It must be important or he would have just told us outright. Maybe I can ask him privately. I really want to know if anything is bothering him._

Mikoto also could tell something was wrong, not because she could read people easily, but the fact it was Touma. She had known Touma for a long time, and when he said he didn't know of a relationship, she immediately knew something was wrong. _I'm getting the same feeling when he tells me everything is going to be okay, before he runs off into something dangerous. Something DID happen. I want to know what it was. He promised to be more open with me and, if something is wrong, I want to help. He always helps me whenever I need it. It's time to return the favor._

"Oh Misaki," Touma said turning to her, as he hastily changed the topic of conversation. "What were you saying about Eve seeing things differently? She seemed to get really mad about what you saw."

"Ah yes," Misaki said nodding. "With fighting the phoenix, it almost slipped my mind." She frowned and crossed her arms under he chest. "It was weird. I saw recent memories, she was watching our fight, talking to Adam about her plan, and talking with a girl, probably the Juliet she mentioned. Then I saw something I couldn't understand." She got silent as she looked for the right words. "It was a city, it had to be, but the buildings were twisted and warped. They should have fallen down, but they didn't. Then the colors…. There were colors that don't exist. I have never seen something like them before."

"Color's that don't exist?" Index said frowning too. "What do you mean?"

"I can't describe them," Misaki shrugged. "If I describe something as blue, you all know what blue looks like. I could say something is light or dark blue, blue mixed with another color, but I couldn't describe the color blue to you. It's like this. The colors weren't a combination of other colors."

"I want to see that," Frenda said excitedly. "Basically, seeing a color that doesn't exist sounds like a once in a lifetime opportunity."

"Well," Misaki said, taking out a remote. "It would be easier to show you the memories I received. It would be easier than trying to describe, but…" She paused.

"What's wrong?" Kuroko asked.

"Near the end," Misaki said slowly. "There was a monster of some sort that disrupted the memory. I wanted to warn you before showing it."

"I'm not super scared of it," Saiai said instantly.

"I'm interested too," Jason added.

"Can I see it too," Agnese called form the front of the truck. "I'm not driving and I might recognize something."

"Okay," Misaki nodded. "Touma, make sure not to touch your head." He nodded and she clicked her remote. Everyone, except Mikoto and Shizuri, flinched for a second as they received the memory. Mikoto, however, sparked up.

"Hey," she snapped at Misaki.

"Whoops," Misaki grinned. "Forgot you automatically block my ability,"

"Sure," Mikoto said sarcastically. She noticed Shizuri didn't react, so Misaki must have avoided her. She did smirk slightly and Mikoto felt her blood boil slightly. _They are both so infuriating._ Mikoto figured Misaki shocked her because she was leaning up against Touma. She did notice Accelerator seemed to have received the memory, so he must have allowed her to send him it. _I really want to see, but it's not like I can turn off my ability._ She felt left out as everyone was watching the memories. She nearly jumped out of her seat when Kuroko yelled out.

"Woah!" Kuroko said. "That was a monster. What the heck was that?"

"It super looked like a dragon," Saiai said thinking. "But I only had a glimpse." At her words, Accelerator, Kuroko, Mikoto, and Misaki all gave Touma a look. He was sitting there in thought too. He couldn't deny there was some semblance to the creature that came out of his hand but, a lot of ways, it was different.

"What is it?" Index asked, looking at them all. She had been unconscious during the trip to Italy and never saw the beast form from Touma's severed hand. When no one answered her, she frowned and pondered the image. "Without any more evidence, it's hard to say if it was a true dragon. Making images of creatures wouldn't be unusual, but I am more interested in the colors. The gold clouds bothered me. Dragons in history have served both God and or Lucifer, and some Fallen Angels have been referred to as dragons. A couple Saints have been known to have slayed a dragon, including St. George, St. Matthew, and St. Martha."

"You know," Mikoto said. "If we didn't just go through a fight with the princess and Eve, I probably would have a tough time believing this. But now…." She sighed. "This is the kind of stuff you do all the time isn't it." She jabbed her finger into Touma's side.

"Nothing on this scale," Touma admitted. "I helped Stiyl intercept a couple magicians before."

"Sounds a lot like what we…" Frenda spoke up, before being elbowed in the stomach by Shizuri. She snapped her mouth shut when Shizuri started to emit a dangerous aura.

"This is just f#$%^%…" Accelerator mumbled and everyone looked at him. He wanted to say stupid, but it wasn't really a good enough word for him. "We should have all visible light on the spectrum analyzed. Let's say it was past the spectrum we could see, then that means this girl sees things at different frequencies. But that would make her unable to see normally, as seeing frequencies like ultra violet and infra-red would interfere with being able to process normal visible light, but the first memories were completely normal."

"Aww," Shizuri said, grinning. "Is the number one having a hard time understanding something?"

"Interested in seeing how far I can throw you?" Accelerator snapped at her.

"I have to think about all the possibilities," Index interrupted them. "I have several theories already, but without more evidence, I can't narrow them down."

"I will pass this onto Stiyl," Agnese told them. "We might be able to find something on our end and pass it along to you."

"I wish I could have seen it," Itsuwa sighed. "But I rather not be distracted while shuttling everyone."

"Don't worry," Misaki reassured her. "I can let you see it when we get back. You have helped us out a lot."

"Jason," Touma said looking at him. "You're awfully quiet." Jason hadn't said anything since they received the memory. Touma wasn't sure, but Jason appeared slightly pale and his hands were gripping his pants, hard. He was obviously distracted by something.

"Ah well the memory was indeed interesting," Jason said after a moment, his voice sounding normal. "But as Index said, we don't have enough information at this time, so no use really worrying about it."

"He's right," Shizuri said speaking up. "Right now, we know more information on Eve, and she seriously pisses me off. I can't wait for another chance to blast her."

"I'm really interested in how she summoned that phoenix," Jason said, leaning back. "It was pretty cool. I wonder if I can learn to do that."

"You're the one who lost the book for it," Accelerator reminded him.

"What?" Touma asked. "Didn't you steal it with your mark?"

"I did," Jason nodded. "But when Eve left, the book disappeared. It must have been connected to her."

"You're so useless," Kuroko sighed, rolling her eyes.

"If you have something valuable," Saiai told him. "You super don't just let it go. At least Accelerator was actually able to do something useful. You were just a distraction at best."

"That's because I'm that strong," Accelerator said, and Saiai grinned at him.

"Ouch that hurts," Jason said, putting his hand over his heart. "I got us there in one piece, didn't I?"

"Only because I teleported us once we got into the city," Kuroko refuted. "Besides," she suddenly got a wicked grin and everyone watched them in silence. "What do you plan to tell Uiharu when you get back?" Touma wasn't sure what happened, but Jason's face went deathly pale and his eyes went wide.

"What are you talking about?" Mikoto asked Kuroko, narrowing her eyebrows slightly.

"Well," Kuroko said, eyes darting between Mikoto and Jason. "We were leaving to help, and the ape's friend managed to procure us a car, Uiharu and Saten-san found out and tried to stop us. Jason went and used his Sloth Mark to put them to sleep so we could leave."

"You didn't…" Touma said looking at him.

"And here I thought you were smarter than that," Misaki said, shaking her head.

"What are these marks?" Frenda asked.

"Probably magic he knows," Saiai whispered. "Shush, I super want to listen."

"You are so screwed," added Accelerator, giving a short bark like laugh.

Mikoto was the only one who really seemed angry at Jason. "You only did it so they wouldn't follow?" Jason nodded and she sighed, but still glared at him. "You shouldn't have used your powers on friends."

"I don't think you're in any position to say that," Misaki pointed out, referring to all the times Mikoto shocked Touma and Kuroko.

"Be quiet," Mikoto said before turning her attention back to Jason and Kuroko. "I've been meaning to ask you both something. When did you start calling each other by your first names?"

"Arg," Kuroko rolled her eyes. "Long story."

"She didn't like my nickname," Jason explained. "Shortly before we fought Knight Leader she was getting mad at me, for no reason," Mikoto didn't believe that for a moment, though she didn't say anything, but she stepped on Kuroko's foot to prevent her from interrupting. "Well she said she rather me call her by her real name then the nickname."

"What was her nickname?" Frenda asked, leaning forward.

"Don't you dare say it," Kuroko snapped at Jason.

"I told her," Jason continued. "I would call her by her first name if she called me by mine." He shrugged. "I prefer my first name over my last anyways."

"You were pretty insistent about it," Kuroko pointed out.

"Lover's quarrel again," Accelerator sighed.

"No it's not!" Kuroko yelled.

"I have a girlfriend," Jason pointed out. It seemed like it was his default response, whenever someone said they had a lover's quarrel.

"Anyway," Mikoto continued, determined to end the argument before powers started flying. "You better apologize to Uiharu-san and Saten-san when we get back." Jason nodded and she looked mollified. Jason appeared subdued and to be lost in thought. Touma believed Jason was thinking of how to apologize and didn't try to interrupt him. Even Kuroko seemed to lose interest in trying to get a rise out of him. The rest of them turned their attention back to Eve and started to discuss what Eve's and Adam's plan was to find the last wing. Agnese and Itsuwa joined in, but none of them had any solid leads.

* * *

Outside of the city, two individuals stood and watched the Church forces leave the city. One was a tall blond man wearing a clean black formal suit. He seemed to wear a serious expression as he observed the city. "What is the plan boss? Curtana Original has broken and The Fallen have retreated."

"We learned much about Eve's power so the trip wasn't a complete waste." The second individual did not fit the normal appearance of a boss. For being the boss of one of the largest magic cabals, with their headquarters in the UK, she was a young girl of around twelve. She had short blonde hair, blue eyes, a petite figure, and wore a white dress with black stockings. Though young, she held herself in a dignified way, though her bosom was not prominent.

"Curtana's power has weakened considerably," the man said. "We could take the opportunity to examine it."

"The old hag is probably not in the best mood right now," the girl said. "I rather not make her my enemy. We shouldn't get involved if we can help it."

"Didn't you send the young man the letter telling him how to disrupt Curtana?"

"Oh you saw that?" the girl grinned. "I determined it was a necessary risk in order to prevent the princess from succeeding. If I had known it was all part of Eve's plan, I would have avoided it."

"Yet you looked into his history and all of his friends from Academy City," the man said. "Are you still uncertain of letting Patricia work there?"

"Shut up," the girl snapped. "Let's go, we have a lot of preparations for The Fallen's final plan. After all, those students will find out soon enough the final wing is in Academy City."

"You seem so sure about that," the man said seriously. "Yet you have not provided any information to back it up, it is based purely on speculation. Are you sure you are not using it as an excuse to check up on your sister?"

"That's it," the girl said turning to look at him. "You're getting punished."

* * *

The ride back to the hotel was uneventful, and Touma was perfectly fine with that. After Carissa's coup blew up a good part of the city, and then Eve invading and doing her best to make his life hell, he was ready for a break from the craziness. He was tired, but to full of adrenaline and excitement to think of going to sleep. His wrist was wrapped up with a piece of cloth to help stabilize it while it healed. The injury wasn't serious, but healing magic didn't work on him so he had to let it heal naturally. When Itsuwa pulled up in front of the hotel, they all got out. Most of them were looking forward to changing, since their clothes were either covered in dirt, burn, or torn. Shizuri and her friends were leading the group, but Touma realized Jason was walking slowly in the back, lost in thought. He slowed down until he was walking next to Jason. "You know she's going to forgive you."

"Huh?" Jason asked, turning to look at him. "Oh yea, but I still feel bad."

"That's a first," Kuroko mumbled in front of them and Mikoto nudged her.

"Be nice," she hissed.

"I can't wait to get out of these clothes," Saiai said loudly. "It feels like the dirt is caked into my skin."

"I want a shower too," Frenda complained. "Basically, these clothes are ruined."

"I'm interested in seeing what Takitsubo was up to," Shizuri said. "She better have been gathering information here while we were working."

"I have to agree with them," complained Misaki. "It's so unbecoming to be covered in sweat and dirt."

"A little exercise is good for you," Mikoto told her, smirking.

"Maybe for a tomboy like yourself," Misaki replied with an insincere grin. "But a delicate girl like me can't…" She was interrupted by several people calling out to them. Ruiko and Kazari came running up to them, with Motoharu following close behind. Shizuri and her friends didn't care about them and walked right by, before heading upstairs to their rooms. Accelerator also left and headed upstairs. He had to let a pair of certain brats out of a locked room. He had thrown Worst and Last Order into a hotel room, before he barricaded it with a bookshelf. He knew they would get into trouble if he left them alone for too long.

"You did it!" Ruiko cheered as she lunged at them and pulled Mikoto and Kuroko into a tight embrace. "We heard you all succeeded and were on the way."

"It was tough," Mikoto told her. "But I told you we would come back."

"Can't breathe," Kuroko gasped pushing herself out of Ruiko's grasp. Ruiko let her go and grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry," Ruiko said. Then she gave Misaki, Index, and Touma a quick hug. "We were worried sick since we didn't get a lot of news until it was over. Though," she frowned, looking at Kuroko. "You didn't have to leave did you?"

"Shirai-san and Jason did help us a lot," Touma told her. "I was surprised they came too, but I was glad they were there."

"We had to," Kuroko told Ruiko. "We couldn't let our…" She stopped when she heard a loud slap. Everyone turned to see the source of the noise, and saw Kazari had slapped Jason. Jason didn't look like he was surprised by it, and Kazari had a combination of anger and worry on her face. A moment later they wrapped their arms around each other and kissed passionately. Kuroko had never seen Kazari so boldly exhibit a public display of affection. She turned away, her face slightly warm, but she also felt a weird pang in her stomach. _Am… I jealous?_ Mikoto, Ruiko, Index, and Touma turned away too because they were also embarrassed. Misaki smiled at the scene, before grabbing Touma's arm.

"We will tell you everything that happened," Misaki told Ruiko. "But for now, we really need to get cleaned up, before the party." Mikoto realized what she was doing and stepped between them, forcing Misaki off his arm. She grabbed Misaki's arm and pulled her away.

"I agree," Mikoto said. "We will see you all in a bit."

"Wait for me onee-sama," Kuroko said rushing off after them.

"I want to check up on Last Order," Index told Touma. "Don't get into trouble while I'm gone." Touma and Ruiko watched them all leave.

"I wished I could have been more help," Ruiko said wistfully. "We were really worried and yet we couldn't do anything to help." She kicked her foot slightly. "I even developed my ability and still can't do anything useful, even when my friends are in danger. I'm so weak."

"Don't think like that," Touma told her. "Level's aren't everything. The fact all of us continued to fight was to help everyone, including you. We tried so hard to make sure we return was because we all had friends waiting for us. You know how Mikoto and Shirai-san are. They never once stopped thinking about you and Uiharu-san. In a way, you do help us by remembering what we fight for and what we are returning too."

"Really?" Ruiko asked, and then she gave an involuntary giggle. "If it was anyone else… but you always say what you really believe. Thanks." She smiled sincerely at him.

"Besides," Touma told her, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Remember, you saved me once too. You aren't weak. We may not have amazing powers like Mikoto, Accelerator, Misaki, and Mugino, but we can still protect people. Don't belittle yourself. If you work hard, I'm sure your ability will grow to allow you to achieve your dreams."

"Thanks," Ruiko said, turning away from him. "That means a lot." Her face was burning brightly and she couldn't bear to look him in the eyes. Her heart was pounding wildly. _Normally a line like that would be really cheesy, but he always says them with such conviction and honesty._ "Well, I should get going and make sure everyone is getting ready. We were told there was going to be a celebration tonight. They are already setting up tables out back." She gave one last look in the direction Jason and Uiharu were heading, before she rushed off upstairs. Touma smiled, glad she appeared to be feeling better, and was about to head upstairs himself and change his ruined clothes, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Nice skills there Kami-yan," Motoharu told him grinning. Touma had completely forgotten he had been there. He had been uncharacteristically quiet, as he observed their conversation with amusement. That was the true skill of a spy, being in plain sight but being forgettable. "So you were the big hero huh? Taking out the princess and then fighting Eve, just another normal day for you, right?"

"It was thanks to everyone's help," Touma told him. "Accelerator was the one who threw me so I could destroy Curtana and take down Carissa. Eve just interrupted near the end. She told us what her plan and that she got the wing." Touma sighed. "I think she enjoys messing with me too." He frowned and looked at Motoharu. "What skills?"

"Oh?" Motoharu said, raising an eyebrow. "I'll need to hear all the details later. I'm sure Kagere will tell me what Eve is like." Touma started to sweat when he realized what Jason would say if asked. "As for your skills," he grinned, "Making Saten-san feel better, putting your hand on her shoulder, and complimenting her. Such a high level, as expected of you, I bet she's completely yours now."

"Don't be stupid," retorted Touma. "I just told her the truth. We all wanted to return to our friends." He didn't deny the accusation Ruiko liked him, because he knew she had feelings for him at one point. He had heard it back during the Tokiwadai trip and he wasn't sure if she still had those feelings. As for if he had somehow magically gotten her to fall for him with telling the truth, he didn't believe that. _There is no way stuff like that happens except in anime or manga._ "Well, I'm going to change. I'm actually looking forward to the party. Something normal will be a pleasant change from the craziness we just encountered."

"Going to relive your crowning achievement and pick up as many girls as possible?" Motoharu called after him. Touma replied with a rude gesture and headed upstairs. While he was heading to his room, he had time to remember something he had avoided thinking about for a while. He had hoped he convinced his friends there was no correlation between Eve's words and meeting Index. It had been a long time since he really thought about his memory loss. Now, it was just a part of his life and he didn't really continue to relive it. He had grown to accept it as part of just being himself. So far, there had been no indication he would ever get his memory back and he didn't want to worry his friends. He had no idea how they would react, but he remembered Index's face when she thought he had lost his memory of her. _Never again…_ It also didn't effect what he had to do to help people, so he never had a reason to bring it up.

He entered his room and looked around. Accelerator wasn't there, so he probably was off with Last Order and Worst. Touma sighed and rummaged through his suitcase, when he heard the door behind him open. He looked to see who it was, and got a surprise when Mikoto and Misaki entered his room. They closed the door quickly behind them. Touma saw they hadn't changed yet, and he knew something had happened. "What is it?" he asked, trying to keep his voice calm. He was hoping they would just be up to their normal rivalry, but the seriousness on their faces said otherwise.

"We decided we needed to ask you something," Mikoto said, as she crossed her arms. Her gaze held a combination of worry and accusation. She exchanged a brief glance with Misaki, who nodded, and Mikoto continued. "On the drive back, Kuroko mentioned the timing between you meeting Index and how far back Eve read your memories were the same. You avoided the question, but we could easily tell something was on your mind."

Touma froze, his worst fears confirmed. _What do I tell them? I don't like lying, but can I really tell them I don't have memories before last July._ He didn't know how they would react, with shock, anger, sympathy, sadness? He opened his mouth to reply, but he seemed to choke on his words. Only a small sound came out, before he pretended to cough and managed to asked, "What do you mean?"

"You are avoiding the question again," Misaki pointed out, concern fully evident in her face. "Something did happen. I thought about what could happen to achieve the outcome Misaka-san mentioned and settled on two reasons. One, there is magic protecting your memories, but the odds are unlikely since your hand can negate magic. The second…" Her eyes were full of sadness. "You lost your memories again and, by the sound of Eve's confusion, it was more complete."

"Again?" Mikoto asked, turning to her in shock. "What do you mean again?"

Misaki sighed, she really didn't want to tell Mikoto about it, but she figured it had to be done. "I've known Touma for quite a while. He saved me and got seriously injured as a result. To save his life, I had to use my power on him, but due to loss of blood and low blood pressure, there was an unintended consequence. He couldn't remember me and any new memories he received of me would just fade away. When all three of us met at the Daihasei," Touma didn't remember the incident, but that was before he could remember her, "I just pretended to not know him."

"Wah?" Mikoto said, her mouth opened. She did not expect this. They had discussed Touma was hiding something, but they were going to persuade Touma to tell them. They only decided to work together because they thought it might be easier to persuade him if he thought more of his friends cared, and neither of them wanted the other to get an advantage over them. _She knew him from before? How much have they done together? Shokuhou sure won't tell me, and Touma wouldn't remember if this is true…. Wait, what about her reaction at the hospital after Sloth?_ "So that's why you were surprised he remembered you after the tournament." Misaki nodded. _Ah, I need to learn more, but right now Touma's a bigger priority._ "Save this for another time. Is she right?" She looked at him and received a shock.

To her, she normally saw two sides of Touma, well three since she met his friends. One was the nonchalant version she saw around Academy City. He always seemed to be tired or preoccupied with unimportant things. Even when fighting her, he never seemed to be serious. The second version was the serious Touma she saw on occasion. He seemed distracted, but emitted an aura of purpose. She had begun to realize when this side appeared. It was during the museum when she truly understood it. The serious side appeared whenever he was out saving someone. He always radiated an aura of determination and it was hard to imagine him losing. The third version was the Touma that appeared around his friends. He seemed to goof around a lot, but oddly enjoyed himself. She also caught this side of him when they were on their date. Now, what she saw caused her stomach to coil in knots. He looked so…

Vulnerable.

Touma's shoulders sagged and he gazed at the floor. He didn't know how he was going to talk his way out of this. _I guess it's time._ He took a deep breath and looked up. Mikoto and Misaki were watching him closely. Even he could tell they were putting on a calm front, but their eyes betrayed their worry and fear. He opened his mouth and the words flowed out, but they sounded far away, as if someone else was saying them. "I did lose my memories last July. It is why Eve couldn't read them. My hand only went off because she temporarily froze me, so I couldn't interfere with her." Mikoto's mouth froze open in shock. While it had been guessed this was the case, confirmation is completely different then speculation. Misaki looked at the floor and her hand tightened into a fist.

"So you don't remember when we met?" Mikoto asked nervously.

"Well," Touma said slowly. "I remember when I met you. It was outside the vending machine and you got mad when I didn't remember you name." He let out an involuntary chuckle. "My hand moved out of relax and blocked your electricity. I didn't know why at the time, but I quickly learned about our relationship." He couldn't help grinning slightly, but he stopped when he saw Mikoto's face. He felt nauseated at the look of sadness etched on her face. It was the same kind of sadness he had seen in Index's eyes, when she had smiled, thinking Touma couldn't remember her. This was what he wanted to avoid, this is why he hadn't told anyone. Not for himself, he had accepted it, but for everyone else's smile. "I slowly relearned who everyone in my class was. I still remember when we faced Accelerator, the Daihasei, and a lot more. I never told anyone because I didn't want to worry anyone."

"You…" Mikoto said slowly, closing her eyes, then burst out. "You stupid idiot!"

"Huh?" Touma asked shocked, completely thrown off by her unexpected response.

"As much as I hate to admit it," Misaki sighed. "I actually agree with her." Touma looked at her confused.

"I hate when you do this," Mikoto said, pointing at him. "I told you before, and I will tell you again. Stop keeping things to yourself. It doesn't just impact you. Every one of your friends is impacted by this too. You may still act the same, but something big like this…" Her voice trailed off as tears weld up in her eyes. As she wiped them with her hand, Misaki took over.

"When we met again," Misaki continued. "You still felt the same. You still had the princely aura around you and would always go and rescue others, at the cost of your own safety. I can understand why you may have felt too scared to tell anyone because it's worse for those that truly cared about you. When you couldn't remember me, I tried everything, but nothing worked. I felt sad, angry, and everything in between. In the end, I was actually satisfied with the outcome. You were alive and had helped me find new meaning to my life. Even if you couldn't remember me, I was happy you were safe." Tears began to well up in her eyes. "I didn't care that when you finally could remember me, you didn't have our old memories. The fact I had another chance was more than I could have hoped."

"Yea," Mikoto said, as she found the strength to speak again. "I would definitely be sad if you didn't remember me, but we can always make new memories together. You are always helping others, but sometimes you can be so selfish. Besides, there's always a chance your memories could return."

"I don't think it's possible," Touma told her. "The doctor told me the brain cells were fine, but the memories themselves were gone."

"Do you know what happened?" Misaki asked.

"No," Touma said, shaking his head. "The first thing I remembered was waking up in the hospital. I was told I saved Index and she was there. She must have heard from someone I lost my memories, because the look on her face was so bad." He closed his eyes, made a fist, and his voice shook slightly. "I couldn't tell her I couldn't remember her and I lied. I pretended to be fine just so she wouldn't be sad. I've told so many people I was fine, even though I couldn't remember them. I'm really…" He suddenly felt arms wrap around him and opened his eyes. Misaki and Mikoto had both embraced him.

"Shut up," Mikoto told him.

"We understand," Misaki added.

"I think you should tell Index," Mikoto said. "She's the one who would be the most impacted by it. If what you said is true, everyone else, except your classmates, are your friends because of who you are. Not who you were. It's weird though. You said you lost your memories, but you are the same person I met."

"I noticed that too," Misaki said thoughtfully, looking up at his face.

"Because I might still remember," Touma told them. "In my soul right?" There was silence as all three of them looked at each other. Then Mikoto and Misaki burst out laughing. Even with the situation being so serious, they still couldn't help themselves.

"You say the craziest things somethings," Mikoto said laughing.

"I would say you aren't thinking straight," Misaki added. "But with magic being real, who am I to say a soul doesn't exist."

"So I might not remember every detail of my life," Touma told them. "But I can still move forward."

"If you can still be yourself," Mikoto said, eyes widening as something came to her. "Is it possible there be a chance you still have some fragments of memories left?" She looked at Misaki. "Couldn't you check?"

"I don't like to use my powers on him," Misaki said looking at her. Mikoto raised an eyebrow, because she had seen Misaki use her powers on people for even the smallest things, like picking up her trash after lunch.

"If you want to," Touma told her. "Go ahead. I haven't had any mental users look into it, and it would probably be the best to know for sure."

"If you're sure," Misaki said hesitantly, pulling out a remote.

"Don't try anything funny," Mikoto hissed at her, and Misaki gave her a pure innocent look.

"I have no idea what you mean Misaka-san," Misaki replied. "I'm going to take a quick look at your far past to see If there's any remains." Touma nodded and she pressed the button. They all were silent while Misaki worked. Misaki put down the remote and sighed. "It seems like it's true. There were no memories. Unlike someone who obtained damage, like from a severe blow, there are still broken fragments, for you, there is nothing left. I've never see anything like it."

"Thanks for checking Misaki," Touma told her. "It's best I learn it now, instead of in the far future wish I had checked it earlier."

"Anything for you," Misaki answered.

"I guess it's true," Mikoto sighed. "But at least you are still yourself and still alive. You always protected everyone else's live, and as long as we live, we can make new memories."

"I think I know what kind of memories she wants to make," Misaki said, smiling.

"Shut up!" Mikoto yelled, turning scarlet.

Outside of the room, Shizuri was leaning up against the wall, eavesdropping on them. She had also been planning to ambush Touma alone and figure out what he was hiding. When she saw Misaki and Mikoto entering his room first, she was pissed she was too late. Frenda had held her up. She had decided to just listen and see what they were planning to talk about. She noticed Touma seemed to open up more around those two then her, so it was probably for the best. When Touma told them his memories were lost, she frowned. _I think I am beginning to understand what gives him such strength. I knew he fights for others, but he doesn't even know why anymore. It's so engrained into his body and mind, interesting._ Her heart started beating wildly in excitement. _I look forward to learning more about him._ When Misaki confirmed he had no memories, she stood up and left. To her, the past didn't matter. It was the person they were now. The Touma Kamijou now was the person who interested her, not the old one. If he changed to no longer interest her, she would most likely never contact him again.

"What are you going to do now?" Misaki asked Touma, nudging him in the side. "There's a big party being set up and I know they want the MVP there."

"I wish people wouldn't say that," Touma sighed. "I only got the last blow. Everyone else did a lot more."

"But the fact is you did the most important role," Mikoto replied. "No one else's attacks did nearly as much damage."

"Well," Touma said. "I was planning to wash up and change, but…." His eyes darted to Mikoto and Misaki, both of whom were still clutching his arms. It appeared neither of them wanted to let go while the other one was holding on.

"Well," Misaki said winking at him. "If you want, I can stay behind and wash your back."

"WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?!" Mikoto yelled at her in a mixture of shock and embarrassment.

"Fine," Misaki sighed. "WE can stay behind and wash your back."

"Wha… gah…" Mikoto spluttered, turning red. Misaki's unexpected retort shocked her in several ways. One, she didn't think Misaki would ever willingly let Mikoto stay with Touma like that. Two, there was the fact Mikoto kind of wanted to do that, but wasn't sure if she could get up the courage.

"Ok you two," Touma said, leading them to the door, opening it, and then pushing them through it. "Out." Before they could protest he closed and locked the door. He sighed as he headed toward the bathroom. He was glad he made them leave so quickly, because he didn't know how long his restraint would have last. When Misaki mentioned both of them, he had a very, vivid, daydream of her suggestion. His ears burned and he wasn't able to shake the image of the three of them from his mind.

* * *

There was a lot of ruckus that night, as the church was finishing setting up the party outside the hotel. Touma could hear it all the way up in his room. By the sound of it, he believed most of the church members had arrived. He left his room and headed downstairs. He was still mulling over the awkward conversation he had with Mikoto and Misaki but, oddly, he felt like a heavy weight had been lifted from his chest. _I guess I really needed to talk it out with someone. Mikoto's right though, I need to tell Index. Probably should wait till after the trip though._ He passed a couple nuns, who waved at him, and started to head out the back, when he felt someone jump on his back. They wrapped their arms and legs around him, nearly causing him to fall forward on his face.

"Hey there lover boy."

"Lessar?" he croaked, trying to turn his head around to verify.

"Right in one," she said cheerfully. "Obviously I made quite an impact on you. Or maybe you realized it from a different way?" She squeezed him tighter and he could feel her chest being pushed into his back.

"I can't deny you left an impression," Touma muttered, his ears burning. "Can you get off me, it's hard to breath." He sighed in relief as he felt Lessar jump off him. A moment later, she moved in front of him, her arms cross behind her back.

"You know," Lessar said. "I never got to thank you for saving me. At the time, I thought you were just doing it to get information, but after everything you did for the UK, I know that wasn't the case." Her dragon tail swished around behind her.

"It was nothing," Touma said dismissively. "You don't need to thank me, I'm sure others would have done the same thing. So you aren't under lock up anymore, that's good."

"You're pretty optimistic," Lessar told him. "They decided we weren't a threat and were only working for the princess. Bayloupe and Floris are outside with the others too. I'll make sure to introduce you. Sadly Lancis is too far away to join us tonight, but enough about that. I really want to thank you. How about I do one thing for you? I mean ANYTHING. I really NEED to thank you for saving me and my country." She leaned up close to him, grabbing his arm. "We could even go back upstairs. Because of my tail, I don't have any spats under my skirt, only panties." She winked at him. "But that could be easily remedied."

"W-what…!" sputtered Touma, trying to take a step back, but Lessar held on tightly. Before Lessar could respond, they heard a girl shout.

"Stop right there!"

"Damn," Lessar grimaced and turned around to see Mikoto rushing toward them. "Hi Sparky, what's up?"

"What are you doing?" Mikoto demanded.

"I just wanted to thank him for saving me," Lessar said innocently.

"Yea right," Mikoto sniffed. "I see how magicians thank people. I knew you were up to something when I saw you sneaking back into the hotel." She grabbed Touma's hand and dragged him away. "And you, learn to tell people no once in a while."

"Yes Misaka-sensei," Touma told her and he saw her spark up slightly. "I mean Mikoto," he added hastily. She didn't say anything as she dragged him out the back door. Lessar followed them with her hands behind her head, looking slightly downtrodden.

Outside the hotel, the party was in full swing. Dozens of large tables had been set up and most were full. A large buffet had been set up, and easily fifty church members were still in line getting food. Mikoto dragged Touma to a table where Misaki, Ruiko, Kuroko, Jason, Kazari, and Motoharu were sitting. He saw Accelerator sitting with Last Order, Index, Worst, and two girls dressed similarly to Lessar. _Those must be Bayloupe and Floris,_ he thought, ashe grabbed a seat in between Misaki and Mikoto. Kuroko was across from Mikoto, and Ruiko was across from him. Kazari and Jason were to her right, and Motoharu was next to Misaki, across from Jason. Lessar grabbed a seat next to Mikoto. Almost instantly, Itsuwa stood behind him and set down a plate for him.

"I figured you would be hungry Kamijou-kun," she told him. "I grabbed a plate for you, so you wouldn't have to wait in line."

"Thanks a lot Itsuwa," he said gratefully, his stomach growling slightly in thanks too. "Are you going to join us?"

"Sorry I can't right now," she said, giving him a look that said she really wanted to. "I have to make sure we have enough food and drinks for everyone first." Touma watched her rush off to the kitchens, while he felt a couple eyes on him. A quick glance told him Mikoto and Misaki were watching him closely, and Jason and Motoharu were smirking at him.

* * *

Itsuwa was running around trying to make sure all the commendations were perfect for everyone. She wasn't entirely sure how she got stuck with everything, but she wasn't the type of person to complain. After making sure there were enough tables for everyone, including the stragglers, she double checked the food and made sure the cooks in the kitchen, mostly the Amakusa but there was plenty of nuns helping, had plenty of food being prepared. She was lucky the kitchen in the hotel was high tech and was use to accommodating large numbers of people. She was then planning to go into the basement, to gather more drinks, when Saiji, Orsola, and Tsushima walked up to her.

"Hey Itsuwa," Saiji said cheerfully, waving to her. "What are you doing back here? Shouldn't you be out front getting a certain guy's attention before the priestess gets a chance?"

"Wha…!" gasped Itsuwa, turning beet red. "What are you talking about?"

"I believe," Orsola said, holding a finger up to her cheek thoughtfully. "Tatemiya-san is referring to the fact Kanzaki-san prefers younger men." She turned to him. "Knight Leader had come to court her once before and you turned him away, because you said she liked a young male in Academy City, correct?" Itsuwa opened her mouth in shock.

"Well…," Saiji began with a grin, then immediately regretted it. Tsushima had grabbed his ear and twisted. "Ouch… you're pulling my ear off…. I understand I'll work so she can have a break."

"Very good," Tsushima said, glaring at him as he ran off.

"Don't forget to seduce him with your new uniform!" Saiji called out to Itsuwa, before he disappeared around a corner.

"Thanks for the help," Itsuwa sighed, unable to look at Tsushima or Orsola's face.

"He's actually right in a way," Tsushima said and Itsuwa looked up. "You need a break. You aren't working as efficiently as you normally do." Itsuwa sighed in relief, "And if you don't confess directly, he probably won't know your feelings." Itsuwa's face got bright red again. Tsushima gave her a warm smile.

"But… but…" Itsuwa protested, her mind reeling. "I need to make sure we have enough refreshments for the party first. We are almost out of drinks."

"Don't be silly," Orsola said, smiling too. "I'll take care of it. You have been working hard and need a break. We don't want you collapsing out of exhaustion."

"Thank you for the concern…," Itsuwa began.

"No buts," Tsushima said firmly. "We can handle things and I'll make sure Tatemiya actually works." She pushed Itsuwa, out of the kitchen. "Now go have fun." Itsuwa wore a slightly incredulous look on her face before sighing. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves, turned around, and walked out to go sit with Kamijou and his friends.

 _Tonight, I'm definitely going to do something to get Kamijou to notice me._ She made a fist to steady her resolve.

Back in the kitchen, Tatemiya had taken over cooking details and sent Orsola down to the basement to get more drinks. Orsola opened the door to the dark room, switched on the lights, and looked around. _Let's see, which drinks would everyone prefer? I probably should use something older to rotate our stock._ She walked to the back and saw a rack of bottles with a thin layer of dust. She took one down, wiped it off and looked at the label. _Hmm, the label is too old to read. I hope it's still good._ She popped off the cork and sniffed delicately. _It smells nice and fruity, I'm sure the others will enjoy it._ She grabbed as many bottles as she could carry and took them upstairs to pour in the drink bowl.

What none of them knew, at the time, was the bottles Orsola found contained a very special wine, not a nonalcoholic drink like 90% of the basement held. This wine was specially brewed for religious services the church occasionally performed at the hotel. It was made to be diluted with water. One bottle was supposed to be enough for hundreds of guests. The win was imbued with magic, so the flavor would stay the same, no matter how much water was added. It was NOT made to be drunk straight. The magic-infused alcohol was many times more potent than most hard liquor, when undiluted.

* * *

Accelerator wasn't sure what to make of the situation. He had been a loner most of his life and only recently had he acquired a small group of people that resembled family and friends. Last Order was sitting next to him and Index took a seat across from her. Worst had sat next to him too, but he didn't expect anything else. Worst like to remain near him to be as annoying as possible. What he didn't expect was several of the church members to come up and talk to him like he was some kind of hero. He brushed several of them off, but they just giggled and moved to sit with others. Two girls then sat across from him, and he recognized one of them. "So," he said, nonchalantly. "They let you out of your cell?"

"You make it sound like you almost care," Bayloupe answered, sipping her drink. "Limited seating and all that. Oh, my name is Bayloupe and this is Floris." She pointed to the blonde haired girl next to her, who nodded. Accelerator didn't answer, but gave a curt nod indicating he heard her. "Big talker huh?"

"MISAKA thinks you are being rude MISAKA says as MISAKA points out Accelerator's lack of etiquette. His name is Accelerator, her name is Worst, and MISAKA's name is Last Order says MISAKA trying to be friendly." Bayloupe and Floris looked at each in response to her strange way of talking, but chose not to say anything about it. Besides, they could hardly consider themselves normal.

"Misaka thinks tou-san isn't use to being popular," Worst said with a snicker. "He rather be locked up in his room sleeping."

"Shut up," snapped Accelerator, and then he turned to Bayloupe. "What do you want? Did you come demanding a rematch or are you so in awe of my powers you wanted an autograph." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Touma, Mikoto, and a girl wearing similar clothes to Bayloupe, sitting down with the others. He didn't see Shizuri and her group, but figured they would take forever getting cleaned up.

"You think highly of yourself," Floris interjected.

"You haven't seen my abilities first hand," Accelerator grinned, slightly mocking, at her. "It tends to make people realize their limits."

"You can say that again," Bayloupe muttered. "What the hell is with your power anyway? You reflected every one of my attacks, but can also effortlessly knock me away."

"Simple vector manipulation," Accelerator said, waving his hand. Bayloupe and Floris frowned. Neither of them had a lot of science side education, so they didn't really understand vectors.

"All you science side people have the strangest abilities," Floris muttered and Accelerator raised an eyebrow.

"Don't mind her," Bayloupe said. "She's still upset she lost so easily to the blonde haired guy over there." She frowned when she saw Lessar jump into Touma's lap. "Seems like Lessar took an interest in that guy since he saved her, she better not get into any more trouble. It's hard enough to deal with her antics normally."

"I understand completely," Accelerator nodded. "I have to deal with these two on a daily basis." He pointed to Last Order and Worst. Last Order wasn't really paying attention, as she was deep in conversation with Index about what happened in London. Worst, on the other hand, wasn't going to take that lying down.

"You know you like Misaka's antics," Worst told him. "Tou-san is a huge masochist so he loves it when I prank him."

"I'm going to lock you in a trunk and throw you into the river," Accelerator mumbled and Worst laughed loudly.

"At least she's not a…" Floris said, but appeared to struggle to find the word.

"Slut," Bayloupe sighed and Floris shook her head slightly.

"Besides," Accelerator said, continuing his thought before Worst interrupted him again. "How can you say we have strange powers after the shit the princess and that Eve girl pulled? Being able to take on an army is one thing, I can do that, but dimensional slicing and summoning a phoenix is a completely different degree of ridiculousness."

"Summon a phoenix and dimensional slicing?" asked Bayloupe curiously and she and Floris leaned forward. "Can you elaborate?" Accelerator sighed when he realized they didn't know what happened in London. They started discussing what occurred when the church fought Carissa and up through Eve's departure. During their discussions, they finished their food and drinks and Last Order volunteered to get more. Index answered a couple questions they had about Eve's magic before Last Order returned. She passed them all new drinks, including Bayloupe and Floris. Accelerator nodded in acknowledgement, took a sip and stopped. He sniffed the drink and realized what he smelled.

Alcohol.

He glanced over at Bayloupe, who also seemed to eye the drink for a moment, but Floris seemed unperturbed or just didn't realize. _Drinking age is different in England I forgot for a second. Wait, damn brat…_ He reached over and grabbed Last Order's drink and then, for good measure, Index's. He was too late, as both of them had gulped down over half their drinks.

"Why did you do that MISAKA demands as MISAKA flails her hands in the air in anger."

"You got something you shouldn't' have," Accelerator reprimanded you, giving her a slight chop. "Who told you to get alcohol?"

"Really?" Index asked. "It tasted good though, unlike beer." Accelerator remembered she had drunk some back when she, Mikoto, and Touma had been at his apartment due to a lack of a proper guardian.

"It's not something for brats to drink," Accelerator snapped at them.

"Fine then MISAKA responds gruffly as MISAKA turns away from him. Let's go and have fun with the others Index, MISAKA suggests." Index nodded and they got up. No sooner then they took around five steps away, they were mobbed by nuns who wanted to talk to Index and dragged her away. Last Order looked slightly upset, hiccupped, and wondered off into the crowd. Worst grinned, got up, and followed her. Accelerator followed them with his eyes, until they disappeared into the crowd. He frowned when he saw Last Order stumble.

 _There's no way she could be drunk already,_ he thought as he sipped his drink. A moment later, Saiai plopped down next to him. He just ignored her because he felt like she wanted something.

* * *

Touma's table was quite loud and rambunctious, even compared to the others. Mikoto and Misaki would argue constantly, Touma expected that, but adding Lessar in the mix just caused more complications. At least, to him, it seemed like Jason and Kazari had patched everything up. She was leaning against him, bright red but looking happy. Jason was talking to Motoharu a lot, but would always make sure he spoke up to annoy Kuroko whenever the opportunity presented itself. Ruiko was the type of person who could talk to anyone, so it was a good thing she was in the middle. To Touma's surprise, Itsuwa joined them. She informed him she was given a break since the party was going well. Though they had a lot of things to discuss, their attention turned to one important topic.

"Hey Itsuwa," Touma asked. "What's the plan after the party?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, tilting her head slightly in confusion.

"Well after everything that happened," Touma said, choosing his words carefully. "Won't the church be busy helping England rebuilding after the coup? What's the plan for us?"

"I was wondering that myself," Mikoto said, frowning slightly. "We can hardly ask you to be a guide if you have to work."

"Y-you all don't have to worry about that," Itsuwa told them quickly. "It was already decided Agnese and I should remain as your guides. While the recent events have changed things, I hope you won't think less of England's hospitality. Even avoiding some of the major cities, we have a lot of nice tourist spots out in the country for you all."

"Country side sounds fun," Ruiko said, clapping her hands together. "We have to stay in the city all the time back home. But where is Agnese-san? I haven't had a chance to talk to her since we got back."

"She's currently chatting with several of her friends," Itsuwa said, scanning the tables with her eyes. "Ah she's with Sister Angeline and Sister Lucia."

"I should say hi to them at some point," Touma said, and he felt everyone's eyes on him. What worried him the most was both Jason and Motoharu were grinning evilly. "They helped us a lot before." He didn't sense any murderous aura, so he thought he was safe, but he had forgotten about Lessar. She took the opportunity, when everyone was distracted, to jump into his lap. She had a partial sandwich in her mouth and quickly swallowed.

"That's great," she said. "If you want, I'll give you a private tour of all the best couple spots. W would be out of the way so no one could hear us, no matter how loud we get." Everyone started coughing on their food in shock, before finding their voice.

"You should get off of him now," Misaki said, trying to keep her voice pleasant, but there was steely edge to it. Her hand was slipping down to her bag. "I can't overlook your overzealous attempts on him."

"Get off him Lessar," Mikoto said angrily, as she pulled Lessar off of Touma. Lessar fell off the seat, rolled once, and then sprung to her feet.

"How bold…" Kazari muttered.

"I thought Shokuhou-san was direct," Kuroko muttered. "But this girl is in an entire league of her own. I should take notes on how to seduce onee-sama."

"Wow," Ruiko mouthed, unable to really say anything she wanted to. _She's so straight forward. I wish I could be that direct about my feelings. I had a perfect opportunity too and we got interrupted. I doubt I will get another chance like that._ She made a fist under the table. _I'll have to take my own advice. You have to go and make the perfect opportunity._

"When did Touma attract this girl?" Jason asked Motoharu. "I must have missed it. It's hard to keep track of his harem ability."

"When you were off on your own fighting Floris and the knights," Motoharu told him. "He saved her a couple times I hear. I heard she's also devoted to England. So once he saved England, you know she was his."

"Sounds like a normal day for him," Jason grinned. He felt Kazari poke him in the side for his joke, so he responded by putting his arm around her and pulling her close. "I got this girl here, so I'm good." Motoharu and Ruiko laughed as Kazari blushed.

"You two need to stop saying those things," Touma told them. "Just because I help people doesn't mean I'm trying to get a…"

"That's right," Kuroko said boldly. "Onee-sama belongs to me so don't you dare!"

"Ah Kuroko," Mikoto sighed, putting her hand on her face as all the nearby nuns turned to watch their conversation.

"I didn't know Sparky was into girls," Lessar said, and pretended to cover herself with her arms. "Is that why you don't want me near him? You're after me?"

"No!" Mikoto denied vigorously. Jason and Motoharu started laughing loudly and even Ruiko and Kazari had to try to hide their smiles. Itsuwa was just watching the circus in stunned disbelief. She still had not gotten use to all of their antics.

"That would explain a lot," Misaki said thoughtfully. "Misaka-san does seem to reference my chest a lot, more then what should be natural." She knew it was childish to go that low, but she really couldn't help herself. Mikoto's face flushing just made her laugh even more on the inside. _She's so innocent._

"I knew it!" Kuroko cheered and teleported into Mikoto's arms. "There is still hope."

Before he knew what happened, Touma burst out laughing too. After the earlier serious conversation about his memory, he had been slightly distracted. After only spending a short time with all his friends, he found himself back to his old self. _I don't know why this is funny, but I can't stop._ Mikoto on the other hand, was not amused.

"You guys…" she said, shutting her eyes in irritation. She suddenly sparked brightly and Kuroko fell off her in a smoking heap, still grinning. Lessar dove behind Touma, who had raised his right hand in reflex, and he negated the blast.

"Onee-sama's love," Kuroko said weakly, twitching slightly.

"Seems like you all are back to normal," Shizuri said walking up to them, holding a plate. Frenda and Rikou were standing behind, also holding food.

"What happened?" Frenda asked.

"Fighting over Touma's love," Jason replied shrugging, and Kazari poked him again.

"Oh no," Ruiko cried and everyone realized what happened. When Lessar jumped behind Touma, she bumped into the table and several drinks had spilt. Ruiko quickly grabbed the drinks, but they had already stained the table cloths.

"Looks like you kids made a mess," Shizuri commented.

"It's no problem," Itsuwa said quickly. "It can be cleaned up easily. Don't worry about it."

"I'll get everyone some more drinks," Jason said standing up. "Be right back." He left as Mikoto sat back down. Kuroko was still lying on the ground.

"Where we planning to visit during the rest of the week," Kazari asked Itsuwa, trying to bring the topic back away from all the harem antics.

"We have a lot of ideas," Itsuwa told her. "But we were planning to let you all choose tomorrow. Right now, you should all just worry about enjoying the party." She smiled.

"I have to admit," Shizuri said. "This trip was a lot more excitement then I thought." She grinned, slightly evilly. "I thought it would be really annoying with a bunch of brats, but who would have thought I get to fight such powerful individuals."

"You are such a battle maniac," Misaki said, shaking her head.

"There's more to life then fighting," Mikoto told her, and Shizuri rolled her eyes at them.

"Tell that to the knights," Kuroko said, standing up and stretching. "They obviously trained constantly, especially their leader."

"Were you one of the two that fought Knight Leader?" Lessar turned and asked Kuroko. "How did you escape?"

"I hate to admit it," Kuroko said, crossing her arms and looking slightly cross. "I could injure him, but it only worked because he didn't know our abilities. Once he figured it out, Jason was the one who actually beat him. I couldn't have stood up against that monster alone."

"It's not nice to call people monsters," a male voice said from behind her. His voice was calm, but radiated strength. Kuroko's eyes widened as she turned. Behind her, standing tall, and causing many of the nearby nuns to slink back, was Knight Leader.

"AHHH!" she pointed and teleported to the other side of the table. "What are you doing here?" Touma looked around, and judging by the reactions of the nuns, none of them expected him to show up either. A moment passed, then Knight Leader smiled and transformed back into Jason. His shadow moved from behind him, holding a tray of drinks, and he set it down on the table.

"Couldn't resist," he said and laughed at Kuroko's shocked expression. Everyone else burst out laughing a second later. Touma had to admit, Jason's timing and acting were perfect. Kuroko finally unfroze, grabbed her half empty cup, and teleported it upside down over his head. Jason couldn't react fast enough and he got drenched.

"You asked for it," Motoharu pointed out, roaring with laughter.

"Couldn't resist," Kuroko said, smirking.

"Touché," Jason said, nodding.

"Not even mad at all?" Touma asked him, grinning.

"A good comeback is a good comeback," Jason shrugged. Kuroko's smile flickered. She had been hoping to get a rise out of him and was upset she failed. When she caught his eye he winked at her and she gritted her teeth.

 _He knew I wanted to get a rise out of him!_

When the laughter finally died down, and no one was still fighting, they started to talk normally again. Lessar went off on her own to talk to her friends a short time later. Saiji came up and formally introduced himself to Touma's friends, before dragging Itsuwa away. He said it was an emergency. Itsuwa told them it wasn't anything bad and left with him. Touma got up a few minutes later and stretched. He wanted to see if he could find Index and a couple other people he hadn't seen in a while and left. Without Touma to bind them, Mikoto and Misaki got up too. Misaki was planning to look around and gather information. Mikoto was heading toward Agnese to talk with her for a bit. Frenda got up and left on her own, she got distracted easily and must have seen something interesting.

 _Where did Index go?_ Touma thought, sipping his drink. He thought it was stronger than before, but he figured it was just his imagination. He looked over at Accelerator, surrounded by Lessar's group and Saiai, but he didn't see Last Order, Index or Worst. He made his way through the crowd, looking for them, and stumbled over an uneven patch of ground. Because of the loud conversations all round him, he didn't hear the sound of breaking glass, when a small drop of his drink fell on his hand.

* * *

"Come on Itsuwa," Saiji told her. "It's upstairs. You need to go on the offensive now."

"A-are you sure it's the right time," Itsuwa asked nervously. She still didn't completely trust Saiji's motives. She was aware of a couple other Amakusa listening from behind a tree. She recognized Ushibuka, a large man with short black hair wearing a zip up jacket, and Kouyagi, a younger, short boy with brown hair. She could tell others were also there, but they were hiding better. _Why are they taking such an interest? It's not like this concerns them._

"If you don't like your Mythic Spider Web Swimsuit," Saiji told her. "I got the Great Spirit Revealing Maid outfit. Someone tried to hide it, but nothing escapes me. Though, I think he likes swimsuits more than maid outfits." He held up the other outfit.

"But what will the others think," Itsuwa protested. "I don't really want to stand out."

"You were with the other girls tonight," Saiji told her. "You know what you are up against now. If you don't take the chance now, you may never have another. You need to go on the attack instead of playing defense."

"Maybe your right," Itsuwa answered looking at the ground. It was getting difficult for her to think, and she figured she was getting tired. She looked up, with new fire in her eyes. "No, you are right," she said with determination. "I will." She turned around and marched off to the hotel, tossing her empty cup into the trash on the way. After she was out of sight, Kaori walked up to Saiji. She had recovered her strength and was enjoying the party while sipping her drink.

"It's not nice tricking her like that," Kaori told him. "You just want to see her in that outfit."

"Whatever do you mean priestess?" he asked innocently, though the smile on his face gave it away. "I was just helping poor Itsuwa work on her confidence." He looked at her. "Speaking of which, I saved your wedding dress, the Fallen Angel Ero Maid outfit. It's hanging up in your room now."

"I thought I told you to destroy that," Kaori choked. "Why would you go out of your way to set it up in my room?!"

"You know you need it priestess," he told her, putting his hand under his chin and nodding solemnly. "Think of everything he did for us, and you. Don't you think you need to pay him back before you get to a point it would be impossible?"

"Gah!" Kaori said, momentarily stunned. There was no way she wanted anyone to see her in that outfit, it was too embarrassing, but when she thought of Touma seeing her, she grew slightly warm. If it was just him, she might be willing. To hide her confusion and lack of being able to produce proper sentences, she gulped down her drink. "I don't really need something like that though."

"What!?" gasp Saiji. "Do you have something like the Fallen Angel Extreme Ero Maid outfit I don't know about? Or are you planning to go in just your underwear…" Kaori swung her blade, still in the scabbard, and brought it down on his head with her Saint strength. Saiji fell to the ground, and a large bump appeared on her head. Kaori was emitting a dark aura and she turned, eyes flashing dangerously, to the other guys hiding behind the nearby trees. They bolted as fast as they could, leaving their fallen, previous, leader behind.

"Those guys," Kaori sighed as she turned around and started walking back to the party. At the last minute, she turned and made her way to the hotel. _I suppose it wouldn't hurt to at least try it on._ She grabbed another drink and went upstairs to her temporary room. When she was out of sight, one girl walked up to the unconscious Saiji. They lightly prodded Saiji with her foot and he moaned slightly to indicate he was alive. The individual reached down, picked up the Great Spirit Revealing Maid outfit, and held it up.

"This actually looks pretty nice," Misaki said. "I like the pink and white color combination. It's a little more revealing then I would like, but I'm sure Touma would enjoy it. I knew it was a good idea to spy on this guy and Itsuwa" She smiled to herself, tucked the outfit under her arm, and headed toward the hotel.

* * *

"I can't believe we might get a chance to see Itsuwa in the Spider swimsuit." The guys from the Amakusa had regrouped and were heading back to the party. They were discussing the recent events and the unexpected development.

"Not only that, the priestess is heading toward the hotel, do you think she's going to go after him too?"

"After that reaction?"

"She's just hiding her embarrassment. It's going to be the ultimate show down between maids and swimsuits."

"It's because they both fill it out well too isn't it." All the guys agreed to the last statement enthusiastically. With the church, nothing stays secrets, and discussions about chest size and outfits began to spread like wildfire. Soon, there wasn't a table where at least someone was talking about it. It even reached a table where Mikoto was talking to Agnese. Sitting with them were two other nuns, Lucia, who was a tall girl with short blonde hair and vicious blue eyes, and Angelene, a short girl with freckles on her face and long honey-colored hair tied in twin braids. These two nuns were dressed in traditional black scapular with white collars and sleeves, but they had completely different personalities. Lucia was extremely strict and tended to be rather ruthless during fights. Angelene was extremely timid and could be easily convinced to do things she doubted was the right thing to do.

"It'ss like no matter where I go," Mikoto sighed. "Ssomeone is alwaysh talking about breashs." Her words were beginning to slur, but she didn't notice.

"That's something we can't ignore," Agnese replied. "Just because they are large doesn't mean they are the best." Mikoto, Agnese, and Angelene looked at themselves and sighed. Lucia glanced at them, but seemed to be indifferent to their suffering. Her chest wasn't huge, but it was decent sized. If it wasn't for her cold demeanor, she could be considered quite feminine.

"They are also talking about it with regards to maids and swimsuits," Angelene spoke up, looking around.

"We have 250 nuns at our disposal," Agnese said, her face slightly red. "We can't take this lying down. We should select someone among us and use them as a countermeasure." Lucia felt a shiver go down her spine, as she saw Mikoto, Agnese, and Angelene look at her. She frowned slightly, as she realized what they were going to ask, and was determined to put a stop to it.

"No."

"We have access to an outfit called the Little Devil Flirting Maid," Agnese told her.

"I thought I was clear in my response," Lucia told her. "Besides, as a devote Christian, I would never wear something resembling a devil."

"It's a little devil, not devil," Agnese explained. "I hear there's a special meaning behind it." Mikoto frowned.

"I heard that too," she said and grabbed her head with a hand. "But it'ss getting hard to think sstraight sso I don't remember. Ish been a long day."

"My answer hasn't changed," Lucia replied, crossing her arms.

"We need someone with appeal," Agnese said, waving her arms, her face also red. "We can't lose."

"I don't think I've seen you this vocal in ages Sister Angelene," Agnese said looking at her. She noticed her face was slightly flush, but not out of embarrassment.

"I'll do it," Mikoto spoke up.

"Huh?"

"I'll do it," Mikoto said firmly, slapping her hand on the table. "It'ss time to sshow breashs aren't everything."

"Yes," Agnese said, smiling broadly. They clinked their glasses together and drained them quickly. "Let's go Misaka-san. We need to get it from the hotel." They stood up and walked together toward the hotel, stumbling slightly.

* * *

Sherry Cromwell was staring at the woman across the table from her. She had purposely sat far away from the others to eat in peace. It's not that she was antisocial, she just preferred quiet instead of the loud excitement of a party. Sherry didn't really want to eat, she just felt insignificant in the battle against Carissa and Eve and it irritated her to no end. She only grabbed a sandwich out of habit. Now her peace and quiet was interrupted by Orsola. _Great,_ Sherry thought. _She's here._ Both of them worked together in deciphering scripts for the church, but Orsola was pretty airheaded and constantly made messes, which also annoyed Sherry constantly. "Oh, it's you."

"I have something for you," Orsola told her kindly.

"I don't want it," Sherry replied immediately.

"But your outfit is so worn out from all the battles," Orsola pointed out. "Wouldn't it be better to change?"

"Who cares if it's a little worn?" Sherry asked. "I like it and it's comfortable and easy to move it…" She spat out her drink when Orsola pulled out an outfit from behind her. "What the hell is that?"

"It's the Goddess Goth Maid outfit," Orsola said. "The Amakusa were talking about the Fallen Angel Ero Maid and the Great Spirit Revealing Maid outfits, along with others. They always seem to be on the top of fashion so I figured these kinds of outfits were in."

"Don't make light of Gothic outfits," Sherry said, finally finding her voice. "That has nothing to do with true Gothic design except being old looking. Any experienced designer could tell you that in a second."

"I see," Orsola said softly, looking slightly crestfallen. She realized the outfit had been kind of offensive to Sherry. "Well, I guess I'll put it back where I found it."

"Can I borrow it?" a girl asked and they both turned to her. Frenda stared back at them. "Basically, I'll bring it back. I only want it for a short time."

"It might be a little big for you," Orsola told her kindly, while Sherry scoffed. "Even with the amount of adjustments these outfits have, I don't think it will fit…"

"It's not for me," Frenda said shaking her head. "Basically, I want to give it to someone to wear. Mugino stated she could look better in an outfit then the others."

"Oh Mugino-san," Orsola said thoughtfully, putting her hand on her cheek. "Yes, I'm sure it would fit her quite well." She handed the outfit to Frenda. "I hope she enjoys it."

"Thanks," Frenda said cheerfully. She turned and started to run back to the party, but not before stopping to wave back at them. This caused her to almost stumble, which was unusual for her. She was rather graceful on her feet, but tended to be slightly airheaded, like Orsola.

"Wasn't Mugino the girl who fired those green beams," Sherry said frowning. "I doubt she's the kind to wear those kinds of outfits."

"I'm sure she wants to have fun along with everyone else," Orsola said. "Some people are just not good at expressing themselves. You were the same way when you joined us, were you not?" Sherry's frown deepened, but she didn't correct Orsola.

* * *

Touma groaned, his eyes still resolutely closed.

He could see sunlight through his eyelids, but he refused to open his eyes. His head was pounding like a drum, and there was a fuzzy taste in his mouth. Moving even slightly was causing him sharp pain in his head. He figured it was late morning, the party had lasted awhile, but he didn't remember when it actually ended. In fact, he couldn't remember most of it or even going to bed. _What happened? The last thing I remember clearly was looking for Index…_ His mind started to stir, the pain wasn't decreasing, so he was forced to wretch his eyes open. He could tell he was lying down, and his head was looking at the celling. The sun was shining through the large hotel lobby windows. _When did I come inside?_ He tried to sit up, when he realized there was a lot of weight on him. He froze, and then slowly lifted his head, despite the pain, to look around.

His stomach dropped.

He was lying on the lobby floor, someone had spread out a lot of blankets, and was completely surrounded by girls. A quick glance revealed who the nearest ones were. Mikoto and Misaki were on either side of him and holding him tightly. Both of them were wearing strange revealing outfits that vaguely resembled maids. Mikoto's was black and red, with what appeared to be small devil wings on the back, and Misaki's was white and pink with fairy like wings. Both of the outfits didn't cover the shoulders and barely covered the girl's chests, though Misaki was putting more pressure on hers. He raised his head higher, and was able to free his arm from Mikoto and prop himself up. Two girls were lying on top of him, Agnese, his blood froze when he saw she was just in her underwear again, and Lessar, who he was relieved was still clothed.

Further down he noticed Shizuri and Frenda, both of whom were using his legs as a pillow. Frenda looked normal, but Shizuri was wearing an all-black Gothic style outfit with white boarders. He looked behind him and saw Itsuwa and Kaori, who were sleeping in a V shape around his head. Itsuwa was wearing the black and white spider web swimsuit she won at the beach, and Kaori was wearing a black and white revealing outfit, with white angel wings on the back. He started looking around again, his panic rising, when he saw Index on the other side of Misaki, and Ruiko on the other side of Mikoto. Index was still wearing her walking church nun outfit, but Ruiko was wearing a very normal looking maid outfit. He managed to slowly wiggle his way out of the girl's grasp and sit up.

 _WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!? I don't remember anything. What is with all these costumes? Someone, tell me what's going on._ The reason he didn't yell it out loud was it would probably feel like his head exploded, and it would probably get him killed when the girls realized what happened. He looked at the ceiling and begun praying to every deity he ever heard of for someone to help him. He saw a movement to his right and he turned to look. His stomach dropped again when he saw who it was.

Motoharu was giving him a thumb up, with Jason's camera in his other hand.

Touma realized he was in the worst position of his life. He hoped Motoharu would help him out and only joke about it constantly later with Jason, Pierce and Accelerator. Touma would be perfectly okay with that. He reached out his right hand, to say no pictures, and mouthed help me, before he realized another issue. Motoharu mouth opened when he saw it too.

In his outstretched hand, there was a pair of light purple panties.

 _I am going to die_ , Touma thought to himself as the situation just became worse. _Such Misfortune._

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Pierce: What do you mean misfortune?  
** **  
Motoharu: Sup Aogami, haven't heard from you in a while.**

 **Pierce: Family stuff you know, but more importantly, WHAT DO YOU MEAN MISFORTUNE!**

 **Touma: I'm going to die you idiots.**

 **Me: Yet he has achieved every male's fantasy, so I figured he lived a full life.**

 **Motoharu: I agree.**

 **Touma: I did nothing, you idiots are just adding fuel to the fire.**

 **Me: How do you know you didn't do anything if you can't remember what happened.**

 **Touma: …**

 **Pierce: You have lolis, tsunderes, yanderes, foreigners, big and small chested, obsessive, normal, older, maids, swimsuits, devils, angels, nuns, and more. You have almost EVERY fetish at your disposal. When you get back to Academy City, I promise you will suffer the consequences.**

 **Touma: Damn…. Where is everyone else?**

 **Motoharu: Probably unconscious from alcohol. I got it all on camera.**

 **Touma: Is that what next chapter is going to be about?**

 **Me: …. Stop spoiling it for the readers you guys.**


	58. S2 Motoharu's Documentary

**So I'm trying something new during this chapter. The point of view changes, as you can probably tell from the title. It's still third person, but I try to avoid focusing on internal dialogue since camera's can't catch it. Other than that, I feel it's a pretty good chapter and it should answer a lot of questions people have. Season two is wrapping up nicely.**

 **Whwsms: All excellent ideas.**

 **Agent Nine: You sure he didn't do anything crazy?**

 **Brosephg: I have to think it was one of my best cliff hangers.**

 **Guest 10032: I had several ideas with the memory loss scene. I wanted to combine the canon ways they would react, plus the new relationship that has developed in my story. The drama was an idea, and I could see it happen. If Misaki wasn't involved, I probably would have gone that route. Mikoto wouldn't have guessed he lost his memories without her.**

 **If anyone is an amazing artist and wants to draw the girls trying to attract Touma's attention in the outfits. If I can get a picture of your art, I'll use it as the cover picture for this story. I'm super serious, but it has to be good. Though I can't really talk, I'm a horrible artist. Stick figures are the extent of my ability.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly. Also, if you are underage in your country, I cannot condone you drinking. No matter how funny this story makes it look.**

* * *

The way Motoharu smiled, and leaning nonchalantly up against the hotel wall, told Touma he wasn't going to help him out of the situation but, at least, wasn't going to make the situation any worse. At first Touma was suspicious of his actions, but Touma concluded Motoharu knew enough of what happened last night that Touma had, not on purpose, made his day. He was also thinking of what Jason could be planning with this information and his stomach dropped. He shifted his weight slightly and pulled his other arm out of Misaki's grasp. She mumbled something incoherently and turned over. He gently moved Lessar off his chest, until she was lying next to Misaki, and then did the same to Agnese, who ended up next to Mikoto. He turned his attention to his legs.

He started to move his right leg from under Frenda's head, but she turned and grabbed tightly to his pants. Touma frowned and reached over to move her hand and escape her grasp. His leg slid out smoothly and her head barely moved as it slid onto the blanket. He sighed in relief, and turned his attention to Shizuri, who was propped on his other leg. He started to move when he heard Shizuri mumble, "Wake me and die Frenda." Touma froze, but it looked like she went back to sleep. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and managed to slide his leg out from under her head without waking her. Now free, he slowly stood up and was forced to stop, as he head began pounding again. He took a deep breath and careful stepped around the sleeping girls, until he was pass them, and then made a beeline straight toward Motoharu. "What happened?" Touma hissed at him and then held a hand up to his forehead. "Ah my head is pounding."

"I have to say Kami-yan," Motoharu said seriously. "Satisfying that many girls in one night, I knew you were good, but who knew you were a man among men. I don't think any of them are going to complain after that. Best of all," he grinned and held up a camera. "I got it ALL on tape."

Touma's face went white with shock and horror. He didn't know what to say. His first instinct was to deny it all but, after waking up surrounded be attractive girls in various outfits and not having any memories, he couldn't be entirely sure. _This… this can't be true. I wouldn't do something like this, but I can't remember anything. What if I did do something? They are all my friends and I couldn't forgive myself if I took advantage of them in some way._ "C-can you tell me what happened?" he coughed out to Motoharu. He felt like he was about to pass out.

"Calm down Kami-yan," Motoharu said, still smirking. "I was just joking. Don't have a heart attack on me… ouch, hey!" Touma had punched him in the arm, hard.

"Shut up," Touma hissed, worried his voice might wake up the girls. "I almost believed you there and was debating about committing seppuku to apologize to them. " He grabbed Motoharu, ignoring the pain in his head, and dragged him down a hallway away from the others. "What the hell happened last night? Why can't I remember anything?"

"It seems like someone accidently grabbed some special church made wine and poured it into the drink bowl," Motoharu told him. "I thought Itsuwa was in charge of food and drinks, but she wouldn't make such a rookie mistake." He shrugged.

"So everyone was just drunk?" Touma asked. "That doesn't make sense. I doubt everyone could have consumed enough to end up in that position."

"This wine was special," Motoharu continued. "It was infused with magic in order to allow us to store it easier. We only needed to keep a few bottles here because each bottle was supposed to be diluted with water. The magic was to keep the flavor consistent, no matter how much it was diluted. The magic strengthened the alcohol too, and it wasn't designed to be drunk straight. Luckily, the church knew enough to make it so people couldn't get poisoned from the concentrated form. Everyone is just completely wasted now."

"So where are Jason and Accelerator?" Touma asked him. "I figured they would be helping you with nearly giving me a heart attack."

"Probably passed out in the back," Motoharu shrugged. "They were having fun before the alcohol really hit everyone." He laughed. "Everyone got affected by it. I doubt they will wake up for another couple hours."

"Wait," Touma frowned, when he realized something important. "How are you fine?"

"I realized the drinks were alcoholic," Motoharu told him. "Being a spy, I have experience recognizing if something gets in my drink. I would never touch something like that. I figured your hand would negate the magic, as it spread through your body. Looks like you were still impacted quite a bit though." They opened the hotel door, which led to the site of the party, and Touma got a full view of the carnage caused by alcohol.

Everywhere he looked, there were people sleeping. Nuns and Amakusa were sprawled out at every table and many were sleeping on the grass. Half-finished foods and empty drink containers were still left out, obviously no one cleaned up. Touma's eyes slowly scanned the crowd and he saw Kuroko and Uiharu sitting at one table. Jason was sprawled out on the ground sleeping near them. At another table, he recognized the white hair of Accelerator and he was sitting with Lessar's friends, Last Order, and Saiai. Touma sighed and turned to Motoharu. "You sure everyone is going to be all right?"

"They will have massive headaches," Motoharu laughed, as Touma rubbed his head. "But they should be fine by this afternoon. Although," he grinned and nudged Touma's side, "Isn't it Misaka-san's birthday today? Going to prepare anything special?"

"I asked Itsuwa Sunday and she said they could make a cake here easily enough," Touma admitted. "But they might be a little indisposed right now. When everyone else wakes up, I suppose we can get them all together."

"While we kill time," Motoharu said, holding up the camera. "Want to watch the video from last night? I really like this camera Jason brought. We took tons of pictures this trip so far, and still tons of memory for taking videos."

"I'm going to regret this," Touma groaned. "But let me see. It might jog my memory and I need to know how badly I screwed up." Motoharu grinned diabolically. They sat down on a bench near the hotel, flipped the screen open, and started watching the events from the night before.

* * *

Motoharu's face dominated the camera. "Hey all, this is Motoharu Tsuchimikado. This documentary is being created for my good friend Pierce Aogami, since he was unable to be on this trip with us. We are in the middle of a party and something interesting happened. Someone poured alcohol in the drink bowl and now we have the perfect opportunity to examine how our friends act when wasted. We might even get insight on how Kami-yan is able to attract so many women." His face disappeared from view and he started to move threw the crowds. He passed a lot of church members before he finally found someone he knew. "Hmm looks like Itsuwa-san and nee-chin… I mean Kanzaki-san are heading toward the hotel. I wonder what they could be up too." He moved quickly and silently, until he stood near them. Itsuwa's mumbling could barely be heard.

"I can do this," she muttered. "You just have to be brave and honest with him."

"Looks like she's going to confess to someone," Motoharu commented, in an almost mocking voice. "Who on earth could that be?" Itsuwa walked into the hotel and Kaori arrived shortly behind her. "What's up?" Motoharu called out to her. "Not planning to lose to Itsuwa are you?"

"Be quiet," Kaori told him and marched passed him without uttering another word.

"I've seen that determined look on her face before," Motoharu said. "Looks like she's going to do something embarrassing, can't wait to see what. Her face is pretty red too. I bet she is pretty drunk already." He started to walk away from the hotel when he stopped and the camera ended up focused on Misaki. "Hey Shokuhou-san, he called out. "What do you have there?" He was referring to the pink and white costume she had draped over her arm.

"Jush shomething I found," Misaki told him, her words slurring slightly. "I hope Touma will like it. Could you shend him to the hotel if you find him?"

"No problem," Motoharu told her, his voice full of amusement.

"Thansh," she said smiling and entered the hotel.

"Hmm," Motoharu muttered watching her enter the hotel... "Wasn't that the Spirit Maid outfit Tatemiya told me? Dang Kami-yan, you are getting everyone. Oh, that was the fifth rank level 5, Misaki Shokuhou. This is going to be great, now where is… speak of the devil." The camera zoomed in on Mikoto and Agnese, both of who were talking and stumbling slightly. They were obviously drunk. Motoharu waved to them, as they walked up to the hotel. "Hey Misaka-san, Agnese-san. What are you up to?" He held up the camera and focused on their faces.

"Oh hey Tsuchimikado-san," Mikoto greeted him. "Excush ush, we need to show them sise ish not everything."

"You tell him," Agnese said and hiccupped. "Small is just as good as excessive." They stumbled into the hotel and the camera was turned to face Motoharu's face again.

"Seems there is some rivalry going on," Motoharu said seriously. "None of them seem very talkative. I guess it's time to find our classmates and the man of the hour, Kami the Harem King. It appears as if his harem is up to something and as his friend," he burst into a huge grin, "I need to push him into the middle of it." The camera turned away from him and he started moving into the crowd, until Accelerator's white hair came into view. "Oh good, it's Accelerator and… wow, he's surrounded by girls? Could he be creating his own version of Kami Disease? Let's check it out." He walked up to them holding the camera high. "Hey Accel-kun, want to say hi to Aogami? Making a short film for him."

"Eh whatever," Accelerator mumbled, barely glancing at the camera. "And what have I told you about calling me that?"

"But your name is so long," protested Motoharu. "Who are all the lovely girls you're sitting with? He's sure to be jealous."

"I swear if you start talking about me like the damn hero…" Accelerator growled, turning to Motoharu. His eyes were slightly glazed, and it was obvious he had been drinking.

"Hey," Saiai said popping into the camera. "Saiai Kinuhata, I'm a super friend of his." She was holding a glass and her red face was evidence she was tipsy.

"Careful," Accelerator warned. "Aogami is a huge f$^%#% pervert and into little girls."

"Well I am really attractive," Saiai bragged, puffing out her, nonexistent, chest. "Who wouldn't like me?" She looked at him. "You worried about me?"

"Whatever," Accelerator mumbled, not really caring if she didn't heed his warning.

"Aww," Worst teased him. "It sounds like tou-san wants to keep us all to himself. Hoping to start your own group eh?" She nudged him in the side. Saiai's face turned slightly redder, but she grinned too.

"Watch it," Accelerator grumbled, pulling out his phone. "Or I'll lock you in a broom closet."

"Going to introduce those two girls?" Motoharu commented, waving a hand to Bayloupe and Floris.

"Ah them," Accelerator said. "That's Bayloupe and that's… what was your name again?" The alcohol was either having an effect on him, or he didn't care about her name.

"Floris," she said, glancing at the camera for a moment with an annoyed look on her face. Bayloupe snickered slightly.

"Man Accel-kun," Motoharu said. "Aogami is going to be really jealous when he sees you with so many attractive girls."

"Bite me," was Accelerator's reply as he glanced at a message from his phone. "Does she even pay attention to time differences? It may be morning for her but it's the middle of the night here… What the hell do you think you're doing?" Bayloupe had snatched his phone out of his hand from across the table.

"I figured since you remembered my name," Bayloupe told him, messing with his phone. "I might as well give you my number."

"Why would I want that?" Accelerator demanded, while Worst snickered.

"I'm sure you will think of why," Bayloupe told him shaking her head. "We got a lot in common."

"Like babysitting kids?" Floris asked.

"That's one thing," Bayloupe said nodding.

"Hey," Saiai pipped up. "Hand me the phone, he super doesn't have my number." Bayloupe gave a brief nod and tossed it over to her. Saiai was able to put her number in Accelerator's phone and memorize his number, to put in hers, before he snatched it away.

"You all know I'm just going to delete your numbers," he growled, while Worst continued to laugh.

"I don't think so," Motoharu said. "You totally are going to keep them. You're totally getting soft."

"Soft huh," Accelerator said loudly, standing up and looking at him. His hand was reaching up to his neck. "Do you really want to see how 'soft' I am?"

"Come on Accel-kun," Motoharu said, backing away. "We all know you love the attention."

"Look at tou-san blush," Worst pointed out. She was referring to his read face, but that was most likely caused by the alcohol then embarrassment. He had evidently been drinking, thinking he could handle the alcohol. In response to her words, he turned and started to berate her. Motoharu grinned and went back into the crowd, looking for the others. The last thing the camera caught was Saiai commenting.

"Why can't you super look at me with those eyes?"

"As you can see," Motoharu said, his face reappearing in the camera as he walked. "Accel-kun is getting along with everyone and seems to have acquired his own small harem. You now, for a level five, he sure gets pushed around a lot, but that's part of the fun. Oh, looks like I see Kagere, well, I'll call him Jason from now on. He's always said he's preferred his first name. Let's say hi and see if he has any words for us." Motoharu walked over and flipped the camera around. It seemed like Kazari, Kuroko, Rikou and Ruiko were sitting at the table, while Jason was entertaining a bunch of the church forces with something funny, as most of them were laughing. Rikou was asleep, either by choice of alcohol, but Shizuri and Frenda were unaccounted for. Motoharu moved over and stood next to the girls, all of who looked up at him when he approached. "Hey everyone," he told them. "I'm filming the festivities for a friend back home. His name is Pierce Aogami. Could you please introduce yourselves and say hi?"

"Hello Aogami-san," Ruiko said, waving and smiling broadly. She was always a people person. Her face was red, but it didn't seem to negate her desire to talk to people. "Mine name ish Ruiko Saten and I'm a friend of Touma. I heard Touma shay you had family obligashions and couldn't come. I hope to meet you at shome point." Her words were beginning to slur and it was obvious she had been unknowingly drinking.

"Umm hi," Kazari said softly, looking at the camera, but she kept glancing back at Jason, who was still entertaining the nuns. Her face was slightly red. "My name is Kazari Uiharu and… um…"

"She's Jason's cute girlfriend," Motoharu told the camera and Kazari turned redder. "Try not to get to jealous Aogami."

"My name is Kuroko Shirai and…" Kuroko said quickly, it was obvious she was planning only to do it as a courtesy, but then her eyes widened in recognition. "Wait… Aogami? That name sounds familiar… AH!" She pointed at the camera. "He's the one Jason called to ask him for something."

"You remember Shirai-san," Motoharu said to the camera. "She lost a bet to Jason and has to do one thing for him when we return to the city."

"It's only because those idiots didn't understand onee-sama's charm," Kuroko accused. Her voice was getting louder, and it seemed like she didn't realize it.

"If it boshers you," Ruiko said to Kazari, words still slurring slightly. "Why don't you jush tell him?"

"But he's not doing anything bad," Kazari replied. "It's just…"

"Jealoushy?" Ruiko asked grinning.

"O-of course not," Kazari stammered, trying to look innocent, but failing badly.

"Just do it already," Kuroko sighed. "You've been distracted for a while now."

"Do it, do it," Ruiko chanted, staring at Kazari. Kazari sighed, but suddenly got a look of determination on her face. She stood up and walked over to Jason. Ruiko and Kuroko had looks of apprehension on their faces, before the camera turned and followed Kazari. Kazari walked up, unnoticed, to Jason and the other nuns. Before any of them registered her sudden appearance, she quickly sat down in Jason's lap and wrapped her arms around him. This got his attention, along with the surrounding nuns.

"Kazari?" he asked. "What's wr…?" His words were cut short when she kissed him on the lips. Many of the nuns around them cheered, but some looked disappointed. The camera moved back to Ruiko and Kuroko.

"You go Uiharu!" Ruiko cheered.

"I've never seen her that bold," commented Kuroko, slightly wistfully. "How could she do something like that?"

"Don't you do those kinds of things to Misaka-san?" Motoharu asked her.

"Yes," Kuroko confirmed. "But that's onee-sama, she's in an entire league of her own. Jason's well… him." She sort of let it hang there, as if that was all the answer she really needed to give.

"Uh huh," Ruiko said, raising an eyebrow at her. "You sound like you know him well now." Kuroko glared at her for a moment, grabbed her drink, and gulped it down to avoid answering. It was obvious what she was doing and Ruiko burst into a large grin.

"Have fun ladies," Motoharu said. "I need to find the others." The camera turned and went back into the crowd. It was now obvious a lot of people were beginning to pass out from the alcohol. There were less people moving around and a lot of tables had people sleeping soundly. Because there were less people, Motoharu was able to have the camera quickly zoom in on Touma. It appeared he had found Index, as she was standing next to him. They were also surrounded by a large number of girls from the church. Their numbers dwarfed the ones around Jason and Kazari. Motoharu's voice was heard on the camera, but it wasn't turned around this time. "We are going to observe Kami-yan in his natural habitat. Maybe we can finally see how he attracts so many girls to achieve the title of Harem King. No one knows how he obtained that title, but it always fit from the moment it was set upon him."

* * *

"What the heck do you mean no one knows?" demanded Touma. "You're the idiots that gave me it to me during the tournament." He had been silent for most of the video, because he wanted to see how much damage control he would have to do, but that line prompted his outburst. After he saw several of his friends drunk, he began to understand how they at least wore those outfits. _Accelerator with Lessar's friends was pretty funny. It's good to see him getting along with others. Uiharu… I didn't realize she was so bold when drunk._ He was a little annoyed about the way Motoharu was treating the documentary. Part of him wanted to destroy the recording, but he still needed to see what happened.

"Don't sweat the small stuff," Motoharu told him dismissively. "It's just to make it a little more exciting. Anyway, we are at the start of what happened to you."

"Fine," Touma groaned. He knew he was going to regret this more than ever, but turned his attention back to the video.

* * *

"Come on Kamijou," one of the nuns pleaded. "Tell us what it was like defeating the princess." Motoharu was standing behind a nearby tree and had the camera focused on Touma. Touma turned his head to look at the speaker, while index was clamped tightly to his left hand. He was holding a drink in his right.

"I didn't really do anything," Touma said modestly. "It was everyone's group effort. You all did as much as I did, if not more. I should be thanking you all for making sure my friends all got back in one piece."

"Aww, he's so modest."

"He's so cute when he thanks us," another one said.

"Even though we couldn't do it without him."

"Hey Index," a third one spoke up. "Would you and Kamijou like to come and play games with us?"

"Yes!" Index nodded vigorously, her head bobbing way more than needed. There was a lot of semblance to Index back at Aiho's place. "Can we Touma, can we?"

"You go ahead Index," Touma told her. "I want to check up on a couple more people. Then I'll come and play with everyone after."

"But…" Index protested, looking disappointed.

"I promise," Touma said, putting his hand on her shoulders. "I just want to check up with our friensh and I'll come and play with you after. I'll play with you sho much, you will get sick of me after we are exhausted." His words were beginning to slur slightly.

"Okay," Index finally agreed and ran off with the other nuns. A couple of them looked back at Touma, but he waved them on. Alter they left, Touma began to head back to the main area, when Motoharu jumped out with the camera held up high.

"Always surrounded by girls Kami-yan," Motoharu said impressed. "It sounded like you were setting up a hot night with the nuns."

"Depensh on what game they want to play," Touma shrugged, as he sipped his drink. "We may end up all tired and sweaty afterwarsh."

"I bet you would," Motoharu mumbled.

"Whatsh with the camera?" Touma asked.

"Filming the celebration so everyone can get a copy," Motoharu answered. "Oh, I know several people went to the hotel looking for you. They asked me to send you there if I saw you."

"Thansh," Touma said, gulping down the rest of his drink. "Is Miko-chan or Misa-chan going to be there? I need to ask them something."

"Oh I'm sure they will be," Motoharu said, his voice filled with laughter, which Touma didn't appear to notice. He started to head off to the hotel and Motoharu began to follow, but stopped. The camera turned to face him again and he spoke into it. "Before we see the mating ritual of Kami-yan, let's check in on Accelerator and Jason." He started to make his way toward Accelerator's table first and saw everyone appeared to be asleep. "Anyone still up?" he asked as he got close. There were a few incoherent mumbles, but no one answered. When he got close, he started to laugh and had to put a hand on his mouth to muffle the noise. The camera zoomed in on Accelerator's face. There were a lot of rude words and drawings on his face with black marker. The camera moved slightly to show a market in a sleeping Worst's hand. "Looks like Worst is still up to her pranks, Jason would be proud." He heard Saiai mumbled something and turned the camera to her. "What was that Kinuhata-san?"

"Accelerator's glare is so sexy…. Mmmm," Saiai repeated and fell back asleep.

"Looks like Accel-kun's ability to attract lolis is still in effect," Motoharu laughed as he turned the camera to Last Order, who had returned to the table. Accelerator was lying down on his arms, as he sat down on the table bench. Last Order was lying on his lap, clamped tightly to his shirt. "So Bayloupe-san and Floris-san, if either of you are still awake, anything to say about Accel-kun?" Both of them were sitting down, but were sleeping in similar positions to Accelerator.

"He didn't delete my number…," Bayloupe muttered.

"Good to know," Motoharu laughed and the camera turned, as he started to head toward Jason's table. He walked over uninterrupted, until he suddenly stopped. "Looks like Jason is too far gone. He must be a lightweight." The camera turned to see Jason lying sprawled out on the ground, fast asleep. He walked over and nudged him with his foot. "You alive?"

"Kihara-san…" muttered Jason. "I don't know who messed with your files. The asbestos was a… gift…" He snored loudly and rolled over.

"Well," Motoharu said. "We know what Jason does during his free time. As you can see, his arm is wrapped up in his ability. He injured it pretty bad by accident. I heard it's healing, but he's keeping it protected." He moved the camera to the table where Kazari and Kuroko were talking. Ruiko seemed to have disappeared. "What happened to Saten-san?" he asked them.

"Someone stumbled and soaked her with drinks," Kazari said with a yawn. Her eyes were slowly closing and it was obvious she was about to pass out. She turned back to her conversation with Shirai. "What were you say…." She started to ask and then she slumped down on the table. All the alcohol finally finished her night.

"You're… lucky," Kuroko said, a loud yawn interrupting her words. "You have someone like him…" She died off and fell asleep.

"…I don't mind sharing…," Uiharu mumbled, eyes not opening. "If it's with you Shirai-san…" A moment later, both were fast asleep. The camera turned around and faced Motoharu again.

"Jason if you ever see this," Motoharu spoke up, a huge grin on his face. "Good luck man. But now we have to find the main target. Kami-yan should have made it to the hotel by now, assuming he didn't get kidnapped or tried to rescue someone." He made his way quickly to the hotel door and threw it open. The camera moved around the lobby, until it settled on a single person. "Looks like Kami-yan has established himself in his normal environment. From now on, I will remain hidden while we watch the events unfold. I heard the church was going to lay out blankets and sleeping pads in the lobby to accommodate everyone. It looks like they have already done that, though the alcohol might have made it unnecessary. But, let's focus on Kami-yan." The camera zoomed in on Touma in a precarious position. "It seems a new girl has taken action to get his attention." He crouched behind a couch, making sure to keep the camera on Touma.

Touma was tired to a sofa chair with Lessar sitting on his lap, arms wrapped around his neck.

"How can you still resist my advances?" Lessar asked. "I'm literally throwing myself at you?"

"Well," Touma replied, with a slight hiccup. "I barely know you and it seems like you want to take it kind of fast. Maybe we should get to know each other first?"

"Are you saying you want to date?" Lessar asked curiously and shift positions slightly. She suddenly smiled. "Your mind may be rejecting me, but your body is saying yes."

"I'm a guy," Touma said shrugging. "It happens regardless of what's happening around me."

"You seem oddly calm," Lessar pointed out, confusion on her face. "Did you finally accept me?"

"Am I in danger?" Touma asked, tilting his head slightly. "Besides, who would be scared to have a cute girl like them?"

"What…?" sputtered Lessar. "Q-quit turning the tables on me, I'm supposed to be seducing you."

"Nice one Kami-yan," Motoharu said quietly. "We are seeing the true power of the Kami Disease. Even someone as out spoken as Lessar isn't immune. Looks like she is about to have company though, let's see how this plays out."

"What are you doing?!" Itsuwa yelled and grabbed Lessar by the collar, while she was distracted. Itsuwa was surprisingly strong and threw Lessar halfway across the lobby. "Are you okay Kamijou-kun?"

"Yes," Touma answered. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You're tied up," Itsuwa pointed out.

"Oh," he looked down. "That's right I forgot." He looked back at her. "I see you're wearing the swimsuit you won. It looks good on you."

"A-ah t-thank you," Itsuwa stammered, looking down. It was white and black with the spider web design, The Mythic Spider Web Maid Swimsuit. It was a lot more revealing then what she was use to wearing, purposely covering the minimum for maximum appeal. She was then forced to duck, as Lessar tried to deliver a drop kick to her head. "What are you doing?"

"He's mine right now," Lessar told her. "You can wait your turn."

"I'm not going to stand by and let you force yourself on him," Itsuwa replied. "Besides, he's not yours."

"Oh you like him?" Lessar asked, smirking.

"Of course I do," Itsuwa said, her face red with a mixture of embarrassment and being drunk. "He's an amazing person." It was hard to tell if Lessar was actually drunk or not.

"Then I guess you won't be letting me continue," Lessar sighed, annoyed at the interruption. She and Itsuwa's eyes met. A moment later, they lunged at each other. It was lucky neither of them had their weapon, or the fight could have gotten messy. Before attacks started being exchanged, both of them received sharp blows to the top of their heads. They fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Thanks angel san," Touma told the newcomer. "It's not right for girls to fight."

"Looks like nee-chin has taken the lead," Motoharu whispered. "Her red face is telling me she is also suffering from alcohol. Now that she took out the other aggressive female mates, will she continue the offensive to grab the Harem King's heart? He's seems to be a pretty oblivious drunk. This is an important discovery to make use of for the future."

"Are you okay?" Kaori asked him as she reached down and untied him, while ignoring the name. If she hadn't been wasted, she might have realized she was giving Touma a full few of her assets. She was, after all, wearing the Fallen Angel Maid Outfit. With a pair of white wings jetting from her back, it's no wonder a drunken Touma referred to her as an angel. "You seem sort of out of it."

"Long day," Touma said. "It's been what, three days since we last slept."

"How many fingers am I holding up?" Kaori said, holding up three fingers. Her hand was shaking slightly, and she was swaying slightly. Obviously, she could still think somewhat clearly, but the magical alcohol was indeed having an effect.

"Six?" Touma guessed, as he stood up, and immediately stumbled. He felt right into Kaori's chest, nearly knocking her down. Luckily, it seemed she still had enough Saint strength to keep herself up. "Ah… soft…"

"W-what are you saying?" sputtered Kaori, turning even redder. By the panic look on her face, it was obvious she was thinking of pushing him away, but instead started looking around the room. The camera lost track of them, as Motoharu ducked behind the couch. A moment later, the camera moved and refocused on Kaori and Touma. Kaori was allowing him to lean up against her, and she had her arms wrapped around him. Touma was obviously comfortable, and Kaori had a combination of embarrassment and happiness on her face.

"Nee-chin is doing great," Motoharu muttered. "Kami-yan now has his onee-san type in an angel outfit, what more could he want? It seems like the accidental stumble technique scored a critical hit. This is an important day for science."

"What are you doing to my Touma?!" A girl's shrill voice echoed through the lobby. A pink and white blur ran toward them, grabbed Touma, and started to pull him from Kaori's embrace. "Get your own man. He's my prince."

"And Shokuhou-san makes her appearance," Motoharu whispered, as she zoomed in on the confrontation. "She is one of the stronger Kami-yan harem candidates. She's usually pretty calm, but looks like the alcohol is making her more vocal."

"He tripped and fell on me," Kaori explained quickly. "I was stopping him from falling."

"Liar," Misaki told her loudly. "It's obvious you're trying to take advantage of him in my absence, but that's not going to happen."

"Ah Misa-chan," Touma said, turning to look at her. "I had something to tell you," he frowned, "but I can't remember now." He looked down at her pink and white outfit with fairy wings, the Great Spirit Revealing Maid Outfit. It was obvious her chest was barely being contained by it, but it was also off her shoulders, making her look quite erotic. "Nice clothes, they really suit you. You're like a fairy."

"Ah thank you," Misaki turned, smiling sweetly at him, before turning back to Kaori. "I knew you were after him."

"Y-you're misunderstanding the situation," Kaori stuttered, but she still didn't let go of Touma. "I was just helping him as he stumbled."

"A likely story."

"I really did stumble," Touma reassured her. "I'm not feeling that well. I know I was trying to do something important…" He trailed off as he looked around. Misaki and Kaori had him pinned between them, but it looked like he was in a rather comfortable position.

"I believe you," Misaki told him. "But I don't trust this harlot."

"H-harlot?" Kaori stammered. "I told you…"

"You are still embracing him tightly!"

"So are you!"

"AH! Waz are yuh duing to Thouma," a drunken girl's voice called out.

"Looks like one of the top girls has entered the battle," Motoharu whispered, zooming in on Mikoto. "It's Mikoto Misaka, the third rank level 5, longtime rival with Shokuhou-san over Kami-yan's affection. She's known to be a huge tsundere, who has only just recently begun to open up... Judging by her voice, she's completely wasted. I wonder what is going to happen next, because with Kami-yan, anything is possible."

"Hey Miko-chan," Touma said turning to look at her. He paused to look at her red and black outfit with small devil wings, the Little Devil Flirting Maid outfit. In a lot of ways, it was similar to the Spirit Maid outfit Misaki was wearing, though Mikoto's modest chest wasn't nearly as prevalent, even with having her shoulders revealed. "Oh yea, I wanted to tell you something…"

"Whi hazn't chuu hung out wit meh lik tat," Mikoto complained, tearing up. "Az I thought, chuu preferz big boobz!" She burst into tears.

"Holy shit…" Motoharu muttered shocked. "She's so cute when she's drunk. This is an entire different level than before. I don't think even the Harem King is immune, look, he's making his move."

Touma was obviously in a similar mind set, as he broke free from Kaori's and Misaki's grasps. They seemed to be in shock of Mikoto's reaction too. He ran up to Mikoto and hugged her tightly. She opened her eyes and appeared to have stopped crying. "Come on Miko-chan, size isn't everything. Small ones have their own unique appeal. Each size is different but they all have their good points."

"Reely?" she sniffed.

"Would I lie to you," Touma said smiling.

"No," Mikoto admitted, hugging him back.

"Damn" Motoharu muttered, as the camera zoomed in. "Kami Disease is so strong under the effects of alcohol. It's making him smooth with the ladies. Oh, trouble's brewing…."

"Then you should go with my size," Lessar announced jumping on his back. Evidently, she had regained consciousness. "Not overly big, but still plenty for you." Touma stumbled and broke his contact with Mikoto.

"I told you no," Itsuwa said, pulling Lessar off him. She too had obviously regained consciousness. "Are you alright Kamijou-kun?" Touma nodded. "That's good…"

"Why don't you just wait your turn?" Lessar asked her. "Just because he would have more fun with me, even with your choice of clothing and obsessive chest, you…"

"O-Obsessive" Itsuwa stammered. "They are perfectly sized for me."

"Better than this harlot who tries to steal other girl's men," Misaki said, pointing to Kaori. "At least Lessar-san is honest with her intentions."

"I-I told you it wasn't like that," Kaori protested.

"Wat?" Mikoto asked. "Shesh afterz Thouma too?"

"Yea," Misaki confirmed and the two girls turned toward Kaori, their eyes flashing dangerously. A moment later they both began to berate Kaori while she tried desperately to defend herself.

"This is the most common flaw of harems that get to large," Motoharu said to the camera. "When the girls are unable to be with the main hero, they begin to start fighting. It looks like sub groups have formed, Lessar versus Itsuwa, and Mikoto and Misaki versus Nee-chin. It's up to Kami-yan to smooth things over, but will he be able to? Knowing him, he needs another couple of girls to balance out the groups."

"Can't we all just get along?" Touma asked them.

"No!" For the first time, they were all in sync. It must have been the alcohol and adrenaline flowing through their veins to make them forget what their primary objective was. Touma took a step back and rubbed his head. He obviously wasn't feely well, combination of alcohol and people yelling, and turned around to sit down on the sofa chair. He leaned back and looked up the ceiling, his eyes slowly closing.

"Are you alright Touma," a soft voice asked. His eyes opened and he turned his attention to the girl.

"Looks like Ruiko Saten has entered the fray," Motoharu announced softly. "With everyone else distracted, she has a clear field to score some points and level up. When the alphas fight, the betas get a chance to shine."

"Just tired and I have a headache," Touma told Ruiko. He eyed her up and down. She was wearing a normal black and white maid uniform, and was holding a stack of clothes in her hand. While the maid outfit wasn't revealing, like many of the others had, it had something to cause Touma to stare at her a little longer then he did the others.

"Saten-san seems to have attracted the Harem King's attention," Motoharu commented, amusement evident in his voice. "You know, there's something about her wearing a normal uniform like that. She really shines in it. Wait… dang… it's affecting me too. Is this a start of a female Kami-yan?"

"What's with the pile of clothes?" Touma asked.

"Well," Ruiko explained. She might have sobered up slightly, as her words were no longer slurring. "We were outside and a nun tripped, dropping several drinks on me. All my clothes got soaked completely even my…. Well, just say I had nothing dry anymore. She apologized and pushed me into the hotel were they gave me this set of dry clothes to wear." She sighed. "I told them I could have just gone upstairs to change, but they didn't listen. I was going to take my clothes to the washing machine," she motioned to the clothes on top, "and they asked if I could take a couple of other things too." She looked over at the others. "I'll be back in a minute if you want to talk."

"Sounds fun," Touma answered and Ruiko beamed at him. She turned and started to move faster than she should have, causing her to stumbled. Her clothes, on the top of the pile, fell to the ground and, with her hands full, she wasn't able to pick it up. "I got it," he told her, and picked up her clothes.

"Thanks," Ruiko said sincerely. "Just throw them on, I'll be right back." Touma nodded and tossed her pants and shirt on the pile. She ran off a moment later. He turned to sit back down, but bent over to pick up an item he noticed he had missed. He turned to give it to Ruiko, but she was already gone. He shrugged and sat back down.

"Heeey Kamijou," Frenda said, as she jumped up on the back of his chair. Touma looked up to see her smiling face.

"Haven't seen you in a while Frenda," Touma told her. "Where have you been?"

"Basically, I was interested in meeting people," Frenda exclaimed. "And then everyone started talking about maids and swimsuits. I heard the third and fifth talking about it too, and I knew Mugino couldn't lose to them. It took a while, but I found an outfit for her."

"Huh, really?" Touma asked. He apparently hadn't been listening. He was being distracted by all the other girls still arguing, not too far from him. Frenda frowned at his nonchalant answer.

"Here she comes now," Frenda pointed. Touma turned to look in the direction she was pointing. His jaw dropped. Motoharu quickly turned the camera in the same direction.

"Damn..," Motoharu muttered. "Kami-yan, you unbelievable lucky b#$&^%. A new alpha female has entered the mating lair and seems to be ready to dominate." Shizuri was walking toward Touma, in a white and black Gothic maid outfit. It wasn't revealing like the Angel, Little Devil, or Spirit maid outfits but, like when she wore the swimsuit, she emitted an aura of confidence and filled it out well. There really was a difference between high school girls and middle school girls. She walked up boldly to Touma and stared down at him for a moment, before leaning down, until her face was close to his.

"Someone had to show these brats how to wear an outfit," she told him. "Don't you agree I look better than them?"

"Umm… er…" Touma stammered, trying to find the right words.

"I take it as a yes," Shizuri said, smirking. "Frenda wanted to wear something special for you, but couldn't find anything. Really, you two just need to go up into a room together."

"MUGINO!" Frenda whined.

"Anyway," Shizuri said, ignoring her. "Since all of them," she motioned to the girls fighting and oblivious to them, "are obviously busy and everyone outside is asleep. Want to come upstairs with Frenda and me? I'm sure we can find something to do, even if you pretend to be tired." Frenda's eyes widened and her face turned red, but she didn't protest. Instead, she looked away, unable to face either of them.

"Bam," Motoharu said. "Mugino-san is going for a sure fire one hit KO. Will it be enough to break the dense shell of Kami-yan, or will she need to go even furth…" He was interrupted before he could finish his comment.

"Ghet awaysh fom him," Mikoto demanded, noticing Shizuri's advances. The other girls turned to see who she was referring too.

"Ah," Lessar cried. "She tried to get him when we were distracted."

"You're sneakier then I thought," Misaki said, glaring. "Why don't you just admit you're after him?"

"Sure why not," Shizuri said shrugging. "Frenda and I are going to take him, regardless of what you all do. So why not just run along before someone gets hurt?" Mikoto's and Misaki's mouths fell open. They obviously didn't expect her to go right out and admit it.

"And Mugino-san has made a bold declaration of war," Motoharu announced. "This is sure to cause waves in the harem. If Kami-yan doesn't do something soon, this could get messy."

"It sounds like you consider him property," Itsuwa accused.

"He is my property," Shizuri declared broadly, smirking simultaneously.

"He's no one's property," Kaori told her.

"Weren't you called a Saint?" Frenda asked her. "Basically, you look like a succubus." Shizuri gave her a slight nod at the insult.

"W-what?!" Kaori gasped in shock.

"Ai wonch leth you half him," Mikoto told her, as she begun to spark slightly.

"Looking for a fight in the middle of the hotel?" Shizuri asked. "Sounds fun, but don't blame me for the collateral damage." A green orb appeared on either side of her.

"If it's a fight you want," Lessar said, cracking her knuckles. "I'll be happy to oblige…" She trailed off and look to her right. Everyone else turned to see what she was staring at. Touma had stood up and started walking across the hotel lobby. He was staggering slightly, until he was standing on one of the large blankets the nuns had placed. He laid down, spreading out his arms and legs, and promptly fell asleep. All the girls stared at him for a moment, before they burst out laughing. The sheer absurdity of his actions appeared to have caused all of them to forget the animosity between each other. A couple of them staggered, alcohol kicking in, and yawned.

Mikoto and Misaki were the closest to Touma and managed to get to him first. They immediately positioned themselves next to him. Shizuri frowned but decided to lay against Touma's leg, while Frenda took the other. Itsuwa and Kaori took positions near Touma's head. Lessar crossed her arms in annoyance, before crawling on top of him. All of their eyes were glazed over and had red faces. Motoharu stood up and was about to get closer, when a movement forced him back to his hiding spot. The camera zoomed in on Agnese, as she emerged from a hallway. "Looks like someone was watching the entire thing too," Motoharu said. "That's Agnese, a nun here in England. She also likes our hero."

"You guys seem like such a fun group," she yawned. She looked around and then crawled into the pile of girls around Touma.

"Touma?" Index's voice rang out across the silent room and the camera zoomed in on Index. She staggered into the lobby and looked around. She bumped into a couch, and then into a table. "Touma?" she called out again. "I'm tired. Where are you?" She nearly tripped on Kaori and she looked down at Touma surrounded by girls. For a moment, a dark aura engulfed her, Touma twitched slightly, but then then aura disappeared. Index's head drooped slightly and she got down onto the floor and snuggled up between Misaki and Kaori. She was fast asleep only seconds later.

"And here I thought…" Motoharu started to say, but stopped when Ruiko reentered the lobby. The camera zoomed onto her confused face, as she looked around. She didn't see everyone sleeping on the floor.

"Did everyone go to bed already?" Ruiko asked out loud. "I was hoping we could do shumthin…"she couldn't stifle a yawn. "Maybe it's not such a bad idea." She took a couple steps past a couch before she noticed the pile of girls on the floor, and Touma nestled snuggly in between them all. "No, I'm too late. There's no room next to him." She looked at everyone closely, and then looked around the room. "Shirai-san isn't here sooo…" She grinned and moved to the other side of Mikoto. Ruiko snuggle up next to Mikoto and fell asleep.

"Looks like the battle for dominance has been postponed," Motoharu said, standing up and bringing the camera closer to girls. His voice got quiet, as he continued, and slowly moved the camera over everyone, before ending on Touma. "This documentary is one of the first clearly recorded observations of Kami the Harem King. You saw how he quickly diffused his harem's argument into getting them to sleep with him. He knew he couldn't break up their argument by trying to jump in, so he drew their attention away from each other and onto him. By falling asleep, he nonverbally informed them he didn't approve of their argument. They fell for it hook, line, and sinker. The amount of experience he received must have upped his level by at least five. The excitement has finally died down and I will be signing off until next…" He stopped when Touma muttered something.

"MIko-chan…" he said sleepily.

"Yesh?"

"It's after midnight. Happy birthday."

"Yur te besh…," she replied, a smile on her face, before going into a deep sleep.

"Damn Kami-yan," Motoharu whispered. "Even asleep your skills are god like." The camera shut off.

* * *

"So," Motoharu said, turning off the camera. "Was it everything you hoped and dream it was?" His grin was plastered onto his face as he watched Touma's reaction.

Touma had been watching in stunned silence, his brain barely being able to process what he just saw. The conversations involving Accelerator and Jason were pretty interesting to him. _Accelerator's pretty mellow when he's drunk. Though, looks like a couple girls are into him, from both sides. Jason's still about the same, well, before he passes out. Uiharu and Kuroko's conversation though… Jason probably shouldn't hear that ever._ He buried his face in his hands after observing the scene in the hotel lobby. Lessar acted exactly like normal, bold and not embarrassed to mention anything sexual. Itsuwa actions surprised him. He had always thought she was just normally a helpful and friendly person, but after seeing the tape, he realized she had feelings for him. _This is going to make things awkward when I see her._ His ears burned when he remembered the revealing swim suit she was wearing, which really advertised her beauty.

Then there was the issue with Kaori. When he saw her stop Lessar and Itsuwa, he was grateful, but couldn't understand why she was wearing the outfit. _She looked amazing in it._ When he saw himself stumble into her chest, he felt a sense of dread, thinking he was going pay dearly. He didn't expect her to embrace him against her chest. _Why can't I remember that?_ He was feeling a lot of conflicting emotions. If he thought about it, Kaori was his perfect dream girl. She was older, kind, caring, smart, and was quite beautiful. He looked up to her and respected her greatly, especially how much Kaori cared about her friends, like Index. Motoharu's comments made him think Kaori might have feelings for him, but he knew that couldn't be true. _It must have been the alcohol magnifying her caring nature. She could have anyone she wants. I'm just a normal high school student._

He was actually use to Misaki's and Mikoto's antics, since he knew they both liked him. He felt bad about not giving either of them a proper answer, but he had a lot of conflicting emotions in his chest. His main reason was he was afraid if he chose one, his friendship with the other would end. He liked having both of them as friends. Finding out more girls might like him was just making things more complicated. He couldn't believe the embarrassing nicknames he called them while he was drunk. He was really surprised Mikoto didn't shock him for calling her that, because she always seemed to hate people calling her nicknames. Only Kuroko was able to do it on a regular basis. His face burned as his thoughts traveled to the costumes they wore. He really wasn't sure who wore theirs better. Misaki might have had better physical proportions, but seeing Mikoto in the devil outfit really had an impact on him. _Damn, she is so cute the way she talks when she's drunk. I almost had a nosebleed._

Then there was Ruiko. Normally, she dragged people like Kazari and Mikoto into things with her but, when she was drunk, she seemed to be doing what other's asked. Touma didn't want to admit it, but he felt Motoharu's narrating was on point with her. Even wearing a normal, nonrevealing, maid uniform, she had this dazzling aura around her. Touma really didn't know how to put it, but it was just like the nurse outfit she wore. The outfits felt like they belonged on her. Shizuri was similar, but instead of dazzling aura, it was more sophisticated and adult like one. _She is really attractive. If she didn't have the… attitude… from working in the dark side of Academy City, she could easily be the most popular level 5._

"Day dreaming of your time with all the girls?" Motoharu asked, waving his hand in front of Touma's face. Touma realized Motoharu had still been talking, but he hadn't been paying attention. "Are you finally ready to admit you have a harem?"

"I don't have a harem," Touma denied vigorously. "I'll admit some of them do have feelings for me, if it will make you happy."

"Some of them?" Motoharu winked at him and Touma replied with a glare.

"I'm just glad nothing really bad happened," Touma sighed. "When I woke up next to them all, couldn't remember what happened, and found myself holding a girl's underwear, I thought I might have done something unforgiveable."

"Is that why you are still holding onto them?" Motoharu asked, pointing to the purple panties that Touma was clutching tightly in his hands.

"Ah!" Touma exclaimed and dropped them on the bench. "I forgot I still had them."

"Sure you did," Motoharu said grinning.

"I'm not a pervert like you and Aogami," Touma told him, and then he sighed. "How am I going to give it back to her?"

"You could sneak it into their room before they wake up?" Motoharu suggested.

"That's… not a bad idea actually," Touma admitted, thinking. "It would be easier than trying to give it back to her directly."

"You might be too late though," Motoharu told him, turning around.

"Why?"

"Everyone is getting up," Motoharu informed him, throwing his thumb back to the hotel. Touma turned around and looked through the hotel window. He saw movement in the lobby. Kaori had stood up, look down at herself, and then disappeared. She literally disappeared with her Saint speed, which Touma was not able to follow with his eyes. "It looks like she's embarrassed." Motoharu laughed. Touma took the opportunity to grab the camera out of Motoharu's hands, while he was distracted. He popped out the memory card, threw it to the ground, and crushed it with his foot. "Really? Jason is going to be pissed."

"I'll pay it back," Touma said. "I'm not letting you have that tape to embarrass my friends. I'll have to apologize to them all for destroying the pictures at the beach."

"Always worried about others," Motoharu said, with a huge grin. "I had brought that memory card and used it. All the pictures from earlier are still up in our room. I also made backups in case you tried something like that. That documentary was too important to risk losing it and you are ten years too early to out think me."

"I hate you," Touma sighed defeated.

"Cheer up Kami-yan," Motoharu told him, putting his arm around his shoulder. "Let's enjoy the girl's confusion after they all wake up." Touma sighed, realizing any arguing was going to be pointless, and allowed Motoharu to direct him back toward the hotel.

"I am so glad I was not there when they woke up," Touma muttered, glad he had least a tiny shred of luck. He and Motoharu peaked through the window, as the other girls woke up. It seemed when Kaori had woken up, the movement caused a chain reaction. They girls looked confused at where they were, but quickly started pointing at each other's outfit. Itsuwa, Agnese, Ruiko, and Mikoto seemed to be the most embarrassed and rush up to their rooms. Misaki seemed to be interested in her outfit, but she too headed upstairs. Shizuri hit Frenda, hard, on the head and dragged her upstairs. Index woke up and looked around, before heading toward the door that led outside. Touma quickly grabbed the underwear and shoved it into his pocket. _I don't think I could explain that to her right now._

"Touma!" she cried weakly when she noticed him. "What happened last night? Ow, my head hurts." She walked up to him and laid down on the bench. "It feels like that one time at Last Order's apartment."

"Someone must have accidently added alcohol to the drinks," Touma told her. "It seems like everyone was affected by that."

"Who would be so mean?" Index moaned.

"I guess they just didn't know what they were pouring," Motoharu said. He had a pretty good idea who did it. A group of girls started laughing loudly and Touma and Motoharu turned to see what the commotion was about. They recognized Accelerator standing up, wiping at his face with his hands, while Worst rolled on the ground with laughter. Several other girls, including Bayloupe, Floris, and Last Order were also laughing. "I guess he found out what Worst did."

"Looks like it," Touma muttered, as they watched Accelerator turn and try to catch Worst, who was running away. "I have to admit, not many people would be brave enough to do that. Want to see if Jason's awake?"

"Sure."

"I'm going to wait here," Index told him and Touma patted her head reassuringly. Motoharu grinned, but didn't say anything. They walked over to the table Kuroko and Kazari were sitting at. Both of them were awake, but clutching their head. It was the same scene all along the tables on either side of them. The nuns had obviously been drinking a lot, unaware it was alcoholic. Jason, however, was still sprawled out on the grass, sound asleep.

"He's not a morning person is he?" Motoharu asked Touma.

"Not on his days off," Touma told him and walked up to Jason. Touma prodded him with his foot. "You okay?"

"I swear Touma…" Jason mumbled and turned over on his side. "If you wake me… with your harem antics… I'm throwing you out the window…." He obviously was not going to get up.

"He's such a slacker," Kuroko muttered, still clutching her head. "Someone make the pounding stop."

"What happened last night?" Kazari asked. She was also holding her head, but seemed to be slightly more alert than Kuroko.

"Someone must have accidently served alcohol," Touma told her.

"Your voice is so loud ape," Kuroko complained. "Who would do something so stupid?"

"Jason," Kazari told him. "You need to get up." Jason muttered something incoherent.

"I'll get him up," Motoharu told them. He walked over to Jason and leaned down next to him. "You just need to know what to say." He grinned and said loudly. "Shirai-san is teleporting Uiharu-san's clothes off." Those words provoked a response and Jason sat up immediately.

"What?" Jason asked, then groaned and grabbed his head. "Arg, what the… Did someone serve us all alcohol, it feels like a hangover."

"How do you know what a hangover feels like?" Motoharu asked him interestingly.

"Shut up," Jason growled, as he stood up slowly and sat down on the bench next to Kazari. He still was clutching his head.

"Serves you right," Kuroko told him.

"Thanks for caring so much," Jason told her, leaning up against Kazari, who leaned back against him. "You okay?" he asked her.

"Just a bad headache," Kazari said and Jason wrapped his arm around her.

"Where's onee-sama and Saten-san?" Kuroko asked, looking around.

"I saw them head up to their rooms a little while ago," Touma told her.

"Onee-sama," Kuroko declared, standing up. "I can't let you suffer the pain of a hangover by yourself… ouch." She had stood up to fast and the pain in her head doubled. She was forced to sit back down or risk collapsing. "She better be fine ape," she growled at Touma.

"I'm sure she's fine," Motoharu interrupted, Touma before he could say anything. "She was just a little red." He snickered.

"Shut up idiot," Touma hissed at him. Kuroko looked at them suspiciously, before looking up.

"Onee-sama!" Kuroko yelled out, as Mikoto made her way toward them, with Ruiko and Misaki close behind her. Jason and Kazari clutched their heads as she yelled, along with several other nearby nuns. Mikoto flinched slightly too, but she was far enough away to avoid the worst of it.

"Keep your voice down," Mikoto told Kuroko, as she rubbed her head. Her eyes were slightly blood shot and she looked like she was in pain.

"What happened last night?" Ruiko asked them, she didn't look any better.

"Someone accidently gave everyone some strong alcohol," Touma told them. "We don't know who though. Everyone's just started to wake up."

"How come you two don't seem to be suffering," Jason asked.

"From what I was told," Touma answered. "The alcohol was infused with magic, so it could be stored easier, before being mixed with water to serve a large number of people. That's why it was so strong for everyone."

"Ah then your hand negated it as it spread through your body," Jason finished. "Makes sense, lucky b#$%&^$."

"What about you?" Ruiko asked Motoharu.

"I recognized alcohol was in my drink," Motoharu told her and shrugged. "I didn't drink any. I figured it was a mistake, but didn't realize it was so potent." Touma frowned slightly at his explanation, knowing he was lying through his teeth.

 _He didn't tell anyone, because he wanted to watch._

"Uh Shokuhou-san," Kazari asked. "You have been really quiet. Are you okay?"

"Oh," Misaki said looking at her. By the look on her face and the fact she was rubbing her head, she was also feeling the effects of a hangover, but she also appeared distracted, like she was thinking. "None of us remembered what happened, but when we woke up…."

"Please don't talk about that," Mikoto pleaded, turning bright red.

"What happened?" Kuroko asked curiously, and Touma began to dread the direction the conversation was heading. "When I woke up it was just use three." She gestured to Jason and Kazari. "We were then joined by those two." She pointed to Touma and Motoharu.

"We were in the lobby," Misaki told Kuroko, as she took a seat. "We all woke up next to each other, someone had set up blankets. The alcohol would explain why we don't remember what happened or why we were wearing those outfits…"

"Outfits?" Motoharu asked, feigning curiosity while ignoring Touma's glares. "What do you mean?"

"I was wearing a pink and white fairy outfit," Misaki told him, but was looking at Touma. _I should show him it sometime._ She thought the outfit was really cute, but normally wouldn't have shown it to anyone except Touma. She was surprised Touma wasn't near her, since she thought she vaguely remembered seeing him. "I vaguely remember finding it, but not sure what happened next. Misaka-san here was wearing a black and red devil outfit." Misaki grinned mischievously. "It really suited you."

"Be quiet," Mikoto snapped, while Kuroko's eyes grew wide and then glazed over, as she imagined it. Mikoto was mortified by the outfit. It was so revealing, compared to what she normally wore, and she hated wearing really girly clothes like that. It was one of the reasons she preferred shorts under her skirts. She preferred simple and comfortable clothes. She had no idea what happened, but she was relieved none of the guys saw her. Motoharu, Jason, and Accelerator might have let her off with just a little teasing, but she felt like she would have died if Touma saw her.

"I was wearing a maid outfit too," Ruiko said, narrowing her forehead as she thought about it. "But I don't know why."

"I seemed to remember you getting a lot of drinks spilt on you," Kazari told her.

"Oh," Ruiko said, raising an eyebrow. "I guess that explains why I was missing my…. Er, never mind." She wasn't going to mention the embarrassing article of clothing she was missing, especially in front of the guys. If it was just the girls, she might have told them. She purposely avoided the looks from Kazari and Kuroko, and instead focused on Misaki and Mikoto.

"Speaking of which," Mikoto said, her eyes spotting Accelerator chasing Worst around and causing her to smile. "What did you do yesterday? We know where everyone else was." Touma felt the sweat form as everyone's faces turned toward him. He could feel Motoharu laughing at him silently, and Jason raised an eyebrow, he knew something happened too.

"Well," Touma said thinking fast. _Make something up, anything._ "I actually don't remember much either. I just woke up earlier than others, most likely, as Jason said, because of my hand."

"He was pretty wasted," Motoharu grinned, and slapped Touma on the back. For once, he was planning to help Touma out of the jam, because of all the entertainment value he had already received. "But he mostly just slept…" He stopped because Touma had staggered forward from the surprise blow. His head was still hurting, and he tripped and fell. Touma quickly stood back up, but everyone else was staring at the ground. When Touma had tripped, something happened.

The panties he had stuffed in his pocket had fallen onto the ground.

Everyone was silent as they looked at it. _I am so dead now. How am I going to explain this?_

"Touma?" Ruiko asked, breaking the silence. "Why do you have my…?"

"So you were there," Misaki said. "I knew you had to be, but are you really into girl's panties? You could have just asked me."

"Here take mine!" Lessar declared, jumping on Touma's shoulders and shoving her striped underwear into his other hand. "Now you have something to remember me by. I didn't realize you were so kinky." She had been listening and chose the perfect time, according to her logic, to enter the conversation.

"Lessar?" Touma asked bewildered, stunned by the surprise attack. "What are you…. No wait…. I don't want…" He suddenly felt a shiver down his spine as he turned toward Mikoto. She had a vein throbbing in her head and the corner of her mouth was twitching.

"How much do you remember?" Mikoto asked.

"Mikoto," Touma said holding out a hand. "There's no need to…"

"How much?" she demanded and everyone else took several steps back.

"Uh…" was the only word he was able to utter, and it was enough for her to understand. The sound of crackling electricity was the only thing heard followed by a loud scream.

* * *

The nuns were finishing cleaning up the aftermath of the party, but Touma wasn't able to help. He was prostrating himself on the floor in the hotel lobby in front of the girls. Accelerator had noticed the explosion and came to investigate, along with Worst. Motoharu had given him a brief rundown and he and Worst couldn't stop laughing for several minutes. Index also heard what happened, but wasn't nearly as amused. Touma still had the bite marks to prove it. He spent a good fifteen minutes explaining everything he saw from the video and the fact he destroyed the memory card. He did conveniently forget to mention Motoharu made copies though.

"I understand," Ruiko told him, helping Touma to his feet. "Thanks for explaining. I know you aren't the type to do something like that."

"I might have… overreacted," Mikoto muttered, embarrassed at her outburst.

"Might?" Misaki asked her, disapproval in her voice.

"You luck is as bad as usual," Jason commented.

"But now you get to imagine the brats in those outfits forever," Accelerator laughed, causing Mikoto and Ruiko to turn red.

"I don't mind," Misaki said, putting a finger up to her cheek, eyes sparkling.

"Don't you dare imagine onee-sama you ape," Kuroko told him. "Only I get to imagine it."

"Don't you imagine it either," Mikoto said, hitting her on the head.

"Toumaaa!" Index said dangerously, and Touma felt like he was about to receive another round of injuries. Luckily, he was saved by Last Order.

"Look! MISAKA shouts as MISAKA points to the door. Komoe-sensei is back MISAKA explains quickly." Everyone turned and saw their short, pink haired, teacher enter the building, looking incredibly worried and upset.

"Komoe-sensei," Touma, Motoharu, and Jason all called out waving. Komoe looked up and made a beeline straight toward them. When she got close, they saw tears in her eyes.

"I was so worried about you all," Komoe said through the tears. "After the terrorists attacked London, I feared the worst. The English military evacuated everyone to safe locations, but they wouldn't tell me what happened to you all."

"Terrorists?" Touma whispered, aware everyone else was listening too, as Last Order and Index ran forward to console her.

"Official story of what happened," Motoharu told him. "I saw it on the news this morning. They could hardly say the princess caused the massive destruction of England."

"And then," Komoe continued, sniffing slightly, "After everyone was free to leave, they kept me back." She was silent for a moment then burst out, half angrily and half upset, "They didn't believe I was an adult, even after I showed them my ID. They said I had to stay back until my parents arrived. They finally called in and confirmed I was an adult." Everyone, except Last Order, Index, and Kazari, had to work hard to conceal their grins. Komoe wiped her eyes and smiled. "I am glad you are all okay and the trouble is over. I'm going up stairs to change." She left after giving each one of them a hug, even Accelerator, who looked like he didn't want to be there. After she left, Itsuwa waved to them from the kitchen and Ruiko nodded in response.

"Misaka-san," Ruiko said. "Can you help me for a moment upstairs? For some reason, one of the electrical locks on my suitcase seems to be malfunctioning. Can you help me with it?"

"Sure," Mikoto said, and they both headed up stairs. As soon as they were out of fight, Kuroko turned to them all, as Itsuwa approached them.

"Ok," Kuroko told them. "Saten-san is distracting onee-sama so we can get everything for her party. Itsuwa-san, is the cake ready?"

"Yep," Itsuwa told her. "Just finished and Agnese is moving the tables in the back as we speak."

"It's Sparky's birthday?" Lessar asked. "Oh, I know just what she would like."

"Great," Kuroko replied, turning back to the others. "Go get your gifts and set them outside quick." She glared at Touma. "As much as I don't like it, she would be upset if you didn't get her a gift. You did get her one, didn't you?"

"Yes," Touma nodded, glad his gift was safely upstairs and wasn't on him during the excitement. _With my luck, it would be shattered into a million pieces._

"Yay MISAKA cheers as MISAKA looks forward to revealing her present."

"What's this about a party?" Shizuri asked, entering the lobby. She appeared slightly tired, but seemed to be looking just like she would have on a normal day. Frenda, Saiai, and Rikou were right behind her.

 _She cleans up well,_ Touma thought. _You couldn't even tell she had been drinking yesterday._

"It's onee-sama's birthday," Kuroko told her.

"We don't have a present," Shizuri said, yawning slightly. "Shame." Kuroko glared at her. She didn't really care for Shizuri and her friends because of the way they acted toward Mikoto. Out of all of them, Rikou was the most quiet and seemed to avoid the conflicts, the rest seemed to relish in it.

"But you should come anyway," Misaki told them sweetly. "I'm sure she would enjoy have the pleasure of your company." Everyone looked at her, slightly surprised, but Shizuri and Accelerator knew the truth. Misaki knew Mikoto didn't like Shizuri, so it was just entertaining for her to have them together.

"I love parties," Frenda said excitedly. "But it's so bad to show up to one without a present. I have to get her something later to make up for it."

"I super don't have anything better to do," Saiai said, her hands behind her head. She glanced over at Accelerator, who raised an eyebrow at her. She quickly looked away.

"…I would enjoy cake…" Rikou added.

"Fine," Shizuri sighed. She didn't have any real reason to refuse, except just not liking Mikoto, but the rest of her team enjoyed parties.

"Let's do this quick," Kuroko told them all. "I don't know how long Saten-san can keep her occupied."

* * *

Mikoto sighed, as she and Ruiko walked back downstairs. She felt like Ruiko was purposely keeping her up in their room. When Mikoto examined her suitcase lock, it appeared to be working fine, even though Ruiko seemed surprise it was working. Then Ruiko seemed to be missing her phone and they started tearing apart the room looking for it, until they found it in her suitcase. Ruiko was apologizing for wasting her time, even though Mikoto wasn't really upset. They entered the empty lobby, surprised no one was there, and went out back.

"Surprise!"

Mikoto was greeted by everyone sitting at two tables pushed together. Kuroko, Touma, Jason, Kazari, Frenda, Index, Last Order, Itsuwa, Agnese, Motoharu, Lessar, and Komoe were the ones who actually shouted out and sounded excited. Misaki said it too, but was more subdued. Accelerator, Worst, Shizuri, Saiai, and Rikou were also there, but they didn't appear to be as excited like the others. Mikoto turned to Ruiko, "So you were the distraction?" Mikoto couldn't keep the smile off her face.

"Someone had to," Ruiko replied, also grinning. "Now why don't you go open you're your presents then we can have cake for breakfast." They both laughed and Mikoto sat down. Naturally, Kuroko was the first to present her present.

"Open mine first onee-sama," Kuroko said excitedly.

Mikoto stared at box decorated with gold wrapping paper. It looked innocent, but she knew Kuroko well enough to be skeptical. "You remember what I told you about trying to give me something perverted, right?"

"Er…" Kuroko responded, avoiding eye contact. That was the warning flag for Mikoto and she unwrapped the present, but then carefully opened the corner of the box to peek inside. She closed the box immediately and glared at Kuroko, who was whistling innocently.

"KUROKO!" Mikoto yelled, her face turning crimson. "There's no way I could wear these."

"But you need more feminine clothes," Kuroko protested.

"There's a big difference between feminine and this," Mikoto told her. Jason and Motoharu were cracking up, and Misaki was not concealing her grin at all. Touma, Ruiko, and Kazari knew Kuroko long enough to realize what she must have gotten Mikoto. Index, Last Order, and Komoe didn't and were slightly confused about Mikoto's reactions. While Mikoto was distracted, Frenda peeked into the box.

"Hey Mugino," she said. "These are almost as erotic as your stuff back home." Shizuri coughed on her water, spun around, and hit Frenda hard on the head. Accelerator actually let out a short bark like laugh, at Frenda's comment and Shizuri's reaction.

 _This might be more entertaining then I realized,_ Accelerator thought.

"If you don't want them," Lessar said. "I'll take them. I could use them on someone." Touma felt a shiver down his spine.

"Now I super want to know what's in there," Saiai said, but Mikoto took the box and hid it under her seat to avoid anyone else looking at it.

"Here you go Misaka-san," Kazari said, interrupting everyone and pushing a red present forward. "This is from Jason and me."

"Thanks," Mikoto said and opened it. Unlike Kuroko, she opened it normally, without fear of its contents. She held up a black T-shirt, designed to be off the shoulders. "This is…"

"That's the shirt that got burned awhile back, right?" Kazari asked. "I didn't really get a chance to see it, but Jason was sure that's the same one."

"It is," Mikoto said, giving Kazari a hug. "Thanks, I love it." Then she gave Jason a quick hug.

"I told you she would like it," Kazari told Jason.

"I never said she wouldn't," Jason replied. "But I think the other gift would have been better and more unique."

"What was it?" Motoharu asked.

"It was a full sized…" Jason started to say, but Kazari covered his mouth with her hands.

"Don't tell them," Kazari told him and Jason winked at Motoharu.

"MISAKA wants you to open MISAKA'S gift next MISAKA shouts as MISAKA pushes her present forward."

"Thank you," Mikoto said kindly and unwrapped the green present. She noticed the tag said from Last Order, Accelerator, and Worst but it was all written in Last Order's hand writing. She opened it and pulled out a cute stuffed Gekota doll. "Wow thank you. "It's adorable." She gave Last Order a big hug, and then looked at Accelerator.

"Don't you dare," he growled and Mikoto stuck her tongue out at him.

"Aww," Worst said. "Tou-san is afraid of physical contact."

"Shut up."

"Here you go Misaka-san," Motoharu said, pushing forward an envelope. "I kind of found out last minute about your birthday, so I hope you like it." Mikoto opened it and pulled out a gift card to the mall near Tokiwadai.

"It great," she said. "Thank you."

"Here you go Misaka-san," Misaki said, pushing forward a flatter style box. While she had a rivalry with Mikoto, including their relationship with Touma, she still liked to keep up appearances and giving a gift during someone's birthday was only proper. Mikoto opened it and held up a box of chocolate.

"Thank you Shokuhou-san," Mikoto told her. "These look delicious." She was surprised Misaki gave her a gift, but was more surprised it wasn't just a gag gift. _Unless these are spiked with laxatives or something. I should be careful._

"Try not to eat them all at once," Misaki suggested, smiling innocently. "Yu don't want to lose your figure." Mikoto gave her an insincere smile back. That was the Misaki she knew. Shizuri and Accelerator grinned, sensing the tension in the air.

"Open mine next," Ruiko said, pushing a sunshine yellow package at Mikoto. Mikoto opened it and pulled out a small radio. "I remember you saying your last radio got short circuited and the dorms only allowed you up to a certain size. I hope it's within regulation. This one is also supposed to be resistant to electricity, so hopefully it will avoid any accidents."

"The size looks fine," Mikoto said, and gave her a hug. "Thanks, I will definitely use it." She liked to listen to music when studying. The reason her old one broke, was because she woke up one morning in a precarious position, with Kuroko hiding under her sheets. She had accidently let out a larger shock then normal and her radio was fried. She was looking forward to having one again.

"Sorry we don't have a present," Frenda said. "We only just found out it was your birthday. I promise to give you one later."

'It's fine really," Mikoto told her. _Maybe Frenda isn't all bad, but she did try to kill me once._

"Here Mikoto," Touma said pushing a blue package toward her. "This is from Index and me." Mikoto looked at it for a moment before opening it. It was a wooden box with intricate designs carved on it. It looked like a jewelry box, and the side of it opened up to reveal a small compartment. When she opened it up from the top though, she couldn't make any sound. It was a music box and a soft pleasant melody reached her ears, but that wasn't what shocked her. Inside were two small figures, one Gekota and one Pyonko. They were moving around in a circle as the music played, almost like they were dancing.

 _He had to have made this himself,_ she thought. The music box was obviously store bought, but the figurines wouldn't have come with it. Touma must have gotten them all separately and put them together to suit her tastes. "I love it," she said softly. "Thanks." She heard Shizuri mutter something about it being childish, but Mikoto ignored her. She was too happy to worry about her attitude. She carefully closed the lid and moved it out of the way. She noticed Index wasn't staring at the gift, but rather the cake.

"Open mine Sparky," Lessar told her and pushed a box toward her. "Sorry it's not wrapped, but I was in a hurry to get it."

"Stop calling me that," Mikoto said, slightly annoyed, but opened the present. She pulled out a silk sheet, kind of like a small blanket. "This looks nice."

"You can use it as a blanket," Lessar whispered, so the others couldn't here. "But if you wrap it around your chest while you sleep, it's supposed to help with your bust size."

"W-what…" Mikoto sputtered.

"Up to you Sparky," Lessar laughed and backed away quickly to avoid any accidental discharge.

"Who's ready for cake?" Agnese asked, as she and Itsuwa brought over the cake. It was just a large normal round cake, with 'Happy 15th Birthday' on it and lit candles.

"Don't forget to make a wish," Itsuwa told her and Mikoto grinned. Mikoto blew out the candles, while her friends clapped and sung to her. Being there, surrounded by her friends, having received a lot of great gifts, being overseas on vacation, and having Touma pay attention only to her, she was having one of the best birthdays of her life.

She really didn't have a need for a wish.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Oh just for fun, special prize to the first person who posts what Jason wanted to give as a present. Hint: Japanese Culture. Not sure what the prize will be, was debating giving them the opportunity to do opening comments next chapter, but that might not work out well. I'm sure we can think of something.**

 **Next chapter will be the last one for Season Two. Couple things have to happen before the leave England.**

 **Motoharu: Nice one Kami-yan. You scored major points with Misaka-san.**

 **Touma: I'm glad she liked it. After what happened that morning, I was worried.**

 **Pierce: Speaking on your harem, I got this letter from Haku Katsuki. He wants to know "If Fukiyose and Himegami join to Kamijou's harem, does it mean Kamijou has a whole set of harem?"**

 **Touma: I don't have a …**

 **Jason: Shush, I want to hear this.**

 **Motoharu: I think we are all on one mind, but I'll let Aogami answer it.**

 **Pierce: It's obviously his set it incomplete. He doesn't even have a cat girl or bunny girl. Those two are essential for a complete collection. While his harem is growing, it's nowhere near complete.**

 **Jason: Hear that Touma, get to work.**

 **Touma: I hate you all.**


	59. S2 All Good Things Must End

**So the final chapter of Season 2 is here. It took longer to write because there were several things that needed to be settled before I could end the season. I have to say, there were a lot of comments last chapter and I enjoyed them. Knowing so many people enjoy the story enough to write their opinions means a lot. I know a lot of people are looking forward to certain characters that haven't been added yet. I'm proud to mention…**

 **Season Three is currently in the works.**

 **Whwsms: I'm interested in how far that documentary has spread. It could be dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands. So naturally, it has to.**

 **Knight of the Iron Hammer Vita: At the time, there are no plans to add the movie characters yet. However, situations have arisen in the past that completely changes what I do. I usually let the story write itself, and only come up with major events.**

 **d3mystic: Of course he needs a cat girl and bunny girl. No harem is complete without them. In the canon, Touma always says he's into refined older woman, so Kaori really does fit his preference. But like most guys, that could change. I know I was attracted to different types of girls in college then in high school.**

 **Handsomistic1: Lot of questions there. Let's see, 1) Maybe, 2) Maybe, 3) Maybe, 4) Maybe, 5) No, 6) Yes. I'm so kind in answering as many questions as possible.**

 **Brosephg: Careful with that middle part of your comment. It strikes a sore spot with a couple people who love the anime.**

 **wildarms13 and salishious: Yea, Jason wanted to get Mikoto a full size body pillow with Touma on it. I bet she would have liked it.**

 **Anon: Oh you, that would take a HUGE stretch to get anything even similar to that situation. I tried though, but it may take longer and work out a little differently.**

 **On the plus side, I think everyone enjoyed the documentary. It was weird writing it, but I think in the end, it turned out well and, by the comments, I think most people enjoyed it. I wanted to try a different writing style and that gave me the perfect opportunity. It was also unexpected, but fit perfectly with Motoharu's character. Plus, If Pierce gets a copy, all hell will break loose.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

Touma was surprised how the rest of the trip turned out. After the excitement over the last few days, he had almost given up hope on an ordinary vacation. After Mikoto's party, Itsuwa and Agnese had sat down with all of them to go over some site seeing location options. Touma noticed they were purposely avoiding suggesting anything in London, like Big Ben, but almost everywhere else was fair game. There was not going to be enough time to see everything, so some small arguments broke out, but Touma was perfectly okay with them. When everyone else started fighting about a completely ordinary subject, it brought a smile to his face. _It's great to be in a normal situation again._

Jason and Ruiko were adamant about visiting Stonehenge. Touma didn't know why Jason wanted to, but Ruiko wanted to investigate it because of the rumors of who created it. There were even rumors aliens designed it. Everyone else rolled their eyes at her but, since Stonehenge was a famous landmark, there weren't any objections. Misaki wanted to visit a smaller quant city and Itsuwa recommended The City of Bath. Kazari wanted to visit the Eden Project, a collection of unique artificial biomes containing an amazing collection of plants from around the world. Mikoto didn't really have any place she desperately wanted to visit. She was still reeling from the surprise party and was content to let others choose. Motoharu didn't care either, as he had been to England plenty of times before.

A surprising combination of Frenda, Saiai, and Kuroko appeared, as they all desired to visit at least one castle. Agnese and Itsuwa thought about it for a minute, before suggesting Warwick Castle. Their reason was many events and reenactments, from jousting festivals to fairs and concerts, were preformed next to the castle, so there was always something to do. There were also several nearby cities, along with the Cotswolds. It was an area in south central England which encompassed the Cotswold Hills, a range of rolling hills which rise from the meadows of the upper Thames River. Agnese had been there before and described it as a rural landscape, containing stone-built villages, historical towns, and dignified homes and gardens. The girls appeared satisfied and were looking forward to it.

Then there were people like Accelerator, Shizuri, Rikou, and surprising, Lessar. They just didn't care were they were going. Shizuri had been shopping already, though she lost the stuff she bought during the coup. She figured there would be shops where ever they went, so there was no point in focusing on a single spot. Rikou was very laid back and was content with just following. Accelerator was only planning to follow too, because he didn't have any preference. He was only here to act as a babysitter for Last Order, or that's what he told everyone else. He was having more fun than he expected, but he wasn't going to admit it. Lessar was paying attention to their plans and was writing them down. Touma wasn't sure why, until he caught her eye. She grinned mischievously and he felt a sense of dread. _She's planning to follow us._

On the opposite side of the spectrum were Last Order, Index and Komoe. Last Order was excited to see as many things as possible, since she never left the city and was locked in a room during the coup. Index knew about all England's famous locations, but she didn't have memories of them because of her mind wipes in her past, so she wanted to see them all again. Komoe still believe the trip belong to Touma, because he won it, and she only gave an advice or opinion when asked. She was surprised, when Touma asked her and her only wish was to visit a park of some kind. It was late afternoon before they finally finalized the plans. Agnese and Itsuwa left to get all the preparations ready while everyone else relaxed.

To Touma, it looked like everyone was planning to take it easy today. After fighting for their lives, and then having massive hangovers, no one appeared to want to do anything crazy. Touma was planning to relax too and maybe watch some TV, he was interested in the news to see how the coup was being played off, when he saw something to cause chills down his spine. Motoharu had his arms around Jason and Accelerator and was whispering something. Jason looked curious and even Accelerator raised an eyebrow in interest. They got up, Jason said goodbye to Kazari, and headed upstairs after Motoharu. _This is not good._ He bid farewell to the girls and raced after them. He might have caught up with them sooner if Lessar hadn't jumped on his back, trying to persuade him to go off with her.

He managed to shake her off, with help from Mikoto and Misaki, and ran up to his room. He grabbed the door handle, right when he heard Motoharu's voice. "So guy's after last night's demonstration, I think we have to reevaluate everything. Plus, there might be information you two might be interested in." Touma threw open the door and rushed in.

"You idiot," he gasped. "If you show them that, someone's going to die, most likely me."

"Oh?"" Jason asked. "So you were going to show us the video you shot? I thought you were talking about the list."

"What the hell was so special about the video anyway," Accelerator mumbled. "Besides the brats acting like idiots."

"Don't show it to them," Touma told Motoharu. "You know it's going to backfire. Are you planning to blackmail all of us?"

"I sent it video to Aogami already," Motoharu shrugged and Touma's face went white. "I'm sure Accel-kun and Jason would be curious to see the damage they did too. You must have been teaching them Kami-yan. They have turned into real Casanovas. Nowhere near your level though."

"You made a copy of it?" Jason asked turning to face Motoharu. "Touma said he destroyed it. I should have expected as much from you. Let me see it."

"Nah," Motoharu replied, smirking. "I'll let Aogami see it first and decide if you two should see it."

"I think he's trying to blackmail us," Jason told Accelerator. "Should we let this stand?"

"Definitely not," Accelerator said, cracking his knuckles. "I wouldn't have cared about the tape if he didn't try that shit."

"Now guys," Motoharu said, stepping back. "Let's not get hasty." Touma felt a slight grin on his face, before he sighed and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

"He asked for it," muttered Touma and then looked up. "Hey Mikoto, Ruiko." Both of them had just stepped onto the floor, their arms full of Mikoto's birthday gifts. "Can I watch something on TV in your room?" he asked.

"Sure," Ruiko said immediately. "But why not in yours?"

"I wanted to check the news to see what was being said about the coup," Touma explained. "Komoe-sensei mentioned something about a terrorist attack, so I wanted to see if it was true. I can't watch in my room because Tsuchimikado took a joke too far with Jason and Accelerator." Sounds of shouts and a scuffle were heard through the door. "I wouldn't be able to hear it."

"That's not a bad idea," Mikoto said, as she unlocked their door. "I actually would be interested in hearing it too." Ruiko and Touma followed her. As the girls set down Mikoto's presents, Touma picked up the TV remote and started flipping through channels until he found the news station. As he listened, Mikoto sat next to him, and Ruiko sat on the other bed. It seemed like Komoe was right. The news gave them all a brief rundown of the events. An armed group of terrorists had attack the capital and other major cities. There primary purpose appeared to be to cause fear and assassinated the royal family. The English military had evacuated civilians in order to avoid casualties and round up the assailants. A couple of the terrorists had infiltrated the English Military and now they were creating additional precautions to avoid this situation again. No known deaths had been reported, but many military forces were injured and there was millions of dollars in damages. Buckingham palace was completely destroyed as a result and the city suffered a lot of damages. "Looks like they covered it up."

"Well they couldn't just say it was their princess causing a coup and using magic to do so," Ruiko shrugged. "This was probably the easiest way for them to explain the damage. You okay Touma?" She saw Touma fall back on the bed and stare up at the ceiling. Mikoto also turned to him when she had felt the thud on the same bed.

"Just glad the coup ended and everyone is safe," Touma sighed. "Here I thought we were going to have a normal vacation and it turns into a life and death struggle. It feels like my luck effects everyone." He didn't see Mikoto and Ruiko share a look with each other. When Ruiko sat down on his other side, he sat back up.

"There is no way you could have seen something like that happening," Mikoto told him.

"Besides," Ruiko added. "We just have to have a lot of fun the rest of the vacation to make up for it."

"I suppose we should do that," Touma agreed. "It was fun at the start."

"You can't dwell on the past," Ruiko told him. "You have to keep working toward too future. I did and finally got my ability."

"And it saved my life once," Touma added and she grinned.

"See," Mikoto said patting him on the back. "No one blames you."

"I'm excited you invited us in the first place," Ruiko said and she got an idea. She had wanted to find a way to get Touma's attention and now she had a perfect opportunity. She gathered her courage up before giving him a hug. "Thanks again for inviting all of us."

"I-it was no problem," Touma muttered, slightly red. Mikoto had also turned red at Ruiko's boldness. She knew Ruiko liked him and realized what she was doing. Mikoto took a deep breath and grabbed Touma's arm.

"Just focus on the rest of the trip," Mikoto told him. "And thanks again for inviting us. I know Kuroko isn't your biggest fan but…"

"It wasn't a problem," Touma said dismissively, trying to ignore the position he was in. He rather enjoyed it, but didn't want to admit it. "She helped us out in Italy too and she's… our… friend. I'm sure she will stop trying to hurt me at some…" The door to the room opened up, interrupting him, and Kuroko walked in.

"Onee-sama, are you here…?" she started to say and stopped, as she saw Mikoto and Ruiko holding onto Touma. They both quickly let go of him, slightly embarrassed.

"Kuroko," Mikoto tried to explain quickly. "It's…"

"APE!" Kuroko yelled. "How dare you try to force yourself on onee-sama and Saten-san?!" She teleported, before he could respond, and hit him from behind, causing him to fall forward on the floor. Her yell attracted Misaki and Lessar, who peered in through the door, and the guys across the hall.

"How ca you have fun without me?" Lessar cried, leaping into the room.

"Touma," Misaki called out. "You know I'm always available for you."

"Seems like the mating ritual of Kami-yan is still in effect," Motoharu commented.

"Such misfortune," Touma muttered, lying face down on the floor.

* * *

The rest of the week blurred together. To Touma's relief, there were no more attacks, magical or otherwise. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and there was only the normal amount of rivalry between the girls. The only thing he did notice was Mikoto and Misaki seemed to be extra careful around Shizuri. They seemed to never want him near her if one of them wasn't. Touma believed it might have been his imagination though. He had also been right about Lessar. Before they had left, Lessar declared she wanted to go with them. If they refused, she would just track them down anyways. Itsuwa had to pass her off as a friend to Komoe to allow her to go without raising suspicion. While the rest of the trip was what Touma wanted, a couple of events stood out for him. Besides the times were Lessar tried to sneak into his bed every night and occasionally accompanied by Misaki or Frenda.

They had arrived at Stonehenge and were walking around it, examining the structures. Agnese was giving them all an explanation on the monument and its magical properties, when Komoe was out of earshot. They had all decided not to tell her about magic. Motoharu took on the role of distracting her, whenever possible, to make sure she didn't hear about magic. "Stonehenge is still a mystery to everyone. While it is widely agreed the structures were built around five thousand years ago, the group who made them is still disputed. There are rumors that credit a number of people with building the strange collection of stones, the Danes, Romans, Saxons, Greeks, Egyptians, and even the great Merlin.

"Wasn't Merlin a wizard who followed King Author?" Misaki asked, and Agnese nodded.

"He was one of the most famous magicians of his time," Agnese explained. "There are also many legends surrounding Stonehenge, such as ancient druids using it for a sacrificial altars or giants being turned into stone to form the monuments."

"Sacrifices huh," Shizuri said, finally looking slightly interested. She kicked the ground lightly, as if hoping to uncover remains of a sacrifice.

"Aren't their rumors of aliens making them too?" Ruiko asked, eyes sparkling.

"Yes," Agnese acknowledge, but her smile was slightly forced, like she was tired of people associating Stonehenge with aliens. "It is very unlikely, as the stones have a magical purpose behind their arrangements. Magicians have been able to decipher the actual pattern, even with the monument being partially destroyed, and could feel the flow of mana through it. We know it was used for some magical purpose, but we have yet to discern what that purpose was for."

"Why?" Saiai asked, with her hands behind her head. This place didn't interest her that much, but she was a little curious about magic. "Wouldn't it be super obvious if you could detect mana?"

"It's not that easy," Itsuwa responded kindly. "You see, even if we can decipher mana, we don't know the theory behind the design. It was before many major religions had been established and the design doesn't match any known theories or procedures."

"Couldn't you have someone look at it?" Accelerator asked, not bothering to stifle a yawn. Only his eyes moved, as they watched Last Order run around the monuments. Worst was antagonizing her and Last Order kept trying to shock her. "Isn't the nun girl supposed to be able to understand magic?"

"I do understand it," Index told him, frowning slightly. "But if there's nothing to reference, we have to start from scratch and create our own theories. Even if we got a response, there is no guarantee it was the true purpose used at the time. Many religions and traditions are similar enough to get reactions from certain spells. There could also be combinations of different beliefs."

"It's more than just guessing," Jason said, as he started to walk into the middle of Stonehenge. "We would be throwing a rock into a dark room, hoping to hit a target, with hundreds of fake targets around it, and unable to tell if we hit the right one." Accelerator looked at him, but nodded slightly to show he understood.

"What are you looking at Jason?" Kazari called out.

"Just examining the circle pattern," he called back. "I have never been here before."

"Don't do something stupid!" Kuroko yelled at him.

"When have I ever done something stupid?" Jason asked innocently, looking back at her, and most of them laughed. Kuroko stuck her tongue out at him.

"I'm surprised the structures are still standing," Mikoto commented, looking at one of the stone monuments. "Most of the buildings nowadays wouldn't last this long and be in this condition. Could magic be part of it?"

"It's hard to tell for sure," Itsuwa conceded. "But it could be a possibility."

"It could be alien technology too," Ruiko pointed out. "They would have been able to build the monuments to last with their advanced technology."

"Aliens don't exist," Kazari pointed out.

"Can you honestly say that after learning magic is real?" Ruiko asked, winking. Kazari opened her mouth, but closed it, when she couldn't find the words. "You have to keep you mind open to all possibilities."

"But even so," Kuroko said. "Aliens? There's no proof they exist and we have been looking for them for years."

"They are probably smart enough to avoid us," Accelerator said, chuckling slightly to himself.

"Or they could have been placed here as a sign or market," Misaki said reasonably. She didn't believe in aliens but, after she learned about magic, she decided to try to be a little more open minded.

"Exactly," Ruiko said, her face brightening. "There could be any number of reasons."

"Keeping your mind open doesn't mean believing in absurdities," Frenda said, shrugging, with a look on her face like she was talking to a kid. "Basically, there is no way if aliens existed that they would come here and set up some monuments for fun."

"So it would be the punchline of a super bad joke?" Saiai asked her. "I would watch a movie based on that."

"You have the oddest tastes in movies," Shizuri yawned. She was pretty bored, because she wasn't interested in old monuments. Touma grinned to himself, glad everyone was enjoying the discussion on Stonehenge, and decided to use the moment to examine it up close. He looked around, as Lessar had disappeared shortly after they arrived, and he half expected her to jump out and tackle him. Out of all his friends, Ruiko, Jason, and Komoe seemed to be the most interested in Stonehenge. Ruiko was interested in the rumors, Komoe was interested in the history and had a pamphlet from an earlier stop, but Jason appeared to be examining it for magical purposes.

"Looks like you are trying to figure out the magic circle," Touma said, as he walked up to Jason in the middle of Stonehenge. "Think you can do what everyone else can't?"

"I would do it purely to bother them all," Jason laughed. "Even I can tell there's magical significance here. Something tells me this stone here," he pointed to one in the middle of the ring, "is important. Want to touch it with your hand and see if anything happens?"

"No!" Touma said immediately, shaking his head. "With my luck, the entire circle will collapse, the ground will start glowing, and demons would fly out."

"Has this happened before?" Jason asked curiously.

"Not yet," Touma sighed. "And I rather it not."

"You're no fun Kami-yan," Motoharu said, appearing from behind them and throwing his arms on their shoulders. "What's life without risks?"

"I think I have taken enough risks this week to play it safe the rest of the year," Touma told him. He didn't see Motoharu and Jason exchange winks. A moment later, he found himself falling forward onto the ground and his right hand brushed the rock. He heard the sound of shattering glass and his heart dropped. He turned over and looked up to see what happened. A small smoke trail was spraying out from behind the rock and into the air. He rubbed his eyes and looked again.

The monuments were moving slightly.

It took a second to realize it was his imagination and the smoke was playing tricks with his eyes. Besides the smoke, nothing was happening. He stood up and looked behind the rock. A small rune card was releasing smoke into the air. He turned to Jason and Motoharu, both of them were beside themselves with laughter. "You…" he said, making a fist.

"The look on your face," Motoharu gasped.

"Knew you would fall for it," Jason laughed. "Most magic circles can't be interrupted like that unless they are active."

"That's it," Touma said irritated and he put them both in a sudden headlock. Neither of them tried that hard to break free, both were still laughing at his reaction, as everyone else came to investigate. They had noticed the smoke and Motoharu explained he and Jason had pranked Touma. Most of them laughed when they heard, but Komoe scolded Jason and Motoharu about pranking in a national monument. Eventually, they left and Touma turned around for a second to get one last look at the monument. He noticed Jason looking back at it and, it might have been Touma's imagination, Jason had a serious look on his face.

The other noteworthy event was a lot more unexpected.

* * *

It was Friday afternoon and everyone was sitting on the bus. They had just finished a late lunch at an outdoor bistro and were currently traveling. From what they knew, they had visited everywhere they had planned to go this week, until Agnese and Itsuwa told them they had one more important stop to make. They were driving along the country side, when Ruiko looked out the window and saw a large structure in the distance. "Is that where we are heading?" she asked Agnese, pointing.

"Yes," Agnese confirmed. "We received notice yesterday we were able to register for a tour of Windsor Castle."

"Huh?" Komoe asked surprise. "Isn't that the residence of the royal family?"

"It is," Itsuwa called back from the driver seat. "They give tours of the castle and just restarted them today. We might not get a chance to see the royal family, but the castle itself is quite breathtaking."

"Think it's going to be as fancy as Buckingham palace?" Mikoto whispered into Touma's ear and he grinned. Misaki and Kuroko noticed that and pouted slightly in their seats.

"Now you get to see how royalty lives Uiharu," Ruiko said grinning, nudging her friend.

"The other castles were really pretty already," Kazari replied. "I can't wait to see how amazing the queen's residence will actually look."

"But we already saw a real princess," Jason whispered, making sure Komoe didn't hear. "I bet the castle is going to be as fancy as that dress she was wearing."

"I bet you just want Uiharu to wear a dress like that," Ruiko said knowingly. Jason winked at her and they both laughed, as Kazari turned slightly red, but still smiled.

"I bet I know what they want," Motoharu said, turning around to face Touma. "I bet they want to personally thank you."

"If they are going to give thanks," Touma replied, slightly defensively. "They should give it to all of us. Besides, they can hardly give it to us in front of Komoe-sensei. That would raise far too many questions."

"So basically," Frenda said leaning over to them. "We just meet them when she's distracted."

"This is why working with adults is such a pain," Shizuri muttered. "They will always get in the way if they know what you are doing."

"I agree with that completely," Jason whispered under his breath.

"I don't blame them," Kuroko told him. She had evidently over heard him.

"I just do what I want regardless of what others think," Accelerator yawned.

"I super agree," Saiai said. Somehow she managed to sit on one side of Accelerator, while Last Order grabbed the other side of him. She kept shooting looks at Saiai. Worst, who was across from Last Order, kept grabbing her head and looking annoyed. "Why let other people super decide what you should do."

"I feel bad we are leaving her out of this," Index said. "But we have already involved too many people in our affairs."

"I'm sure she would just be worried about us," Kazari said reassuringly to Index. "But it's all over now." Touma was relieved the fighting was over, but he knew everything was far from settled. Eve had admitted they were only one wing away from completion and she was planning to see them again. He felt a shiver go down his spine as he remembered her parting words. Their bus rolled up outside of Windsor Castle and stopped. When everyone had exited the vehicle, Itsuwa drove off to park and Agnese walked over to Touma.

"We had a second reason for bringing you all here," she whispered. "The Queen requested your presence, but we believe you would prefer your teacher not to be involved, correct?"

"We figured there was another reason," Misaki said truthfully. "The timing was too convenient."

"It would be best if Komoe-sensei didn't know about magic," Touma added, glancing at Komoe.

"Then just knock her out while we tend to our business," Shizuri suggested.

"I can't believe you want us to knock out a teacher," Mikoto said outraged, rounding on her.

"That's completely barbaric," Kuroko added. "I couldn't just sit back and watch that happen."

"I didn't say physically," Shizuri retorted, rolling her eyes in exasperation. She waved a hand to Misaki. "The fifth can go and put her to sleep, make her ignore us leaving, or anything else. Use your heads once in a while brats."

"Basically," Frenda told them. "Don't jump to the worst conclusion. Mugino knows what she's doing and can formulate plans as good as anyone."

"I don't think messing with someone's mind is a good thing," Index protested. With her history, it was obvious she didn't care for mental manipulation.

"I always take steps to make sure no one will get hurt by my ability," Misaki reassured her. "But I don't think I should." Her motives weren't pure, like not wanting to affect someone who had nothing to do with the situation on hand, but the fact she knew Touma wouldn't approve of it. She didn't even have to look at him to know that.

"We really shouldn't," Touma muttered. "Komoe-sensei is pretty reasonable, I'm sure we could just persuade her." He didn't feel right about manipulating his teachers mind, unless there was no other choice. He noticed Ruiko and Kazari were looking apprehensive from behind everyone. Accelerator glanced over at Komoe, who was taking a couple pictures of the castle. He frowned and then raised an eyebrow as something occurred to him.

"Wouldn't a distraction work?" Accelerator asked. "How long will the meeting take? The last one was incredibly long and tedious."

"I would say no more than thirty minutes," Agnese answered, looking at her watch. "Any longer than that and the meeting might get noticed."

"Hey brat," Accelerator called over to Last Order. She turned and ran toward him, followed by Worst. "I didn't mean you… actually, it's probably fine." He grinned. "I need you two to cause enough trouble to distract her," he pointed with his thumb over his shoulder at Komoe, "for about half an hour."

"Why, MISAKA asks as MISAKA tilts her head slightly in confusion."

"Would be easy, but why should Misaka help?" Worst asks.

"They don't want to get the teacher involved in a meeting," Accelerator said, waving his arm indicating the rest of the group. "I personally don't care that much, but it would probably be more hassle to involve her in the shit that's about to happen."

"I don't know MISAKA says slowly as MISAKA thinks of the implications." Accelerator raised an eyebrow. This was the first time he ever saw Last Order think of the consequences of her actions.

"You two are missing the point entirely," Motoharu said, stepping up behind Worst and Last Order. "If you do this for him now, you can make him owe you a favor in the future and he won't be able to refuse." He looked up and grinned broadly. Touma wasn't sure how Motoharu was smiling. The murderous aura and glare Accelerator was giving off would have been enough to make grown men run in fear. By the fact Kuroko, Misaki, Frenda, and Saiai stepped back from Accelerator, he wasn't the only one who noticed.

"Misaka likes the way you think," Worst said smirking evilly. "Misaka supposes she can do it."

"Really, MISAKA asks as MISAKA stares at Accelerator for confirmation." Accelerator had to force himself not to cuss. He was conflicted, but every part of him wanted to beat up Motoharu. If he said yes, it would be the easiest way to distract Komoe, but then he would have to owe his two biggest headaches something. He wasn't too worried about Last Order, she would probably just want him to accompany her somewhere, but Worst had a devious mind and there was no telling what she would ask for. He gave a very brief nod and Last Order's eyes widened. "MISAKA understands MISAKA declares as MISAKA salutes." She and Worst walked away from the group for a minute, then burst into a full out sprint. They ran next to a gardener and knocked over a couple plants. Accelerator grinned at how well they instantly planned this.

"Damn brats," he called out, but there wasn't any real motivation in his voice. "Get back here."

"Ah wait!" Komoe cried out to Last Order and Worst. "You can't run off on your own." She chased after them and Accelerator turned to face the rest of the group.

"Done," he said. "Now you brats can shut up."

"Thanks," Touma whispered. "If you need help with their requests, let me know."

"You already owe me help with the brat," Accelerator muttered back. "Start sometime next week." Touma nodded, remembering his promise.

"Nice plan," Saiai said, watching Komoe chase after Last Order. "But won't the security get super involved with them running around like that?"

"That will not be an issue," said a male voice from behind them. Everyone turned around instantly, but Kuroko and Jason jumped. They were more familiar with Knight Leader and recognized his voice faster. He was standing next to Itsuwa. "Security will cooperate to ensure your supervisor will not interrupt the meeting. Now if you all would follow me quickly, we need to avoid as many prying eyes as possible." He turned and began walking toward the palace. Touma noticed he was heading toward a side door, rather than the main entrance. Everyone else looked at each other in surprise, but followed.

"Is this wise?" Kuroko asked Itsuwa. She still did not trust Knight Leader, after the way he had assaulted her and Jason.

"He is following the Queen's orders," Itsuwa reassured her. "I know you had an unfortunate encounter with him, but he is completely loyal to England. He has no reason to cause an altercation now. I hope you can put the past behind you. He really is a good person." Kuroko frowned. She still remembered how easily Knight Leader impaled Jason with his blade. She looked over at Jason, expecting him to say something, but he was unexpectedly quiet. She might have imagined it, but he seemed slightly green, like he was getting sick.

"Don't worry Kuroko," Mikoto whispered, breaking into her thoughts. "Itsuwa-san has a point, and if something happens, we are all here." She wasn't entirely calm herself. Kuroko had given her a complete rundown of the fight with Knight Leader and she had been horrified at how ruthless he had been. Itsuwa and Agnese had told her about him, and the way he fought made sense with what she knew about his reputation. He was the type of person to carry out his orders to the letter. _Though Touma told me he wasn't all bad, he was just following orders. But so many terrible things have happened with people following that logic. He did help us in the end against Carissa, so I should give him the benefit of the doubt._

"That's reassuring onee-sama," Kuroko replied with a small smile.

"Besides," Accelerator yawned. "We just have to take him down again if he tries anything." He didn't know all Knight Leader's ability but, with all the magic vectors he had been able to study during this trip, he felt like he could handle it. _If Jason could take him down, I could too. I wonder how the brats are doing. I haven't seen the castle on fire yet, so I guess they aren't causing too much trouble._ He wasn't that interested in seeing the royal family again, because the last meeting droned on for a while. Unless they told him information concerning The Fallen, he wanted it to end as quickly as possible.

"He's not the kind of guy to lead people into traps," Lessar spoke up. "He's more straight forward than that. If he wanted our heads, he would come and take it."

"Have you met him?" Touma whispered, keeping an eye on Knight Leader in front of them. Touma was sure he could hear everything they said, but was choosing to ignore them.

"Lots of rumors about his exploits," Lessar said, her hands behind her head and looking distracted. "I rather not meet the Queen. After all, my group was partially responsible for bringing the item."

"They cleared you right?" Touma asked. "I thought you were free."

"Doesn't mean they might not hold a grudge," Lessar shrugged.

"Don't worry," Touma reassured her. "We will protect you." Mikoto nodded in agreement. Lessar looked at him for a moment, and then grinned.

"You finally realized I'm the best girl?" Lessar replied with a wink. "Want to sneak away and go do something more fun instead?"

"That's not what he said," Misaki said irritated, stepping between them. "Don't go adding meaning that's not there." Lessar raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Mikoto, who also looked annoyed.

"It's been quiet since the princess fight," Shizuri commented. "We could use a little more action again." Shizuri was okay with breaks between missions and fights, but, if she went to long without a fight, she would get bored. _That's right. We have that mission when we get back to Academy City. I suppose I can avoid causing unnecessary fights until then. Unless those brats keep annoying me… Kamijou is the only one of his group that doesn't annoy me constantly._

"I agree," Frenda added. "Basically, we just need an excuse to run wild again." Rikou looked at them, but remained silent. Her ability wasn't good for magic related incidents, as magicians didn't emit AIM fields. If a fight broke out, she wouldn't be much use. Saiai was walking between Shizuri and Accelerator with her hands behind her head. She was also a little bored with how quiet everything was, but she didn't mind downtime as much as Shizuri did.

"I rather just enjoy the peace and quiet," Misaki mumbled, more to herself the Shizuri. She was enjoying the vacation and spent as much time as possible with Touma. Once they were back in Academy City, she would have a lot more people around her. This would severely cut into her alone time with Touma. She also had to be careful were she was found with him. It was hard to go unnoticed in public spaces with him since she knew, being a level 5, she draws attention and the attention would get passed to him. Touma was never a person who liked to be gawked at, so she always balanced their meetings, even using her powers to erase other's mind of what he looked like. She would love to be able to show him off but, until he was ready, she resisted the urge. She turned to look at Touma and noticed he seemed lost in thought. "Something wrong?" she asked.

"Ah nothing," Touma answered. "Just wondering what was going to happen." He was aware Mikoto, Accelerator, Ruiko, and Jason turned their heads slightly toward him. It wasn't a lie from him, but it wasn't the entire truth. He had thought about it and hoped the Queen was planning to just formally thank them, but he had a feeling there was more to it than that. _I bet the want to warn us about Eve since we got directly involved._

"I can't wait to meet the Queen," Kazari whispered excitedly to Ruiko. "Princess Villian was so refined, what do you think the Queen is like?"

"I bet she's going to be even more so," Ruiko whispered back, with a little less enthusiasm then Kazari. "Royalty always has to keep up appearances. I bet she will be like some of the girls from prestigious families at the fancy schools."

"I don't know about that," Jason said from next to Kazari.

"Why do you say that?" asked Kazari.

"We saw a glimpse of her near the end of the fight with Eve remember," Jason told them. "She seemed… rather laid back for a queen? Yea, I think that's a good word for it."

"I have to agree," Mikoto laughed slightly. "We met her once before that too. She's really interesting."

"The Queen is known for being different," Agnese added.

"Really?" Ruiko asked surprised. _Maybe she is one of those who don't conform to stereotypes, like Misaka does at Tokiwadai._ She found herself looking forward to the audience more than before.

"I hope it doesn't take too long," Index said next to Touma. "Royal audiences are always mentally taxing."

"They said it shouldn't be very long," Touma reassured her.

"And I'm hungry."

"We just ate before coming here," Touma protested. "How are you hungry already?"

"I need to be prepared," Index said, as if explaining the obvious. "Who knows when I might be able to eat again? I can't wait until I'm starving to look for food."

"This isn't the wild," Touma replied. "Food is easier to obtain. If you eat every time you are the least bit hungry, you are just going to get fa…"

"We are here," Knight Leader informed them, interrupting Touma's response. It was a good thing he stopped Touma, or Index might not have let Touma get away unscathed. They were standing in front of a large wooden double door, with a knight standing guard on either side. Touma hadn't really been paying attention to his surroundings, as he was lost in thought, but the decorations seemed to be similar to Buckingham Palace, though maybe a little more subdued since foreign diplomats did not come here. "This is the royal throne room. As the members of the royal family are here this is considered an audience, please be mindful of your words." His eyes darted in particular to Accelerator and Shizuri. "I'm sure you will have questions, but please save them to the end." Knight Leader threw the doors open and they were ushered in. As Touma passed, one of the knights gave him a slight nod, but he couldn't see who it was under the helmet.

Rather than a throne room seen in many types of games, it wasn't decorated like a grand ball room. It was longer then it was wide, like an extra wide hallway. The walls were decorated with expensive paintings on one side and several large windows on the other. The floor was a rich royal blue and the ceiling held several golden chandeliers. There were two rows of golden chairs, facing each other, down the room with a space between the rows to allow a walkway. The chairs had soft blue cushions, the same color as the rug. Touma's eyes moved down to the end of the room and saw Queen Elizard sitting on a white throne, watching them enter. On one side of her was Villian, in a green dress, and Rimea was on the other side, in a blue dress. All three of them sat with passive faces as Touma's group walked silently in. Knight Leader closed the door behind them, and gestured to the seats. They sat down with Touma and Mikoto the closest to the Queen. When they were all seated, Knight Leader was standing in the back, Elizard stood up.

"I like to thank you all for coming at such short notice," Elizard said loudly, her voice reverberating through the room. Even at her age, she was still full of youth and vigor. "I'm sure you are wondering why I called you all here, so let us cut to the chase." She took a step forward and suddenly gave a bow. "On behalf of England, I would like sincerely thank you all for helping us end my daughter's coup and fight with us against The Fallen's leader Eve."

"It wasn't a problem," Mikoto said quickly, turning slightly red at being thanked by royalty. "We just did what we had to do."

"She did capture our friends," Misaki added. "We couldn't just sit back and do nothing."

"Nerveless," Elizard said dismissively. "You all were drawn into a fight you should never have been part of. From what I understand, you were just here on vacation."

"It's the kind of luck we expect with Touma," Jason said with a smirk. "He tends to get involved in everything."

"Not on purpose," Touma hissed at him.

"He's a damn hero," Accelerator said leaning back in his seat. "What did you expect?"

"Always playing the hero," Saiai shrugged.

Elizard smiled. "I see the rumors of you are true then," she said to Touma. Her eyes darted toward Kazari and Ruiko, who were sitting in the back. Both of them were watching her intently, but their eyes kept darting toward Rimea. "I forgot some of you might not know. You have met my second daughter Carissa and my third daughter Villian. This is my first daughter Rimea." Rimea gave them a short bow with her head as acknowledgement.

"Oh," Kuroko said, eyes widening, as she turned to Rimea. "You were the one who broadcasted the second princess's plans near the end of the fight."

"I was," Rimea confirmed. "When I realized my sister was after us, I left the palace. I am capable of defending myself, but I prefer to use my intellect, over brute force, to win battles. It took some time, but I finally pieced together her plan and used her reasoning to bring the knights back to our side."

"It was a good plan," Frenda said. "Basically, you weakened her forces, while strengthening your own."

"Enough of the small talk," Shizuri said, crossing her arms. "What happened to the Eve girl? Do you have any news on her?"

"She has currently disappeared off our radar," Elizard said, for the first time a slight frown appeared on her face. "Her power is formidable and we can't approach her without a plan. The other issue, which was over looked, was her companion Adam. We received reports the Vatican, the stronghold of the Roman Catholic Church, had been sieged by a single man. Since Adam has St. Peter's body, it had to have been him."

"Adam did it all by himself?" Agnese said with a gap. "But the defenses… the magicians there… it should be impregnable."

"He managed to achieve it," Knight Leader spoke up. "There were rumors he even fought a member of God's Right Seat, the Catholic Church's elite force."

"Those bastards…" Accelerator muttered angrily. His eyes darted to Villian, who noticed, and her eyes looked at the ground. He still hadn't completely forgiven her for letting Acqua, now William, go, even if he did help out near the end of the coup. Everyone else looked at him, because only Touma knew he had fought William and that William was a member of God's Right Seat.

"We believe he waited until the church sent out one of their elite members on a mission before attacking," Villian explained, and her eyes met Accelerator's. It was her way of telling him Adam attacked because William had come to England.

"So what happens now?" Mikoto asked.

"As we do not know Eve's next step from here on out," Elizard told her. "The only thing I can advise is to watch yourself. The Anglican Church keeps close ties with Academy City, so security will no doubt be increased. I do apologize we can't give you an award for your help, as you no doubt know we cannot allow this event to go public."

"You passed it off as a terrorist attack right?" Ruiko asked and Elizard nodded.

"We could explain the damage and evacuation of the citizens with that explanation," Elizard said. "Rimea and I discussed several possible other options, but many would take too long to implement."

"A terrorist attack can be hard to trace for the media," Rimea added. "Even if they did not believe us, they would have a hard time explaining the damage without magic. Our explanation was enough for a reasonable individual to conclude it was a terrorist attack. There are always rumors circling around through the internet, but those cannot be contained."

"Speaking of magic," Knight Leader said from the back of the room. Everyone turned to look at him and saw he was looking directly at Index. "Have you come up with any new information on The Fallen leaders?"

"I've been running over all possibilities," Index said. "Eve's Book of Genesis replies on Christianity principles, as I have mentioned before already. After seeing her fight, it is obvious she is not restricted to normal golems. What worries me the most was what she said before summoning the phoenix. 'I have access to the creatures God deemed unworthy to exist in his world.' The phoenix wasn't just a golem, it was truly alive. The only way this is possible is for Eve to have knowledge from God. This means, she would have to have access to an angel or angels at the minimum."

"So this means our worst fears are realized," Elizard said seriously. "You think they have access to Lucifer's knowledge."

"Unless we find information proving otherwise," Index replied. "We should assume so."

"Lucifer?" Frenda asked.

"He's an Archangel," Touma whispered back. "A being with insane power. Curtana was made from the Archangel Michael's power, the one who struck down Lucifer."

"This super sounds like a plot of a bad movie," Saiai replied. Shizuri and Rikou remained quiet. Rikou didn't really have anything to add, but Shizuri was lost in thought. Before this trip, if she had heard someone speak of magic and angels, she would pass them off as stupid or insane. After seeing the power of Carissa wielding Curtana, she had to admit there were power and rules she didn't understand. The nun seemed to know a lot of it, and Touma's friend Jason could use it with his ability. She would have access to the knowledge after leaving England, so for now she was content to wait.

"What about her companion Adam," Knight Leader asked. "You saw his ability in the first place."

"He used the Plague of the First Born," Index said grimly. "It was the spell Moses channeled from God in the Book of Exodus that finally forced the Egyptian Pharaoh to release his people. If Eve uses Genesis, then it would make sense for Adam to use the next book in the bible, Exodus. I've been contemplating the meaning of their names too after I realized this. Adam and Eve were the first people God created. They lived in paradise, called the Garden of Eden, until they were tempted by Lucifer and ate the forbidden fruit. The fruit was on a tree and contained the knowledge of good and evil. When they disobeyed God's rule, they were cast out."

"You told us magic required traditions," Shizuri said speaking up. She was following the conversation, but she wanted to confirm something. She believed in evolution, but she needed to make sure she followed the myths if it related to Eve's power. "Then by taking the names of the first two people in your religion, they could gain their powers?"

"It's more complicated than that," Jason spoke up. "But in a way, by deriving a spell or set of spells based on the principles of Catholicism, using objects to represent things, people, or places, you can construct spells to give similar results."

"The bible's first book is known as the Book of Genesis," Index explained, mainly for Shizuri's group. "It explained how god created the world and all life on it. Making golems based on this principle is not unheard of, but making sentient golems or actual living beings are."

"What if Adam and Eve were actually the first people created?" Ruiko asked. "You said they ate form the tree of knowledge, so would that explain how they have the knowledge of these spells…" Her voice died off as everyone turned to her. It wasn't her friends that made her quiet. It was Knight Leader, Elizard, Villian, Rimea, Index, and even Jason who gave her serious looks. "…It was just a thought…"

"You wouldn't understand how serious that would be," Villian said softly.

"If that was true," Index said, almost as softly, to indicate the seriousness of the situation. "That means they would have made direct contact with God. The knowledge at their disposal would be unfathomable. They would easily surpass magic gods if they could use the knowledge."

"But it explains why they want to revive this Lucifer," Frenda said. "Basically, they want revenge from being thrown out of paradise."

"We should not entertain that possibility right now," Knight Leader interrupted. "It would cause unnecessary worry and it is incredibly unlikely. If we find evidence it might be true, we will have to take precautions. For now, they do not appear to be similar to magic gods as they can be injured. They are strong, but not immortal."

"We should save such unpleasant talks for a later time," Elizard said. "I wanted to make sure you were informed of the current situation, since you helped us immensely. Right now, Michael's blessing is beginning to fortify the country and should keep them at bay. I would rather turn to the subject to something more pleasant. I heard you were touring our country, did you find it enjoyable?"

"Yes," Kazari said speaking up. At first she had been star struck meeting the royal family and then the conversation turned serious. Now that the atmosphere had lightened, she found her voice. "It was a lot of fun and the countryside was beautiful."

"It was quite fun," Kuroko added. "We saw all the major sites except in London, for obvious reasons."

"Being in a city all the time," Mikoto said. "You forget how nice the countryside is."

"I am glad to hear that," Elizard told them kindly. "I know you don't have long here, so is there is anything else you wish to ask?"

"I have a question," Touma spoke up suddenly. "What is going to happen to Carissa?" There was a sharp intake of breath from several people around him, Many, like Misaki and Mikoto, were trying to avoid the topic, while others, like Accelerator and Shizuri didn't care if she was executed. Touma purposely avoided eye contact with them all and focused on Elizard. Out of her peripheral vision, he saw Rimea look at him curiously, but Villian had a kind knowing look on her face.

Elizard frowned for a moment, but returned his gaze. "What she did was a serious offense, even worthy of execution if she had been a normal citizen." Touma felt a sense of dread in the pit of his stomach, but kept his eyes focused on her. "Even as Queen, there are limits to what I can do about her actions. If I show weakness to someone who threatened the country, what kind of leader would I be?"

"Weakness?" Touma sputtered. "She's your daughter."

"Idiot," Shizuri and Accelerator sighed, face palming.

"Touma…" Misaki tried to say, but Touma ignored her.

"What would you suggest I do?" Elizard asked him, eyeing him carefully. "Are you suggesting I let her walk free after starting a civil war? Should I lock her away for life, never to be free again?"

"I-I-I don't know," Touma admitted. He knew he sounded childish, but he didn't care. He figured the only reason she was humoring him was because he had helped stop Carissa and chased off Eve. "I'm not saying what she did was right, but she was doing what she thought was best for her country. She was planning to stop The Fallen and she wanted to help all the civilians. She purposely moved them out of the warzone, didn't she?"

"The path to hell is full of good intentions," Elizard said dismissively, but Touma saw something else, a glint of amusement, similar to how she acted when they first met her. "You are right in away, but it does not absolve her of her crimes." She sighed and smiled kindly. "Do not worry. Even though I am the Queen, I am also a mother. Death and life imprisonment are off the table. I would prefer her working to pay her debt back to the country and citizens." Touma leaned back in his chair and sighed. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mikoto, Misaki, and Kuroko look relieved too. He didn't turn his head enough to see everyone else's reaction, but they probably had similar reactions, if they cared about her fate. "Now if you don't mind Mr. Kamijou. I have a question for you."

"Okay," Touma said confused. He had no idea what she would ask. She stared at him intently, and crossed her hands under her chin.

"You speak of my daughter in quite a familiar fashion," she pointed out. "What occurred when she brought you to the castle? Knight Leader seems to be strangely reluctant to give me any information on the subject."

"W-what…" Touma sputtered again. Whatever he was thinking she was going to ask, wasn't that. He felt several dark glares from behind him and he didn't want to turn around for fear of his life. He also felt three very amused glares and he knew who those had to belong to. "What are you asking?"

"Rimea had determined Carissa's plan," Elizard explained. She had an odd combination of emotions on her face. It was the combination of amusement at a funny event and the eyes of a predator, like when a mother examines a daughter's new boyfriend. "There was no doubt she was planning to use your unique gift to act as a failsafe incase the power corrupted her. But when I heard from many of the knights about her treatment of you, I had questions. You weren't treated as a normal prisoner or a pawn for her to use purely for your hand. Now I'm asking you again, what occurred between you two?"

"Eh?" Touma asked shocked. He didn't know how to respond. Cold sweat formed on the back of his neck as the glares behind him intensified. He remembered Carissa saying he intrigued her, but he always thought it was his actions that confused her, not himself. _There's no way a princess could fall for me._ "I don't know what to tell you," he said thinking fast. "She gave me the condition of staying and becoming a knight in exchange for my friends being able to leave. Then I met some of the knights who were on standby in the palace. Shortly after that, Index and I were rescued by Mikoto and Mugino."

"I heard about the rescue operation," Elizard nodded. "But having you join the knights, a unit she oversees directly, was highly suspicious. Then add the fact you were locked in one of the guest rooms, instead of a holding cell." She turned to Rimea. "It seems unusual, don't you agree?" She wasn't even trying to container her amusement now.

"My dear sister usually prefers the direct route," Rimea added. "But she never was honest with her feelings."

"It's not like that!" Touma protested. He could feel Misaki and Mikoto fidgeting, but their glares never left him.

"Well you did say that you wanted to save her," Elizard clarified. "Did you not?"

"Yes but…"

"And," Elizard continued. "Many of the knights have mentioned they respect you and believe Carissa does too. This leads me to believe there is something going on between you two. What do you think Rimea?"

"I have trouble believing Carissa of all people would be able to find a man before me," Rimea commented. "With her being so focused on the military."

"You do tend to distrust people dear," Elizard told her.

"I only don't trust people who know who I am," Rimea replied evenly.

"Well if his status gets elevated to knight like my daughter had planned," Elizard said. "Marriage would be on the table. After all he has done, I don't think anyone would object. He might be a little young. We usually wait until they are at least eighteen."

Touma could only stare in shock as Elizard and Rimea continued to politely bicker. The stares behind him had intensified tenfold and he was terrified to turn around. He couldn't believe the royal family would act like this. He gathered his courage and gave a brief glance behind him. Mikoto, Misaki, and Index were predictable. Each of them had a dark aura around them, as they glared at him. Kuroko, Kazari, and Ruiko were staring at the royalty with a shocked expression, like they couldn't believe what was happening. Motoharu, Jason, and Accelerator were cracking up. Shizuri had a dark aura around her too, but Frenda just looked worried and was biting the corner of her lip. Saiai was watching them with amusement plastered on her face, like she was watching an exciting movie. Rikou was watching unblinkingly, though she didn't have any expression, she appeared to be a lot more focused then she usually was. Knight Leader had his face in his hand and looked exasperated.

"How could you two say that?" Touma finally asked, finding his voice. "How come Villian is the only one who acts like a proper princess?"

"Oh," Elizard said, looking at him. She had noticed his familiar tone with Villian. "Is she more your type?" Villian's eyes widened and her face went scarlet. "I suppose I could offer them both to the hero of The Battle of Buckingham Palace, but polygamy is looked down at by many. I don't think the knights would argue too much though. I have to say, you must enjoy a challenge."

Touma coughed, as he choked on his words. He didn't know how the conversation came to this. One minute they were having a serious conversation on The Fallen, the next, they were talking about Touma going out with a princess. _What kind of logic is that?_ He felt the dark auras behind him intensify again and he had a sudden premonition of another dark aura from far away. This aura felt like it would cross any challenge to strike him down if he so much as looked at Villian improperly. One of the dark auras behind him started to seep through his skin, and he was forced to turn around. Mikoto and Misaki were definitely not amused, but they didn't come close to the darkness coming from the small white nun. "Don't believe it Index," Touma said holding up a hand.

"TOOOOUUUMMMAAAA!" Index growled, as she revealed razor sharp teeth. All etiquette was forgotten, as she leaped into the air.

"Such Misfortune!" were the only words Touma could utter before he yelled out in pain. In the back, Jason, Motoharu, and Accelerator were beside themselves with laughter.

"Best queen ever," Jason said again, as he reached into his pocket to pull out a bill. He handed it to Motoharu, who pocketed it.

"What was that for?" Kazari asked him.

"We made a bet that Touma couldn't seduce a princess," Jason told her.

"You underestimated the power of Kami Disease," Motoharu told him. "He doesn't even try, it just happens naturally."

"I can't believe how right you were about the Queen," Ruiko admitted. "She's nothing like how I pictured. She's so… cool." She really didn't have a better word to describe Elizard.

* * *

It took a while for the excitement to settle down and Touma could resume sitting down, without an angry nun clamped on his head. None of his friends came to his help immediately, but eventually Mikoto and Misaki helped Index off him. It seemed like they were all use to it by now. They were about to leave, when Kazari mustered her courage and asked if she could get a picture. Naturedly, the results were not fitting for royalty and Knight Leader face palmed again. He knew about the Queen's love for festivities. Instead of resuming order, he snuck over next to Touma unnoticed, a surprise given his demeanor, and leaned over and whispered. "I need you to come with me for a minute." Touma nodded, confused, but could hear the seriousness in Knight Leader's voice. While everyone else was getting set up for pictures, he moved with Knight Leader. They left out the door and walked briskly down the hall.

"Leaving without saying good bye?" asked Shizuri. Evidently, she had noticed them and decided to follow. She was not someone to bother with pictures, as she preferred her image not being widely distributed.

"I needed his assistance," Knight Leader said briskly. He didn't break stride after hearing her voice, so it was obvious he knew she followed. "You may come, but keep up."

"What is the problem?" Touma asked as the followed him.

"It's more of a solution now," Knight Leader replied. "Remember when you first came to the palace, I told you Eve had attacked. We still have a few men transformed into snakes. If your hand can negate her spell, we would be able to save my men."

"I'll so anything I can to help," Touma said quickly, and Shizuri shook her head. It would be a lie to say she wasn't interested in seeing people transformed though. Knight Leader led them to a room with two knights standing guard outside. They entered and saw two more knights sitting next to a table. They stood up, when Knight Leader entered, and moved to the side to give a view of the snakes. They weren't in a container and were lying docilely. Touma looked at Knight Leader and he gave a slight nod as a go ahead. Touma walked forward and one of the snakes moved toward him. He put his hand out and the snake bumped into his fist. The sound of breaking glass was head and the snake disappeared in a flash of light. In its place, a full grown man awkwardly sat. What made it awkward was the fact he was nude.

"Get him some clothes," Knight Leader ordered one of the knights and he rushed out of the room immediately. "It seems her magic can easily be dispelled by your hand. This makes it simple."

"Maybe you could give me some warning something like that might happen," Shizuri sighed. She was looking up at the ceiling and rubbing her eyes. "I'm not going to get that crap out of my head for a while." Touma sort of felt bad, but he also had to avoid seeing anything to scar him too. He turned the rest of the knights back to normal, and Knight Leader escorted them back to the others.

"I'm glad everything finally ended," Touma sighed in relief.

"Your assistance was greatly appreciated," Knight Leader told him. "From the moment you entered the country. You may not think it, but Lady Carissa does have an eye for talent and she did notice you for that reason." Shizuri made an impatient noise with her tongue.

"I just did what I could," Touma answered, almost dismissively. Knight Leader glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, but didn't say anything immediately.

"I do have one other thing for you," Knight Leader said, almost like an afterthought, and reached into his pocket. He pulled out an envelope, sealed with the royal mark, and handed it to Touma. "Do not open that until you get back to Academy City. It contains some important information you will find useful."

"Uh thanks," Touma said confused. He had no idea what information the letter held. Due to Knight Leader serious tone, he planned to wait before opening it. They walked back to the throne room and opened the door. Immediately, Touma was besieged by Lessar and Misaki. He grunted slightly, as the air was knocked out of him.

"Where did you go?" Misaki asked.

"I just helped some people who were cursed by Eve's magic," Touma explained quickly, as most of his friends were waiting to hear his answer. "Mugino-san accompanied us."

"You missed the pictures," Mikoto told him. "They had to leave and attend other important matters." She walked up and pulled Misaki and Lessar off him.

"And here I thought he was going to meet his new bride," Accelerator yawned. His hand covered his mouth, but it was only to hide his smirk, because afterwards he gave Motoharu a fist bump. His words caused another spectacle and it took a while before they could leave and meet up with Komoe. When they finally did, they found Last Order and Worst sitting down while Komoe scolded them.

* * *

Saturday finally came and Touma and his friends all had to pack their bags. Their flight was due to arrive at 3pm and they had just arrived at the airport. They were greeted by Kaori and Stiyl who came to see them off. Kaori was nice enough and wished them luck and to be careful. Stiyl was obviously there just to say good bye to Index and threaten Touma with pain beyond his imagination if anything happened to her. Touma watched Kazari, Ruiko, Kuroko, and Mikoto say good bye to Itsuwa and Agnese. He heard Jason yawn and turned toward him. "You feeling okay? You've been sleeping a lot recently."

"Tired myself out with the vacation," Jason laughed. "Can't wait to go back and rest up at work." He grinned and Touma laughed. "Have to say, having the church finally seal away all these sin marks last night has lightened my load. I do miss the Pride and Envy Mark. Regeneration fast enough so I don't have to waste time dodging and transformation to prank people was really useful. They wouldn't let me keep it though." He sighed.

"As long as you are back to your normal self," Touma said, walking to the others. "But maybe a little less pranking would be nice." Jason rolled his eyes.

"I had a lot of fun," Misaki told Touma, hanging onto Touma's arm as he got close. "Thanks again for inviting me. Though I have to admit, I'm looking forward to going home."

"You'll stay in contact with us right?" Ruiko asked Itsuwa.

"I have you numbers," Itsuwa reassured her. "You can text me anytime."

"It's was great to get to know you all," Kuroko told Agnese.

"I know the beginning wasn't what you thought the vacation would be like," Agnese told her. "But I hoped you all enjoyed yourselves."

"We did," Kazari told her.

"It was great to have a change of pace from our usual routine back home," Mikoto added, not taking her eyes off Misaki clinging to Touma.

"MISAKA wants you to notice her, MISAKA says as MISAKA pulls on Accelerator's shirt." No matter what Last Order did since they arrived at the airport, Accelerator had been busy messing with his phone and ignoring her. Worst had noticed this too but, when she tried to see who he was in contact with, he already hid the phone. "What is so mesmerizing about your phone? MISAKA whines."

"He's obviously chatting with his new girlfriend he met at the party earlier this week," Motoharu said grinning.

"It's good to see Accelerator-chan making friends," Komoe said proudly.

"That super can't be true," Saiai said, shocked. She also still couldn't believe Komoe used the suffix chan to describe him.

"MISAKA has caught him in the act of infidelity, MISAKA yells as MISAKA points her finger at him in disbelief and anger."

"Ahh," Worst said grabbing her head, as Last Order's jealousy flowed through her. "Misaka doesn't care, but now I want to punish him too." Accelerator sighed and put away his phone.

"Shut up brats," he said, irritated, to Worst, Last Order, and Saiai. "You are all annoying the hell out of me." He glared at Motoharu, who shrugged at him. "I was getting a couple questions answered idiots. Oh, that reminds me, hey hero!" Touma turned to look at him. "Bayloupe said the Lessar brat packed her things and disappeared. She warned you should be on the lookout for anything unusual."

"Great," Touma sighed and hung his head. The last thing he wanted was Lessar sneaking into Academy City and pulling her usual stunts. He could just imagine her breaking into his classroom in the middle of the day and starting a riot.

"Don't worry," Misaki reassured him. "I'll make sure she doesn't do anything bad, but you may need to stay near me as much as possible…

"No you don't," Mikoto interrupted. "I know what you are trying to pull. If he has to stay near anyone, it can be us." She was referring to herself, Kuroko, Kazari, and Ruiko. Kuroko glared at Touma, as if daring to take Mikoto up on that offer. Ruiko was kind of hoping he would take her offer so she could spend more time with him. Kazari was just watching the exchange, slightly worried, next to Jason. While Mikoto and Misaki continued to argue, Shizuri turned to Frenda and Rikou.

"When we get back," Shizuri whispered to them. "We are going to meet at the usual place to find out what our next mission is. Someone…" her eyes flashed dangerously onto Frenda, who gulped, "forgot to mention it earlier." Frenda hit the side of her own head and smiled innocently. "I don't have much information on it yet, but it seems like someone has started breaking into research labs."

"…Any idea who…?" Rikou asked and Shizuri shook her head.

"We will get more information when we contact them," Shizuri answered.

"Will we need him?" Frenda asked, looking at Touma.

"Possibly," Shizuri said, her eyes darting to him too, and then she smirked. "Think you need him to save you again?"

"It's not like that," Frenda denied instantly. "Basically, if we are going against an ability user, his power will be useful." There was truth to her words, but she also blushed, which revealed her other feelings.

"We will see…," muttered Shizuri, glancing over at Touma, who had started to talk to Index and Last Order. She grabbed her luggage and walked over to everyone else, as their plane began to board.

Touma entered the plane first and sat down in the aisle seat. He was tired but, he had to admit, minus the coup, the vacation was really everything he wanted. They visited most of England's sights, he was with his friends, and no one was hurt. With his luck, he always worried about the last one. He heard a couple girls arguing and sighed. _I wish Mikoto, Misaki, and Shizuri would get along better. Misaki and Mikoto are at least polite to each other and usually don't yell._ He remembered the way they cheered him up when they found out about his memory loss. _Though, I'm really glad they are my friends. I still need to tell Index when we get back. That is going to be tough._ He was so distracted, he didn't see someone stand next to him.

"Hey Touma," Ruiko said. "Can I sit next to you?" Touma blinked in surprise.

"Sure."

Ruiko grinned happily and sat down in the window seat. She was quite pleased with herself in taking the initiative. Though, to be honest, Kazari and Jason pushed her into it. While Mikoto, Misaki, and Shizuri were arguing, Kazari and Jason inched around them. The girls didn't bother them, since neither of them was going to sit next to Touma, but they had hid Ruiko in between them. Kazari and Jason sat behind Touma and Ruiko, Kazari got the aisle seat, and she poked Ruiko into action. Ruiko gathered her courage and asked to sit next to him. _I can't waste this chance to get him to notice me._ As she sat down, the other girls realized what happened.

 _When did Saten get over there?_ Mikoto thought. _She must have snuck past us, but when did she get so bold? I have trouble mustering the courage to sit next to him unless I'm pushing Shokuhou away._

 _Oh dear,_ Misaki thought. _Saten was always so outgoing, but shy with her feelings. She actually may be as big as threat as Misaka. She's really nice and that will score major points with him._

 _That girl again,_ Shizuri thought to herself. _She actually managed to befriend Frenda this week. She didn't seem that bold, but then she goes and does this._

There wasn't much they could do and everyone took their seats. Mikoto and Kuroko took the seats across the aisle from Touma. Misaki took the seat in front of Mikoto. Accelerator and Motoharu sat in front of Touma and Ruiko. Shizuri sat with Frenda, and Saiai and Rikou sat behind them. Last Order and Index sat in front of Misaki and Worst was in front of them. Komoe sat in the back again, to be able to read away from the loud students. The plane took off and everyone started talking. Kuroko was happy, because she wasn't sure if she was going to be able to sit next to Mikoto, but Misaki was upset she wasn't next to Touma this time.

"It's going to field weird to be back in Academy City after all this time," Ruiko said to Touma. "I don't remember the last time I've been gone this long."

"I've been out a couple times," Touma said thinking. "But usually only for a little bit, not an entire week."

"And getting involved in something dangerous right," Mikoto said smirking. Touma crossed his arms and thought about it.

"I think there was one time… no things happened then too," Touma replied. "I think the last couple days were the longest I've been out of the city and nothing bad has happened."

"And now you just jinxed yourself," Jason laughed from behind him.

"I'm pretty sure he was jinxed long before he said that," Kuroko commented with a slight smirk.

"And Kuroko comes out of nowhere with a slam," Jason said, slightly impressed.

"I feel better now with everyone teaming up on me," Touma said sarcastically, rolling his eyes, and everyone laughed.

"You can always come over to me if you're feeling lonely," Misaki told him, winking.

"Hey Jason," Motoharu called back. "I sent you something interesting I found online."

"Oh?" Jason asked curiously and opened his phone. There was silence as he read it and burst out laughing. Touma heard Kazari make a strange noise and realized she must have read it too. "Hey Touma," Jason said, holding out his phone over the seat. "You should read this. It's some rumors about the 'terrorist attack' on London." Touma frowned and took the phone.

"What kind of rumors?" Ruiko asked, her eyes sparkling.

"Read it out loud," Mikoto said and everyone leaned closer to hear him, except Index, Last Order, and Worst, who were having an argument over some anime show, and Komoe who was absorbed in her book. Even Shizuri's group wanted to hear the news about the coup.

"Okay," Touma sighed. "Let's see. According to the news, the terrorist attack on England's capital of London was thwarted by the English Military."

"We know that," Shizuri snapped. "Hurry up."

"The Queen has made an official announcement concerning the terrorist's actions and has vowed to find the source to prevent this from happening again," Touma continued. "We know who she is talking about. However, many questions and rumors have arisen do to some unusual circumstances." Touma frowned slightly. "Many people are whispering about an internal strife occurring in the royal family and the resulting destruction of Buckingham Palace was a result of the struggle. They believe the damage is to spread out to be a focused terrorist attack."

"So some people actually know the truth?" Mikoto whispered.

"But they don't have any proof," Misaki pointed out.

"Basically," Frenda told them. "If we don't say anything, it should die down eventually."

"Keep reading," Jason said. "It gets better." Motoharu was cracking up in the seat in front of Touma, and Touma frowned again.

"There are other rumors, including aliens, government conspiracy, and space debris falling down to earth," Touma continued. He paused and shook his head. _People will believe anything._ "One other rumor is gathering worldwide attention, as the unusual event occurred shortly after a recent public announcement." Touma looked around and saw similar looks of confusion on everyone's faces, except Jason and Motoharu, even Accelerator was watching him closely. "Recently a young man from Academy City… what the…" He rounded on Jason and Motoharu. "Did you do this?" he demanded.

"No," Motoharu denied, shaking his head, but still laughing. "We had nothing to do with this, but I wish we had. This is great."

"I'm going to back him up on this," Jason added.

"What is it?" Misaki asked leaning closer to Touma. Ruiko was trying to see over his shoulder and Kuroko and Mikoto were staring straight at him.

"Oh I think I know where this is going," Accelerator said, unable to keep the smirk off his face. Shizuri had a similar look on amusement. Both saw were this was going from a mile away.

"Come on," Saiai said loudly. "Tell us or I will super make you."

"I want to know too," Frenda said.

"Tell them or I will," Jason threatened from behind him and Touma sighed.

"This isn't my fault," Touma told them and took a deep breath. "Recently a young man from Academy City, named Kami the Harem King, had made a declaration he was going to England. Shortly after he supposedly arrived, there was violence in the capital. Many believe Kami had infiltrated the royal family and the internal strife was the princesses fighting over him." He face palmed as his ears burned. _Seriously, who comes up with this stuff?_ He looked up at the others. Jason, Motoharu, Accelerator, Shizuri, Worst and Saiai weren't even trying to conceal their laughter. Kuroko, Ruiko, Kazari, and Frenda were at least trying to conceal their surprise, but even they were smiling slightly. Mikoto, Misaki, Last Order, Rikou, and Index were all staring at him, as if debating how to react to this new information. Eventually smirks appeared on their faces, except Rikou, who gave him a slightly pitying look. Touma felt that was actually worst.

"It's kind of true," Ruiko told him, patting him on the shoulder. She was trying to be supportive, but she was laughing slightly too. It seemed that because the girls knew what happened, they could laugh at Touma's luck, even with the rumors being about him flirting with princesses. If they hadn't been there, the situation would have been much worse.

"No it's not," Touma denied. "The Queen was obviously just messing with us." He tried to keep his face passive, as he felt Mikoto, Misaki, and Shizuri's eyes on him.

"Uh huh," Motoharu said, sarcasm dripping in his voice. "There's a little more you might be interested in."

"Seriously?" Touma muttered, and he heard Jason snicker. "Academy City was not available for comment and refused to give any information on the individual known as Kami. The Queen…. However, was available for comment. Oh crap… Queen Elizard mentioned she had met the one known as Kami during the past week, but was not aware of any problems between him and her daughters. At least she didn't say anything embarrassing… dang there's still more? She continued to say he was a charming, polite young man and admitted if one of her daughters wanted to court … I can't read this, I knew she would do something like this." Accelerator, Jason, Motoharu, Worst, and Saiai were still beside themselves with laughter.

"The Queen has always been eccentric," Index told him, but the look in her eye made Touma sweat. He knew he had to be careful when speaking about the princesses.

"It's not like he needs anyone else," Misaki said lightly. "He has me."

"Someone's being delusional," Mikoto muttered dryly.

"Did you say something Misaka-san?" Misaki said, pretending to be friendly, but giving her a piercing glare.

"I have no idea what you mean," Mikoto replied, feigning ignorance.

Kuroko was watching them all closely. Even though she had learned more about Touma, she still couldn't see the attraction every girl around him saw. _Why is he so popular? He just has the strange power in his hand. I suppose it's because he saves everyone. He even saved me once, but I haven't fallen for him. He doesn't hold a candle to onee-sama and even Jason is better than… Eww did I just think that?_ She shook her head and looked up at the luggage compartment above Touma. It might have been her imagination, but she swore she saw it open up a crack. Kuroko looked around at the others to see most of them were making fun of Touma, arguing like Mikoto and Misaki, or went back to their business like Shizuri's group or Accelerator. Kazari and Jason were looking at pictures on Jason's camera, so everything was calming down. She sighed. _I guess when we get back, I need to set up some alone time for me and onee-sama._

Eventually, making fun of Touma's predicament lost its excitement and everyone calmed down. The conversations became move subdued, turning to memories of the vacation, pictures, and what they were going to do back at the city. Motoharu was still bugging Accelerator about his new magic side girlfriend and a vein was twitching in Accelerator's forehead. He and Jason still didn't know their part in Motoharu's documentary. Kuroko and Mikoto were talking about school, and Misaki was talking to Touma. Ruiko was leaning over the seat and talking with Kazari and Jason about photos. Shizuri was reading a magazine and Frenda was talking with Saiai. Worst had fallen asleep, bored the excitement died down. Index and Last Order were still chatting, like they never would run out of conversation topics.

 _Thump._

Touma looked up. _What was that?_ He looked around and no one else appeared to have heard anything. _Am I going insane?_ He heard a slight thump above him again. This time, Ruiko appeared to have heard it, and she looked up to the luggage compartment. "Did you hear that?" he whispered to her.

"Think it's a gremlin?" Ruiko asked, slightly excited. "They are supposed to love causing mischief on airplanes."

"I sure hope not," Touma muttered. "I've had enough mischief this vacation." Ruiko giggled softly. Touma sighed and stood up. "Might as well check it out." He reached up to the luggage compartment.

"What are you doing?" Mikoto asked, noticing him. Since he hadn't put anything up there, she thought it was odd he was trying to access it.

"Thought I heard something up there," Touma shrugged. "I just want to make sure to avoid any surprises."

"It could be a gremlin," Ruiko said excitedly to Mikoto.

"I doubt it," Index said turning to face them all. "Gremlins wouldn't bother with something trivial like airplanes. They are usually summoned to curse someone for a transgression. I suppose if someone owned an airline, it might, but I doubt any would be on this flight." She got several looks, but they decided not to delve into more details right now.

"Be careful," Misaki told him. Her power only affected humans, so something like an animal or a gremlin would be outside her ability. Touma took her warning to heart and he opened the compartment. He didn't expect what happened next. A girl fell out and collided with him, causing them both to fall to the floor.

It was Lessar.

"What…" he said, looking at her from the floor of the airplane, aware everyone had turned to look at them in surprise, and even Komoe in the back took notice.

"Happy Birthday!" she said excitedly.

"It's not my birthday," he said, stunned.

"Oh," Lessar replied, but her face didn't hold any disappointment. "It's okay, you can still unwrapped me. " Touma had a chance to notice what she was wearing. Over her normal clothes, she was wrapped in a bright red ribbon with a bow in her hair. His face went red and his eyes widened in shock. Luckily, or maybe unluckily, he was saved.

"W-what," sputtered Mikoto, but her anger took over. "Get off of him." She hastily stood up and pulled Lessar off of him. Misaki didn't take her actions lying down either and stood between Lessar and Touma.

"Oh no you don't," Misaki told her, a remote clutched tightly in her hand.

"Lessar-chan," Komoe said shocked. "You can't be here and that kind of language is unbecoming for a young girl."

"How did you get aboard?" Kazari asked shock, while Jason just looked amused.

"When you're as skilled as I am," Lessar said, making a victory sign. "Squeezing my body into tight things unseen is easy. I also can use those skills in reverse." She winked at them and Kazari, Ruiko, Komoe, and Frenda turned bright red. "I had to wait long enough so the plane couldn't be turned around. Looks like you are all stuck with me."

"You wouldn't even be able to get into Academy City," Kuroko pointed out. "Visitors have to go through a lot of security and either have to apply a week in advance, or have someone sponsor them for a purpose."

"To be fair," Jason said speaking up. "It wouldn't be that hard to sneak one person into the city."

"Jason!" Kazari replied shock.

"Kagere-san," Komoe reprimanded him. "Don't talk about breaking the law."

"You're supposed to be part of Judgement," Kuroko snapped.

"Woah," Jason said, putting his hands up defensively. "I was just saying it would be possible. With an electromaster, a mental manipulator, and a teleporter, it wouldn't be hard."

"They have to all agree though," Motoharu pointed out and Jason nodded in agreement.

"Not happening," Mikoto, Misaki, and Kuroko said all at once. Kuroko had a different reason than the other two to reject it.

"Looks like she is super not getting in," Saiai said.

"Basically," Frenda laughed. "She's out of luck."

"We really shouldn't break the law," Touma admitted, as he stood up.

"Guess I have to sneak through the security when I get there," Lessar said wistfully, putting her hands behind her head.

"I would like to see that," Shizuri spoke up, grinning. "Would be a great show to see how much trouble she could cause trying to break in. Would be entertaining at least."

"Mugino-chan," Komoe said loudly. "Don't encourage her to break the law."

"I feel bad if Lessar gets stuck," Kazari whispered to Jason and Ruiko. "She shouldn't have snuck aboard, but leaving her outside of Academy City feels wrong."

"She's a magician too," Ruiko whispered back. "So she might be able to break in, and she probably will try. How many problems would it cause?" She posed the last question to Jason.

"Depends if she gets caught," he shrugged. "But I might have an idea." He pulled out his phone. "Hey Lessar!" he called out and, when she turned to look at him, he snapped a picture. "I might know someone who can grant a visitor pass." He started typing on the phone. "Assuming he agrees, it's up to you to find a place to live while you're here."

"Obviously she's going to live with Kami-yan," Motoharu said.

"Absolutely not," Mikoto, Misaki, Frenda, Index, and Komoe said all at once.

"He doesn't have room for anyone else," Index protested.

"You can't have them sleeping under the same roof," Kazari said, her face turning crimson.

"If she has money," Kuroko pointed out. "She could rent a small apartment outside the school districts." She didn't actually dislike Lessar, after all she saw a bit of herself in her. The part about seeing something you really want and working hard to obtain it, even if she didn't understand what Lessar saw in Touma.

"I'm completely broke," Lessar said, not appearing to be bashful at all.

"Well then," Shizuri said, looking back down at her magazine. "It looks like she gets to sleep in the streets then." She could have offered one of her safe houses for her to sleep in, but she didn't have a reason to. _Kamijou might think better for me if I offer, but I don't like her. She can go die in an alley._

"Your apartment is big enough right," Touma asked Jason, who shook his head quickly.

"Having an unrelated guy and girl living under the same roof would be highly irresponsible," Jason protested. Touma figured he denied it so strongly because Kazari was next to him. He also saw Kuroko watching him closely.

"You didn't defend me when Tsuchimikado wanted her in my dorm," Touma said and Jason shrugged innocently.

"I would offer," Komoe said. "But my apartment is a little crowded though." Touma remembered Himegami lived with her since she left her old school. However, he didn't think it was wise for Lessar to live with someone who didn't know about magic. She was rather, forthright, about her actions and she might let it slip about her magic, even though she was a magician. "If you can't find her a place, I can do it." She walked back to her seat and sat down, picking up her book.

"Then it's settled," Lessar said happily.

"I don't think it's the best idea for you to live with her," Touma told her. "You can't reveal magic to her you know."

"Of course I know that," scoffed Lessar. "This is why I would prefer living with you." She winked at him.

"But it's not happening," Misaki said and Mikoto nodded her head in agreement.

"If it will shut all you brats up," Accelerator said out of nowhere. "I know someone who will probably let the brat crash at her place." Everyone turned to him in shock.

"Her?!" They all said together. Accelerator made an annoyed sound with his tongue at their disbelief.

"He actually knows people?" Shizuri asked.

"And here I thought he was a neet," Jason said.

"This super can't be happening," Saiai gasped.

"MISAKA knew you were cheating on her MISAKA cries as MISAKA points a figure occasionally at Accelerator."

"Misaka will have to punish you when we get back," Worst said mischievously, but grabbing her head as Last Order's emotions flowed through her.

"Will she be okay with a magician living with her?" Touma asked.

"She's a magician too," Accelerator shrugged. "So I doubt it would be too much of an issue… What?" Everyone was staring at him intently.

"You know magicians?" Mikoto asked surprised.

"How long have you known about magic?" Ruiko asked interested.

"I met her awhile back," Accelerator said, rolling his eyes in annoyance of having to explain it. "She told me she used magic, but I didn't believe her at the time. It was only recently do I actually believe it's magic. Now shut up and let me call." He pulled out his phone and dialed. "Hey, it's me… No, I'm not back yet… We got a stowaway magician with us and she needs a place to stay for a couple days… Yea, that's it. You don't have to do anything for this brat… Okay, I'll let them know." He hung up. "She said it's fine." He leaned back in his chair and went to sleep, completely ignoring everyone's stunned looks.

"Wow," Jason said impressed. "I bet I know who she is." He grinned at Motoharu. His phone beeped and he looked down. "Good news, there will be a visitor pass for Lessar when we get back to the city." Judging by the expressions on Mikoto, Misaki, Frenda's and Shizuri's faces, they didn't consider that good news. "Ah dang," he muttered. "He's going to make me help with that. I guess that's a reasonable payment, but, arg, I hate that work." Kazari and Kuroko were the only two who paid attention to that.

"Guess you will be seeing me a lot more," Lessar said grinning.

"Please don't come bursting into our school," Touma sighed. He realized he lost the argument and Lessar was coming back to the city with them. He felt his peaceful days were coming to an end.

He didn't know how right he was.

* * *

Back in Academy City, in an underground research area, two scientists were walking between rows of equipment. Both of the scientists had jackets, because the temperature in the room was near freezing. With so much high tech equipment running constantly, a lot of heat was being produced. If the lab wasn't kept cold, they would start overheating. The lab itself, officially, didn't exist. The main purpose of this lab was to cryogenically freeze certain individuals. One was a rich businessman who was suffering from an incurable disease and was waiting for a cure, another was an ability user who went insane but was too valuable to be disposed of, and many more the two scientists didn't know why they were here. Someone was transported to their lab and their job was not to ask questions, only to make sure they could be thawed out if the situation required the specimens.

"Everything checks out here," the first one said. She was a middle aged woman with brown hair.

"I don't know why we bother doing it every hour," the second one said. He was an elderly man with black hair, but also had a touch of grey. "If anything goes wrong, we will know about it immediately without these routine checks."

"We do it because we were told to," the woman said. "If you don't want to, you can get another job."

"I doubt I will get a job if I leave this one," the man sighed. "I would probably disappear without a trace."

"I suppose it's better than being in the ability development research areas," the woman said. "You heard about all the break-ins right? There weren't any survivors. Whoever did it really doesn't show mercy, but they can't be a normal criminal. They were stealing research involving raising the level of abilities."

"So it has to be an ability user who is stuck where they are at," the man shrugged and yawned. "This stuff happens all the time."

"You would think so," the woman nodded. "But the damage caused to the labs was extensive. They have to be at least level 4."

"I don't know why you are so interested in this," the man said. "It's not like we are in any danger…" He was cut off as red lights started flashing and an ear splitting alarm went off. "What?" he gasped. "That's the intruder alarm." They ran to a monitor and started flipping through the cameras. "Damn it, where are the guards." He stopped when he found them.

"It's a massacre," the woman said. There wasn't a single sole left, and the trails of blood made it look like a wild beast came through. The elevator behind them dinged and they turned around in shock. The doors slide open and the person who entered briefly stunned them.

A single young man walked in through the door. He had shoulder-length dirty blond hair, almost brown, and a dark maroon colored suit, with a white collared shirt, both unbuttoned, revealing a red v-neck underneath. He was wearing a smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. It was full of cockiness and his eyes were cold and dark. "Who are you?" the man said, drawing a small handheld gun from his pocket.

"Compared to you," the young man said. "I'm a god. Put that gun away fool or you will become a brand new corpse. If all your men couldn't take me, what makes you think you could?" His grin widened. "But I suppose it doesn't make a difference, as I only need one of you alive." The man raised the gun up and fired several shots. The sound echoed across the room, but the young man didn't get hurt.

Instead, the bullets were blocked by an unknown white substance. Six white wings emerged from his back, like angel wings, as he continued to walk forward. One of the wings moved in front of him and blocked the bullets. A moment later, the man gasped and blood ran out of his mouth. One of the other wings had stretched and speared itself into his torso. The wing retracted and the man fell to the ground with a thud and the gun clattered away on the hard floor. The woman opened her mouth and screamed. "AHHHHHHHHH…!" The young man had moved forward and clamped his hand over her mouth to muffle the sound.

"Shut up," he said. "If you don't run away and follow my orders, I won't kill you. Do you understand?" The woman nodded and he removed his hand. The young man reached into his pocket, pulled out a piece of paper, and held it up to her face. "This man is here, find him and thaw him out for me." The woman nodded and walked stiffly to the computer console. She ran through a list of names until she found the man. She quickly started typing and selecting options on the computer, all under the watchful eye of the intruder. She sighed in relief and started walking toward a capsule in the far corner of the room.

"This is him," she said, as she pushed a button on the side of the capsule. "It will take roughly two minutes to thaw and he will be disoriented for a little bit afterwards."

"Excellent," the young man said, looking at the man's face through the glass. The man frozen below him was old, as he was balding and his hair was white. His focus was completely on his objective, and the woman realized this.

"Well if that's all," she said nervously. "You don't need me anymore…" She turned and started running. A second later she gasped in pain, as one of the white wings stabbed her in the back. She fell down into the ground in a pool of blood.

"I told you not to run," the young man said, without turning around. He grabbed a chair and sat down and waited. For some reason, the cold didn't seem to bother him at all. When the timer on the capsule went off, and the lid automatically opened, he stood up again. "Welcome back to the world of the living," he said, as the elderly man opened his eyes.

"Who are you?" the man asked weakly. "I was sure he would wake me, not a random stranger."

"Let's say I am a big fan of your work Dr. Ricane," the young man said. "But I wanted a more, hands on, lesson."

"All the information I have on robotics and spatial displacement should be in the databanks," Ricane responded. He tried to sit up, but he was still too weak.

"I'm more interested in your side projects," the young man told him. "A project you went so far as to clone yourself to study the dangers."

"Oh?" Ricane asked, raising an eyebrow. "So you have done your research."

"I want all the information you have on the occult," the young man said, his grin widening. "I want to know everything you know about magic and have you work for me."

"It will take a long time to replace all my equipment."

"That won't be a problem," the young man said dismissively. "I can make anything you require."

"Make?" Ricane asked, focusing on the unusual response. "Again, who are you?"

"My name is Teitoku Kakine," Teitoku replied. "But you may know me better as the second rank level 5, Dark Matter." There was a moment of silence as Ricane took this in.

"I believe this will be an interesting partnership." Teitoku's smile grew, but it wasn't a happy smile. It was a smile with darkness that made him look less human.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Season two has officially ended. I will probably take a couple days off from writing to collect my thoughts, hand out with friends, and generally do things. Then I have to work on procuring funds for season three. You know it takes time to get money, hire people, especially with all the new characters, people want raises, cost of props, drugs, and food. It just gets expensive to run a TV show... I mean story. As soon as the funding gets in, Season Three will start.**

 **Unlike the anime, I am looking forward to making a season three. (This is purely a jab to a certain friend of mine.)**

 **Speaking of this friend, there has been a lot of rumors circulating around him. My friend is a popular writer on this site, MrQuestionMark, author of A Certain Unknown Level 0. A lot of people think he may secretly be Kamichi, the writer of Index. I had my doubts at first, as his writing is a lot more detailed then the light novels. He and I have been talking for a long time, about the series, characters, Pokémon, philosophical questions, math, and random other topics. (Ghost Eevee using tackle would NOT be OP!) After reading all his stories, and talking to him, I think there may be warrant in the rumors around him. Naturally, I don't have complete proof, but when I confronted him, he seemed to deny it way more strongly than he should have. What was that saying, "Me thinks thou protest too much." Anyway, I don't have proof, but maybe someone else could get him to admit it. I think he might be using this site to write on topics he can't for the light novel, or use alternative character styles.**

 **Anyway, I hope everyone has enjoyed the story so far. I have received a lot of positive reviews, along with suggestions people had to improve the story. I have a lot of fun writing it, but it is good to know other people are having fun reading it. You, the readers, make writing this story worthwhile. A lot of things are happening and there is a big list of problems that need to be addressed.**

 **Issues:**

 **What is Eve's and Adam's next step?**

 **What is Kakine planning?**

 **What happened to Touma's student ID?**

 **What could Lessar possibly do in Season 3?**

 **What horrible punishment does Jason have in stored for Kuroko?**

 **What will be Carissa's fate? (Seriously, some of you commenters.)**

… **And many more.**


	60. S3 Just Normal Lives

**At long last, Season 3 is here. I have surpassed the anime. I hope it exceeds your expectations, because some of you have some unrealistic ideas of my abilities. Actually, some of your ideas are just borderline crazy. But they give me a laugh, so I still love you all. Anyway, I have A LOT of stuff planned this season and are looking forward to trying a bunch of different things. One thing I want to do is move away from some of the more, main stream, characters and break off to some of the less used characters. The Index universe is huge, yet most people focus only on the level 5s. Though, I do that too because it's fun.**

 **Why does everyone think that letter is a love letter from Carissa? Maybe it's a check as payment for his services?**

 **Swoob: I originally started this story after the anime, because I was in the middle of reading the novels. So the time line is all screwed up. Like Worst was introduced long before WW3 so don't try to figure it out lol. As for all your questions, this chapter should answer some. Saiai has competition now though.**

 **Generation Zero: Let's add another couple organizations too to make it a real FFA.**

 **Whwsms: That line is for season five only.**

 **Handsomistic1: Hmm, your questions are interesting. I'm sure some people found out about it, but you might have to wait till next chapter. As for Kuroko and the clones, not sure when I want to put that in and have her reach the breaking point.**

 **general ironox: Acqua is not bound by normal rules.**

 **MrQuestionMark:** **This guy here….**

 **Guest: Carissa's fate wasn't up for a vote. I have a very sophisticated, overly complicated and convoluted plan for it.**

 **Agent Nine: I know right? As for the ID, you may have to wait a TINY bit longer.**

 **Guest 10032: Don't spoil everything for the others lol. Saten has been developing nicely, with a little prodding from her friends, and there is actually a purpose for all of this. Lessar antics, always fun regardless of what is actually happening.**

 **EpicReads: Wishful thinking indeed.**

 **Anon: Carissa's in her upper 20s. She couldn't be a student, teacher assistant maybe.**

 **Haku Katsuki: There will be a lot more science side this arc, with a little magic sprinkled in.**

 **On a positive note: 1000+ REVIEWS YAY!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

Their plane had left England at roughly 3pm Saturday afternoon. It was over an eight hours trip, before they finally arrived back in Japan, and then there was another eight or so hour adjustment to make up for the different time zones. To them, it had felt like it was around midnight but, when their plane touched down, the sun was just beginning to rise. Even though most of them had slept at least part of the flight, they were still a little groggy. Daylight savings time is bad enough with a single hour, but this adjustment was giving Touma a massive headache. He was glad it was Sunday morning, so they could rest and recuperate, rather than trying to immediately head back to school. His group were rather subdued, even Lessar, as they exited the plane and made their way into the lobby. They could see one car parked out of the nearby exit. A lone teenager was sitting on the hood, looking through his cellphone, and yawning.

"Looks like he actually arrived on time," Shizuri commented, noticing the young man. "And here I was thinking he would be as useless as ever." She started walking toward him, without explaining who he was to the others. She wasn't the type of person to get all emotional with good byes and she knew she would see Touma soon enough. _I'm going to make sure I see him again, regardless of circumstances._

"…He can be reliable when needed…" Rikou said, almost like she was defending him, but her monotonous voice made it difficult to tell.

"He's usually super Hamazura-y," Saiai sighed, shaking her head. No one besides Shizuri's group knew what that meant.

"The point is he is here on time," Frenda said and turned around to Touma. "Basically our ride is here," she said cheerfully. "We'll catch you later. Thanks again for the vacation." She was slightly more hesitant to leave than the others, but she had to follow Shizuri to their next assignment.

"It wasn't a problem," Touma said waving to them. He felt like he had seen the guy picking them up before, but it had been a long time and he couldn't quite remember. "Good luck." He had heard small snippets of Shizuri's conversation with Frenda and the others, and realized they were planning something, probably dangerous. Frenda grinned at him, and Shizuri turned her head slightly, to barely see him out of the corner of her eye. Then she did something surprising and raised her hand in a slight wave, but put it down quickly. Saiai also turned and waved, but her eyes were on Accelerator. Touma watched them load up and leave, when he heard Mikoto sigh with relief from behind him. "What's wrong?" he whispered

"Just glad she's finally gone," Mikoto replied. "She's not very… stable."

"I know what you mean," Touma said, nodding slightly. "But she's not that bad once you get to know her, and her friends are pretty nic…" He felt sweat formed on the back of his neck and his words died out, as Mikoto glared at him.

"Oh," Mikoto whispered back, slightly irritated. "So you like violent girls?"

"What?" Touma said, slightly surprise. "It's not like that." He wasn't sure what he said wrong, but he wanted to deny whatever she thought he had said.

"Not like I care or anything," sniffed Mikoto, and she looked away.

"He's obviously into kind, sophisticated girls," Misaki told her smiling, out of earshot from Touma. "Not tomboys."

"He's not into conniving manipulative girls either," Mikoto pointed out. "So I guess that takes you out."

"I would never," Misaki replied, puffing her cheeks slightly in anger. "You sure have gotten bold lately. The Misaka-san I first met was always so much fun to tease."

"Maybe because I had a reason too," Mikoto answered and the two girls glared daggers at each other.

"There's Yomikawa-san MISAKA shouts as MISAKA points at her to broadcast her arrival!" A black car had pulled up and Aiho stepped out, followed closely by Kikyou. Last Order waved excitedly to them, as they entered the airport. She then ran over and hugged both of them. Worst shook her head, but didn't bother to go over and greet them. When Last Order ran over to hug Kikyou, Aiho walked over to Komoe.

"Hey," she said, grinning, to Komoe. Touma saw she was in her traditional green jersey. "Thanks for chaperoning. I hope these kids weren't too much trouble for you by yourself."

"Not at all," Komoe said. "They were all very well behaved. I mean, there were a few occasional arguments, but it's to be expected. They always went back to being friends in the end."

"Well that's good," Aiho replied. "I was worried a couple of them might have started something." She glanced over at Worst and Accelerator, who glared back. She suddenly grinned. "I also was worried you might have been mistaken as a lost child and get held up until they found your parents."

"Don't joke about that," Komoe cried, tears welling up in her eyes. "That actually happened!" Aiho tried to suppress a laugh, but she couldn't completely hide it.

"Well tell me all about it while we grab a smoke," Aiho said, still unable to hide her grin. She led Komoe toward the airport exit, while Accelerator, Last Order, and Worst grabbed their things.

"Oh yea," Accelerator spoke up, remembering the situation he had set up for some reason. He still wasn't sure why he volunteered. "We need to drop that brat off on the way back." He jabbed his thumb at Lessar. "She's staying at someone else's place and doesn't know the way."

"Wow," Aiho said, stopping in her tracks and looking back at Accelerator. "Doing something nice for a girl?" She walked over and put her arm around him. "Did you finally get yourself a girlfriend?"

"F%^& that," snarled Accelerator. "She's one of the f&$^&# hero's girls." He motioned to Touma with his hand. Lessar took his cue to mean she could jump on Touma's back and wrap her arms around him, which she did immediately.

"Yep," Lessar said grinning, her head right next to Touma's ear. He could feel her breath and then she purposely blew into his ear. "He's going to realize I'm the best girl and then invite me to stay in his room."

"No he's not!" Index and Mikoto said loudly. Misaki was unusually quiet, with a thoughtful look on her face. Her thoughts didn't prevent her hand slowly sliding into her bag though. Since they were now back in Academy City, she had to be more mindful of her actions. Of course, she would act like her normal self in a second, if it meant Touma would be hers.

"Besides," Motoharu added. "Accelerator found a different girlfriend in England."

"No he didn't MISAKA denies loudly." Last Order was particularly adamant about anyone saying that. Worst also hated bringing up the topic, in front of Last Order, because of the flood of emotions she felt from her. If it was just Accelerator, she loved to needle him about it constantly.

"Kamijou-chan," Komoe protested, turning to face him with a stern look on her face. Touma noticed she didn't reply to the information about Accelerator and thought that was kind of unfair. "You are too young for those kinds of activities. You should be…" But she was interrupted by Aiho, who had started pushing her out the door to take a smoke break.

"He's a nice kid," Aiho said grinning. "I'm sure he's not going to do anything he will regret. Besides, kids need to learn from their mistakes, right?"

"But…" Komoe tried to keep protesting, but Aiho wasn't hearing any of it and they left the airport to take a quick smoke before they had to leave. Academy City was really strict with smoking. You could only smoke in designated areas with air purifiers, to prevent anyone else from inhaling second hand smoke. Teachers could do it at their office desks in the school, but they had small personalized air purifiers set up there.

"What kind of bullshit are you sprouting?" Accelerator growled, rounding on Motoharu.

"You were flirting with that girl, Bayloupe, last week right?" Motoharu asked innocently.

"She did say nice things about you," Lessar added grinning. "And she rarely compliments people."

"But I thought Accelerator was a lolic…" Jason started to say, but Accelerator interrupted him

"If you finish that sentence," he said, with his voice full of malice. He was getting annoyed at the others making fun of him. _So what if a damn girl likes me. People are always attracted to power._ "I'm going to kill you."

"If you threaten me like that," Jason said grinning, but Touma noticed he didn't finish that sentence. "I might have to curse you to protect myself."

"Huh?" Kuroko asked. "When could you curse people?" _Is he referring to those sin marks? But he said those were sealed away by the church._

"Jason," Kazari reprimanded him. "You shouldn't use magic like that." She would have said the same thing if Jason was planning to use his ability on someone like that too.

"I like to see you try," Accelerator sneered. He was confident he could handle any curse Jason could conjure. With the experience he had gained fighting magicians in England, he was confident he knew enough to disperse any magical attack aimed at him or, the very least, keep it away long enough to dodge. _Though, I doubt he can use anything comparable to Curtana's power._ "I bet it's some lame trick you play on the brat there." He pointed toward Kuroko.

"Hey!" she said angrily. "I'm not a brat."

"Of course not," Jason answered, waved his hand dismissively. "I don't use magic on her. I tailor each of my pranks specifically to the individual. I use it on my good friend Touma." Touma coughed when he realized what Jason was talking about.

"Please don't ever do that again," Touma told him. "If you cursed him with that, there's going to be a horrible ending, probably for you. _No one should ever see a female Accelerator. I'm getting the shivers just thinking of it._ Mikoto eye's widened and she covered her mouth to prevent herself from laughing at the possible outcome. Kuroko looked over at her and frowned slightly.

 _She knows,_ Kuroko thought to herself. _Onee-sama, why won't you share the joke with me?_

Misaki was trying to keep a straight face too, but she also had to cover her mouth, because she couldn't stop the smile forming. _This would be really interesting to see, but Touma's right. Accelerator wouldn't take it lying down and who knows how much he would destroy to catch Kagere._ Ruiko, Index, Last Order, and Kazari shared confused looks, as none of them knew what the others were talking about. Motoharu was laughing silently, enjoying every moment of their conversation.

"Fine," Jason said, putting his hands behind his head. "I rather not get into a fight with the number one." Accelerator smirked, as if saying no one messes with me. He and Last Order made their way towards Aiho's car to pack their bags, Lessar grudgingly followed, but Worst lagged behind.

"If you need any help pranking him," Worst told Jason. "Let Misaka know." Jason grinned and gave her a thumb up before she headed toward the car. Touma sighed, but knew this issue wasn't settled yet, as Jason gave up way to easily.

"Want to go together?" Touma asked the group, unable to stifle a yawn. "We need to take the same bus anyways."

"Yes," Mikoto nodded. "Komoe-sensei doesn't really need to watch us anymore, now that we are in the city. Let's make sure to say good bye and thank her."

"Can't wait to lie down in my own bed," Ruiko said, stretching. "The hotel rooms were comfortable, but nothing beat's your own bed."

"I miss my bed too," Index chimed in. "I couldn't sleep the same way on a hotel bed. It just didn't feel right."

"I hope we can concentrate tomorrow," Kuroko said. "Even though it's morning, I'm ready to go back to bed."

"Jason, are you able to come with us?" Kazari asked, turning to him. "You said you had to work when we got back."

"I know," Jason groaned. "I had to promise to do a lot this week to get last week off, bunch of tightwads all of them." He looked off into the distance, as Accelerator's group left. "I think I see them, dang. They are punctual." He turned back to Kazari. "Oh, do you and Kuroko have Judgement duties Monday?"

"No," Kazari shook her head. "On Konori-senpai's advice, we requested leave until Tuesday. She said we would probably have jet lag and, after a full day of school, wouldn't be in any condition to participate in Judgement." She yawned slightly, covering her mouth with her hand. "I'm glad we listened to her suggestion. Why do you ask?"

"Well," Jason replied, slowly, before grinning broadly and turning to Kuroko. "It's one of my last free afternoons for a while and someone has a bet to fulfill." Kuroko's eyes widened in surprise and recognition.

"Ah," she cried, grabbing her head. "I completely forgot about that bet."

"I warned you," Mikoto sighed, while face palming. "You brought this on yourself."

"What are you planning to have her do?" Ruiko asked Jason.

"Surprise," Jason said, grinning. "But if you all want to come tomorrow and see, the more the merrier. I figured because she wanted me to dress in an embarrassing costume, I should return the favor." Kuroko glared at him, but didn't say anything, in case he decided to make the bet worse.

"You aren't doing anything too bad right?" Kazari asked him again, and he smiled reassuringly at her.

"Nah, just a little embarrassing."

"Well Aogami has everything," Motoharu said. "So it doesn't have to be perverted at all. It could be though…"

"How did you get him to agree?" Touma asked.

"Promised him a picture," Jason shrugged. "And he agreed instantly." Motoharu and Touma nodded together in instant understanding.

"I don't know if I will be able to go," Misaki spoke up, pouting slightly. "If I can't, will you send me a picture?" Jason nodded and she smiled in thanks. She knew she had a lot of work she had to do to catch up on everything that happened over the last week. She had to hear the news on other cliques and check up on all her 'friends.'

"I can't believe I have to do this," Kuroko moaned and Mikoto patted her on the back.

"I really want to see this now," Ruiko said to Kazari. "Let's go with them tomorrow."

"Okay," Kazari said. "We can support Shirai-san."

"Looks like they are here," Jason mumbled, grabbing his bag and walking to a large black car that had pulled up in front of the airport. He gave Kazari a hug, fist bumped Touma and Motoharu, waved to the others, and left. Touma didn't see even a small glimpse of the other people in the car, as Jason got in.

"Should we go then?" Touma asked, and the others nodded. They left through the main entrance, said good bye to Komoe, and boarded their bus. They were relatively quiet, as all of them were suffering from jet lag and not in the mood to do anything requiring thought or action. Misaki was leaning up against Touma and was on the verge of falling asleep, when he, Motoharu's and Index reached their stop. Mikoto, Misaki, Ruiko, and Kazari waved good bye to them, but Kuroko just gave them a brief nod of her head in acknowledgement. She was obviously worried about what Jason was planning. Touma, Motoharu, and Index had to board another bus, before they finally arrived at their dorm. Motoharu waved them goodbye, before entering his apartment, and Touma and Index entered theirs. Index walked groggily to the bed, swaying the entire way, and fell onto it, without bothering to change out of her nun clothes. Touma yawned again, went into the bathroom, and climbed into the tub he used as a bed. He fell asleep a few minutes later. Because he was so tired, he forgot to lock the door.

* * *

"Mmmm," Mikoto mumbled, slowly opening her eyes. She was lying in her own bed, back in the Tokiwadai dorms. She and Kuroko had gotten back and wanted to go to bed, but had to check in with the dorm mistress first to let her know they had returned. Even though they had done nothing wrong, Kuroko and Mikoto had both straightened up at the sight of her, before she told them to relax and marked them in. They had then proceeded straight towards their room and fell asleep in their own beds, without even unpacking. Mikoto laid in bed and stared at the ceiling, knowing she had to unpack, but didn't really want to get up. She glanced over at her clock and saw it was only a little after noon. _I guess all I needed was a couple hours of sleep,_ she thought, when she felt something move in her bed. She instinctively lifted up the sheets and saw Kuroko.

"Onee-sama…" Kuroko mumbled, still half asleep. "Your scent is so nice…" She clamped tighter to Mikoto and snuggled close.

"Kuroko!" Mikoto fumed, and sparked up for a moment. Kuroko fell off of her and onto the floor, smoking slightly. "Will you quit sneaking into my bed? When will you learn?" She got up, stepped over Kuroko's twitching body, and went over to her suitcase. She started unpacking, as Kuroko picked herself up off the floor.

"But you smell so good," Kuroko sighed. "I can't help it. I put up with it during our vacation, to avoid waking Uiharu and Saten-san, but I couldn't resist it any longer. Then you woke me up with your whip of love…" She trailed off, grinning happily. "You must have missed it too."

"You confuse…" Mikoto sighed. "Never mind, you going to unpack or what?" Kuroko nodded and she too started putting away all of her personal belongings. She had a lot more merchandise than Mikoto, because she had a bought a lot of clothing during their trip. Mikoto had a few things, but most of what she liked many considered childish, and she had been aware of Misaki watching her closely during their shopping trips. _I know she was looking for a chance to make fun of my taste in clothes. I can't stand her._ She reached the gifts she received for her birthday and began putting them away. She put the radio up on her desk and then picked up Touma's music box gift. She held it gingerly for a moment, before putting it on her bedside table. She then reached into her dresser and took a couple small objects to put in the side pocket of the box. Kuroko noticed this and watched with slightly jealous eyes.

"You really like the ape's gift," Kuroko pointed out.

"He put a lot of thought into it," Mikoto replied, not turning around, as her face turned slightly red. "It also is useful and he adjusted it to match my tastes." _Though I don't think he understands how adorable Gekota is. He at least knows I like him._ She really didn't have any expensive jewelry to store in it, but she did have a couple Gekota straps she had been looking for a storage case for them.

"I put a lot of thought in my gifts too," protested Kuroko.

"I know," Mikoto sighed. "And thank you, but I told you a hundred times I don't have the same interest in clothes as you do. You have rather…" she wanted to be kind, but still make Kuroko understand. Getting angry hasn't helped, so maybe a different approach would work. "bolder… taste in clothes then I like."

"You need to dress more feminine onee-sama," Kuroko admonished. "You are Tokiwadai's ace, and everyone looks up to you. You need to dress in a way to show off your status." She always thought Mikoto looked great in anything, but she had always wanted Mikoto wear more adult style clothes, rather than childish ones, especially in the underwear department.

"I don't want to be treated like some celebrity," Mikoto said, slightly irritated. "That's why I prefer our friends. They treat me like a normal person, even Accelerator isn't all bad. He at least treats me the same as everyone else."

"But I bet you want one person to treat you differently than then others," Kuroko said slowly. She tried to keep her voice as even as she could, but jealousy was still seeping in, which didn't escape Mikoto's notice.

"Yes," Mikoto said, refusing to turn around, and started rummaging around for a new set of clothes. She didn't want to elaborate any further, because she knew Kuroko understood everything with that one word. She stood up and headed to the bathroom. "But enough about me, what about you?"

"What about me?" Kuroko asked, confused at the sudden change in topics.

"How's your relationship with Kagere-san going?" Mikoto asked, laughing slightly, as she shut the bathroom door. She enjoyed the look of shock on Kuroko's face, because it was usually Kuroko who surprised her.

"ONEE-SAMA!" Kuroko cried loudly. "Stop suggesting such a horrible thing."

"You seem oddly defensive," Mikoto's voice came through the door. Kuroko grabbed her head and shook it back and forth, until she finally got a couple inappropriate images out of her head.

 _That was horrifying,_ she thought. _Only onee-sama can be in those kinds of thoughts._ An evil grin appeared on her face, as she heard the water start running on the other side of the door. "I didn't know you were in the feisty mood onee-sama," Kuroko called out and teleported into the bathroom.

"What are…? KUROKO!" Mikoto yelled and a large electric discharge went off, knocking out the power to the floor.

* * *

"Thanks Konori-senpai," Kazari said, speaking into her phone. She was standing outside a department store, waiting for Ruiko to finish buying some more paper for school. "I just wanted to let you know we are back in the city. Okay, I will see you Tuesday." She hung up and gazed off into the clear blue sky. After everything that happened, she was glad to be home. Over all, she had a lot of fun during the vacation, seeing the sights, hanging out with her friends, and enjoying tons of delicious sweets unique to England. She sighed, remembering how delicious some truffles were, when she felt a breeze under her skirt. She looked down and her long skirt was falling back into position. A couple kids started whispering and pointing at her, before her face turned bright red. "Stop it Saten-san!" Kazari cried, turning around. No one was behind her, but that didn't deter her. She looked around, until she saw Ruiko peeking out from an ally, fifteen feet away.

"Orange today?" Ruiko asked. "Unusual choice, were you still tired?" They had slept till around noon and then had gone out to get a late lunch, since Ruiko needed some school supplies. When Kazari noticed her, Ruiko walked toward Kazari, carrying a bag of assorted goods.

"Will you please stop flipping my skirt," Kazari asked again, slightly upset and ignoring the color comment. Ruiko had always been into flipping her skirt but, ever since her ability increase, she could do it at a distance and then started doing it more often. During the trip, she had done it at least ten times. "It's really embarrassing."

"But I needed to check to make sure you didn't forget them," Ruiko pointed out, but unable to conceal the look of amusement on her face.

"It's not your job to check," Kazari replied, while turning around and started heading back to their dorm. "Maybe I shouldn't help you with the makeup homework you forgot to do that's due tomorrow."

"No!" Ruiko pleaded, all amusement disappearing from her face instantly, as she followed Kazari. "Please help me finish. It's so cruel of the school to give all their tests the same week before break, and then give extra work for me to complete over our vacation. It's due Monday and I haven't even started it yet."

"I did warn you to do some of it during break," Kazari said, grinning slightly. She knew, in the end, she was going to help Ruiko, no matter what she said, but she was hoping it would stop Ruiko from flipping her skirt as much. Ruiko continued to beg for help, until they reached their dorms, and Kazari finally agreed to assist her. They sat down, around the table in their room, and started working. "Remember, I'm not doing the work for you. I'm just helping you where you have problems."

"Fine," Ruiko grumbled. "I'm desperate and will take what I can get." With Kazari's help, they slowly worked their way through Ruiko's homework. After a couple hours, Ruiko was laying sprawled out on the floor and moaning, while clutching her head in an overdramatic fashion. "I can't take this anymore," she complained. "We have been at this all day, I need a break."

"Come on Saten-san," Kazari said encouragingly, looking up from her laptop. "You only have a little more to do."

"A short break won't hurt," Ruiko pushed. "Maybe we can grab some ice cream." She grinned slightly when Kazari's eyes widened slightly. _Got her._ "There's the one shop only two blocks away. We could hop over there and back in only a few minutes." She looked into Kazari's eyes and saw her resolve weakening. _Just one more push should do it._ "Well," Ruiko continued, sitting up. "You might have had too many sweets last week and got sick of them. We probably shouldn't let you eat anymore for a while."

"Let's not get hasty," Kazari denied quickly. "I suppose we could take a short break and get a treat for all the hard work you have done so far. Also, I don't eat that many sweets."

"No," Ruiko said dismissively, sitting up. "You are probably right. We should remain here and continue before we get distracted. Neither of us needs any sweets." _Good, it's almost to the point where she is going to want to pressure me into going._ Everything was going according to Ruiko's plan.

"You have been working hard," Kazari muttered softly. "I think you deserve a short break, as long as we don't get distracted for too long." She looked down and frowned for a moment. "Give me a minute and we can go." She got up and went to the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

"To easy," Ruiko laughed, leaning back on her arms. "I wonder if there's a way I could get her to finish my homework for…" She fell backwards when she heard Kazari suddenly scream. Ruiko got up, ran to the bathroom door, and threw it open. "Uiharu, what happened?!"

Uiharu looked at Ruiko with a combination of fear and sorrow. "Saten-san…" she replied softly. Kazari pointed to the floor beneath her and Ruiko saw she was standing on a bathroom scale. It dawned on her what Kazari screamed about. She walked over to see how badly the damage was. To Ruiko, Kazari didn't look any different, but the scale said otherwise.

"It's not that bad," Ruiko said, trying to comfort her.

"No it's horrible," Kazari wailed. "And the judgement physical is in less than two weeks."

"You simply have to exercise and not eat sweets anymore," Ruiko pointed out. Because Kazari was her best friend, she forced herself not to laugh at the depressed look Kazari made when Ruiko said that.

* * *

Shizuri was milling over several folders of information. When they returned to one of their safe houses, she found a package, from her contact, filled with all the information she would need about their next mission. Frenda was rummaging through the refrigerator, while Saiai and Rikou were watching TV, waiting for Shizuri to finish. There was a fifth person in the room. He was the male with dirty blonde hair that had picked the girls up and brought them to their base. His name was Shiage Hamazura, a level 0 and the former leader of a Skill-Out group. Skill-Out was a terrorist organization made up of low levels, mostly level 0s, who worked together in order for safety and revenge. Because Academy City treated higher levels with greater preference, it was only natural the ones left behind would join together. Shiage was busy surfing through his phone. He was, drafted, into working for ITEM.

Shizuri leaned back in her chair and rubbed her temple. "Damn, we were gone for one week and all hell has broken loose. What the f%^$ were the other groups doing?"

"… What happened Mugino…?" Rikou asked, turning toward Shizuri. Frenda, Saiai, and Shiage turned to listen too.

"First," Shizuri said irritated, throwing one of the folders back on the table. "Over the last week, someone has been breaking into a lot of high security facilities. They seem to be after two things. Ability development research and, this appears to be more important to the people at the top, information on some interesting people. They are nervous and want us to get involved now. One of their security groups has been completely wiped out already. Seriously, why the f#&% would they hire such useless people."

"Any idea who the person is?" Frenda asked. "Or are we basically going in blind?"

"No," Shizuri shook her head. "But I think they do know, based on the information I received."

"Why would they super keep their identity secret?" Saiai said angrily. "We could prepare better if we knew."

"There's probably a reason," Shiage yawned. "But it's probably someone they can't advertise…" He was hit in the head by a remote and fell off his chair. Saiai had thrown it at him. "What was that for?" Shiage demanded, rubbing his head.

"It was a rhetorical question," Saiai said, crossing her arms. "We all know the answer."

"Why are you always a step behind?" Frenda sighed. "Basically, you're so useless. Why can't you be as useful as Kamijou?" Shiage frowned. He never had a chance to meet the famous Touma Kamijou, since Touma had helped ITEM with a previous mission. As he drove the girls back, he heard them talking about the trip and he was pretty jealous of him.

 _I can't believe he got to see them all in bathing suits,_ Shiage thought. _They treat me like crap most of the time, well except Takitsubo. She's the only one who treats me like a person. Still, you would think being in an all-girl group I would get more sights, but I barely get any. It's mostly just awkward and painful situations. How did it all come to this?_ He sighed and muttered under his breath. "I use to be the leader of a 100 skill-out members and now I'm an errand boy. When did a level 0's life become so cheap…?"

"Did you say something?" Shizuri asked, glaring at him.

"No, nothing at all."

"That's what I thought," Shizuri said. "Why don't you make yourself useful and go get us refreshments. Frenda has been complaining she's out of her favorite drink."

"Name brand," Frenda told him. "Basically, I won't accept knockoffs."

"Right away," Shiage sighed and left the base. _Errand boy again. How did this Kamijou get them to regard him so highly?_

Shizuri waited until he left, before speaking to the others. "Now that he is gone, I can tell you about another interesting piece of information. It seems several smaller Skill-Out groups have begun moving strangely. As you know, the higher ups keep them monitored to ensure they don't get out of hand. Well, it seems they found a new rallying point and have begun to start bringing themselves together."

"So what?" Saiai asked. "They are super just a bunch of level 0s? What could they possibly do?"

"Wait," Rikou spoke up. "…Ability development was stolen…"

"Of course," Frenda exclaimed. "Their new leader must be promising to make them all powerful."

"Exactly," Shizuri said, nodding. "But I believe whoever stole the actual research couldn't be a low level, especially not a level 0. Whoever it is probably wants to experiment on themselves, but is too afraid of the consequences. I bet they are a level 4 trying to reach level five."

"So they super just want a bunch of guinea pigs," Saiai said and Shizuri nodded.

"…Why did you wait for Hamazura to leave…?" Rikou inquired.

"He may still have some old acquaintances in Skill-Out," Shizuri explained. "I don't want him to have a change of heart in the middle of the mission. It would be a pain to have to capture another peon."

* * *

"… And then Eve left with Adam and the resurrected St. Peter," Jason told Aleister. Jason was standing before Aleister's capsule and had just finished giving an explanation on the events in England. He described his encounter from when Carissa started the coup, to when Eve and Adam left. He did some selective editing, such as skipping the part about him facing Knight Leader and the humorous conversations between the princess and Touma. "But I'm sure you knew all of this. You knew the princess was planning to start a rebellion."

"I did," Aleister confirmed. "But her exact timing was unknown. I have limited sights outside of the city. Regarding the incident, you could not have hoped for a better outcome. Everyone was brought back in one piece, your secrets weren't revealed, and your objective should be moving forward. I am interested in hearing your analysis on the fifth rank Misaki Shokuhou's shift."

Jason frowned. "I wish I had been there personally to get as much information as possible. I consulted with Index about it and it's a pretty interesting case. The drug she took was designed for Rikou Takitsubo and, while both of them were mental type users rather than more physical emission types, it shouldn't have had that kind of effect. The drug gave her concentration a boost in order to allow her to infiltrate into magical defenses. What should have happened next was her body or mind should have started to break down because of the stress. Instead, Telesma started to flow into her from the knights she was controlling and gave her the initial push past level five. It would be similar to Mikoto Misaka's transformation in needing an outside stimulus. Also, Shokuhou's transformation leads to several interest questions."

"Go on," Aleister said.

"Normally," Jason continued. "The laws of magic and science can't work together. I was one of the few exceptions. When an ability user uses magic, the conflicting laws cause their body to destroy itself." He shivered slightly remembering his own experience. "However, when a magician who has learned to refine mana uses an ability, they do not suffer this problem. Shokuhou had absorbed Curtana's Telesma, but did not use magic. Instead, it fortified her body and there were physical changes. Including, changing hair color, wire like fairy wings, and white outer clothes. I'm not sure how to explain this. With many computer programs, an older program can't run a newer format saved file, but a new program can run a saved older format. If you want an older program to run a newer file, you have to format the file to one the older model can understand or it doesn't run correctly." His eyes widened as he slowly formed this reasoning. "Are the abilities developed here designed to create a new overall system? Is this your goal?"

"An interesting comparison," Aleister commented. "But I can't find flaw in your logic based on the information at your disposal. As for my goal, I can just say your goal coexists with mine, so I have no reason to prevent your experiments. But if you delve too far in matters that do not concern you, you may not like what you find." His words were a warning to Jason, and didn't take any explanation. Jason wasn't the kind of person to take that lying down. He needed answers, but he knew now wasn't the right time. After a moment of silence, as the two watched each other, Aleister continued. "Why don't you move on to your observation of the others?"

"Three of the levels fives have shown there is potential to reach the next stage," Jason pointed out. "Each one required a different stimulus though. Accelerator is the only one who can hit the Awakening stage. Misaka and Shokuhou can take the first step into level six, but one requires the Misaka Network, and the other required a drug and an enormous amount of Telesma. Awakening and level 6 may be similar, but they seem like parallel paths… that can reach the same end point?" He took Aleister's silence as a yes and continued. "Normally a level 5 is mentally unstable, which is why they need an anchor."

"You are hardly one to go on about mental stability," Aleister pointed out. "But continue."

"Touma Kamijou," Jason said, smirking slightly. "He is incredibly unusual. It seems like just being around him causes people to change. Even I… never mind, it's not important. I never encountered anyone like him. He made the experiment I wanted to carry out possible. It will be the ultimate perversion of magic and science. If I take Idol Theory and replace the core parts with science, they should be able to coexist, if the traditions and beliefs are correct. It will be the only one of its kind. You obviously know what I am planning and so I know your plan will incorporate it. But I also know you are only interested in the end results, even if the magic part doesn't suit you. I can only think of one ambitious idea that could use it and that would be to create…"

Jason didn't see what happened next. One moment he was talking to Aleister, the next he had been blown away and slammed into the wall. He just managed to have his shadow expand enough to absorb most of the impact from the collision. He still fell to his knees and started coughing up blood. Aleister hadn't moved, and Jason still had no idea how he was hit. "I did warn you," Aleister told him, his tone still not betraying any emotion. "It would be a shame to waste a valuable resource, but everything can be replaced."

"My apologies," coughed Jason, struggling to his feet. His body felt heavy and his bones ached. He didn't normally apologize, but he could tell instantly what would happen if he continued his normal route. "I will refrain from investigating that. If you are interested in my experiment progressing, I need you to do something after the system scan tomorrow. I know one is planned to verify if anyone was altered or had progressed over break. A small change might need to be made."

"If there is evidence her potential has changed," Aleister said. "Then it will be done. Otherwise, everything will stay as it is." He paused for a moment to let his words sink in. "One last thing, you may not be aware of the recent theft of research information. Your research data had been accessed too, but I made sure to move all information you had on the Imagine Breaker."

"If you had time to do that," Jason asked. "Why didn't you remove all the information so the intruder didn't get anything? Unless you wanted them too…"

"The Imagine Breaker information is more valuable than all of the stolen data put together," Aleister said. "I have plans for the Anti-Aim wavelength you found and would prefer it not to fall into the hands of others."

"You certainly are thorough," Jason replied dryly.

* * *

"What do you two have to say for yourself?" the Tokiwadai Dorm Supervisor asked, her glasses glinting dangerously. In front of her, Kuroko and Mikoto were standing at attention side by side. Both of them were shaking in terror under her stern gaze. None of the residents of the Tokiwadai dorm could stand up to the might of the Dorm Supervisor and her iron clad view on rules.

"I-it was an unfortunate accident," Kuroko stammered quickly. "It must have been leftover excitement from our vacation. We know we can't use our powers in the dorm."

"An unfortunate accident," she repeated slowly. "I see, if that's the case…" She moved faster than Kuroko could react and appeared behind her. The Dorm Supervisor, in one fluid motion, snapped Kuroko's head to the side, and she fainted. Two nearby girls, who saw what happened, fled. Mikoto's fear doubled at the sight of Kuroko's unconscious body. Kuroko had received this punishment many times, but it's not something you could get out of your head easily, if you saw it firsthand. "Misaka-san," she said slowly, turning to Mikoto. "I wouldn't be able to keep the order in the dorms if I made exceptions for unfortunate accidents, right?"

"Of course not ma'am," Mikoto said quickly, sweat forming on her brow.

"I'm glad you agree with me," the Dorm Supervisor told her, pushing her glasses up. They flashed dangerously again. "You and Shirai-san will spend the afternoon helping the swim team clean the pool. It needs to be ready for summer. Any complaints?"

"No ma'am," Mikoto answered. She felt a wave of relief that she wasn't going to have her neck snapped.

"Then please inform Shirai-san when she wakes up." The Dorm Supervisor turned around and left, leaving Mikoto to drag Shirai back into their room. A short while later, when Kuroko finally woke up, they grabbed their school swimsuits and headed toward the pool.

"I can't believe we have to waste our first day back cleaning the pool," Kuroko wailed. "It was supposed to be a relaxing day before we had to go back to class."

"It was your fault," Mikoto reminder her through gritted teeth. "You jumped at me in the bathroom."

"I was just showing you my admiration," Kuroko said happily. "And you replied with your whip of love." She suddenly looked happier. "Now we get to spend all afternoon together." Mikoto rolled her eyes.

"Hello Misaka-san, Shirai-san," a lofty voice said. "I heard you were back from your vacation. I hope you are doing well." Mikoto and Kuroko stopped and turned to the speaker. The girl's name was Mitsuko Kongou. Her most distinguishing feature was her prominent forehead, which was flanked by two, long, neat fringes of her long black hair. Hey well-endowed figure was prominent, even in the Tokiwadai uniform. She was holding a fan and it was covering part of her face.

"Hello Kongou-san," Mikoto said, smiling. "We just got back from our vacation this morning. How have you been?" She liked Mitsuko as a person, even if she was a little proud, like a stereotypical ojou-sama. They had been through some difficult times protecting a little girl awhile back, and since then had been good friends.

"Hello," Kuroko said, a little stiffly. She kind of viewed Mitsuko as a rival, even though they were technically friends. Mitsuko had opposite traits of Mikoto and, when she acted all high and mighty, it annoyed Kuroko. It also annoyed Kuroko that Mitsuko always appeared to be unaware of everyday things, like finding simple directions from a map. In situations where she wasn't sure what to do, she embellished to truth to keep up her façade. Once Kuroko got past that, she realized Mitsuko was honorable, looks out for her friends, kind to children, and willing to help people in need.

"I just got back yesterday," Mitsuko told them. "I was on vacation in Hawaii and, while I was there, managed to do a little swimsuit modeling. I hope to have the magazine when it is published. I'll show it to you if you like."

"That sounds great," Kuroko said sarcastically, but Mitsuko didn't catch her tone.

"We were on vacation to England," Mikoto told Mitsuko. "We were fortunate to get invited by a friend of ours." Kuroko crossed her arms, but didn't say anything. "We did a lot of sightseeing and enjoyed some time at the beach too."

"Sounds like you all had an enjoyable time," Mitsuko said smiling. "Are you doing anything now? If not, would you like to accompany me this afternoon?"

"We can't," Kuroko said quickly. _I'm glad I have an excuse, who knows what she will want to do._ "We… were punished by the Dorm Supervisor and have to help clean the pool."

"Oh my," Mitsuko said surprised, tapping her chin with her fan. "What happened?"

"Because of Kuroko," Mikoto sighed. "We used our abilities and she wasn't happy about it."

"I see," Mitsuko said, appearing slightly crestfallen. "Well, I know Wannai and Awatsuki are cleaning the pool too and they will be happy to see you. I wish I could chat longer, but I need to go look for someone. They should be back by now"

"Who?" Kuroko asked, for the first time paying close attention to the conversation.

"Someone who embarrassed me," Mitsuko answered. "I am not going to take that lying down. Good bye Misaka-san, Shirai-san." She waved to them and then left.

"Who do you think she is looking for?" Mikoto asked Kuroko, as they made their way to the pool.

"No idea," Kuroko shrugged. "I bet whoever did it doesn't know what they got themselves into. Kongou-san is persistent and won't give up easily." _They can't be all bad if they just embarrassed her._

"You're right," Mikoto nodded. "I actually feel a little bad for them." Both of them laughed and made their way to the pool.

* * *

Unknown to Mikoto and Kuroko, Misaki was sitting near a window and was watching them go. She heard of the power outage caused by Mikoto and knew immediately what happened. _Shirai is really aggressive when it involves Misaka._ She sipped her tea and turned back to the four other girls sitting with her. "It seems that power surge was caused by Misaka-san. She and Shirai-san must have been too excited about finally being back home." Misaki had started talking with her clique about what had been happening in the city, while she had been on vacation.

"We are glad you are back too Queen," the first girl said with purple hair in ringlets said. "I hoped you enjoyed your trip."

"It was quite fun," Misaki said. "We saw England's famous sights and I got to spend a lot of time with someone."

"Oh," a second girl with short brown hair said eagerly. "You didn't say he was coming with you."

"I wanted to keep it quiet until I return," Misaki explained. "I was worried someone might follow me when I left to meet him. He doesn't like to stand out and I try to respect his wishes. Not everyone else would feel the same way though." She sighed.

"Some people have no respect for others," a girl with short black hair and glasses said.

"Who else accompanied you?" the fourth girl with shoulder length blonde hair asked.

"Several of his friends came," Misaki answered. "And, of course, Misaka-san and her friends." She decided to not include Shizuri's group.

"What was your favorite part?" the blonde girl asked.

"Hmm," Misaki said thoughtfully. "There were so many great things during the trip, but I believe meeting the Queen was the most exciting." Of course, she couldn't say anything about the princess's coup. The girl's around her widened their eyes in surprise, and Misaki had to explain, for several minutes, about her thoughts on the Queen. She couldn't tell them anything relating to the magic side, but she told them all about the extravagant castle and the Queen's royal demeanor. After she finished, it was her turn to ask questions. "Anything happen in Academy City during my absence?"

"Actually yes," the glasses girl said. "It was mostly quiet, but we found out a couple research buildings had been broken into. We aren't sure what was the intruder was after or who they were, but we heard the damage was immense. It had to be a high level ability user."

"Interesting," Misaki said thinking quickly. _Normally, I wouldn't look too hard into these types of things, but the timing seems rather convenient. Three level 5s were outside the city along with Touma. I suppose I can keep my guard up in case this turns out to be important. Wait… I think Kagere did something with research. I can ask him in a way to avoid attention._ "I doubt these break-ins will concern us, but keep an eye out, just in case." The girls nodded.

"Um Queen," the girl with ringlets spoke up. "I have a question."

"Yes?" Misaki replied.

"I know you want to respect his wishes," the girl continued and Misaki knew she was talking about Touma. "But after hearing you talk about him so much, do you think we could meet him once?"

 _I knew this would happen eventually,_ Misaki thought, thinking fast. She knew talking about Touma would cause the other girls to be interested in him, even though she had told them several times he didn't like attention. The other girls usually followed Misaki's wishes immediately, but they were still young girls and their curiosity continued to grow. Several times Misaki was debating if she should use her power to stop them from wanting to meet Touma, but she kept avoiding doing so. _Touma doesn't like it when people use their powers so frivolously on others. He really has influenced me a lot, but I have never been happier._ She knew it was partially her fault for talking about him so much, but she couldn't help it.

"Ok," Misaki finally relented. "I will talk with him and see if he is willing to meet you all." The other girls smiled and looked excited. "Please do not stare at him or make him uncomfortable, he gets embarrassed easily." She figured it was best to let them see him once or at some point someone would follow her to see him. If that happened, they might see something they shouldn't, since Touma got involved in a lot of dangerous situations.

"Yes Queen," the girls said all at once, and then began to whisper excitedly among themselves.

 _Now, how should I go about getting my prince to agree to this?_ The rest of her meeting went smoothly and the girls eventually had to leave. Misaki stood up, stretched, and looked out her window, until her phone suddenly range. She looked at the caller ID and frowned. _I haven't seen that number in a while. I can't say I'm happy about it though._ "Oh my, it has been awhile hasn't it?"

"Yes it has," a cool female voice came from the other end. "I suppose you have an idea why I called." Misaki did, but she wasn't happy about it. "So he can remember you now. I would have contacted you sooner, but certain… situations… required my immediate attention. Then I go and find out you have been rather aggressive lately."

"I have no idea what you mean," Misaki lied, keeping her voice cheerful. A moment later she received a picture and she opened it. Her mouth fell open in shock. "How did you get that?" The picture was her, holding on to Touma, wearing the Spirit Maid outfit in England.

"Let's say someone I am not fond of sent it to me, most likely to annoy me. We had an agreement to stay away from him, as long as he couldn't remember you, but I think I should take my turn now." The phone disconnected before Misaki could reply.

 _That old hag will never have my prince._

* * *

Touma woke up the next morning and glanced at the alarm clock. It was a little after one and he yawned. He was tried and had a slight headache, but he guessed that was part of the jet lag. He tried to get out of the bathtub when he felt something heavy on top of him. He only just realized the door to the bathroom was wide open and then felt something move under his blanket. _Did Lessar find my dorm?_ He lifted the blanket, expecting to see the magician girl, but he got another sight instead.

Index was gripping him tightly and sleeping soundly.

He had been so use to Lessar sneaking into his bed and jumping out at him last week, he completely forgot Index liked to sleep walk into his bed. It was the reason he slept in the bathroom and locked the door. He had been so tired last night, he had forgotten to lock the door. _What do I do? Can I put her back in the bed without waking her?_ He used his arms to pull himself up and out from under Index. He got out of the tub, stretched, and bent down to pick her up. He carried her, princess style to the bed, and set her down gently. He sighed in relief, and wiped the sweat from his brow. _I'm safe,_ he thought to himself and turned around. He took a single step and his foot landed on a loose cushion. The cushion flew forward on the hard wooden floor and Touma slipped, falling backwards onto the bed. He twisted his body in midair to avoid landing on Index, and his body missed her, barely. His head hit the bed right below her feet. The force of his fall shook the bed and woke her up.

"Touma...," Index said sitting up, and rubbing her eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Touma said quickly, sitting up. Index looked at his red face, and then down to where his head had been a moment before. Index was in her Walking Church nun outfit, and her lower half was robe like. Which meant, to her, Touma's head was lying on the bed below her robes, like he was trying to look up her skirt. Her eyes flashed dangerously when she realized this, and Touma realized the danger to late. "It's not what it looks like…"

"TOUMA!" Index yelled. "You have given in to your evil desires and need to be punished for your sins."

"Wait!" Touma said, but Index jumped at him, teeth flashing, before he was given a chance to explain. A cry of pain echoed through the dorms, and Motoharu rolled over in his bed, covering his head with his pillow.

 _It's too early for his antics._

Touma ran out of his dorm as fast as he could. He only had one bite mark in his head because he had told Index he needed to buy food for lunch. Index was torn between wanting food and having to punish Touma to save his soul. During her brief moment of confusion, she loosened her death bite and Touma used the opportunity to escape. As he rushed out, he grabbed a small stack of flyers he received while he was gone. The last thing he heard Index shout was "I want meat!" When Touma was a good distance away, he slowed down and pulled out a sale flyer.

 _Days not starting off well,_ he thought. _But luckily there are some sales still on today. It looks like there's some beef at a reasonable price. I should make something special to put her in a good mood before I tell her about my memory. It's not really hot yet, so maybe a hot pot to celebrate the end of spring._ Touma rushed toward the market to buy the beef before they ran out, and then started gathering the other ingredients. He found a couple good deals on vegetables and was able to splurge a little on the ones that weren't on sale. He shopped quickly, knowing Index was waiting for him, but made sure he took enough time for her to calm down. He headed back to his dorm, arms laden with supplies, and cautiously opened the door. "Index?" he called out.

"I'm here." Index replied as Touma walked in. He looked into his room and saw Index push something under the bed. He didn't see what it was, but was glad Index didn't seem to be upset, though she still appeared a little red. "What are we having?"

"I managed to get everything we need for a hotpot," Touma said grinning, holding up the bags.

"Yay," Index cheered and then looked at him suspiciously. "What's the occasion?"

"No reason," Touma lied. "Think of it as a celebration for returning home."

"Touma," Index said, putting her hands on her hips. "You aren't telling me something important." She looked at him, her glare melting into concern. "If something is bothering you, you can tell me."

"Ah," Touma replied, putting down the bags and rubbing his head. "I do have something important to tell you, but it can wait until after we eat. I'll tell you everything then."

"Okay," Index said nodding. She trusted Touma, but still wondered what was so important. She sat down and watched TV while Touma cooked and, after what felt like forever, Touma called her to eat. She sat down at the table and started to inhale the food. Touma was also enjoying the food, but he had to act quickly to get some of the meat before Index took it all. When they finished, Index sighed and laid down on the floor, happily digesting the delicious meal. Touma was leaning back, looking up at the ceiling and thinking about how he should tell her. Index's voice suddenly broke through his thoughts. "What did you need to tell me?" Her perfect memory didn't allow her to forget.

Touma sighed and looked at her. Her head was tilting slightly to the side in curiosity, and her eyes were watching him closely. "Well," Touma said, rubbing his head. This was a lot harder for him then he had thought, and he had already known it was going to be tough. "It sort of came up during our vacation and someone else found out about a secret I have been keeping to myself." Index curiosity turned to confusion. Touma decided not to say it was Mikoto and Misaki who confronted him. "I realized I had been selfish and I need to tell you the truth."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you remember when I woke up in the hospital and you thought I had forgotten you last summer?" Touma said slowly. Index nodded and when Touma didn't respond immediately, her eyes widened when the truth dawned on her.

"You lied to me," she replied softly.

"I actually lost all my memories that day," Touma told her, he forced his eyes off her and onto the ceiling. For a moment, he saw sadness well up within her normally bright green eyes. With just a small glance, Touma could feel his heart start to break. He couldn't look at her, but continued, knowing if he stopped, he wouldn't be able to start again. "The first time I can remember meeting you was when you entered my hotel room that day, after the doctor left. I had no memories of my life before that." There was only silence, but Touma couldn't tear his eyes away from the ceiling. His body was shivering slightly in anticipation.

"Then why did you lie and stay with me?" Index asked, her voice was deliberately calm, and Touma couldn't read into it.

"I didn't know why at the time," Touma admitted. "But when I was told everything by a note Stiyl and Kanzaki left behind, something deep within my told me I had to. I couldn't stand to see you cry. I can't explain it, but even though my mind couldn't remember you, my heart hurt. I saw the forced smile you gave me and I couldn't go through with the truth. I had to pass it off as a joke." He heard Index move, but he didn't look at her. He stared resolutely at the ceiling. He didn't know what she was going to do. Was she going to cry, get angry, hit him, leave, he didn't know, but he mentally prepared himself for any of the outcomes. What she did next surprised him.

She walked over and embraced him as he sat on the ground.

He glanced down at her. She had knelt down next to him and wrapped her arms around his chest, clutching him tightly. Out of everything he had expected her reaction to be, this was not one of them. "What…?" he asked confused, his voice coming out softer then he meant it to.

"It's okay," Index told him. "I already knew."

It was only five words, but it completely stopped Touma's thought process. He had been so careful to prevent Index from finding out, and now she admitted she already knew. No one except Mikoto and Misaki knew about it, and they both had promised not to tell. Touma trusted both of them with his life, and knew they hadn't told anyone. "H-how?" he croaked.

"I knew from the beginning," Index told him. "I'm not stupid. When I stared into your eyes, I knew you were lying, but…" this time it was her voice that cracked. "When you lied, I saw the old Touma. You pretended to be okay in order to protect my feelings. I couldn't let that piece of you left behind fall in vain. It gave me hope, and I forced myself to treat you exactly the same. You still wanted to stay with me and protect me, not as a guardian or a keeper, but as my friend. Even with your memories gone, you still stayed by me. It was all I ever wanted…." She started to tear up and buried her face in his chest.

Touma wasn't sure what to do in this situation, but his body moved automatically. He wrapped his arms around her and embraced her back. "I will always be your friend Index," he told her. "Regardless of the dangers you get in. I will make sure to bring you back to the normal life we, and our friends, enjoy."

"See," Index said, looking up at him and, for the first time since their conversation started, their eyes met. Touma could see the sadness still in her eyes, but there was now something more. There was happiness and the spark of liveliness he was used to seeing within her. "Touma is still Touma. When you first met me, a strange magician in your city of science, you fed me a delicious meal, even when you were living with almost no food. You took me, a stranger, into your house and protected me when I was in danger. Yet, you asked for nothing in return." Her eyes started to water again. "Everything was really my fault. You fought powerful people for my sake and you lost your very self to save me."

"It's not your fault," Touma said sternly, and she wiped her eyes in surprise. "I was told by the other person, who learned I lost my memory, I was still the same person. If you were in danger now, I would do everything I could to save you. I'm sure the old me would have done the same thing. You didn't force me to do anything, I chose to do it. I don't want you to blame yourself for my memory. I'm your friend and I will always be. Never forget that…" He stopped when large tears started flowing form her eyes. "Index…?"

"Touma!" Index cried and knocked him down on the ground. She hugged him tighter than she ever had before and Touma didn't have the desire to remove her. "I love you so much." Touma's eyes widened, as her words sunk in. He didn't say anything, except pat her slowly on the head. They were lying in that position for several minutes when Index finally raised her head, after she had stopped crying. Her face had turned bright red, which might have been a combination of her tears and embarrassment. She ran over to his bed and hid under the covers, so Touma couldn't see her anymore. Touma slowly stood up, and walked into the kitchen, before sitting down. His dorm room was small, but he had an opportunity to think.

His feelings for Index… were complicated to say the least. He didn't know what kind of relationship they had before he lost his memory, but the way he felt about losing her, made him believe it was important. Spending so much time with her, and her living with him, always made him feel like she was family, much like a younger sister. He actually felt more attraction to other girls, but he knew he couldn't just leave Index behind. _I wish I knew how I truly felt before, but aren't I my own person now? It's such a strange feeling to have these feelings that I don't know where they come from. With so much magic around me, souls existing really feel possible._ He sighed and looked around, when something caught his eye. He reached over and picked up the envelope on top of the fridge. He had put it up there because he didn't have time to read it, and Index wouldn't check above the fridge. I m _ight as well read it now that I have time. Knight Leader didn't give me any details._ He opened it, unfolded the envelope, and quickly read the short letter.

His mouth fell open in shock.

* * *

"This will be your new lab," Teitoku told Ricane, as they entered an underground bunker. Ricane looked around at the walls of high tech equipment. He recognized most of them and their purpose but an occasional machine he hadn't seen before. In the middle of the main room, two individuals were sitting at a large table. One of them, a tall adult male with strong facial features, short black hair, and rather solidly built, didn't even look up. His attention was on a large sniper rifle. It looked like he was performing maintenance on it. However, the other person at the table, who was watching the news on a small TV, looked up.

"So this is the infamous Dr. Ricane," she said, looking him up and down. "Kakine has wanted to meet you for a while now." Ricane examined her back and frowned slightly. The girl had to be only around fourteen, but she was quite stunning. Though, it might have been her red showy dress with the open back and jewelry making her look order. Her light wavy hair was tied up on the back of her head. "Are you here to help us?" She laughed before he could respond. "What am I saying, of course you are. I mean, are you here willingly?"

"I am," Ricane confirmed. "I have much to verify with him if he wants my research."

"No one followed you," a young male said from the corner of the room. He was sitting in a reclining chair and was watching about ten monitors simultaneously. He had short black, slightly spikey, hair, but the most unusual thing was the metal goggles he was wearing. They circled his head completely, like Saturn's rings. There were many cables and plugs connecting the goggles to other machines.

"Then let's get to work," Teitoku said, turning to the girl in the dress. "How are things progressing?"

"Perfectly," she replied, grinning. "All I had to do was put out a rumor to a couple Skill-Out groups, that there was a way to raise the levels of weaklings and it spread like wildfire. In a couple days, we can bring them all together, now that we managed to raise a transporter."

"Weaklings are so easy to manipulate," Teitoku laughed. "They will risk their lives for a slim chance of power. We only lost around a dozen people trying to speed up developments." He shrugged, but his face showed he didn't care at all about the sacrifices. "Isn't science just trial and error Dr. Ricane?" Ricane nodded and walked over to one of the machines to examine it. "But all the bugs have to be worked out before I'm willing to use it. Those fools at the top have no idea what they had at their disposal. With all the secrecy and backstabbing each other, they could have combined all the research to actually make something useful."

"I couldn't agree more," Ricane said, without turning around. He had never met Teitoku Kakine before today, but he knew about him. The rank two, level 5, was perhaps one of the most scientifically useful of the level 5s. His ability, Dark Matter, was the most unusual ability. It allowed him to create and control an unknown material. It had been noted that the term "Dark Matter" is not to be confused with true "Dark Matter," which is among the components of the universe. 'Unknown material" here does not mean matter that has not been discovered yet, but matter that did not exist until it was created by Teitoku. The material he creates defies the current Laws of Physics, allowing him to produce 25,000 different types of energy and matter. He can use the substance and shape it in any form he desires. A good portion of Academy City's infrastructure used energy he created. _With his power, it makes getting any equipment I need viable now._ However, Teitoku had the same issue many of the other level f5s had.

Teitoku was not mentally stable.

As a side effect for raising an ability up to level 5, an individual's brain was manipulated to allow their Personal Realities to manifest. This caused mental instability to be prevalent in the higher level ability users. The Railgun was the most stable of them, with the Number 7 being a close second. The rest of them demonstrate more sociopathic or psychopathic tendencies, with the willingness to hurt others. A while ago, there were signs Mental Out had begun to change, but the research on that had been stopped. It was hypothesized, if there was a way for the level 5s to be stabilized, their abilities would grow with even greater potential then they did now. Ricane had observed several of the level 5s and didn't believe they could be controlled like that.

 _I have access to everything I need,_ Ricane thought to himself. _And he will create anything I am missing. As long as I am careful, this might work. Getting Kakine to be able to use magic will be a difficult, but most interesting, challenge. My last specimen was unique, but he managed it all on his own. I suppose we have to have Kakine alter his body in a way to allow magic and science to coexist. His ability is too far developed to have them grow side by side._ Ricane smirked to himself as he started planning.

* * *

On a tall skyscraper, overlooking a certain windowless building, three people were sitting down. Eve was munching on an apple, while Juliet was standing up with her arms crossed. "Why did we have to bring him?" she asked, flipping her long brown hair out of her face. The wind at the altitude was causing her hair to blow around and it was making her irritable. The person she was referring to was the man sitting on the roof behind them, leaning against a door to the stairs that lead into the building. It was impossible to determine his age or appearance, as his entire body was covered by black clothing with gloves, so not a single shred of skin was visible. His head was covered by a large hood, so even his face was hidden. However, there were two soft red glows from his face, as he turned to look at Juliet.

"Because," Eve explained. "Adam took Caesar to the most God forsaken place on earth to prepare for the next stage. Our job is to acquire the last wing. The problem is it is in a difficult place to locate and will take some time to enter, since the area doesn't exist."

"Wait," Juliet said, turning to Eve. "What?"

"So we might be here awhile," Eve continued, as if not interrupted. "And as HE is here, we will probably need some muscle. After all," Eve suddenly got an innocent look on her face. "We would be two young attractive girls, alone in the city without any adult supervision. Who knows what could happen to us." Juliet face palmed.

"We have company," the man said calmly, but he didn't even look around. His voice was cool and calm, but sent a shiver down Juliet's spine. However, Eve and Juliet looked around at his words. Jumping over the edge of the roof were two power suits. Both of them were heavily armed with rifles and, as they raised their guns, it was obvious they weren't here to chat. "There are no living beings in there," the man continued, seemingly unperturbed by their sudden appearance.

"Perfect," Eve said and held out her hand. A purple glow appeared and the machines stopped in their tracks. They looked like they were still trying to raise their weapons, but they were just shaking slightly. Then suddenly, the space around them started to shimmer, like heat in the desert, and the power suits began to twist unnaturally. It was like the power suits had suddenly been turned into fun house mirrors. They stretched and twisted until they were nothing but unusable parts, incapable of moving. "It's been awhile since I did some of my non creation chaos magic."

"It seems like he knows we are here," Juliet commented.

"He knew the moment we arrived," Eve said. She walked over to the suits and spoke to them. "I know you are listening because you never miss a thing. How about you just give us the wing and we leave. You know, for old time's sake Aleister."

"It has been a while Eve," Aleister's voice came though clearly, even though the machine was a wreck. Juliet shivered at his inhuman voice. She had never heard him speak. "You know I am unable to do that, and I will prevent you from taking it."

"You're lucky we can't just cause death and mayhem," Eve sighed. "Otherwise, Adam would have taken care of this personally. If we kill to many of your ability users, we won't be able to enter the Imaginary Number district." There was a moment of silence.

"You will not be able to access that location," Aleister commented.

"Once we find the key we will," Eve giggled. "The only way to stop that is for you to destroy the key itself, but you won't. You are the same person I met so long ago. You wouldn't be this far along without that wing now, would you? If only you would join us. After all, you were betrayed by God too." She waved her hands and the power suits exploded. "Well," she said, clasping her hands together. "We should move and find a base of operations. If we wait, we will get swarmed by his minions."

"You just had to antagonize him," Juliet sighed. "Just remember your deal."

"I promise," Eve said, raising her hand. "Before we leave this city, you will have Romeo." The air behind her started breaking apart and she stepped through it. Juliet nodded, and followed. The man stood up, looked behind him at the remains of the power suits, and followed.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **There is a lot of setup for Season Three in this chapter. I have so many things I want to cover and so many people to introduce. I hope I have time.**

 **Accelerator: Where the F$ &*% was I? Everyone else got a scene.**

 **Last Order: MISAKA tried to wake you but you wouldn't get up MISAKA explains.**

 **Shizuri: Sounds like him.**

 **Frenda: The author said at the beginning there would be more adventures for other characters then the main ones. Basically, I totally have a shot at being the star.**

 **Saiai: Yea right. We know what happens to you. The audience super wants to see me and Accelerator beat up some weaklings.**

 **Ruiko: I can't wait to do something, as long as we don't get captured again.**

 **Kazari: I'm sure the author wouldn't do something so cliché again.**

 **Kuroko: We will probably do something against Skill-Out by the looks of this chapter.**

 **Mikoto: I don't know, he seems like that kind of person.**

 **Misaki: You sure are rude to people. Don't worry author-san, I believe in you. Maybe you can give me some alone time with Touma.**

 **Lessar: I know what I am doing next chapter.**

 **Touma: Please don't.**


	61. S3 (Mis)fortunate Monday

**I was worried when this chapter started getting long without an end in sight, but it worked out in the end. There are so many things to cover and so little time. This chapter introduces a couple characters, along with starting some fun antics with Touma. Also, I am finally going to finish up the bet with Kuroko and Jason. I was thinking of calling this chapter Boys and Girls III, but that's a fallback for when my mind blanks on a title with a lot of character development. I like this one instead, fits perfectly with Touma level events, if you know what I mean. Anyway, thanks to everyone who managed to reach this chapter. This story has gotten rather long and I am surprised at the popularity.**

 **Generation Zero: Magic Gods are tricky, as they break the plot really easily. If I add them, it will take a lot of special preparation to add even one.**

 **Anon: So… I nearly died laughing there. I was debating writing an Omake to cover things like that, but my time is already limited. Maybe I'll start a separate side project to hold all the hilarious near crack level ideas that don't quite fit in the story. I'll call it, Around the Edges, because it is just outside the boundaries of canon style plot.**

 **Sergioqsc: She will be introduced at some point, but I can't tell you when yet.**

 **wildarms13: I would LOVE someone with good drawing skills to be able to draw some scenes form this story. I would totally give them credit and find a way to link them to the story. I know another author does something like that. If anyone has any skills, please contact me. It would make this story epic, especially in future chapters. I have no drawing skills and struggle with stickmen, so I need a third part person lol.**

 **Agent Nine: Aleister's plan has been revealed in canon already. If you are interested, I would check out , it is spelled out in detail. I don't want to give spoilers here for the people who have not read the light novels. He controls everything in the city, and good and evil is subjective.**

 **Riyangendut: It was worth it then. You aren't the only one so don't worry.**

 **ryuhayabusa298: Wouldn't be fun otherwise.**

 **Pssh, all you people and mushy scenes. Well, at least the letter will get revealed, enjoy it you crazy people.** A lot of people want **Yuriko Suzushina for some reason. I'm on the fence about it, but I suppose it's possible. Accelerator and Jason would have to get into an argument over something.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

 _Dear Mr. Kamijou,_

 _I apologize for the secrecy of this letter. I instructed Knight Leader to give this letter to you, if he believed you showed concern for my daughter Carissa during our meeting. Since you are reading this, you must have fulfilled the condition. I am in a predicament and would like to request your assistance. I'm sure you can guess it involves my daughter's punishment. Right now, she is currently in isolation and only select individuals are able to have any contact with her. I personally believe her punishment should be making amends to the citizens of our country, even if they do not know her role in the attack. She has been rather adamant in not accepting my punishment. She would rather end her reign, in a rather permanent fashion, as the princess who failed to overthrow the monarch. I'm sure you would not want this to happen._

 _This is where you come in._

 _We have provided her with a way to communicate with a small select group of individuals. You have been chosen as one of the lucky few. Carissa has been given a special phone and can only reply if you contact her first. Her number is written below. We have limited the number of devices that can contact her, so which ever phone you decide to use, please stick with it. What I would like you to do is keep her company, and prevent her from shutting herself off from the outside world. I rather see my lively daughter again. Who knows, once she has repaid her debt, she may come and visit you in Academy City._

 _P.S. When you two get around to naming my grandchildren, I have several ideas you may be interested in. I want at least three, and one needs to be a girl._

 _Also, don't let Knight Leader see the contents of this letter, he's such a kill joy._

Touma had to reread the letter several times to make sure what he read was correct. _What is the Queen thinking? Carissa isn't going to want to talk to me. I betrayed her and knocked her out to stop her coup._ He stared at the letter as his brain slowly processed the information. He sighed. "Why does every crazy thing happen to me?" He looked over at his bed, and saw Index was still refusing to emerge from under the covers. He figured she was still embarrassed and didn't want to be seen. "I guess I can try and see what happens." He grabbed his phone put the number in and paused. _Do I call or text her. Is it even proper to text a princess? If I call, I bet she will yell at me._ He thought about it for a moment and decided to send a text.

 _Princess Carissa, I was given your number and asked to talk with you. I hope it's not too early. I tried to take the time difference into effect. Are you doing well? Touma Kamijou._ Touma read it a couple times to make sure it was respectful, but explained how he got her number. He was afraid of her reaction, so he figured sending a text was safer. He hit send and put his phone back down on the table. He glanced over one last time at Index, before starting the dishes. He was almost done when he heard his phone beep. "There's no way she replied already…" He looked at his phone and gulped, before picking it up and reading the message.

 _Drop the formalities, it's not like anyone else is going to read this, except my mother. She had to be the one who gave you this number. It's a little early, but at least you were smart enough to try to take the time into account. Did you actually message me because you were worried, or because my mother asked you to?_

Touma frowned, slightly insulted she would think he would check up on someone just because he was asked to. He started typing while muttering to himself. "She did give me your number and requested I keep in contact with you. But I did it because I wanted to." He clicked send and waited for a reply. Carissa's response can back in under a minute.

 _Interesting, you always were an unpredictable person. What do you want?_

 _Since I didn't see you before we left, I wanted to make sure you were alright. The Queen and Knight Leader didn't give me much information._

 _Of course they wouldn't. My betrayal was supposed to be kept a secret._

 _I don't believe it was a betrayal. You did what you thought was best for your country. I just didn't agree with your choice of actions, so I had to stop you. You don't deserve to die because you followed the wrong path. I know people who did that and they became my friends._

 _Oh, it is awfully presumptuous of you to think I will become your friend._

 _I still think you are a good person who just got misguided._

 _Heh, quite optimistic like usual. So are you planning to keep communicating with me while I am in isolation?_

 _I am. I figured you would hate to be alone, without dissing anyone to pass the time…_ He was interrupted by Index, who finally stuck her head out of the blanket.

"Touma," Index said, her face was still slightly red, and her eyes were slightly blood shot. "Can we go meet Hyouka now that we are back? I haven't seen her since before we left."

"Sure Index," Touma said, glad she was talking about normal things again. The atmosphere had become really awkward during his confession about his memory. "Is she going to meet us somewhere?"

"No idea," Index told him. "But she finds me when I'm looking for her."

"That's fine," Touma sighed. "We need to restock the fridge anyway. I only bought food for lunch." He sent the message on his phone to Carissa and pocketed it. As he and Index left, he was a little surprised Carissa didn't text back immediately, but he figured she probably had something more important to do then talk to him. He vowed to talk with her, at least a little bit each day, in hopes she decided to go back on the correct path for England. He didn't realize, in his haste to reply to Carissa, the last message he sent had a small, but dangerous, typo. The 'd' in dissing had autocorrected to a 'k'.

* * *

The next day Touma woke up and stretched. Even sleeping in a tub, there was something about sleeping in your own home that really made a difference. He was still a little groggy, but that could also be contributed to it being a Monday. He and Index hadn't been out too late with Hyouka, but they had still been back after dark. Index had been acting normally enough, though she had a hard time looking him in the eyes, something even Hyouka noticed. Touma finally dragged himself out of his bed, and starting making breakfast, along with some lunch for Index while he was at school. He then left some money and a note, telling her he was going to be back late and she should buy herself something for supper. He hoped she would just go to the nearby convenience store. As he left his dorm, he ran into Motoharu, who was also leaving for school.

"Sup Kami-yan," Motoharu greeted him. "Are you ready for a perfectly normal day of school with nothing unusual happening?"

"I hope so…" Touma replied sighing, and then he turned toward Motoharu suspiciously. "That was an odd way of phrasing that. What do you know?"

"I don't know what you mean?" Motoharu answered grinning.

"You do know something," Touma said worriedly. "What's happening? Is Lessar planning to try to transfer into our school as a student? Is there a magician infiltrating Academy City again?" His eyes widened as he realized there was something that was worst. "Did we have homework I forgot about?"

"Your priorities seem to be a little out of order," Motoharu commented. "But there's nothing like that happening. Well, that I've been contacted about at least and Komoe-sensei wouldn't be that mean to us over break. I was thinking of what Aogami is going to say. He's got a copy of your documentary."

"Why would you send him a copy?" demanded Touma. "Who knows what's going to happen with it?"

"It was edited to make sure nothing about the other side is mentioned," Motoharu reassured him, but still grinned. "But I told him to keep it on the down low. I only sent it to people I knew wouldn't spread it around. I was planning to send it to Stiyl too."

"Please don't," Touma said. "He would show up with his flame sword."

"I'm sure it will be a hilarious day when we tell Aogami all about our trip," laughed Motoharu. "He can't really blame you though, since he missed it because of his family reunion."

"He probably would have made a lot of enemies," Touma said and they both laughed. Knowing Pierce, he would have said something about fetishes and cause the girls to punish him. They made their way to school and entered their classroom. It was still pretty early and only a handful of people were there. Seiri and Aisa were one of the few and they waved to the guys as they walked in.

"Hey Kamijou, Tsuchimikado," Seiri said. "I hope you two didn't cause too many problems over break."

"Of course not Fukiyose-sama," Motoharu answered. "Though Kami-yan continued to grow the size of his harem." This got him a beating from Seiri, who knocked him down with a single punch.

"Hello," Aisa said softly to Touma.

"Hey Himegami," Touma said, taking his seat. "How was your break?"

"It was rather uneventful," Aisa replied. "Seiri and I mostly hung out. Is what Tsuchimikado-san said true?" She looked at him with a serious expression, but it was hard to tell for sure, as Aisa didn't really show a wide range of emotions.

"Of course not," Touma denied quickly, refusing to accept he had a harem. He knew a few girls liked him, but it wasn't like he was trying to make one. "We spent our vacation in England and visited the sights. Jason, Accelerator, and a few other friends came with us. They had helped me out with a problem earlier and the trip was thanks for the help."

"I see," Aisa replied, staring at him intently. Touma was used to it by now, but when she reached into her bag, he was curious about what she was doing. Aisa pulled out a small package and handed it to him. "I made a little too many cookies last week. Would you like some?"

"Sure," Touma said, he wasn't the type to turn down free food. He opened the bag and sampled one of the small star shaped cookies. "These are really good," he complimented her. "You are going to make someone a great wife someday." Aisa's cheeks turned a delicate shade of pink.

"Thank you," Aisa mumbled, but she was too soft for him to hear, because at the same time, the door to class was thrown open and Pierce barged in.

"Kami!" Pierce yelled, pointing at him. "It's one thing to have a harem, but it's another to show it off like that!" He jumped over several desks, and delivered a full force tackle into Touma, knocking him out of his desk. There was a loud clang, as he desk topple over.

"Get of me you psycho," Touma cried, trying to punch Pierce in the gut, but Pierce was a lot stronger than him. "I don't have a harem and nothing happened."

"Bull," Pierce said, pinning him to the ground. "I saw the video."

"Video?" Seiri asked confused. She was about to beat up Pierce, but she had least needed to know the reason why she was going to. For some reason, she didn't see tackling Touma as a good enough reason.

"Just one of Kami-yan's escapades," Motoharu said dismissively.

"He somehow managed to sleep with easily ten plus girls," Pierce said. "He's evolved to an entirely new existence."

"It was because of alcohol you idiot," Touma grunted, not realizing his poor choice of words.

"But you have to admit," Motoharu pointed out. "It did happen."

"Nothing happened!" Touma yelled. "I don't even rememb…" He froze, as he felt a murderous aura next to him. Judging by Pierce's pale face, Touma knew he felt it to. Both of them turned to look.

"So you were drinking alcohol and sleeping with a bunch of girls Kamijou," Seiri said, cold fury etched in her voice. She cracked her knuckles. "And I bet these idiots recorded it and sent it to others."

"Umm," Touma said, but she was right in a way, so he didn't really have a rebuttal. Because he wasn't able to give an explanation, Seiri unleashed her wrath upon him, Motoharu and Pierce.

"Seriously," she said, dusting her hands together. "They really don't learn." All three of the guys were lying unconscious on the ground. "Kamijou may lack any motivation, but he might be a constructive member of society, if he didn't hang out with these two." She turned to look at Aisa. "I told you it would work though. You just needed to be more aggressive. He's too dumb to notice it otherwise." She didn't really understand what Aisa saw in Touma, but it was obvious she liked him. She crossed her arms and frowned, before sitting down.

"You were right," Aisa said. She had been making cookies on Saturday, but she got distracted and made a lot more than she really needed. Since she didn't have a lot of friends, as she didn't talk a lot, so even delivering some to Seiri wasn't enough to get rid of them all. Seiri had suggested she give some to Touma on Monday. It took a little bit of convincing by Seiri to persuade Aisa to do it but, in the end, she agreed. Aisa glanced over at Seiri, who just took her seat. She had always wondered if Seiri liked Touma, and just acted as tsundere. It was hard to tell, but she was worried what would happen to their friendship if she did like Touma. _But he did accept my cookies, so it's a start._

Jason and Accelerator entered the classroom shortly afterwards. One glance told them what had happened, but the exact specifics on why was still to be determined. "Hey Fukiyose-san," Jason said cheerfully. "What did they do?" It was a question on what, not if they did anything.

"They just told us about a couple things that happened on your trip," Seiri explained, before glaring at them. "What's this about alcohol?"

"Some idiot accidently poured an alcoholic drink into a punch bowl at a party," Accelerator yawned. "How people can be so stupid is beyond me."

"It was pretty potent," Jason admitted. "Most of us passed out pretty quickly. Tsuchimikado-san was the only one who actually got any pictures after that. Speaking of which, I'm still going through all the pictures we took on the vacation and making copies for everyone." He paused and smirked. "I mean Touma found himself in the most precarious position, but you know the kind of stuff that happens to him." He waved his hand dismissively. "You just get used to it after a while."

"He does seem to get involved in unusual events," Aisa agreed.

"But that's not the important thing that happened on the trip," Jason told them.

"Oh?" Seiri asked. "What happened?"

"Accelerator found himself a girlfriend," Jason declared. A hush fell over the classroom, as everyone turned to look at Accelerator. Time had passed and about half of the class had already arrived. Accelerator had just sat down, and put his head down to sleep, when Jason had spoken. His head whipped up so fast, it was a blur, and his eyes were full of anger. Jason, unaware of the present danger, continued. "And she's older."

"Kagere!" Accelerator growled, slowly standing up. "What the f$%& kind of shit are you spewing."

"Accelerator!" admonished Komoe, who had just walked in. "Language." Accelerator's eyes whipped to her for a moment, before he sat down. The rest of the class started whispering excitedly among themselves. "Fukiyose, why are those three unconscious?"

"For the sake of world peace."

"Well please wake them," Komoe told her. "Class is going to start soon and there are a lot of things happening, so we can't waste any time. I have a couple announcements before the system scan this morning."

"Yes sensei," Seiri said, stood up, and walked over to the Delta Force. She started kicking them lightly in the side until they woke up. Touma stood up, flipped his desk back up, and sat down.

"What happened?" he asked Jason and Accelerator.

"You got beaten up," Accelerator said, without turning his head.

"Hey Kamijou," a guy asked from across the room. "Is it true Accelerator has a girlfriend?"

"Ah," Touma said, rubbing his head. He noticed Accelerator turned his head and glared daggers at him. Jason was nodding his head, telling Touma to say yes. "We met some people on our trip, but I can't say for sure if he has one. If he wants one, he should be able to get one." Accelerator seemed relatively pleased with his response and went back to sleep, while Jason looked crestfallen. The others guy nodded in agreement and started talking to his neighbors.

"Kami," Pierce whispered at him. "I can't believe how far your harem has progressed. I would give anything to be in that position. You had such a wide variety of types. When Tsuchimikado sent me that video, I vowed to destroy you."

"It wasn't my fault," Touma hissed back. "If he sent you the full video, why aren't you mad at those two?" He gestured to Accelerator and Jason.

"It was obvious the results would end that way," Motoharu said, shrugging.

"But they were focusing on one type," Pierce continued. "You were getting everything. If there had been a bunny girl and cat girl in the mix, you would have had everything you would ever need in a harem, except for maybe an alien."

"I wouldn't even know what happened if it wasn't for him," Touma replied, gesturing to Motoharu. "We got accidently drunk. I don't have a harem." Pierce and Motoharu looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Still in denial," Motoharu said. "I thought you would recognize it by now. At least you finally admitted some girls like you."

"It's a start," Pierce added, nodding his head sagely.

Before Touma could respond, Komoe spoke up. "Settle down class," she said. "I have several announcements to make before your system scan. First, welcome back. I hope all of you enjoyed your break. Sensei is happy you all came back safe and sound."

"Glad to be back sensei," Seiri spoke up and most of the class agreed.

"Next," Komoe continued, smiling at them all. "Second, an Anti-Crime Orientation event is being planned this Saturday. This event is used for improving student crime prevention awareness. We normally don't have it during this time of year but, with the recent intruders, it was decided an additional event would be beneficial. Some rules have changed since last time. As before, there are three main groups, criminal, police, and hostages. Criminals try to capture hostages, hostages try to escape from criminals, and the police try to catch the criminals and protect the hostages. All of district 7 will be part of the event, and the rules on abilities and boundaries between schools will be temporarily withdrawn. The event is optional, but you get extra credit to the ability development curriculum, so I signed you up Kamijou-kun."

"W-what sensei?" spluttered Touma. "I don't want to fight. I would prefer a peaceful Saturday for once."

"Sensei is pleased your regular studies have been improving dramatically," Komoe told him, and then wagged a finger at him. "But you are still lacking points in the ability development curriculum. If you don't want to repeat a year, you need to participate."

"Yes sensei," Touma sighed, resigning himself to the situation.

"Besides," Motoharu grinned. "We all know you can fight well after the tournament." A lot of the class snickered, but Seiri frowned at them. She, along with a large number of the class, were partially suspicious of Touma during that tournament. Not because of any ability he used, but because they had the thought Touma and Accelerator conspired to have Touma replaced with another person before each match. Seiri would always believe in her classmates, until proven otherwise, but the thought still existed in her mind. She didn't like having those thoughts, but the Kami in the tournament fought differently than the Touma she knew.

"Well, that's settled," Komoe said brightly, clapping her hands together. "Now, I'm going to explain the differences set up this time. Points are going to be awarded based on how well you perform your assigned roles. Criminals also get points of causing mischief, simple acts of vandalism, littering, and disturbing the peace will award you points. You get more credit the more points you have. BUT," she had a stern look on her face. "This does not mean you can go to wild and do inappropriate things. Anti-Skill will be monitoring everything. They also asked us to tell you to keep property damage to a minimum. Previous years, there had been a couple buildings destroyed and they would prefer that didn't happen."

"Do we get to choose our roles?" Pierce asked, raising his hand.

"You can make requests," Komoe told him. "But you may not get the role you want. They need to make sure there are enough of each role to make the event work."

"Well obviously we want to join," Motoharu said loudly, referring to himself and Pierce. "We can't let Kami-yan do this by himself. Of course, we all want to be robbers."

"Kagere and Accel-kun," Pierce said. "You should join us."

"I don't know," Jason said thinking. He frowned. "I might be busy. Sounds like fun though…" Touma glanced at him, surprised he didn't take the opportunity to cause mischief.

"I have no reason to participate in a stupid game like this," Accelerator said, without raising his head.

"What if I told you of a master plan we can finally pull off," Motoharu said, and whispered something into Jason's ear. Jason's eyes went wide and he raised his hand.

"I'm in and want to request to be a criminal too," he said instantly.

"What did he say?" Touma asked, but Jason shook his head, saying he wasn't answering questions.

"Come on Accel-kun," Motoharu said. "Join us, I promise you will get a chance to show off how strong you are. Plus, you will get a lot of entertainment."

"Huh?" Accelerator turned his head slightly, to glare at him with one eye.

"We have a plan we have been itching to try out forever," Pierce told him. "It's going to rock the entire city."

"What are you talking about?" Seiri asked them.

"Secret," Motoharu said winking.

Accelerator stared at them in silence for a moment, aware the rest of the class was watching them. _What the hell are those two planning? They got Kagere to agree pretty fast. It's not like I have anything to do Saturday anyway. I bet the third will want to be a police, maybe I can get a chance to mock her a bit during this. I'm interested in what big plan they have, but I don't want to admit it to them._ "Fine whatever," Accelerator said, going back to sleep. "Make me a criminal. I don't want to be some boring cop."

"I'm glad everyone seems to be interesting in participating," Komoe said happily. "It's great to have so many representatives from my class."

"I will join too sensei," Seiri said, raising her hand. "I can participate in any roll that needs filled." Komoe wrote down her name, along with everyone else that wanted to join. Thanks to Touma's friends, a lot more of his class were willing to participate. After everyone who wanted to sign up did, Komoe released them to the system scan, which took most of the morning.

* * *

"I hope Lessar didn't cause you too much trouble," Touma said to Accelerator, as they headed down to the boys locker room before their PE class.

"No more than the other brats do," Accelerator said, shrugging. "We dropped her off and left. Last Order was pretty adamant about leaving quickly for some reason."

"Who is your friend anyway?" Touma asked.

"None of your business," Accelerator snapped, but it was more to Jason, Motoharu, and Pierce who were listening.

"Come on tell us," Motoharu prodded him. "We won't tell your girlfriend back in England."

"Go to hell," Accelerator told him.

"You're no fun today," Jason complained. "What happened to the fun loving Accel-kun that always went with our plans, regardless of what they were?"

"I killed him."

"Then I guess we have a new side quest," Pierce told them. "Discover Accel-kun's mysterious friend."

"If you try," Accelerator growled. "I'll make you regret it."

Touma sighed under his breath, but still laughed silently in his head. Accelerator always got dragged along in his friend's hijinks, and Touma was glad he could enjoy a normal school life. The old Accelerator had always been alone and gotten involved in experiments no teenager should ever do. _He's really come a long way._ They entered the locker room and Touma made his way to his locker in the back. He unlocked it and a hand reached out, handing him his PE clothes. He took them, shut the door, and turned around.

Then he froze.

 _That had to be my imagination._ He turned back to his locker and opened it slowly, looking inside.

Lessar had jammed herself into his gym locker and moved her hand, as much as she could, in a small wave. She also had a huge grin on her face. Touma closed the door and leaned back against it. _What is she doing here?_ The doors to the lockers were solid, except a few ventilation holes, so no one else would be able to see her, unless they looked directly into the vents. Lessar, on the other hand, probably could see everything in front of the locker. "Why are you here?" Touma muttered, trying not to move his lips.

"Boredom," Lessar whispered back, her voice full of amusement. "I figured you needed someone to make your Monday more exciting. Now you better get changed or you will be late."

Touma wasn't sure what to do and his mind started thinking at panic speeds. If he tried to block her view, Lessar would probably burst out of the locker and reveal herself to his class. At the very least, her pounding on the door would cause a lot of problems for him. If he moved, she would see him, and probably a few other guys, change. About half of his class had left already, so if he took too long, Aiho, the PE instructor, would get mad at him. He delayed the choice by changing into his gym shirt. It's not like he got embarrassed being shirtless. Many of his fights ended with his shirts in tatters anyways. _I think I have a plan, but it requires me to be the last one out._

"Oh hero," Accelerator said. "If your free tomorrow, the brat will be available for you to teach her."

"Ah," Touma said, slightly distracted. "That should be fine." Accelerator nodded and headed out.

"Hurry up," Jason called out to Touma. "You're taking forever." He, Pierce, and Motoharu were leaving, but Touma saw Jason and Motoharu laughing silently at him.

"I see what you are trying to do," Lessar said excitedly. "You want to be alone in the locker room with me. Doing it in a place we aren't supposed to will make it all the more erotic."

 _Those b#$^ &%$, _Touma fumed silently to himself. _I bet they can both detect mana from Lessar and know she's there._ They left and the last few guys followed them. _Now, I have to be quick._ In one fluid motion, he slammed the lock shut on his locker and stepped out of Lessar's line of sight. He then quickly finished changing, as Lessar pounded on the locker door.

"Hey!" she called out. "Why did you lock me in? I'll just break the door down." There was silence for a second, except her struggling to move in the tight space. "There's not enough room to pull out my Steel Glove." There was a loud thudding as she pounded on the door. "What the heck is this door made of?"

"Scientifically engineered metal probably," Touma said. "I'll let you out after class." He threw his clothes in a corner of the room and headed for the door.

"If you wanted me hot and sweaty," Lessar called out to him as he left. "I could have prepared earlier." Touma shook his head, glad nothing horrible happened, and ran to join the others. He felt bad leaving Lessar in the locker, but he also knew what Aiho would do if he was caught skipping her class.

"About time Kamijou," Aiho called out to him. "Get going. We are doing laps today. Go at your own pace. When you complete five laps, you can do what you want." Touma nodded and started sprinting, until he found his friends. They were moving at a slow pace, mostly to stay back with Accelerator, who was at a disadvantage with his handicap if he wasn't using his power. They were talking about something seriously, before Touma caught up to them.

"That was quick," Motoharu told him. "You finished already?"

"You knew didn't you," Touma said through gritted teeth.

"You're the one who brought a stalker back with you," Pierce said and shrugged. "You'll wake up one morning with her in your bed. That's how it always turns out."

"I rather not," Touma mumbled, while Jason and Accelerator laughed. He decided he should steer their conversation away from these dangerous waters. "What big plan did you all have for the crime game?"

"For now," Motoharu said, unusually serious. "We have to keep it quiet."

"There are still a lot of details to work out," Pierce said. "Now that we have Accel-kun's strength and Jason's smarts, along with the freedom of this event, we can finally do what no man has done before."

"I have a feeling I know where this is going," Jason laughed. "I hope it is."

"When we finish adjusting for the crime game's rules," Motoharu told them. "We will tell you everything then. This plan can't get out or someone might ruin it."

"This better be worth my time," Accelerator panted. Out of all of them, he was in the worst shape. "If you waste a Saturday, I'm not letting you off with just a warning."

"We promise you Accel-kun," Motoharu said, saluting. "This event will be the most fun you have had in a long time." Accelerator glared at him, but then shook his he ad. He didn't like the nickname the guys called him, but it didn't piss him off to the degree it used to. They finished their laps and spent most of the rest of the class talking. Near the end, they saw a couple Anti-Skill people ran through the front gate and enter the school. They weren't the only ones who noticed and several people had begun to gather around Aiho. Touma and his group moved closer to hear what was happening, but Touma had a pretty good idea what it was.

"Okay okay," Aiho sighed. "It's nothing big. A student from another school snuck in and caused some mischief in the locker room. One locker door was broken and we think she was trying to deliver something to someone." Her eyes darted over to Touma and Accelerator. It was obvious she knew it was Lessar. There was some shouting from behind the school and everyone turned to look. "It looks like she has been chased out of the school."

"It was one of Kami's girls wasn't it?" Pierce called out and everyone laughed.

"I'm not at liberty to say," Aiho replied, but the grin on her face said otherwise.

* * *

"Kamijou-chan," Komoe said, as everyone started to leave. The bell had rung a minute earlier. "Could you do me a favor and deliver these papers to Yomikawa-sensei?"

"Sure thing sensei," Touma said, taking the small pile of papers.

"Always scoring extra points with the teacher," Peirce said.

"What else do you expect from Kami-yan?" Motoharu laughed. "He's been working hard on getting her attention." Komoe turned slightly red and Touma felt his ears burn. They left while Touma headed down to see Aiho and deliver the papers. Aiho gave him a short sermon on not telling Lessar she couldn't enter school grounds, before he was allowed to leave. As he was leaving, he turned a corner and bumped into a girl carrying a large box. Both of them fell backwards and the box fell with a thud.

"I'm really sorry," Touma apologized immediately, believing it was his fault for not looking where he was going. He stood up and reached a hand to help the girl out, before he saw who it was. "Kumokawa-senpai?" he said surprised.

"Oh hello Kamijou-san," she said in a caring tone, taking his hand. Her hand was soft and delicate, as he held it in his own. Her full name was Seria Kumokawa. She had shoulder length black hair, fringe tied back, and an attractive body with an exceedingly ample bosom. Though her appearance was similar to Seiri, she had a mature charm that Seiri did not possess. She was a third year student of Touma's school and had the nickname beauty-senpai by many of her underclassmen. She was wearing a school-issued sailor uniform with its standard skirt length changed to a longer one. "Thank you," she added as he helped her to her feet. "It is unusual for you to be in school this late. You didn't get detention did you?"

"Nothing like that," Touma said quickly, shaking his head. He didn't want Seria to think badly of him. "I was just asked to deliver some papers to Yomikawa-sensei. We talked a little bit and that's why I'm still here."

"That's good," Seria said, smiling kindly at him. "I would hate to hear that my cute kouhai is getting into trouble."

 _Did she just call me cute?_ Touma thought, his mind reeling.

"I haven't seen you lately," Seria continued. "How have you been?"

"Trying to keep up with all my school work," Touma told her and he looked down for a moment. "Did you have to take this box somewhere?" he asked, changing topics before he accidently said anything embarrassing.

"Oh yes," Seria said. "I enjoyed talking with you that I forgot."

"I'll carry it for you," Touma offered. "It's the least I could do for bumping into you." He reached down and picked up the box. It wasn't too heavy, but it was rather bulky.

"Thank you Kamijou-san," Seria said sweetly. "I need to take it to the third floor." She and Touma started making their way upstairs, while continuing talking. "So how was your break?"

"Some friends and I took a trip outside of Academy City," Touma told her. "It was rather fun, though my friends like to needle me on somethings that aren't true. I also finally got a few things off my chest so, combined with jet lag, the last few days have been kind of draining. How was yours?"

"Rather uneventful," she said. "I visited a couple friends and spent a good portion catching up on some reading." She couldn't tell Touma about her activities that took up most of her time. Her classmates and underclassmen knew she was smart, but she was actually a genius. So much in fact, she works directly under one of the members of the board of governors in Academy City as an advisor. She had a very intensive network to gather intelligence and constantly was monitoring everything that was happening in the city. She was not above using her resources to spy on Touma, something which she enjoyed, but her network did not extend outside the city borders. If it wasn't for a certain individual, she wouldn't have known about the England vacation antics. "Here we go," she said, opening a classroom door. "Just put it on the teacher's desk."

"Anything else I can help you with?" Touma asked. He actually enjoyed helping someone with completely normal tasks, that didn't involve life and death. Seria was also his preferred type, older, kind, attractive, smart, the perfect onee-san. _She would never go for some like me though. From what I heard, everyone likes her._ It didn't stop him from admiring her though.

"You have done more than enough," Seria told him. "I feel like I should thank you for all the trouble you went to for me."

"You don't have to," Touma said quickly. He didn't want her to think he helped her for a reward.

"I insist," Seria said, smiling as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. _There are limits, even for gentlemen. You just have to know how to push them._ "How would you like to join me for lunch tomorrow? I usually like to dine alone, to escape the noise of the cafeteria and classrooms, but I would enjoy your company. I would like to bring you a home cook meal as thanks." She watched him closely, as he stood in silence, for a moment. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Touma said, shaking his head. _Is this really happening? Is she actually inviting me on a date? Isn't this just repaying me back for helping her? Wouldn't this be a once in a life time flagging event?_ "I would love to have lunch with you."

"Lovely," Seria said clapping her hands together. "I won't take up any more of your time today. Thanks again." She turned and mumbled slightly to herself. "I wonder if Shokuhou is free today."

"By Shokuhou," Touma asked, and she turned her head toward him. "Do you mean Misaki Shokuhou?"

"Why yes," Seria answered. "She's a dear friend of mine, but both of our schedules have been in conflict lately and I haven't seen her in a long time. Do you know her?"

"She's a friend of mine too," Touma explained. "She did mention she might be busy today, if I recall correctly." He vaguely remembered she mentioned she couldn't join them today, as Jason and Kuroko finish their bet. "Ah crap, Jason's waiting for me. I got to go. Thanks for the invitation tomorrow." He waved and bolted down the stairs.

"Anytime," Seria called back to him. "If you see her, tell her I said hi." When Touma was out of earshot she laughed. _Oh, he's so predictable. All I had to do was casually mention Shokuhou and now, he's going to tell her he met me. I know he will. I wonder if I can catch her expression on camera. She's not going to take him from me._ She frowned for a moment and crossed her arms. _I'm still not sure if he sent me that video to annoy me or help me. With him, it was probably both._

* * *

"About time," Jason grumbled, as Touma bolted out the school entrance and they grabbed a bus. "I thought Komoe-sensei just wanted you to deliver some papers. What took you so long? How many people did you save this time?"

"Don't be stupid," Touma replied. "Yomikawa-sensei got mad at me for Lessar sneaking into school. Which, you obviously knew what she did." He narrowed his eyes at Jason. "Then I accidently ran into someone and helped them carry a box upstairs."

"Whatever do you mean?" Jason answered, but gave him a big wink. "Who did you run into?"

"Can you keep a secret?" Touma asked.

"Ah…" Jason started to say and then made excessively extravagant expressions, like his was arguing with himself. "Yea, I'll keep it. I bet it can't be that bad." Touma spent the next couple minutes explaining everything that happened. Jason's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Beauty-senpai? I've only seen her twice since I've been here. How did you… never mind it's you. But she asked you on a date and you said yes. I need to tell every… dang it you made me promise." He slammed his head on the bus window.

"Glad I took precautions," Touma said, grinning. "It's probably not a date and she just wants to thank me for helping her. There's no way someone could fall in love that easily, right?" Touma looked away for a moment and missed Jason face palming. "Anyway, where are we meeting Mikoto and Shirai-san? You mentioned we had to meet them first before picking up Uiharu-san and Ruiko."

"'Well Kazari and Saten-san are on the way to the place we are going," Jason explained. "Kuroko's dorm is the opposite way and I know she's only going to go if we drag her." He grinned. "Besides, what could be more fun than buzzing them at the dorms?"

"Why do you do these things?" Touma asked, shaking his head.

"It's all part of my plan of world domination," Jason informed him.

"Uh huh," Touma answered sarcastically. "Including embarrassing Shirai-san?"

"It's my stress reliever."

"I think you just enjoy tormenting her," Touma sighed and Jason laughed.

They got off near the Tokiwadai dorm and walked about a block. There were a lot more girls here, as they were nearer to the girl's dorm and schools, but Jason didn't seem to mind. Touma noticed he seemed to be carefree and headed straight toward the dorm. They approached the front entrance and stopped at the large doors. "Let's see," Jason mumbled, looking at the mailboxes. "They are room 208, so just need to use the intercom." He dialed and pressed the intercom. There was a small beep and Jason grinned. "Hey Kuroko, I'm here."

"Gah!" came Kuroko's reply. "What are you doing here?"

"Just coming to escort you," Jason said happily. "Glad you were still here. Touma kept me held up for a while."

"Hello Touma, Kagere-san," Mikoto's voice came through. "Can you give us like five minutes?"

"Hello Mikoto," Touma greeted her.

"Sure thing Misaka-san," Jason replied. "We are going to meet up with Kazari and Saten-san on the way."

"What are you planning?" Mikoto asked curiously.

"It's a surprise," Jason laughed. "I promise you won't be disappointed." Touma heard Kuroko yell something in the background, but he couldn't quite make it out. Jason turned to Touma, removing his finger form the intercom. "Looks like we wait." He leaned up against the wall next to the door nonchalantly and Touma imitated him on the other side.

"This is awkward," Touma muttered. He saw several girls staring at them, as they girls entered and left the dorms. Some even stuck their head out of the windows to get a better look. A couple small groups of girls started forming and it was obvious who they were talking about, as they pointed to Touma and Jason. _How often do girls see guys hanging outside of their dorm like this?_ Jason shrugged and Touma saw he was just texting on his phone. Touma sighed and tried to ignore the girl's whispers. It got a lot harder when they doors to the dorms opened up and a stern woman with glasses stepped out. Touma recognized her and suddenly felt the combination of attraction and fear.

"I couldn't believe it," the dorm supervisor said. "When I heard two boys were loitering outside the entrance to an all girl's dorm, I had to see it for myself." Her glasses glinted dangerously. "You two better have a good reason for being here." Many of the girls leaned further out the windows to listen.

"We aren't loitering ma'am," Touma denied quickly. "We are just waiting for our friends." He forced himself to look up and meet her eyes. Touma may have been scared of her slightly, but he couldn't help admire the dorm manager onee-san aura she had. He had always found himself attracted to those types.

"Oh?" the dorm supervisor said, raising an eyebrow suspiciously. She found it odd he could look at her directly in the eyes. "I find that highly unlikely."

"I already contacted Kuroko," Jason informed the dorm supervisor and she turned to him. "She should be out in a minute or so." Her eyes narrowed.

"You mean Kuroko Shirai?" the dorm supervisor clarified and a bunch of exciting whispering burst out around them.

"Yes," Jason confirmed. "She promised to hang out with me this afternoon last week." He shrugged. "She's a good friend of mine. I figured it would be nice to come and meet her. We spent all last week together on a trip, so I didn't see anything wrong with it." Touma glanced over at him, in surprise, at his choice of words. The girls above them and around them were also in shock, and their whispers intensified. "Since we aren't loitering, I don't believe we broke any rules. Am I mistaken?" Touma watched Jason looked up at the dorm supervisor without any hint of fear.

 _How is he so calm?_ Touma thought. _The dorm leader is attractive, but she's also somewhat scary, even Mikoto and Shirai say so. He must be hiding it, or does he truly believe he isn't doing anything against the rules. Well, he might just not care._

"I suppose not," the dorm supervisor conceded. "But I can verify your story easily enough." She paused for a moment and looked at them. "While you are here, recently a boy tried to sneak into the dormitory a little over a week ago. You two wouldn't happen to have any information on that would you?"

"No," Touma said quickly, shaking his head.

"That would be highly inappropriate," Jason added. "As a member of Judgement, I can't condone a boy sneaking into the girl's dormitory." Touma and the dorm supervisor both looked at him. The dorm supervisor seemed slightly mollified, and turned her attention back to Touma.

"You look familiar," she said, staring at him. "Oh yes, I remember now, Misaka-san met you once outside of the dorm before." She gazed sternly down at him and Touma gulped.

"She's a friend of mine," Touma said quickly, aware a lot of girls and Touma were watching him curiously.

"I see," she said. "And here I thought there was more going on." She sighed. "You two are technically not doing anything wrong, so you may stay. But if I hear of any funny business going on here, you two will be in deep trouble, understand?" Touma and Jason nodded. "Very good." She turned to the rest of the girls. "Stop gawking and get on with your business." They scattered and the dorm supervisor went back into the dorms. When the doors shut behind her, Jason let out a sigh of relief.

"She was scarier then I imagined," Jason said. "Her eyes were like daggers. Kuroko and Misaka-san weren't kidding."

"You held up well," Touma pointed out. "From what I heard, most people get paralyzed."

"We weren't doing anything wrong," Jason replied. "So there wasn't a reason to get nervous."

"True," Touma agreed. "But I wish the girls would stop staring." They looked up and saw a couple girls still peeking out of the windows. "I wish they would hurry…" He was interrupted by a girl's voice.

"I knew you would return to the scene of the crime," a lofty girl's voice said. Touma turned to see who was talking and saw a Tokiwadai girl with long black hair. She was carrying a fan and tapped her chin with it.

"Uh sorry?" Touma said, unsure who she was. Jason raised an eyebrow and watched in silence.

"Playing dumb?" the girl asked indignantly. "Maybe this will jog your memory." She reached into her bag and held out a small piece of plastic. Touma reached out and took it.

It was his school ID.

His eyes widened in surprise and his face paled. He finally realized who this girl was. When he had hidden from the dorm supervisor in Tokiwadai, she had been the half-naked girl who he bumped into. His ID must have fallen out of his pocket when they fell and she picked it up after he fled. _But why didn't she turn it into the dorm supervisor or Anti-Skill._ He found his voice and asked, "How did you get this?" He was hoping it wasn't what he thought.

"Do you have any idea who you have wronged?" the girl asked, glaring at him. "I am the great Mitsuko Kongou." Her glare intensified when Touma appeared to not understand her importance. "Come with me," she demanded. "I need to talk to you about what happened. It won't do you any good to run. I have all your information."

"Okay," Touma replied, resigning himself to the inevitable, and turned to Jason. "I'll be right back."

"Again?" Jason groaned. "Make it fast. They should be down any minute."

Touma wanted to say it wasn't his fault, but he realized this time it was. Misaki had led him into the girl's dormitory to help him study, and he had gotten caught. While hiding, he accidently saw Mitsuko topless and fell on top of her. He wasn't sure what she wanted, but he was prepared to make amends any way possible. He followed Mitsuko in silence until they were out of sight of Jason and the other nearby girls. Mitsuko turned to face him and Touma responded with a preemptive strike. "I'm sorry," he apologized, putting his hands at his side, and bowing. "I'm pretty sure I know what you want to talk about. I didn't mean to."

"So you do know what you did," Mitsuko commented, holding out her arm and the fan was an inch away from Touma's face. "Do you have anything to say in your defense?"

"No," Touma shook his head. "I realize I shouldn't have been there in the first place."

"Anyone in your position would say that," Mitsuko pointed out. "But I have a question for you. There is no way you could have snuck into the dorm by yourself. Who helped you?"

"Err," Touma said, thinking quickly. _There's no way I could tell Misaki snuck me in and Mikoto helped sneak me out. They would get in a lot of trouble._ If she told on him, he was going to face serious consequences, but he was prepared for that. "No one helped me. I snuck in by myself on a dare."

"You are a horrible liar you know," Mitsuko told him. She could tell in an instant his words weren't true. The way he tried to avoid looking at her and sweating slightly was obvious signs to her. "Maybe I should contact Anti-Skill, I'm sure they would be interested in hearing your story. I'm sure they could get you to talk."

"Please don't," Touma begged quickly and sighed. "I did have help, but I can't say who. I don't want to get them in trouble. I'm prepared to accept all responsibility."

"How noble," Mitsuko said softly. She involuntarily raised an eyebrow. She had assumed he would apologize and try to get her to promise not to tell anyone he had been in the dorms. She didn't expect for him to be willing to accept the blame. _Is this reverse psychology?_ She tapped her fan against her chin for a moment, thinking. "I guess I don't have any choice but to turn you in."

Touma sighed, looked down at the ground, and nodded. "I really can't say anything in my defense, because it did happen."

"But," Mitsuko continued and Touma looked up at her. She had an oddly superior look, but there was a slight pink tinge of embarrassment. "You saw me in a rather, compromising, position, and I rather not relive that." She paused for a moment. "But I can't just let you go after breaking so many rules and embarrassing me." She paused again. "I know what to do." Her eyes sparkled slightly. "I, the great Mitsuko Kongou, will rehabilitate you!"

"Rehabilitate?" Touma asked, confused.

"You will work off your debt to me," Mitsuko explained. "As repayment for what you did, and I will personally educate you to make sure you would never do something like that again."

"Why?" Touma asked, but he was beginning to get an inkling of what the girl was like. _She's one of the stereotypical ojou-samas isn't she? Is this one of her hobbies?_

"There are plenty of low lives currently being held by Anti-Skill," Mitsuko told him. "If they are all locked up, they can't mend their ways and contribute positively to society. I believe you can still be redeemed, so I will take on the challenge personally." She held out her hand. "Give me your phone." Touma was speechless and just handed her his phone by reflex. She copied his number into her phone and put her number in his. "You should be honored for having my number. I expect you to answer it when I call you. Now I must be off," she glared at him once more, before turning around and walking away.

 _What just happened?_ Touma thought bewildered. He shook his head to clear his mind as he processed the strange situation. _At least Misaki and Mikoto aren't going to get in trouble. I have no idea what she means by rehabilitation, but I bet I will find out soon enough. Such misfortune._ He turned and headed back to where Jason was waiting and saw him talking with Kuroko.

* * *

"Why are they here?" Kuroko mumbled, pacing back and forth in her room in frustration. "He should have just messaged me the location." She and Mikoto had been studying, until Jason and Touma had contacted them.

"No idea," Mikoto answered untruthfully. She had a pretty good idea why Jason had showed up here, but wasn't sure why Touma was with him. _I guess he's tagging along, but he doesn't like to stand out. Just being at the dorms attracts a lot of attention._ Her eyes widened, as she remembered something embarrassing. _Last year I tackled him outside the dorm for a fake date. If anyone remembers that…_ Her face flushed and she ran into the bathroom to hide it. "I'll be out in a minute," she called to Kuroko.

"Please hurry," Kuroko replied. "Who knows what kind of problems they could cause." She sighed and muttered to herself. "I might as well make sure they aren't causing problems." _Arg, I brought this on myself, but still…_ She walked toward the door but, before she could open it, someone knocked. Kuroko didn't have any idea who it was and opened the door. In front of her, she saw the familiar faces of Kinuho Wannai and Maaya Awatsuki.

Kinuho had short wavy light-brown hair and blue eyes, along with a decent size chest, enough to make Mikoto jealous. Maaya had medium length dark-bluish hair and eyes. Her chest was slightly smaller than Kinuho's. Both of them were classmates of Kuroko, and close friends with Mitsuko Kongou. Both of them were kind, forgiving, and very friendly, if a bit shy, and were on the school's swim team. Kuroko tilted her head in curiosity, because both of them looked like they had been running to her room. "Can I help you two?" Kuroko asked politely.

"We didn't know you were so bold," Kinuho said excitedly, panting slightly.

"Even standing up to the dorm supervisor to do so," Maaya added.

"Huh?" Kuroko asked, confused.

"Inviting your boyfriend to pick you up at the dorm," Kinuho explained. "I heard him tell the supervisor something about spending your break together last week."

Kuroko felt the blood drain from her face as she realized what was happening. "Excuse me," she said pushing past them and bolting down the hall. Kinuho and Maaya watched with grins on their faces. They were under the impression she was running to meet her boyfriend, but the truth was completely different. _I can't let this rumor spread,_ Kuroko thought to herself. _He did this on purpose._ However, she couldn't stop her face turning red, as she thought about him waiting for her at the entrance.

Mikoto came out the bathroom and greeted Kinuho and Maaya. She had heard everything and waited a minute, to stop herself from laughing, before appearing. She was still brushing her hair. "I should follow her and make sure nothing bad happens. It's not what you two think. I promise to explain everything later." They both waved goodbye to her and left to find Mitsuko, as Mikoto threw her brush on the bed and followed Kuroko.

Kuroko had almost made it to the front doors, when she heard the dorm supervisor's sharp voice. "Shirai-san," she snapped. "You know the rules of running in the dorms."

"I'm sorry ma'am," Kuroko said, coming to a halt instantly. "It's an emergency." She was aware of many other girls pointing at her and whispering among themselves. _I'm too late. The rumor already spread._ A pink tinge of embarrassment appeared on her face.

"Regardless," she said. "I don't care if your friends do come to visit, you do not run in the dorm. I won't punish you, this time, because it would be impolite to have your important guest waiting." Several girls giggled and Kuroko's face flushed crimson.

"It's not…" she started to say, but the dorm supervisor shook her head.

"I don't need to hear it," she told Kuroko, turning around and walking away.

 _I'm not in trouble?_ Kuroko thought stunned. _Worry about that later, right now, I need to deal with him._ She glared at the other girls, who were still giggling and watching her, before heading to the front doors. She opened the door, stepped outside, and quickly closed it behind her. She looked to her left and saw Jason. He had just looked up and open his mouth to say hi, when she reached over, grabbed him be the arm, and pulled him away from the dorm. The whispering from the girls watching above them intensified, but she didn't care about that right now. "What are you doing here?" she hissed as she dragged him. "And I thought the ape was with you."

"We are here to pick you up," Jason explained again. "I would have called, but Touma decided to stay at school late. He's around here somewhere, there he is." He pointed as Touma came out from the side of the dorm and walked toward them. At the same time, Mikoto came out the front door, looked around, and then started heading their direction. "You sure you want to do this?" Jason asked quietly and Kuroko's eyes went wide. "I won't force you if you really don't want to."

"Not really," Kuroko sniffed, but she felt her heart beat slightly faster at his consideration. "But I made a bet and I will see it out to the end."

"Sorry about that," Touma said, as he caught up to them. "Had something to take care of." Jason grinned, but Touma was relieved he didn't say anything.

"We really should get going," Mikoto said when she caught up. "There are enough people staring as is." The rest of them nodded and left before more girls began to crowd. Little did any of them know, one familiar girl was looking out a window with an extremely amused look on her face. Misaki was talking with her clique, when the commotion attracted their attention. They had been watching the commotion with interest and were discussing it in detail.

"Do you think Shirai-san is actually dating that guy?" a girl with her hair in pink ringlets asked.

"I was sure she was infatuated with Misaka-san," the girl with glasses and short black hair said. All the girls turned toward Misaki for her thoughts. Misaki smiled, as she knew what she wanted to say.

"Shirai-san really likes him," Misaki told them with a wink. "But she's really confused about her feelings and hasn't been able to confess. They both were part of my group during break and I noticed a lot of intimate moments transpire between them." The girls went wide-eyed and started talking excitedly. _Sorry Shirai,_ Misaki thought. _I couldn't resist._ She was still slightly disappointed she couldn't go with them. She was just finishing up this meeting, and then she had several other things to do today, along with studying for her actual classes. She had been putting that off for a while. She also had been preoccupied thinking about how she could convince Touma to pretend to be her boyfriend for a short time. _I think the direct approach would be the best, but there has to be a way to get him to want to make it a permanent relationship._ She continued to watch her friends in silence, but unaware how fast the rumor was going to spread.

* * *

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Ruiko asked, as she and Kazari stood in front of a building.

"This is the address Jason told me," Kazari replied, holding up her phone. "He actually got a professional photographer? I wonder how much it cost."

"I hope he gives us a picture of whatever outfit he has Shirai-san wear," Ruiko laughed.

"As long as it's not too bad," Kazari said thoughtfully. "Shirai-san probably won't try to get revenge." She sighed. "Sometimes it feels like she gets his attention easier then I can."

"I don't believe that," Ruiko said, putting her arm around her friend. "He treats her as one of his friends, but he definitely treats you special." It was her turn to sigh. "I wish I could make that kind of progress with Touma."

"But you did," Kazari pointed out. "You sat next to him on the plane ride back and talked to him constantly. You just need to keep doing things like that. Then when the opportunity arises, you need to confess directly." A fire lit in her eyes. "You got to get him alone, stare into his eyes, and tell him."

"I think you're just quoting something out of book," Ruiko said, suspiciously.

"Of course not," Kazari replied, unconvincingly.

"Don't try to fool me," Ruiko said, using her power to lift the air under Kazari's skirt. "You know the punishment."

"SATEN-SAN!" After a brief moment of Kazari pounding on Ruiko for flipping her skirt, they went back to their conversations. "But I suppose every relationship is unique," Kazari said. "Each one has its own problems."

"Touma is in a rather unique position for sure," Ruiko said, nodding. "I'll try what you suggested though. It is showing results. As for you," she shrugged. "How about you talk to Shirai-san directly? If it's just you two, she might open up."

"That sounds like a good course of action," Kazari agreed. "But I will probably have to wait a couple days, depending on what happens today." They both laughed, before sitting down on a bench. They still had to wait awhile and Ruiko flipped Kazari's skirts two more times to pass the time, revealing her blue underwear. Eventually, a bus stopped near them and they saw Mikoto, Touma, Kuroko, and Jason get off. Kazari immediately ran and hid behind Jason. "Help," she squealed. "Saten-san is doing it again."

"Saten-san" Jason admonished her. "What have I told you about flipping her skirt?"

"Not to do it if you aren't there?" Ruiko asked.

"Exactly."

"Jason!" Kazari cried and poked him hard in the back.

"Hey Touma, Misaka-san, Shirai-san," Ruiko said cheerfully, waving to them. "What kept you?"

"I got caught up at school," Touma explained. "Then we sort of had a run in at their school."

"You can say that again," Mikoto face palmed. "For once, I won't be the center of the rumors that are bound to spring up now."

"Jason dragged me there," Touma protested. "I just followed. I didn't do anything."

"It's not like people will believe them," Kuroko sniffed. "Just ignore them and they will disappear soon enough. I suppose I should get this over with." She turned to Jason, who was deep in conversation with Kazari, and watched him for a moment. "Are we going or what?" she asked loudly, tapping her foot impatiently. Jason looked at the time on his phone.

"Yea we should," he said and then led the way into the building. They were met by a woman in her mid-thirties, with glasses and black hair tied into a ponytail. "I'm Jason Kagere, I called in advanced."

"Of course," she said, and looked at the others. "Which one is the model?"

"Her," Jason said, pushing Kuroko forward.

"What am I doing?" Kuroko asked. She had acted tough earlier, but now she was nervous for what was about to happen.

"The outfit is in the changing room there," the photographer informed her, pointing toward a door. "Afterwards, we will take some pictures in front of this screen here." She pointed to a large green backdrop with several lights around it and an expensive looking camera on a tripod. "This shouldn't take too long, but the plan is to take several shots."

"Okay," Kuroko sighed and headed for the door. _Let's get this over with. It's not like it will be anything too bad with Uiharu nearby._

"Have fun Kuroko," Mikoto called to her.

"Good luck," Kazari added.

"I know you can do it," Ruiko said.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Touma whispered to Mikoto. He saw Jason biting the corner of his lip, most likely to stop himself from bursting out laughing. "He's up to something."

"We can step in if it gets ugly," Mikoto reassured him. "I think it's good for Kuroko to follow through on her promise anyways. She might learn from this for the future."

"I sure did from our last punishment game," Touma said, chuckling slightly.

"Oh?" Mikoto said. "Maybe we should have another competition sometime."

"Please no," Touma begged and Mikoto laughed. Her amusement was cut short as Kuroko yelled out a moment later.

"THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL I AM GOING TO COME OUT WEARING THIS!" The photographer raised an eyebrow at Jason, who had burst out laughing. Mikoto, Kazari, and Ruiko all shared a stunned look for a moment, before running to the changing room and joining Kuroko. Touma was trying to figure out how bad the situation had become, when Mikoto, Kazari, and Ruiko exited the changing room. Mikoto and Ruiko were holding a hand to their mouth and were trying very hard not to laugh, but failing. Kazari's face was red, but even she was smiling slightly in amusement.

"H-how bad is it?" Touma asked Ruiko. Jason was too busy laughing to get any information from him.

"It's… not bad," Ruiko said, struggling to find the right words between her stifled laughter. "It's really funny though."

"Just come out," Mikoto said loudly. "You said you were going to do it."

"But..." Kuroko's protesting voice came through the door.

"You look really nice in it Shirai-san," Kazari added encouragingly.

"…Fine," Kuroko said resolutely. She walked out, and Touma saw why she didn't want to and why Jason was dying of laughter. She was wearing a black and white maid outfit, completely with an apron and headgear. It was complete with black stockings and long black gloves. It wasn't revealing, which is why Jason said the outfit wasn't bad, but there's something to seeing a young girl in a maid outfit that causes reactions with guys. However, unlike a normal maid outfit, this one had three accessories. The maid outfit had black cat ears, a tail, and paws at the end of the gloves.

In short, Kuroko had become a cat girl maid.

Touma could feel her eyes dart toward him with cold fury, as if daring him to laugh. It took all his self-control to not let his mouth move into a smile. "It's not as bad as I thought it would be from Aogami," he said, choosing his words carefully. The other girls were still trying to hide their laughs, and Jason was finally calming down.

"Keep your perverted eyes to yourself," Kuroko snapped at him. Her eyes then darted toward Jason. "Why would you think of something like this?"

"Because," Jason said, taking a deep breath. "I thought it was obvious KuroNeko-chan." There was silence, and then everyone else burst out laughing. They couldn't keep quiet after hearing that. Jason had been emphasizing the nickname Kuro-chan and the word Neko meant cat. Kuroneko literally translate into black cat. If Kuroko had black hair it might have pulled it all together perfectly, but it was still a pretty good joke.

"Kuro…neko…" Mikoto said between laughs. "That's a good one."

"Onee-sama," Kuroko protested. "Don't encourage him."

"It fits so well," Ruiko laughed.

"You look cute," Kazari added, trying to be supportive, but even she couldn't contain her grin. Kuroko noticed and grabbed her cheeks while pulling. "Owe, that hewrts Shirai-san."

"Why don't you were something like this then?" Kuroko asked and Kazari's face turned red. She shook her head vigorously and Shirai let go. She glared at Touma, daring him to say anything. Touma kept his mouth shut and his face passive. He saw the sparks flying out of Kuroko's eyes and didn't want to be on the receiving end of her fury. He was going to stand back and pretend he didn't exist until this was over. Afterwards, he would see if Jason lived to tell the tale.

"If you would please stand over there," the photographer broke in. "We will get started." Kuroko opened her mouth, but closed it quickly and accepted the inevitable. She stood by the green backdrop, while the photographer took pictures. Her friends shouted encouragements while Jason and Touma leaned up against the wall. It took some coxing from the girls before Shirai was willing to do a few poses.

"You know she's going to kill you," Touma commented.

"Totally worth it to further my plans," Jason replied.

"World domination plans?" Touma asked sarcastically.

"Yep," Jason said proudly. "Step one, embarrass Kuroko, step 2, something, step three, profit, step four, something, step five, world domination."

"You are one strange person," Touma said, rolling his eyes. He thought about it for a second and realized something. _All of my friends are strange actually. Ruiko and Uiharu are probably the most normal._ "Well, whatever. Your punishment wasn't horrible so can't really say much." After about fifteen minutes, the photographer let Kuroko go and she bolted to the changing room. Jason and the photographer started talking by a computer and pointing to the monitor. When Kuroko finished changing, they all left. "So what now?" he asked them.

"I was planning to pick up something for dinner," Jason said, and then turned to everyone. "Want to join me, my treat."

'You're the best," Ruiko said instantly.

"Sure," Touma said, grinning. He was never one to turn down free food. "Just be lucky Index isn't with us, or it might seriously hurt your wallet." Everyone laughed, and Kuroko finally grudgingly gave a smile. She had been rather quiet and still red faced from embarrassment.

"Thanks a lot," Mikoto said and glanced over at Kuroko. Kuroko shrugged, but she didn't look like she was going to thank Jason. Mikoto went over to her and whispered, "I think he's apologizing, even though he didn't do anything wrong. You have to admit, it was pretty funny. Uiharu-san was right too. You were cute." Normally, Kuroko would have been ecstatic from her praise, but she merely nodded.

"I know," she sighed. "I'm not really mad…" She had stopped being mad, and was beginning to plan her revenge. She wasn't someone to take things lying down, but she was having trouble thinking of how to go about it.

"I can go," Kazari said.

"You just can't eat sweets," Ruiko reminded her and Kazari looked devastated. When everyone looked confused, Ruiko elaborated. "Well, she needs to go on a diet and exercise more. She has been careless recently."

"She doesn't look any different though," Touma pointed out. "Are you… Ouch." Mikoto had jabbed in in the side with her elbow.

"Girls are sensitive about those kinds of things," she whispered. "Be careful what you say. You are to blunt most of the time." Touma nodded and shut his mouth. Jason frowned and looked over at her, before sneaking behind Kazari. She wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her up in one fluid motion. She yelled out in surprise and everyone turned to watch.

"I don't really feel any difference," Jason commented. "But if you want to, I'll support you and join you on the diet of no sweets." Kazari turned and hugged him, while Touma turned back to Mikoto.

"That's how you do it," Mikoto said, crossing her arms and smiling. Kuroko watched Jason and Kazari wistfully. When Jason let Kazari go, Touma walked next to him.

"How did you know what to say?" he whispered.

"Manga," Jason whispered back and grinning. "Always has the right line."

"Oh," Ruiko said speaking up and turning to face everyone. "Are any of you participating in the anti-crime game?"

"We are," Mikoto confirmed. "Kuroko and I are probably going to be assigned to being police."

"Well that's not good," Touma said. "Jason and I, with some of our classmates, are probably going to be criminals. I know Tsuchimikado is planning something big during it, but Jason won't tell me." Jason whistled innocently.

"Looks like I'm going to have to catch you all then," Mikoto laughed.

"Just remember it's a game," Touma told her. "You don't need to try to go all out to electrocute me."

"Pssh," Mikoto said dismissively. "It's not like it would affect you anyways."

"It's still scary," Touma explained.

"I'll try to go easy on you," Mikoto said, but then she winked at him. Touma sighed, knowing she wasn't going to, but he still grinned too.

"Uiharu and I are going to be hostages," Ruiko said. "They always have to ask people to be them. Everyone wants to be police or criminals." She sighed. "I'm only participating because I need the extra credit."

"I'm participating to keep her company," Kazari added.

"I'm in the same boat," Touma sighed and they both laughed.

"Guess that means we have to capture them then," Jason said. "I suppose we could just chase Saten-san around to give her points. I'm going to grab Kazari first though." Kazari giggled.

"We just have to stop you to fulfill our role," Kuroko said, looking at him. "I'll make sure to catch you before you can do anything."

"I don't want to be caught too fast," Jason said. "I want to have a little fun, so guess I will have to pass."

"I'll definitely be the one to catch you," Kuroko declared, pointing at him. A devious smile appeared on Jason's face.

"What to bet?" he asked.

"You're on," Kuroko said, they looked at each other and shook hands.

"Kuroko," Mikoto mumbled, face palming. "Did you seriously not learn your lesson?" Touma shook his head in amusement. Kazari and Ruiko looked at each other and sighed. They all knew the event was going to be quite interesting that weekend.

* * *

"MUGINO!" Frenda cried through her phone. "There's too many of them!" Everything was going well, until a short time ago.

Frenda was currently in a large facility that had just been recently evacuated. Earlier that day, Shizuri had told ITEM they were assigned as security for the research division. Frenda didn't know what they researched here and didn't really care. Their job wasn't to ask questions, but to guard the data within against intruders. Shizuri's contact had told them the priority was to prevent the data from falling into enemy's hands and they were free to eliminate anyone as necessary. The cleanup crews would take care of any unpleasant outcomes. Frenda had been pretty bored, and was patrolling the first floor while Shizuri and Rikou were monitoring things on the third floor. Saiai was patrolling on the second floor. She was sitting down on a box, playing with her cellphone and debating if she should message Touma to pass the time, when the ground shook slightly. _Looks like an intruder wondered into my trap,_ she thought to herself with a grin.

She had set up several bombs, disguised as dolls, all around the entrances of the building. They were armed with trip wire that was specially designed to be super light and thin, yet strong enough to easily hold several hundred pounds. It was some of Academy City's advanced fiber technology. The wires were almost invisible to the naked eye and, unless you knew it was there, would not be noticed. She didn't have to worry about hitting innocent civilians, as the research building was off limits at this time and everyone had left already. Whoever was there did not belong. She walked, confidently, to the door to find out who had tried to trespass. "Here I thought this day would be boring," she mumbled to herself. "Basically, Mugino is going to be pleased I took out the intruder so quickly." She saw the smoke coming from the entrance and she laughed. The door had been blown away and the outside lights were coming into the building. "I wonder if I'll be able to identify who it…" She choked on her words. The intruder was alive, but it also wasn't human.

It was humanoid, but was completely made out of metal. It was slightly bigger than a normal human and resembled a knight from England, as the metal made it look like it was wearing armor. The head was slightly flatter and wider sideways then it was tall, as if its head had been squashed by something heavy. It was armed with a staff with small curved blades on each end. Part of its left arm and torso had been blown away by Frenda's trap. It turned its metal head to face her and she reached under her skirt to pull out some hand held missiles. It started to walk toward her, and then suddenly broke into a run. "Cool a robot," Frenda said with a grin. "This will be different." She fired two of her missiles at the robot. The robot moved the staff in front of itself and knocked them down, away from its head and torso. The resulting explosions blew away the robot's legs. "Take that you bucket of bolts." She started to laugh, but it was cut short.

The robot was moving toward her, using its arms to pull itself forward.

"Damn these things can take some punishment," she muttered and threw a grenade on top of it. She jumped back as the explosion blew the remains of the robot into pieces. "Basically, it's about time you stupid pile of junk." She kicked a piece of it down the hall and it clanged the entire way. She pulled out her phone and contacted Shizuri. "There was an intruder, but it wasn't a person. It was a robot."

"Interesting," Shizuri replied. "At least you took care of it this time. If I had to come down and clean up your mess again…"

"It's taken care of," Frenda said quickly, before Shizuri could berate her some more. "It was pretty sturdy though. Basically, I would run out of bombs if there were too many…." She paused and her eyes widened.

"Frenda," Shizuri called out. "What happened?"

"MUGINO!" Frenda cried through her phone. "There's too many of them!" Ten more of the robots walked through the door and started to spread out through the building. Frenda saw more behind them trying to get in. Some came down the hallway directly toward her, raising their weapons as they got close. She threw a couple bombs at them to slow them down and made a strategic retreat. _I got to get to the supply room and bring as many of them as possible._ She stumbled, as she felt the building shake slightly several times. "I think all my traps at every entrance went off. Basically, they are coming in from every direction."

"I'm coming down," Shizuri said. "Kinuhata said a couple had reached the second floor already and I have Takitsubo on assignment with the information. For now, stall them until we find out who is controlling them."

"Under stood," Frenda replied and hung up. She heard the sound of heavy footsteps behind her and knew they were hot on her tail. She saw the door ahead of her and threw it open. She changed directions and ran to the far wall and grabbed a thin wire. She turned to face the entrance she had come from and waited. About ten seconds passed before the robots started wondering into the room. There were several shelves of machine parts and extra lab equipment, but Frenda could see them clearly. After the robots took several steps into the room, Frenda called out to them. "Over here you junk piles."

The robots turned and started walking toward her, moving in a semi-circle to box her in. She grinned and pulled the wire. A net above them broke away and dozens of dolls started to rain down on the robots. A moment later, Frenda tossed a bomb toward them. "Good night," she said sweetly, as she dove behind a piece of equipment. The explosions shook the entire building and Frenda had to cover her ears from the noise. When the dust settled she glanced over the top of the equipment. "That should do it…" She stopped. "How?"

Most of the robots had been turned into piles of scraps, but half a dozen of them were still standing. They were hiding behind what looked like three other robot remains. It appeared to Frenda as if they had used the ones in front of them as a shield, to protect themselves from the majority of the explosion. _Are they intelligent? What kind of machines are these?_ One of the robots in the back pulled out an automatic gun and raised it. Frenda ducked as the place where her head had been was filled with gunfire. _Damn, I need to get out of here. I didn't realize they had guns._ She looked at the exit door and saw an empty corridor. She tossed a couple of her remaining bombs from her hiding place and dashed out of the room as fast as she could while the robots were blinded. _I hope Mugino can find their leader._

* * *

Shizuri stepped over several smoking remains of the robot intruders. _First time I've seen something like this. Mechanized armies are one thing, but they usually have to be controlled manually. Motion sensors for automatic firing are common too, but these machines seem to actually be somewhat observant. They either have to have hundreds of people controlling them all, or these machines have some kind of artificial intelligence._ She was leaning toward the second option, as they robots didn't seem to act with a group mentality. They just kept running at her, instead of trying to ambush her. The hallways just made it simple for her to cut them down with her Meltdowner.

She walked down the stairs to the second floor, to pick up Saiai, and heard the sounds of a fight. She walked down the hall and saw several broken robots and several destroyed walls. She followed the carnage and found Saiai, punching out the torso of the last one. She was holding one of their spears in her left hand. "Mugino," she called out. "I just finished the last one here. Those staves of theirs kept knocking me away, so it super took longer than it should have. Luckily they didn't have any anti-armor guns or it could have gotten messy."

"We have to go rescue Frenda," Shizuri said, pointing downwards. "I doubt she's ready to handle an army or machines." Saiai nodded and they descended the last flight of stairs.

"What about Takitsubo?" Saiai asked.

"She's not suited to fight machines at all," Shizuri explained, looking around as they reached the ground floor. "So I'm having her retreat after making a copy of the research." _Something here is important, and I plan to find out whom. I will not be left in the dark anymore._ They entered the main research room of the building and looked around. There was no sign of Frenda, but about thirty of the robots were there, along with a person in Anti-Skill armor. By their appearance, Shizuri guessed he was male, but the helmet made it impossible to determine age or discerning characteristics. _Finally a person, he has to be in charge._ "Who the f%#^ are you?" she called out to the guy. He ignored her and continued to work on a computer. The robots, however, turned to face her, raising their weapons. Shizuri did not appreciate being ignored and fired a bright green beam into the computer's processor, causing it to explode. Finally, the man turned around to face her, but the helmet covered everything except his mouth.

"I was looking at something," he said coldly. "I don't care if you're a level 5. You are just second class to me."

"Tell me what you were looking at," Shizuri replied, just as coldly. Several green orbs appeared around her. "Or a quick death will be your only wish."

"Shut up b$%&^," the male replied and all the robots started rushing at her. Shizuri grinned maliciously and fired, cutting all the robots in half. She didn't appreciate being called vulgar names and fired one beam at the male. The beam hit him square in the arm, blowing it away. The male staggered backwards, but didn't yell out in pain, nor was any of his blood spraying out. Instead, some other liquid was. It was a white chalk colored substance, but it vanished into thin air as it left his body.

"What the hell are you?" Shizuri asked, narrowing her eyes. "Are you one of Eve's men?"

"Who?" the male asked, but then he laughed. "It doesn't matter. You probably wouldn't be able to comprehend it anyways. Let me tell you this though. I have no reason to stay here, as you blew up the data." He lifted an automatic rifle with his other hand and fired it at Shizuri. Saiai jumped in front of her and blocked all the bullets with her Offence Armor. "Looks like one of the failures from the Dark May Project," the male laughed. "Oh well, you will all be dead shortly."

"That's a laugh coming from someone in your position," Shizuri pointed out.

"These machines you have been destroying all over the place," the male explained. "Normally would self-destruct on their defeat. We rigged them to not blow up, until I give a signal." His laughter intensified. "How much damage do you think hundreds of these things will do, spread out inside this building, with you in it?" Shizuri's eyes widened in surprise and she fired a beam of light into the middle of the man's chest. The same white liquid flew out and disappeared in midair. Only about ten percent of his torso remained, but it somehow was able to hold up his head and arm. If he was a normal person, he would be dead and spraying blood everywhere.

"What the f$%# are you?" Shizuri asked in shock.

"That guy is a monster," Saiai pointed out.

"Die pests," the male said, snapping his fingers. The machines around them started to explode and, from the sound of it, all the remains of the other robots were too. The building started to shake and then collapse. Pieces of the ceiling started to fall around them like car sized hail. Shizuri looked up in anger.

 _F#$%!_

* * *

"I didn't expect the Meltdowner to be a security guard," Ricane said, leaning back in his chair, as the monitor in front of him went dead.

"Your machines didn't last long," Teitoku said irritably. He glanced over at Ricane. "What was the point of sending those outdated models?"

"They were taking up space," Ricane yawned. "I figured they could go out with a bang."

"Is this entire thing a joke to you," Teitoku growled standing up. He reached over and grabbed Ricane by the neck. "Do you even know what you are doing?"

"I thought I made it clear this was a complicated matter," Ricane responded, looking at him without a trace of fear. "I was the one who told you how to use your power this way didn't I?" Teitoku let go of him and Ricane rubbed his neck.

"I suppose," Teitoku admitted. "I wouldn't have thought of actually creating human tissue and cloning myself. It's still a work in progress, as it couldn't really use any of my power."

"That just takes practice," Ricane told him. "You are smart enough to work out those problems yourself. If your team is currently working on testing the ability development resources you put together, then we can focus on the most difficult part." He turned and looked at Teitoku. "It's time to teach you how to cultivate and refine mana."

"Are you trying to get me killed?" Teitoku asked angrily. "You told me already magic and abilities will cause a body to destroy itself."

"It will," Ricane agreed. "This is why only you can use this method. You will cast magic with your body, but it won't be your actual body. Why do you think we did this tonight? The data was only a bonus, but not required. I simply needed to see if your ability could create clones."

Teitoku froze for a second, before sneering. "The rumors were right about you Dr. Ricane. I'm sorry I doubted you. I can see you do know what you are doing."

"You simply will make small changes to the composition until we find one that works without destroying itself," Ricane continued. "Once the others get the research ready for you to develop your ability even further, you should be able to fix your current body. Then you will be able to use both magic and science, a truly unique hybrid."

"Then I will crush the strongest and prove I am not a backup," Teitoku laughed, slamming his fist on a table and shattering it into pieces.

* * *

Jason entered his apartment and shut the door behind him. He walked over to a table, pulled out a small electronic device, and turned it on. The device simply emitted a small electronic pulse, too weak to damage any main electronics, but strong enough to disable very small machines, like nanobots. He then sat down in a chair, as his shadow formed a dome around him. He pulled a small rune card out of his pocket and it floated in the air in front of him, glowing to provide him a source of light.

 _You seem to be taking precautions._

"I have to or Aleister will know what I am doing," Jason muttered. "I wanted to read this in private." A book fell out of his shadow and he opened it.

 _It was wise to hide Eve's book and pretend she took it. The fire mage would not have let you keep it otherwise._

"I wanted to examine in," Jason chuckled, flipping through pages. "Damn, there's so much written in it. A lot looks like history, damn, my least favorite subject." He paused and frowned. "What's this, it looks like a list of names." He ran his finger down them.

 _Adam_

 _Eve_

 _Cain_

 _Arthur_

 _Oda Nobunaga_

 _Caesar_

 _Juliet_

 _Romeo_

"I know some of these names," Jason muttered. "But not all."

 _We know Juliet is part of their group, so we should reason the rest are names of their accomplices._

 _It does seem that way. You said they were in the city already?_

 _Three of them._

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Yea, there was a lot of Jason/Kuroko this chapter, but I wanted to finish their bet. Now I can focus on the perfect storm beginning to brew.**

 **Lessar: Looks like competition for lover boy is gone.**

 **Mikoto: You can't say that! They may not be nice, but they are still people.**

 **Misaki: I don't have time to worry about them, I have an old hag to take care of.**

 **Shizuri: You think something like a building is enough to kill me. It would take a nuke, minimum, and I would have to be unaware.**

 **Frenda: Basically, you won't get rid of us that easily.**

 **Kazari: How come the guys aren't here?**

 **Ruiko: I heard the author was tired of them and wanted us girls to get some time.**

 **Carissa: But from the comments left by the commoners, it's obvious who they think the best girl is.**

 **Mikoto: What are you doing here?**

 **Carissa: I'm quite popular. No one is going to object.**

 **Misaki: I'm definitely the best girl.**

 **Shizuri: Hah, maybe in your delusional dreams.**

 **Lessar: I'm going to be his first.**

 **Frenda: No you aren't.**

 **Kazari: It seems like they are arguing again. Are you going to join?"**

 **Ruiko: No, I don't want to get in the middle of that. Want to do something else next week?"**

 **Kazari: I think a break would be good.**


	62. S3 Broken Road

**A lot of things are happening, it's kind of hard to keep track. Plus I was distracted last weekend with the new Magic: The Gathering Pre Release. Now that it's over, I was able to focus on writing more. There is a lot of focus on some character's that don't get a lot of attention in this chapter, so I'm rather proud about that. One downside with having so many characters is some characters tend to get neglected. I'm also rather impressed with some of the reviews people left, there are a lot of great ideas and, even if I don't use them, they get my gears turning to continue to pump out new chapters.**

 **Darkbetrayer notices no man.**

 **Now let's move on to the comments.**

 **Riyangendut: Well, there names form a lot of other places, and Oda has a very specific purpose, so he has to be on there. But I see what you mean.**

 **Banditz: Let us bring you up to the front and make sure everyone can see you and possible mock you a bit. All in good fun of course. I know how much you were looking forward to the cooking lessons.**

 **Guest: Yes, when I was googling Japanese names, I had temporarily forgot about that. The name is actual neutral, but more commonly masculine. So it can be used as a masculine female name too.**

 **flayjunior15: I'll let you in on a secret, I'm a Christian to. Reason I use Catholicism is that I know enough about it to go into the magic aspect with the lore. At no time should anyone consider I am bashing or promoting any religion. This is purely for entertainment only.**

 **Brosephg: One upon a time, everyone died.**

 **Handsomistic1: Pssh, it wouldn't be Touma if something crazy doesn't happen at the end. As for your question, it depends if I get an opportunity to introduce his parents. As for Stiyl and Kanzaki, that will only occur if the situation arises.**

 **Agent Nine: Well, maybe. There was one part planned with something similar…**

 **Anon Guest: You were close.**

 **Guest 10032: Of course not. I don't notice people. As for the alternate ego, since you don't have a fanfic account, you are just one of the many voices in my head. Sometimes they materialize, like Banditz.**

 **Guest3: I love her pet snake so much. I definitely want to do something with it.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

Rikou opened the door quietly and peered out of the building. There did not seem to be any of the robots outside, so she swung the door open all the way and took a step out. _Mugino wanted this data, so I can't let my guard down._ Her ability AIM Stalker let he detect and memorize AIM fields. Once memorized, she could tell the direction and distance to the individual, no matter how far they tried to run. _Those machines didn't have AIM fields though, so I have to be careful. I won't be able to detect them. There's one person with an AIM field, but Mugino is approaching him._ Rikou didn't know why Shizuri wanted the data, but she was used to doing what she was told, until there was time to explain why. Shizuri never had them do frivolous things. Rikou heard a crunch, and immediately turned around.

One of the robots was walking around the corner of the building, obviously performing a patrol along the perimeter. _The programmer must be skilled, they actually appear intelligent._ Several explosions blew a couple of windows out and a flash of green light flew out of the building. _Looks like the others are busy, I'm on my own._ Rikou took a step back from the robot. The robot turned its head, and raised its bladed staff. Rikou heard a soft crunch with each step, as it walked over the rubble from the recent explosions. She turned and ran as fast as she could, glad she was wearing her track suit. She always prioritized function over fashion, something Saiai constantly complained about. She tripped on a piece of rubble and, out of pure luck, it saved her. The robot's staff flew above her, where her head would have been, and impaled itself into a nearby wall.

 _They are strong,_ she thought, springing to her feet. She started running and began to cross the street. She knew she had to get out of the vicinity. As long as she was in a deserted area, the robots would find her. She had to hide in a more populated district with the data, until Shizuri called her. The robot continued to follow her, unaware of her intentions. When Rikou was halfway across the street, it started running and jumped thirty feet, over Rikou, and landed in front of her. She skidded to a stop, and took a step back instinctively. The robot swung his arm at her and she cross her arms instinctively to block the blow. It sent her flying backwards several feet and she landed on her back. Her arms hurt a lot, but she didn't believe anything was broken. _I can't outrun it and it's stronger than me. What should I do?_ The robot reached a metal hand down toward her throat and she scooted backwards on the ground. A sudden flash of light blinded her for a moment, and then she heard a crunch of metal.

A large truck had crashed into the robot, sending in flying down the street. Sparks flew as it scraped against the concreate. She looked up, and the passenger side door of the truck opened. She saw familiar dirty blonde hair and the Shiage reached out a hand toward her. "Get in quick," he said. "It's getting back up." Rikou reached up, grabbed his hand, and he helped pull her into the front passenger seat of the car. She slammed the door and struggled to put on her seatbelt, as Shiage backed the truck up. "Frenda, can you take it out?"

"If you don't make any sudden moves," Frenda said from the back seat. She leaned out of the window and threw her last hand held missile at the robot. The robot had begun to stand up, its arm broken and circuits visible, when the missile hit it square in the head. The explosion blew it clean off and the robot collapsed into a pile of debris. Frenda pulled her body back in and leaned back in her seat. "That was close. Basically, if we didn't arrive, things could have gotten bad."

"Wow a compliment," Shiage said amazed. "I didn't think I would hear that from you."

"Don't get cocky," Frenda sneered at him. "Basically, you still aren't nearly as useful as Kamijou."

"I want to meet this legendary Kamijou," Shiage mumbled under his breath, and Frenda kicked the back of his chair.

Rikou leaned back in her seat, patted her pocket to make sure she still had the data, and then clutched her bruised arms. She was listening to Frenda and Shiage bicker, and her mind wondered to what Shizuri had planned. Shizuri had told Shiage to find them a medium sized vehicle and keep it parked a couple blocks away. If things got bad, they needed an escape route. Of course, Shizuri never had planned to retreat, but she was smart enough to always have a backup plan. She had threatened to break one of his fingers for every minute he was late, if she signaled him. ITEM had been through a lot of difficult missions, fighting men in power suits, remote controlled machines, ability users, and swarms of people with guns. This was the first time something as bizarre as an army of intelligent robots had attacked.

Rikou turned her attention to Frenda. While Frenda was acting the same as usual, excitable and slightly arrogant, Rikou could tell she had been injured. Her clothes were burnt and cut, her left arm was bleeding, and she had a large black bruise on her ankle, her sock had been cut to reveal her skin. Rikou pulled her sleeves back and examined her arms. They too were covered with large bruises. _If Hamazura didn't pick me up, I would not have made it out alive._ She remembered how strong his hand felt when he pulled her in. _I bet he rescued Frenda too._ She didn't know how right she was. Shiage had picked Frenda up on the other side of the building, after she was being chased by three more of the robots. _Hamazura may complain a lot, but he always pulls through._ She didn't say anything, because she didn't feel like anything really had to be said. Shiage performed the way his role required him to do.

"Takitsubo," Shiage said, seeing her injuries. "You're hurt."

"…They are superficial," Rikou told him calmly, but she heard the worry in his voice. "Frenda's wounds are worst. Her ankle looks bad."

"I'm fine," Frenda lied. Her ankle was actually bothering her quite a bit, but she wasn't going to show weakness in front of the others.

"… We should retreat and look for Mugino," Rikou pointed out.

"I don't know how we will find her with all those machines patrolling the area," Shiage said, frowning. "Maybe if she gave us some kind of signal…" His words were drowned out as several explosions rocketed the nearby building and it started to collapse. The third floor began to merge with the second, and the second floor into the ground floor. Out of the review mirror, Shiage saw the robot they had destroyed explode too. "Are they self-destructing?" he asked in shock.

"Mugino and Kinuhata are still in the building!" Frenda shouted, as Shiage turned a corner to avoid the wave of dust from the explosion. Shiage drove closer to the building wreckage and turned on the high beams, to be able to see the full extent of the damage. Concreate and metal support beams were lying in every direction, the entire building was beyond salvage, and all that was left was a pile of rubble. Shiage parked that car close and got out carefully, pulling out a small gun. Frenda and Rikou were waiting in the truck, as neither of them were in any position to help if things got messy.

"… Be careful," Rikou warned him. Shiage nodded and stood on top of a piece of concreate to get a good look around.

"I don't see anything," he told them. He scanned the rubble again. _If they were on the ground floor, they must be buried under all this. Could they survive being crushed?_ He thought he heard something to his right and he raised his gun, but stopped when he saw a small green glow. A second later, a beam shot out of the rubble and blew away a small pile of concreate and metal. "Are you okay?" he called out, hopping over the debris and making his way over to where Shizuri fired her ability. Saiai was standing up, and trying to push a large chunk of debris out of the way. Shiage was able to help Mugino out of the hole while Saiai moved the rubble. It appeared as if she had used her ability shield to prevent most of the debris from crushing them. The building material was dissolved before it fell on them.

"What do you think?" Shizuri snapped, as she leaned on him. When they got out of the rubble and the light from the truck engulfed them, Shiage saw her left arm was at an odd angle. Saiai looked a little better, probably because her offense armor had protected her, but she was covered in bruises and cuts. There was a limit how much she could stop, and the force of the blunt objects still got through.

"We super need to get your arm looked at," Saiai said, and Shiage was glad she spoke up. He didn't want to be the one to tell Shizuri what to do.

"I know," Shizuri growled, making an annoyed click with her tongue. "But right now, let's get out of here. Anti-Skill won't have missed this much noise and we did our job. The intruders didn't get the data and the robots are annihilated. There wasn't anything in the mission briefing about not destroying the building."

"I don't think they will like that explanation," Shiage pointed out.

"Who cares?" Shizuri said sarcastically. "They didn't tell us what we were up against." Shiage helped her into the back seat and Saiai joined her. Shiage got back into the driver's seat and started the truck. He drove off, and took a couple side roads until they were out of sight of the building. They heard the sound of Anti-Skill sirens, but they didn't have to worry about them anymore. "You got the data?" Shizuri asked Rikou, who nodded and held up the external hard drive.

"…It's still encrypted," Rikou told her. "So I just copied everything."

"That's fine," Shizuri said, and then she grimaced slightly. "Even with Academy City's advancements in medical technology, my arm will take a few days to heal. We can use that time to crack the code. Let's not tell our contact we have it though. " Frenda and Saiai gave a short laugh and leaned back in their seats. Both of them were tired and ached all over. A couple days of recovery sounded good to them.

"Normal hospital?" Shiage asked.

"Where else did you expect to go?" Shizuri snapped at him.

"Seriously," Saiai said, shaking her head. "You are super Hamazura-y."

"Basically," Frenda added. "All you can do is follow directions. You ask the stupidest questions."

"No respect," Shiage muttered under his breath. He felt a pat on his shoulder and saw Rikou's hand. She gave him a brief, reassuring nod, and he felt better. _The rest of them may be jerks, but she's not._

* * *

Touma got back his apartment, after grabbing dinner with his friends, and found Index watching TV and waiting for him. She greeted him normally and told him all about her day. Touma listened and had to avoid grinning. He was glad Index was treating him like usual again. After their discussion yesterday, he had been afraid of what their relationship was going to become. Now that everything seemed to be normal again, Touma was relieved. He spent some time with Index, before she went back to watching TV and Touma went to sit down in the kitchen. His phone beep and he turned his head to look at it. He chuckled when he saw Jason had sent everyone one of the pictures of Kuroko in her outfit. A shiver ran down his spine at the thought of what would happen if Index found that picture, so he deleted it. It's not like he needed it for any reason. He frowned, as he realized he missed a message from Carissa today, and opened it.

 _Read your previous message and tell me if you are stupid or just trying to get hurt._

Touma read his previous message and his face turned ashen. _That was a typo, I mean dissing. I didn't mean that kind of disrespect._ He sent the message, sighed, and leaned back in his chair. _I hope she forgives me. Even if she is locked up, I think she would find a way to come here and try to punish me for disrespecting her._ He was about to stand up and go watch TV with Index, when his phone beeped. He felt a shiver run down his neck, and he looked at it.

 _I figured as much. I seriously doubt you would have the balls to try any sort of funny business. I am more interested in when you said my mother gave you this number. How did she give you this number undetected?_

 _She had Knight Leader pass me a letter._

 _Send me a picture of the letter._ Touma froze and his mind started thinking of how to get out of this. He still had the letter hidden above his fridge, a place Index wouldn't look, but he didn't want Carissa to see it. He was concerned about his safety if she saw what her mother wrote. As if reading his mind, another message came through from her. _Don't you dare give me any shit about losing or destroying it. You and I both know you didn't._

Touma gulped and pulled out the letter. He took a picture of it and attached a message with it. _I didn't write this and I had nothing to do with it. Please don't blame me._ He sent the message, with slightly trembling fingers, and waited for her reply. Several minutes passed in silence and his nervousness grew. _How pissed off is she at me?_ he thought to himself. He heard the beep, took a deep breath to steady himself, and looked down.

 _I guess I should thank you. I know what she's trying to do now. Next time we meet, there is going to be a long discussion._ Touma felt both relieve and nervous at the same time.

 _Try not to be too hard on her. She really is just worried about you. I'm glad you aren't mad at me._ He didn't get long to feel relieved though, she replied moments later.

 _Who said I wasn't mad at you? Just you wait until I'm out of this confinement._ Touma felt another shiver over his entire body. He looked out the window and could swear he felt predator eyes glaring at him.

* * *

The next morning, a rumor had been floating around a certain high school. It started with many of the girls, but spread like wild fire among the guys when they found out. Several girls this morning had seen Seria Kumokawa coming to school, carrying a lunch box far larger than one person, let alone a delicate girl like her, could eat alone. All the girls were whispering excitedly among themselves and came up with one explanation. Seria must have brought lunch for someone. The question on their mind was, for whom? The guys immediately thought it was for her boyfriend, while the girls were divided between her bringing it for a boy or one of her friends. Naturally, Motoharu and Pierce were two of the guys most interested in the news.

"Did you hear Kami-yan?" Motoharu asked. "Beauty-sempai brought a lunch box for someone and no one knows who."

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about this?" Pierce asked suspiciously.

Touma gave an involuntary yawn before answering. He had been up late because he couldn't sleep. Carissa's last text kept his imagination working in overdrive about what Carissa was going to do to him, after she was released. He didn't regret stopping her, but he understood why she would be upset with him. Unfortunately, his attention was now being forcefully turned to the topic at hand and he knew what would happen if his friends found out about how that lunch box was for him. "What? Really? That means she's taken? Who is it?"

"So it wasn't you?" asked Motoharu in shock. He turned to Pierce. "We were sure it had to be him."

"Looks like it must be for her friends," Pierce said reasonably, before narrowing his eyes at Touma. "Unless, you're lying to us."

"O-Of course not," Touma denied, shaking his head. "There's no way the school idol would be interested in me."

"I never saw him raise any flags," Pierce said thoughtfully. "Kagere isn't here so we can't ask him what he knows." Touma gave a mental sigh of relief. He wasn't sure, if Jason was here, that he would be able to keep his mouth shut. "Hey Accel-kun, you know anything about Kami and beauty-sempai?"

"Who the hell is beauty-sempai?" Accelerator asked. He had been sitting down and listening to their conversation.

"Ah that's right," Motoharu said, realizing an important fact. "He never met her. She's the school idol and a third year. I'll point her out to you if you're interested."

"I'm not," Accelerator replied and put his head down on the desk. "Probably not my type anyways."

"What's your type?" Pierce asked interested.

"None of your business."

 _Disaster averted,_ Touma thought to himself. Motoharu and Pierce were now in the process of needling Accelerator about what type he was interested in, constantly joking about him being a lolicon. _Now how am I going to meet Kumokawa-senpai without causing her problems?_ He didn't care if he was made fun of, he was used to his friends teasing him about having a harem, but he didn't want Seria to be on the receiving end. _After all, she's just thanking me for helping her. There really is a difference between older and younger girls that way._ _Older girls are so mature_. He spent most of the morning trying to think of a plan.

When the lunch bell rang, Touma made a big scene over forgetting his lunch. Motoharu and Pierce laughed at him and Touma pretended to rush out of the room to get to the cafeteria, muttered about being stuck in line the entire time. Accelerator watched him suspiciously for a moment, before pulling out his store bought lunch. Touma left the room and snuck upstairs, before realizing Seria never told them where they would meet. _Where would she be? She mentioned she didn't like the noise of classrooms and the cafeteria… I know, the roof._ He bolted to the stairs, trying to move quickly but quietly up them, until he reached the door leading to the roof. He opened it and looked around.

"Hello Kamijou-san," Seria greeted him warmly. "I realized I forgot to say where we should meet, but I'm glad you found the place." She had laid out a small blanket for them to sit on and it looked like she had been perusing a magazine while waiting for him. A large bento box sat next to her.

"You mentioned you liked to dine away from the noise," Touma told her. "I figured this was the best place for that."

"It does get harder during the winter to find a place like this," Seria admitted. "But the weather is quite nice now and the other students haven't realized it yet." She patted the blanket next to her. "Why don't you have a seat?"

"Thank you," Touma said, and sat down on the opposite side of her, instead of next to her. He missed the slightest motion on her face, as she bit the very edge of her lip. She had obviously wanted him to sit next to her, but she was going to take what she could get. She opened the bento and Touma looked inside. There was an assortment of dishes, chicken, sushi, fresh vegetables, and rice. The last time he got to taste something that looked that good, was Misaki's bento she had made for him awhile back. "This looks amazing. Now I feel bad you went to all this trouble."

"Think nothing of it," Seria laughed slightly. "It was no trouble at all. I really appreciated your help." She wasn't lying because she had, in fact, not made it. One of the secrets Seria kept was she was hopeless with normal chores. Her apartment was always a mess and without her sister, it would never be clean. The minute Touma had left yesterday, she had called her sister, Maria, and asked her to make a special lunch. It took a while to convince her, as she wanted all the details, but Seria got the lunch made in the end. _It's technically homemade so it's fine._

"I can't thank you enough," Touma said, as she passed him his half. "This is really good," he said after the first bite. "You really are perfect."

"Oh stop," she giggled. _Hah, he's all mine now. A way to a guy's heart is through his stomach, even gentlemen aren't an exception._ "I'm far from perfect."

Worried about embarrassing her, Touma decided to change the subject. "We didn't get to talk much yesterday," he said. "What have you been up to sempai?"

"Oh nothing much," Seria lied, not mentioning the amount of work she actually did for the city. "School keeps me busy and I try to spend time with my friends, but enough about me. I'm interested in your trip to England. It has been so long since I have been out of the city. Can you tell me all about it and what you saw?"

"It was quite fun," Touma said truthfully. If he took out the issue with Carissa, it was probably the best vacation he ever had. He was so happy to be talking about normal things with an attractive older girl, he completely missed the fact he had never told Seria about the trip going to England. He had only told her about going on a trip outside of Academy City. They continued to talk while eating lunch, until Seria made a surprising offer.

"Here," she said, holding out her chopsticks with a small white daifuku. Touma reached for his chopsticks, but Seria shook her head. "Just eat it," she added smiling. Touma mind was reeling, worried about if this was considered an indirect kiss, but his male body moved automatically. He leaned forward and Seria put the sweet into his mouth. He had the brief taste of strawberries before he heard a loud click. Both he and Seria turned toward the door to the stair case, saw it was open, and Motoharu stood there while holding a camera. Touma swallowed quickly and almost choked because he didn't chew properly.

"Nice try Kami-yan," Motoharu grinned. "I knew you were involved in some way. It was one of your better attempts to hide a harem member." He turned around and started rushing down the stairs.

"You idiot!" Touma yelled, standing up and chasing after him. He was worried about the sort of rumors that Seria would have to endure if Motoharu spread that photo. "It's not like that! She was only thanking me for helping her yesterday! There was nothing romantic about it!"

Seria watched him, until he disappeared down the stairs. She frowned and her face was contorted with anger. The chopsticks in her hand snapped from the force of her grip. _That b#$%^* &, he knew what I was up to and waited until he could interrupt at the most inopportune time. I guess he still holds a grudge against me._ She was slightly annoyed Touma said there was nothing romantic about their encounter, and she sighed. _He's so naïve, but I guess that's part of his charm._ She started packing up and started planning damage control, in case Motoharu spread that photo to the wrong people.

Touma never did catch up to Motoharu, before he was able to get back to class and explained what happened to Pierce and Accelerator. When Touma entered the room, he was barraged by his classmates asking questions and yelling. The guys were angry because he took the school's idol and the girls were jealous. Pierce tackled him shortly afterwards and Accelerator went back to sleep. Motoharu then took the picture and sent it to three girls. He would have sent it to more, but he didn't have their numbers. Touma had no idea the trouble that was about to erupt because of that.

* * *

The bell rang, signally the end of a class at Sakugawa Middle School. Kazari and Ruiko left together and were heading to the 177th Judgement Branch Office. Kazari had to work after school, but Ruiko was just accompanying her. Though, if someone was just watching them, it would appear as if Kazari was the one accompany Ruiko and trying to cheer her up. "I'm sure it's not what it looks like," Kazari told her reasonably. "Kamijou-san isn't the kind of person to fool around with girls if he actually had a girlfriend. Jason and Accelerator-san both have said he wasn't with everyone."

"I know," Ruiko said, slightly downtrodden. "I keep telling myself that, but the picture…" Motoharu had sent her a picture of an attractive girl feeding Touma. "Did Kagere-san reply yet?"

"No," Kazari said, frowning slightly. "He usually gets back pretty quick. I hope nothing is wrong."

"I bet he is just busy," Ruiko said, and grinned slightly. A gust of air suddenly blew up Kazari's skirt. "Ah, your underwear always calms me down. Red with white stars, a classic."

"SATEN-SAN!" Kazari yelled in surprise. She calmed down and gave a weary smile. "It's good to see you back to your old self, but please stop flipping my skirt."

"All thanks to your choice in underwear," Ruiko explained and Kazari turned redder. "But you are right. I'm not going to let one of Tsuchimikado's pranks get to me. I'll talk to Touma first and see what that was about. For now, let's head to your office and I'll try to liven things up for you."

"We have to actually work you know," Kazari sighed. "Konori-sempai lets you hang out, but you can't interfere with our work. Besides, you could do something constructive, like get a start on your homework."

"I'll wait until you are free so we can work on it together," Ruiko said happily. This literally translated to, Kazari will do most of the work and Ruiko will get the answers.

"You really should be doing more of it on your own," Kazari told her, shaking her head. "It's why you have trouble on the tests."

"But there's so many things I want to do," Ruiko protested. "Homework takes up to much time." Kazari sighed again, knowing further persuasion was useless right now, and they continued to head to her Judgement office. About half way to their destination, Ruiko stopped and held out a hand in front of Kazari. She frowned, as she turned her head, like she was listening to something. "Hang on, did you here that?"

"Huh?" Kazari asked, confused. Ruiko walked over to the entrance of an alley and gestured to Kazari. She raised an eyebrow and followed. "What are we doing?" she whispered.

"I thought I heard those guys who just walked down there mention the level upper," Ruiko whispered hurriedly. She stuck her head out and looked down the alley.

"That can't be," Kazari whispered back. "It was destroyed. Everyone knows how dangerous it was." She imitated Ruiko's action and they heard hushed voices.

"So we can really raise our levels if we go here?"

"The benefactor is just giving you the option to join. We have to make sure Judgement or Anti-Skill doesn't find out. You know they will want to prevent normal people from gaining any power."

"They really like abusing their authority." The three guys walked to the end of the alley and appeared to walk right through a brick wall.

"What the…?" Ruiko said. "That didn't look like teleportation."

"One of them could have phased them through I suppose…" Kazari started to say, when they felt a pair of large hands on their shoulders. They both turned around to see two burly guys glaring down at them. One had short black hair and the other shaved his head to look bald.

"What are you two girls doing?" the black haired guy asked.

"Nothing," Ruiko replied, tensing slightly.

"Think they are spies?" the bald one asked.

"W-we aren't," Kazari stammered slightly. "We were just passing through."

"Do they look like spies?" a third voice asked and all four of them turned around. A young man with dirty blonde hair was standing there. He appeared pretty tired. "They look like middle school students. I bet they want to raise their levels to."

"You got a lot of nerve showing up here Hamazura," the bald guy growled at him.

"Hey," Shiage said, raising his hands defensively. "I'm tired of being a level 0 too."

"Whatever," the black haired guy said. "We were told to let anyone interested in. Get going you three, it's about to start. Just walk through the wall at the end." Kazari and Ruiko nodded, deciding playing along would be the best course of action, and walked with the young man they only knew was named Hamazura.

"Thanks for the help," Ruiko whispered. "But we discovered this by accident. What's going on?"

"How did you know those guys?" Kazari asked.

"We worked together a couple times," Shiage muttered. "We never got along well. Seriously, you don't know? There has been a rumor that some benefactor is going to work on raising all the low levels in the city. A lot of people think it's going to be something like the level upper."

"But it was really dangerous," Kazari protested. "People were left in comas."

"A lot of these people are most likely from Skill-Out divisions," Shiage told her. "They are probably tired of being treated poorly by the city." He sighed. "Can't really blame them too much. I only came here because I was interested in what it was and had some free time." They stepped up to the brick wall and leaned up against it, not sure of what to do. They passed right through it, like it was just an illusion, and walked into a large room. Looking around, it appeared to be some large storage warehouse. Instead of boxes of goods, machines, or vehicles, a wide assortment of benches were lined up and hundreds of students were milling around them. At the far end of the warehouse, a makeshift stage and a large monitor had been set up. It almost looked like a cheap concert hall. Kazari and Ruiko turned their attention back to how they got here.

"That wall shouldn't have been connected to the building," Ruiko said, examining the wall they had just walked through. "I don't think we teleported either."

"Did someone actually develop a wormhole ability?" Kazari asked wide-eyed. "I heard there were a few people with potential, but they never got above level 2."

"What's special about wormholes?" Shiage asked her.

"Normal teleportation requires eleventh dimensional calculations and manipulation," Kazari explained. Being friends with Shirai the longest, she had the most knowledge of teleportation and Shirai had mentioned wormholes before. "By using their position in the eleventh dimension and moving, they can instantaneously move to another point in our space. Wormholes operate differently to achieve a similar effect. Wormholes connect two coordinates though compressed space and time. I don't know the specifics of it though. The compressed space, which I believe includes dimensions and time, allows the two distance points to move next to each other. It changed the distance to virtually zero, so we never have to surpass the speed of light. It just appears we move vast distances instantly, but are actually barely moving at all."

"You sound like you know a lot about it," Shiage said, slightly impressed. "Do you have one of those abilities?"

"No," Kazari shook her head. "I'm a level one, Thermal Hand. I can maintain the temperature of things I touch. I know a teleporter though. Wormholes can cover a lot greater distances then teleportation, but they are stationary."

"My ability is Aero Hand and I'm a level 1," Ruiko said, before holding out her hand. "I hope I ranked up with system scan yesterday but, before that, I never thanked you for saving us." Shiage shook her hand and grinned slightly.

"Nice to be appreciated," he said. "I'm only a level 0 and some of my… friends… look down on me because of that."

"That's not right," Kazari said indigently. "People shouldn't look down on others for not being a high level."

"The real world isn't that kind," Shiage told her. "It's the reason Skill-Out was originally formed. Us low levels had to band together for protection."

"It sounds like you were part of that group," Ruiko said, for the first time sounding slightly alarmed.

"I was," Shiage told her. "I left for personal reasons, but it doesn't change the fact that is how they started. Now, they sort of became a terrorist organization." He looked away for a moment, like there was a bad taste in his mouth.

"We know a lot of higher levels who won't look down on you," Kazari reassured him.

"You're one of the lucky ones," Shiage muttered. "We can talk about that later, look. Everyone is sitting down and, if we don't want to draw attention, we should to." Kazari and Ruiko nodded, before sitting down next to him on one of the benches in the back. There was still a lot of talking, until the lights started to shut off and everyone got quiet. Only the lights near the stage stayed on and a single young man walked up on the stage.

"Looks like everyone who wants to be here has arrived," the man said. He was wearing a mask and had short brown hair "You can call me Moderator for now. For safety reasons, I have to disguise my appearance. You never know what kind of assassins the people at the top of this city would send at me if they knew what we are doing. For that reason, this building won't let any signals in or out, so don't bother trying to record and send anything. Anyone attempting to will have their device destroyed." He took a deep breath. "But let's ignore that boring introduction. We all know why you are here." He raised his hand in the air and pointed at them all.

"It's time for all of us to take back our city!" he cried and the majority of the crowd started clapping and yelling. They must have known more than Kazari and Ruiko did. "Even without explaining, most of you know what I mean. Sixty percent of the student population is considered a level 0, but you know what? We barely get any time of day. It's always the higher levels that get all the attention and funding. Look at our schools and teachers, and you can see the obvious in front of you. We are stuck with mediocre training and equipment, while those with power continue to have everything at their disposal. Maybe if we were focused on that much, we too could reach their levels, but the higher ups don't want that. They want to use us as stepping stones for others." Excited whispers broke out among the audience and many people yelled out in anger.

"Great," Shiage sighed. "It's just propaganda. Wish I could leave, but that would make a big scene."

"You know what they want to achieve?" Ruiko asked, as she and Kazari turned to him.

"They want everyone to believe the city is stacking everything against them," he explained. "They will feed on everyone's insecurities and then explain what they want everyone to do. Dang, I only came because they said they had the ability to raise our levels. It looks like this was a bust. I don't want to join some random organization again."

"What kind of things do they try to get people to do?" Kazari asked, ignoring the again part.

"Usually join the organization," Shiage shrugged. "Sometimes they try to get donations or information. Guess we will see in a bit." The moderator started talking again as the chatter died down.

"I know many of you probably have thoughts along the line, oh all the high levels aren't bad or, how about, maybe if you work hard you can raise your ability too." He shook his head. "I hate to be the one to tell you this, but your max level was determined by them, as soon as you awakened it. They could tell how high your potential was and then compare it to the cost of developing it. If you didn't have the potential, or costs were too high, they left you alone to be at the mercy of others." This must have achieved the Moderator's desired effect, because many people started whispering anxiously.

"Do you think that's true?" Ruiko whispered to Kazari.

"I doubt it," she replied offhandedly. "It would completely undermine what our teachers tell us at school. If this was true, it would cause riots in the street. Many people only joined because the city promised we could develop high level abilities."

"I will return to this important topic in a moment," the Moderator told them. "We have big news on that subject, but I want to address the other issue first. The higher levels are not on your side. They may not actively work against you, but they aren't helping or supporting you either. They look down on us, because we don't have the powers they do. To long have level 0s had to remain in the shadows because of them. I bet many of you are level 0, 1, and 2, but I'm sure you have seen it to." There was a lot of muttering and, this time, it seemed to be an acknowledgement of his words. "We sent people around the city to find proof of this abuse and we found way more than many of us thought. We sent our findings directly to the board of directors and didn't receive a single response. THEY WANT US TO SUFFER!" He yelled the last few words into the mic in anger, before he calmed himself. "We plan to show you the recording of what we found." He walked off stage as the remaining lights dimmed, and the monitor turned on.

"This is all wrong," Kazari whispered. "Jason, Misaka-san, and Shirai-san wouldn't do anything like that."

"I know what he's saying is wrong," Ruiko acknowledged. "But I still feel his words hit me." She thought she had gotten over trying to gain power for the purpose of just having it, but she remembered the way she felt when she was powerless to help others. She had seen people abuse their powers on others who were weaker than them. Her heart still remembered those feelings and she knew how the others must have felt. This wasn't something a higher level would understand. Kazari might have similar feelings, even though she developed her power early, it never grew past level 1. _I won't let these feelings keep me from moving forward though._ She felt Kazari pat her shoulders reassuringly and she felt better.

"Looks like another smear campaign," Shiage yawned, and leaned up against the back wall. "Wake me up when it's over. I have heard all of this before many times. I might still believe it if it wasn't for this one guy." The monitor turned to a blue screen and a cool female's voice came through the speakers. She sounded like she couldn't have been much older than Kazari and Ruiko.

"The scenes you are about to see is thanks to the painstaking work our group has done over the past few months." The monitor flashed from a blue screen into what appeared to be a movie. As the entire audience watched, they saw several ability users, obviously high levels, attacking other students. The first scene had a man throwing fire at several innocent bystanders, causing them to yell and flee in different directions. The scene quickly changed to several girls forcing another one to dance as they shot high pressure water and air at her. Another scene showed a guy knocking down a group of people with a single hand. His hand crashed into a concreate wall and left a hand print in it. These kinds of scenes kept repeated again and again, none more than a minute long. Ruiko couldn't help cringing at a couple of them. "Higher levels are untouchable with punishment, because the city considered them valuable, unlike all of us. We even managed to get some videos of a couple of the level fives abusing their power."

"What?" Kazari asked shocked. "These have to be taken out of context."

"This is bad," Ruiko agreed and looked around. "But it looks like most of these guys are falling for it." Kazari also looked around and a lot of the nearby audience were making fists and beginning to shout angrily.

The screen changed to reflect a person they were familiar with. Accelerator's white hair was obvious and he was walking away from a large group of people, all lying on the ground in pain. Several of them looked like they had broken hands and arms. They didn't see much, as the scene changed, and they saw Mikoto firing electricity at several guys. Again, the scene didn't last long and it changed to show Misaki. About fifteen people collapsed all around her and she was holding a remote in her hand. "We don't have much information on the rank four Meltdowner," the girl's voice said. "But just recently we caught her ability destroying a building." The video changed to a night time scene and they saw green beams of light fly out of a building. Only a minute later, the building started to explode and collapse in on itself. The scene then went dark. "You would think with the level 5s attacking so many people and destroying everything, there would be consequences, right?" Several people shouted loudly in agreement, while Kazari and Ruiko looked at each other in shock.

"But you must know now, they are above the law," the girl continued. "Their involvement gets swept under the rug and it's all treated as an accident." The girl paused as many people in the crowd started yelling. "Even Judgement is on their side." Ruiko felt Kazari sit up slightly, but nudged her to remain still and avoid attention. "Judgement is supposed to keep the peace and help prevent incidents like this. They say they allow anyone who can pass basic training to join but, even then, it's still discriminatory. The high levels are allowed to patrol and use force whenever they want to. The lower levels are stuck doing desk work and cleanup."

"That's not true," Ruiko whispered. "I've seen you on patrol before."

"I mostly monitor back at the office," Kazari told her, nodding. "But I volunteer for that. If Shirai-san does it, nothing gets done and paper works starts getting back up. Plus, I'm good with computers, so it's easier for me to monitor everything."

"Uiharu," Ruiko grinned. "The number one hacker in Academy City." Kazari grinned for a second, but it slipped off as they returned to the serious conversation.

"… and no matter how many complaints Judgement receives on unnecessary use of force, nothing changes" the girl continued. "Here are some scenes of these so called protectors abusing their power." The monitor turned on again and several more scenes flashed. Kazari didn't know most of the people, they had to be part of different branches, but they were all the same type of clips as before. It was short scenes of Judgement members taking down people before moving to the next one. After about ten people, Kazari couldn't contain her gasp. Someone had taken a video of Kuroko and they watched her take down three people by teleporting around them, knocking two down and pinning the third to a wall with her needles in their clothes. The screen turned black shortly after. "They abuse their power and the city doesn't care…"

"Wait," Kazari said frowning. "I remember that scene with Shirai-san. I saw that fight through a camera. Those guys were robbing a store and one of them was an ability user. None of that was shown."

"That's the purpose of propaganda," Shiage yawned, and sat up. "When I was part of Skill-Out, it's what we did all the time. I was never good at it though," he sighed depressed. "Maybe that's why I'm where I am now."

"I only heard bad things about Skill-Out," Ruiko admitted. "They act as a terrorist group, but you don't seem like a bad guy."

"That's not why I joined in the first place," Shiage told her. "Some groups are extreme yes, but I joined for protection. It sort of grew from there, but I did things I'm not proud of." He sighed again. "I guess my current position is punishment for that. He looked at them. "I take it you're part of Judgement. You probably shouldn't say that out loud, even if you are low levels, most people here don't have favorable opinions of you."

"We can tell," Kazari agreed. "Thanks for the warning. We appreciate it." Shiage eye's widened in surprise, like he was stunned someone would thank him. Kazari decided not to say anything about it.

"Listen," Ruiko hissed suddenly. Kazari and Shiage went silent and turned their attention to the stage. The screen was off, but the girl's voice was still coming through.

"I am now going to turn it back over the Moderator," the girl continued and the speakers went silent.

"Thank you," the Moderator said, stepping back up on stage. "Now that our demonstration is over, I am going to go back to what I told you all briefly about. The city told us if we work hard and go through the ability curriculum, we too could develop our powers. This was a lie! When they awakened our abilities, they knew how far we would progress. They called it the Parameter List. This list tells the scientists how far we can go and how much it will cost them to do so. They then pick and choose which individuals they are going to focus on. The rest of us get stuck with the normal curriculum. They choose the people who they believe can reach the highest level and devote all the resources to them, or find those with unique abilities…" He was interrupted by the uproar of people yelling in anger or disbelief.

"But Misaka-san worked really hard to achieve level 5," Kazari whispered.

"This has to be propaganda right?" Ruiko said to Shiage who shrugged.

"Never heard of anything like this before." He leaned forward, slightly interested in hearing more. "It's a big lie to tell, so they must have proof."

"If this is true," Kazari said, frowning. "Or just if they believe it's true, this could cause a lot of problems. Students joined because they thought they could develop a high level ability, if they stuck with the curriculum. Many people would be devastated to learn their abilities are predetermined."

"HOWEVER!" the Moderator yelled over everyone and they got quiet. "I have good news. Our benefactor has developed away for us to surpass that list and turn even the weakest among us into high level ability users. We can prove their list wrong and show we are all not disposable." A hush fell over the audience until someone stood up.

"Bullshit!" he yelled, pointing. "Like we would believe some random person could do what the city can't."

"Your belief is understandable," the Moderator conceded, and the guy sat down. "That is why we brought you evidence." He waved to a male standing off stage, who was also masked, and he made his way up on stage. He had long oily looking black hair. "This guy here is codenamed Transporter. He is the one who made the wormholes for all of you to arrive here." There was excited whispering at these words. It appeared many of them understood wormhole abilities were no fully developed. "We needed someone to move a large number of people, otherwise the higher ups will try to stop us. We developed his ability from a level 2 to a level four in a very short period of time." He paced back and forth on the stage while the audience watched.

"The reason we brought you all here was to offer you this choice," the Moderator said, and his voice turned deadly serious. "For those of you who are sick of the adults in this city letting us suffer, we give you this opportunity. If you wish to join us, we will develop your ability far beyond what the city says you can achieve. No longer will you be forced to hide from those who abuse their power. Now," he stopped pacing and turned to face them all. "If you choose to join us, you understand the risks. The city will not appreciate what we are doing because we are stepping onto their turf. They will not profit off our research. Those of you who choose not to come with us, we wish you luck in your pointless endeavor. You may exit the way you came in. The people who do want to join, you need to go through the door there. We will give you more information." He looked at the watch on his wrist. "You have ten minutes to decide. He turned the microphone off and exited through the door next to the stage.

The audience burst into conversation. Ruiko noticed several people followed the Moderator immediately. _At least most of these people realize it's too good to be true,_ she thought, watching several groups leave through the wormhole they had entered. "We obviously aren't going to go through with this," Ruiko said. "So should we leave?"

"I'm worried about the people who do go through with it," Kazari replied. "If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Should we try to warn them?"

"That will probably just end up badly for you," Shiage reminded her. He stood up and stretched. "I told you people here don't like Judgement."

"We really should go," Ruiko added. The group was thinning out and they were becoming more obvious.

"We can tell Konori-sempai about this for sure," Kazari said. "She might know something about the Parameter List rumor." _I hope this isn't true. Misaka has always been happy about having worked hard to get to level 5. If this is true and becomes widely known, she will be devastated._ She turned to Shiage. "What are you going to do Hamazura-san?"

"I'm going to leave," he told her. "I don't trust these guys." He gave one last look at the direction the Moderator went though, before heading back the way they came. Kazari and Ruiko looked at each other for a moment, and then followed him. They stepped through the wall and suddenly appeared outside in the sun, like they passed through a thin veil. They walked out of the alley and faced each other.

"It was nice meeting you," Kazari said politely. "I wish it wouldn't have been something so serious."

"You really helped us out," Ruiko added.

"I didn't really do anything," Shiage said, feeling strange. When he took over a Skill-Out group, he wasn't the most popular leader. The previous leader had died and he was forced into the position. His group fell apart shortly after that and their last mission had ended in failure. Shiage remembered a spikey, black haired, boy defeated him. After that, he was drafted into ITEM by Shizuri. She and her friends treated him with little respect, except Rikou, so he was feeling weird when two complete strangers were thanking him. He didn't even know their names. _Mugino is such a…. wait… OH SHIT._ He grabbed his head. "I was on an errand for her! She's going to kill me for being so late!" He ran off without another word, leaving Ruiko and Kazari looking stunned.

"He's an interesting guy," Ruiko said. "He sort of reminds me of Touma, except it seems like he tries not to get involved in things if he can help it."

"I got that feeling too," Kazari agreed. "Kamijou-san would probably have run up on stage and tried to convince everyone they didn't need power to be strong." They both giggled at the thought. "But we should hurry back to the Judgement Branch. They will be wondering where I am and we need to report what we found." Ruiko nodded and they both started running.

* * *

After class, Accelerator found himself walking with Touma back to Touma's dorm. Touma was planning to come over to his apartment to teach Last Order some basic cooking skills, but they needed to pick up Index first. _At least those other two idiots didn't come with us._ Motoharu and Pierce had gone off on their own, while Jason never showed up for school. Accelerator glanced over at Touma , who was glued to his phone, constantly messaging people. _He's still at it? How many people did he send that picture too… never mind, I know what that idiot is like. The damn hero is probably trying to avoid getting killed by every girl he knows._ He was only partially correct. Touma had been messaging only two girls all afternoon, Misaki and Mikoto, both of whom did not seem to want to drop the subject.

"Finally," Touma sighed, putting his phone away. "I think I got them to finally believe me after explaining everything." _Misaki seemed a little more aggressive than usual in her questions._ "Why on earth would he do that?"

"Are you seriously asking that question?" Accelerator asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No," Touma replied, shaking his head and looking at the ground. "I know how those two are." He looked over at Accelerator. "How much experience does Last Order have cooking? I know you mentioned she wasn't very good."

"She can't even make toast," Accelerator told him.

"What?"

"She tried using the toaster once," Accelerator informed him. "It was to slow for her, so she thought it would be a smart thing to charge it with her ability." He sighed in exasperation. "Not only did the toaster explode, the toast somehow became a brick and flew straight through the TV."

"That's… kind of impressive actually," Touma replied. "Though, I think that's more than Index can do. She just eats everything, if it's cooked or not."

"Where does she store it all?" Accelerator asked. "Does she use magic that requires food?"

"She actually doesn't use magic," Touma said. "She just knows a lot about it."

"She did seem to be able to answer all of my questions about magic," Accelerator mumbled. _I wonder if she knows anything about the way magic vectors actually work. So far I only have information I gathered through experience. I need the theory part if I want to master controlling them._ One thing that bothered him was when he was reviewing and practicing the magic vector formulas he worked out, he felt the formulas start messing with something inside of his body. He stopped experimenting, because he needed more information on why his body was reacting. Index would be the best person to question about magic, but she didn't know anything about science abilities. That left asking Jason or just continuing to practice on his own. He had always been more self-reliant, so he probably wasn't going to ask for help unless he absolutely had to.

They continued small talk, since Touma didn't annoy Accelerator as much as everyone else, until they finally arrived at Touma's apartment. Index was patiently waiting for them and greeted both of them happily. She was thinking that not only did Touma not leave her alone to starve, he was taking her over to her friend's place and staying with her. They continued to Accelerator's apartment and, as soon as he opened the door, Index ran in. Touma shrugged and followed her. He looked around and didn't see Aiho or Kikyou. He noticed Worst sprawled out on the couch, Index and Last Order talking in the kitchen, and, to his surprise, Misaka Imouto, also known as Misaka 10032. "Hi," Touma said waving to her. "I didn't realize you would be here."

"The moderator was bragging about receiving cooking lessons from you and Misaka wanted to learn too, explains Misaka." She was still wearing the Tokiwadai uniform, but was wearing a white apron over top of it.

"I don't have a problem with that," Touma said. He felt his face grow hot at the sight of her in the apron, before turning to Accelerator to distract himself. "Can I use what's in the kitchen?"

"Knock yourself out," Accelerator yawned, walking into the living room. He kicked at Worst, until she moved enough for him to sit down on the couch. "Just clean up after the brats destroy the kitchen, I sure won't do it."

"Misaka won't either," Worst added. "But if you need help messing it up…" Accelerator elbowed her in the side.

"Well let me see what we have to work with," Touma said. "I guess we need to start with something easy…" He entered the kitchen and started rummaging through cupboards. _Something easy for Last Order, yet something she will like._ As Touma continued to look around, Last Order and Index approached Misaka Imouto.

"You know how to cook MISAKA points out as MISAKA questions your intentions." Last Order and Index were both staring up at her. It was a good thing Misaka Imouto didn't show facial expressions or her face would have gone red.

"Misaka believes the moderator is mistaken, Misaka says quickly. Misaka simply wants to improve her skills."

"Then why is the network trying to cover up your intent… Ouch!" Misaka Imouto had stomped hard on Last Order's foot. "That hurts MISAKA cries as MISAKA waves her arms angrily. Why did you step on MISAKA's foot, MISAKA questions?"

"Misaka has no idea what you are talking about, Misaka lies." Misaka Imouto had consulted with the network over the last few days, keeping their conversation a secret from Last Order, and they decided on two things. First, they would not tell Touma about their involvement in England. While their part was small, they voted, almost unanimously, that they believed Touma would prefer them not to be part of the strange occurrence. The second part was one of them had to go and spend time with the savior. This was a more complicated matter, as Misaka 19090 wanted to be the one. There were only ten Misaka clones left in Academy City, the rest spread out over the world, and Misaka 10032 won by a small margin. The reason she won was she had spent the most time with Touma and he was comfortable around her. Last Order looked like she was going to protest, but Touma's voice called out to them.

"Hey Last Order," he called. "You interested in making cookies?"

"MISAKA loves cookies MISAKA yells as MISAKA rushes into the kitchen." Misaka Imouto sighed n relief and followed. Index, on the other hand, frowned to herself.

Index always had a favorable impression of Misaka Imouto, even since she helped Index's pet cat Sphinx with a flea problem. Now, Index could tell Misaka Imouto was attracted to Touma. _Something happened I don't know about. I bet it was during Last Order's party. I should have gone with them. Touma promised he would stay with me though, and he won't break his promise._ She didn't have any interest in cooking and joined Worst and Accelerator in the living room.

"Aren't you going to learn how to cook too?" Accelerator asked, sparing her a glance.

"Why?" Index asked confused. "Touma always cooks for me and if he can't, he leaves me money for food." Worst snickered and Accelerator rolled his eyes. He began to realize how much trouble a normal life for Touma was.

"Wait Last Order!" Touma yelled and all three of them turned to face the kitchen. "Don't run with the flour…" There was a loud poof as the bag of flour exploded and a large cloud of white dust engulfed the kitchen. When it cleared, Worst and Accelerator burst out laughing to see Touma, Last Order, and Misaka Imouto covered in white flour. "Now we have to clean up before we can continue," Touma said and then realized what Misaka Imouto was doing. "No, don't take off your clothes here. I mean the kitchen!"

"But Misaka's clothes are dirty, Misaka explains. Misaka supposes she can leave the apron on, as it's designed to hold undesirable material away from the skin."

"No wait stop!" Touma cried. "This is not that kind of flagging situation. Keep your clothes on!"

"It's like snow MISAKA laughs as MISAKA tries to make a snow angel." She laid down on the ground and started moving her arms and legs.

"Stop Last Order," Touma told her, trying to avoid looking at Misaka Imouto who had been in the process of removing her clothes. "You're spreading the flour even further. Get up and find a mop or broom." He turned back to Misaka Imouto. "Don't you start either," he told her, noticing she was looking at a pile of flour on the table.

"Misaka was not planning to throw a flour ball at you playfully, Misaka informs you untruthfully."

"You're thoughts are leaking out," Touma said desperately, as he continued to try to get Last Order to stop making a mess. _How does Accelerator handle all these girls? I think I actually rather spend the day with Mikoto and Misaki together. They may have some rivalry, but they at least don't cause these kinds of problems. Is it weird I now have different classifications for all my misfortune?_ He sighed and finally got Last Order to bring him a broom.

"Touma!" He heard Index growl at him from the other room.

"Nothing is happening," he called back to her quickly. "Be patient and there will be cookies." His words must have calmed her down because he didn't hear her say anything back, or feel her death glare. "We are going to clean the floor and table, and then we can finish making the cookies," he told Last Order and Misaka Imouto. Last Order nodded excitedly and tried to help, but all she did was cause the flour to cover more of the kitchen. Misaka Imouto started cleaning the table and Touma was relieved she knew how to help. The next problem was when Worst showed up, she was always drawn to conflict, and grinned.

"Oops," she said, knocking a couple eggs to the ground. "Misaka is so clumsy."

"Not you too," Touma wailed.

"Heh," snickered Accelerator turning his attention back to the TV. He didn't realize Index had the remote, Worst knocked it to the floor when she stood up, and she was flipping through channels. _Looks like the hero is finding out what I go through on a daily business._ He yawned. He didn't have any interest in the kid shows Index and Last Order preferred, so his thoughts turned to other things. Naturally, he found himself thinking of the magic vectors again. _I don't really have anything else to do._ He clicked his choker, to give himself the ability to do advanced calculations, and started to review what he knew. He started applying those formulas for magic vectors to himself and he flinched. A sharp stabbing pain hit his head and he stopped. He made a slight adjustment and still felt the pain, but it wasn't as sharp. He continued to make small adjustments, until the pain was none existence. Once that was done, he continued the process of applying the unknown vectors to his body. Something inside of him moved, but wasn't sure what. He felt a pair of eyes on him and turned to see Index staring at him, wide-eyed. "What?"

"How did you do that?" Index asked softly.

"Do what?" Accelerator asked, confused.

"For a moment there," she said. "You were emitting mana."

Accelerator crossed his arms, frowned, and was lost in thought for a moment. _So if I apply unknown vectors to my body, it creates mana? Or am I just moving it. She said I was emitting it._ He figured now was a good as time as ever to discuss it while the others were busy. "I was manipulating certain vectors within my body," he said, flipping off his choker to save power.

"Vectors?" Index asked, tilting her head.

"Vectors are quantities described by both a magnitude, numerical value, and a direction," he explained. He wanted to simplify it enough for her to understand, but still have the information she would need to understand how it could affect magic. "If something was moving at me from the east at thirty miles per hour, I calculate the change in direction and then manipulate the vector." Index nodded in understanding. "When we were in England, I had the opportunity to fight a couple different magicians. I realized the vector calculations I learned would not work against magic, since laws and rules are different." Index nodded again, as this was common knowledge. "I started developing formulas that worked on magic during those fights. I then took those formulas and applied them to my body. There were some slight modifications, but I felt like I was moving something."

Index frowned. "If what you say is true, it sounds like you are refining mana."

"Which means?"

"You are processing your life force into energy," Index explained. "Mana exists in everything, but has to be refined to be useable." She frowned. "The fact you developed a method all on your own, using science nonetheless, is an amazing thing. You must be a prodigy."

"I've been called that," Accelerator said dismissively. "Does this mean once I master this, I can use magic?"

"No," Index said immediately, shaking her head. "You shouldn't try to use it. It's one thing to have mana in a body that has been manipulated by science for your abilities. If you try to use magic with an ability, you will surely suffer a conflict between the two laws."

"Oh yea," Accelerator said. "I remember hearing about that. _Those wings I formed, the Kanzaki girl said they were similar to Telesma. If I didn't cast a spell, does that mean I can use mana or Telesma as a direct attack?_

"Touma really has a bunch of amazing friends," Index stated, and Accelerator looked away. He didn't know why he did, but it felt weird to hear her say that. Even if considered them friends, he still wasn't use to the feeling. "But promise me you won't continue to mess around with it. I know Touma will be sad if you accidently destroy yourself."

"Fine whatever," Accelerator yawned. _I guess it doesn't really matter. It's not like I was planning to use magic anyways. Unless it actually becomes a necessity, I'll avoid messing with it._ He yawned again and looked back to the kitchen. It seemed like Touma had gotten the cookies into the oven and was in the process of finishing cleaning up the kitchen. Worst was bothering Last Order about something, and Misaka Imouto was trying to cling to Touma's arm. He closed his eyes and leaned back on the couch. He had only intended to rest, but he found himself being poked, what felt like minutes later, and opened his eyes.

'Wake up MISAKA tells you as MISAKA continues to poke you." Accelerator opened his eyes to see Last Order's face a couple inches away from him and she was poking him in the stomach. He reached up and flicked her on the head. "Ouch, Misaka cries."

"What do you want?" he asked.

"MISAKA wants you to try a cookie MISAKA says as MISAKA tries to shove it in your mouth." Accelerator reached up and grabbed the cookie before she could, preventing her from choking him by accident. He looked at the cookie, it appeared normal enough, so he took a bite.

"It's actually edible," Accelerator commented, slightly shocked.

"Yay MISAKA cheers. Misaka knew you would love it." She ran back into the kitchen.

"Cookies!" Index yelled excitedly and ran after her. Accelerator glanced up and saw Index and Last Order around the plate of cookies. Worst and Misaka Imouto were sitting down watching them, and Touma was in the kitchen cleaning up after the cooking lesson. He was the only one who actually acted like an adult. The door open and he turned his attention to Aiho and Kikyou, who just walked in.

"Looks like you all are having fun," Aiho commented looking around. "Don't spoil your supper. We brought pizza." Kikyou set down the boxes in the kitchen and looked around.

"Wow," she said. "You cleaned up the place AND did the dishes."

"We sort of had a small accident," Touma said sheepishly. "So I made sure to clean up and sort of got carried away." The kitchen was usually pretty messy, but now it looked new.

"You want to live here?" Kikyou asked. "It would be good to have someone who actually pulls their weight around here."

"Coming from the biggest freeloader among us," Accelerator said, standing up and grabbing a slice of pizza. "You still haven't found a job."

"It's the economy," she answered immediately and Accelerator rolled his eyes.

"Good to see you Kamijou," Aiho said to Touma. "Hope you've told your friend not to sneak back into school."

"That wasn't my fault," Touma protested. "She doesn't listen to me much."

"She did appear like a pretty unique girl," Aiho agreed. "I doubt she would listen to someone unless she really liked her." She gave Touma a big wink, something Index and Misaka Imouto didn't miss.

"Touma…" Index warned him dangerously.

"Does the savior like it when girls don't listen to him Misaka asks? Does that mean Misaka should take off everything except her apron?"

"How did you come to that conclusion?" Touma asked. "Index…. it's not my fault, there's no need to bare your teeth…AHHHH!" Index had lunged at him, teeth revealed, and everyone else laughed as he tried to get her off his head. Worst was laughing the most, as she always enjoyed other's suffering. Accelerator snickered and leaned back against a wall, until he realized something.

 _When did I start enjoying his company?_

It was pretty late before Touma and Index left Accelerator's place. Index couldn't stop talking about how much fun it was to eat with everyone and Touma agreed. He had promised Last Order he would stop by from time to time to teach her and she had appeared extremely happy. She even confided in him she wanted to be able to make Accelerator bentos for school. When they got back to Touma's dorms, his phone started ringing. "Go on," Touma told Index. "I'll be right up." Index nodded and Touma looked at the caller ID to see who it was. "Hey Misaki."

"Hey Touma," Misaki said happily. "I hope I'm not calling too late."

"No you're fine," he said. "What's up?"

"If you are free tomorrow," Misaki asked. "Would you be available to help me with a little problem?"

"I'm free," Touma confirmed. "But what kind of problem? Are you in trouble?"

"Oh no," she said quickly. "Nothing like that. You see…" she hesitated for a moment. "I talked about you with some of my friends, not by name of course. I know you don't like to be the center of attention, unless you are in your Kami persona." He heard her giggle.

"Please don't say that," Touma sighed. "I feel ashamed every time I think about it."

"Well," Misaki continued. "I may have talked about you a little too fondly and now they want to meet you."

"That… doesn't sound too bad," Touma replied, frowning slightly. _I rather not have a bunch of girls gawking at me because I know a level 5. Mikoto always said Misaki was really popular at their school._ "Since they are your friends, I'm sure it would be fine."

"There's a little more to it," Misaki added, and Touma could hear her tone change, almost like she was embarrassed. "They might have the wrong idea about us."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"They might believe… you are my boyfriend," Misaki said. Touma couldn't see her, but she had turned bright red. "Not that I mind, but I didn't want you to be in that uncomfortable position."

"I see," Touma said. _Misaki told me several times she loves me, but we aren't technically a couple. I feel really bad I haven't returned her feelings._ His heart started pounding. _She is really sweet and kind. Any guy would be lucky to have her._ He suddenly felt really guilty. _She's been so open with me and I can't even give her an honest answer._ It's not like he hadn't thought about it, but she and Mikoto had a very strong rivalry. He had always been afraid if he went out with one, the other might stop being his friend. He also wasn't sure he was ready to go out with anyone. With the amount of weird things he got caught up in, he didn't want to risk others getting hurt. "What would you like us to do?"

"Many of my friends look up to me," Misaki explained. "And a few were looking for advice with guy troubles. I was hoping you might be willing to pretend to be my boyfriend when you meet them. I'll be sure to make them promise not to gawk at you or spread you identity around school."

"If you're okay with that," Touma said slowly. "I would be happy to meet your friends."

"Even when I ask you for help," Misaki said happily. "You always worry about me over yourself. It's one of the many reasons I love you so much. I'll send you the location after school tomorrow. Thank you in advanced." She hung up and Touma put his phone away, his ears burning, and walked upstairs. He was just pushing open the door when he heard Index call out to him.

"Touma," she cried. "We have a problem."

"What is it Index?" he asked, rushing into the room. He half expected them to be robbed, with what little possession he had, a fire started somewhere, or the air conditioner blew up. Index pointed to his bed and saw a lump under the covers. Index hadn't noticed it at first, but when she went to sit on the bed, she realized someone was hiding under them... Touma frowned, and pulled the covers back. Touma's blood immediately froze.

Lessar was coiled up into a ball and sleeping.

It wasn't her appearance that made him freeze up. Knowing her, he expected Lessar to trespass into his apartment eventually, even breaking down the front door. What scared him was what she had clutched tightly in her hand. It was a very familiar looking piece of paper that, in hindsight, he should have destroyed.

 _She found the Queen's letter. I am so dead. Such misfortune._

* * *

Misaki was laying on her bed and looking up at the ceiling. Her phone held loosely in her hand. She was smiling brightly, as she propped herself up on her pillow. _I did it,_ she thought. _Now, I have to make sure he enjoys himself and wants to make our arrangement permanent. I will have to stress to the other girls they need to be on their best behavior. I would prefer not having to use my power to fix any issues, since Touma doesn't like if I manipulate people for personal reasons._ She started messaging her friends. _I wonder if there is anything else I can accomplish while I enjoy myself with my prince._ Her thoughts turned to Mikoto. _What would she do if she caught me with him? If we were by ourselves, I guess she would butt in, but could she do it in front of a bunch of girls from our school?_ A mischievous grin appeared on her face. _This is revenge for taking him on the date to the carnival._ She started putting her plan into motion. _I'll make sure to get my own picture to send to the old hag while I'm at it._

* * *

"Did I lose them?"

A girl with long dark brown hair, part of it tied off to the side of her head and left hanging down, and golden colored eye with glasses was leaning up against a wall in a deserted alley. She was panting heavily, as she had just ran several kilometers without a break. It wasn't an exercise craze or she was trying to get to a specific location. She was being chased by several unknown individuals and she had no clue as of why. The sun had set and the city was lit up with lights, but the area was devoid of people. _I'm glad no one else is going to get involved, but I should have seen at least one other person._ She caught her breath and started moving, peering out of the alleyway. She didn't see anything move and made her way carefully, trying to avoid detection.

"Hyouka Kazakiri," a girl's voice said and Hyouka turned around. Walking up to her was a girl with shoulder length blonde hair and sky-blue eyes. She was wearing a green tank top and skirt. "You don't need to run from us. I just want to talk."

"Why are you chasing me?" Hyouka asked. "And why did you attack me?" She had been walking down a street when everyone else started to disappear. A moment later, she had been hit by a paper airplane and was sent flying.

"If I had walked up and said hi," the girl giggled. "You would have fled anyway. My name is Eve and, just to be clear, I know what you are."

"What do you want with me?" Hyouka asked.

"You are an essential part of my organization's plan to achieve the final piece of a puzzle that began at the dawn of time," Eve said. "I would prefer you to help willingly, but I can force you if I have to." Hyouka looked around for an escape path and another girl walked out of a side street.

"I would just do what she said," the new girl sighed. She had long dark brown hair, which reached the middle of her back, and dark brown eyes. A single rose was tucked away behind her ear. She was wearing a shoulder less sky blue dress. Hyouka first thought she had a kind face, but the dark lines told her this girl had been through something traumatic. "She's not the kind of person to take no for an answer."

"Juliet," Eve admonished her. "You make it sound like I'm a difficult person to work with."

"You refused to work on the mission until we brought you cake," Juliet pointed out.

"It's not my fault Academy City has such great deserts," Eve replied, pouting slightly. "You enjoyed it too."

"Only because you made him get an entire cake," rebuked Juliet.

"Don't let me distract you two," Hyouka said weakly. "I'll just be going…" She started walking backwards away from them, when she was suddenly surrounded be page sized pieces of papers. They circled around her like a tornado.

"It's okay," Eve reassured her. "You can stay." The pages grew bigger and merged together until Hyouka was completed surrounded by a metal box. Eve walked up grinning, tapped the metal box, and then grabbed her head. "Noooo!" she cried. "She disappeared." She kicked the box and it collapsed into a pile of dust and disappeared with the wind. "She's the most important link to the Imaginary District, but it's so hard to capture her."

"Why don't you have him help us?" Juliet asked. "You never invite him along when we look for her."

"Cain is better against living beings," Eve explained. "Hyouka Kazakiri is supposed to be a merge point of these scientific abilities in the city." She sighed. "I guess we have to ask our spy for more information. I rather not blow his cover if I can help it. He's done a pretty good job at avoiding detection."

"Someone with the ability to escape from you is pretty interesting," Juliet remarked as they turned and walked down the street.

"I think I need some cake to cheer me up," Eve said depressed.

"You just had cake earlier today," Juliet pointed out incredulously.

"How about some pie then?" Eve asked.

Juliet sighed. "Fine, but I would prefer ice cream." Eve just laughed.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Index: Quit bullying Hyouka.**

 **Eve: I just wanted to invite her out for cake.**

 **Index: You aren't lying right?**

 **Eve: Of course not, would you like to come?**

 **Touma: Index, don't believe her!**

 **Ruiko: Wow, we got our own scene.**

 **Kazari: I know. It was so exciting.**

 **Kuroko: How come onee-sama and I didn't get a chance to appear?**

 **Misaki: I'm sure the author will have you appear later.**

 **Mikoto: I'm watching you Shokuhou-san.**

 **Misaki: Want to see how to really flirt with a guy?**

 **Carissa: It's more fun to mock him though.**

 **Shizuri: Just show yourself again and I'll make you regret it.**

 **Carissa: Sounds like a challenge from a scared little girl.**

 **Accelerator: All of you are a pain. Just go settle your pathetic squabbles in a giant FFA. Make it to the death for my entertainment.**

 **Worst: Misaka will bring popcorn.**


	63. S3 Dark Signs

**So I was reading a lot of comments, and realized SOME people need to stop reading my mind and posting what is coming up. When I finished this chapter, a lot of things are beginning to come full circle. Regardless what happens, every event has a purpose, no matter how small. Biggest issue I run into is there are so many characters involved, but so little time to give them all scenes. I can understand why so many people focus on a single group of characters. This poses a challenge, but it is fun in its own way. Now, onwards to the commenters.**

 **d3mystic: She is so fun to write about, but it's going to be hard to bring her back. The right situation has to arrive.**

 **Whwsms: All excellent questions. Many of them should be answered through season 3, but several chapters into it.**

 **Mythfan: What gave it away? Hahaha.**

 **Guest4: You may have to wait a while, a lot of stuff is happening right now.**

 **Banditz: I only mock the important people, but I figured you would enjoy the cooking lesson.**

 **Handsomistic1: Character development is so much fun to write about, even more then combat scenes, though both have their moments. Hamazura has to meet up with Touma at some point. They both work for Mugino so it's bound to happen at least through her, if not accidently. Your last question about Saten will be answered in the below chapter, but no about the testament.**

 **Brosephg: What? Jason's scheming something? He told me he was going to make ice cream? There's no way he could lie. He's such an honest… kind…. Sorry, I can't even type that big of a lie. To be fair, everyone is up to something, but being up to something doesn't mean it's bad.**

 **Salishious: Not sure yet. Both are possibilities until I address it.**

 **Agent Nine: No one knows who Kami is, except his friends and a few people at top who are keeping it under wraps.**

 **RPGPersona: Now you're stuck in limbo, waiting for the next chapter.**

 **Guest 10032: You need to stop reading my mind. That was planned, but now I'm changing it.**

 **Note to All: I am still looking for some awesome person to be an illustrator and draw a few scenes. If you are, or know someone, interested please contact me. You will get full credit for your work and I think a lot of people will be interested in seeing them.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

Touma thought of several possible outcomes if Lessar spread that letter around. None of them were good for him. He glanced over at Index, who seemed to be more focus on Lessar then what was in her hand, so Touma had a single opportunity to prevent the disaster. He reached down, as if to wake Lessar up gently, but his hand was heading toward the note. His hand was about an inch away from it when Lessar's hand moved away from his. Her eyes opened and she grinned up at him. "Not so fast," she told him. Rolling over and sitting up on the bed energetically. "It's not going to be the easy."

"Why is she here Touma?" Index asked, turning to him. "And why is she sleeping on my bed? I thought she was supposed to stay somewhere else."

"I came to see Lover Boy," Lessar answered, unhelpfully. "You two were late so I just fell asleep from boredom."

"Tooouuummmaaa," Index growled dangerously, turning to him.

"I swear I had no idea she was here," Touma told her defensively. "I'm just as surprised as you are."

"It was pretty easy to bypass the lock," Lessar added. "I thought for sure Academy City would have better security."

"That lock has broken many times," Touma sighed. A broken lock was just one of his daily misfortunate events. _First order of business, I need to get that letter away from Lessar._ "Index, can you let us talk in private?"

"You aren't going to try anything right?" Index asked suspiciously, glaring at him.

"I have never tried to do anything to anyone," Touma protested.

"I will try a lot of things," Lessar said, grinning, and a dark aura started to form around Index.

"Don't joke around like that!" Touma yelled firmly. He reached over and grabbed Lessar by the arm and pulled her to the kitchen. "Don't listen to her Index." Index watched him suspiciously and then turned on the television. She was feeling conflicted between punishing Touma for being with other girls and believing him that nothing was going to happen. She decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, this time, as he had been with her all afternoon. When Touma and Lessar were safely in the kitchen, he turned to her. "Why are you here? I thought you were staying at Accelerator's friend's place?"

"I was," Lessar acknowledged, but then she crossed her arms and frowned. "She's no fun though. For some reason, she is completely desensitized to anything sexual. She doesn't get my jokes and she walks around nude most of the time. It's not fun if she doesn't show even a little bit of reaction."

"Is that why you constantly seek me out?" Touma sighed.

"That's one of my favorite reasons for sure," Lessar replied grinning. She sat on the counter and looked over at him. "But it's not the only one. However, if you are finally interested in those things," her hand, not holding the letter, reached down and tugged up her skirt, just enough so her underwear was barely revealed, "I'll be glad to do them."

"No," Touma said firmly, holding out a hand, while the other one covered his eyes. "That's not what I wanted to talk to you about."

"You mean this?" she asked. Touma took a chance and uncovered his eyes. Lessar was holding up the letter.

"Yes," he sighed. "Why did you come here and then search my dorm?"

"I was hoping you would be willing to let me stay here instead," Lessar admitted. "I told you I wasn't fond of Estelle as a roommate." Touma figured Estelle must have been Accelerator's friend. "Plus if I was nearby, it would give me more opportunities to convince you to come back with me to England, after realizing I'm the best girl. No one was here, so I came in." She shrugged, like breaking into a dorm with no one home was a perfectly reasonable action. "I was bored and looked around. Television is fine and all, but I wanted to take some time to learn about what makes you tick. Then I found this letter." For the first time, she looked completely serious. "I want to know first, have you actually been in contact with the princess? This letter isn't fake right?"

"A little," Touma admitted. "I wanted to check up on her and see what happened."

"Do you consider anyone your enemy?" asked Lessar incredulously. "Even after we fought, you still risked yourself to save me."

"That's…." Touma said, but stopped. He crossed his arms and thought about that for a second. "Well, when I am fighting, I guess some people would see us as enemies. Though, it's more I see us on different sides of an issue. A lot of people I fought usually have good intentions, but they just got off the right path. I don't really see them as an enemy though. I feel I just have to stop them because they are hurting other people. Take Accelerator," Lessar nodded, "When we first met we fought in a life or death struggle, but now we are friends. The same thing happened with you and you even tried to convince us to leave so we wouldn't get involved. We were just on opposite sides. Does this make sense?" Touma found it hard to articulate his thought process dealing with those kinds of matters, so he hoped Lessar would get the gist of it. Lessar stared at him a moment before answering.

"Kind of," she said hesitantly. "I realize now you may slightly crazy… The good kind though." Touma laughed.

"I get that more than you think."

"I doubt it," Lessar replied. "So what's happening between you and the princess?"

"Nothing," Touma said instantly. "I told you we have just been talking." He felt sweat on his brow when he remembered Carissa's last text. _Just you wait until I'm out of this confinement._ Lessar must have realized something was off, because she suddenly grabbed her head.

"If he gets with the princess," she mumbled, more to herself then to Touma. "He will return with her to England. I want him to go back there too, so my main objective is achieved, but, if it's not with me, I feel like I lost as a girl…." She continued to mumble incoherently to herself, while Touma looked dumbfounded.

"Are you okay Lessar…?" he asked, before she turned her attention toward him. She dropped the letter and tackled him out of nowhere.

"I have to be first or I lose my pride as a woman," Lessar declared, as they fell to the ground with a loud thud. "Just lean back and accept it, and I'll handle the rest. You don't have to do a thing." She used her free hand and started to remove her jacket.

"Lessar!" Touma yelled, using a free hand to push at her head, keeping her from leaning forward and kissing him. "Get off…"

"Touma what's happ…?" Index started to say, entering the kitchen. She got quiet when she saw them struggling. Lessar was on top, but Touma was trying to push her off him. Before Touma could say anything, Lessar explained the situation to Index.

"Lover Boy got a letter from the Queen," she said loudly. "He's engaged to the princess and I can't allow that. His first time has to be with me. The letter there explains everything."

"Tooouuummmaaa," Index said warningly, but she turned her attention to the letter. Her curiosity got the better of her.

"Wait Index," Touma called out. "It's not what it seems…." Index frowned and picked up the letter. Her eyes darted back and forth and a dark aura started to seep out. The letter fell from her hand as she stared at Touma, her teeth flashed. _Such misfortune…._ was the last thing he thought before Index pounced at him.

On the other side of the wall, Motoharu was listening. It wasn't so much eavesdropping, as they were being loud and he could hear them through the thin walls of the dorm. _Sounds like Lessar finally made her move, a little slower than I thought, but what's with the letter from the princess? I should tell Nee-chin about it, along with sending the picture of Kami-yan and sempai. I'm sure she would be forced to act on it. Wish I had Mugino's number or I would have sent it to her._ He rolled over on his bed and reached for his phone. _Would Itsuwa and Agnese like the message too?_ He grinned, picturing their reactions in his mind.

"Take off your pants!" Lessar's voice was heard clearly as Motoharu continued to write the message on his phone. "Or I'll tell Sparky about the letter." Motoharu couldn't keep the grin off his face as he hit send.

* * *

The next day, for Touma, was not one of his better days. Last night, he finally got Index to agree to let Lessar stay with them and the two girls would share the bed. Index only agreed grudgingly and because it would prevent Lessar from trying to sleep with Touma. Touma also made Lessar promise to not try to sneak into the tub where he was sleeping. She agreed too, but looked incredibly downtrodden. He wasn't sure how long that promise was going to last with her though. Everyone was tired by the time they finished discussing his situation with Carissa. Well, it was more like an interrogation, with Index questioning him while he sat on the floor. He was glad to finally leave his apartment that morning and head to school. It turned out, that might have been a mistake.

"KAMI!" Pierce yelled, as soon as Touma entered the classroom. Touma was forced to dive and roll, to avoid Pierce delivering a full frontal tackle into him. Pierce missed and crashed, with a loud bang, into the wall. Touma sprung to his feet, glad he was able to avoid the surprise attack, but then, out of nowhere, Motoharu jumped and elbowed him in the back, knocking him down.

"Dang Kami-yan," Motoharu said. "When did you raise flags with beauty-sempai?"

"He didn't just raise flags," Pierce said, standing up. He had blood running down his face, but appeared to be oblivious to it. "He actually got fed by her." The people who were already in the classroom were listening eagerly for more details. The rumor had spread around school like wildfire, but the details were still fuzzy. Their afternoon classes prevented Motoharu and Pierce from interrogating Touma over what happened and Touma ran out when the final bell rang.

"It's not what you think you idiots," Touma yelled, trying to clear the misunderstanding and get to his feet, but Motoharu sat on his back and pinned him on the ground. "I helped her carry a heavy box the day before and she was simply thanking me…"

"So that's when you raised the flags," Motoharu commented, grinning. "You could have gotten away with some light teasing about growing your harem again. BUT, you lied to us when we asked about if you knew who the lunch was for."

"That is unforgiveable," Pierce added. "We are supposed to be the Delta Force. We stick together, but then you go and betray us."

"I did no such thing," Touma protested. "I knew you two would make a big deal out of her simply thanking me. She's more mature then us and it shows in how she repays kindness. That's the charm of an older woman…" He stopped when the door behind them opened and all three of them watched Accelerator walk in. He glanced at them for a moment, and Touma felt a small shred of hope. "Can you lend me a hand?" he asked, knowing the likely outcome but still hoped for the best.

"So what's happening here?" Accelerator asked, gesturing toward Motoharu sitting on Touma and Pierce standing on Touma's arm to prevent him from turning over. "Are you still obsessing over that picture?"

"He lied to us," Pierce pointed out.

"Aren't you curious at all about the details?" Motoharu asked with a wink.

"Not in the slightest," Accelerator replied, yawning. "If I was in his position, I would have lied too. You two are idiots." He turned to head to his desk, when Pierce jumped and tackled him.

"Guess you join us by force," Pierce told him.

"I guess you want to die then," Accelerator growled. With Pierce off his arm, Touma was able to flip over and knock Motoharu off of him, stood up, and then kicked Pierce in the back. Pierce flew off Accelerator, who immediately stood up in anger. It became a two on two brawl for a good five minutes, Accelerator actually held his anger in check enough to avoid flipping his choker on, before they all stopped and took their seats a few minutes before the bell rang.

"Are you guys going to tell me what your plan is for the crime event this weekend?" Touma asked, trying to turn the topic to something else.

"Maybe we don't want to tell you anymore," Pierce said, but he couldn't help breaking into a grin.

"We will tell you tomorrow," Motoharu reassured him. "Then Friday we will finalize the details. The longer we can keep this secret, the less chance others will find out and stop it."

"I'm really going to regret going along with you guys," Touma sighed. "Who are the others?"

"Not like you have a choice," Motoharu pointed out. "You need the credit. The others are the people who might stop us." His eyes darted to Seiri who just entered. "Oh, that reminds me." He reached into his backpack. "You finish your homework?" he asked, pulling out a piece of paper. Touma's eyes widened in horror.

"Ah crap," he said, grabbing his head. "I had to do a couple things after school yesterday, then something unexpected happened and I completely forgot about it."

"Extra lessons with sensei too?" Pierce asked. "Are you actively trying to grow your harem this week?"

"Shut up," Touma told him, pulling out his worksheet. "I got to answer as many as possible." He looked at the problems and realized, with the time it would take to perform calculations for the homework answers, he probably only had time to finish one problem. He was just about to start scribing down his answer, when he saw a homework sheet get slid onto his desk. He looked up and saw Accelerator had given him his homework to copy. "What…?"

"It was partially my fault for taking up your time," he muttered. "Hurry up or she will come and collect it before you finish." He looked over at Touma, who must have been showing a thankful expression. "If you cry or try to hug me, I will take my work back and throw you out the window."

"Thanks so much," Touma said, glad something good was finally happening to him. He started copying the answers as fast as he could, and just managed to finish before Komoe started to collect them. The rest of the day was pretty normal and Touma tried to focus earnestly on his studies. A couple things kept nagging him in the back of his mind. First, he had no idea what Motoharu and Pierce were planning for the crime event, but he knew it wasn't going to be good for him. Second, Jason had once again not shown up to class. Touma wasn't to worried, but was slightly curious about what he was up to. Third, he was fretting about meeting Misaki's friends after school. He wasn't worried about making a fool of himself, that happened all the time. Instead, he was worried about what Misaki's friends might think of her dating someone like him. Tokiwadai was a prestigious school where all students were at least level three. He was considered a level 0, if they don't know about his Kami persona, which was fake, and they might think less of Misaki. Not all girls there were as open minded about levels as Mikoto, Kuroko, and Misaki were.

Finally, the bell rang and Touma took off before Motoharu and Pierce could drag him into something that wasn't his fault at all. They had been rather normal the rest of the day, but that just made Touma suspicious. Accelerator watched him leave, but didn't say anything. Touma quickly left the school grounds and wondered the streets for a bit, before his phone finally beeped. Misaki had sent him the address of where they were going to meet, along with a short message. _There's a small tea shop I've wanted to try for a while now. It's a little further away, but it's a perfect spot for our situation. No one from our schools should be around there, so you should be able to remain anonymous._

 _Sounds good,_ Touma replied. _I'm heading there now._ He sent the message, looked up at the blue sky, and sighed. "Let's see how this turns out," he muttered to himself. He turned and headed to the closest bus stop.

* * *

Kuroko was not having a good week. Her ears still burned with embarrassment every time she thought of the outfit she had been forced to wear two days ago. Not only that, she had been unable to quash the rumor that had sprung up because Jason and Touma had showed up at her dorm. She had not realized the extent of the rumors Monday night, because she and Mikoto had gotten back late. The next day at school, her classmates, Maaya and Kinuho, had questioned her thoroughly about her dating Jason. She adamantly denied the rumors, but they continued to appear skeptical. It looked like she might have denied it too strongly and they believed she might have just been embarrassed about the information going public.

Things got worse when she and Mikoto got back to the dorm yesterday. Kuroko had been barraged by other girls questioning her about Jason showing up at the dorm. No matter how many times she told them they were not dating, none of them believed her. She finally said he was dating a friend of hers and that started an entirely new rumor. Now, she had been the target of rumors saying she was part of a love triangle with Jason and Kazari. Of course, she never mentioned Kazari's name to protect her from the rumors, but the love triangle rumor spread like wildfire. Mikoto had been laughing silently the entire time she was being questioned. Kuroko was just lucky Mikoto was such a good friend, that she stuck by her through it all, even though Mikoto found it hilarious. Mikoto knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of rumors and Kuroko was glad to have her as support. Worst of all, she had some very intimate dreams with someone else other than Mikoto that night.

Today was almost as bad, but at least Kuroko had Judgement duties after class and wasn't going to get swarmed when she reentered her dorm right after school. She figured she would have had to teleport in through the windows to avoid attention, knowing she would be in a lot of trouble if the dorm supervisor found out. Another issue plaguing her mind was yesterday when Ruiko and Kazari had arrived later at the Judgement office than they were supposed to. When they finally arrived, they told Kuroko and Mii about a rally where some masked individuals had announced they were planning to raise the abilities of all the low levels in the city, who wanted to join them. Kuroko had been skeptical of this, until Kazari told her about the guy who made a wormhole.

As a teleporter, wormholes were quite interesting to her. Teleportation was limited in range, due to calculations with moving in the eleventh dimension. The farther you wanted to move, the more calculations she had to do. Wormholes did not have that disadvantage. Wormholes could connect two positions, no matter how far, and connect them. It wasn't as versatile as her ability, as it only connected two points. Kuroko could constantly teleport in any direction continuously. Right now, no ability user who could make wormholes were recorded in Academy City's databank, so there was a possibility another ability only made them think they went through one. She stopped in front of the Judgement office for a second before walking in. "I'm here," she said looking around and noticing Kazari and Ruiko were already there. "Have you found out anything new Uiharu?"

"Well the results of the system scan came out today," Kazari replied, typing on her computer. "But I'll let Saten-san tell you since she's going to explode if she doesn't do it soon."

"Okay," Kuroko said, turning to Ruiko. "What's the big news?" She had a pretty good idea what it was, but she was humoring Ruiko.

"I hit level 2," Ruiko said, standing up and stretching out her hand in a victory sign. "I just found out today."

"Congratulations," Kuroko said with sincerity. She always knew Ruiko had been working hard to advance and she was glad for at least one piece of good news this week. "I knew you could do it. I wish onee-sama could hear about it, but she had something to do after school."

"It's fine," Ruiko assured her. "I knew all those days of practicing flipping Uiharu's skirt would one day pay off."

"Flipping my skirt had nothing to do with it!" Kazari denied loudly, as Ruiko grinned at her. "Your hard work paid off."

"Did I hear Shirai?" Mii asked, sticking her head into the room. "Oh good you're here. Uiharu and I have news for you."

"Is it about those break-ins and the meeting Uiharu and Saten-san found yesterday?" Kuroko asked eagerly. She had wanted to investigate either one, because she knew they had to be connected somehow.

"Not quite," Mii said, crossing her arm. A slight frown appeared on her face. "We were told not to investigate the break-ins."

"Why not?" Kuroko asked shocked.

"Anti-Skill has taken over the investigation," Mii informed her. "We are only to help if they specifically request Judgement."

"Most likely because of the sensitive nature of the stolen information," Kazari added, looking up from her computer. "They probably don't want kids seeing research or technology information."

"Makes sense I guess," Kuroko hesitantly agreed. "But I don't like it." She looked at Mii. "Anything else?"

"One other thing," Kazari told her. "This may be nothing, but it seems like a larger than normal number of students skipped the system scan Monday." Kuroko frowned.

"You think they were part of that organization you and Saten-san saw right?" Kuroko asked.

"Didn't you say one of them was a level 2 who had the potential to create a wormhole?" Ruiko asked Kazari, who nodded.

"He was only level two," she said. "But he fit the description of the guy we saw. If he's a level four, which we estimate he had to be to make a wormhole that big…"

"…He might have access to the stolen research," finished Kuroko. "We don't have any evidence this was the first meeting. We should probably assume there have been others."

"Exactly," Mii confirmed. "We don't have proof though. Which is why, we are examining any leads without directly getting involved in Anti-Skills investigation." She grinned slightly. "We recently received an anonymous report about some delinquents near district 22. It's a little farther then you normally patrol, but your teleportation should be able to get their relatively quickly. Uiharu will be here to provide any support needed."

"You think these delinquents are part of the organization?" Kuroko asked.

"There are some rumors their leader is a high level ability user," Mii said frowning. "But our preliminary investigations showed inconsistencies in the reported sightings."

"So it might just be a normal group of delinquents," Kuroko sighed. "Fine, I'll take a look."

"Good luck," Ruiko said.

"Don't take any risks," Kazari told her. "Contact us if you run into any trouble."

"Got it," Kuroko said. She threw down her school bag on the table, and then grabbed her handcuffs and a couple extra needles. She turned and walked out of the office. When she stepped outside the building and onto the sidewalk, she turned in the direction she was supposed to go. She then teleported up onto the roof and continued to move across the rooftops. It was faster to teleport this way, because she could move in a straight line and not have to worry about people jumping out in front of her. _At least I have something to take my mind off all the unpleasantness. I hope Uiharu doesn't find out about those rumors. She doesn't seem like the most jealous person, but you never know._

"I arrived," Kuroko informed Kazari over her phone about twenty minutes later. "I'll take a basic route around the area and see if I discover anything suspicious."

"Be careful Shirai," Kazari warned her again. "If their abilities have been augmented by the stolen research, you could easily find yourself overwhelmed. Don't be afraid to retreat if you have to."

"I'll be careful," Kuroko reassured her and hung up. She put her phone away and made sure her armband was out of sight. _It will be best if I look like a normal girl to try to draw them out._ She walked down the street, with her hands behind her head, looking innocent, but soon got bored. She had been patrolling for almost an hour and hadn't seen any problems, let alone some delinquents. She followed a couple people for a little bit, who were dressed up like punks, but none of them seemed to be doing anything wrong. She stopped by a vending machine and grabbed herself a drink. Leaning up against a building, she sighed loudly. _It looks like this was a waste of time. I could find more trouble makers back near our area._ She sipped her drink. _I wish onee-sama was here to keep me company._ Her eyes continued to scan the street while she finished her drink.

"AHHHHH!"

Kuroko jumped and turned around. She bolted to a nearby side street and tried to find the source of the scream. Several guys were sneaking down an alleyway, obviously trying to avoid being seen, when one of them collapsed between the others. Kuroko wasn't sure if the others attacked him, or if he was sick, but she pulled out her armband and jumped out. "This is Judgement," she told them. "All of you freeze." Naturally, like usual, none of them froze and the three of them still standing bolted in different directions. The fourth guy was laying down on the ground. Kuroko made the decision to prioritize the injured person, over chasing down the fleeing suspects. Kuroko teleported near him and put her hand on his neck to check his pulse. "Ouch," she cried, pulling her hand back. She looked down at her hand.

There was a small burn on it.

It wasn't a burn from fire or touching something hot, it looked like a chemical burn. Kuroko leaned down to get a closer look and saw part of the guy's clothes was dissolving. A thin veil of smoke wafted into her nose and she coughed from the pungent stench. She tried to ignore it and noticed the guy's skin was covered in serious burns. _Did those guys throw acid on him?_ The thought flickered in her mind and she felt disgusted, as she pulled out her phone. _Monsters._ "Uiharu," she said into her phone. "I need an ambulance at my location. It looks like someone was covered in acid. Three others ran away and I didn't get a good look at them."

"I just sent a notification to the nearest one," Kazari replied quickly. "They should be at your location in less than five minutes. Is there any way for you to dilute it?"

"I think so," Kuroko said, checking the guys vital. "His life isn't in danger right now, but he is unconscious. There was a store nearby that I should be able to grab some baking soda to help neutralize the acid." She teleported out into the street and then over to the convenience store across the street. She ran in, ignored the surprise look of the clerk, and grabbed a container of baking soda with a gallon of water. She ran out flashed her Judgement armband and threw money at the clerk. "Judgement business, keep the change!" she yelled and teleported back to the injured male in the alley.

She leaned over him and started sprinkling the baking soda on him. She heard a small hissing sound, as the neutralization chemical reaction between a strong base and a strong acid took place. As part of the reaction, a lot of heat was released, which is why Kuroko brought water with her. She poured it over the guy's body to wash off the remains of the reaction and cool off the body to avoid adding more burns. She saw some of baking soda foam up, before being washed away. The clothes seemed to stop dissolving and Kuroko sighed in relief. _At least the worst is over…. What the….?_ She thought she got the acid off him, but his clothes started to smoke slightly again and she saw the burns continuing to slowly spread. She stared in shock before her brain clicked.

 _Is the acid being created as part of his ability?_ she thought. _Then the others didn't attack him. I must have just startled them. If this is his ability, I can only stall until help arrives._ Judgement members were trained in first aid, but there was a limit to what they can do when someone's ability is actively destroying themselves. All she could do was constantly neutralize the acid and prevent it from accumulating. She continued, until she ran out of supplies, and was about to get some more, when she heard Anti-Skill sirens outside the alley and two adults rushed toward her. "I think his ability is generating acid," she told them. "I've been trying to keep it neutralized as best as I can."

"Get her to the ambulance," a tall female said, she was obviously in charge. The other person, a burly male, reached down, picked up the unconscious guy and carried him back to their vehicle. He was wearing thick gloves and protective gear, so the acid wasn't dissolving his clothes. "You did well with what you had available," the female complimented, turning to Kuroko. "We can take it from here."

"Yes ma'am," Kuroko replied, nodding. "I'll be on my way and I'll file my report when I get back to my branch office." The female Anti-Skill member gave her a quick salute and turned to join her companion. Kuroko sighed, glad everything was resolved, and teleported up to the roof of the nearby building. She looked around but didn't see the other guys who were with the victim. _It's not like I expected them to stick around._ She pulled out her phone and called Uiharu. "Anti-Skill picked him up but I lost the others."

"I caught them fleeing on camera," Kazari told her. "I gave their location to Anti-Skill already. Two of them have been apprehended and they are cornering the third."

"You really are the best partner anyone could ask for," Kuroko complimented.

"Hehe," Kazari giggled, slightly embarrassed, but also pleased. "Are you heading back or are you going to continue your patrol?"

"I think I'm going to head back," Kuroko said, after a moment. "With that much excitement around here, I doubt anyone is going to reveal themselves. Plus I got a few minor burns I should treat. If you find out who that guy was can you look him up and see what his ability is?"

"Sure thing," Kazari replied. "I'll have all the information ready for you when you get back."

"Thanks," Kuroko said and hung up, She had plenty of time to think while teleporting back to her Judgement office. _I'm glad the lead worked out. Who knows what would have happened if I didn't find him. But I don't understand why he was hurting himself with his ability. Some abilities have some backlash, but that usually only occurs when they actively use their ability. If they lost consciousness, they shouldn't be able to do the calculations, unless it's subconscious? I need to talk to someone who knows more about this._ A familiar face swam to the front of her mind. _Not him though. I'll see what Uiharu comes up with first._ She was beginning to believe it might actually be possible there was a rogue researcher working on raising people's level. She arrived at the office building and rushed in. "I'm here," she called out. "What did you find?" Kuroko noticed Ruiko wasn't there, so Kuroko assumed she left, and it was just Kazari and Mii looking at a computer.

"We just got the medical report," Kazari said, turning around. "The guy's name is Bairei Asai. His ability allows him to alter the pH balance of liquids he is touching." In chemistry, pH is the measure of how acidic or basic water is. The range goes from zero to fourteen, with 7 being neutral, such as pure water. Any pH balance less than 7 indicates acidity, whereas a pH greater than 7 indicates a base. Because the guy's ability was generating an acid and the baking soda Kuroko used was a base, they started to neutralize each other. "It seems like he was manipulating his sweat into a strong acid."

"Why?" Kuroko asked. "Actually, more importantly, how? He was unconscious, so he shouldn't have been using his ability or at least enough to hurt himself that badly."

"The thing is," Kazari said, moving over so Kuroko could see her screen. "The city's database shows he is classified as a level 1, so his ability shouldn't have been strong enough to manipulate his sweat to that degree."

"What?" Kuroko asked shocked, but the door opened behind them, interrupting her response.

"I got some bandages and drinks," Ruiko said, taking a deep breath. It was obviously she had been running. "The line was long so I was afraid I would be too late." She put the first aid supplies on the table and passed out a drink to everyone.

"Thanks for running that errand for us," Mii told her kindly. "I noticed we were low of supplies and didn't have time to requisition some more." She looked at Kuroko, who tried to look innocent. Kuroko was supposed to have done that last week. While Kuroko said down and bandaged her hand, Mii continued to explain the situation. "As for his ability, they took an emergency scan of his ability, and it was registering as a level 3."

"Arg," Kuroko sighed, leaning back in her chair. "It's like the level upper incident all over again. We can't be sure what people's abilities are anymore."

"Did he register any differently on Monday's system scan?" Ruiko asked and Kazari shook her head.

"He was one of many who skipped the exam," Kazari informed her. "So the data we have is a little older, but few people would progress that fast without outside help."

"But didn't Kagere-san mention if you develop an ability too fast it could cause problems?" Ruiko asked and Kazari nodded.

"He's right," Mii said. She knew who Jason was because he hung around the office sometime with Kazari, but she didn't know he worked for the research division. "And that reason lead to what happened. His power was running out of control and was affecting himself. His mind was overloaded and his ability started to turn against him. He was lucky his ability didn't start messing with his bloods chemistry or, even with Shirai's timely arrival, he wouldn't have made it. Right now, they stabilized him, but he's unconscious. They are questioning the others, but I don't know what Anti-Skill found out from them."

"It looks like what you two found may be true," Kuroko admitted, looking at Kazari and Ruiko. "Someone is developing student's abilities, but either doesn't know what they are doing or just doesn't care."

"They have to be stopped," Kazari said firmly. "We need to follow up on any leads we discover."

"I can't believe anyone would be willing to take advantage of people desperate to raise their level," Ruiko said, making a fist at her side. Kuroko, Kazari, and Mii watched her in silence. "I know what they are going through and they feel cornered so they are willing to cling to any hope they find." Her voice shook slightly and she took a deep breath to steady herself. "Any news on if there is any truth to the Parameter List?" Kuroko froze. She hadn't said anything about it the first time they asked, and she wasn't planning to now.

"No," Mii told her, shaking her head. "I still think it sounds made up."

"I've been referencing everything I can about it," Kazari added. "But nothing has come up. It's either fictional or it has some of the highest level security." Kuroko still didn't say anything. She didn't trust her voice not to crack or for herself to remain calm about the subject. Jason told her it was a big secret and not to spread it around, even if it was debunked. When Ruiko and Kazari told her about it, it sounded like the researcher also knew the list was faulty. It didn't really matter anymore because of that, but the knowledge it had once existed could still cause problems.

"Right now the priority is to find out who is leading this movement," Mii told them. "Whoever it is doesn't care who they hurt. We are going to investigate any lead. If anyone finds out anything, let me know," she looked over at Ruiko. "You too. I know you aren't part of Judgement, but please let us know if you hear anything. Don't go looking for it though."

"I will," Ruiko promised.

"We still don't have any idea of the person's objective," Kuroko mumbled. _This is getting seriously complicated._

* * *

Mikoto, unlike the others, was having a pretty good week. For once, she wasn't the target of her school's rumors and she found it hilarious about the one involving Kuroko and Jason being together. Kuroko was busy with Judgement, so she had free time to do what she wanted, without Kuroko tagging along. When she received a picture of Touma being fed by an attractive older girl from Motoharu yesterday, her heart stopped in panic. She had been in class and was right at the breaking point of shooting electricity, but managed to calm herself down before it actually happened. She decided to text Touma and find out what happened from him. Touma had told her the entire story about her thanking him for helping move a box and, while it was unexpected, didn't have any romantic significance. She believed him and cheered up.

 _I should go and read the new manga that's out,_ she thought to herself. _Kuroko says it's unladylike, but I really want to know what happens next. I haven't had time._ She left her room and was planning to head to the store across the street. When she rounded a corner, she accidently collided with another girl. "I'm sorry," Mikoto said automatically. She stood up and reached down to help the other girl up, before realizing who it was by their blonde hair. "Shokuhou-san," she said a little stiffly.

"Oh if it isn't Misaka-san," Misaki commented, accepting Mikoto's hand to help herself off. "I was wondering what brute knocked me down."

"You're just as pleasant as always," Mikoto replied irritated, crossing her arms. "What are you doing?"

"Who knows?" Misaki said playfully, putting a hand up to her cheek. It was obvious to Mikoto that she was in a good mood. "Maybe I have big plans today. I'm sure you are planning to waste this lovely day away by reading manga or buying kiddie clothes."

"Oh?" Mikoto asked, raising an eyebrow. She was getting seriously annoyed at the way Misaki always insulted her. She was never going to admit Misaki was right about her intentions. "Maybe I was going to visit Touma and spend the afternoon with him," Mikoto replied, in a slightly superior tone. _That's sure to knock her down a peg._ To her surprise, Misaki started giggling.

"Oh really?" she asked, her voice overflowing with amusement. "Where are you meeting him? Maybe I should join you?"

"Like I would let you join us," Mikoto snapped.

"You are so easy to read," Misaki laughed. "But don't let me hold you up. I'm off to hang out with my friends and introduce them to an important person. I'll let you and Touma have one afternoon together. He will, after all, end up with me." She gave Misaki a small wave and left, almost skipping.

"What the…?" Mikoto mumbled. She was confused at the way Misaki was acting. _She would have jumped all over me for just mentioning hanging out with Touma without her. Does she really have something important to do?_ She shrugged and walked toward the front entrance, still thinking. She was about to round a corner, when she heard several girls talking. She stopped when she recognized Misaki's voice.

"…on your best behavior."

"Of course Queen," several girls said excitedly.

"We finally get to see your boyfriend in person," one girl said, who couldn't contain herself.

 _What?_ Mikoto thought to herself and started listening intently.

"Where are we meeting," another girl asked.

"There was a lovely new tea shop I wanted to try for some time," Misaki said sweetly. "It's a little out of the way, but I figured this would be the perfect time. I rather not have other girls here bothering him just because he's with me."

"That's our Queen for you," a third girl said. "She always thinks of others."

"We should be off," Misaki spoke up. "I don't want to keep him waiting. We should get there before him." Mikoto heard the sound of them leaving, and she began to process what she heard.

 _She's supposed to be in love with Touma,_ Mikoto thought. _Why would she be meeting someone else with her friends…? Could she be meeting Touma?!_ Mikoto shook her head. _That can't be true. They aren't dating._ Mikoto's eyes widened as her brain worked in overdrive and started putting pieces together. _She's meeting the person away from the school, she made her friends promise to behave, and…. she didn't appear jealous when I lied about meeting him… SHE's GOING TO INTRODUCE HIM TO HER FRIENDS AS HER BOYFRIEND!_ Mikoto felt anger flare up within her and decided to follow them secretly to see what was going on. She didn't think Touma actually was dating Misaki, because Mikoto knew Misaki would tell her immediately if that was true, to rub it in. _She's rather vindictive._ Mikoto's eyes narrowed and she frowned. Moving quietly, she followed Misaki's group from a safe distance.

* * *

 _She is just too easy._

Misaki was laughing silently to herself, as she watched Mikoto follow them. She wasn't watching with her own eyes, because she never turned around. Instead, she had a hand in her bag and was using her remote on the surrounding people. She was looking through their eyes, as Mikoto tried to keep herself hidden from herself and her friends. It had not been an accident Misaki had bumped into Mikoto. She had waited until Mikoto left her dorm before running into her. Misaki had been planning to drop enough clues to trick Mikoto into following her, but even she didn't expect Mikoto to pretend to be meeting Touma just to annoy her. _She's getting better at this, but she's nowhere near my level._ Then, she had purposely made sure her friends had been talking loud enough for Mikoto to overhear them. Once Misaki was sure Mikoto was interested, she lead her friends to meet Touma.

They took the train to save time and their conversations turned to the topic of their school and rumors that had spread. Misaki knew, even without reading their minds, her friends were trying to keep the topic off Touma and pretend to be distracted by other things. She appreciated it, because it meant they were planning to try to prevent Touma from being uncomfortable. Most people would be staring at him like a zoo exhibit, if the news got around her school he was dating her. She had to prevent that from happening, until Touma was comfortable enough with it. She wouldn't mind the rumors herself, but she was prepared to use her powers on her friends, if they started to cause even the slightest problem. They may listen and follow her as their leader, but they were still young girls and could get carried away.

They arrived at the tea shop without any real trouble. A couple guys tried to flirt with them when they got off the train, but the girls just ignored them. At the tea shop, Misaki looked around. There were many tables set up outside, under large flowery parasols. It did not look very busy and there were plenty of seats available, which caused Misaki to breathe a sigh of relief. She was worried that, because the store was new, she was going to be forced to use her ability to cause someone to leave. Normally, she would have no problem with this, but the look on Touma's face, if he found out about it, kept sneaking into her mind.

Misaki and her friends took a seat in a corner and waited patiently for Touma to arrive, placing an order while they waited. Misaki's eyes kept darting among the nearby pedestrians looking for the familiar spikey black hair. _It was probably a mistake taking the train. He probably took the bus._ She chatted with her friends, assuring the other girls he was on the way. The girls started talking and Misaki decided to take the opportunity to spy on Mikoto some more. Misaki found her easily enough, by looking through the eyes of individuals near her. Mikoto was access the street, sitting on a bench with a newspaper in front of her. She had acquired a hat on the way to disguise her hair. Her eyes kept darting over the paper, as she watched Misaki's table. Misaki didn't have to turn her head, but she grinned slightly. _Everything is going perfectly._ She suddenly saw the guy she had been waiting for coming down the sidewalk toward her. He was looking around, and she raised her hand to attract his attention. Noticing her waving, the other girls turned around and looked to see who it was.

"Sorry I'm late," Touma apologized, when he reached their table.

"It's not a problem," Misaki told him, gesturing to the empty seat beside her. Touma sat down and Misaki turned to the other girls. "Ladies, this is Touma Kamijou… my boyfriend." Saying those words out loud, in front of Touma and her friends, caused a happiness to well up from deep inside of her. Even if it was fake, she had always wanted to say it. She tried to keep a straight face, but her face went slightly red.

"Nice to meet you Kamijou-san," the other girls greeted him politely.

"Nice to meet you too," Touma replied, rubbing the back of his head. Hearing Misaki say those words was pretty embarrassing, but they didn't sound that bad to him. He glanced at the four girls he didn't know sitting around the table. One girl had lilac hair in ringlets and a smile on her face. The girl next to her had short black hair and glasses. The third girl had short brown hair and it was a little darker than Mikoto's. The last girl had blonde hair, but it wasn't nearly as long as Misaki's. It only went down to her shoulders. "To be honest, I was kind of surprise when Misaki suddenly contacted me."

"He called her by her first name," the brown haired girl whispered excitedly.

"Keep it down," the girl with glasses whispered. She seemed to be the most serious of the girls. The other two had moved slightly when he used Misaki's first name.

"My friends were dying to meet you," Misaki said, scooting over slightly and leaning up against him. "And we get to try this lovely shop." A waitress came over and started serving them their tea. "I hope you don't mind I ordered for you," Misaki said to Touma.

"Not at all," Touma said, looking at her. He decided not tell her he wasn't the biggest fancy tea drinker and drinking out of teacups felt weird to him. He sipped the tea, but put it down quickly. It was obvious to him the girls were trying not to get caught staring, but it was also obvious they were watching him closely. _I bet Misaki asked them not to stare._

"Okay," Misaki said suddenly, looking at the girls. "I know you want to. Go ahead and ask your questions, but only one at a time." Touma looked at her and she winked at him.

"How did you two meet?" the girl with ringlets asked. Touma was momentarily stumped. He couldn't remember meeting Misaki before the tournament, but Misaki had told him they had met before. Before he could say anything, Misaki spoke up first.

"I'll explain it Touma," Misaki said, smiling at him. "We met a long time ago actually. He was still in middle school then. I was having a very bad day, and he accidently ran into me." She smiled. "I recall I was pretty rude to him, but he still stayed and made me feel better. I thought he was just flirting with me at the time, but then after I cheered up, he left without even asking for my number. I figured I was never going to see him again, but I started accidently running into him. Before I knew what happened, it became a constant occurrence. Anytime I thought of him, I found him accidently." She clutched Touma's hand under the table with hers.

The girls were leaning forward listening intently, but Touma was also listening too. He only had a small understanding of what happened between them before the tournament. Misaki had told him on the beach, but he didn't have any details. He couldn't be sure how much was true and how much was making up. Her hand suddenly started trembling slightly and he knew what was coming next. _The accident when I could no longer remember her._ Touma gripped her hand tightly and the trembling seemed to lesson. Misaki looked over at him. "If you want I can continue," Touma said and she shook her head.

"I invited you," Misaki said, keeping her voice level. It may have fooled her friends, but Touma could see the pain hidden in her eyes. "So I'll tell them. If I miss anything let me know." She turned back to the other girls. "Due to… circumstances, we lost contact for a long time. We never were actually a couple, but to me it always felt like we were." Misaki was surprising herself. She normally didn't reveal so much of herself. Maybe it was having Touma hold her hand giving her strength, or maybe she just wanted to get things off her chest that she kept bottled for so long. "Then as if by fate, we met up again not long ago. We sort of started over again and now here we are. It's been a pretty crazy ride, but I still don't regret it."

"How romantic," the blonde girl said.

"We have been through a lot since then, haven't we?" Touma asked and Misaki gave an unwillingly giggle. Starting from fighting Sloth, the rescue trip to Italy, and the entire British coup, they had been kept pretty busy.

"I have a question for you Kamijou-san," the girl with glasses turned to him. Touma looked at her and nodded. "What do you like about the Queen?"

"Uh…" Touma said, looking over at Misaki.

"Go on," she nodded. "I want to hear it too." She grinned at him, knowing he was going to say something positive, but she was curious as to what he would say. Touma looked at her a moment longer and turned back to the other girl.

"Where to start," he said thinking. He did in fact like Misaki a lot and decided to just say the truth. "She's smart and talented for sure, but I think the reason I like her is the fact she is a really caring person. She may try to act serious all the time, but deep down she really cares for her friends. Regardless of what she says, she will go out of her way to help them. She's also honest and trustworthy." The girls started whispering excitedly among themselves, but Misaki had gone silent and felt herself turn a deep shade of red.

 _I'm only that way around him though,_ Misaki thought, but she conceded he may have had a point. The closest thing she could think about was when she used her powers on others. She always took a lot of precautions to make sure no one suffered any lasting damage. It was a lot of hassle, but she never slacked on it for convenience. The fact that Touma noticed she cared for others, which most people had no idea about, it made her heart flutter. _I'm supposed to make sure he wants to make this arrangement permanent, but all that's happening is I'm falling for him more. He's just saying what he believes, so that makes his words even more effective._ The positive was the other girls seemed to approve of him.

"I'm sure I've seen you before," the brown haired girl said, and then her eyes lit up. "I remember, you were with Mikoto Misaka before right?" Both Touma and Misaki froze and glanced at each other. "I'm sure of it." The other girls were watching him closely and Touma wasn't sure what to say.

"I do know her," Touma said slowly. "She is a friend of mine."

"Were you dating her?" the girl with ringlets asked.

"Er…" Touma said, thinking fast. He had gone out on one date with Mikoto, and it sort of turned into a life or death situation with The Fallen.

"They were going out," Misaki said at last, and everyone turned to look at her. "What?" she asked, looking at him. "You're the one who told me about it, because you wanted to be honest with me, since Misaka-san and I are such good friends." Touma finally realized what Misaki was doing. She was pretending that information was old news to get him off the hook. "You may have heard about the day Misaka-san tackled him outside of the dorm." Touma felt his ears turn red when he remembered Mikoto had dragged him on a fake date to get away from a guy who liked her. "But now they are just friends and he's back with me now." She smiled, but there was a sort of finality with it, telling the other girls not to ask about that anymore. "It's not like Misaka-san and I compete with each other."

"What about the time on the bea…?" Touma started to ask and Misaki stuck one of the tea cookies in his mouth.

"They don't need to hear about that," Misaki told him. The girls at leaned forward, but looked disappointed when he was cut off. So far, everything was going as planned. Her friends seemed to like him and Touma wasn't being gawked at like an art exhibit. He also appeared to have finally relaxed and started to enjoy himself with them. _Plus Misaka can't do anything about this with the others nearby._ She occasionally peeked at Mikoto through nearby pedestrians to enjoy her expressions. _Now, what can I do to show up that old hag? She fed him so I need to do something better._ She used her remote on the girl with ringlets to have her stealthily capture a picture of her and Touma on her phone, when a romantic situation arrives. She listened to Touma talk with her friends a little bit more, before her paradise started to collapse.

Three guys started to walk up toward their immediately spotted them and knew they were going to be trouble. She had automatically reached into her bag and was about to make them go away, when another thought went through her mind. _This will be perfect opportunity for the girls to see how noble Touma is._ Instead of nudging their minds to make them leave, she decided to just read their minds, while watching, to see what happens. Their thoughts were pretty straight forward.

 _Wow those girls are hot,_ the guy in front thought _._ "Let's go flirt with them, there's only one guy and he looks weak," he whispered to the others, who agreed immediately. They walked up and the guy, who appeared to be the leader, put his hand on their table and smirked at them. "Ladies," he said. "How about you ditch the loser here and come party with us." Touma was surprised the guy didn't seem perturbed by the simultaneous looks of disgust on the girl's faces. "Oh come on," he added. "My friends and I are much cooler than this guy."

"Please leave," the girl with ringlets said. "We are enjoying ourselves without your company." The two guys behind the leader laughed.

"We don't have interest in you," the girl with glasses said and turned to look away from them. The guys were either dense or didn't take rejection well. The leader started to look annoyed, but reached down and grabbed the wrist of the blonde girl.

"Don't be the way," he laughed. "I'm sure you will enjoy our company."

"Let me go," the blonde girl told him seriously.

"Stop it," Touma said, standing up and looking at the other guys. The girls got quiet and turned to look at him. The leader scowled at him and moved around the table to face him.

"You got a problem?" he asked.

"They obviously don't want to go with you," Touma told him. "All you are doing is just making them uncomfortable."

"Looks like we have a tough guy here," the leader said to his friends, who laughed. "I bet you want to keep them all to yourself."

"No I don't," Touma denied, irritated a guy he didn't know at all would suggest something like that. He got enough of those kinds of jabs from his friends, but at least they just did it in jest. "But I'm not going to sit by and watch in silence as you harass them."

Misaki felt herself flush slightly. _He is usually so mellow and calm, but when someone is in trouble, he shows how strong he really is._ She still had her hand tightly grasping her remote in case things went south. When she glanced at her friends, she saw they were turning slightly red in response to Touma's words. _I might have made a mistake introducing the girls to him. I forgot he somehow attracts every girl he meets without meaning to._

"Look at the hero," the leader sneered. He glanced back at his friends, and made a fist. Touma eyes darted downwards, at it and knew what the guy was about to do. Touma moved his right hand forward and grabbed the guy's wrist before he could pull it back. "What the…?"

"Let's not get into a fight," Touma told him. _That was close, if we get into a fight here, a lot of people will get involved._ It never occurred to him to ask the girls for help, not because he didn't know what their abilities were except Misaki's, but because it was his nature to take care of problems without involving others, if he could. "Just leave, you know they don't want to go with you." The only reason he was able to stop the guys fist was all the knowledge of street fights, he had engraved into his body over the years, warned him of the attack.

The guy grimaced and frowned. Touma thought it was because the guy didn't expect him to block the attack or, hopefully, the guy realized Touma was right. The truth was completely different and only one person knew the real reason. Misaki was reading the guys mind and his thoughts made her frown. _What the hell? Why can't I burn his hand off? I just ranked up thanks to those masked guys. I should be able to cause severe burns at least. I can't even feel my ability anymore. Did those b#$^% &$ lie to me? I'll make them pay. _He pulled his hand out of Touma's grip, while his friends look at him in surprise. "Let's go guys," he muttered. "This guy isn't worth it." He turned and walked away while his friends, after exchanging surprised looks, quickly follow him.

Touma sighed in relief and looked down at the blonde girl. "Are you alright?" he asked. He was worried she might be still shocked because of the guy suddenly grabbing onto her. Since Tokiwadai was for noble girls, they usually didn't have a lot of experience dealing with thugs like that guy. Mikoto, Kuroko, and Misaki were exceptions, while he met other girls who conformed to the stereotype perfectly.

"Yes," she said, slightly breathlessly, and looked up at him. "Thanks to you."

"That's good," he said, and took his seat next to Misaki again, who immediately grabbed his arm and leaned up next to him.

"See how great he is," she said happily. She was still thinking about the thoughts she heard, but she was planning to worry about them later. The girls nodded and started whispering among themselves. Touma felt his hears burn slightly at her praise.

"Does this happen a lot?" he whispered.

"When we go out in public," she whispered back. "I like to stay out of public sight when I can and not draw attention to myself. Those guys didn't know I was a level 5, they just saw a bunch of girls."

"Would you have used your ability on them?"

"If they wouldn't leave my friends alone," Misaki replied slowly. "All I would do is give them a desire to leave us. I wouldn't let my friends get harassed."

"See," Touma said, grinning slightly. "You are a good person. Thanks for not using your power unless you really have to." Misaki felt her heart beat faster and her face got hot at his compliment. She shook her head and, though it pained her, she knew what had to be done.

"Okay ladies," she said, clapping her hands together. "You met him and we had our fun. He's a busy person and I don't want to keep him tied up. We also need to get back to our dorm." The girls nodded in agreement. They paid for their drinks and snacks, and then left the tea shop. "You all can go ahead without me," Misaki told the other girls. "I need to talk with Touma a little bit longer."

"Okay Queen," the girl with ringlets said. "Just be careful on the way back." The other girls left with her and, when they were out of sight, Misaki motioned Touma to follow her.

"Do you think it went well?" Touma asked Misaki, when her friends had disappeared and they slipped down a side street to avoid being seen or heard.

"It went perfectly," Misaki told him, turning around and looking at him. She had a big grin on her face. "You did everything and more. Now, hopefully, they won't be tempted to find out who you are. I doubt you would want someone stalking you right?"

"Uh yea," Touma said, his thoughts immediately turning to Lessar. He instinctively looked over his shoulder. "There are things I get involved in others shouldn't see."

"Like a magic or terrorist groups?" she asked, winking at him. All Touma could do was give her a small smile.

"Anything else I can help you with?" Touma asked.

"Yes actually," Misaki said, taking a step up to him and putting a finger in her chest. "I need to repay you for all your help. Is there anything YOU need?"

"No I'm good," Touma said, shaking his head. "I couldn't think of anything, even if I wanted to. I'm just glad everything works out for you." He never liked to ask people for rewards when he helped them. If Misaki offered something he might accept it, but it didn't feel right to ask her for anything.

"You're always like that," Misaki replied, pouting slightly. She turned around again, so her back was to him. "But I guess it's one of your many good points. I still feel like I should repay you…" She trailed off and got silent. Before Touma could say anything, she suddenly turned around, wrapped her arms around his neck, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "There you go," she whispered in his ear. "When you're ready to date for real, there will be plenty more…" She got interrupted by a loud crackling sound and another girl's voice.

"I can't watch this anymore," Mikoto yelled angrily. "I put up with it so far, but that's too far."

Mikoto had been watching the scene since before Touma arrived and was incredibly annoyed the entire date. _This can't be a real date. I bet Shokuhou asked him to come with her and he just agreed without knowing anything._ She didn't jump out and interfere for a couple reasons. One, there was a lot of Tokiwadai students there and it would cause a scene. Second, nothing really bad seemed to be happening. All Touma was doing was talking to Misaki and her clique. There was no reason for her to interrupt him, but her chest ached with jealousy, seeing Misaki with him. When they were interrupted by a couple guys, Mikoto was surprised Misaki didn't just use her powers on them to make them leave. _She uses her power at the drop of a dime at school but, anytime when she's with Touma, she always tries to avoid using it._ She frowned to herself. _It feels like I'm the opposite, I try not to use my power, but mine always slip out when I'm with him._ She smiled when Touma protected the girls and chased off the other guys. _He's_ a _lways protecting everyone._ When Misaki and Touma separated from the other girls, she followed them, only to find Misaki springing a surprise kiss on him.

"M-Mikoto?" Touma stammered. He was in shock, not only because of Mikoto's sudden appearance, but also Misaki's surprise kiss.

"Oh my, if it isn't Misaka-san," Misaki giggled, and then pouted. "How long have you been watching us?"

"Doesn't matter," Mikoto said quickly. She didn't want to tell Misaki she had been there since the beginning, but she felt Misaki probably knew already. "I'm not going to let you take advantage of him."

"I was just helping her with something," Touma said quickly, raising his hands defensively.

"I trust you," Mikoto told him. "But she," Mikoto pointed to Misaki, "always has ulterior motives."

"You caught me," Misaki said, rolling her eyes. Touma and Mikoto both looked at her. "I asked him to come with me because my friends wanted to meet him. If I didn't let them, I'm sure one of them would let their curiosity get the better of them and follow me to see him. What would happen if they saw Touma facing a magician and see something dangerous or worse, get hurt?" Mikoto frowned and crossed her arms. She didn't want to admit it, but she knew Misaki had a point.

"Wouldn't you just erase their memory of the event?" Mikoto asked. "You use your power for every little thing from picking up your lunch trash to running your errands."

"Whatever do you mean?" Misaki asked, feigning ignorance. It was completely true, but she wasn't going to admit it in front of Touma. In fact, she had been trying to reduce the amount of times she used her powers on others since being reunited with Touma. "I would never use my power on my friends, except in exceptional circumstances. Besides, who's the one who keeps knocking out power to the dorm?" Sparks flew out of their eyes, as they glared at each other. Touma took the opportunity to move in between them and try to diffuse the situation.

"She's telling the truth Mikoto," Touma tried to reassure her.

"Then why was she kissing you?" asked Mikoto, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"She surprised me with it," Touma tried to explain.

"But it looked like he enjoyed it," Misaki said happily.

"You stay out of it," Mikoto snapped at her.

"At least it doesn't leave him speechless," Misaki continued. "We've done it enough times he's getting used to it. It's been what, a dozen times already?"

"What!?" Mikoto asked shocked, sparking up.

"Misaki!" Touma cried, turning to her.

"What?" Misaki asked, innocently. "She says she likes you, but she doesn't show it." For the first time, a real frown appeared on her face. "She still calls you idiot from time to time. Didn't you guys only have an accidental kiss once? Then she tried to electrocute you."

"Misaki!" Touma reprimanded her and Misaki heard the seriousness in his tone. She knew she went too far and looked at the ground to avoid his eyes. Touma sighed briefly. _Their rivalry is getting worse. They are friends and shouldn't be fighting all the time._ He wasn't sure how he was going to calm Mikoto down, but he turned back to her. "Don't listen to her…" he started to say, but stopped. Mikoto was sparking up slightly and was muttering to herself. Touma raised his hand instinctively, before he heard a few words.

"…. She's right… lack of progress…. only once…." Mikoto's face had turned to red and small bolts of electricity kept shooting off in random directions. Touma had the feeling, if nothing was done, she would explode. He reached out toward her with his right hand, when she looked up. His out stretched arm froze in midair and Mikoto reached up and pushed it away. She shook her head quickly and Touma heard just three words "… just do it…"

Touma didn't realize the war waging within Mikoto. As much as she hated to admit it, she knew Misaki was right. She had liked Touma for ages, but only recently got up the courage to admit it. She still occasionally called him an idiot, even though he stopped calling her Biribiri, and she did shock him a lot. Because she finally managed to confess her feelings, she tried to believe him instead of resorting to attacking him immediately with electricity. _Yet I still do it._ What was worst was Misaki had a point about the kiss. Mikoto had only kissed him once and it was purely accidental. She had seen Misaki kiss him a couple times and even Shizuri did it. _She's right. I confessed and there's still a lack of progress between us. We had a date only once and he promised to have another one with me, but nothings come of it yet. I need to show him, and Shokuhou, I like him more then she does. Just do it Mikoto!_ She had noticed him reaching a hand toward her and she pushed it away.

Mikoto took a step toward him, her vision blurring slightly as her started spinning. She knew what she was going to do, but she wasn't sure if she could go through with it. She could feel Misaki's eyes on her, but she focused on Touma. She saw a confused look on his face, but his eyes were full of concerned because Mikoto had gone silent. _Do IT!_ She kept mentally yelling at herself. She wouldn't be surprised if smoke was coming out of her ears. Touma opened his mouth to try to speak, but she grabbed his shirt with both hands, pulled him down to her level, as she stood up on her tiptoes…

…and kissed him on the lips.

 _She actually did it,_ Misaki thought in complete disbelief. She wasn't normally left speechless like this, but Mikoto had surpassed all of her expectations. Touma didn't say anything, because he couldn't, but his male brain also stopped working and told him to go with it.

The kiss didn't last long, wasn't as exotic as more experienced girls, but it was Mikoto's first real kiss. Sure, they had their accidental kiss before and Kuroko had used surprise attacks on her, but this was the first one she willing gave to a guy she liked. She pulled away and a smile tugged at her lips, as she looked up at the shocked face of Touma. Her face flushed, her vision blurred, and she felt dizzy. She took a step away from him and turned to look at Misaki. She was grinning, even with her face bright scarlet. "S-see," Mikoto stammered and pointed to her. "I l-like h-him a l-lot." She started sparking up a lot, as she tried to keep her composure but it was obvious she was about to lose it.

"Doesn't matter," Misaki sniffed. She was upset, but refused to show it to Mikoto. "I'm still ahead."

"M-Mikoto?" Touma asked. "Are you okay?"

"A-A-h yes," Mikoto stammered quickly. "Of c-course I'm fine. W-Why w-wouldn't I b-be?" She couldn't look him in the eye and she felt herself calming down, but her voice was getting quieter. "I finally did what I always wanted to do…" She suddenly started to spark up. _I knew it would be, but it's SO EMBARRESSING!_ She felt dizzy again and then her powers went out of control. Thousands of volts of electricity started flying all around her. Touma saw the danger first and stuck out his hand, negating the electricity flying at him and Misaki.

"Calm down Mikoto!" he called out, reaching out to her and grabbing her wrist. As soon as he touched her, all the electricity stopped and disappeared. He sighed in relief that nothing appeared to be destroyed, but then heard several people yell in the building next to them. _Ah, she knocked out the power to the nearby buildings._

"We should probably leave before Anti-Skill is called," Misaki told him and he nodded. Misaki turned and ran, while Touma dragged Mikoto after him. He couldn't stop the thought going through his mind that it was normally Mikoto who dragged him around. They stopped only a couple blocks away, because Misaki was panting from the exercise.

"You need to exercise more," Touma told her and she scowled at him. He then turned to Mikoto. "Are you okay now?"

"Yes," Mikoto answered, unable to look him in the eyes. She noticed Touma was still holding onto her wrist and registered how warn him hand felt. Touma also realized he was still holding her and let go. _I didn't mind him holding me,_ she thought, but was unable to say the words out loud.

"Well that was an unnecessarily violent response," Misaki panted. "But I suppose it was partially my fault for teasing you." She looked at Touma, who nodded, and she sighed. "I'm sorry Misaka-san."

"I overreacted too." Mikoto admitted, and then realized something. She leaned over and whispered to Misaki. "I really should thank you for giving me the courage to do that." Misaki's eyes widened and she scowled.

"Should we be heading back?" Touma hesitantly asked.

"One moment," Misaki told him, turning to Mikoto. "I have something to ask you."

"Oh?" Mikoto asked, suspiciously. "About?" She figured it would be something about Touma and was prepared for an argument. Touma looked back and forth at them, but decided to remain silent until he knew what Misaki was going to ask.

"Since you have friends in Judgement," Misaki said. "Have you happened to hear of any organization or group that is secretly raising abilities?"

"What!" Mikoto asked in complete shock. "How do you know about that?"

"What?" Touma asked, completely confused.

"So you don't know about it yet," Misaki frowned, looking at him, and then turning back to Mikoto. "But you have heard about it. Since you were watching, you saw those guys who approached us. I read their minds when Touma was engaging them to make sure nothing bad was going to happen, and the one in charge was planning to show off his newly upgraded ability. When Touma grabbed him, he couldn't use his powers and thought the organization that raised his ability betrayed him. The reason he left was to go and demand answers." She paused. "I told you everything I know, so why don't you return the favor. I'm sure Touma wants to know too."

"Kuroko told me Uiharu-san and Saten-san accidently stumbled onto a meeting yesterday," Mikoto explained, crossing her arms and looking at Misaki and Touma. "It seems a group of people in masks were trying to convince a large number of people with lower level abilities to join them. They promised to raise all their abilities quickly, but there was one other thing that seemed to cause some concern." Mikoto frowned. "They used a lot of propaganda about the city treating higher levels better than them. A lot of one sided videos were played, including some about us."

"About us?" Misaki asked.

"I was told they showed us using our abilities on others," Mikoto shrugged. "This was all second hand information. I suppose I could question Uiharu-san and Saten-san directly."

"I would be interested in what you find out," Misaki said, thinking. _How did they get video of me? I'm usually really careful when in public._

"Jason mentioned raising abilities quickly can be harmful though," Touma told Mikoto. "Who would be interested in doing this? How would they even be doing this?"

"I heard there were some research facilities broken into when we were in England," Misaki told him. "There could be a connection."

"I have a feeling Kuroko didn't tell me everything," Mikoto mumbled. "I'm going to question her more."

"Tell me what you find out," Misaki told her again, then looked at her phone. "Oh no, I've been talking with you two for too long. I need to get back or my friends will wonder where I am." She glanced over at Mikoto. "Don't try to take advantage of him when I'm gone."

"W-what…!" spluttered Mikoto. "Like I would." Misaki smiled, gave Touma a wave and smile, and left. "Arg," muttered Mikoto. _She drives me insane. I thought we were at least becoming somewhat of friends, but I don't think I can ever really be friends with her._

"Er Mikoto," Touma said and she looked up at him. "About earlier…" She saw his eyes look upwards in embarrassment and she felt her face burn.

 _I finally did it,_ Mikoto squealed in her mind. She wasn't sure what to say, so decided to change the topic. "What do you think about these ability developments from an unknown group?"

"Hmm," Touma replied, thinking. "I don't have any idea how to raise abilities. That's Jason's forte. If research areas have been broken into, I suppose it's possible with stolen information. I know what it's like to be labeled a 0, so I can understand the temptation people go through when someone offers a way to get stronger."

"I was a low level once too," Mikoto reminded him. "Plus Saten-san went through it with the level upper incident. If they keep working hard, they will improve right?"

"That's what Komoe-sensei tells us all the time," Touma nodded. "I'm a rather… unique… case, but everyone else should be able to. Just like with everything, people progress at different speeds. However, I can understand their frustration and believing the city is out to get them, even if I don't agree with it."

"Like?" Mikoto asked. She had been really young when she was a low level and then joined a prestigious school. She didn't see a lot of the city from a low level perspective.

"I suppose a couple reasons," Touma shrugged. "Those stipends the city gives us every couple weeks for expenses, the amount is based on your level. Level 0's don't get much, it's one of the reasons we are always looking for food sales." Mikoto nodded, remembering all the times he freaked out when he broke his eggs. "Some higher levels also look down on level 0's, so there will always be animosity there."

"I can't stand those kinds of people," Mikoto said, slightly angry. "You shouldn't look down on people for having a lower level ability."

"I agree," Touma said, nodding and patting her shoulder. "It's why we have great friends like Uiharu-san and Ruiko. Mikoto blushed slightly at his touch. "There are people who hit a wall find it easier to blame others and when tempted with an easy way to overcome it, they take it. Since you are going to ask Shirai-san about the group, I'll check with Jason and see if he can tell me anything about the break-ins. He's been gone the last couple of days."

"That's pretty suspicious actually," Mikoto said, stopping and looking at him. "Do you think his area got broken into?"

"Maybe," Touma shrugged. "I really don't know. You and Misaki know more than I do. If anything happens, you will let me know right?" Now that he knew there was a problem in the city, he wasn't going to let his friends face it alone. Especially when he knew his friends were the type of people to investigate. He had to suppress a chuckle because that's exactly what Mikoto got mad at him for doing himself.

"Okay," Mikoto nodded, looking away from him to hide her embarrassment. They got on the same bus and headed back to their dorms. _He's worried for me. Calm down, it's his usually worried about all his friends, but it still feels so nice when he says it to me. We even kissed and have been on a real date. Wait… didn't he promise me another one when we returned to the city?_ "I just remembered. In England, didn't you promise we would go on another date when we returned here?"

"Ah yes," Touma answered, looking at her. "With everything that's been happening, it slipped my mind. Did you have anything you wanted to do?"

"Anything's fine," Mikoto told him. "I chose last time, so why don't you choose this time?"

"Okay," Touma nodded. "I'll think about it and let you know." He had absolutely no idea what to do and hoped he could find something nice to take Mikoto too. _I don't have much money either. I'll have to see if Jason is willing to pay for any more experiments._ Jason's amused look if he found out Touma needed money to take Mikoto out sprung to the front of his mind. _Accelerator's the only other guy I know who had money and I don't want to ask him._ He also found it rude to ask for money. He always wanted to work for it instead of getting handouts.

"We got plenty of time," Mikoto replied, sounding the happiest she had been all afternoon. It suddenly occurred to her about Touma's financial situation. "Just to be clear, it doesn't have to be fancy or anything, as long as you seriously think of something."

"I don't know Mikoto-sama," Touma teased. "Maybe we need something big, fancy, and public… Ouch!" He rubbed his sore shoulder where Mikoto punched him.

"You and I both know neither of us would be comfortable in that environment," she told him. They looked at each other and burst out laughing. Their relationship was finally returning to normal, and both of them were happy about it, after the unusual circumstance. They talked a bit before Mikoto had to get off. She waved to him and Touma continued the bus ride to his stop. When he got off, his phone started ringing. At first, he thought Mikoto and Misaki forgot to tell him something, but then he saw the name.

Mitsuko Kongou.

He looked at the name for a moment, dreading the conversation about to come, but knew what would happen if he didn't answer her call. "Hello?"

"Why do you sound so depressed?" Mitsuko's voice came though. "You should be ecstatic to receive a call from the beautiful and noble Mitsuko Kongou."

"Oh what can this humble servant do for you," Touma answered. "Oh great Kongou-sama?"

"Flattery will get you nowhere," she replied. "I decided to start your rehabilitation tomorrow. I assume you are free?"

"I am," Touma confirmed. He didn't actually have anything planned for tomorrow afternoon. _What on earth does she want me to do?_

"I was thinking what needed to be done," Mitsuko explained to him. "And decided the first thing you need to learn as a gentleman is how to escort a lady. Tomorrow I have an annual checkup for my beloved pet. The veterinarian is a little far away from Tokiwadai, so I would like an escort."

"Okay," Touma said, thinking the request sounded pretty ordinary, minus the part about being an escort. _It sounds like something Mugino would say when forcing me to go somewhere. Kongou seems like a typical ojou-sama type, so I bet she has some small handheld dog or cat like those famous celebrities._ "Where is this vet's office?

"It's at the place called the Dianoid," Mitsuko told him and Touma's jaw dropped. "Have you heard of it?"

"Yes." _How wealthy is this girl?_

"I also expect you to come dressed up professionally," Mitsuko continued. "No ratty clothes or school uniform. A nice suit will do. I will mail you the location to meet me and we will travel to the Dianoid together. No excuses." She hung up and Touma stared at the phone in shock.

"I don't have any fancy clothes," Touma muttered to himself. _My only suit is old and ratty. She seems to be the type of person who won't accept excuses, if you can't do what she wants. I'm so screwed._ An idea came to him, and he felt an odd combination of a possible way out of his dilemma and dread of asking the person for help. He looked at his phone, took a breath to gather his courage, and dialed. The phone range three times before he heard the person's voice.

"Well, you normally don't contact me. This is a surprise."

* * *

Teitoku Kakine sat at a wooden table with a single card in front of him. The card was blank except for a small rune written on it with black marker. Teitoku reached over and picked up the rune card. He looked up toward his target. A metal robot was standing on the far side of the room. It wasn't active, he was just using it as target practice. Teitoku concentrated on his body and felt the refinement of what Ricane told him was mana. As the mana began to circulate around his body, he focused on transferring the mana to the card. He started to mutter under his breath, and threw the card. The card soared through the air and then exploded into a small sphere of flames. The flames engulfed the robot and died out about ten seconds later. The robot was relatively undamaged, but it still suffered minor cosmetic burns.

Teitoku was not as lucky.

As soon as he transferred the mana, recited the incantation Ricane gave him, and activated the magic, his body started to attack itself. He felt the blood vessels in his body explode, massive pain erupted in his head, and all the energy in his body started to fade. He fell out of the chair, and staggered on the floor. His bloody hand reached up to his head, which felt like it was being cleaved in half. He coughed and blood flew out of his mouth. His entire body was shaking and couldn't support his weight any longer. He laid on the floor twitching slightly, as his vision started to fade. He only had the strength to mumble a few words. "Another f^$& % failure."

When all life signs ended, his body collapsed and disappeared.

"Still a disappointment," the real Teitoku said, stepping into the room and looking at the spot his dark matter clone had disappeared at. "That's what, the 101st failure today?"

"There are a lot of adjustments to make a clone capable of withstanding the conflicting laws," Ricane explained, following Teitoku into the room. "You managed to actually finish casting the spell with the clone before it died."

"The progress is not happening fast enough," Teitoku muttered angrily, slamming his fist down on the table, and causing it to shatter under the force of his blow. "I can only produce enough mana to cast a spell small enough for level 2s to easily surpass. Then the clone goes and dies. The only good thing about it is the backlash doesn't come through my links with the clone, so I can still stay connected with them until their death."

"The fact you can produce mana at all is quite impressive," Ricane told him, scanning the tablet in his hand. "Most people take months to produce even the smallest amount of mana. I suppose being a genius and having me for your teacher is probably the reason. Right now, we are prioritizing creating a clone that can use magic, over you learning the specifics and theories of magic. That can take years to master even a small fraction. Once we have that clone perfected, we do a lot to speed up your progress. You can also practice refining mana on your own time without me, as long as you don't try to actually use magic. I would hate all this work to go to waste."

"Your theories are all well and good," Teitoku told him. "But it's pointless without a useable clone. This is taking too long. My time is valuable."

"Do you think so little of me you think what I am doing is random?" Ricane asked, and Teitoku turned to look directly at him. "I have been systematically going through and monitoring everything to the smallest shred of data. Think of this as the Master Mind game that was popular in the city many years back. You simply go through possibilities to determine what is working and what is not." He turned his tablet toward Teitoku. "Let's try one last clone tonight," he said. "Use these variables when making it."

"I better see real progress this time," Teitoku muttered. He read the charts and started to create the clone with specific types of dark matter. He was actually surprised at how close to a human his clones could look like under Ricane's guidance. Even the matter used to replicate blood looked normal, several steps above the clone used to face the Meltdowner days before. It took a minute, but he then had an exact duplicate of himself standing next to him. Ricane passed him another premade rune card and the clone turned toward the robot. The dark matter clone repeated the same process the previous one did. The fire rune had the same impact, as the magic didn't change, but neither Ricane nor Teitoku cared about that. They both only cared about watching the clone's reaction. When the rune card exploded, the clone collapsed onto the floor. Teitoku felt rage build up within him and he was about to turn on Ricane, when he realized something.

The clone was still alive.

It was unconscious and took some serious damage, but it was alive. "Finally," Teitoku laughed loudly. "It survived the laws. Now we just need to reduce the damage they receive. A one shot weapon is kind of pointless, unless it has the force of a large bomb."

"I got some interesting data too," Ricane said, looking at some charts. "Some dark matter is better at resisting the laws, but combinations of other matter, that doesn't resist at all, actually make improved substances. May take longer than initially expected, but we are ahead of schedule. Are things progressing well on your side?"

"About what we expected," Teitoku said dismissively, keeping his eyes on his clone. "I have a clone overseeing it and we lost a few lab rats, but some have shown progress. The biggest issue is over loading their brains and causing them to kill themselves. We need to work out that small kink." He reached out a hand into the air. "I'm going to show that bastard I'm not just a backup plan. Accelerator and all those that oppose me will be crushed."

* * *

That night, an announcement was sent through all of Academy City. While most of the city met it with interest, some people reacted in completely opposite extremes. There was a group of people who were excited about the news, and a group of people who were furious. An entire building was destroyed about an hour after the announcement.

 _Due to the results of the most recent system scan, Level 5, Misaki Shokuhou, aka Mental Out, has been promoted to Level 5, rank 4._

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Motoharu: Looks like Kami-yan has finished the break through with Shokuhou and Misaka. So does that mean Mugino is next or will he go after the princess?**

 **Pierce: You know what he's like. He will probably try to work on both of them at the same time.**

 **Shizuri: What bullshit are you two spewing? I have nothing for him to break through.**

 **Carissa: When I show up again, all hell is going to break loose.**

 **Accelerator: Looks like those two are jealous.**

 **Me: So by popular demand, I think I am going to let you all do the opening announcements again. Who wants to go first?**

 **Lessar: I DO, I DO!**

 **Me: No.**

 **Lessar: Why?**

 **Me: I don't want to censure every answer you give.**

 **Lessar Come on, please?**

 **Mikoto, Index, Misaki: NO! Don't let her.**

 **Me: Can you keep the sexual innuendos to a bare minimum?**

 **Lessar: Aww, fine.**

 **Touma: This probably isn't a good idea…**

 **Me: Lessar is up first, she technically asked.**

 **Motoharu: This is going to be great.**


	64. S3 Boys and Girls III

**Hey everyone, it's your favorite girl Lessar. You know, the best girl in Lover Boy's group. I finally get to do these announcements. Now, I was told I have to keep my responses somewhat… what did the author guy say… family friendly? Sounds boring right, but I promised. That only leaves me with one option, to admit I lied and answer the questions perfectly. I was told everyone else wouldn't be able to see it so I have free reign. Well, let's get to the good part and move to the commenters.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: That has always been a possibility, but I need him to come back with me to England. For that to happen, I need him to fall for me willingly. He has to be conscious to truly enjoy my skills. I suppose bondage wouldn't be out of the question…**

 **salishious: Hmm, depends how you define first. But I'll tell him whatever he wants to hear.**

 **d3mystic: Sigh, I was told I needed to tell this guy something, there's a car here somewhere from the author… Here it is… Oriana will be introduced at some point…. Well my work is done, but I bet she can't be important because I don't know her.**

 **Guest: Lancis was picked up by Floris after our drunken extravaganza. If all of them joined Lover Boy's harem? That would be tough, as Bayloupe has a crush on Accelerator. I suppose I could try to get Lancis and Floris to join me with him for a four way. Do you think that might finally break his Saint level restraint? I didn't know that. I guess it's time for me to get one in.**

 **Guest 10032: That's a great idea. I'll get some exotic underwear, take some pictures, and then steal his phone to set them as his background. I wonder if I can change his password too so he can't change them back. Oh, the author also told me to tell you to watch your back. He's coming for you for revealing his ideas.**

 **RPGPersona: I contribute! I help him with relaxation and stress relief. Whenever he comes back stressed or upset, I'll be right there to do ANYTHING to make him feel better.**

 **Whwsms: Hmm, I don't know her, but she will never defeat me.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

Touma was eyeing the clock, counting down the minutes until the bell would ring and class would be over. It had been a long day and he didn't get much sleep last night. When he got back to his dorm, Lessar immediately jumped into his chest, and wrapped her arms and legs around his body, keeping him from throwing her off. Index didn't take to kindly to Touma holding another girl and she too pounced on him. After he finally got them off, he made supper for all three of them. _With Lessar here, my already tight food budget is going to get even worse. I really need to find a way to make some extra money._ When it was time to sleep, Lessar did everything possible to get him to sleep in the bed with her, even offering to allow Index to join them. Touma rushed into the bathroom, unable to stop the image from entering his mind, and locked the door. He found it hard to sleep, not only worrying about Lessar sneaking in while he slept, but the information about an unknown group forcefully raising people's levels. _I can't stand people who feed on other people's insecurities._ He finally fell asleep, thinking about what Mitsuko was going to make him do tomorrow.

"So Kami-yan," Motoharu spoke up, interrupting Touma's thoughts. "We decided to finally tell you what our master plan is for the crime event Saturday."

"About time," muttered Touma. "I need to know how much damage control I need to be prepared for."

"You make it sound like we are going to do something bad," Pierce laughed. "Everything we have planned is perfectly within the rules. We even made Kagere check for us and set up a couple things, including transportation."

"When did you have time to do this?" Touma asked bewildered. "He hasn't been in school since Monday and he's been barely answering my messages."

"You just got to know when he's free," Motoharu replied, with a devious smirk on his face.

"Even though their idea is completely idiotic," Accelerator said, turning to face them. "They sure put a lot of planning into this."

"And you don't even know the entire plan," laughed Pierce, but then he got quiet. "Let's go out the back, so we don't get overheard by Fukiyose -sama." They all turned and looked at Seiri, who was watching them suspiciously. Aisa was also watching them, but none of the guys noticed, except Touma.

"You better not be planning to do anything to embarrass our class," Seiri warned them, her keen senses detecting their motives.

"Of course not Fukiyose-sama," Motoharu answered. "We plan to give it our all, and maybe steal a few panties while we are at it." A pencil case flew through the air, smacked him in the face, and knocked him out of his chair.

"That's not really the plan right?" Touma whispered to Accelerator.

"No," Accelerator replied simply. "If it was, I would have just knocked them out myself and refused to participate. Their plan is more… interesting." Touma gulped at the slightly evil grin on his face. Before he could ask anything else, the bell rang and everyone stood up. The four guys left the room in silence and exited the school from the back entrance. When they were far enough away, to ensure they would not be overheard, Pierce and Motoharu turned towards Accelerator and Touma.

"I bet you have been wondering what master plan we have been painstakingly working out these last few days," Pierce started to say in a bold manner, but Accelerator cut him off.

"Get on with it," he snapped.

"Well," Motoharu continued. "As you know, the boundaries between schools are being lifted for the event in district 7, so we have a pretty clear field to do whatever we want. Kami-yan needs a lot of extra credit points, so we have to make sure we cause a lot of problems. What are friends for?" He grinned at Touma, who felt a sinking sensation in his stomach. Pierce and Accelerator chuckled slightly. "So, Aogami and I thought, what would get us noticed the most and allows us to procure the greatest number of points for all of us, while making use of Accelerator's power and Kagere's resources? It hit us immediately, something we wanted to do for a long time, but never had a good opportunity." He slapped Touma on the shoulder. "Because now we have Kami the Harem King to rally behind."

"What!" Touma yelled and coughed. "You never said I was going to have to put on that ridiculous disguise." Accelerator snickered slightly, but was still listening to the rest of their explanation.

"That's why we are telling you now," Pierce explained. "We need your persona to finalize the major part of the plan. Otherwise, it will end in a revolt."

"What kind of plan would involve me wearing that?" Touma demanded.

"The plan to take over Tokiwadai," Motoharu declared, slamming his hand onto a nearby wall.

His words stopped Touma's argument on the spot, as his brain tried to process what he heard. _What the… Did I hear that right? There's no way he could be serious. Even assuming Mikoto and Misaki weren't there, everyone there is at least a level 3._ "Are you two stupid?!" Touma half shouted. "You know guys can't go into an all-girl's school."

"But we can," Pierce corrected him. "The rules stated ALL boundaries are being lifted for that day. We are perfectly allowed to trespass on Tokiwadai's campus. We can only pull this off during an event like this"

"…" Touma went silent for a moment. _Damn, they actually planned it out to this degree?_ "But even so, both Mikoto and Misaki will be there. Accelerator may be fine, but the rest of us…."

"No they won't," Motoharu said, cutting him off.

"What?"

"They won't be there."

"Why?"

"They will be at the middle school," Motoharu said, rolling his eyes.

"But you said you wanted to take over Tokiwadai," Touma pointed out, completely confused. "Wouldn't it be likely they would be nearby?"

"But we never said we were after the middle school," Pierce countered. "Have you forgotten?" Touma stared at him for a moment, before his mouth dropped open.

"Are you two insane?!" he asked in complete shock. "You two want to take over the high school?"

"What?" Accelerator asked. He was apparently caught off guard by this too. "I thought we were attacking the middle school. I was looking forward to mocking the third rate some more."

"I figured Kami-yan would only be considering the middle school," Motoharu commented, nodding sagely. "After all, a good number of his harem candidates are there. But I figured you," he pointed to Accelerator, "would have seen through our plan."

"It's because he's a lolicon," Pierce added. "He only wants the younger girls." Accelerator looked at him for a moment, and then flipped his choker on. Pierce was sent flying through the air and landed in some bushes twenty meters away.

"So let me see if I got this straight," Touma said in a voice of determined calm, trying to confirm the plan. "You want us, five guys, to just march into Tokiwadai High School and take it over?" Touma raised his hands in exasperation. "Do you have any idea how stupid that sounds?"

"I'm with the hero on this one," Accelerator added. "I would be fine, but the rest of you would just hold me back. Now, it sounds like too much hassle." He frowned for a moment. _Isn't that one girl from there?_ He broke into a grin. _She annoyed me, I guess I can kill some time and return the favor._ He grabbed his head with his hand. _Damn, I've been hanging around with these idiots too much. When did I start finding these stupid shenanigans entertaining?_

"Aogami and I planned it all out," Motoharu explained. He was oddly serious, causing Touma and Accelerator to go silent and listen. "We staked out the school grounds to find out everything we could about what their school was going to do during the event. Not every girl there is going to participate, but those who are participating are divided pretty evenly among police and hostages. I guess they didn't want ojou-samas to be criminals. Anyway, most of the hostages are going to be socializing in the gym, since the rest of the school will be locked up. The gym is on the west side and easily accessible. There will be a few cops planning to patrol around it, to make sure guys don't sneak in. No idea what gave them the idea anyone would try that." He broke into a grin.

"Are you suggesting we just run up and try to take all the hostages in the gym?" Touma asked.

"Yep," Motoharu confirmed. "With Accelerator's amazing prowess, we should be able to bypass any police protecting the hostages."

"I could do it," Accelerator yawned. "But it better be worth my time. You are just lucky I had nothing going on."

"How to you expect us to keep all the hostages?" Touma asked, sighing slightly as the plan actually seemed to be coming together. "Wouldn't they just run in all directions if we barged in or, with my luck, attack us?"

"That's your job," Pierce told him, brushing himself off as he walked back up to them. "You need to use the power of Kami to keep them all under watch. I'm sure that won't be any problem for you."

"I have no idea what goes through your head anymore," Touma answered, face palming. _How the hell do they expect me to do that? I would be lucky if I don't get attacked from every direction when we walk in. It's not like a prestigious school is going to have a bunch of girls who would want to associate with Kami._ To give himself more time to think, he turned back to Motoharu. "Let's say everything magically works out, what's Jason's part in all this?"

"You are actually considering it now?" Motoharu asked, raising an eyebrow. He grinned and continued. "Kagere promised he would get us transportation, so we could get to the school unnoticed until it was too late. He also will provide additional muscle with his power because, if we succeed, it's sure to draw attention."

"A bunch of guys taking over an all-girls school," Accelerator muttered mockingly. "Who wouldn't know about it?"

"Exactly," Motoharu agreed, excitedly. "Think how many points we will get doing this."

"I feel like you aren't giving me a choice," Touma muttered.

"Of course not," Pierce confirmed. "We worked hard in gathering everything needed to make this plan work. If you bail out, I wouldn't be surprised that, in a state of depression, we accidently reveal Kami's true identity."

"I thought so," Touma said, completely depressed. He looked over at Accelerator. "You don't really want to do this either, right?"

"Not really," Accelerator acknowledged. "But I just thought of a reason to attend if they are going to go. It's kind of childish but, hey, I have nothing else going on."

"Then it's settled," Motoharu cheered, along with Pierce. "Aogami, can you start gathering the remaining supplies? I'll answer their questions."

"No problem." Pierce turned around and ran off down the street. Touma and Accelerator watched him leave, before turning back to Motoharu.

"I really don't have any other questions," Touma sighed. "Except, what the hell goes through your mind when you think of these things?"

"How long do you expect us to help carry this out?" Accelerator asked, leaning up against a wall.

"The game starts at 8am," Motoharu explained. "Depending on how well it goes, we probably can just quit around noon. If everything goes to plan, we might even be there all day."

"You mean if the hero goes and does what he's best at," Accelerator pointed out, a small smirk on his face.

"Exactly," Motoharu confirmed. "You know what he's like."

"I don't do anything," Touma argued. "Accelerator, don't turn into those two."

"I'm actually more surprised you are still in denial," Accelerator yawned.

"Especially since he's been flirting with the second princess," Motoharu added, causing Accelerator and Touma to both turn and stare at him.

"What?" Accelerator asked, completely surprised this time. "Are you serious?"

"No I'm not," Touma denied immediately. "How did you even hear about that?"

"You know our walls are paper thin," Motoharu told him. "I heard Lessar talk about it and then you explained it to her and Index." He yawned. "You guys were really noisy." He broke out into a grin. "Bold move though, letting Lessar stay with you. I figured she would try everything possible to get what she wants."

"So that's where she went," Accelerator muttered to himself. "She messaged me that Lessar did not coming back yesterday."

"Then you obviously know what happened," Touma told Motoharu, irritated. "All I did was talk with her a bit while she's in confinement."

"I bet," Accelerator laughed. "Treating enemies like friends." Touma gave him a quick look, and Accelerator replied with his own stare that said, _I dare you to say something._

"All that matters," Motoharu continued. "Is Kami-yan needs to act natural and it will all work out like it always does."

"I still have no idea what you expect me to do," Touma said again. "But I give up. I suppose you are going to make me wear that costume again."

"Wouldn't be any fun without it," Motoharu laughed. "Oh, that reminds me. Did either of you hear about the level 5 ranks?"

"No," Touma said, shaking his head. "What happened?"

"I don't pay attention to boring stuff like that," Accelerator added.

"It seems like Shokuhou-san has been promoted," Motoharu informed them. "She's now rank 4, and Mugino-san had been demoted."

"HAHAHA." Accelerator burst out laughing. "I wish I could see the fourt… fifth rate's face. I bet she is so pissed off. Best news I have heard in a long time."

"I bet Shokuhou-san is really pleased," Motoharu said, then noticed Touma's expression. "What's up with you?"

Touma had gone deathly pale. He was happy for Misaki and she had messaged him earlier, but he didn't get a chance to read her message. _I bet that's the reason._ What scared him was the thought of Shizuri's reaction to the news. He might have been okay, if he gave it several days before talking to her, but he was supposed to meet her to pick up the suit Mitsuko told him he needed. _She was okay with it last night, but what about now? Is she going to attack me as soon as I enter the apartment? Just my luck. Such misfortune. I do feel bad for her, since her rank is important to her. Would it be possible to cheer her up?_

"Kami-yan seems out of it," Motoharu commented.

"I bet he's trying to figure out how to take advantage of the situation," Accelerator replied and both of them smirked.

"Well Shokuhou-san will just jump into his arms if he asked," Motoharu said. "I bet he wants to go over and console Mugino-san and score big points with her."

"Sounds like him. The hero is always trying to cheer up others."

"Why do I hang out with you two," Touma asked rhetorically, realizing they were talking about him. He looked down at his phone and realized he needed to head out or risk being late. "I got something I need to pick up, I got to run." He didn't stop to see if Motoharu or Accelerator said anything to him, as he turned around and bolted down the street. He was anxious to get away and not think of how crazy Saturday was going to be.

"Damn," Accelerator muttered, more to himself than Motoharu. "I need to meet someone too and the damn brat wants to come with me."

"Going to meet your mysterious girlfriend?" Motoharu asked, winking. Accelerator didn't know, but Motoharu had used his skills as a spy to find out all about his magician friend.

"Bite me."

* * *

"FUCK THIS!" Shizuri yelled, leaning back in her chair and grabbing her head. She had been sitting at a table with a laptop in front of her for most of the day. Since she had been injured on Monday night and discharged from the hospital Tuesday morning, her arm was still in a cast, but she had regained use of her hand now. She had been trying to hack the security codes around the research data Rikou had obtained from the, now destroyed, facility. About two o'clock Thursday morning, she had finally broken through the security. Since she had almost no sleep the last few days, being too focused on the task at hand, and fell asleep shortly afterwards. Laster that morning, she, Frenda, Rikou, and Saiai found out the news. Misaki Shokuhou had been promoted to rank 4 of the level 5s, which meant Shizuri had been demoted.

As Shizuri stared at the announcement on the TV, the other three girls fled the building they were currently in. A minute later, bright green beams of light came from within the building, turning it into rubble. Shizuri walked out of the cloud of dust, slightly cut up, and looking furious, still clutching the laptop with the data. Saiai and Frenda decided it was in their best interest to do other things and dragged Shiage with them. Rikou, however, decided to stay with Shizuri and go to their other apartment. While the others didn't know the exact reason, Rikou felt it was best not to leave her alone. She had been in the room yesterday when Shizuri received a call from Touma. From what she caught of their conversation, Touma was coming over to pick up the suit. Why, she didn't know. Now it was Thursday afternoon and she looked over at Shizuri. "…What's wrong Mugino?"

"I finally got this damn data unlocked," she growled in frustration. "But there's so much information and the organization is sloppy and mismatched. I can't understand most of it without finding what order it's supposed to be in." She looked over at Rikou, her face a combination of anger and tiredness.

".. Maybe some sleep would help," suggested Rikou.

"There's too much damn work to think about sleep!" roared Shizuri, standing up and kicking over her chair. She walked over to the kitchen and poured herself a large cup of coffee. She sipped it and looked up at the clock on the wall. "He should be here soon anyways."

"…Kamijou?"

"Yes," Shizuri confirmed, grabbing the laptop with one hand and sitting down on the couch. "He needs to borrow that suit."

"…Why?" Rikou asked.

"He has to go somewhere which requires formal attire," Shizuri answered, her eyes now glued on the computer screen. "When he arrives, I'm going to find out where. He's not the type of person to willingly go to a place requiring those types of clothes." Rikou nodded and opened a magazine, while Shizuri continued to type. Rikou was smart enough to avoid mentioning anything about the new ranks. As long as Shizuri had something to keep her mind off of that unpleasantness, no one was going to suffer from it.

About fifteen minutes later, they heard a knock at the door. They both looked up, but Rikou was the one who answered it. They both knew who it was and, after verifying it was Touma, she let him in. "Sorry I'm late," he apologized, slightly breathlessly, as if he had ran all the way there. "I got held up at school."

"When you tell me you will be somewhere at a specific time," Shizuri told him irritably, looking up. "I expect you to be there at that time."

"Sorry," Touma apologized again. He wasn't sure what to think. Her tone was more neutral then he was used to. _Is she upset or just doesn't care?_ "Thanks again for letting me borrow that suit."

"Before you can take it," Shizuri said, putting the laptop away. "You need to tell me why you want it."

"Huh?" Touma asked.

"I seriously doubt you just want to stroll into a high end area for fun," she told him, crossing her arms and staring directly at him. Touma felt like she was staring through him. "So tell me, what are you doing that requires this suit?"

"Well I promised to help someone," Touma answered sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. _I better not tell her why._ "And the place they need to go requires formalwear. The only suit I have is completely ragged." He sighed, slightly embarrassed at his lack of finances.

"If you were anyone else," Shizuri said, rubbing her temples exasperatedly. "I would say you're lying to me, but you just the type of person who would go along with anyone who asks you for help." She stared at him a moment and then her lips formed into a slight frown. "I still feel like you are hiding something from me."

"H-hiding?" Touma stuttered. "W-what could I possibly be hiding from you?" He knew he wasn't fooling anyone, and he even saw Rikou shake her head slightly. _Don't let her find out._

"Hmm," Shizuri continued, her eyes narrowing. Touma gulped as she scanned him up and down, taking in his posture, tone, and facial expressions. "There is something more…" She slowly stood up and Touma found himself frozen. Rikou was staring at them, her face unreadable like usual. "Let me know how close I am. You are getting blackmailed by someone and have to do something for them, because they have dirt on you." She paused. "Well?"

"O-of c-course not." He knew denying it was useless, because even he heard his voice crack.

"So I'm right," she commented, more to herself then him. Her eyes flashed dangerously. "How could you let someone boss you around besides m…!?" She stopped herself, and grabbed her head. _Fuck, I am so pissed right now I can't think straight._ She took a breath and tried to calm herself down. Rikou had instinctively taken a couple steps back and Touma remained frozen. "Today has not been a good day for me," she spat out. "I need a stress reliever. Lead me to the person who's blackmailing you. I'll show them what happens when they try that shit on my subordinate."

"That won't be necessary," Touma replied quickly, holding out a hand. "It was entirely my fault because I did something stupid. I'm just repaying a debt." _If she follows me, she might kill Kongou-san. She may be a little conceited, but she's not a bad person. She's just been misguided because of the environment she grew up in. Besides, it was my fault for seeing Kongou-san in that position…_ He saw the image clearing in his mind and pushed the memory away.

"Fine." Touma breathed a sigh of relief. "I have work to finish anyways. Takitsubo, give him the clothes." Rikou nodded and walked over to the closet. She pulled out a cover over the suit and pants and handed it to Touma, along with the shoes. Touma thanked her and was about to leave when he remembered something he wanted to do. He turned back to Shizuri, who was sitting on the couch and reaching for her laptop.

"Before I leave," Touma said, and she turned to look at him. "Are you okay?" Rikou's eyes widened slightly.

"What shit are you spewing now?" Shizuri snapped.

"Well…" Touma hesitated for a moment, but he really want to check up on her. "After that announcement this morning…"

"You think something stupid like that would bother me," Shizuri huffed. "Like I care what rank those idiots at the top think I am." This time, it was Touma's turn to frown. Even he could tell something was off, because Shizuri always took pride in her level. The tone in her voice was different too. It had a combination of irritation, like usual, but also anger and confusion. Touma was trying to think what to say, knowing if he said the wrong thing, his life would be in danger.

"I know you always were proud at how far you have come," Touma said, weighing his words. "Just because someone thought the ranks changed, doesn't mean your hard work went to waste. You're still one of the strongest people I know. Few people could have done what you did in England…"

"…out," Shizuri mumbled too softly for Touma to make out her words.

"Sorry, I couldn't hear you."

"GET THE FUCK OUT!" Shizuri thundered and several green orbs appeared around her. Her eyes were turning red and Touma saw his life flash before his eyes. He turned and ran out the door as fast as he could, holding tightly to the suit. Shizuri and Rikou heard him apologizing profusely, as he ran down the hall.

"…Mugino?" Rikou asked slightly confused, after shutting the door and turning around to look at her.

"It's nothing," Shizuri muttered. "Just a headache. Go and get me some water." Rikou nodded and left the room, giving Shizuri time to collect her thoughts. _What the hell did I just do?_ She wasn't sure why she got so upset at Touma all of a sudden. Yes, she was angry about being demoted, but it wasn't the first time. She had once been rank 1, but Accelerator, Mikoto, and Teitoku had all pushed her down. She had seen Accelerator's power first hand and realized the difference. She had never met Teitoku, but heard he was in the same league. Mikoto was a brat and, having been demoted after her, really stung Shizuri's pride the most. Now, she was behind another brat. Her pride was telling her she needed to eliminate the competition, but something was stopping her. _Damn that Kamijou…_

After hearing Touma tell her he didn't care about rank and that he still considered her strong, caused a lot of emotions within her, but not what she normally felt. Yes, she had been upset, but not angry like she had been when getting demoted in the past. She was more upset of the fact she had felt…vulnerable. She realized if he had stayed there, she might have done something she would regret. _What the hell happened to me? His words were just normal parroting of weaklings saying levels don't matter. Yet, it sounds so real coming from him. He can't lie worth shit._ She was feeling a wide range of emotions, most foreign to her. _I have to finish and find out what this information is about, and then I'll find him…_ She wasn't sure what she was going to do after finding him, but she knew killing was not going to be on the table. Rikou returned with water and she gulped it down, before returning to deciphering the data.

The time passed in silence, except for the sound of keys clicking on the laptop. Rikou watched Shizuri for a bit, before falling asleep. A loud bang caused her to wake with a start and nearly fall out of her chair. She looked up in alarm, trying to see where the noise came from. Shizuri was standing up, a look of fury on her face, as she stared at the computer. The noise was caused by Shizuri punching the wall, leaving a fist size indention. "…What happened?" Rikou asked.

"That bitch!" Shizuri yelled, kicking a chair several meters across the floor. "I knew her rank up couldn't have been natural." She flexed her right hand, and the look of insanity on her face grew. Rikou was scared, but still was curious about what was happening. After a moment, Shizuri calmed down and looked at her. "I finally cracked all the security and found out what that lab was researching." Her face contorted in anger again. "They were storing information on all the level 5s in that facility." Rikou's eyes went wide. "Most of the information doesn't make a lot of sense, but they were comparing our progress. Among the information, I found a list of the people who have access to it." She turned the laptop to face Rikou and pushed it over. Rikou looked down at the screen. There were small portraits of unknown individuals, along with their names. She scrolled down the list and let out a soft gasp, when she saw a familiar face.

"…It's Kamijou's friend."

"Yes," Shizuri confirm, her voice etched with cold fury. "Jason Kagere knew about this information. He was also the one who interrupted our mission a couple weeks ago. He is involved in this and I am going to find out how." She paused for a moment and frowned. "I knew Mental Out couldn't have known about Body Crystal without outside help. It was obvious when she lied to us. If he's doing research into us, he must have been the one who told her." Her eyes widened slightly. "Could he actually have played her into taking it as an experiment to increase her power? Damn it, we should have taken care of him earlier, regardless of being Kamijou's friend. We are going to find him and make him tell us everything, even if I have to blow off an appendage or two. Takitsubo," Rikou looked up, "Find him. We are hunting him down right now."

"… Yes Mugino," Rikou replied, gazing into the distance. "Found him. Should we notify Frenda and Kinuhata?"

"No," Shizuri answered, after a moment. "Neither of them are combat ready." She looked at her arm still in a cast. "He has also proven his ability in taking them out. I'm the only one out of us who can deal with his ability, but I need you to lead me to him." She stood up. "Let's go. It's time to get some answers."

"…Understood," Rikou said. She thought it was a mistake for the two of them to go alone, even without Shiage as support, but had to concede Shizuri had a point. Jason was able to take out all three of them easily, before Shizuri had forced him to flee. _He also can use magic, though I don't think Mugino forgot about that._

* * *

"Have they discovered anything new about that organization yet?" Mikoto asked Ruiko, as they walked down the street. "Kuroko said she told me everything, but I have a feeling she was hiding something from me. I couldn't ask her today because she had to rush off to Judgement after school."

"No," Ruiko replied, shaking her head. "Uiharu had to do the same thing. I guess there are a lot of problems with rogue ability users now. Anti-Skill is having trouble keeping up with everything, so they formally requested Judgement's help."

"Looks like it is getting serious," Mikoto said solemnly and grabbed her head in frustration. "They are also spying on us. I can't believe they recorded me secretly."

"It was a pretty short clip," reassured Ruiko. "You shocked a bunch of guys who looked like they might have been part of a gang."

"Oh," Mikoto said sheepishly and blushed slightly. "I might have shocked them, but only because they wouldn't leave me alone and tried to drag me off with them. I went easy on them…" Ruiko shook her head at her, but still grinned.

"I think I understand why Shirai-san complains about you get involved too much now," Ruiko told her.

"I waited as long as I could," Mikoto replied, slightly defensively. "So what do you want to do? I have some free time today." With Kuroko being stuck at Judgement, she had contacted Touma, but he also said he was busy. She debated about studying a little bit, but then she found out about the announcement with the level 5 ranks. She was not going to stay in the same vicinity as Misaki. As Mikoto was leaving the school, she saw Misaki coming down another hallway, a superior look on her face. Mikoto decided not to let Misaki antagonize her and left quickly. She had a lot of things on her mind, including the news about the organization raising student's levels. Lost in thought while walking around, she almost didn't see Ruiko, who jumped out at her when she didn't respond to her name being called.

"Don't care as long as it's fun," Ruiko said in a carefree tone. "Just between us, the lack of sweets is getting to Uiharu and Jason's been too busy with work to keep her company. She's been a little down the last few days."

"I bet his research area was broken into," Mikoto said, and Ruiko nodded in agreement. "So he's stuck dealing with that. " She sighed. "And Touma's busy too…" Her voice died out when she saw Ruiko watching her closely, and she hastily changed the topic. "Want to go to the arcade and…?" She stopped when she heard a familiar voice and turned to the source. Ruiko imitated her actions, as she too heard it.

"I barely have enough money for my dinner. Touma doesn't give me much. If I give you some too, we both will starve."

"I'm sure you're just exaggerating…. Wow you're right. He really doesn't give you much." Lessar and Index were walking toward them, but they didn't seem to realize it. They were mulling over a small number of bill in Index's hand. Mikoto and Ruiko looked at each other and shrugged.

 _Haven't seen Lessar in a while,_ Mikoto thought. _I wonder why she's with Index._ "Hey," she called out. "Lessar, Index!"

"Short Hair?" Index looked up in surprise.

"Hey Sparky!" Lessar called back, cheerfully.

Mikoto felt a vein throb in her head. _Why do they insist on calling me those stupid nicknames?_ "I have a name you know, it's Mikoto Misaka."

"I like Sparky better," Lessar replied.

"Short Hair will be Short Hair," Index shrugged, as if that settled the matter.

"Hey you two," Ruiko butted in between them all. "How are you? We didn't expect to see you here." She immediately noticed the tension in the air and decided to intervene. She didn't want her friends to fight and was genuinely curious about what they were up to. _Maybe we can all hang out and resolve any animosities between them._

"Well Touma told us he had to help someone after school today," Index sighed. "He only left us this tiny bit of money to get food. He made me lunch, but it was really just a snack."

"She ate all the lunch," Lessar complained and her stomach rumbled. "I didn't even get a bite and now she doesn't want to share the money for dinner." Ruiko nodded in understanding. Being a level 0 previously, she knew how difficult extra money was too obtained. She had to constantly find sales to keep food available at her dorm. Now that she had been promoted to level 2, she was getting an increase in her stipend, so she wasn't as strapped for cash like before.

"Fine," Mikoto sighed. "Tell you what, It's a little early but," she checked the time and saw it was only 4:30, "I'll treat you both to some dinner."

"Really Shot Hair?" Index asked, her eyes brimming with hope. "Thank you so much. I was afraid we would starve."

"You're the best," Lessar cried, jumping into her chest and embracing her. "I knew you still liked me."

"Get off," Mikoto grumbled, pushing Lessar away. The last thing she needed was another Kuroko. She became irritated, as she felt Lessar's chest pressed up against her. While it wasn't as big as someone like Misaki, it was still bigger then hers and Lessar was probably younger than she was.

"Seems like everyone is back to being friends," Ruiko laughed. _Does food solve all problems? I know sweets work on Uiharu in these kinds of situations._ She didn't have a lot of money, but she had been about to offer what little she had to help them. She wasn't really hungry, but decided to tag along and grab something sweet. _Perfect timing, since Uiharu isn't here._ They stopped at a nearby dinner and Mikoto bought Lessar and Index dinner. Ruiko and Mikoto watched in shock at the amount of food Lessar and Index were eating. They knew Index was a big eater, but Lessar ate like she had been starving for days. _I knew Touma wasn't rich, but feeding three people on a level 0 stipend must be tough. I don't think I could manage that._

"Thanks a lot Sparky…" Lessar said, before correcting herself and Mikoto figured it was because she fed her. "I mean Misaka."

"How do you have so much more money than Touma," Index questioned Mikoto, while she patted her stomach in a satisfied way.

"The city supplies us with different stipends as payment for us participating in the experiments to develop abilities," Mikoto explained, but then looked at Ruiko, who smiled and nodded for Mikoto to continue. "Your amount is based on your level because the city gets more research data the stronger an ability is."

"And you're a level 5 if I remember correct," Lessar said, her hands behind her head. "So I bet Lover Boy's a level 0 isn't he. His hand wouldn't be a scientific ability right?" Mikoto nodded.

"Yet he always keeps me fed and sheltered," Index boasted. "Well, until you came." She pointed a finger at Lessar.

"He's the one who let me stay with him because I didn't like my living conditions," Lessar pointed out.

"That's only because you were being mean to him," Index countered, but Mikoto and Ruiko had grown silent at the news. Neither of them knew Lessar had started living at Touma's dorm. A couple of Lessar's earlier comments sounded like she was, but they could have meant Lessar snuck into his dorm during the day.

"You're living in Touma's dorm?" Ruiko asked, a frown appearing on her face and her eyes filled of concern. _How could she be so bold? Index is one thing, but don't think Uiharu has even gone over to Kagere's apartment, let alone trying to move in._ "I thought you were staying with Accelerator's friend."

"I wasn't happy there," Lessar replied truthfully. "So I went over to him and he agreed to let me stay."

"What?" Mikoto asked, finally finding words. "There's no way he would let you live with him like that. Especially since you had accommodations and you keep assaulting him." _That idiot! Why would he just let her stay with him? He knows what Lessar is like. I'm going to shock the truth out of… No Mikoto, you promised to yourself to try to avoid shocking him outright. Talk to him first, and then shock him._

"I don't assault him," Lessar denied, appearing hurt by Mikoto's accusations. "I just express my desires and try to get him to give in to his. He really is a tough nut to crack. Maybe if you two join me in, we can finally get him to do it." She grinned at them and Mikoto, Index and Ruiko's mouth fell open in shock.

"W-what…?" Mikoto spluttered, sparking slightly, completely astonished Lessar would even suggest something like that. Ruiko and Index looked like they were at a loss for words. Before she could say anything else, they were interrupted by a little girl who jumped into their group and tackled Index.

"Hi Index MISAKA calls out excitedly as MISAKA is excited to see her friend."

"Last Order?" Index asked surprised, turning to her friend. "It's great to see you, but can you give us a moment."

"Hello Last Order," Ruiko spoke up politely, trying to direct the conversation out of these dangerous waters. "Are you out here alone or is Accelerator with you."

"MISAKA is with Accelerator." Then something strange happened. Last Order was usually pretty cheerful but, on few occasions, she tended to be serious. This time, she looked really upset. "Accelerator is splitting his time up with another girl MISAKA says with desperation as MISAKA flinches at the truth." Mikoto, Lessar, and Ruiko turned around in shock to locate Accelerator, who was walking toward them, with an annoyed look on his face. Accelerator chasing after Last Order wasn't an unusual site, the girl rushing after him was.

She was rather well-endowed and had blonde hair and green eyes, with a mole under her left eye. She wore a black cloak over a sleeveless white blouse, which was open on the back, and a red skirt under a large belt. She had two black ribbons on the side of her head. She also wore black thigh-high socks, her legs had leather straps, and her ankles were bound with metal rings. She had a slightly confused look on her face, as she continued to run after Accelerator.

"Brat," Accelerator growled, when he caught up to Last Order. "How many times have I fucking told you not to run off on your own?" He realized the other girls were staring at him. "Oh it's you brats. What the hell is with those looks?"

"Er…" Mikoto replied. "Are you going to introduce us to your friend?"

"Why did everyone suddenly run?" the girl asked, catching up to Accelerator. She saw the other girls looking at her and she bow slightly. "Hello." She told them politely. "Are you friends of Master?" Ruiko and Mikoto's mouths fell open.

"See MISAKA wails as MISAKA points out her words. He has been cheating on MISAKA."

"Accelerator…" Mikoto said slowly, taking a step back and trying to keep her face calm. "Are these the kind of things you are interested in?"

"It is a sin to be cheating on someone," Index reprimanded him sternly. "You need to ask God for forgiveness to save your soul."

"Bayloupe isn't going to be happy to hear this," Lessar commented. "Is this why you don't talk to her much anymore?" _I wonder how I could get Kamijou to participate in roleplaying like this._

"I told you a thousand times not to call me that," Accelerator snapped at the new girl. After noticing she was constantly looking from him to the rest of the girls, he sighed. "Fine, those three are the third rate, Index, and Saten."

"It's Mikoto Misaka," Mikoto snapped back at him. "Not third rate."

"It's nice to meet you all," the girl said, bowing again. "My name is Estelle Rosenthal. He helped me a lot a while ago and I persuaded him to take me on as his apprentice."

"Persuaded," Accelerator gave a short laugh. "She pestered me until I finally said yes."

"You can't have him MISAKA says, as MISAKA steps between her and Accelerator. He belongs to MISAKA so stop flirting with him MISAKA adds."

"I told you before we aren't like that," Estelle protested. "You have known me for months."

"Then why do you keep taking off…." Last Order tried to say, but Accelerator sensed the danger first. He reached down and covered her mouth with his hand, looking annoyed. He gave Mikoto a look saying he was contemplating murder, if she said anything. Mikoto raised an eyebrow, and was trying to avoid smirking.

"Have you been taking lessons from Kamij…?" Lessar started to ask, but Mikoto imitated Accelerator's actions.

"Not the time for jokes," Mikoto hissed. She let go of Lessar and Accelerator let go of Last Order. Index patted Last Order on the shoulder and they started talking in hushed voices. The tension was becoming thick in the air and Ruiko knew she had to change the topic quickly.

"So what do you to think about that news this morning?" Ruiko asked. "About Shokuhou-san getting promoted?"

"I know she's going to let it go to her head," Mikoto sighed, but secretly glad to be talking about a different subject, instead of the weird things Accelerator was into. "And I'm in the same dorm as her, so I'm going to suffer the price. Mugino is not going to be happy, I bet"

"It's hilarious," Accelerator laughed. "The fourt… fifth rate, that's going to take some getting used to now, must be furious. I wish I could have seen her reaction."

"Mugino seems like she's not the type of person to take something like that lying down," Lessar pointed out. "What are the odds of her trying to get revenge?"

"Really high," Mikoto said, and there was a small hint of nervousness in her voice. "But I'm sure Shokuhou-san knows that and has taken precautions until this blows over."

"It shouldn't even matter," Accelerator added. "It's all the same if you aren't first."

"Charming as ever," Mikoto said dryly and Accelerator sneered at her. _He only said that to annoyed me, don't give him the satisfaction._

"Do you really care about that?" Ruiko asked. She had a feeling Accelerator only said those things to get a rise out of the other level 5s. "You always seem like you wouldn't."

"I actually don't," Accelerator admitted. "I only heard about it because those idiots at school talked about it."

"Was Touma and Tsuchimikado-san part of it?" Ruiko asked. "What did they say?"

"Eh there were bets on which girl the hero was going to meet first," Accelerator grinned. "Will he congratulate the one with the promotion, or console the one who got demoted?" As if on cue, an Anti-Skill van blew past them with its siren and lights blaring. Ruiko and Mikoto both felt a sense of dread, but then they realized that couldn't be the case.

"Looks like they were in a hurry?" Mikoto commented, watching the van disappear down the street. "Think it has something to do with that organization?"

"What organization," Accelerator snapped. "Are the Fallen here?"

"No," Ruiko informed him quickly. "Uiharu and I discovered a group promising a bunch of low levels they could increase their level if they joined them. We believe they were the ones who broke into all the research facilities last week."

"Oh," Accelerator said, sounding slightly disappointed. He didn't really care about lower levels trying to upgrade their abilities. That was a constant occurrence in the city and didn't affect him directly. About the only time it did was when the low levels wanted to test their abilities against the strongest, him, and he had to teach them a lesson. He made a mental note of the information, but that was all.

"There are some cabals on our side that do those kinds of things too," Lessar told them. "It's really not an unusual occurrence."

"Well I suppose there could be countless reasons an Anti-Skill van is rushing off," Mikoto said fairly. Part of her wanted to rush off after it, but it reminded her of something Touma would do. _He's really rubbing off on me. Kuroko always gets mad when I jump into their business._

"They could be after the zombies," Ruiko said mysteriously.

"Huh?" Mikoto, Lessar, and Accelerator asked, turning to her. Index and Last Order even stopped to listen. Estelle tilted her head in curiosity.

"There was a rumor online over the last few days," Ruiko explained excitedly. "Late at night, there were sightings of weird people stumbling around. They were covered in a red liquid that looked like blood."

"You really need to take what you read online with a grain of salt," Mikoto said, rolling her eyes. "Zombies aren't real."

"We found plenty of rumors that were based on facts," Ruiko pointed out. "I was watching for anything that dealt with abilities being level up quickly."

"Zombies are real," Index interrupted. "They are a product of Necromancy, but the idea they can spread a disease through a bite is preposterous. A magician would normally create a false soul to carry out a process of putting back wandering residual memories of a corpse and closing their spiritual circuit, in order to put them to rest and allowing the original soul to go to heaven. While the false soul inhabits the body, it can be controlled."

"So magicians can raise the dead? MISAKA asks."

"It's not so much raising the dead," Lessar clarified. "It's more along the lines of controlling the body, like a puppet."

"Necromancy is a lot more than that!" Estelle interrupted loudly.

"What do you know about it?" Ruiko asked, turning to her. Estelle opened her mouth, but turned to look at Accelerator, who was staring at her intently.

"What did you do?" he asked, his voice barely suppressing his rage.

"I didn't do anything," Estelle replied defensively. "I have no information about what she said." None of them knew, except Accelerator, that Estelle was a Necromancer. She wasn't the type of person to lie and if she did know something, Accelerator would have known in an instant.

* * *

 _Seriously?_ Kuroko thought to herself, as she teleported to the source of the disturbance. She had been on patrol when Kazari called her and said Anti-Skill was dealing with a hostage situation. Apparently an ability user and some underlings took over a small office complex and had hostages. Normally, Judgement would not be allowed to participate once Anti-Skill got involved, but they requested any nearby Judgement members with abilities that might allow them to attempt a rescue. Kuroko was only a couple blocks away and was able to arrive at the scene quickly. She saw the number of Anti-Skill vans from the roof of a nearby building and teleported her way down. "I'm part of Judgement," she said, identifying herself. "Who should I talk to about the situation?"

"Ah good," a male officer said, stepping up. "You must be the teleporter I was told about." He looked up the building, which was five stories tall and the first floor windows were blown out. "Here's the situation. A group of individuals took over the building. Only the leader has an ability, but the rest obtained small firearms. His ability is some kind of noise based power, as he blew out those windows on the first floor and knocked out several officers. There are currently fourteen hostages still in the building."

"Were there any demands?" Kuroko asked.

"Yes," the man said, and then he frowned slightly. "We have heard it before, but it's not the most common. Normally they want money or something, but now they are demanding the city start treating all ability users the same and not based on their levels."

 _Sounds like that groups work,_ Kuroko thought. _The leader might be someone whose ability got boosted and he's just leading his friends._ "Has any rescue attempt been implemented yet," she asked.

"A few minutes ago we sent in one member as a stealth operation," the man informed her. "His priority is to neutralize the criminals and rescue the hostages. He hasn't contacted us yet, but he's quite capable."

"Who…?" Kuroko started to ask, when a loud screech interrupted her. The windows on the fourth floor exploded and shards of glass rained down into the streets. The nearest Anti-Skill members clutched their ears at the sound. "It sounds like his cover was blown. What now?"

The man grabbed his communicator and started yelling orders into it. "…For now, we can't risk the safety of the hostages. Keep a safe distance back and be prepared. Let me know if you see any updates on the hostage's status." About thirty seconds passed, the ear splitting screech kept turning on and off, and Kuroko was shifting her weight between her feet in anticipation. She wanted to go and help, but she had to obey Anti-Skill orders. A voice then came through the officer's communicator next to her.

"We got movement on the ground floor," another male voice said. "It looks like they are heading toward the front door. It's hard to see, but at least a dozen."

"Is it the hostages?" he asked, but the question was answered for him. The front doors opened and a group of people rushed out. A couple women led the pack, with men following them and they made a beeline straight toward the Anti-Skill blockade. The Anti-Skill officer walked up to meet them and Kuroko followed, since she wasn't told she couldn't. "Is everyone okay?"

"We are all," the woman said, gasping slightly. "But the boy you sent in was caught by their leader. He's getting tortured on the top floor. The gang leader is using some sort of metal weapon and using sound."

"Sound manipulation?" the male asked, then grimaced. "That explains what that sound is." The screeching sound started up again and then stopped. "Damn, I bet he knows he has lost and is just enjoying himself." He turned and looked at Kuroko. "I hate to ask, but you're the only one who can get up their without being seen. Can you teleport up the side entrance and through one of the windows? Otherwise, with the hostages cleared, we can march in, but I can't guarantee our operative. Are you willing?" He suddenly looked displeased. "I hate sending children into these situations," he muttered.

"I can," Kuroko nodded, pretending not to have heard the past sentence. "I can teleport up there and, if I can, knock him out." The Anti-Skill officer nodded and she took off. After teleporting to the side of the building, she looked up, measured the distance, and teleported up next to the window. She moved through the open window and stopped, just as another burst of sound hurt her ears. _I can't concentrate with that noise._ She looked around and realized she was in a corner office. She walked toward the door and stuck her head out. She heard someone talking, before getting hit by another blast of high pitched sound. She shook her head and moved silently toward the source. Kuroko saw a guy with a shaved head and cheap leather clothing standing over another guy, who was sitting down and his back up against a pillar. Kuroko's mouth dropped.

It was Jason.

"… people like you always look down on us." Kuroko could finally make out what the guy was saying. "But as soon as we start getting even a whiff of power, you want to stop us."

"You're a fool," Jason muttered. "Your boss is using you for his own gain. Your life means nothing to him."

"Shut up," the guy said, holding out his hand. Kuroko recognized a small tuning fork. "Soundwave manipulation is a rather fine art you know. If my focus is off even a little bit, your body will explode. I really want to torture you a bit before Anti-Skill comes barging in." He tapped the tuning fork and the screeching sound washed over Kuroko. She realized she was just getting excess noise from the guy's attack, Jason was actually taking the full force of it. His body jerked and it looked like he was yelling, but his voice was drowned out. A couple seconds passed and the noise stopped. "I could use my voice, but this tuning fork gives me more even wavelengths for easier manipulation. Covering your ears won't work you know. The human body is composed of 70% water and sound travels…" He stopped as Kuroko teleported into the air behind him and delivered a kick into the back of his head. He flew forward, the tuning fork flying out of his hand, and his head hit a door. He fell back onto the ground, unconscious.

"Why do guys like to talk so much," she sighed, and then looked down at Jason. "Are you okay?" She didn't think he heard her, because he didn't move, and she prodded him with her foot. He stirred and looked up, his eyes widening in surprise when he recognized her.

"Why are you here?" he asked, then rubbed his ears for a moment. "Think I can hear now. You didn't have to come, I had everything under control."

"Sure you did," Kuroko replied sarcastically. She reached down, grabbed his hand, and helped him to his feet. "He obviously had the upper hand."

"I prioritized the hostage's safety over my own," Jason said, shrugging. "I took out his underlings on the floor below, but I had to face him head on or the hostages would have been caught by his sound attacks. I assume they got out?"

"They did," Kuroko confirmed. "It's how we found out you were on the top floor. I suppose his sound was effecting you're ability calculations? Just being near him made my head hurt."

"That was the most annoying part of his ability," Jason agreed. "It worked a lot like Capacity Down Anti-Skill uses." Capacity Down used sound to interrupt the brain operation of the ability users. It made it impossible for them to process the advanced calculations. The difference between Capacity Down and this guy's ability was how it would affect level 0s. Capacity Down only sounds like a high pitch noise, but this guy's ability actually resonated with people's physical bodies to cause damage. "So," Jason continued, and a grin appeared on his face. "You heard I was in trouble and wanted to save me?"

"Don't get a big head," scoffed Kuroko. "I didn't know it was you until I found you two." She wasn't going to admit she panicked for a moment when she saw him being tortured. "But now that I saved you, you can stop quoting that stupid life debt thing."

"Are you crazy?" Jason asked. "I saved you three times, even if we say you saved me today, you still owe me two more saves."

"Now who's acting crazy?" Kuroko retorted. "If I count the healing and the time with those marks, the fight with knight leader was a team effort. I saved you during the fight and you saved me at the end."

"You admit I saved you then?" Jason asked with a wink and Kuroko stuck her tongue out at him. "Fine, but I'm still ahead."

"Shouldn't you report in already?" Kuroko pointed out impatiently.

"Good idea," Jason agreed and pulled out his communicator. "Situation secured, the leader has been neutralized. Third and fourth floor have neutralized hostiles. I would still recommend doing a complete sweep in case they left any other unpleasant surprises."

"You two can come back down. I need a full report from both of you, so don't you dare try to leave Kagere."

"He knows me to well," muttered Jason. "Understood captain." He turned it off and looked at Kuroko. "Looks like we are stuck together."

"It may be punishment for me," Kuroko told him. "But you should be honored." Jason laughed as they headed down the stairs. _Being stuck together doesn't sound too bad, but I'm not going to tell him that. He has Uiharu and I don't want any misunderstandings to take place. I still only love onee-sama…._ She kept telling herself that, but a weird feeling kept nagging her in the back of her mind.

* * *

Touma didn't feel comfortable in the suit, and he was drawing a lot of looks from people passing him, as he sat at the entrance of a high class hotel. He felt out of place and stranger's looks didn't help. _I wish she would hurry up. She wanted to pick me up away from Tokiwadai to prevent any misunderstandings, which is actually pretty smart, but why here?_ This hotel was almost as nice as the Yanadem Tower and he was glad he didn't have to actually go in. What he didn't know was most of the looks he received were jealous because the individuals, who actually stayed at this hotel, knew how expensive that suit was. In fact, a couple wealthy girls were just debating about going up and talking with him, when a limo rolled up in front of Touma. The driver got out and opened the door, revealing a familiar figure.

"Come on," Mitsuko said impatiently, waiving him in. "Traffic was bad and we are running late." Touma didn't hesitate and got into the limo. The driver shut the door behind him and Touma didn't hear the disappointed sigh from the wealthy girls, as they believed he was taken. Touma sat across Mitsuko and realized she was looking him up and down. She was wearing a dark blue dress, rather conservative in how much skin it revealed, but still highlighted her curves. "You are dressed rather nicely. I have to admit, I am impressed. I was expecting a rather ratty suit from you."

"I borrowed this from a friend," Touma told her, and then decided a compliment wouldn't hurt. "You look nice."

"Why thank you," Mitsuko replied, holding her fan up to her face. "I am glad to see you have some manners."

"So where is your pet?" Touma asked. He didn't see her holding a dog or cat. Mitsuko raised an eyebrow at him.

"You didn't notice her?" she asked surprised. "She's sleeping right next to you." Touma turned, jumped slightly in his seat, and nearly had a heart attack.

A large python was coiled up in the seat next to him.

Touma did not expect Mitsuko to have a pet like that and, by the time his heart stopped pounding in his chest, he realized he shouldn't have been surprised. The rich ojou-sama types tended to like exotic animals, so a snake wouldn't be that strange. His slight jump, however, woke up the python. It slowly uncoiled and moved its head closer to him, flicking its tongue. _It's tamed right?_ Touma tried not to make any sudden moves, as it moved over his shoulders and wrapped around him. Touma reached out and gently petted it, surprised it was dry rather than slimy. The python continued to move around him into a comfortable position, before going back to sleep. Touma noticed it had a pink ribbon tied behind its head.

"She likes you," Mitsuko commented slightly surprised. "That's my darling pet, Ekaterina. She had been in a rather unpleasant mood, since she couldn't eat before this visit. It's her annual checkup and she knows something is going on."

"Did you have to rent an entire limo for just for a vet visit?" Touma asked. "It seems like a waste."

"I would never dream of taking one of those smelly taxis," Mitsuko huffed. "And I could hardly let Ekaterina on a crowded bus. This was the best option. Besides, it's not like it's much to rent a limo for just a day." Touma had to suppress his desire to face palm.

 _There really is a difference between the worlds we live in._ Touma would never dream of spending money like she did. "Once we get to the Dianoid, what then? Don't most vet offices require a carrying case for pets?"

"It's in the trunk," Mitsuko told him. "I only take it as a formality. Ekaterina is too well behaved to actually require it. Naturally, you will be carrying it for me."

"Naturally," Touma repeated. He looked out the window for a bit, before realizing Mitsuko's eyes were watching him. "Did you need something?"

Mitsuko didn't say anything at first. She was surprised and curious for a couple reasons. One, the guy was alone with her and wasn't trying to flirt with her. She was use to guys always trying to get her attention, but he looked like he was just accompanying her, like a friend helping with an errand. Second, was the fact Ekaterina had fallen asleep while wrapped around him. While Ekaterina would investigate new people, she never became relaxed enough to sleep with them, unless they were around her a lot. _I think he was telling the truth about being at our dorm._ "'I've been thinking," she finally said. "You must have had a reason to enter our dorm. Why did you?"

"Don't laugh," Touma said, knowing that question was going to come up at some point. "A friend of mine was helping me with school work I was having trouble with."

"Aren't you in high school?" she asked. "Yet you were in the middle school? That sounds highly suspicious."

"I'm in a normal high school," Touma replied, slightly defensively. "Tokiwadai's curriculum is far more advanced. Besides, I didn't ask, she invited me."

"Who was she?" Mitsuko prodded, hoping to get some more information he didn't give her before.

"I told you I can't say," Touma told her. "I don't want her to get in trouble."

"How noble," Mitsuko commented, her fan covering her face except her eyes. She glanced out the window. "We shouldn't be too far away now, so I I'll take Ekaterina back." She leaned over and coaxed her pet python around her. Touma shivered slightly, as Ekaterina slid over his neck, but was glad she was off him. "I hope the excitement of the mall doesn't bother her too much."

"You really like her," Touma pointed out.

"I've had her for years," Mitsuko boasted. "She's been my close friend and companion through everything life has thrown at me. I always make sure she gets the best care, which is why we are going to the Dianoid. Why?" She looked at him suspiciously. "Do you have a problem with her?"

"No," Touma replied, shaking his head. "I think it's admirable to be able to take care of pet for so long. She looks to be really happy and healthy, so you must be doing a good job."

"Oh," Mitsuko replied, glad her fan was covering her face, as a faint blush appeared. "Why thank you Kamijou-san." They sat in silence for a bit, until the limo rolled in front of the Dianoid. "We arrived at last," Mitsuko said, as the door was opened for them. "Follow me and don't forget Ekaterina carrier." Touma took a step out of the limo and looked up at the seventy story high building. It looked like it was made completely out of diamond, but was actually made out of carbon, the element that diamonds are made of. It was just designed to look like diamond and was virtually indestructible. This place was supposed to be for the rich and famous, so Touma felt completely out of place.

"Yes Kongou-sama," Touma sighed and picked up the carrier, when the driver unloaded the trunk. She looked back at him, because of his tone, but didn't say anything. They walked in through the main entrance and stopped at the large map, so Mitsuko could find where they had to go. Touma waited patiently, trying not to be aware of the stares they were getting. _I guess even here a python is unusual._ He looked upwards and saw floor after floor of stores. The first twenty floors were devoted to the shopping area. He could see the floors above him because the center areas were open to create an atrium. After a couple minutes, he was getting a little antsy. _She's taking a long time. Does she not know where the vet's office is?_ He turned to her and said in a low voice, "Do you know where you are going?"

"O-of course," Mitsuko stammered unconvincingly. "We just need to head to number 2214." She tried to hide the fact she couldn't read the map and wasn't sure where to go, even though she knew the number of the vet's location.

"That's floor twenty two, store fourteen then," Touma muttered, glancing quickly at the map. "Elevator is over there." The middle levels were primarily focused on entertainment and recreation oriented goods, like pools, gyms, theaters, salons, café, and restaurants. It made sense for a vet's office to be located there, away from the noise and activity in the shopping district on the lower levels.

"I-I k-knew t-that," stammered Mitsuko, walking toward the elevator. "You don't need to point out the obvious. " Touma smirked slightly, and made his way after her, lugging the carrier. They got off on the twenty second floor and looked around. The signs pointed them in the direction they needed to go and they found their destination. Mitsuko walked up and talked with the lady at the front desk, while Touma set down the carrier and took a seat. Mitsuko took a seat next to him and stroked Ekaterina's head. "It should only be a few minutes." She was right and, after a couple minutes, an elderly man and a slightly younger woman in white clothes came out of a door and walked toward them.

"Hello, are you Mitsuko Kongou?" he asked and she nodded. "My name is Dr. Yoshida and I'll be in charge of the checkup for Ekaterina." They shook hands and the nurse took Ekaterina from Mitsuko. "She is rather impressive," Yoshida complimented and Mitsuko beamed. "Since you requested a full checkup, the wait shouldn't be more than an hour. If you leave your phone number with the front desk, we will call you when we finish."

"Thank you doctor," Mitsuko replied.

"Oh," he added, before disappearing through the door. "The Dianoid is full of interesting stores and things to see. If this is your first time here, remember it is easy to lose track of time. You don't want to accidently forget about her while you spend time with your boyfriend." He entered the back hallway, before Mitsuko or Touma registered what he said.

"What?!" they both replied, embarrassed. "It's not like that." It was too late for their denial, as he was already gone. Mitsuko glared at Touma for a moment, as if daring him to say anything about what the doctor just said. Touma had enough experience with these types of situation and learned the best course of action was to pretend it didn't happen. Anything he said usually made the situation worse, for him. Mitsuko walked over and started talking to the lady at the front desk, while Touma stood up and stretched, glad he wouldn't need to hold the carrier for a while.

Touma stood nearby Mitsuko, when a lady in fancy purple clothes with fur entered the vet's office. An elderly man in a suit was following, struggling as he held the leash of a large Pit bull. The dog looked like it was extremely excitable and kept trying to run off in every direction. Touma never found out why, maybe it was the python's scent on Mitsuko or a perfume she wore, but the Pit bull turned toward her and suddenly broke out into a full out charge, while the lease slipped out of the man's hand. The man tried to call out in warning, causing everyone to turn around, but the dog had almost reached Mitsuko. Touma acted on instinct, and jumped between them, taking the force of the dog's charge into his gut. He was knocked down from the blow, as the dog grabbed his sleeve and pulled. There was a ripping sound before the man grabbed the dog's lease and pulled it off of Touma. Touma got to his feet and the lady apologized to both of them, offering to pay for the damages. Touma refused to accept anything from her, while Mitsuko watched.

"I'm sorry your suit got ruined because you were protecting me," Mitsuko told him as they left the vet's office. "But why didn't you accept her offer to pay for the damages?"

"I don't like taking money from people," Touma replied. "Besides, it wasn't technically her fault. Her dog just got overexcited." Touma had always understood the value of a dollar and, even if the other person was wealthy, he didn't want to get in the habit of taking money from someone because of an accident.

"Still," muttered Mitsuko, eyeing the rip in his sleeve. It wasn't a big rip and the dog slobber was easily removed. She knew his suit was high quality, because a cheaper suit would have most likely lost the entire sleeve. "I'll tell you what," she said brightly. "It would not do for me to leave an unpaid debt. You did willingly jump between me and the dog in order to keep me safe, so I'm going to treat you while we wait for Ekaterina's check up to finish." She didn't tell him how her heart started beating wildly when he protected her.

"You don't have to…," Touma started to say, but she cut him off.

"I won't take no for an answer," Mitsuko told him, pointing her fan at him. "You will come with me."

"Fine." Touma resigned himself to his fate and followed her. _This feels familiar. Is there something about me that makes girls want to boss me around like this?_

* * *

"Hurry up," Saiai called over her shoulder. "You are super taking too long."

"Hamazura," Frenda added. "You really are useless. Basically, how hard can it be to keep up with two injured girls?"

 _Injured my ass,_ Shiage thought to himself, as he hurried to keep up with them. While Frenda and Saiai had been injured after their mission Monday, both of them were now almost in peak condition. Saiai only had a couple bruises, but they faded away relatively quickly or were hidden by her clothes. Frenda was a little more seriously injured and had to wear an ankle brace for two days, but she was moving around as easily as she used to. After they all had been paid, Saiai and Frenda dragged him along with them to go shopping at the Dianoid. Even though he knew Shizuri and her friends were getting paid more than he was, it cut his pride deeply when he realized how much difference there really was. He wasn't as poor as he was when he was just a level 0, but he couldn't call himself wealthy. He would never have been able to afford shopping here. "Do you really need all this stuff?" he asked, looking at the bags. Most of it was clothes, but Frenda was buying an assortment of goods, most being gift wrapped.

"I super need to keep up on latest trends," Saiai huffed. "We can't all be unfashionable about our clothes like you."

"You sure like to complain a lot," Frenda pointed out. "Basically, Kamijou carried our bags and he didn't complain."

"Yea yea," Shiage muttered. "Perfect Kamijou. When do I get to meet him?"

"That's up to Mugino," Frenda told him.

"Shame she didn't want to come with us," Saiai said nonchalantly. "But I guess she super wanted to crack that data we took."

"I was surprised Takitsubo wanted to stay too," Shiage added. "Mugino's not in the best mood right now because of that announcement. Isn't that why you two were quick to leave?"

"W-we decided to give Mugino some peace and quiet so she could concentrate," Frenda replied, unconvincingly. "Basically, we weren't scared."

"Hate to see what's super going to happen to Mental Out once Mugino finishes her work," Saiai laughed. "I wouldn't be surprised if Mugino goes after her personally."

"How did she suddenly rank up anyways?" Shiage asked them. "She was with you last week right?"

"None of your business," Frenda snapped. Shizuri had told them all not to tell Shiage about magic and they didn't tell him anything about the princess's coup. While Shiage had been with them awhile, Shizuri never really saw him as a team member. He was always more of an underling and she wouldn't tell him anything he didn't have to know. "Dang, I'm still sore all over," Frenda complained, changing the subject. "Let's get a message upstairs Kinuhata."

"Sounds good," Saiai agreed, before turning to Shiage. "You can super wait outside and watch our stuff. Don't you dare try to watch us, go through our stuff, or anything else super Hamazuray."

"He probably won't try anything with just our stuff," Frenda pointed out, as tall three of them took the elevator up to the middle section of the Dianoid. "Takitsubo's not with us, so he doesn't have her stuff to go through." Saiai and Frenda both laughed, while a vein throbbed in Shiage head.

 _I like her because she treats me like a real person unlike you two,_ Shiage thought savagely, before sighing. He had to admit to himself that without Shizuri protecting him in ITEM, his life would have been pretty much forfeited. The memories of his last mission for Skill-Out flashed through his mind. He was supposed to kill a woman and his group would receive protection as payment. Two people interrupted and ruined everything. Most of his men had been destroyed by Accelerator, but a second unknown boy had also interrupted. They might have still succeeded, as Shiage had found the target, but the unknown boy had stopped him. It had turned into a brawl and Shiage lost, not only physically, but in ideals. He had believed level 0s had to prove themselves to survive, but the other boy didn't believe that. He believed level 0s were just like everyone else, just trying to live their lives. His words left a mark with Shiage to this day. He didn't hate the unknown boy or Accelerator for defeating his gang, as it gave him a second chance. He snapped back to the present, as Saiai and Frenda got off on a floor and he followed. He had only taken a couple steps forward, before he almost ran into Saiai, who had stopped suddenly. "Why did you stop?"

"Frenda," Saiai said, completely ignoring Shiage. "Does that person look familiar to you?" Frenda and Shiage turned in the direction she was pointing. Shiage didn't know who she was pointing at, but realized she was pointing to a café. As it was around six, there were a lot of people in fancy clothes eating. Frenda's eyes scanned the crowd and fell on two individuals sitting together near the window.

"The spikey hair does," Frenda confirmed. "But it can't be. I can't see his face from this angle and I don't know who the girl in the blue dress is." Those descriptions were enough for Shiage to locate the two individuals. He still didn't know who it was or who Saiai and Frenda believed him to be.

"Let's move and check it out," Saiai said. "He may be super cheating on you."

"He wouldn't do that," Frenda replied defensively, before turning red. "Basically, we aren't even together anyways."

"Is this guy Frenda's boyfrien…?" Shiage started to ask, but was interrupted as Frenda turned around and kicked him in the side of the leg. He grimaced in pain and hopped on his other foot.

"None of your business," she snapped and turned back to Saiai. "Let's check it out."

"Awesome," Saiai replied, grinning. She and Frenda moved quickly, but tried not to draw attention to themselves. Shiage followed them after sighing loudly. It was actually his position that made them blend into the background. He was simply a guy who was carrying bags for two girls. They moved to an open area near a decorative fountain with benches around it. The location gave them a perfect view of the guy and girl. "Wow, it is him. He's super on a date with a girl. She looks pretty wealthy too."

"There's no way Kamijou would be doing that," Frenda said forcefully. Saiai raised an eyebrow and Frenda realized she said it more for herself then the others. "Basically, you know what he's like. I bet she blackmailed him into it."

"That suit," Saiai muttered. "It super looks like the one he used last time. Do you think Mugino knows about this?"

"If he has the suit she has to," Frenda gasped and pulled out her phone. She dialed, but was unable to reach Mugino. "Her phone's off. Basically, we have to assume she knows because Kamijou wouldn't break in and steal it."

"So that's the famous Kamijou," Shiage muttered, setting down all the bags and turning to look at the guy. He frowned, because the guy looked oddly familiar, but he didn't recognize the girl. _Where have I seen that hair before…?_ His mind finally made the connection. "That bastard is Kamijou?!" he said loudly in shocked.

"Huh?" Saiai asked. "You actually know him?"

"Explain," Frenda added. Shiage opened his mouth and then closed in a second later. He didn't want to embarrass himself in front of those two. Frenda noticed this and continued. "Basically, if you don't tell us everything, I'm going to shove one of my bombs straight up your a…"

"Okay I get it," Shiage interrupted her. "I met him shortly before Mugino forced…. I mean brought me… into ITEM. You know how I was part of Skill-Out," they both nodded, and waved him on, "well our mission was to kill a target, but we failed. We had located the target and was about to finish the job when he and Accelerator found us."

"I bet Accelerator just tore you all apart," Saiai interrupted.

"He wasn't using his ability actually," Shiage said frowning. "He used a gun and took down several of my men. We fell into disarray and the target escaped during the confusion. I found her, but he stopped me. The target got away from us and our organization was disbanded."

"You left out a lot of details," Frenda said seriously, reaching under her skirt for a bomb.

"I told you everything important," Shiage replied, holding his hands out front in a defensive position.

"I think I know what happened," Saiai spoke up, and then burst out laughing. "I bet he super beat you up, while giving you a sermon about not killing people." Shiage grimaced, but he didn't say anything because he didn't want Saiai to know she hit the nail on the head. Frenda caught his nonverbal signs and also burst out laughing.

"That sounds like him," Frenda said between laughs. "Basically, he kicked your ass and destroyed your organization. Mugino then picked you up to be our underling." A vein throbbed in Shiage's head, but he didn't say anything. He wasn't mad at Touma, but Saiai and Frenda were just rubbing his nose in his defeat. "What do you think we should do?"

"We could either go over and interrupt him," Saiai suggested. "Or we super could spy on him to see what happens." Frenda had to think about this for a moment. Saiai saw her hesitate and added more fuel to the fire. "He seems to be uncomfortable there. Maybe there's a reason…"

* * *

"Where is he now?" Shizuri asked Rikou, as both of them stood outside a large research building. It was late and the sun had just set, but Shizuri had planned it this way. She was going to have all her questions answered by Jason. To achieve this, she had to make sure she got him alone, or with limited witnesses. If too many people were nearby, the risk of being interrupted by Anti-Skill and Judgement increased exponentially. One or two witnesses could be disposed of easily. Once Rikou had located Jason's AIM field, they followed it to the research building. When they arrived, the sun was still up in the sky, so they remained hidden across the street, waiting for the chance to corner him.

"…He just moved down to the first floor," Rikou informed her. "But he doesn't seem to be heading for any exit. He's just staying in one spot."

"That's suspicious," Shizuri mumbled. They had watched many researchers leave, but there was no sign Jason was planning to leave any time soon. As Rikou could only detect AIM fields, normal adult scientists without abilities didn't have one and could not be detected. Rikou also told her there had been no other AIM fields in the building since they arrived. _Is he staying late to work or waiting for someone? No one else has left in a while, so I think it's time._ "Let's go. We waited long enough." She marched toward the lab, with Rikou right behind her. Shizuri had been prepared to blast down the door but, to her surprise, she found it unlocked, even without a keycard. "Be on your guard," she muttered. "This door shouldn't be unlocked."

"…He still hasn't moved," Rikou informed her. "Straight ahead." Shizuri nodded and continued to march down the hallway. She came up to a pair of double doors, and delivered a kick to the right side. The force of the blow knocked it off its hinges and it clattered against the tile floor. She didn't stop and entered the large room and looked around. There was a lot of expensive looking equipment and, on the far side of the room, Jason was sitting in a chair, his feet up on a desk, looking directly at her.

"Well this is a surprise," Jason commented, his tone saying otherwise. "You know, the door was open. You didn't have to break it down."

"I wanted to make sure I had you attention," Shizuri sneered. She was now certain Jason was part of, or at least knew, the reason Misaki's rank had increased. _He purposely waited for me here alone._ She looked around but couldn't detect the presence of anyone else nearby. There was also something different about him, compared to the person she knew during the England vacation. Jason back then had always been joking around, and, even when fighting in a serious situation, used jokes to distract his opponents and make them lower their guard. Now, his gaze was cold and businesslike. "I assume you know why I'm here?"

"I have several reasons why you could be," Jason agreed, sitting up. "But I think the most likely one will be the announcement that came out this morning."

"Then that will save us some time," Shizuri said coldly, and several green orbs appeared around her. "You are going to tell me everything you know about why she ranked up. It has something to do with that transformation in England." She paused for a moment. "I heard from those brats you did research for the city, but I didn't know the details, and then I found out you have access to all the level 5 information. This isn't a coincidence."

"I was given access," Jason confirmed. "But my focus was mainly raising lower level abilities. Most of the level 5 data I used was for this purpose. Some people up top wanted me to work on raising level 5s, but I didn't see the point."

"Bullshit," Shizuri snapped, and it took all her self-control not to fire her Meltdowner at him. _I need him alive until he answers my questions._

"Just tell me what you want to know then," Jason sighed. "It's going to be faster that way. I rather answer you, instead of being hit by your attack."

"Fine," Shizuri said, not letting her guard down for a moment. She could feel Rikou watching Jason closely from behind her. "First, how did Mental Out find out about Body Crystal?"

"From what she told me," Jason explained. "She read it in her mind," he gestured to Rikou, "after picking it up at the mall. She knew I did research for Academy City and called me to ask what Body Crystal was. I gave her a brief explanation about what I knew about it. I was surprised she didn't mention it on the ride back, maybe she was protecting me." He shrugged. "I warned her not to use it, but she ended up taking it. I would never have dreamt that outcome would have happened. But I already told you what I believed happened with her transformation. That hasn't changed."

"Second," Shizuri continued impatiently. "Why did she suddenly get a rank up after all this time? Did she somehow become stronger after that transformation?"

"The ranks for level 5s are not based purely on combat prowess," Jason said. "It's based on the potential of the individual."

"Potential?" Shizuri asked. _Things are finally getting interesting._ Jason raised an eyebrow at her.

"The potential for how far you can grow," he explained, and his voice grew more excited as his words flowed out. "Your powers may not be fully developed, but we can read how far along your progress is in your AIM field. Accelerator's ability is devastating, but he has only reached a small fraction of his potential. You are closer to your cap then he is. Shokuhou was closer to reaching her full potential then you were but, after the system scan Monday, it changed. Not how far she was, but how far she could go. Her max potential actually changed. It's the first time anyone has seen that. It's why they decided to move her above you, not because she got stronger. I bet you can still take her easily in a one on one fight."

"So why did this happen," Shizuri asked, trying to get as much information as she could. She was processing everything he was telling her, and the green orbs disappeared around her. She still didn't trust him, but his explanation was fascinating from a scientific standpoint. _I didn't know they ranked us on potential. With Accelerator being the number one, it always felt like it was directly related to how strong our abilities were. I have to verify it later. I still don't trust his motives and he's hiding something._

"Lots of theories about that," Jason continued. "But most can't be involved with magic, for obvious reasons." Shizuri gave a curt nod and motioned for him to continue. "I feel the most likely reason is the Body Crystal caused her to temporality use her ability to her maximum potential. After she made connection with the knights, mana flew into her body, further increasing her power. The combination of the drug and magic allowed her to break the ceiling on her potential. She can now reach a higher plane then she could ever have before."

"Could this work on other level 5s?" Shizuri questioned. _Plane?_

"Most likely not," Jason replied, shaking his head. "The mana was only able to enter her body through the link from her ability. You wouldn't be able to use your ability to do that."

"Who said I wanted to use it," snapped Shizuri, but she knew it was on her mind. _Damn, if this keeps up, I'll keep falling further behind the rest of them. Will the sixth and seventh pass me too?_ "What is this potential marker you keep mentioning?" For the first time, since the beginning of their conversation, she saw Jason grin, revealing a piece of his old self she knew.

"Why, the chance of surpassing level 5," Jason explained, his smile widening as Shizuri's eyes widened in shock.

"What the hell…" she gasped, before finding her voice. "Are you trying to make fun of me?!" Several green orbs appeared around her again. "I swear if you are…"

"Hang on," Jason said, raising his hands. "Just because someone has the potential to reach level 6, doesn't mean they will. If the technology is beyond what we have, it can't be done. If we needed energy roughly equivalent to turning the earth into pure energy, then the odds of that happening are virtually zero."

"Then what's my chance," Shizuri asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Hard to be sure," Jason said frowning. "The numbers fluctuate a lot, but it has increased slightly over the last couple weeks. Some signs have already begun to manifest themselves. You use to be only able to produce a handful of beams, but now you can produce quite a bit more right?" Shizuri nodded slightly. After the events in England, she had been able to produce over a dozen Meltdowner beams. "Even if you had max potential, until we find out exactly what it takes for you to break the boundary between level 5 and 6, it won't be possible."

"Damn," Shizuri muttered. Level 6 had always been a pipe dream for ability users. Accelerator was in a league all of his own, yet he was still considered a level 5. Researchers had always been interested in trying to create a level 6, but never had any luck. The experiments always failed in the end. "Then this means I'm going to be stuck behind these brats forever." _I really want to punch someone until I feel better. Hamazura better be available._

"That's not entirely true," Jason mumbled, and Shizuri narrowed her eyes at him.

"What do you mean?"

"While we can't use a connection with mana to help you surpass your current limits," Jason continued, hesitating slightly. "We might be able to overloud your system to force those boundaries to break."

"And how do you expect to do that?" Shizuri asked sarcastically. "Pump me with drugs and music until my body can't take it anymore and explodes?"

"That's only a part of it," Jason laughed. "You have the other key right next to you."

"What?" Shizuri asked, turning to Rikou, who looked at her in confusion. "Explain yourself."

"Her ability is AIM Stalker," Jason explained. "She can use it to identify and locate any AIM field she has memorized. But that's not all, is it?" He directed the question at Shizuri, who frowned, more in thought then irritation.

 _He's done his homework,_ Shizuri thought. She always knew Rikou's ability had a lot more potential than it was currently being used for, but prolonged exposure to Body Crystal weakened her body, so they couldn't practice. Shizuri had always speculated Rikou's ability could take control of someone's ability by reversing the flow of their AIM diffusion fields. This could lead to strengthen or overloading an individual's power. During one fight, she saw Rikou neutralize a fire ability user. When Shizuri asked what she did, Rikou responded she pushed his AIM field back at him. "If it isn't?"

"If during the moment your ability is overloaded," Jason asked. "What would happen if she controlled it and redirected your AIM field? What do you think could be done during this situation?"

"She could redirect it to break my limit…," Shizuri answered slowly, her eyes widening in realization. "Would that even be possible?"

"Would be risky at best," Jason said. "I would place the odds at dying or being crippled for life."

"I can tell you want to do it," Shizuri pointed out. "Is that the researcher in you?"

"I'm actually interested in seeing if it could work," Jason confirmed.

"But I bet it won't be free," Shizuri said, suspiciously.

"Nothing in life is free," Jason agreed. "You know that."

"You obviously don't want money," Shizuri said. "How about I promise not to blast your limbs off and you do what I want?"

"Useless threat," Jason replied dismissively. "You and I both know you need me, so you won't hurt me too much. How about this instead? ITEM will do one mission for me for free sometime in the future."

"What kind of mission?"

"Not sure," Jason told her. "But I like to be prepared and having an experienced group, who will do whatever it takes to complete a mission, will undoubtedly be useful."

Shizuri thought about this for a moment. She didn't trust him at all, but his explanations made sense, even if she needed to verify a few facts. She was tired of falling behind the other level 5s and knew if she didn't take this opportunity, she would never get a chance again. She trusted Rikou to do whatever job was required for her, so the only other part was Jason. _If he tries anything funny, the others could take down his friends, but I don't think he will do anything right now. He obviously has something planned to use ITEM for, but I have no idea what._ She glanced at Rikou, who looked back at her with a passive look on her face. It was obvious to Shizuri that Rikou would follow whatever decision she made. "Fine, she grudgingly agreed. "But double-cross me and you and anyone close to you will regret it."

"Excellent," Jason answered, his face relaxing and a true grin appearing on it. It was an expression Shizuri was more use to seeing on him. He wrote something down on a card and threw it through the air toward Shizuri, who caught it. "There's the address you need to go to tomorrow night, let's say 9pm. I should be able to set up what I need then."

"What are you planning?" Shizuri asked him, looking at the card's address.

"I just want to see if something is possible," Jason replied unhelpfully.

"What would your friends think about this if I told them," Shizuri replied, half threateningly, but to her surprise Jason just laughed.

"Would they believe you?" he asked, crossing his hands under his chin. "Compared to you, I have done a lot less things to be suspicious of." Shizuri frowned, but didn't have a comeback.

"Let's go," Shizuri said to Rikou, pocking the card. "We also have preparations to make." She turned and started to leave the way they had come in.

"Yes Mugino," Rikou said, as she followed Shizuri. Jason watched them lead, and made a fist with his right hand, as his smile grew.

 _Everything is going according to plan._

* * *

Juliet was lying down on the couch, flipping through channels on the TV in front of her. She was currently watching their apartment as Eve and Cain were busy with other responsibilities. She was bored out of her mind, but she had to wait for Eve to tell her the next stage of their plan. She briefly stopped on a show about teenagers with superpowers, when the wall next to her broke apart into a black void and Eve jumped through it. The void closed instantly behind her. "About time," Juliet said, turning the TV off. "What did you learn?"

"It seems like I misunderstood something," Eve sighed, reaching into the refrigerator and pulling out a can of iced tea. She sipped it and looked over at Juliet. "I believed that Hyouka Kazakiri was the key to the Imagine District. It turns out, she is, but there is a lot more to it. The reason she could escape form us is she is just the conscious form of the Imaginary District. If we try to catch her normally, she can just break apart into the AIM fields created by the ability users and reappear somewhere else entirely."

"So how do we capture her?" Juliet asked.

"We have three options available," Eve explained. "We can try to persuade her to help us, which is probably off the table at this point. Two, we can obtain a special type of metal that won't allow AIM fields to pass through it. It seems to be resistant to abilities, but is rare enough we might not be able to procure enough of it. I don't know if I can make it with my powers though. I would need a sample at least. Three, we need to find some kind of network to force her to fully manifest in our world. As long as we keep the network active, she would not be able to disappear."

"Which do you think would actually succeed?" Juliet asked.

"I think the metal might be the best place to start," Eve said cheerfully. "I can break in and find what I need easily enough. If we can't get enough, I'll have Cain start investigating this network. I on the other hand will talk to the Imagine Breaker to see if he will cooperate with us to convince Hyouka Kazakiri to help us. I can be quite persuasive and I know he would love to see me again."

"As much as a cavity," muttered Juliet.

"When did you become such a pessimist," Eve asked, turning to look her in the eyes. "You use to be so friendly, optimistic, and outgoing. What happened to that girl?"

"She died," Juliet replied bitterly. "Quite literally."

"Only in the flesh," Eve replied kindly, patting her shoulder. "You're memory lives on."

"Some benefit that is," Juliet said. She turned into a black shadow and slid like liquid out of Eve's reach, before remanifesting herself. "The only thing I have to look forward to is being with him again."

"And you will be," Eve reassured her. "But the wing comes first and now we have to deal with an unwanted intruder." She turned to the door leading out of their apartment. "I know you are there, don't bother hiding behind that door." Juliet heard the sounds of steps retreating from their apartment. "Oh, looks like he's about to meet Cain, let's set up some sound proofing." She raised her hand and papers flew out right before the sound of gun shots echoed down the hall.

"That won't work on Cain," Juliet sighed. "He's immortal."

"They don't know that," Eve giggled.

"Monster!" a male's voice yelled. "Get away from… ARGGGggg….." The hallway went silent. A moment later, the door opened and the man in a sweatshirt with the hood covering his head walked in. His entire front side was covered in blood and there were a few small holes in the chest. The blood did not appear to be his. Following him was a man in full Anti-Skill armor, who was staging slightly. Blood covered his left shoulder.

"I took care of the intruder," the man said in a cool and calm voice. "I will need a new shirt to replace this one."

"Perfect," Eve said, walking up to the Anti-Skill officer. She reached up and pulled off his helmet, revealing an ashen white face and short black hair. On the side of his neck were two small holes. "So, you were unfortunate enough to meet Cain. What were you doing here?"

"I'll never… tell you…" the man replied weakly. "What did you do to me?"

"Make him talk please," Eve said to Cain, who nodded. Nothing noticeable happened, except his eyes under his hooded sweatshirt began to glow dark red. "You don't need to worry about what is happening to you. Just think of it as being new and improved." She giggled. "Now tell me, why were you here?"

"We were told to watch out for suspicious individuals," the man said in a monotone. "I noticed a young girl and a full grown male not in our database and decided to investigate. My supervisors have not been notified yet."

"Hmm," Eve said thinking. "You two need to stop being seen together then. We can have this guy report back and disappear in another location before returning to us. Please try to control your appetite Cain. We don't want a repeat of what happened in Russia do we?"

"That was centuries ago," Cain pointed out.

"Either way," Eve continued. "Don't do it anymore unless I tell you to. Juliet, I need you to do something important for me while Cain and I continue gathering information."

"Yes?"

"I want you to monitor the friends of the Imagine Breaker. Do not let them find out about us until I get a chance to talk to him. As long as you don't reveal yourself, you have free reign to do whatever you need to do."

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Not a lot of action, but everyone seems to be doing well. All the scenes are beginning to merge. Oh, and I got to give a glimpse of one character who will be important later on. Next chapter I plan to introduce two new characters and they are sure to shake things up.**

 **Motoharu: I bet they are girls to grow Kami-yan's harem.**

 **Pierce: I'm just reading about all his adventures above and thinking, I have to beat him up.**

 **Jason: What's funny is everyone besides Touma is finding out all this important information, while Touma just hangs out with girls.**

 **Accelerator: Yet, the hero will find himself right in the middle of everything.**

 **Touma: Hey, it's not my fault. I just want to experience a normal high school life.**

 **Misaki: Besides, he has me.**

 **Lessar: But I'm living with him.**

 **Mikoto: Not if I can help it.**

 **Ruiko: Who is doing the opening intro for the next chapter?**

 **Me: Well, I offered it to Uiharu, but she passed out right afterwards, so I take that as a no.**

 **Ruiko: I can do it.**

 **Me: No, you will do it after a specific chapter. It will work better in your favor.**

 **Motoharu: No problem, I'll do it then. I'm sure people will have some questions.**

 **Touma: Wait, don't let him!**

 **Shizuri: Better than the other brats.**


	65. S3 New Faces

**Hey everybody, Motoharu Tsuchimikado is back and ready to answer all your questions. When I first did this, I didn't get a lot of people respond, but scanning over the reviews from last chapter, there are a lot more. It seems like Kami-yan is having too much fun the last few days. This cannot stand. I'm working with the author to ensure we give the maximum amount of misfortune to him, while at the same time, giving entertainment value for all. The author pretty much is letting me do whatever I want in the story to help introduce a new character.**

 **Brosephg: If he broke out of his shell and accepted the harem? Hmmm, a lot could happen. I don't think the hero genes are hereditary, but I'm sure Kami-yan will pass it on to at least one of his children. The legacy of the Harem King can't die. I bet his first child will inherit it, so whoever is first wins. HEAR THAT GIRLS?!**

 **wildarms13: Then he dies. In an accident. No evidence of foul play.**

 **Yakutsu Zaishiro: That's tough, because their ranking keeps changing. We put it on computer and just give them points now to keep the rankings updated. Right now, there are two girls slightly in the lead, but many are right behind them. Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san have a very narrow lead, but ONLY because they spend the most time with him. Lots of other girls are close behind, and I think if they, especially Ruiko get a chance alone with Kami-yan, they could pull ahead.**

 **Anon: I don't see a problem. It's part of her training as a maid to make meals. If other girls want to make use of her skills, that's fine. Now if she wants to give one to some other guy…**

 **Salishious: I can't answer that because I don't trust the security on these comments and who knows if those two are listening. They probably are.**

 **d3mystic: Never suggest such a thing again…. Or you may disappear.**

 **RPGPersona: He's just showing off. It's a great type, and the fact he got her to stay in character, but it still doesn't compare to younger sisters.**

 **Syko-Soldier963: We have to study it to find out how it works. If we can find girls immune to it, we can develop a cure.**

 **Anon Guest: Ah, you don't know her ability. If we don't act as her outlet, she's just going to keep growing more powerful until no one can stop her. We suffer for mankind.**

 **Guest 10032: Just out of those two? Probably a witch. Right now you can do a lot more kinky things with magic then science.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

"Thank you for helping me this afternoon," Mitsuko said to Touma, as they left the vet's office. Touma was preoccupied carrying Ekaterina in her cage. The doctors had to give her a little anesthesia, to perform a complete checkup, and now she was fast asleep. "But I have to ask, all those things that happened to you, is that normal? You didn't seem surprised at all, yet a normal person would have."

"I tend to have some misfortunate events happen to me from time to time," Touma replied, deciding not to tell her the true extent of that statement. They had gotten a bite to eat at a nearby cafe, Touma nearly had a heart attack because of the prices, but Mitsuko said for him to order anything he wanted and she was paying. They spent the rest of the time talking and Touma found out quite a few things about her. While she may have been raised in a sheltered life, in typical ojou-sama fashion, she sounded like a caring person. She talked highly of her friends and her school, while Touma listened. He talked a little bit about his classes, but he was uncomfortable in the fancy environment, so he just let her dominate the conversation.

Then his misfortune kicked in.

First, a waitress walking behind him tripped and dropped a platter of food all over him. Touma sighed, but reassured her and Mitsuko he was fine and that he just needed napkins to clean himself off. Near the end of the meal, one of the legs of his chair snapped and he fell backwards with a loud crash. This time, the manager came personally to check on him and solve any problems. Mitsuko started to tell him off angrily for buying faulty furniture, but Touma quickly stopped her. He didn't want to cause anyone trouble and a replacement chair was immediately brought out for him. Mitsuko looked like she wanted to say something, but her phone rang and the vet's office called, letting her know Ekaterina was ready to be picked up. They had left the café when a couple young kids, obviously having snuck away from their parents, ran by them, but the last one decided Touma needed to be pranked. Touma found his pants lying around his ankles a moment later, as the kids ran away laughing and pointing. Several nearby people laughed at his predicament too, but Mitsuko was at a loss for words. Her face had flushed bright red and looked away, while Touma pulled his pants back up.

"Well I have to admit I was surprised," Mitsuko told him. "You kept calm throughout the entire situation and didn't once blame anyone else."

"It's not like they did it on purpose," Touma pointed out. "And those kids were just being kids. There's no reason to get mad at them."

"That's quite mature of you," Mitsuko complimented. "After talking with you this evening, I believe you were telling me the truth about why you were at the dorms. Promise me you won't do that again and I won't bring up that unfortunate encounter. You have my, Mitsuko Kongou's, word."

"Thanks for that Kongou-san," Touma said, grateful they could put that behind them. "Are we leaving then?"

"Yes," Mitsuko confirmed. "While I would love the shop around her a bit, I need to get Ekaterina home. It has been a long day for her and I want to meet up with my friends too."

"Okay," Touma said, planning to walk toward the elevators, when a familiar voice interrupted him.

"Hey Kamijou, it's super unlike you to be in a place like this." Touma turned around and saw Saiai, Frenda, and a blonde haired boy around his age, who he saw pick up Shizuri's group at the airport. As he got closer, Touma one again felt like he had seen him before, but he couldn't remember where. He made eye contact with the boy and Touma felt like the boy grimaced at him for a moment, before they realized each of them were carrying the girl's belongings. A guy moment happened between them and they sighed simultaneously.

"Ah hey Saiai," Touma replied, slightly nervously. He wasn't exactly sure what they were going to say in front of Mitsuko. _Why did I run into people who know me? Is the universe playing a practical joke on me again?_ "Frenda."

Frenda smiled and waved to him, and then her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at Mitsuko. "Who's your friend?"

"My name is Mitsuko Kongou," Mitsuko replied, slightly arrogantly. "You know, it's rather rude to ask for someone's name without introducing yourself first, but I'll overlook it this time."

"Frenda," she answered, before turning back to Kamijou. "What are you up to Kamijou?" She leaned forward and whispered, so only Touma could here. "Basically, Mugino is going to be pissed you ruined that suit after she leant it to you. You tore and stained it."

"How did you know she lent it to me?" Touma asked bewildered, but just as quietly.

"You couldn't afford one like that and wouldn't steal it," Frenda whispered back. "Basically, it was obvious."

"Are these girls friends of yours?" Mitsuko asked Touma, her eyes narrowing at Frenda. Mitsuko opened her fan and held it up to her chin.

"What's it to you?" Frenda asked irritated.

"I just don't like how rude you are," Mitsuko answered. "I'm surprised he can be so mature with friends like you." Both of them glared at each other and sparks flew between them.

"He really seems to have a gift with every girl he meets," Saiai muttered. "How come it doesn't work on me?"

"It's probably only cute girls," Shiage sighed absentmindedly. _This guy's a level 0 too, so how does he not only get Mugino and Frenda to respect him, but also such a hot babe?_ He felt a shiver down his spine and he finally realized the mistake he made. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Saiai glaring at him with pure loathing etched on her face.

"Would you care to repeat that?" she asked in a falsely sweet voice, like poisoned honey. She reached over and grabbed his upper arm. Using the nitrogen in the air, she was able to generate immense pressure. Shiage felt the blood flow to his hand start ebbing away and knew, if he didn't do anything fast, his arm was about to be separated from his body.

"I meant," Shiage amended, thinking quickly. "You have such an advanced aesthetic sense of beauty, someone like me or him would never be able to understand it."

"That's what I thought you said." Saiai let go of him and he started rubbing his bruised arm.

"Come on Kamijou," Frenda continued to prod Touma. "You haven't hung out with us in forever."

"I need to help carry her pet to the car," Touma protested truthfully. He wasn't trying to weasel his way out of going with her because he disliked Frenda, but he had promised to escort Mitsuko that afternoon. Saiai walked over and squatted down next to the cage to take a look.

"Wow," she said. "That's a super big snake."

"Her name is Ekaterina and she is a python," Mitsuko informed her. "Don't just call her a big snake." She turned to Touma. "I need to get going so can you take her to the limo?"

"No problem," Touma replied, before turning back to Frenda and Saiai. "Let me help her first and then we can talk." Frenda nodded and Saiai started whispering to Shiage. He and Mitsuko took an elevator down to the ground floor, while Frenda, Saiai, and Shiage took the other.

"If you want," Mitsuko told him. "After you set Ekaterina in the car, you can go with your friends. I have occupied your time long enough and it would be rude of me to intrude any longer."

"Will you be alright?" Touma asked. He knew he could just take the bus back without any trouble, but he didn't want Mitsuko to get lost. He noticed she seemed to be bad with directions.

"My driver can take me right back to the dorms," Mitsuko said, smiling. "But thank you for your concern." They made their way to the limo, which was out front already, and Touma loaded the carrier. "I had more fun than I thought I would tonight. I set out to rehabilitate you and find out you didn't really need it."

"Thanks for that," Touma said sincerely. "If you ever need help with anything else, just let me know."

"I'll keep that offer in mind," Mitsuko replied, still smiling. "You can keep my number, think of it as a reward for your hard work." She gave a slight wave, before entering the limo. The driver closed the door behind her, went to his seat, and took off. Touma watched them until they were out of sight, before turning back to the Dianoid. Frenda, Saiai, and Shaige were standing outside, waiting for him to finish. He sighed, steadied himself, and walked up to them.

"Thanks for waiting," Touma told them. "Did you have to act like that with her?" Touma asked Frenda. "I was just helping her bring her pet to the vet."

"She just rubbed me the wrong way," Frenda answered unhelpfully. She was purposely avoiding Touma's eyes.

"I wonder why," Saiai muttered, snickering. Shiage couldn't stop his own laughter and tried to cover it with a cough.

"Don't I know you from somewhere," Touma asked Shiage. "I feel like I have…"

"Do you seriously not remember?" Shiage asked incredulously. "It was your fault I... Ouch!" He hopped on one foot after Frenda kicked him in the shins.

"It's not like you remembered him at first either," Frenda snapped. "Basically, don't try to act so high and mighty."

"You can't insult him in front of her," Saiai laughed. "She super gets defensive…mph." Frenda reached over and covered Saiai's mouth with her hand.

"I can't believe how differently she treats us," Shiage muttered. "She always belittled level 0s since I met her. I had to prove myself and she still does it." Something about the way he complained about being a level 0 jogged something in Touma's memory.

"I remember now," Touma said, taking a step back. "You're that guy in charge of trying to kill…" But before he could finish, Shiage cut him off.

"Don't say stuff like that out here so loudly," he interrupted. "You want to get us all in trouble? Besides, thanks to you, I don't do stuff like that anymore."

"Really?" Touma asked, slightly suspicious. He remembered when this boy, who was around his own age, and his group tried to kill Misuzu Misaka, Mikoto's mother. From what he understood with their brief exchange, the boy didn't believe he had a choice because he believed Level 0s had to prove themselves. Touma managed to stop him and made sure he realized Level 0s were people like everyone else and didn't have to prove themselves to live a good life. Touma's last memory of that situation was knocking him out and then waking up in an ambulance with Misuzu thanking him. _I'm glad he's changed, if it's true. He doesn't have to go around killing people to prove himself._ Touma did not believe in holding grudges, so as long as the boy did change, and he wouldn't let the past prevent him from moving forward.

"He super works for Mugino now," Saiai told him. "Oh, his name is Shiage Hamazura. He's not that great, but he has some uses."

"Basically," Frenda added, shrugging superiorly. "His best skill is being our driver."

"I see how valuable I am to you all," Shiage said depressed.

"Come on," Touma said. "He's a lot more capable then you are giving him credit for." Saiai and Frenda looked at him with surprise, along with Shiage. "Oh," Touma added as an afterthought. "I never formally introduced myself, Touma Kamijou." He reached out a hand.

 _He's defending me?_ Shiage thought, as he reached out and shook Touma's hand. _After he got so pissed at me for trying to kill that woman? Is he stupid or what? Is this how he got respect with Mugino? Damn, I could learn from him. Maybe he can give me tips for hooking up with Takitsubo._

"Wasn't he your enemy before?" Frenda asked incredulously.

"He's not anymore," Touma explained simply. "I'm not going to live in the past. If I tried to stay away from everyone who fought me once, you all wouldn't be my friends."

"He's super got a point," Saiai said. "Mugino tried to fry him the first time they met."

"How did you survive that?" Shiage asked shocked. "Aren't you a level 0 like me?"

"I am," Touma confirmed. "But I…" He didn't get a chance to finish.

"Only Mugino can tell you about that," Frenda interrupted. "Basically, if she chooses not to, you don't need to know."

"Why don't you super make yourself useful and get the car," Saiai added. Shiage sighed and started walking to where he parked. He heard Saiai turn back and engage Touma in conversation. "What's Accelerator been up to lately? I haven't seen him and he super doesn't like to return my messages."

"Why do you two treat him like a liability?" Touma asked. "And Accelerator seems fine, though I just see him at school mostly…"

 _What the…? He knows Accelerator too? Is he really a level 0? What kind of skills does he have to be able to hang out with level 5s if he is? Damn, I need him to teach me everything he knows. Maybe I can finally get some respect._

* * *

Touma was immensely grateful Shizuri was not at the apartment when he, Frenda, Saiai, and Shiage arrived. They had swung by a storage locker, where Touma had deposited his old clothes, before heading back. He was not looking forward to explaining to Shizuri how he had stained and torn the suit she had let him borrow, something Saiai and Frenda were constantly needling him about. _At the very least, I'm going to have to work for them to pay it off._ Shiage looked a little more pleasant, glad that someone else besides him could be the target of the girl's jokes. Touma had changed back into his old clothes, feeling a lot more comfortable, before rejoining Shiage in the main room. After talking with him a bit in the car, Touma learned a little about Shiage's time in Skill-Out which led him down the path of trying to kill Misuzu. "Oh, do you know what happened to Mugino's arm? It was in a cast, but I didn't get a chance to ask."

"One of our missions ran into some problem," Shiage told him. "We fought an army of humanoid robots while guarding a research laboratory. It seems like Mugino fought the leader and was buried under rubble and suffered a minor fracture. It's almost fully healed now. You know how good Academy City's technology is."

"Does it have something to do with the research information being stolen?" Touma asked. "Is that why you were guarding the facility?"

"You heard about that?" Saiai asked interestedly, walking into the room and sitting down on a sofa chair. "Mugino had Takitsubo download the data from facility before she super brought it down. She was trying to crack the data to see what we were guarding and what the enemy was after. She must have super found out because she and Takitsubo are both gone."

"Yea," Touma muttered, leaning back on the couch. "I heard some organization was raising low levels abilities too. Seems like there would be a connection."

"I actually stumbled into one of those meeting," Shiage told him. "There was a group promising the world, but I don't have any information about if they are succeeding or not."

"You should have super stayed and found out," Saiai told him.

"I didn't want to risk my life on something like that," Shiage countered.

"It was probably a good idea not to stay," Touma agreed. "For all you know, these guys just want to use you as Guinea pigs. You accept the risks and they reap the rewards."

"When did you get so smart on the workings of underground organizations?" Saiai asked surprised.

"I know a couple people with ties to Judgement," Touma admitted. "They told me a lot about it. Plus some people who have dabbled in the same side you all worked in."

"Well I don't get to do much," Shiage admitted. "I just have to rescue them when things go south." He felt like bragging a bit, now that there was another guy in the group.

"You should super rephrase that to admit you're just the getaway driver," Saiai told him harshly and Shiage snapped his mouth shut. Appearing satisfied, she turned back to Touma with a malicious idea. "Hey Kamijou, I left a magazine on my bed, Can you get it for me? I'm still super sore from our mission earlier this week. Second door on the right."

"Eh sure," Touma replied getting up and heading for the bedroom.

"Wait," Shiage said, turning to Saiai. "Isn't that…?"

"Sure is." Both of them turned to enjoy the show.

"I'M SORRRRYYYYY!" Touma yelled a second later and Frenda's scream followed right afterwards. Touma had opened the door to retrieve Saiai's magazine, when he encountered Frenda in the middle of changing. She had been examining some of her new outfits and lost track of time. She was just about to change back to her casual clothes, when Touma walked in. She only had the lower half of her blue underwear on and he got an eyeful. A second later, she threw one of her black shoes as hard as she could right at his face. He fell backwards, hit his head, and the door slammed in front of him. Touma had managed to sit up straight when Frenda opened the door, fully clothed this time, and proceeded to kick him as he tried to defend himself.

"You… do… not… enter… a… girl's… room… without… knocking," she told him in between blows.

"That was mean," Shiage told Saiai, but he was laughing pretty hard.

"Frenda super wanted it," Saiai replied shrugging, but she was laughing too.

* * *

Touma finally was able to drag himself back to his apartment. He was sore and aching all over, Frenda had not been merciful, and he hesitated a moment before opening the door. _I hope I gave Index and Lessar enough money for food. I don't think I can face a hungry Index right now._ He slowly opened the door and carefully took a step in. The lights were off and Touma briefly thought they might already be asleep, even though it was still early. He took another step in and closed the door silently behind him. As soon as the lock clicked into place, the lights turned on. Touma blinked in surprised and looked around, before noticing a familiar figure kneeling on the floor in front of him.

"Hello darling," Lessar told him, looking up. She was wearing her normal clothes, except she also had an apron on over them. "Welcome home. Would you like dinner, a bath, or maybe… me?" she pulled at her outfit slightly to reveal her shoulder.

"Lessar?" Touma asked, covering his eyes with his hand. "What are you doing? And where's Index?"

"I wanted to help out around here," Lessar told him. "But I don't have money and I'm terrible at housework. So the best way I could help you was to relieve all your stress when you get home." She grinned. "I'll do ANYTHING to allow you to release it all."

"You are actually just stressing me out more," Touma protested, avoiding eye contact as his ears burned. "Where's Index?" he asked again.

"She's around…" Lessar answered nonchalantly, but Index's voice floated into the entranceway.

"Touma!" she cried out. "Thank God you are back. Untie me quick before Lessar gets her way." Touma rushed into the room and saw Index lying on the bed, her hands and feet tied up with bedsheets. Touma quickly tried to remove the covers as Index continued to rat out Lessar. "She said she was going to eat any snacks you bring back before I can have any."

"Wait what?" Touma asked, completely cut off guard. "I left you both lunch and then money for supper."

"You forgot there are two of us now," Index reprimanded him, rubbing her wrists now that she was free. "If it wasn't for Short Hair and Ruiko, we would have starved."

"Sparky really saved us," Lessar agreed. "Index ate all the lunch and didn't leave me anything, and then she wouldn't share any of the money for dinner."

"I need to keep up my strength to serve God and help others," Index said, avoiding eye contact.

Touma sighed, glad everything worked out and his financial situation didn't fall into the black. He still had a little saved up, but feeding two other people was going to take its toll soon enough. _I need to thank Mikoto for feeding them when I get a chance. I also need to check with Jason about the research incidents, and I suppose I could ask if I could participate in any more experiments to earn some money. It pays well._ While he was distracted with his thoughts, Lessar took the sneak up on Touma and jump on his back.

"Well," she said. "Now that you are back how about we go on your bed and I show you how flexible I can be to relieve all your tension."

"A girl your age shouldn't be saying those things," Touma told her, as he tried to avoid the images popping into his mind..

"You can't," Index protested, waving her hands and glaring at Touma.

"It's okay," Lessar told her, patting her on the head. "We can share. You can take the top and I'll take the bottom."

"W-what?!" Index and Touma both stared at her in shock. Index was more confused than shocked though because she didn't understand what Lessar meant. Touma had to dive into the bathroom and the lock the door, before Index could figure out what Lessar was talking about. He lied down in the tub and pulled out his phone. He was debating sending a text message to Carissa, but her last text was still fresh in his mind. _Would she be mad if she doesn't hear from me? Is she even mad at me in the first place? She could just be messing with me. I suppose I should keep talking to her in hopes she continues to work for her people instead of against them._ He stared at his phone for a bit before finally deciding on a question he had been curious to know.

 _Is there any word on when you will be released from solitary?_

He never did receive a response and that just caused him more worry.

* * *

Touma didn't notice the girl standing across the street, as he entered his dorm. Hyouka Kazakiri wanted to call out to him, but she wasn't able to. A war was being waged inside of her mind about if she should involve her friends in her trouble. She needed help against the strange group of people chasing her. They were powerful and she was barely able to escape them. Touma had always told her if she ever needed help to come to him, but she was afraid. Not that he would say no, but that the group would hurt him and Index. _What should I do? I don't want my friends to get hurt, but I can't do this alone._ She took a couple steps toward Touma's dorm, stopped, clenched her fists in frustration, and vanished. Her last thought was, _I need to stand up for myself._

* * *

"I'm telling you Kami," Pierce said the next day, as he cut across him on the race track. He, Touma, Motoharu, and, miraculously, Accelerator were at the local arcade killing time after school. Pierce and Touma were competing in a racing game on stationed motorcycles, while Motoharu stood behind them commenting. "Everything is set up perfectly and guaranteed we will all get enough extra credit to avoid summer classes. Though, extra lessons with sensei wouldn't be bad."

"I just don't want to die," Touma groaned, trying to slip around Piece, who seemed focused on making sure Touma finished last rather than actually winning. "If we try to take over Tokiwadai, all that's going to happen is all those ojou-sama types are going to make our lives hell. Plus there are other people I don't want to see me doing this…" Mikoto was the first person to pop into his mind, because he had received a text from her earlier in the day.

 _Kagere went too far in pranking Kuroko, she's out for blood. Warn him if he's with you._

 _Seriously,_ Touma thought to himself when he read that message. _He doesn't show up to school since Monday and still finds time to prank Shirai? His priorities are messed up. He probably deserves whatever Shirai has in mind._

"Worried about all your other girlfriends?" Motoharu asked, a huge grin on his face, snapping Touma back to the present. "We did debate on sieging the middle school, but we knew you would have an objection to that."

"I have an objection to trying to sneak into any girl's school," Touma explained exasperatedly. The race ended and he hopped off the bike. He got in last place, while Pierce shot off ahead at the last minute and finished second.

"Yet you need to participate," Pierce laughed. "Not only for you, but for all of us, who worked hard to make it happen."

"Kagere notified me he would have everything set up behind our school," Motoharu told both of them. "Transportation, supplies, and other necessities.

"If he had just shown up at school," Touma replied. "He could have told us that himself. And why does he only reply to you? I can barely get anything from him." Of course, Touma had asked if Jason knew anything about the recent break-ins or illegal ability research going on, rather than something stupid like trying to break into an all-girl's school. His replies were rather snippy.

 _First, research is classified until we are allowed to release it. Second, you know phone messages are trackable. Do you want Anti-Skill showing up at your dorm asking if you know about stolen research?_

Touma knew Jason had a point, and he would have to wait to meet him in person to discuss what he knew. Thinking about the messages, Touma realized Jason gave him a clue that he did know something. _I only mentioned break-ins, but his replied mentioned stolen research. He was telling me something for sure._

"Hey what happened to Accelerator?" asked Pierce, looking around. "Did he try to bail when we were distracted?"

"Nah," Motoharu answered, and they both heard the sheer amount of amusement in his voice. "He wanted to play a different game and now he got quite an audience. He's rather popular with kids." Touma was confused, but he and Pierce followed Motoharu around a row of games and saw Accelerator. He was playing one of those shooting games, where instead of a joysticks and buttons, the remote was a replica of a gun. He was leaning on his crutch for balance and using his other hand to shoot. A large crowd of kids had swarmed around him and cheering him on excitedly. As they got closer, they heard the kids talking, but Accelerator seemed to be oblivious to all of them.

"Wow, he's blowing away the previous high score."

"Do you think he's going to get a perfect score?

"I don't know, but he hasn't missed a single shot yet, or even been hit."

"When he gets involved in something," Pierce commented impressed. "He tends to ignore everything else."

"At least he seems to be enjoying himself," Touma said. He was glad Accelerator had the chance to act like a normal high school students after the nightmarish things the city made him go through. _The fact he can stand there and play video games shows how strong he really is._ They only had to wait another couple of minutes for Accelerator to beat the game. The word perfect flashed across the screen and he put the first three letters of his name into the game, before turning around, smirking slightly to himself. He then noticed the crowd of kids around him.

"What the…"

"You're really good mister," a kid said, tugging on his shirt. "How did you get so good?"

"Practice," mumbled Accelerator, trying to get out from the mess of kids crowding around him. There was no way he was going to tell all those kids he used a real gun before. He was obviously uncomfortable to everyone except the kids, who only stared at him with wide eyed amazement. He noticed his friends leaning up against other machines, watching him, with slight grins on all of their faces. He made his way over to them and growled, "Not a word…"

"Whatever do you mean," Motoharu laughed, slapping him on the back, as they left the arcade. "You ready for tomorrow?"

"If you make it to stupid," Accelerator told him. "I'm bailing."

"Or I'm sure you will be entertained," Pierce added. "Kami will be in charge of having to use his prowess in keeping all the ladies there. You get the fun part of stopping any police trying to capture us. I'm sure you can do that, after all…" he paused for dramatic effect, "If they get past you, it means they beat you."

"That won't work this time," Accelerator snapped, turning away from Pierce and thinking. He knew his friends constantly used his pride of being the strongest against him to get him to join in on their shenanigans. He didn't really care much about that anymore, even though it used to be the most important thing for him. He only needed to show he was the strongest in front of Last Order, or protecting one of the few people near him. _Damn, how long has that list been growing? It's a pain in the ass. It's not like I can become a hero. My past is too stained in blood._ He kept telling himself these kinds of things, but they held less and less weight every passing day. He only pretended to go along with them because it gave him a convenient excuse. "I'll participate as long as I feel like it, no more. It gets me away from Worst at least. She's been a real pain the last few days because Last Order has the wrong idea about me and…" He stopped when he realized he almost said something he was bound to regret.

"Go on," Motoharu prompted.

"Bite me." He wasn't planning to tell his friends about Estelle, but he wasn't sure how long it would be before Mikoto and the other girls leak it to them.

"Probably another girl in his harem," Pierce said, while nodding sagely. "He's definitely begun forming one. You think he's jealous of Kami's harem?"

"I think so," Motoharu replied, keeping a determinedly straight face. "I mean, being the number one, he could hardly come in second to Kami-yan's."

"What bullshit are you two spewing now?" Accelerator snapped.

"How many times do I have to tell you two?" Touma asked exasperatedly. "I don't have a harem."

"Bull," Accelerator said, looking at him. "You're the only person in the world who would deny that."

"Don't you join those two idiots."

"How many girls did you invite to England last week?"

"They are my FRIENDS. Besides, you brought two and brought it up in front of Mugino and the others."

"You didn't have to invite them."

"I was going to die if I didn't."

"Pssh, I doubt that. You complain about dying a lot, but here you are. You're tougher to kill then a cockroach."

"Isn't it sad when you see best friends fighting?" Motoharu asked to Pierce, who nodded.

"Shut up," Touma and Accelerator said simultaneously, rounding on them. "You're the ones who started this stupid subject in the first place."

"Wow," Pierce said impressed. "They are even in sync."

"So let me get this straight," Motoharu interrupted, before the argument could escalate. "Kami-yan, if I am hearing this correctly, are you saying you do not have, or ever had, a harem?"

"Have you been ignoring everything I have been telling you?" Touma asked bewildered at the direction the conversation was going.

"Just wanted to verify for the record," Motoharu explained. "You see, we," he indicated himself, and Pierce, "have all observed your harem and believe you do have one."

"Because you two are idiots," Touma pointed out.

"I've seen it to," Accelerator commented. "Are you going to call me an idiot?" He looked at Touma, who shook his head.

"Before you get into name calling," Pierce said. "Let us finish. We talked about this in detail."

"We decided on something to prove to you Kami-yan," Motoharu continued. "That you do have a harem. I got the idea from something that happened to Kagere."

"Damn it," Touma moaned. "This isn't going to be good, is it?" Accelerator gave a brief laugh at his expression, but was listening and now completely amused.

"Depends what your definition of good is," Pierce said. "But if you are completely sure you don't have a harem, keep listening."

"Remember when Kagere and Shirai-san had that bet?" Motoharu asked and Touma nodded. "We thought of something similar."

"Oh no no no," Touma answered quickly, taking a step back with his hand outstretched. "I have seen enough of bets to know they are never a good idea. First Mikoto did it once, then Jason and Shirai-san, I'm not getting involved."

"Oh I remember that," Accelerator muttered, before turning to Pierce. "What was the end result?"

"You never saw?" Pierce asked, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. "Here's a picture of the outfit Kagere made her wear." Accelerator took a brief look and let out a bark like laugh.

"Not bad," he said nodding. "Serves the brat right. She's rather annoying."

"She's also the best candidate for him if he wants to start his own harem," Pierce added, putting away his phone. "You are all lucky bastards. Seriously, how do you all do this?"

"Being better then others," Accelerator told him.

"I don't have a ha…" Touma started to protest, before Motoharu interrupted.

"As I was saying," he told them all, moving them back to the topic of the bet. "We devised a way to prove you have a harem Kami-yan. You have the power to attract girls and we are willing to put a lot on the line to prove it. If we are wrong, I'm sure you will appreciate the stakes."

"I'm not going to take the bet," Touma told him again. "But to humor you, fine, tell me."

"The wager is this," Motoharu explained, a huge grin forming on his face. _Got him._ "If you win, we will never say you have a harem again." Touma's eyes went wide.

"Seriously?"

"But if we win," Motoharu continued. "You can never deny you have a harem, ever again. What do you think? Not bad stakes right?"

"Is that all there is to it?" Touma asked suspiciously.

"Doesn't seem like much," Accelerator added. "Sounds like you two are getting the losing end of the deal." He knew Motoharu and Pierce liked needling Touma about his harem, but he didn't care either way. No matter who won the bet, he would win. Motoharu and Pierce would be stressed out from not being able to make fun of Touma, or Touma would get stressed out from not being able to deny having a harem. _I support this._

"You didn't hear what the actual bet was," Pierce reminded them. "Those are just the outcomes."

"Fine," Touma said. _They won't say I have a harem ever again? This is too good of a deal to pass off. It's so embarrassing and disrespectful when they say it in front of my friends._ He didn't want them to say it in front of people like Ruiko and Mikoto, so he was looking forward to finally getting them to stop. "What's the actual bet?"

"Just this," Motoharu explained. "We are going to watch you ask a random girl out. If she says yes, we win, if she says no, you win."

"W-What?" Touma coughed. "Just a random girl?"

"You have to try though," Pierce clarified. "You can't just walk up to someone and say you are only asking her out because of a bet. It's why we are going to watch you. If she says yes, you are on your own."

"Arg," Touma groaned, grabbing his head. He really wanted to get his friends to stop suggesting he has a harem, but asking a random girl out didn't sit right with him. _I don't have experience asking a girl out. Mikoto and Misaki both asked me out. Maybe I should just do it? Isn't the point of asking someone out to get to know them? But if I ask someone randomly, there's no feelings involved. That really wouldn't be fair to them._ To give himself more time to try to solve this dilemma, he looked at Motoharu and Pierce. "Anything else?"

"How about this?" Motoharu suggested, he stopped and everyone else imitated him. "See that street corner?" Touma nodded. "The first girl who walks around there is the one you have to ask." Before Touma could respond, Pierce interrupted.

"I thought the main purpose of this was to see if Kami Disease could affect random girls," he said to Motoharu. "This would be pointless if someone who knows him already walked around the corner. It needs to be someone he doesn't know."

"Good point," Motoharu agreed, before turning back to Touma. "First girl you don't know who walks around that corner."

"I don't know about this," Touma said hesitantly, rubbing the back of his head. "This seems kind of sleazy."

"Just do it," Accelerator sighed. "You know how those two are. They won't let it drop. Worst that will happen is you get slapped and she walks away in disgust."

"You seem to underestimate my misfortune," Touma told him and Accelerator smirked at him.

"Yea," Motoharu agreed. "With Kami-yan I expect him to ask the girlfriend of a gang leader at least."

"Then he starts getting chased by twenty people," Pierce added.

"With weapons."

"So he takes a shortcut through a shop."

"And tries to hide in the bathroom and slip out the window."

"Before realizing he accidently went into the women's bathroom."

"He then gets beaten by a girl with a purse, as he tries to escape."

"Then the girl falls in love with him…."

"OKAY!" Touma said firmly. "We get it."

"Do you accept?" Motoharu asked, extending a hand. Touma looked at it for a moment, before grudgingly reaching out and shaking his hand. "Great, go ahead. We will wait here."

"You're going to regret this," Touma muttered, as he walked toward the street corner. "You won't be able to say I have a harem ever again."

"I doubt that Kami-yan," Motoharu replied. He and Pierce broke out laughing, and even Accelerator gave a small chuckle.

 _Let's get this over with,_ Touma thought to himself, as he leaned up against the wall of the corner building. He expected a girl to pass by quickly, so he could get rejected quickly enough. Several minutes passed and only a couple men and an elderly woman passed. He had glanced over at Motoharu to make sure girl meant, someone around his age, and Motoharu nodded. _Thank god. It would be embarrassing to ask someone several times my age out. And creepy, definitely creepy._ He yawned for a moment and turned his attention back to the street corner. After waiting about ten minutes, a girl finally passed him and he took a step towards her. "Excuse me," he said, trying to keep his tone level.

"Yes?" the girl replied, almost haughtily, turning around and looking at him. She was obviously younger then him, but not by much. Her short blonde hair didn't cover up her bright blue eyes. She had a petite figure and almost no chest, which made her look younger then she probably was. Her clothing was unusual, but reminded Touma of some stylish dresses he saw in the Dianoid. The dress was white and she wore black stockings, which gave Touma a grand piano like impression. "What do you want?"

"Well," Touma said, rubbing the back of his head. He could feel her staring at him and her words didn't make this any easier. _Did I get paired with another ojou-sama type? Just my luck._ "I saw you walking by and just wanted to ask…" He paused for a moment to gather his nerve. "Do you want to go out with me today?" He stood there feeling completely foolish and his ears started to burn. _Asking someone else is nerve wracking._ He had new found appreciation for Mikoto and Misaki being able to actually confess.

"Hmm," the girl said, eyes widening slightly, but then a small grin formed on her mouth. Her eyes seemed to be scanning him up and down, and he felt like her eyes got slightly colder and more calculating. "That's quite bold of you, approaching me in the middle of the street. I don't dislike bravery. What's your name?"

"Touma Kamijou."

"Okay," she said, while looking around, and then suddenly appeared cheerful. She grabbed his arm and started pulling him after her. "I'll go out with you, but I'm going to choose the place. We have so much to… discuss." The way she said that last word sent a small shiver down his spine, but he didn't know why.

"Uh," he asked. "What's your name?" _Oh crap, she agreed, that means Tsuchimikado won the bet. He's never going to let me live this down. But what do I do if she actually thinks I have feelings for her? If we talk for a bit, she will probably see we aren't compatible and can call it quits. There's no way an ojou-sama will like someone like me._

"Leivinia Birdway," she told him. "But you can just call me Birdway."

* * *

Meanwhile, Motoharu, Pierce, and Accelerator watched Touma being dragged off by the random girl. "Damn it Kami," Pierce raged, slamming a fist onto the table they were sitting at. "How do you do that? She was a cute loli too. Stop being so lucky."

"I didn't expect him to work his magic so fast either," admitted Motoharu. "I thought he would have had to save a girl and then she would fall for him."

"He's going to regret this," Pierce grumbled. "We are going all out tomorrow."

"Weren't you going to anyway?" asked Accelerator.

"We were going to do just enough to be entertaining for everyone," Motoharu told him. "Now, the entire city will learn the power of Kami."

"Have fun with that."

"I have to go," Pierce said. "I got my part time job. Remember, game starts tomorrow at eight. We still have to change beforehand to special colored suits, and then meet out back." Accelerator gave a curt nod and Motoharu gave him a thumbs up. When he was out of sight, Accelerator stood up to leave too, when Motoharu shook his head.

"We got a job," he said, suddenly serious, in a low voice.

"Oh?" Accelerator asked, smirking slightly. "It's been awhile. What now?"

"How much do you know about the recent research facility thefts?"

"Some group stole ability development information and was trying to raise low levels with it right? I heard the third rate and her friends talking about it."

"Precisely," Motoharu confirmed. "There's been a lot of level 1 and 2s ranking up to 3 and 4. So much so, the higher ups have begun to get nervous and requested GROUP's involvement."

"What's the big deal if some people start raising their levels," Accelerator asked. "Isn't that the main purpose of this city?"

"It is," Motoharu agreed. "The issue is how they are going about it. A lot of people have disappeared and those that have been caught have developed abnormalities."

"Abnormalities?"

"Their powers are overloading," Motoharu explained. "Rapid increase in power is causing their brains to overheat. Many people are being attacked by their own powers. Then there are some that go insane. They lose the ability to think rationally and react on instincts. They do stupid things they wouldn't dream of doing and civilians are getting hurt. The people behind it are causing the darkness to leak into everyday life. That is why we were contacted."

"I suppose you have a target?" Accelerator asked. "I'm a guy of action rather than listening to a lecture."

"We found a test lab," Motoharu said, standing up. "Want to go in and have a chat with the owner?"

"Sounds fun," Accelerator replied, with a grin forming on his face that didn't reach his eyes. "Maybe I'll invite them to join our game tomorrow."

"You mean as a punching bag?"

"You said it not me."

They left and took the train to the far side of Academy City. Accelerator didn't know where Motoharu was leading him, but Accelerator was confident his information would be accurate. Motoharu always acted carefree, but his information was nearly always on point. If he said there was a lab being operated illegally, there definitely was. They got off the train and walked through several side streets before Accelerator saw a familiar girl, leaning on wall in the shadow of a building. "Tsk, is she joining us?" he asked annoyed.

"Trust me," she said, looking him up and down. "I didn't beg for the job." Her name was Awaki Musujime, one of the four members of group. She could teleport like Kuroko, but her ability was called Move Point. Kuroko had to touch an object to teleport it, but Awaki did not have that limitation. She could teleport objects from any point to another. Before she had joined GROUP, she had worked in stealing the Tree Diagram Remnant, the remains of the super computer that mysterious blew up last year. Failing to do so, she had run into Accelerator and was mercilessly beaten. Afterwards, she had been forced to work for GROUP to save her comrades. "What took you guys so long anyways?"

"We had to solve an issue at school," Motoharu explained. "We need to keep our lives as normal as possible right?" Awaki nodded in understanding, while Accelerator had to resist the urge to face palm.

"I've been keeping watch and I'll be your escape route if things go wrong," she explained to Accelerator, turning back to the subject at hand.

"It's going to go wrong," Accelerator told her. "For them." He turned to Motoharu. "I take it normal procedures have been taken?"

"Yep," Motoharu confirmed. "The higher ups are keeping Anti-Skill and Judgement away from the area. I will be patrolling the perimeter to make sure no civilians accidently wonder into this area. If possible, try to capture the leader alive. We don't know how many labs these guys have." _I wonder if I should tell him Kinuhata saw us on the train and is following us. She can hardly be considered a civilian._

"Depending on how strong their resolve is." Accelerator shrugged. "I can't guarantee anything. It could become a blood bath."

"We have been given permission to do what we feel is necessary." Accelerator nodded, and started walking to the building in front of him. As he got nearer, he flipped the switch on his collar.

The ground around him exploded.

* * *

"Hurry up Kuroko," Mikoto said impatiently. "Aren't you done yet? We are keeping Uiharu-san and Saten-san waiting." She was sitting at her desk, doodling on some paper and listening to her music box, while Kuroko was taking forever in their bathroom.

"I'm almost done," Kuroko called back. "Let me finish up my hair."

"Maybe you should try a less difficult hairstyle," Mikoto mumbled, as Kuroko walked into their room, fixing her pigtails. "I don't know how you find the time to maintain it, with all the fights you get into with Judgement."

"I'll be happy to try anything onee-sama suggests would look good on me," Kuroko said, beaming at her. "Is there a hairstyle you were thinking about that you would enjoy on a partner?" She winked at Mikoto.

"No," Mikoto sighed. _Well maybe spikey hair, but that only looks good on him._ "For the millionth time Kuroko, I am not into girls."

"Well no guy is going to want you if you keep going out in public looking like that," Kuroko said, her tone changing to slightly more aloof. "The tomboy looks really turns guys off. Plus, your meathead tendency to charge into battle is so uncivilized. He likes more mature girls anyways."

"Kuroko what…?" Mikoto asked bewildered, turning to look at her in shock. She then saw the stars in her eyes and Mikoto's face turned furious. "Shokuhou!" she said angrily. "Get out of her head!"

"Sorry Misaka," Misaki said, and Kuroko's body smiled. "Are we at the point in our friendship to drop honorifics? Anyway, this was the only way I could contact you right now. Or would you prefer I take over someone else's mind, who is unrelated."

"I prefer you not take over anyone's mind," Mikoto growled. "What do you want?"

"I'll make this quick," Misaki replied. "You may have extra time to goof around, but some of us are quite busy. Did you find anything else about that organization raising ability levels?"

"No," Mikoto answered, trying to remain calm as Misaki constantly pushed her buttons. "I questioned Kuroko more, but it seemed like she told me everything. Saten-san backed her up, though she also told me of an ex-Skill Out member who helped her and Uiharu-san. Kuroko didn't tell me that."

"Do you think Shirai-san told you everything important?" Misaki asked. "I could do a quick scan to make sure."

"Don't you dare," Mikoto snapped, before regaining her cool. "I trust her completely. What did you find out?"

"Maybe I already did," Misaki said mysteriously. "Most of what I found out verifies what you told me. It seems like some student's abilities have been overloading and hospitalizing them, or worse. Anti-Skill has made this a priority. A couple people went insane and started attacking random civilians."

"Kuroko mentioned she dealt with someone like that yesterday," Mikoto mumbled. "Well, we can share information if we find anything else out. Since Touma knows about this, you know he's going to try to help if he can. But next time," she glared at Kuroko being controlled by Misaki. "Don't take over anyone. Just talk to me face to face. It is so weird seeing Kuroko act and sound like you."

"Whatever do you mean?" Misaki asked, before performing a cute pose in Kuroko's body, which only made a vein throb in Mikoto's head. "But I'll try to accept your conditions." The stars in Kuroko's eyes vanished and Kuroko shook her head for a moment.

"All set onee-sama," she said. "Let's go."

"Okay," Mikoto replied. "If we hurry, we can still meet them on time." Kuroko nodded and they left their room. _Seriously, why can't Shokuhou just talk normally? Even when she wants to talk about something serious, she always has to insult me in some way. Do guys have to put up with things like that?_ She suddenly remembered hearing Motoharu and Jason making fun of Touma about having a harem. _I guess they do, and I know they insult each other a lot too._ Mikoto was so lost in thought, she almost didn't realize Kuroko had stopped. "What's wrong?"

"Great," Kuroko mumbled, moving her head slightly to indicate a group of girls walking toward them. "We got company." Mikoto turned her head and saw Mitsuko, Kinuho, and Maaya approaching them. Mitsuko waved to them and they waved back.

"Good afternoon Shirai-san, Misaka-san," Mitsuko greeted them warmly. "How are you to this fine day?" Maaya and Kinuho greeted them too.

"It's been rather uneventful," Mikoto replied, smiling back. "We were just about to go meet our friends."

"Did you hear?" Kinuho asked Kuroko. "Kongou-san actually went on a date with a boy yesterday."

"Really?" Kuroko asked, surprised at this piece of news. "With who?"

"She didn't say," Maaya added. "But I heard she invited him."

"It wasn't a date," Mitsuko told them, hiding the faint blush on her cheeks with her fan. "He owed a debt for embarrassing me and I had him help me with Ekaterina's vet visit."

"Ekaterina was your pet python right?" Mikoto asked, and a small involuntary shiver went down her back. Mitsuko nodded and Mikoto felt sorry for the guy. _I bet it wasn't easy to keep up with Kongou._

"This the guy you were talking about earlier this week?" Kuroko asked.

"Yes," Mitsuko confirmed. "He was rather strange, but he didn't seem like a bad guy. I thought he was poor, but I think he is actually quite wealthy." She frowned. "He showed up in a really extravagant suit. Then the entire time we were at the Dianoid, he acted like a gentleman and was quite heroic when someone's dog attacked me. I can't say I approve of a couple of his friends though." Maaya and Kinuho grinned behind her back.

"She's been talking about this guy a lot," Kinuho added.

"Well I'm glad you found someone who can meet your standards," Kuroko said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

"I kept his number," Mitsuko told her. "I thought I might need it for the future."

"Maybe you and Kongou-san could go on a double date sometime," Maaya suggested, looking at Kuroko.

"We really need to get going," Kuroko said quickly, before Mitsuko could respond, and Kuroko had turned a delicate shade of green. She reached back and grabbed Mikoto's left hand. Mikoto's other hand had covered her mouth to avoid laughing loudly. Mikoto was able to wave good bye to the others, before they rounded a corner and left the dorm.

"That was kind of rude," Mikoto pointed out. "You didn't have to run off right after saying we needed to go. We should be congratulating her for finding someone."

"I don't want to listen to something so horrible," Kuroko told her. "The rumor finally died down and I don't have girls coming up and asking me about him." Mikoto grinned again, remembering how uncomfortable Kuroko looked trying to deny the rumors, but at the same time keeping up the appearance of him just being a friend. What Mikoto didn't know was the nausea Kuroko felt was caused by think about spending an afternoon with Mitsuko and any guy she found acceptable, rather than spending time with Jason. _Whatever guy Kongou would like, has to be as arrogant as her. I couldn't stand two of them._

"Thanks for keeping everyone from talking about me for a couple days," Mikoto said, trying to cheer her up. "It was nice to walk down the hallways without someone asking me about some crazy random rumor they heard."

"I definitely know how you feel," Kuroko sighed. "At least Uiharu and I finally have a break from Judgement, so we can all hang out. It's been a stressful week." Mikoto's phone beeped and they both looked at it.

"It's Saten-san," Mikoto said, glancing at the caller ID. "I bet she's wondering where we are." She opened her phone and frowned.

 _You and Shirai-san might want to get here quick. Kagere-san did something Shirai-san might try to kill him for. She needs to find it out from us._

"What's wrong onee-sama?" Kuroko asked, noticing Mikoto's serious face.

"Saten-san we need to get their quickly," Mikoto explained. "There's something we need to see. Can you teleport us there?" _What on earth did he do?_

"Sure," Kuroko said, reaching over and grabbing Mikoto's arm. She teleported them into the air, and then on top of a nearby building. From there, they jumped from rooftop to rooftop, as Kuroko took the most direct path to their destination. They had planned to meet Kazari and Ruiko in front of a nearby park, but were delayed as they tried to leave. They finally arrived, only about ten minutes late, and looked around for their friends. "Where are they?" Before Mikoto could answer, they turned around when they heard the sound of people running toward them.

"Misaka-san, Shirai-san," Kazari called out to them. "Thank goodness you got here so fast."

"What's the problem?" Kuroko asked. "Is someone hurt?"

"No," Ruiko shook her head. "At least not yet."

"Huh?" Both Mikoto and Shirai looked confused.

"Shirai-san," Kazari said seriously. "We need to show you something, but please promise you won't freak out and do something you will regret later."

"What happened?" Kuroko asked them, before turning to look at Mikoto, who shrugged.

"I was just told Kagere-san did something," Mikoto said and then instantly regretted it. Kuroko's eyes flashed dangerously.

"What did he do?" Kuroko asked, trying to keep her voice calm, but the rage was seeping through, which caused both Ruiko's and Kazari's faces to go pale.

"Please don't do anything you might regret…," Kazari tried to say again, but Kuroko reached over and grabbed her shoulders. Kuroko looked her right in the eyes, and Kazari's pale face turned white.

"What… did… he… do?" Kuroko asked slowly, anger etched in every word, while at the same time shaking Kazari violently.

"Let her speak," Mikoto said firmly, stepping in between them and prying poor Kazari from Kuroko's grip. "Let them tell us what happened."

"I think it will be easier to show you," Ruiko said nervously. "We sort of randomly stumbled into it." She led them away from the park entrance and down the street. The entire time, Kuroko was emitting a dark murderous aura, causing the other girls to sweat slightly, before they stood in front of an ice cream shop. "Because you two were running late, Uiharu was trying to sneak off to get some ice cream."

"I hadn't had any sweets for a week," she protested.

"I have my work cut out stopping her," Ruiko sighed, before returning to the important information. "I caught her right when she got in front of the store, and then we saw this." She pointed to a window display with flashing lights. Kuroko and Mikoto walked up to take a look, before their mouths fell open in shock at what they saw. Next to the stack of ice cream cases, was a large poster with an anime figure they recognized.

It was Kuroko wearing the cat-girl maid outfit.

Well, they recognized it as Kuroko, because the outfit was familiar and the hairstyle was the same, but there were some key differences. First, the entire figure had been painted to resemble anime style drawing, rather than a real person. Second, her hair was black instead of tawny. There were other slight differences, photo shopped or drawn, but they could see the resemblance to Kuroko. To top it all off, above the anime poster was a sign saying, 'KuroNeko-chan's Never Melt Ice Cream.' Kuroko had frozen and seemed to be petrified from the sight, while Mikoto finally found her words and turned to Kazari and Ruiko.

"What… is this?" she asked hoarsely. _What was he thinking? Kuroko is going to MURDER him._

"We looked into it," Kazari said quietly. "It turns out this picture is the mascot for the new brand of ice cream. It's designed to not melt at high temperatures and keep its texture, so it can be eaten during any time of the year."

"From what else they told us," Ruiko added. "She is a very popular mascot for children, since being released yesterday. They were surprised at how many people like her."

"I can't believe this," Mikoto said, rubbing her face with her hand, hoping this was all a bad dream. She forced herself to turn her attention back to the true issue right now. "Kuroko?" she asked nervously. Ruiko and Kazari took a step back, as they watched Mikoto try to reach Kuroko. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine onee-sama," Kuroko replied slowly, after a moment's pause. She didn't turn around, but Mikoto could hear something dark in her voice. She was obviously pretending to be calm, but was about to blow up in anger. Mikoto foresaw nothing good coming from this and wanted to put a stop to it, before it could escalate.

"Don't do anything you might regret," Mikoto told her firmly, parroting Kazari's earlier statements.

"I'll take care of it Shirai-san," Kazari said, and there was firmness in her voice. She obviously did not approve of Jason's idea of a prank. "I promise."

"You don't need to worry about it Uiharu," Kuroko replied, turning around. Her tone was unusually cheerful, and she was smiling. Even so, the aura around her was just intensifying and caused the other girls to take a step back, even Mikoto. "I wouldn't do something I would regret." A vein was throbbing in her head and it was obvious she was furious beyond imagination. "I'm just counting back from a hundred."

"Maybe you should have a seat," Ruiko suggested weakly, but Kuroko just ignored her.

"What are you going to do?" Mikoto asked, not looking forward to the outcome.

"Well," Kuroko explained, her smile not leaving her face. "I figure I should find him and make him tell me why he did this."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Kazari commented, relieved at Kuroko's sensible solution.

"Then I'm going to kill him."

"What?!" all three girls gasp.

"Without mercy," Kuroko added. Before any of them could respond to this, she disappeared and reappeared on top of a light pole. She then started to teleport down the street as fast as possible.

"Dang it," Mikoto growled. "I'm going to go after her." She used her magnetism to propel herself up to the wall of the nearby building and took off after Kuroko. _Both of them act like children all the time. Kagere is older and he bothers her constantly but, still, this was way over the top. Kuroko's not any better though. She reacts to his taunts and she was the one who wants to keep getting into bets with him. When did I become a babysitter?_ She pulled out her phone and sent a message to Jason, warning him Kuroko was after him. Then, for good measure, she sent a text to Touma for him to warn Jason, if Touma saw him.

Back in front of the ice cream store, Kazari and Ruiko watched their friends run off in silence. Finally, finding her voice, Ruiko turned to Kazari. "What should we do now? I don't think we can catch up with them."

"Let me see if I can contact Jason," Kazari told her, pulling out her phone. She dialed and heard it ring, but he didn't answer before it went to voice mail. She left a short message saying Kuroko saw what he did and to call her back. She sighed and shrugged at Ruiko. "His phone is on, but he's not answering."

"I bet he's busy or left it somewhere," Ruiko replied reasonably. "How do you think Shirai-san is going to find him? It's a big city."

"She has Judgement equipment that lets you track a phone if it's on and you have the phone number," Kazari said slowly. "But it's only supposed to be used for official business."

"You don't think she's going to use it do you?" Ruiko asked seriously. Kazari opened her mouth and closed it, not wanting to answer, but Ruiko understood her. "It's a good thing Misaka-san is going after her. She should be able to stop anything from happening." She looked up at the sky. _Well, there goes our day. What should we do now?_ Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kazari looking at the ice cream display in the window. "You want to try it don't you," Ruiko asked, grinning broadly.

"Ah wha…?" Kazari said, jumping slightly. "How could I when Shirai-san is being embarrassed…. But it does look good…. I kind of want to see how it tastes hot… but I really shouldn't."

"I guess a sample won't kill us," Ruiko laughed. "Let's go. You have been good all week, so I guess you deserve a trea…" She stopped talking, as Kazari grabbed her wrist and dragged her into the shop, ignoring the nearby passerby's giving them strange looks.

* * *

Kuroko looked at the map on her phone, as she approached Jason's location. She had teleported halfway across the city before pausing and taking a short break. _He should be right up ahead, unless he doesn't have his phone on him. It looks like it's outside so there's a good chance he has it._ She had finally begun to cool off and think rationally from the time she left her friends to her currently location. She realized she might have over reacted slightly, but she was still furious. _What am I going to do when I find him? I want to hit him until he's unconscious._ She sighed, knowing she wasn't going to do anything remotely life threatening, before teleporting to the ground and walking slowly toward Jason's location. She heard a soft thud, as someone landed behind her, and she turned around.

"Stop Kuroko," Mikoto said seriously, breathing heavily. "You don't want to do this." She was sparking slightly and it was clear she was prepared to use force to prevent Kuroko from becoming a murderer.

"I know," Kuroko replied, nodding and feeling slightly ashamed. "I had time to think about it. I still want to hit him at least once." She was feeling really happy Mikoto chased her so far to prevent her from doing anything she would have regretted. _She's really the perfect partner._

"If that's all," Mikoto said, and the hint of a smile formed on her lips. "I think he did deserve it."

"See," Kuroko boasted happily. "Even you agree. He's right around the corner up there."

"What's he doing out here?" Mikoto muttered out loud. "This is really far from his school, and Touma said he hasn't been attending lately. I guess he didn't go today either."

"All the more reason to spy on him, right?" Kuroko asked, trying to push Mikoto into following her. "Don't you want to see what he does when he's not with Uiharu?"

"You aren't going to drop this?" Mikoto asked exasperatedly. "Are you?"

"No."

"Thought so. Fine, I'll make sure you don't do anything stupid."

"I knew you would understand," Kuroko replied happily. They walked toward the corner, trying to act normally to avoid drawing attention. Kuroko doubled checked her phone, making sure Jason wasn't changing positions, before stopping at the corner. "He should be right around this corner," she whispered to Mikoto, who nodded. They peered around the building and it took only a moment to locate him. Both of them received quite a shock when they found him. He was sitting at a table in front of a small café and he appeared to be eating a sandwich, but that wasn't what shocked Kuroko and Mikoto.

A girl they didn't know was sitting across from him.

The girl had short blond hair and clear blue eyes. She was wearing very casual clothes, a track suit consisting of a light-blue jersey and spandex slacks, covered by a white vest. She also had headphones hanging from her neck, but they were not covering her ears. It looked like she had removed them to talk to Jason. An empty plate in front of her implied she had already eaten, and was busy playing a handheld game, while chatting with him. She must have said something funny, because Jason started laughing, before taking a bite of his sandwich. Kuroko and Mikoto looked at each other, unsure of what was happening.

"Is he doing what I think he's doing?" Kuroko asked slowly.

"Don't rush to conclusions," Mikoto said quickly. "There could be a plausible explanation." Mikoto had a feeling they were both thinking the same thing, but she didn't want to believe it. Kuroko echoed her worry out loud though.

"He's cheating on Uiharu," hissed Kuroko, her anger flaring up again. "That no good…"

"Kuroko no…" Mikoto tried to say, but Kuroko had disappeared already.

Jason never had a chance to see the attack coming. One moment, he was sitting at a table eating, the next, he felt something collide in the side of his head, knocking him out of his chair. He fell to the ground with a thud and hearing the words, "You no good, cheating, jerk!" Kuroko had teleported into the air next to him and delivered a powerful kick. She then landed on her feet, panting slightly, and her gaze fell on the girl across the table, who had stood up in shock and was looking around, with a frightful expression.

"What do I do?" she asked fearfully, more to herself then Kuroko. "I'm supposed to contact Anti-Skill or Judgement if someone's attacked. Where is the nearest member?" She glanced back at Kuroko and took a step back. "You won't get away with this. Get away from him." She was obviously trying to sound brave, but her voice was shaking slightly. Before Kuroko could tell her why she attacked Jason, a dark wave erupted form his location on the ground and engulfed her.

"Arg, let me go," Kuroko yelled.

"Dang Kuroko," Jason said, standing up and rubbing his head. "I think your kicks are getting stronger. My head is still ringing."

"Are you okay?" the girl questioned, rushing over next to him. "Do you know her?"

"Yes," Jason confirmed. "If she's here, other people are too." He looked around and saw Mikoto walking toward them, her hand covering her face in embarrassment at her friend's action. He waved to her and she nodded.

"Jason," Kuroko said slightly more calmly. "Let me go."

"Are you going to hit me again?"

"Yes."

"I'll hold off then."

"Sorry about her," Mikoto sighed, when she finally reached them. Jason was sitting down with the girl on one side, and Kuroko on the other. Her arms were still being bound by his shadow to prevent her from attacking him again. "But you have to admit, she has a reason to be upset, and then we see this." She gestured to him and the girl.

"Oh," Jason said turning to look at her. "I could see how that would be misinterpreted, but I'm kind of insulted she would think that."

"What does she mean?" the girl asked, tilting her head slightly in confusion.

"They were under the impression I was cheating on my girlfriend with you." The girl looked stunned for a moment, and then her face went scarlet.

"Oh no no," she said defensively, shaking her head vigorously. "We just work together and finally got a break. We have been in the lab since seven with no lunch."

"Let me introduce all of you," Jason said, gesturing first to the girl. "This is Patricia Birdway. She recently joined the city and is just getting acquainted with everything. The higher ups decided I, being closest to her in age, would be the best person to work with her." He then gestured to Kuroko." The girl who kicked me is Kuroko Shirai, a good friend of mine and a member of Judgement."

"Are Judgement allowed to just attack people?" asked Patricia worriedly.

"Only if they deserve it," Kuroko huffed, while Jason and Mikoto grinned.

"They are friends," Mikoto whispered to her. "They just like to argue with each other. You get used to it pretty quick."

"And she," Jason continued. "Is Mikoto Misaka."

"THE Mikoto Misaka?" Patricia asked wide-eyed. "As in the level 5 Railgun?"

"Eh yea," Mikoto said sheepishly, rubbing her head in embarrassment. "Misaka is fine. Please don't treat me like a celebrity."

"It's nice meeting both of you," Patricia said kindly, smiling. "I don't know a lot of people here yet and it's so nice to meet people around my age."

"Do you want to exchange phone numbers then?" Mikoto asked and Patricia nodded excitedly. They pulled out their phones and exchanged numbers. "I'll make sure to introduce you to our other friends."

"Except Touma," Jason added. "Otherwise she will fall for him."

"W-what?" spluttered Patricia, turning red again.

"Don't tease her," Mikoto admonished but, deep down, she had that same worry. Kuroko listened in silence, but finally reached her breaking point.

"Will you untie me already?" Kuroko demanded, glaring at Jason.

"I guess," he said, but then he grinned. "You have to promise not to attack me again or I'll have to take you in for public violence." He pulled out a pair of handcuffs and put them on the table. Kuroko mumbled something and Jason let her go. She responded by punching him in the arm.

"That's for embarrassing me," she fumed at him, as he rubbed his shoulder. "You just had to share that picture."

"What picture?" Patricia asked.

"They had a bet awhile back over something stupid," Mikoto explained. "Kuroko lost and had to wear an embarrassing costume. Jason then had a photographer take a couple pictures of her."

"Then I edited it slightly and send it to the manufacturer of ice cream to use as a mascot," Jason laughed, pulling out a flyer from his bag.

"Don't show her!" Kuroko told him, but he ignored her and passed the flyer over to Patricia, who looked at it.

"I can kind of see the resemblance," she said, looking back and forth between Kuroko and the flyer. "But I wouldn't have noticed if you didn't tell me."

"That was the plan," Jason told her with a wink, and Kuroko punched him again.

"When did you have time to make this?" Mikoto asked him. "Never Melt Ice Cream?

"I spent a few months in Russia and it was freezing," Jason explained. "All their food was bland and I kept thinking, I would love some ice cream, but eating cold food would be horrible there. My dream was to find a way to make it hot, but still have the consistency and texture of normal ice cream. My original designs were not promising. It always turned into soup or had the texture of mashed potatoes."

"Ice cream relies mostly on ice crystals," Mikoto pointed out. "Any decent temperature is going to make it melt."

"Which is why I was so complicated," complained Jason. "We finally cracked it by creating our own complex carbohydrate." His voice became quiet and dropped his voice to a whisper. "The formula is secret and I sold it so I can't go into details, but we engineered this carbohydrate to react strongly and dissolve when in the presence of ptyalin."

"Ptyalin?" Kuroko asked, unable to resist herself.

"It's the substance in saliva that breaks apart starches," Patricia explained.

"When it dissolves," Jason continued. "It makes the ice cream feel like its melting. The complex carbohydrate can handle high temperatures, so we use that instead of ice crystals, and it allows it to be heated to high levels. It will still taste and feel like ice cream, but you can enjoy it during the winter. A lot of other work went into it, but that was the key ingredient."

"Did you work on this for Uiharu-san?" Mikoto questioned, smirking slightly.

"She might have motivated me slightly," Jason admitted sheepishly.

"When do you have time to do these things?" Mikoto asked.

"I don't sleep," Jason answered, like it was obvious. Mikoto was about to laugh, but stopped when she saw he had dark circles under his eyes.

"So Birdway-san," Kuroko asked, trying to keep her temper under control. "How did you get stuck researching with him?"

"I had some papers published and Academy City invited me to help out with researching new energy sources," Patricia explained. "After I arrived, I was introduced to a lab where I was explaining my thesis and Kagere was there working with ability development."

"Wow," Mikoto said impressed. "How smart are you? To actually have papers published in Academy City would mean you have to be way past college level work."

"She already has her PhD," Jason commented and Patricia blushed in embarrassment.

"Wow," Kuroko added, also impressed. "I hope your work turns out well." Her eyes glanced down at the table and frowned. "Jason," she asked. "What are your handcuffs made of?" She pulled out hers. "The metal looks slightly black."

"Oh that," Jason said reaching over and picking them up. 'They are made of a special metal that actually dampens AIM fields, so they work great for handcuffs. Low levels have a hard time using abilities on them."

"I never heard of a metal like that," Kuroko said frowning.

"Oh I heard of it," Patricia said excitedly, clapping her hands together. "It's called Shadow Metal right?" Mikoto and Kuroko coughed in surprise and she looked confused. "What's the matter?"

"Well a friend of ours mentioned that before," Kuroko admitted. "She said when a lot of abilities clash, they can create Shadow Metal, like at the Daihaseisai. But that's not how it's made right?"

"I actually don't know for sure," Jason replied. "I was given some to use as needed when I joined my division. I did hear a rumor they got an incredibly large amount last fall. Sadly, I wasn't there."

Mikoto was listening to them talk about this metal, but she knew what Jason was talking about. Her thoughts turned back to near the end of the Daihaseisai. She had been forcefully connected to the Misaka Network and started to shift past level 5. Known as the Exterior experiment, it transformed her into a monster, almost killing Touma and Sogiita. She found out someone wanted to see if she could hit level 6 and, at the same time, destroy the city. When Touma finally saved her, they had noticed the area around their battle had strange black metal covering it. _Saten-san said it was when abilities clashed and I clashed with Sogiita and Touma. Two level 5s going all out and the Imagine Breaker might have caused it. But what is it really?_ Her thoughts were interrupted by a shrill beeping sound. "What's that" she asked, but saw the seriousness on Jason's and Kuroko's faces.

"Looks like I'm being called in," Jason said, pulling out a small black phone, different then his normal one. "Hello? What? Fifty? How could you let so many enter…? Okay, I understand. I'll take care of it." He hung up, grabbed his stuff, and stood up. "I'm being called in for Anti-Skill duties. Misaka-san, can you make sure Birdway gets back to the lab okay? She's hopeless with directions."

"I don't get lost," Patricia said, indignantly.

"Who got lost for an hour going down the street to the convenience store to pick up a drink?" Jason asked rhetorically.

"That… that was completely different," stuttered Patricia.

"I'll make sure," promised Mikoto. "You have to go right?"

"Yep," Jason said turning around, but stopped. He looked over his shoulder and grinned at Kuroko, who had to speak up.

"Do you need help?"

"Anti-Skill business," Jason repeated seriously, before grinning. "Thanks for the offer, but no. Don't forget our little wager tomorrow."

"You are going down," Kuroko declared. "I'm going to get my revenge for everything up to now." Jason laughed, his shadow spread out into wings, and he jumped up to a nearby building. "He always rubs me the wrong way," Kuroko mumbled. "He's always making fun of me and slacking off."

"What do you mean?" Patricia asked. "He's always working hard whenever I see him."

"Oh Kagere-san just likes to pretend he is a slacker to annoy her," Mikoto explained. "We told her several times he did that, but she still complains about it."

"Don't be fooled by him onee-sama," Kuroko pleaded.

"Should we get going?" Mikoto asked. "I don't know exactly where you have to go."

"I have the address written down," Patricia told her proudly, rummaging in her bag. "Oh," she whispered, leaning close to Mikoto. "Does Shirai-san like Kagere?"

"We think so," Mikoto whispered back, trying not to move her lips. "But she always denies it."

* * *

 _How did this happen?_

Touma was sitting across from Leivinia Birdway, watching her enjoy a piece of cake. She had told him, more like demanded, to take her someplace quiet with good sweets. He didn't know a place like that, so he walked down a street until he saw a small cake shop. Leivinia only took about thirty seconds to decide, and naturally, in typical ojou-sama fashion, choose one of the more expensive pieces. Touma's wallet felt the sting, but he suffered in silence. _I was the one who asked her, but why on earth did she accept?_ "Er, Birdway?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yes?" she replied, looking at him. Touma gulped as, one again, he felt like she was examining him closely.

"What made you decide to accept my request?" he asked. "I mean, it's not like I'm honored you said yes, but it just seemed unlikely you would agree when a random guy walks up to you and asks you out."

"I thought it was obvious," she stated. "It was you who approached me."

"I know," Touma agreed. "But why would you say yes if we never met before."

"What are you talking about?" Leivinia asked, a frown appeared on her face. "Didn't you seek me out for a reason? I must commend you on your skilled attempt to catch my attention. If anyone was watching us, they wouldn't suspect anything."

"What are YOU talking about?" Touma parroted. _I have a feeling we both are missing something important._

"Do…" she paused for a moment. "Besides my name, what else do you know about me?"

"Nothing actually," Touma admitted. "We haven't talked much yet." Leivinia stared at him for a moment, before she burst out laughing. It wasn't a kind joking tone though, what he was use to with Jason. It was slightly cold, but etched with amusement. "What's so funny?"

"Here I thought you possessed some skill," Leivinia told him between laughs. "You survived everything that happened in England, along with actually destroying Curtana. I thought you needed me assistance with a matter and had to seek me out, Imagine Breaker, but I guess it was just bad luck on your part."

"How did you know about England," Touma asked, shocked.

"I was the one who sent you that letter." Her eyes narrowed slightly and lost all trace of amusement. They became cold and calculating, causing Touma to shiver involuntarily.

"W-who are you?"

"I'll introduce myself again," she said, looking smug. "I am Leivinia Birdway, the leader of Dawn-Colored Sunlight, the largest magic cabal in England. I went with you because I thought we could arrive to a mutual benefit, but now I realize you are just unlucky." She grinned, but the smile did not portray warmth. "Now… what are you doing?" She changed direction midsentence in response to Touma's reaction.

Touma had slammed his head on the table. "Why do these things happen to me?" he complained, before tilting his head and looking at her. "Don't mind this poor Kamijou. I'm just lamenting in my misfortune. I don't suppose you would let me leave and we pretend this never happened?"

"That doesn't sound fun at all," Leivinia teased, amusement back in her voice. "If you try to run, my entire group will be after you in seconds. You sought me out and I graced you with my presence, now you get to do something for me. My group is investigating an organization you are familiar with, and you get to participate."

"Such misfortune," Touma moaned, but he had to ask. "What group?"

"The Fallen."

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Finally finished Jason's prank, planned since early season two. Everything is now set up for a lot of action next chapter. Touma's peaceful life can never last.**

 **Motoharu: I knew we would win, but I can't help feeling like we lost too.**

 **Pierce: Damn it Kami, getting ANOTHER loli.**

 **Touma: You two tricked me didn't you? You knew she was a magician.**

 **Motoharu: I will neither confirm nor deny that statement.**

 **Jason: At least his luck kicked in and he's going to regret it.**

 **Mikoto: I think you are going to regret what you did too.**

 **Jason: Huh?**

 **Misaki: I didn't get any screen time, but even I can tell Shirai-san is plotting her revenge. She texted me to ask for ideas.**

 **Accelerator: The brat is actually trying? Can't wait to see them make fools of each other.**

 **Shizuri: While this guy is going to play, break the equipment.**

 **Accelerator: The more expensive it is, the more points I get.**

 **Kuroko: I will get my revenge by the time this season is over!**

 **Me: So, after careful consideration, I think Kuroko will do next week's comments.**

 **Kuroko: Why?**

 **Misaki: I'm sure the readers want to ask you questions.**

 **Mikoto: …Good luck.**


	66. S3 Investigations

**Hi everyone, as you probably know, this is Kuroko Shirai. I was suddenly told I'm going to be doing the opening comments this chapter. Umm… I don't really have anything else to say. It was kind of sprung on me at the last moment and I'm still really annoyed at Jason for embarrassing me so badly last chapter.** _ **Would it help if I apologize?**_ **J-Jason, what are you doing here?!** _ **Author won't give me my own chapter, so I thought the fans would enjoy my presence.**_ **No one wants to listen to you here.** _ **I beg to differ, but I promise to behave and stay out of your way.**_ **Fine, I doubt I could get you to leave anyway. I suppose it can't be too bad.** _ **I knew you cared.**_ **Shut up.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: No, never, not in a million years, even if he got on hands and knees and begged me. That is way too embarrassing. I'm just lucky most people can't recognize me.** _ **Guess I have to contact the company then.**_ **Wait, were you planning for me to?** _ **Nooooo…..**_

 **wildarms13: What on earth could cause something like that to happen? I could understand saving one over the other, but having to date one of them to save everyone? Even Jason's shrugging at that.** _ **I want to know though, but I wouldn't have you do cosplay all year, I'm not Aogami.**_ **If I had to choose, of course this will NEVER happen, I would probably go with Jason. I see how he treats Uiharu and that wouldn't be too bad. DON'T YOU SAY ANYTHING!** _ **I wasn't.**_

 **general ironox: I'm mature enough to get over it. As long as the public doesn't know I was the original design, I'll live.**

 **Syko-Soldier963: That's actually an interesting question. I saw him destroy Musujime's space when she lost control of her powers and she emerged from that okay. I think it would just force me back into our dimension. Jason, this is your area of expertise.** _ **That sounds about right. You might not be able to choose your exact position to rematerialize, so if you are near a wall it could get messy.**_ **Erg, I don't want to think about that.**

 **Guest: I don't really like Musujime so I wouldn't wish her on anyone, even the ape. If he just went with Shokuhou-san, it would all work out.**

 **d3mystic: We don't need the first one, but me and onee-sama would be perfect.** _ **I'm hurt.**_

 **Yakutsu Zaishiro:** _ **She seems to be banging her head on the wall in response to your question, give her a second.**_ **….. If she's truly happy, I won't interfere… but if he does ANYTHING unacceptable, he will answer to me. As for question two… Jason, turn around.** _ **But I want to know.**_ **Turn around!** _ **Fine.**_ **I probably wouldn't say anything and keep it to myself. Uiharu is the kind of girl who would feel bad for me and it might make her unconsciously put distance from him. I don't want to be even partially responsible for any breakup.**

 **Willgm: No.** _ **What? I'm hurt.**_ **Well, he's okay as a friend sometimes, but he really annoys me way too much.**

 **Handsomistic1: They have to be kind, strong, smart, beautiful, dignified, and brave at the very least.** _ **Not looking for much are you.**_ **I have strict standards. I could totally beat Musujime in a rematch.** _ **Kuroko has a lot more combat experience against powerful foes, I agree.**_ **Because, first he's not, second, rumors get spread around even outside of school, and third, Uiharu does visit so someone might say it to her.**

 **Agent Nine: This is actually a good question. Since you can heat it up, can it be called ice cream?** _ **If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, don't worry about the small stuff.**_

 **Brosephg:** _ **Hahaha.**_ **Jason, is he one of your friends? Did you tell him to ask that? He seems oddly devoted to you.** _ **No I swear. But sorry Brosephg, I'm into girls, but thanks for the compliments.**_ **I'm jealous of Uiharu for being with the person she likes. I would love to be in the same kind of relationship with onee-sama as she and Jason are with each other.**

 **Swoob:** _ **Yea Kuroko, quit being a tsundere.**_ **I'm not a tsundere!** _ **As for my prank on Accelerator, we have to wait for some down time. Too many things are going on for him to walk a mile in her shoes.**_ **Her?** _ **Secret for later, don't want to ruin the surprise.**_

 **Guest 10032:** _ **That…. Actually explains a lot.**_ **No it doesn't. I'm not into that and there is no way I'm projecting anything onto him.** _ **I recall I tied her up once at the beginning. That might have started the ship.**_ **I hate you, so stop supporting their wild ideas. Onee-sama shocks me out of love only.**

 **Kisame Hoshigaki: Wait, when did she say that?** _ **She said that? Kuroko's face went red, she's thinking about it.**_ **No I'm not and your face went red too.** _ **If Kazari is okay with it, I would be too.**_ **I would…n't be. Plus, ménage à trois would never happen. No matter how much….** _ **I'm speechless to. But when did Kazari say this? I know she's prone to some… eccentric daydreams… but really? Hmm, how should I ask her?**_

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

"T-the Fallen?" coughed Touma. "What about them? How do you know them? Why are you against them?"

"I can only answer one question at a time," Leivinia answered, looking slightly annoyed. She popped the last bite of cake into her mouth and looked down at the empty plate. The hint of a frown appeared on her lips and she stood up. "Follow me," she told him, with the aura of someone who is not going to take no for an answer. "We can talk while we are moving." Touma sighed, stood up, and followed her. They walked down a couple less crowded streets before Leivinia continued. "I'm going to answer your questions in the proper order, so that even someone with your low mental capacity could understand."

"Thanks," Touma muttered, choosing to ignore her insult.

"Let's start with how I know them," she said, smirking. "The details don't concern you, and I'm not going to go into them, but my organization opposes them. After we saw how much trouble they caused in England, we decided to be more proactive in our activities. Plus, learning about their abilities will be beneficial to us. What?" She had just turned her head and looked at Touma, who was staring at her. "You think everyone works for free? My organization has its own goals and objectives. You should know by now the world isn't that kind."

"I disagree," Touma told her. "But what important information do you have on them? If you are here…" He paused as the realization hit him like a ton of bricks. "Are… Are they in the city?"

"So you do have the brain capacity to draw conclusions," Leivinia commented. "I was worried everything you did was purely accidental, but that couldn't be. After all, no one is that unlucky." She turned her head slight, when Touma stopped, and her eyes widened slightly when she realized why. "Hahaha," she burst out laughing. "You really are unlucky."

"Thanks for making fun of my misfortune," Touma moaned, more to himself then her. "It's what caused me to bump into you."

"Keep talking like I'm a bother," she told him. "I'll show you same real misfortune."

"Yes Birdway-sama," Touma said, trying to sound more thankful. _I don't know anything about her organization, but she said she's the leader. It seems unlikely, but she knows about magic and there are a lot of really young skilled magicians, Stiyl's only fourteen and Lessar's only in middle school. I suppose she could be older than she appears,_ he glanced over at her and noticed she didn't have much of a chest, _I seriously doubt it…_ "Ouch!" Leivinia reached over, grabbed a chunk of his skin on his arm, and twisted, hard. "What was that for?"

"I felt like you were thinking something you shouldn't have been," Leivinia replied calmly, but there was something more in her tone of voice, which confused Touma. It was full of anger, but also a hint of embarrassment.

"O-of course I wasn't," Touma denied. "I was just thinking you look young for being a leader of a magic group."

"The Dawn-Colored Sunlight doesn't care about age," bragged Leivinia. "We only judge based on your skill. The fact I rose to the top shows how powerful I really am." Her eyes lit up slightly as she told him. "You shouldn't judge people based on their appearances," she said ominously. "It could cost you your life."

"I know," Touma acknowledged, and he was being completely honest this time. After living in a city of scientific abilities, appearances were quite deceiving. Mikoto was the perfect example. She looked like a normal middle school student, but she could wield a million volts and fire coins like railguns. In fact, all the level 5s were either in middle or high school. _I think it's actually impossible to tell how strong someone is without knowing them. I should tread carefully around her._ He felt a shiver down his spine. _With my luck, she will be insanely powerful and will want to attack me for some reason._ "We got off topic, what about the Fallen?"

"Oh?" Leivinia asked, almost mockingly. "You don't want to keep talking about me?" She reached over and grabbed onto his arm.

"W-what are you doing?" Touma stuttered, completely bewildered at her surprise action. She didn't seem like the kind of person to perform public displays of affection. Plus the fact he really didn't raise any flags to warrant that action. He looked away from her and felt his ears burned.

"Just messing with you," she laughed, but still didn't let go of his arm for a couple minutes. What Touma didn't know was Leivinia noticed they were being watched, and she immediately started to act like a normal girl on a date. Across the street, a girl neither Touma nor Leivinia had seen before, was watching them, but was pretending to read a book. The girl had long black hair and tied up into a ponytail. Though Leivinia could tell this girl was watching them, she was too far away to fully examine, so Leivinia missed an obvious sign that Touma would have recognized immediately. The girl's eyes had gold stars in them. When Leivinia grabbed on to Touma's arm, she could feel the girl staring at them with her undivided attention. "Where were we again?"

"You were about to tell me what the Fallen were doing in the city."

"Oh yes, that's right." It was completely clear to Touma that she had not forgotten and was just playing around, and then her voice got deadly serious, as she let go of his arm. "We discovered Eve has infiltrated Academy City, along with another girl. Nothing is known about her except she goes by the name Juliet. We believe others are accompanying them, but we have no information on them yet. To make matters worse, due to rising tensions between magic and science," she paused and glared at him, "your antics in England didn't help, we can't operate in the open. We can only investigate from the shadows at night, but we found a warehouse they were using to hide something."

"Why is Eve here?" Touma asked, a couple different ideas passed through his head.

"Isn't it obvious?" Leivinia answered, turning to look at him, with an expression like she was thinking he was being dense. "She's after the wing. How could you forget that?"

"Well it was possible it could be something else," Touma said weakly, rubbing the back of his neck. Leivinia gave him a disbelieving look. "But how could a wing even be here? This city uses science, most people don't even know magic exists."

"Who knows," Leivinia shrugged, but with a gleam in her eyes indicating she knew more than she was letting on. Touma missed the sign because he wasn't as skilled as others in recognizing deceit. "Maybe the founder brought it with him, maybe it was moved here for safe keeping, or maybe your city does more with magic than you think? There could be a lot of reasons, but we did verify it is here. The exact location, now that is our current problem. I was hoping you could give us some information on it, but it looks like you can barely put your shoe on the right foot."

"Hey!" Touma said indignantly.

"Though," Leivinia continued, completely ignoring Touma's objection. "This trip wasn't a complete waste. I have use for you." She turned her head to Touma and he froze when her eyes grew cold. "We plan to assault her warehouse and take whatever she has stored there. You get to use your right hand to remove any of her defenses. Sounds easy right? Do your part, and I'm sure you will appreciate your reward."

"I'm not really interested in a reward…," Touma began to say, but Leivinia cut him off.

"So you don't want paid," Leivinia interrupted. "Well, if you insist. You can have the pleasure of a job well done. Can't say I dislike that attitude, I feel that way about some things, but you have to be a little crazy to risk your life so easily."

"That's not what I meant…" Touma tried to explain.

"I don't care about your reasons or detail," Leivinia continued, completely ignoring Touma's feeble attempt at trying to get out of this. "I don't suppose I have any other use for you until tonight, so until then…" She frowned as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a phone, which appeared to be set on vibrate. "You better have a reason for interrupting me."

"Sorry boss," a male's voice replied. The voice was loud enough for Touma to hear and he figured the phone must have been on speaker or acting as a medium for magical communication. "It would seem our outer forces have been attacked by another magician and now is cutting a direct path toward you."

"Take care of it," Leivinia snapped at the man, and Touma felt a wave of pity for whoever was on the other end. She snapped her phone closed, looked around, and motion for Touma to follow her. When he hesitated, she grabbed his sleeve and pulled him after her down a side alleyway. He noticed she attached a rune card about halfway down the building on his left, before they came out onto another street. Touma looked around and it appeared to be deserted, which was strange for this time a day. "I triggered a people clearing field," she said, as if reading his mind.

"Why?" Touma asked. "Does it have to do with that magician he mentioned?" _Just what I need, more misfortune. With my luck, I bet the magician is in love with Birdway and thinks I'm trying to steal her away from him. Why did I take that bet in the first place?_ He looked over at Leivinia, who was leaning up against a building wall, trying to look nonchalant, but there was a small crease on her forehead and the hint of a frown on her lips.

"Mark should be able to handle most situations," Leivinia said curtly. "His orders were to only call if something big happens. The magician was able to penetrate our outer formation and heading toward us, so he can't be normal. I just like to be prepared." A wooden wand that looked like it opened into a flower appeared in her hand and she twirled it between her fingers. Touma didn't know it, but that was Leivinia's Symbolic Weapon which let her control the four elements, fire, water, earth, and wind. To him, it looked just like a piece of wood, but even he knew enough about magic to know it couldn't be normal.

"What are you planning to do?" he asked, dreading the answer.

"What do you think?" she replied, with a devious grin and in a cold tone. Touma's heart sank from hearing her words. They waited in silence, though Touma attempted to get more information out of Leivinia, but she continued to ignore him. He eventually gave up and leaned on the building a couple meters away from her. After a couple minutes, her phone started buzzing. "What's the status?"

"Several complications," the man, who Touma was told was called Mark, answered. "First, the magician appears to be part of Academy City, and not the Fallen. Second, he escaped from me and is heading directly toward your location. Telesma based attacks do not work well…"

"He's here due to your incompetence," Leivinia hissed angrily, looking upwards toward the roof of the buildings surrounding them. "Be prepared for punishment when this is over." She snapped her phone close and pocketed it, while standing up and taking a couple steps from the wall. A moment later, a figure appeared at the top of the building and gazed down at Leivinia. Touma was blocked from view by an overhang of the building he was leaning against, so he couldn't see who it was. "Are you going to come down or what?" Leivinia called up mockingly. "Or do I have to blow up that building?" The figure looked at her, before leaping down ten floors and Touma good a good look at the guy. His mouth fell open.

Right before he hit the ground, black wings spread out and Jason landed softly on the street.

"So you're the boss who interrupted me right when I finally get a break?" Jason replied, with a mixture of irritation and curiosity. "Your group really is something, sneaking so many people into the city… WHAT THE HELL TOUMA?!" He had just noticed Touma was there and his jaw dropped.

"Er," Touma said, unsure what to say, but walking toward him and rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm not sure what's going on, but I'm sure we are all on the same side. Can we all try to get along?"

"She's a leader of a group of magicians who illegally trespassed into Academy City," Jason told him forcefully, pointing to Leivinia. "Then, to actually make it involve me, they started causing trouble and wrecking property. It could have been left to Anti-Skill if they don't go around throwing mana and casting magic. That last guy actually was flinging Telesma at me that resembled an angel's power."

"The fact you survived and escaped Mark is impressive," Leivinia commented, twirling her wand. "But you have bared your fangs against my organization, and for that you must be punished. It's time for you to understand who you have challenged." Jason frowned.

"You definitely aren't normal," he muttered, and Touma could tell he was actually worried about the fight, which meant this was not going to end well. Jason looked at her closely, and his frown deepened. "Do you happen to have a sister?" he asked suddenly. "You look like a girl who works in the same area I do. You wouldn't happen to be called Leivinia Birdway?" This time, Leivinia was the one who looked surprised.

"You know Patricia?" she asked.

"Well this is going to be awkward," Jason said. "Arresting her sister sure isn't going to make the work environment pleasant."

"Heh," Leivinia laughed. "Since you know her, I'll only beat you half to death." She raised her wand and Jason responded by having his shadow flow out from around him.

"STOP!" Touma shouted, running up between them. He could tell immediately a fight between those two was only going to end with someone being seriously hurt. He trusted Jason enough to try to avoid any life threatening blows, but he didn't know Leivinia well enough to be sure of the same thing. She gave off a feeling she would kill if it meant moving forward with her agenda. "Birdway," he said quietly. "He's my friend please don't attack him and I'll help you tonight without complaint. I'll talk to him about not getting involved in your group."

"You have one chance," Leivinia told him, crossing her arms and looking superior. She was fine with ignoring a single magician in order to strike the Fallen. Touma nodded and made his way toward Jason, whose shadow started to recede slightly.

"What's going on Touma?" he asked, actually looking confused. He had been told around fifty magicians had entered the city illegally and started causing problems. The last thing he expected was to see Touma with their leader, but then realized he should have known better. _Of course he would get involved._

 _Such is the wielder of the Imagine Breaker._

"It's a really long story," Touma admitted. "But she's not working against us. They are here because the Fallen has entered the city and even Eve is here too. They aren't trying to attack anyone else."

"You serious?" Jason asked, and crossed his arms as his brow furrowed. "That is a completely new cause for concern. I was told to capture the group who infiltrated the city, so it's going to be harder to let her go."

"Come on," Touma prodded. "Where's the Jason I know who ignores rules or uses them to his advantage?" Jason grinned.

"Well," he said, his tone becoming more amused. "Technically, I wasn't given a specific time limit or what specific order I had to capture the intruders. If the Fallen are indeed here, I should focus on them first, and then only worry about the other groups currently residing here, unless they cause way too many problems." He glanced over at Leivinia who just glared back without any trace of embarrassment. "I feel like she's going to cause problems though."

"Thanks a lot," Touma sighed.

"Why are you so…?" Jason started to ask, but stopped himself. He looked over at Touma, to Leivinia, around to the deserted street, and then back to Touma. He grinned as he thought about the implications. "So," he said, the joking tone Touma was used to came back, but it filled him with dread this time. "Finding the boss of a magic cabal and taking her to a deserted street? Pretty daring for a first date, as expected of you." He gave Touma a thumbs up.

"Now don't you start that," Touma warned. "I get enough of that from those two…"

"But having such a cute loli," Jason continued, ignoring Touma. "Aogami is going to have a field day. I should tell him you finally gave in."

"I'm not on a date!"

"I am confused though. I know Accelerator's a lolicon, but you always said you were into onee-san types with curves."

"I am. Nothing can beat an onee-san type, especially a dorm manager onee-san."

"Then why did you go for a loli this time?"

"I didn't! Girls need to be well developed and exude an aura of kindness and caring."

"So why do you not go out with someone like Shokuhou-san? She's well developed and is really kind to you."

"There… are reasons. One, it would be super awkward, but there are a lot more."

"So you go with washboard flat, the exact opposite, instead?"

"So what if she's completely flat? Personality is just as importan…" Touma and Jason froze, while their faces went pale. They simultaneously felt murderous intent from behind them. They turned around and glanced at Leivinia. A vein was throbbing in her forehead and the hand, not holding her weapon, was clenched in a fist so tightly, her fingers were turning white. A dark aura around her had become visible and Touma could feel cold sweat all over him. "Birdway…" he said cautiously, intending to apologize.

"You… two… have… a… lot… of… nerve…," she said slowly, annunciating every word, and her tone was shaking with anger. "Not only to ignore me, who is standing right in front of you, but also mock me?" Her hand started glowing faintly. "It seems like I was going too easy on both of you. I intend to correct that oversight."

"There's no need for violence," Touma said quickly, taking a step back with his hands held out in front of him.

"That… is a lot of Telesma," Jason added. "She's probably going to get swallowed up by her own attack."

"I'm not so unskilled I would get hurt by my own attack," Leivinia said, and raised her hand. "Let's see if you two can survive this."

A moment later, a large gold explosion engulfed both of them.

* * *

"What do you mean everything is fine?!" a high school guy with short brown hair and wearing a black leather jacket yelled. "I wasn't able to use my power on a stupid looking guy two days ago. What happened then?" He slammed his hands on the table and looked at the slightly older guy across the table, who was staring at him and looking bored. He was known as the Moderator and was wearing his normal mask. No one knew who the benefactor for these experiments was, but they always had to go through this guy. The masked covered everything except his eyes.

"I told you already," he answered, obviously irritated. "All readings show you are fine and you can use your ability now, right?" The other guy nodded, held out his hand, and a large sphere of fire appeared, before disappearing. "You see, maybe you just weren't concentrating enough. We haven't done anything wrong." He leaned forward and all of a sudden looked stern. "If you continue to make a fuss over something stupid, maybe we should remove you from the list of users we are willing to help." He gestured to the other people nearby. Two other guys were standing behind the complainer, his friends and also ability users, but there were several other guys around their age with guns, obviously illegally acquired. The rest of the lab was empty, except for the research equipment. Besides the front door and the back door, stairs led downstairs to the basement, but two more guards stood on either side.

"But…" The guy stopped talking when he heard a soft explosion in the distance. "What was th…?" His question was immediately answered, as the heavy metal doors, in front of the lab, cracked and broke off their hinges. The doors shattered and the pieces flew through the air into equipment, causing them to burst into flames. A second later, a white haired boy strutted in, looking vastly superior. "That's… that's… Accelerator!"

"Guards!" the Moderator yelled, standing up and taking several steps backwards. All eight guards with guns formed a semi-circle around Accelerator and raised their weapons. "I don't know how you found out about this place, but you aren't leaving here alive." Accelerator looked at him and sneered. "Say something, damn it." Accelerator's only response was to laugh at how angry the Moderator was getting. "Fine you bastard. All of you, kill him." The guards started firing immediately at his order.

They regretted it a second later.

The hail of bullets flew toward Accelerator and, while a normal person would have been shredded, he didn't even flinch. As the bullets made contact with him, they immediately were reflected back at his attackers. The rusty scent of blood filled the lab, as the guards fell backwards, killed by their own gun fire. Accelerator started walking forward, his grin disappeared from his face. The Moderator turned to the other three guys. "Stop him, and I promise you will receive priority on all future experiments."

"Yeah right," the guy said, backing up quickly. "There's no way we are going to get involved with Accelerator. You only bumped me up to level 3. You are on your own loser." He and his two friends bolted toward the backdoor and left the building without another word.

"Those good for nothing…" the Moderator mumbled and turned back to face Accelerator, who was staring at him with a mocking look on his face. "Why the hell are you here?" Accelerator said nothing and took a step toward him. The Moderator pulled out a gun and held it up, his hand shaking slightly. "I never wanted to do this shit, but then he promises not to kill me. I guess I'm going to die either way." He pulled the trigger and the bullet flew straight at Accelerator's face. The bullet had as much effect as the others but, this time, the bullet was redirected to the side and pierced a computer console. "Huh?" The Moderator had a moment to look at Accelerator in confusion, before Accelerator reached him and slapped the handgun out of his hand. The Moderator fell backwards on to the ground and started scooting away from Accelerator.

"Something."

"What?" the Moderator asked, stopping in disbelief.

"You're the one who wanted me to say it," Accelerator snapped. "How come no one ever gets the fucking joke? This is like fifth fuckin time. I give up. From now on, I'm just going to crush everyone without talking." He glanced down at the guy, trembling in fear, in disgust. "If you wet your pants, I'm going to crush your man hood. Seriously, that's disgusting. Now quit your crying and tell me where the boss is." The Moderator pointed to the stairs that led down to the basement. Accelerator turned and made his way toward it, before stopping for a moment, as a thought crossed his mind. He turned and glared at the Moderator. "Don't try to escape, there are more people outside and they will kill you." The Moderator gasped, and fainted on the floor. Accelerator rolled his eyes and continued down the stairs. _Pathetic._

He flipped his choker off to conserve power and his cane continued to make a thud which echoed down the deserted stairs every time it hit the floor. He wasn't too worried about people hearing him, the gunfire would have drawn their attention, but he had to try to prevent the leader from escaping. The trash that fled from the mere sight of him wasn't worth his time and he knew Awaki and Motoharu could easily catch them. He reached the door at the bottom of the staircase and opened it. The hallway was also deserted, but there were doors on both sides and at the far end. He walked slowly and gazed into each room as he passed.

The sights were not always pretty.

The first two rooms seemed normal enough. Several examination beds lined the walls and ability development equipment was placed around each of them. _I'm_ _definitely in the right place. The boss better be here or this is going to be a wasted trip._ The next two rooms caused a look of disgust on his face. The room on the right was evidently a morgue. Many body bags were lining the back wall, and most of them were filled. He pressed a hand up to the window on the door and it was cold. _Feels like a cooler. It must be used to preserve the bodies of failed experiments. These idiots should know what happens if you force an ability to increase._ He didn't bother to go inside, once he was sure it was empty, and moved to the other room on the left. He finally struck gold when he saw an older woman standing over a table with a naked unconscious girl. _Finally._ The door appeared to be thicker than the others and might have been sound proof, or perhaps she just ignored the noise, but Accelerator flipped his choker, tapped the door, and it flew off its hinges.

"AHHH?!" the woman screamed in surprise, turning around. She had short black hair and glasses, and her eyes were wide. "Please don't kill me. I'm only doing what I'm told or I'll be killed."

"Quit your sniveling," Accelerator said, irritation in this voice, walking over to the unconscious girl. "Where is the person in charge and what are you doing?" While the woman talked, he reached down and felt the girl's vital signs. _Nothing, she's long gone._ He couldn't tell the age of the girl, but guessed she was either late middle school or early high school. The body looked relatively undamaged, but there were odd marks around her skull, almost like bruises, under her hair.

"He should be in the room at the end of the hallway," the woman said fearfully. Her body was shaking and Accelerator figured she had to be telling the truth, or be one of the greatest actors in the world. "But you can't fight him. He's a monster and will kill you without a passing glance."

"You obviously don't know who I am," Accelerator laughed. "I have fought true monsters. Who is he?"

"He's the number two," the woman told him quickly. "Teitoku Kakine, also known as Dark Matter. He's in a league of his own." Accelerator's eyes widen in recognition, before he snorted with amusement. "What's so funny?"

"I'm Accelerator," he said simply, and the woman's face lost all of its remaining color. She stumbled back against the table and her breath turned ragged and shallow. "Now, what were you doing?"

"Some of the ability users had negative reactions to the serum we invented to raise their level," the woman explained. "It caused their brains to be overloaded and we can't figure out why. The serum has been proven successful fifty percent of the time, but there doesn't seem to be any reason why some people can improve, while others died. I am being forced to remove the failure's brain and find out exactly what happened. He pays well, but I didn't know what I was getting into. Now, I can't leave." Accelerator pondered her words for a moment, before sighing.

"Get out of here," he said, jabbing his thumb toward the stairs he came down. "Get out of the building and my associates will take you away. I'm going to handle him." He turned and walked out of the room, ignoring the woman's thanks. He heard her running down the hall away from him and he sighed again. _When did I get so soft? Damn hero keeps rubbing off on me._ He stopped in front of the final door at the end of the hallway. _Let's end this._ He touched the door and sent it flying across the room. "Hey!" he yelled as he walked into the last room. "I've come to kick your ass second rate."

"Well well," Teitoku said, looking at Accelerator from across the room. He was sitting in a chair and looked rather excited, despite his monotone. The floor between them was clear, and several super computers lined the walls on either side of them. Teitoku was sitting at a desk and stood up, putting his hands on top of his desk. "I have to say, I'm surprised you showed up here. I didn't think you would care about me experimenting on trash, but I suppose this works out well. You see, I was planning to come to you soon enough."

"You want to die that badly?" Accelerator asked, sneering. "It's obvious what you are trying to do. You are experimenting on low levels before trying to raise your own ability. Are you trying to reach my level? If you are, you will never reach it like this."

"Not all of us get to play the superintendent's pet," Teitoku responded. "Some of us get pushed to being a backup plan for when you inevitably fail. Like when you lost to a level 0, yet you still have the nerve to act like you are all powerful."

"Heh," Accelerator said mockingly. "You wouldn't understand. If you continue to squeal like a pig and blame others, you will never be strong. You have no idea what it takes to be a villain. Exploiting the weak for your own gain, you're lower than dirt."

"Look at you trying to act all righteous," Teitoku laughed. "Do you think protecting a few people will make you a good guy? I found out all about that level 6 experiment. Did you enjoy slaughtering those clones you lapdog?"

"You just had to go there," Accelerator snarled, a vein throbbing in his head. He still hated himself for participating in killing of over ten thousand Misaka clones. Last Order told him the clones forgave him and wouldn't die anymore, but part of him felt they should be angry with him. "The difference in our strength should have been obvious the moment you believed you had to raise your ability. I'll show you what it means to be a villain. A first class villain doesn't target honest lives."

"Bring it on bastard," Teitoku said, his eyes narrowing. "I'll show you the title of 'Strongest' is wasted on garbage like you." The two looked at each other for a moment, before they charged simultaneously. They met in the middle of the room and an earth shattering boom was heard. A shockwave exploded from their impact and smashed several of the nearby computers. Their eyes met and each saw only hatred in the other, before Teitoku was blown backwards and crashed into the wall.

"Is that all?" Accelerator asked, but he found his sneer slipping. Something felt off to him. The vectors changed easily enough, but there was something else. There were other vectors that were unusual, but were still within the bound of normal physics. He went quiet when he saw Teitoku stand up. There was something white around him, almost like a cocoon of armor. "What the hell is that?"

"The power to move vectors," Teitoku murmured out loud. "Simple, yet effective. I need to avoid taking a direct hit, but as long as you can't control my vectors, the power is useless." He paused and the white cocoon began to separate from his body. "Is this your first time seeing dark matter?" The white matter shifted and Teitoku appeared, completely unhurt. "This is my ability; I can create matter and energy that doesn't exist in this world." The white matter broke and spread out behind him, forming two, four, and then six wings resembling an angel. Though it started off looking like a chalky substance, it now actually looked like the wings were made of feathers. "Even particles smaller then atoms, like quarks, hadrons or the recently discovered Higgs boson, which is ironically known as the God particle, are not part of my dark matter."

"Who cares?" Accelerator snapped. "It doesn't matter what they are made of, I can still manipulate their vectors. "

"I doubt it will be that simple," Teitoku said confidently.

"What is with those wings anyways," Accelerator asked, a smirk on his face. "Are you trying to mimic myths and legends? That doesn't suit villains like us."

"I know," Teitoku agreed. "But I discovered something recently. Sometimes, imitating something can actually give you part of their power, did you know that? You may not believe it because it follows a different set of laws." Accelerator froze when he heard this, his mind beginning to process his words. "Can you wrap your puny pig brain around the idea? I believe magicians called it Idol Theory." Teitoku paused when he saw Accelerator throw his head back and roar with laughter. "What's so funny?"

"I can't believe you actually discovered magic on your own," Accelerator told him, after he calmed down. "Do you think you will magically obtain power to surpass all others?" He smiled slightly at his pun. "Go ahead and cast magic then. I'll sit back here and watch."

"Are you hoping I'll kill myself with the conflicting laws?" Teitoku asked. This time he was the one to grin as Accelerator's smirk faded. That was, in fact, Accelerator's plan. He didn't believe Teitoku could use magic, but the fact Teitoku mentioned Idol Theory told him he at least had some knowledge. He only knew about it because some of the church members in England and Jason had given him a brief overview. "My dark matter exists outside of this world, remember? I'm not bound by those laws."

"Tsk," Accelerator replied, clicking his tongue. "I guess it's the old fashion way…" He was interrupted as a large computer flew past his head, directly at Teitoku. One of Teitoku's wings moved and knocked the computer to the side effortlessly. He and Accelerator turned to see who had thrown it and saw Saiai standing in the doorway. "What the hell are you doing here brat?!" Accelerator yelled. _Tsuchimikado, you bastard. You were supposed to keep people away._

"I saw you taking the train and I had super nothing else to do today," Saiai told him, not taking her eyes off Teitoku. This was only partially true. While she did not have anywhere she had to be, as Mugino told her and Frenda to take the night off, she followed Accelerator in hopes of finding an opportunity to spend time with him alone. "I'm glad I did because I recognize that guy's voice. He super tried to bury me and Mugino when we stopped him from stealing research data." Accelerator didn't have time to wonder about what she had been doing, because Teitoku started to laugh and Accelerator turned his attention back to him.

"This is great," Teitoku said between laughs. "You should have just died the first time, but thanks for the opportunity to kill you again."

"What did he do last time?" Accelerator asked Saiai.

"Blew up an army of humanoid robots," Saiai told him quickly. "He super collapsed the entire building on us."

 _Dark matter robots maybe? But why would he have trouble with them?_

"You know what they say," Teitoku said shrugging, and interrupting Accelerator's thoughts. "If at first you don't succeed, try again."

"What?" Saiai asked and Accelerator narrowed his eyes. Teitoku took a step back and pressed a button on a nearby computer, that wasn't destroyed by their initial clash. An earsplitting alarm hurt their ears and red flashing lights turned on all around them.

"Let's see if you survive being crushed a second time," laughed Teitoku. He jumped backwards, but it was more of a glide with his wings. The wall behind him opened and it was obvious he was going to try to escape. Suddenly, the wall to their right exploded and they heard the sounds of explosions from the rooms down the hall. Fire and smoke started to engulf them and Accelerator had only an instant to make a choice. He could go after Teitoku and leave Saiai to defend for herself, her alarmed expression told him she probably wouldn't survive, or save her and let Teitoku go free and cause who knows what other problems.

The choice was obvious and his body was already moving before his mind formally decided.

* * *

The building collapsed and caused the ground for several blocks to shake. A torrent of smoke and flames rose into the air and temporarily blocked the sun. Motoharu and Awaki were far enough away they weren't in danger, but they both had the same thought. _Couldn't you restrain yourself?_ They had captured or detained a couple people who fled the building, but they didn't expect it to completely collapse into a pile of rubble. Awaki was guarding their prisoners, so Motoharu was the one who snuck closer to see what happened. The smoke and dust was beginning to clear and he was finally able to start making out dark shapes. He didn't see anyone and frowned.

 _As much as he likes to go overboard, Accelerator wouldn't have taken down the entire building without reason. Did the people inside do it when they realized they lost, or was he fighting someone that strong?_ Laughter penetrated the silence after the initial explosions and Motoharu looked up at the source. His mouth fell open as he saw what it was. The outline of a human with six wings was high in the air, obviously looking down upon the destruction. For a wild moment Motoharu thought the Fallen were here and summoned an angel into the world. He shook his head and regained his composure. There was no mana or Telesma located anywhere, so he wasn't going to jump to conclusions. He slinked into the shadow of the building and quietly watched. The smoke cleared and he could finally make out the person in the air. He narrowed his eyes as he recognized Teitoku. _So he's the boss._

"Come on Strongest," Teitoku called down to the rubble from up above. "Don't tell me that's all it takes to kill you. Was your title in name only?" He crossed his arm and scanned the rubble for signs of Accelerator. He didn't care about Saiai, she was lower than garbage to him, but he knew a simple explosion wouldn't be enough to kill Accelerator. A piece of rubble moved slightly and he focused his attention there. A moment later, the spot exploded, sending metal and concreated in every direction. Accelerator leaped up in the air, his right hand holding onto Saiai's sweater dress, and landed effortlessly. "Excellent. It wouldn't be a fight if you died so easily."

 _Damn hero is rubbing off on me,_ Accelerator thought to himself, as he let go of Saiai. He had dashed next to her when the building collapsed and used vector manipulation to force the larger, heavier debris away from her. Her Offense Armor protected her form the small pieces and he didn't have to worry about those. After the sounds of explosions died away, he waited a couple more minutes to make sure everything had cleared enough for him to escape without issue. He had been standing under the rubble with Saiai pulled close to his chest. Saiai on the other hand wasn't as composed and her face had flushed crimson, which Accelerator didn't notice. "I need you to get out of here," Accelerator told her. "You are going to get in the way."

"I can handle myself," Saiai protested. "I'm super strong and I want to fight with you."

"Admirable but still stupid," Accelerator replied. "There's a huge difference between strong and monster. Now be a good girl and GET OUT OF THE WAY!" He reached over and pressed his hand against her chest. Saiai was sent flying and landed in the street, far away from the rubble. If she hadn't had her Offense Armor, she would have been knocked unconscious. Accelerator had most likely taken that into account, or just didn't care. Either way, that wasn't on her mind. While she sat down on the street, her hand reached up and covered the spot Accelerator had touched her.

 _He touched my chest…_ She shook her head vigorously and turned her attention to the fight between monsters.

"Look at you going all soft," Teitoku sneered.

"We'll see how soft you think I am when your guts are spread all over the street. I'll just kill you through your dark matter."

"You don't understand," Teitoku said, descending slightly so he was closer to Accelerator. "Let me show you why you can't win." His wings expanded with a soft swoosh, as the air was displaced and then started to glow with a bright white light. Accelerator suddenly felt his skin start to burn and he jumped back. Looking down at his arms, he saw they were bright red, like he just received a bad sunburn.

"How?" Accelerator asked. He was shocked because an attack like that should have been reflected. Instead, it had bypassed his automatic reflection.

"Diffraction," Teitoku told him, with a superior tone. "Light or electromagnetic waves change direction when passing through narrow gaps, using multiple gaps at the same time will make the waves interfere with each other. Normally, you wouldn't be able to kill people with diffraction, but that only applies to normal physics. My dark matter doesn't normally exist in this world, so when I diffract light using it, the laws are completely different. Let me demonstrate for you." His wings glowed bright again, but this time he aimed at a metal beam sticking out of the ground. Normally it would take several thousand degrees to melt it, but Accelerator watched as the diffracted lights started to cause the metal to bubble and transform into a liquid.

"Then I just have to adjust my calculations to deflect it," sneered Accelerator. From behind his back, the wind started whipping wildly until four dark tornadoes of air formed, like his own set of wings. He leaped up into the air and charged straight at Teitoku, reaching a hand out. Teitoku smirked and one of his white wings intercepted Accelerator's charge. They collided with a boom, as all the air nearby was displaced, and then the impossible happened.

Accelerator was blown back down and crashed into the rubble of the destroyed building.

Saiai couldn't help gasping at the sight. Accelerator's automatic reflection should have been able to stop any attack, but he had been knocked back like a rag doll. Teitoku was still flouting in midair like nothing happened. _How is this possible? Even Mugino's attacks super can't hurt him. What kind of power is this dark matter?_ When Accelerator stood up, she let out a sigh of relief. It appeared his vector manipulation worked fine on the ground and he cushioned his impact. The only damage he took was from the wing hitting him.

"With all the research I sought out and stole," Teitoku explained. "I also found some pretty useful allies. We examined all the information about your ability and found some very interesting things. Your ability to reflect, at first glance, appears to be all powerful. You don't have to see the attack in order to prevent being hurt, but you don't actually reflect everything. There was a well written paper by a man named Kihara who listed your true weakness. You actual make a filtering system with your reflection. If you didn't and just reflected everything, you would never be able to touch anything. Gravity would no longer hold you down on earth and you would drift through space. You allow the minimum about of forces to affect you and then reflect the harmful one."

"So what?" spat out Accelerator. "That doesn't explain how you can use those damn wings as blunt force attacks."

"It's a lot more complicated than that," Teitoku laughed. "Ever since we first clashed I have been testing your filtering system. I can produce over 25,000 different kinds of energy. With each blow we exchanged, I tested your defenses and found what energy your subconscious reflection doesn't consider harmful, and then turn it harmful using my dark matter laws." His wings began to expand. "You may be all powerful in this world, but anything my dark matter encompasses, is no longer the world you know." His wings stretched out and the tips seemed to become incredibly sharp. They converged on Accelerator's location with a boom, as the air was pushed away.

Teitoku white wings only struck the debris, as Accelerator jumped out of the way, the tornados on his back propelling him into the air. Accelerator and Teitoku turned and faced each other in midair. Accelerator didn't like the truth behind Teitoku's words, but it reminded him of something else. _When I fought those magicians, I didn't know how their magic worked. This is the same situation. I will break apart his rules piece by piece and make him regret ever challenging me._ The silence lengthened as they stared at each other. Then they charged.

BOOM!

They exchanged blow after blow. Accelerator controlled the vectors of the flow or air around him and sent 120 meter per second tornados at Teitoku. It blew back Teitoku's wings, but at the same time the wings made out of the unknown matter blew apart his tornados. Accelerator dived down to the ground and stomped on a pile of concreate rubble. The rocks around him shot upwards toward Teitoku like a hail of bullets, but Teitoku swept one of his wings and blew them away. His wings then created his own vortex of wind, made from a different set of laws, and threw it at Accelerator. Accelerator reached up a hand and used his own tornados to disperse as much of it as possible, while still letting some hit him to start his new calculations.

To his surprise, they were easier to understand than the magic vectors. The magic vectors didn't follow the physic laws in how they moved. While the vectors theoretically moved in one direction, they actually moved differently, depending on the individual's mana. An attack may be moving to the right, but the magic vectors would be deflected like they were moving to the left. The dark matter vectors moved in the same way as normal vectors, but it was the reaction that was slightly different when he started to manipulate their direction. It's what caused nonlethal attacks to become lethal. It would be like seeing fire as water. Even if all your other senses would continue to swear it was water, you physically felt it as fire and would get burned by it. Accelerator had been able to start manipulating the vectors the way he wanted to, but some still got through, causing minor damage that was piling up.

"If this is all the number one is capable of," Teitoku said, sounding slightly disappointed. "I should have taken care of you a long time ago and become the new number one." He could tell Accelerator was taking damage and all it would take is one slip up and he would fall to Teitoku's dark matter attacks.

"You still going on about something so stupid?" Accelerator asked, rubbing his ear. The tornadoes behind him lifted him back up into the air and he stopped fifty meters away from Teitoku.

"I need the title for many reasons," Teitoku told him. "There are perks only the number one can have, including access to every research facility, researcher, and even the superintendent himself. I want access to it all to become a being no human could comprehend."

Accelerator frowned and he unconsciously made a fist. Those words reminded him of what he had felt like so long ago, before he met Touma. _I strive for something beyond the strongest, that challenging me would be the most ridiculous thought ever, that fighting me would be a sin!_ Teitoku may have different motivation for that thought, Accelerator didn't know or particularly care, but he knew that path. Accelerator wasn't like Touma. He knew he wouldn't be able to save someone like him, so he had to resort to stopping him, before others were dragged down to their level. _I need one good hit to truly understand his dark matter._

"Where was all that confidence from before?" Teitoku asked. "You suddenly have gone silent. Do you finally realize the difference in our power?" Accelerator's response was just to glare at him. "Then let's finish this." Teitoku's six wings stretched out several more meters and started to glow. Unlike before, it was more ominous and felt partially machine like, cold and devoid of life. Teitoku was obviously planning to end it with one more attack. "It was fun while it…" He stopped when he caught a sudden movement out of the corner of his eye.

A light pole had been thrown like a spear at Teitoku.

One of Teitoku's wings knocked it away effortlessly, and it fell to the ground in a crumple mess. The destructive force didn't stop there and a gust of wind flew toward the person who had thrown the spear. The wind brushed over Saiai and lifted her off the ground. She flew through the air and crashed through a nearby store window. "Pest," Teitoku muttered. "Know your place. Now where were…" He realized his mistake to late. In order to attack Saiai, he took his eyes off Accelerator for a single second, but that was more than enough for him. Accelerator reached forward and controlled all the vectors of the around him, concentrating it to a point and creating a sphere of 120 meter per second wind. Teitoku's wings started to converge on Accelerator, but it was too late. Accelerator delivered his fist into Teitoku's gut, the wind roared and exploded, and Teitoku was thrown from the air at several times the speed of sound. He crashed diagonally through an apartment building, before crashing into the ground with an earth shattering boom.

Accelerator landed on the ground, the tornado of winds behind his broke apart and went silent. Instead of making sure Teitoku was dead, he made his way over to the building Saiai was thrown into. It was an unusual experience for him. He was not use to someone trying to help him fight one of his enemies. Normally, he entered fights other people were participating in and finishing them. People didn't jump into fights he started. Weirdly, he felt like it was his duty to make sure she was okay, which was relatively unknown to him except around Last Order. _It's more of the damn hero's influence. Next time I see him I'm doing to throw him out a window. He's making my life so complicated._ He didn't have to worry, as he saw a hand on the windowsill and Saiai pulled herself up. Thanks to her Offense Armor, which wasn't filtering attacks, she only suffered a weaken blunt force. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I super wanted to help," Saiai said casually, trying to shrug, but flinched slightly in pain.

"I didn't need it," Accelerator said harshly, before turning away. "But I suppose I should thank you. It gave me the opening I was looking for."

 _Did he just compliment me?_ Saiai thought to herself in amazement. She felt it was probably better if she didn't point that out. She stumbled out of the window and followed Accelerator. _I should report to Mugino that it's the number two who was breaking into labs, but it's probably pointless now._ She glanced over in the direction Teitoku had been launched. A movement caused her to stop and her eyes grew wide. "Accelerator," she called out. "He's super still alive."

"Shit," he growled, turning around. White wings erupted out of the ground and kicked up clouds of dust and rubble. Brushing himself off, Teitoku walked calmly through the cloud of dust. While he was pretending to be fine, Accelerator could see severe cuts and bruises all over his body. _He's just acting tough._ "What was that about you wanting to be the strongest? You look like you have seen better days."

"Shut up pig," Teitoku responded, for the first time sounding seriously pissed. "Just because you don't have a reason to gain power, doesn't mean the rest of us don't."

"I know exactly what you are going through," Accelerator spat out. "The bullshit you spew may make perfect since in your twisted useless mind, I don't care. To the rest of us, it's just crap."

"Like you have the right to judge me."

"Now you sound like one of those pieces of filth that pretend to be a first class villain."

"Then if this 'filth' kills you," Teitoku said. "What does that make you?"

"There's no point in dwelling on impossibilities," Accelerator sneered, walking toward Teitoku. "I have figured out how to alter your dark matter. This fight is over."

"Like you could learn the entirety of my ability in such a short time," snorted Teitoku. His white wings began to grow and spread out to either side of him. "Die already." Explosions ripped through the street as the six white wings extended, intending to impale Accelerator.

"Idiot," mumbled Accelerator, as Saiai jumped back to make sure she wasn't in the way. The white wings struck Accelerator from all sides.

The battle was over in an instant.

Teitoku never saw his attack being reflected back at him, before it was too late. He looked down and saw his wings had looped around and pieced his stomach and torso. Blood ran out of his wounds and his mouth. "You bastard…" he mumbled, before falling backwards. Accelerator decided not to take chances this time and walked up to him. Standing over Teitoku's body, Accelerator shook his head.

"You brought this on yourself. Now go rot in hell."

"Heh," coughed Teitoku, his eyes looking at him. "If I had greater control of magic, I might have been able to win. I can only generator enough mana to imitate a level 3, but it looks like you killed me first." He hacked up some blood, and Accelerator saw something that gave him a chill. Teitoku was smiling. "At least… this version of me."

"What?" Accelerator asked, before receiving his answer. Teitoku's body bled out and he fainted, but then something else happened. His body started to decay into small scraps of his white dark matter. It continued from his wounds and spread out to his entire body. The dark matter floated into the air like snow, before fading away. "Was his entire body made of dark matter?" Accelerator muttered and frowned to himself, ignoring the fact Saiai had snuck up behind him.

"Was he the real number two?" she asked him, and Accelerator's frown grew.

"Let's worry about that later," he said. "We need to get out of here. The noise will attract unwanted attention, even with my group's precautions." Saiai nodded and both of them made their way to Accelerator's rendezvous point.

* * *

 _Why do these kinds of things always happen to me? At least I still made it in time to catch the supermarket sale._

Touma was slowly heading back to his apartment, his body bruised and arching all over, his clothes dirty and torn. This wasn't an unusual situation for him, so most people who saw him only noticed the disheveled clothes. He was walking slower because his arms were laden with bags of food. _I should be able to make Lessar and Index a proper meal tonight. This food won't last long, but that's why it was being sold so cheaply._ His apartment came into view and he turned his thoughts back to what happened earlier.

After he and Jason had accidently angered Leivinia, she had unleashed a series of dome shaped explosions, which Jason later told him was controlled bursts of Telesma. _I guess she's really the head of her magic cabal, if she can wield Telesma so easily._ Touma managed to protect himself with his right hand, but was surprised when Jason's shadow cut one of the explosions in half, causing the force to divide on either side of him. After the initial attack, both of them turned around and ran, trying to put distance between them and Leivinia. It didn't seem to do much, as she launched another well placed volley. Touma finally managed to lose her after running through the back alleys before finding Jason, talking on his phone. They talked for about a minute, before Jason told him he should leave. Anti-Skill was moving in on their location and Touma would not want to be caught there. Touma quickly agreed with him and left as quickly as he could. When he was far enough away, he remembered the sale at the supermarket.

"Index, Lessar," Touma called out, as he opened the door. "I'm back and I brought food…" He stopped talking when he felt the tension in the air. He stepped into his dorm and threw the food into the kitchen, before realizing there was a third girl in the living area with his roommates. Leivinia was sitting across the table from Lessar, with Index sitting between them. Index appeared to be in an awkward position and kept nervously glancing at the other two. Leivinia appeared rather bored, but glanced over when Touma came into view. Lessar appeared the most alert, because she had her Steel Glove assembled and held tightly against her chest. "Birdway-san?" he gasped, a combination of surprise and worry. "What are you doing here?"

"Touma," Index cried, standing up and rushing over to him. She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the living room. "Thank god you're back. I'm starving and these two have been arguing for the past half an hour."

"I'm pretty sure I told you already," Leivinia said to Touma. "Just because you managed to slink away during an unexpected interruption, doesn't mean I have forgotten."

"When did you meet the boss of Dawn Colored Sunlight?" Lessar asked. "Don't you know who she is? What she does?" Lessar glared at him.

"I sort of ran into her today," Touma admitted, omitting some of the more dangerous details. Of course, Leivinia immediately saw through his pathetic attempt to protect himself and smirked.

"You don't need to be so modest," Leivinia told him, sounding nicer than he ever heard her before. "I was just walking down the street, when he comes out of nowhere and asks me out on a date."

"WHAT!?" Lessar and Index yelled, and Touma felt his heart sink.

 _I'm dead._

"How did you get him to do that?" Lessar demanded. "I've been throwing myself at him and he barely bats an eye."

"It must be my feminine charms," Leivinia declared proudly.

"What charms?" Lessar asked. "I'm much more attractive than you are." This caused an argument to break out, but Touma stopped paying attention. There was a more pressing issue at hand. Index had turned to him, with a dark aura surrounding her, as she looked up at Touma with accusation in her eyes.

"Toouuummmaaa," Index growled dangerously. "Is what she said true?"

"There's a reasonable explanation behind it," Touma cried, his hand outstretched as he tried to pacify her. Index had jumped before he was able to though and he spent a minute trying to stop her from biting his head. Lessar and Leivinia watched with amusement, not bothering to offer him help. After he finally got her off, he escaped into the kitchen saying he needed to cook supper. _I thought I would have enough for leftovers, even with Index's appetite, but now with Birdway it doesn't look like it._ Index looked torn between continuing to punishment him, calling what he did 'a sin,' but she also wanted to eat and couldn't do that if he was being punished. She settled down at the table and listened to Leivinia and Lessar talk.

"So you found Fallen activity in the city," Lessar repeated Leivinia's explanation. "And now you want him to join your group in assaulting their base?"

"That's about it," Leivinia replied, sipping her tea Touma provided them. It was an extremely cheap blend, something she commented on, but didn't taste too bad. "His hand will be useful removing all of their defenses."

"I don't think you should be involving Touma in the magic side," Index spoke up. "He gets involved too much on his own. We shouldn't purposely…"

"He's already involved," Leivinia interrupted. "Ever since he started opposing them, he accepted the consequences of getting involved. His actions in England have far more reaching implications thean you realize, plus the rumors of an unusual event in Rome, centered on the coliseum."

"Index," Touma spoke up from the kitchen. "I already promised her I would help. Besides, we know our friends are involved too, so if we don't do what we can, they might get dragged into this even more."

"I suppose," Index said halfheartedly. "But you won't take any unnecessary risk right?" She looked at him and he nodded.

"When do I ever take risks?" Touma replied, laughing, but stopped when Index narrowed her eyes at him.

"So there are no problems," Leivinia said simply. "I guess I'll join you for dinner and then we can head out. My people should be in position by then."

"How much do you know of her organization?" Lessar asked Touma again. "Did you just agree to help without knowing anything about her?"

"Her organization is called the Dawn Colored Sunlight and is based in England, right?" Touma answered. "They also oppose the Fallen." He shrugged. "I just met her today so I don't have any more information."

"Of course that's all you would know," Lessar replied, face palming. "Her magical cabal may be based in England, but she isn't loyal to the country at all. Her group wants to eliminate the distinction and separation between the Science Side and the Magic Side, and then rule over both sides. The only reason she is willing to work with us is because she considered the Fallen a threat to her plans."

"You make it sound like my group is horrible," Leivinia said, pretending to pout slightly. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend right?"

"Not in this case," Lessar said, a little irritated. She stood up and pointed her Steel Glove at Leivinia. "If you try anything with him, you will have me to answer to."

"What if I let you join us?" Leivinia asked, smirking deviously.

"That's okay then." Touma nearly tripped and fell in the kitchen from Lessar's response.

"So it's settled," Leivinia said to Lessar, in a final sort of way. "You and the Imagine Breaker will join my group on the assault of their base. If we can capture them fine, if not, well, that's up to them." Her voice grew dark and cold.

"We will stop them," Touma said firmly. "But we won't have to go that far."

"I'm coming too," Index added.

"What?" Touma asked surprised. "You don't have to."

"If we are going to assault the Fallen's base," Index explained. "We are most likely going to encounter Eve's and Adam's subordinates. My knowledge will be useful in uncovering their abilities, because we don't know what we will be facing."

"But…" Touma tried to protest.

"Don't argue," snapped Leivinia. "Her reasoning is right on the mark. Plus, it does not seem like they are after the grimoires she holds. If they were, they would have made an attempt on them already." Touma wanted to argue, but he knew it was pointless. Leivinia already agreed to it, and Index had a determined look on her face that told him she wasn't going to change her mind. To distract himself, he focused his attention on cooking. Leivinia noticed this and decided it was a perfect time to mess with him some more. "Lessar," Leivinia said. "So you have been staying with him for a while?"

"A couple days," Lessar said and then frowned. "There's no more room so don't even think about it. He's going to end up choosing me in the end, so don't get in the way."

"Have you found any adult magazines yet?" Leivinia asked, her eyes twinkling. There was a bang in the kitchen, but the three girls ignored it.

"No," Lessar complained loudly. "I looked all over for them. Since he was ignoring all my advances, I tried to find what he was into, but he doesn't seem to have anything like that."

"Touma always says money is tight," Index told them. "He has to spend it on food and can't waste it on sinful material."

"That sounds unusual for a high school boy," Leivinia said seriously. "You think he swings for our side?"

"That thought crossed my mind," Lessar replied, just as seriously. "It would explain why he appears to have Saint level self-restraint against my advances."

"Swings for our side?" Index asked, tilting her head slightly.

"It means he is into…"

"Lessar!" Touma called out harshly from the kitchen. "That is not true at all. Index, just ignore those two."

"I did find something interesting though," Lessar whispered to Birdway. "But I don't think it's his."

"Do tell."

"This," Lessar answered, reaching under the bed mattress and pulling out a magazine. Index saw what she was doing and gasped quietly. Lessar threw the magazine onto the table and Leivinia glanced at it. It definitely wasn't something she expected Touma to own, but a quick glance over at Index, who had gone slightly red and was deliberately trying not to look at it, confirmed her suspicion. It was a female magazine, with the main article titled in bold red letters, Ten Ways to Attract a Man. Several smaller articles were also listed including Spring Fashions and Increasing Your Chest Size. Leivinia reached over, picked it up, and rifled through it, pretending to be nonchalant about it.

"If it's not his," Leivinia said slowly and sarcastically. "Who do you think it could belong to?" She and Lessar both glanced over at Index, small smirks forming on their faces. Index's face grew slightly redder.

"It's not mine," Index denied. "Maybe the previous owner of the dorm left it. Touma wouldn't buy something like that."

 _She's lying,_ Lessar and Leivinia thought.

"Well if it doesn't belong to anyone here," Leivinia said slyly. "Maybe I'll give it to my sister. I bet she would be interested in this." This time, it was Leivinia who was lying. She was planning to keep the magazine for herself.

"Ah, no!" Index cried.

"Why not?" Lessar asked, trying not to laugh at her panicked expression. Before Index could think of a response, she was saved by Touma calling for all of them to come and eat. Lessar stood up immediately and bolted for the kitchen. She knew what happened if Index got to the food first. Leivinia laughed at the stunned look on Index's face and followed Lessar. Index paused a moment longer, grabbed the magazine Leivinia had thrown on the table, and hid it back under the mattress, before rushing into the kitchen.

"It's a rather common dish," Leivinia commented, after tasting Touma's food for the first time. "Yet you somehow made it passable." Touma had made a stir-fry with rice, assorted vegetables, and a little meat. She was a little disappointed in the amount of meat, which she told him, but the food tasted good, so she let it pass. _It's unusual to see someone with a powerful ability like the Imagine Breaker, and can still do basic chores like cooking. Maybe I should force him to work for me exclusively._

"Thanks?" Touma replied awkwardly. _Just accept it as a compliment._ He was slightly curious about what the girls were talking about shortly before he called them, but something told him he didn't really want to know.

"One of the best perks about living here," Lessar agreed. "Of course, there could be a better one if he just left the door unlocked." Touma started coughing as he choked on his food.

"There's so much," Index said cheerfully, helping herself to thirds already.

"I managed to catch a really good sale," Touma told her. "It was lucky I was nearby or I would never have caught it in time. " He caught Leivinia's eyes and she smirked. _At least she doesn't seem to be mad at me anymore about what Jason and I said earlier._ They ate their meal in relative silence, with only occasional conversations, before Leivinia looked up at the clock.

"We need to get going," she said. "My people should be finishing getting into their positions. You three will get to be with me in the initial assault."

"Perfect," Touma said dryly, as the peaceful atmosphere changed instantly.

* * *

"Is this it?" Touma asked Leivinia. They had stopped in front of a large, but unassuming warehouse. Academy City had storage units all over the city to store the vast amount or equipment and resources the city used. If Leivinia hadn't stopped right in front of this one, Touma would have no idea this was the Fallen's base. Leivinia appeared confident, as she gazed at it intently. Lessar was standing behind Touma, her Steel Glove held tightly in her right hand. Index was standing next to Touma and was frowning.

"There doesn't seem to be any signs of mana around here," she said.

"That threw us off their trail for a while too," Leivinia admitted. "But they underestimated us. We found evidence members of the Fallen have been coming and going. There is most likely a barrier around the warehouse to hide their presence." She turned to Touma. "Why don't you just go up and knock?" she suggested. "If your hand works, then we know it's the place. Oh, they will probably instantly know if the barrier is broken, so be prepared for a fight." Her voice was sounding a little crueler, almost like she was getting excited.

"Index be careful," Touma whispered, as he made his way to the large metal doors.

"You don't need to worry about me," Index told him. "I can take care of myself. You should be more worried about yourself. Don't take any chances." Touma nodded and stopped right before the doors. He decided on the spot knocking was not a good idea and, instead, reached up and put his hand lightly on the door. The sound of breaking glass echoed along the deserted street, and Touma instinctively took a step back. "TOUMA!" Index cried. "Get back now!"

"Already on it," Lessar said. She jumped into the air and landed next to Touma, who had begun to back up. She swung her Steel Glove and the hand at the end made contact with the door. The sound of metal tearing hurt Touma's ears and the door was ripped off its hinges. Lessar lifted the door and threw it into the building. It crashed with a devastatingly loud clang, followed by the sound of someone yelling in pain. Touma looked through the door and saw someone was trapped under the heavy metal door. He was about to rush to the person's aid, when he saw the gold mask on their face.

"It's one of Eve's creations," he called out to the others.

"And there's a lot more where that one came from," Lessar added from next to him, holding her Steel Glove in front of her. Touma had to admit she was right. From what he could see of the warehouse, through the broken doorway, it was mostly empty. There were boxes stacked several meters high against the back wall. A couple shelves were standing away from the walls, but the center of the warehouse was mostly clear. There appeared to be a metal walkway suspended from the ceiling to allow access to the top of the shelves, along with pulley systems, most likely used to lift the supplies. The issue was Eve's masked men were emerging from random spots around the warehouse and were pulling blades from nowhere, as they approached him and Lessar.

"Let's remove the trash before we investigate their base," Leivinia suggested, causing them both to jump. Neither of them heard her walk up. In her hand, she spun her Symbolic Weapon. Touma was shocked she was preparing to walk into the lion's den alone and was about to call out for her to stop, but then he saw something to make him remember important facts. Leivinia Birdway may be a young girl, but she was the leader of the largest magical cabal in England. Touma was about to witness the truth behind the cabal's judgement on promoting members based on skill instead of age.

It was a slaughter.

A line of fire erupted from Leivinia's wand toward the group of masked men. It was unlucky for them they had to converge at the entrance, which made it easier for her to target all of them with a single attack. The fire grew the further away it traveled and became a cone of destructive flames. The masked men never had a chance to defend themselves. Their clothes burned away first, then their masks, and finally the rest of them. The fire faded away and all that was left of the opposition was ashes. Leivinia had shown them no mercy, no restraint, and not a single shred of respect. She flipped her hair back and yawned. To her, annihilating a couple enemies was about as exciting as taking out the trash. Touma finally received a full view of the other half of Leivinia Birdway.

She was the leader of the Dawn Colored Sunlight.

"What if they were real people?" he half yelled at Leivinia. _She acted like a normal girl at my dorm, and I could understand her attacking me and Jason, but this? This was nothing but overkill._

"Then they learned their lesson about what happens when you oppose me," Leivinia shrugged.

"You…!" Touma said, for the first time sounding angry.

"None of them were human," Index informed him. "She probably already knew that so she didn't have to hold back." Touma felt his anger subside.

"Sorry," he muttered. _I guess she isn't so bad._ Leivinia didn't say anything and strutted into the warehouse. Touma and Index followed her, but Lessar hesitated for a moment. She didn't know if Leivinia actually knew for sure, but Lessar was confident it wouldn't have made a difference. Leivinia's reputation was not very pleasant and Lessar knew Leivinia would turn on them if it would further her goals. "Any idea what they are storing in here?"

"No," Leivinia said. "But that's why we are here." She turned to Index. "Do you notice anything unusual?" Index quickly scanned the room, looking for any kinds of symbols or markings, while noting the layout in case it was used for some kind of ritual. She peered into boxes while the other's kept watch.

"Most of these boxes contain electronic parts," Index said, frowning. "Nor do I see any kind of relevance to any kind of ritual or spell. I can't make out the markings on the ceiling from here though."

"It's possible they were just using this place as a meeting hall," Lessar commented, peering into another box. "They might not be storing anything at all."

"From what we saw of Eve in England," Touma muttered. "She tends to make overly complicated plans. I doubt she would take over an entire warehouse just to leave some of her creations here."

"That's obvious," Leivinia added. "But I wish you knew more of the science in your own city. Seriously, do you want to call all your other friends? I bet they would be able to give us more information."

"That won't be necessary," a young female voice called down to them. All of them looked up to the metal rafters and saw a young girl sitting on the railings, her legs dangling over the side. She had long dark brown hair, which reached the middle of her back, and dark brown eyes. She was wearing a green t-shirt with a yellow flower and tight fitting blue jeans. A rose was tucked behind her left ear. Touma frowned when he saw her face. He could swear she was around his age but, what should have been a kind and sisterly look, her face was etched with dark lines, like she had been through a traumatic experience. "I'm not a big fan of violence, so could you all leave quietly?"

"Are you Juliet?" Touma asked. "You look like the girl Misaki saw in Eve's memory."

"That's what she calls me anyways," Juliet replied with a slight twinge of annoyance. "I have a name, but I don't want to give it to you lot."

"How about you tell us what Eve's doing here and we don't beat it out of you?" Leivinia suggested.

"I'm never sure what Eve is ever really doing," Juliet said. "It has something to do with the wing. I was just killing time here until she would fulfill her promise."

"What promise is that?" Lessar questioned. She was smart enough to get as much information as possible, because Juliet seemed to be in the mood to talk.

"She promised I would be able to meet my Romeo."

There was no context about who Romeo was, though all four of them knew about The William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. The play was about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. What happened next, Touma did not expect, because he had done nothing wrong. Leivinia, Lessar, and Index all turned and stared at him with exasperated expressions, though Index might have had a slight amount of irritation mixed in. "What?" he asked, but none of them answered. "Why do I feel like you are all saying it's my fault? I didn't do anything. This is my first time meeting her."

"Don't even think about setting me up with him," Juliet sniffed. "My Romeo is smarter, more sensitive, and much more attractive than this dense, average looking, idiot. I'm offended you would even think of something like that." Touma felt a twinge of annoyance.

"He is pretty dense," Leivinia conceded.

"His looks are pretty average too," Lessar added.

"And he gets involved in a lot of things he shouldn't," Index finished. "But he's still our friend, so you aren't allowed to insult him." Lessar nodded in agreement.

"Enough of this mindless chatter," Leivinia told them all firmly. "She's trying to get us off topic. She's quite good at manipulating people and it felt so natural. Let's just force her to tell us what we want to know." She twirled her Symbolic Weapon and another stream of fire flew at Juliet. The fire wrapped around where Juliet was sitting and created a sphere of flames, melting the nearby metal railings and walkways.

"I said I don't like fighting," Juliet's voice came clearly through the wall of flames. A familiar sight of dark water like substance burst through the fire and spun around in midair. While the shadow looked familiar, there was a key difference to Touma. Jason's shadow always had to be attached to his body, this shadow was not connected to anything. The shadow flowered around like a dark current in the air, before making its way onto a stack of boxes. The shadow started to twist itself back into the shape of a human, before finally becoming Juliet again. "While I can fight if I have a reason, I usually don't. I only protect people important to me." Touma felt something in his chest, as her words struck him deeply.

 _She's saying the same things I do._

"Enough of your babbling," Lessar said, swinging her Steel Glove. It grabbed one of the boxes full of heavy electronics and threw it at Juliet. She might as well have thrown a wad of paper for how much damage it did. Juliet's body morphed back into the shadow and the box went right through her, before hitting the wall, causing the box to open and scatter the parts all over the floor. The clatter sounded like heavy rain hitting a tin roof. "How are we supposed to hit her?"

"Even if you could hit me," Juliet answered. "It wouldn't work. I'm not even alive. You could say I'm just a memory."

"A memory?" Touma asked, looking over at Index, but her attention was focused on Juliet. _She's in the middle of analyzing Juliet's magic._

"My real body died years ago helping my Romeo," Juliet explained. "Thanks to Lucifer's blessing, I was given a second chance." She reformed on the ground and started walking toward them. "I have my orders, but I won't let you stand in my way of our future." She morphed back into the shadow as Lessar lunged at her. Juliet whipped her shadow body and sent Lessar flying into a stack of boxes. Juliet turned around and moved at high speeds toward Leivinia, who smiled.

"If physical and elemental attacks won't work," Leivinia muttered coldly. "Let's try pure Telesma." A gold explosion engulfed Juliet and, for the first time, the explosion pushed her back. The shadow reformed on the far side of the warehouse and Juliet was shaking her head.

"That actually hurt!" she yelled at Leivinia.

"That was the point." While the explosion looked like simple magic, Leivinia was actually using accurate intuition and measurements made by eye rather than relying on theories and calculations. She accurately used the right amount of Telesma, without giving it form, to create a series of dome-shaped explosion attacks. Without the proper knowledge, a magician using this kind of magic would probably be swallowed by their power. It was just another testament to her skill. "It didn't work on his friend," she said, pointing to Touma, "but your magic feels different. Now that I know how to hit you, I'm going to take my sweet time until you tell me everything you know."

"I rather not," Juliet replied. "Eve would tan my hide if I talked. How about this instead? You all leave, I pretend I never saw you, and everyone lives?"

"Denied."

"Then I guess I'll just have to blow us all up together," Juliet said simply. "A sacrifice to protect others. What could be more romantic?"

"Don't!" Touma yelled, dashing as fast as he could toward her. "You can't give up your life that easily!" He reached out a hand toward her, but she slipped away from him by transforming back into a shadow and bolting toward the ceiling. _What was that?_ For a single second, before she transformed, fear was etched on her face as she looked at his incoming hand.

"Who would have thought you would try to kill me," Juliet asked in shocked. "I was told you were supposed to be some kind of dense savior."

"I was trying to stop you from committing suicide."

"I told you before, didn't I? I don't have a real body. Your hand will kill me. Can you live with that?" Touma froze at the implications of what she said and he stared at his hand in horror.

"Good to know," Leivinia said.

"So we just have to hold her still so he can touch her," Lessar added.

"Is she telling the truth Index?" Touma asked.

"Sadly yes," Index nodded slowly. "Her entire body is made up of shadows. If you touched her, she would fade from existence."

"Eve told me to destroy this place if it's discovered," Juliet continued. "So I guess I don't have a choice." She flew as a shadow toward the ceiling and started muttering. From the middle of the ceiling, dark red lines started to spread out across the ceiling and down the walls. "Think of this spell as the final celebration when two feuding families find peace. All conflict will end. It will take us all out, but I don't have a physical body sooooo…. Have fun." Explosions started to appear on the walls and ceiling, sending shards of metal flying in every direction. Rather than collapsing the building, the explosions were breaking the building into sharp pieces and sending them flying through every point in the warehouse.

"You'll pay for this," Leivinia roared, swinging her wand which changed into a disk. Walls of earth started to emerge from the ground to provide her cover. The metal shards embedded in the stone like needles.

"Damn it," Lessar said, swinging her Steel Glove to stop the metal shards from piercing her. Her glove gathered them together and she threw them at other incoming shards. Touma was the only one who recognized the biggest problem.

"INDEX!" he yelled. She didn't have any way to protect herself and he was prepared to use his own body to protect her. A large fragment of a steel beam was flying straight at her and he wasn't going to make it in time. _Index, damn it, I said I would protect you._ He didn't give up and still ran, regardless how futile it appeared. He was a foot away, when the metal fragment suddenly altered its trajectory upwards and impaled itself into the far wall. Touma stopped next to Index and looked around in shock. In fact, most of the metal shards were changing their direction unnaturally. "What the…" It seemed Juliet was equally surprised.

"What is happening?" she asked in amazement. The ceiling started to crack along the middle, like both sides of the building were being pulled apart. The ceiling broke in half and the metal that started to fall also moved to the right and left, completely avoiding Touma, Index, Lessar, and Leivinia. Juliet was still floating in the air, but now, the warehouse that was covering them all was now in two large piles on either side of them. She looked around trying to find the reason her spell was interrupted, and she couldn't believe who had stopped it. "Not another interruption. How did she even find out about this place?" Everyone else turned to look and saw a familiar face.

"Mikoto!"

"Short Hair?"

"Sparky!"

"What was her name? Misaka or something?"

"Are you all okay?" Mikoto called out, running over to them. "I saw the building start to collapse and I magnetized each side with a positive charge. I'm glad to see it worked." By causing the walls on opposite sides to have the same polarities, they started to repel each other. The walls were actually causing the building to break into two and then she could use the rest of her magnetism to manipulate any falling debris. Her strategy only worked because the entire warehouse was metal. If it was concrete or would, nothing would have happened.

"Yeah thanks," Touma told her sincerely.

"You didn't need to try to protect me," Index told him. "I had just analyzed her spell and was about to redirect the attack away from us."

"I wasn't thinking sorry," Touma said sheepishly, before turning back to Mikoto. "How did you know we were here?"

"Shokuhou," Mikoto said, looking like she just ate something sour. "She told me you were off with someone we didn't know and looked uncomfortable. We figured it had something to do with the magic side. She then monitored your movements and relayed them to me." She looked up at Juliet. "So that's our opponent?"

"You probably won't be able to hurt her," Lessar warned her. "She's immune to physical and elemental attacks. So far, only Birdway has been able to cause any damage."

"It looks like she has run out options," Leivinia said. "I'll capture her and have her spill her secrets. The rest of you can just help to make sure she doesn't try to flee."

"I could use some help!" Juliet called out loudly. "I really don't like my odds."

"My group is making sure you don't receive any backup," Leivinia told her. "You are all alone."

"No she is not."

The voice was unmistakably male, cool and calm, but Touma felt a shiver down his back. He turned to face the source and saw a man walking toward them. The man was covered completely in pitch black clothing, including his shoes and gloves. He also wore a hoody which covered his head. The only part of his face Touma could see were two red glows in place of eyes. He didn't appear to be afraid, nervous, or in a hurry. Touma didn't know what to expect from this guy, but every vibe in his body told him to be careful. He moved ever so slightly in front of Index. "Who are you?" Touma asked nervously. The man didn't reply, but then Touma was hit by an attack he never saw coming.

His entire body froze in sheer terror. Every warning sign in his mind was blaring at him to flee and scream in the opposite direction. He mind refused to think coherently and his only thought was he was about to die. The conflicting signals were preventing any chance he had of trying to calm himself down. He wanted to run but, at the same time, his body refused to obey him. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw his friend's faces. They had terrified looks etched on their faces imitated how he felt and they all appeared frozen. Everyone had apparently had been hit by the same attack. The sound of breaking glass broke the sudden silence and Touma found himself able to think straight and move. He stumbled slightly and looked up at the man approaching them.

"Impressive," the unknown man told him. "You were able to break my Hunter's Presence. It is the instinct of prey to fear their predators. I applaud you for finding the courage to break it, or was it the result of your hand?" He paused. "I suppose it doesn't matter, but I suppose introductions are in order. My name is Cain. You may know me as the first murderer."

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Pierce: Accelerator totally just made the move on her.**

 **Motoharu: He's into lolis what did you expect.**

 **Last Order: He's cheating on MISAKA! Misaka cries with tears in her eyes.**

 **Worst: Stop caring about him. You are making Misaka feel bad too.**

 **Jason: I'm surprised Shokuhou-san let Misaka-san hog the spotlight.**

 **Misaki: If it involves Touma, I will always do everything I can to help.**

 **Mikoto: It's when it involves his safety is the only time I trust her.**

 **Misaki: You don't trust me when we are alone and having fun?**

 **Mikoto: You have a twisted definition of fun.**

 **Shizuri: Accelerator is really becoming soft.**

 **Saiai: No, he super kicked Dark Matter's ass.**

 **Accelerator: If you think I went soft, you can always fight me.**

 **Touma: Come on guys, there's no reason to fight.**

 **Me: There's always a reason, but I feel after this chapter, Accelerator should get a chance to answer questions. You know he's going to get hammered by the audience.**

 **Accelerator: If I refuse?**

 **Me: I let Last Order answer all the questions on you…. alone.**

 **Accelerator: Fine.**


	67. S3 Cain

**Blah, why the hell do I actually do this? It's such a pain. If you haven't guessed, I'm Accelerator. I know, I know, the number 1 is actually going to answer your questions again. You all better understand how lucky you are. I'm not even in this chapter so I could give a shit who this Cain guy is. If he gets in my way, I'll just slaughter him. Can't wait to see how this Birdway girl messes with the hero though. Well, I guess I should answer your questions so I can leave.**

 **Yakutsu Zaishiro" Of course I will. That piece of trash can't stand up to me.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: I have no idea what you are spewing out of your mouth. Who said I was best friends with the damn hero? He just doesn't annoy me as much as others.**

 **Brosephg: It pisses me off all the time. I don't even know why I don't just beat the shit out of all of them.**

 **wildarms13: You mean those wings? I don't really know what causes them yet. I suppose if something stupid like that is actually an issue about last names, I could find out what my name use to be.**

 **Willgm: Hah, ghost girl actually does something? I would like to see that. Eh, people naturally gravitate to people in power, developing a harem is only natural for the strongest. Still annoying though.**

 **Salishious: That's an easy question. The Saten girl would cause him the least trouble. She's actually not that annoying either.**

 **AxelLord20: I mentioned this before, but I would go with the girl who annoys me the least.**

 **general ironox: I think the others are saying Worst, Awaki, and Bayloupe are also part of my harem. I really don't pay attention.**

 **Ravenala: It's actually an improvement from being experimented on and killing clones. It filled a weird void that had been bothering me for years. Though, they all still annoy me TO DAMN MUCH!**

 **Generation Zero: Trash is still trash, regardless how they try to improve. I don't really care about magic, but I might learn about it if I have nothing better to do. Because that guy is an asshole.**

 **Sesshoru : I would throw away the collar and the batteries.**

 **MarkJ: I assume you mean which girls from the hero's harem I would be willing to date? The only girl that doesn't annoy me is the Saten girl.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

"Cain?" Touma asked. _I know I've heard that before._ Something told him fighting this guy by himself was not a smart thing to do, so he started inching toward Index, who was closest to him. He reached out his right hand and gently touched her hand. The sound of breaking glass was heard and Index stumbled slightly, able to move again. Touma tensed up and turned his focus back to Cain, but he didn't seem to care Touma was saving the others. He was just standing there, watching Touma with unblinking, glowing red eyes.

"Why don't you ask the Index Librorum Prohibitorum?" Cain suggested. "And you might as well free your acquaintances too. If you wish to last against me, you will need them." Touma was surprised Cain was being so accommodating, and also suspicious.

 _Is he trying to let my guard down?_ Touma thought, inching in front of Index in case Cain tried anything. _Or is he so confident of his abilities to take us all down?_ His eyes darted over to Juliet, who had descended onto the ground far behind Cain and reformed into her human form. She had an uncomfortable look on her face, like she wasn't happy Cain was here. _Even Juliet is weary of him._ "Index," he whispered. "What can you tell me about…?" He felt her reach up a hand and grab the back of his shirt. "Index why….?" He stopped as he felt her hand tremble. _Is his magic affecting her again?_ He reached back and grabbed her hand with his right hand, but nothing happened.

"You need to break the others free first," Index whispered, her voice shaking. "Then you all need to run as far away as you can. You can't sense it, but he's in an entire class of his own."

"I can't abandon…"

"Save everyone else," Index told him, a little firmer, but the fear in her voice was still evident. Touma wanted to argue, but he saw the resolve on her face, even though she was terrified. He vowed to himself to not leave her behind and ran over to Mikoto, who was nearest. He reached out and grabbed her arm. He heard the sound of his hand activating, she stumbled and turned her head to look at him, but he was already moving to Lessar and Leivinia. He touched both of their arms and they broke free of their restraints too.

"What happened," Mikoto asked, crossing her arms and rubbing them. "I couldn't do anything. I was so…"

"Scared," Touma finished and Mikoto nodded. "We all got hit by it." They turned their gaze back to Cain, who still was just standing there, watching them. Touma also noticed Lessar and Leivinia were slowly moving toward their location, their weapons held out in front of them, but never taking their eyes off Cain. "Index," Touma asked again. "What was that?"

"It is as he said," she answered. Touma and Mikoto saw she was still shaking. "It's a type of magic commonly called Hunter's Presence. It's based on how prey always instinctively fears predators. Most religions reference something about it. Prey will freeze in fear in hopes their predators will not notice them, the magic is based on that."

"I understand," Mikoto said. "It's like when a hawk perches on a tree branch, all the mice tend to hide out of fear. If they can't hide, they don't move to avoid detection." Index nodded.

"But how would that affect us?" Touma asked. "We aren't prey."

"You don't know who he is," Lessar replied and Touma saw her hands were gripping her Steel Glove so tightly they were turning white. "I don't know if he is who he claims to be either, but he is definitely one of them. You two can't feel it, but we can." Touma assumed they had to be talking about something magical base, because that was the only difference between them.

"One of what?" Mikoto asked, turning to look at her. "You mean one of the Fallen?" Lessar shook her head, and Mikoto understood the seriousness of the situation. "Is… is he not human?"

"You may not know everything about them," Leivinia told her. It was weird for Touma to actually hear her voice without a superior, manipulative, or antagonizing tone in it. She knew full well what kind of situation they were all in. "But even the science side has heard rumors about them." She took a deep breath. "He's a vampire."

"A what?!" Mikoto and Touma half yelled together.

"You mean the blood sucking, weak to sunlight, crosses, and garlic vampires?" Mikoto asked.

"Those weaknesses are actually a myth," Cain told her, causing everyone to turn and look at him. "I can hear your conversations quite clearly. Please, do go on. It's best for you to understand your fate."

"They shouldn't even exist," Index spoke up. "Magicians have been trying to prove their existence for centuries." Touma actually knew vampires had to exist, at least at one point, because his friend and classmate Aisa Himegami has an ability called Deep Blood. It was power to kill vampires. She mentioned before how vampires were just like humans, they laughed, they cried, they felt regret, but they were immortal. Index was unconscious during the fight with the alchemist Aureolus Izzard and wouldn't know that. He now remembered were he heard about vampires. They were also known as Decedents of Cain.

"Are you even sure he's a vampire?" Mikoto asked. Her eyes darted back to Cain.

"Judging by his level of mana," Leivinia said. "And the fact he can use Hunter's Presence so easily on us, I would say he is as close to one as possible."

"What do you mean his level of mana?" Touma asked. He couldn't feel anything related to mana, neither could Mikoto, but both felt the sheer weight of Cain's presence.

"One method of creating mana is by processing inner life force, similar to how crude oil is refined," Lessar explained quickly. "Since mana comes from life force, immortal beings would possess an infinite amount of mana."

"Immortal?" Mikoto gapped.

"We are about to find out," Leivinia said, holding her wand out in front of her.

"I'm more worried about who he says he is," muttered Index, but decided on holding that information for now. There probably wasn't time to go into details. "I'll do what I can. If I can analyze his spells, I might be able use Spell Intercept on it. It's not dependent on how much mana they use, but he could just overwhelm what I can control."

"You really should give up," Juliet called out. "I'm just trying to help you. Cain is really patient, but once you start fighting, he tends to go overboard. I don't want to step in and try to snap him out of his blood frenzy."

"I could hardly call myself the leader of my group if I slunk away from a difficult fight with my tail between my legs," Leivinia declared, appearing to finally regain her composer. She twirled her wand in her hands and took a couple steps forward. "I don't believe you could possibly be THE Cain, no matter how much mana you possess. I'll show you it's the quality, not the quantity."

"How frightening," Cain replied. His tone wasn't scared, sarcastic, or even amused. He was commenting on her words like most people comment on the weather. "I'll give you the first blow and even stand still for you." Cain's feet spread out slightly and it looked like he was ready to receive a couple blows.

"How kind," Leivinia replied, the corners of her mouth twitching. "I hope you don't come to regret it." She hated to be looked down upon. Leivinia whipped her wand in a single fluid motion, causing a wall of flames to erupt from it. The further it moved away from her, the larger it got. Cain didn't even bother to dodge and he disappeared from sight as the flames engulfed him. A normal person would have been burned alive, but Touma had a bad feeling.

 _There's no way it would be that easy._

Boom!

The sound of air being displaced reverberated through them, a second before the wall of flames was shattered. The flames were torn and spread out in every direction, leaving Cain standing amid the burnt rubble, looking completely fine. He had simply swept his right arm in front of him, yet was able to cause enough power to negate Leivinia's attack with air pressure alone. Leivinia was too skilled to let a single failed attack shake her, her wand had already transformed into a sword, and she swung it down. Touma couldn't see the actual attack, but a line being cut in the ground was indicating the attack was a high pressured wind blade. Cain's tilted head was the only sign he gave he even recognized her attack. The wind blade hit him and his body jerked back a fraction of an inch, his hoody was cut open, revealing pale skin, but the attack didn't cause any actual damage. Judging from Leivinia's scowl, she had expected it to do something.

"Are those really you best attacks?" Cain asked. "You should come at me with all of your strength, or this can't even be called a fight." He turned his head as Lessar jumped at him, swinging her Steel Glove down at his head. While Leivinia had distracted him with her attacks, Lessar had grabbed and compressed the air around her. When she swung her glove at him, she released the ball of air and, after a second delay, it quickly expanded, causing an explosion of pressure on Cain's left side. He swung his left arm, to create his own air explosion, mitigating Lessar's explosion.

"Don't forget about me!" Mikoto yelled at him, as a large electrical bolt flew at him from his other side at the same time. Cain was forced to raise his right hand, palm facing outwards, and blocked the attack. Mikoto's electrical discharge acted like it was hitting a wall and bounced harmlessly to the sides and ground. Cain was taking their strongest attacks like they were nothing. However, there was a slight opening now, because both of his hands were occupied. They had one person on their team who, through countless fights with stronger opponents, knew how to spot and take advantage of a moment of weakness. Touma had charged right at Cain, when both of his arms were away from his body, and swung his fist at Cain's face.

His fist passed through nothing but air.

Cain had jumped backwards.

This surprising move baffled Touma for a moment. _I expected him to try to dodge or counter attack, but why would he dodge? He was blocking everything a second ago._ Cain had leaped tens of meters in the air before landing with a dull thud on the ground. He had put quite a bit of distance between himself and Touma. _Is he scared of my hand?_ Touma turned toward Cain, preparing to charge him again, when several objects flew past him. He only managed a brief glimpse of dozens of stone daggers flying past him and directly at Cain. Touma expected him to just block the attack like he did before but, to his surprise, Cain moved at speeds and reflexes far beyond a normal human to dodge the blades. _Damn, his movements are just like Kanzaki's, but why did he change strategies?_ Cain kicked a large piece of metal debris at Lessar, forcing her back, and then blocked one of Mikoto's electrical attacks, before being forced to dodge one of Leivinia's air blades.

"Touma," Index called out to him. "I figured him out."

"On why he suddenly changed his fighting style?" Touma asked, and Index nodded.

"Cain was originally a great farmer in Christianity," Index explained quickly. "He would always offer up the best of his harvest to God. This would imply he has a connection with earth. When he sets up a specific position, he can take this connection into his own body. He becomes stronger and sturdier, like how tree's roots prevent them from falling over, even in powerful storms. He will be virtually invincible as long as he is in that position." Touma remembered Cain had changed the way he was standing before Leivinia launched her initial assault. "When he dodged your attack, his connection broke."

"But why did he even dodge my attack?" Touma asked. Several explosions cause the ground to shake slightly. The others were keeping up their assault, but Cain was either dodging or blocking them with relative ease. "What would happen if my hand touched a vampire?"

"I…" Index paused for a moment. "I really don't know. There is no precedence for this. Your hand may negate his immortality, but that's part of the myth surrounding vampires. If you can negate it, then they would just be normal people who feed on blood. They were born that way, so your hand might consider them part of this world and not affect them much. At the very least, you should be able to remove any defensive spells. Vampires are supposed to just be myths…" She frowned and looked over at Cain.

"Then I guess I have to go over there and punch him in the face," Touma muttered and Index forced herself to smile slightly.

"Be careful," she called out, as Touma walked over to the fight. "His mana reserves are so vast, I can't see the end of it. Right now, he's just using some to fortify his body, giving him speed and strength equal to a Saint. If he uses it to actually attack, I don't want to think about…" Her voice trailed off.

"Index," Touma told her firmly and she looked up at his determined face. "We will stop him, and then we will all go back home. Believe in us, and I'll believe in your ability." Index nodded, and felt a sense of hope well up from within herself, as she watched Touma rush off into the fray.

Mikoto was getting frustrated to say the least. No matter what she, Leivinia, or Lessar threw at Cain, nothing was working. The only signs of their assault were the destruction to their surroundings and a couple small tears on Cain's clothes. Lessar was striking at Cain with her Steel Glove, either using it to increase the power of her direct attacks or throw a heavy object. Leivinia seemed to be able to control all the elements. Besides the flame wall and the wind blade, she could make daggers out of a stone pillar, and created a water umbrella that threw out waves of white dagger like blades. _Yet he's not doing anything except dodging or blocking. It's like he is just playing with us._

Mikoto unleashed another bolt of electricity, but she might as well have thrown at paper wad at Cain. He knocked it down with a slight sweep of his hand. _I can't treat him like a normal person._ Instead of focusing on a direct attack, she used her magnetism to pull all the iron sand from the ground she could, and focused it on a point below Cain. As Cain jumped into the air, to avoid one of Leivinia's wind blades, which could cut steel beams in half like paper, she forced the iron sand to erupt from the ground and into the air. She focused it into a point and shot it upwards like a spear. Cain moved both of his hands in front of him to block it, but Mikoto grinned. _Finally, all those fights with Touma finally paid off._ Before the iron sand hit Cain's outstretched hands, it suddenly parted to either side of him and combined back together behind him. Mikoto then made it impact him full force in the back. _Yes!_ She cheered silently, as Cain was thrown into the ground, causing dust from the impact to fly high into the air.

"Nice one Sparky," Lessar said, jumping backwards to avoid being blinded by the dust.

"Don't let up," snarled Leivinia, sending another wall of fire into Cain. The fire exploded when it made contact and formed a small pillar tens of meters high.

"Is he down?" Touma asked when he reached them.

"No," Lessar and Leivinia said together, simultaneously raising their weapons. Before Mikoto or Touma would respond, they saw the two girls were correct. A gust of wind from within the pillar of flames exploded outwards. The fire flew in every direction, before disappearing into the wind, along with the dust. Cain stood up and started to dust himself off, his hoody was in tatters, but he seemed to still be fine. His hood was completely burnt away and they all had a clear view of his face.

His facial features made him look young, clean shaven and smooth. The obvious sign he was a lot older then he appeared was his hair. Most of it was a light brown in color, but it was streaked with silver. His eyes were clearly visible and didn't seem to glow anymore, but were now a deep blood red. With his hoody in tatters, his upper body was revealed, exposing his well-defined muscles. Touma eye's unwillingly focused on an obvious tattoo on Cain's face. It was a blood red, just like his eyes, and appeared darker then it was because of Cain's pale skin. It looked like a backwards F, but with three jettisons instead of two, and the lower two being slightly separated form the body of the letter. Touma gulped when Cain's eyes narrowed.

"It seems I have let you all warm up enough," he said, his eyes darting to each one in turn. A smile slowly formed on his lips, but it was a dark smile, one reeking with ill intent and not a trace of humor. "No complaints if I attack you now." He raised his left leg, and took a single step forward. Small ripples in the earth started traveling toward each of them. Touma didn't know what it was going to do, but he decided it was best not to find out. Touma reached down with his right hand and touched the ground in front of the ripple coming toward him. His hand created the sound of breaking glass and the ripple flickered out of existence. Touma then turned to the others to make sure they were okay.

Mikoto's danger sense had gone off and she magnetized herself to jump up onto the wall of a nearby building. She didn't know enough about magic to know what was going to happen, but she knew enough to know something would. _I don't like the way he's so confident. All those attacks we threw at him was just a warmup? What kind of ridiculous power does he have? It's England all over again._ She glanced over at Lessar, who jumped up onto a nearby light post. _She can jump as well as usual._ A small white blur to her other side caught her eye and she noticed Index was moving away from the ripple coming at her. Before Mikoto could do anything to try to help, Touma had already arrived and negated the attack. _He's always a step ahead of me. Our combat experience is really different._

Leivinia moved away from ripple in the earth, but it followed her. She didn't have any type of high speed movement magic prepared, but instead turned her wand into a disc. A stone pillar rose from the ground between her and the ripple. She continued to back up as the ripple hit the pillar. Instantly, massive spikes made of stone, dirt, concreate, and asphalt erupted form the ground and speared the pillar full of holes. The spikes collapsed back into the ground and the ruined pillar followed, leaving a small mound of rubble. "That could have been messy," she commented dispassionately.

"You could say that again," muttered Mikoto. _The actual attack was so fast, I know I couldn't block it._ She turned her head back to Touma and Index. "Any of you have a bright idea?"

"If we can get him off the ground," Index said thoughtfully. "It would vastly reduce his offensive power. The issue will be striking him with enough force the moment he is in the air."

"Sparky can be our attacker," Lessar said, jumping over to them. "She just needs to call one of those lightning bolts from the sky." There was an explosion of flames Leivinia conjured to engulf Cain before she moved to meet them.

"Well," she said. "Sounds like a useable plan. I suppose I could get him into the air. But someone will have to distract him." She pulled out a pack of cards and removed three of them.

"Guess that will be me," Lessar volunteered. "Kamijou can provide back up. Cain is afraid of your hand, so it might work if you can land a blow on him. At the very least, he will have to keep his guard up around you." She decided it was best not to mention if Cain went all out, they would probably be annihilated.

"Have you finished your strategy?" Cain called out, walking through the wall of flames like it wasn't even there. "I have to say, holding back on Eve's orders is quite difficult when food rushes so willingly to their deaths."

"Bite me," Lessar said, jumping toward him and swinging her Steel Glove at him.

"If you insist," Cain replied, reaching up with his hand and grabbing her glove, stopping it immediately. Lessar let go and tried to retreat, but Cain reached his other hand out and grabbed her throat.

"Ack…" Lessar hacked, unable to say anything as Cain increased the pressure on her throat. Her face was turning red and there was a small amount of foam forming on her lips. Cain dropped the Steel Glove on the ground when Lessar's grip on his arm weakened and looked her right in the eyes.

"Pathetic." He opened his mouth, revealing his teeth. They were pure white, and two of them were longer and more pointed then the others, his fangs. He pulled Lessar closer to him and opened his mouth wider.

"Let go of her," Touma yelled, swinging his fist at Cain. Cain had been so distracted by feeding on Lessar, he had ignored everything else around him. Touma had been approaching him from Cain's other side, but charged when Lessar was about to be bitten. Cain took his eyes off Lessar and turned at Touma, a sour look on his face. Lessar took the opportunity, her face turning slightly darker, and kicked Cain between the legs. Cain flinched, but didn't collapse. He obviously had protection spells in place, but there was always the instinct of what should happen if a man got hit there. During that brief instance, Touma fist came within inches of Cain's face. Cain dropped Lessar and jumped back to avoid Touma's blow, swinging his arm in a sweeping motion. A gust of wind lifted Touma and Lessar off the ground and threw them back ten meters. Touma grabbed Lessar and held her close, as he hit the ground hard, scrapping his back and tearing his shirt.

"You okay?" he asked, gasping, as the wind was knocked out of him. Lessar didn't immediately answer him, she was too busy coughing and rubbing her neck.

"Y-yes," she finally said. "Looks like you saved me again. I thought I would enjoying being choked, but it looks like it's only when you do it."

"When did you do that?!" Mikoto demanded, looking at them as her face turned bright red.

"I didn't!" Touma yelled back. "Lessar, stop spreading weird rumors."

"Maybe if we survive this fight," Lessar sighed. She jumped up to her feet and Touma imitated her actions. The sky seemed to darken slightly and a lightning bolt appeared high above them all. _Hmm, Sparky wasn't_ generating _this much electricity earlier. Does she only do it when she's embarrassed?_ Leivinia threw a rune card on the ground and glanced up too. The same through passed through her mind. Cain was standing there, watching Touma closely, with a curious look on his face.

"I still never understand why you always get involved with us," Cain said. "Eve told you she would ignore you and your friends if you didn't oppose us, yet then you go and join other magic groups to fight us. What goes through your mind?"

"I don't need a reason to help someone," Touma replied.

"He's just crazy," Leivinia added, and then started muttering something incomprehensible. "You better be ready science girl."

"I don't know if I can strike him with enough force to stop him," Mikoto answered truthfully.

"Just generate the same electricity you used against Eve in England," suggested Lessar. "Or do you perhaps need some encouragement?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Whoever does the most work during this fight," Leivinia told them. "Gets to have the boy all to themselves tonight. No one else will interfere."

"WHAT!?" Mikoto and Index yelled and Lessar's eyes sparkled.

"Sounds good," Lessar said. Her eyes glanced over at her Steel Glove laying on the ground next to Cain. _I need to get my weapon._

"Don't I get a say in this?" Touma asked.

"No," Leivinia answered, before smirking. She could see the expression on Mikoto's face. It went from red to scarlet and Mikoto was now mumbling to herself. Dark clouds were rolling above them and lightning was becoming more prominent. "You all can watch me pull ahead." She smiled as her ritual activated with Cain as the focal point. A crack in the ground formed five meters in front of Cain and started to rotate around him in a perfect circle. Cain's eyes darted downwards and followed it with mild curiosity. When the circle was completed, the ground below Cain started to rise. The section of earth then shot up a hundred meters into the air, with Cain still standing on it. When it reached that height, the remaining ground exploded, sending chunks of dirt, asphalt, concrete, and stone in every direction. The force of the explosion lifted Cain a little higher in the air. "Now!" she ordered Mikoto.

"On it," Mikoto replied, concentrating everything she had to bring down a lightning bolt strong enough to defeat Cain. Right before she unleased the strike, Lessar spoke up.

"So if Lover Boy belongs to the winner," she asked. "Does that mean anything goes?" Her eyes never left the explosion to see where her Steel Glove landed and she grabbed it before moving out of the way.

"Obviously," replied Leivinia.

"What if he wins?"

"Then he chooses which one of us spends the night with him."

"What?" Mikoto's face flushed an even deeper red. Even though ability users in Academy City were incredibly intelligent for their age, they were still students. Mikoto was in middle school and was prone to delusional daydreams. Having Kuroko describing her sordid fantasies didn't help either. At Lessor's and Leivinia's words, her mind immediately began thinking of inappropriately aged activities. The least was her and Touma laying together in the same bed, with limited clothing. Her thoughts then turned to what would happen if she didn't win. Her previous thoughts now featured Lessar and Touma, rather than her. Touma was temporarily stunned by Lessar's words and he could swear smoke was coming out of Mikoto's ears, but then he saw her fist clench tightly.

"Mikoto," Touma said softly, taking a step back as she unleashed multiple minor electrical discharges. He finally found the words, as he imagined what would happen if the girls actually followed through with that bet. Spending a night with any of them would be… tempting to say the least, but he also knew what Lessar was like. He wasn't sure what kind of person Leivinia would be, but his instincts warned him that if she won, he needed to run and hide immediately. "Lessar is…"

He never finished his sentence as an earth shattering boom echoed across the entire city. Cain had begun to fall back down to the earth and the sky opened up to unleash the second largest lightning strike recorded in the city's history. The largest one was when Mikoto had been forcefully pushed toward level 6, but few people knew about that. It was as if heaven had unleashed its full wrath upon Cain. His body was engulfed by the electricity and the ground below him was turned into a crater. Touma was temporarily blinded by the light from the strike and all he could see was whiteness for a moment.

"Damn Sparky," Lessar said impressed. "Remind me not to get on your bad side."

"Not a bad strike at all," Leivinia added.

"Mikoto," Touma called out, rushing to her side. She had staggered and Touma supported her. "Nice job."

"Thanks," she grinned. "Glad I wasn't useless." She had been worried about how none of her attacks could do anything to Cain. _First it was Carissa and now him. The world really is a big place._ While she never bragged about her title, she didn't realize there would be so many Accelerator class people outside the city. It actually made her feel slightly uncomfortable, knowing Touma continued to face these kinds of people, even without her.

"We now have one more person to take down," Leivinia said, interrupting their celebration, twirling her wand and turning to Juliet. "Looks like you are all alone again."

"You can't seriously believe you defeated Cain so easily?" Juliet replied slowly. Her eyes looked down at the ground and Touma could see she was uncomfortable. "All you did was make things worse." Before any of them could respond to this ominous pronouncement, the ground near Cain shook and started to rise. A great stone hand rose into the air and stretched out, as if to crush them under its weight, now that they were together. Mikoto was still disoriented from her overzealous attack and Touma tried to get her out of the way, but he wasn't going to move fast enough.

 _Shit,_ he thought. _If I negate it, we both will be crushed by just the weight of the stone._

"SFTWT! DTBTHR! (Shift the weight! Divert the blow to the right!)" Index yelled. After analyzing the magic her opponent uses, she can use short hand to intercept the flow of mana and take control of the magic or even outright cancel it. She wasn't exactly using magic herself. The stone hand twisted in midair and hit the ground to their right with a loud thud.

"He's still alive?" Mikoto gasped in shock. "He's as big as monster as the princess."

"This is what we get for fighting a vampire," Leivinia muttered. "Immortal and unlimited mana." She pulled out her phone. "Mark, I need everyone in position for a full offensive. We are currently fighting a vampire under Eve's command."

"A vampire?" Mark replied, sounding skeptical.

"Are you questioning me?" She took his silence as a no. "We are going full out. Annihilation Spell at the ready. I'll set the target."

"Understood." Leivinia snapped her phone shut and put it away. In the distance, an earth mound rose from the crater, revealing Cain. He was smoking slightly, but appeared unhurt, though his hoody was completely gone. The pressure around him was increasing and it was obvious to everyone he was no longer amused.

"So what does the great leader have as a backup plan?" Lessar asked.

"My men are gathering in position," Leivinia told her. "Once they start the ritual, I activate the target beacon. We are going to destroy him with one final attack. Continuing to attack him with weak blows is getting us nowhere."

"What should we do to help?" Touma asked.

"It will take a little time for them to get into the right locations," Leivinia explained. "This is a pretty complicated magic ritual. All you have to do is protect me until it's ready. If I go down, I can't plant the target."

"It doesn't look like Cain is planning to go easy on us anymore," Mikoto pointed out, pushing herself off Touma. As much has she enjoyed leaning close to him, she couldn't risk burdening him. She was feeling better now and was almost back to normal. Touma looked over at her.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm not use to using that much electricity at once," Mikoto told him. "But I'm fine now. Focus on him."

"I think we only have to worry about what range attacks he plans to use," Lessar pointed out. "He doesn't seem to move a lot except to dodge."

"It's because he has a connection with earth," Index said. "Earth is immoveable and stationary." She frowned and took a step back. "Incoming. His flow of mana has changed, he's preparing something big." Touma turned and looked at Cain. He had his right hand held out and gripped tightly into a fist.

"When the earth swallows blood," Cain chanted. "All living…"

"Stop Cain!" Juliet yelled. "You heard Eve. If you cast a spell like that, the entire city will fall."

"Quiet," Cain growled, waving his left hand at her. There was a flash of light and Juliet was thrown backwards into a wall with a crash. Her body shimmered into a shadow for a moment, before turning back into her human form.

"Dissension in their ranks?" Mikoto asked confused.

"Index," Touma said nervously. "What is he doing?"

"He's trying to cast something," Index replied, her hands shaking. "So much mana… Juliet's right. If he finishes a spell like this, the entire city will be consumed. We need to stop him."

"On it," Mikoto and Lessar said. Mikoto pulled out a coin and prepared to fire, while Lessar swung her Steel Glove at nearby metal debris. Mikoto fired her Railgun with a loud boom and it flew right at Cain. Lessar followed up with a barrage of metal shards being thrown like projectiles. "What the hell…" Mikoto muttered, stunned at what happened next.

Cain had reached out with his other hand and caught her Railgun like someone just tossed him a baseball.

"Pathetic," Cain mumbled, as the barrage of metal berated him, but it had no noticeable effect. He dropped the coin and his left arm fell down to his side. His right arm was still held out in front of him. "Now where was I…? When the earth swallows blood, all living things suffer from its curse. Earth, which gives life, also takes it back." His hand tightened and a single drop of blood fell from his hand. When it hit the ground, it turned pitch black. The earth around Cain started to crack and then move in a circular motion around him.

The broken concreate, asphalt, steel, stone, and dirt started to spin around him in a vortex. The whirlpool of earth, rather than water, continued to grow. As it grew bigger, larger pieces of the broken warehouse started to get sucked up and mixed into the moving dirt. As Touma watched, it continued to grow exponentially and soon covered a ten meter radius around Cain, with no signs of stopping. The weirdest thing about the whirlpool was how smooth the earth looked the closer it was to Cain. Touma's eyes locked on one large steel beam and followed its path of being absorbed. The beam continued to sink as it spiraled and then eventually disappeared beneath the surface of the earth. _That beam was at least four meters long and it sunk vertically. I can't tell how deep it is._ He figured he had to negate it, but he wasn't sure if touching the edges would do anything and trying to get near Cain was impossible. The current was way to strong and he would sink in the quicksand like substance. He took a step forward determined to do something, when Index grabbed his arm.

"Don't," she said. "The magic's origin is Cain. You would have to hit him directly to negate the spell. Touching the vortex won't do anything. He's using an interpretation of when Cain spilt Abel's blood on the ground. He was no longer able to farm the barren land. The spell is causing the ground to draw all life back into the earth, including things built by man."

"You know," Mikoto said, somewhat irritably. "You really should tell us everyone about the person we are facing instead of bits and pieces."

"Sorry Short Hair," Index scoffed, puffing out her cheeks in anger. "We don't always have the luxury of giving you a history lesson."

"I can barely follow the order of what information you give us."

"Fine, when this is over I'll give you a true history lesson of everything related to the bible."

"Everything about Cain will be enough."

"How far will this spell spread?" Touma asked.

"It depends on the user's mana," Index replied softly. "Since we can't grasp the depth of his reserves, we can safely assume the entire city will be swallowed up in its attack."

"I don't have any powerful long range attacks," Lessar admitted. "Even with the strength boost from my glove, I can't hurt him." She looked over at Leivinia who had her eyes locked onto Cain and muttering to herself. "And it looks like Birdway is busy preparing her attack and won't be able to help. Sparky, can you blast him again?" She looked at the vortex now over twenty meters away from Cain. "Hurry please. It's growing faster."

"I don't think I can strike him like before," Mikoto answered honestly. _That lightning strike felt like more than a billion volts. I'm getting stronger and still can't beat this guy?_ "But all we have to do is knock him out his that spot to stop his magic?" She looked over at Index for confirmation, who nodded. She scanned the rubble around them and located a large clump of metal. It looked like it had been melted, which caused several pieces to be fused together. _That_ _must have been left over from Birdway's fire magic. It's perfect though._ She started magnetizing it and lifted it off the ground. She moved it towards herself, until it was between her and Cain. Lessar, Index, and Touma watched in silence.

Mikoto took a deep breath, and unleashed all her concentration, using magnetism to hurl the ball of debris as fast as possible. It may not have been as fast as her Railgun, so it didn't have as much piercing power, but it probably had greater or equal momentum because of the weight. The clump of metal flew through the air at Cain, but he didn't seem to be too concerned. In fact, only movement in his eyes betrayed he ever paid attention to it. When Mikoto's projectile was about halfway across the whirlpool, something happened. A hand made of earth, though looked closer to sand, erupted from the spinning current and grabbed the metal clump. The metal hit the hand and sand flew in every direction, but Mikoto's attack was stopped. The metal fell into the whirlpool and sunk beneath the surface. "What sort of cheating magic is that?" Mikoto fumed, trying to magnetize the metal and pull it out. To her surprise, she couldn't find any. "Does his magic make things vanish?"

"Everything consumed by that vortex will turn to earth," Index explained after a moment of silence. "We can't touch it and because it's made of earth, he can control it to protect himself. This is bad."

"Birdway," Touma called out. "Hurry up." Leivinia didn't say anything, but gave him a curt nod to let him know she heard him and he needed to shut up. He glanced over at the vortex and saw it had grown to over thirty meters in radius. While the radius wasn't growing alarmingly fast, the area it covered was. The area of a circle is pi times the radius squared. So each meter the radius grew, the area was growing at a much greater rate. Touma and the other girls started backing away, trying to gather more time as they tried to think of a plan. Touma was seriously debating trying to negate the vortex, when he heard a whistling sound. "Do you all hear that?"

"I do," Mikoto said, rubbing her ears. "But what is it?" They looked around in confusion and slightly worried. Mikoto and Touma were afraid another problem was going to be added to their already serious situation.

"In the sky," Lessar pointed. Everyone looked up and saw several large shiny objects descending toward Cain. "What are those?" Touma squinted, but wasn't able to get a full view until they were almost upon them. Three long silver octahedron shaped, which were two pyramids sharing the same base, shards were spinning in midair as they fell. The spinning was forcing the air to whip around them and caused the whistling sound they all heard. They landed in perfect sync about ten meters away from the current edge of Cain's whirlpool. The asphalt and concreate cracked loudly as the metal objects drilled through them. A little less than half of the object was planted firmly in the ground, in a triangle formation around Cain. "Either of you two have any idea what those are?" Mikoto and Touma shook their heads.

The metal shards hissed and the top half sides opened up like a flower, revealing a system of electronics. The top piece had what looked like a small radar dish crossed with a megaphone. Each of the three shards positioned themselves to face the other two with their radar. Cain actually looked interested at the unexpected interruption, and he kept turning his head to look at each one. His attack continued to expand and would soon consume these unknown objects. Leivinia frowned, but she continued her muttering. She had to constantly adjust coordinates of the spell until her group was ready. Every slight movement caused by Cain or the others required the coordinates to change. She had some knowledge of science, more than most magicians, and she knew the strange devices had to have some purpose.

"Touma," Index asked. "What are those?"

"I don't," he replied. "Mikoto, any ideas?"

"Never seem them before," Mikoto answered, and she frowned. "They have to be someone from the science side. You think they noticed Cain's attack and are trying to stop it?"

"Whatever it is," Lessar said, shaking her head. "It won't do any good. Science hasn't progressed enough to stop an attack of this level. Look, it's about to be sucked up anyways." The edge of the whirlpool was closing in on the metal shards, before something happened to make Lessar take back her words.

The radars started to glow softly with a white light before turning so bright Touma couldn't look straight at them. A buzzing sound filled his ears and he shook his head, but the noise continued. It didn't hurt him, but it was annoying him to no end. He suddenly felt a heavy pulsing in his right hand but, when he looked, there didn't seem to be anything wrong, yet he could still feel it. _What is this ominous feeling?_ He glanced over at his friends and received a surprise. They had grabbed their heads and looked like they were in pain. "What's going on?"

"That sound," Mikoto mumbled. "It's like a pounding in my head."

"Damn it," Leivinia said loudly. "I can't concentrate. Everyone is in position, but I can't activate the spell with this noise." She was grabbing her head with her free hand, the other one still clutching her wand.

"Why aren't you two affected by it?" Lessar asked, in similar position to Mikoto and Leivinia. Touma and Index looked at each other in shrugged. Index had no idea of science technology and if it wasn't giving off some kind of mana or magical relevance, she was clueless. Touma just didn't know anything about advanced science. None of them noticed Juliet in the far distance was shaking and parts of her body were flicking from shadow to human.

"I don't know," Index answered, turning back to them and gasped. "Whatever they are, they are actually interfering with Cain's mana." Cain's earthen whirlpool actually stopped less than a meter from the metal devices. The current's vortex seemed to slow and now small waves were rising and falling randomly from the surface. Cain was clutching his head with both hands as the whirlpool around him stopped circling and instead was randomly throwing dirt into the air. Whatever was causing headaches in Mikoto, Leivinia, and Lessar was obviously exponentially worse for Cain.

 _If those devices are sending out a frequency that hurts magic users,_ Touma thought. _We must just be getting a small dose. All three of those machines are targeting Cain, so they must be magnifying each other._ He looked over at Mikoto. _But why is she being hurt by it? She doesn't use magic. Could it also affect ability users? What has this city been making?_ He had several more questions when his thoughts were interrupted.

Cain had let out an animalistic howl, as he fell to his knees still clutching his head.

"Damn you pathetic humans," he roared, his voice losing all sense of humanity. It started to sound dark and monstrous, becoming lower and full of hatred. "You dare to attack me in such a manner? I'm going to turn this city into hell on earth and slaughter everyone!" He shakily stood up while yelling the last part. The earth around him erupted like geysers and Touma could feel the earth shake under his anger. Touma saw his eyes were glowing dark red and his face was contorted with rage.

"Touma," Index cried. "Get back with the others." Touma turned back to her, but decided to follow her advice. He didn't want to be anywhere near Cain right now. The earth erupted into the air only a couple meters away and he was unwillingly covered in dirt. While Mikoto, Leivinia, and Lessar had massive headaches, they could still move and joined him and Index farther away from Cain. Cain raised his hand high in the air.

"I present the offering of the earth," Cain called out. "Whether accepted or not, it bears the fruit of my strength." The earth shook again and the ground beneath the metal devices exploded. Great, dark green, scraggly vines, over a meter thick, erupted from the earth, carrying the devices high into the air. The further away it got, the weaker its effect appeared on Cain. More vines started erupting all around him and the vines holding the metal devices threw them far into the distance. Cain was now surrounded on three sides by a giant wall of plants, easily six stories high. One of the vines twisted down, grabbed a tree and ripped it from the ground, before throwing it at Touma and his friends.

Boom!

Mikoto fired a railgun past him and caused the tree to explode in midair before it reached them. Touma's head was ringing from the sudden noise of her attack, but he had to admit it was better than being crushed by a tree. Cain seemed to be moving from pure desire to kill them because, unlike before, he was now throwing attack after attack. The vines stretched out and came at them like spears. Touma held out a hand, preparing to stop at least one, when Index spoke up. SPTGF!(Separate the great flood!) The vines parted in the middle and tore into the ground on either side of them. The force of the vines ripped up the streets and then crashed into nearby warehouses, causing walls to collapse and dust and debris to fly everywhere. Touma gave a sigh of relief, until he noticed Cain had disappeared from his spot.

"Look ou…!" Touma started to yell, but Cain had already appeared in front of them. Cain reached out a hand and grabbed Lessar. She yelled out in surprise, but Cain didn't bite her, he just threw her over fifty meters away. The ground between the rest of them exploded and caused Mikoto, Touma, Leivinia, and Index to fly in different directions. Touma caught himself and rolled to mitigate the damage, and saw Mikoto do the same. Leivinia's landed in some brush and appeared unhurt. Index wasn't as lucky. She hit a wall and fell unconscious. "INDEX!"

"I got her!" Mikoto yelled back, running over to Index. Mikoto grabbed her and then jumped up to a nearby building with magnetism. Mikoto prioritized moving Index out of harm's way instead of attacking Cain. Cain had so much power, his attacks could cover a huge area instantly. Index wouldn't be safe anywhere nearby. "Come on, wake up." Mikoto shook her and pinched her cheeks, but Index was still asleep.

Touma felt a wave of anger rush over him when Index was hit. He charged at Cain and tried to deliver a punch to Cain's face. Cain simply turned his head when Touma was only a couple feet away. When Touma saw Cain's expression, his body froze and his stopped almost instantly. Cain's eyes were nothing but red glows, his face lined with darkness. There was no mercy, no kindness, no trace of what would be considered humanity, only a monster stood before him. It wasn't a magical fear, as his hand didn't negate anything, it was the innate fear of monsters you can't understand dwelling within the human mind. Cain raised a hand and his mouth grinned, while his tongue licked his lips.

"I'll kill you first," he said in a harsh grating voice. "Then I will feed on your friends one by one." He was bringing his hand down, while Touma tried to force himself to move. Before Cain's hand could make contact with Touma's neck, darkness engulfed Cain. Cain's body was lifted into the air and thrown backwards by Juliet's shadow form. No longer being in close proximity to Cain, Touma could move his body again. He glanced over at Juliet in shock. "Why would you help us?"

"Eve's orders were clear," Juliet huffed. "You need to survive. If you don't I won't be able to get what I want. I could care less about the rest of your friends. He just entered blood frenzy, so he's going to be seeking destruction. If you have a way to stop him, you better do it now. He just keeps growing stronger with each passing minute."

"Then I'm going to annihilate him," Leivinia spat out angrily. "Hold him off for just a moment. I need to adjust the targeting."

"All of you will die right now!" Cain yelled. He stood up and raised a hand into the air. "The light of the sun fuels the life the earth gives, but it can also lay the land barren." In his raised hand, the air began to shimmer. Everything, including the landscape, around him seemed to become shades darker, almost as if he was concentrating all the light within the palm of his hand. His hand began to glow with a white light. As the light grew brighter, all the air around him began to shimmer. Touma's eyes widened as he realized what was happening. All the energy from the sunlight was being concentrated in his hand, and the excess heat was being released into the air. Hot air bends light and, since hot air rises, it caused the light in the air to shimmer.

"Get out of the way Kamijou!" Lessar yelled. "He's going to send a monstrous attack at you." Touma nodded and was about to start moving, when he realized something important. Leivinia was down on one knee with her right palm flat on the ground. She looked up at him and Touma know what was crossing her mind.

 _I might be able to live if I dodge, but then she's going to get roasted._ Touma's eyes darted to Juliet, who had floated into the air and was spinning around above them. _Juliet isn't interested in saving the others either._ He took a deep breath and realized what he had to do.

"Burn," Cain told him, as he lowered his hand. The air around his hand disappeared as a beam of white light shot toward Touma. The beam came so fast at Touma that dodging would be out of the question, all he could do was raise his right hand. The ground beneath the beam of light was burned away into nothing, before it collided with his hand. The constant sound of breaking glass was heard as the Imagine Breaker kept negating the attack. Touma grunted and used his left hand to brace his right arm. The attack was too powerful for him to negate completely and he could feel heat slipping through his defense. His hand was beginning to get hot from maintaining prolonged contact.

 _It's passing the negation speed of my hand,_ Touma thought, panic flooding through him. He glanced back at Leivinia, who was staring at him with wide eyes. She obviously didn't expect him to take an attack like that for her. "Whatever you are planning to do, hurry up!"

"Couple more seconds…"

Touma gritted his teeth and tried to ignore the slowly growing pain in his right hand. His hand opened up, but he didn't know if it was by reflex or instinct. His arm tilted his hand back slightly from the pressure of Cain's attack, and then something miraculous occurred. Instead of being completely negated, the beam of light hit his opened palm and reflected upwards into the sky. It was only by dumb luck the force of attack tilted his hand back, if it had tilted toward, the ground below him would have been annihilated. His hand was still negating, but the excess energy was being deflected back up into the sky, away from the city and his friends.

"Done." Touma turned around when Leivinia spoke up, her voice overflowing with confidence once again. "Annihilation Spell activated, target Cain." The weight on Touma's hand was lifted and he turned to face Cain. Cain was surrounded be small golden orbs, spinning around him in a dome shape. The orbs were only about a meter away from his body and Cain took a step forward. He reached out a hand to bat it away, when he was blown back by an invisible force. He landed in the middle of the dome and stood up. He gave a roar of anger and the very earth seemed to warp under his hatred. "You think I'll give you a chance to blast your way out with your ungodly mana?" sneered Leivinia. "Fat chance. Fade from this world you monster." She brought her wand down like a conductor in an orchestra.

The dome of orbs became a mass of gold light, far brighter than the explosions Touma had seen Leivinia use on him and Jason earlier that day. It also might have appeared that way because the sun was beginning to set. The dome of gold light grew to over thirty meters in diameter, before fading away in the blink of an eye. The only thing left as evidence the explosion took place was a deep crater in the ground, everything else was gone. Juliet floated off and materialized at the edge of the crater. "Wow," she commented. "You actually stopped him."

"Of course I did," Leivinia replied proudly, though Touma felt like she was trying to hide her fatigue. He also noticed Lessar approaching them, swinging her Steel Glove slightly, as if testing out her body. "Anyone who opposes the Dawn Colored Sunlight will face the same fate. Now, why don't you be a good girl and tell us all about Eve's plan here?"

"I could," Juliet nodded in agreement. "But as I said, I rather not have her tan my hide. None of you are combat capable anymore, so if we actually fought, do you think you could win?" Leivinia frowned, but didn't say anything.

"I'm still here!" Mikoto called out, jumping down to the rest of them, clutching an awake Index. Touma was relieved Mikoto had managed to wake her up and the blow wasn't serious. "If it's a fight you want, I'll be more than happy to oblige." Mikoto was actually bluffing. She was exhausted and hurt all over, but wanted to act tough to chase Juliet away.

"So many people want to pick on me," Juliet replied, pouting slightly. "I guess I have to retreat for now. Oh, Imagine Breaker," she turned to Touma as if she just remembered something important. "Eve wants to talk to you at some point. At least hear her out, as a favor to me for saving you." Before Touma could respond, Juliet turned in her shadow and floated off into the distance, disappearing behind a building.

"She annoys me to no end," Mikoto sighed, kicking a rock on the ground. "At least we are all alive."

"Not many people can say they fought a vampire and lived," Lessar added proudly. "I doubt anyone will believe us though."

"Thanks a lot you two," Touma said. "We couldn't have taken him down without your help. I wish we didn't have to kill him…" His voice trailed off as he remembered Index, Mikoto, and Lessar being attacked mercilessly. He stared off into the distance. Mikoto noticed how he was feeling and patted him on the shoulder.

"I know," Mikoto said softly. "But if she didn't use that attack, we all would have died. Look around us…" She gestured to the carnage around them. Several warehouses had been destroyed, not counting the one they started in, and several nearby buildings had suffered major structural damage. The ground around them had been upturned, not counting the crater, and trees and light posts had been uprooted. "He was going to do the same to us."

"I know," Touma admitted sadly. "But there should have been away to end this without any deaths."

"Touma," Index added. "He was an existence that was counter to God's plan. It was probably the best we could help him pass on."

"A vampire shouldn't exist in today's age," Lessar said. She rubbed her neck unconsciously. "It would be a national catastrophe. If he was let loose in a city, the streets would have ran with blood and the vampire numbers would only grow." Touma didn't say anything and just continued to stare off into the distance. Leivinia frowned, sighed, and spoke up in a curt voice.

"You really are soft," she said. The others turned to look at her. "Fine, I'll tell you a secret. That wasn't a real vampire. It was one of Eve's creations."

"What!?" Everyone else let out a gasp.

"When my Annihilation Spell destroyed him," Leivinia explained, looked vastly superior. "His body broke apart into paper. You know what that means, right?" The others nodded. "Well, that raises another cause for concern. Eve can actually create powerful monsters like that. However, if she could have made him in numbers, why waste time on those weak master troops she keeps using? The only conclusion I came up with is she can't mass produce her elite fighters. There must be a special method to create someone like Cain."

"That would make sense," Index said slowly, deep in thought. "He didn't seem like one of her puppets, but there were traces of her essence. I thought that might have been because of their family tree."

"So he wasn't really alive," Touma sighed, looked relieved. Mikoto saw him smile slightly and she felt a lot better. He had looked so depressed and there wasn't a lot she was able to do. She gave him another pat on the shoulder.

"So all this time we were just fighting a copy?" Lessar asked indignantly. "I never want to meet Eve in a dark alley alone."

"I must be off," Leivinia spoke up. "I can't sit here and chat with you all forever." She pulled out her phone and contact Mark. "It's finished, the spell worked perfectly. We will meet up at rendezvous point 4."

"Understood."

"Well," Leivinia continued, snapping her phone shut. "I can't say it wasn't interesting watching all of you show off your abilities. It gave me an idea of what I'm working with." She looked directly at Touma. "I'm busy tonight, but I'll be sure to contact you about collecting my winnings."

"W-what are you talking about?" stuttered Mikoto.

"Obviously the bet we made," Leivinia explained. "As the one to actually deliver the final blow, I contributed the most."

"All you did was wait till the last minute," Lessar argued. "None of your earlier attacks had any effect."

"It's not like your attacks did anything," Leivinia pointed out.

"W-what about me?" Mikoto interjected, still stuttering. "I k-knocked him down many times to give us time. I-I o-obviously w-won."

"So all you did was stall for time while I did the real work," Leivinia said, smirking as she looked at Mikoto.

"She did more work than you," Lessar argued. "I was the one who took the most of his attacks protecting you guys. I deserve a night alone with Lover Boy. I really want him to try choking me. I didn't know I would like that, but I felt all tingly."

"L-Lessar?" Mikoto sputtered. She wanted to say more, but her face was burning as her overactive imagination turned on full blast. Small sparks started to appear unconsciously around her.

"Pervert," Leivinia spat out.

"Bitch," Lessar retorted. Both of them glared daggers at each other.

"I helped too," Index cried, waving her arms. "I stopped several of his attacks."

"A couple defensive maneuvers aren't enough to make you the MVP," Lessar said, rounding on her.

"The grownups are talking," Leivinia added.

"Hey!" Index yelled. "You both are younger than me."

"So you're an old hag?" Leivinia questioned, causing Index's face to grow red.

"Short Hair is my age," Index replied, pointing toward Mikoto.

"So she's old too," Lessar shrugged.

"What did you say?!" Mikoto yelled, as her mind crashed back to reality. "I'm still young!"

"How about we say everyone contributed equally?" Touma suggested and then immediately regretted his words.

"Stay out of this!" Mikoto snapped.

"You want to spend the night with all of us?" Lessar asked surprised. "Well, I'm okay with that. Your bed might be a little crowded, but I'm pretty flexible."

"Touma!" Index reprimanded him. "How could you suggest such a thing? You need to repent to God and save your soul."

"I wasn't…" Touma said, raising his hands to defend himself. "Lessar, stop misinterpreting everything I say!"

"I just say what you really mean," Lessar replied with a wink.

"I think you should stop saying those things," Mikoto said, calming down enough to think rationally. "He's going to have a heart attack or run away if you keep it up." Touma wasn't going to admit it, but he had been about five seconds away from running for his life.

"I'm leaving," Leivinia announced, turning from them and walking away. She gave a brief wave with her hand when Touma said good-bye but, other than that, did not appear to care anymore about their situation. She was in deep thought about something she said and why she did it. It wasn't the argument with Lessar, Mikoto, and Index about who did the most work, Leivinia was a proud girl and would always try to be the best. She had told Touma that Cain had been a puppet made my Eve. This had been a lie. Cain was a real living, if vampires were actually alive, creature. When she had saw Touma about to sink into a state of depression, she spoke up and lied. She still wasn't sure why she did it. _I'll chalk it up as his payment for helping me. He did stand in front of me during that last attack. It was pretty brave, can't say I dislike that…_

Back with the others, Mikoto turned to Index and Lessar. "Can you finally explain who he was?"

"I would like to know too," Touma admitted. "But can we hold that off till we get back to my room? I rather not be standing in the middle of this," he gestured to the ruins surrounding them, "when Anti-Skill gets here." The others looked around, nodded in agreement, and they started making their way at a brisk pace back to Touma's dorm.

* * *

Across the city, in a large room surrounded by computers, two young girls and a golden retriever had been watching Touma's, Mikoto, Leivinia's, and Lessar's fight against Cain. The first was a young girl who looked to be in middle school. She wore a pink sweater, a miniskirt, and torn black stockings with asymmetrical boots. Several devices hung down from her neck including a cell phone, a small 1seg TV, and a handheld device. After the fight had entered, she turned to look at the girl next to her. "Did you find what you were looking for Yuiitsu-oneechan?" she asked nervously.

"For the first field test," Yuiitsu commented. She looked more professional than the first girl. She was wearing a ready-made cheap suit, making it look like she was going to a job interview , and covered by a long white jacket. "It wasn't as poor as I thought it would be." She glanced over at a monitor to the left. "We finally received verification this new weapon worked and then sensei gets a call from the superintendent saying we needed to release it now. I would have preferred calibrating it better before using it in the field." She glanced over to the golden retriever next to her, who was also watching the monitors with interest. "But I was getting bored of just testing it in the lab."

"You saw the power the intruders wielded," the golden retriever spoke up. He sounded like a man in the prime of his life. "Should we not have acted, our research was in jeopardy. Between good and bad, not acting immediately was the bad sort of stupidity." Not only could the dog talk, he also had a backpack with robotic arms attached to it. His name was Noukan Kihara. Noukan was granted intelligence by one of the original seven Kiharas. Those seven individuals were normal scientists until they fell into madness. Then the concept of Kihara was formed, a family dedicated to the pursuit of science, whatever the cause, whatever the means. No sacrifice was too much for the advancement of science. The other two girls, Yuiitsu and Enshuu, were also part of the Kihara family. Kiharas did not have to share blood relations. They only had to devoted their life to science, and ignore moral and ethics if they are counter intuitive to progress. "Why don't you give us a run through?"

"Glad to sensei," Yuiitsu replied. "Maybe you can come to a realistic conclusion. Because of the intruders, we have been pulled off our regular duties in order to ensure our goals are not interrupted. It gave us a chance to test several new inventions, so I can hardly complain. Our latest attempt involved the Anti-AIM field, AAF for short, one of our associates discovered. I have to compliment him on making a major scientific breakthrough, but even he couldn't find a way to mass produce it greater than a small softball size field. It was thanks to your hard work sensei, we were able to extend the radius of effect by combining it with Capacity Down. Its effective area has increased dramatically, even if we need multiple emitters."

"Yet the intruders were not completely incapacitated by it," Enshuu pointed out. "The man went insane rather than losing his ability."

"The intruders have developed abilities outside of Academy City," Yuiitsu continued. "While they do not emit an AIM field, they still possess a wide variety of abilities. What is even more unique is they seemed to have developed multiple abilities. Earth manipulation, accelerated plant growth, and even photon absorption. It is possible they actually managed to develop Duel Skill or even Multi-Skill. We never had a chance to test the Anti-AIM field against them, until now. Because the intruder's abilities started to go out of control, we can conclude they are affected by the AAF. Why it did not negate it completely remains to be seen."

"There are many possibilities," Noukan acknowledged. "Combining the AAF with Capacity Down could have weakened the negation effect, or even modified it to an attack frequency that interferes with brain activity rather than pure negation. It also might be a possibility of the intruder's ability could exist in a different path than our science." His tone implied he knew something more and Yuiitsu frowned.

"Sensei," she said slowly. "You make it sound like there is something else beyond science. It's quite un-Kihara like to talk about something like the occult."

"You seem to be misunderstanding me," Noukan replied, his tail wagging. "Occult and magic are just terms for things people have yet to understand. I have seen many strange things over the years and have experience with unknown abilities. In the end though, the world is simply filled with science. It is why I brought Enshuu-san with us. As he will not willingly cooperate with us, her talent is the next best thing. In some ways, he too lacks certain necessary requirements to be a Kihara."

"Ok Nouken-ojiisan," Enshuu replied, slightly timidly, and took a deep breath. Enshuu was actually an anomaly among the Kiharas. As a Kihara, she had an unnatural aptitude toward science, but she couldn't perform the multiplication table, write even katakana, much less kanji. It's not like she was stupid, she just was never taught those things. Even without this fundamental knowledge, her mind naturally comprehended science from everything around her. It was believed being a true Kihara required being taught by another Kihara, but Enshuu had been kidnapped at a young age. She eventually killed her captures, after learning all the science around her, and returned to the Kiharas, and now was constantly trying to prove her Kihara-ness.

Enshuu true ability was the ability to mimic thought patterns. To compensate for her lacking Kihara-ness, she used the gadgets she carried on her to display graphs and other information that displayed one or more particular thought pattern. She could access over 5000 different thought and combat patters of the Kihara family, though it is theorized that she would be able to use thought patterns from other people outside the family. The graph started moving on her neck device and changed colors. "I need advice Jason-oniichan," she said slowly. "What would a Kihara do in this situation?" She paused and shook her head, looking uncomfortable.

"Well?" Yuiitsu prompted, sounding almost bored.

"Jason-oniichan said the world is a big place," Enshuu explained. "Immediately writing something off as an impossibility is un-Kihara like. Examine, learn, experiment, and then arrive to a conclusion. If something is a threat, remove it, but wasting a valuable resource is a greater sin."

"A well-reasoned argument," Nouken agreed.

"Should we be worried about the Railgun and that boy who was there?" Yuiitsu asked.

"No," Nouken answered, shaking his head. "The Railgun is not a threat, but if you get involved with that boy, you will incur the wrath of someone far scarier than those intruders."

* * *

"Ack." Touma flinched and gripped the chair he was holding.

"Quit being a baby," Mikoto snapped, spraying disinfectant on his back.

"You need to worry about yourself more instead of others," Index told him. "Then this wouldn't be necessary."

Out of Touma, Index, Lessar, and Mikoto, Touma was the most injured. Mikoto had minor scrapes and bruises, Lessar did too, but also had a red mark around her neck, and Index had a bump on her head. Touma, however, had scrapped his back almost raw when he landed on the asphalt. His shirt was in tatters and that's how Mikoto and Index noticed it. Mikoto wanted him to go to the hospital to get treated, but he adamantly refused. There was no way he was going to pay for a hospital visit with only a scrapped back. He had survived much worse. He and Mikoto argued a bit, before reaching a compromise. Mikoto ran into a nearby convenience store, which was still open, and grabbed some disinfectant and bandages. When they got back to Touma's dorm, she forced him to sit on a chair while she cleaned and bandaged his back.

"It still hurts," Touma muttered, feeling a sharp stinging sensation when the spray hit his wounds. Thanks to Academy City's advanced formulas, he knew his would weren't going to get infected and would be almost healed overnight.

"You should see her face," Lessar said. "She's turning bright red every time she looks at your back. I have to say, you got a lot of muscles."

"Huh?"

"Turn around and I'll slap your back as hard as I can." Touma froze at Mikoto's threat and he stared straight ahead. Because Touma was trying not to cause any problems, he didn't notice Index and Lessar were also staring at his chest intently. He had removed what was left of his shirt so Mikoto could treat him. He admitted silently to himself it was nice having someone helping him, because it would have been difficult to wrap bandages around his back well by himself. "All done," Mikoto said a couple minutes later. She had passed the roll of bandages to Touma to wrap around his torso until the wounds were covered and she tied it tightly. "That should hold through the night at least."

"Thanks a lot Mikoto," Touma said gratefully, turning around and smiling at her. Her face turned red at his praise.

"I still think you should have gone to a hospital," Mikoto told him sternly.

"I told you," he replied. "My financial situation could not take the blow."

"I would have paid," Mikoto said softly and Touma's eyes widened slightly. They both looked away from each other.

"If you two lovebirds are done flirting," Lessar interrupted and both of them jumped. They had temporarily forgotten Lessar and Index were there. Lessar was watching them with an amused look, but Index was glaring at them with a combination of anger and jealousy. "Didn't you two have questions for us?"

"Ah yea," Touma answered, her wards giving his brain a jump start. _If I can distract Index, maybe she won't try to bite me._ "Who was that Cain guy supposed to be?"

"You only gave us random bits of information," Mikoto added. "Can you also tell us more about vampires?"

"I only know basics," Lessar admitted. "I'll let Index tell you everything."

"I'll start at the beginning," Index explained. Mikoto sat down in the empty chair next to the table and she, Touma, and Lessar turned to Index to listen to her story. "When God threw Eve and Adam out of the paradise known as the Garden of Eden for eating the forbidden fruit, they traveled across the land. Cain was the first child born to them. He was the first human born on earth."

"He's Eve's child?" coughed Touma.

"But she and Adam look around our age," Mikoto gasped. "That means they had s… se…"

"Sex?" Lessar said helpfully and smoke started coming out Mikoto's ears. Lessar gave a short laugh before continuing. "Eve and Adam were adults when they were cast out of Eden. We still doubt those two, who have been attacking us, are truly the first two humans, but it would be an easy task to change their appearances."

"What's special about Cain?" Touma asked. "Besides being the first human born."

"Cain focused on farming," Index continued. "He was able to cause the earth to produce vast wealth of crops to feed him and his family. Eve's second son, Abel was the shepherd in charge of their flock. In time, Cain and Abel presented God offerings. Cain presented God with the land's bounty, while Abel presented God with his flock's firstborns. God was pleased with Abel's offering, but did not spend much time on Cain's." Index paused. "This is where things went wrong. God could tell Cain was upset, but let him go. Cain then brought his brother Abel into the field… and killed him."

"He killed him?" Mikoto asked slowly.

"It's why Cain is known as the first murderer," Lessar said.

"I could understand being frustrated at being overshadowed," Touma said hesitantly. "But that's no reason to go and kill someone."

"There's more," Index told them. "God questioned Cain on his brother's whereabouts, and he feigned ignorance. God knew better. Abel's blood cursed the earth and Cain could no longer receive food from the earth. God then placed a mark on Cain as punishment for his brother's murder. He could not die and was forced to wonder the earth aimlessly. He was forced to feed only on what he could find, unable to farm the land. The mark on his face symbolized his immortality. It was written he eventually died after centuries. His decedents are known as vampires. The cursed mark passed on to his children."

"If what Birdway-san said was true," Mikoto said, thinking about everything she just heard. "Eve created a new Cain based on the bible then." She sighed. "All these stories are so dark. Don't you guys have happy magic side stories?"

"The bible is supposed to teach lessons Short Hair," Index answered curtly and the two girls glared at each other.

"So all his magic," Touma interrupted, trying to keep them from fighting. "Controlling the earth, creating those plants, and controlling light were all based on his attributes as a farmer?"

"You are getting better at understanding how magic works," Lessar said impressed.

"No no," Touma replied, shaking his head. "I have no idea how it works, but Index has told me enough about magic that even I can put two and two together."

"It's really tough thinking about magic as based on past events and beliefs," Mikoto added. "Seriously, ever sense we met The Herald in Rome, things have been spiraling out of control." She grabbed her head with a hand. "Princess Carissa was able to actually cut dimensions, and then Eve was able to create living things out of paper, including this vampire." _Even when I go all out, I barely make a dent against any of them. I need to get stronger or Touma's going to keep moving forward into this madness and leave me behind. He's not going to stop until everyone is safe. Why do I feel so stuck?_

"Magic has been around a lot longer than Academy City," Index said fairly. "We have had millenniums to refine our techniques. Your city has only been around a fraction of the time."

"I still wouldn't want to fight you seriously," Lessar said truthfully. "The ability to call down lightning strikes like that would cause a lot of magicians to wet themselves. You are referring to a very small number of magicians who can do what they can do."

"What about vampires?" Touma asked. "Stiyl told me about them once a long time ago, but I forgot most of it."

"There really isn't much more then what we told you already," Index said shrugging. "They are immortal with high speed regeneration. Because of their immortality, they can refine unlimited mana."

"All those stories about weaknesses," Lessar added. "Like sunlight, crosses, garlic. None of that is true. They don't have weaknesses. If they bite you and you don't die, you also become one, if not, you become food."

"So when he said he would turn this city into hell…?" Mikoto said softly, her eyes widening.

"He was either going to kill everyone or start turning people into vampires who only wanted to feed on others," Lessar explained. "The situation would spiral out of control quickly and might not even stop there. The entire country could fall."

"I'm glad Birdway was able to stop him then," Touma said relieved. "We have a lot of friends living here."

"Would his hand be a weakness?" Mikoto asked. "Cain didn't seem to want to touch it."

"It might have been because he was one of Eve's creations," Index chimed in. "Your hand hitting the wrong spot might have caused his body to break apart. Vampires actually have a weakness, though it's not well known."

"What is it?" Mikoto asked.

"There's an ability called Deep Blood that's supposed to kill vampires," Index said. "However, it's never been proven because you need a vampire to show Deep Blood exists." Touma went silent. He knew Aisa from school had that power, but he promised her to keep it a secret. Stiyl had gotten the church to seal her power, but he didn't think Index knew about it.

"I suppose it doesn't matter anymore," Mikoto sighed. "He was taken care of…" Her phone started ringing and she looked down at it. "Ah crap, it's Kuroko. She's probably calling about why I'm out past curfew." She grimaced for a second before answering. "Hello?"

"Onee-sama," Kuroko's voice came out loud and clear. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Sorry Kuroko," Mikoto apologized. "I got distracted and lost track of time."

"I'll cover for you until you get back," Kuroko said. "The Dorm Supervisor has been getting suspicious. What on earth have you been doing?"

"Thanks," Mikoto said graciously. "I was helping some friends who got in a spot of trouble and then got caught up in a story."

"Hey Shirai-san," Lessar called out cheerfully.

"Was that Lessar?" Kuroko asked surprised. "You were helping her?"

"Yea," Mikoto confirmed. "Along with…"

"It was me, Index, and Lover Boy," Lessar interrupted. Mikoto and Touma realized the problem her words were about to cause, but they couldn't react fast enough. "Now we are all in his room and things are just getting fun."

"His room… fun?" Kuroko sounded shell shocked.

"WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT?!" Mikoto and Touma yelled at Lessar.

"That's what I wanted to do," Lessar answered unbashful, shrugging and putting her hands behind her head.

"But that's so… so… sinful," Index stated, finally finding the words.

"I'LL KILL THAT APE!" Kuroko roared suddenly, causing them all to jump.

"Kuroko," Mikoto said hastily. "I'm heading back to the dorm now, I need you there to teleport me in or she's going to catch me. Please, I'm counting on you."

"Okay onee-sama," Kuroko answered, in a voice of determined calm. "I want a full explanation when you get here." Mikoto hung up and sighed, before rounding on Lessar.

"Do you know what you could have caused?" Mikoto hissed.

"It all worked out," Lessar said. "Besides, it's not like I'm going to see you two much tomorrow. You have that game thing right? He mentioned it before."

"Ah that's right, we do." Mikoto had completely forgotten about it, but now remember Kuroko talking about it a lot the last few days. "Sort of forgot about it with Cain's attack." She turned to Touma. "Are you going to be okay with your back?"

"I'm a fast healer," Touma replied, smiling. "The doctors are always surprised how fast I recover. I'll be fine tomorrow. Plus, you helped me bandage it up well, so there's no risk of infection either."

"Glad I could help," Mikoto replied, trying to sound casual, but feeling butterflies in her stomach from his thanks. "So no excuses if Kuroko and I catch you and your friends?"

"You better go easy on him Short Hair," Index said indignantly. "He's still injured."

"My friends have a lot of plans for tomorrow," Touma said. Mikoto was surprised when he suddenly sighed. "I'm only participating because I need the extra ability development credits. My friends are just using the chance to cause trouble while helping me, even Accelerator. Jason's planning to capture Uiharu-san to spend time with her because he didn't see her all week."

"Kuroko's been strategizing all week on how to take down Kagere-san," Mikoto sighed. "I bet she's going to demand my help with it. They just had to go and make that bet. I don't even want to think what Kuroko has planned."

"He hasn't mentioned it the few times I saw him," Touma said thoughtfully. "But that doesn't mean anything. I bet he has already planned something bad if he wins." Mikoto and Touma sighed.

"Don't you have to go Short Hair," Index asked impatiently.

"Yes she does," Lessar agreed. "Go ahead and leave. I'll take GOOD care of Lover Boy."

"I'm not going to leave until you swear you aren't going to try anything," snapped Mikoto, glaring at Lessar. She could trust Index wouldn't try anything over the top, but Lessar would in a heartbeat.

"Since that isn't going to happen," Lessar said. "I take it you will be spending the night? I guess we can have fun together." Mikoto and Index's mouth fell open, and Touma face palmed.

 _This is going to be a pain. Such misfortune._

* * *

"I'm here," Shizuri announced, kicking the door open. She had obviously been expected since the door lock scanner was keyed to her handprint. She just kicked the door open for the hell of it, rather than necessity. She walked into the lab, with Rikou walking silently behind her. "You better not be pulling my leg, or you know what's going to happen."

"Yeah yeah," Jason replied dismissively, trying to stifle a yawn. "Only fifteen minutes late, I should be honored you graced me with your presence."

"Your sarcasm is going to get you killed," Shizuri snapped, trying to keep herself relatively calm. "You said you have a way to increase my ability. Is that what this machine is for?" She gestured to the left of Jason. There was a large cot like bed, suspended from the ends, but nothing under it. Attached from the ceiling was a large donut shaped piece of machine at one end of the cot. Judging from the way it was attached to the ceiling, it would move up and down over the cot, scanning whoever was laying down on it. Jason was sitting down on a chair, several computers behind him, and an electronic data pad in his hand.

"The machine isn't directly going to increase your level," Jason explained. "It's going to allow me to accurately monitor your AIM field so I can administer the correct combination of drugs and music." He waved a hand to the table on the other side of him. There was several syringes fill with chemicals, along with a laptop, a music player, and other handheld electronic devices. "You probably already figured it out, but I need you to lay down on that bed for the scan." His voice suddenly turned curt and business like. "For accuracy purposes, remove any jewelry, metal, electronics, and so forth. I'm going to be measuring even the slightest changes to your AIM field and this machine is incredibly sensitive. Remove your outer clothes too, if you're embarrassed, there's a thin robe on the chair over there."

"I didn't realize Kamijou's friend was such a pervert," Shizuri sneered. "What would your girlfriend say?" Jason raised an eyebrow at her, but maintained eye contact. Both of them knew they weren't going to tell anyone else about this experiment. It would be detrimental to them in different ways. "Fine," Shizuri said. "It's not like I'm ashamed of my body." She removed her long sleeve dark yellow top, and form fitting lilac pants. All she was left with was some very exotic black underwear. _I bet Kamijou would have a nose bleed if he saw me._ She actually grinned at the thought, before she handed her clothes to Rikou. "Take these," she told her, and then her voice became a whisper. "If he tries anything suspicious, take him out."

"Yes Mugino," Rikou replied, before turning to Jason. "You said I would be needed, when will that be?"

"I'll explain everything as we go," Jason said, spinning around in his chair and hit a couple buttons. The machines around the cot started flashing and humming softly. "Mugino-san, would you please lie down and try to move as little as possible. Normally, movements wouldn't affect AIM readings, but I'm trying to be several times more precise than we normally need to be." Mugino strutted over to the cot and spread out on it. Jason clicked a button and the donut shaped machine near her head started moving down the cot and around her body.

"How long is this going to be?" Shizuri asked.

"Several minutes," Jason answered. "Now, this is my last warning on what we are about to do. As I told you, this is all theoretical treatment, based on what we saw happen to Mental Out. We have no other precedence for what I am attempting." Shizuri wanted to nod, but she remained still. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rikou nod her head slightly.

 _Good, she's paying attention._

"We are going to scan your AIM field and determine the exact minimum dose needed to overload your ability right above the cap your body can handle," Jason continued. "This is why accuracy and precision is important. Takitsubo-san" Jason turned to her, "you have the most important job, in fact, Mugino-san's life will depend on it." Rikou's eyes widened slightly and Shizuri frowned. "Because I am raising her ability above her cap, it won't take place instantaneous. It will take at least twenty four hours. When her power reaches a critical point, it will start going out of control and her body will not be able to stand the stress. This is when you need to use your ability to take control of her AIM field. At this time, you need to force it back into her in order to forcefully break her cap. If you do it too soon, the cap won't break, too late and she will be crippled or even die."

"Why not just fucking overload it now?" Shizuri demanded. "It would make more sense to have it run out of control in a lab than out in the streets."

"Because I would have to raise the dosage," Jason explained. "If it increases too fast, your body will break before Takitsubo-san can take control of your AIM field." He paused for a second and took a look at the computer. "Hmm, same as the last scan but I found a few traces of progress from recent activities." He turned back to Shizuri and Rikou after a couple minutes of staring at the graphs and data. "Last chance to back out," he suddenly said, when a bell went off. "Once I start overloading your ability, we can't stop half way. There is a serious risk of crippling your ability permanently and even death."

"Do it," Shizuri said without hesitation. _I am tired of the others constantly surpassing me. I saw the sympathy in Kamijou's eyes when he tried to reassure me. No more. I will not allow myself to be looked down on by others anymore. That princess brat still pisses me off. If I ever see her again, I'm going to blast her off the face of the earth._ Jason nodded and turned to his equipment. He hit a button and Shizuri heard some high pitched music near her ears on the cot. Speakers must have been built in right below her. The machine scanning her slowed down and stopped at the head of the cot.

"Ready?" Jason asked. He had three shots ready and was looking down at her. She gave a curt nod, and her eyes darted to Rikou. When they made eye contact, Rikou nodded. The music near Shizuri's head got louder and her head started pounding slightly from the noise. The first shot went into her arm, and she ignored the slight stinging sensation. She was getting really tired of the music, but it wasn't until the second shot in her shoulder did something happened.

"Arg!" she yelled, as her head felt like it was about to split open. Everything turned red for a moment. Her eyesight returned to normal just as fast, but it made her dizzy when she sat up. "What did you do?" she hissed, trying to move Jason into focus. Her head wasn't hurting to badly, but everything was kind of blurry from the sudden pain.

"Hang on," Jason said. "This last one needs to be injected fast." He rushed to her other side and injected the third shot into her other shoulder. The pain in her head and her eyesight returned about thirty seconds after. She sat up and looked at him, as he glanced at the monitor. "Normal AIM field signs returning, it's slightly stronger and infrequent wavelengths showing overloading is happening."

"I felt like my head was splitting open," Shizuri muttered.

"Common sign of overloading," Jason confirmed. "For the next twenty four hours, you will have those a lot." He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Overloading an ability is actually pretty easy. The issue is developing the ability without causing it to overload takes a lot longer. Your ability was already fully developed, so now we just have to wait."

"…Your AIM field is fluctuating slightly," Rikou confirmed to Shizuri. "Is there anything I should know about when I need to act?" She posed the last question to Jason.

"I can't say exactly what it will look like when it happens," Jason said. "All I can say is it will be obvious to you since you can see her AIM field. She's going to have periodic symptoms until then. You can't act on those or this entire experiment will fail. I would advise not leaving her side until you complete your task. Oh, that reminds me." He turned to Mugino, who was sitting up and rubbing her head, looking irritated. "Refrain from using your powers until then. I can't tell you what will happen if you use Meltdowner while it's unstable. You might kill yourself outright."

"Damn it," Shizuri growled. "How the hell am I supposed to relieve my stress from this fucking headache?"

"I never said you couldn't kill anyone," Jason told her helpfully. "Just don't use your ability to do it." Shizuri looked at him and he smiled innocently.

"Stop pretending to be pure when you talk like that," Shizuri spat out. "It's disturbing." She stood up and took her clothes from Rikou. "I take it we are done?" She started to put them on while Jason talked.

"Yep," Jason said. "You are free to leave. Remember, don't let Takitsubo-san leave your side. I want to see this experiment succeed too."

"Let's go Takitsubo," Shizuri said, leading the way out of the lab. "I don't want to be here any longer." Rikou nodded and followed, while Jason watched the leave.

 _Let's hope this works and she doesn't ruin it,_ he thought. _Losing one of the four important level 5s would be a huge setback. I wonder if Saten could be used to replace her? She would certainly fulfill the requirements. The trick would be to experiment on her without notice, or have her come to me._

 _Why not the number 2 person?_

 _He's unstable, and doesn't meet the relationship requirement. Besides, with his creation ability, he has other uses, as long as he doesn't get killed for stealing all that research information. Seriously, what on earth could he be thinking?_

* * *

It was a clear night and the sky would normally be full of stars except, with all the lights in Academy City, few stars could be seen. The sight of Cain's rampage was closed off by Anti-Skill and construction plans were set in motion to start the following day. Right now, the area was deserted and the only sound was a slight breeze moving between the nearby buildings. Suddenly, the wind stopped and everything became eerily calm. Not a single sound, not even an insect, was heard. Then a single crack broke the silence and a dark rift opened up next to the crater Leivinia's attack left behind. Eve stepped out of it, followed by Juliet.

"So," Eve said, walked down the side of crater to the lowest point in the center. "Everything went according to plan?"

"Yes," Juliet confirmed. "I saved The Imagine Breaker from Cain and told him you wanted to have a chat. He should at least listen to your request. I didn't expect them to actually defeat Cain though."

"Oh they didn't," Eve smiled. She looked down at the ground and kicked it. "Get up, your job is done." Juliet's eyes widened in shock as the ground shifted and several vines rose up, forming a pod like structure. They opened up and Cain stepped out of it onto the ground. He gave Eve a slight bow and stood up straight. He was perfectly fine, except he didn't have his normal hoody. "At least you held back," she paused. "Well, until the end. I felt your last attack and thought I may have had to interfere."

"The city unleased some weird device that made it hard to think," Cain explained. "Did you get what you needed?"

"Sure did," Eve said happily. The air behind her opened up and she reached into the dark void, pulling out a large sheet of black metal. "My friend gave me a nice size sample. I'm going to see if I can make it, if not, I will have to wait until he can procure more. He had an appointment so I couldn't stick with him. Science side people are always so busy." She looked over at Cain. "What did you think of science abilities anyways?"

"You mean the girl who could control electricity?" Cain asked. "She was pretty powerful, for a human. I could have ended her in an instant if you wanted me to."

"Shame," Eve replied, throwing the metal back into the void behind her. "There might be one person in this city who could challenge you in a straight fight. It would be fun to watch two monsters clash when I'm not involved. We may need the little girl who is always near him."

"If you say so."

"Can we hurry this up," Juliet finally spoke up, exasperated. "We are so close to my Romeo, I can feel his warm embrace."

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Before anyone says anything, a friend told me Cain's last attack reminded me of the Pokémon move Solar Beam. This was not intentional, and I don't want to hear about it. Every comment I see with it will delay the next chapter a day (naruhinasakufan1).**

 **Kuroko: Next chapter is the big game and the perfect chance for my revenge.**

 **Jason: If you beat me but, even then, I doubt your command will be that bad.**

 **Kuroko: I have a plan for that. If I win, I'm going to get advice from the readers on what I should have you do.**

 **Motoharu: Damn…. She just raised the bar.**

 **Accelerator: I'm actually impressed the brat thought of that.**

 **Jason: I'm going to be forced to try to win aren't I?**

 **Ruiko: You should focus on Uiharu, she's been talking about it the entire time.**

 **Kazari: Saten-san!**

 **Motoharu: And now Kami-yan is going to spend the night with three girls.**

 **Touma: Don't be silly, Mikoto is going to head back soon.**

 **Mikoto: Not until Lessar promises.**

 **Lessar: I promise to not take advantage of him…. (Until you leave.)**

 **Mikoto: What was that?!"**

 **Misaki: I haven't gotten much screen time lately.**

 **Ruiko: Don't worry, Author-san told me we will get some next chapter.**


	68. S3 Tokiwadai Invasion

**I have been looking forward to writing this chapter for so long. So many plans and it's going to start a chain of events that is sure to cause misfortune for our favorite hero. I was originally planning to have someone introduce this chapter, but last week was really long and by the time I finished going over the chapter and responding to reviews, I was ready to sleep. So, it's just me. There will be someone to answer questions next week and it has been planned for a while. I'm still looking for anyone with good artistic skills willing to make art for the story. I know it's kind of futile, but I can still hope. I also want to thank everything who has stuck around for this long in reading this story. It's been over a year now, and I'm still having fun writing. By most of the comments, it looks like you all are too.**

 **Brosephg: Obviously they are going to become good friends. They both know what it's like to be a monster.**

 **general ironox: Will be tough, because she doesn't have main character traits, but she should have her time to shine.**

 **Generation Zero: You seem to be all over the place with your thoughts. However, many of those questions will be answered this season. Magic Gods break the world, if they get added, takes a lot of planning.**

 **Whwsms: That's… pretty much what happens with Deep Blood vs a vampire.**

 **Handsomistic1: There are ways to conceal mana, and if he really is a vampire from the dawn of time, he might know a way or two. Blah, High Priest. Rather introduce the female magic gods.**

 **Hilem: Now the sad part, you have to wait for the next update haha. I did start the story before I finished the light novels so the timing is off in a lot of things, but I try to mention it. I really liked Worst, so I put her in early because I can. (Writer power). Estelle should have a bigger part in the future.**

 **Agent Nine: He's never really come across a situation needing to use his secondary ability. Kekine's plan also interrupted research so there's that. Though, couple of chapters will tell you a bit about the IB, so look forward to that.**

 **Yakutsu Zaishiro: Hmm, not this chapter, but she needs to make another appearance. It's been awhile.**

 **MarkJ: I'm not even sure what Jason is up to anymore. He just does what he wants in the story and now we need to figure out what his major plan is. It has something to do with level 5s for sure.**

 **RPGPersona: I was rather proud of my portrayal of Cain. I thought about his fight a lot and how I wanted to tie his abilities with biblical references. No Pokémon references! Remember, Eve stages overly complicated plans that really don't seem to make sense until the end.**

 **karma88: You say they are OP, and then want me to bring in a magic god? How's that work? Not this season for sure, if Othinus makes an appearance, it would have to be next season at the earliest.**

 **Syko-Soldier963: Who told you that? I have no idea what you are talking about. That's all speculations. It's not like Jason is purposely doing something to Saten without her knowledge.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

"You ready to take over Tokiwadai Kami-yan?" Motoharu asked sarcastically, grinning the entire time.

"I'm not ready to die if that's what you mean," Touma replied, wincing slightly at the thought of what would happen when they actually got to the high school. He sighed and zipped up his black jacket. To identify the participants in the game as police, criminals, and hostages, different color pants and jackets were distributed to the students. Black was criminal, blue was police, and green was hostages. This also separated them apart from normal citizens not participating. They were specially designed to be sturdy and lightweight, so they wouldn't be a liability in hot temperatures. "Plus I'm really tired," he yawned. "It was a long day yesterday."

"I heard," Motoharu nodded seriously. "Fighting a vampire and then having a bunch of girls in your apartment fighting over you. I was actually expecting Misaka-san to spend the night." Touma's head spun so fast to look at Motoharu, he felt dizzy.

"How did you know?" Touma asked shocked.

"I told you before Kami-yan," Motoharu explained, shaking his head back and forth. "Our walls are paper thin. I heard everything last night. I passed that information all to Stiyl and Kanzaki. I expect them to be acting soon, but until then," he burst out into a grin again and slapped Touma on the back. "Let's talk about last night."

"If you heard everything," Touma muttered. "I don't need to tell you." Mikoto and Lessar had started arguing for so long, Touma was actually worried Mikoto would demand to stay the night. He wasn't too worried about her trying anything though. Lessar was the one who he assumed would. He was worried about Lessar and Mikoto continuing to fight, and then have Kuroko find out he and Mikoto spent the night together. Mikoto finally left after he assured her nothing would happen and only after he reminded her of Kuroko's reaction if she stayed. He was exhausted and went to bed early, not even bothering to open a package from Jason containing the vacation pictures he received in the mail. He didn't sleep well that night though. He kept thinking about what Juliet said about Eve wanting to talk to him, the game he was being forced to participate in, and some thoughts about his inner desire to have Mikoto spend the night. Only one good thing happened after he woke up, his back didn't hurt and, when he checked it in the mirror, it was almost fully healed.

"You're no fun today," Motoharu said, pouting slightly. "Worried our plan will fail?"

"I'm worried your plan will succeed," Touma clarified. "Jason and Aogami seemed way too excited when they left."

"We were all waiting for you," Motoharu pointed out. "Maybe you shouldn't have shown up late. They are just heading in the car to wait." Touma rolled his eyes.

"What are we doing now?" Touma asked, heading to the door.

"Kagere got us transportation," Motoharu explained, as they exited the locker room of their school. "It's out back and parked across the street. Your disguise is in there too, so you can change on the way." He snickered. "When we get to Tokiwadai, we have to bypass a couple girls guarding the grounds, and then we take the gym and all the hostages inside. We estimate there will be at least a dozen. If all goes according to plan, we all should get plenty of extra credit. Using your power as Kami the Harem King, we might even get more girls to come to us."

"I have a feeling you aren't telling me something important," Touma said suspiciously. Motoharu looked at him with an innocent look on his face, which only increased Touma's suspicions. "What's up with Accelerator anyways? He seems a little to cooperative. He hasn't called you guys out on your shenanigans today yet."

"I think he just wants to go to Tokiwadai for his own reasons," Motoharu shrugged. "Or he just enjoys hanging out with us. He's just a male tsundere."

"I'm going to tell him you said that."

"He will probably beat you for bringing it up before moving to me."

"Probably." They both laughed at the thought of Accelerator's expression after being called a tsundere. They were just about to leave the school, when Touma realized he was missing something. "Damn, left my phone." He had received a text from Mikoto and, surprisingly, Misaki asking if he was okay. Touma remembered Mikoto had said Misaki told her about him and Leivinia, so Mikoto must have told Misaki what happened with Cain. He had told them he was fine and he was getting ready for the game. "I'll meet you guys out back."

"Forgetting your phone after texting your girlfriends," Motoharu reprimanded him jokingly.

"Don't make me sound like someone who just fools around with girls," Touma called over his shoulder, slightly irritated. He ran back to the locker room, grabbed his phone from his locker, and threw open the door to leave. He had only taken two steps, when he stopped because he saw a familiar face. Seria Kumokawa was leaning up against the windowsill, looking right at him and then gave him a small wave. "Kumokawa-senpai?"

"Hello Kamijou-san," she said kindly, giving him a smile. She was wearing a green jersey and green pants, which were slightly tight and highlighted her curves. Touma had to force his eyes up to avoid looking and determinedly focused on her face.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I got asked to participate," Seria answered. "They needed hostages and I agreed. I see you are a criminal again this time." She winked at him and Touma's face went red. "I was actually heading upstairs when I heard you and your classmate talking. Are you really going to Tokiwadai?" She actually knew he was heading there long before this conversation, because she had spied on him and the others during the week. She had purposely positioned herself to meet him privately in order to talk without Motoharu around. She knew Touma well enough that something would delay him from leaving.

"I kind of got forced to," Touma admitted.

"Because they are going to tell everyone about your disguise?"

"Yea… how did you know?" Touma changed direction mid answer.

"I heard him mention your powers as Kami," Seria answered. Touma grabbed his head and turned around in frustration.

 _My secrets out! She's going to hate me for dressing and acting like a player. It's so embarrassing when it's in front of senpai._ He was so busy fretting, he didn't see Seria cover her mouth, but he turned around when she let out a small giggle.

"Don't worry," she reassured him. "I won't tell anyone."

"Thank you so much senpai," Touma said, nearly in tears. He reached out and grabbed one of her hands and held it between his, looking her in the eyes. "If there's anything I can do to repay such kindness, let me know." He had been getting needled by so many girls over the last few days, it warmed his heart to have someone act so kindly to him without an ulterior motive but, of course, he didn't know about Seria's plan.

"I really didn't do anything worthy of thanks," Seria pointed out. "But can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, anything."

"Can I accompany you and your friends?"

"Wha…?" Touma asked, startled by the unusual request. He had been sure she was going to ask something about Kami, like why he started dressing like him or what his ability was. He did not expect Seria, one of his models of the perfect older girl, to want to go with him to another school and watch him embarrass himself. He finally found his voice as his brain began to process the information. "Why would you want to come with us senpai?"

"From what I heard when you and your friend were talking," Seria explained. "It seems like you need extra credit?" Touma nodded. "Well I would hate for my cute kohai fail his classes if there was something I could do to help. As I can see, you are a criminal and I am a poor hostage. If you capture me and I tag along, then you would get more points." This was true, but there was a lot more to it. She wasn't going to let the opportunity pass by for her to spend time with Touma. Ever since he had recovered his memories of Misaki, their deal to both stick away from him was canceled. Through her investigation, closer to spying, she observed Misaki spending way more time with him then she was. _This has to change._

"Yes," Touma acknowledged. "I would get credit, but my friends are dragging me into something that's bound to turn crazy. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you senpai." He didn't know Seria's heart started fluttering at his words. "Besides, I'm sure you have better things to do then waste your time with us."

"Hmm," Seria replied, pretending to pout. "I was actually just going to go up to the classroom and read until I was discovered. The city is full of exciting things and it would be silly of me to seclude myself when one is happening right in front of me." She smiled warmly at Touma, and cupped her hands over his hand. "Please can I come with you?" She gave him a slightly pleading look and she grinned internally as she watched all resistance in Touma's face get washed away. _He's so cute when he's flustered, but even a gentleman can be manipulated if you know the right buttons to press._

"If you're sure," Touma said softly, his face burning and he diverted his eyes. "I hope my friends don't cause you any problems. If anything bad happens, I'll make sure to protect you."

"Thank you for the kind words," Seria said, still smiling.

"We should get going then," Touma said, looking at the time. "My friends are waiting out back and we need to get going before to many people are patrolling the streets." Seria nodded and followed him as they left the building. She was quite pleased with herself into manipulating Touma, so she could go with him. She wasn't entirely sure what was going to happen, but she knew how situations always turned out interesting around him. They left through the school's back entrance and walked down the deserted path before passing through the gate. Parked on the side of the street was a black van with darkened windows. There looked to be three rows and all they could see were the shadows of people moving inside. The door opened up and Pierce stuck his head out.

"About time Kami," he called out. "We were worried you fell into a toilet or some… is that Kumokawa-senpai? You were late because you were picking up girls? Kami, you basta…" Hands reached from behind him and covered his mouth before pulling Pierce into the back row of the van. Jason stuck his head out and waved.

"Hurry up," he called out. "We need to get moving." Touma nodded and he and Seria sat down in the middle row, while Jason and Pierce sat in the back. Motoharu was driving and Accelerator was sitting next to him. When Touma and Seria put on their seatbelts, Motoharu started the van and drove down the street. "You know, when they said they only had a van available, I thought, this is overkill, we only planned to have five people, not eight. Now that I know Touma's going to bring some girls with him, it makes sense. How are you Kumokawa-senpai?"

"I am doing well," Seria replied. "Thank you Kagere-san. It's also nice to meet the rest of you, but I don't think I have met you." She gestured at Accelerator, who only noticed it because he tilted his head slightly to see who Touma had brought with him.

"Accelerator," he muttered, turning his eyes back to the road.

"Oh!" Seria said, eyes widening in recognition. "I heard so many things about you." She was just acting and actually knew who he was. She knew detailed information about everyone in the car through her spying on Touma. Motoharu was the only one she didn't really care for. They had a history where they had been on opposite sides, and she didn't like to relive that time. She even knew Jason through a couple meetings with the directors. They never actually introduced themselves to each other at those meetings, but she had seen him acting sarcastic and impudent to them. Accelerator acted like he didn't hear anything, he was tired of people trying to suck up or question him about being the strongest level 5.

"So Kami," Pierce said. "Going after senpai for your harem?"

"No!" Touma denied, rounding on him. "I don't…" He stopped when he saw a superior look on Pierce's face. _Damn it, I can't deny it because of that stupid bet. If I break they bet, I know these two will do something far worse. Besides, I gave my word I would follow the bet._ He gripped his head and grimaced while Seria and Jason looked at him with slight puzzlement on their faces. Jason frowned at Touma's lack of denial.

"I know I'm missing something important," he whispered to Pierce.

"We made a bet yesterday," Pierce whispered back. "If he could ask a random girl out and succeed, he couldn't deny he has a harem. You can guess the outcome."

"So that was the blonde girl he took down the deserted alleyway," Jason said loudly, as Touma's actions dawned on him. Everyone turned around, including Accelerator, at his words. Motoharu looked up at the review mirror.

"Deserted ally?" Pierce repeated. "So that's where you took her? Impressive."

"Don't say your stupid delusional things right now," Touma told them. "It's rude to senpai."

"I'm sure there is a misunderstanding," Seria said reasonably. The Touma she knew had to be on the receiving end of the other's jokes. "Kamijou-san is a very nice young man. I'm sure he was just helping her with something."

"How does he do this?" Pierce muttered, leaning back in his seat. "How come I can't get a cute girl to like me and defend me from others?"

"Because you're a pervert," Jason pointed out helpfully.

"Just because you have a girlfriend doesn't mean you can act all superior," Pierce said, punching Jason in the shoulder. Jason responded by punching him and the backseat quickly became a brawl between children.

"How much does Kumokawa-senpai know?" Motoharu asked Touma, as he turned down another road.

"She heard us talking," Touma admitted. "She knows about our destination and about…" he paused and hung his head in shame, "my disguise."

"And she still wanted to come?" Accelerator asked in disbelief, actually turning around in his seat.

"This sounds a lot more exciting than sitting around back at our school," Seria replied. "Besides, since I'm a hostage I can help you all get extra credit. As your senpai, it's the least I could do to help." Accelerator gave a slight scoff before turning back around. He didn't believe she was doing it out of the goodness of her heart, but he didn't know her well enough, so he couldn't be entirely sure. There was no way he could know how right he was.

"Here I was thinking Kami-yan was putting the moves on you," Motoharu said.

"I don't have any moves," Touma protested. While he couldn't deny he had a harem, he could still deny all the comments on him actually trying to flirt with girls. He heard Seria give a slight giggle and felt his face turn red. _I'm sure she's just acting polite. That's the sign of a mature girl._

"Hey Accelerator," Motoharu continued, ignoring Touma's denial. "Pass him the box by your feet, it has his costume."

"Heh," Accelerator sneered, handing the box to Touma. The Kami disguise always amused him when Motoharu and Pierce forced Touma to wear it. _Worst wanted a picture of the hero making a fool of himself. She's going to bother the hell out of me if I don't._

"Have I mentioned before how much I hate this costume," Touma muttered and everyone in the van laughed, even Seria. He pulled out the mask, looked at it for a moment, and continued pulling out other segments of his costume. Because the rules for the game required the single color jerseys to be easily identifiable, the entire Kami costume wasn't there. Only the mask, a couple different hair dyes, and a gold with black stripe vest were left of his costume. He sighed and pulled the vest on and looked at the dye. "What do you guys have half a dozen dyes?"

"We decided to let you choose which color you would prefer," Pierce said, rubbing his bruised arm. "After all, we only have your best interests at heart."

"Sure you do," Touma replied sarcastically, when he suddenly was aware Seria was leaning over next to him and looking at the dye.

"I think you would look good with the light brown one," she suggested, and Touma could feel her breath on his ear. He felt hot all of a sudden, as his ears turned red. Seria could tell he was slightly uncomfortable and she felt pleased with herself. _I'm glad all of Shokuhou's and Lessar's advances haven't dulled him to a true feminine touch. I'm his type, so those girls can sit back and watch how a real girl works._

"Okay," Touma said, throwing the other dyes back into the box. He put the dye in his hair and rubbed it in, until there wasn't a trace of his black hair anymore. _Academy City technology is quite convenient._ He also put on the vest, which only covered part of his black jersey so he was probably still within the rules. He looked over at Seria, who was looking him up and down and gave him an encouraging nod. Feeling slightly better, he was about to pass the box back up to Accelerator, when he noticed something else left inside. "Why are there four other masks?" he asked, pulling them out.

"Oh yea" Motoharu said, acting as if he just remembered, but Touma had a feeling he was waiting for the opportunity to make it dramatic. "Aogami and I decided as mere followers of Kami the Harem King, we needed disguises too. I made masks for each of us. They aren't as nearly as nice as yours, but time was of the essence." Touma could hear the amusement in Motoharu's voice.

"No one told me about this," Jason spoke up. "It's one thing for Touma to wear a mask, but us?"

"Not happening," Accelerator mumbled.

"Don't be that way guys," Pierce said. "It's all in good fun, plus it will sure to bring the entire Kami persona together. There's also extra dye in case you want to be in complete disguise. Accel-kun might want to change his hair color."

"If you try to touch me," Accelerator snapped. "I'm going to send you on a one way trip out of the city." Seria made a mental note Accelerator had stopped trying to tell the others not to call him Accel-kun when they were making fun of him. Jason reached up and took one of the masks and Pierce imitated his actions.

"I suppose if Touma can wear one," Jason said, slipping the mask on to adjust it. "I think I can. It's not like I haven't worn one before. If Accelerator isn't man enough to wear one, he doesn't have to."

"Who says I'm not man enough to?" Accelerator snapped, grabbing a mask. "I'll wear one, but this trip better be worth it."

"I'm sure everyone will be entertained," Motoharu laughed.

"Sorry about their antics senpai," Touma muttered to Seria.

"No need to apologize," she replied kindly. "It's good to see you and your friends are having so much fun during your school life." _They are annoying, but I can put up with it. The board of directors is even worse and I pretend to enjoy working for them._

"The school is in sight," Motoharu finally said a short time later. "We are going to park on the far side and make our way to the gym. Accelerator and Kagere, you two will be in the front, Kami-yan, keep senpai in the back in case things get exciting."

"An easy task," Accelerator yawned.

"What about you and Aogami?" Touma asked.

"How do you expect us to face a bunch of high level ability users?" Motoharu asked. "We just come up with the plans." Touma and Accelerator looked at him in silence for a moment, both knowing Motoharu could put up a good fight if he wanted to, but didn't say anything.

"I'll stop Aogami from raiding the girl's locker room too," Jason volunteered.

"How could you betray me like that?" Pierce cried.

"Do I need to do anything?" Seria asked.

"We didn't take into account Kami-yan would bring a girl with him," muttered Motoharu. "But in retrospect I should have…"

"Hey!"

"… but if you want to help by reassuring any of the Tokiwadai hostages, it would help us immensely. Kami-yan is going to be pretty busy. I'm sure they would enjoy your company."

"Okay," Seria replied. She didn't show it, but she was frowning on the inside. _If I'm stuck babysitting a bunch of brats, I can't keep next to Kamijou. I bet Tsuchimikado did that on purpose so I couldn't. He still holds a grudge._

"Get ready everyone," Motoharu called back, as he parked the van across the street from the back entrance to Tokiwadai. Touma glanced out the window and, besides a car that just drove by, it was quiet. The gate across the street was closed and looked locked. It appeared to be made out of steel, but Touma knew better. It was most likely made of some kind of special engineered metal compound. Motoharu opened the door and everyone followed suit. Touma noticed Pierce and Jason were carrying backpacks, but he had no idea what was inside them. They were unusually quiet, as the glanced down the road to make sure no one was coming, before crossing the street. When they got close to the gate, Touma saw it was locked. Before he could ask what the plan was, Motoharu was already picking it. "Done," he said triumphantly as the metal lock clicked. "Quick recap. We are going to cross the field and head to the gym. If we are spotted, Kagere, Accel-kun, you both have to take charge."

"Understood boss," Jason replied with a salute.

"Get on with it," Accelerator growled, and Motoharu pushed the gate open.

"This is so exciting," Seria whispered from behind Touma.

"With my luck," Touma moaned. "It's going to get out of control fast. Stick close to me senpai."

"Okay." _Perfect. If I have to, I suppose I can convince the girls the let us stay, or at the very least just me and him. The others can get lost for all I care._

They managed about halfway across the field, the gym clearly in sight, when Touma had a thought. _It's still early, but does it feel chilly?_ He looked over at Seria and saw her breath. _It definitely shouldn't be this cold._ He started shivering slightly and wasn't paying attention to Motoharu, almost running into him when he stopped suddenly. "Why are we stopping?"

"We have been spotted," Motoharu declared.

"By who…?" Touma was interrupted by a wall of ice appearing in front of them. The ice was about a meter thick and five meters tall. The wall continued to grow until they were completely encircled. The temperature began to drop drastically and they all started shivering. Through the ice, Touma saw two individual outlines, but the light was diffracted by the ice and Touma couldn't make out who they were. They started talking and Touma was able to tell they were girls, but frowned when they sounded familiar.

"I told you some guys would try to sneak into our school."

"But won't they freeze inside there? I also think I saw a girl with them."

"Well, I suppose we can ask if they will leave." The first girl's voice got louder as she addressed them. "Hey, you stupid boys. If you promise to leave, I'll release you right now. If you don't… well… I hope you like being popsicles?"

"That was mean," the second girl said.

"You have to be firm with perverts."

Touma was about to hit the ice and negate it, when someone else took the initiative. "I guess it's my lucky day," muttered Accelerator, causing the other's to look at him. A devious smirk appeared on his face as he took a step forward toward the ice. He flicked the collar on his neck and tapped the ice with one hand. The entire front half of the wall exploded, sending fragments of ice across the field. Touma was worried the girls were going to be hit by the fragments, but a wall of flames appeared, melting the fragments in midair. Touma still couldn't see the two girls, but Accelerator obviously knew who they were. "So," Accelerator called out, his voice dripping with mirth. "Who are you calling a pervert?" The two girls gasped and the fire wall disappeared, revealing twins with long black hair and brown eyes.

Hibiki and Hanabi Nakano were staring at them with their mouths open in shock.

"Now," Accelerator said, removing his mask from his face. "Observing your expressions directly is much better than through a mask." He paused and looked at them. "What happened to all that confidence you had a moment earlier? Do you realize your position?" He laughed loudly.

Both of the girls were still in shock. They had seen a couple people sneaking in with masks, but they assumed it had been to avoid having their faces seen. Hibiki and Hanabi were part of the games as cops, so they had blue jerseys, and they recognized the boy's black criminal jerseys. The girls in Tokiwadai, who were assigned hostages, were worried about guys trying to sneak into their school and mess up the place, so Hibiki and Hanabi volunteered to act as guards, instead of going out and looking for criminals. "Accelerator?" Hibiki gasped, finally finding her voice. "If you're here, that means…" Her voice trailed off as she glanced past him to the others. She recognized the gold and black outfit and scowled. "I should have known Kami would be here."

"K-Kami," Hanabi stuttered, looking embarrassed. Touma had a sudden flashback at the Tokiwadai beach trip where she had admitted she liked him. His ears burned, but the mask prevented anyone from seeing his embarrassment.

"You both lost to use before." Accelerator shrugged. "You want to lose again? This time, we even outnumber you, not like we need it."

"You…," Hibiki spat out angrily. "Did you two just blackmail your classmates to help you with your perverted ways?"

"You must really want to be punished," sneered Accelerator. "If you insist on talking to me that way. I'll let those other idiots introduce themselves."

"We are merely vassals to the almighty Kami," Motoharu said, stepping up and bowing.

"He demanded we join him of his conquest of Tokiwadai High School," Pierce added, imitating Motoharu.

"What…?!" Hibiki and Hanabi exclaimed in shock. Touma's mouth also fell open, but no one saw it because of his mask. Accelerator didn't laugh, but his face showed how amused he was at Motoharu's and Pierce's words. Seria couldn't help grinning either. Touma was at a loss for words and turned to both Seria and Jason. Because of Jason's mask, Touma didn't know how Jason was reacting, but he was sure it was similar to Accelerator's.

"Your friends sure speak highly of you," Seria whispered, making a small joke of the entire situation.

"Please don't," Touma moaned in horror, glad someone was trying to make him feel better. Judging from the look of Hibiki's face, it was getting redder, she was about to explode in anger. Hanabi's face was also red, but she looked more embarrassed, mirroring how he felt. "Please tell me you aren't going to do what they are," he whispered to Jason.

"I wish they would have told me we were going to do this," Jason muttered. "I would have changed a few things." Touma moaned and he heard Jason chuckle.

"I actually thought you might not have been as bad as you pretended to be!" Hibiki yelled at Touma. "You even helped my sister and Misaka-san talked well of you, but then you do this." She balled her hand into a fist. "Get lost you pervert!" She raised her hand and the air became colder, but before she could actually create ice, Accelerator had moved. He was right in front of her with an outstretched hand, a single finger pressed up against her forehead. Her eyes widened in shock and her concentration on her ability faltered. The air warmed up and she fell backwards, stunned. "So fast…," she muttered.

"Get away from her!" Hanabi yelled in panic, a large flame forming at her right side. Accelerator's head turned ever so slightly to glance at her, but before either of them could react, someone else did. A dark shadow wrapped around Hanabi, strapping her arms tightly to her body, and lifted her up into the air. The surprise attack caused her to lose focus and the fire disappeared. She was being suspended a couple feet off the ground and was turning her head wildly to see who attacked her. The shadow was connected to Jason, who was next to Touma. Hanabi only recognized him because of his unusual ability. During the Tokiwadai fieldtrip, Kazari mentioned him and his power. "This ability, are you Jason Kagere?"

"Yep," Jason confirmed. "Sorry about tying you up, but I rather not have a fire explode so close to everyone."

"You said a lot of rude things to me," Accelerator stated, turning back to Hibiki, who was on the ground. "Not just today, but at the tournament. I never got a chance to thank you for it because the damn hero beat you too fast. That's the only reason I'm here. I'm sure I deserve an apology, or I can't guarantee what I'll do next."

"I'll never apologize to an egotistical jerk like you," Hibiki spat out.

"Shame," Accelerator said, reaching down. Touma was actually worried Accelerator might do something he would regret. Touma knew Accelerator wouldn't kill her, but he wasn't sure what was going to happen to Hibiki if she kept insulting him. He was actually stepping up to stop Accelerator, when Pierce and Motoharu reached Accelerator first.

"Come on Accel-kun," Motoharu said, putting his hand on his shoulder. He was lucky Accelerator immediately lowered his automatic reflect or Motoharu would have broken his hand. "Don't scare the poor girl. You know his majesty would never approve. He's about to come up and stop you anyways." Accelerator glanced back at Touma, who had stopped moving.

"Who cares what he thinks?" Accelerator asked annoyed. Regardless, his words didn't match his feelings. He didn't care about messing with Hibiki anymore. "This girl doesn't know how to respect her betters."

"Betters?" Hibiki snapped. "You're just a pervert."

"Why do you keep repeating yourself?" Accelerator sighed.

"There's only one pervert here," Motoharu added, gesturing to Pierce.

"Hey," Pierce argued. "I just don't discriminate against all types." Hibiki and Hanabi looked at each other in confusion.

"Guys," Touma sighed, walking up and hitting Jason's shadow with his right hand. The sound of breaking glass was heard and shadow disappeared, causing Hanabi to fall onto the ground. She stumbled and Touma reached out a hand to help her stabilize. She blushed as Touma grabbed her wrist to keep her from falling. Touma then walked over to the others. "Why are you doing this? Can we just go on? I don't want to stand out here forever and get seen."

"You heard the King," Pierce declared loudly. "He doesn't want to stand out in the heat."

"He wants to go and capture the school for all the girls," Motoharu added, and they high fived each other.

 _That's not what he said,_ Hibiki and Hanabi thought in disbelief. Hibiki got to her feet and dusted herself off.

"What are we going to do about them?" Jason asked, as he and Seria walked up. "After all, they are cops and we are criminals."

"Knock them out and move on?" suggested Accelerator.

"Will you two just let us move on without trouble?" Touma asked, knowing the likely response.

"No," Hibiki stated flatly.

"We really can't," Hanabi elaborated softly. "We promised to prevent any intruders from entering our school. If we just give up, we would be lying." Touma could understand her words. When he made a promise, he always did everything he could to carry through with it. This meant if he and his friends wanted to pass, there would be a fight, something he wanted to avoid.

"Might I make a suggestion?" Seria spoke up for the first time. Everyone turned to look at her, including Hibiki and Hanabi. They noticed she wore the hostage uniform, but didn't know her entire relationship with the others. "We seem to be at a stalemate. We need to progress forward and these two have a duty to protect the other girls inside the gym, correct?" Everyone nodded, interested to see where this was going. "From what I recall, both Kami and Accelerator defeated you both in the tournament, which means another fight is probably going to have the same outcome. I'm not a fan of violence, and I know Kami isn't either. So, I propose this. What if you allow us to pass so they can capture the hostages, while you two stay and watch? You can make sure no one goes too far." Her eyes darted to Pierce for half a second. "This way, you fulfill your promise to protect the other girls, and my kohai can get their credit."

 _That's not a bad idea,_ Touma thought.

"Excellent idea senpai," Motoharu exclaimed.

"I don't know," Hanabi said nervously, glancing over at Touma. "It does seem like the best outcome I suppose."

"You can't be serious," Hibiki said loudly, turning to her sister. "We can't let these guys enter."

"We are going to enter regardless of what you say," Accelerator pointed out.

"Besides," Pierce added. "None of us want to fight cute girls. Both of you have perfect unique features too." Hibiki and Hanabi both instinctively took a step back from him. They didn't know why, but something about him felt off.

"I'll just follow what Kami wants," Jason said, shrugging.

"I don't think there really is a better option," Seria pointed out diplomatically.

"I'm okay with it," Hanabi said, after thinking about other possibly choices. "Kami seems like a nice guy."

"I have no idea what you see in him…" Hibiki huffed.

"Kami Disease," Motoharu, Pierce, Accelerator, and Jason all answered.

"…Fine," she continued. "It's not like we can stop them anyways." Hibiki looked like she had been forced to swallow a lemon. "But all of you better be on your best behavior, especially you two." She pointed to Touma and Accelerator. After getting them all to agree, Accelerator only gave a noncommittal jerk of his head, she turned and led them to the gym.

"Thanks for solving all of this diplomatically," Touma whispered to Seria. He had been worried Hibiki and Accelerator were about to get into a fight and destroy the school grounds. Now, all he had to worry was how the girls inside the gym were going to react to his presence. He sighed to himself, before noticing Hanabi was walking closer to him and Seria than the others.

"I don't like violence," Seria repeated. "I saw a way we could resolve our dilemma peacefully, so I took it."

 _This is the kind of grace and intelligence only older girls have,_ Touma thought to himself.

"Excuse me," Hanabi interrupted and they both looked at her. "I don't mean to pry, but may I ask who you are? You are… well… different compared to the guys…. Sorry, I don't mean to be rude."

"You aren't being rude at all," Seria replied. "My name is Seria Kumokawa. I'm their senpai at our school and, as you can see, I was assigned to be a hostage. Now I am helping them get the extra credit they need."

"My name is Hanabi Nakano," Hanabi introduced herself. "That's my sister Hibiki. You can call me by my first name if you like. It's a lot less confusing when my sister and I are together."

"Nice to meet you Hanabi-san," Seria replied, reaching out and shaking her hand.

"Sorry about my friends," Touma apologized to Hanabi. "I kind of got forced to come with them. Thanks for being so understandable."

"You don't really seem like someone who would be called the Harem King," Hanabi said. "You're much too kind…" Her voice trailed off.

"I never wanted to be," Touma moaned quietly. "My friends set this all up. Your sister is right though, they are a bunch of jerks a lot of the time, but they don't mean anything too bad from it, so I usually forgive them."

"He does seem to get in a lot of adventures with them," Seria said. "There are a lot of rumors going around school."

"Please don't tell her," Touma pleaded. The last thing he wanted was for the rumors about him and his friends spreading around to other schools. They were bad enough when they were just at his school. Seria laughed slightly and Hanabi also giggled.

"Ever since you saved me back at the tournament," Hanabi told Touma. Her face was slightly red, but looked determined. "I knew you weren't a bad person. Misaka-san spoke well of you too. I'll try to talk to the other girls to help you out. I can at least make sure they won't run."

"Thanks a lot," Touma said gratefully, turning to her. When he looked at her directly, he finally remembered Hanabi was a year older then him. She also was kind, rational, and radiated the same type of sophisticated onee-san aura Seria gave off. _She is really pretty too._ "I wish more girls were like you Hanabi-san. Some guy is going to be lucky to have you as a girlfriend." At the word 'girlfriend', several things happened. First, Jason, who was right in front of them, turned around in surprise. He had been listening to their conversation, along with Accelerator and Hibiki snapping at each other. Hanabi's face turned scarlet and she turned away from him, unable to say anything. Seria smiled, but was mentally screaming on the inside.

 _He's doing it again! I'm right here and he's still able to flirt with other girls._

They weren't able to talk anymore as Hibiki stopped in front of the gymnasium's doors. She opened them and stepped inside, with everyone following her. Touma looked around and gasped. The gym was at least twice as big as his school's, and was obviously better equipped. The basketball hoops on either side looked brand new, rows of equipment for every spot imaginable hung on the far walls, and in the middle of the gym floor were girls. Touma had only expected a handful of girls acting as hostages, assuming most of the ojou-sama types wouldn't want to participate in this type of game.

He was wrong.

There were at least two dozen girls relaxing in the gym. Some tables and chairs had been laid out for them, and many of them were reading or studying. A large TV had also been set up and a couple couches and sofa chairs had been placed around it. A couple girls were watching the news, while other girls were chatting with each other. When Touma and the others walked in, the gym got deathly quiet, someone had muted the TV. Touma felt the atmosphere tense up immediately. Hanabi shifted uncomfortable next to him, but Seria leaned up against the wall and watched in silence. Touma couldn't see how his friends reacted because of the mask but, when Hibiki stepped up to explain the situation, Motoharu beat her to it.

"Sorry about the sudden entrance!" Motoharu half shouted. "But you are all now prisoners of Kami the Harem King!" Touma's ear drums were almost blown out.

"KAMI!?" nearly every girl shouted in shock.

A moment later, Touma had been besieged from all sides as most of the girls ran up to him. Jason, Motoharu and Pierce had to jump out of the way to avoid being trampled. Accelerator reached out a hand and pushed Hibiki out of the path of the stampede, because she was in shock at the other girls' reactions. Hanabi and Seria were pushed away from Touma by the other girls, neither was happy about it. Touma was stunned, as girls kept alternating grabbing his arm and taking selfies, while also barraging him with questions. His head was spinning as the questions begun to blend together with no time to answer.

"Are you really THE Kami?"

"Are you really here to take us all prisoners?"

"How did you get Hibiki-san to let you in?"

"Did you know Hanabi-san likes you?"

"Why would you tell him that!?" Hanabi cried, flushing bright red.

"Huh?" Touma asked, turning his head. He didn't hear the question before Hanabi cried out in shock, but her voice reminded him of when he denied his friends stupid antics.

"Are you trying to add us to your harem?"

"Now ladies!" Pierce cried, drawing their attention to him. "We know you have a lot of questions for Kami and, I assure you, there will be time to have them answered. Right now, we have a few things to finish before then. We also ask that you avoid sending any pictures or tell anyone Kami is here for about thirty minutes to an hour. It's really important, but then you are free to do as you wish."

"Why?" a girl asked.

"That's a secret," he said.

"What are you two planning?" Accelerator asked Motoharu, ignoring the fact Hibiki was listening in.

"Something big," Motoharu whispered back. "But we can't have a couple other people find out about this until after Kagere gets back."

"What's he doing?"

"I need to pick up a couple packages," Jason replied, grinning. He had walked up to them silently. "They are giving me time to sneak off."

"That reminds me," Motoharu remembered. "Hey Kami!" he called out. "We need to meet on the roof to discuss some things. Can you tear yourself away from all the new harem girls for a bit?" Several girls laughed, some looked embarrassed, and a couple girls who had stayed back frowned at his words. Just like everywhere, even Tokiwadai girls were quite different from person to person.

"Coming," Touma yelled back, trying to weave through the crowd of girls surrounding him. Many of them looked disappointed he was leaving. "Excuse me ladies," he said, trying to sound polite and push pass them simultaneously.

"You need to come back and answer our questions," a girl called out.

"Sure," Touma promised and then sighed. "I'll tell you anything you want to know." _I can at least answer their questions after we barged into their school. I'm glad no one decided to attack us._ He didn't know the kind of effect his words would have on the girls. The girl who asked the question suddenly turned bright red and settled down, while many of the other girls started whispering excitedly. Seria face palmed in the back, knowing exactly what was going to happen. She, however, followed the boys and the twins, up a flight of stairs, and exited on the roof. Pierce had to keep reassuring the girls Touma would be right back down to answer their questions, but their meeting was secret right now. When they were all up on the roof and the door closed behind them, Touma turned to the others. "Okay, what are we doing?"

"First," Motoharu explained. "We are going to see Kagere off. He should be back in about thirty minutes, hence the time limit we put on the girls sending out our location."

"Where are you going?" Touma asked.

"Picking up a couple packages," Jason answered again grinning, and then turned to Accelerator. "Think you can give me a toss in that direction? About a mile would be good. I can glide the rest of the way."

"Think you can stand the wind pressure?" Accelerator asked. If it was anyone else, he probably wouldn't have asked. He would have either done it or not, depending on if they could survive or how much he liked them, but Jason and him seemed to get along well.

"I got armor," Jason said, and his shadow flowed from under his clothes and wrapped completely around him. His entire body was quickly covered and it looked like he was wearing a protective coat. "Go ahead."

"Not my fault if you die," Accelerator told him, grabbing Jason and flipping on his choker. A moment later, Jason was sent flying off into the distance and Accelerator flipped his choker switch off. "Well, that was more fun than I expected."

"You threw your friend like a rocket and you considered that fun?" Hibiki asked incredulously.

"He asked me to," Accelerator pointed out, in a tone that suggested it was a reasonable request.

"It's fine," Touma reassured Hibiki, who looked like she was going to continue arguing. "He only did it because Jason was perfectly capable of surviving that with no issue." He turned back to Motoharu and Pierce. "Now, what are you two planning?"

"Your accusations hurt Kami," Pierce said unconvincingly, with his hand over his heart.

"I don't know you," Hibiki said. "And even I could tell that was a loud of bull."

"Welcome to the club," muttered Accelerator and, for the first time, those two agreed on something.

"You guys aren't planning anything bad, right?" Hanabi asked.

"Of course not," Motoharu said dismissively. "When Kagere gets back, we will let the girls downstairs know they can start sending out the news Kami is here. It's sure to draw attention."

"I see," Accelerator said, leaning up against the edge of the roof. "That's why you needed me. I'm going to prevent any of the people assigned as cops from getting in."

"There are two entrances," Seria added. "One we came in and the one connected to the rest of the school. Is Kagere-san going to protect the other one?"

"That one is actually locked," Hanabi spoke up. "They gave us access to the locker room and gym but, because of all the expensive equipment, we are supposed to stay out of the rest of the school."

"That makes things simple," Accelerator smirked. "Looks like no one is getting through."

"So why does everyone need to know I'm here?" Touma asked.

"Remember," Pierce explained. "We get points for capturing hostages, currently we have around two dozen, but that's not the only way. Causing trouble also generates points. What do you think is going to happen when the city finds out Tokiwadai High School was taken over by a bunch of guys from another school?"

"It's going to cause a huge issue," Hibiki realized. "Plus, the rules about limiting property damage aren't going to apply, unless Accelerator fights other ability users who are trying to get inside."

"Exactly," Pierce said excitedly. "We will dominate for the most points earned."

"What if people we know see this?" Touma demanded. "You know what Fukiyose-san will do to us if she sees this?" For a brief second, the smiles on Pierce and Motoharu faded.

"I'm sure they will all be too busy participating in the game to notice," Motoharu said dismissively. "The point is, we can call this off whenever, but you're the one who needs the extra credit."

"A level 5 needs extra credit?" Hibiki asked surprised, but no one answered her.

"Even though your plan is a little… immature," Seria said, and Touma was glad someone said it. "I am impressed how much time and effort went into this. Plus, you did it to help a friend, quite admirable."

"We would do anything for Kami, senpai," Pierce said and Touma knew felt a twinge of irritation. He knew they were only doing it for their own amusement.

 _I bet he's just trying to score points with senpai._

"Not much to do until Kagere returns," Motoharu said, stretching. "Kami, you better not keep all of your harem ladies waiting. It looks like Kami Disease has already spread to most of them."

"It's not like that," Touma denied.

"I'm sure you wouldn't deny the fact you have a harem," Pierce said, his eyes twinkling deviously. "After all, your name is Kami the Harem King."

"Arg!" Touma said loudly, grabbing his head in frustration. _They set me up with that bet for today. How much planning did they do?_ Motoharu, Pierce, and Accelerator all laughed, but Hibiki and Hanabi looked confused. Seria knew what the bet was about, but she had to act like she didn't know. She kept a determinedly straight face, but was laughing on the inside, as she imagined Touma's cute face all embarrassed. "I hate you two."

"We know that's not true," Motoharu said, slapping his back. "Now get down there and go talk with your potential harem girls."

"I feel like Kami is being forced to pretend to be a player," Hanabi whispered to Hibiki.

"I think I have to agree with you," Hibiki muttered, as she didn't take her eyes off Accelerator. "He actually may not be too bad, but his friends seem like jerks."

"I bet they just like making fun of his persona," Hanabi said reasonably.

"Quit trying to make excuses for him."

"Fine," Touma said to Motoharu. "I promised I would answer their questions. We did barge on them unexpectedly."

"I'll go with you," Seria said. "I'll try to help you if I can."

"I'll come too," volunteered Hanabi. "I have a lot of friends down there."

"Thanks you two," Touma said gratefully. "I'm glad someone," he glanced at his friends who whistled innocently, "is nice enough not to make fun of my misfortune."

"I don't want to go down and listen to all that stupid chatter," Accelerator yawned. "I'm going to stay up here until I'm needed."

"I'll stay up here too," Hibiki said. "I need to watch him."

"Aww," Motoharu said, glancing at Accelerator and Hibiki. "Look at those two lovebirds."

"What did you say!?" Accelerator and Hibiki yelled together.

"Look," Pierce added. "They are even in sync. Must have been love at first sight."

"I'll kill you two!" Accelerator and Hibiki yelled, and then looked at each other. "Stop copying me!" For the first time that day, Touma burst out laughing, as he, Seria, and Hanabi made their way back downstairs.

"It's good to see you in a better mood," Seria commented.

"It's nice not to be on the receiving end of their jokes," Touma said.

"Why do you go along with them if you don't like it?" Hanabi asked curiously.

"They're my friends," Touma replied, shrugging. "And they always have my back if I'm in trouble. They may be a little weird, but they are good people."

"I can understand that," Hanabi said, nodding slightly. She suddenly realized she had been able to talk normally with him for a while. Before, she had trouble even saying a few words to him. _He's easy to talk to and seems really nice. I really jumped to conclusions the first time I met him._

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, a group of girls were waiting for them. The girls had been waiting near the stairs until they heard footsteps coming down. Before Touma could react, two of the girls grabbed his arms and pulled him to a nearby table. He was painfully aware of most of the girls in the gym watching him. Some of them were trying to be inconspicuous, diverting their eyes when they thought he was looking, but others didn't seem to mind being caught watching. A couple even smiled at him. Seria and Hanabi pulled up seats to the table, and Touma felt like there was going to be some sort of inquisition. The girls sat across from him and to the sides. He noticed they were all staring at him. "So," Touma said nervously. "What did you want to know?"

"I'll go first," the girl directly across from him said. She had long brown hair tied in a ponytail and appeared to be the one in charge of this group. "Did you come here just to flirt with us?"

"Of course not," Touma said, slightly insulted at the thought. _I suppose they have a point though. When someone with the title Harem King barges into an all-girl's school, it's to be expected._ "My friends created this plan to maximize our points. They found out you all had planned to set up a get together for the hostages here. Speaking of which," he mumbled more to himself than the girls, "I never found out how they knew." He looked back at the girl. "I would never treat a girl like that." Several of the girls blushed at his sincere words, but the girl across from his just raised an eyebrow. She whispered something to the girl next to her, who nodded.

"I can see why she seemed to have trouble with you," the girl grinned. "You know M…" She was interrupted as Touma felt arms over his shoulder and a girl was leaning her head over his shoulder."

"Hurry, quick!" There was a flash of light, right when she leaned close to him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, as someone took a picture, and then the girl jumped off him giggling.

"Hey," the girl across from Touma said angrily, rising slightly. "You know how rude that was to our guest?"

"Sorry senpai, I couldn't resist." The girl who had snuck a kiss ran over to her friend with the camera. They looked at the picture and both of them giggled again. "I'm definitely going to make this my profile picture." The girl across from Touma sighed.

"Sorry about her," she said. "She should know how to act….never mind. You may or may not know how much your reputation has gone through our school since the tournament."

"…It did?" Touma asked, finding his voice. The surprise kiss addled his brain and it took a few moments to be able to think again. Seria crossed her arms next to him and looked annoyed, while Hanabi fidgeted uncomfortably in her chair. She didn't like it when another girl kissed him.

"You and Accelerator-san beat our schools representatives," the girl continued. "And then defeated the level 5 Railgun from Tokiwadai Middle School. Before you say anything, yes, the tournament was called off, but it was obvious who was going to win. It was only natural for our school to talk about it."

"I see," Touma replied, conceding she had a point.

"This leads me to another question a lot of us have."

"Which is?"

"Are you dating the Railgun? I heard from Hanabi she only said good things about you."

 _What should I say?_ Touma thought to himself. He kicked himself mentally for not anticipating this question. He could feel all the girl's eyes watching him closely, including Seria and Hanabi. Both of them had to turn to look at him, curious of his answer. Seria knew more information, but she was amused thinking about how he was going to answer the question. _If I just tell them we are friends, it shouldn't go too far. I don't want Mikoto to get embarrassed if these girls take it the wrong way._

"Oh," the girl spoke up suddenly, remembering something important. "Before you answer, we saw the interview you had with that gaming company."

 _DAMN IT! Such Misfortune!_

* * *

"This way," Ruiko said, pointing down a side alley.

"Hurry," Kazari panted. "They are right behind us."

"They sure are persistent," Ruiko pointed out, as they sprinted down the ally. They took the first left they could and then turned right. A thick row of bushes was just off the road and they hid behind them. Neither of them made a sound and tried to control their heavy breathing. A minute later, several people ran by them and their footsteps disappeared into the distance. Kazari and Ruiko waited a couple more minutes, to be sure the others were truly gone, before standing up. "Finally, I get to catch my breath."

"A lot of them need the credit points even more then you do," Kazari pointed out. "I have to admit, this is good exercise, but I didn't expect so many students in our school to be criminals."

"Where do you think we should go now?" Ruiko asked, peaking out around the corner.

"I suppose if we head back to the school," Kazari said thoughtfully. "Everyone would be gone by then. It won't be like when we started."

Kazari and Ruiko arrived at their school that morning and changed into their green hostage uniforms. It was only then they found out a large number of their classmates were participating as criminals. In fact, it seemed like most of their school was either criminals or hostages. Kazari and Ruiko left the school quickly before the signal went off, sounding the start of the game. All hell had broken loose, as the hostages scattered in every direction with the criminals right on their heels. Because they had left the school first and avoided the mob, they managed to get away from most of their pursuers. It took a while and they finally lost the last group by hiding in the bushes.

"Great idea," Ruiko agreed. "No one will expect us to go back there." They made their way back the way they came, careful not to walk out into the open. They moved slowly and deliberately, looking around every corner before moving on. They finally stopped when they entered their school ground and moved behind the outer wall. They leaned up against it and continued talking. "How on earth are we supposed to get anywhere with so many people patrolling?"

"That's a part of the challenge," Kazari remaindered her. "Besides, people acting as criminals need to get points too."

"True," Ruiko conceded, but her thoughts were elsewhere. _How am I supposed to go visit Touma? He's a criminal right so he would get points if he captures me._ She thought of something a little more of just being captured by Touma, and she shook her head. Ruiko noticed Kazari watching her closely, with a small smile on her face. "What?"

"Thinking of someone?" Kazari asked, raising an eyebrow knowingly.

"No," Ruiko denied unconvincingly. Kazari's smile turned into a smirk and Ruiko knew she needed a distraction. She used her ability to generate an updraft beneath Kazari's skirt. It flipped up, revealing her underwear. "Green strips?"

"AHHHH!" Kazari screamed in surprise. Before either of them could say anything else, they heard a couple people behind the wall they were up against.

"There's someone on the other side," a boy yelled. "Quick, I bet they are hostages."

"It's Uiharu and Saten," a girl yelled back, looking around the gate. Kazari and Ruiko recognized her as a classmate, who was dressed in a black uniform.

"Go!" Ruiko yelled and she and Kazari bolted across the school grounds, with the girl right behind them. She and Kazari ran around the school and were planning to escape through the back gate, but were forced to stop. Two other guys had circled around and cut them off. Ruiko turned around and saw the girl and another guy coming at them from the other direction. She and Kazari started to back away toward the school, painfully aware they were about to be cornered.

"I told you guys someone would try to hide in the school," the girl called out triumphantly.

"Sorry for doubting you," one of the guys said, grinning.

"Looks like we got caught," Kazari whispered.

"I got a plan," Ruiko whispered back. "Be ready to run." When the guys and girl got closer, Ruiko used her ability to create an upwards draft underneath the girl's skirt. She put more force then what she normally did with Kazari. A strong gust of wind blew up the girl's skirt, revealing her pink underwear. The skirt actually got tangled up with her arm and didn't immediately fall back down. This was the perfect distraction, as all three guys turned to watch. The girl screamed in embarrassment and Ruiko and Kazari took the opportunity to run.

"How did you know that would work?" Kazari asked amazed.

"Most guys act the same way," Ruiko laughed. "Plus, I knew one of those guys had a crush on her and I saw he got a nose bleed." Kazari gave a small giggle and then they rounded the corner of the school. They were then forced to back track as another guy and a girl were heading right toward them. Both of the new people were also wearing black uniforms. _They must have heard all the screaming._ For the first time, she felt guilty for flipping Kazari's skirt. They turned around, but the other group was closing in on their other side. They started backing up toward the school and were about to hit the wall of the building.

"Looks like it really is over," Kazari said. "We gave them a good chase at least."

"Saten!" the first girl yelled at them. "Did you have to flip my skirt?"

"It almost worked," Ruiko called back, grinning broadly. "He liked it." She pointed to the guy next to her, who had signs of a recent nosebleed. He looked away and pretended to be innocent.

"Should we split the credit?" the new guy next to the other girl said. "Your group gets one and we get one?"

"Sounds fair."

"Oh no," Kazari said softly. "I was hoping we could stay together."

"I'm sure we can escape when they let their guard down," Ruiko reassured her.

"Uiharu," the first girl said. "You can come with us. I don't trust Saten not to flip my skirt anymore." Everyone, including Kazari and Ruiko, laughed loudly. While they may have been on opposite sides of the game, they were all classmates and got along with each other. "Saten, you can go with them."

"So she can flip my skirt?" the second girl asked. "No way. It's fine when it's just Uiharu, but I don't want people to see my underwear." Ruiko only had flipped the skirt of the other girl as a distraction and wasn't planning to continue doing it. Kazari was the only person she actually enjoyed skirt flipping. Ruiko grinned, as the two groups turned toward each other. The girls were arguing, but the guys were laughing. They didn't care who Ruiko went with.

"Eeep!"

Ruiko frowned as Kazari said something incomprehensible from behind her. "What was that Uiharu?" she asked, turning around. Her eyes widened slightly and she started looking all around her. Kazari was gone, with no signs of what happened to her. "Uiharu!" she called out, causing the others to look at her.

"Where did she go?" one of the guys asked.

"I don't know," Ruiko replied.

"Up there!" the first girl yelled pointing to the roof. Ruiko turned around to see what she was pointing at, when a familiar looking shadow tendril wrapped around her waist and pulled her into the air. She was lifted up onto the roof and set gently down. Kazari was smiling at her and Jason was standing at the end, waving to their classmates.

"Sorry for taking your hostages," he called down to them. "Kazari's mine and I have to give Saten-san as tribute to Kami."

"Hey Kagere-san," the second girl waved up to him. "I should have guessed you would come for her."

"Are you talking about the level 5 Kami?" one of the guys called up to him.

"Sure am," Jason replied. "He might go after my girl if I don't bring someone to appease him."

"What are you talking about?" Ruiko asked curiously. "How's Touma involved?"

"I'll tell you on the way," Jason said.

"I'll see you all later," Kazari waved excitedly to her classmates. "Looks like I'm being kidnapped."

"You seem a little too happy about it." Everyone laughed again.

"Let's go," Jason told the girls, his shadow unfurling from him and wrapping around Kazari and Ruiko. "I'll try to keep the ride as smooth as possible, but we have a ways to go." Ruiko held her breath as Jason lifted them up and moved to the far side of the school building. He used his shadow to push off into the air and then two wings spread out, allowing them to glide to a nearby building. He jumped up again to another building and kept repeating the process to travel across the city, skipping the busy streets below. Ruiko's stomach flipped a couple times, but she got used to it quickly. It felt like one of those carnival roller-coasters that kept going up and down.

"Where are we going?" Kazari asked.

"Tokiwadai High School," Jason said, chuckling.

"Huh?" Ruiko asked, completely surprised. "Why?"

"Tsuchimikado found out a lot of the girls there, who were assigned to be hostages, were using the gym as a meeting place during the game," Jason explained. "We bypassed their guards and took over the school. I had to find you two before we can move on to the next stage. I finally get a free day to hang out with my friends after a week of torture. No way am I leaving Kazari behind."

"I appreciate it," Kazari said, reaching out a hand and grabbing his hand. "Thanks for the photos of our trip. Saten-san and I were going through them last night." She paused for a moment. "Oh, since you called Kamijou-san Kami, is he in his disguise?"

"Yep," Jason nodded. "We get points for causing trouble, so someone titled the harem king," the girls giggled, "at an all-girl's school is sure to draw attention."

"How did you get him to agree to it?" Ruiko asked in amazement.

"He needed the points," Jason said. "Plus Tsuchimikado and Aogami may have blackmailed him a little. I'm still fuzzy on the details."

"How did the girls take your sudden appearance?" Kazari asked worriedly. "You didn't have to use force right?"

"They were surprisingly accommodating," Jason replied. "But most of the girls wanted to talk to Touma. Speaking of which…" he glanced over at Kazari, winked, and turned toward Ruiko. "We need to talk about what you need to say when we arrive."

"What do you mean?" Ruiko asked nervously, catching the devious look in Kazari's eye. _What could they be planning?_ She had to admit to herself that when they pushed her into acting, she actually got closer to Touma. The best thing was, they didn't try to tell her how to act. They just tried to get her to take the initial step into spending time with him. _I'm lucky to have friends like them, but I hope I don't get too embarrassed. I have no idea what to expect when we get there._ She gulped slightly at the grin appearing on Jason's face.

* * *

Having lost Kazari and Ruiko to Jason's suddenly intrusion, the two girls and four guys left slightly downtrodden. "We haven't had much luck catching any hostages," the first girl said.

"I guess we have to try another school," one of the guys replied. "Too many criminals at ours."

"Then that one hostage had a mind manipulation skill that made us unable to see her."

"What about all those high level cops? They rounded up most our school in an instant."

"The city is totally biased against us low levels."

"Then Uiharu's boyfriend saves them."

"I'm still upset with Saten for flipping my skirt. I wish we could have caught them."

"I need extra credit so bad, but everyone's out to stop us."

"You could have challenged him."

"He's a level four, no way I could. You saw that shadow of his. He could have taken us all down in an instant."

"Uiharu says he's really nice."

"Oh," a dangerously sweet voice said from behind them. "So I found some people who saw him." They all turned around in surprise and saw a girl with tawny hair tied into two curly pigtails. She was wearing a blue uniform and was walking toward them. Though she was smiling, there was a dark aura around her. "I thought he would be at his school, but then realized he would come here for Uiharu."

"Ah crap, it's a cop."

"Run!" All six of them turned and started running, when the girl suddenly appeared in front of them, holding several spikes in her hand.

"A teleporter?"

"We're screwed."

"I'm in a hurry," the pigtailed girl said impatiently. "Tell me where the guy who took Uiharu went."

"Why?" the first girl asked nervously. There was something about the girl and she was worried what would happen if she found Uiharu and Jason.

"I need to catch the guy for personal reasons," the pigtailed girl said impatiently. "Which direction did they go?"

"Okay," the first girl said slowly, her eyes watching the spikes in her strange girl's hand. She thought correctly the pigtailed girl would resort to drastic measures to find out where Jason went. "They went that way. Don't be too hard on him though."

"Thanks," the pigtailed girl replied sweetly and then disappeared. A moment of silence passed when one of the guys spoke up.

"Why did you point in the opposite direction?"

"Uiharu sounded so happy when he showed up. She had been pretty depressed most of the week because of a diet and I guess they couldn't find time to meet. I didn't want to ruin her day."

"Look at you being all romantic."

"Maybe a little, but I think we should go. I don't want to be anywhere nearby when she finds out I lied."

* * *

"Kami!" Pierce called down the stairs from the roof. "We need you back up here now!"

"Sorry," Touma apologized to all the girls around him though, secretly, he was glad to go. Most of the girls were really nice and sophisticated, one of the many charms of an older girl. Some girls, he assumed they were first years like him, were rather excitable, but they reminded him of people in his class, so it actually made him more comfortable. _It's surprising how normal some of these girls seem, even if they are ojou-samas. Seriously, this gym probably cost more than my school._ He breathed a sigh of relief, as he stood up. The girls also questioned him a lot on his relationship with Mikoto, along with if he actually had a girlfriend. If it wasn't for Seria skillfully diverting the topic to other things, Touma felt like he was going to say something really stupid. Hanabi reprimanded a couple of her underclassman, but was relatively quiet most of the time.

"Thanks for answering our questions," The girl with long brown hair tied in a ponytail said. Touma found out her name was Yuna Ishikawa and she was the most talkative of the group. "I hope your friends don't lead you into too much trouble."

"That's asking too much with my luck," muttered Touma and most of the girls giggled. Yuna actually laughed and watched him make his way back up the stairs. Seria and Hanabi were the only ones who followed him. "I hope I didn't cause any problems with my answers," Touma said to Hanabi.

"I think they were more surprised at how normal your answers were," Hanabi told him honestly. She decided not to mention a lot of girls appeared to be attracted to him with his sincere responses, especially about how he would treat a girl. _Maybe Harem King actually suits him, but would accidental be more accurate?_

"I did tell you he was a good person," Seria reminded her, but she was fuming inside. _I got to stay with him, but his attention was on all the other girls. As soon as I convinced one to leave, another girl joined us. That Ishikawa girl completely ignored my hints to get her to stop bothering him._ She patted Touma on the shoulder. "Are you feeling all right?"

"Still nervous senpai," Touma replied, as they pushed open the door to the roof. "I know my friends are up to something." He stepped out onto the roof and the two girls followed. The first thing he noticed was Jason had jumped onto the roof, Kazari and Ruiko landing right behind him. _So that's what the package was._ Motoharu and Pierce were greeting them, while Accelerator and Hibiki were leaning up against the edge of the roof, watching the others in silence. "Jason, you're back."

"I have returned oh great Kami," Jason said in a grandiose tone. He put his arm across his chest and bowed. "Thank you for giving me a leave of absence. In honor of your generosity, I have brought you a gift." He stepped aside, reached out an arm, and pushed Ruiko forward. She was obviously trying to keep her face passive, but it was slightly red in embarrassment. "I present you this fair maiden so you will not demand my girl as an offering." Touma's mouth fell open in shock, while Motoharu and Pierce had their hands over their mouths, trying to stifle their laughter. Accelerator was watching with an amused look on his face, but Hanabi, Hibiki, and Seria were waiting to see what was going to happen. Before Touma could find his words, Ruiko bowed slightly and spoke up.

"Good morning Lord Kami," Ruiko said, her voice soft, but also determined. "I may be inexperienced, but I hope to serve you well. Please be gentle." Touma's eyes widen under his mask, and blood started running from his nose. There was something about Ruiko, her kind demeanor along with being a normal fun girl, which made what she said extra stimulating to him. His brain immediately turned to some RPGs where the slave girl would serve the master in any way imaginable. The nose blood got worse and he had to wipe it under his mask.

Everyone else burst out laughing.

Motoharu and Pierce fell over laughing, clutching their sides. Jason was leaning up against the roof's edge, unable to support himself. Accelerator was shaking his head, but he had noticed the blood from under Touma's mask. Hibiki and Hanabi laughed, not as loudly as the others, but they couldn't help themselves. They knew it was a joke. Seria pretended to laugh, but she was upset because of how well Ruiko's words affected Touma. Kazari had a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggling as she watched her friend. Even Ruiko was trying to hold back her laughter, but she wasn't able to look up immediately. Her face was still bright red from embarrassment. She finally looked up and smiled kindly at Touma.

"Sorry," she apologized, still smiling. "Kagere-san made me say it."

"Don't believe her," Jason called out. "She was perfectly willing."

"Jason's right," Kazari added and Ruiko's face flushed slightly. Touma looked between them and knew what he had to do.

"I accept your offering Jason," Touma said, gathering his confidence and speaking in a slightly deeper voice. "You may keep the girl behind you." This caused more laughter from his friends.

"We gave up on that kind of talking," Motoharu told Jason at last. "He's been speaking normally to everyone for a while."

"Why didn't you tell me these things ahead of time?" Jason asked, rounding on him.

"You didn't ask."

"Touché."

"How did you get wrapped up in this Ruiko?" Touma asked.

"Kagere came for Uiharu and picked me up too," Ruiko laughed, and told him what had happened. "Hello Hanabi-san, I haven't seen you since the beach trip. How are you?"

"I'm good thank you," Hanabi replied smiling. "Little surprised at how things have turned out. I didn't expect something like when I woke up today." She turned to look at Touma, who had to look away in embarrassment. Ruiko laughed and turned to Seria.

"My name is Ruiko Saten," she said in a friendly tone, reaching out a hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too Saten-san," Seria said warmly, reaching out and shaking her hand. "My name is Seria Kumokawa. I go to the same school as these guys and I see you are a friend of Kami's. Thank you for taking care of my kohai."

"He helps me a lot more than I can help him," Ruiko responded truthfully. _She's so pretty and mature. How can I hope to compete with that? She's even his senpai, so they can see each other daily._ Seria may have been acting friendly on the outside, but her thoughts were cool and calculating.

 _She's always been pretty passive around Kamijou. Something must have happened in England. Damn it, my spy network doesn't reach that far. I need to keep a closer eye on her. I figured Shokuhou would keep the other girls away except for the other level 5s. Has she been slacking?_

Ruiko noticed Touma was staring off into the distance, seemingly oblivious to the girl's conversation. She turned her head to see what he was looking at. Kazari and Jason were talking to Hibiki. _Looks like Uiharu is formally introducing him._ She then saw Motoharu, Pierce, and Accelerator huddled together and whispering in hushed voices. _There's Tsuchimikado and Accelerator, the guy with the blue hair has to be Aogami, and they seem to be discussing something._ She realized why Touma was staring at them. "Are you worried they are planning something?"

"I know they are planning something," Touma replied dryly. "I'm worried about WHAT they are planning."

"Was it those friends who were the ones who gave you that name in the tournament?" Hanabi asked, smiling slightly. Touma nodded and she giggled.

"Hey Kami," Pierce called out suddenly. "Come over here a second, we need to discuss something important. Kagere, you too. Flirt with your girlfriend later."

Touma sighed, knowing this wasn't going to be good. He joined the other guys, painfully aware the girls were all watching them. "What's happening now?"

"We were just discussing on how to get the news you took over the school single handily," Motoharu explained. "The girls downstairs really want to share their pictures with you online, congratulations on getting all of their phone numbers, we saw the notes in your pocket," Touma grimaced slightly and Motoharu continued. "But we can't guarantee the news will spread fast enough. Got any ideas?"

"Why would I have an idea?" Touma asked incredulously. "I don't even want anyone else to know I'm here." He actually didn't want to participate in the event at all. He was forced to because of the extra credit it provided. _What I wouldn't give to just be able to sleep late on a weekend and have nothing bad happen to me._

"Accelerator," Motoharu said. "What do you think?"

"If you want information spread across the city quickly," Accelerator answered. "You probably want to contact the major news station. They have several large screens placed all around the city."

"There's an idea," Pierce muttered. "Think we can call them and convince them this is real?"

"They might not believe us," Motoharu said. "We might need to send them pictures."

"Let's not," suggested Touma.

"Denied."

"How about that?" Jason asked, frowning, pointing into the sky. They all looked up and saw something small far in the distance.

"What is it?" Touma asked, squinting to see what Jason was pointing to. "That's one of those news drones right? For traffic reports and things?"

"That's perfect!" Pierce yelled loudly, causing everyone to jump, including the girls. "Can you bring it here?" Jason looked at Accelerator, who gave a curt nod, and Jason grinned. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" Pierce asked, turning to Motoharu.

"Sure am."

Touma's heart sunk as he tried to figure out what they were planning to do with the drone. _I bet they want to make an announcement to the news station I'm here. Damn it, why are they making this so complicated for me? It's not like I want a harem…_ His male mind played him a couple pictures of many girls surrounding him and his face went red under the mask. While he knew he wouldn't act on it, his male brain still liked to betray him. He watched Jason's shadow form his armor again, so Accelerator could throw him toward the drone. When Jason went flying through the air, he heard a gasp and turned around. Kazari had run toward the edge of the roof and was looking out.

"Why did you do that Accelerator-san?" she asked in panic.

"Don't worry," Accelerator reassured her in a bored voice. "He just needed to get that drone." He pointed and everyone turned to watch. A dark spot grew in the distance as Jason's shadow expanded to engulf the drone. After he had grabbed it, his shadow spread out into wings and he glided back down to the school roof. He landed and set the drone down. Touma noticed the drone's motors were still going and it was trying to fly off, which is why Jason didn't remove his shadow from it. Jason opened a hatch, flipped a switch, pushed a button, and then the drone went silent.

"Okay," Jason said, standing up and grabbing his backpack he brought. He pulled out a small computer and connected it to the drone. "Wow, this is complicated. Kazari, can you help me bypass this security?"

"Are we even allowed to?" she asked, leaning over his shoulder and looking at the data. "Isn't this vandalism?"

"Not right now," Jason explained. "We are allowed to break the rules during the event and cause trouble as criminals. Besides, all I want to do is have manual access to the camera and send the news station a story. Please Kazari?" He leaned over kissed her on the cheek, causing her to blush.

"Okay," she agreed, sitting down next to him. "For the record, I don't condone this action, but I know you are going to do it anyways. I can at least make sure there is no lasting damage." Jason smiled and put his arm around her while she worked.

"Now we have a few things to set up by the time they finish getting the camera up," Pierce said, rubbing his hands together. "Accelerator can you get one of the couches from the gym and bring it up here?"

"I guess," he said. He didn't really want to do work, but he was curious of to what his friends were up to. He had an inkling of an idea, but knew Motoharu and Pierce would take it a lot further then his imagination would initially go. He walked over to the edge of the roof and jumped down, landing with a dull thud. Leaving a small crater in the ground, he pushed open the door to the gym. _This better be worth my time._

"I'll go down and see if we can get some volunteers," Motoharu said and Pierce gave him a thumbs up. Motoharu ran down the stairs while Touma and the girls watched in confusion. Seria, however, raised an eyebrow.

"Tell me what you guys are planning," Touma demanded. Pierce laughed and put his arm around Touma's shoulders.

"Relax Kami," he said. "You don't have to do anything, just sit back, relax, and leave everything to us."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Touma watched Pierce go over to the bag he brought and unfolded some large pieces of paper.

"I don't trust them," Hibiki said, sliding over next to Hanabi.

"I'm sure it's nothing bad," Hanabi reassured her sister, but she was nervous. _Kami is worried, so I don't know what to expect._

"Do you know what's going on?" Ruiko asked Seria. From what she knew about Motoharu, Pierce, Jason, and Accelerator's antics involving Touma, it was going to be something funny, but incredibly embarrassing. _At least Uiharu looks happy being next to Jason, but how am I going to get near Touma with everyone around? Stop fretting about it Ruiko,_ she pinched her arm, _relax and go with the flow. If an opportunity presents itself, take advantage of it._

"I think they are planning to make some kind of public service announcement," Seria replied, modifying her tone slightly to make it sound like she was attempting a joke. "They want the information Kami is here to get out."

"Why did they request everyone else not to tell everyone he's at Tokiwadai?" Hanabi asked.

"Most likely they wanted to set everything up before the information was leaked," Seria explained. Ruiko thought about it and agreed her explanation was probably on point. Hanabi and Hibiki looked at each other and shrugged. A thud caused them all to turn around. One of the school's couches was on the roof, Accelerator standing right behind it.

"There you go," he said. "I had to push a couple girls off it, so it took longer."

"You are such a jerk," Hibiki snapped at him. He looked over at her and smirked, which only caused her face to get redder in anger.

"I got the volunteers," Motoharu declared triumphantly, opening the door to the roof. Behind him were four girls, led by Yuna. "Kagere, how's everything going on your end?"

"Looks like everything is working," Jason said, glancing at Kazari who nodded. "She really saved us. It would have taken me much longer to get the set up. Ready to go when you are." Kazari looked pleased at the praise, but also slightly nervous about what she did.

"I'm almost done too," Pierce said, looking up from his writing. "Go ahead and get the star ready." Touma's heart dropped into the pit of his stomach.

 _I knew this was going to be bad. Such misfortune._

"Okay Kami," Motoharu said, turning to Touma. "You just need to sit in the middle of the couch and spread your arms over the top, like you're relaxing."

"That's it?" Touma asked suspiciously.

"That's it."

Touma didn't trust that it was going to be that easy, but he did what he was told. He could feel all the girl's eyes on him as he sat down. _This can't be all to this. Aogami is writing something down, so I bet they want me to say something stupid to the camera. Damn it, I hope no one sees it. Ruiko and senpai are sure to laugh at me. Why did Tsuchimikado bring all those girls up anyway?_ He looked over at Accelerator, who was leaning up against the edge of the room, grinning broadly. His brain finally made the connection. _ARG! For the love of…_

"I think having the twins on both arms would be best to start," muttered Motoharu, glancing at the girls and back to the couch.

"Huh?" Hanabi asked, turning toward him in shock.

"Are you crazy?" Hibiki demanded.

 _Woah,_ Ruiko thought to herself. _It's kind of embarrassing, but I want to be part of it…._

"Obviously we can't shoot a video with the Harem King if he isn't surrounded by girls," Motoharu said, as if he was stating the obvious. "I told the others already." He gestured to Yuna and the girls with her. "They all agreed already."

"Yuna," Hanabi asked, turning to her. "You knew about this?"

"Sure did," she replied, grinning. "It sounded like fun, plus I know you want…"

"Ah!" Hanabi cried, interrupting Yuna. "Be quiet!" She took a deep breath, gathered her courage, and sat down right next to Touma. "You okay with this?" she whispered.

"I should be asking you that," Touma muttered. "Sorry for my friends. You don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"No no," Hanabi said quickly, shaking her head. "It's fine."

"Looks like Kami is already flirting," Pierce pointed out and the guys laughed.

"Get going already," Accelerator told Hibiki, rolling his eyes in irritation. "You are going to get roped in regardless how much you protest."

"Don't tell me what to do," Hibiki told him. She looked over at her friends from Tokiwadai, Yuna gave her a nod and Hanabi had a look saying, _please go along with it_. Hibiki sighed and glared at Accelerator, who had a triumphant look on his face. She sat down next to Touma, not quite as close as Hanabi, and whispered, "You better not try anything funny."

"Let's see," Motoharu continued. "Can you sit next to Hibiki-san and you can sit next to Hanabi-san." The two girls he pointed to agreed quickly and sat down. A girl with short blonde hair, glasses, and a rather large chest sat down on the other side of Hibiki. On the other side of Hanabi sat a girl with long dark brown hair and a slightly less prominent chest. "Perfect," Motoharu said. "Senpai, can you lean up behind his right shoulder and can you," he gestured to Yuna," do the same on the other side. They both nodded and Touma felt them push up against the couch next to him.

"This is exciting," Yuna whispered. "I never dreamed we would get to meet Kami and his friends."

"Careful," Seria said. "He might be nervous with so many girls around him."

 _Senpai doesn't know the half of it,_ Touma thought. His heart was beating heavily and all he could think about was the breath of the two girls behind him and the warmth of both girls next to him. If it wasn't for the mask he wore, everyone would see his crimson face. _Please don't let Mikoto or Misaki see this._ He felt a shiver go down his spine. _Mugino too, actually, God, if you are out there, don't let anyone I know see this please._ He was so lost in thought, he didn't notice a small girl with flaming red hair sit down on the roof next to him and hang on to this right leg. She looked quite young, so she had to be a first year.

"Saten-san," Motoharu said. "Can you sit on his other side of his legs?"

"Me?" Ruiko asked in shock, pointing to herself.

"Of course," Motoharu explained. "It needs to be balanced."

 _Yes,_ she thought to herself, but her face still turned red with embarrassment. She could feel Touma's eyes on her as she walked over and sat down to his left. She took her arms and hung them over his leg, then rested her head on them. The roof was warm from the sun, and Touma's leg was pretty comfortable to her. The girl on his other side smiled at her, and she grinned back, feeling slightly better.

"I think we are set," Motoharu said turning to Pierce. "What do you think?"

"Looks good," Pierce answered, standing up and holding a small stack of papers. "I suppose we could fit one more…"

"Don't even think about it," Jason called out coldly, pulling Kazari close.

"Nah." Motoharu shook his head. "It would ruin the symmetry. Kagere, we need the camera ready."

"On it," Jason replied with a salute and stood up. He carried the drone, which was about the size of a large dog, with his shadow. He set it up in front of Touma's group, and flipped a switch. "Tell me when." Kazari was also standing behind it and gave Ruiko a wave of encouragement.

"Now," Pierce started to explain everything to the ground. "All I'm going to do is hold up these cards and, Kami, you just have to read them. Everyone else, just continue to look pretty."

"Oh no," Touma muttered to himself, and he heard Accelerator's bark like laugh. Several of the girls turned to face him.

"What's wrong?" Ruiko asked.

"Remember that interview?" Touma asked, and the girls nodded. "It's going to be like that." The girl's eyes went wide and they started laughing. It was a muffled laugh though, as they tried to hold it in.

"You should have just said no to this," Hibiki told him, slightly annoyed.

"Yet you are here too," Yuna pointed out in amusement. Hibiki glared at her.

"Lights, camera, action!" Motoharu called out. Jason pressed a button on the drone and Pierce raised the first sign. Touma's eyes widened in horror, as Pierce flipped through the signs, but he couldn't stop talking.

Within five minutes, social media exploded and set forth an unfortunate chain of events that caused all hell to break loose within Academy City.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Mikoto: What did he say?**

 **Misaki: You can't just leave it like this. I didn't even get a chance to appear.**

 **Mikoto: I didn't get anytime either.**

 **Me: Don't worry you two, I'm sure you will get a chance to shine next chapter.**

 **Touma: The way you say that sounds like something bad is going to happen.**

 **Motoharu: Public service announcement about someone called the Harem King. Nope, nothing could possibly go wrong.**

 **Touma: Such misfortune.**

 **Kazari: Good job Saten-san, keep going.**

 **Ruiko: Keep it down. I don't want the others to hear.**

 **Last Order: Misaka wants to be part of the fun MISAKA whines as MISAKA uses her favorite spoiled child technique.**

 **Accelerator: No.**

 **Worst: Look at Tou-san revealing his lolicon nature.**

 **Pierce: I think he also might be attracted to strong independent older girls.**

 **Last Order: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**

 **Worst: HAHAHA!**

 **Accelerator: I'm going to kill you.**

 **Me: Almost forgot again, Saten, you get to do comments next chapter.**

 **Ruiko: Me? Why?**

 **Me: I'm sure you know why.**


	69. S3 Tokiwadai Invasion pt 2

**Umm, hello everyone, this is my first time doing this and I'm kind of nervous, usually the others take care of the opening announcements. Oops, almost forgot, my name is Ruiko Saten. I'm Kazari Uiharu's best friend and a good friend of Mikoto Misaka, Kuroko Shirai, and Misaki Shokuhou. I just recently got promoted to level 2 and I'm really excited about it. I read a lot of your comments and thank you so much for the support. I hope I can answer your questions to your satisfaction, but please remember, this is my first time.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: I have noticed it, but it's not his fault. He treats everyone exactly the same and will help no matter what the situation. It's really his kindness that attracts people and I hope he doesn't change that.**

 **Brosephg: Uhhh, I don't think our lives would change that much. We might have less free time with others because we spend it together, like Uiharu and Kagere. As for Misaka-san, that is one thing I'm worried about. I think she would be upset at first, but she would probably accept it. I hope so… I really don't want to lose her as a friend.**

 **AxelLord20: I would love it if he asked me. If he tried to k-kiss me, I don't know… maybe… like it? It seems like a spur of the moment kind of thing and you really can't plan for it. I really appreciate your encouragement.**

 **MarkJ: S-share? Well, if it's just hypothetical. I was going to say Misaka-san, because she really likes him too, but if not her, Maybe Shokuhou-san? She really cares about him too.**

 **Syko-Soldier963: I'm sure they won't be upset, probably just surprise. They know what happens when he and his friends are together. I only flip her skirt maybe once a day on average, unless I have had a really stressful day. The normality of it really calms me down.**

 **wildarms13: I don't think he's really interested in forming a harem… But if he is…. Maybe?**

 **Salishious: I can understand Kagere and Uiharu, Motoharu always seems to just be joking about it, but Accelerator said that too? I think Accelerator is his best friend. They seem have some kind of special male bond. His high school does seem like a lot of fun, if I do go, I hope I can get the teacher he has. I was actually thinking about that for the points, but when I asked the author, he just laughed.**

 **Guest: I don't know, I don't think braids are really me. Well, both of them met Kagere before, but If Touma and I started dating, I would introduce him to them at some point.**

 **Guest 10032: Saying a war is going on, might be a little much. Please don't remind me about the underwear, I was so embarrassed. I haven't kissed him though, the others have, so there is no way I can be first. As for a date, Touma seems like a more active person, I think something outside would be better than a movie.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

 _Where the heck is he?_

Mikoto magnetized her shoes and jumped up onto a nearby building overlooking A Certain High School. She glanced across the street for any movement, searching for the familiar spiky black hair. _I wish Kuroko was here, it would be so much easier to search, but she's actually focusing on someone else besides me._ She grinned slightly. Kuroko had been nice enough to teleport her to Touma's school, but that was only because they both had targets at that location. While Kuroko knew who Mikoto was after, she was prioritizing Jason's capture because of the bet that hung on the line. She wasn't planning to lose again. When they got to the school, they couldn't find any sign of the boys and spread the search out to the neighboring areas. Kuroko had disappeared and wasn't answering her phone anymore. Mikoto noticed someone with black hair disappear around the corner and she jumped down to the street below. Chasing after him, she stopped when she saw it was someone else dressed in black. He saw her blue uniform, turned, and bolted, but Mikoto didn't bother chasing him. She had more pressing concerns.

 _There are too many criminals around here,_ she thought. _Did they do this on purpose? Our school barely had any._ She yawned and rubbed her eye. She didn't sleep very well last night because several things had been bothering her. First, she was worried about what Lessar was going to do. Even with Touma's reassurance, she was still suspicious of how far Lessar would go to prove a point. Mikoto trusted Touma enough to refute Lessar's advances, but he was still a guy and was a little dense sometimes. Next, she was worried how much Touma was going to be healed. His back had been scrapped pretty badly, not life threating, but still cut up severely. The first thing she did that morning was text him to see how he was, relieved when she received a reply from him saying he was fine. Then there was the big problem she kept reliving last night and it wouldn't go away. Even now, she continued fretting about it.

Cain kept appearing in her dreams. Mikoto was not thinking about the calm human looking Cain, but the beast she saw near the end of the fight. She kept reliving the fear he struck with in her, not just that Hunter's Presence magic he used, but his entire being. _I should have realized when I found out magic existed, stuff like vampires would be a possibility._ She frowned as she remembered the fight. Cain's magic was so far above her, she had been almost completely powerless. Lessar had been in the same position as her, but Touma and Leivinia were able to save the day. She didn't really know anything else about Leivinia, except her name and that she was the boss of a magic cabal. What was really bothering Mikoto was how useless she had been.

 _First it was England and now here. I could understand the ruler of a magical nation being able to have inhuman powers, but there seems to be so much more than just her. They are all Accelerator class and even he couldn't defeat the princess on his own. Is a level 5 really all that?_ She normally didn't care about people constantly telling her how special she was reaching level 5, but she did have some pride in how hard she worked to obtain her power. _The worlds a big place isn't it? Academy City is just a small speck in the world. This is what Touma always kept to himself before the Fallen started to attack._ She sighed. _I need to get stronger. I want to stand by him, not as baggage, but as an equal. I want to be able to protect him, not the one always being protected._

"Misaka!" a cheerful voice called out, and she felt two large soft balloons push on her back, and arms wrapping around her shoulders. "You shouldn't stand in the middle of the street looking so gloomy. It's unladylike." Mikoto recognized the voice, and turned her head to see Misaki, staring back at her with an innocent expression on her face.

"Why are you here?" snapped Mikoto automatically, resisting the urge to shock her. It took all of her concentration.

"I assume the same reason you're here," Misaki replied, not letting go of Mikoto. Mikoto's face flushed slightly as Misaki kept fidgeting on her back. "They disappeared from my radar."

"If they escaped you," Mikoto replied, raising an eyebrow. "They must have been prepared, or maybe you're losing your touch."

"If you have something," Misaki replied. "There is always the possibility of losing it." She lowered her hands and gripped Mikoto's chest. "But looks like you don't have to worry about that." Mikoto's face flushed scarlet and she smacked Misaki's hands off of her, before turning around.

"Who would want those blobs of useless fat?" Mikoto demanded, reaching over and grabbing Misaki's chests with her hands. "They absorb all your nutrients so you can't even run a block…" She trailed off as she felt how soft they were, but still were firm enough not to cause her hands to sink. _Damn it. Why does it still feel like I lost?_

Misaki took her purse and smacked Mikoto on the head to get her to let go. "What's with you? You assault someone then go all quiet?"

"You started it," Mikoto pointed out, trying to change topics. There was no way she was going to tell Misaki how jealous she was. They were about to continue arguing, when they both notice they were being watched. They turned their heads simultaneously to see a group of guys ogling them with wide eyed amazement. Apparently, they had seen the entire thing. Three of them were criminals, and two were hostages, but none of them seemed to care the two girls were cops. Mikoto's face turned red again and she was trying to think of a way out of this, but Misaki was faster. She whipped out a remote, pointed it at the boys, and pressed a button. The guys turned around and walked away mechanically. "Remember when you said you were limiting using your ability, except in emergencies, to Touma?"

"I believe this qualifies," Misaki replied casually, storing her remote back in her bag. "I don't need rumors spreading around that we are a couple, especially with your overzealous roommate who would probably never stop hassling me unless I forced her to stop."

"How did you even get here so fast anyways?" Mikoto questioned. She wasn't upset anymore and was confused more as to why. _Did Shokuhou see I was upset and try to cheer me up? It's not like her, but this is isn't the first time she's done something like this._

"I took the train," Misaki answered. "They were kind enough to go directly to my stop." She smiled and Mikoto frowned.

 _Of course._

"I take it by the fact you're standing here with a serious look on your face," Misaki continued. "You haven't had any luck in finding HIM either."

"Maybe I have," Mikoto replied, crossing her arms. _I really don't want to work with her. If she's coming to me that means she wants to use me._

"I was thinking of sharing the information I found out of the kindness of my heart," Misaki said sweetly, and Mikoto snorted. "I had a couple… lookouts… watching the area when the game started. It seems like the guys left in a black van, but then we lost track of them. I don't suppose you have any idea where they would go?"

"Hmm," Mikoto muttered, crossing her arms. "Normally, I would say Touma would find a place to lay low for a bit, but you know his friends won't allow that." Misaki nodded, grinning slightly. "I remember Touma mentioning Kagere-san was planning to go after Uiharu-san, so there is a chance they are at her school."

"I believe I saw Shirai-san going in that direction," Misaki recalled. "That would explain her actions."

"Great," Mikoto mumbled, face palming at the thought of Jason and Kuroko fighting. "I might as well hack the security cameras and see where they went."

"I knew you would be able to use your less refined skills to help," Misaki said, beaming. Mikoto glared at her for a second, before walking toward a terminal. Misaki figured Mikoto hacking the security cameras would be the best way of tracking Touma, but she didn't want to be the one to admit it. She hated asking for help and her group was still spread out, looking for Touma. She especially didn't want to ask Mikoto for help, because that meant she would be able to find him too, but Misaki wanted to find him as fast as possible. "Of course, as a law-abiding citizen, I have to say hacking security is wrong."

"Sure you do," Mikoto replied, irritated, and rolled her eyes. "Because you never use your power improperly." _She annoys me so much. She definitely wouldn't have contacted me if she didn't need my help._ She channeled her electricity through a nearby terminal, bypassed the encryption codes, and found the cameras around the school. She rewound the timer to early that morning and quickly found the van Misaki mentioned behind the school. She saw Motoharu, Accelerator, Jason, and a blue haired guy she didn't know enter the car. "Found them," she said and Misaki smiled, glad to have a real lead. Mikoto eyes widen when she finally saw Touma. "Who is that?" she whispered, and Misaki leaned over her shoulder to look at the screen. Mikoto knew something was wrong when Misaki gasped. "You know who that is?"

"O-of course not," Misaki said, unconvincingly. Mikoto actually raised an eyebrow. She had never seen Misaki loose her cool like that unless Touma was in trouble. It was very hard for Mikoto to read anything form Misaki, but not now.

 _She knows._

"What makes you think I would know every girl from his school?" Misaki continued, her face ashen. _That… that… old hag! How dare she take advantage of this game to get near him?! I bet she purposely volunteered to be a hostage in order to have him capture her! That diabolical old wretch! Touma's too innocent to question her motives._ She saw Mikoto was staring at her and realized she had lost her composure. She flipped her hair back, took a deep breath, and appeared normal again. "Now that we found him, it should be easy to track them."

"If you say so," Mikoto answered suspiciously. "Judging by their direction…" She flipped through the images of different cameras and then frowned, as she realized the direction they were heading in. "It looks like they are heading toward the School Gardens." The School Gardens was the area composed of five prestigious middle schools, including Tokiwadai, along with other shops and restaurants. It was also exclusively for girls only.

"Sounds like they are heading to our school," Misaki said thoughtfully. _But why?_ _That old hag wouldn't want him to be anywhere near us if she could help it._ "I guess he really wanted to visit me."

"Sure," Mikoto said sarcastically, rolling her eyes obviously. "He would visit me long before he visits you."

"He snuck into the dorms to study with me once," Misaki replied winking.

"He only went with you because he was desperate," Mikoto protested. "Anyways, I'm done arguing with you. I'm going to go find him and his friends and capture them. I still plan to participate actively in the game." She looked up at a street clock. "The next train isn't going to be here for a bit, I guess I have to take the bus." She walked off and found the bus stop and the bus came a few minutes later. As Mikoto stepped up into the bus, she saw Misaki following her into it. "I thought you hated riding the bus?" Mikoto asked with a grin, as she sat down.

"I suppose I don't have much of a choice," she answered curtly, sitting down next to Mikoto and pouting slightly. "I suppose I could just find a car, but I know you would rat me out."

"It will do you some good to take the bus like a normal person," Mikoto replied with a grin. "Besides," she suddenly felt like teasing Misaki a little, because of all the times she had been teased by her. "You obviously just want to spend time with me right?"

"Don't push your luck." They sat in silence, neither of them having anything to say to each other. Both of them were lost in their own thoughts. Mikoto was thinking of what the guys were up to and if Kuroko had succeeded in finding Jason. Misaki's thoughts were focused on Seria and her plans involving Touma. It took a while to get back to their school, but when they arrived, nothing seemed to be out of place. _It's too quiet._ Misaki took out her remote and scanned the area. None of the nearby girls, along with a couple guys, had seen anything remotely resembling Touma and his friends. "Are you sure they came this way?"

"Why else would they come this way?" Mikoto asked. Misaki had to admit she had a point, but she knew Seria wouldn't do something so obvious.

 _There has to be something more,_ Misaki thought. _I wonder if this was just a distraction. If you take away what you know is wrong, what's left has to be right. Could it be possible she didn't plan this?_

"I'll check the cameras again," Mikoto continued. "I should have just followed them the entire way, but going through the thousands of street cameras was going to take a while." She walked over to a terminal, preparing to hack it again, when something happened to make any further investigations pointless. One of the large TV monitors placed all over Academy City, usually used for advertisements and important service announcements, suddenly changed to a news studio. A man appeared on the screen and started speaking.

"A few moments ago," he said. "One of our news drones was taken down by an individual during the Anti-Crime Orientation event hosted by Academy City for the schools of District 7. While trying to reestablish connection with the drone, we received a surprising message from an organization under the control of one of the city's level 5s, Kami."

"Huh?!" Mikoto and Misaki said together, completely in shock. Both of them turned their eyes up toward the screen and watched with bated breath. The screen changed to another image and both of their mouths fell open. Touma was sitting on a couch, wearing a mask and his Kami persona outfit, but he was also surrounded by many attractive girls, many who they recognized.

"Saten-san?" Mikoto gasped. "Hibiki-sani and Hanabi-san too? Why are… when did they…?" She grabbed her head. "What's happening?" Ruiko looked embarrassed, but she had a slight grin on her face, like she was still having fun. Hanabi was in the same situation, but Hibiki looked like she might have been set up there against her will. The other girls were obviously amused and occasionally giggled.

 _Seria Kumokawa,_ Misaki thought, a bitter taste forming in her mouth. _She's so close to him, but Saten is with him too? I bet Uiharu is there since they usually are together. It's obvious now. This had to be all part of the guys' plan, Kumokawa wouldn't want all those girls near him._ They both watched in silence, trying to figure out what the guys had done when they slipped off the radar, when Touma began to speak. Once again, his mask messed with his tone, so it was hard to tell how he was feeling, but they had a pretty good guess.

"For those of you who might have been living under a rock the last couple of weeks," Touma told the camera. "My name is Kami, the Harem King, the eighth level 5. My followers have set up this public service announcement to relay an important message. During this anti-crime simulation game," he paused for a moment, "I have taken over the famous Tokiwadai High School."

"WHAT!?" Mikoto and Misaki were completely stunned. Neither of them had imagined anything close to something of this level.

"Many of the girls you see around me are part of my most recent conquest," Touma continued. A couple of the girls giggled, but Hibiki just looked annoyed and Ruiko's face flushed crimson. "I announced before I have been expanding my harem, and this event gave me the perfect opportunity to invade an all-girl's school." He paused and glanced over at someone or something out of screen. "But enough about that, let's move to the main reason for this little announcement."

"I am issuing an invitation," Touma continued. "I am looking to include more members, not only for my harem, but as my followers. This is a notification to all those interested. It's too much work to go out and find everyone one at a time. I rather you all come to me. I am currently at the Tokiwadai gym, waiting. All girls are welcomed, no questions asked. For the guys, there will be… obstacles… and the," there was a pause as he looked off screen again, "survivors will have the honor of joining my group. Losers will be ejected from the selection."

"One last order of business," Touma added. "I want to deliver a couple special invitations." This statement caused all the girls to turn their heads, along with Touma, to someone off screen. The girl's mouth fell open in surprise, indicating someone else was holding up cards to read. Seria raised an eyebrow and looked highly amused. The silence lasted a moment longer before Touma continued. "These invitations are for three unique girls who hold a special place in my harem. I personally invite all three level five girls to join me, The Railgun, Mental Out, and Meltdowner. I'm sure they wouldn't want anyone taking their places… Kami, out." The screen flashed back to the newsman. He was saying something, but Mikoto and Misaki weren't paying attention any longer. They were still in shock as the information sunk in.

Then they exploded.

"THOSE IDIOTS!" Mikoto roared, grabbing her hair. Several people across the street jumped and hastily continued down the street. _Seriously? What on earth is he thinking? He obviously went along with his friends. There's no way he would do something like this on his own, but how did Saten-san get involved in this too? Even Hibiki and Hanabi were going along with this. Has the city gone insane?_

"Tsk." An irritated noise with her tongue was the only sign Misaki let out letting Mikoto know she was also upset, before Misaki regained her composure. She kept her face passive, and her posture light, but she too was fuming on the inside. _That old hag actually managed to get the drop on me. Not only that, it seems like the high schoolers are enjoying spending time with him. Now that I think about it, he did beat those twins in the tournament, so it only makes sense they would be interested in him. Though, I'm surprised Saten-san actually made a move too, she usually is quite passive. First the ride back and now this? I'm moving her up the list behind the hag and Misaka._

"I think we need to pay him a visit," Mikoto said, her voice barely suppressing the endless abyss of rage. "We deserve an explanation, don't you agree?"

"Why that sounds lovely Misaka," Misaki replied cheerfully, a vein throbbing in her head. "It has been awhile since we got to go out together." Both of them smiled at each other, but the dark aura surrounding them was all it took for them not to be disturbed by anyone, as they made their way to the high school.

* * *

"I still can't believe you want to see a movie this early," Shiage said, handing over two cards to Saiai and Frenda, who were sitting across the table from him. "I won't even mention it's rated R."

"You're mentioning it now," Frenda pointed out, but grabbed one of the cards. "These look real though. Basically, you actually did a good job."

"This is the last day the movie's playing," Saiai explained, grabbing her card. "So I super needed to catch it today, but I needed an ID." She grinning and held up the card. "Plus Mugino is making us work this afternoon, so it has to be this morning."

"Was it just me or did Mugino seem… off this morning?" Shiage asked.

"She seemed to be sick," Frenda agreed, crossing her arms, frowned, and then her forehead crinkled in thought. "But she just snapped at me when I asked." Frenda recalled Shizuri rubbing her head, stumbled slightly in the apartment, and punched the wall in anger. The punch may not have been unusual, but she didn't seem to have any reason for it. Frenda had been too scared to ask.

"Something happened for sure," Saiai added. "I super feel like Takitsubo-san knows about it too. Mugino purposely kept her from coming with us."

"She was even more short-tempered than usual," Shiage said, rubbing his arms.

"That was pretty funny," Saiai said. She and Frenda laughed at the memory. They had all arrived early that morning at one of ITEM's secret apartments because Shizuri called them and gave an information briefing for a mission. After noticing she was acting unusual, Shiage made the mistake of asking if she was okay. Shizuri turned slowly to look at him, and then proceeded to punch him repeatedly, many more times then was necessary. Frenda and Saiai had thought she had been stressed over something. After Shiage crashed to the ground off his chair, Mugino appeared to be feeling slightly better. She told Shiage, Frenda, and Saiai they were being assigned to protect a small lab that afternoon, but they need to stick together in case they are attacked, now that Saiai's identity is known by Kekine.

"Basically," Frenda continued. "Your Hamazura-y prowess entertained us all."

"Glad my pain makes you laugh," Shiage muttered, taking solace n the fact Rikou was the one who stopped Shizuri before he was seriously hurt. He only had a couple bruises from Mugino's insane strength. "Shouldn't we have to leave soon Kinuhata?"

"You're right," Saiai replied, looking at the time. "It's early, but I super want to get a good seat."

 _It's probably not going to be crowded,_ Frenda and Shiage thought, knowing the unusual movies Saiai was into. They got up together and walked down the street toward the movie theater. As they passed a shop, a large TV was playing a news station. Shiage was walking right by it, when it suddenly flashed to a masked guy, surrounded by several girls. He stopped and shared in shock, listening to the one calling himself Kami issue his declarations. Frenda and Saiai also stopped to see what he was watching, and couldn't prevent laughing when they saw it. Though, their laughter quickly stopped when the level 5s were mentioned.

"How could that guy be so lucky?!" Shiage fumed loudly. "He's living every guy's dream and he knows it! Look at how damn cocky he is. At least that Kamijou guy keeps it on the down low." Frenda and Saiai looked at each other, shared a knowingly look, and smirked.

 _He doesn't know._

"He's not you," Saiai pointed out. "So it's only natural he can super flirt with girls. Besides, he's a level five and you are just a level 0."

"Level 0s are people too," Shiage retorted, annoyed. "We can do amazing things too."

"Fine," Saiai huffed, crossing her arms. Touma's fight against Mugino crossed her mind. "You might have a point," Shiage grinned for a moment, "a level 0 might, just not you."

"Hey!" he said, his grin slipping off while Saiai stuck her tongue out at him. Before he could argue more, he noticed someone was being extraordinary quiet. "Frenda?" he asked. "Are you okay?"

"Don't ask stupid questions," Frenda huffed. Since she knew Touma was Kami, she was a little depressed about what she just saw, and was now lost in thought. _This has to be a joke right? Kamijou doesn't have the balls to do something like this. I bet his friends had something to do with it, they would think this is funny. Arg, why does he have so many girls around him? Not only is Saten there, but those twins from the tournament and a bunch of other girls. I want to go over there and kick his ass._ "Why wouldn't I be fine? Some of us actually think once in a while, but that's not the issue here. Basically, what do you think is going to happen when Mugino sees this?"

"Well," Saiai said, pausing for a moment. "Judging by the mood she's in now, he's either going to die or at least get mortally wounded?" All three of them looked into the distance, swearing they heard something explode far away in Shizuri's apartment.

* * *

 _I'm going to die._

Touma was sitting on the couch with his face in his hands, completely depressed. Seria was standing behind him and patting him on the back, while Ruiko and Hanabi were sitting on both sides of him, trying to reassure him. The other girls either left to go back downstairs or talk with the guys and Kazari. After his announcement, a bunch of girls ran upstairs, but Yuna blocked most of them from getting up. Her ability allowed her to affect the friction coefficient of objects. By increasing the friction on the door edges exponentially, the door wouldn't budge. Touma was oblivious to all of this though.

 _It was even worse than I imagined. I embarrassed not only myself, but my friends and the other girls too. Plus, there's no way Misaki, Mikoto, and Mugino are going to forgive this. I might as well write my last will._ He glanced up when Jason and Kazari walked over to them.

"They went a little further than I expected," Jason said, frowning slightly. "It was pretty funny though." Kazari poked him in the side.

"You said you were going to apologize," Kazari reminded him.

"A little?" Touma asked exasperated. "If it was just me, I would probably be running for my life, but you embarrassed Ruiko, Hanabi-san, senpai, and those other girls."

"I didn't really mind," Seria said. _I hope Shokuhou saw that broadcast. She's going to be so upset._

"It was a little embarrassing," Hanabi admitted. "But it was kind of exciting too."

"I had fun," Ruiko added, glancing over at Kazari, who gave her a nod. "I never got to do anything like this before." While what she said was true, she was also trying to cheer Touma up.

"Thanks for being understanding," Touma sighed, then looked back up. "Where are the two idiots?"

"Your friends are over there," Kazari told him, pointing to the corner of the roof. "Hibiki-san had some stern words for them." Touma, Jason, and the other girls turned to look and actually managed to have a good laugh. Motoharu and Pierce were kneeling on the roof, while Hibiki stood over them, arms crossed. Her punishment was simple. She created blocks of ice and sat them on their legs as they kneeled down on the roof. Both Motoharu and Pierce were shivering slightly, but otherwise looked okay, just very uncomfortable.

"Serves them right," Touma muttered. _It's the little things that let me know karma is real._ "Why didn't she punish you?" he asked, looking at Jason.

"She could tell I didn't know what they were going to make you say," Jason shrugged. "She's pretty sharp. I wouldn't have been so crude but, to be fair, they made it up on the spot."

"What's happening now?"

"It's going to be a king of the hill battle shortly," Accelerator called out, as he stood up and stretched. "That announcement is bound to rile up a lot of people."

"You could have stopped them," Touma pointed out.

"Where would the fun in that be?" Accelerator asked mockingly.

"You're as charming as ever," Hibiki said, walking up to them. She turned and glared right at Touma. "Because you let your friends push you around, there are probably going to be hundreds of people trying to rush into our school. I'm only working with you now because of that."

"Sorry about this," Touma apologized. She huffed, but seemed mollified. She turned and walked to the edge of the roof and looked out across the grounds.

"Wow," Hanabi said impressed. "That's the first time I've seen her give up so easy."

"Well Kami here is pretty honest," Seria answered, smiling slightly. "She probably could tell he didn't mean anything bad from coming here."

"Well," Touma said, standing up at last and stretching. "I got us into this mess. I might as well see it through to the end." He sighed and looked up. "Such misfortune." he muttered, walking over to Accelerator. As soon as he was out of earshot, Kazari rushed up and sat down next to Ruiko.

"You did it," Kazari said excitedly in a hushed voice. "You managed to stay with him through it all. I was really surprised."

"I figured if he could stand it," Ruiko replied, half smiling. "I should be able to."

"Could you stand it because you like him?" Seria asked conversationally. "It's pretty obvious Hanabi-san here likes him."

"Don't say that so loudly Kumokawa-san!" Hanabi spluttered, glancing over at Touma to see if he heard her. She sighed in relief when he seemed to be absorbed in a conversation with Accelerator. Kazari also looked around, and noticed Jason had walked over the edge of the roof and sat down, looking out across the grounds. Kazari wanted to stay with him, but her friend needed her more right now.

"I do yes," Ruiko admitted, which caused Hanabi and Kazari's eyes to widen. Ruiko was still a little high on adrenaline from the show, so she spoke up without thinking. She immediately slammed her mouth shut and her face flushed. Her eyes darted to the ground and she looked embarrassed.

"You don't need to be embarrassed," Seria continued kindly, but her inner thoughts were quite different. _This brat actually thinks she has a chance. It could be problematic because she actually spends time with him, unlike most of the girls here. Hanabi is closer to his type, but she doesn't see him enough. Plus, she doesn't seem like she can muster the courage to confess._ "He's a nice young man. I'm sure many girls would fall for his caring nature." She gestured at Hanabi.

"He is really nice," Hanabi admitted. "But I'm surprised at how easily he goes with his friends' plan."

"He's been that way since I met him," Ruiko agreed. "He's pretty carefree, but he's probably the most reliable person if you are ever in trouble."

"How many times has he saved you?" Kazari asked, nudging her.

"More times then I care to admit," Ruiko laughed.

"How long have you all known him?" Hanabi asked interestedly.

"I met him shortly before he entered high school," Seria said. "I helped him a little bit with the entrance exams."

"I met him about a month ago," Kazari said. "And Saten-san knew him before that."

"First time I met him was at a sport's festival," Ruiko elaborated. "But I didn't really get to know him until recently."

"Do… do you know if he's seeing anyone?" Hanabi asked hesitantly. Ruiko froze and Kazari shifted uncomfortably, but Seria spoke up.

"I don't believe he is," she said, putting a finger up to her cheek and pretending to think. "I recall him mentioning he was into older girls." She pretended to frown. "I also recall him saying something about dorm manager onee-san types or something." The look on the other girl's faces told her she did her job. _Now the brat will be discouraged, which only leaves Hanabi. They both get along well, so Hanabi will be hesitant to make a move on him if it would hurt Saten. He's always been kind of dense to girl's advances unless you are completely direct. I made that mistake in the past._

 _I remember his friends saying that in England,_ Ruiko thought, her grin slipping at the depressing thought. _That means I really have an uphill battle._ She felt Kazari pat her shoulder and leaned up next to her.

"He may have said that," she whispered. "But I've seen him look at you with eyes beyond just friends. Jason thinks he just not ready to ask anyone out yet. It's why he hasn't made any moves with Misaka-san or Shokuhou-san either. You still have a chance."

"Thanks," Ruiko whispered, feeling slightly better.

"I see," Hanabi said softly, glancing over at Touma.

 _Dang,_ Seria thought, glancing at Ruiko and Kazari. _The brats are working together. I'll have to separate them…_ They were all interrupted as Jason called out to everyone.

"We got some intruders! Hmm?" he paused for a moment. "Looks like a fair number of people are outside the gate looking in."

"Then we should give them a show," Motoharu started. It looks like the ice melted, leaving his pants soaked. Pierce was right behind him grinning.

"Haven't you two caused enough trouble?" Hibiki asked.

"Listen," Pierce explained. "If we only push them out a few at a time, others are going to keep entering. If we display strength, it's going to prevent a lot of the guys from trying to get in. The issue is to bring the girls in without them causing problems."

"Leave that to me," Yuna volunteered, causing everyone to look back at her. She had been listening to their conversations silently for a while. "My friends and I should be able to convince any girls trying to get in that this is a game and not trying to free us. I'm sure your senpai can help." She reached over and grabbed Seria's hand. "You seem to be the type of girl others look up to."

"Ah, but…" Seria tried to protest, but Yuna wasn't taking no for an answer. She dragged Seria down the stairs. _Damn it, I need to stay with him._ She hadn't expected any girl at Tokiwadai to be insightful as to her intentions, so she didn't know Yuna's true motive. Yuna had seen Seria try to put a divide between Hanabi and Ruiko, so she had thought of a way to keep Seria away from the others. She phrased her words in away the others wouldn't question it and by dragging Seria down the stairs, she wasn't given a chance to weasel her way out.

"So Accelerator," Pierce continued. "Want to go all out?"

"Don't think I can really go all out without someone dying," Accelerator laughed. "But I should be able to have some fun." He flipped his choker and jumped.

"Don't go all out!" Touma called down.

"I'll make sure everyone is okay," Jason volunteered, climbing up on the edge. "I'll capture the ones I can and put them in the gym, while Accelerator knocks out the others. Hanabi-san and Hibiki-san, please watch for anyone trying to sneak around us." The girls nodded as he jumped off the edge, his shadow spreading into wings.

"I feel a little better," Touma sighed. "Jason's ability is a lot more gentle than Accelerator's when he wants it to be."

"What did he mean by capture?" Kazari asked.

"He's going to put the girls in the gym for points," Motoharu explained. "While Accelerator keeps the guys away, so it keeps up the Kami persona that way."

"You guys are still trying to make everyone believe he's a huge player?" Hibiki asked exasperatedly.

"We aren't trying anymore," Pierce said, grinning. "Take a look at the power of Kami Disease." He pointed across the school grounds and the girls turned to stare.

"Holy…" Hibiki gasped.

"Oh my…" Kazari mumbled.

"He's so popular," Ruiko said wide-eyed.

"Why are there so many?" Hanabi asked in shock.

Outside of the school gates, the couple dozen people looking on with interest had become a couple hundred. Males and females of all ages were watching excitedly through the metal fence. Most of the onlookers were students and many of them were participants in the game. There were criminals, hostages, and cops all ignoring each other and only focusing on the people trying to get into the school. What was even more interesting was a couple news vans had pulled up and set up equipment to start filming. Most of the people bypassing the gate and sneaking into the school ground were males, and they found a very unpleasant surprise waiting for them.

A sudden explosion shook the ground and threw up dust and dirt into the air in front of three high school male students, who were the nearest to the building. They had been planning to use the distraction of Kami to sneak into the girls' school. Even thought they had been warned there would be obstacles, they didn't take it seriously until it was too late. "What was that?" one of them yelled, jumping backwards to avoid some flying rocks.

"Must be one of Kami's underlings!" the second one shouted back, which actually was a bigger mistake than sneaking into the school.

"Underling?" a male voice asked, his voice barely suppressing rage. Wind begun whipping around and the dust was blown away, revealing Accelerator. He started walking toward the guys, his arms wide. "Who's an underling?" Wind began to form tornados behind him, making it look like he had four wings.

"Oh crap!" the third guy yelled in panic. "It's Accelerator!"

"What's he doing here?"

"Run!"

"It's not going to be that easy," Accelerator laughed, flicking his wrist. The air direction changed and blew all three of the guys dozens of meters away, landing in bushes near the outer fence. They quickly got up and scaled the wall, while everyone who was watching went silent. Accelerator looked around and sneered. "Anyone here brave enough to face me?!" he roared. "Come on, you all came here for a reason." He took a single step forward and the ground all around him broke and shattered, causing large chunks to go flying in every direction. _Hmm, I seem to recall something about minimizing property damage… Oh well, let's make it good for the cameras. The less trash trying to break in the less work I…_ His thoughts were interested as a girl screamed. He turned his head when a girl in a blue uniform appeared in midair. She apparently had been sneaking around him, and a chunk of earth lifted her up in the air.

"AHHHHHH!" she screamed. Her ability was light manipulation and, by bending the light around her, she was able to become invisible. Light wasn't being reflected off her, so anyone looking at her wouldn't be able to see her. In this case, it was actually a liability because Accelerator hadn't seen her or he might have avoided a large area attack. Before he could rectify his mistake, he saw Jason's shadow fly forward and wrap around the girl's midriff, preventing her from crashing down into the ground.

"I can understand making a big entrance," Jason sighed, his shadow recoiling and holding the girl in the air a couple meters away. "But seriously, think before you react here. There are a lot of spectators."

"Eh," Accelerator shrugged. "They knew the risk in coming here. Besides, isn't it her fault for making herself invisible? Also, kind of ironic for a light manipulator to be bound by darkness, isn't it?" Jason laughed and Accelerator turned his head to glare at the spectators, many of whom backed up a little bit.

"Thanks for saving me," the girl said to Jason. "But can you let me down?"

"Nope," Jason replied, grinning. "I have to take you captive and then you get to go through indoctrination." This time it was Accelerator's turn to laugh.

"What?" the girl asked shocked.

"You are a prisoner of Kami now," Jason elaborated. "I'm going to drop you off and the other girls will tell you what being part of his harem means."

"But… but… I'm a cop and you two are criminals," she spluttered.

"Let's not worry about semantics," Accelerator yawned. "Just take her away." He glanced over at some of the girls peering through the fence. "Might as well get this over with," he muttered. "If any of you female brats want to go them!" he barked loudly. "Now's your chance. Everyone else will be treated as hostiles." Several of the girls whispered anxiously, but no one immediately moved forward, until a couple middle school girls ran in, giggling excitedly. Soon, several more girls followed them. A guy tried to sneak in with them, but Accelerator blasted him away with a gust of air.

"You know they just all want to meet Kami," Jason said smirking, right before he turned around and lead the girls into the gym. "I'll leave the fighting to you for now and I'll cover surveillance."

"Whatever," Accelerator said, walking back toward the gym. There was a bench right outside of it and he sat down, his eyes darting across the grounds, daring anyone to try to get past him. He heard an explosion from behind the gym and smirked. _Sounds like Hibiki caught a couple people trying to sneak around me. If she lets anyone pass her, I'm defiantly going to rub it in. There's something about annoying her that's way more fun than it should be, even more than the third rate. I think I finally understand why Kagere likes to annoy that one brat._ His phone vibrated and he looked down to see a message from Worst.

 _Tou-san, smile, you're on TV. Even if your tiny weak body makes you look like a girl._

Accelerator looked up and saw a drone in the air, aiming it's camera at him. He smirked, knowing Worst was watching, and flicked it off. He then proceeded to ignore it and flipped through his phone, occasionally looking up to make sure no one was approaching. He yawned and started thinking about why he actually joined this game. Normally, what he and his friends were doing would be two childish for him to want to participate, even now he was wondering why he didn't just leave. He didn't need the points, nor did he really care about messing with Touma this much. He raised an eyebrow unconsciously when he began to figure it out.

 _There's just something about working together with others instead of by myself. Those idiots have grown on me._

* * *

"Looks like they are having fun," Motoharu said, as he, Touma, and Pierce were looking out across the grounds.

"I'm glad Jason saved that girl," Touma added relived. _She appeared out of nowhere when Accelerator was showing off._

"Poor Kami," Pierce said, shaking his head. "He wants to make sure he has ever girl possible. Looks like Kagere is leading a group back for you."

"Great," Touma said dryly. "Just what I need, making a fool of myself in front of more people." There was a loud boom in the back of the gym, as Hibiki threw a large ice shard at someone who was sneaking around behind the building.

"Just think though," Pierce said, putting his arm around Touma. "With so many girls, there will be plenty of them who would dress up for you and cover every type imaginable. I'm sure they are some that can fit the profile of cat girls, alien girls, goddesses, angels, demons, ghosts girls, sailor girls, police girls, super hero girls, bunny girls, ninja girls, loli girls… thought, they might be snapped up by Accelerator. Oh, you could even get one of them to act as a dorm manager onee-san type for you. You always say those are the best, even if you can't understand the glory of the others. Then you could bring them all with us to the anime convention."

"If I can get out of this unscathed," Touma replied sarcastically. "I'll see if I can find a group of people to go with you to that convention."

"You should know better than that Kami-yan," Motoharu said, using the nickname now that the others were out of earshot. "If you promise something like that, you know it's going to happen."

"At this point," Touma said, gesturing out to the growing number of spectators. "I would be willing to suffer that humiliation. This is only going to get worse and, with my luck, I'm going to end up in the hospital."

"From being hugged and kissed to death?" Motoharu laughed and Touma punched him in the shoulder.

"Well I'm heading downstairs to check out the new girls," Pierce declared, turning away from them. "Let me know if you need my expertise." Touma rolled his eyes, knowing that was never going to happen. However, Pierce's absence and the other girls appearing busy gave Touma a chance to tell Motoharu something important.

"Hey Tsuchimikado," Touma whispered. Motoharu's plastered smile faulted when he heard Touma's voice become serious. "You know that girl you tricked me into asking out?"

"Whew," Motoharu said. "I thought you were about to say something important. Are you just bragging now about your conquest?"

"Shut up!" Touma snapped. "Listen, I know you know she's a magician because you were listening last night. Her full name is Leivinia Birdway and she was part of a magic group called the Dawn Colored Sunlight… you know them?" he asked, noticing Motoharu flinched slightly.

"I've heard of some of their exploits," Motoharu said, evading the question. "I didn't hear that little piece of information though. Anything else?"

"You know how she led me, Lessar, and Index to a Fallen base and we met Eve's companion Juliet," Touma explained quickly. "Juliet's power could turn her entire body into shadow, just like Jason's ability, but she said she's just a memory and not alive."

"There's magic that can imprint memories of the dead," Motoharu confirmed. "It's a branch of necromancy, but Index would know all about it."

"Index told us all about that on the way back and obviously Cain," Touma explained hastily. "Birdway was the one who actually defeated him by using her group to perform some sort of ceremonial spell. She also said he was created by Eve, so there's a chance Eve could make more of him. He was incredibly powerful and we couldn't even scratch him at first." Touma spent a couple minutes explaining the fight in detail while Motoharu listened in silence.

"Thanks for letting me know," Motoharu whispered. "I have to contact Stiyl and Kanzaki with this information. Make an excuse if the others ask where I am, but don't let this bother you so much that you don't have fun today. Embrace the Harem King persona." Touma flinched but nodded, and Motoharu walked away. Unsure of what to do with himself now, Touma walked over to Ruiko, Kazari, and Hanabi, who were huddled around the computer Jason left behind.

"What are you three up to?"

"Ah nothing," Hanabi said, turning slightly red.

"We were just killing time since we can't really do much," Ruiko said, slightly dejectedly. "So I thought, let's see what some of the online forums are talking about, and behold, Kami is dominating every topic. You are really popular." She laughed and even Kazari and Hanabi chuckled.

"Are they saying I'm some huge pervert?" Touma sighed.

"Some are," Kazari said softly. "But others have more positive comments and some have pretty descriptive comments of the type of bodily harm they would like to do to you. Though, most people are talking about how you called out the level 5s."

"Misaka-san probably isn't going to be too pleased," Ruiko added, looking at him.

"I know," Touma admitted, looking down at his phone. He had been debating of trying to contact her for a while, but he wasn't able to find the courage. "I'll have to apologize to all of them when I see them."

"How many of the level fives do you know?" Hanabi asked. "You know Misaka-san, Shokuhou-san, and Accelerator right?"

"I haven't met the second and sixth," Touma told her. "I know everyone else."

"Wow," Hanabi said. "What are they like?"

"Everyone one of them is completely different than each other," Touma said, and Ruiko burst out laughing.

"I can attest to that," she said between laughs. "Take a look at Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san. They are like night and day. It's not bad, but pretty surprising."

"Seems like a lot of people are offering a bounty on whoever can unmask you," Kazari said, glancing at the screen. "The amount's getting pretty high too."

"Really?" Touma asked, leaning over her shoulder and looking at the amount. "Wow, that's a pretty penny. No one is going to see it though because, as soon as this event is over, I am burning this outfit." All three girls laughed at how serious he sounded.

"Can I borrow the computer for a moment?" Hanabi asked. "I need to check a couple things while we have some downtime. I know Hibiki is going to force me to help out if too many people show up."

"Sure," Kazari said, pushing the laptop over. Touma walked away from the girls and peered out over the edge of the gym. A good section of the schools ground had been overturned as several other students tried to bypass Accelerator, but all of them failed. Jason was continuing to bring girls into the gym below, but even that slowed down. Judging by the fact dozens of angry girls hadn't barged up to the roof, Yuna seemed to have been right about being able to keep them calm. The grounds had become quiet and Accelerator was busy relaxing on the bench, while Jason had jumped back up onto the roof and pulled Kazari away from the other girls. Hibiki had also returned and was talking with Hanabi. Touma sighed and stared out across the grounds.

"What you thinking about?" Ruiko asked, suddenly appearing next to him.

"Mainly how I got involved in this mess," Touma sighed. "Thanks for being so understanding through everything that has happened."

"We are friends right?" Ruiko asked. "I know you well enough you don't mean anything bad by this, even your friends understand that. To be honest, this is actually a lot of fun. I just wish my ability would let me get involved more like the others."

"It's not like I'm doing much either," Touma laughed. "My friends did everything, I just watched."

"How long are you guys planning to stay here?"

"I think we plan to give up before noon."

"I see," Ruiko said hesitantly, but she took a deep breath and gathered her courage. "If you aren't doing anything else after this, do you want to hang out? Maybe go to the batting cages again or something…? It's fine if you're busy."

"Ah no," Touma said quickly, turning to look at her. "I don't have any plans. I would be glad to go. This week has been really weird and something normal would be great."

"Great," Ruiko repeated, beaming at him. _Yes, I did it. I really enjoy spending time with him so this is perfect._ She suddenly had the feeling she was being watched and turned around. Jason and Kazari were staring at her, both of them smirking. Her face flushed and she turned back to face Touma, who suddenly looked concern.

"You're a little red," Touma pointed out, putting his hand on her forehead. "You might have gotten too much sun up here."

"Ah, n-no," Ruiko stuttered, surprised at the unexpected physical contact. This was more than just hand holding or grabbing her arm to drag her somewhere. He was touching her face tenderly and she took a step back. "Thanks for worrying, but I'm fine."

"If you're sure," Touma said, turning back toward the school ground. His face suddenly turned white as something caught his eye. "I'm dead…," he moaned.

"What happened?" Ruiko asked, looking around. "Oh…" she said softly.

A large amount of electricity was emitting from a nearby building overlooking the school. A moment later, a single girl jumped down onto the metal fence, and then into the school grounds. She was still emitting a lot of electricity, causing nearby stoplights and building lights to flicker. The crowd backed up to avoid accidently being hit by a stray bolt.

Mikoto Misaka was walking toward the school and she did not look amused.

* * *

"So what now?" Mikoto asked Misaki, as Tokiwadai High School came into view. "You're the one who always seems to have a devious plan."

"You make it sound like I'm a villain or something," Misaki replied pouting, but then she smiled. "But I have several ideas, if you must know. Though, I would prefer to avoid the crowds, but the entire school appears to be surrounded."

"I could climb a building to take a look," suggested Mikoto, looking upwards.

"One moment," Misaki said, pulling out a remote. She pointed it to the crowd and clicked a button. A torrent of memories flooded her mind as she sorted through them to find the information she needed. _Interesting, so that's what they are doing. Accelerator's going to be impossible to pass, but I wonder if I can use Misaka. She will probably be gullible enough to fall for this._ She didn't want Mikoto to get near Touma, but she had resigned herself to the fact she probably would. Now she had a chance to get a head start and she was planning to take it. "I think I have an idea."

"This plan wouldn't happen to require leaving me somewhere while you try to get into the school by yourself?" Mikoto asked suspiciously.

"Of course not," Misaki denied, not caring to admit that was exactly what she was planning. "I was going to…"

"Queen!" a blonde girl cried out, racing toward her, followed by four other girls. "Thank goodness you are here. We saw the news and knew you wouldn't take such atrocities lightly."

"We tried to figure out how to stop his broadcast," a girl with her hair in ringlets added. "But the crowd grew too large." She turned to Mikoto. "It's good to see you again Misaka-san." Mikoto nodded in acknowledgement, but didn't say anything.

"I already have a pretty good idea of the situation," Misaki said to the girls, who Mikoto knew were part of her clique. "Accelerator's been preventing guys from getting close, while other people have been bringing the girls into the gym. Everything has settled down for the most part right?"

"Yes," the ringlet girl nodded. "It also appears Kami has mostly kept the roof with a few other people, some other boys in masks and a few girls."

"Hmm," Misaki said thoughtfully. "I would prefer getting the crowd to leave, but it's far too late for that. Misaka, go ahead and take a look from above us. It will help us greatly to know which side has the least number of people."

"Don't order me around," Mikoto said, slightly annoyed, but did what Misaki said. She magnetized herself and jumped up unto the building and continued to climb. While the school was completely surrounded, it looked like the back entrance had the least number of people, with the majority looking in from the main entrance. Some tall bushes were blocking a good chunk of the back area, which led to less people. "Well, that's probably our best way in," she muttered to herself, as she descended back down to the ground. She frowned and looked around. _Where did she go? Don't tell me she ditched me. That…!_ Her question was answered as a large number of people turned around.

"Look, it's the Railgun."

"She must be here to take on Kami's challenge."

"I bet she's going to barge straight in, that's how she normally fights right?"

 _Damn it Shokuhou!_ Mikoto fumed, as she noticed the stars in everyone's eyes. _She's trying to keep me away, but it won't work!_ The dozen or so people Misaki was controlling drew the attention of others around them and now nearly everyone near her was starting to turn around. She jumped back up onto the building and climbed it until she was on the roof and out of sight from the people on the ground. She squinted at the roof of the school and saw several figures, but she couldn't make out who they were from this distance. _I have no idea what she is planning, but I have to decide fast. I know I won't have much time. ARG!_ She started sparking up wildly as she thought about Misaki getting to Touma before her. "Screw this," she said out loud. "I'm going in through the front, I don't care who sees. I've lived through worst rumors." She magnetized herself and leaped down pulling herself to the metal gate.

"It's the Railgun!" someone shouted, pointing to her.

 _Just ignore them,_ she told herself mentally, not paying any attention to the onlookers calling out to her. She jumped down into the school grounds and walked toward the gym building, still unconsciously sending electricity in every direction. She was aware of the small craters and upturned earth, signs some skirmishes had taken place around her. As she approached the gym, someone stood up from a bench and walked toward her. When she recognized who it was, she grimaced. "Get out of the way," she snapped.

"Well well," Accelerator laughed. "If it isn't the third rate. I wonder what on earth could have brought you here."

"You know full well why I'm here," Mikoto said angrily. Accelerator's smug face just increased her irritation she still felt from Misaki trying to leave her behind. "Now excuse me, I need to go punch that idiot a couple times until he tells me what the hell is going on."

"No."

"What!?"

"I'm not going to let you pass."

"Why not?" Mikoto gasped, completely bewildered by this turn of events. "He's the one who wanted me to come."

"I thought about it," Accelerator said, putting his hands behind his head. "And decided it would be far more fun to harass you by preventing you from meeting the damn hero. The constant noise from all those spectators in the background has caused me a lot of stress. I plan to feel better by pestering you for a bit."

"You are a horrible person, you know that?" Mikoto said, exasperatedly.

"I've been called worse."

"I'm getting past you," Mikoto said, sparking up. A line of electricity erupted from her hand and flew at Accelerator, but it was reflected off to the side. _At least it looks like he's not trying to kill me, he really is just a jerk._ Both of them glared at each other and then Mikoto charged.

* * *

 _Seems like Misaka is doing exactly what I expected. She's so predictable._

Misaki and her girls snuck around the outer edge of the crowd, heading toward the back entrance. She was using her ability to prevent people from noticing them but, even with the number of people, it wasn't very tough for her. Most of them were trying to see what was happening as Mikoto engaged Accelerator. Two level 5s fighting was something most people didn't get a chance to witness. Misaki didn't care about such violent activities, and continued to make her way to the back entrance of the school. She had seen in all the spectators' minds that the back area had the least number of people. They had almost reached their destination, when one of the girls behind her spoke up.

"Queen?" the girl asked. "What's the plan for this Kami guy? This is the second time he insulted your honor, publically no less."

"I'm actually not sure," Misaki said, pretending to think. "But I think it's about time I met him at the very least in order to ensure he doesn't do it again. Wouldn't you agree?"

"That sounds like the perfect idea," another girl said. "As expected of you Queen."

"Will you need our help when you face him?" the first girl asked.

"I appreciate the concern," Misaki replied, turning to them and smiling. "But remember, he is a level 5, so I'll have to be the one to face him. Please just keep watch by the entrance in case others try to interrupt us."

"Yes Queen," all the girls chanted.

They reached the back entrance and Misaki looked around. There were definitely a lot less people here, but there were still enough of them to block the entrance gate. _This just won't do._ She grabbed a remote from her bag, pointed it at the crowd, and clicked. Immediately, all the spectators parted like curtains to give her a straight path toward the school. She smiled, but left a few basic orders in their minds, before she started making her way to the gym. The first was they wouldn't notice her until she was already to the gym. Second, they wouldn't have the desire to make their way into the school grounds. They would be content just waiting outside the gate. When she was about halfway to the gym, she stopped. A dark humanoid shape with wings in the sky was gliding down to her location. _So the welcome committee had arrived._ She reached into her bag. _Is he friendly or hostile today?_

Jason landed about twenty meters in front of her. His shadow wings coiled back to his body and he walked toward her slowly and deliberately. Misaki raised an eyebrow, curious at what he was going to do, but still ready to use her ability if the need arose. She couldn't make out his expression under the mask he wore. He stopped a couple meters in front of her and then she received a surprise. "Shokuhou-sama," Jason said, putting his arm across his chest and bowing. "Kami has been expecting you."

"Really?" she asked, aware of the stares from the girls she left at the back gate. _I might as well play along, he probably has a reason for acting like this._ She wasn't worried about what they girls would think, she knew what was going through their minds. "I take it you are my escort to meet him them?"

"Of course," Jason confirmed. "Misaka-sama has already met her escort…" He paused for a second and Misaki could hear the amusement in his voice before he composed himself again. "If you would follow me, please." He turned and made his way back to the gym, with Misaki walking right behind him.

"What is with this act?" Misaki whispered, resisting the urge to read his mind.

"No act," Jason replied. "It is only natural for a Queen to meet a King, is it not?"

"I can agree with that," Misaki said, grinning. "This should be interesting." Jason laughed and they walked in silence until they reached the gym. She heard several more explosions and heard the sound of electricity in the distance. _Looks like Misaka is having fun._ Jason pushed open the gym door and she walked in. _Hmm, there are more girls then I thought._ The original two dozen girls had grown to easily fifty girls, all talking and hanging out in the gym. They all stopped and turned their heads when the door opened, expecting to see more girls being dropped in. Most of them recognized Misaki, and started whispering excitedly.

"This way," Jason told her, motioning to some stairs that led to the roof. Misaki had just taken her first step up them, when a familiar voice made her freeze.

"Why hello Shokuhou," Seria's fake sweet voice whispered into her ear. Misaki turned around immediately. "It has been so long since we last met face to face."

"Not long enough," Misaki replied, forcing her own voice to be sweet. _This hag had her wrinkly hands near my prince without my permission._ "I was surprised to find out you were here, but I suppose it makes you feel young again." They both continued up the stairs slowly.

"We haven't seen each other in ages and you are already insulting me," Seria pouted. "And here I thought we were best friends."

"Shame," Misaki replied. "You are already showing signs of being senile."

"Maybe eating all those sweets is preventing your body from getting nourishment to remember things," Seria suggested. "Oh, did you enjoy that little announcement? I was able to spend a lot of intimate time with him before and after it. He's so cute when he gets embarrassed."

"I doubt you got far with him," huffed Misaki. "His self-control is legendary. I'm going to break it though and he will end up in my…" She stopped and turned when she heard Jason try to stifle a laugh. "Oops, forgot about him for a moment. I'll have to erase those last few seconds." She reached into her purse, but Seria's hand stopped her.

"I'm sure he won't tell anyone," Seria said, but she had an ulterior motive. Jason knew a lot of information about some higher ups in the board of directors, if Misaki got curious, she might see something she shouldn't even though they argue a lot, both of them were still somewhat friends, though all was fair when it revolved around Touma. "He's my kohai and it would be improper to let you mess with his mind."

"I also didn't hear anything," Jason added, in a way that told them he heard everything and was highly amused. "It probably didn't concern me anyways. Besides, we are here, go and say hi to your favorite guy." He opened the door to the roof and held it open for the girls. Misaki stepped out into the light and looked around. Besides her, Jason, and Seria, she saw Kazari and Ruiko looking over the edge of the roof toward where Mikoto and Accelerator were sparing. Hibiki and Hanabi noticed her and waved. She waved back politely and Hibiki pointed to the other side of the roof. She turned and saw Touma, Motoharu, and Pierce standing near the edge, talking, but also watching the level 5 fight below them.

 _This should be fun,_ Misaki thought to herself as she walked out onto the roof. "So Kami," she called out. "I was gracious enough to accept your invitation." Touma spun around and, if he wasn't wearing the mask, Misaki was sure his face would have gone ashen. Everyone else turned in surprise too.

"Misaki," Touma said hesitantly, unsure of what he want to say. He wanted to apologize and try to explain, but Pierce put him in headlock and shouted at him.

"Damn it Kami!" he yelled. "You just had to show off you could bring one of the top girls in Academy City at your beck and call, didn't you!?"

"You idiot!" Touma roared, pulling Pierce's arms off his neck. "It was entirely your fault remember!? Quit trying to push this all on me." He flipped Pierce over him and slammed him on the roof. "Listen Misaki, I'm sorry about what happened, those two, partially Jason and Accelerator too, decided to stage that entire thing."

"It was pretty funny," Yuna interrupted, stepping out onto the roof. She reached out a hand and shook Misaki's. "Nice to meet you Shokuhou-san, I'm Yuna Ishikawa. I've heard so much about you."

"All positive I hope," Misaki giggled. "Nice to meet you too." She turned back to Kami. "I figured as much, but did you have to go along with them?"

"It was sort of sprung up on me at the last minute," Touma admitted.

"Do you know actually know each other?" Hibiki asked surprised. "I figured he was just trying to act big for the camera."

"All the level 5s know each other," Misaki lied, thinking fast. "We have met a couple times before."

"A couple huh?" whispered Touma, and Misaki kept a determinedly straight face.

"To be fair," Ruiko said, coming to his rescue. "We didn't really protest when we realized what his friends were doing."

"I did," Hibiki said.

"But you had fun too or you wouldn't have done it," Hanabi giggled.

"I didn't have much of a choice," Hibiki protested.

"It was rather fun," Seria added. "Shame you weren't with us earlier Shokuhou."

"It's okay," Misaki smiled, but secretly wishing bad things on Seria. "I'm not the jealous kind." Seria rolled her eyes briefly.

"You're partially to blame too," Kazari said, poking Jason in the side.

"We put the drone back the way we found it," Jason replied innocently. "And I bet the news station loves us for that. Besides," he snickered. "Who was the one who actually hacked the software?" Kazari blushed and he pulled her close. "After this is all done, want to do something just us two?"

"Yes," Kazari replied. "There's something I need to pick up today, but it shouldn't take more than a few minutes." She noticed Ruiko leaning closer to listen to them. "Maybe someone else should find someone to go with her," she said just loudly for Ruiko to hear.

"I did," Ruiko whispered back. "He and I are going to hang out after this."

"Nice one," Jason said approvingly, giving her a thumbs up.

"Are you going to ask the big question?" Kazari prodded.

"What?" Ruiko asked, before realizing. "Maybe if the situation arises…" Before she could give a complete answer, an earth shattering boom and a flash of light occurred when a large lightning bolt hit the ground on the other side of the roof.

"Ah crap," Touma said, turning around. "Mikoto's still fighting Accelerator. Why on earth did he decide to fight her in the first place?"

"I'll take care of this," Motoharu said, walking to the edge of the gym.

"You don't have to yet," Misaki spoke up. "I heard she had a stressful week and this would be perfect for her to blow off some steam." Touma's head turned to look at her for a moment, and she pretended to be innocent of any wrongdoings.

"I would like to meet Misaka-san," Seria said, glancing at Misaki out of the corner of her eye. She knew Mikoto would show up at some point, but it was obvious Misaki didn't want her here. Since it would annoy Misaki, Seria of course wanted Mikoto here sooner. Seria had already lost the chance to be alone with Touma any longer, so she just had to score points by pretending to care about Mikoto. "I'm sure she would be sad being left out of our fun."

"Accelerator wouldn't actually hurt her right?" Hanabi asked.

"He's a jerk," Hibiki said irritated, crossing her arms. "But I think he can control himself to some degree."

"Hey Accelerator!" Motoharu called down to him.

* * *

Mikoto was pissed to say the least.

First, she saw one of the most insane announcements she ever heard coming from Touma, and then Misaki ditched her to get an advantage. Now, Accelerator was just being a complete asshole to her. She had fired several bolts of electricity at him, but he didn't even flinch. Each strike just rebounded off him in different directions. She really hated that smug look on his face, but he didn't seem to be trying to win. _What is he playing at? Maybe he isn't even trying to stop me._ Spurred by that thought, she tried to go around him, but Accelerator actually moved to intercept her. She magnetized herself to propel herself over him, but he controlled the wind around him and blew her backwards.

"Why are you doing this?" she yelled at him.

"For fun?" he replied and shrugged.

"Arg," Mikoto cried, grabbing her hair. _I thought he had changed, but he's still the same. I can't beat him in a contest of strength, so I have to find a way past him._ She reached out a hand and transmitted a magnetic field beneath the ground, searching for and gathering her iron sand. _Let's see how he likes this._ She bent her knees and dashed forward, at the same time, causing the sand to erupt from the ground around Accelerator like geysers.

"You know this won't work," he laughed, spreading out his arms. "Go ahead and try if it makes you feel better."

"Overconfidence is going to be your downfall," Mikoto replied, grinning. She knew attacking Accelerator directly with the sand was useless, but that wasn't her plan. As the geysers spread out the iron sand over Accelerator, the particles started spinning in a vortex. They moved together and formed a solid wall of black sand, completely blocking her from his sights. He growled and looked around.

"Surprise attacks won't work eith…" he started to say, and then his eyes went wide. "Fuck!" He stepped on the ground, causing a huge explosion. The flying dirt and rocks broke the iron sand wall apart and he looked around. Mikoto was past him and running as fast as she could to the gym. The ground exploded around Accelerator as he rocketed himself forward. By manipulating his vector, he could move faster than Mikoto could run or propel herself with magnetism. He reached a hand out and he intercepted her. He lightly touched her shoulder and she immediately found herself flying away from the gym.

"Ahhh!" she yelled, as she rolled several times before springing back up to her feet. _What? I'm still alive and barely injured. Of course, this is all a game to him. He's not actually trying to hurt me, just piss me off._ Cheered again by this thought, she took another couple of steps forward. Accelerator turned to face her and shook his head.

"Not a bad trick," he laughed. "But without metal buildings everywhere, the directions you can move are severely limited."

"Don't tell me what I already know," snapped Mikoto. "It's my ability." _Damn, direct attacks don't work, surprise attacks don't work, and he's faster than me. What should I do?"_ She could see several people watching her, including Touma, Ruiko, and Kazari. _Great, I'm looking like a fool in front of my friends._ She looked around. _Let's see what kind of metal objects are available._ She took a deep breath and spread out her magnetic field, detecting anything she could use. There were a few metal trashcans readily available, and then she felt several large pipelines deep beneath the ground. For a moment, she briefly thought about using those, but quickly decided against it. _I'm sure the city officials wouldn't be happy if I uprooted them for a game._ She frowned, as she considered her options.

"Did you give up already?" Accelerator asked, his voice thick with mirth, after she went quiet for a bit. "Though, you know about my power so it's pretty obvious you would know the difference in our strength." He yawned. "If you leave, I can go back to bothering that Hibiki girl. I'm surprised how much fun it is. It's like how Kagere messes with your friend."

"I'm going to tell Last Order that you are flirting with other girls," Mikoto replied bitterly. She only said that out of annoyance toward Accelerator, but when his facial expression changed from smug superiority to a combination of surprise, anger, and a little bit of horror.

"You wouldn't dare," he snarled.

"I have her number right here," Mikoto replied, smirking, holding up her phone. She wasn't entirely sure what she was going to do with this information, she wasn't Jason or Misaki in terms of scheming, but she hoped something would come to her. "I'm dialing…"

"Die!" Accelerator roared, stomping down with his left foot. Dirt and rocks flew from the ground in front of him at Mikoto like shotgun bullets. Mikoto had been expecting something like this and pulled one of the heavy trash cans with magnetism to use as a shield. The rocks peppered the can and sounded like heavy rain on a tin roof. He took a deep breath and composed himself. _Can't believe I fell for that. There's no way the third rate would tell the brat that. If Last Order thought that, she might disconnect me…. oh for the love of… What really pisses her off again?_ His thoughts turned back to what he knew about Mikoto from spending a week in England with her.

"Let me pass," Mikoto told him. "And I won't tell her anything."

"You can't beat me in a fight," Accelerator retorted. "So you resort to underhanded tricks huh? You remind me so much of the fift… fourth rate."

"Don't you compare me to her!" Mikoto yelled angrily. "Now let me pass!"

"What on earth could be so important back there?" Accelerator asked sarcastically.

"You know damn well what," Mikoto said through gritted teeth. "I'm going to go up to Touma, kick his butt, and then get an explanation."

"While that sounds fun to watch, I think he's going to be busy."

"Why?"

"He's surrounded by girls now," Accelerator answered with a sneer. "And most of them are his type."

Mikoto froze for a moment. "Explain."

"Well his preferred type is older mature girls," Accelerator continued. "But Aogami mentioned he liked well developed girls too.., which would put you in last place."

"..."

"Not counting the fourth and fifth rate," Accelerator further insulted. "Even Saten is further along than you, and I think she's younger too. Plus now, he has all those high school girls flocking…."

"SHUT UP!" Mikoto roared, completely snapping. She hadn't been mad at Touma, but was now furious at Accelerator. She had always been rather upset about her chest size, but it was usually only Misaki that made fun of her. Her friends were roughly the same position as her so no one really mentioned it. Touma also had never said anything about it to her, but that was probably because he didn't want to die. A large lightning bolt descended upon Accelerator, blocking everything else from view, with a flash of light, and drowning out all the sounds of screams from some of the surrounding spectators.

Of course the lightning didn't do anything to Accelerator, but the flash of light and sound annoyed him.

 _Heh she freaked out and probably destroyed her phone,_ he thought, as he redirected most of the electricity down into the ground to avoid unnecessary damage. _This is getting boring though, I should just let her pass, but then again, she did threaten me. I can't let that go lightly._

"Hey Accelerator!" Motoharu's voice caused him to turn around. "Quit messing around with Misaka-san and let her up."

"We were just having a SMALL discussion about the hero," Accelerator called back up.

"I hate you so much," Mikoto fumed loudly, and he laughed. "I can't believe I thought you changed."

"Okay you two," Motoharu continued. "Stop flirting with each other…"

"WHO'S FLIRTING!?" they both roared in unison.

"…we need you both up here."

"Sounds like too much trouble," Accelerator called back.

"Don't make us send Kami down to make you," Pierce added, sticking his head out. "He is getting upset one of his top girls is being held back."

"Tsk, whatever," Accelerator mumbled, and glanced back at Mikoto. He took a step forward and leaped into the air when a small explosion went off below him. He flew like a rocket toward the roof and landed, before walking out of sight. Mikoto's hands made fists, before she calmed herself down. Magnetizing herself, she followed him up the side of the building.

"Misaka-san!" Ruiko cried, as soon as she stepped up onto the roof. "I'm glad you are okay. Welcome to the party." She laughed slightly, but stopped when Mikoto raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry Misaka-san," Kazari added. "We kind of got roped into this too."

"I figured as much," Mikoto said glancing over at the guys. Accelerator has joined Pierce, Motoharu, and Jason. Touma was standing off to the slightly, shifting nervously. Misaki and an older girl were near him, but were watching her. Mikoto felt a wave of anger as Misaki winked at her. Hanabi and Hibiki waved to her, but there was also another girl around their age Mikoto didn't know. She focused her attention on Touma, who finally took a couple steps toward her. "So…?"

"Sorry Mikoto," Touma said, clasping his hands together in front of him. "I didn't know it was going to get this far out of hand."

"Do you have to go along with everything your friends do?" she asked. Touma scratching the side of his face, but didn't say anything. _He goes along with anything if you push hard enough,_ she sighed to herself. _At some point, he needs to say no. To be fair, I have taken advantage of that nature before._ "Never mind, I know what happened." She turned to Hibiki and Hanabi. "Hello," she greeted them friendly. "I haven't seen you two in ages."

"Hello Misaka-san," Hanabi returned her greeting.

"So you are friends with him too?" Hibiki asked, wide-eyed, nothing their friendly exchange. She had just been under the impression they knew each other from the tournament. "Does he personally know all the level 5 girls?"

"Unfortunately…" Misaki and Seria muttered.

"Oh," Hanabi added, gesturing to Yuna. "This is our classmate Yuna Ishikawa."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Misaka-san," Yuna said cheerfully. "It has been really fun to have Kami at our school. The girls downstairs have been hounding him for autographs and pictures all morning. I've been forcing him to go down there every now and then to sate them."

"Oh, has he?" Mikoto said coolly, shaking her hand and glancing over at him. Touma determinedly looked away.

"I'm surprised you didn't join us earlier Misaka," Misaki said. "Were you having too much fun exercising with Accelerator?"

"Well some of us have to keep in shape," Mikoto replied, a vein in her head throbbing. "Eating a lot of sweets can be bad for you." Everyone could feel the tension in the air, and Ruiko took a step back. Kazari looked guilty and snuck off to talk to Jason, who had broken from the guys and was looking at the computer, frowning.

"Come on you two," Ruiko said. "We are in the presence of the great Kami." This caused everyone to turn to look at her, before they burst out laughing. Even Touma joined in, though he was the most embarrassed of this entire situation. Everyone calmed down and the atmosphere lightened considerably. After Mikoto was introduced to Seria, she turned to Touma.

"I have no idea what you guys are planning now," Mikoto admitted. "What's next?" _Ishikawa-san seems really nice, but Kumokawa-san is so pretty, AND she goes to his school Even I can tell Shokuhou is weary of her._

"I really don't know," Touma answered, looking over at his friends. "I've been hoping this event would end soon."

"You may get your wish," Jason spoke up. He and Kazari were gazing at the computer. "Seems like Anti-Skill is beginning to disperse the crowd around the school, something about causing traffic jams and…" He paused and looked at the screen again. "…defeating the purpose of the game."

"In what way?" Ruiko asked curiously.

"Seems like a lot of students are ignoring the game and watching Kami take over Tokiwadai," Kazari explained. "The crowd was one thing, but a lot of TVs are being mobbed around the city. When Misaka-san and Accelerator-san started sparing, the number of viewers skyrocketed."

"I can see that," Misaki said. "A lot of people like to see the abilities of a level 5."

"But didn't you sneak in here?" Seria asked.

"My ability isn't as flashy as Misaka's," Misaki replied curtly.

"Looks like the fun is over," Pierce said sadly, kicking his foot against the roof. "Well, it was fun while it lasted."

"How many girls rejected you this time?" Motoharu asked.

"Eh I lost tracked," Pierce shrugged. "That one girl who had upper strength was pretty cute, and she looked like she was still in middle school."

"Sounds about right," Accelerator snorted. "Any girl with half a brain could tell you're a pervert."

"What are they talking about?" Mikoto asked Hibiki, Hanabi, and Yuna.

"It seems like Kami's blue haired friend there," Hanabi explained. "Was trying to flirt with most of the girls downstairs, and it didn't go very well."

"That's saying it mildly," Hibiki added. "He's one of the biggest perverts I have ever seen."

"Most of the girls I talked to slapped him," Yuna said. "One girl actually threw him across the gym. I never saw her so red before."

"Sorry for him," Touma said, joining their conversation. "He really doesn't know how to hold back." _He's the reason I expect all the girls to attack us. If it wasn't for Hanabi-san and Ishikawa-san, this could have turned out a lot worse. Maybe my luck is finally changing._ He glanced toward the crowd in the distance, noticing several vans that hadn't been there before. "We better get going soon," he told the guys. "Anti-Skill is all over the place and I definitely don't want to be caught here."

"Or in that disguise," Mikoto added with a grin.

"Do you think we can sneak you and your friends out?" Ruiko added, looking around.

"Can we?" Touma asked Hanabi and Hibiki, who shrugged.

"Might be tough with so many people," Hanabi said slowly. "But technically you aren't breaking any rules by being here because of this game. The most they should do is ask you to leave."

"We probably should go," Jason said. "While I enjoy hanging out with everyone, I really want to get some alone time with Kazari."

"Plus someone else probably wants some alone time with someone else," Kazari whispered, so only he could here.

"Kagere," Pierce said angrily. "Quit showing off your girlfriend!" Motoharu tripped him before he could cause a scene.

"I'm bored too," Accelerator yawned. "I'm going to head out."

"We probably got enough points anyways," Motoharu said.

"Do you have any plans after this?" Seria asked Touma. "If not, would you like to accompany me for a while?"

"Well I…"

"Oh I'm sure you are far too busy," Misaki said, stepping between them. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of him while you complete all those errands I know you have to do."

"Umm…" Ruiko said hesitantly, unsure how to interrupt. Hanabi, Hibiki, and Yuna looked at each other, and shook their heads.

"What about…?" Mikoto started to ask, when an amplified girl's voice came through a loudspeaker. Most of the girls, except Seria, didn't recognize the girl, but all the guys froze. The girl sounded furious and far past what would be considered angry.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU IDIOTS THINK YOU ARE DOING?!"

"Is that…?" Pierce asked.

"Sounds like it," Motoharu answered.

"That's not good," Jason added.

"It was nice knowing you all," Touma called out to the girls, as he, Pierce, Motoharu, and Jason ran to the edge of the roof. Motoharu pulled binoculars out of a pocket and glanced across the crowd. "Are we dead? How angry does she look?"

"I don't think I've seen her this mad before," Motoharu said. "But it definitely is her."

"Well," Accelerator said, shuffling over to them. "Do you geniuses have a plan to get out of this?"

"What's going on?" Mikoto asked, rushing to the edge next to them.

"It's strange to hear all of you sound worried like this," Misaki added.

"Who was that?" Ruiko asked.

"Fukiyose-sama," Motoharu said, his voice shaking slightly.

"Who is she?" Kazari asked Jason, pulling on his shirt. "You all are acting strange."

"If I had to explain her," Jason said, crossing his arms and thinking. "I would say she's the only one who has the power to keep us all in line."

"All of you?" Hibiki asked, looking at Accelerator.

"He doesn't get in as much trouble as us," Pierce explained. "But she had to put him in his place a couple times."

"Seriously?" all the girls gasped, turning to look at him. Accelerator glared at them, but didn't say anything. He didn't want to seem weak, but it wasn't like he cared what the girls thought. Seiri was one of the few girls he knew who actually talked to him like an equal, rather than an all-powerful level 5, and would openly scold him. He also had an inkling of what the other guys were planning and thought it would be interesting to see the girl's reactions.

"She's your classmate, right?" Seria asked Touma. "I think I remember that voice."

"She is," Touma confirmed. "This won't be the first time she's taken us down. I should have known she's going to be mad when she saw this." _I still have the bruises from previous encounters. I do not want to meet her while wearing this getup._

"So she actually defeated all of you?" Mikoto asked. _I couldn't even touch Accelerator and Touma would always negate my ability._

"She can take all of us at once," Jason added, his face slightly pale. He unconsciously rubbed his head, remembering some of her blows. "Is fleeing still on the table?"

 _I don't recall anyone having that kind of power in their class,_ Misaki thought.

"Woah," Ruiko said in admiration. "She sounds strong, what's she like? Can we meet her?"

"She's the Iron Wall of our class," Motoharu continued. "You could probably meet her, but we definitely shouldn't. What's the plan Kami?"

"Why do you think I have a plan?" Touma asked incredulously. "Right now, I'm planning to run in the opposite direction."

"Do you still have that megaphone?" Pierce asked Motoharu, who nodded. Motoharu reached into his bag and pulled it out. "I have a plan, but I'm not sure if we are getting out of this alive."

"Well," Motoharu said, and suddenly grinned. "If we are going to die, we die as heroes."

"What?" Touma asked confused, but his danger sense went off as Pierce raised the megaphone. "Oh no, stop…!

"Kami will surrender!" Pierce yelled loudly through the megaphone. "On the condition you become one of his girlfriends!"

"WHAT!?" Touma, Mikoto, Misaki, Seria, Ruiko and Hanabi cried. Hibiki and Kazari could only stare in shock. Yuna, however, joined Motoharu, Jason, and Accelerator in laughing. Before anyone could say anything else, Seiri's reply came back, sounding even angrier, if that was possible.

"When I catch you!" Seiri replied. "I'm going to beat you all within an inch of your lives!"

"Why would you do this!?" Touma yelled, shaking Pierce violently.

"Punishment for showing off your harem to the world."

"You are the one who caused this!"

"I think I now understand how he became Kami," Hibiki said to Hanabi.

"His friends are hilarious," Yuna added.

"Interested in leaving?" Jason asked Accelerator. "I have no desire to be here when she arrives."

"Probably a good idea," Accelerator replied, taking a step back from the rest of the group. He had wanted to leave for a while, but was just waiting for the opportunity when nothing entertaining was happening. While this could qualify as entertaining, Seiri was sure to lecture him and he wasn't interested in that.

"I'll meet up with you when we are done here," Kazari told Jason, and then leaned forward. "I want to see what happens and support Saten-san." Jason nodded and was leaning in to kiss her good-bye, when something came falling from one of the nearby buildings. It was a single person, falling at speeds that would kill a normal person, if they hit the ground. When the individual hit the ground, a huge explosion erupted, sending a cloud of dust into the air. The male's voice was so powerful, it didn't even need a voice enhancer, as it reverberated through the dust.

"KAMI!" the male's voice boomed across the grounds. "You have a lot of guts to call out the level 5s and then exclude me! I've wanted to meet you for a long time! Face me Kami and show me the power of your guts!" A small red explosion blew the dust away, revealing a high school male wearing a white uniform with a Rising Sun shirt and a green jacket thrown over his shoulders like a cape.

"Never mind," Accelerator said, moving to the edge. "I think we should stay."

"Oh god," Touma said, face palming. "Why is Gunha-san here?" _This day just keeps getting weirder. I'm half expecting Mugino to show up and blast me. Is the number two and six going to show up too?_

"There's a bigger issue we should be worrying about," Misaki told him seriously and Mikoto nodded.

"What do you mean?" Touma asked confused.

"That jacket," Mikoto said pointing. "WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD MAKE HIM A HOSTAGE!?"

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Well, I did not plan for this arc to be three chapters. It was only supposed to be two. Oh well, you all get to enjoy an extra unplanned chapter and then we can move back to evil people's plot. One thing has to happen before that happy moment. Touma's misfortune hasn't played a big enough part yet, it's going too smoothly. Also, DAMN, Team Saten has a lot of members as readers.**

 **Touma: No no no, I've been plenty misfortunate enough. Let's just let me leave and nothing else happen.**

 **Shokuhou: I'll help you escape and if you want to, you can hide in my room. Then you don't have to stay with certain old ladies.**

 **Mikoto: He knows better than that.**

 **Shizuri: I'm going to have to punish him for those comments first you know.**

 **Lessar: Oh, can I join in on the fun?**

 **Motoharu: Well, you ladies scared Kami-yan off. All that's left is a cloud of dust.**

 **Last Order: Misaka wants to join MISAKA says as MISAKA states her desires.**

 **Misaka 10032: Misaka believes this game is only for students Misaka reminds you.**

 **Worst: When have rules ever stopped this Misaka?**

 **Kazari: Saten-san, you have to keep going. Even the readers support you.**

 **Ruiko: I don't think I want to be the main female lead, too much pressure. Answering questions was nerve wrecking and embarrassing.**

 **Misaki: Don't worry, I'll take charge next chapter and answer questions.**


	70. S3 Tokiwadai Invasion pt 3

**Hi everyone! It's Misaki Shokuhou again doing the opening announcements. I know a lot of you are anxious about what's going to happen, so I'll try to keep the announcements short, while still answering all your questions. I'm kind of disappointed I haven't had a big role recently, but I know I will be the one who eventually ends up with my prince. You can think of this as my declaration of war. Anyway, let's move to your questions before I say something I might regret and have to make you all forget.**

 **Whwsms: Well, we have cooperated with each other in the past. It's just we are sort of rivals and like the same person, which makes us look like we fight a lot. We are actually pretty close friends.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: That's not true, I know who she is. I was surprised they were so scared of her because I don't remember her having some powerful ability. There's probably something I'm missing but, if he's scared of her, that means he's not attracted to her.**

 **Brosephg: I would do everything in my power to make him mine. If I could just make all the girls near him forget about him so he would only have me, I would do it. However, I know he would not like that and I don't want to hurt him or make him think badly of me. Thank you for the support. As for self-aware robots, that one doctor was doing stuff with AI, you need to check with him.**

 **Yakutsu Zaishiro: For some reason, I don't think she needs an excuse to chase those two. As I am not sure of her power, it might be possible I could affect her. Hmm, that sounds quite pleasant and I will definitely plan to do that later.**

 **Salishious: My ideal plan is not to share him. But if I had to, Saten-san would probably be a good choice. As a second choice… I think Hanabi-san would be the best option. She's not aggressive enough like Misaka, the hag, and Lessar to be a threat to me being the main girl.**

 **Handsomistic1: It's obvious. They are trying to steal my prince from me. I actually thought about it, but I would never force myself on him like that. I simply put myself out there for him and one day he will realize he wants to be with me.**

 **hubb2001: Of course I am. I knew the kind of things he gets involved with on the science side for ages, and now I know the kinds of things he gets involved with on the magic side. It doesn't matter if I need to stand beside him in a life or death struggle, or simply listening to his worries. I will do whatever is needed.**

 **Guest: I would prefer no harem, but it seems like an impossible outcome now.**

 **wildarms13: I am actually beginning to see that outcome. I'm going to do what I can to change it, but if it's the only option I'll accept it. I'll be able to stay with him otherwise.**

 **MarkJ: Hmm, part of the reason we have such a strong rivalry is I saw she was spending so much time with him when I couldn't. I'm not sure how we would be close friends, she such a tomboy instead of being sophisticated and well dressed. I would just convince her I was the better choice and have her back off.**

 **Guest: You should know better than to ask a girl her age. It was obviously love and my desire to be his perfect girl. I don't know if he's into bunnies though. I figured most guys are, but he's rather unique. Only one guy will get to know that.**

 **Fantasinia: I would crush them with every means at my disposal.**

 **Guest 10032: Well, that just won't do. I must change that.**

 **Geust: I have a couple emergency plans for such a situation, but I rather not use them. Ruiko Saten is becoming a dangerous rival. I would do it. I knew I would have to exercise more to keep up with all the crazy things h gets involved with, I have just been putting it off.**

 **321jaz: That's the perfect outcome I would like to see.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly**.

* * *

"How did it come to this?" Touma muttered, depression taking hold. Today had been one of his worst days that did not involve a life or death struggle. First, he made a fool of himself in front of the entire city, which also embarrassed his friends. Second, he was stuck on top of an all-girl's school's roof, surrounded by spectators and Anti-Skill without any viable exit strategy. Now, he had a tough choice facing him, fight Sogiita Gunha or face Seiri Fukiyose's wrath. He was actually leaning toward facing Sogiita, because he might be able to talk his way out of it. The only good news was all the girls, especially Misaki and Mikoto, seemed to have stopped arguing in face of the new arrivals.

"This is going to get messy fast," Mikoto moaned, rubbing her head with her hand. "I didn't expect to see Gunha-san here." _I should have realized he couldn't resist showing up if a bunch of level 5s gathered._

"He's not the type to be reasoned with," Misaki added, sighing. _Looks like being alone with Touma is going to have to wait._

"He wouldn't do anything stupid right?" Hibiki asked. "I heard rumors he tended to destroy his surroundings by being overzealous."

"That is a pretty accurate description," Accelerator said, nodding slightly. "When he gets interested in facing someone, nothing you can say will stop him." He turned to Touma. "Just go down there and face him Hero."

"I don't want to face him," Touma said, raising his hands. "Plus, did you forget, Fukiyose-san is coming."

"I'll hold her off as long as I can," Jason volunteered. "Try to find a solution to Gunha-san and then we can find a way to get you out. I don't know how much time I can give you."

"Good luck," Motoharu said, putting his hand on Jason's shoulder, like he was saying good bye for the last time.

"We will honor your memory," Pierce added, putting his hand on Jason's other shoulder. "May your sacrifice not be in vain." Jason nodded solemnly, spread his shadow into the form of wings, and flew off toward the direction Seiri was marching from.

"Was it my imagination," Kazari whispered to Hanabi, Yuna, and Ruiko. "But did it look like Jason was going off to fight for real?"

"From what I know of those guys," Hanabi said. "I think they are just being over dramatic."

"Or they just want to mess with all of us," Ruiko said, and then she smirked when she saw Pierce wink at them and Motoharu raise a finger to his lips. _Looks like Misaka-san, Shokuhou-san, Hibiki-san, and Kumokawa-san didn't see them._ She glanced over at Kazari, who still looked nervous. "See," she whispered. "He's going to be fine."

"I figure he would be," Kazari replied, but Ruiko thought she looked relieved. "He and his friends really like to go all out, don't they?"

"You mean they know how to have fun," Yuna laughed. "Hanabi, you got at least one of their numbers right? We should definitely hang out with them sometime. I really want to see what they do during a normal day."

"I don't," Hanabi replied, shaking her head. "I haven't been able to find a chance to ask."

"You can share with us," Ruiko said, pulling out her phone. "They are our friends so we can pass phone numbers around if you need them."

"Perfect," Yuna said, beaming, and pulled out her phone. The girl's started sharing numbers, while Kazari turned to see what the others were doing. The guys were discussing something in hush voices and Mikoto, Misaki, and Seria seemed to have joined in.

"What are we going to do about him?" Mikoto asked. "You guys seem to have a plan for everything."

"It's an honor you think so highly of us Misaka-san," Motoharu laughed. "But this is completely unexpected turn of events."

"I doubt that," muttered Accelerator. He had a feeling they knew something like this was going to happen and would have a contingency plan.

"You sure you don't want to face him?" Pierce asked Touma.

"No."

"Well I think he could win," Misaki pointed out. "But he is against needless violence."

"You have her fooled well," Pierce whispered to Touma. "You fight with us all the time."

"Only because you idiots start it," Touma muttered back. _They start every fight just because they have some weird idea I go around and try to pick up girls to a harem._ He looked around and frowned under his mask. _Mikoto, Misaki and Ruiko liked me, I don't know if Hanabi still does, but the other girls don't. Uiharu-san is with Jason, Kumokawa-senpai and Hibiki-san are just here because they are part of the game, and Yuna is just entertained by our antics. The other girls down below are just interest in the Kami persona, not me._ He noticed Seria was looking at him, and he turned to face her.

"I could try to talk with him," Seria suggested, when she saw him turn to her. "I'm sure I could make him see this isn't the time or place to initiate a duel."

"He's not the type to listen to words if a strong opponent is within his sights," Misaki spoke up. _Though, if anyone could do it, she probably could. She doesn't even need an ability to manipulate me, so someone brutish would probably be easier._ "It would probably be better for someone more combat oriented, like Misaka or Accelerator-san, to face him. I can use my ability to help him escape unnoticed." _And if I can spend some time with him, well, that's just an added benefit._

"I rather Accelerator not fight him," Hibiki said, crossing her arms. "He's already caused enough damage to our school grounds with his UNNESSISARY force." As she emphasized the word, she glared at him, but Accelerator just chuckled.

"I held back," he pointed out. "Your school's still standing.

"Just ignore him," Mikoto said, putting out a hand to stop Hibiki from stepping forward and yelling at Accelerator. "He's always like that." _He was a lot worse before, but has mellowed out. He still acts all arrogant and a jerk to most people. Last Order is the only one who he can't say no to._ She smirked. _His friends do a pretty good job at that too._ "You should have seen how much of a jerk he was before Kami set him straight."

"What did you say third rate?" He turned and glared at her.

"Just the truth," Mikoto replied, sticking her tongue out at him. Hibiki laughed and high fived Mikoto, glad to have someone who knew what Accelerator was like. He huffed and turned away from them.

"Guys," Touma spoke up. "I think we are getting off topic. What are we going to do about…?" He was too late as Sogiita's loud voice echoed across the school grounds and interrupted him.

"I haven't received an answer so I am coming up!" Sogiita yelled. A loud boom of displaced air followed, and a moment later, he had leaped up onto the roof of the gym. He crossed his arms and looked around at everyone. His cape was blowing out behind him, even though there wasn't much wind. "Hello Uiharu-san, Saten-san, Misaka-san, Shokuhou-san, and Accelerator-san, it's good to see you all looking well. Accelerator-san, when I get a chance, I want to have a rematch. I'm going to show you how much my guts have improved."

"Not looking forward to it," Accelerator grumbled, while Kazari and Ruiko waved hello. Mikoto and Misaki gave a halfhearted wave, which Sogiita seemed to ignore because his attention had moved to everyone else.

"Greetings to all the unfamiliar faces," Sogiita continued to the others. "My name is Sogiita Gunha, also known has Number 7. Now," he pointed to Kami. "I challenge you to a duel!"

"This really isn't a good time," Touma told him, but Sogiita wasn't going to hear any of that.

"Now's the perfect time," Sogiita declared loudly. "You have just finished your conquest of Tokiwadai, you aren't facing any of the other level 5s, and the spectators are being dispersed. Nothing else is happening, so we can go all out to our hearts content."

"He's really not taking the hint," Hibiki whispered.

"He never does," Accelerator mumbled.

"Seriously?" Misaki said under her breath, while reaching into her bag to pull out a remote. _If I hit him while his guard is down, maybe I can get him to leave._ She had just grabbed the remote when Seria reached out and stopped her.

"You know what will happen if you try," Seria whispered. "He's going to say something about guts and block you from his mind. Then he will think you are challenging him to a fight and…. Actually, I'm sorry. Go right ahead and try."

"You may have a point," Misaki answered sweetly, removing her hand from her bag. "I'm sure it would be rude of me to interrupt a fight between men."

"Do we really need to go through this all again?" Mikoto sighed. "Gunha-san, you acted the same way when we fought before."

"That reminds me Misaka-san," Sogiita said, turning his head toward her. "We still need a conclusion to our fight. I know you didn't use all your guts the last time. But right now, I want to face him." He pointed toward Touma. "I can tell he has more guts than anyone else I have ever met, except maybe one person."

 _Did he connect Kami to Touma just now?_ Mikoto thought. _Seriously, he doesn't think things through, but his intuition is usually pretty sharp._

 _He subconsciously linked the Kami persona toward my prince's aura,_ Misaki mused silently.

 _What an idiot,_ Accelerator thought.

"Excuse me Gunha-san," Hanabi said cautiously, steeping forward. "Would you please try to avoid causing anymore property damage? Our teachers are going to get mad at us for the amount of damage already. They wanted us to avoid causing a scene. We had promised to minimize fights in order to use the gym."

"I definitely want to face him," Gunha told her, frowned, and crossed his arms. "But I understand your concern."

"How about this?" Motoharu suggested. "Kami's better at defending then attacking. Why don't you two have a duel where you attack and he tries to blocks your attack? If you can bypass his defense, you win, but if he can stop your attack, you win."

"What are you saying?" Touma asked bewildered, turning to face him. "We should be planning on how to get out of here without being seen. Remember, Jason's stalling for us."

"Quit being a baby and just go do it," Accelerator told him, with a slight smirk. "He's going to continue to follow you until you accept. This way is just faster."

"An excellent idea," Sogiita yelled excitedly, pointing to Motoharu. "Let us put your plan into action." Before anyone could say anything, he grabbed Touma by the arm and leaped high into the air, off the roof, and towards the area behind the gym.

"Wait!" Touma yelled, as he found himself in midair and falling off the roof. "AHHHHH!"

"AHH!" Several girls mimicked Touma's cry and ran to the edge of the roof. Mikoto, Misaki, Seria, Kazari, Ruiko, and Hanabi were the first to run up in panic. All of them were worried if Touma would be okay after landing. Sogiita's unknown ability would protect him from the fall, but Touma's body was still human. They sighed with relief when Sogiita landed first and held Touma up, before lowering him to the ground. Yuna and Hibiki ran to see what was happening too, but more out of curiosity instead of panic. Accelerator, Motoharu and Pierce all laughed, before looking over the edge to watch.

"I just had a thought," Kazari said to Mikoto and Ruiko. "If Gunha-san had grabbed Kamij… Kami-san's hand, what would have happened?"

"I didn't think of that," Ruiko said frowning.

"If his abilities were sealed," Mikoto mumbled, her eyes widening slightly. "It could have gotten really messy."

"I'm sure Kami would have broken contact to prevent that," Misaki said, obviously overhearing them. "So that situation would have occurred." _Who knows, Gunha might have actually noticed his powers weren't working._

"That's the kind of guy he is," Mikoto said. "He would have made sure Gunha-san was fine, even if he got hurt." Mikoto, Misaki, and Ruiko sighed, but they couldn't help the grins forming on their faces. Kazari noticed her friend's expressions and smiled herself, knowing how much Touma had affected all of their lives. Her only worry was what would happen when he eventually became steady with someone. Seria was listening to their conversation, but she was lost in her own thoughts. She was grinning too, but only because of how cute she believed Touma looked when he was trying to save someone, even if he had no obligation to.

"What are you talking about?" Yuna asked and the girls noticed she, Hanabi, and Hibiki were moving closer to them. "Is his power based on touch?"

"Kind of," Mikoto said, not wanting to reveal Touma's real ability. "He can negate long range attacks too."

"He's tough to face when I can't affect his mind," Misaki added.

"Have you both faced him before?" Hanabi asked.

"Heh," Accelerator laughed and everyone turned to him. "They faced him, but not in the way you think."

"They face his level 6 obliviousness," Motoharu added and he and Pierce high fived. Hibiki rolled her eyes and turned back to Mikoto and Misaki.

"How strong is Sogiita Gunha?" Hibiki asked.

"He's super strong and fast," Misaki explained. "He can move at what…Mach 2?"

"He caught my Railgun with his teeth once," Mikoto shrugged.

"What?" Hibiki, Hanabi, Yuna, and even Ruiko and Kazari joined in. None of them had heard about the time Mikoto and Sogiita fought.

"I held back so it was only about thirty percent," Mikoto added. "But still, his power is just ridiculous. He can also make random explosions."

"His regeneration is the most annoying part," Accelerator added. "Normally when someone gets their attack reflected back at them, they learn to quit. With him, he just regenerates and tries again. Bastard won't stay down."

"Both of them are not the type of people to willingly hurt others," Kazari said. "They saved me and Saten-san before, so I don't think they will go all out."

"I'm sure they won't," Ruiko added. "But I really want to see Gunha-san's power. We have such a great view from up here. "

"It is," Yuna agreed. "Today's been the best. I get to watch so many level 5s showing off their skills and the game was a lot more fun than previous years."

"I can't make out what they are saying to each other from here though," Ruiko said, leaning over the edge.

"I'll translate," Accelerator said with a sneer. "Something… something… guts. We don't need to show off our skills. Strong people fight with guts… blah blah blah" He shrugged. "It looks like they are about to begin." Everyone turned to look, but Hibiki glared at him.

"Do you ever say anything nice about anyone?" she asked.

"Only if they deserve it." He sneered back at her.

"You should see him when he's around his loli," Motoharu said grinning.

"Huh?" Hanabi asked, glancing over at them, but she wasn't the only one. Most of the girls were looking at them.

"He's a lolicon," Pierce elaborated, but Accelerator wasn't amused. He reached over and flicked Peirce, sending him flying across the roof.

"Oh?" Hibiki asked, and Accelerator scowled when he saw her sneer. "I guess the great Accelerator has his own secrets, even if it's completely immoral."

"Do you think you can fly?" Accelerator asked her, as he raised a hand.

"Come on Accelerator-san," Ruiko called over. "Let's just watch the show…" A loud boom interrupted her as several different color explosions appeared behind Sogiita.

"Yes," Yuna cheered and everyone except Accelerator and Hibiki joined in. Both of them were glaring at each other.

* * *

"You ready for this?" Sogiita asked, holding out a fist.

"No," Touma replied truthfully. _I really don't want to fight._ "But I doubt you are giving me much choice. How are we doing this?"

"Let's do what your friend suggested," Sogiita said. "I'll come straight at you, no tricks, and you try to block it. We will have a contest of guts!"

"You know I'm not crazy strong like you right?" Touma asked.

"Maybe not physically," Sogiita said, crossing his arms and nodding. "But you have more guts then anyone I have met. After all, how many people have dragons as guts? Losing an arm and summoning a monster, that was amazing."

"If you know…." Touma started to say, and then stopped. "What? You know who I am?"

"Oh course," Sogiita declared. "Regardless of your outer appearance, I could immediately tell it was you. I'm sure you have your own reasons for the disguise, I'm not going to judge. Heroes usually wear costumes to protect their friends and family. "

"I'm not a hero," Touma stated, shaking his head. Sogiita grinned and nodded at his words.

"The thing is," Sogiita continued. "Ever since we fought Misaka-san's weird transformation, I wanted to face you. Your dedication, resolve, and bravery inspired me. Even when things look dark, you charged forward. Your guts managed to manifest themselves as a dragon and destroy the monster that was consuming her. In Italy, I saw the same shadow of that thing. You made me rethink my guts. I always wanted to face you and now I have the perfect opportunity, even if it's just a moment."

"You give me too much credit," Touma replied. "Someone needed help and I was there. As long as everyone can smile in the end, we have the best outcome." Sogiita through back his head and laughed.

"That's the kind of person I respect," Sogiita replied. "Helping others, regardless of risk. We are a lot alike, but I still want to face you. Prepare yourself." He made a fist and thrust it up into the air. Several large, different color explosions erupted from behind him like fireworks. "Are you ready?" he asked, spinning his right arm link a windmill to stretch.

"Fine," Touma said, resigning himself to his fate and bending his knees. "I'll show you my guts by taking your attack head on." Touma didn't like fighting, unless it was to protect someone, but fighting Sogiita was different. It was more of a spar in order for them to test their abilities. Academy City encouraged students to use their powers to grow and even most of the level 5s sought to improve. Touma realized Sogiita saw him as a true rival and wanted to use him to grow in the most professional way. _If I refuse, it's going to be rude to someone who wants to grow the right way. He's not trying to kill people or use underhanded tricks to be stronger. He fights honorably._ He thought he heard girls cheering, but his attention was on Sogiita.

"You are an interesting guy Kamijou," Sogiita laughed, bending his knees. His face got serious as he focused all of his attention onto Touma. Sogiita saw him as a worthy opponent and was about to go all out. Touma had raised his right hand to defend himself and Sogiita decided instantly to target there. He wasn't planning to hurt Touma, but he wanted to see the extent of his abilities. He wasn't sure if he could defeat a dragon, but he was looking forward to trying if it arrived. He gazed at Touma and, even though his face was covered by a mask, Sogiita could see his eyes. _He has resolve, good._ The ground exploded as he pushed off, flying toward Touma had speeds near Mach 2. He made a fist and brought it forward at Touma's hand.

Touma had been carefully watching Sogiita crouch down, preparing to charge. Touma knew, based on Sogiita's personality, he wouldn't try any sudden changes in his attack to flank him. He would be coming straight at him. Touma raised his hand to cause Sogiita to focus on it. Instead of a fist, he had his hand opened, palm out. Touma wasn't planning to attack, but only defend. He was going to catch Sogiita's attack and negate it. He couldn't see Sogiita's high speed movement, but somehow Touma knew when Sogiita was going to move. Touma had already begun moving a split-second before Sogiita charged at inhumane speeds. Touma was only able to take a single step before Sogiita reached him, but that was all he was aiming for. Even if Touma could negate the unknown power in Sogiita's body, there was still momentum. Touma didn't know how much power Sogiita would lose when they collided.

The air exploded as their blows collided.

Dust and dirt was blown away by Sogiita's power, obscuring them from sight. Everyone watching from the roof couldn't tell what had happened. Accelerator was actually interested in seeing what transpired and flipped his choker on to redirect an air current, which push the dust away quickly. With the air cleared, they could see the two guys standing in the middle of the barren grounds. Sogiita had his arm outstretched, but his fist was clamped tightly in Touma's hand.

"That is some power you have," Sogiita claimed, staring straight into Touma's eyes. "I can't feel my ability at all." Touma nodded in thanks, but his mind was racing.

 _AHHH IT HURTS!_ Touma screamed in his head. His entire arm was on fire and he was quickly losing feeling in it. He clenched his teeth to avoid making any sound as he tried to ignore the pain. His hand completely negated the excess strength giving Sogiita his power and speed, but Sogiita was still a pretty strong person by himself. Plus, he was moving forward at high speeds, which caused him to have a lot of extra momentum. The only thing that saved Touma was he had moved forward enough to grab Sogiita's fist, right when Sogiita stepped on the ground. His speed died during the last fraction of a second and prevented Touma's arm from shattering. If he had been in midair when they collided, the momentum might have shattered both their arms. Now, Sogiita couldn't access any of his abilities and his arm was probably hurting too. They stared at each other for a moment, before Touma let go and his arm fell down to his side. "I can still feel your punch," Touma muttered, rubbing his arm.

"Only Accelerator was able to block my attack so easily," Sogiita told him, as he bent his knees slightly. "Let's see how you do against round two."

"I thought we were only going to do one clash?" Touma asked, putting out his sore hand defensively.

"I can't let our fight end with just one stalemate," Sogiita replied grinning. "I haven't had this much fun facing someone in ages. Let's give it all our guts until we have a clear winner."

"Wait…" Touma started to protest, but they were interrupted by a different female voice, obviously magnified, coming from the other side of the gym.

"This is Aiho Yomikawa of Anti-Skill," she yelled, sounding irritated. "The surrounding spectators have been cleared. This is a message to all members of Kami's group. Cease and desist your activities at once. You have five minutes to start evacuating Tokiwadai gym. If you do not, we will be forced to come in after you."

 _Oh shit,_ Touma thought to himself. _It's Yomikawa-sensei and she does not sound happy._ He turned to Sogiita. "I really think we need to postpone this. Can you take me back up to the roof?" Sogiita looked disappointed, but even he could tell the situation changed. He nodded and grabbed Touma, before jumping up onto the school. Touma was more prepared this time for the ride, but his stomach still churned, as his flew through the air. They landed and he stumbled. He tried to move his hand out to stabilize, but his right arm had just gone numb. He was about to fall when Mikoto pushed up and against him and he managed to stay on his feet. "Thanks," he muttered.

"That's what you get for taking his hit straight on," Mikoto reprimanded him, but she smirked. "It was pretty exciting to watch."

"You both were amazing," Kazari added, looking back and forth. "Gunha-san was so fast, but you were able to predict his attack and move to intercept it."

"The shockwave from his sudden stop was huge," Ruiko added excitedly. "We felt the explosion from up here."

"I can see why you both are considered level 5," Hanabi told them.

"If you two ever fight seriously," Yuna told them. "I really want to watch."

"Of course," Sogiita told her, giving her a thumbs up. "I'll make sure to invite everyone to our rematch."

"I'll pass," Accelerator mumbled.

"You really show off how special you are," Misaki said, pushing past Mikoto and standing next to Touma. She had to resist grabbing him in public, because of the camera drones circling above them, but she wanted nothing more than to jump into his arms and give him a kiss. "I was nervous, but knew you would win."

"It was impressive," Seria replied, patting Touma on the shoulder. "Are you okay though? You were having trouble standing there at first." In order to separate herself from the other girls, she purposely mentioned his injury to show she cared more about his well-being than his feats. She knew the other girls felt that way too but, by saying it out loud, it would resonate with him more.

"My arm was a little numb," Touma said. "But the feeling's coming back." He suddenly remembered something important. "Excuse me," he said, moving away from the girls and toward the other guys. "What are we going to do about Anti-Skill?"

"It's not like they could stop me," Accelerator pointed out. "Though SHE's out there and that makes things complicated."

"If you want some good news," Motoharu told them. "It appears Kagere returned alive." He pointed and the other guys turned to look. A shadow strand reached over the edge of the building and Jason pulled himself up. He definitely didn't look to be in the best of shape. His jacket was torn, covered in dirt, and had a large bruise on his revealed arm. "How did it go?"

"I held her off as long as I could," Jason called over to them, panting slightly, as he approached. "But she learned some new moves." He cracked his neck. "When did she learn how to do a German suplex? My neck is killing me."

"Are you okay?" Kazari asked, rushing over to him.

"I'm fine," Jason said dismissively, as Kazari grabbed his arm and looked at the bruises.

"That's all well and good," Motoharu told him. "But that's not important. Did you get a feel?"

"Huh?" Jason asked and Touma wasn't sure what Motoharu was talking about either.

"She pressed her chest up against your back doing the suplex right?" Pierce demanded to know. "That's how you do it."

"Hmm," Jason murmured, before raising an eyebrow. "Oh, yea I guess that did happen. It's hard to remember when you're being slammed on the ground."

"Damn you," Motoharu and Pierce growled, glaring at him.

"But you two will never know the feeling," Jason shrugged. "So…" He stopped when a dark aura started radiating form beside him. The look of shock on his face told Touma he had completely forgotten Kazari was next to him. He was so use to arguing with Pierce and Motoharu in class, he must have forgotten where he was. "It's not like that," he whispered to Kazari, who had turned away from him.

"And here I was worried about you," she sniffed. Jason focused his attention on her and was trying to explain, while Pierce and Motoharu had triumphant looks on their faces.

 _Whew, I feel bad for Jason, but at least it's not me this time._ Touma thought.

"He's right you know," Accelerator sneered, turning to Pierce and Motoharu. "Though, the hero there has more experience with that than both of you, including Kagere."

"W-what?" spluttered Touma. He could feel several dark auras behind him, informing him the girls were listening to their conversation. "I don't have that happen to me."

"Pssh," Accelerator rolled his eyes. "The fourth over there," he actually remembered the ranks changed this time, "has done it on several occasions, plus some of the girls in England. Seriously, are you like in denial or something?"

"Bastard!" Pierce yelled, grabbing Touma and putting him in a headlock. "How dare you rub in your conquests?"

"You idiots are the ones who keep saying those things!" Touma yelled back, breaking Pierce's grip and throwing him to the ground. _I can put up with this when we are by ourselves, but everyone is in ear shot._ He glanced out of the corner of his eye at the girls to see how they were reacting. Misaki looked slightly smug and Mikoto was crossing her arms, looking annoyed. Hibiki was scowling, as if she couldn't believe what they were saying. The rest of the girls had different levels of amusement and embarrassment on their faces. Sogiita was nodding slightly, but that was more of his admiration of the guy's guts in their forceful conversation. _He can't read the mood at all._

"But you are always in those kinds of positions for us to mention," Motoharu pointed out. "So you are partially…" He was interrupted by Aiho speaking through her megaphone again.

"Your time is almost up!" she yelled. "We expect to see some movement."

"I hope you guys have a plan," Mikoto said seriously. "Unless you are actually going to just leave peacefully. Though, I seriously doubt you all will." Her eyes darted to Accelerator, Motoharu, and Pierce."

"I can leave whenever I want," Accelerator stated simply. "And Kagere can too. It's these three that don't have any special way out."

"We don't really care if we are caught though," Pierce added. "Fukiyose-sama already knows we are involved."

"So even if we do escape," Motoharu continued. "We are just going to die on Monday."

"But Kami doesn't want his identity to be revealed right?" Hanabi asked. "Is there anything we can do to sneak him out?"

"If he does get unmasked," Hibiki added. "It's kind of his fault."

"Hey," Misaki told her. "You're smart enough to tell he was dragged here by his friends."

"He could have said no," Hibiki said reasonably. Misaki opened her mouth to argue, but Touma put his hand on her shoulder.

"She is right," Touma told her. "Thanks for sticking up for me, but it was partially my fault."

"I might be able to persuade a couple girls to help you escape," Yuna said thoughtfully. "Give me a minute and I'll see what I can do." She ran to the door leading to the gym and disappeared down the stairs.

"I wonder what she had planned," Ruiko said curiously.

"I'm not in a position to deny any help right now," Touma sighed and everyone except Hibiki laughed.

"It's unusual to see you so worked up," Seria whispered to Misaki, the corners of her mouth twitching. "Maybe you are turning into one of his many fan girls."

"I'll be the one to win in the end," Misaki whispered back. "He won't want an old hag like you when you are sagging and covered in wrinkles."

"Time's up!" Aiho yelled across the grounds to them. "What is your answer?!"

"I think there is only one answer we can give," Motoharu said seriously. The girls got quiet as they heard his tone change. The thought _, he's' planning something big,_ crossed all of their minds.

"If we are going to die," Pierce added. "We die as heroes to everyone watching us. Let's inspire them."

"What are you guys talking about?" Touma asked.

"I have a funny idea I know," Jason said, joining them. "Give us the specifics."

"It's going to cause her blood pressure to rise, isn't it?" Accelerator asked, and Motoharu grinned.

"Come on you guys," he laughed, leading the guys to the edge to face Aiho. "Here's what we are going to say…" He whispered the plan and Pierce, Jason, and Accelerator burst out laughing too. Touma could only face palm.

"That will certainly be our downfall," he muttered, aware the girls were watching them closely.

"Hands in," Pierce said, stocking out his hand, face down. "Come on guys, show your support."

"For glory," Motoharu laughed, putting his hand in the pile.

"To give Fukiyose-sama a heart attack," Jason added grinning.

"I give up," Touma sighed, putting his hand in. "Let's get this over with and I can go crawl in a hole and die." All four guys turned their head to look at Accelerator.

"No."

"Come on," Motoharu prompted.

"No."

"I'll go!" Sogiita said loudly, putting his hand in. "You all have a lot of guts and it would be an honor to join you." His ability must give him super hearing or something, so he knew what their plan was.

"Heh," Pierce laughed. "Don't be the only one left out Accel-kun."

"You can do it Accelerator," Mikoto called out, trying hard not to break out laughing. She was enjoying getting revenge for the mean things he had said to her.

 _Damn third rate,_ Accelerator growled in his head.

"Maybe he's too scared," Hibiki laughed. "I thought he was supposed to be all that."

"Be nice," Hanabi whispered.

"Fine you brats," Accelerator snapped, sticking his hand in. _I swear I'm going to get my revenge on that ice girl and the third rate._ All the guys raised their hands into the air and brought them down in unison, before turning and walking toward the edge of the gym, nearest to Aiho and Seiri.

"What do you think they are going to say?" Kazari whispered to Ruiko.

"If it was just Touma, Accelerator-san, and Kagere-san," Ruiko replied honestly. "I would guess they would surrender now just to end everything, but with Aogami-san and Tsuchimikado-san there, it's going to be something rebellious."

"Why are boys such idiots when they are together?" Mikoto asked, face palming.

"It's a guy thing," Seria told her. "Since most of you go to an all-girl's school, you might not understand. Guys, have this weird desire to show each other up at every chance they get. It must be some hormone in their brains. It's why you see Accelerator getting dragged along with them. He can't ignore their taunts and look weak. You will see a lot more of this in high school."

"In short," Misaki said. "Most guys are idiots." _Except Touma, he's just brave and selfless._

"Definitely," Hibiki agreed.

"To be fair," Kazari interrupted. "We have done some pretty stupid things when we all get together." Hanabi smirked when she remembered a couple things she and Yuna did as first years.

"Especially when Shirai-san is here," Ruiko laughed. "Speaking of which, I haven't seen her today."

"Now that you mention it," Mikoto said, crossing her arms and frowning. "I would be surprise if she didn't know we were all here. Everyone else in the city does. She was after Kagere-san because of that bet." She sighed. "Seriously, where could she be?"

"What is your answer?" Aiho called up to the guys, who were all lined up along the edge of the roof. "Will we be forced to come after you?" There was silence as all the girls watched in apprehension.

All the guys looked at each, nodded slightly, smirked, turned back to face Aiho, and simultaneously yelled out at the top of their lungs.

"YOU WILL NEVER TAKE US ALIVE!"

All the girls' mouths fell open. It had been a consensus the guys weren't going to surrender quietly, but they had never expected an outright declaration of war against Anti-Skill and Seiri Fukiyose, the only girl who seemed to be able to cause terror within the guys. Sogiita had ever made several bright explosions behind them to make them look even more dazzling. Before she could stop herself, Mikoto started snickering and then burst out laughing. Ruiko, Hanabi, and Misaki followed almost immediately, and soon every one of the girls was laughing, even Hibiki. The sheer absurdity of the guy's statement was just too much to bear. Mikoto heard Seiri begin to speak and it was obvious she was not as amused as the others.

"YOU IDIOTS!" Seiri roared up at them. "Don't think any of you are getting away. I know where you all live, even Accelerator and Kagere!"

"Tsk," Accelerator clicked his tongue. "Damn, our teacher must have told her."

"See if I ever write down my real address again," muttered Jason.

"You can come and visit anytime!" Pierce yelled down to her. "But there's a dress code. I have a cowgirl outfit I bought from America. You should be able to wear it…." A megaphone flew through the air and smacked Pierce in the face, knocking him backwards onto the roof.

"If that is the way you want it brats," Aiho finally said, after recovering from shock. "I'm going to let your classmate come up and talk with you. I will be here, taking an important phone call, so I may not be paying attention." She paused, letting the threat sink in. "Then we will come in and take you by force. Oh, expect gym all day Monday you guys."

"Oh crap," Touma muttered, before rounding on Motoharu and shaking his shoulders. "You just caused them to execute a death sentence on us."

"We got this covered Kami-yan," Motoharu told him, removing Touma's hands from his shoulder. "Code red guys. Accelerator, you fly off in that direction. Kagere, you go in that direction, it's going to divide their forces. Gunha-san, if you can, dash another direction to distract them. Aogami and I will head off Fukiyose-san. Kami, you head down stairs and find Ishikawa-san, she should have an escape plan set up by now and she's pretty smart." He looked around. "What are you guys waiting for, GO GO GO!" Accelerator nodded and walked to the edge of the roof away from the others. The wind started whipping around his back after he flipped on his choker. Four tornados formed as he jumped up into the air and took off. Sogiita jumped to the edge of the building, before propelling himself through the air.

"Give me about an hour to lose them and change out of these clothes," Jason called back to Kazari. "Then we can spend the rest of the day together."

"Call soon," she replied, waving, any animosity she had to his early comments long gone. She watched Jason jump and glide to a nearby building, over the Anti-Skill members surrounding the gym.

"I'll contact everyone later," Touma called over his shoulder, throwing the door open. "Thanks for all of your help." He ran down the stairs with Motoharu and Pierce right behind him. The rest of the girls looked at each other and then looked over the edge as they heard voices. They could finally see Seiri up close and she wasn't able to enter the gym because all the other girls were beginning to leave.

"She doesn't look happy," Mikoto said, glancing down at Seiri.

"After what Aogami-san said," Misaki pointed out. "Can you really blame her?" _I really want to go with Touma, but I'm just going to draw attention to him. Once we get out of this, I'll find him. It should be easy enough with my network._

"Oh look there's Aogami-san and Tsuchimikado-san," Seiri commented, as the girls watched. It looked like the guys were about to say something to Seiri, when she proceeded to pummel both of them, as everyone watched.

"Oh my," Kazari said softly.

"Those two deserved it," Mikoto said, shaking her head. _If someone said those things to me, I would probably shock them unconscious._ "It seems like she really is the only one who controls those guys."

"Do you think they are going to be okay?" Hanabi asked.

"They should be," Seiri reassured her. "I hear there are a lot of these kinds of incidents at school."

"I just want to see her beat up Accelerator," Hibiki said, crossing her arms. "It would make my day to see that jerk lose."

"You sound slightly fond of him," Kazari pointed out. "It kind of reminds me when Misaka-san was talking about Kami…. in the early days." She stopped before she accidently said Touma's name.

"It wasn't like that," Mikoto denied, turning slightly red. _Yea, I use to always call him an idiot, but that was back when I couldn't be honest with myself. He still does stupid things from time to time, like today, but he's either helping someone or his friends make him do this._ She had a few flashbacks of all her complaints to Kuroko, Ruiko, and Kazari about Touma never taking her seriously in fights and running away. _He only did that because he doesn't like fighting, unless someone is in trouble._

"I seem to remember I may have been a little curt with Kami the first time I met him too," Misaki reminisced. She had a quick flashback when Touma stumbled upon her during one of the worst days she had ever had. She had been about to erase her own memories when he arrived. She had tried to erase his memories of meeting her, but his hand kept negating her ability. In the end, he had accidently cheered her up and she decided not to erase her own memories.

"Oh," Hanabi said, her eyes glinting deviously. There was always something about siblings where they liked to joke with each other. "I didn't realize you were into guys like Accelerator-san," she said with a smirk.

"W-what?" Hibiki stammered. "I hate rude, selfish people like him. People like that only think about themselves."

"I think she does," Seria said, grinning. She could read Hibiki like an open book. "She's trying to convince herself she doesn't. I bet she likes guys with a strong will."

"That sounds about right," Misaki added. "When you two weren't insulting each other, you seem to be getting along well."

"Why is everyone teaming up on me?"

 _This reminds me of Misaka-san before she confessed to Kamijou-san,_ Kazari giggled to herself. _If it wasn't for Saten-san pushing her into it, she might never have done it. Though, it kind of backfired on her. Speaking of which…._ She looked around. "Where did Saten-san go?"

"Huh?" Mikoto asked, also looking around. "She's gone."

* * *

Touma ran down the stairs and stopped at the bottom. Pierce and Motoharu continued passed him and ran to the exit, where many of the girls were already beginning to leave. Touma looked around, ignoring the girl's stares, and finally found Yuna, who was waving to him. She was standing next to the door that led into the main high school building. He ran over to her, panting slightly. "Do you have a plan so I can escape unnoticed?"

"I do," she grinned. "We got one of our electromasters to unlock the school. Since Anti-Skill is under the impression we are only in the gym, they don't have the entire school surrounded. Rookie mistake for them, right? You should be able to escape straight through the school. We checked and the gate's unlocked too."

"How can I ever thank you?" he asked gratefully.

"Come and visit our school again," she said with a wink. "Today was a lot of fun for everyone and a few people are sad they didn't get an autograph. You need to make it up to them."

"I don't know if I will be allowed too," Touma admitted. _I'm not going to come anywhere near this school ever again._ He had never been so embarrassed in front of so many attractive girls. He had been surprised at how nice most of them were, instead of the stereotypical ojou-samas. _I must have lived every guy's dream, so I should be at least a little happy, but I wish I didn't have to embarrass my friends._

"I figured as much," Yuna sighed. "Get going you two, you don't have much time."

"Two?" Touma asked confused, and turned around. "Ruiko?"

"Hey," she said grinning. Touma hadn't heard her following him. "I figured going with you would be the best way to sneak out of the school." Her real reason though was to leave with him so they could spend time together, even if it was just as friends. She waited a moment, but Touma appeared speechless. "Umm," she said slowly. "We should probably get going." Touma finally nodded.

"Yea," he said. "You're right." They ran through the open door and down the school hallway. "Thanks a lot for your help Ishikawa-san," he called over his shoulder. She waved and shut the door behind them. Their footsteps echoed down the empty hallway and they had a chance to look at the inside of one of the top schools in the world. Touma felt a twinge of jealousy at how nice the school looked, including the lockers, equipment, and classrooms. They finally reached the doors leading outside, and Ruiko opened it slowly, before peering out.

"Coast is clear," she said and they ran the short way to the open gate. "Street's clear too." They ran across the street and took shelter in a side alley. Touma removed his mask and wiped his face.

"Can you grab me a bottle of water to wash this dye out of my hair?" he asked. "I can't go out in public like this."

"No problem," she said, before pulling off her green jacket. "Hold this please. I'll draw less attention without it." Touma nodded and took her jacket. His eyes unconsciously darted up and down her white and red tank top she had been wearing underneath it. Ruiko left the alley and Touma hid in the shadows, praying no one would find him. A couple Anti-Skill vans drove down the main street, but none of the patrols seemed to be coming after him. A very short time later, Ruiko handed him a bottle of water. "Here you go."

"Thanks a lot," Touma replied gratefully. He leaned over and poured the water on his head, while scrubbing. The dye was designed to be washed out extremely easily with water, so even with only a little water, he managed to get it all out. "I'm glad I didn't have to permanently dye my hair." He took off his jacket and wrapped the mask in it. "We should probably find a place to store these until everything calms down."

"Why don't we use one of the storage lockers," Ruiko suggested. "We can use one near our schools. That way, we can just pick them up Monday morning."

"Good idea," Touma said.

"Then we can go do something fun," Ruiko said, fist punching the air.

"Oh yea," Touma said. _I completely forgot we were planning to hang out after this game. The urgency of the escape made it slip my mind._ "You said you wanted to go to the batting cages right?"

"Anything really," Ruiko shrugged. "I'm not too picky. It's been a long time since we did anything with just us two."

"As long as you don't drag me after a crazy ability user or a rogue magician," Touma told her with a grin.

"No promises," Ruiko laughed, before grabbing his arm and pulling him after her. "Let's go and have some fun!"

* * *

 _Can we leave already?_ Mikoto thought to herself, bored, as she and Misaki were leaning up against a wall of the school gym. She was planning to leave with everyone else, but one of the Anti-Skill members stopped her and asked for her to stay behind because they needed to talk with her. Mikoto had frowned, but agreed because she didn't know what they wanted. She waved good-bye to the others, but it turned out Misaki also was asked to stay behind. There was a brief moment Mikoto thought Misaki was about to use her powers to escape, but was pleasantly surprised when she didn't. Anti-Skill was monitoring everyone else leaving so they had to wait a few minutes. "I'm surprised you decided to wait quietly."

"It's not like I had a choice," Misaki replied lightly. "With all the drones flying around, it would have been broadcast all over the city I was using my powers on law enforcement. That would cause more trouble than I would like to deal with."

"Looks like they didn't find him," Mikoto said, watching the Anti-Skill members running around the school. "A couple of them were discussing his disappearance."

"That's good," Misaki nodded. "I know he wouldn't want to be unmasked publically. It would be harder to save everyone if he's that well-known." _Plus, I would have more competition to deal with._

"Any idea why they want us here anyways?" Mikoto asked.

"You know the usual," Misaki said, waving her hand dispassionately. "We are level 5s and shouldn't be getting involved in such childish things like rising to Kami's taunts."

"It was kind of childish," Mikoto admitted. "But, you have to admit, it was fun." They glanced at each other and immediately looked away, both of them trying to suppress their laughter. Mikoto's eyes widen slightly. _When did we start getting along?_ She frowned slightly as she thought about it. _Because we are both after Touma, we spend a lot more time together, but she still infuriates me all the time._

"I wish I could have gone with him," Misaki sighed. "It's so boring waiting here, but I would draw too much attention until the excitement dies down." _I guess talking to her is okay, but she's nowhere near Touma._

"I was planning to spend the day with him," Mikoto commented. "But we got interrupted. After this, I'm going to find him."

"Not if I find him first," Misaki countered. "He much rather be with me. After all," she grinned, "He prefers my well-developed body over yours."

"He's not the kind of person to go with someone based on look," Mikoto snapped.

"That may be true," Misaki replied. _He's a prince, of course he doesn't, or he would have taken my offer to be his a long time ago._ "But he's still a guy. He reacts to it unconsciously."

"You wish," growled Mikoto, but secretly knew she was right. Guys were idiots and only focused on chests or butts. _She always gets on my nerves. There is no way I'm going to give Touma up to her._

"Excuse me," Aiho said walking up to them. 'Sorry to interrupt your conversation, but I suppose you wonder why we asked you both to stay behind." They both nodded. "We had someone request we pull you aside in order to talk to you. We only agreed because she's a supervisor at your school."

"Who is it?" Mikoto asked nicely, but before Aiho could answer, her question was answered. A stern looking woman stepped out in front of them and both Mikoto and Misaki turned ashen. The Dorm Supervisor stood in front of them, arms crossed, and her glasses glinting. She did not appear to be happy, as she gazed down at them.

"I'll leave them to you," Aiho said, gave a salute, and left. Mikoto and Misaki both wanted to call out to her not to leave, but they were silent under the watchful eye of their Dorm Supervisor.

"Thank you," she said and didn't say anything else until Aiho was gone. "So," she said, her voice turning ice cold. "Let me see if I understand what happened. You two," she pointed to each one of them in turn, "decided to answer the juvenile taunt of another student. As level 5s, you know you are supposed to set an example for the other students. I couldn't believe the childish behavior I saw on the news today, five of the level 5s acting so immature. Those guys are lucky I do not have any jurisdiction over them."

 _We really didn't do anything wrong though,_ Mikoto thought to herself, but she wasn't stupid enough to say it out loud.

 _It's not like she can punish us,_ Misaki thought triumphantly. She didn't say anything, but The Dorm Supervisor must have caught a gleam in her eye.

"I can't actually punish you for this," she continued. "You did participate in the game and didn't break the rules. You also didn't actually go against Anti-Skill's orders," Mikoto and Misaki both sighed in relief. "However, I am well within my authority to have you both come back to the dorm with me for a short meeting. If I happen to lecture you both on the way there, that's perfectly within the rules."

Mikoto and Misaki glanced at each other, while thinking the same thing. _Damn it._

* * *

 _Well that was an interesting day,_ Jason thought to himself as he jumped from rooftop to roof top. He took off his mask and was able to breath freely again.

 _Yet you didn't seem to benefit in anyway._

 _I needed a break from my work. You have been out of it for too long. Now be quiet, I need to get back to my room and change._ Jason was a couple blocks away for Tokiwadai before jumping down into a deserted ally. His shadow rescinded and he started pulling off his jacket. While it was very lightweight, the weather was getting warmer. Jason wasn't paying attention, which turned out to be a big mistake. Something hit him in the back of the head and he flew forward. A moment later, his arms were locked in handcuffs behind his back. His head was pounding and he grimaced. "Owe, my head."

"That was easier than I thought," a triumphant girl's voice said and Jason felt someone sit on his back. "I was right in thinking all I had to do was wait until you let down your guard. You tend to get overconfident and ignore your surroundings."

"Can you at least let me lay on my back?" Jason asked. "Having my face in the street isn't pleasant." There wasn't an immediate response, but the weight on his back lessoned and he shifted around to look up at Kuroko, who sat back down on him, a huge grin on her face. "You know I can escape this easily, right?" His shadow began to spread out on the ground to demonstrate.

"I know," Kuroko admitted, but her grin never left her face. "However, this is more than enough to be considered caught. Our bet was I would be the one to catch you and I succeeded."

"Huh?" Jason asked, thinking back to the exact dialogue of their previous conversation. "Damn," he muttered and Kuroko's grin widened. _I wonder if I can come up with a good reason why this shouldn't count._ Unable to come up with a valid reason, that didn't sound childish, his shadow started to recede back into him.

"Now, as the winner, I get to decide on what I want you to do," she laughed triumphantly.

"Oh," Jason asked, raising an eyebrow. His expression changed from frustration to amusement. "I can't wait to hear this. What are you going to make me do? Serve you for a day? Wear an embarrassing costume?" He glanced down at their position. "I see," he muttered, then pretended to nervous. "Please be gentle."

"Don't think you are going to get off that easily," Kuroko told him, ignoring his last joke. "We never had a time limit on how long I had to decide. I'm going to make sure I come up with the perfect revenge."

"Not bad," Jason said, slightly impressed. "Looks like you learned a lot." He suddenly got slightly serious. "You do understand I won't do anything that will hurt Kazari right?"

"I wasn't going to suggest anything like that," Kuroko sniffed. "While it might hurt you, she's my friend and I won't hurt her."

"I thought I was your friend too."

"Barely," Kuroko responded. "But…" She froze when she heard a familiar voice.

"Shirai-san," Mitsuko said, appearing around the corner to the ally. "I thought I saw…." She stopped, speechless, as she looked into the alley. Kuroko was sitting on a guy, who was laying down in the street with his hands cuffed behind his back. She had seen the report of Kami on the news but, by the time she arrived, the problem had already been solved. "Umm, what's going on here?" She hid part of her face behind her fan. Kuroko had no idea what to say, so Jason took it in stride.

"Hey," he greeted cheerfully. "Don't mind us. Kuroko is just into some weird things."

"I'm sorry," Mitsuko said, turning red. "I didn't know you were meeting someone." She turned and left before Kuroko could find her voice.

"Why did you say that?" she demanded, grabbing him by his collar and shaking him vigorously. _The rumors I have a boyfriend is going to escalate again, ARG!_

"Eh," Jason shrugged. "I wasn't sure who she was, but I recall seeing her at your dorm when Touma and I were there. You know her?"

"Yes," Kuroko sighed. "She's almost as annoying as you are."

"Almost?" Jason asked. "I must be slacking off. I guess I need to work harder."

"Don't work harder on something stupid," Kuroko snapped, while chopping him on the head. She jumped off him and turned in the direction Mitsuko ran off. "I have to catch her now and think of an explanation. Don't forget our bet though. I'm going to make you regret every joke and prank you ever pulled on me."

"I look forward to it," Jason laughed and watched her leave. When she disappeared from sight, his shadow flowed out of his sleeves and into the handcuff locks, opening them. He pocketed them, planning to give them back to Kuroko, and started walking to his apartment. _I wonder what she will come up with. I'm sure it can't be that bad. If it was Shokuhou, I might actually be worried._

 _You and that girl just need to go all the way already._

 _Eh, I'm seeing someone else._

 _I believe there's a word for this, polygamy?_

 _Harem is a better word, but I'm not interested in dealing with the stuff Touma does right now._

* * *

Shizuri stood in the bathroom, looking at a broken mirror. _Damn it, the pain is getting worse._ Her eyes were bloodshot, her hands kept trembling, and her head felt like it was being bashed with a sledgehammer. She staggered out of the bathroom and threw herself in a sofa chair. The table in the living room was smashed, the TV was broken, and the remains of a lamp were in the corner. Rikou handed her a glass of water, which she drained and looked up at the ceiling. _I'm lucky the pain isn't constant, but when it hits, I can't do anything. That bastard didn't say it would be this bad._ She glanced at Rikou, who was watching her. "I'm fine now."

"…Do you need anything?" Rikou asked.

"I need these fucking headaches to end," snapped Shizuri.

Rikou frowned ever so slightly, trying to decide what to say. There was nothing she could do to stop Shizuri's suffering until her powers ran out of control. Rikou could only tend to Shizuri's demands and try to make her comfortable. She only had to dodge the lamp, everything else Shizuri broke was either with a punch or a kick. _It was probably a good thing the others left when they did. Hamazura might have gotten seriously hurt. I think Kamijou is the only one who could keep her calm through this._ She briefly considered contacting him, but decided, unless the situation was dire, she would avoid doing so. She didn't know how his hand would affect her overloading ability. "… You should get some sleep while you can," she suggested instead.

"Like I can sleep when my head keeps fucking feeling like it's going to explode," she growled and sighed. "I suppose you're right though. I didn't get much sleep. The worst thing is being cooped up here all day. I'm going to rest a bit and then we need to go out and purchase some more of my tea, we are out."

"…I could go by myself," Rikou offered.

"And what would happen if my power went out of control while you were gone?" Shizuri pointed out. "You are not allowed to leave my side until this is over, not even for a minute. Understood?" Rikou nodded. "Good, I'm going to try to sleep, maybe I should drug myself and see if that helps." She entered the bedroom and collapsed on the bed. Rikou walked back to the living room and sighed.

 _I could really use some help, but Mugino didn't want anyone to know about this yet. I hope the others are okay since she sent them away. It should just be a routine security mission, but something tells me this day isn't going to be normal._ She used her AIM stalker to find Frenda, Hamazura, and Kinuhata to determine if they were safe. Not detecting any abnormalities, she stopped concentrating and pulled out a magazine. She couldn't even sleep in case Shizuri needed her.

* * *

Accelerator flew over the city at full speed, glad that he brought extra batteries for his collar. He didn't want to participate anymore in this stupid game and took off his jacket immediately. _I can't wait to get back and sleep. I hate getting up early. Maybe I will be lucky and the brats will be out doing something so I have the place to myself. Yomikawa will be too busy with Anti-Skill to bother me for a while._ He landed in the street about a block away from the apartment and walked the rest of the way. He unlocked the door and stepped in, before he heard several voices. _Damn, they're here and they brought company, great._ He shut the door and walked into the living room.

The TV was on to a news station, but the three girls weren't watching it. Last Order, Worst, and, to Accelerator's surprise, Estelle were sitting in a circle, each of them playing a handheld game. Worst seem to be laughing at Last Order, who kept grabbing her head in frustration, but her back was to Accelerator so he couldn't see her expression. Estelle looked much more normal without her cloak that she liked to wear. She seemed to be trying to help Last Order, but her skills in video games must have been subpar. Accelerator was planning to sneak unnoticed into his room, but Worst saw him when she looked up. "Well well," Worst said sarcastically. "Looks like the star of today's game has finally graced us with his presence."

"What are you talking about?" Accelerator snapped.

"We were watching your adventure on the news," Estelle said, looking up from her game. "You were really impressive in your fights sensei. The cameras kept giving close ups."

"Misaka noticed you seemed to have found a new friend," Worst laughed. "You and that ice girl seemed to be hitting it off. The moderator kept Misaka entertained with her negative thoughts."

"Huh," Accelerator replied and he frowned. The part about negative thoughts Worst said made him realize something important. Normally, when he arrived back at the apartment, Last Order would virtually tackle him in order to tell him about her day, even completely normal things like eating cereal. Right now, she still had her back turned him and seemed to be focused on the game. "You okay brat?"

"MISAKA is fine MISAKA lies as MISAKA tries to keep her attention on her game." Worst smiled evilly, but Estelle felt like she should remain quiet and try not to draw attention to herself. Accelerator knew for sure something was wrong, because he was beginning to see a dark aura around the normally cheerful girl.

"What misunderstanding did you come to this time?" Accelerator sighed, knowing Worst said something to further make her believe something that didn't happen.

"Misaka thinks you should see it for yourself," Worst snickered, as she grabbed a remote and pointed it at the television. "Misaka made sure to record it specifically for you." Accelerator knew this wasn't going to be good, judging from the fact Worst looked so happy, and looked at the screen.

Accelerator was greeted by a view over Tokiwadai High School. He recognized it from one of the droves that were monitoring the entire situation after they had stolen one for their announcement. He and the others were standing on the roof talking. The camera wasn't close enough to catch their words, but it zoomed in on their faces. From who was there, this was before Misaki and Mikoto showed up, but after they had made their announcement. Accelerator hadn't been forced to leave the roof and deal with the first couple waves of intruders, so he was talking with the others, but the camera decided to zoom in on him and Hibiki. "That's obvious the number one level 5 Accelerator," a male announcer said from off camera. "You can recognize him from his build and white hair. He's a known friend of the level 5 Kami. It looks like he is showing some interest in the girl from the tournament a couple weeks ago. Her name is Hibiki Nakano, a level 4 from Tokiwadai High school."

 _Fuck,_ he thought, as Worst fast forwarded to the next couple scenes. _I'm going to find that announcer and kill him._ He saw another couple of clips, where it was he and Hibiki were talking, more like arguing, but the camera didn't catch that. The announcer continued to make stupid comments about them and Accelerator was getting irritated. It was obvious Worst only recorded those sections, but the announcer still had the nerve to say those things. Accelerator didn't know it, but the announcer was saying all sorts of comments about everyone, including praising Accelerator about his powers. Worst just made sure to edit those out. The few minutes of footage was enough for Accelerator to realize what was happening. Unlike Touma, he wasn't completely dense. "The trash that idiot was saying is not true," Accelerator snapped. "There is no way I would be attracted to someone so fucking annoying."

"You tell MISAKA she's annoying MISAKA states sadly as MISAKA turns around." Accelerator saw Last Order eye's appeared to be slightly watery and he felt slightly guilty.

"Arg!" Worst yelled grabbing her head. "Misaka doesn't care about if Tou-san likes her, but she can't help it. Fine" She moved over to Accelerator and grabbed his arm. "Just cheat with Misaka so the brat will finally give up on you."

"Get off," Accelerator growled. "You are the most annoying one of all."

"Misaka isn't going to take that lying down," Worst said, dashing off into the kitchen. She returned a second later and threw a plastic cup full of water at him. He ducked and it flew over him, but Estelle wasn't so lucky. She got drenched and her black underwear was quite visible through her white top.

"That's cold," Estelle said unbashfully, trying to wring out her shirt.

"Cover up MISAKA yells as MISAKA waves her arms in shock. You are completely exposed MISAKA adds urgently." Estelle looked down at herself and tilted her head in confusion, which just made Last Order turn redder. Last Order turned around and looked at Accelerator, who looked away slightly red. "MISAKA knew it MISAKA accuses. Accelerator likes well developed girls MISAKA adds as MISAKA is on the verge of tears."

"What the…?" Accelerator started to say, but Worst saw a chance and interrupted him.

"That's why Misaka has a better chance than you," Worst said to Last Order, leaving forward and emphasizing her assets. Last Order's mouth fell open and Worst headed to her room laughing.

"Fine MISAKA shouts." Last Order stood up. "MISAKA knows when she's not wanted MISAKA says as she storms off to her room." Before she slammed the door shut, she glanced out the door. "If you don't need MISAKA MISAKA informs you. MISAKA will take back the network MISAKA says as MISAK revokes Accelerator's access." A second later, Accelerator fell onto the ground, unable to stand up, as Last Order's door slammed shut.

"Are you okay?" Estelle asked, trying to help him up. Because Accelerator couldn't move his body at all, all she could do is help him onto the couch. "What happened?"

"Don't worry about it," Accelerator mumbled. _At least she left my speech center up._ "She will eventually get bored and come back." He purposely diverted his eyes away from Estelle's shirt, which was still soaked and revealing her underwear.

"I think you should apologize," Estelle told him.

"I didn't do anything," Accelerator rebuked defensively.

"Even so," Estelle continued. "She believes you did and she's just a little girl. You can be the bigger person." Accelerator glared at her for a moment and sighed.

"I'll let her cool off and see what happens," he muttered. _She can be perspective sometimes, yet she is still completely oblivious about her appearance._ He looked at the time and sighed, before he realized Estelle was taking off her clothes. "What are you doing?!" he yelled.

"I'll catch a cold if I continue to wear wet clothes," Estelle stated simply.

"Do it somewhere else!"

* * *

"Everything running smoothly on your end?" Teitoku asked, as he sat in a chair access from Ricane, the young man with goggles, and a strong looking man with a long suitcase on the floor next to him. He was speaking to a girl on a speaker phone, so the others could hear her.

"Looks like the formula combination has yielded positive results," the girl said. "We are ready to mass produce it when you give the signal."

"Excellent," Teitoku laughed. "Dr. Ricane, your assistance has been most helpful."

"It is all give and take," Ricane replied. "You recreated my lab perfectly. I can finally focus on my work. Don't forget you agreed to retrieve a piece of technology for me."

"I have one more task for you," Teitoku told the girl on the other end of the line. "I'll send you the address, but a delivery is scheduled to be dropped off at a lab. You will need to give them about an hour to connect the device to the other half. Dr. Ricane will send you the data on what it is and how to transport it. Take some of those puppets we helped. They should be willing to do anything to show off their new abilities."

"You give them a little power and all they want to do is use it," the girl laughed. "Trash will always be trash. That's fine. I was getting bored anyways. A little field work is exactly what I need." The line disconnected and Teitoku stood up, looking pleased.

"Now," Teitoku said, looking at the young man with goggles. "Your next assignment is to find Shizuri Mugino and her friends."

"Why?" he asked and Teitoku made a fist. The guy immediately gulped and remained silent, knowing he should have just agreed.

"That bitch ruined my plan once," Teitoku replied. "I'm going to kill her and her friends. You are going to locate them, hack every security camera you can until you do. If you fail, you know what's going to happen to you."

"I can find them," the guy said confidently. "No sweat."

"That's what I expected to hear," Teitoku growled, before turning to the last man, who had remained silent the entire time. "I doubt they will all remain in the same place. You are going to help hunt them down, but the Meltdowner is mine, you can kill the others." The man nodded in agreement. "Anything else I missed doctor?"

"After he finds the Meltdowner's group," Ricane said slowly. "I could use him to investigate a new lab that was recently set up."

"Oh?" Teitoku asked. "Is this your research or ours?"

"Both," Ricane replied leaning forward and crossing his hands. "While not magic related, it has to do with an interesting ability. The lab is studying the eighth rank level 5, Kami."

"That idiot? He seems completely useless."

"If they developed a lab," Ricane continued. "They must have found some information to study to examine his negation ability. Think about it. What if he can negate your dark matter?"

"Then I'll kill him with magic or drop a car on him," Teitoku replied. "But, I see your point."

"I only had a brief glance, but the lab appears to be almost fully electronic. A very small number of people have access. Security is top class."

"If all the locks are electronic," the guy with goggles spoke up. "Should be easy to bypass. If there's no external links, most of the level 5 databases are separate systems to avoid data leaks, it makes it even easier. No accidental alarm signals going out to notify Anti-Skill."

"You still have your other priority first," Teitoku reminded him sternly. "You can sneak into the lab afterwards. Just copy their data and bring it back when you're done." The young man nodded. "It's going to be a good day. First the formula is finally complete and now I can kill that weakling and her friends for daring to interrupt my work." He looked over at Ricane. "You said you are going to show me a powerful piece of magic today. What is it?"

"Since there doesn't seem to be a limit on the number of clones you can make," Ricane stated. "And you have the option to link them together or not. We should be able to produce spells that rely on numbers, more than raw magical power. "I'll teach you a spell I learned from the Roman Catholics, but can't actually perform myself. It's called the Gregorian Chant and its destructive ability should make the Meltdowner's attacks look like a mosquito's bite."

* * *

"How are you so good at this?" Ruiko asked, leaning back in her chair.

"Practice," Touma grinned, on the other side of the game machine. They were playing a one on one fighting game at the arcade and Touma was dominating. A couple people had even stopped and started watching in awe of his skills. "My friends and I come here a lot, so I've gotten pretty good at predicting moves."

"Maybe you have real world experience helping you," Ruiko suggested, pretending to be suspicious. They both laughed and got up to play another game. "Now it's my turn to win," she declared, pulling him to virtual batting cages. "Let's see how good you are."

"Now this isn't fair," Touma pointed out. "At least the other one we both agreed to. This is blatantly one sided."

"I don't know what you mean," Ruiko laughed, as they grabbed the gear and took their spots. The game was pretty simple, someone stood in the marked spot and the virtual screen pitched a ball, while they swung the bat. Motion sensors tell exactly how hard and where you hit the ball. The game went exactly at Touma predicted. He did relatively well for not playing the game a lot. He managed to hit most of the balls and even a few home runs, but he didn't make it into the high scores. Ruiko on the other hand blew the top score of her machine out of the park. She hit every pitch and most were home runs. She was only a couple pitches from a perfect score. After putting her initials in the top spot, she stepped out, looking triumphant. "Virtual sports aren't the same. Nothing beats the feel of actually hitting the ball."

"You still are amazing," Touma told her, looking at her score. She blushed, but he missed it.

"Let's get something to eat," she suggested, trying to hide her happiness at his praise. She wanted this day to just be two friends hanging out, rather than an actual date. While she would love if it was a date, she knew he needed a normal day to relax. She finally had him to herself and wanted to enjoy it too. "We passed a hamburger place we could go to."

"I'm game," Touma agreed and they left the arcade. While they ate, they discussed everything that happened that morning, including exactly how Touma's friends dragged him into that mess. After they had escaped the school, they found a coin storage locker to hide their uniforms. They then stopped and watched the news, which was still reporting on the invasion of Tokiwadai during the Anti-Crime event. Touma finally got to see what it looked like from the outside, and he believed the announcers didn't understand the problems they caused. The drones focused more on the level 5s, so Ruiko didn't get seen much, something both of them were relieved about. The issue was the announcers kept focusing on Hibiki and Accelerator. _Accelerator's not going to be happy about that._

Once they finished that topic, they started talking about their friends and school. They still had around a month left of school before summer break and both of them were not looking forward to final exams. Out of all Touma's friends, Ruiko was perhaps the most normal academically. It wasn't as if he disliked his other friends, but she always reminded him of what he was returning to after a life or death struggle. He was glad she was one of his friends. She also wasn't a huge pervert like Motoharu and Pierce. When they finally left the restaurant, they still hadn't decided what to do next.

"Didn't you say you wanted to go to the real batting cages?" Touma asked.

"It's too hot right now," Ruiko said, pulling at her tank top. "I think I would actually like to go someplace with air conditioning."

"There's the underground mall," Touma suggested. "We could walk around there until we come up with an idea."

"That reminds me," Ruiko said, reaching into her pocket. "I almost forgot I had these. I think they expire soon." She fished around until she pulled out two tickets. "Tada, two tickets for a free round of mini golf in the underground mall."

"Mini golf?" Touma asked, raising an eyebrow. "Like what kids play?"

"Adults play it too," Ruiko huffed, but then she winked at him. "Though, wasn't today 'Act Like a Kid' day?"

"Huh?" Touma asked, completely confused. "What do you mean?"

"Let's see," Ruiko said, pretending to think. She started counting on her fingers. "First, you go and sneak into an all-girl's school…"

"You know that was…"

"Then," she continued. "We played video games, ate hamburgers, and complained about school work. I'm pretty sure we are acting enough like kids today to play mini golf without being embarrassed." Touma opened his mouth, closed it again, and smiled.

"Touché," he said. They looked at each other for a moment, and then burst out laughing. "You know what, let's do it." Ruiko nodded happily and they had just started walking toward the underground mall when a girl's voice interrupted them.

"Excuse me. I'm terribly sorry for interrupting your fun, but I need to talk to you.

Her voice made Touma freeze but Ruiko didn't recognize it. After all, she hadn't participated in the attack on Buckingham Palace and never actually heard her voice in person. Touma turned around on the spot and took a step forward to put himself in between the girl and Ruiko, his arm outstretched protecting her. Ruiko turned around right afterwards and her eyes widen in recognition. They both could only speak a single word. "Eve..."

"In the flesh," Eve smiled. She was wearing a bright yellow sun dress and a broad brimmed hat. Her blonde hair, normally shoulder length, was now much longer and braided into two long pigtails that were hung over her shoulders. She was smiling at them and her blue eyes were twinkling. "I'm sure you know," she continued. "I need to talk to you about something important that concerns all of us."

Touma glanced over at Ruiko, who was completely speechless with a combination of shock and fear. He sighed, remembering Juliet's words. _Eve's going to make us go with her, one way or another. Such misfortune._

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **I also have some interesting news. Turns out someone I know has gotten into drawing anime. .I talked with them and they are going to look at the anime. Once they familiarize themselves with it, they are going to try drawing some scenes for this story. I'm looking forward to this and I'll post updates as I find out anything new.**

 **Pierce: Looks like things have gone back to normal again.**

 **Motoharu: Yep, and looks like Kami-yan is back to his usual tricks.**

 **Touma: You make it sound like it was my fault. What happened to you guys anyways?**

 **Pierce: Fukiyose-sama killed us.**

 **Seiri: The rest of you guys are next.**

 **Mikoto: Looks like Accelerator got what he deserved, but why did I get stuck with the Dorm Supervisor and Shokuhou?**

 **Misaki: If you didn't act so childish and cause a scene with Accelerator…**

 **Mikoto: I didn't ask you.**

 **Kazari: Be careful Saten-san. This is your first time encountering Eve.**

 **Ruiko: Don't worry, Touma's here. He won't let her do anything.**

 **Me: I suppose I should choose someone to do next week's chapter….**

 **Kuroko: Wait, stop!**

 **Me: Huh why? You did one recently.**

 **Kuroko: I need ideas for the punishment game from the readers.**

 **Jason: Woah now. You need to come up with your own ideas. Don't steal others.**

 **Kuroko: All is fair in love and war.**

 **Accelerator: So is this love?**

 **Mikoto: She finally admitted it?**

 **Kuroko: No! This is war.**

 **Kazari: Why is everyone staring at me?**

 **Me: You know what? Fine, people give her ideas. THIS FIC IS RATED T! Do not forget this.**


	71. S3 Nonviolent Choices

**I had so much fun writing this chapter this week, I actually got done a little earlier than I originally thought. Eve is really entertaining to write. She's a lot like Lessar in away, where it's hard to actually go over the top with her. Anyway, I know a lot of people wanted her to reappear and they should enjoy this. We are now going full steam ahead with plot and a lot of things are happening. The next few chapters are going to be a roller coaster of action and excitement. As for all the suggestions for Kuroko to get back at Jason, I'm actually a little disappointed. There were a lot of good ideas, and most of them I toyed with, but there wasn't the one person who just gave an idea so amazing, my brain immediately went into overdrive to see if it worked. I have an idea though and it should please most people.**

 **Oh, next Index novel is coming out in August and I can't wait. Now, onwards to commenters.**

 **Whwsms: Oh, I can tell you for sure, Seiri is not through with them by a long shot.**

 **Brosephg: The doctor in Academy City is pretty good, I recommend him. Oh, you might see something in this chapter that might make you realize something interesting. Drugs are bad, m'kay?**

 **wildarms13: I am really excited I found someone who would be willing and not charge me a lot. I'm poor and do this for fun. He hasn't seen the series yet, so he's got to get familiar with it first. SO it will be a little bit.**

 **Geust: I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but I laughed at those lines.**

 **Salishious: A lot of stuff is happening. Hardest part is keeping it all together.**

 **RPGPersona: I like the way you summarize the chapters. You keep the main events, notice the smaller things too, and you add the right amount of comedy to make it fun to read.**

 **Anon: … Yea… You get a time out in the corner.**

 **AxelLord20: I like to think so, but I just need to get this one girl to feel the same way about me.**

 **321jaz: Comedy can only last so long without plot. Gunha is pretty perceptive when he wants to be, but he likes testing out his strength against strong opponents.**

 **Agent Nine: I knew you were looking forward to Gunha's big return, but I always planned their fight to be stopped pretty quickly. They must meet again, right? All good things must come to an end.**

 **Swoob: I read that spinoff, and I don't think I can type that line without dying.**

 **Anon Guest: I could see him doing that for fun.**

 **general ironox: As I said before, Gunha can be pretty perceptive, even if he can't read the mood. He could tell Kami and Touma had the same aura.**

 **Samuraidragonfrog: It could happen. I kind of like the story to write itself and sometimes the scenes turn out a lot differently when I first picture them in my head.**

 **Guest0: Excellent idea, but some of those girls might be a little tough.**

 **Hilem: With the Accelerator series picking back up, I was hoping to see more of her. I'm interested in seeing all her skills, especially all the detail behind her necromancy.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

 _Why do these things always happen to me?_

Touma had no idea how this happened. One moment he was hanging out with Ruiko, doing completely ordinary things, the next, he was following Eve through the park as she was skipping through the rows of ornate flowers. Ruiko was walking next to him, her face looking exactly like he felt, a mixture of confusion and worry. "What should we do?" she whispered nervously. "You have dealt with her more than I have."

"I don't know," Touma admitted. "She doesn't appear to be hostile today, but she's so unpredictable." He glanced at Eve for a moment, noticing she was taking a balloon from a vender with other kids. "She acts like a child, but you know the kinds of things she did in England. Plus, we can't really report her to Anti-Skill because it would start causing conflicts between magic and science. She wants something, but I don't know what."

"So we can't do anything?"

"I secretly sent a text to Jason," Touma whispered. "He needs to know at least because he might be able to contact someone to help." They were silent for a little bit before Ruiko spoke up again.

"Because I know what Eve is capable of," Ruiko muttered back. "Watching her act like a little girl is strangely… disconcerting. It's almost like the events in England were just a misunderstanding, even though I know they weren't."

"I feel the same way," Touma replied, frowning, as Eve skipped out of the park and headed to a small shady looking store. "It looks like she found a new destination." They followed her and, before she walked in, Eve turned around to look directly at them.

"You don't need to come in," she said sweetly. "I saw something nice and I'll be back out in a moment. Try not to miss me too much." Touma and Ruiko looked at each for a moment but, before either of them could say anything, Eve was already in the store. They shrugged and leaned up against the side of the building, waiting.

"Any reply from Kagere-san?" Ruiko asked and Touma checked his phone.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "He might not be paying attention to his phone since he's with Uiharu-san." He sighed and leaned his head back. "Today has been a weird day," he muttered and Ruiko let out an unwilling giggle.

"Eve is supposed to be after the wings of Lucifer, correct?" Ruiko asked and Touma nodded. "If she's coming here to talk to you, she probably needs your help to get it."

"I think so too," Touma admitted slowly. "But I don't know why she thinks I will help after what she did to us. There's also the chance she's after my hand. She mentioned they were interested in using it."

"She must have some bargaining chip she plans to use," Ruiko said thoughtfully. "What could it be?"

"I can't begin to imagine," Touma said dryly. "All I know is it will not be good for me or you." He paused. "Sorry you got roped up in this. I thought we would be able to have a normal afternoon for once."

"It's not your fault," she said quickly. "You couldn't control this and she even said I could stay. If she really wanted me gone, I couldn't stop her." Touma still looked depressed and Ruiko was determined to make him feel better. "Hey," she told him. "Cheer up, just think of this as an adventure."

"I'm almost completely use to these kinds of things happening to me." He sighed again. "I just don't want my friends getting involved in the dangerous parts."

"You know Misaka-san was always gets mad at you when you think that way. She would always complain to me and Uiharu about how you ran off when she tried to help. We all know about magic now, so you don't need to keep everything bottled up. I know I'm not strong like she is, but I'll help you however I can."

"Thanks, but I doubt, even with the others, we could stop her. She took on an entire army with us taking part and we still ended up in a stalemate."

"She is really strong," Ruiko admitted. "But if she's really the Eve in Christianity, then wouldn't she be the oldest woman on earth and have the time needed to learn all magic? It would be expected for her to have all that power."

"I'm gone for a minute and you two are already talking about me behind my back?" Ruiko and Touma turned around instantly and saw Eve watching them closely, a small bag in her hand. She had evidently heard the last bit of their conversation. Her eyes were watering and her cheerful face was now depressed. "Why do you say such hurtful things? I was just buying a gift for Adam and I come back to hear you two talking about how old I am. Do I really look that bad?" She sniffed and Ruiko unwittingly found herself trying to calm her down.

"No," Ruiko denied quickly. "That's not it. We were just wondering about you because you are so interesting and unique. Right Touma?" She turned her head to face him with a look that said, _play along._

"Er, yea," Touma quickly agreed. "We weren't saying anything bad about you. I was actually curious about what someone with your artistic sense would be after in a small shop like this."

"Really?" Eve asked, wiping her eyes with her hand. "I believe you. After all, you two are really nice and wouldn't say bad things about others." Ruiko and Touma had felt slightly guilty, when they looked at her sad face. They couldn't help it, even knowing she had tried to kill them all in England. Eve suddenly became her cheerful self after her tears were wiped away. "If you are so interested, I'll show you." She reached into the bag and pulled out a small doll made of black stone with long black hair wrapped around it. "I saw it and knew I had to get it. It's a cursed doll originating in Africa. You are supposed to give it to someone and it curses them with bad luck."

"Please don't give it to me," Touma pleased, holding out his right hand. "I have enough bad luck as it is."

"You don't need to worry about that," Eve laughed. It was surprising how clear and pleasant it sounded. "First, your hand would negate any curse on it, so it's not like you would have any problems. Second, I'm sending it to someone else."

"Who?" Ruiko asked curiously. _Who would she dislike so much as to send a curse doll?_

"Adam," Eve said with a straight face. "His birthday is coming up and I needed to get him something. I'm sure he will like this."

"Wouldn't he be affected by the cur…?" Ruiko started to ask, but Touma waved her silent. He didn't want Eve to give the doll to someone else and ruin their life.

"I have to ask," Touma said, pulling the topic away from Ruiko's question. "You said you wanted to talk to me, but so far all we have been doing is walking around. What did you need to speak to me about?"

"Oh?" Eve asked, a devilish smile appearing on her face. "Straight to the point? I thought we could have fun doing normal things but, if you insist, let's find a comfortable place to talk." She led them down the street, looking around, before seeing someone that caught her eye. She smiled and turned back to Touma. "How about there? We can get a private room and talk without worrying about others." She pointed innocently to a building and Touma and Ruiko's mouth fell open.

Eve was pointing down another street to a fancy love hotel, complete with a flashing neon sign.

"No!" Touma half yelled, as Ruiko blushed and looked at the ground. _Is she channeling Lessar's spirit or something?_ "Choose a normal place."

"You're no fun," Eve responded, pretending to pout, but her face was still permanently cheerful. She skipped down a different street, forcing Touma and Ruiko to walk faster to keep up with her. Eventually, Eve stopped in front of a store that sold cake and had an outside venue for people to sit. Eve forced both of them to sit down and she came back with a strawberry cheesecake for all of them to share. After cutting out several pieces, Touma noticed Eve gave the biggest one for herself, Eve sat down, took a bite, and sighed happily. "Academy City makes the best cakes."

"I thought you had the power to create things," Ruiko asked. She couldn't help it. "Couldn't you just make your own cakes?"

"Food is complicated," Eve answered, her focus obviously more on the cake than Ruiko's question. "If I was just making an apple or something, sure, but combinations of ingredients to make a delicious cake is tough. My cakes are edible, but aren't nearly as good." Touma took a bite of his piece, was forced to admit Eve was right about the city's cakes, before trying once again to bring the subject back to an important topic.

"Why do you want to talk to us Eve?" he asked. _Sitting around and eating cake is fine and all, but Eve is up to something and the sooner I know what, the sooner I can try to stop it._

"I really just need to talk to you," Eve corrected him. "She just happened to be with you." She gestured to Ruiko. "But that's fine, I could use extra insurance." Touma didn't like the way she said that. "Anyway, I suppose I need to give you a short explanation, so you understand why I need your assistance. It may be a little long, so do try not to interrupt me too much. I understand you will have questions, but do try." Touma nodded slowly and Eve smiled. "In exchange for listening, I'll answer a question truthfully from each of you. How does that sound?"

Touma's eyes widened. _Any question just for listening and I don't even have to agree to help her? We could learn of her plans and how to stop her._ He glanced over at Ruiko, who seemed to be thinking hard. He caught her eye and she shrugged. She then moved her head slightly and motioned for him to answer. It was obvious to him she was going to go along with whatever he decided. Touma sighed, turned back to Eve, and nodded. "We accept." _It's not like we could refuse to listen to her. She definitely wouldn't take kindly to that._

"Yay!" Eve cheered and leaned back in her chair. She looked quite pleased with herself. "And Adam had the nerve to suggest you would be as stubborn as a mule. Now, where should I begin?" She sat up again and stared at Touma. Something changed in her demeanor, which caused Touma to want to scoot his chair back. She was still smiling, but her eyes were no longer full of radiant joy and amusement. They turned slightly darker, more focused, like a predator. Whatever Eve was about to say, Touma knew It was going to be true and it would not be a pleasant talk.

"As you know," Eve continued. "We have recently acquired several wings. We now only have one more left to go. This is where it gets complicated. The last wing is here, in Academy City, which you might have guessed." Touma opened his mouth, but Eve stopped him. "Hush you, and let me continue. Yes, we know for a fact the wing is here, so don't bother asking how we are sure. The person who created this city acquired it and used it for his own desires. After he was finished with it, he found a place to hide it many years ago. A place we are having trouble reaching, even with our power."

"That doesn't make any sense," Touma interjected. "Academy City only focuses on science. Most people here don't even believe in magic, let alone know that it exists."

"There are plenty of organizations that blur the line between magic and science," Eve laughed. "Let alone single individuals. I believe you know someone like that, do you not?" Touma went silent, knowing Eve was right. Jason was one such individual, and then also what Lessar had told him about Leivinia Birdway's group ruling over magic and science.

"What could he have wanted with the wing?" Ruiko asked.

"From what I understand," Eve said. "He summoned something into this world in order to gain knowledge he was seeking. The exact subject, I don't know, or really even care. It doesn't have anything to do with our plans. We try not to get involved in other people's fun." She giggled. "However, when he decided to throw the wing into a place that doesn't exist, it became our problem." She frowned and took another bite of cake to cheer herself up.

"A place that doesn't exist?" Touma asked, completely lost.

"You could almost say it's imaginary," Eve laughed. "And that is why it's so problematic." At her words, Ruiko's eyes widen in recognition.

"Could you possibly mean the Imaginary Number District?" Ruiko asked hesitantly.

"Oh," Eve said, turning her head toward her in interest. "You actually know about it? I'm impressed. Only a few people know about that rumor."

"It's kind of hard to prove it exists and no one really knows anything specific about it. It's one of the rumors I have been following online."

"You are mistaken," Eve told her, with a devious glint in her eye. "What if I told you Academy City knows it exists and there are research facilities studying it."

"What?!" Ruiko gasped.

"How would you even know this?" Touma asked. _Damn, this is going to be the worst case scenario isn't it. She has spies everywhere._

"I had a small chat with a scientist who works in the city," Eve explained. "I don't know much about the city's abilities or this thing called the AIM field. From what I was told, the Imaginary Number District exists parallel to Academy City and was created by all your AIM fields being in one location. The thing is, Adam and I can't get up and stroll into this district. The place is so thin there are no shadows, no weight, and no air flow. There is no sense of existence. You can't exist there, no matter how powerful you are. I personally tried to get in." Ruiko froze, but was listening intently, her curiosity getting the better of her. Touma found himself frowning, as something she said was triggering an old memory of his.

 _I feel like I heard this before._

"Perplexed by this quandary," Even continued. "I sought our contact out in the city again. It took a lot of negotiation, he said my previous payment only covered the first round of questions, and I learned there was a unique individual who was formed in the Imaginary District. It seems they are the key and were the only being capable of transporting between the district and Academy City. I don't know the specifics, I wasn't too interested in the technical jargon, but I understood she's the conscious form of all the AIM fields that make up the district. Really, science is just full of surprises." She paused and ate a bite of cake. "Anyway, Juliet and I decided to pay her a visit. I think she misunderstood our intentions because we were a little forceful in our first encounter."

BAMN!

Ruiko jumped in her seat, surprised at the sudden noise. She turned and saw Touma had stood up and slammed his hands down on the table looking, for one of the few times she could remember, seriously angry. "What's wrong Touma?" she asked, but Touma's attention was focused solely on Eve.

"What did you do to Kazakiri-san?" he demanded. "She wouldn't hurt a fly. Why would you use force against her?"

"Oh good," Eve replied happily. "You do know her. My contact said he saw you together once, but wasn't sure how close you were."

"Kazakiri?' Ruiko muttered. _That name sounds familiar._ "Wasn't she that girl with glasses I saw with Index once?" she asked Touma, who briefly nodded.

"Did you know she's not really human?" Eve inquired, knowing full well she didn't.

"Who cares?" Touma answered instead. "She still has thoughts, feelings, and desires. She's an important friend to Index and me. Kazakiri-san also saved a lot of people's lives when Vento attacked the city. So once again, why did you attack her?"

"I didn't so much attack her," Eve clarified. "Juliet and I found her and tried to talk to her. For some reason, she didn't trust us. Can you believe that?" She pouted for a minute. "Juliet got impatient and tried to bind her, but then the girl disappeared. We tracked her down two more times and tried different approaches, but nothing helped. I talked with our contact again and he supplied us with material that could help," Eve grinned but didn't elaborate. "However, I would prefer not to use it, which is where my request to you comes in."

"What do you want me to do?" Touma asked suspiciously. "I'm not going to help you capture her."

"Nothing like that," Eve scoffed, waving her hand dismissively. "I would prefer her cooperation, rather than trying to force her to retrieve the wing. I simply want you to talk with her first, so she won't run away from me. This will give me the opportunity to explain myself to her and convince her to help me. Once she retrieves the wing, I'll leave the city and none of you will see me again. Well," she glanced over at Touma, "you might randomly stumble into me if your luck persists." Eve laughed at the double meaning of her comment. "So, what do you say?"

"No," Touma said firmly.

"Excuse me?"

"I won't do it."

"Why not?"

"I have several reasons. One, I know what you are planning to do if you collect all the wings and a lot of people could be hurt. Two, I don't trust you. For all I know, you are going to try to kidnap her as soon as she goes near you. I'm not going to let you hurt her. My answer is no." Ruiko beamed at him.

"Do you understand I'm going to go after her now, right? There might be a lot more people injured because of your stubbornness."

"No, there won't."

"Oh, you can see the future now?"

"If you try to hurt anyone, I will be there to stop you." Touma held out his fist. "I won't let you hurt my friends or anyone else for that matter. I don't care how strong you are, I won't let you do as you please and treat other people's lives like toys." Eve and Ruiko stared at him. Ruiko felt her face flush with a combination of embarrassment and admiration. Touma's words rang with truth and Ruiko had no doubt he would be the first person to stop Eve if she tried to hurt someone else. Eve stared at him for a moment longer, and then suddenly burst into tears. Her cries were loud enough to cause a couple nearby people to look over at her.

"Ah!" Ruiko exclaimed, turning to look at Touma in shock. "What's happening?"

"I-I w-was just trying to solve everything peacefully," Eve wailed, causing more onlookers to stare. "A-and you are accusing me of being a horrible person." She blew her nose into a napkin. "Why is everyone so mean to me? I even bought both of you cake."

"We aren't trying to be mean," Ruiko said quickly, moving over and patting Eve on the shoulder. She didn't really want to, but at least her actions made all the onlookers turn away and back to their own business. "He was just pointing out your plans have some problems when you are willing to hurt other people." _I can't understand this girl at all._ For some reason, she was feeling sorry for Eve, even though common sense told her not to be and this was all acting. _Is this some kind of magic or is she a really good actor?_

"But he won't help me solve it nonviolently," Eve cried, burying her face in Ruiko's shirt. Ruiko looked at Touma and both of them had similar expressions of bewilderment on their faces. Touma felt like he was missing something important, but he couldn't figure out what. Eve had just told them she was willing to be violent if she had to, but now was crying when Touma wouldn't help her find the last wing. It was almost like she had multiple personalities, an innocent child and a devious mastermind.

 _That might be why it's so hard to read her,_ he thought.

"You're chest isn't bad for its size," Eve mumbled, her head still in Ruiko's shirt.

"Hey!" Ruiko cried, pushing Eve off her and retreating. She covered her chest with her arms and her face turned red with embarrassment. She might not have been so overly sensitive, but Touma was sitting right next to them. "We have more serious matters right now you know." She glanced over at Touma, who was deliberately avoiding eye contact.

"Well I feel better," Eve said cheerfully, after making fun of Ruiko. "I suppose it was a long shot to get you to help, but I figured it was worth a try. You sure there's nothing I can do to change your mind? Money, fame, power, girls…. guys? I don't judge."

"Nothing," Touma replied firmly. _I still don't know any details about what she's trying to do or where Adam is. Actually, I should find out where he is now and pass that information to Tsuchimikado. He can forward it on to Stiyl and the others._ After Eve sighed, Touma spoke up. "You said each of us could ask you a question, since I listened to your request, right?"

"I suppose I did," Eve said thoughtfully, and then grinned. "You each get one, but you don't get the chance to talk to each other about what to ask." She pointed to Ruiko. "You go first, but hurry up. We all have things to do."

"Er…um..." Ruiko said, looking at Touma and thinking fast. She was surprised at having to think of a question on the spot. _What should I ask? It should be something important, right? Maybe learning about her would be useful in stopping her. I vaguely recall Itsuwa-san and Agnese-san debating if she really is Eve._ She wasn't sure what else to ask, so she took a deep breath. "Are you really the first Eve? The one from the bible?"

"That is an interesting question," Eve said, sounding slightly impressed at Ruiko's question. "Let's see, how about… yes and no."

"Huh?" Ruiko and Touma asked, unsure of what she was saying.

"Am I physically the first Eve," Eve elaborated. "No, I can ensure you I am not. Adam and I are linked in this world far beyond what you two science side students could understand. The first humans were created by God, not born by man. When we die, our memories get passed on when we are reborn in the cycle. It is why we have powers mankind cannot wield. We have knowledge from eons ago. Even if you kill us, our memories will pass on to another person and our plan will continue to proceed. You can't win. All you can do is delay." She laughed, while Ruiko's and Touma's blood froze.

 _She talks about killing so easily,_ Ruiko thought. _She said she would be honest, but this explanation is so… unbelievable. Her memories actually get passed on? How would that even work?_

 _I should tell Tsuchimikado about that for sure,_ Touma thought, as he tried to process Eve's explanation. From what he knew about memories, passing them on after death wouldn't be possible, but he didn't understand magic enough to be sure of that. _Let's say there's a spell or something to bring back memories, Juliet said she was just a memory and her body was gone, but I have no way of proving if her words are true or false. Memories can also be manipulated, Misaki is living proof of that with her ability. What if someone modified her memories to actually make her believe she is the original Eve? Could she not be the final boss?_

"You seem to have put on a serious face," Eve said, leaning over the table to get a closer look at him. "Are you constipated? Do you need to use the toilet?"

"What? No!" Touma shook his head while Eve laughed, and even Ruiko gave a slight giggle. Eve was able to break the seriousness of the situation in an instant. _It's really like she has multiple personalities._ "I was just thinking about what you said."

"It is pretty impressive," Eve agreed, misinterpreting, most likely on purpose, what he meant. "Well it's your turn now. What would you like to know?"

"I want to know…" Touma started to say, when his phone buzzed. _Jason must have seen my text, about time. How am I going to answer it with Eve right across the table?_ He moved his hand to his pocket while, at the same time, looking at Eve. She was staring back at him with a smile and an expectant look on her face. Before he could say anything, she spoke up.

"Go ahead and answer your phone," Eve told him kindly. "It will give me a chance to finish my cake." She stuck her fork back into her piece, put the cake her mouth, and sighed happily. It looked like she was in heaven when eating such a delicious treat. Touma pulled out his phone and looked down at Jason's message.

 _You send an emergency text and what happens when we assemble? We find you and Saten-san on a date with Eve._

 _We?_ Touma replied quickly.

 _Look around, DISCREETLY!_

 _What the…?_ Touma thought and his eyes darted around the restaurant. The first thing he noticed was several of the other customers at the restaurant were slowly moving away from them, leaving Touma Ruiko and Eve alone, surrounded by empty tables. He was confused at first, but then saw gold stars in a couple of eyes. _Misaki's here?_ He looked around a little farther out and found her bright blonde hair. She was leaning up against a building, holding a remote, with Kuroko and Mikoto standing next to her. Mikoto caught him looking and gave him a brief nod. Touma sighed internally and his eyes darted to another couple of people. Jason and Accelerator were on the opposite side of him, as the others, and were watching from a side alley. _It seems like Jason summoned the others, but is this going to be enough?_

"So what's your question?" Eve asked, watching him closely.

"Er," Touma said, turning his attention back to her. "Sine you are here, where is your companion, Adam, and what is he doing?"

"Oh that's an easy question," Eve said, laughing slightly. "I suppose hoping you would ask an interesting question was a bit of a long shot." Touma felt a twinge of annoyance. "Since I'm in charge of gathering the last wing, he is currently setting up the ritual to unite them all together after I succeeded. He will then use the combined wings to recreate Lucifer's body. As of where he is, there's only one place perfect for the ritual."

"Which is…?"

"The most God forsaken place on earth."

"Where is that?" Touma asked impatiently.

"Sorry," Eve told him, not looking sorry at all. "You only get one question. I answered your question and I'm sure one of your magic friends would know what that means, so I'm not going to make it easy for you. Do a little research yourself, it will be good for you. Now," she paused and looked highly amused. "Are you going to invite your friends over to join us or just make them watch from a distance? It's quite rude you know."

"Our friends?" Ruiko asked surprised and looked around. "When did they show up Touma?"

"Just recently," Touma answered. "That was what Jason's text was about. I suppose we should call them over." He waved at his friends and finally managed to coax them over. Mikoto, Misaki and Kuroko were the most hesitant, but Jason and Accelerator walked over almost immediately. The rest of the girls followed them.

"So," Accelerator said, glaring at Eve. "You finally returned. I didn't get a chance to crush you in England."

"It almost sounds like you don't like me," Eve stated, and then her eyes widened it realization. "Oh I see. You are one of those male tsunderes, right? This is your way of flirting with me. I didn't realize I was so popular."

"You bitch," Accelerator snarled and Touma had to spring to his feet. He and Jason held Accelerator's arms back before he could reach his choker.

"Don't start a fight," Touma muttered. "If we all get serious, the entire area is going to become a warzone. She enjoys antagonizing people." _Eve doesn't seem nervous at all and she's surrounded by three level 5s._ Misaki moved silently around the table, until she was next to Touma, and, when Accelerator calmed down, she leaned over next to his ear.

"I cleared everyone away," Misaki whispered. "I figured it would be better to play it on the safe side."

"I saw," Touma acknowledged. "Good idea. I don't think she's planning to cause trouble now, but you can't be too sure with her."

"What are you doing here?" Mikoto demanded, looking directly at Eve.

"Oh the usual," Eve replied. "Enjoying cake, seeing the sites, acting like a kid, devouring the souls of the innocent. Normal everyday satanic stuff."

"W-what the…" Mikoto stammered for a moment and then her face went red in anger. "Tell me the truth!"

"Because that's sure to make her," Misaki muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Shut up."

"You know," Kuroko said. "Even if you aren't doing anything wrong right now and we can't use the events in England, since they were covered up and officially don't exist. You are still a trespasser in Academy City. That's more than enough reason to detain you." She scowled as Eve laughed, highly amused.

"You might have trouble with that," Jason told Kuroko. "It's best to treat her as having diplomatic immunity, unless you see her actively doing something wrong. Any confrontation is bound to escalate far beyond what we can handle." Kuroko smacked him on the head.

"Don't tell her that."

"I'm pretty sure she already knows."

"Are you going to tell us what you are doing with Touma and Saten-san?" Mikoto asked Eve again.

"She just wanted to talk," Touma said quickly, trying to prevent any escalation.

"It's true Misaka-san," Ruiko added.

"As much as I enjoy causing problems for entertainment…" Eve explained.

"Like some people," Kuroko muttered, glancing at Jason.

"…This time I actually came here on a mission of peace." Eve continued. "I just wanted his help in solving something nonviolently, sadly, he chose not to." That statement caused Touma to receive several surprised looks. No one could believe that. Accelerator was the first to realize something is off.

"Did you asked him to marry you or something in exchange for leaving the city?" he asked with a smirk.

"How did you know?" Eve asked with a wink. Accelerator raised an eyebrow and Touma's mouth fell open in shock. Naturally, two girls were not amused and immediately moved between Touma and Eve.

"That has to be a lie," Mikoto snapped.

"Even if it was," Misaki added angrily. "You only want him to further your own plan."

"You caught me," Eve laughed, amused at their expressions. She looked like she was having more fun than she had for a long time. "I did ask him for help and he refused. Then we talked about me a little bit, until you all showed up." Mikoto raised an eyebrow skeptically and turned to Ruiko for confirmation.

"It's true," Ruiko confirmed quickly. "We can tell you all the details after this." Mikoto nodded and turned her attention back to Eve.

"Give me a reason why I shouldn't just crush you now," Accelerator told Eve. His patience was reaching its limit. _This bitch and her organization have caused me too many problems already._ He took a step forward.

"Wait!" Kuroko yelled at him. She was about to teleport in front of him, but Jason already threw out his arm in front of Accelerator. "You can't fight her here."

"Shokuhou-san only cleared the immediate people," Jason muttered to Accelerator. "You know what she is capable of. The entire area would be destroyed."

"I know, right?" Eve giggled. "I was thinking of maybe making like ten or so phoenixes and scatter them over the city. I'm sure everyone would be amazed." Touma's blood froze at how easily Eve was talking about destroying a city and killing countless people. "But," Eve continued. "I suppose if you all attacked me at once, including the power you used against a member of God's Right Seat," Eve pointed to Accelerator, who looked surprise. "Yes, I saw that fight. It was very entertaining." Touma looked at Accelerator and he shook his head, indicating he wasn't going to answer questions. "You might be able to stop me, but it would all be for naught."

"Why do you say that?" Mikoto asked.

"Ask her," Eve said, pointing to Ruiko. "I told her everything already. Plus," she raised her hand and it started to glow a deep purple. "I doubt you all could handle my power. You have only seen my creation magic, not my chaos magic."

"Don't," Touma warned, pushing to the front of his friends and holding up his right hand.

"Chaos magic?" Kuroko asked, unable to restrain herself.

"This magic is fun and exciting, like me," Eve explained. "Anything can happen and I don't have control of what the outcome is. You could turn to stone, grow extra appendages, wake up tomorrow as puppies, or even die. Anything is possible." She laughed at their stunned looks. "Are you willing to test your luck?" There was only silence, before Misaki spoke up.

"Why would you tell us this?" she asked. _She's obviously not planning to attack us. If she was telling the truth, at least partially, she needs Touma to do something for her._

"For my amusement," Eve stated simply, lowering her arm. "It's not like I am trying to fight today. This was purely a mission of peace. I'm going to leave now. I can tell when I'm not wanted." She made a fake sniffling sound, which no one bought. She pushed back her chair and stepped away from the table. Touma was wondering how she was planning to leave, but a black limo rolled up and stopped right in front of her. The driver door opened and a single man stepped out. He was wearing a suit this time, but his face and brown hair streaked with silver was a dead giveaway.

"CAIN!" Touma and Mikoto cried, taking a step back. Accelerator, Kuroko, Misaki, and Ruiko looked at them curiously. The only one who didn't was the person who could sense magic among them. Jason's face had gone white and he felt the endless amount of mana the man possessed.

"Did you think you could defeat him that easily?" Eve asked, as Cain walked around the limo and opened the door for her. She slipped into the seat and looked at them. "I think I will destroy any, what's the world you like to use?" she looked at Touma. "Oh yes, illusion, that you had in defeating Cain. He was holding back against all of you. His job was to protect Juliet, who I heard your associates were bulling."

"Birdway attack her, yes," Mikoto admitted. "But your masked troops attacked us first."

"Trivial technicalities," Eve replied dismissively.

"You know what," Accelerator said, stepping forward and flipping his choker on. "I'm tired of her smart mouth. I put up enough of it with the idiots in our class. I'm going to end this fight now."

"Cain…," Eve said softly. Cain nodded and stepped forward. He simply raised his eyebrow and everyone was hit by his Hunter's Presence.

Touma's body was frozen once again with sheer terror and couldn't move. His brain wouldn't think straight and he wanted to flee, but couldn't budge. His hand finally negated the attack and he quickly tapped each of his friends to remove the fear effect. Mikoto was the only one who had been hit by the spell before and everyone else was gasping, their faces showing similar expressions of disbelief and shock. Accelerator glared at Cain, but his face was paler the normal. Touma could only imagine what kind of thoughts were going through Accelerator's mind. _It bypassed his deflection ability, that's got to have hurt his pride._

"That was just a little lesson," Eve called out through the open window after Cain closed the door. He then went around and sat in the driver's seat. "I was going to leave without doing anything today, but you all really entertain me. So let me return the favor, enjoy my magic." She reached out her hand and a flash of purple light engulfed them. Touma held out his hand reflexively, but there was no sound of breaking glass.

"Huh?" he thought. _There was definitely magic, but nothing happened. I don't feel different._ He looked at the others and everyone else seemed normal too.

"Nothing happened?" Eve asked, sounding disappointed. "Unless your bones turned into chocolate or something, it must be a delayed effect. Let me know what happens if you see me again." She gave Touma a small wave and Cain pulled the car away. She rolled up the window and sighed. "Well, it went exactly as Adam predicted. He won't help us talk to her. It looks like we have to forcefully materialize and capture her then."

"The one known as Accelerator will not be happy," Cain replied. "Even if he was affected by my Hunter's Presence, there was something off about him."

"He might be the only one to give you problems," Eve admitted. "Avoid a direct fight if possible, or finish him off fast." A loud clang interrupted their conversation and Eve looked down at the limo floor. A large box made out of black metal was ratting slightly. "She's still stuck in there? Wow, I didn't expect this metal to be so effective. Refined, it not only negates the city's abilities, but magic as well. Juliet, how much damage is your shadow going?"

"Nothing," came Juliet's muffled cry from the box. "But why did you make me test it out now? I wanted to meet all of them with you, and then strangle the tramp next to Romeo."

"That's exactly why I put you in there," Eve sighed. "You are level headed unless he's around. I'll let you out when we are further away."

* * *

Back at the restaurant, Touma was checking up on the others.

"I hate that magic," fumed Mikoto, stamping her foot. _My electricity blocks other mental control abilities, so why does Cain's power affect me?_ She grabbed her head in frustration. _I hate magic so much because I can't understand it at all._

"What was that?" Misaki asked, sitting down to avoid passing out. "I was so terrified and couldn't move at all." She could only remember one time she was anywhere near that scared. It was when Touma almost died the first time, but she had still been able to move and help as best as she could. Cain's magic caused the same fear, but worse. _That fear brought up those horrible memories. I don't want to go through that again._ She shivered slightly.

"I want to know as well," Ruiko said softly. _That was so terrible. I felt like I would never be happy again. I just wanted to run and hide._

"Saten-san!" Kazari cried, appearing out of nowhere and running up to hug her. "I'm glad you are okay. I heard you and Kamijou-san had met Eve and feared the worst."

"We're fine Uiharu," Ruiko said, patting her back. When Kazari let go, she turned to Mikoto. "What was that magic?"

"We were told it's called Hunter's Presence," Mikoto explained. "It is magic based on the hunter-prey relationship, like how some prey freeze in spot when a predator passes by."

"What kind of bullshit explanation is that," Accelerator snapped. "There's no one that could be anywhere near a predator against me."

"Magic isn't designed on what is," Touma explained as best as he could. "It's based on the past events to affect the present."

"There are abilities that can trigger or manipulate emotions," Kuroko said reasonably, as she crossed her arms and rubbing her shoulders. "But I thought it just increased or decreased what you were feeling, not cause an emotion to completely overpower everything else." She glanced over at Jason. "You are awfully quiet. Did you suffer that badly?"

"Cain," Jason muttered. "Damn, that explains the mana." He looked over at Touma and Mikoto and uttered a single word. "Vampire?

"Yes," Touma nodded. _Of course, Jason might know rumors about Cain._ "What do you know about them?"

"Mainly fighting them is a stupid idea," Jason answered. He looked around at Kuroko, Misaki, Ruiko, and Kazari, all of whom had their mouths open in surprise. Accelerator was scowling, but was at least listening. "Oh right, they wouldn't know. I assume Misaka-san knows based on her reaction. Quick explanation it is then. Vampires don't have weakness like sunlight, garlic, and stakes. They have virtually infinite mana, are immortal, and have super regenerative properties. You couldn't sense it, but his mana was off the charts. Facing a vampire would be like facing an Accelerator level opponent. You just don't do it and expect to live."

"Damn straight," Accelerator mumbled.

"It looks like Birdway's spell didn't destroy him," Mikoto told Touma.

"Looks like it," he replied. "But she could have made a new one with her book."

"If Cain's real," Jason mumbled, more to himself than the others. "That means there could be two vampires left on earth."

"Two?" Misaki asked. "Vampires were just supposed to be myths and now there's not one, but two?"

"The one is southern Russia is just a rumor," Jason shrugged. "Even I'm not stupid enough to go looking for one."

"There's a first time for everything," Kuroko mumbled.

"How did you find us anyways?" Touma asked. "We moved around a lot."

"She was broadcasting her location with mana," Jason told him. "She WANTED to be found. I just passed it on to the others. I had Kazari stay back in case things escalated to send out a warning."

"What are we going to do now?" Kazari asked. "I know we can't go to Anti-Skill about this, but…"

"Tell us what she was talking to you two about," Mikoto said. "That would be a good place to start."

"Okay," Touma nodded. "Here's why she contacted me…" It took a few minutes for him to tell the others about Eve's request for him to help her catch Hyouka Kazakiri. Mikoto and Ruiko were the only two who had seen her before and Touma had to explain who she was and show them a picture on his phone. What really interested the others was Hyouka being a self-aware combination of AIM fields. Touma was relieved he didn't have to stress she was his friend and a good person. The other's agreed to help, even Accelerator, though Touma had a feeling it was because he had a better chance to run into Eve. He also gave them a short explanation on Eve's answers to Ruiko's question. "I don't think we will have a lot of luck running into Kazakiri-san, but if anyone sees her, please let me know."

"Of course," Misaki replied instantly. Kazari, Kuroko, and Ruiko nodded.

"We won't let anything happen to her," Mikoto promised. Jason and Accelerator were oddly quiet.

"Thanks," Touma said feeling slightly relieved. _I'm glad I have such great friends. I use to have to deal with this all alone. I wish they wouldn't put themselves in harm's way so easily though._ "One last thing, Eve said Adam is in the most God forsaken place on earth. Any idea where that is?" Everyone shook their heads. "Jason? From a magic perspective?"

"I don't know," he said, shrugging. "Depending on where you are from or what you believe, a God forsaken place could be a single location, a city, a forest, or even a country. We would need more information."

"Thought I would try," Touma sighed. "I'll check with Index. She's the one who normally finds Kazakiri-san."

"I'll let you know what I find out," Misaki added. "I know a lot of people who can watch for me around the city." Touma nodded in thanks.

"If that's all…" Kuroko started to say, when a loud piercing sound came from her pocket. She looked down and pulled out her phone. She wasn't the only one, as both Kazari's and Jason's phones were blaring noise too. "There's some big Judgement emergency. Konori-senpai, what's going on?" There was silence as she listened. Kazari was scanning some information on her phone and Jason was talking to someone else. "Shit," she said, snapping her phone shut. "A large number of students have gotten into a free for all in one of the park districts. They all seemed to have boosted abilities. Higher ups are requesting all nearby available personals to help."

"What?" Mikoto asked. "Do you need help?"

"It should be fine onee-sama," Kuroko told her. "Anti-Skill is with us, so we should have plenty of people. Besides, you know you shouldn't be interfering with Judgment business. I'll let you know when I'm finished…"

"Wait a minute Kuroko," Jason said, holding out his hand. He was still on the phone. "Okay, I agree completely." He hung up and looked at her.

"What?" she asked. "You know this is an emergency." Kazari hung up her phone and was watching them silently. The others were looking at each other, but didn't want to get involved yet, since they didn't know all the details on what was going on. Though, Accelerator was only listening because it might concern something else he was interested in.

"Two break-ins at high security facilities have just occurred," Jason told her quickly. "We believe the fight is just a distraction. I'm going to check out one, it's almost fully automatic, but it's closer. The other one is too far away for me to get there in time. I need you to go and check out that one."

"Are you sure?" Kuroko asked skeptically. _I was asked to help out with the park…_

"I need you to trust me," Jason said. "I'm sure the fight is a distraction, but we don't have time. You need to decide fast." Kuroko looked at him for a moment.

 _He actually seems serious,_ she thought. _I doubt he would joke about something like this either. His jokes usually only irritate me, not actually add the risk people could get hurt._ "Okay," she conceded. "Give me the location."

"I just sent you and Kazari both locations," Jason said, closing his phone. "Kazari, any information you can give us before we reach there will be helpful."

"I'll do my best," Kazari said. "There's a Judgment office nearby I should be able to use."

"Great," Jason said. "Let's go." Kuroko teleported off in one direction, Kazari ran in another, and Jason used his shadow wings to leap in a third direction. _What is going on? Is Aleister trying to do something? This is going to interfere with my plans. The timing couldn't be worse._

"I'm going with Uiharu to see if she needs any help," Ruiko called back, running after Kazari. "I'll catch you all later."

"I'm worried," Mikoto mumbled. "This can't be a coincidence, can it?"

"I'm thinking that too," Touma said. "But there was another group stealing research data right?"

"They must be after something big," Misaki added. "We still don't know who is in charge of the thefts though."

"I'm going after Kuroko," Mikoto announced. "If I hurry I should be able to keep up with her. Be careful everyone." She magnetized herself and propelled herself up to a nearby building. She continued to fly from building to building after Kuroko.

"Accelerator?" Touma asked. "Where are you going?" Touma had just noticed he was walking off on his own and had pulled out his phone.

"I'm going to meet someone," Accelerator replied. "Don't wait up." _Tsuchimikado better have some information on this. I am going to find that bastard Kakine and rip him apart piece by piece. Maybe I should have told the hero about him… I'm sure it's fine. He's got enough to worry about with Eve._ Touma and Misaki watched him go in silence.

"What are you going to do now?" Misaki asked. She knew Touma well enough to know he was going to do something. _Is he going after Shirai-san or Misaka, maybe to stop the fight in the park?_

"What do you mean?" he asked, avoiding eye contact.

"Don't try to act innocent," Misaki said, pretending to pout and put her hands on her hips. "I know you are going to do something in order to help. It's one of your traits I adore so much. Tell me and I'll help you anyway I can."

"I can't hide anything from you," Touma admitted. "I was going to go look for Kazakiri-san. While I am worried about the fighting going on, she's no match for Eve. I have to make sure she's okay. I can't keep up with Jason or Shirai-san and Anti-Skill will not be happy if I try to barge in."

"I understand," Misaki said. "I'll gather my friends to help search. If we see any sign of her, I'll let you know."

"You're the best," Touma told her and she beamed. Before he could say anything else, she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. She pulled away and Touma's face felt hot.

"I've missed that," she said, her cheeks slightly red. "Now go out there and do what you are best at."

"Thanks," he muttered again, unable to say anything else. He ran off until Misaki was out of sight. _Hmm, I should contact Index. She might have an idea where Kazakiri-san is._

* * *

"This is super boring," Saiai complained, leaning up against the wall, throwing wads of paper at Shiage to get a rise out of him. "It's obvious no one is going to steal anything in this shithole."

"Then go find something to do," Shiage mumbled from the desk he was sitting at. He got the boring job of sitting at the security desk and monitoring all the security cameras. Saiai and Frenda were alternating patrols around the lab. _The doors are electronically sealed, only openable from the inside. The windows can't be opened and are made of reinforced glass. They can't be broken easily. This lab doesn't even seem that important. All Mugino told us was the lap did some ability research, but the scientists I talked to were just looking at normal modifications to the curriculum._ He pulled out a handheld game and started playing, trying to ignore the wads of paper being thrown at him.

"I'm going to tell Mugino you are playing games while on a mission," Saiai told him.

"You brought a magazine," Shiage replied, pointing to the table next to her.

"Don't back talk me," Saiai said, pushing herself off the wall. "Or I'll super make you regret it." She smashed her hand down on a metal table and left a very impressive dent.

"Hey now," Shiage said, pushing his chair away from her. He noticed a movement on one of the cameras and turned his head. "Frenda's on the way back, so you will at least be able to move around." Saiai huffed and a moment later the door to the security room opened and Frenda walked in. She looked as bored as Saiai and she threw herself onto a chair, spinning herself around.

"Still nothing," Frenda reported. "This lab doesn't look like anything special, not like the last one. The equipment can be found everywhere in the city." She paused and looked uncertain.

"What are you implying?" Saiai asked, and even Shiage was listening intently.

"This mission of ours," Frenda continued. "Basically, I think Mugino might have used it to keep us occupied."

"For what reason?" Shiage asked. "She's not the kind of person to send us on pointless endeavors. Plus, you two would freak out if you weren't getting paid for this." A book flew through the air and hit him in the face. Frenda didn't appreciate his tone.

"We have things we want to buy," Saiai said irritated. "When you start pulling your weight around, maybe you can learn what being wealthy is like." She turned back to Frenda. "I super see your point. My question is, if she wanted us away from her, why did she keep Takitsubo with her instead of sending her with us?"

"I don't know," admitted Frenda.

"Do you think it might have something to do with how she didn't look well this morning?" Shiage asked.

"If it was anyone else, maybe," Frenda said. "Basically, Mugino isn't the person to let a cold or fever stop her from participating in a mission."

"Maybe she super wants to go meet Kamijou secretly," Saiai said, laughing slightly. Frenda's head turned so fast, Shiage hurt a pop.

"There's no way!" Frenda cried, rubbing her neck before she calmed herself down. "Basically, she wouldn't have tried to hide it. She would have told us she was meeting him and leave it at that."

"True," Saiai conceded. "She likes to rub it in, especially to the Railgun."

 _I don't know if Kamijou is a lucky or unlucky bastard,_ Shiage thought. _Having Mugino interested in him is dangerous. One wrong move and he could be killed. Frenda likes him too, but she won't admit it outright, so he obviously has away with girls. I haven't seen him since the mall, but I definitely want his help in trying to ask out Takitsubo. He would be my boss for life if he can do it._ "Since we really don't have anything else to go on, we should probably treat this security detail as a real mission. Is the perimeter secure?"

"Look at him," Saiai mocked, turning to Frenda. "He's trying to act all professional. I bet he wants a raise now. He might actually get one if he wasn't so Hamazura-y."

"Let's humor him," Frenda laughed. "The only way I see people entering the lab is from the windows. Basically, the lab seems completely vulnerable with every floor except the central area having a direct route outside. Ever this security room has it," she pointed to the large window behind them. "I checked them and they are heavily reinforced. I could throw a couple bombs at one and I doubt it would even crack. If we get attack by those robots again, they would have a difficult time getting in."

"So we are super going to have nothing to do," Saiai yawned. "Make yourself useful and pass me a drink." She pointed to the bag near Shiage.

 _You could get it yourself,_ he thought, but opened the bag and tossed one of the bottles of water they brought with them. Frenda grabbed a magazine from the table next to her and opened it. None of them were too worried about this mission. Even thought they were curious about what made Shizuri send them off on a mission without her, they were professionals. Their questions could wait until after the mission was complete. What they didn't know was a single man had just reached the rooftop of a building, overlooking the lab, a couple blocks away.

An adult male was standing on the roof, looking down at the lab the three members of ITEM were currently in. He had short black hair, strong facial features, solidly built, and tall. His name was Chimitsu Sunazara, one of the most renowned snipers in Academy City. He was well-known by both Anti-Skill and the dark side. Next to him was a large briefcase. After putting down the binoculars, he leaned over and opened the case. Inside the padded case were several segments of a sniper rifle, more specifically, a modified MSR-001. The MSR-001 was a magnetic sniper rifle, instead of using gunpowder, which reduced the recoil and increased the fire power.

As he positioned the sniper and gazed down the scope, his mind was concentrating purely on the task at hand and all the variables involved. _Wind is light from the west, only 1.3 meters per second. Sun is behind me, and will hide my presence. The issue is those windows. I can't be sure what they are designed to take, so I'll play it safe._ He reached into the case and pulled out several special bullets and flipped a small switch on his sniper. The bullets were designed to spin at high speeds, causing the bullets to be superheated by friction and increase their piercing power. With the power and speed his gun could produce, it would take a very think steel wall to stop it.

Chimitsu gazed down the sight of his sniper again, slowly positioning it until the target was directly in his line of sight. He was aiming at the back of the head of the girl with blonde hair. His breathing slowed and all of his attention was focused on his aim. His finger tightened on the trigger and his muscles moved slightly… _Perfect…_

* * *

"What have you found out?" Accelerator asked, in an almost demanding tone. "I bet you already have a location by now." He was leaning up against a building, clutching his phone tightly to his ear.

"You know me so well," Motoharu laughed on the other end. "I've been watching their movements, since we found out the number two was leading the experiments."

"Then tell me where their base is," Accelerator said.

"The thing is," Motoharu explained. "I don't think the place I found is their base. However, I have seen the number two make frequent visits there." He paused. "The issue is he keeps coming from different directions, but I never see him leave. I've seen him enter that warehouse several dozen times. It's possible there are underground tunnels connecting it to his base. I would try to figure out what's in the warehouse, but there are a lot of sophisticated electronics, more than your normal security cameras. Someone with a lot of technical experience is helping him."

"We figured as much," Accelerator yawned. "I doubt any of his underlings could give me trouble, but those types of people always tend to have tricks up their sleeves. I figured out his Dark Matter vectors, so I shouldn't have any problems now. I'll rip him apart for the problems he caused and then I'll be able to search for Eve in peace."

"I think you may be pissed because he hit a girl who really liked you," Motoharu replied, highly amused. "Kinuhata-san would be really happy to hear you care."

"Shut up," Accelerator snapped. "If I hear her mention anything like that… I swear I will kill you."

"It's her loli build isn't it?"

"SHUT UP!"

"One last thing I should warn you about," Motoharu said seriously, and Accelerator found himself gaining interest. For Motoharu to stop joking around, the news had to be important. "Teitoku Kakine has mana. What he told you when you fought the first time was true. He discovered magic. I don't know who taught him or how his body has mana without killing himself, but you need to remember this. I can't tell you what all is going to happen when magic and his dark matter mix. It could even give you a hard time."

"I'll keep it in mind," Accelerator scoffed. "But I have experience with both. I figure, with both of them together, it will just save time."

"Okay, I'll send you the location. Good luck and try not to die or Kami-yan will be sad."

"Pssh."

Accelerator hung up and stretched. He had no doubt the break-ins Jason mentioned were related to Teitoku and his desire for power. Whoever had called Jason obviously was smart enough to know the large scale fight was just a distraction. Even though Eve and the one called Cain pissed Accelerator off immensely, he realized now would be the best opportunity to find Teitoku. His troops were spread out and he would most likely be alone. _Teitoku wouldn't want to do the dirty work himself. It's time to end this and destroy his dreams once and for all. Then I have to go back and apologize to the brat. She only gave me access because Estelle convinced her. I didn't do anything wrong though._ He scowled and started to head to the location his phone just received from Motoharu. _Maybe a frog plushy would be fine._

* * *

Kuroko was teleporting as fast as she could across the city, trying to reach the location Jason gave her before the intruders could escape. The Judgement alarm on her phone kept going off, but she ignored it. She figured it was updates on the fight between all the ability users and she couldn't waste time checking. She was slightly confused at her actions and she was thinking about it as she moved above the city. _Jason's explanation kind of made sense, but why did I believe him so fast? Normally, I would have gone to the scene of the fight since Konori-senpai asked me to._ She remembered the look of seriousness on his face. _He better be right about this, or I won't let him live this down. Anti-Skill might have needed my help._

She doubled checked her location and realized she was a couple streets over. She teleported across the street, and then immediately dove behind a large roof top air conditioning unit. The reason she hid was because she saw two individuals with their back to her. They were standing near the edge of the roof and were looking at the street below. One of them was holding a pair of binoculars and a walkie-talkie, the other a high powered rifle. _Damn, he was right. They don't look like Anti-Skill._ Both of the guys were dressed in black with dark hoods covering their heads. _Well, l better get started._

Kuroko teleported behind the two guys and grabbed their sleeves. They were just turning in surprise, when Kuroko teleported them. They reappeared behind her, upside down in the air, and fell onto the roof with a thud. Double checking to make sure they were uncurious, Kuroko teleported their equipment to a different nearby building. _Now if they wake up before I'm done, they can't shoot at me or warn their allies._ She kept the binoculars and looked down at the scene below.

The building didn't have a lot of windows for Kuroko to see inside, but it seemed to be a facility for electronic development into wireless communication, based on the signs outside the building. A couple delivery trucks were lined up at the loading docks in the back, but they looked unusual. Kuroko quickly checked the roof tops of the other buildings again and teleported to the roof of the lab to get a better look. _I was right, those trucks are armored vehicles disguised to look like delivery vans. Whatever they were transporting had to be important._ There were three trucks, but she only saw a single person in the front one. The rest were empty. _There doesn't seem to be anything in there, so the perpetrators must have gone inside after the trucks were unloaded._ She was about to teleport back down, when she saw a couple unconscious adults lying on the other side of the trucks.

 _Shit,_ Kuroko thought, teleporting down next to them. She wanted to make sure they were still alive. To her relief, they were still breathing and were just unconscious. _Phew, that nearly gave me a heart attack._ She ducked behind the truck as the person in the driver's seat moved and yawned loudly. Kuroko slowly raised her head and looked at the truck side mirror. The person sitting there was obviously not an employee or a researcher. He looked like a high schooler wearing a faded t-shirt. Kuroko threw opened the door and, before the guy could say anything, reached over and teleported him out of the truck and onto the ground. She teleported her needles into his clothes, pinning him down, and then covered his mouth with her hand. "Listen up," she snapped. "I am part of Judgement. When I remove my hand, you won't yell or call for help. You will only answer my questions, understand?" The kid nodded. "Good. What are you after here and how many people are with you?" She removed her hand.

"I can't tell you," he gasped. "The boss lady… she's terrifying."

"More terrifying then me?" Kuroko asked sweetly, raising a couple of needles in front of his face.

"She can get any type of information out of anyone," he said, his face turning white and he started sweating profusely. "She's also merciless. I'm probably going to get killed just talking to you. Go on and get it over with, at least with you it might be quick and painless."

"You know how much damage a teleporter can cause?" Kuroko asked. _Hurry up and tell me. I don't have much time._ "When an object materializes, it pushes the other matter out of the way. A single one of these needles could cause a lot of damage in, let's say, your arm."

"I get it," he gasped. "I'll tell you, please don't do it."

"Number of people and what they are after," Kuroko repeated. "Hurry up."

"Besides the boss, there are three others," the guy explained quickly. "One of the men has a wormhole ability and they plan to transport some new kind of wireless transmitter. It's supposed to be a revolutionary way of connecting devices wirelessly, without being effected by distance. I don't know any more about it than that. The other two are guards, I don't know their abilities. Most of their men are currently distracting Anti-Skill, so they won't show up until it's too late."

"I see," Kuroko mumbled, standing up. _Looks like whoever called Jason knew about this._ She pulled out her phone and took a picture of the guy's face. "I happen to need my needles so…" She reached down and teleported them out of the ground. "I'm giving you the option to turn yourself in to Anti-Skill, while I take care of this. I have your picture and, if you try to run, you will be found quick enough. Get out of here before this gets rough."

"Y-yes," the guy stammered, standing up. He turned and ran away from the building and Kuroko sighed.

 _Four people huh? One of them doesn't have a combat oriented ability, but the other three are unknown. If the boss has a mental ability, I could be in trouble._ Kuroko quickly sent a short message to Kazari, explaining the situation, and moved toward the open door. She didn't hear anything and moved cautiously into the building. The lights were on, but it was disconcerting how quiet it was. _Where could they be?_ She checked several rooms, but no one was there. She had turned down another hallway before she finally heard something, a couple of hushed voices and then a loud bang.

"Careful with that," a girl's voice said. "I don't want to hear Ricane complain about damages."

"Do you think if we just unplug everything he can reconnect it when we bring it back?" a man asked.

"Probably," the girl said dismissively. "But he left instructions on what to do, so we are going to follow it. Is our escape route up yet?"

"I just opened it," a young man said. "Just push the machine through when ready."

"I wish you could just move the worm hole under it," another young man complained.

"It doesn't work like that…"

"Shut up you two," the girl, obviously the boss, said. "You all have your role, so just do it."

 _It looks like there really are only four,"_ Kuroko thought, looking into the laboratory. From her position, she saw a large sphere device, about the size ofa small car, maybe slightly smaller. It was propped up a couple of feet from the floor from a heavy set tripod. Thick cabals and metal protrusions were coming off of it in every direction. One metal rod on the very top was only a couple inches and was holding up a clear glass sphere. Inside it, blue and white electricity bounced around randomly, with an occasional flash of gold. _That has to be it, now, where are the intruders?_

She found one easily enough. An adult male was slowly disconnecting the cables, in what appeared to be a specific order, because he was making his way around the device. _He's the technical guy._ Standing a little further away, a young man with brown hair was watching, his arms crossed, looking bored. _He looks like the guy who would complain, but I'm not sure what his role is. Maybe help move the device?_ A young man with long black oily hair walked in her line of sight and disappeared. _Okay, that must be the guys who can make the wormholes. He matches the description Saten-san and Uiharu gave us. Now where is the boss lady?_ Kuroko couldn't see her, but she had heard her voice, so she had to be here. _It's time to stop them. I probably can't expect backup, so let's make this fast._

"This is Judgement," Kuroko yelled, moving into the room. "You are all under arrest for trespassing and attempted theft. Surrender now."

"We got found already?" the young man with brown hair asked. "I thought you said Judgement and Anti-Skill would be too busy to find us?" He looked to his right and Kuroko followed his gaze. Sitting on a desk, with her legs swaying over the side, was a young girl with light colored wavy hair. She wore a lot of jewelry and had on a very showy dress with an open back, kind of like a girl from a hostess club would wear. She was currently playing with her phone and barely looked up when Kuroko announced her presence.

"I said they would be busy," the girl said dispassionately. "A random person stumbling upon us is always a risk. Just go deal with her. You wanted something to do anyway right?"

"You don't care what I do to her right?"

"Knock yourself out."

"Hey girl," the young guy said. He started walking forward while cracking his knuckles. "If you give up, I'll be sure to show you a good time."

"I'll have to pass," Kuroko replied. "I already have someone I like and she's much better than you." She was aware his footsteps echoed across the tile floor a lot louder than it should have. _This looks familiar. I think Konori-senpai mentioned this ability before. Solidification, the ability to increase the density of one's body. If he gets to heavy I will have trouble teleporting him._

"Let her join," the guy laughed and ran at her. He reached out a hand to grab Kuroko, when she disappeared from right in front of him. He stumbled, took a step forward to stabilize himself and looked around. "Where did she go?"

"Behind you," Kuroko said, patting him on the back. He disappeared and reappeared in the air twenty feet away. He fell and landed with a loud crash, intensified by the sound echoing around the building. Because he had increased his body weight dramatically, he caused a lot more damage to the floor than a normal person would. He laid there unmoving, obviously unconscious.

"Oh a teleporter," the girl said, finally looking up with some interest. "That's a pretty rare ability. You must be a level 4 because you can teleport yourself, right?"

"That's right," Kuroko said, holding up her spikes in her hands. "Surrender and this doesn't have to get rough." Her eyes kept darting to the other two guys, both of whom were watching the girls' exchange. Kuroko was suspicious they were going to try something and didn't let her guard down.

"Oh don't worry about those two," the girl laughed. "They are more technical support, rather than security. I'm more than enough to take care of you." A small handheld pistol appeared in her hand and she pointed it at Kuroko. "You aren't important enough to worry about, if you leave, I'll pretend I never saw you."

"I can't do that," Kuroko said, preparing to teleport and knock the girl out before she could fire, but something happened. Her body was paralyzed when she thought about trying to attack the girl. However, there was nothing wrong with her body physically, nor was it frozen in fear, like with the aura Cain possessed. It was something else. The feeling she couldn't attack the person in front of her unnaturally rose up from deep within her. It was the sense that she couldn't kick a sleeping cat in front of her. It was the same sense she wouldn't be able to steal from a little kid. It was the same feeling that would prevent her from attacking Mikoto Misaka. Her eyes widened in shock and she reflexively took a step back.

"Ah," the girl said, grinning. "Your expression tells me everything I need to know. It's good you are so kind inside. I thought you looked familiar and I was right. You are often in the presence of the third rank Mikoto Misaka, aren't you?" Kuroko didn't answer, but the girl knew what her silence meant. "My ability is known as Measure Heart. It can freely regulate the distance between people's hearts. I set myself the same distance from your heart as the third. I briefly considered another person, because the distances were the same, but I wasn't sure how you would react. At least with the third, I know you adore her."

"What kind of lies are you spouting?" Kuroko demanded. "There's no way I would see you the same way as onee-sama."

"Just stop," the girl said, sounding slightly bored now. "You know it's true, so there is no point in denying it. You can't attack me the same way you couldn't attack her. I doubt you could even turn me over to Anti-Skill if you caught me because you couldn't turn her over. Kind people like you are quite weak."

"So you think this is a stalemate?" Kuroko asked, trying to keep calm and think of a plan. _She's right. No matter how much I know she's not onee-sama, I can't bring myself to attack her. I might be able to restrain her, if I think of onee-sama running amok._ It was a long shot, but she had the feeling it might work. "I'll just teleport out of the way of your bullet."

"You might have a point," the girl conceded, and then kicked a boom box from under the table out in front of her. "But I like to be prepared." She pressed the power button with her toe and it started playing.

"AHH!" Kuroko cried, grabbing her head as it started pounding. Her needles clattered to the ground all around her. She tried to teleport, but the sound was preventing her from being able to perform the calculations. "Capacity Down? Damn, but why aren't you affected by it?"

"A scientist working with us developed a counter measure for it," the girl laughed, brushing her hair back to reveal her ear. Kuroko glanced over and saw a small metal device in her ear. "Think of it as a hearing aid that filters out Capacity Down. We all have one, but looks like you didn't get the memo." Her gun never wavered from aiming directly at Kuroko. "I gave you a chance to leave but, until we have what we came for, you are a threat."

 _This is bad,_ Kuroko thought, her head still pounding. _I can't teleport and don't have any other weapons on me._ A noise behind her forced her to turn around. _And it just got worse._

"Ah my neck," the guy groaned and looked around. "You took care of her?"

"No thanks to you," the girl said, before turning her head to the man. "Finish disconnecting the machine and let's get out of here. We have wasted too much time as it is." She turned her head back to Kuroko and the guy who just got up. "She can't use her ability and you can. Take care of her." She lowered her gun and picked up her phone. "If I have to help you out again, you know what's going to happen."

"Yes ma'am," the guy replied quickly, before turning his attention back to Kuroko. "My neck's sore because of you," he growled. "I'm going to take my time playing with you to make you regret embarrassing me."

 _I should have taken her out fast, now I'm in trouble,_ Kuroko thought, kicking herself for a rookie mistake.

* * *

"…How are you holding up?" Rikou asked Shizuri, as they walked back from the store carrying a couple of bags.

"Besides the one episode," Shizuri said. "It's bearable." They had just reached the store when Shizuri staggered from the sudden pain. It caused her to lose control of her motor function and would have fallen, if Rikou had not caught her. It was lucky no one was near enough to see it, so they manage to avoid any awkward questions. "We still have several hours before the twenty four hour limit is up. The pain is coming in bursts, but they don't last long. The beginning was worst, now it's mostly a dull thudding."

"…Do you believe this will actually work?" Rikou asked hesitantly.

"Something will definitely happen," Shizuri mumbled. "But if I stay on the course the city wants, I'm going to fall behind the others. I'm done with playing it safe. The brats keep surpassing me one after another and it ends now."

They walked in silence, both lost in thought. Rikou could tell it was not the time to talk, and she usually preferred being silent anyways. She had a lot on her mind too. She was hoping the rest of ITEM would be okay on their mission, especially Shiage. There was no doubt he was the weakest out of all of them, as he did not have a powerful ability, but he made it up with resourcefulness and ingenuity. She actually respected him for that. She was also thinking about Shizuri's condition. She had her doubts this was going to work, but since Shizuri's life was in her hands, she had to stay vigilant.

Shizuri on the other hand was trying to ignore the constant pain in her head. She was getting used to it, but the sudden spikes caused her to be incapacitated for a moment, as she lost muscle control and her vision blurred. _If this actually works and I become stronger, this pain will be worth it. If it doesn't, I'm going to kill him, even if I lose my ability. I'm going to show those brats what real determination is and make him…_ The image of a certain spikey black haired boy appeared in her mind and she shook her head. _I'm doing this for me, screw him. Of course, he would be impressed with my determination._ They turned down a street and were about halfway down it when Shizuri's warning sense went off. "Takitsubo, do you see anything unusual?"

"…The street is empty," Rikou muttered, after looking around. "Strange." They weren't going down one of the busiest streets, but it was still early afternoon on a nice day. There should at least be an occasional person, but no one was in sight. _This could be a coincidence, but Mugino is right, this is unusual._

"Exactly," Shizuri agreed. "Be ready for anything." They continued walking, pretending not to notice anything, until someone stepped out from behind a building. It was a young man with dirty blonde hair. He was wearing a dark maroon colored suit with a white collared shirt, both unbuttoned, and revealing a red V-neck under them. He was walking toward them with a cocky smile on his face. Shizuri recognized him from the description Saiai gave them. _SHIT, this is the worst possible situation. I'm not supposed to use my ability, but looks like I'm going to have to ignore that warning._ "Teitoku Kakine."

"I see my reputation proceeds me," Teitoku laughed. "This is our first meeting face to face."

"I blew up your little clone once," Shizuri replied. "Is this a clone or your real body? Kinuhata told me all about your tricks. Plus, I heard Accelerator also kicked your ass. I laughed a bit at that."

"Enjoy it while you can," Teitoku replied, the flicker of a scowl on his face. "For your information, those were just tests. I was seeing the full capabilities of my dark matter clones. While not as strong as the real me, they gave Accelerator a decent fight. You couldn't even scratch him, so what does that say about the ending of this encounter?"

"What on earth could you want with me?" Shizuri asked, almost sarcastically. She actually had a pretty good idea. _I bet he's pissed we stopped that clone and the robots from stealing data he was looking for in that lab._

"Oh you know," Teitoku said, waving his hand. "I wanted to ask you out for a cup of… what the hell do you think? I'm going to kill you for getting in my way. This also presents a great opportunity for me." His smile widened, but it never reached his eyes. "I wanted to test my new skills on you."

"New skills?" Shizuri raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"Magic."

"Bullshit!" Shizuri yelled, before stopping herself. _What the hell? Is he bluffing or does he really know about magic? I thought abilities and magic couldn't mix in one body. Though, if it can in one person, it could exist in others. Did Kinuhata know about this and not tell me? If she did and I find her, she's going to pay._ "Nice bluff."

"Do you need proof?" Teitoku asked, but he paused for a second. "Hmm, your response was unusual. Most people would have replied, magic doesn't exist. This poses an interesting question, you know about magic, don't you?"

"I might know a little bit," sneered Shizuri. "But I doubt you know as much as you think."

"Maybe you can appreciate my work then," Teitoku said. "This meeting gave me the opportunity to try a people clearing field to get you two alone. I have to admit, this is pretty useful. It prevents me having to clear all the people myself and, if I miss one, avoid Anti-Skill."

 _People clearing field?_ Shizuri thought. _Sounds like magic, since he doesn't have mental abilities. He should only be able to create matter and energy._ "You know, the only reason I killed your clone was because he attack my group. I don't see why you personally had to come for me."

"Accident or not," Teitoku shrugged. "Those who do not submit to me must be eliminated. As we speak, the other members of SCHOOL are taking out your comrades."

"I doubt you will find them taken down so easily," Shizuri said, holding out a hand. "I'll be the one to make sure you don't bother us again."

"Wait Mugino," Rikou whispered. She had been quietly waiting, but she had to speak up before Shizuri did something she would regret. "You can't use your ability yet."

"Shut up," Shizuri snapped. "Don't give an enemy information." She glanced at Teitoku, who was still grinning. She didn't know if he heard or not, but he didn't seem to care if he did. "It's not like we have much of a choice."

"Step aside," Teitoku told Rikou, waving his hand. "The adults are talking." Something invisible hit Rikou and sent her flying into the wall of a building. She collided with a thud and slumped down unconscious.

"Shit," Shizuri growled and raised a hand. A green orb appeared and shot directly at Teitoku. Right before it hit him, an explosion hit her attack and blocked him from sight. When it cleared, Teitoku continued standing there, looking unhurt. "Your ability is almost as annoying as Accelerator's."

"I have thousands of types of energy at my disposal," Teitoku laughed. "While you have one type, admittedly quite powerful, but nothing compared to matter outside this world." Six white wings emerged from behind him. "Let me show you my true power. If you can entertain me enough, I might show you some powerful attack magic."

"Just shut up and die," Shizuri said, summoning another orb. She fired and immediately realized something was wrong. Normally, the more beams she created, the smaller each beam was. A single beam would be the largest, while a dozen or so, the max number she could use now, would all be a fraction of the size. This time, her single beam was as large as if she had fired her max number of beams. Right before the beam hit Teitoku, another explosion blocked it. Teitoku was able to create energy to block her attack effortless.

"Is that really the best you can do?" Teitoku asked, looking disappointed. "I figured you would at least be able to force me to try." He sighed. "I won't even waste using magic on you. You will die like a mangy dog here." Two of his wings stretched out and flew right at her.

"FUCK!" Shizuri yelled, focusing all her concentration. _Now is not the time!_ She had one opportunity to avoid being skewered alive and conjured another orb. She knew she wouldn't be able to dodge the wings, they were faster then she could run, so she had to destroy them. She ignored the pain in her head and fired her last chance at survival. The results were rather more impressive than her last attack.

Teitoku wings were disintegrated.

"What the…?" he muttered, as he stared down at Shizuri in confusion. _That attack was three times larger than her first one? Was she conserving power from the last attack? Impossible, she doesn't have that ability._ He had actually dodged the attack instinctively. The two wings he lost were easily recreated, but the fact they had been destroyed as easily as ripping paper bothered him. "Well, that was a nice surprise. I suppose you will get a chance to see my real power."

"The only thing I am going to see is your bloody remains scattered all over the street for the rats," Shizuri replied and then grabbed her head with one hand. Her head felt like it had just split open. The pain was destroying her mind. Everything around her grew fuzzy and started blurring together. She fell down on her knees, grabbing her head with both hands. The pain wasn't just in her head now, but coursing through her entire body. Her vision returned for a moment and she wiped her nose. Blood was covering her hand, before her vision blurred again.

"You don't look so well," Teitoku commented. "Did you overloud yourself with that last attack trying to kill me? That's normally what a lot of people try." He paused, noticed something, before he burst out laughing. "Your reaction is the same I saw in some of our failures when we tried to forcefully raise their levels. Did you actually take the drugs we made? No wonder you are breaking apart. This is great. I could kill you I suppose, but I think watching you suffer is payment enough."

 _Not now,_ Shizuri was barely able to think. She glanced back at the unconscious form of Rikou, still leaning against the building. _Damn it. She's unconscious, Kakine is breathing down my neck, and my power decides now is the time to overloud. ARG!_ The pain was threatening to knock her out and completely incapacitate her. _Wake up Takitsubo!_

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **So for fun I had asked some people what they thought was the most god forsaken place on earth and got a wide range of answers. I live in the USA, so most of the answers were here cities or states here. No one manage to guess it, regardless if they read the series, but when I told them, they instantly were like, "Okay, that makes sense." I think most of the readers will feel the same way. Only one person knows the place for sure, and he won't tell.**

 **Motoharu: Looks like Kami-yan's honeymoon is over.**

 **Touma: What do you mean my honeymoon?**

 **Pierce: Well you are no longer surrounded by hundreds of girls and they are getting in trouble without you.**

 **Shizuri: I'm going to get through this and kill him.**

 **Kuroko: I've been through worse, I'll be fine.**

 **Frenda: There's no way I will die. Basically, I'm too cute and important to die. Hamazura might though.**

 **Shaige: Hey, I don't want to die before I get a girlfriend.**

 **Accelerator: Don't say that around the hero's girls, they get rather possessive.**

 **Misaki: I never get possessive. We are just a perfect match for each other.**

 **Mikoto: I'm pretty sure you mind control most of the girls to keep them away from him.**

 **Eve: Though, after this chapter. You know all the readers want me to appear more. Plus, you all may wake up one day and find a surprise in store for you. Hehehe.**

 **Ruiko: Well, that was ominous.**

 **Me: So I need another announcer, but someone mentioned we should have one of the more, non-mainstream characters.**

 **Touma: Like?**

 **Motoharu: Of course, the game just finished so it would be the perfect time for Fukiyose-sama.**

 **Pierce: I'll let her know.**

 **Kazari: I have a feeling those two know something we don't.**

 **Accelerator: They do.**


	72. S3 SCHOOL

**This is Seiri Fukiyose speaking and I was asked to do the opening announcements. To be honest, I'm not even sure why I am doing this. I haven't done a lot in this story and I know a lot of other people would be a much better choice. However, because I was asked, I will fulfill my duty to the best of my ability. When Aogami-san told me about this, I thought he was joking. I figured he didn't receive enough punishment for the stupidity he caused during the Anti-Crime event. I was surprised he was telling the truth for once. Maybe I shouldn't have hit him so fast before I found out all the facts, but you know what those idiots are like. I was told the important part of this was to answer your questions, so let's get started.**

 **Brosephg: I don't use an ability to punish those idiots. All my skills and strength come from self-discipline, plenty of exercise, and following health advices. My actually ability is pretty low and doesn't do a lot, so I rarely think about it. Even without an ability, as long as you work hard and not give up, you can achieve great things.**

 **Guest: When I first met him, he was a kind quiet boy, but always complained about his misfortune. Besides that, I thought he was a perfectly normal student, and then he met those other two idiots and became the Delta Force. If I liked him, o-of course I would ask him out. W-what, when did I ever imply I was going to kiss Kamijou? I-I don't feel that way about him. Besides, Aisa likes him.**

 **Whwsms: As much as I would enjoy the Delta Force dissolving their stupid antics, I would never date someone solely for that purpose. I would only date someone I liked. If I didn't, it wouldn't be fair to them or anyone else who may like them.**

 **Anon: Well, it was obvious she was interested in him. When she made to many cookies, I couldn't eat a lot of them because of my diet, I suggested she should give them to him. She blushed and could barely talk after that, so I had my suspicions confirmed. She's my friend, so if she likes him I'll support her. Maybe she can kick his butt into gear and break his slacker attitude.**

 **321jaz: I tend to go through a lot of different health products. I always find them useful when I read the magazines and yet I find them ordinary when I get them. My advice is to try different ones until you find one that works for you. I only push him because I dislike people who always blame things on luck. He should go out and make his own luck instead of lamenting on it.**

 **Salishious: I want to believe he is Kami, because that would mean he actually went out and participated in the events, even if he did it the stupidest way possible. But since he's a level 0 and Kami is a level 5, I find it hard to believe he can keep that low of a profile. Also, level 5s are supposed to get a lot of money from the city, but he's extremely poor like most of the class.**

 **RPGPersona: Well, I already beat down two of them after the morning incident, but I still have to find the Kagere, Accelerator, and Kamijou. I might have to wait till Monday, but I'm going to make them all clean up the school with hand brushes. They embarrassed not only our class, but the entire school.**

 **wildarms13: He's a classmate and a good person, but he's just really lazy. If he ever got up and became more active in his community, it could be a possibility.**

 **Geust: No, Kumokawa-senpai is nice to all of us, so I don't really dislike her being with Kamijou. If he became more serious and hardworking, it would definitely be a possibility.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: No, that has no purpose and would just cause more stupid antics.**

 **Handsomistic1: If he is really Kami, then maybe there's hope for him. I think the fact he is nice to everyone is one of his best qualities. I can't stand it when others look down on people.**

 **deathmask83: If Kamijou is really Kami, I might have to hit him for world peace.**

 **AxelLord20: All of the above.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

 _I had my doubts this was a level 5 research facility, but the security is top notch. If I wasn't here in person, I doubt I could break the encryption from our base._

The door to the laboratory opened for a boy with short black spikey hair and wearing a long sleeve flannel shirt over a t-shirt. His most noticeable feature was the metallic goggles on his head that surrounded his entire head just like Saturn's rings. Many plugs and cables protruded from it, dangling next to his head and some connected to the machine on his back. One plug was connected to the electronic panel right below the electronic keycard pad. Instead of trying to acquire an access card, the boy was simply hacking the lock. He looked around to verify no one saw him, unplugged the cable from the lock, and walked inside. The door closed automatically behind him.

His name was Banka Yobou, one of the members of Teitoku Kakine's group called SCHOOL. He was usually pretty easy going, but could kill in a moment's notice if someone became a liability. His primary role for SCHOOL was information gathering because of his skills with computers and his ability. He was a Level 4 psychokinetic and, besides being able to move things with his mind, he could combine his ability with his goggles for a variety of effects. Primary uses included analyzing, extracting, and rewriting information, but he could also perform various manifestations such like pyrokinesis, silencing, transparency, and electronic manipulation.

Banka looked around and sighed. There were no signs or maps to tell him which way to go, which meant he had to find an access point first. _Automated facilities are both good and bad. I don't have to worry about being seen, except by cameras, but then the lab doesn't need to explain where everything is, since the only people who come here would know the layout._ He was manipulating the light around him with his ability, causing him to be transparent in front of the cameras. He disabled the cameras outside, but the ones on the inside of the building ran on a separate system. He walked down the hall until he found one of them and connected a plug into it. It took a few minutes to break the security, but all the cameras were now looping the last couple seconds of film, which meant he could walk anywhere unseen. The cameras would only show empty rooms and hallways.

 _Much easier to concentrate without worrying about being seen,_ he thought, as he became visible again. He peered into several rooms, when he heard noises, only to be even more confused. There were all sorts of equipment he had never seen before and had no idea what any of it did. Whatever this lab was set up for had to be a recent discovery and secret. The first main lab was behind a large panel of reinforced glass. Machines were flashing and many lines of information were appearing on monitors. In the center of the lab was a large coil machine, connected to the ceiling. It spiraled downwards and ended at a point, with a single metal orb and two metal prongs at the end. It was systematically pulsing with a white light.

 _Looks like whatever is being created with that, the other machines are monitoring it. I wonder what it does._ His curiosity inevitably got the better of him. He walked up to the door and plugged his goggles into the lock. When the door opened, he took a step in and suddenly his head started pounding. It wasn't enough to incapacitate him, but his concentration was waning slightly. _Shit, I don't feel good. This machine must be producing some kind of radiation, so let's make this quick._ He plugged his helmet into the main machine the others were connected to. He actually did it manually, because concentrating on his ability was making the pain worse. After copying the information, he unplugged and quickly left the room.

 _I wonder if Kakine and Ricane know about this,_ Banka thought, stopping in his tracks and thinking. The information he found out was interesting, in more ways than he could know at the time. It seems like this lab was indeed devoted to studying Kami's negation powers, but the machine in that room was different. It was actively trying to reproduce Kami's power but, so far, isolating only the negation portion pf his ability was impossible. It had to be combined with AIM jammers or Capacity Down to actually get results that would affect ability users. _Kami's ability seems to interfere with AIM fields, rather than ability user's minds directly. This is valuable information, but where is the entire stock of information? That was only a small part of the research. Kakine would definitely be interested in this._

A sudden movement caught his eye and he turned around instantly, raising his hand to attack.

 _Damn it's just a dog,_ he thought, before noticing the backpack and external arms on the golden retriever. _It nearly gave me a heart attack. I suppose it might be a guard dog, but that seems so stupid in an automated facility._ "Shoo," Banka snapped, waving his hand. The dog's head tilted slightly, but didn't move. Banka briefly debated on if he should blast it away, but decided not to. He wasn't one to enjoy causing random and unnecessary animal cruelty. Unless the dog attacked him, he was planning to just ignore it. Banka walked past it and the dog followed like it knew him. _I bet the scientists who actually come here use those arms on the dog to work in small area, maybe even remotely._ Eventually, the dog's presence no longer bothered him as he continued to check each room.

 _Where the hell is it?_ Banka fumed silently. He had been there far too long and Teitoku would not be pleased with the delay. Plus, the longer he was there, the more likely someone would discover his presence. The only other room that looked important was a manufacturing room. Several long silver octahedron shaped metal shards were being created. Banka didn't know what their purpose was for, but it was obvious the room didn't have the database he was looking for. He paced back and forth down the last hallway, aware the dog was still watching him, but he had more important things on his mind. _Where the hell would it be? Don't tell me, the information gets transferred out of the lab and I missed it? I thought I jammed the external connections already._ "Ah, they are going to kill me!" He slammed his hand against the wall of the hallway.

Instead of just a thud, there was a slight echo.

 _What the…?_ He tapped the wall again and heard the echo reverberate behind the wall. _Damn, of course. The room is hidden. It was so obvious._ He waved his hand and focused his ability on the wall. Feeling the hidden door, he pushed, not caring if he triggered an alarm. He was going to run in and take the information, before disappearing back into anonymity. The door creaked open and revealed the room he had been searching for. Several large super computers lined the walls and the center had a desk with an access terminal. "About time," he mumbled and walked in. The dog waited patiently outside the room, but his tail stopped wagging. Its head tilted slightly, almost like it was thinking. Banka walked up, sat down in the chair, and plugged in his goggles to the computer.

Nothing noticeable happened. The data wasn't downloading into his goggles.

"What the hell is with this piece of junk?" he demanded out loud, looking at the screen. "All the information is right here. Why can't I download it?"

"Sorry." A young female voice suddenly came through the speakers, causing him to jump. "I accessed the computer system and changed the security before you were able to start your download. You no longer have access to the data."

"Who…?!" Banka cried loudly, jumping up and looking around instinctively, causing his plug to disconnect. "Who are you?"

"I am a member of Judgement and you are charged with trespassing and attempted theft. Give up and things will go a lot smoother for you. Anti-Skill has already been altered of your presence and I won't give you the opportunity to steal that data before they arrive."

"Like you have the skills to remotely lock me out," Banka snarled, turning back to the terminal. He turned his full attention to breaking the computer security in front of him. He plugged his goggles in again and combined both technology and his ability to scan through all the security data. He frowned and was getting increasingly irritated. As soon as he breeched one layer of security encryption, there was another layer blocking the data. _How did that girl prepare this many defenses?_ He breached another layer and finally realized the truth. _This girl is actively adding security layers to keep me out. What kind of programming skills does she have? Could she be an electromaster?_ A warning alarm went off on his electronic gear and he noticed something else that was even more startling. "You actually deleted the data I found already by hacking my goggles? Who the hell are you?"

"I'm just a member of Judgment," the girl said again. "This is your last chance to surrender. Anti-Skill is surrounding your location as we speak."

"Shit," Banka muttered, unplugging his goggles before the girl could get any other information from them. _I need to get out of here, but Kakine and Ricane are going to kill me for not getting the data._ He stood up and turned around the leave. He could take a couple Anti-Skill personnel by himself, but too many of them could pose a problem. He had confidence he would be able to escape quickly, until the door, leading out of the room, automatically slammed shut.

"I have full control to the lab," the girl told him. "It's quite convenient the entire building is automated. There are even security robots, but I would prefer not to use them. Now, how about you surrender and wait quietly?"

 _This bitch is messing with me,_ Banka thought angrily, before waving his hand. Using his ability, the door was forcefully opened. It was accompanied by the screech of metal and bright sparks, as the door tried to remain closed. He dashed through the door and looked both directions. The dog was still out in the hall, watching his every move, but he barely had a moment to spare for it. The thick metal doors started closing down the hall, trying to lock him in. The doors were designed to automatically close and lock in case of contamination leaks, fires, or if an alarm was trigger to trap intruders. This time, they were manually activated by the unknown girl.

Banka walked forward quickly and waved his hand again. The metal door was blown open with a loud clang, and pieces of the metal lock flew across the floor. "You can't stop a level 4 psychokinetic. I'll walk out of here and disappear. Then I'm going to find you and kill you for making me abandon my job." He walked through the broken door and continued to the exit.

"Your ability is rather impressive," the girl admitted. "I just wish you wouldn't use it for illegal activities and instead work with Judgement to help others. I'm also impressed with your skills in electronic manipulation. Causing the cameras to loop their video was genius. It would be almost impossible to tell anything occurred if someone tried to watch it later. I turned them all back to normal though and your identity is being sent directly to our database."

"You may have signed my death warrant girl," Banka replied, as he tore another door open and walked through. _Kakine will keep me locked up at the very least if I can prove I'm still useful. I guess today's the last day I get to see the sun._ He ran over everything room he saw, when trying to find the access terminal, in his head to determine the best route to escape from the building, before turning left instead of trying to make his way to the main entrance. There was a shorter route and his priority was to leave the facility. Another door was blown open before the girl spoke again.

"I would prefer if you surrendered," she told him again. "If you are in trouble, you should just tell us and we can help you. We have ways to keep people out of danger."

"I don't need help from weaklings who know nothing about what really happens in this city," Banka snapped, walking through the remains of the next door.

"What do you mean?"

"My point exactly. You don't know what kind of hidden experiments the city sponsors to achieve their objectives." There was only one more door he had to reach before being able to leave the facility. Banka was heading to the emergency back door, which cut through the main storage room, to escape the lab. He took a step into the storage room and briefly looked around. There were walls of extra machines, similar to ones he saw, along with boxes of unknown equipment parts. It was obvious that whoever set up this lab, wanted it to be self-sufficient for quite a while. His plan was to break through the door and leave, rather than trying to hack the security system. At this point, he knew the time for the subtle approach had long passed, but then the unexpected happened.

The backdoor opened for a moment and a blonde haired boy, around the same age as Banka, stepped in. The door closed automatically behind him.

 _He doesn't look like a member of Anti-Skill,_ Banka thought, slipping behind a shelf of large boxes to block him from the stranger's line of sight. He reached over and focused his ability on a large metal cylinder, containing some sort of liquid. _But I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. The door can be opened. I actually thought it might be a fake to confuse intruders for a second._ The plan was pretty simple, throw the heavy container and crush, or at least knock out, the other person and leave. The container started levitating, but the girl ruined his plans.

"Jason, to your left!"

"To late," Banka muttered, throwing the large container with his psychokinesis. He was confident he had won with his surprise attack. The container of liquid was far too heavy to physically catch, but he didn't know Jason's ability and received a shock. A black, water-like substance flew from under Jason's clothes and caught the container in midair. He then lowered it to the ground, off to the side of the room, away from both of them. "That's an ability I haven't seen before," Banka said under his breath.

"You should be more careful with what you are throwing around," Jason told him. "What if that liquid was explosive or became a poisonous gas when released? We both could have died and I have things I want to do today." He paused and sighed. "I know you're the intruder, so why don't you just step out and let's make this quick."

"You sound confident," Banka said, stepping out from behind the shelf. "You must be part of Judgement or Anti-Skill, since you are here and know about me. There's no point in hiding anyone I suppose. That bitch broadcast my picture…" He fell backwards in surprise, as he tried to dodge the shadow strand aimed at his head. It came so quickly, he barely could register it. A loud bang echoed through the storeroom, as he fell into a large box of parts against the wall.

"Careful what you say," Jason said, keeping his tone even, but with an edge of coolness.

"It's fine," the girl said. "Please just capture him. He's a level 4 psychokinetic, so be careful."

"Die bastard," Banka snarled, moving his hand like he was swiping a credit card. He was going for a one shot kill now, not bothering to hide his intentions. Jason ducked and rolled off to the side, as the sound of air displacing came from the point his head had been just a second before. Jason responded by swinging another shadow strand at Banka, trying to knock him out. Banka scrambled to his feet and swung his hand at the shadow, as he dove behind the shelf. Jason's shadow got pushed to the side and cut into a box of parts, causing them to fall, with a series of clangs, on the floor. _At least I can affect his ability with mine, but I should prioritize my escape instead of drawing out the fight. I bet he has reinforcements._ He focused his ability on the light around his body and became transparent.

"He went invisible," the girl called out to Jason. "Be careful."

"On it," Jason replied, backing up near the door. He was smart enough to realize what Banka's plan was. He stood in front of the door and his shadow formed a solid dome around him. By preventing Banka from being able to have a direct line of sight, he couldn't use his psychokinesis to crush Jason's body. His shadow would absorb the impact. "I'm sure there is a way to find him without destroying the entire building."

 _Unless you have some detection ability or device handy,_ Banka laughed silently to himself. _You won't be able to. The cameras don't have infrared detection devices either, so that girl can't help. Should I try to pass him or back track?_ He started to walk out from behind the shelves but, before he could decide on his course of action, the girl spoke up.

"I have an idea, but I hope you don't mind getting wet."

 _Huh,_ Banka thought, but Jason appeared to understand.

"Go for it."

A red light started flashing and an alarmed blared above Jason and Banka, right before the sprinklers turned on and started soaking the entire room.

 _Seriously?_ Banka laughed silently. _A little water isn't going to stop me._ Besides being a little cold, it wasn't like he was going to slip or try to find a place to stay dry. His equipment was waterproof, so it's not like the sprinklers would short circuit anything. _Here I thought this girl was smart._ A movement caught his eye, as Jason's shadow dome flickered and broke apart, causing Banka to glance over at him in confusion. _What does he think this is going to accomplish?_ To his surprise, he caught Jason staring directly at him. _How…?_ He noticed too late. _Shit, the water is outlining me…_ Before he could try to defend himself, Jason's shadow delivered a blow into his gut. He gasped, crashed to the floor, and fell unconscious.

"Great plan Kazari," Jason said, as the sprinklers turned off. "He was probably manipulating the light around him with his psychokinesis or something like that. When he pushed the water off him, it gave me a perfect view. How long until another Anti-Skill officer arrives?" He pulled up his shirt and wiped the water off his face and hair. He didn't hear a reply and looked up. "Kazari?" he asked, but still nothing. He suddenly grinned and raised his hand, still holding his shirt. "My eyes are up here."

"T-that wasn't it," Kazari's voice stuttered through the speakers, while Jason laughed at her reaction. "I was checking the location. They should be at your location in two to three minutes."

"Okay," Jason acknowledged. "You should probably disconnect from this lab's security system now. You might get in trouble if they think you have been looking at the information kept here. This lab doesn't appear to be public"

"I would never," Kazari said, sounding almost hurt.

"I know that," Jason nodded. "But others don't."

"Thanks, but you're right. Besides, I need to check up on Shirai-san. I got a message from her earlier, but no follow up. You have other locations you need to help out too."

"I'm on my way once this guy gets picked up," Jason replied. There was silence for a moment, he assumed Kazari had disconnected from the lab, before he leaned up against the wall and sighed. His eyes darted over to the dog, who now entered the storage room, since the fighting died down. Jason pretended to sniff the air and grinned. "You smell like a wet dog, Noukan."

"I am a wet dog," Noukan replied simply. "I must admit, I rather dislike this. We can talk freely now that the girl is gone."

"If you had just taken care of him," Jason said, indicating the unconscious Banka. "Instead of contacting me, neither I nor Kazari would have found out about this place. Someone with your skills could have made him disappear without a trace with no difficulty."

"Ah," Noukan continued, pacing in front of him. "I was interested in observing him and determining what he was after. I was about to remove him, when your girl intervened. I have to say, she is rather skilled. I see why you keep her around. She easily bypassed our top security without being able to manipulate electricity."

"I don't like the way you say that," Jason mumbled. "It's almost like you know she would hack this place when you called me. Though, maybe if you ask nicely, she can improve the city's system. I seem to recall Judgement's database has better security then even the board of directors."

"You may keep your deeds private from her," Noukan continued. "But she is willing to open herself up to you completely. Between good and bad, that would be the bad sort of stupidity, but between like and dislike, I would say I like it. A heart that can innocently believe others is a beautiful thing. I can sense the breath of romance in it." He paused and looked at Jason.

"That doesn't sound very Kihara-like," Jason pointed out, refusing to comment on his other observation.

"You are hardly one to comment on that. After all, you purposely changed your last name to avoid getting compared to us. Are you still upset he gave your research to me?"

"A little bit," Jason acknowledged. "However, it looks like you have really come a long way from what I was able to."

"I rather like the Anti-AIM wavelength you found," Noukan said. "It filled in a missing link between technology related to our abilities and the abilities that have been causing you trouble."

"You mean magic?"

"Your education is lacking," Noukan corrected him, and turned his head to look directly at Jason. His head shook back and forth slightly, almost like he was disproving Jason's choice of words. "There is only science in this world. What people consider magic is only science that has not been fully understood. You knew this once, yet you let the words of others change your thoughts."

"The world is a vast place," Jason replied, almost defensively.

"It is indeed." Noukan paused and paced back and forth again. "I noticed you are preoccupied with an extensive experiment on your own, barely having time to do even the minimum work for the city. Yet, you find something like this wavelength and still have time to keep the company of a girl and the friends of the Imagine Breaker."

"I have good time management skills."

"Regardless, keeping up that appearance is essential for your plan, is it not? Are they not all interrelated?"

"How much do you know?"

"I know quite a bit," Noukan admitted. "But I made sure to send you some information on the level 5s you might find interesting. I think you will find it invaluable for your experiment. Consider it as payment for your Anti-AIM data."

"Is Aleister okay with this?"

"As long as you don't interfere with his plans, he will not interfere with yours. Most likely, your goals fit into his master plan anyways. Within days of him sending me the data on the Anti-AIM, we have already discovered several uses. I have no doubt he was waiting for you to discover it."

"Here I thought he was mad at me for disregarding the Parameter list," Jason laughed. "Though, I doubt he gets mad…" He phone started to ring and cut him off. He pulled it out and answered, "Hello?"

"It's Kat. You wanted me to tell you if Meltdowner began to act strangely. She just collapsed in the street, but she is also in the presence of the number two, Dark Matter. Do you want me to send you the location?"

"Yes," Jason said and then hung up. "It seems like my experiment has hit a slight snag, so I need to run. Make sure this guy is outside for Anti-Skill. Kazari told them I would have him ready for transport and it would be suspicious if he's not there. What happens after that is none of my business."

"When you change to blend into your environment, you may find the environment can change you. Pretenses should only be kept as pretenses." Jason didn't even bother turning around from Noukan's warning, before heading out the back door.

* * *

"I would rather be shopping instead of being cooped up here all day," Frenda complained, for what Shiage thought was the millionth time. "It's obvious there's nothing worth stealing here."

"I agree," Saiai murmured. "But you super know what Mugino would do if we tried to ditch." All three of them shared the same look. Shizuri would most likely torture them all first and, if she decided not to outright kill them, they would be missing an appendage or two. "Though, it might be my imagination, but I think she has super mellowed out a bit recently."

"At least until Hamazura messes up," Frenda added and Shiage frowned.

"Maybe you could call Kamijou and ask him to join us," Shiage suggested sarcastically. "You could annoy him instead of me for once." He was getting really annoyed at both Saiai's and Frenda's complaining. After actually speaking the words, he snapped his mouth shut, knowing he made a huge mistake. Saiai actually dropped the magazine and looked at him, with a combination of surprise and a tiny bit of respect. Frenda, however, stared at him for a moment, her mouth hanging over, before turning red in anger.

"Maybe I'll take my boredom out on you!" she yelled, turning and suddenly jumping to her feet. It was one thing if Saiai made fun of her, but she wasn't about to let Shiage do that. Her surprise reaction toward his words was probably what saved her. A fraction of a second later, the glass behind her shattered and a small item flew right past her, the exact location her head had been a moment before. Frenda was experienced enough to instantly know what the sound of breaking glass, the wind behind her, and the crash of a bullet in the wall on the other side of the room meant. "Sniper!" she yelled, diving down to the floor and rolling out of sight from the windows.

"On it," Saiai replied, flipping the table in front of her. Manipulating the nitrogen around her hand allowed her to flip the heavy metal table up against the window effortlessly. She continued to flip the next two nearest tables, until nearly all of the windows, on the side the sniper shot came from, were blocked. She got down on her hands and knees, before turning to look at the hole behind her. "Wow, that bullet had a lot of power behind it. My armor might not super be enough to block it outright."

"What do we do?" Shiage called out, from his hiding place under a desk. "I only have a pistol. We have no idea how far away the sniper is."

"I got a pretty good idea," Frenda corrected him. "Basically, from the direction of that last shot, we know the general area he is shooting from. From the angle, we can tell how high up he is. He is most likely on the roof of the office building two blocks away." She frowned. "That is still an issue, as I don't have any long range missiles at me."

"I'm a close range fighter too," Saiai added, also frowning. "One of us needs to super get close enough to kill him before he kills is. Hamazura, why don't you act as bait and be a distraction, while we sneak up on them?"

"Because I don't want to die?"

"Quit being a baby, we all die eventually."

"I want to try something," Frenda told them. She reached over and picked up a book that fell to the floor when Saiai kicked up the table. She crawled on the floor a couple feet, and tossed the book towards the door leading out of the security room they were in. There were a couple windows not covered by tables near the door and Frenda wanted to determine how skilled the sniper was. She tossed the book over by the door and then rolled backwards to change her position. The sniper did not even shoot at the book before it hit the ground, which gave Frenda a sliver of hope, but then it was dashed instantly. The bullet went through the window, shattering more glass, through one of the tables, and traveled right where Frenda had been a second ago. _Shit._ "He read the trajectory of the book. Basically, whoever this is, they are skilled."

"We need an alternative way out," Saiai agreed. "Or at least a distraction."

"Don't think about sacrificing me," Shiage interjected, noticing her eyes on him. "Couldn't we blow out a wall or something?"

"Don't be stupid…," Frenda started to say, but stopped. "Maybe not a wall, but how about a floor? Kinuhata, think you can break through this floor?"

"Depends what it is made of," Saiai replied. She reached down and pulled up the tile. "It looks like the floor is just wood, so I should be able to. Whoever made this building decided only the walls and ceiling had to be sturdy. She pulled her hand back and punched the floor, breaking the wooden board. She pulled the wood up and looked down. "Here's a gap, but not enough room to crawl in." She leaned down and punched the next layer into the room below. "I'm through."

"Here's the plan," Frenda whispered.

* * *

 _Is she psychic?_ Chimitsu thought to himself, after watching the blonde girl dodge his bullet a split-second before her brains were spread all over the room. Before he could get off a second shot, the girl dived to the floor while one of her partners threw up metal tables to block his line of sight. He could still aim at the only door they could escape from, so he continued to watch and wait. _They are definitely professionals, I'll give them that._ He could wait patiently, because he knew ITEM wouldn't be calling Anti-Skill, since their actions needed to be kept under the radar. They were also a small group and didn't have backup.

A movement caught his eye and he saw a book fly from behind the overturned tables. His mind only registered it long enough to determine its angle and speed. His sniper moved slightly and he pulled the trigger, firing a bullet at the table where he predicted the book was thrown from. The bullet broke through the glass, the metal table, and continued farther into the room. _I still can't see them and I can't tell if I hit one. They have to move eventually._ He waited patiently, preparing to shoot the instant he had a clear shot. _I need to find a way to flush them out, maybe some kind of gas?_

A flash of light from an explosion covered the floor he was aiming at, and the debris from the floor traveled to the room below. Dust blocked the windows, so he couldn't tell when they jumped to the floor below, but he lowered his gun slightly in preparation. _Can't escape through the floor they were on, so breaking into another. Not a bad plan, but futile._ The area below them was a room similar in style as the one they had been in, only one way out and he could see it. He aimed his sniper, but didn't see anything move down below. A flash of movement caught his eye from above and he instantly raised his gun, but it was too late. _It was a distraction!_ he fumed silently. _They stayed on the same floor while I was changing my position. Now they can be anywhere in the lab. Should I retreat or see if I can get a shot? They would know my general location by now, but I have several escape plans set up._

Chimitsu decided to stay and continued watching. He knew Teitoku would not tolerate failure and he had not been with the team long enough to risk failing a mission. SCHOOL had a different sniper before him, but she had been defeated and Teitoku tossed her away because she was no longer useful. Several minutes passed and he knew they had to be planning something. If they tried to reach his location from the lab, they would have no choice but to go out in the open. He definitely wouldn't miss an easy shot like that.

There was movement to the right of the facility and a truck was accelerating away. _Trying to flee huh? Pathetic._ He rotated the barrel and aimed through a window. He only saw the guy and nothing available that would cover the two girls. _He must be fleeing like a coward._ He aimed at the vehicle, but couldn't get a good shot from his position, so he lowered his aim slightly and blew out one of the tires. The car spun out of control and crashed into a light pole. He started to reload, when another person caught his eye. The door to the roof of the lab had opened up and the brown haired girl stepped out. She was holding a large chunk of thick metal in one hand and had several objects tied to her waist.

It wasn't an understatement Chimitsu was confused. He actually froze in mid shot, giving the boy enough time to stagger out of the car and down a side ally, out of sight. _What on earth could she be thinking? Even if that metal shield can block my shots, she has no way to get to me. It would have been better to leave the building from the ground floor and try to charge at me. Oh well, it's her funeral._ He focused on her through his scope and was surprised to find she was smiling, before raising the metal shield.

* * *

"… and that's the plan," Frenda explained. She, Saiai and Shiage were all huddled together in the middle of the lab, quickly discussing their plan of attack.

"I noticed you want me to be bait," Shiage sighed. "But I guess it's all I can do right now."

"Damn straight," Saiai told him. "Now hurry up and super get your ass moving. We don't have time for your whining." Saige muttered something Saiai didn't here, but she cracked her knuckles in response, causing him to flee down the stairs to their parked vehicle. "He's got an important job. I hope he doesn't mess it up with his usual Hamazura-y-ness."

"While I enjoy making fun of him," Frenda said, pulling out several of her missiles, from under her skirt, and making a few modifications on them. "He does have a few useful skills, but I'm not going to tell him that, it will go to his head." She pulled out a small electronic pad and held it near her missiles, until she heard a small beep. She smiled and pocketed the pad.

"I only prefer his driving skills," Saiai said, turning around and pushing a large shelf out of the way. "It's useful since I can't drive. Well, I suppose his ability to always find us a car is useful too." She picked up a thick metal sheet, large enough to completely shield her, and walked over to one of the pieces of equipment used for welding. She didn't have a lot of time, but she needed away to hold onto the sheet from behind it. She grabbed a smaller piece of curved metal and welded it to the large pierce. Sparks flew from the metal, but her Offense Armor prevented any of them from hitting her clothes or skin. She cooled it off with some water, picked up the metal, and swung it back and forth. "It's not super sturdy, but it will hold against a sniper. You ready?"

"Here," Frenda said, handing her several missiles. "I have them set up to fire remotely. Basically, just get them as close as possible to him."

"Will be tough," Saiai said, as they climbed up the stairs. "I hear the car, so it super looks like Hamazura is doing his part." She frowned. "If he runs away, I swear I'm going to strangle him."

"Go on," Frenda said, kneeling down and positioning a mirror on the ground to view out the roof top door without being in line of fire from the sniper. Saiai nodded and kicked open the rooftop door, holding her metal sheet up.

 _So there he is,_ Saiai thought, looking at the roof of a building about two blocks away. The sun was behind him, but she saw the glint of the gun, as it turned to face her. She grinned and ducked behind the shield. She didn't expect the sniper to fire immediately, as he was most likely searching for an opening. It took a few moments, but the next bullet fired hit her makeshift shield and the sound of metal colliding echoed across the roof. The bullet pierced the metal and continued going straight through it. The bullet hit her right in the chest, but the metal slowed the bullet down enough that her ability was able to easily stop it. _Perfect,_ she thought. _As long as the bullet doesn't super hit the exact same spot, I'll be fine, but that should be impossible. Anyway, these bullets have impressive piercing power._

The second bullet hit her shield and the same thing happened, but Saiai's grin widened. She was mentally timing how long it took the sniper to reload and fire at her again. While the sniper was fast, it wasn't instantaneous, which mean she had a small window of opportunity. She reached out with her free hand and grabbed one of the missiles Frenda gave her. A third bullet hit her shield and she reacted immediately. She had to lower the shield slightly to see, as she threw the missile like a football, as hard as possible at the sniper.

A normal person wouldn't have been able to throw a ball anywhere near that distance. However, due to Saiai's ability to manipulate nitrogen, she could hit things with strength far surpassing her small build. Even with her ability, she could get the missile near the sniper, but couldn't aim anywhere close enough. The missile flew through the air, but was beginning to fall due to gravity before reaching the target. With its current trajectory, it was going to reach the building the sniper was on, but only the first or second floor. The entire building was seven stories.

That's where Frenda came in. The rocket on the missile suddenly turned on when Frenda hit a button. She had been watching though a mirror from behind Saiai and tried to time the rocket right when the missile started to descend. The missile shot through the air and collided with the building right below where the sniper was shooting from. The explosion didn't hit him, but destroyed the edge of the building, taking away his cover.

 _Not a bad first shot,_ Saiai though, as another bullet flew right at her. She blocked it with her shield, but then she noticed something. _Shit, this guy is crazy good._ All the sniper shorts were clustered around the original impact point. Soon, the shield would be too weak in the middle to block effectively, which meant her Offence Armor would have to absorb the entire blow. She blocked another shot and could feel the metal groan after the initial clang, as it continued to weaken. She threw another missile and Frenda aimed with the rocket. This time, the missile didn't hit the target. It was too far to the left and blew out a couple windows on the floor below.

The next bullet caused Saiai some problems.

A chunk of metal was blown apart, as all the bullet holes connected. The weaken metal didn't slow the piercing power of the bullet enough and it scraped her side. She felt it cut and burn into her, but the wound was pretty shallow. She fought through much worse in the past. The issue was her shield now had a gaping hole right in the middle of it and, if she tried to attack with a missile, she would leave herself opens to a counter attack.

She didn't have a choice and threw the missile, as a bullet flew at her in response. It was pure dumb luck the bullet hit the edge of her shield and its trajectory was modified slightly. It only scrapped her shoulder, but it was obvious the sniper was aiming to destroy her arm. _Ouch, does that bastard know how super expensive this sweater dress is?_ On a more positive note, the missile she threw was the best hit so far. It hit the spot right under the sniper, forcing him to roll away from the edge, giving her a slight reprieve.

Saiai waited and peered over her shield. A minute passed before she saw the glint of metal again. Before the sniper had a chance to aim, she threw her last missile. It flew through the air but, before Frenda had a chance to fire the rocket, it exploded in midair. "What happened!?" Saiai yelled over her shoulder, ducking behind her shield.

"He shot it down?" Frenda's voice echoed from the rooftop stairs. "Basically, get out of there. You are a sitting duck without any more range attacks."

"You think I don't know that?" Saiai called back, backing up as quickly as possible. She could have turned and run, but she couldn't risk leaving herself exposed. Another bullet hit her shield and she slowed down, trying to keep the holes from being in line with her body. She stumbled right when another bullet hit her shield, causing her to fall down on her knee. Unable to walk backwards, she rotated her shield reflexively, keeping another bullet from hitting her directly. She stood up quick and kept backing away, until she saw an explosion that made her stop.

The explosion wasn't coming from the lab, it came from where the sniper was.

"About time," Frenda said, stepping out from behind the door to the roof. "He took his sweet time getting up there."

Shiage had actually reached the sniper.

* * *

Shiage had stumbled out of the car and down a side alley, out of sight of the sniper. His head was throbbing from the impact of the crash, but he had a job to do. Frenda and Saiai's lives were depending on him. While he disliked the way they made fun of him all the time, they were still part of his team and friends to Rikou. He even considered them kind of his friends too, but he used the term 'friends' very loosely. As soon as his head stopped spinning, he stopped staggering and started sprinting down the street parallel to the one the sniper was shooting down.

His job was simple, get to the sniper's building unnoticed and take him out while Saiai and Frenda distracted him. Shiage had pretended to flee from the fight in hopes the sniper would forget him. _It_ s _eems like it worked. I haven't run into any trouble._ He gripped his pistol tightly in his hand, in case the sniper had allies, and turned once he reached the building. Rather than going through the front door, which was not only stupid but suicidal, he moved to the back door. It was predictably locked, so he pulled out a lock pick. With a click, the lock opened and he pushed the door open quietly. He heard an explosion in the background, knowing Saiai had started her distraction. The building was deserted, but the security lights were on and Shiage moved cautiously down the hall, until he saw the elevators.

While Shiage really wanted to take the elevator, that was a sure way to announce his presence and get himself killed. Instead, he opened the door to the stairs and ran up, two steps at a time, hearing an occasional explosion. He finally reached the top floor, panting slightly, and moved to open the door to the roof as silently as he could. He wasn't surprised to find it locked and pulled out his lock pick again. After the lock clicked, he pocketed it and slowly pushed the door open, keeping his pistol handy, as another explosion went off, but this one away from the building.

 _There he is,_ Shiage thought, reaching into his pocket. _Frenda told me to use this grenade and take him alive if possible. Not sure how that is going to work. Won't the grenade kill him? Maybe it's some type of concussion grenade?_ Knowing the girl's lives were in his hands, he tossed the grenade out the back door. The grenade bounced across the roof, alerting the man to Shaige's presence.

"Shit!" the man yelled, letting go of his sniper and diving across the roof. The grenade exploded and Shiage covered his ears and looked away, surprised at how powerful it was. The man was blown backwards from the force and skidded across the roof, no longer moving. His sniper had been blown into pieces. The roof also had a good size hole in it and, as Shiage walked out of the building, he avoided stepping near the hole in case it continued to spread. He peered out over the edge of the roof toward the lab, waving to Saiai and Frenda to let them know it was clear, before turning to look at the man.

 _Looks like he probably won't make it,_ Shiage thought. The man wasn't stirring and he had severe burns on half of his body. He was breathing slightly, based on the slight movements of his chest, but he probably suffered a severe blow to the head. _Damn it Frenda,_ he thought. _You didn't tell me it would be like this._ He put his gun back on his belt and waited for Saiai and Frenda to get up there. He didn't have to wait too long, as the door to the roof was kicked open and they appeared.

"You super took your sweet time," Saiai reprimanded him. "If I wasn't so skilled, I could have died."

"Looks like that grenade I gave you did the trick," Frenda commented, looking at the still unconscious sniper.

"Speaking of which," Shiage said, rounding on her. "What the hell was that? I thought you said you wanted to take him alive."

"I told you what I needed to so you would use it," Frenda said, shrugging. "Basically, it was a new weapon I needed to try out. I realized after our trip to England… with all those level 5s around... I needed some stronger weapons." Of course, her reason was only partially true. It wasn't so much the level 5s, but the magicians she encountered that made her previous weapons completely useless.

"What if it didn't work?" Shiage asked exasperatedly. "I could have died."

"I'm sure you would have thought of something," Frenda replied, brushing off his concerns with a wave of her hand.

"It doesn't seem like that guy was after the lab data," Saiai pointed out, breaking into their conversation. "He was only focused on us."

"So you think he's part of his group?" Frenda asked, referring to Teitoku.

"I think so," Saiai confirmed. "He already super knows me and Mugino."

"Who are you talking about?" Shiage asked, looking between them. _Seriously, these two keep me out of the loop on everything._

"I guess we can tell you," Frenda sighed. "Basically, it seems like the number two, Dark Matter, is leading the group who has been stealing all the research data and leveling up the individuals with weak abilities."

"The number two?" Shiage asked, his mouth falling open in shock. "So this guy is part of his group…? Oh shit," he grabbed his head in frustration. "That means we going to be on his hit list. How did I get involved in something as ridiculous as this?"

"He already knows," Saiai pointed out. "But this is why we super didn't tell you. You are overreacting like a baby. Stop being so Hamazura-y." A siren in the distance caused them all to stop talking and turn around. "Looks like our fight alerted Anti-Skill. This area was supposed to be super deserted on weekends."

"Let's move some place quieter to continue our conversation," Frenda suggested.

"What about him?" Shiage asked, pointing to the man.

"What about him?" Frenda asked. "Basically, he tried to kill us, so we could care less about what happens to him. He's hurt to badly to follow us and will probably die without medical treatment. If Anti-Skill arrives fast enough, they will treat him and then arrest him. There is plenty of evidence of him trying to snipe people in the lab. We don't have to worry, but you can kill him if you want."

"Less talk and more action," Saiai told them, heading to the stairs. "We don't want to be caught up here."

 _Note to self,_ Shiage thought. _Don't make enemies with these two._

* * *

"Phew," Kazari sighed, leaning back in her chair, away from her computer. "That was intense." She had just finished helping Jason stop the intruder at the research facility.

"You were you know," Ruiko pointed out, fanning Kazari with a magazine. Both of them were sitting in an available room in a different Judgement branch's office. Kazari had burst in, showed the only person there her Judgement band, and announced there was an emergency and she needed a computer. Since most of the Judgement members there were off helping with the fight breaking out in the park, she was able to get a computer in a private room without any hassle.

"I was what?" Kazari asked confused, looking at Ruiko.

"Staring."

"No I wasn't," Kazari replied, a faint blush on her cheeks. "I had to check the information Jason requested."

"Sure," Ruiko replied, grinning from ear to ear. "I can't believe you managed to hack a secure research facility so fast, but I guess that's Judgement's number one computer whiz for you."

"Thanks," Kazari said, slightly pleased with herself. "But I only use my powers for good. Still, that guy wasn't a normal person either. His hacking skills were pretty impressive, not even counting his ability. If Jason didn't show up when he did, I wouldn't have been able to keep him locked up in the facility."

"He was after something in that lab," Ruiko added. "Any idea what it could be? More research data to rank up abilities?"

"No," Kazari replied slowly. "I was too busy keeping him out of the computer system, rather than looking at what was in it. Besides, that's sensitive information we shouldn't be looking at anyways, without proper clearance." She had been constantly changing the encryption codes, while the intruder was trying to hack through it. Even with her skills, she couldn't stop him from hacking the system from her location, nor did she have time to completely write a new security program to replace the old one and prevent his hacking. Her only choice left was to play a game of cat and mouse, drawing out the engagement until help arrived. Every time the hacker broke the previous encryption, she had another one in place.

"You may be right," Ruiko agreed, putting her hands behind her back. "Still, I can't help but be curious."

Kazari felt a wave of guilt because she didn't tell her best friend the complete truth. While what she said was true, she had accidently seen and read several of the files. _It's not like I purposely looked, I only happen to see them trying to stop the intruder._ She frowned slightly in thought. _The data definitely mentioned Kami several times. Could it be related to Kamijou-san? There was also something labeled Anti-AIM wavelength. What on earth could that be? How does it relate to AIM Fields? I really want to know, but it's not like I can go in and peruse the information at my leisure._ To distract herself, she looked down at her phone. "I got an update from Shirai-san," she announced.

"Is she in trouble?" Ruiko asked. "If Kagere-san was right about his side, she's probably facing someone too."

"It looks like she is going after some intruders," Kazari confirmed, looking at the message, before reading it out loud. "Four intruders, one may have a mental ability and they plan to use someone's wormhole ability to transport a new wireless transmitting device. Send Anti-Skill and I'll hold them off as long as possible."

"Shirai-san is being reckless," Ruiko said and Kazari nodded.

"I'm transmitting the information to Anti-Skill now," Kazari replied, her eyes never leaving her computer. "They now have everything she found out plus the location. I'm going to see if I can get access to the building and see what's going on." There was silence, as she typed vigorously, and her eyes were traveling side to side so fast they were almost a blur. Her frown grew and she finally leaned forward in defeat.

"No luck?"

"The building either has its own separate system with no connection to the rest of the city or, more likely, someone physically disconnected it. I can't connect to anything. I have access to a camera across the street from the building, but I can't see anything useful."

"Shirai-san is smart and knows her own capabilities," Ruiko reassured her. "I'm sure she won't do anything beyond her abilities. Let's believe in her and do what we can here."

"I know," Kazari nodded, the corner of her mouth twitching. "But she can be a little hot headed sometimes."

"Can't we all?"

* * *

"AHHHH!"

"Don't think just because I can't use my ability I'm weak," Kuroko said, brushing her hair back. She kept one eye on the girl in the dress, in case she tried to interfere, but she was just casually watching them, with just a hint of amusement.

"Damn bitch," the young man with the ability of Solidification growled, standing back up. The ground beneath him started to crack from his weight. "How did you throw me?"

"Basic self-defense," Kuroko huffed. "Maybe if you didn't try to cut corners in your development, you could have learned to use your skills to their full potential." Kuroko was not the biggest strongest person around, so she was taught self-defense moves in order to make up for it. When the guy tried to punch her, she stepped forward into his chest, dodging the blow. She then grabbed his arm, slipped her foot under his leg, and used his own momentum to flip him over her and onto the ground. Due to the increase in weight, she barely was able to throw him and the floor was crushed. _I need to stop Capacity Down. It's too hard to concentrate, but that girl…_ Kuroko did not fail to notice the girl in the dress, while appearing indifferent, kept her hand right next to her gun.

"I'm going to make you regret that," the guy snarled at her. He stood up and stretched his arms. The ground beneath him cracked with every step he took as he started towards her. Each step was sounding heavier and heavier. "I wonder how much weight you can throw with those scrawny arms."

"Wouldn't you like to know"

"When I get a hold of you, I'm going to make you regret every word, slowly and painfully."

"A guy like you couldn't handle me," Kuroko sneered in false confident. Her eyes darted around looking for a weapon to use. There was plenty of computerized equipment and small tools, which would be perfect with teleportation, but nothing easily reached to stop the guy who could increase the density of his body. Hitting a body that dense would be like punching a lead block.

"Shut up," the guy said, swinging his fist at her. Kuroko ducked under the blow and instinctively kicked upwards between his legs. A small part of her hoped it was just his muscles, rather than his entire body.

She was wrong.

"Ahh!" she yelled, rolling away and getting shakily to her feet. She was limping slightly as her right foot felt like it was on fire. _Damn, it's his entire body. I almost broke my foot._

"Serves you right," the guy laughed, as he swung his arm in a backhand motion. Kuroko raised her arms up high, to defend her head, and his blow lifted her off her feet. She was sent flying backwards and crashed into a table, flipping it over, causing the tools to spray all over the floor. Kuroko groaned slightly from the pain and sat up, grabbing her head. Her arms were aching from his blow and slightly numb. "Heh," the guy snickered. "Most of you high levels are complete garbage without their ability. How do you like it now that the tables have turned?"

"I don't use my ability to hurt others," Kuroko told him angrily, when her eyes noticed something. A small device fell out of a case when the table flipped over. It was a Taser. _Perfect._ She reached out a hand slowly to pick it up, as the guy took a step toward her. "I only use it to help people."

"Stop."

"What is it?" the guy asked, turning around to look at the girl with the dress.

"He's done," she said pointing to the engineer, who had stood up and was wiping his brow. "Do the job I brought you here to do."

"But…"

"Are you trying to argue with me?" Her eyes narrowed and even Kuroko froze from her tone. The guy fell silent and quickly nodded, before walking over to the device. He positioned himself on one side, leaned up against it, and started to push. The girl turned her eyes back to Kuroko. "It looks like the timing was in your favor. I do hate wasting time, so you won't be subjected to the humiliation of being his toy, but…" she raised her gun, "You saw my face and rejected my good will earlier. Now, why don't you drop that Taser, stand up, and die with a shred of dignity."

 _This girl is in a completely different league than the other guys,_ Kuroko thought. The Taser in her hand could only be activated by continuously pressing the button, if she let go of it, it would turn off as a safety mechanism, which meant she couldn't throw it to disable Capacity Down. She dropped it and stood up slowly. She wasn't going to give the girl the satisfaction of trying to run and get shot in the back. _It's not like I can attack her anyways being affected by her Measure Heart._ The screech of metal echoed around the room, as the guy continued to push the device toward a wall, which had opened up to another room. A room not part of this particular lab. The other two guys walked around the machine and entered the wormhole first.

"Good girl," the girl in the dress said, smiling. "Before I shoot, any chance you will be willing to work for me? I could use a teleporter."

"I would rather die."

"Then this is your luckily day. Say your prayers." She raised the gun and pointed it right at Kuroko's chest. Kuroko tried to perform the calculations to teleport one last time to save herself, but Capacity Down was still interfering with her head. Her life flashed before her eyes. She saw all her friends' faces, especially Ruiko's and Kazari's. Mikoto's bright face then swam to the front of her mind in all of its radiant glory. After that, surprising her greatly, she saw Jason's obnoxious grinning face. _Shoot, if I get out of this alive, I'll be nicer to him. Maybe be a bit more honest…_ Her only hope was to dodge the initial shot, charge, and knock the gun out of the girl's hand. As long as she didn't plan to try to attack the girl directly, she should be able to bypass Measure Heart.

The girl in the dress pulled the trigger and Kuroko tried to move.

A shot rang out and glass shattered.

Curiously, another explosion went off at the same, causing Kuroko to look up from the floor. She was lying on the ground, because her injured foot gave way when she tried to dodge. The girl had a surprised look on her face. Her gun was pointing up and to the left of where Kuroko had been and, at the same time her gun moved unnaturally on its own, the boom box emitting Capacity Down exploded. She was stunned and unable to utter a word.

 _What just…?_ Kuroko turned her head. "Onee-sama!"

"What!" the girl exclaimed, turning her head, after finding her voice. "The Railgun is here?"

"HOW DARE YOU TRY TO HURT MY FRIEND?!" Mikoto roared, sparks flying all around her. "Do you have any last words?"

"There's no way little ole me could possibly stand against the mighty Railgun," the girl said. "Especially after you destroyed Capacity Down." However, she started to smile. "But, what if you no longer see me as your enemy?"

"Onee-sama!" Kuroko cried out desperately. "Knock her out quick!"

"Huh!" Mikoto asked, before quickly pulling her attention back to the girl. She was just about to shoot out a bolt of electricity, when she stopped.

"To late," the girl said. "She has a very special person in her heart. The distance is much closer than even yours teleporter."

Kuroko felt an odd combination of despair and relief, after looking at Mikoto. _Arg_ , _I hate to admit it, but there's only one person who should be held so close in her heart. Onee-sama, what do I have to do to make you feel that way about me?_ Those thoughts were what caused her despair. What gave her relief was the fact Mikoto was sparking slightly, made a first, and closed her eyes.

"What is this feeling?" Mikoto asked, taking a deep breath. "I feel like you are a completely different person."

"My ability is Measure Heart," the girl replied, jumping off the table and landing on her feet. "It can freely regulate the distance between people's hearts. I simply set my distance to the most important person to you. I hit your friend over there too," she gesture to Kuroko. "It makes it so easy to kill people when they can't even fight back." She raised her gun again. "Though, against you, I'll probably just retreat. While you can't attack me, I doubt I will be able to harm you."

"This is really a troublesome ability," Mikoto said, but then she grinned. It wasn't a happy kind of grin. It was more of the type of grin laced with dark intentions. _I know she isn't him, but when I look at her, my heart beats faster. It's as if she is him. However, she attacked Kuroko and he would never do that. It's not him._ She sparked up more and her eyes opened. "You're right. You do feel exactly like him now."

"Oh," the girl exclaimed, raising an eyebrow. "It's a guy? There were rumors you were with someone." She started to back up toward the wormhole.

"But…" That single word caused the girl to freeze.

 _It can't be,_ the girl thought. _I thought she was supposed to be the most stable of all the level 5s._ Her ability, Measure Heart, may seem to be all powerful, but there was a weakness. Some people may act unpredictably when they feel like someone close to them betrayed them. She wouldn't dare to use her ability on someone like Accelerator. He would most likely fly into a murderous rage and destroy everyone around him. If Mikoto was anything like him, she could be in trouble. "You aren't seriously willing to attack someone so close to you?"

"You obviously don't know who that person is," Kuroko sighed, rubbing her head. "You really made a grave mistake."

"You know," Mikoto said, taking a step forward and causing all the equipment in the lab started going haywire with the electricity in the air. "Due to your power, I feel like I consider you an important person, but you attacked my friend. If I did that, I know he would stop me, even if he had to beat some sense into me. The least I can do is return the favor." Several strands of electricity scattered, short circuiting all the nearby computers. Kuroko could sense the danger and teleported away to get out of the building.

"Wait!" the girl said, putting out a hand, before dashing at the wormhole.

"YOU IDIOT!" Mikoto yelled she unleashed a burst of electricity, while simultaneously summoning a lightning strike from the sky unconsciously. The surge of electricity knocked out the power for several blocks, including short circuiting a power relay station, increasing the range of the black outs. When the dust settled, every piece of electronics in the lab had short circuited. Mikoto panted as she stared at the unconscious girl laying on the floor. She managed to weaken the direct attack at the very last second, but all the extra anger she felt caused her power to fly in every direction. _I think I may have caused some unnecessary collateral damage._ She looked around when Kuroko teleported next to her.

"Looks like the guy closed the wormhole," Kuroko said, teleporting next to the girl and handcuffing her. "They just left her behind when she couldn't escape. Damn, they got what they wanted. Who knows what they are going to do with it."

"Well we captured her," Mikoto said, pointing at the girl. "She should be able to tell us."

"How did you find us anyways?" Kuroko asked. "You weren't anywhere near me when I entered."

"I followed you," Mikoto stated simply. "When I lost sight of you, I had to hack the cameras to find out where you went. That's what took so long, or I would have been here sooner."

"Seriously onee-sama," Kuroko sighed. "I've told you before you shouldn't interfere with Judgment business, but…" she teleported and hugged Mikoto. "Thanks for saving me."

"You don't need to thank me," Mikoto mumbled, patting Kuroko on the back. "So, do you think they are going to be mad I destroyed all the equipment in the lab?"

"We can always blame it on their group," Kuroko said, pointing to the girl. "You should get out of here though. I'll contact Uiharu and update her on the situation, but you shouldn't be caught when Anti-Skill shows up."

"Let me know what happens," Mikoto said, turning around and moving toward the exit.

"Okay onee-sama," Kuroko said, watching her leave. As she pulled out her phone to contact Anti-Skill, a thought crossed her mind. _Do I have to keep that promise?_

* * *

Accelerator was walking through the deserted streets toward the warehouse Motoharu had told him about. He only saw a couple cars driving around and a few delivery trucks. Once he was within three blocks of the warehouse, things got unusually quiet. There were dozens of security cameras and plenty of obvious and, most likely hidden, alarm systems. Each warehouse he passed looked exactly the same as the previous one, except for their identification numbers. From a normal person's perspective, this area would be exactly like the countless other storage areas for the city. If Accelerator hadn't known Motoharu long enough to know how reliable his information was, he wouldn't have bothered to check the place out.

 _There's nothing unusual here,_ Accelerator thought irritated. _But that kind of makes this place unusual. Every area in Academy City is unusual in some way, so a normal area would be a perfect place to secretly hide something important._ He stopped when he reached his destination. _It_ _definitely looks the same as the others. I swear, if he is leading me on a wild goose chase for some reason, I'm going to strangle him. Let's see, I should knock, say hello, and see if anything is going on._ He walked up the asphalt to the main door, reached up to flip his choker on, and tapped the metal with his hand.

The metal crumbled, tore with an ear screeching sound, and flew off its hinges, bouncing loudly across the cement floor.

"Hello," Accelerator called out. "If you're here, I expect an answer. I won't be happy if I have to search for you." Everything was silent and he frowned. "Hard way it is." He walked into the warehouse, flipped on the lights, and looked around.

As warehouses were concerned, this one looked like it was designed to only hold one type of cargo. Countless wooden crates, about eight feet long and a couple feet wide, lined the wall and several crates were stacked in the middle. There was plenty of room to drive a forklift around the warehouse, so it wasn't anywhere near capacity. Accelerator wasn't too interested in what the crates were holding. He was more focused on seeing if Teitoku was there, or at least one of his lackeys who Accelerator could persuade to talk. Accelerator walked along the perimeter until he noticed a door in the back. He walked up to it and twisted the doorknob.

It was locked.

 _Am I really surprised?_ He reached up to flip his choker on, when another voice spoke through the warehouse speakers.

"There's no reason to be all violent Accelerator," the man's voice said. "If you wanted entrance, all you had to do was ask."

"I've heard that before," Accelerator laughed. "But when I ask, they cry, beg for their mommies, and either attack me or run away. What are you going to do?"

"Well," the man said. "I know my associate would prefer to kill you directly and for me not to interfere. However," his voice sounded amused, "I could hardly call myself a researcher if I don't take advantage of opportunities to test out my new models on such a perfect subject."

"Oh?" Accelerator asked. "Who are you to think you can stand a chance against me?"

"You can just call me the Doctor," the man said. "Please have some fun, or I can't get any good data on you." The sound of wooden box lids slamming on to the floor came from behind Accelerator, causing him to turn around.

"This is interesting," Accelerator laughed. "Robots I have dealt with, but humanoid ones? Usually it's a power suit over someone, or some large remote controlled machine."

"These are a new model of self-adapting automatons," the Doctor laughed. "I just need some data to work out a few kinks in their programming. Be a good sport and help out. Destroying them is fine too."

"For most people I would assume they are just trying to save face," Accelerator said, turning his attention to the five machines standing up and stepping out of the cases, before surrounding him. "But there's something about you. I can feel it with even just your voice. You have been part of the dark side for a long time."

"I take pride in my work," the Doctor bragged. "Losing a couple pieces of equipment is a perfectly acceptable price for my research. You level 5s are perfect specimens with your abilities that go beyond common sense. Number 7 is someone I definitely want to see my improved inventions. His abilities are stupid and incomprehensible, but he at least appreciated my machines."

"Let's see what they got," Accelerator sneered, flipping on the switch of his collar. The first robot pulled out a metal pole from its crate. It turned its head to look at Accelerator, before suddenly jumping over thirty feet to land right in front of him. It swung the pole at Accelerator's head, but all it did was bend and fly away from Accelerator. The robot didn't give up and, after dropping the pole, reached out and tried to grab Accelerator's neck with its hand. Its fingers flew off its body, the revealed circuits sending out sparks. A moment later, its arm joined its fingers, when Accelerator reached up and tore it off. "How dull." He used his other hand to tear off the head of the robot, causing it to go silent.

The second robot raised its arms and started fire bullets from its wrist, but it was as effective as the first one's attacks. As soon as the bullets hit Accelerator, they immediately flew back the way they come from and started shredding the robot. It stumbled as the damage messed with its motor functions, but it managed to stabilize. It jumped forward and landed right in front of Accelerator, who raised an eyebrow. A second later the robot exploded in a flash of light, sending fire and metal in all directions. Accelerator didn't even budge.

"Everyone does these things," he sighed. "Seriously, you are as boring as the others."

"Just wait."

Accelerator noticed the third robot had a different arm attachment. Instead of a hand, it reminded him of the end of a Taser. The robot raised it and fired a bolt of electricity at Accelerator. The electricity hit him and spread out in every direction, but nothing happened to Accelerator. He seemed as bored as ever. He tapped his foot and leaped forward, pushing his hand into the robot's chest, and pulling out most of the circuitry. The robot exploded and, when the dust cleared, Accelerator was still standing, but his face now showed a slightly irritated expression.

"Interesting," the Doctor commented. "I knew direct attacks would have no effect, but you showed no reaction when being attacked by metal or bullets. When faced with electricity, you seem to have become more agitated. I wonder why. Some kind of trauma perhaps?"

"I'm just getting bored of your unoriginal attacks," Accelerator snapped, but knew that wasn't true. He actually felt a sense of déjà vu that made him slightly sick. The robot shooting electricity reminded him of the Level 6 experiment with the Misaka clones. _I'm never going to get over the shit I've done._ Nausea welled up from within him after he ripped the machine apart. Watching the broken pieces of electronics scatter on the floor calmed him down slightly, but he was no longer bored, or even slightly amused. He took a step forward toward the fourth one. "I'm going to destroy your toys and then go downstairs to find you."

"Kids these days," the Doctor sighed. "No patience to enjoy the fine art of experimental research. Oh well, one day you will realize the joy, if you survive that long. I have a feeling you make a lot of enemies and someone will find a way to kill you."

"You are…" Accelerator started to say, but stopped when a slightly greenish-yellow gas started shooting out of the last two robots mouths. It was surrounding Accelerator and spreading out to fill the entire warehouse. Gas wasn't directly an issue for Accelerator, his deflection was set up to automatically reflect it, even if he didn't know it was there. The issue occurred when the gas pushed too much oxygen out of the area. Even if the gas wouldn't directly enter his body, the lack of oxygen could cause him to suffocate. There was also the issue of if the gas was flammable, because the robots seemed to self-destruct on defeat, except for the first one for some reason. The fire could easily remove all the oxygen in the building.

Instead, Accelerator manipulated the air in the warehouse and blew it out the entrance he came in, diluting the gas until it was gone. He took a breath and leaped through the air to one of the remaining two robots. He moved his arm in a sweeping motion, causing one of the robots to get sliced in half. He then pushed off on the ground, as the robot exploded, to reach the last one. He reached both of his hands up and grabbed its head. With the unpleasant screeching sound of tearing metal, its head was separated from its body. Accelerator kicked the rest of the machine's body right before it exploded. He glanced around at the floor, covered by smoking electronic parts, and grinned.

"It couldn't even scratch me," he said loudly to the Doctor. He threw the head at the wall where it made a satisfying clang.

"Not yet," he replied, not sounding even the least bit disappointed. "It was about what I expected. I only wanted to see if something I read about you was right."

"Read about me? You mean how unbeatable I am?"

"I believe you know an individual named Amata Kihara?" the Doctor asked. "Well, former individual. You did kill him after all."

"Tsk," Accelerator muttered, clicking his tongue. He hated that name. Amata Kihara had been the lead researcher in examining Accelerator's ability for in the city. Last year, Amata had been trying to kidnap Last Order and kill Accelerator. He actually managed to capture Last Order and implant a virus into her head, before Accelerator showed up. He fought Amata, but his choker ran out of power and he was about to die. It was only because of an unknown power, which he now related to his black wings, that allowed him to survive. He killed Amata while Index saved Last Order form the virus. "What about him?"

"He had a pretty detailed file about your ability," the Doctor replied. "Including your weaknesses, tactics, and habits."

"Bullshit," he snapped. "I don't have weaknesses."

"Denial only leads one to an early grave. Anyway, I could have used your weaknesses against you, but I wanted my machines to start adapting to you. The last two you fought, you actually had to do more than just reflect, didn't you?"

Accelerator didn't say anything, because he didn't want to admit the Doctor had a point. While every pathetic thug who attacked him could use projectiles or melee weapons, many others could use abilities, like shooting lightning. However, trying to suffocate him was a strategy most people wouldn't think of. It took over ten thousand Misaka clones before they thought of that strategy. Either the Doctor lied and programed the machines to use strategies Amata dictated, or the machines were adapting faster than he cared to realize.

"I am going to take your silence as confirmation," the Doctor continued. "Anyway, as payment for your cooperation, feel free to go through the door and down the stairs. You will be pleased to meet one of my associates, but I believe he won't be the one you're looking for." He laughed slightly and the voice disappeared.

"Who the fuck was that?" Accelerator mumbled, as he walked to the door. He had no doubt the area beyond it was trapped, but it didn't faze him. Instead, he realized something else that infuriated him. _I bet that guy was just supposed to distract me while the others escaped. If they tried to fight, they wouldn't stand a chance._ He kicked the door in frustration, sending it flying off its hinges, and walked in. The door led to a stairwell and he continued underground. There were only dull security lights lighting his way and his footsteps echoed loudly. He came to another heavy set steel door and he kicked it open too.

"Didn't I say this was off limits to you…?" A familiar voice said as Accelerator walked in. "Why Accelerator, it's been awhile. Did you come to meet your demise?"

"I finally found…." He started to say, before looking around. "What the hell is this?!"

"The odds aren't in your favor."

"Whether it is one or a thousand of you," Accelerator snarled. "It won't matter."

"Let's put that theory to the test."

* * *

 _I know this is probably impossible, but I can't sit back and do nothing._

Touma had been checking all the places he and Index had run into Hyouka before, but he wasn't having any luck. Misaki was using her network to keep watch around the city, but she wasn't faring any better. Touma knew Hyouka was the one who normally found him and Index. Index had told him several times before if she ever went looking for her, Hyouka would be the one to find her. This time, he was the one who needed to find Hyouka. He had just gotten off the phone with Misaki and was leaning up against a brick wall, trying to think what his next course of action should be.

 _What is the best way to find her?_ he thought. _Misaki can obviously search a wider area than I can and she's going to contact me immediately if she finds any sign of her. I should try contacting Index again._ He had tried to call Index several times, but she never answered. Since Index was completely hopeless with technology, he figured she either had her phone on silent or left it somewhere. The reason he kept trying to contact her, despite the obstacles, was she might be able to find Hyouka for him. While he was hopeful, he was still surprised when she actually picked up.

"Hello," Index said, slightly nervous. "Can you hear me okay? Who is calling?"

"Index, it's me."

"Touma? Is something wrong? You better not be involved in something dangerous again."

"Don't worry Index, I'm not," Touma reassured her. "I'm just trying to contact Kazakiri-san and I was hoping you might know where I could find her."

"I do know," Index said proudly.

"Really?" Touma asked relieved. "Where can I find her?"

"At our dorm room."

"Wait what?" Touma asked, completely bewildered.

"Last Order and I were at the park this afternoon getting ice cream after lunch," Index explained. "When we ran into another girl. Her name is Fremea and she's with us too. She likes the same shows we do, so we hit it off immediately. We were heading back to the dorm when we ran into Hyouka." Her voice suddenly became a whisper. "I think something is bothering her, she was kind of hesitant coming with us. Try to keep her reassured or she might disappear again."

"I think I know what's bothering her," Touma told her. "Can you put her on?"

"One minute," Index said. Touma waited, slightly anxiously, as he heard several girls in the background. He heard Last Order's unique way of talking and a girl he didn't recognize. _That must be Fremea, but did she just say nyaa?_ When the phone finally reached someone else, it turned out not to be Hyouka.

"Hey Kamijou," Lessar's voice came through loudly. "Good, I need to ask you a quick question."

"Okay," Touma sighed, knowing if he refused to answer Lessar would just delay more. It would be a lot easier to answer her and move on. "Make it fast, I really need to talk to Kazakiri -san."

"Do you prefer chocolate or honey?"

"What?"

"Do… you… prefer…"

"I heard you the first time," he interrupted. "I was just surprised. In what context?"

"Just overall."

"Chocolate I guess. Now can you please put her on?"

"Okay," Lessar said happily and Touma felt like he was going to regret his answer later but, for now, there were more pressing concerns. There was a short pause before Touma finally heard Hyouka's voice.

"Hello," she said, sounding nervous.

"Thank god I found you," Touma sighed and took a deep breath. "Kazakiri-san, I know about the organization that's after you."

"What?!" she gasped. "Umm, please hold on a moment." There was silence and Touma thought she must be moving away from the other girls, because he could no longer hear them in the background. "If you know, then you realize why I can't see you two anymore. Do you think you can tell Index for me?"

"No," Touma said firmly.

"But…" Hyouka tried to say.

"Listen," Touma said firmly. "Regardless of who comes after you, regardless of who we have to stand up against, Index and I are your friends. We will always be your friends. If you are in trouble, all you have to do is say so and we will do everything we can to help."

"Those guys don't appear normal," Hyouka said, sounding like she was holding back tears. "If you try to protect me, you will just get hurt. I only came to tell Index we wouldn't be able to see each other again, but I got too involved. I have so much fun when I'm with her, but I'm sick of others getting hurt over me. I don't want what happened before with that one lady to happen again. So many people were hurt and I was left unharmed. Index has been such a great friend to me, and so have you. If anything happens to either of you, I could never forgive myself. I'm not even human and you two still call yourselves my friends."

Touma waited patiently while she ranted before continuing. "I told you before not to think that way. Even if you aren't made of flesh and blood, you still have thoughts and feelings. You are one of the kindest individuals I have ever met, even helping me save countless lives. So, even if you reject my help, I'm still going to give it to you. If they think they can kidnap or hurt you, I'm going to shatter their illusions." He heard Hyouka sniff.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"You know," Touma added. "Index and I have several friends who also volunteered to protect you if the time comes, even after finding out about you. They don't care either. To them, you are someone who is in trouble and needs help. When all of this is over, I hope you get a chance to meet them."

"I would like that," Hyouka replied truthfully.

"Go and have fun with Index and the others," Touma told her. "Contact me if you run into trouble and I'll rush over to help you."

"Okay," Hyouka said and Touma could hear the happiness in her voice. They hung up and Touma sighed in relief.

 _At least she's safe for now with Index. Plus, Lessar's there and she is reliable._ He looked down at his phone. _Oh, I should let Misaki know I found her. There's no reason for her to keep looking._ He texted her a quick explanation and looked up at the sky. He just realized how tired he was. With the anti-crime game, Eve's arrival, and running around the city looking for Hyouka, it had been a long day. He was debating heading back to his dorm to lay down, but with five girls there, he probably wasn't going to get any rest. He yawned, and suddenly stopped. Something strange in the distance caused him to freeze.

Clouds in the sky started to spiral over a building in the distance. Their color was changing from grey to a blood red and lightning crackled in the sky. For a wild moment, he thought Mikoto was going all out, but he knew better. _She can't change the color of clouds and lightning._ The clouds spun faster before a red light descended upon the earth, like an orbital bombardment. Smoke and dust rose in the distance and Touma felt his blood freeze. He recognized that attack from so long ago, back when he met an alchemist and first learned about vampires.

 _That's a Gregorian Chant, but the Catholic Church isn't here right? Could they have sent someone to assassinate Eve?_ It was supposed to take thousands of people chanting an incantation to be able to cast that spell.

He didn't need to think twice. He stood up and ran down the street toward the source of the explosion. He was going to investigate and make sure no one was hurt. The only magicians powerful enough, that he knew were the city, to cast that would be someone in Eve's group. _Please don't let any of my friends be hurt._

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **So, people were very adamant about Frenda not dying. It was one thing in the novels, where she had a limited role, but now she actually has a purpose. You all can be happy. I actually want to address something one person stared in the comments for last chapter. It reminded me of something interesting I discussed with a couple other people.**

 **Agent Nine, you hit an important point in the story. When Touma tries to handle everything himself, he gets sent to the hospital a lot more. In my story, that route is a lot harder with most of the girls knowing about magic and the stuff he gets involved with. So with help, he gets hurt a lot less, but there is a downside with this now. It's more mentally taxing, because now he's always worried about his friends getting hurt when dealing with magicians. While they have experience dealing with magic, they still don't truly understand it. This will become an important point later on.**

 **Shizuri: What the hell! Why are we reading about the brats? Everyone wants to see me.**

 **Me: Well, I wanted to get them out of the way…. Your fight is going to be amazing and a lot longer than the others.**

 **Shizuri: I think you just don't want to die.**

 **Me…**

 **Frenda: YAY, I survived!**

 **Misaki: Hmm, I didn't get any screen time this chapter.**

 **Mikoto: Eh, your fights aren't exciting.**

 **Misaki: Just because my battles are more mentally taxing than flashing explosions everywhere, doesn't mean they are boring.**

 **Ruiko: So Uiharu, you actually did something really important this chapter. Great job. I wish I could do something. I haven't done anything since England.**

 **Kazari: Don't worry. You will get your chance to shine.**

 **Mikoto: I was wondering, why do you never let Touma do the opening comments?**

 **Me: Because I don't want every reader to ask the same question, "Which girl do you prefer" and all the variations of it.**

 **Mikoto: …**

 **Misaki: …**

 **Shizuri: …**

 **Frenda: …**

 **Ruiko: …**

 **Lessar: …**

 **Index: …**

 **Aisa: …**

 **Seria: …**

 **Itsuwa: …**

 **Kanzaki: …**

 **All other girls in the world: …**

 **Me: Umm, I don't like the way you are looking at me. AHHHH!**

 **(Silence)**

 **Accelerator: Okay hero, you can come out now.**

 **Touma: Thank god, when he said that, I know it wasn't going to end well. You think the author will live?**

 **Accelerator: Who cares? Just get on with it.**

 **Touma: Ok yea. Next week he's planning to have Frenda and Saiai do opening announcements.**

 **Last Order: Aww, MISAKA wants to do the announcements again, but this time alone MISAKA sighs as MISAKA indicates her desire.**

 **Accelerator: No.**

 **Misaka Imouto: Misaka could accompany the superior model, Misaka offers.**

 **Accelerator: No.**


	73. S3 Dark Matter

**It's our time to shine. My name is Saiai Kinuhata.** _ **And I'm Frenda Frenda Seivelun.**_ **Our fights are over and now it's time for Mugino to super show everything she's got. It's sure to be a bloody battle.** _ **Oh, the author's dead so not sure what we are going to do for future chapters, but let's move on. Basically, we have a lot of questions and need to get started.**_ **I'm super going to embarrass you.** _ **Don't you even think about it.**_

 **naruhinasakufan1: Hmm, they would certainly make a lot of the missions easier, but they probably wouldn't be on the same ones unless it's a super big one.** _ **Basically, if we are fighting ability users, Kamijou would be really beneficial and if we were fighting science and normal thieves, Accelerator would crush them.**_

 **wildarms13:** _ **I may have the ability of Dimensional Transcendentalism, where I can make a space larger on the inside than the outside. Lots of limitations, has to be close to me and a very limited space. Huh, basically, what are you suggesting?**_ **She would prefer not to have her skirt at all.** _ **SHUT UP!**_ **I'm not a masochist, I'm just attracted to strong guys.** _ **Lies, she totally is.**_

 **Handsomistic1:** _ **Season Four probably, since this one is probably going to end soon once Kakine is gone.**_ **It would happen when it super happens.** _ **She's trying to break his shell.**_ **Why don't you try to break Kamijou's shell?**

 **Guest:** _ **WHAT! When did this happen? How do you even know about her? I would be more worried about her being with Accelerator, he's into little girls. Surprisingly, I've been working too much to worry about what's a good date spot.**_ **It doesn't taste good.** _ **Sure.**_ **It's the guys' job to decide on date spots. There are also tons of organizations that form and we take them down if needed.** _ **Kamijou would own Kakine in a fight. Basically, he can knock Mugino's attack away like it's nothing. We will never tell Hamazura.**_ **It's super fun to keep him in the dark.**

 **Guest:** _ **I don't know, I'm still really young. I-I'm not trying to seduce him. I think Mugino wants him to close because he's really useful, so I would have to share him with her, if I was interested in him. Neither.**_ **He always super rejects my advances, stupid little girl next to him keeps him occupied. It super depends on the ammunition. If it's one that explodes on impact, I might be able to. Well, I already did and lost badly.**

 **Hilem: Because it's super fun.** _ **Definitely. It annoys him so much which just adds to the fun.**_ **It's also a way to relax from the stress of our missions.**

 **Geust's Account:** _ **Lots of explosions might be nice, maybe a collapsing building. What video? Basically, when he does something really stupid. U-umm, you mean demonstrate how amazing I am with weapons?**_ **I'm super going to find you and rip off your arm and beat you with it for that question. Just for that, I'm not answering anymore of your questions.** _ **Didn't you always say your body was perfect for your age?**_ **Why don't you and Kamijou go participate in a B-movie or something?** _ **Hey, don't take your frustration out on me. Let's find Hamazura after this.**_ **I guess that's okay.**

 **Salishious:** _ **Charmander, fire types are the best.**_ **I super did the Easter egg and got Pikachu.**

 **321jaz:** _ **We live together when I'm not out with the others.**_ _ **She can't meet him because he seems to have a way with girls.**_ **It's super part of the Dark May project when part of Accelerator's personality was implanted into me. It's a tick I can't really control so it just slips out.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

"How anticlimactic," Teitoku said, shaking his head, as he slowly lowered himself down to the ground. "The great level 5, Meltdowner, killed by her own desire for power. She even took an illegal drug to boost her ability, only to have it overload and then dies like a pathetic dog." He laughed and his feet touched the street. "Seriously, I couldn't imagine a better fate for you. I should have brought some popcorn to enjoy the show."

"…Fuck… you…," Shizuri gasped, as she collapsed on all fours. It was taking all her concentration to barely stay conscious, let alone stand up and fight. She was trying to last long enough for Rikou to wake up but, if Teitoku decided to attack Rikou, all chance of victory would be gone. In fact, if he got bored and decided to attack Shizuri while she was incapacitated, nothing else would matter either. "…will… kill… you…"

"You, kill me?" Teitoku threw back his head and roared with laughter. "Even if you were at full power, I could easily deflect your attacks. That one attack of yours only happened to get through because your power overloaded, and look what the consequences of that were. Overusing your power like that crippled you so badly, you are about to die. I've seen it before countless times during our test runs. The subject's brain can't handle their increase in AIM field strength and their brain goes into overdrive, before breaking down. Your body then starts taking the backlash and pain overwhelms your senses." He paused and looked at her. "I'm surprised you can still talk at all. Maybe you can answer a question for me, for my amusement"

Shizuri looked up and glared at him in response. She didn't want to admit it but, everything he said she felt like it was happening to her. She wouldn't be surprised if it was exactly what Teitoku thought. Her brain felt like it was exploding and her body was on fire.

"You see," Teitoku said, pacing back and forth in front of her. "Your situation raises an important question for me. My research was supposed to be secret and carefully monitored. I personally oversaw everyone who was administering the drug and how many doses they were given. Everyone was accounted for and used, besides the ones I have hidden. So, how did you get your hands on a sample of the drug? I would have known if someone was killed, captured, or just disappeared. You had to get it from somebody. If you tell me who the traitor is, I won't kill you, and there's a chance you 'might' survive. Though, in your condition, you will probably be a level 0 again if that happens."

"Heh," Shizuri snickered. Even on the verge of death, while in mind wracking pain, it was worth laughing at him. His face contorted with anger and she felt a sliver of satisfaction. The pain kept her from fulling enjoying it though. Teitoku stared at her for a moment, before walking over and stopping right in front of her. He reached down and grabbed her hair. He yanked her up until she was on her knees, supported by his vicelike grip. He leaned his head down and stared straight into her eyes. His face was blurry to her, but she tried to focus.

"Tell me," he hissed coldly. "Before I'm forced to break your neck to relieve my irritation. I swear, if you don't tell me, the sweet embrace of death will be all you can hope for. You might have a chance to live if you throw away your pride and tell me. Now, one last time, WHO THE FUCK GAVE YOU THE DRUG!?"

Shizuri spat and hit him directly in the eye.

"I see," Teitoku said, his voice calm, but obviously hiding the endless abyss of rage within him. He wiped his face with his free hand, and then slapped her across the face. He then threw her with the hand holding onto her hair and she flew backwards, rolling on the street. She stopped, sprawled out on the street, only able to move her head slightly and look up. While she felt the pain for being thrown, it was insignificant to the pain already destroying her body. "You want to die that badly, fine. I'll find out for myself. Someone as weak as you deserves to die on the ground, alone. Maybe, I'll go and find Accelerator, he should give me a tough enough fight to be worthy of my magic. Shoot, even the Railgun would be a better fight than you. Oh that's right," he turned back to look at Shizuri. "Even Mental Out has surpassed you too. No wonder you stole that drug."

 _That bastard,_ Shizuri fumed silently, unable to speak. Her body refused to listen to anything her mind told it to do. She could hear every word Teitoku spoke, but her mind was barely processing them. It was completely true that she only took the drug to increase her power. She had felt stuck at her current position in the ability development curriculum while the others kept passing her one by one. Accelerator, Teitoku, Mikoto, and now even Misaki. She had been given an opportunity to rectify the situation and she took it, knowing full well of the risks. While the odds were low she was going to run into Teitoku¸ it had always been a possible risk and she had willing accepted it. _With Takitsubo still unconscious, this is the worst possibly outcome._

"The rest of your group is being killed as we speak," Teitoku continued turning around, his back to her. "Soon, Academy City will be an ITEM free zone." He took a couple steps away from her, when he suddenly stepped. "You know, there was an interesting rumor you were seeing a guy. Your group disappeared for a week and it was believed you went somewhere with him. I didn't think much of it, as no guy would want to go out with a psychopath like you, but if it's true, maybe I should find and kill him too. Yea, I think that would be good punishment for not answering me."

Anger was building up within Shizuri, blocking out part of the pain. It allowed her to think slightly more clearly. _The others should be fine, they know what to do in these kinds of situations, but that idiot is too naive. He would walk right into Kakine's trap and have no clue._ Normally, she wouldn't be so pissed, it was common for the dark side to draw unrelated people into it if it meant hurting the competition, but this time was different. When Teitoku threaten to kill Touma, she became furious. His face from when she last met him flashed through her mind. His face had been full of concern for her, with no trace of disappointment or pity about her demotion. He was probably the first guy who generally cared about her, not as a level five, but as an actual person. Her hands turned into fist and the pain seemed to be lessening. _I'm going to kill him, even if I die. No one threatens him, except for me._

"Well," Teitoku continued, without turning around. "I can't say it's been fun, but it has been enlightening. Your death marks one of the last hindrances to my plans. Without your interference, I can…" He stopped talking and slowly turned his head around. He felt something… ominous… from behind him. It was a dark aura, full of hatred and killing intent, but there was something else. His eyes widened when he realized the feeling.

It was fear.

While hatred and killing intent wasn't unusual for him, he saw that all the time from people and felt it often. It was the fear which was unnerving him. With his power, only Accelerator should be able to have a chance to defeat him. Someone like Shizuri would never stand a chance. Besides, her AIM field was running out of control, so her ability would be useless. Her body was destroying itself and she would be dead soon. His eyes widened and he could only watch as Shizuri pushed herself up with her arms and then slowly rose to her feet. She looked up and her eyes showed nothing but hatred. "How are you standing?" Teitoku asked, stunned. "None of the others had this much motor function."

"Wouldn't you like to know," Shizuri answered, unable to stop herself from grinning. Seeing Teitoku's stunned face was a reward in itself. "I suppose the person who helped me knows more about abilities than you do." She wasn't entirely sure why she was able to stand. Even with her barely contained rage, it shouldn't be enough to lessen the intense pain coursing through her body. The only thing she could think of was what Jason had told her.

 _We are going to determine the exact minimum dose needed to overload your ability right above the cap your body can handle_

If this was true, her power should be overloading at a specific rate to barely surpass her limits. Teitoku most likely tried to overload his test subjects with no regard to the individuals limit. Their power would spiral out of control and burst through the limit causing death if they couldn't adapt. Shizuri's ability was most likely slowly pushing her limits and the most recent burst of pain was a warning the wall was breaking. _At least I can still fight, but for how long?_ She took a step forward, her eyes flashing red as she remembered his words. "Threatening my group is a good way to get yourself killed. I don't care if you are the number two." An orb appeared on either side of her.

"So you stabilized?" Teitoku said, raising an eyebrow. "Well, that's unexpected, but actually works better for me." His six large white wings, made of matter that did not exist in the world, spread out from behind him. "Let's see what you got. I don't feel this fight will last long. I can see your legs shaking under just your weight."

"Shaking from excitement in seeing your bloody corpse," Shizuri lied, but knowing he was right. It took most of her concentration to just stay standing. Adding the additional effort of maintaining two orbs was causing her head to start pounding again. _I can't let him know my condition, but I probably can't use more than two beams or I'll collapse again. Dodging is also out of the question. His wings can just be regenerated, so I need to hit his body directly._ Her eyes narrowed as she looked him in the eye. His eyes were cold and cruel, with just a hint of amusement, which meant he was still underestimating her. _Perfect._

The silence lengthened as they stared at each other, unmoving.

 _Boom_!

The sound of air displacing was heard when Teitoku extended his white wings. Simultaneously, Shizuri fired her bright green energy beams. They collided and an explosion of light and smoke blocked each other from view. Teitoku's wings were in tatters, but hadn't been completely disintegrated. It seemed like Shizuri's attacks were stronger than normal, but not nearly as powerful as the one blast she released earlier. _It_ l _ooks like she managed to get a boost to her ability, but it's nowhere near enough._ He saw another light through the smoke and shielded himself with his other wings, as another blast flew through the smoke right at his body. Another explosion occurred and he was pushed back a foot.

"How was that asshole?" Shizuri asked triumphantly. When the smoke cleared she made an annoyed sound with her tongue. "Tsk, still alive, damn it. Your wings look like they have seen better days though." She was referring to how they looked like shredded curtains. Teitoku's eyes flashed with hated behind his wings, as they opened up away from his body. Shizuri instinctively looked at Rikou, who was still laying on the ground.

"You really want to die, don't you?" Teitoku shook his wings in the air and they returned to their former glory. "Come on now, you're smarter than that. You know these wings are just an extension of my ability. Blast them all day and they just regenerate." His eyes widen slightly in surprise when another green beam flew right at his body, the moment he spread his wings and started his lecture.

"And you talk too much," Shizuri added, when her Meltdowner hit him in the chest. _Did I finally get him? He couldn't move his wings back in time._ The dust cleared and she scowled. _Damn it. It's like I'm fighting Accelerator all over again._ Teitoku was standing there, smirking with an air of superiority, basking in the pleasure of her stunned silence. Shizuri was painfully reminded of how one sided her fight was when Accelerator kept reflecting everything without batting an eye. Teitoku was beginning to feel like he existed in the same dimension. _I thought if I could destroy his damn wings, I could actually injure him._

"Nice try," Teitoku laughed. "But my Dark Matter ability can create over 25,000 different kinds of matter and energy. These wings are just one type, unless I decide to modify them." He shrugged. "You only create one type of energy, admittingly, quite a destructive one. All I had to do was create enough energy to block yours. A simple task, for one as powerful as myself."

"You must also be able to create an ego, because it's even bigger than Accelerators."

"I bet you think you're funny," Teitoku said, frowning slightly. He hated when someone compared him to Accelerator. His wings extended outwards from either side of him, until they blocked most of the street. They pulled back slightly, before pushing forward. All the air in front of him was gathered and became a gust of wind, lifting Shizuri off her feet. As she was flying backwards through the air, Shizuri tried to fire one of her beam attacks, but her body started spinning in midair and the attack missed. It hit the street next to Teitoku, causing an explosion, while sending pieces of asphalt, dirt, and concreate in all directions. The shards hit Teitoku and bounced off, as if he had an invisible force field.

"Gah!" Shizuri gasped, as she landed hard on her back and rolled several times. Her vision blurred for a second from the sudden jolt, but she rolled over on her front and pushed herself up. _How should I proceed? Direct attacks aren't working, and it's not like my ability is all that versatile. It's why they promoted the Railgun ahead of me, or that's what they original said. If he was right about how they ranked us, there's a lot more going on._ She stood up, and her knees almost buckled under the strain. Hitting the ground caused more damage to her already damaged body.

Teitoku smirked at her condition and walked over to the sidewalk. He reached out with his hand and ripped a mailbox out of the ground. Shizuri made a mental note that his ability also gave him super strength. He turned and looked at her, holding the mail box out to his side. "Catch." He threw it like a baseball and Shizuri was barely able to make her shield. The green orb finished spiraling in front of her as the mailbox hit. There was a tiny bit of smoke while the mailbox dissolved into nothing. The shield then disappeared in a spiral from the center.

"Now I know you are just playing with me," Shizuri growled. "What is your game?" She grabbed her head as a wave of pain engulfed her, followed by nausea.

"If I ended this too fast," Teitoku explained. "I could hardly enjoy my revenge. Plus, I'm interested in seeing how your body is reacting to the drug. You seemed to have survived, but you're still showing signs of slowly breaking apart. I'm interested in seeing if a level 5 can truly evolve with this drug." He sneered. "After all, I rather not risk my own health. You, on the other hand, can die and it would have no real consequence." He flapped his wings again and another gust flew at Shizuri.

"Not this time," Shizuri growled, crouching down slightly and forming another shield. She didn't block the entire gust of wind, but enough collided and dissolved against her shield that she wasn't pushed backwards. The shield disappeared and she took a step forward. Her eyes darted backwards for a fraction of a second to see if Rikou was moving. _Damn, she's still unconscious._ "Your attacks are getting predictable. Don't you have any…" She stopped talking and stumbled. _Not again._ She held out her hand to stabilize herself and pressed it up against the building next to her. Her vision blurred and the nausea intensified. Before realizing it, she had fallen to her knees and threw up in the grass.

"Can't you even speak properly anymore?" Teitoku sighed. "This is getting boring and I've lost interest. I was interested in that one attack that managed to blow away my Dark Matter, but it doesn't look like you can do something like that again." He turned his head and looked at the unconscious form of Rikou. "You keep looking at her. Why is that?" Shizuri didn't s say anything. She wasn't stupid enough to give out an important piece of information like that. "Are you expecting her to wake up and save you in some way? You shouldn't have such childish daydreams."

"None of your business," Shizuri growled, wiping her mouth with her free hand. She forced herself to her feet, barely taking in her surroundings, and leaned up against the wall of the building. She was once again wracked with pain, as if millions of flaming needles were stabbing every inch of her.

"I suppose it wouldn't be proper to kill you when you still have some shred of hope," Teitoku said with a grin. "I don't know what you expect her to do, but I think I'll kill her, just to be safe." One of his white wings started to extend slowly. He was watching Shizuri with cold dark eyes, enjoying her disbelief and savoring every second of it.

"Don't do it you bastard."

"You have a chance to save her and yourself. Tell me who gave you the ability boosting drug."

"Bite me."

"I guess she dies then," Teitoku shrugged. "You turned away my last act of goodwill." He raised his wing high, preparing to bring it down.

"STOP!" Shizuri roared with anger. _If she dies, I'm going to die too. Even if I survive, ITEM would fall apart. She's the lynch pin that holds us together._ She held out a hand and a small green orb appeared in front of her. It was much smaller than her previous ones, less than half the size of one of her normal attacks. Teitoku bust out laughing at the sight of it.

"It's like a peashooter," he pointed out. "Is this your last desperate attack?"

 _Damn it,_ Shizuri thought with a combination of anger and desperation. _My ability is still fluctuating too much._ She poured all her concentration into firing her ability, ignoring the pain that was on the verge of incapacitating her again. The orb grew slightly and seemed to be pulsing, something she had never seen before. "If you don't want to die," she sneered, pretending to confident. It might have been a lot more impressive her voice didn't sound so weak. "I suggest you back up."

"You really are trying," Teitoku snickered. "But it's all pointless. You know even being the same level, doesn't mean we are equals. Now, enjoy watching your friend die." He brought the single wing down, like an axe, at Rikou, and Shizuri fired in response. The beam definitely wasn't an impressive sight, as it was just a thin green line. She aimed it perfectly and it collided with Teitoku's wing several meters above Rikou.

The explosion was a lot larger than it should have been.

The chain reaction of explosions cause by the impact completely annihilated the wing. The beam continued forward and set off another explosion, when it hit the wall of a nearby building. The force of the explosion also sent out a shockwave, causing Rikou to roll on the ground several times. She stirred for a moment, before going still once again. _At least she's alive,_ Shizuri thought relived. _Finally, a shred of hope. I need to go over there and wake her up without Kakine realizing she's really importan…_ Another wave of pain caused her to lose her train of thoughts.

"I see now," Teitoku said, sounding amused. "You concentrated all your energy into a single point, increasing the piercing power. That must have been quite a strain on your mind." He noticed she staggered slightly after firing the last attack. His wing, on the other hand, regenerated back to normal. "I guess you other level 5s aren't complete trash. In exchange for showing me something so amusing, let me show you something."

"Oh?" Shizuri asked, raising any eyebrow. "What would that be?"

"Magic more destructive than your Meltdowner."

"Bullshit!"

"I recently learned a highly destructive spell and am eager to test out its capabilities," Teitoku said. "Weather you believe it is magic or not, remains to be seen."

"This should be good," Shizuri sneered through the pain. _It's not like I can defeat him as I am right now. My attacks are inconsistent and Rikou is still unconscious. Let's let him talk and see if there's an opening._ "Show me this 'magic' of yours." _He said he used a 'people clearing field' before, but that could have been a lie. I still have my doubts he can use real magic._

"Let me introduce yourself to someone important," Teitoku said, with a mocking smile. He pointed to the roof of a nearby building and Shizuri turned to look. A pair of white wrings extended into view and another Teitoku Kakine descended down the street to join them. "I'm sure you are familiar with him."

"Another one of your dark matter clones?"

"Precisely," Teitoku replied. "My body is not quite ready to use magic, even if I can refine mana, the very essence that allows one to use magic. You may not be aware, but magic and science can't normally coexist in the same person or they conflict with each other. The results are pretty similar what happens when someone gets their ability over loaded." His eyes darted up and down Shizuri for a moment and he smirked. "So I found a way around that particularly annoying law."

"You created a separate body to cast your magic for you," Shizuri said slowly, her eyes widening in realization. "That's… actually really impressive." _Damn, he actually might actually be able to use magic._ She leaned up against a lamp post to stabilize herself, the pain preventing her from being able to concentrate on the calculations for her ability, so she had no choice but to let them continue.

"I knew you were smart enough to realize my genius," Teitoku continued. "I have to say, the early results were quite… disappointing. The earliest clones kept dying from casting a single spell, not even worthy of being called a level 2 ability. After trial and error, I finally found the combination of dark matter required for individuals to use magic with an ability."

"So this clone is going to cast the magic?" Shizuri asked, gesturing to the clone next to him. Her hand was shaking and it fell down by her side. Teitoku nodded slightly for the clone to take over.

"Yes and know," the Teitoku clone said. "While I am part of the ritual, I am not the one actually casting the core of the spell. I am acting as the trigger and guide." He grinned and, if Shizuri didn't know he was a dark matter clone, she wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between him and the real Teitoku. Shizuri's eyes darted to a sword that she didn't notice in his hand before. It looked just like a basic long sword, except maybe slightly thinner.

 _Did he just create that?_

"It would be easy to annihilate you right now," the real Teitoku said. "Especially in your condition. However, I really want to test out the limits of this spell, so you will have a few more minutes of life." He turned to his clone. "Go ahead." The clone raised the sword straight up, high above his head.

"Revelation 8:7, the first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down onto the earth!" The clone's sword started to glow with an eerie dark red light.

Shizuri's blood froze as the feeling of dread overwhelmed even the pain. It almost looked like the sword was acting as an antenna for the spell Teitoku's clone was casting. The wind picked up and the temperature dropped slightly. The color of her surroundings began to change, as they started to have a slight red hue. Shizuri instinctively looked up and her mouth fell open. Dark red clouds began to swirl above them, accompanied with bright red lightning. She shivered involuntarily as she felt goosebumps. "What the hell is that?!" she yelled at Teitoku.

"The Gregorian Chant."

Before he could explain or she could ask any follow up questions, the red lightning flashed violently in the sky. A loud boom echoed all around them as the lightning clashed together. A single bolt appeared, like a spear, and it descended upon the building across the street from Shizuri. Every glass window was shattered and fell upon the ground like razor hail. A gust of wind hit Shizuri and she crossed her arms to protect her face. The attack didn't stop there. The building started to tip on its axis and push up against the building next to it. The ground floors started to get crushed under its weight, now that its support was thrown off balance, and dust and debris started to fly everywhere.

 _Shit,_ Shizuri thought to herself, when she realized the immediate problem. She was astounded by the power of Teitoku's attack, but a more pressing matter required her attention. While she was outside the radius the debris was falling, Rikou was on the edge. If Shizuri left her along, there was little doubt Rikou would get crushed by a stray piece of debris. Shizuri pushed off the pole and staggered toward Rikou, ignoring the dust and gusts of wind. _Why is everyone causing me such problems today?_

"Walking to your doom?" Teitoku called out in a mocking tone, as he and his clone spread their wings to evacuate the blast radius. "Did you give up on life after seeing my power?" Shizuri ignored him. She made her way as fast as her pain laden body would let her and, even then, pushing herself to her limits. She fell to her knees next to Rikou and looked up. The dust was too thick to make out more than dark shapes, but a large one seemed to be coming right at her.

 _Fuck,_ she thought, as she knew she only had one option. With her body in the condition that it was in, she had about a fifty percent chance, maybe less, to use her ability the way she wanted. She grimaced and coughed, as the dust flowed into her mouth. She held out a hand and concentrated as hard as she could. A green orb appeared in front of her and began to spiral out as a shield, right when a large chunk of metal descended upon them.

While Shizuri was trying to save herself and Rikou, Teitoku and his clone took off into the air and flew down the street, away from the collapsing building. They landed and watched the dust and smoke begin to settle. The clouds above them disappeared and then sun came out, allowing them a perfect view of the destruction. The building struck by the Gregorian Chant was completely decimated. The building used to be four stories, but was now a pile of rubble. The two nearby buildings had partially collapsed when the flying debris collided with them. They would have to be torn down and completely rebuilt to be used anymore.

"Heh," Teitoku snickered, before throwing his head back and laughing loudly. "Ricane was right. That attack was more destructive than her attacks. An entire building was wiped off the map instantly. Though, the preparations were kind of a pain." He turned his head to the clone. "What's the status on another strike?"

"They are recouping as we speak," his clone told him. "We should be able to proceed again on your signal."

"That's what I like to here," Teitoku said. "Sometimes it feels like I can only rely on myself." He laughed slightly at his words. "The spell seems more attuned to taking out large groups or bunkers. The way the building fell was a clear indicator. It actually lifted into the air and rotated on its axis before crumbling. I'm really interested in seeing how it will affect an individual. If she survives, she's going to be the next target. That's how I want her to die." His clone nodded in understanding.

The minutes passed and the dust was finally settling. The aftereffect of a building collapsing wasn't an instantaneous event. Teitoku was getting bored, but crossed his arms and waited. If Shizuri died, he would leave and Anti-Skill would arrive to find the two girl's corpses. If she didn't die, there was always the chance she was hiding in hopes he would leave. He didn't want to give her that chance. He was debating using his wings to blow the dust away, but a lot of the dust had already settled and he might have blown in into the air again. When he could finally see, he laughed loudly. There was a large pile of steel and concreate all over the area Shizuri and Rikou had been at.

"Shame," mumbled Teitoku, as he turned around, but he stopped. "I should probably be sure. Trash likes to play dead to try to escape their inevitable death." He took a deep breath and opened his mouth. "Trash!" he yelled loudly. "If you are still alive, you have five seconds to get out!" He waited but nothing happened. "Fine, if you are already dead, then I'm sorry your corpse is getting desecrated, but my revenge won't be satisfied unless you are truly dead. I'm going to fire another attack on your location, unless you come out." Still nothing and he was wondering if she was really dead. "Fine!" he called out. "Just die…"

A green glow under the ruble caught his attention and he smiled.

The rubble was blown away in a chain of explosions, as three beams fire out from a single location. Shizuri stood up through the dust and flames, with a look of sheer anger on her face. Rikou was lying on the ground behind her. Shizuri had managed to get her shield up in time to disintegrate all the rubble that would have fallen directly on them, but there was a gash on Shizuri's arm. Apparently, a piece of rubble flew under her shield and hit her. The blood was slowly soaking her shirt. "How the hell could you do something like that?!" she demanded.

"You interested?" Teitoku asked. "There's no use worrying about it though, because you wouldn't be able to. Even if you could use magic, this spell can't be cast by a single person. It takes 3,333 individuals to chant a certain incantation simultaneously. Their mana is magnified and concentrated together to cause a tactical strike at a single location given by a leader." He indicated the clone next to him. "Tell you what, as a final gift to you, I'll give you one final desperate chance. You get one more attack before I unleash another magical strike."

"You're to kind," Shizuri said, feeling another wave of nausea. Her head felt like someone was drilling into it. "What's with the change of heart?"

"I just want to enjoy your despair," Teitoku commented. "This way, when you see if something is on the other side, you won't have any thoughts like, if I only had one more attack."

'I hope you don't regret it," Shizuri said, holding out her hand. _If I can generate another over charged blast like one of the ones at the beginning, I might be able to kill him._ Her vision doubled so now she was seeing four Teitoku's bodies. She shook her head and focused, trying to ignore all the pain in her body. She felt blood run from her nose again and wiped it away with her free hand. _There's more than before, shit._ She move her eyes back to Teitoku, who was standing motionless down the street, a smug look on his face, as if he knew what she was thinking. She pushed all those unnecessary thoughts out of her mind and focused on her ability to materialize at the end of her outstretched hand.

Nothing happened.

Her eyes widened in surprise. _What the hell?_ She focused again but, again, nothing happened, except her headache doubled, threatening to make her pass out. _Why isn't my ability working? It's not even acting weird with its power output, but completely gone. Why is this happening? Is it because I used three beams to knock away the rubble when I knew I should have kept it to two?_ She turned and nudged Rikou with her foot and she began to stir. "Get up!" Shizuri told her, slightly desperately, but Rikou didn't seem to register her words. Shizuri's face paled slightly as her last option disappeared.

"You won't take my goodwill?" Teitoku asked. "Well, I respect the fact you haven't tried to run. Most pieces of trash would flee if they found themselves in your position. You can be a lowly worm in my eyes now, slightly above trash. Say your last words." He nodded slightly toward his clone, who stepped forward and raised his sword. "You can die a pathetic death.

Shizuri stood up straight and looked directly at him.

She was not going to die a pathetic death, trying to plead for her life or flee like a coward. She had killed countless people during her time in the dark side of Academy City and saw all types of people. You could tell a lot about someone by how they acted when they were about to die. Some would try to run, some would plea for their life, others would betray their teammates, but few would stare death in the face. She had met that kind of person only once. Right before she obliterated an assassin, he stared her straight in the eye and laughed. Shizuri was not going to die one of the pathetic deaths.

She was Shizuri Mugino.

She was the level 5, Meltdowner.

She was not going to beg for her life.

"I won't cower," Shizuri declared loudly. "Since I joined the dark side, I knew this ending would be a possibility." She glared at Teitoku with white hot fury, even as the pain in her body tried to render her unconscious. _So, this is where it all ends. Another level 5 takes me down._

"Yawn," Teitoku said, faking the motions, but there was just a tiny sliver of respect in his eye.

"…and it was hurled down onto the earth!" the clone finished chanting. The sky above them once again was filled with blood red clouds. The lightning crackled dangerously inside of them. The sound of thunder was louder and the crackling lightning began to become more frequent. They began to join and consolidate above her. Shizuri took a deep breath and looked up. It's not like she wanted to die, but she knew there was no escape from the inevitable. She closed her eyes and waited for the embrace of death.

The lightning above her flashed strong enough she could see it through her closed eyes.

Something pressed down on her shoulder, as the red lightning flew down at her.

She fell to her hands and knees and looked up instinctively to see what hit her. Her mouth fell open in shock at what she was seeing. "You!" she gasped in surprise, but her voice was probably not heard by anyone. The red lightning had descended right when she had spoken. It was coming down straight toward her and Rikou with perfect accuracy. However, when she realized what happened, relief coursed through her veins as she saw him. A high school boy with spikey black hair had pushed her down with his left hand and was standing above her with his right hand held up in the air.

Touma Kamijou's right hand was blocking the lightning from Teitoku's magic.

The sound of breaking glass was heard from his hand negating most of the attack, but it wasn't a perfect defense against such a powerful strike. Some of the red lightning was bouncing off his hand and hitting the area surrounding them. It was like they were protected under an umbrella. The rubble around them was being blown away, the street was being shredded apart, nearby buildings were collapsing, but Touma was still holding strong. He had gripped his right wrist with his left hand to stabilize himself under the weight of the attack. After what seemed like ages, the attack subsided and the clouds dispersed.

"Are you okay?" Touma gasped, grabbing his side and panting. It sounded like blocking the attack took a huge toll on him, or he had run a short marathon before reaching her.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Shizuri fumed, anger welling up from within her. Touma looked confused at her response. "Actually, scratch that, how the hell did you know we were here?" She knew why he would be there. _He is always trying to save people._

"I saw the first strike," Touma explained quickly, looking over at Teitoku. "I take it he's the enemy?"

"His name is Teitoku Kakine," Shizuri spat out. "He's the number two known as Dark Matter."

"The number two?" Touma repeated, bewildered. "Why is he here?" He reached down a hand to help Shizuri up, but she slapped it away. However, she didn't touch his hand, she hit him in the arm.

"Don't touch me!" she said quickly. Shizuri had realized the danger instantly. Touma's hand could negate abilities, which meant if he negated her ability while it was running out of control, the experiment might fail. It would make everything she had just experienced worthless. She had no idea if his hand could remove the problems with her ability, just temporarily remove the side effects, or even if it would reset it back to normal. There was too much left up to chance to risk it. If she could wake up Rikou to examine her AIM field, there was still a chance of salvaging everything.

"Can you take Takitsubo-san and leave then?" Touma asked. "I'll hold him off." _Damn, I was too late. Takitsubo-san was knocked out and Mugino looks a mess. There's blood, dirt, and bruises everywhere on her. The entire street looks like a warzone._

"I'll wake her up," Shizuri said. "But then I'm joining you to kick this guy's ass!" There was no way her pride would let her run away with her tail between her legs. She was far too proud to do that. She also didn't want anything happening to the boy in front of her, which was a rather unknown concept to her. She normally would use people as tools and then disregard them if the situation required it.

"But…," Touma tried to reason. He was under the impression her injury and fatigue was from her fight with Teitoku. However, most of the damage was from her ability beginning to overload, something he knew nothing about. "Your condition…"

"My condition is none of your fucking concern," Shizuri snapped. "If you want to play the hero fine, but I have things I need to do before I can leave." She wasn't going to mention how relived she was to see him. _Maybe after this is all settled I will say thanks._ Touma looked like he was about to argue, but Shizuri intensified the strength of her glare. He knew her long enough to know her stubbornness could even dwarf Mikoto's. She watched his face show concern and his eyes looked at her like he was wrestling with the dilemma internally, but he finally turned and started walking to Teitoku. Shizuri knelt down next to Rikou and started shaking her, while smacking her on the cheek. "Wake up! Come on! Now is not the time to be sleeping!"

Teitoku had watched their conversation in stunned silence. He was too far away to hear all the details, but he was certain of one thing. _That guy stopped my Gregorian Chant with a single hand. What the hell is he?_ He turned to his clone. "Time on next attack?"

"Should only be a ….," he clone started to respond, when he stopped. "None of the other clones are performing on their end. I'm not detecting any mana flowing."

"What?!" Teitoku snapped. He reached up to his ear and hit a wireless communicator. "Ricane," he hissed under his breath. "What is going on at your end?"

"It seems like someone stumbled into our warehouse and discovered your underground area."

"What the hell?" Teitoku said, anger permeating his voice while he tried to keep a calm demeanor. "You said you could take care of any uninvited guests."

"Normally yes," Ricane agreed. "However, I was far from prepared for Accelerator to waltz in. He obviously knew what we were doing there. He has to have someone feeding him the information, I need to discover who. Anyway, I did my best to slow him down, but he then discovered the door leading downstairs. He has just engaged all of your clones." Teitoku paused for a moment, letting the information sink in.

"Why the fuck does he keep getting in my way?" Teitoku fumed, disconnecting from Ricane. _Now I have this boy who interrupted my fun. The day was going so well too._

* * *

"Is it my birthday?" Accelerator asked, glancing across the underground room. The hidden room was large, almost like a cathedral, supported by metal beams and arches. They didn't look like they were made of steel and Accelerator considered the possibility they were made of Teitoku's dark matter to avoid the attention of shipping supplies to the warehouse. Standing in rows in the middle of the room were thousands of Teitoku clones. Each one looked exactly like him, so Accelerator wasn't entirely sure if the real one was there, but he would find out soon enough. "I get to beat you over and over again."

"Look around you," one of them said, stepping up to meet him. "You had trouble dealing with one, but now you face an army."

"I know how to crush your pathetic dark matter now," Accelerator said, waving his hand dismissively. "One or ten thousand, it won't make a difference." He glanced at the Teitoku who actually talked to him. "Are you the original? The rest of the ones behind you seem to be silent like puppets."

"I could be," he acknowledged. "Or maybe the real one is watching you. It's also possible none of us are the original."

"I guess I will have to find out," Accelerator said, a slight smirk on his face.

"Kill him…." Before he could finish his sentence, Accelerator flew forward with a soft boom. He reached out a hand and grabbed the talkative Teitoku by the face. With a single fluid motion, he brought him down and smashed him into the ground. A split second later, half a dozen white wings flew and stabbed at his back. His reflection sent them back at the clones without trouble and they were speared by their own attack. A red blood like substance flowed from their wounds, but Accelerator didn't care. First, he wasn't concerned about a little bloodshed. Second, since these were dark matter clones, it probably wasn't even blood.

"Looks like even with an army," Accelerator sneered. "Garbage is still garbage." A bright flame suddenly engulfed him and the clone he had pinned on the ground. The fire wasn't normal and caused the clone to dissolve into a black burnt substance. Accelerator was fine, but he suddenly felt disconcerted. _Damn it. Those flames had the same kind of unusual vectors as magic. That means he wasn't bull shitting when he said he could use magic._ He turned around and stood up straight.

Several of the clones were chanting while others leaped forward to replace their fallen brethren. They seemed to realize normal attacks were doing nothing against Accelerator. The white wings of the first rank of Teitoku clones burst into flames. No longer did they resemble the pure white wings of an angel. They had become flaming wings of vengeance and hatred, as the substance that did not exist naturally in this world fused with the unknown force known as magic. The dark matter that made up the wings appeared to turn red under the flames, as if they were soaked in blood.

 _Bastard actually combined them,_ Accelerator thought grimly, as he pushed himself off the floor into the air to dodge a couple of the flaming wings. It wasn't like he was scared, he just would rather learn how the vectors operated before he got completely surrounded by them. Dark matter had its own types of vector where one substance acted like another, and magic vectors always traveled in weird directions, instead of the direction of the attack. Accelerator had enough experience with the unknown to realize there was a good possibility the vectors would again act strangely. One of the flaming wings came from his side and he reached out with his hand.

He had been right.

The vectors from magic infused dark matter acted in several unexplained ways. First, it took the combination of the two types of vectors, the material acted like another type of material while still moving in all sorts of direction, which shouldn't be possible with ordinary physics. The second was another unknown variable. It was as if the vectors were flicking between existing and being non-existent. The vectors seemed like they were disappearing and reappearing in other locations. If he wasn't careful, they would bypass his surface area automatic reflection. He focused all his attention and managed to divert it away from him body. The wing flew back forcefully and stabbed two other clones, causing them to get ripped in half and consumed by flames.

 _Arg,_ Accelerator thought, feeling his mind ache slightly, as he landed on the ground. Even with the Misaka network, his calculation ability was severely reduced. Performing three sets of calculations simultaneously was putting a severe strain on his mind. He felt anger well up from within him for no reason as his mind began to feet cloudy. _It's that feeling again. Each time it comes out easier than before. I suppose this time it's actually warranted._ He leaped backwards to dodge another half dozen wings and knocked another one away from him.

"Looks like even the great Accelerator can't defeat magic and dark matter," one of the clones said, stepping forward. They must have had a hierarchy of some kind, maybe the order they were created. "Why don't you get on all fours and squeal like the pig you are." He gestured to the other clones with the flaming wings. "When we dice you up into pieces, we could believe we are just making bacon."

"You aren't the only one who can make wings," Accelerator sneered, his head pounding slightly. _Control it, don't let the rage consume you._

"What shit are you spewing?" the clone asked, raising an eyebrow.

"This."

Two wings exploded from Accelerator's back. Unlike Teitoku's pure white wings which resembled an angel, these were the exact opposite. His wings were pure black and full of madness and hatred, as if a demon had descended. The fury was so intense, the entire front row of clones stepped back instinctively. Accelerator stood up straight and his sneered intensified. His face was slightly contorted, and his eyes had a dangerous gleam.

"I don't believe it," the clone said, before laughing. "You actually managed to manipulate dark matter? Do you think some second rate manipulation is going to save you? We perfected the art and even added magic to it. What makes you think your haphazardly thrown together wings are going to save you?"

"There's only one way to see," Accelerator said coldly. His vision was turning red. Before, something had to have happened to cause him to be overcome with anger. Now, he could summon the wings on his own. They still threatened to overwhelm his mind if he relaxed for a moment, but it was becoming easier. _I'm glad the others aren't here to see this._ He frowned for a second at the thoughts. He could understand the Misaka brats he lived with and Touma popping in his mind, but his classmates and the other brats he got to know quite of a bit about in England also appeared. _I'm going soft._

"There is," the clone agreed and raised his hand. Ten clones jumped and flew into the air, forming a semicircle around Accelerator. "Kill him." Twenty flaming wings flew at him from all directions, and Accelerator's wings extended in response.

Blood went everywhere.

More precisely, the blood red substance the clones released before their dark matter bodies broke apart. Accelerator's black wings passed through the flaming wings like paper and sliced the clones in half. He didn't stop there, and extended one of the black wings toward the clone currently in charge. The ends sharped into dagger like points and speared straight through the clone. He gasped and coughed up blood, before being thrown down to the ground. Accelerator's grin turned murderous as he took a step forward.

Another massacre had begun.

* * *

"Who the hell are you?" Teitoku demanded, as he watched Touma walk toward him and his clone.

"I'm just a normal high school student," Touma replied calmly, but his face was displaying his anger. "What the hell were you doing? Firing off a magical attack like that in the middle of the city. Look at how much damage you caused and you nearly killed my friends. What is wrong with you?" He squinted when he realized the other person was a second Teitoku Kakine. _Is he a twin?_

"Friends?" Teitoku asked, before bursting out laughing. "She doesn't have friends. She only has tools she keeps until they no longer are useful, and then she discards them. She and I both know how the dark side of Academy City works, unlike you. Now," he paused and his eyes narrowed. "I don't know who you are, but you are hardly 'normal.' You know about magic, intercepted a magical assault capable of turning a building into rubble, and now stand before me. Normal hardly covers this."

"Mugino may be a little… rough around the edges," Touma admitted. "But she's not the monster you try to make her out to be." He thought he felt Shizuri's eyes on him and sweat formed on the back of his neck. "What did she do to force you to cause so much destruction?"

"She interfered in my business," Teitoku explained. "I was simply acquiring some research related to ability development and she and her group stopped me. One of my clones was killed in the process."

"Acquire…" Touma said slowly. _Clones? Did he have Academy City make clones again and did Mugino really kill one?_ "You mean steal, right?" His eyes widened. "You were the one who was stealing all he research information on abilities. I heard labs were being broken into."

"So you have some knowledge of this," Teitoku said, his face showing slight amusement now that his surprise was gone. "I thought you might have been some random pedestrian at first, and just happen to know the Meltdowner. I see now you actually have some part in our world, so I think I can play with you a bit. Yes, my group was responsible for the recent thefts."

"Was your group part of the two recent break-ins while the large scale riot was going on?" Touma asked, wanting to confirm something.

"How did you know about that?" Teitoku hissed, his amusement changing to suspicion and anger.

"I happen to overhear a member of Judgement talking about it," Touma said. This wasn't exactly a lie, but he didn't want to get Teitoku the entire truth. "Your teammates are going to get arrested."

"Oh I doubt that," Teitoku laughed. "They are quite capable of killing a couple members of Anti-Skill or any of the trash that joins Judgement. Then they will regroup and all those deaths will disappear. The city wouldn't let this get out. They hide the dark side well." The thought of the experiment with Accelerator killing the Misaka clones crossed through Touma's mind. The city had never let that information leak out to the general public. Touma was sick to think more problems like that were still happening. "I bored of our conversation. You can kill him now." He said the last line to his clone.

"Understood," the Teitoku said next to him. He raised the sword in his right hand and his wings lifted him up into the air. He hovered about twenty meters in the air for a moment, before descending directly at Touma. He held the sword out in front of him and his entire body became a missile. Made of dark matter, his body was stronger than a normal person and, even if this strange boy could block a magical range attack, he couldn't have the physical strength to stop from being impaled.

Touma watched the second Teitoku slowly rise. He didn't know all the powers of Dark Matter and he didn't have time to learn from Shizuri. His eyes never left the sword and he somehow knew what was coming. It could have been all his experience from fighting, or the fact his opponents were underestimating him, but he knew the one flying would try to impale him with that sword. _His wings are part of his ability, so if I grab them, they should disappear._ He bent his knees as Teitoku flew at him.

The attack was so obvious, Touma was in shock. It was like his opponent never fought someone with strategy. His attack was fast, there was no contesting that, but it was just a straight forward charge at high speeds. It didn't look like he was going to change direction at the last second or suddenly appear behind him. In fact, Touma felt a sense of déjà vu. It was as if he was facing the old Accelerator again. Teitoku seemed to overwhelmingly rely on his ability during a fight and never bothered to learn basic fighting skills. It was how Touma was able to defeat Accelerator so long ago. Right when the blade was about to impale his chest, he shifted his body to the side, causing it to just miss him. Touma balled his hand into a fist and swung it at Teitoku's face.

Touma felt his hand collide and then heard the sound of breaking glass.

Teitoku's entire body disappeared instantly.

It wasn't blown away, or disintegrated, or destroyed in anyway. It just disappeared. There was not a single trace left, except for the sword that fell down next to Touma. It fell point down into the street and stood straight up. Touma's eyes widened in horror. _Did I just accidently kill him?! I was just defending myself and punched him in the face. How is this possible?_ He accidently hit the sword with his right hand and it disappeared with a similar sound. _The sword too?_ He scratched his head with his left hand before making the connection. _The sword must be part of his ability like his wings. Could he have created them? If so, was it possible he created clones of himself?_ He turned and looked at the other Teitoku.

Teitoku eyes were wide and his mouth hung slightly open. He couldn't believe his eyes. This was something he never imagined could happen. With a single punch, his clone was completely vaporized. There wasn't a trace of his dark matter left. This was completely outside anything he could have imagine happening. While it was true powerful abilities could blow away dark matter, there was nothing special about his punch. There was no air displacement from power like the Number 7 nor was there flash of energy, like with the Railgun or Meltdowner. The closest ability he could think of that didn't show itself off, that could still defeat his dark matter, was Accelerator's vector manipulation. _All that does is deflect it though. What the hell is he?_

While the two young men were both processing everything they saw, Shizuri was busy trying to wake up Rikou. However, when she heard Teitoku tell his clone to attack, she had to turn around. _I should have explained Kakine's ability to him,_ Shizuri thought as she saw the clone begin his attack. It was too late, but she felt a wave of relief when Touma dodged, and then the most satisfaction she had felt all day. She watched Teitoku's clone disappear with a single touch and then enjoyed the stunned look on Teitoku's face. She would have given millions of yen to see that expression again. She couldn't see Touma's face from her angle, but she believed he was probably feeling confused. However, something distracted her from watching their fight.

"…Mugino?"

"Finally you're awake," Shizuri said. "My powers going out of control and isn't working. Kakine unleashed some devastating attacks and Kamijou is holding him off. Listen, I need you to use your ability and take control of my AIM field. Understand?"

"…Yes," Rikou replied, understanding the situation. She sat up to quick and felt dizzy, but rubbed her head and concentrated on Shizuri. It only took a quick glance to notice how bad she looked. Shizuri's was bleeding, bruised, covered in dirt, and her eyes were completely bloodshot. Rikou could see the outlines of veins in her skin and shivered slightly. _She must be in excruciating pain._ "Give me a moment or I can't concentrate."

"You have one minute," Shizuri declared, turning her attention back to the guys. They had finally found their voice.

"What are you?!" Teitoku roared.

"I'm a guy who stands up to people like you," Touma said. "Just because you have a little power, you trample over everyone who stands in your way. If you think I'm just going to sit by and watch you murder people, I'm going to shatter that illusion of yours." He bent his knees and charged at Teitoku.

"Foolish," Teitoku sneered, as he waved his hand and create a devastating pressure of energy against Touma. Normally, the pressure would make his opponents feel as if gravity had multiple, forcing them onto the ground as their legs would be unable to withstand their weight, but Touma didn't slow down at all. For a brief moment he felt the pressure, but his hand immediately negated the attack. Teitoku was baffled as Touma kept charging and quickly closing the distance between them. "Why won't you just die?" All six of his wings extended and reached out towards Touma. Each one was much faster than he was and they were coming at him from every direction.

 _Shit,_ Touma thought, as he sensed the incoming attack. However, he knew he couldn't slow down or Teitoku could take off into the air. Right now, he was planted firmly on the ground where Touma could reach. _I have to time this perfectly._ Right before the razor sharp wings turned him into a shish kabob, he concentrated on his hand. A white light engulfed him and Teitoku's wings.

The wings disappeared in an instant and Teitoku was once again stunned. "How are you doing this you bastard? You completely neutralized…" His eyes widened when it dawned on him who he was fighting, as Touma rapidly approached. He actually felt fear. Reason told him he would be fine. His dark matter energy protected him from physical and most energy attacks. However, the person in front of him was a completely unknown anomaly. _I should retreat but, damn, I hate being so pathetic._ His mental arguing delayed his reaction for two seconds, just two short seconds. That was enough for Touma, who managed to cover the distance.

"This is going to hurt," Touma warned, pulling his hand back and delivering a powerful right hook at Teitoku. The sound of breaking glass was heard as his fist connected squarely with Teitoku's face. The blow knocked Teitoku back into the air and landed on his back with a dull thud. Touma stood over him, panting slightly and rubbing his hand. Shizuri on the other hand felt pleasure well up from deep within her watching Teitoku get punched in the face. Teitoku, however, only had one thought in his mind.

 _He punched me in the face._

 _HE FUCKING PUNCHED ME IN THE FACE!_

"YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Teitoku roared, as his wings exploded from under him, pushing him high into the air. His face was now contorted with rage. He no longer cared about Touma's ability and how it bypassed all of his dark matter and energy. Only one thought was coursing through his mind. _I'm going to kill him!_ His wings flapped and powerful gusts of wind blew down the street. Touma covered his face to prevent the small scraps of shrapnel and dust from hitting his eyes. "I didn't expect the one known as Kami to show up. I never dreamed you could negate my dark matter, but that doesn't matter. I'll kill you in another way." His wings stretched out and ripped several light posts from the ground.

"Damn it," Touma muttered, as he ran in a zigzag pattern to dodge. Teitoku was throwing each one of the light poles like spears at him. They were traveling so fast, if he stopped moving for even an instant, he would be hit. Touma gulped when he noticed the light poles sunk about halfway into the street. _If they hit me, it won't be pretty. How am I supposed to get him to come at me? I can't reach him in the air._

"Quit skirting around you pesky little insect!" Teitoku called down at him. His wings were each easily over twenty meters and he flapped them all at once.

"AHH!" Touma yelled, as he was lifted into the air and thrown like a ragdoll. He hit the wall of one of the still intact buildings with a thud and gasped in pain. He coughed and a little blood flew out of his mouth. He looked up and immediately rolled to the side, as a large chunk of the street was torn up and thrown by one of Teitoku's wings. The debris was thrown with enough force to smash through the wall of the building and broke through numerous steel pillars. He grabbed a small rock and leaped up shakily to his feet. _A couple more hits like that, and I'm screwed._

Shizuri grimaced as she too was hit by the gust of wind. She was further back and didn't get blown away, but she still had to brace herself from falling down. Touma was now at a complete disadvantage, she could tell that easily from her position. Touma did not have any long range attacks and Teitoku kept his distance out of fear of his hand. "Takitsubo, we are out of time, do it now. No matter what happens, do not stop in the middle of it."

"Okay," Rikou agreed, pulling out her container holding the Body Crystal. She licked it and her pupils dilated. She focused her ability on Shizuri and examined her AIM field. What she saw shocked and disturbed her. Normally, an AIM field is a weak energy that is unconsciously emitted by ability users. Only special machines and certain abilities can detect this. AIM diffusion fields are unique to the type of ability, as well as to the individual themselves. Pyrokineticists heat up their surroundings, telekinetics create pressure, and electromasters release electromagnetic fields. Shizuri ability created small amounts of radiation as part of her AIM field.

Right now, Rikou was watching Shizuri's AIM field going crazy. She had never seen anything like it. The radiation output was much higher then normal and its very identity was warped. _How is she even conscious through this? It's like her very ability is trying to change if I am reading it right._ Rikou shook her head, knowing she had a job to do. Using her ability, she took control of Shizuri's AIM field. Rikou took a deep breath, and reversed the field. For a moment, nothing happened except Shizuri's body began to glow.

"Urk," Shizuri groaned before falling on her knees. She no longer could stand, she couldn't think, she couldn't even feel her body. Her arms caught her before her head hit the ground, but she didn't even realize that. Her face was covered in cold sweat, her nose was dripping blood again, and she lost her vision. All she could do was wait for the pain to end. She used all her remaining strength to keep her mouth shut. There were a couple reasons for this. First, yelling would not make the pain go away. Second, she didn't like to show weakness in front of others, it was a way of getting attacked more than necessary. Last, she didn't want to distract Touma who was fighting for their lives. It was one of the few times she actually thought about someone else and she didn't understand why it gave her strength.

Rikou desperately wanted to stop, but she continued to force Shizuri's AIM flow to reverse and stabilize.

Meanwhile, the battle between Teitoku and Touma was reaching a breaking point. Teitoku realized long range attacks were quite affective against Touma and refused to reduce the distance between him. Touma was dodging the flying chunks of debris, but had no way to counter attack. His mind was going through every possibility, but nothing was working. He briefly thought about trying to enter one of the buildings and climb to the roof, but a large chunk of concrete hit the nearest entrance, blocking it with a resounding crash. All Touma could do was to keep moving and dodge Teitoku's attack until an opening occurred.

"Scuttling around on the ground in panic really suits an insect like you," Teitoku's called down to him in a mocking voice.

"Why don't you come down here and say it to my face?" Touma replied, looking up at him. _Seriously, what should I do? I could try to escape into one of the buildings, but his ability would easily smash through the walls. He's the type of guy to destroy an entire building to crush a single person._

"I'll pass," Teitoku said, shaking his head. "You aren't worthy of being eye level with me." One of his wings extended and ripped several steel beams out of the ground from one of the destroyed buildings. They flew high into the air and started raining down like spears. Touma was forced to dive out of the way to avoid being skewered. He rolled several times on the ground and hit a fire hydrant.

"Ahh," Touma gasped in pain, but barely had a moment to register it. Teitoku flew over and picked up a large piece of rubble. He lifted it high above his head and threw it. Touma rolled on the ground to avoid being crushed, and the fire hydrant was blown clean off. A water geyser exploded upwards, soaking everything around it, including Touma. He staggered to his feet, the pain and fatigue finally getting to him, while Teitoku circled around him.

"You look a mess," Teitoku said coldly. "If you ask nicely, I could give you a quick death. I'm still going to kill you all, but your persistence is almost admirable…" He stopped, raised his hand, and caught something Touma threw at his face. He looked at it for a moment, slightly stunned, and then turned back to Touma. "Did… did you seriously just throw a rock at me?" He looked bewildered. "After everything you just witness, you thought a rock would stop me?"

"You looked like you let your guard down," Touma said with a shrug. In reality, he had run out of ideas. If Teitoku had remained on the ground, Touma might have stood a chance. Unlike when Touma fought Accelerator, Teitoku could fly and attack from a distance. Even if Touma couldn't be hurt by direct energy attacks produced by Teitoku's ability, Teitoku could still manipulate the energy into his wings to give them insane strength and durability to be able to throw heavy objects like baseballs. Teitoku may have appeared to be slightly sociopathic, but it was obvious to Touma, the guy was incredible calculating when the need arose. _His clone's initial attack was only him underestimating me. He's not going to do it again._

"You little…," Teitoku started to say, his face turning red in anger, when he stopped and took a deep breath. "The game's over," he said instead, unusually calmly. A vein in his head was pulsating, but he didn't seem to be paying attention to it. He flew down the street and landed around a hundred meters away. "All of you can just die. I have more important things to do." His six wings extended to his sides and jabbed themselves into the street. The concrete and asphalt broke apart in a line directly in front of Teitoku.

"What are you doing?" Touma yelled, taking a couple steps toward him.

"I'm going to make a giant flyswatter," Teitoku replied, grinning. Several explosions occurred under the street and his wings lifted an enormous piece of the road into the air. It groaned and creaked as it began to bend. "One of the many uses of my dark matter is I can create energy that can be used to lift other matter. Something like this is child's play." It was obvious what he was going to do. An object that size would be impossible for Touma to dodge, and the weight would crush him into a bloody pancake. "Die you level 5 pieces of trash."

"Stop!" Touma yelled. While he didn't want to die, Shizuri and Rikou were still in the line of fire. Touma's eyes flicked to the object Teitoku had thrown. _He actually tore a segment of the street and sidewalks out of the ground and threw it. He's as strong as Accelerator._ He knew he wouldn't be able to dodge, but his body began to move automatically. He was planning to try to push Shizuri and Rikou out of the impact zone or, at the very least, shield them with his body. Something happened to make his struggle meaningless.

A dark green beam flew over his head from the right to the left across the flying chunk of street.

A moment later, countless explosions turned the debris into a cloud of dust and a rain of tiny concreate and asphalt fragments.

"Looks like she decided to rejoin the fight," Teitoku mocked as he flapped his wings. A large gust blew the cloud of dust away in an instant. "It's not like it's going to make a difference. No matter how much trash gather in one…." He stopped talking and his eyes widened. "What the fuck happened to her!?" he yelled.

When Shizuri's Meltdowner had blown up the chunk of torn up street, Touma fell backwards on his butt and was forced to shield his face from the rain of tiny fragments that didn't get disintegrated. He had just lowered his arms, when Teitoku had blown the dust right at him, and he was forced to cover his face again. He heard Teitoku's mocking words but, when he stopped, Touma immediately knew something was wrong. _Is Shizuri okay?_ He thought, worry seeping through his mind as he scrambled to his feet and turned around. His mouth fell open when he saw Shizuri.

Or, at least what used to be Shizuri Mugino.

Shizuri had stood up and slowly walked toward the guys. Each of her steps was slow and deliberate. Rikou was leaning up against a large piece of rubble, her eyes wide, and she was panting. She had succeeded in taking control and reversing the flow of Shizuri's AIM field. The result was far more then she expected. Shizuri's AIM field exploded outwards, as the cap in her ability broke. She no longer could take control of it and was left with no choice but to watch. What really shocked her was Shizuri's AIM field changed. It wasn't enough to indicate her ability had transformed into something else, but it had changed significantly. There was now the possibility her ability would experience some significant alterations.

Then there was Shizuri's physical appearance, that Rikou, Touma, and Teitoku all took notice.

First, there was a bright green glow around her entire body, as if she was emitting passive radiation. Each step she took left a soft bubbly footprint in the street, as it started to melt. Her hair was blowing around her head, giving her the appearance of someone walking through a powerful windstorm, even though there was no wind. Her eyes were glowing green too, but they were a much darker green, closing in on black, and Touma couldn't see her pupils from his distance. Whatever had caused her transformation, Touma didn't know, but his eyes darted to the biggest change.

On her back, four glowing diamond shapes, resembling petals, had appeared on her back in an X-shape. _They look like the same kind of energy her attacks are made of._ Touma thought as she approached him. _How are they just sitting there? It's just like Misaki's and Mikoto's transformation, but she isn't being exposed to any Telesma or forcefully linked to a network, is she?_ He froze as Shizuri stopped a couple meters away from him. He could feel heat on his body, except for his right hand, and realize the glow was emissions from her ability. Her head turned to him and she uttered a single word.

"Move."

Touma' body shifted out of her way instantly. It was as if his body instinctively knew Shizuri wasn't her normal self. Shizuri walked past him and stopped, staring at Teitoku. Ten orbs appeared in front of her and started rotating in a circle. A smile appeared on Shizuri's lips as she fired every one simultaneously. The air shimmered in front of Teitoku and he moved his wings forward as a shield. Explosions completely covered him from Touma's view and debris was thrown everywhere. When it cleared, Teitoku was standing, with his arms in front of his face, his wings utterly destroyed and his clothes burnt. Touma's eyes widened because, before he arrived, Teitoku had fought Shizuri but hadn't appeared to have received any damage. _She's stronger now, isn't she? It's this transformation. Can all level 5s do it?_

"Damn it," Teitoku panted, as he rematerialized his wings and flew straight up into the air. _I wasn't sure what happened to her so I also added an energy barrier along with my wings, but still broke through. This bitch…_ He was forced to dodge and weave as Shizuri continued to fire multiple beams into the air at him. Each one was enough to completely blow away one of his wings. If several managed to hit him at once, even he could be in trouble. _It looks like twenty is her limit now,_ Teitoku thought, looking down and counting the orbs as Shizuri fired. _Let's assume she can make a few more to be on the safe side._

Touma watched in stun silence as Shizuri unleashed attack after attack at Teitoku. It was perhaps lucky Teitoku took to the skies, or the city would probably have been decimated for blocks around. However, Touma wasn't calm and was drenched in cold sweat. He was worried about Shizuri accidently killing Teitoku, but he was also worried what kind of effect that transformation was having on her body. He was close enough behind her that he could still feel the heat radiating off of her. Every time she fired one of her beams, he could feel the heat increase slightly. It also looked like the glow around her pulsed for a moment. _Maybe that aura is protecting her body from the backlash,_ he thought.

He turned his attention to Teitoku, the man who definitely was trying to kill them. At first glance, he appeared to be only able to defend himself, but Touma noticed something and frowned. There was something about Teitoku's wings that bothered him. Shizuri's blast kept blowing up the white wings on impact and forced them to regenerate. It was during this part Touma watched closely. The wings regenerated like normal, but he could swear they were slightly different. He couldn't physically detect the difference, but the regenerated parts seemed to be a slightly different shade of white. The gleam and polish also appeared different. As he continued to watch, he realized the wings weren't being destroyed quite as badly each time.

"Mugino!" he cried. "Kakine is adapting his wings to your attacks." Shizuri's head didn't move and he doubted she even heard him.

"You noticed too late!" Teitoku called down mockingly, as he blocked several of Shizuri's attacks. His wings barely took any damage and regenerated instantly. He slowly lowered himself down to the street and grinned. "I had a lot of experience adapting the composition of my dark matter. Combining actual matter with energy was a little more of a challeng…" He stopped and blocked Shizuri's next barrage of attacks. "Are you even paying attention?" he asked her.

"Die," Shizuri hissed in a cold voice, as another round of orbs appeared around her.

"Wait!" Touma yelled, running up in front of her. He held out his right hand toward her in case she fired one of her Meltdowners. He knew she wasn't in her right mind and might not even recognize him. Her glowing green eyes moved slightly and stared right at him. For a moment, Touma thought she was regaining her senses when the glow seemed to dull slightly, but then the orbs around her moved and fired. Most of them were going to hit Touma directly and Teitoku was about to laugh. Touma was about to use his hand pulse to protect himself, when something happened.

The beams curved.

Normally, once fired, Shizuri couldn't control her attacks. They would travel in the direction she was facing with the force of her calculations. She didn't have the ability to actually change their directions midflight. This time, right before they hit Touma, they split to his right and left and curved away from his body. Once the beams passed him, they all converged on Teitoku's location. Teitoku grimaced and shielded himself right before they collided. He was once again engulfed with explosions, but he was perfectly fine.

 _She shouldn't be able to do that,_ he thought grimly. _Whatever that transformation is, it's dangerous. That guy is also dangerous too. I need to kill them and remove all traces of their existence so no one can learn their secrets. The scientists here could learn about them from a trace of blood or a flesh sample._ He glanced over and saw a car, partially smashed from a chunk of the street that hit it. _I suppose that will do. When I'm done with them, this entire area will be a crater._ Two of his wings stretched over to the car and wrapped around it, dragging it closer to the middle of the street. The white substance fused together and started coating the car like clay. It created a small dome and continued to grow.

Meanwhile, Touma was trying to reach Shizuri.

"Mugino!' Touma yelled at her. "Snap out of it." He took a step forward closer to her and her head turned to face him. It was hard to tell what she was thinking with her eyes glowing a dark green, but it looked like she was contemplating his existence. He took another tentative step toward her until he was only two meters away, when Shizuri held out her hand. Another dark green orb appeared at the end of it and this time it was obvious she was aiming at him. He reached his right hand out slowly and touched the orb with his hand, causing it to disappear with the sound of breaking glass. Several more instantly appeared around Shizuri, but he reached out and grabbed her hand and he heard the familiar sound and was relieved when the orbs disappeared. "Mugino!" he said loudly again, looking her in the eye. "Come on, you're stronger than this."

"Kamijou?" Shizuri asked slowly, her eyes turning normal. The glow on her body faded and the wings on her back started to break apart and fall away as they slowly eroded. She grabbed her head with her free hand, as the previous events came back to her. They were really fuzzy and it felt like she had been watching through someone else's eyes. Her eyes snapped down to her hand. "What are you doing?"

"It's not what you think," Touma denied quickly. "It's the only way I could snap you out of it. What happened to you? It's like you were consumed by your power."

 _That sounds about right,_ Shizuri thought, remembering how she altered the trajectory of her attacks. _So it looks like the experiment was a success._ She glanced back at Rikou, who looked exhausted, but still conscious and generally unhurt. _I lost most of my consciousness when my AIM field was controlled._ "I see," she said slowly. She didn't hate the fact he was holding her hand. Her eyes glanced past him and she growled at him. "You idiot, he's still alive and you are letting him set something up." Touma turned around and saw Teitoku standing next to what looked like a giant white egg with a flat bottom.

"What the hell is that?" Touma asked Shizuri, but Teitoku must have heard him.

"What do you two insects think of this?" he asked. "I've gotten bored of our little game so I decided to end this. Think of this as a giant bomb, capable of vaporizing this entire neighborhood into a smoking crater." He grinned and stepped back from it, his wings lifting him up into the air next to it. "This particular matter is quite combustible. If you hit it with your Meltdowner, you probably will set it off." He threw back his head and laughed.

"Move it," Shizuri said, pushing Touma away from her. She held out her hand and a large dark green orb appeared in front of her. "I'm going to blast that thing away."

"Don't," Touma said, moving his foot back to stay on his feet. "If he's telling the truth, your ability will cause all of us to get hit by the explosion."

"He's going to set it off anyway," Shizuri snapped. "This way, the explosion will be minimal." She prepared to fire and Touma reached out toward her hand again.

"Stop," he said, grabbing her hand and causing her green orb to disappear. "You can't throw your life away like that."

"You fucking idio…," Shizuri growled, when she stopped and her eyes went wide. Touma's eyes widened to, and a small trickle of blood came out the side of his mouth. "What the…" Her question was answered when Touma let go of her hand and staggered a couple steps back, before turning to face Teitoku. Shizuri's eyes widened even more as she saw the half a dozen white daggers in his back. While Touma had stopped her from killing all of them, Teitoku took the opportunity to attack when his back was turned.

"So your negation isn't all powerful," Teitoku commented, as Touma took a couple more steps toward him. "Accelerator doesn't even have to notice an attack to reflect it. It looks like your negation doesn't work like that."

"I'm not dead yet," Touma muttered. "The wounds aren't that deep and I've lived through worse." Pain suddenly wracked his body and he fell to his knees.

"Maybe," Teitoku shrugged. "But those are coated with a special kind of dark matter that is quite toxic to the human body. Your body is probably already paralyzed by now. Death is inevitable."

"Damn it," Touma muttered before falling face first onto the ground. He was no longer moving and his breathing slowed and died.

"KAMIJOU!" Shizuri yelled, as Teitoku roared with laughter. Shizuri felt something tighten in her chest. Her heart felt like it was about to burst out. Anger was overwhelming all other thoughts. Her face contorted in rage and she turned to face Teitoku with pure hatred. "KAKINE!" she roared. The street around her began to bubble as her body started to glow with a dark green light. Her eyes glowed a pure dark green once again. The diamond petals on her back reformed, but this time they were pitch black. It was as if her power was growing based on her desire for vengeance. _He protected me and now he's gone._

Her explosion of power was so great, Teitoku felt it from his location in the air. Fear began to overwhelm him as he saw her transform. He couldn't understand it, but his instincts told him he needed to leave. _So this form is what happens when a level 5 pushes past their limits._

Behind Shizuri, Rikou had managed to stand up, but was no backing away as fast as she could from Shizuri. She too could feel the darkness and raw power that was consuming her leader. _Her AIM field is so powerful and concentrated, it's almost palpable._

"I'm going to kill you!" Shizuri screamed, in an almost animalistic way. Six orbs appeared in front of her in a perfect hexagon shape. She wasn't entirely sure what she was doing, but she was going on instinct and following the flow of her power. She didn't care what happened to her, all she wanted to do was kill Teitoku. All six beams fired at once, but they weren't aimed at Teitoku. They were aimed at a single point about one foot in front of the orbs. All six beams combined into a brand new orb, which was growing as all the energy was funneled into a single point. Instead of being short beams designed to blast through an object and disappear, Shizuri was constantly replenishing the energy to keep the beams going, further increasing the energy contained in the final orb.

Teitoku was smart enough to realize what she was trying to do. "No matter how much power you add, you won't be able to contain the explosion with your power."

"Shut up," Shizuri told him, her last shreds of consciousness fading. After this attack, she would either go on a rampage or fall unconscious. She aimed her attack at Teitoku's bomb and fired. A beam large enough to cause a ravine in the street below her was fired, but didn't make it far. Something blocked it from only a couple meters ahead of her.

Touma Kamijou was standing up, his back to her, and held his right hand out to his side to block her attack.

"I told you," he said, turning his head around and looking at her. "I'm not going to let you commit suicide." His muscles in his arm appeared to be groaning from the effort, but he didn't have time to move his entire body in front of the attack. His Imagine Breaker had gone off, neutralizing the poison coursing through his veins, but the daggers in his back were still there.

"I can't control the output," Shizuri warned him, as her power fluctuated. A large wave of energy flowed into the beam and collided with Touma's arm. She felt a sense of dread before it happened.

His right arm was disintegrated from his body.

Shizuri's attack should have kept going and collided with Teitoku's bomb, but it didn't.

Out of Touma's hand, a great terrifying head emerged, preventing the attack from proceeding

It was a head of a beast only talked about in legends, with a jaw over ten meters long full of razor sharp teeth. It was the same dragon's head that appeared back in Italy that destroyed The Herald. The head extended, consuming Shizuri's Meltdowner like a feast and continued to grow as its neck emerged. It produced an aura of terror that caused Shizuri, Rikou and Teitoku to freeze. There was one big difference between this time and the one in Italy.

The dragon head was solid…

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Accelerator: So she actually became useful, but it was only because of how awesome I was.**

 **Shizuri: Hah, all you did was stop one attack. I and Kamijou did more against Dark Matter**

 **Accelerator: You want to die fifth rate?**

 **Shizuri: What did you call me?**

 **Mikoto: Hey you two, at least you got an appearance in this chapter.**

 **Misaki: Poor Misaka has slowly been dwindling away from the spot light. I guess the author knows you aren't the best girl anymore.**

 **Lessar: That would be me.**

 **Mikoto: Going to ignore both of you. Speaking of which, where is the author and Touma?**

 **Eve: Well, the army of girls killed the author, and the Imagine Breaker is currently in the witness protection program.**

 **Misaki: Why?**

 **Mikoto: And what are you doing here?**

 **Eve: Well, I saw him get taken away by people in suits and I'm here because I thought it might be fun to get on this harem thing.**

 **All girls: No way!**

 **Motoharu: It does pose a question what the intro next chapter is going to be like.**

 **Accelerator: Eh, just let readers ask general questions or add comments and we can deal with it when the time comes.**

 **Worst: Oh this will be fun. Misaka will make sure to cause a commotion.**


	74. S3 Things That Shouldn't Exist

**Mikoto: So, what are we going to do now?**

 **Touma: I think the bigger question is, how is this chapter being written without the author?**

 **Accelerator: A lot of people asked, don't worry about it.**

 **Motoharu: Doesn't matter Kami-yan, let's answer a couple questions.** **Geust's Account, it wouldn't be Kami if he doesn't do something with the magic side. Maybe after the Kakine arc settles down.**

 **Pierce: knight6398 , if he admitted he had a harem and acted like a playboy, all the girls here would be in his bed by sun down.**

 **Mikoto: No we wouldn't.**

 **Lessar; I would.**

 **Misaki: Eh, I don't want to be left out.**

 **Shizuri: Frenda would join.**

 **Frenda: MUGINO!**

 **Yuna: I would push Hanabi to join.**

 **Mikoto:…**

 **Pierce: See.**

 **All girls: Wildarms13, that is the stupidest idea ever.**

 **Motoharu: AxelLord20 has a couple questions. Let's just let the girls answer, they have more interesting reactions. Kami-yan changes his preference to younger girls.**

 **Misaki: Best day ever.**

 **Lessar: Finally**

 **Mikoto: I approve.**

 **Seria: No, that won't happen.**

 **Misaki: Old ladies should go and take their naps.**

 **Touma: I didn't see the death of the author, sorry.**

 **(())**

 **(In a certain Hospital)**

 **Heaven Canceller: You know, we normally don't allow our patients to have alcohol in the hospital. You really have to do something about your drinking problem.**

 **Me: I don't have a drinking problem, I'm pretty sure I figured it out. The only problem is when I run out.**

 **HC: You are in a full body cast and can't move your arms, how did you get all these bottles? The floor is littered with them. Plus, it has to be tough to actually raise the bottles to your mouth.**

 **Me: naruhinasakufan1 bought me a liquor store so I feel better and… straws.**

 **HC: Sigh, anything else you need?**

 **Me: I passed my writing duties off to another person, but can you type my answers to a couple of people's questions? Including our conversation.**

 **HC: I guess, I don't have any patients needing me right now.**

 **Me: Cool, laptop is there. Okay people, let's try to answer some questions.**

 **Handsomistic1, let's see, Yes, definitely, when Touma remembers, there is always interference from Aleister.**

 **Guest: Sorry, it's been awhile and there are a lot of guests. There are a lot of really good fanfictions on this site, each has their own unique style. A new road of misfortune, a certain holiday season, A certain virtual world conquest, Memories are a fragile thing, and a certain world of darkness are all really good. If Eve or Adam is not the leader, which means someone else is pulling the strings. Maybe? That will be addressed in a couple chapters. She was a no named side character, who disappears into the background once again.**

 **Salishious: I would replace Shizuri with dark matter or Mikoto. They have more versatile abilities.**

 **Syko-Soldier963: Everyone knows he is the number 6. Don't tell her I answered for her, but she would totally hang out with both. Misaki just pretends not to like them. Dark Matter is an unknown matter that does not exist in the normal world. It should be noted that the term "Dark Matter" is not to be confused with the true "Dark Matter" which is among the components of the universe. In addition, 'unknown matter' here does not mean matter that has not been discovered by humans but matter that did not exist until it was created by Teitoku. It is matter and energy that is not bound by our laws of physics. In a way, Accelerator's wings could be a type of dark matter.**

 **Agent Nine: Accelerator.**

 **Guest: 'Something something dark side makes a lot of money in movies.**

 **321jaz: Terra is dead, but Vento could make an appearance. I also never said we were done with Fiamma and Acqua.**

 **(())**

 **(In a space between worlds)**

 **Adam: Eve, what are you doing?**

 **Eve: I was asked to write something.  
Adam: I swear, if it's more of those My Little Pony fics, I'm going to hurl.**

 **Eve: For your information, I now control the outcome of fate. Once I settle some boring science side problems, I can have fun and then we can win. Now go away, or I'll tell you who dies next on Game of Thrones. I read the books.**

 **Adam: I'll take my leave.**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly. Magic Gods own all so they can do what they want.**

* * *

The dragon let out an earth shattering roar that shook Teitoku to his very core. The colors of its scales were shifting in the light. The core color was green, but there was shifting blues, black, and even colors Teitoku did not recognized. This gave him a brief moment of confusion as he tried to process the sudden turn of events, but he had more pressing concerns. The monster's eyes were blood red and full of malice. He stared into them and it was like looking into the face of death itself. The only reason he had time to think, was the dragon did not appear to be attacking him yet.

 _What the hell is this?_ Teitoku thought, as the force of the dragon's roar pushed him back in midair. Its very sound was endowed with unbelievable force. _A monster like that shouldn't… can't… exist. How is this even possible? His ability is negation, so there's no way he could have a creation ability similar to my dark matter. This isn't some bullshit manga where he can negate reality itself._ His eyes darted to his two enemies below him. Touma was being forced back as the creature continued to grow from his arm. Shizuri, a monster now in her own right, had jumped backwards and created twenty orbs around her, but a single roar of the beast caused them to shatter.

"Enough of this crap," Teitoku growled to himself. "I control power that doesn't exist in this world. I won't be afraid of some myth." His six wings extended forward and shot toward the monster like blades. Teitoku was infusing each one with enough dark matter energy to pierce through even the strongest metals designed by Academy City. The monster's head was looking at Shizuri, so he had the perfect opportunity to strike at its neck. "It's time for me to gain the title of Dragon Slayer," he laughed. He could not have been more wrong. There is an old saying, never poke a sleeping dragon in the eye, and he just learned why.

The dragon wasn't alone.

Seven other dragon heads, all of them different but almost as fearsome as the first, were emerging from the stump of Touma's severed arm.

One was covered in bright red and orange flames, but did not appear to have any skin under underneath them. Its very body appeared to be made of unusual fire that did not move according to physics, flowing together in single motions like waves. The second head had a white underbelly and looked like it had a light blue back, but that was really just the blue feathers. The feathers extended further away from the body near the head, almost like small wings. The third head had a light brown under belly and a dark brown back covered in spikes. Two long horns protruded from the side of its head like a bull, but had no eyes. The fourth head was a brilliant green color, lighter on the underside than the top. Its head had an expanded hood, similar to that of a cobra, of the same color. It had only a single eye.

The fifth head was a dark royal blue with a slightly lighter blue under its jaw. Its entire body appeared to be covered in jagged fragments of some kind of mineral. The sixth head seemed to be completely covered in segmented black armor. Two rows of jagged spikes went parallel down its back. It's four eyes stared out unblinking. The last one was covered in dark purple scales with a long jagged horn protruding from its forehead. Each one was vastly different, but they all emitted the aura of fear and destruction as the first one. None of them were as big or looked quite as terrifying though. Six of the seven heads turned toward Teitoku and their mouths opened. They lunged forward and their razor sharp teeth bit down into the unknown dark matter. A gruesome ripping sound filled the air as his wings were torn asunder. Losing control of this dark matter, Teitoku could no longer keep himself afloat and fell with a crash into the ground below.

 _This is insane,_ he thought, stumbling to his feet. The dragon heads didn't seem to be paying attention to him and the six heads that had devoured his dark matter wings were now stretching out toward his explosive. Each head open its mouth of razor sharp teeth again and tore off huge chunks from the bomb, causing the matter to disappear into oblivion. There was no heat, no energy, or anything else that would set off the combustible material. His very dark matter was being feasted upon by these monsters that should not exist. Chunks were disappearing as the heads continued to gorge on it with their insatiable appetite.

Meanwhile the first head and the seventh head turned toward Shizuri. They opened their mouths and flanked her from either side. For a second, Teitoku believed these monsters couldn't even be controlled by Kami and were going to devour friend and foe alike. This gave Teitoku a sliver of hope and he reached into his pocket, pulling out a small vile with a needle. _I've been made a fool of long enough. If she was able to surpass her limits, then I'm going to do it too._ He shoved the needle into his arm and injected himself with the drug, feeling his body grow hot. Something started to well up from deep within him. it wasn't mana, nausea, or emotions. It was somehow…

 _Inorganic._

Meanwhile, the two dragon heads that were swarming Shizuri had reached her. Touma's eyes widened and he tried to pull his arm back, but to no avail. The dragons' mouths revealed their long sharp teeth, their soulless dark eyes had no trace of mercy. They bit down upon Shizuri and ripped something away, but it wasn't her flesh. Instead, the glow around her body seemed have been pulled off of her and through the air into the beast's mouths. Her wings made of the same energy as her beam attacks were torn off with their razor sharp teeth. How they didn't pierce her flesh with the size of their mouths, no one knew. As her overloading power was separated from her, her mind became clear and she was able to comprehend what was happening.

 _WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!_ she thought, her eyes widening. Even knowing about magic, the thought of something like this existing was mind boggling, yet she was seeing it right in front of her. She turned her head toward Rikou was seemed to be pressed up against a building, fear etched on her face. Shizuri couldn't blame her, the weight of the dragon's presence was pressing on her from all sides, threatening to overwhelm her, but she refused to let it control her. The heads didn't seem to be interested in eating them, only devouring their abilities. _Is this the source of his hand's power?_ Her eyes darted to Touma, who looked relieved, but his he also appeared slightly dazed and confused. The red stains on the back of his shirt were growing. _Fuck he's bleeding out._ Before she could do anything to help, she noticed Teitoku. "He's getting up, send those... things… to stop him!"

Touma barely moved and Shizuri wondered if he could hear her.

Teitoku had stood up, his wings reforming. "I don't know how you created those monsters, but don't think for a moment this battle has been decided." His winds exploded outwards away from his body. They had begun to glow with an eerie white light. The wings had always been made of dark matter, material which did not exist naturally in this world, but now they felt even more so. They felt almost mechanical, unnatural, but still gave off an otherworldly aura. The kind of substance the weapons used by gods and angels would have been made of. Teitoku grinned, feeling the unprecedented power explode from within him. "I knew if you could surpass level 5, someone like me would be able to. I wield the power of creation and magic. I will never retreat from the likes of you."

He had perfectly mastered his power and no longer feared the dragons.

Either his words or his new power caused the dragons to turn and converge on his location, their mouths opened, earsplitting roars echoing down the street, and their teeth flashing. They were planning to devour the source of the disturbance. As they approached him, Teitoku created enough wings to stab each one of them, He was confident his power would be more than enough to stop these mindless beasts that a single person created out of his arm. Teitoku had surpassed what could be considered mortal and knew he had transcended into a new realm. He did not feel fear. He would not recognize defeat. He would not lose.

The smell of rust filled the air.

 _How…?_ Teitoku thought. He was lying on his back, his blood soaking the ground around him. Their exchange had lasted only a second, but he had been completely annihilated. The seven dragons had ripped, torn, and devoured his wings. The main head was the worst. Teitoku's wing that had struck it shattered into pieces against its scales and its eyes focused on Teitoku's body. The beast did not know mercy, it did not know restraint, it could only eat. More fear had coursed through his body in that moment than he had felt in his entire life. The dragon's teeth began to close on him, his blood seeping out of his body and soaking his clothes. All of his defenses were useless. He might as well not even have had them. _I'm only alive because of his weakness._

Right before the monster could tear him into pieces, Touma had stepped forward and yelled out a single desperate word. "No!" The dragon stopped and fell silent, dropping Teitoku onto the ground, and the heads retracted back into his arm, before disappearing into nothingness. For a moment, there was something, something powerful that overwhelmed the dragons. Teitoku could feel its presence, but was too busy focusing on himself to give it much thought. He could not feel his ability or even move. Pain flooded his entire body and he wasn't sure what was going to happen next.

"So," Ricane's voice sounded in his ear. "You lost to them."

"That monster was not of this world, was it?"

"No. Its very existence is only spoken about in legends. That boy is a very special piece to Aleister. You should never have challenged him. This is why you were always considered a backup plan."

"I am no one's backup plan," he told Ricane. "Why didn't you warn me?"

"I was too busy watching Accelerator wreak havoc among your clones. He seemed to have discovered a new kind of strength. Also," there was a pause. "I no longer need your assistance. You gave me all the research I needed and one of your associates succeeded in bringing me my new toy. You usefulness had ended and now I don't have to eliminate you personally. You should die there and save us all the trouble."

"You bastard!"

"You were always a spare plan and at most, a time killer. There is still Rensa and the Security Network for me to use." There was a short laugh and the line went dead as Teitoku raged silently in his mind.

Shizuri was the first to move and took advantage of the dragon's disappearance. She dashed forward quickly and knelt down next to Touma, checking his vitals. "He's losing too much blood through his back," she muttered. "Get over here Takitsubo!" she roared and Takitsubo hastily ran over to her. "His hand was destroyed by my atta… What the fuck? I clearly remember his hand was blown away." They both looked down at Touma's right hand, which was connected seamlessly to his wrist. It was like it had never been severed.

"…It regenerated," Rikou said, surprise showing on her normally passive face.

"Kamijou has a lot of explaining to do," Shizuri growled, standing up. "Perform field first aid and stop the bleeding." She turned around and took a couple of steps.

"…Where are you going?"

"To finish this." Her tone was ice cold and Rikou shivered slightly. Shizuri walked over to Teitoku, who was breathing slightly and appeared to be whispering to someone, but otherwise motionless on the ground. "So," she stated. "You survived those things. That's surprising."

"He's weak," Teitoku replied. "He will never last in our world. His power though. What is it?"

"Hard to tell," Shizuri said, several green orbs appearing around her. "I'll let you know one thing, his power is not an ability developed in this city. Now, any last words before you see if there's an afterlife?"

"No mercy huh?"

"Would you have shown me any?"

"I suppose not."

Shizuri held out her hand, but hesitated for a fraction of a second. _If Kamijou finds out about this, he's going to hate me, but he is just too soft for this line of work. Kakine would just come after us._ She flicked her finger and fired her green beams from the orbs. The beams connected and the explosions engulfed Teitoku. Shizuri turned around, not bothering to see the bloodshed her attacks caused. She heard the continuous sounds of drops of blood hitting the hard asphalt and the occasional thud of larger parts. She walked over to Rikou. "What's his status?"

"I slowed down the bleeding," Rikou informed her. "But he lost a lot of blood. If we don't get him to a doctor soon, it's over for him."

"Tsk," Shizuri said, looking around. "We are too far away from 'his' hospital. We could get him to that apartment pretty quickly I suppose. There are some medical supplies we keep stored there. I can contact 'her' and she should be able to treat him. She's good enough for this."

"You normally don't like us all to use that one," Rikou pointed out, as she and Shizuri leaned over and picked Touma up under his shoulders.

"Shut up," Shizuri snapped. "It's an emergency. This bastard saved us, so let's make sure he doesn't die at least."

 _I feel like she's not being completely honest with herself,_ Rikou thought, but she was smart enough not to voice her thoughts out loud.

"What is that metal?" Shizuri said, suddenly, turning to Rikou. They both paused and took a second to look around them. While the area right around them was clear, the ground, debris, and some of the buildings further away was covered in a smooth black metal. Rikou shrugged and they kept moving. There was no time for them to be worrying about non important things.

* * *

 _That was unexpected._

Jason was sitting alone on the roof of a building, looking down at the carnage, as Shizuri and Rikou dragged Touma's lifeless body away. He had arrived shortly after the second magic strike from Teitoku's Gregorian Chant. While he had been watching Touma fight off Teitoku, he had been more interested in watching Shizuri's transformation when Rikou finally managed to stabilize her AIM field. Jason remembered he had specifically told Shizuri that using her powers might cause some unintended consequences, but she didn't listen to him and engaged another level 5. One thing for sure, he was immensely pleased with himself for getting there early enough to see the dragons erupt from Touma's hand. He had only been able to get a glimpse of it in Italy.

 _Everything is going exactly like I planned,_ Jason thought triumphantly. _Touma looks hurt, but he should survive if Mugino works quickly. Mugino managed to survive too and the transformation appeared somewhat stable near the end. It's significantly different then Shokuhou's though, which raises as many questions as it answers._

 _You mean about the twisted Telesma?_

 _It's can't be Telesma. Shokuhou managed to absorb Telesma through her mental link with the knights she controlled. This required a constantly connection for her to absorb it and would explain why everyone was able to feel it. Mugino's ability is emission based, so she will only fire energy outwards. Besides, there isn't any source of Telesma around here to absorb._ Jason smiled. _A two dimensional being wouldn't be able to comprehend a three dimensional being's existence. They have no concept of a third axis. A third being couldn't comprehend a fourth and so forth. I think the Telesma us magic uses feel is us trying to take something we can't truly comprehend and compare it to something we can. Which means, when a level 5 starts their transformation, they are surpassing their mortal bonds, just like how Telesma is formed when magicians trespass into God's domain. What we feel is the science version of trespassing. I wonder what the extent this transformation can reach will be._

 _Your science abilities really distort the reality of this world. Even staying with you, I continue to see more interesting things then I could ever consider possible. In such a short time, your science is reaching the pinnacle of what magic can do. You should be careful, you don't want to be seen interfering._

 _Aleister most likely put this area under complete blackout. No one should be able to see this place accidently. How about you answer my questions instead? What are those dragons?_

 _I told you before. It is the Dragon Emperor._

 _That doesn't tell me what it is._

 _Its existence is an anomaly older than time itself. Many have gone mad trying to understand it. I cannot give you that information. The other dragons would be what Christianity and many other religions call demons, fallen angels, or devils. They are depicted as the enemy of god and his angels._

 _You never truly answer my questions or even give me good advice._ Jason sighed and shook his head, slightly annoyed.

 _That is not true. I give advice to solve the current problem as quickly and efficiently as possible. You just have a qualm about ending life. Yet, you work with the most scrupulous people. Many of who would murder in an instance if it furthered their goals._

 _I work with those who have what I need,_ Jason thought, watching Shizuri and Rikou turning near the end of the street. _I should be able to go down in a minute._

 _Why do you suppose they became solid? That has not happened before._

 _The only thing I can think of is it was able to materialize in the AIM fields when two level 5s clashed. Mugino was surpassing her limits, so that could even have helped. Kakine was creating a lot of energy and matter after his magic attack was stopped. This discovery…. It's beyond anything I could have predicted. Seriously, how could that creature exist inside Touma's arm and yet be able to physically materialize itself. I wonder how much Aleister knows… knowing him, he probably wanted this to happen. Plus all that Shadow Metal formed around their clash. The city should be happy about this._

 _This did not occur in Italy when two of your acquaintances transformed._

 _I can think of a lot of reasons for that,_ Jason thought as he stood up and extended his shadow into wings. He leaped into the air and started to glide down. _Misaka and Accelerator were on the same side, so their AIM fields weren't clashing. The air might have been too full of magic or this city is so saturated with AIM fields Mugino's transformation pushed it over the limit. Either way, this may cause me some problems. Understanding the Imagine Breaker was just a side project, but now this could have serious effect on my true experiment. Touma is too important. I started researching legends about his hand but now,_ his eyes narrowed and a dark smiled appear on his face, _it's time to get serious. You promise you can release the restraint for a minute?_

 _If it's just one, it will be no problem._

* * *

Accelerator's black wings faded when the remaining clones broke apart and disappeared. He looked around in confusion. He had been slaughtering these clones effortlessly, but there was a limit to how fast he could destroy them. They only attacked in small groups, and could dodge his wings from a distance. He had to change forward and attack the ones closest to him. He felt like he had killed over a thousand of them, but their numbers seemed endless. He had just slammed three into the wall, when the other's all stopped moving, their flaming wings vanished, and they broke apart into a white dust like substance, before they finally vanished into nothingness.

"Did he give up?" Accelerator mumbled, kicking a small pile of remains before they too disappeared. "If so, what a coward."

"In a matter of speaking." The voice of the person, who Accelerator only knew by the Doctor, came through the hidden speaker loud and clear.

"Great," Accelerator groaned. "You're back. What do you want?"

"I bet your wondering why the Kakine clones broke apart," the Doctor stated. "You know you didn't kill them all."

"The thought crossed my mind," Accelerator sneered. "But I figured being in my presence made him rethink their lives. Knowing he couldn't win, he took the cowards' way out by suicide."

"Your ego is as big as Kakine's," the Doctor sighed. "Think about it logically."

"Did he finally die?" Accelerator asked, with a mixture of hope and disappointment. _I kind of wanted to be the one to end that bastard, but that would be the only viable explanation. I don't think the ones I killed were the real ones, so it had to be someone else._

"He was killed by Meltdowner."

"HAHAHA!" Accelerator roared, clutching his side. "I can't believe that idiot lost to her. Did he underestimate her or something?"

"Two unusual things happened which I hoped you could enlighten me on," the Doctor said. "But let's start with how he lost. It seemed like he would have won, if not for the interference of another individual, the level 5 known as Kami.

 _The hero?_ Accelerator thought surprised. _If she was in trouble, I suppose it makes sense he interfered. He is always in the right place at the right time, or the wrong time, depending how you look at it._ "So he lost to two level 5s?" Accelerator asked, shrugging. "Well, he wasn't in the same league as me, so it makes sense."

"Kami's negation ability was interesting," the Doctor commented. "But that alone wasn't enough to stop Kakine. Kami's power was formidable, but lacked defenses against certain physical objects."

Accelerator was silent, knowing what he meant. Touma could negate abilities, not a rock, pole, or something similar. If Teitoku realized this, he would be able to fight Touma. _I wonder if I the hero's hand could negate dark matter. It didn't work on the princess's Curtana debris. The fifth rate… heh… should be able to handle normal materials. I wonder where he is going with this._ Something told him he wanted to listen and know what happened, so he didn't speak his mind yet.

"Meltdowner was able to make up for this flaw," the Doctor continued. "So they made quite a team, but then something happened." He paused and Accelerator felt his interest growing. "There was… a transformation."

"A transformation?"

"I looked like those black wings you revealed a moment ago. Meltdowner seemed to have developed something similar, but at the same time unique. Dark green energy materialized into petal like wings on her back and her output was several times greater than before. There were also other noticeable differences, but I digress. What can you tell me about those wing-like things?"

 _She managed to generate wings?_ Accelerator thought stunned. He thought he was the only who could do it, but then he imagined the transformation Mikoto had performed in Italy. She had ribbon like objects, which weren't really wings, and some physical transformations. _He said petal like wings for the fifth though. Is each transformation for a level 5 different? The fourth had some kind of transformation in England too. What is causing this?_ He took too long to answer and the Doctor spoke up again.

"Your expression betrayed you. You were never good at lying. Part of being too powerful means you never had to manipulate people to get what you desired, you could just take it. You know something about these transformations, I can tell. Now why don't you tell me? I'm sure I could give you some interesting information in return."

"What kind of information could you possibly give me?" Accelerator asked, trying to sneer. "But let's clear something up. These wings I have are mine and mine alone. Whatever the others have, is nothing like me. I use these wings when I get tired of trash like the second getting in my way. When I find you…" he reached out a hand and closed it, "… I'm going to rip out your heart and show it to you."

"How terrifying," the Doctor replied in a bored voice. "However, you did verify something for me. It's unique to only the level 5s and each one should be different because none of you are exactly alike. I suppose I should keep my side of the bargain." He paused. "What do you know about…. dragons?"

That one word caused Accelerator's eyes to widen and his body to freeze. The thought of Italy swarm clearly to his mind. The events leading up to the incident were blurry to say the least, but he remembered IT. The monster that emerged from Touma's bloody stump of an arm after the Herald cut it off was something he would like to forget. IT was strong enough to release the hold his black wings of madness and hatred had on him, do the same for Mikoto and her transformation, and crush the Herald. If this guy knew something about dragons and Touma was involved, that could only mean one thing. "What happened to him?" Accelerator demanded.

"So you do know," the Doctor said softly, his voice having the trace of glee now. "His arm was blown off and eight dragon heads emerged. Dark Matter and Meltdowner were both neutralized. They never stood a chance. However, the drone I was using to observe never indicated any AIM field from Kami, only the other two. Someone tried disconnecting all information feeds from that area to any outside source. Interesting, don't you think?"

 _So it's true,_ Accelerator thought. _This guy knows what happened when the hero loses an arm._ "I wouldn't know or care about that," Accelerator lied. "Unless it opposes me, I couldn't care less."

"We won't get anywhere if you continue to lie to me," the Doctor pointed out, sounding slightly annoyed. "I suppose it is a little too much to ask you to betray your friend. Never thought I would see the day when the great number one actually found someone to spend time with. You were always labeled a loner."

"I can't wait to find you," Accelerator snarled, opening and closing his hands. "I'm going to enjoy watching the life flow from your body." There was silence and the Doctor must have cut their connection. Accelerator spat on the ground and started walking back up the stairs. _I'm going to find that damn hero and rip the truth from him. He's got a lot of explaining to do._

* * *

"We're back!" Kuroko called out, as she and Mikoto entered Kuroko's Judgement Office. "Man I'm tired. Today was a long day."

"We just got back ourselves," Ruiko said, sticking her head out of Kazari's work area. "With everything settling down, we didn't need to stay at the other branch's office."

"Seems like whoever called Kagere-san about the robberies were right," Mikoto sighed. "They got the device, even though we captured their boss. Still, that girl's power was really terrifying. Changing how we observe her was unsettling."

"She could never capture your true beauty, charm, radiance,,, ouch!" Mikoto had hit Kuroko on the head to stop her overabundance of compliments. "Anyway," Kuroko continued, walking up and turning to face Kazari on the computer. "How did everything go on your end and what's the current status Uiharu?"

"Well," Kazari said turning around, but then she noticed Kuroko's condition. "Shirai-san, you're hurt." Kuroko's head was wrapped in a bandage, along with one of her arms.

"Just some minor bruises," Kuroko replied, dismissively. "One of the guys hit pretty hard, but it's nothing to worry about." They did hurt a little, but it wasn't bad enough to warrant staying in a hospital bed all day.

"She argued with an Anti-Skill officer who wanted her to visit a hospital," Mikoto added, a small smile appearing on her face. "This was the compromise."

"Classic Shirai-san," Ruiko said. "At least it's something."

"The other lab was broken into too," Kazari explained to Kuroko and Mikoto. "It seemed like it was supposed to be a covert operation. The guy was a really good hacker and a level 4 psychokinetic. It seemed like he was just after information, rather than equipment. The laboratory was purely automatic, except for a golden retriever with a backpack and two electronic arms."

"A dog was left alone there?" asked Mikoto. "That sounds cruel."

"By the equipment on its back," Kazari continued. "I thought it might be a guard dog or allow the supervisor of the facility to monitor and repair the lab remotely. I think the dog is used only for observation, because it only followed the intruder around and didn't even bark once."

"Doesn't sound like a guard dog," Kuroko agreed. "What kind of information was the intruder after?"

"I didn't look," Kazari said, keeping her face passive as she lied. "I was too busy trying to keep the encryption codes changing to prevent him from accessing the information. I also fixed the cameras he sabotaged so his face would be available to Anti-Skill. I didn't have any way to keep him locked up in the facility from my location and could only delay him, until Jason showed up and knocked him out."

"Don't be so modest," Ruiko pipped up. "She took over the entire lab to keep the guy locked up. He even had the ability to turn invisible and would have gotten away if Uiharu didn't think of using the sprinklers to reveal him for Kagere-san." Kazari turned pink at the praise, but Ruiko continued. "She also got an unintended glimpse of something nice." She smirked and gave Kazari a thumbs up.

"SATEN-SAN! I told you that didn't happen."

"Uh huh," Ruiko said sarcastically while Mikoto looked between them, confused at what Ruiko was talking about.

"Anyways," Kuroko said, stepping in. Based on the information dealing with sprinklers and getting a glimpse, she had a good idea what happened, but she didn't know if she could hear it right now. She was still kind of off from being hit with Measure Heart and remembering what she promised herself. "What about the riot that happened in the park."

"Anti-Skill has taken around half into custody," Kazari confirmed, typing something on her computer. "Looks like the other half scattered, but their faces and AIM fields have been registered, so they should be found easily enough. From what Anti-Skill found out, these guys were asked by an unknown individual to demonstrate their newly leveled powers to the city. It was supposed to be away for them to get their message out to all the low levels about how the city was purposely holding them back."

"So it really was a distraction," Kuroko mumbled. _Someone is on top of this and definitely used Jason to stop this group from succeeding. Did they know he was with us when they contacted him?_ She saw Ruiko and Kazari share a significant look. _Am I missing something?_ Mikoto was the one to voice her concern though.

"What else happened?" she asked. "You two are looking really serious."

"Well," Ruiko said slowly. "You don't happen to be able to change the color of your electricity, can you?"

"Huh?" Mikoto asked, confused at the unexpected question. She glanced at Kuroko who shrugged, looking equally confused. _That's the last thing I would expect them to ask. There's no way I could change…_ She stopped when she remembered there was two times her electricity changed from blue-white to pitch black. The first was during the level 6 shift after the festival last year and, more recently, their trip to Italy. She had partially transformed and was able to create black electricity. She didn't think that information should be brought up again, so she decided not to mention it to them yet. "No, why would you ask?"

"We thought so," sighed Kazari. "After everything was being resolved, something strange happened. Clouds began to gather over a small section of the city and unleashed torrents of lightning. What was strange was the clouds disappeared right after the lightning struck. It happened twice before disappearing completely. A couple of buildings were destroyed."

"You knew onee-sama was with me, right?" Kuroko asked. "She wouldn't have had time to go somewhere else."

"That's why we didn't think it was her," Ruiko agreed. "But there was a small chance with your teleportation you might have been able to reach the location fast enough."

"What color was it?" Mikoto asked. "You asked if I could change my electricity's color, so I assume it wasn't normal."

"It was dark red," Kazari said, shivering slightly. "Even the clouds had a red tint."

"That is weird," Kuroko agreed. "What about witnesses, anyone nearby, cameras? There should be something to give us a lead. Maybe it was some new ability user."

"I thought that too," Kazari confirmed. "But then it gets even stranger. That area had a lot of businesses and office buildings. It is not normally the busiest part of the city on weekends, but there should have been a fair number of people there. Everyone who should have been there was found several blocks away. I saw a report from Anti-Skill saying the witnesses couldn't remember why they left."

"Couldn't remember?" Kuroko and Mikoto asked together.

"I said that too," Ruiko said with a shrug.

"They were thinking someone with a mental ability might have cleared out the neighborhood before the fighting started," Kazari continued slowly. "The problem is there are a limited number of students with a powerful enough ability. One of them would be…" She paused and looked uncomfortable. She really hated mentioning that one of her friends might be involved in something shady.

"Shokuhou," Mikoto finished the sentence for her. "You think she might be part of this?"

"There's no way she could be involved in something like this," Kuroko pointed out, but then paused. "Though, you said they all left before the fighting. It's possible she tried to protect them from whatever was happening."

"That makes sense," Ruiko nodded. "I thought there might have been a reason if she was part of this."

"I don't think she was involved though," Mikoto pointed out, causing all three heads to turn to her.

"Why?" Kazari asked.

"It's too sloppy for her work," Mikoto continued. "She would have put in a false memory about why they had to leave. Even in an emergency, she always covers her tracks. She has had way to much experience with this." Mikoto wasn't the biggest fan of sticking up for Misaki, but Mikoto never wanted someone to be blamed for something they didn't do.

"Hmm," Kazari said thoughtfully, leaning back in her seat. "You know her better than we do. If we assume she didn't do it, the other option is a level 4 did it, but that might be a little tough for them to control so many people at once." She sighed. "Seriously, I thought today would be fun and it turns into this."

"Someone wanted to hang out with a guy," Ruiko said with a wink, causing Kazari to blush. Kazari gave her a knowing look and Ruiko turned slightly red, before looking away. Ruiko also wanted to spend time with a guy, but that hope had been interrupted. Kuroko looked between them, knowing what they were thinking, and sighed while shaking her head. None of them had a verifiable lead to point them in the right direction. It was only because of this, Mikoto pulled out her phone, took a deep breath, and dialed.

"Misaka?" asked Misaki's sickening sweet voice. "Whatever do I owe the pleasure of your call?"

"I need to ask you something," Mikoto said, aware the other girl's eyes were on her.

"I figured it would be something like that," Misaki replied. "You never call me to just spend some quality time together. I'm rather hurt by that." She sounded slightly pouty, but Mikoto ignored it.

"After we left this morning," Mikoto said. "What did you do?"

"You mean after meeting Eve?"

"Yes."

"A lot happened actually," Misaki replied. "My dear Touma was quite worried when he heard Eve was after his friend, so he was planning to scour the city until he found her. …I wish he would do that for me… Anyway, I volunteered to help him. As you know, I have an extensive network, throughout the city, that is all willing to help me for no other reason except for my gratitude."

"Sure…" mumbled Mikoto.

"Anyway," Misaki continued. "I wasn't having any luck on my end, but he did. Turns out his friend was with Index and were safe, so no harm done. The last thing I knew was he was going to call and talk with her. After that, I went to my favorite tea shop to relax with my clique. It has been a rather long day."

"Anything else?" Mikoto prodded.

"Oh yea," Misaki added cheerfully. "He and I shared a long passionate kiss before I left. He didn't want me to leave his side."

"That never happened!" Mikoto yelled, causing the rest of the girls to jump in alarm. They looked at her, but Mikoto was busy focusing on her conversation. "Did you force it on him?"

"What happened?" Ruiko asked, but Mikoto ignored her.

"You're so clever Misaka," Misaki laughed. "Before you would believe everything I said until I told you I was messing with you. I gave him a quick goodbye kiss, he never saw it coming, but I know he enjoyed it." She paused for a moment to let her words sink in. Mikoto's face turned red, but Misaki couldn't see it, though she had a pretty good idea how Mikoto's reacted to her words. "How about you stop beating around the bush and come out with your real question? We both know you want something."

"There was an incident," Mikoto explained. "Which may involve us at some point. Not long ago, strange red clouds were seen over a neighborhood accompanied by red lightning. There was a lot of collateral damage. The weird thing was all the residents who should have been in the area mysteriously decided to leave and wait a couple blocks away before the storm started. None of them could explain why they did it."

"So there will be some suspicion you and I were involved," Misaki said thoughtfully. Mikoto was glad she caught on so quickly. "Whoever controlled those people did a sloppy job. They should have modified their memories at least a little to have a reason. I suppose since you are contacting me, you didn't causing the lightning. I also have never seen you produce electricity in red before."

"You confirmed my suspicion you weren't involved," Mikoto said. "You wouldn't happen to have any ideas who might have been able to control a large group of people, would you?"

"Hmm," Misaki said thoughtfully, pausing for a moment. "A level four might be able to do that, if given enough time. You made it sound like they were evacuated immediately before the storm hit, so they sound related. Remember, we know of other things outside our abilities. Creating storms and messing with memories is a trivial thing for them."

"We didn't think of that," Mikoto said slowly. "Thanks." She hung up and turned to the other girls.

"What did she say?" Kuroko asked nervously.

"You seem to be worried," Ruiko added.

"Shokuhou didn't do it, but she gave a good explanation," Mikoto told them. "We know of another power that could explain all of this." She gave the other girls a look and their eyes widened. They all said the same word in unison.

"Magic…"

"Of course," Ruiko said, smacking her forehead with a hand. "It was so obvious, and we had just met Eve. Why didn't we think of that?"

"I suppose because we had just been dealing with ability users," Kazari said reasonably. "I still find it hard to switch my mindset from abilities to magic. It would explain why that weird weather was specific to a single location. The question now would be, who did it?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Kuroko asked. "Eve's in the city and she's the only one with power like that." She stopped and frowned. "But this poses a big problem. Most of the city doesn't know about magic, so there might still be the problem with onee-sama and Shokuhou-san taking the blame."

"Well," Kazari said. "We have evidence Misaka-san was with you, so she should be okay. Shokuhou might be a little harder to defend, but I doubt they have enough proof to place the blame solely on her."

"Could you ask Kagere-san if he knows anything about it?" Ruiko suggested, but Kazari shook her head.

"Every since he left that research lab, his phone has been turned off. I feel like he knows something happened, he might even have been dragged into it, but Anti-Skill work can be classified from Judgment."

"Then maybe we need to take matters into our own hands," Mikoto said, with a devious smirk. "Uiharu has anyone from Anti-Skill or Judgement investigated the neighborhood?"

"No," Kazari said. "Since everyone had been evacuated and only collateral damage occurred, they quarantined the area and most of their members are busy dealing with the riots. I tried to see what happened, but none of the cameras in the area are working. It's like they were disconnected. It's a complete black out zone."

"That makes it easier," Mikoto said, rubbing her hands together.

"Onee-sama!" Kuroko reprimanded her sternly. "You can't go admitting you are going to trespass into a restricted area."

"It's not trespassing if I am drafted into helping a Judgement member in an investigation," Mikoto pointed out.

"You know I would do anything for you," Kuroko said. "But I can't do this. Why are you so interested in going anyways?" Mikoto was silent for a moment, a little embarrassed about the reason, but she decided honesty would be the best policy in this case. It had been gnawing at her, since she hung up with Misaki.

"If something magical is happening in the city," Mikoto told them. "Who do you think is going to be in the middle of it? You know, the person who always seems to get involved." All three girls looked at each other again, and Ruiko and Kuroko smacked their foreheads.

"Touma would head straight into that mess if he recognized it as magic," Ruiko said, shaking her head. "It's just like him if he thought someone was in trouble."

"He needs to think more before he does something stupid like that," Kuroko added.

"Tell me about it," Mikoto muttered. "So will you come with me? With your teleportation you should be able to get us in and out without being seen."

"It's a quarantined area," Kuroko protested. "We can't just waltz in there. If you had evidence someone was in trouble, but this is just speculation. Besides, it's under Anti-Skill jurisdiction and Judgement can't get involved unless they specifically request our help."

"Actually," Kazari spoke up, looking at her friends. While they had been arguing, she had been double checking the files on the quarantined area to verify something. "I just checked and it's only closed to the public for safety reasons, collapsing buildings and upturned streets mostly. Technically, Anti-Skill hasn't done a formal investigation of the area. Therefore, it's not classified under their jurisdiction yet. Let's say, a Judgement member and a helper did a quick look to check for anyone who had not been able to evacuate, it would be a perfectly reasonable endeavor."

"You're the best Uiharu-san," Mikoto said, reaching over and shaking her hand enthusiastically. "That settle's it Kuroko. Let's go." She reached over and grabbed Kuroko's hand.

"But…" She stopped and sighed. She did enjoy holding Mikoto's hand. "Fine, but just a QUICK look around." Mikoto nodded and they left the building. Once outside, Kuroko gripped Mikoto's hand tightly and they started teleporting across the city.

"While what you said was true," Ruiko commented, turning to Kazari, after she saw Mikoto and Kuroko leave from the window. "It's not like you to help others bend the rules like that if someone wasn't in trouble. I think someone is rubbing off on you." Kazari turned slightly pink.

"I can easily tell you're worried too," Kazari pointed out.

"That's true," Ruiko admitted. "I wish there was something I could do." She put her hands behind her head and kicked the floor. "You did so much intel work for everyone, while I just sat nearby. _If something like this happens again, I'm going to make sure I do something to help._

* * *

He was alive.

Even with his blood, flesh, and organs scattered down the street, Teitoku Kakine was still alive. Shizuri's Meltdowner had disintegrated part of his body and the explosions sent his remains scattered in all directions. While his clones were made of dark matter, his body had still been made of flesh and blood. The pain of being torn apart was unlike anything he had ever experienced. It was as if his entire body had been on fire for a moment, before it was destroyed. Luckily, Shizuri's attacks had not destroyed the most important piece of Teitoku. It was the part that held an insurmountable amount of hatred and rage at his predicament. It was the part of him he subconsciously protected with a layer of dark matter after the dragon had removed the rest of his defenses.

His brain was still intact.

His brain was located in the middle of the street, surrounded by a dark red blood stain. He couldn't see and the only other thing he could feel was pain. However, he could still think and his thoughts kept repeating in a circle. _How am I alive? That bitch destroyed me. Kill her and everyone close to her. How am I alive? This is the bastards fault. Kill him and everyone close to him. How am I alive? The bitch destroyed me…_ The same thoughts just kept repeating over and over.

If he was able to think rationally, he would know how he survived. His powers returned a moment before Shizuri's blasts hit him. While unable to consciously do the calculations he needed to create dark matter, his body's self-defense instinct kicked in. He subconsciously wrapped his vital organs with a thin layer of dark matter, just enough to protect them from Shizuri's onslaught. Thin microscopic connectors then connected his organs together and he created artificial cells to flow between them, just managing to keep them operational. This normally shouldn't have been possible, but something had changed within him during his battle with Kami. The new power that welled up from within him was still there, he could feel it.

He felt a slight vibration on the street, just enough to break into his circular thought pattern. He couldn't see what it was, but a flicker of fear went through his mind. Here he was, one of the most powerful ability users in Academy City, now completely defenseless. All he could detect around him was contrasts between light and dark. He wasn't even sure how he could tell, since he didn't have eyes anymore, but it most likely involved his ability combined with the nerves at the end of his brain and other organs. In his weakened state, his protections were just enough to keep him from dying, nowhere close to what he used to defend himself from Shizuri's attacks. A very weak force could destroy his brain, one such as a shoe stomping down hard. _So this is how it ends, in this sorry state to a pathetic ending._ He 'saw' a dark shape standing over him and he braced himself.

Nothing happened.

Well at least nothing immediate. Teitoku was unable to discern what the stranger wanted. It didn't seem like they were going to kill him, but they were moving around and probably examining the scene. He felt greater vibrations as the person stepped near some of his remains and Teitoku could tell the stranger was speaking out loud. Teitoku couldn't process what was being said, he didn't have ears anymore. He could only feel the vibrations and then a peculiar feeling in the back of his mind, but he ignored that. All he could hope was the person would assume he was dead and leave. _No one would expect someone in my condition to still be alive. Now if this piece of trash would leave, I could concentrate on repairing myself._ His mind was actually clearer now and he could think about his predicament.

 _It's not nice to insult someone who just wants to help._

If Teitoku still had a completely functioning heart, it would have attacked him. He heard a young male's voice in his mind, as clearing as if the male was whispering into his ear. The tone was curious, with just a hint of a mocking undertone. This person was able to communicate directly into his mind, even in this state. _Are you a mental ability user?_

 _No, I'm using a rune card. You probably have a bunch of questions, but make it fast. I'm planning to get you out of here before Anti-Skill arrives._

 _Why are you interested in helping me?_

 _I need your ability. In exchange, I'll help you recover and give you the power you were seeking. Whoever helped you obviously only gave you the bare minimum._

 _RICANE!_ Teitoku mentally roared as he remembered. _He left me for dead. I'll kill him first and then slaughter the Meltdowner and her boyfriend._

 _Ricane?_ The voice said slowly. _So it's true… Anyway, I'll get you out of here if you agree to my conditions._

 _What makes you think I will trust you?_

 _I never said for you to trust me. If you don't agree to my demands, you can stay here and die. The choice is up to you. I lose nothing, but you will lose everything. This way, you still have a chance._ He paused for a moment. _Pledge your life to me, and I will make sure you obtain the power you desire._

A thought flickered briefly in Teitoku's mind as he processed the stranger's words. The way the stranger said pledge your life threw up warning bells in his head, but that worry was pushed out of his mind as he remembered Shizuri, Ricane, and Kami. Hatred overwhelmed all rational thought. _How dare trash treat me like this?_ _They should have trembled at my very presence and begged to serve me, not unleash unknown powers that surpassed what trash should have been able to use._ The decision was almost instantaneous. He desired power and would sell his soul to the devil if it meant acquiring it.

 _I agree to your terms._

 _Excellent._

For a moment, something cold flowed through his remains. It was as if he lost something important, but he had no idea what it was. The feeling passed as quickly as it came. The light around him faded and was replaced by darkness. He could feel all of his remains being carefully brought together. Whoever he had made a deal with, was certainly no amateur. As he felt them begin to move, another feeling passed through him. It was regret. The regret wasn't at his action in trying to kill the others, he didn't care about that. The regret dealt with the deal he just made. _Maybe I shouldn't have done that._

* * *

"What's with all that metal?" Kuroko asked, pointing to a good part of the street covered in black metal. "It looks like the Shadow Metal Jason mentioned before." She and Mikoto were standing on the roof of a nearby building overlooking the destruction.

"Yea…" Mikoto said slowly, looking around. She suddenly had a sense of déjà vu. The last time she had seen this much of the black metals, she and Sogiita Gunha had fought. She had been forcefully transformed into a monster to see if she could surpass level 5. She had nearly killed him and Touma. Touma saved her and she vaguely recalled a dragon, but she wasn't in her right mind at the time, so she thought she imagined it. Now she realized it was probably that creature in his arm. After Italy, it didn't look like he wanted to talk about it, so she let the subject drop.

"Didn't Saten-san mention this was caused by ability users clashing?"

"Kagere said he didn't know, remember?"

"True."

"This place really is a mess," Mikoto said, trying to move the subject away from the metal, "You can easily tell where the lightning hit."

"Be careful," Kuroko warned, for what felt like the millionth time to Mikoto. "We are only here to look, so don't do anything drastic unless someone needs help."

"I know, I know," Mikoto replied, rolling her eyes and Kuroko teleported them down to the street. "Even the street's been ripped up," she added, looking around. "You would think someone like Accelerator would have passed through, but he can't create lightning."

"The important part is over there," a girl's voice said, and they both jumped in surprise. They turned around and saw Misaki, leaning up against a mailbox, waving to them and then gesturing down the street while spinning a remote in her other hand. "I was wondering when you two would get here."

"How did you beat us here?" Mikoto asked, but Kuroko asked the more important question.

"How did you know to come here?" she asked. "I didn't hear onee-sama give you the location."

"I actually just heard about the unusual lightning a few minutes before Misaka's call," Misaki explained. "I was planning to investigate from a distance, but since it was obvious you were planning to come here, I decided to meet you."

"How did you sneak past the quarantine?" Kuroko asked.

"Do you really need to ask that Shirai-san?" Misaki asked. "They let me in without an issue."

"Of course they did," Mikoto sighed, while Kuroko looked like she wanted to say something about Misaki using her powers on Anti-Skill. Before she could say anything though, Mikoto continued. "So what's over there?" she pointed to the direction Misaki had indicated. "Does it have something to do with the destroyed building?"

"Kind of," Misaki said, as all three of them walked down the destroyed street, moving diagonally to step onto the flatter parts to avoid climbing over all the debris. "The first is this." She gesture to the ground around them after they came to a section of the street that wasn't completely torn up. "What do you make of this?" Mikoto and Kuroko frowned as the leaned over to examine the ground.

"The entire area is stained," Kuroko said, turning her head around. "But with that?"

"Is this...?" Mikoto said, bending a little closer, before holding her hand to her mouth. "Dried blood?" Kuroko gasped.

"That's what I thought," Misaki said solemnly.

"If this is really blood," Kuroko said, looking at how much of the area was covered by the stain. "How badly would someone have to be injured to lose this much?" Mikoto and Misaki didn't answer, none of them wanted to think about that. There was an issue Kuroko noticed due to her Judgement training that the other two missed. "It only seems to be concentrated here, with a few splotches sprayed into the distance. There's no sign of a corpse, or any sign of it being dragged off. So what could have happened to it?"

"It seems to be originating here," Misaki said, pointing to a crater in the middle of the street. The stains started at this crater and the vast majority of it spread out in one direction. While only Kuroko had Judgement investigation training, basic physics allowed Misaki and Mikoto, both of whom were extremely gifted, to infer were the stain originated. While they thought it was blood, there was no evidence of any body, so they were hoping it wasn't. "Do you think that lightning hit someone?"

"I hope not," Mikoto said seriously, looking around for any other sign of what happened or if Touma had been there, when something caught her eye. While most of the street had been uprooted, scorched, and crushed, one spot stood out. She turned and walked through a forest of light posts that seemed to have been uprooted and speared into the ground and then a ravine that looked like it had melted asphalt and concrete in it before it cooled. She stood at the spot and looked around.

"Onee-sama!" Kuroko called out to her. "What did you find?"

"I'm not sure," Mikoto admitted. "Come over here and tell me if this seems unusual." Misaki and Kuroko walked toward her and looked around. They were standing in roughly a two meter radius circle of smooth road. A pile of debris was on one side and the ravine ended several meters away.

"Seems like nothing happened here," Misaki commented.

"And that's what's unusual," Kuroko said, hitting her fist into the palm of her other hand. "That area is covered by building debris, outside this circle the ground is burnt slightly by the lightning, and there's destroyed street and lamp posts that way, but this spot is clear, as if the area was protected." Her eyes drifted around and she frowned. It all seemed really familiar to her, like she saw something like this before. "I remember, it happened so long ago I almost forgot. It's just like the graviton bombing in the seventh mist. An area was untouched while everything else was destroyed. Everyone thought onee-sama protected Uiharu and the civilian, but you said you didn't."

"It was Touma," Mikoto acknowledged. "I bet he blocked one of the lightning strikes here."

"We all know he doesn't have the power to cause this much destruction," Kuroko said. "And based on his character, he probably ran in blindly and tried to stop whatever magician was here."

"There could have been an ability user," Misaki pointed out. "Don't you need one to make that metal?"

"How did you know about that?" Mikoto asked, shocked. _Does she know how Shadow Metal is made?_

"I saw you two arrive on the building and I read Shirai-san's mind because I wasn't sure how much time we had."

"Hey," Kuroko said, instinctively raising her hands to her head. "Don't go reading my mind without permission." Mikoto sparked slightly in anger. She hated when Misaki threatened to use her powers on Kuroko and the others. While Mikoto didn't think Misaki would do anything to hurt them, there was always the possibility of using them to annoy her.

"Sorry," Misaki said, making her favorite cutesy pose. "I wasn't sure how long you would take and this way we saved a lot of time."

"I guess," Kuroko admitted.

"So what do you think happened?" Mikoto asked. "We don't know any ability users who could create red lightning storms. Yet, I thought you need abilities to clash to create the Shadow Metal."

"Hmm," Misaki said, putting a finger to her cheek. She had been thinking about it while they talked, and she came to a very unattractive conclusion. "If we assume the lightning was caused by magic, then the only ones we know who are powerful enough to do this is Eve or that Cain guy. As a vampire, he's supposed to have extraordinary magic, right?" Mikoto nodded. "Now, if that black metal indeed requires powerful ability users to clash, then we need to say at least two other people were here. Well, at least before Touma arrived."

"Sounds alright so far," Kuroko agreed. "Do you think both of the ability users were fighting Eve or Cain?"

"I hope not," Mikoto said worriedly. "It took an army to fight Eve and Cain's obviously almost as powerful. It wouldn't be good for anyone to face him."

"True," Misaki agreed, before continuing. "But Cain's a vampire. Doesn't a bite from a vampire turn you into one of them?"

"That or food," Mikoto said, a slight shiver going down her spine. _I hope this day doesn't turn into a horror movie._

"What if he turned someone into a vampire and had them fight another ability user?" Misaki asked. "Maybe Eve needs this metal for something."

"What would Eve need this for?" Kuroko asked. "Jason said it was used to dampen AIM fields…." Her eyes went wide. "Kazakiri-san!"

"Eve must be setting this up then," Mikoto said. "Do you think that blood stain might be Cain turning someone into a vampire after fighting someone?"

"There is that possibility," Misaki nodded solemnly. "The question is, who was fighting him? Who would be strong enough to generate Shadow Metal in a fight? If this metal could form when any two people with abilities fought, we would have it all over the place." They all looked at each other with a knowing look and said a single word in unison.

"Accelerator."

"That would explain the destruction," Kuroko mumbled. "Overturned streets, light poles ripped out of the ground, and destroyed buildings."

"Touma must have seen the fight and stepped in," Mikoto concluded.

"There's one way to check," Misaki said, pulling out her phone. "If he showed up, everything probably ended well. " She pushed the speed dial she kept Touma's number on and waited. "Hmm, it went straight to voice mail, his phone must be off." She left a quick message and hung up.

"I'll try Accelerator," Mikoto sighed. "It's not like he's that found of any of us." Misaki and Kuroko nodded in agreement. The phone rang twice and Accelerator's gruff voice answered.

"What do you want third rate?" Mikoto wasn't sure how to word her question. She could ask outright, but the phone lines in the city could be hacked pretty easily, so she probably shouldn't say anything to revealing.

"When Eve left," Mikoto said slowly and deliberately. "After the rest of us went our separate ways, did you happen to go and have a… fight… with another individual who might have a weird ability." She hoped she wasn't too specific or too vague. Kuroko looked a little confused, but Misaki gave her a reassuring nod, letting her know her wording was okay.

"How the…?" Accelerator asked, sounding stunned. "Actually, never mind. You know people who have connections and it doesn't even matter anymore. It's all taken care of."

"So you did…?"

"It's taken care of third rate. That is all you need to know." He hung up the phone. Mikoto turned toward the others.

"I think he might have been the one, but you know he's never in a talkative mood."

"If we assume it was him and Cain," Misaki said, processing the information. "Then that just leaves the last person. Whoever it was would have to have an ability that can rival him."

"That's going to be a narrow list," Mikoto told her. She frowned as she looked at some of the burnt damages. While most of the damage could be explained by Accelerator's vector manipulation, the burns were unusual. Mikoto had seen Accelerator create plasma before, but it wasn't something he normally used. Besides, these burns were more focused… like beams. When she thought this, her mind immediately turned to the one person who could have done this much damage with their ability. _Mugino._

"We need to get going," Kuroko said, turning her head and looking down the street. "It looks like someone is coming." She grabbed Mikoto and Misaki and teleported away before they could discuss the matter any further.

* * *

 _Where am I?_

Touma opened his eyes and stared at a white ceiling. _Am I in the hospital?_ Something told him he wasn't, the bed was way too comfortable. He tried to sit up and his back was wracked with pain and he stopped. He blinked several times until everything began to swim into focus. He tilted his head and looked to his side. There was IV attached to his left arm with what looked like an almost empty bag of blood, along with a heart monitor, but no other equipment. _I'm definitely not in a hospital._

He saw a TV on a desk and a partially open door that led to a closet. There were two chairs in the corner of the room and a small pile of male clothes in one of them. Touma took his right hand, winced slightly, and pulled back the covers. He was wearing a pair of baggy pants, but no shirt. His entire torso was wrapped in strong hospital grade bandages. Besides that, the rest of his body looked okay. He took a deep breath and tried to remember what happened. The last thing he could really remember was stopping Mugino's last attack and then everything got blurry. The one thing he was sure of was the dragon emerged from his arm and defeated Teitoku. _I was saved by it again, but is Kakine okay? He's not dead, is he?_ He managed to sit up, when he heard a couple voices.

"What is that boy's body made out of? I've seen wounds heal quickly, but without an ability, I'm surprised he is even alive with that blood loss, let alone stabilized already." The voice was female and definitely older than him.

"That boy is anything but normal," Shizuri's voice agreed. "But isn't his rapid recovery a testament to your skills?"

"You only flattery me so I'll keep working for you," the woman said. "Probably because I'm one of the few doctors who makes house calls and can keep my mouth shut."

"And you're one of the top three specialists in the city."

"Top three? I'm definitely number two. Only the Heaven Chancellor is better and I doubt he's even human. Seriously, I've seen him bring people on the verge of death back to life with common household items."

"I didn't have time to get to his hospital," Shizuri explained. "Besides, this situation needs to be kept under wraps. Your normal payment will be transferred to your account."

"Anytime as long as you got the cash. I know I never meet you in the same spot twice, but I do prefer this luxury suite instead of some of the rundown apartments in the past."

"Good bye," Shizuri told her, in a tone saying she was overstaying her welcome. A door in the distance slammed shut, before Shizuri spoke again. "Hamazura, Takitsubo and I are going out, I need some explanations. You are in charge until Frenda and Kinuhata get back. Don't let anyone else in and don't you dare think about letting Kamijou leave if he wakes up. He has a lot of explaining to do."

"Y-yes Mugino," the voice of Shiage said shakily. Touma heard the door slam shut again before thinking.

 _Who is Mugino after?_ Touma thought. _Shouldn't she be resting?_ He looked out the window and the sun was beginning to set. He must have been out for a couple hours at least or it could be the following day. He didn't know how much time passed while he was unconscious, but he needed to find out. He sat up, ignoring the sharp stabbing pain in his back. It hurt, but it wasn't unbearable. He moved and sat at the edge of the bed, before disconnecting the IV. This wasn't something anyone could do, but Touma had left hospitals suddenly more times than he would like to admit. He got shakily to his feet and took a few careful steps.

He looked in the mirror and turned to look at his back. The bandages looked cleaned, but he couldn't be sure how bad it was underneath. He did recall being stabbed several times. There was no real reason to remove the bandages, so he grabbed the shirt from the chair and put it on. He flinched slightly when he raised his arms, but kept going. He spent a moment stretching to try to keep the pain in his back to a minimum and then opened the door leading to the rest of the apartment. It led to the main living room and Touma could see a hallway on the other side leading to more rooms. A large and fancy kitchen was connected to the living room. It really was a high class apartment, one Touma would normally never be able to even spend a single night in.

"How are you up?" Shiage said, turning around on the couch when he heard Touma open the door. He had been watching TV. "You were nearly dead when I arrived after Mugino called me."

"I'm pretty tough," Touma said hoarsely. "Where am I?"

"It's one of our hideouts," Shiage explained. "We don't use it much, because we can't be seen going in and out of a high class apartment too often. Mugino brought you here because it was the closest place."

"Who was the person who was just here?"

"That was the doctor who attended your wounds," Shiage said, watching him closely. "Mugino and Takitsubo were also in pretty bad shape, but they wouldn't tell me what happened. Frenda and Kinuhata are still out on another mission."

"Okay," Touma said, glad everyone was alright. "I need to get going now. Thanks for the hospitality." He didn't want to overstay his welcome and Shizuri already did more than enough for him. He was definitely going to thank her the next time he saw her. He started to walk toward the door when Shiage blocked his path.

"I can't let you do that," he said sternly. "Mugino was very clear. You can't leave until she returns. Even without her order, you are in no shape to travel. I don't even understand how you are up and walking."

"I have a lot of misfortunate things happen to me," Touma said with a weak chuckle. "So I'm built pretty tough. I bet tomorrow I'll be back to my old self."

"You sure you don't have an ability?" Shiage asked suspiciously and Touma shook his head. "I suppose it doesn't matter. You really can't leave though. Just wait until Mugino gets back and try to convince her. I rather not be on the receiving end of her anger."

Touma looked at the determination in Shiage's eyes and realized he had a point. Shizuri was not the kind of person to overlook someone ignoring her orders. If he left, Shiage would get beaten and then Shizuri would come after him. The best bet was to do as Shiage suggested. _I really don't want to impose, but I guess I should thank her for paying for a doctor for me. I'll have to find a way to pay her back._ "Okay," he sighed and Shiage looked relieved. He sat down gingerly on a sofa chair, mindful of his back, and relaxed for the first time since before Eve appeared.

"Here," Shiage said, handing him a bottle of pills and Touma's cellphone. "Pain meds if it gets too bad," he explained.

"Thanks a lot," Touma replied gratefully, taking a couple and pocketing the bottle. He turned his cellphone on and saw several messages, most from Mikoto and Misaki. They obviously knew he was up to something, but they didn't go into details, only wondering what he was doing and if he was okay. He sent them a quick reply and set his phone on silent. He wasn't sure how to explain this to them and decided he shouldn't worry them. He probably shouldn't say too much while in one of ITEM's bases anyway. He looked over at Shiage, who also appeared to be tired. "You look pretty warn out too."

"I was helping Frenda and Kinuhata on their mission," Shiage shrugged. "It got a little hectic but we took care of it. Then Mugino called me not to long ago and here we are."

"Long day too huh."

"Definitely." They looked at each other and laughed. Two guys, who seemed to get boss around by others a lot, finally met someone in the same position as themselves. They may have been enemies in the past, but they were quickly becoming good friends. They watched TV for a bit, before Shiage turned to him. "I got a question for you."

"Shoot."

"How did you get Mugino and Frenda to speak so highly of you?" Shiage asked.

"Huh?" Touma asked, completely surprised. "Where did this come from and what do you mean highly? I don't think Mugino has ever really complimented me without some kind of mocking tone."

"Maybe that's how she is," Shiage shrugged. "They usually tell me I need to act more like you in missions." _I wonder if they speak well of me when I'm not there._ He scoffed. _I doubt that._ "Anyway, the reason I asked was because I wanted to ask your advice. You see, I really like Takitsubo, but I don't know how to go about telling her."

Touma's mouth fell open. This was probably one of the most unexpected things he ever encountered. At school, his friends always made fun of him for having a harem, but most of the girls they said liked him were obviously just thanking him for helping them out of some kind of trouble. He knew Mikoto, Ruiko, and Misaki liked him, but they were also his friends, so it made things awkward, but he had never gone after them. In fact, he had never pursued anyone for a relationship. With his horrible luck and all the problems he got involved in, he never thought he would have time for a real relationship. It would put them in trouble and he would never be able to live with himself if they got hurt because of someone after him. "I'm not sure I'm the person to ask," Touma said, rubbing his head. "I've never really asked anyone out and I don't have a girlfriend. I have some friends who might be able to help."

"Really?" Shiage asked, raising an eye. There was a small amount of disbelief in his eyes. "I thought… never mind. Humor me. What would you do if you liked a girl?"

"I would probably just try to be honest," Touma shrugged. "If you try to make yourself out to be something you're not, the relationship won't last. You can't make it on lies. When you feel the time is right, confess. If she says no, at least you asked, right?"

"Great," Shiage sighed. "That's going to be nerve wrecking. Thanks for the advice." They sat in silence when the movie they were watching became intense, but Touma wanted to know something and figured now would be the time to ask.

"Do you all go to school?" Touma asked. "It seems like you do so much, even during school days."

"Eh," Shiage said nonchalantly. "I dropped out. School just wasn't for me and I learned a lot of skills to survive on the streets. The others technically go to school, but a higher up in Academy City makes it easy for them to get excused from classes whenever it's needed. Mugino, being a level 5, has a lot of freedom."

"Lucky," Touma muttered and Shiage laughed. "I almost failed a semester for missing too many days. I had so many supplemental classes." They argued about the importance of school, Shiage against and Touma for, before moving to other topics like TV shows, video games, and other guy things. Before long, they were talking like they had been friends for years. Shiage was happy to have another guy to talk to, who wouldn't insult him at every opportunity, and Touma was glad to have someone who didn't keep telling him to embrace a harem that didn't exist. He began to feel drowsy, probably from the pain meds. Hours passed and the sun had set before the girls enter from behind them.

"He's up already?" Frenda asked. "Basically, I thought you said he was on death's door."

"…He was," Rikou said, wide-eyed.

"So he's up," Shizuri said, staring at him. "I knew you wouldn't be the type to lounge around in bed all day. Good job at keeping him here Hamazura."

"So are you finally going to tell us what happened?" Saiai asked. "I super want to know."

"Tomorrow," Shizuri told her, without turning her head. Her eyes were narrowed at Touma. "I'm not in the mood to discuss it right now." Touma shivered and he figured whoever Shizuri went to meet, didn't give her the news she wanted. She wasn't completely furious, so there must have been good news sprinkled in. Shizuri of course wanted to talk about what happened against Teitoku, but she needed to get her thoughts organized before that. The memory of those dragons still sent involuntary shivers down her spine.

"Dang," Saiai said, putting her hands behind her back. "Well, if we aren't going to learn what happened between you two and Kakine, then I'm super going to get cleaned up." She tugged at her dusty and torn sweater dress. "So much dirt because Frenda couldn't control her explosives." She started walking toward the hallway.

"My explosives were perfect," Frenda huffed. "Basically, you just didn't dodge correctly." She decided to follow Saiai because she too wanted to wash up. She knew the two boys would be busy with Shizuri there and they weren't going to gather the courage to peek. Saiai must have been reading her mind because she stopped and looked back at the boys.

"Hamazura," She warned. "I'll kill you if you peak. Kamijou, if you want to peak at Frenda, I know she would enjoy it."

"Kinuhata!" Frenda yelled. "If he tries anything now, I'm getting a nude picture of you and sending it to Accelerator."

"You wouldn't dare." They continued to argue until they entered the shower room. Shizuri waited until they were gone and then turned to Shiage.

"You can go Hamazura," Shizuri told him. "You'll be compensated appropriately." Her tone was cooler than normal and Shiage figured it was best not to argue.

"Catch you later," Shiage said to Touma, before leaving the apartment. Shizuri, Touma, and Rikou watched him leave.

"So, umm," Touma said, rubbing his head. The silence was a little awkward and he wasn't sure what to say. "Thanks for getting me medical treatment."

"I don't normally like to admit this," Shizuri told him, crossing her arms under her chest. "But you did save me and Takitsubo, so the least I could do was pay a medical bill."

"I suppose you want to know what happened," Touma stated.

"That's obvious."

"Can you tell me about that transformation?" Touma asked.

"It's late and I'm tired," Shizuri said. "Plus you look like you are about to crash. Tomorrow morning, we are going to discuss this in great detail and you will tell me everything. Understand?" She took one of her fingers and pressed it against his chest, while looking at him straight in the eyes.

"Yes," Touma gulped. _Tomorrow is going to be another long day._

"You understand what is going to happen if you try to escape in the middle of the night?"

"Yes."

"Good," Shizuri said, turning around and walking to the bathroom. "Takitsubo, give him something to eat if he wants it. I'm getting cleaned up." She stopped for a moment. "I hope you don't mind we threw your old clothes away. They were ruined beyond repair."

"It's fine. I expected as much." _Great, another thing I have to buy,_ Touma thought. Rikou microwaved him some kind of rice dish and he ate in silence. He knew he could ask her questions, but nothing came to mind. Rikou rarely initiated conversations, but would generally answer any question directed at her. She ate a little bit, but continued to stare at him or, more specifically, at his arm. Touma knew why and he dreaded the following morning. He yawned and his back wasn't hurting as much anymore. The pain medicine was really helping, but he was going to fall asleep soon. About this time, Shizuri returned, changed into more casual clothes.

"You can use the same bedroom," Shizuri told him, gesturing to the room he had woken up in. "I'll make sure Frenda doesn't get any ideas tonight." It may have sounded like she was doing this out of the kindness of her heart, but she knew Touma would try to flee if they tried anything. She glanced at Rikou. "You should get washed up to. We don't have anything else going on tomorrow." Rikou nodded and left. Touma put his plate in the sink and turned to look at Shizuri.

"Thanks for everything," he said. "But you really don't have to go this far. I could just meet you somewhere tomorrow."

"I will repay my debts," Shizuri told him, not taking her eyes off of him.

"You don't…," Touma started to say, but Shizuri increased the strength of her glare. "Okay, I get it. Thank you." She appeared slightly mollified by his response. Touma walked to the bedroom, aware of Shizuri's eyes following him, and entered, closing the door behind him. Part of him was nervous about sleeping under the same roof as several very attractive girls, but he figured Shizuri wouldn't let them do anything while he was injured. He turned his phone on again and set it as an alarm. He laid down on the soft bed, carefully to avoid stressing his back, aware of how nice it felt. The stress of the entire day finally caught up to him and he felt it all at once. Added to the doziness he felt from taking the pain medicine, he closed his eyes and was out like a light in only a few minutes.

About thirty minutes passed when the door to his room opened. Shizuri walked in wearing a semitransparent nightgown, with very exotic underwear visible from underneath it, something that would make eve Kuroko's jaw drop. It was the kind of sleepwear a girl would use to seduce a guy but, with Shizuri, it was her normal every night type of clothes. She waited until she was sure he was asleep and the other girls had gone to their room. All of them were exhausted and crashed earlier than normal. Shizuri, however, had other things on her mind and wasn't able to drag herself to bed. Instead, she found herself heading towards Touma's room.

Ever since she had called the doctor to patch him up, after she and Rikou gave him basic first aid, she had been feeling something strange her chest. She couldn't get Touma out of her head and no matter what she did, her thoughts kept turning to him. She had planned to go and interrogate Jason about what happened, but the most unusual thing happened. Rikou couldn't pick up his AIM field. It was like he was suddenly able to hide it. Perplexed by this, they went and picked up Frenda and Saiai, with all of them discussing what occurred, with heavy omissions. Even then, she still kept thinking about Touma and the desire to return back to his side quickly. When they arrived, she felt relief flow through her body when she saw Touma up and relatively fine. Her mind and body were feeling all sorts of emotions she never had felt before, and it confused her, but she knew what she had to do.

 _I have to do this,_ she thought, as she closed the door silently behind her. She walked up to the bed silently and stared down at Touma's sleeping form. She put a hand over her heart, which had begun to thump wildly, and she took a deep breath. This was completely unnatural for her, but her body was screaming at her to do it. _When did I fall for an idiot like this? I want to hit him and hold him at the same time._ She sat on the bed lightly and laid down next to him. She felt better than she had felt for a long time and found herself falling asleep before she knew it.

* * *

 _Wow, I feel great. Those pain meds really helped._

Sun was streaming through the window and, even those his eyelids were closed, he could tell it was morning. He sat up, not wanting to open his eyes, and stretched. That's when he noticed something was wrong. His body felt heavy in the wrong places and he wondered if it was a side effect of the drug. He opened and his eyes and now had definite proof something was wrong. He wasn't in the same bed when he fell asleep. In fact, the entire room around him was completely different. He recognized the decoration and knew where he was, but that should have been impossible.

It was the Tokiwadai Middle School dorms.

Touma took a deep breath and counted to ten. _Okay, I'm hallucinating. Stay calm and think rationally._ He pinched himself and it hurt, so he wasn't dreaming. He opened his eyes and looked down. He was sitting up in a bed with gold sheets, but what really got him was the fact he wasn't looking at his body anymore. He was looking at a female body wearing a pink semitransparent nightgown and the chest was extremely prominent. He closed his eyes again and immediately thought of Jason. _I swear, if he did this again… but he didn't transport me into another location the other times. How did I end up here then? No one besides Mugino and her group should know where I was._ He opened his eyes and looked around, before his mouth fell open in shock when he saw a mirror.

Misaki Shokuhou shocked face was staring back at him.

He bolted out of bed and ran to the mirror. He ran his hands along the side of his face and the mirror copied his every movement. He grabbed some of the long blonde hair and held it out, looking at it. He might have panicked and passed out, but since Jason had done something similar, he was a little calmer than he should have been. _This shouldn't be possible, but it's not a dream or a hallucination, which means, it has to be magic. I don't think Jason would do this now, too much stuff is going on, so who….. EVE!_ He remembered her words when she mentioned her Chaos Magic.

 _Anything can happen and I don't have control of what the outcome is._

 _If I'm in Misaki's body,_ he thought. _Does that mean she's in my body? That means she's at Mugino's apartment and injured… I got to find her phone quickly._ He looked around her room. It was a good thing Misaki kept her room tidy, or it might have taken a long time to search. The table and chairs were clear, so that really only left her desk. _Sorry Misaki,_ he thought as he rummaged through her desk drawers before noticing her bag under the desk. He bent over and picked it up, trying not to look down at Misaki's semi revealed body. He rummaged in the bag for a moment before pulling out her cellphone. _Please don't be locked._ To his relief it wasn't and he scrolled through her contacts until he found his name. He dialed and held the phone up to his ear, while pacing back and forth. He heard it click as it was answered.

"Hello?" he heard his groggy voice say.

"Don't panic…"

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I (Eve) love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Eve: Yes, I have total control of everything that happens.**

 **Touma: WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS?!** **  
Mikoto YEA! It should have been m…**

 **Misaki: I suppose I'm okay with this. My body is for him and him alone.**

 **Touma: There is no reason an arc in this story should be like this.**

 **Eve: Chaos Magic, I just pulled it out of a hat. The hat has all the ideas the author, his friends, and readers suggest. Whenever he's bored or in a slump, he pulls out an idea. I just copied that.**

 **Accelerator: Hah, this is great.**

 **Jason: Don't laugh. We got hit by this too. You could be anyone. I bet Misaka-san.**

 **Mikoto: Eww. I don't want to think what he would do in my body.**

 **Kuroko: Please don't let me swap with you know who.**

 **Jason: Voldemort?**

 **Kuroko Shut up.**

 **Ruiko: Didn't we have an odd number of people? So does that mean one of is safe?**

 **Motoharu: Got to be you Saten-san, author supports you and doesn't let bad things happen to you.**

 **Ruiko: Hey, I want to participate as much as the others.**

 **Eve: Okay if you insist, let's mess with the chart of body swaps again.**

 **Accelerator: Let's just kill her.**


	75. S3 A Different Perspective

**I have no idea what Eve is planning, but I realize I shouldn't have let her.** _ **Come on, the audience loved it. Besides, you know me. When have I done anything that didn't have a purpose?**_ **Does eating cake have a purpose?** _ **It makes me happier so I don't accidently kill people in anger.**_ **Well then… I feel this arc will bring season three to a close. While it is fun, exciting, and downright crazy, there is always important stuff happening. Outside of this fanfic, I hope everyone playing Pokemon Go aren't being stupid and walking out into streets or off bridges. Everything in moderation guys, except alcohol, once you hit 21 (Or whatever age your country allows.) I'm still waiting for next month's Index novel.**

 **I saw a lot of people suggest who should be swapped, but as a note, Uiharu was out of range while Mugino and Gunha were nowhere near Eve's spell. A lot of people had comments on this and I'm sorry, but it would take too long to address everyone individually. Now that I read the comments, it seems like a lot of people referenced Angel Fall. I completely forgot about this when I randomly chose this idea. I have a hat full of ideas my friends, suggestions from you reviewers and I created to use in these kinds of situations.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: I definitely don't want to be too predictable. Time to change everything.**

 **Swoob: Everyone loves Eve. She has really gotten a warm welcome for being an OC, but it's probably because she's a villain. If Jason becomes evil, he would probably die to force the plot to move. Can't have that, people are just beginning to like him.**

 **KaguTsumi: Fluffy is just a nickname. Its true name is unpronounceable by human language. You need to learn how to speak angels to say it.**

 **Salishious: If you have Carissa and Accelerator, don't you think destruction is already full? You need some versatility stuff like data gathering with electricity. Kazakiri would have to find a way to keep herself from touching his hand. Maybe a big block of metal wrapped around his hand.**

 **Kuroppy:** _ **It might hurt at first…**_

 **Handsomistic1: Hot Ice Cream is currently in Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, and Mint.**

 **Deep Sea Diver Man: A good friend asked me that too, so it is definitely addressed in this chapter.**

 **Guest: I changed a few of the dragons. I only had the picture from the manga to base my stuff on and they weren't colored. I didn't see the colored one on the manga cover. I don't think that one in the back is the right color.**

 **Agent Nine: The 7 added dragon heads are actually cannon. They appear in the railgun manga. As of what they are, that still hasn't been answered.**

 **Geust's Account: People really want Eve to join his harem.** _ **I'm just that adorable. Clones are never good for relationships, they never match the original. I might just bother him while others are nearby for a while.**_

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly. Magic Gods own all so they can do what they want.**

* * *

 _Who is calling so early?_ Mikoto thought grumpily, as she automatically reached her hand out to the bedside table. She was not a morning person and usually required Kuroko to wake her up "Hello?" she mumbled, not opening her eyes to see who was calling. Her voice sounded deeper and her body hurt a little as she stretched out her arm. _I wonder if I caught a summer cold. Great._

"Don't panic," came the girl's voice form the other end. "But I'm about to tell you something that seems impossible if you haven't noticed already."

"Shokuhou?" Mikoto muttered, her voice still sounding horse and deep, but oddly familiar. "This better be important. I was sleeping."

"Wait, I thought you were… Oh, it wasn't one to one."

"What are you talking about?"

"Please listen. What I'm about to say is going to sound strange, but it's important you do exactly what I say."

"Okay…," Mikoto replied slowly, thinking Misaki's tone sounded strange. _I can always ignore her if it sounds really stupid. I'm getting tired of her jokes._

"Cover your mouth tightly with your hand and look to your left."

"What?"

"Please!"

Mikoto couldn't remember the last time Misaki had said please to her and it worried her enough she actually started processing Misaki's words. Thinking the instructions didn't sound too difficult, she decided to go along with Misaki's request. Mikoto covered her mouth tightly with her hand and turned her head, opening her eyes at last. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust and everything swam into focus. The first thing she noticed was she wasn't in her dorm room in Tokiwadai, but that was quickly pushed out of her mind as she gazed at herself in the mirror. Her eyes went wide, her mouth would have fallen open if not for her hand, and she sat up in panic. Mikoto was now fully awake.

She could only gape at the mirror and see Touma Kamijou staring back at her.

It was a good thing her hand was covering her mouth, as she was screaming inside and her voice was muffled. The hand was the only thing keeping it from waking everyone in the building. _How is this possible?! This has to be a dream!_ She stood up and took a couple steps toward the mirror and then pinched herself. "Ouch." _It's not a dream._ Touma was dressed in a pair of baggy pants and a loose fitting shirt, but Mikoto could see bandages under the collar. She pulled it down slightly and noticed his upper body was wrapped tightly in them. _He's injured. It looks like he really was involved in that mess yesterday._

She let go of the shirt and stared at the mirror again, twisting around to get a full view. It looked like she had completely become Touma, down to the very detail. _How on earth could this happen? I actually became Touma? If I did, what happened to him?_ She looked down at his pants and a thought appeared in her mind. Her face turned red as she thought about what was under his clothes. She had health class in school before and knew the differences between a male and female body, but it's not like she actually saw one before. _Did I physically become him?_ A movement and a sound startled her. She quickly removed her hands from the pants and turned around. Touma hadn't been in the room alone. A familiar tea covered hair caught her attention.

"If you need the bathroom it's down the hall," Shizuri yawned glancing at him for a moment, before turning over and going back to sleep. She obviously wasn't much of a morning person either. Mikoto only nodded, as her entire body froze from shock. Her brained tried to process Shizuri's sudden appearance. Mikoto walked to the only door in the room, somewhat mechanically, opened it and stepped through, closing it silently behind her. She glanced around to take in the luxurious apartment, before taking a deep breath. She was forcing herself to remain calm, but she needed answers. Misaki's voice came through Touma's phone and she remembered she was holding it. Mikoto both yelled and tried to prevent herself from yelling, causing her voice to shake, but remain at a low volume.

"S-Shokuhou," she asked, holding Touma's cellphone up to her ear. "What is going on? Are you even Shokuhou?"

"I'm Touma. I woke up in Misaki's body. If you aren't her, then who are you?"

"It's me Mikoto," she told him, glancing around to make sure she didn't accidently wake anyone up. The questions just started to flow from her mouth before she could stop herself. "Why are you injured? What happened to you yesterday? Why were you sharing a bed with Mugino? Did you do anything inappropriate to Shokuhou's body? How did we all switch bodies?"

"One question at a time," Touma pleaded. "I'm just as confused as you are, but don't think your priorities are out of order?"

"No," Mikoto said firmly, stomping her foot. "You think I enjoy finding out you got injured. I had suspicions you got involved in something big yesterday, but I couldn't be completely sure." Her voice sounded pained, even though it was Touma's. "I want to know what happened to you first. I'm in your body and it's sore all over. Why do you keep hiding everything from me?"

"I ran into Mugino while she was being attacked," he explained quickly. "I helped her, but got a little hurt in the process. She brought me to her apartment and gave me first aid. I think some of the medicine made me drowsy and that's why I was sleeping there. I can go into more detail when we have time. It wasn't that I was hiding anything from you. I just didn't have time to tell you yet. I promised I would be honest with you."

"If that's it," Mikoto continued, her voice shaking again and her heart pounding. "Why was she sleeping in the same bed as you?" _I want to believe him, but she was sleeping in the same bed, while wearing clothes Kuroko would normally buy. Touma, please tell me the truth._

"What?!" spluttered Touma. "What do you mean? When I fell asleep, I was by myself."

"She was sleeping right next to you in very adult like clothes!"

"I don't know anything about that? I was drugged with pain meds!"

"Really?" Her heart beat was slowly down at least. The tone of his voice told her he was honestly surprised by what she told him.

"I swear. You know I wouldn't do anything like that Mikoto."

"Okay," Mikoto replied, deciding to let him off the hook, for now. If they had been face to face, and she was in her body, she would have definitely shocked him before he could explain. The way he said her name slightly mollified her. She knew he wouldn't do something like that and then lie to her. If he had actually fallen for Shizuri, he would have been completely honest about it. Shizuri's feelings had always been a mystery to Mikoto. There had been signs Shizuri might have liked Touma, but she had such a terrible personality, so Mikoto was never sure. There was the possibility Shizuri snuck into his bed if he saved her. The more she thought about that, the more it seemed likely. _Great, another rival. Is there no end to them?_ She finally turned her thoughts to the pressing matter at hand. "What happened to us?"

"It has to be Eve," Touma told her. "It's the only possible explanation. She told us anything could happen with her magic."

"But," Mikoto protested. "What could she possibly gain for doing something like this?"

"Maybe to distract us?" Touma suggested. "Or maybe she just did it for her own amusement. I can never tell what she's thinking. This could be part of a big convoluted plan of hers. I feel like if she wanted to take us out, she could just hunt us down one at a time."

"True," Mikoto conceded. "Her plan in England was pretty well thought out. What about the others? They all got hit with her magic too. You think they all swapped? Someone has to be in my body."

"It's pretty early. They may still be asleep. I know Jason and Accelerator hate getting up early." He paused for a moment. "I'm getting a call from your phone Mikoto. I'll call you back after I talk with them. We need to find a place for all of us to meet up and figure out what we are going to do."

"Okay," Mikoto agreed. "Call me back quickly." She hung up and looked around the apartment again. _I should get going. I definitely don't want to be around when Mugino wakes up. I don't know what she expects, but I want no part in it._ She walked quickly toward the door, unlocked it, and left, closing it silently behind her. She had no idea Touma had promised to explain everything that happened yesterday to Shizuri. Touma had also completely forgotten about it because of Eve's body swap magic.

* * *

Touma looked at his phone, wondering who was in Mikoto's body, before he sighed and answered it. "Hello?"

"I assume you woke up a little confused too," came Mikoto's voice, even though Touma knew it wasn't her. The voice sounded a little more cheerful then it should have been, which gave him a clue on who it should be. "Are you Misaka or someone else?" The person on the other end was obviously not wasting any time.

"It's Touma," he told her.

"Really?" Her voice sounded surprised, but then unusually happy. "I was worried who might have ended up in my body but, if it's you, I'm fine with that. Feel free to inspect it as close as you wish." Her voice got softer. "I'm sure you will enjoy it."

"Misaki!" Touma said indignantly. "I wouldn't do something like that. I'm embarrassed enough as it is."

"I know you wouldn't," Misaki agreed. "But that's why I wanted to reassure you it's okay. Besides, hopefully one day you will get to see it all from your own body, up close and personal." Touma coughed and she giggled. "We will meet you up in my room in a moment, we need to get changed quickly."

"Was Shirai-san also swapped?" Touma asked.

"Yes," Misaki confirmed. "I woke her up to see if she was affected too and got an interesting surprise. Give us five minutes and we can talk in private."

"Okay." Misaki hung up and Touma started pacing around the room. He tried to contact Jason and Accelerator, but neither of them answered. Their phones might have been turned off or were on silent. He kept unconsciously glancing at the mirror, looking at Misaki's body, before tearing his eyes away and feeling like garbage. While Misaki said it was okay, he didn't feel right taking advantage of the situation. He couldn't deny Misaki was a very attractive girl and, being in such a revealing nightgown, his male instincts were quite insistent, especially since he could feel everything move when he walked. After what felt like ages, he heard a knock on the door. He glanced through the door's peephole and saw Mikoto's face. He unlocked and opened the door, waving them in. Misaki and Kuroko, or whoever was in her body, stepped in quickly. He then closed the door behind them. Kuroko sat in a chair and Misaki sat on the bed, both looking at him.

"Hmm," Misaki commented, looking him up and down. "I can usually get a third person's view of my clothes, but actually looking at it, with my own eyes, I really do like that nightgown." She and Kuroko were just wearing the normal Tokiwadai school uniforms. They must have thrown them on quickly before heading to his room.

"I've been trying to contact the others," he told them, trying not to get embarrassed at Misaki's words. "I already found Mikoto, she's in my body." Misaki looked slightly disappointed, but tried to hide it.

"Won't do any good for me," the person in Kuroko's body told him. She bore the unmistakable sign of a recent nosebleed and her pigtails weren't quite as extravagant as usual. Either they or Misaki must have tied them and they were not use to the way Kuroko normally did them. "My phone's password protected due to work with Judgement and Anti-Skill. Whoever is in my body won't be able to access it easily."

"Jason?" Touma asked, trying to make sure he got the right person. _Shirai is going to be pissed. I'm almost glad I didn't end up in Mikoto's body. When, if, we swap back, she would definitely kill us. I'm glad he's the only one in danger of that._

"In the flesh."

"I was really surprised when I woke up in Misaka's body," Misaki explained to Touma. "But after the initial shock, I had to think about it rationally. I only knew of one magician who could have done something like this. I woke up Shirai, and found out quickly Kagere-san was in her body. He seemed to have become overly excited when he saw the situation."

The truth was a little more complicated. When Misaki woke up, the first thing she noticed was her sheets weren't as fine as the ones she was used to. Mikoto used a more common blend than her silk ones. Misaki then sat up and immediately felt the differences in weight from their chest sizes. This was more than enough to warn herself this wasn't her body and she quickly found a mirror. It was lucky she wasn't a screamer, or a lot of people in the dorm would have woken up. Misaki was smart and almost immediately rationalized this was Eve's doing and went to wake up Kuroko, before finding out Jason was currently inhabiting her body.

"Hey!" Jason said indignantly. "I was overcome by shock by the fact Kuroko was wearing a transparent nightgown with nothing underneath. When we got changed, I closed my eyes and Misaki put Kuroko's uniform on me and did the hair to avoid attracting attention. I don't think she was as gentle as she could have been though."

"You mentioned her outfit was nice," Misaki pointed out. "Besides, we were in a hurry."

"It was. I should buy one for Kazari, but she might be too shy to wear it." He grinned.

"You should probably omit that part when we meet up with the others," Touma suggested. "We don't need Shirai-san trying to kill you right now."

"If she's in my body," Jason laughed. "She's going to get a big surprise and try to kill me anyways."

"Why?"

"You know I normally sleep in just boxers, right?" Touma nodded. "Well, yesterday an electrical surge knocked out a power relay that provided energy to my apartment. The power was out all night."

"There could be a couple explanations for that," Misaki added. Touma nodded again, but he couldn't help thinking of all the times Mikoto's lightning strikes took out the power to his apartment. There was also Teitoku's magic lightning that might have caused some problems.

"Well it was pretty hot last night," Jason continued. "I was roasting and well, I cooled myself off as much as possible."

"Oh…" Touma said when he dawned on him. "So you are saying she might be traumatized for life then?"

"There's always the chance Accelerator will be in my body," Jason shrugged. "But then he would just get jealous." He laughed and even Touma couldn't help snickering.

"As much as I enjoy discussing the male anatomy," Misaki said, slightly impatiently. "We have more urgent matters to discuss right now, do we not?" This sobered up Touma and Jason immediately.

"Jason," Touma said, turning to him. It was kind of weird looking at Kuroko's body while knowing who he really was. "You know about magic, how's this possible?"

"I don't know," Jason said, shaking her head. "This is beyond anything I have encountered. I can tell you this though, I don't have access to my shadow. Our original abilities can't be used while we are swapped."

"What about the abilities we are in now?" Misaki asked. "Would I be able to use Misaka's electricity, or would Touma be able to use mine?"

"I don't know," Jason said again. "I can't test out that theory because I don't know the calculations for Kuroko's teleportation. If I learn those, then I could answer your question."

"I think right now we need to meet up with everyone and discuss what we know," Touma suggested. "It would probably make people feel a little more at ease if we all know how we are going to proceed." Misaki and Jason both agreed. "Can we use your apartment Jason?"

"It's a little cluttered, but I don't see a problem."

"I'll let Mikoto know then," Touma said, pulling out his phone. "Can you see if you can reach the others?"

"Before we do that," Misaki interrupted. "We need to get you out of those clothes and into something more appropriate. I can't be seen out in public like that. You need to be dressed properly."

"Wait what?" Touma asked and Jason grinned.

"I'll wait outside."

"Hold on!"

"Don't worry. I'll be quick and gentle." Misaki was a lot more hands on than she needed to be.

* * *

"Come on Touma," Misaki said, patting him on the shoulder. "It wasn't that bad. It's just our school uniform." All three of them were heading to Jason's apartment to meet the others. To their surprise, they found out Accelerator was in Ruiko's body and Kazari was with him, which only left Ruiko and Kuroko left, who had to be in Accelerator's and Jason's body. They didn't get much information from Accelerator and Kazari, but it sounded like something embarrassing happened.

"I can't understand why girls actually want to wear skirts," Touma said. "I feel like a random breeze will reveal everything." Skirts were a lot different when worn instead of just being admired. "You had to put everything on didn't you?" Misaki grinned happily.

"You're beginning to sound like a girl," Jason pointed out.

"It's not like I ever wore one of these before," Touma growled at him. "Why are you so relaxed? You woke up in someone else's body too."

"I'm more use to magic," Jason shrugged. "Besides, I accepted our fate. A little draft under a skirt isn't going to bother me."

"I think our uniforms were designed by men," Misaki said. "You know they are all a bunch of old perverts." She suddenly smiled. "Are you telling me you never enjoyed looking at mu short skirt when I wore my uniform around you?"

"I don't purposely look!" Touma protested. "But...," his voice got soft, "it does look good on you." Misaki beamed at him.

"Fliting even while in a girl's body," Jason said, rolling his eyes. "I wish the other guys could see this. I'm pretty sure you stare at skirts too. You always turn red when a breeze blows them up, misunderstandings occur and you run away in panic."

"Thanks for describing my misfortunate life," Touma muttered.

"Don't worry," Misaki said, leaning up near him. "Any misfortune you experience, I'll give you a double dose of fortune." Before Touma could respond, his ears were burning, they heard another voice and Touma got another dose of the weirdness of the situation.

"Finally found you guys." They all turned and saw Touma jogging up to them. Well, more specifically, it was Mikoto in Touma's body. "I should have known. Even in different bodies, you are still fawning over him." Mikoto glared at Misaki in suspicion. It was especially annoying for her to see Misaki in her body leaning up against Touma in Misaki's body, while Jason watched with amusement.

"I'm not so shallow I would like someone purely based on their looks," Misaki replied sweetly. She looked Mikoto up and down. "I have to admit, you finally got the mescaline body you always wanted. You definitely look a lot better now." Mikoto scowled and tried to ignore her, turning to Touma.

"She didn't try anything did she?" Mikoto asked.

"No," Touma shook her head. "The only thing she did was put her uniform on me and Jason while we closed our eyes and saw nothing."

"Saw nothing huh?" She raised an eyebrow suspiciously, but it was more to Jason. "With what Kuroko wears, I find that hard to believe."

"I might have seen a little," Jason admitted. "But I did close my eyes while Shokuhou-san took over."

"You better. Kuroko would kill you otherwise. Actually, she may still kill you when this over." Mikoto turned back to Touma. "You look tired. Are you okay?" She noticed he was slightly red and breathing heavily.

"I'm fine," Touma told her, slightly out of breath but trying to hide in. "Misaki's body isn't as… athletically endowed us ours."

"You can say that again," Mikoto said, grinning. "I keep telling her she needs to go and exercise more. She can barely run a couple blocks."

"Speaking of endowed," Misaki said evenly, but a vein was twitching in her head. "Besides your mescaline tomboy body, I keep feeling off balance without any weight here." She put a hand delicately on her chest. "Your body is lacking one of the most important qualities of a young lady."

"Why you!" Mikoto fumed, stepping toward her, but Touma stepped in between them.

"Come on you two," he sighed. "We have more pressing issues at the moment. Can you two please stop arguing?" Both girls glared at each other, huffed, crossed their arms, and turned away from each other. _I know those two are friends, but I wish they would just stop arguing all the time._ The comment about chests did ring slightly with him, since older onee-san types were his original preference, but he wouldn't go out with a girl just because of that. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jason watching them and smirking. Touma imagined it would be an entertaining sight to see Mikoto and Touma argue while Misaki was trying to keep the peace. He was relieved when they finally arrived at the apartment.

"I'll let us in," Jason volunteered, leading them into the apartment building and up the elevator. They reached his apartment and he punched in the access code.

"I hope whoever is in your body knows to stay here," Touma said, as they all entered and the door closed behind them.

"It's a lot messier then I remember," Misaki commented. Touma had to admit she had a point. There were a lot of dishes in the sink, boxes of papers stashed in the corner, pieces of machines on the table, piles of books and magazines littered the floor, and a couple shirts were thrown in the corner. Some places looked like it hadn't been dusted in a while either.

"I don't have much time to keep my apartment clean." Jason shrugged. "Hello!" he called out. "Anyone here?" There was a bang from the bed room and everyone saw Jason, they all knew it was just his body controlled by someone else, burst out of the room. His face was ghastly white, but his eyes flashed dangerously with rage when he saw Jason in Kuroko's body.

"YOU!" He yelled running towards Jason and grabbing his shoulders. "I KNOW YOU HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THIS! CHANGE US BACK NOW! I'VE NEVER BEEN SO EMBARRESSED IN MY LIFE!"

"K-Kuroko?" Jason asked, stammering as he was being violently shaken. Jason's body was older, bigger, and physically stronger than Kuroko's, so he was getting thrashed.

"YOU THINK I ENJOYED WAKING UP AND SEEING THAT?! I NEARLY DIED OF A HEART ATTACK!"

"N-not m-my f-fault," Jason continued to stammer. "S-some h-help g-guys?"

"Kuroko let him breath," Mikoto told her, grabbing her and pulling her off Jason.

"Get off me ape or you're next," Kuroko hissed. "OUCH!" She crouched on the ground, clutching her head from the karate chopped Mikoto had given her.

"Wow," Mikoto said impressed, looking at the results. "Accelerator was right. That does work. Kuroko, listen. If you got body swapped, don't you think the rest of us got swapped too? Touma is in Shokuhou's body."

"Huh?" Kuroko said, looking up and her brain began to process things more rationally. "If we all switched and the apes in her body, then," she looked over at Misaki in Mikoto's body, "Are you Shokuhou?" Misaki nodded. "That means…" She turned around and looked at Mikoto. "NOOO! My beautiful onee-sama is trapped in the body of a disgusting male!"

"Hey," Touma said indignantly.

"Calm down Shirai-san," Misaki said and miraculously Kuroko did. It was probably because it was Mikoto's voice that talked to her and the only thing familiar to her. "Who do you think has the power to swap all of our minds? This isn't a science ability." Kuroko didn't have to think very long before she came to the conclusion.

"Eve."

"Exactly," Mikoto said. "We don't know how she did it, but we are trying to gather everyone together to figure out what to do next. Uiharu-san and Accelerator are on their way. We are still trying to contact Saten-san."

"Jason's apartment made the best location for a private discussion," Touma said, sitting down on the couch. "We just need the wait for the others."

"If it was Eve's magic," Kuroko mumbled, crossing her arms and remembering their encounter yesterday. "That would mean Accelerator and Saten-san would be caught up in this right?" Everyone nodded. "I hope he doesn't do anything bad in her body." Her eyes narrowed and she glanced at Jason. "You didn't do anything with my body right? You better not have done anything perverted." Her eyes widened when she remembered what she had been wearing last night. "H-how did you change into my school uniform?" Her eyes flashed dangerously and a dark aura flowed out all around her. It was unsettling to see that much anger from Jason's body and everyone instinctively moved away from her.

"I did not do anything," Jason replied, raising his hands defensively. "Shokuhou dressed me. I only saw what you wore when I woke up." Kuroko's face went red and Touma wouldn't have been surprised if smoke started coming out of her ears.

"It's true Shirai-san," Misaki added. "I took care of everything."

"Ah," Kuroko said, shifting slightly on her feet. She was feeling slightly guilty now for jumping to so many conclusions. She had even promised herself to act a little better to Jason. "Sorry," she muttered. "I should have listened to you first."

"I'm not mad," Jason said. "Even I was a little confused when I woke up today and I'm use to magic." He grinned. "Have to say, that outfit looked nice."

"Shut up and forget everything you saw!" Kuroko yelled, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him once again. None of the others bothered to help Jason, because he brought it on himself.

"Is it my imagination or does Shirai-san seem different?" Touma whispered to Mikoto. He couldn't remember the last time Kuroko apologized to Jason.

"She's been a little off since we fought a couple people from the terrorist group yesterday," Mikoto answered. "Speaking of that, I haven't forgotten your promise of telling me what happened."

"I promise I will," Touma replied. He and Mikoto were aware Misaki was listening in. _I'm not going to enjoy that conversation._ He turned his eyes back to Kuroko, who was almost at the point of strangling Jason, clearing not remembering it's her body she was injuring. He was about to remind her, when someone else suddenly pounded on the apartment door and interrupted them.

"You all better be in there!" Ruiko's voice was loud and furious. "I swear there better be a fucking plan to kill that bitch!"

* * *

Kazari was busy reading the morning news on her computer, while eating a bowl of cereal. It was Sunday morning and she didn't have to work and her homework was finished. Her roommate, Ruiko, was still asleep and she wasn't planning to wake her up for another hour at least. Kazari might have woken her up now, if she could, but Ruiko did not like to wake up early in the morning on weekends unless she absolutely had to. She didn't like to wake up on weekdays either, but she knew she had to go to school. Kazari finished reading the article about the riots yesterday and sighed. She finished her cereal and leaned back in her chair, looked up at the ceiling, and was quickly lost in her thoughts.

 _For the most part they were completely honest about the nature of the riots,_ she thought. _They were_ _students trying to show off their increased abilities by using illegal drugs, but everyone is now warned the drugs can cause death in many cases._ One thing bothered her though. _There was no information on the break-ins and the theft of that communication equipment. Someone doesn't want that information leaking out to the public. That lab was especially suspicious._ Normally, once a Judgement case was finished, it was filed away and only reopened if new evidence arose indicating it had not been truly solved. They were also used as reference points for similar cases.

This time was different.

Officially, the case was solved, but Kazari knew it really wasn't. Her friends had returned safe and sound, which allowed her to feel relief and drop the case for the moment. She always prioritized her friend's safety over actually capturing criminals, even while other members of Judgement and Anti-Skill disagreed. Because of the involvement her friends participated in during the robberies, she had more information to work with than most people. A wireless communicator designed to ignore distance had been stolen. While it wasn't dangerous by itself, it had the potential to be devastating in the wrong hand. High speed communication anywhere on or off of earth would be priceless in certain organization's hands. She had no leads on this so far and she wasn't part of Anti-Skill's detention block or interrogation division.

Instead, she had been looking up information on something she had personally discovered, the Anti-AIM field and wavelength. She had no idea where to start looking for this kind of information. A normal person might have just typed that into the city database, but she was much smarter than that. If this was a top secret piece of information, there would probably be an alarm sent out and she would have security on her in minutes. For now, she tried a roundabout way. Based on the name, Anti-AIM, she hypothesized It was a frequency that was somehow the opposite of a normal AIM field. If antimatter and matter was any indication of how it worked, it must somehow destroy or jam AIM fields.

She started researching different ways of canceling AIM-fields, but purposely avoided looking up Anti-AIM. Most of the information was related to jamming fields, which prevented abilities from being used, and Capacity Down. Capacity Down didn't actually cancel AIM fields, it only messed with the person's mind and prevented them from being able to perform calculations for their ability. AIM Jammer's were in a similar category. They primarily weakened an ability user by messing with their AIM fields, like emitting a special electromagnetic wave to diffusely reflect an AIM field, causing the user to interfere with their own power. There were a few articles about newer models dampening AIM fields, but not a lot more information on exactly how. There was the possibility those were beginning to be developed based on this new research.

The brief amount of information she had seen in the lab also mentioned Kami several times. This gave her a bigger lead.

 _This has to involve Kamijou-san,_ Kazari reasoned. _Kami is the fake persona his friends made up and the city adopted because they don't know his true identity. Jason told me they also use a fake AIM field connected to his mask to hide the fact he doesn't generate a real one. I wonder if the city can normally detect an Anti-AIM field. Maybe it's a new discovery and that lab was specifically researching it. If they had the information earlier, he probably wouldn't be labeled a level 0. I still don't know anything on how an Anti-AIM wavelength would exist. You can cancel a wavelength with an opposite frequency, but can't outright destroy it._ She frowned and sighed. _I didn't want to hack anything if I can help it, but I really want to know. I suppose I should wait a bit until everything cools down, before trying that though. Jason works for the reach department, he might be able to help. I wonder how much Kamijou-san knows._

Kazari heard someone move behind her and realized Ruiko must be getting up. She closed her search tabs and turned around. "Good morning sleepy," she said cheerfully. "Ready to get up? Remember, you promised to keep me company while I train today for the Judgement physical next week."

"Huh?" came Ruiko's groggy reply.

"Don't try that again," Kazari said. "You know you did. I was going to let you sleep a little more, but now that you are up, we might as well get ready."

"Huh?" came Ruiko's confused reply again as she sat up, looking around in confusion. Uiharu frowned, as she watched her friend glance around the room. Ruiko's eyes were widening and she looked shocked.

"Are you okay?" Kazari asked, noticing Ruiko looked off. There was silence for a moment as Ruiko turned to look at her.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!" Ruiko yelled suddenly, causing Kazari to nearly fall out of her chair.

"Saten-san!" Kazari cried. "When did you start using language like that?" She was shocked to hear her friend suddenly say that out of nowhere. She watched Ruiko ignore her and jump off of her bunk bed, landing on the floor, and turning to a mirror. Ruiko was grabbing her face and twisting her body around in front of the mirror. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm not the damn brat," Ruiko snarled at her. "I'm Accelerator. I want to know why I am in her fucking body."

"What?" Kazari asked bewildered. "That's not possible. Do you have a fever?"

"Listen Flower Girl," Accelerator snarled, sticking a finger in her face. "This isn't a fucking dream and I'm not your roommate. I am Accelerator, understand?" Kazari quickly nodded. She recognized Accelerator's way of talking and his sharp tone. This was definitely not Ruiko.

"How did this happen?"

"You think I know?" spat out Accelerator. "It's magic for sure and I only know one bitch that could or would do this. Eve's magic that she used yesterday. This has to be the random effect." Accelerator was not amused. He had wanted to sleep late and enjoy the fact he had nothing to do after basking in the fact Teitoku was dead. The next thing he saw was Jason's girlfriend talking to him like a friend and he was in Ruiko's body. _One day of piece so I can sleep is all I wanted. Worst had her own plans today and I only had Last Order to worry about. How is body swapping even possible? Eve is going to die for this._ He looked at Kazari. "Where's this girl's phone? I need to make a call."

"There," Kazari answered, pointing to Ruiko's desk. She was still having trouble believing Accelerator and Ruiko switched bodies, but the way Ruiko was talking right now, sounded exactly like him. _They said Eve's magic was supposed to have a random effect. I wasn't with them until after she left, so that explains why I'm not affected._ She watched as Accelerator picked up Ruiko's phone and opened it.

"Looks like several messages from the others," Accelerator huffed. "I figured the others were affected by her magic too. Damn, she had her phone on silent so we didn't hear it."

"Saten-san wanted to sleep late," Kazari explained. "I was going to wake her up a little later."

"It looks like it's happening to everyone," Accelerator said, skimming through the messages. "We are all meeting at Kagere's apartment." He looked down and realized he was only wearing pajamas. "Give me her clothes. We need to go now."

"Ah yes," Kazari answered, not sure what else to do. She walked over to the dresser and pulled out some of Ruiko's clothes. "Here's something basic." She tossed him a shirt and a pair of pants. "Are… are you going to just change? I mean…" She coward slightly under his glare, she had never seen Ruiko's face like that, but she had to stand your ground. "You're in Saten-san's body and it wouldn't be right to look…" She trailed off.

"Do you have a better idea?" he snapped.

"You could close your eyes and I'll do it," she suggested.

Accelerator rubbed his head. _She's making this way more complicated than it needs to be, but I guess she has a point._ "Fine, but make it quick. We need to make a stop on the way." He closed his eyes and Kazari moved forward to help him change.

"Where?"

"My phone's off so it wouldn't wake me up," Accelerator said. "Also, it's password protected so the person in my body won't receive the messages. We need to wake them up."

* * *

Ruiko sleep's was interrupted by a small movement under the covers. She was still halfway asleep and thought she imagined it at first, but then the movement happened again. Something was definitely under the covers and was gripping her shirt. This confused her, as she didn't know who it could be. _Uiharu wouldn't do something like this, even if she was scared of something._ For a moment, she thought an animal or something had broken into their room and she opened an eye. The first think she noticed was she was definitely not in her room, which woke her up completely. She sat up in the bed and looked around, noticing a mirror.

Her mouth fell open when she saw Accelerator staring back at her.

Ruiko was just able to stop herself from screaming at the strange twist of events, but she had no idea what to do now. The only thing she could think about this situation was it reminded her of the body swapping rumor online. Apparently, if two people fell down a certain stairwell while arguing, they would swap bodies until they came to understand each other. _I never fell down the stairs though, or even walked down them with anyone else. How am I in Accelerator's body? Could this be a dream?_ She pinched herself and discovered this was definitely not a dream, as it hurt a lot. The covers move again and she instinctively turned her attention to it. Curiosity getting the better of her, she pulled back the covers.

Last Order was sleeping next to her, gripping her shirt tightly, occasionally moving around, but never letting go.

Ruiko wasn't sure how to continue now. He body was still shocked about what happened and she kept looking at the mirror. Sher felt her face and hair, physically noticing the changes and removing all doubt the mirror wasn't playing tricks on her. If she hadn't been so involved in magic, rumors, and other strange events, she might have passed out from the shock. _This has to be some kind of magic, right? Is this Eve's doing? She said something about her magic being random._ She looked down at Last Order again. _I remember she kept sneaking into Accelerator's room in England too. I should probably get her up._ "Hey Last Order," Ruiko said, shaking her gently. "It's time to get up."

"Is it morning already Misaka yawns as MISAKA rubs the sleep from her eyes." Last Order got up and looked at Ruiko, tilting her head in confusion. To her, Accelerator woke her up a lot more gently than usual. She looked out the window and saw the light shining in. "MISAKA is going to get changes and get breakfast MISAKA declares as MISAKA hops off the bed." Before she reached the door she turned around and looked at Ruiko. "Hurry up MISAKA tells you. MISAKA wants to eat together." She disappeared with her usual boundless supply of energy.

 _Should I tell her I'm not really Accelerator or try to pretend I'm him for now?_ Ruiko debated with herself. _He probably wouldn't want her involved in this so I should try not to incite suspicion until I contact the others._ She noticed his phone plug in to an outlet. She reached over and picked it up, planning to call her phone and see if Accelerator was in her body. To her dismay, it was locked with a password. _I should have known, he's always protective of his secrets._ She got out of bed and stumbled, finding it hard to stand. She reached out and grabbed the crutch Accelerator normally used to steady herself. _It's a lot harder that I realized to walk without it._ She changed his shirt, but refused to change his pants. It was not that she was curious, but she didn't think she could maintain the courage to do so.

She stumbled into the kitchen, noticing Last Order and Aiho were already eating. Aiho was eating a couple pieces of toast while reading the newspaper and Last Order was digging into a bowl of sugary cereal. Last Order looked up when Ruiko entered and grinned, swallowed, and looked really pleased with herself as she spoke. "MISAKA made her own breakfast all by herself MISAKA declares proudly. MISAKA also made you breakfast MISAKA adds as MISAKA points to the kitchen counter."

"She's really proud of herself," Aiho said grinning. "The mess was even minimal."

"Thanks," Ruiko said, uncertain of what else to say. She saw Aiho and Last Order look slightly surprised at her response, but her word choice must not have been too bad, because they didn't say anything. Accelerator would have said something along the line of not liking sweet cereal, but usually toned it down with Last Order. Ruiko was willing to eat it and walked over to the table to retrieve the bowl. She noticed there was still cereal and milk spilt all over the counter and floor. _This was a minimal mess? I would hate to see what her normal mess is like._ She sat down at the table next to the other two. _It's_ k _ind of weird sitting with a teacher and Last Order while pretending to be Accelerator. He doesn't even live in a dorm._

"What do you two plan to do today?" Aiho asked. "I hope it's not something like what you did yesterday." She scowled slightly at Accelerator. "Seriously, you guys really took your shenanigans to the next level." Ruiko shifted in her seat, but couldn't think of anything to say to that. She too had been drawn into the guy's plan. "Worst left early, any idea what she's up to?" Ruiko shook her head.

"MISAKA wants to spend time with Index and Fremea today MISAKA announces. MISAKA would also like you to join us MISAKA informs Accelerator as MISAKA demonstrates her sad face to manipulate you into coming." Ruiko could hear Last Order say her thoughts, but those puppy eyes of hers were really unfair. Ruiko felt all of her resistances weakening.

"Well see," she said, trying to sound aloof like she thought Accelerator would. Last Order seemed satisfied with her answer and continued gobbling down her food. Ruiko watched her finish her meal with almost as much enthusiasm as Index and then left to go watch TV, while the others finished. Ruiko ate slowly, trying to figure out what she should do, or even if she could do anything.

"Something on your mind?" Aiho asked suddenly, looking at Ruiko.

"Huh?"

"You seem off."

"Ah," Ruiko said thinking fast. "No, just thinking about yesterday. It was…" she quickly thought of an adjective Accelerator would normally use, "… a hassle."

"Uh huh," Aiho replied, unconvinced, but then she smiled. "Are you thinking of that one girl from Tokiwadai yesterday?"

"What?"

"You seemed to be getting along unusually well with that one twin girl," Aiho explained, her smile never leaving her face. "I saw you on TV. I couldn't hear what you were saying but, by both of your actions, you two seem to have hit it off. Nice one."

"I think you are misunderstanding…" Ruiko said, but then the doorbell went off, interrupting her.

"I'll get it," Aiho volunteered, standing up. "I'm not going to tell you who and who not to see, but you should make sure you fully embrace your high school life. You only get one, so take chances and don't be afraid to make mistakes." She winked. "But you still have to take responsibility for them." She left to answer the front door, leaving Ruiko sitting there in stunned silence.

 _What is she talking about?_ Ruiko thought. _Is she talking about Hibiki? There might have been some chemistry between them, but would Accelerator actually act on that? He always seems like he tries to avoid most things._ She instinctively reached for the cellphone in her pocket, but remembered she couldn't contact anyone because it was locked. _I need to contact the others._ She noticed a landline phone in the kitchen and was about to use it to call her own phone, when Aiho stuck her head back into the kitchen. There was an even bigger smile on her face than before.

"Hey Accelerator," she called out, her voice not suppressing her amusement. "There are two cute girls here looking for you. I didn't know you had it in you Casanova. You always said it was Kamijou-san who was the girl magnet. Hurry up and don't keep them waiting to long." She turned and headed into the living room to distract Last Order.

"Who…? Ruiko asked, standing up and walking toward the door automatically. She opened the door and had one of the most unusual moments she had ever experienced. Kazari was at the door, along with another person, herself. It took a moment for her to come out of her shock. Suddenly coming across someone who looked exactly like you was not something most people experienced. "Is that Accelerator?" she asked hesitantly.

"Of course," he snapped, crossing his arms. It was a little disconcerting for Ruiko to see her expression so irritated and severe.

"Saten-san?" Kazari asked hesitantly, wanting to verify her friend was in Accelerator's body. "Is that really you?" Ruiko decided on the spot to make sure Kazari understood it was her. Before anyone could react, she reached down and flipped up her skirt. Kazari's face turned red and she unwillingly gave a small cry. Taking a breath, she calmed herself down, but her face was still red and there were traces of tears in the corner of her eyes. "It really is you," she said softly.

"Don't ever do that again in my body," Accelerator snapped at her. "I have enough fucking problems without people thinking I go around and flip up girl's skirts."

"I was thinking of contacting you," Ruiko admitted. "But your phone was password protected."

"For good reason," Accelerator sniffed. "I don't want people snooping into my affairs." He looked between Kazari and Ruiko. "Let's get going already. This chatter is pointless." He turned and started walking. The one think he liked about Ruiko's body was he didn't have to use his cane everywhere.

"Where are we going?" Ruiko asked Kazari.

"We are meeting everyone at Jason's apartment," Kazari explained. "Accelerator figured you wouldn't be answering his phone so we came to pick you up."

"Have you been to his place before?" Ruiko asked suspiciously and Kazari's face turned slightly red.

"Once," she admitted. "He needed to drop something off while we were out."

"How are the others holding up?" Ruiko asked. "And why weren't you affected?"

"I must have been out of range of Eve's magic," Kazari shrugged. "As for the others, I think we will find that out soon enough."

* * *

"You all better be in that room!" Accelerator's voice was loud and furious as he pounded on the door to Jason's apartment. "I swear there better be a fucking plan to kill that bitch!" Kazari and Ruiko took a couple steps back, not wanting to be on the receiving end of Accelerator's anger. A moment later the door opened and Mikoto in Touma's body stood in front of them.

"Glad you all got here okay," Mikoto said. "We were worried when we couldn't contact you."

"Tell me what is going on hero…," Accelerator started to demand, and then stopped. "Ah, everyone switched. Who is in whose body so I know who to yell at?" Mikoto stepped aside and let him, Kazari, and Ruiko in.

"Misaka," Mikoto said in Touma's Body.

"Kamijou," Touma said in Misaki's body.

"Shokuhou," Misaki said in Mikoto's body.

"Shirai," Kuroko said in Jason's body. Accelerator had a good laugh at this and she scowled at him.

"Kagere," Jason said in Shirai's body. "By process of elimination, you two swapped bodies." He pointed to Ruiko and Accelerator, who nodded. Accelerator looked around the apartment and grinned.

"Looks like you can't clean up after yourself," he pointed out and Jason frowned.

"You know what," Jason replied, slightly annoyed. "After this is over, I'll hire one of those maid services all over the city to keep the place clean. You guys happy?" He turned and glared at the others behind him who were also smirking. Misaki had said almost the exact same thing as Accelerator. "I'm pretty busy," he added defensively.

"So what are we going to do about this?" Kazari asked the others. "I'm finding this hard to believe, but it's obvious it happened."

"That's what we are trying to figure out," Mikoto told her. "We wanted to get everyone together so we only had to go over the information once."

"Well obviously the only person here who can actually use magic should tell us how this happened," Accelerator pointed our harshly.

"It's not like I know about every obscure piece of magic in existence," Jason replied irritated.

"We have to do something," Kuroko said. "We can't stay like this forever."

"Maybe we should go over what we know," Ruiko suggested. "That might lead to an idea."

"An excellent idea," Misaki said, clapping her hands together. "I'll start. From an earlier discussion we found out we do not have access to our original abilities. Even if we perform our calculations to use them, nothing happens. So it appears our consciousness has really been switched. We still have our thoughts and memories, but each of our unique abilities did not transfer."

"I thought abilities were tied to the brain," Kazari asked. "If you were swapped, they should have changed too, right?"

"There have been some indications that may not be entirely true," Jason shrugged. "But most data points to that."

"So does that mean we can use each other's ability?" Mikoto asked, looking at her right hand. Well, Touma's right hand, which held the Imagine Breaker.

"My hand doesn't require any calculations," Touma pointed out. "All you need to do is test it on an ability."

"But none of us know if we can use ours," Mikoto told him.

"Umm," Kazari interrupted. "I still have mine. We could test it out." Everyone turned to her. Having the vast majority of them switched, they had completely forgotten Kazari had not been.

"Should be easy to test," Jason said, walking over to the fridge and pulling out a canned drink. "Here, use your ability on this while Mikoto uses the Imagine Breaker to block you." Kazari nodded and took the drink, while Mikoto put her hand on her shoulder. Kazari stared at the drink for a moment and then her face scrunched up in concentration.

"Nothing," she said, after a minute. "I can't feel my ability at all."

"That's good to know," Jason said. "That most likely means we kept the ability of the body we are currently in."

"What do you mean most likely?" Kuroko asked. "Didn't we just see a demonstration?"

"His hand is different than the abilities of Academy City," Jason elaborated. "There's no hard evidence his hand would work the same way. We need to test one of our abilities."

"Like that's going to be possible," scoffed Accelerator. "Most of us are high levels with very advanced calculations required to use out abilities. We had no reason to learn others formulas because it wouldn't affect us. Even if we could learn them, it would take too long. We need to get this resolved quickly."

"True," Jason conceded.

"So we just need to figure out a way for one of us to use an ability without using calculations?" Ruiko asked and Jason nodded. Everyone got quiet for a moment, thinking. Ruiko frowned as she remembered something. She leaned over to Mikoto and whispered so the others didn't hear her. "Misaka-san, don't you occasionally let loose electricity without meaning too?"

"Uh yea," Mikoto replied just as quietly, but looking slightly embarrassed. "Sometimes it leaks out when I'm upset or embarrassed." Usually, this only happened when someone threatened her friends, someone commented on her chest size, or Touma did some stupid and embarrassing. The vast majority of the time was because of Touma and her feelings for him.

"Hmm," Ruiko said thoughtfully. She noticed the others were all thinking too and occasionally mentioning something, but no one was getting anywhere. _We need someone to use their ability without calculations. My ability isn't that strong yet, but it still takes them. Hmm, I think I have an idea, but I hope they forgive me._ "Can you stand up for a second?" she asked Mikoto.

"Sure," Mikoto said, standing up and looking at her. 'Why?"

"Sorry about this," Ruiko told her sincerely. "Hey Shokuhou-san!"

"Yes?" Misaki asked, turning toward them. Everyone else turned to look at Ruiko too, which turned out to be a mistake.

A second later, Ruiko pulled down Mikoto's pants.

There was a moment of silence before everyone reacted to this sudden attack.

"SATEN-SAN!" Mikoto screamed, reaching down and pulling her pants up. She was mortified and everyone part of her face was red. She purposely tried not to look down, but couldn't help peeking a little.

"My eyes!" Kuroko cried, covering her face. "I'm never going to get that out of my head!"

"What the hell!?" roared Accelerator, covering his eyes. "I did not need to fucking see that!"

"Seeing Accelerator pants Touma is not something I wanted to see either," Jason said, his eyes closed.

"Was that necessary?" Touma asked, finding his voice.

"Wow," Misaki muttered, sparking slightly.

"I thought you promised not to do stuff like that while in Accelerator's body," Kazari pointed out.

"I promised I wouldn't flip girl's skirts," Ruiko informed her. "Misaka-san is in Touma's body and he is a guy. " She gave a victory sign. "Besides, I got the effect I was looking for."

"Huh?" Kazari asked.

"Oh I see," Accelerator realized, turning to Misaki. "You got her to spark up. The third rate can't control her powers when she gets overly excited. With the other brat in her body, the same thing should happen. Clever."

"Thanks," Ruiko said beaming. She was glad her plan worked. If it hadn't, her friends might have been slightly peeved at her.

"That's weird," Misaki said, rubbing her head. "I did spark up, but something else also happened. I felt like I knew a formula for electricity. I don't fully remember it, but it was definitely there." She concentrated for a moment and was silent. "Yes, I definitely feel like the calculations are in my head, but just out of reach to fully understand them."

"Really?" Kuroko asked and she was silent for a moment, while she also concentrated. She grabbed her head too. "Wow, it's true. I'm getting the vague gist of some weird calculations. Some of it dealing with dimensions is familiar, but other parts aren't."

"I'm the same way," Jason added. "Both of our abilities manipulate dimensions so some of the initial calculations would be similar. The part of traveling and bending is where they differ."

 _I wouldn't even know what that is like,_ Touma thought, but he decided to try it too. He tried to clear his mind and focus. Nothing happened at first, but then he also got the feeling of some kind of mathematical calculation. It was far more advance than anything he did in school and it started to give him a headache just thinking about its complexity. It was like he saw it a long time ago and now can't fully remember it. "I knew level 5 calculations were tough, but I'm just getting a piece of it and it's already so complicated."

"You don't need to strain yourself," Misaki reassured him, patting him on the shoulder.

"I feel the same way," Ruiko sighed. "Just looking at Accelerator's formulas for his ability makes me glad I'm a low level."

"Heh," Accelerator sneered. "I'm not the number one for nothing." He had almost figured out Ruiko's calculations for air manipulation, but he was missing a small step to tie it all together.

"I don't really understand what you guys are finding," Mikoto shrugged. "Since Touma's hand is automatic and doesn't take calculations."

"What does this mean?" Kazari asked. "You are getting information from each other's mind, but can't use your original ability? An ability is supposed to be tied to your brain so, since you are getting hints of each other's thought process, did you really switch minds?"

"That's a good question," Mikoto said. "Magic doesn't follow our science laws, so I'm trying to keep an open mind. Could something else be happening?"

"Like what?" Misaki asked. "You think our perceptions might have been switch or something? Like we are just seeing through each other's eyes?"

"Jason?" Touma said, noticing Jason was sitting back down and leaning his head back while looking at the ceiling. "I know you must have some idea on how this magic works by now."

"I have a theory," Jason nodded slowly. "But it seems kind of improbable."

"This entire situation is improbable," Accelerator growled. "Just get on with it."

"Tell us already," Kuroko sighed. "You really are the only one who can understand this right now."

"Okay," Jason said, looking around as everyone watched him. "After what we found out and comparing it to the mana remains left from Eve's spell, I came up with a theory. This is just a theory now, so we may find out I'm wrong. I don't think we actually switched bodies. Our minds are still in our original bodies." His announcement was met with stunned silence for a moment.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Accelerator roared. "We are obviously in someone else's body."

"I'm not sure it can be explained any other way," Misaki pointed out, doing a much better job at keeping calm.

"If you don't know just say so," Kuroko told him irritated.

"Let him finish," Ruiko interrupted, coming to Jason's. "I'm sure he has a reason."

"Jason wouldn't lie in this situation," Kazari added.

"Let's try not to interrupt him or we will be here all afternoon," Mikoto sighed.

"Jason," Touma said, when everyone else calmed down. "Go on."

"Shokuhou-san's comment about perception was the connection I needed," Jason continued. "Switching our minds would be difficult, if not impossible, even with magic. Instead, I believe Eve's magic linked our conscious minds with someone else's body."

"Huh?" Touma asked, completely confused.

"Normally," Jason explained. "Our brain processes external information, like touch, heat, sound waves, or light, after it goes through our sensory organs, like our skin, ears, and eyes. The information is transformed into signals and sent to our brain to be processed. After our brain processes those signals to understand what is happening around us, it sends out new signals to the rest of the body, like your muscles, to move. I'm not going to get into the specifics since you all know this from school."

"That's a very basic explanation," Mikoto said. "But what's that have to do with our current situation?"

"Shush," Misaki told her and Mikoto scowled at her.

"Eve's magic is interfering with the signals to and from the brain," Jason continued. "Let's use me and Kuroko as an example. I'm in her body so all the external information from her body would normally be transferred to her brain. Instead, that information is being sent to my brain, where it's being processed. So, my brain believes it's seeing everything from Kuroko's perspective. I am then sending signals to her body to move in response to the information. I'm not actually in her body and she's not in mine. We just perceive ourselves to be. That's why we still have all of our memories of our original bodies and our abilities are the same. She's only affecting new perceived information."

"That doesn't make sense," Kuroko said and then amended herself. "You're explanation, if true, does make sense. The part that doesn't is how did she do that? Wouldn't distance be a problem? Those signals aren't very powerful."

"Magic isn't limited to physics laws," Jason reminded her.

"I guess that's as good of explanation as we could hope for," Ruiko said. "This is so weird."

"I think I'm kind of glad I was out of range of her spell," Kazari said, slightly relieved

"What about the calculations we are sensing?" Touma asked. "If all of our mind's information is being transferred, why do we still have some residual memories? Speaking of which, why didn't my hand go off to negate it?"

"Because her spell is mainly affecting our conscious mind," Jason told him. "It confused me at first, but I think I figured it out. We still have our subconscious which might not be fully transferred or split between our minds. All of our calculations we have had engrained into our minds over the years, are still there. That's how some people like Misaka-san can use their powers without meaning to. There is some cross contamination here. They subconsciously use it when they get overexcited. Subconscious is a pretty interesting subject and it's not fully explored, but that's out of my field of expertise. When Shokuhou-san got exited, her body functions fluctuated and the subconscious reacted by shooting out a little electricity."

"You almost made that sound dirty," Misaki said, but gave Touma a wink.

"The reason your hand might not have worked is because of how it affects the signals," Jason added. "A lot of magic targets the entire individual, but Eve knows a lot about your hand. She might have done something to only affect inside your mind, staying far enough away from your hand effect." He leaned over to Touma. "I would avoid telling Mikoto about your hand pulse. I don't know what would happen if one person is interrupted. You might get two people trying to use the same body." His voice went normal again. "The subconscious might also be why Accelerator can move Saten-san's body without a crutch. Her mind is subconsciously controlling a lot of muscles."

"So the formulas we somehow feel that we know are just part of the subconscious?" Ruiko tried to clarify.

"Does that mean any of you could randomly use an ability?" Mikoto asked. She was a little nervous about some of them not being able to control their newly acquired abilities. Her electricity was pretty dangerous and could really injure someone if she shocked them accidently. She always took precautions to limit her voltage. She was especially worried about Ruiko being in Accelerator's body. If his ability went off when she didn't expect it, a lot of people could be hurt or killed by accident.

"Most of our abilities take complex calculations," Jason said. "Kuroko's and my ability take a lot of precise points to work. We won't be able to accidently use them. I don't think Saten-san would have that problem with Accelerator's either. His formulas are insane, but I don't know what would happen with that choker so she probably shouldn't flip it."

"What is with this choker?" Ruiko whispered to Accelerator.

"I injured myself awhile back because I let my guard down," he hissed. "It helps with my walking. Don't worry about it."

"I'm a little worried about Touma though," Jason continued. "He has never had an ability before and if he uses something powerful like Mental Out on someone accidently…"

"I'm sure he will be careful," Misaki vouched for him.

"Touma is the only one of us I would think would have the most control," Mikoto added.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence you two," Touma said gratefully and they beamed at him. Kuroko scowled, jealous Mikoto was giving him attention.

"Suck ups," Accelerator mumbled, which got him a couple glares.

"Can you create a spell to set everyone straight then?" Kazari asked Jason. "Since you know what the spell is doing, you should be able to get rid of it right?"

"Given enough time I probably could," Jason confirmed. "But there are two problems that need to be solved before anything happens."

"What's the first?" she asked.

"I have to be right. If I'm wrong, developing a spell won't do us any good. I need someone to verify my findings."

"Index!" Touma said suddenly and loudly. "She specializes in magic deciphering."

"Why didn't we think of her first?" Mikoto said, face palming.

"It has been a really hectic morning," Ruiko pointed out. "I'm not surprised it slipped our mind."

"Go and contact her already," Accelerator said with a scowled.

"Can you call her?" Touma asked Mikoto. "She would respond better to my voice."

"No problem," Mikoto said, pulling out his phone and finding Index on the contact list. She waited, but her phone went straight to voicemail. "Her phones off," she announced.

"Dang," Touma sighed. "She probably forgot to charge it again. I know I told her she needs to keep it charged."

"Looks like we need to go to her then," Misaki commented simply.

"What's the second problem?" Kuroko asked Jason. She wanted to know how bad their situation was.

"The second problem is who would actually cast the spell," Jason said.

"Aren't you going to do that?" Kuroko asked suspiciously. "You are the only one of us who can cast magic."

"There's a small problem with being in your body," Jason pointed out.

"Of course," Kazari said, smacking her fist into the palm of her hand. "Jason's body is adapted to using magic and science. Shirai-san's body is not. If he cast magic in her body, it would cause negative side effects."

"Like death," Mikoto pointed out. "We heard of what happens when magic and science normally mixes."

"So just teach the brat how to use magic," Accelerator suggested.

"I could," Jason confirmed. "But that would take many days for her to learn just how to refine mana, let alone use it to cast a spell. There are also future risks I would like to avoid."

"Like what?" Kuroko asked.

"Once you know how to refine mana," Jason explained. "When we finally switch back, you would still have that knowledge. If you accidently refined mana and cast a spell, you would die. I don't want that." Kuroko's eyes widened at his words and her heart started beating faster. She felt something well up within her, but she was spared as others spoke up.

"So we have to find someone else to cast the spell then," Kazari muttered. "Is there any magicians from the church still in the city?"

"Lessar is in the city," Touma remembered. "She might be able to cast the spell. Accelerator, your friend is also still here right?" Accelerator gave a curt nod. "So it looks like we have a couple options."

"Let's worry about problem one first," Mikoto suggested. "Then we can focus on trying to find someone to cast it."

"So I guess we need to head to Touma's apartment and hope Index is there?" Misaki said.

"As long as she's not out with Last Order," scoffed Accelerator. "But she will at least answer a cellphone."

"Can you give me your password so I can use your phone if needed?" Ruiko asked. Accelerator sighed and whispered it to her.

"I need the same," Kuroko demanded of Jason, who sighed and gave it to her too.

"Just be careful when you answer," Jason warned her. "Some work information is classified." Kuroko nodded, but secretly wanted to know if Jason was actually doing any real work.

"Let's hurry and find Index," Accelerator said, standing up. "I would like to get back in my own body."

"I agree," Misaki added. "I miss mine. This one is just lacking something." She gave a small smile and Mikoto felt a twinge of anger.

"At least we have a lead," Ruiko agreed. "I don't know how long it would have taken to think of all this on my own."

"I don't have any better ideas either," Touma said. _Why can't I have just one normal weekend? Such misfortune._

"Then it's settled," Mikoto declared, standing up. "Let's get going…" She was interrupted by a cellphone ring and everyone turned to Jason. He reached into his pocket and pulled out Kuroko's cellphone.

"It's from Konori-san," he announced, looking at Kuroko. "Any idea what she wants?"

"If she's calling on our day off," Kuroko said thinking. "It's probably Judgment related."

"Did you happen to finish your paperwork?" Kazari asked and Kuroko looked guilty.

"Ah no," she replied. "Answer it, but make sure you act like me. Don't mess this up." Jason smirked and answered.

"Hello senpai," he said cheerfully, trying to act like and sound like Kuroko, and there was a pause. "Ah, I was planning to finish it up tomorrow… Are you sure…? Onee-sama is with me." Everyone glanced at Mikoto. "She needs to come to..? Okay, I'll let them know… Yes, I promise." He hung up and looked at them. "Well, this is going to be an issue."

"What happened?" Kuroko demanded.

"It seems besides the paperwork you didn't finish," Jason said. "Anti-Skill has personally requested our reports from the break-ins now. We have to be there or there is going to be a lot of problems. Konori-san said they requested you, Kazari, and Misaka-san. I expect I'll get a call soon about it too." He glanced over at Kuroko and his phone. "Hmm, this complicates matters."

"If Anti-Skill wants our reports," Kazari said. "We have to finish them immediately."

"Don't you think our current situation is a little more important?" Misaki asked. Touma for a moment wondered why she was so concerned, but then remembered she was in Mikoto's body. If Mikoto had to go, she would have to take her place.

"We can't really use the excuse we can't go because of magic," Kuroko mumbled.

"Make up your mind and let's go," Accelerator snapped. It was still disconcerting for everyone to see Ruiko's body and tone so impatient and angry, even though they knew it was Accelerator.

"Is there any way to skip out on this without facing too much trouble?" Mikoto asked Kazari and Kuroko. They both shook their heads.

"If it was just normal routine Judgement work," Kazari said. "We could easily put it off for a day, but it's rare for Anti-Skill to personally request our information."

"How long would it take to finish?" Ruiko asked. Kazari and Jason looked at Kuroko.

"An hour or so?" Kuroko shrugged. "I hadn't really started it."

"I gave mine directly to Anti-Skill," Jason said. "Seriously, these people and paperwork. Every form has to have all the t's crossed and the I's dotted. It's way more work than it should be."

"I agree completely," Kuroko said, crossing her arms and looking irritated. She and Jason both smirked, as they found a common hatred. "I suppose it could be worse." She smirked at Jason, who raised an eyebrow.

"I don't think Index will need us all there until we are ready to cast the counter spell," Touma interrupted. "And we should try to keep a low profile until this is solved. If you four disappear from your duties, it's going to draw attention. I think if you four go and finish your Judgement obligations, the rest of us can go and find Index."

"Good idea," Mikoto said. "It's probably better for us to be in groups anyways. Since we can't use our abilities reliably, we probably shouldn't go off on our own."

"You can say that again," Accelerator mumbled, pointing to Ruiko. "Especially her."

"What do you mean?" Ruiko asked confused. She didn't recall doing anything to warrant being targeted.

"You're in my body," Accelerator told her. "There are always people who think they can become famous if they defeat the number one. It's not nearly as bad as it has been in the past, but don't let your guard down."

"Oh," Ruiko said, acknowledging his point. _Everyone really has their own problems most of us know nothing about. I knew there was a reason Accelerator always seemed to be on edge around Last Order, even when he wanted to sleep._

"But…," Misaki tried to protest and Touma turned to her.

"Do you have a better idea?" he asked. Touma was still open to ideas and Misaki was definitely one of the best planners among them. _She might have noticed something we missed._

"No," Misaki admitted and sighed. "The plan makes sense and we should see what Index says." She was more upset she wasn't going to be with Touma and would be in the other group, rather than over the actual plan. _I wanted to stay with him, even if he's in my body, but I'm not childish to go against a reasonable plan in an emergency._

"Okay," Mikoto said. "Let's hurry. We have a bit of a ways to get to your dorm Touma and hopefully we can get there before Index leaves." Touma nodded and he, Mikoto, Accelerator, and Ruiko headed toward the door.

"We will let you know what we find out," Touma told the others.

"Stay safe," Ruiko called back to them. Accelerator glanced back at them for a moment, but didn't say anything.

"You too," Kazari waved. When the door closed, she turned back to Misaki, Jason, and Kuroko. "Shokuhou, I don't think there's going to be a lot for you to do. Most likely they will have you read the statement Misaka-san wrote and agree it's accurate." She turned to Kuroko. "I think we will be able to leave when you finish."

"You mean when he finishes," Kuroko grinned, pointing to Jason. "He's in my body."

"So that's why you were so cocky," Jason realized. "Well played. However, you will still need to tell me what happened on your end."

"Dang," Kuroko mumbled, forgetting that.

"Let's get going then," Misaki said, standing up. "The sooner we finish, the sooner we can meet up with the others. I really want to get back in my body." Kazari nodded in agreement.

"I hope we can get everyone back to normal," she said. "I'm sorry there's not much I can do."

"Oh I'm not blaming you," Misaki reassured her, putting her arm on Kazari's shoulders. "I'm just a little freaked out so I may sound a little harsher than usual."

"Yea," Jason added from behind them. "When this is over and I'm back in my body, I'll definitely take you somewhere special." Kazari turned back and smiled at him. Jason had been purposely avoiding any physical contact because, even though Kazari knew he was in Kuroko's body, it would be awkward for her to see her friend acting like her boyfriend.

"What are you waiting for?" Kuroko asked Jason, after Kazari and Misaki exited the apartment. "Let's go."

"One sec," Jason said turning to her, as something dawned on him. "I have something to tell you."

"Huh?" Kuroko was taken aback by his words. "What is it?" For a while moment, her mind thought he was going to say something about how he felt about her, but she quickly pushed those thoughts from her mind. _Where did those thoughts come from? Just listen to him for now._

"I don't know how Eve's magic is going to affect this," Jason said, rubbing the back of his head. "But there's a secret I need to warn you of." He walked past her and stopped before the door.

"What is it?" Kuroko could feel the atmosphere around them become serious.

"Since you probably have access to my shadow," Jason continued. "If you here… voices… in your head that aren't yours. Don't listen to them. They lie and try to get your into trouble." Kuroko stared at him for a moment, processing his words, before flaring up.

"I thought you were going to be serious," she snapped. "Then you go and make a joke at a time like this?" She grabbed one of the pillows off the couch and threw it at Jason, hitting him in the back. "I would like you so much more if you would just be honest with me." She froze when Jason glanced back at her and raised an eyebrow. He didn't say anything at first, but the seriousness in his eyes made her slightly uncomfortable.

"Just thought I would warn you." He left the apartment and the door closed behind him. Kuroko had to run and grab the handle before it shut all the way. She realized something important, something she should have caught earlier.

 _I think he's telling the truth._

* * *

"Are you okay?" Mikoto asked Touma, stopping right as Touma's dorm room came into view. Ruiko and Accelerator were looking at him too. "Shokuhou's body isn't as fit as yours and, if you are tired, we can rest."

"When we get to his dorm," Ruiko panted. "I want to pass out. I'm not use to a cane."

"One good thing about switching is your body is quite athletic," Accelerator said and stretched. "I don't miss having that crutch." Ruiko gave him a thumbs up at the compliment.

"That's not it," Touma told her. While he was a lot more tired than he would have been in his body, they weren't doing anything stressful so it was quite manageable. What was causing him problems was the random thoughts in his mind as they passed other groups of people. They definitely weren't his and he saw flashes of memories of people he never met. "I think I'm subconsciously seeing people's thoughts."

"Oh," Mikoto replied, crossing her arms and frowning. "Shokuhou usually uses her remotes for her ability, but I don't think she really needs them. Maybe they help her concentrate."

"Stop letting your mind wander," Accelerator told him. "If you get distracted, her subconscious starts taking over."

"It's like when you walk somewhere you have been to hundreds of times and your body moves automatically," Ruiko explained and Accelerator gave a curt nod.

"I'm definitely not use to this," Touma muttered, shaking his head to clear it. "I knew I would never be able to get an ability with my hand, so I never figured something like this would happen."

"If it wasn't Shokuhou's body," Mikoto said, patting him on the back. "I would say enjoy it while it lasts, but mental abilities can be pretty dangerous. Though, I miss my body and my electricity. I guess it's what you are used to."

"I kind of want to try out Accelerator's power," Ruiko grinned. Her hand scratched her neck and she was debating on flipping the choker.

"Don't even think about it," Accelerator growled. "And stop smiling like a brat. It makes me look like an idiot."

"Stop making Saten-san sound a delinquent," Mikoto told him.

"We're here," Touma announced, before Mikoto and Accelerator could argue. Ruiko had just slipped between them to try to keep things civil. They walked up the stairs and stopped in front of his dorm. _I hope Tsuchimikado doesn't hear us. I could tell him what happened, but I still don't want to see the bastard's smug face and the questions he's bound to ask._ He reached into his pocket for his key, but remembered he wasn't in his body. Mikoto also realized this and stepped forward.

'I got it," she said quickly, pulling out the key. Touma took a step back and let her unlock the door. Mikoto stepped into the apartment and the others were about to follow her in, when a movement caught their eye.

"About time!" a girl yelled jumping out of the shadow from Touma's room. Before any of them could react, Lessar had tackled Mikoto and pinned her to the floor. "I thought you were supposed to come back last night Lover Boy." Touma quickly flipped on the light so they had a full view since the shades were down.

"Lessar?!" Mikoto yelled in surprise, looking at the girl sitting on top of her, and her mouth fell open at her appearance. Everyone else was stunned at her outfit too. Lessar was wearing a red bikini that barely covered anything. Kuroko would be proud. Her body was also covered in glitter so, when she moved, her body sparkled. "What are you doing?!"

"I wanted to give you a special dessert yesterday," she said, revealing a small piece of chocolate in her hand. She put in in her mouth and, when Mikoto opened her mouth to say something, Lessar leaned down and kissed her, holding Mikoto's head with her hands. She wasn't letting go and the time stretched on.

"Ah," was all Ruiko could say. Her face had gone bright red, which if anyone was watching, would find it highly unusual on Accelerator's face. Her mind was conflicted. She physically saw Lessar kissing Touma passionately, but knew it was Mikoto, which made the situation more embarrassing than shocking. She glanced over at the other two and saw Accelerator was leaning up against the wall laughing. His laugh was more bark like than hers, which was kind of unsettling.

"Lessar," Touma said, finally finding his voice. His face had gone a combination of red with embarrassment and white with horror of what Mikoto would do once her mind clocked back into place. _Thank god she's not in her body or this entire building will be destroyed._ "You need to get off, quick."

"Oh it's Shokuhou-san, Saten-san, and Accelerator," Lessar said, after she had to remove her lips to take a breath. "If any of you want to join, feel free. This powder is completely edible, so go ahead and use your tongue as much as you like." She grinned and her words finally woke up Mikoto.

"LESSAR!" This time, Mikoto didn't say it in confusion, but in anger. She threw Lessar's body off hers and stood up, shaking. "What the hell do you think you are doing?!" She wiped her mouth, still tasting the semisweet chocolate.

"I decided to go all out," Lessar said, making a victory sign and licking her lips. "I asked you what you preferred." She frowned. "You seem different, angrier." Her eyes widened. "You want to do it angry? Awesome. Try choking me, I want to see how good it feels."

"I can arrange that," Mikoto muttered and Ruiko and Touma had to hold her back. Lessar now realized something was definitely wrong.

"I feel like I'm missing something," Lessar said looking around. "He wouldn't be so angry with me." Her eyes darted to Touma and frowned. "You would normally be trying to stop me, not him. She," Lessar said, pointing to Accelerator, "would be trying to calm everyone down." Accelerator had finally stopped laughing and smirked at her. "What's so funny?" she asked,

"You just kissed the third rate," he told her, still smirking. "The bitch swapped our bodies."

"Huh?" Lessar asked, totally confused.

"Lessar," Touma told her, stepping between her and Mikoto, to make sure nothing happened. "Listen for a moment. We got hit by Eve's magic and woke up in each other's body. I'm Touma, that's Mikoto, that's Ruiko, and that's Accelerator." He pointed to each one of them in turn. "We need to talk to Index, is she here?"

"Swapped bodies?" Lessar repeated. "Then that means…" She looked at Mikoto who was glaring at her. "NO! I wasted my best attack on the wrong person! I planned it perfectly too." She looked at Touma. "I suppose I can start over. If you want, I can teach you all about the female body," she licked her lips, "intimately."

"Not the time Lessar," Touma told her, taking a step back.

"We really need to see Index," Ruiko told her and Lessar sighed.

"Fine," she said. "She's on the bed." Touma turned and almost ran into the room. Index was sitting on the bed and was looking mutinous, but she was tied and gagged with bedsheets. "Index," he called out and quickly started unbinding her.

"What are you doing here?" Index asked. To her, Touma was Misaki. The bed sheets muffled their voices and she wasn't sure what was happening. While Index got along with Misaki, she was still suspicious of her trying to take Touma away from her. "Lessar's planning to assault Touma, we have to stop her." She frowned and narrowed her eyes. "Something happened didn't it, there's a very weak trace of mana I almost missed."

"A lot of stuff happened," Touma told her, as everyone else gathered in the room and sat down. "The biggest issue we are facing right now is Eve decided to prank us."

"What did she do?" Index asked, looking around.

"She used her magic to swap our bodies," Mikoto told her and Index's eyes widened. She quickly pointed out who was in whose body for her.

"How?" she asked immediately. "Was it a spell, ritual, or did she use an item?"

"She said it was chaos magic," Touma told her, trying to remember the details. "Anything could happen as a result and she didn't affect the outcome. It was some kind of purple light from her hand."

"Hmm," Index muttered, thinking while crossing her arms. "I'll have to figure out exactly how she swapped your minds, but this isn't a completely unknown magic."

"People have used magic to swap bodies before?" Ruiko asked curiously. "When?"

"Usually when trying to extend their lives," Index said. "Someone might create a golem body and transfer their mind into it. In worst cases, they swap with someone younger. It has also been used as infiltration into enemy cabals for espionage or spying purposes. It has a lot of uses. The secret is figuring out exactly how the spell swapped your body and then I can develop a counter for it. "

"Kagere already gave us an idea," Accelerator said. "He said Eve's magic messed with our perceptions. We didn't actually switch bodies, it's just the signals we send and receive with our brains are transmitting to each other."

"Huh?" Index asked, trying to understand scientific terms.

"All of our senses, sight, smell, touch, is being taken by my body," Ruiko explained. "But it's Accelerator's brain that's receiving the information. He then is trying to move my body because he sees it through my eyes and his brain sends the signals to my body. Our brains still haven't switched."

"Oh," Index said, nodding in understanding. "I think I understand. The traces of mana confirm that theory. Out of curiosity," she looked at them., "Did your science side powers switch?"

"No," Mikoto said. "They are still part of our bodies. Why?"

"I don't fully understand how exactly your abilities work," Index told her. "I was just curious. If they didn't get switched, we shouldn't have to worry about factoring them in when we try to remove her magic. The only issue is Touma's hand." She pointed to Mikoto's right hand. "The ritual is going to be tough. Everyone else should be easy. How many others were affected?"

"Jason, Shirai-san, and Misaki's in Mikoto's body," Touma said, counting on his fingers. "Uiharu-san wasn't affected. So you have a way to switch us back then?"

"The spell should be easy enough," Index nodded. "We need a few supplies and then someone to cast the spell." Everyone turned to look at Lessar, who sighed.

"I can," she said, but then a devious smile flickered on her face. She jumped across the room and sat on the bed next to Touma. "If I do this, do I get a reward?"

"What kind of reward?" Touma asked suspiciously and Accelerator face palmed.

"How about…?" Lessar started to ask innocently, but Mikoto spoke up.

"Hold on," Mikoto interrupted, sensing the danger immediately. "Take whatever idea you just had, and back it up fifty steps and start there."

"Hmm," Lessar answered, scrunching her face up in centration. Her tail started swishing back and forth while she tried to think of something the others would allow. "Okay, I got it. I want just one simple thing."

"Which is?" Touma asked, bracing himself.

"A kiss."

"A kiss?"

"On the lips when you are back in your body," Lessar finished with a smile. "You have to initiate it."

"WHAT?!" Mikoto, Ruiko, and Index all shouted while Accelerator shook his head.

"Why?" Touma asked.

"I want to make up the one I wasted on Sparky," Lessar told him and then wrapped her arms around him and groped Misaki's body's well-endowed chest. "I suppose if you want to do it now, I wouldn't say no. She has a nice body which would be fun to play with." Touma pushed her off quickly, feeling his ears burn. He also felt murderous intent and turned to face Index and Mikoto.

"Toouummaa," they both growled a dark aura around them.

"Wait you two," he said, holding out a hand. "Why are you blaming me? Index please don't bite me, this isn't my body. Mikoto, you know what she's like. I didn't think of anything like that." Index hesitated for a moment, looking conflicted on whether to bite him or wait until he was back in his body. Mikoto made a fist and a vein throbbed in her head, but she didn't get up and try to hit him. Lessar really annoyed her, but Touma was right.

"I keep asking if you all want to join," Lessar pouted. "But none of you ever accept."

"Oh just agree already," Accelerator huffed. "It's not like she's trying to tie you down or anything. I want to get back in my body so do it or I swear all of you will regret it."

"If it's just a kiss…" Ruiko muttered. "I suppose that's okay, but I never had one…"

"Okay you win Lessar," Touma said loudly and defeated. "I accept your terms."

"Yay!" Lessar cheered and bounded around the room.

"Arg," Mikoto moaned, grabbing her head. Index also looked upset, but grabbed a piece of paper. She scribbled a short list on it and handed to Touma.

"Here is a list of the supplies we need for the ceremony," Index told him. "Most of the stuff you can get from the stores down the street. It doesn't have to be a perfect match, since we are just using them as representations. Lessar and I can set everything else up here. I'll try to think of how we can include your body." She leaned next to him and whispered, in a slightly angry tone, "It will be a sin to enjoy it." She pulled away from him and smiled, but a dark aura still hung around her.

"Should we get going?" he nervously asked the others, and glanced down at the list. There were only a few items so it probably wouldn't take very long.

""Sooner we finish the better," muttered Accelerator standing up.

"It's still early," Ruiko added. "We might be back in our bodies before noon and then we can have fun the rest of the day."

"You are awfully optimistic," Mikoto said with a grin.

"As long as I have a little fun every day," Ruiko grinned at her. "I'm okay with a little weirdness."

"Want to join me for fun?" Lessar asked.

"None of us need your kind of fun today," Mikoto told her. She, Touma, Ruiko, and Accelerator left the dorm room and started heading down the street to buy supplies. Mikoto texted the others to let them know Index was going to design the spell to change them back. Accelerator was sulking silently, just wanting the day to end, but Mikoto and Ruiko were talking excitedly to Touma. Both of them were glad to know they could be switched back and they were also away from Lessar and her antics. None of them, however, noticed two figures watching them from a roof of a nearby building.

"Seems like they are trying to undo your magic," Cain pointed out.

"I wish I knew what it did," Eve said, pouting slightly. "But if we put magical monitors up, Index would be sure to find them."

"What should we do now?"

"We need to get the Imagine Breaker out of the city," Eve told him. "Preferably, he needs to encounter Adam. I told him where to find him without being to direct. His church friends should know the location and request his assistance." She looked around. "Where did Juliet go?"

"She left a short time ago. I assumed you sent her off on a different task."

"That's not good. She's been blinded by emotions again. Without a body, she gets easily overwhelmed. Find her and make sure she doesn't do anything to ruin my plans. I give you full authority to punish her, including spanking her if needed."

"I will find her." Cain turned around and jumped to a nearby building and, with blinding speed, disappearing into the distance.

* * *

"Are you done yet?" Kuroko asked, leaning back in her chair.

"When we swap back," Jason said, glaring at her. "I'm going to make you regret those words."

"Until then, I'm going to enjoy this."

"Shirai-san," Kazari spoke up, turning around on her computer. "He's doing YOUR work. You should be more grateful."

"I am grateful," Kuroko admitted. "Doesn't mean I can't enjoy us being on opposite sides of the jokes though."

"If you aren't careful Shirai-san," Misaki said, looking up from her magazine she found at the Judgement branch. "I would think you are flirting with him. Right in front of his girlfriend too."

"As if," she sniffed and Jason laughed. Kazari smiled, but she also shifted in her seat slightly.

"Think I'm done," Jason said passing over the paper to Kuroko, who started reading it.

After arriving at Kuroko's and Kazari's office branch, they met Mii, who immediately pushed Jason, who was in Kuroko's body, to Kuroko's desk and set a large pile of paper work down in front of him. Kuroko was highly amused. Mii then had to leave the office, which gave them the privacy needed for Kuroko to tell Jason what happened on her end so Jason could write it down. Kazari mentioned Kuroko could do it since Mii had left, but Kuroko argued that Mii could return at any time and a pile of papers would be harder to swap suddenly than for her to stop talking. Kazari had given up trying to convince her friend and went back to her work. She was verifying her report and using the extra time to check up on the status of any other break-ins or criminal reports that might be related to the recent events. Misaki had scanned the report Mikoto had given yesterday and just agreed with it, before looking around and finding a magazine to kill time.

"Looks good," Kuroko said, tossing the paper back to Jason. "You didn't do a bad job and even managed to copy my writing style well. I'm actually impressed how fast you did this. It would have taken me an hour."

"Oh thank your Kuroko-sama," Jason replied sarcastically. "Your approval shines a light in my otherwise horrible dark life."

"Keep it up," Kuroko told him. "Don't forget, you still have to fulfill your punishment for the bet because of the crime game. I'm planning it out in detail." She turned to Misaki. "Did you come up with any ideas for what I asked?"

"I have several," Misaki said, looking up and grinning. "After this is over, I'll discuss them with you."

"That's not fair," Jason complained. "You were supposed to come up with it yourself."

"I never agreed to that."

"Kazari some help?" Jason asked, turning to her.

"You brought this on yourself," Kazari sighed. "Don't drag me into it." She was a little worried hearing that Misaki was getting involved, but she trusted Kuroko not to go too far. She also thought it was a good idea for Jason to understand some of what he gave her. _Those two… They really like pushing each other's buttons. It's kind of amusing, but I'm afraid they will go too far at some point._

"I'm back," Mii said cheerfully, pushing the door open. "And I brought coffee, milk, and donuts as thanks for coming in today. How's the working coming Shirai?"

"Just finished senpai," Jason said, imitating Kuroko's demeanor. "Anything else before we head out?"

"No," Mii said, shaking her head. "Thanks again for coming so quickly on one of your days off. I really appreciate it."

"It was no problem," Kazari said, stealthily reaching for a donut, but Jason reached out and knocked her hand away. She looked depressed and stared at the ground.

"Oh yes," Mii said, turning to Kuroko. "Kagere-san, how has Kamijou-san been? I haven't seen him around and I would definitely like to ask if he would be interested in joining Judgement again. We definitely could use more people in our branch." For a second, a flicker of worry came over Misaki's face. She recognized the tone and expressions and, while Mii's words were casual, there was more to it.

 _She wants my prince to join her branch? She's definitely after him. She's even his type, so I can't let them spend time together._

Kuroko, on the other hand, had a completely different expression flicker ever so briefly on her face. She definitely did not want a boy constantly at her branch, but there was more. _I don't really want him around, but I think Konori-senpai might be interested in him. If the ape's friends were right about him liking older girls, she would be perfect to take him away so onee-sama and I could be together. If I'm honest, the ape's not the worst boy I've come across, but he can't have onee-sama._ "I can ask him if you would like."

"That would be great," Mii said cheerfully. "Thank you." Jason and Kazari shared a knowing look while Misaki's face darkened slightly. Everyone started digging into the snacks Mii had brought and Kazari was talking to her about work, when a knock occurred on the door. Mii got up, turned around and opened the door. Two male Anti-Skill officers nodded to her in greetings. "Hello," Mii told them. "Are you here to pick up copies of the reports?"

"Yes," the first one said. "But we also have another reason for being here."

"What is it?"

"We were told Jason Kagere was here and we need him to come with us to a meeting," the second guy explained. Everyone turned to look at Jason or the person they thought was Jason. Mii and the officers looked at Kuroko in his body, while the others looked at him in Kuroko's body. They quickly rectified their mistake and glanced at Kuroko, but they kept darting their eyes back to him.

"Do you really need me to go?" Kuroko asked, trying to imitate Jason's laid back demeanor.

"We were asked specifically to bring you," the first one said. "Direct orders from our supervisor." Kuroko eye's darted over to Jason, who frowned slightly in thought. Her eyes sent him an obvious message.

 _Do something!_ Jason shrugged in response, because he wasn't sure what exactly they wanted him for.

"Okay," Kuroko said, standing up. "I'll meet up with you all when I'm done." She realized she wasn't going to have any choice but to go with them. Jason seemed confused while Kazari and Misaki would definitely have no idea what to do. She left the Judgement office, after Mii gave them copies of the reports, in silence and entered an Anti-Skill van. She sat in silence as they drove off, wondering what was going to happen to her. _Anytime I'm with him, it seems like I get into some kind of trouble. Arg, I want to say he did this on purpose, but I know this time he couldn't have._

Meanwhile, Misaki, Kazari, and Jason had just left the branch office and were standing outside on the sidewalk. Kazari looked around, verified they weren't being listened to, and turned to Jason. "Do you have any idea where they took her?"

"Most likely there is a meeting on the break-ins and thefts we all dealt with," Jason replied thinking. "That would make the most sense. It's probably more sensitive information then you have here."

"Do you think she will be okay?" Kazari asked. "Won't someone recognize she doesn't act like you or know what's been happening?"

"Most of the time," Jason reassured her. "I tend to sit in the back and pretend to listen. A lot of it doesn't concern me. As long as she doesn't purposely draw attention to herself, she will be fine. Only thing I'm concerned is she might act too polite with some of the people there. I'm not as relaxed, polite, and soft spoken with them as I am with all of you." Misaki and Kazari both raised their eyebrows.

"Shirai-san is pretty smart," Misaki added. "She won't want to draw attention to herself right now." She looked down at her phone after receiving a message from Mikoto. "It seems like Index verified Kagere-san's theory and is finding a way to change us back. The others are gathering supplies, so we have some time to kill before heading to Touma's apartment."

"Shouldn't we try to meet them immediately?" Kazari questioned her motives.

"Let's have a little fun first," Misaki suggested. "It's not every day I get to be in Misaka's body. I should find her some 'cute' clothes."

"You shouldn't…" Kazari tried to tell her but Misaki was already heading straight to the nearby mall. Kazari turned around and looked at Jason, before grabbing his hand and pulling him after her. "We shouldn't be splitting up while you all are stuck like this. We can't do anything about Shirai-san right now, but we can't let Shokuhou-san go off alone."

"I don't think this is a good idea," Jason told her, but she shook her head.

"I'll forgive any accidents," Kazari reassure him. "This is an unusual situation."

 _I kind of want to see Misaka-san tell Touma that,_ Jason thought to himself, smirking. He and Kazari quickly went after Misaki.

Unknown to them, a girl was sitting on a bench, watching them leave the Judgement office. She moved a stand of her long dark hair out of her face and stood up. A single rose was stuck behind her ear and she walked casually after the others. She was wearing a basic purple t-shirt with a tight pair of jeans. Weaving her way through the crowds, she made sure she wasn't spotted, but her eyes never left Jason and Uiharu. There was a smile on her face, but it was closer to a smirk, and her eyes were focused, like a predator. A couple guys tried to talk with her, but she brushed them off like specks of dust. One guy was persistent, but a quick glare from her caused him to hastily leave. She watched Misaki, Jason and Kazari enter a mall and she paused for a moment.

 _Looks like it's a good time for this_ Juliet thought. _Eve and Cain don't know I'm here and I'm hiding my presence so they won't be able to find me. If those two bitches die in an accident, there won't be anything to tie it to Eve, so her plan won't be affected. We all win. It's their own fault for staying so close to him._

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I (Eve) love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Eve: Everything is falling into place.**

 **Touma: Again, why would you do this?**

 **Eve: I have no control over random events.**

 **Mikoto: Bull, you are writing the chapter while the author is in the hospital.**

 **Eve: Whose fault is that?**

 **Mikoto: Mugino and her friends.**

 **Shizuri: Don't go blaming this on me brat, you shocked him too.**

 **Accelerator: I think she's mad the hero snuck out that morning. Can't wait to see that conclusion.**

 **Kuroko: I'm never going to live this down.**

 **Ruiko: Cheer up. You got him to do your work for you.**

 **Kazari: Should we be worried about Juliet?**

 **Eve: Nah, she's harmless. Just give her a hug and say you want to be friends.**

 **Leivinia: When are we going to get back to someone important, like me?**


	76. S3 Adjustments

**I have a couple of important announcements this time. For the next few months, I do not see the chapters being released as frequently. I have a lot of things my time is going to be divided up on and sadly, some things in RL do come before the joy of writing. I definitely will not have time to take my laptop, go to Starbucks and order a Frappuccino, and type for hours on end in the corner of the room, attracting the ladies. Most likely, I'll only have an hour or two at most per day to write, if that. This is not a notice of discontinuing this story, it's just getting good. I am just trying to avoid people sending me millions of messages about when the next chapter is going to come out. Anyways, that's enough sad talk, let's move to something more positive.**

 **Index NT 16 release date is closing in fast. Tokiwadai is under attack and we get to see more Misaki and Mikoto. Great times for all. Now, let's move to the comments.**

 **Brosephg: You are going to enjoy this arc then. A lot of information is going to be revealed from the previous seasons to start consolidating everything that has happened. It was hard to keep track when writing too, reason I had them split up. I also slip in reminded occasionally to help with the transition.**

 **Kuroppy: The original Eve is not a virgin, she gave birth to the decedents of man. No one knows about the current Eve though.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: Ruiko Saten definitely had the best part.**

 **Deep Sea Diver Man: Friends and I have discussed the IB in detail. That explanation was one of the few options available to not have his hand switch bodies with him. As for the first part of your question, see the chapter below.**

 **Guest: No, I know who you are.**

 **wildarms13: Angel fall only switched outer appearance, but only for people not affected by it. No one else noticed.**

 **Whwsms: I laughed while writing a lot of it. As for Kuroko x Jason, Nothing unites people together like the hatred of paperwork.**

 **hubb2001: No idea what heartseed is.**

 **Master Knight: Hmm, I don't know. You may have to read this chapter. (Yes)**

 **Agent Nine: I have never done anything purely for comedy. There is always a point.**

 **Cholargos of the Pericles: You are touching in something I didn't expect most people to notice, at least until later. It's something to keep in mind over the next couple chapters.**

 **RPGPersona: Still love your combination of review/summary of chapters. You have interesting observations and tend to find some important parts hidden in the chapter.**

 **Handsomistic1: The picture is a crossover with an anime called Needless. There is another character there called Saten. It's a good series with a funny ending.**

 **Geust: He kind of has. England has always been infected and the rest of the world will only be a matter of time.**

 **Salishious: Hang on… Eve! Are you conspiring against Adam?** _ **No.**_ **Ah okay. Carissa isn't here, but she is a very possessive person, so I don't think she will share.**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly. Magic Gods own all so they can do what they want.**

* * *

"That's the third time already," Mikoto groaned, wringing out her wet clothes. "This day is the worst."

"Sorry about that," Touma told her, rubbing the back of his head, while Accelerator laughed. Ruiko was looking concerned, but there wasn't a lot she could do about the unfortunate events happening to Mikoto. Instead, she went to find a towel.

"Why are you apologizing?' Mikoto asked, looking at him in surprise. "It's not like you did anything wrong."

"Remember," he reminded her. "My hand is negating my luck, so all those unlucky things happening to you are my fault because you're in my body." They were walking down the sidewalk to reach the toy store to pick up the supplies Index needed, when several things happened to Mikoto. They were passing underneath an overhang on one of the buildings and a bucket of water fell off, drenching only Mikoto. The others had all jumped back instinctively to avoid the worst of it. The walk didn't get any better for her as another couple of unfortunate events happened only to her. She slipped on a piece of trash, which appeared out of nowhere from around a corner, and banged her arm into a pole. Rubbing it and muttering, she didn't notice the hose connected to a water spout, while an old lady was watering the box plants in front of her store. The hose slipped in the woman's hand and drenched Mikoto again. _I can't say it's not nice having these things not happen to me, but having it happen to someone else is terrible._

"It's still not your fault," Mikoto huffed at him, rolling her eyes. "It's not like you purposely switched us or know how to control your hand."

"But still…"

"It's not your fault," she said again, slowly and sternly. _So this is what he goes through every day. I think I understand why he says misfortune so much. I always got mad at him for it, but he can't help it._

"If you told me a couple weeks ago about the damn hero's hand being able to negate luck," Accelerator chimed in. "I would have thought you were stupid. Nowadays, nothing surprises me anymore."

"Here you go Misaka-san," Ruiko said, coming back to them and tossing Mikoto a towel. "She had one handy and said we could keep it." Ruiko had asked the old lady to borrow a tower for Mikoto and had no problems getting it.

"Thanks Saten-san," Mikoto said gratefully, accepting it and beginning to dry herself off. The thought of someone seeing Accelerator, or Ruiko, getting a towel for Touma, now Mikoto, briefly passed through her mind and she found it pretty funny. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Accelerator in Ruiko's body scowl and it was obvious he thought the same thing. _I'll have to bring this up sometime when we are all back in our own bodies._

"What are we getting anyways?" Accelerator asked, turning to Touma, while they were waiting for Mikoto to finish drying off.

"Only a couple things," Touma said, pulling the list out of his pocket. "Let's see, we need a large roll of string, some black tape, and an object representing each of us."

"How does magic use stupid things like that?" Accelerator asked, and Touma shrugged.

"Index has said magicians can use almost anything for their magic," Touma said. "Itsuwa is especially skilled in using common items for her magic." He wasn't going to mention one of her spells required a pair of underwear.

"An object representing each of us?" Mikoto repeated. "Like a doll?"

"A doll, action figure, or model would work," Touma explained, reading Index's notes. "It just has to have some kind of connection to each of us. It doesn't have to look exactly like us, but wouldn't hurt if it did."

"So that's why we are going to a toy store," Ruiko realized. _I wonder what would represent me._

"Heh," Accelerator snickered. "I already know would be perfect for the third rate."

"Don't you dare think of selecting something stupid," Mikoto demanded, feeling a chill go down her back. "I want us all to switch back and don't want the spell to mess up because you wanted a laugh."

"Oh it's going to be a perfect representation of you," Accelerator laughed as they all entered the toy store. He didn't elaborate and Mikoto watched him suspiciously.

"Ruiko," Touma said, turning to her. "Can you get the string and tape while we start looking for the other items?"

"No problem," Ruiko nodded. "I'll find you afterwards and help if you haven't finished."

"Thanks a lot." Ruiko turned left, while the rest of them turned to their right. Mikoto, Touma, and Accelerator made their way through the aisles until they found the one with stuffed animals and people, action figures, and models. There were hundreds of options, so they had their work cut out for them. The bright side was there had to be something they could use. None of them had any idea what to search for, except Accelerator, who immediately started walking towards the stuffed doll area.

"Should we get looking?" Touma asked and Mikoto nodded. They split up and started slowly making their way through either side of the aisles, looking for anything that reminded them of their friends or themselves. At first, Touma wasn't having much luck. _Most of these dolls are nonhuman characters, so I don't really see a resemblance to anyone._ He came across a Gekota plushy and had to suppress a grin. _I know Mikoto likes this frog mascot, but it doesn't really remind me of her. If it was the Heaven Canceller, I could see the resemblance._ He came to a line of action figures and picked one up. It was a girl with long black hair and a flower on the side of her head. It definitely wasn't Ruiko, but it reminded him of her. He wasn't sure of the anime show it was from, but that didn't matter. "Think I found one for Ruiko," he announced.

"Really? Mikoto asked, turning around. "I think I found one for Accelerator." She didn't have much luck early on either. _I have no idea what to look for. What are the odds I'll see something and immediately think of one of my friends? It shouldn't be hard to find something that makes me think of Touma,_ the honest part of her mind told her and she smiled. _Still, this is like finding a needle in a haystack…_ She stopped when her gaze settled on an action figure. She reached over and picked it up. It was a white haired, skinny boy, with black clothes and a red eye. The guy had four red tail-like objects coming from its back. _I think the anime was Tokyo Ghoul or something._

"What a coincidence," Accelerator laughed. "I found the perfect one for you too." When Touma told him it didn't have to be an exact duplicate, he immediately knew what to look for. Being forced to watch all the shows Last Order liked, he had seen enough episodes of a specific cartoon to know how perfect it would be. He was waiting to reveal it to cause the most embarrassment for Mikoto though. _She will hate it at first, but it's such an accurate representation of her, she will have no choice but to accept it._

"Here's what I found," Touma said, holding up the action figure. "I thought it looked like her."

"Wow it does," Mikoto said, taking it from him and looking at it closely. "I don't have any problem with it." They looked at Accelerator, who shrugged. He didn't really care and let them decide. "Well, here's what I found for him." She held out the action figure she found and Touma grinned, recognizing immediately why Mikoto picked it up.

"Good choice," he told her. "It looks just like him."

"I guess it's close enough," Accelerator yawned after seeing it, but then he grinned. "Here's what I found for her." He pointed to Mikoto and then revealed what he had in his other hand.

It was a Pikachu plushy.

"W-what?" spluttered Mikoto, turning red from anger and embarrassment.

"It's a small harmless animal that randomly shoots off electricity," Accelerator pointed out, his grin never leaving his face. "It's perfect for you. I think it also has something to do with friendship, but I usually fell asleep at those parts." Her reaction was everything he imagined.

"You can't be serious," Mikoto protested. "Arg, this is just like you, going out of your way to annoy me just like Shokuhou." She looked at Touma. "Back me up please." Her eyes widened slightly when she saw he was biting the corner of his mouth. "Are… are you laughing?" Her eyes narrowed and Touma took a step back defensively. For a moment, his expression was indistinguishable from the real Shokuhou.

"O-of course not," Touma lied. It was actually completely true but, with respect to Mikoto's feelings, he was trying not to. "I just thought he… might… have a point." His words got softer under her glare.

"What do you mean?" If Mikoto was not in his body right now, Touma felt like she would have been emitting a lot of electricity, mostly in his direction.

"Besides being able to use electricity," Touma replied slowly, trying to plan his words carefully. His mouth had gotten him in a lot of trouble in the past and he did not want it to happen right now. "I remember Pikachu being loyal to his friends and working really hard to protect them. Don't you think that sounds like you?"

"I guess," Mikoto said suspiciously. "You aren't just saying that, right?"

"No," Touma said shaking his head. He wasn't going to admit she was absolutely right, even if it was true. "I just think it has some of your best qualities." Mikoto got silent and turned slightly red, diverting her eyes. She still didn't trust Accelerator's motives, but it was Touma's opinion she cared about more. Touma realized what he said and also looked away embarrassed. Accelerator looked between them and rolled his eyes.

"If you two are done flirting," he growled. Touma still found it disconcerting to hear Ruiko's body growl at anyone. "We still have more of these damn dolls to find." Touma and Mikoto turned redder, but quickly went back to the task at hand. After a little more searching, Accelerator pulled out another action figure. "Here's something for Kagere." He tossed the doll to Touma, who caught it. Looking at it, Touma thought it must have been some kind of generic wizard or mage from a manga or video game. It was your typical guy in a hooded cloak. It didn't look like Jason at first, but Touma knew why Accelerator had chosen it. The cloak it was wearing was black and kind of looked like Jason's shadow.

"Good spot," Touma told him and Accelerator nodded. "Now we just need Shirai-san, Misaki, and…"

"You," Mikoto finished. "Shokuhou should be easy." She reached over and picked up a generic Barbie doll. "Blonde and a uselessly large chest. This would be perfect for her."

"Someone's jealous," Accelerator pointed out and laughed, while Mikoto glared at him. Touma wanted to say something to tell her chest size wasn't everything, but there were two reasons why he didn't. One, he couldn't actually deny that without lying directly to her. He was a guy and was attracted to certain physical aspects, even if it wasn't everything. Second, he learned from experience not to get involved in that conversation. Most girls were not happy to talk about such matters with a guy and he still had the bruises to prove it. His best option was to draw their attention to something else.

"So that leaves two left," Touma told them. "If there's nothing here, we need to check somewhere…" He was interrupted as Ruiko turned the corner and headed down the aisle, a shopping basket in her hand, holding the items she found.

"There you guys are," she said, hobbling over to them. "I found the tape and string easily enough, but I also found something else."

"What did you find?" Mikoto asked curiously.

"Tada!" Ruiko said enthusiastically pulling out a figurine. "I think it will fit Shirai-san well as her representative since it was originally based on her." Mikoto and Touma's mouth fell open in shock, but Accelerator started roaring with laughter. Ruiko was holding up a figurine of Kuroneko, the mascot Jason turned Kuroko into after their previous bet. "Ah," she said softly, looking at Mikoto and Touma. "I thought it was a good idea. If you guys found something else already…"

"No we didn't," Touma informed her. "We were just surprised at what you have there. Where did you even find that?"

"There's an entire display of goods," Ruiko told them. "Besides the hot ice cream, there's candy, shirts, fans, and even cat ears. I heard someone mention how popular Kuroneko is among kids. It might even be approaching Gekota"

"I hope no one saw you picking that up in my body," Accelerator mumbled. "I may have to silence them forcefully."

"Kuroko will not want to hear that," Mikoto said, ignoring Accelerator and face palming. "But I can't argue that would be perfect for her representative."

"Can I be the one to tell her?" Accelerator asked innocently. Well, it would have been innocently, if he didn't have a devious smirk on his face. Mikoto gave him a quick glare, before turning back to the others.

 _Don't let him rile you up._

"So all we need is something for me," Touma said, taking the basket from Ruiko and putting the other figures in it. "Then we should be ready to get back to Index and Lessar." Ruiko peered into the basket at the other dolls selected to be representatives for her friends and herself.

"I think I can match them all," Ruiko said, picking up hers. "Wow, this one looks like me. The flower is different from my clip, but still…" She put it back and picked up the Pikachu. Her eyes darted to Mikoto, who sighed and nodded. "I know why this was chosen," she said with a grin. "Who chose it?"

"I did," Accelerator said with a laugh.

"As long as it works I don't care anymore," Mikoto sighed. "Help us find something to represent Touma."

"Okay," Ruiko said cheerfully and the four of them started scouring the shelves for the last item they needed. Accelerator wasn't having any luck. Nothing really stood out to represent the hero that defeated him and then somehow became his friend, not that he was telling the others. Touma had no idea what to select for himself and was at a completely loss. Mikoto was browsing through the rows of toys, but couldn't find anything good enough for her to want to represent him. Ruiko was shifting toys aside and looking in the back, hoping to find something the others missed. She always liked to notice things others overlooked, one of the reasons she followed so many of the online rumors.

 _It's a lot harder to find something to represent him,_ Ruiko thought to herself. _From what I know, he wants to handle everything himself, yet still tries to remain anonymous. It's only because Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san keep getting upset at him for leaving them behind that he involved us. I still remember the first time he saved me at the museum._ Her heart started beating faster and she glanced at Touma. _I'm going to do what I can to be useful to him, even if I'm only a low level._ She saw something and reached way into the back of one of the shelves. She pulled out a small plushy of a guy in a black butler suit with somewhat spiky black hair. _It kind of looks like him, and I suppose the butler uniform could represent his desire to help others._ She glanced at the others, noticing none of them were having any luck. "I think I found it." She held it out for the others.

"I guess it kind of looks like him," Mikoto agreed. _It's got the hair right though. Heh, the butler uniform reminds me of the time he was supposed to be my servant for the day after the sports festival._

"Ha," Accelerator laughed. "Represents the hero perfectly. He's use to be bossed around by others."

"I was kind of thinking of something else…" Ruiko murmured, not able to actually say the words in front of the others, especially Touma.

"I think I see the resemblance," Touma said, unconsciously rubbing his hair, even though this time it was Misaki's golden hair. _The butler uniform is kind of a turn off though. Does everyone think I just live to serve or something? That doesn't sound like Ruiko, and I know Mikoto doesn't think that way anymore, at least, I don't think they do._

"We finally got them all," Accelerator interrupted his thoughts. "Let's get back so the magician brat can fix us."

"I really wish you would quit making Saten-san sound like a delinquent," Mikoto sighed. "It's really unnerving, but you're right. Let's pay for this and get going."

"Misaki said I could use her card," Touma said, pulling it out.

"Once the others finish," Ruiko added. "We can finally get back into our proper bodies." She saw Mikoto frown for a moment and looked into the distance, causing Ruiko concerned. "What's wrong Misaka-san?"

"I have a bad feeling Shokuhou is up to something in my body," Mikoto said with a shiver.

* * *

"Hmm," Misaki said, stepping out of a changing room and spinning around to show off the frilly blue dress she was wearing while in Mikoto's body. "This fit's so well on her. I don't know why she's so adamant about not wearing dresses and sticks with those boring shorts." She looked at Kazari and Jason. "What do you think?"

"I don't think you really should be trying outfits on in Misaka-san's body," Kazari said honestly, but her eyes were looking Misaki up and down. It really did look good on her. "Especially since the others are working on getting everyone back in their proper bodies."

"We still have to wait for Shirai-san," Misaki pointed out. "So killing time isn't that bad. Besides, how often do you get to see Misaka-san in adult clothes?" She spun around again in front of a mirror.

"It suites her very well," Kazari admitted. "But I still think it's kind of inappropriate without her permission."

"Misaka and I are such good friends though. She won't mind. I'm sure she will even appreciate the clothes I pick out for her. I'll even be so kind to reimburse her since I only have her card. Besides," she winked at Kazari. "I think Kagere is trying to find something for you. Maybe you could give him some recommendations." Kazari turned red and quickly turned around to locate Jason in Kuroko's body. He was standing off to the side, looking at a wall of dresses, many of which were way more daring then Kazari ever imagined herself wearing.

"Jason," Kazari hissed, quickly moving next to him and grabbing his sleeve. "Help me talk some sense into Shokuhou-san." There was also the fact she was trying to pull him away from those kinds of dresses. Kazari had noticed he was trying to avoid looking at things like underwear, but it wasn't like he could stare at the ceiling the entire time.

"I'm pretty sure changing Shokuhou-san's mind is impossible for anyone except Touma," Jason answered, glancing at Kazari and winking. "It would be easier to call and ask him to tell her to stop." He laughed for a moment and looked up at one of the dresses. "Would you wear something like that?"

"Ah no," Kazari replied embarrassed, shaking her head. "That's way too bold for me. Besides, I'm not nearly as pretty as Misaka-san or Shokuhou-san to be able to look good in that." She looked down at the floor.

"Hey," Jason said, frowning slightly. "Don't belittle yourself. I've told you many times you are attractive, but you need to have more confidence." Kazari blushed slightly and looked up at him. "I know you have confidence, I've seen it." He grinned. "I've been on the receiving end of it when I go too far with bothering Kuroko." Kazari couldn't help laughing. She was an expert at making him feel guilty.

"He's right you know," Misaki added, bounding over to them. "You have plenty of redeeming features, though, he's correct about the confidence. You need to be more faith in yourself." She looked up at the dress and grinned. "I think you should try it on and model it for us." She turned to Jason. "What do you think?"

"I think that is an excellent idea," Jason nodded, pulling the dress down and putting it into Kazari's stunned hands.

"W-wait you two," Kazari stammered, as they pushed her into the dressing room. "Don't gang up on me!"

"You can't come out until you put it on and show us," Misaki told her while Jason laughed. They heard her say something, but it was muffled and they couldn't make out her words. Both of them waited patiently and Kazari finally stuck her head out.

"I can't come out in this," she cried softly.

"You can't leave until you do," Misaki told her, while wagging a finger at her. Kazari sighed and stepped out, her face turning bright red. She was wearing a dark green dress, devoid of any flower designs, that reached her ankles. It was also backless and only had thin straps over her shoulders. She was showing a lot more skin then she could ever remember showing when not in a swim suit. Her crimson face indicated she wanted to run and hide or at least pass out. "See, that wasn't so hard. Why don't you spin around and show it off." Kazari moved, but it was kind of mechanically, like she was only following Misaki's orders to get this over with quickly. "What do you think?" she asked Jason. "I think it looks good."

"I think I want my body back now," Jason replied, not taking his eyes off Kazari. "It would be weird in Kuroko's body." Kazari eyes widened, she let out a small cry, and ran back into the dressing room. "She's so cute when she's embarrassed."

"You should definitely get her that if she tries to put it back," Misaki whispered, highly amused. "I'm going to buy Misaka this dress because she needs more lady-like apparel." If it was someone else, she might have been worried about providing clothes for a rival of Touma's affection, but she knew Mikoto. Mikoto would never want to wear a frilly dress like this, no matter how nice it looked on her. The only occasions she actually wore a dress was at fancy parties or performances. She already had dresses for those occasions, so it didn't make much difference if she had another one. Plus, Misaki was sure to enjoy Mikoto's expression when she found out Misaki had been shopping for her. _We all need a little amusement after today._

"I can't speak for Misaka-san's reaction," Jason said. "But I think I will." He and Misaki shared a brief laugh before Kazari came out, holding the dress in her arm. "Are you going to get it?" he asked her.

"I don't think I can afford it," she said. "And I don't really need a dress right now." She paused. "Did you really think I looked good in it?"

"I was stunned for a moment," Jason reassured her, and she looked at the ground. "You should definitely get it or if you decide on something else, I want to see it."

"You two are adorable," Misaki squealed. "Give me a moment to change and we can leave. I hope Shirai-san finishes up soon, so we can meet up with the others." She quickly changed while Jason and Kazari stood outside in silence. After a minute, Misaki sprung out of the room and grabbed their arms. "Let's go you two." Normally, Misaki wouldn't have been strong enough to pull both of them, but she was in Mikoto's body and Mikoto was very athletic. Kazari and Jason were pulled after her, which actually turned out to be one of the luckiest things that happened to them.

 _Bang!_

All three of them jumped as a large light fixture behind them fell from the ceiling and crashed loudly on the floor, right where they had been a moment before.

"Ah!" Kazari and Misaki exclaimed in surprise turning around.

"Careful," Jason warned, putting a hand out and pushing them away from it. Instead of looking at the broken light, he looked up at the ceiling and frowned.

"Did that fixture break?" Misaki asked, as she looked up too.

"It seems strange for it to break for no reason," Kazari told her nervously, noticing Jason had just knelt down and was looking at the broken light closely.

"Are you girls okay?" a woman called out, running over to them. "I heard a bang…. My goodness. What happened?"

"That light fixture broke and nearly hit us," Misaki told her, slightly angrily. "We were lucky we were about to check out and moved, or we could have been seriously hurt."

"I'm glad you are all alright," the woman said sincerely, looking over her shoulder. "The manager is coming and I know she will want to make sure you are okay and apologize." The girls nodded, but Misaki looked slightly annoyed. She knew how those manager types liked to talk and now she couldn't even use her ability to speed things up. The manager was nice enough. Her face did turn white when she heard what happened and she continued to apologize profusely. They weren't detained to long, since none of them had any part in the accident or were hurt, and they were allowed to leave, with one added perk.

"I can't believe they let us have these clothes for free," Kazari said astonished, looking at her bag carrying her new dress, as they all left the store.

"Plus you lost your last excuse for not getting it," Jason laughed and Kazari turned pink.

"Now Misaka-san can't complain at all," Misaki added, gesturing to her bag. "It was free and it's for her. I'm sure Shirai-san will also be happy. Speaking of which," she turned to Jason. "Any luck trying to contact her?"

"Phones off," Jason said, putting Kuroko's phone away. "She must still be detained. Looks like we still have some time to kill."

"We are still at the mall," Misaki pointed out. "Maybe something to drink? Uiharu-san looks like she needs something to steady her nerves." She giggled slightly. _Uiharu is almost as much fun to tease as Misaka-san. She gets embarrassed easily, instead of mad._

"It's not the bad," Kazari protested. "But I wouldn't say no. It is hot out today." Misaki laughed and they made their way through the mall, but Jason followed in silence. He was getting lost in his thoughts about what just happened.

 _That light fixture wasn't broken, it was unscrewed. I suppose it's possible it slipped off, but that's so unlikely. Plus, I was sure I detected a trace of mana, but it disappeared so quickly. Could I have imagined that?_ He couldn't shake the feeling someone was watching them, no matter how many times he looked over his shoulder.

* * *

"….several suspects have been apprehended but we still have no leads on who orchestrated the riots…"

 _These guys talk forever,_ Kuroko thought, leaning back in her seat. _But some of this information is beyond what they told us at Judgement._ _We found most of it out ourselves though._ She was sitting the back row of a lecture hall trying to avoid attention. Each row was slightly lower than the one behind it and formed a half circle around the middle podium, where three individuals were sitting. They were introduced as members of the board of directors, which shocked Kuroko. She had not imagined they would personally be involved. The other seats in the hall were filled with anti-skill members being briefed on the situation, along with a few other groups, one of which caught her eye immediately.

They were a group of men and woman of all ages, appearing to be scientists. Kuroko actually recognized one of them. It was a woman in a wheelchair with tea colored hair tied up in a ponytail. Even stranger, she was wearing pajamas, like she just came out of a hospital. Kuroko remembered seeing her after she, Mikoto, and Touma rescued Jason from a scientist who captured him a couple weeks ago. The female scientist had been forced to work for the kidnapper. _She must be back with her research group now._ Kuroko's eyes darted to another person who didn't' look like she belonged. _What's a middle schooler doing here?_ The girl had black hair tied into buns and wore a pink sweater and miniskirt. There were several electronic devices tied around her neck.

"The individuals participating in the riots were only being used as a distraction. While they did use illegal, non-prescribed drugs, they had no knowledge of the several recent thefts. Luckily, ono of our own realized this and managed to warn nearby personal to thwart their plans, for the most part. One important piece of technology was stolen and is the main topic of this meeting." Kuroko's eyes widen and she leaned forward, listening intently.

 _I wish I knew who actually called Jason, but at least I get to know what was actually stolen._ The meeting was tedious, but there was some information which interested her greatly. A movement caught her eye and she turned around, noticing a golden retriever walking behind her. It had a backpack with robotic arms attached to it. _Isn't that the same dog Uiharu said was at the research facility? It looks like what she described._ Her eyes followed it and watched it walk over to the group of scientists. Her eyes widened as she saw it sit in a chair. The dog actually jumped up and sat in the chair, watching the director's talk, like a person. _Uiharu may have been right about it being trained._ She felt a set of eyes watching her and noticed the middle school girl was watching her closely. She diverted her eyes and stared back down at the directors. _I don't like the way she's staring at me._

"The information you are about to hear is classified. The reason we are informing you is because the very nature of this device is cause for concern. We are going to let Professor Tsukuda explain. He was the original creator of the device. He is going to give a brief description of its capabilities and answer any questions." A screen behind the directors started to lower from the ceiling and an elderly man in a suit stepped forward from beside it.

"The device that was stolen was a recent scientific breakthrough. We called it the Dimensional Transmission Emitter Console or D-TEC for short. This device was designed to send and receive wireless commination signals anywhere in the world, regardless of distance or interference, like walls and electronic jammers, instantly. It was designed using information from abilities developed in this city that fell into the spatial displacement category, such as teleportation and wormholes."

 _Wow,_ Kuroko thought impressed. _I knew they research our abilities, but actually using the information to develop technology is amazing. I thought most of the research for technology was done separately. This makes sense I guess._ She was especially interested because the technology was based on teleportation, the ability she possessed. _The point of this city is to develop and improve technology._

"Using this new technology," Tsukuda continued. "We can actually move a much greater distance, if not indefinite, in our world with fewer restrictions than basic wireless communication methods. Normally, we would have to have receivers and amplifiers, such as satellites and towers, to send wireless transmissions around the world. By using the information from teleportation, we can instantly send a signal from one point to any another, without weakening from traveling across distances. This system was then combined with information and technology created from wormhole ability users to help negate even the distance in other dimensions. We combined the strength of both abilities, negating distance with wormholes and using teleportation to send the signals to any location desired, rather than only a single point."

"If this technology exists," someone called out. "Why hasn't it been publically announced yet? Is there some defect?"

"Yes," Tsukuda acknowledged. "It's not so much a defect, as a deficiency. Right now, we can't send the signal to a single receiver. All receivers tuned to intercept the frequency will receive the messages, so at most it can only be used as a broad announcement device. We can't even set it to only send to receivers in a specific city. Everywhere on earth would receive it and possibly even in space. We like to assume it ignores distance, but it's not like we can test millions of miles outside of earth's orbit without a receiver. That still requires some testing."

"I can understand the seriousness of stealing advanced technology," someone else said. "But this meeting was called an emergency. Wouldn't the normal channels for theft have been sufficient for this?"

"I can answer that," one of the directors said. Tsukuda nodded and sat back down. "You see, if whoever stole the D-TEC creates a specific receiver for their group, the leader would be able to issue orders to everyone, no matter where they are, simultaneously. Because the communication from this device travels through dimensions, only the receivers will pick it up the moment it enters ours. We will not be able to track it without a receiver, but that would be trying to find the right dimensional frequency. Let alone if they start duplicating it. They would be able to start sending messages back and forth with impunity. We would be at a completely disadvantage. This group is not a simple band of delinquents. They are well organized and the leader is a serious threat. We need Anti-Skill to be fully aware of the situation. For now though, Judgement should not be informed unless the situation calls for it." A bunch of people started asking questions and Kuroko's eyes glazed over, as she processed the information.

 _This is really bad,_ she thought. _That one girl I faced was already ruthless and intelligent. I would hate to see who the leader is. If he hasn't been caught, he can continue his experiments. Who knows how many more people are going to be a subject of their ruthless tests? What can we even do? It's not like we have a lead, unless those people we captured talk, and that's only if they know something. This is all classified, so I can't even tell onee-sama and Uiharu, but I suppose I have to relay it to Jason._ The questions finally died down and everyone was dismissed. She sighed with relief. During the entire meeting, one of the directors kept glaring at her, as if daring her to say something. She had no idea why, but figured Jason did something in the past. _I'm finally free._ She pulled out her cellphone, planning to contact the others and find out the progress of being switched back, when she heard a girl's voice from behind her.

"You seemed distracted during the meeting." Kuroko spun around and saw the same middle schooler she had seen with the other scientist. She looked pretty timid, with her arms crossed behind her back and her head tilted slightly to the side. It didn't look like she meant any harm and Kuroko was debating on what to say to make herself sound like Jason.

"I didn't want to be here in the first place," Kuroko said dismissively. "I had other plans. Those guys sure like to talk."

"That's obvious," the girl said. "You never want to be here. You either want to research something privately or hang out with your 'friends' from that school." Something about the way she said friends gave Kuroko pause.

 _There's something about this girl. I really don't want to talk to her._ "Is there something you need?" Kuroko asked impatiently. "If not, I'm heading out."

"There is one thing I was wondering," the girl said, leaning forward and staring at Kuroko directing in the eyes. She looked shy, but Kuroko noticed a hint of strength hidden in her eyes. "Are you really Jason-oniichan?"

 _Oniichan?_ Kuroko fumed silently. _What kind of names is he making people call him… huh? Did she actually see through our swap? I didn't think I did anything strange._ "W-what are you talking about?" She tried not to sound surprise, but her voice stuttered slightly.

"Oh?" the girl said, raising an eyebrow. "Did something happen…?" Kuroko was spared trying to think of a response when she heard the voice of a man in the prime of his life.

"Enshuu, we are leaving." Kuroko turned and looked down the hallway for the source of the voice, but only the golden retriever was near the end of the hallway.

 _He must have walked around the corner after calling her. I wonder who that was._

"Okay," Enshuu said and turned around, walking quickly started down the hallway. She looked back at Kuroko before running the rest of the way. "Let's continue this chat some other time."

 _Who was that girl?_ Kuroko thought and a shiver went down her spine. _I get the feeling I'm going to regret seeing her again. I need to get out of here and find the others._ She turned around and started heading to the exit, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked behind her and saw one of the elder directors looking at her. "Yes?"

"Everyone's gone," he said grinning. "You don't need to act so distant. Thinking you can skip out on our usual game of chess? I need to get my revenge from the last couple of times."

"Well I'm kind of busy," Kuroko protested, but it was all in vain. The director put his arm around her shoulders and guided her to an office. _How do I get out of this?_

"Nonsense," the director said, opening the door and pushing her in. "A quick game won't kill you."

"If it's quick," Kuroko mumbled looking around. The office was pretty basic. A desk was in the middle with an already set up chessboard on it. There was a computer next to it and a bookshelf in the back, mostly filled with folders instead of actual books. _I could finish this quickly if I lost on purpose, but I think he would be suspicious._ Kuroko wasn't a stranger to chess, she knew how to play, but she couldn't say she was really good. There were some girls at Tokiwadai who really enjoyed the game, but she had always been indifferent to it. She noticed she was white and moved a pawn forward.

"Change in opening huh?" the director commented, the nametag on his desk said he was called Osamu Miyagawa, and Kuroko's stomach sunk. The game started off normal enough, but Kuroko was quickly being pushed into a corner. It was obvious she was losing and one wrong move was going to solidify her defeat.

 _I knew this would happen,_ Kuroko thought. She noticed Osamu was frowning slightly and occasionally glanced at her. _I'm definitely not playing right, I'm too rusty._ Her thoughts were confirmed when Osamu looked up at her.

"You aren't going easy on me right? I know you wouldn't lose on purpose."

"I'm just trying something new," Kuroko lied. She didn't think this guy would come to the conclusion Jason had swapped bodies with her but, if he's suspicious, she might be detained for even longer. _How do I get out of this?_

 _Knight to G4._

 _Huh,_ Kuroko thought, thinking she had heard something. For a moment, she thought she heard a soft male voice. _Great, I'm hallucinating._ She decided to move her knight and Osamu countered by moving a bishop. _I know he's going for my Queen and if I lose her, it's over._

 _Rook to B3._

 _I know I heard something that time,_ Kuroko thought to herself. She looked around, but didn't see anything and frowned. Osamu didn't look like he had said or heard anything either. She moved her rook and Osamu was about to move to capture her queen, when he stopped. _Huh?_

"Almost fell for that," Osamu muttered. He moved a pawn instead. "I can't trust your moves, no matter how unpredictable they seem."

 _Okay, why did he stop?_ Kuroko wasn't sure what happened. She wasn't experienced enough to understand how chess requires you to think many moves ahead, instead of just a couple.

 _You would have won in 5 moves if he took your queen._

 _I definitely did not imagine that voice._ Kuroko lookedaround again, determined to find the source of the voice. _Where is it coming from? Could it be one of the voices Jason mentioned?_

 _Most likely, but I am unaware of any other voices he talks to besides those that come from other people._ Kuroko nearly had a heart attack.

 _Who are you?_

 _I don't really have a name, or can't remember, but it is unimportant and we can discuss that later. Move the queen one space to the right._ Kuroko did and Osama stared at the board thinking, no longer able to move quickly.

 _Jason told me not to talk to you, but how are you even talking in my head? How long as he known about you?_

 _He and I have different views on what is the easiest way to solve certain problems. As for how I'm talking to you, I'm tied to his shadow ability, which you are now bound to. We have been bonded a long time, ever since he almost died five years ago and his power changed. Though, he could only barely hear and understand me until your fight with the sins._

Kuroko almost yelled out in shock, her face paling. _Almost died? Changed ability? What do you mean? An ability shouldn't change once it's unlocked._ She didn't even notice Osamu move his piece.

 _Ah, that's right. He only told the current user of the Imagine Breaker. You and the other girl still do not know. Move your pawn to D5._ Kuroko did so automatically, but her mind was racing.

 _You know about the ape's hand? Current user? What is the story Jason didn't tell us?_

 _I'm not going to reveal that. I have already told him what I know about the Imagine Breaker and he's doing some research into it. The ones known as Accelerator and Railgun already know about that. They were there when he performed his latest experiment on it. For now, he's been researching magic side rumors and legends._

 _They know about that?_ Kuroko thought dumbfounded. _I could understand Jason keeping his past a secret, but how could onee-sama learn something so important and keep it from me? When we get out of this, I'm going to find out the whole truth. Onee-sama will tell me everything if I confront her._

 _I have watched these two play chess many times, just follow my orders and you will win._ Kuroko agreed and the tide began to turn in her favor. About ten minutes later, Osamu leaned back in his chair and sighed.

"You unsettled me with your unorthodox opening strategy and then swooped in for the kill," he said. "You never cease to amaze me, even when I think I got you."

"I have a lot of practice with it," Kuroko lied.

"I don't suppose I can keep you any longer," Osamu told her. "One last question. Do you have any idea on who is leading these thefts?"

"No idea," Kuroko said, standing up. "But I'll make sure to report them if I do."

"Uh huh," he said skeptically and Kuroko realized her mistake.

 _Hopefully he thinks I was just being sarcastic,_ she thought. She quickly left the office before she aroused anymore suspicion. _I hope the others found a way to switch us back and then I can find out what secrets they are keeping from me. Jason, what the hell happened to you?_

* * *

"Finally we are out of there," Accelerator huffed. "I saw a couple people see my body buying dolls and laughing. I burned their faces in my mind and I'm going to make them forget everything." He cracked his knuckles.

"Don't do that," Touma said. "I thought you were above those things and it's unsettling to see Ruiko do that."

"If he finds out you try to hurt someone," Mikoto said grinning. "He's going to stop you again." She laughed and Accelerator scowled.

"Come on guys," Ruiko said cheerfully, which just caused Accelerator to scowl even more. "We should be happy that we are about to get back in our bodies." She grinned. "Unless you guys like your new bodies."

"Saten-san," Mikoto said turning red while Ruiko laughed. "Don't joke around like that." She liked how strong Touma was, but she missed her own body. She felt naked in some way. It was probably because she emitted electromagnetic waves which let her detect metal objects all around her, especially behind her head where she couldn't see. _I feel like it would be really easy to sneak up on me now._

"I'm finding it really hard to not accidently seeing anything," Touma admitted. "Please don't make other people think I enjoyed this." The breeze was pleasant under the skirt, but he didn't want any random person to see something they shouldn't. He also missed his right hand. _If someone gets in trouble, it's going to be tougher to help them without an ability or physical force._

"If I could have kept my ability I really wouldn't care," Accelerator said. All three of them looked at him and he shrugged. "I don't have to use a crutch so it's a lot more convenient. " Walking around without the cane was really the best thing about the swap for him. The worst part was he didn't have his ability, which made him feel vulnerable.

"For a second I thought you were going to say you liked her," Mikoto admitted, which made Ruiko stop and stare in wide-eyed amazement.

"She may not be annoying as most of you," Accelerator said, rolling his eyes. "But she's not my type."

"Thanks," Ruiko responded uncertainly. "I think?"

"I don't think you ever told us your type before our friends started saying…," Touma began to point out with a smirk before he was cut off.

"If you repeat what those idiots say," Accelerator growled. "I'm going to make you regret it."

"It better not be what they say," Mikoto responded, watching Accelerator closely. _He's Last Order's guardian._ He noticed and flicked her off. "Stop making Saten-san look like a delinquent," she told him again.

"I hope Index and Lessar have finished designing the spell," Touma commented, moving the topic of conversation to stop a fight from breaking out. "I'm sure everyone will be a lot more relaxed in their own…"

"We told you guys, butt out!" a girl said loudly, causing Touma to stop talking and they all turned in the direction of the disturbance. Two girls were being cornered by two bigger guys and the girl's looked scared and angry. Touma's eyes narrowed and he wasn't the only one. Mikoto started to frown too.

"Hey Saten-san," Touma said. "Can you take these to Index," He handed her the bag he had been carrying. "It's not far and I'll join you in a moment."

"But," Ruiko protested, automatically taking the bag before she could think thoroughly. "You aren't in your body and can't use Shokuhou-san's ability."

"I don't care," Touma said, turning and marching toward the girls. "They look like they need help."

"I hate guys like that," Mikoto growled, glaring at the guys as she followed Touma. "Let's teach them a lesson."

"Umm," Ruiko asked, looking at Accelerator. "What are you going to do?"

"I suppose I should make sure those two idiots don't go overboard," he mumbled. "You know things are crazy when I become the voice of reason." He looked at Ruiko. "Get that stuff back to Index. This should be taken care of pretty quickly and we will join you."

"Ah okay," Ruiko said, once again feeling useless. _I'm even in Accelerator's body, the number one level 5 in Academy City and I STILL can't do anything. I'll drop these dolls off with Index and run back here to see if they still need help. I won't leave them behind when they are in similar positions as me._ She moved as fast as Accelerator's body would let her go back to Touma's dorm. The streets were pretty empty so she didn't have to be afraid of looking silly or ruining Accelerator's reputation.

Back with the others, Mikoto and Touma reached the other side of the street and made their way toward the girl's being harassed by the guys. The guys were too busy with the girls, they didn't notice. One of the guys grabbed the first girl by the wrist when Mikoto spoke up.

"Hey," she yelled. "Leave her alone." The two guys stopped and turned to look at who yelled at them. The bigger guy, who had hold of one of the girls, let go of her, causing both girls to retreat backwards against the wall of a building. The two guys looked Mikoto up and down, and began to laugh.

"Look here Ken," the larger of the two said. "Seems like we got a hero in our mists."

"I bet he's just showing off for those two girls with him," Ken said, eyeing Touma and Accelerator tailing her. "Huh, isn't that the Tokiwadai uniform?"

"It's obvious they don't want to go with you," Touma told them. "Get out of here."

"A girl with spunk," the big guy laughed. "I like that. How about you ditch the loser there," he pointed to Mikoto in Touma's body, "and come hang out with us?"

"I think I would rather get hit by a car," Touma replied, feeling a combination of disgust and the urge to vomit. He never appreciated any guy talking to a girl like that and he would go out of his way to help them but, as a guy, he had never been on the receiving end of comments like that. Now that a random guy was saying creepy things to him, he finally understood what girls like Mikoto and Misaki have gone through. Not only were they very attractive, but they went to a prestigious school which only escalated things. _I bet even Ruiko and Uiharu-san gets talked to like this. No one deserves to be looked down at like that._ What made him want to vomit was the fact he WAS a guy, even though he was currently in a girl's body. This was one of the most awkward things he had experienced in a long time.

"Heh," Accelerator snickered. _These pieces of trash should be lucky the hero can't user those mental powers._

"You tell him," Mikoto agreed. "This guy needs to be taught a lesson." _Hold on, Touma's in Shokuhou's body, which means he's being hit on by guys… oh my god!_ She felt the weird combination of amusement and anger.

"No one talks to me like that," the big guy growled. "I'm going to kick your ass then take your girls." He made a fist and started to run at Mikoto.

 _Easy,_ Mikoto grinned, but then realized her situation. She was about to try to hit him with a blast of electricity like she normally would against thugs. _Oh crap, I'm not in my body._ She definitely couldn't fight like she normally did. _Plan B it is._ She watched the guy pull back his arm and swing a fist at her face. A grinned formed on her face as her body moved to the right. She grabbed his arm and delivered a knee into his gut.

"Oomph," the guy said, collapsing onto the ground.

"Easy," Mikoto said proudly. "I knew those self-defense classes would come in handy." Tokiwadai had a lot of extracurricular activities. One of which was the self-defense classes. A lot of wealthy girls came from families where they had body guards most of their lives, so the school thought it would be good if the students were given a chance to learn basic defense skills. Mikoto had taken it more as an exercise option rather than actually needing the skills, her ability could handle most people, but now she was glad she chose to.

"Look out!" one of the girls cried out, causing Mikoto to turn. The other guy named Ken was almost on her, his face red and furious. Mikoto couldn't get into a counter stance quick enough and was prepared to be hit hard, when a bag was swung next to her and collided into the side of the guy's face. There was a loud smack and the guy fell to the ground, hitting his head and falling unconscious.

"That was close," Touma muttered. "I didn't think Misaki's body could hit hard enough, so I used her bag full of remotes. I bet that hurt a lot. Hope I didn't break any of them." Touma was a lot more accustomed to street fighting then Mikoto and quickly realized his limitations. Misaki was the furthest thing from a street brawler so, because he couldn't use her ability, he had to rely on brains to make use of what he had. _I'm so glad Misaki told me to take her bag with remotes. Even if it was only to keep up appearances, it really came in handy._ Before he could ask the girls if they were okay, both of them had run up to Mikoto.

"Thank you so much for helping us," the first girl said, shaking Mikoto's hand.

"The other people kept passing by and avoided eye contact," the second girl added. "You were the first guy to stand up for us."

"It wasn't a problem," Mikoto told them, slightly embarrassed. _They seem a little more thankful than when I help others in the past._ Her puzzlement was quickly answered.

"Thanks for helping too," the second girl said to Touma. "But if you are part of Tokiwadai, couldn't you have used your ability?"

"I don't like using my ability unless someone is really in danger," Touma lied. "If either of you were in any real danger, I would have." The girl nodded in understanding. A high class girl wouldn't use her ability so flippantly.

"Here's my number," the first girl said, stuffing a piece of paper in her hand. "I definitely need to thank you sometime. So call soon." She and the other girl ran off giggling slightly, while Mikoto stared dumbstruck.

"So," Accelerator commented, slightly amused. "It would appear the Kami Disease seems to be a part of the hero's body, rather than his mind. I'm sure the idiots would want to hear about this."

"Don't tell them anything," Touma told him, panicking. "Aogami doesn't know about magic and I definitely do not want Tsuchimikado to know anything about this. He would never let us live it down." Touma shuddered at the thought of what Motoharu would do with that knowledge.

"Does this happen to you often?" Mikoto asked, staring at the piece of paper. _How many phone numbers does he get?_

"Occasionally a girl gives me a number after I help her out," Touma shrugged. "But I don't call. I don't help people for thanks so I don't want them to think I'm calling and looking for a reward." Mikoto stared at him for a moment and noticed Accelerator behind him face palming. Mikoto couldn't deny it, she wanted to too.

 _He really doesn't understand how girl's think, does he? I guess that's good for me because their less competition. I understand now why I got so angry at him when I first met him. We both misunderstood what each one of us was saying._ She smiled to herself. _I wonder why he doesn't realize girls like him? His friends always say he's dense, but I feel there's more._

"Least I didn't have to get involved," Accelerator scoffed. "Things would have gotten messy."

"What would you have done?" Mikoto asked, turning to him in surprise. "You don't have your vector ability."

"I got bored and learned her ability," Accelerator shrugged, raising his hand and sending a small breeze at Touma, causing the body's blonde hair to get in his face. "See, simple."

"When did you learn how to do that?" Touma spluttered, getting the hair out of his face. _Note to self, never grow hair out._

"I could make out most of the formulas from her subconscious," Accelerator explained. "Then with my intelligence I just filled in the blanks. It's manipulating pressure and air currents, something I have done before with vectors, so there were some similarities. I can't get nearly as much power like in my body, since she's only a level 2."

"Of course," Touma acknowledged. He knew Accelerator was a genius, with the calculations for his ability he had to be. _Still, learning a brand new ability out of the blue would be an almost insurmountable challenge for a normal person. I can't even begin to decipher Misaki's ability. I just get occasional glimpses of people's thoughts._

"Maybe you can give Saten-san pointers when all this is over," Mikoto suggested. _I feel like he's only bragging to rub it in my face, but I don't have proof. If Saten-san can improve, I'll put up with it._

"Now that those girls are safe," Touma said. "Let's get back and meet up with Ruiko, Index and…"

"Help!" a soft female voice cried out, interrupting them. All three of them turned and started looking around.

"Where did that come from?" Mikoto asked, turning in every direction.

"Again?" Accelerator complained.

"There," Touma announced, pointing down the ally. There was an open door and whoever that girl was, had most likely been taken inside. "We have to go help her."

"I agree," Mikoto added and she and Touma bolted toward the door. Accelerator sighed and followed them. They entered an apartment building, most likely used during the week, since it showed signs of recent use. The first floor seemed deserted, but there were two stairwells on opposite sides leading upstairs, with an elevator in the center. "Do we split up or what?"

"Rock, paper, scissors?" Touma suggested. Accelerator rolled his eyes, but they quickly played. Touma went with rock while Mikoto and Accelerator took paper. "Okay, I'll go right and you both go left. Be careful." The avoided the elevator because that could give away their location.

"I could say the same thing to you," Mikoto replied.

"Flirt later and let's go," Accelerator huffed. Mikoto and Touma nodded at each other and split up. Mikoto and Accelerator took the stairs to the right and Touma took the stairs to the left. They ascended the stairs quietly, listening for any signs of the girl who called for help. The second floor was also quiet, so they moved to the third. They struck gold and froze when they heard a male's voice.

"I thought you said they were going to pay us to kidnap some students?"

"They are. I was offered quite a bit of money for each person but, with just us two, we can only kidnap them one at a time."

"What does your benefactor want to do with them?"

"Probably some experiment on their ability. With most of the higher ups being captured, a lot of people bailed. Whoever took over the group has to go to some pretty extreme lengths to continue this research. Didn't you benefit from those drugs?"

 _That voice sounds familiar,_ he thought, looking around the corner of a cubicle. _It's that guy._ Touma only saw him once, when he was on the fake date with Misaki and this guy showed up with his friends to cause trouble. He recognized the short brown hair and leather jacket. He was the one asking questions. The other, an older male, was standing over a young blonde girl and was answering him. She appeared to be unconscious and her hands were tied behind her back. _I don't know their abilities, so I probably should sneak up on them…_

"Let her go!" Mikoto yelled jumping forward from her stair well. She never was one to sneak around and hide.

 _There goes our surprise attack,_ Touma sighed.

"YOU!" the younger guy yelled, scrambling to his feet and a ball of fire formed in his hand. "I've been looking for the chance to get my revenge on you for that humiliation in front of those girls."

"The only thing you are getting is a swift prison sentence," Mikoto yelled back. The guy cussed at her and threw the ball of fire. Mikoto was going to dodge, but her body moved automatically, sticking out her right hand to intercept the fire. With the sound of breaking glass, the fire disappeared. _Woah,_ she thought. _Touma's body is so used to fighting abilities, it moves subconsciously. No wonder I can't sneak up on him._

"I knew the first time wasn't a coincidence," the guy snarled. "You actually have a way to stop my ability." His eyes widened. "You must be one of those damn level 5s, the one known as Kami with his negation ability." He spat on the ground and looked murderous.

"I don't have to tell you anything," Mikoto yelled back. "Now step away from that girl and surrender or I'm going to make you."

"As if," the guy said, holding his arms out to his side and another fireball appeared in each hand. "If direct attacks won't work, I'll try a more indirect method." He threw one of the fireballs at the cubicle next to Mikoto and the wall was disintegrated, leaving behind flames that quickly began to spread. He did the same thing to Mikoto's other side and smoke began to fill the air.

"Ack," Mikoto coughed, smoke filling her lungs and making her eyes water. _This bastard actually thought this out?_ She realized too late she should have charged at him like Touma usually did to prevent him from composing himself. Now, the fire was spreading and she would have to run through it to get to the delinquent. The smoke was also black from all the burning plastic in the cubicles, making it difficult to see. She and Touma could work together, but they had completely different fighting styles. Without her electricity, she had to start fighting even more strategically and physically. _Is the smoke lessoning?_ She felt a breeze blow past her and turned around.

"This smoke is fucking annoying," Accelerator growled. "I can't automatically deflect it." He was using Ruiko's wind manipulation ability to push the smoke away from them. He didn't have a lot of control nor could he produce enough wind to remove it completely. His eyes and throat still stung. "Hurry up and take him down if you're in the damn hero's body already." Suddenly, an alarm started blaring and the sprinklers turned on after Accelerator pushed too much smoke near them.

"Great," Mikoto mumbled, as the water started drenching everything. "You activated the sprinklers by moving the smoke into them."

"Shut up and get him." Mikoto didn't need told again and charged at the guy, planning to grab the guy and prevent his ability from being used.

"Get away," he yelled, swinging his arm and generating a wave of flames at the floor, forcing Mikoto to jump back. Again, if she had Touma's experience, she would have reached down to negate the flames. The floor in front of her, along with a couple nearby chairs and cubicles were on fire, even with the water. The guy had to be at least a level 3 to produce enough flames to cause this much destruction. "I finally get some power working with others, and Anti-Skill goes and arrests them, just because they found a way to increase our power without the city butting in."

"Are you stupid?" Mikoto called back. "It was banned because it was killing people!"

"They were weak!" the guy yelled back. "I was strong and survived."

"No they weren't!" Touma interrupted, steeping forward. His hand was shaking in anger, but he tried to remain calm.

"What do you know about that?" the guy said turning to Touma and recognizing who's body he was in. "It's you," he said, slightly surprised. "Are you still with this trash?" He jabbed his thumb at Mikoto, but he stopped when he saw the item in Touma's hand. "Do you really think that's going to work? I thought Tokiwadai girls were supposed to smart?"

While Mikoto and Accelerator had engaged the kidnappers, Touma had been trying to decide how he could help. He couldn't use Misaki's power at all and her body wasn't as physically strong as his. If he tried to run up and punch someone, he was probably going to get hurt instead, but he had to do something. He looked around and noticed something he could use hanging on the wall near the stairwell he had just come out of. He grinned, and grabbed it, turning around right when the sprinklers went off. He started to approach the others, when he noticed the older guy watching him. Touma was about to freeze, but the guy just raised an eyebrow. _Is… is he not going to help his partner?_ Touma didn't have time to think when he heard the guy mention how people were weak and Touma grew angry. "They are," Touma replied, holding up the fire extinguisher. "Plus, they don't use their abilities to hurt people for fun!"

"You think that will stop my fire?" the guys said laughing. "I can just make more fire." To demonstrate, he set another cubicle on fire.

"Then I'll hit the source." Most of the fire was near Mikoto and Accelerator, so Touma had a free path. Instead of trying to put out the fire, he targeted the guy directly. A cloud of white smoke exploded from the nozzle in Touma's hand, engulfing his adversary. The white powder in the fire extinguisher was a combination of potassium bicarbonate and CO2 which expanded when released. The guy's sight was blocked and his eyes started to burn, causing him to close them in response. He was then forced to breathe the powder in, causing the oxygen in his lungs to be replaced. The CO2 was so cold, it was causing freezer burn in his throat. It was almost impossible for him to breathe while being smothered.

"ACK!" he coughed loudly, stepping back. He was becoming disoriented from lack of oxygen and then fell to the ground unconscious. Touma quickly turned off the fire extinguisher, he didn't want to cause any permanent injury, and turned the nozzle to the rest of the fire still burning the office. When he finished putting out the fire, he dropped the extinguisher and turned to the other male standing next to the bound girl. Mikoto and Accelerator moved up next to him.

"Not a bad idea hero," Accelerator told him. "At least we don't have to worry about the building collapsing."

"Thanks for putting out the fire," Mikoto added. "I wish the sprinklers would shut off though." They were all still getting drenched. _At least our uniforms aren't see-through._ The thought of what Touma would do if Misaki's uniform went transparent entertained her for a moment and then made her depressed.

"Let her go," Touma told the strange male. "If you try to hut her, we will stop you." Something about the man was causing warning signs to blare in his mind. The man didn't seem to be afraid or even show any signs of interest. He had just been watching them while they defeated his partner. Left with no choice, he answered Touma.

"Okay," the man said at last and Touma was able to breath normally again. Touma watched the man lean over and untie the girl's hand. "It's over. You can stop pretending now."

"Huh?' Touma, Mikoto, and Accelerator all said in surprise, when their question was answered. The girl stood up and turned to face them, a huge smile on her face.

"And here I thought this would be more fun," Eve said, sounding slightly disappointed. "You can go now." The man nodded and dissolved into pieces of paper before disappearing completely. "I didn't expect to see you guys hear." Her hair was still braided into two long pigtails, but she was wearing a black shirt and jeans. "Just once, I wanted to be the damsel in distress."

"What are you doing here Eve?" Touma demanded, shifting in front of Accelerator when he felt the killing intent radiate from him. Mikoto imitated his actions.

"I'm pretty sure you know why I'm here," Eve pointed out giggling.

"He means in this building with that guy," Mikoto clarified irritably, pointing to the unconscious figure of the guy Touma knocked out with the fire extinguisher.

"I know what he means," Eve said dismissively, waving her hand. "I was bored waiting for my plans to come to fruition, so I thought I would kill some time. I wanted to experience something new and interesting. Having never been kidnapped before, since I'm not weak and helpless, I thought I would try that. I created a puppet to find some pawn willing to do the deed with the promise of money. I gave him the information I heard all of the city's police force talking about to make it sound convincing. Sadly, my puppet only found this chump and I'm really disappointed. He's completely useless at being a villain." She kicked him lightly with her foot. "He only threatened to physically hurt me twice. Can you believe that?"

"I'll physically hurt you a thousand times over for what you did!" Accelerator snarled, suddenly trying to push pass Touma and Mikoto, both of whom grabbed his arms. "You better switch us back bitch!"

"See," Eve pointed jumping backwards on top of a desk. "That's what he should have been like, but why is she acting like a villain? That girl should be one of the most docile among your group. Does it have something to do with switching?" She looked curiously at them.

"Calm down," Touma told Accelerator, trying to keep him restrained and panting with the effort. "You can't take her right now. She likes to antagonize us."

"Don't give her any information either," Mikoto added, also panting. Accelerator was keen on ripping Eve apart.

"You all are acting strange," Eve pointed out. "I expected you," she pointed to Touma, "to use your mental powers to defeat my pawn, but instead you fought like a normal person. You," she pointed to Mikoto, "fought a lot more conservatively then previous fights. Something strange is going on here." She put her hand on her mouth and stood there thinking.

 _Did she figure it out?_ Touma thought and then he found himself flying backwards. He and Accelerator had been hit by a sheet of paper and few back several feet, landing on their butts. Mikoto turned her head to see if they were okay and Eve took advantage of her lapse in attention.

"Let's see what you are hiding Imagine Breaker," Eve said and Mikoto immediately turned back to her, but it was too late. Eve had moved right in front of her and grabbed her collar. She leaned forward and kissed Mikoto on the lips before Mikoto could react.

 _What the hell?_ Mikoto thought. _Again? Wait… she's using tongues! Why can't I move?_ She heard the sound of breaking glass and she felt feelings in her arms again.

"Let her go!" Touma yelled, jumping at them and pushing Eve off her. Eve stumbled backwards and Touma helped Mikoto stay on her feet when she stumbled. "Are you okay Mikoto?" He was feeling a combination of anger and jealousy when he saw Eve forcing herself on Mikoto.

"I'm fine," she said softly, her face crimson. She coughed and took a deep breath. "Eve just surprised me. I think she tried the same thing she did in England. She read my memories before your hand freed me." _I still taste her tongue. It's so nasty. It's like when Kuroko tried it that one time. Only the time with Touma actually felt pleasant._

"Let's kill her now," Accelerator suggested, standing up and walking toward Eve.

"Okay," Mikoto agreed instantly and Touma tried again to be the voice of reason.

"You both know we don't…," he tried to say, when Eve's laughter overshadowed his words.

"So that's what happened!" she laughed, clutching her side and leaning up against a desk to keep herself standing. "You all switched bodies. That is hilarious! Hahaha… No wonder you couldn't fight properly! I was wondering what my magic was going to do, but this is great." She fell onto the ground and was rolling around with laughter, the water from the wet rug soaking her clothes, but she didn't seem to mind. She was having the time of her life.

"Let me kill her," Accelerator growled again.

"I kind of want you to," Mikoto admitted, even though she knew it was futile right now.

"We really need to get out of here," Touma reminded them. "The fire alarms went off so people should be arriving shortly."

"Good point," Mikoto mumbled.

"Before you leave," Eve said, standing up and regaining her composure. "You have entertained me so much, I'll share a couple things with you."

"Such as?" Touma said skeptically. _Take everything she says with a grain of salt._

"If I don't succeed before Adam," Eve said. "He's going to show up after he sets up the ritual to re-forge our lord's body. He will then likely kill any person who gets in our way, including your friends, regardless of what I say. You should probably have your church friends slow him down so I can finish first. I already told you where he is."

"The most God forsaken place on earth," Touma repeated her words. "Mind telling me where that is?"

"Nah," Eve said, waving her hand mockingly. "I told you to do some research for yourself. We don't want you getting dependent on me." She stuck a finger in her mouth and winked at him, causing him to blush slightly. A vein throbbed in Mikoto's head. Accelerator was standing behind them, a vein also throbbing, but he was mad for another reason. He wanted to kill Eve and rip her apart, but he was smart enough to know he couldn't right now and that knowledge was killing him.

"Anything else?" Mikoto asked irritably, crossing her arms. _If I was in my body, I would electrocute her._

"There's one more thing," Eve answered, this time looking at her. "It actually involves you too. You remember my dear sweet Juliet?" Mikoto and Touma nodded. "Well, she may be on an emotional roller coaster right now and is off doing something bad."

"Like?" Touma asked, fear rising within him. _This isn't going to be good._

"She's planning to kill two of your friends."

"WHAT!" Mikoto and Touma yelled, but Accelerator was quicker on the uptake.

"Who?" he asked, eyes narrowing.

"The teleporting girl and the girl with flowers on her head," Eve told him.

"Why is she after them?!" Mikoto demanded.

"It seems like they took something Juliet felt belonged to her," Eve shrugged. "Without a body, it's easy to be overcome by emotions every once in a while."

"We need to find them," Mikoto said, turning to Accelerator and Touma. "Uiharu-san won't be able to face someone like Juliet alone, while Kuroko, Kagere-san and Shokuhou-san won't be able to use their abilities."

"This is bad," Touma admitted.

"I sent Cain after her," Eve added. "But he may not make it in time if she's hiding herself. I told you I didn't want to have to use violence, so think of this information as a sign of my sincerity." She laughed and her eyes grew cold. "If you do get in my way when I get the wing, I won't be so lenient." She suddenly smiled and felt warmer. "Good luck." She waved as Touma and Mikoto ran down the stairs, with Accelerator trailing behind them. He had turned to glare at Eve one last time before leaving.

"We have to contact them," Mikoto told Touma as they bounded down the stairs. She reached into her pocket and pulled out his phone. "They are in danger."

"Could this day get any worse?" Touma asked, pulling out Misaki's phone. He was beginning to tire again as Misaki's less athletic body began to give as they ran.

"Why would you say that?" Mikoto asked astonished. "You know that will cause more bad luck."

* * *

"Here you go," Jason said, bringing Kazari and Misaki their drinks and sitting down while sipping his own. "Any luck on contacting Kuroko?"

"No," Kazari replied, shaking her head. "Your phone's still off, so she must still be in the meeting. You sure you don't know what it's about?"

"It's most likely about the thefts and illegal drugs," Jason replied between sips. "It should be over by now, unless…" He paused. "If he's there, she might be a bit. He likes to challenge me to chess if we attend the same meetings and he doesn't take no for an answer. I should have let him win more."

"Is Shirai-san any good at chess?" Misaki asked curiously. Jason and Kazari shrugged. "It might be better if she's not. She can lose quickly, find us, and then we can head back to Touma's apartment. "

"I missed a message from Saten-san," Kazari spoke up, glancing at her phone. "They collected all the materials needed for the ritual. I told her we were waiting at the mall for Kuroko and will meet rendezvous with them when she's done."

"See," Misaki pointed out to her. "I told you we had plenty of time. There's no point in worrying without reason. The others are fine and we will all be back in our normal bodies soon enough." She glanced behind her and only saw a guy walking past her talking on the phone. _This is weird,_ she thought. _I keep feeling something is floating behind me, but I only see people on phones or tablets. Is this part of Misaka-san's power? I seem to recall she could sense metal objects with magnetism. It must be subconsciously generated, but it makes me paranoid._

"I suppose you're right," Kazari said, sounding slightly more cheerful. "I'll take the chance to enjoy the quiet. When Accelerator woke up in Saten-san's body, he nearly gave me a heart attack."

"I bet he swore loudly out of nowhere," Jason guessed. "Didn't he?" Kazari nodded and they all laughed.

"I definitely would never have expected Saten-san to do something like that," Misaki grinned. She was trying to keep herself occupied and found herself having a little fun. She had a lot of fun trying on clothes in Mikoto's body, mainly at the thought of how Mikoto would react when she found out. Naturally, she would prefer to have stayed with Touma, but understood situations do happen and it's best to get them over with instead of causing more problems down the road. Spending more time with Touma's other friends was also something that was bound to happen. It was actually an interesting reprieve for her, since Touma's friends all had vastly different personalities and didn't just immediately agree with her like her clique.

"What happened when you woke up in Shirai-san's body?" Kazari asked Jason.

"Well," Jason said, scratching his cheek. "Shokuhou-san woke me up so I was a little confused when I saw Misaka-san standing over me." He really didn't want to say much more because Kazari was watching him closely. If it was anyone else, he probably would have over exaggerated it.

"He was a little shocked about Shirai-san's… bold choice in clothes," Misaki said grinning, and Kazari turned to face her. "But he refused to look and I changed his clothes so he didn't have to see anything."

 _Thank you,_ Jason muttered. Misaki gave him look that said, _you owe me_.

"I know what you mean," Kazari said, nodding. "Shirai-san has some very unique tastes in clothing." She was actually relieved Jason didn't get a chance to see anything. Not only because Kuroko would try to kill him, but an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach grew at the thought of Jason looking at other girls. _Am I jealous of Shirai-san? They seem to have a connection, but Jason has never gone after her. He always stays with me._

"Maybe you could try to be a little bolder in your outfits," Misaki suggested. "I'm sure you would look great."

"No no," Kazari denied. "I couldn't…"

"Well Kagere-san is thinking about it," Misaki pointed. Kazari turned and noticed Jason had a glazed look in his eye.

"Jason," Kazari said, snapping her fingers in front of him to bring him back to reality. "You had the same look Shirai-san has when she talks about Misaka-san."

"I have no idea what you mean," Jason lied and Misaki laughed. They finished their drinks, threw their trash away, and continued looking around the mall.

"What do you want to do now?" Kazari asked Misaki.

"I don't really care," Misaki shrugged. "Why don't you choose the next place?"

"Okay, how about…?" Kazari never finished her sentence. Jason suddenly reached forward and grabbed their arms, pulling them backwards. A moment later, a vending machine they were about to pass exploded, the shockwave shaking the ground around them. Shards of metal and plastic flew out along with dozens of canned drinks. They would have been skewered by the debris if Jason hadn't pulled them back at the last second, indicated by the piece of metal stuck into a concreate pillar. "AHH!" Kazari screamed finding her voice, and she wasn't the only one. Several other people in the area were screaming and took cover. Drink cans exploded and were spreading liquids all over the floor.

"What happened?" Misaki yelled, covering her ears. They were hurting from the loud noise. She felt Jason pulling her to her feet and noticed Kazari was being helped up too

"We need to get out of here now," Jason muttered. "Leave the bags."

"Why?" Kazari asked, but noticed the serious look on Jason's face. "Okay, tell us after we move." Misaki sensed the seriousness of the situation and the three of them begun to retreat from the crowd of people beginning to form. They exited the mall and looked around, but they didn't appear to be followed. "Can you tell us now?"

"That wasn't an accident," Jason whispered. "Neither was the light in the clothing store."

"Huh?" Misaki asked. "What do you mean?"

"Both times there were traces of mana," Jason explained, looking both ways and leading them away from the mall. "I thought I imagined it the first time, since I wasn't use to Kuroko's body, but the second time I was sure. It's lucky detecting the flow of mana isn't a spell or I would have missed the second attempt. Someone is trying to attack us, but make it look like an accident."

"Who?" Kazari asked. "And why?"

"We only know of one group of magicians in the city," Misaki said thinking. "It would have to be Eve or one of her companions. The important question is, why? She never really bothered with us unless we ran into her when she was in the middle of gathering those wings."

"Our lives could depend on that question," Jason agreed, and he frowned. "Shit, someone is setting up a people clearing field. Whoever it is, they are planning to come out in the open. I was hoping we could keep moving and not give them a chance to set up more ambushes."

"Shirai-san just contacted me," Kazari told him. "She's out and on her way here. What should I tell her?"

"Tell her to get back to Touma's apartment," Jason said, as all three of them started running down the street, trying to escape the people clearing field before it was set up. "None of us are capable of fighting at full strength, so we can't risk all getting trapped here."

"I'll tell her," Kazari said, hitting call. "Shirai-san, we are being attacked by one of Eve's people. You need to warn the others. NO! Don't come to us. We can't have everyone get caught."

"Look out!" Misaki yelled, tackling Kazari to the side. A car was thrown right where she had been a moment before. Jason had dived the other way at Misaki's warning. "Ouch," she moaned, standing up. This might have been the first time she physically tackled someone to save their life. _It's a good thing Misaka's body is so athletic. My reflexes wouldn't be nearly this good. I would never have dreamed of trying that before now._ Kazari also got up to her feet, her phone had flown out of her hand when she fell.

"Are you two okay?" Jason asked, getting up and running over to them.

"I'll live," Misaki muttered. _I'm going to have a bruise though. I'm glad it's not my body._

"I'm fine," Kazari reassured him, looking around for her phone, but it was lost. The thrown car was blocking the middle of the street behind her. _We are trapped._

"You know it would have been easier if you just died from that," a girl's voice said. From the top of a building a long strip of darkness descended onto the street twirling in a vortex thirty meters away from them. It looked like a single stream of black water, flowing with a mind of its own in a twisting motion. There weren't any facial features, but Kazari, Misaki, and Jason all knew it was watching them. "It could have been quick, even if it was too good for a bunch of harlots."

"Juliet," Jason muttered. He recognized the shadow form from England. It was almost identical to his own. He shifted slightly in front of Kazari. Misaki, however, took offense to Juliet's words.

"Harlot?" she demanded. "Take that back!"

"I didn't mean you," Juliet said, her shadow body flickering slightly. "You can leave. I only want to kill the other two. If you decide to get in my way though, you will meet the same fate."

"Why are you after us?" Kazari asked. "Is it something for Eve?"

"Eve doesn't know about this," Juliet replied. "I'm doing this purely for myself. She promised I would be with my Romeo, but so far she hasn't delivered. So, I'm taking matters into my own hand."

"But why come after us?" Jason asked, remembering he was in Kuroko's body.

"Because you two are trying to steal him away from me!" Juliet roared, whipping a thick strand of her shadow body at them. Kazari and Jason dodged to the side to avoid it. A loud crack echoed down the street. The shadow strand left a ten meter long gash in the asphalt, about a foot deep. Misaki, Kazari, and Jason all gulped when they saw it. If a human body took a direct hit from that, it would be crushed instantly. "If you both are gone, he will be mine!"

"Who are you talking about?" Misaki asked. She did not have any combat abilities while in Mikoto's body, capable of fighting against a water-like substance capable of destroying a street, but she had never been a strictly combative person. She had always specialized in information gathering. "Who is Romeo and how do you know him?" The shadow stopped rotating for a moment and merged at a single point right above the street. The small sphere started to expand into a shape of a human and then became solid. Where the shadow had been floating a moment ago, a young girl stood. The girl had dark brown eyes and long dark brown hair, which reached the middle of her back, with a rose tucked behind her ear. She was wearing a light pink tank top and a white skirt.

"Romeo is my soulmate," Juliet told her. Her face looked like it could have been that of a kind older sister, but it was streaked with dark lines, like she had gone through a traumatic experience. "Ever since we met six years ago. However, fate tragically separated us until now."

"But that doesn't tell us who Romeo is," Misaki pointed out. "None of us know anyone by that name." Kazari shook her head in agreement.

"He goes by a different name here," Juliet said, after narrowing her eyes, as if Misaki was trying to be funny. "You should know it well, as you are in his company often enough. I just know you are after the guy wielding the Imagine Breaker or you would be dying here too. You know my Romeo by the name of Jason Kagere." Misaki and Kazari's mouth fell open and they looked at Jason, whose face had gone ashen.

 _He knows something,_ Misaki thought. _It's obvious._

"Jason?" Kazari whispered, tugging on his sleeve. "What is going on?" Jason didn't answer her, but her eyes widened when she saw him shaking. _Juliet is scaring him, but I've never seen him like this._ She wanted to calm him, but had no idea how.

"Enough talking," Juliet said, reaching her hand out to her right. Her hand transformed back into a shadow and extended, wrapped around a light pole, and ripped it out of the ground. "If you don't fight back, I'll make this quick." She noticed Jason walking toward her, but she still assumed he was Kuroko. "Volunteering to go first? Don't move or I might miss." She raised the pole high into the air.

"NO!" Misaki yelled.

"JASON DON'T!" Kazari cried desperately.

"Jason?" Juliet turned to Kazari confused. The light pole was still held high above her, but it lowered slightly. She turned her attention back to the person she believed was Kuroko. "What nonsense is she spewing?"

Jason's face was deathly white, but his body was moving automatically. He had seen Juliet before, when Misaki showed them the memories of Eve she saw in England. He had seen the similarities and thought about it, but decided it wasn't possible. He realized now, he convinced himself it wasn't possible, even when he knew deep down who it was. The fact this girl was standing in front of him was causing his mind to freeze. Even in deadly situations, he was able to think and plan ahead. Now, his faith had been completely shattered. His body recognized the girl, her voice, the hair, and the rose long before he could consciously accept the truth. He had no idea Eve would resort to something like this. He stopped ten meters in front of her, gazed into her eyes, and said a single word. "Emiko?"

This single word nearly got him killed.

Juliet slammed the lamp post into the street less than a meter away from him. A couple chips of asphalt gave him minor cuts on his leg, but he didn't notice. "How do you know that name?" she hissed, glaring at him directly in the eyes.

"You died," Jason continued softly. "I saw it personally five years ago."

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Motoharu: So, Accelerator, Kami-yan's ability to attract females is attached to his body?**

 **Accelerator: Seems like it. The third is in his body and is still getting phone numbers.**

 **Touma: I told you guys it's not like that…**

 **Pierce: Remember the bet? You can't deny it.**

 **Touma: ARG! Let's focus that Eve is toying with us.**

 **Mikoto: She annoys me so much. I think I rather go clothes shopping with Shokuhou.**

 **Misaki: That's great Misaka. My friends and I were just about to go and get some new undergarments. Mine's getting a little tight around the chest area. You know how that… I mean you will know.**

 **Mikoto: Go away!**

 **Kuroko: Onee-sama, I want to go with you!**

 **Mikoto: Don't you have to go interrogate Jason or something?**

 **Kuroko: There is always time to shop for underwear with you!**

 **Ruiko: We are actually getting some parts this time.**

 **Kazari: I know, it's so exciting. I feel like the author is setting us up for something big.**

 **Shizuri: The only big thing happening is when I get ahold of Kamijou and force him to spill his guts.**


	77. S3 Juliet

**Real life hasn't completely destroyed my sanity yet. I still have time to write and hang out with friends, even if the time is slowly dwindling away. Still, about a week and a half vs a week isn't too bad for a release date. I'm glad most of you understand the terrible time waster known as real life. Real life is always getting in the way of having fun. I suppose the best thing this week is NT 16 is out. It's currently being translated and it's gotten really good. I'm enjoying it. I'm going to avoid spoilers until a couple weeks to give everyone plenty of time to read it. Silly Tokiwadai, always relying on Touma Kamijou. Let's move to commenters now, speaking of comments, over 1500 now. That's amazing.**

 **toumakamijou298: You don't want this to be permanent? Imagine how much fun Season four would be as they tried to learn each one of their abilities.**

 **Brosephg: One of Touma's best traits is he can find a way to fight, regardless of the situation he's in. He made up for Misaki's body weakness with tools.**

 **general ironox: Accelerator was right, it's a perfect representation of her. We shouldn't tell Aogami or he might get a giant Pikachu costume for her.**

 **riyangendut: Mikoto already had a way with girls, Kami-yan disease just magnified it. As for massive feels, it's never too late for that.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: I really wish I had time to write a separate project with funny one shots. I would totally do a school day with them all swapped.**

 **Guest: 1) Which question was that again? I don't have an efficient way of going through all the comments. 2) I found out it depends on the translation. The raw translation online uses Kami-yan, but the English novels actually printed has Kamijou. I just use Kami for him now so that it differentiates him from Motoharu. 3) Someone I was planning to use earlier, but things changed and she will be introduced later at some point. 4) Not really, it will be introduced in next arc. Once I tell everyone, most people will go, aww I should have known. 5) Not sure yet. Maybe after this arc is over.**

 **Whwsms: Everything is beginning to merge. Even the Imagine Breaker can't stop the Kami-yan disease. Word of advice though, never trust a Kihara.**

 **Syko-Soldier963: I kind of felt the same way, but most people don't seem to comment on that. I understand how it worked and why, but still, kind of eh. There will be some changes in Kakine's progress though. He's going to discover a new purpose. As for the explanation, it will happen before the arc finishes.**

 **Handsomistic1: Probably won't last that long. If I had a story devoted purely to body swap, those kinds of things would definitely happen. I had to look up who that was, but yea, Eve has mastered the art of trolling. Only a matter of time before Touma wakes up with her sleeping next to him. Saten will get more scenes!**

 **Hilem: Good to see you still around. Everyone is having fun learning about each other. All it takes is a slight adjustment in their point of view. Wind users are actually one of Accelerator's worst match ups. They can create vortexes and keep oxygen away from him so he can't breathe. Most of your questions will be answered in the chapter below, so can't really tell you them.**

 **Agent Nine: Never underestimate my ability to deliver chapters. Your wish to learn has been granted. I hope it meets your expectations.**

 **Pericles of Cholargos: It's more complicated than that. Normally, once a power is awakened, it doesn't change. It may grow, but the fundamental nature of it doesn't.**

 **Geust: I haven't planned anything in the immediate future for the Agitate Halation. No one should ever capture Touma. Not only would the harem go after them, Aleister would crush them for trying to interfere with his plans. If Touma gets a love letter, 99% it would be from Eve, 1% it would be from someone who actually wants to date him. However, coming up with a reason to drop him in the middle of the School Gardens in his Kami outfit, perfectly reasonable. As for Uiharu… yes?**

 **Generation Zero: Nah, no one wants to know about Jason. All the gods are watching and eating popcorn, placing bets.**

 **Anon: I'm pretty sure it will come up eventually.**

 **Jujudude: Fanfiction only lets me put two tags, or it would have had romance on it. The very end is planned out with the relationship and I know exactly what is going to happen.**

 **RPGPersona: Hamazura wasn't even there, but yea, it's his fault.**

 **321jaz: I was really sad. I thought you might have given up on it.**

 **Salishious: She has to overcome her tsundere tendencies. She's working on it. Misaki is one of the few who is actively confessing.**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly. Magic Gods own all so they can do what they want.**

* * *

"Index, Lessar!" Ruiko called out, pushing the door open to Touma's dorm. "I have all the stuff you needed, but the others are being delayed helping some girls in trouble."

"Sounds like Touma," Index sighed, looking up and shaking her head. "Even when he's in trouble with magic, he still takes the time to help others." Ruiko noticed the fondness in her voice.

"Lover Boy really doesn't discriminate," Lessar laughed, grabbing the bags from Ruiko and going threw them. She started pulling out the dolls and putting them on the table. She reached the Pikachu and burst out laughing. "Aww, it looks just like Sparky." She tossed the tape to Index, who started making symbols Ruiko didn't recognize on the ground around a black circle drawn on the floor.

"That circle," Ruiko asked, unable to resist asking. 'Did you draw that on the floor with a marker?"

"I did," Index confirmed. "We had to start setting things up and we can just wipe it off when we are done. Touma won't be mad." Ruiko glanced at the counter and saw the black marker Index must have used.

 _That's a permanent marker,_ she thought. _Touma is not going to be happy._ " She looked around and saw Lessar unrolling the string. "Is there anything I can help with?" she asked. _If not, I'll go see if the others settled everything._

"I don't think so," Lessar shook her head. "Even I don't know the correct runes to use. I'm leaving that up to Index." She juggles a couple of the dolls, looking highly amused. "I'm mainly going to cast the spell. She's doing all the technical work. Someone who doesn't know magic won't be much help right now."

"This is really precise work Ruiko," Index said looking up. Index smiled kindly at her and Ruiko remembered she was a nun. After seeing her bite Touma often and eat an almost endless amount of food, it was easy to forget. Ruiko had always been nice to her because Index was a bright outgoing person. While useless with technology, Index always wanted to see and learn new things. "Since you don't have any knowledge about magic, you won't know what runes to use."

"Oh," Ruiko replied, sounding slightly downtrodden. _I can't help save others and now I can't even help put us back in our own bodies. Is there anything I can do?_ Her thoughts must have leaked out onto her face, because Index's next words were more uplifting.

"As part of the ritual," Index explained to her. "We are going to need everyone who was switched physically here before we can start. Because it was a single spell that was cast on you, there are certain components involved. Your physical bodies are one of them. This actually makes it easy in that we only have to cast the spell once. The complication is we need everyone present simultaneously." Ruiko felt like Index was leaving a lot of technical magic information out to simplify it for her, but she appreciated the gesture.

"That should be easy," Ruiko acknowledged. "We were planning to meet back here anyways. Shirai-san got stalled for some reason so Uiharu, Shokuhou-san, and Kagere-san are waiting for her." She looked out the window but didn't see Touma, Mikoto and Accelerator approaching the dorm. In fact, she didn't see any of them at all. _It shouldn't have taken them long to handle a couple delinquents. Did something happen?_ "If there's nothing else I can do here," Ruiko said to Index and Lessar. "I'm going to see what's keeping the others."

"Okay," Index nodded, going back to work, but Lessar spoke up.

"I do know of one thing you could do for me," she said seriously. "I have a problem that you could help resolve."

"Anything," Ruiko answered, stopping and turning to face her. "What's the problem?"

"Since you are in Accelerator's body," Lessar wanted to confirm. "You have access to his cellphone right?"

"I do." Ruiko pulled out his phone to show Lessar.

"I need you to send a message to Bayloupe. She should be a contact on his phone."

"Okay," Ruiko replied slowly, slightly confused. "But she's your friend, isn't she? Don't you have her number?"

"I do, but the important thing is it comes from his cellphone. It won't work coming from me."

"I don't follow." Ruiko unlocked Accelerator's phone and scanned his contact list. She found Bayloupe's number on the contact list and was surprised to find her actual name. Most of Accelerator's contacts were under nicknames. Ruiko was able to deduce who most of them were, Hero, Third Rate, Brat, Bigger Brat, Nun, Teleporter, Shadow Boy, Teacher, Freeloader, Shades, Pervert and others. Besides Bayloupe, there were only a few people who were listed by their actual names, including, weirdly enough, her. It was just her last name, but it was definitely her name. Not wanting to invade Accelerator's privacy, she clicked on Bayloupe's name and was prepared to send her a message. _Huh, he talks with her a lot. I shouldn't look since it's private._ "What do you want me to send her?"

"Tell her she should come to Academy City because you miss her," Lessar said cheerfully, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What!?" Ruiko choked on her words, slamming the phone shut before anything could accidently happen. "I can't send that from his phone. He would be furious."

"I know she has been waiting for that text from him," Lessar pointed out grinning. "She's just wants to time it with the excuse of visiting me."

"I can't do that," Ruiko answered, shaking her head. "It's one thing to push someone to do it themselves, but pretending to be them is completely different." She headed toward the front door and opened it. "I'm off to find the others while you two work." Before Lessar had a chance to reply and cause her more embarrassment, Ruiko closed the door behind her. _Her idea would be kind of funny, but Accelerator wouldn't find that amusing. Maybe if we weren't in the middle of a body swap fiasco._ She looked down the street and frowned. _Where are they?_ She traveled in the direction she had separated from them, before finally seeing a familiar blonde girl. _Finally,_ she thought. _But where are the others?_ Touma was leaning up against the wall of a building, panting heavily, a serious look on his face. "What happened?" Ruiko called out, fearing the answer. _He looks so serious._

"Ruiko?" Touma panted, looking up at her. "We saved those girls, but then we got pulled into one of Eve's twisted plots." Ruiko's eyes went wide.

"What happened?" she asked again, wanting to know the details.

"Eve was pretending to be kidnapped and used some random gang members she found on the street," Touma explained quickly, while still catching his breath. He was not able to run very far in Misaki's body. _When we finally switch back, I'm going to recommend to her she needs to exercise more._ "We found out her companion Juliet is after Shirai-san and Uiharu-san, but we couldn't reach them by phone to warn them."

"What? Why?" Panic was etched on Ruiko's face at the thought of her friends being targeted.

"I don't know," Touma told her honestly, and then shrugged. "Eve said something about Juliet thinking they took something from her. Eve was cryptic as usual, but I don't think she was lying. We have to find them."

"If you weren't able to warn them, do you think they know? Where are Accelerator-san and Misaka-san? What are you planning to do now?" The questions flowed from her mouth and she couldn't stop. Her close friends were in danger and she had to do something. "What can I do?"

"Calm down," Touma shushed, putting a hand on her shoulder. He didn't want anyone near them to listen in, but he knew panicking won't help in an emergency. "Mikoto and Accelerator went off ahead. I wasn't able to keep up in Misaki's body and had to stop to catch my breath. I told them I would catch up. Again, we tried to contact them, but to no avail. We only knew about them being at the mall, so we are heading there now. I don't have much of a choice but to grab a taxi or bus."

Ruiko pulled out her phone and tried to contact Kazari. "It's busy, so she must be talking to someone."

"Then we still have time," Touma said, looking around. "I'm going to grab a taxi and try to find them."

"I'm coming too," Ruiko told him.

"But…"

"I can't stand back when my friends are in danger. I'll grab a bat if I have to. If you try to go without me, I'll find my own way."

Touma was about to continue arguing, but he stopped when he saw the look in her eyes. It was the same determination he had seen in Mikoto when he tried to leave her behind. He knew that endeavor would be impossible. _I don't want her to get hurt and she's not use to facing magicians. I can't really say my position is better than hers right now. Neither of us can use the abilities of our friends. It might be better if she's with me than if she goes off on her own._ "Fine," he relented. "But you have to follow my lead when we get there."

"Agreed," Ruiko nodded. _Finally, I'm joining them._ "What's the plan then?"

"First we call a taxi," Touma said, turning and walking down the street. Ruiko quickly followed. "Then we head to the mall as fast as possible and figure out where to go from there." Touma found a stop and waved to a taxi. Normally, he would have to do this for easily ten minutes, but this time a taxi pulled over in less than thirty seconds. _Wow, that never happens. I actually have luck without my Imagine Breaker._ Of course, he didn't know the taxi driver just preferred picking up attractive females. He gave the address of the mall and asked the man to hurry. Both of them sat in silence and waited. They couldn't talk in front of a stranger and there wasn't much they could discuss until they saw what the current situation was.

* * *

"How do you know that?" Juliet hissed, stepping back in surprise. "There's no way he would have told you anything about what happened to us."

"You can't be her," Jason replied, his voice shaking. Normally full of confidence, his voice was now soft and radiating disbelief. "Emiko died… because of me… her body was destroyed…." He grabbed his head and his face turned a combination of ghostly white with a tinge of green. "So much death…" He turned his eyes back up to her. "You have to be an imposter. Eve wouldn't do something so twisted. Who are you?"

"Who are you calling an imposter?" Juliet raged, hitting him with her shadow arm. The force of the blow sent him flying backwards a good ten meters. Kazari felt her body move automatically and caught him. They both rolled backwards on the street, but her quick thinking prevented the worst of the damage. It also helped that Kuroko's body was a lot lighter than Jason's. Kazari stood up immediately, but Jason was still sitting on the ground, looking stunned.

"Jason," Kazari asked. "What's going on?" She noticed Jason was not getting up and reached down to pull on his arm. "Get up! Come on, you have to move!" When she made contact, she felt his body trembling.

"My fault," Jason muttered, completely unaware of what was happening. "So much death…! My fault… no it's not… death…" He grabbed his head and yelled. "Stop! That's enough!"

"Jason…" Kazari said softly, before glancing back at Juliet. Whoever this girl was, it was bringing up something traumatic for him. He was only mumbling random words now, but from the sound of it, he thought this girl had died. Kazari needed to reach him somehow. If he was stuck reliving the past, he wouldn't be able to defend himself from Juliet's onslaught. She turned to Misaki and mouthed the only thing she could think of. _Please, distract her!_ Kazari turned back to Jason and put her hand on his cheek. _His entire body is shaking._ "Snap out of it Jason, please. We need you back to your old self. It's the only way we are all going to get out of this."

Misaki understood Kazari's plea, and turned to Juliet. _Jason's mind is broken and he's useless right now, but the girl also took some mental damage. She must not have been use to people knowing her real name. I might be able to use that._ "Excuse me Juliet," she said, taking a step forward hesitantly. "Or would you prefer to be addressed by something else?" Misaki couldn't fight her directly, that was obvious. She couldn't even be sure that if she was in her own body, her ability would work. Mental Out only worked on humans. It couldn't be used on animals for example. Misaki wasn't sure if Juliet was an actual human who could use magic to become a shadow, or if she was a shadow that could appear human. Juliet's head turned to look at her, and Misaki was prepared to retreat if things went south.

"What do you want now?" Juliet always kept Kazari and Jason in her line of sight, in case they tried to escape. She was still confused at Jason's behavior, because she still believed him to be Kuroko. Kazari kept saying Jason, which was causing her to hesitate in attacking them. Kazari calling Kuroko Jason did not seem to serve any strategic purpose. Based on what Juliet knew about Kazari, she did not believe Kazari was the type of person to use tricks and mind games to fight. That was Misaki's forte.

"I'm a little confused at the situation," Misaki said, trying to sound innocent, while simultaneously thinking this was probably a mistake. If it wasn't for the fact she had interrogated Mikoto last night about Eve and Cain, she wouldn't' have had any information on Juliet. _Misaka said she called herself a memory, but I don't have any clue what that means._ "I really have no idea what's going on between you and the others, and you obviously realize something has happened. Thanks to your superior Eve, things are a little different than I believe you understand."

"Explain yourself," Juliet said, sounding impatient. "We don't have much time before she and Cain find us. I'm shielding my presence from them, but if you try to waste my time, you will regret it." _There is definitely something going on. I should find out what before I kill them. If Eve did something, I can't act rashly, unless they try to run._ She was torn between wanting to kill Kazari and Kuroko, and finding out what was causing the strange vibe in the atmosphere.

 _Got her._ "How do you know Kagere-san, would be a good way to start off," Misaki stated. "And as of why you think those two stole him from you. From what I understood, he came back into the city alone and eventually settled with Touma and his friends. In return, I will tell you something important I think you need to be aware of, before you go any further and make a mistake you might regret. What you do with that knowledge is up to you."

"He and I have such a rich history," Juliet explained after a moment of silence. Her tone of voice changed and Misaki had to resist smirking. There was a fondness permeating through it.

 _Perfect. She seemed like the top that wanted to talk. A trait she and Eve share. Now, I can find out about her and look for an opening. She doesn't appear to be completely stable, so I need to tread carefully. If I try to drag this out to long, she might attack me to simplify everything. It's a careful balancing act._

"Where should I start?" Juliet mumbled, more to herself than Misaki. She wanted to give the explanation quickly to make Mikoto, more precisely the person she believed to be Mikoto, understand and not try to get involved. _Eve would have her head if I killed her, but if it stops her from getting in my way, it could be worth it. I'll try to avoid that for now._ "It was about…," she counted on her fingers thinking, "six years ago when we first met. We, along with four others, were specifically chosen for an unusual experiment. He was slightly younger than me and obviously was not use to dealing with others. He must have been isolated most of his childhood. He didn't say much unless asked directly and was unusually serious. Most of the others would at least make a joke once in a while at first, but he didn't."

 _That doesn't sound like him at all,_ Misaki thought. _Could she have the wrong person?_ "What experiment?"

"They were trying to see if they could create hybrid ability users and magicians," Juliet informed her. Misaki's eyes widen and she heard a gasp. Kazari was obviously listening while trying to get Jason to snap out of his stunned stupor. "I see you both understand what happens when someone tries that. We, on the other hand, had no idea what was instore for us. When we were brought in, we were told by people claiming to be researchers that this was a separate project for the city. We were specially chosen to learn abilities developed outside of Academy City, ones which have existed for thousands of years. IN hindsight, we probably should have been suspicious, but the oldest among us was only twelve. I was ten years old when we started. All of us were blinded by the flattery they constantly gave us and we followed their instructions."

"The preparation went on for almost a year and things got worse." Juliet's eyes darkened and she frowned. "The researchers continued to pit us against each other. They constantly praised others when working with a single one of us. I tried to be nice to everyone, but they were all growing distant, except one person." She smiled and put a hand up to her cheek. "Romeo finally came out of his shell and he and I would talk whenever we had a chance. Romeo and Juliet were just the nicknames we called ourselves in private. He was a smart, curious individual. I found out he only joined because he was getting bored with Academy City's curriculum and wanted to learn something new. I was the same way. We had planned to finish this experiment and go back together." She grimaced and looked down at the ground. Misaki could swear she heard Juliet grating her teeth.

 _Here's when she lost her way._

"We were told it was finally time to cast our first spell," Juliet continued. "They told us if we all cast the spell together, it would be less taxing on our bodies, since it would be our first time. This was a lie. They knew ability users casting magic was dangerous, but they didn't care. We were disposable. The magic they taught us could not be abandoned halfway through. We were forced to continue until the spell was complete, or we couldn't continue."

"But I heard when an ability users casts magic…," Misaki said slowly, and then it dawned on her. "Oh no…" she felt the blood drain from her face and she glanced at Kazari, whose face turned ashen, before returning her gaze back to Juliet.

"We started dying one by one," Juliet confirmed. "I still remember the stench of blood, it was sickening. It erupted from each one of us." The sound of retching caused Misaki to dart her eyes over to Kazari and Jason again. Both of them were watching Juliet and it was obvious they were listening.

 _Juliet's words are bringing up something traumatizing,_ Kazari though, rubbing Jason's back as he retched. _He can't defend himself right now and I'm not going to be able to drag him out of here with Juliet watching us. If she tries to hurt him… I'll stop her. I don't know how, but I will._ Something rose up within her, the same kind of strength she used when she did something insane in trying to protect an innocent civilian as a member of Judgement.

 _I think what she's saying is true,_ Misaki thought seriously. _Jason's reaction should be proof._ " You two must have survived, but how? I thought abilities and magic were supposed to kill the user?"

"It should have," Juliet conceded. "The others died, but we survived. I don't know the specifics how, but it had to be fate. We were destined to be together." She paused for a moment. "I can't say the experience was pleasant. Pain wrecked my body and I lost unconscious. I didn't see what happened next, but I did wake up. When I did, I saw what many would consider a nightmare. There were bodies everywhere, pools of blood, and the screaming of a wounded animal."

"Wounded animal?" Misaki asked confused. She didn't recall any mention of animals in Juliet's story. For the first time, Juliet looked uncomfortable. She shifted her weight slightly before continuing.

"Romeo wasn't in his right mind," Juliet started off saying, as if she was defending him. "He lost control after the… transformation."

"Transformation?"

"He originally had a regeneration type ability," Juliet explained. "When I awoke, for the first time, he had his shadow and it was spiraling around him. The experiment must have fundamentally changed something within him."

"That's impossible!" This time it was Kazari who spoke up. "Abilities can't change once they have been awakened."

"Shut up!" Juliet yelled, resisting the urge to attack her for now. "Harlots have no right to speak." Kazari's eyes went wide, but Misaki quickly shook her head to urge Kazari to be quiet. "Now where was I, ah yes. The transformation must have affected his mind. He was attacking the researchers who had tried to kill us." Misaki and Kazari gasped. "How did you think I reacted when I saw a ten year old become a monster? I used all my remaining strength to stand up and embraced him. I begged for him to return to me and finally his shadow subsided. I remember the look in his eyes when he turned to face me. They were full of sorrow, pain, anger, and regret. The only thing I could do was smile and tell him to live on. My body had taken too much damage and I collapsed. I heard him yell my name one last time and everything went black."

"How are you here then?" Misaki whispered, her face pale.

"Jason," Kazari whispered. She looked down at him. He wasn't mumbling to himself anymore nor was he on the edge of vomiting. His face looked lifeless, as if he had given up. What was worse was Kazari saw it all twice. Once with Kuroko's face and the second time imagining what Jason's face would look like. _A normal kid wouldn't be able to come back from that. Is that why he always jokes around? He tries to hide what he's been through._ "You are stronger than this. I know you can overcome what's hurting you. I'll help you anyway I can."

"I'm not even sure myself," Juliet admitted to Misaki. "My mind didn't die, even when my body did. I was floating in an endless abyss, unable to see, feel, hear, touch, or taste anything. All I could do was think. I systematically relived every one of my thoughts, the good, the bad, and everything in between. I was not going to forget who I was. Romeo's memories stood out the most, like a beacon in all the darkness. I was happiest when I was with him. I couldn't tell if days, weeks, months, or years passed. All I had were my memories in the endless abyss. Then one day I heard a female voice call out to me and I found myself back in our world."

"Eve," Misaki muttered and Juliet nodded.

"I freaked out at first. You see, I wasn't in my body anymore. I was an orb of pure darkness. Eve and Adam explained the situation to me and helped me master my new abilities. I took the name Juliet as my magic name to represent my resolve, though it wasn't my preference. With practice, I was finally able to materialize my body. When I was finally told Romeo was alive, I felt truly alive once again. Eve admitted I couldn't meet him for a while, but I still had hope. Time passed and we encountered you all. Adam forced me stay behind when they met you in Italy, but I was able to meet him for the first time in England. He didn't know who I was, but I gave him the opening to defeat Knight Leader. What angered me the most was finding out other harlots were trying to steal him away and make him forget about me. If he knew I was alive, he would join me."

"Would he approve of what you are doing?" Misaki asked. "They want to revive an archangel who is supposed to represent evil and betrayal."

"I don't care about something like that," Juliet scoffed. "Lord Lucifer only has a grudge against God for denying him freedom. He does not care about the destructions of humans and will let them continue living as they are now. Besides, why should I care about God?"

"Huh?" Misaki did not know how to answer that.

"What kind of God would allow something so tragic to happen?" Juliet demanded, pain and anger echoing in her voice. "Allowing children to be tortured, experimented on, and killed. If he was all powerful, wouldn't he be able to save them? If he is able to but won't, he must be evil. No good individual would allow something like that to happen. Why even call him God? Just because something has power and rules over others does not make them a God. I will help Eve and Adam revive their master if it means I can be with my love. Nothing will stop that from happening." She stepped forward and held out an arm, transforming it back into shadows.

"What if he doesn't intend to stop at God?" Misaki refuted. To be honest, a philosophical debate was not her forte. Being part of the science side, she never really believed in God, preferring to believe in science. After having encountered magic, she retained the possibility God could exist, since angels appear to exist, at least at some point. She had heard rumors of the debates believers had with nonbelievers and knew trying to argue with Juliet here would be pointless. _I have to make her believe Lucifer isn't out for her best interest. Index said he is depicted as a betrayer._ "He could come for you after you outlived your usefulness."

"If that situation occurs," Juliet replied, holding her head up high. "Then we would find a way to survive together. We already defeated death once. This is all hypothetical though, because it won't happen."

"How do you know?" Misaki demanded.

"Because I received his blessing," Juliet answered. "All members of The Fallen have received it. We have knowledge and magic far beyond what normal people know. We also hear his thoughts, desires, and advice. He admires the freedom we possess as humans and he wanted it too. When God is defeated, he will go on his own, choosing how to live his life."

"That's the problem," Misaki muttered under her breath. _You don't know what he will do after he obtains that freedom. He could easily become a tyrant and rule over us._ She could tell Juliet wasn't going to listen to reason. She was too far gone. _Jason would be the only who might be able to talk sense into her, but right now he might not be able to form a coherent sentence._

"It's your turn now," Juliet spoke up again, breaking into her thoughts. "You said Eve did something. Things do seem off, so explain." She crossed her arms and glared at Misaki.

"Well," Misaki started to say and then stopped herself. _If I tell the truth, what will she do? We can't defend ourselves without full use of our abilities. I should skip that part. The important piece of information is letting her know about Kagere-san being in Shirai-san's body. Would she captured him or let him go? There's also the chance she won't believe me and try to kill us anyways. There is a lot of guesswork here, but I have to risk it. Heh, the old me would never have done this. My prince really has been rubbing off on me._ "Yesterday, Eve met with Touma. During their meeting, we all gathered thinking she was going to try something with him. He refused an offer she made and, before she left with Cain, Eve hit us with a purple light and called it Chaos Magic."

"I know that," Juliet sniffed, gesturing her to continue. "I was in the car. I take it something happened then? You all seem human and don't seem to be panicking over a loss. It couldn't have been too bad."

"No one was seriously hurt," Misaki continued. "Well, not physically anyways." She remembered Kuroko's reaction when they met up in Jason's apartment. "Her magic caused some perspective problems."

"Get on with it."

"Her magic's effect was," Misaki answered, stopping to take a breath. _It's now or never._ "We all switched bodies."

"What?" Juliet asked, eyes widening.

"I'm not really Misaka," Misaki informed her. "I am Misaki Shokuhou trapped in her body. I miss my well proportion body, even if her body is more athletic than mine. Your 'Romeo' happens to be in someone else's body too." Her eyes darted over to Jason in Kuroko's body and Juliet followed her gaze.

"No!" she gasped. "You have to be lying." Her gaze suddenly grew dark and her left arm transformed back into a shadow. It stretched out and wrapped around a nearby bench. With the sound of tearing metal, she ripped it out of the ground and threw it at Misaki. Misaki knew it was coming and dove to the side to avoid it.

"Ouch!" she explained, scraping her elbow. She was still not use to all this physical exertion. The bench bounced several times down the street with loud clangs, before finally coming to a stop with a screeching sound.

"You think lying to me will save your friends?!" Juliet yelled, her face furious. "You are just delaying the inevitable. Those two," she turned and pointed to Kazari and Kuroko. "Are going to die!" She raised an eyebrow when Kazari stood up and took several steps toward her, blocking Jason from view. "Are you volunteering to go first?"

"They did switch," Kazari told her softly, but there was strength in her voice not normally there. She looked back at Jason, who was kneeling down on a single knee. _He's moving at least._ "Something happened between you two, that's obvious. Whatever it was, it's causing him to relive a trauma. If you truly care about him, you wouldn't be putting him through this." It's not like Kazari could actually stop Juliet if she decided to attack, but she had a single thread of hope to cling on to. _I feel like she really cares for him, but now she's broken in some way too. There is still a chance I can convince her to leave if she realizes it really is Jason in Shirai-san's body._

"Shut up you slut," Juliet hissed, glaring daggers at her. "You are just a poor substitute for me. He only went with you because of your friendly nature and love of flowers. You see this rose, he gave it to me and now I preserve it with magic. He was tricked by you, harpy." Kazari was trying hard to ignore the names, but even she was feeling slightly irritated by them. Juliet looked at Jason and made a fist. "Damn it, she actually switched your bodies!" she suddenly yelled out loudly. "Did she do this on purpose knowing I would try to act? That's impossible, since I didn't plan to do this until today." The last few sentences were more to herself than anyone else. She looked back at Kazari. "I guess I'll just have to take him in her body."

"What?" Kazari gasped, shocked at her sudden declaration.

"I don't care what he looks like," Juliet spat at her. "While I would prefer his mescaline body, it's his person I want. I love him for him, not what he looks like." Her words stirred something in Jason and he looked up. Their eyes met and Juliet, for the first time that day, truly smiled. "Move aside girl," she told Kazari. "I know he hates killing, so as a gift to him, I'll spare you, but only if you move. I'm taking him with me."

"No."

"What did you just say?"

"He's not going with you."

"Do you want to die that badly?"

"I don't," Kazari admitted, but held her gaze steady. "But I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let him go with you. He's important to me and your presence is causing him pain. I may get a little jealous when I see him with other girls, but there's a difference between that and giving him up. He wouldn't let me get taken away without a fight and I would rather die than abandoned any of my friends."

 _Wow,_ Misaki thought, standing up and brushing herself off. _When did Uiharu-san become so tough? I'm really glad she's not into Touma._ Juliet was less impressed.

"This is what I get for trying to be nice," Juliet sighed, rubbing her head. "I should have just killed you instead of talking." She pulled her arm back and jettisoned it forward. Her hand turned black as it extended like a long black lance, directly at Kazari's heart.

 _I won't run,_ she thought and her eyes unwillingly closed. Before she felt Juliet's shadow pierce her, something hit her hand from the side and knocked her out of the way. For a moment, she thought Misaki had managed to reach her, but Kazari remembered she was too far away. _What hit me… oh no, he was right behind me!_ She opened her eyes and saw a familiar face which relieved all her fears. "Jason! You're back with us!"

"Thanks to you," he said, getting off her and turning to Juliet. "I remembered something terrible, but I'm not going to let it cause the same outcome. I won't lose everything ever again." He took a couple steps toward Juliet, as Kazari scrambled to her feet. Misaki ran over to her to make sure she was okay, and both of them turned to see what Jason and Juliet were going to do. "So you really are Emiko," Jason said slowly. Each of his words sounded heavy, like he still had difficulties believing it.

"Yes," Juliet said happily. "Not necessarily in the flesh, but you can't really say you are here either."

"I suppose not."

"Come with me," Juliet told him, reaching out a hand. "You don't have to do anything for Eve. I'll take care of what remains and, once she gets the wing, we are free to spend eternity together." Jason looked at her, and his eyes were full of sorrow and regret.

"I'm sorry, I can't."

"What?!" Juliet demanded, freezing up. "We promised we would always be together right? Do you not remember?"

"I remember the promise, but I can't keep it."

"Why?!

"I made the promise with Emiko… you aren't her, no matter how much you look like her or even if you have her memories."

"All I did was lose my body. We both changed a little growing up. You just need time to adjust."

"The Emiko I know would never have joked about killing someone. You taint her memory with your words."

"Arg," Juliet moaned, grabbing her head. "You always were stubborn, but you refuse to see the truth for some reason." Her eyes flashed and she glanced at Kazari and Misaki, who had been backing away as they talked. "It was her," she said suddenly pointing to Kazari. "She and the teleporter corrupted your mind. I have no choice but to get rid of them and take you back by force. I know you will forgive me when you realize the truth, even if it takes an eternity."

"No, don't!" Jason yelled, watching Juliet turn to Kazari while raising an arm. He grabbed one of the spikes from a pouch on his leg, Misaki had insisted he should bring them for protection, but he knew it wouldn't do anything against Juliet. _Shit._ A movement caught his eye and he saw a small white circular device. Recognizing it immediately, he turned and closed his eyes. A bright flash of light was followed by a loud bang. It was lucky he turned away or he would have gone blind, even with his eyes shut.

"MY EYES!" Juliet yelled in pain.

"RUN!" Kuroko yelled from behind them. Misaki, Kazari, and Jason didn't need telling twice and ran down the street after her.

"How did you find us?" Misaki asked.

"I had help from Jason's… friend," Kuroko replied after the slightest pause. Jason knew who she was talking about and frowned. He had specifically told her not to talk to him. "I have so many questions. Let's start with why I found a flash grenade in your pants pocket."

"I'm scared of the dark so I need a night light."

"ARE YOU SERIOUSLY MAKING A JOKE RIGHT NOW?!"

"Good to have you back to your old self," Kazari said with a smile. His joking attitude told her he was moving past what happened. _It might be because Juliet's out of sight._ Kuroko frowned and knew something had happened and turned to her more important question.

"Why was she after you?" Kuroko asked.

"Crazy ex-girlfriend," Jason said in a monotone.

"AGAIN!"

"That's… actually a good explanation," Misaki added, cutting across Kuroko. "Until we have time to go over everything in detail. Juliet is mainly after you and Uiharu-san."

"Why?" Kuroko asked confused.

"She thinks we stole Jason away from her," Kazari said.

"How am I involved in this?" Kuroko demanded. Before anyone could answer, they heard the sound of whistling of an object flying through the air behind them. They turned around, saw what it was, and dove to the sides, as a car smashed into the ground where they would have been. Kuroko and Jason were on one side and Kazari and Misaki were on the other. Juliet's dark shadow body was flying at them about thirty meters off the ground. She could fly, while they couldn't, and was able to easily catch up.

"You aren't getting away," Juliet called down as a shadow strand flew down and picked up another parked car. She looked at both groups and decided to target Kazari and Misaki. She threw the car at them and they had nowhere to dodge, or even enough time to dodge.

"NO!" Kuroko and Jason yelled. Kazari screamed and Misaki closed her eyes in panic. There was a soft explosion from behind them all, but no one heard it.

The car suddenly stopped a couple feet in front of Kazari and Misaki, before flying straight back at Juliet, knocking her out of the air and onto the ground with a bang. The car continued through the air and crashed with a sickening crunch against a building.

"How is he here?!" Juliet demanded causing Kazari and Misaki to look up. Juliet had reformed into her human body.

Standing in front of them was Accelerator's white hair and skinny body. They, of course, knew it was actually Ruiko in his body. Ruiko turned and looked at them with a smile on her face. "I'm so glad we made it in time," Ruiko cried, and then fell down to her knees. "That was so scary. I wasn't sure it would work!"

* * *

Ruiko and Touma had just gotten out of their taxi in front of the mall, but didn't know where to go from there. There didn't seem to be any signs of trouble and they didn't see their friends. "What do we do now?" Ruiko asked him.

"Mikoto and Accelerator should be here soon," Touma said. "Or they might have already been here. They took off running without thinking of getting a ride." He sighed. "They probably forgot they can't use their abilities to travel like they used to."

"All I know is Uiharu said they were here," Ruiko reminded him. "I suppose they could have left, but I still haven't been able to contact her. Do you have any ideas…?" She stopped when two Anti-Skill officers walked out of the mall entrance near them. Touma and Ruiko stepped aside to let them pass, but they heard a few snippets of their conversation.

"How often does a vending machine explode?"

"I would have thought someone used an ability on it, but all the witnesses said no one was near it except a group of kids, who barely managed to avoid it. There was no sign of them tampering with it."

"I wish we could have questioned them, but they ran off in that direction afterwards. They must have been spooked." He mentioned to his right down a street and Touma's eyes went wide.

"We have a lead," he muttered to Ruiko, who nodded. "Let's go." They moved as quickly as they could, even though neither of them could run any major distances. A couple blocks away from the mall, Touma had the feeling they were on the right track. "No one else seems to be here," he muttered. "That's not a good sign." Ruiko looked around and nodded.

"I'm getting a bad feeling too," Ruiko admitted, before she noticed something else. "Look over there," she said pointing. "Smoke."

"Let's hurry," Touma said through gritted teeth. They ran as fast as they could and then they heard a loud bang, like something large and metal being slammed onto the ground. They rounded a corner and saw a dark shadow circling in the air. _Juliet,_ he thought. _It has to be._ He then noticed the broken car in the middle of the street, with Kuroko and Jason on one side, and Misaki and Kazari on the other. Juliet was picking up another car and looking at Kazari and Misaki. "No!" he yelled. _This is bad. I can't do anything about that. You two need to get out of the way._

"No!" Ruiko yelled at the same time as Touma. She also recognized the problem _. I have to do something._ For some reason, while her brain was occupied with what she was seeing, her hand instinctively moved up and flipped the switch of the choker on her neck. Her mind was overcome with formulas and calculations swimming through her head, forcing all unnecessary thoughts out of the way. She barely registered the initial explosion under her as her body was propelled forward. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as she flew through the air. _What's happening? Am I… am I using Accelerator's power? It's like that choker supercharged of all his calculations, but I can't understand them._ She saw the car coming at her and she panicked, shutting her eyes. _I'm going to die if I can't stop that._

She didn't feel anything when she landed on the ground and opened her eyes.

"How is he here?!" Juliet demanded, sitting up on the ground. Ruiko noticed the car Juliet had thrown was lodged in the side of a building behind her. Ruiko looked down at her body. There wasn't a single indication the car had hit her.

 _Did I reflect it?_ Ruiko thought, before turning to face Kazari and Misaki, who were looking up at her. "I'm so glad we made it in time." Her voice was shaking slightly. "That was so scary. I wasn't sure it would work!" Her knees gave way under her from shock.

"Is everyone okay?" Touma yelled, running up to the others, his eyes darted to Juliet, who wasn't getting up. _She must still be stunned._ Misaki nodded and Touma helped her up. Kuroko and Jason both got up and, besides a few minor scratches, appeared to be okay. Kazari didn't answer him, but kept looking at Ruiko.

"Saten-san," Kazari asked in shock, standing up and helping Ruiko to her feet. "How did you master Accelerator's ability?"

"I didn't," Ruiko admitted. "I just flipped the choker and was propelled forward. His reflection must be unconscious."

"Basic reflection is," Accelerator growled, as he and Mikoto joined the scene. "I don't even think about it anymore." He looked over at Touma and then back to Mikoto. "Damn hero somehow beat us. Third rate, you're to fucking slow."

"Don't blame me," Mikoto replied indignantly. "You were the one who went the wrong way."

"It doesn't matter how many of you there are," Juliet yelled, getting to her feet. "You all switched bodies, so it's obvious you can't fight to your full potential. I'll get what I want and anyone who stands in my way will die." She dusted herself off and looked furious.

"What does she want that's so important?" Mikoto asked quickly. _Eve only said it was because Juliet thought Uiharu-san and Kuroko took something from her._

"She wants Jason," Misaki informed her.

"She's not getting him," Kazari said quietly, but only Ruiko heard her.

"Huh?" Ruiko asked confused. "Why would she be after him?" Everyone looked at Jason, who looked slightly uncomfortable before sighing.

"Can we go with crazy ex-girlfriend until we have time to actually discuss this?" he asked.

"You know," Accelerator spoke up. "I expected this from the damn hero, but I thought you were smart enough to prevent stupid things like this from happening."

"Why do you assume everything happens to me?" Touma asked and Accelerator raised an eyebrow at him. _Okay, he has a point, but bad things happen to other people too. I never actually had a girlfriend either so this wouldn't happen to me._

"Why does everything bad that happens to us seem to revolve around one of you guys?" Kuroko asked.

"It's not that bad," Touma denied, turning to Accelerator and Jason. They both shrugged.

"She might have a point," Jason admitted.

"It's mostly those idiots' fault," Accelerator clarified.

"Not everything is their fault," Misaki added, trying to defend Touma. "The events in England weren't Touma's fault. He just got dragged into it."

"It's not like they can see the future," Ruiko spoke up reasonably.

"Kuroko," Mikoto admonished her. "You really need to stop trying to blame the guys for everything."

"But onee-sama…"

"STOP IGNORING ME!" Juliet roared. She swept her arm at them. In mid-swing, it turned black and became a shadow again, stretching outwards. Everyone scrambled backwards except Mikoto, who charged forward raising her hand. Juliet recognized the danger first and whipped her hand downwards, cutting the street and sending shards of asphalt at Mikoto. She threw up her hands to protect her face and jumped backwards to mitigate the force from the debris. "That was close," she mumbled.

"I think I'm getting use to your body," Mikoto said, turning to look at Touma. "It's easier to remember to use your hand and not try to use my electricity." _Learning how to dodge and mitigate attacks is really difficult._

"Mikoto!" Touma called out, his face pale. "You can't touch her. Remember, she will die if my hand comes in contact with her!"

"That's right," Mikoto realized, looking horrified. "Oh god, I almost killed her…" She took a step back and turned to the others. "Someone have an idea how we can stop her?"

"Touch her with the hero's hand," suggested Accelerator.

"Besides that!"

"I think we might have to run," Touma admitted. "If we had our original powers, we would have a chance."

"I can use Accelerator's reflect with this," Ruiko said, pointing to the choker.

"On normal attacks," Accelerator huffed. "The calculations for magic vectors are completely different. You can't auto reflect them and her shadow would require those calculations."

"Oh," Ruiko replied, sounding disappointed. She had thought she would be able to try out the number one's ability for a little bit.

"Does she have a weakness?" Kuroko asked Jason.

"If her shadow is like mine," Jason muttered. "Enough raw power could destabilize it, but Misaka-san is currently unable to do that."

"You said she was a memory right?" Misaki asked, turning to Mikoto, who nodded. "If Touma could learn my power, he might be able to control her thoughts, but that's a long shot."

"We really don't have time," Kazari warned. "She's coming." Everyone turned to face Juliet.

"I'm really tired of you all pretending I'm not here," she growled. Her body turned into the shadow and started spiraling into a large sphere. "I'll just take you all down at once." Strands stretched out and started grabbing anything it could reach, cars, benches, light posts, and fences. "Most of you can be crushed and then I'll find a way to kill the one person who can deflect physical attacks." She started spinning all the objects she ripped off the street above her.

"RUN!" Touma yelled to everyone. They started scattering, but it was going to be too late. Someone was bound to be hit by Juliet's attack. What angered Touma the most was there wasn't anything he could do. _I have to find out why Juliet is after Jason. It's the only way to find out how to save her. I feel like she's in pain, but doesn't know exactly why._ As shadows of objects appeared over him, he realized the issue. _Ah crap, I'm the slowest._ He tried to keep moving, but Juliet's attack was much faster than he could run in Misaki's body. He raised his arms, but kept his eyes open. If he closed his eyes, he would definitely die. By keeping them open, there was a small chance he could dodge.

Boom!

The sound of displaced air reverberated through the deserted street. Right before Touma's eyes, all of Juliet's weapons were blown away. They crashed and clanged loudly along the street, hundreds of meters away. Juliet's shadow tendrils were broken and she crashed down into the street, leaving a small crater. Her shadow body begun to reform back into her human form and she had the combination of anger and disbelief. Another loud bang echoed across the street and a man stood between Juliet and Touma's group. He was wearing a hoody and jeans, but the air suddenly got heavy, as if his very presence was causing pressure to be exerted on them all. Touma could tell everyone was feeling it, but they were still standing at least. It wasn't Hunter's Presence, but it was enough to unnerve them all.

"It was clever to put some fake fields around the city," Cain told Juliet, ignoring Touma and his friends. "But you think I wouldn't have noticed the lack of people in this one?"

"You arrived faster than I thought," Juliet spat out, rubbing her head. "Did you have to hit me so hard?"

"You don't seem to learn with just words," Cain pointed out, before turning to face the others. "Lady Eve would like to apologize for the inconvenience Juliet has caused."

"Inconvenience?" Mikoto yelled, stepping forward. Her face was red with anger and Touma was surprised his face could look that way. He had never seen his own face angry. "She threatens our friends, destroys a street, and tries to kill us, and you think an apology is sufficient?" Mikoto valued her friends more than herself and would risk her own life to protect them. Going after Kazari and Kuroko was something she could not stand. _I don't care if he is a vampire. No one messes with my friends._

"Onee-sama is right," Kuroko agreed, stepping up. "You threaten our friends and that's unforgiveable." Even though she didn't like the guys that much, they were still part of her group of friends, even if only remotely.

"I can't forgive you either," Ruiko added. When she heard Kazari and Kuroko were in trouble, her entire body had frozen. She might have forgiven someone for threatening her, but not her friends. _Uiharu doesn't have an offensive ability to protect herself from someone like Juliet._

"Your way of attacking people who can't defend themselves is quite abhorrent," Misaki pointed out. It was true Kuroko, Kazari, and Jason were not as important to her as Touma, but they were his friends. If something happened to them, he would be devastated. _They do sort of grow on you._

"I'm not going to pretend to have some noble reason," Accelerator clarified. "I just want to beat down every last one of you. Your half assed apology just solidified that feeling." Accelerator was usually honest about how he really cared about something.

Kazari remained silent, not sure what to say. She wasn't someone to insult others, even if they did something wrong, but she was feeling something new. _I don't think I can forgive Juliet,_ she realized. _She attacked my friends and her very presence is hurting Jason._ She looked over at him and saw an odd expression on his face. It was full of pain, but also determination, as if he was telling himself he was going to get through it. "Are you going to be okay?" she asked softly.

"I…," Jason started to say and stopped. "I thought I was over it, but it came out of nowhere. I still have things to work through." Kazari nodded in understanding, promising herself she would be there. Neither of them noticed Kuroko watching and listening to them, but her eyes looked down at the ground when he spoke.

"It seems pretty unanimous," Touma stated, stepping forward through the thick air and pressure. "We aren't going to let Eve have her way when she's willing to use people as puppets."

"How admirable," Cain mused, shaking his head. "But I don't care either way. I was only asked to stop Juliet before she killed your friends." He turned back to Juliet. "Eve said I can use whatever force necessary." Juliet's face went white and her hands covered her backside. "So you do understand. Have you worked through your emotions this time?"

"I guess," Juliet said, her eyes darting toward the others, lingering on Kuroko and Kazari. "This doesn't mean I have given up," she shouted, pointing to Kuroko and Kazari. "He will be mine…oomph." Cain had walked over to her, picked her up, and threw her over his shoulder. Cain started to walk away and Juliet was still glaring at them. "You hear me?! I will never give up!"

"Why are you involving me in this?" Kuroko demanded, and then switched directions. "But it doesn't matter. I just don't like you and won't let you have your way." Misaki had to prevent herself from smirking. Mikoto would have found this funny too, if she wasn't still angry for Juliet attacking her friends. Kazari, on the other hand, shook her head and glared at Juliet. Ruiko was the only one who actually noticed that.

 _I don't think I remember the last time I saw Uiharu look actually angry,_ Ruiko thought. _What happened before we got here?_

"Be quiet," Cain told Juliet. "I need to do a little clean up now too." He tapped his foot and a ripple went through the ground. The hard asphalt street and concreate sidewalks ripped like the surface of a pond. Every crater and gash caused by Juliet's attacks started to fill up. Seconds later, the street looked as good as new. The broken car and upturned appliances like the light posts were still laying on the ground, but Cain's earth control didn't affect them. He glanced back at the others. "You are lucky Juliet's bound by Eve's power so she can't use hers without permission, or this fight would have been over before I got here." He disappeared with Juliet right after the ominous pronouncement.

"They are gone," Touma sighed, the pressure completely vanish when Cain left. It made him feel a lot better. "Is anyone hurt?"

"Couple minor scrapes here and there," Misaki said. "But nothing serious."

"Easy for you to say," Mikoto pointed out. "It's not your body."

"I figured a tomboy like yourself would enjoy a couple scars," Misaki replied. "Don't you wear them like trophies?"

"There's no way we can let some scrapes ruin onee-sama's flawless skin," Kuroko cried. "We need to get them treated immediately."

"Not now Kuroko," Mikoto sighed irritably, before turning to Misaki. "Better to be a tomboy than have such an out of shape body. Touma had a hard time getting anywhere. He got tired out after a single block."

"It was pretty funny watching the hero try to run in her body," Accelerator laughed.

"Well," Misaki said, thinking fast, and her eyes darting unwillingly to Touma. He diverted his eyes, too embarrassed to say anything. Misaki's eyes widen and, for the first time, she was actually speechless. Normally when Mikoto told Misaki she was out of shape, she just pointed out she was a lady and it was brutish to go running around and getting all sweaty. Now that it inconvenienced Touma, it actually mattered. _I hate to say this, but I may actually need to get a little more exercise. I can always erase the memories of anyone who sees me._ She noticed Mikoto watching her with a superior expression on her face. _Wait till I show her the new clothes I brought for her… oh no, we left them in the mall. I'll have to check to see if they found it._ "Oh Shirai-san, I got something to tell you."

"What is it?" Kuroko asked curiously.

"Come here," Misaki said, waving her closer. She leaned over and whispered into Kuroko's ear. Kuroko's eyes widened and looked shocked.

"Really?" she asked and Misaki nodded. "I can't wait to see it."

"I'm so glad you are alright," Ruiko said to Kazari, hugging her tightly while the other's argued. "When I heard Juliet was after you, I didn't know what to think…"

"You saved us too," Kazari replied, hugging her back. "We would have been crushed without you."

"I swear if I have to see my body hug someone again," Accelerator growled at them. "I'm going to turn you into sukeban before we switch back." Kazari and Ruiko quickly let go of each other.

"How did you even access Accelerator's ability?" Kazari asked, after Accelerator walked away toward Touma. "Wouldn't his calculations be incredibly complicated?"

"I'm not too sure myself," Ruiko admitted and pointed to her choker. "When I flipped this, it felt like my brain went into overdrive. All of these calculations went through my head and I found myself flying forward. I think I accidently used his powers to throw myself. I couldn't understand the formulas at all. He said basic reflection is automatic and that's how I stopped the car."

"What was it like?" Kazari asked, slightly excited. "You always said you were tired of staying back while people fought to protect others."

"I have some mixed feelings," Ruiko said slowly. "It was kind of exciting, but I was scared at the same time. I don't like fighting." She paused and looked directly into Kazari's eyes. "If I have to though, I will."

"I think that is how it should be," Kazari nodded. "You shouldn't go looking for a fight, but stand up when an injustice happens." While the girls were talking, Touma walked over to Jason.

"You look like you have seen better days," Touma whispered.

"I got a shock today," Jason mumbled. "If Kazari didn't snap me out of it, I would have gone mad or been captured."

"It has something to do with Juliet and the ex-girlfriend joke you made, doesn't it?" Touma asked.

"It's not so much of a joke," Jason muttered dryly. He was aware of Accelerator listening in. "Remember our conversation after we got back from Italy in the hospital?"

"I do."

"Juliet… it's her."

"The one who died?" Touma asked, his eyes widening. Jason nodded and his hand made a fist so tight, his knuckles were turning white. "How? She said she was a memory and her power is really similar to yours."

"I noticed."

"You know what we can do then?" Accelerator asked, causing them to look at him. "We find Eve, beat her up, and make her tell us everything."

"I would prefer a less violent solution," Touma admitted. "Besides, you have seen her power. A direct assault is not going to work."

"Then those brats need to get stronger," Accelerator huffed. "If they could get up to at least half my strength, we could easily take those bastards down." He looked around at the others, still talking to each other, and he scowled. "Brats!" he yelled out and everyone turned to look at him. "Did you idiots forget the nun is making a spell to change us back? Why are we wasting time?"

"He's got a point," Mikoto mumbled, not happy about the brat comment. "We really should switch back before Juliet gets the desire to attack us again." She felt slightly depressed. _I think I actually enjoyed being in his body a bit, even with all those unlucky things happening to me. I finally understand what he goes through on a daily bases. I really have been too hard on him._

"I can't wait to get back into my body," Misaki added. "There are so many things I have to do and, as much as I enjoy your tomboy physique, I'm more comfortable in mine." _Mental note, I need to find a way to exercise without anyone seeing me, or at least only people I can memory wipe. If I want to stand with my prince, I'm going to have to be able to run a little._

"I know the feeling," Touma agreed. He was glad everyone seemed to getting back in their normal routine. Mikoto and Misaki needling each other slightly was a common occurrence. "There are certain… places that are a little uncomfortable. _Especially when running._ Misaki laughed and Mikoto gave a grudging smile.

 _Maybe he finally realized how useless those blobs of fat are._

 _Once I'm back in my body, Accelerator_ thought. _I need to make sure the brats are okay, and then I am hunting that bitch down._

"I'm looking forward to returning to normal," Ruiko said to Kazari. "Shokuhou-san has a point. I'm way more comfortable in my own body." _Plus this cane is kind of annoying, but it's not like it's Accelerator's fault he has to use it._

"I'm glad we all got out of that situation in one piece," Kazari replied. "But I'm happy you all will be back to normal soon. Just don't wake up tomorrow morning and scare me, please." She gazed at Jason who was walking in silence next to Touma and behind Kuroko.

"That sounds kind of fun actually," Ruiko grinned, but stopped when she saw where Kazari was looking. "Something happened, didn't it?" Kazari nodded. "Talk to him after we are switched back." Kazari looked at Ruiko, but knew she was right. Ruiko was quite observant when someone wasn't in a good mood. She usually knew what was bothering them and had an idea on how to help.

"The first thing I'm going to do is shower," Kuroko sighed. "Being in a sweaty male body all day is horrible." She glanced at Jason, who didn't seem to even notice her words and she scowled.

 _Trying to draw his attention?_

 _What? No!_

 _I'm curious why you didn't mention the information I told you yet, or even my presence to the others?_

 _Timing is wrong, now shut up._ Kuroko shook her head and turned to Jason. "There are a lot of things you need to tell us about Juliet." Everyone else glanced at Jason, who looked like he had just eaten a bar of soap.

* * *

"Everything is ready when you are," Index said, the moment they entered Touma's apartment. "You just need to stand… is something wrong?" She could feel the tension in the air as they all piled into the cramp living area. She also noticed many of them had signs of a struggle. "Did you get in a fight?"

"We kind of got attacked by one of Eve's minions," Touma admitted.

"Huh?" Index asked surprised, and then her eyes widened. "How did you escape? You said your abilities didn't work while you were switched."

"They worked," Mikoto explained. "They just didn't switch bodies with us. The bodies we are in still have their original abilities. Some of us were able to figure out how to use them." Her eyes darted to Accelerator and Ruiko. Accelerator figured it out because he was a genius and Ruiko's mind was apparently overcharged by the choker Accelerator had.

"Who was it?" Lessar asked.

"It was the girl named Juliet," Misaki informed her. "She could turn her body into a shadow very similar to Kagere-san's ability. She's fast and agile. Without our original abilities, we didn't stand a chance."

"She's really difficult to fight," Lessar agreed. "Physical attacks don't work on her at all."

"Speaking of similarities," Kuroko spoke up, crossing her arms. "Jason has a lot of explaining to do after we switch back." Her eyes darted to Jason and Kazari, who were standing in the back. "You and her know each other."

"Did," Jason corrected her, scowling.

"Kuroko," Mikoto whispered. "You are being really insensitive."

"We need him to tell us what he knows," Kuroko protested.

"You know her?" Lessar asked Jason. "How?"

"Long story," Jason muttered and Kazari squeezed his hand.

"Can we talk about this later?" Kazari asked.

"We have plenty of time for that afterwards," Ruiko added, stepping into the middle of everyone. "Index and Lessar have been working hard to finish the spell to change us back."

"It was pretty simple," Index said proudly, sticking out her chest confidently. "Just took some time laying down the pattern." Everyone looked at circle drawn on the ground with a seven point star made of tape in it, the corners of the star hitting the edges of the circle. Rune symbols were placed periodically around the designs. "First, each of you will have to stand on each of the star's points."

"About time," Accelerator said, stepping up. With Index's direction, the order was Accelerator, Jason, Touma, Ruiko, Kuroko, Mikoto, and Misaki. "I can finally return to my body and hunt those bastards down."

"Is being in my body really that bad?" Ruiko asked.

"I suppose it could be worse," Accelerator shrugged. Those words got him a lot of surprised looks. From him, that was a compliment.

"This is my first time seeing a magic spell being performed," Kazari said to Lessar.

"It's not really as impressive as you think it will be," Lessar laughed. "There won't be any fireworks or anything like that." She grabbed a bag of the dolls and begun to pass them out to everyone. "Take the doll that represents you, not the one for your current body. " She started with Accelerator and moved around counter clockwise, until reaching Kuroko. When she saw the remaining three dolls, she was immediately able to pick out hers.

"Why would you choose this?" she yelled, picking up the Kuroneko doll. "Was it you ape?" She demanded pointing to Touma.

"No," Touma denied quickly, shaking his head. _I know she wasn't going to appreciate it._ He noticed a small smile on Jason's face and Touma felt better. _At least he's recovering, so something good came of this._

"It was me," Ruiko volunteered the information. "It was the only thing we could find to represent you. When I saw it, I immediately thought of you."

"Arg," Kuroko moaned. She glared at the guys, daring them to say anything. "I guess there's not much choice at this point." _I swear, Jason must have planned this somehow, even if he was with me._

 _I doubt he actually planned anything related to this body swap._

 _It still feels good to blame him._

"I guess Misaka must have picked out mine," Misaki stated conversationally. "You can tell she only focuses on the one thing she lacks." She spun the Barbie doll around in her hands.

"What might that be?" Mikoto growled. _It may have been true, but that doesn't mean she has to say it out loud._

"Lady like appearance," Misaki pointed out simply and then pulled out Mikoto's doll. "Aww, it looks just like you."

"Give me that." Mikoto grabbed the Pikachu doll from Misaki's grasp. "Accelerator grabbed that one for me and Touma liked it."

"Small harmless animal that sparks a lot," Accelerator laughed.

"Onee-sama is a lot more than that," Kuroko said, coming to Mikoto's defense.

"It is kind of cute," Kazari said.

"I do think of her when I see it," Ruiko agreed.

"What now Index?" Touma asked, moving the topic to the more important matters. He was ready to go back into his body. Misaki's body was devastatingly attractive, but he was use to his physical abilities, along with no wearing a skirt or having certain assets get in his way while moving.

"Take these pieces of strings and tie them around your representative," Index told them. "Each string will be connected to the dolls of the person you swapped with. Touma, you and the other two are going to make a triangle with three pieces." She waited a moment while everyone complied. "The dolls you are holding represent your identity and the strings represent your connecting pathway with your physical bodies. Eve's magic messed with your normal connection, so this spell is going to forcefully restore them."

"What about my hand?" Touma asked, pointing to Mikoto. "Won't it interfere with the spell?"

"We did think of that," Index said, nodding to Lessar. "And we came up with an idea. It only took a small modification to the spell."

"On it," Lessar said with a fake salute and walked over to Mikoto.

"What are you planning to do?" Mikoto asked suspiciously.

"Give me your hand," Lessar instructed. Mikoto wasn't entirely convinced, but held out her right hand.

"When's the wedding?" Misaki whispered.

"Shut up." She was aware Accelerator heard everything and was smirking deviously. _Kuroko does not need to hear that._ She felt Lessar tie the string around her wrist and pull her arm back as far as she could, before tying the other string to the bed post. "What's this?" she demanded. "It's uncomfortable." Mikoto was still standing in her position on one of the star points, but her right arm was now fully extended behind her.

"We have plenty of clearance," Lessar said, measuring the distance from the hand to the circle, and turned back to Index.

"Eve's magic was able to affect Touma," Index explained. "You should know Short Hair that his hand protects him from most magic. It is possible to avoid it and that's how Eve was able to mess with the link between his brain and body. The spell we are going to use focuses on everything within the circle. By moving his hand outside the circle, we are hoping it won't be in the way. The spell will take the link in your mind, travel down to your representative and through the string, which represents the connection between mind and body."

"His hand is extremely devastating to magic," Lessar added. "But its range is limited, and we are taking advantage of that. The spell should have no reason to reach his hand."

"Enough with the details," Accelerator growled. "Switch us back already. The brats have left me alone for too long and I know Worst is up to something by now."

"Mother hen," Jason muttered. Kazari and Ruiko had to stifle a giggle. Accelerator gave him a death glare, but didn't speak his mind because Lessar stepped forward.

"I'm going to cast the spell," she announced. "So try not to move.

"Hear that Uiharu?" Ruiko called over her shoulder. "In a minute, we will all be back to our fun loving selves."

"I look forward to it."

"When we get back, onee-sama and I will need to clean up. Hehehe, when she's showering I can make my move."

"Your thoughts are leaking out and if you try that, you know what I'm going to do."

"It's just your whip of love."

"I'll be able to embrace my prince again in my own body. I bet he knows it so well by now."

"Someone's delusional."

"You better not have ruined his body."

"What do you think I could have done?"

"It would be nice to embrace Kazari again."

"You've been quite for a while, but I'm glad you seem to be recovering."

"Can you all please be quiet?" Lessar asked impatiently. "I'm trying to concentrate." Everyone got quite as Lessar started mumbling. Touma couldn't recognize the words, but it almost sounded like a song. He blinked as a tingling sensation appeared in his head and slowly moved down into his hands. The strings in front of him began to glow with a soft blue light. The doll in his hand began to vibrate. Touma had seen magic rituals before, but he had never been a part of one before because of his hand. Everyone except Accelerator was also looking around at everything with interest. They were in the same boat and were interested to see what magic was like. Accelerator was the only one who didn't care. To him, the ending was the only important part.

Simultaneously everyone, who had been swapped, suddenly collapsed onto the ground.

"AH!" Kazari exclaimed, looking at Lessar and Index. "Did something go wrong?"

"No," Index reassured her. "There was a second delay from the time their minds were separated from their body to when they connect to their original body. Without anything to control their muscles, they collapsed. See, they are waking up now." Kazari saw Index was right, when everyone began stirring and groaning slightly.

"Ouch," Ruiko said, rubbing her head and looking down at herself after sitting up. "It worked, I'm back to normal. Oomph…" She had just stood up when Kazari ran up and hugged her. "Woah there," she laughed. "I think you should go hug someone else."

"You're right," Kazari mumbled and let Ruiko go. She turned and saw Jason getting to his feet. Moving around Touma she embraced him and he embraced her back. "I'm glad you're okay. When you weren't responding back then…"

"Thanks for not giving up," Jason whispered, kissing her on the forehead.

"Finally," Accelerator said, completely ruining the mood. He stood up and stretched. "Now I can go and teach that bitch a lesson for messing with me. She's going to wish she never stepped foot into this city."

"If she can mess with you on this level," Lessar pointed out. "What makes you think you can beat her?" Accelerator glared at her for a moment before responding.

"Because I'm going to get serious."

"Ouch," Mikoto mumbled, rubbing her legs as she stood up. "You got a bunch of cuts from Juliet didn't you?"

"It's hard to dodge everything," Misaki pointed out. "I'm not use to being in the front lines. I'm more of a control tower."

"Control being the optimum word," Mikoto replied.

"I'm the same way onee-sama," Kuroko said. Her body was sore with minor cuts and bruises all over from the fight with Juliet. "When we get back, I want to have a long hot shower." She was about to say something about Jason , but noticed him and Kazari having a moment. _I guess I'll let them be for a bit. He's not going to be happy telling us about Juliet._ She suddenly felt her stomach churn slightly when she saw him kiss Kazari's head.

"That does sound good," Mikoto agreed.

"I think I want one too," Misaki added. She was happy being back in her own body, but she was curious about exactly how much Touma saw of her body. Her clothes were damp, but he said that was because of the sprinklers in a building. _Is it weird that I actually wanted our uniforms to be more see-through when they get wet? Touma wouldn't be able to help but look._

"Thanks for helping turn us back to normal," Ruiko said, turning to Index and Lessar. "We wouldn't have been able to do it without you."

"Heh," Index replied with a smug look on her face. "I specialize in understanding magic. Something like this was no big deal." Not only was she able to help Touma, she was able to show off how useful she was to his friends. _Short Hair isn't the only one who can assist him. Maybe she will learn her place now._

"I am pretty great," Lessar agreed. "But I'll tell you a secret." She sat down on the bed, her tail twitching behind her. "I didn't completely do this out of the goodness of my heart." She smiled and Ruiko felt a sense of dread. "You remember his promise?"

"Oh…" Ruiko replied slowly. She covered her mouth with both of her hands and her eyes widened. Her eyes darted to Mikoto for help. _I wouldn't have remembered if Lessar didn't mention it._

"I almost forgot about that," Mikoto mumbled, her hand clenching in a fist. When a dark aura started to form around Index; Misaki, Kuroko, Jason, and Kazari realized something happened.

"I feel like I'm missing something important," Misaki said, looking from Mikoto to Touma. "You look a little nervous," she told him.

"What promise was it?" Kazari asked Jason quietly. He shrugged and looked at Touma.

"What!? Touma exclaimed. "You want it now? In front of everyone?" Lessar smiled and nodded.

"I have a feeling the ape caved into her crazy demands," Kuroko muttered.

"You don't know the half of it," Accelerator laughed. "Go ahead brat," he told Lessar. "Tell them what he promised." The source of entertainment pushed the thought of revenge from his mind for now.

"It's nothing big," Lessar explained, kicking her feet. "He just promised he would give me a kiss, on the lips, and he would initiate it." She grinned while Misaki's eyes widen in horror.

"Is this true?" Misaki asked in shock, turning to Touma. "Tell me that was a joke." Before freaking out completely, she wanted to verify the truth of Lessar's words. _Lessar is known for saying crazy things that have no basis in reality._

"Er well," Touma said, taking a step back and rubbing his head. "She was rather persistent and we really need the spell cast…" His voice trailed off under her gaze. It also didn't help Index and Mikoto were glaring at him too. They knew about the promise, but it didn't mean they had to like it. _I'm going to regret this later. I just know it. Such misfortune._

"No!" Misaki gasped.

"Why did he agree to that?" Kuroko asked no one in particular. "I almost think he's doing this on purpose."

"He's not," Ruiko told her. "We were just in a hurry and needed this resolved quickly. It's just a kiss…" Her voice trailed off, even though she tried to sound nonchalant, something Kuroko and Kazari did not miss.

"You really need to be more honest," Kuroko told her. _I wouldn't be able to be calm if onee-sama kissed someone else besides me._ Kazari and Jason decided to stay quiet and back up a little. They didn't have a lot to say, but they didn't want to draw attention to themselves. Accelerator was leaning up against the wall, watching everyone's exchange with a smirk on his face.

"What's done is done," Mikoto sighed, still very irritated. She knew how pushy Lessar was and Touma usually just went with whatever anyone else pushed him into. _I'm going to have to talk with him about learning how to tell people no once in a while. Actually, it's as good as time as ever._ "You need to learn to say no once in a while to requests from people like her. BUT, you did promise… so get it over with." She was torn with what she wanted and how much Touma valued his word.

"What do you mean like me?"

"Yes Mikoto-sama," Touma replied and he had to quickly negate a bolt of electricity with his hand.

"And you," Misaki added, pointing to Lessar. "Need to stop trying to trick him into getting with you. Maybe I should just put the memory of you kissing him or have you forget the promise."

"Misaki," Touma said slowly. Misaki looked at the floor. She felt slightly anxious she had to show a side of herself he didn't like, but she wasn't going to continue to let Lessar have her way with him.

"You could," Lessar confirmed. "But it wouldn't change his memory." She pointed to Touma. "He made a promise and we all know he won't break it." She held out her arms. "Ready when you are Lover Boy."

"Arg," Misaki and Mikoto moaned, looking at each other. They both knew Lessar was completely right about Touma. Neither of them could think of a solution with so little time and the same thought crossed their mind. _If I look away, maybe it won't be so bad._

"Why does she even want one in the first place," Kuroko asked Ruiko but, surprisingly, Accelerator answered.

"When we arrived to get the nun to decipher Eve's magic," he explained, his amusement never leaving his face.

"Don't tell them!" Mikoto yelled, but Accelerator was taking his frustration out on her.

"This brat," he pointed to Lessar, "Initiated a surprise attack as soon as the third rate stepped in with the hero's body. The brat tackled the third rate and planted a kiss when she let her guard down."

"No!" Kuroko moaned. "Onee-sama was defiled by someone's lips other than mine…" She got cut off as Mikoto hit her on the head.

"Is that what really happened?" Kazari asked Ruiko. "I thought Misaka-san's reflexes would have allowed her to dodge. She's had a lot of practice dodging Shirai-san."

"Combination of a surprise attack and the shock of being swapped probably had something to do with it," Ruiko told her. She had seen the entire incident. "She also didn't expect Lessar. Touma would probably have been able to dodge."

"Wasn't the only thing that happened to the third rate either," Accelerator continued. He started counting on his hands. "She got soaked two times, not counting the sprinklers during the fight, she got a couple girls' numbers after saving them, and then she got kissed again by Eve. If I didn't know better, I swear she was the damn hero."

"So you have been flirting with girls while in Touma's body?" Misaki asked, turning to look at Mikoto. "I had a feeling you may have been into girls, with how much your mention my chest. I'm sorry to disappoint you through, I'm into my prince."

"That means I still have a chance," Kuroko added excitedly.

"She mentioned that once at the store too," Accelerator added while laughing.

"It wasn't my fault!" Mikoto told them, snapping out of her stunned silence. "Lessar ambushed me and Eve did the same thing she did in England. She can read minds through a k-kiss. Getting those numbers was an accident because they thought I was him." She pointed to Touma. "And you," she pointed to Misaki, "Need to stop giving people weird ideas about me."

"Accelerator," Touma said, stepping forward. "We finally changed back and have other matters to discuss. Please stop picking on her." Accelerator raised an eyebrow, crossed his arm, made a sound with his tongue, but went quiet.

"Thanks," Mikoto whispered.

"It was mostly my hands fault," Touma told her. "I'm use to these kinds of things on a daily basis and know how to avoid a lot of them." _Misaki also didn't have to antagonize them._ His eyes darted to Misaki, who immediately knew what he was thinking.

"Sorry Misaka," she mumbled. Mikoto's eyes widened ever so slightly, but she nodded in acknowledgement. Touma was the only person who could actually get Misaki to apologize to Mikoto.

"If you all are done making fun of Sparky," Lessar interrupted, still sitting on the bed. "I believe it's time for my reward."

"Touma," Index spoke up. "You really don't have to. She would have done it anyways." Even as she spoke, she knew it was no use. Index knew how important Touma's word was to him. _It's how I know he will always come back. He faced hell for me and promised to stay with me._ Her heart started beating wildly when she remembered their first meeting. _I know the kiss will be just because of a promise, but it still hurts to think about._

"I made a promise," Touma told her, solidifying Index's thoughts. _I'm not really comfortable with this. A kiss should be shared between people who like each other, not a reward, but Lessar really wants it. I still don't know what she sees in me._ Lessar grinned and held out her arms in a beckoning way. Touma took a step forward and his eyes darted to everyone else. Mikoto, Misaki, and Index were looking exactly like he knew they would. They were biting the corner of their lip and had the expression they wanted to stop him, but knew they couldn't. Accelerator had a combination of amusement and impatience. Ruiko looked slightly anxious, but was diverting her eyes. Jason's face was passive, but it was probably because he had more important things on his mind. Kazari's face had turned red and was pretending not to watch. Kuroko was rolling her eyes at this, but she was focusing on Mikoto. Before Touma could reach Lessar, Misaki actually spoke up.

"You better not think of trying anything," Misaki said. "I'll be watching."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Lessar said innocently, which just increased the suspicion for Misaki, Mikoto, and Touma. "He may however become addicted to my technique and want to stay with me."

"Like that would happen," Mikoto sniffed. _It's not like he hasn't been kissed before._ She felt a hint of anger remembering Misaki and Shizuri kissing him, but then she frowned. _Has… he actually initiated a kiss before? I only remember seeing accidents or someone forcing it on him. Even ours was like that… Now that I think about it, it's not really a kiss if it isn't mutual!_ Misaki had a similar train of thought, but she kept her face passive while Mikoto's expression was easily readable.

"Get it over with," Accelerator mumbled. "For the love of fucking god it's just a kiss." He had been assaulted by the brats back at his apartment more times than he could count.

"He's such a pushover," Kuroko sighed. _You would think onee-sama would go after someone with more backbone._

"Don't make this weirder then it already is please," Touma sighed. He didn't really want to do this. Lessar smiled at him keeping her arms out, and closed her eyes. Feeling everyone's eyes on him, which only made the situation even more embarrassing, he leaned down. _I never did this before, what if I find out I'm bad at this? It might make Lessar give up, but then if I ever actually get a girlfriend, I might chase her away!_ Right before his face reached Lessar's, he closed his eyes. He felt her soft lips press against his.

Then his danger sense went off.

He pulled off her and ducked, right as her arms wrapped around where his head had been a moment before. He twisted to the side as Lessar fell forward, off the bed, and hit the floor hard. While that was one of the reasons his danger sense went off, the eruption of dark auras all around him was the main reason. He turned and saw Misaki, Mikoto, and Index were the main source. Mikoto was gritting her teeth and had her fists balled into fists, but she was forcing herself not to say anything. Misaki had a passive look, but her eyes held a twinkle of disdain. Index was glaring at him but, unusually, didn't try to bite his head. Ruiko was shifting slightly in place, but wasn't a source for his fear. She looked embarrassed with a trace of disappointment. Kazari's face was red and Kuroko was rubbing her head. Touma looked back down at Lessar, mainly to avoid eye contact with the other girls. "Okay," he said, feeling his ears burning. "I filled my end of the deal."

"That was mean," Lessar said, rolling over and looking up at him. "It was so short and then you dodged when I tried to make it more passionate. You didn't even get a chance to see my technique."

"You didn't put a time limit on it." _I'm glad I didn't experience it._

"I know I missed something," Lessar said, smacking her forehead with her hand. "I figured on the lips would prevent you from trying some boring location."

"Well now we have passed that unpleasant situation," Misaki said stepping forward. "How about a kiss from me to take your mind off of what you just did? Get rid of any lingering aftertaste."

"Eh?" Touma said, confused at the surprising turn of events.

"Oh no you don't," Mikoto said, grabbing Misaki's arm.

"Why not?" Misaki asked. "Are you afraid he will enjoy my lips more than yours?"

"W-what?!" spluttered Mikoto.

"Plus Saten-san and Index would probably wont to compete too," Misaki added.

"Huh?" Ruiko asked in shock, turning bright red. "I never said that." _I wouldn't say no though if he asked._ Her face burned at the thought and the normally cheerful and talkative girl was rather subdued.

"Toouummaaa," Index said dangerously. "Was this your plan when you agreed to her demands?" Her face was red, but the dark aura around her didn't completely vanish. She had been affected by Misaki's words greatly.

"Ever since I first met Kamijou-san and your friends," Kazari said to Jason. "I thought it was strange situations like this occurred. Is it bad I'm getting use to them now?"

"Nah," Jason told her, smiling. "Everyone gets use to these things when you hang out with Touma long enough. First time I've seen what could amount to a kissing booth start though."

"I'm leaving before this place turns into a brothel," Accelerator growled, standing up. "You should probably take your girl too or she's going to get swept up in that."

"I-I wouldn't," stammered Kazari.

"You don't understand the power of Kami-yan disease," Jason said, putting his arm around her. "It's probably best if we sneak out while they are distracted." He gestured to Mikoto and Misaki arguing with each other and Lessar, while Touma was trying to keep Index from biting his head. Ruiko had been pulled into the argument and was trying to calm the situation down.

"Hold it!" Kuroko said loudly, causing everyone to look at her. "You can't leave yet." She pointed at Jason with a serious look on her face. "You have a lot of explaining to do about Juliet. I knew you were going to try to sneak out." The thought had crossed her mind shortly before they arrived at Touma's apartment. She had been keeping an eye on him since arriving, which caused her to avoid replying to a lot of the conversations around her. _He definitely doesn't want to talk about it, but we need to know._ Then there was the small honest part of her. _I want to know what happened to him._

"Shirai-san has a point," Misaki added, ignoring one of Lessar's comments. "After what happened and what she told us, we know you two were friends in the past. Don't you think we deserve to know?" Jason grimaced slightly and his lips got pressed together.

"Didn't he say something about it just being a crazy ex?" Accelerator asked, but everyone ignored him.

"All we really know about Juliet is her powers are similar to yours," Mikoto pointed out. "Anything you can tell us could be valuable if we meet her again."

"Well," Index added. "I told you she was a memory manifested into physical form."

"I would actually like to know how she managed to manifest that," Lessar mumbled. "It would have to be one of Eve's spell." She turned to Index. "Shame you didn't get enough information to analyze it."

"Jason," Kazari told him softly. "It's obvious you're hurting when you saw her. We are your friends and want to help, but we can't unless you talk to us." She put a hand on his face and stared into his eyes, until he nodded.

"I… suppose," Jason finally relented. "It's a long story, so I'm going to get a drink of water first." Touma nodded and Jason walked to the kitchen.

"You are the only one who seems to be able to get him to do what he has to do," Ruiko said, trying to laugh but being unable to because of the seriousness of the situation.

"He usually lies and jokes around when I try to ask him a serious question," Kuroko huffed. "Or outright dodges it."

"Tsuchimikado pretty good at that too," Touma said. "He can get Jason to go along with his plans, usually causing me and Accelerator problems."

"You don't know the half of it," Accelerator mumbled. "But, none of you realized what he just pulled on you."

"Huh?" Mikoto asked confused. "What do you mean? He was just getting some water."

"Think about the hero's dorm room layout." There was silence, until Misaki spoke up.

"The kitchen is right by the door," she said, and then they heard the sound of the door being slammed shut. There was a brief moment of silence, before Kuroko broke it.

"He's not getting away that easily!" she yelled. Kuroko teleported to the door, opened it up, and stepped outside.

"He really didn't want to talk about it," Lessar commented, before Kuroko stormed back in.

"I can't tell which direction he ran off in," she fumed. "I can't believe we fell for that."

"His phone is off," Kazari added, frowning and putting it away. _He lied to me, but it's not like I can't understand why. I had a feeling he would try to slip away to be alone. He's trying to avoid talking about it and that's not good for him. We need to know what happened and find him._

"I think we should find him," Ruiko said out loud, glancing at Kazari. "But we need a plan."

"Can you tell us what you know?" Mikoto asked Misaki and Kazari. "It might be good to have a general idea."

"We only know what Juliet told us," Misaki said. "And you should always take what your opposition says with a grain of salt."

"She seemed kind of honest in her explanation," Kazari added. "The way Kagere-san responded seemed to indicate the events were as tragic as she said."

"What happened to him?" Index asked. "He's always taken care of me when Touma got involved in something he shouldn't."

"It's not a pleasant story," Touma told her. "I know why he doesn't want to talk about it."

"YOU KNOW!?" Misaki, Mikoto, Ruiko, Kuroko, and Kazari all exclaimed at the same time.

 _Oh crap,_ Touma thought. _He told me that in confidence._

"I'm not surprised," Accelerator said. "I heard them whispering about it earlier."

"Tell us ape," Kuroko demanded, but Mikoto covered her mouth with a hand.

"Ask nicer," Mikoto said, but Kazari took the floor.

"Please Kamijou-san," she said, stepping forward and looking him in the eyes. "We need to know what happened, not only for us, but especially for him. We can't help if we are left in the dark." Her eyes suddenly glowed with strength. "I'm not going to leave until you tell us."

"Wow," Ruiko and Kuroko muttered, looking at each other. They normally didn't see Kazari act tough or demand things from others.

 _What should I do?_ Touma thought. _It's not my story to give, but their safety might hang in the balance. Jason might do something rash since Juliet's alive, or at least her memories._ He sighed and looked at all the girls. They were crowded around him and watching him closely. "It definitely isn't a pleasant story, but it's also how he developed his shadow ability. I'll tell you what he told me."

"I can confirm if it coincides with what Juliet told us," Misaki added.

"It's a little long, so you might want to get comfortable," Touma told them. He sat on the bed with Index, Lessar and Misaki sitting down on it too. Mikoto and Kuroko grabbed a chair. Accelerator was content with leaning up against a wall. Ruiko was sitting on the ground, her back propped against the wall. Kazari was sitting on the floor, her legs pulled up against her. "I found out about this after we got back from Italy," he started off, looking at them. _It feels like it's story time at a summer camp._ He took a deep breath and started to recite Jason's past.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Leivinia: Who cares about his past? Hurry up and bring me back. Everyone wants to see me, the best girl, again.**

 **Carissa: Who would want to see another boring brat? People are much more interested in my fate.**

 **Leivinia: You got locked up in the dungeon.**

 **Orsola: There's no point in fight you two. Season three is focused more on the science side than the magic side. I'm sure once we reach season four, the magic side will play a much greater roll.**

 **Leivinia: I suppose I could wait a couple more chapters. I am one of the strongest leaders in the world.**

 **Carissa: Sure you are, if you are talking about the strength of your ego.**

 **Othinus: I assume your arguments are only for the best human. None of you are even worth my time.**

 **Leivinia: Coming from the person who hasn't had a single scene.**

 **Othinus: All it takes is the right opportunity for me to appear.**

 **Carissa: Is that a threat?  
Othinus: Take it how you will.**

 **Shizuri: There might be room for someone to take over the protagonist role after next chapter.**

 **Me: Okay… Anyway, season three ends with the next chapter.**


	78. S3 Needed Explanations

**This is it, the big wrap off for season three and dang it is long. The length surpasses all my other chapters by a wide margin. It makes sense as a lot of things had to be wrapped up before the season ended. Something I noticed recently. It seems like for a week or so, a lot of Index fanfics were a little more on the serious/depressing side when my arc started reaching a similar point. "The Lost Light" was really emotional but the summary implies it should be getting a little lighter. "A certain Strange Scenario" which is a new serious future Academy City story when things start going downhill. Then there was the popular "A Certain Unknown Level 0" by a very shady Mr ?, started to get rather violent and bloody. I was lucky funny stories like "Total Drama Harem," "Certain Virtual Conquest," and "Harem Civil War" appeared and lightened my mood.**

 **NT16 exploded with action. Loved the Mikoto/Misaki/Touma moments, but Mikoto really did shine. I did notice how Touma kept thinking about Mikoto and if she was okay more than just once or twice, I wonder if that implies something. Mikoto is enjoying her newly made AAA and even made a club to repair it. Just when you think they solved all the problems with the Elements and the heat, more problems arise and familiar faces arise. That ending though…. Wow it was intense. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it yet though, so let's move to comments.**

 **Whwsms: Everyone really has grown just being near Touma. He has that effect on people. I think Ruiko should have sent Bayloupe a message trying to get her to come to Academy City, it would be great to see her, Saiai, and Hibiki all at once with Last Order stuck in the middle.**

 **Guest: It actually takes a long time to go through even a basic review. I doubt I could do one a day consistently while being able to have time to fulfill all my other obligations. As for Mugino, they have a 'talk' this chapter.**

 **Brosephg: Touma is one of those guys who if he says he will do something, he will. That's why when he tells people he will return, he does.**

 **wildarms13: Shuuuuuu, don't worry about the small things.**

 **321jaz: I know everyone thought the body swap arc was just for fun, but it lead to a very important scene. I never do anything just for laughs, but I will always add humor if the situation allows it.**

 **Kuroppy: Okay, but just because I like you**

 **Shikaku Zetsumei: All will be explained below.**

 **Handsomistic1: I can't trust people to ask Touma questions. It's all going to be, so "what girl do you like" or "why don't you date X" or, "go after X."**

 **Agent Nine: I was going to call this story "Certain Infinite Cliff Hangers"**

 **Salishious: Body swap arc takes the place of gender bending. I do have another big plan for Kami the Harem King antics in next season. Everyone wants Saten to win, but her being 'normal' makes her much more relatable. If she gets to powerful, she might lose that.**

 **RPGPersona: Your wish for Mugino has been granted. Also, "Just a second Juliet, we are having a team meeting hear. Didn't anyone tell you it is rude to interrupt people when they are talking?" I died at this comment.**

 **Anon Guest: After how long that joke has been around, everyone expects the inquisition.**

 **I'm still surprised how much people like Jason/Uiharu. Usually OCs don't get a lot of love. I tried to prevent him from overtaking the story, but I knew having 1-2 chapters devoted to his past was going to happen. Any significant character gets a section about them, whether good or evil. I just try to blend it with everyone else.**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly. Magic Gods own all so they can do what they want.**

* * *

"Once…," Touma started to say, but Mikoto quickly interrupted him.

"If you say once upon a time," she told him, a vein throbbing in her forehead. "I'm going to hit you."

"I wasn't going to," Touma lied unconvincingly. He had been planning to start off by saying that to try to make the story seem less disheartening. He could tell Mikoto didn't believe him and even Misaki raised an eyebrow skeptically. Kuroko glared at him and Kazari looked like she wanted to say something, but held her tongue. Accelerator had the shadow of a smirk on his face and Ruiko was looking apprehensive. Lessar almost laughed, but kept quiet and Index appeared confused at what was happening. "I was going to say, once I was released from the hospital after out fight with the Herald and the sins, I passed Jason's room and accidently overheard he was awake and talking to the doctor."

"Get on with it," Kuroko said impatiently.

"I stopped when I heard a few things," Touma continued. "The first was his shadow ability was running wild, which we learned was because of those sin marks he stole. The second one was the doctor was asking if he missed his old ability in exchange for his shadow." He stopped when everyone started muttering. He knew the information was going to cause a lot of questions, but the background was important for the later parts of the story.

"Juliet mentioned he had a different ability too," Kazari spoke up. "But that should be impossible, right?" She looked around at the others.

"Damn right it's impossible," spat out Accelerator. "Our abilities are based on the premise of the uncertainty principle. We actually end up ignoring it by distorting the micro world to select the possibility that coincides with the individual. Once that possibility is selected, we can't change it. It's why our abilities will always stay constant. An ability could grow and appear to change, like when the third rate finally learned how to fire a railgun, but the fundamental ability doesn't."

"My railgun still relies on my electricity manipulation," Mikoto agreed. "It's not like I could suddenly control water." She frowned. "I know there were theories involving trying to change abilities, but nothing has been released about it succeeding."

"The city can't even choose what abilities are unlocked for an individual," Misaki added. "They couldn't tell us what our ability was until we started generating an AIM field." Index and Lessar looked at each other in confusion. They didn't know anything about the abilities from Academy City so, to them, everyone was talking a different language.

"If they could," Mikoto continued. "They would probably replicate all the level five abilities, especially Accelerator's. No one else in the city has his ability."

"Because no one in the city is as great as me."

"We know all this," Kuroko said impatiently, rolling her eyes. "But we are getting off track."

"I agree," Ruiko said, glancing at Kazari. She was still holding her legs tightly and her face was apprehensive. _She's trying to act strong, but she wants to know._ "We should try to stay on topic and let him finish."

"I have to agree," Misaki said. "I noticed our comments seem to spiral out of control when we get together." Mikoto and Accelerator glared at her and she smiled in response, like it was never her fault. "I'll fill in any gaps of Touma's story with what Juliet told us, but other than that, we should wait until he finishes before discussing it. Only ask a question if something needs clarified."

"Fine," Mikoto agreed. She hated to admit it, but Misaki was right. _It's more for Uiharu, but I need to hear this too. Touma knows something that will definitely cause something to happen to him if he keeps it a secret. A couple hours in his body and I understand how his luck works._ Accelerator huffed, but didn't say anything.

"Thanks," Touma said, glad they weren't going to interrupt him as often. This story wasn't something easy to talk about, not only because Jason wanted to keep it a secret, but it was also very grisly tale to talk about. "Where was I… ah yes. We talked about what I overheard and it turns out the sin guys we fought were also involved in his past. He relented and told me about his arrival into the city." He scrunched his forehead, trying to remember all the details. It had been a while since their conversation. "He was four or five when he first came to the city and was a gemstone with the ability called Reconstruction."

"Reconstruction?" Ruiko asked.

"I don't have much information on it," Touma admitted. "But it was definitely a regeneration type ability. What made it unique was the way it repaired his body. The injured part of his body became more resistant to the same type of damage."

"Huh?" Mikoto asked.

"The example he used was if he burnt his hand with boiling water. The burn would heal quickly, but then the part of his hand that was injured would be more resistant to heat."

"That sounds really useful," Misaki said. "No scars left over from accidents injuries and he could avoid future injuries." _I would probably go outside more if I knew I couldn't get cuts, bruises or scars on my fair skin._

"I would have liked that when I was younger," Mikoto added. "I played at the park a lot and took a lot of risks." She remembered when she first started learning how to magnetize herself to walls. She had fallen countless times before finally getting the hang of it. _All those bruises took forever to fade._

"It wasn't as convenient as it sounded," Touma told them. "His ability only strengthened the damaged area slightly. If he cut himself with a knife, only that small cut would heal and become resistant to future cuts, though resistance was used loosely. It was so slight, he would have to cut himself numerous times to achieve any real noticeable difference. If he wanted to keep submerging himself in boiling water, he could acquire full body resistance to heat eventually. Theoretically, he could eventually become completely immune to certain types of damage, but his exact words were something like 'I wasn't stupid enough to injure myself just to get a slight resistance to some damage.' I figured it was never tested that far."

"I could see that," Ruiko said understandingly, while nodding. "But how would that work? Getting tougher after receiving damage?"

"His ability probably manipulated his cellular structure to turn his cells into something resembling stem cells or satellite cells," Accelerator said, and found everyone turning their heads and looking at him confused. "What? Didn't they teach you biology in schools?" He actually didn't know for sure. The only true schooling he received was when he joined Touma's class, and it was a normal pace curriculum. There was a science class, but they were currently focusing on physics over biology. He had been isolated when his ability developed and was placed an extremely advanced specialized curriculum. He was years ahead of even Mikoto and Misaki.

"We learned basic biology," Misaki informed him. "But we haven't had time to learn everything. Stem cells are undifferentiated cells in multicolor organisms, like people, and are capable of differentiating into all the specialized cells in our body." She was rather proud of how much she knew, even if it was a fraction of what Accelerator knew.

"There have been a lot of news stories about them too," Mikoto said, slightly eagerly. "They are used a lot in new medical research and therapies." _I wonder if stem cells had anything to do with the creation of my sisters._

"What are satellite cells?" Ruiko asked Accelerator.

"They are a type of muscle cells," Accelerator explained gruffly. "If you strenuously exercise, like the third rate and hero does, you cause trauma to your muscle fibers and damaged them. This trauma activates satellite cells which are around the fibers. The repair or replacement of the damaged muscle fibers begins with the satellite cells fusing together to the muscles fibers. The cells divide and differentiate into specialized muscle cells while some stay as satellite cells for future injuries. You then get new fibers and repair the old ones. It's how people get greater quantity and stronger muscles. Basic stuff." He shrugged, but there was an air of smugness that annoyed Misaki and Mikoto.

"This is really interesting and all," Kuroko interrupted. "But what does this have to do with Jason and Juliet?" She was trying to remain calm, but she wanted Touma to hurry up and make sense. _We don't need his entire life's history, just how it involves meeting Juliet._ She felt a weird sensation in her stomach when she thought about those two. "Didn't we just talk about not getting off track?"

"His ability had a lot to do with what happened," Touma informed her. "But I'll try to avoid unnecessary information. It was quickly discovered he was really smart, you all know this with him being involved in the research division, and he was put into an advanced curriculum." His eyes darted to Accelerator for a moment." He was around… nine I think? Anyway, he was chosen to participate in an unusual experiment. From what I remember him telling me, he had been told at the time the experiment was to learn abilities developed outside of Academy City." Everyone there instantly knew what those words meant, but Kazari actually said it out loud.

"Magic." They were finally getting to the important part involving Jason and Juliet. Kazari was listening quietly, not saying anything, but it was because she had nothing to say. The others could discuss the specifics on how abilities worked, but she didn't really need to know that. Her focus was purely tuned to figure out what happened to Jason that caused him to lose himself at the mere sight of Juliet. _I can't help him if I'm left in the dark. I won't forgive her if she did something to him._ She tightened her grip on her legs as she continued listening.

"Didn't they know how dangerous that is?" Mikoto asked angrily. "People can die when they mix science and magic."

"It could be they found out because of that experiment," Lessar shrugged. "But even if they did know, they probably didn't care. Plenty of groups try dangerous experiments in order to figure out problems with spells and ceremonies. I bet the science side isn't much different."

"Tell me about it," Accelerator mumbled. _They wanted me to kill twenty thousand clones, and I even went along with it._

"But doing that with children?" Mikoto asked shocked. "They better not have known." _The magic side is just as bad as this city. Why do people treat kids as if they are disposable?_

"They knew," Touma said coldly, his hand making a fist. The others got quiet again and turned to him. "They were chosen because someone calculated he and the others had the best odds of survival." Mikoto, Misaki, Kazari, Ruiko, and Kazari gasped, but Accelerator, Lessar, and Index's faces darkened. They were more use to the lengths people would go to in order to accomplish their objectives. "Jason's group consisted of him, two guys, and three girls. They spent almost a year learning theories and basics of magic, but were not permitted to cast spells. He didn't know why at the time, but we do. I remember he mentioned the researchers pitted everyone against each other. His face went dark when he told me about it."

"Why?" Ruiko asked. "Wouldn't having everyone work together be better?"

"It's a common practice actually," Misaki told her. "If you keep people pitted against each other, they don't share information or question what they are told. They focus on the hatred toward the other groups. It makes it harder for them to figure out if something is wrong or unusual. I bet with their rivalry, none of them began to question what they were actually doing."

"Oh," Ruiko muttered. _I don't like the sound of that_. She and Kazari had the least experience with the underground organizations, so they were learning a lot, even if they didn't want to.

"I don't know much about what happened during their training or the rivalry," Touma admitted. "One thing he did mention was out of everyone participating; only one girl was actually nice to everyone. I think we know who that was."

"Juliet," Kuroko muttered. _That was obvious._

"He called her Emiko," Kazari added softly. "That must have been her real name."

"Might I interrupt?" Misaki said, looking at Touma. "So far everything you said has coincided with what Juliet told us before you all arrived. She gave us some information about their time during that experiment. After mulling it over, I think the information is important because it gives a glimpse into his psyche and describes how he acts now."

"Tell us!" Kuroko said a little more forcefully than she intended. Everyone turned to look at her and she tried to act casual, though her cheeks were slightly pink.

"Anything you can tell us will help," Touma nodded. "You are the most experienced one of us in determining how to understand how someone thinks."

"Thank you," Misaki replied, glowing form his praise. Mikoto gritted her teeth, but kept silent. "From what you said and what Juliet told us, she was indeed trying to be nice to everyone, even if they were growing more distant. All except one. Kagere-san, or Romeo as she called him, was the only one she was able to stay friends with. He joined the experiment because he was getting bored with Academy City's curriculum and wanted to learn something new. When they first met, she said he was unusually serious, didn't talk much, and never cracked a joke."

"Really?" Kuroko asked in disbelief, while Accelerator snorted.

"That doesn't sound like him," Mikoto admitted and Touma had to agree with her.

"I thought she must have had him confused with someone else," Misaki admitted, nodding at them while putting a finger up to her cheek. "But she continued and mentioned how he came out of his shell. Juliet and Romeo were nicknames they called each other after getting close, while everyone else focused on the rivalry." Kazari shifted in her seat. "She eventually turned Juliet into her magic name to represent her resolve." Misaki looked at Index.

"That's a common occurrence," Index said nodding. "Many magicians take the names of important historical and religious figures in order to develop their magic. I doubt Juliet is part of her actual magic name, just an alias."

"Juliet didn't give much information about the first spell they actually cast," Misaki finished. "What she did say… wasn't pleasant."

"Jason remembered what happened," Touma said, and his face went dark. "He and the others were told for their first spell, they were going to work together as a group. It was supposed to be easier since the burden would be shared among them."

"That's wrong," Index interrupted. "While having multiple magicians casting a spell can cause a larger area of effect, each person still has the burden when they refine their own mana."

"Sounds like those researchers didn't understand magic," Lessar commented.

"It was a lie," Touma explained. "The researchers knew it was dangerous for ability users to use magic. The spell they cast was some kind of continuous magic that couldn't be stopped until it was completed or the magician's mana was used up." Lessar and Index nodded, letting Touma know he remembered correctly. He took a deep breath and continued. _This is when it turned nasty._ "What he remembered was this. Everyone started collapsing one by one as blood erupted from their body."

There was a collective gasp from the girls, while Accelerator looked like he tasted something sour.

"How horrible," Ruiko gasped, her hands over her mouth.

"Those…," Mikoto growled, her anger choking her and preventing the rest of the sentence.

"I heard rumors the experiments dealing with that didn't have positive results," Lessar said solemnly.

"This can't be true right?" Kuroko asked, looking at the others. "Someone tell me that's a terrible joke." _How could anyone recover from that?_

"That's almost word for word what Juliet said," Misaki confirmed, causing the girl's faces to go even paler.

"How did they survive?" Kazari asked softly, her body trembling slightly. She had braced herself for some terrible news, but her mind wouldn't even have considered the possibility of something so gruesome. _Who would do something like that to kids? This…. This is beyond anything I could imagine. He survived, by the fact he's here with us now. The question is how he is able to act so carefree now. Something like this would leave a permanent scar in even the strongest individuals. Even if Juliet never showed up, the trauma should still be affecting him._

"I don't know about Juliet," Touma admitted. "But Jason's regeneration ability saved him. He kept healing at the same time his body was destroying itself from the conflict of laws. He couldn't do anything else except try to bare the pain as the spell took its toll." The girls didn't say anything, until Accelerator spoke up.

"So that's what happened," he muttered and everyone turned to him.

"What do you mean?" Kuroko asked, speaking what was on all their minds.

"His reconstruction was repairing the damage to his body from the conflicting laws between magic and science," Accelerator said. "Since his ability makes the repaired tissue more resilient to damage, I'm going to infer this was the moment he was able to cast magic without killing himself."

"Of course," Mikoto whispered, hitting her forehead with her hand. "It's obvious. His body was being repaired to resist the damage from conflicting laws. You said he mentioned earlier, given enough time, he could be immune to certain types of damage. If his body was continuously being destroyed, he would keep regenerating and get stronger each time."

"That's exactly it," Touma confirmed. "His body was changed to resist the laws between magic and science. He mentioned there were other changes before, but nothing really noticeable." He heard Index gasp and turned to her. "What is it?" Index shook her head and motioned for him to continue. _She wants me to finish before she tells me, huh? I wonder what shocked her._ "What happened next, even he doesn't know the entire story. It was a blur." _How can I tell the others about this? He and Juliet were going to be murdered._

"Please continue Kamijou-san," Kazari told him. "I'm ready." This wasn't a lie. She had resolved to listen until the end, regardless of what happens. To her, this was something she had to know, no matter the cost.

"I have some information to help supplement what you know," Misaki added. "We should be able to get most of the picture this way."

"If you're sure," Touma sighed and continued. "Jason collapsed and his mana finally ran out, leaving him unable to move, but alive. One of the people overseeing the experiments was actually one of the sin guys we faced in Italy. He found out it was Greed after we arrived."

"Looks like he is more closely tied to Eve and her minions than we knew," Accelerator commented.

"That must have been a shock for him," Ruiko pointed out.

"Wow," Kuroko mumbled, leaning back in her chair. "With how he acts, I had no idea he went through so much." She frowned and leaned forward. "Didn't you say this story would explain how he acquired his shadow?" Touma nodded.

"I'm getting there. He was still conscious and could hear what the supervisors were saying. The sin, Greed, told them to kill the survivors." There was another round of gasping and the girls were leaning in close, hanging on to his every word. "It was then he realized Juliet was still alive." Touma rubbed his face with his hand. "He's going to get mad at me for saying this next part. He hates showing weakness."

"Go on," Kuroko told him impatiently.

"I'm sure he will forgive you," Ruiko added reasonably.

"He still had a small link with the spell they were casting," Touma relented. "With no options to turn to, he begged for help. This is when things went wrong." His face darkened and the girls exchanged a look. They wanted to ask questions, but they could tell at this part they needed to be quiet. Accelerator raised an eyebrow at Touma's expression. "Something responded to him and wrapped him up in darkness. At this point, he could no longer use Reconstruction. His shadow ability was formed."

"How?" Mikoto couldn't resist asking. "Did he give any reason? Scientists have been trying to figure out how to change abilities since forever."

"His personal reality must have been changed during the experiment," Touma said shrugging. "It's not like we have a way to verify what happened. He doesn't even remember much of what happened next. The researchers tried to kill him and Juliet and he must have fought back in a blind fury. All he remembers was he was standing up, surrounded by bodies. The only reason he came back to his senses was because Juliet woke him up."

"She saved him?" Kazari asked, dumbstruck. _Did I have her pegged all wrong?_ Touma shrugged.

"Do you have anything to add?" Mikoto asked Misaki, who nodded.

"Juliet saw part of what happened," Misaki said, and everyone turned to her. "Kagere-san was fighting the researchers, but she said he resembled a monster more than human. Whatever caused his ability to change, must have messed with his mind. Juliet grabbed him and snapped him out of his rage, but her wounds were too great and she eventually succumbed. She doesn't know what happened to him after that."

"He traveled a bit and found magicians to teach him magic," Touma remembered. "Then he came back to Academy City." He purposely let out the part about him being held hostage, since it didn't have any purpose in their current conversation. "Anything else you found out about Juliet? You said she succumbed to her wounds, so how did she survive? Jason thought she had died."

"This is the part I don't understand much of," Misaki continued, frowning slightly. "She said she was floating in an endless abyss and only had her memories to pass the time. Unable to do anything but think, her obsession over Kagere-san probably grew during this time. Eve and Adam freed her from the abyss and taught her magic. The rest we know." She turned to Index. "Any idea what she meant by the abyss? It had to be just her memories since her body was left behind."

"There are a lot of possibilities," Index said slowly. The look on her face said she didn't want to give her an answer without more information. "Once I narrow down the options, I'll let you know."

"What were you going to say earlier Index?" Touma asked. "You looked like you wanted to comment on part of Jason's regeneration ability."

"I would keep it a secret about exactly how he is able to use magic with your science abilities," Index said. "His ability, from the sound of it, fundamentally altered his body structure. A lot of religious groups look down at this because they see it as man saying God is imperfect. It's one of the reason there is so much tension between both sides. Since man was made in God's image, they do not believe we should be altering the human body."

"Okay," Ruiko said. "But why would that matter with Jason? It was an accident."

"Some radical group might kill him so the secret doesn't get out," Lessar explained.

"Oh." Ruiko got quiet and the other girls looked uncomfortable. They were getting another in-depth glance at how the magic side operates.

"Thanks for the warning," Touma said. "I trust everyone here to keep this information private." He turned back to the others. Most of them were sitting in silence, digesting everything they just heard. "That's everything I know of his past dealings with Juliet."

"Pssh," Accelerator said, waving his hand dismissively. "After all that build up, I thought it would be something a lot worst."

"How insensitive can you be?" Mikoto demanded, turning toward him in anger. "No kid should have to go through something like that."

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Accelerator snapped at her, causing Mikoto to go silent. Touma knew what he was referring too. All three of them knew about the sister experiment where Accelerator killed over ten thousand clones as part of an experiment to reach level 6. "Let me explain third rate. Nothing he did up to casting the spell was wrong. Even fighting those researchers to the death was perfectly justified self-defense. There's nothing for him to be upset about. I was expecting him to have accidently done something that directly caused her death."

"That's not what he thinks," Ruiko pointed out. "I bet he thinks it was his fault Juliet was killed."

"He does," Kazari confirmed. "After realizing who it was, he started mumbling to himself. Based on what I pieced together, he believes that." _It's going to be tough to convince him otherwise._

"He really shouldn't," Lessar added, kicking her legs as they hung over the side of the bed. "But some people naturally blame themselves for being unable to help others." Her eyes darted to Touma.

"What should our next course of action be then?" Mikoto asked. "Should we find him…?"

"And give him a good kick in his…"

"Kuroko!"

"What do you want to do?" Ruiko asked Kazari. "I feel your opinion here is really important."

"I don't know," she replied, her eyes filling up with tears and Ruiko started to pat her on the back. "I want to do something, but if I go about it the wrong way, I could make it worse. He's not answering his phone or messages. Should I go after him, should I give him time to sort out his thoughts, or should I find someone to look for him?" She started trembling.

"I could offer some insight to help you decide," Misaki said kindly. "Different people need different approaches. All your ideas have merit but, based on what I know about him, one would probably work better. Kagere-san is smart and likes to joke around a lot, most likely to cover what he is really thinking. If you talk to him, you need to be able to get through that protective layer first. I don't think leaving him alone would be a good choice. With what just happened, he might start distancing himself from everyone."

"Then we need to find him first," Kazari said, standing up. "I'm going to look for him. Saten-san can let me know if anything else happens."

"Okay," Ruiko said nodding. Kazari had just opened the door when Kuroko stood up.

"I'm coming too," she declared.

"Huh?" Kazari asked surprised.

"I want to give him a swift kick in the butt for bailing on us," Kuroko said.

"I don't…," Kazari tried to say.

"I already made up my mind," Kuroko interrupted, teleporting out the door. Kazari called for her to wait up as she followed, but Kazari couldn't keep up with a teleporter.

"Kuroko," Mikoto sighed exasperatedly, rubbing her head. "I know you have complicated feelings for him, but still... you might just make things worse."

"Actually," Misaki said. "It might work out better this way."

"Why do you say that?" Ruiko asked.

"Shirai-san is use to Jason joking around and being untruthful with her," Misaki explained. "She would not be deterred if he tries to deflect her worries and pretend he's okay. Not only that, she can help Uiharu-san cover more ground quickly. The rest of us are not really in a position to help. This is something they need to work though."

"All this feelings and crap is so damn annoying," Accelerator grunted. "I deal with that enough when the brats start freaking out over nothing. If anyone thinks I'm going to look for him and have a heart to heart talk, they are sadly mistaken."

"Your kindness knows no bounds," Mikoto said, rolling her eyes. "I suppose Shokuhou has a point." She purposely diverted her eyes from Misaki's smug face. _I want to help, but there's not much I can do right now._ Once again, she felt powerless, but for a different reason and turned to Touma. "What do you think?"

"I have to agree," Touma said, after a moment of silence. It's not like he wasn't worried about his friend, but he had already ran over the possibilities in his mind. _Jason's not doing anything wrong, so it's not like I can go up to him and get him to stop. I'm not great with these complicated feelings like Misaki is. Going along with her plan is probably the best course of action. If I notice something I can do, I'll step in. Is it wrong I wish a problem could be settled with a punch?_ "Misaki is a lot more experienced with these kinds of things." He sighed. "Wish there was something I could do."

"Let's give Shirai-san and Uiharu-san time to solve it on their own," Misaki suggested. "If it doesn't work, we can think of something else." She knew Touma was one step away from going after Jason. She yawned slightly and grinned sheepishly, after quickly covering her mouth with her hand. "Sorry, it's been a stressful day."

"I have to admit," Ruiko yawned, standing up and stretching. "It has been a very long day and it's not even eleven. Body swaps and finding out all this is making my head hurt…" She was interrupted by a very loud rumbling. Everyone turned and looked at the source of the noise.

"It's not my fault," Index protested, noticing everyone was staring at her. She and Lessar had remained silent, since neither of them was skilled with emotional problems. "I haven't had breakfast and it's almost lunch time. I'm starving!"

Everyone burst out laughing and even Accelerator smirked.

"You win Index," Touma sighed. "I'll get you something to eat, okay?"

"Yay!"

"I want to come too," Lessar said, jumping up. "Index keeps eating all the food here so I'm starving. As thanks, I'll even feed you. We won't need any silverware, I'll just use my lips."

"That's not happening," Touma told her quickly, before the dark auras could emerge again.

"How do we get from such a serious conversation to their antics again?" Mikoto questioned no one in particular.

"It's fine though," Ruiko told her happily, disguising her true thoughts to make everyone feel better. "It means everything is going back to normal. Sitting around and fretting will get us nowhere."

"I suppose you're right," Mikoto relented, before turning to Accelerator. "You can invite Last Order and Worst to join us if you want. I know they usually want to spend the weekends with you."

"Why would I want to?" Accelerator snarled, but grabbed his phone out of his pocket. "I suppose the brat was insistent about that." Mikoto grinned, but hid it when Accelerator glared at her.

"I think you are not being completely honest with yourself Accelerator," Misaki laughed, making a cute pose. Before Accelerator could snarl at her too, a loud knock came from Touma's door.

"I got it," Touma said quickly, walking over to the door. "I bet it is Tsuchimikado. The walls are super thin here and he probably wants to know what's happening." Touma wasn't looking forward to explaining what happened to him, and he was debating what to say as he opened the door. He froze a second later. Right now, he wished it had been Tsuchimikado. Actually, he would have even been okay with Eve, Juliet, or even Cain. Anyone would have been fine besides the person who was far beyond what could be consider furious. Before he could say anything to diffuse the situation, a hand grabbed him by the collar and yanked him out through the door.

* * *

 _Where is he?_ Kuroko thought, teleporting to one of the highest buildings in the area. She knew Kazari would probably go to their Judgement branch to access all the security cameras, but it would take her time to arrive. Kuroko was hoping she could find Jason before that. While she was indeed worried about him, there were a few choice words on her mind she wanted to give him without anyone else hearing. A breeze blew some of her hair into her face, so she brushed it back. _I could check his apartment, but something is telling me he's not going there. What would I do if I were him? Maybe someplace quiet to think… How about the river? Parks would be crowded this time of day._

Given the amount of time between him fleeing Touma's apartment and their discussion on what happened to him, getting anywhere in the city would be easily accomplished. Kuroko seriously doubted he wanted to be anywhere with people, so that limited the choices. The river was normally a quiet place with only an occasional person passing through. If he wanted a quiet place to think, that would be one of the prime locations. Teleporting across the rooftops, she finally saw a bridge indicating she was close. Stopping at one of the last buildings, she saw a familiar figure skipping rocks on the water. _Knew it._ She paused for a moment, debated what to say, fortified her resolve, and teleported through the air until she was right behind him.

Kuroko then gave him a powerful kick in the butt.

Jason obviously didn't see it coming and was being distracted with his own thoughts. If he had been his normal self, Kuroko knew he would have reacted in some way to avoid the blow. Instead, he flew forward into the water with a splash. "Who did…!" he sputtered, turning around. "…oh, it's you." He stood up and started to wring out his shirt. "Why are you here?" Kuroko could tell he wasn't happy she was there, because of his tone and the fact he was deliberately avoiding eye contact.

"Looking for you obviously."

"Why?"

"Because," Kuroko started to say, and then stopped herself. _What should I say, that I was worried about him? That Uiharu is looking for him?_ She settled with the truth about what she knew instead to give her time to think. "The ape told us about your past… about you and Juliet, the shadow, the experiment… everything. Shokuhou-san verified it with what she was told by Juliet."

"Damn it Touma," Jason muttered, rubbing his head. "I thought I told you that was a secret." Kuroko gritted her teeth in anger and couldn't hold herself back anymore.

Her hand shot forward and slapped him across the face, causing him to take a step back.

"Are you stupid?" she asked him furiously. "I can understand not wanting to talk about what happened, that was one of the most horrible things I could imagine, but when it comes back to haunt you now, it affects all of us. You, me, onee-sama, Uiharu, your friends… It also isn't right." Jason tilted his head slightly to the side as he looked at her. "It's obvious you're hurting, even if you try to deny it. We all can tell. We are your friends, right?" She took a deep breath. "You may annoy me all the time, but we have all been through so much together. You are an important friend to me." Jason's eyes widened slightly and Kuroko continued.

"Everyone back there is worried about you, Saten-san, onee-sama, Shokuhou-san, Index, the ape, maybe not Accelerator, but Uiharu is devastated. Do you understand how much pain SHE is in? She wasn't able to help or support you. She saw you lose your mind at the mere sight of Juliet and then ran away before she could hear what transpired between you two. Uiharu pressured the ape to tell us what he knew so she could help you. I never saw her act so forcefully before. You changed her more than you know."

"I realize that," Jason said softly, shifting uncomfortably.

"That's not even counting my feelings," Kuroko added, putting a hand on her chest. She was unloading everything on him. Every thought, every feeling, and every piece of frustration he fostered on her since they met. "We may not always get along, but we are definitely friends. How many times have we fought together? Some of them were life and death struggles. You must have felt… something. Ever since England I haven't been able to…" She stopped herself from going any further and looked at the ground. She finally realized why she had all those confused feelings when she thought about him. _I like him…_ When she realized this, her heart started beating fast and it felt like a weight had been lifted.

"How would I be able to tell you, or anyone, that?" Jason asked, breaking into her thoughts.

"Huh?" Kuroko replied, looking up. The look on his face caused her heart to hurt. He looked broken and downtrodden again.

"How do I tell someone I became a monster and killed people?" Jason demanded, his voice rising. "I couldn't remember what happened, but I was covered in blood and bodies all around me. The one person who was important to me died embracing me. How the hell would I bring that up in conversation?! I couldn't protect the only person I cared about."

"No one would expect you to!" Kuroko replied, finding her voice rising too. "I don't know how I would react if something like that happened to me but, now that it has come back to bite you, you need to face it. Running away from your problems isn't going to help. You need to realize what happened wasn't your fault."

"I keep telling myself that but it doesn't make it go away!"

"It's not supposed to!" Kuroko retorted. "It made you who you are today. The person Uiharu fell in love with! The person I… consider a friend. You can't change what happened, but you aren't alone anymore! You have all of us to help you face this!" She stopped and started to breathe heavily. She felt so much better yelling at him, but she was embarrassed about what she almost let slip. She couldn't take advantage of him when he was in the middle of a mental struggle with his past, let alone that it was one of her best friend's boyfriend.

"Even now I'm weary of what our abilities can do," Jason said softly, turning away and looking out across the river. He was still standing ankle deep in it.

"Why?"

"Most ability users don't understand the type of destructive powers we wield at our finger tips," Jason explained. "We could easily kill with a mere thought. Some of the higher levels understand this, like Accelerator and Mugino-san."

"You can say the same about a gun," Kuroko pointed out. "Or any tool. I shovel could build or destroy."

"True," Jason conceded. "But there's a difference between giving someone a tool capable of killing and giving someone something capable of taking out a city." He paused. "Answer me this," he said. "What would happen if Accelerator, Misaka-san, and Shokuhou-san all decided to go rogue and started attacking people."

"They wouldn't do that."

"I know, but this is a what if scenario."

"Anti-Skill would stop them."

"Do you really believe that?"

"Of course…" Kuroko trailed off when a thought crossed her mind. _Anti-Skill is armed with a lot of high tech weaponry designed to subdue ability users, but onee-sama can disable most of them. She can even bypass all of Academy City's security. Accelerator's supposed to be able to take on the world's military by himself. Shokuhou-san could disappear into a city and take over countless people. She might be able to even control people in higher level positions._ The thought did not make her happy and she felt a shiver go down her spine. "They wouldn't though."

"I don't think they would either," Jason said with a nod. "But things can change quickly. It might start with using your ability for personal gain or someone important to you gets hurt." He glanced back at Kuroko. "Can you honestly say they, or you for that matter, never used their power unwarranted against others just because you get irritated?"

Kuroko couldn't respond to that, because she knew he was right. She had seen Mikoto electrocute thugs just for annoying her and others, even if they weren't technically doing anything wrong. _She held back, but still. Even I have teleported people away from me because I was in a hurry or they annoyed me. Accelerator's probably hurt people who annoyed him, actually, he definitely has, you can tell from his attitude. Onee-sama always complains about Shokuhou-san using her powers on people. She might have even used it on me without me realizing it._ Jason must have felt her mental struggle.

"It's why I never truly forgave myself," Jason continued. "It's more that I believe if I lost control once, it could happen again. I might accidently kill someone."

"Then we will stop you," Kuroko shrugged. "Friends stick with each other. If you need someone to snap you out of it, I'll give you another kick in the butt. What's so funny?" Jason had started laughing.

"Touma said something very similar when I told him my past," Jason replied, calming down and straightening up.

"I guess the ape isn't completely dimwitted," Kuroko huffed, feeling slightly better now that Jason wasn't looking as depressed. "You can't dwell on what ifs though. Now, I think what you need to do is find and talk to Uiharu. She's the one who you need to explain yourself too. I kind of hope you smacks some sense into you too."

"I don't know if I can," Jason mumbled, and Kuroko grabbed his collar.

"You are going to talk to her," she told him sternly. "Even if I have to drag you back by force." Jason reached up and grabbed her wrist. A shadow started to unwind around her arm, but Kuroko refused to flinch.

"I don't think you could," Jason replied, looking at her in the eyes. There was a moment of silence, as both of them glared at each other, neither wanting to back down.

 _Are you two going to kiss?_

The sudden voice caused them both to let go of each other and jump back.

"You heard it?" Jason asked wildly, looking at Kuroko. "How? You aren't in my body anymore?"

"I don't know," Kuroko answered, turning red. "What the hell is that voice anyway? It kept talking to me while I was in your body. Some of the stuff it told me was related to your past."

"I always figured it was a side effect of that experiment when my ability changed," Jason told her. "I have been treating it like a grimoire, a book of magical knowledge. It's one of the reasons I have some magic and history at my disposal. Grimoires have been known to become sentient. The voice was occasionally a soft buzzing, but started being a lot louder and more active after we returned from Italy."

"A living book?" Kuroko asked slowly, her mouth slightly open, before shaking her head. "I'm not even surprised anymore. Is the reason you didn't want me to talk to it was because it was a pervert?"

"It was more along the line it doesn't have morals or understanding of basic human interactions," Jason said. "It always recommends the quickest way to solve problems, regardless of the moral or ethical implications. It doesn't mean anything bad, it's just not always something enjoyable to hear." He frowned. "It thinks you can hear it when my shadow touches you, since you can't hear it now. Something must have happened when Eve's magic switched us." His shadow extended from under his sleeve and lightly tapped Kuroko on the arm.

 _Interesting, you can hear me with direct contact. Sorry if I started you, but I was interested in observing as many human mating rituals first hand as I can._

"Okay," Kuroko said, raising an eyebrow and pulling her arm out of reach. "It's not that important I guess. I was just curious and a little surprised. Maybe when we have some downtime we can figure out why. Index might have an idea. For now, you really need to find Uiharu. Are you feeling better?"

"Actually, yes," Jason nodded. "I think I can talk to her. It's going to be a long conversation though."

"I think she knows that already." Kuroko paused. "Glad to see you improving."

"Still got a long ways to go before I can say I'm back to normal though," Jason admitted, and then he looked suspiciously at her. "I feel like there's more you aren't telling me."

"I need you back to your usual self," Kuroko answered, a slight grin on her face. "Otherwise, I won't be able to fully enjoy my revenge for winning our little wager."

"Oh yes," Jason muttered. "Forgot about that." He laughed. "I look forward to seeing what you come up with."

"It's going to make you apologize for every joke you have pulled on me up to now," Kuroko declared and he laughed again. "You should get going now and see Uiharu."

"I have something to say before I go," Jason added, stepping out of the river and turning to her.

"What?"

"Thanks." Jason smiled at her and Kuroko's heart started beating wildly, her face felt hot, and her brain wasn't thinking clearly. His smile was completely sincere and lacking any trace of his normal joking manner. He was truly thanking her for snapping him out of his previous state. "Can you do one thing for me though?"

"S-sure."

"I have one stop to make before I can meet Kazari," Jason explained. "Can you let her know?"

"I can do that," Kuroko replied. "I need to talk with her anyways." She watched him leave and put a hand over her heart. _When did I actually fall for him? England, or was it earlier? Should I tell Uiharu-san or hide my feelings? I could hide the truth, but if she ever found out by accident, it could ruin our friendship. I don't want to hurt her. Why couldn't onee-sama just love me back? None of this would have happened then! Why can't I like someone who isn't involved with someone else?_

* * *

Shizuri was not happy.

She woke up a lot earlier then she intended too, when Touma's cellphone started ringing and interrupted her sleep. For a brief moment, she had thought it might have been his default alarm, until he answered it. She heard him mention 'Shokuhou' and she grimaced. _Damn, it's her. What does that bitch want so early?_ If she had been fully awake, she might have noticed Touma had used Misaki's last name instead of her first. Shizuri smiled to herself slightly at Touma's annoyed tone. The conversation between Touma and Misaki was pretty short and then everything went quiet as he stood up and walked over to the mirror. Shizuri figured, now that he was up, he probably needed to satisfy his basic human needs.

"If you need the bathroom it's down the hall," Shizuri yawned, glancing at him for a moment, before turning over and laying back down. She may not have known him as long as the other level 5s, but she knew him well enough to know he wouldn't run away after promising to explain himself. She heard the bedroom door open and close, but then her eyes opened once again. She could feel something was wrong, but wasn't sure what it was. She sat up and stretched, looking down at her nightwear. _I know his self-control is ludicrous, but he should have at least had some reaction when he saw this._ She felt a twinge of annoyance, like she lost something important. Shaking off the feeling, she stood up and walked toward the door. Instead of opening it, which would reveal her presence, she leaned up against it and listened.

"…injured… suspicions… something big yesterday…. happened to you… sore… hiding everything…"

 _Damn I can't hear,_ Shizuri thought. _The door is too thick and he's whispering._ She reached for the door handle again, but stopped herself. _He's rather perceptive in these situations, I can't risk it yet._

"… sleeping… same bed…"

 _What?!_ For a moment, Shizuri was stunned because it sounded like Touma was bragging. She had mix feeling about it, but had to restrain herself from busting through the door and strangling him.

"…sleeping…right next to…adult… Really? What happened..? What… possibly gain…something like this"

 _Hmm, it sounds like something happened._

"Her plan… England…well thought out…got hit…her magic…someone has to…call back…"

 _Her plan in England? Does he mean the princess… no, it's more likely Eve. Sounds like she did something to somebody and Kamijou just found out about it. Fuck, I know what that means._ She opened the door and saw Touma was nowhere to be found. _I knew it. He skipped out on explaining what happened yesterday to save some damn loser._ She crossed her arms and thought about it for a moment. _I should have expected this. He's the type to rush into things before worrying about explanations. It's why he ran into me and_ _Kakine. I'll give him a couple hours to sort out that problem and come back, if he doesn't, he's going to regret it. S_ he made a fist for a moment, before she pulled out her phone, and sent a message to Shiage telling him to bring coffee from her favorite shop in the area.

After getting changed, she sat on the couch and turned on the TV to the news, interested in seeing what was being reported on the destruction that occurred between her and Teitoku. Her head still hurt slightly, but it was dull enough to ignore. Most of the news was boring and monotonous but, after flipping through several stations, she found a report on her fight. _Looks like a pretty extensive cover up, but who believes this crap. A localized lightning storm causing a gas explosion from a broken pipe, seriously? I guess that could explain the complete destruction of that building hit by his red lightning and the upturned street. It's not like anyone is going to believe in magic._ She heard a door open from behind her and turned to see Frenda and Saia walking in.

"Morning Mugino," Frenda yawned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She noticed Shizuri was alone and looked around. "Is Kamijou still sleeping?"

"He ran out about half an hour ago," Shizuri informed her. Her response caused Frenda's and Saiai's eyes to widen and then take a step back in fright.

"And you are okay with that?" Saiai asked hesitantly, when it didn't look like Shizuri was going to explode. "I super thought we were finally going to find out what happened."

"Basically," Frenda added. "You wanted some kind of explanation from him. Are you okay?" She quelled under Shizuri's glare.

"If he had tried to sneak away," Shizuri replied, turning back to the TV. "I would hunt him down and strangle him myself. He got a call from the fifth about some kind of magic issue."

"And you let him go?" Saiai asked incredulously.

"You know how stubborn he is," Shizuri replied, waving her hand dismissively. "If someone gets attacked, especially if it's someone he knows, he's going to rush after them. I was debating if I should follow him, but I'm not at a hundred percent yet." She glanced at Frenda and Saiai. "Based on what I heard, I think Eve might have been toying with someone."

"Eve's here?!" Frenda gasped. "We can't just leave him alone then. Basically, Eve is really powerful and he will need help."

"If we go now," Shizuri told them calmly, but there was a trace of irritation in her voice. "We would just get in the way. For now, it didn't sound too serious. I planned to give him a couple hours to return. If he doesn't, we will hunt him down and drag him back by force." She stopped when Rikou wondered in, rubbing her eyes.

"…Morning…" she said and then stopped, feeling the tension in the air. "…What is going on?"

"Kamijou left this morning," Saiai told her and Rikou's eyes widened. "It seems like one of his friends was in trouble and he super rushed off to play the hero."

"Mugino decided not to go after him," Frenda added. "Basically, we are going to give him a chance to come back." Rikou nodded in understanding and her facial expression turned passive again. "You know he would do the same for any of us if we were in trouble." She saw Saiai grinning at her and she changed topics. "Uh Mugino, are you going to tell us what happened yesterday with you, Takitsubo, and Kamijou?"

"I suppose there is no reason why I shouldn't give you an overview," Shizuri sighed, muting the TV. She turned around and faced them. "The reason we were so beat up was because Takitsubo and I encountered the number two, Teitoku Kakine."

"What?!" Frenda and Saiai exclaimed.

"Why would he come after you now?" Frenda asked.

"Did you super kick his ass?" Saiai asked. Before Shizuri could respond, the door opened and Shiage walked in, holding a tray of coffees.

"Mugino," he called out, closing the door behind him. "I got your coffee and I figured everyone would like some too when they get up…" He trailed off when he saw everyone gathered in the living room. "Oh, I didn't know everyone was already awake."

"Good timing Hamazura," Shizuri said, grabbing her coffee. "I was just thinking I was going to beat you if you kept me waiting another minute."

"It seems like being around Kamijou made you less Hamazura-y," Saiai added, taking a coffee.

"Maybe we should make them spend more time together," Frenda suggested and both of them laughed.

"…Thank you…," Rikou said taking hers and Shiage felt like he could take the others' ridicule as long as he was helping Rikou.

"As you know, Kakine was the one responsible for those break-ins and research thefts," Shizuri explained, not bothering to fulfill Shiage in on the earlier details, but he knew that name belonged to the number two. "He wasn't happy that we interrupted his plans at that one research facility awhile back. The sniper who attacked you was employed by him. Anyways, we talked, but it was mostly to brag about his new skills." Her face darkened. "Not only was his ability in the same league as Accelerator's, that bastard taught himself to use magic!"

"Magic?" Shiage asked completely confused, but the other girls gasped.

"How?" Frenda asked. "Shouldn't it kill him if he tries?" Saiai shifted uncomfortably. She remembered Teitoku had mentioned he could use magic, but never saw any proof of that and forgot to mention it to the others.

"I wanted it to," Shizuri spat. "But he found a way around those damn rules. His dark matter ability allowed him to create body doubles capable of wielding magic. The red lightning was his doing. He took down an entire building with one strike. His wings made of dark matter were capable of blocking my attacks, so we were at a disadvantage. If it wasn't for Kamijou's timely arrival, we would have died."

 _Wow,_ Shiage thought. _Kamijou saved Mugino? Kinuhata keeps saying he saved Frenda, so maybe this is why he gets preferential treatment._

"So why do you need an explanation from him?" Saiai asked, with a slight frown. "It super sounds like he found you. Anything he knows, you know."

"There was an…incident," Shizuri said slowly. "Something he did…" She didn't elaborate, causing Saiai and Frenda to look at each other in confusion. Shiage however noticed the change of expression on Rikou's face. She usually wore a passive expression except in dire situations and this must have been one of them. She was shaking slightly and fear was slowly beginning to get etched on her face. It was obvious Rikou was trying to stay calm, but she couldn't mask it completely.

"Is something wrong?" he whispered to Rikou, soft enough so only they could hear, and put his hand on her shoulder.

"…Ah," Rikou said looking at him. "No, I'm fine. Thank you." She gave him a brief smile and his heart skipped a beat. It looked like she had calmed down, so Shiage let the matter drop.

"Can we stay and hear everything then?" Frenda asked.

"I suppose there's no reason to keep you in the dark," Shizuri said. "If he doesn't come back soon, we will find him. Enjoy your break while you got it." She turned back to the TV and unmuted it. The others moved toward the kitchen, so they could talk in low voices without disturbing her.

"So what did she mean about magic?" Shiage asked.

"That's right," Frenda said, turning to Saiai and Rikou. "We never told him about the events in England."

"Well Hamazura," Saiai said, punching him in the arm. "I super think you have been with us long enough to learn about the dark secrets of this world. And why Frenda is madly in love with Kamijou."

"W-what?!" Frenda stammered and Saiai laughed. After they finally stopped arguing, Shiage was able to get an overview of their adventures with the magic side and Touma's battle prowess.

The morning passed slowly for Shizuri. With the others behind her talking in low voices to Shiage, she didn't have to take the time and tell him about magic herself. At least Saiai was busy, which meant Shizuri had the TV to herself. The problem was it was a Sunday, and nothing good was ever on then. Anything in the news she was interested in was over and the rest of it was useless. _Trivial moronic fodder. What the hell is taking Kamijou so long? I should have gone after him. The bitch will try to monopolize his time if she gets the chance._ She paced around the room, aware the others were watching her in silence, but she ignored them, except for punching Shiage a couple times to relieve her stress. She eventually turned back to the TV for a little while longer.

Her patience eventually reached its limits.

"He's taking too fucking long!" she roared suddenly, causing everyone else still in the room to jump. Shiage came running back into the room at her words. "Takitsubo, find him!"

"…He doesn't have an AIM field though…" Rikou reminded her.

"He was talking to Mental Out," Shizuri snapped. "Find her!" Rikou nodded and stared off into the distance. After a moment, she nodded.

"Found her," Rikou said. "She's with the Railgun, Accelerator, and a couple of their friends. They are currently moving."

"I bet anything he's with them," Shizuri said, marching toward the door. "Let's go and find him."

"Wait for us!" Frenda called, while she, Saiai and Shiage followed them.

The journey was not a comfortable one. Shiage was driving them and following Rikou's direction, but Shizuri could see where they were going. _Rikou said they stopped moving a little white ago and, with the direction we are heading, they must be at his dorm._ The ride took longer than usually because it was midday and traffic was in full swing. It wasn't dark out nor were they on a mission where someone else would help keep their activities secret, so they had to follow all applicable laws. Shizuri's impatience was evident as her dark aura slowly grew the longer they took. The suffocating presence kept the others from saying anything, in case they made it worse.

"They are right up ahead," Ruiko pointed from the back seat.

"Pull over here," Shizuri ordered Shiage.

"Yes ma'am," he replied, sighing in relief. He was glad he managed to get them here in one piece or Shizuri wouldn't let him see the following day.

"Look look," Frenda called out pointing. "Remember those two? They are leaving his dorm." They saw the familiar forms of Kuroko and Kazari leaving a room on the second floor. Kuroko teleported off and quickly disappeared, while Kazari slid down the rails of the stairway and ran off too. "I wonder where they are off to in a hurry?"

"Who cares?" Shizuri said, throwing open the car door. "That just means fewer brats to get in my way." She started storming toward the dorm and Frenda, Saiai, Rikou, and Shiage were right behind her. They marched up the stairs and stopping in front of Touma's apartment. Shizuri briefly thought about blasting the door down, but Accelerator was there and it might start a fight she wasn't in the mood for right now. Instead, she did something she normally didn't do, she knocked. Hearing his muffled voice made her smirk. _Heh, he is here, knew it._ The door opened and she stared directly into his eyes. His expression changed almost comically from exasperation to shock and fear. Before he could respond, Shizuri reached forward grabbed his collar, and yanked him through the doorway.

"Mugino?!" he croaked and his eyes widening further. "Oh crap…"

"I knew you forgot," Shizuri snarled, dragging him after her.

"I didn't forget," Touma denied. "Something happened this morning that had to take priority."

"Like?"

"I rather not say."

"You think that's going to be good enou…?" Shizuri snarled, before being interrupted by two other girls.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Misaki and Mikoto burst through the doorway, looking around before focusing on Shizuri. They only briefly registered Frenda, Saiai, Rikou, and Shiage.

"Great," Shizuri muttered. "The peanut gallery arrived." She turned toward them, not letting go of Touma's collar. "He and I have business to attend to. You can have him back when I'm done with him."

"That's not happening," Mikoto told her, sparking up. In response, Frenda reached under her skirt and grabbed a couple handheld missiles, Saiai stepped forward and gathered the nitrogen around her hand, and Misaki pulled out a remote. Rikou and Shiage were forced to step back as the tension between several high levels was reaching a breaking point. "There is no way your intentions are pure. You are up to something or you wouldn't have snuck into his bed last night…" She stopped when she realized what she let slip. _I wasn't supposed to mention that. It's going to lead to questions._

"What?!" Misaki demanded, turning to her. "I didn't hear about this."

"Mugino?" Frenda asked in shock, turning to Shizuri.

"Impressive," Saiai added.

"That has nothing to do with…," Shizuri replied, and then her eyes narrowed. "How do you know about that?" Her head turned slightly to glare at Touma. "I heard him mumbled a few words to Mental Out this morning, but I didn't think he had the balls to say something like that."

"So it's true?" Misaki asked softly, narrowing her eyes. "Could you explain what you are up to?" Her hand was tightening around her remote. _Calm down and don't act rashly. He won't like that._

"I don't believe this concerns you," Shizuri replied back in defiance. "But if you are going to continue to pry, I'll let you know I have questions for him to answer. Now," she turned back to Mikoto. "You didn't answer me. How do you know what happened?"

"Oh let me tell her," Accelerator's amused voice came from Touma's dorm. He stepped forward and pushed Mikoto and Misaki to the side. "I can't wait to see her face when she finds out." He sneered at Shizuri, and Touma felt every danger sense in his mind go off. Determined to stop this from going any further and causing the risk of a battle decimating the dorm building, he turned toward the others, which was difficult with Shizuri's iron grip on his collar.

"Accelerator," Touma begged. "Please don't go into that." He turned to Mikoto and Misaki, noticing Ruiko, Index and Lessar were looking out the doorway, but trying to remain unnoticed. "I did promise to give her an explanation for something that happened." _I kind of forget with what happened this morning, but I made a promise._

"I can go with you to make sure she doesn't try anything," Mikoto suggest, but Touma shook his head.

"Thanks for the offer," he told her. "But this shouldn't take long."

"I'll be the judge of that," Shizuri said, letting go of his collar and pushing him toward the stairs. "I have a lot of questions." Her dark aura intensified slightly, causing Frenda and Saiai to decide to wait until Shizuri finished questioning him, before finding out what happened. The others watched them walk down the stairs and away from the dorm building. Shizuri and Touma stopped near an ally and started talking. They were still within view of the others, but way too far to overhear.

"I really want to know what they are talking about," Mikoto mumbled. _Mugino wouldn't come all this way over something trivial and Touma knew what she wanted to ask._

"Mugino's ability won't let me read her mind," Misaki replied. _This is so frustrating. MY prince is with another girl, and a horrible one at that._

"We would have to stop you if you tried," Frenda told them. "But it has something to do with what happened yesterday." _Both of them were injured, but they healed quickly enough._

"You still won't super tell us the details?" Saiai asked Rikou, who shook her head. _I wonder what scared her._

"…Mugino was very clear about it…," Rikou protested. This was entirely true. Shizuri told her explicitly not to say anything about the events that transpired until she gave the word.

"Can't you two stop asking her," Shiage asked. "Whatever happened, it must have been dangerous. Even without Mugino's orders, she doesn't want to talk about it."

"You always stick up for her," Saiai pointed out, and then she grinned. "It's because you lo…"

"That's not it," Shiage lied.

"I see," Accelerator muttered, frowning. From what he heard from everyone, he pierced together what Shizuri and Touma were talking about. _That guy who called himself the Doctor gave me some insight. If what these brats said is true, they are probably going to discuss her transformation and his dragon. I need to hear this._ "Well, I know what they are talking about."

"You do?!" Mikoto, Misaki, Frenda, and Saiai asked in shock.

"And it concerns something I want to know," he continued. "So I'm going to go interrupt those two. I recommend you two," he jabbed his finger and Misaki and Mikoto, "should interrupt them too. You will be interested in what happened, as it would remind you of Italy." Misaki and Mikoto gasped after a moment of confusion, knowing what he was referring too. "You brats," he glared at the rest of ITEM along with Ruiko, Index, and Lessar. "Better not interrupt. This is level 5 business, so fuck off."

"But…" Frenda protested, but she quelled under his glare. The three level 5s started walking down the stairs.

"You're as nice as ever," Mikoto mumbled. "Since you were involved with what happened, why did you take, so long to know what they were talking about?"

"We thought you and Mugino were fighting someone," Misaki added. "Based on what we saw, it had to be her and another high level ability user."

"What?" Accelerator snapped. "I was off doing my own shit. I just heard what happened to them by some bastard who tried playing a game and lost."

"When I called you about it," Mikoto protested. "You said not to worry, so I thought you took care of everything."

"Miscommunication," Accelerator mumbled. "I bet we will all get a full picture in a moment. I'm going to tell her you were in the hero's body this morning."

"If you do that, I'm going to tell her what happened to you."

* * *

Touma followed Shizuri in silence as they marched away from the others. Shizuri must have decided they were far enough away, because she stopped, turned to face him, and leaned up against a wall of a building, right next to an alleyway. "So," Touma said slowly, rubbing his head. "Where do you want me to start? I'm going to tell you this now, I don't know everything, but I'll tell you everything I do."

"I have something to say first," Shizuri cut across him abruptly, staring him straight in the eyes.

"Okay."

"Let's see," Shizuri muttered, her voice losing the curt tone. This was not easier for her. She thought about it constantly and knew she had to do it. If it had been anyone else, she wouldn't do this, but Touma was a unique existence to her. The feeling in her chest would slowly grow and start to interfere with her daily life if she didn't do it now. "You arrived at a desperate time for me and Takitsubo. I'm not going to lie or try to deny it. We would have died without you. So for that… I want to thank you." The words were foreign to her, but she managed to say them.

"You're welcome," Touma said automatically, but he was taken aback. He always pictured Shizuri as someone who would never openly thank others, even if she appreciated their assistance. _Maybe this is why she wanted to talk privately._

"Don't get a big head," Shizuri snapped at him. "In my line of work, fooling yourself is a sure way of getting killed. I'm my own critic. I just wanted you to know what you did was important."

"I didn't do it for thanks," admitted Touma. "I saw the lightning and knew a magician was there. When a magician appears in Academy City, in means trouble for someone… usually me." He muttered the last two words.

"Sounds like the kind of things you would find yourself involved in," Shizuri said with a smirk. _This guy's luck is so horrible, it's actually amusing. I bet he has a lot of entertaining stories about it._

"I know," Touma replied with a sigh. "Such misfortune."

"Enough of these pleasantries," Shizuri said, her voice becoming more businesslike. "We have a lot to discuss. I have questions and I'm sure you have questions. I'm going to forget you ran off this morning, as long as your answers are to my satisfaction."

"I warned you I don't know everything," Touma protested.

"Then you better tell me what you do know," Shizuri responded, before her eyes darted to the side. "Damn, the peanut gallery is on their way." Touma turned and saw Accelerator, Mikoto, and Misaki heading right towards them. "I thought we told them this was private." Touma shrugged, but he knew they wouldn't want to be left out if they believed this conversation was important.

 _Mikoto knew I got hurt yesterday, so she would want to be here for sure._ Rather than repeat themselves, Shizuri and Touma waited for the others to arrive.

"What do you three want?" Shizuri snarled.

"I want to hear everything that happened yesterday," Accelerator said. "I believe I can add some information to what you two are going to discuss. These two followed me because they don't have lives of their own."

"HEY!" Mikoto and Misaki yelled.

"I want to know what happened because we found out Touma's hurt and it somehow involved you," Mikoto said, crossing her arms.

"We snuck into the barricaded area where a large fight took place," Misaki added. "We saw signs of a fight, including marks left behind from your ability. We originally though you and Accelerator fought a magician, but then he says he wasn't there."

"Those two were fighting Dark Matter," Accelerator said, pointing to Touma and Shizuri. "The number two level 5."

"Huh?" Misaki and Mikoto asked, completely shocked by this declaration.

"How did you know?" Shizuri asked, stunned. "You weren't there and the city covered it up."

"I was fighting somewhere else," Accelerator explained. "Someone there decided to annoy me with his constant blabbering. The only bright side was he mentioned you two fighting him."

"So are you going to tell us what happened or not?" Mikoto asked, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Damn it," Shizuri muttered. "I only wanted to get answers from him about what he did." She sighed. "Fine, whatever. Takitsubo and I were minding our own business when Kakine attacked us. It turns out he was in charge of all those thefts and break-ins around the city. He was mad at us for stopping him once when we were performing routine guard duty."

"Kakine?" Mikoto asked. "Why would he want ability development research? He's already a level 5. I never met him, but from what I heard, he's not the type of person to try to make others stronger."

"He was trying to surpass me," Accelerator shrugged. "Trying to reach the fable level 6 and all that bullshit."

"He was using all those other ability users as Guinea pigs then," Misaki reasoned and Accelerator nodded. "He wasn't willing to test his drugs on himself until it was perfected. He's diabolical, but smart."

"I didn't know that," Touma said, his face turning white. _All I saw was him attacking Mugino and Takitsubo. So he was the one who was leading the thefts? Arg, I can't stand people who are willing to hurt others for their own gain. How many people were hurt just so he could try to increase his power?_

"How did Touma get involved," Mikoto asked.

"I'll get to that in a moment," Shizuri growled. "Don't interrupt." Both of them glared at each other and Touma could swear there was sparks flying between their eyes. "I might have been able to take care of him myself but, due to …being under the weather, it was a little more difficult. Then he couldn't resist showing off the new skill he learned. Someone taught that bastard how to use magic. That red lightning you probably saw was his doing."

"How could he use magic?" Mikoto asked in shock. "It should have killed him if he tried."

"He created clones of himself with his ability," Accelerator explained. "It allowed him to cast magic without destroying himself."

"How do you know?" Misaki asked, her brow furrowing.

"I fought him yesterday." Accelerator didn't bother telling the others they actually fought once before that.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Touma asked.

"The timing never came up."

"The lightning magic he used was called the Gregorian Chant," Shizuri continued. "It decimated an entire building in one hit. Kamijou here jumped in and blocked the second strike with his hand."

"I knew it," Touma said, hitting his fist into his open palm. The others all looked at him and he explained. "I've seen it once before. It requires one person to say an incantation and thousands of others to simultaneously perform a chant somewhere else."

"So he made clones to perform the chant," Misaki finished. "He found a way around the laws of using magic and science, and then used it to his advantage."

"It was lucky he didn't try firing again after that," Touma admitted.

"Luck my ass," Accelerator laughed and everyone looked at him. "I discovered the second rate's lair where he kept his clones. I started annihilating them and that would have stopped him from being able to use his magic if it required them all to chant."

"I'm not going to thank you," snapped Shizuri, looking annoyed while Accelerator smirked at her. "You had no idea at the time. Anyway, we beat him, but how we did that requires an explanation from him." She jabbed her thumb at Touma.

"Not just me," Touma retorted. "What about that transformation of yours?"

"Transformation?" Mikoto asked. "Like the one Shokuhou's experienced in England?" _It could be like mine too I suppose, but I require getting forcefully linked to the sister's network. I hope it's not like Accelerator's wings though. He used them in Italy and the ending is a little blurry, but I still remember them._

"Tsk," Shizuri made a noise with her mouth. "It's not like hers. I didn't have a source of Telesma to fortify my ability. Plus, our abilities are fundamentally different. She uses links while mine is a one-way emission type."

"Then how did you do it?" Misaki asked. "I don't know how yours was, but mine was dangerous. I felt like I lost control of myself for a little bit."

"Maybe you just weren't as strong willed as I was," Shizuri smirked, causing Misaki to frown slightly.

"Mugino…" Touma said slowly and she rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," Shizuri said. "Yes, the same thing happened. It was hard to think for myself as power consumed me, happy? The reason I was able to accomplish this feat was because of a theory a scientist in the city concocted." She decided to avoid mentioning Jason by name because the others might question him. Both of them had dirt on each other and it was a balancing act. If one of them ratted the other out, the other would use their information. It was a stalemate keeping both of them in check.

"Which was?" Mikoto asked, not sure she wanted to know.

"You may not know this," Shizuri told them. "But our rankings are not based on pure power. It's based on our potential in how far we can grow. They determined this based on our AIM fields. Accelerator's potential is much higher than ours, which is why he is ranked first."

"Naturally," he smirked.

"After England," Shizuri continued, ignoring Accelerator's smug look. "It turns out she," Shizuri pointed to Shokuhou, "had an increase in potential, which is why they promoted her. The theory the scientist worked on with me was I could break the ceiling on my ability's potential by overloading my powers ever so slightly. It was the same thing Kakine was doing to the others, but mine was a controlled dosage rather than just a random amount. It's why they were dying, they couldn't handle the increase in power." She also decided to keep Rikou's involvement a secret. "It worked and I experienced a similar type of transformation she did."

"So this transformation is you stepping past level 5?" Touma asked.

"Exactly," Shizuri responded, a note of arrogance in her voice. "I'm one step closer to surpassing them."

"Are you stupid?" Touma demanded, causing the others to look surprised. "You purposely did that? You could have died! What idiotic and irresponsible person would even suggest that to you?"

"Someone who was bored," Shizuri shrugged. "He did warn me of the risk if that calms you down. I accepted it." She paused and looked at him. "Aww, were you worried about me?"

"Of course I was," Touma declared, causing two dark auras to erupt from behind him, but he didn't care about that right now. Accelerator looked surprised at his words. "You think anyone would be happy if one of their friends took a stupid risk like that?" Even Shizuri looked surprised at this, but Touma didn't stop. "It's one thing with Misaki who only did it to save everyone as a last resort in England. Accelerator and Mikoto both experienced it before, but it was still to save us. It is completely different when you risk killing yourself just to gain strength. I told you before it didn't matter."

For the first time Shizuri found herself unable to respond immediately. _What the hell is with this guy? His words are so stupid, but have such weight behind them._ As her brain began to process what he said, something else pushed its way to the front of her thoughts. "They have experienced a transformation too?" she asked, pointing to Mikoto and Accelerator. "Do all the level 5s have this ability!?"

"I don't think Gunha-san has," Touma admitted. "And I don't know the number 6."

"Each of our transformations are different though," Mikoto added. "They may have some similarities with physical changes, but they aren't exactly the same." _I actually experienced mine twice, but the first time I was forced._

"I would prefer not to experience that again," Misaki admitted and Mikoto secretly agreed. "I don't really care about that kind of power, as long as I can stay near Touma." She grabbed his arm and leaned up against him. A vein throbbed in the head of both Mikoto and Shizuri at her action.

"Stop trying to grab him at every opportunity," Mikoto said, grabbing Touma's other arm.

 _Great they are at it again._ The fighting was a little annoying at times, but Touma couldn't say he hated being grabbed by them. "So does anyone know why these transformations occur anyways? No other level has physical transformations like that, unless someone purposely uses their ability to do so. With you four, it seems automatic."

"I honestly have no idea," Mikoto admitted. "All scientists believe level 6 is just a myth, so there's really no data above level 5."

"I figured mine was based on the Telesma I absorbed," Misaki shrugged. "Magic fortifying my ability would undeniably have some unexpected changes."

"I don't recall even feeling the physical transformation," Shizuri said with a slight frown. "My mind almost succumbed to the power I received during the transformation, so I didn't notice it."

"I guess you have to find someone to tell you about it then," Accelerator said. He didn't want to mention he could control his transformation to a certain extent. It still continued to threaten and overwhelm his mind with anger and hatred. He didn't want to use it near anyone important to him, in case he lost control. While he was milling around in his own thoughts, the others immediately knew who they were going to question when they got a chance. None of them shared that information with each other though.

 _Kagere-san might have a theory,_ Mikoto thought. _I could ask him without worrying about drawing attention to myself._

 _I suppose I could check with a few scientists I know,_ Misaki thought. _It's not like they can hide anything from me. They should at least have a theory or two._

 _That bastard should know something,_ Shizuri thought angrily. _He helped me achieve it, so he better have an idea what this transformation is._

"I guess it was too much to hope for," Touma sighed. "There's so much about abilities yet to be discovered. Komoe-sensei always tells us that. This has to be one of them." Mikoto and Misaki nodded in agreement.

"Well now that we discussed my transformation," Shizuri said, glaring at Touma. She was still irritated the other two girls were holding onto him. "Now it's your turn to answer the important question I have."

"What is it?" Touma asked, and then he felt his stomach sink as he realized what she was most likely going to ask. _Oh shit…_

"WHAT THE HELL IS WITH YOUR HAND?!" Shizuri demanded, causing them all to jump.

"What do you mean?" Touma asked, knowing full well what she was talking about. _I don't think I can pass it off as a hallucination._

"It was blown off when you tried to stop my attack and then… WHAT WAS THAT?!"

"Looks like she saw it," Accelerator stated, trying to smirk, but he frowned instead. _I already knew it though._

"The dragon," whispered Misaki. She still remembered the overwhelming fear it produced when it emerged from Touma's severed arm. It was even worse knowing Touma had been in so much pain, yet still stood up to protect them all.

"You all know about it?" Shizuri asked. She was completely surprised at this news, but quickly realized she shouldn't have been. Something like dragons emerging from Touma's arm didn't seem like something he would be spreading around. Since they have been around him longer than her, they had to have seen it. _I should have known. Those three butt into everything when it concerns him. It's no doubt they found out about those dragons._

"We saw it before," Mikoto confirmed her suspicions. _I actually saw it twice, but the time in Italy was different than I remember._ "A giant invisible head came out of his arm. It was covered in blood and radiated fear." Her eyes widened a moment and she shivered. Even being partially transformed, she remembered the terror and power that surrounded it.

"One invisible head?" Shizuri asked, glaring at Mikoto, trying to determine if she was being funny. "There were eight of them in total and they were obviously solid."

"There are eight?" Accelerator demanded. "How many fucking monsters do you have hidden in your damn hand hero?" _Wait, I think the Doctor mentioned that, but I was mocking him at the time._ He glanced between Touma and Shizuri. "You better not be making shit up."

"Solid?" Misaki asked. "Why would it be different than what we saw? Are you sure you weren't hallucinating."

"I was not," Shizuri snapped. "Takitsubo saw everything too." Accelerator and Misaki still looked skeptical. "Are you doubting me?!"

"She's telling the truth," Touma and, to everyone's surprised, Mikoto said.

"What?"

"I saw them solid once during one of my transformations," Mikoto mumbled, kicking the ground. She didn't like thinking about that incident. Misaki frowned too, remembering the incident, even though she didn't get a chance to see the entire fight between Mikoto, Touma, and Sogiita.

"This is getting us nowhere," Accelerator growled. He pointed to Touma. "Explain everything you know about those dragons of yours."

"They aren't mine," Touma protested, finally getting more than a couple words in as everyone stared at him. _How am I supposed to explain them? I don't even know what they are._ "I have no idea how to answer that and I have no idea how they exist in my hand. All I can tell you is what I have seen." The others nodded and he continued. "The first time it emerged, Stiyl and I were fighting a magician that took over a cram school in the city. He managed to use a magic that could turn his thoughts into reality. We tricked him and used his own magic against him. That's the first time I saw the invisible dragon covered in blood, but Stiyl said it was just an illusion created by his magic, so I didn't think much of it at the time. The second time was when…" He stopped and looked at Mikoto who nodded.

"Go ahead and tell them," she said with a sigh. _It's going to be easier if you say it._

"The second time was when Mikoto experienced her first transformation," Touma continued. He neglected to mention someone else had forced her to transform. "Gunha-san and I fought her to snap her out of it. During the fight, her power blew off my hand and the dragons emerged. They were solid like Mugino said. They devoured Mikoto's transformation and disappeared. I don't know how, but my hand came back afterwards. Then there was our rescue trip to Italy, when we first met Eve and Adam. We fought one of Eve's minions called the Herald." He was giving a short explanation for Shizuri's benefit. "It was the invisible head covered by blood. When we fought Kakine, I tried to stop Mugino's attack from her transformed state in hitting an explosive bomb he created. Her power blew off my hand and the solid dragons emerged. My hand grew back both times."

"And you are okay right?" Misaki asked worriedly, lifting his right hand up and looking at it. _So she blew it off, but it sounds like my prince jumped in front of her attack. That is so like him. If he was seriously hurt though, I would never forgive her._ "There's no lasting damage right?"

"The only lasting damage I have is a couple of Kakine's attack into my back," Touma said, pulling down his collar and showing the top of the bandages. "Mugino had a doctor patch me up and I'm almost fully recovered."

"Mugino did that?" Mikoto asked in shocked, turning to Shizuri. _Could she actually be acting on feelings for him? That's not good for him if she likes him, or the fact I have another rival._

"Tsk," Shizuri said annoyed, noticing Accelerator had snickered. "It's not like I did it out of kindness. He helped me and I simply paid him back."

"Sure," Accelerator sneered.

"And you have no idea why it comes out invisible and alone or solid and in a group?" Mikoto verified with Touma, who shook his head.

"No idea. I don't even know what they are. It's not like I can just ask them."

"From what you told us," Misaki said, putting a finger up to her cheek. She still wasn't letting go of his arm. "It seems that these dragons appeared solid when you were facing a powerful science side ability, like when we transformed. When I transformed, you didn't lose your hand, so we should assume your hand must have to be removed for them to escape. When you fight a powerful magic side individual, the single invisible head comes out. I wonder if there is a correlation."

"That does make sense," Mikoto agreed. "Based on what we saw in Italy, that does appear to be the case. He lost his arm to the Herald's wind magic."

"Why don't we test it out then?" suggested Shizuri.

"Cool," Accelerator added. "Let's cut off his hand and draw them out."

"No!" Touma protested.

"Definitely not," Misaki added.

"Don't even think about it," Mikoto finished.

"Pssh," Accelerator said, rolling his eyes. "His girlfriends are always making life difficult." Before Misaki or Mikoto could reply to this, Shizuri spoke up.

"Could it be related to his Imagine Breaker?" she asked, looking at Accelerator. "Maybe it's the power that lets him negate abilities."

"I doubt that," Accelerator said. "We already know how he negates abilities."

"You do?" Shizuri asked, completely ignoring Touma and focusing on Accelerator. "How the fuck does his hand do that?"

"You will love this," Accelerator laughed. "It's the most bullshit explanation I have ever heard. If I didn't see it for myself, I wouldn't believe it. The hero's hand produces an Anti-AIM wavelength that cancels out AIM fields, which causes our abilities to disappear."

"I'm not in the mood for games," growled Shizuri, her face darkening. "If you're going to lie, at least make it believable."

"He's telling the truth," Touma reassured her. "I had some tests done by the city on it a while back." He decided to avoid saying it was Jason for a couple reasons. One, Shizuri would most likely hunt him down and demand answers and, two, because Touma knew Jason was keeping it a secret since his hand wasn't a science ability. Mikoto and Accelerator realized what he was doing.

 _I overheard them talking about Kagere-san researching Touma's hand, but I didn't hear about the Anti-AIM wavelength,_ Misaki thought to herself. _Interesting._

"Who was the scientist who told you this?" Shizuri demanded.

"I don't remember," Touma lied. "It was only once and the city made me do it."

"I see," Shizuri said slowly, glaring at him.

 _You are such a horrible liar,_ Accelerator thought.

"With how much you know," Shizuri pointed out. "Those dragons could be generating this… Anti-AIM thing." Touma couldn't do anything but shrug. "Whatever," she sighed, rubbing her forehead with her hand. "You obviously don't know anything more, so I'll just have to find out for myself. I know people higher up in the city who might have a lead." _I know he's lying, but I can't push the subject with the others here. Damn it, I need to beat up Hamazura to relieve some stress._ "I'm done," she said standing up straight and stretching. "We will be leaving now." It was obvious she was not going to drop the matter. When she was out of earshot, Touma breathed a sigh of relief.

"That could have gone a lot worse," Touma sighed. "But I know she's going to continue investigating this." _Jason hasn't been prodding me recently for any experiments. I wonder if he hit a dead end._

"Should we let Kagere-san know?" Mikoto asked. "If she finds out it's him…"

"She would threaten him until he told her everything," Misaki finished.

"There's probably nothing to worry about," Accelerator said, pulling out his cellphone. "He's smart enough to cover his tracks. Anyway, weren't we planning to do something with all the other brats? I'm actually getting hungry after she wasted my time."

"Oh yea," Touma said. "Index is probably dying of hunger. We should get going." The four of them started heading back to Touma's apartment, as Shizuri and her friends began to leave. As they were heading back, something occurred to Mikoto.

"Have you told Index about the dragons?" she asked Touma. "Last time I remember us mentioning it, you changed the subject."

"No," Touma admitted. "Index doesn't know a lot about my hand, except what she told me already. If she found out about the science side examining my hand, she might panic. She still doesn't completely trust some of the city's motives. Since the dragons haven't been causing any problems, I didn't see the reason to let her know about them. I didn't want to worry her."

"I see," Mikoto said, while Misaki and Accelerator were oddly silent. _I can tell we all think he should tell her, but I guess that's the way he is. If it comes to it, we can tell her about them._

* * *

 _Bang!_

The heavy black metal door behind Jason slammed shut as he stepped into a small square room, less than two meters wide. The temperature dropped by about twenty degrees Celsius, before the second door in front of him opened. It was made of the same black metal and Jason quickly stepped into the main room before the door shut. This one was much larger, but the walls and ceilings were also made of the black metal. The temperature in this room was kept at a constant negative one degree Celsius, just below freezing. Jason pulled the collar on his coat closer as he looked around, his breath becoming visible. Several speakers were playing soft music and monitors were constantly beeping. There was a large cylinder full of an eerie green liquid, that looked like it was glowing slightly, placed in the center of all the equipment. The cylinder was large enough for an adult male to stand up in, but it was currently only being partially utilized.

Several organs were floating in the liquid, connected by thin strings of a white chalky substance, about half the width of a pencil. The substance appeared to be moving and constantly wrapping around the organs. The liquid might have been a preserving the organs in their current state, but then one of the organs began to move on its own. The brain started floating to the top of the cylinder and a thin strand of the white substance pushed out through the only opening in the lid. The tip of the strand moved down the side of the glass wall for about a foot, before a bulb slowly grew on the end. It continued to pulse and grow until it formed the shape of a white Rhinoceros beetle. It was less than a foot long but moved to position itself to stare directly at Jason.

"So," Jason said conversationally. "You regained full consciousness and have begun to reform using your dark matter already. Do you recognize me?"

"You are the one I made that deal with," Teitoku'a voice came out of the white beetle. "You finally returned. Whatever this music is, it's interfering with my concentration. Turning it off would speed up the process of regeneration." His voice was determinedly steady and monotonous. He had almost an entire day to himself with only his thoughts to occupy the time. _I can't give this guy any information until I know what he wants._

"There's a reason for that," Jason replied. "I promised to give you the power you sought, this is step one. That liquid you are in is not only preserving your organs, what's left of them, but also contains drugs to help your brain operate at peak efficiency. The music is doing the opposite. It's causing you to have to forcefully exert yourself to rebuild your body out of your dark matter by interfering with subconscious use of your ability. Your organs should probably be replaced too at some point."

"What's with the contradictory effects?" Teitoku snapped.

"Your new body has to be made of your best material and intricately designed," Jason said. "This is more than just making a basic clone. You are now completely one with your own ability. That's the reason for the drugs. The music is to make sure no shortcuts are made subconsciously. Every atom you create will be purposely designed by you. If you want to be stronger, you need a more powerful body to handle your new power."

"Who are you?" Teitoku finally asked. "And what do you require of me to go to such lengths?"

"My name is Jason Ka…," he stopped and grinned. "Kihara." He started pacing back and forth in front of the tank, while the beetle's eyes followed him. "I'll skip the details but, in short, I am working on an intricate experiment that has a step requiring your ability of creation."

"So again," Teitoku growled. "You plan to use me and throw me away. Am I just a backup plan to you?"

"No," Jason corrected him. "I already have backups. You have one of the most important steps. You see, unlike Aleister and Ricane, who have multiple plans going at once in case one fails, everything I do is for the sake of a single plan. I have ways to exchange parts, but you are the only one who can do this necessary step."

"Heh," Teitoku laughed for the first time. "You are laying all your cards on the table. Now I know I am in charge. How do you know I will fulfill my end of the deal?"

"You have to."

"I thought you were involved in the dark side of Academy City. Do you really think someone's word is trustworthy?"

"Nope," Jason replied, smirking. "Which is why I took precautions. You can't betray me no matter how hard you try." His tone was provocative and Teitoku felt his anger rise.

"You think so?" he demanded. A white missile shot out of the beetle at Jason's face. Instead of hitting him where Teitoku had aimed, it flew past him and hit the wall with a loud clang. Jason didn't even flinch. "What the hell is wrong with my aim?"

"Nothing," Jason pointed out. "You can't hurt me and also, watch this. SIT!" The beetle's legs suddenly caved under it and its body was pressed against the glass, almost like it was sitting.

"What the hell?!" Teitoku yelled in shock.

"You always hear of people saying never make a deal with the devil," Jason told him coolly. "It always has unintended consequences. You see, when you agreed to my terms, you activated the Mark of Lust. It's a magical curse that, for simplicity's sake, causes you to sell your soul. You can't hurt me and have to follow all my orders." Teitoku was about to roar out in anger, but Jason continued. "But, I don't want that. I want this partnership to be willing." Teitoku suddenly regained control of the beetle's legs and he stood back up on the side of the tank. "That is why I promised to increase your power. I am also taking the time to answer any questions you may have since we have time while you recover."

"Interesting," Teitoku mused to himself. _This bastard tricked me into being at a disadvantage to use me for his gain. I bet the promise to increase my power is only because he needs my dark matter at a certain level. There's not much I can do right now though._ Teitoku was smart and experienced enough to know he wasn't going to be able to fight back until he learned more, so he decided to go along with Jason, for now. "Any questions huh. Fine, how about you tell me how the Meltdowner managed to transform to start off with."

"That's simple. She came to me demanding power and I gave it to her."

"WHAT?! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT THEN!"

"How was I supposed to know you would go after her?" Jason pointed out. "You see, causing Meltdowner to start surpassing level 5 is part of my master plan. All it took was the right combination of enhancements to modify her AIM field. When you started using magic against her, I was a little worried."

"It wasn't enough to beat that damn Kami and his negation," fumed Teitoku. "Then those monsters appeared after he lost his right hand to one of Meltdowner's attacks after she transformed. Speaking of which, what where they? They devoured my dark matter and broke her transformation."

"They are a pain in my ass that's what," grumbled Jason. "I've been researching into lore about them and the main head for a… side project. The dragons would be what Christianity and many other religions call demons, fallen angels, or devils. They are depicted as the enemy of god and his angels. You started learning magic from Ricane, so I don't want to hear about how you don't believe in those things now."

"Then to crush those beasts and that fucking Kami," Teitoku declared. "I will have to become a level 6 or, better yet, become a magic god." He paused for a moment. "Ricane mentioned them once and their virtually unlimited power. As a magic god, I could obliterate all that challenge me and get my revenge on Ricane and Aleister."

"So you just want to be another child playing in the sandbox?"

"Are you calling a magic god a child? What do you know about them?"

"It's true their power can reshape our world at their whim," Jason admitted. "But you have to think about how they are formed. Magic gods are created when a magician 'steps into the domain of God.' This has serious implications about how strong they truly are."

"It means something created a level where magicians could reach…" Teitoku said slowly, trailing off as it dawned on him.

"Precisely," Jason said, pleased he caught on so quickly. "Magic gods might be all powerful, but that's just from our point of view. Something had to create our world and grant them the opportunity to reach that height. The original God you could say, the one the Anglican Church, Roman Catholic Church, and many others probably follow. I never found signs he was originally human."

"This is really interesting, but so what?" Teitoku asked. "Once you reach the level of magic god, why not just see if it exists."

"Because if it was that easy," Jason replied. "They could prevent others from trespassing into that domain. However, people continue to strive toward it and some succeed. Because of this, I'm not interested in magic gods. I am interested in THE God."

"To see if he exists?"

"Kind of," Jason shrugged. "I am creating an experiment that will blur the lines between magic and science, something you will have a significant part of. I am going to use technology developed by science and perform a magic ritual great enough to change the course of our world."

"And you think a single person can do this?"

"The plan is already moving smoothly."

"In your opinion, is a magic god stronger than a level 6?"

"Would be tough to compare them side by side, but I would say a level 6 would be equivalent to an angel maybe even one of the four archangels, a level 7 would be a magic god, and a level 8 would be God. This is just theory though and I haven't been able to test this. We haven't even managed to truly reach the fable level 6 yet."

"I'll humor you," Teitoku said, sounding skeptical. "Why don't you tell me some details of your plan?"

"I have been researching lore, every piece of evidence, every lead on the beginning of our world. I have read and heard about all of God's miracles, his creations, the order he performed them in, but then I reached a point where I was stuck. How could I find the history of God before he created the world? This frustrated me to no end. With no leads, I gave up for a time and moved back to Academy City and started working with ability development. Even though the laws for science and magic clash in the body, I discovered you could use science abilities in magical rituals. The only backlash occurred on who actually cast the spell. This was a momentous discovery. I started working on my theory and design of the ritual which once eluded me. I've been working backwards from when the Son of God appeared on earth."

"Anyway," Jason continued. "While I was progressing, I still needed to find out more about God, the bible only starts when he started to create our universe. Unable to find out about this on my own, I did what others do. You work and share information with other groups. This group had a different end goal then me, but our goals did not clash. We traded information and worked together loosely, while still staying separate." He started mumbling under his breath. "Well, until that bitch decided to go and do something unforgiveable. Next time I see her she's going to answer for it." His voice returned to normal and he pulled a book out from under his shadow. Teitoku was interested in the shadow itself, since it was the first time he saw it with his eyes.

 _So that's his ability, but I also sense mana within it._ "What's in that book?"

"This is called the Book of Genesis," Jason explained. "It wasn't easier to get it. I had to trade a lot of information for a copy. I pretended to get it stolen so other magicians don't question why I never gave it up. This book contains two relevant pieces of information. One, it has history long before the bible starts. Two, it is the source of creation magic." He grinned. "When you are fully recovered, you are going to learn this."

"I can already create anything with my dark matter," Teitoku replied, snorting. "I even learned how to replicate human tissue. Why would I need to learn magic that does the same thing?"

"Your dark matter ability uses material that does not exist in this world. The Book of Genesis can create everything that exists in this world, or use to exist. I saw a powerful magician create a bird of fire that could fight an army. Think about the power you could wield if you combined them."

"If it's so powerful, why don't you learn it?" Teitoku questioned. _I think I should learn it. The possibilities would be endless with that kind of knowledge. Nothing would be out of reach._

"My compatibility is wrong. I don't know if Ricane told you, but magicians tend to specialize in magic once they learn the basic. The knowledge of magic is so vast, it would be impossible to learn everything in enough details. Of course, there is an exception to this. I specialize in magical tools, give me time and I can figure out how any artifact works, and ceremonial summons by replicating the aspects of angels."

"Oh," Teitoku asked. "Why don't you show me? You sound confident in your explanations."

"I figured you would ask," Jason sighed, putting a hand on his head. "But if it will take away all your doubts, then I could give a short demonstration." His shadow started flowing out of clothes into a circle below him. Pillars of darkness started rising around him and he started to mutter. Ripples went through the pillars, as if they were made of water, before they shattered like ice. The shards fell to the ground and every piece exploded. Instantly, dark green vines erupted from the floor around Jason and spread throughout the entire room, engulfing everything. They were covered in thorns, and one of them lightly touched Teitoku's dark matter beetle.

"ARG!" he yelled, feeling as if his entire body was on fire. He severed the connection to protect his mind and the pain stopped. The vines disappeared as quickly as they arrived and the floor beneath Jason fused back together. Teitoku created another beetle outside of the tank, but it took a moment before he could talk. "What was that?"

"This was a spell derived from the angel Abaddon," Jason explained, brushing his sleeve. "He's the Angel of the Abyss, King of Plague, Destroyer, and Lord of Suffering. He is one of the angels who performs destruction at the whim of God. Even the smallest scratch of his throne can cause pain beyond imagination. I usually combine his aspect with a normal nameless angel. By torturing the angel, I can heal someone by transferring the wounds to the angel. I only feel a slight… discomfort in the process. With the right conditions, I can even replicate the aspects of archangels. It takes a lot of preparation or a sample of their Telesma."

"Okay," Teitoku said quickly. "I believe you. Now one last thing, what is your final plan with all this information and people you have been gathering?"

"I am trying to learn the secret that has eluded man since the dawn of time," Jason said simply. "I want to know where God came from and how he was created." There was a moment of silence, before Teitoku started laughing.

"I can't believe this," Teitoku said between laughs. "It sounds like you actually want to learn how to become God don't you? You sure are arrogant."

"No."

"What?" Teitoku stopped laughing. _I thought I finally figured him out._

"I would not trust myself with such power," Jason explained. "I have neither the will nor self-restraint to wield the power of God. Giving me that kind of power would doom this world. I also don't have the ability to create or lead an army of angels."

"So this entire thing is just to satisfy you scientific curiosity?" Teitoku asked incredulously.

"Nope." Jason shook his head. "I just have to find someone to fill that role instead of me."

"You would trust someone who wants that kind of power?"

"Of course not."

"So why try to give it to someone else?"

"If someone wants that kind of power, they should never get it. The optimum choice would be someone who doesn't want the power, but is dragged kicking and screaming into the position, preferably because no one else can fill the void. I already have a suitable subject in mind, once I figure out how to remove a few complications."

"Let's assume your plan works," Teitoku said. "What makes you think God will stand by silently while you do this?" _If he even exists in the first place._ " He could stop your plan in its tracks."

"Then we have to find someone who specializes in crafting magical weapons," Jason answered. "With your ability to create matter outside of this world, we theoretically should be able to create a weapon capable of killing a god, but I don't think that will be a problem. The group I share information with is working on killing God. I plan to use the moment they succeed, to cast my ritual and fill in the void. They are quite capable."

"I can't believe how ridiculous your plan is," Teitoku grunted. "But if it makes me strong enough to get revenge on my enemies, I'll help. I have to ask, you aren't completely sane, are you?"

"I simply like to push the boundaries of our world," laughed Jason, solidifying the fact in Teitoku's mind. "Sure some may call me insane, but I enjoy dethroning those who tower above others. I guess you could call me a heretic but, if everyone was the same, life would be boring."

* * *

Touma sighed and continued to clip coupons for sales this week on the kitchen table while Index and Lessar watched TV. It took a while, but everything had finally calmed down and went back to their lives. Shizuri and her friends left while the rest of them got lunch. Everyone was really subdued until Kuroko returned and explained Jason and Kazari were discussing some issues and that everything looked like it would return to normal. Touma felt like Kuroko was acting slightly different, more passive but cheerful, and, after sharing a look with Mikoto, believed she thought so too. After they ate, everyone had to split up to finish homework or study for school the next day. It had been a busy weekend for all of them. Komoe didn't assign a lot of homework, so Touma finished early enough to start working on coupons. His phone beeped and he received a surprise.

It was a message from Kazari.

Touma frowned, because he didn't normally get a message from her. Usually Ruiko was the one who contacted him when one of them needed to know or ask something. Flipping open his phone he glanced at the message.

 _Kamijou-san, Jason and I talked through a lot, but I was hoping you could do something for me tomorrow. He promised to go to school but, after everything he has been through, there is a chance he may decide to skip. Can you let me know if he shows up?_

 _She really knows him well,_ Touma thought to himself. _I guess they have been a couple for a while. When I finally get a girlfriend, I hope she's as kind and caring as Uiharu-san is._ He messaged her back, promising to let her know, and put his phone down. _Homework is done, coupons are clipped, and enough food for tomorrow is in the fridge. I finished everything early._ His eyes widened. _This isn't good. When things go this well, something bad is going to happen. True, misfortunate things happened this morning, but my luck doesn't work this way._ His phone started to ring and he answered it automatically. "Hello?"

"Kami-yan," Motoharu's voice echoed loudly in his ears. "How have you been since our adventure into the holy garden?"

"I'm still pissed at you two for coming up with that plan," Touma muttered. "But everything has quieted down now, so I can't complain."

"You had a busy weekend spreading the Kami-yan disease, fighting the number two, and even swapping bodies while facing Eve and her group."

"H-how do you know all that?" Touma coughed. _Has he been spying on me again? Seriously, he ALWAYS knows what's happening._

"You know what my occupation is," Motoharu laughed. "It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to slip undetected among the crowds… is what I would like to say. I heard everything that happened today through the walls. I keep telling you how thin they are but you never learn. The rest I worked out on my own from what I saw happening around the city."

"We had a lot of important stuff to discuss," Touma admitted. "It's not like we could worry about our volume. One of our friends got hurt badly."

"Kagere is pretty tough," Motoharu said. "And Uiharu-san is devoted to him. I think he will be fine. I'm more worried about Eve's continued activities in the city. It sounded like Juliet is ignoring Eve's plan and doing her own thing. I'm debating if we should try to approach her and get her to defect. What do you think of her and our chances?"

"I don't think that will work," Touma admitted. "I suppose if Jason was the one to ask, you might have a chance, but I don't think it's going to work well. Cain mentioned Juliet's magic was being bound or kept by Eve, something like that."

"Oh well," Motoharu sighed. "One last thing Kami-yan. I'm deeply disappointed in you."

"For what?"

"Once Shirai-san and Uiharu-san left, you should have kicked Accelerator out too. Every other girl in that room was utterly devoted to you. You should have started an…"

"I'm hanging up."

"WAIT KAMI-YAN! I have something serious to ask you."

"It better be or I'm hanging up."

"After everything that has happened recently, I feel like you need a break. How would you like to increase your frequent flyer miles on an all-expense paid trip to…" The line disconnected as Touma hung up.

 _Can't he be serious? Even when we are being shot at and chased, he continues to do stuff like this._ He couldn't help shaking the feeling there was something more in Motoharu's words. He frowned while trying to figure it out and turned to look at Lessar and Index. They were playing a video game and, by the sound of it, Lessar was winning and being a sore winner. Touma yawned and stretched. _I guess I'll worry about it tomorrow. He didn't call me back or come knocking, so it must not have been to important._

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Pierce: Season three has finally wrapped up, so it's time to reveal the rankings.**

 **Mikoto: What rankings?**

 **Motoharu: Why the girls in the top three spots of Kami-yan's potential best girl.**

 **Misaki: I'm naturally first right?**

 **Mikoto: You're third at best.**

 **Accelerator: Coming from the third rate.**

 **Lessar; Where am I?**

 **Pierce: Before we reveal, there are many girls who have not had enough screen time to truly be added to the rankings accurately. After the next season, it's sure to change. There are also several ties so they will be listed together.**

 **Frenda: Get on with it.**

 **Motoharu: Let's see. Tied for third we have Mugino, Frenda, Lessar, and Itsuwa.**

 **Itsuwa: I-I made it? B-but I haven't shown up since season two.**

 **Pierce: You had instant capability.**

 **Shizuri: It's not like I care about these rankings.**

 **Frenda: Why am I only third?!**

 **Saiai: Someone's upset, hehe.**

 **Motoharu: Ties for second place is Misaka, Shokuhou, and nee-chi, I mean Kanzaki!**

 **Kaori: W-why am I there?**

 **Misaki: What do you mean second? I'm obviously the best girl.**

 **Mikoto: Your place is right, but why am I there? I'm his best female friend.**

 **Misaki: You wish tomboy.**

 **Mikoto: Why don't you try to run a couple blocks? Hang on, if we are second, who's first?**

 **Motoharu: A completely unexpected girl. Now if you would all turn to the curtains over there.**

 ***Dramatic Music***

 **Motoharu: Aogami, reveal the winner!**

 ***Curtains fall***

 **Mikoto: Saten-san?**

 **Ruiko: Umm, hi? I didn't know why I was here. They just asked me to sit in this chair until they called for me.**

 **Kazari: You won Saten-san!**

 **Accelerator: Where is the hero anyways?**

 **Motoharu: We traded him to some girl name Birdway in exchange for several one of a kind magic side cosplay outfits for Aogami's birthday.**

 **All the girls: WHAT!?**

 **One thing I would like to address to all the readers is thank you. I write this story for fun and because I enjoy it, but reading all the comments and messages people send me letting me know they also enjoy it means a lot. As a writer, and I'm sure everyone who posts stories on this site feels this way, it really makes us feel good knowing others are being entertained by our work. With how popular this story has ballooned into, I plan to keep writing, even with more RL things going on. I thank everyone for their patience and hope you continue to enjoy all the events that make up the world of Index.**

 **A lot more people will be introduced in Season Four, including some girls people wanted to see or have return.** **Naruhinasakufan1, yes, she will return, stop asking.**

 **One last thing:**

 **I have decided to tentatively, allow Touma to answer questions for the beginning of season four. BUT, I can't stress this enough, do not ask him about what girl he likes or anything similar. It will cause him to run and hide or deflect the question. If you want to poke fun of his harem, that's cool, he can't deny he has one. If the questions get to bad, it might have to be a normal opening.**


	79. S4 Settling Down

**Umm… hello everyone who's reading this. My name is Touma Kamijou and you probably know who I am. I'm the normal high school students with an unusual right hand. I'm also on the receiving end of ninety percent of all jokes in this story. I won't let that discourage me. I managed to get through life threatening events relatively unscathed and I'm sure I'll be able to help my friends get through this season too. I still don't like putting my friends in dangerous situations, but I know how they feel about helping now. I was told I was supposed to answer questions, so please don't be ruthless. Accelerator told me you guys don't pull any punches.**

 **nhokngok788: I don't… dang it, I can't deny it due to that bet. Mikoto and Misaki are friends. I would never say they ae part of a harem. I especially would never say that in front of Mugino because I don't want to die. She's a little confusing at time though, but I think we are friends.**

 **ghostdriver1991: I pray daily they never find that letter. I like how caring Itsuwa is. No matter what the situation is, she's always the first to volunteer if something needs to be done. She makes you feel pampered. I'm not allowed there. Guys can't enter the grounds except under special circumstances.**

 **Shwae: When I yell at them, it's because they are obviously doing something wrong. Sometimes, they just need someone to call them out on it.**

 **MarkJ: I'm glad Accelerator seems to have mellowed out. He actually appears to be enjoying his high school life and that's all I really can hope for. Everyone lives their life the best way they can.**

 **Guest: Where did that come from? I mean teachers are kind of nice, but how would the teacher-student relationship not be a problem? I like older girls it's true, but they still should be near my age. I don't punch girls all the time. Quit making it sound like I enjoy violence. I don't have any seduction abilities, regardless of what my friends say. Eve changes her appearance so much, it's hard to keep track, but it makes her look really young, which is kind of disconcerting. I don't dislike Greek mythology, I just feel it tends to turn against me. If the dragons were, I don't understand how they would be part of me. I think that would make me a gemstone if my power could do something like that. She would be an amazing student council president. She's smart, attractive, and caring. I don't see a reason why she wouldn't be. Lightsabers? No idea, I'll ask Jason. That… Can I say this? Author said the last question will be answered below.**

 **Salishious: She's limited the texts, but they have been pretty generic. Sometimes tells me about her day and I fudge my way through. I feel kind of bad about deceiving her, but she seems happy to be able to vent sometimes. The princess probably won't…. OH GOD THE AUTHOR"S LAUGHING! This is not good, something is going to happen.**

 **DARKPHANTOM13: I'm kind of worried about spreading their knowledge of their existence. I might have to see what I can find out, but my parents don't know about magic so I doubt they would know about them.**

 **wildarms13: If that was true, Aogami and Tsuchimikado would have country size harems after the number of times I punched those two. Fukiyose is… strict… but she cares about our class. I think she's always on guard because of my friends and their stunts. I never really had any attraction to her, even though you would think she should be hot. She's missing… something.**

 **general ironox: I don't…. arg, fine I want Oriana Thomson. She's older, has the onee-san aura, and has changed her ways since we stopped her once in the past.**

 **321jaz: I would like a girlfriend, but life's pretty hectic right now. I'm actually not sure what I want to do when I graduate, something that helps others. Maybe I can join Anti-Skill or something. Family would be nice when everything settles down, but my life doesn't normally allow that.**

 **Anon Guest: The girls are just thankful I helped them get on the right path before they did something they regret. Again, I have hit my two idiot friends often and they still don't have a single girl.**

 **Handsomistic1: I might have taken some kind of self-defense lessons in the past, but, you know, memory loss. If I find time, I'll think about it. Ah… yes. It seemed like every guy looked at me in her body. I can understand why, she's really attractive, but it felt uncomfortable. I'm not sure how girls put up with it.**

 **GameCguru: No. I would not accept that. I would find a way to save everyone, even if you think it's impossible.**

 **deathmask83: I don't really have a favorite, they are all pretty unique in their own special way. How many children? I don't know, two would probably be enough. I will always help those who need help, no matter how old I get.**

 **Syko-Soldier963: I would use either to save someone. I'm not the kind of person who believes there are only one or two choices. I will seek out and find the answer others don't see so everyone can leave smiling.**

 **KaguTsumi: It's way too high. I don't even know how I paid everything off. Maybe the city has some kind of insurance plan I don't know about. I should have been bankrupt a long time ago.**

 **Geust: No, I don't want to be Kami. It's just a giant insult to all the girls and it's embarrassing. I don't think I ever really been badass. The dragon was pretty badass when it appeared so let's go with the times it showed up, so that's four? As for the fifth, maybe when I stepped in to save Misaka Imouto. I was told I looked cool, so let's go with that. Misfortunate moments… don't want to go into that. Fortune: When nothing bad happens. Neither harem. I like my hair the way it is. If I'm desperate for money, maybe, as long as it's not nude.**

 **Kuroppy: No one really knows about it though. I also have to be careful. There could be people who want to use it for their own gain.**

 **FrodoFighter: I would stop Accelerator earlier and preferably before he even started the experiment.**

 **Jujudude: I would be for something normal, dinner and a movie where we aren't attached by magicians, robbers, or ability users.**

 **knight6398: I don't know. It's not like I know them at all, so calling them out of the blue would feel awkward. They are pretty nice, that's true, but they were interested in the Kami persona, not me. If I have time, I'll think about learning one. I might have even known one at some point, but memory loss… My dad would laugh if he knew. My mom… oh… she can't find out about this. She would be so disappointed and she knows how to make me feel really guilty.**

 **Whew, there were a lot of questions but I'm finally done. Now I can go back to sleep before Season 4 causes me misfortune.**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly. Magic Gods own all so they can do what they want.**

* * *

In one of the tallest skyscrapers of Academy City, a conference room was abandoned, except for a single occupant. The conference room was one of the most secure locations in Academy City for holding a private conversation. It was equipped with the most sophisticated anti surveillance devices Academy City had designed and could prevent any external signals from penetrating the room or allowing internal signals to leave. It was primarily used by the board of directors for private audiences on subjects that could not reach the public's ears. This time, it was only occupied by a unique individual. He was not a member of the board of directors, in fact, he wasn't even human. The occupant was a golden retriever, with a backpack sporting robotic arms equipped to his back. Noukan Kihara, one of the most well connected and intelligent individuals in Academy City, had procured this room for a private meeting. "All security checks have been cleared Aleister." The voice came from Noukan, but sounded as if it was a man in the prime of his life.

"Thorough as always Noukan," Aleister's voice came through the speaker in the middle of the conference table. "I will make this meeting brief. You have observed his actions directly. Do you believe you can control him?"

"As much as he likes to believe he can put his humanity aside," Noukan responded. "He has two significant disadvantages I can exploit. One, he is unable to directly kill anyone. Do to his past, he has put a mental block on himself from doing so. Rescuing Dark Matter would not only further his goals, but give him a convenient way to indirectly remove his enemies through the proxy of others. His second, and more easily manipulated, disadvantage is he is incapable of stopping emotional attachments. He will instinctively bond with one or two individuals to keep his mental sanity."

"Securing Dark Matter was an unexpected surprised," Aleister admitted. "But not outside the scope of my design. His usefulness had been waning with the design of new energy sources due to the theories designed by Patricia Birdway. Even being a backup is diminishing, with Accelerator finally beginning the process of awakening. I see your plan to exploit his other weakness is moving along. I have already exerted my influence to expedite your request."

"Not only will we strengthen the security of the city," Noukan continued. "We will have leverage to keep him in line. This gives him the opportunity to prevent unneeded sacrifices. However," he paused for a fraction of a second, "I don't think it's a weakness. Between good and bad, that would be a bad sort of stupidity, but between like and dislike, I would say I like it. Romance is all part of humanity."

"You never change."

"What is your plan in case his plan comes to fruition?" Noukan questioned. "I doubt very much if you would sit back and allow him to complete his project when its existence contradicts your very ideals."

"If that time comes, I will deal with it myself."

"I see you still can't rid yourself of everything unnecessary either."

"What are you talking about?"

"I liked that side of you. Between good and bad, it would be near bad, but between like and dislike, I quite like it. That is what I'm saying." There was a moment of silence before Aleister replied.

"We also need to decide on what to do with Ricane. You asked to take personal responsibility for his defeat."

"I would prefer to bring him back to our side. He may have delved into the science of the occult, but his genius in robotics is unmatched. Using cryostasis to preserve his body over decades, while using clones implemented with his mental wavelength, was clever. Then he periodically copied the electronic signals from the clone's brain to his in order to live through the memories and alloying him to virtually be in two places at once. He truly represents the will of the Kihara's. I would also find it unpleasant to destroy the last of my creators. I have to admit too, I am interested to see how far he has come. Many decades ago, he drew up the first blueprints for the Anti-Art Attachment which has served us well."

"Speaking of the Anti-Art Attachment," Aleister interrupted. "You are fully authorized to use it once Eve moves out into the open. Her activities in the city have lasted long enough and are interfering with my plans. She knew she was forbidden to show herself in front of me again."

"It sounds like you and her have a colorful history together. Perhaps you had your own hint of romance?"

"Nothing of the sort. She was upset I took something from her and the resulting fight ended in her loss."

* * *

Touma was on his way to school earlier than he planned, his stomach rumbling in protest. When he woke up that morning to make Index and Lessar's breakfast, he realized the food in the fridge, that he thought he had, was partially rotten. Knowing they couldn't, or at the very least shouldn't, eat it, Touma threw part of it away, which only left enough for two. He couldn't let one of the two girls starve, so he went without breakfast. With nothing else to do, he headed off to school to distract himself from his stomach's colorful swearing. Motoharu never did contact him again, since Touma had hung up on him, so Touma had forgotten about it. When he finally reached his classroom, he saw two familiar individuals standing outside the room. "Hey Accelerator, Jason," he called out. "Why are you two out here?"

"Fukiyose in punishing the two idiots for Saturday's plan," Accelerator informed him.

"We are just waiting for her to calm down before entering," Jason added.

"After everything that happened yesterday I completely forgot," Touma said, turning slightly white. "Those two probably made things worse when they intercepted her." _I can just imagine what sort of things they said and I doubt Fukiyose-san is overreacting._ He heard a loud bang and sighed, before leaning up against the wall next to Jason. He took a moment to look over at Accelerator and Jason. Accelerator was busy on his phone, while Jason was looking up at the ceiling, both of them appeared oblivious to everything around them. Since there was no one else in the hallway, and the people in the classroom were occupied, Touma took the chance to ask. "You okay?" he muttered to Jason.

"I suppose," Jason replied shrugging. "Little awkward at times, but I think it's all settled. It ended with a lap pillow for me, so I guess I can't complain too much." He grinned slightly at Touma, who shook his head.

"Don't let Aogami find out about that," warned Touma. "He will freak out in jealousy. That's cool though. Every guy dreams about something like that."

"I find it hard to believe you haven't experienced it at least once," Accelerator mumbled, glancing at them. "With how many girls flock to your side and all, hero."

"Well," Touma said sheepishly, causing Jason and Accelerator to stare at him. He scratched his cheek. "It might have happened once…" This was actually true. Before he originally confronted Accelerator to stop him from killing the sisters, he had tried to stop Mikoto from rushing off to her death. She had been adamant in stopping him, even if it killed her. Touma purposely didn't block her attacks and lost consciousness. When he woke up, he found his head in her lap, with her crying over him about what she did. It might not have been the most romantic scenario but, looking back, he had to admit it was kind of nice. "Long story though."

"Knew it," Accelerator sighed, shaking his head, while Jason snickered.

"Well if everyone is okay," Touma replied, "I think things have quieted down." He pointed to the classroom door. He was about to get up and head into class, when Jason stopped him.

"Hang on," Jason told him, reaching into his pocket. "Take these." He passed over two pieces of paper.

"What's this?"

"Two tickets for the new karaoke place," Jason explained quietly, in case someone overheard. "I was planning to surprise Kazari yesterday, but things happened… anyways, they expire today and she's stuck in Judgement. I'm still a little annoyed you talked about something private I shared with you, but it turned out for the best. Think of it as thanks and a source of entertainment for us if you don't decide quickly."

"Okay…" Touma said slowly, thankful, but unsure what the last part meant until Accelerator explained it to him.

"You see hero," Accelerator said with a smirk. "If you don't decide on a girl to take with you by noon, we are going to send a message to every girl we know that you have two tickets."

"W-what?" spluttered Touma. "I can understand the others doing something like this, but why are you taking part in it?"

"I have my reasons." _Boredom mostly but, with the brat bothering me yesterday after Saten ran out, I feel like I need to give him some of my stress. Plus, he needs this._

"Hope you have an idea before the time limit," Jason laughed, heading towards the classroom.

"Actually," Touma responded, determined not to let them have fun at his expense this time. "I know who I'm going to invite if they are free. I owe her one."

"Who?" Jason and Accelerator asked.

"Not going to tell you."

"Ah don't be that way," Jason moaned, while Accelerator smirked.

 _Hero's grown some balls._

"I'm sending the message right now so you can't have the satisfaction of messing with me," Touma told Jason, who frowned. Everything Touma said was completely true. He remembered the promise with Mikoto about making up their last date because it had been interrupted. Due to everything that had been happening, it had been pushed to the back of his mind. Now that he had an opportunity, he was planning to take it. Touma pulled out his phone and sent a quick message. _Mikoto, are you free after school today?_ After sending the message, he almost snapped his phone closed. He remembered his promise and sent a short message to Kazari before he put his phone away and looked at the others. "Should we go in?" They nodded slowly, still looking surprised.

About half the class had already arrived and were all looking into the back of the room, which had several overturned chairs and desks. When Touma and the others entered, they turned around. Touma had a brief glance of a broken Motoharu and Pierce lying in the ground with a very angry Seiri standing over them, dusting herself off. "So the rest of the idiots finally arrived," she said turning towards them. The rest of the class watched with anticipation while Seiri cracked her knuckles. "Do you have any explanation for your actions before receiving your punishment?"

"It wasn't my fault," Touma protested, holding up his hands defensively. "I was blackmailed by them."

"They just ask me for transportation," Jason said.

"I was bored and they didn't tell me anything," Accelerator yawned, heading to his seat.

"Traitors!" Motoharu and Pierce yelled, as they staggered to their feet.

"Don't believe them Fukiyose-sama," Motoharu called out. "They all agreed willingly." A book flow through the air and hit him in the face, knocking him over.

"I'm more likely to believe those three idiots then you two," Seiri yelled back curtly, and then glared at the other three. Before she could say anything, Accelerator spoke up.

"What the hell is this crap?" he demanded. Touma turned to see what Accelerator was looking at and realized there was a large pile of small bags and boxes covering his desk. Each one was unique in design and color, so they obviously weren't all from the same person. Boxes were covered in assorted designs, some wrapped, and some just with bows. There were bags tied with ribbons, small tags attached to them. There were also occasional flowers mixed into the batch. If Touma didn't know better, he would have sworn it was Valentine's Day. Accelerator looked onto his pile with disbelief and Touma almost laughed, before he noticed a smaller pile on Jason's desk, and then Touma eyes fell on his desk.

There was a mountain of those gifts overflowing off his desk, dwarfing Accelerator's pile.

"What is that?" Touma asked, pointing toward the piles on their desks.

"You won't believe this," Seiri sighed, rubbing her head, her animosity toward him vanishing.

"They are gifts from our admirers from Tokiwadai High School," Motoharu told them proudly, jumping up to his feet. "Naturally, Kami-yan got the most, but Accelerator was insanely popular too…"

"Of course I am."

"Kagere got a fair amount, probably when he saved people from Accelerator's rampage…"

"I'm not going to turn down free food."

"But the best part is…," Motoharu continued.

"…is we weren't forgotten!" Pierce cried, holding up a small blue package with a green ribbon. "Tsuchimikado and I got cookies too!" There were tears coming out of his eyes and Touma was speechless. With how perverted Pierce was, not counting when he was with Motoharu, it was odd any girl would give him anything. Motoharu could, at least, act normal some of the time. Touma noticed Seiri shaking her head and the rest of the class looking like they couldn't believe it either. Accelerator voiced their disbelief.

"What girl in their right mind would give you two anything except a slap in the face?"

"Ishikawa-san," Motoharu said proudly. "She gave everyone a bag." He pointed to the tables and Touma did see the same package in his mound. "We are still chalking it up as a win for us. Small steps."

"That makes sense," Touma nodded, remembering how Yuna acted. _She looked like she was having a lot of fun when we showed up. She was definitely not a normal high class ojou-sama. You could tell she had experience talking to guys._

"Not only that," Pierce added. "Since you guys were late, we were examining the names on the tags and saw something interesting. It seems like Hibiki-san sent Accelerator something, but didn't send anything to anyone else." A good part of the class gasped, but went silent when Accelerator glared at them. He walked over to his pile, pushed some of the stuff around, until he found a small box.

"This is?" he asked them.

"Yep," Motoharu confirmed. "It's nice of you to go straight for your new girlfriend's gift. She's not a loli, so I'm surprised at you."

"Shut up," Accelerator snapped opening the box to reveal some chocolates.

"HOLY…!" Pierce yelled, causing everyone to jump. "They look handmade! You lucky bastard! Are you trying to become Kami-yan?"

"Don't bring me into this!" Touma replied loudly, slinking behind his pile to sit down. While his friends were antagonizing Accelerator, he started rifling through what was on his desk, noticing Jason was doing the same thing. _I only got these because the girls are attracted to the Kami persona, not me. The only thing they know about Kami is the fact he's part of this class, and I bet a lot of people believe that's made up. I can never let my identity get out or I'll never get a normal girlfriend._ He tried to remain anonymous as he listened to Accelerator squabble with his friends. _Besides Ishikawa-san, looks like Hanabi-san sent me something too. I don't recognize most of these names, but a couple seems familiar. I met so many people, I can't remember them all._

"Knowing her," Accelerator mumbled. "I bet it's laced with laxatives."

"Don't be so modest," Pierce laughed, smacking Accelerator on the back. "You should totally give her a call and thank her."

"How do I know this isn't a trick by you two idiots?" Accelerator asked.

"It isn't," Seiri spoke up, causing him to look at her. "I was the first one to arrive and saw the piles on sensei's desk. The teachers delivered them this morning to our class. I moved them to your desks." Before any of them could respond, she crossed her arms under her ample chest and glared at them. "As much as I hated your idiotic display this weekend, some of those girls enjoyed it. I'm not going to destroy their gifts just because I'm angry at you. I also hate to admit it, I really hate to, you technically didn't break any rules and I heard sensei talking in the teachers' lounge about your high scores." She looked like she bit into something sour. "This doesn't mean I can't lecture you all on being idiots!"

The sound of whales and unnatural gurgling interrupted her and echoed across the room.

"Man Kami-yan," Motoharu commented, while most of the class burst out laughing. "If you wanted to eat, go right ahead."

"I just missed out on breakfast," Touma protested.

"That's not good Kamijou," Seiri reprimanded him. "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You won't be able to concentrate on your lessons. Tomorrow you better have eaten something. You can't survive on junk food the girls from Tokiwadai sent you to replace meals."

"Fukiyose-sama is exactly right," Pierce agreed, crossing his arms and nodding. "When you talk to them again, you need to tell them you want healthy snacks and home cook meals…" He was silenced when Seiri punched him. Before anyone else could react, the door opened and Komoe stepped in.

"Good morning class," Komoe called out cheerfully. "It's great to see so many of you here early." Her eyes darted to the crowd around Touma's desk. "I see you found your gift packages. I was quite surprised this morning when they arrived. If you want to eat the snacks now, that's fine, but no eating once class starts." She wagged her finger at them for a moment, before putting down the papers she was carrying on her desk. The class quieted down as everyone started taking their seats.

 _Phew,_ Touma though. _I actually got out of that relatively unscathed, but I know the others won't let this drop. I suppose as long as they don't mention it to Mikoto and Misaki, it won't be too bad._

 _About time those idiots dropped this,_ Accelerator thought. He picked up the gifts and put them on the floor next to his desk. _I don't even like sweets that much. Why would they send me crap like this? As long as the brats don't find out, I can just ignore it._ He found himself still holding Hibiki's package. _I already opened it, so I might as well try it. If she tried to poison it, she knows the consequences._ He popped one of the chocolates into his mouth. _Huh, not bad. No one dies today._ He put the box with the others and was about to go to sleep, when he saw Seiri look at him. "What?"

"I wanted to ask you why you keep going along with those idiots," Seiri asked him. "When you first joined our class, going with them to sneak into a girl's school was unthinkable." She raised an eyebrow at him. "You changed a lot, you know?"

"I ask myself why every damn day," Accelerator muttered, glancing at her for a moment before putting his head down on his arms to go to sleep. "I guess they grow on you."

"I know what you mean," Seiri replied, nodding, looking over her shoulder at Touma, Motoharu, and Pierce, who seemed to be arguing over something with Touma's pile of gifts. "I wish they would put more effort into being a benefit to society instead of causing everyone around them more trouble." She couldn't see Accelerator's face, but he was smiling. They had different ideas what 'benefit to society' entailed. Touma and his friends had given more benefits to him than Seiri could ever know.

 _She's not too bad herself._

The bell finally rang and Komoe started class.

"Good morning," she started out. "I'm glad to see everyone back after an exciting weekend. I hope you are all ready to start working hard. Before we begin, I have some announcements for you all. First, the results of the Anti-Crime Event last Saturday has arrived, along with your scores and extra credit. The entire event had only one list, so I highlighted everyone's name." She held up the stack of papers. "Don't mind the rank, which shows how many points you have compared to the top scorer. The important thing is you all tried. Imagine my surprise when I noticed the top spots were dominated by our class. Sensei is so proud of all of you." Touma noticed the papers were being hastily passed back to Motoharu and Pierce, causing a sinking sensation in his stomach.

"HA!" Motoharu yelled, punching the air. "We did it!"

"Top five rankings are as followed," Pierce called out to the class. "Tsuchimikado and I are tied at fourth and fifth, Kagere is third, Accelerator is second, and guess who is in first…" The entire class took it up in stride.

"KAMIJOU!"

"Of course," Touma groaned slamming his head on the desk. "Should have seen that coming. It's not like I did anything. I was just there." He grabbed the sheets from Pierce and looked down at it. _Wow, that's a lot of extra credit. The embarrassment might have been worth it. It was kind of fun to meet everyone._ His eyes darted down the list and about halfway, he got a surprise. His eyes widened at he saw an unexpected name. Accelerator had opened an eye to watch Touma when he grabbed the list, but raised his head when he saw Touma's expression change to surprise.

 _Wonder what caused that?_ he thought, leaning over to glance at the list. "Hah," Accelerator burst out laughing, he couldn't help it. "It looks like the hero is on here twice."

"Let me see," Seiri demanded, yanking the paper out of Touma's hand.

"Ouch."

"Touma Kamijou," Seiri read. "Criminal, captured one hostage, never arrested, received special stealth award for never being spotted by a cop." She paused. "How could you be on here as yourself and also as Kami?" Her eyes narrowed and Touma felt sweat form on his brow.

"I don't know," Touma admitted truthfully. "I don't even know how they monitored us." _I was in the Kami outfit all day, except after I escaped the school with Ruiko. Could that have been why I was listed? Doesn't that mean someone saw me and knows my identity? Oh shit, if this gets out… I don't want to be that well known, it will ruin my normal high school life. I know what Accelerator, Mikoto, and Misaki go through on a daily basis._

"Guess the jig is up," Motoharu sighed. "It was fun while it lasted."

"What?" Touma asked, surprised at this sudden pronouncement. Accelerator and Jason looked at each other and neither realized what Motoharu was talking about.

"Don't play dumb Kami-yan," Motoharu said, shaking his head. "You see, when we persuaded Kami-yan to enter the tournament all those weeks ago, he was really worried about participating, being a level 0 and all. Naturally, being his friends, we couldn't let him go through something like this." All the class was listening intently, including Komoe, Jason, and Accelerator. None of them knew where Motoharu was going with this, except Pierce, who took it in stride.

"Luckily, I knew the legendary Kami from an anime convention," Pierce continued, where Motoharu left off. "I persuaded him to swap in and participate in the tournament with Accelerator."

 _What the…?_ Touma thought bewildered. _Are… are they trying to make the class think it wasn't me? That doesn't sound like them at all. What could they be planning?_

"I was actually surprised at how easy it was," Motoharu added. "Kami said he was more than happy to let Kami-yan reap all the rewards. He thought it would be fun to show off his ability without being harassed by others. It was a little difficult switching them between the matches at the tournament and not be seen, but Accelerator was able to help with that."

Touma looked over at Accelerator, who shrugged.

"We mentioned to Kami that Kami-yan needed a break, so Kami did an interview for a weeklong vacation and passed it off to Kami-yan," Motoharu continued. "He really is a selfless guy."

"They both participated in the Anti-Crime Event," Pierce informed them. "Kami was distracting everyone while our good friend hid in the shadows… or he was supposed to. We should have guessed he would run off and go find one of his girlfriends." The class sat in stunned silence at the news. As far as they knew, Touma had been the one disguised as Kami the entire time. Now they were finding out something different and loud whispering broke out.

"Do you think that's true?"

"It kind of makes sense."

"He was fighting on even footing with level 5s."

"This entire time," Seiri said loudly, cutting across all the whispering. "We were led to believe Kamijou here was actually working hard, admittingly being stupid. Now we find out he was slacking and letting someone else do all the work for him?" Her face darkened and her eyes held deep resentment as she glared at Touma. "Is what they are saying true?"

 _This is going to end badly either way,_ Touma thought, his words getting caught in his throats. If he admitted what they said was true, then not only would he be lying, but his classmates would think he had been fooling them the entire time in order to slack off. If he admitted it was him, then Seiri was probably going to beat him for participating in the Tokiwadai takeover. Then he would have to explain how he was on the list twice and who he captured, which would only give his friends more ammo to use against him in claiming he had a harem. _I can't see how if a couple girls like me, that is considered a harem. Most of them have rivalries going on so it's not like they would agree to participate in one. What do those idiots think this is, a manga or anime? How can I get out of this situation?_ He needed to choose his words carefully. "I can explain…"

Those were the wrong words.

 _BAMN!_

It took Komoe a while to regain order of the class.

When the class finally settled down and Komoe finished reprimanding Seiri on hitting classmates during class, she addressed everyone again. "I have one more topic we need to discuss and start planning today. The next two Saturdays, schools will be setting up festivals to attract new students for the next school year. Because of the number of schools in Academy City, half of them will be this week and the other half will be next week. We will have a limited budget, so anything we can supply will be preferred. Our school has been designated to set up a stall this weekend. We need to decide what we are going to do. Please…" She was interrupted by one of the most obvious people.

"We only have one option," Motoharu declared, standing up and slamming his hands on his desk. "We need to have a maid café with all the girls dressing up."

"DENIED!" the girls yelled simultaneously.

"You can't have school festivals without maid cafes," Pierce interjected. "It represents the very spirit of high school life and boys desire. I may even be able to get enough costumes for everyone."

"Of course you would," a guy called out and several people laughed.

"If you wait to wear a maid outfit," Seiri told him, a vein throbbing in her forehead. "Do it on your own time, but don't draw all of us into your perverted fantasies. Your plan would at most draw in some guys and we would have to plan food and drink too. It's not going to make us any money."

"I forgot to mention," Komoe added. "Any profit made over the amount given to each class, will be yours to do with as you wish. They only ask you pay back what was lent out if possible."

"See," Seiri huffed. "We won't get very far with just some perverted boys spending a few yen."

"I don't know about that," Accelerator smirked, sitting up and leaning back in his chair. "I bet there would be quite a few girls willing to come if the hero was serving them. Some might even like him in a maid uniform." He laughed and Touma's face turned white. A couple girls' faces turned slightly red at the thought.

"D-don't give them any ideas," Touma stuttered quickly. "They might actually think you're serious." _Wearing a maid outfit in front of people I know would be torture. If it was a butler outfit I could live with that._

"With Kami-yan's harem," Motoharu said nodding. "I could see that working. Some girls might even pay a lot more to have a 'private' room with him." He snickered and Touma was feeling like he needed to punch his friend.

"He has such a way with them," Pierce added nodding. "He's pretty much always with a girl, except the few times he gets with Kagere."

"He does have a pretty amazing hand," Jason said, gazing out the window as if he was lost in thought.

"Quit saying things they will misunderstand," Touma roared, but the damage had been done. Many of the girls' face went from pink to full blown embarrassment as their teenage minds immediately started to imagine very inappropriate scenes. "I'll tell Uiharu-san what kind of things you are suggesting." Accelerator coughed in surprise, but Jason smirked at Touma.

"I doubt you would," Jason laughed. "But with her imagination, she might faint after picturing that." He paused and rubbed his chin. "That actually might be fun to see her expression, go ahead and tell her." Touma opened his mouth, but shut it, knowing he wasn't going to win this game.

"Plus Accelerator could bring in a lot of girls too," Pierce continued, now that the side conversation was done. "He is pretty popular, being a level five and all. I bet he will need a private room too."

"I don't think I'm going to participate," Accelerator yawned. "Seems like too much hassle."

"WE… ARE… NOT… DOING… A… MAID… CAFÉ…!" Seiri growled through clenched teeth.

"Who made you the dictator?" someone called out.

"Who said that?" Seiri rounded on the voice, but the guy was too smart to say anything else. The class started yelling at each other and slowly formed into two sides. The majority of boys wanted to do a maid café, but most of the girls were against it. There were a few who switched sides, but it was clear no consensus was going to be reached anytime soon. Komoe was trying to get the class to settle down, but to no avail. Touma sighed and rubbed his head, which still hurt from where Seiri had hit him.

 _I should have chosen my words better,_ he thought. _My mouth gets me into trouble._ He saw Accelerator watching the arguments with a mixture of boredom and superiority. Jason was watching with amusement and his other two friends were debating loudly with Seiri. He turned around and saw a single person not arguing with anyone. She was sitting in the background, but it was hard to tell what she was thinking because her face was passive. "Do you have any ideas Himegami?" he asked. "Preferably something that doesn't turn into a civil war."

"Oh," Aisa exclaimed in mild surprised at being asked her opinion. "Nothing yet, but since we will have a limited budget, I don't think a café would be a good choice for us."

"That's what I thought," Touma agreed. _Anything to avoid wearing a maid outfit._

"We need something with a low capital investment," Aisa continued. "I would almost say a haunted house, but that would depend on what we can scavenge for free."

"You make a good point," Touma said thinking. "We might be able to come up with the stuff, but would we have time? If we were scheduled in two weeks, your idea would be perfect. I do like that idea though." He turned back to the others, missing Aisa's cheeks flush slightly at his praise. Touma also didn't notice Motoharu's ears twitch at their conversation. Motoharu leaned over to Pierce and whispered something. Pierce's eyes widened and a huge smile appeared on his face. Seiri took the moment of peace to address the class.

"We obviously are not going to reach an agreement today," she called out to the class. "Everyone write down your ideas and we will go over them tomorrow."

"Aogami and I have a great idea," Motoharu said. "We just have to see if we can set something up."

"Is it going to be perverted?" Seiri asked. She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms under her chest.

"Nope," Pierce answered. "Even though a cosplay café would be a perfect choice, we agreed we need something less money intensive." Everyone stared at them, not sure what those two were planning, but Touma felt a sinking sensation in his stomach.

* * *

 _What does he mean by this?_

"Misaka-san?" Mikoto looked up from her phone and saw one of her classmates in the Tokiwadai locker room. Mikoto hadn't realized she had been staring at her phone for a couple minutes. She had missed the text from Touma early this morning and it wasn't until a couple hours later, when she was heading to gym class, that she saw the text. Mikoto had frozen in place while everyone else finished changing into their gym clothes, causing one of her classmates to worry. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Mikoto replied, quickly smiling.

"You need to hurry or you will be late," the girl said, before turning and exiting the locker room. As the door closed behind her, Mikoto turned back to her phone.

 _What does he mean by 'Are you free after school today?'_ she thought. She actually didn't have any plans, as Kuroko had Judgement duties with Kazari. Realizing she had to get to class, Mikoto gave a short reply and hoped to get more information. _I am, why?_ She threw her phone into her locker and quickly changed, her thoughts occupied the entire time. _What is he asking? I normally misunderstand what he's saying so think of the possibilities. Does he need help with something?_ _That seems likely. What if… he's asking me out on a date? Oh my god. Could it be? It's kind of out of the blue though. Wait… what if he remembered the promise he made about making up our last one? Did he finally think of something? I would be happy with a normal day, something without magicians or being attacked._ She left the locker room lost in her thoughts, until she reached the field and something jolted her back to reality.

Looking like she rather be anywhere else, Misaki Shokuhou was standing with the other girls, all in their PE uniforms.

 _Why is she here?_ Mikoto thought. It wasn't unusual for her class to be paired up with Misaki's class, but Misaki almost never came to gym class. Mikoto knew firsthand how much Misaki hated exercise and sweating. Seeing her here was a rare occurrence. _Wow, she was actually serious about getting more exercise._ Before Mikoto could figure out how to avoid Misaki, Misaki spotted her and immediately made an overdramatic wave while calling out to her.

"MISSSAAAKKKAA! OVER HERE!"

 _Damn it._ Mikoto couldn't pretend to avoid Misaki's waving now, with all the eyes on her, so she walked over to her. "Did you have to be so overdramatic?"

"You tend to ignore me unless I take the initiative," Misaki replied with a slight pout.

"For good reason," Mikoto sighed. "I'm surprised to see you here."

"I realized that no matter how smart, resourceful, beautiful, and modest one is," Misaki explained, "Some things require physical exertion. Besides, a healthy body houses a healthy mind."

"Have you been reading motivational magazines?" Mikoto asked. "We both know you are only here because," she lowered her voice, "Touma was inconvenienced in your body."

"No one is perfect," Misaki huffed. "Besides, I know he loved having an up and close experience with it. I bet he had some interesting dreams last night."

"Probably," Mikoto agreed. "But I doubt it had anything to do with you." Both of them were chatting in light tones, but there were sparks shooting from their eyes at each other. Before Misaki could reply, the teacher blew a whistle.

"Gather around ladies," she said, glancing at everyone. "Today is going to be simple, just some light laps. You don't need to strain yourself, but try to keep going the entire period." None of the girls said anything, but the looks on their face must have said something different. "If you don't want to run, I suppose we could do sprints."

"On our way sensei!" all the girls chanted and started off.

Mikoto didn't particularly mind running laps. It was more fun playing sports, but then that required concentration. Running laps allowed her to get lost in her own thoughts while her body moved automatically. With her athletic ability, running laps at a casual pace for a single period was an easy task. It also kept her in shape. Her thoughts turned back to the text message from Touma. _Did he reply yet? I really want to know what he has planned. The wait is killing me._ Mikoto didn't even realize she was near the front of the group, only the people trying to beat their personal best passed her. _I guess I'll find out soon enough. I wonder how Uiharu-san is doing after yesterday. Kuroko said she and Kagere-san were going to talk, but even Kuroko seemed different when she returned. She was rather subdued, but I thought it was because of the serious topics we discussed._ Her eyes widened. _Could she have confessed?_ Lost in thought, she almost ran right into someone. "Sorry," she muttered quickly, moving to the side to pass her.

"I… may not… be… best… shape…," Misaki panted. "Stop… rubbing… it in..." Mikoto almost froze in shock. She didn't think she would be overlapping someone so soon.

"I wasn't…," Mikoto started to say, but stopped herself. _Why am I explaining myself to her?_ Even with those kinds of thought, she slowed her pace and kept near Misaki, who was obviously struggling. "I'm surprised you are by yourself. Don't you normally have your group around you at all times here?"

"Told… them… to… go… ahead…" Misaki panted, trying to keep herself going out of sheer willpower. Normally, she would have given up by now and either made an excuse to get out of gym or use her power to get out. Trying to continue running as long as possible was an unknown concept to her. Her entire body hurt and it was getting harder and harder to breath. _This is torture. I never want to do this again._ A certain boy's face popped into her mind and she felt her resolve grow. _I can go a little further. I will push my limits._ She gasped and took in some more air. "Do… this… myself…" Mikoto's eyes widened but, before she could respond, something happened

Misaki interrupted her by tripping and falling face first onto the track.

Mikoto instinctively stopped and looked down in surprise at Misaki, who wasn't immediately moving. She didn't know what to say in this sort of situation to her. Misaki pushed herself up, got to her feet, dusted herself off, brushed her hair back, and looked at Mikoto with a passive, if not slightly red, face. They looked at each other for a moment, before Misaki continued, still breathing heavily, but her voice was closer to normal now that she wasn't running. "I wanted to improve myself so I plan to attend more gym…"

"Hang on," Mikoto interrupted. "Why are you acting like nothing happened? You just fell down. Are you okay?"

"I don't understand what you are talking about Misaka," Misaki replied, leaning forward with fake concern on her face. "Do you perhaps have a fever?"

"You just fell face first," Mikoto pointed out and then pointed to a group of girls who had stopped and were watching them. "They saw it too."

"You seem to be mistaken," Misaki corrected her, pulling her collar outward and reaching a hand down her shirt, to remove a small remote. She clicked it and the girls began to continue running like nothing happened. Misaki put the remote back and looked at Mikoto. "I don't know why you are so persistent. No else seemed to have seen anything."

"You just used your ability," Mikoto accused her.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Misaki shrugged. "I think you might have exercised too much today…"

"If you two can't run anymore," the teacher called out to them. "Keep walking at least."

"Yes sensei," they said in unison and started walking the laps. They didn't say anything for a few minutes, before Misaki turned to Mikoto.

"Why are you so worried about me anyways?"

"I couldn't stand by if one of my classmates got hurt," Mikoto replied seriously. "It doesn't matter who it is. I would have taken you to the nurse if you needed it."

"How kind of you," Misaki muttered. They continued in silence, neither looking at each other. After a moment, Misaki spoke up again. "I have been thinking about something I'm sure you will be interested in."

"Is it about him?" Mikoto asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course," Misaki confirmed. "It's much harder to find information on magic side individuals who have been causing us trouble, so it would be reasoned my comment would be about him. I'm glad your brain got some nutrients since your chest obviously didn't get any…"

"And you got the opposite," Mikoto snapped, a vein twitching in her head. "Now you have two useless blobs of fat that get in the way of simple tasks."

"Jealousy is unattractive," Misaki replied evenly, a vein in her head also twitching. "But HE sure enjoys them." They both glared at each other before Misaki sighed. "But we digress with your childish arguments. It has always been noticeable but, ever since I have become more directly involved in his life, I realized it's a lot further reaching than I thought."

"What is?"

"The number of girls devoted to him."

"Oh," Mikoto muttered looking at the ground. "That's true." This was something she noticed, but hated to admit it. It had always annoyed her how many girls were constantly around him. She still had to suppress the urge to hit him during those moments, but she at least understood it now. _He's too nice to say if someone was bothering him and he will step in to help anyone, regardless if he knows them or not. He also never asks for anything in return which makes him look even cooler._ She looked back at Misaki, slightly confused. "Why bring this up now?"

"I've been thinking about it in detail and reached a highly unattractive conclusion," Misaki answered. "As much as I would love to be the only one in his life, it seems like that is far out of reach."

"Are you giving up on him?" Mikoto asked incredulously. She was in complete shock. This was the very last thing she ever expected to hear from Misaki. _I figured she was never going to give up on him._

"You should never ask such a ridiculous question," Misaki reprimanded her sternly. "I will never give up. What I was implying is it seems it will be impossible for me to be the 'only one' in his life." Mikoto frowned.

"Are you actually suggesting what his friends keep making fun of him for?" Mikoto asked. _I knew Shokuhou was willing to do anything for Touma, but to actually be willing to be part of a harem? Has the world gone crazy? No wait, it already has once I learned about magic. Seriously, life was a lot simpler before that._

"Every outcome that will allow me to stay next to him seems to fall into that category," Misaki relented, and Mikoto could tell this wasn't something Misaki wanted to accept. "Naturally, I would prefer this outcome did not occur and I plan to do everything in my power to prevent it, but I am also planning for the possibility." _I really hate to admit this, but I need to understand what she thinks since I can't read her mind._

"It sounds like you are asking me for my thoughts," Mikoto said slowly.

"Partially," Misaki admitted. "There is more, but go ahead and tell me."

"I don't like it," Mikoto replied slowly. "It seems… wrong. A relationship should be between two people. Having a bunch of girls trying to share a single guy sounds like it would be a nightmare. So many things could go wrong." _How could I share the guy I like with a bunch of random girls?_

"I figured you would think that way," Misaki nodded in understanding. _Those were my exact feelings at first too._ "This leads me to the second point I would like to discuss with you."

"Which is?"

"I would like you to stop pursuing a romantic relationship with him."

"WHAT!?" Mikoto yelled in shock, causing several heads to turn toward them.

"Please keep your voice down," Misaki said, wincing at the sudden increase in volume of Mikoto's voice. "We don't need others listening in and constantly wiping their memories will get tiring."

"How did you expect me to react when you go and drop a bomb like that?" Mikoto demanded. "You know I'm not going to disappear from his life."

"I'm not asking you to," Misaki corrected her. That would have been the preferred outcome, but she knew it was a futile effort to even try. "He deeply values his friendship with us, which is why he hasn't been able to return our advances. He is afraid if he chooses one of us, it would ruin his relationship with the other." Mikoto nodded, trying to keep her temper under control. "I simply asked you to stop pursuing a 'romantic relationship' with him. You can still be friends and hang out if you wish."

"What the…" Mikoto fumed, trying to articulate her words. "I'm not…"

"Listen to me," Misaki interrupted, raising a hand. "The reason I am saying this is because your response told me all I needed to know and verified what I expected from you. You don't like him enough to put aside your personal preferences for him."

"What are…?"

"Let me finish before you rudely interrupt," Misaki said, slightly louder. "You want to monopolize him and are not thinking about what is best for him. Right now, he probably also believes in a one on one relationship and a harem is out of the question, regardless of what his friends say. However, you have seen how he just naturally attracts girls to him. There is something about him that affected us too. If he started seeing someone specifically, how would that affect every other girl who fell for him?"

"They would be upset that he was not available," Mikoto conceded. _I would be too._

"Precisely," Misaki nodded, pleased Mikoto caught on so quickly. "Some might give up, but other's wont. It's going to cause him problems, along with whoever he tries to date. We might be able to handle it but, on the off chance someone else snatches him, will they? If others were unhappy because of him, what would he do?"

"He would put his own happiness to the side so everyone else could be instead," Mikoto mumbled, realizing where Misaki was going with this conversation.

"This is why I am thinking about the future, if he goes, as his friends say, the harem route. If he can be happy and I can still be with him, I would accept it, even if it's not optimal for me. I would still be happy. That's how much I love him. I almost lost the chance to be with him once before and I am not going to risk it again." Mikoto almost shivered at the strength behind her last few words, but her own resolve was equally as great.

"It sounds like you don't think my feelings are genuine," Mikoto replied slowly, accusation ringing in her voice.

"I think you believe you like him," Misaki clarified. "But you are unwilling to do whatever it takes to stand by his side. You won't be able to continue this way. You would have to chase all the other girls away from him, which will cause them to be upset, and thus cause him to suffer when others are unhappy because of him. I don't believe you have what it takes to monopolize him. Plus," her eyes narrowed. "I don't really want you to either."

"You finally revealed your true thoughts," Mikoto replied, also narrowing her eyes. They both were glaring at each other and then tension in the air was palpable. "It's not so much having other girls near him, you just don't want me with him." Misaki smiled innocently.

"You are remarkably quick on the uptake today," Misaki answered. "What you say has a sliver of truth. I'm willing to share him with others, Saten-san, Lessar, and even his senpai, but I refuse to share his love with you." Mikoto could only gap at her for a moment in surprise.

"Why?" Mikoto finally asked. "I don't recall doing anything that bad to you." _I may have said I don't like her tactics, but that shouldn't cause so much animosity. "_ We never really got along, but I didn't think we were enemies."

"I'll enlighten you then," Misaki said, a bitter tine permeating her normally light voice. "After the accident where he could no longer remember me, I tried everything to stimulate his memory, but to no avail. I finally came to terms with the inevitable and found piece… then you came along. You met him randomly and hit it off just like I did with him. You both became familiar with each other and all I could do was sit on the sidelines and watch. You took my spot as the special girl from Tokiwadai he, a normal high school boy as he calls himself, became close with. That's why I don't like you." She took a deep breath and calmed down slightly. "I know it's not entirely your fault, but it's the main reason I can't find myself ever being close with you."

Mikoto finally understood.

 _She sees me as a substitute for her,_ Mikoto thought, her brain processing the information. _So that's why she doesn't like me. I don't know if I could truly understand how she felt during that time. What would I do if Touma could remember everyone except me?_ She recalled the panic she felt when she first learned Touma had lost his memories. She didn't know how much of their meetings he had forgotten. _At least I finally have a reason._ Mikoto sighed, knowing this wasn't going to be an easy issue to solve. She still didn't completely like Misaki, as she was very manipulative and secretive but, after everything they had gone through together, Mikoto still felt a little closer to her. "Anything else?" she asked, trying to keep her voice calm.

"No," Misaki said, diverting her eyes. She had said a lot more then she had meant to, her emotions getting carried away. _This normally doesn't happen, but anything relating to my prince always makes me want to act impulsively._ She composed herself and looked back at Mikoto. "I seem to have been a little to honest today. I must not be feeling well from all this exercise." _I said way more than I should have. When did I start opening up around Misaka?_

"Are you really okay being one of many girls around him?" Mikoto asked, ignoring the part about her. _It's not like I can solve that issue so easily. I'll need to think about it a bit before acting or I could make it worse._

"If it is the only way," Misaki muttered. "I would prefer to be the only girl but, as I said, I will stand next to him, regardless of the situation. That is my happiness." She walked off on her own, causing Mikoto to slow down even more and get lost in her own thoughts.

 _How serious is she about being part of a harem?_ Mikoto thought to herself. _She is utterly devoted to Touma, I can tell that easily, so it could be possible. She may have a point though. If I can't be the only one for him, would I be willing to do something like that?_ She had a sudden flash of herself, Touma, and two other girls in a random adult situation and she shook her head. _Just thinking about it feels weird._ Her face turned red and she could swear smoke was coming out of her ears. A small spark subconsciously escaped her. _I want to be his only girlfriend, but where would that leave Saten-san? She likes him too. Could I share him with her?_ Her face grew ever redder, her pace slowed, and she stumbled slightly.

Her strange behavior caused the teacher to run over to her to see if she had a mild case of heat stroke.

* * *

Touma, Accelerator, and Jason were sitting on the roof of their school building eating lunch and talking. Motoharu and Pierce had disappeared, causing Touma to be suspicious, but he had no proof they were up to anything bad. Past experiences said otherwise and he was determined to keep up his guard just in case. The reason they had chosen the roof was because it was an out of the way spot for them to have a private conversation. Now that Jason appeared to be in a better mood, Touma and Accelerator told him about their conversation with the other level 5s about the transformations and the dragons. Jason listened closely while eating his lunch, finally speaking when they finished.

"Your theory on the transformations is pretty standard with what I know," Jason said. "It should be unique to the level 5s, but originally, only Accelerator was supposed to be able to reach the next stage. There have been some fluctuations in ability development recently, including the level 5 data. I only have a general picture, but what Mugino-san told you about it being based on potential is correct. Shokuhou-san got promoted because the readings said her potential grew." He shrugged. "I find it interesting the different stimulus required to cause the transformations. Accelerator can do it without external factors, Misaka-san requires the network, Shokuhou-san required Telesma, and Mugino-san needs drugs."

"So you don't really have any new information?" Touma asked.

"Level 6 was only a pipe dream until these transformations started," Jason replied. "I wouldn't be surprised if some other people were monitoring Mugino-san's transformation in order to research it more. The lightning strikes were pretty noticeable. The side effects of Shokuhou-san's transformation caused a lot of waves up top. If they did see Mugino-san's transformation, I wouldn't be surprised if they start thoroughly examining all the level fives soon."

"Great," Accelerator muttered, putting down the bone of the piece of fried chicken he had been eating. "More fucking scientists annoying the shit out of me. Maybe if I knock down a building or two, they will leave me alone." He smirked when Touma gave him a look. "Transformation aside, what do you know about those dragons?"

"Not much really," Jason said. "I never actually saw them. I was originally looking into the invisible head Touma told me appeared in London, but I never got very far with how much stuff has been happening. I can tell you I don't believe it's Touma's ability."

"Why do you say that?" Accelerator asked.

"Let's say he does have the potential for an ability that can create dragons," Jason explained. "After going through all the experiments the city performs on students to give them abilities, his right hand prevents the ability from manifesting. Assuming the ability didn't get permanently deleted and was actually unlocked, Touma would never have the experience for it. He would not know calculations to use his ability. Even his subconscious wouldn't have memorized any partial calculations. Something as powerful as you described, would not be automatic as an ability."

"Makes sense," Touma admitted. _From what I know, it takes a lot of advanced calculations to use an ability. Accelerator's reflect appears automatic, but he still had to discover the calculation to set it up._ "I didn't think it was, but it was one of the theories we came up with. Do you think it's magical in origin then?"

"There's no other magic that actually negates magic," Jason replied. "Since the Imagine Breaker can negate magic and abilities, I don't think it falls under either category. I told you once before what I think the dragons could be. It's either the true power of your hand, or your hand is acting as a prison for them."

"But do you know what they are and why they alternate between being solid and invisible?" Touma asked.

"I don't know what they are," Jason told him. "But I do like the theory you said Shokuhou-san came up with. I didn't know they went solid until you told me. It's appears as the single invisible head when fighting a magician, while solid and multiple against ability users. I really want to know why now."

"What would you have to do to find out?" Touma asked suspiciously. _I don't like the gleam in his eye. It's the same kind of gleam the other two have when they are up to something._ He had an idea of what Jason was going to say, long before he said it.

"The simplest way would be to cut off your hand and see."

"Knew it," Touma muttered.

"That's what I suggested," Accelerator said.

"It would be simple," Jason explained. "With Academy City's technology, we can use anesthesia to block out all pain in your arm and then seamlessly cut off your hand. If the dragons pop out, we can examine them and if they don't, we can reattach your hand without issue."

"We are not cutting off my arm," Touma protested. "It happened way to many times and it's not a pleasant experience, even if I can't feel it."

"Fine then," Jason said throwing up his arms into the air in exasperation. "If you don't want to know about it, don't come whining to me if something happens with them."

"Couldn't we just tie him up and force him?" suggested Accelerator.

"Possibly," Jason muttered, nodding slightly. "The added stress might even encourage the dragons to come out…"

"Will you two stop plotting against me?" Touma asked, rolling his eyes. "Seriously, I get enough of that from Tsuchimikado and Aogami." _Now I have to be on guard against random hand cutting now. Such misfortune._

"Speaking of those two," Accelerator said, looking around. "What happened to them?"

"I know they are up to something," Touma answered. "But I don't know what." He looked over at Jason, who shrugged. "It's going to involve me in some way, I can feel it."

"You think they are going to try to get a kissing booth set up for you?" laughed Jason, stopping after a moment. "Actually, that would probably work."

"Don't give them that idea!"

"Speaking of the hero's unnatural attraction with females," Accelerator spoke up. "Did you ever get a reply or do we get to cause you difficulties?" Accelerator didn't really care, but with the rest of his idiot friends missing, he felt like it was his duty to keep the hero on his toes.

"Oh yea," Jason said. "I almost forgot. Did she reply?"

"She did and she's free," Touma answered slowly, debating on how much information to give them. Mikoto had messaged him back saying she was free, but wondering why. He responded by explaining he acquired two tickets for a new karaoke place. She seemed excited enough to go and agreed to meet after school. There wasn't much more, but Touma was glad he had the chance to give her a proper night out. The last time they hung out, just the two of them, it had been interrupted by the Herald's sin members. _As long as nothing bad happens, but with my luck… How am I going to handle my misfortune?_

"I have work tonight so I can't even spy on him," Jason moaned. "Sounds like he's looking forward to it. Can you spy on him Accelerator?"

"I'm not going to do something so stupid," Accelerator huffed. "I'm not one of those idiots. Besides, the brats made me promise to head straight back after school for some stupid reason. Plus Worst decided to get banned from one of the malls yesterday because I wasn't there to stop her shit."

 _Things are going to well,_ Touma thought to himself, as they finished lunch and the bell rang. _It doesn't seem like my friends are going to spy on me, Mikoto is free, and I have a decent plan for tonight. My luck doesn't work like this. Something big is going to happen… Eve's going to launch an all-out attack tonight, isn't she?_ He looked up at the bright blue sky and soft white clouds for a sign he was right. Nothing happened and he sighed, before heading back to class.

* * *

 _He's late._

Mikoto had been sitting on the bench for almost thirty minutes. She may have arrived fifteen minutes early, but Touma was definitely late from the time they agreed to meet. She kept checking her phone to watch the time, as well as looking for a message from Touma to explain his tardiness. Several people walked by, most ignored her, but she could feel the eyes of some of passing male students glancing at her. If she had known Touma was going to be late, she would have changed out of her school uniform. She sighed and leaned back on the bench. She didn't really blame him, knowing what kind of luck he has, but she still couldn't help feeling irritated. She closed her eyes and tried to think of pleasant thoughts, mostly involving the time they were going to spend together, but then Misaki's words started to creep into her mind, making her slightly uncomfortable.

"Mikoto!" Her eyes snapped open. She immediately sat up and turned to face the direction of Touma's voice. She saw him running down the street waving to her. He was also in his school uniform, but she didn't mind. Her heart started beating faster the moment he arrived. "Sorry I'm late," he panted, when he reached her. "I hope you didn't wait to long."

"Not too long," Mikoto lied, not wanting to admit she got here early. She noticed his face was sweaty and she frowned. "You were only a little late, what happened?" A devious smirk appeared on her face. "How many people did you rescue on the way here?"

"You were in my body for half a day and now make fun of my luck more than ever," Touma sighed and Mikoto giggled. "No, I was late because Fukiyose made all of us clean up the classroom as punishment for our antics Saturday. Then I had to drop my stuff off at my dorm." Mikoto stood up and they started walking toward the bus stop.

"How is she able to control all of you?" Mikoto asked. "Accelerator doesn't like to get bossed around."

"She's very persuasive," Touma said, rubbing his head unconsciously. "Accelerator tried to sneak away after school and she caught him. She didn't pull any punches when she lectured him about not receiving any special treatment for his level."

"And he stood there and took it?"

"As I said," Touma shrugged. "She's really persuasive." He frowned. "I think he listens to her because she doesn't give him any special treatment. Our class tries to treat him like everyone else, but I noticed they tend to avoid making fun of him directly, it's usually when one of my friends instigate something. Fukiyose will reprimand him directly."

"I guess he isn't use to being treated like everyone else," Mikoto shrugged. "People tend to idolize us just for being level 5s. They don't get to know us, which is why I really treasure my friends."

"I can tell," Touma said grinning.

"So…" Mikoto said hesitantly. "How's Kagere-san? I couldn't get much out of Kuroko and she's been acting a little strange. She's more passive then normal."

"He's been a little quieter than normal too," Touma admitted. "But he still cracks jokes when he's set up. Accelerator and I talked to him about the transformations and dragons, but he couldn't give us any information we didn't guess already." They got on the bus and continued talking. "What about you? Are you okay after yesterday's incidents? Feeling any different?"

"I think I've become more sensitive to electromagnetic waves," Mikoto admitted. "Since your body can't detect them at all, when I returned to my body, I suddenly could feel them again. I bet it will take a couple days to get use to them like normal." She shrugged. "Other than that, I'm perfectly fine and went to school like normal."

"Oh, when is your school doing the cultural festival coming up?"

"We were assigned the second week. I don't think anyone's going to start planning until the end of this week though. When's your school participating?"

"This Saturday. We had a big argument because Tsuchimikado and Aogami wanted our class to do a maid café. The girls in our class were adamantly against it." They both laughed.

"I hope my class doesn't want to do a maid café," Mikoto sighed after a moment. "Ours is in the school gardens, so boys aren't allowed, only girls from other schools, but I hate wearing the outfit."

"If it's girls only, guess I won't be able to see you in a maid outfit."

"It's only one day," Mikoto said quickly. "I probably won't have to be there the entire time. We could hang out outside the school garden part of the day. Besides, I plan to visit your class's stall and see what you came up with. With your friends, I'm sure it's going to be fun."

"Fun is a relative word." They looked at each other and burst out laughing again. They continued to talk and the mood was light the entire bus ride. They finally reached their stop and they got off. It was then only a short walk to the karaoke place. They stopped outside of it and looked up at the sign over the door. "I didn't realize this place was so big."

"How did you get tickets for this place anyways?" Mikoto asked, as Touma pulled them out. "This place just opened up and I heard it's really popular."

"A friend of mine owed me a favor and got these tickets for me," he replied, causing Mikoto to raise an eyebrow. He was glad she didn't question it. They entered the building and walked up to the front desk. There was a short line and they had to wait, but it moved quickly enough. The woman behind the desk was around thirty with black hair, a kind face, and an ear piece with a microphone over her right ear. Touma presented her the tickets and she started typing on her computer.

"Let's see," she said. "Two prepaid couples' tickets," Touma and Mikoto's faces turned red, "for two hours. It's lucky you got here so early. In about half an hour, we probably wouldn't have any rooms left. Room 14 is free, down the hall to the right. If you need any food or drinks, a menu is hanging on the wall." She looked up at them. "One last thing you two might be interested in. You may have known we opened last Friday, but our contest runs through the end of today. We are challenging our guests to try to get a perfect score on one of our machines. If you do, you will win twenty five thousand yen and a silver necklace your girlfriend might like." She smiled at them and both their faces turned redder.

"W-we aren't really dating," both of them stammered and the lady giggled.

"Have fun you two," she said. "Please remember to keep all activities age appropriate." She waved them on and both of them were too shocked to reply, their bodies moved down the hallway automatically. They entered their room and the door shut behind them. The room had two sofa chairs on one side, a large TV screen on the other, a table in between, and the karaoke machine was off to the side for them to select their songs. Instead of a thick book of songs, which Touma had seen at other karaoke places, there was a tablet where you could quickly search for the song you wanted.

"Nice room," Mikoto said, looking around and plopping down on one of the chairs. She picked up the tablet and started scrolling through songs. Touma grinned and sat down in the other chair, scooting it over so he could see the screen too. "What should we start with?"

"Why don't you choose?" offered Touma.

"Is it because you want to hear me sing?" Mikoto asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It will definitely be better than mine." Mikoto grinned and selected a popular pop song. She stood up, grabbed a mic, and typed the song number into the machine. The music started playing and the TV screen turned on automatically. Colors and fancy designs started bouncing around the screen until the words appeared. Mikoto started singing and, while she wasn't a professional, Touma knew she was a lot better than him. Mikoto seemed to enjoy the song and focused on the screen to make sure she got the words right and started moving to the beat, but not outright dancing due to limited space. Her eyes kept darting to Touma, but she couldn't focus on him. Touma, on the other hand, kept watching her. He was a guy and his male hormones wouldn't let him just listen. The song ended and Mikoto put the mic down.

"How was it?" she asked, brushing a strand of hair out of her face.

"Knew it," Touma answered. "Definitely better than what I can do." They looked at the machine which was flashing her score, eighty two. Perfect score was a hundred.

"I think you are underestimating yourself," Mikoto replied handing him the mic. "Because you have so little confidence in yourself, I'm going to choose the song for you."

"But Mikoto-sensei," Touma protested.

"No buts," Mikoto said sternly, though a smile tugged at her lips as she scanned through the song list. "Ah hah, this should be good."

"What are you planning?" Touma asked suspiciously.

"This," Mikoto replied cheerfully, as the screen turned on again. The song was bright, upbeat, and Touma knew immediately it was a theme song of an anime for kids.

"Really?"

"Have fun."

Touma sighed and stood up. He tried to sing along, but he was only slightly familiar with the song because Index sometimes watched the show, but he didn't know the words. He fumbled a lot but slowly got into the grove, even though the song was supposed to be for a female lead. The song finally ended and Touma shook his head. The score on the machine read thirty two. "Did you enjoy my horrible singing?"

"It wasn't that bad," Mikoto lied. "You were just trying to learn the song, so it made it harder." She had been focusing more on him than his singing, so she missed most of the song.

"Thanks."

"Cheer up," Mikoto told him, patting him on the back. "I'll let you get even by selecting my next song."

"I know the perfect one," Touma replied, grinning. He slipped past Mikoto and hid the tablet from her view while he looked for a specific song. Mikoto was curious about what he was planning to select. Touma stood up straight and typed in a number. He turned around when the TV screen flashed back on. It only took three seconds for Mikoto to recognize the song.

"Are you serious?"

"Have fun," Touma told her, parroting her words. They both turned to the screen as the Gekota theme song started playing. Mikoto gave him an exasperated look, but never took her eyes off him. It became obvious quickly that Mikoto didn't need to see the words flash on the screen, she knew them by heart. Touma clapped along as she sung, her face getting redder as he kept his eyes on her. Touma could tell Mikoto really enjoyed singing this song and it was a lot better than her previous one. The song eventually ended and Mikoto passed him the mic. "I feel like you have experience with that song," he commented, a knowing gleam in his eye.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Mikoto answered, deliberately avoiding eye contact. They both looked at the machine as the score 96 flashed across it. "Wow, I did pretty good."

"I think you deserved a few more points," Touma laughed and Mikoto blushed. "I guess they don't want these machines to give out perfect scores too easily."

"That would defeat the point of the contest if it was easy, right?"

"I suppose so," he admitted.

"Let's not worry about it and just have fun," Mikoto continued and she pushed the mic into his hand. "Your turn." They spent around an hour alternating songs before finally taking a break and ordering refreshments. As they sipped their drinks, their conversation turned to school. Mikoto found it hilarious that his class now thought he was switching out with Kami. "So now only your close friends and mine know the truth?"

"That's about it," Touma confirmed. "Fukiyose wasn't happy about that and it was one of the reasons I was stuck cleaning up the classroom. She didn't like the fact I was receiving presents for what someone else was doing and lying about it."

"But you weren't really lying," Mikoto pointed out. "You were being punished for something that wasn't true."

"It's probably better everyone thinks that," Touma shrugged. "You know I don't advertise my hand, but I don't really hide it. If everyone know who I was, my normal high school life would be over. I rather stay somewhat anonymous and help people when I can."

"I still don't think you should get punished though," Mikoto mumbled, thinking, when something he said popped to the front of her mind. "What did you mean by presents?"

"Ah well," Touma said, rubbing the back of his neck. _Crap, didn't mean to say that._ "The girls from the high school sent over snacks and sweets." Mikoto's eyes narrowed slightly and Touma quickly continued. "Ishikawa-san sent all of us cookies, including Tsuchimikado and Aogami. A lot of the notes said they were thank you gifts for making the event fun." He shrugged. "I dropped them off at my apartment before coming here, but I bet Index and Lessar finished them all off." Mikoto couldn't resist grinning at the thought.

"We were always told if someone does something for you that you should do something in return," Mikoto admitted, reminding Touma she did go to an ojou-sama school. They hang out so much, he sometimes forgot. She had become another one of his close friends. "It makes sense the high school would follow the same principle. They were a lot more relaxed around you and your friends though. If you guys had invaded our school, I bet a lot of the girls wouldn't know how the react. Most have had limited contact with guys."

"It's the experience of high school girls," Touma agreed, and realized he said something wrong when Mikoto scowled at him. "So… umm… should we go back to singing?" Mikoto stared at him for a moment longer, before nodding. The mood quickly became fun as they got involved in singing again and the thought of school completely faded from their minds. As the time limit of their stay neared, Mikoto turned to Touma.

"We don't have a lot of time left," she pointed out. "Want to sing a duet?"

"Sure," Touma said, passing over the tablet to her. "It would be something different. Did you have a preference?"

"Not really," Mikoto said, staring at the screen intently. _This should be something memorial since we are going to leave after this. Huh?_ "Cool, it looks like there's a random feature on here. I'll just select duets and now it can be a surprise." She grabbed the second mic from the stand and stood up, Touma quickly imitated her. "Ready?"

"Go ahead." Mikoto beamed at him and hit the button on the tablet before she set it down. The song started playing and both of them recognized it. The machine chose one of the most popular love song duets in Japan. Mikoto's face turned scarlet and Touma felt his ears burned. Their eyes met for a moment before looking away. Neither of them wanted to say anything about, but their eyes met again right when the words started. Touma tried to relax and sing his parts, but Mikoto kept popping up in his head as certain lyrics flashed across the scene. What was worst for him, was other girls like Misaki and Ruiko flashed in his mind at different parts, which made him feel like trash.

 _I'm thinking of other girls while with Mikoto?_

Mikoto was also having a tough time keeping her voice steady at some of the lyrics. Her eyes kept glancing at him and when she wasn't looking, his face dominated her thoughts. The song intensified a lot of feelings she felt for him and she couldn't even remember singing half of the song. It was all a blur. Near the end she and Touma looked at each other and Touma smiled at her, which caused her face to go even redder, if that was possibly, but she felt strangely at ease too. The song ended and she put the mic down, her heart beating wildly. _Did the machine do this on purpose? Did he think I purposely did this?_ She started sparking and Touma noticed too late.

"Mikoto," he called out, reaching out his right hand. "Calm down!" It was too late and a small spark flew at the machine, causing the lights and sounds to go haywire for a moment. Touma grabbed her shoulder and the electricity disappeared. "What happened…?" Before he could continue, a bell rang out, causing them both to jump in surprise. They turned to the karaoke machine and saw the total of 100 flashing on the score board. "Er…"

"I think I might have short circuited it," Mikoto mumbled sheepishly. She was embarrassed for losing control over her ability here. "We should apologize."

"It seems to be working," Touma said, looking over the machine and testing it out. "I think you might have just messed with the score."

"That's a relief," Mikoto sighed. "I bet the machine is pretty expensive and I didn't want to spend all my allowance replacing…" There was a knock at the door and Touma answered it.

"Congratulations," the woman from the front desk said. An older male stood next to her holding a small box and an envelope. He had a tag on his shirt that said manager. "We were alerted you two managed to get a perfect score and have come to deliver your prizes."

"About that," Touma said slowly, glancing at Mikoto, who looked completely embarrassed. He stepped out into the hall and closed the door partially behind him. He could explain the situation by himself and give her a chance to calm down. Touma took a deep breath and told the two what happened. To his surprised, they both burst out laughing and the manager patted him on the shoulder.

"I'm glad you told us the truth son," he said sincerely. "The machine is working fine, so no harm done, but I appreciate your honesty." He pressed the box into Touma's hand. "Take this necklace. I'm sure your girlfriend will like it." Touma's ears burned again but the man left before Touma could reply.

"We hope you come again," the woman told him and waved good bye, before heading back to the front desk. Touma stared at the box in stun disbelief, before heading back inside the room.

"How did it go?" Mikoto asked nervously.

"The machine's fine," Touma reassured her and she sighed with relief. "They appreciated our honesty and gave us this." He passed the box over to Mikoto, who opened it, revealing a silver necklace.

"It looks amazing," she said, staring at it for a moment. She wasn't one to normally wear jewelry, but she could still appreciate it. She took it out of the box and held it up. "Can you help me put it on?"

"Er, sure." Mikoto pushed her hair from the back of her head while Touma slipped it around her neck and clasped it. He could feel how smooth her skin was and glad she couldn't see his face. Mikoto felt the same way, as a shiver went down her spine at his touch. She held up the tablet and looked at her reflection on the screen. "It looks good on you," Touma muttered.

"You think so?" she asked quietly. "I don't know. I might have to save it for special occasions. I'll keep it in the music box you got me." She smiled at him and he felt his heart beast faster. They only had five minutes left of their time so they decided to go ahead and leave. They waved goodbye to the woman at the front desk and exited the building. They walked down the street in silence, both still slightly embarrassed about what just happened. Finally, Mikoto broke the silence. "Kuroko and I are introducing Saten-san and Uiharu-san to someone we met a few days ago tomorrow. Would you like to come?"

"Can't," Touma replied, shaking his head. "Index discovered an all you can eat buffet we haven't been banned from and I promised to take her tomorrow."

"Banned?"

"Turns out all you can eat doesn't really mean 'all' you can eat." Mikoto had a sudden image of Index seeing all the trays of food lined out in front of her, which caused her to burst out laughing. Touma shook his head again, but this time he smiled. "The managers were not happy about it, but she promised to show some restraint. I just hope she can when actually in front of the food."

"Sounds like a losing battle," Mikoto told him and Touma laughed. They continued talking while walking down the street, enjoying the weather. The sun was still up, but it wasn't extremely hot today. Debating what they should do next, they turned a corner and Mikoto saw a familiar face she had seen before briefly. She only recognized the girl because Touma had recently shown her a picture. "That girl…" she muttered to Touma, stopping and pointing. "That's Kazakiri-san right?"

"It is," Touma confirmed slowing his pace. He recognized the long hair and glasses. Hyouka didn't appear to have noticed him, but was looking into a window of a store selling fudge. _She appeared again, but usually Index finds her. I hope she's okay. It doesn't look like Eve found her yet._ He walked toward her with Mikoto staying a couple meters back to avoid scaring her. "Kazakiri-san!" he called out waving, causing her to jump slightly and turn.

"Hello," Hyouka said, crossing her arms politely in front of her. "Sorry I didn't see you there." Her eyes darted to Mikoto, who waved. "Ah…"

"It's okay," Touma said quickly. "This is one of my friends I told you about."

"Mikoto Misaka," Mikoto introduced herself, holding out her hand. Hyouka looked at it for a moment before gingerly shaking it.

"Hyouka Kazakiri, I saw you once before, but I got nervous and…" She trailed off, not wanting to say anything.

"She knows already," Touma reassured her.

"And I don't care," Mikoto added. "If you are in trouble, I'll do anything I can to help you." Hyouka's eyes widen.

"T-thank you," she replied and her eyes began to water. She wiped them quickly and tried to act normally. Before she continued, she glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening in. "They haven't contacted me since then, so I'm hoping they might have given up." Touma and Mikoto both looked at each other and shared a knowing look.

"I don't want to alarm you," Touma told her. "But in our experience with Eve and her group, they don't give up. They just use convoluted round about plans to get what they want."

"I was afraid of this," Hyouka mumbled, looking at the ground. "My very existence seems to cause people problems."

"Don't say that," Mikoto reprimanded her. "You should never apologize for existing. It's not your fault that you are unique. It's their fault for thinking they can use you like a puppet. Looks at him," she pointed to Touma. "He has the worst luck of anyone in the world and it spills over onto other people."

"Hey."

"But he still does his best and doesn't let his luck stop him from doing what's right. I bet he even saved you once before. He did it for me too. You can think you can be all noble and try to separate yourself to protect your friends, but we both know Touma's going to force his way in to help you, whether you want him to or not."

"Hey!"

"And I'm going to help too," Mikoto finished. "I'll be your friend and if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask. I hate people who are willing to treat others like dirt." Touma and Hyouka both stared at her in silence while she breathed heavily after her rant. Touma couldn't resist smiling and, finally, Hyouka did too.

"Thank you Misaka-san," Hyouka replied.

"That candy you were staring at it does look good," Mikoto told her. "I'll get us some, my treat." She dashed into the store before Hyouka could decline.

"Is she always so direct?" Hyouka asked Touma after the door to the shop closed.

"Yea," Touma said nodding. "But you can't ask for a better friend. She's loyal, smart, hardworking, and always puts her friends first." He looked at her. "I know it's kind of sudden, but she really does want to be your friend. She's been with Index and I for a long time and I think you two will get along."

"I wouldn't say no," Hyouka admitted. "She seems nice, but…,"

"You are afraid she will be in danger if she's with you," Touma finished her sentence. Hyouka nodded. "Listen, you can't let those types of people dictate how you live your life. If you keep worrying about what might happen, you can't live in the now. There will always be people who want to use others, that's why people like us need to stand up to them so all our friends can continue smiling. If you live your life in fear, you are playing into their hands. Neither of us forced Mikoto to want to help you, it's who she is. You could be a complete stranger to her, but she would help you if you needed it." Touma patted her on the shoulder, with his left hand because his right would destroy her. "I know how strong you are, but you are also kind. Index considers you one of her closest friends, so remember, you aren't alone." He stopped when he saw tears flow from her eyes.

"I know," Hyouka sniffed, wiping her eyes again. "You are right, I can't live in fear, or there's no point to even existing. Misaka-san's willingness to be my friend, even knowing what I am… I can't thank her enough."

"You don't have to thank her," Touma reminded her. "Being her friend is more than enough." Hyouka nodded and they stood in silence until Mikoto returned, holding a box of fudge.

"I'm back," she said cheerfully, before noticing the atmosphere. "Did something happen?"

"No," Touma replied. "Just talking."

"Okay…" Mikoto said suspiciously. _I feel like they were talking about me._ To lighten the air, she opened the box and held it out to Hyouka. "Here you go, take one."

"Thank you," Hyouka said. She picked up a piece and took a bite. "It's delicious."

"Knew you would like it the way you were staring at it," Mikoto beamed.

"Would have been bad if they weren't," Touma pointed out.

"Be quiet," Mikoto said, shoving a piece of fudge into his mouth. Touma chewed and had to admit it was good. Now that her friends had a piece, Mikoto took a piece herself. "Yum," she sighed happily. All three of them walked away from the store to find a bench they could sit down at and finish eating their snack. Hyouka appeared to be feeling a lot better, something Mikoto and Touma both noticed. Touma equated it with the time she spent with Index. "They finished off the candy and Mikoto looked over at Touma. "We still have some time before we need to head back, anything else you want to do?"

"I'm out of ideas," Touma admitted. The day had been going great, not counting earlier at school. "So anything you two want to do is fine with me."

"Oh Kazakiri-san," Mikoto said. "Tomorrow I'm introducing some of my friends to someone my friend Kuroko and I met. Would you like to join? I could introduce you to them."

"I would like that," Hyouka admitted. "But I can't always control when I appear and disappear, so I can't guarantee I will be able to show."

"Oh," Mikoto said, sounding slightly disappointed. "It's okay. If you ever do see me with my friends, don't be hesitant to come and talk. I'll introduce them to you anytime."

"Thank you."

"Glad to see you two are getting along," Touma commented. "So any thought on what you want to do today?"

"If I might make a suggestion?"

The voice was young, female, and full of joy with a hint of mocking undertone. The voice was familiar enough to cause all three of them to jump out of their seats and turn around in alarm. Touma and Mikoto immediately stepped in front of Hyouka, standing between her and the newcomer. _I should have known my luck wouldn't allow this to continue._ He grimaced as his eyes located the source of the voice and, to his dismay, she wasn't alone.

Eve was standing about ten meters away, clutching onto Juliet's ear while dragging her towards them.

"We need to talk."

* * *

In a storage shed in the far corner of Academy City, three high school students were sitting on crates talking. There were two guys and one girl all with depressed looks on their face. The sun was shining through the windows high above them, but no lights were on. They were discussing the recent destruction of the organization that had been dispensing the drugs which increased ability user's level. "It's just as he said," the first guy spat out. "The city is trying to keep us down. They know the drug has worked on many of us, but they want to control who gets stronger. Anyone who threatens the balance gets eliminated." He had medium length red hair combed back and a lot of freckles.

"Shut up Sadoa," the girl snapped. She had brown hair tied into a pigtail braid on her shoulder "We know all this, complaining isn't helping anyone. If the deaths didn't get out into the public, we probably could have continued it."

"We would have been in trouble if you didn't warn us with your telepathy," the second guy said. "Seriously, Chikako saved our asses. Hitting level four was a blessing." He was a larger build than Sadoa, with wide shoulders and short black hair. His face looked like he would be a stern and straight forward figure, but he was surprisingly supportive and strategic.

"I'm living proof the drugs work," Chikako bragged.

"We all are," Sadoa pointed out. "I hit level 4 too. It's laughable we were all level 2 less than a week ago. He raised his hand and pointed a finger at a bunch of boxes. The air shimmered and they disappeared. "Who would have thought thermal manipulation would have so many uses? Camouflage is really handy and that's not even counting the offensive capabilities." By manipulating the temperature of sections of air through convection, or the movement of groups of molecules, it created a variation between hot and cold air, forming a gradient in the refractive index of the air. The most common example of this was water that appeared in the distance on roads during hot days. With only a few small tweaks, the air can refract light to completely conceal solid objects.

"It's all for naught though," Chikako sighed. "The city is hunting us down and, without more drugs, it's going to be harder to recruit people. We are all that's left, the rest have been caught or gave up."

"We need to unite the remaining Skill Out groups," the second guy said, looking up at the ceiling. "There are plenty of them out there but, without a central leadership structure, it's nothing more than gangs."

"Well Chikako can contact them," Sadoa said. "And you would probably be the best leader out of us three." He smacked his fist into his open palm. "I'll be the muscle if we need it." Chikako rolled her eyes.

"You are such a pompous…" The door behind them flew open and they turned in shock, jumping to their feet and prepared for a fight. They froze when they actually saw who… what… it was.

A large humanoid robotic machine walked in, carrying a briefcase in its right hand. It had a slightly larger build than a normal human and the metal plating made it look like it was wearing a suit if armor.

"What the hell is that?" Sadoa demanded, the air around him shimmering as it grew hotter.

"There is no need for violence," an older male's voice came out of a speaker from the machine. "I am here to help you in your endeavor to show how this city believes people are not worthy to have power."

"How do you know about our conversation?" Chikako demanded, not letting down her guard.

"You really need to understand how surveillance systems work and what steps are required to stop them. I found you quite easily and I know others would be listening in. Before I arrived, I put up some counter measures so we may speak freely."

"Who are you?" the second guy said wearily, not letting down his guard either.

"You seem to be the most intelligent of the group," the male said. The robot put down the briefcase and kicked it over. "My name could cause problems if spoken carelessly, so you may refer to be as The Doctor. I was one of the researchers who helped develop the ability boosting drug. You see, I am a firm believer in allowing one to reach their full potential, regardless of motives. The city kept me from being able to reach my fullest potential by refusing to help me and now I see it doing the same to the next generation in their ability development. I find that highly unfair and want to help. As a sign of good faith, in that briefcase, there is several doses of the perfected drug, along with instructions how to administer it and a communicator should you wish to contact me for help or advice."

The second guy nodded at Chikako and she cautiously stepped up to the briefcase and opened it. _Everything he said is here,_ she said telepathically. The two guys couldn't reply back, but nodded in acknowledgement.

"Why are you helping us?" Sadoa demanded anxiously. "What do you get out of this?"

"I want to show the world this city is purposely holding us back," the man answered. "This will allow us to replace the higher ups with more competent people. I'm hoping you can create a new organization to lead us into a new era."

"I like the sound of that," Sadoa said with a grin. "We need to come up with a good name though."

"I have a suggestion," the male said. "How about The Fallen?"

"What kind of stupid name is that?" Sadoa asked.

"It actually has a deep meaning to it. You see, those of us who have been cast aside, many of us fall into a pit of despair we can't escape from. We will give those individuals another chance. We will form a coalition of those who have fallen to show none of us are worthless."

"I like it," Chikako said, before turning to the second guy. "What do you think?" There was silence as everyone waited for his answer.

"It seems we have a deal, Doctor."

* * *

Across the city, Ricane leaned back in his chair at the student's response. After Teitoku had been defeated, he knew it was only a matter of time before the organization fell apart, so Ricane took precautions. He bugged any of the people who had even a small chance of being a capable leader and monitored to see who got away. Disappointedly, he was only left with one option. The only good news was the three kids had developed their abilities thanks to the drug, so they were going to be more willing to continue. He knew it wouldn't be difficult tricking a couple students to do his bidding. Ricane liked to plan a dozen steps in advanced and even the name he had given them had a purpose.

 _Aleister's surveillance system will start reacting to that name which will help hide my activities. I may not be working for Eve any more, but her presence is sure useful. I wish my clone would have transmitted the last few minutes leading up to his death, all I had left in the memory bank was the Number Seven fighting some of my older models. I might have to test the new ones._

* * *

Later that night, two women were talking on the phone. They were far apart, but both were planning to visit the same location for the same reason. "It's been so long since we last saw each other, so why don't we arrive at the same time? We can spend the day together while waiting for our kids to get out of school." This woman sounded very young, vibrant and cheerful.

"That sounds lovely," the second female said. She sounded older and more mature. "I have been curious how my son is doing. You know how kids are. They never want to talk to their mothers for very long."

"I know what you mean. My daughter always makes it sound like I embarrass her." She paused for a moment. "I'm curious about if her relationship has improved with him. She won't tell me much about it and quickly changes topics."

"We were her age once. With my husband overseas on a business trip, it has been rather lonely. I look forward to spending a little time with my son."

"He seems to be rather popular with young ladies. I hope she's working hard."

"He picked up that trait from his father."

"He such a nice young man though and I'm glad he's friends with my daughter, but it's getting late. I'll let you sleep and I'll see you Friday."

"I look forward to seeing you too, good night."

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **You can probably tell I have a lot of plans for Season 4. It's probably going to be longer than the previous ones because it will diverge into two main storylines before they converge again. I'm also going to address a few things down here from a couple readers Touma couldn't address.**

 **GameCguru: Your comment tells me I did something right when developing my OC. He's complicated enough that you can't just say, oh he's this way. Static characters are boring and it's something I noticed in other stories. I worked hard to make sure he's interesting, but doesn't overshadow the main cast. Guess we will have to wait and see.**

 **Guest: (One about the harem advice) This is something that I have been thinking about for a long time and your commented resonated with me. Season one had a lot of introduction and season two brought in the magic side while pulling in ITEM. Season three was forcing them all to spend more time together. The biggest issue was there is a lot of rivalry between groups, so your point about trying to be open minded is a good one. It's why I started with Misaki, she had the longest to come to terms with herself and him. Mikoto would be one of those who is adamant about a one to one relationship and would be tougher to persuade. A lot of rivalries also make it difficult, but I have a few ideas.**

 **deathmask83: I promised someone else a certain magic god will make an appearance at some point.**

 **Syko-Soldier963: Remember, Mikoto went through three transformations in the manga. SO she went above 2%. The transformation in London was based off the first stage, so it was only partial. If we use that logic, than Mugino's and Shokuhou's transformations would be first stage too. The 50% mark could pose a problem, unless the city developed better methods by then or there was a way for them to keep their humanity.**

 **RPGPersona: Wow, your comments are getting long, but still enjoyable to read.**


	80. S4 Losing Patience

**It looks like the fourth season is living up to most people's expectations. I actually had more free time this week to get this chapter out quickly. There is a lot of buildup in this one too, but I'm sure most of you can see the action pack chapters season four is bound to have. One comment I would like to point out, out of everything that happened last chapter, one small scene was on everyone's mind (or at least the majority). Two women talking about visiting their kids in Academy City? No idea who they could be, but the story wanted it so who am I to say no? Always lots of stuff going on, but a big question will be answered at the end of this chapter. Lots of misfortune for our favorite hero too, so I hope you all are hyped for what's to come. Now let's move to the reviews.**

 **321jaz: Always excited for a new NT novel. Shame it's going to be focused on getting back Kamisato. There was a big death flag when he started acting like a hero.**

 **Whwsms: Maybe. I write these chapters but the story isn't always clear until I'm done. I figured Jason needs to get smacked around this chapter, so we understand why Aleister and Noukan aren't worried about him.**

 **Anon Guest: Should you vanish, we will know what happened.**

 **Handsomistic1: Maybe there is a reason for these strange transformations? The festival is all planned out and I'm hoping everyone will have a good laugh.**

 **FrodoFighter: Eh, a lot of people were already thinking it so Motoharu and Pierce just decided to roll with it to help their dear friend who never wanted to actually be Kami. Misaki even admitted it wasn't Mikoto's fault, but feelings sometimes are irrational. Eve doesn't waste time doing one thing at a time. She multitasks, so why not both? Don't talk about the mom scenes to loud, you might ruin the surprise.**

 **Anon: Wow, "testicular fortitude," I like the sound of that. Sometimes, it's best to just talk out your problems with your rival to get to the best ending. We need World War G to happen at some point.**

 **Generation Zero: AAA was just mentioned, but it hasn't been shown. When it appears for the first time, I guarantee it will be dramatic. Explosions everywhere, and drills, lots and lots of drills. Aleister spies on people by recognizing certain phrases. FALLEN would be one of those and Ricane knows it. This season will have several new and recurring people. Adam, Fiamma and Kihara Noukan, that does sound like a fun battle.**

 **Kuroppy: The question is, would Touma accept a harem? He's a guy so….**

 **Guest: I never really considered Seiri in Accelerators harem because she's not a loli. He's just surprised someone treats him like everyone else without fear. Maybe when the story is finished I might go back. That, or find someone willing to review it I can send my word documents to. A spin off? Haven't thought about that too much. A couple people mentioned to me about doing a side story on what Jason does behind the scenes, but I'm not trying to focus on him. Aogami isn't the number six. Sphinx is a shape shifter and he's the number six obviously.**

 **Guest (Harem guy): Misaki was the only natural choice to start the harem.**

 **RPGPersona: Keep up those comments, I like reading them and I use them as a summary when I need to remind myself of something that happened lol.**

 **EletroMaster: Sometimes all you need is a good rant.**

 **Salishious: You think? Nah, Touma doesn't experience misfortune. The learn how to be the only girl for a man of the Kamijou bloodline, one must acquire the secret passed down from wife to potential daughter-in-law. It is then, the harem spell is broken.**

 **Syko-Soldier963: Obviously because Eve is madly in love with him and doesn't like others dating him. What other reason could it be?**

 **mario ohara: I do know Doctor Who, and was just waiting for someone to comment on that. I don't watch it a lot, only seen a few episodes. The only crossover idea I have is Magical Index and Pokemon. I don't know enough about Doctor Who to write well in that universe.**

 **flayjunior15: It's cool man, we all have our preferences.**

 **Hilem: There is no rule that says only one or two conspiracies can be going on in Academy City at once. In fact, having so many shows how big the world really is.**

 **Agent Nine: If Mikoto won't accept harem ending, time to boot her out. Misaki understands you have to take advantage of now, rather than wait.**

 **nhokngok788: Most people seem to think so.**

 **Somerandumguy: It is not in fact. When I made Jason, the plan was to make a foreigner and I just use a random name. (I think power rangers were playing in the background and made me think of the first red ranger so many years ago.) After his past, it wouldn't be out of character for him to want to know what everyone is doing and how it will affect him, but your point is valid. It's why I set up Noukan to smack him in the face this chapter. Hope you can spot it.**

 **Jujudude: Witch! You are reading my mind and forecasting the events yet to come.**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly. Magic Gods own all so they can do what they want.**

* * *

The silence was deafening for a moment as Eve's arrival sunk in.

"Will you quit pulling on my ear!?" Juliet cried finally. "You are about to tear it off!"

"We can't really talk in a public place like this," Eve told Touma, Mikoto, and Hyouka, but ignored Juliet's complaints. Her eyes darted to a couple people who begun to stare. "Unless you want a bunch of innocent people involved." Touma and Mikoto looked at each other, before giving Hyouka a quick glance. Something not missed by Eve. "If you try to run, I'm not responsible for collateral damage." She smiled sweetly and shivers went down everyone's spines. Juliet even stopped struggling for a moment.

"You won't try anything if we change locations?" Touma asked cautiously.

"You know I keep my word," Eve replied cheerfully. "Besides, even if I attacked, your friend behind you would just disappear, ruining any chance of capture or interrogation."

"I don't trust you," Mikoto spat out. "It's obvious to us you are up to something. How do we know you won't attack us if we let our guard down?"

"I'm always up to something," Eve agreed with a short laugh. "But most of it doesn't have anything to do with you. Now," she started to turn away. "Are you going to follow me to a slightly less conspicuous place or will all those people overhear us?"

"What do you think?" Mikoto whispered to Touma. _She didn't answer my last question. That's a bad sign._

"She's usually been pretty good at not attacking when she said she won't," Touma admitted, but then he frowned. "It has to be she wants to try to convince us to work with her."

"That's not going to happen," Mikoto said instantly.

"What should we do?" Hyouka asked. "I don't know her well, but there was always something about her that didn't sit right with me."

"You don't know the half of it," Touma replied dryly. Hyouka didn't know about magic and they didn't have time to explain it to her. "It's up to you, but Mikoto and I should probably find out what she wants." His eyes never left Eve's slowly retreating form.

"I w-want to go," Hyouka stammered slightly. "I feel like I need to know why they are after me. We might be able to settle this peacefully."

"Then stay behind us," Mikoto instructed, as the three of them followed Eve and Juliet. "We won't let her try any funny business." Touma nodded and Hyouka looked slightly more at ease. They followed in silence, but never let their guard down. Eve didn't seem to care much and knew exactly where she wanted to go. Juliet appeared to have given up trying to get Eve to let go of her ear and just kept pace in order to avoid more pain. They crossed several streets before seeing where Juliet was heading. A couple tables were set up under a large tree and no one was currently occupying them. Eve and Juliet sat on one side while Touma, Mikoto, and Hyouka sat on the other. Touma was on Hyouka's right side while Mikoto was on her left.

"I know you three must be busy," Eve started out, finally letting go of Juliet's ears. "So I will cut to the chase. First, Juliet has something to say to you two." She pointed to Touma and Mikoto. "Let's get this out of the way now."

"Do I have to?"

"You know what will happen if you don't." Mikoto and Touma looked at each other in confusion.

"Fine," Juliet sighed. Her face betrayed she didn't want to what she was about to do. "Yesterday, there might have been some misunderstanding of my intentions and if you took it the wrong way, I apologize."

"Do it better!"

"In the heat of the moment, mistakes were made and you got involved in something that did not concern you…"

"Juliet, I will administer punishment if the next words out of your mouth are not sincere." Eve smiled while she said those words and a shiver went down Juliet's spine.

"I… well… I'm sorry for trying to kill you and your friends." Eve nodded, informing Juliet her apology was acceptable. _Dictator._ "I let my emotions get the better of me." Mikoto obviously didn't think the apology was acceptable and finally found her voice.

"You're sorry?" Mikoto asked incredulously. "You attacked our friends and tried to kill them, and you think an apology would suffice?!" She stood up and slammed her hands on the table. "You know how hard it is to keep myself from electrocuting you?! Nothing is worth attacking my friends over!"

"Like you could…" Juliet muttered before Eve kicked her under the table. "I said I'm sorry, what more do you want?"

"Juliet's circumstances are rather unique," Eve interrupted. She appeared to be trying to diffuse the situation. "Without her body, she's prone to sudden surges of emotions. I usually stop her before she does anything unnecessary, but she slipped by me this time. That is why I sent Cain out to stop her." Mikoto was sparkling slightly and glared at Juliet, who glared back. Touma realized he had to do something before this turned violent.

"Mikoto," he whispered. "I know how you feel, but please calm down." This was true. His hand was shaking in anger under the table at Juliet's lack of conviction in her apology. _Eve's making her do this, but I'm positive Eve doesn't care about it either. She's putting on a show._ Mikoto looked at him like she wanted to say something, but sat down after a moment. Touma gave her a brief nod in thanks before turning to Eve. "We know why Juliet is here and I don't suppose there is away for her to leave him alone?"

"Nope," Juliet replied instantly.

"They should probably have their own talk at some point," Eve commented mildly. "Assuming he can maintain his composer." She laughed again and Mikoto sparked up once more. Hyouka tilted her head slightly in confusion. She didn't know who they were referring to, but she could tell the situation hadn't been a pleasant one. She couldn't gather the nerve to speak up and sat in silence, listening. "But that's probably something they should work out on their own. I don't really care as it doesn't concern me or my mission." She smiled and a sinking feeling emerged from the pit of Touma's stomach.

 _There's more to this then she is letting on,_ Touma thought. _I wouldn't doubt Eve is planning to use Juliet to manipulate Jason, but I know for sure she wouldn't tell us that. She also wouldn't show herself just to have Juliet apologize._ "What do you want Eve?" Touma asked, resigning himself to the fact some of his questions wouldn't be answered. "You wouldn't show just to have her apologize."

"Very astute," Eve nodded, putting her hands behind her head. "I figured since dear Kazakiri-san here wouldn't talk to me and then you wouldn't talk to her for me, I had to meet you both at once. She hasn't vanished yet because you are next to her giving her courage." She smirked at them.

"Are you really here just to talk?" Hyouka asked nervously, fidgeting in her seat.

"Yep," Eve replied, happy Hyouka finally spoke. "We got off on a bad start and all I really want to ask is if you can help me with a problem. You see, only you have the unique ability to help."

"Don't trust her," Mikoto whispered to Hyouka. "She's proven before she's manipulative and only cares about her personal gain." Hyouka nodded in understanding and turned to look at Touma.

"Should I listen?" she asked him, aware Eve was staring at them. To her, Touma's opinion was the most important one. He was the first person to discover what she was and still stood by her, even when she had become a monster. Mikoto seemed nice enough, a little outspoken maybe, but Hyouka had just met her.

"It's up to you," Touma admitted. He really couldn't do anything if Hyouka wanted to listen. "Eve won't tell you the entire story, so all I ask is you let me and Mikoto tell you what we know before you make your decision and do anything for her." Hyouka nodded again and turned to Eve.

"What do you need me to do?" Hyouka asked Eve.

"I know you come from the Imaginary District," Eve explained. "It's an area mirroring our own, but it's so thin, there really isn't anything substantial there. Except," she leaned forward, "for a single gem. A powerful individual residing in this city hid it there, how I don't know, but to get it we need to travel there." She leaned backwards away from them. "That's impossible though. You are the only one who is capable of going through the veil that separates that world from this world."

"A gem?" Hyouka asked confused. "I have never seen anything resembling one there."

"There's a perfectly reasonable explanation for that," Eve replied. "The world you are from is different to say the least, even I have a hard time understanding it, because I have limited knowledge of science side ingenuity. But I believe if you actively look for it, you would find it. You never bothered to try to find the gem, so you never did."

"So all you want is this gem?" Hyouka asked slowly. "What will you do if you get it?"

"We will leave this city and you will never see us again," Eve said instantly. "The only reason we have been here so long is because you kept avoiding me. See, we only approached you because we had no choice. We don't want to interrupt your life here."

"You could have just said that in the first place?" protested Hyouka. Eve only shrugged in response.

"That's not all," Mikoto muttered through clenched teeth. "Why don't you tell her what you plan to use it for?" _This is just like Eve. Her words sound fine, but if you know what she's leaving out, you realize how devious she is._ Hyouka frowned and looked at Eve, who sighed.

"That gem is part of our master and by collecting all twelve we can revive him," Eve explained dispassionately. "Our cause is noble."

"Part of your master?" Hyouka asked, completely confused. "What do you mean?"

"Wow," Eve gasped and grabbed her chest like she was having a heart attack. Everyone could tell she was being overdramatic. "They never told you about magic, that is rich." She started laughing and Juliet looked down while she shook her head to hide a smirk.

"Magic?"

"It turns out magic is real and they are trying to revive a fallen angel by the name of Lucifer," Touma muttered to her quickly. "Or more commonly referred to as Satan. Their plan is to revive him and kill God. We can explain everything in detail later about magic."

"They want to kill God?"

"She seems a lot more accepting then I was when you first mentioned magic," Mikoto commented.

"If I can exist," Hyouka said reasonably, trying to smile but causing only the corners of her mouth twitching. "It would make sense for something like magic to exist somewhere."

"Good point."

"But," Hyouka turned to Eve. "Regardless of trying to revive your master, I can't help someone who is planning to kill others, regardless of who they are."

"I see," Eve said crossing her arms. "It looks like that is your final answer. What do you think we should do Juliet?"

"Adam mentioned a plan B," Juliet responded mildly. "Maybe you could tell them about it?" Touma and Mikoto's blood froze. They knew how ruthless Adam was and how he could kill in a moment's notice. If he had a plan in case Eve failed, someone was going to get hurt.

"Oh yes," Eve said, in a tone that suggested she never actually forgot. "I only have a couple days to finish my part before Adam finishes his. If I have not gotten the wing by then, he's going to enact his plan. We have eleven of the twelve gems, so we have an option for the last piece. You see, there is a way for us to create a new piece as a substitute. Don't look so surprised." The shock must have shown on their faces. "You know it's possible to create artificial angels." Her eyes darted to Hyouka and Touma's face darkened.

 _That's nothing more than a goddamn fallen angel! And this is not just one of god's angels losing control! This is an ugly winged doll created by the hands of man! It is a pitch black sinner carrying sins upon sins!_

The words from Vento of the front echoed through Touma's mine. He gripped his leg to stop his hand shaking in anger. Mikoto also remembered seeing something resembling an angel so long ago, which caused Index to ask her for help. Mikoto also noticed Hyouka was shaking slightly. She reached out a hand and grabbed Hyouka's hand. Their eyes met and Hyouka's eyes were filled with thanks. "How are you planning to create an artificial piece?" Touma asked, causing both of them to look at him. _I'm going to keep the topic off of Hyouka._

"It's a rather fascinating spell," Eve answered. "Each of these gems represents a fragment of Lord Lucifer's power when his wings were torn asunder by Michael. Power can be duplicated, as long as we find a suitable energy source. However, there is no current single source of power great enough to create one of these gems, well, not any that would be possible in getting. They get rather moody if you ask. So, we have to go with numbers."

"What do you mean by numbers?" Mikoto asked and, a second later, she wished she didn't.

"What would you put the power of a human soul at?" Touma, Mikoto, and Hyouka's eyes widen.

"You can't be serious," Touma responded, his voice growing hoarse.

"Naturally a few human souls won't have the power equivalent to a fraction of an archangel's power," Eve said dismissively, waving her hand. "But, how about hundreds, thousands, millions, or even a billion souls?" Juliet shook her head while the others tried to find their words. "There are a lot of places with heavy population centers all over the world, Beijing, New York City, Mumbai, and even Tokyo. Most of these cities have little or no magical protection. A simple spell set up will convert all these people's souls into a gem. If one city isn't enough, we move to the next and the next until we have enough. Of course, the people won't survive long without souls, but Adam said that's a necessary sacrifice…"

"Bull shit!" Mikoto and Touma raged, standing up and slamming her hands on the table. Hyouka flinched at her friends' outburst.

"There should never be a sacrifice like that!" Touma yelled.

"How can you even consider something like that?!" Mikoto added.

"This is only a backup plan Adam came up with if I fail," Eve pointed out. "I have told you before, I try to avoid deaths. This plan will only come to fruition if two things occur. Adam completes his job and I don't acquire the last wing. I estimate I have a couple days before he can finish, so the choice is entirely up to our mutual friend here." Eve crossed her fingers under her chin and her eyes darted to Hyouka. "What do you say? The choice is entirely up to you. These two can't stop you if you are willing."

"If I do this," Hyouka asked slowly. "You won't hurt anyone and leave the city peacefully?"

"I promise."

"Don't believe her," Mikoto said quickly. "She never reveals her real plan. Besides, if they can revive Lucifer, countless people are going to be at risk anyways."

"Please Kazakiri," Touma pleased softly and she looked at him. "Mikoto is right. I can't stop you, but please trust us. It's going to be exponentially worse for everyone if you help her."

"Eve's pretty good at keeping her deals," Juliet spoke up. "She only owes me one thing still." Hyouka looked at all of them, took a deep breath, and turned at Eve. Her eyes betrayed her fear, but there was a look of determination Touma had seen once before. Before she even spoke, his heart relaxed, and he knew what she was going to do.

"I'm sorry," Hyouka told Eve. "I can't help you. Being in your presence, I realized giving you something like that would be a mistake for everyone, including my friends. I won't help you hurt anyone." Touma and Mikoto clasped her on her shoulder.

"A shame," Eve exclaimed, shaking her head. "But not unexpected. I will still be in the city for a couple days if your change your mind. All you have to do is pull the gem into this world and I will know." She stood up and turned around, with Juliet imitating her actions. "You might regret your actions."

"Is that a threat?" Mikoto asked, standing up.

"A warning," replied Eve, as she looked over her shoulder. "You see, even I have a limit to my patience. We are so close to reviving our master, I can't let you stand in our way." Paper appeared next to her and started to flutter into the air around them all. Eve gave them one last look and snapped her fingers.

The paper exploded into a torrent of flames.

Mikoto and Hyouka yelled in surprise as they were instantly surrounded by dark red flames. Eve wasn't even trying to hide the fact these weren't normal flames. It was as if fire had been mixed with blood. _It's like fire from hell,_ Touma thought as he stuck out his right hand into the inferno. The heat was intense and Touma swore some of the hair on his arm was beginning to burn away. When his hand made contact, the flames broke apart at the contact point with the sound of breaking glass.. "Are you both okay?" he asked when the fire vanished completely.

"I'm fine," Mikoto answered, rubbing her eyes and noticing Eve and Juliet were also gone.. "Where's Kazakiri-san?"

"She must have disappeared," Touma said. "If you surprise her, she can involuntarily vanish."

"Will she be okay?" Mikoto asked. "Won't Eve try to track her down and force her to retrieve the gem?"

"There must be a reason she can't," Touma said, a small frown forming on his face. "Otherwise she would have come to us like this. Most likely Eve can't contain the AIM fields her body is made up of so trying to use force just makes Kazakiri-san disappear. I can't say I like it, but she will at least be safe. I definitely won't try to persuade her to help Eve."

"Let's get out of here," Mikoto suggested indicating the burnt ground around them. "Those flames might have drawn attention." Touma nodded and they ran until they were several streets away. They slowed to a walk and started to make their way to a bus stop. "What do we do now? I hate sitting around and doing nothing while Eve is out there willing to attack innocent people."

"I need to let Jason and the magic side know what Eve said. I think she is planning to use Juliet to force him to do something."

"I wouldn't put it past her."

"Next," Touma continued. "The magic side needs to be notified so they can find Adam and stop his plan, which will force Eve to hold off on her part. Even though she hides the truth, she does seem to come up with plans to avoid deaths, which we know of anyways. I don't like the act I can't do much either right now, but all we can do is hope they have a plan. Also keep our eyes open for any signs of Eve plan to put a stop to them."

"What ever happened to my normal school life?" Mikoto mumbled.

"Welcome to my world," Touma muttered back. They both glanced at each other for a moment and then laughed. "All we can do is go back to our normal lives and appreciate the peace while we have it. It's why I enjoy spending time with all my friends." He looked at her for a moment and noticed she was biting the corner of her lip. "Is something wrong?"

"Ah no," Mikoto replied quickly, shaking her head. "Just a little nervous, but you're right. Tomorrow, Kuroko and I are introducing Uiharu-san and Saten-san to a friend of ours, that's sure to be a normal endeavor. Wish Kazakiri-san could have come." This was true, but she was also holding back another thought. _Should I mention what Shokuhou and I talked about today? I mean, what if he DOES want a harem and only pretends not to… no that's silly. He's not that kind of guy. What would I do if he goes with someone else and I had the opportunity to join in? Could I do that?_ She started thinking about the outcomes and went quiet.

"Are you okay?" Touma asked worriedly. "Your face is rather red."

"I-I'm fine," spluttered Mikoto, but unconsciously shooting a bolt of electricity at him.

"Such Misfortune."

* * *

"Here are the ideas we have that are actually doable," Seiri told the class the following day, slamming her hand on the blackboard.

Touma shook his head and tried to concentrate on the topic of the cultural fair. He got back last night and sent out a warning to Jason and Motoharu about what Eve did, but he only got a response from Jason. Knowing Motoharu, he had forwarded it to Stiyl and Kanzaki, but couldn't tell Touma their movements. Mikoto had returned to her dorm without incident, but he still felt bad their good time was interrupted again. _This is why I can't have a girlfriend. Whoever gets too close to me will get involved in these kinds of things on a regular basis._ His eyes darted to the blackboard to read the ideas people had suggested.

The one on top of the list was something a girl suggested. She wanted them to do a kind of carnival game, like a ring toss or a dunk tank. The class got a big kick out of imagining Accelerator in a dunk tank, so that idea was added. The idea below that was a kissing booth. Jason had betrayed him as revenge for Touma not telling him who he used the tickets with. The entire class, except Touma, agreed he could get a lot of business and they could just alternate girls on a second stall. He had tried to protest but it was ignored. The third idea listed had caused a lot of suspicion among the class because Pierce and Motoharu suggested it. The class didn't trust their motives because of how normal their suggestion had been. They wanted to run a raffle with the prize to be determined at a later date, but the default could always be half of the money taken in. There were a couple of other crossed off ideas, but they had been eliminated, including Peirce's cosplay café idea.

"All three of these ideas are good," Seiri continued. "We just need to decide on one. If we can narrow it down to two today and vote tomorrow, we should have plenty of time to get everything we need. Does anyone have any objections?" There were whispering, but no one spoke out loud right away, except for one person.

"You crossed out the best idea though!" Pierce protested.

"We discussed this already," Seiri replied irritably. "Even if we ignore your perverted delusions, it just isn't feasible in the time we have to set up or our budget."

"You are just saying that because you don't want to dress up like an animal maid," Motoharu added.

"You two are just asking for another beating," Seiri told them, cracking her knuckles. Komoe looked up from her desk and shook her head, causing Seiri to put her arms down. Komoe was staying mostly silent, because she preferred to let her students decide what they wanted to do. "Besides, you two were acting all excited about your raffle. Speaking of which, you still haven't told us what you wanted the prize to be."

"It's taking longer to get approval," Motoharu replied, crossing his arms and nodding sagely. "You see, the city has so many rules and regulations, to set anything of note up, you need proper authorization. Aogami and I have been working hard trying to get everything we need. You know we wouldn't do anything against the rules." Almost everyone in the class rolled their eyes.

"But what's the prize?" someone called out.

"That is a surprise," Pierce explained. "It's not so much a tangible prize. It's something everyone wants, but no one can acquire easily. It's guaranteed to make us a fortune." His words reverberated around the class and a good portion turned to face Touma, including Accelerator and Jason.

"Does this involve me?" Touma asked suspiciously, fearing the outcome.

"Wow Kami-yan," Motoharu exclaimed. "Conceited much? Not everything revolves around you. Maybe this involves Accelerator."

"If it does," Accelerator snarled. "Out booth is going to be smash the piñatas with you two hanging from a tree."

"I have a feeling they are not telling us everything," Aisa whispered to Touma. "It has to involve you."

"I think so too," Touma agreed. _Though, Jason's idea seems like it would impact me more. The entire class was yelling I was going to be in the stall all day. If those two have something worse planned… I don't want to think about it. Maybe they are actually going to do something normal and not involved me?_ He knew that wasn't possible, but that didn't stop him from imagining it. He tried to be an optimist when possible.

"Raise your hand when I call out the idea!" Seiri shouted over all their murmuring. "Top two will be voted on tomorrow. Game stall." She counted the hands and wrote it on the board. "…Kissing booth." More hands were raised and she wrote them on the board. "Can't believe you suggested that Kagere."

"Touma was so excited about it when I suggested it yesterday."

"No I wasn't. I told you specifically not to mention it."

"Nah," Accelerator added, betraying Touma too for a small laugh. "He was rather energetic about it."

"Not you too!"

"Besides," Pierce said to Seiri. "You can stand next to him and kiss all the guys that show up. Maybe being in close proximity will cause you to lose your resistance to Kami-yan disease. We need to know this for science. If you can still resist his charm for so long, we can finally start developing an antidote…" An eraser flew at him, hitting him in the face, and sent white chalk dust all over his face.

"I won't shirk my duties and skip out," Seiri fumed. "But don't suggest stupid things like that. Now, final vote, who wants the raffle?" The rest of the classes' hands went up and she counted, before marking the blackboard. "Looks like it's pretty close between the kissing booth and the raffle. Both will be easy to set up for this Saturday. Do you think you two can get everything approved by tomorrow?"

"Shouldn't be too hard," Motoharu nodded. "We just need one more signature."

"Then I expect you to tell the class what you are planning for the prize tomorrow," Seiri said, crossing her arms. "I think we should be the only one doing these. I asked a few other classes what they were doing and we seem to have a lot of food stalls. We needed something different."

"It's good to see you all working so well together," Komoe said, taking charge of the class as Seiri sat down. "Now let's focus on your lessons. We have a lot to cover today." Touma took out his notebook and glanced off into the distance. He was glad the day started off normally, but he was still worried about what Motoharu and Pierce were planning.

* * *

"I can't wait to get there," Index said, almost skipping down the street. It was after school and Touma had gone back to his dorm to pick up Index. They were heading to the all you can eat buffet he had promised to take her to. "It's going to be so great to eat until I'm satisfied. Plus, it's just us since Lessar went off on her own." While she really did want to go to the buffet, being alone with him during an afternoon outing was a dream for her.

"I'm always happy to spend time with you Index," Touma replied, smiling at her cheerful expression.

"Lately you are always off with other people," Index told him, glancing up into his eyes. "I've been really lonely, even with Lessar, Last Order, and Hyouka."

"You know you can always hang out with me when I'm with my other friends," Touma pointed out. "They like you and you know them all from our trip to England."

"I guess," Index muttered and shrugged. "As long as you are with me…" Her face flushed and she went quiet, before she turned her head and looked the other way.

"Sorry, I missed that."

"Nothing."

"Okay," Touma replied, raising an eyebrow. "You know Index, when we get to the buffet, please remember you can't just grab all the food with your hands now. You have to use the plate and take it back to the table."

"I know," Index said indignantly, rolling her eyes. "I can control myself you know."

"We have been kicked out of every buffet up to now. Do you remember what happened the first time we went to one?"

"No," Index lied, deliberately looking away from him.

"Don't give me that! You always brag about your perfect memory. You know what you did the first time you saw all the food laid out in on the buffet. You moved at speeds impossible for humans and started emptying trays directly into your mouth."

"You didn't leave me any food that day and I was starving!" Index protested. "What did you think was going to happen?! All they said was it was all you could eat, not all you could put on a plate and take back to your table!"

"What kind of person doesn't understand the basics of buffets? Even kids know they can't eat out of those trays. Didn't you see what everyone else was doing?"

"No, the food was what was important."

"I should have guessed," Touma sighed. "This time, you need to pace yourself. Fill up a plate, take it to the table, and then eat. Remember, others will be there so you don't want to make a mess."

"Stop treating me like a little kid!"

"I'm trying to prevent the same situation as the last few times!" They continued to bicker, but neither seemed to be really upset. They were having fun and eventually managed to laugh at Index's overexcitement when entering a buffet. They continued walking through the city, the topics changing as Index talked about a new anime she liked, and Touma's danger sense noticed something to their left. Right at the entrance of an alley, several guys were huddled around a girl, talking loudly. Touma couldn't see the girl, but the guy's words were obviously not pure.

"Hey girl, why don't you come and hang out with me and my boys. I'll personally show you the time of your life."

"Hopefully she's more fun than the last one."

 _Those types of guys again,_ Touma thought annoyed. _Why don't they quit harassing girls like that?_ "Index," he said quietly. "Can you wait for me at the end of this street for a minute by yourself?"

"Why?" Index asked, looking around before noticing the group of guys. She frowned as they made her feel uneasy. "Are you going to do something stupid and dangerous which will cause you to come back injured?"

 _Maybe?_ "Of course not," Touma lied, waving his hand dismissively. "Someone just needs a helping hand with something quickly. It should only take a minute. You know I'll come back."

"I know," Index admitted. "You always come back." She gave him a brief smile and kept walking, giving Touma time to turn toward the guys harassing the girl.

 _Well, guess it's time for the old standby. It almost never works but, when it does, it ends without violence._ He took a deep breath and walked toward them, pushing past two of the four guys. "I'm sorry, did you wait long?" He reached out a hand toward her and his eyes widened slightly when he realized who it was. _Oh shit…_ He had never gotten a good look at her, since the group of guys had been surrounding her, but he never would have expected her.

Hibiki Nakano was leaning up against the wall, giving him a slightly surprised look.

"Who's this loser?" one of the guys asked.

"Does she already have a boyfriend?"

"Damn it."

 _Come on,_ Touma pleaded with his eyes. _Take my hand and I'll get you out of this._ She looked at him for a moment, before reaching out her hand and grabbing his. Relieved, Touma led her away from the other guys, who slunk off looking irritated. He tried to move quickly enough so the guys wouldn't think of chasing them, but slow enough so he wasn't pulling Hibiki's arm too hard. They crossed the street before Touma turned around to make sure the guys had truly giving up. "I think we lost them," he said. "Sorry about that, but I'm glad you caught on so quickly."

"If we are done," Hibiki stated. "Are you going to let go of me?"

"Ah sorry," Touma apologized, letting go pf her hand immediately. "Since you are safe, I'll be on my way…"

"Looks like Hibiki was saved by prince charming," an amused voice said, causing Touma and Hibiki to turn around. Yuna was walking up to them with Hanabi right behind her. "Hanabi and I were debating if someone would help her or if we would have to thaw those guys out."

"If you saw those losers," Hibiki snapped. "You could have come and helped me out. I'll get in trouble again if I freeze every creepy guy who hits on me."

"I'm glad you restrained yourself," Hanabi told her. "The teachers are getting tired of reprimanding you."

"But then you wouldn't have met this gentleman," Yuna said brightly, reaching over and grabbing Touma's shirt as he tried to slink away. "You don't need to run off. We didn't even get your name."

"Er… it's Touma Kamijou." _This isn't good. What if they recognize me? Ishikawa is pretty sharp. I don't want anyone to know I'm Kami._ Touma felt the sweat form on the back of his neck, as he gazed at the three girls. Yuna looked at him with a smile on her face, Hanabi looked nervous, and Hibiki had her arms crossed.

"My name is Yuna Ishikawa," Yuna introduced herself. "This is Hanabi Nakano, and the one you rescued is her sister, if you couldn't tell, Hibiki."

"It's nice to meet you three," Touma said. "Now I really need to get going and meet my friend…"

"Leaving already?" Yuna asked, with a twinkle in her eye Touma was used to seeing in Motoharu's. "Come on Hibiki, you should give him some kind of reward. How about a kiss?"

"Yuna!" Hanabi gasped. "How could you suggest that? You know Hibiki likes…mumph." Hibiki had covered Hanabi's mouth with her hand and her face had turned scarlet.

"Be quiet," Hibiki hissed at Hanabi. "Or I'll tell you-know-who about what you were mumbling in your sleep last night. I'll be extremely graphic." Hanabi nodded quickly and Hibiki removed her hand. Hanabi slunk into the background, determined not to say anything else. Touma didn't know why, but he felt embarrassed.

"It's just on the cheek," Yuna prodded. "Besides, it will give you more experience with guys." They seemed to have completely forgotten about Touma's presence. "He did help you out, a small kiss is nothing."

"I'll just be going…" Touma said meekly, beginning to turn around. A second later he regretted it, as a girl surrounded by a dark aura appeared.

"TOOUUUMMMAAAA!" Index yelled dangerously. "You told me you were just going to help someone and now you are getting a kiss?"

"I can explain Index," Touma replied, raising his hands defensively. All three girls turned to watch his and Index's encounter. _I'm dead._

"Repent for your sins!" Index yelled jumping and flashing her unusually sharp teeth.

"AHH!" Touma cried in pain as he tried to get Index off her head while the three girls watched in stunned silence. Hibiki and Hanabi were completely baffled at what just happened, while Yuna was torn between laughing and trying to help.

"Is that a nun?" Hibiki asked Hanabi, who nodded.

Before Touma could get Index off him, he heard another familiar voice. "Jumping on the savior looks like fun MISAKA laughs as MISAKA joins her friend on the dogpile." Touma felt another person jump on his back and wrapped their arms around his neck to hold on. "Hi Index, Misaka adds." It was hard for Touma to breath, but Last Order's sudden appearance caused him a little relief.

"Lath Orher?" Index asked, her words muffled by Touma's head. Her friend's sudden appearance caused her to release Touma in surprise. "What ae you doing here?"

"MISAKA is on a date MISAKA brags as MISAKA holds her hand out in a victory pose."

"Who's on a date brat?" Accelerator asked, chopping her on the head. Last Order mumbled something about child abuse, but Accelerator ignored her and turned to look at Index and Touma. "Should have known she saw you two the way she ran off. What...?" He had been about to ask them what they were doing when his eyes fell on the three girls staring at him. He always expected Touma to have a girl clutching onto him, the issue this time was he recognized them and they weren't the other level 5s he was use to. A small sneer appeared on his face. "Heh, it's you lot."

"Hi Accelerator," Hanabi said softly, giving him a small wave from the back of the group. He gave a brief nod of his head as acknowledgement. Hibiki, on the other hand, wasn't so held back.

"Why are you with a young girl?" Hibiki asked suspiciously. _That girl looks a lot like Misaka-san._ "Were… were your friends actually not joking about you being a lolicon?" Her face twisted slightly in disgust.

"He is MISAKA confirms as MISAKA attempts to insert the statement as fact to prevent you from going after him…ouch!" Misaka clutched her head as Accelerator gave her another quick chop.

"Never say that world about me again," he snapped, before his eyes darted back to Hibiki. "So, it's you. Heh." He smirked again. "Your tribute didn't cause me to run to the bathroom, so I guess it was acceptable."

"Hey," Hibiki responded irritably. "I worked hard on…" Her face turned red and Accelerator's smirk grew. _That jerk, he did that on purpose to make me say it._ Yuna also smiled and looked between them, before speaking up.

"So you got all the gifts?" she asked. "I checked around and no one heard anything back from you guys."

"It cluttered all of our desks," Accelerator said in a bored voice. "But we got them. I'm surprised the two idiots didn't call every number they could find."

"Do you know Kamijou-san?" Hanabi asked, gesturing to Touma. "Your friends appear to know each other." She gestured to Last Order, who was still determinedly standing in front of Accelerator, clutching tightly to his shirt. Index was next to her and they were whispering in hushed voices, but Last Order kept glaring at Hibiki and Index kept glaring at Touma. "He helped out Hibiki from being harassed by some other guys." Accelerator snorted, but not for the reason the girls thought.

"Yea, he's in our class." _Of course the damn hero would save one of them. Doesn't look like they know he's Kami. Should I tell them now or save it for later?_

"I saw you three on the news when they invaded your school. Our class was really amused by that. Though, I'm surprised you all seemed okay with it." Touma invented this lie quickly to try to prevent any connection between him and Kami.

"We are old enough to have interactions with guys," Yuna replied, waving her hand slightly. "Though, it is true a lot of girls came from distinguished families and have limited opportunities to talk with them. If you had gone to the middle school, I bet most of the girls besides Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san would know what to do. I'm glad they chose ours." She laughed. "Out of curiosity, what is your ability and level?"

"I'm just a level 0," Touma said quickly and it took a lot of control for Accelerator not to say anything.

"Nothing to be ashamed of," Hanabi reassured him. "I'm sure you can improve if you keep at it."

"Thanks." _I knew she was nice. She barely knows me and is so understanding._

"Do you hang out with low levels because the other level fives don't like you?" Hibiki asked Accelerator.

"The other level 5s annoy me," Accelerator replied, leaning forward. "Almost as much as you."

"Good," Hibiki replied, crossing her arms. "I would hate for you to be happy. I was debating giving you a laxative, but I'm above such childish pranks."

"If you did, I would have gone to your school and hunt you down."

"They are so cute together," Yuna commented, shifting over to Touma and putting her arm around him. "They clicked the first time they met."

"You think so?" Touma asked doubtfully. _They seem like rivals at the least._ He could feel a slightly dangerous aura coming from Index, and he glanced over at her. She was watching him closely, not attacking, but he knew if anything even remotely looked like it could happen, she would pounce.

"As a girl I can tell these things," Yuna informed him while nodding. "Oh, do you know who Kami is under his mask? Hanabi really wants to talk to him, but she can't get the nerve to ask one of his friends for his number."

"Don't tell him that!" Hanabi protested, as her face turned red.

"Sorry I don't know him," Touma said quickly. "Only Accelerator, Aogami, and Tsuchimikado know."

"Shame," Yuna said, slightly depressed, before she turned her attention back to Hibiki and Accelerator. Both of them were still arguing and their faces were close.

"MISAKA doesn't want her to steal you away MISAKA shouts as MISAKA attempts to push Accelerator away from the other girl." Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Last Order trying to push Accelerator away from Hibiki, unsuccessfully. Touma, Yuna, and Hanabi laughed at the sight, but Accelerator and Hibiki didn't look that amused. The tension between them grew until a faint noise surprised them.

"Meow."

Touma recognized the sound and turned to Index, along with everyone else. Index tried to hide it, but a small head of a calico cat poked it's heard out of her garment. The head was visible on her chest as the cat struggled to escape the hot oven. "Index…" Touma asked slowly. "Why did you bring Sphinx?"

"Because, he would be all alone without us. Besides, I want him to experience the buffet with us."

"You can't bring pets into a restaurant! They might throw us out."

"What kind of horrible people would throw out a cat?"

"There's health concerns they need to take into effect!"

"Sphinx is healthy though."

"That's not what I meant!"

"Hi Sphinx MISAKA welcomes." Last Order crouched down and scratched under his chin. "You sure seem happy MISAKA adds as MISAKA hears his purr." Index pulled him out of her habit for Last Order to be able to rub Sphinx's belly.

"Aww," Hanabi and Hibiki swooned. "He's so cute." They crowded around Index to play with the cat. Yuna smiled and joined them.

"See Touma," Index bragged. "Sphinx is popular wherever we go."

"Yea yea," Touma replied, glancing at the cat between the girls. Sphinx's head turned and looked at him with an expression that almost said, _this is how you attract girls._

"I have a feeling that cat is mocking us," Accelerator muttered to Touma.

"I get that feeling a lot too," Touma agreed. "But we aren't going to be a jealous of a cat are we?" They looked at each other and then at the girls. Neither of them said anything.

"Oh," Yuna said, standing up and moving toward them. "Did you guys say you were heading to a buffet?

"I promised Index I would take her," Touma confirmed. "Why?"

"Because we had been debating where to grab dinner."

* * *

 _I can't believe I'm doing this._

Misaki Shokuhou was standing outside of an expensive looking apartment, once again debating with herself. She really didn't want to meet this person but, if her backup plan was to succeed, she needed their help. She had been distracted the entire day thinking about how to go about this. Rather than sending a message ahead of time, she simply chose a time after school she was sure they would be home. She took a deep breath, questioned the wisdom in this decision for the hundredth time, and rang the doorbell. She waited impatiently, knowing the person she came to meet was most likely purposely taking their time. Finally, she heard the click of the lock and the door opened.

"My Misaki Shokuhou," Seria said pleasantly. "What do I owe this unexpected pleasure? If you had let me know you were coming over, I would have cleaned up. Don't forget to take off your shoes, it's rather rude if you don't."

"Seria Kumokawa," Misaki replied, stepping into the apartment when Seria moved back to let her in. She removed her shoes before saying anything else. "I have something important to discuss with you."

"Naturally," Seria replied, heading to her kitchen and checked on her kettle. "You wouldn't have come to see me otherwise. You came at a good time. I was just putting on some tea." Misaki sat down on Seria's couch and she came out a minute later. Misaki took a cup of tea and Seria sat down in a sofa chair. "Now, why did you come here?"

"It concerns our mutual interest," Misaki said slowly, running over everything she wanted to say and how to say it. She sipped her tea to by herself time _I can't let too much slip like I did with Misaka. I have to be direct but can't give her too much ammunition against me._

"Oh?" Seria replied, sipping her tea. She raised an eyebrow in interest. _Something happened, but what?_ "This was not unexpected, but I would like to know more specifics. As far as I know, he is not in any immediate danger."

"Ever since he could remember me," Misaki elaborated, setting down her tea cup. "I have taken steps to ensure I will be part of his life. When you found this out, you did the same."

"Indeed. I am slightly ticked off you didn't tell me when he could remember you. Our deal to stay away from him was only when he couldn't remember you."

"It slipped my mind," Misaki lied. She of course remembered, but she had no intention at that time to let Seria near Touma. _I suppose I did forget the first day, but I remembered soon enough._ "You could understand something like our deal slipping from my mind during that miracle."

"True." _I know she's lying, but let's see where she is going with this. I have a feeling I know what, but it's unlikely._

"Spending so much time with him," Misaki continued. "I only realized the extent of his popularity with other girls. I knew he had always been popular, but it even defied my expectation when I joined."

"I know what you mean," Seria said with a small smile. "He doesn't even know how to flirt, yet his honesty and the ability to run into problems randomly is quite adorable."

"Your opinion on him still hasn't changed," Misaki pointed out. "Do you think you even have a chance with all the competition?"

"What competition?" Seria asked with a small laugh. "The Railgun? She's not his type and the most they will ever be is friends. His ability to friend zone is legendary. Meltdowner? She's too dark to form a long term relationship with him. She would be a fling at the most, until he learns everything she has done. You? I'm sure I could beat you if I put my mind to it. I'm his type. I'm the older onee-san type that can make him feel safe and secure, while having the adult body he enjoys." She smiled and gestured wordlessly to her figure.

"I see you still underestimate me," Misaki replied. "But assuming you can, what about the countless others? You saw how many admirers he acquired at Tokiwadai High School. Most of them only paid attention to him at first because of his disguise, but many grew to like him after just talking to him. Plus, there are quite a few young women he knows from outside the city." Misaki smiled, but it was closer to a smirk. "I believe that's outside your area of surveillance. Many of them have rather impressive proportions. You have more competition then you know. Itsuwa-san and Kanzaki-san to name just two."

A frown appeared on Seria's face.

"I have the added benefit of being his senpai." Her eyes twinkled knowing that was something Misaki could not overcome. "But I could go on for ages on why I will win. Discussing this was obviously not what you wanted to see me about."

"Oh that is not entirely true," Misaki replied, holding a finger up to her cheek. "It's kind of what caused my current thoughts on the matter. We both care about his happiness, even if we consider each other rivals for his affection. My concern is, after seeing the number of girls falling for him, is this. What would happen if or when he finally chooses someone? What would all the other girls do? Some would give up sure, but would all or even most of them? How many people would be devastated if he was taken off the market? Would the person he chooses be able to handle it? What if they can't? You know as well as I do, that he cares about others happiness more than his own. He would suffer in silence alone if it meant others could be happy."

The silence in the air was palpable.

"You seem to have given this quite a bit of thought," Seria said, breaking the silence. "The old you would have never considered she would lose."

"I'm older and therefore wiser," Misaki replied, putting a hand on her chest. "Isn't that what you always said?"

"I think I am beginning to understand where you are going with this and why you came to see me. Have you given up on winning his attention?"

"Of course not," Misaki huffed indigently. "I'm still planning to be his only but, if that turns out to be impossible to protect his happiness, I will be happy as long as I can be by his side."

Seria sat in silence.

"I lost him once," Misaki continued. "It was the worst experience I have ever experienced. I thought I finally accepted it, but now I have another chance. No matter what happens, I will be with him, even if others are too. The question is, can I count on your support if that happens?"

"Hmm," Seria murmured lost in thought. "I have to give this some thought. I have always planned to be the one to win in the end, but you bring up some good points to factor into my plan. I will let you know what I decide."

"It's important we work together and are on the same page if this has a chance of succeeding," Misaki said, standing up. "There are others who, right now, are opposed to the idea. They either need to give up or be persuaded."

"The most difficult person to persuade would be him," Seria said thoughtfully, tapping a single finger on the table next to her chair. "He is the type of person to be happy with just a girlfriend. He is a boy though… I doubt he would be against it for long."

"I believe he would accept it if there was a real possibility it would work. Once he sees how happy the girls are with him, he would go along with it."

"I suppose if I accept this, I could use my skills to persuade the holdouts. A child like yourself wouldn't understand the experiences of an adult like me."

"As long as your wrinkly skin and sagging breasts don't get in the way," Misaki retorted, heading toward the door. "This one time I will be glad to have the help of an old hag."

* * *

"Hurry Uiharu," Ruiko called over her shoulder. "We are so late."

"I'm coming," Kazari panted, trying to keep up with her friend, as they ran toward the planned meeting spot with Mikoto and Kuroko. "I didn't expect that meeting to go on for so long. They were giving me a lot of information."

"Are you going to do it?"

"I think so," Kazari replied as she caught up. She gave Ruiko a brief nod. "It would give me the opportunity to help the city and it won't interfere with school, so I don't see a reason why not." _I'll have to make sure it doesn't interfere with studying and homework though._

"Don't forget to tell the others," Ruiko reminded her. "Misaka-san said her friend also worked for the city so she might give you some advice."

"Sounds good." They ran around the corner, stopped, and looked around. "There they are." Kazari said pointing. They saw Mikoto and Kuroko sitting with a blonde haired girl around their age. The girl was wearing a blue track suit with headphones dangling around her neck. Ruiko started making her way over to them before Kazari realized it. She quickly followed, not wanting to be left behind. They waved when their friends spotted them.

"You're late," Kuroko sniffed.

"Sorry," Kazari apologized. "I got held up at school and Saten-san waited up for me."

"Hello," Ruiko said cheerfully to the new girl. She pulled up a seat and Kazari imitated her. "My name's Ruiko Saten," she added.

"Nice to meet you Saten-san," the girl said. "My name is Patricia Birdway."

"I'm Kazari Uiharu. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Ah," Patricia exclaimed, her eyes widening in recognition. "I know who you are. I thought I recognized you. You're Jason Kagere's girlfriend right?"

"I am," nodded Kazari, slightly confused she knew that. "How did you know?"

"They actually work together," Mikoto told Kazari. "I thought I mentioned it. It's how we actually met her in the first place. Kuroko," she turned to her, "misinterpreted a situation." Kuroko tapped her head with her fist and pretended to look innocent.

"I have no idea what you mean onee-sama," Kuroko said, avoiding eye contact with everyone. "We randomly stumbled into them after they escaped work."

"Is that what we are calling it now?" Mikoto asked. "I'm pretty sure you were hunting him."

"I think I know what happened," Ruiko said with a laugh. _Shirai-san probably ran into them together and thought Kagere-san was cheating on Uiharu. Maybe she was even jealous. I think she likes him but won't say anything in front of Uiharu._ "So you work with him in the ability development division?"

"Not quite," Patricia corrected her. "I was recently employed in the energy research division. The buildings are next to each other due to the excessive power demands. I know Kagere-san because we are the two youngest people there. Everyone else is over thirty at least. I don't know what exactly he does with ability development, but I'm working on new sources of energy. We grab lunch occasionally when we work all day and he showed me a picture of you on his phone once."

"How did you get scouted to work for the city?" Kuroko asked. "They normally don't let students work in the advanced divisions."

"I'm not a student," Patricia pointed out. "I already have my PhD." Kazari and Ruiko save a soft wow and she continued. "I have already worked on a number of university-run project sponsored by Academy City and have also been invited to join labs and research ships as a guest researcher. Several of my thesis papers have been used by the city and they asked if I wanted to help develop new forms of energy. Since Academy City has the best labs in the world, I didn't want to pass this chance up."

"Makes sense," Mikoto nodded. "Academy City is supposed to be thirty years more advanced than the rest of the world. A lot of the technology developed here has its specs reduced and sold outside the city. If your thesis drew the city's attention, it must have been extremely advanced."

"It was just a couple theories I had for some renewable energy sources," Patricia replied modestly, with a slight pink tinge on her cheeks. She wasn't used to people her own age complimenting her like this. Her sister would always make fun of her when they were together.

"You mean like solar power and wind energy?" Kazari asked. "Since those are wildly used outside the city, we even have them here," she pointed to the wind towers. "Are you working on the efficiency of the energy process?"

"I'm actually working on a different source of energy," Patricia explained. "Our goal is to create an abundant energy source capable of providing enough energy to meet the world's demand, while at the same time being clean and efficient. Solar and wind, while clean, have the downside of not being able to be used all the time. They are too reliant on the weather. Fossil fuels are abundant and can be used efficiently, but have the problem of pollution and eventually they will run out. They are the most commonly used energy sources. Nuclear power has been on the rise with its ability to produce an abundant amount of energy, but there are dangers of radiation explosions and the nuclear waste. Our goal is to develop cold fusion."

"Did they actually manage to develop it?" Kuroko asked. "Last I heard no one was able to successfully produce it. It was only hypothetical."

"Our teacher said once it was discovered it would change how the world used energy," Mikoto added. "I bet his head would explode if he heard this." She and Kuroko laughed.

"What's cold fusion?" Ruiko asked. "I know I have heard that term before, but never actually researched it."

"It's a type of nuclear fusion," Mikoto explained. "Nuclear fusion is when two or more atomic nuclei are forced together and merged into different nuclei or even other particles. A large amount of energy is released during this process. This process accounts for the energy in stars. Hydrogen atoms are fused together into helium and energy is released." She simplified the process immensely to make it easy to understand.

"The biggest issue," Kuroko continued. "Is that it takes an extreme environment with a lot of heat and gravity to force to nuclei together. Since nuclei are positively charged due to the protons, they don't want to be forced together like the same polarity in magnets. You have to force them together."

"So does cold fusion not have to be in extreme environments" Ruiko asked.

"Cold fusion is theorized to be possible at room temperature," Mikoto informed her. "Most scientists think it's impossible, but that doesn't stop people from trying."

"The theory I worked on involved the process." Patricia jumped back into the conversation. "There were still some gaps in it, but the overall theory was sound. It turns out the gaps I ran into were solved by Academy City and some gaps they had were ones I solved. We started combining the information we had, made some adjustments, and we think we have a really good shot."

"What would the benefit be for cold fusion?" Kazari asked. "Besides the amount of energy."

"No radioactive materials are used or produced," Patricia said, counting on her fingers. "Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, and there are no harmful pollutants like in coal burning. There really is no downside." Her eyes sparkled with enthusiasm.

"Glad to see someone working so hard to help people," Mikoto commented. "I hope it goes well."

"Thank you."

"Is it hard working for the city?" Ruiko asked.

"There are some really long days," Patricia admitted. "But they usually occur when we hit a breakthrough and don't want to stop. A lot of the people I work with are really nice, though devoted to their work. Some of them seem off, but that might be the age gap. It's really rewarding to see how much is accomplished when you work hard."

"Looks like you don't have anything to worry about Uiharu," Ruiko said, turning to her.

"I guess not." Kazari looked relieved.

"Huh?" Kuroko asked confused. "What are you two talking about?"

"I'll let her tell you," Ruiko said, leaning back in her chair. "It's why we were late and I know she is dying to talk about it."

"What happened?" Mikoto asked, a flicker of worry on her face.

"It's nothing bad," Kazari said quickly, aware everyone's eyes were on her. She sighed and continued. "Right before the bell rang to left us out, I was called down to the office. A representative of the city came to talk to me about what happened Saturday. I kind of expected it to happen eventually since I had to hack the facilities security to prevent the thefts."

"You didn't get in trouble right?" Kuroko asked. "You prevented the intruder from stealing classified data."

"They recognized it was an emergency," Kazari confirmed. "So any rules I broke were excused. They still had to ask routine questions and figure out what I saw and learned. I told them the same thing I told Anti-Skill. Then they surprised me with a request. Hacking an advance security facility got the attention of someone high up in the city. They asked for me to meet them tomorrow after school to discuss working with his group to help increase the city's security. They also heard how I designed Judgement's security, which persuaded a couple of people about letting me work with the city's security systems."

"You definitely did a good job with ours," Kuroko admitted. "I haven't heard of a security breach since you improved it."

"That's amazing," Mikoto exclaimed. "They finally realized your skills."

"That's what I said," Ruiko agreed.

"Any idea who you are going to be working with?" Patricia asked. "I have heard about a lot of the higher ups and I know most of their reputations. It might alleviate any worries you may have."

"They did mention his name," Kazari said. "I never heard of him, but I was told he was pretty well known." She reached into her bag and pulled out a piece of paper. "Let's see, his name was… Noukan Kihara." She paused when she saw Patricia's mouth drop open.

"Noukan? Really!"

"Do you know him?" Kazari asked nervously.

"Not personally," Patricia admitted. "But he's famous. He's a genius and involves himself in only the most advanced research operations in the city. I'm so jealous you will actually get to meet him!"

"Really?" Kazari felt slightly faint now. She thought she was just going to be meeting a group of people designing a security system. Meeting one of the most famous people in Academy City was not something she expected. _Wow, I'm so nervous. I'll ask Jason if he is free to accompany me. He might know him and it would be easier to face with him._ Ruiko noticed her friend was trembling slightly.

"It's going to be fine," Ruiko said, clapping her on the shoulder. "You will do fine. We all believe in you."

"I know how skilled you are," Mikoto said, beaming at her. "This will be nothing. It's just a guy, no matter how famous he is. It will probably be boring technical information anyways."

"You have faced a lot worse things than a single man," Kuroko added.

"I'm going to go," Kazari told them. "I just didn't expect someone that high up in the city."

"I kind of want to go with you to see if I can meet him," Patricia said with a small laugh. The others laughed too because they couldn't tell if she was serious or not.

"Oh Birdway-san," Mikoto said to Patricia. "I met your sister. Did you know she was in the city?"

"I did," Patricia nodded. "She and her club were on a fieldtrip and she visited me for a little bit. I wish she wouldn't keep making fun of me though. She keeps saying I'm a crybaby, and I'm not!"

"Heh sisters," Ruiko laughed.

 _Club and a field trip?_ Mikoto thought. _Does Patricia not know about magic and her sister's involvement? Or is she just not telling us? I shouldn't mention it if she doesn't know. I bet this is what Touma has gone through. He can't mention all the things going on around him to keep us out of harm's way. He gives up his normal life so others can keep theirs. He really is the nicest guy I know. Would I be okay sharing…? Dang it, I can't get Shokuhou's words out of my head. It distracted me all day._ She was rather quite as her friends continued to talk. The time passed and Patricia eventually had to leave, but not before getting everyone's phone number. "Hey Saten-san," Mikoto said, as they all started heading back to their dorms. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure. There's a sale I need to catch, so can we walk in that direction while we talk?" Mikoto nodded.

"I'll meet you back at the dorm onee-sama," Kuroko said and Mikoto waved good-bye to her. Kazari waved goodbye to Ruiko, and then she and Mikoto headed off.

"What did you want to talk about?" Ruiko asked.

"It's something Shokuhou said to me and it's been driving me mad," Mikoto admitted. "I'm hoping I can talk to you and see what you think." Ruiko tilted her head slightly in confusion.

* * *

"I'm bringing them to you two!" Frenda cried into her phone. "Basically, don't mess up the timing or I am so dead. This means you Hamazura."

"Focus on running instead of me!"

"You're super going to get caught at this rate," Saiai added. Frenda was currently running through an aisle in a large warehouse as three humanoid robots pursued her. ITEM had been tasked with examining several warehouses scattered around Academy City. Shizuri had told them their contact didn't give them any details on what to look for except make sure the buildings are secure and free from any signs of intruders. This was their fourth warehouse. The first three yielded nothing and they were beginning to think this entire endeavor was pointless, until Frenda kicked a crate in frustration, causing the robots to activate. Frenda tossed a bomb at them and the explosion had alerted the rest of her team about their presence.

"They are tougher than the ones we fought before," Frenda informed them. "Armor and systems are more advanced." She dove to the side as a hail of gunfire peppered the wall where she had been a moment before. "What aisle did you set it up in?"

"7B," Shiage replied. "Ready when you are." _Don't die on us Frenda._

"If you mess this up," Frenda warned. "I'm giving Kinuhata permission to kill you."

"I will super honor your last will and testament." Frenda grinned at Saiai's words and turned another corner. A thin wire flashed in the distance and she jumped over it without missing a beat. The robots heavy metal bodies were not as agile and they plowed right through it. A moment later, several dolls rained down upon them. When the dolls made contact, a chain of explosions went off in the aisle. Several boxes were burnt to a crisp, but Frenda had her bombs measured to prevent them from causing too much excessive damage. Their contact had warned them, if they caused too much destruction, their pay would be reduced. Frenda stopped and turned around to admire the collateral damage.

"Take that you dirty stupid…" she stopped when one of them stood up and looked at her. "Ah damn, we missed one." The robot raised an arm and was about to shoot at her.

"Got it," Saiai yelled jumping down from a top shelf. She pulled her hand back and punched the machine through the chest. Her hand went through it like paper as the concentrated nitrogen she controlled magnified her piercing power. The robot's eyes faded away and it crashed to the floor. "Ha!"

"Good save," Frenda thanked her. "If Hamazura set the trap right, the bombs would have gotten them all."

"Hey!" Shiage called down to them as he descended a latter. "I placed everything perfectly. Maybe you didn't arm the explosives correctly."

"Are you blaming me?" Frenda asked, marching over to him, passed the robot remains on the ground. She reached under her skirt and pulled out a handheld missile. "Basically, do you want me to shove this up your… AH!" She felt the cold metal hand wrap around her leg as one of the robots grabbed her. It stood up and lifted her into the air, upside down. "If you look Hamazura, I'll kiiiillll yooouuu!" The robot shook her and turned to the others. The armor was broken in places, with small sparks and circuitry visible, but it still seemed to be able to operate normally. It raised its other arm to shoot them, causing Saiai to move in front of Shiage.

A green beam flew from the aisle next to them, causing the robot's torso to disappear in an explosion.

"Ouch," Frenda cried, hitting the ground. "Thanks Mugino."

"You are too relaxed," Shizuri said, exiting the aisle she was in and entering theirs. Her arms were crossed and she looked annoyed. Rikou was following her silently. Frenda tapped her head with her fist and tried to look innocent. "Never turn your back on an enemy until you are sure they are dead. Machines like these you need to be extra careful. They won't stop like a normal person or Kamijou." She glared at them for a moment, as if daring them to say something. "Your bumbling did activate them though, so we know something is going on. I thought Kakine was in charge of these machines, but it looks like someone else is pulling the strings."

"What makes you think that?" Shiage asked.

"Because of these robots are newer models than the ones we fought before," Saiai told him, rolling her eyes. She crouched down next to them and poked one. "Their armor is a lot more advanced. It's super synthesized metal for sure, lighter and more flexible than steel, but stronger too. They also ran differently, more human like rather than mechanical."

"Someone's upgrading them," Frenda agreed, dusting herself off. "Any idea who?"

"No," Shizuri answered, shaking her head. "But I bet this is why the city hired us to check these warehouses. The first few didn't have any and we still have two more. At least now we know what we are looking for. We should be able to finish up sooner than planned."

"That's great," Frenda said happily. "There's a store having a sale on canned mackerel today. I need to restock."

"Why can't you just eat fresh food like a normal person?" Shiage asked.

"Because, shut up, that's why!" Frenda kicked him in the shin and Saiai laughed, as Shiage hopped on one food while grabbing the other.

* * *

"Where does she keep it all?" Hibiki asked, staring in shock at the pile of plates next to Index.

"And she's still going at it," Hanabi added, equally surprised.

"It's one of life's great mysteries," Accelerator huffed, leaning back in his chair. He, Touma, Hibiki, Hanabi, Yuna, and Last Order had all finished eating and were talking among each other, while watching Index continue to eat vast quantities of food. Index finished another plate, put it on the pile and rushed to the buffet to fill another one. Accelerator could understand their disbelief, but he had experience with Index's black hole of a stomach.

"MISAKA thinks she has already consumed more than double her volume in food MISAKA comments as MISAKA wonders how her friend's stomach can hold that much. She doesn't get heavier at all MISAKA adds."

"Every girl in the city would want to know that secret," Yuna told her causing Touma to laugh. She looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"I have no idea how she eats so much either," Touma said, watching Index sit down again and dig into her plate of food. "At least she's using a plate this time. We got banned from so many other buffets because she couldn't control her enthusiasm."

"Ifs noff my falt," Index protested, her mouth full of food.

"You shouldn't talk with your mouth full," Hanabi lectured kindly. "It's not lady like. You need to finish chewing and then speak." Index looked at her for a moment and then swallowed all her food.

"I told you it wasn't my fault," Index repeated. "The instructions were unclear I had to take the food back to my table." Touma face palmed while everyone else laughed.

"You finished yet," Accelerator asked, pulling out his phone.

"We probably should get going," Yuna added, pointing to the corner. A guy stood near a door to the kitchen, biting his thumb, while he watched them. "The manager over there looks like he is about to have a stroke."

"But I'm still hungry," Index replied.

"How?" Hanabi asked her.

"I'm a growing girl and need nourishment."

"If it gives the manger a heart attack," Accelerator sneered. "Eat away."

"Are you ever nice?" Hibiki asked.

"Sometimes, if someone deserves it."

"MISAKA is going to learn how to eat as much as Index MISAKA declares."

"Don't you try," Accelerator warned, glancing over at her. "It will just make you sick. You tried that once and threw up."

"He's really good with kids," Hanabi whispered to Hibiki. "You can tell by the way Last Order looks at him."

"I think his friends were right about him being a lolicon," Hibiki replied quietly with a trace of disgust. "Who knows what he does with her when they are alone?"

"Jealous?"

"No," protested Hibiki. "Why would I be jealous? I'm concern for her."

"Uh huh," Hanabi said with a sly smile. As her sister, Hanabi knew Hibiki was not being completely honest.

Touma tried to avoid laughing and looked away when Accelerator caught his eye. He turned to Yuna, who was watching her friends. _I remember they are second years, so they should be older than us. Hanabi-san is definitely my preferred type. She has the onee-san aura and is really nice. Her sister is a little tougher, but she is a good person too. Her fear of Accelerator is gone and their conversations remind me a lot of him and Fukiyose. Yuna… it's almost like she's one of the guys. She's funny, smart, and likes to joke around. If I didn't know better, I would swear she's been hanging out with me and my friends for years._ Yuna caught him looking at her and winked.

"Looks like Hibiki is jealous of Last Order being so close with Accelerator," she whispered to him quietly so the others couldn't hear.

"You think so?" Touma whispered back, barely moving his lips. "They seem friendly enough, but does she actually like him?"

"Hibiki was hurt by a guy she went out with before," Yuna told him. "I won't go into details, but he acted like a really nice guy. She started distrusting guys after that. I think she's okay with him because he says what's on his mind and doesn't play games. Accelerator seems scary at first, but is really soft on the inside. I noticed the way he treats Last Order. She's like family to him."

"He didn't have the best past either," Touma said. "Maybe that's why they get along."

"I wouldn't like to be a level 5. Everyone treating you like some kind of idol, the city wanting to experiment on you constantly, and always being careful not to accidently hurt someone."

"Well you might not have a choice," Touma laughed. "You could wake up tomorrow and have advanced. If you keep working hard, who knows how far you can get?"

"Maybe," Yuna admitted and shrugged. "So what about you? Are you seeing anyone?"

"W-what?" Touma coughed.

"You know you are pretty cute when you are flustered," Yuna pointed out with a grin, causing Touma's ears to burn. "I just figured since we were talking about our friends relationship, why not ask you yours? Hanabi is really interested in your classmate Kami, so if you see him you should let him know."

"I'll mention it," Touma mumbled. _Really? She likes Kami? As a person or the figure?_ To keep the topic off Kami, he decided to answer her question. "I'm not seeing anyone. I have been on a few dates but it was really with friends. I don't think I'm ready to see anyone at the moment."

"Too bad," Yuna said with a small shake of her head. "I was rather impressed by you helping Hibiki without even knowing her. It should be easy for you to get a girlfriend if you are always a gentleman like that."

"I don't know about that." He really didn't know what else to say, but he suddenly felt sweat form on the back of his neck. He turned to locate the source of the fear and saw Index staring at him. He gulped and quickly tried to look innocent.

"Toooouummaaa," Index said dangerously, causing everyone stop talking among themselves and look at him. "What were you talking about?"

"Er…" Touma replied, aware all eyes were on him.

"We were just deciding if we wanted to date or not," Yuna volunteered. She either didn't know the problems she was about to cause Touma or didn't care and found them amusing.

"W-what?" spluttered Hibiki and Hanabi.

"The savior sure works fast MISAKA comments impressed while MISAKA crosses her arms and nods her head."

Accelerator just rolled his eyes with an expression on his face saying, _Damn hero's doing it again._ Touma wasn't paying attention to any of them though. All of his focus was on Index. Her dark aura intensified tenfold at Yuna's words. He saw his life flash before his eyes as the sparks flew from Index's eyes. Touma raised his hand in a defensive posture and, before he had the opportunity to utter a single words, Index pounced, her fangs glinting. The pain on his head caused him to yell out.

They were all kicked out moments later.

"I'm really sorry," Yuna apologized for the fifth time. "I didn't think they anyone would take my joke so seriously."

"It's fine," Touma muttered again, rubbing his head. "I know you didn't mean it."

"I might have overreacted," Index muttered too.

"You nearly gave us a heart attack," Hanabi told Yuna. "That came out of nowhere. Shame they kicked us out though."

"I think the manager was looking for any reason to eject us," Hibiki said slightly annoyed. "He must have thought it was losing too much money over Index's appetite."

"Can you blame him?" Accelerator asked. "I still don't think I've seen her fill up. She might stop eating for a moment, but she will eat any food offered to her."

"Have you ever been full? MISAKA asks as MISAKA genuinely wants to know the answer."

"There's been once or twice," Index said thinking. "I usually only get seconds and thirds, not as much as I would like to eat."

"Do you want to come over and play a new video game MISAKA got? MISAKA asks as Misaka interrupts."

"Umm," Index said hesitantly, glancing at Touma. She had been prepared to spend the day with him, but he did keep his promise to take her to the buffet and she was feeling satisfied.

"Please? MISAKA begs as MISAKA uses her famous puppy dog eyes." They really were famous because even Accelerator couldn't resist the strength of her eyes. Index had seen them before and knew they produced results, but this was the first time they were used on her. Her resistance disappeared and she nodded.

"Okay," Index replied.

"Yay MISAKA cheers."

"Accelerator," Touma asked. "Is it okay with you?"

"I guess," Accelerator shrugged. "As long as the nun is with her, the brat doesn't bother me as much. If Worst antagonizes them, it only gets problematic when they all team up on me. Usually they just war among themselves."

"Sounds like you have you hands full babysitting," Hibiki laughed.

"Keep it up," Accelerator replied. "I'll drop them off at your dorm and let you handle them for a day."

"Maybe I should, it would let me undo the damage you probably inflicted on them with your foul language and attitude."

"I might take you up on that offer." He turned and smirked at her, causing a chill to go down her spine. The smile was mocking her slightly, but there was something more. It was as if she knew Accelerator was planning to use her to make his life easier. She wasn't going to lose and stared right back at him until he looked away. "Let's get going brats."

"Have fun Index," Touma called out, waving good-bye to her. She turned and waved back.

"We should get going too," Hanabi added, checking the time. "There's still time before curfew but if we want to stop anywhere beforehand, we might be cutting it close." She turned to Touma. "It was nice to meet you Kamijou-san and I'm sorry for Yuna causing you problems."

"I said I was sorry," Yuna protested, but she smiled all the same. "Night Kamijou. Oh, if Kami, Tsuchimikado, Aogami want to hang out, let them know they should contact me. Okay?"

"Sure," Touma said rubbing his head nervously as the three girls waved goodbye and left. Even Hibiki waved, but Touma thought that was probably something they were taught to do at Tokiwadai. _I don't really have anything else to do, maybe I should head home. I could benefit from studying I guess._ He turned around and started walking back to his dorm. He was humming to himself, being in a good mood, but was completely unaware of someone watching him and his friends. A single girl stood up on the roof, set her binoculars down and picked up her bag holding other equipment. She ran to the edge of the rood, slid down the fire ladder, and landed with a soft thud. She stuck her head out and watched Touma further down the street. She had finally moved when everyone else had left.

(Operation Savior Separation is a go, MISAKA 10032 informs the others. Beginning 'unexpected encounter' stage now.)

* * *

The Misaka Network had been discussing options all week to figure out how they were supposed to get closer to Touma Kamijou, their savior. The biggest problem was that Misaka 19090 demanded she be the one who would encounter him this time, but Misaka 10032 was closer and more familiar with him. The discussion over the network caused no end of amusement for Worst. Finally the network had a vote and Misaka 10032 won by a slim margin. The next issue was deciding how to approach him. Based on their observations, he was almost never alone. The one time he was, he was looking for someone and they couldn't bring themselves to interrupt his search. About an hour ago, Last Order was the one who had contacted them, saying Touma was with her, Accelerator, and a few others.

(MISAKA did her part and the savior is alone MISAKA tells you all as MISAKA expects to be justly compensated for her troubles.)

(You did your part perfectly and will receive her limited edition Gekota t-shirt, Misaka 10032 says calmly to reassure the moderator.)

(Remember Misaka 16543 reminds Misaka 10032. It has to look like an accident or the savior might be suspicious.)

(Perhaps you should carry a piece of toast in your mouth, run down the street, and accidently bump into him Misaka 17934 suggests. Misaka is reading this manga where the main character meets the main heroine that way.)

(Misaka has also read that book Misaka 14187 informs. That situation would not work here as Misaka 10032 does not go to school and it is also evening rather than early morning.)

(Misaka has a plan Misaka 10032 states. Misaka is going to disconnect from the network in order to concentrate on the situation at hand. As promised, she will share all information received afterwards.) The other sisters wished her success on her mission and she separated herself from the network. Instead of running up behind Touma, she ducked down a side street and ran down a parallel street from him, before taking another street back to the original one. Right before she stepped out into view, she slowed down, composed herself, and walked calmly out into the street.

"Mikoto?" Touma called out surprised, and then he recognized the googles on her head. "Oh, you're Misaka Imouto."

"Hello Misaka replies. How are you?" She gave a short bow.

"Not bad," Touma told her, stopping in front of her. "Just ate with some friends and was planning to head back to my dorm. What are you up to?"

"Misaka just got back from the pet store, Misaka lie…explains. Petting the cats is an enjoyable experience." Misaka 10032, also known as Imouto, had to catch herself from saying she was lying. Judging by the look on Touma's face, he didn't notice and she sighed with relief.

"I'm glad you are having fun," Touma said sincerely, thinking the sighing meant she really enjoyed playing with cats. They started walking down the street together. _She seems to be able to act more normally now and less emotionless since when I first met her. Being out and exploring the world is really good for the sisters._ "Any other plans?"

"No Misaka answers truthfully. Since we have this random encounter, would you like to spend time with Misaka?" She looked up with a glint of hope in her eyes. Everything was going to plan. She had outlined all possible scenarios and had responses for whatever answer he gave. When she stared up into his face, her heart skipped a beat. He was smiling at her. Her face was still expressionless, but there was a pink tinge to her cheeks and a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"I have some time," he admitted. "It's still pretty early and I haven't seen you around lately. What do you want to do?"

"Really, Misaka questions, with a surprised look on her face." There was actually a faint amount of confusion on it. She did not expect it to go so easily.

"Sure," Touma said with a laugh. "I'm usually up to anything normal."

"How about…" Imouto started to ask, when another female voice interrupted them.

"Sorry to interrupt your flirting, but we have more important matters at hand." Touma and Imouto turned in surprise to see Leivinia Birdway and Lessar walking toward them. Both of them had smirks on their faces as they looked between him and Imouto. Leivinia was also crossing her arms and held her Lotus Wand in one hand.

"Birdway?" Touma asked shocked. "W-what are you doing here?"

"I told you I would be back," she said deviously. "You didn't think after fighting Cain I would just leave?" Touma actually did, but decided not to say anything.

"It looked like Sparky was making a move on him," Lessar added. "That's so rude, especially without me. I would have joined you two at a hotel and showed you every enjoyable part of the body." She paused and looked at the googles on Imouto's head. "What are those goggles for? Are you trying to make a fashion statement?"

"These are Misaka's…"

"Who cares?" Leivinia snapped. "We don't have time to discuss this right now. The plane leaves in thirty minutes."

"What plane"" Touma asked. "Are you two leaving the city?"

"We are," Lessar confirmed. "And you are coming with us."

"Why?!"

"Because we found out where Adam is and he is causing a lot of problems," Leivinia explained quickly with a trace of irritation, looking annoyed she had to tell them. "We were contacted and told your hand is needed to break one of his defenses. So, guess what? You are coming, even if I have to drag you by force."

"How do you find out where Adam is?" Touma asked, aware Imouto was listening into everything, but the matter at hand was too important to try to hide. He trusted her to be able to keep this a secret.

"You're the one who told us," Lessar reminded him. "It's the most God forsaken place on earth. That information helped us a lot in checking several locations."

"Do you mind telling me where that is?" Touma asked exasperatedly. _They actually found it?_

"It's obvious," Leivinia announced with a smirk. "There's no other place besides Australia."

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Me: Most God forsaken place on earth has been revealed. Now let's spend a few moments getting all the stereotypes out of our system before getting serious and moving forward. I have nothing personal against Australia, but there is no denying they have a lot of stereotypes.**

 **Mikoto: What stereotypes?**

 **Motoharu: The biggest one I heard is, "Everything there is trying to kill you."**

 **Touma: That's not true right? Oh crap, I'm being dragged there.**

 **Jason: Not everything is trying to kill you. I think they have a couple dogs that probably won't try.**

 **Frenda: Mugino isn't there.**

 **Motoharu: Not everything trying to kill him is in Australia, but what is tries to.**

 **Misaki: I heard it's really hot and desert like there too. Not good for the skin.**

 **Motoharu: I'm looking at the map and most of the cities are not in the desert.**

 **Shizuri: Do they at least have decent fish? Oh, Frenda, I heard what you said. Come here.**

 **Frenda: Ahhhh!**

 **Aogami: Sure, you can put it on the barbie and serve it with vegemite.**

 **Ruiko: What exactly is vegemite?**

 **Mikoto: Wikipedia says, 'brown Australian food paste made from leftover brewers' yeast extract with various vegetable and spice additives.' Well, that sounds…. good?**

 **Touma: I know this is a stupid question, but Australians don't ride kangaroos like horses, right?**

 **Motoharu: Don't be silly, of course they don't.**

 **Touma: Aww, I kind of wanted to see…**

 **Jason: They ride in the pouches like normal people.**

 **Well, now that the jokes are finished, we can move forward. Shout out to all the Australian readers out there. They exist because I can see on reader stats which area people come from. I know one personally and he fact checks everything for me. Did you know they have McDonalds there?**


	81. S4 Abrupt Departure

**Life is full of balancing responsibilities and fun, but it's still manageable for me. I had way too much fun in this chapter. It's heading to a more serious arc, so I took the opportunity to put in a lot of comedy in this chapter. The Misaka sisters are hilarious. It actually made it tough to write and review because I was laughing too much. I hope everyone finds it as funny as I did. I did notice there were a fair number of people who weren't all that happy about Motoharu and Pierce lying to the class about Kami's true identity. I have reasons for such a thing. It's not like I do things for no reason. Touma would actually be okay with it, after he recovered my Seiri's blows. It's not like he wanted to be a public figure. I don't really have anything else to say except Canada lies about their bacon. Ham is not bacon!**

 **Oh, I told everyone people would know where the most godforsaken place on earth is once I named it. Everyone understood why. Now to comments.**

 **Uknounx: I'm sure you will like this chapter now.**

 **wildarms13: You will find out this chapter who goes with Touma, if anyone.**

 **Whwsms: The harem plan will continue to form, but whether it actually takes fruit, remains to be seen. No female is safe from Kami-yan Disease. (Except Seiri.)**

 **Yakutsu Zaishiro: Hmm, Jason, Motoharu, and/or Pierce would do that for fun. It would be getting to that part would be tricky right now.**

 **Salishious: We needed the B-Team. The level 5s have too much time with our hero. Sorry to disappoint you, but your idea is a little off.**

 **ghostdriver1991: Most of the girls realize this by now, but it doesn't mean they have to like it. They simply have to monitor him 24/7 so he can't sneak away.**

 **Jujudude: After your comment, I pictured what would happen if the harem plan was fully formed and then Touma started dating Yuna. Satan's Armpit, yep, perfectly described Australia there. Hmm, Mii? She already admitted she kind of likes him, but I suppose it has to wait till he gets back into the city.**

 **Anon Guest: Crap, you found out my plan. I was just going to follow Momo's guide on how to make a harem for Touma. Do not fret, Dog is going to be taken care of.**

 **Shikaku Zetsumei: I like to pretend I will, or find volunteers to fix it for me.**

 **FrodoFighter: I chatted with you a bit already about how you know too much. Assassins will be visiting you shortly. My favorite line is still "Yuna acts like she were the unholy lovechild of Jason and Tsuchimikado." Accelerator needs people like Hibiki to keep him entertained.**

 **Hilem: It's always been tough to write parts of Eve's conversation. She only gives enough information to get what she wants. Since I know everything, I have to modify the conversations to not reflect that. Misaka network sure is convenient, isn't it?**

 **RPGPersona: No, no, no, no. Last chapter was for you to make the jokes about Australia. You don't hold them back. I expect to see all the jokes you know next review.**

 **321jaz: Don't worry, Leivinia Birdway will be important this season.**

 **Agent Nine: Huh? What do you mean? He's just a normal high school student. When I was in high school I traveled the world, fought terrorist organizations, run away from my harem, and still have time to do all my homework. Plus I was in advanced classes. Touma has it easy. He's not even running an underground organization as the mafia leader.**

 **Guest: Yea, I was joking. There are no immediate plans to introduce the number 6, but it was already established earlier he is a guy. There's always a chance we will see him in the novels before I need to write him in. When dealing with Eve, there is always that possibility of her information being a trap. Take everything she says with a grain of salt. There will always be a new girl when Touma is involved. As for the side, I don't think it has a side. Not every county has to be part of the magic or science side. It could be neutral. The only guy who is actually a girl would be Thor. She's obviously a girl who is in love with Othinus and disguises herself as a boy to try to get closer to her. It's so obvious, no matter what people say.**

 **One person is going to love this chapter for a very specific reason. I kept my promise!**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly. Magic Gods own all so they can do what they want.**

* * *

"She actually suggested that?" Ruiko asked in shock. Her eyes had gone wide from Mikoto's story about her encounter with Misaki. "I know you have no reason to lie to me and I don't doubt you, but it's so hard to believe that." _The way Shokuhou-san clings to Touma, I figured she would never let up on him. She always seemed open minded and less effected by Lessar's antics, but to actually mention a harem to Misaka-san? That's so out of character._

"I know," Mikoto admitted. "It's why it has been bothering me all day. I couldn't concentrate in class at all." She didn't tell Ruiko the conversation about Misaki disliking her for stealing her spot with Touma, only about the harem. _That is something personal we need to resolve between us. There is no point in drawing Saten-san into that._ "She sounded so serious about it too. I mean, she wants to win, but to actually be open to this… I really needed to talk to someone about it. Kuroko was out of the question. I think she is finally beginning to accept I'm not into her like that and I rather not rekindle her aggression against Touma. It's not his fault. I was debating talking to Uiharu-san, but I figured you would probably have the best advice since… well… you like him too." Mikoto diverted her gaze and looked at the ground.

"Oh," Ruiko replied, diverting her eyes too. This was an awkward conversation now for both of them, but Mikoto trusted her enough to talk about what happened and to hear Ruiko's opinion. _How do I feel about it? I don't want to say something untrue when she's being honest with me._ "To be honest, I haven't really thought of that being an option. His friends always joked about Touma having a harem and I always attributed it to his desire to help anyone he came across. It's one thing I really like about him and I know you to do." Mikoto nodded. "Shokuhou-san might have a point though."

"You mean about joining his harem?" Mikoto asked stunned.

"No," Ruiko clarified quickly. "I meant about what would happen if he actually chose someone. I don't know every girl that likes him, but it could be likely some won't give up. We would be unhappy if he didn't choose us, but I wouldn't try to ruin his relationship." _Lessar might not accept it._

"I wouldn't either," Mikoto agreed. "I would try to be happy for him, but I know I would still be disappointed to say the least." She frowned when Misaki's words echoed again in her mind. _It will cause him to suffer when others are unhappy because of him._ She would definitely be unhappy and if Touma found out, how would he react? _We could still be friends, but what if something happens to cause a misunderstanding, like when Kuroko ran into Kagere? Causing a breakup would hurt him._ "That's the problem Shokuhou stressed to me."

"I'm sure it wouldn't be that bad," Ruiko said reasonably. "Lots of girls like the same guy and don't go crazy."

"But how often do they have as many people as he does? You saw what the trip to England was like."

"Can't argue with that," Ruiko admitted. "But still, violence because he goes out with someone?"

"I feel like it's possible he would avoid going out with someone because it would affect his friendship with us," Mikoto said softly. They were both quiet for a bit. "If this was anyone else, I would agree with you. Touma… he always cares more about other people then himself. I really wouldn't put it past him."

"I know what you mean," Ruiko agreed, kicking the ground lightly. "I never met anyone like him before." They both looked at each other and couldn't stop the grins forming on their faces.

"He really is an idiot isn't he?" Mikoto laughed. Ruiko shrugged and they both laughed harder. When they calmed down, Mikoto realized she never did get an answer. "What do you think about her plan? Would you go along with it if she asked?"

"I… I don't know," Ruiko finally answered. "I always imagined being the only girlfriend when I finally found a boyfriend. When I realized I really liked him, I already knew you liked him, and then I found out Shokuhou likes him, plus countless others. I never thought I could compete with you in the first place. You are smart, cute, and really talented and I'm only a normal girl."

"Don't sell yourself short," Mikoto reprimanded her sternly. "You have a lot to offer. I don't know anyone half as fun as you, plus you have a lot of courage. Everything we did, you were drawn into the middle of it, yet you stood up and helped in any way you could. When you were in Accelerators body, you managed to save our friends. Anyone would be lucky to go out with you."

"Ah," Ruiko squeaked in surprised. "T-thank you." She was silent for a moment. "Is it weird we like the same guy, yet are constantly talking each other up?" They looked at each other and Mikoto couldn't help snickering.

"I think so," she replied. "But maybe that's because our friendship is so strong."

"I think so too," Ruiko agreed, giving Mikoto a quick hug. Mikoto was so surprised, she couldn't react fast enough. "Now, I think the important question is, what do you think of Shokuhou's plan?"

"I am still uncomfortable with it," Mikoto told her. "She brought up some good points, but I'm like you. I always saw myself getting into a one on one relationship. It doesn't really matter though. Shokuhou was very adamant about not sharing him with me. We have some… personal… rivalry issues we need to work out first."

"That settles it then," Ruiko nodded. "We need to team up."

"Huh?" Mikoto asked in confusion.

"Well she said she was going to start planning on how to reach the harem route," Ruiko explained. "If she won't let you join her plan, then we have no choice but to start our own faction."

"Are you serious?" Mikoto asked incredulously. "You even said you never imagined being part of a group like that."

"You're one of my best friends," Ruiko pointed out. "If I had to share him with anyone, I would be honored if it was you."

"Really?" Mikoto's face turned slightly red. "I don't know what to say."

"Heh," Ruiko said smiling. "I'm going to be like Shokuhou-san though. This is a backup plan. I still plan to be the winner." She laughed and started walking backwards away from Mikoto.

"W-wait up!" Mikoto called out. "I can't tell if you're joking!"

"As the creator of the plan," Ruiko told Mikoto with her smile still plastered on her face. "I'm delegating you as the person to tell him about our faction."

"What?! Why don't you tell him if it's your plan?"

"Because that would be embarrassing and I don't think I could handle it. You're braver."

"Are you kidding? I would pass out if I tried to ask something crazy like that."

"Someone has to or we won't know his feelings."

"It's sure not going to be me!" They stared at each other, neither side wanting to back down. Asking the guy they liked if he wanted to have a harem, was probably one of the top five most embarrassing things to ask someone those two girls could think of. Mikoto finally broke eye contact and glanced at a clock, noting the time. "Didn't you say there was a sale you needed to catch?"

"Oh no," Ruiko exclaimed in a panic. "I completely forgot after our discussion. I talk to you later, I need to get going. Bye!" She started running down the street and only turned around briefly to wave to Mikoto. Mikoto shook her head and smiled to herself.

 _I really like her as a friend, but she's right. Someone has to talk to Touma and find out how he feels. I really don't want to be the first one. I hate to admit it, but Shokuhou would probably be the best person. Arg, I really don't want to give her that opportunity. How did this happen? A few weeks ago, I would never have even considered this possibility._

* * *

"Sorry miss," the store clerk said. "We sold out. Canned mackerel is really popular, not sure why. Can't stand the stuff myself."

"Darn," Ruiko sighed, looking depressed. "It was such a good deal too. I knew I should have gotten here earlier, but I got sidetracked."

"We pretty much sold out right after the schools let out," the clerk reassured her. "You would have needed to arrive here a couple hours ago."

"Thanks anyway," Ruiko told him politely, before she turned around to exit the store. _I was really hoping for some different kind of protein. I can only afford hamburger or chicken mostly, even with the increased stipend for my level._ She cheered up slightly at the thought. _At least I can splurge now and then. My financial situation is pretty bearable now and not nearly as bad as Touma's. Maybe I could make him dinner some time._ Her face flushed slightly at the thought of getting then nerve to ask him that. She was so preoccupied with her thoughts, she wasn't watching where she was going and bumped into someone rushing to get inside. They both fell down onto the ground. "Ouch… I'm sorry I wasn't watching… Frenda?"

"Watch where…" Frenda said irritably, simultaneously. "Saten?" They looked at each other in surprise, as they got back up to their feet. "This is surprising. Basically, I didn't expect to see you here."

"Likewise," Ruiko replied with a nod. "Are you here for the canned maceral sale?"

"Naturally," Frenda exclaimed, hitting her chest. "I wouldn't miss a sale on my favorite food."

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news," Ruiko said nervously. Frenda and her friends did scare Ruiko a little when they got mad. "They ran out a couple hours ago."

"WHAT!?" Frenda yelled, pushing Ruiko aside and running toward the empty stand. Ruiko stood in silence and watched Frenda scurry frantically around the stand, looking for any cans that had been missed. It was almost comical how thoroughly Frenda was searching. She even crawled on the floor and looked under the stand to see if any had fallen and rolled out of site. She then found a clerk and asked him if there were any left in the back. When he told her no, she got fussy and started berating him. Frenda was kicked out shortly afterwards and Ruiko followed her. "I can't believe I missed this. It's all Mugino's fault. She kept me busy all day." She quickly looked at Ruiko. "Don't tell her I said that."

"I wouldn't," Ruiko reassured her. _Mugino scares me a lot. I doubt I would ever talk to her outside of meeting her and Touma somewhere. I definitely wouldn't want to get on her bad side, or Frenda's for that matter._ "I'm sure there will be other sales."

"Price isn't the problem," Frenda said, before falling comically to the ground on all fours. "The issue is for some reason canned mackerel isn't that popular nowadays and normally stores don't carry much. I would have to keep stopping by every couple days. I rather just stock up with a month's worth at a time during these sales. So many people hop on these fads and they don't appreciate the taste." She stood up and dusted herself off.

"You really like the stuff huh?" Ruiko asked. _Mackerel is fine, but I don't think I could eat it for every meal._

"It's my favorite food," Frenda told her matter-of-factly. "I wish I could find some canned curry. That's my dream."

"You know it's not healthy to eat so much canned food," Ruiko told her. "If you want, I'm pretty good at making curry. I could take some canned mackerel when they get it back in stock and make some to share with you."

"I-I'll think about it," Frenda replied in surprise. She didn't expect Ruiko to make her an offer like that. They weren't exactly friends, more like acquaintances sharing a common contact. If it wasn't for Touma, they would probably have never gotten along like this. _Does she want something? It doesn't seem like it. She's not a professional and is easy to read._ "Basically, I can't commit to anything, but a question. Why are you so nice to me?"

"Huh?" Ruiko asked in confusion. "What do you mean? Why would I need a reason to be nice to someone? We have known each other for a while anyways."

"I guess," Frenda answer, still slightly unconvinced. She never really expected this kind of treatment in her line of work with ITEM. Shizuri was more of her boss rather than a close friend, even if they had fun torturing Shiage. Rikou was a fellow employee and they only occasionally hung out outside of work. Saiai was probably the closest thing she had to a friend there. They hung out, made fun of Shiage, and shopped together. Ruiko was a normal girl to Frenda, someone who didn't understand how the underbelly of Academy City ran. They got along fine in England, but that was mostly because Frenda did not see Ruiko as a threat. _She likes Kamijou though, so is this part of her plan?_

"Do… do you not have a lot of friends?" Ruiko asked hesitantly.

"What? Of course I do. What makes you think I don't?"

"I'm sorry," Ruiko apologized quickly.

"If you want to be my friend though," Frenda huffed. "Basically, I'm not opposed to it." Ruiko smiled, being reminded a lot of how Mikoto use to act when the topic of Touma came up, before Ruiko actually met him. They walked together as the sun was beginning to set. Ruiko still had a little time before curfew and Frenda could care less about it. They were keeping it pretty casual, mostly about school and recent sales they went to. Ruiko could tell Frenda had a lot of money, but wasn't too keen on finding out how. Out of nowhere, Frenda threw her hand out in front of Ruiko. "Hang on," she said softly, pressing her back up against a nearby building.

"What's wrong?" Ruiko whispered, imitating Frenda. She knew better then to stand out in the open when one of her friends started acting strangely.

"I thought I saw…" Frenda mumbled. "But it couldn't be." She peaked around a corner and Ruiko peered over her head, interested to see what was happening. "It is him. What's he doing out so late?"

"Misaka-san is with him too," Ruiko added. "I just left her not to long ago. Could they have met randomly?"

"I don't know," Frenda told her. "But Lessar is with them and someone else. Do you know the blonde girl?"

"No," Ruiko answered, squinting. "But she looks a lot like someone I met today, but she appears to be a different person. She might be Birdway-san's sister Misaka-san talked about."

"Whoever she is," Frenda said seriously and a frown appeared on her face. "She's a professional. Basically, the way she holds herself, taking in her surrounding, she's not normal. Lessar appears to know her by the way they are talking, so she might be a magician."

"Is it my imagination or does it look like they are dragging Touma and Misaka-san with them?" Ruiko asked, but hoped it wasn't true.

"Dragging might be an overstatement," Frenda responded, examining the situation. "Basically, he looks like he's walking into a dangerous situation, but he knows it. The Railgun looks like she is just following him. She looks weird though, and is holding herself differently."

"I never saw Misaka-san wear those googles either," Ruiko added. "You think they are going to get involved in some magic side problems?"

"Seems likely," Frenda said with a shrug. "Want to check it out?"

"Huh?"

"Let's follow them," Frenda stated more plainly for Ruiko. "I want to know what they are up to."

"Can we do it without getting caught?" Ruiko asked.

"I can for sure, you would normally get caught. So just follow my lead and do what I tell you."

"I don't know." Ruiko was hesitant, but she was curious what they were up to. Mikoto's conversation was fresh in her mind, but it seemed unlikely to her that Mikoto would talk to Touma about their harem conversation now, especially in front of Lessar and a new girl. She caught a glimpse of the side of Touma's face. _He does look nervous. Maybe there's something we can do to help._ "Okay," Ruiko finally agreed. "But if it gets dangerous we should get out and call for backup."

"I'm here to handle anything dangerous," Frenda bragged, but secretly agreed with Ruiko. _If anything dealing with magic happens, Mugino will definitely want to know. If I try to hide it and she finds out… my life would be in danger. For now, let's see what they are up to._ They slipped out of their hiding place and followed Touma, Mikoto, Lessar, and the blonde girl, trying not to be caught. It was obvious after about five minutes, they were heading in the direction of the airport.

* * *

"How is Australia tied to the most godforsaken place on earth?" Touma asked Leivinia. He had given up trying to argue. Leivinia and Lessar were not the type of person to be persuaded once they decided on something. If he tried to run, they would chase him down and bring him by force. He followed their lead as they marched toward the nearest airport. He was aware of Imouto following him, but he wasn't sure how to persuade her to leave. _She doesn't know about magic and I need a real reason to shake her off. She's pretty perceptive, even if she lacks common sense._

"It's not an official title," Leivinia explained dispassionately. "It's more of a joke than anything else."

"Why?" _That sounds like Eve._

"Australia has a reputation," Lessar told him. "Even non-magicians make fun of it."

"Magicians? Misaka asks curiously. Do you mean someone pulling a rabbit out a hat? Misaka thinks that should be labeled animal cruelty if someone is keeping a cute bunny trapped in a hat Misaka adds slightly angrily."

"Sparky?" Lessar asked and turned around in surprise. "Did you hit your head or something?" She paused and scanned Imouto up and down. "You look like her, but you walk and talk differently."

"Is she being controlled?" Leivinia spoke up suddenly. She turned around and pointed her wand at Imouto. Imouto responded by raising her bad and sparkly slightly. "Damn it. Are they a step ahead of us?"

"Wait!" Touma cried, jumping between them. "She's Mikoto's sister."

"Sparky has a sister?" Lessar questioned. "She never mentioned that before. What's your name?"

"Misaka's name is Misaka, Misaka states with relief on her face."

"Oookay." Lessar raised an eyebrow. She didn't know why Imouto was only giving her last name, but her odd way of talking was noticeable. _Why is her face so expressionless? Sparky always gives away her true thoughts. The way she walks, she had military training of some kind. She looks just like Sparky, but they are definitely two different people._ "I shall call you Sparky Junior."

"Misaka would prefer you not call her that, Misaka states clearly, but slightly irritated."

"Your opinion has been noted, but ultimately rejected."

"Does she know about our side?" Leivinia asked Touma, who shook his head.

"Not that I know off," Touma admitted. "But…"

"By 'our side' Misaka clarifies. Do you mean the abilities developed outside of Academy City? The moderator mentioned it during your trip to England. The unpleasant one verified her story too, Misaka adds in disgust at the memory of the unpleasant one's words." Last Order had told all the sisters over the network what she knew about the abilities known as magic. Accelerator had kept her and Worst away from most of the action, but they still overheard a lot. Worst, on the other hand, had been constantly spamming the network with images of the hero in compromising positions with other girls, causing a lot of negative emotions.

"Well," Leivinia remarked. "If you aren't the Railgun girl, there's really no reason for you to be here."

"Imouto," Touma said and turned his head to her. "It's probably best if you don't come with us. It's going to be dangerous."

"If it's dangerous, would it not be good for extra support Misaka questions. Misaka is not unarmed." She held up her bag which Touma knew contained her academy city issued firearm. He didn't care for it, but Imouto was skilled and never actively tried to hurt people with it. It was equipment she was used to being with, like her googles, so she took it everywhere.

"This isn't going to be a normal fight," Touma tried to protest.

"If she wants to come let her," Leivinia yawned. "I can tell she's been trained, so she might come in handy." _As a meat shield or bait if nothing else._ Touma sighed, knowing further argument was going to be useless.

"Misaka can also relay information to the others if needed Misaka whispers." Imouto leaned over and spoke quietly. "This way, you won't be disconnected from your other friends, regardless of where we end up."

"Be careful," Touma whispered. He had finally given up. "I don't know what to expect in Australia." He raised his voice. "You never did explain the reputation about Australia."

"Oh that," Lessar laughed. "It is a common joke that everything in Australia is trying to kill you. Besides the multitude of poisonous and carnivorous animals, theirs poison plants, the intense heat, deserts, and many other dangers. The godforsaken part is really along that line. People say that because there is no other continent as dangerous."

"So the name isn't magic related?" Touma clarified with a sigh of relief.

"Not entirely," Leivinia elaborated. "While Australia has been settled by many other countries, mainly the British, there were an original group of people there. Aboriginal Australian, the indigenous people, had a very unusual style of magic. It's almost died out over the years, but they have been known to be able to perform some rituals I would love to get my hands on." She smirked deviously. "Anyways, a good portion of Australia was formed by convicts shipped here from Britain. After they were freed, most stayed and joined with other colonies. It's a mixing pool like the United States. They don't have a strong magical presence, but you can find magicians from most major groups there."

"Godforsaken could be a description those prisoners referred to the land when they arrived Misaka states reasonably."

"I wouldn't doubt that," Leivinia said with a nod. "I hate the heat and don't have time to get a swimsuit."

"So what all do you need me for?" Touma asked. "You just said there's a defense I need to remove with my hand."

"We actually don't have a lot of information," admitted Lessar. "Neither of our groups are there. We got a coded message from Necessarius saying to bring you there as quickly as possible. Their forces there tried everything to break a barrier, except for your hand. Whatever Adam is doing, he doesn't want to be disturbed."

"Should we bring Index?" Touma asked uncertainly. "If it's a large scale spell, there's a chance my hand won't be able to negate it entirely without knowing its focal point."

"The archbishop was adamant about us not bringing her," Leivinia huffed. She hated being told what to do. "Adam would try to kill her to prevent her from being able to decipher his magic. She's too valuable to risk it. You on the other hand…"

"I know you think of me as expendable," Touma sighed. "You are just like Stiyl."

"Misaka does not think the savior is expendable Misaka says honestly."

"Thanks Imouto."

"Index will be fine," Lessar added. "The rest of New Light is coming here to help deal with Eve." She leaned over and winked. "It was Bayloupe's idea. I think she wants to see someone special, hehe." Touma had a sudden image of Bayloupe showing up at Accelerator's dorm and Last Order having a panic attack. While it was sure to be funny, he wasn't entirely sure how Accelerator would react.

"Plus that dairy cow from the church is coming," spat out Leivinia. "Her plane should be arriving right after we leave, which is why we need to hurry and not be late."

"Huh?" Touma asked, confused at her attitude.

"She doesn't know you are leaving and thinks her job is to protect your and Index," Lessar laughed. "She's in a big surprise and this will give me ample opportunity to get ahead." Touma still didn't know what was happening, but figured it was best to not get involved any deeper than he was already. They walked in silence for a while, until the airport came into view. The gate was open, like it was expecting them. They were just about to walk in when Imouto stopped.

"Someone's following us Misaka warns." The other's stopped and Touma turned around, but didn't see anyone.

"You noticed?" Lessar asked. "They have been following us for at least five minutes."

"Took both of you long enough," scoffed Leivinia. "I've noticed them since they first saw us."

"That's only because I didn't consider them a threat," Lessar rebuffed. Both of them glared at each other and Touma turned to Imouto, the only sane one of the group.

"How many?"

"Misaka counted two Misaka informs. They are trying not to be seen, but one of them is not very experienced and Misaka kept seeing glimpses."

"Can we lose them?" he asked.

"We don't really need to resort to that," Leivinia said. "Just follow me." She strutted through the gate and into the airport, heading toward the runways. As they passed the main airport center, she turned left out of sight and everyone hurried to keep up.

* * *

"Why are they picking up the pace?" Ruiko asked, following Frenda as stealthily as possible. "This airport looks closed."

"They are either in a hurry," Frenda muttered. "Or they know we are following." She frowned and shook her head. "We can't be subtle anymore, chase after them. I think they are trying to leave before we show up. This airport is only used for important people so there shouldn't be many people around." Frenda dashed forward with Ruiko hot on her heels. They passed the airport gate and ran past the airport center. Frenda stopped so quickly, Ruiko almost crashed into her.

"What's happening?" Ruiko watched Frenda peer around the corner of the building. _I thought she said we were done being stealthy._ Ruiko had only ever trailed her friends a couple times in the past, so she wasn't what you would call experienced. Frenda was obviously more familiar with the acts of spying, so Ruiko had decided to trust her actions.

"There's too much open space here," Frenda told her. "Basically, if we run out there, we will be spotted for sure." She looked around. "They are definitely heading towards that plane, but… wow, it's one of the city's Supersonic Passenger Planes. The city must consider whatever they are doing to be really important."

Ruiko hadn't heard of the plane before and stuck her head out from behind the building. She saw Touma and the others heading to a plane over eighty meters long. _That's a large plane. I knew something was off. Touma's definitely heading somewhere._ Ruiko didn't know anything about this plane, but Frenda did. The plane could travel up to 7000 kilometers per hour and can easily exceed Mach trip from Japan to Western Europe would only take about two hours instead of the eight or so a normal plane would. Ruiko knew she had a choice. She could let him leave and possibly never find out what happened, or she could try to follow him in. She clenched her fist and felt adrenaline race through her. "Let's go after them."

"I was worried you were going to want to play it safe after coming this far," Frenda replied and looked at her with a grin. "Follow me closely, going to try to avoid detection while we get close. First spot is that parked truck, hurry, and keep your head down." Frenda ran out, her feet barely making a sound on the asphalt. Ruiko followed her, ducking down to avoid detection. They crouched behind the truck and looked out. Touma had stopped in front of the stairs leading into the jet and shook his head. His voice carried across the deserted airport.

"No!" His voice was determined as he took a step back. "I'm never going on that again. Any other plane, but not that one!"

"You stand up to vampires, magicians with power near gods, and leaders of cabals," the blonde hair girl said irritably. "But you are scared of planes?"

"Not planes," Touma protested. "Just that one!"

"Misaka is making a mental note you do not prefer that particular plane Misaka notes. Misaka is wondering why though. Is it the color or design? Misaka questions." She tilted her head in confusion.

"Misaka-san is talking weird," Ruiko whispered to Frenda.

"She's holding herself differently to," Frenda commented. "Basically, she's like a different person."

"It's how it flies," Touma explained. "You don't understand what…"

"Quit being a baby," Lessar said loudly, as she jumped up and jabbed her shoulder into his back. He stumbled forward several steps and stabilized at the base of the stairs. "You know you aren't getting out of this. Tell you what, you go up there like a big boy and I'll make you extremely happy on the ride there." She licked her lips seductively.

"I have no idea what you mean," Touma responded quickly. "But, I'm sure I won't be happy. Besides, none of us will be able to do much on the trip in that plane."

"What do you mean by 'making him happy?' Misaka asks looking for tips."

"Well you can use your mouth…"

"AHH!" Touma interrupted. "Don't corrupt her mind! Imouto, don't listen to Lessar!"

"But Sparky has an overactive imagination," Lessar stated and put her hands on her hips. "I assumed her sister, Sparky Junior, would also be interested in learning, since she doesn't appear to have one."

"Misaka would like to state once more she does not wish to be called Sparky Junior Misaka states, disapproval etched in her voice."

"She's not as emotional as Sparky either."

 _Sister?_ Ruiko thought. _I didn't know Misaka-san had a sister. She never told me and Shirai-san never mentioned it. Is there a reason for that?_ While Ruiko was confused, Frenda frowned.

 _Mugino mentioned something like this,_ Frenda thought, as she scrunched her face in concentration. _What was it…? Oh yea, the city made clones of the Railgun, but wasn't the experiment cancelled when Accelerator lost? Could she be one of the last ones? It seems like Kamijou-san is well acquainted with her, so he probably knows._

"If you three are done being stupid," the blonde girl said irritated. A scowl had appeared on her face at Lessar's words. "Get in that plane now or I use force." She waved the wand in her hand threateningly.

"Yes Birdway-sama," Touma sighed and marched up the stairs.

"You could be pretty frisky with that piece of wood," Lessar laughed and skipped up the stairs.

"Shut up slut." She followed Lessar up the stairs and put her wand away. Imouto opened her bag, checked the contents, and closed it, before heading up the stairs.

"On my signal," Frenda told Ruiko. Her eyes watched Imouto climb the stairs. Right when she reached the top, Frenda stood up. "Now!" They both started running toward the plane and reached the bottom of the stairs right when the door began to close. Frenda leaped up two steps at a time before grabbing the door and thrusting it open. She jumped in and Ruiko rushed in right behind her. Ruiko wasn't used to acting like a spy and tripped, which caused her to fall into Frenda, knocking them both to the floor. "Saten, watch it!"

"Ouch, sorry!"

"Frenda?" Touma asked in shock. "Ruiko? What are you two doing here?" He was sitting down and held a seatbelt in one of his hands. Imouto was sitting next to him, while Leivinia and Lessar were sitting in the seats in front of them. Frenda and Ruiko both stood up, before they answered him.

"We were traveling back from a food sale," Ruiko said honestly. "When we saw you and decided to follow because you looked strange."

"Basically," Frenda added. "We wanted to know what you were doing. We saw the Railgun and Lessar with you, along with her." She pointed to Leivinia. "I assume she's a magician?"

"Perceptive," Leivinia commented mildly, with a slight smile. She looked Frenda and Ruiko up and down. "I recall you two being his friends and you seem to have some experience," her eyes hesitated on Frenda. "While she," her eyes darted to Ruiko, "seems to be a civilian." Leivinia leaned back in her chair. "I didn't think the people following us would be stupid enough to actually follow us into a plane. You two are lucky I didn't just blast you."

"I'm glad you didn't," Touma told her, as he turned around in his seat.

"Misaka believes onee-sama would be sad if her friends were hurt Misaka adds."

"So you aren't the Misaka we know," Ruiko said, sounding slightly relieved. "I'm a friend of your sister. What is your name?"

"Misaka's name Is Misaka, Misaka answers clearly. It is a pleasure to meet a friend of onee-sama."

"Okay," Ruiko replied slowly. _Guess I'll call her Misaka for now._ "It's nice to meet you too."

"You two should head back," Lessar said. "This isn't a mission for amateurs."

"I'm not an amateur," Frenda huffed. "I have had a lot of experience with Mugino doing these kinds of things."

"Do you even know what we are doing?" Leivinia asked simply.

"Probably something magic related," Frenda scoffed. "And you need Kamijou's hand. Speaking of which," she crossed her arms. "I never got your name."

"This is Leivinia Birdway," Touma introduced her quickly. "Birdway, this is Frenda Seivelun and Ruiko Saten."

"It's nice to meet you," Ruiko said and she tried to sound cheerful. "I think I actually met your sister earlier today, Patricia?"

"Oh you know her?" Leivinia asked and raised an eyebrow. "Try to avoid talking about magic in front of her. She's such a crybaby she might start bawling if she knows I'm the leader of a cabal."

"A leader?" Frenda asked.

"Yep," Leivinia laughed. "I'm rather famous." The door behind Ruiko closed and Touma immediately realized what was happening.

"You two need to get seated!" Touma yelled. "Now!" Frenda and Ruiko were not use to him shouting, so their reflexes kicked in. They jumped into the seats in front of him and Imouto. Their seatbelts clicked right when the plane started moving. They were beginning to takeoff. "That was close," he sighed. "You don't know what this plane is capable of."

"So we can't get off?" Ruiko asked. "Can't we just ask the pilot to stop?"

"Speak for yourself," Frenda huffed. "I want to see where we are going."

"This plane is being controlled remotely," Leivinia said. "There's no pilot to talk to. We can't get off until it lands."

"Which is?" Ruiko asked nervously.

"Australia," Lessar laughed. "More specifically, we are landing in Darwin and meeting our contact who has all the mission details. We were given an overview, but Adam is causing a lot of trouble. Our job is to stop him."

"He's there?" Ruiko asked in shock. _We are going out of the country to a place where he is? This is bad. Uiharu doesn't even know where I am. I need to tell her or she's going panic if I don't return back to the dorms._ She had never met Adam in person, so she didn't know how ruthless he was.

"Misaka has not been out of the city before Misaka says with an excitable tone." Touma looked at her as she stared out the window, while the plane began to lift up into the air.

"You don't sound excited," Lessar pointed out. "Your tone says you are bored Sparky Junior."

"Misaka is prepared to go back there and shock you if you keep calling Misaka that Misaka replies as her tone changes from excitement to irritation." She was about to turn in her seat when Touma put his hand on her shoulder.

"Please don't use your power in here," he whispered. "The planes on autopilot so if you accidently shut it down, we are all in trouble." Imouto tilted her head slightly, but nodded and he sighed. _That's resolved for now. I think she really needs a name. Misaka Imouto would get tiring after a while and just Misaka or Imouto isn't much better._

Imouto on the other hand wasn't thinking about getting revenge on Lessar. All she wanted Lessar to do was stop calling her Sparky Junior in the future. Instead, her mind was focused on two things. The first was the warm touch on Touma's hand on her shoulder. She had blushed slightly, but he didn't appear to have noticed. She had promised she would share all information she received, but she didn't want to share this pleasant sensation with the rest of the network. The problem was she had to reconnect to the network because of the second reason. (Misaka 10032 is checking in Misaka broadcasts)

(What is your status? Misaka 16759 asks.)

(A slight problem has occurred Misaka 10032 informs quickly, before anyone had a chance to interrupt in order to relay all information. Operation Savior Separation was interrupted by two individuals, Lessar and an unknown girl named Leivinia Birdway, who also calls herself a magician. The savior is needed to help out in Australia and Misaka managed to go with them. Right before the plane took off, Ruiko Saten and Frenda Seivelun snuck in. The plane has just taken off Misaka finishes.)

(MISAKA likes the three she knows MISAKA interrupts as MISAKA reveals her presence. Should I let Accelerator know? MISAKA asks.)

(Misaka believes the situation does not call for the moderator to procure his involvement yet Misaka 10032 replies hastily.) She felt a headache come on at Last Order's words and was determined to not let her get involved if possible.

(Misaka is near Darwin should you require assistance Misaka 18997 offers. There are also several hundred other units ready to participate if the savior is in trouble.)

(Misaka will continue to monitor the situation and request backup if required Misaka 10032 says, grateful for the support.)

(Misaka 10032 seems to have something else her mind Misaka 11234 notices.)

(Misaka does have a secondary reason for establishing contact with the network Misaka 10032 admits. Since Misaka is leaving the city suddenly, someone will need to take care of her cat, Dog.)

(Heh, a cat named Dog.) Many of the sisters snickered at Imouto's words. They always found it funny when someone brought it up.

(MISAKA will do it MISAKA volunteers as MISAKA waves her hand wildly even knowing the other sisters can't see. MISAKA always wanted her own cat since Index showed MISAKA her cat.)

(This Misaka would enjoy a cat too. She could teach it all sorts of things, like how to poop in people's shoes. Tou-san will definitely enjoy that.) Dark laughter echoed through the network and Imouto felt her headache grow.

(MISAKA promises not to let the evil one touch the cat MISAKA promises as MISAKA prepares to boot the inferior unit.)

(Misaka… would prefer someone else to watch Dog Misaka admits slowly.)

(NOOOOOO!) Imouto flinched at Last Order's cry.

(Misaka can watch your cat Misaka 19090 offers. Misaka has room in her building and likes cats.)

(Thank you Misaka 10032 says gratefully. Though, Misaka is suspicious because of how nice Misaka 19090 is. Misaka thought you would be upset for her being selected to join the savior Misaka admits feeling slightly guilty at her thoughts.)

(Misaka appreciates your honesty and would like to return the favor Misaka 19090 replies guiltily. Misaka was planning to keep your cat hostage if you did not keep your promise to share information on the savior.) There was silence as the entire network held its breath.

(Misaka is now pronounces you an enemy of cat kind Misaka 10032 declares, her voice seething with cold fury. Misaka vows you will never touch her cat and will use excessive force should you approach within thirty meters of Dog. Misaka would rather the moderator and evil one watch her cat over you Misaka finishes, breathing heavily.)

(Yay MISAKA cheers as MISAKA shakes her booty in a victory dance.)

(So much negativity in the network today. Misaka approves.)

(In order to stop any further arguing and focus on the mission the savior is partaking in Misaka 13577 interrupts. Dog can stay with Misaka.)

(No! MISAKA objects passionately.) It was too late and the network voted. They agreed to let Misaka 13577 watch Imouto's cat. Last Order kept threatening to override them all, but they knew she wouldn't do that when they needed to be monitoring Touma. Imouto sighed in relief and relaxed in her chair, as the plane began picking up a lot of speed. Imouto was still upset one of her sisters was willing to bring a poor innocent cat into their feud. _She needs to give up because the savior can only be with one person._ Imouto suddenly remember a manga a different sister had read and shared over the network. _Would he be willing to be with multiple Misakas?_ Imouto glanced over at Touma, who was answering questions from Frenda and Ruiko.

"How long will we be gone?" Ruiko asked.

"I don't know," Touma admitted. "Lessar and Birdway never told me. But with the speed of this jet, it shouldn't take us more than two hours, that's how long it takes to get to Western Europe."

"It really goes that fast?" Frenda asked excitedly. "Can't wait to see." The speed was increasing dramatically and Touma could feel the g-force pushing him back in his seat.

"You may regret that enthusiasm," Touma said through gritted teeth. He prepared himself for what was about to come. Before Frenda could respond, the g-forces began to grow noticeably. Touma felt the familiar, though unpleasant, sensation of a thick metal sheet beginning to press against his body. His body was sinking into the seat and all his organs felt like they were being smashed. It was hard to breath and his body ached. He could just glance over at Imouto and saw her in a similar position. He couldn't see Ruiko and Frenda in front of him or Lessar and Leivinia behind him because he couldn't push himself off the seat.

Needless to say, no one talked much the entire flight.

* * *

"Fools."

Eve was sitting on the roof of a building looking out towards the airport where Touma and his friends were just leaving in Academy City's supersonic plane. She kicked her legs over the edge while she hummed in amusement. This was the moment she had been waiting for and she planned to savior every minute of it. Behind her, Cain stood on the roof with his arms crossed. He looked bored, but watched the plane leave. He had been silent as Eve basked in delight as her plan worked perfectly. He finally spoke, to verify something he had been wondering. "Is it wise to send the Imagine Breaker to Adam? He will not show any mercy."

"Adam may be boring, tiresome, incorrigible and just a plain drag to be around," Eve admitted. "But he knows what he has to do and he does it. Adam won't kill him, but he will use all means at his disposal to make the Imagine Breaker destroy the seal. It was good luck on our part a group of his friends decided to go with him. Now Adam can use them as leverage. If he kills them one at a time, how many would it take for the Imagine Breaker to do whatever we ask?"

"Just one," Cain answered. "He will then go into a blind rage and try to defeat Adam, but it will be pointless. Adam just has to start torturing a second person and the boy is ours to direct."

"I wonder if it will be that easy" Eve mused. "The Imagine Breaker certainly chose an interesting host this time. Adam could have his work cut out for him."

"I don't understand why you consider the boy so interesting," Cain admitting. "He's rather unassuming."

"His looks are normal," Eve admitted, "he's not very intelligent, and his abilities are subpar. It's only thanks to the Imagine Breaker that he can challenge magicians and these science side abilities. Though, if I had to point out why he is interesting, it is because of something he has mentally."

"Huh?"

"You never see past people's combat potential," Eve laughed. "But anyone in your position would be the same way. I mean, magicians want to kill you and use your body as magical ingredients while normal people consider you a monster. If you can ever get past that, you might understand why people are so unique. I can tell you this. The boy won't work with us easily. Even I have problems getting him to willingly cooperate, so now I just trick him into doing what I want. I give him just enough information to make it look like I am only mocking him, and then he rushes to his magician friends. It was only a matter of time until the clue was solved and Adam's barrier was found. You think it would be obvious with what he was doing to an entire continent."

"People tend to overlook obvious signs when they are focusing on other things," Cain agreed.

"But now that he is out of the city," Eve continued. "I can finish my deal once the other two get here. You, Juliet and those two will be the key pieces to fulfilling my part in exchange for all the information we received."

"There were simpler methods," Cain pointed out. "You could have just forced him to tell you."

"Sometimes willing cooperation is more effective than force," Eve admonished. "He has been a valuable source of information for only a fraction of my time."

"Speaking of which," Cain interrupted and turned his head. "He's heading directly for us at high speeds."

"I expected this," Eve replied with a grin. "Let's see how mad he is." She stood up and walked to the center of the roof and waited patiently. The sound of something scraping on the side of the building echoed up to the roof. A moment later, a dark shadow tendril grabbed the edge of the roof like a grappling hook and flung Jason up. He landed on his feet and glanced around, first at Eve and then at Cain. His face darkened when he saw Cain, but it seemed he had more pressing matters on his mind. He opened his mouth after he turned back to Eve, but she interrupted. "What do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"You know damn well," Jason spat out angrily. "Why the hell was Emiko here? How the hell is she even here? You never mentioned her when we talked before. Where is she?"

"You never asked," Eve pointed out reasonably. "There was also never any reason to tell you. I would have never let you two meet, but she snuck off on her own. Naturally, she is being punished by sitting in the timeout box made of that wonderful shadow metal you gave to us."

"I procured that so you could fulfil your end of the bargain," Jason growled, his face darkened. "Not for you to goof around. I'm not going to get in your way, as long as my demands are met."

"We are about to finish our part of the deal," Eve replied with a cheerful grin. "I need two more of my subordinates here and then we can move on to the main show. I hope it's as entertaining for you as it is for me. It is your plan after all. Oh, did you know the Imagine Breaker just left the city?"

"Huh?" Jason asked. He sounded genuinely surprised. "Again? What's he doing now?"

"Seems like the magicians want him to fight Adam in Australia," Eve explained with a shrug. "A couple other girls were with him, but none of the ones you need for your experiment."

"I'll be the judge of that," Jason snapped. "Who went with him?"

"Let's see," Eve said, as she pretended to count on her fingers. "There was the girl from New Light, the boss of the Dawn Colored Sunlight, the Saten girl I met with the Imagine Breaker boy not too long ago, and some blonde girl who liked to use explosives. Oh yes, someone who looks like his friend too. She liked to say Misaka a lot."

"Let Adam know to avoid doing anything unnecessary to Saten," Jason said after a moment. "But it's good someone like Misaka-san or Shokuhou-san didn't tag along. You do understand what I need done right?"

"I will explain everything to them again before we start," Eve reassured him. "Though, if they can't handle themselves, I'm not responsible for what happens."

"I know," Jason said with a nod. "This has to be something only they can overcome. If they can't, my entire plan is pointless."

"I still can't believe you want to trade one jailor for another," Cain spoke up. His face was passive, but his tone told them he did not approve.

"That's up to him," Eve said with a shrug. "I couldn't care less."

"It's why the perfect main subject was so important," Jason told Cain. He turned back to Eve. "Now, I'm going to ask again. Where is Emiko?"

"I'm not going to tell you," Eve laughed. "That was never part of our arrangement."

"Bitch!" Jason yelled and he swung a shadow blade at Eve. Before it could reach Eve, Cain moved faster than the human eye could follow and Jason was blown back ten meters. He rolled across the roof and sprung up to his feet. The only reason he wasn't hurt was Cain wasn't trying to hurt him and that gave Jason time to move his shadow to catch himself. _Cain's as strong as ever. Damn Eve, she let Emiko go on purpose, didn't she?_

 _I don't know, but it sounds likely. If you had worded your agreement better with her, you could have found out._

 _How was I supposed to know Emiko was alive? I saw her die. I know it's not her, but if there's a chance it's her memories, I still need to talk to her, especially before Aleister makes his move. I doubt he's going to let Eve move freely anymore._

* * *

 _I'm finally back in this city._

Kaori Kanzaki exited her plane with a group of normal civilians. The reason for this was because it saved the church money to send her on public transportation and it was supposed to help mask her presence. She felt naked without her gear, but she needed to look and act normal, even if she refused to change the style of her clothes because of their connection with her magic. Her t-shirt was tied into a knot at the bottom, revealing her navel, and her jeans had one pant leg cut off to be very short. This had attracted some looks from passersby, mostly older men and some women, but she ignored them. She wasn't going to start anything and they left her alone. She entered the airport and looked around, before heading to the baggage claim. Most of her gear was in there and hidden by magic to avoid being detected by the city's security.

 _Will Touma Kamijou will be excited to see me?_ she thought. _I wish I could meet him under more pleasant situations, but the only time I'm stationed here is when there is trouble. I owe him a lot, not only for keeping Index safe and happy, but also all the times he helped us. He saved the Amakusa and settled Princess Carissa's coup. Maybe I can invite him to England during the summer for a normal vacation as thanks?_ Her face flushed slightly and she stopped paying attention to her surroundings. An obnoxious voice jolted her out of her thoughts.

"Hey nee-chin, what's causing you to look so flushed? Thinking about a certain boy?" Kaori's hand reached to her side instinctively for her Shichiten Shichitou, but only grasped air. She remembered her blade was in her bag and she turned toward the familiar voice.

"Tsuchimikado," Kaori replied sharply, looking him up and down. He was wearing his normal clothes, along with his shades, and a big smile plastered to his face. "The Archbishop didn't say you would be meeting me."

"That's because this wasn't planned," Motoharu laughed. "I came to meet you of my own accord. I hope the flight was enjoyable."

"It was bearable," Kaori replied, as she made her way to the baggage area. Motoharu walked confidently beside her. "Anything new to report?"

"Besides what you were probably told," Motoharu replied. "I got one piece of news to tell you in a minute."

"Eve is in the city and has made contact with Touma Kamijou," Kaori told him in a hushed voice. "She believes the last wing is hidden in this city and is accompanied by a girl named Juliet in England." She paused and looked uncertain. "I was also told Cain is here."

"He is," Motoharu nodded solemnly and Kaori felt, for the first time since arriving, nervous. Motoharu was normally obnoxiously cheerful, so for him to be solemn, the situation had to be bad. "Somehow, Birdway, Lessar, Kami-yan, Index, and Misaka managed to force his retreat, but they only stopped him because some bizarre Academy City tech slowed him down. I haven't been able to find any information on it. I could feel the sheer amount of his mana from across the city. For him to be a vampire, it seems to be a real possibility."

"This is a problem," Kaori agreed. "Vampires should only be a myth. Their very existence is a problem. If the legends are true, I doubt I could defeat one in a direct fight."

"It's a reason we have a lot of support," Motoharu laughed. "Lessar's group, New Light, is also supporting the city against Eve. Their plane should be landing in about an hour or so."

"Well," Kaori said, slightly annoyed. She didn't really want to work with New Light, but she had to admit any help would be welcomed. "I suppose I should let Index and the boy know I am here and will need a place to stay."

"Aww," Motoharu replied and clasped his hands together. "Is Nee-chin going to visit her love, Kami-yan?"

"W-what nonsense are you spouting?"

"A lone girl," Motoharu elaborated. "Showing up at a young man's house after night has fallen and requesting a place to sleep, that's the start of so many love stories. When he lets you stay, you can crawl into his bed in the middle of the night in erotic clothes and tell him you want to… personally… thank him."

"You bastard," Kaori fumed and prepared to hit him. "What kind of person do you think I am?"

"I know exactly who you are," Motoharu laughed, but took a step away from her. "You aren't honest with yourself at all. If you don't act soon, someone else will snatch him up. I heard some interesting rumors involving Shokuhou-san. I was planning to verify them when I had some free time."

"What rumors?" Kaori asked suspiciously. "Never mind, I probably don't want to know. I should contact them before it gets too late." She pulled out her phone.

"It's already too late," Motoharu laughed again. She looked at him and he continued. "You see, Kami-yan left the city about five minutes before your plane arrived."

"WHAT!?"

* * *

"I am never going on that again," Ruiko declared as she, and everyone else, stumbled out of the jet. "It was so hard to breath and it felt like I was about to turn into a pancake."

"Now you know why I didn't want to go on it," Touma sighed. "It's safe, but it's so uncomfortable."

"Getting all the way to Australia this quickly is pretty amazing," Frenda said impressed. "Basically, it's only a little after nine."

"I've always preferred efficiently," Leivinia added. She smoothed out her dress and brushed back her hair. "But even so, that was uncomfortable."

"I don't like it no matter how efficient it is," Lessar said and covered her mouth with her hand. "I felt like I was going to be sick the entire flight."

"Misaka would also like to express her displeasure at the comfort levels of the plane Misaka adds expressing her displeasure."

"I vote for the return flight," Touma suggested. "We take a normal plane." There was a quick murmur of agreement among them. They headed into the airport terminal, when an important question occurred to Touma. "If you two don't have all the details about what's going on here, is someone going to meet us to explain the situation?"

"Yes," Leivinia confirmed. "The church is having someone meet us. Right now, let's find the contact."

"The church huh?" Touma muttered. "It will probably be Kanzaki-san or Stiyl." _Is it bad if I prefer Kanzaki-san over him?_ Not only did he get along better with her than Stiyl, he also found her extremely attractive. The entered the main area and looked around for any familiar faces or obvious members of the church.

"I hope it's Kanzaki-san," Ruiko admitted out loud. "Stiyl is so…"

"Grumpy?" Frenda finished with a laugh.

"I was thinking serious."

"You all are going to be disappointed then," Leivinia said with a laugh. "I'm pretty sure we told you she was heading to Academy City?"

"Huh?" Touma asked, rounding on her. "When did you say that?"

"She thought she was supposed to be protecting you and Index from Eve," Lessar explained, amusement etched on her face. "However, your departure was supposed to be a secret, so the Archbishop decided to keep the information secret. If anyone was spying on us, they shouldn't realize you have left the city."

"A smart plan Misaka compliments. Planting fake trails to throw off the opposition is a common practice when plotting large scale operations. It can reduce casualties if the enemy is not able to prepare."

"Precisely," Leivinia responded, glad someone was able to catch on quickly.

"Sounds like you have some experience," Frenda replied impressed. "What all have you done?"

"Misaka was part of…"

"…a test run of a new strategic real time video game," Touma quickly finished, before he gave her a quick look. "She got a little too involved in it."

"That is correct Misaka quickly agrees." Because of the unusual situation, she was feeling more at ease than she normally was. She would never have talked about the experiment involving Accelerator, for security reasons, but being around Touma made her feel safe. She could talk about anything without fear. Touma obviously did not want to talk about it, so she decided to agree with him on the spot. Frenda obviously knew they were lying, while Lessar and Leivinia guessed that was the case. Ruiko didn't have any reason to doubt them, so decided not to.

"I don't see anyone who looks familiar," Ruiko announced and turned to Touma. "What should we do?"

"Don't look at me," he replied quickly. "I was dragged here moments before you were." They both laughed, which caused Lessar, Leivinia, and Frenda to scowl. Imouto tilted her head slightly to the side, but stared at them intently. Before any of them could respond, someone spoke up from behind them.

"You all finally arrived. I was worried something happened to you." Touma turned around and saw an exceedingly beautiful young woman with bright blonde hair. Her bangs were partially covering her face, mainly her right eye. She was wearing a red, plaid, button down, long sleeve shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of form fitting jeans. The shirt was knotted at the bottom, revealing her midriff, and the button to her pants was undone. The clothes were way too small for her, but Touma remembered the first time he met her, her clothes had been tight then too. There was a chance she preferred them like that. Her clothes really accentuated her curves and her very prominent chest, which was partially revealed with the top few buttons on her shirt undone.

It was Oriana Thomson.

"Oriana…?" Touma started to ask in shock, but she immediately embraced him and pulled his face into his chest.

"My, it's so good to see you," Oriana said gleefully and looked down at him. She never loosened her grip. "When this onee-san was asked to personally transport you in Australia, I was so excited to be given the chance to meet you again." Touma tried to reply, but his words were muffled by his face being pressed into her chest. Only his eyes were visible. It was hard to breathe and he was feeling light headed. If he died, he hoped none of his friends found out how. He noticed she was a lot more tanned than the last time they met.

"You're suffocating him," Frenda cried first, pulling Touma out of her embrace. When Oriana let him go, he took a deep breath of sweet air. _Do they even make bra's in that woman's size?_

"Just another downside to useless blobs of fat," Leivinia says. She crossed her arms, her mouth clamped tight, and her gaze radiated irritation. Her eyes darted down to her chest for a moment. Ruiko also looked down at her chest and gave a small sigh. Imouto must have noticed her reaction, because she leaned over and started whispering.

"While the savior does prefer larger ones, there are several tactical downsides to them Misaka whispers. Death by suffocation seems to be the number one threat."

"It's not the size," Lessar added in a hushed voice. "It's everything that comes with it. Skill plays a big part in pleasing a guy."

"Misaka would like to hear more about that later Misaka says quickly."

"Uh yea," Ruiko replied, slightly confused, but focused on Imouto over Lessar. _She doesn't seem to be upset about sizes, so I guess I shouldn't either. We are both young and have plenty of time to grow._ Ruiko wasn't exactly flat, she was pretty developed for her age, but she was still smaller compared to someone like Misaki or Shizuri, especially this new woman. "I'm Ruiko Saten," she introduced herself to Oriana. "Touma didn't get a chance to mention your name."

"Such a polite girl," Oriana smiled and turned to her. "My name is Oriana Thomson. A normal courier, regardless of the side."

"It's nice to mean you Thomson-san…"

"Onee-san."

"Huh?"

"Call me onee-san."

"But…"

"I won't respond to anything else from you lot," Oriana said firmly, before she turned to the others. "Now, I don't believe I have met you two either." After a quick introduction, Oriana turned to Leivinia and Lessar. "I suppose we should get down to business?"

"About time," Leivinia spat out irritably. She was still upset with all the breast talk. "We need to know the situation here and what the plan moving forward is."

"And what your history is with Lover Boy," added Lessar.

"Misaka would also like to know your relationship with the savior, Misaka states with a combination of curiosity and ulterior motive." Oriana gave her only a brief glance. The world was a wide place and many people had speaking habits far more unusual than Imouto's.

"I can explain everything when we get to the hotel," Oriana told them.

"H-hotel?!" Frenda stammered.

"Calm down," Oriana laughed. "It's not wise to start explaining everything in a public place like this. I have a room reserved, though I only expected three people, not six. It could get a little cramped. Follow me, and I'll give you an overview of our dire situation." She led them out of the airport and to the far corner of the airport parking lot. Touma looked out across the completely lit up city. Unlike Academy City, Darwin was a large city that didn't have a curfew, since the vast majority of residents were not students. He had seen it in England, but he was still used to Academy City.

 _The outside world is really different than our home,_ he thought and subconsciously glanced at Ruiko, Frenda, and Imouto. They finally reached Oriana's vehicle. It was a jeep with a solid seat in the back row and two reverse facing seats where the trunk would be on a car. There were just enough seats for everyone, but it would be crowded in the back row. The problem was noticed by Leivinia, Lessar, and Frenda immediately. They started arguing and Touma felt a headache. The air was dry and hot, unusually so compared to what he was used to in Japan, even at night. Ruiko and Imouto didn't have a preference where they sat and could tell getting involved would be a huge mistake. Eventually, Oriana interrupted after several minutes of amusement and they finally got seated.

Oriana was obviously the driver, so there was no argument about that. Touma, being the biggest among the rest of them, sat in the front passenger seat. Leivinia, Lessar, and Ruiko sat in the middle seat. Lessar was in the middle, Leivinia was being Oriana, and Ruiko was behind Touma. Lessar and Birdway needed to be close to Oriana to talk to her, and Leivinia refused to be positioned between people. Frenda and Imouto were willing to take the reversed back seats. When they were all buckled in, Oriana started the car and they left the airport.

"So what are we dealing with here," Leivinia asked Oriana, the wind ruffling up most of the girl's hair. "Do we know Adam's goal?"

"How did you even find him?" Touma asked. "There was almost no information on him."

"You rarely have all the information of the people you are chasing," Oriana told him. "As for how we found him, it wasn't easy. The only thing we knew about him was his brief appearance in England and the rumor of his assault against the Vatican. Naturally, the Roman Catholic Church didn't share any information with the Anglican Church. Anyway, we know he can raise the dead, as he did with St. Peter, but what allowed us to track him was the spell he started to cast against your troops."

"Plague of the first born?" Lessar asked. "I heard he was able to use it." She frowned. "That's really scary since that spell was originally cast by God through Moses."

"What exactly is that?" Frenda asked from the backseat. "Basically, I heard the name, but no one bothered to explain it in details."

"In the bible," Oriana explained to her, but also for Ruiko, Imouto, and Touma's benefit. "A man named Moses approached the Egyptian pharaoh to release the Israelites from slavery. The pharaoh refused and God cast down ten plagues upon Egypt. The worst and final was the plague of the first born. This plague swept across Egypt and killed the firstborn child of every family."

"Eh?" Ruiko and Frenda gasped. Neither of them read the bible. Touma glanced at the ground. He had a general idea of the spells effect already, but he didn't like hearing about it. His hand formed a fist and that was the only sign he gave he was angry. Imouto was the one to actually speak.

"It seems as if God was quite vengeful Misaka comments about the seemingly unnecessary attack."

"There is a long story behind it," Oriana told them. "But it was one of the darker parts."

"So how did you track Adam here from his spell?" Lessar asked.

"We detected several magical signs that relate to the plagues," Oriana explained. "Here's what we found throughout Australia. Several rivers have turned red. Scientists here say it's a type of bacteria and it's killing a lot of fish and wildlife. Invasive species like frogs have started wreaking havoc among local wildlife. Swarms of insects have been emerging. Livestock have been getting sick and dying. Most recently, a disease is spreading throughout cities which is causing boils and fevers. No one has been reported dead yet, but it's growing and the hospitals won't be able to keep up much longer. This isn't counting the small rural cities."

"Ah," Leivinia exclaimed, leaning back in her seat. "He's recreating all the plagues of Egypt. I suppose spreading them across an entire continent is weakening their effect, but the longer he channels, the stronger it gets. The question is, why? This is revealing his location. The only time he every revealed himself when he was trying to acquire something. What could be hidden here?"

"Perhaps he is not looking for anything Misaka suggests. Maybe he is trying to lure you to him and that is why he is performing obvious signs of magic." (Misaka is requesting information on the 'bible' Misaka 10032 relays. It will be important in her mission to protect the savior.)

"That's pretty smart Sparky Junior," Lessar said, turning around.

"Misaka is prepared to shock you Misaka warns."

"Not so close," Frenda told her. "You might set off one of my explosives." She was probably the most inexperienced with magic among the group. She only got a brief explanation in England and, unlike Imouto, she didn't have access to information from all over the world. _Anything I find out I need to rely to Mugino. I don't think she's too interested in Adam, but it might help her defeat Eve. I also need to show Kamijou how useful I am._

"He has to be looking for something," Leivinia stated simply. "If he wanted to lure us somewhere, there would be easier methods. He wasn't necessarily broadcasting his location, but whatever he is doing can no longer be hidden."

"We found his base of operations," Oriana added. "We have set up a small base camp a short distance away. It's in the Tanami desert. "

"I didn't realize this was so serious," Ruiko whispered into Touma's ear. "I may have to stay behind because this sounds way out of my league."

"Adam is insane," Touma muttered. "He has to be stopped before all those people get hurt. I'm going to do whatever I can to help." He shifted in his seat and looked back at her. Ruiko looked into his eyes and saw what he was thinking. It was obvious he wanted to tell her she needed to stay away, but he wasn't able to bring himself to do it. They both knew she wanted to be able to help when others were in trouble. It would sound completely selfish if he asked her. Ruiko was scared, but something rose up deep within her. The same sort of desire people like Touma and Mikoto had. Regardless who they were facing, she wanted to help.

 _No matter how small, even if it's just carrying something, I'm going to go with him and help._

* * *

"We're here," Oriana declared, parking her car in front of a moderately nice hotel. "Enjoy it while you can. It will be one of the last city comforts you will get for a while. We have to get up early, buy you all some more climate suitable clothes, and then board a plane to the small town of Lajamanu. Then we drive the rest of the way to base camp. It's going to be hot, dry, and all around unpleasant. Enjoy the air condition while you got it."

"At least you chose passable accommodations," Leivinia said with a sniff. It was obvious she wasn't impressed at the normal hotel. "If you had chosen some roadside trash heap, I would have had something to say about it." She followed Oriana, along with Lessar, while Touma, Ruiko, Imouto, and Frenda brought up the rear. Frenda threw her arm around Ruiko's shoulder.

"What you think?" Frenda asked. "Are you glad we followed them? Basically, if we didn't, we wouldn't have known about this." Frenda was trying to keep her spirits up, but she was worried too. She wasn't use to facing someone as strong as Adam without Shizuri being nearby.

"I don't know," Ruiko told her honestly. She was conflicted about the entire situation. She wanted to help, but this situation was a lot bigger than she initially imagined. To give herself time to think, she pulled out her phone. She glanced at it for only a fraction of a second, before she gasped. "Oh no!"

"What's wrong?" Touma asked and turned to her in alarm.

"I completely forgot to contact Uiharu about where I am," Ruiko replied, as she flipped her phone open. "She's been constantly messaging me for two hours. It's way past curfew and she doesn't know where I am."

"Be careful of what you say," Frenda warned and put her hands behind her head. "Academy City likes to closely monitor outside calls." She paused. "I should actually contact Mugino too, now that I think of it." She shivered slightly at the thought of what Shizuri would do if Frenda never called.

"With Academy City's technology listening into a cellphone conversation would be child's play Misaka adds." Imouto did not have to call for the other sisters to know her location because they were always in constant contact. Other people did not have that luxury and she felt sorry for them.

Ruiko nodded in understanding before she dialed Kazari's number. She held the phone up to her ear and waited. On the second ring, Kazari picked up and Ruiko had to hold the phone far away from her ear. Karzai's words were loud and jumbled, causing Ruiko to try to figure out how to answer her without giving too much away. "Saten-san, were have you been?! It's way past curfew and you are going to be in so much trouble! I tried contacting you for hours but you wouldn't pick up! I was so worried! I thought you were only going to talk to Misaka-san and catch a sale. When you didn't return I thought you might have been kidnapped or worse!"

"Calm down Uiharu," Ruiko said, when Kazari paused to take a breath. "I'm fine, but a lot did happen. I'll tell you everything when I get back."

"When is that going to be?" Kazari asked. Ruiko could hear the worry in her voice.

"I'm not sure," Ruiko admitted honestly. "I ran into some friends and we got side tracked, really far." She was trying to tell Kazari what happened, but couldn't be direct. Ruiko hoped Kazari would understand what she was saying. _Uiharu is smart, I'm sure she will understand._ "I met 'him' and we talked a bit before heading out together. If I don't make it to school tomorrow, can you cover for me?" She suddenly realized what her words sounded like. "We ran into friends from the other side and are hanging out." There was a pause and Ruiko felt sweat form on the back of her neck.

"You always meet people randomly," Kazari finally replied. "I wish you would plan things out and let me know, so I don't have to worry. You shouldn't skip class, but I suppose you don't do it much. Careful, you might become a delinquent. Be careful and make sure to let me know what's happening when you are free. I'll let our friends know you will be busy." She paused again. "Be careful, but don't do anything you might regret."

"You're the best Uiharu," Ruiko told her. _Shouldn't her last words have been 'and don't do anything you might regret?'_ She decided to push that feeling away and hung up. Ruiko turned to the others and sighed. "I think she understood, but it's hard to say."

"Misaka thinks you did quite well for having no formal training in speaking in codes Misaka compliments to reassure you."

"Could have been a little better," Lessar admitted, but gave her a thumbs up. She had stopped when she noticed the rest of them hadn't been following. "Though I agree with her. You did well."

"Even if she doesn't know the specifics," Touma admitted. "I bet a couple of my friends will know soon enough and tell her." _So this is what that bastard meant by an all-expense paid trip was._ He made a mental note to punch Motoharu when he got back. He realized Frenda was still talking to Shizuri and turned towards her.

"I'll keep you updated," Frenda promised. "No, nothing like that is going to happen… MUGINO! They are right next to me, they might hear... Yes, it was an accident I came… Noooo, don't break all my stuff! I promise regular updates... What? Don't leave Fremea with him! She might catch his uselessness" Frenda sighed and hung up. She shook her head and turned to see the others looking at her. "Well, I'm good. Basically, should we catch up with the other two? They left us behind."

"They did?" Touma asked and realized Oriana and Leivinia had left them standing in the parking lot to the hotel. Everyone started moving and entered the hotel. They saw Oriana waving them over and made a beeline straight toward her. Touma noticed two guys were playing cards. They looked up when he passed. One of them gave Touma a thumbs up, but the other dragged his finger across his neck. Touma just now noticed what this looked like to others. He and several very attractive girls, obviously not related, were all heading into a hotel room. _None of my friends will ever hear about this,_ he swore silently to himself. They walked up two flights of stairs before stopping in front of the room.

"Here we are," Oriana announced cheerfully. "Make yourself at home. I need to go pick up a few things for tomorrow from the car to save some time. Try not to be up to late, we have to get up really early tomorrow, eat, grab your new clothes, and head out. Prepare to get up at six sharp."

"Such a small room," Leivinia sniffed. She and Lessar were the only two close enough to see in the room so far. "Couldn't you have chosen something nicer? Like a suite at a high class hotel?"

"My funds are limited," Oriana told her and rolled her eyes. "Church only gave me enough to the necessities. You could have volunteered to contribute your own group's fund."

"I didn't see the need," Leivinia sniffed and walked in. Oriana waved and headed back downstairs.

"At least the beds look comfy," Lessar said happily and bounded into the room. She jumped face down onto one of the beds.

"Air condition," Frenda sighed happily as she stepped into the room. "It's night, but it's so hot outside." She tugged at the collar of her shirt.

"Misaka also enjoys the cooler air as it is easier to breathe and doesn't cause her clothes to stick uncomfortably to her body Misaka agrees." She walked into the room and sat down in a chair near the air condition unit. She leaned back and sighed happily.

"There are only two beds," Ruiko whispered to Touma. "They are large enough to fit three people each easily but…"

"I can sleep in one of those sofa chairs if needed," he reassured her. _Possibly the tub. I should check out how big it is._ He missed the look in Ruiko's eyes. It was the combination of relief, but also etched with disappointment. "Cool, there's a TV here. Let's check out the news. We might be able to tell how widespread Adam's influence is."

"That's probably the most intelligent thing you have said all day," Leivinia remarked with a grin.

"Misaka finds that unlikely for a number of reasons Misaka retorts. One, you only met him this afternoon and therefore do not know what he has said during the day. Two, while the savior does occasionally say mysterious things, he often manages to discover the root cause of many issues."

"I was giving him a compliment," Leivinia cut her off and rolled her eyes. "Geeze, I think I prefer the other girl that looks like you."

"Your generosity knows no bounds," Touma told her, giving her a short mock bow, which caused Frenda and Ruiko to cover their mouths to stifle a giggle. Lessar actually laughed out loud. Leivinia gave him a dirty look and Touma felt like he was going to regret doing that later. He started sweating and looked around for the remote to the TV to distract himself. He saw it on the table next to the bed and picked it up. "Now to find the news station," he muttered and clicked the power button.

This was a mistake.

He had no way of knowing what the person who had this room before Oriana was watching.

The TV turned on and a hardcore porno started playing, right in the middle of an extreme scene, far too graphic for students.

"Ah!" Touma yelled when they realized what it was. The worst thing was the sound had been cranked up to almost full blast, so the noise and screams where battering against his skull. He tried to change the channel or at least turn off the TV, but it wasn't working. "Did the batteries seriously just die?!"

Lessar had fallen back onto the bed and was laughing harder than Touma had ever heard her. Leivinia looked at the show with nothing but distaste on her face. It might have been the porno, which was three girls being with one guy, but it also might have been more the fact all three girls were endowed far greater than a normal woman. Frenda and Ruiko covered their faces with their hands, but still peeked through their fingers. Their faces had turned such a bright shade of red, it was as if they were glowing. Imouto was the first one of the girls to speak up while Touma was trying to turn off the TV with dead battery remote.

"That woman appears to be in pain Misaka says with concern. That man appears to be attacking her while the other two watch. Though, he seems to be going about it inefficiently. Those two other woman could be helping him instead of rubbing their bodies together Misaka adds."

"They… are…helping… him," Lessar snorted, as she tried to talk in between laughs.

"What do you mean Misaka asks confused. They appear to be trying to keep him warm with their bodies." Lessar laughed louder and now Leivinia face palmed.

"They are keeping one part of him warm…" Lessar begun to explain, but Touma cut her off.

"Don't say anything Lessar!" he cried, rushing to the TV and tried to shut it off manually. The power button wasn't working either. "Why is it always me?!" He finally gave up and pulled the TV power chord out of the wall socket. The TV shut off and he sighed in relief. Part of him expected the TV to run on some internal power source which would have forced him to throw it out the window to get it to shut off. "Finally!"

"Wow Kamijou," Frenda said. She finally found her words. "That's something Hamazura would do. I actually expected better of you." She was still embarrassed, but was able to recover quickly once the TV was shut off. _I still remember when Hamazura sent us those pictures to our phones by mistake. What an idiot. When Kamijou does it though, I feel weird._

"It wasn't my fault," Touma protested.

"It was an accident," Ruiko added. Touma turned to her in gratitude, but she glanced away from him, too embarrassed to look right at him. It wasn't like she didn't know what porn was, but she didn't go out looking for it. She was still a middle school girl and wasn't use to it. She and Kazari kept their room clear of those things. When she looked at Touma, her entire body felt hot and she felt slightly dizzy. Looking away was the only way she could still talk normally.

"Why would people want to see a bunch of useless large chested bimbos like that?" Leivinia said angrily, subconsciously glancing down at her chest.

"Misaka does not believe the human body should be able to bend like that Misaka says stunned at the memory of how that one female could position herself."

"Oh that position is easy," volunteered Lessar. She sat up on the bed and turned to Imouto. "You just put your foot back behind your neck like this, and then take your arm and twist it while rolling over on your front…" She started performing the moves and Touma realized the danger.

"Don't pay any attention to Lessar," Touma told Imouto. "Her explanations are wildly…"

"…perfect for all occasions," Lessar interrupted. "Obviously, Lover Boy here did this on purpose to set the mood. That's why he chose a group porno." Lessar uncoiled herself, bounded up onto her feat, and shut off the lights. "Before we go into battle, we need to relieve all his stress."

"Gah!" Frenda and Ruiko exclaimed in shock, but couldn't get any other words out.

"Misaka would like to help the savior relieve his stress Misaka states honestly, but confused on what she would need to do."

"Just follow my lead," Lessar said, beginning to remove her shirt.

"Understood."

"You people are idiots," Leivinia sighed. "He's my property, so you need to ask me for permission first."

"Stop…!" Touma yelled, while the others only watched. However, he was saved, or interrupted depending on different people's point of view, when the door was opened and the light was flipped back on. Oriana stepped in carrying a bag in her right arm. The door closed behind her.

"Nice to see you kids settling in," she laughed. "I was surprised when I started up the stairs and heard a porno blaring down the hall. You're all old enough to make your own choices. Sorry if I'm interrupting, but we really should get some rest. It's going to be a long day tomorrow for everyone."

"Speaking of which," Ruiko asked. "How are sleeping arrangements going to be made? There are only two beds."

"I figured the adults would take one and everyone else would take the other," Oriana replied cheerfully. "Might be a little cramp with so many, but the beds are decent sized."

"What do you mean by adults?" Leivinia asked coldly with a raised eyebrow.

"Since you all know each other," Oriana pointed out reasonably. "I figured you wouldn't mind sharing. I'll bunk with this young man here," she put her arm around Touma, "and I suppose one more person."

"W-what?" Touma asked in shock. He did not expect to sleep with an older woman, and she was quite a looker too. His mind told him this was inappropriate, but his body told him, if he argued, terrible things would happen.

"I object!" Frenda declared, while she smacked her hand on the table next to the chair Imouto was sitting in.

"Misaka disagrees too Misaka venomously objects." Imouto had just stood up.

"Unless I'm sharing the bed with him I oppose your decision too!" Lessar added.

"I don't know if that's appropriate," Ruiko mumbled, but no one heard her.

"He's my property," Leivinia spoke up. "You should be asking me if it's okay to sleep in the same bed as him."

"When did he become your property?" Lessar demanded.

"Why, after I won our little bet last time," stated Leivinia with an air of importance.

"You didn't win! Sparky did more than you!"

"You want to take this outside?" Leivinia asked dangerously.

"I don't know what you two are talking about," Frenda said, reaching under her skirt. "But I have a feeling I want in."

"Misaka would like to inform you that it is illegal to own someone Misaka interjects. Misaka also believes it would be futile in trying to control the savior as he does not take orders well." Imouto remembered when she had told him several times to leave her alone during the level 6 shift, but he refused to and fought Accelerator in her place. It saved her life, but her point still stood.

"Is that a compliment?" Touma asked and Imouto nodded. _She's at least nice to me like Ruiko._ He glanced at Ruiko, who was watching Leivinia and Lessar argue with a nervous look on her face. _I need to get out of here._ His eyes darted to the bathroom, his sanctuary. "While you all discuss the arrangements, I'm just going to use the bathroom." He started to creep toward the door, avoiding attention, but Lessar understood what he was doing.

"Not this time!" she cried and her steel glove magically appeared in her hand. She put it together in a fraction of a second while leaping toward Touma. She swung the glove and the hand on the end made contact with his ankle. She yanked his leg back and he fell forward onto the floor.

"AHHH!" he yelled before he slammed against the ground. "Ouch." He rubbed his nose. "Why did you do that Lessar?!"

"Not this time," Lessar told him, sitting on his back and pinning him to the ground. "You are not slinking away and hiding in the bathroom. You are going to help us decide sleeping arrangements."

"He's so adorable when he tries to run," Oriana laughed, which caused most of the girls to glare at her.

"Let's let him decide," Leivinia said, a smirk forming on her face. There was also a dark aura that formed around her. Similar auras formed around Frenda, Lessar and even Imouto. Oriana was leaning against the wall and looked highly amused. Ruiko was the only one who actually looked nervous and scared.

 _What's going to happen?_ she thought.

Touma looked up and gulped, and knew his answer would determine if he got to see the sunrise.

* * *

The following morning in Academy City, Seiri was sitting down with her arms cross, watching Motoharu and Pierce set up a video. They had contacted everyone in the class late last night to let them know they had everything finalized. The rest of the class needed to show up at school before normal school hours, so they could explain everything. Seiri wasn't sure what to think of their message, but for the first time in a long time, they actually seemed to be working hard. The problem for her was it was on something stupid. "You guys ready to explain everything?" she asked impatiently.

"I'll explain while Aogami sets up the video," Motoharu said with a nod. "The last couple of days we had to get approval for our idea and last night we got the final signature."

"We know this," Seiri replied and rolled her eyes. "Now… tell us your idea for the raffle!"

"Our idea is so simple and yet will make us so much money," Motoharu continued with a grin. He picked up a rolled up poster from the box. "This is it!" He unrolled it and hung it on the board for the entire class to see. There was a moment of silence as the class took it in. A large picture of Kami dominated the poster with the words, in big bright red letters at the top, 'Win a Day with Kami.' At the bottom of the poster was the raffle information and location of their school.

"Are you serious?" Seiri asked incredulously. The rest of the class had completely different reactions.

"That's brilliant!" one guy called out.

"No one else is going to think of that," a girl admitted.

"We are going to destroy every other school!" someone else yelled.

"We knew you would like it," Pierce said, looking back at Accelerator and Jason. Both of whom where snickering. Touma's seat was empty, but Motoharu had told Pierce not to contact him.

"Win Kami for a day?" Seiri muttered. Her eyes focused on the poster. "What does this entail?" The class seemed to have embraced the idea and it looked like a vote was not going to be necessary. Instead, she was going to go along with their whims and make sure all details were ironed out. _We are going to run this professionally._

"We open at nine in the morning with the rest of the stalls," Motoharu explained. "We sell the raffle tickets during the day and close at five thirty. At six, when all the other stalls have closed, we hold the final drawing, which will be done by Kami. Well, it's going to be done by Kami-yan in disguise since Kami is busy Saturday." He gave Pierce a wink. "Kami was perfectly okay with allowing Kami-yan to take his place during the drawing. Whoever wins will have Kami escort them all day Monday, which includes to their school."

"What?" the class gasped.

"What if it's a girl's school, a middle school, or a college?" Seiri demanded. "That can't be allowed."

"That's where you wrong Fukiyose-sama," Pierce laughed and stood up now that the video was set up.

"We spent the last few days getting authorization for him to be allowed in any school who wins," Motoharu told her. The class grew silent and waited with baited breath. "This will allow anyone a chance to win as long as they are a student. You see, having a level 5 as a visitor to any school is acceptable as a way of motivating others. The city was perfectly happy to allow it."

"How much are tickets?" someone from the back called. "I can't see the bottom of the poster from here."

"500 yen each or five for 2000," Pierce responded. "It's cheap enough for anyone to be able to easily enter, but high enough for us to rake in the dough. We anticipate needing a large container for the tickets, but that should be easily obtained. Does anyone have an issue with the price?" Everyone shook their heads.

"Any complaints?" Motoharu asked, after he clasped his hands together. His eyes were focused on Seiri, who sighed.

"I can't believe I'm saying this," Seiri groaned. She had to admit she had been beaten. "I still think this idea is immature, but you two seem to have thought of everything. The rest of the class seems to like the idea too and it fits all of our requirements. We just need to print tickets and procure a large container to hold them."

"Fukiyose agrees!"

"This is going to be the best idea ever!"

"Did anyone tell Kamijou?"

"Of course not," Motoharu shouted over the others and the entire class laughed. "We need to start advertising around the city tonight. Can we get some volunteers after school today?" He looked around and counted the raised hands. "Kagere, Accelerator, I don't see you two volunteering."

"I'm busy and don't want to," Accelerator mumbled and leaned back in his chair to pretend to sleep.

"I do have something after school," Jason mumbled. He had promised to meet Kazari, but he wasn't happy about why. She had told him where she was going last night. "I could hang up a few if it's a small area beforehand I suppose."

"I'll give you a small but very important area," Motoharu told him and Jason nodded.

"I have one question," Seiri spoke up. "Why make Kamijou pretend to be Kami? Wouldn't it just be easier to have someone draw rather than lie about Kami actually drawing it?"

"We could," acknowledged Motoharu. "But saying Kami will be there will draw a bigger crowd."

"No matter how many people buy tickets," Aisa mumbled in the back of the class, but no one heard her. "I guarantee he will draw someone from an all-girl's school. His life is a galge." She did not believe for a moment Kami was not Touma. She did know, however, Touma would prefer people to think he wasn't, so she never mentioned it to anyone else in the class.

"Plus," Pierce added loudly. "We need to punish him for the stunt he pulled during Golden Week."

"Huh?" the class asked confused.

"We have a short video to show you why Kami-yan has to be the one to draw the ticket," Motoharu announced. "Accelerator and Jason, you two might be interested in part of this." Both of them sat up and looked suspicious. "Anyway, this is just a short documentary giving us a glimpse of Kami-yan in his natural habitat." He turned off the lights while Pierce hit play on the remote in his hand. The TV turned on and Motoharu's face dominated the screen, followed a moment later by his voice.

"Hey all, this is Motoharu Tsuchimikado. This documentary is being created for my good friend Pierce Aogami, since he was unable to be on this trip with us. We are in the middle of a party and something interesting happened. Someone poured alcohol in the drink bowl and now we have the perfect opportunity to examine how our friends act when wasted. We might even get insight on how Kami-yan is able to attract so many women."

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Motoharu: Looks like Kami-yan has assembled the B-Team.**

 **Touma: Huh?**

 **Motoharu: Look at this. Follow the underline letters**

 **B** **irdway**

 **Sa** **t** **en**

 **Fr** **e** **nda**

 **Less** **a** **r**

 **I** **m** **outo**

 **Accelerator: How long did it take you to come up with that?  
Motoharu: About a minute.**

 **Mikoto: So does this mean the rest of us are going to disappear for a while?**

 **Misaki: It appears Eve is planning something, so we may need your barbaric powers.**

 **Shizuri: It's about time I get a challenge again. Frenda is off goofing around with her crush.**

 **Kazari: The dorm room feels so empty without Saten-san.**

 **Jason: I'll visit you as much as possible.**

 **Kuroko: You can't spend the night. It's against the rules!**

 **Touma: Don't challenge him like that. You know what will happen.**

 **Jason: Accelerator, what do we say about the rules?**

 **Accelerator: What rules?**

 **Motoharu: This is why we can have fun.**


	82. S4 Australian Fun

**I'm glad it seems the last chapter was a big hit. A lot of stuff is going on so it can be difficult to keep up the balancing act. A lot of people are expecting a lot to happen in Australia. Part of me wants to troll everyone because I don't want to be predictable. Touma will show up, remove a seal, and the magic side will defeat Adam while he heads back to Academy City. Nothing important will happen at all. Australia is a calm, peaceful, place with no dangerous areas at all….hahaha. We all know something will happen. Now, I do have one announcement people may not enjoy. My budget is incredibly low so I am going to have to start having sponsors periodically to make ends meet. So please enjoy our first one.**

 **************************Transmission Interrupted****************************

 **Are you lonely? Are you unable to relate to members of the opposite sex? Do you desire your own harem? Then we have the deal for you. We present the book…**

" **Your Harem and You!"**

 **This book was modeled after the immense success of The Legendary level 5, Kami the Harem King. This book has everything you need to start your very own harem with tricks, advice, and information provided directly from Kami. Chapters like, 'How to Tell if a Girl Likes You,' 'How to Recognize the Different Types,' and my personal favorite, 'So You Think You are Ready for a Yandere." Twenty-Five chapters in total, each one designed to optimize your ability to create a harem.**

 **Call now and receive a free random gift to give the girl of your dreams. Gifts are personally selected by Kami based on a short questionnaire.**

 **Results may vary based on initial attractiveness of the individual.**

 ***************************Transmission Returned*****************************

 **Now that our sponsor is done, I can move to the comments.**

 **Brosephg: Come on. Touma Kamijou needs someone to drive him around an unknown country. Who else could it be besides our favorite courier?**

 **general ironox: You have no idea how close a Civil War is coming.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: I could I suppose, but your check still hasn't cleared. One of the main reasons we are having budget issues.**

 **knight6398: It's possible he's an M and likes to be embarrassed.**

 **Handsomistic1: That documentary is going to have far reaching implications. The winner of the raffle is planned, and it will be glorious. I can't give out any info on whom though. Moms won't show up until the weekend and big plans will involve them, including an unlikely girl getting the mothers approval.**

 **Whwsms: The harem plan is becoming more complicated. You have Misaki plotting it, Ruiko and Mikoto kind of making one, and then add the magic side. Touma is oblivious to all of this though. All he needs to do is get a girlfriend before any of them mention the harem to him to ruin everything. Of course, that would never be possible. Right?**

 **Guest: Nope, Thor is definitely a trap. It's how he can transform into a girl without issues. I do have some plans for old characters to return, along with one or two new named individuals.**

 **wildarms13: I've always been hesitant about Saten becoming powerful. Part of her charm is being normal (Academy City normal anyways.) Fukiyose is a wild card, no plans as of yet are set in stone.**

 **Salishious: I would not be surprised if she saw it already. The winner of the raffle is decided and I believe everyone will be satisfied with it. Nah, Touma's a ladies' man. He will put them all in one bed. Hah, your last question helped me decide who today's sponsor was.**

 **Generation Zero: The level 5s make fights to easy. Lower levels make fights more interesting.**

 **Jujudude: 1) Nope, she has resistance. 4) Ha, I read your mind and stole your idea. Don't forget, being spread out around the world would no doubt cause some changes in personality. 5) I'm pretty sure if she was part of a harem, Touma would be added to hers. 6) I suppose I could do that. 8) Someone should trick him into signing the paperwork. 10) That's not a bad guess for one future segment. I'll let you in on a secret, this story changed a lot from my original plans because it writes itself.**

 **Guest00: Raffle winner is already decided, but shall be a closely guarded secret. The video will cause so many problems when it gets spread around. There will also always be more girls joining Touma's harem.**

 **Hilem: Noukan really is devious. Controlling others while at the same time getting benefits. He's definitely my favorite Kihara.**

 **Yakutsu Zaishiro: Would run out of time counting them all, but if we don't count the almost 10k clone girls, there's like 50 named so far, plus 100s of non-named.**

 **RPGPersona: There we go, that's more of what I expected. It seems like you are pretty good at guessing what is going to happen, but I bet that's because you give a summary of the plot for each chapter. Going over each part allows you to piece together the clues.**

 **KaguTsumi: With his luck, that would be the best thing he could hope for.**

 **Agent Nine: I suppose it varies. I can go on car rides for hours with no pain. Besides, Academy City designs those jets to be a super smooth ride. Hahaha. You mean you never went to a hotel, found a porno, turned the volume all the way up, and shut off the TV waiting for the next unsuspecting person to show up?**

 **FrodoFighter: I actually wouldn't put it past Oriana to put that porno on for laughs or to set the mood. She's great like that. The only deadly animals will be the girls who try to sneak into his bed and bump into each other haha. The amount of money Touma's class is going to get is going to be amazing, plus they get to keep it. The biggest question is what will they use that money for? Motoharu is definitely dead.**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly. Magic Gods own all so they can do what they want.**

* * *

Touma laid wide awake on one of the hotel beds as the sun began to peak through the window. He glanced at the clock and saw it was about five minutes until their alarm was set to go off. He was exhausted. His mind had been constantly running over everything he was told yesterday, which didn't make it easy to sleep, but this was still only a secondary reason for why he had been up most of the night. The primary reasons were to his right and left. _How did it end up like this?_ Normally, his current predicament would be a dream come true and most guys would kill to be in his position but, if he made the wrong move, it could be life threatening. His thoughts turned back to last night.

* * *

Touma was pinned on the floor with Lessar sitting on his back, while Oriana, Leivinia, Ruiko, Frenda, and Imouto all looked down at him. He had no idea what to say and felt like there was no right answer. _I was so close to the bathroom too._ Now he had to tell a bunch of girls, many who were capable of inflicting intense physical pain, who he wanted to share a bed with. He could hear the voices of his bastard friends yelling at him to say 'all of them', but he didn't want to die at such a young age. His eyes darted to each girl in turn. It didn't look like any of them were going to help, but Ruiko at least appeared to be trying to think of something.

"It doesn't look like he wants to hurt any of your feelings," Oriana noticed and looked at the other girls. "It might be best if it's just me and him tonight. There are many adult matters I would like to discuss with him." She smiled innocently, but no one bought it.

"Over my dead body!" Lessar shouted. "If anyone's going to teach him, it's going to be me."

"Don't delude yourself," Leivinia huffed. "As his master, discipline and training are my responsibility."

"Misaka also does not understand why you should automatically get to make the decision that you get to share the same bed with him, Misaka points out annoyed. This should be decided by the savior, not you."

"She's basically saying," Frenda added. "Don't just go deciding things for yourself."

"Hmm," Oriana said, putting a hand up to her cheek. "It doesn't seem like we are making any headway and I don't think he's going to say anything soon." She looked down at Touma, who had resigned himself to his death and laid, unmoving, face down on the floor. His ears were burning and he was pretending he couldn't hear anything. "There is a reason I suggested he and I bunk together you know. We both are slightly older and take up more room. It would only make sense for us to bunk with only one of you. That way, the four who share will be less cramped since you take up less room." There was a murmur of reluctant agreement to her words. "But you know, there is one person who hasn't given us her thoughts." Her eyes darted to Ruiko. "What do you think?"

"I…err...umm," Ruiko stuttered, as she tried to think of what to say. She could feel many pairs of eyes watching her and her eyes traveled down to Touma. He had glanced up at her and she saw his eyes begging for help. "Well, it's probably not right for a high school boy to sleep with a bunch of girls…"

"Ah!" Oriana squealed and embraced Ruiko in a tight hug before she could react. "She's so innocent and it's adorable when she tries to protect him." Ruiko struggled against her chest and immediately understood what Touma went though. Lessar tilted her head for a moment, before standing up and getting off Touma. She walked over to Leivinia and spoke in a low voice.

"We aren't going to come to an agreement," Lessar asked, "Are we?"

"Doesn't look like it," Leivinia agreed. "You finally decided to go sleep in a corner?"

"As if," Lessar sniffed. "I was thinking we are going to keep fighting if one of us gets into his bed, so we need a different plan."

"I guess if there's no other choice," Frenda interrupted them. "I will volunteer. Basically, I have slept in the same bed as him before so it wouldn't be anything new." Her face turned red when she admitted this but, for some reason, she really wanted to trump Lessar and Leivinia. _Mugino would be proud of me. She always said I'm not good at flirting._

"Sure you have," Leivinia replied skeptically.

"No wait," Lessar replied. She remembered something. "I remember one of her friends, I think it was Mugino, mention that." She narrowed her eyes. "That rules you out."

"Misaka will take up the task Misaka volunteers." Imouto had moved silently over to them, but she kept her eyes on Touma as he stood up.

"We know your sister is attracted to him," Leivinia said, crossing her arms. _She definitely likes the boy, but she doesn't seem to be all there in the head. At least she's not some slut with useless blobs of fat._ "Answer this then: Have you done anything with him that made you feel…?" She stopped. _This girl doesn't have any common sense. How do I phrase this?_ "Uncomfortable, but in a pleasant way."

"Hmm, Misaka reminisces. There was the time he got hurt protecting Misaka. Misaka didn't like the fact he was getting hurt, but at the same time happy he was helping me. There was also the time the savior touched my chest…"

"Huh?" Frenda and Leivinia exclaimed.

"How did you get him to do that?" Lessar demanded.

"Misaka was measuring his vital signs Misaka explains. There was nothing sexual about the contact." No one believed that for a moment, especially when Imouto continued talking. "However, Misaka did not dislike the touch and her own increase in vital signs interfered with the reading Misaka admits."

"So that only leaves one candidate we might be able to agree on," Leivinia stated, her eyes darting to Ruiko. She noticed Touma had disappeared into the bathroom, but that wasn't an issue for her. The door was only made of cheap wood. "She seems like a harmless puppy. What do you think?"

"She won't get the nerve to try anything," Lessar admitted. "She's too pure to take the next step. Almost as pure as Frenda here." She laughed and Frenda's face turned red.

"I could take the next step if I wanted to," Frenda snapped. "But he has to earn that right."

"Sure," Lessar laughed again.

"By next step, what do you mean? Misaka questions. Misaka only knows that if one obtains a ring from a male, that means they are the victor. Is that the next step?"

"Who have you been talking to?" Frenda asked incredulously.

"You seem to be about five steps ahead," Lessar corrected. "Props for planning that far, but there's no way you can beat me."

"You really have no common sense," Leivinia muttered. "It's best I not allow you to bunk with him. You might do something stupid without realizing it."

"I guess we have to let Saten do it then," Lessar sighed. "Unless one of you wants to sleep on a chair or floor." No one volunteered.

"Have you ladies decided yet?" Oriana called over to them. Ruiko was standing stifling next to her. Whatever Oriana had said to her while they were talking, it definitely was embarrassing. Ruiko's face was glowing and she couldn't look anyone in the eyes.

"We regretfully decided that girl there is the one," Leivinia replied bitterly and pointed to Ruiko. The look on Leivinia's face said she wished the other girls a slow painful death and that if Ruiko tried anything, she would regret it.

"Oh?" Oriana asked surprised and raised an eyebrow. "That was unexpected."

"Me!?" Ruiko asked flabbergasted and pointed to herself. "What…! How…?" This was the last thing she expected and had no idea why they would choose her. It never crossed her mind she would be the one. _How could it be me? There's no way I could sleep in the same bed. Not that I would mind… How is this the most important topic of discussion when Adam is attacking Australia?_

"She's the only one all of us could agree wouldn't try anything with Lover Boy," Lessar explained.

"Misaka would like the record to show she would not have tried anything but would have been happy Misaka interjects." She sighed at the thought of not being able to share the same bed. _Misaka missed her chance Misaka thinks disappointedly._

"Basically," Frenda said with her arms crossed. "It was better than the alternatives." Her eyes darted to Lessar. "He won't be assaulted while he tries to sleep."

"He wouldn't have been assaulted," Lessar said with a pout. "It would have been a pleasant surprise than completely consensual."

"Misaka has a feeling the savior would not consent to whatever you were planning Misaka states suspiciously." She looked at Lessar and Lessar grinned back at her.

"I can understand you reasoning," Oriana said with a nod and then grinned. "Don't worry. I'm sure this young lady here wouldn't try anything." Ruiko smiled, embarrassed, and fidgeted while looking at the ground. "Besides, I will take it upon myself to teach him everything he needs to know about the female body. After everything we are bound to experience tomorrow, he should have one night in pure comfort." She smiled, while everyone else's jaw dropped, and she took her left arm, crossed it under her chest, and leaned forward slightly to emphasize her assets. "I'm sure he will be happy with my tutelage."

"There's no way anyone would be happy with those useless blobs of fat!" Leivinia snapped angrily. _That bitch is mocking me. She doesn't understand who she is dealing with. When this is over, she's going to pay for every insult._

"I'm still growing," Lessar said proudly. "While yours are past their prime. They are going to start sagging any day now."

"Misaka does not understand the attraction to large chests, Misaka says confused. They seem to make running difficult and provide unneeded balance and back problems." (Does Misaka 13577 have the information Misaka 10032 requested. Misaka would like to add if large chests are prominent with the definition of porn.)

(Yes and no, Misaka 13577 answers regretfully. Misaka has searched for examples of porn on the internet at Misaka 10032's request Misaka informs. However, there is a problem. All sites require Misaka to be 18 years old or older. Misaka is technically only 1 year old and therefore may not view porn.)

(Even if we are clones, Misaka 18080 adds. Onee-sama has just recently turned 15 so that loophole is also not available to us.)

(So Misaka looked up the definition, Misaka 13577 continues. Porn appears to be individuals engaged in sexual intercourse on video, usually for monetary compensation.)

(People engage in sexual intercourse on camera? For money? Misaka inquires, dumbfounded, and to make sure she heard correctly. Misaka will have to check with the one called Lessar to make sure.)

"Jealousy is not attractive and causes wrinkles," Oriana laughed. "It's how I keep such smooth skin." She put her other arm around Ruiko. "I'm sure she will keep us honest though."

"I don't think…" Ruiko whispered but Oriana interrupted her.

"I'm just playing," she whispered back. "Sorry, you all are so fun to tease."

"I wish my chest would stop growing," Frenda complained. "I have to keep buying new bras and, basically, there are a lot of other things I would like to buy over them." A vein throbbed in Leivinia's head as her arm discreetly covered her chest.

"Hey Lover Boy," Lessar called out and she pounded on the door to the bathroom. "I told you not to hide in the bathroom tonight. You have five seconds to get out. One… two… three…" She paused when she heard the sound of the toilet flushing and then the sound of running water from the sink. A minute later the door opened and Touma appeared.

"What did you need Lessar?" he sighed. Touma had given up on trying to hide. The doors were weak and would not hold up against the determined girls. _I have resigned myself to the inevitable. Maybe they won't try anything._ "I had to use the bathroom."

"Oh," Lessar said softly, taken aback. _I was expecting him to hide. Did he finally accept my advances?_

"I hope you didn't stink up the bathroom," Frenda told him. "That's something Hamazura would do and I don't want to sleep with disgusting smells coming out of there."

"Misaka would like to remind everyone the plan was to go to sleep soon since we have to wake up early, Misaka reminds everyone." Everyone turned to Imouto for a brief second before nodding. With all the important conversations and debates going on, they had forgotten why they had them in the first place.

"Excellent point," Oriana agreed and plopped down on the side of one of the beds. "Lights out in five, so you all need to get some sleep."

"Yes mom," Lessar grumbled with a roll of her eyes, before she jumped on the second bed.

"Speaking of which," Touma muttered to Ruiko. "How did sleeping arrangements get decided?"

"It's going to be you, onee-san, and…," Ruiko's voice went soft, "me." Her face went red and she looked away from him. It was incredibly embarrassing to say that out loud. _Why did he ask me?_ Her heart started beating faster while she waited for his response.

"Oh," Touma said and he looked away from her too. He was embarrassed, but, in his mind, he was actually glad. _Ruiko's not the type to try anything at night. All I have to do is worry about Lessar trying to sneak into the bed in the middle of the night. Though, with everyone else here, it will be tough for her._ "Should we get going then? I'm not really a morning person so I should get as much sleep as I can."

"I'm not either," Ruiko admitted. Kazari always had to drag her out of bed in the morning before school, otherwise Ruiko would just hit the snooze button forever. She watched Touma hesitantly move toward the bed and lay down next to Oriana, careful to keep some distance, but close enough to give Ruiko room. Ruiko laid down next to them and someone turned off the lights. A little light shone into the room from a street lamp outside of the window, but it was now definitely dark in the room. Ruiko glanced over at Touma, who was on his back and stared up at the ceiling. Her heart was pounding madly and she wanted to say something, but no words would come out of her mouth. She kind of wanted this, but was unable to act. She heard the other girls whispering from the other bed, but she couldn't make out their words, and then she heard Oriana.

"You don't need to act so awkward," Oriana whispered to Touma. Ruiko saw her turn onto her side, wrapped her arm around Touma, and pull him close to her. "Let your onee-san make you comfortable."

"Ah!" Touma cried, but tried to keep his voice down as his body got pressed against Oriana's bountiful pillows. "What are you doing?" Ruiko turned her head ever so slightly, so she could watch out of the corner of her eye, while she tried to get the courage to help out.

"Don't talk so loud," Oriana whispered into his ear. He felt a slight shiver run down his spine. "You don't want to disturb the others." Her voice was so soft, even Ruiko had a hard time hearing it. "I wanted to tell you something privately."

"What is it?" Touma muttered back and Ruiko held her breath in anticipation.

"Thanks."

"Huh?" To Ruiko, he sounded just as confused as she felt.

"When we last met," Oriana explained. "I was doing something I wasn't completely proud of. I'm glad you stopped me."

"I had to," Touma admitted and turned his head slightly so he could see her face. He was on his side with her hugging him from behind. Her eyes were open and she looked at him seriously. "But I am surprised the Anglican Church is allowing you to transport us after working for the Roman Catholic Church."

"Just so you know, onee-san is a magical courier," Oriana informed him. "I haven't sworn loyalty to any specific organization, so I'm free to work with or fight against whoever I want. So, as long as you make sure to pay me, I'd even be willing to work up a sweat for you."

"There would be no need for that," Touma replied swiftly, his body stiffening in more ways than one. She blew into his ear again and Touma shivered. She was way more experienced than he was and there was nothing he could do against her teasing. "But I hope you are more selective in who you work for in the future."

"I plan to only work with people I agree with," Oriana told him, and pulled him closer. "Though, if you ever need anything transported, make sure to call me first. I promise you the friends and family discount."

"Err, thanks," Touma replied awkwardly. He noticed Oriana still didn't let him go and he fidgeted to try to slip out of her embrace, but nothing worked. He might have been subconsciously enjoying it and not trying as hard as he could have or he was trying to avoid drawing attention to himself. Ruiko felt the bed move, as he struggled, and then stopped when Touma gave up trying to escape. She turned her head to look at him and she caught his eye. "Sorry about this," he mumbled, embarrassed. "I didn't expect you and Frenda to get involved in this. If I had known what was happening, I would have tried harder to get the plane to stop."

"It's not your fault," Ruiko whispered. "We followed you and snuck onto the plane before it took off." She looked over at the other bed. "Lessar and Misaka's Imouto seem to be talking seriously."

"That's not good," Touma groaned. "We should never leave Lessar alone with anyone susceptible to her words." Ruiko let out an involuntary giggle, because she knew how bold and direct Lessar was. Imouto was nice, but was lacking a little in common sense, so any knowledge Lessar gave her could be dangerous.

 _It seems like whenever I hang out with Touma, these kinds of things happen. There was the museum, England, and now this. I know it's not his fault, but no wonder he didn't respond to anyone's request to be together. He must be afraid people are going to keep getting roped into these situations. My ability has developed a lot the last few weeks, I went from 0 to 2, but it's not enough to be able to stand against people like Eve or Adam. I… need strength, not only for myself, but to protect my friends._ She felt determination well up within her for a moment, before she started to doze off. It had been an exciting day and she was exhausted. She wouldn't have dreamed of being able to fall asleep so easily while sharing a bed with a guy, but Touma always made her feel safe. She knew he would look out for her.

* * *

 _How did it end up like this?_ Touma thought again, back in the present. While he was asleep, a number of things had happened, which prevented him from escaping his current predicament. He learned something knew about Oriana last night. She was a clinger. Oriana never let go of him all night. It was as if he was a stuffed animal for a little kid. It made it extremely difficult for him to get any sleep. He had least manage to roll on his back to be more comfortable. After Ruiko had finally fallen asleep, she rolled over on his left arm, pinning it under her. He had lost all feeling in it over the night and couldn't move it. Finally, his eyes darted down to the girl lying on top of him and three other girls scattered among the lower half of the bed. He wasn't sure when they got there, but it must have been during the few brief moments of sleep he managed to get last night.

Leivinia must have been first, because she was the one lying on top of him, sleeping peacefully, but gripping tightly to his shirt. Lessar had somehow slipped under the sheets, because there was a lump under them and her dragon tail accessory sticking out. He could feel her tight grip on his leg but, luckily, she didn't seem to be trying anything. Imouto was sleeping next to the Lessar lump, on top of the sheets, and was resting her head on his other leg. Frenda was the last one to sneak in and Touma actually saw her, but he couldn't make a sound because of the threat the others posed. Frenda slipped in between him and Ruiko on the bottom half of the bed and curled up into a ball. _Someone please say I only got hit by the Mark of Sloth again and this is a dream. If they wake up, they are sure to fight again._ His eyes darted to the alarm clock, which read 5:59 am. Then the clock betrayed him.

The piercing sound of the alarm Oriana set broke the silence and the last few seconds of peace Touma had.

"Well, time to get up," Oriana yawned. Her eyes had snapped open after the first beep and she finally let go of Touma. She stood up next to the bed and stretched. "I haven't slept that well in ages. It must have been because of a nice pillow." She winked at Touma, who turned red.

"Why is it so early?" Ruiko moaned, opening one eye groggily. She saw Touma's face closer to hers than she remembered from last night. "Ahh!" She rolled away from him and fell off the bed with a thud. She forgot how close she was to the edge. "Ouch," she cried, rubbing her head. "Well, I'm up."

"Why is everyone so loud in the morning?" Leivinia complained and used her arms to prop herself up off Touma.

"I think we have a bigger question," Frenda pointed out. She was used to having to be fully alert when an alarm went off. She had sat up on the edge of the bed almost immediately, but when she turned around her jaw had dropped. "Why are you on top of Kamijou?!"

"The mattresses were lumpy," Leivinia stated simply. "So I had my property take its place. I slept much better that way. Besides," she pointed to the lump that was Lessar, "she's in a more precarious position than I am." The Lessar lump moved and she stuck her head out of the sheets.

"Eh?" Frenda exclaimed and Ruiko stood up quickly.

"I think it's rather comfortable down here," Lessar told them with a huge grin on her face. "He's probably uncomfortable though, with morning wood and all."

"Misaka does not believe he brought any wood with him or managed to obtain some during the night Misaka points out sleepily. Misaka would also like to mention she does not like to get up this early Misaka adds."

"Not literal wood," Lessar sighed exasperatedly. "I meant…"

"We should get going!" Touma interrupted, loudly and clearly. He couldn't get up with Leivinia on top of him, but he used his foot to push Lessar off the bed to stop her talking. She fell off along with the blankets and became tangled in a ball. "Can you please get off me Birdway?" She looked at him for a moment, shrugged, and rolled off him. She jumped lightly off the bed and smoothed her dress down. "Thomson-san…"

"Onee-san."

"… yea," Touma amended. "What all do we have to do today before we leave?"

"This is your last chance to enjoy the basic city utilities," Oriana told them all with a grin. "So if you want a shower, now's the time. The hotel has a free continental breakfast we can enjoy and then we need to leave and purchase you all some new clothes. We are going to be traveling into the Tanami desert, so your city clothes will not cut it. Once we get your clothes, we have to catch a flight to Lajamanu and head out to base camp from there."

"Couldn't we have just flown straight there to save time?" Frenda asked. _This seems like a waste of time to me._

"Lajamanu is a very small town," Oriana explained. "There's like, what, 100 or so buildings, with most of them being houses. The reason we couldn't land you there directly with Academy City's planes is because they don't have an airport. They have a small landing strip for small planes. The towns out there are so isolated that if someone has cancer or a serious illness, they need to get flown to a city with a hospital."

"Why not just perform an air drop? Misaka asks. That would save a lot of time while not requiring the aircraft to land."

"We considered that," Oriana confirmed. "But the last scout plane that flew anywhere near the desert center was blown away by an unknown force. There was nothing left of it. We decided to go the slightly longer way to avoid detection. A small plane heading toward an outlying town should not draw attention."

"Oh my," Ruiko muttered. _Was anyone hurt on the plane or was it remote controlled? I wish I could tell everyone back home what was going on, but I know we have to stay undercover._ She wondered what Kazari was going to tell Mikoto and Kuroko what she was up to if they asked.

"I'm fine with your strategy," Leivinia said, in a tone implying it was her call if they would follow it or not. "Now, I'm going into the bathroom first, before you all soil it." Before any of them could react, she walked into the bathroom and locked the door behind her.

"To save time Lover Boy and I could go together," Lessar offered.

"No!" Touma, Frenda, and Ruiko answered immediately.

"Misaka believes that would result in the savior being mentally scared Misaka points out. Misaka also does not want you to."

"Sparky Junior has jokes now," Lessar laughed.

"Misaka is prepared to shock you with enough volts to render you incapable of moving Misaka warns." Imouto started sparking slightly and Touma immediately saw the resemblance with Mikoto. He took a step over to her and placed his right hand on her shoulder, which caused the electricity to disappear. She looked at him and tilted her head slightly.

"Lessar only calls you Sparky Junior because she thinks it's funny," Touma whispered to her. "She's not one to change her mind easily, so rising to her taunts won't work. Don't let the nickname bother you and she will tire out eventually. She's really just trying to be friendly."

"If you request it Misaka will try Misaka replies hesitantly but determined to follow your advice."

"Thanks."

"She really is Misaka-san's sister," Ruiko whispered to Touma and he grinned.

The rest of the time at the hotel went by normally enough. Touma was the last one to use the bathroom and he made sure the lock was securely in place when he took a quick shower. They even managed to get through breakfast without causing a scene. However, when they were getting ready to leave, a guy walked up and smacked Touma on the back while whispering, "good job." Touma had no idea why he did it, but that guy had been in the room next door and had seen Touma leave with all the girls. Oriana slipped in a couple small boxes under the seats of the jeep, before everyone loaded up, and they headed to a clothing store. They had a lot of selections, but Oriana was actually stern in what they could choose. They couldn't take a lot with them, so she made sure to reiterate, mainly to Leivinia and Lessar, not to go overboard on shopping. Frenda looked disappointed, but everyone else agreed.

The most important clothes for them to have were long pants, long sleeve shirts, boots, and hats. They needed to be protected, not only from the sun, but also from animals and plants. Leivinia wanted to go to several shops, but their time was limited. They managed to find boots for everyone quick enough and then a pair of durable jeans. What confused Touma was Frenda decided to wear a skirt over her pants. When he asked her why, she said it was easier to hide things under a skirt than in pants. He looked at her and then thought a new fashion statement might originate in Australia. Several people staring at her odd choice in clothing only solidified that.

The shirts took a little longer to sort out. Ruiko selected a long sleeve plaid shirt in white, blue and red stripes. It was a little loose, so it could breathe, and she rolled up the sleeves to keep cool. Unlike Oriana, she could button it all the way. Frenda finally settled on a solid blue long sleeve shirt that went well with her white skirt. Both she and Ruiko had the jeans fit their legs well, something Touma kept glancing at. Imouto choose a tan shirt similar to her school uniform because she was more comfortable in that color. Leivinia choose a light white shirt and wore it under a tan long sleeve shirt, which she didn't button the front. She also found a pair of sunglasses to wear. Lessar finally returned with a purple and white shirt.

"They didn't have a lot of choices," Lessar sighed. "But I suppose this is better than nothing. Well, maybe not, it depends what Lover Boy likes."

"He seems to be trying to finish selecting his clothes, Misaka informs." Imouto pointed to the men's clothing section and the girls turned to see Touma walking out of the dressing room with a long sleeve, olive green, Kakadu shirt.

"I suppose we are done here," Leivinia said, flipping her hair back before grabbing a hat off a nearby rack. "I am not looking forward to the desert climate. It's bad for the skin."

"Then let's kick that guys' ass quickly," Frenda told them. "Basically, let's not spend any more time that we have to out there."

"Then afterwards we can all celebrate with him," Lessar laughed, jabbing her thumb at Touma. All the girls turned their eyes to him and a burst of dark auras surrounded most of them. Oriana had walked up to Touma and tossed him a hat. She said something while laughing when he put it on and Touma looked away, obviously embarrassed. Ruiko was the only one who wasn't emitting an aura. She may have been jealous, but she wasn't the type to actually wish harm on others.

 _Were his friends right about him liking onee-san types? She seems to really appreciate his help. There's so much Touma has done I know nothing about. After we handle everything here, I wonder if I can ask him about it._

* * *

"Are we really flying out in that?" Leivinia asked in disgust after they arrived at the airport.

"And here I thought we were going to take first class all the way," Frenda added annoyed and she kicked the ground.

"Misaka would also like to add her doubts of this plane's ability to fulfill its obligation, Misaka concurs with doubt in her voice."

"You kids expect everything to be shiny and new living in Academy City," Oriana reprimanded and rolled her eyes. "The outside world doesn't always have that luxury. You should be aware of that." Her eyes darted to Leivinia. "Not everyone has their own private plane."

"They should work harder for one then," Leivinia huffed back.

"It's a little small," Lessar admitted. "But that will just make it cozy." She jumped on Touma's back and wrapped her arms around his neck. "We can get intimate in such tight quarters."

"I don't know who you are including in 'we' with your imagination," Touma said and shook her off him. His eyes darted to the plane they had approached. When they entered the airport, instead of taking the main entrance, they entered around back. The magic side must have had some influence, because no one questioned them being there. There were only a handful of passenger windows, which showed the plane was probably not designed to carry move than twenty or so passengers. It wasn't as bad as the others made it out to be, but it wasn't in a league anywhere near Academy City's supersonic passenger plane. "If she thinks it will get us there, I believe her." Oriana beamed at him.

"Take her side," Frenda sniffed. She wasn't really mad at him, but she suddenly felt irritated when he complimented her.

"What?" Touma asked confused at her attitude.

"Don't worry about it," Leivinia told him. "Your brain capacity wouldn't be able to understand it. Just do what you're told like usual." This time it was Touma's turn to feel a slight twinge of irritation.

"Hey," Oriana waved to him. "Help me load these boxes so we can leave."

"Sure," Touma replied, glad for an excuse to get away, and hurried over to her. It was still early, but the temperature was rising quickly and he was already sweating.

"I'll help too," Ruiko said quickly and rushed after him. Oriana picked up a box, Touma picked up two, and Ruiko was left with the last one. As she picked it up, she turned to Oriana. "What's in these boxes?"

"Food, water, some first aid supplies," Oriana told her. "We can't be sure if the water and food near the towns have been tampered with, so I brought extra. You kids probably are not use to Australian heat, so make sure to drink a lot or you will get heat stroke."

"Sounds like you have thought of everything," Touma said impressed. "But if the food and water near the towns are tampered with, what's happening to the civilians living there?"

"The Australian government has been air dropping supplies to the most affected areas," Oriana explained. "But some areas may not get enough aid, so it's important we stop Adam soon." Touma and Ruiko nodded in agreement. They loaded the boxes into the back of the plane and everyone else started to board. When everyone was seated, Oriana had a quick word with the pilot before she sat down in the seat in front of Touma. Leivinia managed to slip into the seat next to him for some reason, leaving Frenda and Ruiko together behind him, and Imouto and Lessar behind them. Touma was worried about Imouto's exposure with Lessar, but there wasn't a lot he could do about it in his current position. "The flight will last a couple hours. The pilot is on our side so we can discuss anything freely if you want to discuss something."

"I was hoping you could tell us more of this plague magic is using," Frenda called out to her.

"That's a good topic," Oriana agreed. "The plagues of Egypt are a pretty common religious tale which originated in Christianity…" They spent a good portion of the flight discussing Adam's magic and what they were going to do once they landed. Touma wanted to sleep, since he didn't get much sleep last night, but the plane would occasionally shudder, jolting his head if he wasn't careful. He also needed to learn as much about Adam as possible, not only for the success of the mission, but to make sure his friends were safe.

 _Looks like another day with no sleep._

* * *

Accelerator was not happy.

Earlier that morning in the classroom, Motoharu and Pierce decided to show off some documentary they filmed and they told him he should watch it. His first mistake was letting his curiosity get the better of him. It started off innocently enough, with Motoharu making fun of Touma's harem. Accelerator had scowled when it arrived to a part with him surrounded by several girls, but nothing to bad happened. It was mostly introductions, Worst being a brat, and Saiai wanting attention. The worst part of it was Motoharu's comments. _At least Kagere got some too._ He had glanced over at Jason when it got to the point when a drunk Kazari pushed her way onto Jason lap to kiss him. Jason's mouth had fallen open and he looked shocked. _So that girl of his actually has a backbone, or was that just the alcohol?_

The documentary turned back to Touma for a little bit, before going back to Accelerator and Jason. At this point, everyone was completely smashed. The class was laughing and falling out of their chairs. The girls around Accelerator in the video were saying the stupidest things he had ever heard. Accelerator gritted his teeth when he saw the markings Worst had drawn on his face, the humiliation now fresh in his mind. Many of his classmates looked at him, but a quick glare made them turn back to the video. He glanced at Jason, who had a weird combination of amusement and disbelief on his face when Kuroko and Kazari talked a little before falling asleep. _It was obvious the teleporter girl liked him, but now he knows. Heh, I kind of want to see what he does with the information._

A few moments later, the class exploded with laughter and then shouts of death threats against Touma on his return reverberated through the room.

Accelerator couldn't help laughing with a good portion of the class. To him, seeing the level 5s, magicians, and a few other girls in random outfits, trying to get Touma's attention, was hilarious. Motoharu's comments just made it funnier. As the girls were beginning to fall asleep around Touma, the class was still going crazy, the door to the classroom opened and Komoe walked in. She looked surprised to see them all so early and then her face turned to a combination of shock and horror when she saw the TV. She fainted a moment after, which only added to Accelerator's amusement. When the documentary ended, Accelerator was conflicted. _I was a little entertained, but I feel I have to kill those two for embarrassing me._ It turned out he didn't have to do anything.

Seiri took over.

While Motoharu and Pierce were being mercilessly beaten for their shenanigans, a couple other of Accelerator's classmates hurried over to Komoe's side and woke her up. When she finally regained consciousness, the TV was put away and the class told her what they decided on as their classroom's booth. Komoe was fine with their idea, since the class was unanimous, and wished them luck. The bell rang around a minute later and she started class. Accelerator looked at the beaten remains of his two idiot friends and decided he didn't need to get up and do anything. He changed his mind before lunch. The entire morning he kept being asked about the girls from the video and no matter how much he threatened, glared, or flicked them off, his classmates wouldn't stop asking. He eventually got so annoyed from their questions, he did the only thing that made sense.

He cut class during lunch.

It wasn't like he had any real reason to be there in the first place. The classes were a joke to him and there was nothing for him to learn there. He could study more advanced material on his own. He already knew Touma wasn't going to be there, because Last Order mentioned he was heading to Australia with one of the sisters, Ruiko, Frenda, Lessar, and a girl named Leivinia Birdway. Worst kept laughing about something, but he had ignored her. Accelerator knew the trip had to involve the magic side, but he wasn't about to leave unless Touma asked for help. With him gone, Eve would have one less obstacle, so Accelerator was ready for her to make a move any day now. He started to debate where to go now that he was cutting school.

 _It's the middle of the day, so the freeloader would normally be there. Yomikawa is teaching and she's going to be upset when she finds out I'm skipping. Last Order should be at the school, having private lessons in the office like normal. That only leaves Worst. There's a fifty-fifty chance she will be home doing nothing or out making trouble for others. If she's not there and the freeloader actually told the truth about looking for a job, the apartment could be empty. A couple hours of uninterrupted peace and quiet would be great. I also might as well stop and pick up some coffee while I'm near the store._ His day just got worse.

He found out from one of the workers his particular brand of coffee had been discontinued.

 _Damn it,_ Accelerator fumed to himself. He was pissed. Not only was his class bothering him about some stupid drunk antics, which was mostly centered on Touma, but now the one coffee he actually liked was gone. _I swear when the hero gets back, I'm taking my frustration out on him, along with those two bastards for showing that video._ Jason was free from his wrath because he got a little embarrassment too. Accelerator turned his attention from thoughts of revenge to the rows of canned coffee in front of him. _I have to find a new brand now, fuck._ He bought an assorted amount of coffee he hadn't tried before, paid, and left the store. He planned on heading back to the apartment and, if anyone was there, immediately leave and find something else to do. He was walking home, two heavy bags in his hand, which he saw something that made him stop.

 _It can't be,_ Accelerator thought incredulously to himself, but there was no mistaking the familiar individual. A single girl was sitting on the bench, surrounded by a group of guys, the normal trash that played hooky from school. The girl was around eighteen with silver hair. She wore a white long-sleeved sports shirt with the collar undone, and her cleavage was slightly visible. The portion of her legs sticking out of the blue and red miniskirt had blue leggings on them down to the ankles. Hearing-aid like devices were behind her ears with two vacuum tube-like objects sticking from each one. She wore an expression of distaste from the guys around her, who were too stupid to notice. Accelerator recognized her clearly because he had just seen her from the video this morning.

It was Bayloupe.

 _What the hell is she doing here?_ Accelerator thought to himself. The last time he heard from her was she was still in England with the rest of New Light. They occasionally messaged each other, but neither of them had contacted each other for almost a week. They mostly talked about the annoying brats they were forced to babysit, but with Lessar in Academy City, she didn't have as many problems. It had been pretty casual until contact stopped. _Heh, that trash doesn't know who they are dealing with. She may not be in my league, but she's no pushover._ He was about to go on his way, when he decided to turn toward her instead. _Eh, maybe I'll be nice and at least find out why she's here. If it has something to do with Eve, which it probably does, I might have use for her._ "Hey," he called out gruffly, as he approached. "What are you doing here?"

"Huh?" The guys asked and turned toward Accelerator. Bayloupe turned her head slightly too, but her eyes widened in recognition.

"Move it bud," one of the guys snapped at Accelerator. He must have been the leader because he was one of the biggest. "We saw her first and were having a nice chat."

"You mean you were stinking up the air with your breath," Bayloupe corrected him. The guy scowled, but everyone else laughed.

"Shut up," the guy growled at his group and they stopped laughing instantly. "If you don't want to get your ass handed to you, I suggest you turn around and leave."

"I thought you were still in England," Accelerator said to Bayloupe. They were completely ignoring the thug boss. "What are you doing here?" he asked again.

"Trying to decide how much damage to apply to these losers to get them to leave," Bayloupe told him curtly.

"Usually a broken arm or two is enough," Accelerator told her. "They usually flee after a couple of them fall."

"Sounds simple enough," she replied and stood up. Neither of them were paying the leader of the group the slightest bit of attention and his face was growing redder by the second.

"You bastard!" he yelled and swung a fist at Accelerator.

This was a mistake.

"Be gone," Accelerator mumbled and reached out a hand. The guy was thrown back easily thirty meters. He landed on the ground with a loud thud and laid there unconscious. "I suggest the rest of you take him and go before I get annoyed." All the other guys took a step back, before one of them recognized him.

"Holy shit," he said, while his trembling hand pointed at Accelerator. "T-that's Accelerator. I'm out of here." He turned and started running. "I didn't know that was his girl."

"Oh crap."

"No wonder the boss was defeated so easily." Standing before such an overwhelming opponent, the thugs had no choice but to flee. Two of them stopped only long enough to pick up their leader, but kept running until they were all out of sight.

"Heh," Accelerator smirked and turned back to Bayloupe. "So enjoying the sights while you are here? Lessar left with the hero last night and flew to Australia."

"You know about that?" Bayloupe asked incredulously. "How…? Never mind, I suppose that saves time. With Lessar and the Imagine Breaker gone, the magic defenses of the city are going to be weaker. We know Eve is here, so the church asked us to help support until they return. I'm not a big fan of fighting well away from England, but if she succeeds, even our home will be in trouble."

"I suppose that's true," Accelerator agreed. "I take it the other two are with you, that girl, Floral and the other one you mentioned once."

"Floris," she corrected him. "She won't be happy you still don't know her name. The other girl is named Lancis. We have stationed ourselves around the city, but can't find any signs of Eve or her group."

"She is skilled in concealing her presence," Accelerator told her. "We won't be able to find her unless she purposely reveals herself."

"We've been trying detection magical all day, but not getting any luck either." She sighed. "We know what she wants, but not how she plans to get it."

"From what the hero told us, she's after a girl, but…" Accelerator stopped, unsure of how to explain Hyouka to her. "She's been unable to capture her due to her unique ability at disappearing."

"Can you contact her?" Bayloupe asked and Accelerator shook his head. "Ah well, then I guess it becomes a waiting game. At least Lessar isn't here to annoy me, but her battle prowess would be useful if Eve makes a move." Her eyes darted to Accelerator. "Isn't today a school day?" she asked. "What are you doing out?"

"I'm skipping," Accelerator told her with a shrug. "It's not like there's anything to learn right now and there are too many idiots there today."

"Sure," Bayloupe said with a smirk. "It looks like someone's becoming a delinquent."

"Whatever," he replied and rolled his eyes.

"What's with all the coffee cans?" She peered into his bags.

"The bastards decided to discontinue my favorite brand," Accelerator growled, not so much at her, but to vent his frustration. "Now I have to find a new brand I can stomach. I haven't tried these yet, so hopefully there's something drinkable."

"I can understand that," Bayloupe acknowledged. "I hate it when a company gets rid of something I like." She looked down at the bags. "Do you want help carrying them?"

"Huh?"

"I figured it was tough with the crutch," Bayloupe elaborated quickly. "Why do you need that anyways? You didn't need it when facing me. Anyways, think of it as thanks for actually helping." She waved a hand to the surrounding area. "What's wrong with most of the people here? They just ignored an attractive girl like myself who was being bothered by a bunch of losers."

"If you were really in danger," Accelerator sighed. "The cleaning robots would have sent out an alarm. As for this crutch, I made a mistake and let down my guard. When I'm not using my powers, I need it." He glared at her, as if expecting her to make fun of him. When she didn't he continued. "I suppose you can carry one if you want." _Carrying both really is a pain._ "My apartment's close by." He picked up one of the bags and Bayloupe picked up the other. They didn't talk much, Accelerator preferred the silence, but he was surprised at something she did. She actually offered to help him without any sarcasm or ulterior motives, at least none he could detect. He wasn't use to people being nice to him. Most were scared of or wanted to fight him. "This is it," Accelerator said when they arrived. He unlocked the door and stepped in.

"Nice place," Bayloupe said.

"You don't have to pretend it's fancy," Accelerator sighed and put his bag on the kitchen table. To his relief, the house appeared to be empty.

"I wasn't lying," she told him truthfully and she also set the bag on the table. "I've been in better yes, but this is a palace compared to sleeping in a cramped car when on a mission."

"Huh," Accelerator said and glanced back at her. "I suppose you have a point. I'm just use to a lot of sarcasm." He walked over to the fridge, opened it, and started to forage around.

"I suppose I'll get out of you way then," Bayloupe said slowly, about to turn around.

"Have you eaten yet?" Accelerator asked. He either ignored her words or didn't hear them.

"No, why?"

"I'm making myself lunch and I can make you something too while I'm at it," Accelerator said, as he pulled out some vegetables and meat. He pulled out some rice and started to load the rice cooker.

"You can cook?" Bayloupe asked incredulously.

"What's with that look?" he growled. "Of course I can cook. I can do anything. What makes you think I'm that useless?"

"It's just you don't normally see someone with battle prowess like yours who does things like household chores," she admitted. "They usually just eat out or have people do it for them."

"I use to do that," Accelerator answered, but did not look at her. Before he met Last Order, he would just buy premade meals or eat out. After he met her, he started learning how to cook to impress her. "But I decided I needed to take care of myself after the accident." There was another reason he didn't mention. He was used to eating with Last Order, Worst, Aiho, and Kikyou so much, it felt weird to eat alone. Bayloupe was one of the few people he actually didn't mind as company too.

"Do you need help?"

"I'm fine, go watch TV or something. You look exhausted."

"Heh," Bayloupe laughed slightly. "You noticed I was up all night scouting the city."

"You got dark circles under your eyes. It was pretty obvious." Accelerator started cutting vegetables.

"What?" Bayloupe turned toward a mirror and looked at herself. "Ah, I do. Crap."

"Worried about your looks?" Accelerator laughed.

"All members of New Light aim to be gorgeous girls," Bayloupe snapped at him. "I can't start developing wrinkles because of lack of sleep. Lessar would have a field day and she drives me insane already."

"You're fine," Accelerator said distractedly.

"Was… was that a compliment?" she asked in shock, but then smirked at him.

"Huh?" Accelerator asked, before he realized what he said. _Ah shit, what the hell was that?_ She laughed at his confused expression and he scowled. "I see the resemblance to Lessar now."

"Don't compare me to her!" This time it was Accelerator's turn to laugh. They bickered a little while longer while the food cooked and took the plates to the living room to eat while watching the news. There were no signs of anything unusual and Bayloupe took the opportunity to contact the others. "Floris, Lancis, any luck on your end…? Nothing here either, but I met Accelerator…. The white haired boy from England. Anyways, he suggested we won't find her until she decides to reveal herself. Go and get some rest… Contact me if anything happens." She put away her magical contact rune and sighed.

"I expect to be contacted if you find her," Accelerator told her out of the blue. "I have a grudge against her."

"What did she do?" Bayloupe asked interestedly.

"The shit she pulled Sunday is enough for several death sentences," Accelerator growled, but didn't elaborate.

"Okay," Bayloupe said and raised an eyebrow. "This sounds like a story I want to hear, but I think I'll ask about it much later. I promise I'll contact you, though I think we are supposed to limit science versus magic interaction."

"That ship has set sail a long time ago."

"True." They sat in silence, except for the sound of the television in the background. They kept glancing at each other, but neither caught the other person's eye. Accelerator felt weird, like he had eaten something bad. This was the first time he allowed a girl by herself into his apartment, besides the people who actually lived there, so this was a new experience for him. Before he could say anything, they heard the front door open and then slam shut. The female voice Accelerator heard cause the pit of his stomach to drop.

"Hah, his face was hilarious. Misaka can't stop laughing at how confused he was when all his merchandise kept changing shelves. He probably thought he was being haunted…" Worst walked into the room, saw Accelerator and Bayloupe sitting in the living room, and stopped talking in shock. A wide smile appeared on her face. "Misaka will call you back." Worst put away her phone.

 _Damn it,_ Accelerator thought.

"Hi," Bayloupe said and gave Worst a small wave. "If I remember right, your name is Worst, right?" Worst nodded.

"So," Worst said slowly, an evil tone permeating through her voice. She wasn't even trying to hide her intentions. "Tou-san skips out in the middle of school to bring a girl back to his apartment when everyone is out. How bold. Misaka wonders if he was going to take her into his room and go all the way."

"You're misunderstanding everything you damn brat," Accelerator spat out.

"Misaka thinks the control tower needs to learn of this," Worst added, clearly enjoying every moment of this. Accelerator's face went slightly pale.

"I'm going to…" Accelerator started to say furiously and stood up. Bayloupe was confused at why he looked so angry, when something happened that shocked her.

Accelerator's connection to the Misaka Network was suddenly cut off.

* * *

"Onee-sama!" Kuroko called out happily. She teleported next to Mikoto and gave her a hug from behind. Mikoto sighed and pushed her friend off of her.

"Hey Kuroko," Mikoto told her. She was use to Kuroko's antics every day after school, but that didn't mean she wouldn't prefer a little less hands on interactions.

"Why were you late?" Kuroko asked, a flicker of worry on her face. "You are normally out right when the bell rings."

"A couple of my classmates had some questions on a new subject we started," Mikoto explained. "I was helping them understand a couple of the more complex parts since the teacher had to leave right after class."

"That's my onee-sama for you," Kuroko replied and looked at her with admiration. "Always helping others, the perfect young lady." _As long as those other girls don't try to put their hands on her, there won't be a problem._ For some reason, she didn't feel the same type of jealousy she normally felt when other girls tried to get near Mikoto. It was more a twinge rather than a stake within her chest. She also didn't have the urge to feel Mikoto up as much. She still enjoyed skin to skin contact, but usually a hug was more than enough. "Are you free this afternoon?"

"I don't have any plans," Mikoto admitted and glanced at Kuroko's face. _She has seemed a little distracted recently and more distance. Something must be bothering her. Let's see, what will make her happy so I can find out?_ "You know, we haven't hung out, just the two of us, in a while. Why don't you decide something for us to do?" While some of Kuroko's antics annoyed her, she was still Mikoto's best friend.

"Really?" Kuroko asked, amazed. She normally followed Mikoto. "Anything?" There was a gleam in her eye, but she tried to hide it.

"You know the restrictions," Mikoto added quickly. She foresaw the problem and was determined to stop it immediately. "Don't push it."

"Anything is enjoyable if it's with you," Kuroko replied happily. "But I already have an idea. There's a new karaoke place that opened up recently. Several girls in my class mentioned it before. It was really busy this weekend, but it should be less crowded now. It's supposed to be high tech, have thousands of songs available, and even can judge your singing. I haven't heard you sing in forever, so want to go?"

"Sounds fun," Mikoto said, smiling, but was secretly sweating on the inside. _I can't let her find out I went there with Touma. I probably won't be recognized, but I definitely shouldn't draw attention to myself after the little accident last time._ "Lead the way."

"Yay," Kuroko cheered and grabbed her by the arm. She led them out of the school and to the main gate of the school gardens. Several girls looked at them as they passed, but this was a pretty common occurrence and everyone in Tokiwadai knew about them. Mikoto sighed slightly, a little uncomfortable with the attention, but was putting up with it for Kuroko's sake. When they reached the exit, Kuroko suddenly stopped and looked confused. A large group of girls were standing near the exit and appeared to be waiting for something. "Why aren't they going through the check point?" She frowned. _Those girls are interfering with my alone time with onee-sama._

"I don't know," Mikoto admitted. "They aren't even trying to go through." Some of the girls were looking around the corner, but they weren't leaving. "Let's find out." They approached and started to hear the girls whispering.

"It looks like he convinced security."

"Once he leaves, I want to see what he's hanging up."

"Careful, we don't want to act pushy."

"What's going on?" Kuroko asked. "If you are not going through, please move out of the way for others." There was a note of authority in her voice, which caused a lot of girls to start parting to let her through.

"Hello Shirai-san," one girl said. "Hello Misaka-san. Sorry for the delay, but a young gentleman was hanging outside of the entrance. It looked like he wanted to hang some signs up. One of the security officers went out to talk to him, but it appears they gave him permission. We are just waiting for him to leave before we go and see his notice. It would be rude to crowd him."

"It's not just anyone," another girl spoke up. "I recognized him from Anti-Crime game. It's one of Kami's friends."

"What?!" Kuroko and Mikoto asked in shock.

"Shirai-san," a girl in the back of the group called. "I think you should go out and meet him. I believe you know him." She and three other girls near her giggled. "I'm pretty sure he's the one who picked you up at the dorm that one time."

"Oh no," Kuroko said, her face showing stunned disbelief. She immediately teleported past the group of girls, to show her pass to the guard at the check point. Mikoto sighed, but couldn't stop a smile from forming on her face. She followed Kuroko, aware the other girls were beginning to follow her, but stayed back to not invade her personal space. They exited the school ground and met the person they both knew had to be there.

Jason was standing near the wall next to the school ground entrance and was pulling a large poster out of a bag.

"What are you doing here?" Kuroko demanded, as she teleported next to him. Mikoto stopped, aware the other girls were listening intently from behind her.

"Oh," Jason said, a look of surprise on his face. "Hey Kuroko, I didn't expect to see you here."

"He called her by her first name," a girl behind Mikoto squealed. "It has to be true."

"I know," another girl said. "She's so far ahead of us, but what else could you expect from Misaka-san's right hand girl." Mikoto felt her face flush, but she tried to ignore them.

"Sure," Kuroko continued, oblivious to the girls whispering behind Mikoto. Her attention was focused solely on Jason. "Whatever you are planning has to do with these posters," she pointed to the bag in his hand. "What is it? You wouldn't have gotten permission to hang it up here without reason."

"You caught me," Jason laughed and unrolled the poster so only Kuroko could see. "It's our class stall for the festival Saturday. Want to see?" Kuroko read the poster and her eyes went wide.

"You can't be serious?" she gasped, her tone shaking with suppressed anger. "The city would never approve of this."

"They already have," Jason told her, his voice gleeful. "Aogami and Tsuchimikado received all the approval for this. Any student can win this prize." He looked up and over at Mikoto. "Hi Misaka-san, you might be interested in this."

"I'm going to regret this," Mikoto mumbled under her breath, while the girls behind her started whispering again. "Hello Kagere-san. What is your class doing for the festival?" Jason passed her the poster and she got one more glimpse of Kuroko's face. It was the combination of shock and disbelief, but also an expression like she wanted to stop Mikoto from viewing the poster. Mikoto's eyes darted down to the poster in her hand and she gasped. _Win a day with Kami? He will even go with the winner to their school? How did they manage to get this approved?_ "If this is true, you thought it was a good idea to hang the posters here?"

"This was my assigned area," Jason told them, as he hung up another one of his posters on the wall. "We are putting these up all over the city. I'm glad I got permission, or someone…" his eyes darted to Kuroko, "… might have torn them down."

"I still might," Kuroko said to confirm his beliefs.

"But that would be rude to our guest Shirai-san," came a sweet voice laced with honey. All three of them turned and saw Misaki. She had snuck up on them while Mikoto was reading the poster. Her eyes darted down to it and her smile widened. "I heard there was a high school male loitering outside the school grounds. To my surprise, it was someone I knew." Mikoto glanced past Misaki and noticed a few of the Misaki's clique was waiting back with the other girls. "How are you Kagere-san?"

"I am doing well," Jason replied. "Thank you. Sorry for any trouble I may have caused, but I need to hang these up and get going."

"When did you two become so friendly?" Mikoto asked and turned her attention away from the other girls.

"Huh?" Jason asked, a look of confusion appeared on his face. "Here I thought I was always nice and friendly to everyone."

"When have you been nice and friendly to me?" Kuroko demanded.

"But you're _special_ ," Jason replied, emphasizing the word. "I can't treat you like the others."

"You…" Kuroko started to say, but stopped. Not only was she distracted by all the girls in the distance squealing, but something in her stomach dropped at his words. _I know what he means, but I can't help feeling like this._

"I'm actually on the fence about this," Misaki said softly. "I don't really want everyone to know about your raffle but, at the same time, it would be childish for me to have people tear them down." _Since we are fated to be together, there is no doubt I will win._

"But you wouldn't do it yourself," Mikoto pointed out and then turned back to Jason. "So are you just putting these posters up around the school ground?"

"That and…" Jason answered, before he rubbed the back of his head.

"Were… were you seriously thinking of sneaking into the school grounds?" Kuroko demanded. Jason only shrugged, but a smile appeared on his face. "Are you stupid? You would get into so much trouble."

"Nice of you to care, but I could probably escape with minimum punishment."

"I wasn't trying to be caring!"

"So I need to continue my mission," Jason interrupted, while he pretended to ignore Kuroko's complaints. "Unless one of you is willing to hang these up in there?"

"No," Kuroko said instantly. "Onee-sama and I have plans." Mikoto didn't say anything, but she didn't want to hang them up either. Not only would it be embarrassing, she wanted less people to know about it to make it easier for her to win.

"I'm afraid I can't either," Misaki added and put a hand on her cheek. The look in her eyes said she wasn't sorry at all. "I actually have plans too." _I won't directly sabotage Touma's classrooms stand, but I don't have to actively spread the information about it. Besides, I just need to buy enough for me to win. At only 500 yen a ticket, I could easily overwhelm everyone else._

"Dang," Jason said depressed, and rubbed the side of his head. "This is going to take too long." He glanced over at the other girls and an idea came to him. "I suppose I could try that," he muttered.

"Try what?" Kuroko demanded, but Jason turned and walked right past her.

"Excuse me ladies," Jason said as he approached the onlookers. Kuroko immediately noticed his tone and demeanor changed. He sounded kinder and more refined. She glanced at Mikoto and Misaki, both of who were watching with raised eyebrows.

 _So I'm not the only one who noticed._

"Yes?" one of the girls asked. She was around Mikoto's age with short black hair. She looked at him, slightly suspiciously, but the other girls were staring at him because he seemed to be friends of both of Tokiwadai's level 5s. Jason wasn't as legendary as Kami or Accelerator, but he was a prominent figure of the Tokiwadai High School invasion.

"I was hoping I could ask for your help," Jason said, his tone unchanging. He sounded older and more mature than when Kuroko and the others hung out with him. "You see, my class is participating in the festival this Saturday and we are holding a raffle." He unrolled one of the posters and most of the girls gasped. "The winner receives the company of the Level 5 Kami all day Monday. This has already been cleared with the city." The girls started to whisper excitedly among themselves.

"So what help do you need?" the black hair girl asked curiously.

"As a male," Jason explained. "I am forbidden from entering the school grounds, so I received permission to hang these posters around the entrances. However, it would be doing Kami a great disservice if we didn't try to reach as many people as possible. I was hoping someone might be willing to hang posters up in the school grounds around the schools. Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san are both busy and do not have the time. I also could never ask Kuroko to do it." Kuroko snorted back by Mikoto, but it was overshadowed by the girls whispering excitedly again.

"I don't know," the girl said and she looked around at the others.

"It's okay," another girl spoke up. "We will do it." A cluster of four girls moved to the front of the group and accepted the bag of posters.

"Thank you," Jason told them sincerely.

"It's no problem," she said, but the whispered. "Could you put in a good word for me with Kami?"

"Sure." She giggled and then she and her friends entered the school grounds to hang up the posters. Jason stretched and walked back over to Mikoto, Misaki, and Kuroko. "Well, that went easier than I thought. I was worried I wasn't going to be able to find someone willing."

"What was that about?" Kuroko demanded. "You didn't talk to them like you always talk to us."

"Oh," Jason shrugged. "That was my work mode. Did I change that much?" Kuroko nodded.

"I'm surprised at the prize for this raffle," Misaki commented, as she looked at the poster Jason hung up. "But with your friends, I think this was to be expected."

"Speaking of which," Mikoto interrupted. "How did you convince Touma to participate in this?"

"He hasn't exactly agreed to it," Jason laughed.

"What do you mean?" Misaki asked quickly. "Are you guys forcing him?"

"He didn't show up for school today," Jason elaborated. "When he returns, we plan to let him know. Though, I don't think he will get a say in this because of this morning's…" He got a curious look on his face as he reached into his school bag and pulled out two DVDs. "I shouldn't do this, because it actually is embarrassing me and Accelerator, not just Touma, but you two will need to see this." He gave one to Mikoto and Misaki. "I would only watch that in private. It's something Tsuchimikado put together from the trip to England." He looked at the ground. "I have one more for Mugino, but I don't want to die when she finds out what it is."

"I'll watch it later," promised Mikoto and put it in her school bag. "But that's not important. Why didn't Touma go to school?"

"He probably got roped into some life or death magic side event and is currently halfway across the world," Jason said with a laugh.

"Very funny," Misaki said with a scowl. "Is he sick?" Jason shrugged.

"Don't know. He just didn't come to class. I'm sure he's fine. I heard his attendance has always been sketchy and the rest of his class isn't worried. I'll let you know if he doesn't come back to class, but he would contact us if he really is in trouble."

 _He wouldn't normally,_ Mikoto thought. _But he promised he would._ She sighed. "I suppose you're right."

"I have to go," Jason told them, his shadow extended from his back into wings. "I have to meet with Kazari before her meeting as support. Have fun and good luck everyone." He jumped up onto a nearby building and glided off into the distance.

"Arg," Kuroko grumbled. "I can't believe his class came up with an idea like that. It's going to cause a riot if someone from our school actually wins."

"Don't worry Shirai-san," Misaki told her and put a hand reassuringly on her shoulder. "When I win, I'll make sure to keep everything organized."

"When you win?" Mikoto asked incredulously. "It's a raffle. You don't know if you will win."

"I simply have to buy enough tickets to guarantee my victory," Misaki pointed out.

"I won't let things go your way so easily," Mikoto challenged.

"I suppose I should wish you luck then," Misaki replied. _I'm going to win, regardless of what you do. My back up plan is coming along nicely. I only need to get a few more people in the city on my side and I can start planning discussions with the magic side individuals he knows. Hmm, I should probably get Saten-san on my side. She's not a threat, but has something Touma enjoys having around._

 _She gave up to easily,_ Mikoto thought and then felt Kuroko grab her wrist. _She better not be trying to do something to Touma._

"We should get going too onee-sama," Kuroko's said, her words cut into Mikoto's thoughts. _Onee-sama promised to spend the day with me. I can worry about what I felt from Jason later. I know why they did this raffle. The ape's friends plan to use rivalry to maximize profits. Bunch of jerks, all of them. How that ape is friends with them, I can't understand._

"Sure Kuroko," Mikoto said with a smile. "It will be fun to do something normal like karaoke."

* * *

"If we didn't arrive here on Academy City's jet," Frenda complained. "I would say that was the worst ride of my life."

"You still fell asleep," Ruiko pointed out.

"We had some down time," Frenda replied hastily. "Basically, you learn to sleep when you can, regardless of the place."

"I hate sitting cramped for so long if it's not with Lover Boy," Lessar said, while she stretched her arms out. "Even with the heat, it's nice to be out in the open."

"Misaka doesn't like the heat either Misaka complains." She pulled her hat down to cover her face better. "We just exited the plane and Misaka feels soaked already."

"I slept pretty well," Leivinia exclaimed and smiled broadly at Lessar.

"That's because you kept leaning on him," Lessar interjected and pointed into the distance at Touma. He was currently helping Oriana unload the supplies from the plane into the new vehicle which had been stationed at Lajamanu Airport. Though, it wasn't really an airport, there was a small radio station with an airstrip for small planes. It was obvious to all of them now why they took such a small airplane. "He was keeping your head stable so you could sleep. He didn't get any sleep because of that."

"It's only natural for a servant to make sure their master is comfortable," Leivinia laughed. "Maybe if you ask nicely, I'll lend him to you for a bit."

"He's not your servant!" Frenda protested. "If anything, he's Mugino's. He's also a newer member of her group, so I get to boss him around too."

"You can pretend all you want," Leivinia huffed. "But facts remain facts."

"Please," Lessar replied, grinning mischievously. "Like he wants to be owned by a flat girl. He's into large ones like mine." She leaned slightly to emphasize herself.

"Who would want to have blobs of useless fat?!" Leivinia snapped angrily.

"Besides," Frenda added. "You aren't that big either. Basically, yours are about the same size of mine." She puffed out her chest and a vein throbbed in Leivinia's head. This started an extended argument between the three about chest sizes and their usefulness. Ruiko sighed and turned to Imouto.

"Do you want to go and help Touma and onee-san?" she asked Imouto.

"Misaka thinks that will be a better use of our time Misaka agrees quickly." They started to head over to Oriana and Touma's location. "Misaka has a question Misaka says hesitantly. Does the hero really desire girls with a larger chest?"

"Err," Ruiko replied hesitantly. _How do I reply to that? His friends kept joking about that during England, but I don't think he's the kind of person to get hung up on looks like that._ He thoughts turned to how easily Oriana embraced him and how powerless Touma was to her teasing. _Maybe he is weak against them…_ "I'm sure he doesn't care about that."

"Misaka thinks so too Misaka concurs. The savior wouldn't care about physical aspects over the individual. Those other girls should realize this Misaka adds." Ruiko snickered slightly, but felt a little jealous of Imouto's confidence. What she didn't know of was the conversation Imouto was having over the Misaka Network. (Misaka 10032 reporting in. New information about the savior has surfaced. There is a possibility the savior prefers girls with large chests. Misaka will try to confirm this rumor, but any information on how to grow would be beneficial Misaka 10032 reports.)

(Huh, the savior likes chests like Misaka's then. If only Tou-san had those interests, but he's currently incapacitated at the moment for bringing his own girl back to the apartment.)

(Misaka actually has information on how to enlarge chests, Misaka 19002 answers while ignoring the vile one. The internet has informed Misaka that if your chest is rubbed by a member of the opposite sex you have feelings for, it will help your chest grow.)

(Misaka will attempt to verify these rumors if the situation occurs Misaka 10032 replies. Misaka would also like to report she is feeling incredible hot. The temperature in Australia is much more uncomfortable than she is accustomed to.)

(It takes some getting used to Misaka 18997 acknowledged.)

(Misaka would prefer Misaka 10032 waits to attempt testing the rumor until the savior returns to Academy City, Misaka 19090 interjects quickly. It might also be better for a different Misaka to attempt it too.)

(Misaka heard your suggestion, but Misaka will choose to ignore it Misaka 10032 says venomously, still remembering the situation with her cat. Misaka is signing off and will report when the situation requires.) She disconnected and sighed, but felt kind of happy she got her revenge on Misaka 19090.

"Hey you two," Oriana waved as they approached. "Can you two take this box while I make a quick stop at that general store? I recommend you and the others," she pointed back to the three arguing girls, "finish any business in the city. We aren't going to make a lot of stops to minimize time." Ruiko and Imouto nodded. After they loaded the last box into their new larger vehicle, which actually had three rows of seats and a trunk, but still had an opened top, Ruiko and Imouto notified the other girls about Oriana's recommendation and they all headed into the store, leaving Touma outside alone.

 _It's quiet when they aren't here,_ Touma admitted to himself, stretching his legs and walking away from the general store and airfield. He was stiff from sitting in the airplane for so long and now they were going to drive for countless more hours in this heat. There were some small houses in the distance and a few people outside. Touma could just make out a larger building past them, and figured that was one of the main buildings of the city center. _If you can even call this a city, it's really an outlying town at the most._ He continued walking down the street, but made sure he was still in line of sight of the store. A car drove past him and he noticed the people inside looked at him strangely. _I guess they aren't use to Japanese._ A brother and sister were walking on the other side of the street from him, both were maybe around eight or nine, when Touma noticed the girl suddenly collapse for no apparent reason.

"Sis?" the boy cried when he heard her collapse onto the ground. "What happened? Are you all right?" The girl laid on the ground and only cried out in pain. This was more than enough for Touma to rush across the street to see if he could help.

"What's wrong?" Touma asked, noticing the girl was thrashing weakly.

"My sister suddenly collapsed," the boy cried, his words being hard to hear between his sobs. "I think she got that disease my parents keep talking about!"

"Let me see," Touma said, squatting down near the kids. He wasn't a doctor, but at the very least he could help get her to one. The girl was in a lot worst shape than he realized. Her face was red, almost like she was having a heat stroke, but then he saw something that made his heart stop for a moment. Boils were springing up on her arms and the side of her head at an alarming rate. He felt nauseous at the sight. _This has to be one of the plagues. Damn him, how could Adam let children suffer like this?_ "Is there a medical facility nearby?" he asked the boy, who nodded.

"But I heard there's no cure for this," he wailed. "She's going to die!"

"Don't think that way," Touma told him sternly, but tried to also reassure him. "It's going to be better for her than laying out here." He reached down to pick her up, when his right hand made contact. The sound of breaking glass echoed across the field for a moment. All the boils disappeared and the girl's face turned back to its normal tan color. Her eyes snapped open, she sat up, and rubbed her head. When her brother embraced her, she looked confused.

"What's going on?" she asked. "Who's he?" She pointed to Touma.

"You suddenly collapsed," the boy told her. "This guy healed you, like magic!"

"I'm glad you are okay," Touma said. He stood up and took a step back.

"Thank you," the boy said to him, tears still in his eyes.

"It wasn't any trouble."

"Come on," the girl said nervously and she tugged on the boy's sleeve. They started running away in the direction of one of the houses. Touma thought everything was going to be fine, but then he heard the girl yell. "MOOOOOOOMMMM!"

 _That can't be good,_ Touma thought and immediately turned around. He walked briskly back to the store, where the others were waiting.

"Where did you go?" Ruiko asked.

"Just stretching my legs," Touma told her. "We should probably get going now. Don't we have a long way to go?"

"We do," Oriana agreed. "Once we get away from the town, there are no speed limits, well, at least none that we need to observe." She laughed. "The others don't expect us there until this evening."

"We better not keep them waiting," Touma invented wildly. "With my luck, a lot of the people on the magic side hate it when I don't show up when I'm supposed to." Their group was beginning to head toward their vehicle, but Frenda and Leivinia didn't budge.

"What did you do?" Leivinia demanded, which caused Touma to turn around.

"Huh?" Touma asked and tried to look confused. _She's too perceptive._ "What do you mean?"

"What did you do?" Frenda repeated Leivinia's words. "Basically, you have the same expression on your face that Hamazura has when he messes up. You did something on your little excursion."

"I saw a kid collapse and went over to help," Touma admitted. "She seemed to have been effected by one of Adam's plagues. I was going to help the girl's brother carry her to a doctor, when my hand touched her. My hand negated the disease on her instantly and she went back to full health." There was a short pause as the girls took his words in.

"You freaking idiot!" Leivinia yelled at him and smacked him upside the head. "Do you know what you just did?!"

"No," Touma admitted. "I just had a feeling we needed to get out of here fast." Before Leivinia could berate him more, Oriana stepped in between them.

"Now, now," she said mildly. "We can't expect him to know everything about magic, but he is right about one thing. We need to get going before things get messy."

"I don't understand," Ruiko said confused, but followed the rest of the girls into the vehicle. They sat in the same seating arrangements as they did leaving the airport back in Darwin, but Frenda and Imouto were able to sit facing forward this time. Oriana started the car and they set off to the south, toward the desert. "So why would Touma helping someone be a problem? Ruiko asked, once things had calmed down slightly.

"It wasn't him helping that was the problem," Oriana explained. "It was how he helped the kid."

"You see," Lessar elaborated. "When Lover Boy negated the plague on them, he created a small void in the spell. We don't understand how exactly Adam is casting the spell, so we can't tell if he would realize a small piece of his spell was negated or if it would be overlooked. If he can tell, our cover is blown and we needed to get to base camp as fast as possible. If he doesn't, then no harm done, so we are treating it as if he could tell."

"Precautions for the worst case scenario would be the better choice Misaka agrees. We should have seen this coming though, as the savior likes to get involved anytime someone appears to be in trouble."

"He sure does," Frenda muttered, which caused everyone except Touma and Leivinia to laugh.

"…but Misaka does not believe that to be a bad thing Misaka admits."

"At least someone's on my side," Touma sighed and Ruiko patted him on the shoulder from behind him.

"There is also the fact the plague Adam released doesn't have a cure yet," Leivinia added. "We don't know how many more people were afflicted in their medical center. It probably isn't a hospital in such a small town. Most likely it is only a physician working out of his home. Anyway, if the news got out that you could heal them, we might get swamped from a mob trying to get you to save everyone."

"I wish we could have taken a minute to make sure," Touma admitted. "If Adam knew we were there already, helping a few more people wouldn't hurt."

"A nice sentiment," Oriana told him with a smile. She put her hand on his leg, which caused him to jump slightly in his seat. "But it wouldn't have helped in the long run. Negating the magic on them would only temporarily stop the plague. Once you let go, they could contract it again at any time. By coming with us to strike at Adam directly, we can save everyone. Isn't that what you always say? Or have I hear wrong?"

"I…" Touma started to say.

"Nope," Lessar interrupted him with a laugh. "He says that."

"Always," Frenda said with a sigh.

"Yep," Ruiko added with a giggle.

"Misaka can concur."

"An idiot to the end," Leivinia finished.

"So rather than taking out the fringe effects," Oriana continued. "We are striking the source. This doesn't mean we have time to relax, as a lot of people are sick and more are being affected as we speak. You just observed that. Is there anything else troubling you Kamijou? You can tell your onee-san anything and I'll help in _any_ way I can."

"I would prefer you not flirt with him while I'm stuck back here," Lessar said with a pout. "Otherwise, I'm coming up there and sitting in his lap."

Touma sighed and leaned back in his seat, while he tried to ignore his face and ears burning. He was worried about everyone, but had to admit Oriana and the others had a point. He could use his time temporarily helping people, or could save them all at once by stopping Adam. The choice was clear, but that didn't mean he had to like the fact others were suffering. He could feel several eyes on him, even if he couldn't see them. _The others are watching to see how I'm going to act. I need to stay calm._ His head started pounding. The lack of sleep and the arid heat was getting to him. He took a swig of his canteen. Oriana had given each one of them one to keep hydrated. _What a day to get sick._

The ride was hot, dry, unpleasant, but not entirely downright boring.

When Touma was told the area they were going to travel to would be a desert, he pictured a sandy dune area with no signs of life in all directions, except for an occasional cactus or something similar. In truth, the Tanami Desert had a lot more life. It was more like very sandy plains. There was a lot of spindly grass, small flowering shrubs, and scattered trees. There was also a lot of wild life, birds, small mammals, and, even once, a small group of kangaroos. They weren't as large as Touma envisioned they would be, that could have been the distance they were from him, but several of the girls enjoyed them. Ruiko, Frenda, and Imouto had been cooped up in Academy City most of their life, so they really enjoyed watching the kangaroos.

The sun continued to beat down on their heads all day. The hats helped, but the temperature only continued to rise. The worst part was Touma couldn't get any sleep again. Oriana was driving easily over 100km per hour and a small bump would cause them to bounce in their seat. The only good thing was the breeze felt nice, even being completely dry. The only time they stopped was to fill the tank from extra gas canisters in the trunk and when someone's biological functions said they had to. Touma has the best, or worst based on the point of view, story during the trip. He went behind a rock to relieve himself when he encountered a large snake, which did not appreciate being soaked. He had run out trying to pull up his pants while the other girls, except Ruiko and Imouto, laughed.

They ate while they drove, from a cooler under Frenda's feet in the back seat. It was only sandwiches and a couple pieces of fruit. Lessar, naturally, made a comment about bananas, but everyone ignored it. They were too use to her antics. One sandwich had a dark brown food paste that no one liked. Oriana said it was called vegemite, but Touma couldn't understand how people enjoyed eating it. Sure, Index would have eaten it, but she ate a lot of things unfit for human consumption. _It must be an acquired taste or maybe I'm just not use to eating it. I've had a lot of food worse than that._ Hours passed and they had finished eating dinner, before Oriana checked her map one last time. She slowed down, and suddenly drove off the main road and across the plains.

"What are you doing?" Touma asked, his voiced bouncing around, along with his body, as they drove over rough terrain.

"You didn't think base camp would be right off the road?" Oriana asked with a laugh, as she swerved around a large rock. "It has to be out of sight."

"Couldn't they have chosen an easier way to reach the camp?" demanded Frenda. "Basically, did you just turn off the first chance you got?"

"I might have," Oriana laughed, which caused a sinking sensation in everyone's stomachs. "The actual entrance would require circling around, but that's going to take forever. Time is of the essence so full speed straight ahead."

"Yes!" Lessar cheered. "It's just like an amusement park ride!"

"If you keep this up Misaka might show everyone her dinner Misaka says, her face green with nausea."

"Do it out the window!" Frenda cried, as she scooted over in her seat. "None of us want to see it!"

"How long till we get there?" Ruiko asked. She was also bouncing around in her seat.

"Twenty minutes," Oriana said with a shrug. "More or less."

"Unless you get us killed us in the process," Leivinia muttered, as Oriana swerved around a tree. "The best courier huh, I think they mean the most reckless."

"We will get there," Oriana reassured her. Sure enough, they eventually saw some lights in the distance, now that the sun began to set. "There it is," she declared. "Almost there."

"About time…" Leivinia said, but she was interrupted by the sound of several vehicles closing in on them and a familiar female voice shouting through a megaphone.

"Halt unauthorized vehicle. You are entering a restricted area. Either turn around or stop and present yourself for clearance!"

"Is that," Touma asked in shock. "Agnese?"

"Really?" Ruiko and Frenda asked.

"So she's part of the church group that's here," Lessar remarked. "She's the one who helped you tie me up the first time, wasn't she?"

"Don't make it sound like something it wasn't," Touma told her. Oriana reached under her seat and pulled out her own megaphone. She flipped a switch on it as she slowed the vehicle down.

"This is Oriana Thomson," she said through the megaphone. "I brought the package."

"Why didn't you take the main entrance?" Agnese demanded. "Besides, you're running late. We thought something happened to you."

"It took a little longer than expected, so I took a short cut to get here as quickly as possible."

"Fine," Agnese sighed. "Pull up." Oriana set down her megaphone and drove up into the campsite. There were rows of tents in all directions, with several larger ones set up in the middle. Lamps were set up periodically and powered by gas canisters. Larger lights were placed near the main tents connected to a portable generator. As they got out of the car, Agnese counted them. "Glad you made it here okay boy, but I didn't think you would bring Saten, Frenda, and Misaka."

"It was kind of an accident," Touma admitted. "There was no time to turn around."

"We snuck aboard," Frenda explained and gave Agnese a victory sign.

"Misaka is actually not her onee-sama, Misaka clarifies. This is our first real meeting."

"This is Mikoto's younger sister," Touma explained quickly to Agnese. Agnese had opened her mouth to ask something, probably about her way of talking, but Touma wanted to cut her off.

"I didn't know you would be here," Ruiko said in shock. "No one told us much."

"Communication had to be limited," Agnese told them, before she turned to Leivinia and Lessar. "How much did they tell you? Do you know who is leading this operation?"

"Nope," Lessar said and shook her head.

"I had a couple guesses," Leivinia replied and looked around. There was a lot of movement. It seems a good portion of Agnese's forces were here, clearly visible in their nun outfits. There were also men who could have been part of a military, but Touma didn't know who they belonged to. "But I think I have an idea now since this is an Anglican Church Operation."

"Then most of you are in for a surprise," Agnese said and a slight grin appeared on her face. "Try not to overreact."

"So if you aren't leading this operation," Touma asked. "Who is?"

"I'm about to introduce you to them," Agnese said.

"I'll just wait here," Oriana told them and gave them a short wave. Touma looked back at her and she gave him a big wink. Agnese lead them to one of the larger tents in the middle of the camp. It was flanked by two large men, who parted to let them pass.

"Agnese Sanctis entering with Touma Kamijou and his companions," she declared, stepping through the entrance.

"Who's a companion?" muttered Leivinia. "She will regret not announcing me properly."

"Suck it up sourpuss," Lessar muttered back.

Touma sighed and tried to ignore their bickering. He glanced at the others before he entered the tent. Ruiko looked nervous and he didn't blame her. Meeting someone in charge of an assault operation meant that person couldn't be normal. Frenda looked a little apprehensive, probably because she wanted to know who it was. Imouto's face was passive as always, but her hands were gripping her bag closely. Lessar and Leivinia didn't look nervous at all, they were simply arguing. He stepped through the tent flaps and looked around. It was obviously a strategy room, with a large table set up in the middle and smaller desks and file cabinets on the edges. Six people were standing around the center table, looking at a map with markers and figurines on it. Touma was going to see who they were, but the first person he saw caused his body to freeze.

A woman in her upper 20s with long blonde hair tied in the back seemed to be leading the others in a discussion. She wore a red top composed of bright red leather, which gives off an impression of bondage-related clothing. However, instead of a skirt like last time, she was wearing red form fitting pants. Her ensemble also had red gloves that nearly reached up to her shoulders. Touma's mouth fell open. She was the last person he expected to see, but he now knew who the male soldiers belonged to.

"C-Carissa?" he spluttered.

"You better address me with respect boy if you don't want a lashing," Carissa replied, as she turned around slowly. Her eyes were hawk-like and seemed to pierce right through him. He gulped and she continued. "I told you we would meet again when I was out." Touma didn't know why he did what happened next. It could have been lack of sleep, heat stroke, dehydration, pure shock, or any combination of the four.

Everything went dark as he passed out.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **I sort of skipped over the explanation of Moses and the plagues of Egypt because it's such a common story and I haven't made any big changes to it. If people want it, I can always insert an explanation. I am also looking for sponsors to solve the budget fiasco.**

 **Carissa: I told you all I would be back.**

 **Leivinia: Who cares? It's not like you have a chance.**

 **Carissa: I believe if I desired him, I could easily bring him to my side. It's not like I would give him a choice.**

 **Lessar: Hah, after he experiences my skills, he wouldn't even remember you.**

 **Mikoto: I'm missing everything. You better not fall for any of their tricks Touma!**

 **Misaki: I would be most upset.**

 **Shizuri: If Frenda tells me you did anything without my permission, there will be consequences.**

 **Worst: Hah, his position is even worse than Tou-san's.**

 **Touma: I have the feeling I can't go back to Academy City.**

 **Lessar: Then you can come live with me in England!**


	83. S4 Web of Deceit

**A million words wow. I wouldn't have noticed if a couple people didn't point it out. This is no longer a story, it's a novel. Plus, people are still reading this, for some reason. No idea why. I've been distracted playing the new Gears of War game so this chapter took a little longer to finish. Great game, but the ending…. ARG! I can't spoil anything for any gamers who read this. Time management skills are important to keep real life balanced with fun things. The good news is the book from last chapter sold out and is now listed in the top ten worldwide best sellers. Glad that disclaimer was there, as it didn't work for everyone. Anyways, let's move to the comments before anyone thinks of suing.**

 **Brosephg: You sure know about lemonade. Lemons, sweetness, and watery plot makes the perfect summer beverage. They are obviously the best couple. It's a shame they never meet in the actual novels. Hmm, now I kind of want him to have a harem to spite you for fun. I'll have to see what happens in the story, because everything is happening so fast.**

 **Whwsms: We all know the queen knows Touma is going to meet her daughter. She definitely wants them to give her grandchildren. Naturally, Adam has to be taken care off, but if they win, obviously a celebration. Birdway and puberty, that would be great. Yuna is a very interesting character for me, because she was never supposed to exist. At one point I thought, hey I need a girl here at Tokiwadai and I made it easier to write by giving her a name. She somehow became a reoccurring character.**

 **GameCguru: That is an interesting observation and as soon as you mentioned it, my friends and I noticed that too. I already had him compared to a saint once, but maybe there is something to be said about your comment. Imouto has to bring that up in public, with lots of people, in front of Mikoto.**

 **wildarms13: That raffle will be for students only. They need their ID to participate to make sure they are who they claim to be. Kuroko wouldn't even participate, but she would watch Mikoto buy way to many haha.**

 **Driugenesis: You know, that was a pretty short and simple comment, but it really resonates with me. After 80+ chapters and almost a million words, the fact that this story still captures your attention means a lot.**

 **Hilem: You forgot to mention Accelerator likes girls who don't cower in front of him. If they can act normal after seeing his power, he's more likely to allow them to get closer.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: Touma should know better to fall asleep around a bunch of sadistic ladies. Lessar won't let it slide for sure. Carissa won't mention it unless she has something to gain from telling others. As for your skit, I can't confirm or deny if I laughed.**

 **Syko-Soldier963: Birdway has enough ego to make an island.**

 **Salishious: Kuroko needs to see what a drunk Mikoto looks like. Nosebleeds galore. That video is going to cause so many problems. About Jason, he's taller than Honey-senpai (Don't ask why I know about it), but I'm going to tell you he is that height to keep that image in your head. HAHAHA. Shizuri is going to have the biggest roll ever in Touma's (mis)fortune later. It is all planned out. Soon, everyone will want a Touma nickname is Imouto and Mikoto get one. Eve, Eve is going to make the third one. She will kidnap Touma and add him to HER harem.**

 **Anon Guest: You know the secrets of the "How to Rope a Kamijou." Which side is Team Plot and which side is Team Justice though? It's only a matter of time until the girls back in the city learn of Touma's adventures.**

 **RPGPersona: I planned to bring Carissa back for ages, but I don't force it. Everything happens naturally. The Australian adventure is going to be a lot of fighting once the ball gets rolling and that is not counting what is happening in Academy City. The raffle is going to be amazing. Not to hype it up, but I think it's going to be one of the funniest moments.**

 **Agent Nine: It's always the little things that are the funniest. Royalty is complicated because everyone scrutinizes everything they do. They have to be careful how they are perceived because it affects their citizens.**

 **Chen: I have no idea what's happening anymore. I sit down at my computer for an hour and words appear.**

 **Generation Zero: Interesting. You have discovered knowledge the world is not ready for yet. I mentioned to one person Othinus would one day appear, but that day is not this day. Othinus could own Jason without issue. He's not that OP.**

 **FrodoFighter: Remember, there is a disclaimer. Touma should realize by now, don't go to sleep when a bunch of girls are around. You wake up in dangerous situations. Technically, Touma feeds a bunch of poor freeloaders a lot, soooo… If the storm is magical, sure. There's a lot of similarities if you think about it. I want to say he wakes up in a guy's lap because no one will expect it.**

 **Jujudude: I did see your story, but haven't had a lot of time to catch up on my reading. I'll take a look when I get a chance. Glad I could inspire you. I noticed you commented a couple hours ago, so here's another chapter to fuel your addiction. I am an enabler.**

 **I thought people would like Carissa but almost no one even mentioned her. Guess it's time to go back to Academy City and see what the others are up to.**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly. Magic Gods own all so they can do what they want.**

* * *

"I really don't know what I'm supposed to do," Kazari confessed depressed to Jason. "It's supposed to be a secret, but I feel like I need to tell Misaka-san and Shirai-san. They are her friends."

Kazari and Jason were walking slowly in the direction of the building Kazari's meeting with Noukan Kihara was supposed to take place. They were holding hands, but Kazari's grip was so tight, it wouldn't be surprising if Jason was beginning to lose feeling in his fingers. Jason wasn't happy with the meeting, for reasons unknown to Kazari, but she had been too distracted with her friend suddenly leaving the city without any warning last night. If it wasn't for Ruiko finally calling her, she would have contacted Anti-Skill. Even after her short conversation with Ruiko, a lot of questions needed to be answered but, since it sounded like it was dealing with the magic side, they could hardly talk about it over the phone. She had been up most of the night worrying and there were bags under her eyes.

"Take a deep breath," Jason told her and squeezed her hand slightly. "I know you're scared, but panicking won't help." Kazari stopped and did what he suggested, but didn't look any better.

"Saten-san wouldn't have disappeared with Kamijou-san without reason," Kazari told him, her hand started to shake. "I know this is asking a lot, but do you think you could talk to someone in the city to see how they are doing?" She looked up into his face, slightly hopeful. _Jason usually knows what's going on, I'm sure he can think of something._

"I don't think it would be that easy," Jason admitted. "Academy City has a lot of surveillance inside the city, but limited views outside the city. There are a couple satellites, but I definitely don't have access to those." He looked at Kazari and she appeared to be lost in thought. "Don't think about that," he said quickly, noticing a gleam in her eye. "You don't know where they went and this is more than just bending a few rules." She looked at him slightly guiltily. "Why don't you start at the beginning and tell me everything you know in order. I've been trying to follow, but you have been jumping around and I might have missed something."

"Okay," Kazari said with a nod. _He's right. He can't help unless he knows everything._ "Here is what happened in order starting from yesterday evening. Misaka-san, Shirai-san, Saten-san and I met Bridway-san. We talked for a while and then left to go our separate ways. Saten-san wanted to catch a sale of canned mackerel before heading back to the dorms. Misaka-san went with her because she wanted to talk with her about something. I didn't think anything was going to happen and I headed back to our room. I then called you and told you about the offer to work for the city. I started working on homework until I realized it was getting late and Saten-san was still not back." Her eyes started watering and she wiped them with her free hand. "I called and called and left countless messages, but she wasn't responding. I was so afraid she got kidnapped or something." She paused for a moment to compose herself.

"She finally called back," Kazari continued. "She told me she would explain everything when she got back, but then she started being cryptic." She frowned and tried to remember Ruiko's exact words. "She said she ran into friends and got sidetracked, really far. She met 'him' and they went together. Also, if she didn't make it to school tomorrow, she asked me to cover for her. I told the teachers she wasn't feeling well today and I think they bought it. The last part was they ran into friends on the other side. She had to have met Kamijou-san and people from the magic side right?" She lowered her voice, so no one else would hear.

"That's what it sounds like," Jason agreed and he frowned as he thought about it. _I didn't get any notice of unknown magical activities, so it looks like Adam finally did something._

"What do you think happened?" Kazari asked, as she pulled on his arm. "They wouldn't have gone off like that without contacting us if there wasn't a reason."

"If Touma is involved," Jason said slowly. "There's really only one possible reason. The magic side needs his hand. The question is what they need it for. I can only think of one person at the time they might need him for, since Eve is here in Academy City."

"Adam," whispered Kazari in horror. "Oh no." Her face grew pale and her body started shaking. _Saten-san, what have you gotten yourself into?_ She was also worried about Touma, but she knew there was something about him that allowed him to face powerful foes and come out okay. The level 5s she knew respected him. _He's only a level 0 because the city can't detect his hand. Saten-san reached level 2, but people like Eve and Adam are in an entirely different league. Why did Kamijou-san let her go with him?_ She looked at the ground, her thoughts turning to all the possible things that could happen to her friend. She felt Jason let go of her hand and then put his arm around her shoulders. He pulled her close and she leaned up against his side.

"Listen," Jason told her softly, as he looked her directly in the eyes. "Stop thinking the worst is going to happen. I know Touma, and he will make sure nothing is going to happen to her or anyone else. Plus, Saten-san has a way of getting herself in trouble, but she always gets out."

"That's true," Kazari admitted with a very slight chuckle. "I bet she saw him leaving and followed him. I wish she would think about the consequences before she acts."

"But that wouldn't be the Saten-san we know."

"True." Kazari couldn't prevent giggling for a brief moment. She was quiet as she leaned up against him and enjoyed the moment. Kazari remembered one time asking Ruiko what she liked about Touma. Ruiko's answer surprised her. Part of Ruiko's explanation she expected, Touma being strong, helpful, friendly, and never tried to show off, but the last reason was what got her. Ruiko had told Kazari she felt a sense of safety and peace around him. She liked being with him, regardless of what they did. _I know how she feels,_ Kazari thought to herself, as she enjoyed Jason's arm around her. _I'm sure that's why she followed him._ "Do you really think they will be okay?" she asked him.

"Touma's there," Jason pointed out. "They will be fine. He's saved me twice, no three times," he amended himself after counting on his fingers, "before and I'm pretty strong."

"I know you are," Kazari muttered, as she turned red. "I trust you, so I'm going to believe in our friends." She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for letting me vent."

"Anything you need," Jason replied, a smile on his face. "Heh, I still remember when you would almost faint with public displays of affection."

"I was new to the whole dating thing," Kazari protested and her face grew red. "It's not fair to bring that up." Jason laughed and she poked him in the side, but kept a firm grip on his arm. She was enjoying this too much because she had been also feeling lonely with Ruiko gone. She didn't even mind the random glances from other people at them, but she still avoided eye contact. Their remaining walk was too short for her liking and they stopped across the street from a large skyscraper. "Is this it?" she asked and looked up in awe.

"This is the address you told me," Jason replied. "And I know he uses this building for meetings."

"You sound like you know him," Kazari commented. Jason didn't immediately reply and she grew suspicious. Jason was about to cross the street, but she refused to budge.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"You've been distracted ever since I told you I was offered a job working for the city," Kazari pointed out. "You have been trying to appear happy for me, but I heard your tone change last night when I told you who I was going to be working for. Even now, I can tell you are hiding something."

"I am happy for you," Jason protested. "I know how skilled you are and I'm glad the city finally recognizes that. They aren't always kind to lower levels."

"Then why do you seem distracted?" Kazari asked.

"I was thinking about Touma and Saten-san's dilemma…"

"That's not what's bothering you," Kazari interrupted. "I didn't tell you about them last night. That's when this started." She glared at him and then her gaze softened. "Jason, we have been together for a while and I can tell when something is bothering you, even if you try to hide it. I'm not going to go until you tell me. Is it about Kihara-san who's going to be my supervisor?" She could tell Jason was conflicted, when he sighed and rubbed the side of his face.

"You know me too well," Jason answered and Kazari patted his arm, a feeling of triumph weld up from within her. "I do know him, he's… technically my direct supervisor, but I usually go through someone else."

"Have you met him?" Kazari asked. "Birdway-san made it sound like he was a really important person."

"Once or twice," Jason admitted. "He usually uses proxies or calls by phone. He's responsible for a lot of Academy City's research. You could even say he runs a good portion of the city."

"Why are you worried about my meeting with him?" Kazari asked. "Do you think it's not going to be him and just someone working under him?"

"That is a possibility," Jason said. "It would be rare for him to show himself openly when people know who he is. Due to his… unusual appearance… he can go a lot of places unnoticed."

"You still haven't explained why you don't want me to meet with him," Kazari pointed out. "You're avoiding the question." She squeezed his arm leaned up against him. Looking up at him, Kazari stuck out her lip slightly and put on a depressed expression.

"Okay, okay," Jason said quickly and diverted his gaze to avoid looking at her face. "I'll tell you."

 _I don't like manipulating him like that,_ Kazari thought guiltily. _But Shokuhou-san was right about outwardly displaying sadness to get him to admit his troubles._ She still felt slightly triumphant because Jason would tease her once in a while and she didn't come across a lot of chances to tease him back.

"A lot of higher ups in the city work for their own gain," Jason explained, as he sat down on a bench. Kazari sat down next to him and listened attentively. "Everything they invent, everything they research, it's for them to gain glory, fame, and money. It's not to help other. Not everyone is like this of course, but a lot are. They do many questionable experiments that just toe the line of what is considered ethical. They are also willing to use other people as stepping stones for their own advancement."

"You think he is like that?" Kazari asked. She didn't like the way Jason was explaining how the city ran. Kazari always wanted to believe the best of people, but she knew there would always be people with less noble goals in a large environment like Academy City. _I already knew there have been researchers who have been arrested for unethical experiments._

"He's already at the top and likes to remain in the background," Jason continued. "More room to stretch out his legs. Though, he's one of the most well connected individuals in the city and has introduced me to a lot of people. I'm not trying to turn you against him, just put you on your guard. I'm only worried he might try using you for your skills…" His voice trailed off.

"Technically the city already uses us," Kazari reminded him. "All of us agreed to be part of the experiment in designing abilities."

"I know," Jason agreed. "But if you start doing anything you find strange or unnerving, please let me know."

"I promise," Kazari replied and put her hand on top of his. Having someone worried so much about her filled her with happiness. _I thought they only wanted me to help design the security software. I suppose if I do a good job, I could get ask to do more. I'm so nervous to know if Kihara-san is actually going to be there._ She looked at the time and stood up. "We need to go inside," she announced. "There are only a few minutes until the meeting and I shouldn't be late."

"Okay," Jason said and stood up next to her. "Let's go in." They crossed the street and entered the building. Kazari slowed and glanced around at the luxurious carpets, chandeliers, and furniture, but Jason guided her up to the front desk, where a bored security guard sat, looking at a computer and turning a page of a report. "Tell him your name and time of meeting," Jason whispered. "And pass over your student ID."

"My name is Kazari Uiharu," Kazari told the guard, and then she passed over her student ID. "I have an appointment at five."

"Okay," the guard mumbled and took her idea. He compared the picture on it to her and then started to type into the computer. "Who are you meeting… oh, I see. Twenty third floor. You can take the elevator over there. Once you step out, turn left and go through the double doors." He handed Kazari her ID back. "Good luck." When she turned toward the elevator, he rolled his eyes at Jason, who only shrugged. Kazari and Jason took the elevator up in silence. They got off, turned left, and passed through an ornate set of double doors. They arrived in another waiting room, this one much smaller than the lobby waiting area.. There was a female secretary, in her mid-thirties with brown hair in a bun, behind a desk.. She looked up when they entered.

"Hello," she said kindly. "Are you Kazari Uiharu?" Kazari nodded. "Please have a seat you two, they will be right with you shortly."

 _They?_ Kazari mouthed silently to Jason, who shrugged. He didn't have any idea who was going to be there. Both of them sat down and Kazari looked around the room. There was a TV in the corner, turned on to a news station, and another ten empty chairs. A small table with magazines was directly in front of them. They didn't have to wait long when the door next to the secretary opened and a woman stepped out.

"Ah Uiharu-san," she said, smiling broadly. "I'm glad you found the place okay." She was a young woman, who was wearing a ready-made cheap suit, making her look like she was going to a job interview, with a white lab coat over it. It was hard to judge her age, but Kazari guessed she was in her mid to upper twenties. She seemed friendly, but also direct and business-like. She walked over to Kazari and Jason. "Hello," she said and held out her hand. Kazari quickly stood up and shook it. "My name is Yuiitsu Kihara. I'm here to escort you."

"Umm," Kazari murmured and gave Jason a quick glance. "Can he come with me, for support?"

"I'm sorry," Yuiitsu told her. "For security reasons, only you have been cleared. Noukan-sensei is a very important individual, so all background checks have to be finished long before you can have a meeting." She paused. "Now if you would go with me through those doors I just came from, I will take you to meet him."

"Okay," Kazari said nervously and walked past her. She gave one last look back at Jason, who gave her a reassuring nod. When she turned and faced forward again, she missed the mocking grin Yuiitsu gave Jason, which caused him to narrow his eyes and scowl. Yuiitsu and Kazari left through the doors and Jason dropped his calm and cool demeanor. A dark, murderous, aura radiated from him and he crossed his arms, while he leaned back in his chair. His aura was so strong, the secretary felt it and she was quickly covered in cold sweat. She purposely avoided eye contact, but eventually retreated into the back to avoid being glared at.

Meanwhile, Kazari was walking nervously next to Yuiitsu. She didn't know anything about the woman and was too nervous to ask. Yuiitsu must have noticed this, because she was the one to initiate conversation. "You don't have to be so nervous," she laughed. "Sensei is very easy to talk to. The reason we have all these security precautions is because he is a very important person in the city. If everyone who wanted to talk to him could, he would never be able to leave the office and run all the research divisions. Plus, there are always people who are jealous of his research, so security must be taken into account."

"You said you ran a background check on me," Kazari pointed out.

"Normal routine," Yuiitsu said dismissively. "Your friend knows he needs to make an appointment if he wants to meet with sensei."

"He's my boyfriend," Kazari muttered and turned red.

"Interesting," Yuiitsu commented and her eyes twinkled. Kazari had no idea the value of that piece of information was for Yuiitsu. "He seems like a nice young man to come all this way to support you."

"He is," Kazari agreed. "Oh Kihara-san…"

"Yuiitsu-san is fine."

"Okay Yuiitsu-san," Kazari continued. "Are you related to Noukan Kihara since you both have the same last name and work here?"

"Oh, no, no," Yuiitsu laughed and shook her head. "Kihara is a VERY common name in this city and most of us are not related. I'm usually a negotiator between sensei and various departments when a complication, issue, or complaint arises." She stopped in front of a door. "Before we enter, I just want to let you know something first. Sensei is rather unique, not only in intelligence, but appearance too. Try not to be alarmed." Kazari was confused at her meaning and simply remained silent as Yuiitsu ushered her in. The room was longer than it was wide, with one main table surrounded be chairs. At first it looked like the room was empty, but Kazari noticed a single figure at the end of the table.

A golden retriever was sitting on one of the chairs and looked at them intently.

"Where is Kihara-san?" Kazari asked Yuiitsu. There was no one else in the room, but there was a door on the far side of the room behind the dog. "Are we early?" _That dog looks familiar. Oh! Those robotic arms… it's the dog at the lab I hacked into. Could it be…"_ "Is that his dog?" she asked. _If it was at a top secret lab, maybe he uses it to monitor the lab from a distance._ To her surprise, Yuiitsu started laughing. Before Kazari could ask what was funny, a deep male voice, sounding like a man in his prime, answered.

"Good evening Kazari Uiharu. I am Noukan Kihara and it is a pleasure to meet you face to face at last."

Kazari jumped a foot in the air. The voice didn't come from a man entering the room, but from the dog at the far end of the table. "What?" she gasped. "How?"

"I told you he was rather unique," Yuiitsu reminded her. Kazari took a couple deep breaths before Noukan continued.

"Your confusion is expected," Noukan told her calmly and turned to Yuiitsu. "Perhaps you could bring us some tea while we talk."

"Yes sensei." Yuiitsu left through the back door and Kazari took a seat across the table form Noukan. She started trying to process what she was seeing.

"I can tell by your shocked expression you did not expect me to look like this," Noukan continued. "Over eighty years ago I was only a simple canine. A renowned scientist expanded my brain capacity and modified my DNA on a molecular level. These external attachments permit me to talk and allow me to overcome the biological restrictions of my body." One of the slender robotic arms attached to his backpack rose up into the air. "I hope you can look pass my appearance so we may move on to more important matters."

"I was surprised," Kazari admitted softly. "But I have actually seen a lot of things that seemed to test my imagination of what normal entails." She laughed slightly.

"You mean like the occult?"

His announcement was followed by a long silence.

 _He knows about magic?_ Kazari thought stunned. _How?_ Nearly everyone she knew didn't believe in magic. The closest things were superstitions, which were prevalent around the city. _Wait, Jason told me once his unit in Anti-Skill was designed to combat magicians, so that means the city must know about it. If this guy runs most of the advanced functions of Academy City, then it would be likely he knows about it._ She wasn't sure what to say but, weirdly, she didn't seem to be tense around Noukan. He words and tone sounded like a gentleman's and were pleasant to her ears. She finally decided on confirming what he meant. "You know about magic?"

"Magic, occult, miracles," Noukan said. "Regardless of what term is used, they are all the same. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. What they call magic is only a science different from ours."

 _In some ways that is true,_ Kazari acknowledged. She didn't know a lot about magic, but she did know several magicians, including Jason. It was built of beliefs and traditions, which could be considered a science all of its own. A lot of her friends call it abilities developed outside of Academy City in public to avoid saying magic. _Is this why he's meeting me directly? Because I know about magic and saw information in his top secret lab? What if he knows how much I saw about the research of Kamijou-san?_ She took a deep breath and tried to calm down. "You obviously know I know about it. I have to ask, how?"

"There is very little that goes on in the city without us knowing," Noukan told her. "After the attempted theft into our top secret security lab, your involvement forced us to do a thorough background check on you. Did you expect anything different?"

"I actually figured you would," Kazari admitted. "I did break the security of the facility. I was more surprised I didn't get in trouble."

"Your quick thinking slowed the intruder down enough for Anti-Skill to arrive," Noukan continued. "I was interested to see who was on the other side after that. Imagine my surprise when I found out your involvement with the occult. We already knew your friendship with Mikoto Misaka, aka the Railgun…"

"You know I'm friends with her?" Kazari asked in shock. _How detailed of a background check did they perform?_

"Each one of the level 5s is very important to the city," Noukan told her. "In order to ensure their protection, we have to be aware of who gets close to them. We never interfere unless something dangerous occurs." Kazari could not know how big of a lie that was. All she could get a glimpse of was what Noukan was telling her. His words were calm and soothing, which caused them to sound completely true. "But I digress. The reason I requested your presence was for your unique skill you possess that is far beyond a normal young lady your age." Kazari leaned forward, slightly apprehensive in learning what they wanted her to do, but before Noukan could continue, Yuiitsu returned with a tray.

"Here you go Uiharu-san," Yuiitsu said, putting a coaster and a cup of tea down in front of her.

"Thank you," Kazari told her and took a sip. _Wow, this is high class tea. I could never afford it. This must be the kind Shirai-san and Misaka-san drink._ She set the cup down and something caught her eye, which caused her to freeze. Yuiitsu set down a bowl in front of Noukan, rather than a cup or glass. Noukan's head turned to look at her. She replied by simply smiling and looking innocent. _Is she treating him like a dog? I mean, he is a dog, but he's an intellectual too._ Noukan didn't say anything, but one of his arms extended and picked up the bowl. He lapped at the tea for a moment before sitting it back down. Appearing satisfied, Yuiitsu moved over and leaned down next to Kazari.

"If things get too serious," Yuiitsu told her. "Scratch him behind the ears. His back leg will start kicking and he can't stop it. It's great to lighten the mood."

"I couldn't do that," Kazari replied stunned.

"Just a suggestion."

"You may stay to observe if you wish," Noukan told Yuiitsu. "But please remain silent so we do not waste unnecessary time."

"Yes sensei!" Noukan nodded at her and looked back at Kazari, as Yuiitsu sat down.

"Let's see, where were we?"

"You were about to explain what my job was going to entail," Kazari told him helpfully.

"Oh yes, but first I have to impart onto you the important of secrecy of what we are about to discuss. Our conversation here is not to be talk about lightly with others. This job will grant you access to a lot of Academy City's security systems and data. You may not purposely access any data or systems unrelated to your work. Should you decide to allow your eyes to wonder, Academy City will take swift disciplinary measures. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Kazari answered with a gulp. _I already knew this. I went through this exact same thing when I worked on Judgement's system. There was a lot of personal information on each member. I definitely won't go snooping around._

"I would also appreciate it if you do not go around talking about my appearance," Noukan added. "Jason Kagere knows who I am and he promised not to tell anyone either. I could tell by your initial expression he managed to keep his promise and did not tell you."

"I promise."

"Excellent," Noukan replied mildly. "Then let us get down to business." A screen lowered from the ceiling on the wall behind him and the lights dimmed. Hundreds of line of code began to stream across it and Kazari's eyes started flying back and forth as she read it. "I was rather impressed by the way you bypassed our security system in the lab. Then, because you were unable to lock him out from your position, you choose a very unique way of blocking him. You were adding security layers rather than trying to cut off his direct access. This isn't something everyone can do." He paused. "Do you recognize the code behind me?"

"It's the security the facility had," Kazari answered immediately.

"I'm amazed you remembered it after only viewing it for a short time," Noukan remarked. "This code here is one of the more advanced electronic security defenses we have developed. Yet, you managed to breach it in mere minutes. Very impressive." Kazari tried not to show her embarrassment at his praise. "During your background check, we found out you had also improved the Judgement's electronic security in your sector. Improvement might even be an understatement. It's several times more advanced than this one." The screen shut off and disappeared back into the ceiling. "I found out you volunteered to improve not only Anti-Skill's security, but the city's too."

"It wasn't like I was trying to completely change the system," Kazari clarified. "I had noticed a serious flaw that could be exploited and allow outside access. However, my request was denied, but I had hoped they managed to fix it. It seemed like that security had the same flaw." She sipped her tea and tried not to sound like she was accusing anyone.

"I discovered that," Noukan confirmed. "That man who denied your involvement was demoted and removed from his position. Any weakness in our security needs to be investigated immediately. He still had a copy of your report and I was impressed at its detail. This led me to my decision and the reason I requested your presence. I would like you to join the city's cybersecurity division as my representative."

"EH!?" Kazari exclaimed in shock. "As a representative? Aren't you really high up in the city? This isn't something…."

"I know it is rather unusual for someone so young," Noukan acknowledged. "But hear me out. I am not one to ignore talent when I see it. There any many other talented individuals such as yourself working for this city. I do not believe age should be a barrier. As one of my representatives, you will report directly to me and have my authority to perform your job. Your main priority will be to correct flaws in our current system and then create a more advanced encryption code. You will not be part of the mechanics, only logistics and codification." He paused and stared at her stunned expression. "Do you have anything to ask?"

"Not right now," Kazari answered, but her voice came out in a whisper. Noukan's ears twitched slightly. "This is so sudden. I didn't expect it to be this big. I thought I might help occasionally after school with some encryption coding, but to design new systems? I wasn't considering that."

"You don't have to give me your answer immediately," Noukan said. "This is a lot to drop on you at once. This also will not interfere with your school work either. You will only be assigned to work occasionally after school and sometimes on weekends should the need arise. Schedules are usually planned out several weeks at a time."

"I'm sure I'm going to have thousands of questions if I agree," Kazari added. "When do you need my answer?"

"I can give you until the end of the week," Noukan told her. "Our cybersecurity is something we need to improve quickly. We get thousands of hackers trying to steal research data daily. If they discover a fatal flaw, there could be a lot of consequences from a data breach, including sensitive information on all the students. There are a lot of individuals out there who would use our technology and research for less noble causes." Kazari nodded and then a question popped to the front of her mind.

"Could you tell me about the people I would be working with?" Kazari asked nervously. _If it's going to be a bunch of older men, I don't know if I would be comfortable in that environment._

"I think I know what you are thinking," Noukan told her. "I'm sure young Kagere has told you about the people he works with before." She nodded. "They will be some older than you, but you will be working with people of all ages. Each one of them is significantly skilled with programming. You should fit right in."

"Thank you," Kazari said and bowed her head slightly. "This is a lot to take in."

"Since this was just a short orientation," Noukan continued. "We did not expect an immediate answer. Please think it over and let us know when you come to a decision." He nodded over to Yuiitsu, who stood up.

"Here you go Uiharu-san," she said and passed over a small black cellphone, similar to what Jason used for most of his work phone calls. "This cellphone is more secure for work related business. My number is preset in there, so please use this one once you decide. If you agree to work for the city, we will start getting you set up."

"I will," Kazari promised and took the phone from her hand. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"No," Noukan answered. "You are free to go. I'm sure he is anxiously waiting for you."

"Heh," Kazari laughed slightly. "I… I want to thank you two for considering me for this position."

"You deserved it," Yuiitsu told her kindly. "As he said, your skills are what drew us to you."

"Well I'll be going then," Kazari said and stood up. She gave them a short bow, before heading back out through the way she originally entered the room from. Yuiitsu picked up Kazari's teacup and put it on a tray with Noukan's bowl. Yuiitsu waited another minute, to ensure Kazari was gone, before speaking to Noukan.

"I'm surprised at how much you told her. I was listening as I made the tea."

"She has already delved down into both sides, so telling her I knew did not make any difference to what she knew. Kagere either told her at some point or she worked it out herself, but it doesn't matter either way. In fact, it was more beneficial for me to be honest."

"Oh," Yuiitsu asked and raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't sound very Kihara-like to spill what you know."

"On the contrary," corrected Noukan. "I know a great many things, but she doesn't know that. I told her only enough for her to trust me. She now will believe she doesn't need to hide anything from us, which makes a very willing pawn. The art of manipulating people can be considered a science in itself."

"That sounds more Kihara-like!"

"Her willing cooperation gives us several advantages. One, it controls him. As much as he pretends she's only part of his cover, he has developed feelings, which between good and evil is rather bad, but I can't help but like it. Two, her skills are impressive. That was not a lie. She will be able to revolutionize our security network. It won't do much against electromasters, but the less attention we have to divert to others, the more energy we can focus on other tasks at hand. If her programming skills are up to par, there are other projects that could benefit from sending her to work on them."

"Project CITYSCAPE?"

"Precisely." Noukan jumped off the chair and landed on all fours. "The code I showed her was a test. She was able to read it as fast as the computer could generate the data. She would be able to act as the core encrypter during phase two. Assuming, of course, she is controllable. She saw the information on the Anti-AIM wavelength and tried to research it without using that exact terminology. I am planning to keep her under close surveillance until her curiosity is sated." Yuiitsu pulled out a box of cigars and held it out to him. One of his mechanical arms grasped it and Yuiitsu lit it.

"If we can get Project CITYSCAPE going, Academy City is going to change forever."

"Yes," Noukan agreed, as they walked out the opposite door Kazari had left through. "However, we have a couple things to take care of. Eve and Ricane need to be dealt with first."

* * *

"Mugino!" Saiai yelled, as she kicked the door to the hideout open. Shiage and Rikou followed her inside and Rikou shut the door behind them.

"What?" Shizuri asked irritated. She turned her eyes toward them. She had been relaxing on a couch and reading a fashion magazine in peace. Now, her alone time had been interrupted and it wasn't even time for a mission. "This had better be important."

"I received this from Kamijou's friend," Saiai told her and held up a DVD. "We ran into him and he handed it to me. He said it was super important you saw this before the information got out."

"Huh?" Shizuri raised an eyebrow. "Which one of his friend?"

"...Kagere," Rikou said slowly and their eyes met.

"Give it," Shizuri demanded and Saiai tossed the disc to her. She walked over to the TV and started to set it up. She had no idea what it was, but she figured it probably dealt with the transformation she experienced. _I guess he didn't know where I was or how to contact me via phone. Speaking of which, does he even have my number? Eh, whatever. He could always get it from Kamijou if he needs to contact me._ She was vaguely aware Saiai was still talking.

"Hamazura wanted to watch it without you first, but I was the bigger person…"

"Lies!" Shiage accused quickly. His life flashed before his eye at the thought of Shizuri believing he was going to view her private information without permission. "She wanted to watch and threatened to hit me if I didn't agree..." He rubbed his arm. "I still have the bruises."

"Crybaby!"

"Takitsubo was the one who convinced her to bring it to you immediately."

"…I figured there might be important information you desired," Rikou said calmly. "There was a chance you might even have requested it."

"I do not know what he sent me," Shizuri told them and she sat back down on the couch. "Did he say anything else I should know about, before I turn this on?"

"Nah," Saiai answered. She put her hands behind her head and looked depressed. "I haven't been able to contact Frenda. Do you think she should super see this too?"

"She's on a mission with Kamijou outside the city," Shizuri yawned. She sounded nonchalant, but Saiai and Shiage eye's widened. "They will be gone a couple of days." _She better be ready with a full report or there is going to be hell to pay._

"Why?" Shiage asked. _Nice. Normally, I wouldn't wish Frenda on anyone, but he has a way of keeping her in line._

"Finally," Saiai said excitedly. "She's actually making a move. This will be good for her to learn how to super interact with a guy."

"She interacts with me," Shiage pointed out.

"A real guy."

"Shut up you two," Shizuri snapped and turned the DVD on. She wasn't in the mood for them arguing right now. The others sat down around her. Saiai and Shiage sat on the couch and Rikou sat in a chair. _What could be important enough for that guy to want me to see that he actually gave it to Kinuhata?_ She had expected it to be something important relating to her or the level 5 transformations, but she had never been so wrong in her life. Instead of seeing Jason, data, or even Kamijou, she saw an annoying blonde guy with sunglasses.

"Hey all, this is Motoharu Tsuchimikado. This documentary is being created for my good friend Pierce Aogami, since he was unable to be on this trip with us. We are in the middle of a party and something interesting happened. Someone poured alcohol in the drink bowl and now we have the perfect opportunity to examine how our friends act when wasted." Everyone stared wide-eyed at the movie as Motoharu made fun of Touma and then moved on to Accelerator.

"Haha!" Shiage laughed at Saiai. "Look how hard you are trying to get his attention and he's not even paying attention."

"Shut up!" she snarled and punched him. The force of his blow sent him flying off the couch and crashing into the floor. She was not only embarrassed, but pissed there were several girls around Accelerator.

 _What the fuck is this shit?_ Shizuri thought as she watched the documentary. There was a little bit involving Jason, but none of them cared about that. Saiai was focused on the parts with Accelerator and Shizuri didn't see the point of this, at least until near the end. A bunch of sluts were trying to get with Touma and she felt a vein throb in her head. She did, however, laugh loudly at Mikoto's drunken behavior. _If I see her again, I need to make fun of her for this._ When she entered the video wearing a gothic style outfit, she stopped. _Alpha female? Heh, I guess I am. I showed those brats what real looks are. That compliment isn't going to save that bastard though._ The documentary ended and she sat in silence, her arms crossed, aware the other three were watching her with fear in their eyes.

"Mugino?" Saiai asked cautiously, as she inched away from her.

"Do we run?" Shiage whispered to Rikou, who only shrugged. They were moving behind one of the chairs and slinking back toward the door.

"Takitsubo," Shizuri said calmly but sharply. She never took her eyes off the dark TV screen.

"Y-yes?" Rikou asked nervously. Her voice was shaking.

"Find him."

"Umm," Rikou said and her body trembled at what she needed to ask. "Do you mean the one who did the commentary, Kamijou, or…?"

"The one who gave you this!" Shizuri snapped.

"Found him," Rikou said after a minute of staring into the distance.

"What's the plan Mugino?" Saiai asked apprehensively.

"We are going to kill him first," Shizuri explained. "Then we are going to kill the guy who made this, and when Kamijou returns, we are going to beat the crap out of him too for good measure."

"Awesome," Saiai cheered and punched the air. Rikou wasn't going to argue with Shizuri when she saw the expression of rage on her face. Rikou knew people didn't get away unscathed after making fun of her, except for Accelerator. Shiage followed the girls, but he was depressed.

 _I can't do much for the first two, they dug their own graves. I can at least call Kamijou and let him know what happened when I get a chance. I owe him that much. He helped a lot with my relationship progress._

* * *

"Now I'm sure you are all wondering why I called you here," Eve announced, as she paced back and forth in front of four people on the roof of a skyscraper. She was wearing a silver dress which could have been considered conservative, if it wasn't so short a stray gust of wind would probably show everything. The four people in front of her did not look amused at her joke. It was early evening and school had been out for a little while, so it was odd Eve's group was operating so openly during the day. However, they knew her objective and anything she told them to do was designed to accomplish it.

"I can't believe you called those two," Juliet complained and stamped her foot down hard on the roof. She was wearing a purple tank top and low cut, form fitting jeans. She swept her long brown hair out of her eyes, yet the rose tucked behind her ear never moved. She could have easily been going to a dance club. "Cain and I could have handled everything."

"Calm yourself," Cain said. He yawned, but didn't even try to stifle it. He was wearing all black, including a hoody, which stood out as the sun beat down on them. The clouds in the distance indicated it was not going to stay sunny long and the forecast did say rain was imminent. "Lady Eve would not have summoned all four of us without a reason."

"It is unusual for you to call us when you have Cain available here," one of the newcomers added. This man was easily in his forties or fifties, but radiated an aura of strength far beyond someone his age. He was wearing black and red armor. A cuirass covered his chest, armor plates covered his upper arms, plates were tied around his waist which covered the thighs, and his hands were covered by gloves. His boots were armored too, but he wasn't wearing a helmet. His medium length black hair was tied in the back. His brown eyes held a gaze as tough as steel. On his belt were two swords, while a large naginatagla, a wooden pole with a curved single-edged blade on the end. It was like he was a perfect museum replica of a Japanese samurai from several centuries ago. The difference was his very being seemed to be forged from countless battles. "I'm guessing you finally gave up this sneaking around and have decided to wage full on war? Though," he looked around, "I don't see Caesar here."

"This mission only requires you four," Eve laughed. "Besides, he's busy helping Adam in Australia. Someone has to keep the peons in line."

"It's going to be another boring mission," Juliet sighed. "Can we hurry this up so I can kill those bitches and claim my reward you promised?"

"But you will get that chance today my dear Juliet," Eve giggled. Juliet's mouth fell open.

"Really? It's time?"

"It all depends on how your target reacts," Eve explained. She held out her hand and four pieces of paper formed with a picture of a person on each one. They flew separately to the four people in front of her. Each of them caught their paper and looked at it.

"Children?" the samurai asked. "Seriously?"

"Do not underestimate them," Eve told him. "Each one of them is quite powerful. They gave the second princess wielding Curtana Original a hard time."

"Interesting," the samurai said with a grin. "I can see the darkness in her gaze."

"Of course I get stuck with her," Juliet moaned. "This is going to be quick. She can't hurt me."

"This task isn't a normal assassination mission," Eve told them. "There is a certain order of things that must be followed. Even though it would be easier to outright kill them, you can't. They have to be pushed to their limits and beyond. Each one of them has weaknesses you can exploit to push them over the edge."

"Wait," the samurai interrupted, as he realized what she was telling them. "Are you telling us to train them by giving them battle experience?"

"Yep," Eve laughed, glad he caught on so quickly.

"Why?" Cain asked. "This seems like the exact opposite of our mission."

"It's part of an agreement I made," Eve shrugged. "But one of those four would have to be attacked either way. You need to push them to a life or death situation in order for them to evolve."

"How does this help me with my prize?" Juliet demanded.

"I'm getting there," Eve told her. "Shush. The task is simple. Beat them mercilessly until they either evolve or die. Those are their only two options. I'm not responsible for the outcome, only the set up."

"How do we tell if they evolved?" the samurai asked. "And what if we still kill them afterwards?"

"It will be obvious," Eve said. "As for their deaths," she shrugged. "My part of the deal was to set up this situation. If they die, that is not my responsibility, even after an evolution. He should have phrased his deal better." She laughed loudly and Juliet scowled.

"Don't make fun of him," Juliet reprimanded. "He hasn't had eternity to master wordplay, but I think I see how this helps me. If his plans fail, there will be nothing left to keep him here except those two whores. Then I kill them and he's mine."

"You will get a chance at one of them," Eve added. Her smile widened at Juliet's shocked expression. "Your target is very attached to her friends. Threatening and hurting them will cause her to fly into a rage. If she is unable to protect her best friend, she will have no choice but to grow, or you kill both of them. Remember, you need to go at them with the intent to kill, but slow enough to give her a chance."

"Sounds more complicated than it needs to be," Juliet responded and rubbed her head. "But it's not like I have many other options and this gives me a chance to take down a rival."

"Excellent," Eve cheered and clapped her hands together. She turned to the samurai. "I gave you a very temperamental one. She won't hesitate to kill you for even the smallest infraction. She also has had experience in life and death struggles, so you may have some fun."

"What weakness does she have that I should focus on to cause her evolution?" he asked.

"Her weakness is more mental than physical," Eve told him. "She's pretty strong physically and her attacks burn away everything in its path. However, when she believes someone is mocking her, she reveals her temper. She gets mad way to easily over little things. Sprinkle a little bit about others being stronger than her and how the Imagine Breaker is dying. After that, she will have no choice but to grow to protect her pride. Be warned, should she evolve, her attacks could give you trouble and she will not show mercy."

"I am use to fighting with my life on the line and I will never let my guard down again," he told her. "She will be no match for me."

"Cain," Eve continued and moved in front of him. "I gave you the strongest one of them. Among these four, he could be considered in a league of his own. His power should not be any match for you, but there have been signs his evolution is different than the others. You also have another task while fighting him and they go hand in hand."

"Which is?" Cain asked, while he crumpled the picture of his target.

"Your other target needs to be controlled not killed," Eve told him and passed over another picture she conjured out of thin air. "Turn her into a vampire if you have to, not a thrall, not food, not a corpse, but a full blooded vampire."

"Interesting," Cain mumbled. "It has been centuries since you asked me that."

"It will also drive your primary target insane," Eve added. "So it has multiple uses. Turning her into a vampire is essential to retrieving the last wing."

"It will be done."

"Do NOT lose sight of your goals," Eve warned him. "If your temper controls you, our entire endeavor could be wasted." Cain nodded and Eve moved to the last person. "Your target is going to be tricky."

"I have to admit I am conflicted about trying to kill a young lady, but Academy City individuals can hardly be considered normal." The man was either in his late 20s or early 30s. He had long dirty blonde hair down to his shoulders and a full beard of the same color. He was wearing a very luxurious suit with a red tie and looked out of place among all the others. It was as if he was royalty standing among the commoners. The only sign that he was a fighter was a single longsword in a scabbard on his hip. The pommel was gold and encrusted with gems. The scabbard was made of rich brown leather, but aged as if it was made countless years ago.

"Your code of honor is admirable," Eve told him with a smile. "I wouldn't be worried about your target if her evolution didn't require an external stimulus." She started pacing back and forth. "Your unique characteristics would allow me to create a few puppets to follow you. They will be loyal, but over flowing with Telesma. Use them wisely, but remember to guard your mind. Your target could make you her bitch in seconds if you don't."

"My mind is always closely guarded," the man told her. It was not arrogance, overconfidence, bravado, or sarcasm. He simply told her the truth. His voice was calm, smooth, and regal.

"Excellent," Eve bubbled happily. She walked over to the edge of the building and leaned out over the street. "He should have had enough time to make sure all the targets are separated. You all know the plan. Make sure you don't fail when we are so close."

"What are you going to be doing while we fight?" Juliet asked. "Sit here and eat cake?"

"Of course not," Eve denied, but her tone told everyone she would be if she could. "We are making a large move. Did you think Academy City would just sit back and allow us to assault their research subjects? They will no doubt mobilize their forces. My job is to distract them. I bet they consider me a bigger threat than all of you. I plan to make sure they can't ignore me." She looked at all of them. "Any other questions?"

"How long do we have?" the samurai asked.

"Until either you or they are dead," Eve replied. "Now get going! The final stretch is at hand!" Four pieces of paper formed around her, folded themselves into airplanes, and flew in different directions. Cain disappeared in a blur. Juliet transformed into her shadow form and flew off after one. The samurai started running toward the edge of the roof and jump tens of meters into the air, before landing on the next roof. The man in the suit decided on the more sensible approach, and he took the stairs. Eve watched them leave and sighed. She stretched her arm out in front of her and a book appeared out of thin air in her hand. She held the book in the palm of her hand and it fell open. Pages started flying out and flew around her in a spiral. She grinned and pointed to a spot in front of her. The pages converged at the location and formed a boat.

More specifically, a gondola and it was being driven by a masked man she created with it.

"There's only one place to go," she said out loud, but still mostly to herself. She stepped up into the boat and it started to float into the air. "It's time to pay Aleister a little visit again. I hope he still isn't mad about our last encounter." The boat started to move slowly and deliberately toward the windowless building.

* * *

"Are you sure we should do this?" Kazari asked Jason. They stood outside her dorm. "It's getting late."

"It's still pretty early," Jason laughed, as he brushed off her worries. "Besides, everyone on your floor knows me and it's not like I'm spending the night." He paused and raised an eyebrow. "I mean, if you want me to because you're lonely, I will..."

"That's not it!" Kazari told him quickly and her face flushed. "Thanks for worrying about me, but I'm going to believe in them like you said. It's just if we watch the movie, it will be after curfew for you. Plus, we aren't supposed to have guests after curfew unless they fill out the paperwork. The rules also forbid overnight stays for boys and girls in the same room. You know that."

"Your supervisor is a lot more relax on those rules," Jason reminded her. "He has let me stay over past curfew when I was tutoring Saten-san a couple times. He won't care if I leave a little late."

"But that's school work…"

"I guess we can't enjoy this cake together then," Jason sighed and held up the bag to remind her. "You have been really good on watching your diet, so a little treat won't hurt. Once that boring Judgement and Anti-Skill training is done Sunday, we can go back to normal."

"Okay," Kazari relented. "Let's get up there then. If we start it soon, you won't be that late." The cake temptation was too much for her and they both knew it. She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the dorm after him. They passed and smiled at several of her friends and a couple classmates, before heading up to her room. Jason set down the bag with the two pieces of cake in it on the table while Kazari set up the DVD player on her and Saten-san's TV. She found herself humming slightly to herself and sat down at the table to eat. Once they finished Kazari threw their plates away while Jason sat on her bed and leaned up against the wall.

"So," he said to her. "Your talent has been discovered and if you keep up the pace, you could be my boss soon enough."

"Very funny," Kazari said and rolled her eyes. "My skills are in computers, not management. Besides, you're in a completely different division, so we won't be working together."

"If you accept it you can always visit. Anyways, you told me what our supervisor offered you, but you never told me what you thought of him."

"I was shocked he wasn't umm…normal looking." Kazari amended quickly. She remembered Noukan's advice about mentioning his appearance and name. She had told Jason and he had agreed she shouldn't speak his name casually. _Jason always just called him a supervisor, so I'll do that too. I don't want to get either of us in trouble._ "His voice made me feel at ease and his assistant didn't seem to take things seriously, but it was obvious she respected him."

"That's an understatement, but go on."

"But I feel like he's a serious individual," Kazari continued. "He wouldn't do something lightly. The reason he actually saw me was because of our run in with the… other side, and my hacking the security system of his lab. I can't believe he was there, but I can understand why you didn't tell me."

 _And there's other reasons he's not telling you,_ Jason thought. _Least of all, to get to me. I read his message loud and clear._ "He would get swamped if his appearance got out to the general public, but he was right about your skills. What you know how to do, would dwarf most people's knowledge. I'm still amazed at what you can do on the computer and I've watch you do it."

"Thanks," Kazari said sheepishly and sat down next to him. "But you know, I see what you meant about him not telling me everything. I mean, I definitely understand he can't, but I felt like he was hiding something. I probably wouldn't have noticed if you didn't warn me and I had my guard down. I bet he has a lot on his mind with everything he does for the city."

"That's true," Jason agreed. "I have a lot of research information and intel on future events that can't be leaked out to the public. He probably has hundreds of times more." _Plus all the illegal shit he can't let the public know about._

 _Why not just tell her?_

 _I still rather her avoid the dark underbelly of Academy City. Noukan is keeping her close to control me, like that's possible. As long as she doesn't do anything to make her a threat to him, she will be fine._

 _Keep telling yourself that._

"But I promise to let you know if something happens to make me uncomfortable," Kazari promised. _I can tell Jason's still worried about me working for him. I'm nervous, but this is so exciting. I finally get to see what it is like for him to work for the city._ She felt his arm wrap around her and she felt better knowing her words made him relax. She picked up the remote and turned the movie on. "I've really wanted to see this, but Saten-san isn't into this kind of movies. I hope it's not too boring for you."

"I read the summary on the back and it should have enough drama to keep me interested," Jason laughed.

"I feel like you are only saying that to make me happy," Kazari said. "But thanks, regardless." She stood up and turned off the lights. Making her way back to the bed, with only the TV light, she got an idea. _He normally instigates the romantic actions, it's my turn._ Instead of sitting back down next to Jason, she decided, in the spur of the moment, to sit down in his lap.

"Huh?" Jason asked in surprise, but Kazari only giggled. Her plan worked and she actually managed to cause him a little embarrassment, but it was the good kind where no one was hurt, instead of something like dumping water on someone. She grabbed his arms and wrapped them around her waist. "Wow, you're bold today. Feeling lonely?"

"Maybe a little," Kazari admitted. "But I wanted to set the mood too." She was a little lonely because this would be the second night without Ruiko returning. However, Jason went out of his way to make sure she was alright, waited for her to finish her meeting, and then bought her cake and a movie to cheer her up. She did enjoy the feeling of being embraced and didn't want it to end too soon. _It feels so nice and his chest is comfortable._

"Whatever you need," Jason told her and she smiled. When Kazari turned her attention to the movie, Jason froze. His eyes darted out the window and a small smile tugged at his lips. He felt a sudden surge of immense mana emerge from multiple individuals around the city. _It looks like Eve finally moved. She's not even trying to hide her presence. I suppose it's time to work on my alibi._ "Oops, almost forgot to silence my phone," Jason mumbled.

"Good idea," Kazari agreed quickly. She realized it would be terrible for her phone to go off in the middle of the movie. Normally, the odds were against that from happening, but an image of an unlucky boy popped in her mind, which required her to stifle a giggle. _Saten-san probably won't contact me because it feels like her mission is a secret and everyone else can wait a little bit._ Once their phones were off, they tossed them to the far edge of the bed and turned their focus to the movie. Kazari's eyes were glued to the screen as soon as the main heroine showed up. _She's so pretty…_ Jason's mind, however, begun to wander.

 _It's up to the others to survive. Good luck all of you. I won't be finding a way to bail you out._

* * *

"That's an amazing score," Kuroko said. Mikoto had just scored a 96 singing the Gekota theme song. Their time was just about up and Mikoto chose her favorite song as her last one. "I think you deserved a hundred, but this machine refuses to understand your perfection. Maybe it's broken." Mikoto shrugged, but didn't interrupt Kuroko. "I still think you need to find some more adult interest. Being interested in the frog is cute and all but, as the Ace of Tokiwadai, you really need to set an example."

"You know I hate that title," Mikoto told her with a roll of her eyes. "I'm not Shokuhou and would rather just be known by my name. I also like what I like."

"I know onee-sama," Kuroko acknowledged. "It's part of your charm." She put up their microphones and opened the door to leave. "It's just you represent our entire school, whether you want to or not. When someone sees you, they automatically think of our school. I'm not saying you should give up your interests, but try to show off your other talents too. It's been ages since I've seen you play your violin in public."

"I'm not a big fan of crowds watching me," Mikoto admitted. _That's an understatement. I get stage fright when hundreds of eyes are staring at me._

"Especially all those apes who only have perverted thoughts," Kuroko mumbled. _Only I can have those thoughts._ She realized she hadn't been having those daydreams as often and that confused her slightly. Instead, she had been thinking of someone else more and more. It caused her stomach to churn and made her slightly nauseous. The biggest issue was she still had feelings for Mikoto and now she felt guilty for thinking about them both.

"Pot meet kettle," Mikoto mumbled soft enough so Kuroko couldn't hear. The point of today was to cheer Kuroko up and it seemed to be working. Kuroko had a lot of fun spending time with her at karaoke and they spent a couple hours there singing. They only took a short break to order some dinner. Mikoto enjoyed the time they spent together, girl time while still being able to act like herself, and Kuroko only felt her up once during the entire encounter.

"I have been wondering," Kuroko asked. "Why did Shokuhou-san bring you that dress and when are you going to wear it, so I can admire it on you?"

"No idea," lied Mikoto. She actually knew exactly what happened because Misaki told her personally. _I can't tell Kuroko that Shokuhou bought it when she was in my body and purposely gave it to me when Kuroko was nearby. It took her awhile to track it down, but I wish she didn't. She drives me insane._ Instead of saying she was never going to wear it, she tried to change the topic. "Glad you cheered up at any rate. You seemed to have been distracted the last few days."

"I had a few things on my mind," Kuroko admitted. "But thanks for everything. I do feel a lot better."

"I'll do anything for my friends," Mikoto smiled and Kuroko beamed at her.

"Which is only another reason why you are amazing," Kuroko pointed out. They passed the front desk and the lady behind it looked up. Mikoto glanced casually at her, because the movement caught her eye, and her eyes widened. The lady was the same one who had seen her with Touma and it seemed she recognized Mikoto.

"Hello again," she said kindly. "I didn't expect to see you again so soon. I hoped you enjoyed yourself with your friend."

"I did," Mikoto replied evenly, while avoiding Kuroko's gaze.

"I didn't hear of any electrical malfunctions this time," the lady continued and a smile appeared on her face. "Thank you for taking care, but could it only have been because a young man was with you last time?"

"We need to get going," Mikoto told the lady quickly and she grabbed Kuroko's arm. _This is bad._ The lady waved to them as they exited the building. Mikoto didn't stop until they were a block away from the building. _That was close. Things could have gotten ugly. Wait, Kuroko has been really quiet…_ Mikoto turned slowly to face Kuroko, who was staring at her with a stony face. "So, er, Kuroko, we still have some time before curfew. Do you want to do anything else while we are out?"

"Onee-sama," Kuroko said slowly. Her gaze remained emotionless. "I thought you hadn't been here before, but the lady at the front desk knew you. Who was the young man you brought there with you?" Kuroko had a pretty good idea who, but she needed to hear it from Mikoto.

"It was…," Mikoto started to say and then sighed. _There's no point lying to her. She would be able to tell immediately._ It's not like she was purposely hiding it, but she didn't think it was a good idea to openly tell Kuroko about. "Touma invited me Monday to go there with him. I accidently shocked the machine and that's why she remembered me."

"What happened to cause you the release electricity?" Kuroko asked and her eyes widened. "Don't tell me… You and the ape… while alone in the room…" She grabbed her head and crouched down on the ground. "She's been soiled by him. I bet he forced himself on her and she couldn't do anything because of his hand…"

"Who has been soiled?" Mikoto fumed and hit Kuroko hard on the top of her head. "Nothing happened and it was an accident. Even if something did…" She paused and her face turned red. _What did I expect to happen while we were there?_ She suddenly imagined them during the duet, their faces getting closer, and their lips about to touch. Her eyes glazed over and her face flushed. Kuroko did not miss those obvious signs, because they were the same signs she gave off when she used to think about Mikoto.

"I knew I would lose against him for your attention," Kuroko sighed and turned away from Mikoto. "I didn't want to believe it, but a part of me always knew." Kuroko started walking mechanically away from her. _I would normally get angry or try to show her I'm better than the ape, but I think it's really a losing battle. They were alone in a karaoke room for so long, something had to have happened._

"Wait Kuroko!" Mikoto called out after shaking her head to get rid of her daydreams. "Don't go!" She caught up to Kuroko and grabbed her shoulder. "Talk to me." Kuroko turned around and Mikoto could see the sadness in her eyes and there was even water in the corners. _Dang it. I didn't expect us to have the talk now, but it looks like it's unavoidable._

"I really have no chance with you," Kuroko sighed. "Do I?"

"It's not like that," Mikoto protested. She looked around and saw a couple people staring at her. "Arg, come with me." She grabbed Kuroko's hand and pulled her down an ally to another less populated street. She looked around and saw another nearby street with even less people, so she pulled Kuroko down it. "Okay, now we can talk in private." She turned to Kuroko, who was watching her. Kuroko's eyes were still wet and she looked depressed. Mikoto didn't like this, but she had to make it completely clear for Kuroko now or she would be hurt even more down the road. "Listen Kuroko, I have told you this before many times. You are my best friend, but I don't have feelings for you in THAT way. I like boys, more specifically him."

"I can change," Kuroko told her, almost to the point of begging. "I'll do anything to be with you."

"I don't want you to change," Mikoto said firmly. She placed both of her hands onto Kuroko's shoulders and stared at her straight in the eyes. "I like you because you are you, not because you try to act like someone else. If you ever stopped being my friend, I don't know what I will do. I want us to stay close, but you have to understand, I like Touma. When I think about him my heart starts beating wildly and butterflies form in my stomach. Can you understand that?"

"I kind of do," Kuroko admitted and looked at the ground. In truth, that was how she felt about Mikoto. It wasn't as noticeable anymore, mainly because they hung out together so much as friends. _Plus, I feel the same way about HIM. I came to terms with myself that I liked him, but I didn't realize it would actually interfere with my feelings for onee-sama. It doesn't matter. Both of them are out of reach now._ "I always knew you didn't feel the same way about me, but I kept hoping you would one day wake up and realize you felt the same way."

"I am flattered you feel so strongly about me," Mikoto admitted. _It feels like I'm giving the friend zone talk to a boy. I always read about this situation in manga._ "And I wish I could return them. You are a great girl and anyone would be lucky to be with you. I just don't have those types of feelings for you. You are my best friend and I really would like to stay that way. We talk all the time about things we can't tell others, we live in the same room, and truly care for each other. We may not be lovers, but that makes us something else just as special, right?"

"I suppose," Kuroko replied softly. Her heart hurt, but she also felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. _Now I don't have to chase after her anymore. It's going to take some time getting use to the fact we won't be a couple, but she still wants to be my best friend. In a way, I am really lucky._ Her eyes started watering again and she wiped them with her sleeve.

"You know," Mikoto said, as she patted Kuroko reassuringly on the back. "I thought you liking me so much might have been a phase. I know I joked around with you liking Kagere at first, but I believed I actually saw some signs of it. I feel you really do have some feelings for him."

"I do," Kuroko admitted.

"Huh?" Mikoto asked, stunned. She didn't expect Kuroko to admit it so easily.

"I admitted it to myself already," Kuroko explained. "I'm not sure when I started to, but it kept welling up within me and pushing aside some of my feelings for you." _I actually feel better talking about this, but I have no idea what to do next._

"Have you told anyone else this?" Mikoto was genuinely curious because of how easily Kuroko admitted it, when she usually denied it with every fiber of being, pretended to be sick, or avoided the question entirely.

"Who would I have told?" Kuroko asked incredulously. "Him? I couldn't do that after how much we argue. Uiharu? I can't tell her I actually have feelings for her boyfriend. She's a great friend and saying that would only strain our relationship." Mentioning Uiharu caused something to well up in her throat and she stopped talking. _If she finds out about this… could our friendship even survive?_

"You have a point," Mikoto agreed hesitantly. She wanted to help Kuroko move past her feelings for her, but it was going to be tough. Mikoto wasn't sure how Kazari would react if she found out. "I won't tell them, but Uiharu-san and Saten-san tend to notice these things. They might already know or at least have some suspicion."

"That could be bad," whispered Kuroko at the thought of Kazari finding out. "She hasn't mentioned it and I don't think there's been any animosity between us."

"I think you should tell Uiharu-san at least," Mikoto suggested. "Even if you don't mean to, you might start acting differently when you are with them and building walls between you all. Plus, I'm sure you will feel better if you tell her. I know I did." Her voice went soft for a moment. "But, I'll support whatever decision you decide to do."

"I don't know if I can," Kuroko confessed. "Maybe when I calm down and sort everything out. I'm still processing our friendship right now."

"If you need any help," Mikoto told her and put her hand on Kuroko's shoulder. "Just let me know."

"Thanks onee-sama," Kuroko said gratefully.

"I'm surprised though," Mikoto commented. "You aren't the type to be shy about these things. With what you did to me, I figured you would just jump at him and confess."

"If he was single I might," Kuroko admitted. "But he's with Uiharu. I can't do that to her. I could do it to you because you weren't seeing anyone. I also don't want him to think he's won in any way." Her eyes glowed with fire then they went out. "Why can't the people I like feel the same way about me?"

"Maybe you are just unlucky?" Mikoto said and fought every desire not to laugh. Kuroko glanced at her for a moment, because she knew exactly what she meant. "Do you feel better after telling me this?"

"I actually do," Kuroko said honestly. She was still slightly depressed at the thought she wouldn't ever be with Mikoto as a couple, but she also felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. _I feel like I want to vomit and smile at the same time. Feelings are really complicated. Maybe I need to sleep on this and decide how I want to go further. Who would have thought I actually have feelings for a boy, especially someone as annoying as him. I'm not even sure why I like him._ "Thanks for everyone onee-sama."

"Anytime," Mikoto replied with a smile. "You know, you can call me by my actually name. You don't have to keep calling me onee-sama."

"But I like it," Kuroko protested and then laughed loudly. "I'm going to keep calling you it."

"Whatever makes you happy," Mikoto sighed, but she continued to smile. _I'm glad everything is back to normal._

"Well that was an emotional conversation," a familiar female voice commented, which caused them both to freeze in place. "I hope I'm not interrupting and you got everything off your chests." Mikoto and Kuroko turned around to see where the voice was coming from. A young girl in casual clothes was standing on top of a street light and was watching them closely. She had a small smile on her lips, but there was nothing cheerful or amusing about it. Her eyes held a darkness within them and her smile was more mocking than anything else. "Your final conversation should always resolve any issues you may have."

"Juliet!" Mikoto gasped and immediately put up her guard.

"Why are you here?" Kuroko asked, but took a step back in preparation.

"Eve has decided she is too big of an annoyance," Juliet replied and pointed to Mikoto. "I have been tasked with her destruction."

"What?!" Mikoto gasped.

"I won't stand by and let you attack her," Kuroko declared.

"Good," Juliet laughed and a chill went down their spines. "I was told I could kill you too and that will reduce my rivals by one." Before Kuroko or Mikoto could say anything, Juliet continued. "I heard everything, so words won't save you. While you two were talking, I cleared away all the other people. It is just us three. Now DIE!" She yelled the last word and her arm turned into a shadow. It extended at high speed with a very lethal point on the end.

* * *

"This way MISAKA demands as MISAKA pulls your arm to get you to speed up." Last Order had been dragging Accelerator around the city to all her favorite places she liked to visit with Index. When she had found out Accelerator brought a girl home and tried to keep it hidden from her, Last Order immediately disconnected him from the network, except for his speech center, until she was able to get back to the apartment. When she arrived, she saw Worst in foul spirits because a silver haired girl, who Last Order recognized as Bayloupe from England, was preventing Worst from messing with Accelerator's face. It seemed like Accelerator told her what happened and they were waiting for Last Order to calm down. Once she reconnected him to the network, she demanded he spend the afternoon with her.

"Slow down brat," Accelerator mumbled, but tried to keep up with her all the same. Bayloupe watched them in silence, as she thought about what was going on between them, and then Worst broke the silence.

"Misaka can't believe you wouldn't let Misaka doodle on tou-san's face," Worst mumbled next to her. "It was the perfect opportunity."

"He would have killed you once he gained movement," Bayloupe pointed out.

"Nah," Misaka disagreed and waved her hand dismissively. "He tries to act tough but inside he is a big softy. He won't hurt Misaka and the most he will do to the moderator is chop her on the head."

"That doesn't sound like him," Bayloupe muttered, as she remembered their initial meeting. _He was arrogant, rude, and didn't seem to care about being violent. Why is that little girl so special?_ She noticed how Last Order adored Accelerator and, regardless of what he said, his expression softened around her. _It's almost like a father and daughter… is that why Worst calls him tou-san?_

"He's just trying to make up for everything he did in the past," Worst sneered. "But it lets Misaka piss him off, so it all worked out in the end."

"Where are we going now?" Both of them turned to look at Accelerator who seemed to be at the edge of his patience in trying to figure out where Last Order was taking them now. _At least she's seems to be done being angry,_ he thought. _The one good thing about the brat is she doesn't hold grudges._

"Misaka is supposed to be meeting someone here MISAKA says mysteriously as MISAKA wants the meeting to be a surprise." She led them into a park and looked around. "They are late MISAKA mumbles."

"Who are we waiting for…?" Accelerator started to ask, when he heard a familiar female voice. _Seriously? Did the brat learn how to hold a grudge from Worst? Fuck!_

"Sorry I'm late Last Order," Estelle gasped as she ran toward them. She was still wearing her favorite style of clothes, a black cloak over her white blouse and red skirt. "What was so important I needed to rush over here?" She looked at Accelerator and he saw confusion on her face. Estelle's eyes traveled over Worst and stopped on Bayloupe. She gave a short gasp. "Did you know she's a magician too?" she asked Last Order.

"MISAKA does MISAKA confirms, but MISAKA has important news to tell you MISAKA blurts out as MISAKA tries to inform you of the urgent situation. Accelerator brought her back to our apartment during the day while cutting school." Estelle blinked in confusion and looked at the others behind Last Order. Accelerator face palmed, Worst was laughing loudly, and Bayloupe was shaking her head.

 _Has Lessar affected her this much?_ Bayloupe thought and her eyes darted back to the new girl. _I don't know her name, but judging by her outfit, style, and symbols, I would say she is some kind of necromancer._

"Okay," Estelle replied confused to Last Order. She really didn't understand what the big deal was. It was true she admired Accelerator because of his battle prowess and kind nature, but she didn't understand relationships and sexual activities. She did know he only acted tough around others, or at least believed that. Even after hearing Accelerator brought a girl into his house, she didn't feel any jealousy. "I'm sure master had a reason. Did you ask him?"

 _Master?_ Bayloupe thought in shock. "Err, Accelerator, who is she?"

"Estelle Rosenthal," Accelerator mumbled. He didn't look up at her and his hand was still on his face. "She's a magician I helped out once and then she nagged me constantly to become my apprentice. It's not like I know anything about magic." He shook his head and continued muttering to himself. "I only found out recently I could refine mana, but then the nun said I shouldn't experiment with it."

"He even made her lunch," Worst called out, as she snuck over next to Last Order and Estelle. She was doing this mainly to annoy Last Order and immediately knew her words had an impact. _Hah, Misaka can feel all her negative emotions._ "If Misaka didn't show up when she did, I'm sure he would have taken her into his room and they would have been busy."

"What?! MISAKA gasps!"

"What do you mean busy?" Estelle asked. Worst's smile slipped off her face at the girl's cluelessness. Bayloupe was about to interrupt Worst's lies, but something Accelerator said caused her to focus on him.

"What do you mean you found out how to refine mana?" she whispered. "Who taught you?"

"I discovered it by accident," Accelerator replied. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Why do you care?"

"It's unusual for people to discover how to do it on their own," Bayloupe admitted. "Are you sure you actually can?"

"I told you before," Accelerator snapped and reached for his choker. "Don't ever doubt me." He concentrated on the unknown magic vectors within his body and begun to change their direction in ways that did not cause him pain. He slowly increased the numbers, careful to make sure he had complete control over the entire process. It had been awhile since he used those vectors on himself, but he still remembered how. This was mainly a refresher course for him. Bayloupe watched him for a moment and then their eyes grew wide. Accelerator sneered and stopped manipulating the vectors. After shutting off the choker, he asked, "satisfied?"

"Wow," Bayloupe breathed. "You can. That's amazing coming from someone on the science side without a teacher. I thought your friend or Index might have taught you."

"The nun warned me about using it," Accelerator said. "Magic and science abilities don't mix well, but I'm special." Bayloupe rolled her eyes at his bravado. Accelerator didn't know why, but he wanted to show off in front of her. He didn't come across a girl around his age, even if she was a little older, that didn't annoy him. A normal girl would have been scared of his power after facing him, but Bayloupe still seemed to act normally around him. It was rather refreshing.

"Where did everyone go? MISAKA asks as MISAKA noticed it got quiet all of a sudden."

Everyone looked around and Last Order was right, the park was deserted except for them. Before anyone could make a comment about it, a chill swept through the air around them. Estelle and Bayloupe recognized the feeling first, because they could sense magic, and turned to gaze, horrified, at the source. A lone man dressed all in black was walking toward them. The man reached a hand up and pulled off the hood of his hoody to reveal his face. His hair was brown with streaks of silver, yet his face looked young, and his eyes were blood red. His hands were in the front pocket of the hoody while he walked toward them. It wasn't his sudden appearance that shocked the two magicians though.

It was the endless amount of mana that he was emitting.

While non-magicians couldn't feel it, they only received a chill or a feeling something was wrong, the pressure from the mana was making it hard to breathe and it felt like they were being crushed. They couldn't talk as the man approached them in a slow and deliberate manner. He never broke his stride. Accelerator, Last Order, and Worst finally noticed him and turned. "Shit," Accelerator growled. He reached out a hand and pushed Last Order behind him. "You need to stay back," he muttered before his eyes darted back to the man. "Why the fuck is Cain here?"

"Cain?" Estelle and Bayloupe asked him in shock, after finally finding their voices. "Do you mean…?"

"Yes," interrupted Accelerator. "He's supposed to be a vampire."

"That explains the mana," Bayloupe said, as she reached for her Steel Glove weapon and begun to assemble it.

"This mana can't be real," Estelle gasped. "So this is a vampire's strength?"

"He doesn't look that tough," Worst commented.

"MISAKA feels like she should be going MISAKA admits as MISAKA is overcome with fear."

"Stay back and be quiet," Accelerator told her. "I'll handle him."

"You seem to be under the delusion you have the power too," Cain commented mildly. "I believe this will be our first true confrontation. I hope you don't freeze up like last time." A smile formed on his lips, but did not reach his eyes.

"I'm going to murder you," Accelerator snarled and took a step forward while flipping on his choker again.

"Interesting," Cain laughed. It was a cold laugh with no trace of joy or humor. "Then we both are on the same wavelength. You see, Eve has decided you are a liability that needs to be eliminated and she has assigned me with the task."

"I would like to see you try," Accelerator sneered.

"Afterwards," Cain continued, as if Accelerator had not interrupted him. "When you are no longer a part of this world, my mission is to take the girl behind you to Eve."

"What?" Accelerator asked. He could feel Last Order's grip tighten on the back of his shirt and his anger rose. "Are you seriously trying to piss me off?"

"No," Cain admitted. "I am simply telling both of you your fate."

* * *

"Has he moved since?" Shizuri asked Rikou. They, along with Saiai and Shiage, were sitting in a car. Shizuri had planned to find Jason and beat him up for giving the others that documentary, but he had entered a school dormitory about twenty minutes ago and hadn't come out.

"…No," Rikou told her.

"Damn it," Shizuri growled and balled her hand into a fist. "It's too public of a place to burst into."

"Why is he even in there in the first place?" Shiage asked. "He looked like he was in high school and this is a middle school dorm."

"Must be that flower girl's dorm then," Saiai answered. "Well, how long do you super want to wait Mugino?"

"There's no use waiting around here," Shizuri mumbled. "If I remember correctly, the guy who did the voice over lives in the same dorm as Kamijou. Let's pay him a visit. I want to make sure he loses any copies he still has."

"I could use a new punching bag," Saiai added, as Shiage started the car and pulled off from the corner. "Takitsubo super makes me feel bad if I beat up Hamazura too much. I don't even see any damage to him anyways."

"Because I still have the bruises in places I don't normally display to the public," Shiage muttered. He was grateful to Rikou for trying to keep Saiai and Frenda off his back. He took Touma's advice and tried to act like himself around Rikou. It seemed to work because she stuck up for him more often. She couldn't completely stop the others from bulling him, but he noticed a considerable difference. _I need a good opportunity to show off to her and then confess._ He pulled out into a main street and noticed something. "Seems like something happened up ahead, because the cars are stopping."

"Go down a side road," Shizuri directed and he nodded. "Some idiot probably discovered they can't drive straight." Shiage turned off the main road at the next opportunity, and then turned onto an access road. There was no one else here at the time and Shiage was able to step on the accelerator. The last thing he wanted was an impatient Shizuri right next to them. The sun was beginning to move behind clouds and it was going to start raining within an hour. He turned at a fork in the road and, again, it was an empty street.

"This is weird," he muttered, more to himself than the others. _It's still early. There should be some people out._ He suddenly saw movement. A single man walked out into the middle of the street and stopped, instead of crossing all the way. Shiage started to slow down and he heard Shizuri make an impatient noise. "There's an idiot in the middle of the street…"

"Run him over," Saiai suggested.

"…What's he wearing?" Shiage asked out loud. "It looks like samurai armor. What the hell?"

"There are a lot of idiots in this city," Shizuri muttered and then her eyebrows narrowed. As they got closer, she saw the man in armor turn to them and draw one of the swords from his hip. "Shit! It's a trap! Get out of the way Hamazura…!" Before Shiage could react to her commands, the samurai swung his blade vertically downwards. There was a flash of light, and a very loud cracking sound followed. Their car, which had been moving directly toward the samurai at roughly 40km per hour, had been neatly sliced in two. The car split and each half rolled off to either side of him, before crashing into the sides of buildings. "Owe," Shiage muttered, rubbing his head. "I'm glad I was wearing my seatbelt." _And the fact the car didn't explode._ "Takitsubo, are you okay?"

"…yes," Rikou answered groggily. She had been sitting behind Shiage, so they ended up on the same side. "What was that?"

"He sliced the car in half," Shiage explained, while unbuckling his seat belt. His eyes darted to the street where the samurai was still standing. He wasn't looking at them, but instead on the other half of the car which held Shizuri and Saiai. "There's also a long grove about a foot deep in the middle of the road. If it had hit any of us head on…" He didn't want to think about it.

"Do you have a plan?" she asked.

"For now," Shiage admitted. "No. His attention is currently on Mugino and Kinuhata, so he probably knows them and doesn't consider us a threat." He crawled out of the wreckage and helped Rikou out. "Let's get out of the way and see if there's something we can do without getting in the way." Rikou nodded and they quietly moved away from the man, who still wasn't paying them any attention. His eyes were glued onto Saiai, who had bounded out of her half of the car wreckage.

"I am super pissed!" she yelled out. "You are going to regret attacking us!" Her head hurt a little from the impact, but otherwise she was fine because her Offense Armor protected her.

"I was worried Lady Eve sent me after weaklings," the samurai said. "But it seems there's at least spunk in one of you."

"So Eve is behind this," Shizuri's furious voice called out from the car wreckage. She stood up slowly and dusted herself off, before stepping out of the car half. There was a small trickle of blood on the side of her face. She must have hit it when the car crashed. "I should have realized that immediately after you attacked. That was not a science ability and no other magician has a reason to attack us."

"I was told you have a temper," the samurai remarked. "But it's also true you have a brain." He held out his sword in front of him. "I hope you don't expect me to give you my name. I only give it to the strong and, from your group's reaction, this battle will be over in an instant."

"I don't give a shit about your name," Shizuri growled and an aura of hatred and rage started to form around her. "I was already pissed off before you showed up and now you gave me a perfect opportunity for stress relief." Several green orbs formed around her. "I'm going to spread your remains across the entire street!"

The man grinned.

* * *

 _Something came up and I can't meet you. Can we change the date to tomorrow?_

Misaki stared at the message and frowned. _I went out of my way to meet her here because she said she couldn't come near Tokiwadai. I bet she did this on purpose because she still holds a grudge._ She sighed and looked up. There were three other girls with her sitting at a table and talking among themselves. One girl had lilac colored hair in curls, the second one at short black hair and glasses, and the last one had medium length brown hair. "It looks like my friend had something come up at the last minute and can't meet us."

"What kind of person would dare to miss an audience with you?" the girl with brown hair gasped.

"I'm sure she has an important reason," Misaki reassured her, though she was thinking something along the same lines.

"That's the Queen for you," the black hair girl commented. "Always so understanding." Misaki smiled at her and she blushed.

"I hope nothing bad happened to your friend," the girl with curls said, slightly worriedly. "I would hate it if one of your friends was in trouble."

"She's probably fine," Misaki told her. "She has a really hectic schedule." She looked at the time again. _There's no point in sticking around here. We are too far from Tokiwadai and are attracting a lot of attention with our uniforms. The guys here are pigs compared to Touma._ "Since she is unable to join us, I figure we should head back, unless any of you need to stop somewhere." All three girls shook their heads. The girls gathered up their belongings and headed toward the nearest train stop. They could have taken the bus, the stop was nearer, but the train was faster and had much better accommodations, yet still took them close to their school. They started talking about one of their harder classes in school, but Misaki was barely paying attention. She had been wondering what a certain person was up to. She only snapped back to reality when the girl with glasses addressed her directly.

"Umm Queen?" the girl ask hesitantly. "Did they close the train station? It appears deserted." Misaki looked around and confirmed there was no one nearby.

"That is peculiar," Misaki agreed and she walked over to the ticket stand, where a list with the train times was listed. "The last train doesn't leave for over two hours. There should be people here." She looked around and saw a single man sitting on a bench. She could only see the back of his head and back, but he had dirty blonde hair and appeared to be wearing a suit. "Excuse me," she called out. "Do you know why there doesn't seem to be anyone here?" The main turned around and smiled at her.

"Of course," the man replied. Misaki felt the girls behind her stiffen and she couldn't blame them. The main's voice was, with no other word to describe it, cool. Strong, noble, but with just a hint of softness, it was the type of guy most girls dreamed about. He stood up and faced them directly. The beard was the only part of him that looked a little scruffy. The suit he wore was luxurious and obviously expensive. "You see, I wanted an audience with the famous Misaki Shokuhou, also known as the Queen, so I set up a field to keep away the civilians. I hate getting unnecessary people involved." Misaki's eye widened and she glanced down at his waist.

There was an ornate longsword attached to his hip, stored in a dark brown leather scabbard.

"Who are you?" Misaki asked. She had immediately pulled out a remote form her bag and pointed it to the other girls. She gave them an order to be on their guard and not to question the unusual situation. "And what do you want with me?"

"My name is Arthur Pendragon," the man introduced himself and bowed slightly.

"Arthur…," Misaki said slowly and then her eyes widened. "As in King Author?" She may not be very religious, but she did read fantasy novels occasionally. King Arthur was a legendary British leader who became king after pulling a magical sword from a stone. He also formed the Knights of the Round Table, the most famous member being Lancelot. There was more to him, but that was all she could recall.

"The very same."

"Are you impersonating…?" Misaki asked, but changed direction when she realized who he had to be. "You work for Eve, don't you?"

"I do," Arthur confirmed. "You see, I have been given a most unpleasant task. You have been a thorn in Lady Eve's side and she has declared you must be eliminated. I was the one assigned to carry out this mission. I hope you will not hold it against me. I take no pleasure in this."

"Then why do it?" Misaki asked, as she fortified her resolve and braced herself for a fight. _I don't know anything about his magic and Eve probably told him all about me._

"Because your fate has already been decided," Arthur explained. "And it would be more suitable for a queen to be killed by a king."

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter**

 **Not sure if I want to continue Academy City next chapter, move back to Australia, or alternate for next chapter. The timing has been roughly matched up, it's the reason I focused on Academy City. It's evening in both areas.**

 **Jason: Well, I full up on my scenes, so you all have fun and you won't see me for a while.**

 **Motoharu: Least you get some scenes, Aogami and I don't get much. It's one of the reasons we make fun of Kami-yan when we show up. How dare he be the main character?**

 **Touma: So that's why you showed the video!?**

 **Pierce: We were bored too, but did you notice when you aren't around, Accel-kun becomes a player?**

 **Accelerator: Shut up!**

 **Lessar: You go Bayloupe. Show off your body for him and he will be putty in your hands!**

 **Bayloupe: Shut up Lessar!**

 **Motoharu: Look, they are on the same wavelength already.**

 **Shizuri: Hah, Kinuhata is not going to be please.**

 **Pierce: Go the harem route Accel-kun!**

 **Accelerator: You all die once I kick this vampire's ass.**


	84. S4 The War Begins

**Sorry there is no Halloween chapter omake or anything. I thought about it, but decided I didn't want to interrupt the flow of the story or separate my thought process on a separate project. So I figured, why not add some death and destruction, a little whipping, and people running in fear? That is Halloweenish right? I hope so, because it happened. I did decide on how all the different scenes are going to be presented, mostly chronologically. I hope each fight is unique enough, but still ties the overall theme together. Oh, I definitely did not plan to release this chapter after Mr? released his new chapter just so my story would be above his. There is no way I'm that shallow or happen to be in some sort of rivalry with him. Anyway, I don't really have anything else to say except NT17 soon and I'm looking forward to it.**

 **general ironox: I had a list of people to choose from for Eve's group, but they all have something in common which ties them together. Cain's really the only one who can fight Accelerator and possibly win, so Accelerator having back up is perfect here.**

 **Brosephg: There is always a difference in fights involving a lot of people and one on one fights. One on one fights always seem to be more personal and you can focus on an individual, while group fights focus more on all the visual aspects. It's also easier to write scenes with fewer numbers of people. Each of the fights will be unique and have a lot of twists that will, hopefully, be even better than the sin fights.**

 **Seeker: He's such a slacker like that.**

 **KaguTsumi: Hmm, interesting. Guts, lots of guts. Don't mind my secret laughter, it doesn't mean anything.**

 **Whwsms: You have a lot of interesting thoughts, and I would be interested in hearing more details to see how close your ideas are to mine. I feel like Yuna is going to mess up the harem plan, but not sure. Remember, she was never supposed to be a recurring character. Eve's harem is different. It's always the males with lots of girls, why not a girl with a lot of guys? Touma could be one of many and maybe he will understand what the girls go through. Over a million words, heh. This became a novel.**

 **DivineDemonDragon: I fixed that pretty fast when you noticed. Always a problem with similar names. Misaka and Misaki have tripped me up a lot too.**

 **wildarms13: As soon as Sphinx decides to move out, the #6 will do something. You know Touma, he's surrounded by hot girls, getting fed five star cuisines, and naturally having the best luck ever… if you believed that, I have a bridge to sell you. All the historical figures have a common theme, so they worked out great.**

 **Salishious: I don't know if we can be friends anymore with you booing gears of war. I'm not sure about the fights, Misaki's could surprise you when we get there. As for your question, it depends on the situation, but focuses on the following question. "When would an interruption cause him the most misfortune?" If someone who likes him is nearby, it would probably be during the kiss so they can angrily interrupt them. If no one is, he might get hit by a falling potted plant as he tries to lean in and kiss.**

 **RPGPersona: It was never mention who Misaki was going to meet, but it was an old friend. I wanted to introduce her this way, but got side tracked. Ignorance, the most powerful defense against Worst. I did get a laugh at Atomic Samurai Jack though.**

 **Yakutsu Zaishiro: Hmm, Touma does need a harem worldwide. It's kind of an achievement.**

 **Generation Zero: That Australia fight is going to be incredibly long and have a lot of twists and turns. I can't give out to much more information now though. King Author should fit it with the common theme of the fallen, if you know his history. (Not Disney history though.)**

 **Jujudude: After Australian adventure, Touma will definitely get more dates and learn how the girls are vastly different. Worst's job is to annoy Accelerator. I'm not even sure if there are any signs in the novels she does. She takes all the negative emotions the network would feel and directs it at him.**

 **GameCguru: That's what I ended up doing. It's mostly going to be chronologically.**

 **FrodoFighter: "GOD DAMN KING ARTHUR! This chapter won in this moment." I'm glad you enjoyed the surprise. I hope his abilities live up to your expectations. You kind of already deduced his fighting style based on the clues I put in.**

 **Agent Nine: Scenes will change occasionally, but I'm trying to avoid them alternating too much.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: Character growth and change is one of my favorite parts I write about. It's interesting to imagine how a single event can cause chain reactions for how people act and perceive others around them. Especially since most of the main characters are middle/high school students and they have a lot of maturing to do.**

 **Syko-Soldier963: They didn't ask. No, but there's no immediate plans to add her. Probably not. He got pissed, threatened Motoharu, and then got over it and went to sleep. You got some easy questions, give me some hard ones.**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly. Magic Gods own all so they can do what they want.**

* * *

"Blah!?"

Touma spluttered after he felt a bunch of water on his face. He groaned and rubbed his sore head without opening his eyes. He was vaguely aware he was lying on the hard ground and finally looked up. The tent he was in was different than the one he had passed out in. It was a lot smaller and he could see out of the corner of his eyes two cots on either side of him, with a small backpack shoved in one corner. He blinked and then felt another bucket of water hit him in the face again. He spluttered once more and now was fully awake. He sat up, which turned out to be a big mistake. His head started throbbing and he felt nauseous. The last thing he remembered was seeing Carissa before everything went black. His brain begun to process everything that had happened and realized someone was throwing water on him. He looked around and his eyes widened in recognition. A familiar blonde haired, blue eyed man in his early twenties looked down at him while holding a bucket.

It was Zach, who had a wide grin plastered on his face.

"So, sleeping beauty, you awake yet?"

"Zach?" Touma coughed. "How, why…?"

"Calm down," Zach told him. "You suffered a mild heat stroke. You have to drink a lot of water when you are out here." He leaned backwards out of the tent and spoke to someone. "He's up." A second later, Ruiko barged in and was holding a canteen in her hand. "She's been worried about you." His smirk widened behind Ruiko, so she did not see.

"I'm glad you are okay," Ruiko said, as she crouched down next to him and handed him the canteen. "Here, they said for you to drink this slowly or you might start throwing up."

"Thanks," Touma replied gratefully and took a sip of the cool water. "What about the others? Was that really Carissa there or was that all a hallucination?"

"The others are back in the main tent," Ruiko explained quickly and then looked nervous. "They wanted to discuss a few things while you were out. And… you were not hallucinating. She was actually there."

"How?" Touma asked in shock and turned to Zach. "I thought she was locked in isolation?"

"She was," Zach confirmed. "But she was let out to lead this joint operation with the Anglican Church. A military leader was needed and she was available." His voice got softer, as if he was worried someone might overhear them. "I accidently heard the Queen talking to Knight Leader about it. I guess they have seen positive changes in her behavior. There was something about counseling from someone who was supposed to be a good influence on her. I didn't hear who, but the number of people who could contact her was limited, so if we found that list, it shouldn't be hard to figure out whom."

"No idea who that could be," Touma lied. _No one needs to find out about my conversations with her. I hope she doesn't tell anyone about it, but I'm pretty sure she won't._ "How long was I out and what's going to happen now?"

"Not even ten minutes," Ruiko told him helpfully.

"I see," Zach said, slightly suspiciously. He didn't have any knowledge or proof of Touma's involvement, but his keen observational skills told him otherwise. "I'm supposed to bring you back to the command tent once you are awake and feel up to it." He checked his watch. "We really should get in there soon. They are not patient people."

"I can believe that," Touma agreed with a nod of his head. "I'm feeling better, so let's not keep them waiting."

"Are you sure?" Ruiko asked. She leaned forward to look at his face closely. "You still look kind of red."

"I might need to lie down after the meeting," Touma admitted. "But I'm well enough to participate. I've been through worse."

"If you are sure..." Ruiko was worried about him, but kept her thoughts to herself. _There's too much going on for him to idle, but his health may start being affected. After this meeting, he needs to get some rest._ It would be selfish for her to voice her worries when a lot of people's lives were at stake if they didn't stop Adam. She had to use all her willpower to keep her mouth shut.

"Follow me then you two," Zach commanded. "We might have some time to talk and catch up after this meeting." Touma nodded and he and Ruiko took off after Zach. They weren't that far from the command tent and Zach announced their arrival before they entered. "He's up," he announced to everyone there. Touma felt everyone's eyes turn to him and he started to sweat. Zach bowed and exited the tent, which left Touma the center of attention.

"I see you finally decided to join us," Leivinia said. "Try not faint again. We already delayed the debriefing waiting for you."

"I'll try not to," Touma mumbled. Now that he was prepared, he looked around the tent. Agnese was sitting on the side of the table closest to him. Leivinia and Lessar were sitting on the left side of the table. Lessar looked bored, but Leivinia was showing how irritated she was at being kept waiting. Frenda and Imouto were off to the side, but were in view of the table and close enough to engage in conversation if they needed to. Ruiko was moving slowly around the edge of the tent toward the empty chair next to them. Oriana was nowhere to be seen. _She must have been only assigned to transport us._ His eyes turned to the four other individuals in the room. He saw the familiar face of George Clark on the other side of the table from himself. _Wow, he's here. I'm kind of relieved to see him. He's a lot more rational than the princess and not as serious as Knight Leader._ George was sitting next to a female with brown skin and black hair tied up in braids. She was staring at him intently with only seriousness in her brown eyes. Touma turned his attention away from her quickly and his eyes fell on the man next to her.

"William?" Touma asked in shock. William Orwell, formerly Aqua of the Back, sat in a chair with his arm crossed and a stony look on his face. The only sign he gave Touma that he heard him was to nod his head slightly.

"He's here on Villian's request." Touma's eyes darted to Carissa, the last person at the table and the one who spoke. She was also sitting down in a chair and had a side of the table completely to herself. She was staring at him intently and Touma felt more sweat form on the back of his neck. "Take a seat boy. You kept us waiting long enough." Her glare intensified and Touma could only do what she commanded him to do. There was only one seat open and it was on the closest side of the table to him and to the right of Agnese, but nearest to Carissa. He mechanically walked over and sat down without saying anything. "Good, we can finally get started. I believe a quick introduction is in order. I am Princess Carissa, as you all well know." She gestured to her right.

"William Orwell," he said gruffly. "I am here representing Third Princess Villian."

"George Clark," George introduced himself, mainly for the others. "One of the commanders under Second Princess Carissa."

"Amelia Taylor," the woman with brown skin and braids said. "The second commander under the Second Princess."

"I'm the representative of New Light," Lessar announced casually. "My name is Lessar." Carissa scowled slightly at her lackluster response.

"Leivinia Birdway," Leivinia announced. "I am the leader and representative of the Dawn-Colored Sunlight." There was a sharp intake of breath from George, Amelia, and Agnese. Even though Agnese knew who she was, there was a lot of tension between Leivinia's group and the others. Mainly, their overall goals differed significantly.

"Agnese Sanctis," Agnese spoke up to break the silence. "Representing the Anglican Church."

"Now that the formalities are over," Carissa continued. "Let's get to the reason why we are all here."

"Wait," Amelia spoke up. She pointed to Touma. "Who is he and why is he allowed to be at this table?" She also gestured to Ruiko, Imouto, and Frenda off to the side. "And why are there children here?"

"Children?" spluttered Frenda angrily. Ruiko grabbed her shoulder to keep her seated.

"We don't want to cause trouble," Ruiko whispered frantically. _I get an uneasy feeling seeing everyone here together. It's like they don't normally get along._

 _Technically we are children if she is using the standard definition of a person under the age of 18,_ Imouto thought.

"The boy there is the current wielder of the Imagine Breaker," Carissa told Amelia curtly. Her eyes however showed her true intentions. Carissa was only waiting for someone to ask. "He is the key to our plans, so he needs to understand what is going to happen." Amelia's eyes widened and George hid a smile behind his crossed hands. It seemed like he purposely didn't tell her either. "The others," Carissa continued. "Seem to be stoleaways who snuck onto his flight. I granted them permission to stay," her eyes narrowed and her voice became sharp, "if they remain quiet." Frenda looked away and tried to appear innocent. Touma suddenly imagined what conversations went on while he was passed out.

"So what is our current situation," Leivinia asked. She leaned forward and looked down at the map spread out on the table. "From what I understand, Adam has set up a defense your forces are unable to penetrate."

"That's an understatement," George explained, as he pointed to a spot on the map. "Our base camp is here. Adam has erected a barrier covering this entire area over here." He moved his hand to an area marked with a red circle. "It's several miles in diameter and everything we have tried to break through it has failed."

"You have the resources of the Anglican Church and the knights," Lessar pointed out. "What's causing so much trouble?" She found it hard to believe two of Britain's strongest forces would be helpless against a single barrier.

"The barrier reflects any magic cast at it," Agnese explained. "Like a giant mirror. So even if we managed to find a spell that would work, it can't reach. We tried to blow it away with force and it resulted in dozens of my forces being severely injured."

"Are they okay?" Touma asked. _People are already getting hurt. We need to solve this quickly._

"They won't be battle ready for a while," Agnese admitted. "But everyone else is ready to go once we break it."

"I take it physical assaults didn't work either," Leivinia said and looked at George and Amelia.

"It was about as affected as the church's magic," Amelia acknowledged. "Our forces were actually able to pass the barrier, but it does something to warp space. You can run in, but you find yourself running out of it from the direction you came from immediately."

"Sounds like spatial manipulation," Touma muttered to himself thinking. _Jason's ability uses that, so he might know how to break it. I seem to recall him saying enough energy would break his shadow, but it doesn't look like that's the case here. I wonder if I should try to contact him._ _Adam could be bending space to cause people to enter and leave from the same location._ He moved his hand to his pocket automatically, before he felt everyone's eyes on him. He looked up and confirmed they were all staring at him. "Err, did I say something wrong?"

"How much do you know about that?" Carissa demanded.

"Not a lot," Touma said quickly. "A friend of mine uses that as the base for his ability. I was thinking of contacting him. He might be able to give us some insight."

"You probably won't get a cellphone signal out here," George informed him. "We have to amplify our equipment with magic to ensure our signals are strong enough to get back to England, but are still masked in case they are intercepted."

"I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up," Carissa sighed and rubbed her forehead.

"As soon as I think you have something going for you," Leivinia added. "You destroy any expectations."

"I guess it's that straightforwardness that lets him do what he does," Lessar laughed.

"Sorry," Touma muttered. Amelia's eyes were glued on him, which made him incredibly uncomfortable.

"Anyway," Carissa said and forced the conversation back on topic. "Since everything we tried failed, we were left with two options. Use the Index Librorum Prohibitorum to decipher the barrier or have the Imagine Breaker destroy it outright. We decided on the latter. First, we don't know how long it would take to decipher the spell and if we could even target the core of the spell from our position. Second, the Archbishop was adamant about not letting her come here. She didn't believe we could protect her from Adam's wrath."

"He's not one to take it easy on people," Touma admitted. He was secretly glad Index wasn't here, but he was still worried about her. Eve was in Academy City. "Eve likes to make complicated plans, but Adam seems like he will head straight toward his goal, using whatever means necessary. He was willing to kill us when we first met him in Italy, and we didn't even know he and Eve existed."

"In some ways that makes it easier," Leivinia said. "But also more dangerous." Touma stared at her and she sighed. "Complicated plans can be harder to identify in their early stages. That's their strength, but they have a fatal weakness. If you can find out what the plan is soon enough, you can stop it easily. The more complicated the plan is, the more fragile each step is, like the cogs in a machine. A small interruption can cause the plan to fall apart. A simple and straightforward plan can be easily identified, but harder to stop, like a bolder rolling down a hill. Whatever Adam is doing, most likely falls in this category. Once we break the barrier, we should be able to figure out what it is and put a stop to it."

"And Lover Boy's hand should be able to break Adam's pathetic barrier," Lessar pointed out. Amelia looked over at George and mouthed, 'Lover Boy?' George shrugged, but the hint of a smirk formed on his face.

"That will solve our first problem," Carissa agreed. "And you have touched on the second problem. We don't know what Adam is looking for, but the information we have says the wing is in Academy City, so he shouldn't be after that. However, there is a possibility that is a lie to separate our forces."

"Eve seemed pretty serious when she told us that though," Ruiko spoke up and immediately paled under the glares from everyone at the table, except for Touma and Agnese.

"We have to keep the option in mind," Agnese agreed. "Once the barrier is down, we will have a clearer picture. There is also the possibility he is looking for something else we don't know about."

"Then there is one more problem," Carissa continued and glanced over at George. He nodded and pointed back to the map.

"We have no idea how numerous Adam's forces are," George informed them. Touma's stomach dropped. "We have to assume the worse once we break the barrier."

"From what I have seen," Lessar interjected. "Eve and Adam are only working with a small group. Most of their forces are only puppet created by Eve."

"That used to be true," Amelia refuted. "But you wouldn't know what is happening right now. A lot of people have been disappearing from the surrounding villages and towns around the border of the desert. Our scouts have even spotted several people wandering into the barrier, but not coming out." She pointed to several X marks on the map. "Here are the locations. We think someone there is using magic to control normal people's mind."

"We need to save them!" Touma said loudly.

"And we will," George told him calmly. "Don't overwork yourself now. Once Adam and any other members of his group are dealt with, the others should return to normal."

"So when is the assault?" Leivinia asked. "I assume you want to attack as soon as possible to prevent him from finishing his work or gathering too many reinforcements."

"We were planning to attack earlier today," George admitted. "But several things have been delayed."

"The courier we hired to pick you up was late," spat out Carissa. "Then our reinforcements and supplies won't be here until almost midnight." She looked pissed. "A night assault is out of the question."

"Why?" Touma asked. _That doesn't sound like her. Carissa wouldn't be deterred from a fight just because it's dark out._

"A large scale fight at night without proper planning would only result in massive casualties and most likely a humiliating defeat Misaka explains." Touma turned his head to Imouto.

 _I completely forget sometimes that she had military training._

"This young lady knows what she is talking about," George said with an approving nod. "If we could only guarantee a small skirmish, we would definitely move out tonight. Since the enemy's numbers and objective is unknown, we have to err on the side of caution. Our plan is to move out at first light tomorrow morning."

"You mean we have to stay out here in the desert," Leivinia groaned. "Overnight?"

"There is no town nearby," George pointed out. Amelia crossed her arms and looked annoyed at Leivinia's attitude, but she held her tongue.

"So how is the attack going to proceed tomorrow?" Leivinia asked.

"We are going to assault Adam's base from three directions," Amelia explained. She tapped the map at all three locations. "Princess Carissa will be leading the main force, while George and I will be leading our forces here and here." She looked up at everyone. "Because of the unknown variables, we need a commander available at each group. We will have to adapt to any surprises we encounter." This time, she looked directly at Touma. "Of course, this strategy will only work if you can break the barrier. Can you do it?"

Touma looked at her and then realized everyone else was staring at him too. It dawned on him how important his hand was now. He had lived with his hand so long, he didn't really consider it that impressive, but others did. If he couldn't break the barrier with his hand or if he refused to help, their plan would not work. Of course, one of those options was unthinkable to him. "I'll do it," Touma said with conviction. "Even if I have to run around the entire perimeter to find its weak point. I'll do whatever it takes, no matter how many times I have to try. I already saw the people Adam was willing to hurt. There were kids unrelated to this suffering from his magic. He has to be stopped."

"Well said," George agreed. Ruiko beamed at him, Agnese grinned, Imouto gave an approving nod, and even Lessar smiled. Though her thoughts were focused on how to take that motivation and move it to England. Leivinia and Frenda, the most experienced with the less pleasant sides of the world, merely shook their heads in exasperation, but they didn't appear angry. Amelia was speechless for a moment, but managed to raise an eyebrow in interest. William continued to be silent in the background, but he raised an eyebrow.

"I take it your doubts are cleared?" Carissa asked Amelia smugly.

"For now," she replied. "I'm waiting to see if his power was worth risking our entire operation for."

"You won't be disappointed," George reassured her.

"He withstood a vampire's magic head on," Leivinia added. "A small thing like a barrier will be child's play."

"So it's true?" William asked, speaking for the first time since the introduction. "I heard Cain was with Eve in Academy City."

"He lives up to his reputation," Lessar muttered. "It was like fighting the princess when she wielded Curtana." Carissa scowled, but didn't say anything. It was more like she really couldn't. "His main magic involved the earth and plants, but the very pressure he gave off was overwhelming."

"It's one of the reasons the Church sent reinforcements," Agnese said. "Kaori Kanzaki, a few of the Amakusa, and the rest of New Light was sent to protect the city while the boy was here."

"I hope Bayloupe gets a chance to make some progress," Lessar said with a grin. "There's no rush for them to leave when we get back."

"Eve hasn't been making any big moves so far," Touma informed the others. "She's after someone, but hasn't been able to capture her. She appeared before me and Mikoto and she seems to be getting impatient. My friends are keeping a lookout for any movement too."

"Good news at least," Carissa said with a grin. "As long as she can't get what she needs, she will have no choice but to act rashly. That's when complicated plans slip up."

"So there is a chance Eve could attack while we are here?" Frenda asked. _Mugino needs to know this. She should at least get a chance to prepare._

"That's a possibility," Carissa shrugged. "But our priority now is Adam. We can't be everywhere at once. Once he is taken care of tomorrow, you can go back while we decide how to deal with Eve."

"Okay," Frenda sighed. _Once this meeting is over, I need to see if I can get a signal. I wonder if they have any explosives here? I could make some extra bombs._

"Our people were fully briefed on what Eve was doing in Academy City," Agnese added. "They will take precautions to make sure your friends are safe." Frenda didn't believe Shizuri needed help from them, but she figured it would be better to keep quiet right now.

"Then it's settled," Carissa said and stood up. "Make sure to get them a couple of tents. As for the Imagine Breaker, find him a male roommate."

"I already have someone in mind," George informed her.

"Good," she replied. "I'm glad to see someone remains competent. Does anyone else have any questions?"

"Misaka has a question Misaka informs." Everyone turned to Imouto, who was raising her hand politely, as if she was in school. Carissa stared at her incredulously for a moment, before she gave a brief nod. "Misaka feels as if Adam is setting a trap for all of us Misaka says truthfully. From what Misaka understands, Adam was keeping this a secret until recently. Why would he suddenly reveal himself, unless he wanted to be found? Misaka asks concerned."

"We already considered the possibility of it being a trap," William said. "But even so, this opportunity is too great to ignore."

"But we can't be sure," George continued. "Since we don't know what Adam is after. There is the possibility he is gathering us together to try to wipe us all out at once. However, we believe he is looking for something and he's being forced to set up his plague magic in order to retrieve it. He might even just be casting the spell to keep normal civilians from running into him here."

"There seems to be a lot of unknown variables Misaka mutters suspiciously."

"Tell us about it," Agnese muttered in response.

"First…" Imouto started to say.

"I didn't mean that literally!"

"Well then," Leivinia yawned. "There's still enough time tonight for me to make some preparations for tomorrow."

"Amelia," Carissa said sharply, which caused her to jump to attention. "Show our guests to their tents and give them a brief tour of our base camp, or assign someone to do it. Afterwards, check on the supplies and reinforcements. They should be arriving soon. If you have any extra time, make sure your troops are battle ready and have them relieve the lookouts."

"Understood," Amelia replied hastily, before she turned to the others. "If you all would follow me, we will get you settled in. There are a few details I need to run by you all about tomorrow."

"Are we going to be able to participate?" Frenda asked eagerly. "I have a grudge against their group."

"Only if you can show you won't be a burden," Amelia answered. Her eyes darted to the others. Lessar and Leivinia had stood up with Agnese and were talking in hushed voices, while they made their way to the tent entrance. Ruiko and Imouto were making their way toward Touma. George, William, and Carissa were discussing something in low voices in the corner.

"Are we going to participate?" Ruiko asked him nervously. "I'm not really combat oriented."

"I think if you tell them that they will keep you back," Touma said trying to keep her calm. "But I'm sure there's plenty you can help with that doesn't involve fighting."

"Misaka will make sure to keep her safe Misaka says reassuringly." This caused Ruiko and Touma to laugh. Imouto tilted her head slightly in confusion. "What is so funny Misaka asks?"

"Nothing," Touma said quickly. "I trust you." Imouto felt slightly hot at his praise.

"I'll be in your care," Ruiko added, as she tried very hard to suppress a grin.

"Then we should get going," Touma said. He pointed to the others who were heading out of the tent with Amelia leading the pack. They had just turned, when Carissa spoke up.

"Hold on boy," she said seriously. "You need to stay behind. I have something to discuss with you privately."

Her words seemed to drain the very sound from the tent, as everyone froze and turned to look at either her or Touma.

"What!?" Touma spluttered. "Why?" Ruiko opened her mouth to say something, but Carissa's response overshadowed her.

"I'll tell you when the others have left," Carissa stated simply. "This is private." Amelia and George looked at each other in shock. William frowned slightly, but exited the tent before the inevitable fight started.

"Hang on!" Frenda exclaimed. "Why does he get additional information and we don't?"

"Misaka also believes since we have heard everything already, more information will not cause any security risks Misaka says slightly irritated at being left out."

"What could be so important?" Agnese asked. She managed to keep her voice respectful, but she turned slightly red at Carissa's words.

"You wouldn't happen to be keeping secrets from us?" Leivinia said coldly. "Our organizations may not necessarily be allies, but if you expect us to work together, I recommend not trying to draw that boy to your side secretly."

"Oh no!" Lessar cried. "He's infected her with… what did his friends call it in London? Oh right, Kami-yan disease. Argh!" She grabbed her head. "If he chooses her, he will belong to England, but I'll lose as a woman! Why did she have to fall for him too? There are enough…" A loud bang interrupted her.

"Who taught you brats manners?" Amelia growled. She had hit one of the file cabinets near the entrance of the tent. "You can't talk to the princess that way. She's your commanding officer."

"I am no one's lackey," Leivinia replied and her eyes narrowed. She and Amelia glared at each other and Touma felt a fight was imminent. "If I listen to someone, it's only because I feel I should."

"Birdway," Touma whispered. "Now's not the time for this."

"Shut up!"

"Amelia..." Carissa said dangerously. Her tone was ice cold and Touma shivered slightly. Amelia shut her mouth instantly. Carissa turned her attention to Leivinia. "She's right though. I am in charge of this joint operation and we were kind enough to notify New Light and the Dawn-Colored Sunlight, thinking their expertise might be useful. The majority of these forces belong to me. Therefore, it is my responsibility to ensure this mission's success. All these men and women are military trained professionals and understand the chain of command. If you can't, you will only be a disruption to the overall group. That disruption could cause unnecessary deaths, which I will not allow. If you are unable to follow my orders, you will be escorted out, by force if needed. Am I clear enough for you?"

"I almost would like to see you try," Birdway growled back. Her eyes darted to the others and stopped on Touma. "But I won't argue with that logic. This is your show. If we fail, it's all on you. I'll try to cooperate when we start." She turned and left the tent without another word. The others followed her, but Lessar still looked the most disappointed out of all of them. Ruiko paused a moment, looked back at Touma, and tried to give him a reassuring smile. It was kind of forced, but he was thankful for it.

"George," Carissa called out. He was the last one to leave, but stopped as soon as she said her name. "Have whoever he's bunking with wait outside. He can give this boy a tour after I am finished with him." A shiver went down Touma's spine. George gave her a nod and exited the tent. The door flaps closed and fell unnaturally into place. Touma looked at Carissa, who was staring right at him, and he gulped.

"What did you want to discuss?" he asked nervously. Carissa didn't answer him, instead she turned around and walked to a large trunk. She opened it and started rummaging around. Touma was a little annoyed, but knew better than to say anything. _Carissa is tough and likes to tease me, but she wouldn't do something without reason._ He stood in silence and waited patiently for Carissa to find what she was looking for. Eventually, Carissa pulled out a laptop and set it up on the corner of the table. She turned it on and stepped back.

"Is audio and visual working?" Carissa asked.

"Everything is clear on my end," a familiar woman's voice responded. Touma coughed when the screen revealed Queen Elizard, who was sitting down on the throne in Buckingham Palace and looking at him. "Good evening Mr. Kamijou. I hope to find you well. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to help our forces in Australia."

"It wasn't a problem," Touma told her, but he was partially lying. He was happy to help, but now he was going to miss a couple days of school he would have to make up. "I don't think I would have gotten a choice though, but I wish you could find a way to give me more warning on these kinds of things. Most of my friends are going to wonder where I disappeared to."

"I will keep that in mind if we require your assistance in the future," Elizard promised. "But you know, these situations don't tend to give much warning."

"You can say that again..." Touma sighed. Elizard smiled and then turned to Carissa.

"Have you received everything?"

"We are missing one shipment of supplies and one detachment," Carissa responded. "Even with the delays, everything should be ready for us to move out first thing in the morning. Tonight will be Adam's last."

"Is there any possibility we can capture him instead of killing him?" Touma asked, but he knew full well what to expect.

"Are you stupid boy?" Carissa asked irritated. "You actually want to try to capture one of the most powerful magicians in the world? Or do you think you can reason with him if given the chance? Answer me honestly."

"I don't think he can be reasoned with," Touma admitted. "But that doesn't mean I shouldn't try. If there is even a small chance we can prevent any more destruction or death, it should be worth a shot."

"An interesting assertion," Elizard commented. "Let me hear how you would attempt this feat."

"Not possible," Carissa interrupted angrily. "It's a foolish pipe dream that is not even worth considering. His mind has been twisted far more than even Eve. An entire continent is under siege from his power and he doesn't care about the people. All he cares about is his goal of bringing back Lucifer. We should give up on trying to save someone so far gone. His complete destruction is the only way to stop him."

"I didn't give up on you," Touma retorted. "Even when others…" He suddenly realized what he was saying and clasped a hand over his mouth. Carissa and Elizard had frozen. _Oh shit, I said too much. My mouth is going to get me killed._ Before he could say anything else, Carissa turned around and started rummaging in the trunk she had pulled the laptop out of. Touma didn't see it, but a very faint tinge of pink appeared on her cheeks.

"Oh my," Elizard commented, but there was a twinkle in her eye. "You know, taken the wrong way, that could almost have been a confession." Touma's face paled as the blood rushed from it.

"N-no," he spluttered. "I was pointing out while others wanted to just defeat Carissa, I wanted to save her because I realized she had an ulterior motive for her actions. Even Riméa was able to verify she was doing this for a noble purpose. She just got a little off-track in doing so."

"You seem to be addressing my daughters quite casually," Elizard pointed out. "But your words only confirm my suspicions."

"What suspicions are those!?" Touma asked wildly. Before Elizard could answer, Carissa stood up and interrupted them.

"Found it!" Carissa said triumphantly. "I was afraid I left it back in England. I had to pack in a hurry to get here." She turned around and Touma nearly soiled himself.

She was holding an eight foot long black bullwhip.

"W-what's that for?" Touma asked and took a step back. He knew the answer, but he was praying he was wrong.

"You have been addressing me without respect for far too long," Carissa told him, as she uncoiled the whip. "I overlooked it for a little bit because of what you did in England, but you overstepped your bounds." She snapped the whip and a very deadly crack echoed around the tent. "I'm going to teach you some respect before you leave."

"Let's not get hasty," Touma said quickly, with a hand extended out in front of him. He took another step back when he saw the dark gleam in Carissa's eye. "Someone could get hurt."

"Someone WILL get hurt," Carissa agreed. "How much depends on if they move. I would prefer educational pain, so you will still be ready tomorrow. We can't heal you with magic." She snapped the whip again and Touma dived down to the ground. The whip had come at him vertically and he felt the wind from the blow on his neck. A nearby wooden chair was blown into pieces from the force of the whip's strike. Shards of wood rained down around him and he looked up.

"Is this really necessary?!" Touma cried.

"Yes." Carissa snapped the whip again and Touma rolled backwards on the ground to avoid it. A nice deep groove ended up in the ground. "If you continue to dodge, I may hit something vital."

"There's enough force to tear me apart!" Touma pointed out hastily. "No matter where you hit!" He turned to the laptop screen with Elizard on it. "How about some help?!"

"I would hate to interrupt you two," Elizard responded, with pure amusement on her face. "I was interested to see how you two flirt with each other."

"Who's flirting!?" Carissa and Touma demanded.

"I am teaching this ingrate some respect," Carissa added. She raised the whip again and Touma scrambled backwards.

"That's enough Carissa," Elizard said sternly. "This… ingrate, as you so elegantly put it, was the reason your sentence was so light. His testimony to your character allowed me to change the mind of many people who wanted to keep you locked up. Remember, this assault on Adam's base is a test. If you fail, you could find yourself right back in your cell. Injuring him could be detrimental to your mission." Carissa clicked her tongue, but had to admit she was right. Elizard turned back to Touma. "Allow me to thank you once again. Not only for your willingness to help us against Adam, but for giving us the opportunity to save my daughter. We are in your debt once again."

"You don't owe me anything," Touma said modestly.

"Nonetheless," Elizard continued. "Should you ever need assistance, you only need to let us know."

"You can leave," Carissa snapped impatiently to Touma. "I have a few words for my mother in private."

"Yes ma'am," Touma squeaked and ran out of the tent. He was relieved he got out of there alive. _Note to self, don't mention the events in England to Carissa._ Carissa waited until he was gone, before she turned to Elizard.

"What kind of nonsense were you spewing?" Carissa demanded.

"I already told you why I wanted to speak with him when he arrived," Elizard pointed out. "I wanted to personally thank him for his help."

"Not that," Carissa interacted. "Everything else."

"Oh," Elizard replied. Her tone implied she knew exactly what Carissa had meant. "I know you saw the letter I gave him and you are fully aware we monitored everything around you after the incident. Yet, you didn't seem to mind as much as I thought. You only yelled at me once about it. In fact, I heard when you were messaging Mr. Kamijou, you seemed to have been enjoying yourself. I was surprise when you ceased contact with him."

"Talking to anyone was better than sitting in a cell with nothing to do," Carissa snapped.

"You have changed since your encounter with him," Elizard continued. "The old you would have been content to accept her punishment and stay in isolation for the rest of her life. Now, you even said he was probably the best suiter I tried to push onto you."

"That's not saying much," Carissa muttered. The memories of the pieces of trash her mother wanted her to meet made her want to vomit. "Then you go and try to push a high school kid on me. Do you really want grandkids that badly?"

"I would like some yes," Elizard admitted. "You and Riméa seem to push away any guys near you two. Knight Leader and I have talked about this often…"

"You two need to keep your noses out of my business," Carissa interrupted. "Besides, guys may act tough, but they always fall apart when they are near me for too long. They break soon enough."

"I don't know about that," Elizard said thoughtfully. "I did warn you about that last guy and you didn't listen. Mr. Kamijou is different, even you can agree to that." Carissa grudgingly nodded. "Maybe you should give him a chance."

"Let's say by some miracle I actually develop a modicum amount of feelings for him," Carissa said with a short sarcastic laugh. "And then got past the age difference. I have to think about my position. A princess marrying a random high school boy from another country? That will cause the rest of the world to scrutinize every move we make."

"That won't be a problem," Elizard laughed. "We never told you, but I suppose now would be a good time as any. You see," Elizard grinned broadly. "If you succeed in this operation with his help, he will be given the title of knight, just like you originally planned."

Carissa was speechless.

* * *

Even though Touma was out of the tent, he didn't stop running until he was a good distance away, in case Carissa changed her mind. The people he passed looked at him curiously, but he didn't care. He stopped only to catch his breath, when a voice from behind caused him to jump. "You sure left in a hurry. You didn't even notice me standing there." Touma turned around and came face to face with Zach.

"Sorry," Touma panted. "I had to get away or my life was forfeit."

"So she actually carries a whip with her?" Zach asked, slightly impressed. "Looks like you managed to get away though."

"You heard everything?" Touma asked, while he feared the worst.

"Not everything," Zach admitted. "I kept my distance. I heard an occasional shout and the sound of someone cracking a whip. It was obvious you did not have one, so it had to be her. Am I right?"

"Yes," Touma confirmed. "I said something I shouldn't have and she got a little upset."

"You are lucky you survived," Zach pointed out. "There are stories of what happened to people who crossed her." He shivered. "None of them were pleasant."

"They probably are true," Touma sighed. They looked at each other and burst out laughing. Touma stopped and found the nerve to ask something he had meant to early. "I forgot to ask, after our last encounter in England…"

"Don't worry," Zach reassured him. "I don't hold a grudge. We both believed in something and, in the end, you won. It would be childish for me to be upset. I don't think even the princess holds a grudge against you."

"Could have fooled me," Touma mumbled.

"It's just how she is," Zach laughed. "But you couldn't ask for a more reliable CO. Come on, I'll give you a tour of the camp."

"Are you who I'm bunking with?" asked Touma. _Wow, thought I would be assigned to some random person. This could be a good sign because with my luck, I could have accidently been assigned to a female tent like the one lady back there._ He frowned as something occurred to him _. Do they normally allow females to be knights? I thought they were all guys._

"George thought it would be for the best," Zach explained. "I'm the youngest knight here, so I'm closest to your age and you know me, so we can skip the awkward, hi my name is Zach and I heard you're the princess's fiancée." Touma stumbled and turned to face him in shock.

"Who told you that…?!" Touma stopped yelling when he saw Zach laugh. "It's not funny. You could cause a lot of misunderstandings around here."

"It's pretty funny," Zach disagreed with a shrug and a smirk. He started walking between a row of tents and Touma followed.

"I want to ask something," Touma told him. "Before I forget."

"Sure."

"Is it normal for a woman to be with the knights? I thought they were all men. She was even a commander."

"Ah," Zach replied. "You have to mean Amelia Taylor." He paused for a moment, lost in thought. "Historically, the knights were usually men. When the princess took over, she changed the tradition. She believed anyone who could pass the tests could obtain the title. A few women tried and failed over the years. Amelia was the first one to pass." He went quiet again. "She's as strong as George, maybe even more so in magical aptitude. No one complained when she was made a commander. She tends to do things by the book, which can cause some fights when people believe they need to be more flexible."

"I think I noticed that," Touma admitted. _She flipped out when my friends didn't show Carissa a lot of respect. Now that I think about, I didn't either. I should apologize after she calms down. Her mother didn't help the situation. Such misfortune._

"Anyways," Zach continued. "The tour. The tent you were at was the command tent. It's where the COs hold their meetings. We normally don't go in there much unless summoned." He pointed to a small tent were a lot of cables were running from it to the command tent and in a few other directions. "Communications, it's how we can contact England on our status with terrible signal strength here. The supply tent is that medium sized tent, it holds extra weapons, armor, gear, pretty much everything not currently being used. The big tent in the middle that you can see some of the knights leaving from is the commissary. We eat in shifts and the late shift just finished."

"I can't imagine the food being that great if you are trying to feed this many people," Touma commented before he realized what he said. "Sorry, I didn't mean…"

"No," Zach interrupted him. "You're right. Food could be a lot better, but it's still better than rations. You pointed to the main issue. Anything made for the troops has to be made in large quantities. It was a stew tonight."

"What kind?"

"It's best not to ask." Touma made a mental note to try to finish up as quickly as possible to avoid having to eat too many meals here. Zach continued the tour while Touma remained silent. "The outhouses are those small stalls that way, away from the rest of camp. Don't expect much and hold your breath as long as possible."

 _Birdway is not going to be happy._

"Vehicles are on that side of the camp." Zach pointed to their right. "Mostly jeeps, but we have a couple tanks."

"Tanks?" Touma asked stunned.

"We prepared for anything," Zach reminded him. "If we had more time, we might have set up a couple missile sites." Touma's eyes widened. He was not use to large scale battles like this, so the preparation was a little overwhelming for him. "First aid station is there. If you don't watch yourself around the princess, I wouldn't be surprised to see you there often."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Touma sighed and Zach laughed.

"And here are my squad's tents," Zach told him and pointed to the rows of tents in front of him. "There's a small gap in between different squads to separate us. It makes it easier for us to move as one unit in case of emergencies when you know who you are working with." Touma followed him between two tents and he was careful to avoid stepping on any stakes or tripping on the ropes. "Oh hey guys. I didn't realize you were still playing cards."

"Nothing else to do until they tell us to move out," someone answered, as Touma stepped out into an opening between the tents. There were several tables set up and four knights were sitting around one playing poker. "I see you're still on special assignment." Touma only recognized the guy speaking. The man had short black hair and Touma remembered seeing him in England, the time he was taken to meet the knights for the first time. The knight turned to Touma. "Haven't seen you in ages. You still going around and performing the impossible?"

"Huh?" Touma was confused as all the knights laughed.

"Sorry," Zach told him. "Inside joke among our group."

"Should we mention all the rumors about him?" one of the other guys asked.

"Don't scare him off," another knight replied with a laugh.

"I should probably hear them," Touma sighed. _At least I'll know what to expect. It's worse when people talk behind your back and you have no idea why._ He braced himself as the knights all looked at each other.

"Okay," the knight with black hair said. "There's a rumor going around that…" he paused and looked around, like he was afraid they were being eavesdropped on. His voice dropped in volume before he continued. "There are rumors the Queen decided the second princess isn't seriously searching for a husband, so she is doing it for her. After going through the possibilities, the number one choice is supposed to be you."

"That can't be true though," laughed another knight. All the knights turned to Touma, who looked deliberately away.

 _The Queen was joking about that earlier,_ Touma thought. _There's no way she was serious. The Queen acts like a kid a lot, but she knows what's best for her country._ There was no way he was going to tell anyone about that conversation. First, Carissa would flay him alive and rub salt into the wounds, if she got even a whiff of him running his mouth off. Second, his friends would never let him live it down and a couple of them might take their frustration out on him. Third, he truly believed there was a small change it could be possible Carissa might not hold a grudge, but there was no way she would develop feelings for him. He noticed everyone staring at him in silence and he took a step back.

"Holy shit," the black haired knight muttered. "It's true?" The rest of the knights dropped their cards in shock and Zach just stood there, his mouth slightly open.

"Don't be-," Touma tried to respond, but the other knights stood up.

"We have to tell the others," one of them said and the others nodded in agreement. Before Touma could try to stop them, they all headed off in different directions. Touma fell to his hands and knees. He felt like crying.

"If she hears those rumors, I'm going to be killed."

"Your best bet is avoiding her as long as possible," Zach advised him and looked over at the black haired knight. He was the only one who stayed. "You know you guys doomed him right?"

"Sorry about that," he said sheepishly.

"I guess the only thing we can do is keep his presence on the down low," Zach sighed. "George is going to punish me. He told me to avoid attracting too much attention. I bet we can hide him in my tent…"

"I need to talk to my friends before that," Touma interrupted.

"Let's make it fast then," Zach said with a nod. He knew it would be impossible to argue with Touma when his friends were involved. "It takes time for rumors to spread, because we can't let any of our COs hear about it. They try to squash these kinds of things before they spread too far. Something about us wasting time on nonsense."

"I think I like them more now," Touma told him.

"Tell Amelia that and see what happens," the black haired knight suggested. He laughed as Touma's face paled. "Good luck," he added and started packing up the cards. Zach and Touma left him and started making their way to another group of tents.

"I feel like your squad is out to get me," Touma said depressed.

"We try to use humor to keep our spirits up," Zach explained. "Most of the time, our job isn't the most pleasant. Our primary duty is to protect England and I'm sure you release what that entails when you deal with magical threats."

"I understand," Touma agreed. "My friends do that a lot too." They walked in silence for a while. "What do you think Adam is up to?"

"I really have no idea," Zach admitted. "He's looking for something, but I doubt he would be broadcasting his location so readily. The top brass think it could be a trap, but we can hardly leave him alone."

"That was mentioned during the meeting we had," Touma confirmed, while he looked around. He was trying to remember the route they were taking, since the rows of tents all looked alike. "Do you know where my friends are going to be camped at anyways?"

"They will most likely be camped next to Amelia."

"Great." Zach laughed and they continued walking in silence, until Touma saw one of his friends. "Hey!" he called out, waving to Imouto. "Over here." Imouto turned to face him and waved back. Touma made a beeline straight towards her. "Sorry I took so long to find you all, but a lot of things happened."

"Misaka is not mad and understands the savior's busy schedule Misaka says truthfully. Misaka has been busy questioning the network." For the first time, Touma noticed a look of doubt on her face, which immediately caused him to worry.

"What's wrong?"

"It may be nothing, but the moderator and evil one suddenly disconnected from the network a little while ago, Misaka explains."

"You all are always connected to the network, correct?" Touma wanted to clarify because he didn't have a deep understanding of the Misaka Network.

"Normally, yes, Misaka confirms. We can disconnect if we choose, usually to focus on a task or if we are doing something private. Misaka has disconnected during this trip to be able to focus on the task at hand, but Misaka still uploads her memories routinely every five minutes Misaka adds. It allows us to have a backup in case something happens. The last memory the moderator and evil one had was them traveling with Accelerator, Estelle, and the one called Bayloupe. They were arguing Misaka remembers."

"Do you think something happened to them?" Touma asked nervously. _Bayloupe's with him? And who's Estelle?_

"They are still alive, Misaka says encouragingly to dismiss the savior's fear. There could be a logical explanation for their actions, but Misaka is discussing options with the other Sisters. Some of us are stationed in the city and plan to check it out if they do not respond soon Misaka explains."

"Can you let me know what you find out?" Touma asked.

"Misaka promises."

"Thanks a lot." Touma told her. He blinked when Imouto put her hand on his shoulder. "Umm, what are you doing?"

"Isn't this an appropriate social gesture to help calm someone down? Misaka asks confused. Misaka remembers when you did this to her and Misaka felt very happy."

"Oh," Touma realized. "Yea it is. Thanks a lot." He patted her hand with his and he swore he saw a faint smile on her face. "You really are learning a lot now that you are out and exploring the world."

"And this is why we all think you flirt with the princess," Zach pointed out, which caused Touma to jump.

"Holy…!" Touma gasped. "I forgot you were there."

"I'm a master of stealth. By stealth, I mean standing out in the open and completely visible."

"Sarcasm is not appreciated," Touma retorted and rolled his eyes when Zach laughed. Touma's mind was on more important things. The fact Last Order and Worst disconnected from the network disturbed him greatly. The timing was too perfect to be a coincidence. _Did Eve wait until I was gone before making her move?_

* * *

"Why won't you come out?!" Eve demanded, stomping down hard on the ground in front of the windowless building. No matter what she did, the building remained silent. A black hairy spider, the size of a car, crawled in front of her, as it and twenty other ones the same size started covering the building in webbing. "If you don't act fast, your entire building will become a giant cocoon." There was still only silence and a look or irritation crossed her ordinarily happy face. "If that's how you want to play, I'll oblige." She held out her hand and the Book of Genesis appeared. "I'll destroy half of this city to force you to come out." Paper started to fly from the book and spin around her like a vortex. She sensed a magical presence and smiled, even if it wasn't the one she wanted.

Boom!

Two of the spiders on the windowless building crashed to the ground, their legs severed. As they disappeared into scraps of paper and then into ashes, several more spiders fell. Eve's eyes traveled up to the side of the building and saw a young woman traveling at speeds far beyond a normal human. The webbing began to fall as the woman cut it to maintain her footholds as she circled around the building to strike down the remaining spiders. "I was wondering when the Saint was going to show up," Eve mused. "This should get Aleister's attention." The last spider disappeared and Kaori Kanzaki landed on the ground in front of Eve.

"I'm here to put a stop to this," Kaori told Eve. Her voice was calm, but she was radiating an aura of strength and determination. She shifted the weight of her body slightly and placed her right foot out in front of her. She held her Shichiten Shichitou, the two meter long nodachi, out in front of her, the blade pointed at Eve. "We figured you would move when we discovered Adam's location and split up our forces. I'm going to defeat you here and take you back to the church."

"And here I thought you didn't tell jokes," Eve burst out laughing. "That's hilarious. You think you can take me in a one on one fight? Did you forget how I faced an army by myself? The most you could do is play a game with me. If you want, we can settle this with Jenga." She pointed to the windowless building, but Kaori did not look amused.

"I know your weakness," Kaori replied, her voice never losing her measure of calmness, despite Eve's jokes. "You rely on your creations to fight for you. Like most summoners, you lack the strength to fight directly. I took out your creations and now I am close enough to strike you before you can create any more of them."

"Oh dear," Eve said with a shiver, a look of pretend fear on her face. "It looks like I lost and should just surren- pfff... ha-ha-ha." She burst out laughing. "You don't have the strength or resolve to take me in. Others have tried before you and they usually fall into two categories. The first group wants to kill me and the second group wants to save me. The leaders of the church fall in group one and the Imagine Breaker falls in group two. Where do you fall?"

"I know I can't kill you," Kaori answered. "But not for the reason you think." She couldn't kill anyone. Her Saint nature would not allow it. Eve's creations were only made out of paper, so they were an exception. "But I will stop you, even if I can't save you." She took a breath. "My name is Salvare000, and I will be the salvation of those who cannot be saved." She bent her knees ever so slightly.

"So you resolved yourself," Eve said and she was no longer laughing. "I will return the favor." Kaori immediately regretted saying her magic name, because the very air around them seemed to drop drastically. "My magic name is Genus000, the one who allowed mankind to thrive." Kaori took a step back as a wave of magical force engulfed her.

 _This is the first time I've seen her serious,_ Kaori thought. _I need to end this quickly. Her magic is no joke._ She wasn't sure that was possible, but her eyes never left Eve. Kaori was waiting for an opening in Eve's defense. All she needed was a single moment to strike with everything she had.

"If you won't come to me," Eve told her. "I'll make the first move." She opened her book and paper started to fly out of it. During that brief second, Kaori made her move.

As a Saint, Kaori could draw upon her stigma. The stigma allowed one who has bodily characteristics similar to the Son of God to call upon a fraction of God's power. Combining this with her own style of magic, she lunged forward at speeds normal humans could not comprehend. Kaori channeled all her power into her blade and swung it down at Eve. It was her ultimate attack, Yuisen, an attack that could even harm Christian angels. Her sword glowed brightly and left a trail of blue light. Kaori felt unusual during the strike, as if she was drawing more power than normal. The blade seemed to be moving in slow motion as she realized that. _Is it because I'm using God's power directly against a servant of Lucifer?_ She couldn't be sure as her blade made contact with Eve.

The blue light exploded and engulfed them both.

Normally, Kaori wouldn't use this attack on a person, but Eve could not be considered normal. She had immense magical power and Kaori could not guarantee a stamina battle would be in her best interest. _Got her,_ Kaori thought. _Now to take… oh no!_ The light cleared and Kaori could see her.

Eve was standing there, unhurt, with her own sword in her hand, which interrupted her attack.

"How?" Kaori asked while she jumped backwards. "That strike should have been able to hurt even an angel."

"Did you think someone as old as me would not have learned how to defend myself?" Eve asked her seriously. "Did you think I only relied on puppets to do my work? You are not the first person to think that. I am quite capable in melee fights, though I don't enjoy them." She held the blade out in front of her. The handle was silver and the actual blade was gold. "This blade is a creation of mine I made to imitate an associate's blade, but I fuse it with Telesma to give it this nice rich golden color. Its name is Caladbolg. I think it's really pretty, don't you agree?" Kaori didn't answer and held up her blade defensively. "I don't know why you are so defensive. I didn't do anything to you until after you destroyed my pets."

"You know that is a lie," Kaori stated. "You have been attacking areas all over the world. What do you want with that building?" She pointed to the windowless building over her shoulder.

"I wanted to visit an old friend of mine," Eve answered with a pout. "But he won't come out and play."

"I wonder why," Kaori muttered dryly.

"But now that you are here," Eve continued. "I can take my frustration out on you." Paper appeared from behind her and started swirling around them. Each piece of paper began folding like origami into the shape of a knife. Seconds later, Kaori was completely surrounded by a dome of knives pointing at her. "Careful, you don't want to die from a thousand papercuts." Eve laughed at her joke, but the knives did not look like paper. They turned the color of steel and looked extremely sharp. "I prefer not to kill if I can help it, so if you would just get injured enough to be unable to move, that would be great." She held out her hand, palm down and closed it.

The knives immediately flew at Kaori from every direction.

In response, Kaori swung her blade vertically. Seven wires flashed around her and continued to split apart into thousands. The technique was called Nanasen and several members of the Amakusa could use this technique, but only Kaori could go this far because of her Saint attribute. The wires sliced through the first couple rows of daggers, breaking them apart into shredded paper before they disappeared, but the wires didn't stop there. They twisted and circled around Kaori in a spiral as they deflected the rest of the daggers. The daggers were thrown in every direction. Some bounced off the windowless building, while others landed in the ground and sunk into the concrete like it was made of sponge. Kaori lowered her blade and the wires retracted. "Is that all you are capable of?" she asked.

"Not even close," Eve laughed and pointed above them with a single finger. Kaori looked up and saw pages of Eve's book forming into a single circular object. "I watched you and Aqua fight in England and remembered he made an artificial move to augment his magic. I thought it would be fun to hit you with an actual moon." Kaori could make out the white crater surface and had to admit, it looked like the moon, though much smaller. "Do you think the building behind you can handle the force of the impact?"

Kaori didn't immediately answer, but her eyes darted between the moon and Eve. Cutting the moon with her blade would be possible, as it was only a fraction of the size of the real thing. The issue would be what would happen to the remains as they fell down upon the city. The moon was floating about twenty stories above them and was large enough to cause a lot of damage if even a chunk of it fell. She could tell Eve had set up a people clearing field in the immediate vicinity, but that didn't mean whoever was in the building behind her would be safe. There was also a possibility of a chain reaction of buildings collapsing that could move outside the field. _Looks like I'm going to have to set up a defensive barrier to absorb the impact, but I may not be able to get it up in time._ She raised her blade slightly and prepared to unleased her wires in a massive defensive spell to protect not only herself, but the surrounding area.

"I guess we will finally be able to settle the old argument about whether there is a man in the moon," Eve said mockingly. "Or in this case, a woman." She flicked her wrist and the moon started to descend.

Kaori was ready.

She swung her sword and hundreds of wires spread out above them, forming complex designs in midair, before beginning to glow. Her barrier was strong enough to withstand a bunker cluster, but a hastily designed and incomplete one might not be able to withstand Eve's attack. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Eve gliding backwards, away from the impact sight. The moon hit the first layer of wires and Kaori saw sparks as the barrier tried to withstand the force. The first layer started breaking, but pieces of the moon were flying off and disappearing from the collision. Kaori managed to get a second layer up before the first one broke completely, but she knew it wasn't going to hold. _At least I managed to lessen the impact._

"And so ends the legend of the Saint of the Far East," Eve laughed.

"I won't allow you to win that easily," retorted Kaori. She bent her knees and prepared to jump. Her only other option left was when the moon broke through the next layer of her wires, she would start slashing it at supersonic speed and break it into thousands of smaller pieces to reduce the size of the explosion when it landed. Before she had a chance to move, someone else moved first. His voice echoed across the deserted street, which caused Kaori and Eve to focus their attention on the meddler.

"SUPER AMAZING PUNCH!"

Kaori blinked.

Her barrier and Eve's moon creation disappeared.

"Whew," Sogiita Gunha said and landed on the street to the left of Eve and Kaori. "Both of you have a lot of guts with your attacks. My hand is still shaking from the blow." He held out his hand and Kaori saw it seemed to be vibrating slightly. His jacket was still in a makeshift cape and was blowing behind him, even though there was no wind. Kaori had immediately recognized him by his outfit, especially his rising sun shirt. Sogiita turned and pointed to Eve. "Don't you know an attack that size would have destroyed all the surrounding buildings? Do you think Academy City is made of money for repairs?" Kaori and Eve blinked at him and the same thought ran through their minds.

 _That's what he is worried about?_

"Oh," Eve commented, after looking him over for a moment. "I remember you now. It's been so long I almost forgot. You were a companion of the Imagine Breaker in Italy." She frowned. "You know you are interrupting something that doesn't concern you, right?"

"A hero doesn't stand ideally by and watches someone get hurt," Sogiita declared. "I will always stand up to evil doers."

"How did you find us?" Kaori asked him. "Eve put up a people clearing field and it should have kept you away."

"So that was what made my head feel fuzzy," Sogiita answered. "But it was no match for my guts. As for how I found you, I felt a dark presence over the city and I followed my instincts until I arrived."

"You should leave," Kaori told him. "This girl isn't like the Herald you fought back in Italy. She's in a completely different league."

"I had that impression when I first saw her," Sogiita agreed. "So since then, I have been undertaking special training to increase my guts. It's time to see how far I've come. You!" he suddenly shouted and pointed to Eve. "If you leave this city in peace, we won't have to resort to violence!"

"But I'm just a poor young girl," Eve lied innocently. She held a finger up to her quivering lip and the hand that held the sword she made moved behind her to shield it from view. "The world outside is a big scary place and I wouldn't last long." Kaori's mouth fell open because she couldn't believe how Eve could suddenly act like an innocent little girl. If she didn't know better, she might have fallen for it because of how good Eve's acting was. Sogiita, however, looked unconvinced.

"Your lies and deceit won't work against me," he replied forcefully. "I can feel your guts from here. You have a lot of them, but they are rotten. Surrender and you may have a chance to redeem yourself."

"A group two individual," muttered Eve. "They are always so annoying." She held her sword loosely at her side in her right hand, but then held her book out in her left. "You know, I have always hated reruns, especially when television stations keep playing the same episode several times a day for a week, but I'll make an exception in your case because you graced us with your presence." Papers started flying out of the book and begun to form humanoid figures in front of her. "Do you recognize them?" The papers created five men standing in a row, but they did not have masks, so Sogiita did recognized them.

"They are copies of the Herald!" he yelled. Sogiita recognized the long white silky hair that was slicked back and their bright blue eyes as cold as ice. Their serious and dangerous aura was also the same. Each one of them was identical to the previous one from Italy. "I can't believe…"

"That you even considered challenging me?" Eve asked helpfully.

"…that I would get a chance to fight him again!" Sogiita cheered, as he punched the air. Several different colored explosions went off behind him.

"What?!" Eve and Kaori yelled.

"He's one of your creations and doesn't have guts, but I learned there are all kinds of strength. He's a great opponent to test out how far I have come." Sogiita took up a karate pose. "I accept your challenge."

"You won't be alone," Kaori added, as she stepped up next to him. She held out her sword in front of her. "Thanks for the assist with her last attack."

"No problem," Sogiita replied. "I saw how you prioritized protecting everything around you over yourself. That takes a lot of guts and I would be honored to fight beside you."

 _This guy is an idiot,_ Eve thought. _Kids thinking they can become heroes because they have some strength. A true hero is different._ "Then I guess you two die together." She raised Caladbolg in the air and the copies of the Herald begun to move.

* * *

The empty street was impaled by Juliet's shadow hand right after Mikoto and Kuroko disappeared.

"Teleportation is really annoying," Juliet complained. "Things would go so much quicker if you accepted your fate."

"You aren't the first person to tell me that," Kuroko replied smugly and Juliet turned around to find the location of the voice. When she saw them on the other side of the street, she witnessed Mikoto sparking up. A second later, Juliet was hit by a powerful electric strike in the chest, which disrupted her physical appearance. She became a shadow completely and bounced around in the air for a moment, before turning back into her human form. "What do you think we should do now?" Kuroko asked Mikoto. They had a small window of opportunity to talk while Juliet reformed.

"I'll distract her while you try to contact the others," Mikoto muttered and took a step forward. "Touma, Kagere-san, Accelerator, Shokuhou, anyone you can think of who needs to know." Kuroko nodded, while Mikoto sparked up. "I don't think we are going to escape her easily."

"You can say that again," Juliet answered, as she jumped down into the street. "If you try to run, I'll have no choice but to chase you and, should you leave my people clearing field, there is no telling how many innocent people will be caught up in our fight."

"I figured that," Mikoto growled, the electricity around her increasing. "I met evil people like your group before. They always involve innocent people to get their way." Kuroko teleported away from her to avoid being in the way.

"But we are the good guys," Juliet retorted. "We don't want to do this, but have no other choice. You are trying to keep the world in the dark, while we are trying to defeat the being that keeps us in chains. Though, I'm really only helping to be with my lover."

"I don't want to hear that from someone trying to kill us." Mikoto flicked her wrist and another electrical discharge flew at Juliet. This time, Juliet was ready and her arm materialized into a shadow. The shadow whipped horizontally in front of her and deflected the discharge away from herself. Mikoto fired another round of electricity, but Juliet continued to bat it away, as if it were only a small insect.

"Your ability can't hurt me," Juliet laughed. "It's a minor nuisance at best."

"Then let's kick up the voltage," Mikoto replied. Electricity started to completely engulf her. Metal poles, benches, mailboxes, and other metal items began to shutter. Juliet grinned and her body completely turned back into a shadow. She rotated in midair, like a small stream of water, and then flew directly at Mikoto. Mikoto jumped up into the air, propelled by her magnetism to dodge Juliet. She hung on the second story of a building and looked down. The force of Juliet's strike created a crater several meters across in the concrete. _She's physically strong. I can't fight her directly._ She kicked herself off the wall and bolted through the air to the other side of the street, because Juliet had flown up at her, and then tore a chunk of the building off.

"Cowards are always a pain to fight," Juliet called out mockingly. "You can't save anyone by running away."

"Who's running?" Mikoto asked. "I was just moving to find a better position." She focused on the all the iron sand far beneath the concreate and asphalt of the city. To her relief, there was enough for her to implement her plan.

"You're overconfident," Juliet pointed out, before flying directly at her.

 _Got her,_ Mikoto thought. She flicked her wrist and the iron sand erupted from the ground like geysers. Juliet only had time to look down and gasp, as the sand engulfed her. Mikoto used her magnetism to cause the sand to wrap tightly around Juliet's body to immobilize her and then the rest was layered on. In seconds, Juliet was completely surrounded by an orb of black iron sand. Mikoto held her hand out and continued to generate magnetism to keep the orb from falling apart. _Luckily she's not alive or she would suffocate. I can't use this technique on just anyone._

"Onee-sama," Kuroko gasped, as she teleported next to Mikoto. "No one is answering their phone. Jason and Uiharu have their phones off, but everyone else just rings until voice mail."

"Dang," Mikoto muttered. "What are they all up to?"

"It looks like you caught her," Kuroko said, unable to answer her. "What are we going to do with her?"

"We need to give her to one of the church members..." Mikoto started to answer, when she saw something that made her freeze. The orb of black sand was moving. More specifically, something under it was pushing against her magnetized sand. _That's impossible. At this level, it should be immovable._ A ripple went through the sand, like someone threw a pebble into a pond, and then another one occurred in another location. "She's breaking out!"

Black spikes exploded all around the sand orb until it looked like the head of a medieval flail.

"She doesn't give up," Kuroko said, her face slightly pale. The spikes retracted and the sand begun to fall apart, before it exploded. Juliet's shadow spiraled out wards like a saw, while the sand began to fall down like ash. Mikoto reached out and gather the sand up again to create a long vibrating sand blade in her hand. The blade was moving at such a high speed, it could cut most material in half with a simple motion.

"You can say that again," Mikoto agreed. "The question is, what do we do now? My electricity isn't doing much against her and she doesn't have a body, so your teleportation isn't going to hurt her much either."

"I may not even be able to teleport her," Kuroko added. "If her shadow power is anything like his. We might need back up, if people would answer their stupid phones. They better not be sleeping."

"There's a reason they aren't answering their phone," Juliet called down to them, her tone laced with mockery. Her shadow converged on top of a light pole again and she was back in her human looking body. A large smile was plastered on her face, as she looked down at them.

"What do you mean?" Mikoto asked quietly.

"What did you do?!" Kuroko demanded.

"All of your friends," Juliet explained. "All of your companions, they are being hunted down simultaneously." She was unable to restrain her glee at the look of shock and horror on their faces. "You won't have backup this time," Juliet continued. "This time all of you will fall. Eve even brought forth other members of our group, and they are almost as strong as Cain."

"You're lying," Mikoto said, though her shaking voice betrayed her true feelings. _This can't be. Most of the time, we only succeeded because we worked together._

"Am I?" Juliet asked. "Why do you think they are all ignoring you? Or could you be under the delusion they all happen to be busy with unrelated things simultaneously." Kuroko and Mikoto looked at each other in horror. Her words made perfect sense and explained why their friends didn't answer. "Eve and Adam decided…" She stopped talking and held a hand up to her ear. Juliet started muttering to someone and completely ignored the two girls for a moment.

"Let's strike her now," Kuroko suggested. "She's distracted."

"We need a plan," Mikoto hissed. "She doesn't get hurt by normal attacks."

"Then let's-," Kuroko started to suggest, when Juliet's started laughing triumphantly.

"Looks like Eve finally came through for me," Juliet said between laughs. "He's mine now."

"What?!" Kuroko and Mikoto yelled out. They instantly realized who she was talking about. There could only be one 'he' with her.

"Eve personally went and captured him," Juliet said cheerfully. "After all, that was the deal she made with me for my cooperation."

"You're lying!" Kuroko yelled back and pointed at her. "There's no way he would have let himself get captured by her!"

"Eve's in a completely different league than him though," Juliet pointed out, her smile flickered for a moment, but then returned. "But he willing surrendered to protect the flower bitch." Kuroko choked on her words. She wanted to deny the entire thing, but that sounded like something he would do. Mikoto's face turned ashen because she realized the same thing. "Eve took him willingly in exchange for her not harming the bitch." Her smile widened. "But as soon as they left, one of Eve's soldiers did a personal favor for me." She let that sink in a moment and almost danced with glee as Kuroko's and Mikoto's faces, if possible, turned even paler. "He took care of one of my rivals, so now I only have one left. He should have phrased his wording better with the agreement." For a moment her smile faltered again. "He may be upset at first, but he doesn't need to know."

Of course, everything she said was a lie to stir up their emotions, but Kuroko and Mikoto didn't know that. To them, her words actually made sense and her actions seemed to confirm her words as true. This was all part of Juliet's plan to break them. She was skilled in manipulating people's emotions. It was why Eve chose her to take on Mikoto.

"No," Mikoto gasped, as she fell to her hands and knees. "Uiharu-san can't be…. I WON'T ACCEPT IIIIIT!" She roared the last part out, as her electricity started to flow from her body in enormous quantities. Kuroko was forced to teleport away to avoid being burnt to a crisp. She barely managed to force her thoughts to the threat. Kuroko wanted to believe Juliet's words were a lie too, but it was difficult. "YOU BITCH!" An enormous bolt of electricity fired from Mikoto at Juliet. Normally, an attack like that would have come from the sky, but Mikoto threw the energy directly from her own body in anger. Juliet's eyes widened in surprise, a moment before being consumed by the strike. An explosion blocked her from view, while smoke and debris flew into the air. Mikoto panted and felt lightheaded, which didn't improve her state of mind. _Kagere-san captured and Uiharu-san may be dead._ Tears filled her eyes. _Don't believe it. Stop her and then find them._ She kept telling herself that over and over, but it wasn't helping.

"Are you finally getting serious?" Juliet's voice called out form the smoke. Mikoto looked up and saw Juliet stepping out into the open. Her clothes were slightly burnt but, other than that, she looked fine. "You burnt my pants," she complained, after looking down. "They were my best pair." She looked over at Mikoto. "Are you tired out already? Did the thought of your friend's death upset you that much?"

"Shut up!" Mikoto yelled, as she stood to her feet. She had been firing a more powerful electrical blasts over the past couple weeks than she had most of her life, so she was getting use to backlash.

"I heard she squealed like the pig she is…"

"LIAR!" Kuroko roared and appeared out of thin air right behind Juliet. Juliet started to turn around, when Kuroko spun in midair and aimed her foot at the side of Juliet's head. It connected with a thud and Juliet's body arched in midair, as she started falling to the ground. A grin formed on Juliet's lips and she reached out a hand. Her hand morphed into shadow, extended, and wrapped tightly around Kuroko's neck. Kuroko gasped for air as she clawed at the bindings.

"I needed you closer to strike," Juliet hissed, while she stood up again. "Your teleportation is annoying. Now die like your friend."

"KUROKO!" Mikoto yelled in panic. She couldn't fire a strong enough bolt of electricity to disrupt Juliet for a moment, without seriously injuring Kuroko, so she needed to use a more refined attack. She pulled out a coin from her pocket and took aim. She had to be careful not to hit her friend. "Let her go Juliet!"

"Never."

 _Can't breathe,_ Kuroko thought. _I don't know if I can teleport through her shadow, but I have to try._ She noticed Mikoto aiming a railgun at Juliet and she smiled to herself. _I believe in onee-sama to win even if I can't._ She calculated a point away from Juliet and used her ability.

A moment later, she was free from Juliet.

"What the…!?" Juliet asked in shock. "Your ability wasn't supposed to work against shad-," She was interrupted by a loud, earsplitting, boom. A coin propelled by electricity hit her in the arm, breaking it apart. "Damn it," she muttered as she transformed back into a pure shadow. The broken part disappeared into nothing.

"Kuroko!" Mikoto called out. "Are you okay? How did you manage to teleport?"

"Her shadow isn't the same as Jason's," Kuroko muttered, as she teleported to Mikoto's side. "When I try to teleport though his, it's like there's a wall in the dimensions I can't go around. With her, it's like teleporting through a normal solid object. As long as I don't teleport into it, I'm fine. Their abilities have to be fundamentally different, maybe because she doesn't have a real body."

"Her not having a body is what's making it difficult to capture her," Mikoto said through gritted teeth. "If they hurt Uiharu-san…"

"She has to be lying," Kuroko told her again. She kept repeating it for both of them. "After we stop her, we will find the others." Mikoto nodded, but Kuroko was worried. The look of anger on Mikoto's face was frightening. _She almost looks like she's going to go too far… but she wouldn't do that. Uiharu has to be alive._

"Maybe another death will change your minds," Juliet called out angrily. She had reformed and was standing across the street. Her arm had reattached itself, or maybe it was never gone. They couldn't be sure how her body was created by being a living shadow. "I'm curious, did you think my shadow form was my only ability? I am a magician you know." Kuroko and Mikoto looked at each other for a second. They actually had thought Juliet could only fight by using her shadow to unleash physical attacks. Juliet smiled and held her hands out in front of her. She put them together and they formed a heart shaped. "You two fight well together, you know that?"

"Because we have been friends for so long," Kuroko replied curtly.

"You used to be close with others," Mikoto added angrily. "Then you decided to follow Eve."

"Fate has a funny way of working like that," Juliet shrugged. "But I think it's time we separate that friendship." She smiled and a flash of light emerged from her hands.

Kuroko was the only one who reacted in time.

She didn't even consciously move. The moment there was a hint of light, Kuroko stuck out her hand automatically at Mikoto. Something in her mind warned her that when magicians did something with their hands, bad things would happen. A thought flashed through her mind while her hand moved. _There's a chance Jason was captured and Uiharu may be gone, I won't allow anyone else to get hurt._ Mikoto felt her touch, but couldn't say anything before Kuroko teleported her away. The light from Juliet's hands only engulfed her. "AHHH!" Kuroko screamed. It was like her mind had been set on fire. Memories flashed in her mind and she realized Juliet was doing something to her. She didn't know what, but it could not be good. She immediately slammed her head as hard as she could against the wall of the building. The force of the blow knocked her unconscious and she fell to the ground with a soft thud.

"KUROKO!" Mikoto screamed and rushed to her side. She felt Kuroko's pulse and it was there, but really weak. There was a tiny bit of blood from where she hit her head on the wall. "What did you do to her?!" she demanded, as she turned to Juliet, who was lowering her arms.

"I split up your friendship," Juliet laughed. She tapped the side of her head. "I'm going to destroy her from the inside out and the spell won't end until I die or remove it, but that will never happen. You should hurry. Judging by how she acted, it would be long before her brain is completely eradicated. Though, I won't feel bad if it happens, she brought it on herself."

"Shut up," Mikoto whispered and slowly stood up. Her entire body was shaking in anger. "I tried to be understanding, I tried to be rational, I wanted to help you, but now…" She took a step forward and raised her head. The smile on Juliet's face fell off when she saw Mikoto's expression. Mikoto's eyes were full of hatred and her face was contorted in rage. She took a step over and the air around her virtually shimmered with anger and darkness. Juliet could feel the tension between them change dramatically. Electricity started flowing out from Mikoto in all directions except behind her where Kuroko laid unmoving.

"That's a nice expression," Juliet commented. She jumped up onto a street lamp so she could look down at Mikoto. "Are you finally getting serious?"

"Shut up," Mikoto told her again. Her voice did not grow in volume, but was shaking. "I will never forgive you. I can forgive a lot, but attacking my friends is where I draw the line. After I take you out to save Kuroko, I'm going to find out what happened to Uiharu-san and Kagere-san."

"She's dead and he's captured," Juliet repeated. "I thought I told you that. Let's finish this so I can get back to my Romeo." She laughed, but that turned out to be a mistake. Electricity started exploding around Mikoto. Mikoto gave Juliet one last look, before bending her knees and putting her hand on the ground.

Concreate and asphalt cannot be magnetized, so Mikoto's power would not be able to directly affect it. Instead, Mikoto focused on all the metal beneath it. Academy City had a lot of metal structures built underground, including water, gas, and sewer pipes along with metal beams to support underground buildings and labs. That was what Mikoto was focusing on. She no longer cared about the damage to the city. For Mikoto, her friends were more important than any amount of money. She could feel the pipes and beams being ripped apart as she started forcing them to the surface. She didn't know that Academy City's warning apparatuses could detect when a pipe broke and would seal it off, or the amount of gas that pumped through some of those pipes could have created a very large explosion.

"What are you up to?" Juliet asked, unable to see the damage far beneath her. "Did you give up living…?" Her voice trailed off when she heard a very loud crack. "Huh?" she looked at the ground and noticed a bulge in the street, along with large cracks spreading from it. Another loud crack came from behind her and she turned around. Juliet blinked and noticed cracks were spreading across the entire street. "What is happen…?" she started to ask, when the street exploded.

Explosions erupted all around her as metal pipes and beams started flying upwards. Huge chunks of concrete and asphalt flew in all directions, but the main segment of the street didn't break. The ends began to curve up as the metal pipes and a cloud if black iron sand began to push the street into a bowl shape. The material the street was made of couldn't handle the change in shape and started breaking into large chunks but, by then, the metal pipes and beams had impaled through them and the iron sand was magnetized and being forced against the backside of it. The walls of concreate and asphalt continued to rise and bend, until Juliet was completed encased by a giant dome. Juliet blinked as she was engulfed by darkness, except for a few fragments of light breaking through the cracks.

"She never learns," Juliet muttered and then shouted loud enough for Mikoto to hear. "Capturing me won't save either of your friends. She will soon join the other one once my magic finishes her off. I predict she probably only has five minutes at the most to live." Juliet laughed and thought about what she should do. _Should I wait and let her suffer or break out. She should know forming a wall like this can't stop me._

"I know this," Mikoto muttered to herself. "But what should I do?" She had fallen onto her knees and held out her hand in front of her with her fingers curved slightly, like she was holding an invisible baseball. Tears were running down her face. She didn't want to believe Kazari was dead but, seeing how easily Juliet took down Kuroko, it was definitely believable. Kuroko was still breathing, but Mikoto didn't know how much longer. _I still don't know enough about magic to understand what is happening to Kuroko. I need help from a magician._ Her entire body started to tremble at the choice she was forced to make. Kazari was an unknown, so logically Mikoto couldn't trust what an enemy said. The problem was her best friend was lying on the ground next to her. If Mikoto choose wrong, Kuroko could very well die. The tears kept pouring from her eyes as she was left with no other option.

She clamped her hand.

The giant concrete dome imploded in on itself.

All the metal debris and iron sand on the outside of the dome or stuck into the torn up street was pushed together by Mikoto's magnetism. There was a resounding crash, as all the concrete and asphalt was smashed together into a rough sphere. Unlike the time with the iron sand, she didn't stop it on Juliet's form. She forced the mass together with all the force she could muster. Her entire body trembled at what she had done and she couldn't stand up. Unsure if the fight was truly over, she continued to press to ball of debris together, but she did not encounter any resistance. It looked like she had actually won. Mikoto took a deep breath, but then almost vomited. The thought of Juliet crushed inside there weighed heavily on her mind. She glanced over at Kuroko, who was still lying unconscious, and Mikoto forced herself to her feet.

 _It's finally over,_ Mikoto thought and she stumbled toward Kuroko. _I have to get her somewhere safe, preferably to a doctor or a magician, and then find out what happened to Uiharu-san._ _I'll think of something to tell them about what happened._ A number of emotions flashed through her mind, fear, regret, anger, sadness, hatred, but there was something else as the water in her eyes dried.

She was shocked at how easy it had been to take a life.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Pierce: So, what do you think is going to happen?**

 **Motoharu: Looks like the battle ended sooner than expected. I think Academy City fights will resolve before Australia. Kagere, you sure you aren't going to help?**

 **Jason: I can't unless someone contacts me.**

 **Pierce: He just wants to stay with his girlfriend. Lucky bastard.**

 **Jason: Think if I pretend to fall asleep, Kazari will let me spend the night?**

 **Kazari: Dorm manager knows you're here. He won't let you.**

 **Jason: Dang.**

 **Touma: Are you guys all watching us on TV and eating POPCORN?!**

 **Motoharu: You didn't invite us to the fun and ran off on your own.**

 **Pierce: He just wanted all the girls to himself. He even founded himself an S with a whip. I would kill to be in your place you bastard!**

 **Touma: It was your fault Tsuchimikado! You helped set all this up.**

 **Motoharu: Sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of a sexy woman cracking a whip.**


	85. S4 Plight of the Level 5s: Part 1

**I'm sure you can tell from this chapter what I'm going to be focusing on for a bit. I thought about it and decided I can't swap between Australia and Academy City during the level 5 fights. They are all happening at once and occur in stages. Switching to Australia will mess with the impact. There were also a lot of comments about the Mikoto vs Juliet being short and rushed. I can assure you, nothing ends that easily, as most of you probably guessed. What occurs next, you will have to wait and see. For now, let's see how the others are faring. New Index light novel will be out soon too. I can't wait to see how Touma likes to be on the receiving end of a harem out for blood. It's sure to give him a newfound appreciation for the girls he knows. Just something you to think about, now on to the comments.**

 **general ironox: Of course she's the BDSM type. Just seeing what she wears is more than enough evidence. Carissa's reaction would be great to that rumor.**

 **Brosephg: Touma is definitely into S &M. I bet he will enjoy being stepped on. No explanation needed for loving Eve. Sogiita Gunha was one of the best options to fight crazy unexplainable powers. After all, fight fire with fire, am I right? Juliet's fight is just a basic scrabble. I'm sure they will all be friends when it is over.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: Touma evolves into Jesus Touma. Mikoto killed someone. You don't just recover from your first kill. You see it forever.**

 **Seiker: You would think without a body she can't be crushed, but does magic follow normal physic rules like that? I also never said Carissa/Touma interactions were done for the night. Hehehe.**

 **Whwsms: The Queen does seem like she was a wild youth. I wouldn't be surprised if she has a special whip to pass down to Carissa. Sogiita has super speed and strength, so he could be considered a science side Saint. It is a perfect match up with a science side Saint.**

 **Handsomistic1: I can assure you Oriana and Ruiko are not finished yet in Australia. They will all have their day in the sun.**

 **KaguTsumi: Eve might be more accepting of the impossible, but imagining Kaori Kanzaki losing it would be hilarious.**

 **Guest: It was outside the scope of this story. No, that didn't happen yet. He discovered the reflect from the phoenix feather by accident and then actually applied it to Cain's magic. They heard about it, but that was early on in England and they had plenty of time to get over it. It was one of those things that Eve used it to read his mind so it wasn't romantic. She's a knight so she is from the UK.**

 **Yakutsu Zaishiro: People die. All the sin mark guys died. He's been off secretly training. Swimming in lava, meditating underwater, pushing bolder to the top of mountains, you know, the usual stuff. Push up, sit ups, and plenty of juice.**

 **Salishious: The fights will be over long before Jason leaves Uiharu. As for what Touma knows, you will have to wait until Australia returns. There may be more Amelia. We will have to see how important she becomes. Fluffy, through a lot of debate, may not be part of the IB. There are signs it could be something else.**

 **Generation Zero: There is a very strict entrance exam to join the Fallen. You have to meet their qualifications. You know, spoiler alert, I was going to bring out the hydra, but one does not simply summon dragons. Dragons are synonymous with fallen angels and demons. You can't just make them out of paper. Spiders are cute, so she makes them, it's that simple. You have some interesting speculation and you maybe on to something.**

 **FrodoFighter: You actually hit the nose on the head with the Fallen. They were betrayed and fell, but they refuse to quit. Betrayal leaves deep scares that are not easily healed. The knights don't want Touma dead, they just like to mess with him. Everyone knows teasing him is really fun. Don't expect an awakened Sogiita anytime soon. His ability is rather unique and awakening may be out of reach for him now. Mikoto vs Juliet (?) round two needs to happen? I'll let the writer know.**

 **wildarms13: Don't worry, eventually, all will know Touma and Carissa are together.**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly. Magic Gods own all so they can do what they want.**

* * *

"Bayloupe," Accelerator mumbled quietly. "Estelle. Take Last Order and Worst and get the hell out of here."

"Misaka would normally argue," Worst replied instantly. "But Misaka doesn't like that man's presence and will listen this one time." She may not have been able to feel mana, but even she could feel Cain was not someone to be trifled with. There was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind, like she subconsciously knew this guy was dangerous.

"You can't honestly be thinking of trying to take that monster on by yourself?" Bayloupe asked incredulously. "I know you don't understand who he is. What it means to face a vampire's magic. Even if we all attacked at once, we probably couldn't win."

"Last Order," Accelerator said, his words indicated he was ignoring Bayloupe's warning. "Go with them and don't leave their side."

"Okay MISAKA agrees as MISAKA looks at you with worry." Last Order let go of him and scooted over by Bayloupe. "You will return to MISAKA afterwards right? MISAKA asks slowly." She didn't realize Cain's presence caused her to disconnect from the Misaka Network accidently, and now her thoughts were focused on Accelerator.

"Who do you think I am?" Accelerator replied haughtily. "I'm the number one." He sounded a lot more confident than he actually felt. He would always act confident in front of her. For the first time in ages, he wasn't sure what the outcome would be. He remembered how effortlessly Cain used fear to freeze him up during their first encounter. _I don't know anything about him, but I have to assume his strength is equal to Aqua's. There's a chance he could be even stronger, if what everyone else says is true._

"Don't worry Last Order," Estelle reassured her. "Master is strong. I'm sure he won't lose." Accelerator glanced back at her for a moment and noticed the fear on her face. It was obviously she was worried too, but she prioritized keeping Last Order calm. She always worried about others before herself.

"I'll trust your judgement," Bayloupe sighed. "But after they are safe, I'm going to come back and help." She glared at him and he shrugged.

"Do what you have to," he replied. Accelerator's eyes turned back to Cain, who had stopped and was only watching them passively. "It will probably be over by then anyways." He knew if he was going to have trouble with Cain, Bayloupe wouldn't stand a chance. Normally, he would have told someone weaker than him to stop getting involved in his fights but, this time, he couldn't. He wanted to, but there was something pleasant about someone willing to help him, especially against a monster. _Her knowledge of magic might be useful too,_ he mentally told himself to justify his actions. "Why are you just standing there?" Accelerator asked Cain angrily. "I thought you were planning to try to kill me?"

"Not planned," Cain answered mildly. "I will. That is not optional. I was merely giving you the opportunity to say your final words to each other." He smiled slightly and a vein in Accelerator's head started to throb.

 _That cocky bastard,_ Accelerator thought. He was getting even angrier, but forced himself to remain calm, for the girl's sake. "On three," Accelerator muttered, his lips barely moved. "I'll distract him so you four can escape." The girls nodded. "One… two…THREE!" He stomped his foot down hard and the ground between him and Cain exploded. The earth flipped over as he tried to crush Cain. "Move!" The girls turned around and bolted, with Estelle holding tightly to Last Order's hand.

"That just won't do," Cain's voice called out, a second before the ground Accelerator threw exploded into dust. Cain had only taken a step forward and flicked his hand. "I can't have that little girl escaping now. Lady Eve would be most unhappy." His next step caused the earth under all of them to shake. Stalagmites burst from the ground in front of the girls and forced them to stop. Accelerator didn't take the response lying down and retaliated with his own version of earth manipulation. Cracks emerged from under him and circled around the girls.

"Hang on," Estelle told the others. She had seen him use this trick before and everyone grabbed anything they could on the ground. The earth beneath them lifted up and flew forward. The force knocked the stalagmites out of the way, but the earth under them protected the girls from the impact. They landed on the far side was a boom and dust flew everywhere, which caused them to temporarily be blinded. The good news was Cain couldn't see them either. "Let's move."

"Misaka feels like we got out of there too easily," Worst said. Bayloupe didn't say anything but, judging by the fact she tightened her grip on her steel glove, she agreed completely.

"Looks like it's just us," Accelerator said, as he turned his back to the dust cloud. "If you want them, you will have to go through me."

"That's true," Cain agreed. "Though, if I wished, I could easily pass you to capture the girl and kill the others."

"Then why don't you?" Accelerator asked mockingly.

"Because I have pawns that will do it for me," Cain answered and Accelerator's blood froze. He turned around and was able to see everything, now that the dust had cleared.

"WHY ARE YOU FOUR STILL HERE?!" Accelerator roared, but his question was answered before they could respond. There were five people on the other side of the girls, but they looked unusual. They were dressed in normal enough clothes. Two were Anti-Skill officers, one male and one female, the other three were civilians. One was a man in a business suit, the second one was a lady in a nurse's outfit, and the third might have been a young man in college. The unusual part was their complexion. They were unusually pale and, because of the distance, he couldn't be sure, but their eyes seemed to be pitch black. What he did see was the dark reddish-brown stains on their clothes. He recognized the substance. It was dried blood. His eyes flickered back to Cain. "Who are they?"

"You could say they are my minions," Cain answered. "They were humans who I have fed on, but did not believe worthy of being vampires, yet more useful to be considered purely food."

"What?!" Accelerator spat out. "So you really are a fucking vampire?!"

"The first vampire to be precise," Cain corrected him. "They are thralls, almost completely mindless drones that carry out my orders. They drink blood like me and are physically strong, even if they lack the ability for cognitive thought, so your companions might be in trouble. Don't worry though." A dark smile appeared on his face and Accelerator felt something he didn't normally experience. Fear. "They won't attack the little girl." His smile widened. "I want to be the one to personally drain her blo-."

He never finished that sentence.

Accelerator had let out a wild yell as the ground beneath him exploded. He flew directly at Cain, with his arm outstretched. Accelerator's attack wasn't a surprise, not to someone like Cain, but Accelerator didn't know that. If he had been paying attention, or had more combat experience like Touma, he would have noticed Cain's eyes following his movement as he talked. Accelerator's outstretched hand grabbed Cain's face and Accelerator manipulated all the vectors in Cain's body. Cain flew backwards at breakneck speed, crashed through a tree, shattered it, and created a deep crevice in the ground, as his body was pushed through the earth. Accelerator knew that couldn't be enough to defeat a minion of Eve, but he had more pressing matters to attend to. He turned around and was about to rush over to the girls' side. He saw they had begun fighting the thralls, but before he could help them, a voice whispered into his ear.

"Turning your back to an enemy is a sure way to get yourself killed."

Accelerator was only able to turn his head fast enough, but his body could not react. Cain was already standing right next to him and reached up toward Accelerator's face with his hand at inhuman speed. Cain's hand made contact and Accelerator's automatic reflection was not going to work this time. The sheer mass of magic vectors Cain wielded was overpowering Accelerator's calculation ability. He had no choice but to force his own body backwards to avoid being destroyed. Accelerator was blown back harder than he had planned because, not only did he force his vector backwards, the force of Cain's magical might pushed him too. His foot left an indention in the dirt and a park bench stuck in the ground was blown away when his body collided with it. "Bastard," Accelerator growled. _I can't afford to waste time on this guy._ "Get out of my way."

"No," Cain replied simply. "You and I will settle our fight here. My thralls will attack, kill, and most likely eat all your friends except for the small one. She will be my food. Lady Eve was very specific about that."

"You really want to die," Accelerator hissed and he felt his anger welling up from deep within him. He never allowed someone to threaten Last Order in front of him. He was okay with people threatening Worst sometimes in jest, because she annoyed him a lot, but he would still protect her. His fury was more complete this time, as two other people he was close to were also threatened. Estelle may be a little annoying, with calling him master all the time, but she was a kind and caring person, someone Last Order could look up to. Bayloupe was more serious, but she was still someone Accelerator actually enjoyed talking to. "The last bastard who threatened them was torn into pieces by my hands."

"You mean Pride?" Cain asked. Accelerator must have had a look of surprise on his face, because Cain elaborated for him. "Yes, I did hear about your fight with him. You seemed to have a little trouble with his curse mark. Immortality and high speed regeneration can be challenging for the unprepared, especially if you don't have a way to interrupt it."

"Yet I still killed him!" Accelerator roared, as he flew forward. The explosion behind him blew away the remains of the bench he had hit. Each step he took was over ten meters in length and he reached out a hand toward Cain. "I'll tear you apart until you die like him!"

"Admirable," Cain responded without any sort of fear. "But useless all the same." He stepped forward to meet Accelerator, his arm outstretched and his fingers together, like a blade, and he jabbed them at Accelerator's outstretched hand. Accelerator was ready this time and he focused nearly all of his processing power on manipulating the magic vectors. Cain was also prepared and concentrated the magical strength only a vampire possessed. In their own worlds, both of them would be considered unstoppable forces. One was the pinnacle of science abilities and the other was a magical creature from the dawn of this world. Two forces who should have never met collided with each other.

The ground exploded and they created a crater around them, over thirty meters wide.

A moment later, Accelerator found himself laying on the ground outside the crater. He blinked in surprise, because he didn't have time to process what had happened. His memory returned and he pushed himself up with his arms. He looked around and then glanced down at the center of the crater, where Cain stood motionless. Accelerator could not deny it this time. He could not tell himself he only lost because he was unprepared. _I was overpowered, ME!_ He stood up, but kept his eyes on Cain. _I couldn't deflect all of his power or even redirect it. His hand was a pure focused mass of those damn magic vectors. Even if I was at full strength, I doubt I could have calculated all of them._ Even after being overpowered, his anger wasn't sated and he refused to surrender. "Fucker," Accelerator growled. "Get out of my sight before I rip you apart."

"Bold words coming from an injured person," Cain pointed out. "But I suppose a cornered beast would be considered the most frightening."

"What are you blabbing about?" Accelerator snapped, when he felt it. It was so slight, he almost missed it. A warm liquid was slowly trickling down his face from his forehead and past his nose. He reached up with his hand and wiped it away. He might have thought it was a bead of sweat, if he didn't notice the dark red liquid in his hand or its stench.

It was blood.

It was his blood.

He was injured while his ability was fully functional without being able to injure his opponent. Cain had done the impossible. This wasn't like when he fought Touma and the ability that defied all rationality. Cain had used pure force to break through Accelerator's defense. Vector manipulation was supposed to allow him to stand against the world's military, but magic was in an entirely different world. He finally, truly, understood that now. Acqua managed to injure him in their fight, but that was when he was using the black wings, and those interfered with his concentration. However, Accelerator wasn't one to feel sorry for himself, instead he felt anger. Anger at himself for being unable to stop the person in front of him from threatening those he actually cared about. "How?" Accelerator asked. "I thought immortals relied too much on their regeneration and not their combat prowess."

"Pride was only immortal because of his sin mark," Cain explained with a short laugh. "He did not have power. His only strength lied in his determination." He shook his head and corrected himself. "Determination is actually one of the most powerful things n this world. Without it, nothing can change, but it also leads countless to their deaths. Determination can become obsession. You may not know this, being born on the science side, immortal is a word many throw around but few can truly call it theirs. Pride died when his mark was stolen, so he was not truly immortal. I am one of the few who can claim true immortality. Let me put it this way, you could tear out my heart and I would live. You could burn me, cut me into pieces, and even throw me into the deepest crevice of the ocean, but I would survive. It is my curse."

"I heard about it," Accelerator snapped. "You got it for killing your brother and God punished you." He could hear the girls fighting in the distance, but Cain was not going to let him help them. He actually had to think of a plan, rather than relying on brute force. It was an unusual concept for him, but his opponent was not human, he could not be human. It was time for a change in strategy.

"Exactly," Cain answered. "I was punished by God for my moment of anger. Cursed to inhabit this world for eternity. God will not let me die and he branded me with my own mark." He pointed to the red backwards F with three prongs instead of two on his face. "Pride's mark was only an imitation of mine. It was probably what allowed you to steal it in the first place. Your pride overshadowed his. You will not be able to steal mine the same way. This mark is bound to me deeper than you could comprehend."

 _I hate to admit it, but I might actually need Bayloupe and Estelle's help in finding a way to reduce his magic._ His eyes darted briefly toward the distance where smoke and an occasional yell came from. _Damn it. I'm the number one. I shouldn't be asking for help, I should BE the help._ He blinked. _When did I think like that? I don't go out of my way to help people. Damn hero, you are influencing me again._ The face of Last Order flashed to the front of his mind and he grimaced. _That girl has gone through enough. She deserves a peaceful life._ He paused when something occurred to him. _I don't have to defeat Cain right this second, I only need to get past him. Guess I'll take a page out of the third rate's book._ He started walking slowly toward Cain.

"You still haven't learned?" Cain asked. He rubbed the side of his head. "I was told you were smart. Surely you recognized the difference in power. If you surrender now, I could make it painless. I don't like torturing helpless individuals."

"Heh," Accelerator laughed mockingly. "I have fought someone much stronger than you."

"Oh?"

"That bastard wouldn't go down no matter how much damage I did to him," Accelerator reminisced. "He didn't even have regenerative powers, yet he continued to stand up, blood soaked and battered, but never broken. That was the first time I tasted true fear in the face of the unknown. I was too afraid to even show my back to that monster. You don't even compare."

"Interesting," Cain mused. "An individual who was able to shake someone with your confidence? I would like to meet him sometime."

"You already have," Accelerator sneered. "But you could never win." He stuck his hands out to his side and the wind began to gather around him at high speeds. The air was forced circularly behind him until four vortexes of wind formed on his back, like makeshift wings. Accelerator flicked his hand and a cyclone of the 120 meter per second tornado flew directly at Cain. Cain separated his feat slightly and braced for the impact. The wind not only hit him with the enough force to rip a roof off a building, but also pummel him with dirt, debris, and rocks. A normal human would have been torn apart, but Cain barely noticed. The only noticeable effect from Accelerator's attack was Cain's hoody and pants started getting torn up.

"It feels like a kid is throwing a tantrum," Cain yawned.

Accelerator only grinned. He knew an attack of that caliber would not work, and he never planned for it to. He flew up into the air by forcing the air vectors downwards and took one last glance at Cain, before diving at high speeds. Cain grinned and raised his hand to intercept Accelerator. Cain obviously thought Accelerator was going to strike at him directly, possibly hoping to use the momentum from the dive to augment his attack. Everything Eve had told him about Accelerator would suggest that, but that wasn't the case this time. Cain didn't believe Accelerator would change his strategy, as he was used to being able to use his ability to overpower people with pure strength. It seemed as if Accelerator's fights in England had an effect on him.

Accelerator didn't strike at Cain, he struck at the ground in front of Cain.

An earthquake rocked the area as huge segments of the earth broke and rose into the air. The rotated on their axes and formed a barricade all around Cain. Accelerator jumped back and tapped the ground once more with his foot. A large crack circled around Cain and the ground beneath him rose into the air too. Like someone flipping a giant coin, the ground spun in midair and slammed back down, with Cain underneath. Accelerator didn't stop and observe the effect of his attack, he knew that wouldn't be enough to stop Cain. _As long as it delays him, that's enough._ The ground exploded around him, as he turned and shot off in the direction of the girls. _Bayloupe, you better have kept the others safe._ He saw two of the girls being cornered by a couple of Cain's thralls but, before he could get to them, his view was blocked.

A wall of dark green vines erupted from the ground and formed a solid wall between him and the others. Accelerator was going to barrel right through it, when a sudden movement to his right caught his eye. He barely managed to put up a defense as another massive strike of magic vectors collided with him. Cain had emerged from the tomb, jumped into the air, and struck Accelerator in the chest. Accelerator was blown backwards from the strike, as he couldn't get his defense completely up. The vortexes of air behind him broke apart and disappeared. Accelerator grimaced when he hit the ground with full force. The explosion of dust and dirt flew into the air and obstructed his view. "Fuck," he muttered, as he got to his feet. His chest hurt from where Cain had hit him. He reflected most of the blow, but some damage still got through.

"I see," Cain's voice came clearly through the dust. Accelerator watched him emerge as the air cleared. "You can learn. Knowing you were unable to defeat me by yourself, you tried to save your friends to acquire their assistance."

"You were faster on the uptake than I anticipated," Accelerated answered. He rubbed his jaw. _This is getting annoying._ His eyes darted to the wall of green plant like vines surrounding them. They were as thick as a large tree trunk and covered in thorns.

"It was pure stupidity to think you could bury me in the earth. I would have sworn your friends have the intelligence to tell you about my power."

"They did," Accelerator snorted and then he smirked. "Something about your being Eve's first child, which is kind of creepy in its own way, and then you got upset because God, like most people, prefer meat over vegetables. You then killed your brother in a fit of rage because of your ego." Cain's face became stony. "God cursed you to wander the earth forever." Accelerator's smirk turned to a scowl. "Get over yourself. We all have gone through crap. The difference between us is that I rose above it, you keep living in the past."

"That's rich," Cain replied and he actually laughed. "I know all about your past too. How you killed all those clones while telling yourself they weren't human. Isn't that why you watch two of them? To redeem yourself?" It took Accelerator a moment to find his words. He did not expect Cain to know that.

"I thought I was beyond redemption once," Accelerator said and then rubbed his jaw. He still remembered the punch. "Someone set me straight. I nearly died saving someone after that, which was completely out of character for me. I may have been forgiven, but I'm still a monster. I still kill, but now I do it so others don't have to. They can live their lives in the sun, while I taint my hands."

"You are still lying to yourself," Cain pointed out. "But you could hardly be considered a monster. Let me show you what I became." He looked to his left and spat. When his spit hit the ground, a plant began to grow. It was a tree and was growing at an extraordinary pace. Within ten seconds, it had become a fully developed apply tree, complete with ripe fruit. "As punishment, I can never eat the bounty given by the earth." He reached up toward an apple hanging on a branch. When Cain's hand wrapped around it, the bright red apple withered into a black husk. "Such is my fate. Everything from the earth turns to ash."

"So you can't eat salads," Accelerator scoffed. "Big fucking deal."

"You understand nothing," Cain snapped and made a slashing motion with his hand. The tree was severed in half instantly and crashed loudly against the ground. His eyes flashed dangerously and Accelerator frowned. "I can't even eat meat. Animals gather their energy from the earth and their muscles are created from it. The only thing I can eat or drink is their blood, an accursed reminder of what I did. When his blood poisoned my field, it became the only thing I could consume. I am unable to die and thus live this cursed life. I can try to ignore my hunger, but it will eventually consume me. Now, I have a chance to get revenge. When God dies, so does this mark. I can find peace at last with his death." The around him started to shimmer.

"I could care less about your plight," Accelerator replied coldly. "All I care about is you attacking someone I protect. That is a death sentence."

"If you had the power to kill me," Cain told him. "I would let you." His eyes flashed again. "Your lack of understanding is angering me. You will die here and the girl will be turned." The air shimmered again and rocks at his feet begun to shake. Accelerator was about to insult Cain and say something witty, when he noticed something important. His eyes widened in recognition.

The very world was warping around Cain.

The ground was beginning to rise and twist in unnatural shapes. The shimmering was caused by an overpowering force crushing and warping the surrounding air. Grass and small shrubs, still in the ground around Cain, began to wither and die. It was as if the earth was being corrupted by Cain's very presence. Accelerator's hands curled into fists when he realized this. _Is this warping caused by that bastard's mana leaking out when he's angry? Even I can't do something as insane as that. I guess he's really a monster after all. I'll have to settle with being a first class villain._ "Why do you want that brat anyways? How could she possibly help you?"

"She's a valuable piece of the puzzle," Cain answered. "If we can't enter the Imaginary Distract, we shall bring it here." Before Accelerator could say anything, the weight of Cain's presence doubled. A second later, Cain's hand was going for his throat.

* * *

"Stay behind me," Bayloupe told Last Order. She held her Steel Glove out in front of her with one hand and pushed Last Order behind her, as the five bloody humans approached them. She heard Accelerator yell something about them still being here, but it wasn't like she had a choice. "I think they are Cain's thralls. Estelle, Worst, can you two fight?"

"Misaka can fight," Worst answered and a small amount of electricity surrounded her. "Misaka may not be as strong as onee-tama, but Misaka can still emit two hundred million volts." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a couple of steel nails. "It's been awhile, but this will be entertaining at least. Those guys have no idea what's coming to them. Misaka was feeling frisky all day with how the moderator was feeling."

"I don't really like violence," Estelle admitted, while she pulled a small ornate dagger out of robes. "But seeing these thralls… it's horrible what he did to those people."

"What are thralls? MISAKA asks as MISAKA looks around at the people who appear to be from a murder scene."

"Thralls are humans who have been bitten and drained by a vampire," Estelle explained.

"Vampire MISAKA asks in shock!? They exist?"

"They should have only been legends," Bayloupe added, as she eyed the thralls approaching them. "Everything we know about them are only found in myths. We can't be sure what's true and what's not."

"They are obviously real," Worst mocked. "Now finish what you were saying about them. What is the best way to kill them?"

"There are several different theories on if they are alive or dead," Estelle continued. "The two most popular ones are they are alive and considered weaker vampires. They don't have the magical power as a real vampire, but they are strong, lack complex thought, and have a thirst for blood. The other theory is they are killed by having their blood drained and then a vampire's magic brings them back to life. They don't receive a new soul. Instead, part of the vampire's will is added to them to make the thralls extremely loyal servants. I really hope it's not the second one. Desecrating the dead is a terrible thing to do, but I might be able to do something about it."

"Anything would be-," Bayloupe started to say when the female in the blood stained nurse's outfit charged. She ran at speeds above what most humans could achieve but, at this distance, it was a speed Bayloupe could react to easily enough. The female closed in on them and opened her mouth, revealed long white fangs, and tried to bite at Bayloupe. Bayloupe responded by swinging her Steel Glove. The hand at the end grabbed the leg of the nurse thrall, less than a meter away from her, and threw the thrall over twenty meters into a tree. The thrall screamed in pain as she hit the tree, perpendicular to the trunk, and then fell onto the ground. Her body twitched and then her arms and legs moved in odd directions. Her neck turned with an odd cracking sound and she slowly stood up. "They are durable," Bayloupe commented and she noticed the thrall ripped a chunk of the tree off with her bare hand. "And strong. Don't let them touch you."

"Misaka doesn't like to be touched except by tou-san," Worst said with a laugh as she turned to the male Anti-Skill officer thrall. "Besides, Misaka always wanted to beat up a cop." She fired a blue-white electrical discharged at the man. His body shook and he let out an animalistic scream. When the attack was over, the man jerked slightly, but appeared to be unhurt, though his body was smoking a little bit. His mouth fell opened slightly, revealing his fangs, and then he charged. "Stubborn huh? Sorry, Misaka prefers people she can control." She raised her right hand and held a nail firmly in it. She took aim and fired.

Worst was not anywhere near Mikoto's level, even though she was stronger than the normal Sisters. She did not have the power to fire a railgun. Her output was much lower because Worst couldn't use Fleming Left Hand Rule. It is found that whenever a current carrying conductor is placed inside a magnetic field, a force acts on the conductor, in a direction perpendicular to both the directions of the current and the magnetic field. Fleming's Left Hand rule is mainly applicable for electric motors and allows people to determine the direction of the relation between magnetic fields, current and force. Because of this, her attack was closer to a magnetic rifle than a railgun.

It still packed quite a punch.

Worst fired the nail at roughly the speed of sound directly between the thrall's eyes. His helmet visor exploded and the nail went straight into his head. The thrall let out a piercing scream and the other three near it stopped moving to look at him. The man grabbed his head and thrashed around, before suddenly stopping. He turned his head slowly and his eyes looked murderous. Bayloupe and Estelle noticed this too, along with its reaction. "They seem to be alive," Worst commented. "But don't bleed. The wound is also healing, so this could be troublesome and Misaka doesn't like troublesome things."

"How long do you two think you can hold them back?" Estelle asked.

"Do you have a plan?" Bayloupe asked, aware the thralls were gathering together.

"I can't guarantee it will work," Estelle admitted, as she got down onto her knees and pulled out a piece of paper. "It all depends on if they are truly dead or not." She started drawing a design on the piece of paper.

"Okay," Bayloupe agreed. "I don't think there's much else we can do. We will cover you."

"It doesn't look like Misaka has much of a choice."

"Should MISAKA do anything? MISAKA asks as MISAKA feels she's not contributing."

"You might be the last line of defense for her," Bayloupe said, as she and Worst stepped forward, away from the other two. She had no idea of Last Order's power, except that she could generate a little electricity.

"If that happens," Worst added. "We are all doomed."

"MISAKA will do her best MISAKA replies as MISAKA gives a snappy salute."

A series of animalistic screams came from the five thralls. It seemed as if they had grown tired of waiting for the girls to move. All five of them charged at once, running forward with their arms outstretched and their teeth bared. They ran like a pack of wolves, each one looked like they wanted to get a piece of their next meal. Worst was about to fire her nails like a magnetic rifle again, but stopped when Bayloupe spoke up. "Use your electricity," Bayloupe recommended, as she reached up and touched the hearing aid like device on her head. Worst didn't have time to argue and raised her hand. Instead of firing a focused attack at one, she fired a chain to intercept them all. Bayloupe, on the other hand, used her Steel Glove to pick up a large decorative rock. Worst felt a sudden charge, a moment before Bayloupe threw it. The rock collided with Worst's attack, a meter in front of the thralls.

A flash of light almost blinded them, followed by a loud explosion, and then screams of pain.

"Sounds like it worked," Worst laughed. "Why did you want Misaka to use electricity instead of steel?"

"I noticed they seemed to be stunned from your electrical attack for a moment," Bayloupe explained. "I just added my own electricity into the mix to increase the power."

"Misaka liked the effect," Worst said. "If after this you would be willing to play a prank on-." A scream interrupted her as the female thrall in Anti-Skill armor jumped out of the smoke at them. Her speed was greater than either Worst's or Bayloupe's and her attack was a surprise. The thrall tackled Bayloupe and knocked her to the ground.

"Shit!" Bayloupe yelled. She had to use her Steel Glove to block the thrall. The stench of death was thick on the female thrall's breath and it made Bayloupe's eyes water. Teeth snapped at her neck and she struggled against the creature's strength. Even with the Steel Glove augmenting Bayloupe's strength, she was losing. "A little help?!"

"Misaka is busy," Worst replied anxiously, as she fired two more nails. Three of the thralls had charged at her. Using her nails, she managed to stop the thrall who looked like a college male for now. He fell to the ground as Worst hit his knee and shoulder. The problem was she couldn't fire them fast enough. The male thrall in the tattered stained business suit and the female thrall in a nurse's outfit continued to charge at her. They almost reached her, but Worst grinned, before detonating the oxygen around herself with electricity. Using the force from the explosion, she propelled herself forward and into the air, which allowed her to maneuver above the thralls. "Hah, too slow."

She regretted her words an instant later. The thrall she had shot with her nails had recovered. Without realizing it, Worst had landed closer to the college male thrall. He saw her and licked his lips, before he jumped at her. Worst grimaced in pain as his iron vice like hand grabbed her arm. She turned and saw him opening his mouth. Instinct took over and electricity surged from Worst into the thrall. The electricity caused the thrall to lose controls of its muscles for a moment and Worst slipped her arm out. She exploded the oxygen around herself again and propelled her body forward away from him. "Misaka doesn't like to be touched like that. Misaka prefers to be the one doing the teasing." She saw something fly at her and ducked. The female Anti-Skill thrall Bayloupe had been fighting flew over Worst's head and crashed into the other two thralls sneaking up on Worst. "Thanks for the assist."

"It's not going to last," Bayloupe pointed out. "They regenerate too fast." She ran up next to Worst and held her Steel Glove out in front of her. "We have to keep them occupied until Estelle finishes whatever she's planning." She shifted to the side as the four thralls surrounded them. Worst and Bayloupe were too skilled for the thralls to attack randomly and it seemed as if they were becoming more pack like.

"Weren't there five of these things?" Worst asked Bayloupe.

"There was-," Bayloupe started to say and counted them. "Oh no!" Her eyes darted toward Estelle and Last Order after hearing a roar. "One's approaching Last Order!" Neither she nor Worst were in any position to help, as the other four thralls begun to charge at them.

Back with Estelle, Last Order was watching Worst and Bayloupe fight. "Will drawing on a piece of paper really be able to help stop those guys? MISAKA asks as MISAKA tilts her head in confusion at the plan."

"Cain messing with corpses is unforgivable," Estelle replied, but did not look up from her work. "They aren't completely dead, but we can't consider them living either. They really exemplify the phrase 'undead'. His magic must have done something to the corpse's spiritual circuit. I need to fix the circuit and input the wandering residual memory of the corpses back in to allow them to find peace." She stopped for a second and made a small change to the complex magic circle on the piece of paper.

"MISAKA has no idea what you are saying MISAKA admits, so MISAKA will trust you." Last Order turned around and her eyes widened. "One of them is approaching. What should MISAKA do MISAKA asks nervously."

"Don't get hurt," Estelle answered, as she glanced up for a fraction of a second. "If it's possible to distract him, I only need a few more seconds. Please don't get hurt or master will be furious."

"Err, okay, MISAKA says hesitantly." She started taking steps away from Estelle until she was about five meters out. "Stop MISAKA orders as MISAKA holds out a hand!" She thought that was a good idea, but was greatly disappointed when it didn't work. The male thrall in Anti-Skill armor still approached her, while it bared its teeth. Last Order froze as it drew near her. It leaned towards her and roared right in her face. "MISAKA may need new underwear now MISAKA mutters embarr-" She grew silent when the thrall leaned right next to her head, teeth still bared. She stared into the soulless black eyes for a moment before she wanted to run, but couldn't move from fear. The thrall opened his mouth wider, but suddenly stopped. He closed his mouth and then sniffed her, stood up straight, and walked past her toward Estelle. "Estelle, look out MISAKA yells in panic!" The thrall started running at Estelle, as if it sensed the threat.

"Done," Estelle mumbled and wiped sweat off her brow. At Last Order's words, she looked up, just in time to roll out of the way when the thrall tried to bite her in the neck. She rolled twice before springing up to her feet. "I'm sorry for any pain you may feel, but this is the only way for you to move on to the afterlife." She smiled sadly as the thrall turned to face her. He lunged at her and she ducked under his outstretched hands, simultaneously attaching the piece of paper to his chest. She dove to the side as the thrall stopped in its tracks.

"What did you do MISAKA asks? As MISAKA is completely lost at the situation."

"I repaired his spiritual circuit," Estelle explained. "It's having an effect, but I'm waiting to see if it will work. Stay behind me until we know for sure." She put her hand out and Last Order hid behind it, but kept peeking out to see what was happening. The thrall turned his head to look at them and opened his mouth, as if it wanted to scream, but no sound came out. A vibrant burst of green light erupted from the talisman and the thrall fell down to the ground. He was twitching madly for a minute, but then stopped. Estelle watched the residual memory flow from the thrall's body and converge above him. It slowly shaped itself into a translucent brain. Last Order's eyes were the size of dinner plates. The brain only lasted a moment, before disappearing back into the body. The thrall twitched one last time before going silent.

"Is it over? MISAKA asks in amazement as MISAKA looks around your cloak."

"It worked," Estelle sighed and took a couple steps over to the thrall. She crouched down next to it to perform a more thorough examination, when a sudden movement made her jump back. The thrall stirred slightly and the head turned to look at her. The face was no longer pale and his eyes had changed from black to brown. It looked like it took most of his strength to look at her. "C-can you recognize me?" Estelle asked surprised. The man blinked and then opened his mouth.

"Thank you." His voice was barely a whisper and he coughed. All the color faded from his body and he started to turn into dust. In seconds, there was only a pile of ashes and his clothes.

"Did… did you kill him? Misaka asks worriedly because MISAKA didn't think you were the kind of person to do something like that."

"He was too far gone," Estelle answered dejectedly and then her face grew slightly angry. She crouched down and started creating another magical circle on a piece of paper. "Four more to go and then we can stop Cain." Last Order leaned over Estelle's shoulder to watch her work. "You see, what Cain did was kill them, but then locked enough memories in their body to allow them to remember basic motor functions. Their memories of their life as a human were scattered. I recollected them and forced them back into their brain. When the mind reformed, the circuit was repaired, and Cain's magic was broken. However," Estelle made a fist for a moment, "his magic was the only thing keeping their body together. This man knew what happened to him and was relieved to be free. A prisoner in his own body..."

"MISAKA believes you did the right-. AHHH!"

The ground behind them exploded as rocks and large chunks of dirt began to lift up into the air. The fight between Accelerator and Cain had obviously intensified. A huge barricade of earth blocked any hope of seeing what was happening, but Estelle and Bayloupe were magicians. They could feel the overwhelming magic originating from Cain. The sudden shift in Cain's mana caused even the thralls to freeze. The earth shook as a wall of dark green thorny vines erupted from the ground between the girls and Accelerator fighting Cain. The vines were easily ten stories high and there was no way any of them could jump over it. Estelle realized they needed to help Accelerator and started scribbling the remaining four magical circles as fast as she could. It took all her focus to ignore the magical energy rising from behind the vine wall.

Even though the thralls were physically strong and virtually immortal with their regenerative power, they were not smart. They seemed to rely on movement. So what appeared to be pack tactics were them just moving around each other to get a better view of their targets. Once Bayloupe and Worst got use to their attack patterns, they were able to stand their ground against the thralls. Their biggest advantage was their electricity caused the thralls to lose control of their muscles for a moment. This allowed the two girls to keep out maneuvering them. Bayloupe was the first one to notice Estelle defeated one of the thralls, so she switched to a more conservative fight, even with Cain's immense magical presence so close. _One fight at a time._ Estelle eventually finished her circles and they managed to take down the remaining thralls.

"Finally," Bayloupe sighed, pushing the end of her Steel Glove into the ground and leaning up against it. She watched the final thrall decay into a pile of dust. "A little longer and they would have overpowered us. Their stamina was endless."

"They were too persistent," Worst muttered. "But why did they attack us? Misaka doesn't think she did anything to them or the Cain guy. It had to be tou-san's fault."

"Why is Cain even here?" Estelle asked.

"MISAKA believes it's because Eve is finally trying to complete her plan MISAKA answers seriously. Accelerator always knew Eve was waiting for the opportunity to strike. She must have chosen it when the savior left the city Misaka adds as MISAKA explains what she knows."

"Eve?" Estelle asked. "As in the first Eve?" She finally understood why Cain was here.

"Yes," Bayloupe confirmed seriously. "She's a young girl with the magic of someone who has had contact with the divine. She faced England's knights and the Anglican Church, and almost won. The only good news is she's still mortal."

"Misaka doesn't care so much about the history lesson," Worst interrupted. "But do you have any idea what to do about that wall of plants?" She shot a bolt of electricity at the wall and all that occurred was a small burnt mark, which quickly disappeared as the plant regenerated. "It's as resilient as those other guys."

"Don't approach it," Bayloupe ordered. "We don't know if it's designed to attack us."

"MISAKA has never seen an ability like that MISAKA says in amazement as MISAKA suppresses the desire to touch it." Bayloupe's hand twitched for a moment because she thought she was going to have to grab Last Order to stop her from touching the plants.

"We need to help master," Estelle said to Bayloupe. "How do you think we should proceed? You have more experience with these people."

"I don't know," Bayloupe said honestly. "Cain said he's after Last Order, so we need to get her out of here. If we want to help Accelerator, we need to get her to someone else who can protect her while we fight." She pulled out a rune from her pocket and whispered into it. "Floris, Lancis? We are under attack and I have someone who needs to be protected. Where are you two?"

"We are a little preoccupied." Floris's voice came though clearly, but it sounded like she was panting slightly.

"It's not just one person," Lancis added. "Eve's forces are over the entire city. There are not enough of us! We need-," The line suddenly cut off.

"Lanics!?" Bayloupe cried urgently. "Floris!? Are you there!? Shit." She shoved the rune back into her pocket. "Eve's forces are all over the city."

"What about MISAKA's friends? MISAKA asks urgently." Last Order tugged on Bayloupe's shirt.

"I don't know," Bayloupe admitted impatiently. "But I'm sure they are fine. There are a lot of strong people in this city focused on stopping Eve. For now, I think you should go with Worst and Estelle. I'll stay here and find a way to help Accelerator against Cain."

"I want to stay and help too," Estelle interjected. "But I know I can't do much against a vampire. Even if he is corrupting the dead, he's not dead himself, so I can't do the same thing to him." She made a fist. "I'll go with them."

"No way," Worst argued. "Misaka is staying too." This caused the rest of the girls to stare at her in stunned silence. None of them would have believed Worst would do something so noble. She confirmed her true motives a second later. "Tou-san would never be able to live it down if we helped him." She gave a short laugh and smirked deviously.

"This isn't a game!" snapped Bayloupe angrily and she rounded on Worst. "You have no idea what Cain is or what he is capable of! I don't know if even Accelerator can handle him."

"Master is strong," Estelle pointed out.

"He wouldn't want our help anyways," Worst added, as she put her hands behind her head. "But Misaka is still not going to flee."

"I know he's strong," Bayloupe acknowledged. "But this is Cain!" She turned to Estelle. "You should know what this means! Can't you feel that monster's power!?" Estelle shivered and gave a reluctant nod. "This isn't something we can charge into unprepared. Shit, I don't know if there are any preparations we could make to stand against him." She turned her head to look at the vines. "And his mana is only rising! It's like he doesn't have a limit." She was fighting the desire to run herself. The sheer weight of Cain's magical force was beginning to make it hard to breath, and they were even away from the battle. Last Order and Worst couldn't feel it, but the weight would hit them soon enough.

"Accelerator has always told MISAKA he would never lose MISAKA brags as MISAKA shares the secrets she knows to the newer members." All three girls turned to her in confusion. "He will win and then he will-."

The vine wall in front of them parted in half as something burst from it. It flew past them at high speeds to their right and hit the ground with a resounding crash. Dust and dirt flew into the air, which obscured it from view. Last Order stumbled backwards in surprise, while Estelle moved instinctively in front of her. Bayloupe moved forward to investigate and Worst raised her hand, which held another nail. "Careful," Bayloupe warned. She wanted to say it was Cain, but there was no magical energy coming from the crater formed by the impact. It was possible it was only a thrown object like a rock, but Bayloupe could have sworn it was in the shape of a person. She was about to get close enough to look in it, when something moved in the smoke. The dust was blown away with a gust of wind and Bayloupe gasped.

It was Accelerator.

His sudden appearance wasn't what shocked Bayloupe. She actually reasoned it had to be him. No, it was his physical appearance that caused her to freeze. Bayloupe had fought Accelerator before and had seen the power he wielded effortlessly. To see him in this state was unbelievable and it frightened her. His clothes were in tatters, with large chunks ripped out. The revealed parts of his arms were bruised. Even worse, blood was beginning to flow from his nose and a little blood trickled from his forehead. It was obvious he was in bad shape. He took a step forward and Bayloupe could tell he was in pain, but was trying to act normally. Accelerator shook his head and wiped some of the blood from his nose with his hand. His eyes darted to Bayloupe, who was still standing motionless, and he processed their presence. "WHY THE HELL ARE YOU STILL HERE?!" he bellowed, which caused her to jump.

"We just took care of his thralls," Bayloupe explained quickly, after she found her voice. "We were trying to figure out how to get to you."

"I told you to take Last Order and run!" Accelerator yelled back. "I know Worst won't fucking listen, but you could have dragged her by force!"

"I was just about to take Last Order away," Estelle said, as she moved up closer to them with Last Order and Worst behind her.

"MISAKA was worried about you MISAKA adds but MISAKA is slightly worried you are mad at her."

"You all need to get out of here, NOW!" Accelerator turned around toward the wall of vines, as they began to recede into the ground. Accelerator moved in front of the girls and his brow furrowed in frustration. _This bastard is too powerful. I can't fully deflect all his magic infused blows and the damage is stacking up. My head's pounding._

"You are being rather rude," Cain called out in a calm, sturdy voice. "These young ladies were only worried about you and wanted to help." Everyone turned to him now. Cain was walking towards them with his hands at his side. Besides his clothes being slightly torn, he looked unusually well off for someone who fought Accelerator. There was no visible damage to his actual body. "I mean, it is foolish, but it's still noble. Since they are nowhere as strong as you, they would be mere baggage at best."

"Shut up monster," Bayloupe told him. She raised her Steel Glove in front of herself menacingly. "You're going to regret attacking us."

"Misaka is pissed you ruined her afternoon of bothering tou-san," Worst added. "Be prepared for utter humiliation."

"You two idiots need to get out of here," Accelerator said again. "His attacks are overwhelming my defenses and I can barely stop them." He spat out a tiny bit of blood that ran into his mouth. "You two won't stand a chance."

"An impressive feat," Cain acknowledged. "Even though I have not been going all out, not many people could have survived this long against me."

"What?!" everyone asked in shock. Accelerator was the most surprised and he was beginning to feel angry again.

"If I went all out," explained Cain. "This city would become a wasteland. Eve wanted me to limit my destruction." He continued to walk forward. "However, your deaths are required, so escape is an impossibility." His very presence increased and Bayloupe choked. She glanced over at Estelle, who didn't seem to be fairing any better. Last Order and Worst had even begun to feel the pressure.

"Get out of here," Accelerator said for the last time. "I'll find a way to take care of it. Brats, listen to Bayloupe."

"You better keep your promise MISAKA demands as MISAKA indicates her selfish desires." Bayloupe grabbed her hand.

"Come on," she whispered. "Good luck Accelerator." He gave her only a brief nod. Before Worst could say something sarcastic or Estelle could say goodbye, Cain interrupted.

"I'm afraid I can't let them leave," he told them.

"Over my dead body!" Accelerator snarled.

"All things in good time." Cain said with a smirk, a cold sinister one that sent shivers down their spines. Before any of them could react, they were hit by his attack.

Accelerator's body froze as pure terror overcame him. It was the same attack he had been hit with the first time he had met Cain, Hunter's Presence. Even though he had encountered it once before, he didn't have any defense against it. His brain was screaming to run and hide, but his body wouldn't move. His brain was telling his body to move or he was going to die, but his body refused to listen under the terrifying force. The conflicting signals between his brain and body were preventing a lot of his rational thought. It was hard enough for him to barely comprehend what was happening around him. Out of the corner of his eye, because he could not turn his head, he saw Bayloupe, who looked exactly like he was feeling. He wanted to shout, yell, or cuss, but there was nothing he could do against Cain's magic.

"Well," Cain commented. "I see you are all speechless, so let's finish this up so I can leave." He walked up toward Accelerator, who was still trying to free himself. Cain stopped in front of him, smiled, and then continued past him. Accelerator had no idea what was happening, he couldn't even turn his head. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest and he was now feeling rational fear.

 _What is he doing?_

What felt like centuries to him, but was only a few seconds, Cain reappeared in Accelerator's line of sight. What Accelerator saw caused him to panic, even in his terrified state. Cain was carrying Last Order under his arm. "Eve was rather adamant about you becoming a vampire," Cain said to a frozen Last Order. "I hope you don't think badly of me. I am going to kill the others afterwards though." Accelerator was screaming on the inside for his body to move. Cain lifted Last Order's body up higher, pushed her hair aside, and revealed her neck, before opening his mouth and revealing his fangs. It was during this time Accelerator caught a glimpse of Last Order's face. It was frozen in terror, but there was more.

She was crying.

Tears were running down Last Order's face and were the only sign she was conscious of what was happening around her. She didn't want the important people around her to die. She was a kind, sweet, innocent girl who never wanted to hurt anyone, yet she had always been put into the center of the most horrible events. The level six shift, kidnappings, and now being bitten by a vampire. At the sight of these tears, something rose up from deep within Accelerator. It was terrifyingly powerful, and dark. It was an emotion he was more accustomed to than fear and much more destructive.

Anger.

Hatred.

Malice.

His body started to move as a familiar darkness began to emerge.

Cain was about to sink his fangs into the paralyzed Last Order, when he stopped. He felt it. The dark, raw, twisting mass of power that had begun to form. Since science side abilities could not radiate mana or Telesma, this momentarily confused him. The other two magicians with Accelerator should not be able to create the power he felt. It resembled Telesma, but evil and warped. It was raw and untamed, which caused a sliver of interest. He lowered Last Order and begun to turn around.

Boom!

Something collided with Cain and threw him hundreds of meters backwards. He flew through the earth and rock, before he lowered his hand to grab the ground and slow himself down. He stood up and focused on what hit him. Accelerator was standing in front of the girls, with Last Order in his arms. _Impressive, he actually broke my Hunter's Presence with sheer force._ The other girls had fallen down onto the ground. When Accelerator had struck Cain, his hold had been broken. After he noted this, Cain's eyes traveled to the source of the power.

Pitch black wings had emerged from Accelerator's back and were tens of meters long. This pair of wings contained something which could blow away the mind, anger that shattered his last shred of humanity Accelerator possessed, and created their own brand of terror. While the wings resembled an angel, they could hardly be compared. They were wings of darkness and insanity, as if owned by a demon or even a fallen angel. The same darkness Cain and the other members of the Fallen understood all too well. Cain felt something, frowned, and looked down.

His right hand was gone and only a bloody stump remained.

 _I didn't even notice. Is this what Eve meant by evolution? That power is no joke, but I doubt he can control it. I guess I can go all out now._ The blood from the stump began to flow outwards, but not fall to the ground. Instead, it formed the shape of a hand, like if Cain was wearing a red glove. The color changed to tan and Cain flexed his newly regenerated hand. It was as good as new and no one would be able to tell he had lost it. He took one last look at the creature before him and noted the blood red eyes, laced with black and full of hatred. He smiled. This was not a fake or mocking smiled, but genuine.

Cain did not often get a chance to fight a true monster like himself.

* * *

Shizuri stood before the man dressed as a relic from a forgotten era. If she had met this man before meeting Touma, she wouldn't have understood what this samurai would be capable of. After dealing with magical monsters like Eve and Carissa, she understood that underestimating this man because of his appearance would get her killed. Six green orbs appeared around her, two on each side and two in front of her. Based on his reaction, Shizuri immediately reached a conclusion. _He doesn't seem surprise by my ability, so Eve must have told him about me. That means he has to be confident in his ability to defeat me. He wouldn't be the first, at least until they experience my attack first hand._ She wiped the trickle of blood from her head and then fired all the beams at once. It was a surprised attack and normal people wouldn't have been able to react.

However, her opponent could not be considered normal.

"Is that all you can do?" the samurai laughed. He jumped backwards and to the side to avoid her attacks. His response time was much faster than a human, but it wasn't on the league of someone like Sogiita or Carissa. He jumped to the side again to avoid another barrage of green energy beams produced by Shizuri. "Not much of a talker, huh?"

"You need to super shut up!" Saiai yelled, as she appeared from his left. He had been distracted with Shizuri, so he did not notice her. The samurai turned toward Saiai, when she delivered a fist enhanced by her ability to control nitrogen. Her punch held enough power to blow a hole through a steel sheet and she connected her fist squarely with the side of the samurai's head. "Gotcha… huh? Oh shit!" Her attack did nothing to the man. The man only grinned and swung his hand holding his sword. Saiai was hit right in the middle of her chest with the hilt of the blade. "Gah…," she coughed as the blow broke through her Offense Armor. The force sent her small frame flying backwards and she bounced several times down the street.

"I almost felt that punch," the samurai told her. "But it looks like-" He was cut off as was forced to duck under another one of Shizuri's beams. He jumped and summersaulted through the air as she continued her barrage. Explosions engulfed the street and nearby buildings when every one of her attacks missed the target. The samurai didn't ever seem to be paying her much attention, except to dodge her attacks. His eyes were glued onto Saiai, who was beginning to shakily stand up. "Huh, I should have hit you with enough force to shatter all your ribs. I thought I felt more resistance than usual."

"Die already you bastard!" Shizuri yelled and fired another round of green beams. He once again moved gracefully between the attacks. Shizuri was getting frustrated. The samurai was fast, but not unreasonably so. She was only standing far away so she wasn't in range of his melee attacks. Judging by the way Saiai was blown away and their car being split in half, getting in range of his sword would be life threatening. Shizuri glanced at Saiai for a second. _Damn it. She's supposed to be the close range specialist. Okay, plan B then. A joint attack should allow me to get close enough to hit him._

"I'm just super catching my breath," panted Saiai, with a hand on her chest. "Then I'll be back to kick your ass." She was putting up a false front because her body was screaming in pain. _Owe. He hit me once and he almost broke all my bones. I can't get hit like that again. A direct hit didn't work either. His head should have super exploded from that blow._ She caught Shizuri's eye and gave a slight nod. Saiai was no stranger to pain and could continue to fight. Their eyes turned back to the stranger, two seconds passed, and they charged.

"Oh," the samurai asked interestedly. "You can perform joint exercises." He raised his right hand with his sword and turned his attention to Saiai, who was slightly faster. He swung his blade at Saiai's neck, but she dove to the ground and grabbed the asphalt. She ripped a large piece off the ground, rolled to the side, and threw it at his face. He deflected it neatly with his sword, but now Shizuri was within firing range. She unleashed two large Meltdowner beams at the samurai's chest. She wasn't going to go easy on an opponent, especially one who was mocking her so openly. This time, by closing the distance between them, he couldn't completely dodge.

The samurai rolled backwards to avoid being hit directly, but one of his arm guards was blown off. It hit the ground with a clang and scraped the asphalt for about a meter.

"Tsk." Shizuri clicked her tongue in annoyance as she fired several more blasts. Shizuri was actually surprised the armor was still mostly intact. Only a small segment was destroyed, enough to cause the guard to fall onto the ground. The knight's armor in England was only strong enough to take one shot of her ability before being completely destroyed. _His armor is actually better than theirs._ The surrounding area was continuously being torn to pieces by the explosions left behind from her attacks. Small fires had started on some of the nearby buildings. If they kept this up, the entire street would be turned to ashes. "Will you just die already?"

"I will eventually," the samurai admitted. "We all will, but you won't be the cause of my death."

"You're a slippery eel," Shizuri admitted. "I'll give you that, but it only takes one hit to die."

"True," he admitted. "It's not always the weak who die on a battlefield. There is a lot of luck involved. A stray arrow, an explosion, or even being betrayed by someone you trusted." His face went dark for a second and Shizuri became curious.

 _I wonder what happened to him? Whatever it was, Eve must have exploited it._ Out of the corner of her eye she saw Saiai slink around to the side. _Guess I'll keep him distracted._ "Sounds like a typical sob story. Aww, I lost to someone who was stronger than me or they cheated. In the end, the strong survive and the weak get devoured."

"Truer words have never been spoken." The samurai raised his blade and Shizuri felt a premonition of doom. She didn't have precognition or any other type of ability to sense danger. Instead, it was her experience in living in the underbelly of Academy City where she faced countless life and death situations. She instantly thrust out her hand and created a green orb. Light spiraled outwards into a shield a moment before the samurai swung his blade. Her shield broke apart, as if it had been cut in half. Both sides vanished and Shizuri could only stare in shock.

Her shield was made of the same electrons in the ambiguous state as her normal attacks. Physically cutting it should be impossible. Anything with mass, including a blade of air, would have been disintegrated when it came in contact with her ability. To forcefully cut pure energy in half required something beyond science. _Fuck all this magic. It's all bullshit. That should have been impossible. I have begun to accept that magic could find a way to deflect my attack, but to actually cut through, bullshit!_ She was also pissed he attacked her when they were talking. It was okay for her to do it, but others should never do it to her. "Did you think I would let my guard down?"

"I would have been disappointed if you had," he admitted. "I figured if you would die that easily, Eve wouldn't have requested my assistance. Though, based on your current level of skill, there was a good chance that would have been enough." A vein throbbed in Shizuri's head at the insult.

 _He wants to die._ She took a deep breath. Shizuri knew letting her anger get the better of her against one of Eve's minions would cost her life. "Your speed is a problem, but I know what to do. You aren't the first person with that skill."

"Speed isn't my power." Shizuri's eyes widened slightly. "It's just a normal side effect of physical strength." He grinned. "I think we have chatted long enough. It's time we continued. Though, I doubt this will be more than a mere warm up for me-."

"Try this for a warm up!" Saiai yelled. A large public mailbox flew down at the man. His only response was to sigh and sliced upwards. The mailbox was cut perfectly in half and started to fall to either side of him. The movement only took a fraction of a second, but it was long enough for Shizuri to take advantage of it. A single orb appeared in front of her and she fired. A large green beam traveled from the orb and hit the samurai square in the chest. An explosion engulfed him and he flew backwards from the force.

Shizuri expected him to survive, but it still shocked her.

Her attack should have turned him into a bloody mess all over the ground. Instead, his armor absorbed most of the force. He still hit the building directly behind him and crashed through the wall. This gave Shizuri a small amount of pleasure now that the man could no longer ignore her. Saiai backed up after her assault to avoid being in his range if he could retaliate. She knew magician could survive one or two hits and keep fighting. The samurai didn't stay down long and stood up, dusted himself off, and then stepped back out of the building. His chest armor was burnt and had several large cracks spreading from the impact point of Shizuri's last attack, but it was still relatively intact.

"You damaged my armor," the samurai told Shizuri, and there was actually a note of anger in his voice. "This was specially made for me and no one in this age will be able to fix it."

"You won't need it where you are going," Shizuri replied.

"Mugino is going to super turn you into food for the rats!" Saiai added.

"You really want me to be serious," he sighed. "Fine, let me show you." The very atmosphere seemed to change and the girls felt it. Saiai shut up and felt goosebumps on her arms. Shizuri subconsciously took a step back, but didn't know why. She could tell the samurai was getting serious. If she had been a magician, she would have understood why the air was suddenly thick. The man was releasing a large amount of magical power as he prepared himself. He swung his arm so fast, Shizuri could only see a blur. Suddenly, the silence was broken by numerous explosions and the sound of gravel being uplifted. The street had been cut into large square pieces and thrown high into the air.

"I'm too young to be a pancake!" Saiai cried, as she dived to the side and rolled to avoid being smashed. Each piece of the street thrown into the air looked like a perfect meter size cube. Shizuri's eyes darted at the rain of concrete, asphalt and dirt, more than capable of crushing her. That is, if they actually hit her. Over ten orbs appeared around here, fired beams, and started to obliterate the cubes. The beams of light went right through the cubes as if they weren't even there. The sky was completely filled with explosions like fireworks. She didn't stop there and her attention turned back to the samurai.

"Quit showing off," she seethed and fired a singled focused beam at him. By focusing only on the individual beam, it was larger than the ones used to destroy the rain of debris. The man's armor was broken and it looked like it would not be able to withstand a second attack. The samurai grinned and swung his blade vertically upwards.

The green beam was split apart like water.

Both ends of the attack flew past the samurai on either side, as he stood motionless between him. He lowered the sword as Shizuri and Saiai stared at him in shock. Again, he did the impossible in front of their eyes. He cut pure energy in half using only a blade. The first time had not been a fluke. Shizuri could only gawk for a moment as the man shook his head. "Your attack is strong, but you lack variety in your implementation. If you can only fire those beams in a straight line, it is easy to predict where they will come from."

"I don't care about that!" spat out Shizuri. "What I do care about is how the hell you use a chunk of metal to cut pure energy. Is that blade like Curtana?" Her eyes narrowed as she stared at his blade. From her point of view, it looked like a normal sword. It even appeared slightly worn from use. _I can't tell if an item is magical or not, so this is problematic. If it's like the princess's blade, I could be in trouble. Though, if I could steal it, it might be a valuable weapon for future use._

"No," the samurai replied. "I do not rely on such things. Blades are just tools, but the one who wields them brings out their power." He shook his head. "My magic isn't as complex as creation like Lady Eve's, nor is it as showy as Cain's. I prefer simple, effective, and practical. Let me give you a demonstration and see if you can figure it out." He swiped his blade horizontally and a row of glass in the windows on the second floor of the building behind Shizuri shattered. They began to rain down like razor hail. Instead of trying to dodge, which Shizuri instantly realized was impossible, she created one of her green energy shields above her. This caught most of the glass raining down on her, but it couldn't protect her from a piece of glass that broke off and bounced when it hit the ground. She grimaced slightly as it scrapped her leg. The cut wasn't deep, but she felt a slight trickle of blood. "Do you understand now?"

Shizuri didn't answer him immediately, but glanced up at the windows behind her. The windows were gone, but there was a large gash several inches deep in the side of the building between the gaps where the windows had been. She blinked when she thought she had figured it out and turned back to the man. "I see, you can extend the range of your attacks. Making a slashing motion in front of you will extend all the way until it hits something. Do you create a blade of compressed air or something similar?"

"Do not try to rationalize magic with science," the samurai reprimanded. "You may get the same end result, but the process is completely different. I don't 'extend' the range of my attacks. Anything within my line of sight can be cut. That is my magic. Like this." He turned to Saiai and raised his hand.

"GET DOWN!" Shizuri roared at Saiai. Saiai dived into one of the holes created by the samurai's earlier attack and just managed to dodge the slash. The metal light pole behind her was severed and the top half slid off with a clang.

"That was close," Saiai muttered and stuck her head out. She ducked immediately when the ground in front of her exploded, as a grove suddenly appeared. "Magic is super stupid."

"I'm your opponent," Shizuri growled and fired another blast at the man. She fired as soon as the samurai was in mid swing against Saiai. The plan was he wouldn't be able to react fast enough to stop her attack. It seemed to have worked, as his right hand wasn't able to respond to her attack. She didn't realize, until it was too late, he had a second sword on his hip. The samurai grabbed this sword with his left hand and drew it at inhuman speeds. The direction of the slash targeted Shizuri's attack and, once again, the green beam of pure energy was split. "This bastard is no joke. Even when it looks like his guard is down, it never is."

"I do have to say your judgement in timing is first rate," the man conceded. "You definitely have experience, but it's not going to save you against a force you can't comprehend."

 _It's not the fact he's a magician that he's winning,_ Shizuri thought. _I've dealt with them before. It's because his power is greater than mine._ She hated to admit this to herself, as it made her feel weak and useless. Lying to others is a perfectly acceptable strategy to withhold information, but lying to yourself is a sure way to get killed. This was a painful lesson she learned long ago and continued to practice it, no matter how disgusted it made her feel. _We really need Kamijou here. His hand should be able to negate this bastard's power, but he's out of the city with Frenda. Hamazura can't do squat against something like this and Takitsubo's ability doesn't work on magicians. This only leads Kinuhata and me, but we are being overwhelmed. A strategic retreat might be needed._ This left a sour taste in her mouth and it was a tough call between her pride and her life. She saw Saiai crawl out of the hole and duck behind a parked car with a piece of metal in her hand, probably from the broken light post.

"I am disappointed," the man continued and he actually sounded that way. "Lady Eve said you would be a challenge, but it looks like she overestimated your power. I guess I should finish this and head back to meet the others."

"Others?" Shizuri couldn't resist asking.

"Did you think you were special?" the man asked and raised an eyebrow. "You are one of many in this city we are eliminating. I can make your death quick and painless, unless you insist on fighting back. Then you might lose an arm or a leg first."

"I would like to see you try," Shizuri snapped. Twenty orbs appeared all around her. _If he can cut through my attacks, I just need to hit him with more than he can react too._

"If you insist." The samurai held out both swords at his sides and bent his knees, when a noise of an engine made him stop. He turned his head and frowned. Unable to resist themselves either, Saiai and Shizuri turned their heads toward the source. A large truck was barreling down the road at them. Shizuri and Saiai's mouth fell open when it got close enough for them to see who was driving.

It was Shiage Hamazura.

He was in the driver's seat of what looked like a large delivery truck and was planning to crash into the samurai. Shizuri, Saiai, and even the man looked surprised Shiage would do something like that. However, Shiage's plan was much too obvious and all of them knew it. The samurai would just cut the truck into pieces with Shiage in it. As if reading the girls' mind, the samurai turned and raised his swords. Shizuri took advantage of this and fired. The man was forced to turn his attention to her and slice all of her attacks to avoid being struck. As the truck continued picking up speed, the driver side door opened and Shiage jumped out. He tucked and rolled when he landed on the street and fell into one of the holes left by the samurai's overzealous attacks.

"Relying on cheap tricks?" the samurai muttered and swung his blade a second before the truck would hit him.

An enormous explosion engulfed him in fire and heat, while nearly reaching ten stories high.

* * *

"They aren't doing well," Shiage said. He and Rikou were hiding a couple streets down and watching the flashes of light from Shizuri's attacks. "For Mugino to fire that many blasts, that guy is either dodging them or worse…"

"We need to find a way to help them," Rikou said seriously.

"What do you expect us to do?" Shiage asked exasperatedly. "He's one of those magicians you told me about. He's fighting Mugino and Kinuhata, yet it doesn't look like he's losing. If he's able to survive a Meltdowner blast, cut a car in half, and break through Kinuhata's armor, this little pistol of mine isn't going to do anything. You can't track his AIM field either, right?"

"Magicians do not have an AIM field. So I cannot track them." Rikou stared at Shiage intently. She understood his feeling. Neither of them had any abilities that could rival a powerful magician. Rikou was a tracker, but her ability had other uses, some recently discovered, when dealing with ability users. Shiage was mostly a transporter, but she knew what he was capable of. Shiage may be a level 0, but that was part of his strength. He understood how stronger individuals looked down at him and, therefore, underestimated him. Shiage was capable of exploiting this and finding a way to interfere with them, usually allowing Shizuri to finish them off. He had saved her and Frenda before, so Rikou knew he could think of something.

"Don't stare at me like that," Shiage complained and looked away. "I know, I know," he finally relented, unable to resist her. He had fallen for her long ago, so he couldn't bear to disappoint her. He looked around the street for an idea. "Hmm, okay. There's a delivery truck over there. Since we lost our car, we can use this one. I can hotwire it easily enough. The issue is trying to get the other two away from that samurai guy. He's going to be able to just cut the vehicle in half again, with us in it, if we don't have a plan." He walked over to it and Rikou followed.

"…Uh," Rikou said. She had noticed the back of the truck was open and she glanced inside while he went to start the truck. "You really should take a look at this."

"Sure." He hopped out of the seat and went around the back of the truck. "What is it…? Holy shit." The back of the truck was half filled with large compressed canisters of gas. There were stickers on every one of them, warning the gas was explosive. "I definitely don't want to be driving this into a warzone. One wrong move and this will light up."

"There's more here," Rikou informed him and pointed to the building. The large delivery door was opened and a pile of the gas canisters had already been unloaded.

"It looks like everyone disappeared halfway through a delivery," Shiage commented, slightly puzzled. "The question is, why?"

"…If I remember correctly," Rikou explained. "Magicians use something called a 'People Clearing Field.' It gives normal people the overwhelming desire to leave the area, but they don't remember why. It's why this area is deserted. That man only wanted us here."

"That's…" Shiage was going to say insane, but stopped. He knew a strong mental user could do something like that, so it wasn't completely beyond his comprehension. Instead, an idea begun to form in his mind as he looked at what was available. He stepped into the dark building and looked around. There wasn't a lot besides the gas canisters in there, nor was there time for a thorough investigation. There was a small reprieve in the explosions, so either one of them had fallen or they had stopped fighting for a moment. "I have an idea," Shiage told Rikou. "Help me load these canisters back in the truck." Rikou nodded.

"What is it?" she asked. The canisters were heavy and they could only load one at a time.

"Based on the stories you told me about in England," Shiage explained, as he put one of the canisters back in the truck. "We can't treat these magicians like normal people. Anything we hit them with has to be overwhelming. Since Frenda isn't here to be our explosive experts, I'm going to have to improvise."

"You can't mean…" Rikou's gasped and her eyes widened. She had just realized what he was planning to do.

"We are going to turn this truck into a bomb," Shiage confirmed.

"But to get it close enough…"

"I'm going to have to drive it." Rikou's eyes widened even more. They continue to load the canisters in silence. They knew delays would only increase the risk of their teammates dying. Rikou wanted to say something, but the words kept getting stuck in her throat. Her stomach churned when she thought of Shiage risking his life in a situation where even Shizuri was having difficulties. Shiage was currently thinking of a way he could execute his plan without dying and wasn't sparing much time for other worries. It was going to take precision timing and nerves of steel.

 _Neither of which I'm good with!_

His body was shaking slightly, but he tried to hide it from Rikou. He wanted to leave a good impression, but he also knew it was his duty as part of the team. As much as Saiai and Shizuri picked on him, they did introduce him to Rikou and protected him from the city's retribution after being part of Skill-Out. They finally managed to fill up the truck and Shiage shut the door and walked around to the driver's side seat. He leaned down and started to hotwire the engine, while Rikou peaked out into the street.

"The fighting is slowing down," she told Shiage. "I think this is the only chance you will get." She backed up and moved next to him.

"Got it," he said, standing up as the engine started to hum. "I really wish Frenda was here. We don't have a detonation switch, so we have to rely on that guy to strike the truck. Dang," he rubbed his head. "This is going to be dangerous. When did I start doing crazy stunts like this?"

"I think after you met Kamijou," Rikou pointed out.

"Yeah," Shiage admitted. "You're probably right." He stepped up into the truck and sat down. "Oh Takitsubo?" he asked.

"Yes?"

"If we get out of this alive," Shiage said slowly. "Would you like to go out, just us two?"

Rikou blinked.

"If you don't want…"

"I do," Rikou interrupted. "But concentrate on this first." She looked at him and then leaned close to him to put a light kiss on his cheek. "Good luck and make sure to come back." She stepped back so an embarrassed Shiage could close the door. She waved as Shiage began to pull out and watched him leave. Rikou wasn't the most emotional displaying person, but there was a slight pink tinge to her cheeks, she was slightly hot, and her heart was beating rapidly.

 _I did it!_ Shiage thought triumphantly. _I'm going to make it out of this alive or at least make sure she does._ He turned the corner, saw a glow of green light at the end of the street, and slammed his foot down as hard as he could on the accelerator. The wheels spun and Shiage was thrown back into his seat. The truck flew forward and he heard the canisters clang in the back. _Please don't go off. Please don't go off. For all that is good, please don't go off._ He made out the forms of the samurai and the green glow of Shizuri's ability. The samurai turned to him and raised his blades. _Shit, I'm too far away, but I can't stop now!_ He kept his foot on the pedal and refused to take it off as the truck moved faster and faster.

Shizuri saved his life.

She fired a barrage of beams at the samurai and he was forced to block her attacks. The sight of him actually cutting the beams of pure energy caused Shiage's mouth to fall open. _That's impossible! What kind of monster is he?_ He didn't have time to contemplate this because, if he waited, he would be caught up in the explosion. He threw the door open, which was difficult due to the wind resistance, and he rolled out of the truck. _Argh!_ He hit the ground hard and, even though roiling reduces the damage, it still hurt a lot. He covered his head as best as he could and his arms got scraped up. He rolled a few meters before falling into a large hole. Luckily, the concreate and asphalt was removed, so there was softer dirt to land in. "Owe," he moaned and then a huge explosion overwhelmed everything.

All sound was nullified a moment after he heard the explosion. The force of it caused his ears to ring and he went temporarily deaf. His entire body hurt and it took him a moment to regain his senses. His head was pounding and it was hard to think. He stood up and climbed out of the hole. A large mass of flames was still engulfing the remains of the truck, with good portions of melted metal all across the street. He blinked and turned to his left. Saiai was emerging from a parked car and Shizuri was sitting down on the far side of the street looking at him. She had been the closest one of them to the blast, but seemed to have escaped relatively unscathed. Pillars of smoke was rising high into the air. _We should probably get out of here before Anti-Skill sees this. I don't want to try to explain what happened._ His hearing returned and he heard Saiai shouting.

"YOU IDIOT! Don't just stand there, run!"

"Huh?" Shiage asked confused, when he heard the screeching sound of metal being pushed aside. He turned slowly and saw the shadow of a man between the dancing flames. The man stepped out and brushed himself off. He was covered in black soot, but looked unscathed. In fact, his hair didn't even look burnt. Looking closer, Shiage saw the fringes of his pants seemed to have been slightly blackened. The samurai never dropped the swords in his hand, as he looked Shiage over. Instead of anger or irritation, there was a curious look of interest in his eyes.

"Normally," the man said. "I would have been mad at you from interrupting our fight, but I'm not."

"Why?" Shiage couldn't resist asking. Even though he felt the intense heat from the fire, his body was covered in cold sweat. _This monster survived being hit be a truck full of explosives!_

"The fight with her was boring," the man told him. "You managed to use a surprising tactic I did not expect. I was told the young man in this group was not a powerful science side ability user and therefore would not have been a threat. When you charged forward in that vehicle, I thought you were desperate, so I planning to end your life quickly. When the vehicle exploded, I realized you set up a trap and I walked right into it. Now, it wasn't enough to take me down, but it was enough to gain my respect. Tell me your name."

"Shiage Hamazura." A second alter, Shiage realized he should have not said anything, but it was too late.

"My name is Oda Nobunaga. I'm sure you have heard of me." Shiage's mouth fell open. There wasn't a single Japanese person who didn't know his name. Oda Nobunaga was a powerful daimyo of Japan in the late 16th century, who also attempted to unify Japan during the late Sengoku period. He was one of the most famous people in the country's history.

"Why tell me this?" Shiage asked. "You didn't tell Mugino."

"You have earned that courtesy," Oda told him. "She did not. You provided a much more interesting fight in the span of a few seconds than she did since I arrived." He paused. "I was supposed to kill her today, but I don't think Lady Eve will mind if I take a short intermission to play around with you."

"What do you mean by play around?" Shiage asked nervously and took a step backwards.

"Fighting you directly would be boring," Oda explained. "It would be a one sided massacre. Instead, I'm giving you a thirty second head start. Try to make this chase entertaining."

"What?!" Shiage gasped. "You can't be serious."

"Time's a ticking," Oda remarked with a smirk.

"Oh shit," Shiage muttered and turned around. He bolted with one last though in his mind. _What did I do to deserve this?!_ Oda watched him run and turn a corner down a side street. He turned his eyes toward Saiai, who was frozen in shock, and then to Shizuri, who was standing up with a look of hatred in her eyes. He slowly counted backwards from thirty and then gave Shiage a little more time, before he started walking off in the direction Shiage ran. He knew he could come back and kill Shizuri anytime he wanted to, but he also had his secondary objective. Shizuri definitely would not take his rudeness to her lying down. By ignoring her, she was sure to be overcome by anger.

Shizuri watched him leave and made a fist. She hated to admit how powerless she had been against him, but it infuriated her the man considered Shiage a more worthy opponent. She took a couple shaky steps out into the middle of the street, her legs still slightly numb from the fight and the explosion. Saiai ran up to her with a serious look on her face. "What should we do now Mugino? Hamazura super won't be able to win, but he might distract him for a little bit."

"That bastard is going to pay for this humiliation!" Shizuri roared suddenly and caused Saiai to jump. "I'm going to rip him apart. How dare he make a fool at me?" She took a few deep breaths to calm herself and turned back to Saiai. "I need you to call Takitsubo and have her meet us while Hamazura distracts him."

"Takitsubo?" Saiai asked confused. "Why? She can't do anything against magicians."

"I have one last thing to try," Shizuri told her and her glare shut Saiai up. While Saiai pulled out her phone, Shizuri crossed her arms in frustration. _Running away isn't going to do any good. He obviously has a way to track us. I have one last option available to me and it's a gamble. Without drugs, I don't know how Takitsubo's ability is going to affect me._ At this point, she didn't have much of a choice. Her anger and pride refused to concede.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Pierce: Looks like Accelerator has embraced the lolicon within. Cain made a mistake of making her cry.**

 **Motoharu: How do you think his harem is going to react?**

 **Kazari: What are those wings of his? I didn't know vector manipulation could do that.**

 **Jason: It's just him throwing a temper tantrum. He hates to lose.**

 **Pierce: Then Mugino-san got saved by Hamazura. Could a flag be raised and Mugino-san being torn between him and Kami-yan?**

 **Motoharu: I don't think he has the power to face off against Kami-yan disease.**

 **Kazari: Besides, it looks like he already has a girlfriend now.**

 **Pierce: THAT LUCKY BASTARD! Why can't I get a girlfriend?!**

 **Jason: Because you're a pervert. I thought I told you this before?**

 **Frenda: Besides, Mugino would never fall for him. Basically, her standards are too high.**

 **Motoharu: Frenda? When did you get here?**

 **Frenda: You left the door unlocked. What are you four doing here?**

 **Pierce: Commenting on the level 5's fight. Kagere has a new large screen plasma TV to watch them in high def. Want to join?**

 **Frenda: Okay, but Mugino won't find out right?**

 **Motoharu: Nope, this is all fourth wall stuff there. Popcorn?**


	86. S4 Plight of the Level 5s: Part 2

**After talking with a friend, I actually changed a lot of things in this chapter, which is why it took so long to get out. I was over halfway done when I decided some things weren't working out. Everything is back on track now, so we should be seeing the fights pick up a little bit. A lot of people were interested in Misaki vs Arthur, so they should enjoy this chapter. I'm working hard to make every fight unique in its own way. Sadly, this is a more serious part of the story, so we have to wait a bit until we get back to the humorous slice of life parts. The big news is Index NT 17 is almost completely translated. Like normal, I don't talk about it in specifics to avoid spoilers and give everyone plenty of time to read it. Now, it is time to move on to the comments.**

 **Whwsms: I don't know if Shiage's Touma Punch could beat the power of the Kami-yan disease Touma possesses. I think Mugino will lean toward Touma, but might respect Shiage a little more.**

 **DARKPHANTOM13: When you mentioned that, I know you saw exactly what I was planning. Shiage is pretty good at making stuff up on the fly. We will have to see what he can find.**

 **Brosephg: You never mess with Accelerator's loli. Even in the light novels, people found that out the hard way. Never be normal, normal means you gave up trying to be yourself. It was your fault this chapter was delayed.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: I wonder if Cain can be beaten. We only saw a fraction of his power so far. Black wings still have a limit to their power. He struggled against a Saint/God's Right Seat, and a vampire with endless mana should be tougher. Oda was actually mentioned in an earlier chapter, I'm surprised no one mentioned that. Everyone you mentioned in your skirt will probably happen.**

 **General Ironox: You're partially right and Shiage vs Oda should be a good fight.**

 **UCCMaster: The thing is, only Touma knows about Deep Blood. None of his friends know about Himegami's unique gift. It's a recurring theme in this story. People keep information from each other and it comes back to bite them all.**

 **GameCguru: The chase will be Shiage running away screaming "don't hurt me" and Oda destroying everything around him obviously. If Himegami just shows up out of the blue, it's kind of lazy writing.**

 **Guest: While esper is more commonly used in translated works, the original names were called abilities and ability users. This way, when someone says power, they usually are more attuned to the magic side or a person outside of Academy City referencing the student's abilities.**

 **Handsomistic1: He's just jealous he doesn't have a loli. Actually, Eve knows about their 'shift' though she calls it something else. Speaking of tying stuff together, I wonder if people will see the reason I inserted a short arc of complete craziness earlier. Eh, Kakine has an important job, and Jason's not doing anything. He's spending time with his girlfriend while everyone else does actual work. What a slacker.**

 **Hilem: About time, I get deeply distraught if you don't immediately read my story. Haha, just kidding. Everyone has conflicting priorities. Accelerator's fight is one of my favorite because of how he reacts and he always has to fight powerful people or the fights end instantly. We still have one more fight to see part one of before we see how the other's react.**

 **Salishious: The vectors of aging? I have never heard that. It's such a weird concept. You might have to be able to control a level above vectors to do that. Someone has the ability to heal his brain, but he never asked. Besides, if he's fully healed, he loses his one weakness. Kami definitely needs an Alpha female, someone who will tell him when he's stupid and smack him around. She also needs to keep his harem in line, like Touma's mom does to his dad. "Inside Touma?" Careful how your word things. Those two girls you mentioned will defiantly get more screen time, but we have to settle fights and Australia first. Touma would have to find someone to say who the previous hosts where.**

 **wildarms13: There's more than one way to fight without mental abilities or physical attacks. Oda was mentioned in an earlier chapter, beginning of season three. I'm going to do all the level 5 fights now, and then once that's concluded we move back to Touma. It limits the amount of things people need to remember.**

 **FrodoFighter: Cain vs Accelerator is my favorite fight of the level 5s. You don't see Accelerator being out classed often. I don't know, just inserting Himegami into the fight would seem kind of lazy. Touma almost found out, but Cain dodged it in their last encounter. Simple but effective is Oda's motto. Why try to show off with flashy attacks? Of course, Oda can make Shiage his apprentice and keep showing up during the story to train him and give advice hahaha. For the Touma Punch to be effective, Rikou has to not be living her life correctly. She's actually one of the nicer people of ITEM, so I doubt she will ever get punched by Touma. Hope you like the Misaki vs Arthur fight and it lives up to your expectations.**

 **Destati69: If he survives, he definitely gets it.**

 **Generation Zero: Gunha fights are always hilarious, but we will have to wait and see what tricks Eve uses to fight GUTS! We don't talk about Bleach anymore with that rushed ending. They could have done so much but they slacked off to finish it. This chapter does have the new fights you wished for. Aleister will at least say something at some point, but Fiamma is after the level 5 fights.**

 **Agent Nine: I thought I made that obvious? The plan was for that to happen, but get killed anyways.**

 **Jujudude: Yuna has become too popular for me to sideline her. She will have to reappear again. I think Accelerator would lean toward Bayloupe. Estelle doesn't quite have those feelings for him, at least, not yet.**

 **Kami: NEVER! He will die in a pit of fire and brimstone as his soul slowly writhes in pain. His harem will then be absorbed by Touma's. Eh, he might show up at some point, not sure when though.**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly. Magic Gods own all so they can do what they want.**

* * *

Misaki was running through every response available to her in her mind.

Before her stood a magician who called himself Arthur Pendragon, or more specifically, King Arthur. King Arthur was the man who pulled a legendary sword from a stone to become king of Britain and formed the Knights of the Round Table. She actually didn't believe this man was the true King Arthur, she wasn't even sure if there WAS a real King Arthur. Historians had been arguing about if he actually existed for decades. However, with magic being real and the age old saying all myths have some shred of truth to them, she couldn't rule the possibility out. Being part of Eve's group added another layer of difficulty for her. Arthur had to be a powerful magician or Eve wouldn't have sent him after her. Eve also knew Misaki's ability, which was probably more dangerous than Arthur being a powerful magician. Misaki had taken over knights and many other magicians before, but they didn't know her ability at first. She had no doubt he knew exactly what she was capable of and that meant he had to be prepared to avoid her mental manipulation.

 _But he doesn't know their abilities._ Misaki's eyes darted to the three other girls.

This was the primary reason for even considering trying to face Arthur in combat. Two of the girls had abilities that could be used for attacking, while the other girl's ability could be used for support. _This still might not be enough. Eve's power was great enough to stand against four level 5s, an army, and the Anglican Church's magicians. Juliet may not have that level of power, but she could still face a group of us by herself. I only met Cain once and he left a strong impression. From what Misaka and Touma said about him, I definitely don't want to face him alone. This guy is most likely around Juliet's level. It could still be a problem though, since I have no idea what his powers are. I'm walking into this fight blind._ Misaki absolutely hated improvising. She would rather have detailed plans worked out for all possible situations. Even when they had to rush Touma out of her dorm the one time she snuck him in, she always had a plan to get him out, regardless if it had to be rushed.

The problem was, even with the girls' abilities being a surprise, Misaki didn't hold much hope in a victory from a straight on fight. Her first priority was to establish an escape route. It was very likely they would have to flee in hopes they can get out of the area and set up some sort of plan, but there was a problem preventing her from acting. Arthur had been waiting for them, so he knew they would be here, and Misaki had no idea how long he had to prepare. At the very least, he used one of those people clearing fields the magic side liked to use to keep civilians out of the way. This was both good and bad for her. He wasn't going to use unrelated people as human shields, but Misaki's mental ability wouldn't be able to gather assistance. Strength in numbers was one of her primary strategies. Moving back to the topic of preparation, Misaki had no idea if there were any other members of the Fallen nearby. For all she knew, they stepped into a trap and, any second, they could be struck by magic. None of them could sense spells, they had to actually witness them, and Misaki knew some spells couldn't be seen with the naked eye.

"You seem to be suspicious of me," Arthur commented and broke into her thoughts. "I do not blame you after what Eve and Juliet have put you through. Perhaps I could put some of your worries to rest?"

"I'm trying to understand why you are standing there so calmly," Misaki replied evenly. Her eyes darted to the other girls again, who were standing and waiting. Misaki's ability was still in effect and they would only react to protect her and themselves. "I'm sure you understand, from my position, I would believe you set up traps in anticipation of my arrival. No offense."

"None taken my lady," Arthur replied respectfully. "If I was in your place, I would believe the exact same thing. I know anything I say will still convey doubt to you, but there are no other traps here. The only magic I prepared were a people clearing field, so we may talk without interruption, and a spell to interrupt your cellphone signal, so you can't receive or send any messages. I do have a few of my knights waiting in the back though, should we reach an impasse in our discussion."

"I appreciate the warning and understanding," Misaki replied diplomatically, but it was all an act. He didn't seem to be lying to her, so she changed from suspicion to bewilderment. _Why is he telling me all this? If I know he has men hiding in the back, I would take precautions against a surprise attack._ She debated with herself to use her ability to count their numbers, but that could cause a breakdown in the civility between them.

"You look like you want to say something more," Arthur pointed out. "You might as well speak your mind now, as we do not have much time."

"Why would you tell me you have support in hiding?" Misaki couldn't resist asking. To her, telling an enemy your plans was an idiotic move. He could have summoned them during their fight and overwhelmed her with a surprise attack. "In fact, why would you not just attack me outright as soon as I arrived? It seems like talking to me like this is only you giving my information to use against your forces." Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. _There's something going on here. Is he even trying to win, or is there something else?_ To her surprise, Arthur smiled.

"I am a king," he stated simply. "And thus, I have a modicum amount of class. I am not a battle crazed maniac nor do I like undignified tactics, like assassinations. I have a strict code of honor." Misaki didn't know how close to the truth she was, but he had expected this and knew the perfect answer to give.

"Yet here you are trying to kill a poor, innocent, little girl," Misaki replied curtly.

"It is not an enjoyable task," Arthur admitted gloomily. "One which, I would rather have avoided. However, Lady Eve's orders are absolute. Killing a beautiful and intelligent young woman such as yourself will only leave a sour taste in my mouth. Thus, I plan to perform this act in the noblest way possible." Misaki blinked.

"Are… are you coming on to me?" she asked in shock. "I'm sorry to disappoint you," she put a hand delicately on her chest, "this queen already has a king. No one else could ever meet my expectations."

"I did hear about that," Arthur said with a nod. "But no, perhaps in another place and time such a thing might be a possibility."

"Well then," Misaki said and she managed to calm herself mentally. "Thank you for the compliment."

"While our time is limited," Arthur continued. "Would you care to join me for some tea? We can discuss the terms of your surrender in a most civilized fashion."

"Oh?" Misaki asked and raised an eyebrow. "I don't recall ever suggesting I was planning to surrender. There is still the possibility you are lying to me about your support and are afraid to face me directly." There was only a small chance this was true, but Misaki wanted to cover her bases.

"Perhaps you could use your ability to discover how many men I possess," suggested Arthur.

"If you insist," Misaki replied with an insincere smile. She raised her remote and clicked the button. _He's not lying._ As she concentrated, more and more minds were revealed to her. She counted eleven total, but something was off. _Six of them don't seem to be shielded and I can read their minds. The other five have a magical resistance like the knights in England. Could his backup have different levels of skill?_ She skimmed the mind of one of the unshielded men and her mouth fell open. _The unshielded men are not real, they were made by Eve, but their minds are exactly like a human._ The only memories the man had were waking up in front of Eve and Arthur, and then told he was to follow Arthur's every command. _So Eve made puppets for him to boost his numbers, while the shielded ones must be actual knights. I'll avoid breaking into their minds right now in case it's a trap._ She was about to stop scanning the area when she detected something else.

There was one more shielded mind in the administrative building of the train station. The man was further away than the others, so she almost missed him. _What's this feeling?_ When she made contact with the last man's mind, a shiver ran down her back. She couldn't understand why. The man's mind was shielded as strongly, if not more so, as Princess Carissa's was in England. Misaki doubted she would be able to break into the man's mind, even if she poured all her concentration into it. In fact, she shouldn't have even felt anything from the link to cause her to shiver. Sometimes she might see a memory that disgusted or unnerved her, but in this case she saw nothing. "I see you weren't lying about your men."

"Twelve total," Arthur told her. This confirmed her count. "More than enough to bring victory should the situation call for it." He gave her a brief nod. "So would you like some tea before you surrender?"

"I'm afraid I can't," Misaki informed him. "My friends would be deeply disappointed if I was to pass on. I appreciate your offer, but I must decline. Perhaps we can meet under more pleasant circumstances." The first person who she knew would miss her was Touma. He would be devastated if anything happened to her. _Of course any of his friends would make him feel that way._ It was one of the best things about him, but she was also frustrated he didn't treat her more special than the others. Funnily enough, Misaki actually thought Mikoto might also be sad if she died. They might not consider each other friends, but they hung out more than they use to and it was obvious they were something. "I will take my leave."

"I'm sorry," Arthur apologized. "But I can't let you go. That is one thing Lady Eve was very specific about. You have to die here today. I want to make this as painless as possible for you. If you wish, I can deliver the final blow myself."

"I would rather you turn around and leave. Now, if you don't mind, I'm late in meeting my other friends. Misaka and Touma will start wondering where I am. I tend to be quite punctual." This was a bluff, as neither of them knew where she was, but there was a chance Arthur didn't know that.

"I'm afraid your friends won't notice your disappearance," Arthur informed her and his face turned dark for a moment. It was only a flicker, but Misaki caught it easily.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked slowly. Something was nagging her in the back of her mind and she found herself tensing up. _His answer is not going to be pleasant._

"Did you believe you were the only target Lady Eve gave us?" Misaki's eyes went wide.

"Y-you can't be serious," Misaki answered and her throat went dry.

"Lady Eve summoned us to take care of many in this city who have become a hindrance to her plan," Arthur continued. "Many of your friends have already become targets."

"Like who?" Misaki asked. Her grip tightened on the remote in her hand and she was trembling slightly. She wasn't scared, she was getting angry. Her subconscious must have leaked into her thoughts, because the girls next to her started to twitch in place.

"Let's see," Arthur replied and he rubbed his chin. "The other level fives you have been traveling with are priority targets. The ones code named Accelerator, Railgun, and Meltdowner."

"I figured that much," Misaki whispered, slightly irritated. _If I'm being targeted and he said others are too, it makes sense for the level fives to be attacked._ "Who else?"

"Juliet has her own targets she wants to take care of," Arthur continued. "Vengeance is such a petty emotion. I would never lower myself to something so uncouth. Of course, she can't go after them until she kills her target."

"Eve assigned her to Misaka," Misaki asked him. "Didn't she?"

"Very astute. Yes, she did. The reward for her success was to go after the Railgun's friends."

"So they are fighting right now?" Misaki asked to clarify.

"Yes."

 _I think I understand the entire situation now,_ Misaki thought. _Eve is separating us in order to take us down. She learned that fighting us in groups was not working. This man is one of her elite fighters and designed to defeat me. We certainly have found ourselves in a predicament. Wait, he never mentioned…_ She looked at Arthur closely. "What happened to Touma?"

"The owner of the Imagine Breaker?"

"Yes."

"I believe Eve had taken a personal interest in him."

"What?! Explain yourself!" Misaki didn't mean to sound so impatient and the corners of Arthur's lips twitched. He knew he had gotten to her. With diplomacy, the smallest slip of the tongue could be a costly mistake.

"Do not worry my lady," Arthur reassured her. "Lady Eve is not planning to kill him. She has been impressed with his loyalty and determination that he has displayed every time they meet. She deeply respects him." Misaki raised an eyebrow. She agreed with Arthur's claim about Touma's attributes, but she was suspicious of Eve's motives. "When his friends have been dealt with, he will have no ties left to Academy City. She plans to take him away before we leave, kind of like a souvenir."

"There's no way he will ever agree to that!" Misaki burst out furiously. "He would never go with someone who hurt his friends!"

"I believe Eve wishes to turn him into one of her playthings," Arthur continued and shook his head. "Eve just wants another male in her harem. I swear, she already has like two doz-." He never finished that sentence.

"Eve will never have him," Misaki hissed. Her eyes had widened slightly in surprise, before they narrowed and her face contorted. Her entire body was quivering with rage. Arthur's words shocked her, but the shock was quickly replaced by other emotions. She had never felt this angry, this upset, this much hatred. She could understand a girl liking Touma, there wasn't much she could do about that, but to play with his feelings and hurt him emotionally that badly was something she would not tolerate or forgive. After everything he went through to help people and then losing all his memories, the last thing he needed was Eve to destroy his life with his friends. She raised her remote and clicked the button before she realized it.

Misaki brought the full force of her level 5 power on a single individual.

Misaki had always been careful when she used her power. She may have originally used it for the most frivolous of purposes, like having people clean up her messes, fetch her belongings, or forget if she said or did something unladylike, but she never purposely tried to harm someone. If she went overboard, people's minds could be permanently damaged because of the change in body chemicals and electrical signals. Misaki always used careful precision when manipulating people, one of the reasons she used her remote. The only time in recent memory she could think of when she actually lost control was against Lust. She had started deleting memories without careful planning. This was almost exactly the same situation. Arthur indicated Eve was going to make Touma suffer and that was something she would not let stand.

She was about to completely wipe Arthur's mind and leave him a blank slate, at least until she calmed down.

Things did not go as plan.

Misaki knew her ability did not work and the only visible sign she actually used her ability was Arthur twitched slightly. She knew she sent the signals to his brain, but it was like her ability slipped off of the walls of his mind. His mind was solid, yet she couldn't grasp it. It was like his mind was a rock and her ability was water. All she could do was move against his mind and flow around it. _I think his mind is even stronger than Princess Carissa's._ She was partially relieved though her attack failed. She would never be able to look Touma in the eye again if she accidently permanently ruined someone's mind. He would never want her to do that. The issue was, if Arthur can block her mental assaults, she was at a severe disadvantage.

"I see the information on you was not exaggerated," Arthur complimented her. "You assault on my mind was one of the most impressive feats I have seen in ages. For one so young, your skills are first class."

"Thank you," Misaki replied coolly. She still hadn't forgiven him for his early remarks, but she calmed down enough for her to realize it was Eve's fault, not his. _He actually seems like a gentleman. The type the other girls at Tokiwadai always express interest in meeting._ "I apologize for my rudeness, but your words were rather sour to me."

"I understand completely," Arthur nodded. "Lady Eve does not always present a good first impression."

"How is your mind so well shielded?" Misaki asked. "I only saw something similar to the second princess when she wielded Curtana."

"All royalty understand the importance of keeping secrets," Arthur stated simply. "I'm sure even you have things in your past and knowledge at your disposal that could be devastating in the wrong hands." Misaki nodded. "Those of us who know of magic realize that having no defenses against it put ourselves and our country at risk. Over the years, we have perfected the art of protecting our minds. The current English royal line no doubt has their own rituals and spells."

"That makes sense," Misaki admitted. _I feel like the pleasantries are about over. One of us has to make our move soon._ She clicked her remote indiscreetly and realized the backup Arthur had kept back had surrounded them. They were still far enough away they were not an immediate threat, but it meant her escape route was cut off. _I fell for his smooth talk and flattery. He was never going to give me the opportunity to find a way out._ She mentally kicked herself and begun to design a plan using the men she could easily control and the other girls. "You pretended to be civil, but you are surrounding us as we speak."

"Our conversation has gone on longer than planned," Arthur explained. "And we are nowhere near an agreement for your surrender. I'm afraid we may have to move to less civil means. Prepare yourself." He took a couple steps back and the sound of footsteps echoed all around them. Men in full armor appeared from behind buildings and walls and walked slowly toward the girls. Misaki's eyes darted around and she counted eleven. "I present to you my knights. They will carry out this task. All of them understand the necessity of this and are willing to stain their hands for the greater good."

 _So he's not bringing out the powerful guy in the back. He's underestimating me, so this gives me a chance._ She already sent the commands to the girls and then began to scan the knights. She could take over six of them quickly, but the others would take time as she tried to bypass their magical defenses. Each one of the knights wielded a sword and shield, emblazoned with a red dragon holding onto a cross. It must have been a religious symbol for them. "I guess we all have to act like savages once in a while." Her eyes darted to one of the knights. He had drawn his blade and charged. "Work your magic ladies." She connected all their minds and acted as a control tower for the girls. Now they could share thoughts and actions perfectly.

The wall near the ticket counter burst as a stream of water forcefully twisted the pipe out. The water didn't spray everywhere and instead formed a current, like a thick rope, and flew at the knight. The knight was by no means a small man, but the force of the water spout knocked him backwards. The girl with short brown hair moved her hand and the water flew back towards her, before circling around the girls, about a meter off the ground. She was a hydro hand user, or an individual who could manipulate water. She could actually manipulate most liquids, as long as the main component was water. She couldn't manipulate oil for example. The liquid she had at her disposal was limited as the water pressure to the pipe was cut off when the city's detection apparatus discovered the leak. There was enough to be a threat though and she was Misaki's primary attacker. A jet of water could easily tear through steel.

The knights were not deterred and two charged at them from different directions. The water whipped around at one of them and knocked him to the side and quickly circled around Misaki toward the other. It wasn't fast enough to completely stop the second knight though. The water only disrupted his movement when it collided into his right side. He blocked it with his shield and lost balance for a moment. The girl with short black hair and glasses moved the instant the water stream made contact. She reached up and grabbed the man's left arm. He was about to hit her with his shield, but she pushed him and he found himself flying backwards through the air. It was like the girl had super strength, but that was not her ability.

The black haired girl's ability was gravity manipulation. She could increase or decrease the gravitational force on an object by several times, either causing something to crumple under its own weight or get knocked away with a single push. There was a limit on how much she could alter the gravitational force, as she was only a level 3, and she was also limited to what she could touch. Her power was more than enough to affect a single person. With the knight's weight drastically decreased, but not his size, she could knock him away simply by pushing him. His body became like a heavy balloon ball. A second after flying into the air, his weight returned when the gravitational force reset to normal. He fell down a couple feet and crashed into the ground.

 _Queen,_ the girl with lilac colored hair in curls thought. _Behind us._ Having all of their thoughts linked, Misaki could instantly tell when one of them was in trouble. There was the added bonus of not having to talk, which kept all of their plans hidden from Arthur and his knights. It also helped to have someone who could see the future. That was this girl's ability. She had level 3 precognition. While unable to tell exactly what events lead up to a certain action, she was skilled with predicting events a few moments earlier than they occurred. If she predicted an attack was coming their way, Misaki instantly believed it. She turned and clicked her remote. The knight that had been moving toward them stopped in his tracks and turned around.

 _Got him,_ Misaki thought triumphantly. She flicked her wrist and concentrated on the other knights. Her priority wasn't to take control of all of them, only the six newest creations by Eve. _She made the mistake of making them too human._ The reason Misaki didn't try to take them all was five of them had different shielding and her concentration would have to be focused on them one at a time. The six knights she did manage to control surrounded her and the other girls, while facing the rest of Arthur's knights. "Looks like the numbers are on my side now?" she told him.

"It does seem that way," Arthur acknowledged. He didn't seem worried at all and leaned up against a concreate pillar. Misaki noticed this and immediately raised her guard.

"What are you planning?" she asked suspiciously.

"It wouldn't be right for me to tell you," Arthur answered. "Because you already have that knowledge." He tapped the side of his head with his finger. "Those men should have a memory of what you are about to face."

 _What is he planning?_ Misaki thought. _How could this be a trap? Even if they had really dangerous memories, it's not like they can force them into my mind._ She knew she shouldn't follow the advice of an enemy, but she couldn't see a downside to doing so, nor could she restrain her curiosity. _I'm really a selfish girl._ She clicked her remote and dove through the short memories the puppets had until she came to their point of creation. She focused on the point where Eve and Arthur were talking. It appeared as if he was leaving a building while Eve was floating above him on a boat.

" _Do you truly wish for me to fight without honor and outnumber her?" Arthur asked. He was looking up at Eve and was surrounded by eleven of the knights. Six of them, the ones Misaki assumed to be Eve's creation, were on one side while five others stood next to Arthur. The twelfth knight was nowhere to be found._

" _She has become a threat and needs to be dealt with," Eve responded and looked down at him. "You have the strongest mental resistance acquired through years of dedicated training and generations of magic. You are the most obvious choice. There is a chance she will have people of her own, so we are simply planning ahead. I give you permission to conduct the fight as you see fit, but you need to fulfill the objective."_

" _I could have handled it with them," Arthur replied and gestured to the five knights. "Their minds are strong and I can empower them."_

" _You would be able to conquer this entire city if you felt inclined," Eve laughed. "Excalibur is a relic that rivals Curtana."_

" _And if the situation requires it," Arthur finished, while he grabbed the sword on his hip. "I will release it."_

Misaki's eyes widened as she snapped back to the present. She understood the danger immediately. Any item capable of generating power anywhere near Curtana would easily overwhelm her. The only option available to her now was to prevent Arthur from drawing his sword. She mentally willed the knights to go all out in their attack against him. Her eyes darted to the calm, yet slightly smug, look on Arthur's face, before the knights she controlled charged. _Why doesn't he look nervous or even surprised? I took over half of his force._ She couldn't understand what he was thinking, but she was determined to not let him draw that blade. What happened next, she barely comprehended. Arthur stood up straight, looked at the knights rushing at him, and uttered a single word.

"Stop."

He didn't yell or even raise his voices. He said the single simple word calmly, no louder than his earlier conversation with Misaki, but his tone radiated authority. It wasn't a plea, a suggestion, or a request. It was an order and the power behind it implied the command was one that had to be followed. The order rippled through the knights, Misaki, and the girls. The knights instantly froze and Misaki realized something that made her heart skip a beat.

 _I can't move!_ Her body was frozen, but it wasn't like the fight with Cain. She wasn't scared, it was just her body would not listen to her. She willed her companions to move, but they seemed to be stuck in the same state. She couldn't even talk. _What is going on?_

"I told Lady Eve I did not need her creations," Arthur sighed. He walked up to the nearest one and shook his head. "You took control of them too easily and nothing happened, even though she gifted them with a little Telesma." Misaki was slightly confused at his wording. "With that, my first objective is done." His eyes darted to each one of the six knights in turn. "You are dismissed." They simultaneously bowed and dissolved into a pile of paper, before disappearing completely. He shook his head one last time and looked over at Misaki. He took a couple steps toward her. "You may speak."

"What did you do?" Misaki asked breathlessly. She was able to form words now. _I didn't even see him use magic._

"I thought you, who held the title of Queen, would understand." Arthur turned away from her and looked out into the distance. "In a patriarchal or monarchal society, there is always a ruler. The ruler is responsible, not only for themselves, but for the people and their country. Every decision they make can affect countless lives. The citizens' way of life is held in the palm of our hands. With this responsibility, our very words become law. This is my magic. I call it, The King's Decree. People are forced to obey my commands. It is both my burden and responsibility to use this power wisely."

"This isn't a mental control, is it?" Misaki wanted to confirm.

"You can't rationalize magic with science," Arthur told her. "But in a sense, no. I don't warp people's minds. Their very essence, their soul, will bow to my magic. Watch." He turned to the girl's next to Misaki. "Sleep." The three girls collapsed.

"Stop it!" Misaki demanded.

"Fear not," Arthur reassured her and snapped his fingers. Two of the knights walked over and picked up the three girls. "They are not part of this fight and I have no desire to spill innocent blood. They will be set aside and woken up after our fight has been concluded."

"So you are going to try to kill me while I'm helpless?" Misaki asked. "How is that noble?" She still couldn't move her body and most of ability required the use of her remotes. The only option available to her at this time was to appeal to Arthur's code of conduct. Unlike the other people she met from Eve's group, he actually seemed to be unhappy with caring out dirty works. The other's just seemed frustrated they had to do something. _I need him to let me move, even if it's just a little bit. My final resort is to breach the defenses of the other knights and run while he's distracted. I'm glad I decided to participate in gym class again. Everything is going to have to be timed perfectly so I can get out of range of his King's Decree._

"I will give you a death fit for nobility," Arthur said and turned back around to face her. He walked up, until he was right in front of her, and bent over slightly so he was at eye level. "Again, I am sorry it had to end this way." He reached up and brushed a strange of blonde hair out of Misaki's eyes. "It is a shame to end the life of such a beautiful and talented young lady."

"Don't touch me," Misaki hissed. Her words were so sharp, that Arthur dropped his hand immediately and stood up straight. "Only one man may touch me like that and it's not going to be you." She might have been okay with the touch in a normal situation, but his words made it feel to her like he was flirting in order to keep her distracted. She was used to guys adoring her, but this man already told her Eve was planning to use Touma as a plaything, and she was not going to play along with someone like him.

"I see," Arthur sighed. He turned to the three remaining knights. "Prepare the execution block." He turned his back to Misaki and walked about ten paces out. He stood with his hands behind his back and looked out into the distance again, while his knights carried out their orders.

"That's… wait, what do you mean execution block?" Misaki was stunned at the sudden declaration from Arthur, but he didn't answer her question. Instead, two of the three remaining knights grabbed her arms from either side and lifted her up. "Hey, let me go!" She wanted to struggle, but her body was still frozen.

"Gently," Arthur said to them. "She still deserves our respect." Misaki was carried toward an open area in the train station. The third knight was already there and had set down a wooden block with a half cylindrical grove in it, like for someone to put their neck on. The knight then put a mesh basket in front of it, which caused Misaki's eyes to widen in horror when she realized what he was going to do.

"You were serious?!" she cried. "What sort of barbaric practice is this?!" She tried to struggle again, but she still couldn't move.

"Barbaric?" Arthur asked and raised an eyebrow at her. "Hardly. Throughout history it has been common to remove the corrupt rulers of country through violent means. Execution has been implemented as a symbol to show the fall of the old regime and the rise of the new for centuries. Britain and France have used it countless times. It not only acts as punishment, but also a fresh start for the citizens."

"What do you mean by corrupt?" Misaki demanded. "I haven't done anything to warrant this."

"You stood against us in our quest for reparations for our suffering," Arthur explained. "That alone is enough, but you can hardly call yourself pure. I have heard interesting stories about your tendency to use your powers frivolously on others. A ruler should treat their subjects with respect, not force. Can you honestly tell me you don't use your gift on others frivolously?"

Misaki was silent for a moment. She had to admit he had a point about the way she used to use her ability, not about using her ability against Eve. Misaki had acquired her ability early on and for most of her school life. Some girls had their memories modified more often that she could remember. They forgot embarrassing situations, were persuaded to do things for her without expecting a favor in return, and admired her without question. "It's true," she agreed. "I can't say I was a good person in the past, but I have changed. I don't use my ability as much on others anymore and I've been working to improve myself. My prince changed me." She paused and glared at him. "But you can hardly consider yourself good either. You are working for an organization trying to bring a force of darkness into the world and killing anyone who gets in your way."

"A king must sometimes make difficult decisions for the greater good," Arthur mumbled and turned away. It was obvious he didn't want to kill her, but he was required to. Misaki understood this method was being used because he considered it more of a sign of respect over just stabbing her. However, Misaki was not going to take this lying down. She still had one option left for her to try. If she couldn't move, she would have to use her ability without the benefits of her remotes.

 _This is a dangerous decision,_ Misaki thought, but she ran out of other options. This was not a choice to be taken lightly. Not only could she accidently cause permanent damage to the other person's mind, she could actually hurt herself. Her ability manipulated electrical and chemical signals in the brain, which meant she could affect herself if she lost control of her power. She used remotes to focus her ability on specific commands. _Desperate times calls for desperate measures._ She focused on the two knights controlling her and started trying to manipulate their minds, while navigating around their magical defenses. For some reason, she thought she heard some kind of song, but she figured she was imagining it and focused on the task at hand. She wasn't getting anywhere fast enough and the two knights forced her on the hard concreate ground. She was kneeling in front of the block of wood and one of the knights pressed her down on it.

"It's time," Arthur muttered and held out his hand. The third knight handed him a decorative sword and Arthur swung it in the air to test the balance. This sword looked sharp, but it didn't appear to have been used for extended combat. The blade was too thin and the hilt was encrusted with a large ruby. It was a ceremonial blade and he was treating it as such. "Do you have any last words?"

Misaki did not answer. She was too focused on trying to break into the minds of the knights. She actually started to affect one and then something happened. There was a slight buzzing in her mind and she felt weird. It was like a trickle of water ran down her back, but instead was in her mind. The knight didn't seem to notice her touch, so she concentrated harder. The desire to break free and warn the others, especially Touma, was the reason for her determination. _Almost there._ She could feel herself being held down on the block of wood, but she couldn't spare a moment to worry about what was about to happen.

"Silence," Arthur commented. "I respect that. Many people would beg for their life or try to bargain their way out. You get to know a lot about people when they are on the brink of death." Misaki still didn't respond, but she was beginning to panic. Time was running out for her. Arthur gave her one last look and stepped to her side. He raised the sword with both hands and took careful aim at her neck. "May you find solace in the afterlife." This time, Misaki looked up.

She had not made it.

She needed a little more time.

Arthur brought down the blade swiftly and his aim was true.

Blood soaked the surrounding area and her head fell into the basket.

Arthur turned around, a look of displeasure on his face. He flicked the sword to the right and most of the blood flew off. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the blade completely clean. It sparkled slightly in the light and he appeared satisfied. He passed the blade to the third knight, who took it gingerly. "That was unpleasant. The way Lady Eve talked about her I expected something more. I didn't even need to fuse my knights with extra Telesma. I suppose if I had drawn my sword, they would have easily overwhelmed her anyways." He was talking more to himself than the knights. "Clean up the mess and then we may leave. I want to check up on Juliet to make sure she did not go overboard…"

He ducked and spun around.

Arthur may have become a king, but he endured training to rival most knights. It was not only for self-defense purposes, but also so he could lead his troops from the front line. With his honed battle instinct, surprise attacks would not work on him. He spun around under the blade aimed at his back, reached up with his right hand, palm open, and hit the chest of the enemy striking at him. Arthur was far stronger than a normal human and he heard armor crack. His eyes widened when he saw who had attacked him. One of his knights was flying backwards from the force of Arthur's blow. The knight crashed into a concrete pillar with a loud bang that echoed across the station. However, he stood back up a moment later. Knights were tough and Arthur knew a blow that weak would not stop them, but those knights did not pose a threat to him. He had always been stronger than them and he also had more of the Telesma Eve blessed them with at his disposal.

"What are you doing!?" he demanded. "Have you lost your mind?!" The other knight stood next to him and he also had his sword drawn. Arthur's gaze hardened. "Traitors or…" He trailed off as his eyes moved down to the headless girl's corpse. "Could she have used her mental ability to transfer her consciousness to them? I did not realize she had that power." He blinked. "No, this is all false." He reached out in front him and clapped his hands. A gust of wind formed from the impact and blew through the station. The head and body of Misaki shimmered and vanished, but the two knights stood firm. Then the empty area behind them shimmered and Misaki appeared, but she was not alone. Two girls stood next to her. "Why did you interfere?"

"We were stationed here to stop your group if you decided to act," the first girl said. She had blonde hair and white skin. She was wearing a red and white jacket, with spats under her blue miniskirt. The most unusual part of her outfit was the pair of small dragon wings on her back. In her right hand she held a pole with a hand shaped end. It was a Steel Glove, identical to Lessar's. "So it makes perfect sense to rescue someone who opposes you. Besides, she was part of the group who saved our country. We owe her."

"Are you okay?" the second girl asked Misaki. "I hoped my, hehe, magic was able to reach you in time." This girl had short brown hair that was forced up with a headband, accentuating her forehead, and was slightly shorter than Mikoto. She had a red and white lacrosse uniform-like set made up of a shirt, miniskirt, and spats. She was also holding a Steel Glove in her left hand, but the tips of her fingers had dragon like claws on them. Misaki knew the first girl, Floris a little better than the second girl, Lancis. Misaki had only met Lancis once before leaving England because Lessar wanted to introduce her to their group.

"I am, thanks to you," Misaki replied to Lancis. "I would be dead if you and Floris didn't save me. How did you do that?" From her point of view, she had been helpless, but Arthur didn't take advantage of it. He actually stood several paces back and further to her left than he should have been to hit her. He swung his blade through the air and it hit the ground, which cracked it. He then turned around and flicked his sword, like there had been water on it. Misaki did notice he was talking to himself, but she didn't bother to listen. Something miraculous had happened and she used the time she had been brought. She actually managed to break the magical defenses around the mind of the first knight. It took a different signal order to modify them than a normal person. Once she understood what to do, it only took seconds to apply it to the second knight. She finished just in time because she was yanked back by her saviors, Floris and Lancis. What surprised Misaki the most was she could move. _His magic was lifted. Maybe because he was distracted, but why?_

"Norse-Base Magic," Arthur answered instead of Lancis. "Seiðr I believe it was called. You use a type of song to cause one to see an illusion, much like a siren. I suppose that is why it's primarily used by female magicians. Normally, such a trick would not work on me, but I did not see the point of putting up a defense against magical illusions, when I was facing a science side mental manipulator." His eyes narrowed and his voice grew stonier. "I can assure you, I will not make that mistake again." The third knight moved in front of him and the sound of heavy footsteps echoed across the station from their left. The two that had taken the other girls away had returned.

"We didn't think it would," Floris countered. "Our objective was to save her." She pointed to Misaki. "And we succeeded."

"Should we retreat?" Lancis asked. "He still has several knights with him."

"That won't be an issue," Misaki reassured her mildly. She was feeling a lot better now that she could move and knew she could take over the knights. "Let's see how you like being outnumbered." Being able to move, she could use her remote, which was a lot less strenuous than without. Misaki smiled and clicked it. The three remaining knights stood up straight for a moment, before marching over and standing in a line next to the other two. "I think now would be a good time for you to surrender."

"Interesting," Arthur said, but didn't look like he had any plans of giving up. Surprisingly, he only looked amused. "I wonder if you can truly maintain your control." Before Misaki could answer, Arthur gripped the hilt of the sword at his hip.

"AH!" Misaki cried and her vision blurred. Her head started throbbing, like her brain was beating against the inside of her skull.

"Shokuhou?" Lancis asked and grabbed Misaki to keep her standing. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Misaki admitted. Her voice came out softer because of the pain. Her vision returned, but her headache was not subsiding. In fact, it was getting worse and spreading to the rest of her body. _Lancis and Floris look okay, but why am I affected?_ Her eyes widened slightly when she realized the knights in front of her had grabbed their heads. _Oh no, he's trying to break my control._ Instead of giving them only a simple command, like protect her, she had kept the link open to be able to direct them easier. Now she was focusing on stopping their minds from returning due to Arthur's magic. It was difficult with how bad her head was pounding, but she managed to keep them under her control. "He was trying to free his men, but I stopped him."

 _Interesting,_ Arthur thought, his eyes focused on her. _I infused my men with Telesma from my sword, but they still couldn't break free. Her mental control and discipline are astounding. Though, I can't understand why she almost collapsed. Maybe her power causes mental strain. If so, this fight can't last much longer for her._

"Let's press on while we have the advan...," Floris started to say, but stopped. She reached into her pocket and touched a piece of paper. She frowned and shook her head. "We are a little preoccupied."

"It's not just one person," Lancis added. They were obviously talking to someone Misaki couldn't see or hear. "Eve's forces are over the entire city. There are not enough of us! We need-…"

"Silence!" Arthur commanded and both of the girls could not continue talking. Even Misaki found out she couldn't talk from the power of his King's Decree. "Involving others in our fight would be disrespectful."

 _It's his magic,_ Misaki relayed mentally to Floris and Lancis. _He called it King's Decree and we are forced to obey him. I don't suppose either of you know how to stop it?_

 _Not until we can identify exactly how he can project his will onto us,_ Floris responded. It was lucky Arthur's silence command only implied verbal communication. Misaki could still use her remotes to communicate telepathically. _If you can use his knights against him as a distraction, we should stand a chance. Lancis isn't very combat oriented. When she channels her life force into mana, she gets overwhelmed by a tickle sensation which slows her reflexes._

 _Hey, I can still fight._ Lancis was full of indignation, but she was also concern for Misaki. _Are you really okay? Your thoughts are so weak._

 _It's been a long day,_ Misaki answered, not wanting to let the others know how sick she was. _But we need to act now. With a single word, he can render us-_..." She was interrupted as Arthur confirmed her prediction.

"Kneel!" The knights, Misaki, Floris, and Lancis were forced to take a knee in front of Arthur. Their bodies had moved before they could even process his command. Once again, Misaka found herself helpless before his King's Decree. "No matter how many of you there are, it will end the same way. I do not like to take lives unnecessarily so, unless you two get in my way again, I will only kill the science side girl. My forces and I will then leave and you two will once again be able to move. It's rather generous given the situation, wouldn't you agree?"

"Bite me," Floris spat out. It looked like they were able to talk again.

 _Perhaps he can only give one order at a time,_ Misaki thought. Her eyes followed Arthur, who was walking away from them to where the ceremonial sword had fallen when Misaki took the knight over. It appeared that Arthur was not going to use the sword on his hip to deliver the final blow. This gave Misaki a few moments to collect her thoughts, but she wasn't optimistic. She had made a mistake. She thought with Floris and Lancis, along with the elite knights, they would stand a chance against Arthur's power. A miracle like last time does not occur twice. She knew she would need to find a way out of this. Floris and Lancis were muttering under their breath, so she assumed they were trying something too. The only think lucky about their situation was Misaki still had links with them and the knights. _Move,_ she willed at the knights. _Use the power I know you guys have to break his control._ She saw them struggle briefly, but were still unable to rise.

Then something happened.

Misaki felt something. It was a weird and unknown feeling, as if she knew something, but had no basis in facts to back the knowledge up with. It resembled her ability, but was different in a key way. As long as she was linked, she always knew what the person was thinking. She also could tell when the signals she sent at magicians with a shielded mind were blocked. This feeling wasn't something relating to the mind, but it still related to the individual. A picture flashed in Misaki's mind, but it wasn't a memory, it was more like a movie of a small flame. Wrapped around it was a golden thread that seemed to be choking it. The flame flickered against the thread, but couldn't break it. Misaki had no idea what this was, but instinct told her not to ignore it. Instead, she focused her concentration on it, like an arrow, and imagined cutting it. The thread snapped and the flame grew brighter. The image vanished and Misaki breathed a sigh of relief, before her head virtually exploded in pain. She muffled her cry, but started panting heavily.

Arthur had begun to walk toward them, sword in hand, when he encountered an unexpected surprise.

"How?!" he gasped. For once, he showed actual surprise. All five of the knights, who should have been under his magic, had stood up and charged at him. "Halt!" he yelled, but it didn't work. Arthur was forced to dodge the swords from his former comrades and duck under a shield being forced at his head. He regained his composure and hit two of them in the chests with open palms, sending them flying back. He ducked under the sword of the third and grabbed the knight's arm. Arthur spun around on the heel of his foot and used the knight to knock the last two away, before letting go and sending the knight flying. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Misaki, Floris, and Lancis. "What did you do? My orders are not mental. They are bound to the individual's very being, their will itself! It should be impossible to break!"

"I'm not sure myself," Misaki admitted. While they talked, she used her nearly discovered technique to free herself and then Floris and Lancis.

"I can move," Floris gasped and stood up.

"I felt her do something to me too," Lancis added, as she glanced at Misaki. Floris nodded in agreement. Both of them had felt Misaki's ability do more than just touch their minds. It was as if she broke the chains binding them to Arthur's words and gave them strength. They knew she couldn't use magic and, not understanding science abilities, could not accurately gauge what happened.

"A false queen actually managed to break my King's Decree," Arthur mumbled. "That really makes my blood boil." He did not understand what Misaki did and the girls appeared to be unable to explain it either.

"To be fair," Misaki said, as she brushed her hair back out of her face. "I never asked them to call me that. It was too much of a pain to stop, so I just let them. It grew on me." She smiled. "Now, men," she addressed the knights. "Please take him down for me." All the knights Arthur knocked away stood up and began to approach him. "I have to say, having backup is a really nice thing to have."

"Indeed," Arthur agreed and then he smiled. Misaki's eyes widened when she realized who he meant.

"Shoot," she muttered. "I forgot about him."

"All according to plan," Arthur laughed and raised his hand. The sound of heavy footsteps echoed across the station again, a moment before a man appeared. He was in full knight armor like the others, but his armor didn't look as new. It wasn't as shiny and had dents and scratches all over it, but that added to his appearance. This wasn't someone in ceremonial armor, but armor that had seen countless number of battles. The aura the man held was that of a veteran forged in the heat of combat. He was larger than the others and moved with a sense of purpose the rest did not possess. As a demonstration of his strength, he moved at speeds several times faster than a normal human and, with a single swing of his blade, sent three of Misaki's knights flying.

"Who is that?" Misaki asked when she noticed Floris's and Lancis's mouths were agape. They didn't answer her question, Arthur did it for them.

"It seems I must rely on you once again, _Lancelot_."

* * *

"Itsuwa?" Index called out from the living room in Touma's dorm.

"Dinner will be ready in five minutes Index," Itsuwa replied kindly. "I'm almost finished." She was standing in Touma's kitchen wearing an apron and trying to finish cooking before Index starved to death.

"I'm happy to hear that," Index said with a nod. "But that wasn't what I wanted to ask. I wanted to know why you set up a barrier around Touma's room."

"Well," Itsuwa replied slowly, as she thought of a reasonable answer. "Kamijou-kun is going to be late, so I'm here to make sure you get enough to eat. The problem is, I'm a magician and we know Eve's forces are hiding out in the city. By putting up the barrier, I can conceal my presence until he returns. Mana can't be detected through the barrier, so if they try to watch you, they will continue to believe no magicians are here. When Kamijou-kun returns, his hand will break the barrier and everything will return to normal."

"Do you know when Touma will be back?" Itsuwa actually fidgeted at this question and was glad she and Index were in different rooms.

"I'm sorry," Itsuwa apologized. "I really don't. I was only asked if I could stay here and help out for a short time." She started to put the food onto plates and carry them to the table. At the smell of food, Index appeared in a blur of speed and sat down. Itsuwa piled Index's plate high, but she only gave herself a modest amount. She wasn't that hungry. Itsuwa knew what was happening, but her job was to keep Index safe. _I want to help, but we all have a role to play in this mission._

"He's off doing something dangerous again," Index said and looked right at Itsuwa for confirmation. The seriousness of the conversation was intensified by Index preferring to talk instead of eating the food in front of her. "Isn't he?"

"From what I understand, all the church needs is for him to break a magical seal," Itsuwa answered and tried to sound reassuringly. "Depending on how far he has to travel to reach it, would depend on how long it takes for him to return. I don't have the details."

"I see," Index said softly. She started digging into the food. "He will return. He always returns." Itsuwa smiled and glanced out the window without touching her food. There was a downside to the barrier she placed. While it would prevent any other magician from detecting her presence, she couldn't detect any magicians outside the barrier. In other words, she was blind. She didn't want to use this barrier, but it was the only one she had time to set up.

 _I hope nothing happens._

* * *

 _I can't believe I did that._

Mikoto moved slowly and mechanically toward where Kuroko laid unconscious. It shouldn't have taken Mikoto very long to reach her, but her mind was in a daze. She was having trouble processing what she did. _I killed someone._ Even though it was in self-defense and to protect Kuroko, this wasn't something that weighed easily on her mind. To protect her friends, she actually had threatened people before, but she never planned to follow through with them. Electricity was a powerful and dangerous force, so Mikoto always took precautions to try to avoid permanently hurting anyone. She knew how much force a normal person could take and would make adjustments accordingly. Even so, Juliet was not someone she could have taken it easy on. Juliet had been about to kill her and Kuroko, yet nothing Mikoto did was able to stop her, until she took the step off the deep end.

 _Don't think about it,_ Mikoto told herself. _I need to get Kuroko to a doctor first._ She took a couple more steps and was overwhelmed with nausea. She stumbled and had to grab a light pole to steady herself. Tears began to well up in her eyes and she wiped them away with her sleeve. _I killed someone…_ She finally reached Kuroko and knelt down next to her. Mikoto felt Kuroko's pulse and breathed a sigh of relief. "She's alive! Thank god!" She shook Kuroko slightly. "Kuroko… please get up. Kuroko!" Kuroko stirred slightly, but didn't wake up. _Did Juliet's magic not end? What do I do now? Would a doctor be able to help? Did Kagere-san really get capture? I could find Index or Lessar and see if they can help. Yea, that might be the best choice. For now, let's get Kuroko out of here. Maybe Touma…_

Her eyes widen and she froze when she thought of him. _What am I going to tell him? What am I going to tell the others? I can't keep this quiet._ She shivered at the thought of what others would say about her, though someone like Accelerator wouldn't think much of it. Even if it was in self-defense, many of her friends would be shocked and alarmed. _Would Kagere-san forgive me?_ Mikoto especially cared about what Touma would think. He had always fought people far stronger than him and many tried to kill him, yet he managed to defeat them, but not kill them. After he beat them, they changed their ways and became better people. _Why couldn't I do that? He's so far ahead of me. I'm so weak._ _Maybe I'm not good enough to stand by him._ She tried to push the thought of Touma's pained and shock expression out her mind for now and grabbed Kuroko's arm. Mikoto lifted her up and moved Kuroko's arm over her shoulders. She stood up and balanced most of Kuroko's weight on her body. She started to head towards Touma's dorm, when she heard it.

It was the sound of metal pushing against metal.

Mikoto's eyes widened in horror as she slowly turned around.

She didn't see anything at first, so she thought she might have imagined the noise or the wind blew a precariously placed piece of metal. _You're too jumpy. Calm down._ She breathed a sigh of relief, turned back around, and continued walking. She stopped when she heard the noise again. This time, she was sure she did not imagine it. Mikoto turned around and scanned the area. The slightest bit of movement caught her eye. In the giant ball of metal and concrete she ripped up from the ground, something was emerging from a small crack on the side, about one meter above the ground. A black liquid was slowly seeping out of it and onto the ground. It wasn't completely a liquid, but it was close. Mikoto took a step back in disgust. _Is that her blood? I think I'm going to throw up._ She covered her mouth with her hand.

After the liquid stopped pouting out of the crack, Mikoto actually wished it had been blood.

The puddle of the black liquid started to rise into the air and slowly formed the shape of a human. The black outline than transformed into a familiar young girl. Mikoto found herself frozen in shock as Juliet reformed. Juliet brushed her long brown hair off her shoulders and stretched her arms into the air above her. She rubbed her neck for a moment, before her eyes moved onto Mikoto. Juliet smiled, but Mikoto felt shivers down her back at the sight of it. The smile was not friendly, it was a victory smile. "That was rather impressive," Juliet complimented. She started walking toward Mikoto and Mikoto responded by taking several steps backwards. "But you know I don't have a real body. A physical attack like that isn't going to do anything to me."

"This can't be real," Mikoto mumbled to herself, but Juliet heard her.

"I can assure you this is quite real," Juliet laughed. "I can taste victory. Hand the slut over peacefully and I will make both your deaths quick and painless. Resist, and I'll make sure you both suffer." She smiled innocently and Mikoto immediately saw a resemblance to Eve.

 _She's insane,_ Mikoto thought. _I know she obsessed over Kagere-san, but to actually do this? I can't beat her._ She looked around for anything that might be able to help her out of this situation. _There's nothing around here capable of stopping her._ Without a viable plan and an injured Kuroko, Mikoto realized she wasn't going to win if she stood her ground and continued to fight. Bracing herself for what she was about to try, she took a deep breath. This would normally be unthinkable for her, but she had to think of Kuroko's safety first. She magnetized herself and jumped.

She jump up onto the building behind her, turned around, and fled.

"Coward!" Juliet roared, when she realized what Mikoto was doing. "Get back here!" She turned back into a pure shadow and flew off after Mikoto.

"No way!" Mikoto called back over her shoulder. She was actually conflicted about the situation. For one, she was relieved she didn't actually kill anyone, but now she was scared for her and Kuroko's lives. _I have to lose her, but how. She's faster than me._ Even though Mikoto was propelling herself with magnetism, there was a limit to how fast she could move her body. If she pulled herself too fast from building to building, she would have to stop quicker or risk smashing into the wall. Also, if she was moving too fast and had to make a sudden stop, she could break the bones in her body. Like when someone drives a car, you can travel at speeds far greater than a human body could move but, in a crash, it's the force of the sudden stop that kills. The same principle applied with sudden turns. Her body couldn't handle the sudden change in directional forces.

Juliet was under no such limitations.

She did not have a solid body, only a false shadow form. Physical force changes did not effect a creation of magic like a normal person. She flew through the air after Mikoto, who was forced to jump from building to building while carrying an unconscious Kuroko. When Juliet was close enough, she struck out with a shadow blade, but Mikoto manage to jump to the right to avoid it. A fine meter long grove appeared in the wall of the building. Human flesh and bone would not be able to stop Juliet's attacks and Mikoto gulped. She wasn't sure how wide Juliet's people clearing field was, but it wasn't like Mikoto could move in a straight line while dodging Juliet's attacks. She had to keep heading in one direction, but in more of a zigzag pattern. Juliet appeared to be getting annoyed at her antics.

"You really are an evil person," Juliet called out. "Once we leave this area, how many innocent people are you going to be willing to sacrifice to get away from me? I tried to avoid getting them involved, but you are leaving me no choice."

"Shut up!" Mikoto yelled back. "I'm not getting anyone involved. It's you who would be the one to get them involved!" Though her words were tough, she hesitated for a fraction of a second on her next leap.

That delay cost her.

"Got you!" Juliet yelled triumphantly. She swung a shadow arm and hit Mikoto in the side.

"Gah!" Mikoto coughed, as all the wind was knocked out of her. She tightened her grip on Kuroko and they fell together. Regaining her composure, Mikoto managed to magnetize herself and pulled them to a building, rather than hitting the ground. Mikoto slid down the side of the wall and landed on her feet. The pain in her side doubled as the force ran up her body and she stumbled to her knees. She propped Kuroko into a sitting position against the wall and stood up. _She still hasn't woken up. Does she have a concussion from knocking herself out, or is this Juliet's magic._ Mikoto turned around and started walking toward the middle of the street.

"You have nowhere to run," Juliet told Mikoto. She landed several meters in front of Mikoto and smiled. She had taken her human form again. "You're lucky Eve told me not to kill you immediately and to make sure you suffered, or you would be dead already."

"Wait," Mikoto said and her eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by that? Why would Eve want you to torture me?" _She's been taking it easy on me?_

"Oops," Juliet said and tried to giggle, but it was obvious to Mikoto she didn't mean to say that and was trying to play it off as a joke. "I said too much." Juliet looked Mikoto up and down. "But I suppose it's time to finish this. If I go after the slut, you might try to run away."

"I would never abandon my friends," Mikoto hissed through clenched teeth.

"Then you die here," Juliet said and raised a hand. "I can't say I enjoy taking your life, but it's something I have to do." Mikoto glimpsed the one last thread of humanity and reason Juliet still had, as her arm turned into darkness. Mikoto responded by shooting a bolt of lightning at Juliet from her hand, but it was deflected as Juliet swung her arm. Juliet's attack didn't stop there and Mikoto raised both of her arms to block the attack. The force of the blow lifted her into the air and sent her flying several meters backwards.

"AHH!" Mikoto yelled out in pain. Her arms were on fire and she landed on her back, hitting her head. Her vision blurred and her body screamed in agony. She forced herself to stay conscious, knowing if she blacked out for even a second, she would be killed. She pushed herself up into a sitting position, but Juliet was already standing over her. She reached down and grabbed Mikoto by the hair, Mikoto cried out in pain again before Juliet threw her with inhuman strength. Mikoto flew a couple meters back, but she magnetized herself and landed feet first on the wall of a building. She pushed off and flew at Juliet, creating a large discharge of electricity around her. She drew back her fist and aimed at Juliet's face. Juliet only smiled as Mikoto's fist made contract with her cheek. Juliet's body completely turned into shadow and Mikoto passed right through her.

"Heh," Juliet snorted. "That's not going to work." The top half of her shadow form had broken apart from the electricity, but it reformed almost instantly.

"Try this then," Mikoto yelled and shot a bolt of electricity into Juliet's back.

"Ah!" Juliet cried for a moment as her shadow form flickered. She was still able to reform though. "Those electric shocks are really annoying you know. It's not like they are going to work against me."

"Damn it," Mikoto muttered. _Direct attacks don't work, surprise attacks don't work, physical attacks don't work, and my electricity barely has any noticeable effect. I can't escape, she's faster than me, and Kuroko's life is in my hands. What should I do? What can I do?_ Mikoto faced the dilemma, but Juliet wasn't taking it easier on her.

"Quit spacing out," Juliet snapped and swung her shadow arm at Mikoto. Mikoto barely snapped out of her stupor in time and rolled backwards to dodge. Juliet swung her arm back at her and Mikoto magnetized herself, forcing her body to fly toward a metal pole to avoid it. A large chunk of the ground was ripped out by Juliet's attack. A grin appeared on her face. She knew she had Mikoto cornered. "What's wrong? Are you getting tired?"

"Not at all," Mikoto replied harshly, but that was a lie. She unleashed several large attacks early on and had run a fair distance to try to get away, plus she had been hit a couple times. She was tired, sore, and mentally exhausted. She gathered a large amount of electricity around her and prepared to unleash it. "I'm just sick of you talking." Juliet's grin slipped off her face.

"Fine then," she hissed. "I'm getting tired of our little game too." Her arm twisted from a long shadow into a hooked blade. Mikoto gulped as she looked at the scythe like shadow blade that use to be Juliet's arm. "I'll make this quick." She bent her knees and charged at Mikoto. Mikoto unleashed a torrent of electricity at Juliet, but all Juliet did was sweep her blade vertically in front of her to cut through Mikoto's attack. Juliet flew up into the air above Mikoto and brought her blade horizontally downwards at Mikoto's neck. Mikoto used magnetism to twist the pole she was holding and threw it at Juliet. She was forced to cut the pole, but that second delay allowed Mikoto to dive out of the way. A large groove followed the sound of scrapping concrete.

 _That was close,_ Mikoto thought and shivered slightly at the thought of what would happen if she had been hit by that. She started to magnetize herself away from Juliet, but she was too slow. Juliet's other arm extended and wrapped around Mikoto's throat. "Ack!" Mikoto choked as Juliet started to crush her windpipe.

"Got you," Juliet said triumphantly. "I wanted to kill the slut over there first," he gesture to the unconscious Kuroko, "but it takes too long to corner you like this. Instead, how about you imagine how I slowly cut her apart as punishment for her adultery?"

"Kek," was the only noise Mikoto could make. Everything was getting blurry and she was losing consciousness. She scratched at the shadow with her hand, but that did nothing. She was trying to generate enough electricity to break apart Juliet's arm, but was having trouble concentrating with the lack of oxygen. _Am I going to die here? I couldn't stop her. Kuroko, Touma, everyone, I'm sorry._ A tear rolled down her face as she imagined her friends being killed or captured. _No, Mikoto, you can't give up. He would never give up!_ She started sparking up even more and Juliet's arm began to ripple.

"A last ditch effort?" Juliet asked. "At least you are a fighter until the end." She increased the pressure, but the electricity around Mikoto didn't end. She felt the shadow began to loosen slightly and she had to concentrate harder. "Why won't you die!?" Juliet was getting impatient. "Stop struggling. No one is going to save y-."

The sound of gun fire interrupted her.

"What!?" Juliet explained as her body was peppered by bullets from two different directions. "Ouch, who dares to…? Ouch! Will you stop!?" She was distracted for a brief moment and that was all Mikoto needed. Juliet's concentration on her grip waned slightly and the electricity destabilized her arm. Mikoto fell back down to the ground and gasped for air. Both of them turned to see who had attack Juliet and their mouths fell open.

Two girls moved into plane sight holding modified rifles and wearing goggles, but otherwise looked exactly like Mikoto.

"What?!" Juliet gasped. "How are there more of you? What's happening? No one told me about this." She grabbed her head in frustration as she tried to process what was happening. _She should be an only child and she can't have more than one ability. Could they be an illusion or some sort of robot? Clones? That might be a possibility. Does Eve want me to kill them all? Why do they use guns?_ Hundreds of questions flashed in her mind before she shook her head. "Do you two have a death wish?"

"Misaka does not wish to die Misaka 19090 replies evenly. However, letting onee-sama die would be worse than risking Misaka's life."

"We felt onee-sama's ability from our location and decided to see what was happening Misaka 13577 adds. The Moderator warned us something was happening, but lost connection shortly afterwards."

"Run you two!" Mikoto cried suddenly, as she regained her voice. It still sounded hoarse, but was loud enough for them to hear. "She's not an opponent you can face. She can't be hurt with bullets."

"Bullets did seem ineffective, Misaka 19090 agrees." She nodded her head and started sparking up. "Electricity did have some effect Misaka noted."

"She reformed after all my attacks," Mikoto called back desperately. "You need to get out of here!"

"People who interrupt me should be punished," Juliet yelled out and both of her arms extended. Mikoto scrambled backwards and to her feet, but Juliet ignored her. Mikoto was not a threat to her without backup, so Juliet was venting her anger on the Sisters. They both managed to dodge the initial attack and continued to fire their rifles at her. Even though there were no obvious signs of damage, the bullets did not reflect back at them, so there was a chance they were doing at least a little damage, even if it was just an annoyance. "Will you stop that? It doesn't work and it's a bother!" She ripped the bent light pole Mikoto had used earlier and threw it at one of them, but the distance was great enough to be dodged easily.

Misaka 19090 and 13577 had a big advantage, even if their levels were far lower than Mikoto's. They could wordlessly communicate with each other, so when Juliet turned her attention to one of them, the other could attack from her blind spots. The attacks didn't do much, but Juliet kept turning around in anger. To Mikoto, it was as if Juliet was beginning to get carried away by her emotions instead of calmly taking one of them out at a time. However, the ammo the Sisters were using was sure to run out soon and then they would lose their ability to act as a distraction. As soon as Mikoto thought that, she heard a click of empty cartridges from Misaka 13577's gun. She looked down at her gun, threw it to the side, and fired a bolt of electricity. This had absolutely no visible effect, but Juliet turned to her and smiled.

"I guess you want to be first," Juliet hissed and her entire body became a shadow again. She rose into the air and formed a circle. The circle began to spin faster and faster. Both of the Sister's eyes widened at this, because they didn't expect Juliet to be able to convert her entire body into darkness. They had only seen her transform her arms. Ten tendrils shot out of the circle and grabbed anything they could reach, light poles, benches, checks of concrete, and a car. The sound of metal tearing and concrete being broken was heard as Juliet picked up all the objects. She threw all the items at the two Sisters. They were lucky they had military training and acquired the reflexes to dodge the debris, or they would have been crushed. The issue was now Misaka 13577 was cut off from the others while Misaka 19090's retreat route was blocked. Juliet must have planned this because she immediately flew at Misaka 19090, who glanced around and realized her predicament.

"NOOO!" Mikoto yelled and, in desperation, called down a bolt of lightning, which struck Juliet directly before she could reach Misaka 19090. An explosion of light and dust blocked everyone's lines of sight. "Are you two okay?!" she called out. "Get away from her while you still can!"

"Misaka is okay, Misaka 19090 confirms."

"Misaka is also fine, Misaka 13577 adds." They ran out of the smoke next to Mikoto and turned to face the dust cloud where Juliet had disappeared. "Do you think she's dead?"

"No," Mikoto answered and shook her head. "That attack would stun her at best." Her eyes darted over to Kuroko. Mikoto only realized now that the two Sisters had slowly been leading Juliet away from Kuroko to prevent her getting caught up in the fight. They had moved so naturally, Mikoto didn't even notice. _Their skills really are amazing._ "We need to get Kuroko out of here, she was hit by Juliet's magic, and then we need to find-." Her words were cut when she saw movement fly out of the cloud of dust. Two long shadow strands wrapped around Misaka 13577 and 19090, pinning their arms to their sides, and then lifted them up into the air.

"AHHHH!" they yelled.

"You two have been a nuisance for far too long," Juliet said angrily, as she walked out of the dust. Both of her arms had transformed into shadow. "It's time to die."

"Wait!" Mikoto yelled. "It's me you want, leave my sisters alone!"

"Sisters huh?' Juliet asked and a devious gleam appeared in her eyes. "I wonder how much you care for them" She wrapped both of them up together in one arm, so her left arm was free. It retracted and reformed into her normal looking arm.

"Whatever you are planning, stop!"

"Don't worry about us Misaka 13577 pleads. Take your friend and leave."

"We will be-," Misaka 19090 started to say but Juliet increased the pressure of her grip on them. "AH!"

"Be quiet," Juliet snapped at them before turning back to Mikoto. "I thought of something Eve would be proud of. I'm going to give you a choice for a game I thought of."

"What kind of choice?" Mikoto asked slowly. Dread welded up within her and she knew this wasn't going to be a normal friendly game.

"I have to kill you," Juliet told her. "Eve was crystal clear about that. I also want to kill that slut over there." She jabbed her finger in Kuroko's direction. "I wasn't planning to hurt anyone else. At least, until these two decided to attack me." She glanced up at them. "They actually shot at me, with a gun! What kind of crazed individuals carry automatic guns in the middle of a city?" Mikoto didn't say anything to this. She had told them many times they shouldn't carry guns. "So I think I should teach them that if they shoot at someone, they should be prepared to be killed in response." Mikoto's eyes widened and her throat went dry. "This is where you come in."

"How?" Goosebumps appeared on Mikoto's arms.

"I'm giving you a choice," Juliet explained and tightened the grip on the Sisters. They made an involuntary gasp. "Your sisters or the slut. I'm going to kill the one you choose before I kill you." Her smile widened and her expression became slightly insane. "You get the honor of deciding which one dies before you."

"You evil bitch!" Mikoto yelled. "I'm not going to pick who lives and dies!" She sparked up, but ultimately knew it was pointless.

"No, no, no." Juliet shook her head and wagged a finger at her. "You are all going to die. You just get to pick which one goes first. After you die, I'm going to kill the last person. You won't have to see them. You only have to see the person you choose die. Imagine the look in their eyes and the betrayal on their face when you select them." Juliet put a hand on her cheek. "It sends shivers down my spine."

"You're insane," Mikoto gasped and took a step backwards. She couldn't believe someone would use people's lives as part of a game. _Was she really a caring person once?_

"Sitting in an infinite void for years does that," Juliet agreed. "But time is a ticking. Maybe if I torture these two some more, you might make up your mind faster." She increased the pressure and both Sister's gasped, unable to cry out.

"STOP IT!" Mikoto yelled wildly.

"No," Juliet replied mildly. The Sisters were obviously having trouble breathing. Their faces were turning red and slightly purple. They would not last long with Juliet's strength. "You better hurry up. It looks like they are suffocating."

"Quit it!" Mikoto yelled again and fired a blinding blue-white discharge of electricity at Juliet's arm. The bolt was more concentrated because Mikoto was trying to sever Juliet's hold on the Sisters. Juliet flicked her other arm into a shadow and knocked the electricity away. "You have no idea what they have been through. Stop hurting them!"

"Whatever they went through," Juliet refuted. "Would not be nearly as bad as my past. Hurry up and decide or do you enjoy watching these girls suffer?" Mikoto's face turned red as anger overtook her. She charged at Juliet wildly and electricity flowing all around her. Juliet shook her head at Mikoto's desperation and swung her arm. It knocked the layer of electricity away and hit Mikoto in the stomach. Mikoto felt her body lift into the air, as all her breath left her body. She couldn't breath and her vision blurred again. Juliet's attack didn't stop there, but continued to wrap around Mikoto until she was completely bound. The shadow covered her eyes and she couldn't see.

"Why are you doing this?" Mikoto asked. She couldn't see Juliet, but knew she was there.

"I don't have all the details," Juliet admitted. "But Eve drilled it into us about the importance of this step. I gave up trying to understand her plans, but you know how they end up. The results are unquestionable, just like in England. Now, this is your last chance. Make your choice, or I break one of your sister's necks.

"How could I make that choice?" Mikoto mumbled through clenched teeth. She started sparking up, but realized something. _I could free myself from Juliet's hold on me, her shadow breaks with enough force, but would that help? I could save myself, but not my Sisters or Kuroko. That's not an option. Juliet could easily kill one of them before I could save any of them. I also do not have the power to defeat her. My attacks do nothing, I don't have any other ideas, and no one's coming to help._ Mikoto felt helpless, just like the time against Accelerator. There was nothing she could think of to stop Juliet. Her eyes began to water at the thought of losing the others. She didn't care about her own life nearly as much as theirs. Her chest hurt, not only from the pain of Juliet's attacks, but her dilemma. She hated this feeling of helplessness and she wanted to vomit. _It's over._

She was going to die.

The Sisters were going to die.

Kuroko was going to die.

Her friends would find her body and cry.

Anger welled up within her. Mikoto wasn't going to die like this. If she died, she was going to go down fighting to her last breath. At the very least, she was going to save the others. She would not play Juliet's game. _Think Mikoto, as long as I am bound here, Juliet will think I am trying to debate this impossible choice. I have to think of an idea quickly or she might kill one of them out of boredom._ She couldn't think of anything, no matter how hard she tried and started to panic. _Calm down. Panicking won't help. Touma always kept a cool head when he fought someone stronger than him._ She took several deep breaths and forced her mind to settle down. She was blind and couldn't see, but she could still feel electromagnetic signals. She could feel both of the Sister's electric signals from their abilities. Electromasters usually converted, subconsciously, their brainwaves into electric signals as part of their AIM field.

 _It was never this clear before._ Mikoto was confused at how easily she could feel their signals. _Is it because I'm blind my other senses are heightened?_ She didn't consider the fact that only a short while ago, she had been in Touma's body and had absolutely no access to any electronic signals. She had felt blind then and, when they finally switched back, had been overwhelmed by the thousands of electromagnetic signals the city generated. She had to avoid focusing on them in order to avoid losing track of everything around her. Now, being in such close proximity to them and having extraordinary awareness to their signals, Mikoto could feel them. She didn't know why she did it, but she focused on it. With no other option available to her, she was desperate. The waves got clearer and clearer until she practically could understand everything about it. She embraced the information.

Her mind was suddenly overloaded.

She witness memories or people and places she had never seen. It was as if she was looking through the eyes of someone else. She experienced tastes and sounds she had never actually tasted or heard before. Moments later, she heard thousands of whispers in her head, as if a number of people were talking. She couldn't quite make out the words, but she thought she heard her name countless times. She didn't understand what was happening, but then she felt resistance, like someone was trying to block her. Mikoto didn't understand why, but she felt like she had to keep moving forward. The resistance felt like a type of electrical lock she was used to seeing around the city, and she managed to bypass the blockage without much effort.

What came next nearly overwhelmed her.

It felt like her mind had been set to overdrive. Every thought, every calculation she made, was now as easy as breathing. She no longer felt afraid, she felt like she could do anything. _I'm coming to save you_ , Mikoto thought as her mind turned toward Kuroko and the Sisters. Anger rose up deep within her again as she thought about how Juliet was treating their lives like a game. Something else besides anger started to churn in her mind and body. It was dark and hate filled. Her mind was so preoccupied with the new knowledge, she couldn't contain her emotions. This might have been similar to what Juliet experienced when she lost her body. Hatred, fear, anger, and the desire for revenge overshadowed all other rational thoughts. Only one clear thought passed through Mikoto's mind.

 _Juliet must pay._

"She stopped struggling," Juliet mumbled. Her eyes never left Mikoto. "She's not even trying to escape. Did she give up?" _Eve is not going to be happy. Nothing like an evolution took place, no matter how much I mentally struck her._ She frowned and looked up at the Sisters. _They stopped moving too. Weird. I was slowly suffocating them, but they shouldn't have croaked yet._ "Well, I guess this game is over. I'll just kill you…" Juliet's words died off as she felt something. It was so slight, she almost missed it. A ripple ran through her arm. _Did I imagine that?_ She shrugged and was about to crush Mikoto, when she felt it again. "Okay, I know I felt that," Juliet said with shiver. It felt weird, because it definitely wasn't her doing, but it still affected her. "What's going-."

Boom!

Her shadow arm wrapped around Mikoto was blown away by a surge of electricity. The force of the explosion actually pushed Juliet back and she shut her eyes. Her arm regenerated and she forced opened her eyes in time to see Mikoto's next attack. An enormous torrent of energy struck Juliet and sent her flying backwards. Her hold on the Sister's broke apart and they fell to the ground. Juliet's human body was completely disrupted from the last attack and it took a second for her to reform. She was sitting on the ground in a daze, her body still reeling from the attack. _I actually felt that._ She stood up and focused on Mikoto. Her eyes widened when she saw her. _Is this what Eve meant by evolution?_

Mikoto's hair was swept back, with a few fringes gathering together to form two horn-like structures on her head. The sclera of her eyes darkened and the pupils began to glow with a bright blue-white light. The most obvious change however was the sudden appearance of two blue-white ribbon-like objects with diamond shaped sections attached to them that hug around Mikoto's arms. Juliet could feel the energy from where she stood and immediately recognized the ribbons as pure compressed energy. The glowing ribbons however, did not overshadow the black electricity forming around her. In fact, the light was making the electricity seem even more ominous. Juliet frowned and stood up. She looked at her hand and saw it was shaking slightly. _That last attack, it wasn't a normal science ability. It was something more. It was like she forcefully made her own version of twisted Telesma. Wow, so this is an evolution?_ She saw a mass of clouds begin to cover the sky above the city and lightning flashed high above them. The two sisters who fell to the ground were not moving, so Juliet could focus only on Mikoto.

"So," Juliet said conversationally. "What are you going to try next?" She sounded more confident than she felt. She had no idea what Mikoto was capable of now. Mikoto stared at her for a moment, the black electricity crackled around her. Juliet was able to register Mikoto's eyes and realized something important. _Those eyes… they are like Cain when he loses control. They are the eyes of a beast. Oh shit!_

Mikoto raised her hand and one of the ribbons wrapped around it like a coil. She uttered a single word.

"Disappear."

An enormous column of lightning flew down from the sky and struck Juliet.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Pierce: Looks like Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san have been able to manifest the power of the Kami-yan disease within them.**

 **Motoharu: Kami-yan is the light in the dark to them, so of course they will be focused on them.**

 **Kazari: But what's with that transformation from Misaka-san? What did she do?**

 **Jason: Manifestation of Kami-yan disease. It gave her power.**

 **Frenda: So these transformations are based on Kamijou?**

 **Pierce: Everything is based on him. All girls attracted to him grow in power. Look at Saten-san, she leveled up in England to help him.**

 **Kazari: There was more to it that that…**

 **Frenda: So that's why Accelerator has those wings too?**

 **Motoharu: Yep, though his transformation is different. It's a combination of being a lolicon and having guy love for Kami-yan.**

 **Kazari: Come on guys, this can't be true. Jason, tell them.**

 **Jason: So this thesis you two are working on for college about the effects of Kami-yan disease in a controlled environment, it sounds like you have a good start.**

 **Motoharu: We have been collecting data since we discovered it. Any good research requires years of research.**

 **Kazari: Do you guys put this much effort in your normal school work?**

 **Guys: Nope.**

 **Ruiko: Hey, why are you all sitting in a dark room? What are you watching?**

 **Pierce: Speak of which, looks like we have a prime example right here.**

 **Ruiko: Huh?**

 **Kazari: Run Saten-san!**

 **A side note some people might be interested in. I have had a lot of people asking me if I planned to do anything special for the holidays. I actually do have a Christmas Omake chapter in the works. It will be a little more humorous than these last few fighting chapters. Touma's going to have a very interesting Christmas with the number of girls he's been flirting with in this story.**


	87. S4 Plight of the Level 5s: Part 3

**First, this is not the Christmas chapter, that will be next week. This chapter still focuses on the level 5s. It took so long to finish because I wanted to end at specific spots, but the fights just kept going and going. There were too much guts and lolicons everywhere to be able to stop in the middle. The fights were a lot of fun to write and they involved so many people. I really enjoy how different the fights can be based on who is fighting. One person in particular actually made the fights funny. She always mocks people. I am planning to have the Christmas omake done before Christmas so I hope everyone looks forward to it. It's going to be a welcome humorous reprieve from the seriousness the last few chapters. Anyway, let's move on to comments.**

 **Brosephg: I don't know why everyone forgets Oda. He doesn't seem like a bad guy, only a battle maniac. He even demonstrated his attacks for Shizuri's group so they knew what he was fighting. Juliet though, she's been through a lot and is under Eve's orders. Floris and Lancis were foreshadowed, so it shouldn't have been that big of a surprise.**

 **Noise: She has to show off once in a while.**

 **general ironox: There's so much hate on Juliet.**

 **Whwsms: Oh, that game is next chapter. Juliet is prone to emotional outbursts, but she can recognize a giant mass of compressed power. Misaki's fights are always different to write. She doesn't have explosions or flashes of light to describe, so it's all mental aspects. They always have a different feel.**

 **Salishious: Uh huh, sounds dirty. It will be after the Australia arc and then they have a couple interesting encounters with our favorite hero. Remember, Kami-yan disease works in close proximity, Touma Punch is just a quick way to inject it.**

 **Generation Zero: I worked hard on making every member of the Fallen unique, yet still have the aspects of historical figures they represent. Lancelot has some kinks to work out, but plenty of time before that fight with Christmas coming up. You are about to see your two favorite fights soon enough. As for Australia, 3 more chapters to finish off the level 5 fights I think and then it's focused on Touma Kamijou in Australia.**

 **Yakutsu Zaishiro: Touma is always trying to increase the size of his harem.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: Centuries ago, it was actually acceptable for healthy men to go with young girls. Life expectancy was short and child birth could easily kill the mother. Men could generate children much older than woman could conceive them.**

 **Kami: That actually happened in the novels. The IB disappears, the beast wrecks Kamisato, and the IB comes back to Touma's hand.**

 **Guest: Normally psychic power and abilities are used interchangeably. There were some indications during baggage city arc there might be some kind of difference. Psychic powers might be some kind of power that resembles abilities, but do not have an AIM field.**

 **Handsomistic1: He is good at what he does. There was a short trolling moment last chapter.**

 **Somerandumguy: Thanks for the compliment. These fights are really fun to write.**

 **wildarms13: Holiday omake next chapter and I'm looking at probably three more chapters before moving back to Australia.**

 **FrodoFighter: You have a lot of good and important question on Lancelot. Maybe they will be answered when we return. Okay… stop reading my mind for that fight. I thought I was going to be really clever there and you figured it all out. Warning: Constant Telesma use may have unexpected side effects. Mikoto finally learned to hack into the Misaka Network. Touma's reaction is always priceless, but I wonder what he will be told. Arthur was so easy to write. It was like I was playing a paladin in D &D. Eve is very particular in her harem. She goes for quality over quantity.**

 **Syko-Soldier963: Slow and steady, but having good results. Timeline has been blown up, run over, and thrown into the trash compactor. I started writing when I was only through part of the novels and it's spring (May) approaching summer.**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly. Magic Gods own all so they can do what they want.**

* * *

Eve blinked in confusion. This was outside of her expectations.

She had actually expected to be interrupted, since she wasn't trying to hide her presence or intentions on assaulting the windowless building. Her plan was pretty simple. She would cause enough activity and destruction to force Aleister to confront her himself. This was not an easy task and she knew it. Right now, unless she destroyed his building, the best she could hope for is to have a conversation with him through speakers. If she had to destroy a number of his inventions, his security guards, or even erase important data, she would without a second thought. She was even broadcasting her location, so every magician actively scanning the city should have been able to track her. Eve knew the church had sent a number of operatives into the city and this plan would also flush them out. Kaori Kanzaki's appearance was proof the Anglican Church had taken an interest in Academy City. A single Saint was easily handled, so Eve wasn't worried about her. Instead, her eyes turned to the surprise quest, one of Academy City's level 5s. _Why is he here?_

Sogiita Gunha was outside of her predictions.

Eve remembered catching a glimpse of him in Italy when she and Adam first met Touma and his friends. She didn't see much of his ability, except a wall of force he generated to protect the others. Once Touma had unleashed the creature inside his severed right hand, there was nothing else Sogiita needed to do. Eve smiled slightly when she remembered seeing the creature again. She lost track of the number of years since their last encounter. She shook her head and continued to focus on the battle. She knew what Kaori's abilities were, based on their short skirmish and previous engagements in England. Sogiita was her primary interest. _Interesting. If I didn't know better, I would say this boy is exactly like an artificial Saint._ Sogiita was able to move at inhuman speeds, had superhuman strength, and had a unique ability, such as making different color explosions. _Physically, he could match any Saint in a straight fight. You don't see that much. I like it._ However, she had a completely different assessment for his mental capacity.

 _He's an idiot!_

Eve really had no other word to describe him. He was the type of person who wanted to be a hero so much he would go out of his way and interfere in things that did not involve him. As for why he wanted to be a hero, Eve did not know, but she understood one thing painfully clear. _He doesn't understand what it means to be a hero._ He was a battle crazed maniac who wanted to fight with others to test his own strength. There was no doubt to anyone Sogiita was strong, but he was strong for the wrong reason to truly be a hero. _The world is full of these types. I wonder if he could actually grow to be one. Shame we probably won't find out._ She made five copies of the Herald for a specific purpose. There were four main elements in western religion, this four were tied with the four Archangels. Air was tied with Raphael, water with Gabriel, earth with Uriel, and fire with Michael. The fifth copy however was not as normal as the others. He was created with a very specific ability that surpassed the other four. If Kaori and Sogiita could defeat her weaker creations, they would learn what it meant to oppose her. He stood next to Eve while the other four fought.

"These things are tough," Sogiita announced excitedly to Kaori. "Of course, I expected as much. Kamijou had a hard time fighting one of them in England and I'm sure you know how much guts he has." He had his hands out in a karate pose, as he faced two of the Heralds.

"I agree and do," Kaori replied moving slightly behind him. They had their backs to each other to cover their blind spots, since the Heralds were working as a team. She held up her sword in a defensive stance and eyed the two Herald clones in front of her. From her brief glimpse of Sogiita's power, she believed he could help, but she still didn't feel right about involving him. It wasn't like she had a choice, fighting all the clones at once could be difficult for her. "Can you stall the ones that control earth and air? It will take me a moment to finish the fire and water ones." Her eyes darted to the fifth Herald that had not moved. _I'm not sure what his ability is, but there has to be a reason Eve is keeping him back._

"I'll do more than that," Sogiita replied and made a fist. "I'll take them down so you can focus on the last two. Phony creations don't have the same guts as we do."

"Good luck to you," Kaori replied. She finally understood the concept of the term 'guts' from him. While unusual, she wasn't one to point out people's quirks. "On three. One… two… THREE!"

She lunged at the two Heralds in front of her and felt the air behind her get displaced at Sogiita charged at his opponents. Kaori covered the space between her and the copies in only two steps and prepared to strike the Herald who controlled water. Kaori was able to move at supersonic speed, but these clones were not normal either. A wall of water erupted under her and she was forced to take a step back or get engulfed by the current. She swung her blade and cut the curtain of water. Her eyes widened and she ducked as the second Herald swung his arm. A bright red flame blade flew right where her neck had been and she rolled to the side. Kaori spring to her feet and leaped at the first Herald, while the second one was delayed. That didn't work, because it appeared the Heralds were either connected in some way, or they were created with battle experience. Two torrents of water came at her from either side and she was forced to spin and cut them, which gave both Heralds time to retreat and put some distance between them. Kaori paused and frowned.

 _I didn't think these two would have this level of coordination with each other,_ Kaori thought. _I thought if we broke them into smaller groups, we could take them down one at a time. Gunha might be in trouble._ She turned slightly to glance at him from her peripheral vision. It looked like she didn't need to worry too much and she smiled slightly.

"Hiding behind walls won't work on me!" Sogiita yelled, as he punched a wall of earth the first Herald he was fighting created. The dirt flew everywhere from the force of his blow. Sogiita continued to charge forward and brought his leg up to knee the Herald in the gut. Sogiita's knee only connected with air as the Herald flew up into the air. The second Herald copy used wind manipulation to lift them both high above Sogiita. Sogiita was obviously a melee type brawler, so their plan was to keep out of his range. "You demonstrate your lack of guts with cowardly tactics!" He bent his knees and jumped. The force broke the ground beneath him. Even though the Heralds were several stories above him, he reached them effortlessly. The Herald who controlled wind smiled and swiped his hand. A blade made of pure compressed air flew at Sogiita. He barely registered the threat in time and punched it in response. A bright blue explosion formed at the end of his punch, which forced him backwards, but the blade was blocked.

"Can you guys even talk!?" Sogiita yelled up at them after he landed. They shook their heads and the Herald who controlled earth floated back down to the ground. The Herald who controlled air stayed up above them in order to attack outside of Sogiita's range.

"I didn't see any reason to give them the ability to talk," Eve called out to him. Both Kaori and Sogiita turned to face her. The Herald's stopped and waited for Eve to finish. "They can communicate telepathically and they have intelligence. It should be a good match to watch." She was sitting in a large comfy looking chair, which she must have created, and was eating a bag of popcorn. "Try not to die too fast."

"Are you eating popcorn?!" Kaori asked incredulously. "Is this all a game to you?!"

"You have to learn to not take life so seriously," Eve replied dismissively and waved her hand in front of her. She threw a couple of kernels into her mouth before continuing. "How do you think I look so good? I go with the flow and have fun, no matter what I do. It keeps me young. If you keep your panties in a knot, you'll be having pent-up stress that's going to cause wrinkles. We know the Imagine Breaker boy won't like the old person's look."

"W-why are you bringing him into this?" spluttered Kaori.

"Aren't you madly in love with him?" Eve asked with a grin. Sogiita frowned and looked over at Kaori. No one would have been surprised if smoke was coming out of her ears with how bad her face was burning. "I could have sworn the signs in England indicated you were. I mean, he even felt up your chest. You wouldn't let just anyone do that."

"THAT DID NOT HAPPEN!" Kaori shouted. He had only landed in her chest after she caught him when fighting Carissa. Her sword was held loosely to her side and all seriousness of the battle was forgotten, as Eve continued her mental assault on Kaori.

"You know," Eve continued with a laugh. "With the power of creation, I can make puppets that look exactly like other people. If you leave, I could give you one that looks and sounds exactly like him. You would have to tell me how big he is though. You have seen it before right?" Kaori would have passed out right there if she wasn't standing before such a powerful enemy. She was not contemplating Eve's offer. She would never accept a puppet to satisfy her earthly desires. It would never be a true person to her. What was causing Kaori problems was the image of a naked Touma in her mind which was clouding her thoughts and was not going away. Kaori may have been a saint and a powerful magician, but she was still an eighteen year old girl. Her mental training allowed her some degree of protection against such thoughts, but Eve was throwing a wedge in the one weak point of her mind. The truth was, Kaori did like Touma Kamijou, but she promised herself she wouldn't act on it. Eve's eyes widened. "Are you going to tell me that you never once thought about it? I mean, come on. I'm sure you've thought about it at least one or twice."

"I am a saint and I would never lower myself to those kind of thou-!"

"I know!" Eve interrupted and her eyes sparkled. "I could just make a few right here and now and you can tell me what size you think he is." She pulled out her book and held it in front of her.

"Stop!" Kaori said and covered her eyes. "No one wants to see that!"

"I'm actually interested myself now," Eve laughed.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Sogiita said. He had been quiet because he wasn't entirely sure what was going on. It sounded like some sort of girl talk, but he couldn't figure out why they started talking about it so suddenly. "Weren't we in the middle of a fight? Why are you bringing up her crush with Kamijou?" Kaori face burned even brighter. If it was obvious to someone like Sogiita, everyone probably knew, especially the Archbishop and Motoharu. "He doesn't have anything to do with this."

"Oh you are wrong there," Eve laughed again. "He's helping us out once again, even if it's just his image." She smiled and Sogiita knew something was wrong.

"What-?" he started to ask, but a movement out of the corner of his eye made him change directions immediately. "Kanzaki-san, MOVE!" Kaori turned and noticed the problem, but it was too late. A wind blade was almost upon her and she was still slightly shook up from Eve's teasing. She instantly realized what Eve had done. Eve had distracted her and Sogiita so her puppets could get a surprise attack. Kaori had just started to move, when a hand hit her shoulder and pushed her out of the way. She was off balance and Sogiita's strength was roughly equivalent to hers, so she was thrown back, but managed to land on her feet. The rustic smell of blood filled the air as the dark liquid hit the street.

Sogiita's right shoulder had a very deep cut and blood was pouring out from it.

"Gunha!" Kaori cried. She kicked herself mentally for spacing out. She should have known Eve would do something like this. In seconds, Sogiita's shirt was dyed red and didn't show signs of stopping. _This is my fault. I need to stop the bleeding._ The problem was, would Eve allow her to cast any sort of healing spell? She took a step forward and her question was answered. Two of the Heralds stood between her and Sogiita.

"Shame," Eve yawned and sat back down in her chair. "But it looks like he's going to fall soon enough. Humans can't lose that much blood and stay conscious very long."

"You underestimate me," Sogiita said. His voice was soft, but there was power resonating through it. "I recognized my own powerlessness in Italy. I saw all kinds of guts I never imagined could exist. I tested Kamijou not long ago and found I was still lacking guts. All the training I went though, it seems it wasn't enough to easily overpower someone like him or you, but I won't go down that easily." A gust of wind appeared out of nowhere around him. His clothes started flapping all around. The revealed muscles in his arm flexed and forced the wound closed. Right before Kaori's eyes, the wound seemed to close. "Let me show you the result of my effort!" He put his fist out in front of his face and the wind around him exploded outwards. Kaori covered her face. "Super Amazing Punch!" He flew at the Herald who could control wind and his punch sent the Herald flying. The body flew past Eve, about five meters to her right, and continued to break apart in midair.

Eve could only stare at him, wide-eyed.

Kaori could only stare with her mouth wide opened.

"A little guts are more than enough to connect tissue and replace blood," Sogiita said, after he realized they were staring at him.

"No it's not," Eve told him indigently. "You have high speed regeneration. Annoying, but not outside my ability to handle."

"Guts can overcome any wound!" Sogiita refuted loudly and punched the air. "Maybe I should give you a dose of guts to make you realize what you are doing is wrong!"

"Touch me and die," Eve said with a sigh. She couldn't believe it actually happened. She found someone so dense that she was actually getting annoyed. _Can't pay attention to crazy people like that. I allow everyone to have a good time, at least until they realize they have been duped._ Instead of continuing to argue, she raised her hand and pointed to Sogiita. "Kill him."

"Bring it!" Sogiita yelled and raised his hands as a jet of fire roared at him and the ground beneath him rose like spikes. He jumped back to avoid being impaled and swung his fist at the fire. An explosion formed when he connected with it and the force blew the fire away. _Wasn't there three?_ He turned around and grinned. _Nice!_

When the three Heralds had turned to face him on Eve's orders, Kaori sprang into action. Not wanting to be outdone by someone younger than her, she unleased a net of wires at the nearest enemy, which turned out to be the Herald using water. The wires glowed red, like embers, and circled around him. Water erupted a fraction of a second before the wires reached their target. The water acted like a wall and the wires made contact with a loud hiss. Kaori had superheated them with magic by infusing them with fire. When the wires hit the water, steam engulfed the Herald until he was nothing but a shadow in a cloud. While the water protected the Herald from being struck directly from the wires, the steam caused the temperature around him to rise and a normal person would be cooked alive. Kaori realized this and channeled a greater red flame around him through her wires. Three bright red explosions erupted systematically around the Herald and the amount of steam multiplied. This technique was commonly referred to as the Red Lotus Flame, because the explosions resembled a flower. Kaori didn't stop there to allow her target to react. She charged forward and cut through the steam while she swung the wires out of the way. Her cut sliced the burnt and disfigured Herald in half, along with the steam, and then he broke apart into paper before he disappeared completely.

"Two down," Kaori said softly, before she turned to face the last two.

"Thanks for the help," Sogiita told her with a wide grin. "How about a tag team?"

"Sure." Kaori and Sogiita charged at the last two Heralds. Originally, they had been outclassed by the Heralds' teamwork, but now they were in sync. Their numbers were equal and they were planning to press their advantage. A wall of flames erupted in front of one of the Heralds and flew at them. Kaori swung her blade vertically downwards in a flash of blue light, which separated the fire like curtains. Sogiita charged forward and drew his arm back for his next attack. The ground beneath the Heralds cracked and columns of earth lifted them up into the air. Sogiita wasn't discouraged and instead punched the column. The earth was blown away and the Herald on it began to fall. Hundreds of wires flew over Sogiita's head and wrapped tightly around the Herald. They bound his arms tightly to his side. Fire engulfed him and it was obvious he was planning to burn his way out.

"Not so fast," Sogiita said. "It's time to use my new secret technique." He bent his knees and leaped high into the air faster than the speed of sound. "AMAZING KICK!" He brought up his knee and hit the Herald squarely in the gut. The Herald gasped. The force of Sogiita's blow snapped the wires, and then caused the Herald to fly hundreds of meters into the air. He eventually vanished as his body broke into countless pieces of paper. Sogiita started to fall back to earth due to gravity when a large stone bolder flew at him. He crossed his arms in front of himself and blocked it, but the force threw him back into a building. He crashed through a window and bounced several times, a lot of furniture broke, before he finally stopped against the far wall. "Ouch, that hurt, but not enough to keep me down." He spring to his feet and charged back into the fray. He looked out the window and laughed.

When Sogiita had been hit by the last Herald's attack, Kaori had sprung forward. Hundreds of wires flew from her and circled around her enemy. She regretted not acting fast enough to protect Sogiita, but she wasn't going to waste the opportunity he opened up for her. The wires started glowing red right before they sliced into the body of the Herald. The strength and speed of her wires, plus now they were superheated, slice right through him. He broke apart and each piece of paper started to smoke and crumble into nothing. Kaori released her breath slowly, before she turned to face Eve and the last copy. She took several more controlled breaths and didn't even glance over at Sogiita, when he jumped down to land next to her with a loud thud. "Glad to see you are alright."

"It was only a scratch," Sogiita replied. He pointed to Eve before he continued. "How did you like my new attack?! It took out your guy in one hit!"

"It was exactly the same thing as before!" Eve called back.

"No it wasn't!" Sogiita denied. "I usually using Amazing Punch, this time it was a kick. There is a big difference!"

"No there isn't!"

Kaori couldn't stop the corners of her mouth from twitching. Eve, the one who caused so many issues all over the world and could face an army by herself, was becoming flustered from a single high school student. If the situation wasn't so dire, Kaori might have broken out in laughter. _Gunha isn't even trying to make her mad. It's just he sees things differently than us._ Kaori raised her sword slightly. "There has to be a reason she kept the last copy back. Stay on guard."

"I know," Sogiita nodded and his face grew serious. "I'm getting a bad feeling from him and I rather not get my arm cut open again. Plus, his guts seem dark like hers."

"My, you both are clever," Eve commented. She stood up and her chair crumpled into nothing. "As you could tell, the first four Heralds you fought each wielded the power of a Western Element. The one in Italy had the air attribute too, though he was rather unique for a basic creation."

"I'll say," Sogiita agreed. "He was a lot stronger than those four. Even after all the grueling training I endured, he wouldn't have fallen that easily."

"You can hardly compare him with these," Eve scoffed and waved her hand. "He managed to wield a fragment of Lord Lucifer's power without dying from the surge of strength. Of course, he only managed to pull out a fraction of the wing's power. In fact, I don't think I could even pull out all of the power from a single wing."

"So you can only hold onto the wings until your ritual to combine them is complete," Kaori said and her eyes narrowed. "That's actually good news for us. I was worried you might draw on their power if we cornered you."

"There are two things wrong with your statement," Eve corrected her and wagged a finger. "The first issue is that you could corner me. You don't have that kind of power." Kaori scowled and Sogiita waited politely for Eve to finish. "The second is that we have a way to use the power of our master's wings. I simply stated I personally could not use the full potential of a wing." She put a finger up to her chin. "I suppose if I combine one with my book, I might be able to create a minor angel. It wouldn't have near the power of an archangel though." Kaori had gone speechless for a moment, but finally found her words.

"You actually have a way to use his power?" she asked. _This is bad. The church needs to know about this immediately. We all thought Eve and Adam needed all twelve._

"We have a member in our little organization who has that happy power," Eve explained. She started giggling. "He has the unique ability to take on the power. You might even call him our lord's avatar. Once we have all twelve wings, he will be the one to cast the final spell. His adaptable body will be able to take on the aspect of Lord Lucifer's and bring forth the beginning of the end of God!" She started laughing and Kaori felt a shiver run down her back.

 _We don't have any information on another member of The Fallen with that kind of power. This is bad._ Kaori realized she now had a new objective. She needed all the information she could gather on this new Fallen leader. She glanced at Sogiita and gave a slight shake of her head to try to indicate for him not to attack Eve yet. Kaori wasn't sure if he understood, but he responded with a slight nod. _Eve likes to talk, but I know I can't get a straight answer out of her. The most I can hope for is her to give us some kind of clue while treating it all as a game._ "I doubt someone has that kind of power. Otherwise, why has there been no sign of him? It sounds like you are just trying to confuse us. That actually sounds like you."

"Normally yes," Eve acknowledged. "But he exists and has helped us immensely. I just wish he didn't expect so much payment for his services."

"Who is he then?" Kaori asked and she no longer planned to beat around the bush. "If you can't answer, he probably doesn't exist."

"I can't tell you that," Eve reprimanded disapprovingly. "Adam would have my head if I gave out such an important piece of information. He's staying hidden until the time for our final step." She shook her head and picked up the bag of popcorn that had fallen to the ground. "Of course, I could be making all of this up to cause you to divide your forces even more. Who knows?" She shrugged and tossed the popcorn into the air. It disappeared into dust before the wind carried it away.

"Looks like she won't give us any more information than that," Kaori muttered. "If there truly is a third person with powers to rival hers, then we are in a world of trouble."

"It seems like the simplest solution is to stop her here and now," Sogiita said and stepped forward. "I'm not good at complicated plans or probing for information, so I let you do it, but when it is time for a good old smackdown, I'm your man." He took a step forward and bent his knees. "It's time to put all of our guts into our attacks to protect everyone."

"Wait!" Kaori shouted when she realized what he was about to do. She was too late though. Sogiita had lunged forward at full speed and Kaori wouldn't be able to stop him without serious harm. She was forced to watch him charge at an enemy with an unknown power. Her worst fears were confirmed when she caught a glimpse of Eve's face. There was a glimmer of a smile, closer to a smirk, plastered on it. _Dammit!_ She charged forward too and hoped to interrupt any surprises. The problem was, this time, it wasn't Eve they should be watching.

The last Herald glided almost weightlessly in between Sogiita and Eve. His movement was almost instantaneous, but it definitely wasn't teleportation. It had to be speed, but was almost ghostlike in his movements. It was effortless and direct. He held out a single hand, palm out, as Sogiita closed in rapidly. Sogiita pulled his hand back to deliver a punch and let out a yell. His body seemed to glow slightly with energy. The air around him was blown away as if he was generating wind. Everyone could tell he was serious in his attack, but Eve only yawned. A gold circle about two meters in diameter appeared in front of the Herald. Sogiita aimed his punch at it with the intention of blowing it away. So far, he was able to destroy everything thrown at him and he had no reason to believe otherwise.

His punch never reached the Herald.

Kaori saw everything as if it was happening in slow motion. Sogiita's attack did not appear to be blocked. Instead, she watched the punch slowly stop in midair. It was like someone was slowing down a video until they reached the pause button. It was only thanks to her keen senses she saw this, as the attack only lasted around a single second. Sogiita's face changed from concentration to surprise when he found himself completely motionless in midair. Before gravity could pull him back to the ground, numerous cuts appeared on his arm all the way up to his shoulder. Blood flew out of every one of them, as if he had been cut with hundreds of knives. Suddenly, Sogiita felt like he had been on the receiving end of a powerful blow and his entire body flew backwards at almost the same speed he had charge with. He couldn't react, but Kaori could. She was a half-step behind and jumped to the side to catch him. The force blew them both backwards, but she managed to stabilize herself and Sogiita stuck his foot into the ground to slow down. He took a step forward while Kaori looked at him.

"You okay?" she asked. Her eyes darted to his blood soaked sleeve.

"I'm fine," Sogiita answered. "That hurt though. What happened? I felt all my guts fade away and then," he rubbed his chest, "there was an invisible strike." The wounds already stopped bleeding thanks to his regeneration, but his arm was still stinging slightly.

"It must be his magic," Kaori informed him and she turned to face Eve. "This sensation, it's an element, but it's not one of the four major western ones, is it?"

"Correct!" Eve exclaimed. "The first four were infused with boring elemental abilities. They are so common, they really aren't fun for anyone. I only use them because they get the job done and are easy to create. This guy is more interesting. He wields the fifth element."

"Fifth?" Kaori asked slightly confused. "There are only four main… you can't mean ether?"

"Correct again! You are a smart one. Shame I don't have any prizes today. You sure you don't want a naked Imagine Breaker puppet to cuddle with?" Kaori was ready this time and refused to rise to Eve's taunts.

"Ether?" Sogiita asked confused.

"There are four main elements in western culture," Kaori explained to him. "Fire, water, earth and air. When astronomers gazed up at the stars in the heavenly region, they observed differences that could not conform to the four main elements and thus reasoned there had to be a fifth one. That is the element ether. It is a subtle element that is often referred to as 'space.' Also known as the essence of emptiness, it's the space other elements fill…" Her voice trailed off and she glanced at Eve. "I know what the copy did to you."

"What?" Sogiita asked, but Eve answered instead.

"He created a void in space," Eve told them. It seemed like she wanted to brag about her creation's ability. "By using the quality of emptiness, it absorbed the elemental forces around it, which," she laughed, "included your attack. Whether you know it or not, your attacks will always have the characteristics of one or more elements. The void absorbed your force and then my puppet hit you with your own attack."

"Huh?" Sogiita asked. He tried to wrap his head around it, but complicated things were not his specialty. However, he was still a resident of Academy City and could piece together information. "It sounds a lot like Accelerator's reflection. He just returns every strike against him too."

"I saw Accelerator fight before," Kaori told him. "While their powers may seem similar, they are fundamentally different. Accelerator only changes the direction. This Herald's control over ether allows him to fill a space with our force and then strike you back with it. We can handle it, but we need to work together." Her voice got softer, so Eve couldn't hear.

"What's the plan?"

"I want you to strike him like before."

"Huh?"

"Listen," Kaori explained quickly. "Your punches are powerful and he will be forced to block. While he is absorbing your force, I'll strike at him from the side. The timing has to be perfect, or you will just be blown back by the force of your own attack again."

"We will be fine even if you have to take a couple tries," Sogiita told her confidently. "I wouldn't fall so easily to my own attack." He smacked his chest. "I trained hard to hone my guts."

"Glad to hear it," Kaori told him. She wasn't planning to take multiple attempts to get the timing down right. Their speeds were about equal, so she wasn't worried about him speeding by her. She was worried if the puppet had any other tricks she didn't identify. "On my mark," she whispered. "Ready, set, GO!" Sogiita lunged forward and the ground behind him broke apart from the force. He was charging straight at the Herald, while Kaori circled around to the side.

"Nothing is invincible!" Sogiita yelled as he jumped into the air. "I'll overpower your absorption with my guts!"

"Imbecile," Eve muttered. She wasn't worried about Sogiita and turned her eyes to Kaori. While physically they might have had similar strength, Kaori was a much more tactical fighter and knew a lot more about magic. She was the threat and Eve was going to enjoy taking her down. _It's obvious what they are trying to do and it's not going to work. I thought the Saint at least would understand the true power of ether._ She communicated her orders to the Herald telepathically and she grinned. Sogiita was diving toward her puppet and wouldn't be able to pull his punch back and Kaori was rushing toward his side to strike at the exact same moment. That is when the Herald put Eve's plan into action. He shifted his right foot and the ground beneath him started to crack. The cracks extended and started to travel straight at Kaori, who sensed the danger and forced herself backwards.

The ground where she would have been standing on exploded as a torrent of flame rose ten meters into the air.

 _He can control flames too?_ Kaori thought and realized what she had overlooked. Ether was the space other elements filled. Absorbing and redirecting an opponent's attack was just one of its uses. Ether was a versatile element and it could fill its space with any of the four main elements. This meant the Herald had mastery over all five elements. The possibility of being attacked with fire should have been obvious. _I messed up._ She was mad at herself, but it also meant Sogiita was going to suffer for her oversight. She watched as Sogiita hit the circle shield of gold light and was once again blown back from the backlash of his own attack. He bounced easily a hundred meters down the road before managing to stop himself. He stood up and Kaori felt relief. _He's still standing, good. I'm going to need his help against them._ She couldn't spare much time to focus on him through, as the Herald turned his attention to her.

Four cyclones made of compressed air formed around her and started circling. She squinted her eyes from the force of the wind and felt her hair being whipped around. The wind was moving at high speeds and she saw the street below each cyclone start getting torn up. If she ran into one of them blindly, she would be torn to shreds. The crackle of electricity formed above her and she looked up to see a strand of lightning circling around her. Lightning was not one of the four main elements, but it had characteristics of fire and air, so it was unsurprising the Herald could form it. The lightning flew down at her and she raised her blade.

The lightning was split into two and hit the ground on either side of her.

Cutting lightning was a skill Kaori used based on her Japanese roots. The skill was based off the Japanese legends of swords slicing through lightning in order for her to cut through and neutralize electric attacks. It wasn't the most common technique she used. In fact, the last time she used it was on the beach when protecting herself from Mikoto losing control. It required precise timing, but her form was honed from years of practice and battles. "You won't be able to hit me that easily," Kaori told Eve. She saw Sogiita preparing to charge and strike at the Herald again. _He's ready. Let's see what I can do. I have to have them focus on me._

"I suppose we can give you an encore performance," Eve replied and nodded toward the Herald. Lightning above Kaori crackled and bounced between the cyclones. Kaori's eyes darted back and forth, as she followed the electricity, and her sword was held up high, ready to strike. Sogiita jumped and her eyes flickered ever so slightly in his direction. In response, lightning crackled and she hastily swung her blade to avoid being electrocuted. However, instead of electricity her sword slowed and stopped against a circle of gold light. She could feel the power of her blow disappear. "What?" she gasped.

They fell for Eve's trap again.

Sogiita had already lunged at the Herald, who had thrown up a golden shield once again. Sogiita actually learned from his previous attempts and had planned a feint. His feet hit the ground and his entire body spun on the ball of his foot. With his speed, it was like he turned into a cyclone himself, while he curved around the shield. He stopped spinning and delivered a punch at the Herald's face. Right before Sogiita's hand made contact, a smaller golden shield formed in front of his fist. The power in his blow faded away to nothing and Sogiita gritted his teeth to prepare himself for the counterstrike. He didn't receive a blunt force into his gut this time. Instead, blood gushed from his chest. He staggered backwards from a cut that looked like it came from a sword. His remaining white clothes were stained red and he held a hand up to his chest. His regeneration stopped the bleeding, but he had lost too much blood from these wounds. The damage and fatigue were stacking up. _How was I cut?_

Kaori on the other hand, understood everything in an instant. She recognized the damage from her sword and knew what was going to happen next. She braced herself and wires emerged around her an instant before she felt the force of Sogiita's punch. Kaori felt her breath leave from her body a split second before she registered the pain. Her body screamed in agony and one of her ribs felt like it might have cracked. The force lifted her off her feet and threw her backwards. The reason she had unraveled the wires was because she wanted to form a protective barrier around herself. When her body crashed through a cyclone of wind, the air tore and ripped at the wires, instead of her skin. She flew through it without being torn to pieces and landed on her feet, but still skidded backwards several meters. The pain in her chest started to fade as it recovered from the power of a Saint. _She lured us into striking each other._

Eve laughed at their shocked expression. She had never said the force absorbed by the ether had to be redirected immediately. The Herald absorbed each of their attacks and reversed them on each other, since reversing Sogiita's punches weren't causing enough damage to him. "You two look like you have seen better days," Eve said mockingly. "Though, lasting this long against a mid-level creation is pretty impressive on your part."

"Mid-level?" Kaori asked.

"The phoenix I summoned would be considered an upper-mid level creation as a good reference point," Eve explained. She put a hand on her cheek. "Poor Ashy, he was so young to have died to the Queen's blade."

 _She named it?_ Kaori thought flabbergasted.

"Causing our attacks to strike our allies is pretty cowardly," Sogiita huffed next to Kaori. Kaori didn't hear him approach, as she had been distracted by Eve. "It lacks guts, but I hate to admit it's effective. He also has control over elemental attacks. This is definitely a worthy opponent."

"We need to find a way to bypass his ether absorption," Kaori said seriously. "Judging from that last assault, he can conjure ether away from him, so he will want us to attack. The problem is, if we don't attack, he will continue to wear us down with elemental attacks. Then there's Eve, who is just waiting and conserving her strength. We need to figure out how to make them show us an opening." She frowned. Regardless of how Eve acted or what she did, Eve was a strategist. Things that seemed random to others were all part of a complicated plan. Eve was like a spider that set out a web waiting for the slightest vibration of her pray. Kaori and Sogiita had fallen for her schemes several times since the fight started.

"Should I keep attacking while you observe?" Sogiita asked and smacked a fist against his palm.

"I don't know if I can handle many more of your attacks," Kaori admitted. "There's not much warning when he transfers the force, so I can't block it." She paused and thought back to earlier in the fight and her previous encounters with Eve. She needed any kind of flaw or weakness in Eve's strategy or tactics they could take advantage of.

"Are you two going to stand there talking all day or are you going to entertain me?" Eve called out. "If you want to surrender, could you wait over there?" She pointed to the side of the street. "I need to knock down this building to meet a friend of mine."

"Give us a second and I'll make sure you remember my name and the power of my guts!" Sogiita called back.

"Ugh," Eve replied and rolled her eyes. "You're such a bore."

 _I think I know what to do,_ Kaori thought and the corner of her mouth twitched. This wasn't a plan she would normally come up with, but after seeing Touma Kamijou and his friends fight, she learned to be a little more open minded. "I have a plan," she whispered and Sogiita nodded. "We need to avoid attacking and focus on dodging. You have the speed to pull this off. He will most likely use long range attacks. We need to avoid them and if you have to attack to protect yourself, use small quick bursts and try to do it out of his line of sight."

"That will give us time," Sogiita agreed. "But I don't see how we are going to win like that. Are you planning to tire him out?"

"No," Kaori continued. "Instead, I want you to lecture Eve."

"Huh?"

"I can't explain it, but just keep telling her about what she lacks. I'll look for an opening."

"Okay," Sogiita agreed. He wasn't entirely sure what Kaori meant, but Eve definitely needed someone to inject some guts into her. "Hey Eve!" he called out to her, while Kaori started slowly circling around the Herald. "I have something to tell you!"

"Do you have to? You don't seem to be the type of intellectual I like to meet."

"Someone has to tell you. I can't say I know you as well as Kanzaki-san, but after our short encounters, I do know this. You have guts. Anyone who can stand up to so many people, regardless of motive, has them. However, your guts are rotten. I don't know what happened, but something corrupted you. I'm not going to pretend to be able to understand the situation. I am, however, going to inject you with enough guts to put you on the path of righteousness!" Eve and Kaori blinked. Sogiita did not hear about Eve's past, but he had a pretty good insight into it with only a short exchange.

 _He's more astute that I gave him credit for,_ Kaori thought.

Eve was not as impressed. In fact, she looked annoyed. "Those people who preach of morals and righteousness really annoy me, especially when they come from a false hero." She turned to the Herald. "Settle this."

The Herald moved instantly and flames circled around him before they twisted together in the air. A giant vortex of flame streams flew at Sogiita like an arrow. Right before they hit him, a large red explosion broke the arrow apart. When the smoke cleared, Sogiita stood unhurt with his right hand outstretched. "You see, rotten guts won't be able to defeat me." Kaori face palmed.

 _He forgot he wasn't supposed to attack already._ Kaori felt the earth move and immediately jumped up into the air. The concreate and asphalt below her twisted into the shape of a large hand that tried to grab her. Normally, she would have just sliced the earth into pieces, but she couldn't risk any large or extended attacks. Dodging it with her speed was just as easy and safer. Kaori at least remembered the plan. She landed on the ground and side stepped another earth hand, before rushing straight at the Herald. She needed to keep Eve thinking they were trying to attack. Spheres of water, a couple meters in diameter, appeared in the air above the Herald. Kaori instinctively stepped aside as jets of high pressure water shot at her form the orbs. It actually reminded her of Shizuri's attacks. The deep holes in the ground did not give Kaori confidence if she got hit by one though.

"Don't forget about me!" Sogiita yelled as he lunged forward. The Herald turned his head and the air started warping, before half a dozen wind blades flew at Sogiita and left clean cuts in the ground. Sogiita jumped over them, landed on his feet, and kept charging. A wave of water flew at him and Sogiita reached out with a fist, but stopped. He could feel the Herald's eyes on him and knew what would happen if he punched the water. He raised his arms to shield himself and was crushed by the weight. He scraped across the street before he sprung back up to his feet. A normal person would have been knocked out, but he was hardly normal. Wind cyclones started to converge on Kaori, and Sogiita noticed her being pushed back. _This isn't working. We can't even get close. If I charge in at full strength, it's only going to get reflected back at us._ "Eve. Why don't you just leave? You don't have the guts to beat us and none of us want to kill you. We only want you to stop attacking people. There's no need for us to fight like this. I will spar with you anytime you get bored."

"You really have no idea who I am," Eve sighed. "Let's just say if I have these 'rotten guts' you keep talking about, there's a valid reason. I can agree with you on one thing. There's no reason for us to fight like this. I'm done wasting time." She nodded toward the Herald and the entire atmosphere changed. Sogiita felt goosebumps form on his arms and the air became still. The Herald glided forward a couple meters and spread his arms out to the side. A fine golden mist began to pour out from his sleeves and pants, and then started to spread out through the entire area, like a gas. It wasn't thick enough to obscure their view, but Sogiita and Kaori could easily see where it reached.

"Is that poison?" Sogiita asked Kaori, while he covered his mouth.

"No," Kaori replied. "But I think it's worse." She wasn't sure what that spell was going to do, but she felt it. The mana changed completely. It closely resembled Telesma, but was a little murky. _Is it earthbound Telesma or Telesma mixed with regular mana? It's not the normal power of god's domain._ _It's not even the warped Telesma Accelerator created in England._ There was still the problem of what was going to happen when it reached them. There was no doubt in her mind something would happen, the question was what.

"Then let's not let it reach us," Sogiita said and Kaori agreed. Wires whipped out from around her while Sogiita slammed his hands on the ground. A large wall of pressure formed between them and the mist. This wall was strong enough to stop Mikoto's lightning, but a strong force would cause him to take damage from the inside. His eyes were shinning with light. Wires started to crisscross like a net behind the wall and glowed with a blue light. Kaori was setting up a second layer barrier in case Eve's attack broke through or Sogiita's wall couldn't block magic. They weren't taking any chances. Eve had proven time and time again, even the most obscure actions were all part of a much bigger plan.

 _She doesn't look worried,_ Kaori thought when she glanced at Eve's face. _Something's not right._ The golden mist flowing out of the Herald's clothes showed no sign of stopping any time soon and the cloud was approaching her and Sogiita rapidly. _Moment of truth._ The mist rolled and pressed up against the pressure wall.

Nothing happened.

The mist flowed through the wall like it wasn't even there.

"Is it an illusion and she's just trying to confuse us?" Sogiita asked. He stood up and the pressure wall fizzled. There was no reason to keep it up if it wasn't doing anything.

"I don't know," Kaori admitted. She was actually praying her barrier would stop it or at least react to it to help her determine what they were dealing with. The mist reached her barrier and once again ignored it. This left one more option for them. They could retreat from it, which might actually be Eve's plan, or let it engulf them. _Retreat isn't an option._ She caught Sogiita's eye and he nodded. They each took a deep breath and stepped forward as the mist covered them. Kaori thought she felt a slight tingling sensation around her body, but nothing else seemed to happen. The mist wasn't even thick enough to block Eve and the Herald from view. Kaori tested her senses to make sure the mist wasn't some kind of hallucination causing agent. _What was the point of this?_

"You made it seem like this was going to be a final attack," Sogiita called out. "But nothing is happening. I'm disappointed to not test my guts against… Ack!?" He grabbed his throat and wasn't able to continue talking.

"What's happening?!" Kaori called out to him and started to move in his direction. She found out when she took a breath. Her throat went try and started to burn. Getting air into her lungs was now a laborious task. She stumbled slightly and turned toward Eve. _So it is poison. Why did neither of our barriers stop it?_ "What is this?" she asked. She could still stand, but any strenuous movement would deplete her reserves very quickly. Sogiita was on his hands and knees. He looked like he was still managing to breathe, but the mist was effecting him more than her.

"I haven't done much," Eve called out to her, amusement penetrated her voice. "Witness anther one of the many uses of ether."

"Are you depleting the air with this mist?" Kaori asked, her voice growing weaker. It hurt to talk.

"Yes and no," Eve replied with a laugh. "Do you really want to know?" Kaori stared at her and Eve smiled back at her. "You know about the ether element's characteristics, but ether has quite a religious history too. In Greek mythology, ether was thought to be the pure essence that the gods breathed. It filled the space where they lived, analogous to the air breathed by mortals. How does it feel to breathe the same substance as gods?"

"You are poisoning us with a substance designed to sustain life," Kaori gasped in understanding. Ether was designed for those within the realm of god to breathe. Humans needed oxygen to breathe. What Eve's creation did was use ether to transform the landscape into a replica of the gods' domain. Oxygen was being replaced by ether as gods had no use for mortal gasses. Since ether had the special characteristic of being able to change and being the most subtle of all elements, it was no longer a surprise it went through their defenses. The change characteristic caused it to change form to avoid the pressure wall and the subtle characteristic caused her magical barrier to not react to what it considered a harmless material. "You are distorting the elements for your own gain."

"The elements were distorted years ago," Eve replied. She opened her arms wide, as if gesturing to the entire city, like it was somehow responsible. "Ether has always been like this." She smiled. "A Saint body is really interesting. Being similar to the Son of God, you can survive in this environment, at least a little. It is not a perfect copy. I have been granted Lord Lucifer's blessing, so surviving in this environment is child's play." She pointed to Sogiita. "He doesn't look so good. I'm surprised he's still alive. His 'guts'," she said it mockingly, "must be keeping him conscious."

 _Damn it,_ Kaori thought and rushed toward Sogiita's side. He was conscious, as Eve said, but his body was drenched with sweat and his face was pale. The ether was taking a toll on him. Her body was being wracked with pain, so his situation must be hundreds of time worse.

"You know," Eve continued, which caused Kaori to turn to her. "If he was a normal person, I would make an offer here. If you ended you own life, I would let him go. However," her eyes narrowed slightly, "there's something about him. Something off that tells me it would be a mistake to let him go." She shook her head and started to walk toward them. "You both are going to die here." She held her blade, Caladbolg, in front of her. "By suffocation or by sword, I'll let you decide."

"Hey Kanzaki-san."

"Don't talk," Kaori told Sogiita. She was surprised he could still speak. "Save your strength."

"If I can clear the ether," Sogiita continued. "Would you be able to take down Eve?"

"W-what?" Kaori stammered in surprise. This was the last thing she expected. "I don't know. I can try, but I will do everything possible to find a way to stop her plan."

"That's good enough," Sogiita told her with a broad grin on his face when he looked up at her. His legs shook as he staggered to his feet and took a step toward Eve.

"Stop!" Kaori yelled. "You can't fight in that state." Sogiita ignored her.

"You should listen to her," Eve added. "You are already at your limit. If you force yourself, you are going to hasten your demise."

"You have a lot to learn about us humans," Sogiita said with a chuckle. "When we find a wall, we want to overcome it. When we find a new area, we want to explore. When we hit our limit, WE PASS IT!" A blue glow started to form around his body and he raised his right fist. His left hand grabbed his right arm to support it. Wind erupted around him and Kaori felt her hair and clothes whip around from the force. Kaori's eyes widened as the gold mist began to move in a counter clockwise rotation. It moved faster and faster until a giant spiral formed with Sogiita in the center.

"What are you doing?!" Eve yelled.

"I'm going to show you the power of untainted guts!" Sogiita roared back. The light around him erupted upwards like a small pillar, easily ten meters. The vortex of ether mist continued to spiral even faster. To Kaori, it appeared as if the ether was responding to Sogiita's will. "Take my Amazing…no. Something like this has to have a special name. Prepare to witness my new attack!"

"Are you going to try a head-butt this time?" Eve asked sarcastically. The thought of their conversation about his kick was still fresh in her mind.

"You say this mist is from the gods," Sogiita continued. His eyes were blazing with pure white light. His clothes were being whipped around in the air as his power grew. The shaking stopped and the weakness he had shown vanished. He moved his fist in front of him and slowly brought it back to his side as he prepared to deliver his ultimate punch. "Then prepare yourself for a punch that surpasses them. Kanzaki-san, you will want to get back."

"Right." Kaori jumped back tens of meters to avoid getting his way. Eve also raised her sword in response.

Sogiita took a deep breath and then roared out at the top of his longs.

"Ultimate Hyper Giga Extreme Super Amazing DIVINE Punch!"

If one was to look down at their fight, they would have seen a golden circle covering the ground. This was the mist originating from the Herald. In an instant, a section had changed back to the grey, black, and white of the city, like someone had cut out a piece of a pie. The mist was blown away, all the rubble was blown away, even cars, light poles, and anything else in the way of his attack disappeared. Eve wasn't even in the line of fire and was struck with a wall of air and ether. She wasn't hurt by it, but it took her by surprise and she was even knocked back a couple meters. She blinked and turned toward the Herald, who had taken the full brunt of the attack. She and Kaori stood in stunned silence. The Herald was gone and, at the very least, was probably in deep space, but they both had something else to be in shock about.

The Herald had managed to generate a shield of ether in front of Sogiita's attack.

Yet, the attack blew it away without having the shield absorb the punch's force. This meant there was only one explanation. Sogiita had actually punched with the characteristics of ether. Ether could not absorb ether, so that would cause the shield to shatter. _Did he absorb the surrounding ether into his attack or did he actually generate it on his own?_ Kaori thought. She blinked and dashed next to Sogiita's side and caught him a second before he fell to the ground. _"_ That was amazing."

"It's why I call it my Amazing Punch," Sogiita laughed weakly. That punch had taken everything he had and more. He wasn't able to stand on his own to feat and Kaori was the only thing keeping him from hitting the ground.

"What is your power?!" Eve yelled and Kaori felt grim satisfaction at the shock echoing in her voice. The ether mist was vanishing and Kaori could breathe easily again. "I thought it was some sort of energy control that allowed you to supercharge your body, but that shouldn't allow you to control ether!"

"Heh," Sogiita answered. "To be honest, I can't really tell you. Everyone gets mad at my explanations and say it's impossible. Academy City has been trying for years to figure out an explanation for it. I can tell you my ability wasn't developed in this city though. I was born with it. Using it is more instinct than anything else. I only followed…" he stopped and Kaori knew why.

The temperature dropped easily ten degrees.

Kaori felt shivers down her spine as her gaze fell on Eve's face.

"You're one of them," Eve hissed softly. Kaori couldn't believe what she was seeing. All reports had mentioned Eve always kept a happy and cheerful persona. While prone to brief glimpses of irritation, she rarely, if ever, got angry. Kaori saw a new side of Eve that day. Eve's eyes were narrowed, her face contorted, and she was gritting her teeth. Her hand not holding her sword was gripped so tightly into a fist, the tips of her fingers had turned white. Kaori didn't understand what Sogiita said to cause her such fury. "One of the chosen who was born with powers from 'him'. I wondered why everything you said irritated me and now I know." She held out her left hand and her Book of Genesis appeared.

"What are you talking about?!" Kaori asked.

"I am not limited to creatures that exist in this world," Eve called out. She was ignoring Kaori and had a slightly crazed look in her eye. "I have access to the creatures God deemed unworthy to exist in his!" Her book fell open, the pages began to ruffle, and thousands of pieces of paper began to fly out into the air. Kaori's muscles tightened when she heard Eve's words. The last time she said them, they were forced to fight with a phoenix. Kaori did not believe she could face it again by herself, let alone while she protected an injured Sogiita.

 _I might have to retreat._ Kaori's eyes widened when she realized Eve was not creating a phoenix. She blinked. _What is she mak-…? Oh no!_

Kaori actually wished it had been a phoenix.

The head of the beast formed first. Its head was serpent-like, resembling a dark green horned snake, roughly the size of a car. The horns were slightly lighter in color and jettisoned out of the back of its head. The eyes were bright yellow, with a vertical, elliptical shape, much like a cat's eye. They were the eyes of a predator and Kaori's throat went dry. Then the mouth fully formed. Rows of white razor sharp teeth lined it and a forked tongue flickered out. Four of the teeth were long, two on the bottom and two on the top, which formed the creature's fangs. The paper started moving away from the head and a long neck was formed, with a jagged row of spines along the back before the body began to form. Around the size of a semi, the body was covered in scales of the same dark green color. Four legs formed and a long tail. The spines traveled all the way to the tip with a curved spike jettisoning from the end. For a moment, Kaori through Eve had created a dragon, but no wings emerged. Instead, five more appendages started to form from the body as the paper finished its creation.

Five more heads, almost exactly the same as the first but slightly smaller, formed. Every eye was focused on Kaori and Sogiita.

It was a hydra.

A hydra was a serpentine water monster in Greek and Roman mythology. The most famous hydra was the Lernaean Hydra. It was killed by the legendary hero and rumored demigod Hercules. The hydra had several key features and none of them boded well for Kaori and Sogiita. First, its regeneration was so powerful, if its head was cut off, a new one would grow in its place. In some legends, two would sprout. Second, the hydra was said to have poisonous breath and blood so virulent, that even its scent was deadly. A small green gas was escaping from the nostrils of its heads, so Kaori was prepared to bet the second part was probably true.

"I thought since ether originated in Greek mythology," Eve said gleefully at the foot of the beast. "Why not another Greek legend?" She laughed. "It took a demigod to kill the one in legend. Do you think a Saint is in the same league?"

"That beast is amazing!" Sogiita answered instead of Kaori. "I can't wait to test out my strength against it! I'm going to punch it in the face, every one of them!" He held his fist out in a defiant gesture. Eve rolled her eyes, but Kaori knew better.

 _He's in no condition to continue._ Kaori held out her hand to stop him from trying to move forward. "You have done enough. Take a breather while I take care of this." Kaori let go of him and he managed to stay on his feet, but swayed slightly. She walked forward and held her sword at her side. A soft blue glow surrounded her, which caused all the hydra heads to focus on Kaori. She continued to walk forward, her foots steps light, and then suddenly vanished. She didn't actually disappear, but instead moved at speeds only possible because she was a saint. With the speed of a striking snake, all six heads lunged down at her. Even with Kaori's speed, the hydra's eyes seemed to be able to follow her general movement.

Kaori didn't care.

She jumped right before the first head snapped at her. Kaori landed on top of it and ran down its spine. She suddenly stopped and took a step back as two other heads tried to bite her where she would have been. She jumped up onto one of the heads and then leaped toward the forth head, as it tried to bite her. A flash of blue light and a blade cut into its eye and it roared. Instead of falling, Kaori grabbed the spine on its back and swung herself up. She slid down it, ducked under the fifth head and then jumped toward the base of the sixth head. Since it was the largest and the first head formed, Kaori concluded it must be the main one. The main head was trapped behind the neck of one of the other ones, so Kaori knew it was now or never. She slashed at the base of the neck so fast, only the blue blur was seen. Her sword went right through the head. She didn't pause to watch it fall to the ground and instead ran along the hydra's back and slipped down the tail. She jumped at the last minute, flipped in the air, and landed on her feet, before she turned around to observe the damage. The remaining five heads turned to face her, with hatred etched in their eyes. The one head she cut in the eye had already healed and looked brand new. The head she severed was lying on the ground and was breaking apart into paper.

Then, from the severed stump, a brand new head erupted from the body. It slowly turned its head toward her and roared so loudly Kaori was forced to cover her ears. All six heads opened their mouths simultaneously and a stream of green mist flew from their jaws. Kaori responded to the poisonous breath by sending her wires out into a makeshift barrier. The poisonous mist hit the glowing blue wires and stopped before slowly dissolving. _That was close. I have to assume that poison is toxic enough to kill me if I breathe even a little bit._ She blinked when she realized something. _Where did Eve go?_ Her eyes darted around the street and her heart stopped. Eve was standing behind Sogiita, who hadn't noticed her. "GUNHA MOVE!" She started to dash but one of the hydra heads forced her to change direction.

Sogiita had been watching Kaori face off against the hydra. _Those movements… she really is skilled. I wonder if she would spar with me after this is all over. I would love to face those kinds of guts._ When she cut off one of the heads with a single fluid motion, he grinned. _That breath looks poisonous, but it can't break that wire shield of hers. Why doesn't the gas go between the wires? Are there some really fine ones I can't see?_ He heard Kaori yell at him suddenly to move and his danger senses kicked in. He spun around and started to dodge, before he felt the cold steel pierce his shoulder.

"ARG!" A burning sensation flowed through his entire body. It suddenly became hard for him to move and he gazed straight ahead into Eve's eyes. There was a grin on her face, but her eyes were now ice cold.

"If you hadn't dodged," she commented lightly. "This could have been painless."

"Good can never lose to evi-, GAHH!" Eve twisted the sword into his shoulder cutting him off.

"You people who are born into power have no idea what good and evil is," Eve snapped. "Caladbolg here is really just a synonym for 'great sword.' Legendary swords are not normally named in history until they accomplish a great deed, like slaying a monster. There have been countless named blades no one has ever heard of because they shattered during a fight and the wielder was killed. Your actions today have shown you to be a monster in your own right, so it's time to die. Your death will cause this sword to develop a unique name." The hydra roared in the background as it continued to slow down Kaori's advances toward them.

"Heh," Sogiita laughed.

"What's so funny?" Eve asked and raised an eyebrow.

"I may not have enough strength left to defeat you," Sogiita admitted. His body was screaming in pain, but he ignored it. He lifted both of his hands and grabbed the blade of Eve's sword. The edge cut into his palms, but he didn't care. "I won't go down without a fight though. The least I can do is take out your blade so she can win!"

"Are you retarded?" Eve asked loudly.

"This is the strength of my guts!" Sogiita yelled. He started to glow with white light and wind erupted around him. Eve's clothes were being blown around in the wind. Her eyes went wide at Sogiita's last ditch attack. They were engulfed by a series of red, blue and yellow explosions. The force blew Eve away from him, but wasn't enough to knock her down. She landed on her feet and looked down at the sword in her hand, or what was left of it. Only a hilt and about an inch of blade remained.

"Gunha!" Kaori yelled, when she finally reached him. The smoke cleared and Sogiita was on his knees. Kaori moved instantly next to him. "Are you okay?"

"Tired," Sogiita muttered. "I did what I could. The rest is up to you." His eyes closed and he fell forward onto the ground. A small trickle of blood flowed from him.

"Thanks," she replied and performed a small heal spell. She didn't have time to make one to completely heal him, but this would at least stop the bleeding. She stood up and faced Eve, who still looked shock at Sogiita's final attack. "I won't let your effort be in vain." Before Kaori could say anything to Eve, she heard something. It was a whistling sound in the air and even Eve looked up at the noise. Something small and fast was flying down at them. Kaori's eyes widened when she saw what looked like a small missile. It was moving much faster than a normal one and landed about five meters away from Kaori. It didn't explode and she and Eve stared at it. Suddenly, the top half opened and a shockwave erupted from it. Kaori didn't even have time to dodge and she felt her entire body shake. The force of the shockwave jarred her head and she fell unconscious right next to Sogiita. Eve was too far away to be effected by it, but she smiled.

"So," she laughed. "Aleister finally wants to face me. Which one of his toys am I breaking first?" Something flew above her at high speeds. It was made of metal and had wings, but there were also some kind of rocket boosters keeping it airborne. "Who are you sending this time Aleister? Am I not worth as much anymore?"

"That's not true," Aleister's voice came out of nowhere. "I am simply more interested in observing other events around the city. I'm sure you understand. Should you manage to bypass this defense, you may find your desire."

"You should have just come out yourself," Eve complained, but received no answer. "Let's see who Aleister sent to play." She willed the hydra to stay still until she wanted to attack.

The thing that had been flying above her at several times the speed of sound landed in the street. The ground beneath it cracked from the weight and Eve gazed upon it with interest. It resembled a power suit Eve had seen around Academy City, but she had never encountered one like this. Rather than being a complete suit, it seemed to be made of various types of weapons and attachments all jumbled together and centered on the pilot. It was composed of guns, swords, spears, molecular vibration electromagnetic wave emitters, lasers and excitation emission rods for them, missile pods with precision-guided missiles, plasma cannons, bunker busting and excavation drills, plasma blades, liquid weapon turrets with acid sprayers, flamethrowers and liquid nitrogen emitters, Gatling guns, rapid-fire cannons, and a large caliber railgun. Eve may not have recognized all the components, but she knew their intention. After she examined the weapons, she glanced at the most unusual pilot in the middle of it.

This battle suit with enough weapons on the level of building a fortress was not being piloted by a human.

It was being piloted by a dog.

Specifically, it was a golden retriever.

"Oh my!" Eve squealed. "It's a dog. How cute!"

"I believe this is our first meeting," Noukan Kihara said calmly. "I observed your skills from a distance until I was forced to step in. That young man there is the city's property, so I can't let you kill him. The young lady there should not be allowed to observe this suit, so I knocked her out. We can settle our differences without interruptions."

"Boo," Eve muttered and looked slightly disappointed. "You have a man's voice. It would have been much more adorable if you had a child's voice." She glanced at all the attachments on Noukan's battle suit. "What's with the drills? That seems like an odd combination with all the other weapons."

"Drills are a man's romance," Noukan replied simply. "I wouldn't expect you to understand now, but our engagement should be enlightening for both of us."

* * *

Bayloupe was at a loss for words.

She could understand a vampire, even if they shouldn't exist. She could understand Accelerator's vector manipulation to a degree and the power he wielded. She had seen the power of Curtana and had been part of the magic side since she was a child. What she saw now blew the rest of that away. Accelerator, a member of the science side, was generating black wings and a dark twisted version of Telesma. With his newfound power, he blew Cain away and saved Last Order. He was currently holding Last Order in a princess carry, but did not turn around to face Bayloupe, Worst, and Estelle. Bayloupe glanced at the other two girls and saw Estelle had a look of stunned disbelief, similar to hers, but she was also shaking. Bayloupe didn't blame Estelle. Her body was shaking too from the hatred that threatened to overwhelm her mind. Worst looked surprised, but also in pain. She had grabbed the side of her head and was wincing. Bayloupe had no idea what this was about, but she noticed the distance figure of Cain walking back toward them. _He survived that? Every second in Cain's presence makes me doubt what the definition of monster is._ Cain could probably have fought the princess wielding Curtana by himself.

"Bayloupe."

Accelerator's voice broke through her thoughts. "Y-yes?" she asked and her voice quivered slightly. She didn't think he had any humanity left in this state. His head turned slowly towards her and she gazed directly into his eyes. She saw the hatred and anger in them, but there was more. They were laced with pain and fear. She couldn't believe it at first and then it dawned on her. _Is he… afraid for Last Order?_

"Take Last Order," he confirmed and turned his body toward her. Bayloupe held out her arms automatically and took her from him. Last Order had fallen unconscious, but Bayloupe didn't know if it was from the fear of Cain's Hunter Presence or the explosion of Accelerator's wings. "Now, get everyone out of here. Force those two to go with you if you must." He gestured toward Estelle and Worst.

"What about you?" Bayloupe asked.

"I'm going to finish this," Accelerator growled and turned back toward Cain. "He's going to regret everything he has done."

"But-...," Estelle started to speak up. She had finally found her voice.

"No arguing!" Accelerator snapped and cut her off. "I can't guarantee your safety if you are here." He grabbed his head as anger started to blur his vision. This was different than when he used the black wings against Teitoku Kakine. During their fight, he had some semblance of control. _I was overconfident. This power can't be control that easily._ It was perhaps affecting him more now because against Teitoku, it wasn't personal. Cain had threatened people close to him, those he had sworn to protect. That was something he would never tolerate or forgive. "Now get the fuck out of here!"

"Come on," Bayloupe said to the others. "Let's go." She carried Last Order in her arms and moved toward Estelle and Worst. "Get up Worst." Worst was the only one still on the ground.

"Misaka is getting so much feedback," Worst complained and rubbed her head. "So much negativity. Misaka wants to protect the moderator for some reason."

"Estelle," Bayloupe ordered. "Help her walk. We need to get out of here. This isn't a fight we can possibly hope to enter."

"Okay," Estelle said and grabbed Worst's arm to lift her up. Estelle could understand the dark energy radiating from Accelerator to a certain degree. _His emotions are running wild. If he can't get them under control, it's going to destroy his mind._ She had a small understanding of this because of being a necromancer. From studying the human body and spirit, she had a deep understanding of how magic and emotions could affect one's mind. _As for this energy, there are two possibilities. His power must be directly warping Telesma or he created his own science side version of it. Either way, this is incredible, as expected from master._

While the girls left, Accelerator started walking toward the approaching Cain. The wind disappeared and there was not a single sound as the two monsters approached each other. It was as if the earth itself knew the power these two wielded and did not want to get involved. They continued to walk directly at each other and did not stop until there was only a space a few meters long. Both could feel the other's pressure as they stared at each other. Cain no longer had to break him. Once Accelerator died, he could hunt down Last Order and fulfill his objectives. Accelerator only had one objective. It was the complete and total annihilation of Cain. The silence lengthened. Words were not shared at this point. There was nothing left to be said. Both knew what had to be done. Simultaneously, they moved.

The ground trembled from their blows.

Explosions erupted from under them as they charged. One of Accelerator's black wings swung at Cain, who ducked under the blow. He raised his hand. The air warped around it, as his raw mana overwhelmed the natural laws, and he struck the underside of the wing. A piece of it shattered under his blow and Accelerator's eyes widened. His second wing split into hundreds of sharp spikes like feathers and tried to stab Cain's side. Cain raised his other arm and the sound of displaced air was followed by a small explosion. Several spikes pierced Cain's arm, but he didn't even flinch. He ripped his arm out of the spikes and made a slashing motion in front of Accelerator. Accelerator forced himself to the side and part of his black wing was sliced off. It regrew a moment later, but Cain smiled. _Those wings have raw destructive power, but can be destroyed._

Accelerator slammed his heel on the ground and a shockwave ripped through the earth. Cain was pushed backwards with a blast of dirt and rocks with the force of a shotgun. Accelerator wasn't trying to keep Cain away from him, but get a better position. He swung both of the black wings toward Cain on either side. Cain separated his feet slightly and braced himself with the power of the immoveable earth. He reached out and grabbed both of the wings a moment before they sliced him. Cracks in his arm appeared and blood shot into the air. His hands were constantly being destroyed by the raw power of the black wings, but were regenerating just as fast. If Cain hadn't connected with the earth, his arms would have been blown away, possibly a good part of his body too.

Accelerator was momentarily stunned, but disbelief was quickly replaced by anger. He vaguely remembered the nun, the hero, or the third rate mentioned something about Cain's connection to the earth during one of their numerous discussions about him. To actually see Cain block his attacks while trying to remain in the same spot made Accelerator recall this. He grinned evilly and stepped hard on the ground. He didn't need to apply force, he just wanted to. _Let's see if you can fly bastard!_ The ground under Cain's feet cracked and launched into the air like a missile. The force caused Cain to tear part of Accelerator's wings away, but the damage was minimum and they regrew instantly. His wings began to expand outwards and, with a single flap, flew straight up at a speed even greater than Cain's. He stopped about ten meters above Cain and watched him slow down. "Let's see you defend against this without your earth!" Accelerator roared as he brought the full force of his black wings upon Cain.

"It…won't… be… enough!" Cain roared back. He raised his hands and they started to glow blood red. A shockwave blew across the sky as the black wings of hatred smashed against the supposedly infinite mana of a vampire. If they had not been hundreds of meters in the air, the force of their blow would have destroyed the entire park and probably the surrounding buildings. Accelerator's plan worked. Cain was slightly weakened in the air, high above the earth. The force of Accelerator's blow threw Cain down at the ground. Cain covered the distance in around a second and crashed with a loud boom. A crater appeared as the earth collapsed under him. Accelerator hovered high in the air and kept looking down at Cain. There was a smug smile on his face. The anger had subsided slightly and replaced by the knowledge Cain was not invincible. While Accelerator knew that blow wouldn't kill someone like him, he had found a weakness to exploit. The dust cleared and Accelerator saw Cain stand back up.

 _Interesting,_ Cain thought. _What is this power? Did he somehow manifest rage? This city is unnatural, even by my standards. God truly has abandoned this world._ At the thought of God, his eyes flashed and he too felt anger well up again. Cain was not going to lose at such an important stage. He had never been this close to getting his revenge on God. God was the one who had doomed his entire existence to wander the earth as a monster. He glanced down at his body and saw his clothes were in tatters. His wounds had closed, but the cloth remains were soaked in blood. _My blood_. He flexed his fingers and reached over his shoulder and onto his back. He dug his nails into his skin. He felt the blood on his hand and then looked up at Accelerator. Cain was no longer going to play around.

There had always been a rumor vampires could turn themselves into bats. This was actually a myth. It was started because people found bats that drank blood and they dubbed them vampire bats. Vampires did not have the innate ability to transform. Though, there may have been vampires who had learned a spell to transform into bats. Cain didn't keep track of every vampire throughout the ages. As far as he knew, there was only one vampire left on earth besides him and she was in southern Russia keeping a low profile. However, the myth about vampires transforming into bats would have died out if it wasn't for something he did centuries ago. He had revealed himself, but was forced to slaughter a small army. It turned out humans never wanted to befriend a vampire. That was the last time he every truly lost control when he was betrayed by someone who had promised to keep his secret. The people who survived that night passed on the legend.

The wounds he inflicted onto his back did not close immediately. Instead, his blood flowed out and into the air. The blood ignored the effects of gravity and started to rise and shape itself. The skeleton of two blood red wings began to form from his blood. It looked exactly like a bat wing, with a main arm bone and three fingerlike appendages. The blood began to drip down from the skeleton-like frame and form a thin, slightly lighter red, film that was see through. Accelerator's eyes widened slightly as what appeared to be two large red bat wings growing on Cain's back. The ground around Cain began to shake. Plants started growing, but instantly withered and died. Accelerator could feel the pressure of mana vectors all the way in the sky. His right hand actually started to tremble instinctively. Cain was no longer going to use normal magic of the earth. He had changed to the magic only a vampire possessed. The wings of blood stretched out and Cain bent his knees. In an instant, he was eye level with Accelerator high above the ground.

Accelerator barely saw him transverse the distance and immediately put up his guard. He couldn't comprehend the depths of the power Cain possessed, but those wings were similar to his. They had the same feel of hatred and rage he felt himself when relying on the black wings. _We really are monsters, huh? I'm glad the brats aren't here to see this. Turns out you can't defeat a monster without becoming one yourself._ They both wielded a power normal people could not comprehend. Their eyes met and there was only silence. They both moved without warning.

A series of explosions echoed across the sky as the two exchange blows.

Wings slammed against fist and magic clashed with science. Each time their attacks collided, the force created an explosion like a small bomb. Air was displaced and shockwaves ripped through them. A black wing sliced at Cain's side, but he knocked it away with a magic infused fist. Accelerator's wing was knocked back and Cain thrust his hand out, with fingers extended, like a blade at Accelerator's neck. Accelerator responded by punching Cain's hand. Both of their hands were thrown backwards, but they only brought them back to continue delivering blows. A cut appeared on Accelerator's cheek, a gash appeared on Cain's arm, and every blow they exchanged slowly caused damage on both of them. Neither of them relented and the blows kept piling up.

Cain had the advantage. He had regeneration while Accelerator did not, but Accelerator didn't care.

There was no technique or skill involved here.

They were only using pure strength.

One of them would eventually collapse.

Accelerator wasn't thinking rationally or he would have fought differently. He was blinded by rage, but there was actually more to it. He felt something when fighting Cain. It was different than any of his previous fights. When he fought Touma for the first time, neither of them understood each other. Accelerator wanted power while Touma wanted to stop him from killing. Accelerator didn't understand why Touma wanted to stand before the number one and Touma never truly understood why Accelerator agreed to go through the level 6 experiment. They each had their own beliefs and fought over them. When Accelerator fought Aqua, or William Orwell, there was a sense of familiarity. Accelerator felt like Aqua understood what it was like to wield such power that others feared you, but that was all. With Cain, it was completely different.

Accelerator felt like he was fighting himself.

It wasn't even the sheer power Cain wielded. With every blow they exchanged back and forth while filled with rage and hatred, there was a message being exchanged. They understood regret, and Accelerator knew why. Both of them commit atrocities in the past they were not proud of and those mistakes continued to haunt them to this very day. Accelerator could never truly rid himself of the faces of all the Sisters he killed. No matter how he tried to make up for it. He carried that burden everywhere he went. Even though Last Order told him she and the rest of them forgave him, he could not forgive himself. He could only commit acts of darkness so people like Touma could continue to stay in the light. Accelerator was already tainted. Cain was in the same position. He was being punished for an act of evil he committed at the dawn of man. He was forced to feed on others and for everyone to continue to hate him. He still saw his brother's face and never forgave himself, but he was cursed by the one called God. He would commit one last evil act in order to end the pain of his existence and the pain he caused others.

Their history was the same.

Their resolve was the same.

Neither would back down.

One of them would die.

* * *

"We can't leave him MISAKA yells as MISAKA tries to struggle against your grip!" Last Order had woken up and Bayloupe had given her a quick rundown of Accelerator's orders. This was a mistake as Last Order didn't want to leave. Accelerator was fully connected to the Misaka Network and she could tell something was happening. She had briefly seen the black wings and knew he needed help. Bayloupe was gripping her arm tightly to prevent her from running back toward the fight. They, along with Estelle and Worst, could hear the explosions in the distance as Accelerator's and Cain's fight intensified.

"You felt his power," Bayloupe tried to convince her. "Cain isn't someone we can handle. We don't have any choice but to believe in him."

"MISAKA doesn't care MISAKA yells angrily! MISAKA will always be there to support him MISAKA explains as MISAKA wants you to let go!"

"Please Last Order," Estelle begged. "We promised him we would get you to safety." She turned to Worst. "Can you talk some sense into her?"

"No," Worst spat out. She winced and grabbed her head. "Misaka doesn't want to get involved in that kind of fight, but the moderator's feelings is flooding into Misaka." Bayloupe and Estelle looked confused. "Damn it. Misaka doesn't want to risk her life, but it looks like Misaka has to."

"You can't be serious," Bayloupe said in astonishment. "You saw what we are facing. What are you thinking?!"

"Misaka thinks it would be great to have Accelerator owe her one," Worst answered immediately. "And it will stop these damn feelings from her." She pointed to Last Order.

"Warning!" Last Order suddenly exclaimed. "Unauthorized access to the Network. Preparing to institute secur-..." She stopped and shook her head, while Bayloupe and Estelle stared at each other in confusion. Worst was the only one who understood. "No, this is not the time." She turned back to them. "You can leave if you want but MISAKA plans to stay MISAKA says selfishly."

"If we split up," Estelle said. "We definitely won't be of any help. We might be able to do something if we all work together."

"You can't be serious," Bayloupe groaned. "I thought of all three of you, you would at least know what Cain is capable of."

"I do," admitted Estelle and Bayloupe saw the fear in her face. "But I could never forgive myself to abandon master after he defended all of us. It feels wrong."

"See! We all want to help him MISAKA says triumphantly while MISAKA looks at you with accusation in her gaze. Help us fight with him!" Bayloupe's eyes widened at the glare Last Order gave her.

 _Damn it,_ Bayloupe thought. She knew they didn't have much of a shot to actually defeat Cain. All logical thinking pointed to that. When she came to that conclusion, her chest started hurting. She blinked and it dawned on her that she wanted to help too. _I can't stand letting him fight that monster by himself. Regardless of that new power, he can't beat Cain._ She wanted to rush back there and do whatever she could, but the promise still lingered on her mind. During this brief mental conflict, Last Order wiggled out of her grip and ran, full speed, back toward Accelerator. "Wait!" Bayloupe yelled and swung her Steel Glove. She grabbed the back of Last Order's dress and lifted her up into the air.

"Let go MISAKA cries as MISAKA realizes everyone can see her underwear."

"Gekota underwear," Worst laughed.

"We will go and help him," Bayloupe relented. "But charging in like that is sure to get you killed."

"Our best shot is probably to go together," Estelle suggested. "Alone we definitely won't stand a chance, but we can divide his attention up this way."

"You're optimistic," Bayloupe muttered so the others did not hear. _I'm surrounded by children. Accelerator is going to be so pissed at me._ She shivered slightly at the look she expected to receive and they all made their way cautiously backwards. The explosions grew louder and they tried to locate the source. They eventually saw Accelerator and Cain fighting high above them. They were too far away to clearly make them out, but they seemed to be evenly matched. "I don't believe it. He's actually matching him blow for blow."

"No MISAKA informs you as MISAKA shakes her head. He's hurting and won't be able to keep this up much longer MISAKA explains with tears in her eyes." Estelle put her hand on Last Order's shoulder.

"What do you think we should do?" she asked Bayloupe.

"First," Bayloupe said and her voice took on a more commanding tone. She felt like she was explaining a mission to the rest of New Light. "If things get bad and I tell you to retreat, you do so immediately. Understand?" Estelle and Last Order nodded, but Worst looked like she was going to argue. Bayloupe intensified her glare and Worst finally reluctantly agreed. "Second, let's set up a couple defensive spells for us before we draw attent-..."

"DO YOU FOUR HAVE SOME KIND OF FUCKING HEARING PROBLEM?!"

Accelerator had been knocked down around fifty meters from one of Cain's attacks. When he stabilized himself, he glanced down and saw the four of them. His black wings were still intact, but they didn't seem quite as maddening as before. Now that he was closer, they could see him clearly. His clothes were stained with blood, there were bruises all over his body, and he was breathing heavily. Above him, Cain slowly descended toward him. His blood red wings flickered in the soft light of the setting sun.

"MISAKA refused to leave MISAKA shouts!"

"BAYLOUPE!" he roared and she flinched. "YOU ARE I ARE GOING TO HAVE A LONG FUCKING TALK. ESTELLE, WORST, DON'T THINK YOU TWO ARE OFF THE HOOK EITHER!" No one was looking forward to that.

"You have some rather devoted followers," Cain commented. Accelerator turned his eyes back to him and only hatred was etched in them. "Pointless, but somewhat admirable. This does save me time." He held out his hand and a small yellow orb of light appeared. It was no larger than the pit of a peach. A smile formed on his face as he let the small orb fall to the earth. Accelerator realized too late it had to be some kind of attack. The orb disappeared into the earth and everything changed in an instant. All the earth beneath them turned into a giant whirlpool. Trees, benches, light poles, none of it was spared from the current as it was dragged under its murky depths.

The girls were caught before they could react too.

"NO!" Accelerator yelled and dived down to help them, but Cain appeared in front of him. Accelerator felt Cain's fist connect with his gut. "Ack!" Accelerator flew backwards from the blow. He managed to deflect most of the blow, but he did hear a small crack. He might have broken a rib. "Let me through you bastard!" He charged at Cain and they started to trade blows again. The shockwaves exploded all around them, but Cain was not letting him anywhere near the girls. Accelerator yelled once again in vain. He could not reach them. An animalistic screech escaped his lips and echoed across the sky.

Down below, the situation was just as dire. The earth beneath them turned into a substance similar to quicksand, but with a current traveling in a spiral. The force threatened to pull them into the middle and down into its depths. The only one who managed to react in time was Bayloupe. She had to move fast because they were currently near the edge of Cain's attack. As they began to sink into the ground, she swung her Steel Glove at the closest person to her, which turned out to be Estelle. It latched onto Estelle and lifted her up into the air. New Light's Steel Gloves gave the wielder enhanced strength and she used the momentum of her swing to throw Estelle just outside the edge of the whirlpool. She didn't stop there, because she couldn't. Time was limited. She kept swinging and this time grabbed Worst and threw her in the same direction. She started to swing her Steel Glove a third time, but stopped.

"Help!" Last Order cry indicated she wasn't near Bayloupe.

It took Bayloupe a moment to locate Last Order. She was almost ten meters away from her. Last Order was much smaller than the others girls, so the current managed to carry her first while the others still could resist. _Shit,_ Bayloupe thought. She did the only thing she could, she pushed herself in the direction of the current. It wasn't like she could lift and throw herself. She had actually planned to be the only one trapped in Cain's attack. Last Order couldn't escape the sand and was slowly being pulled down. "Grab this!" she called out to Last Order after she closed the gap. Bayloupe held out her Steel Glove and Last Order managed to grab the tip, but that was enough. It grabbed her and Bayloupe pulled her back. They were now too far into the whirlpool for Bayloupe to throw her out. "Hang on," she told Last Order and gripped her close. There wasn't anything she could do and they began to sink up to their necks.

"Worst," Estelle said urgently, as she stood up and gazed into the whirlpool of dirt. Bayloupe was in the process of saving Last Order. "I have an idea, but I need your help." She pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket while Worst stood to her feet.

"Let's hear it," Worst said.

"That whirlpool is designed to absorb everything back into the ground and turn it into dirt," Estelle said in a hurried tone. "If we don't do something, they will be too. I only have one idea on how to help them, but it requires my hands in there. I need you to hang on to me and not let me get pulled into the current."

"Misaka really doesn't want to be here," Worst muttered. "But Misaka supposes she can at least do that, even if it sounds stupid." She muttered the last part. Estelle knelt down at the edge of the whirlpool while Worst grabbed the back of her clothes. Estelle lowered the piece of paper, took a deep breath, and plunged her hand into the roiling mess. As soon as her hand broke the surface, she was almost pulled in by unnatural forces. Worst was the only thing keeping her on solid ground. "Hurry up. This is tiring."

"I'm trying!" Estelle replied and grimaced. Her arm felt like it was about to be pulled out of its socket. She only had one spell that might work and, even then, she never used it this way. It usually involved the body one of her Huotou, or false souls, inhabited. Using it on other people was a new concept for her. Bayloupe and Last Order disappeared under the surface right when she finished casting. She had to yank her arm out of the mud with all her strength and she fell backwards into Worst, which knocked them down. "I think it worked," she gasped. Estelle stood up and looked around. The surface of the whirlpool grew still and flat.

"Even if they survived," Worst said. "Wouldn't they suffocate?" Estelle opened her mouth to answer, but they were interrupted by another barrage of explosions. They both looked up at the source. Accelerator was striking at Cain in a furious barrage, but Cain was parrying every one of his attacks and striking him back with surgical precision. Accelerator's wings seemed to have shrunk, but their darkness seemed more complete. It was as if light itself wouldn't enter. Accelerator made a lunge with his right hand toward Cain's face. Cain responded by leaning to the side, grabbed Accelerator's shirt, and threw him down at the ground. He hit the solid earth face down and left a small crater. Cain landed as Accelerator pushed himself up. Estelle and Worst backed up instinctively away from them. The atmosphere between those two was so dark, so nerve wrecking, even Worst did not want to get involved.

"Lady Eve's going to kill me," Cain muttered. He watched Accelerator stand up and looked around desperately. "I accidently killed the brat. She's one with the earth now. Lady Eve was clear in her instructions." Accelerator's black wings started ripping off chunks of earth and throwing them easily a hundred meters away. "Can you even understand me?" Cain asked him. Accelerator ignored him and continued digging. "You have fallen into madness at their loss," Cain commented and shook his head. He wasn't sure what to do about the situation either. _I was supposed to turn the girl into a vampire, but that's not an option now. The only thing left is to kill him, but killing such a miserable creature is never pleasant. He has lost everything, like me._ He took a step forward. "You are wasting your time, she's dead."

"AHHHHHHH!" Accelerator screamed and slammed a fist into the ground.

The earth exploded. Worst and Estelle were blown backwards by the force and Cain took off into the air to escape the blast. Huge chunks of earth lifted into the air as the entire area broke apart. Cain shook his head at the last desperate attempt by a wounded animal. He raised his hand into the air and it started to glow blood red. Cain was prepared to end Accelerator's life, when he stopped. His eyes went wide and he blinked. What he saw was impossible but, as the earth fell back down into place, he confirmed it.

"They're alive," he hissed and an eerie smile form on his face.

Two humanoid figures made of earth had been gripping each other deep under the ground. Accelerator's assault had forced them up and into the air. When they landed back down on the ground, they broke. Bayloupe and Last Order fell out of the earthen shell and started gasping for air. Far away from the others, Estelle grinned. "It worked," she said happily.

"What did you do?" Worst asked. She mentally kicked herself for not using the network to check if Last Order was still alive. She had been too focused on the fight.

"I used Armor of the Dead," Estelle explained. "By calling a Gnome, or earth spirit, I can create armor made of dirt around people. I don't normally use it on others or use it to completely cover them. Cain's spell turns everything it swallows into dirt, so I covered them in dirt in hopes it would fool his spell. I couldn't be sure it would work, but it was the only thing I could try."

Accelerator froze and his eyes stared at Last Order and Bayloupe. There was a look of shock and it slowly changed to relief. His black wings began to shrink as Last Order turned to him. "MISAKA is here MISAKA calls out to you as MISAKA presents a tone of kindness. " Accelerator stood there dumbstruck as Last Order began to walk toward him. His eyes began to water, but he didn't care. He took one shaking step forward when all their hope was dashed.

Cain had suddenly appeared next to Last Order and grabbed her collar.

"Stop!" Bayloupe yelled and lunged at him with her Steel Glove. Cain didn't even look at her and flicked his hand. The blow shattered her Steel Glove and lifted her up into the air. Her face contorted in pain as all the air was knocked from her lungs. She fell back down to the ground and a small trickle of blood came out of her mouth. To Cain, she was a gnat at best. He had much more important things on his mind. He had almost failed the most important mission assigned to him and he was not going to make that mistake again. Eve's anger would not be sated with just an apology and his revenge was tied to her plan's success. He opened his mouth, revealed his fangs, and moved down to Last Order's neck.

"STOOPPPP!" Accelerator yelled desperately. His body was shaking from the blows he had endured. They finally caught up to him.

Cain ignored him and sunk his fangs into Last Order's neck.

"AHHHHHH!" Last Order screamed. "I-it hurts, MISAKA cries." Tears flowed down her face.

Something snapped in Accelerator.

The black wings on his back exploded outwards again. The dark void absorbed all the light that hit them and he flew forward faster than even Cain could react. He reached out with his left hand and wrapped it around Cain's throat. He pulled Cain away, which forced him to drop Last Order to the ground, and, after they flew roughly fifty meters, Accelerator slammed him into the ground. Using his left hand, he plunged it into Cain's chest, right where his heart should have been. He pulled his hand out, but there was nothing in his grasp.

"Trying to rip out my heart?" Cain asked. There was only a very small distance between their faces, so Cain could see Accelerator's eyes. They were so familiar. All traces of humanity were absent. They were the eyes of a cornered animal about to fight to the end. Hatred, anger, and fear were all present. Cain doubted Accelerator even knew what was happening. "My heart is being held for safe keeping by Eve herself. I keep myself alive purely off my own power." He reached up and punched Accelerator in the gut. There was a crack as one of Accelerator's ribs broke.

"I-I'm coming," Bayloupe gasped, as she dragged herself on the ground toward a crying Last Order. Bayloupe managed to sit up and take a look at her neck. There were two puncture wounds and they were bleeding.

"It hurts so much MISAKA cries as MISAKA tries to hold back her sniffles."

"I know," Bayloupe reassured her. "I'm going to help you, but you have to remain strong." Last Order nodded ever so slightly and Bayloupe pressed a hand lightly on her neck. Last Order shivered slightly, but remained still. Bayloupe started mumbling and the bleeding stopped. She could have done more, but she was already exhausted and anymore magic to heal would deplete what little reserves she had left. Any advanced healing magic usually required a ritual. "It's going to be okay." The sound of approaching footsteps made her turn around and she gasped.

Cain was walking toward them and in his right hand he was dragging a bloody and broken Accelerator.

"No!" Bayloupe gasped.

"Let him go MISAKA demands as MISAKA struggles to get up!" Bayloupe's healing numbed the pain, but she wasn't well enough to stand up on her own yet.

"Calm yourself," Cain told them. His voice was calm and soothing once again, like when they first met him. His victory had ended his rage. "He is still alive, barely, but won't be for long." He tossed Accelerator next to them.

"Why are you doing this?" Bayloupe asked. _Letting Accelerator live is a huge risk. What does Cain get out of this?_

"He will die," Cain explained. "I will personally end his life. However, as a sign of respect, I will give you three a few moments to say your good-byes. I'll give you a small kindness no one gave me." He turned and walked away. Before Bayloupe could respond, a row of hedges formed a circle around them, about five meters away and a couple meters high.

"Damn it." Bayloupe and Last Order turned to face Accelerator. He had woken up and cussed under his breath.

"Careful," Bayloupe said and started to cast another simple healing spell. "You really took a beating."

"I couldn't protect you two," Accelerator mumbled.

"MISAKA doesn't blame you MISAKA says reassuringly. MISAKA knows you did everything to protect us MISAKA adds. Estelle and Worst were able to escape, but they have remained nearby to watch. MISAKA has told Worst to keep back." Accelerator grunted.

"Can you tell me what those wings were?" Bayloupe asked. "They virtually rivaled Cain's power, something I never thought possible."

"I can't really answer that," Accelerator replied and made a fist. "No one has been able to give me a satisfactory answer, but it's part of my power. The anger, the hatred I feel, it has to be because of my past. You could never understand the things I have done. The pain and loneliness returns a hundred fold."

"It's okay." Last Order scooted over to him and lifted his head. She gentle put it on her lap and wrapped her arms around him. "Don't forget, no matter what happens, you aren't alone. MISAKA will always be by your side."

"I foolishly thought for a moment I could play the hero and save someone," Accelerator continued. "But my power is only capable of destroying."

"What are you saying?" Bayloupe asked. "You fought to protect us. Regardless of how, you still had that desire. You can't live in the past. Everyone has things they regret, but their experiences are what makes them grow."

"Then let me tell you what happened," Accelerator said and tried to sneer. Last Order's eyes went wide. "You know the third rate," Bayloupe nodded, "this city, this bastard of a city made twenty thousand clones of her. Last Order is also a clone designed to oversee the others. In order for me to grow to a level beyond what I am now, I was supposed to kill all of them." Bayloupe gasped. "The third rate was willing to die to try to stop me, but it was the damn hero who saved me instead. He made me realize what I was doing was wrong. After what I did, I can never truly be a savior. I will always be a villain." A flicker of the black wings appeared to his side for a fraction of a second.

"You saved MISAKA, MISAKA reminds you while MISAKA tightens her grip. Without you, MISAKA and the other sisters would never have been born. MISAKA told you before, we do not hate you. You tried to communicate with us the entire time during the experiment."

"You're far stronger than I thought," Bayloupe said softly.

"Huh?" Accelerator asked and his eyes darted to her.

"Power is one thing," Bayloupe elaborated, but still in a soft tone. "When I met you, I learned how powerful you are. I didn't understand you though, but I can tell you power isn't necessarily strength."

"What are you blabbing on about?"

"When Lancis, Lessar, Floris, and I were young," Bayloupe told him. "Even younger than most of your friends, we were part of many magical experiments in Britain by illegal magic cabals. I was the oldest and I had to do things I was not proud of, terrible things." She shivered and Accelerator's eyes widened. Last Order looked at her intently. "When I learned the leader planned to kill them to further his own goal, I killed him instead. I wouldn't let them get hurt. It took a while to get over it, but I swore to myself I would make a better future for them. We formed our own group for that very reason." She paused when her voice quivered slightly but, when she continued, it was steady. "It's because we know what pain is, we don't want people we care about to experience it. We were hurt, but it allowed us to grow. When we fall, we get up for the sake of others. Your friend gave you a second chance. Don't waste it on regretting the past. It can't be changed. Focus your energy on a better future for all."

"Sounds cheesy," Accelerator muttered.

"I stole some of that from Lessar near the end," Bayloupe admitted. "She gets really emotional when talking about her homeland and its people, but it's true. Moving on doesn't mean you forget your past. It means you accepted what happened, learned from it, and continue to live."

"MISAKA could feel your pain when you used those wings MISAKA admits. No matter how much you hurt, no matter what you do, MISAKA will always have a shoulder for you to cry on. You don't need to suffer alone. You don't need to hide it. You have so many friends now who would help you if you only ask."

Accelerator was silent, his mind racing. He had always believed he could never pay back the debt for his past mistakes, regardless if he helped someone from time to time. If someone had told him a year ago he would have so many people around him, he would have considered them insane. His chest started hurting and he fidgeted. When he had been made to kill clones, no one had been there in the early stages. No one noticed his pain, no one noticed his loneliness, but everyone noticed his mistake. They did not realize he had feelings too, hidden under his hard exterior. Mikoto and Touma fought him to the end, even when he was about to make the mistake of killing two of the few sources of light in this city. Now, he had people who could understand him. They knew what he did and would still stand by him, like the others. He found it hard to swallow, but strength welled up within him. He raised his head off Last Order and got up onto one knee. He then said the words few people would ever expect him to say.

"Thank you."

"Sometimes good people make bad choices," Bayloupe said and stood up. She reached out a hand and helped him to his feet. "It doesn't mean they are bad. It means you are a human." Accelerator's eyes widened and he looked away. He didn't want her to see his face burn.

"How long do we have before he comes back," Accelerator asked, as he tried to change the topic.

"He didn't say," Bayloupe admitted.

"Okay," Accelerator said. He reached down and tried to pull some remaining reserve of energy to summon the black wings. They were the only power he had that could allow him to face Cain. It was much harder to access it due to exhaustion, but he finally managed to generate them. They weren't nearly as large or as dark as they had been before. It was like the anger and hatred used to form them had weakened. A mysterious power that was not truly connected to the Misaka Network. He winced as the pain began to spike in his mind and the little bit of happiness he had felt was beginning to melt away. This power was used to kill his enemies, not save. Accelerator turned away from the girls. "I'm going to fight," he told them. "Bayloupe, get her out of here." He still had one option left at his disposal. The pain in his head was familiar to when he had been manipulating unknown vectors in his body, which Index told him was refining mana. He was going to try to combine the knowledge he gained from that to add force to his weakening black wings. At the very least, it dulled the pain.

"I want to stay and help," Bayloupe argued and put a hand over her chest. While the dark warped version of Telesma was weakened, it still overshadowed the mana Accelerator was emitting, so she didn't notice.

"No!" Accelerator snapped. "You can barely stand and you can barely cast any sort of spell. Even your weapon is broken." His arms shook slightly. "You will only get hurt. Now go, and whatever happens, do not come back. Please." Bayloupe's and Last Order's eyes went wide. They had never heard him say 'please' before. The fact he used that word told them how dire the situation truly was. Accelerator was planning to die to allow them to live.

"No."

The word was soft, but so full of strength it forced Accelerator to turn around. It had not been Bayloupe who replied, but Last Order. "What did you say?" Accelerator asked.

"I won't leave you, MISAKA says as MISAKA tries to hold back her tears." Last Order's face was pained and her eyes were watery. It was the saddest look Bayloupe had ever seen on the normally bright and cheerful girl's face. "Your pain transmits to me and it's obvious what you are planning to do. I am going to stay by your side through this. Whether good or bad, MISAKA is not leaving MISAKA finishes with determination."

"This isn't-!"

"I want to be with you always, MISAKA begs as MISAKA steps forward." Simultaneously, she embraced him around the hip in a tight embrace.

Accelerator was left speechless. What could he possible say in this situation? It was completely unexpected and unknown to him. He had never had someone say that to him. Who would say something so heartfelt to a monster? Bayloupe smiled at his shell shocked expression and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'll stay with her, but we aren't going anywhere. We are with you until the end." Her eyes widened in surprise at what she saw. There was a line of water rolling down Accelerator's face.

The strongest person in Academy City, the monster who could stand up against a vampire and had killed thousands of clones, was crying. Bayloupe dropped her arm from Accelerator and he glanced down at the little girl embracing him. Last Order had tears running down her face too. No matter what he told her or how he acted, she didn't want him to die. Accelerator put his arm on her shoulders and gentle pushed her off him. Last Order wiped her eyes on her sleeve and looked up at him. Accelerator gave her a childlike smile.

"I want to always be with you too."

With a sound like cracks spreading across ice, the monster's wings changed color. The ink-like pitch black void changed to a snow-like pure white. It started from the base of his back and spread out to the tips. The outer color and the inner essence all changed in an instant. The rage and anger that constantly overwhelmed his mind was no longer there. He had finally been honest, not only with others, but with himself. All the baggage, the pain, and suffering had been lifted from his shoulders. His new mental state brought forth a new source of power into the world. The wings were not metallic and inorganic like Teitoku Kakine's wings were. They were softer, but the power they excluded was warm and reassuring. The power rippled around them like the protection of a child's blanket.

To complete the transformation, a small ring made of the same color and substance as his wings appeared above his head.

It was as if the monster had been purified into an angel.

Last Order back up, put her small hand into Bayloupe's, and stared at Accelerator. He had lifted himself up a few inches off the ground. His wings hadn't moved at all. It was like gravity no longer affected him. Bayloupe was momentarily stunned, but when she felt Last Order touch her hand, she gripped it reassuringly. Both of them were no longer worried and smiled at him. Accelerator turned away from them, but there was something to him they both could sense. He was no longer in pain. He was not fretting about the past. He may have had started to take a few steps forward down this new path already, but he finally broke the last chain which kept him bound.

He had found redemption.

With a flick, that was more a rustle of his new wings, the plant wall around them was blown away. Accelerator floated forward away from Last Order and Bayloupe to face the creature that had nearly destroyed them all. He was not surprised to find Cain on his feet, but felt satisfaction when he saw the look of shock on Cain's face. Cain had been monitoring them from a distance, but not listening to their words. He had expected them to try to escape or make one last desperate attack. When he felt the twisted black Telesma , he expected the latter. When the power like a raging storm changed, Cain had stood up. The power was still not Telesma, but it was from the same dimension. It was like they evolved parallel to each other. When Cain saw the resemblance to an angel, his face contorted with rage. His eyes grew dark blood red and his wings expanded.

Two creatures who defied the realm of man were about to clash.

One wielded the power of God.

The other was cursed by God.

Both had similar pasts, but they had walked down different paths to get where they are now. There was only one thing for certain and they both understood this.

Only one would walk away.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Oh, fun fact for the readers. Ether (or Aether), has already been established in the novels. It's what Birdway uses with her wand to change shape and used the four elements. I just took the theory behind it and added the religious aspect to it.**

 **Kazari: *sniff***

 **Ruiko: Are you crying Uiharu? Here's a tissue.**

 **Kazari: Thanks. That ending was really touching.**

 **Jason: Seems like Accelerator finally confessed to Last Order.**

 **Pierce: I really should be mad, but taking in the situation. I'll save it for next chapter.**

 **Frenda: Kinuhata is going to be really upset.**

 **Pierce: I can't take it. Okay, So Accelerator finally admitted to loving Last Order and Bayloupe. This is obviously the start of a harem, but it could also make a great TV show. Accelerator is the dad, Bayloupe is the mom, and Last Order is their child. Accelerator was adopted by his two female guardians who were married and Worst is the older sister to Last Order. Kinuhata is the niece who had a crush on Uncle Accel.**

 **Ruiko: What about Hibiki-san? She had a crush on him.**

 **Motoharu: She's his mistress.**

 **Pierce: Perfect, we just need a name for that reality show.**

 **Kazari: Shouldn't we be preparing for the Christmas omake special?**

 **Motoharu: Kagere is the one who had to clean up his apartment.**

 **Jason: Why we having it there again?**

 **Pierce: It's the only place big enough to accommodate all of Kami-yan's and Accelerator's harem.**

 **Frenda: It's on Christmas Eve right?**

 **Motoharu: Yep, going to have a huge feast and play party games.**

 **Kazari: What kind of games?**

 **Ruiko: Oh, how about the King Game. Where we randomly draw lots and whoever is the King calls out a couple numbers to do something and whoever has them does the command.**

 **Kazari: If Lessar is there…**

 **Pierce: IT'S PERFECT!**

 **Jason: Let's steal possible ideas from the audience too.**


	88. Omake: Christmas Eve

**It's the holidays and you know what that means, debt for all. We buy stuff for others and don't pay off bills until the mid-summer. We see people we don't like and pretend to be interested in their stories. Nah, just kidding. I hope everyone has a good holiday, regardless what you celebrate. Stay safe, have fun, and I hope you all get a break from work, school, or whatever else takes up your valuable time. It's time for my first shot of an Omake. For those of you who may not be familiar with one, it's an extra story that does not go with the plot and has no discernable purpose except for fun. I hope you all laugh, cry, and enjoy this fun little Christmas-y short. Oh one other thing. Mr? and his really popular story had been recently updating a lot recently. I wonder if that is because I'm catching up to him with length AND chapters. It could be a coincidence, but I bet he updates a couple more real soon.**

 **general ironox: Sogiita Gunha won using a common technique called hacking. He broke the laws of the world to win.**

 **Jujudude: I love how you call Australia, Satan's Armpit. I have a friend who lives there and he tries to tell me it's nice there, but at the same time he's planning to move somewhere else.**

 **Brosephg: Noukan is definitely the best Kihara. It was obvious he needed to show up and hit Eve with some humble pie. The next installment will have to wait as you read a festive tale of holiday cheer.**

 **ultron emperor: I didn't cry. I was just raining in my room and a single large drop fell under my eye.**

 **Somerandumguy: You cried, didn't you?**

 **MarkJ: Eve is complicated, so her words may not mean what you think, but based on what she said, that's not a bad guess. Hmm, maybe the scene might feel completed for you after the fight concludes and Accelerator can talk to his harem girls. Get some final closure without the threat of dying. Normal Christmas? What's that? Fight to death, kidnapping, and harem antics?**

 **Whwsms: Eve said some interesting things some people glossed over. Glad you picked up on that. Harem is the plot though, everything else is just filler. Kaori Kanzaki does need one of those puppets to snuggle with. It's like a large teddy bear.**

 **GameCguru: I'm not sure how far in the light novels you might be, or the manga, but the villains are actually pretty weak compared to what has been shown in the NT. Alcohol is always funny, but there's other comedic things that can happen without.**

 **Guest: Aww, but if I fix everything, you wouldn't be able to review it for me. I should probably put some more in there. Touma does seem to take all the girls. If Touma takes Hanabi, he needs Hibiki too to complete the set. Unless there's a double date with the twins, Accelerator, and Kami… I'll come back to this. AH NO! I forgot Krampus. Dang, I should have added him. Oh well, he doesn't fit in this Omake easily and if I add him now, it would be obvious I put him in for the sake of putting him in.**

 **Yakutsu Zaishiro: AH you know those guys, nothing is ever simple.**

 **Handsomistic1: Feels bro, dem feels. Touma's on vacation and Mikoto's about to unleash a can of whoop ass on Juliet.**

 **Salishious: Why does everyone hate on Oda? He's a pretty chill guy and has honor, maybe not Arthur level honor, but he's not crazy evil. We know Misaki would cheat if it meant being with a certain guy, so a certain tsundere must take precautions. Maybe at some point in the future, we could have Yuna and Motoharu do the commentary on the below chapter.**

 **Generation Zero: Huh, I don't know if vampires actually worship gods. Cain definitely won't, but others might. Kakine is reforming his entire body with superior dark matter material, it's not something that happens instantly. He will return and in greater numbers, I mean power. Sorry, was getting all Star Wars there. These fights are pretty fun to write as each one is different enough to make them interesting.**

 **wildarms13: What happens when two unstoppable forces collide? We will find out.**

 **: I was told I write Accelerator the best out of the other guy heroes. I don't know why. I just find him so easy to write, but it's a lot of mental descriptions rather than physical.**

 **FrodoFighter: Remember, take everything Eve says with a grain of salt. She could be lying or trolling. I could be trolling too, but it's not a bad guess on your part. If you remember Index explaining magic, people turned to magic because their prayers weren't answered by god. It was a way for people without to challenge those with natural gifts. Gurren Laggan was such a great anime. I wanted to focus more on Accelerator's mental state over the physical state, so I used the novels description. If you are biased, that means we definitely can't do that.**

 **321jaz: Good to see you still keeping up.**

 **Meaningless Us3rname: I was watching your trial of comments and was debating when you would reach the end. Glad you are enjoying it. I hope to keep you entertained in the future too.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: That sounds like something they would do if they could watch, but couldn't interfere.**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly. Magic Gods own all so they can do what they want.**

* * *

"Why am I the only one alone for the holidays?" Pierce moaned and slumped onto the couch in Jason's apartment.

"Because Kami-yan and Accelerator take all the girls," Motoharu laughed. He sat down on a chair in front of a large table and leaned back. "You only got a glimpse of what I saw in England. Kami-yan Disease is much more potent than we believed. I, on the other hand, have the perfect little sister."

"Then we simply have to benefit from his presence. In a way, he owes it to us for all our suffering."

"You brought them?"

"Tons of Christmas outfits," Pierce grinned deviously and pointed to a large box in the corner of the room. "I'm sure we can trick… persuade Kami-yan and some of his bolder harem members to join in." His grinned widened. "I mean, they won't want to lose to each other after all."

"It only takes one to get the ball rolling," Motoharu agreed and then looked over his shoulder. "Hey nee-chin, you should finish and change into something more festive before Kami-yan gets here. You can greet him as soon as the door opens."

"If you ever suggest I wear one of those costumes again," Kaori answered coldly. "I'm going to throw you out the window."

"At least you are planning to keep the mess out of my apartment," Jason laughed from the kitchen area. "I just cleaned up too and blood stains are a pain to remove."

"We know what you mean by cleaning up," Motoharu said and pointed to the closet.

Jason's apartment had undergone a pretty extensive transformation. Normally messy with countless boxes, clothes, and junk thrown in piles, the apartment was now cluttered in a much more festive way. A large table surrounded by chairs was set up in the middle of the room, which was normally occupied by the couch, sofa chairs, and the TV. Everything else was pushed up against the wall to make room. The table had a red and green Christmas cloth thrown over it and each seat had dishes and silverware set up. Motoharu and Pierce had done their job, after having a fake fight with the silverware, and were sitting down in the chairs. It wasn't like they were purposely goofing off, it's just no one wanted to assign them anything important to do. The closet Motoharu had referred to was what happened to all the junk normally in the apartment. The door was bulging slightly and it was obvious to everyone what Jason had done.

Kaori was busy finishing up decorating the Christmas tree in the corner of the room. Jason had bought one, but never got around to decorating it. Kaori volunteered and managed to complete the task in record time. The tree was well balanced with ornaments, candy canes, and tinsel along with a bright star on top. She was doing one last inspection to make sure the job was complete to the best of her abilities, when Motoharu had spoken up. She had been surprised they waited this long to actually set up for the party, until she found out Motoharu and his friend decided to suggest the party at the last minute. They bullied Jason into using his apartment and they had rushed to set everything up. They probably wouldn't have succeeded, even with her help, if it wasn't for one person.

Itsuwa had saved the day.

She had been with Kaori when Motoharu contacted them. As they were both stationed in Academy City, Itsuwa join them for the party. When she and Kaori arrived, they found Jason trying to get everything set up with limited help from Motoharu and Pierce. While Kaori handled the decorations, Itsuwa handled one of the most important tasks, cooking. With the skills of a chef far beyond her years, she worked like a professional to get all the dishes ready. It was obvious to her Jason had never witness a Japanese Christmas because all the food he had brought was more common in western cultures. It didn't bother her too much and she went to work. The main course was a ham, pretty common dish to her, and she was watching it closely while it was in the oven. Simultaneously, she was preparing candied sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, vegetables, biscuits, and other accessories.

"Kagere-san," Itsuwa said. "I need the gravy stirred so the bottom doesn't burn." She was wearing an apron over her pink tank top and skirt.

"On it," Jason replied and dropped the frosting bag he was holding. He had been currently decorating a large chocolate cake. Itsuwa was much more experienced than he was in cooking large meals, so he was just following her orders.

"Who do you think is going to be first?" Motoharu asked, as he turned back to Pierce. "Misaka-san's group or Lessar's group?"

"I think Shokuhou-san is going to try to beat the others," Pierce said. He crossed his arms and nodded his head. "She would want to be first, but she's smart. There's a possibility she went directly to his dorm to pick him up."

"That sounds like her," Motoharu agreed. "But I bet when she shows up Kami-yan already left to pick up someone else we don't know about."

"More like accidently picking up a dozen girls," Pierce laughed bitterly. "Want to place bets on how many girls he brings?" There was a bang from the kitchen and also the tinkle of a breaking ornament, something none of the guys missed and they all grinned deviously. "I'm still going with a dozen. That bastard has way too much luck with girls. He needs to learn to share."

"If he was by himself, maybe," Motoharu replied and crossed his arms. "Index is there, so he might only have half a dozen. The question is, will he arrive first or will the other girls…?" The bell rang. "Speak of the devil."

"One of you two slackers get it," Jason ordered. "The rest of us are busy."

"Right away boss," Motoharu said and gave a snappy salute while he stood up. Pierce laughed.

"I'm only the owner," Jason corrected him. "Itsuwa-san's the boss."

"When did that happen?" Itsuwa asked confused.

"When you made our dream of a Christmas party come to fruition," Pierce explained. Motoharu and Jason laughed, even Kaori smiled slightly, and then Motoharu answered the door.

"Looks like it's not him," Motoharu called over his shoulder as he swung the door open. "Hello ladies, come on it."

"Thanks Tsuchimikado-san," Mikoto said and entered. She was followed by Kuroko, Kazari, Ruiko, and Misaki. "Are we the first to arrive?" She looked around as she removed her scarf, coat, earmuffs, and gloves. Everyone else was bundled up in similar fashions. Once their winter layers were removed, they revealed their casual clothes. None of them wore their school uniforms today. Mikoto was wearing a blue shirt with a purple skirt and, most likely, her usual shorts underneath. Kuroko was wearing a black skirt and a white long sleeve shirt. Kazari was wearing a pink long sleeve shirt and a yellow skirt. Ruiko clothes looked more in line with the weather, as she was wearing form fitting jeans and a long sleeve black shirt. Misaki was wearing an expensive looking full length black dress and it was probably intended to impress a certain unlucky boy, depending on what someone would consider luck to be.

"Hey guys," Ruiko greeted them. "Something smells good." She closed her eyes and sniffed the air. "Itsuwa-san, I didn't know you were going to be here."

"I was invited along with Kanzaki-san," Itsuwa answered and smiled at them. Kaori had asked her to call her Kanzaki during the party to make it less formal instead of the usual Priestess. "I was a little lonely away from the rest of my group, so this party should be fun." She neglected to mention Saiji Tatemiya had overheard Motoharu's call to her and Kaori and wanted to interfere. He was knocked unconscious, tied up, and locked in a basement before the two girls left for the party.

"But you're working in the kitchen," Kuroko pointed out. "Did those guys make you help out?"

"Oh no," Itsuwa replied and shook her head. "I volunteered when I saw they needed help."

"And she was a lifesaver," Jason added. "Those two were useless." He pointed to Motoharu and Pierce.

"We volunteered to help decorate," Pierce protested.

"But we didn't want mistletoe to decorate every inch of the roof," Kaori added as she stepped out from behind the tree. "Good evening everyone."

"Nice to see you Kanzaki-san," Mikoto, Kazari, Ruiko, and Kuroko replied. Misaki, on the other hand, looked around and there was a look of disappointment on her face.

"Is Touma not here yet?" she asked.

"You know him," Motoharu answered and waved his hand dismissively. "He probably got sidetracked helping someone." Mikoto, Misaki, and Ruiko giggled softly. "He should be here soon enough, along with everyone else." Kuroko rolled her eyes and Kazari walked over to the kitchen area where Jason was finishing up the cake.

"The cake looks good," she commented.

"Thanks," Jason said and beamed at her. "I hope it tastes as good as it looks." He raised an eyebrow and stared at her seriously. "You know you can't have any until after the meal, right?"

"W-what?" stuttered Kazari. "I know that!"

"We all knew what you were thinking Uiharu," Ruiko laughed and so did everyone within ear shot.

"Why are you wearing skirts in this weather?" Jason asked Kazari. "It's below freezing out and there's snow everywhere." Before Kazari could answer, Ruiko interrupted.

"So I can do this!" Ruiko flicked her finger and a gust of air blew Kazari's skirt upwards and revealed red underwear with snowmen on it.

"AHH!" Kazari cried in surprise, before she turned and rounded on Ruiko. "SATEN-SAN! Why do you keep doing that?!"

"I wanted to make sure you were wearing your festive underwear," Ruiko responded like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"That's not your job to check!"

"Who's job is it?" Ruiko asked and her eyes darted to Jason. He grinned, but was determinedly avoiding direct eye contact.

"I-it's n-no one's j-job," Kazari stuttered and her face grew red when she realized who Ruiko was looking at. "What I wear is my business." Kuroko rolled her eyes at their antics and leaned up against the table with the cake.

"Can you even cook?" Kuroko asked Jason. "We don't want to wake up sick on Christmas."

"When have I ever let you down?" Jason asked with a smirk.

"All the time," Kuroko said jokingly. Jason may have annoyed her a lot, but he had always come through when they were in trouble.

"Just for that, no cake for you." Jason stood up straight and stretched. "I'm giving your piece to Kazari." Kuroko's eyes widened and she turned to Kazari who choose that moment to speak up.

"Yay…," her voice trailed off at the look Kuroko gave her. "I mean, sorry Shirai-san." Kuroko reached up and grabbed her cheeks and pulled. "Owe, that hwerts!" Ruiko only laughed. Everyone there understood the importance of cake. While they were talking by the kitchen, Mikoto and Misaki moved toward Kaori, Motoharu, and Pierce.

"Hi Kanzaki-san," Mikoto greeted her. "How have you been?"

"No complaints," Kaori replied and smiled. "How are you Misaka-san, Shokuhou-san?"

"Exhausted," Mikoto answered and slumped down on the couch. "Our school kept our nose to the grindstone with all the tests before break."

"I normally don't have trouble with them," Misaki added. "But even I was feeling a lot of mental fatigue in keeping up with the curriculum. Tokiwadai really doesn't want to waste even a second."

"Heh," Kaori replied. "I can't say I envy your trouble. Sometimes a straightforward solution is better than studying. I understand your frustration. We study on the other side too." She purposely kept her words a little vague since Pierce was in earshot and he was the only one who didn't know about magic.

"It's nice to have a break and relax again," Mikoto said.

"Thanks for inviting me," Misaki said. "It was a little difficult shuffling around my schedule, but I wouldn't miss a party with everyone. I don't get to see Kanzaki-san or her companions often and they have done a lot for us."

"That was partially our fault," Pierce spoke up. "We decided to organize everything at the last minute."

"A few people couldn't make it sadly," Motoharu added and leaned back in his chair. "Ishikawa-san said she and the Nakano twins couldn't come. She sounded really disappointed too, something about wanting to see Kami-yan." He smirked. "Not Kami."

"Shame," Misaki said slightly coldly. She was obviously annoyed she had another rival going after Touma, but was glad Yuna could not attend.

"There are going to be a lot of people coming though," Pierce said. "Lessar and her friends, plus-..." He stopped suddenly when the doorbell rang. "Who's it going to be this time?"

"I got it," Ruiko called out and she opened the door. "Hi," she told the newcomers and moved out of the way to let Last Order and Accelerator in. Accelerator gave her a brief nod but Last Order bounded into the room and addressed everyone.

"We have arrived MISAKA declares as MISAKA announces their presence. MISAKA can't wait to party." Last Order looked around. "Has index not arrived yet? Misaka asks."

"Not yet," Motoharu answered. "She and Kami-yan are running late. Lessar and her friends are coming too, so they should be here any minute." Last Order nodded and took of her coat. She was wearing her favorite blue and white polka dotted dress. Accelerator was wearing his normal clothes, which consisted of a black and white striped t-shirt and black pants.

"Lessar is coming?" Mikoto asked. "Well, that means this party is sure to be entertaining. Maybe too much."

"There's no alcohol this time," Kaori reassured her. "So we shouldn't have a repeat of the events in England. Again, I'm sorry about that."

"It wasn't a big deal," Misaki replied and waved her hand. "It's not like it was on purpose."

"I do have some Christmas outfits if you want to reenact that situation," Pierce volunteered and then he shared a high five with Motoharu. Kaori had reached down to her hip for her sword, before she remembered she left it in the corner of the room. This wasn't a situation that required it, but she was used to having to hit Motoharu. It turned out Kaori didn't have to do anything. There was a crackle of electricity and Pierce fell down to the ground, smoking slightly. Mikoto had accidently shocked him out of embarrassment and surprise.

"I'm so sorry!" Mikoto gasped. "It just slipped out." Pierce wasn't someone like Kuroko, who was use to electrical shocks. He was a normal person.

"Misaka," Misaki reprimanded. "Control yourself. The party hasn't even started and you are hurting people. What's going to happen once you get into the swing of things?"

"Heh," Accelerator snickered and sat down. "Looks like the third rate took some lessons from Fukiyose." He and Motoharu laughed, but there were others who weren't so accommodating. Kazari and Ruiko turned in worry, as they wondered if Pierce was okay. Itsuwa and Jason barely looked up.

"Onee-sama!" Kuroko cried. "You can't go shocking people like that!"

"It was an accident!" Mikoto called back.

"Hang on," Jason said reasonably. "Did he deserve it?"

"Yes," Accelerator spoke up before anyone else could.

"No harm then. Try to keep the shocks to a minimum Misaka-san or you might knock out the power to my apartment."

"Okay Kagere-san," Mikoto said and she turned to Accelerator. "I'm surprised you showed up, but where's Worst?"

"I was going to skip it," Accelerator admitted. "But the brat wanted to go."

"MISAKA made him go because Accelerator shouldn't be a neet MISAKA adds as MISAKA glows with the thought of doing a good deed." Mikoto tried to hide the smirk as Accelerator glared at her. He was trying to break Last Order of the habit of calling him a neet, but it had not been working.

"Worst is off doing something else," Accelerator continued nonchalantly. "Probably to annoy last minute shoppers. She's going to spend Christmas with us, so we can at least eat one meal without everything flying all over the place."

"It's always interesting to see how laid back the guys are about everything," Kazari whispered to Ruiko.

"It's why they were so popular when they invaded the high school," Ruiko whispered back. "You can tell Kanzaki-san is used to their antics too. She must know them from way back." The doorbell rang again and Ruiko opened it. "Come on in," Ruiko said politely and moved out of the way.

"Thanks," Bayloupe told her and she was followed by Lancis, Floris, and Lessar. Lessar, for some reason, was carrying a big box. After they removed their winter gear, they revealed their normal red and white uniforms with blue skirts. "Sorry if we are late. Lessar refused to leave until she finished packing."

"What do you have there Lessar-san?" Kazari asked.

"Holiday outfits," Lessar answered happily. "It would be a great chance for a group picture. I don't think I have enough for everyone though."

"HAH!" Pierce yelled triumphantly, which caused everyone to jump. He was able to stand up on his feet. "I knew someone else would understand the importance of outfits during the holidays!"

"How is he up already?" Misaki asked Mikoto, who could only shrug.

"I brought some too," Pierce continued and pointed to a box in the corner of the room.

"Awesome," Lessar exclaimed and rushed over. She set her box down and opened Pierce's to see what he brought. Pierce grinned and walked over to examine what Lessar brought. Bayloupe sighed and sat down at the table, across from Accelerator.

"Who's that?" Bayloupe asked Accelerator and pointed to Pierce.

"The male version of Lessar," Accelerator sighed.

"Hi Bayloupe, MISAKA greets as MISAKA announces her presence." Last Order sat down in the seat next to Accelerator.

"Hey Last Order," Bayloupe greeted her. _At least she's not glaring at me anymore._ They had been on much better terms lately.

"A male version of Lessar?" Floris repeated and slumped down into the chair next to Bayloupe. "This is going to be fun," she added sarcastically.

"It's a party," Lancis said and sat down next to her. "Try to enjoy yourself."

"Hi," Kazari said, as she and Ruiko walked up to greet them.

"Hey Uiharu-san," Floris said and looked over. "At least there are a few sane people here."

"We kind of got sidelined," Ruiko added and pointed over to where Kuroko and Jason were arguing about something. "I told Uiharu she should have intervened, but she didn't want to."

"It's not like they are really fighting," Kazari sighed. "Besides, we haven't seen Floris and Lancis in ages. It will be great to catch up."

"If someone told us before the events in England we would have friends from the science side," Floris said. "I would have sworn they would be insane." Floris was a little direct sometimes, but she was a pretty normal girl.

"I would like to catch up," Lancis added. "There are a couple things I would like to know about some items I saw at one of the malls here." She caught the unsure looks in their eyes and shook her head. "It's not like that. There are a few beauty products I wasn't sure what they were for or how well they worked."

"Oh," Ruiko said and sat down. "Sure, I'll tell you what I know, but Shokuhou-san might be a better choice." Before they could say anything else, Pierce stood up and shouted loudly enough for everyone to turn toward him.

"I've never seen such a high class outfit before!" Pierce cried. "This design, this texture, it's perfect in every way. It reveals the right amount of skin, yet highlights all the important aspects of the body. Then it stills generates the response needed for such an outfit. Plus, you even got it in Christmas colors without losing any of the dominance you expect to see with this kind of play." Lessar looked over and beamed at him.

"I know, right?" Lessar agreed. "I'm really picky about my stuff, but I knew Lover Boy wouldn't be able to resist it. Seriously, the lengths I have to go to excite him are insane."

"What are you talking about?" Mikoto demanded, but her question was answered when Pierce held up the outfit.

It was a leather dominatrix outfit, but instead of black, it was a festive green and red.

Everyone stared at it for a moment, speechless, before they all, except Mikoto and Misaki, face palmed.

"W-what...?!" spluttered Mikoto, unable to finish her sentence.

"How do you know he's into that kind of play?" Misaki demanded angrily. The bigger question was, why didn't she know?

"It's obvious he's into this," Lessar replied snootily. "He may think he's into older girls, but it's obvious he wants a strong girl to boss him around. I bet a lot of you know he will do anything if you push him into it."

"Good point," Motoharu laughed and looked at the faces of the other girls. He knew how easy it was to get Touma to participate in their antics. Mikoto had opened her mouth to protest, but she had to admit they had a point. She had bullied Touma into doing countless things with her in the past. Misaki had gone quiet as she processed this new information. Touma had always been laid back, but he would always take charge if someone was in trouble. The issue was that tendency didn't have to translate into a relationship. Lessar might actually have a point. Misaki briefly saw a picture of her sitting on a bed with him kneeling at her feet while she poked him with her foot. Her heart started beating faster and her face burned slightly. Kaori frowned, but it was clear she was having similar thoughts. "He will do anything if you are forceful. Well, as long as no one gets hurt."

"Speaking of which," Ruiko spoke up. Her face was red, so she had similar thoughts as the others, but she tried to change the topic. "Where is Touma anyways, and are we only waiting for him and Index?"

"I think so," Motoharu said and glanced over at Peirce, who nodded. "We might be waiting for a while then."

"What do you mean?" Misaki asked. "You didn't do anything to him, right?" Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "I have ways of making you talk."

"There's no need for that," Motoharu said quickly to protect himself. "You should know by now what kind of events befall our good friend Kami-yan."

"Do you think he's been attacked?" Mikoto asked.

"That's a possibility," Pierce acknowledged. "He could bump into a gang leader or something and get chased across the city." Mikoto and Misaki shared a look. Both of them were worried about something much greater than a simple brute getting mad at Touma for no reason.

"He will arrive with Index fashionably late along with a group of girls," Jason volunteered the information from the kitchen. He was washing his hands and it looked like he finished with his tasks. "I'll see what he's up to." He pulled out his phone and started messaging.

"Don't I have enough competition already?" Lessar complained.

"Knowing the hero," Accelerator laughed to himself. "He's going to bring someone none of us expect."

"What do you mean?" Bayloupe asked. "I know he's rather, unpredictable, but who do you think." Floris, Lancis, Kazari, and Ruiko all leaned forward to listen.

"No idea," Accelerator shook his head. "But if we were in England, I would have bet it would be the princess." He laughed at their shocked looks. While it was obvious none of the guys looked worried, most of the girls did. Mikoto, Misaki, Kaori, Itsuwa, and Ruiko were the ones who actually looked nervous. Lessar was more upset she didn't go to Touma's apartment first instead of meeting with the rest of New Light. Bayloupe wasn't so much interested in Touma, but she was curious about what would be happening to him to make Accelerator laugh. Floris and Lancis didn't seem to care too much and were just enjoying the warmth of the building. Kazari and Kuroko shared a look. Neither of them had feelings for Touma, but they were slightly worried about why the guys thought he would be in some kind of trouble. Last Order was only impatient because she was waiting for her friend.

One thought did go through most of their minds though.

 _Where is he?_

* * *

"Hurry up! We are going to be late!"

Touma was standing by the door, fully dressed for the winter weather outside. Even though they were running late, everything was going well for him. He had actually managed to get all his Christmas presents wrapped up and sent out already. It took most of the month to find all his friends a gift that was personal and affordable on his income, but he was happy with the outcome. When Motoharu told him they were having a small Christmas party that night and food would be provided, Touma was relieved. His food budget was at the breaking point and any free meal to keep Index happy was a welcome reprieve. Touma only encountered two misfortunate things today and neither involved his heater.

The first was Index took forever to bundle up.

The second was their unexpected visitor.

"What's taking so long?" Leivinia asked impatiently from next to Touma. She was also bundled up against the cold outside. Her white coat looked brand new and expensive, compared to Touma's worn out and torn brown coat.

"I want to make sure I have this scarf on right," Index replied and stepped out into the open. Last Order had been so excited to give her friend a gift, she had given Index a scarf yesterday without wrapping it. "It's warm and I know she will be looking forward to seeing me wear it."

"Whatever," Leivinia said and rolled her eyes, before she glanced out the window. "Well the snow stopped at least, but it's still several inches high. Where is Mark when I need him? I would make him shovel all of it out of my way, but he's off visiting a relative."

"Let's get going," Touma said, before the two girls could argue. He opened the door and they stepped outside. "I'm glad you could come Birdway. You helped us out quite a bit these last few months."

"I was only doing my job," Leivinia huffed, but she turned away so Touma couldn't see the pink tinge on her cheeks. "Besides, I didn't have anything else to do today."

"We are going to have a feast when we get there, right Touma?" Index asked.

"Jason said he brought enough food to make sure everyone is happy," Touma replied and laughed at Index's happy expression. She hadn't been complaining too much about their small meals, but it was obvious she was always hungry. They had used most of their money on gifts for Christmas. Index understood the importance of the holiday and that was probably the primary reason for her silence. It was thanks to Birdway visiting them often and paying for food that they actually survived without Touma having to go to his friends for help. It was why he invited her, but he wasn't entirely sure why she was so willing to help him. _It must be because I helped her organization._ The wind died down and the walk was pretty pleasant. "Let's cut through the park," Touma suggested. "We should get there faster."

"Why don't we just take a taxi or at least call a bus?" Leivinia asked. "It would be faster and more pleasant."

"Because that costs money," Touma said and continued before Leivinia could respond. "I know you are wealthy, but it feels weird to keep accepting money from friends." Leivinia's eyes widened slightly but he didn't notice. "The weather improved and the walk isn't that long, so it's not a big deal."

"I can't wait to see the park covered in fresh snow," Index said excitedly.

"We can't stop and play though," Touma reminded her.

"I know," Index sighed. "But tomorrow you have to take me sledding."

"I promise," Touma replied and Index started skipping along the path. It had been shoveled at least once, but there was fresh snow on the path. Leivinia scowled slightly and walked grudgingly behind them. Index turned around and noticed her expression.

"Would you like to come with us?" Index asked.

"Huh?" Leivinia asked confused.

"Sledding is always more fun with friends," Index explained. "You don't know anyone in the city, right? No one should be alone on Christmas, so you should come and spend the day with us."

"I don't know if I'll have the time," Leivinia responded and looked away. "I'll have to check my schedule, but I think I'm free." She actually felt happy to be invited. Index was one of the few people who acted normally around her and didn't wet herself if Leivinia glared at her.

"Hehe," Index giggled and walked next to her.

Touma grinned and was glad Leivinia couldn't see his face or she might have hit him. Touma was actually happy right now. He was going to a party with all his friends, Index was making friends with more people, and Leivinia wouldn't be alone for the holidays. He wasn't starving to death and he didn't have to rush to find a gift for anyone. Things were going well and as soon as he realized that, the grin slipped from his face. _Things are going too well._ This wasn't paranoia. When he started to have fortunate things happen to him, it was a sign the universe was about to deliver a powerful kick in between his legs. He wasn't sure what exactly was going to happen, only that something would. There were a lot of kids playing in the park and Index was looking wistfully at them sliding down the hills. A couple kids ran by them and were holding something that caught Index's full attention.

"Where did you get those candy canes?" Index asked, as she eyed the candy about three times larger than the ones she normally saw at the stores. They were really designed for someone like Index.

"There's a girl over there building a snowman with a box of them," one of the boys informed her and pointed in the distance. The kids were maybe eight or nine years old. "We asked and she gave them to us."

"Thank you," Index said politely while the kids ran off laughing. Index's eyes flashed and she grabbed Touma's and Leivinia's hand. With strength far surpassing her age, she pulled them after her.

"Wait!" Leivinia ordered, but Index ignored her.

"There's no use arguing with her," Touma sighed. "Just go along with it. I bet you want one too," he added slyly.

"That attitude is going to get you punished," Leivinia replied curtly and Touma gulped. "But you're right. I wouldn't say no to anyone." Touma grinned and they hustled to keep up with Index. They eventually saw who the boy had been pointing to. The girl had just gotten the head up on a three layer snowman and was stretching with her back to them. She was wearing a light purple coat, with matching snow pants, and a festive red and white Christmas hat. On the bench near her was a half full box of those extra-large candy canes, something Index noticed immediately. She let go of Touma and Leivinia and rushed over, even though it meant she had to trudge through the snow.

"Hello," Index greeted the girl. "I heard you were giving away candy canes. Can I have one?"

"Sure," the girl replied and reached up to put pieces of coal in for the snowman's eyes. "Please just take one per person." Index cheered and ran over to the box. Touma frowned and glanced over at Leivinia, who also wore a look of suspicion. The voice was familiar, but it was hard to tell. The girl was young and probably around Index's age.

"Excuse me," Touma said cautiously. "Have we met before? You sound familiar."

"We have," the girl confirmed and her voice turned cheerful. "I'm so happy you remembered me." She turned around and Touma's mouth fell open in shock. He and Leivinia both jumped backwards as the girl removed her hat to reveal bright yellow curls. Leivinia pulled out her wand from an inside coat pocket and Touma raised his right hand. The hairstyle was different, but they recognized the girl who was beaming at them with bright blue eyes.

"Eve!" they both gasped.

"You can put that thing away," Eve said to Leivinia. "I'm not doing anything bad today."

"Bullshit," Leivinia snapped. "Everything you do is bad on some level. What's your plan this time? Poison candy?"

"Oh crap," Touma gasped and turned. "Index, stop! Don't eat the candy!"

"Hmm?" Index asked with her mouth full. She was over halfway through her candy cane. She swallowed and tilted her head in confusion. "Why would someone poison candy?"

"Exactly," Eve agreed. "I can assure you I am doing nothing except having fun for the holidays."

"Really?" Touma asked skeptically, but he dropped his hand. Leivinia didn't look convinced, but she lowered her wand half an inch.

"I love the holidays," Eve continued and gestured all around her. "Every since commercialism trumped the religious reason, Christmas has been great. The lights, snow, songs, food, gifts, and friends are what the holidays are all about. I love the decorations." A couple pieces of paper flew from her hand and created a carrot, which she stuck on the snowman. "Heh, I think it needs a top hat and then I shall call him Frosty." She conjured a hat and put it on the snowman. For a brief moment, Touma thought the snowman would come alive, but nothing happened.

"Are you alone?" Index asked. She knew Eve was a dangerous individual, but Index didn't feel Eve was going to try anything today. In the spirit of Christmas, Index even overlooked Eve's blasphemy against religion.

"Sadly," Eve answered and her eyes dropped slightly. "Adam hates the holidays and the rest of my group are off doing their own thing. I can't leave the city, so I'm celebrating by myself."

"We shouldn't let her go," Leivinia whispered to Touma. "This is the perfect chance to take her down. If she's telling the truth, she won't have any backup."

"I don't think the three of us could take her," Touma admitted honestly. "You know the types of things she can do." Leivinia grunted, but had to admit Touma had a point.

"That's horrible," Index said to Eve. "We are on our way to a party. You should join us."

"Hang on!" Leivinia said loudly. "Don't get carried away!"

"Are you sure Index?" Touma asked. He knew this wasn't a good idea, but he wasn't sure why Index offered.

"Christmas is about the birth of the Son of God," Index explained to Touma and he saw Eve roll her eyes, but Index couldn't see. "He would help anyone, saint or sinner. The holidays are about helping those less fortunate. We should help her by giving the gift of companionship."

"Are you crazy?!" Leivinia demanded. "Don't you remember everything she has done?!" Touma put his hand on her shoulder and looked at Eve.

"Index has a point," Touma admitted. "I want to trust you, but you have shown us you don't always return the favor. However, every deal you made, it has always been fulfilled, so I'm going to make this offer. If you tell us what you were actually planning by passing out the candy and promise not to do anything that would hurt my friends, I'll go along with Index's idea." Leivinia stomped on his foot and he flinched, but kept his eyes steady.

"You are so stupid," Leivinia hissed.

"Thanks," Index said after walking over to Touma. "I don't think she's a bad person at heart, just misguided."

"I think so too," Touma agreed. If half of the things in the Bible were true about Eve, and this girl had all the memories of Eve, then he did not doubt she would stumble down the wrong path. He glanced at Eve, who appeared lost in thought, like she was considering Touma's offer.

"Okay," Eve finally said. "I'll accept your terms. I really wasn't looking forward to spending the holidays alone. I promise not to do anything to hurt your friends tonight, or set anything up tonight that would allow me to hurt any of them in the future." Touma raised an eyebrow at her specific response.

 _She actually wants to go, doesn't she?_

"The candy there," Even continued, "was just something I made to celebrate the holidays. Candy canes are pretty easy to make and I knew kids would like them. Regardless of what you think, I like people. Kids are so much fun with their wide-eyed curiosity about the world. I was only giving them a treat. It's not like I made candy that would mind control people. That's just silly and sounds like the plot of a badly written story." She picked up two sticks are stuck them in the side of the snowman.

"Do you think she's lying?" Touma whispered to Leivinia.

"If she is, I can't tell," she admitted. "She sounds sincere though."

"Okay," Touma relented. "You can come with us, but when we get there, please let me explain the situation before you barge in."

"Okay!" Eve replied happily. She put her Santa hat back on her head and smiled broadly.

"This is what Christmas is all about," Index said smugly to Leivinia.

"If anything happens," Leivinia mumbled back. "It's on your head. I'm only going along with this because I lack immediate backup and I'm a guest."

"Let's hurry," Touma told the girls. "We are already late." He started back on the park path, with Index and Leivinia hot on his heels. Eve started to skip off next to them when she stopped. She turned around and faced the snowman she had made.

"Okay Frosty," she said. "Go and make some kids have a magical Christmas." The snowman turned its head toward her and then saluted, before sliding off into the distance. Eve turned and caught up with the others, before they left the park. Touma and the girls were walking down the street, passed last minute shoppers and people dressed up to go to parties, when Touma heard another familiar voice.

"Oi, Kamijou!"

"Frenda?" Touma called out, as he turned to face the direction her voice came from. He saw her, Saiai, Rikou, and Shiage crossing the street towards him. "Hey," he said and waved to them. "How's your holiday going?" He looked around. "Is Mugino not with you?"

"She gets super testy around the holidays," Saiai explained. "So we snuck out."

"We figured no one would get hurt if we aren't there," Shiage added. "So we were going to find something to do for a couple hours until she was sure to be gone."

"He and Takitsubo were planning to spend the holidays together," Frenda added with a grin. "Basically, he thinks he is all that now."

"I do not," Shiage protested.

"…they are only trying to get a rise out of you," Rikou pointed out to him.

"And she always sticks up for him," Saiai added and crossed her hands behind her head. _Wish I could spend this time with Accelerator. I barely see him anymore._ "What are you up to Kamijou?"

"We were going to a Christmas party with our friends at Jason's house," Touma said and gestured to the others. The girls' eyes fell on each one in turn, Shiage gave Touma a thumbs up about taking three girls to a party, when Saiai and Frenda both saw the unexpected visitor.

"Why is Eve with you?!" they demanded and Rikou's eyes went wide. Shiage looked confused for a moment before he made the connection. He had actually never seen her in person.

"I was invited," Eve explained.

"Eve?" Shiage muttered and then his eyes went wide. "You mean the one who's in charge of the group causing us all those problems?" Rikou nodded.

"Hold on!" Touma said and raised his hands because Frenda was reaching under her coat and Saiai looked ready to lunge. "It's a long story, but she's not here to cause trouble. Index invited her to the party too."

"Are you both stupid?!" Frenda and Saiai demanded.

"That's what I asked," Leivinia sighed.

"It's all part of the spirit of the holidays," Index protested. "Besides, she gave me candy. I owe her."

"It could have been poisoned," Frenda told her.

"But it wasn't," Index retorted.

"Fighting right now is not going to get us anywhere," Touma interrupted and stepped between them. "She promised not to cause trouble and," he lowered his voice to the others, "we might be able to make her change her mind about attacking us if it turns out she like us. If you want, you all could come with us to the party. A few more people won't make a difference."

"Super making friends out of enemies?" Saiai asked quietly. "It reminds me of what you did with Mugino." Touma's ears burned when he remember their first fight. "I'll go, but mostly to super see how this plays out."

"I want to go," Frenda said eagerly, before correcting her posture and trying to act nonchalantly. "Basically, it would be rude to refuse an invitation." Saiai and Shiage grinned at her attempt to hide her happiness about being invited by Touma.

"Do you want to go?" Shiage asked Rikou. Rikou nodded and Shiage turned back to Touma. "We are up for it."

"I'll let Jason know we have a few more people," Touma said and pulled out his phone. "When we get there, please let me explain to the others about Eve before you point her out."

"Okay," Saiai, Frenda, and Shiage reluctantly agreed.

"So you are saying we shouldn't barge into the party riding small pinked winged elephants?" Eve asked. Everyone turned and stared at her for a moment and she only gave them all a wide-eyed, innocent look.

* * *

The doorbell rang in Jason's apartment.

"About time," Mikoto said and stood up immediately. "I was beginning to think we would have to go look for him."

"Don't worry Misaka," Misaki said sweetly. "You can stay seated. I'll greet our guests."

"That's not happening," Mikoto mumbled. "I don't trust your intentions."

"I'll get it," Lessar volunteered, as she bounded out of her seat. She raced toward the door and, in an unusual display of teamwork, Mikoto and Misaki stopped arguing and simultaneously grabbed the back of Lessar's shirt.

"No," Mikoto said. "We know your intentions."

"Besides," Misaki added. "He wouldn't want to be assaulted as soon as he steps in through the door."

"So I can assault him if I wait?"

"No!" Misaki and Mikoto said in unison.

"I wanted to hang mistletoe over the doorway," Pierce called out and added fuel to the fire.

"And the rest of the ceiling," Motoharu added.

"Is it always like this?" Bayloupe asked Accelerator.

"Ever since the third rate managed to turn off her tsundere like tendencies…" Accelerator started to explain.

"I'm not a tsundere!"

"…and then she got into a rival with the fifth well fourth rate, ranks keep changing, I stopped keeping track. You should see the fourth rate when she's putting on her front. She's much less active than she is around him. It's not like she can even use her powers on most of us."

"Sounds like that Kamijou guy is the cause," Floris commented and Accelerator laughed.

"You have no idea," he said.

"Nee-chin," Motoharu nudged Kaori. "Go ahead and answer the door. I'm sure he would love to be greeted by you. You could welcome him in with 'welcome home master' or something like that."

"W-what?!" stuttered Kaori. "It's bad enough you make those jokes in private, but don't do it in front of others." Her eyes darted over to Kazari, who was trying to stifle a giggle. Kuroko, who was next to Kazari, didn't look so amused.

"Onee-sama," she sighed. "I wished you would act like that for me, but you shouldn't put on such shameful behavior."

"Relax Shirai-san," Ruiko told her, also trying to stifle a laugh. "It's a party. Let everyone cut loose."

"I agree," Jason said as he set down a couple bowls on the table in front of the girls. "Though," he turned to Misaki, Lessar, and Mikoto when the doorbell rang again. "If SOMEONE doesn't answer the door and I'm forced to, no desert for any of you."

"It's okay," Itsuwa reassured him. "I can get it." She wiped her hands on a towel. "The cooking is done, so he arrived at the perfect time."

"Huh," Ruiko said. "Is it wrong that I think it's not him? I mean, he doesn't have the best luck in the world."

"Saten-san," Kazari reprimanded, but then grinned. "Okay, that may be true, but you shouldn't say stuff like that out loud."

"It's bad luck to think that way," Kaori added. "We know his hand negates his luck, but he has the tendency to keep his promises."

"It's best to not keep him and Index-san waiting at least," Itsuwa said. She started to make her way to the door, around the three, still arguing, unofficial leaders of the Touma Kamijou fan club, when a little girl bumped against her as she ran through the room.

"MISAKA wants to answer it MISAKA declares as MISAKA rushes to be the first to greet the savior and her friend." Mikoto, Misaki, and Lessar noticed too late and Last Order opened the door. "Welcome MISAKA tells you happily." She stepped back and allowed them to answer.

"Good to see you too Last Order," Touma said and walked in.

"Something smells great," Index added, as she followed him closely. Her nose was sniffing the air. "Are we eating soon?"

"As soon as we place everything on the table," Itsuwa called over to her. Itsuwa and Kaori were perhaps the most familiar with Index's appetite besides Touma.

"Touma," Mikoto called out. "What kept you?"

"We were worried you might have wandered into trouble," Misaki added.

"The bedrooms open when you find the urge to get frisky," Lessar added.

"I ran into… huh?" Touma shook his head at Lessar's comment and decided to ignore it. "I ran into a few people we know and, er… not sure how to explain this…"

"Just tell them," Leivinia said when she walked into the room. "They are going to find out anyways. For the record, I was against it." She pulled off her coat, revealing her white chic dress, and sat down at the table and looked irritated. Everyone noticed, but no one could say anything before the others entered.

"You won't believe who else is here," Frenda added. She hung up her coat to reveal her red shirt with a black skirt.

"HI Frenda," Ruiko smiled. "Glad you could make it." Frenda returned the wave halfheartedly, her mind on other things.

"If it was anyone else," Saiai continued and pulled off her coat. "I wouldn't believe it. But Kamijou super has a way of doing the most outlandish things possible." She was wearing one of her sweater dresses, though this one was a light shade of blue and white.

"What are you all talking about?" Misaki asked. The next two people who entered the room wouldn't cause that kind of reaction among the others. Shiage and Rikou walked in and Rikou waved before removing her jacket to reveal a basic white t-shirt and the sweat pants she was wearing.

"Don't look at me," Shiage told everyone and raised his hands up. "I barely learned what was happening and don't have the details." He pulled off his tan jacket to reveal a basic black shirt and jeans.

"What did you do?" Lessar asked Touma. She leaned forward and gazed up into his face. "You are obviously nervous." She grinned. "What, did you bring a girl back we would all be jealous of?" She laughed and a couple others did too, the guys mostly, but Mikoto, Misaki, Ruiko, and Kaori stood stoned faced and waited for his response.

"Jealousy wasn't what came to mind," he said slowly. This was a mistake as pretty much every one in the room, besides the people he came with, was staring at him with their mouths slightly open.

"You can't mean…," Mikoto said. "You brought…" Her voice trailed off and her face turned red.

"I'm not enough for you?" Misaki asked and jumped into Touma's arms. "If you want to mess around with Misaka, I can overlook that, but do you have to pick up random girls like that?"

"Nice one Kami-yan!" Motoharu called out while Pierce wolf whistled.

"It's not like that," Touma protested while Mikoto pulled Misaki off him. "It's complicated."

"Explain it then," Mikoto demanded.

"Heh," Accelerator mumbled. "Now's the time to see some fireworks."

"Well," Bayloupe said. She was aware Saiai's eyes were focused on her for some reason, but she tried to ignore it. "I suppose all parties should at least have some entertainment."

"Did you try to make a joke?" Lancis asked. "That's unusual."

"I have a sense of humor," Bayloupe scoffed. Floris rolled her eyes and Accelerator smirked.

"Who do you think it is?" Ruiko whispered.

"No idea," Jason said and Kazari shrugged.

"When do you not know something is happening?" Kuroko asked Jason. "I thought you liked to stay on top of things."

"I was preparing for this party so my time to mess with you and Touma was limited." Kuroko hit him in the arm and he laughed.

"I'm sure it's just someone who he helped and was planning to spend Christmas alone," Kazari reassured Ruiko.

"That sounds like him," Ruiko agreed.

"You're half right," Leivinia told them.

"What do you mean?" Kaori asked. She too was interested in what was causing Touma's nervousness.

"Index was the one who brought her," Leivinia explained. "As of who," she paused. "Be glad you aren't carrying your sword right now Saint."

"What?" Kaori was confused, but Leivinia turned toward Touma and didn't elaborate.

"We sort of ran into-…" Touma started to explain, but he was cut off when Eve stuck her head out into plain sight from the doorway.

"Can I come in yet?" she asked innocently.

The silence in the room was deafening.

Whoever they were expecting, it wasn't Eve. Eve stood there and smiled kindly at them. She obviously had no qualms about revealing herself and expected the shock looks from everyone. Touma face palmed and figured everyone was about to start shouting at once. He lowered his hand, briefly thought he was off the hook, when two hands grabbed him. It turned out it was going to be worse than a shouting match as he gazed at the angry face of Mikoto and the determinedly calm, but wanting to explode on the inside, Misaki. They pulled him away from the door and were accompanied by Kaori, Lessar, Itsuwa, and Leivinia. The rest of New Light and Accelerator watch them without getting up, but kept glancing at Eve, who was still standing at the doorway. Last Order was talking to Index and they kept glancing around at how serious the others had become. Everyone else was standing back, not sure how to proceed. Motoharu was the only one who actually had a smirk on his face. Pierce on the other hand had frozen and his hand curled up into a fist.

"What's the meaning of this?" Mikoto hissed. "How could you bring her here after everything she's done?"

"It was…-" Touma tried to explain.

"You know what she's capable of," Misaki interrupted. "I know you are willing to help anyone, but think about who she is."

"If Stiyl was here," Kaori said. "He would have attacked immediately. You are lucky he was busy."

"It was actually Index who invited her," Touma explained quickly, before he was interrupted again. "We accidently ran into her while she was playing in the snow and Index found out Eve was planning to spend Christmas alone. Index doesn't believe anyone should be alone during the holidays."

"And that kindness is going to get us all killed," Leivinia muttered.

"I don't really care as long as you pay more attention to me than her," Lessar said, which caused the others girls to roll her eyes. "But I have a feeling others want to say some stuff first."

"I can understand Index's feelings in this," Kaori admitted. "But why did you agree?"

"She was really persuasive," Touma muttered and rubbed the back of his head. It was hard to tell Index no when she was actively trying to cheer someone up. Misaki and Mikoto sighed. They both knew what happened.

"So what are we going to do?" Itsuwa asked.

"What do you mean?" Touma responded.

"She means are we going to do anything about Eve," Leivinia huffed. "I could understand your hesitancy about just us fighting her, but right now is probably the best shot we have at taking her out. We have numbers and power on our side, she's alone, and she had no time to set up countermeasures. If you are worried about some of your noncombat oriented friends, have one person evacuate them." She glanced over her shoulder. "We should decide fast. I bet she is getting suspicious."

"She has a point," Kaori admitted.

"I don't know," Mikoto said hesitantly. "I know she did a lot of things to us, but doing this after Touma and Index invited her to a party sounds… wrong. We would be lowering ourselves to her level."

"If we don't Sparky," Lessar told her. She seemed to be hopping on the defeat Eve bandwagon because of a small grudge she held when Eve attacked England. "You are saying you are willing to let Eve go and cause countless trouble for not only your city, but the world. Can you accept that?" Mikoto looked away and Lessar shrugged. "You have to look at the big picture."

"We can evacuate the noncombatants first," Leivinia repeated and looked at Touma. "I know you would never agree to this unless they were safe."

"I could do that," Itsuwa volunteered. "Give me five minutes to pass on the message to them. I didn't bring my spear with me, but that doesn't mean I don't have a few tricks I can use with the stuff around us." Being part of the Amakusa, Itsuwa could use pretty much any normal household goods to cast magic.

"I can't believe we are even discussing this," Touma said, slightly angrily. This caused all the girls to look at him. "We can't just gang up on someone like that. It's one thing if we are protecting ourselves or others, but after Index invited her and I agreed, we can't attack her. She promised she wouldn't do anything to us during the party and my experiences with her have shown she keeps her promises with regards to her deals, but you have to watch the wording."

"Are you going to risk your friends' lives over something so inconsequential?" Leivinia demanded, but Kaori and Itsuwa looked slightly ashamed.

"I'm going to agree with him," Misaki said. She had been relatively quiet. "I knew he wouldn't go along with something so sneaky. You are much too refined for that." She grabbed his arm and pressed herself up against him. His face flushed when she felt her softness.

"I'm going to side with him too," Lessar added. "I'm not in the mood to fight, plus Bayloupe finally moved forward with Accelerator and I want to see where it goes."

"Yea…- Wait what?" Mikoto turned to Lessar. "Never mind, I don't want to know." She looked at Touma and caught his eye, as he pried Lessar off him. She understood he wouldn't stand for a surprise attack against Eve in this kind of setting. He would stand against them, if they tried, to allow Eve to escape. "I'm not going to do anything to her tonight, unless she tries something."

"You brats don't understand how this world works," Leivinia hissed angrily. "Letting her go now will guarantee to cause you all more trouble later."

"Who are you calling a brat?" Mikoto demanded. "You're younger than us."

"But I have more experience!"

"If you are sure about this," Itsuwa told Touma, who nodded. "This is your home and I will respect your wishes."

"We will however be monitoring her," Kaori stated firmly. "If she attempts anything even remotely suspicious, we will take appropriate action and expect full cooperation, not only for our safety, but yours. Is this acceptable?" Touma nodded. It wasn't the optimal solution, but it was better than a fight breaking out in an apartment building.

"Thanks," he told them sincerely. "It means a lot to me and Index. Who knows? Maybe we can get her to start changing her ways tonight. It would be a lot better for everyone than an all-out fight." Leivinia rolled her eyes, but the rest of the girls looked away. They could tell he was sincere, but they didn't want to say anything about what might happen or the odds it could happen. Many of them personally saw how Touma could truly change the fate of his enemies, but Eve was kind of a unique existence, even among their standards. Before Touma could say anything else, he felt someone drape their arm over his shoulder. He thought it was Lessar at first, but the arm was larger than hers and it started choking him.

"Curse you Kami-yan!" Pierce yelled through the tears while choking Touma. He pulled him away from the other girls, who could only stare in shock. Everyone else's head turned toward them too. "You already have so many girls, yet now you have a Santa one for the holidays too? I might be able to overlook that because it's you, but then you ignore her and leave her in the doorway!"

"You…gack… don't… understand," Touma gasped as he tried to free himself from the hold.

"Come on Aogami," Motoharu said, as he walked up to help. Help being loosely defined and the target of his help had not been identified. "You know what Kami-yan is like. He doesn't try to pick up girls, they come naturally."

"You two are going to get me killed with those lies!" Touma roared and finally threw Pierce off him. Motoharu laughed and stuck out his foot. Touma tripped and fell to the ground with a thud.

"It seems to be getting violent," Kazari said worriedly. "We should get involved."

"Nah," Kuroko said. "It's stupid male bonding. Let the apes have fun."

"Come now," Ruiko said and turned to Jason. "I know his friends make fun of him a lot, but does it turn into this?"

"All the time," Jason laughed. "Accelerator and I participate sometimes too. Without Fukiyose-sama to intervene, it's best to just let them tire out. It only escalates otherwise." Kazari, Ruiko, and Kuroko looked at each other in surprise and their respect for Seiri only grew. They turned their attention back to Pierce, who had gotten up and turned away from Touma.

"I know Eve's an enemy," Shiage said to Frenda, Saiai, and Rikou. "But why are most of these guys acting so calm?"

"Most of them are super laid back," Saiai explained. "You can tell the church members are more concerned about it. Seems like Frenda's main competition is worried too, so she should go and jump into the fight to claim her man."

"I don't have to worry about anything," Frenda huffed, red-faced. "There's no way Eve would be dating him. Basically, the one who should be worried is you."

"Huh?"

"Basically, look at how chummy Accelerator is with the older girl."

"Pssh," Saiai replied unconvincingly. "He's not into older girls with terrible proportions. We should be focused more on Eve's motives. Hamazura, go and flirt with her to get information."

"W-what?!" spluttered Shiage. "If she's as dangerous as you say, I don't want to die."

"…I would prefer he doesn't either," Rikou added. A dark aura appeared around her for a brief moment and then all four of them turned their attention to Pierce, who was approaching Eve.

"It seems like those two have more animosity against Kamijou than they have against Eve," Floris commented to Accelerator.

"Probably," he replied with a snicker. "Aogami doesn't know about magic, so he doesn't know anything about her."

"He seems to be approaching Eve now," Bayloupe said and turned her attention toward Pierce.

"Oh, I have got to see this." Accelerator said and turned his attention toward Eve and Pierce. Eve had been patiently waiting for everyone to finish their conversations. Having lived for so long, a couple minutes was nothing for her. She tilted her head slightly to the side when Peirce approached her.

"Beautiful santa loli!" Pierce exclaimed to Eve. "Please say a majestic creature such as yourself still remains untouched and you have not been affected by the perils of Kami-yan Disease. His harem has already grown to unprecedented size. Please say you are still free from his grasp."

 _He's going to get himself killed,_ nearly everyone thought.

 _He's going to get me killed,_ a lone person thought. Everyone held their breath as Pierce's words sunk in. None of them would ever have thought to talk to Eve like that. The tension in the air was palpable as even breathing seemed to stop. Eve stared at him for a moment, tilted her head to the side, and then gave the most unexpected response.

Eve giggled.

"You're funny," she said. "And no, I'm not seeing anyone. I like to tease him a bit is all. What's your name? I am called Eve."

"A beautiful name for a beautiful being such as yourself," Pierce told her and held out his hand. "My name is Pierce Aogami. I would be honored to take the coat of such a refine and beautiful person. Your very presence brings the festive joy of Christmas into my heart."

"Aren't you an interesting person," Eve said and then gave him a broad smile. She removed her coat and handed it to him. Underneath it she was wearing a red long sleeve shirt with a snowman on it and then red and white striped pants. "Do be careful with it. It's very special to me."

"I would never dream of being careless with it," Pierce replied and hung it up reverently. "If there is anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask. This humble servant is at your beck and call."

"Oh?" Eve asked and raised an eyebrow. "I was merely under the impression you were being polite. Do you truly wish to serve me?"

"Any person would be honored to serve the epitome of Christmas beauty wrapped up in the reverent form of a young girl!" Pierce cried. "You only have to command I will obey."

"Okay," Eve smirked. "Get on your hands and knees and beg me to let you be my servant."

"Right away," Pierce answered and fell to the ground instantly. "Please Lady Eve. Let this lowly trash tend to your every need. Whether it be a cook, a patsy, or even a floor mat, merely being in your presence is reward enough. This peon would live only for your praise and any reward you feel is appropriate." The mouths of every girl in that room besides Eve's fell open. None of them imagined the scene before them would take place and, thus, none of them were prepared to stop it. Motoharu and Jason were trying to hold back their laughter and Accelerator was only snickering. They were surprised too, but they knew Pierce longer than any of the girls. Many girls would find this creepy and slap Pierce for saying those things, but Eve could not be compared to a normal girl. Eve's eyes darted to everyone else's surprise looks and she smirked at them too.

Then she proceeded to step on Pierce's head.

"Servants do not have the right to call me by my name," Eve said coldly. Her tone of voice changed, but the grin on her face never faltered. Touma could tell she wasn't angry, she just enjoyed doing this. "You shall only address me as mistress. Do I make myself clear?"

"I'm sorry mistress," Pierce apologized. "This lonely servant of yours will accept any punishment you deem necessary. If you need to use me to clean the bottom of your shoes, go ahead."

"You seem to think you are worthy to even clean them," Eve uttered. "But we will see. One thing before I make my final decision. What would you consider to be the best reward I could bestow upon you for service?"

"Anything you give would be a blessing," Pierce answered without looking up. "However, the greatest reward I could imagine is if you would model some of the outfit I have painstakingly acquired over the years. I would be honored if someone as captivating as you would wear them. Outfits were meant to be worn, but only by those that can bring out their true beauty." There was silence as Eve raised an eyebrow.

"Heh," Eve said and then she burst out laughing. "I don't think I've met anyone quite like you. You have a lot of balls. Okay, you can serve me." She increased the pressure on his head with her foot.

"Oh thank you mistress!"

"Now that we have settled that," Eve said and looked at everyone. She gave them all an innocent look. "Wasn't this supposed to be a party? Why is everyone so serious?" She sniffed the air. "I think something is burning."

"Oh no!" Itsuwa cried and rushed into the kitchen. The biscuits were the last thing cooking to make sure they were warm when served. Touma and the others watched her, but Touma realized what Eve did.

 _She showed us how easily she could make a minion out of anyone._

Little did he know, she only did it for fun.

* * *

The Christmas Eve meal started off tense, but eventually dissolved into what one would expect at a party.

Everyone who knew Eve didn't trust her intentions, but none of them could find anything suspicious about her behavior. Itsuwa and Jason finished placing down the last plate of food, so everything made their way to the table. Index was the first person at the table and there was a little drool coming from the side of her mouth as she stared at all the food. The only issues with the seating were around the two most obvious people, Touma and Eve. Pierce actually sat down next to Eve and, after some debating, Ruiko volunteered herself to sit on Eve's other side. The biggest issue was Touma. He had sat down automatically next to Index, which caused many other girls to start arguing over who got to occupy the other seat. It was mainly Mikoto, Misaki, and Frenda, but they had to stop Itsuwa from sneaking in. Leivinia waited until they were distracted and sat down next to him, and then gave them a smug victory look. When everyone finally settled down, Kaori stood up.

"Before we dig in," she said. "I would like to make a quick prayer." Touma saw all the members of the magic side bow their head and most of his friends from Academy City bowed too. He dipped his head too, as a gesture of respect, but his eyes darted around the others. Eve was just looking at her reflection in the back of her spoon, not caring at all about the prayer. Accelerator seemed to have closed his eyes and was sleeping until it finished and, surprisingly, Jason was looking up at the ceiling with a slight smirk on his face. The prayer didn't last long, it was focused on thanking they could all be there and thanks for the food, and then Index pounced. Touma was faster and pushed the ham out of the way before she grabbed it. He reminded her this was for everyone and she pouted.

When everyone else had been served, Index was given a very large serving of everything and her unhappiness vanished. Conversation broke out and everyone seemed to be having a good time. Kazari and Ruiko were actually talking to Eve and she was responded to them passionately. _Those two are some of the friendliest people I know. They can get along with just about anyone._ Touma glanced around the table. Frenda and Saiai were getting into a lengthy conversation with Floris and Lancis about some type of clothing. Last Order was alternating between talking to Accelerator and Bayloupe and watching Index eat several times her body weight. Leivinia was arguing with Mikoto and Misaki about something. Motoharu and Jason were discussing something in low voices and Kuroko was rolling her eyes at them. Rikou and Shiage were the most quiet, but Shiage did occasionally participate in others conversation. He was fitting in with the others. Kaori and Itsuwa tried to talk with Index, but only got short responses between bites. Touma spent some time talking to everyone. After about an hour, the plates were cleaned and Touma leaned back in his seat. This was one of the most pleasant afternoons he could imagine doing during a holiday. He was spending time with his friends and nothing misfortunate happened.

The universe would not allow him to be complacent though.

"That was good," Ruiko sighed. "Itsuwa-san, you're an amazing cook."

"Thank you," Itsuwa replied. "It wasn't much, but I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"It was like eating at a fancy restaurant," Frenda added. "Basically, whoever taught you did a great job."

"It was nothing really," Itsuwa replied and turned slightly red in embarrassment.

"Nonsense," Touma said. "We all saw how much work you put into this. You are going to make some guy really happy." Itsuwa's face flushed deeply and she looked away. Touma regretted his words when he felt dark auras appear all around him. Thankfully, he was saved.

"It's snowing again!" Kazari cried as she looked out the window. It was only late afternoon so the sun was still out, though setting, but it was covered by grey clouds and a lot of snow was falling onto Academy City. Light was quickly fading. "It's so pretty."

"That means there will be fresh snow tomorrow for sledding," Index said happily.

"MISAKA can't wait to go MISAKA adds as MISAKA can barely contain her excitement." Both of the girls were staring out the window too.

"Great," Accelerator sighed. "I'm going to be forced to accompany them into the cold."

"You're such a caring guardian," Bayloupe laughed and nudged him in the side. Accelerator huffed, but didn't respond.

"This party was full of surprises," Mikoto said to Touma. "But it was a lot less tame than I thought it would be with your friends."

"Well if you think the party is over," Misaki said sweetly. "Feel free to leave. I'm planning to stay here until the sun goes down." She winked at Mikoto.

"That's not what I meant," Mikoto snapped.

"If you want to leave onee-sama," Kuroko said. "I'll go with you and we can do something else privately." She teleported into Mikoto's arm and received a small shock. Her smoking body fell to the ground.

"We can't end it like this," Lessar declared. "We haven't even played party games yet."

"Oh this should be good," Saiai spoke up. "What game do you super have planned for this many people?"

"I don't like the way she's grinning," Shiage muttered to Rikou.

"…we should probably leave," Rikou agreed. Neither of them could escape though. There were too many people between them and the door.

"I know several games," Eve volunteered. "Would you like to hear them?"

"No," Leivinia snapped. "You go sit in a corner and be quiet."

"Don't talk to her that way," Pierce called out in defense. Eve shrugged and slumped over to the kitchen where there was a large bowl of apple cider. She tilted her head and looked around. Everyone was discussing the game or paying attention to something else. A small bottle magically appeared in her hand and she tipped it into the bowl.

 _This should cause everyone to lighten up,_ Eve thought. _Just enough to help them relax. Hmm, this shouldn't be affected by his hand if I do this._ The bottle disappeared and she sat down in a chair to avoid attention. Only Motoharu saw her do something and he grinned.

 _If that's not poison, this party is going to be a blast. I'll have to take a look._

"I want to play a game!" Index cried.

"MISAKA does too!"

"Are we going to participate?" Lancis asked Floris.

"I don't see why not," Floris shrugged. "Bayloupe and Lessar aren't planning to leave anytime soon."

"Who has an idea then?" Touma asked. "We have twenty… four people here. So whatever party game we decide has to be able to include everyone."

"I don't want to participate," Accelerator said grumpily.

"MISAKA wants you to MISAKA pleads as MISAKA expresses her desire."

"Don't be a Grinch and join us," Bayloupe snickered and nudged him.

"Tsk, fine."

"How about the King Game?" Ruiko asked. "Easy game to set up and everyone can participate."

"That sounds ominous," Eve commented.

"Which version?" Frenda asked. "Basically, there are a lot of varieties."

"What's that?" Index asked. "I never heard of that game, but I mostly play Othello against Last Order."

"MISAKA never heard of it either MISAKA says as MISAKA shakes her head."

"The Kings Game is like Truth or Dare," Kazari told Last Order, Index, and Eve. A few others listened to make sure they were clear on the rules. "Everyone draws lots randomly each turn. One person is the King and everyone else gets a number. The King calls out something and says usually one to three numbers. They carry out the order. Depending on the rules, the king can include themselves in it, but most recent ones I know about usually don't allow the king to participate in their own commands."

"This should be fun," Pierce declared and fist punched the air. "I'm in."

"I'm not necessarily opposed," Kuroko said. She actually had some interesting thoughts about this game.

"This could be fun," Misaki agreed.

"Sounds like what we did at the beach retreat," Mikoto added and then her eyes widened. There were two key differences between then and now. One, this party was a mix of boys and girls. The second, there was some people who didn't understand the definition of restraint. "But we need to put down some ground rules. Some of us have shown they don't hold back." At her words, everyone turned to face a single person, and it wasn't Eve.

"What?" Lessar asked. "Why is everyone looking at me?"

"Because the very first thing you would say is everyone strips," Floris pointed out and the guys laughed while many girls flushed.

"No I wouldn't," Lessar protested. "That's not fun enough. You have to work up to that."

"There lies the problem," Touma sighed and Motoharu smacked him on the back.

"Come on Kami-yan," Motoharu said with a laugh. "It will be fun for everyone. This is the only time we are all going to be together like this. Let's make it worth remembering. They can always refuse if it gets out of hand."

"And it will," Accelerator muttered. Bayloupe chuckled slightly.

"We want to play," Index and Last Order said together.

"I feel if we try to refuse someone is going to force us," Shiage whispered to Rikou and she nodded. They both had their eyes on Saiai.

"I think we are going to regret this," Kaori whispered to Itsuwa. "Kamijou's friends don't like to hold back."

"It will be fun," Itsuwa replied evenly. "It might get a little out of hand, but we all, including you, need to relax a bit. Eve's not trying anything so I don't think we have to be ready to pounce." Kaori reluctantly agreed and fidgeted. She was worried about what happened if someone gave an order that involved her and Touma. Funny enough, that same thought was in a lot of their minds.

"This is stupid," Leivinia muttered. "I'm going to leave before I get dragged into this mess." Motoharu and Jason looked at each other and nodded.

"I'll grab you coat," Jason offered. "It's probably for the best for the younger girls to avoid being part of this. You might not be able to handle it."

"I can handle it," Leivinia sniffed. "I just don't want to."

"He's right," Motoharu agreed. "You probably wouldn't be able to handle our orders and your command would be too easy for us. It's understandable to be scared."

"How dare you," she fumed. "Not only will I be able to do anything your tiny mind could come up with, I'll make sure you regret everything you just said when it's my turn." She joined the others while the guys grinned. Kazari and Ruiko were giggling softly as they watched them. They had seen this strategy used against Accelerator to get him to do something he didn't want to. Strong individuals hated being told they couldn't do something.

"Looks like it's unanimous," Jason said. "I think I have some playing cards we can mark. While I find them, can someone move the table out of the way? It will give us more room to spread out."

"On it," Saiai volunteered eagerly. It wasn't like she enjoyed moving furniture, she only wanted to play. She grabbed the corner of the table and lifted it up before she propped it up against the wall. Everyone else either sat on chairs or the couch, except for Eve. She was going to sit in a chair, but then smiled. She snapped her fingers and Pierce appeared next to her. She kicked him in the back of his leg and forced him to his hands and knees. Eve then proceeded to sit on his back and cross her legs.

"What?" she asked innocently, aware everyone was staring at her.

"You can't just hit him to make him serve you," Kuroko told her.

"He probably enjoyed it," Accelerator said and leaned back in his chair. "Just ignore them. They only want attention." Pierce looked up and winked at them, so they figured he was fine. He opened his mouth to say something but Eve kicked him in the side.

"No talking unless it's your turn or I allow you to speak." Kuroko and Lessar were taking mental notes while everyone else tried to ignore her.

"All done," Jason announced, as he shuffled the cards. "Twenty four people, so one king card and 23 numbers." He sat down in the circle next to Kazari. The final order was Misaki, Touma, Mikoto, Kuroko, Kazari, Jason, Ruiko, Index, Last Order, Bayloupe, Accelerator, Saiai, Frenda, Rikou, Shiage, Motoharu, Pierce, Eve, Kaori, Itsuwa, Leivinia, Floris, Lancis, and Lessar. Misaki, Touma, and Mikoto were on the couch. Motoharu started passing out hot apple cider to everyone and many girls sipped it happily. Jason brought over a smaller table to place in between them all to make it easier to deal. "Who wants to go first?" he asked and put the cards on the table.

"MISAKA does MISAKA yells out excitedly as MISAKA grabs the cards." She grinned broadly, shuffled the deck, and passed them out to everyone. Everyone simultaneously glanced at their cards to see who the first king was.

"I have it," Misaki said happily and revealed her card. While everyone was looking at it, she used her other hand to reach for the remote she hid behind her. Misaki was planning to read everyone's mind to figure out what numbers she should call, but she couldn't find it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the remote leaning up against the wall and she turned her head to Mikoto, who was grinning. Mikoto used magnetism to remove Misaki's remote and prevent her from cheating. _Misaka has been around me too long. She knows all my tricks. It's time to start taking her seriously._ She briefly thought about what to say and decided on something harmless, but funny. The guys would approve of her choice. "Number 7 needs to pretend they are confessing to 15 and then ask them out on a date." This got several people snickering.

"I'm 7," Saiai announced.

"I'm 15," Itsuwa said, slightly red, and held up her card.

"Hah this is great," Frenda laughed and everyone else was snickering. Saiai didn't look nervous and stood up.

"I would prefer it being one of the guys," she said and stretched. "But here it goes." She walked over to Itsuwa and grabbed her hand. "I know we haven't talked much, but I super fell in love with you the first time I laid eyes on you. How about you and I go out this weekend sometime?" Jason whistled and Frenda cheered Saiai on. Mikoto and her friends were laughing, while Touma tried to keep a straight face. Misaki caught his eye and winked.

"Well... I…," Itsuwa said, slightly flustered. She knew this was fake, but it was still embarrassing. "I appreciate it, but I like someone else."

"Oh well," Saiai shrugged and went back to her seat. She looked over at Misaki. "For some reason, I expected more from you."

"This was only the first round," Misaki remaindered her. "We can't get to crazy right off the bat."

"If this is the first round," Kazari whispered to Kuroko. "What is the rest going to be like?"

"It's going to get crazy," Kuroko answered and sipped her drink. "Heh, I have a couple ideas in mind myself." Kazari gulped at the look in her eyes. Saiai shuffled the deck of cards and dealt them to everyone else for round two. This time, Floris was chosen as the king.

"Huh," she said. "Let's see. This shouldn't be too crazy, I'm not Lessar…"

"Hey!"

"… so how about 18 sits in the lap of 3 for three rounds."

"I'm 18," Index informed them.

"I'm 3," Lancis said. Index stood up, grinned at Last Order, and sat down on Lancis's lap. "I'm lucky," she sighed. "If it was one of the guys, this would have been bad."

"I'm not heavy either," Index told her and puffed out her chest. There was a lot of snickering, but no one burst out laughing. Floris shuffled the cards and dealt our round three. The winner this time was the one they most dreaded.

"I'm the king!" Lessar yelled happily and revealed the card.

"Oh no," Mikoto, Floris, Bayloupe, Misaki, Touma, and Leivinia sighed. None of them had expected it to be this soon. However, the other guys and Eve found it hilarious. They cheered and were constantly egging her on. Saiai and Frenda looked slightly torn between Lessar's possible antics and seeing something really funny. Kazari, Kaori, and Itsuwa looked really nervous, while the others were a little more passive.

"Keep it clean," Kaori told her. "Don't go overboard."

"When I have ever gone overboard?" Lessar asked innocently. Everyone who knew her rolled her eyes. "I said I was going to hold back and I am. How about 2, 10, and 23 have to change into one of the festive Christmas outfit Aogami and I brought." She beamed at them all as they stared in shock.

"Yes!" Pierce cheered. "Go Lessar!"

"Quiet slave," Eve said and conjured a small wooden stick in her hand. Pierce couldn't see it, but Kaori started to move, before she realized what it was for. Eve swatted Pierce on his butt. "You only talk when I give permission or you will be punished."

"I'm sorry mistress!" Pierce cried happily. It seemed like they were going to keep up the act all night. Touma looked down at his number and sighed in relief, He wasn't one of the called numbers. The unfortunate souls were Frenda, Shiage, and Ruiko.

"You can use my bedroom or the bathroom to change," Jason pointed out.

"Unless you super want to do it out here," Saiai suggested. "Frenda, go for the bondage outfit!"

"Bite me," Frenda replied as she, Ruiko, and Shiage started rummaging.

"Why are all these revealing?" Ruiko asked.

"Because of the two people who brought them," Shiage answered. "At least there is one outfit for a guy." He pulled out a reindeer outfit. "It would have been horrible if I had to wear one of the others."

"Shut up and go change in the bathroom," Frenda ordered and kicked him. She grabbed one of the boxes and grabbed Ruiko's arm. "Come on, let's get this over with."

"You don't need to pull so hard," Ruiko complained, as she was dragged after Frenda.

"While you are in there," Lessar called out. "Check for our host's porn stash. Guys usually keep it under the bed."

"Pssh," Jason said dismissively. "I hid that long before everyone arrived."

"What?!" exclaimed Kuroko and Kazari, which only caused Jason to laugh and wink at Motoharu. Touma couldn't tell if he was joking or not. Judging by the other's expression, he could tell they didn't know either. Whispers started and then Shiage was the first one out. He was wearing the reindeer costume, complete with horns.

"It doesn't fit too bad," Shiage commented. "I'm surprised, but I can't believe I'm wearing this."

"I was planning to have Lover Boy wear it," Lessar admitted. "The lower half has some attachments so you can remove it without removing the entire outfit."

"There will be no need for that," Kaori said firmly, though her face was slightly red.

"…You look cute," Rikou said and Shiage instantly decided the costume was great and was glad Lessar called his number. They only had to wait a little longer when the door open and Frenda stepped out. She was wearing a Santa outfit with a very short skirt that barely covered her undergarments. Her red and white top covered her shoulders and chest, but revealed her stomach. It highlighted her legs and curves. However, instead of Frenda marching out of the room, she was pulling the arm of Ruiko, who didn't seem to want to come out.

"Come on," Frenda said. "Basically, you pull that outfit off perfectly."

"Nooo!" Ruiko wailed. "Let me wear one of the Santa ones!" Frenda was stronger than her though and she pulled Ruiko out into the open. They stumbled into the hallway and everyone went silent, until Motoharu wolf whistled.

Ruiko was wearing the Christmas bondage outfit Pierce had shown them all earlier.

"This is too much," Ruiko squealed and covered herself with her arms, but Frenda pushed her into the circle. It wasn't a revealing outfit, but it didn't cover her shoulders and tied in the back. She would need someone's help to get it off. It wasn't that Ruiko minded showing a little skin, but it was the fact it was a bondage outfit that embarrassed her. She realized she wouldn't get out of this, so she quickly sat down back in spot and covered her face. Frenda was more confident and sat down in her place.

"Nice one Frenda," Saiai laughed.

"Poor Saten-san," Mikoto mumbled.

"It kind of suits her in some weird way," Touma whispered and he felt two elbows jab in the sides as Misaki and Mikoto ganged up on him.

"Cheer up Saten-san," Kazari whispered around Jason. "You can pull it off."

"Besides," Jason added. "You can tell Touma keeps glancing at you." He and Kazari laughed and Ruiko's face burned brightly.

"Huh," Bayloupe whispered to Accelerator. "That was pretty tame for Lessar."

"Think she's planning something?" he asked and she nodded. Accelerator's head felt slightly fuzzy and he knew he should be more worried than he actually felt.

"I'll deal," Frenda said, shuffled the deck, and passed out the cards. Everyone glanced at their card simultaneously.

"It's me!" Jason called out. "Let's see. I feel like we should keep the clothing theme going." He grinned. "How about numbers 13 and, umm, 4 have to switch clothes?"

"Huh?!" came a half dozen different voices.

"Nice one," Motoharu and Pierce cheered. Eve actually forgot to hit Pierce because she was laughing too.

"I'm number 4," Kaori said and she didn't sound happy about this. Her tied shirt and cut jeans were party of her magic, so switching with someone else would actually weaken her. If Eve tried something, she needed to be at her best.

"So the Saint is going to switch with someone," Leivinia sneered. "Hope it's a guy." Kaori glared at her. No one volunteered their numbers and everyone looked around, until their eyes fell on one person who was looking down at his number in shock. Touma didn't say anything because of his stunned disbelief.

"Really?" Mikoto asked in shock.

"I should have known," Misaki sighed.

"Oh my," Itsuwa said and covered her mouth.

"This is great!" Accelerator roared with laughter.

"I didn't see this coming," Frenda whispered to Saiai. They both were laughing. "I kind of wish it was Hamazura and someone else though."

"I understand," Saiai nodded. "I super want to see Hamazura humiliated in girl clothes."

"I would appreciate you two not plotting against me," Shiage sighed.

"It's starting to get out of hand," Lancis said to Floris.

"It's actually kind of interesting," Floris replied.

"One more round and I can go back to my seat right?" Index asked Lancis, who nodded. Index glared at Touma as he and Kaori walked to swap clothes. Itsuwa and Motoharu went with them. Touma was in the bathroom and Kaori was in the bedroom while Itsuwa and Motoharu passed their clothes so no one saw anything they were not supposed to. Kaori was the first one out and looked around. Her right hand was holding the pair of jeans she was wearing.

"His pants are a little loose," she sighed. They were also a little short, as Kaori was older and taller than Touma. The white button down shirt wasn't an issue for her and it actually didn't look that unnatural. Kaori pulled it off quite well. She was aware of several girls staring at her and it made her uncomfortable. Though, the thumbs up and obnoxious grin from Motoharu annoyed her greatly. Jason was snickering while the girls around him were watching her. Kaori and Itsuwa sat down and shrugged at each other. Itsuwa was slightly jealous and Kaori was trying hard not to notice Touma's scent coming from the clothes. Finally, the bathroom door open and Touma stepped out.

Everyone except Kaori, Itsuwa, Rikou, and Kazari burst out laughing.

"I'm glad this is amusing for all of you," Touma sighed. He was used to be embarrassed and he knew what they were all laughing at. The t-shirt Kaori wore and kept tied up was cut a little shorter than a normal shirt, so it didn't completely cover the top of her jeans. Kaori also had a slimmer figure than him, so the jeans were tight on him. It was as if he was wearing skin tight pants on one leg, while the short one on the other side was cut off.

"You should do a little dance for us," Eve suggested. "Shake that money maker." This caused the others guys to roar with laughter and most of the girls could not suppress their own amusement.

"If we throw you some cash do we get a lap dance?" Lessar asked.

"Why me?" Touma complained and made his way back to the couch and sat down.

"Aww," Misaki cooed. "I wouldn't mind a lap dance." She winked at him and Touma's ears burned.

"If she gets one," Mikoto demanded a little selfishly. "I want one too." Touma thought she sounded a little out of character, but his head was buzzing slightly and he figured he was imagining things. Since the third round was over since Index had to sit on Lancis's lap, she got off and sat back down next to Last Order. They both were giggling at Touma's and Kaori's predicament and Last Order got them both more cider. Kaori wanted to get the attention off her and Touma, so she shuffled the cards and felt them out. Everyone glanced at their own card and a wide grinned appeared on one of their faces.

"Looks like it's my turn," Eve announced deviously.

"Good luck mistress," Pierce said from below her. She responded by patting him on the head. Eve looked around at all the apprehensive expressions on the other's faces.

"What?" Eve asked. "I'm not going to order anything bad. You see, there's a Japanese tradition I wanted to see in person." She reached around her back and pulled out a small box. "Tada!" she said proudly and held up a box of Pocky. "Number 1 and 17 have to play the Pocky game!" Everyone there knew what that game was. Pocky was a long biscuit with a chocolate covering on one end. The Pocky game involved two people eating one piece of Pocky from each end. The first person whose mouth came off the Pocky or the other player gets to the middle first loses. If the participants end up kissing, it was considered a tie.

"That's surprisingly normal coming from you," Leivinia said in surprise. "I was expecting something… more?"

"Something Lessar level?" Bayloupe asked.

"When was there a scale involving me?" Lessar demanded.

"We just made it up," Floris told her. "Everything is a one to Lessar level in craziness." Lessar stuck her tongue out at her.

"I was worried she might try something," Kuroko said to Kazari. "But I think she's actually here to just have fun." Kazari nodded, but Jason grinned.

"Wait for it," he said and they looked at him. "I bet Eve knows everyone's numbers." They looked confused before the victims of Eve's prank revealed their numbers.

"I'm number 1," Mikoto sighed.

"I'm number 17," Misaki said simultaneously. There was a pause and then they stared at each other.

"EHHHHHHH!"

"Mistress!" Pierce cried. "Your greatness knows no bounds!"

"Naturally," Eve agreed.

"Hahaha," Accelerator laughed loudly.

"What's so funny?" Bayloupe asked.

"Those two have a super rivalry," Saiai explained from Accelerator's other side. "Neither of them would give up when facing each other."

"Oh."

"Nooo onee-sama," Kuroko moaned. "You would never play the Pocky game with me."

"Are they going to go all the way?" Kazari asked Jason and Ruiko.

"Misaka-san is really competitive," Ruiko admitted. "She won't give up. Shokuhou-san is only competitive around her, so I don't think so."

"But the Pocky game is only supposed to be for boy girl pairs," Kazari whispered back anxiously.

"Oh?" Jason asked and raised an eyebrow. "Is that an invitation? Do you want to play?"

"Maybe later," Kazari said quickly and blushed. "After Saten-san asks the certain person she likes out."

"Saten-san," Jason said firmly. "March over to him and order him to take you out on a date. You are wearing the right clothes so he can't say no."

"W-what?" Ruiko spluttered and covered herself. "This outfit is embarrassing enough without drawing attention to myself." Kuroko rolled her eyes but stared wishfully at them. Meanwhile, the main attraction was heating up as Eve tossed the box of Pocky on the table.

"Who do we root for?" Index asked Last Order.

"MISAKA should vote for her onee-chan MISAKA admits, but MISAKA feels we should cheer them both on as they are our friends MISAKA amends as MISAKA expresses her honest desire." Index nodded and they started cheering.

"Disappointed it wasn't you?" Frenda asked Shiage and nudged him in the side.

"Like I would be happy playing that game with some random person," Shiage huffed. He felt Rikou's eyes on him and he hoped his answer was satisfactory.

"Aww," Lessar sighed. "I would like to play that game with someone."

"So you can surprise attack them?" Leivinia asked and Lessar grinned.

"That was a close call," Itsuwa said to Kaori. "We could have been part of that."

"I suppose," Kaori admitted. She was a little distracted by still wearing Touma's clothes. Kaori was actually a little perturbed she wanted to sniff them.

"If you want," Eve said and leaned over with a huge smile on her face. "I could try to arrange something."

"We are good," Kaori and Itsuwa said together. Both of them wanted to get involved in an order with a certain boy, but neither of them trusted Eve's motive. Meanwhile, Mikoto and Misaki looked down at the box of Pocky, aware everyone was watching them.

"I can't believe I got paired up with you," Mikoto moaned.

"Why Misaka-san," Misaki told her sweetly. "If you want to surrender, we can skip this embarrassing competition."

"You just don't want the embarrassment of losing," Mikoto snapped. "Knowing your sweet tooth, you will probably eat most of it before I barely start."

"Is that a challenge?" Misaki asked and a vein throbbed in her forehead. The two girls glared at each other over Touma and he slunk into the couch cushion. Motoharu and Pierce were laughing at his predicament. Accelerator, Saiai, and Bayloupe weren't hiding their amusement ether. Misaki was the first one to stand up and looked at Touma. "Naturally, you will cheer me on, right?" She winked at him and approached the table. Touma felt Mikoto pinch him and he turned to her.

"You better cheer for me," she muttered. "I don't want to see you staring at her just because she's bigger." Touma saw her eyes water slightly and he frowned.

 _Did I upset her somehow? Everyone seems to be a little unrestrained tonight._ He sipped his cider in order to avoid opening his mouth and sticking his foot in it. Misaki held a piece of Pocky in her hands and looked at Mikoto.

"Ready when you are Misakaaaa," Misaki cooed and deliberately stretched out the last word.

"Let's see if you can keep up that confident attitude," Mikoto replied. They were so focused on each other they didn't notice Motoharu and Pierce looking at each other and grinning. Both of them had pulled out their phones and they were not the only ones. Nearly a dozen people had pulled them out.

"You two ready?" Eve asked. Mikoto and Misaki glared at her for a moment before nodding. Misaki put the chocolate end in her mouth and turned to Mikoto. Mikoto grudgingly placed her mouth on the other end and glared into Misaki's eyes. Neither was planning to back down and Mikoto wasn't even thinking she normally wouldn't do this. "Go!" Eve said and the game started.

"Go onee-sama!" cheered Kuroko. While she was disappointed it wasn't her instead of Misaki, she was still going to support Mikoto.

 _Huh,_ Leivinia thought. _I want some Pocky now._

Everyone else was watching the two girls slowly approach each other. Neither of them was giving an inch as they continued to nibble the cookie. Mikoto and Misaki might have been embarrassed if it was anyone else, but they were too focused on not losing. They competed over a lot of things, mainly that which involved Touma, and they weren't thinking straight, probably because of the increasing excitement of the game. They never stopped looking into each other's eyes as their lips were less than an inch apart. This is when both of them had the same thought running through their head. _She's not planning to give up._ They were actually worried as the tiny gap closed and they were neck and neck. Neither thought the other one would continue this far. Their lips were just about to touch when they heard it.

Several loud clicks as half of their friends took pictures.

"Gah!" Mikoto and Misaki yelled and stumbled backwards. The sound brought them back to their senses. "Who's taking pictures?" Mikoto demanded. "That wasn't part of the deal."

"Pretty much everyone," Eve laughed and pointed. Motoharu, Pierce, Jason, Accelerator, Leivinia, Frenda, Saiai, Last Order, Shiage, and Floris all had their cameras out.

"Oh no," Misaki said and put a hand on her cheek. "They saw an unsightly side of me."

"I'm pretty sure every guy super wants to see that side of you," Saiai said with a snicker.

"What's the big deal about it?" Index asked confused. "They were just playing a game."

"Apparently guys like seeing two girls kiss MISAKA explains as MISAKA shows off her cast knowledge. MISAKA does not know why though."

"Hah," Accelerator laughed. "I'm uploading this to the net."

"No!" Mikoto yelled. "Delete it right now!"

"Make me."

"I could always use some blackmail material on those two," Leivinia muttered with a grin.

"Looks like it's over," Misaki said and looked down at the tiny remains. "Shame we both let go. I was totally winning." Her eyes fell on Touma, who was looking away with a slightly red face. "Aww, did you enjoy that?" She asked seductively.

"I…er," Touma stuttered. "I don't think there's a guy in the world that wouldn't have like that."

"Smooth," Mikoto said and sat down next to him.

"How about for a Christmas present we steal the bedroom and go a little further?" Misaki asked in an undertone. "As a bonus, Misaka can join us."

"W-what?!" Touma gasped.

"As long as you don't get left alone with miss big bewbs over ter," Mikoto mumbled, slightly slurring her words. "I'll join." Touma's eyes widened and his hand cover his face as he felt a nosebleed come on.

"Damn you Kami-yan!" Pierce cried. "Look at him showing off after getting his girls to perform for him!"

"What did you expect?" Motoharu asked. "Anyway, we can sell these pictures around school for some extra spending cash." Misaki glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes and made a mental note to persuade them to delete the photos.

"Quiet you trash," Eve scolded and stepped on Pierce's head. "You keep talking after I ordered you silent. I will get out the whip."

"That sounds awesome!" Pierce exclaimed. "Wait… I mean… noooo not the whip!"

"Heh, I think I need to get creative in your punishment." She sat on his back again and looked out toward the others. None of them even bothered to spare her a moment of time. They were used to her bossing Pierce around.

"I'll shuffle," Mikoto said and dealt out the cards. She was going to do anything to get the focus off her.

"It's me," Kuroko said and scrunched her forehead up in concentration. After the last order, any ideas she had was wiped from her mind. _I guess I can do the costumes. Onee-sama would look great and,_ she grinned deviously, _it would be embarrassing for Jason. Let's see if luck is on my side._ "We need a more festive atmosphere. So how about 3, 5, and 20 put one some of their Christmas outfits."

"Yay!" Lessar cheered. "Come on Lover Boy." Neither she nor Kuroko got their wish. The three who were selected were Bayloupe, Motoharu, and Kazari. Jason cheered at the last one.

"I think I got the only male costume," Shiage commented as the three stood up.

"Who cares?" Leivinia pointed out. "The order wasn't to wear the costume that matched your gender."

"Oh no," Accelerator and Touma muttered. They put a hand over their eyes. None of them wanted to see it. Bayloupe, Motoharu, and Kazari got up, grabbed an outfit, and changed. Kazari was the first one out and sat down, with her face glowing. She fidgeted as several people looked her over, mainly Jason, but she was pleased at his attention. It was similar to Frenda's outfit. Bayloupe was next and didn't seem to mind wearing the revealing outfit. She sat down and was aware Accelerator was looking at her.

"Yes?" she asked and couldn't resist smirking slightly.

"Nothing," he muttered and Bayloupe snickered. She stopped when she felt a pair of eyes glaring at her and saw Last Order watching her closely.

"I think this skirt makes my butt look big," Motoharu announced and leaped into the room. He spun around in the female Santa outfit.

"Maybe a little," Frenda agreed.

"He's not even slightly embarrassed," Ruiko said impressed.

"Then go up there and join him," suggested Kuroko and Kazari giggled.

"Are you kidding?" Ruiko asked. "This bondage outfit chafes. It's going to reveal more than I want anyone to see."

"Now you know what I go through," Kazari told her.

"I'm going to increase the number of times I do it for that comment alone." Kazari made a squeaking noise and hid behind Jason.

"Only if I can watch," Jason said firmly and Kazari poked him hard.

"I'm never going to get the image of him out of my mind," Floris muttered to Lancis and looked away from Motoharu.

"He almost pulls it off," Lancis answered fairly.

"Why thank you," Motoharu told her and he picked up the cards before he sat down. He shuffled the deck and passed them out.

"MISAKA won MISAKA cheers as MISAKA reveals the winning card!" Everyone turned to Last Order. She opened her mouth to give her order when she stopped and frowned. She shook her head and scrunched her forehead, like she was thinking. Saiai and Frenda looked at each other in confusion, but Accelerator frowned. He realized this as her communication with the Misaka Network. "Fine MISAKA mutters." She looked at everyone. "MISAKA orders number 5 to explain what the purpose of porn is."

The sound of several people spitting drinks was heard.

"WHAT!?"

"What have you been talking about in front of her?!" Mikoto demanded angrily and stared at Accelerator.

"Hang on," Kuroko said. "It's their fault." Kuroko pointed to Saiai and Jason. "They were the one who mentioned it."

"My bad," Saiai said.

"Damn it," Accelerator fumed. "It had to be Worst telling her to ask that."

"How?" Bayloupe asked him quietly. "She's not here."

"It's a long story."

"We can't tell her what that is," Itsuwa interrupted. "It's not appropriate for someone her age."

"MISAKA wants to know MISAKA demands as MISAKA stamps her feet. The game requires number 5 to follow the order." She wasn't going to mention Worst was not the one to suggest it, but MISAKA 10032. It turned out Misaka Imouto had doubts of the Network's previous interpretation of porn.

"Who actually is number 5?" Misaki asked and Touma shrugged. "Maybe we can say something that would satisfy her curiosity without going into detail? If she started searching on her own…"

"… It would be a lot worse," Mikoto sighed. She had to agree.

"I'm number 5," Pierce called out and held up his card.

"Of course it is," Touma sighed and face palmed.

"Hell no!" Accelerator said and stood up. "There is no way you are going to tell her anything about that you fucking pervert."

"You're being too harsh on me," Pierce replied and pretended to be hurt. "I know how to talk to a young girl." Saiai and Frenda was surprised Pierce wasn't showing any signs of fear. Accelerator was giving off a pretty powerful murderous intent, one to rival Shizuri's. Shiage and Rikou scooted away.

"Why is he so angry?" Leivinia asked.

"He's a lolicon," Motoharu said.

"And acts like a mother hen," Jason added.

"I'm going to kill every one of you."

"MISAKA wants to know MISAKA demands again."

"I want to know too," Index added and Touma felt sweat form on the back of his neck.

"I'm willing to explain it to them," Lessar volunteered.

"No," Bayloupe instantly uttered. "You will not talk about such things in front of them."

"Are you sure you don't want to change your order?" Kaori asked and Last Order, but she shook her head.

"She's as stubborn as Accelerator," Kuroko mumbled to Kazari, who could only shrug. She didn't know what to do in this situation.

"I could make a suggestion," Motoharu said. "As part of the game, we are supposed to follow the orders. However, we could let you switch the person who explains what it is. In return, you have to face a punishment Aogami chooses. He gives you an order as if he was made the king after her. How's that?" Pierce nodded in confirmation.

"Fine," Accelerator spat out. He looked at Touma. "Hero, you explain it."

"Why me?" Touma asked in shock. He was not expecting that.

"You're the only one of these idiots who would have a stake in this," Accelerator said, as he tried to keep his voice calm, but it was radiating fury. "Plus, I can trust you to have a little tact in your definition."

"Aww," Pierce and Motoharu said together. "Look at Accelerator expressing his love for Kami-yan."

"While you do that," Accelerator continued while most of the girls snickered. "I'm going to kill those two."

"You can't kill my seat," Eve protested.

"So tell MISAKA," Last Order said and turned to Touma. Index was listening too and Touma was aware everyone else turning their attention to him. He had to be careful or he was going to end up with a very angry and embarrassed nun on his head.

"Porn is a kind of adult entertainment," Touma explained. "It's not the nicest kind, but some people find it enjoyable." He was aware the other guys and a couple girls were trying to hide their laughter, except for Accelerator, who had his arms crossed and a sour look on his face. He was aware Mikoto watching him closely to see how he was going to explain it to her sister. "It's not usually people's first choice of careers, but they have their reason to do it."

"It's some kind of competition, right? MISAKA asks as MISAKA recalls a brief incident involving what looked like a wrestling match." Many heads toward to Accelerator, as several of them thought Last Order saw something Accelerator had been watching. He gave them a glare saying, _blame me and die_.

"Err yes," Touma agreed and saw a way out of this. "It's adult wrestling." Lessar was beside herself in silent laughter, while Motoharu, Pierce, Eve, Saiai, Frenda, and Jason were not much different, even Ruiko was trying not to giggle.

"Why are they naked? MISAKA continues to inquire." Touma didn't have an answer, but he was saved by Mikoto.

"That's because they would get dirty if they stayed in their clothes." Accelerator face palmed, but now even Leivinia was enjoying Touma's and Mikoto's plight. Kaori and Itsuwa were stunned at what was happening, but they weren't sure they should interfere.

"Makes sense," Index said with a nod and Mikoto sighed.

"You have to be eighteen to see it right? MISAKA asks as MISAKA remembers what she was told once."

"Yes," Touma said. "It's against the law for people to view it before then."

"So once we are eighteen," Index asked. "Can we make porn?"

"NO!" Touma, Mikoto, Accelerator, Kuroko, Ruiko, Kazari, Itsuwa, and Kaori yelled out at once.

"Why not?!" Last Order and Index demanded.

"It's because…" Touma started to say, while his brain worked in overdrive. "Both of you aren't suited for it. I mean…" His voice died out and he started sweating when they glared at him.

"What I believe he means is," Misaki took over and patted Touma on the shoulder. "Porn is a very vulgar profession and many people who take part of it failed in other areas. Both of you have so much potential that it would be a waste." Last Order and Index tilted their heads, but appeared satisfied with her answer.

"Thank you so much," Touma muttered to Misaki.

"Anytime."

"See Accelerator," Motoharu told him with a superior tone. "It all worked out."

"You're lucky it did," Accelerator growled. "Or you would have flown out that window."

"Your friends really like to push your buttons," Bayloupe commented to him.

"They did a lot more during out trip to England," Saiai told her with a laugh and Accelerator scowled.

"Now that this is over," Ruiko spoke up before a fight could break out. "Let's move on to the next round."

"Hold it!" Eve said. "I believe my servant here has to give out the punishment game."

"Tsk," Accelerator clicked his tongue. _The bitch remembered._

"What would be tough for the great Accelerator to do?" Pierce asked rhetorically. "Ah, I know." His grin made everyone in the circle silent. "You have to give Misaka-san a compliment."

"What?!" Accelerator and Mikoto asked in shock.

"How is that a punishment game?" Leivinia asked. She was disappointed in his choice.

"Oh," Frenda said and her eyes widened. "I know why."

"Why?" Shiage asked, while Rikou and Saiai leaned closer.

"He's like Mugino. They have a hard time complimenting people not part of their group."

"Phew," Kazari let out a breath of relief. "I was worried he was going to do something to upset Accelerator."

"He did," Jason said and she turned toward him. "Accelerator doesn't like to compliment people."

"It's just one," Kuroko said. "It shouldn't be hard to compliment onee-sama." Jason shrugged. Accelerator looked around at everyone and then at Mikoto.

"No."

"It won't kill you," Mikoto replied evenly and crossed her arms. She was a little irritated at his protest to something so simple.

"You don't know that," he snapped.

"Is the number one unable to do something so simple?" Misaki asked and smiled at him. This annoyed Accelerator because even Misaki was making fun of him now.

"I think he's scared," Leivinia laughed.

"Scared?" Accelerator huffed. "Brat, what do I have to be scared off?"

"I guess he can't do it," Mikoto said with a shrug.

"You can do it," Kaori said and he glanced at her for a moment. Kaori knew he could say nice things about people, but he didn't like to do it publically. She still remembered how highly he spoke of Touma in England.

"MISAKA believes in you!"

"Aww," Motoharu cooed. "Look how shy he is."

"So shy," Pierce laughed.

"Wasn't he supposed to be tough?" Eve asked.

"Bayloupe said he was," Lessar replied.

"Guess he's not," Floris snickered and looked over at Lancis. _She's dozed off. She's missing everything. Oh well._

"Fine," Accelerator snapped at everyone. He turned his gaze back to Mikoto. "You are not as annoying as when I first met you." There was a long pause as everyone processed his words.

"Wha… What kind of compliment is that?!" Mikoto demanded. Misaki held a hand up to her mouth and Kuroko looked furious. Before they could say anything else, Motoharu spoke up.

"Wow," he said. "He must really consider you a friend."

"Huh?" Mikoto asked confused and most of the others had similar looks on their faces.

"He's past the death threats with you," Pierce elaborated. "That means he considers you a friend."

"Really?" Mikoto asked.

"Bunch of bullshit," Accelerator scoffed and sat down.

"What happens if he actually gives a compliment?" Ruiko couldn't resist asking.

"If it's to a girl," Jason answered. "It means he probably fell in love with her."

"Shut the fuck up, all of you!" Accelerator was not in the mood. Bayloupe frowned and remembered he once told her she looked nice. The tips of her ears burned slightly. Saiai was busy trying to remember if Accelerator ever complimented her, but she was sure he did once.

"I suppose we should continue," Motoharu said laughing. "Kami-yan, Aogami is a little under foot right now," he grinned, "Want to shuffle?"

"Sure," Touma shrugged and passed out the cards again.

"I'm the king," Kazari said and held up the card. Everyone sighed in relief. They knew she was probably the safest bet out of all of them. "I feel there's some tension between everyone, so… umm… how about 16 and 21 have to give each other a thirty second hug?" A couple people snickered, until they found out who the two were.

Leivinia stood up and so did Rikou. Leivinia's eyes traveled to Rikou's large chest and she scowled. Due to the height difference, Leivinia's head was going to be about even with Rikou's chest. This was the ultimate insult for Leivinia and she turned to glare at Kazari with hatred in her eyes. Kazari's face paled and she had no idea why Leivinia was mad at her. Jason did though, and he held Kazari's hand to steady herself. Leivinia and Rikou started hugging and the others were chatting until the thirty seconds were up.

"I'm surprised something horrible hasn't happened yet," Touma muttered to Misaki and Mikoto.

"You are wearing Kanzaki-san's clothes and think nothing is wrong," Mikoto pointed out. "Huh, you're right. Things are going well, even with Eve's here."

"That's because I'm here," Misaki said proudly. "Even fate doesn't want to separate me and him."

"I'm here too," Mikoto pointed out.

"Fine," Misaki pouted. "Since it's the holidays, you can join us in the back room."

"W-what are you going to do back there?" Mikoto snapped quietly. Touma fell silent and decided he should pretend not to exist or else he was going to get pulled into something misfortunate.

"Naturally," Misaki explained. "What on earth could a young man and woman do in a bedroom?" She turned to Touma and blew in his ear. "How about it my prince?"

"I…err…umm," was all he could say. His brain wasn't thinking clearly and his eyes darted toward the others. It seemed like everyone else was getting involved with the people around them. Kazari and Kuroko seemed to be pressing for some kind of information from Jason, but he only looked amused. Ruiko was talking to Index and Last Order. Accelerator was talking to the girls around him while Shiage was staring at Leivinia hugging Rikou with an envious look on his face. Motoharu, Pierce, and Eve were talking and Touma knew that couldn't be good. Kaori and Itsuwa seemed to be discussing something important in low undertones, Floris also seemed to be dozing off slightly too and Lessar, on the other side of Misaki, looked like she was ready to pounce at him. He was snapped back to reality when Mikoto breathed into his ear.

"I want you to spend some alone time with me too," she complained. Touma thought he smelled something on her breath, but wasn't sure what.

"I want in too," Lessar added and scooted over.

"Only because it's Christmas," Misaki replied. Touma opened his mouth to say something but the time ran out on Leivinia's and Rikou's hug, so they let go. Leivinia looked upset and grabbed the cards angrily, before shuffling and dealing them out. She sat down without a word and crossed her arms.

"Yes!" Motoharu called out and tossed the king card onto the table. "I really liked the variety of orders everyone came up with, but I felt like we were missing something. It was hard to tell what, but it felt like we needed some… misfortune." Touma's eyes widened and he stared at Motoharu, who wore one of the biggest grins on his face Touma had ever seen. "So I came up with this. Number 1 has to tell us which person here they like the most. No saying everyone is special or something like that. Just one specific person." He sat down and everyone glanced down at their card.

 _NO, NO, NO!_ Touma silently screamed in his head. _He can't know what my number is, it's random._ Touma lifted his card up and glanced down at the number. His faced turned ashen and his hands started to tremble. _He had to have known. He always cheats at cards, so they must be marked them somehow. Shit, shit, shit. I am going to die._ The number 1 was clearly printed on his card. Everyone's eyes moved onto him and he sighed. _Guess I die like a man._ He didn't know what he was going to say, but he stood up and threw the card onto the table. He saw Jason, Accelerator, Pierce and Motoharu laughing, while of the girls were watching him with apprehension. "Okay," he said. He was going to follow his gut and say the first name that popped into his mind. "He's going to make me say this, so the person I choose is-…"

The lights went out and several girls screamed which cut him off.

"What happened!?"

"I can't see anything!" The sun had set and the snow was falling heavily outside.

"All the lights are out in the area. It must be a black out."

"Calm down, the emergency lights will be on momentarily."

"Hah this is super fun!"

"Now's my chance!" There was a thud as someone jumped but missed their target.

"Watch it."

"Stop moving around! We are just bumping into each other."

"Who touched my butt!?"

"Sorry!"

"AHH!"

"Huh, who was that?"

"Now's the chance for you guys to cop a feel!"

"Onee-sama!" There was a shock of electricity which briefly lit everything up, but not long enough for everyone to figure out their positions.

"Can everyone please stay calm?"

"Oomph, ouch. Someone elbowed me in the stomach."

"I'm sorry!"

"Oops," There was the sound of breaking glass. Someone's drinking glass hit the ground.

"Everyone needs to stop fucking moving!"

"MISAKA can't see anything!"

"This is stupid."

"Huh? What's happening? I just work up."

"Power outage."

"Found Lover Boy!"

"Get away from him!"

"Get away from him!"

"Is she the one grabbing me?"

"Everyone calm down! I'm going to give us some light." Kaori released a bunch of her wires into the air and they crisscrossed across the ceiling. They started to glow and the room was lit in the soft blue light. Everyone could see where they were and started to help each other up or apologize. It turned out Lessar was grabbing onto Eve, who looked highly amused.

"I'm not really into girls," Eve said. "But I'm willing to try anything once." Lessar let go of her quickly. The person who grabbed Touma was actually Itsuwa and his arm was pressed firmly against her soft chest.

"Sorry Itsuwa," Touma muttered embarrassed and pull his arm away. He had accidently hit with his arm and she grabbed it instinctively.

"It's no problem," Itsuwa replied softly. Her face was red when she realized where his arm had been. She was also slightly nervous seeing several pair of angry eyes on her.

"Jason," Kuroko demanded. "What's going on? Is this just a power outage?"

"Let me check," Jason said and pulled out his phone. If they all had been thinking properly, they would have used their cellphones as lights. For some reason all of them were a little slow on the uptake. "Hey, I just lost power and the backup generator hasn't started. Why?" He frowned. "Huh… I see… really? Okay… damn. Thanks for letting me know." He hung up. "I have some bad news. The snowstorm turned out to be several times worse than they thought it would be. Power is out in several areas and they issued a warning for everyone to stay inside. On the plus side, you all can ignore curfew."

"So we are stuck here?" Ruiko asked and Jason nodded.

"So you all have to stay here," Lessar recapped. "With us," she pointed to the girls from the magic side, "And I'm here with Lover Boy who can't escape." Her grin widened. "Best Christmas Eve ever!"

"Wait Lessar!" Touma said and raised his hands up. It was too late and she pounced, which started a chain reaction off several violent outbursts, shouting, and laughter.

* * *

Several hours later nearly everyone was sleeping. Jason managed to get enough blankets for everyone and they found enough locations for everyone to sleep. The only person who wasn't sleeping was Eve. She had stood up, stretched, and looked out across the darken part of the city. The wires Kaori had created were still active and provided light. She looked around at the people in the living room. Touma was sleeping on the couch with Mikoto and Misaki sleeping on him. Lessar was sleeping next to the couch and was holding tightly to Touma's right arm dangling off the edge. Ruiko was sleeping while leaning up against the side of the couch and supported by pillows. Jason was sleeping on a reclining sofa chair and for some reason Kazari and Kuroko were sleeping curled up tightly next to him. Shiage and Accelerator were sleeping in chairs with their heads on the table. Saiai and Bayloupe flanked Accelerator's side. Kaori and Itsuwa were sleeping on a thick blanket in the middle of the room while Pierce and Motoharu were snoozing against the walls. Everyone else was sleeping in the bedroom area.

 _I didn't think they would drink all the cider,_ Eve thought. _Everyone got a little bold near the end there._ She laughed quietly when several girls propositioned Touma to spend a night with all of them or when Kuroko asked Kazari to share Jason. Bayloupe and Saiai had even gotten into an argument over what present Accelerator would like more. _Oh well, it was fun while it lasted._ She was planning to leave but figured she should at least thank the others for having her over in her own special way. She walked over to Pierce, her newest servant, and put a piece of paper with a phone number into his hand. She knew he would be a useful source of information. Eve smiled and walked over to the couch until she was standing over Touma. Eve had a special treat in mind for him. She held out her hand and her Book of Genesis appeared. The pages fell open and then a single page flew out.

The single sheet of paper turned into a pair of striped red and white panties.

"Enjoy my Christmas present," she whispered and put the underwear over Touma's head. This action was sure to spark some interesting conversations the following morning, but Eve, sadly, would not be there. She walked to the door, opened it silently, gave everyone one last wave good-bye, before closing the door and left. As soon as she left, Motoharu opened an eye and sat up.

"Finally," he muttered. He knew Eve was awake so he had to pretend to be asleep. He walked over to the kitchen, stood up on his tiptoes, and pulled out a camera from on top of a cupboard. He flipped it open and watched the earlier scenes of the party. _It_ _looks like our research into Kami-yan Disease is coming along nicely. I'll have to do some commentary, but the angle worked out better than I thought._ He turned the camera off, hid it, and went back to his spot to go to sleep.

* * *

 _Why am I doing this again?_

Across the city, Shizuri Mugino was leaving a store with a bag of wrapped male clothes in her hand. The clothes were going to be her Christmas gift for a certain boy. _I hate the holidays, so he better be grateful._ She had to order the clothes specially made because these clothes were designed to be sturdier than normal ones and they were fire resistant. With Touma's luck, he probably went through a lot of clothes, so this would be a useful gift for him. She personally picked it up and was planning to deliver it to him, but the arrival was delayed and she didn't finish until after night had fallen. The snow was piling up and it was going to be annoying to get anywhere. _If he doesn't appreciate this, I'm going to beat him until he does. Maybe I should go tomorrow, when it's actually Christmas, and then I could spend the day with… blah what crap am I thinking about?_ She paused when she heard a couple adults talking.

"The blizzard isn't letting up anytime soon."

"A couple kids are still stuck out there and I heard Anti-Skill is working to find them all."

"Why are they out there anyways?"

"The storm wasn't supposed to be this bad, but a couple kids said a magical snowman asked what they wanted at the nearby park and they wished for more snow. Now we have this."

"Magical snowman? Pssh, kids these days."

"They aren't old enough to know magic doesn't exist."

Shizuri stopped listening here. Normally, a conversation like this would not be worth her time, but she was far too experienced with magicians now to overlook something like this. _I bet Eve has something to do with this. I'm going to check it out. If I have to blast a snowman, then I get to release some pent up stress._ She grinned and walked out of the store and into the snow. Using her ability, melting the snow around her was a simple task. She pulled up her hood and headed toward the park.

It turned out Shizuri was the one who saved Christmas.

And only a few kids were traumatized.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Well, the game was tough to write, not because it was difficult to think of ideas, I had a lot of people help out with that, but the fact I was laughing too much. Some people may question why the pairings weren't always perfect. That is because I used a random number generator to choose pairings, except when someone cheats. (Motoharu and Eve. You know they did.) I knew what dare each of them would come up with though, even the ones who didn't get picked. Anyway, I hope this light hearted chapter broke up the seriousness in the main story.**

 **Happy Festivus to you all.**


	89. S4 Plight of the Level 5s: Part 4

**The holidays are over and we all trudge back to our boring and meaningless lives. It's a new year and nothing has changed, but now is the time to rejoice. I bring to you a new chapter! This one is actual story instead of the plot of last chapter. Some people mentioned it was a good break from the seriousness of the current arc and I have to agree. This chapter will finish part two of all the fights and then the fights should be finished in 2-3 more chapters before moving back to our favorite unlucky hero who is out in the horrible Outback about to siege one of the most powerful villains in this story. So much stuff is going on and I'm looking forward to when it's done and we move back to more humorous situations, like the raffle. I also hope everyone had a good holiday, whatever they may be. Now, onward to comments.**

 **anand891996: What? Of course it wasn't. Why would I make fun of one of my favorite holiday stories? Eve likes to break the forth wall a lot. She's an attention hog so we can't give her too much attention or she won't leave.**

 **Brosephg: I had been debating on actually showing Mugino more near the end, but the omake had already gotten too long, so I made it a little vaguer. I think that worked out better, as it leaves more to the imagination.**

 **general ironox: I was bouncing ideas off several of my friends and one of them suggested the Pocky Game, it worked out perfectly.**

 **Salishious: I'm glad you enjoyed it. I had the toughest time writing it because I was laughing too much. I had to do it in chunks and then quickly switch to something else for a moment. The most innocent questions are usually the funniest. Simple things we take for granted can be funny when mentioned out loud.**

 **Yakutsu Zaishiro: Not really enough time to make a good New Year's omake. The best female in Touma's harem? That's tough. Each one is good in their own way. He likes the older mature girls, but he sometimes needs a strong alpha female to kick him in the right direction.**

 **Whwsms: Sometimes, leaving things to the imagination is the best. You don't get limited to my ideas.**

 **Guest: If I'm still writing next year, I might do another one. I also have an idea for a Halloween one, but it's kind of cliché right now, but I have tons of time. Yuna met Touma once before when he was taking Index to the buffet. Eve's around Mikoto's age and height, but she can change her appearance with magic, so it's not set. This will become apparent later. NO! No one mentioned the joke! I even set up the title for that very reason! I was so disappointed. For the blackout scene, I purposely made it so people didn't know who was here, minus a few obvious ones.**

 **reality deviant: Thanks.**

 **Guest: I probably won't make Pierce the number 6 until it's canon. Motoharu might do some stuff, but he does everything behind the scenes.**

 **Handsomistic1: One, no. Two, random number generator liked them. Three, porn is always funny. Four, use your imagination. Five, which version was that? When he's female and attracts girls? Six, nah, she was there, but didn't stand out.**

 **Generation Zero: Eve vs Noukan is going to be one of the most insane fights for me to write. Nothing is off the table, except maybe magic god world exploding moves. I'm planning to read up some scenes with the AAA to get the movement and fight tactics down before I get there.**

 **Salishious: Huh, Index might actually do something like that. Eve can teach her and Last Order all sorts of funny things… hmm. That might be kind of fun and then watch Accelerator and Touma trying to track them down. It was a Christmas present for Touma. Shizuri, the Future Savior of Christmas, has acquired a new title.**

 **FrodoFighter: Touma had to clothes swap with someone. There was a possibly he would wear a girl's Santa suit, but the random dice roller picked for me. Jason's cleanup was perfectly normal. You are the second person to note Eve's fourth wall breaking. Do not fear, it's one of my favorite Christmas stories here. Pierce might chase them if they run away too. But he and Eve fit perfectly together. Shame it's an omake and not canon in the story. Keep their underwear? Pssh, of course not. They just didn't tell the others. If Touma said himself, he would be lying for the dare and have to suffer a punishment game. Magic infused clothes won't work for Touma. We need scientifically engineered ones for him.**

 **wildarms13: It was fun to write a humorous chapter after all the seriousness.**

 **321jaz: Slice of life stuff is always really fun to write.**

 **MightyImpulse: Shizuri does not get embarrassed. She substitutes destruction for embarrassment.**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly. Magic Gods own all so they can do what they want.**

* * *

"This is why I don't like getting involved!" Shiage cried as he ran down the empty street and ducked down an alley. "I never wanted to be dragged into this!"

Shiage Hamazura was being chased by an enemy magician who was capable of going toe to toe with not only one of the level 5s, but a level 4 as well. Shiage even hit him with a truck full of explosives and this guy, who called himself the legendary Oda Nobunaga, walked out of it unscathed. In fact, he had even looked amused. After giving his name, he gave Shiage thirty seconds to set up a plan to fight this monster who seemed to be able to attack from long distances simply by swinging his sword. Shiage only had a handheld pistol on him and, after Oda was able to take Meltdowner blasts from Shizuri, he did not think firing his peashooter would amount to anything. His only option was to bide time until he could think of a way to lose Oda.

"Come on," Shiage muttered and fumbled around on his phone until he pulled up a map of the city. "There has to be something." Using GPS, he zoomed in on his location and examined the surrounding buildings. "Apartments, office building, restaurant, game store, come on, where are all the useful buildings?" He heard the sound of a car exploding and he started to sweat even more. _He's closing in on me, but is purposely giving away his location. How is he even tracking me? I'm disappearing between buildings._ Shiage did not understand magic at all, but Saiai and Frenda had given him a short overview. It was like Academy City's abilities, but they had more variety. It would not be unusual for them to have some type of tracking magic. Since there was no one around them, Oda must have used magic to keep civilians out of the action. Shiage started running again and zoomed out the map on his phone to see the next couple blocks over. Something caught his eye and for the first time, he grinned.

There was an Anti-Skill building nearby.

 _Perfect,_ Shiage thought. He hoped there might be some adults there able to help him, but even if that wasn't the case because of Oda's magic, he was still optimistic. Anti-Skill areas usually had extra weaponry, ammo, and supplies so their personnel could be equipped anywhere in the city. It was only a small branch office, so Shiage doubted they had any heavy vehicles, but they might have some stronger weapons than his handgun. He reached the end of the alleyway, looked around to make sure Oda wasn't there, and bolted down the side of the street. He ran about three hundred meters when he crossed another street. A movement caught his eye to the left and he turned his head just in time. _Oh crap!_

Oda was standing down the side street and had raised his blade.

Shiage instinctively ducked and rolled, a second before a deep grove appeared in the ground right where he had been standing a second before. He would have lost his legs if he hadn't dived forward. "How am I supposed to entertain you if you don't give me any time to prepare!?" Shiage yelled out desperately as he ran full speed down the road before Oda walked out of the side street.

"I'm teaching you to think on your feet," Oda's voice replied and it sounded slightly amused.

 _Bastard,_ Shiage thought. _He's enjoying this._ He glanced over his shoulder and saw Oda walking out into the open. Shiage knew Oda was not limited in the range of his strikes, so being out in the open was suicidal. He turned sharply to his right and barged into an open office building. The lights were still on, but it was deserted, like the rest of the area. There was a back door, but if he left through there, it would be obvious where he went. Shiage couldn't trust that hiding would be any better if Oda could track him. He saw stairs leading upstairs and an idea formed in his mind. He ran over to the back door and pushed it open slightly, before he ran up the stairs and looked around. There were a lot of office cubicles, but he glanced past them. He was staring at the windows and he sighed in relief when he saw they could be opened from the inside. He ran toward them and looked outside. One was overlooking the street he had come from, but the ones to his right were only a few feet away from another building.

"This is stupid," Shiage muttered to himself as he opened the window as far as it would go. "I should have gone out the back." He slipped out the window and stood on the ledge of the building. He had to close the window behind him to make it look like he had not been there. A small breeze rustled his clothes and he took a deep breath to steady himself. The ledge on the other building was only a few feet away, but too far to just step over. He braced himself for what would happen if he failed and jumped. Shiage landed on the other edge with a soft thud and he gripped widely at the smooth concrete edges to stabilize himself. He swayed backwards for a moment, but managed to keep himself up right. He reached a shaking hand into his pocket and pulled out a lock pick. It took a moment to run it along the window's edge, but he heard the soft click and the window opened. He slipped into the new building and closed the window carefully behind him.

It was another office building, but Shiage didn't care. He moved quickly and silently through the cubicles and down the stairs. He opened an emergency exit that led into an alley and he looked out. The area was deserted and he left the building. His goal was still to get to the Anti-Skill office. Oda most likely saw Shiage enter the building and followed him. Shiage did not know exactly how Oda was tracking him, but people tended to believe things their eyes saw. Since Oda saw him enter that building, Oda probably would follow him without using his tracking magic. If everything went according to Shiage's plan, Oda would go out the back door to follow Shiage's trail. Once the trail ran cold, Oda would use his magic to locate Shiage again, but this would give him time. How much, he did not know. Shiage managed to arrive at the Anti-Skill building without seeing Oda again, and then he received a most welcome surprise.

The building was unlocked.

 _They must have gotten up and left right in the middle of work,_ Shiage thought. _Finally, a piece of good news._ He wasn't as unlucky as other people and good things would happen to him from time to time. He entered the Anti-Skill building and looked around. He was standing in a waiting room, but there was nothing usable there, so he walked past the front desk and into the back area. This is where he struck gold. Rows of assault rifles, submachine guns, and a couple grenade launchers were laid out before him. He reached for one and stopped. _This guy was able to stop Mugino's attack head on, so I can't expect these to work. He also survived an explosion, though it wasn't confined. I wonder what else they have._ He walked over to another storage room, adjacent to this one, and his mouth fell open.

There was a sizable explosive stockpile.

 _This is what I'm talking about,_ Shiage thought as he looked around. Some people might have found it strange for a police organization to have so many explosives at their disposal, but they actually had a reason. First, a large part of Academy City was underground, which meant if there was a terrorist attack or a rogue ability user started to wreak havoc, there was the risk of cave-ins. Explosions were used to clear out tunnels if needed. They also were used against fortifications, both deliberate and accidental, such as heavy metal doors that normal tools could not break down. They weren't used a lot, but there had been rumors they had been used recently against some intruders who entered Academy City illegally. Most of them were set up to be remotely detonated, so Shiage wouldn't have to find ways to set them off manually like he did earlier. He would just have to arm them once they were in place.

 _Will this be enough though?_ Shiage thought to himself. He had tried using explosives once, improvised explosives, but explosives nonetheless. These might be a little more effective, but they would have to be set up right to maximize their effectiveness. _I need something more._ He made a mental note of what was at his disposal and moved toward the next room. He skipped over the first aid supplies and entered the garage. There was one armored vehicle, but Shiage only planned to use that as an escape option if he got out of his predicament alive. There was not a lot of time left, since it was only a matter of when before Oda found him. Shiage could not afford to half-ass his plan or he would die. There was one more room attached to the garage and Shiage walked through the door. He felt a grin form on his face.

A powered suit was sitting in the charger and, by the green light, it was fully charged.

Shiage rubbed his hands together as the plan formed in his mind. He went to work and hoped he could finish before Oda arrived.

* * *

"I can't believe I fell for that."

Oda turned around and walked back toward the building he had just come out off. He had seen the boy, Shiage, dash into the building. It was actually a wise strategy, since Oda could only cut things he could see. Though, if he wanted too, he could cut the building in half. _But where would the fun in that be?_ Oda had entered the building and looked around. The back door was still opened slightly and Oda shook his head. _Seriously, at least try to cover your tracks. I though the boy was more clever than that._ He exited the building and looked around. There was no sign of Shiage and Oda frowned. He figured Shiage would run away from him and started walking in that direction for a little bit before it dawned on him.

 _He must have exited a different way._

Oda walked back into the office building and looked around. There was still a possibility Shiage was hiding in the building. _Hiding is foolish, but he may be out of options. I think I have overestimated him._ Oda touched the left shoulder of his armor with his right hand and a small rune began to glow on the back of his right glove. Oda smiled as he began his search for Shiage. Like most of the Fallen under Eve and Adam, he did not base his magic on religion. Cain was the only one who actually based his magic on that, but even he derived from it. Hunter's Presence was one such power, as it was based on the predator prey relationship. Arthur's magic was based on lore and legend around folktales, while Juliet's was based on Shakespearean era drama.

The glowing rune was called Algiz, which looked like a Y but with a third prong in the middle sticking upwards, and it was the rune of Protection and Opportunity. Having the rune engraved into his armor was the key to his tracking spell. Armor was originally designed to protect the body from enemies. Over the years, full metal body armor had been designed to be more ceremonial once nations moved away from swords and bows. Even so, bullet proof armor was still used by military and police worldwide, so the primary purpose had not change. For armor to function as intended, it must be worn. Armor on a display stand in the corner of a room would not protect anyone from harm. Oda used this trait of armor combined with another aspect. Algiz also represents success through endeavor in a search, quest, or other enterprise.

In other words, his tracking magic would find anyone capable of wearing the armor.

Even though Oda's armor was crafted to fit his body size, it was still armor made for a human. Thus, the spell would only find other humans. If he used his magic on armor for a horse, more commonly called barding, he would be able to locate any horses nearby. The downside was he could not tell who the person detected was. This spell was originally designed to find and root out stealth attacks. He had been tracking Shiage through magic, but stopped when he caught sight of him. _That boy couldn't know how I was tracking him, so did he figure it out? Even if they know about magic, to actively discern how magic works is impressive._ He concentrated and found two groups of people. One group held three people, which must have been his primary target and her friends, and the second group consisted of only a single person. _There he is. Huh, he didn't get very far. He must be planning something._

Oda grinned. This is what he expected from the boy. A normal person would have kept running after witnessing his might, but then would only be hunted down like a wounded animal. A true warrior would resist until the bitter end and Oda respected those types of people. The strong would always be defeated by the next generation of strength, such was the fate of those born for battle. He walked toward the location Shiage's presence was coming from. His footsteps echoed heavily across the deserted street. He hated using people clearing fields because the silence unnerved him. In a battle, when you heard the sound of fighting, you knew what to expect. When there was only silence, you had no idea if an enemy force was preparing to launch a surprise attack. _This time, I know he is preparing some kind of last ditch attack._ He stopped for a moment outside the building and turned off his tracking magic. It took too much concentration to keep it going and simultaneously use his offensive weapon magic.

"Shiage Hamazura!" Oda yelled out loudly. "Are you going to hide inside like a coward or come out and fight like a man?!" There was no response, but Oda did not expect one. Only a fool would have come out to face him directly. He drew one of his swords and walked forward. The front door was unlocked and he encountered no resistance. The entrance area was deserted and he continued through the back door. The next room had rows of advanced firearms and Oda made sure to note two of the submachine guns had been removed because of the empty spaces. There was still no sign of Shiage, and Oda moved to the next room. This room was empty, but there were disturbed signs of dust that something had been moved. _This is my first real clue that he is planning something._ Oda left the room and entered a garage. There was only one vehicle there, but it caused him to frown. _He couldn't be this predictable, could he?_ He checked the back of the vehicle for explosives, but there were none. Slightly confused, Oda scratched his head. _What is the boy planning? This is pretty exciting. My blood is boiling more than against my primary target._ He saw another door leading out of the garage and Oda headed in that direction.

The doorway exploded in gunfire the second he opened it.

Oda wasn't too concerned about normal machine gun bullets. His armor was enchanted with magic and he could barely feel them hitting his skin. He did, however, cover part of his face with one arm so he could see what was shooting him. The bullets were peppering his face too much to get a clear view. He finally made out a metal suit in roughly the shape of a person. It was one of those power armor suits he had heard Academy City developed. In a way, Oda could appreciate it, because it acted as a suite of armor and allowed the user to wield several larger weapons. It may have been considered technology, but the fact remained people still used some type of armor and weapons. It was obvious to Oda what Shiage had done. He found a powered suit to use against Oda since he couldn't face him directly. _I can't really find fault in that logic because of his experience in magic, but he doesn't understand how insignificant one of those suits are._ He sighed and sliced his sword downwards.

One of the powered suit's arms fell off and clattered to the ground. The weapon in the other arm stopped firing. Oda lowered his arm and got a better look at the suite. It looked like a heavier suit of western style full body armor and both arms had been carrying submachine guns, but now one of them was lying on the ground several meters away. Oda shook his head. "I might have overestimated you. If this is the best you can do, it ends here."

"You magicians cheat!" Shiage's voice came out of the powered suit. "Seriously, being able to block bullets with your skin and armor? Then you guys can use tons of different powers, that is total bullshit!"

"Armor was designed to protect," Oda replied with a shrug. "Using magic only strengthens that function. Besides, how can you say I cheat when your companion shoots beams of light that disintegrate everything in its path?"

"Her ability is cheating too!"

"Heh," Oda laughed slightly. "Regardless of the era, you always hear people complain about the strength of others. They were born stronger, faster, or smarter so I can't catch up to them. I will let you in on a secret. The strong don't always survive on the battlefield. A stray arrow, a hidden blade, or a random horse could lead to your death. Strength only gives you a slightly better chance to live. Luck is a key part in this."

"I can't say I'm lucky," Shiage admitted. "But I'm luckier than someone else I know." The powered suit raised its other arm and aimed the last gun. "I have someone to get back to, so I can't die here." He started firing again and the bullets peppered Oda.

"I understand that," Oda said with a nod. "We all carry something to return too, but everyone can't be so lucky." He slashed his blade again and the other arm separated from the powered suit. Oda then realized something he should have noticed earlier. The powered suit was like armor, it was supposed to cover the human body. This included all the human appendages, including the arms. When he had cut off the powered suit's arms, there had not been any human arms beneath them. Oda sliced his sword horizontally and the powered suit was cut in half at the waist. The top half of the powered suit fell off and hit the ground with a loud clang. If Shiage had been in the suit, he could have been cut in half too. "What is this!?" Oda demanded.

"I was planning to drive the power suit," Shiage's voice came out of the helm. "But I realized being out in the open was suicidal. These suits can be controlled remotely, though the functions were limited and the controls are complicated. I only managed to figure out how to move the arms and fire."

"Did you think this was going to be enough to stop me!?"

"I didn't think it would," admitted Shiage. "So I set something else up. Take a look around the base of the walls." Oda complied and glanced around the room. There were boxes of supplies and maintenance kits for the powered suit, but then he noticed what Shiage had set up.

The walls were lined with explosives.

"You were so focused on the powered suit," Shiage explained. "You didn't notice the real trap. In this confined space, the force should be a lot greater than before."

"You ingenious bastard," Oda snarled, but he was slightly impressed.

"Goodbye," Shiage said, as the explosives started to go off all around Oda.

* * *

Shiage's plan had worked better than he thought it would. Since a direct assault was out of the question, he did not pilot the suit himself. Instead, he found the remote controls used to test the operating system and structural integrity of the suit. It had been really complicated, but he had experience with driving all sorts of vehicles and managed to learn the basic controls. Once he had that, he grabbed the explosives and set them up along the walls of the room. Then he also hid some explosives in the previous room with the vehicle. He guessed correctly Oda would be wary of explosives in vehicles, so Shiage placed them behind other things along the walls. They were out of sight, but close by so Oda would not be able to escape. He grabbed the remote viewer and left out the emergency exit. The most dangerous part was staying close enough that Oda would still think he was in the building.

It seemed to work and Shiage was carefully monitoring the view from the powered suit's camera. He had two devices in his possession, one was the detonator for the explosives and the other was the remote viewer, with a two way communicator and basic remote functions built in. As soon as Oda entered the doorway to the powered suit, Shiage started running away to avoid getting caught in the explosion or the soon to be flying debris. He exchanged brief dialogue with Oda before Shiage hit the button on the detonator with a soft click.

A chain of explosions went off in the distance. The ground under Shiage shook and he stumbled slightly. He saw dust flying the air as the building he had left begun to collapse. All the electronics, equipment, and the other vehicle started to explode from either being crushed by steel or be being engulfed in other explosions. Flames erupted fifty meters into the air and pieces of debris started flying in every direction. Nearby buildings' windows began to shatter as pieces of shrapnel peppered the walls and large chunks of debris fell into the street. A couple pieces of metal chunks landed to close for comfort, which caused Shiage to retreat further away. Smoke rose high into the sky and Shiage was sure Anti-Skill would be flooding into the area after seeing that. He panted and looked down at the remote viewer, which only returned static. He didn't expect the camera to still be in once piece. Shiage tossed the viewer on the ground and leaned up against a wall of a building. He had to take a couple deep breaths to calm himself down. His phone beeped and he glanced down at the message from Saiai.

 _What the hell did you do? Anyway, you super need to get your ass back to us. Mugino has a plan. We are at the same location we started at._

Shiage grinned for a moment at the thought of Saiai's stunned disbelieving look when he told her he had taken out Oda. _Maybe she will finally give me some respect._ He was just beginning to message her back when he stopped. He wasn't sure why he looked up, but something told him too. An occasional explosion would go off, but the rain of debris had stopped. Then he heard it, the sound of metal screeching against metal. Shiage thought for a moment debris might have been sliding down other pieces, and then his hope was dashed.

Giant flaming chunks of metal and debris flew out of the burning wreckage of the former Anti-Skill building. Out of the fire, a single person stepped out into the street. Shiage could not believe his eyes. Oda had been completely surrounded by explosions and had a building collapse on him. There was no logical way he should have survived or, at the very least, remained unscathed enough to walk out. Shiage was not going to see how hurt Oda was and sent a short message back to Saiai.

 _I'm on my way back, and that guy is going to be pissed._

* * *

While Shiage was desperately trying to survive against Oda, Saiai had found Rikou and brought her over to Shizuri. Saiai was a little bruised, but otherwise unhurt. She waited impatiently as Shizuri got a full detailed explanation on what Rikou and Shiage did with the explosive truck. Saiai was actually slightly impressed Shiage had come up with something so sneaky on the spot. _I bet he is super regretting it now that he is the one being targeted._ She snickered slightly and then turned back to Rikou and Shizuri. They were now talking in low voices. "Am I going to know what you two are planning or am I super going to be kept out of the loop?" Shizuri glanced at her thoughtfully for a moment before answering.

"I suppose I can tell you," Shizuri said reluctantly. "The reason I haven't told you about this is because it's personal in nature and does not involve ITEM. Now it seems like they are going to overlap."

"Then why does she know?" Saiai asked and pointed to Rikou.

"Because of her ability," Shizuri answered and Rikou nodded.

"Care to elaborate?" Saiai asked in a mixture of confusion and irritation.

"Remember when Mental Out went through her transformation in England?" Shizuri asked and Saiai nodded.

"Her power was overloaded with Telesma because of her link to their knight's mind," Saiai said. "The transformation I thought was caused by unusual reactions to the Telesma."

"That's only partially right," Shizuri replied and crossed her arms. "I went to see Kamijou's friend after the announcement of the rank changes. He's involved a lot more in the city than we realized. He actually has access to the level 5 research information, including mine." Saiai's eyes went wide. "So Takitsubo and I paid him a visit. We found out some interesting information on how they decide ranks, since it's not based on raw power. He also had access to more stable drugs than what was being passed around underground. Instead of the drugs actually permanently boosting my power, it forcefully caused my ability to grow slightly out of control to break the ceiling cap on my ability."

"Huh?"

"It's how they rank us," Shizuri elaborated, slightly impatiently. "They base us on how high our potential is with our ability. It turns out when Mental Out did that transformation, her maximum potential increased, hence the rank change. What I did was take drugs to cause my ability to overload, which would force my ability to collide against the ceiling of my potential. Normally, this would cause an ability to run out of control and kill the user, just like what happened to several idiots who took the drug illegally. Mine was a control dose but Takitsubo's ability was the key to success."

"How?" Saiai asked and turned to Rikou. She didn't say anything and Shizuri continued.

"When my ability overloads, my AIM field will start running out of control as a sign. Takitsubo can use her ability to take over my AIM field and redirect it back toward me, which would cause me to forcefully burst through my max potential." She crossed her arms and looked angry for a moment, so Saiai didn't press for answers until Shizuri was ready to continue. "Everything was working fine, until Kakine showed up. That bastard almost ruined everything. I wasn't supposed to use my ability when I was unstable, but he forced me too. If it wasn't for Kamijou's timely arrival, we would have succumbed to Kakine's magic. During the fight, my ability hit the overload point and Takitsubo managed to forcefully cause my ability to grow. I told you about our fight, but I didn't mention the specifics about why I struggled."

"If it grew," Saiai mumbled thoughtfully and then she stared at Shizuri in shock. "Did you experience a transformation? Like Mental Out?"

"I did," Shizuri confirmed. "But I don't remember most of it. It was like I was in a haze during the process. Takitsubo saw more of it." They looked at Rikou.

"…It was definitely a transformation," Rikou admitted slowly. "But it wasn't like Mental Out's. It seemed to resemble your ability, especially in color. It was green like your normal attacks instead of blue threads."

"Even so," Shizuri continued. "It was incomplete, but it was a step in the right direction."

"So what does this have to do with our current situation?" Saiai asked, still in the dark. "That guy was only playing around with us. If your ability grew because of that transformation, it's not doing anything against…" Her voice trailed off under Shizuri's glare. "Did you super hear what he called himself?" she said, as she changed the topic. "Oda Nobunaga. There's no way he could be the real one."

"It doesn't matter if he is real or fake," Shizuri growled. "He is strong, we can't deny that. These magicians under Eve are equivalent to level 5s, or possibly even stronger. Even if my ability grew, it's not enough to defeat him. That bastard actually managed to cut my Meltdowner with a fucking sword! The fact is he is after me and probably chased after Hamazura just to piss me off more. I will not stand for this humiliation. There is one option left at my disposal to turn that bastard into ashes. Takitsubo will use her ability to take control of my AIM field and forcefully overload it instead of using drugs."

"Huh?!" Saiai exclaimed and even Rikou turned to Shizuri in shock. "Mental Out used a drug originally and you said you did too. Can it super be done without it?"

"That's what we are about to find out," Shizuri said. She turned to Rikou. "I'm leaving it up to you."

"…I don't know," Rikou said and this surprised Shizuri and Saiai. Rikou was not the type to stand up to Shizuri. "I have not tried this on you without you being overloaded by a drug. It may take some time to get it right. If I try to force it without preparation, the shock may cause severe injury or even death."

"Understood," Shizuri said. "Get to work. Kinuhata," she turned to Saiai, "scout out the area and see if you can find out where Hamazura lured him. If you can't find him in five minutes, report back." Saiai nodded and moved out. Saiai run off in the direction Shiage had gone, but after running down two streets she had to stop. Unlike Oda's fight with Shizuri and her, there was not a lot collateral damage everywhere. She finally noticed one mark in the ground and ran over to it. She looked around, but the trail ran cold.

"Damn it Hamazura," Saiai muttered. "Can't you do anything right? Leaving a trail only your group can see is the first thing you super should have learned." She threw up her hands into the air and kicked the ground. _He could be in another district by now._ She still had time and examined the street. She glanced to her right and noticed a door was partially opened. She carefully went through it, checked for traps, and examined her surroundings again. The back door was open and she left through it. The trail went cold again and she lost all signs of them. She punched a light pole and bent it with the force. _I can't track him like this. I need Takitsubo_. Getting her help was not an option at the moment and Saiai continued looking around for a little while longer, before she headed back to the others. "Trail ran cold," Saiai reported. She blinked and looked between Shizuri and Rikou. _It doesn't look like it is going super well._

Shizuri was sitting on a piece of rubble and was grimacing.

"Hamazura doesn't have an ability," Shizuri panted slightly. "So it's not like we should expect a fight."

"Is this going to work?" Saiai asked.

"…It's difficult," Rikou admitted. "But through trial and error, I believe I know what to do. Again Mugino, this is really risky."

"I don't care!" Shizuri snapped harshly before controlling herself. "We don't stand a chance against him and he could kill us at any time. I went after this power for a reason. If this isn't a time to use it, there will never be one." She took a deep breath. "Okay, we don't know exactly how long this will take, but we can't trust I'll be in a position to chase after Hamazura. Judging by the fact neither of them have returned yet, we should assume the chase is still on. Kinuhata, message Hamazura and see if he can bring our target back here." Saiai nodded and pulled out her phone.

The ground beneath them shook as they heard the sounds of several explosions and the roar of a building collapsing.

"…What was that?" Rikou asked and turned. She concentrated her focus and saw Shiage's level 0 AIM field. "He's alive, but I do not have the ability to see Oda Nobunaga."

"Message him now!" Shizuri ordered Saiai. "Their fight appears to have reached the climax."

"On it," Saiai said and sent a message. She received a reply a moment later. "He's coming and whatever that explosion was, Hamazura caused it. He's still being chased."

"Perfect," Shizuri mused with a sadistic grin. "No matter what happens, do not interrupt us. Takitsubo, unleash my power." Rikou opened her mouth and Shizuri glared at her. "Now!" Rikou nodded and unleashed the full power of her ability on Shizuri. She manipulated and forced Shizuri's AIM field back into her. "AHHHHHH!"

Shizuri had involuntary yelled as the waves of excruciating pain washed over her. The pain was even worse than the first time. Maybe because her AIM field was not being overloaded with drugs, the stress was more directly on Shizuri for Rikou to control the AIM field enough to reverse the flow. Shizuri fell to the ground on all fours as she lost control of her muscles. It was like thousands of needles were stabbing her entire body and she could only taste blood. A small amount trickled out of her mouth. She could move, she couldn't think, and it was almost impossible to breath. She stayed in this vulnerable position for only a short time, but it felt like centuries to her. Her mind was breaking, her body was breaking, and her will to live was fading. Everything was turning black. She couldn't see. She couldn't hear. She could only wait for the pain to end or have the sweet embrace of death claim her. _I won't die here!_

 _Woah,_ Saiai thought. She had never see Shizuri in the process of transforming, but she was glad she wasn't in Shizuri's spot. The pain on Shizuri's face was frightening. Saiai almost interfered, but Shizuri's words echoed in her mind not to get involved. All she could do was wait. Minutes passed and the air was thick with tension. Saiai caught movement down the street and she glanced up. Shiage had just run into the street, looked around, and made a beeline straight at them. Saiai moved forward to intercept him so that he would not disturb Shizuri and Rikou.

"I dropped a building on him and he walked out of the pile of rubble like it was nothing," Shiage told her and stopped to gasp for air. "He has the ability to track me, so he should be here any minute."

"You dropped a building on him?" Saiai repeated, slightly impressed.

"I found an Anti-Skill building and borrowed some explosives," Shiage explained quickly. "As long as they don't trace the destruction of their base to me, it will be fine." He caught his breath and stood up a straight. "Why is Mugino on the ground?"

"She and Takitsubo are doing something dangerous to fight him," Saiai explained. "If you disturb them, they super might mess up." Saiai then did something unexpected. She slapped Shiage on the back. "You did a good job. First distracting him and then leading him away from us. Kamijou must be rubbing off on you."

"Why do you always compare me to him?" Shiage explained and rubbed his sore back. Saiai didn't always control her strength.

"To make you work harder," Saiai replied with a grin. "Anyway, if they don't finish in time and he arrives, it's up to us to stall." Shiage nodded, but was not feeling optimistic. They turned toward the direction Shiage came from and waited. It was only around a minute longer when Oda walked out into the street and toward them. Shiage pulled out his pistol and Saiai made a fist. Now that he was closer, Shiage managed to get a good look at Oda. The armor was still intact, but it had several scorch marks on it and his clothes were blackened around the edges. Even his hair looked slightly singed, but he was in way too good of condition after what he went through.

"That was a surprise," Oda said as he approached. "You managed to surprise me not once, but twice." He drew out both of his swords. "There won't be a third time though." Shiage gulped and knew he was in trouble. Being out in the open against Oda's attack put them at a disadvantage.

"How does it feel to be whooped by a level 0?" Saiai asked mockingly. "He doesn't even have an ability."

"There are many kinds of strengths in this world," Oda answered evenly. "He put up more of a fight than you did." Saiai scowled, but Shiage didn't have the opportunity to gloat. A bright green glow from behind him caused everyone to turn toward Shizuri. She had stood up and caused their mouths to fall open in shock.

Shizuri had managed to transform.

Her body was radiating a bright green glow, which made her look radioactive. The ground around her was bubbling and Rikou was retreating away from her to avoid being burned. Shizuri's hair was flouting in the air as if defying gravity. Her eyes were glowing green, but much darker than the green glow of her body. Shizuri took a step forward and four orbs appeared right behind her. They each stretched out into diamond shape petals, which then formed into an X-shape. The green glow intensified and seemed to grow solid on her hands and move up her arms like it was a liquid. Her hand, wrists, and lower arms were now pure green. She kept walking forward and left a trail of footsteps in the melted asphalt. Her dark green eyes, closer to black, moved toward Shiage and then to Saiai.

"Move."

It only took one word. One word full of strength, anger, irritation, and more that caused both of them to retreat to the sides and then back toward Rikou. When they were out of the way, she turned her eyes toward Oda. He was looking at her with interest, as he took in her new appearance. "Interesting," he called out. "Is this your trump card?" Shizuri did not reply and continued to walk slowly toward him.

"What happened!?" Shiage asked breathlessly to Rikou.

"You actually managed!?" Saiai asked.

"…It was tougher than I thought," Rikou admitted. "She collapsed on the ground and I thought I might have killed her, but she managed to endure. Her AIM field is erupting like its running wild, but there's actually a method to its movements."

"I super see the resemblance to Mental Out's," Saiai nodded. "But this seems more like Mugino. Raw power rather than refine connections."

"You saw this before?" Shiage asked them, but neither would answer.

Meanwhile, Shizuri was only about thirty meters away from Oda. She stared at him for a moment and several orbs appeared around her. "Even with your transformation," Oda told her. "If you continue to use the same attacks, I'll just cut through them. Can't you show me something new?" Regardless of his words, he never lowered his blades.

"The last person who saw this form was blown into chunks of flesh," Shizuri answered. She looked down and flexed her fingers. "This one even seems more complete. Maybe it's because I had unlocked it once before or maybe it's because I did not use drugs." She moved her eyes back to Oda. "It doesn't matter. You are going to die here." Her mind was actually somewhat clear compared to the first time. Calculations for her ability seemed to be as easy as breathing.

"You regained your confidence I see," Oda pointed out. "But did you ever stop to think of what Lady Eve's plans are? I was only assigned to take you down. Others are going after your friends. Even if you somehow managed to defeat me, you would lose in the long run."

"Oh?" Shizuri asked. She was interested in who Eve considered her friends. "Who might those be?"

"The ones the city calls level 5," Oda explained. "They will all die tonight. Then I believe Eve is going after the Imagine Breaker personally. She said she was going after someone else, but we all know better."

"I see." A smile slowly appeared on her face. If that's the case." Without warning a huge green blast fired from one of the orbs. It was several times larger in diameter than her previous ones. Oda was ready and moved his blade at supersonic speed to cut through the energy. Once again, the beam split in half to either side of Oda, but something else transpired that made him halt for a moment. While he could still cut the energy, the force of the beam was still moving forward and he couldn't part it as easily. The deep ditch in the concrete caused by the attack split less than a meter in front of him and barely parted around him.

If he had been a fraction of a second slower, he would have lost his arms.

 _She's either stronger or can concentrate more,_ Oda thought. _This must be the evolution Eve was talking about. If that's the case, I don't have to hold back anymore._ "You finally appear to be a worthy opponent!" Oda called out excitedly to her. He also didn't have to keep taunting her anymore.

Shizuri didn't reply. She didn't care about his praise. Her mind was flooded with several emotions, some familiar, some not. When Rikou had taken over her AIM field, she had been unable to sense anything else except pain. The smallest cognitive thought was almost impossible, but she could still mentally recall random memories. The taunts of Oda, Accelerator, and Teitoku echoed in her mind. They were stronger than her and they looked down at her. This was not something she would stand for. Anger had begun to slightly cloud the pain. She was not inferior to them. She was a level 5 and had one of the most destructive abilities in Academy City. Her power should terrify everyone around her. The faces of those who scorned her disappeared and another replaced them.

It was Touma Kamijou.

He had been scared of her at the start, but he still treated her like a normal person. Even after their fight, he was willing to keep in contact with her. With his strength and being friends with Accelerator, Touma could ignore her if he wanted too. Not only did Touma treat her like a person, he still treated her like a girl, not a monster. Plenty of guys treated her like a girl before they knew who she was. After she showed off her ability, they ran away and never sought her out again. Touma did not. He would still get embarrassed when she teased him and he would turn red if he saw her in revealing clothes. To him, she was a high school girl who just happened to develop an ability. He had even saved her against Teitoku. She hated to be in anyone's debt. Something occurred to her and when it did, she felt power well up from within.

She not only wanted to do it for herself.

She wanted to show her power off to him.

Shizuri realized then she could not face the same type of people Touma, and by extension Accelerator, Mikoto, and Misaki, could. Her ability had stagnated. This was her test and she would not fail. After this was over, she could find him and confess to try to get rid of these feelings. Even if she had to drag him with her, she would get this off her chest so she could concentrate on her work and life. Her mind seemed to open and she felt control over this new strength. The pain diminished and she stood up. Unlike before, this wasn't like a dream state. Shizuri knew what was happening. The reason she told the others to get out of the way was her senses were so heightened, if one of them moved near her, she might have fired at them instinctively. Shizuri actually could not actively feel the transformation, only the raw power. Power that threatened to consume her if she let down her guard. The power that would allow her to have her revenge against the man that mocked her.

Her vengeance was focused solely on the obstacle in front of her and she spread her arms open.

Easily fifty orbs appeared in front of her like a wall.

Oda grinned in response. He was looking forward to the fight.

* * *

Misaki was desperately trying to think of a response to the problem at hand.

Before her stood Lancelot, the most famous knight in history. He was the strongest knight under King Arthur and the most prominent member of the Knights of the Round Table. Misaki had no way of knowing if this man was the real Lancelot, but she knew a magician bearing his name would have similar powers. Misaki also vaguely recalled Lancelot meeting a tragic end, but she could not remember the specifics. The biggest issue for her was the mental fortifications on Lancelot's mind. It was a league above the other knights and almost as strong as Arthur's own mind. She had five knights under her control, and both Floris and Lancis were free from Arthur's King Decree, but she didn't feel optimistic.

 _Can either of you tell me anything about Lancelot?_ Misaki asked her companions telepathically. _The knights do not have much information on his powers. All I can recall was he was the strongest knight under Arthur and met a tragic end._

 _Even before he met Arthur,_ Floris explained _. Lancelot was a legend. Known by many as only the White Knight, he could fight ten soldiers at once and come out unscathed. Some say he even slayed a dragon. After becoming part of the Round Table, Arthur's wife, Queen Guinevere, fell for him. They had an affair and Lancelot was banished. This began a bloody a civil war that led to Arthur's death. Lancelot ended up as a priest before his health deteriorated and he passed on._

 _He slept with Arthur's wife?_ Misaki asked in shock. That did sound slightly familiar once Floris mentioned it. _Why did Arthur bring him if he did?_

 _Most likely because of the bond they all shared,_ Lancis answered _. Even after the betrayal, Arthur personally went to find Lancelot. The knights and Arthur had a bond that some said could transcend death. The betrayal shook this trust to the core, but it was all part of a plot derived from another to remove Arthur from power._

 _As for his magic,_ Floris added. _Assume he has the same powers as the other knights, but to an even greater degree. As for why Lancelot is here, this might be Arthur's magic to summon the knights from death with their bond. Why he summoned only one, I don't know. Death is not easy to overcome and it might be taxing on him to do so._

 _That makes as much sense as most magic I encountered,_ Misaki sighed.

 _I don't know if this piece of information will matter,_ Lancis said. _But Lancelot was one of the few people who actually saw the Holy Grail._

 _The Holy Grail?_

 _It was the goblet the Son of God used during the Last Supper,_ Floris explained. _Supposedly, anyone who drank from it could achieve immortality, but gazing on it could cure people from disease and madness._

 _If he didn't drink from it,_ Lancis added. _He would still be human._

 _Thanks for the information,_ Misaki told them. The five knights she had control of moved in front of them. Even if Lancelot was physically stronger than them, the knights could take a lot more punishment than the girls could. Arthur had taken on his calm exterior after the initial shock of Misaki breaking his King's Decree. It was apparent he had absolute confidence in himself and Lancelot. If they truly were born from the legends, they had fought countless battles together. Misaki knew a hastily formed plan would not work, but there were limits to what they could do. The good news was Floris and Lancis shared their magic with Misaki, so even if she didn't know the specifics on how they used it, she knew what results they could achieve. Ideas were brewing in Misaki's mind as her eyes fell onto Lancelot. He was wearing a helmet, so she could not see his face.

"Are they really that powerful?" Lancelot asked and turned toward Arthur. "One of them can manipulate minds, yes, but is this necessary?"

"The non-magician, Misaki Shokuhou, managed to break my King's Decree," Arthur responded. "Would that be enough information to answer your question?"

"Yes," Lancelot agreed and then was silent for a moment. "It has been awhile, but you have changed."

"How so?"

"Fighting children is not honorable."

"I don't find it tasteful either," Arthur admitted. "But this is a necessary evil that must be done."

"I see." Lancelot turned toward the girls and Misaki frowned.

 _Neither of them really wants to fight, that is obvious. Can I use this to our advantage?_ Misaki had not been able to take over Lancelot's mind before, but she might have a chance now. The unknown power she still wielded that freed them from Arthur's magic was still at the tip of her fingers. With it, she might have a chance. _But would that be a wise choice?_ Trying to forcefully take over Lancelot might fortify his resolve to take them out. _He seems honorable, but I have to entertain the thought this has to be a ruse._ Misaki was still on her guard until an opening revealed itself.

 _We have to take him out now,_ Floris informed her. _If they work together, we won't stand a chance._ Misaki reluctantly agreed, but didn't make a move. _If you won't, we will._ Their minds were all connected, so Floris didn't have to say anything to Lancis. Lancis hit the ground with the end of her Steel Glove and broke the floor. Pieces of tile and concrete flew into the air, along with a small cloud of dust. Floris swung her Steel Glove through the cloud and the dust was grabbed unnaturally. It was like the dust converged into the hand-like end of the glove. Floris took a step and swung her glove again between the knights in front of the girls. The orb of dust flew like a baseball for the few seconds it took to reach Lancelot. Right before it hit him, the dust exploded.

"Got him!" Floris said triumphantly. "It's a lot easier to coordinate when you don't have to talk."

"Umm," Lancis interrupted her nervously. "Floris, take another look." Floris turned back and stared as the dust disappeared. Lancelot had not moved and appeared completely uninjured.

"They do like their surprise attacks," Arthur commented mildly.

"Indeed," Lancelot agreed. In a single fluid motion, he stepped forward and simultaneously brought his sword blade down. Floris jumped back while Misaki willed three knights forward to block the strike with their shields. For the first time, Misaki got a clear look at Lancelot's blade. It shimmered like the surface of a lake and, when it moved, it left a light blue trail, as if it had been glowing. All three of the knights' shields were cut in half and the force of the blow threw them backwards, but they slowed the blade down enough for Floris to retreat.

"Thanks for the save," Floris panted.

"Did you honestly believe it would be that easy?" Misaki asked sarcastically. "But now we have proof of his physical attributes."

 _We shouldn't enter his range_ , Lancis suggested. _The knights you have controlled are not as strong as Lancelot, but they are a lot closer than us three._ They nodded. _Floris and I can support them with magic. Hehe._ She didn't mean to giggle, but Lancis always felt a tickle sensation when she channeled mana. _We can cause some intoxication that might slow Lancelot's movements slightly. We also have a sealing item, but that would require us to wrap wires around his ankle. Right now, I don't think that's a possibility._

 _Any idea why he isn't attacking us?_ Floris asked.

 _No,_ Misaki admitted and her eyes fell onto Lancelot. He had his sword held at his side and a shield on the other. He was watching them, but didn't seem to be planning to immediately attack. _But I have two theories. Neither of them really wants to kill us, but Eve is making them. They still have a code of honor. Diplomacy might actually be a viable action if that is indeed the case. Two, and this is unlikely, they are purposely drawing this fight out. They could have ended the fight much sooner, but they chose not to. Something he said earlier bothered me._ Arthur had said a few things earlier that she had been pondering the significance of.

" _I told Lady Eve I did not need her creations. You took control of them too easily and nothing happened, even though she gifted them with a little Telesma."_

This confused Misaki the first time Arthur said this, but she couldn't shake it from her head. _I took them over and Eve gifted them with Telesma. He sounded disappointed that nothing happened. What could he have been expecting?_ Her eyes widened. _Floris and Lancis probably don't know, but the last time I took over knights who had Telesma I entered that transformation state. Could it be that image in my mind was based on my connection with Telesma?_ This confused her and also caused a shiver down her spine. _Eve would probably know about that transformation. Not much escaped her in England. The question is, why? What could she gain from me getting stronger?_ She was alarmed someone had a plan forming she could not predict.

 _Shokuhou,_ Floris's harsh voice snapped her out of her thoughts. _Incoming!_

Lancelot had grown impatient and moved forward. Instead of controlling the knights directly, Misaki had them use their own training to fight and only linked their minds together for maximum cooperation. All five had moved at one and surrounded Lancelot. Lancis started singing softly and was trying to intoxicate Lancelot to slow down his reflexes. Full on illusions were not expected to work anymore now that Arthur knew about them. Floris picked up a piece of broken concrete and prepared to throw it when she had the chance. She could not survive a direct confrontation and stayed behind the wall of knights. They were all working in perfect harmony by using Misaki's mental link.

But they were fighting a legend.

Lancelot spun around and deflected two blades effortlessly and used his shield to block a third. He then used the shield to bash the knight in the head and knocked him down. Lancelot then brought his blade down toward the fourth one, but missed as the knight jumped back. The wind pressure alone blew the tiles on the ground into pieces. The fifth knight moved to the side and allowed Floris to throw the concrete debris at the back of Lancelot's head. Lancelot raised his shield, while turning, and knocked the heavy object away like it had been a balloon. He swung his blade in a full circle and created a shockwave that blew them all backwards. Only Misaki and Lancis were able to remain on their feet, as they were further away, but even they felt their hair and clothes get swept back.

They were no match for a Lancelot, a man who led the most powerful order of knights.

 _I'm out of options,_ Misaki thought, as she watched Floris and the knights stand up. Lancelot was only using basic attack and defense maneuvers, but was completely overpowering them. It was obvious to Misaki he was not going all out and that was the only reason they were still standing. The only option left for them was Misaki to use her powers on Lancelot. They could not outrun him, so retreating was not an option. Misaki raised her remote and brought her ability down on Lancelot, right when the other knights attacked. The plan was to divide Lancelot's attention into multiple encounters. Misaki's mental assault, the knights' physical attacks, Floris's surprise attacks, and Lancis's intoxication song all bore down upon him.

It wasn't working.

Misaki still found Lancelot's mind shielded like an armored vault. The signals from her ability where not reaching his mind. It wasn't the same type of shielding like Arthur's, whose mind was like a slippery rock and her signals washed around it. _There's not a single hole in his defense,_ Misaki thought. _His martial skills haven't dulled either._ She needed to think of a plan, but nothing was coming to her. Against overwhelming power, simple plans were not working. _This is so frustrating!_ Misaki was use to preparing for every possible situation. Being in this position, with her back against the wall, was killing her. She hated being beneath others and it frustrated her. _Do you feel good about bullying a couple girls?!_

 _Not really, but we have our reasons._

 _Huh?_ Misaki was momentarily confused. She did not mean to send her thoughts telepathically to Lancelot, but she did it unconsciously in anger. While Lancelot's memories and thoughts were sealed, he could still ear her voice and he could consciously talk back to her. _You can hear me? Why would you even talk to me?_

 _I was debating if you would realize you could message me,_ Lancelot replied. _I noticed you probed my mind, but I could hardly talk to you without knowing if you would be able to speak to me. I'm deliberately holding back my blows so we may talk, but you can't let Arthur know we are speaking._ Misaki didn't know, but Arthur was allowing Lancelot to show off his power. Since Misaki was able to free her and the other girls from his King's Decree, the evolution Eve spoke of should not be far behind. Misaki needed to be pushed to her limits, so Lancelot would slowly increase the power of his strikes until she had no choice but to grow or perish.

 _You didn't answer my second question,_ Misaki pointed out.

 _I'm sure you have figured it out already,_ Lancelot said. _Neither of us want to be here or do this dirty deed._

 _Then why do this?_ Misaki asked. _You have a choice._

 _Life isn't always that easy,_ Lancelot answered. _We both owe Lady Eve more than you could possibly imagine._ He parried a blow and kicked one of the knights back several meters.

 _So because you owe her,_ Misaki asked incredulously. _That gives you the right to throw your morals and honor out the window? She's obviously using you!_

 _Yes and no. She has always been forthright with us when we joined the Fallen. Before we joined, she told us there would be times we would have to perform deeds that would be unpleasant to say the least, and this is one of them. Arthur and I have been together for a long time and encountered Eve long before the Fallen were actually created. She helped us under a disguise early on in our life, but we sought her out when we found ourselves in our darkest hour._

 _You don't think she helped you, knowing you would seek her out?_

 _It's possible, but we did it to ourselves._

 _How did she help you and what disguise did she use?_

 _Lady Eve has used many names throughout history,_ Lancelot explained and suddenly Misaki had access to several memories that were not hers. She saw a woman tending to an injured man and the sound of a baby crying. Misaki soon realized the memories were from the baby and the baby was being picked up. Misaki saw smooth and slender female arms wrap lovingly around the baby as a woman pick it up. The baby stopped crying and the other woman tending the man spoke up. "Please, take our son. Raise him to be a noble knight and protect him like we could not." The baby's eyes moved up to the face of the woman as she nodded. When Misaki saw who it was, she had to force herself to keep a neutral expression, or Arthur would discover their secret.

It was Eve.

It wasn't the Eve Misaki knew. She was older and had a more maternal aura. Her hair was brown and the smile on her lips was meant to reassure, not mock. She took the baby away and the memory faded. Another memory appeared and this time it revolved around a young man, probably in his early twenties, based on a reflection in a shield. The man had dark blonde hair and green eyes. He was wearing armor and fighting against ten knights at once. A woman with brown hair was helping him, but the man did most of the work. Misaki noticed the woman was not striking down many of the enemies, but every one of her strikes was deliberate and accurate. When all the men fell, the memory flashed forward to a cemetery. The young man lifted a metal slab with a word written beneath it. When he leaned in close, a single name was written on it.

Lancelot.

 _Why are you showing me this?_ Misaki asked confused. _It's almost like Eve raised you._

 _She did,_ Lancelot confirmed and Misaki almost had a heart attack. The Eve she knew was young, carefree, and mischievous with the goal of killing God. The notion she would actually raise a child was absurd. Misaki remembered Ruiko and Touma telling her that the memories of Eve would transfer over time, so she actually wasn't surprised by the change in appearance. Magic could even account for the modifications. _At the time, no one knew she was called Eve. She was a powerful magician whose magic surpassed the minds of humans. She lived in a small kingdom far away from them, but she was revered as someone near God. Now that I know her, I don't think she cared for the title, but no one ever knew. The most common name given to her was the Lady of the Lake._

 _You have got to be kidding me!_ This nearly blew Misaki's mind. The Lady in the Lake was famous in legends. She plays a pivotal role in many stories, including giving King Arthur his sword Excalibur, enchanting Merlin, and guiding Lancelot. _Actually, this might make a lot of sense,_ she thought to herself. _Saten-san probably said it the best. Myths and legends are usually based loosely on facts. If Eve existed back then, stories of her power would be sure to arise. Over the years, they would only become legends. This raises more questions than it answers. Was Eve raising Lancelot as her servant?_

 _Your thoughts are leaking through,_ Lancelot pointed out and Misaki gathered her composure. _And no, she did not raise me to be her servant. In fact, I'm not necessarily loyal to her. I'm only loyal to Arthur, even if I respect and admire her for raising me. You mentioned Arthur and I seemed to be honorable. Eve was the one who instilled the code and honor of the knight into me from such a young age. When I wanted to seek adventure and find a king to follow, she suggested Arthur Pendragon._ His attack speed increased slightly and the knights Misaki was controlling were being overwhelmed.

 _But didn't you have an affair with the queen?_ Misaki asked. Everything she was hearing sounded wrong to her. Eve was not someone who would do something for nothing. This had to be involved in her elaborate plan somehow. Maybe she wanted the fall of Camelot and used Lancelot to unwittingly do it. _What if she planned that?_ At her words, she felt sadness well up from within him.

 _That was my greatest mistake,_ Lancelot admitted. _I fell for her beauty and forsook all my training. Arthur was not only my king, but a dear friend. I betrayed our bond and have suffered for it._

 _What do you mean?_ Misaki asked and curiosity got the better of her. They would not be able to keep the charade up and Arthur would get suspicious soon. Floris and Lancis were already trying to question her on her plan, but she told them to keep attacking as she tried something. _Does this have to do with why only you were summoned and not all the Knights of the Round Table?_

 _When the Knights of the Round Table were created,_ Lancelot explained _. We all took an oath of loyalty to Arthur and Camelot. It bound us together by magic. When I broke the oath, I was cursed. My soul could not find rest and was doomed to suffer. Arthur gave me another chance to fulfill my oath. If I helped him perform this most unsavory task, he would consider my betrayal forgiven. He did not want to do it, but Eve was persistent this task had to be done._

 _Why?_

 _I do not know._

 _Then how do you know if Eve really needs to do this?_ Misaki questioned and pushed her advantage.

 _She has told us the truth so far,_ Lancelot answered flatly. _Everything she has done, minus a few jokes and some teasing, had been on point. You encountered her in England, so you should be able to understand her a little. She enjoys games, but not undue suffering. Actually, even Adam doesn't like suffering either, but he believes death is the best relief from pain. Eve would never demand a death unless it was absolutely necessary. She's not one to avoid longer plans just because they are more complicated to avoid those deaths. I have known her for a long time and no matter how many times she changes, her core stays the same._

 _But after everything she's done,_ Misaki protested. _How can you defend her? She started a war in England, nearly got all my friends killed multiple times, and now she wants to kill us because we defended ourselves from her actions and messed with her plans. How can a knight defend such evil acts?_

 _If you divide the world into only good and evil,_ Lancelot said simply _. Everyone who does not share your morals becomes evil. I was once like you, but I did something part of me believed was right and it ended in disaster._ One of blows was faster than normal and two of Misaki's knights were blown back thirty meters and barely managed to stagger to their feet. _Do you know why we joined the Fallen? What we all have in common?_

 _You hate God?_

 _Not quite,_ Lancelot corrected her gentle. _Betrayal. We were all betrayed by those we trusted. My love betrayed me and blamed me for the fall of our lands. Arthur was killed by his son who wanted to be king._ Misaki mentally gasped. _Eve and Adam had it worse than us though. They were betrayed by the only other being they knew and their creator. They were children in the Garden of Eden and broke the one rule given to them. Kids will always test the boundaries of their world, it's what makes them human. Imagine that your young child broke a rule and you kicked them out of the house into the cold dark world._

 _I can't really comment on that,_ Misaki admitted. _I don't study religion deeply. Most of what I know people in the church have told me._ She did remember her feelings the first time she heard that God kicked them out of the Garden of Eden for eating a fruit and she thought he was over reacting. She did not know enough about the Bible to know the reasoning behind it. Lancelot's explanation made it seem worse. _I still can't agree with getting revenge though._

 _Try to imagine this scenario then,_ Lancelot prodded. _Take the person you trusted most in the world, with everything you have, your very being, and then imagine them betraying you. Imagine them being the one who strikes you down or casts you aside, and then you might begin to understand what we went through._

 _He wouldn't!_ Misaki protested.

 _Imagine it._

Misaki tried to, but it was hard. It went against everything she believed in. While she did this, Lancelot knocked three of her knights unconscious and the two standing were not going to last long. Floris was striking with everything she had, but nothing was working. Time was running out. She knew Touma would never betray her and he would go out of his way to make sure she was safe. It took all her imagination to try to picture Touma betraying her. Misaki thought about her being in trouble and Touma knew about it, but decided not to go after her. A pain shot through her chest and it was like someone was squeezing her heart. It hurt so badly and she had to fight back the sadness and loneliness welling up within her. She only imagined the scenario and it hurt her so much, if it actually happened, she might not have been able to live with it. _I see your point, but still, revenge doesn't help anyone._

 _Many of us understood we can never truly get revenge on those who betrayed us,_ Lancelot continued. _The ones to truly obsess over revenge would be Cain and Adam. The rest of us have our own reasons for helping._

 _I can understand why Cain is focused on revenge,_ Misaki agreed. _But why would Adam be more so than Eve?_

 _Adam was the first human created. God was the only intelligent being around him and the rest were animals. Eve was then created from Adam's rib by God while he slept. When Eve persuaded Adam to partake of the forbidden fruit, they both were punished. Adam felt more betrayal than Eve did because God punished him for what God's creation tempted him to do. He doesn't hate Eve though, but I believe he thinks God made her on purpose to cause him to break the law. He has trust issues. Eve, on the other hand, loves people. She loves our creativity and ingenuity._

 _That makes sense, but why are the rest of you helping them? Do you feel you owe them after they helped you during your original life?_

 _No,_ Lancelot replied sternly. _We joined them because we believe what they are doing has to be done._

 _You believe God has to be killed?_ Misaki could not contain her surprise. Out of all the fallen, Lancelot seemed the most clear headed and the one she felt she could reason with.

 _I believe he needs to be dethroned,_ Lancelot stated. _God did a great thing when he created our world. We do not know where he came from or how he gained the knowledge, but he was the greatest being to have existed. But now,_ he paused. _His time is over. Our world is decaying from within. Betrayal is rampant, deaths are growing, and people are striving toward power they should not wield. Imagine a king ruling over a kingdom but allows slavery, prostitution, and rape. Should they still be allowed to sit on a throne?_

 _That's an opinion,_ Misaki countered. _But why does God need to die for that to happen?_

 _For the change to happen in the core of the world,_ Lancelot explained. _The one who created it needs to be removed. We are unable to touch it as long as God sits on his throne. He will not leave on his own, so we must reach him. Eve even said, if there was a way to remove God without his death, she could not find one. Once God is destroyed, we can change the foundation of this world. If we do not, the world will always revert back eventually._

 _Why?_ The question sounded simple, but Misaki was surprised at how simple his answer was.

 _Arthur and I do not want others to go through what we did._

It all suddenly made sense to Misaki. The Fallen were not being controlled by Eve and Adam, they were only a rallying point. Each of them was a unique individual who had their own reasons for joining. It was just like the researchers in Academy City. Some joined for fame, others to learn, and many to further their own goals. History has also shown that people who join groups don't always agree on all details, but they work together to achieve an end result. Arthur and Lancelot were willing to get their hands dirty in killing her if it meant others could live without experiencing what they did. She understood that and once she even thought that way.

 _How noble,_ Misaki replied after a moment. _But I'm sorry to tell you this, both of you are idiotic._

 _Huh?_ Lancelot was actually so surprised, his next strike missed the knight he had been aiming at. Floris took the moment to strike him in the side with her enhanced strength from using the Steel Glove. The blow didn't do much, but Arthur raised an eyebrow. He wasn't sure what happened, but his gaze turned toward Misaki.

 _Wanting to keep other people from being hurt is a noble goal,_ Misaki explained. _I respect that, but there are two problems with that._

 _Such as?_

 _First, people grow from adversity. When I was young, I was betrayed too. People wanted to use me for my power and they manipulated me. Others were jealous of me and tried to kill me because of the attention I received. One day, I was planning to erase my mind and end it all. Then I met my prince, the one you all keep calling the Imagine Breaker. He has a proper name you know. He saved me, fought for me, but never took a life. Someone with a similar ability to mine tried to kill me, but he stopped her and even saved her in the end. Various things happened and we lost touch for a while, but I changed. I grew, I matured, and I actually cared about others._

 _Second,_ Misaki continued. _There is no excuse for murder. If you can't find the solution to save everyone without killing, you are not looking hard enough. Just because Eve said there isn't a way, doesn't mean there isn't. If you give up looking, then you will never find it. My prince would scour the ends of the earth for a way and if he failed, he would do it again. The word 'give up' is not something he understands. As a knight, shouldn't that be what you strive to be?_

 _He may be a stronger man than me then,_ Lancelot conceded. _I was an adulterer and now I'm willing to kill a young girl to protect my king and friend from staining his hands._ He swung his blade and the last of Misaki's knight had collapsed trying to block the blow. Only Floris and Lancis stood before Misaki and Lancelot. Arthur watched them, but there was no amusement in his eyes. Misaki's mind worked overtime and she felt the beginning of a plan begin to form. Floris and Lancis swept at Lancelot from both sides, but he jumped backwards to avoid them. With a single swipe of his blade, a gust of wind lifted them both into the air and they flew backwards over ten meters. Misaki had to cover her fact from the wind and she took a step backwards. Misaki blinked and looked forward. No one was between her and Lancelot.

She was all alone.

Lancelot took a step forward and Misaki knew it was now or never.

 _You don't have to do this,_ she told him and took a step back to give herself another second of precious time. Lancelot was walking toward her equally as slow. _I know your reasons are noble, but they are misguided. You said he was your friend, so why are you letting him dirty himself with this act?_

 _My oath is to him,_ Lancelot replied. _I will do this deed as repentance for my past mistakes._

 _Then as his friend,_ Misaki continued. _If he is doing something wrong, you should stop him. Your oath is to him, so you are responsible for making sure he does what is right._ Lancelot's footstep faltered for a moment and Misaki pressed her advantage. _The most important person in my life would never allow one of his friends to do something they would regret like this. He would personally knock some sense into them if they tried. The fact is you know what Arthur is doing is wrong, even if you managed to rationalize the deed. You are supposed to be a knight, so ACT LIKE ONE! Save your friend from making a mistake that will haunt him forever!_ She felt something pulse in her head as she become more forceful.

 _You are suggesting I betray him again,_ Lancelot said slowly and stopped a meter in front of her.

 _No,_ Misaki corrected him. _I'm asking you to fulfill your oath to him differently. He believes he has to do this, but you and I both know he doesn't. You can find a different way without deaths. Protect him by showing that he is going down the wrong path._ Lancelot stiffened as Misaki's words reverberated through him. _Believe that you can find away and never give up. Hope for a better future is something we can all agree we want. Hope gives us a reason to continue to live._

"Lancelot!" Arthur called out. He obviously saw Lancelot hesitate. "I know this is not how we normally do things, but it has to be done. End it swiftly." Lancelot turned around to face Arthur for a brief moment. He wore a helmet, so Arthur could not see his face, but he saw Arthur's expression clearly. His eyes were clouded and his face tense. The hand not holding the hilt of his sheathed sword was clenched tightly at his side. His knuckles had turned white and that wall all Lancelot saw before turning back to Misaki. Lancelot gazed at her face. Instead of uncertainty, her eyes were clear. There was fear, yes, but she had strength in her conviction. Lancelot was not use to doubt, but he felt it well up from inside his chest.

He raised his blade and Misaki's eyes widened.

Arthur did not watch and turned away. There was a bad taste in his mouth as he imagined Lancelot's sword cutting Misaki. He tried to give her a proper execution, but she would not cooperate. He waited to hear the sound of steel against flesh, but it never came. Instead, he heard the clank of metal against the ground. Arthur turned around on the spot and stared. "What are you doing?" Lancelot was down on one knee with his sword held out in front of Misaki on the palms of his hands. "Are you betraying me again?!"

"No," Lancelot answered. His voice was steeled with resolve. "I am showing her the respect she deserved for clearing my mind."

"Damn it," Arthur muttered angrily. "She took him over. How is that possible?"

"No," Lancelot said again. He turned around and held is sword at his side. "She made me realized what had been gnawing at my very being. This is wrong, you know it too. We must stop before we go past the point of no return."

"You think I like doing this?!" Arthur demanded. "As a king, we must sometimes put the needs of the many before the needs of the few. I don't relish making this decision, but I have to."

"Our goal is not worth sacrificing what we believe in," Lancelot retorted. "If you truly believed this was right, you wouldn't have hesitated so much. Now, I'm going to stand before you as a friend, not a knight. I'm going to stop you for the purpose of saving you."

"How dare you," Arthur growled and he drew his sword. The blade was pure snow white and the hilt was made of gold. "You think you can stand up against Excalibur. This is the sword that chose the king and was modeled after the Sword of God." The force of drawing the blade caused the ground around him to explode and the air whipped at Lancelot and Misaki. Lancelot stood before the blow, so Misaki barely felt it, but she did feel the pressure around her increase. It was like gravity had increased and it hurt to breath.

 _Is this the power of Excalibur?_ Misaki asked.

 _No, this is just the presence. It normally is sealed when sheathed. I cannot defeat him in direct combat. He is too powerful. Both of our swords were crafted by Eve's otherworldly technique, but his is in a league above mine. The only option is for you to break the shield around his mind while I stall his blade. We can force him to retreat then._

 _I couldn't even break into yours,_ Misaki pointed out. _How could I break into his?_

 _I believe you can become more power if you link your mind into one who wields Telesma?_ Lancelot questioned. _Arthur mentioned he wanted to see what happened to you when exposed to it._

 _That's true,_ Misaki confirmed. She wasn't going to give him any other information, as even a fragment of information could be a weapon in Eve's hand. Misaki now truly believed the Telesma she received from the other knights must have allowed her to break Arthur's King Decree. The image she saw must have been the Telesma giving her hallucinations. The issue was Eve knew about this and seemed to be purposely trying to get Misaki to transform. Misaki finally had proof of her theory and she had to warn the others. _Did you have an idea?_

 _Link into my mind,_ Lancelot told her. _I will use all my power along with the Telesma in Arondight. It should be vastly more powerful than what you received before. That should give you the boost to break Arthur's defenses._

 _There are risks, but I don't see any other option. Let's do it._ The walls around Lancelot's mind fell and Misaki took control. For a moment, nothing happened. Misaki actually thought it failed, when her entire body started to burn. Her vision blurred, but she could see through Lancelot's eyes. His gaze was fixed on Arthur and she felt him channeling all the Telesma he could from his sword into his body. It was hard to breath and she couldn't hear anything. The pain pulsed and threatened to knock her unconscious, but she kept herself up out of sheer willpower. Not only was she fighting for her own life, she was fighting to return to Touma's side, along with warning him and the others about Eve's goal. In fact, she considered many of the people around him her friends now, including Mikoto, though Misaki would never publically admit that.

"So that's what Eve was talking about," Arthur gasped and then grew passive. "An impressive sight indeed." Lancelot turned his head briefly to see what Arthur was talking about and he froze.

Misaki was too focused on keeping herself conscious that she did not notice the transformation and only saw it through Lancelot's eyes. Her blonde hair was nearly all sliver, with only a few streaks of her original color left. The stars in her eyes were such a dark blue, they were almost black. Above her head, there were three small black triangles, moving in a circular orbit, like a small halo. One of them was changing from black to silver. A white liquid appeared around her neck and started to spread down over her body and covered her with a skintight plastic substance. Her clothes must have been crushed under it and her curves were highlighted more than ever. From her back, hundreds of dark blue strings were flickering around in all directions and they grew lighter and lighter the further they were away from her body until they disappeared. Several of the larger and brighter ones begun to curve and twist around each other in elegant patterns, before two fairylike wings appeared on her back.

 _Are you still there?_ Lancelot asked. _Your touch feels different._

 _I am,_ Misaki replied and her voice seemed to echo in his mind, like it was coming from far away. _This is the first time I saw this transformation for myself, but we can't focus on it. We need to defeat Arthur._

"I have to admit I did not expect something so beautiful," Arthur complimented. His eyes followed the curves of the white substance covering Misaki like a skinsuit to the blue wings laced with crossing blue threads. "It's as if the queen of the fey has appeared. It is an honor, but I am saddened we have to meet under these circumstances." He held up his sword. "I regret it has to come to this my friend."

"I am too," Lancelot replied, as he also raised his sword.

 _I promise to help you save him,_ Misaki told Lancelot telepathically. _You remind me a lot of my prince._ Arthur and Lancelot looked at each other for one last moment, and then they charged.

The area around them exploded as the two legends clashed.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Oh, a small author note down here. The Misaki Shokuhou fight went into a completely different direction then I had originally planned. I was planning more awesome sword slashing, shield bashing fun, not a mental conversation about different perspectives. When I actually started to write this, it changed. I think this actually works better because Misaki is mental over physical, so her fights should be too. I think it worked out well and set the stage for the final clash.**

 **Frenda: Go Mugino, kick his ass!**

 **Kazari: Phew, I was worried there for Shokuhou-san. She was in a tight spot there for a moment.**

 **Pierce: But the power of Kami-yan disease deeply ingrained into her allowed her to share his morals to convert Lancelot.**

 **Ruiko: What did Mugino mean by drag Touma somewhere?**

 **Motoharu: She meant into the bed room.**

 **Jason: Finally, someone's going to turn him into a man. It's been over a million words and it hasn't happened… ouch. Sorry Kazari.**

 **Frenda: Mugino! You know I…**

 **Pierce: Yes?**

 **Frenda: Stop grinning like an idiot!**

 **Ruiko: I don't think she would do that. She might try to ask for a date though.**

 **Kazari: You need to go first. As soon as you get back, ask.**

 ***Door slams from behind them***

 **Motoharu: Kami-yan?! Welcome! Pull up a seat.**

 **Ruiko: Touma, why are you here?!**

 **Touma: Lessar is growing impatient and used the time off to develop a terrifying technique.**

 **Frenda: Huh?**

 **Touma: She can remove every piece of someone's clothes instantly. It's a madhouse over there.**

 **Pierce: WHY ARE YOU NOT THERE THEN?!**


	90. S4 Plight of the Level 5s: Part 5

**The level five fights are concluding nicely. I'm glad my sudden change in ideas for some of the previous fights went over well. The positive feedback was great. Though, many of you are huge perverts. Imagining Misaki in a skin tight suit, for shame. The way it would hug tightly to her and fit her curves…. Damn it, now you have me doing it. There will be one more chapter to finish off the fights after this one. As for this chapter, somethings happened I did not necessarily plan. When I write, the story sometimes goes off in a direction I didn't imagine and my brain sort of goes with it. It makes some of the scenes really powerful, but then has unintended long term consequences. Living story, am I right? Anyways, I noticed there wasn't nearly as many updates this month compared to the last one, so I hope this brightens up your day.**

 **Brosephg: Huh, so are you saying I should take longer to release chapters so you suffer more? Look at you, one of the few people who doesn't give spoilers. The internet would be proud. Well some of it, the other half would curse you into oblivion.**

 **Meridun: It was originally going to be a basic battle scene, but then I thought, nah, Misaki wouldn't do that. It needs some mental combat, but I already established Lancelot's mind was too well shielded, so I had to go another direction.**

 **Noise: That is a very generous compliment, thank you. As for Mikoto, this chapter will have her, don't worry.**

 **Jujudude: Mugino would actually force herself on him though. She's an older Lessar with attitude. When I first read your comment, Office Space was playing on my TV. So yeah, Accelerator needs to be bullied slightly.**

 **Whwsms: Wow, you picked up on that. I never mentioned her by name, but you knew what I was going for. Yes, she will join. No girl can escape the Kami-yan Disease. Lessar learns a lot of things in Australia, but that will be soon enough. Uiharu is the main character, but she is kind enough to let others think they are the main characters.**

 **GameCguru: I think I will have to have Touma meet Arthur at some point, if he survives. Odds are he will because Misaki and Lancelot probably won't kill him. We will see.**

 **general ironox: Hamazura is hard to write sometimes, but it's interesting to get him to fight powerful people with no special abilities.**

 **anand891996: What? Jason is going to betray everyone? Jason, is this true?** _ **No.**_ **Okay, good. I think we are just misinterpreting his intentions.**

 **Guest: I don't know anyone with real life psychic powers to test. So I can't answer your first question. If I did a Valentine Day special, I feel like it would turn into one of the many ones were all the girls are chasing him around the city. I suppose I could try Touma having to return the favor on white day…**

 **Seeker: Mental fights could have some interesting stuff mixed in. Combining illusions with actual swordplay to disorient your opponent was one idea a friend gave me. I am still playing around with the final ending. No one understands Gunha. He could already be a level 6 and not know it. Touma is being ignored, while surrounded by many attractive girls who all love him. What's the problem? Australia is going to be long too, and sequential, it happens after the level 5 fights, it's one of the reasons I'm doing these first.**

 **Handsomistic1: I feel like Aogami Pierce should do something awesome in the main story. I have an idea that will work with several other ideas, so I hope you will be prepared. (It's after Australia though so it will be a bit). He was blown into chunks of flesh over an entire street. It does take some time to regenerate perfectly when you are nothing but a brain. He blew up on Saturday afternoon, and it is currently Wednesday evening. He needs time.**

 **Yakutsu Zaishiro: Touma is a much higher level.**

 **wildarms13: Mugino will kidnap him, lock him in her apartment and no one will ever know. It actually didn't take as much work as I thought with Misaki. The story kind of flowed out after I did a little research into Arthur and Lancelot legends.**

 **akd48: I am glad to have proven you wrong. Misaki is strong, but she has to fight differently.**

 **Salishious: That video is going to cause so many problems, but accelerate a certain harem plan for someone. There's so much slice of life stuff I want to get too, but this boring plot is getting in the way. Once fights finish next chapter and then several devoted to Australia, we move to the fun stuff. The final battle you speak of will be the fight to end all fights.**

 **Tardis42: This is why we don't let Lessar gain XP.**

 **5 year old Sal: What if both sides win?**

 **FrodoFighter: You commented before the next chapter? Dang, I'm going to slow. Time to pick up the pace. Misaki has to word things differently for Lancelot. Knights and king relationship is kind of weird, especially when it crosses with friendship. Pervert, imagining Misaki's sexy outfit. She needs to take a selfie before.**

 **Generation Zero: Misaki and Shizuri's awakened states seemed to have gone over well with everyone. Mikoto will be in this chapter. She sat out of the chapters for far too long. Oh Aleister, he knows what is happening.**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly. Magic Gods own all so they can do what they want.**

* * *

The dark clouds above Academy City rumbled ominously. Lightning bounced across the sky and the roar of thunder echoed over the city. The rain was mere moments away and many people were planning to avoid the severe storms by staying indoors. A large lightning bolt flew down from the sky, much larger than normal, and struck somewhere in the heart of the city. An advisory warning went out for citizens to avoid going out if possible because of the unnaturally powerful lightning. A strong storm had been predicted, but there was another source of electricity powering it. The source was wielding the lightning as effortlessly as breathing. One girl witnessed it first hand, before she was struck.

Juliet disappeared in a bolt of lightning from the sky.

Mikoto turned away from the scene without seeing what happened to Juliet. Her eyes slowly moved to Kuroko and the two Sisters. She didn't say anything, but she grabbed her head with one of her hands. The ribbon wrapped around her unnaturally as she moved, like they weren't affected about gravity. _Destroy. Remove. Vengeance._ Dark thoughts kept bouncing around her head and Mikoto could not concentrate. The hatred for Juliet overshadowed all rational thought. She wanted Juliet to die. She wanted to squeeze the life out of her…. _to watch her suffer._ Mikoto was not satisfied with instantly vaporizing Juliet. Her hatred would not be sated that easily. Juliet attacked her friends, her way of life, her very reason for existing. _Eve!_ Mikoto's thoughts turned to her. _This power I obtained could kill her. I could wipe her off the face of this world. No one would have to suffer anymore._ Her thoughts were clear, but they were only moving down a dark path. She felt something disturb the air and she turned.

Scraps of shadow begun to merge together and form a single body. As Mikoto watched, the form began to grow larger and more humanoid in shape. Eventually, it formed the shape of a young girl and then the color and texture returned. Juliet was standing there and she held her left arm with her right hand against her body. Her jeans were burnt, revealing her tanned legs, and some of her shirt over her right shoulder was gone. Part of her blue underwear was peeking out. She was panting heavily, but regained her composure. Besides her clothes, she had no signs of damage. Her eyes darted toward Mikoto, who was standing there unmoving, then to Kuroko, and finally the Sisters. Juliet knew why Kuroko was still unconscious and she was glad to see the Sisters were also unconscious. It was not like she needed anymore interruptions. Eve may have wanted Juliet to kill Mikoto, but now that task seemed quite difficult.

 _Part of my body is numb,_ Juliet thought. She could still feel pain, but lasting damage was hard to do to her, as she no longer had a body. She was a memory given physical substance. Telesma was one of the few things that could seriously damage her. Mikoto was giving off something similar, but its foundation was vastly different. What worried Juliet was something told her this was only the beginning. A greater force was flowing out as the dam begun to break. _This should be good enough for Eve. My magic isn't suited for this kind of direct combat, but my new form is quite formidable._ She transformed back into pure darkness and moved around the unconscious forms of the Sisters. Juliet had never planned to kill the Sisters. They were only to antagonize Mikoto. To say Juliet was a good person would have been overstating, as it was mostly because Jason would be upset if she killed someone. However, sluts and harlots were exceptions to the rule.

 _Why isn't she moving?_ Juliet thought as she continued to shift around Mikoto. _I knew she wouldn't attack me while I'm next to them, but she's not even trying to distance herself from me. Is she that confident in her new power?_ Juliet now expected lightning strikes from the sky, so she should be able to dodge them. The shadow on her sides stretched out and curved slightly, like the ends of scythes, and became razor sharp. _Time for her to die._ She lunged forward, covered the twenty meter distance between them in a second, and swiped the blades at Mikoto's neck.

The blade disappeared.

All Mikoto did was raise one of her ribbons and flicked it.

"What is this?" Juliet gasped as the middle of her body disappeared too. She was made of pure shadow, but still roughly in the form of a human with her arms in the form of scythes. Now, only her shoulders up and legs remained.

"Be gone," Mikoto told Juliet and a bolt of black electricity engulfed her. Juliet's remains were blown backwards, easily a hundred meters, and reform in the middle of the street.

"Those ribbons are pure energy," Juliet muttered. "But why do they hurt so much?" She stood back up and her eyes widened. Mikoto was walking toward her, but her form, her very essence, was mutating.

The pair of horns that had appeared on her head began to merge and harden. They formed an onion-dome shaped structure on her head and at the widest part sat something that looked like an eye. Something revolved around the tapering structure and at the top sat a sphere, like a miniature Saturn. As for the rest of Mikoto's body, the ribbons she created had begun to fuse with her body itself. Her hands and feet were tapered as well and were connected with the ribbons, which made them have a diamond shape outline instead of fingers at the end. The ribbons covered Mikoto in a bright blue glow as they spread over her entire body. She raised a hand and Juliet braced herself.

Another column of lightning struck Juliet. This one was so compressed, when the light faded only a large circle appeared on the ground. There wasn't even any dust, as the dirt was vaporized instantly. Juliet's form had become a twisted mess of shadow, but it begun to correct itself. Juliet's head and torso reformed and she shook her head. The electricity was still coursing through her shadow body, like it had merged with it. _It hurts,_ Juliet thought, as her body prickled like hundreds of needles were being shoved into her. A movement in the air caught her eye and she saw hundreds of items swirling around in the air like a vortex. Mikoto had picked up every magnetic item within eyesight. "Great," she muttered. She retreated into a ball as she was crushed by the mass of metal. She slipped out between the cracks like a liquid and reformed.

What she saw next almost made her wet herself.

Mikoto had transformed again in the time it took Juliet to escape her metal prison.

Her hair was swept back, and a complex halo appeared over her head. It was a circle with four points in each direction. Floating vertically in the center of the halo was something rectangular shaped, but tapered at both ends, with the bottom part being shorter. All of her clothes had disappeared and the surface of her skin was covered in smooth, bright, blueish white energy. The top of her head down to the area around her collar bone was colored black and dotted by something resembling stars. It was as if it had become outer space or the night sky. The remains of her human hands and feet disappeared. Her hands became claw-like with ribbon like protrusions, while her legs turned even more abstract-looking, connecting through the ribbons.

 _That void,_ Juliet realized, as she gazed at Mikoto's head. _It's like the between space Eve set up for us to use._ That wasn't what scared Juliet though. Plenty of magicians could create pocket spaces.

What scared Juliet was the giant black sphere of compressed power hovering above Mikoto. It was easily thirty meters in diameter and the surface was swirling around constantly. Mikoto had her right hand up over her head and the mass of energy was floating a few inches above it. This sphere wasn't just compressed electricity. Juliet could feel the warped Telesma-like substance radiating from it. Her body froze and she begun to sweat. _This isn't possible. Science can't do this. It's only been a few years since I left the city. How is this kind of advancement possible!?_ She took a step back and Mikoto spoke again.

"You will disappear here," Mikoto told Juliet. Her voice wasn't normal either. It echoed and vibrated, but sounded higher and fuller at the same time. The black sphere seemed to reverberate and moved slightly. The wall of a nearby building began to vaporize by merely being in its presence. Rocks and rubble started to float, before being dragged into the black abyss. "Then Eve and the rest of her group are next."

"Are you insane?!" Juliet yelled back at her. It was kind of ironic in a way. She didn't want to die and a mass of power that great would probably wipe the city off the map. With how it radiated something similar to the power from the Domain of God, she wasn't sure if she could survive. "Even if you somehow can kill me with that, are you going to kill everyone else in this city too?! I thought you wanted to protect your friends, or did you just want to do the deed yourself?!" If she was going to die, it would be in the arms of only one person. Her words struck gold when the thing Mikoto had become flinched.

 _What am I doing?_

A small voice welled up in the back of Mikoto's mind. She wasn't even sure when her consciousness faded away. The hatred had overwhelmed her, but it did it in a gentle way, like pulling a blanket over her mind. It just happened and she hadn't been able to stop it. Juliet's words managed to reach the core of Mikoto that still had a small bit of light and humanity left. She blinked and everything around her began to grow clearer. It was like she was stepping out of a daze and the fog in her mind began to dissipate. She saw Juliet standing down the street from her and anger begun to well up again. Juliet tried to kill Kuroko. Juliet tried to kill the Sisters. Juliet tried to kill her friends. Her fingers on the hand holding the sphere flexed and she almost tossed it. It was only the voice in the back of her mind that kept her from doing the unthinkable.

 _This is wrong. Don't do it._

The voice started to grow stronger and the haze lifted again. This time, Mikoto was able to see Juliet and not lose her mind. As she regained her senses, Mikoto flinched again. Not from Juliet's words, but from the pain all over her body. This was unusual for her. It was like she was constantly shocking herself. The pain actually made it slightly easier for her to stay conscious, assuming it didn't increase. Her body felt weird once she got past the pain. It was so light, like she didn't weigh anything. She tried to move her left hand and found it excruciatingly difficult. Her eyes widened when she saw the blueish white energy surrounding it along with the shape.

 _What's happening to me? My arm isn't human anymore!_ Mikoto looked up and she mentally gasped. The huge concentrated mass of raw energy was still above her, and only her right hand was keeping it up. She instantly realized how much destruction that blast would cause if it was released. _Everyone in the city would die. I can't let this happen, but this energy... It can't be mine. It's like physically manifested hatred and despair. It's just like that one time. I can't control it._ The pain in her right arm was increasing. If she didn't do something with the energy soon, it would likely consume her.

"You stopped," Mikoto heard Juliet say. "Did you regain consciousness?" Juliet's voice felt so far away. Rain was falling, but Mikoto never realized it had started.

"Yes," Mikoto answered simply. It was hard to talk and she couldn't even feel her mouth move.

"It looks like you have a choice," Juliet laughed, but the laugh sounded fake. "If you strike me with that attack, you might be able to kill me but, at what cost? This city will disappear. Actually, I wouldn't mind that. As long as I can save one person, go ahead and blow this hellhole up."

"No," Mikoto answered. A ripple went through the dark mass above her when her anger and fear passed through her mind.

"Then you can't win and you die," Juliet responded with a shrug. "That works for me too." She shook her head and her eyes narrowed. "Which is it?" She suddenly grinned maliciously. "If you die, there will be no one to stop me from killing that slut behind you." Juliet regretted her words instantly. Bolts of black electricity shot all over the place and one of them hit her. Her body grew numb as a sharp pain ran through it. She tried to transform back into her shadow form, but she discovered something. _I can't feel my mana. She shocked my system that badly?!_ She was more vulnerable when solid, but she still couldn't die like a normal person. She wasn't actually alive. Still, this was a new concept for her. She froze and felt a feeling she hadn't expected to feel when she was told to face Mikoto.

Fear.

Mikoto was walking toward her slowly, with the black sphere of dark energy moving with her. The sides of buildings were vaporizing as it past them. Juliet's words had shattered Mikoto's last threads of sanity. Mikoto's weakened mind had snapped. Everything grew red in front of her and all she could think about was the evil vile girl standing in front of her. She hated Juliet with every fiber of her being. Dark thoughts swirled in her mind and it was like they were reflected in the mass of power above her. The dark sphere seemed to absorb light and heat, while radiating hated and pain. Mikoto didn't like to think about killing people, it was something she never wanted to do but, this time, her route was painfully clear.

She was going to kill Juliet.

Mikoto was going to remove the evil creature before her from the world. Juliet was not human. She took pleasure in killing, torturing, and mocking her opponents. After Juliet was gone, Mikoto was going to take care of everyone who harmed her and her friends. Eve, Cain, and Adam were her targets. In fact, she wasn't going to stop there. She would move on to everyone who had wronged her. She would start by purifying the city. All the people who treated children like toys and experimental fodder would be next. Then she would go after the gangs that terrorized normal students. Mikoto even thought she might have to destroy the entire city to make sure the darkness did not escape. Carissa would be next, the woman who nearly killed her friends and took Touma away.

 _He wouldn't want this._

At the thought of Touma, a tiny bit of light broke through the dark void of her thoughts. It was small, but incredibly powerful. The hated and anger was swept aside as Mikoto recalled the reasons why she fought so hard. The reasons why she wanted strength now stood out in her mind. Mikoto saw the faces of everyone she wanted to protect. Touma was predominantly in front, but she also saw the faces of Kuroko, Kazari, and Ruiko. It didn't stop there and she saw more people. Last Order, her sisters, Worst, Mitsuko, and even Misaki and Accelerator. Then she kept seeing more and more faces, each one giving her a tiny bit of strength. The people from the magic side, her classmates, and all the people trying to live in Academy City were visible.

They formed an anchor for her with Touma as the base.

It was because of them, she could keep her humanity.

 _I fight to protect, not kill._

She had begun to understand what she was doing and she stopped. Her eyes fell upon Juliet and now Mikoto could truly see. The fear and shock on Juliet's face told Mikoto what she had become. She was becoming the very person she despised. The kind of being Touma would always fight against. No matter the reason, she shouldn't go after someone's life. She felt something on her face and she realized she was crying underneath the energy around her. It couldn't be seen if it was water or some kind of energy residue. Mikoto turned her awareness to the power above her. When she regained control, the power turned unstable.

 _I can't control it,_ she thought. _The power is going to destroy everything around us._ Mikoto made up her mind in that instant. She knew what she had to do. "Juliet!" she yelled. "Get out of here and don't come back. I can't regain control. You said you wanted to kill me, but I'm not going to give you the chance. All I can do is try to focus the energy up and away from the city to minimize the damage, but it's probably going to destroy me in the process!"

"Huh?" Juliet asked and stumbled to her feet. She could hear the change in Mikoto's voice, even if she couldn't see her face. "Are you serious? You aren't going to try to kill me?"

"NO!" Mikoto snapped as the strain of keeping the power from falling begun to weigh down on her. "He would never want that. I don't want it either. I know Kagere-san wouldn't want us to become murderers. If you leave after I'm done, neither of us have to kill."

"Who are you?" Juliet whispered. "Why would you do this?"

"My name is Mikoto Misaka!" Mikoto called out to her. Her voice radiated strength. "And I would do anything to protect my friends!"

Juliet transformed into a shadow and flew backwards, away from Mikoto. The air itself was getting heavy and breathing was almost impossible, as the electricity in the air started to destroy the oxygen. Explosions were going off all around Mikoto. Mikoto looked up one last time at the darkness she no longer felt. Her mind was finally truly clear. She accepted her fate. It was her fault this happened and only she could make it right. There was no one around to save her this time, and she wasn't praying for a miracle. Mikoto wasn't afraid, she felt oddly calm. The power did not frighten her any longer. She smiled underneath the star void that covered her head.

 _Please forgive me, everyone._

As Juliet watched, the giant sphere of power began to compress itself. All the excess power was being drawn to its core. Mikoto raised both of her hands into the air. The pain in her arms grew. Her mind felt like it was splitting apart. Mikoto was being struck by two different electrical forces. One was crushing her body and Mikoto needed to concentrate to keep her body from being disintegrated. The second force was threatening to split her mind. This force was more subtle and needed a delicate touch, or Mikoto risked destroying her brain and losing control. She had to do two completely different types of calculations simultaneously. This was far more advanced than anything she had done before, but a single mistake meant she would fail at her mission.

 _Goodbye._

The black orb shrunk to about five meters and began to warp in weird directions.

Mikoto took a deep breath of the little air left, and pushed up against the sphere.

A column of black electricity engulfed her and blasted upwards, high into the sky, before it disappeared beyond the clouds. A single hole appeared in the dark covering before the wind closed it. The rain never let up.

"What the-…!?" Juliet gasped and she trailed off. The column of compressed black lightning had disappeared as fast as it had appeared. Juliet approached the five meter wide hole in the ground and looked down. She couldn't see the bottom and shook her head. The energy had disintegrated everything within it. It was only thanks to Mikoto containing the energy and forcing the vast majority of it away from the earth, the city survived. "Really?" Juliet muttered. "She is… was so stupid. That power though, it probably reached deep into space."

Mikoto had made the ultimate sacrifice.

* * *

Accelerator and Cain stood no more than ten meters away from each other. The ominous storm clouds above them rumbled and lightning lit up the sky, but it paled before the storm brewing between the two beings that existed beyond the world. Accelerator's white wings glowed like a bastion of hope while Cain's blood wings filled the world with fear. They traveled similar paths, but the point they ended up at was miles apart. Accelerator willingly flexed his fingers, but the wings on his back moved only by thought. He saw Cain's fingers flex too and Accelerator prepared himself. He was angry still, but it wasn't overpowering anymore. He had to kill Cain or Cain would continue to hunt him and the others close to him. Only he had the power to accomplish this task.

Cain suddenly moved.

Cain instantly covered the distance between them and delivered a jab with his fingers in a point directly towards Accelerator's neck. This attack was at speeds normal people could never hope to match, but there was more to it. There was enough mana focused at the point to destroy the entire area. Even a saint like Kaori Kanzaki wouldn't be able to block such an attack. Cain was going for a surefire kill. The form Accelerator took rattled Cain to his core in shock, but also in anger. Accelerator was trying to imitate the power of God by becoming an angel. The form was mocking Cain and he would not let it slide. There was no more playing around. This fight was going to end.

The explosion from the impact destroyed the ground around them and sent out a blast of wind.

"How!?" Cain gasped.

"Pathetic," Accelerator replied. The tip of one of his white wings had intercepted Cain's attack. The blow was stopped inches away from Accelerator's neck. Even though Cain had compressed an enormous amount of mana into a single point, the white feathers had barely moved. Accelerator's mind was completely clear and he could perform all the calculations needed to divert the mana vectors Cain used. His new unknown power did the rest. The black wings were powerful, but they clouded his mind and judgement. Now, he had the power and the knowledge on how to use it. "This is an attack." The other wing twitched.

Cain never saw the blow connect.

"What happened?" he muttered and rubbed his jaw, as he found himself easily a thousand meters in the air. His wings expanded and he stopped unnaturally in midair. His wings were not flapping, so it was more like he was standing high above the city. A second later, Accelerator appeared in front of him. The feathery wings were rustling lightly in the breeze, but they too did not move in a way to sustain flight. Gravity did not seem to want to get involved with those two. This situation was completely unknown to Cain. He had an infinite well of mana at his disposal, but he was now being completely overpowered. Accelerator's science side Telesma was a level above his mana. Cain knew this kind of power could not be maintained indefinitely, but he had no idea how long it would be before it dried up. "So is this how far science has progressed?"

"This is how far _I_ progressed," Accelerator corrected him. "You pushed me to this, so don't you start whining like a bitch when I kill you."

"I still don't believe you can," Cain told him, as he swiped his arm in front of him to create a blade of pure mana.

"Let's test that theory out," Accelerator muttered, as he swiped one of his white wings in return. He cut through the mana blade, but he kept going. The force blew one of Cain's arms off and left a deep gash in his chest. Blood rained down from the open wound. Accelerator didn't stop there and moved forward. All the anger and powerlessness he had felt when Cain attacked Last Order, Bayloupe, Worst, and Estelle was infused behind his next blow. Accelerator's fist flew forward and made direct contact with Cain's face. This blow actually didn't have power from Accelerator's ability or the new power behind it. He only used the vector manipulation to push Cain's magic reinforcement aside. It was a blow designed to transmit Accelerator's frustration.

Cain under stood this.

And it made him angrier.

"Do you think you are better than me?!" Cain roared and swung his other fist. The arm Accelerator tore off had almost completely reformed from Cain's blood.

"Yes," Accelerator responded and flicked his wing again to tear apart Cain's other arm.

"That's going to be the death of you," Cain said and, to Accelerator's surprise, he gave a small smile.

"Oh?" Accelerator snorted. "I would love to hear an explanation for that."

"When you look down on the wrong person," Cain informed him and his eyes flashed dangerously. "You may regret it." The blood from Cain's arm exploded into the shape of a three pronged talon and swiped at Accelerator. Accelerator blocked it with his wing and shattered it by causing the vectors to move in different directions.

"Hate to disappoint you," Accelerator replied with a smirk. "I already did that but," he shrugged. "It all worked out in the end thanks to that idiotic hero." His amusement faded. "But that has nothing to do with our fight. Your sin for attacking those important to me is death."

"A true sin can't be washed away, even in death."

Accelerator moved before he even realized it. A warning bell went off in his head that told him he needed to act. Cain's voice had become lower and sinister. A chill ran down his spine, even with the new power he possessed. He spun around in midair and brought the full force of his wings down upon Cain. Cain's could only raise his hands, they both had regenerated, but the force sent him flying downwards. Before Cain could traverse the distance to the earth, a giant hand made of dirt rose up to catch him. The force of his momentum blew up the hand, but the soft dirt cushioned his fall. A cloud of dust rose and Accelerator lost sight of him. Accelerator frowned and began to descend. He wasn't sure what caused that feeling, but he was mentally berating himself for overreacting. Then he saw his wings.

His pure white wings had partially turned black on the bottom, about the size of a hand.

 _What did he do?_ Accelerator thought, unable to explain the situation. A flicker of hatred ran through his mind. _No, not again._ He concentrated and the hatred disappeared, but the black coloring did not vanish from his wings. It was as if being in contact with Cain's anger had somehow caused them to revert back to the manifestation of madness. With his mind clear, Accelerator continued to descend and sent a gust of wind at the dust to clear the field. "Explain this, you bastard!" Accelerator roared when Cain became visible.

"I only showed you who you truly are," Cain replied and a shiver went through Accelerator's spine again. Cain's voice was still cold and sinister. He was grinning, but it was dark grin that made him look slightly insane. His eyes had grown pure black and the blood all over his body only added to the maddening appearance. "Murderers can always recognize each other."

"Fuck that and die!" Accelerator yelled and charged downwards.

"My thoughts exactly!" Cain replied and flew upwards.

 _He changed._ The thought passed through Accelerator's mind as Cain suddenly moved right in front of him. Being this close, the crazed look in his eyes was magnified. His face was a combination of rage and joy, hatred and excitement, calmness and insanity. Cain raised his arms wide and brought them forward like claws. The blood on his hands seemed to sharpen. Accelerator blocked them with his wings and he felt the hatred within him start to bubble up again. He forced the feeling down and continued to swing his wings. Cain was blown back in the air and sprayed blood everywhere, but nothing was fazing him. Cain just charged back and continued to attack like a wild beast and, one time, even bit at Accelerator's arm. _He's a fucking maniac._ Accelerator raised his hand and combined his vector manipulation and the unknown power he discovered.

A blast of overwhelming force hit the beast Cain in the chest. Cain was thrown backwards through the air, but stopped about twenty meters away.

"Damn it," Accelerator muttered and grabbed his head. The strain of using the unnatural power and his ability together, while trying to suppress the rage that was again trying to consume his thoughts, was threatening to overload his mind. His pure white wings were now splattered with black, as if someone had been throwing pain over them. "What the hell did he do?!"

"I... simplay… unleack… your… sins… kak," Cain replied as his body straighten up in midair. The hole in his chest was closing, but his words were hard to hear as he was choking on blood. His words grew clearer as he healed. "The church teaches I brought evil into the world with murder. I use that belief against them. I can draw out the darkness in anyone."

"Tsk," Accelerator spat. "This guy won't die like Pride."

"Did you think your sins would wash away if you did good?" Cain laughed. His voice had lost all trace of any elegance and was now full of madness and maniacal laughter. "All you are trying to do is make up for your past mistakes. They can never be undone, even if others forgive you. I know from experience. God never forgave me. He kept this accursed mark on my face." His right hand dug into the side of his face over his mark and a trickle of blood flowed out. "Now we are so close to finally getting revenge." He sighed. "And then I can finally rest and get rid of this insatiable hunger." His eyes flashed. "Ah, I'm so hungry."

"Keep your pathetic urges to yourself," Accelerator snapped.

"I want to eat!" Cain yelled. "Lady Eve, why do you starve me so?!" His eyes were like a beast. They lost their humanity and stared at Accelerator with pure hunger. Cain licked his lips. "I guess you will have to do."

"My blood would kill you from the inside," Accelerator scoffed. "It's far too potent for trash like you." Cain didn't seem to hear him and charged forward, with his hands outstretched. Accelerator brought his wing down like a blade and crushed Cain right before he reached him. Cain succumbed under the force and flew down in a spiral. He hit the ground with a boom and sent up a cloud of dust as the earth collapsed under him. "Did you lose your sanity just being in my presence?"

"So hungry!" the voice of Cain called out through the dust. The dust settled and he stood up. He moved his hand to his neck and a loud pop echoed around him. "Why do people always try to starve me? If someone would just let me feed, so many people could go free." Cain seemed to be ignoring Accelerator, but then he looked up. "If you won't let me feed, I'll find someone else."

"What garbage are you spewing?" Accelerator spat out with a frown, but he had a sinking feeling he knew what Cain was referring to.

"So much food," Cain answered and spread out his arms toward the city. "All around us. I'm going to put a hold on our fight while I feed. This city shall be turned into a sea of blood! So much cattle, ripe for the taking." He licked his lips again. "Maybe I should make a few more vampires to join me in this feast. After all, the only other one still alive hates me." He grinned. "You are all just food to me." He seemed to be unable to focus on only one thing besides eating.

"You bastard!" Accelerator yelled and charged. "I'll crush you before you find anyone!"

"Your blood will be my dessert," Cain laughed and sank into the ground.

"FUCKER!" Accelerator roared as he punched the ground a second after Cain disappeared. The ground exploded and huge sections of earth flew up into the air, but Cain was nowhere to be seen. The earth seemed to fall in slow motion as Accelerator desperately searched around to find him. _Fuck, I can't see him._ Accelerator had no way of tracking people, and he knew it. Cain was now loose in the earth under Academy City and was no longer being confined to an area without people. The thought of what would happen if Cain ran into Aiho, Kikyou, or even one of his classmates caused his pale face to grow, if possible, even paler. _What do I do?_ He wasn't used to asking people for help.

At least, the old him wasn't.

Accelerator turned around, spread his wings, and flew almost instantly back to where Bayloupe and Last Order were waiting. "I need your help," he told Bayloupe before either of the girls could say anything. Bayloupe nodded. She could hear the urgency in his voice, but she also noticed the black marks all over his white wings, like they had been bruised. Last Order was unusually quiet, because even she knew this was not the time to interrupt. "Cain has disappeared under the city. I have no way of finding him and he's going to try to feed on anyone he can find to regain his strength. Do you have a way to track him?"

"Oh god!" Bayloupe gasped. "If he goes on a rampage, countless people are going to die."

"My thoughts exactly," Accelerator muttered angrily. "So can you track him?"

"I think I can," Bayloupe said slowly, like she was debating with herself. "There is one type of tracking magic I know that can only be used during an emergency. This should qualify." She started drawing a circle in the ground with one hand and reached into her pocket to pull out a piece of paper. She handed the paper to Accelerator. "This will let me stay in contact with you telepathically while I track his location."

"Your skills are impressive," Accelerator muttered and Bayloupe grinned slightly, but he couldn't see it.

"This magic is based off the Wild Hunt in Norse mythology," Bayloupe explained while she completed the design. "Odin was not only chief god, but also god of the hunt. He led the Wild Hunt. People used to believe seeing the Wild Hunt was a sign of a great catastrophe. Seems like this time it will be true." She started muttering in another language Accelerator didn't recognize and the circle started to glow. Instead of dirt, the ground in the circle seemed to turn into glass. Accelerator's eyes widened as a street appeared in Academy City. The road turned transparent and something red was moving under the ground. "Got him!" Bayloupe told him triumphantly. "His unrestrained mana is giving away his location like a beacon."

"I'm off then," Accelerator said, as he lifted up into the air. "I'm relying on you."

"Good luck MISAKA wishes you." A faint smile appeared on Accelerator's lips as he instantly disappeared off into the distance.

* * *

It started the rain.

The rain was light at first, but quickly became a torrential downpour. Most of the residents in Academy City were nestled away safely in their homes, but some people were still out. Anti-Skill members on patrol, businessman leaving after a late day at work, students who didn't want to go back to their dorms, and the occasional drunk were off doing their own things. Not everyone took severe thunderstorms as seriously as they should. One man was staggering along the sidewalk until he was forced to take shelter under a small bus stop. It was only a bench surrounded by glass on three sides, but it protected the man from the elements.

"Blah," he groaned. "First I lose my job and now this weather prevents me from enjoying my alcohol in peace." He drank from a bottle hidden by a brown bag. Public drinking was illegal in Academy City, but the man didn't care anymore. "Maybe I should just end it all. It's not like I have family or anyone waiting for me."

"Then I might have a solution that benefits both of us."

"What the-…?!" the man turned around and saw another man. The newcomer was soaking wet and was wearing the shredded remains of what previously was some kind of hoody. "You nearly gave me a heart attack. Announce yourself earlier when sneaking up on someone in the middle of a storm." The newcomer didn't say anything and the man thought his eyes looked kind of red. "You want some booze?" he asked and held out the bag. "I don't have anything else on me."

"I'm pretty thirty," the second man admitted. "But I'm also starving."

"Join the club," the first man replied. "I barely have money for food." He looked up at the second man and frowned. "There's something wrong with your teeth, or I'm imagining things. This booze is pretty potent stuff."

"No, you aren't imagining things."

"Huh?" A quick movement was all it took, as the second man moved at the first man's neck. "AHHHHHH!?"

* * *

 _He's right up ahead and to the left,_ Bayloupe informed Accelerator.

 _Moving in now,_ Accelerator replied and flew down to the ground. _I'm too late._ A man was lying on the ground, a broken bottle of alcohol next to him. The man's skin was dry and stretched tightly over his skin. He looked very similar to a mummy and there was a tiny bit of blood on the ground around his neck. _He got one victim already._ The sight of the body might have made a normal person retch, but Accelerator was far too use to death to be remotely effected by it.

 _The more he consumes,_ Bayloupe said. _The stronger he is going to get. He's moving east._

 _On it._ Accelerator spread his wings and took off. The heavy rain didn't affect him at all, as it just parted around him. He flew around thirty meters off the ground and was looking every direction for signs of Cain. Bayloupe had just begun to give him more directions, when he heard something that made her directions unnecessary.

"AHHHHH!"

Accelerator flew off at breakneck speed in the direction of the woman's scream. He rounded a corner and stopped. He had been a second too late. Two more victims were lying on the ground, one male and one female. _He's too fast. I won't be able to catch him like this._

 _Keep moving. He's only a couple blocks away. You need to catch him. You are the only one who stands a chance._

 _I know._ Accelerator flew off as Bayloupe guided him. Suddenly, something caught his eye. It was a large black column of electricity that flew high into the sky and then disappeared in an instant. It happened so fast, Accelerator actually thought he imagined it. He shook his head. He didn't have time to go after weird optical illusions. He had to hunt down a vampire.

* * *

 _I feel better._

Cain had just devoured the blood of three people and his strength had returned. The endless hunger was gone and he was feeling like his old self. As a hunter, his magic allowed him to detect living things nearby, which made finding prey easy. He was aware of Accelerator following him, and that confused him for a moment. _He shouldn't be able to track me. For him to do so would mean the magician girl is helping him. There's still a delay in how fast he can follow me, so I have plenty of time to hunt. I think the next person I come across I'll turn into a vampire. That should slow him down and then I can continue to turn this city into a sea of blood._ He detected a lone individual coming out of a building and he rose from the earth behind them.

"Huh?" The person turned around at the sound of the parting earth and she gasped. The girl wasn't special in any way. She had long, straight, black hair and somewhat dull black eyes. She was even wearing a normal high school uniform and carrying a plain blue umbrella. "Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter," Cain told her. "Just accept your fate." He opened his mouth and revealed his fangs.

"A vampire?" the girl gasped.

That actually surprised Cain enough to stop him for a moment. Normal people would call him a monster, let alone those who lived in Academy City where they didn't believe in myths. For the girl to instantly call him a vampire meant she was involved with them in some way or, at the very least, the magic side. "Who are you?" he hissed, but the girl never got a chance to answer. Suddenly, the mass of power behind him moved around a corner of a building. Accelerator was roughly ten meters off the ground and was staring at Cain.

"Caught you, bastard!" Accelerator yelled. "I'm going to kill you right now!"

"Accelerator?" the girl whispered confused.

"Hah," Cain laughed and grabbed the girl by the shoulder. She dropped the umbrella and started to get drenched by the rain. He looked over his shoulder at Accelerator. "I'm back to my full power and I know you are beginning to weaken." Cain could feel the mass of false Telesma slowly decreasing. "You can't defeat me anymore."

"I will rip you apart as many times as it takes," Accelerator told him. "Even if I have to throw you into the sun, I will kill you."

"Then maybe I should increase my army," Cain told him, while the girl struggled in his grip. "This girl will make a great new vampire under my command." He moved aside and Accelerator's mouth fell open.

"Ghost girl?!" he asked in shock. He couldn't remember Aisa's name and the hint of a scowl appeared on her face. Aisa wasn't a person with a strong presence, so Accelerator mostly ignored her. Even if he wasn't close to her, she was still a classmate. "Release her Cain, and I'll make your death painless."

"Cain?" Aisa mumbled and her eyes widened in recognition.

"That doesn't seem like the best option for me," Cain laughed and placed his arm around Aisa's shoulders and neck. She had given up struggling against his immovable strength. He opened his mouth and revealed his fangs. "How about you kill yourself and I let her go?"

"You have got to be fucking joking!"

"It's okay," Aisa reassured him. "I'll be fine."

"Shut up!" Accelerator snapped. "You have no idea who he is."

"If his name is Cain and he is a vampire," Aisa said. "Then he was the first and all vampires are his descendants."

"Oh?" Cain asked surprised. "I'm surprised a normal citizen of this city knows about me."

"What the-…?" Accelerator mumbled and trailed off. For Aisa to know about vampires, she had to be part of the science side, but he believed she was a normal student in his class. None of the other magicians in the city ever mentioned her. He doubted she was a magician, but then he realized something important. _I think I remember four eyes saying the hero helped her out of some trouble. Shit. I bet she's been involved in magic before._

"It's okay Accelerator," Aisa told him again. Accelerator noticed her eyes began to droop and sadness began to get etched on her face. She reached up with her right hand and grabbed the silver cross on her neck. "This will be the end."

"It sure will," Cain laughed.

"Stop laughing you bastard!" Accelerator roared as Cain continued to laugh. Aisa continued to smile at Accelerator and pulled off the silver cross.

Instantly, Cain stopped laughing.

The street grew silent.

 _What is this?_ Accelerator thought. He didn't believe Cain would listen to his command. Cain seemed to lean in closer and sniff Aisa.

"Delicious," Cain whispered softly and then, without warning, sunk his teeth into Aisa's neck.

"No!" Accelerator yelled and charged forward. With his speed, it would only take a second to reach them, but Cain could kill just as fast. Before he reached the halfway point, something happened he could not explain. His eyes widened in surprise.

Cain exploded into a cloud of ashes.

Accelerator stopped in midair, his expression full of shock and bewilderment. He had no idea what happened. The cloud washed over him, but his vector manipulation pushed the ashes aside. He glanced at them as they passed. _They look like normal ashes from a fire._ He landed softly on the ground and walked automatically toward Aisa. Somehow, Cain exploded, but that did not make any sense to Accelerator. Nothing should have caused it. He looked around the empty street for anyone or anything that could have done something, but nothing caught his eye. His eyes fell back onto Aisa when he saw her move, but she was only putting her necklace back on. Her uniform was covered in ashes and there was a small trickle of blood on her neck, but otherwise she looked fine. She noticed him watching her and she shook slightly.

"I did it again," she whispered softly and her eyes started watering. "They just want to live and I took another one's life away."

"What did you do?" Accelerator asked in confusion.

"My blood has the power to kill vampires," Aisa told him. "They can't resist it. This necklace," she gestured to the silver cross, "seals my power so they can't find me." Accelerator blinked and his mind took a moment to process this new information.

"BULLSHIT!" he roared out of nowhere and Aisa jumped. "What kind of fucked up power is that? No matter what I did, he could keep standing up and then you go and kill him instantly without even lifting a finger?" He pointed at her. "I'm not going to buy such a stupid reason!"

"It's true," Aisa protested, but Accelerator was having none of that.

"Damn it," Accelerator fumed and stomped his foot. The ground began to crack under his power. "I know the damn hero has something to do with this. Every fucking unexplainable thing in this damn city is because of him. I bet Cain's appearance was because of him too. When he gets back, I'm going to drag you and him somewhere and you are going to fucking tell me how something as stupid as your ability even exists!"

"That might not be too bad," Aisa muttered. "If what you say is true, are those wings because of him too?"

"Probably," Accelerator snapped at her.

"You kind of look like an angel," Aisa pointed out.

"You are going to tell no one about this."

 _ACCELERATOR!_ Bayloupe's voice boomed in his mind.

 _What!?_ He might have snapped at her harsher than he intended to.

 _You have been ignoring me,_ Bayloupe told him irritated. _Did you take him out? I can't find Cain's presence anywhere._

 _He's dead._

 _You took care of him?!_

 _Don't sound so shock. He's dead. Let's leave it at that._

 _If you are sure..._ Bayloupe's voice grew weak. _You should get back here as soon as possible, we have another small problem._

 _What now?_ Accelerator asked exasperatedly, but Bayloupe didn't elaborate. _Fine, I'm on my way back._ He turned to Aisa. "I have somewhere else to be. You never saw me and I never saw you."

"Okay," Aisa agreed and looked down at the ground. Accelerator could tell she was still upset she killed a vampire and he sighed.

 _Fuck,_ Accelerator thought. _Damn hero is rubbing off on me._ "Listen," he told her. "Cain had just killed three people and was planning to kill or turn everyone in this city. He tried to kill several people close to me. You may be sad you took a life, but he wasn't a good person. He relished in causing pain and suffering to others. He also complained about being forced to live in a world that didn't want him. You actually might have been doing him a favor. He got off too easily." Accelerator mumbled the last sentence.

"Thank you," Aisa said surprised and then smiled. "You sound a lot like him." She didn't even bother trying to ask anything else about his wings. If Vampires could exist, something like the power of angels would most likely exist too.

"Don't remind me," Accelerator muttered and turned around. His wings flapped once and he was instantly high above the city. He flew off through the torrent of rain to the park and looked around. Bayloupe and Last Order had found shelter under a large tree. Accelerator flew down and walked toward them. His wings broke apart and disappeared. He could tell something was wrong by the look of concern on Bayloupe's face. "What was so important I had to race back here?"

"I found something out," Bayloupe said nervously. "But I think it will be easier to show you instead of telling you. Last Order," she turned to the little girl. "Go ahead and show him."

"Okay MISAKA agrees as MISAKA bounds forward excitedly to tell you the news. MISAKA is also glad you returned MISAKA adds quickly as MISAKA hugs you tightly."

"Yeah, yeah," Accelerator muttered and patted her on the head as she embraced him. "Tell me what happened already." he told her.

"See for yourself MISAKA says as MISAKA opens her mouth." Last Order pulled her mouth open with her hands to reveal her teeth. "Ahhhhh." Accelerator's heart stopped for a moment.

Last Order was sporting a shiny pair of fangs.

"It can't be," Accelerator muttered slowly and turned to Bayloupe, who nodded reluctantly.

"Cain wasn't trying to kill her," she told him. "He was turning her into a vampire."

"So does that mean MISAKA is all powerful now MISAKA asks? Can MISAKA finally get revenge on the evil one?" Accelerator and Bayloupe ignored her.

"What does this mean!?" Accelerator asked impatiently. "Is she going to need blood!? Will she be able to use magic!?"

"She can't use magic without learning to refine mana," Bayloupe reassured him. "As for blood, I don't know. She seems to have their regeneration though. The few scrapes and bruises she obtained are already gone." Bayloupe flinched and grabbed her side. "Wish I had that."

"MISAKA feels tired MISAKA says sleepily."

"You don't look that good," Accelerator told Bayloupe and then he too flinched. "Gah! Fuck, I took a lot of damage and I broke a rib. I realigned it, but I'm going to need to bandage myself up when I get back."

"I can heal that for you," Bayloupe offered.

"Later," Accelerator said. "We need to find Worst and Estelle."

"What about your other friends?" Bayloupe asked. "If Cain attacked us, the rest of Eve's forces are sure to be attacking them."

"We are in no position to enter another fight," Accelerator mumbled. "We would only be a liability. They will have to fend for themselves." He felt a grin form on his lips. "Besides, they might not be in the same league as me, but if Eve is attacking the other level fives, her forces will be in for a big surprise. They won't go down without a fight." He remembered the flash of black electricity. _I bet the third rate just nuked one of Eve's tools._

"You speak highly of them," Bayloupe said with a grin.

"Shut up," Accelerator snapped, but she chuckled. "We should get going."

"Carry MISAKA MISAKA begs as MISAKA is about to doze off."

"You can walk brat," Accelerator told her, but there was no anger behind his words. His body hurt too much to carry her and he would have to conserve his battery on his choker soon.

"I can carry her," Bayloupe offered.

"You sure?"

"I'm not that injured I can't carry a little girl," Bayloupe huffed and it was Accelerator's turn to smirk. She knelt down and Last Order wrapped her arms around Bayloupe's shoulders from behind and Bayloupe lifted her up. "So we find the other two first, and then where are we heading?"

"Back to my apartment," Accelerator explained. "It's better to be near each other while we are weakened in case there is a surprise attack."

"They are that way MISAKA mutters sleepily and points as MISAKA falls asleep." She pressed her head on Bayloupe's shoulders and soon began to snooze lightly. Bayloupe and Accelerator looked at each other and started walking through the rain to meet up with Worst and Estelle.

* * *

Eve didn't know who Noukan was, but she knew who he worked for. _Aleister finally considers me a threat. He should have just come out himself. Now he is going to lose his watchdog. Heh, watchdog._ The dog didn't scare her. It was the battle suit that surrounded him which was the threat. The countless weapons didn't seem to have a true base. They merely converged at Noukan's location. Eve didn't understand science completely, but even she could tell something was unusual with that suit. The parts were definitely science technology though. "Hey cutie," Eve told the hydra. "Can you go take care of him?" The hydra moved instantly at Eve's command and approached Noukan.

It began to rain, but no one took notice.

"A truly fascinating beast," Noukan commented passively. "It is not something one would expect to see in this day and age." The rocket boosters flared to life and Noukan shot high into the sky, as the hydra tried to bite him. He flew several stories above the hydra and begun to hover in the air. "Shame it lacks the capability of flight." A section of his weapons turned their sights downward and unleashed a volley of machine gun blasts and several air to ground missiles. The hydra roared in pain as the machine gun bullets tore into its faces, and then a couple of the heads disappeared in a fiery explosion as the missiles made contact. The smoke cleared and several heads were blown apart but, before Noukan's eyes, they began to reform. "Interesting. Does it regenerate through its own powers or through Eve's creation ability?"

"How could you pick on a newborn baby?!" Eve cried out. "He was born only a few minutes ago! Now he's going to grow up hating the world!" Then it occurred to her and she squatted down to look under the hydra. "Yep, it's a he. Anyways, it's totally cheating to attack a land-based creature from the sky!"

"Attacking an enemy from outside their attack range is a perfectly logical move," Noukan informed her. "Between like and dislike, I rather dislike it, but between good and bad, it would be the bad form of stupidity to not do so."

"Maybe we should even the odds," Eve suggested and her book fell open in her hand. "Let's see, what kind of treats would this doggy enjoy?" She grinned. "How about this?" Countless papers flew into the sky and each piece folded itself like origami into the shape of a bird. Once the shapes were finalized, they began to glow in a soft golden light and took on the appearance of living breathing birds. "Normally, dogs like to chase birds. How about we mix things up?" The birds took off at unnatural speeds, which caused them to leave small golden trails of light behind each one. They started circling around Noukan, but kept their distance.

Noukan immediately started to lock onto each individual bird. He couldn't be sure what they would do, so he was preparing for all eventualities. They could explode on contact, attack him with claws and beaks, or something else entirely. Eve tended to use unconventional strategies. The birds were moving too fast to hit with normal bullets and Noukan noted they could turn at ninety degree angles without slowing down. The boosters on his suit flared up and he moved to the left, while simultaneously firing off acid sprayers, flamethrowers, and liquid nitrogen emitters. He broke through the wall of birds surrounding him and the ones that were hit with acid and flames did not explode. A couple were frozen solid and fell down to the ground below. They shattered on impact but, again, there was no explosion. Noukan's movement did not go unanswered.

The rest of the birds attacked.

The birds didn't have to flap their wings to move. They kept their wings spread out and moved like they had their own rockets. Noukan led the birds into a high speed chase high above Academy City. The birds were acting like an intelligent swarm and kept trying to surround him. He had to continually take out several birds to keep from being boxed in, but their numbers were too great. This didn't bother Noukan as there was a method to his movements. Over ninety percent of the birds were directly behind him. He descended straight down and the flock of golden birds followed. If dogs could laugh, Noukan would have. He turned around and several of the large plasma cannons locked onto their targets. A blast of light erupted from the cannons and the majority of the birds disappeared. A few more swooped by him and seemed to be trying to regroup. One of the birds passed by one of his outer weaponry and he noticed a gash the size of one of their wings.

 _So they attack by making physical contact with their wings,_ Noukan analyzed. He made a slight change to his battle plan, and then he noticed another golden flock of birds rising from the city. _She can make them indefinitely and only one needs to make a solid hit. Destroying them is pointless, so I should move to her._ His rockets flared up and Noukan descended down in between the buildings. This is when he noticed the birds were flying above him, but were not trying to approach him. He maneuvered through the city until he was back on the street with Eve and the hydra, neither had moved. Noukan started spinning without warning before drawing near them. The swords on his armor moved to the front and sliced several nearly invisible wires. After they were cut, he landed onto the ground, fifty meters or so away from the hydra. "Did you truly believe a few tripwires would work?"

"They weren't trip wires," Eve scoffed. "They were a net. I was playing dogcatcher and it seemed appropriate." She laughed. "Did you enjoy my birds?"

"Those birds were designed to attack enemies at high altitudes," Noukan commented. "Most likely, you used them in order to keep me within striking distance of your beast."

"Bingo," Eve cheered and clapped her hands together. "I hate unfair fights, so I always like giving my opponents a chance. If I went all out, everything would be boring. I was kind of hoping those birds would prove a little more of a challenge for you, but I got to watch a really fascinating power suit. The birds weren't ordered to win though. I merely wanted to see if you could be neutered so you would be less aggressive."

"Such an action would be most uncomfortable." Noukan was not going to rise to Eve's taunts. Eve pretended everything was a game in order to frustrate her opponents and make them act rashly. If one did not rise to her taunts and acted calmly, she would lose one of her greatest weapons. It was very similar to the style of fighting one of his subordinates had. Eve's power was still formidable and Noukan understood this. Even if he did not fully understand magic, he had taken several steps into the world outside of science. Noukan continued to break apart her power into segments to analyze them in-depth. Now that he knew Eve's current plan, his next target was already identified.

The hydra roared and lumbered forward, the street cracking under its weight. Two of its heads circled around to each side of Noukan and opened their mouths. The teeth flashed and they moved forward. Noukan didn't even blink, but two of his rocket launchers had swiveled to target the threat. Rockets fired and were followed shortly by two explosions, but Noukan didn't stop there. A flamethrower unleashed a torrent of flames in one direction and liquid nitrogen was released in the other. The smoke from the explosions vanished and the hydra's heads were gone. One neck was scorched and the other was frozen. Unlike before, the heads did not seem to be able to regenerate.

"Oh no!" Eve squealed. "The dog has gone rabid!" She laughed. "I'm surprised you knew how to defeat a hydra."

"The legends of this beast are well known," Noukan answered. "You always leave a weakness in your creations that can be exploited." The hydra roared again and all the remaining mouths rained down upon Noukan. Lasers and grenades pelted the hydra from Noukan's arsenal in a furry of explosions and sinister hissing. In an instant, only the main head was left while the others had to pause and regenerate. The last head opened its jaws wide and one of the larger excavation drills begun to spin. Noukan brought it up and thrust it into the gaping maw of the hydra. The hydra's eyes opened wide for a moment, before its entire head was shredded by the force of the drill.

Noukan didn't stop there. The thrusters on his battle suit flared to life and Noukan powered forward. The large drill continued to tear apart the hydra as Noukan moved straight down its throat. Instead of blood and guts, the pieces of hydra flying in every direction resembled paper, even while the insides looked alive. The power behind Noukan's attack never weakened and he moved in a straight line down the entire length of the hydra. The hydra was effectively divided in half. Noukan stopped and landed back on the ground. The two halves behind him continued to break down into countless shreds of paper, before they dissolved into ashes and disappeared.

Noukan also briefly registered a strong electrical disturbance in the distance, as a black column rose high into the air, but it disappeared before he could get a reading on it.

"Why does everyone kill these poor children?!" Eve cried out. "Right in their prime of life! He never even found a girlfriend." She stopped when she noticed the large caliber railgun Noukan wielded swivel and aim directly at her. "I think I just became a cat person."

A loud boom was heard, as a bullet traveling several times the speed of sound was fired.

"I see," Noukan commented. "You can create much faster than you have previously revealed." The sound of metal tearing echoed along the silent street and a couple of his armaments fell to the ground with clanking sounds. Noukan never saw a returned shot, but the damage to his suit was the same as if he had been hit by his own railgun. He knew why though. A glowing golden circle was hovering in front of Eve, while an older man stood next to her. "So this is the power of ether. I started to examine it earlier before it was blown away."

"You won't be as lucky as he was," Eve told him, as the shield faded away. "I gave you a warning shot this time, but that was your only freebie. Now, I get serious." She raised her book up and paper begun to fly out of it again. The pages combined above her and took the form of a large bone, roughly five meters long. "Fetch boy!" she said as she threw it. The bone didn't look deadly, but Noukan would never allow appearances to deceive him. He knew there had to be something special with that bone. One of the swords on his suit was moved forward and it sliced the bone in half. There was no explosion, but something else happened.

A swarm of insects flooded out of the hollowed out bone and covered Noukan. They didn't seem to be going after Noukan though, but rather his suit. As he watched, several armaments on his suit were being consumed by the insects; swords, spears, electromagnetic wave emitters, none of them were safe. "A small tweak to termites does wonderful things," Eve laughed. "Once your suit is gone, you will be defenseless. I should make a coat out of you, but I think you'd look even prettier as a rug."

"An attack of this level is useless," Noukan sighed. Several flaps opened up all over his power suit and begun to release liquid nitrogen, acid, and flames, to freeze, dissolve, or burn the bugs off his suit. In seconds, they were all destroyed, and only a few attachments were unusable. Noukan released the useless weapons and they clanged loudly when they hit the ground. With the number of weapons still at his disposal, the loss of a few had no impact on his combat abilities.

"You can chew on my bone," Eve said, slightly frustrated. "This is a waste of time. Aleister should have just come out and talk."

"He is rather busy to meet every insignificant person who wishes to complain about something," Noukan replied mildly.

"I know he doesn't consider me insignificant," Eve scoffed. "We shared some pretty intimate moments around the campfire."

"By campfire do you mean the remains of your enemies' army?" Noukan asked to clarify.

"Aren't you the clever one?"

"If you want to meet him," Noukan continued. "You better throw everything you have at me." Eve smiled and flicked her hand. A piece of paper shot out of her sleeve and twisted in midair as it flew at him. It twisted into something white and cube-shaped. Noukan shot at it with one of his many guns and the white object exploded into several pieces. Noukan looked down at the white object and then looked up at Eve. "Did you just throw a sink at me?"

"A kitchen sink to be more precise," Eve corrected him. "You said I had to throw everything at you. It's okay though. This was the old model. We have a much nicer one in our lair now."

"It sounds like you are running out of tricks," Noukan commented.

"Or I could be wasting time," Eve refuted and then shrugged. "A lot is going on right now, so…" Her voice trailed off and she stared off into the distance. The air seemed to grow cold and Noukan saw, for the first time, pure shock on Eve's face. "How… how is this possible? Cain can't have been defeated. No human should have that kind of power."

"It sounds like your companions underestimated our people," Noukan said.

"Silence," Eve hissed and the air around them grew even colder. Noukan's arsenal automatically all locked onto Eve in response, but he didn't fire. If he fired, the ether controlling Herald next to her would reflect all the shots back at him. Noukan watched as Eve grabbed her head with both hands. "That's impossible. There's no way they could have taken him out. I know I planned for this possibility, but still." She straightened up and recovered her calm demeanor, but there wasn't any playfulness in her eyes. "No more playing around, I have to be serious." She nodded to the Herald next to her. The Herald raised his hands and the golden ether mist began to fill the air around them.

"Planning to suffocate me?" Noukan asked, as he lifted up into the air on his rockets. "Not a bad idea, but I have several counter measures for something of this level. I saw this move once already."

"Not this time," Eve said and her voice was calm, but still held a trace of anger. "Right now, I'm just setting up the stage for my next creation." She held up her book with both hands. "Without using Lord Lucifer's strength, a creation like this would normally be impossible." She smiled knowingly. "However, I can decrease the difficulty by creating a space where the rules are different. Ether is the substance gods' breathe and it occupies their domain. When ether fills up this area like this, the space becomes part of their world. Many beings were formed in this domain, the most notable were the angels of God." Paper began to fly out of her book and the golden mist begun to circle around her. "Come forth from the plane that holds the highest beings! The ones who govern over man!"

Noukan observed something few people would ever get to see.

The creation of an angel.

The form vaguely resembled a man, but three stories tall. It had pure white skin, with silver lines over its entire body. The skin did not look like it was made of flesh, but of a substance that was a cross between plastic and stone. The torso was bare and resembled statues of ancient muscular heroes without flaws. Its lower form had a white kilt like outfit. It covered down to about where the angel's knees should be. The angel's head was plain, with pure white eyes that had no pupils or irises. The skin fused seamlessly into waves on the angel's head, as if it had hair. Above its head there was a half circle, like a crescent moon, that orbited a nonexistent center. The most noticeable features were its wings. Angels were normally depicted as having pure white feathery wings, while fallen angels had their feathers turn pitch black. This angel's wings looked like crystal. They still had the shape of wings and were attached to the angel's back. These crystals were pale yellow but still transparent, as if the ether air had turned solid. The angel raised its hands in front of its face and flexed its fingers.

"Phew!" Eve gasped and rubbed the sweat from her forehead. "That was tough. I couldn't specify the details but, from the color of its wings, it must be associated with the element of air."

Noukan remained silent. For a creation to take that toll on Eve meant it would be in a league above the others. Noukan didn't believe in angels, but he did believe this creature was based on them. The creation 'magic' Eve used was eerily similar to the dark matter the number 2 made. There were differences, but that was to be expected when abilities develop through different means. Noukan also made sure to take in his surroundings. The creation of the angel seemed to have drawn in all the ether in the area, so Noukan could breathe normally. The Herald, Eve created, had fallen onto the ground and broke apart into dust. Noukan theorized the amount of power Eve used to create the angel was preventing her from creating anything else. This was good and bad news. The good news was if he took it down, Eve should not be able to put up much more of a fight. The bad news was how powerful the thing was if Eve used most of her power. Noukan blinked when the angel turned its head toward Eve.

"kdhsyNAMEpwqs?" the angel asked Eve.

"I almost forgot that," Eve muttered and rubbed her chin. "God normally names the angels he creates, but I'm not really in a position to do that." She looked up at it. "I think you should have to earn it by destroying the dog and building over there," Eve said and pointed.

"nczyUNDERSTANDbahr?" The angel did not move and Noukan frowned. The angel's voice was deep and reverberated. It echoed in Noukan's mind. He could somewhat understand what the angel was asking, but he had never heard the language before.

 _Did Eve not create this thing with the ability to understand our language?_

"He doesn't understand Japanese," Eve mused. "So I doubt he understands any human language. I'm a little rusty, but…" She cleared her throat. "uhwyTRIALoprd gtqDESTROYvzdr." She replied in the same harsh language and gestured to the building and Noukan.

"nctwUNDERSTOODbakh." The angel turned toward Noukan and the windowless building behind him. It raised its arm and made a swiping motion. The street tore up from the force of a twister. The wind gathered like a blade and flew down the street. The road split in half and Noukan had to rocket out of the way as the road warped under the concentration of air. He landed back down in the broken street and glanced behind him. The windowless building was still standing, but Noukan saw something to make his eyes widen.

There was a four story high grove in the side of the building.

The wall had not broken, but it suffered major damage. This should not have been possible. The building was made with technology more advanced than the rest of the city combined. It could stand against a nuclear strike without suffering damage. It had been struck with countless of abilities and weaponry since the city had been founded. Accelerator even threw another building at it once and there wasn't even a scratch. Noukan had even once tested the building's defensive capabilities and couldn't make a dent. With a single motion, the angel creation was able to do damage. This was a sign of how powerful it truly was. The angel took a step forward toward Noukan. There was no sound of footsteps, so the angel was either really light or defied gravity.

 _This creation is dangerous,_ Noukan thought and turned all the weaponry at his disposal on the single target. Precision guided missiles, bunker clusters, lasers, machine guns, plasma, flames, Gatling guns, and the large caliber railgun rained down attacks upon the angel. Noukan's power suit had firepower capable of destroying a fortress. One of Eve's simple creations should not be able to stand against it. The angel was engulfed with explosions and the street around it was obliterated by stray bunker clusters. Noukan stopped firing and stood still as the smoke cleared.

The angel was still standing.

It looked completely unharmed.

"I'm going to give you one more chance!" Eve called down to Noukan from the roof of a nearby building. He never saw her move. "Have Aleister come out and talk, or this nameless angel will lay waste to his precious building."

 _This is indeed troublesome,_ Noukan thought. At this point, a transmission arrived for him through his electronics.

"Perhaps it is time I helped out."

"So you were paying attention," Noukan commented, slightly amused.

"As soon as Eve targeted the building," Aleister replied. "I have to step in. I'm sure you can tell normal weaponry will not do anything to her creation."

"No," Noukan agreed. "It needs that."

"Precisely."

The whistling sound of air being displaced was heard and continued to grow louder. A large container fell down from the sky and sunk into the ground next to Noukan. Eve watched him interestedly and the angel stood there silently, as if waiting for an order. The container opened up and revealed a large drill. This drill was different from the others Noukan was using already. This one was a tactical armor-piercing drill, made of tungsten steel. Noukan moved next to it and it unnaturally rose out of the container and connected itself to Noukan's battle suit. Most of the other weapons fell off onto the ground around him. This drill was dozens of meters long and ran through the entire unit from front to back. It achieved high speeds by using the same electromagnetic acceleration as a railgun or mass driver and could produce immense destructive power through its rotation. Enough force to be capable of breaking into an underground silo or destroying a military base.

"Connection to you confirmed." Noukan said after checking his equipment. "Are you sure you wish to do this?"

"Yes. Eve and I have an old score to settle. She may not be my true target, but she was involved enough to use this."

"You truly are unable to let go of your humanity," Noukan said and he smiled.

"That looks weird," Eve called down to Noukan. "Are you going to use a drill to challenge the power of the heavens?"

"There is very little this drill cannot pierce," Noukan responded calmly. "Men really can't get enough of drills and pile bunkers. We're perfectly willing to ignore profit when it comes to them."

"Hmm," Eve muttered and put a finger up to her cheek. "I'll have to remember that next time I need to get a guy a gift." She turned to the angel. "It's time for him to earn his name." She coughed once. "ihbfKILLwq!" The angel moved forward and Noukan's thrusters roared to life as the drill began to spin. Noukan flew forward and the drill was aimed perfectly at the center of the angel's chest. The instant before the drill hit her angel, Eve had a premonition. _That drill feels like Aleister!_

This tactical drill had a unique feature when combined with the unnatural science of Noukan's power suit. The drill's rotation could also be used to transmit extremely high-speed, high-frequency vibrations. These vibrations could be used to convey the user's or another's will. This occurred by biological connections, closer to medical technology rather than military, which transcended distance with technology even Noukan did not fully understand. Noukan did have knowledge that was a step outside the world of science and this was the reason he could use this connection. Noukan established this connection with Aleister, the one who could stand up against and even win against Eve.

Aleister's willpower was transmitted from the drill directly into the angel.

Eve witnessed something that could only be described as impossible.

The tungsten drill tore the angel apart from the chest outwards. Its rotation produced extremely high-speed and systematic fluctuations. The vibrations transmitted into a wavelength that converted itself into words. The words were conveyed directly into the body instead of the eardrums. The angel could not understand the words, but it understood the feelings. It did the only thing it considered logical in this situation. The angel transmitted them to its creator. Eve flinched as she understood everything. Aleister being able to transmit his willpower into energy was something she never considered as a factor.

 _I don't believe it. He actually found a way to kill angels and maybe even gods. A single nameless angel didn't even require him to be emotionally upset with it. He only took out his frustration with me. Heh, Aleister still remembers our time together. I sure do. I doubt anyone except the boy has the willpower to stand against Aleister. This drill requires a little investigation._

The vibrations ripped through the rest of the angel and its body broke apart.

All of this happened in an instant.

Noukan fired the reverse thrusters and stopped on the other side of the shattered remains of the angel. The legs were the only part left of the original body. The rest of it was laying in tiny pieces all over the ground. Unlike Eve's previous creations, the remains did not turn into paper and then into dust. The remains started to glow with a soft golden light. The pieces started to dissolve and tiny golden specks floated up into the air, before they eventually disappeared. The legs also dissolved slowly, starting at the top and moved down until nothing was left. Noukan turned his head to look at Eve. She wore a shocked expression on her face, but then she burst out into a huge grin.

"I don't like the fact science can defeat angels now," she told Noukan. "But I did get to see something interesting." She looked out into the distance. "I suppose it's time to gather what's left of my forces for the next stage of my plan."

"Did you think I would let you go?" Noukan asked.

"I doubt you could catch me," Eve laughed mockingly. "You have destructive power and keen observation, but tracking me with your current arsenal is impossible." She smiled at him. "How about you go rescue some orphans from a burning building or something? I've got things to attend to. Important things." The space behind her opened up into a black void and she fell back into it. She disappeared and the hole closed.

"She seems to have escaped," Noukan reported. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kaori begin to stir. She could make sure Gunha was alright when she woke. Noukan flew over to the pile of armaments on the ground and began to have them reattach to his power suit.

"No matter," Aleister replied. "She won't leave the city until she has what she came for. Right now, your next priority is Ricane. He has been keeping quiet, but working behind the scenes with scattered Skill-Out groups. His plan is obvious, but he knows how to avoid my electronic eyes."

"I will capture him and bring him back," Noukan said, as he turned on the thrusters and flew up into the air. "His knowledge is indispensable. Of course, I can't deny my personal feelings for my creator are playing a small part in my decision to avoid killing him."

"Do what you must," Aleister told him. "I will take care of Eve in the future."

"Your emotions are leaking through," Noukan informed him as he smiled. "Perhaps you should go and meet her. Rekindle the emotions you obviously had in the past. The ones you are unable to get rid of."

"Then this city would no longer exist." There was a long pause. "As you know, Eve's forces engaged with our subjects and it led to a few minor issues. This was obviously planned by him. I thought you had shortened his lease to prevent that."

"I have," Noukan confirmed. "This was set in motion long before I offered her the job. He won't be able to move freely in the future."

"Good," Aleister replied. "That is what I like to here. He will be punished for this though. That, he can't escape." Noukan quietly agreed and headed straight toward the storage facility where Yuiitsu was waiting for him.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **One more chapter to finish off the level 5 fights and then we move back to Touma and his group.**

 **Kazari:…**

 **Ruiko:…**

 **Frenda: Huh, I don't believe it.**

 **Kazari: Misaka-san can't really be… gone, right?**

 **Ruiko: It can't be.**

 **Motoharu: I'm sure the author is just trolling people again. He does that.**

 **Touma: There is no way Mikoto would fall!**

 **Pierce: Wow, Kami-yan, that was pretty forceful.**

 **Touma: I know firsthand how strong she is. She will definitely return.**

 **Ruiko: You're right. I'm going to believe in her too!**

 **Motoharu: We should probably get the author to agree. Hey Kagere, where is he?**

 **Jason: He's next door in the fetal position and drinking heavily. He keeps muttering something about how he didn't mean to do something and his friends failed in helping him avoid it.**

 **Everyone:…**

 **Pierce: And that's not even the worst part!**

 **Touma: What could be worst?**

 **Pierce: Accelerator has… A CHIBI VAMPIRE! That's my fifth favorite type! HOW DARE HE HAVE ONE BEFORE ME!?**

 **Everyone:…**

 **Touma: I'm going to punch him, anyone have any objections?**

 **(Silence)**

 **(Dull Thud)**


	91. S4 Plight of the Level 5s: Part 6

**The Mikoto fans are out in force. People refused to believe she died. Why is it so hard to believe that I have to kill off someone to make room for more people? Besides, think of all the character development everyone goes through now. Touma can traverse the gates of hell and make a deal with a devil in order to bring her back to life. I suppose I should stop. Don't want to spoil anything too much. This will be the last chapter for the level 5s vs Eve's minion event and next chapter will be moving back to Australia. I know everyone wants to see what Touma does with all the attractive ladies there. This boring plot is getting in the way of what we all want. Hahaha. Onwards to comments and, damn, there was a lot. You people make me work for this.**

 **Brosephg: We could have a big debate on if Aleister was ever really sane. No spoilers? Dang, we all like them. Everyone else does it, so you should too. Join us!**

 **Jujudude: Also, now Himigami has a path into the main story, even if Accelerator has to drag her by force. That is sure to be a fun conversation. Why would I want to cure an adorable chibi vampire? I know. I'm working hard on wrapping up the boring plot for the important scenes. After Australia is done, we will have SOOOOO much good stuff. I want to see Carissa dominate him too. He needs a strong older woman.**

 **Whatever: Vampires are not wicked. Remember what Himigami told Touma. They are just like us. They have goals, feelings, and desires. It's just they drink blood and are immortal. Cain is really the exception to being evil because of who he is as an individual. Being a vampire doesn't make one evil, doing evil things does. The undead part was also kind of explained by the thralls. Over the years, myths blur together. Vampires are actually alive. As for innocence, no one said that was going to end for Last Order after being a vampire.**

 **Whwsms: I think most people figured out she would be the one to kill him.**

 **wildarms13: Not really sure. Last Order can't refine mana, so I doubt the network would be too affected. Many plans with a chibi vampire though.**

 **Handsomistic1: Huh, scientists studying vampires. That could be fun. I refuse to admit anything. The drill that pierces the heavens will never fall.**

 **ultron emperor: I agree completely. Noukan is the best Kihara.**

 **general ironox: He can't let anyone find out, especially Mugino. She would never let him live it down that he had to get someone else to win his fights.**

 **: His wings are tied to his emotional state. If he comes to term with himself, his wings are white. It is possible if his mind breaks, the wings would go back to being black.**

 **anand891996: Never!**

 **Salishious: Accelerator has a way to heal himself, but no one thought of it yet. Huh, interesting groups there, Touma x Seiri x Himigami x Accelerator. You caught an important quote from Eve, good job.**

 **Asler: That is a good question. The story took on a life of its own. I know how I want the story to end, but getting there is the challenge.**

 **AnimeLoverQ8: That is my goal. You get addicted and then I start charging you for new chapters and you have no choice but to pay. Muahaha.**

 **Chen: Size was a little large yeah, but mange didn't really have a size. She got launched into space. She will be able to skate on Saturn's rings soon.**

 **Anon Guest: Himigami got all the XP and loot too. Accelerator got nothing except a chibi vampire companion.**

 **GameCguru: I am a fickle person. I will change my mind in an instant if I feel like I should do something.**

 **FrodoFighter: Mikoto wouldn't risk the safety of the people in the city to protect herself. I'm going to kill her only because you doubted me. Cain is believed to be the birth of evil when he committed the first murder. Using that property, he brought forth the darkness within Accelerator and it manifested itself in his wings. Himigami was always important, but so important she can't be a main character. Aleister and Eve were totally together. Eve taught him emotions. Hehehe.**

 **Yakutsu Zaishiro: Never**

 **Guest: We will see about the soldiers.**

 **vietnamese guy: You have no idea how much your comments made me laugh. Mr? is a jerk I know. I yelled at him too.**

 **Tardis42: She is dead, never to return.**

 **Generation Zero: Never, I shall prove you wrong. Accelerator got no experience for his fight, so no additional transformation. No loot either, but he got a chibi vampire companion, so I guess that is okay. The suit could only kill magic gods because of the drill. The rest of the weapons on it are normal science side weapons. To kill a magic god required Aleister to particularly hate them to transmit it through the AAA. Minor irritation was enough to kill an angel. Congratulations, you are beginning to understand Eve's existence. The vampire thing is going to cause some problems, but not for Last Order. Poor Jason, he doesn't deserve that.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: Choices are just an illusion. You are fated to select one.**

 **321jaz: Getting close to Adam's arc. It's going to be great.**

 **Noise: Nope she's dead and never coming back except in people's memories. Last Order can't refine mana yet, so nothing should be noticeable for a while.**

 **Guest 13: Poor? I think you mean lucky bastard.**

 **Meaningless Us3rname: Level 6 is different. Accelerator is working toward it, but not yet. He's halfway, maybe 2/3 at most.**

 **Syko-Soldier963: Ricane will appear during a very inconvenient time. School is effectively broken up and Kakine's still regenerating. I'm torn between Kami-yan Disease and Accelerator**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly. Magic Gods own all so they can do what they want.**

* * *

Oda swung his blades as twenty green beams were fired at him.

The twin blades in his hand were like flashes of light, as he cut through each one of Shizuri's attacks. Oda was no longer goofing around. Shizuri's attacks were stronger, faster, and more accurate. Each beam was aimed at a section of his body, rather than just his vitals. They both understood a single well placed hit could deal enough damage to tip the fight in her favor. If Oda lost an arm, he couldn't use both of his blades. If he lost a leg, he wouldn't be able to dodge. If she hit his head or chest, the fight would be over. Oda actually was forced to back up to put more distance between them. This would give him a fraction of a second longer to cut and dodge. Normally, Shizuri's energy beams would move too fast for normal people to dodge or even react. When under the assault of multiple attacks, even someone with high speed movement would have trouble. Not only did they have to dodge the initial strike, the trail was still deadly to move into. Oda felt sweat slide down his brow.

He smiled.

This is the fight he wanted. This is why he continued to serve Eve. When he was betrayed and killed by his trusted companion, he thought that was the end. No longer would he be able to complete his goal of unifying Japan. That was, until Eve pulled him out of the dark embrace of death. She offered him an opportunity to continue to fight against strong opponents. At first he was hesitant, because his dreams had died, but Eve was patient. She gave him a temporary life to walk among the living for a couple years. He saw the darkness and corruption he had fought against. People were promoted based on money and connections, rather than skill and honor. People would be starving for food and across the street, the wealthy would be gorging. He believed nobles should live better than peasants, but the poor shouldn't be starving. He did enjoy seeing how art progressed, which was a ray of light for him. Eventually, he accepted Eve's offer and became her sword.

He fought countless foes whose strength surpassed imagination.

None compared to Shizuri's transformation though, except for Cain.

"Is that all?" Oda asked, after the beams stopped.

"Big talk coming from a cornered bug," Shizuri replied harshly. Another wall of orbs appeared in front of her.

"You're a little off there," Oda answered. "You haven't done enough to corner me yet."

"Let me rectify that then," Shizuri said with a sneer. She fired off easily another thirty plus energy beams. Instead of aiming all of them directly at Oda, she fired them straight down the street, parallel to each other. Oda quickly processed the threat and raised his swords.

 _She's not planning to let me dodge,_ Oda thought. If he side stepped the beams coming straight toward him, he would walk into more. _It's kind of boring though._ His blades quickly flashed and the beams that were aimed directly at him were sliced and diverted to his sides, long before they could reach him. He noticed, while her beams were still deadly, they weren't quite as powerful in groups as when there were only a few. _She knows this and yet is still using a strategy that does not work. There must be a trick behind this._ When he saw Shizuri's face, he knew his instincts were right.

She was smiling.

"Fool," Shizuri hissed. What she did next was something she would never have believed she could do. Her power was pure destruction, but lacked the finesse of adaption. It was one of the reasons she lost to Mikoto. Mikoto could manipulate electricity and magnetism. Shizuri's power was similar, as she and Mikoto both manipulated electrons to different degrees and thus she could push aside Mikoto's electricity, but it wasn't like Shizuri could use her ability for detailed tasks. Once she unleashed her ability, it would keep going in a straight line and she couldn't control it anymore. At least, that was how it used to be. The current Shizuri was performing calculations far beyond what she used to be able to do normally. All the beams to the left, right, and above Oda were her targets.

They suddenly curved toward him.

"Shit!" If Oda hadn't been on his guard, he would have been hit. Because he had expected something, even if he didn't know what, Oda managed to jump backwards as all the beams converged on him. For a brief moment, there was a large green orb, but it quickly exploded in a flash of light. Oda narrowed his eyes, but forced them to remain open. This action saved his life, as two more green beams flew down the street and forced him to roll to the side to avoid them. He smelled something burnt and looked at his arm. One of his arm guards had been burnt away. _My armor taking a direct attack is out of the question._ He stood back up and dusted himself off. "Okay, consider me impressed."

"I don't care," Shizuri told him and started to walk forward. "I'm not killing you to impress anyone. Your death is merely to satisfy my seething hatred." There was one guy she wanted to impress but, deep down, she knew killing wouldn't do that. He was an idiot and wasn't like normal people. Shizuri would have to do something else to impress him, but she didn't know what. Instead of thinking about unnecessary things, she focused on the target in front of her. He was part of Eve's group and therefore would be a threat to them in the future if he escaped. Shizuri admitted to herself if Oda had been serious from the start, she would have been dead already. _By goofing around, he's the one that is going to die. A rookie mistake._ Another twenty orbs appeared around her.

"I was told you could only fire those beams in a straight line," Oda commented and laughed. "Seems like my information was incomplete. This is sure to be a great battle."

"You battle hungry idiots are always the first to die," Shizuri laughed mockingly back. "I can't say I dislike fighting, but to actively seek out your death, that's idiotic."

"I was hoping you would understand where I was coming from," Oda sighed disappointedly. "Warriors seek out battles not only to prove their strength, but to also achieve great things." He sheathed his sword and reached behind his back to grab a wooden pole with a curved single-edged blade on the end. "This should be a good opportunity to use this." Shizuri recognized the naginata from history books. Its reach was longer than a sword, allowing the wielder to keep out of reach of his opponent. The long shaft offered greater leverage than that of a sword hilt, enabling the naginata to cut more efficiently. The weight of the weapon gave power to strikes and cuts, even though the weight was usually thought of as a disadvantage by slowing the wielder down.

"You could barely keep up with my attacks using two swords," Shizuri pointed out. "And now you switch to a slower weapon?" She shrugged. "If you want to die that badly, I'm happy to oblige." She fired all twenty orbs at once and Oda responded by swinging his blade.

All twenty beams were cut simultaneously.

"What?!" Shizuri gasped. The cut energy beams rained down all around Oda, but missing him easily. She saw him beginning to slash diagonally downwards with his weapons again and she created a green energy shield. The shield formed almost instantaneously instead of slowly forming from one of her orbs. The calculation was so simple for her right now, so the shield was more refined and the energy was denser than her normal ones. Still, it split in half a moment later. She flinched slightly as she felt a cut on her arm, but she was alive. _That's the important part. Damn it, his weapon is slower, but the attack power is insane. If I didn't have this power, I would have been sliced in half. This guy is a monster, though I can't really say that right now._ She blinked and suddenly realized it was raining. For how long, she didn't know. She had been too focused on Oda and the energy she was giving off was evaporating the rain before it hit her. The rain was coming down hard enough to start blurring objects in the distance.

"I see you noticed the difference," Oda laughed and held his naginata one handed against his shoulder. "My swords are used when speed is required, but nothing beats a weapon designed to break through groups of people. Sometimes, you need a little extra attack power." He shook his head. "I'm a little disappointed in you again. For a moment, you looked like a warrior, but that expression you currently have. It's that of a child. A true warrior shouldn't be surprised about something as simple as this." He frowned. "You are ten years too early to challenge me. You should have stuck to tea parties and dress up."

There was a loud gasp from Rikou, Saiai, and Shiage. They knew Oda had gone too far.

"You really want to die," Shizuri whispered and anger began to well up within her. The anger roared to life like a fire and engulfed her mind. It was as if her emotions were like her power, completely unstable. They could flare to life at any second and then cool down instantly. The thing was, her rage didn't seem to interfere with her calculations. In fact, the emotions seemed to drown out all thoughts except for the calculations and the desire to kill. Ten orbs appeared in a circle in front of her. Shizuri held out a hand and all ten beams fired, but they didn't fly toward Oda, who expected the attack. He frowned and his eyes widened in surprise.

All ten beams converged at a single point, less than a meter in front of Shizuri, to create a larger green orb.

Oda blinked. He had not seen this attack before, but Shizuri knew what she was doing. There was a limit to the amount of energy she could generate per sphere without them exploding because of the sudden compression. Her new state allowed her to put more energy in them, but they were still limited. By firing the energy from smaller orbs at a single point, she could move all the unstable electrons into a single point rather than trying to conjure them. Once the mass of energy made of ambiguous electrons was too great for even her new form, she could release them into a devastating blast of energy. This was saying something as her normal attacks could destroy nearly everything in their path. The orb grew larger and Shizuri grinned evilly. She looked at Oda with pure hatred in her eyes and fired.

The beam was the largest she had ever fired. It expanded from the orb and would engulf a large section of Oda's body if he didn't dodge. Instead of trying to, Oda pulled back his naginata. _Fool,_ Shizuri thought. Her attack was not something you could strike back with brute force. The last time she used this technique, Touma had tried to block it. His arm that wielded the impossible Imagine Breaker, the ability that could defeat even Accelerator, had been blown away. If it wasn't for the dragon-like beasts that emerged from his bloody stump, her attack would have killed Teitoku. There was no way Oda's simple, yet effective, range extending magic could cut through this power. She had already seen him being forced back by a single beam. As her blast closed the gap, Oda thrust his blade forward and aimed it right at the center of her attack.

An invisible force hit the mass of green energy. The energy separated around the tip of Oda's attack and curved around him. The ground in front of him and to his sides was disintegrated instantly. Oda grinned as he focused his magic into the tip of his blade. The heat started to burn his skin and he felt excitement spread through his body. This was the power of a strong opponent, this was the challenge he sought, and this is how he wanted to test his limits. The energy finally faded away and the dust from the smoking street cleared. Oda was fine and so was the street under the tip of his weapon. He had split an attack that should not have been possible to stop. He stood up straight and hit the base of the wooden end of his weapon on the ground. "That was exciting. You can do it if you try."

"How?!" Mugino gasped. The anger was gone and replaced by disbelief. According to researchers, her ability's energy output was suppressed due to being restrained by her survival instinct. Because of the force of her energy output, the backlash against her body was exceedingly high. If she didn't subconsciously hold back, her body would be torn apart. It was theorized she would be able to instantly kill the Railgun with a single hit if this limiter did not exist. The transformation she experienced could be thought of removing this limiter. She only realized after firing that last blast why her body was glowing. She was emitting the same type of energy to absorb the backlash energy and disburse it, rather than it hitting her body. Yet, Oda still managed to stop the attack with a simple weapon. "Bastard, what kind of monster are you?!"

"Have you looked in a mirror recently?" Oda remarked. "Those things on your back almost look like wings. Humans don't have those." He flicked his weapon in one hand and Shizuri was forced to make another shield to absorb the blow. Shizuri turned her head and for the first time, noticed the meter long diamond shape pedals on her back.

 _They look like the same type of energy as my attacks,_ Shizuri thought. _But I can't control them. They just sit there._ She concentrated on them again to see if she could move them or change the shape. All that happened was a splitting pain went through her head and she felt angry again. She hated Oda's nonchalant attitude. Shizuri was powerful, and yet he treated her like entertainment. She was supposed to treat other people that way. They were supposed to respect her. She barraged Oda with another rain of attacks, but he only swung his blade once and cut them all again. "How the fuck do you do this impossible shit!?" Shizuri roared and the petal like wings on her back seemed to pulse.

"The environments we were raised in are different," Oda answered simply.

"Explain yourself asshole," Shizuri snapped. Twenty orbs appeared around her, but she managed to hold back from firing them. She needed information, even if it was from an enemy. If Oda could show her a weakness, she could find a way to overcome it. "You don't know anything about me. I don't live in the light like the majority of weaklings in this fucking city." The anger in her mind called for his death as revenge for his insults, but she fought the urge back for now.

"That's not it," Oda corrected her. "I can tell by your eyes you grew up fighting. No, the difference is this age." He paused and gestured with his free hand. "Japan has become soft. War is virtually unheard of and the people have grown complacent. Fights and struggles for power, all of that is inconsequential in the big picture." He sighed and then looked dreamily off into the distance for a moment. "My age, that was when the strong were cultivated. War waged across the lands, armies clashed, and men fought and died for their beliefs. People could crawl up from being a slave, to governing over everything they laid their eyes on."

"And you think all these battles made strong people?" Shizuri scoffed. "Quality is better over quantity."

"I agree completely," Oda laughed and his eyes gleamed. "When you use less than three thousand men to defeat an army of forty thousand, you need skill to achieve that feat."

"So you gained your strength constantly fighting in wars," Shizuri muttered. "That makes sense. The more you fight, the stronger you get." She frowned. "But still, that bullshit power to cut pure energy is anything but normal."

"Generals do not fall in line with what is considered normal," Oda explained. "Many soldiers manage to survive countless battles but never get promoted." He took a step forward and raised his blade above his head. The air suddenly grew still and Shizuri raised her guard up immediately. Oda's aura changed. "A general leads thousands of men into battle. We hold our men's lives in our hand. Every decision we make is after we calculate the death toll. Only those who can rise to the top can inspire our troops to fight." He suddenly started shouting. "A leader should have the strength of a hundred, the wisdom of a hundred, the experience of a hundred, and the luck of a hundred! Only then does one have the right to lead." He lowered his arm. "That is the essence of my magic. Speed, strength, technique, it all stems from my role as the leader of an army. The countless men I fought also tried to reach this pinnacle and they fell. That is the difference between our ages."

"Countless people have fallen before me," Shizuri refuted bitterly. "I have fought people whose power dwarfed my own. No matter how much I hated them, there's always a level you can't reach with training alone." Accelerator and Teitoku had been in a completely different league, until Shizuri threw away her pride and received help.

"You grow in life and death battles," Oda told her. "Overcome your limits or die. It is a method that has worked since the dawn of time."

"I think I know an idiot like that," Shizuri said and, for the first time since her transformation, a true smile tugged on her lips. "Though, I think he would be your antithesis to your beliefs that wars lead to strength."

"How so?" Oda asked. There was a slight frown on his face.

"I encountered the most absurd individual not too long ago," Shizuri told him, and then she fired a round of attacks at Oda, who jumped backwards to dodge. "He was someone who lived in the light, constantly trying to be a normal student, and yet had the power to overcome me in battle." Oda raised his eyebrow, but didn't say anything because Shizuri conjured another round of orbs to attack him. The explosions along the street made listening to her difficult. "Yet the strength he possessed, not just his power, but his determination. I had never seen anything like it before. I could not believe that idiot hadn't grown up in the underbelly of this trash ridden city."

"You are talking about the Imagine Breaker," Oda pointed out.

"Exactly."

"You have no idea of the countless battles that boy has been in," Oda laughed. "Eve researched him thoroughly after his encounter with her puppet. He might as well wage war against the world. Actually, I think he would if the world went against his belief."

"Do you see the contradiction in your beliefs now?" Shizuri asked and grinned. His puzzled looked amused her and she actually stopped firing at him.

"What do you mean?" Oda asked and frowned slightly.

"I thought you said Japan was soft," Shizuri explained mockingly. It felt so good to needle him. Since their fight started, Oda had been mocking her and now she could return the favor. "And yet you said he could wage war against the world. It seems to me like you have an issue with keeping your story straight. Maybe you just don't want to admit your age is over. Go die in a ditch you has-been."

"There are always anomalies in any age," Oda argued. "It's the overall picture you have to look at it."

"Sounds like someone is just making excuses," Shizuri continued to mock. "Besides, you could consider yourself an anomaly too. I doubt a lot of people have your current level of power. Just admit you are pissed your strength isn't all you thought it was." Shizuri knew she had struck a nerve when Oda's hand twitched. She conjured not one but three shields in front of her simultaneously while Oda thrust his naginata forward. The first of her shields was blown apart, the second one shattered, but the third shield held. It faded away and Shizuri unleashed another barrage of green energy beams, but Oda swiped his blade horizontally and cut all of her attacks. So far, Shizuri was still unable to land a decent hit on him, even though her attacks were more powerful, but now she was striking Oda mentally. When shaken, people tend to make mistakes.

"It seems you understand nothing," Oda hissed dangerously. "I don't suppose it matters anyway. I kill you and Eve takes the Imagine Breaker back with her. This is how it will end." He raised his blade and then stopped. A shiver went down his spine and his eyes focused on Shizuri. With the darkened sky from the rain and clouds, Shizuri seemed to be glowing even brighter, but more ominously. Oda remembered the last time he told her the Imagine Breaker was going to be taken by Eve. _She snapped. Eve said it was because she had feelings for him._ "What is that boy to you? Why do you care so much?"

"He's my property," Shizuri told him and her words were ice cold, a powerful contrast to the energy she gave off. "The fact you dared to mock me warrants a death sentence, but trying to take something of mine….?" She trailed off for a moment. "Unforgiveable." Five groups of five orbs appeared around her. Every orb in each group fired, but it wasn't at Oda. Shizuri's anger had changed. It was no longer unbridled rage that clouded her thoughts, her mind was painfully clear. The anger was now directed only at Oda and it combined with her intelligence to create a way to kill her target. Five separate orbs were being formed with the energy of each group. She was going to fire multiple concentrated energy blasts. Oda had to use a thrusting motion to stop an attack like this and, with his speed, he might be able to stop two, maybe even three, but he shouldn't be able to stop them all. "Die!"

Four of the concentrated beams fired simultaneously at Oda.

With Oda's heightened senses, the beams were coming in slow motion as he examined his options. If he dodged, he wouldn't be able to maintain the position he needed to exert enough power to block the attack. The technique would be sloppy which would decrease the power of his blow. Each beam wasn't as large as when Shizuri used this attack last time, but he couldn't be sure what the minimum amount of force to block it would be. Oda knew Shizuri had to be firing multiple beams at once because a single attack would not work. _She's hoping one will get through._ He grinned. _I'm not that weak._ He moved his left foot forward, braced his right foot, and pulled his naginata back. He then unleashed a barrage of thrusts, faster than the human eye could follow, and each one of the four beams was blown back from the force. Oda blinked when he realized the numbers didn't match.

He didn't see Shizuri grin either because of the explosions blocking his view when part of the energy hit the ground.

This was Shizuri's plan, simple, devious, and deadly. She purposely held back one cluster attack. While Oda was focused on the initial barrage, she fired the last one. This was a big gamble for her, but Oda couldn't be taken down normally. Holding back a Meltdowner orb composed of energy from several normal attacks was difficult, and then she added another step. She wasn't going to fire it in a straight line. The attack was going to curve. Shizuri was not entirely sure it would work, but her hatred toward Oda told her to make it work, even if it hurt her in the process. She fired her last attack to the right of Oda the second her sight was obscured by the smoke form the explosions. Her mind was working so hard to calculate the curvature, her vision was turning red. She thought she felt some blood run out of her nose, but she plowed forward. Oda would not have changed positions, so she knew where he was, but he did not know where her attack would come from. Hence, the reason she forced the curve.

Oda noticed the attack too late, but he still managed to move slightly.

His left arm was hit directly by Shizuri's attack.

"AAHHH!" Oda yelled out in pain. The smoke cleared and Shizuri felt satisfaction through her entire body, even while her vision was blurring. Oda was down on one knee, his naginata still clutched tightly in his right hand, but his left arm was completely gone about three inches below the shoulder. He wasn't bleeding though. The sheer heat from her attack cauterized the wound instantly, or Shizuri might have been able to cause his death by blood loss. However, her attack finally worked. Oda was severely damaged and would no longer be able to duel wield swords or use the full potential of his naginata. This normally would have signaled a victory, but Shizuri did not get over confident.

Magicians always had a last resort.

"Heh." Shizuri couldn't resist chuckling at the sight of a powerful warrior kneeling before her. "Seems like it's time to finish taking out the trash." Oda stood up and glared at her, but there was also a gleam in his eye she couldn't identify.

"That… was a good… shot," Oda gasped and then straightened himself up. "I kind of want to learn how you acquired this power."

"That knowledge is no use to a dead man," Shizuri told him and conjured a couple of orbs. "Even if you weren't, I was never planning to give you that information." She fired two beams, but Oda jumped backwards to avoid it. "Tsk, you're still agile."

"If you could do it on your own," Oda replied thinking. "You would have done so earlier." His eyes fell to Saiai, Rikou, and Shiage way behind Shizuri. "The small girl fought with you and you didn't transform-…" He was cut off as Shizuri fired another round of beams at him and he was forced to dodge. This confirmed he was on the right track. "The boy is clever, but he was with me most of the time and only managed to return to you for a few moments before I arrived. That leaves one person." His gaze fell onto Rikou, whose eyes widened when Oda made eye contact. "She's the threat."

"Die!" Shizuri yelled and fired one of the concentrated beams composed of five orbs. Oda dived to the side and swung his blade one handed. It wasn't at Shizuri though. It was at Rikou. Saiai and Rikou didn't realize this quick enough, but Shiage did and he dived at her.

"AAHHH!" Shiage yelled in pain as a gash appeared on his back. Thanks to his quick thinking, Rikou was spared being split into two. He only got the edge of Oda's attack, but his shirt was quickly being stained red.

"YOU THREE GET OUT OF HERE!" roared Shizuri. She conjured another twenty orbs and started raining down attack after attack on Oda. She didn't have those kinds of feelings for Shiage, but those three were her property too and she would not allow Oda to achieve even a small victory. Oda flipped backwards to avoid the first wave and then jumped upwards onto the ledge of a nearby building. Shizuri kept unleashing her attacks and forced Oda to keep moving up until he was standing on the edge of the roof. The entire wall closest to Shizuri had collapsed into a pile of rubble. "Running away coward!?" Shizuri yelled angrily up at him.

"Just getting a better position," Oda answered. Lightning crackled loudly in the background again and then Oda saw something shoot up into the sky. It was a black column of electrical energy. _Looks like Juliet may be in trouble if that's the electric girl's attack._ His muscles tightened in his arm and he took a deep breath. _All or nothing it is then._ He released his breath slowly and his weapon started to glow yellow. Taking the property of the belief a general during the age of war was beyond a normal solider, he could amplify the force of his weapon. The glow grew brighter and the rain seemed to be forcefully pushed away from it. It was like his naginata was growing with every pulse. As the seconds passed, the outline in the rain grew bigger, until it looked like a five meter long naginata outline was to his right. The only downside to this technique was it negated his unlimited range, but Shizuri didn't know that.

What Shizuri did know was the unpleasant feeling in the pit of her stomach as the outline in the rain grew. There was no physical substance there, but that hardly mattered. Shizuri had seen science side abilities do similar things. _He's desperate,_ she thought with grim satisfaction. The downside was cornered animals tended to unleash devastating force when their lives were on the line. Shizuri had seen it countless times and, in a way, she had done that today too. If someone as strong as Oda was going to use a desperation attack, Shizuri needed to be prepared. She conjured six clusters of multiple orbs and they began to create the concentrated orbs to fire her empowered beams. Her head started to throb with the effort of maintaining concentration of so many, but her eyes managed to meet Oda's.

Oda leaped off the edge of the building and brought the full weight of his magical weapon down upon Shizuri.

Shizuri retaliated by firing every one of her empowered Meltdowner blasts.

Shockwaves boomed across the street as the two forces crashed together in midair.

 _How?!_ The energy was flying past Shizuri from all sides and was hitting her target directly, but Oda was still approaching her. A lot of the energy was being diverted around his weapon, but he was actively destroying most of it. He wasn't falling at full speed because the force of her attacks was providing some resistance, but he was slowly approaching her. Judging by how easy he was parting her attacks, Shizuri could not allow him to draw near or her body would most likely be obliterated. Shizuri had to keep creating new orbs to replenish her beams, which was a new concept for her. Usually, one beam was one attack and it did not last long. The strain on her mind was astronomical and her vision began to blur again. The pain in her head doubled, but she could not stop. Even when her brain was actively concentrating on keeping her attacks continuous, her subconscious must have been working on a solution to her dilemma.

Her gaze focused on how Oda's attack was crashing through her's.

His weapon was too large to focus the power at a single point. The large naginata outline was acting like a hammer in the center, while only the edges pushed the remaining energy away from Oda's body. Shizuri instinctively knew she had to force the power at a single point, but the question was how. The image of the curved beam flashed in her mind, the one that removed Oda's arm. The strain for a single beam had pushed her mind to its limit. She had no idea what would happen if she tried it with all six of the beams she was currently firing. _It's either try or die._ She was the one being cornered now and she made the decision after realizing something. Instead of trying to curve the beam in midflight, she was going to try something else. The cluster of orbs, the ones that fed into the single one which actually fired her ability, began to rotate around her in a clockwise orbit. The beams never stopped firing and the orbit speed grew faster and faster. The speed increased so fast the beams were beginning to twist together with each other as they hit the very center of Oda's attack.

It was as if she was making a giant drill out of pure energy.

Oda blinked when he felt his decent slow and then stop. He was stuck in midair as Shizuri's attack bore into his. Then he noticed it. Thin hairline cracks began to appear at the tip of his glowing yellow naginata. His attack was bound to the naginata core, so if it was breaking, that meant his attack was being broken. _Impossible!_ His attack would have wiped out the entire area if it hit the ground. Shizuri may have had pure energy at her disposal, but cutting even the empowered attacks was doable. _How is she doing this?!_ He didn't understand physics as well as Shizuri, but he managed to identify all of her energy was being focused at a single point. _I see. This was my mistake._ Oda realized he was in the worst possible position. He could not decrease the power of his attack or Shizuri's energy would engulf him. Being in midair, he could not jump to the side to avoid it either. This meant his only options were to break through Shizuri's attack or die. A normal person would have been terrified, but he was not.

In fact, he smiled.

 _This actually isn't a bad way to go. No betrayal, no sneak attacks, nothing but two powerful opponents fighting with their lives on the line._ The cracks in his weapon begun to spread and the entire weapon shook in his hand. The force of Shizuri's attacks began to push him back up. _It seems I was wrong. Lady Eve, I'm sorry I failed, but you were right. The world is always an interesting place._ The end of his weapon exploded and the mass of force around it faded out of existence. The green energy washed over him.

There was excruciating pain, and then nothing.

Shizuri collapsed to her knees and she no longer needed to concentrate on her ability. The glow around her body faded, including the solid energy resembling a liquid around her arms. The wings flickered and, one by one, disappeared. Her hair fell back down into place and she started panting. She was dizzy, her vision blurry, and every part of her body was on fire. It was hard to breath and move, but she forced herself to look up. Nothing remained of Oda, not even a splatter of blood, from her last attack. She tried to grin, but it hurt too much. Blood ran out of her nose and across her lips. The rusty smell and bitter taste was familiar. She heard footsteps and managed to turn her head slightly. The blurry outline of Saiai was rushing toward her. Shizuri tried to say something and then everything went dark.

Shizuri collapsed in the middle of the street, completely unconscious.

* * *

Arondight.

That was the name of the holy sword Lancelot wielded. It was a gift given to him by Lady Eve and was etched with the language of the fey to infer onto others it was not forced by human hands. It was a simple design because it was designed for combat, not ceremonies. As a counterpart to Arthur's sword Excalibur, which Arondight's design was based off of, it had similar powers. Both of their blades were a source of Telesma, though Arthur's blade had far more. In a direct fight, Arthur would win, but Lancelot only need to act as a shield instead of a sword this time, so he made use of his blade's unique feature. When Arondight and Excalibur collided, a shockwave blew through the air, pieces of the ground were blown away, and Lancelot felt the force through his arms. The surface of Arondight rippled from the point of impact, like a calm lake after someone threw a pebble in. His sword was like the lake. No matter how powerful the blow, the force would be dispersed and everything would turn back to normal. Arondight could deflect any blow without taking damage and this was the only reason he could stand against Arthur.

"You say you are my friend," Arthur said bitterly as he swung Excalibur. Lancelot parried the blow and tried a quick jab into Arthur's arm, but Arthur knocked his blade upwards and then brought his blade down towards Lancelot's chest. Lancelot was forced to step backwards and swing his blade to force Arthur to parry. "Yet, you continue to betray me. I am beginning to think this friendship is one sided."

"Nonsense," Lancelot grunted in response. "Because you are my friend, I am turning my blade against you for your own good." He stood up straight and held his blade out in front of himself.

"How do you reason that?" Arthur asked skeptically. His eyes were still cold and angry but, as a sign of respect, he would at least listen.

"Killing these children is wrong," Lancelot told him. "Regardless of how noble you try to make it. You gave her opportunities to fight back, yet it was all just an act. We never truly believed they could stand against us, but we were told they had to die. That does not make sense. We should be able to do our job without sacrificing other lives. You know we have a duty to protect the people."

"You have to look at the big picture," Arthur refuted. "Lancelot, I know you have a code of honor. You fight to protect people and strike down evil, but I'm sure you felt it. This city, the darkness it holds. They have hidden a wing of an archangel for their own purpose, they attack each other, and they create abominations. I agree with Eve, we don't really have a reason to destroy the city, but we knew a few causalities would be a possibility to change this world. Those who live here become corrupted and their darkness is brought out, look at those kids!"

"You are passing judgement on all for the actions of some," Lancelot argued. They both swung their blades and a loud clanged echoed across the train station. "You have to see what's wrong with that!"

"If you want to fundamentally change human's dark nature," Arthur said. "You have to start at the top. If we start at the bottom, all you can do is hide the evil tendencies. History has shown this. Eventually, these tendencies will grow until they burst forth and cause war and suffering. Too many people have this potential darkness to stop it." Lancelot didn't say anything to this. Arthur had a point. Plenty of times nations had succumbed to the rules of others. The victor would impose new rules and would regulate what was moral and what was not. Resistances would rise up and more people would continue to fight. Betrayals would occur, friends turn on friends, and then the cycle would continue when a victor was decided. Even though Lancelot knew this, it didn't sit right with him. They pushed each other and jumped back to put a few meters between them.

 _Might I interject?_

Lancelot and Arthur both frowned and glanced back toward Misaki. This was the first time she spoke since Lancelot and Arthur started to attack each other seriously. Arthur and Lancelot were more concern in each other than her. Lancelot and Misaki were allies, so he didn't have to worry about her striking him from behind. Arthur was in a different position. He had felt her try to break into his mind while fighting Lancelot but, even with her new power, he could still fend off her attack. The issue was it slowed his reflexes slightly, so Lancelot was barely able to keep up. However, Misaki hadn't been talking to him. She had been letting the two guys work out their differences and only spoke up when there was a pause. Of course, her words were being sent telepathically.

"I suppose you should," Arthur agreed finally. "Somehow, you convinced Lancelot to betray me. I need to hear the kind of logic you can weave." He looked her up and down. "I would call you by your name, but I think Queen of the Fey would better suit you." He was referencing the skintight white plastic layer over her skin, the blue strings that formed into fairylike wings, and the three black triangle objects that made a kind of halo above her head.

 _I can kind of understand your point of view,_ Misaki said to Arthur. _When I was young, I saw how this city betrayed so many people. Many people were left behind so that I could obtain power. Once the scientists here considered me a liability, they planned to get rid of me. My life had been targeted not only by them, but by people who were left behind because of their selfishness._

"So you do understand," Arthur said and held out a hand, palm up and fingers curved. "Come and work with us then. With your power, we could do what we have to do without the need for sacrifices. You can escape this city and be free."

 _I disagree with you on your second point,_ Misaki continued, as if Arthur had not made the offer.

"How so?"

 _I disagree with your version of human nature,_ Misaki clarified. _I have met some truly dark people, yes. They would kill without a moment's hesitation and would betray anyone to achieve their goals. Because of how I was being used, what people went through because of my power, I wanted to end it all. I was prepared to permanently erase my memory._ Arthur's eyes widened slightly at this confession. Right now, it sounded to him she should have accepted his position immediately. _At the last minute,_ _I was stopped by a single boy. When I met him, I saw a completely different nature. He was a person who truly believed anyone could be saved. Even at the risk of his own life, he would fight for anyone who is suffering, but he would never take a life._

"He is a fool then," Arthur commented. "Saying that is noble, but unrealistic. People die, whether we want them to or not. There will always be villains in this world. People care more about their own needs than others."

"You are lumping everyone together again," Lancelot repeated. "You are so blinded by our end goal, you lost track of why we are doing this in the first place."

 _The fact is this person goes against your description of human nature,_ Misaki continued. _You say this city is corrupting us? The boy's name is Touma Kamijou, the most important person in my life. His very nature would be considered light. He has saved countless people and many of them I know. Rational thought tells us he shouldn't be able to, but I know he will succeed. He always does. You know what drives him? The desire to see us all stop crying and smile. He doesn't do this for power, wealth, or even our affection. He can save anyone, no matter how many people think they are beyond saving. If he was here, you would immediately understand._

"Ah," Arthur muttered, when he realized who she was talking about. "The boy who wields the Imagine Breaker. No wonder he could do what he did. The Imagine Breaker was forged by the oldest, selfish, magic gods from a fragment." He shook his head and swung his blade. Lancelot was forced to strike back, but he was knocked backwards by Arthur's strength. "In absolute darkness, a single speck of light can seem like the sun." He shook his head again. "I was once like you, young, hopeful, thinking I could change the world by myself. When I realized I couldn't do it alone, I created the Knights of the Round Table to help." His eyes moved toward Misaki. "The Imagine Breaker was designed to destroy false premises, so why do you think it can negate God's power?"

Misaki was silent. It wasn't that she didn't have anything to say, it was she wasn't sure how to word it. She didn't know the origin of Touma's Imagine Breaker. All she knew was it could negate the supernatural and also seemed to negate Touma's luck. He had it before coming to the city, so it couldn't be a science ability. Then there was that… thing… hidden under it. A monster that could devour all that stood before it. She was saved from being lost in thought by Lancelot reassuring her. _All he knows about the Imagine Breaker is what Eve and Adam told us. It was before his time. I don't have any evidence to prove or disprove his words, so it's best to not think about them too much right now._ Misaki agreed and Lancelot spoke to Arthur.

"What she says has merit," Lancelot added. "The boy is spreading the light and the city is slowly improving. All we are doing is setting everything back. We fight against the evil nature, yet can we say we do that when we extinguish the light?"

"If only things were that simple," Arthur sighed. "Then maybe all of this wouldn't be needed. Lancelot," his face looked slightly downtrodden, "you were the greatest knight I could have asked for. You are strong, brave, kind, and fought for the people. Then you fell to the dark nature inside all of us and betrayed me. I wanted to forgive you, but I never had a chance. My own anger clouded my judgement. I regret that now. Even the best of us can fall to our emotions. I wish I was as pure like Mother Teresa, as forgiving as St. Peter, or as holy as the Divine Mother." He looked up wishfully. "I am still a man and I learned the hard way. The strongest light casts the darkest shadows. When one relies on a source of light, no matter how strong, there are always places it can't reach." He turned his focus on Misaki. "Let me ask you a question. What do you think happens to people the Imagine Breaker could not save? The ones who rely on him, but he doesn't know they need him?"

Misaki choked on her words. A name came to her mind.

 _Ayu Mitsuari._

That girl was part of an unfortunate event Misaki regretted deeply. When Misaki was planning to erase her mind, Touma found her and saved her, but that wasn't their first encounter. Touma had bumped into Misaki at an intersection and lost his phone, which Misaki recovered. The problem was, at the same time, Ayu was planning to commit suicide and wished for Touma to save her. Because Misaki had his phone and turned it over to Anti-Skill, Touma was unable to know Ayu's predicament. Ayu's suicide attempt failed, but she held a grudge for Misaki. Ayu was also a mental type ability user who had the potential to reach level 5, but the researchers had chosen Misaki over her, so Ayu had another reason to be upset. Ayu went mad and tried to kill Misaki at one point, until Touma came in and stopped their fight. He had saved both of them, but it was still something that haunted Misaki. That was because Ayu was what could have happened to her if she had not been saved. It also represented a limit to even Touma's power.

She must have betrayed her thoughts through her expression, because Arthur continued.

"You seem to have experienced what I am referring to," Arthur continued and a trace of sympathy appeared on his face. "There are limits to everyone's power. When we are unable to reach our goals as individuals, we turn to groups. Lady Eve has given us the opportunity to prevent more tragedies, even if we must grit our teeth through unpleasant actions. As a leader, I must look at the big picture for all, not just those around me. If my death would achieve our goals, I would gladly give it up."

 _You look at it too narrowly,_ Misaki replied. _Every person Touma saved has started to change in a positive way. I've seen it. You probably know all about us, so I don't have to hide this. My friend,_ she was surprised at these words, not only because it was slightly embarrassing, but she actually believed it to be true, _Misaka was saved by him and she devotes a lot of her time to protect her friends. She wields uncivilized powers, but she works hard to control it so no one is seriously hurt. I can't say she has the same ability as my prince in terms of being able to save everyone, but she works hard to protect everyone she can. Accelerator used to be a terrible person, if the rumors were true. Now, he's a little rough around the edges, but he watches over several people. I'm sure he even protects strangers when he thinks no one is watching. My point is everyone who encounters my prince changes. You say this city is corrupt, then all we have to do is grow the number of people who aren't._

"You continue to focus on the wrong thing," Lancelot added and stepped forward. "We both did. We focused on the darkness that is inherent in all people, but we ignored the effects of someone who walks in the light. I truly believe we should not wage war against them. They are not evil. This is wrong. My friend, you know this to be true." Arthur went silent for a moment, and Misaki wanted to believe Arthur would reconsider their fight. After observing Lancelot and Arthur fight, Misaki knew Arthur was still a league above them, even when Misaki assaulted his mind.

 _None of us want to fight against you either,_ Misaki added. _A few may hold grudges, but they will disappear with time._ Misaki knew Shizuri and Accelerator might not be happy without true revenge, but they would get over it.

"Did you think I would not know this?" Arthur asked, his voice growing soft. Lancelot straightened up instinctively and Misaki felt the tension in the air. "Did you think I would be so blind?" Arthur held his sword above his head. "There have been many people throughout history with that power. He was not the first host of the Imagine Breaker. The Son of God had the ability to save all around him, but the world is still decaying. The foundation is too corrupt, so even the good people can't change it." Misaki saw Excalibur start to glow brightly and she couldn't look at it directly. "I will, however, tell you this. I do not believe you are evil, take solace in that fact. War is rarely good versus evil. War is waged by different people believing they are right."

"Then when will this war end?" Lancelot asked. "How many times must we stain our hands with innocent blood to achieve our goal?"

"It ends when there is a victor," Arthur responded sadly and brought down his sword into the ground. Misaki couldn't react, but Lancelot did. He jumped back, turned around, and blocked Misaki with his body.

A golden dome erupted and covered the entire train station.

Misaki couldn't see. There was only a slight shadow caused by Lancelot's large frame. Everything else disappeared in the golden flash. Misaki had to shut her eyes, but the light seemed to permeate through her eyelids. If it wasn't for Lancelot forming a slight shadow, she might have gone blind. The light disappeared and she opened her eyes gingerly. Misaki couldn't make out anything for a moment. Her eyes were still adjusting to the light. She felt water begin to fall on her. She blinked several times and everything began to slowly swim into focus. Lancelot was the closest and Misaki saw how injured he was. His armor was cracked and she heard him panting loudly. His shield had been completely shattered. She looked past him toward Arthur, who had lifted up his sword. He was staring at them with a passive look on his face. Misaki only now realized it was raining. This confused her, as they should have been under cover, until her sight completely returned.

The entire train station was gone.

Misaki glanced around and gasped at her surroundings. Arthur's magical attack wiped the train station off the map. The three of them were now standing out in the open, which is why the rain was able to descend upon them. The ground around them was completely smooth, except for the area directly behind her and Lancelot, since he had taken the brunt of the attack, and the small crater were Arthur's sword had hit the ground. The buildings and the roads in the distance were undamaged, but the entire area under the golden dome had been annihilated. In all honesty, Misaki thought she should have been too. _Thanks for saving me_ , she whispered softly into Lancelot's mind.

"He was holding back," Lancelot told her and flinched as he turned to face Arthur. "If he truly wished for our death, there would be nothing left."

"I am not a monster," Arthur said and he began to walk slowly toward them. "I could not bring myself to kill my friend, regardless of what you did. That girl… she reignited the spark I haven't seen in you for a long time. I don't wish to cause the death of someone who can do that." Arthur stopped and paused. "My orders were to fight until either she or I died." He smiled for a second. "I think I can find some leeway in Lady Eve's order. The fact she wanted us to fight was to prevent you from further hindering our plan. Here is my final offer. I can offer no better deal than this." He looked directly at Misaki. "You will swear to no longer impede our plans, go back to your normal life, and never deal with us again. In return, I will let you go."

 _Huh?!_

"This way," Arthur elaborated. "You will essentially be dead to us. If you are not opposing us, you won't cause Lady Eve any problems. I know you can't speak for the rest of your comrades, but I doubt the others will be as kind as me."

 _It's a good deal,_ Lancelot thought to Misaki. _You saw how strong Excalibur is and that's only a fraction of its power. You have witness Curtana in action and it's in the same league. If we continue to fight, we will lose._ Misaki took his advice into consideration and thought about it. She would be able to survive, but would have to look the other way if Eve's forces did anything in the city. Arthur was noble and he even removed the two girls she arrived with out of harm's way. She could sense their sleeping minds a few meters outside of the carnage Arthur's sword brought. He must have held back enough to ensure their safety. Then there was the fact Eve's forces were attacking her friends and she doubted they would roll over for them, especially 'him.'

"No."

"Excuse me?" Arthur asked. Lancelot frowned under his cracked helm.

"No," Misaki repeated and she was actually using her own words to convey her message. "If it was the old me, I would have agreed. My life would be considered the top priority, but you are asking for the impossible. Your deal would require me to look the other way, while my friends continue to fight and others get hurt. Not only would that be directly against what my prince desires, but I would never hear the end of it from Misaka. I lived in that kind of world once, never again. Pretending to ignore the suffering of others was horrible. When I suffered, only one person truly noticed. I think that's the kind of person I want to strive to be, someone who can help others. It's tough, since I'm not used to it, but I want to change. I already have a little and I've never been happier. So no, I won't accept your deal. I will defeat you here and make you see the truth."

Lancelot smiled and stood up straight. New purpose radiated from him from the power of her words. "You see Arthur, this is what I saw. I won't let a light like this go out."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Arthur said softly and his hand tightened around the hilt of Excalibur. "I tried to give you a way out, but you forced my hand." His voice trembled slightly as he resolved himself. "I'm sorry my friend." Without warning, he lunged at superhuman speeds. Lancelot stepped forward and swung his sword to intercept. The force of their blades colliding released a shockwave. Lancelot felt the force of Arthur's blade increase and he found himself being pushed back. Arondight could no longer deflect the power of Excalibur. Arthur was slowly bringing his blade down toward Lancelot's throat. Lancelot saw the resolve in Arthur's eyes, but also the trace of sadness. He gritted his teeth and pushed back as hard as he could to prevent his friend from making a mistake he would regret.

Misaki took the opportunity to unleash the full power of her ability.

Arthur's mind was still magically shielded, but there was now a crack in the impenetrable defense. Misaki wasn't sure if it was her words, the weight of Arthur striking down Lancelot, or the combination of the two that caused it, but she was able to establish a foothold in his mind. It wasn't enough to completely take it over, but she now had a direct link. Misaki had to continue to concentrate because Arthur was trying to push her out of his mind, while simultaneously bringing Excalibur down on Lancelot. With his attention divided, Misaki tried to press her advantage. Arthur's defenses were different than a normal person's mind, but Misaki found out where she connected too. They were his memories. This wasn't going to help her, as Arthur suddenly kicked Lancelot in the chest and sent him flying. With no one left between her and Arthur, she didn't have time to take over his mind. Arthur stepped toward her and raised his blade.

"I'm sorry," he told her. "It shouldn't have to end this way."

"I know," Misaki whispered. "And it won't. I'll make you understand if words are not enough." Using the link, she forcefully traded the information in her mind with his. Arthur staggered backwards as memories flooded into his mind that were not his. Misaki's mind felt like it was being split apart as she established another connection with another magician who wielded Telesma. The link transferred Arthur's Telesma as well as his memories into Misaki and her memories to him. Both of them were living experiences that were not theirs.

Misaki saw Arthur as a young boy. He was a small, scrawny lad barely capable of lifting a sword from its sheath. She could see the ridicule he received as others mocked him for being a bastard child. With the memories, she could experience the same feelings Arthur felt. While he was sad and upset at all the insults, he never wanted to get revenge. When Arthur pulled Excalibur from the sword, he did not hold onto grudges, but focused on uniting all of England. Memories continued to flash by and she saw an adult Arthur lead his men against invaders. Misaki could feel the sadness every time Arthur took a life, but there was no other option. For every group Arthur defeated, another one would rise up. Bandits would threaten towns and invaders would continue to try to take England for themselves. This was one reason he created the Knights of the Round Table. The group was created to protect the country and promote morals and notions of medieval chivalry.

Then the memory Misaki dreaded coursed through her. With her link, it was like she was living in Lancelot's betrayal. The shock, horror, and anger flowed through her. Arthur could not believe his friend could have an affair with his wife. That was the greatest insult a knight could have done. It was against everything they stood for and a betrayal of that magnitude was not easily forgotten. Arthur felt like every belief he had ever known was a lie. It took years before Arthur could see him again without wanting to strike him down. During that time, Lancelot had sought the Holy Grail. They had never reconciled after that and Arthur grew more distant from the other knights. Misaki could feel him sinking into despair before his eventual death.

Death at the hands of his own son.

Misaki mentally gasped when she witnessed the final battle between Arthur and a man named Mordred, Arthur's illegitimate son. Mordred wanted the throne and was willing to kill his own father for it. Misaki could feel every ounce of pain, physical and mental, as she witness Arthur being stabbed in the chest. As the last memory faded, she felt his last desire. _A world without betrayals._ The next memory she saw was Eve standing before him and offering him a chance to make his dream a reality. Misaki couldn't believe how open and honest Eve was to him, explaining he may have to perform vile acts in order to save everyone in the future. She could only prevent so many. The memories faded and Misaki understood what Arthur had gone though and what he was trying to do. She didn't hate him and almost pitied him. He had not been saved.

Understanding and acceptance were different though. Misaki would not surrender.

Arthur was simultaneously experiencing Misaki's memories. He saw her as a small child and could feel the joy and happiness she felt when she was informed she could reach level 5. Then everything went downhill fast. Misaki was constantly attacked by other people who were jealous of her. They believed she was the reason they could not progress. Arthur could see every thought Misaki read in their minds. He experienced the loneliness and sadness that overcame Misaki when she found out everyone around her didn't see her as a person. Scientists saw her as a tool, people she thought were friends were only pretending, and strangers thought she was a monster with her powers. The feelings only grew until she was about to end it all, until he saw the boy Misaki held so close to her heart. Arthur could tell how noble the boy was, if a bit thickheaded, and Misaki decided against erasing her mind. The feelings Misaki had were being transmitted to Arthur and his arm shook. For a short time, Misaki was happy again.

Everything went downhill again for her though. Because Touma saved her, he wasn't able to save another and it caused the other girl to go insane. Misaki almost died, but the boy appeared at the last minute again. He not only saved Misaki, but the other girl too. Arthur wasn't sure if he could have done that. The happiness Misaki felt every time she met Touma was evident, and then another tragedy occurred. Touma was injured and to save his life, Misaki's power made him unable to remember her. No matter what she did, he always forgot. Arthur noticed a change come over her at this point. She was sad and lonely, but she kept moving forward. She was going to waste the life Touma gave her. It was as if the flame Touma wielded to fight darkness had spread to her. Misaki started using her powers a lot more responsibly and tried to help Touma from the shadows whenever she could.

The unrestrained joy Misaki had when Touma could finally remember her almost cause Arthur to fall. After the depression of the previous memories, happiness was a breath of fresh air. Misaki was no saint. She felt jealousy at other girls around Touma, she got irritated when people made fun of her, and she liked to eat sweets way more than she normally should. However, she had changed greatly. Misaki had a hard time trusting people whose mind she could not read, but she started to find out, she didn't need to follow that logic anymore. Mikoto was one person who Misaki could not manipulate, so Mikoto knew the real Misaki. Being around Touma, Misaki naturally hung out with his other friends and the number of times she used her power on them dwindled to almost nothing now. Misaki had made friends and, through her eyes, Arthur saw the same flame being lit up in them. Many of the people around her and the boy had troubling pasts, but they kept moving forward and smiling.

"You have gone through much at such a young age," Arthur muttered. His left hand had grabbed his head.

"You too," Misaki replied. She was trying to limit using her ability to talk, as her head was threatening to break and knock her unconscious. _If I do, I will never wake up._

"You lived in hatred and betrayal," Arthur said and took a step forward. "Yet you found a way to leave. You understand what happens to those who were not saved, but you didn't give up on them. I take it by your response, you saw mine too?"

"I did," Misaki confirmed. "Having your love and best friend go behind your back, I doubt I could truly understand the pain before that memory. It would be childish to say I could. I do believe I understand why you joined Eve and what you hope to achieve now. The Eve you know seems vastly different than the one we know, but I think she could be doing that on purpose. I know you are a man with integrity, but I still can't accept your logic. I will continue to stand against you. If I fall, I know others will take my place."

"You are still defiant," Arthur continued and took another step toward her while twirling Excalibur. His eyes darted over to Lancelot, who managed to sit up. Arthur gazed down at Misaki. Her form had not disappeared, but he saw strength in her eyes, along with something else. It was something he had lost, until Eve gave it to him. He took a deep breath and raised his sword high above Misaki.

"Don't do it!" Lancelot yelled. "You won't be able to recover from this!"

"I won't beg," Misaki told him. The countless threads from her back circled them, but did not attack Arthur. She did not believe her mind could take the force of linking with Arthur again. Her body felt light, like it had grown accustomed to her new form. "We both know this is wrong, but you are physically stronger than me." _I said what needed to be said to him._

"I'm sorry," Arthur said again and brought down the blade. Misaki didn't even close her eyes, as the blade approached her neck.

It then stopped less than an inch from her skin.

"Why did you stop?" Misaki asked rhetorically.

"How did you know I would?" Arthur asked back.

"I just knew," Misaki said with a shrug. "It was like I could feel your intentions."

"Arthur?" Lancelot asked and slowly rose to his feet.

"I can't do it," Arthur told them. He actually sheathed Excalibur. "You are right Lancelot. This is wrong. After everything I witnessed, I know. I think I always knew, but I hid it by telling myself it is for the greater good." He walked passed Misaki and toward Lancelot. "It was thanks to you for holding me back so she could show me. Thank you my friend." He put his hand on Lancelot's shoulder.

"I am more than a knight," Lancelot responded. "I'm your friend first." He put his hand on Arthur's shoulder.

"I forgive you," Arthur said. "For everything. We all make mistakes, but how we choose to move forward is what takes true strength. That girl there is probably the strongest person I ever met."

"You should meet the Imagine Breaker then," Lancelot said with a chuckle. "He's the one who helped her along the way."

"I might have to if there is time," Arthur agreed and then stepped back as Lancelot started to glow. "Good-bye. Time is short and our pact is finished-..."

"But our bond will last through death," Lancelot finished. "Should you ever have need of me, I will return." Lancelot's body started to grow transparent until he completely disappeared. Misaki and Arthur stood in the rain in silence for a moment, lightning crackled overhead, before Misaki found her voice.

"What happened to him?"

"When he broke the magical bond that tied the knights and me together," Arthur explained without turning around. "It caused a ripple effect that strained my relationship with the rest of them. It cursed him and he was unable to rest in peace. When Eve revived me, I took that bond and pulled him from the prison he was in to give him an opportunity for redemption. For a moment, it looked like he was about to do it again, but it was only because his eyes were open. I bet he also had a reason for the first time, but I never tried to find out what." He turned away from Misaki and started to walk away. "You win Queen of the Fey. I shall return to Lady Eve to face her after this lost."

"You didn't lose," Misaki told him. "You simply found the truth."

"Your eyes held the belief and hope I had once lost," Arthur replied and lifted his right hand in a waving gesture. "No matter my oath, I would never extinguish that. It is what I fight for. When you see the Imagine Breaker, tell him King Arthur respects his light." Misaki felt a sense of pride well up within her as she watched him leave, until she turned around because she heard a couple people rushing toward her.

"We just woke up," Floris panted. "What happened?"

"We talked and he left," Misaki answered simply.

"Talked?!" Floris fumed. "Care to explain what happened to the train station then?" She gestured to the open area around him.

"He had a small fit," Misaki added, like it was natural.

"Is everything settled then?" Lancis asked. "And are you okay? That form, there are cracks appearing all over." Misaki looked down and noticed she was right. The white plastic like substance was breaking apart.

"Do you have your phone?" Misaki asked quickly and Lancis nodded. "Take a picture of me before everything fades away."

"Why?" Lancis asked confused, but did as Misaki requested.

"My bag was probably destroyed," Misaki sighed. "And I would like some documentation of what happened so I can figure out why it did."

"Well," Floris said. "If the fight is over, we better contact the others and see how they are doing."

"I still need your help," Misaki interjected.

"With what?"

"My friends are over there," she gesture to the right. "And I'm about to faint."

"Huh?!" Floris and Lancis asked, but Misaki fell against Floris and lost consciousness.

* * *

Juliet wasn't entirely sure what to do now.

She did not expect Mikoto to sacrifice herself like that. After all, Juliet was supposed to be the one to kill her. When Mikoto had transformed into some kind of nonhuman entity, Juliet thought the task had become impossible. The mass of energy Mikoto had created was beyond anything Juliet was capable of handling. With science developing some kind of force similar to Telesma, Juliet didn't believe even her shadow form would have been able to survive. "Eve had to have known about this," Juliet scoffed. "Evolution my ass, this was beyond that. I'm better for subterfuge and manipulation, not direct fights." She didn't even need to use her magic based on her name to cause Mikoto to snap and Kuroko knocked herself out before she had been affected.

Juliet turned her gaze to the remaining unconscious girls. The two who looked exactly like Mikoto were closest, while Kuroko was further away. A rush of anger flickered through Juliet at the sight of her. Juliet walked toward them through the rain and her arms transformed into shadows. The shadows extended toward the two Sisters and lifted them up into the air. Juliet smiled for a moment. She had their lives in her hand and no one could stop her. Mikoto was dead, Kuroko was unconscious, and there was no one else rushing to their rescue. With a simple flick, she could snap their necks. Juliet took a deep breath and moved her arms.

The Sisters were lightly tossed under an overhang attached to a building that had not been destroyed by their fight.

Juliet was not a monster, no matter how easily she lost control of her emotions. Eve wanted her to push Mikoto to the edge of her limits and beyond. Mikoto had to be broken mentally, recognize her weakness, and then surpass it. By threatening her friends and the girls who looked like her, Juliet managed to do just that. The reason why she left the Sisters' alone wasn't because she felt guilty, but because she had no reason to kill them. They were not part of her mission nor did they have any significance to her anymore. Torturing them had caused Mikoto to snap, which was the goal. Juliet had moved them under shelter as her way of apologizing to them. She smiled again. _Now I can look him in the eyes without feeling guilty. He doesn't like killing._ She held her hands up to her cheeks for a moment when she imagined them together again. Juliet then lowered her arms and turned to her true adversary.

Kuroko was an exception to the rule.

Kuroko was one of Juliet's primary enemies. The other girl was the one who actually held the position of girlfriend, but she was weak and could be removed at any time. Kuroko was always with someone strong, usually Mikoto, and her teleportation made her hard to catch. Juliet walked over to her unconscious body and looked down. Kuroko was breathing lightly, but her face was flinching slightly in the rain. Lightning crackled overhead and Juliet made a fist. _This slut dies now._ Kuroko had admitted she loved him and Juliet would not stand for it. Even though the slut wasn't dating him, they shared a special connection. It was only a matter of time before something happened and Juliet would now allow that. He belonged to her and her alone. Her hand slowly turned into shadow and stretched out into a sinister, curved blade.

Juliet raised the blade above her head.

 _Huh?_

She found herself hesitating and didn't know why.

Juliet was about to get rid of one of the greatest threats to her happiness, but something was gnawing at her mind. She blinked and realized what it was. She imagined the look in his eyes if he ever found out Juliet had killed Kuroko. The look of shock and horror, along with anger and disappointment, gripped at her more than Eve's punishments could ever do. She had met him briefly, even if it was an unusual circumstance. The look on his face still haunted her. His eyes betrayed what he thought of her actions and it continued to send shivers down her back. Juliet trembled slightly, but slowly resolved herself. _He won't know it was me. He will be happier with me in the long run. We were destined to be together._ His expression swam to the front of her mind once more and she hesitated again.

"This shouldn't be so hard!" Juliet yelled. "I could do it before, why not now?!" _Is it because she's defenseless or is it because I know how he would feel._ Her heart hurt when she remembered their time together. They were two young kids sticking together, while their other friends grew distance. The adults were pitting them against each other, but they would not cave. Romeo and Juliet were their aliases, not only because they both liked Shakespeare, but because they went through trials and tribulations. It was because of those experiences, Juliet developed her magic under Eve. _My resolve can't waiver now. I won't lose him again, even if I have to live with the guilt._ She shook her head and the hesitation vanished.

She raised her shadow blade again.

This would be quick and Kuroko would not suffer.

The lightning continued to crackle ominously above her as the storm raged.

Juliet's eyes narrowed and she jumped backwards as a small bolt of lightning hit the ground in front of her. Juliet couldn't' believe something that coincidental could happen. The strike wasn't very strong, but Juliet's instincts had warned her of the danger. Being hit several times by random lightning strikes had made her body keen on avoiding them. Juliet's eyes widened as something appeared. It was as if the electricity hadn't been an attack, but a way of travel. This thing was somehow able to ride the lightning. "How are you alive!?"

It was Mikoto Misaka.

At least, Juliet assumed it was.

The appearance was similar to Mikoto before she had been swallowed up by the mass of black electricity. The complex halo was still over her head, the circle with four points in each direction, with the floating vertical rectangle tapered on both ends inside. The remains of her human hands and feet had not reappeared. Her hands were still claw-like with ribbon like protrusions, while her legs were still abstract. The difference was it was like her head and body had switched colors. Instead of her head, everything from her neck down was the void like space. It was pitch black, but decorated with countless dots of lights like stars. Her head was glowing brightly with bluish-white energy. Her hair had been swept back, but looked like it was made of the same energy. Mikoto's face was now visible and Juliet could make out facial expressions. The eyes were glowing pure white and, even though they had no irises, Juliet didn't feel a single trace of malice from them.

"Answer me!" Juliet yelled.

Mikoto responded by smiling kindly at her.

* * *

 _Where am I?_

Mikoto opened her eyes and felt herself flouting in empty space. She looked down and gasped. Below her was Academy City, but strangely different. Nothing was casting shadows and everything was slowly moving in waves, as if heat was distorting the scenery. The colors also kept changing. It was as if the aurora, or the northern lights, had fused with the city. Mikoto was momentarily mesmerized by the changing shades of blue, yellow, green, and everything in between. Mikoto glanced down at her body and would have cried out if she could. She was naked. Well, more precisely, her body was glowing softly in white light and she just had an outline of her body. It wasn't quite being naked, but it was like having a very tight skinsuit. There was no wind and the air was still, which Mikoto found suffocating. She tried to breath, but couldn't find any air. This caused a moment of panic, but the lack of air didn't seem to faze her.

She felt something move behind her, but she couldn't turn around.

 _Misaka-san?_ The voice was so familiar, but it was like a whisper in her ear.

 _Kazakiri-san?_ Mikoto responded. She tried to speak, but couldn't feel her mouth move. It was more like her thoughts turned vocal. _How? What is-…? Where am I?_

 _I felt you,_ Hyouka told her. _I don't know why. I was drifting around and suddenly I found myself in an area that seemed to grow substance. My district has changed._

 _Substance?_ Mikoto asked. _But I thought when you were in the Imaginary Number District, there wasn't any weight or anything. That's what Touma told us._

 _Normally yes,_ Hyouka agreed. _But look out toward the edge._ Mikoto did as she suggested and would have gasped. Only the area around them seemed to have the lights and actual resemblance to the city. Several blocks away the lights abruptly end and the buildings kind of vanished. There were shapes, but there weren't shadows, markings, lights, or anything else that resembled Academy City. _For some reason, the concentration of AIM fields is now much greater and I was forcefully pulled here._

 _That was my fault,_ Mikoto explained. _Something happened, and I developed this evil power. The first time I used it I nearly killed Touma. Last time, I tried to kill someone else. This time, I almost killed everyone in the city to get to…. Juliet! She should still be out there, along with Kuroko and my Sisters! I got to stop her, but…_ She trailed off. _Am I dead?_

 _No,_ Hyouka reassured her and Mikoto felt Hyouka embrace her from behind. Mikoto was surprised by her warmth. Hyouka's arms wrapped around her stomach and they appeared to be similar to hers. _When I tried to figure out where I was, I felt you. Or maybe it was your feelings. I saw shadows of what was happening and something that resembled you was wielding a strange power. I felt the fear, hatred, but also sorrow and loss._

 _I lost my mind for a moment,_ Mikoto admitted. _I was told once if I tried to reach level 6, I would lose my humanity. A friend told me that. I felt like I did and nearly blew up the city because I hated Juliet._ She felt Hyouka's embrace tighten.

 _I become a monster once,_ Hyouka told her. _You remember what he told you?_ Mikoto nodded. _But even then, I came too because of my friends. I felt that from you too. At the end, you remembered why you were fighting in the first place. I could sense the strength radiating from you._

 _My friends,_ Mikoto said and she something well up from deep inside her. Tears began to form, but she couldn't move to wipe them away. _They kept me human. All of them, even some people I wouldn't think of._

 _Then I actually heard your words,_ Hyouka continued. _I couldn't let my new friend die, especially for fighting to defend others. Right before the explosions destroy your body, I did the only thing I could. I tried to pull you into my world._

 _What?!_

 _The AIM field was so dense, this area almost became solid. I don't really know how I did it, but I pulled you in. I wanted to help. I couldn't let you die._ Hyouka sniffed. _It wasn't perfect and you are caught between your world and mine._

 _Am… am I stuck here?_ Mikoto asked anxiously. _I need to make sure my friends are safe._

 _You are too solid to remain here,_ Hyouka reassured her. _This area is rejecting you. When I pulled you in, your body was composed almost completely of some kind of pure energy. Now that you are in here, your body is changing back, or maybe it's your mental state. I found out my emotions can cause weird things to happen here._ Her voice was sounding farther and farther away as she talked. Mikoto felt her embrace loosen and disappear. _When you get back, you need to stop that other girl. I can hear her yelling. She's in pain._

 _I'll face her,_ Mikoto told Hyouka. _And I'll stop here from hurting anyone else._ The Imaginary Number District was getting dimmer and she begun to hear the sound of rain.

 _When this is done,_ Mikoto heard Hyouka whisper from so far away. _I need to talk to you and Kamijou. I found it-…_ Her voice died out and Mikoto found herself high above Academy City. She glanced down and saw the tiny figure of Juliet standing over Kuroko with her shadow arm blade held high. Mikoto panicked for a second and her instincts moved faster than her brain worked. She fired a bolt of electricity and then grabbed hold of it with her feet. This was a weird sensation, as she was suddenly traveling with the electricity, but she had more pressing matters to deal with. First, Kuroko was in danger and, second, her body was like a patch of night sky. She blinked away the second issue, as her body was not in danger, and focused on Juliet. She rode the lightning directly at Juliet but she must have seen her. Juliet jumped back at the last second before Mikoto landed.

"How are you alive!?" Juliet yelled at her, after taking in Mikoto's appearance. Mikoto didn't answer, but took in her surroundings. Kuroko was still alive and the Sisters had been moved under shelter from the storm for some reason. Mikoto had no idea why Juliet would do that. "Answer me!" Mikoto only smiled. Her mind was clear, her friends were safe, and all that was left was to capture Juliet. She could feel her power all around her, her body was overflowing with it, and her mind was able to do extremely advanced calculations and algorithms without any effort.

"A friend saved me," Mikoto explained at last. "Actually, all of my friends saved me."

"What does that mean?" Juliet snapped.

"It means people are stronger together than they are separate," Mikoto answered. "You could experience this if you would stop attacking people. Please Juliet, surrender and come with us. I'm sure Kagere-san would want you to."

"I have nothing to say to you," Juliet replied angrily. "You grew up with friends. I lost mine and was stuck in a void for years. I'm past trying to play the victim card. I made up my mind and I'm going to carry it through to the end. Eve wanted me to kill you and I want to kill the slut." Her arm twisted in the area. "What he doesn't know won't hurt him!" She extended her blade and aimed for Mikoto's neck. Mikoto didn't even flinch.

The shadow blade stopped like it hit an invisible wall and several bright blue sparks crackled out of thin air.

"What is this?!" Juliet yelled and started using both of her arms. Each hit of her shadow form caused more sparks and loud crackling sounds, but she couldn't get closer to Mikoto. Her anger and frustration grew and she transformed her entire body back into shadow. She started slamming it against the invisible wall, but all that caused was a ripple of bluish-white electricity. That's when Juliet noticed her situation. She flew backwards and hit another wall. "Ah!" she involuntarily cried out in pain. She tried to move straight up, but there was yet another wall of invisible electricity.

"It's no use," Mikoto explained and felt grim satisfaction. "I boxed you in. You are surrounded by very concentrated, invisible to the eye, electrical circuits. While thinner than hair, it's much more powerful than my normal attacks. You won't be able to break out. I won't kill, but I'm taking you in for threatening my friends."

"I won't go out like this!" Juliet cried and slammed against the barrier again.

"Please stop," Mikoto said worriedly. "It's still energy and you are only going to get hurt." It had not escaped her notice the energy was able to hurt Juliet. Whatever new power she accessed, was now coursing through all of her electricity.

"NO!" Juliet screamed. "I won't be trapped! Not again! Never again!" She slammed against the wall of energy closest to Mikoto and Kuroko. Sparks flew out in great numbers, but Juliet refused to get pushed back. She continued to press up against it and ignored the pain coursing through her body. _I won't be separated again, physically or emotionally! Not when I'm so close!_ "I still have to get rid of those two so he will be willing to leave!" Mikoto flinched. "I won't leave until they are dead!" Juliet used every ounce of force to keep pushing against the wall of electricity. It was now a blinding barrage of blue and white light. The physical pain she felt was nothing compared to the pain in her mind. Her shadow form was beginning to break apart and pieces were flaking off before disintegrating.

"Stop!" Mikoto cried. "You will die if you keep this up!"

"Not until she is dead!" Juliet grunted through the pain. Her eyes were not focused on Mikoto, but on Kuroko. Even though Mikoto couldn't actually see them, she could feel it. The rage coursing through Juliet was making her oblivious to her body being destroyed.

"Please!" Mikoto begged. "We don't need any more deaths! You have to stop!" Mikoto knew if she lowered the barrier, Juliet would live, but she would be aiming for Kuroko. Mikoto could probably knock Juliet back or move Kuroko out of the way, but her new power was still fully untested. Mikoto could not guarantee she could safely interact with Kuroko in this form.

"I would rather die than be locked away again!" Juliet yelled furiously. Mikoto's eyes widened at the force.

"Please," Mikoto begged softly and she felt tears begin to fall. Juliet's body was being destroyed, less than half remained. "You have to… It's killing you."

"Then I will take you with me!" Juliet declared. "I can't truly die, since I'm not alive anyways. I will come back and find you, even if it takes a lifetime." The electricity started flying everywhere as Juliet used the last of her strength to push against the wall. Mikoto was forced to look away, not because of the light, but because of the scene. When the light faded, she turned back and Juliet was gone, yet Mikoto's barrier remained.

"Juliet," Mikoto murmured and took a step forward. "Why? Why would you go so far? Kagere… he's going to be devastated." She blinked back the tears and then saw it. It was a small black sphere, maybe an inch in diameter floating right in the middle of her cage. Mikoto frowned and shrunk the cage down until it was only a few centimeters from the edge of the sphere. When Mikoto moved the cage, the orb moved with it, keeping perfectly in the middle. _I have no idea what this is. It has to be magic in origin though. I need a way to transport it._ She could feel her power fading, so she needed to hurry. She looked to her left and saw a thin piece of metal from one of the buildings. She used magnetism to pull it toward her and twisted it into a sphere around the black orb and her electrical barrier. Then she used concentrated electricity to fuse the metal perfectly together. "This will have to do, but I need to be careful. Index should probably have a look at this." The rain became noticeable on her skin and she looked down.

Only to discover she was naked.

"NOOOOO!" she yelled and covered herself up. Since her power faded, the form broke apart and her clothes must have been disintegrated form being in contact with it. Now Mikoto was crouched in the middle of a destroyed street, in the rain, with an unconscious girl behind her, and now she was naked. _This day can't get any worse._ Touma would never have uttered those words, as the universe would go out of its way to prove him wrong, but Mikoto wasn't that unlucky. Instead, the universe must have decided to help her.

"Onee-sama?" Mikoto turned toward the two Sisters.

"You're awake?!" she gasped.

"We just woke up Misaka 19090 reports." She looked around. "Misaka takes it the threat has been neutralized?"

"Yes," Mikoto replied sadly and looked at the metal orb on the ground in front of her.

"Is there a reason onee-sama is on the ground without clothes? Misaka 13577 asks."

"It wasn't like I had a choice!" Mikoto protested. "They were destroyed in the battle." She decided not to mention the transformation.

"That's good, Misaka 13577 sighs. Misaka was afraid onee-sama was discovering an unusual hobby."

"WHAT GAVE YOU THAT IDEA!?"

"Here." Misaka 19090 took off her Tokiwadai vest and handed it to Mikoto. "This should help get you to your dorm without notice Misaka 19090 states plainly. Sorry it is soaked." Misaka 13577 nodded and removed her skirt before handing it to Mikoto.

"Are you sure?" Mikoto asked, especially the one who gave her the skirt, as she only had striped underwear on her lower half. They both nodded.

"We have a nearby base we can acquire additional clothes, Misaka 13577 informs slightly embarrassed. Misaka does hope no one sees her though."

"In case you were wondering Misaka 19090 adds. The moderator reports she and Accelerator were attacked but Accelerator emerged victorious."

"They were attacked too?!"

"They were victorious Misaka 19090 repeats slightly irritated."

"Thank you," Mikoto told them gratefully and she meant every word. If Accelerator and Last Order were fine, she wouldn't need to worry about them tonight. Suddenly, Kuroko behind her groaned. "She's waking up. You two have to get out of here before she sees you." They nodded and turned around to duck down a side street. "Thanks again for all your help!" Mikoto then turned toward to Kuroko, as she managed to sit up.

"Owe... my head...," Kuroko moaned. "It feels like I was hit by a truck. I'm also soaked. What happened while I was-…?" She was cut off as Mikoto lunged toward her and hugged her tightly.

"I'm so glad you are okay!" Mikoto cried through the tears. "I thought you were going to die. Juliet was seriously trying to kill you and she wouldn't stop no matter what I did. I tried to escape with you, but she was too fast. It took everything I had to beat her, and now…. Now she's…" Mikoto couldn't finish the sentence.

"Huh?" Kuroko asked in confusion. Normally, having Mikoto embrace her would be a dream come true, but now, she felt weird, like this was wrong. It made her uncomfortable. "I'm fine." She pushed Mikoto off her and stood up. "Wow, you did a number on the street. What happened to Juliet?"

"She's in here," Mikoto answered and held up the orb. "I trapped what was left of her shadow."

"Will that hold?" Kuroko asked wearily.

"I don't know," Mikoto said truthfully. "Index will have to look at this. Right now," Mikoto looked around, "we need to get out of here and back to the dorms. I lost most of my clothes in the fight and we are going to catch a cold if we stay out here. Can you get us there unseen?"

"Shouldn't be a problem," Kuroko confirmed and reached over to touch Mikoto. At the moment of contact, Kuroko felt a slight wave of nauseous wash over her. Kuroko pushed down the feeling and attributed it to the previous events. Her head hurt slightly and she wasn't sure why she didn't want to call Mikoto onee-sama. Kuroko purposely avoided saying it. _I need some rest and sort out what happened. My head really hurts, but I should be able to teleport for a bit._ She and Mikoto began to teleport toward their dorms and left the wreckage of the fight behind.

Unknown to Mikoto, before the Sisters' woke up, something was nearby and saw everything. On top of a nearby building and looking down at Mikoto, a golden haired being, with a tall and thin humanoid stature, was watching her. It appeared to be wearing loose white clothing that covered its body entirely. It was effeminate-looking, but its gender hard to ascertain. The expression on its face was also difficult to ascertain, as it had a mixture of happiness, sadness, grief, and anger. Whatever emotion was being displayed had to be different from humans. When Mikoto's new form faded away, so did it, but it said a single word.

"Interesting."

* * *

Meanwhile, far away from the fights, a lone boy and girl sat in a room, completely oblivious to the ongoing events around them. Well, one of them was. The boy was observing the battle through a type of detection magic, though it was rather flawed. All he could do was detect the enormous amounts of magic clashing against something. When he felt four different forces similar to Telesma, he grew apprehensive. As the fights ended, he couldn't resist smirking. The smirk became a full fledge grin as the final fight ended. The girl was too preoccupied with a movie to notice. A single thought passed through the boy's mind.

 _This is better than I could have imagined._

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **The hardest part of this story was trying to write a debate myself. It's hard to argue with yourself to support two different sides. I got some strange looks when people saw me standing and talking out loud as I debated. I bet they thought I was crazy. Yes, Mikoto is alive you guys. I lied to a lot of you. Most of you suspected that because of the lack of body. I will remember that the next time. I was going to have her die and everyone else would go through a lot of character development, but then Brosephg used his Canadian mind trick on me to save her. Blame him.**

 **This chapter also is the last fight for the level 5 arc, so next chapter will be transitioning between Australia and Academy City and then the awesome Australian fight. I have been looking forward to this for a long time.**

 **Arthur: Who would think I wouldn't be able to defeat a middle school student? (Opens door)**

 **Chris: Welcome. Why don't you have a seat over there? Yes, right over there.**

 **Arthur: Chris Hansen?!**

 **Chris: Now, Arthur. What were you doing trying to whisk a fourteen-year-old girl off to be your 'Queen?' You're a five-hundred-year-old man!**

 **Arthur: It wasn't-…**

 **Chris: I have the chatlogs right here, Arthur! Come on! We also have video evidence and a police report Miss Shokuhou filed against….**

 **(TV screen changes back to Academy City.)**

 **Touma: What was that!?**

 **Jason: Sorry, sat on the remote.**

 **Ruiko: Wait, can this TV have a channel for everything?**

 **Pierce: Sure does. I use it a lot since I'm not a primary character.**

 **Frenda: Could we spy on Eve with it?**

 **Pierce: Yes, but spying is bad. You wouldn't want people to know you have a Kami-yan doll you sleep with right?**

 **Frenda: How-…!? No, that's a lie! You die now!**

 **Motoharu: Sorry everyone, you have to vacate the premises. Once we switch back to Kami-yan's group, the characters in Academy City are going to be here and comment on your fights.**

 **Touma: Great… just what I needed, an audience.**

 **Kazari: Cheer up Kamijou-san, I'm sure you will do great.**

 **Touma: Thanks Uiharu-san.**

 **Jason: Are you trying to infect her with Kami-yan Disease!?**

 **Pierce: Not cool man. You don't steal a bro's girl.**

 **Motoharu: That's low.**

 **Touma: That is not happening. Jason, put down that blade! GAH!**


	92. S4 Insight

**We are finally back to Australia. Soon, the war shall be waged and leave a vast scar across the land, only to be covered up by the harsh environment and animals. Before we move to comments, I do have one thing to say. Many people wanted me to do an Omake for Valentine's Day. As you can see, I didn't. This is because any idea I had really had been done, Touma being chased around by girls, like normal, but with more of them. Instead, I decided on something else. I am planning to release an Omake on March 14** **th** **. You may or may not know why that day is important. If you don't, you will be pleasantly surprised. If you do, I'm sure you will enjoy it. I don't think it's been done and it should be hilarious. Now, onto the comments.**

 **general ironox: I lie a lot, you should never believe me.**

 **Brosephg: You are missing out on a lot of fun. You spoil something really funny or weird but take it out of context completely. That way, people who do read the comments before the chapter are like, WTF? Then you sit back and laugh when they say something about it.**

 **vietnamese guy: Constructive criticism is always fine. As long as it's not just insults. As for the IB, several people actually know what it is. Terra, Ollerus, and there have been signs Aleister and Laura know what it is too. Thinking of the IB in terms of Christianity is narrow-minded. Ayu appeared in a NT volume yes, but that was a flashback volume.**

 **Eurigos: I laughed at you calling it binge reading. Glad you enjoyed it.**

 **Seeker: Most of NT11 was a flashback chapter, so it already happened.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: Chris Hansen is a horrible liar and needs to be stopped.**

 **anand891996: Please tell me you are British so I can keep imagining your comment in a British accent. A lighter arc will appear after Australia wraps up. Raffle and Touma's mom are coming to a chapter near you.**

 **whwsms: You commented on things you shouldn't know but just happen to, like Misaki's outfit. You also caught on a small OC moment that will be explained in this chapter. Then you disappoint me and thing Aleister made an appearance in the outside world. Arthur has been employed by Eve for many years, you learn these things. Jason could ask Touma how he keeps Mugino and lives, she's a yandere.**

 **Guest 13: I can't leave her, but I guarantee you will love this chapter.**

 **Guest: 1) Yes, but we all know they look good in most anything. 2) Could be. 3) I don't suppose it really matters, she would take it from wherever she can. 4) Not really, just some of the prefixes, so can't answer rest of question.**

 **wildarms13: People watching movies are really important. You should always pay attention to them.**

 **akd48: I received to many death threats not to bring her back. Her fan base is vicious. Touma can't get too powerful. His charm is being able to handle things without being completely OP.**

 **FrodoFighter: No, don't try to write short comments, I love reading them. Of course I like drills, all men like drills. Don't you like drills? You know, Touma won't know what it means to have Arthur respect him, but Misaki will. Eww, Touma doesn't need more Yaoi in his harem. "thank you also to Brosephg for his canadian-ness." I liked this part a lot too. Misaki didn't lose her clothes, but Mugino might start. Mikoto and Mugino use energy based powers, so fibers can easily be burned away. Aiwass, well, don't try to understand it. You won't be able to.**

 **Anon Guest: I feel like "The Way of the Tou-Man" would be a great self-help series.**

 **Handsomistic1: Sorry your comment got cut off, but thanks for sending it to me.**

 **Generation Zero: Mikoto met the new goddess and learned the Kaio-ken. Who's this Aiwass of which you speak? Uiharu, yeah, she's not going to be that happy at some point. Explanation of Kuroko? When do I ever explain anything?**

 **Agent Nine: Touma doesn't need a transformation, he's badass already.**

 **Salishious: Explanations on Kuroko will appear at some point.**

 **Savaris: Woo, you caught up. I was actually planning to remove Mikoto's name from the list to see if anyone would notice, but I was too lazy. Misaki's name isn't on there because she didn't appear until chapter… 14? It's been awhile.**

 **Tardis42: Most people figured out she wasn't dead, or they threatened me. Either way, she's alive.**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly. Magic Gods own all so they can do what they want.**

* * *

"Something wrong?" Zach asked Touma. "You have been awfully quiet since you talked to the other girl."

"I'm not sure," Touma admitted. "It's just… I have a bad feeling something is happening back in Academy City." He looked out into the distance. It was dark and the only lights were from the camp or the moon and stars.

"And you want to be there to help out if it's true?" Zach asked knowingly.

"A lot of my friends are back there," Touma explained and then sighed. "But I'm needed here. Adam is a definite threat and I can't ignore him just because I think something is wrong at home." He made a fist. "Even if there is, my friends are strong. I believe they can handle it."

"It is possible you are feeling nervous because of the battle approaching," Zach suggested. "It is a pretty common occurrence." He paused. "However, I think you should trust your instincts. It's proven a valuable asset for you so far." Zach looked out across the camp too. "I'm not sure what you can do about it right now though."

"I can't really do anything," Touma admitted frustrated. "Sometimes, I feel people put me on some kind of pedestal because of my hand. I'm only a normal high school student. So what if my hand is abnormal, it's not like I can do everything. Yet, I somehow get dragged into dangerous situations with magicians, ability users, coups, and all powerful beings who want to revive an evil angel. Why do these things always happen to me?!" Touma heard Zach chuckle and turned to glare at him. "I'm glad you think my misfortune is funny."

"This misfortune of yours, is it how you attracted the princess?"

"I didn't try to attract her!"

"Really?" Zach asked skeptically, but then he grinned when Touma opened his mouth to refute him. "I think I believe you."

"Phew...," Touma sighed in relief. "Now if only everyone else would. There's no way the princess would be interested in me."

"Sorry, I meant I believed you didn't try to get her attention. I still think she has a thing for you and is working out how to make it aligned with royal procedures."

"You-…!" Touma spluttered. "Quit trying to give me a death sentence! If people overhear you, I'm as good as dead!"

"It's too much fun to stop though," Zach said with a chuckle and then raised an eyebrow. "I have to ask, do you feel better now?"

"Huh?" Touma asked and then paused. "Actually I do. You acted like some of my close friends do all the time, so for a moment I thought I was home."

"Sometimes if you are worrying about something you can't control," Zach explained. "Focusing on something else is the only way to move past it. This actually happens to a lot of us and it is one of the reasons we do whatever we can to keep our spirits up. Maybe your friends do it on purpose to get you riled up to help stop you worrying about things."

"Maybe," Touma muttered and shrugged. "I could see that being the case in a couple situations, but I think they mostly do it for fun."

"Want to see what the rest of your friends are up to?" Zach asked. "We got some time before we need to retire for the night. I hope you are an early riser, we move out at first light."

"Great...," Touma moaned. He would probably be up all night worrying about the impending fight. "Yeah, let's find them. I want to talk to them tonight." Zach led him through the camp and then looked around. He pointed out a camp site to Touma and they walked over. The area here was obviously Agnese forces' camp, because nearly everyone here was a battle nun. When Touma approached, he saw a lot of them turn to look at him, which only made him uncomfortable. _I wish they wouldn't stare._ Someone waved at him and he turned to see Ruiko. She was sitting at a table with Sister Lucia and Sister Angelene. Touma walked over to her, but Zach stayed back. He was planning to let them have a little privacy.

"Hey Touma," Ruiko greeted him happily. "Pull up a seat." Touma obliged and sat down to her left.

"We will be off," Lucia said and stood up. She tugged at Angeline's arm and they left Ruiko and Touma alone.

"Sister Angelene is really shy," Ruiko whispered to Touma, before they were sure the nuns were out of earshot. "And Sister Lucia is a little strict, but they are really nice once you get to know them. Is there a reason they always look embarrass when they see you?"

"No idea," Touma lied. There was a reason back when Agnese and some of her forces were being held prisoner by the Roman Catholic Church. Their clothes were magic seals and Touma's hand would destroy them on contact. Agnese experienced it first hand, but Touma was unconscious when the Amakusa used his hand to save the others. Lucia and Angelene must still remember having their clothes explode next to a guy. Ruiko raised an eyebrow skeptically, but to his relief she didn't pursue the subject.

"This whole thing feels like a dream," Ruiko told him and she gazed out into the distance. "I don't really know what to think. They are going to war against an all-powerful magician and here I am stuck in the middle unable to do anything." Touma saw her face darken.

"Are you okay Ruiko?" he asked concerned. She looked into his eyes and he saw her eyes watering slightly.

"They asked me the same thing," Ruiko told him softly, they meaning Lucia and Angelene. "I guess being nuns gave them some insight into people's feelings. I told them I was fine." Touma stared at her for a moment and something told him not to break the silence. Ruiko gripped her hands together and they started shaking. "I'm not," she finally admitted. "I'm scared. It's England all over again. What if we all don't make it through this? How many people are going to get hurt? I tried to keep my spirits up the entire way here, but now that we are right in the middle of everything, I can't control myself. I feel like I'm going to have a break down. I kept telling myself I wanted to get stronger to help out in these kinds of situations, but now, actually being in one, I don't feel I can."

"Ruiko," Touma said firmly and he reached over to put his hand on hers. "Listen, it's okay to be scared. We are students, not soldiers. I don't know how, but I promise we will all make it out of this. Our friends will be waiting for us back home. When we get back, let's make sure to celebrate with them."

"Heh," Ruiko sniffed and wiped her eyes with one of her hands, but made sure her left hand was still being held by Touma. "I want to. I miss them, especially Uiharu." Ruiko grinned slightly. "Her underwear always relaxes me." Touma felt his ears burn, but forced himself not to look away. "I don't know what to do with myself. I don't want to get in the way, but I don't want to feel like I did in England. Being stuck on the sidelines while everyone else fights with everything they have. I think it was worse than actually being out here. If I wasn't so useless-…"

"Stop that!" Touma interrupted her.

"Huh!?" Ruiko looked surprise at how forceful he was.

"You aren't useless," Touma told her and lowered his voice. He was aware a couple nuns had turned toward them for a moment. "Don't say that about yourself. We may not be able to move buildings or shoot lightning, but we still have our ways of helping. There are things you do that you may not even know you are doing. There are not many people that would be willing to go even this far for others. The fact you are here shows how strong you are. Since you are strong, there is always something you can do to help."

"How am I supposed to do anything against someone like Adam?" Ruiko asked. Her eyes had stopped watering, but she still looked depressed.

"No one said you have to fight him," Touma said quickly. "That would take an army. The knights and the church are going to take that role, but there's still stuff we can do. I don't have superhuman strength, but I still get into plenty of fights. My hand is really the only thing special about me and it has caused me no end of trouble. Heh," he laughed for a second. "It caused Mikoto to shock me more times than I can remember."

"I think there's a lot more to you than just your hand," Ruiko said. Touma looked at her and she actually smiled. "Even without your hand, I think you would have still found a way to help us if we needed it. I could imagine a lot of people with your hand who wouldn't go out of their way to help everybody. They would be too afraid of injury." She shook her head. "You are willing to risk everything for anyone, even a complete stranger."

"I'm kind of stubborn that way," Touma said with a chuckle.

"Can I ask why?" Ruiko asked.

"I'm not really sure why," Touma admitted. He had lost his memories of most of his past. "Maybe it's because a lot of bad things happen to me and I know what it feels like when someone doesn't help out. I hated that feeling of being ignored, so I don't want others to go through that."

"Heh," Ruiko laughed slightly. "I remember Misaka-san saying something like that once."

"I don't suppose the reason matters anymore," Touma added with a shrug. "I'm going to do everything I can to help anyone who needs it. Even if others give up, I won't."

"I guess you can consider that one of your other strengths," Ruiko pointed out. She suddenly felt bold and leaned up against his shoulder. Touma felt hot and looked away embarrassed. "I want to be able to do the kind of things you do."

"Don't strive to be like me," Touma replied. "I'm reckless, stubborn, and not very smart. Be the best person you can be and that will be more than enough."

"I still wish I could face danger calmly like you," Ruiko sighed. This wasn't true, but Touma was not planning to correct her. Touma wasn't a calm and collected person like she thought. He was a normal high school boy and fighting magicians and ability users always terrified him. Most fights he saw his life flash before his eyes. He couldn't tell her that right now though, because of how much she looked up to him. He was supporting her right now.

 _After this, maybe I should tell her. It might actually help her more in the long run._

"Thanks for letting me vent," Ruiko whispered. She was still leaning on him. "I'm still scared, but it's more manageable now. I think I just needed to talk to someone who could relate to my situation."

"Anytime," Touma reassured her and then he received a surprise. Ruiko's hand under his moved and grasped his tightly. If anyone was watching, and several nuns were peaking at them, they would look like a couple. Touma wasn't sure how to break the silence, but he also didn't really want to. It was one of the most peaceful moments he had since they arrived. For now, he was going to try to keep comforting her. He wasn't sure what would happen tomorrow.

"I still wish I could help with something," Ruiko whispered and finally broke the silence.

"Ahem," a girl coughed behind them. Touma and Ruiko instantly set up in their seats and let go of each other. They turned around in surprise to see the red braids of Agnese. "Sorry for intruding, but I couldn't help overhearing."

"Agnese?!" Touma exclaimed in surprise and then calmed himself down. "Sorry, didn't realize you were there."

"Did you think I wouldn't be camping with the rest of my forces?" Agnese asked. Touma noticed she looked a little red in the face.

 _She must have overheard us,_ Touma thought embarrassed.

"So, um, Agnese," Ruiko said, trying to find her words. "What brings you here?"

"I heard some of the others say you were wondering around so I came to see if you were okay," Agnese said to Touma and a pink tinge appeared on her face. "I mean," she added quickly. "The princess kept you back and there are a lot of rumors spreading around."

"Rumors, huh?" Touma muttered and turned to find Zach. He was off in the distance talking on a radio, but he caught Touma's eyes and winked. "I wonder why that happened. Seriously, I think most of the knights have the same kind of humor as my class." He rubbed the sides of his head.

"Males never grow up," Agnese told him. "Only their toys change. So why did the princess keep you back?"

"I want to hear what happened too," Ruiko added excitedly. This was the distraction she needed to keep her mind occupied and Touma felt the sweat form on his brow when he realized this. Ruiko noticed him hesitate. "Come on, spill the beans. We won't tell, right Agnese?" Agnese nodded and sat down across from them, before leaning in close to listen.

"It wasn't anything that important," Touma tried to say nonchalantly. He was trying to play it off, but the girls were having none of it.

"Suuure," Agnese muttered and rolled her eyes. "We won't let you go until you tell us."

"Tell us," Ruiko added and then grinned mischievously. "I'm sure Lessar and Birdway-san will want to know, maybe we should find them before you start?"

"No!" Touma cried and Ruiko giggled. It was obvious now she hadn't been planning to tell them. "That was mean! Fine, but it really wasn't anything I needed to talk about." Ruiko and Agnese leaned in closer. "Carissa was passing on a message from her mother-…"

"The Queen wanted to talk to you directly?" Agnese gasped, but managed to keep her voice down. Ruiko looked surprised too.

"Yes," Touma continued. "She mainly just wanted to thank me for coming to help out."

"That's it?" Ruiko asked, but she felt relieved. _I thought there would be something more, but if that's all, thank goodness._

"Several people heard shouting and then saw you run out of the command tent," Agnese prodded. "What else happened?"

"That was…" Touma tried to explain and trailed off. _How can I explain what happened? The Queen kept joking around about Carissa and I being a… which is impossible. I can't tell them that._ He saw Ruiko's expression turn slightly concerned and Agnese's eyes narrowed. "A complete fiasco now that I think about it. The Queen said some crazy things that Carissa took the wrong way. Because the Queen wasn't actually there, all her frustration was focused on me. I ran out of there to save my life and then Zach showed me around."

"Nothing else happened?" Agnese asked suspiciously.

"No," Touma lied quickly. "What did you think could happen?"

"There were signs," Agnese said slowly and carefully. "Then a rumor started to emerge that you and her…" She trailed off.

"What rumors?" Ruiko prodded. She normally loved rumors, but this time she felt like it was going to be one she wouldn't like. However, she realized deep down she needed to know. "I heard a couple of the nuns whispering, but I missed what they said."

"It was probably a rumor Zach's group started," Touma sighed. _I guess I should tell them._ "Please keep this a secret or I'm going to get in so much trouble." They both nodded. "The knights are under the impression…" he took a deep breath, "…the Queen is trying to push me onto Carissa."

"EHHH!? Agnese started to yell, but Ruiko and Touma covered her mouth simultaneously. When she managed to calm down enough to lower her voice, they moved their hands. "How is that possible?" Agnese whispered urgently. "For a princess to marry a kid from another country, that's unheard of. Marrying a common folk had occurred several times in history, but they always had been citizens of England. If they do marry someone outside of England, it's usually a political marriage. I wonder…" She trailed off in thought, but her face turned scarlet.

"It's not true right?" Ruiko asked trembling and turned to look at Touma.

"It's not," Touma answered and shook his head. Ruiko was still staring at him and her eyes were full of shock and fear. "You met the Queen once before. She likes to joke around and I think she likes pressing Carissa's buttons."

"Phew...," Ruiko sighed in relief. "If you did go with her, that means you wouldn't be able to-…" Her face turned scarlet and she turned away from Touma. "…um, return to Academy City. I bet she would keep you tied up in England."

"That might not be too bad," Agnese muttered softly, more to herself than the others.

"What?" Touma asked.

"Nothing."

 _I bet that's what the Queen said in their private meeting,_ Ruiko thought. _I saw a little bit of her teasing in England, but I didn't believe it could be serious. Even if she was trying to set them up, what matters is what Princess Carissa thinks. What would happen if she actually likes him? I don't think Touma would leave Academy City instantly, but there could be a lot of reasons why he would. Where would that leave me? What about Misaka-san, Shokuhou-san, and everyone else? Maybe I should tell him what Misaka-san told me. No, not now Ruiko. You can't give him any other distractions. After this is over, I should ask him. I really want to know what he thinks. Maybe he would even want to go out…_ Her face started to burn as she imagined actually asking the important question. She did it easily enough when they formally met so long ago, but it had been to make Mikoto jealous. This time, it would be for her own feelings.

"Are you finishing up?" Zach called over to them. "If it takes you this long per person, we aren't going to finish until after midnight."

"I should get going," Touma told Ruiko and Agnese as he stood up. "I'm glad I got to talk to you both before tomorrow. Ruiko, remember what I told you, okay?"

"Yeah," Ruiko replied with a nod. "Thanks, for everything." Touma turned to leave and managed to get halfway to Zach, when he felt a hand grab his sleeve.

"Hang on a moment," Agnese said and Touma turned around.

"What's wrong?" Touma asked.

"First," Agnese said slowly, as if she had to weigh every word. "I want to thank you again for everything you did for me and the others. You stopped us from making a mistake in Academy City, you saved us in Italy from our imprisonment, you helped us so much in England, and now this. I don't feel words are really enough to express my gratitude anymore."

"Nonsense," Touma told her and raised a hand. "I helped because I wanted to and a lot of other people were involved in those incidents too. You are a really caring girl Agnese, but there were people who misled you. I know you wanted to help people, so it was an easy choice to make. If you are ever in trouble, all you have to do is ask and I'll do everything I can to save you."

"There you go again," Agnese sighed. "It's making this easier, but more embarrassing." She took a deep breath. "After this is over, I want to talk to you privately. There are a few things I really need to discuss with you. Will you promise to find me when the battle is concluded?"

"Sure," Touma promised. "We will obviously win, right?" He held out a fist and Agnese looked at it for a second before she burst out laughing.

"Ever optimistic," she said with a grin. "Deal." She bumped his fist and then started to turn around, before she stopped. "Oh, I'll make sure Saten-san is able to help out, but far away from the front lines to avoid the fighting."

"Thanks," Touma replied. "I know I can count on you." Agnese turned away when she felt her face grow hot. Touma didn't notice, since it was dark and the lights of the camp didn't cover everything. He steadied his breathing and headed toward Zach. "I finished."

"I tried not to listen," Zach told him. This was true, mainly because a few other things had grabbed his attention. One was the girl, who Touma had called Imouto, had actually walked over and talked with Amelia, who was in the area. Zach could barely make out their expressions, but Amelia had looked skeptical, intrigued, and then concerned at Imouto's words. Zach's radio then went off and he was forced to spend a few minutes answering questions and checking up on other knights. Amelia and Imouto started to head off toward the command tent, which prompted Zach to call out to Touma. "But I did notice you were cuddling up to that black haired girl. Are you two dating?"

"N-no," spluttered Touma. _She does like me though and I consider her an important friend._ "We have been friends for a while, but we aren't like that. Ruiko's really nervous about the approaching fight."

"So you were providing a reassuring shoulder to lean on," Zach finished. "I understand completely. She actually seems like the most normal person in your group."

"I think she is the most normal out of all my friends," Touma said with a short laugh. "So, any idea where the rest of my group went?"

"There were a couple reports about some young ladies yelling at each other and causing a ruckus," Zach confirmed. "I figured they were with you."

"Of course they are," Touma sighed. "Lead the way." They headed through the Agnese Forces' camp to a tent that was a little further away. The tent looked like it had actually been moved twice. Touma heard a couple of the nearby nuns muttering about the 'new people fighting,' and he grew worried. There were three people in his group that could actually get into an argument that would annoy everyone around them, but he narrowed it down to two of them. When they were nearly upon the tent, he heard the two voices and his suspicions were confirmed.

"Quit throwing your crap everywhere. This isn't New Light's personal closet. I still can't believe they expect us to share a junk tent like this."

"Maybe you should untangle your panties and learn to relax."

"I'll untangle your panties with my foot! You are lucky they need every available personnel or I would have blasted you into the afterlife already."

"I would love to see you try. Why are you so upset anyways?"

"I'm annoyed I have to spend a night in a moldy tent like this and then, to top it all off, I have to share it with you, the slut who does anything for attention. Anyone else would be better."

"I don't do everything."

"Name one thing you won't do."

"I refuse to roleplay as a clown, that's just creepy."

"That's where you draw the line?!"

"Is someone grumpy because you can't share a tent with someone special?"

"I prefer my own tent. Privacy is important. Can't you take anything seriously?"

"I take a lot of things seriously. It's just a lot more fun pushing your buttons."

"And now my wand is going up your…!"

"Woah you two!" Touma yelled. He had finally reached the tent. He reached up to grab the entrance flap. "Your argument is bothering the others. Can't you two stop fighting for a day?"

"Stop!" Zach called out. "You need to wait until…!" It was too late. Touma touched the entrance and they heard the sound of breaking glass. Touma was so surprised, he stumbled slightly, and fell into the tent. He landed on all fours and the deafening sound of silence was his first warning something was wrong.

"Ow," Touma muttered. He had landed on his knees and the force stunned him for a moment. "Sorry for barging…" His voice trailed off when he looked up. "Oh crap." Lessar and Leivinia were staring at him, both looking as surprised as he was. There was one big difference between them though. Touma was fully clothed. The girls were not. Lessar was only in her underwear, while Leivinia had her top half completely exposed for a moment.

"You!" Leivinia growled furiously, but she grabbed the sheet on her bed to cover herself. Her face was as red as a tomato, as unyielding rage welled up within her.

"I didn't know it was my birthday," Lessar cheered and jumped on Touma's back. "Your surprise is great. How far are we going to go tonight?"

"We aren't going anywhere!" Touma thundered with his eyes closed. "Now get off me and please get dressed!"

"You can't come into our tent and give orders," Lessar reprimanded him while tightening her grip. "In fact, you should have to follow ours. There is a maximum dress code in this tent, so take off your clothes."

"Quit joking around!" Touma replied and tried to shake her off, while also trying to stand up. He opened his eyes and saw a hand holding a wand pointed directly at his face.

"You are either stupidly bold or just stupid," Leivinia seethed coldly. "Barging into my tent is one thing, but you seem to have the indisputable ability to do so at the worst possible time. Now, what do you have to say for yourself before I roast you alive?"

"Such misfortune?" Leivinia smiled evilly.

"Wrong answer."

Zach was standing outside the tent with his hand over his face. _I should have warned him. Most tents are protected by magic to avoid unwanted intrusion, especially when they house females._ His tent wasn't protected because Touma would negate it as soon as he walked through the entrance, like he just did a second ago. Now, he could only listen to their conversation and then took a couple steps back at Leivinia's words. _I should apologize for forgetting._

"AHHH!" Touma cried, as he scrambled out of the tent, with a seminude Lessar clutched to his back. A torrent of flames erupted from the tent a moment later and Touma was forced to spin around and used his right hand to negate it. He stumbled backwards and fell, which forced Lessar to jump off to avoid being squashed. Another jet of fire erupted from the tent, which burned away the entrance flaps, and Touma was forced to spin around on the ground and raise his right hand. The grass and dirt around him was seared by the intensity of the flame, but he was unscathed. "Birdway, it was an accident! I'm too young to become toast!"

"Maybe you should think about your actions before you waltzed into a maiden's tent," Leivinia replied and exited the remains of the tent. She had thrown on a shirt, but her wand was still pointing directly at Touma.

"Aww," Lessar laughed. "I appreciate your concern, but I like it when he comes and visits unexpectedly."

"Shut it," Leivinia snapped. "Or you're next." She walked over and Touma scooted back on the ground, but Leivinia was faster being on her feet. She stepped on his right wrist with one foot and then stuck the tip of her wand right up against his nose. "Now, how should I punish you? I don't think I have ever been that embarrassed before. All of my men know the consequences of barging in on me."

"Can we talk about this rationally?" Touma asked.

"You have three seconds to explain why I shouldn't fry you," Leivinia told him.

"That's not enough time to explain anything," Touma protested.

"Time's up."

"That wasn't even two!"

"What happened?" Zach turned around as five nuns ran up to him. Each one was wielding some type of weapon and had an alarmed look on their face. "We heard an explosion and someone yelling," one of them gasped. "So we came running."

"It's fine," Zach reassured them. "The Imagine Breaker boy found out why you have to announce yourself before entering a tent. The boss of the Dawn-Colored Sunlight is reprimanding him." He pointed and the nuns turned their attention toward Touma, Lessar, and Leivinia.

"Oh," another one of the nuns said and peered around Zach. "Can we stay and watch?" They had all lowered their weapons.

"I don't see your boss or mine," Zach said after he looked around. "So I don't see why not." He and the group of nuns from Agnese's forces continued to watch the scene before them.

"Don't be so hard on him," Lessar told Leivinia. "He only wanted to spend some intimate time with us."

"That makes it worse," Leivinia scolded her. "I might let him live with this being an accident, but if it was on purpose…" Her words trailed off and the grip on her wand tightened.

"It was an accident!" Touma explained before Leivinia could fire off a point blank jet of fire from her wand up his nose. "I heard you two arguing and it sounded like it was going to escalate." He closed his eyes when he felt the wand twitch slightly at the end of his nose. "I only wanted to stop the fight, I swear. I would never try to peek on girls, no matter how cute you are." Touma didn't hear anything after that. _Is it over?_ He gingerly opened an eye to see what the verdict was. Leivinia and Lessar were looking at him with a curious expression on their faces. It looked like they both had grown embarrassed, because there were pink tinges on their cheeks.

"Well," Lessar finally remarked and turned to Leivinia. "That settles it. I think we should drag him back into our tent and administer an appropriate rew…punishment."

"I don't normally agree with you," Leivinia commented and seemed to regain her composure. "But I will this time." She removed her wand from Touma's face. "Okay boy, get in that tent and you might be lucky enough to see tomorrow."

 _This is bad,_ Touma thought. _I am very unlucky._ He wasn't sure how to get out of this. On one hand, he had walked into both of them changing. This was entirely his fault and he knew it. If they wanted to punish him, they had every right to. The issue was, he didn't want to be stuck in a tent with both of them. Lessar would try something unladylike and Leivinia was an unknown entity to him. She seemed like she could act like Carissa and pull out a whip, but other times she seemed a lot like Mikoto. He wasn't sure what kind of punishment she would administer. He contemplated his choices and was about to settle on standing up and running away as fast as he could. However, he was saved before he was able to rise to his feet.

"Hang on ladies," Zach called out. He walked over to them and Touma finally noticed several nuns were watching them. "He has other obligations to attend to first. The only reason he is here was because he wanted to check up on you." He glanced at Lessar. "Are you planning to put on clothes?"

"Nah," Lessar replied dismissively. "It's too hot, so imagine it as a swimsuit."

"Humph," Leivinia scoffed. "A lackey like yourself dares to try to tell me what to do?"

"Of course not," Zach replied. "I am only following orders from the higher ups. If you disagree, take it up with them. We had a little time for him to visit you."

"I just might."

"You missed me that much?" Lessar asked. "Yay!" She jumped on Touma, as soon as he stood up. "I'll sneak into your tent tonight," she whispered. "And we can do what you wanted to do to us here."

"You mean talk?" Touma inquired. He knew full well what she meant, but he wanted to make his intentions clear.

"You're no fun," Lessar said with a pout and put her arms behind her back. "So what did you want to see us about?"

"I wanted to make sure you two were okay," Touma explained. "I wasn't sure how used to these kinds of battles you were."

"Aww," Lessar cooed and grabbed his arm. "You care about me that much?"

"I consider you a friend," Touma told her and a flicker of a pout appeared on her face. Zach had to try hard not to smirk.

"We walked into this with our eyes open," Lessar told Touma. "We understand what we have agreed to."

"You don't need to worry about me," Leivinia bragged haughtily. "My group is rather big, so we are used to this sorts of large scale battles. Adam's group isn't even that numerous, so the most we have to worry about is probably reanimated corpses, like St. Peter. Normally, a necromancer wouldn't be that big of an issue, but we have to consider the possibility Adam might be able to take his necromancy a step beyond what is normally achieved."

"What do you mean?" Touma asked. _Necromancy is always depicted as evil in the games I've played, but it's usually just skeletons and zombies. Could it be like some kind of infection that can spread to other people?"_

"Necromancers put a false soul into a body to animate it," Lessar explained. "The souls are usually slaves to the caster. The thing is, because the corpses are not alive, they don't have life force to refine mana. What they have instead is they appear to have superhuman strength."

"Appear?" Touma asked confused.

"The human body is only capable of exerting a certain level of strength," Zach elaborated. "We subconsciously put limits on ourselves to avoid going beyond what our body can handle. If we didn't, our muscles would tear and bones would break. Sometimes in an emergency, we can overcome the limits for a moment, but it's rare. The possessed corpses don't feel pain, so they are perfectly willing to do damage to themselves to accomplish their orders."

"So we treat them like durable people with enhanced strength," Touma muttered thinking. "And as corpses; they likely don't go down easily. Zombies in video games can be a pain to destroy." His eyes widened when he thought of something. _They are magical creations, so…_ He looked at the others. "If I touched one of those corpses with my hand, what would happen?"

"Look at you," Leivinia pointed out impressed. "Using your brain for once." Touma felt a twinge of annoyance. "Most likely, your hand will negate the connection the false soul has to the body and it will collapse into a harmless pile of flesh."

"You could have phrased that better," Touma groaned. That sounded disgusting to him. _I suppose that makes it easier than trying to punch it until it goes down. The next problem is, what about those missing people? Could… could Adam being bringing them in to turn them into corpses?_ Touma made a fist, but didn't say anything. There was no proof of that yet. Something Leivinia said swam to the front of his mind. "You said Adam might be able to go beyond normal necromancy. Can you tell me what that would mean?" Touma felt a shiver down his spine when Leivinia's face darkened.

"With what we have seen of Eve," Leivinia said slowly. "She can accomplish things we thought impossible without stepping into the domain of a magic god. We have to work under the assumption Adam is the same way. The worst case scenario would be if his necromancy would allow the corpses to keep the power they had when they were alive."

"Since St. Peter was a saint," Touma said slowly, as understanding took hold. "Would that mean he has powers similar to Kanzaki?"

"Even more so," Lessar said.

"St. Peter was actually in the presence of the Son of God and was known as the greatest apostle," Zach explained. "His miracles were almost as famous as the ones performed by the Son of God himself. He could cause people in flight to descend to earth, make dogs talk, heal the sick, and even restore the life of those who had died. It's believed that being in the Son's presence caused St. Peter to retain some of his divine power. If someone with that kind of magic is at Adam's disposal, even an army might not be enough."

"Does Carissa know?" Touma asked. "That wasn't mentioned while we were there."

"Actually it was," Lessar corrected him. "We talked about it a little before you woke up from your little nap. When you returned, we repeated a few things for your convenience."

"Oh."

"There's no point in worrying about it though," Leivinia said with a shrug. "We are going to win either way."

"She has a point," Zach added. "No need to stress yourself over a possibility. We already have precautions put in place. With the knowledge these two have," he gestured to Leivinia and Lessar, "added to ours, we should be able to handle any surprises."

"Okay," Touma sighed in relief. "I feel slightly better now. Both Lessar and Birdway are really skilled, so if they say it's under control, I believe them."

"Aww, Lover Boy admires us." Lessar clutched Touma arm tightly.

"Don't think you are off the hook though," Leivinia told him and pointed her finger at Touma. "After what you did, you still have to make it up to me."

"I promise to do anything to make up for my mistake," Touma promised. "So please don't attack me again."

"Good." Leivinia smirked and Touma felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. He was going to regret this, he knew it. "After we finish this little problem, I'll think of a way for you to repay me."

"I know how you can repay me," Lessar said happily. "We are definitely going to have a celebration after we win, but when the party is over, it won't end for us. You can-…"

"Not that," Touma said quickly and pulled his arm out of her clutch.

"Meanie."

"I believe we have one more of your companions to find," Zach interrupted after a cough and then turned to Lessar and Leivinia. "Have you seen the small blonde girl?"

"Frenda wondered off in that direction," Lessar directed.

"I heard her telling a couple knights their weapons were outdated," Leivinia added.

"What?!" Zach exclaimed and looked in the direction Lessar pointed. "Well, I guess she is headed to the munitions area. It should be easy enough to spot her." He turned to Kamijou. "You coming?"

"Ah, yes." Touma hurried to catch up and then turned around for a moment. "In case I don't get a chance, good luck." They nodded in response.

"I guess I should get some sleep," Leivinia yawned. "Even if the accommodations are barbaric."

"It would be better if you didn't burn it by overreacting," Lessar pointed out. The tent's door flaps were burnt off because of Leivinia's fire.

"That was a perfectly reasonable reaction," Leivinia refuted. "Not everyone is a slut who wants guys barging into their room when they are changing."

"And they are arguing again," Touma sighed exasperatedly. The girls' voices became softer the further away he and Zach walked. "Those two are like oil and water."

"They are more alike than you think," Zach snickered. "Especially their preferences."

"Huh?"

"Never mind." Zach instead pointed to a tent. "That's the supply tent. The munitions are given out in that attachment next to it, in case you ever need them."

"I don't think I will ever need to go there," Touma said quickly. "I don't think I could use a gun on bombs."

"Eh, just in case." Zach looked around. "I'll probably have to ask someone if they saw your friend. Not sure why she would be here though."

"Frenda has a lot of experience with weapons," Touma explained, but decided on the spot to gloss over the finer details. He wasn't sure what ITEM did was technically legal, even if they did work for some top people in Academy City. "From what Birdway said, I bet Frenda wants to increase the efficiency of your men's explosives. Do you think they would be okay with that?"

"Depends who she talks to I suppose," Zach answered with a shrug. "Most of us know about Academy City's advanced technology, including weapons. I wouldn't doubt there would be quite a few who would be willing to listen."

"So let's ask around-…" Touma started to say before he was interrupted.

 _Boom_!

"…or we follow the sound of that explosion," Touma finished.

"I like option two," Zach laughed. He and Touma headed off towards a roped off field, with several knights standing and watching several scarecrow like dummies positioned in the middle. There was another loud boom and two of the dummies disappeared in a fiery explosion. When they drew closer, Touma heard a familiar girl's voice.

"…and with this slight adjustment you can see the resulting changes in destructive force." One of the knights turned around and saw Touma and Zach. He stepped aside to let them pass and Touma confirmed who was talking. Frenda seemed to be lecturing the knights while holding a handheld missile in one hand and a grenade in the other. "You won't even need new equipment if you use the parts from these weak grenades. You might want to take a look at the C4 too… Kamijou?!" She suddenly noticed him. The rest of the knights turned around and nodded to Zach. Zach made a slight waving motion with his hand and they wandered off to give Touma and Frenda some time alone to talk.

"I'll wait over there with them," Zach said and pointed to three of the knights talking. Frenda waited until he was gone before turning back to Touma.

"What's up?" she asked. "I thought you would be stuck on the other side of camp."

"I think they were planning to do that," Touma admitted. "But I told Zach I wanted to check up on everyone. I was worried you might not be used to this."

"Y-you w-were w-worried a-about m-me?" Frenda stuttered and her faced turned scarlet. "B-basically, you shouldn't have. I'm a tough girl and this situation isn't completely unknown to me. The scale is slightly larger than some of my previous missions, but that only changes the tactical planning."

"Glad to hear it," Touma said honestly. After Ruiko's feelings, he was worried a couple of the other girls might have had similar feelings. Touma was not looking forward to tomorrow, but it was something he was going to have to do. The least he could do tonight was try to help his friends in any way possible. "So are you improving the knight's weaponry?"

"To an extent," Frenda confirmed. "There are limits to what one can do when you aren't starting from scratch with a schematic. Basically, I'm combining some of the weaker weapons into something that packs a lot more punch."

"Pretty impressive," Touma admitted and looked out at the small crater where her last explosive had hit. "I wouldn't be able to do anything remotely close to this."

"Of course not," Frenda huffed and stuck out her chest. "You have to have quite a bit of experience with these things. I originally only came here to stock up, since I only had a few missiles on me. Then I found out how antique their supplies were. I know Academy City technology is more advance than theirs, but I didn't think it would be that far. Sheesh, normal explosives wouldn't work on the knights in England, so I have been experimenting to improve mine. I'm not sure what Adam is going to throw at us, but I want to be prepared."

"I can't say I like what you do for Academy City," Touma admitted. "But it definitely prepared you for this. Anything that gives our forces even a slightly better chance survival should be done. Thanks for helping out."

"I was bored anyways," Frenda deflected with a shrug. She looked at Touma's face and her slightly embarrassed expression became serious. "What's wrong?"

"Huh?" Touma asked confused.

"Your expression betrays you," Frenda pointed out. "Basically, you are probably telling yourself you want to make sure we are okay, but I think it's really to alleviate your own worries. Do you know something we don't?"

"Not really," Touma replied. This was not entirely a lie, but he was also concealing part of the truth. Imouto had told him Last Order and Worst had disconnected from the network. She didn't seem to think it was that big of a deal, but the timing felt too coincidental. _I need to talk to Imouto again and see if she has any updates. I hate being in the dark like this._ "I can't shake the feeling something is happening back in Academy City while we are here. Though, it might only be because we can't get a cellphone signal out here."

"I actually have that feeling too," Frenda admitted.

"You do?"

"Being in a situation like this," Frenda explained. "Basically, unable to contact your group, it gives you additional stress. You can't be sure if something happened to them or they are in a position they shouldn't answer. It doesn't matter what you tell yourself, your brain will keep imagining the possibility. I keep thinking Mugino ran into something while I'm stuck here. She shouldn't have any difficulties, even if it is true, but I keep thinking about it." Her gaze softened slightly. "There's not much you can do about it, except try to stay occupied."

"I actually haven't been thinking about it as much since I started trying to find you all," Touma realized. "It was mostly back when I was lost in thought."

"Yeah," Frenda agreed. "It's going to be worse when you try to sleep. Your mind will start imagining all the horrible things you can't control. It takes practice to block them out." Frenda had actually been through enough missions for ITEM, she didn't really have any trouble falling asleep anymore. She would still get worried, but she never let the feelings distract her. She was used to it and actually enjoyed occasional destruction.

"I came to make sure you were okay," Touma said with a slight chuckle. "But then you go and reassure me."

"I'm more experienced that you," Frenda laughed superiorly. "Oh, I don't think the fight tomorrow will last very long anyways. Basically, we have an army and Adam probably only has a few skilled people. Break the barrier, take a step back, and let the professionals take care of everything."

"I'll leave it in your capable hands then Frenda-sama," Touma said and then gave a short bow.

"Sarcasm is not needed now," Frenda told him and kicked him in the shin. "Stop acting like Hamazura!"

"Ouch! Sorry." Touma hobbled away while Frenda turned and started working on the bombs. He didn't speak up until he was near Zach. "That's the last of them. Thanks for letting me see them tonight."

"Least we could do after forcing you to come and help us," Zach said dismissively. "If that's all, then I think we should retire." He stretched and yawned. "I would like a couple hours of sleep before a large scale life and death battle."

"You have a warped sense of humor," Touma muttered dryly.

"Worrying isn't going to do anything constructive," Zach pointed out.

"I guess that's true." Touma agreed bitterly. _He's right. I'm the one who's most out of their environment. I should trust these guys know what they are doing. I'll do whatever I can to help, but still… something still doesn't feel right._ "Can we find-…?" He was cut off as the radio on Zach's belt went off.

"Hold that thought," Zach ordered and raised a finger. "Zach here."

"This is Amelia Taylor," the person on the other end said. "Bring the Imagine Breaker to the command tent, now."

"Roger," Zach said. "But since you are not my direct CO, I need a reason for going."

"The fact I told you to is more than-…" Her voice stopped and another person spoke up. This voice caused Zach and Touma to straighten up instantly.

"You both have thirty seconds to arrive or else," Carissa remarked and the radio went silent.

"Let's move," Zach suggested to Touma, his face pale. Touma was not planning on arguing. Both of them knew what kind of fury Carissa was capable of if they did not follow her instructions. Touma especially did not want to anger her after their last brief encounter. That whip of hers would definitely scar him, physically and mentally. They rushed as fast as they could without full out running. A couple people looked at them, but they wouldn't slow down to answer questions. In no time, they arrived at the command tent. "We have arrived!" he announced and stepped in.

"Twenty nine seconds," Carissa said and glanced up from her watch. "Shame." Touma sighed with relief. He looked around at who was there besides Carissa and Amelia. To his surprise, he saw Imouto sitting in a chair next to Amelia. Imouto looked up at him and gave him a brief nod. On her other side sat William, who looked as stony faced as ever, and then George, who sat passively. No one else was there, so Touma figured Carissa wanted to keep this meeting private.

 _The others aren't going to be happy they weren't informed,_ Touma thought. _Especially Birdway._ "Err, can you tell me why I'm here? I thought we talked about everything already."

"Your friend decided to inform us about the happenings in Academy City," Carissa told him and pointed to Imouto. "She has been rather sketchy on the details on how she can communicate with your city, but the data she has given us seems to be authentic."

"Is this about why Last Order and Worst disconnected?" Touma asked Imouto. He had to try to keep his voice calm, but the worry and unsettling feelings he had were rushing toward the surface once again.

"Disconnected?" Amelia whispered to George, who only shrugged.

"Yes, Misaka confirms. After our talk, Misaka was monitoring the network's activity. We discovered onee-sama and her friend Shirai-san had been attacked by an individual going by the name of Juliet."

"Juliet?!" Touma nearly shouted. "What happened!? Are they okay!?"

"Calm down," George ordered him. "Listen to the entire story before you start shouting. It will save a lot of time and the ending is more pleasant."

"They are fine Misaka adds in attempt to relieve your fears." Imouto paused for a moment. "We did not see the entire fight, but onee-sama won in the end. She and Shirai-san managed to retreat back to their dorms, while Shokuhou-san entered a few moments afterwards. She looked quite tired. It was reasoned she must have fought someone too."

"So Eve's forces are attacking our friends while we are gone?" Touma realized. "What about Accelerator, Mugino, everyone else?"

"The moderator informed us Accelerator won his battle and they are heading back to their apartment, Misaka reports. We believed only the saviors' companions who went to England are the ones being targeted."

"Damn it," Touma muttered and made a fist. "Eve implied she was getting impatient last time she appeared."

"Wait a moment," George interrupted. "When was the last time she spoke with you again?"

"She appeared before me and Mikoto in Academy City a few days ago," Touma explained and realized he forgot to tell anyone except Jason and Motoharu. Part of him probably figured Motoharu would pass it around. "She was making Juliet apologize for attacking us. She did let it slip she was waiting for Adam to finish something." Touma frowned and thought back to the conversation. "Didn't the church tell you?"

"They mentioned Adam was in The Most Godforsaken Place on Earth," Carissa confirmed angrily. "They better not have been holding information out on us. Tell us what all she said."

"If she fails in gathering the wing," Touma explained. "And then Adam succeeds here, they have a backup idea. They plan to convert countless human souls into the remaining gem as a substitute. She wouldn't elaborate on Adam's plan or the spell."

"And you didn't think to tell us this before?!" Amelia demanded. It looked like she was planning to continue, but Carissa cut her off.

"Enough," Carissa said. "I can think of several reasons why the church didn't tell us this. Mark my words, I will be having a long talk with the Archbishop. However, there are a couple of issues I have with this information. One, I have not heard of any spell that can do that. Angels and humans are fundamentally different, but," she paused for a second and gritted her teeth, "Eve and Adam hardly follow normal rules. We must entertain the possibility. The second issue is her telling us this. Only fools tell their enemies their true plan. It almost sounds like she wanted us to find Adam. The question is, why?"

"This makes our theory of a trap so much more believable," George said.

"Did your contacts in Academy City have any other names of Eve's forces moving out tonight?" Amelia asked Imouto.

"And what about everyone else?" Touma asked quickly. "Mugino and her friends, Jason, Uiharu-san, Index, and sensei."

"Misaka had the others check in on them Misaka confirms in order to alleviate your fears. Mugino-san and her companions entered an apartment complex after what looked like a tough fight, based on their clothes. Kagere-san, Uiharu-san, and Komoe-san were not attacked. Index is currently in your dorm with the girl named Itsuwa from England."

"Itsuwa is watching Index?" Touma asked confused and then sighed with relief. "Index should be fine then for now."

"As for the names of the rest of Eve's forces Misaka continues to address your questions." She turned toward Amelia. "The only name Misaka knows is Cain and he was the one Accelerator defeated."

"Bullshit," Amelia scoffed. "Cain's supposed to be a vampire and then it was confirmed it was actually him. You expect us to believe a kid from your city has that kind of power?"

"I will vouch for him," William spoke up unexpectedly. This caused everyone's heads to turn toward him.

"Explain yourself," Carissa ordered. "I met him a couple times, but only saw his power once. He could knock me backwards with a single touch, but it wasn't like he could do any damage."

"He was most likely tired from the fight with me earlier," William explained. "I was still working for the Roman Catholic Church and I had orders to capture the Imagine Breaker."

"Why?" Touma asked incredulously. "I know Vento tried and you took her away, but why do you want me?"

"Fiamma said your hand was the last thing we needed in order to save mankind," William said and looked right at Touma. "I have begun to believe he has not been fully honest. That is why I have returned to England."

"We know that blasted church is after him," Carissa interrupted impatiently. "Now explain the other boy's power."

"He was able to overcome my abilities as a Saint combined with the power of God's Right Seat," William elaborated. "With a single touch, he reversed the flow of blood in my body. A normal human would have exploded from the change." Touma had to suppress a little nausea as he remembered what Accelerator did to the other clones. "Near the end, his power overwhelmed me completely. If the third princess did not intervene, I would have died." Touma gritted his teeth and made a mental note to talk to Accelerator about that. "When he and I fought against you, neither of us was at full strength."

"Do you think he would be capable of killing Cain?" George asked.

"It would be hard to say," William admitted. "We can hardly say we understand vampire physiology. We only know the rumors. While it is true Cain was reported with monstrous amounts of mana, I don't think that would be enough to take down the one known as Accelerator. He has a certain power, if mastered, would probably allow him to win."

"What kind of kids is that city producing?" Amelia muttered.

"Heh," George chuckled. "You weren't on the receiving end in London. You would have understood what kind of kids they are." Touma was about to say something to protest his friends were unusual, but two things stopped him. One, they were kind of right. The second, and most importantly, a thought occurred to him.

 _Wait,_ Touma thought. _Imouto said Accelerator and Mikoto were attacked for sure, and only Misaki and Mugino looked like they just came from a fight. Could Eve only be going after the level 5s? Why would that be? Maybe Eve considers them a threat after England and Italy. Cain was supposed to be one of her strongest soldiers, so if Accelerator beat him, it would only confirm her beliefs. As soon as I left, she attacked them…_ "Damn it," he muttered. "Eve must have been waiting for me to leave the city to attack."

"We figured that already," George reassured him. "Why do you think reinforcements were sent?"

"Should we let Lessar and Birdway know about Eve's moves" Touma asked. "They would be upset if they are kept out of the loop."

"I don't believe we need to tell them anything," Carissa scoffed. "New Light has members providing extra security and they probably contacted her already. As for the Dawn-Colored Sunlight leader… I wouldn't doubt she already has spies in Academy City. Anyway, this doesn't concern them at this point. If we stop Adam here, Eve will no doubt suffer a serious setback. We can then focus all of our resources on defeating her."

"Doesn't concern them?" Touma gasped. "Lessar is friends with a good many of them." He couldn't say that about Birdway because she didn't know the rest of his friends nearly as long.

"What she means is," George elaborated. "Was that the information would not be important right now. They can't do anything with it, even if we made sure they knew. Right now, we have our own task at hand and it has to be completed."

"We weren't even going to tell you," Amelia admitted. "If it wasn't for her." She pointed towards Imouto. "She is very loyal to you."

"What did you do?" Touma asked Imouto confused.

"Misaka promised to let you know what happened with the moderator Misaka reminds you. However, Misaka also had the thought the information might trouble you, so Misaka decided to talk to the COs' of the army. They wanted to keep it a secret from you for the same reasons. You might be so focused on what happened back home, you wouldn't be able to concentrate here. This could lead you to getting hurt. Misaka wrestled with her own desires and her promise to you. In the end, Misaka chose to keep her promise. They debated keeping Misaka from telling you by force Misaka mutters angrily." Her tone of voice didn't change at all and everyone heard it.

"It was only under consideration," George remarked dismissively.

"Thanks for taking my feelings into consideration," Touma told Imouto. "And thanks for keeping your promise." He then turned to the others and steeled his resolve. "I am worried about them, but they are fine now. We have a more pressing matter here. An entire continent is suffering because of Adam. I can't ignore it to run back home. I'm going to focus on the task at hand with everything I have. He will be stopped tomorrow and I won't stop until we win."

"Heh," Carissa muttered and a trace of a smile formed on her lips. "That's good to know. Maybe now the nonbelievers can brush aside their doubts." Her gaze fell on Amelia.

"I suppose he seems serious enough," Amelia conceded. "All that is left is to see how reliable he is."

"I trust you won't be disappointed," George told her.

"You are all dismissed then," Carissa announced. "We move out tomorrow morning. Make sure all your affairs are in order." Touma turned around and was prepared to leave with Zach and Imouto, when Carissa spoke up again. "Oh, you need to stay behind." For a moment, Touma thought she was speaking to him, but when he turned back toward Carissa, she was pointing toward Zach. "I have something to ask you."

"What is it ma'am?" Zach answered and snapped to attention.

"I heard an interesting rumor start to spread from a couple of knights and they all claimed it originated from you." Zach's face paled and Touma saw his chance to escape. He grabbed Imouto's wrist and dragged her out of the building as fast as he could. Because he had his back to her, he didn't notice her blush.

 _I knew those rumors would only get someone in trouble. I'm surprised it wasn't me this time._ Touma only stopped when they were far enough away from the tent to avoid any backlash from the conversation about to take place. Touma realized he was still holding onto Imouto and let her go. "Err, sorry about that."

"It was not an issue."

"Thanks for working so hard to keep your promise with me," Touma said again. "It means a lot. I understand why you went to them before telling me too."

"Misaka was worried you might be a little upset she went to them first, Misaka admits relieved. Onee-sama's safety also worried the entire network. You kept your promise with all of us, Misaka adds remembering the Level 6 experiment, so Misaka should too."

"Anyone would have done the same thing if they were in my position," Touma said and rubbed the back of his head embarrassed.

"They would not Misaka corrects you. Plenty of people ignored the ethical implications of the experiment."

"Yoo-hoo," A familiar cheerful voice called out. "Come over here you two!" Touma and Imouto turned to see Oriana waving to them with one hand while holding a canned drink in the other. Touma and Imouto shared a quick glance and walked over to her.

"Hello," Imouto greeted Oriana.

"Oriana-san," Touma said surprised. "I didn't realize you were still here. You weren't at any of the meet-…"

"Onee-san," Oriana pouted and crossed her arms.

"Sorry, onee-san."

"I don't really like those debriefings," Oriana explained. "Too many important people breathing down my neck. They always think they know what's best."

"Why are you still here? Misaka questions to discover your reason for staying."

"Are you going to be part of the assault?" Touma asked.

"Nope," Oriana answered and wave her hand. "I'm not really suited for large scale battles, being a simple courier and all. After you all defeat Adam, there is a chance he may have some object or objects that needs to be brought to certain people immediately. They have asked me to stay behind in case of that possibility. I'm getting paid regardless if they find anything or not, so it's not a big deal." She sipped her drink.

"No wonder you look so relax," Touma pointed out and she grinned.

"If you find yourself stressed out," offered Oriana. "Come and visit my tent. Onee-san will teach you a great many things on how to relax." She grinned and leaned forward.

"I'm good," Touma replied quickly. "Thank you though. We should get going Imouto." He grabbed her hand and Oriana waved goodbye to them. There was a reason he declined. His body was telling him to say yes with every fiber of his being and, if he stuck around, he would lose to the temptation against the attractive Oriana.

"If she has a way for you to relax, wouldn't it be a good idea to visit her? Misaka questions because the savior looks stressed out."

"It's probably going to end up being more stressful," Touma sighed. "It's like when Lessar says it will help me relax."

"Speaking of Lessar, Misaka learned many things from her already Misaka admitted."

"No!" Touma cried. "Forget what she taught you. Lessar has a very warped sense of proper mannerisms."

"If you desire it, Misaka will comply." Imouto, however, decided to keep the memories and sort through what would be considered proper later.

"We should get to sleep soon," Touma told her. "Zach said we are going to have to get up early. Good night Imouto."

"Good night."

* * *

Back in Academy City, Mikoto and Kuroko had managed to return to their dorm undetected. Kuroko had been able to teleport around the security systems and through the window. Both of them changed out of their wet clothes and tried to dry off as much as possible, but they were distracted. Mikoto had been trying to contact Ruiko, Misaki, and Touma, while Kuroko tried to reach Kazari and Jason. Mikoto pretended she had reached Accelerator and learned that he was fine. This was so she didn't have to explain the Sisters. "Shokuhou is not answering," Mikoto muttered bitterly. "Saten-san's and Touma's are going straight to voicemail."

"Neither of them are answering either," Kuroko said angrily and threw her phone on her bed. "Juliet can't have been serious about them." Kuroko turned and glared at Mikoto. "Why did you have to bring her back with us?" She gestured to the metal ball sitting on Mikoto's desk. "For all we know she could be biding her time." Kuroko grabbed her hair in frustration. "You should have thrown her away!"

"I can't," Mikoto answered through gritted teeth and put down her phone. "We can't take someone's life or we will become like them. This way, I can keep watch over her and besides," she sighed. "Kagere-san deserves to be told what happened and he should be the one to decide what we do with her."

"I suppose," Kuroko muttered reluctantly and then turned to face Mikoto. "How are you so calm? Our friends could be fighting for their lives, or worse."

"I'm not calm!" Mikoto retorted. "Of course I'm worried, but there's nothing we can do right now. I can barely generate electricity and you need to rest too. If we go charging blindly, we are only going to put ourselves and possibly our friends' lives in danger." Mikoto blinked and stared at Kuroko. "Is something wrong?"

"Huh?"

"You have been acting different since Juliet was defeated," Mikoto explained slowly. "You seem to be avoiding eye contact and I can't recall seeing you this angry."

"Of course I'm angry," Kuroko snapped. "Our friends could be dead! I think it's weirder that you are managing to appear so calm."

"Do you think I like this?!" Mikoto demanded. "I hate sitting here helpless and hoping I'll be able to learn something about what has been happening! Touma used to do this to me all the time!"

"It's always about that ape," Kuroko snarled. "We were supposed to be best friends and you tried to hide your relationship with him forever. I share everything with you, but you hide so much from me!"

"The only things I don't tell you are very personal," Mikoto replied. "Or if it would get both of us in a lot of trouble. I do it to protect you!"

"Maybe I don't want to be protected!" Kuroko yelled. "I thought we were friends, but maybe it's only one sided!"

"Wait!" Mikoto cried, but Kuroko didn't bother to listen. She turned around and walked into the bathroom before slamming the door behind her. Mikoto heard the lock click. _What… what the heck was that about? How did we get from worrying about the others to Kuroko saying we weren't friends?_ Mikoto paced back and forth in her room for a minute before she decided what to do. She was about to bang on the bathroom door and make Kuroko talk to her, when her phone rang. She turned around instantly and dove for it. _Huh, I don't know this phone number._ She flipped her phone open. "Hello?" she asked tentatively.

"Hi Miisssaakkkaa!"

"Shokuhou?" gasped Mikoto.

"Yep," Misaki laughed. "I figured you are wondering why my number is different. My bag was destroyed in a small skirmish with a person. I lost my phone, along with several of my favorite remotes. A friend is letting me borrow hers until I can get a new one tomorrow."

"I'm so glad you are okay," Mikoto said and tears began to well up in her eyes. "We couldn't contact you and the others, so I thought the worst..." She sniffed.

"I'm fine Misaka," Misaki reassured her. "I'm just a little tired. Thanks for being worried about me though. I didn't think we were that far in our relationship yet."

"Shut up," Mikoto sniffed again. "We are friends, so this much is normal."

"I suppose we are," Misaki relented. "But we have something important to discuss. I take it you were attacked too?"

"I was," Mikoto confirmed. "Juliet said Eve's forces were hunting us down and then," Mikoto took a deep breath, "Juliet received a message from someone. She said Eve captured Kagere-san and Uiharu-san was killed. We can't reach either of them, Saten-san, or Touma. I managed to defeat Juliet, but I lost control and almost killed her. I tried to capture her, but she wouldn't surrender and her shadow body was nearly destroyed. The only bit left is sealed up in a metal ball. I'm scared the others are hurt, Kuroko is acting weird, and I'm almost powerless right now. I can barely use my electricity."

"Calm down," Misaki commanded soothingly. "Listen, there is a lot we need to talk about, but not over the phone. I learned a lot about Eve's plan and I have come up with a couple theories. This can wait. Right now, we need to find out about Kagere-san and Uiharu-san. I can tell you Touma and Saten-san was not attacked."

"How do you know?" Mikoto asked.

"I tried to contact Touma, but his phone was out of range," Misaki explained. "So I asked an old friend of mine and she told me he left the city a couple hours before this all started."

"Why?"

"It probably has to do with the other side," Misaki explained cryptically. "After all, he was with Lessar, and a young blonde haired girl with short hair. Plus Frenda and Saten-san, but I think they tagged along when they spotted him."

"Saten-san is with them?!" Mikoto asked in shock.

"It seems Frenda dragged her along."

"Of all the times to go off on his own," Mikoto mumbled. "He had to choose tonight. At least they avoided the fighting here."

"I think Eve planned this," Misaki said seriously. "She waited until he was called away. I doubt he even had a choice in the matter if it dealt with the other side."

"True," Mikoto agreed. "Can your friend find out what happened to the others?"

"I'll ask," Misaki promised. "And let you know what I find out." She paused for a moment. "You shouldn't listen to what Juliet said. I'm sure it was only to rile you up. Actually, I'm positive and I'll explain everything tomorrow. Try to get some rest."

"Thanks," Mikoto told her. She meant every word. "Thanks a lot."

"Anytime," Misaki said and hung up. Mikoto threw her phone on her bed and sighed.

 _Touma and Saten-san are okay,_ Mikoto thought and, for the first time since they arrived, she felt better. _Shokuhou is right. Juliet lets her emotions get the better of her and says things to rile us up. Kagere-san would never let anything hurt Uiharu-san, so I bet they are fine._ She relaxed the more she talked herself through her feelings. _I'll wait until I hear back before I do anything else. This will give me time to recover and talk to Kuroko… Kuroko, what is wrong?_ She walked over and pounded on the door. "Kuroko? We need to talk." She waited and there was only silence. "Kuroko?! Come out! Please. Don't make me come in there!" Still nothing and something clicked inside her. She reached for the door handle and used a tiny bit of electricity to move the lock. Her head hurt, but it wasn't enough to make her stop. She pushed the door open and barged into the bathroom.

There was no sign of Kuroko.

Mikoto looked around to make sure Kuroko wasn't trying to hide and then walked over to the window. _She wouldn't…_ Mikoto looked out the window. The rain was coming down heavily and lightning crackled in the distance. The storm was not going to let up anytime soon. "Kuroko," Mikoto mumbled. "What happened to you?" She didn't know what to do. It was obvious what occurred here. Kuroko only pretended to hide in the bathroom to avoid further argument and then teleported outside. The issue now was, Mikoto had no idea where she was going. _It's not safe with Eve's forces roaming the streets. What should I do?_ She exited the bathroom and tried to think, but she began to panic again. A sudden knock on the door caused her to jump.

"Misaka-san?" a sharp female voice said. "Shirai-san? Keep it down. Several people reported you two yelling about something."

"Sorry ma'am," Mikoto said without opening the door. _Crap, it's the dorm supervisor. Please don't ask to come in._

* * *

Kuroko was teleporting through the empty street in the middle of the storm.

She was cold, wet, and shivering, but it was her mind that was hurting her the most. _Why was I so upset at her? She was right, but when I looked at her, I suddenly felt furious._ She thought about Mikoto's stunned face at her outburst and felt a sick sense of satisfaction. For some reason, she enjoyed Mikoto looking shocked and hurt. It wasn't like her, but the feeling couldn't be suppressed. She stopped teleporting for a moment and stood in a daze in the middle of the sidewalk. She hadn't been paying attention to where she was going. All she cared about was getting out of the dorm. _I need to find the others, but how? She's not going to look for them and is content to sitting in our dorm useless._ Kuroko blinked at her own thoughts. They were so unlike her, but that was how she felt.

Kuroko tried to understand why her feelings for Mikoto changed. It was true she had been conflicted when she realized she liked Jason too, but she still had feelings for Mikoto. She had even believed she had accepted Mikoto was in love with Touma instead of her. Kuroko took a few steps and leaned up against a dark building. The only source of light was from some streetlamps and a couple signs high above her. She was breathing heavily and then shivered. _I dried myself off and now I'm soaked again._ Being away from Mikoto allowed Kuroko to actually think rationally and the anger she had felt begun to fade slightly. _Why was I so angry? I should be used to dangerous situations like this. Even when my friends are in danger, I'm not usually this stupid, reckless yes, but not like this._ She tried to remember what Mikoto said to make her so upset.

At the thought of Mikoto, her brain suddenly started beating like a drum.

Kuroko suddenly relived the countless times she had embraced Mikoto, whether she was willing or not. In their room, at school, and even in the shower, anywhere was fine. It had been one of the ways Kuroko showed her love, through constant, intimate, physical contact. Most of the time, Mikoto responded to her advances with electrical shocks, punches, or kicks. Kuroko had always believed Mikoto was only shy and those attacks were just a sign of her hidden love. Kuroko even remembered all the times they had stayed up late and talked about all sorts of things. She had always believed they were best friends and would share everything. They didn't have to keep secrets from each other. The few times Mikoto went through a very personal struggle, it had hurt Kuroko, but she still did everything she could to cheer Mikoto up.

Now, all those memories gave her different feelings.

Kuroko felt angry and resentful at Mikoto. Kuroko had been honest at expressing her love and affection, but Mikoto had only scoffed at her and resorted to violence. Mikoto pretended to act nice to her, but would constantly complain about Kuroko and talk behind her back to the others. Even when Mikoto was with the ape, she would constantly attack him. It was like Mikoto couldn't resist her violent nature. All the conversations they had now made her feel disgust. She had shared everything, while Mikoto kept secrets. All the memories Kuroko had held so close to her heart were now causing her pain and anguish. She felt like she hated Mikoto, even though, rationally, she knew this wasn't true.

Her brain and heart were telling her two completely different things.

And it was tearing her apart.

Kuroko didn't know what to do and pushed herself off the building. Tears started running down her face and mixed with the rain. She stumbled down the street and turned a corner. Her feelings could not be controlled and she was on the edge of vomiting. No matter what she told herself, every time she thought of Mikoto, the feeling of hatred, disgust, and disdain welled up from deep within her. Kuroko had no idea why this was happening and she felt like screaming. She was about to when she looked up and saw someone. She blinked and wiped her eyes to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. She knew the person who had just gotten off the bus. It was then she realized where she had been running to unconsciously. Kuroko teleported over and he turned when he noticed her.

"Kuroko?" Jason asked confused. "What are-…?" Before he could finish Kuroko embraced him tightly and looked up at him. Tears were flooding down her face and her expression was grim.

"Help me," she whispered and buried her face into his chest.

Jason blinked and instinctively wrapped his arm around her. His shadow had been above him like an umbrella and he increased the radius to shield Kuroko from the rain. His shadow was how Kuroko had known it was him from a distance. He had no idea what was happening either or why Kuroko was outside in the rain without a coat or umbrella. He had never experienced something like this, so he had to resort to knowledge gained from reading manga. When a cute, crying girl he knew ran up to him in the rain and asked for help, there was only one option available to him.

He took her back to his apartment.

* * *

Touma parted ways with Imouto and headed back to his tent. He was feeling conflicted now over many things. First, he was worried what was going to happen to Zach when Carissa finished with him, but the other part thought he kind of brought it on himself. The second, and more important, was what had happened back in Academy City. Touma had no doubt Eve waited until he left and this led to even more questions. He laid down on one of the two cots in Zach's tent and looked up at the ceiling. _Why would my presence in Academy City prevent her from doing whatever she wanted? She knows more about my hand than I do, so it should be easy for her to avoid me if she wanted to. In order to get the wing, she would have to persuade…_

He sat up on the cot and hit himself on the forehead.

 _She's after Kazakiri-san,_ he thought. _Maybe Eve doesn't want me to be there so she can convince her. As long as Mikoto is there, Kazakiri-san will have someone to talk to. She promised not to agree to anything for Eve without talking to us. Kazakiri-san knows Eve can't be trusted and there's a possibility Eve won't be able to find her until I return._ He slapped his face with both hands. _My friends won't let Eve do what she pleases and the church sent back up. They will be fine. I need to focus on the task at hand and then catch up on what Eve has been doing when I get back. Too many people are relying on me._ He laid back down on the cot and tried to calm his mind. He wasn't having much luck, but at least he was resting his body, even if his mind was working in overdrive. The door to the tent opened and Zach walked in.

"Good," Zach commented when he saw Touma. "You're here. I wasn't entirely sure where you would end up."

"You're the one who said we had to retire early," Touma pointed out.

"Doesn't mean you listened," Zach laughed and started changing.

"Err," Touma asked. "How bad did she chew you out about the rumors?"

"It was more like an interrogation," Zach responded and all amusement left his voice. "I didn't spread the rumors and, I mean, who can really tell where rumors originate from?" He shrugged and Touma felt himself grinning.

"Definitely not those guys playing cards, right?"

"Definitely not." Both of them chuckled for a moment and Zach laid down on his cot.

"How will we know when to get up?" Touma asked.

"Someone will play a trumpet," Zach muttered and turned onto his side. "If you don't hear it, I'll knock you out of your bed."

"Could you not do that?"

"I won't if you wake up," Zach told him and laughed.

"Great...," Touma muttered and tried to sleep. About fifteen minutes passed and he was no closer to a restful night's sleep then he would be walking around. He shifted around in the cot and tried to get comfortable. It wasn't luxurious in anyway, but it was a lot softer than his bathtub. He also had a thin sheet, but it wasn't like he planned to use it. The nights in Australia were still much hotter than he was used to. _At this rate, it will be morning before I get any sleep._ He opened his eyes when he heard soft footsteps right outside his tent. The tent flap was pushed aside and someone slipped in, but it was too dark to see who. _Oh crap, it's Lessar. I didn't think she knew where I was sleeping._ The girl slipped quietly onto his cot and laid next to him. At this distance, Touma could recognize the short brown hair. "Imouto?" he whispered softly, as not to wake Zach.

"Ah, Misaka did not mean to wake you Misaka apologizes embarrassed." She took the cue from Touma and kept her voice low too.

"What are you doing here?" Touma muttered, as he glanced over at Zach. The only reason he didn't yell out was he didn't want to wake all the nearby knights. This situation would be tough to explain. "Actually, first, how did you find my tent?"

"Misaka decided to follow you and made note of your location Misaka explains softly." She fidgeted and scooted up closer next to Touma. The cot was made for a large man, so they could both fit on it without much trouble.

"Why did you sneak in?" Touma whispered. "Is something wrong?"

"Misaka was lonely Misaka admits. The others are bunking two per tent, but Misaka had to go by herself."

"Okay," Touma conceded. "But why mine?"

"It would be very embarrassing to spell out the reason Misaka answers with a disapproving tone in her voice. Does the savior not want to spend the night with me? Is Misaka unpleasant to be around?"

"That's not it," Touma quickly refuted. "It's just a boy… and a girl in one bed like this…" He trailed off and felt his ears burned. It was hard to use words. These kinds of things were supposed to be common sense.

"Misaka understands Misaka says in a calming tone to sooth the savior's worries. Misaka will not try any of the activities Lessar told her about before coming here. Will you let Misaka stay? I really don't want to leave." Touma noticed her saying 'I' and suddenly felt weird, like nervousness and pride combined together. Imouto had told him how each of the Sisters were trying to become unique individuals, rather than a collective.

"Just let her stay," Zach muttered. "Then keep quiet, I'm trying to sleep."

"Fine," Touma relented. As long as she wasn't going to do anything, he could let her stay. The thought of what would happen if Imouto was spotted leaving his tent in the middle of the night was sure to cause some problems, but the thought of what would happen if she was caught in the morning was dangerous too. He thought about it and decided they could come up with a better excuse in the morning for her being there. "But we need to sleep. Tomorrow is going to be busy."

"You can say that again," Zach mumbled and fell back asleep. He had woken up the instant Imouto opened the tent, but, since she wasn't a threat, he went back to sleep.

"Thanks." There was actually a trace of happiness in her voice this time. Imouto snuggled her head up against his shoulder and closed her eyes. Her stomach was in knots, but she felt happy. She loved how warm Touma felt against her and how safe him being in the same room made her feel. It completely overshadowed the dark secret she held. Imouto had promised the Misaka Network she would share all information with them on Touma. However, before she snuck into his tent, she had pretended to fall asleep and disconnected. Right now, she was all by herself with the only person who could make her feel this way. The last time she felt her heart beat this rapidly and her stomach churned so violently, Touma had been the one to say she was special. All of the Sisters were unique, they were not dolls to be discarded. Now, they were all working on finding themselves, including her. Imouto gave into her selfish desire.

She wanted this moment all to herself.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Pierce: So after this chapter, three guys are all going to get some snu-snu. Why are we friends with popular people?**

 **Motoharu: It's thanks to our guidance they all found themselves with harems. We suffer so others may be happy.**

 **Pierce: Screw them all, I want a harem!**

 **Motoharu: Hold that thought, the Level 5s have arrived.**

 **Mikoto: I got a small scene, but won't get any more for a bit.**

 **Misaki: But I like how you called us friends.**

 **Accelerator: Whatever, now I can get some rest. We defeated all of Eve's commanders so she is probably running scared.**

 **Pierce: Technically, you didn't win Accel-kun.**

 **Shizuri: Huh, what do you mean?**

 **Accelerator: Don't you dare!**

 **Motoharu: He didn't defeat Cain, someone else had to do it for him.**

 **Shizuri: HAHAHA! Loser!**

 **Accelerator: I'm going to murder you all.**


	93. SS: White Day

**Well this is my second omake, or we might as well call it an SS because of the length. Mr? was very persistent. As I said before, I didn't want to do a Valentine Day one because it has been overdone way to much. Whatever I come up with would be very similar to what others have done over the years, and I felt like the readers deserve something different. We all have read the thousands of girls chasing Touma around all day to give him chocolates, so now it is time for him to return the favor. Some of you already knew what the day was going to be. Thus, as the title said, this is White Day. For those unfamiliar with it, think of it as the opposite of Valentine's Day. A more detailed explanation is in the start of the story below. Poor Touma, he has so many problems and not just his. His alter ego also has a short appearance which only adds to his great misfortune. I know I promised to release the chapter on 3/14, but the chapter started the day before, so I figured, I'm going to release the chapter the day before.**

 **I will also be eating pie on 3/14 too.**

 **Now, let's move to comments.**

 **Eurigos: Sorry, this is a side story. You will have to wait a little longer for the Australian battle.**

 **Brosephg: I'm having fun with Levinia and Lessar, members of magic groups, but completely different. Well, if something bad happened to Touma EVERY time he walked through a door, it would be obvious. It can only happen most of the time. Mikoto and Kuroko's argument won't be going into detail for a while, but some people seemed to have an idea what happened. This story is also not rated M, so your twisted mind probably went too far. I always felt Kuroko's feelings were more admiration then love, so I played off that. Touma mentioned that a long time ago when he was on vacation the first time. I can't even find a small hole in the LN for a Mikoto x Kuroko relationship. They are good friends for sure though.**

 **vietnamese guy: Power does not equate to knowledge. Since Eve's memories pass from one life to another, she would have memories and experiences long before the others. Index in the LNs said magic was created for the people without talent to compete against those with talents. That means men had to have been created for magic to be created and magic gods to exist. If Eve and Adam were the first people, they would have knowledge others do not. The Novel with the flashback occurred after Othinus yes, but the actual time period happened before in it. We all are looking forward to what Carissa will do to our poor misfortunate boy. Maybe her mother will help out.**

 **anand891996: I'm going to keep imagining you are British when I read your comments. Glad you caught the 'I' in a later comment. I was so confused when I saw that the first time. I had the same problem remembering what happened in Australia, but jumping back and forth between AC and the outback was going to be even worse.**

 **general ironox: He knows a little bit, but he's going to have to wait until he gets back to get the entire story. You were correct about the holiday.**

 **Jujudude: There original task by the doctor was to start developing their own personality. No idea about Ruiko. She just finds herself in the middle of everything.**

 **Whwsms: First song someone put as a comment. He got to sleep in a bed with like six very attractive girls. He has good memories. The fight with Adam is just a boring plot fight to finish and head home to talk about his conquest. Imouto is smart. Now the rest of the Sisters won't know what happened.**

 **Anon Guest: Touma punches are serious business. I've actually started on the fight. Many things happened, even at the beginning.**

 **Salishious: Oriana is probably the greatest girl. She can single handedly break through Touma's defenses. She was willing to kiss him on the forehead in canon and he said yes, but Seiri stopped him. The sisters are growing, but that's going to cause Touma some more problems. That shadow is going to say some pretty obscene things. It likes to stir the pot. The video is probably the furthest thing from Mikoto and Misaki's mind right now. Index and Eve? That's a recipe for disaster.**

 **Guest: 1) I could tell you, but you will have to wait until it's revealed. It's not a bad guess though. 2) No, Amelia is the main one, but not sure if I'll have time to put in an all-female squad. With one named girl, you know she's going to be important. 3) Accelerator had the best description in the light novel of an angry Touma. He's a monster you can't turn your back to.**

 **Savaris: Transition chapters are important. You don't just go from A to C, you need B in there. Mikoto and Misaki would be best friends if their situations were different, like being attracted to different guys. Mikoto was exhausted after her fight. Her mind probably wasn't processing the signs well enough. Given a short break, she's going to know. Mikoto isn't used to Kuroko knowing what is happening, so it shocked her a bit. That panty was promptly burned by Touma's harem.**

 **Acpeters: Touma should just accept his harem and everything would work out better. Kuroko x Jason is working out way better than I had planned. They were never supposed to have gotten together, it just kind of happened. It gave him a little more screen time, but hey, he's not overshadowing the others.**

 **wildarms13: No one else made a White Day omake, so why not make something different? Touma is really good with critical hits from his compliments. Not a lot of fluffy chapters, reason I'm putting this omake down before we go headfirst into a warzone. Certain Magical Index is an action series, so it needs these main events between the important plot of relationship development.**

 **321jaz: Adam… well Adam is going to go all OP on everyone else.**

 **Guest 13: She might be okay with being part of a harem.**

 **Tardis42: Pie day is important and I will be eating pie.**

 **Handsomistic1: You can't even burst out the Margaret combo in Persona 4 Arena Ultimax? Tsk, noob. Touma is a normal high school boy, so you know before a big fight, he can't just sit there idly. He needs something to distract his thoughts. Plus, he hated dragging others into his fights. Amelia is going to understand why George speaks highly of Touma. Vitamin D…. I'm done with you. Kazari's reaction to Kuroko going to far is going to be an interesting character development for them. Chibi vampires are important, but at a later date.**

 **Meridun: Huh, didn't expect that to be that funny. Glad someone enjoyed. I was going to say mime at first, but there are more scary stories of clowns.**

 **MrQuestionMark: Look at this guy. He went out of his way to chain comments to reach the 2k mark. I wanted him to be the 1k mark, but he missed it, so I accept your apology this time. It was definitely a change of pace from fight scenes to a transition chapter. I notice you always like the character development sections over the large plot fights. All the OCs? Thought I only had like 4, and two of them had been around for a long time. I trust you will like the Adam fight, but let's focus on your comment of Eve. Yes, I agree, she is definitely unhinged. It's like she does things for the purpose of chaos, rather than a goal. Good to see your comment man and congrats again on your story hitting 100 chapters.**

 **Agent Nine: Then you shall have your wish. This chapter is nice and fluffy.**

 **GameCguru: Hmm, I could use fifty bucks. Okay, you're on. That's a good guess on Kuroko's state of mind. Heh, horcrux. I'm not that predictable.**

 **Generation Zero: Touma is always lucky with the fact he witnesses awesome things other guys wish they could. Harem is 3+ members, so if we would have to count Juliet in his harem for that to work and she's currently a small ball of darkness sealed up in a metal sphere. Have to see how the interaction between Kuroko and Kazari go, but the development should be pretty great. Eh, you want me to have more sisters? Arg, I'll make one American and she will be like a mini Worst or something. St. Peter I worked with a couple people on his magic, so should be an interesting fight. Let's just say, no magician can beat him. The ending of the fight is going to be full of twists and turns to keep you on your toes.**

 **Master Knight Trolling: It wasn't so much a threat, but there were more important issues at hand then it could have.**

 **Kami: Thanks for the compliment.**

 **FrodoFighter: Before I get to your awesome comment, I have something to tell you. This week, I was bored at work and was surfing my phone a little bit after getting all my work done, when I found myself on reddit. I came across an interesting post by someone called the TheLoneExplorer. He recommended my story and I'm really thankful for it. However, someone responded with this comment. ""a certain infinite possibility": Isn't that the one with the "Self-insert" Jason? I was told that he is pretty sue-ish, so I didn't read it yet. But, I think I will give it a shot." It was posted by someone called FrodoFighter. Coincidence? Anyway, about your comment last chapter.**

 **If Touma would just hold his arms out and say no girl would ever fall into my lap, he would get a girl. You think Accelerator pumped up Ruiko's ability during their brief exchange? Interesting thought. I can confirm I have never grown up either. My toys are only more expensive and I can buy my own fruit snacks and juice instead of my parents. Lessar might RP if Touma dresses as a clown. Birdway can't defeat the Kami-yan disease either. As for St. Peter, he has a lot of powers. The Anti-Flight spell used by the church is based off him. Touma should just go to Oriana and ask her to teach him about women. He would be the only male alive who knows. I'm looking forward to the Kuroko x Uiharu x Jason triangle. A lot of character development there. Poor Kuroko, you don't understand her love and affection. I'm just going to steal the personalities and names from someone else who started writing that, don't tell him though. I'm sure he won't notice. Australia is going to be full of twists and turns, so the fight won't end as you might expect.**

 **Replying to comments are getting long, but so rewarding.**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly. Magic Gods own all so they can do what they want.**

* * *

It was Sunday, March 13th.

Touma was facing one of the most dangerous situations in his young life.

Monday… was White Day.

In Japan, Valentine's Day was typically observed by girls and women who presented chocolate gifts to boys and men as an expression of love, courtesy, or social obligation. On White Day, the reverse happens. Men who received chocolates on Valentine's Day were expected to return the favor by giving gifts. Traditionally, popular White Day gifts were cookies, jewelry, and white chocolate, though normal chocolate was also acceptable. White day was supposed to be a day for guys to give back to the girls. Normally, this day was a hassle for him, but was manageable. He usually received a bunch of chocolates from random girls in gratitude for his help throughout the year. Cookies were easy to make and could be produced in large quantities at low cost. This year was different for two reasons.

The first was he now knew a couple girls had actual feelings for him, so he had to do something more for them. Plus, there were a lot more people he knew from the magic side he owed a lot too.

The second, and probably more dangerous, reason was, in previous years, Kami the Harem King had not existed.

Touma couldn't understand why so many girls sent Kami chocolates. He could understand Tokiwadai High School girls sending him stuff because they were involved with his friends' shenanigans, but many of the schools he had never interacted with. His workload had easily quadrupled and his bank account was now yelling profanities at him. He would be lucky to eat instant ramen for the next month. Expensive stuff like jewelry was out of his price range, so he was going to rely on making cookies for ninety nine percent of his gifts. The others would be getting more personalized items. He had asked Itsuwa to keep Index out of his dorm as much as possible that weekend and that was the only reason he could make anything without Index eating it all. Then his stove finally gave out on him.

Touma had been forced to take all the remaining groceries to a friend's house to finish.

"Thank you so much," Touma said when the door opened. "I would be toast otherwise."

"Whatever," Accelerator mumbled and moved aside to let Touma in. "You're just lucky everyone else is out. You shouldn't be disturbed for a while."

"I don't have luck," Touma muttered miserably, as he set all his stuff in the kitchen. "Worst is probably going to return as a leader of a gang and have three people with her. They will try to eat or ruin everything I make then!"

"That would be rather tame for her," Accelerator remarked and sat back down on the couch in the other room. He still had a perfect view of Touma through the window in the wall between rooms. "Are you going to tell me why you called me and not one of the others? I only let you come because you sounded desperate."

"I am desperate," Touma acknowledged and turned on the oven. "I only have until tomorrow to finish and then my stove exploded."

"You mean broke?"

"No, it actually exploded." Touma turned and looked at Accelerator, who had raised an eyebrow. "The door flew off the machine and hit a wall. I still don't know how it happened."

"Why not ask the idiots for help then?" Accelerator asked and turned on the TV. "They live closer."

"Tsuchimikado wouldn't let me into his room," Touma explained, as he started to make the cookie dough. "I don't know why, but I probably don't want to know. Jason wasn't answering his phone, so he might not be home. And then Aogami…" Touma paused. "There are… reasons we don't go over to his room anymore." Accelerator raised an eyebrow again, but then lowered it. That made a lot more sense to him than it should have. "I have a couple more batches of cookies to finish and then some specialty gifts."

"I bet the third through fifth rates are going to appreciate that," Accelerator mumbled and then let out a bark like laugh.

"It looks like you made some homemade stuff too," Touma pointed out and Accelerator sobered up instantly. On the far side of the counter were five pieces of homemade chocolate. Touma could make out who two of them were for, Last Order and Worst.

"Shut it, hero," Accelerator snapped. "Or I'll throw you out."

"Please don't!"

"You know as well as I do the brat would cry if I didn't get her anything," Accelerator continued with a scowl. "Then the bigger brat wouldn't be happy with not getting anything and make my life hell. It was a preemptive measure."

"What about the other three?" Touma asked, as he started putting cookie dough on the sheets.

"None of your damn business!"

"Okay, okay," Touma said quickly and his eyes fell on a larger box of what appeared to be bags of store bought chocolates. "Is that big box for our class?"

"Yeah," Accelerator confirmed nonchalantly. "Plus the Ishikawa girl from Tokiwadai High School. She sent me something so I thought, eh, she's not completely annoying." Accelerator glanced over at the large amount of cookies Touma had made already, plus the amount he was still making. "Are you trying to feed the city?"

"About half," Touma answered through the tears. "Kami received so many gifts on Valentine's Day, so it's up to me to return them tomorrow. Seriously, my finances are in the black and Index is never going to accept eating a packet of ramen once a day."

"Speaking of the nun," Accelerator spoke his thoughts out loud. This scene was more interesting than what was on TV. "How did you make an entire case of cookies without her attacking?"

"Itsuwa saved me," Touma sighed. "The one speck of light in my dark week. She has been keeping Index out of the dorm."

"How are you planning to send all those cookies to the girls at other schools?" Accelerator inquired. "I seriously doubt you have the balls to go around and try to deliver them in person."

"I wouldn't be able to," Touma admitted and then gritted his teeth. "If it wasn't for our friends…" Accelerator smirked. "Jason used his Judgment connections to find out what schools the girls went to if they signed their names on the cards they sent. Tsuchimikado and Aogami crossed check signatures in case there were multiple people with the same name. Seriously, they put so much time into making my life difficult and then they still say it's all my fault about some nonexistent harem!"

"Uh huh," Accelerator mumbled absentmindedly, and then he remembered something. "Heh, are you getting the brat Lessar anything? I seem to recall her making a life-size chocolate statue of herself for you."

"Gah!" Touma gasped when he remembered that incident. "You know full well it wasn't a statue!" He and Index had been heading back to his dorm on Valentine's Day and Motoharu had been accompanying them. When Touma opened the door to his room, he had found a chocolate statute of Lessar on his counter. Before Touma or Motoharu could say anything, Index had pounced. She had been starving and it would have been at least an hour before supper was finished. The sight of the chocolate statue broke her. The thing was it had not been a statue. "I seriously don't know how she managed it, but she was lucky Index stopped. She should have known better." Lessar had managed to coat herself with chocolate and waited for who knew how long in Touma's room. Touma still remembered the look of shock on her face when she dodged Index's assault. "I rather just focus on the task at hand."

"Any idea how long you are going to need to use the kitchen?" Accelerator asked. "I can only guarantee the others will be away until early afternoon. I doubt you will get much done when the brats are here."

"I only have a couple batches of cookies left," Touma said after counting and checking a very lengthy checklist. He had gone over it many times, since there was way more people than he could remember without it. "Everyone outside of the city I sent their gifts already, so they should be receiving them tomorrow. I also send boxes with the smaller bags clearly labeled to each school we had names from. That way I can avoid going there in person." He shivered at the thought if he had to. "The only places left are our classroom, my friends from other schools, and Tokiwadai High."

"Huh, you are actually going there?" Accelerator was a little surprise. He figured Touma would try to avoid getting seen by anyone who didn't know him personally.

"I was going to mail the box there," Touma protested. "But it was really big and would either have to be split up into three smaller ones or I would pay a fortune on shipping. Tsuchimikado decided to contact Ishikawa-san and say Kami would deliver the gifts personally to her, so she could pass them out. I'm so dead. I know he's plotting something, but I don't know what!"

"Sounds like him."

"Once these cookies are done," Touma continued. "I only have to make the specific ones for my close friends." He had thought on what to give each one of them to try to make the gifts more personal. This added to his workload, but he owed them all a lot. There were even a few girls from the magic side still in the city, Lessar, Index, Itsuwa, and Kanzaki. "There is one person I'm worried about. I think I should make her something, but I don't know how to give it to her. I doubt she will appreciate being left out."

"Are you really that stupid?" Accelerator snapped and sat up. He was fully aware of who Touma was talking about. "Even the nun said her chocolate was laced with magic."

"But my hand would have negated it," Touma pointed out. "Eve knows that." Touma had been surprised on Valentine's Day when Eve had randomly shown up and given him a box of chocolates. Touma knew Eve was only did that to mess with him, because she waited until Mikoto and Misaki had found him. It caused a very awkward situation, even after she left. Luckily, Mikoto and Misaki were less angry at him and more suspicious of the candy. They took it from him and immediately gave it to Index. It turned out Eve actually had done something to the chocolate. She laced it with a magic aphrodisiac. It wouldn't make Touma fall in love with anyone, but would cause him to emit pheromones that would attract those of the opposite sex. Tsuchimikado had called it 'Kami-yan Disease booster.' The girls promptly destroyed it. Anything he said would have been ignored and might have caused an argument, so he kept his mouth shut.

"You are too soft for your own good," Accelerator huffed.

"I get told that all the time," Touma replied with a shrug. "I don't really mind, as long as it works out in the end." Touma turned back to the task at hand. "I suppose I should start melting the chocolate first and then I can mix the batter…" He started mumbling while continuing to work. Accelerator watched for a minute at the intense concentration Touma could muster. It was like Touma was planning to walk into battle.

 _I suppose with the nun's stomach,_ Accelerator thought. _He's involved in a war every day. What a moron._

* * *

Touma woke up early the next morning.

It wasn't because he couldn't sleep, but he had formed a very elaborate and intricate plan for today. He planned for his bad luck to strike in full force, so he had to take insane levels of precautions. First, he had to move the cookies and chocolate out of the dorm without Index seeing him. He opened the bathroom door carefully and checked on her. She was still fast asleep and he sighed in relief. He crept silently out the front door and locked it with a soft click behind him. _I hope Tsuchimikado will keep up his end of the bargain._ He glanced over at Motoharu's dorm next to his and, to his relief, saw the box he had to take over to Tokiwadai High School. After he had left Accelerator's house, he debated how to keep Index from finding the food. He managed to convince Motoharu to hold onto it and put it out early the next morning. Touma figured Motoharu only did it because it involved Touma giving gifts to girls. Either way, Touma was grateful he came through on his end.

The next problem was getting to the high school.

Touma was supposed to meet Yuna before school to give her the box of cookies for the girls. The catch was he had to go as Kami. He had sworn he had burnt the Kami outfit after the last trip to the high school, but his friends magically obtained a new one. Touma didn't doubt Motoharu had a dozen or more outfits hidden away somewhere, but he had more pressing matters at hand. Rather than trying to walk across the city, carrying a large box, he took the bus. A cab was out of the question with the funds available to him. It was early enough, with the sun just beginning to rise, the bus was pretty empty. It wasn't uncommon for students to bring projects to school, so he didn't stand out. Instead of getting off at the stop closes to Tokiwadai, he got off a stop earlier. One, it wouldn't draw as much attention and, two, there was a public restroom he could change at. The dangerous part was yet to come.

He had to meet Yuna behind the high school without being spotted.

He stuck his out and looked around. Only one person was on the street and walking away from him. He stepped out and bolted down a backway. He memorized the map of the area and plotted several routes in case one was blocked. He was almost seen once, but managed to dart down an alley before the person got a good look at him. Touma looked at his watch and realized he was five minutes earlier at the arranged meeting point. He looked around and leaned up against a building. The street he was on wouldn't be busy for at least half an hour, so even if he was spotted now, he would have time to leave. It was also out of the way for normal students, so the girls of Tokiwadai shouldn't run into him. He was not keen on explaining himself now. Things were going well for him.

Almost too well.

 _Something bad is going to happen to me,_ Touma thought. _No matter how much I prepare, something big will happen._ He had taken every precaution possible to avoid running into misfortune, but there were still limits to what a normal high school boy could do. He waited patiently, but constantly observed his surroundings, when a girl finally rounded the corner.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting!" Yuna called out with a wide smile. "I had to sneak away from a couple of my friends."

"I just arrived," Touma lied. This felt oddly like one of those manga scenes were a guy and girl agreed to meet up on a date. "Thanks for being willing to pass out the gifts," Touma continued gratefully. "With this being a school day, I doubt I would have time to pass these all out myself. Every package should be labeled with a name. I hope this isn't too much trouble for you."

"Not at all," Yuna said dismissively. She brushed her long brown ponytail back over her shoulder. "I was happy to get the chance to meet you again." She made a pouty face, which Touma immediately recognized as being fake. He was used to a couple other girls looking at him like that to try to trick him into doing stuff for them. "You never stopped by our school again."

"You know I can't," Touma protested. "I'm a boy and it's an all girls' school." He stopped talking when she winked at him and started rummaging through the box of gifts.

"Hah," she laughed and pulled out a package. "Here is mine." She raised an eyebrow and looked down. "Here's Hanabi's and… what's this?" She pulled out two more packages instead of one. "You got Hibiki something too? I didn't know she sent you something."

"I figured if I was giving her sister something, then I should give her something," Touma answered. "I know her a little better than most of the girls here anyways."

"She gave Accelerator some homemade chocolates on Valentine's Day," Yuna reminded him. "Any idea if he is going to return the favor?" Touma remembered Accelerator made five gifts, but he couldn't be sure who the last three were for. He could only shrug in response. "I thought they clicked, but Hibiki won't give me any details. They have definitely met each other occasionally, but I can't find out what they did." She turned to Touma. "Oh, I promised to meet you alone, but I brought someone with me." She turned around and called out, "Hey, you going to come out or do I need to drag you!?" There was silence for a moment, before Hanabi slowly emerged from around the corner.

"Hello," Hanabi greeted Touma nervously as she approached.

"Don't be so shy," Yuna laughed and threw her arm around Hanabi's shoulder. "You know he's not a bad guy and look," she pushed a bag into her hands. "He brought you chocolate, homemade too." She leaned up and whispered in her ear. "See, he likes you." Hanabi's face flushed a deep red.

"Good to see you Hanabi-san," Touma said, as he tried to pretend he couldn't hear everything. "How have you been?"

"I've been fine," Hanabi replied. "Been busy with school, clubs, and my friends. Yuna requires a lot of my time."

"She seems rather high maintenance," Touma acknowledged. "I have to watch my friends a lot too or they get in trouble. I understand your pain." They both laughed and Yuna rolled her eyes.

"Get a room you two," she said and pushed Hanabi from behind. Hanabi stumbled forward and Touma held out an arm to catch her. She landed against his chest and looked up. Her red face was now glowing scarlet. Touma felt his face grow hot, but luckily it was hidden under his mask. "There you go," Yuna laughed.

"Sorry for her," Hanabi mumbled.

"I told you I understand," Touma whispered back.

"You're so nice," she mumbled and then said something to catch him completely off guard. "You have to run. She set up a trap."

"Huh?" Touma was completely confused, but everything was cleared up a moment later. Dozens of girls appeared on both ends of the street, all of whom were wearing the Tokiwadai High School uniform. Many of them were smirking, while others looked apprehensive. At least half of them had their phones out ready to take pictures. Touma realized he was boxed in and looked down at Hanabi. She avoided his eyes, not out of embarrassment, but out of guilt. "Err, what's happening?" He hoped it wasn't what he thought, but Hanabi could not answer him. Yuna did it instead.

"You rarely come around here," Yuna explained. "We could hardly pass up the opportunity when you do." Touma gulped.

 _Such misfortune._

* * *

Touma was incredibly late for school.

The first good thing was as he walked through the empty hallways, he saw a familiar girl. "Senpai!" he called out. Seria stopped and turned around, a folder clutched in her hand.

"Kamijou?" she asked. "What are you doing out of class?"

"I was late to school," Touma explained. "But I have something for you." He set down the bag and reached inside. "Here you go." He handed a wrapped box to her.

"Aww," Seria replied and Touma's ears burned. "Thank you." Before he could react, she swooped down and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Now, you should hurry to class. You don't want to miss the entire morning."

"Bye," was all Touma could mutter. _She's really the perfect older girl._ His brain was a little fuzzy as Seria left. He walked the rest of the way to his class, but it felt like his feet were barely touching the ground. When he reached the door to his class, he suddenly sunk back down to earth. _This is going to be bad._ He learned against the door.

He staggered into his classroom. It had been tough to open the door with his hands full. One of his bags was his basic school supplies, while the other was cookies for his classmates. He had received chocolates from all of the girls, so he had to return the favor. He had stashed the bag of cookies in a public locker near his school. He picked it up before heading to class to make it easier on him, but he had hoped to arrive on time. When he opened the door, every pair of eyes in his class turned toward him. He gulped, but the class was unusually quiet. He was aware of his sweaty face, torn pants, and unkempt hair, but his class was used to that. With his luck, there was a fifty-fifty chance he managed to get to class without something happening to him. Touma took a deep breath and prepared for the inevitable, but tried to pass it off. "Sorry I'm late sensei," he said to Komoe.

"You know if you are going to be late," Komoe admonished and wagged a finger at him. "You should let the school know. I was worried." Her eyes fell to the bag of cookies in his hand. "We are about to go on break and I just finished the lecture. You might as well pass those out." She looked at him. "Why are you so late Kamijou-chan?"

"I had to drop something off," Touma muttered embarrassed. "And it sort of turned into an adventure getting back." Komoe nodded in understanding and Touma was just about to start passing out the bag to his class, when his friends betrayed him.

"He was off delivering gifts to girls from other schools!" Motoharu called out. "They probably didn't want him to leave!"

 _That's kind of true,_ Touma thought to himself. The girls mainly took pictures with him as he passed out the cookies. Yuna had told everyone who sent Kami gifts that she was meeting him behind their school. The girls were really keen on talking with him and Touma tried his best to answer their questions, without giving to much information about himself so they could find him. He did note that while they didn't let him leave, they were all really polite and kind. He could tell they were high class girls, but they were still high school students. One girl with an Aero Hand ability touched his mask to try to knock it off, but Touma managed to stop it with his hand just in time. Yuna reprimanded her and the girl apologized for getting caught up in the moment. As soon as he could get away, he bolted. In his haste, he tripped around a corner, which caused his pants to tear and a hook caught the corner of his Kami jacket. It was torn off him from the force of the fall. He didn't stay to collect it, so Tokiwadai had most likely acquired a souvenir.

"Kami-yan!" Pierce roared. "I only got pity chocolates and you got to go and hang out with your harem from other schools! It's time for you to suffer!" He and about half of the remaining guys started pelting Touma with everything they could reach and he had to cover his face with his arms. The girls were shouting at the boys for being stupid, but that seemed to just rally them even more. The dark auras continued to grow in the class as the boys begun planning a swift and vengeful strike against Touma. Komoe was desperately trying to restore order, but was unsuccessful. The class was descending into utter chaos and Touma was about to bolt to avoid being killed, when Seiri stood up. Her eyes were closed, her hand was clenched into a fist, and a vein was throbbing in her head.

She delivered swift unmerciful justice upon a half dozen guys.

"You idiots need to shut up!" she roared and stood over several lifeless bodies with her arms crossed under her ample chest. "If Kamijou has to return gifts for White Day, you shouldn't be hassling him." The guys had gotten quiet, afraid for their lives, since Seiri could focus on them now that Motoharu and Pierce were unconscious. Seiri turned her eyes to Touma and his face went pale. He hadn't done anything to warrant being the target of her fury. "And you need to stop letting things get out of hand!" she told him and pointed. "This happens because you let your friends rile everyone up! Plus, you shouldn't be late. Sensei was worried about you."

"Only because she was hoping for a gift," Pierce muttered darkly from the floor. Seiri kicked him in the head.

"Sorry," Touma replied. "I found out if I fight back, it tends to escalate."

"Now that everyone has calmed down," Komoe continued, as the bell rang. "You have your morning break, so Kamijou, go ahead and pass out your gifts." She turned to leave.

"Wait sensei," Touma called out and handed her a bag. "This is for you."

"Thank you Kamijou-chan," Komoe said and she blushed heavily. Many of the guys started glaring at him and Touma felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He turned around and started passing out the bags to the rest of the girls in his class. Many of them turned red and looked away when he handed them theirs. Touma tried to ignore the guys muttering darkly about him and he finally sat down in his seat after finishing with Seiri and Aisa.

"Thanks Kamijou," Seiri told him.

"Thank you," Aisa said. "Not a lot of people remember me."

"You just have to be a little more outgoing," Touma reassured her. "Once people know the real you, you will have a ton of friends." She blushed slightly and looked away, while muttering something about galge. Touma turned toward Jason and Accelerator, two of the few people who had not been involved in the earlier shenanigans. "What's up with you two? I expected at least one of you to make the situation worse." His eyes fell on Jason, who grinned back.

"I have a lot on my plate," Jason responded and put on an air of being offended. "I had to pass out some gifts and plan for this evening with Kazari. My life doesn't revolve around you after you rejected my advances all those time." He sniffed. "I was so hurt on Valentine's Day, you didn't get me anything."

"No one's going to fall for that anymore," Touma said and rolled his eyes. "Seriously, I'm going to tell Uiharu-san what you say here."

"That would probably cause her overactive imagination to explode with dirty thoughts," Jason laughed and then looked thoughtful. "That actually sounds fun…." Touma realized this route wasn't going to be beneficial for anyone and instead turned to Accelerator.

"Did you get yours delivered?" Touma asked.

"I have no idea what the fuck you are talking about," Accelerator snapped. "Stop meddling, hero."

"Did we hear that correctly?" Motoharu asked. He and Pierce had gained consciousness. "Accelerator is giving chocolates to girls? I only saw him give Fukiyose-sama some store bought chocolates."

"She gave me some," Accelerator muttered and looked away. "I'm supposed to give some back."

"He has three more boxes," Pierce said from the floor as he rummaged through Accelerator's bag. "One is for Hibiki-sa-…" Accelerator moved faster than Touma had ever seen him before. Pierce was sent flying and Accelerator zipped up his bag. His face looked furious, but there was a slight tinge of embarrassment there.

"Touch my stuff again and I'm going to rip your hands off!" Accelerator snapped.

"Wow Accel-kun," Motoharu laughed. He used the old nickname that kept getting under Accelerator's skin. "You like a couple girls enough to give them gifts. Who's the other two?"

"None of your damn business!"

"He must be planning to deliver them after school," Pierce added when he walked back over. He was cracking his neck with one hand. "Kagere delivered his this morning."

"How did you know that?" Jason asked surprised.

"You arrived only a few seconds before the bell," Pierce explained. "It was obvious, but you just confirmed it now."

"You finished delivering all your obligations then?" Touma asked.

"Yep," Jason confirmed. "Smooth sailing until my date with Kazari. Though, I bet one girl is going to be a little… fed up… with my antics."

"What did you do?" Touma asked exasperatedly.

"Might have delivered something in a little showy manner," Jason mumbled.

"She's going to be annoyed at least then." Touma shook his head.

"So how many girls you have left to deliver gifts too?" Motoharu asked Touma. "Nee-chin hasn't received hers yet and I know she's waiting anxiously for it."

"If she heard you talking this way, you would probably get punched," Touma pointed out.

"She's just shy. You need to be forceful with her."

"What the hell do you mean by forceful?!"

"When you deliver your chocolates," Motoharu explained. "Hand it to her, look her in the eyes and say you never met anyone like her. She's going to get flustered and be unable to act while you lean in and kiss her. After that, she will be putty in your hand. She doesn't have experience with love, so it will be way easier than normal."

"That would get me killed!" Touma protested. "She's super strong and one embarrassed or angry punch is going to send me to the hospital."

"Then you can work on the nurses," Motoharu pointed out.

"That strategy would probably work on the third rate too," Accelerator pointed out. "She's a brat and doesn't have any experience. She would turn red and stand there stunned while shooting off electricity, but you can handle that."

"You bastard!" Pierce yelled at Touma and put him in a headlock. "Stop taking all the girls and leave some for me! I don't want to spend my life alone."

"Stop being a pervert and you might find someone!" Touma refuted and struggled with Pierce's hold.

"Shokuhou-san would probably drop her skirt if he only asked," Jason pointed out too. "She's devoted to him."

"She would be the easiest one to capture," Motoharu agreed.

"Why do you make it sound like I'm some kind a player?!" Touma demanded, but the guys ignored him.

"Saten-san would be easy too," Motoharu mumbled. "The one to take skill would be Mugino-san and her friends."

"I thought Kinuhata-san liked Accelerator?" Jason asked.

"If she did," Accelerator yawned. "She didn't get me anything."

"I'm curious how Touma's going to court Mugino-san," Jason continued. "I remember she gave him something."

"She's a yandere," Motoharu explained. "So it has to be done carefully, but he has to be forceful. She only pretends she likes being dominant. I bet she wants to be the one being dominated. Kami-yan has to tell her she needs to kiss him before he gives her his gift. He might have to dodge a couple of her attacks first."

"You guys are going to get me killed!" Touma roared and finally knocked Pierce off him. "After school, I'm delivering my gifts, will probably get a thank you, and then I will be on my way. Nothing will happen, you morons!"

"Except a flurry of kisses," Pierce growled jealously.

"At the least," Jason added.

"We all know better," Motoharu finished. Touma opened his mouth to argue, but Accelerator put the final nail into Touma's social coffin.

"Try telling that to the Lessar brat, hero," Accelerator said with a smirk.

* * *

"Onee-sama!" Kuroko called out happily.

"Hey Kuroko," Mikoto replied and side stepped one of Kuroko's famous hugs. Kuroko hadn't been quite as obsessed with her lately, since Kuroko finally managed to come to terms with her new feelings, but she still kept trying to initiate physical contact way more than what was necessary. "I'm planning on heading back to the dorm. It had been a long day."

"I figured that," Kuroko admitted. "After how many chocolates you received on Valentine's Day, today must have been rough."

"Tell me about it," Mikoto mumbled. She felt exhausted every time she remembered the giant pile of sweets on her desk last month and then everything else she received throughout the day. Since Tokiwadai was an all girls' school, the normal boy-girl relationship for the holidays didn't apply to the vast majority of them. A few girls had boyfriends, but the rest would give other girls gifts. On White Day, the girls who received gifts would return the favor. "I help out a few people with school work or from being harassed and they treat me like an idol."

"That's because they know how special you are," Kuroko responded and beamed at her.

"Speaking of which," Mikoto continued and reached into her bag. "We were in such a rush this morning, I didn't have time to give them to you." She handed Kuroko a box of handmade chocolates. Mikoto had to head to school early with her chocolates to pass them out before class started. Even then, she had not been able to finish and had to use up part of her lunch break.

"Thanks onee-sama!" Kuroko cheered and hugged her tightly. Mikoto put up with it because Kuroko was not actively trying to feel her up. "It made this horrible day so much better."

"Horrible?" Mikoto asked confused.

"Well," Kuroko amended. "Horrible might be a bit too strong of a word." She started mumbling.

"What happened?" Mikoto asked and Kuroko turned away from her. Before Mikoto could pressure her for more details, a couple girls walked passed them. They must have been in Kuroko's year because one of them turned to talk to her.

"So, Shirai-san," the girl said. "Are you going to thank him for the gift?" Kuroko straightened up instantly and looked over at the girl. Mikoto noticed Kuroko's face had turned pink. Kuroko gave a noncommittal shrug and the girls giggled before continuing on their way. Kuroko didn't speak again and eventually Mikoto couldn't contain her curiosity.

"What were they talking abou-…?" Mikoto asked when they exited the school building. Before she could finish asking her question, another girl interrupted them.

"Miiisssaaakkkaa!" Misaki's honey sweet voice called and out Mikoto flinched. "Shirai-san!"

"Hello Shokuhou," Mikoto relented and turned around.

"Hello," Kuroko said politely.

"I hope you two are well," Misaki said sweetly and Mikoto immediately felt like Misaki wanted to discuss something. "Have you two heard all the rumors today?"

 _Knew it,_ Mikoto thought. "Now that you mentioned it, I heard a lot more girls in my class whispering about something. I tend to ignore those rumors, so I never asked." Mikoto saw Kuroko glance away from them and she grew suspicious again. Misaki also noticed, because she was staring at her.

"I think you would find two of them interesting." Misaki turned and addressed Mikoto. "The first deals with our mutual friend, Kami."

"What did he do now?" Mikoto sighed and face palmed. _That idiot did something on accident again. I should have known it would happen today. Speaking of which, I haven't received anything today yet. I hope he got me something._

"Seems he paid a visit to Tokiwadai High School to drop off White Day gifts," Misaki informed her. "The girls there decided he should stay for a little bit and they posted a lot of pictures online." She laughed. "I can imagine the look on his face under his mask."

"He wasn't unmasked, right?" Mikoto asked and Misaki shook her head. "That's good. It would cause him a loud of problems."

"And us," Misaki pointed out.

"Definitely," Mikoto sighed. "It's hard enough trying to keep the others-…" She slammed her mouth shut and Misaki raised an eyebrow. _I didn't mean it like that. The thing is he's always surrounded by other girls._

"That ape was so stupid," Kuroko muttered. "He should have just mailed it instead of showing up in person. It would be a lot less disruptive."

"Speaking of disruptions," Misaki said and turned toward Kuroko. "I heard an interesting rumor about a certain visitor dropping something off for you." Kuroko's faced flushed and she looked away.

"Okay," Mikoto told Kuroko firmly. "You know something. Let's hear it."

"Fine," Kuroko relented. "This morning, someone dropped off a gift for me in my class. Some of my classmates saw it on my desk and the rumor spread."

"That doesn't sound that bad," Mikoto pointed out.

"She's leaving a lot of important information out," Misaki informed Mikoto.

"Like what?"

"The fact the visitor was a boy-…"

"Keep your voice down!" Kuroko hushed.

"A boy?" Mikoto asked in astonishment and confusion. "How did he get in…? Oh, of course." She shook her head. "It was Kagere-san, wasn't it?" Kuroko didn't say anything. "I suppose I could ask around if you won't tell me."

"I'll tell!" Kuroko surrendered quickly. "Please don't make the rumors worse!"

"My, Misaka," Misaki said impressed. "You have gotten better at manipulating people." Mikoto glared at her for a moment, but she just smiled back innocently.

"Go on," Mikoto prodded Kuroko, as they begun to leave the school grounds. "I heard him say before he could bypass Tokiwadai's security if he wanted too, but I never thought he actually would."

"I don't know how he did it either," Kuroko confessed. "He managed to get to my class unseen to drop off my gift. This wouldn't have been a problem if he just left, but I guess he didn't know which seat was mine. One of my classmates arrived early and saw him. He asked her which desk was mine and she told him. He left right after that." Kuroko face palmed. "If she didn't spread that information around, I wouldn't have had to deal with questions on who he was all day!" She looked up when she heard snickering. Mikoto and Misaki had their hands over their mouths and looking away from her. "It's not funny!"

"It's pretty funny," Mikoto corrected, highly amused.

"Sounds like he wasn't doing anything wrong," Misaki added.

"He broke into an area where boys are not allowed!"

"It happens," Misaki said with a shrug. "Guys do stupid things all the times."

"Tell me about it," Mikoto agreed. "Remember England?" All three girls laughed. Kuroko looked a little better, but she was still waiting for the rumors to disappear. Mikoto's and Misaki's phones suddenly beeped within a few seconds of each other. Mikoto pulled out her phone and glanced down at the message. She smiled when she saw who the number was from. _Finally. Touma wants to meet me this afternoon when I'm available. I bet he wants to give me the White Day gift. I have to let him know I'm free now._

"Should we meet him together?" Misaki asked, which caused Mikoto to jump.

"W-what?!" stuttered Mikoto. "How did you know he contacted me?"

"Because he sent me a message too," Misaki answered sweetly. "I assume he sent it to you too. After all, he's much to kind to ignore one of us when we both gave him gifts."

"I suppose," Mikoto said reluctantly. She remembered how difficult it was to give Touma her gift. It was a pretty simple gift, chocolate in the shape of a heart, but she had made it herself, rather than buying it. She spent a good part of an hour trying to give it to him. The look of gratitude on his face made it all worth it though and she spent that night having very vivid dreams. Not even Misaki giving Touma some elaborate chocolate bundle could dampen Mikoto's mood back then. "That sounds odd coming from you though."

"I'm only thinking about him," Misaki explained. "He's most likely in the middle of trying to return the favor for all the gifts he received. If we go together, he can give us our gifts at once. This will save him time."

"That's… reasonable," Mikoto admitted. _She knows trying to monopolize him today wouldn't amount to anything._

"I knew you would see it my way," Misaki giggled. _I'll use this to score points with him and then ask him to accompany me later. I'm not a fan of him giving other girls gifts, but I can put up with it today._

"Humph," Kuroko mumbled and crossed her arms. "I know I shouldn't let onee-sama meet with that ape alone, but he has to return the favor of her giving him a gift. I would have to have a word with him if he didn't."

"She won't be alone," Misaki reassured her. "I'll be there and I doubt she will try anything." Kuroko took the gleam in Misaki's eyes to mean she wouldn't let Mikoto try anything.

"I trust you," Kuroko finally said. "Well, if you two are going to go meet him, I suppose I can go find something else to do." She didn't like the fact she was leaving Mikoto's side, but she wasn't interesting in meeting Touma. Besides, with Misaki there and Touma's situation of delivering gifts, Mikoto was sure to be back sooner than later.

"Like maybe thank Kagere-san for the gift?" Mikoto asked and her eyes twinkled.

"W-what?!" spluttered Kuroko. "Of course not. He obviously had to give me a gift because I was nice enough to give him a gift on Valentine's Day. Besides, he's off with Uiharu, so it's not like I can expect to see him today."

"So you know his schedule?" Misaki asked with a raised eyebrow. "That's interesting."

"I-it's not like that," Kuroko denied, but her face flushed. "I expect you to return soon onee-sama." She disappeared right in front of them.

"She is so much fun to tease," Misaki laughed. "Though, I'm surprised she gets so embarrassed when we mention her being with Kagere-san. She used to be a lot bolder when she loved you."

"I think it's because she doesn't know how to act around guys," Mikoto said. "She's been used to telling them off or ignoring them. " _Kagere-san might regret it if she starts reverting to her old tendencies with him. I better not find stolen male underwear in our room._

"Looks like she finally hit puberty then," Misaki continued. "Anyways, we shouldn't keep Touma waiting."

"Let's go," Mikoto agreed. She was interested in meeting Touma, which overshadowed her desire not to spend a lot of time with Misaki. It was then something occurred to her. _Huh, I don't hate spending time with her as much as I used to. If she would just be more honest and wouldn't keep trying to push me away from Touma, we might actually be able to find common ground._

* * *

Touma was waiting on a park bench with a bag next to him. He was a little surprised Misaki and Mikoto were going to meet him together. When he had texted them, he was thinking he would find a time to meet them one on one, but he probably should have guessed they would have similar schedules being at the same school. _It does make my job easier. Besides theirs, I still have Ruiko, Mugino, Frenda, Kanzaki, Itsuwa, Lessar and Index. Everyone else has theirs or I mailed it out. I hope nothing like this morning occurs when I try to finish. I still have homework to do._ He watched a couple people pass by and then glanced up toward the sky. _At least the weather is holding._ There were quite a few clouds in the sky, but no sign of rain. He looked at his phone and saw a message from Ruiko. He texted her back asking if they could meet somewhere in a little bit and then put his phone away. Two familiar faces caught his attention and he waved.

"Calling two girls from Tokiwadai all the way out to a remote place in the park?" Misaki asked sweetly when she and Mikoto drew near to him. "What kind of ideas could possibly be going through a young man's mind?"

"When did you get so bold?" Mikoto added. "That's so unlike you."

"W-what?!" Touma replied flustered. "I was just… it's not like that. I swear I was only..." His voice died off when they started snickering and his shocked face turned to suspicion. "You two are messing with me, right? I wasn't thinking anything like that."

"We are," Misaki reassured him and patted him on the shoulder. She was still chuckling slightly. "I couldn't resist seeing your embarrassed face."

"Sorry," Mikoto apologized. She had a hand over her face to cover her own embarrassment and amusement. "She was very persuasive on the way here."

"I understand," Touma sighed and then smiled at them. "Everyone likes to tease me." He knew Misaki had a way with words that could convince people do things. She didn't even have to use her power. What made him grin was the fact Mikoto and Misaki were getting along a lot better than when they first met after the tournament. _I'm glad they are friends with me and can joke easily together._ He reached over and took out two boxes from his bag. "Here. Thanks for the gifts on Valentine's Day. Sorry it's not really fancy."

"It's fine," Mikoto replied quickly. "It's the thought that matters." She realized what she said and she could swear smoke was coming out of her ears. Her face was burning when she took the box from him.

"Anything you give me I will treasure," Misaki told him and took the box. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you."

"Ah!" Mikoto exclaimed and looked around. They were the only ones nearby and she steeled her resolve. Her rivalry with Misaki was fierce and she couldn't keep falling so far behind. She leaned forward and gave Touma quick peck on the other cheek before she missed the opportunity. It only lasted a fraction of a second before she pulled away. Her face was now glowing scarlet. _I can't believe I did that. It was so reckless, but I can't stand Shokuhou one-upping me._ Her brain stopped thinking straight after that when her actions finally sunk in.

"Err," Touma stammered, his mind not working well either. He had just been kissed by two very attractive girls and his male hormones were telling him to do something about it. It took all his self-control not to do anything he would regret in the morning. He had to find a way to escape and calm down or his youth was going to overpower rational thought. "Thanks for coming to meet me at such short notice. I really hate to leave…"

"I bet," Misaki whispered with a knowing gleam in her eye.

"… but I have several more gifts to deliver before I can start on all my homework." He sighed. "Komoe-sensei gave me extra for being late to class."

"We heard you had visited the high school this morning," Misaki told him and it took a lot of self-control not to laugh again. "I was following the posts on their school forum all day."

"I was only supposed to meet Ishikawa-san and gave her the gifts so she could pass them out to the others," Touma explained. "But they ambushed me and kept me tied up there for hours."

"Oh, they used rope? I didn't hear about that."

"I meant they kept taking photographs and asking me questions, while blocking the exits." Touma glanced at the time on his phone. "I'm sorry. I really need to get going. I hope you enjoy your gifts and let's hang out later."

"Okay," Misaki agreed and waved good-bye to him as he walked away. She hated to see him leave and briefly debated on following, but she resisted the urges. _He has to deliver those gifts and my presence would only make it awkward for him._ She sighed to herself and put a hand on her cheek. _I really should be more assertive, but I can't bring myself to cause him trouble like Lessar._ She glanced over at Mikoto, who was still standing motionless while looking at the package in her hands. Misaki scooted next to her and wave a hand in front of her face. "Heeelloooo, Miiissaakkkaaa? You still here?"

"Huh?" Mikoto asked, after she jumped slightly. She shook her head and rejoined Misaki in the present. "Sorry, was just thinking. Where did Touma ago?" She looked around.

"He had to finish delivering his gifts," Misaki answered. "You really shouldn't be spacing out so much. It's rude." She started opening her gift box. "I wonder what he gave me." She peeked inside. "Oh my, it's lovely." She pulled out a small round personal size cake. It was obvious Touma made it himself. It was covered in white frosting with small flowers made of yellow frosting, the same color as Misaki's hair, adorned the top edge. Her first name was written neatly on the top in the same yellow icing. She smiled as she imagined Touma crafting the cake specifically for her. After putting it gingerly back in the box to save for later, she turned to Mikoto. "Are you going to open yours or just stare at my gift all day?"

"Oh, right." Mikoto tore her eyes away from Misaki and began to open her box. She glanced inside and froze for a moment. "He really worked hard on these."

"Let me see," Misaki said and pushed up next to Mikoto. "He knows you so well," she commented after looking down. _Her interests are so childish._

It was the face of Gekota made entirely of white chocolate.

"The features are perfect," Mikoto commented amazed. _Now I'm not sure if I can eat this._ She suddenly realized Misaki was pushing her chest up against her. A vein throbbed in her head. "Can you get those blobs of fat off me?!" Mikoto pushed Misaki with one hand to finally get her to move.

"Someone sounds jealous," Misaki giggled. "There's no reason to get so upset because you accidently felt them." Misaki's eyes widened slightly and she grinned. "Do you perhaps like them? I suppose as part of our newly established friendship I could give you a feel."

"Shut up!" Mikoto snapped and then a thought occurred to her to push all the irritation she felt at Misaki out of her mind. "Even if he made all the gifts instead of buying them," she muttered. "And since he had to deliver gifts addressed to Kami too, how much did he spend on buying all the ingredients? He doesn't have a lot of money and is usually on the verge of being broke, especially with Index living with him."

"Hmm," Misaki murmured and the smile on her face slipped off. After a moment of thought, she spoke again. "I see your point. This can be easily rectified though. I'll just have to make him homemade lunches more often. He is a growing boy and needs to keep his strength up to help people."

"When did you learn how to cook?" Mikoto demanded. "You never even cook for yourself."

"Love makes a girl do some crazy things," Misaki replied with a wink. "Besides, I made him lunch once before. It was a little difficult, but it was worth every minute when I saw the gratitude in his eyes." She turned and started strolling away and Mikoto automatically followed her, since she was heading in the direction of their dorm.

 _I do feel bad for Touma,_ Mikoto thought, while she stared at her gift. _He goes to such lengths to make sure we all received gifts, even when his financial resources say he shouldn't. I would have been happy with a few chocolates. Maybe I should help out, but he wouldn't accept any money from me. He protests a lot when I simply pay for a meal. Shokuhou-san might actually have an idea. All the manga I've seen show guys love homemade food. I could stop by his place and make him dinner or something. That way I can buy the ingredients so he won't have to. If Index is there, I'll just have to bring more to feed her, but that shouldn't be a problem. If she's not there, maybe afterwards we could… no, there's no way that will happen._ She kept telling herself that, but it didn't stop her imagination.

Her face was red the entire walk back to her dorm.

* * *

"Hey Touma!" Ruiko called out cheerfully.

"Hey," Touma greeted her.

"You sound exhausted," Ruiko pointed out and leaned close to peer at his face. "Long day?"

"You don't know the half of it," Touma sighed and sunk down on a bench. "I've been running all over Academy City."

"And getting mobbed by girls at Tokiwadai High?" Ruiko asked amused.

"How do you know about that?" Touma asked shocked.

"I would be surprised if anyone has not heard about it," Ruiko explained and sat down next to him. She held up her phone. "It's all over the online forums. They really enjoyed your visit and the gifts. Since they don't know your address, most of them are thanking you online. Some are probably going to send letters to your school, so you might want to be prepared for that."

"Great," Touma moaned. "Just what I need."

"So, Touma," Ruiko said and her tone suddenly grew serious. "I need to ask you something important."

"What is it?" Touma asked with a frown. Ruiko wasn't normally so serious.

"Something had occurred to me," Ruiko explained. "I noticed you have done something for Misaka-san, Shokuhou-san, and many of the others, but not for me."

"W-what are you referring to?" Touma asked nervously. He had learned not to spout out what he was thinking, and in this case it was a good thing. _What did I do with them that I didn't do with her? Could she mean… a kiss? But…I didn't think she knew I did it with Mikoto._

"When are you going to visit me and Uiharu?" Ruiko asked and then burst out into a grin.

"When… huh?" Touma was knocked out of his worried state of mind but the surprising question.

"You visited Tokiwadai High School and I heard you visited Shokuhou-san and Misaka-san at their dorms, but not mine." Ruiko winked at him. "We only meet up somewhere else."

"There are reasons," Touma admitted. "The first is nothing came up to head over there. We usually meet somewhere in between because it's convenient for both of us. I suppose it would be possible if you really want me to. Your school is coed, so it's not like I would be breaking any rules." Something occurred to him. "As long as you don't expect me to go as Kami. Seriously, I want that persona to disappear."

"I figured that much," Ruiko laughed. "If something happens at our school, I'll make sure to invite you."

"How come that is the most reasonable thing I have ever heard before I get invited to another school?" Touma said and leaned back in the seat. Ruiko giggled. "Oh, before I get distracted and forget, here." He handed her a gift box. "Thank you for the chocolates last month."

"It was my pleasure," Ruiko replied and her face turned slightly red when she took the gift. She unwrapped it slowly and glanced in. There was a little bit of white chocolate wrapped up, but she pushed it aside to reveal a book under it. "What's this?"

"I found it at a bookstore," Touma replied. "It seemed pretty old and, when I saw the title, I immediately thought of you."

"Oh!" Ruiko explained when she saw the title. "It's a book on Japanese mythology." She flipped through a couple pages. "I haven't heard about half of these. This is great." She hugged Touma before she realized what she was doing. Her face turned red, she let go, and then turned away from him. "Thank you Touma."

"I'm glad you liked it," Touma replied, equally as embarrassed. They sat in silence for a moment, before Touma spoke up. "I have to be going. Gifts still need delivering. Try not to keep Uiharu-san up at night reading that book."

"I promise," Ruiko answered with a laugh and watched him go. She was slightly sad he left so soon, but she appreciated the thought he put into the gift. _With how Touma is to everyone around him and how popular Kami is, I should have expected him to be busy._ She smiled to herself and stood up. _Uiharu won't be back until late, so I should take this time to read my new book and enjoy the snacks. She would definitely want to try them and it's hard to say no when she looks at you with her sad eyes._ Ruiko laughed to herself and headed back to her dorm.

* * *

 _Three more left to find,_ Touma thought to himself. _Though Frenda and Mugino might be together. The problem is her. I have no idea where she is. She normally finds me at the most inconvenient time. Might as well see if I can find the others first._ Touma pulled out his phone and dialed. "Hey Hamazura, would you happen to know where Mugino and Frenda are?"

"Umm," Shiage answered. "I believe they are at one of Mugino's apartments. There's nothing going on right now, so I can't be sure."

"Can you give me the address?" Touma asked.

"For security reasons I can't," Shiage replied. "But I can meet you somewhere nearby and show you."

"Great, thanks."

"Why are you looking for them instead of just calling?"

"I have to give them something and Mugino seems like the type to want others to come to her instead of the other way around. I just realized I don't know where she hangs out normally."

"I'll send you a location we can meet up in say, half an hour? I have something to finish up."

"That's fine," Touma replied. He hung up and a moment later he received the location. It was only about ten minutes away by bus, but he figured showing up early would be better than being late after asking for help. _I hope I can give them their gifts and head out. I still have to head back to my dorm for the others._ The bus actually came on time and he got to his destination with over fifteen minutes until Shiage was to show up. The area wasn't crowded, but there were still people going about their business. The buildings on the street were comprised of about half stores and half larger skyscrapers that could be offices or apartments. Touma decided to kill some time and look around. With his luck, the first window he looked in was a women's clothing store and underwear was being prominently displayed. He looked away, but not quick enough. Two women saw him and started whispering among themselves. Touma lowered his gaze and shuffled his feet until he was past the store.

"You know that just makes you look even guiltier," a young female voice said from behind him. The voice turned Touma's blood to ice and he spun around. Eve was standing in front of him in a pink long sleeve t-shirt with the words 'Girl Power' on the front and jeans. She grinned and waved at him.

"How long have you been following me?" Touma asked exasperatedly.

"What makes you think I have been following you?" Eve asked and Touma raised an eyebrow. He stared at her for a minute until she laughed. "Okay, I have, but only because I had nothing else to do today. I saw you giving gifts to your friends and I remembered what day it was." She looked at him expectantly with big round eyes. She looked so innocent to Touma at that moment, like a younger sister who knew her brother gotten her something.

"I have something for you," Touma finally said and Eve beamed at him. He pulled out a box wrapped in white wrapping. "Here you go. Thanks for giving me chocolate last month, but please stop trying to do things to me. Index found out what you put in them."

"I just wanted you to have an enjoyable holiday," Eve protested, as she ripped open the box. "Yay cookies!" She bite into one and sighed happily.

"By trying to get me mobbed by mind controlled girls?"

"Huh," Eve said after swallowing. "I thought most guys would enjoy that. Would you have preferred a pair of sunglasses that let you see through clothes?"

"No!" Touma answered immediately. He felt slightly ashamed a small part of his brain actually thought about that possibility. "If you really wanted to give me a gift, you could stop trying to kill God and go back to being a regular person."

"That would be impossible," Eve replied mildly. Her cheerful tone was gone, but she didn't appear angry. "Even if I wanted to." She wrapped the remaining cookies back up. "Since you are meeting someone, I'll get out of your hair today."

"Thanks?" Touma said confused. Eve was giving up to easily.

"But," Eve continued and Touma winced. "When the time comes for me to kidnap you and take you with me, I'll let you bring two of your friends to keep you company while under my… care. Think of it as thanks for being so nice to me."

"What do you mean by kidnapped!?" Touma asked wildly, but Eve didn't answer. She giggled and walked off. Touma could only stand there completely dumbstruck at what just happened. Touma didn't feel like browsing and just sat down on a bench and waited for Shiage. He didn't have to wait long and Shiage showed him to Shizuri's apartment. When he found out what Touma was planning to give Shizuri, Shiage decided staying was not a good idea. Touma wished he could leave too, but he had a job to do. He ranged the doorbell and waited.

"I got it!" a familiar voice called out. The door opened and Touma saw the small form of Saiai appear. "Kamijou?!" she asked confused. "What are you super doing here? How did you even find this place?"

"Hamazura told me…," Touma answered.

"Of course," she muttered.

"…and I have something to give to Frenda and Mugino," Touma continued. "Are they here?"

"They are," Saiai confirmed and stepped back. "Come on in." Touma nodded gratefully and stepped into the apartment. As soon as the door shut behind him, Saiai called out over her shoulder. "Mugino, Frenda, Kamijou is here to give something to you!"

"Kamijou?" Frenda stuck her head out of a room. "Seriously?"

"How did he even find this place?" Shizuri asked and walked out of another one.

"Hamazura told him," Saiai replied.

"I'm pretty sure I told him not to tell anyone a base location unless I give him permission," Shizuri mumbled. "I'll have to remind him of that." Touma made a mental note to apologize to Shiage. Her eyes turned to Touma. "What brings you here?"

"Basically," Frenda added. "You normally don't seek us out."

"I have a gift for each of you," Touma explained and pulled out two wrapped packages from his bag. "Thanks for the chocolates last month." He handed both of them one of the packages. When Saiai heard this, her eyes went wide.

"I know Frenda gave him some," Saiai gasped. "But Mugino too?" She froze when Shizuri narrowed her eyes and slowly turned her head toward her. "I'll just super be going then," she added quickly, before slipping away into another room.

"Thanks for the cookies," Frenda told Touma after opening her box.

"Can't say I expected this," Shizuri commented passively. Her face was unreadable. She didn't open her gift, but she could tell by the weight it wasn't cookies. "I don't normally give people anything, but you have been rather helpful when I summon you. Then you gave us a vacation which turned out to be rather more enjoyable than I thought." She looked down at the box. "I suppose thanks are in order. Do you want anything?"

"Huh?" Touma asked. _Did I hear wrong?_

"Mugino?" Frenda asked shocked.

"It's White Day," Touma reminded her. "I'm supposed to be giving the gifts today."

"I don't follow anyone's rules but my own," Shizuri scoffed. "Tell you what, you can order Frenda to do anything for you and she will do it, or she suffers the consequences." She grinned evilly when she saw the shocked looks on their faces.

"Mugino!" Frenda cried. "Don't suggest things like that. Basically, Kinuhata won't let me live it down."

"Pssh," Shizuri scoffed again. "It's not like he has the guts to order anything. If he did, I would actually make you carry out his order." Her eyes darted toward were Touma had been. "Wow, he disappeared faster than I thought."

"Did he learn how to teleport?" Frenda asked. The door was just swinging close. "Basically, if you knew he wouldn't do it, why would you suggest it?"

"To embarrass you," Shizuri pointed out and gave a short laugh. She walked back to her room and shut the door. Frenda was left standing in the main living room completely dumbstruck.

 _Mugino never joked around like that before,_ Frenda thought to herself. _She's been changing ever since he showed up._ She looked down at the box in her hand and picked up one of the cookies. She bit into it and her eyes went wide. _Wow, he is a good cook._

* * *

Touma stood outside his dorm.

 _I'm almost done,_ he thought to himself. If he was lucky, this would be his last stop. If he was unlucky, well, this would be his last stop but a far more permanent kind of stop. Kaori and Itsuwa were supposed to be at his dorm tonight with Index. Lessar would probably be there, unless she was off with the rest of her group. Bayloupe, Floris, and Lancis were still in the city. _They are the only four left. Lessar, please behave yourself._ Because he couldn't be sure when Hyouka would appear, he was planning to buy her some candy the next time he saw her. He opened the door and took a step inside. He smelled something cooking and then heard a familiar voice.

"Touma!" Index called out from the other room. "You're back already? Itsuwa said you would be late."

"I finished earlier than I expected," Touma replied. "Thanks for taking care of the food Itsuwa."

"It was not a problem," Itsuwa called out. "It's the least I can do after you let me stay here. If you haven't eaten yet, dinner will be ready momentarily."

"That will be great," Touma admitted. "I'm pretty hungry." He walked into the room where Index was and saw Kaori and Lessar sitting down around the table with Index. "What are you three doing?"

"Just playing a card game with runes," Index said.

"She's winning," Lessar grumbled. "She knows all the cards that have been played already so she doesn't have to guess as much." Index wasn't actually cheating, but her perfect memory was useful in games that required memorization. She looked up at Touma and grinned. "Sorry I can't greet your properly. The Saint here grabbed my tail as soon as you opened the door."

"You were planning to assault him the moment he walked into his own room," Kaori said calmly. "Good evening Kamijou."

"I wasn't going to assault him," Lessar protested. "I was going to greet him with intimate physical contact and then, in a freak unrelated incident, all of our clothes will disappear."

"Hence, assault," Kaori stated.

"How would your clothes disappear?" Index asked. "Is your clothing made with magic? You should know better. It happened to m-…" She suddenly grew red and shut her mouth. Kaori's eyes widened and she looked between Index and Touma. Before she could say anything, Lessar spoke up.

"That… THAT IS BRILLIANT!" Lessar exclaimed and caused everyone else to jump. "Why didn't I think of that before? Magic clothes that disappear at his touch? It's perfect. I'm going to have to get those ready then."

"Don't!" Touma yelled. Because of all the shouting, Itsuwa stuck her head in.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

"Lessar's acting crazy again," Touma explained. "But since you are all here," he reached into his bag. "I have gifts for each of you as thanks for the chocolates on Valentine's Day." He passed out the boxes to the girls.

"Thank you," Itsuwa said and turned red.

"This is a surprise," Kaori said. "Thank you." She was able to control her emotions better, but there was still a pink tinge on her cheeks.

"I knew Lover Boy cared about me," Lessar said happily.

"Yay, food!" Index cheered. "Thanks Touma." She tore into the packaging. Touma didn't have to worry about her spoiling her appetite, so he didn't say anything. "Wow, it's a book made of candy!" She pulled out a book made entirely of white chocolate and her name inscribed on the outside. She bit into it and her eyes lit up. "Yum, there's milk chocolate on the inside too! You're the best!" The other girls opened their boxes and looked inside.

Each of theirs was a rectangle bar of white chocolates with a drawing of their respective weapons on it. Kaori's piece had a picture of her Shichiten Shichitou. It might have looked like a normal blade, but the hilt was detailed enough for Kaori to identify it. She was surprised at how well Touma drew it. Itsuwa was in a similar mind set. Touma had drawn her weapon, the Friuli Spear. Lessar's piece had her signature Steel Glove drawn on it. All three girls were stunned for a moment as it sunk in and they had the same thought.

 _He really has been paying attention to me!_

"I can't be quiet after this," Lessar declared and stood up. Kaori had been so distracted she had let go of Lessar's tail. This was probably a mistake. "Let me express a proper thank you… by initiating a five-way!" She lunged into the air at Touma. While in midair, she was somehow able to remove half of her clothes before she collided into Touma.

"Stop Lessar!" Touma shouted and stood up with a half-naked Lessar clutching tightly to him. He tried to shake her off, but tripped. His luck wouldn't just let him fall onto the ground. Instead, he fell toward Kaori, who had stood up to help him. His face sunk right into her chest. For a fraction of a second, Kaori was speechless, and then her instincts kicked in. She was a maiden with no experience in anything remotely sexual. Her fist flew up and connected with the side of his head. With the force of her Saint straight, he was sent flying backwards. Touma's luck didn't end there. Instead, he was saved by another soft pillow. This time, it occurred in the shape of Itsuwa, when the back of his head landed directly in her chest. His momentum knocked her down and he was now laying on top of her with Lessar still clutched tightly to him. "Owe, my head."

"Are you okay?" Itsuwa asked concerned. Her face was glowing, but she was focusing on his wellbeing.

"Sorry," Kaori mumbled embarrassed. No one heard her because a much more sinister threat had appeared.

"Tooouummmaaa!" Index was sitting down, but a pitch black aura had formed around her and her eyes were glowing red. To make matters worse, she had set down her half eaten chocolate book. This was perhaps the most terrifying sign. Index was so mad, she had actually stopped eating. Lessar didn't help diffuse the situation with her next words.

"I was wondering if you were a top or bottom person, but it turns out you like to be sandwiched."

"Such misfortune," Touma moaned as the razor sharp nun teeth descended upon him.

* * *

"Sister Agnese," Lucia announced. "A package has arrived for you."

"A package?" Agnese asked and turned around. Lucia and Angeline where walking toward her. A small brown package was held in Lucia's hands. "I wasn't expecting anything. Who is it from?"

"It came all the way from Japan," Lucia read out loud. "Sent by Mr. Touma Kami-…" She never got to finish her sentence when Agnese moved so fast, her arm was a blur. The package disappeared out of Lucia's hand and Agnese looked down at it in her clutches.

 _What did he send me?_ she thought. _He should have called me if it was important. He has my number since England._ She unwrapped the box and pulled out a card. _Agnese,_ she read silently. _I don't know if you know about White Day in Japan, but it's a holiday where the people who received gifts on Valentine's Day return the favor. So I hope you enjoy these. Thanks again for the chocolates. Touma Kamijou._ Agnese smiled and opened the box. Inside were a dozen sugar cookies.

"What did he send you?" Lucia asked.

"A thank you gift," Agnese answered.

"Are those cookies?" Angeline asked and moved over next to Agnese. "Can I have one?"

"No," Agnese replied and held the box away from her. "He sent these specifically for me." A warning sound went off in her head at the hungry eyes from the other nun. It reminded her of Index. "I shouldn't be sharing these."

"Just one won't hurt," Angeline pleaded.

"Sister Angeline," Lucia reprimanded her. "Gluttony is a sin. You shouldn't be begging for other's food. You should be happy with vegetables, so you can grow up healthy and strong. Sister Agnese, you also shouldn't demonstrate the sin of greed."

"It's not like that," Agnese protested. "It's just a gift…" Her voice trailed off as she saw several other nuns peaked out from around bookshelves. An ominous aura was surrounding them. They had heard Agnese received a gift from the boy who had saved them all. Agnese gulped and felt sweat on her brow. _It looks like I have one choice. RUN!_ She turned and bolted down a side hallway with several nuns right behind her. Lucia was the only one left in the room and she rubbed the temples of her head.

* * *

"What do you have there?" Sherry Cromwell asked Orsola.

"It seems like I received a package from Mr. Kamijou," Orsola stated and sat down across from Sherry. She opened the package and her eyes skimmed the card. "How thoughtful. He sent me a gift as thanks for the chocolates I sent him last month. He's such a polite young man."

"Oh yeah," Sherry remembered. "It's White Day in Japan."

"He sent me some cookies," Orsola said and pulled out one. She bit into it and put a hand up to her cheek after she swallowed. "I think these are homemade. He is quite an accomplish chef."

"Are you forgetting something?" Sherry snapped and glared at her.

"My apologies," Orsola replied. She almost forgot simple etiquette. "Here you go." She held out the box across the table. "Would you like one? It was rude of me not to offer sooner."

"Not that!" snapped Sherry again. "We are in the library. You know you are not supposed to eat in here. Look, you already dropped a bunch of crumbs onto that book in front of you."

"Oops," Orsola commented and brushed the crumps off the book with her hand.

"Don't just knock them on the floor!" Sherry cried. "Do you even stop to think of your actions?"

"It would be easier to vacuum them off the floor than from the book," Orsola pointed out. Sherry face palmed.

* * *

"What is it Mark?" Leivinia muttered without even looking up from her desk. "I'm busy."

"An unusual package has arrived for you," Mark stated. This caused Leivinia to actually look up.

"What do you mean by unusual?" she asked. "We have procedures for when our rivals try something stupid like sending a trapped box. You better not be wasting my time with something so trivial."

"It's the sender," Mark explained and set the package down in front of her. "I figured you would want to see to it personally."

"Okay," Leivinia responded and now gave him her undivided attention. "If you are wasting my time, I'm going to get creative with my punishment." Marked gulped as she glanced down at the sender. "Humph, seriously? That boy sent me something? How did he even get our address?" Mark could only shrug. "What did he consider so important to actually mail to me?" She tore off the wrapping and ripped open the card. A tinge of pink formed on her cheeks when she read why he sent her a gift. She took a deep breath and composed herself. "Mark, how many people know of this?"

"The two people responsible for opening the mail today," Mark answered. "Me, and you."

"I see," Leivinia mumbled and leaned back in her chair. "Those two were just doing their job, so I suppose we can't outright dispose of them. Take those two out back and have them dig two holes."

"How large?" Mark inquired.

"Enough for two men who feel like they should talk to be buried alive," Leivinia said with a grin.

"Understood." Mark turned to leave.

"Oh, Mark?"

"Yes?"

"If rumors spread, it will be three holes." Mark nodded quickly and left. He shut the door behind him before Leivinia relaxed. "Seriously, what is that boy thinking? He needs to consider my position." She opened the box and bit into one of the cookies. "Yum, he is a good cook. Should I kidnap him and bring him here under the disguise of a new chef?" She spun around in her chair while grinning. Leivinia may be a ruthless leader of one of the largest magic cabals in the world, but she was still a young girl. She liked sweet things and when she wanted something, she would use everything in her power to obtain it. Touma was no exception to that rule. _You will be mine, one way or another._ She laughed before starting into another one of the cookies.

* * *

"… and that's why you can't waste time being so selfish," Elizard spoke harshly. Her arms were crossed in front of her as she sat at a large table. Across from her, looking bored out of her mind, was her daughter Carissa.

"Maybe if you actually found someone worth my time," Carissa retorted. "We wouldn't be in this situation."

"At this point, you can't really be that picky." Elizard sighed. "You currently are under probation due to your earlier actions, but I would prefer you to get out more. Maybe in the company of someone who can help achieve-…?"

"This conversation is over!" Carissa declared and slammed her hand on the table. She was about to stand up and Elizard opened her mouth, when a knock at the door interrupted them.

"You may enter," Elizard said, but did not take her eyes off Carissa. The large wooden doors opened and Knight Leader stepped in. The doors shut behind him with a loud bang.

"Sorry for the intrusion," Knight Leader apologized. "A package from Japan arrived for the princess and I needed to take precautions to avoid any unnecessary talk among the other workers."

"A package?" Carissa asked. She raised an eyebrow. Elizard's serious face instantly turned amused. "From Japan? Has it been screened?"

"I performed the screening personally," Knight Leader informed her and pushed the wrapped box across the table to her. "I would have waited to deliver this, but I believed this unusual situation would require a more immediate action."

"Who is it from?" Elizard asked Carissa. Carissa glanced at the sender information and her eyes narrowed. She ripped open the package and her suspicious expression turned to disbelief when she read the letter inside.

"What is this?!" Carissa demanded. "I never sent that boy anything! Why on earth would he think I would have the time!? Either this boy is stupid beyond belief, or someone set me up." Her brow furrowed.

"Who on earth would do that?" Elizard asked sweetly and Carissa's head slowly turned to face her.

"It was you," she whispered. Shock turned to rage and her face grew red with fury. "You are making that boy think I'm some kind of love-struck teenager!"

"You kind of are," Elizard pointed out. "Minus the fact you are in your twenties. You just can't admit you like that boy, so your dear sweet mother took it upon herself to help you out. No thanks are necessary."

"You!" Carissa shouted and was completely overcome with fury. She stood up and slammed her hands on the table. "Need to stop interfering with my social life!"

"If you would just find someone I wouldn't have to!" Elizard countered.

 _They are at it again,_ Knight Leader sighed. He left the room and closed the doors behind him. He could still hear them shouting and the very walls were shaking from their argument. _Time to move the other staff out of the building for their safety._

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Next chapter will be the start of the Australian battle. I am actually in the process of writing it already since I finished this chapter early. I just had to wait for the right time to release it. Oh, if you didn't know, a strange occurrence happened in Westgate Park, Melbourne, which is in southern Australia. It seems like the lakes there have turned a pinkish red color. This occurred shortly before the battle with Adam in my story.**

 **Coincidence?**


	94. S4 Battle for Australia: Plagues

**At last, the arc I have been looking forward to writing for so long. With everything that has been happening, it took forever to get to this point. Do I regret going slow? No. I promised myself I would not rush things to write the parts I really am looking forward to. I want this story to cover so much and flow together. If you only center on one person, you are bound to miss things happening all around them. It's why spinoffs work so well. Poor Australia though, with everything the people there have to put up with, now the magicians are causing problems too. I did do some research into some Aboriginal Australian legends and found out some interesting stuff. When you have so much time before reaching the point information is needed, you have plenty of opportunities to research. I'm sure it won't cause out hero misfortune though, right? Right? Let's move onto the comments now so we can get to the story.**

 **Brosephg: It did turn out to be more slice of life instead of pure chaos, funny, near-death experience like the first omake. For some reason, everyone wants Touma to suffer, but being poor just isn't enough. He has to physically suffer. I mixed in just enough misfortune he couldn't have a normal day. The ending though, that was by far my favorite. Sometimes, you have to be afraid of those you don't see than the ones you do.**

 **Whwsms: Minimum yes, but he still has to have some. The universe doesn't like Touma that much. Aleister and Laura huh? I would ship them.**

 **Theloneexplorer: Heh, it was kind of accidental. I randomly came across it when I was killing time in the Raildex forums. That's for spreading the word.**

 **anand891996: Our hero will have much more misfortune this chapter, but also the chance to show off.**

 **Anon Guest: Research purposes make the series so much better, but the girls found out. Eve will have to remember this the next time she does something similar. The Queen is the reason England is so loved, but Knight Leader really has to work his tail off to keep things running smoothly. Yuna, well, that question will be answered after the Australian arc during a hilarious little raffle.**

 **Master Knight Trolling: Nope, only Ruiko got a small increase from her level.**

 **GameCguru: I realized I should have had Motoharu do more, but then it would have become a two parter. Knight Leader has my deepest sympathies too.**

 **general ironox: The Queen is one of the greatest characters in the series.**

 **wildarms13: It was fun to write and did seem kind of short. I think it was because I split up the people so I didn't have twenty or so people interacting all at once. I knew the red likes in Australia couldn't be a coincidence.**

 **Syko-Soldier963: Magic abilities were kept secret, yes. Normal science side people wouldn't understand the difference. Well, in the series he had a harem, so we will see. If his body is made of Dark Matter, just like in the novel, a single hit by the IB would destroy him. For his appearance, you will have to wait and see.**

 **Acpeters: It was fun to write them on the receiving end instead of getting the courage to actually give Touma the gifts.**

 **Guest: I have read all the LNs and I still like Accelerator's description. I couldn't do everyone or the chapter would have gotten ridiculously long. There was a good chance those two wouldn't have given him chocolates. Holiday is more for kids and lovers. Seria is going to play a major role after Australia so I didn't want to do anything major with that yet. As for Eve, well, there are reasons. I don't fix grammar. Before I upload the next chapter I yell at my computer to fix some of the issues in the previous chapter. It does just enough so I don't destroy it. It saw what I did to the last computer when I threw it out of the window. It knows better.**

 **Agent Nine: I put the Queen and Carissa at the end to leave a strong impact because it was my favorite scene.**

 **Salishious: Out of your list, I kind of like Kanzaki and Mugino. The best thing is Mikoto and Misaki would follow them so Touma would have four girls. As for your list of events to happen, after Australia is finished with, there will be a lot of fun with them.**

 **MightyImpulse: The reason will be evident soon.**

 **Handsomistic1: It's not like Eve ever tries to attack them. England was only because they attacked her first and she had to defend herself. All she tries to do is give people gifts and they get all upset over it. No gifts for Laura, she didn't send him anything. Aftermath of the city fights will be shown after Australia. It chains together with a couple scenes that take place at the same time as the Australian fight, so I figured it would be better later.**

 **Jujudude: They are not canon because the timing difference is an issue. The main story takes place in late spring while the omake take place in Christmas and early spring.**

 **Generation Zero: You seem to have a lot of conspiracy theories and some of them may be closer than you think. You are the first person to mention St. Peter recently. A friend helped me design some of his magic, so it should be a good fight. You have so many ideas which mimic my own, so I really can't comment on the rest of it.**

 **FrodoFighter: Good to know and it appears you did not regret that decision. Or you might have when you think of the time spent reading and reviewing haha. Ah, I forgot the sisters in the Omake. I'll make Imouto have some awesome scenes to make up for it. Only three murders? I assumed the entire street would be a smoking crater. Let's say a kinky sex dungeon would be an improvement. It was a periwinkle apron, not pink. Good guess for Accelerator's delivery. Touma should have made his friends chocolate, what a jerk. For Misaki, that line was to keep it family friendly. We all know she would do ANYTHING. The correct term for doing something you are not supposed to is, "Challenge Accepted!"**

 **Kisses cause hard problems for our hero? No idea what you could mean there, *wink.* Food with love is great, but it still has to be food. Using dish washer fluid instead of an ingredient neutralizes the love and causes terrible bathroom pains. Hold hands? Mikoto would never do something like that you sexual deviant. I can't believe you would even think of something like that. Mugino joking is a really bad sign. Touma should watch his back. At the end, Lessar was willing to share. Everyone could be included, but they chose not to. The girls overseas were the best scenes. Did you not know? The requirement for Knight Leader is to find the sanest knight and raise him to deal with the royal family.**

 **vietnamese guy: If the situation arises, I might make a short mention of it.**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly. Magic Gods own all so they can do what they want.**

* * *

Touma awoke to a sight no one wants to wake up to.

A large spider was crawling toward his face.

Touma stared at it in silence for a moment. It was insanely large compared to the spiders he was used to. It was easily eight inches long and its face was completely visible as it walked across his stomach. Touma had a perfect unobstructed view of its soulless black eyes and large fangs. The spider's body was covered in mostly brown fur, but had some black stripes on its legs. The legs extended in a crab like fashion with each step. Touma tried not to breathe heavily, in case he startled it. He had no idea if it was poisonous or not and did not want to be bitten. He was about to jump out of the cot and pray he could flip the spider away from him, when he heard Imouto whisper into his ear.

"Don't move Misaka advises. Misaka can reach her gun." Touma's eyes darted to her and saw her right hand move off the cot. A quick movement made her action pointless. Something flew through the air and hit the spider squarely in the middle of its body. The spider was jettisoned off of him and hit the wall of the tent. It fell to the ground with a thud, a much louder sound than what a spider should have made. Touma leaned over and looked down to see a steel knife embedded in its abdomen.

"It's just a Huntsman Spider," Zach yawned. "They look creepy, but usually won't attack people unless provoked. Its bite does hurt a lot though."

"That nearly gave me a heart attack," Touma muttered and sat up in the cot. "You could have warned me."

"There's a lot of things worse in Australia than spiders," Zach pointed out. "That's not even counting Adam."

"Like what? Misaka wonders curiously. That spider will likely haunt Misaka's dreams for many nights." She propped herself up and looked over at Zach, who sighed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Like drop bears," he explained as he sat up. He yawned and looked at their confused faces. "Mutant koalas that jump out of trees and attack people who walk under them."

"Do they live around here?" Touma asked anxiously. _With my luck, I expect to find an entire den of them._

"Nah," Zach said dismissively. "Not enough trees in the area." He glanced at his watch. "Well, we are all up and would get less than half an hour more sleep if we tried. Might as well get ready." He spun his legs off the cot and slipped on his boots.

"So tired...," groaned Touma. He hadn't been able to sleep for most of the night because of how close Imouto was snuggling up to him. He sat up and she scooted over so he could put on his boots.

"Misaka slept peacefully Misaka also announces. The bed was very comfortable."

"I bet it was," Zach muttered with a grin. He stood up and opened the flap of their tent. "It looks like the earlier rises have already begun to move."

"Estimated time of departure? Misaka asks."

"I expect the alarm to go off in fifteen or twenty minutes and we move out in thirty."

"What are we going to do until then?" Touma asked and grabbed his canteen from under the cot.

"That's what I'm going to check on," Zach replied seriously. There was no longer amusement in his voice, which told Touma and Imouto what kind of battle they could expect. "Your friends who insisted on helping out would have been assigned their position last night, but you," he glanced at Touma. "Will be put in the location the princess determines to be the most strategic point."

"Misaka will accompany him Misaka states firmly."

"I… can't guarantee that," Zach admitted. "It's up to her."

"Misaka will accompany him Misaka repeats firmly."

"Let's wait and see," Touma suggested to Imouto and put a hand on her shoulder. "This is their mission and we are only here to help out. We don't want to do something that could jeopardize everything." Imouto stared at him for a moment before giving a brief nod. They followed Zach out of their tent and started heading toward the command tent. Touma opened his canteen and was about to take a drink of water when a sick rustic smell reached his nostril. The smell was familiar and almost made him vomit. "Zach, we have a problem." Zach and Imouto turned toward him and he poured out the content of the container. It was still dark, with only a fringe bit of lighter sky in the far horizon, but the lights from the camp was more than enough to identify the dark red liquid.

It was blood.

Touma held a hand up to his mouth in disgust. _I almost drank that._

"How did your canteen get filled with-…?" Imouto started to ask, but Zach cut her off.

"Damn it," he muttered. "Adam's on the move. We need to inform command-…" He was cut off by a loud, earsplitting siren. "Never mind, they know."

"What now?" Touma asked Zach. _I thought we would have a little longer to learn exactly what they want me to do. Are we going to move out now?_ He noticed the knights and nuns were flooding out of their tents. All looked ready for battle.

"We have to get to the command tent, NOW!" Zach, Touma, and Imouto started to full out run across camp. Touma had to force himself to ignore the shouting from all around him and focus on his destination. They reached the tent at the same moment George and Amelia did. George glanced at Touma for a fraction of a second and waved him in. Imouto followed, but Zach stayed outside. Touma looked around and saw, besides Amelia and George, Carissa and William were already inside.

"What happened?" Carissa demanded. "I need a full status report now."

"Adam has set his eyes upon us," George explained. "And his first target was our water."

"What did he do?" Amelia asked. "I didn't have time to find out."

"He transformed it into blood," Touma blurted out and everyone turned to look at him. "My canteen reeked and, when I poured it out, it had turned red."

"Makes sense," William grunted. "He uses the power of Exodus and we know he can cast magic based on the Plagues of Egypt. He has decided to focus that power against us now."

"What was the plague order again? Misaka asks in order to be prepared for the eventuality."

"After turning water into blood," George said. "There were frogs from the river, dust into lice, swarms of flies, diseased livestock, boils, thunderstorm of hail, locusts, darkness, and then death of the firstborn."

"We examined his magic to an extent," Amelia added. "If he wants to maximize the effectiveness of his spells, then he needs to cast them in order. His Plague of the Firstborn is powerful, but only covers a small area. If he wants to take out our army with it, he needs to wait."

"Do not think he can be rationalized that easily," William warned. "Assume he can do them out of order until proven wrong."

"Precisely," Carissa agreed. "We move out now before we get hit by the worst of it. George, Amelia, pass on to your lieutenants. The plan has changed."

"Understood!" They both pulled out their radio and started issuing commands. A shout from outside the tent caused the rest of them to turn toward the commotion.

"If you don't get out of my way!" the familiar voice of Leivinia Birdway roared. "You will wish Adam was the one who killed you!"

"Let them in!" Carissa ordered. "We don't have time for this shit." The flaps to the tent opened and Leivinia entered, followed by Lessar.

"So everyone is already here?" Leivinia asked ad looked around. "Good." Her eyes paused on Touma and Imouto.

"Agnese said her forces were working on removing the spell on our water," Lessar added. She twirled her Steel Glove in her hand.

"First good news today," Carissa commented. "We can't march into battle for long without water. However, standing here and giving Adam a motionless target is suicidal. We have to move out." She turned to Lessar and Leivinia. "You two will be split up with George's and Amelia's group. If either of their forces encounter Adam or a possible companion of his, they will need your expertise and knowledge. Do you have any complaints with that?"

"Nope," Lessar replied.

"The idea is solid," Leivinia agreed. "What about him?" She pointed a finger at Touma.

"He will be with the initial strike force to destroy Adam's barrier," Carissa answered. "Led by me personally." Her eyes narrowed, as if she dared the others to object. Leivinia crossed her arms and frowned, but then reluctantly nodded.

"With his hand," Lessar muttered, but finally consented. "You should be able to break through any magical defenses instead of trying to decipher them. Okay, that should be fine." She leaned over toward Touma. "But afterwards, I'm coming to your tent." Touma gulped.

"Then gather your forces and move out," Carissa commanded. George and Amelia saluted, but Lessar, Leivinia, Touma, and Imouto merely nodded. They were just about to exit, when the sound of more yelling was followed by loud croaking.

"It seems like the frogs have arrived Misaka comments." They flooded out of the tent and looked around. Thousands upon thousands of bright green frogs were all over the camp. They were getting in the way of troops forming up, hopping into tents, and getting on everything. "You can tell the knights are well trained in these unusual situations Misaka whispers. This magic does not make sense though. Calling this many frogs in an environment that does not support them should not be possible." Touma looked around and saw what Imouto was referring to about the knights. The knights didn't seem to mind the frogs and would step on them without breaking formation. Anything the frogs were on, the knights just knocked them off. Groups were forming in different locations and Agnese's nuns were running to join them.

"That bastard is playing around with us," Amelia growled. "He can't honestly believe these cheap tricks are going to amount to anything. All he's doing is giving us time to prepare for the worst plagues."

"He really is perverting the purpose of the bible," William added. "The plagues were made to punish the Pharaoh of Egypt to free the slaves, not for villains to subjugate armies. It is as if Adam's goal is to show off his power."

"I find it more disturbing he can imitate the magic Moses performed," George muttered.

"Why?" Touma asked.

"Because Mosses was just supposes to be a medium for God to create the plagues," George answered solemnly. "He didn't actually perform the magic himself. Adam is actually performing magic that God used. Eve may not have the appearance of a Magic God, but Adam… be prepared for anything Touma Kamijou."

"If you are done blabbing," Carissa said. "You and William go lead your troops, along with," she paused and looked at Lessar and Leivinia. "New Light's representative." Lessar nodded and walked off after George and William. She glanced over her shoulder and seemed slightly disappointed.

"We have company," Amelia warned them and then pointed. In the distance there was a black blurry cloud moving directly at them. The thing was this cloud was much lower to the ground and semitransparent. As it neared, Touma noticed it wasn't what it appeared. It was a cloud of insects and it began to split into smaller swarms before hitting their base.

"I thought lice was next," Touma pointed out. "Does this mean he can skip plagues?"

"I doubt he skipped it," Carissa informed him. "Keep moving." She pushed him forward before continuing. "My men have protection on their armor. Lice wouldn't be able to bother them once they put it on. The church forces will have their own unique defenses, same with New Light and the Dawn-Colored Sunlight."

"I didn't notice them," Touma muttered and glanced at Imouto.

"Misaka did not feel any lice either Misaka confirms."

"Your hand is preventing miner plagues from approaching you," Leivinia explained and rolled her eyes. "You should know that by now. He probably spread the dust last night in preparation. I don't know why you would be unaffected." She gazed suspiciously at Imouto. "Maybe the nuns put defenses on your tent."

"Misaka does not know why Misaka lies." Touma almost face palmed.

 _You need to learn not to say you are lying,_ he thought to himself. He knew why Imouto had been unaffected by the plagues so far. Since she had been sleeping in the same bed as him, his right arm had been wrapped around her, which meant his hand had touched her most of the night. Leivinia didn't know that, only Zach and Imouto did. _Please don't tell anyone about last night Zach. I promise I'll rat you out about those rumors if you do. Birdway is under the impression I work for her or something, so she's going to be unreasonable if she finds out about it. It's not like I can really say no if someone asks me something so seriously…_ He gulped as Leivinia's cold and calculating eyes examined him. It was lucky the situation they were in was so dire, so she couldn't interrogate him.

"You know," Carissa murmured and Touma was surprised to hear amusement in her voice. "We brought certain… devices with us, but I didn't think we would get a chance to use them. It was only a precaution. Heh, this should be a sight." She kept walking toward a large group of knights in the distance. There was another group further away, so Touma figured one of them was Amelia's squad, since she was still with them. "You should see this boy." Carissa glanced at him for a moment.

"Huh?" Touma was confused. His question was answered a moment later as several bright reddish-orange flames erupted along the border of the base camp. It was still pretty dark out, so the flames were clearly visible, even at a distance.

"It appears to be knights wielding flamethrowers Misaka identifies as she squints her eyes."

"Not a bad plan," Leivinia acknowledged. "Swarms of insects are easy to take out with them. If your men can't do their job properly, I can make up for their incompetence." She twirled her wand in her hand. Amelia looked like she wanted to say something, but kept her mouth shut. "When am I branching off into the other group anyway?"

"Amelia's squad is currently with mine and will break off shortly before we reach Adam's barrier," Carissa told her. She grabbed her radio from the waist and held it up to her mouth. "I need a status update on our defenses, any effects of Adam's magic… and why is everyone not in position?!"

"The flamethrower unit is working out as planned," the voice on the other end answered. Touma could hear his voice shaking slightly. "Only a small percentage of the flies have gotten through. They are an annoyance at best. However, our horses were struck down by his magic..."

"Diseased livestock," muttered Amelia. "The fifth plague."

"…we had to move the main body of troops out of the way to allow the flamethrowers through. Everyone will be in position in under one minute. The frogs made the terrain slippery."

"Everyone better be ready when I get there," hissed Carissa. "Remember, do not stand outside the border of the camp." She disconnected and hung the radio back on her hip. She kept walking and the others followed.

"If we were hit by the fifth plague Misaka interjects. Then does that mean we are halfway through Adam's offense?"

"Don't be fooled," Leivinia told her. "The first five plagues are more annoyances than actual problems. The last half is much worse and ends with death."

"Why do you not want the troops to stand outside of camp?" Touma asked Carissa. "Do you have a barrier in place or something?"

"Yes," Carissa confirmed. "It's one of our few defenses against the Plague of the Firstborn. The plan was to strike at Adam before he initiated his magic, but it was only one delay after another." She glared at Touma as if it was his fault. "So now, we have no choice but to wait this out. If we march now, there is a good chance we will be out in the open during the final plague."

"But isn't waiting in enemy territory a strategic mistake Misaka questions?"

"We know!" Amelia and Carissa growled. Touma shrugged at Imouto and she imitated his action. They made their way to the far side of the camp where two large platoons of knights had gathered. Two tanks were parked further behind them. All the knights were in full armor with helmets, so Touma could not see their faces. He had experienced firsthand how the armor augmented their physical abilities, plus he couldn't tell how many magical protections they had. Behind the knights, the Agnese Forces had gathered. He had glimpsed a few of them running around in the camp center, so they must have been keeping a small group back for communication purposes. One of the nuns closest to Touma gave him a brief nod of her head, which he returned. Carissa stepped between the two groups and every one of them went silent. Touma couldn't see, but he knew every pair of eyes were on her. Only the sounds of multitude of frogs and buzzing insects were heard.

"Listen up!" Carissa announced. Her voice radiated authority and Touma felt his muscles stiffen up automatically. His eyes fell on Imouto, who was watching Carissa intently, and then Leivinia, who actually was paying attention, but not nearly as intently. "Due to one screw up after another, we have not been able to set out against Adam before he turned his eyes upon us. We have no choice but to bunker down until his magic has finished. If we march toward his base, we will be caught out in the open. No doubt the forces of England could handle an attack of his caliber, but our offensive power would surely be diminished. So, we will weather the storm and strike back when he thinks he has won. This battle will end before the sun shines down directly above us and it will be his complete defeat! The threat to England ends today!"

Touma was forced to cover his ears from the force of the knights' and nuns' cheer.

"They are in high spirits Misaka says loudly over the noise!" Even so, Touma could barely hear her. "Misaka's ears still hurt though!" Touma nodded in agreement.

"She's just riling up their morale," Leivinia muttered when the cheers finally subsided. "The fighting is going to be intense, so if they started depressed, I doubt they could perform at peak effectiveness for long."

"The second princess does have a way to inspire loyalty," Amelia said. "Us knights trust her completely."

"Maybe too much with the knights," Leivinia replied with a sinister grin. Amelia turned and frowned at her. "Right?"

"Birdway!" Touma hissed.

"What? It's true."

"Too soon."

"Troops!" Carissa continued. "Remember, you have full authority to use all necessary force against Adam and his men-….!"

"AND IT WILL ALL BE FOR NAUGHT!"

The boom of thunder echo across the camp and everyone turned in the direction of Adam's barrier. The voice that had spoken was undeniably male. It was dark, serious, devoid of laughter, and unmistakably familiar.

"Adam," Touma said hoarsely and made a fist.

"Show yourself demon!" Carissa roared in the direction the voice had come from, but Adam did not respond. Instead, ominous clouds began to form over the area were his barrier had been placed.

The grey clouds appeared out of nowhere. They started to swirl and grew in size right before Touma's eyes. The clouds twisted in midair to form a huge vortex high above them. Lightning flashed across the sky and from behind the clouds. Thunder boomed and the wind begun to pick up. Then the clouds began to extend outwards. They moved like arms stretching out to embrace someone in a hug. The grey mass was slowly beginning to surround their camp. As the clouds stretched, they grew darker. The greatest concentration of clouds was still over Adam's barrier, but it was gravitating toward them. Reddish-orange light peaked out from the top, like an inferno was raging inside the twister. The further down Touma's eyes traveled, the darker the clouds grew. The middle had a sickly purple color while the clouds at the bottom were almost black. The clouds send shivers down Touma spine and then they stopped moving right before they were directly over their heads.

"This magic…" Amelia mumbled and trailed off.

"Misaka has not observed cloud formations move like that Misaka whispers."

"Yeah," Touma agreed. He didn't bother to mention it was magic. _She most likely knows._ The clouds started to shift and something began to jettison out of the swirling mass. The outline of a face slowly pushed its way out of the clouds and glanced down at them. The face was only a rough sketch, but they could immediately tell it was Adam.

"It is a shame you value your lives so lightly!" Adam boomed down at them. "If you had stayed away, you could have lived to see tomorrow!"

"I knew you wouldn't ignore us!" Carissa shouted up toward the sky. "Humph, I wonder how well he can hear me."

"There is not much I can't observe!" Adam said and Carissa looked surprised. "Including Eve's betrayal! I know she told the Imagine Breaker where I was!" This caused a lot of muttering to break out among the troops. Touma's eyes went wide in surprise.

 _I can't believe Eve actually betrayed him,_ Touma thought. _When she gave me the hint, I thought she was just goofing around. What could she gain by doing that?_ He turned to Leivinia. "What's so funny?" he asked her when he saw her grinning.

"It's hard for powerful people to work together for a long time," she explained quickly. "They eventually want to one-up the other one. If these two have been working together for centuries, I bet Eve was waiting for the perfect opportunity to betray him. She plans to use us to do her dirty work. From my brief glimpses of her, I don't think she is entirely sane. Adam is much more collected."

"So the odds of a trap is decreasing Misaka says relieved. Though, it is a possibility Eve expects us to finish each other off so neither side can stop her."

"A good observation," Amelia agreed. "That is why we couldn't commit all of our forces."

"So," Carissa replied to the face in the sky. "Eve not only messes with us, she interferes with you too. I suppose it doesn't matter. Today is your last day."

"It is!" Adam agreed. "I am just about finished! All my preparations will be complete by sundown! Your appearance changes nothing!" The face in the sky grinned, which immediately caused every alarm in Touma's mind to go off. He glanced at Carissa, Amelia, and Leivinia and noted their expressions had all turned solemn. Every time Adam appeared, he had never once laughed, or even smiled. He was always calm and emotionless, the exact opposite of Eve. This was not a good sign. "You are lucky I am in a good mood! After eons, our justice will be served, so I will make this offer! Leave and I will spare your lives!"

"As if!" Carissa roared back. "We will crush you where you hole yourself up like a frightened kitten!"

"Misaka believes that would count as animal cruelty Misaka states with distaste."

"Then the death of your men rests solely on you!" A tremendous lightning bolt roared across the sky at Adam's words and was immediately followed be an earsplitting boom. Adam would not repeat himself. His offer was a onetime deal. Carissa's denial set forth the next chain of events. Touma did not expect her to agree, he knew for a fact she wouldn't, but he wished she chose her words better. The mass of dark clouds moved over them and the inferno higher up only intensified. "Let them feel the pain from your stubbornness and pride!"

"AHHHH!"

Dozens of people started yelling out in pain, both male and female. Touma turned around wildly and then heard the sound of breaking glass. _My hand went off,_ he realized. Not everyone was being affected by the invisible attack. It seemed like less than half were, but with everyone together, it seemed like a much greater number. Touma had no idea what was happening, but then a girl's cry of pain cause him to turn. "Imouto?!" He saw her collapse to her knees and her gun had fallen to the ground next to her. He crouched down next to her. "What's wrong?" She looked at him and her lips were pressed tightly together to avoid crying out again. She pulled back one of her sleeves and Touma almost gagged. Her arm was covered with pulsing red boils. It looked just like what the kid's sister in the small town had, but they were appearing much faster and looked ready to burst already. He reached over to her and touched her arm with his hand. The sound of breaking glass rang out and the boils instantly disappeared. Imouto blinked and looked up at him.

"Thank you Misaka says gratefully. There was nothing Misaka could do to stop the pain."

"Adam is serious now," Touma muttered angrily. He stood up and helped Imouto her feet and looked around.

"Let me see your hand," Leivinia demanded and grabbed his hand after he had let go of Imouto. Once again, he heard the sound of it going off and he managed to catch a glimpse of a couple red boils disappearing from Leivinia's arm. "That's better. Good job at being useful."

"I didn't hear you say anything or I would have helped out sooner," Touma said.

"A little pain won't be enough to stop me," Leivinia bragged. "You don't have to worry about me so much. Instead, you should probably start attending to the others. It's only going to get worse."

"No doubt," Amelia agreed. "Mr. Kamijou, can you start curing our troops before the next wave of attacks? We should help as many as possible."

"Of course," Touma agreed quickly and stepped forward. He may have been immune to Adam's magic, but everyone else was suffering. He could feel Carissa's eyes on him, but he walked up to the nearest person he could tell was afflicted by the plague of boils. The person was one of Agnese's nuns and there were several large boils on her neck. She looked up at him as he approached and he noticed her face was slightly pale. "I'm going to help," he reassured her and touched her arm. The boils disappeared and the nun's face regained its color. She was just about to thank him when the tip of his finger brushed against the cuff of her habit. His hand went off again.

The poor girl's outfit exploded before his eyes.

"Err…" Touma trailed off and let go of the girl's arm. There was no way he could have known the nuns were wearing habits designed for combat and such were made from magic. In hindsight, after the run with Agnese in Italy so long ago, he should have considered that possibility. "I'm s-…" He didn't get another word out.

"KYAAAAAAAAAA!" the nun shrieked and dove down to cover herself.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Amelia roared and Touma felt himself get punched by her and another, most likely Leivinia. Touma fell down to the ground next to the nun, who stood up and ran off behind the others. Two of the other nuns passed her a spare outfit. Touma didn't immediately get up, his head was still spinning, but he could hear many of the nuns mumbling about him and the knights hardly contained their amusement.

"Zach was right," Touma heard one of them say. "This boy is a riot."

"I can't believe I forgot he was completely clueless," Carissa muttered and rubbed her temple with her hand. A flicker of annoyance flashed on her face. "Silence!" she suddenly yelled out in frustration and the troops immediately shut their mouths, except from an occasional gasp of pain from someone afflicted by the boils. "That boy doesn't know anything about our magic, so that kind of accident was to be expected. It was her fault for not realizing it either." Touma opened his mouth but Leivinia elbowed him in the side. "Most of you have seen his negation before, so this should not be a surprise. We don't have time to goof around and make fun of him right now, so if you are affected by the boils, get in line and let him touch you with his hand. Oh, and roll up your damn sleeves!"

Things went smoothly after that. In no time, Touma went through and cured the inflicted troops while the storm above them raged. The nuns he cured were divided into three groups. The first group thanked him and moved on. The second group turned red at his touched and quickly left. He figured they did not have much exposure to males close to their age. The third group glanced at him suspiciously, the memory of the first girl still fresh in their minds. Touma also noticed the knights kept back and waited for the nuns to go first, even though a couple of them were staggering slightly. This was something he could understand. The men were allowing the women to go first to get healed while they waited, even if they were suffering. Touma would have always let others go first. When it was finally their turn, the knights just removed a glove so Touma did not touch their armor. When the last one was finished, he walked back to Leivinia and Imouto.

"It wasn't your fault what happened Misaka says reassuringly. Accidents happen, even if they occur unusually often around the savior."

"That's not my fault," Touma protested. "But I should have realized their clothes might have been magic." He could feel Leivinia's amused expression on him and he went silent. His gaze moved to Amelia, who was issuing orders to the troops. Even if they were confined to the base camp, there was no way they were going to be slacking off. Troops were moving around and setting up runes and spells to prepare for the inevitable. "I am worried about Ruiko and Frenda though. They don't have magical protection. If they had been one of the ones afflicted by Adam's spell…" he trailed off and made a fist.

"Don't go thinking of running off on your own," Leivinia said from behind him. He turned toward her. "The knights and Anglican forces have their own magic to combat this. Your hand was just a more convenient use for our group. Stop distracting yourself and be prepared for what's about to happen."

"I'm not going to abandon the people who got dragged along in all this," Touma told her forcefully. She sighed and shook her head, but didn't argue. Touma felt Imouto put her hand on his shoulder, one of the few social gestures she knew, to try to reassure him. He smiled at her, but gently removed her hand. He took a few steps away and glanced back across the camp. He saw the other main group, which George was leading. Lessar was over there and possibly Frenda. _She wouldn't want to be left out. Ruiko has to be back somewhere in the camp. Be careful, all of you._ He turned back to his group and frustration overtook him. They were so close to Adam's stronghold and they still couldn't stop him from doing whatever he was doing. His eyes finally fell on Carissa, who was being unusually silent. She was only standing and glaring at the rest of her troops, with her arms crossed in front of her. Touma didn't know why, but he felt like something was wrong. He slowly gravitated toward her.

"What do you want?" Carissa muttered, without turning to look at him. Her voice sounded slightly strained.

"Are you okay?" Touma asked. He kept his voice down.

"I'm fine. Worry about yourself." Touma's eyes fell to her arm and saw it flinch slightly. It finally dawned on him.

"Adam's magic hit you, didn't it?"

"Keep your mouth shut," Carissa whispered angrily and she glared at him out of the corner of her eye. "I can't let the troops know their leader can be easily affected by the enemy's magic. Besides, it's not like yelling out in pain will solve anything."

"It's not going to do them any good if you can't fight at full potential," Touma protested.

"Whatever," Carissa relented. "You should realize how lucky you are. Common folk don't normally get to touch royalty."

"I know," Touma said and discreetly touched a bare spot on her arm. His hand went off. "But it's not the first time," he mumbled and then his brain realized what he said. Carissa's head turned toward him and he backed away immediately for fear of his life. He knew he shouldn't have said that, but his fatigue and the tension of their predicament were getting to him. He kept backing up as lightning shot out of Carissa's eyes. Well figuratively, there was a lot of anger directed at him for opening his mouth. Touma was about to apologize when the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. This was a feeling he knew all too well. It had been a long time since he had been targeted by it, but his body instantly reacted.

He raised his right hand above him.

Then the sky above him dropped the lightning.

"Damn it!" he cried as the lightning struck his hand. The hairs on his arm stood up from the static electricity, but the lightning was immediately negated. _All those times Mikoto chased me around the city really came in handy. I'm so used to surprise lightning strikes. I need to remember to thank her._ He blinked to stop the white spots from the sudden flash of light caused by the lightning and looked around. The full situation began to dawn on him. Lightning was not limited to his group. It was constantly striking down randomly upon the camp. Tents struck by the lightning caught on fire, the thunder threaten to deafen his hearing, and the sudden flashes of bright light kept temporarily blinding him. Adam's assault didn't stop there. The clouds above them roared and the red inferno intensified.

Hail began to rain down.

It wasn't normal hail in many ways. First, it was not nearly as numerous as a natural storm would produce. The hail was far more spread out, as if to maximize its appearance, rather than the destruction. Second, the hail was roughly the size of softballs. A well place hit on someone's head would probably kill them from the force of the blow alone. The third, and perhaps more importantly, was the hail was glowing.

It was on fire.

One of the softball size pieces of hail hit the ground less than ten meters away from Touma. On impact, the hail exploded and lit a nearby tent on fire. Touma looked around and saw the slowly increasing rain of fire descend upon their camp, with occasional bolts of lightning. The sounds of explosions and yelling were muffled slightly by the ringing in his ear, but he could tell some people were beginning to panic. He heard Carissa shout something to the knights and he turned. The knights had raised their shields and formed a wall with them parallel to the earth, with the nuns ducking underneath it. There were plenty of gaps between the shields, but Touma saw a piece of flaming hail exploded a few inches above their shield wall and the flames never reached them. He realized their shields had formed complicated designs in the air and that must have been some kind of magical shielding rune. He was temporarily distracted and forgot he was standing out in the open.

"Look out!" Imouto dived forward and tackled Touma an instant before one of the flaming hail flew down at him. He fell backwards and Imouto landed on top. She rolled off of him and sprung to her feet, before she reached down and helped him up.

"You two need to find some cover!" Leivinia yelled at them and a large wall of stone rose from the earth next to them. It intercepted three explosions before the assaulting weather wore it down. She was standing under a small dome with one side opened so she could see them. Leivinia scooted out of the way to allow Imouto and Touma to rush in. "Seriously, you cause us no end of trouble. With your hand, you can't share the protection of the knights' runic shields and we can't give you armor. Don't touch the walls or this shelter will come down on us." She held up a disc in her hand. Her Symbol Weapon was based on the principle of ether and by transforming it into different shapes, she could control different elements. The wand was her primary form, which controlled fire, while the disc allowed control of the earth. As long as she kept using the disc form, she could regenerate the shelter after each explosion from the hail.

"Sorry about that," Touma apologized, but he quickly changed the subject to something more important. "Frenda and Lessar are with the other knights, so they should be okay under their shields, but what about Ruiko? She's still somewhere in the camp." He looked out across the remains of the once proud camp. Tents had collapsed and were on fire, the ground was covered in depressions from the explosions, and black smoke was rising into the sky, which caused the scenery to appear even darker when added to the black clouds above them.

"She is probably in one of the main tents," Leivinia said with a shrug. "They have better defenses than the sleeping tents. Think of them as small fortresses."

"I'm going to make sure," Touma said and stepped out of the stone shelter.

"You idiot!" Leivinia yelled at him.

"Misaka thinks the savior should stay too Misaka says to express her desire. But Misaka also knows how the savior is, so please be careful." Leivinia face palmed when Touma turned to give Imouto a brief nod.

"If you die, it's not my fault!" she yelled at him and then pouted. Touma had taken several steps away from the safety of her shelter and dodged a piece of hail, when he heard a voice.

"Stop boy!" He turned and saw Carissa marching toward him. She effortlessly sidestepped three balls of fire and stopped in front of him. "What do you think you are doing?! Your orders were to stay here!"

"I can't stand here when my friend could be trapped back there!" Touma replied forcefully. He stared at Carissa directly in the eyes, even though she was taller than him. "I'm going to check to make sure she is okay, then I will be back."

"If an opening appears and we can't move out because you are missing," Carissa countered. "How many more people are going to die?"

"I can't abandon her," Touma argued. "I'm going to check up on her and if you want to stop me, you will have to do it by force." For a second they stared at each other in silence and Touma was too focused on her to be aware all the eyes of the knights and nuns were staring at him. His eyes lowered when Carissa drew her sword from her hip. _Wait… is she actually going to strike me?_ Her blade moved faster than his eyes could follow, but the strike wasn't aimed at him. A piece of flaming hail had been flying at her and she struck it. The hail didn't explode, but ricocheted off her blade and hit the ground a couple meters away. It exploded on contact with the ground and the wind whipped her blonde hair slightly. Touma saw another piece of hail flying down at him and he reached upwards with his right hand. The hail hit his opened palm and he felt something. _It's solid, like a stone._ With the sound of breaking glass, the flaming stone disappeared without a hint of an explosion.

"Not bad," Carissa complimented.

"I can take care of myself," Touma pointed out. "Now, I'm going to check up on her."

"You can do that," Carissa finally conceded. "But I had a quicker method in mind." She pulled out her radio. "This is your commanding officer. The Imagine Breaker boy is being difficult. What is the status of his companions left in camp?"

"Only one is left in camp and she is currently in the medical bay helping out with the few people caught outside when the thunderstorm and hail appeared. She was not injured."

"Roger," Carissa finished and hung up. "This is much faster than running around blindly. Use your head once in a while."

"I tell him that all the time!" Leivinia called out. "He doesn't learn!"

"If she's okay," Touma said slowly. "Then I don't have any reason to leave." He looked up at the sky and saw the clouds above them begin to spread out. The thunderstorm had stopped and the hail was falling less and less frequently.

"Whatever," Carissa sniffed. "I can't have you running all over the place and abandoning your post. Look sharp, this plague is almost over." Touma nodded and hustled over to Imouto and Leivinia. There was less of the flaming stone hail, but it was still coming down. Taking shelter was the best course of action. Leivinia glared at him for being stupid, but Imouto was also staring at him with a look Touma couldn't identify. He was also now aware of the nuns and knights watching him.

"Is it my imagination or are they staring at me more often than necessary?" Touma asked.

"After the stunt you just pulled?" Leivinia asked incredulously. "You argued with the commanding officer while simultaneously knocked away a very powerful magical attack and made it look like you didn't even care."

"Oh," Touma mumbled embarrassed and rubbed the back of his head. "Was it that big of a deal? Carissa hit it away with a sword."

"Misaka also has noticed you have been addressing the commanding officer very casually Misaka points out with a trace of suspicion." Birdway smirked evilly.

"Huh?" Touma asked bewildered. "What's that have to do with anything?"

"Nothing Misaka mumbled irritated." She looked away from him and Touma couldn't understand what he did wrong.

"INCOMING!"

Touma stepped out of the shelter, when he heard someone yell, and was closely followed by Imouto and Leivinia. The hail and thunder had finally stopped and the clouds above them had thinned. The warning shout was indicating a new threat. Swarms of black dots in the distance were approaching the camp. It was like black streams were flowing across the sky. As they drew nearer, the hum of thousands upon thousands of beating wings reverberated through the air. The streams were actually swarms of locust. There were so many, it would be impossible to guess the numbers.

"Get the flamethrowers ready!" Amelia ordered to the knights, but they were not fast enough. Even moving immediately at her words, only a few managed to position themselves and start burning the swarm. There were not enough of them compared to the insects and the camp was soon completely covered. The locusts did not care where they landed. All the plant life was being devoured while everyone else was being covered by them. The knights and nuns were crushing the ones that came close, while Leivinia turned her weapon back into a wand and started joining in burning the pests.

"There's so many," Touma said and immediately regretted it. One of them crawled into his mouth and he gagged. He reached up and grabbed its leg to prevent it from crawling down his throat. The plan was to pull it out, but Touma received a surprise. The leg disappeared, along with the rest of the insect. _The insects themselves are magic? How? Did Adam create them like Eve? But his power was supposed to be different. We didn't consider the possibility they both could use creation magic._ The rest of his body was covered with locusts, but his hand was clear. He held it up to his face so he could see between his figures without an insect leg poking him in the eye. The knights were faring better than most, with their armor providing the most protection. The locusts were still trying to slip in between the slits on their helms though. The nuns were fairing the worst and were in similar positions as Touma, without the convenience of his hand. An occasional flash of light, fire, or other type of magic occasionally went off as they tried to clear themselves of the pests.

The crackle of electricity next to Touma caused him to turn.

"Misaka does not like these types of animals Misaka states in disgusts. Misaka will stick to cats." She was constantly generating a small electrical field around herself. Any locusts that came into contact with her generated a small blue spark and then fell to the ground paralyzed. Touma immediately thought of a bug zapper and couldn't help grinning. "What is so funny? Misaka asks."

"Nothing," he said quickly and looked at Leivinia. "Birdway, are you o-…?" His question was answered by a wall of fire erupting around her. She stepped out of it and looked completely unharmed. The smell of roasted insects lingered in the air though.

"No matter how many I toast," Leivinia complained. "They keep coming."

"We need to find a way to repel them!" Touma turned toward Amelia, the one who was giving out orders. "Knights, provide cover for the Anglican forces to give them time to devise a spell." The knights formed several circles around groups of the nuns like a well-oiled machine. There was a slight glow from their shields, but it didn't seem to provide any protection. The locusts ignored what they were doing and continued to try to find their way into every nook and cranny. "Why aren't our wards working?" Amelia asked Carissa.

"Hmm," Carissa murmured. The locusts were covering her, but she only wiped them off her face. "The locust plague was designed to eat plant life, not animal. It's possible Adam designed these locusts to eat mana refined from our life energy. Mana isn't technically animal and exists naturally in nature too. What do you think?" She addressed the last question to Leivinia.

"Pretty good theory," Leivinia agreed. "It would explain why your armor and wards already set up are not affected. They target spells that require a constant source of mana being refined."

"That's going to be annoying while we devise a countermeasure," Carissa fumed. "Amelia, any ideas?" They started talking in rapid hushed voices.

"Misaka won't be able to keep this up for long Misaka reports." Touma turned toward her. "The strain of keeping a constantly electrical circuit is very taxing."

"Try to hold on a little while longer," Touma whispered. He couldn't do anything else to reassure her. If he touched her, he would either get shocked or negate her ability. "The plagues are not lasting that long."

"That's because Adam is rushing to the last one," Leivinia hissed. "These are just to wear us down."

"And it's working," Touma mumbled back dryly. He took a couple cautious steps and another cloud of locusts rushed past him. There was still no end to them. He saw several of Agnese's forces being harassed by the insects and there was little they could do about it now. Leivinia couldn't keep up magical flames around them all precisely, or she didn't want to. Touma couldn't be completely sure about her level of skill. There was also nothing he could do right now either. He felt so useless, like he was watching everyone else suffer. _Adam is just letting us suffer from a safe distance. He could face us directly, but he's going about it from the safety of his base._ Touma suddenly felt angry and made a fist. He was clenching it so tight, his knuckle was turning white. His hand pulsed. _Huh, oh that's right. I keep forgetting I can do this._ His hand could make the locusts disappear, so an area pulse could take out a large number of them.

He held out his hand and a white light emitted from it.

The wave of light engulfed him and all the insects disappeared. He blinked and was glad not to have hundreds of legs crawling all over his body. He looked around and received a surprise. Insects were disappearing behind him. It was like an invisible wave from his hand was flowing toward the center of the camp and disintegrated the insects. A blank strip devoid of insects appeared, before the rest of the insects began to spread out to fill the space. _What happened? Are they somehow connected and negating the area interfered with it somehow?_ He suddenly felt a vicelike grip on his arm and then pain. He turned to see Carissa staring at him.

"Why didn't you mention you can negate besides with just a touch?!" she demanded.

"Err," Touma stuttered as he thought about it. "I only recently learned about it and I'm not use to using it a lot. It slips my mind."

"For the love of-…," Carissa fumed and then composed herself. She let go of Touma's arm and he could feel the blood start to flow again. "Never mind, this may be what we needed." She turned to Leivinia and Amelia. "Did you two catch what the boy did?"

"He negated an area and it caused a ripple effect among the rest of the locusts," Amelia identified. "So the locusts themselves were magically created and not just called."

"Adam is creating rivers of mana originating at his location," Leivinia added and traced a line through the air. "The mana feeds his magical bugs and allows them to flourish and multiple. The boy interrupted one of the streams and they no longer could stay materialized. Hmm, it's only temporarily though. We need a more permanent plan."

"No," Carissa argued. "This is perfect. Position him in the path of the current flowing through our main forces. This should be the break we need."

"So the Anglican forces can develop a barrier to block the rest of them," Amelia finished. She looked at Leivinia. "Can you track the position without going off to far?"

"No sweat," Leivinia replied arrogantly. She generated another cyclone of fire to remove the insects from her. "I'm more than eager to rid myself of these pests. Boy, follow me. We need to move to that side of the troops." She turned and started walking, while Touma hurried behind her. They didn't quite run, with the swarm of insects still gripping onto them, but they weren't dallying. "Here," Leivinia pointed to a spot in front of three knights. All three of them stepped back to allow Touma room. "Keep using that area negation here to disrupt the insects from the troops. I'll let you know when you can stop." She took a couple steps back. "Go," she ordered and Touma nodded.

He focused and fired off another white burst of light from his hand. He saw all the insects covering the platoon of knights and nuns start disappearing, starting with the ones closest to him. The knights who knew what to expect stood up straighter, but several of the nuns looked around wildly. "Don't even think about slacking!" Touma heard Carissa yell at them. "You have a brief reprieve to figure out how to stop the mana streams creating those insects. Get to work!" Touma gulped and imagined what Carissa would do to him if she thought he was slacking. There was a two second delay before Touma could fire off another pulse, so he mentally counted down in his mind each time.

The plan worked perfectly.

"They got it done pretty quickly without the bugs interfering," Leivinia commented and almost sounded impressed. "Okay, you can stop." Touma sighed in relief and walked over to her.

"Did they finish?" he asked. She didn't respond and only pointed. Touma turned and heard dozens of the nuns chanting and a yellow glow emitted from their circle. The insects started to slowly fade away before disappearing completely. With their job finished, Touma and Leivinia headed back to Carissa Amelia, and Imouto.

"We owe you thanks," Amelia told Touma. "If you hadn't found out about locusts' weakness, we would have been stuck for who knows how long. The Anglicans were able to design a spell to neutralize the mana streams the insects were being created from."

"Don't give him too much credit," Carissa interjected. "He only did it by accident."

"Don't inflate his ego," Leivinia added.

"I don't have an ego!" Touma protested and Leivinia only laughed at him. Knowing they were only making fun of him to distract themselves from the situation, he turned toward Imouto. "Are you okay?"

"Much better now that the insects are gone Misaka admits." She started to dust off her shirt. "Insects have been added to the list of animal Misaka is not content with adopting."

"You did well at protecting yourself," Touma praised. "You may not have Mikoto's firepower, but your control is-…"

Everything went dark.

It wasn't like clouds blocked out the sun and it turned to dusk. Everything had instantly become pitched black. Touma could not see a single flicker of light. The sun on the horizon was gone, the fires were gone, the lights from camp where gone. _I'm completely blind._ He took a couple steps forward and held out his hands to avoid bumping into anything. The uneven ground made every step treacherous. _This is the next plague, darkness. Adam actually was able to extinguish all the light in the area._ This was something completely unknown to Touma. It was one thing to be temporarily blinded by a flash of light, but another to be unsure of when he would be able to see again. His hand was not reacting to the darkness in front of him, so Touma was not sure what to do. He heard a lot of yelling and screaming, but then Carissa took over.

"Stay calm!" she roared at them. "You all know panicking and crashing into each other won't help! Stand at attention and wait for further orders." The shouting stopped but there was a lot of clanking as people tried to get in line. Touma stumbled slightly and his right hand grabbed something soft. Touma was confused for a moment.

 _A peach?_

Bam!

Something solid hit him in the side of the face and sent him flying backwards. He landed sideways on the ground with a loud thud. His head was spinning and it took a moment for him to collect his thoughts. He held his hands up to his head until he felt like he could sit up. He tried to prop himself up, but it was difficult through the pain and the added fact he still couldn't see. He finally managed to sit up and rubbed his face with his right hand. His thumb and finger brushed against his eyes and then he heard the sound of glass shattering. Bright light suddenly flooded into his eyes and he was forced to squint. He forced his eyes opened and looked around. The troops were hastily formed up, but it was obvious they couldn't see. The nuns were trying to draw runes and circles, but they couldn't get the shapes right. Imouto and Leivinia were nowhere near him, but someone else was.

Amelia stood only a few feet away, had her eyes closed, and a slightly flustered look on her face. Touma gulped and scrambled away until he found Carissa.

"Carissa!" Touma called out and her eyes twitched. She turned to face him. Her eyes opened automatically, but they didn't appear to be able to focus on him. _She's blind too._

"What is it boy? This isn't the time for a stupid question."

"My hand can negate the blindness."

"Why the hell didn't you say that earlier?!" she roared at him. Touma instinctively scrambled backwards for a second. Carissa calmed herself down. "No, there's probably a trick into negating it, right?"

"Yes," Touma confirmed. "My hand didn't go off until I touched my eyes."

"Interesting," Carissa mumbled and then turned away from him. "Amelia and Leivinia Birdway, come to my location quickly. Follow my voice." Amelia was the first to move toward her location and Leivinia started to push past the knights near her. Somehow, she had gotten stuck behind several of the knights. Touma took this opportunity to find Imouto. She was standing still and kept jerking her head, as if she was trying to hear the location of everything around her. Touma scooted over to her and reached a hand out, but she suddenly hit him with her hand.

"Identify yourself Misaka demands!"

"It's me," Touma said. "Hold still and I'll remove the blindness." Imouto instantly froze and Touma pressed his hand against her eyes. His hand went off and he lowered it.

"Sorry for smacking you Misaka apologizes sincerely. Misaka could not identify your presence without sight."

"It was my fault for not announcing myself," Touma said quickly. "It's not the first time this trip. Now, I have to get back to Carissa. I bet she's going to have me remove the blindness from the commanders." Imouto nodded in understanding and Touma turned around. _I probably should have cured Carissa before, but I'm sure she wants to be the one to tell me to do it._ Touma skidded to a stop next to Carissa and Amelia right when Leivinia managed to find them.

"You two are next to me right?" Leivinia asked.

"Yes," Amelia confirmed. "I'm glad the princess decided to give the order to stay here. Imagine if we were blinded when engaging Adam's forces. It would have been a massacre for us."

"It's the reason I made the call," Carissa huffed. "We are on his territory." She turned her head around. "Boy, you better be right next to me or I swear I'm going to-…"

"I'm here," Touma interjected quickly before Carissa could go into vivid detail of how she would inflict bodily harm upon him.

"Then cure us," Carissa ordered. "He has to touch our eyes, so don't stab him thinking he's attacking us."

"Can we stab him for fun?" Leivinia asked jokingly.

"Go ahead," Amelia mumbled and this confirmed to Touma she knew what he accidently did. Instead of saying anything, he reached up to touch Carissa and gently put his hand on her eyes. As soon as he heard the familiar sound, he removed his hand immediately. Carissa blinked several times and looked around.

"That's better," she said and then glanced at Touma. "Stop dawdling and get to work on them."

"Right." Touma then did the same thing with Leivinia and Amelia. Both of them had similar reactions to Carissa as they got used to the light again. "Should I start working on the rest of the troops?" he asked.

"No," Carissa told him. "That would take far too long and you wouldn't be able to reach the other group." She turned to Leivinia. "Since we now know his spell doesn't actually extinguish light, but interferes with us being to see light, can you design a spell with the Anglican's and Amelia's help?"

"Yes," Leivinia answered. "Get me a half dozen or so of your strongest magicians." Carissa nodded to Amelia and she set off into the mass of troops. "Now, there is one thing I'm not sure of and I hope someone can help me with. Is this spell making a wall around our eyes or did Adam remove the sense of sight? That answer depends how I design the spell."

"Adam's mana is so corrupt," Carissa mumbled. "It would take too long to decode it without the Index Librorum Prohibitorum. He's using magic similar to God, but at the same time mixes it with his own twisted beliefs. I should have demanded the church send her too."

"Then we have to guess," Leivinia said with a shrug. "If we are wrong, it's going to take twice as long."

"I think it's the one where he removes our sense of sight," Touma volunteered. Both Carissa and Leivinia turned toward him simultaneously.

"What makes you say that?" they asked in unison.

"Well I didn't see anything that resembled a blockage around anyone's eyes," Touma explained. "Everyone's eyes looked normal. Also, I think Adam would prefer taking things away from us instead of creating. Eve is the one who likes to create things. The insects he kind of had to because of the way the plagues worked."

"You're explanation is pretty bad," Leivinia said and face palmed. Carissa had only rolled her eyes. "A mana blockage could easily be invisible. As for the second part of your rambling, there might be something to that." She rubbed the side of her face with her free hand. "Fine, I don't have anything to support the other side."

"I brought the others," Amelia announced. Five knights and three nuns were right behind her. "They still need their blindness removed."

"Get to it boy," Carissa said and pushed him forward. Touma quickly went through the troops and removed their blindness. The knights actually removed their helms and he was careful not to touch their armor. He was also extremely careful not to touch the nuns' clothes. They looked a little embarrassed when they saw him face to face, but they murmured thanks. After they were cured, he backed away next to Imouto to make sure he was out of range while they performed the spell. Amelia and Leivinia were working directly with the design of the spell, while Carissa was feeding information to the rest of the troops using her radio. Touma noticed she kept looking up at the sky and frowning.

 _There's one more plague coming,_ Touma thought. _And it's the worst. The Plague of the Firstborn, the spell we have seen Adam cast before, but this time it will be on a much larger scale._

"You look worried Misaka comments."

"I know what is coming next," Touma muttered.

"The last plague Misaka says." She nodded her head. "Does the savior think there is something he can do to stop it instead of staying here? Misaka can try to cover the savior's absence."

"I'm frustrated because I can't do anything to stop this," Touma said bitterly. "All we can do is react. I don't know how many people were hurt by the hail and thunderstorm, and I'm sure they won't tell me. Something like, unnecessary information. As long as we sit here, we can't stop Adam from doing whatever he wants to. He can keep raining down plagues on us until our defenses finally falter. I'm not use to this. All I can do is punch people."

"Misaka remembers seeing the punch the savior speaks of Misaka reminisces. The final punch that defeated Accelerator has been stored permanently on the Misaka Network. The evil one watches it almost daily Misaka adds."

"Please don't tell him that," Touma begged and Imouto responded by placing her hand on his shoulder.

"Misaka would never say or do anything to put the savior's life in danger Misaka answers honestly." Touma looked at her. Those words normally should not have been a surprise between friends but, to Touma, that wasn't something he heard a lot. His friends from school would say things that would cause him to get chased constantly for misunderstandings that were not his fault. Mikoto would occasionally shock him, but she didn't do that nearly as often and he usually had to deserve it. Misaki and Ruiko were probably his closest friends that didn't really get him into trouble with their actions, but they did tease him from time to time, not that he minded.

"Umm… thank you," Touma replied to her.

"Misaka does not like standing so close to the enemy's base and waiting either Misaka continues. Though, the plan to move out as soon as an opening is sound, so Misaka can't complain."

"One more left," Touma muttered and Imouto nodded. They stood in silence for a while and watched Leivinia bark orders. Even if she was a little bossy, she was intelligent and a natural born leader, much like Carissa. They eventually got the spell set up and the nuns and knights began to chant. A white light erupted around them and covered the entire camp. Touma noticed the light stopped at the border of the camp and then his hand went off when the light hit him. The light still passed over him and he sighed in relief. _If my hand negated the spell from a distance, I would have to leave the camp to allow them to cure everyone._

"That was easier than I thought," Leivinia announced way more loudly than necessary. "Curing blindness has been around for centuries so all we had to do was choose one of the methods. The boy was actually correct in his weirdly acquired analysis of Adam."

"I can hear you!" Touma called back, slightly irritated.

"What?! I gave you credit!"

"So after blindness we have death left," Carissa said as they all gathered around. The nuns and knights went back into their positions and then mess of troops began to line up evenly. "Amelia, are our precautions still functioning?"

"I'm checking now," Amelia replied and continued to have a conversation on her radio. "None of them were damaged by the storms," she announced after a minute. "We are fully prepared for the final plague."

"Perfect," Carissa said. She turned to Touma. "Do not approach the entrances of the camp until I tell you otherwise. We don't want you accidently touching anything."

"There's a barrier erected around the camp to stop Adam's final plague, right?" Touma tried to confirm.

"You could say that," Carissa answered with a grin. "Let's say we have the best defenses against this one than the others because Adam was kind enough to show us it before."

"Your defenses only delay the inevitable!" Adam's voice boomed out. The clouds did not shift into a face this time, so Touma figured Adam didn't care about that anymore.

"Brace yourself." Those were the only two words Carissa said into her radio and then cut contact. She turned into the direction of Adam's base. "What brings this unexpected displeasure?" she asked out toward the vast desert.

"You have stayed despite my power and warning!" Adam's voice continued to ring out as clearly if he was right next to them. "Princess, you are solely responsible for leading your men to their death! Every firstborn among your forces will die, from the lowest servant to your strongest commanders!"

"We have survived every one of your previous plagues!" Carissa retorted. "And we will survive this one. The might of England grants no quarter to evil!"

"This plague caused Egypt to fall!" Adam replied and his voice grew cold. "Let us see if history repeats itself." His voice disappeared and Carissa crossed her arms. The scowl of her face told Touma she was not amused.

"Above us!" one of the nuns shouted. Touma turned his eyes upwards and a chill ran down his spine.

A single speck of pure white light appeared in the dark grey clouds covering the sky.

This light didn't give Touma hope. It felt ominous. The clouds slowly opened and the light grew brighter. The clouds swirled around the opening and the light refracting off them made the edges around the light spin too, like a portal to another world. The opening grew until a large river of glowing white mist began to flow out of it. The mist looked like it was made of light, but it flowed and moved like flickering water. It continued to grow and covered the sky above them. The mist swirled in a spiral and provided light to the entire camp. The dreary morning suddenly looked like midday. The light was eerie, because the pale white light seemed to drain the color of the surroundings to make them look dull and bleak. From the main current above them, several smaller streams broke off and began to descend down toward the camp. The mist moved slowly, but with purpose. It was almost as if streams were hands and reached down to greet them with a gentle embrace.

Touma knew better.

That white mist would kill whoever it touched if they were a firstborn. Touma's eyes widened as the rivers of death reduced the distance to them. The shouting from people in the troops was barely noticeable. He knew the church and knights had set up defenses, but he couldn't see them. All he could do was watch the light of death reach out the tips of its fingers toward him. His right hand began to rise up automatically, but it stopped. The mist stopped moving directly at them and seemed to be pushed toward the side. It was as if there was an invisible dome covering the entire camp. The mist didn't disappear though and instead began to surround the camp. In minutes, the entire camp was encased by the white mist, but it couldn't seem to penetrate the camp's border.

"Will the barrier hold?" Touma asked Leivinia. "It stopped the mist, but now we are surrounded."

"The final plague," Leivinia told him. "Was specifically designed to bring forth death. However, the way to protect from it is wellknown."

"Huh?"

"You really need to read a book once in a while," Carissa told him. "Even if your city doesn't study religion, the story of Moses is very common. To separate the Egyptians from the Israelites, or Moses's people, the blood of a lamb was used on the entrances of their houses. The plague would not enter any houses marked. Because we knew about Adam's power, we were able to prepare. We naturally couldn't mark every tent, so we marked the entrances toward the camp. The spell required a dwelling with at least one entrance so we designated the camp as the dwelling with four main entrances. Windows did not have to be marked, so we considered all the open space windows. Pretty simple, but we do have one problem."

"Which is…?" Touma asked.

"We don't have a way to actually destroy the plague," Amelia explained.

"WHAT?!"

"Is the plan to wait until it wears out Misaka questions?"

"Pretty much," Leivinia confirmed. "None of our testing found a sure way to destroy this. We have to wait until Adam relinquishes his mana voluntarily or runs out."

"Trapped like insects!" Adam's voice boomed out before Touma could respond. "I would have preferred your deaths, but watching you cowards hide is fine for now! Bask in your failure as I finish my work!"

"Shit," Leivinia hissed. "He's right. If we take a single step outside of the camp, we will be hit by the spell. He's going to keep it going while he finishes whatever he was doing."

"And we have no idea how deep Adam's mana reserves are," added Amelia. "Some of our troops are not first born, so they could leave, but the vast majority of our forces will be stuck."

"If we can't leave the camp," Carissa fumed. "This entire excursion will have been for naught. Get to work on finding a way to break his spell." The nuns and knights snapped to attention and immediately started working.

"So the only things protecting us are some blood marked around the entrances?" Touma asked Leivinia.

"If you reduce the complex system of beliefs and mana refinement then yes," Leivinia replied and rolled her eyes. "Your hand will be able to pass through any of the entrances without removing the protection as long as you don't touch the actual wood frame the blood is smeared on."

"That poor lamb Misaka mutters darkly."

"Spare me the drama," Leivinia huffed. "People eat lamb all the time so the blood was not hard to obtain from a butcher." She turned back to Touma. "Seriously though, do NOT touch the frame of any of the entrance ways or we are screwed."

"I won't," Touma assured her. "I actually received a warning this time about what not to touch." Leivinia couldn't resist chuckling for a second and went to join the others about the task at hand. He sighed and squinted up at the swirling white light. _Well, this is going to be a long day. What can we do to get out of this? Eve said they needed my hand, but Adam always acted like he rather get rid of me instead of risking my interference. Eve stopped him the last two times he was about to go on a rampage, so it appears she wants me alive, but why? And if she does, why send me to Adam without her being here to stop him? I'm sure she knew I would find a way to go. Does she think he won't kill me or does my hand actually not matter? Did she know the church would need me? She's always full of lies and half-truths I can't make out her goal._ He closed his eyes and grabbed his head in frustration. _This doesn't make any sense. Any answer leads to more questions._

"Something on the savior's mind? Misaka asks curiously." Touma opened his eyes and saw Imouto's face watching him closely. He sighed and nodded.

"I'm trying to figure out what Eve's game is," Touma answered. "Eve said my hand is important, but Adam has shown he doesn't care. Eve was the one who told us where he is and now Adam said she betrayed him. Eve is very manipulative, even if she acts as a kid, and I think she knew I would go with the church to stop him. She either has to have complete confidence in our victory or…" He trailed off and Imouto spoke up.

"…or she expects us to finish each other off Misaka finishes quietly."

"Precisely," Touma agreed. "Though, everything she has done up to this point has never been straightforward. I think there is something more to this we don't know about."

"Do you have any ideas? Misaka questions."

"Any idea I can come up with will be many times simpler than something Eve is planning," Touma admitted. "I can't focus on the details. Instead, what if I focus on the part about Eve knowing the church would bring me here? It would be assumed I would be forced to join their groups. These kinds of large fights I can't just run off on my own." His eyes fell on one of the entrance to the camp, not too far away from him.

"True Misaka agrees on these points. Even stealth operations are coordinated with the main group and are usually performed by a small group of highly trained individuals. While the savior is strong, you usually fight on your own." Touma nodded.

"But what if I go off on my own?" Touma asked. Imouto titled her head to the side.

"Misaka would say that would be a suicide mission Misaka replies confused."

"Exactly," Touma agreed with a smirk. "Which is why I think I might be able to catch Adam offguard and get us out of this trap. We can't stay here forever. We have to move the assault against his base. This may be extremely risky and Carissa would probably flay me alive if I told her my idea, but it's all I can do."

"Misaka is hesitant to support a course of action that may cause the savior bodily harm Misaka admits hesitantly." Touma saw a flicker of doubt in her eyes and put his hands on her shoulder. He lowered his gaze until he was looking at her directly in the eyes. Touma also thought for a moment he saw a tiny bit of pink appear on her cheeks.

"I have to do this," He told her. "I'm going to move toward the entrance of the camp and try something." He paused and took a deep breath. "Do you trust me?"

Those four words had a much greater impact than Touma realized and would cause a crisis he could not have predicted.

Imouto had been connected to the Misaka Network since she had woken up. So the scene before her was being broadcasted to all the other Sisters. Every single one of them was paying the utmost attention to this conversation, including Worst and Last Order. The Sisters were worried about Touma and were preparing to mobilize every one of them currently in Australia to his location if things got out of hand. The network immediately burst into chatter about whether or not Imouto should stop him. It took Last Order to restore calm and then Misaka 13577 called a vote about what Imouto should do. Imouto was aware of all of this, but the boy staring at her caused her to do something the network had not witnessed before.

" _I_ do." Imouto replied with the two simple words, but emphasized the 'I'. The network had gone silent because Imouto had answered a very important question the network had not voted on. Minor decisions did not require a network vote, but the Sisters had an agreement that important issues required one. Most Sisters now considered Imouto rogue and the rest of them agreed after her next action, which was virtually a declaration of war. Imouto reached up her hands and placed them on the side of Touma's head. Touma turned red and Imouto knew what she was doing was the right choice. His reaction was exactly what she had read in a book. She stood on her tiptoes and moved her head so her lips pressed firmly on Touma's cheek. She pulled herself back and looked up at his flustered face. "Misaka hopes this good luck charm will help Misaka says, her face red with embarrassment."

"Charm?" Touma asked in shock. _Where on earth did she learn that?_ He knew she was only trying to help, so he smiled at her to cover his own embarrassment. "Thanks," he told her. He dropped his hands from her shoulders and turned away. "Wish me luck." He started walking toward the entrance of the camp, with only Imouto noticing.

"Good luck Misaka whispers nervously." Imouto sighed and pressed a hand up against her chest. _Misaka's heart rate is way faster than normal except when under physical exertion. Misaka might be getting sick and should get herself checked. This is not the first time._ Imouto then turned her attention back to the thousands of angry Sisters trying to contact her. (Misaka will now answer questions Misaka 10032 reports.)

(What was that?! Misaka 13577 demands angrily. Your decision to ignore protocol was completely unacceptable!)

(This is why Misaka volunteered to go instead Misaka 19090 reminds everyone. Misaka 10032 has begun to exhibit selfish desires that impede her mission. Misaka would also like to point out, when Misaka 10032 woke up and started broadcasting this morning, she was in the same tent as the savior.) The darkness in the net continued to grow.

(So much negativity and killing intent. This is great, but it's overpowering Misaka…) Worst faded out and the network suddenly felt even darker for some reason.

(Please calm down everyone MISAKA pleads as MISAKA tries to restore order. I'm sure she has a rational explanation MISAKA adds quickly as MISAKA hopes to get an acceptable answer.)

(Explain why we should not travel down to your location and swap you out Misaka 18997 says angrily. The deal was to share all data gained with the savior, not hide the information.)

(First, swapping Misaka out with another would be impossible right now Misaka 10032 explains. We are currently trapped behind the enemy's power. Also, with the number of troops, it would be impossible for another Misaka to approach without being seen. Such an action would only cause suspicion among our allies. However, Misaka 10032 adds quickly, things are about to start moving again and Misaka needs to be prepared. Misaka will be uploading to the network but will not be replying to questions.)

(Wait-…!) One of the Sisters tried to stop Imouto from disconnecting, but did not make it in time. Imouto sighed to herself and turned toward Carissa and the others, who did not appear to be having luck with disabling Adam's attack.

"…nothing is affecting his magic," one of the nuns reported. "We can't even strike at the mana connections directly."

"We didn't think it would be easy to stop this one," Amelia told her. "This was a plague designed by God. Keep working."

"We can't move out until it's stopped," another knight pointed out. "The men are getting restless and some of the newer recruits might try something rash."

"They know better than that," Carissa hissed at him and the knight froze. "Being a little restless is fine, it will keep them on their toes. I also will not give the order to move out until we have a way to stop this." Her eyebrows furrowed at something the knight said. _Recruits might try something rash… rash._ Her eyes widened and she looked around. "Where is the Imagine Breaker boy?!" she demanded. Her question was answered by the voice of Touma, which made her spin around on the spot.

"ADAM!" Touma yelled up at the sky. He was standing only a few steps from the entrance to the camp. He could almost reach out and touch the swirling white mist. "I know you can hear me! I'm going to come out and defeat you right now!"

"What the hell do you think you are doing?!" Carissa roared in fury. "Get away from there!"

"I'm going to step outside of the camp and you better hope my hand stops your spell!" Touma continued to yell up at the sky. "Otherwise, your entire plan is going to fail if you can't get your hands on the Imagine Breaker!"

"Is he stupid?" Amelia asked in disbelief.

"Did he completely forget what kind of person Adam is?" Carissa muttered. She was about to run over there and beat the living daylights out of the boy, when Imouto spoke up.

"He said he had a plan Misaka informs. Misaka believes in him even if the savior acts in ways Misaka cannot understand."

"A plan by him is usually charge forward and act stupid," Leivinia pointed out.

"Naive," Carissa told Imouto, but she raised an eyebrow. _A plan, huh? It's more of a gamble. If Adam considers his hand important, he will stop his magic. If he doesn't, the boy will die._ She measured the distance between them and calculated it would only take her a couple seconds to cover the distance if she ran full out. She was actually debating this because the boy was being stupid and she wanted to hit him. If he died, they wouldn't be able to break the barrier to Adam's base and the entire operation would end in failure. Then she realized something else. She actually did not want the boy to die. Before she could sort out that unusual feeling, she received another surprise.

"Do you value your life so little Imagine Breaker!?" Adam called down to Touma. "It's all your forces can do to keep my power at bay and hide behind their pathetic shield! Go ahead and step outside of it if you dare! Such an action would only demonstrate my power and demoralize your troops!"

 _He's not wrong,_ Carissa thought and began to form the optimal strategy in her mind. _The Imagine Breaker is a kind of symbol for our assault. However, the fact Adam responded to the boy's taunts indicates his hand is important. Now, the question is how important?_ She glanced over at Leivinia. Her expression was serious and her eyes were narrowed in thought. _She's probably thinking the same thing. Should I intervene or let the boy handle this? He may not be smart, but his instincts are usually pretty good._ Her options delayed her for a moment.

"You told me what I wanted to know!" Touma yelled up triumphantly. "I'm going outside. Let's play a game of chicken then!" He took a deep breath and took the three steps to exit the base camp. Everything happened in an instant. Carissa, Amelia, and Leivinia had all started to move to stop him, but they set off too late. Touma stepped outside of the barrier and into the white mist.

The mist promptly retreated away from him.

Touma stopped and looked around. The mist wasn't just retreating from him, but from the entire encampment. The white mist was rising back up into the sky and began to disappear into the hole in the clouds. The color was slowly returning to the surroundings as the unnatural light disappeared. Even the clouds seemed to be thinning out. The normal light from the sun began to creep up over the horizon and Touma breathed a sigh of a relief. It was like a weight had been taken off his shoulders. Without the mist's eerie light making the scenery look depressing, the atmosphere was considerably lighter.

"If you truly wish to lead others to their deaths!" Adam's voice range out. To Touma, it did not sound angry, just loud. "I welcome you to my domain!" Touma glanced out into the desert and received quite a sight. The plant life that still existed after the locust plague began to wilt before his eyes. Grass and bushes shriveled up into brown dried out husks and broke apart in the weakest breeze. The few small trees began to lose their remaining leaves and collapsed under the rotting branches. The trail of death started to move away from the camp toward Adam's base. The wind picked up from the west and blew away the remains until nothing except dirt and rocks were in front of him. It was an eerie sight, but Touma did have one piece of hope to hang on to.

 _I knew he needed my hand. He couldn't risk losing it._ His pride was short-lived when three people hit him out of nowhere, which caused him to fall to the ground.

"What were you thinking?!" Amelia demanded. "You were specifically told to stay inside!"

"That was the most bullheaded thing I have seen you do!" Leivinia added angrily. "You could have died instantly. There is a limit to pigheadedness!"

"I gave you an order," Carissa said, in a voice of determined calm. She was however radiating a dark aura which dwarfed Amelia's and Leivinia's anger. "You do remember what we discussed earlier, about following my commands? Now, before I lose my temper, what made you think this would work?"

"No matter what Adam said," Touma pointed out. "He never actually went through with an attack to kill me. True, Eve stopped him a couple times, but that might have been an act. With her, you can never really tell. If she did betray him, I doubt that would change his plans once he decided to do something. I believed they actually need my hand, which means keeping me alive until they are ready. When I stepped outside the barrier, I took that gamble."

"If it had turned out he didn't need you hand," Amelia asked. "What then?"

"I figured my hand would protect me long enough to get back inside," Touma answered sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head.

"You…!" Leivinia fumed for a moment, but then rubbed her face with both hands. "I should have expected this. I should be mad but, for you, that was actually well thought out. It was still stupid and I would never have done something so rash."

"I figured we had to try something," Touma replied with a shrug.

"I really should punish you for insubordination," Carissa said slowly and Touma's blood turned to ice. "However, you occupy a rather unique position and our time is limited. Plus, your gamble actually paid off." She smiled at him and Touma started sweating. The smile was actually scarier than her threats. "The plague is almost gone, so we need to start moving." She pulled out her radio and then gave one last look at Touma. "After this is over, I'm going to have a short discussion with you about your insubordination though."

 _I think I rather be dealing with Leivinia and Lessar again,_ Touma thought and glanced at Amelia and Leivinia. They were both frowning at Carissa's words, which only added to Touma's paranoia.

"Attention!" Carissa yelled into her radio. "The attack is over. We are moving out!" A loud cry echoed across the camp and all the knights and nuns began to march out of camp. Carissa lowered the radio and looked at Amelia. "We don't have time to separate. So our units will attack together. George's platoon will flank Adam's base." Amelia nodded and Carissa glanced at Leivinia and Touma. "You two stay with us." Touma agreed quickly, not wanting to cause another fight, and Leivinia briefly nodded her head. They started to move with the troops when Imouto appeared at Touma's side.

"Misaka had complete faith in the savior's plan Misaka says with conviction." Touma raised an eyebrow at her, but didn't say anything. "Misaka was not worried Misaka lies while avoiding her eyes."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Touma said dryly. "Now the real fight begins." Imouto nodded and they were silent the entire march. It didn't take long to reach their destination, less than twenty minutes at their pace. When Carissa stopped them, Touma looked around. _Are we waiting for something?_ He didn't see anything different. The desert surrounded them and the trail devoid of foliage kept going forward.

"Okay boy," Carissa told him. "You're up."

"Err," Touma said confused. "Where is the barrier I'm supposed to destroy?"

"About twenty feet in front of you," Carissa told him. "You can't see it with normal methods, but it's there."

"So I just have to go up and touch it."

"Yep," Leivinia confirmed. "Then I recommend backing up quickly. We have no idea what is standing behind it. Adam could have made ten foot tall spiders ready to pounce on you."

"Please don't say that out loud...," Touma told her through his tears. "With my luck, they will be there." He walked forward cautiously and held up his right hand.

"We are putting a lot of faith in him," Amelia said to Leivinia and Carissa. "Can he do this?"

"He will," Leivinia answered and yawned. "One thing you can count on him is to do what he says he will. Right, second princess?" She grinned at Carissa, who only scowled.

"You are lucky we don't have time to spare to punish you for that comment," Carissa muttered angrily.

"Even if you did," Leivinia challenged. "I would like to see you try." All three fell silent when Touma stood right before the barrier. The troops behind them raised their weapons for whatever was on the other side of a barrier that covered over a mile.

 _Here goes nothing,_ Touma thought and reached out his right hand. Touma wasn't sure what to expect, but he thought he would touch something. Instead, he only heard the sound of glass breaking. There was nothing solid. Instead, the space in front of him began to break. It was like he threw a baseball through a window. His hand created a hole while cracks began to spread out rapidly. As they continued to spread, Touma began to see an outline of an invisible dome structure. The cracks did not stop until the entire dome was covered. Then it instantly disappeared and the scenery completely changed. Touma had expected some kind of fortress seen in fantasy games or some dark ritualistic space, but what was hidden was completely different.

It looked like an excavation site.

That actually might have been an underestimate of what laid out before him. Touma thought Adam was trying to do some kind of magic ritual, but it appeared he was actually searching for something. The top layers of dirt and rock had been removed and placed in a huge pile in the distance. Adam might have been excavating something, but gave up half way and just started to strip mine the earth away. Rows and rows of pathways lined the walls of the pit with tunnels periodically built into the side. An occasional outline of a person moved in and out of the tunnels. The pit was so deep, Touma couldn't see the bottom from his angle. He would have to go up to the edge of the pit and look down. However, there was a more pressing issue at hand. A large golden disk, maybe ten meters in diameter, was flouting above the enormous pit. Adam was standing on the edge of the disk and looked down at Touma and the others. He was dressed all in black, but was only wearing a simply t-shirt and jeans. His face was emotionless and his eyes betrayed nothing when he looked down at them. He looked completely indifferent to their arrival.

"So you decided to come," Adam said. "Very predictable."

"We are here to stop this!" Touma yelled up at him. "You can't cripple an entire continent just to achieve your own selfish desires!"

"If you stopped interrupting us," Adam replied. "I would have been finished already. Maybe you should stop worrying about what others are doing and focus on how your actions are causing more suffering."

"You…!" Touma stuttered in anger.

"Words will not reach him," Carissa said. Touma looked over at her. He hadn't noticed her walking up next to him. "It's time to do it our way." She unsheathed her sword and raised it high. "All troops, CHARGE!" The thud of countless knights' metal boots was heard as they began to run toward Adam's mine.

"Foolish," Adam said and raised a single hand. "You are not worth my time. Come back and see me when you have had time to mature." The ground beneath Touma started to shake violently.

 _What's happening?_ Touma thought and looked around. He gasped when a large segment of earth under a group of knights collapsed into the ground. The earth seemed to have been hollowed out beneath them. It wasn't just Touma's group though. He saw the other knights led by George in the distance began to disappear as the earth beneath them collapsed. He turned around and received a shock. The base camp far behind them seemed to be shaking and lights were disappearing. _Even the camp is being swallowed up into the earth. Ruiko!_ Before he could worry anymore about her, the ground beneath him broke apart and fell. Touma couldn't do anything and he fell after the dirt he once stood on. The space under him was pitched black and he could not see a bottom. He spared once last look at Adam who only stared back. "You won't win!" Touma yelled up as he disappeared into the darkness below. _Shiiiiiitttttt!_

Once all of the opposing forces had been swallowed up by the earth, the earth shook again and closed up. The bottomless pits disappeared as if the earth was merely pinched together, like a small wound. The end result was a smooth dirt and rock surface, exactly what it was before Adam used his magic. Only the plant life did not return. Adam slowly surveyed the land around him to make sure he had been thorough and then gazed into the distance. The base camp had also been consumed by the earth and nothing was left of the opposing army. Adam turned around and sat down on the golden thrown situated directly in the center of the disk. He placed a hand on a small rune embedded in the right arm rest and said, "Take out their leaders and the rest will fade on their own."

"It will be done," a male replied. The voice sounded as if the person was right next to them. "What about her? Should she be allowed to participate in the fight? You are the only one who can truly control her."

"Her pets will devour most of the garbage," Adam replied passively. "But if she is needed to kill a commander or two, let her."

"Will do." Adam disconnected the magic connection and glanced once more at the dirt patch where Touma had been standing only a short time ago.

"You seem to think you can decide your fate," Adam said. "Now you will understand the futility of your efforts to change what is. Maybe after forty years we will meet again." He paused. "Though, if it takes you that long, I will be sorely disappointed."

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Shizuri: Huh, he was doing so well and then he failed.**

 **Misaki: That's only because Adam cheated. He knew he was going to lose, so he acted like a coward.**

 **Mikoto: I'm still worried. Touma will think of something, but Saten-san got pulled into this.**

 **Kazari: Saten-san has been in precarious situations before and always have gotten.**

 **Misaki: That would be a lot more convincing if you weren't clutching Kagere-san's arm so tight he probably lost feeling to it.**

 **Jason: I don't mind.**

 **Accelerator: When the hero gets back I'm going to beat the crap out of him.**

 **Mikoto: Why?**

 **Accelerator: The brats have been freaking out all morning and Worst seems to be especially aggressive. She sprayed mustard all over my room.**

 **Motoharu: Seems like she wants some attention. Why don't you take her out somewhere?**

 **Accelerator: Bite me!**

 **Pierce: Kami-yan Disease is being spread everywhere. Looks how many girls are following under his spell! Even Misaka-san's sister. That's sure to cause some problems during the family reunion.**

 **Mikoto: …**


	95. S4 Battle for Australia: Maze

**This arc is so much fun to write. When I thought of it, I was in the middle of season two. Now, I can finally unleash all the ideas that have been building up and mulling around in my mind since then. I did enjoy how people were noticing small things most people probably didn't realize, like the earth swallowing was based on Numbers. You will be surprised at what you can find in religious texts. Even Australia has some interesting legends and lore that is sure to blow your mind. Oh, I do have some good news. People have been telling me a third season of A Certain Magical Index is coming out, so we should all be rejoicing about that. MrQuestionMark has been wanting that forever. Let's move to questions and then get to the next awesome chapter of the horror of Australia. (Seriously, terrible, terrible place. Haha.)**

 **Whwsms: You caught me. If I spread out the plagues too much, this arc would take forever. I don't want to have a twenty plus chapter battle. No respect is really just them trying to make sure he doesn't get careless. If he gets complacent, he might get hurt. That's how much they care. Fluffy can't be the solution to everything. Sometimes all they need is a Touma Punch (TM) in the face.**

 **Anon Guest: After this arc, he will get more respect. But again, the no respect is just a way for them to show how much their care.**

 **UCCMaster: Few more spells you should be able to recognize and then once Adam directly enters the fray, it should be glorious.**

 **Acpeters: The first half of the plagues were more annoyances, so most of the time was focused on the second half. I like to make sure the girls each of their own experiences with our unlucky hero. So now, this chapter, we are going to see more development among them. The Network… let's say the network is broken for now.**

 **Itherael: You get a tsundere, you get a tsundere, everyone gets a tsundere. Nah, Just kidding, Touma gets them all. There will be a point Touma will have a chance to gain respect. The question is, can he maximize it?**

 **Brosephg: Spoil things for them. Do it. Join the dark side, we have cookies. Pssh, everyone likes to comment on no respect. Touma wouldn't be Touma if the people who respected him actually showed it. Magic is fun to write when you tie it to something. Just saying, fireball, fireball isn't nearly as fun as saying the Flames of Prometheus…etc… etc…**

 **Savaris: You always seem to be able to figure out the general idea of things in your comments. Just close enough to have that sense of pride, but far enough away to get surprised and entertained. Imouto and the network is going to cause issues on their return. Let's not think about that for now. I always felt Mikoto and Misaki could be a golden pair in teasing our hero, but they fight too much in canon. Shizuri, to be a full blown yandere, she would have to try to kill the girls near Touma. She did it to Mikoto once, and she's perfectly willing to kill threats to him. She's borderline yandere.**

 **Guest13: Pssh, cheating is for the weak. Strong people make the rules.**

 **general ironox: Luck is all perspective.**

 **Jujudude: I flipped a coin between Australia and Canada. In the end, Australia has more natural horrors and people would be sad if it disappeared. If Canada disappeared, people might not notice until we run out of syrup. (I'm only kidding Canada, we all love you. Except your lies on bacon.) Ruiko's progression will start happening soon. Yuna was only supposed to be there once, but somehow managed to sneak in several times. We will see what she does later.**

 **wildarms13: Wouldn't be Touma without some comedic stunts while the world is falling apart around him. Pierce doesn't have a lot of big parts that don't involve messing with our hero, so he gets more lines at the end.**

 **Teri-teri: His misfortune was greater than the plagues of god.**

 **anand891996: It was pretty obvious he wasn't dead. Adam even said so.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: Been awhile since I saw your skits. Not bad, but you are making Shizuri to opened. She would never admit stuff like that out loud.**

 **Guest: Komoe falls in line with, "Touma is so cute, but society gets mad at the age gap." Yes… a joke. My computer did not fall out the window… Two reasons for arachnophobia. One, It's Australia, you have to accept the puppy sized ones. Two, it's foreshadowing. Touma stumbled, so he was still on his feet when he grabbed her. Can't tell you last one, because it's answered in this chapter. I had to avoid calling them shock troopers for the longest time.**

 **Guest: (Can't tell if you are the previous guest, so here's separate line.) Will be answered below in the chapter.**

 **Yakutsu Zaishiro: It has the electrolytes plants crave.**

 **Anon Guest: Sounds good.**

 **Handsomistic1: One of the hardest parts with writing Touma is he is more than just the IB. He has survived countless fights, so he gets used to reading people. A level 2 vs someone who can face an army? Sounds like a fair fight. The Sister's Battery Pack, now in AA, AAA, and Ds.**

 **Salishious: The urge to troll by putting Touma was dead in the first sentence was very difficult to resist. Most of his nicknames only come out when he's drunk now. Touma's a symbol, and you always corrupt that.**

 **GameCguru: His harem keeps getting bigger, so threatening Touma Is leading to a bigger tactical nuke rebuttal. Remember, Mikoto's mom is coming back for the weekend during the same time as the raffle.**

 **MightyImpulse: What? People die when they are killed? Nonsense.**

 **Generation Zero: Adam is a lot more direct than Eve. You notice what he does. With Eve, you don't know until it's over. You are going to love when Touma and Adam eventually meet face to face. Can't say anything more than that though.**

 **FrodoFighter: I think Imouto would be a good enough shot to only hit the spider with a barrage of gun fire. Then assume all the nearby tents wake up and barge in to see them together. That is the misfortune that would happen. Aqua's a Saint, they don't need sleep like a normal person. Wait for this… what about drills that shoot out flames as they spin? Adam pulled a lion king in the clouds to scold them. About using your head, I'm sure Rampardos would like to argue with you about the power of headbutts. (For those of you who see this and don't know Rampardos, it's from my other story.) Oh, Touma never strips guys. His luck says girls only. The final plague confused me for a long time about the sisters. So I avoided that situation all together. Brilliant, right? I would love to claim the idea about using white mist, but so many stories and shows using white to show the death by taking away colors. I am really interesting in who you think the girl Caesar is talking about. I'm really interested to know. Coincidences never really exist.**

 **321jazz: Going to keep this short. MADNESS? THIS IS AUSTRALIA! It's only just beginning.**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly. Magic Gods own all so they can do what they want.**

* * *

 _Ow, I feel like I was hit by a truck._

Touma could tell he was lying on the ground, but he didn't want to open his eyes. His head was spinning and his body was sore all over. The last thing he remembered was the earth breaking apart from under him and swallowing everyone. He never managed to see the bottom and must have lost consciousness during the decent. The ground beneath him felt like hard dirt, so Touma had no idea how he was alive. The force of hitting the ground should have killed him. _I must have hit the ground or I wouldn't be feeling this pain, so how am I even conscious?_ Something moved next to him and he knew he couldn't continue to lie around. An enemy could be standing next to him right now. He pushed himself up and opened his eyes. He had to blink a couple of times to be able to see clearly.

He received a shock at who he saw but, at the same time, was relieved.

"Carissa?" he asked groggily, as he managed to sit up.

"Oh," Carissa replied and turned to look at him. "You're awake. I figured I would have to kick you up."

"Where are we?" Touma asked and struggled to his feet. He leaned up against the wall and looked around. They were in some kind of tunnel that seemed to stretch both ways forever. Other tunnels branched off from theirs in different directions, but Touma could not see down there. In fact, the only reason he could see anything was because of a soft green glow originating from the ceiling. The light was coming from some kind of mossy substance. _Wait, it's covering the ceiling. There's no sign of the hole we fell down in. Adam must have trapped us here._

"Deep underground," Carissa told him. "But I think you knew that already. How deep, I can't really tell. We were careless."

"Why?" Touma asked confused.

"We figured his magic would be based on Exodus," Carissa explained. "We overlooked the fact he could use magic from other sections of the bible. The earth swallowing spell he prepared for us was based on the Numbers. The brothers Dathan and Abiram would constantly try to put obstacles against Moses, even when they were in Egypt. Eventually, they led a rebellion against Moses and the earth opened up to swallow them all. Adam used our attack as the rebellion, so he could cast his spell. He isn't using Exodus, his power follows Moses." She paused and glanced down a side passage. "It looks like we fell into a maze and I can't tell how vast it is. Also, from the fact no one else who was near us are here, we can safely assume the point was to separate our forces."

"Separate?" Touma frowned. "He's planning to take us down in small groups, isn't he?"

"Precisely," Carissa confirmed. "I saw a few shadows of humans before we fell. They must be the missing people from the surrounding areas. Adam is either forcing them to mine this site, or there's another person here who can do so."

"We have to save them," Touma said instantly.

"If they are alive," Carissa muttered and then she remembered who she was talking to. She continued before Touma could open his mouth. "Listen, I'm not going to sugarcoat things for you, I respect you too much for that. You have been through enough to understand what could happen when facing Adam. There is a chance they have been killed and turned into undead. If that is true, we can only grant them the gift of death. If they are enslaved, we will most likely need to defeat the person controlling them in order to free them. However, to get to that individual may be difficult if the enslaved people will not fall easily."

"But your men will try to save them first, right?" Touma wouldn't move until he received a straight answer from her. _Wait, she said she respected me? I think my head is still ringing._

"They will do everything in their power," Carissa finally said, but Touma could tell her tone was strained. "They are knights and nuns. Their purpose is to protect the people and our country."

"Then I'm going to put my trust in them," Touma said and sighed with relief. _She really means they might have to use lethal force, but I have to have faith._ "I know Agnese's forces are skilled and the knights I have met will definitely find a way to accomplish that." _All that is left is to find my friends. I have to approach this rationally this time, or I'm going to end up getting us all killed._

"I see having you meet with George's group was the correct decision." Carissa muttered.

"Huh?"

"Nothing," Carissa answered quickly. "We have more important matters at hand, such as how to get out of this maze."

"Maze?" Touma asked. "All I know is we fell down and ended up in this tunnel. How do you know it's a maze? Did you scout the area already?"

"Not thoroughly," Carissa admitted. "I only woke up a few moments before you, but these tunnels were made for a purpose." She looked around. "It's only a hunch but, if you get separated from someone, you will probably never find them again."

"Is it that vast?" Touma looked around "He must have made the tunnels all over the desert then."

"Or he used magic to warp space," Carissa interjected. "The point is, we need to either find more of my troops or strike at Adam directly to free us all."

"So you think these tunnels are magic?" Touma wanted to clarify.

"I know they are magic. The problem is, what kind of magic is he using and what are the consequences for removing it? I rather it not collapse on us."

"Umm, we might have a problem with that theory."

"Why?" Carissa demanded.

"I'm touching the wall right now," Touma pointed out. When he had stood up and leaned against the wall to balance, his right hand had pressed against it for stability. "And it's not going off." One of Carissa's eyes twitched and she took a deep breath.

"You are so lucky the tunnel is not being supported by magic," she hissed slowly. "That single mistake could have brought the entire maze down on our heads and buried us alive."

"Oh," Touma replied softly. "Sorry, but after falling, I wasn't thinking straight."

"Since no harm was done," Carissa continued and she sounded calm now. "Adam must have only carved the tunnels with magic and the fall transported everyone to different locations. He's planning to wipe us out, so we need to get moving. Are you capable of walking?"

"I'm fine," Touma told her. He shook his head. "A little sore, but I've fought in worst conditions before." He looked around. "Any idea on which direction?"

"We are going to do this systematically," Carissa answered. She pulled out her sword with her left hand and hit the wall with a quick slice. The wall was made of stone and the thin cut was barely noticeable. "We need to mark where we have been. I don't care about if the enemies see it. They probably have a way of tracking us anyways." She reached over and grabbed Touma's left hand with her right.

"W-what are you doing?!" Touma stammered wildly.

"Calm down," Carissa demanded with a roll of her eyes. "Even if the walls are not magical, there is a chance traps have been set up to separate us. You need your right hand to fight, but I can fight with my left hand as easily as my right. Without any rope, this is the easiest way to make sure we stick together." She glared at him. "Do you have a better idea?"

"N-no," Touma muttered truthfully. "You make sense. It's just…" He trailed off and looked away from her. He heard her snicker slightly.

"Let me guess," Carissa said mockingly. "You're a virgin who has never held hands with a girl before?"

"I have held hands with a girl!" Touma protested vigorously. "I'm not a kid!"

"I figured as much," Carissa said with a laugh. "Interesting." Touma blinked and then realized he only denied part of her previous statement.

"Do you enjoy making fun of me?" he asked resigned. _Almost every girl I know teases me at some point. What about me makes them want to tease me so often?_

"It keeps my spirits up," Carissa confirmed and then her smile faded. "Let's go boy. We have much to do and little time. I also bet you want to find your friends."

"Definitely," Touma agreed. He pushed aside any embarrassment he felt about holding hands with an attractive older woman and followed Carissa down the tunnel. She marked each intersection with the same horizontal mark to indicate they did not enter that tunnel, only passed it. The tunnel they were in eventually hit an intersection and they had to choose between going right or left. Carissa chose left and then put a vertical mark indicating they had entered the new tunnel. This tunnel looked exactly the same as the previous one. The soft green glow was their only light and the only sound was the dull thud of their feet on the hard ground. It was slightly unnerving and Touma kept glancing over his shoulder. _It feels like we are being watched and I expect something to jump out at us any second._ Nothing happened and the silence lengthened, until Carissa suddenly stopped and he almost bumped into her. "What is it?" Touma whispered.

"Look," Carissa answered and pointed at a tunnel to their right.

 _That doesn't sound good,_ Touma thought. He frowned and glanced down the tunnel. It looked exactly the same as the ones they traveled through already and it was completely empty. Touma stopped breathing and listened, in case something was trying to hide, but he couldn't hear anything. _Can she detect something I can't?_ He was about to turn and ask Carissa directly when he finally saw it. It was obvious why Carissa had stopped. "How?" Touma mumbled. "That's impossible."

There was a horizontal mark on the tunnel. It looked exactly like the ones Carissa had left in the previous tunnel.

"This is why I wanted us to be connected," Carissa mumbled and leaned down to examine the mark.

"That can't seriously be your handiwork, right?" Touma asked nervously. "Maybe another knight left it."

"No," Carissa corrected him. "This is definitely my mark. Hmm." She narrowed her eyes. "This leaves two possibilities. Someone can perfectly imitate my strikes or Adam is manipulating space to purposely keep us lost."

"Wouldn't the first option be more likely?" Touma pointed out. "We already saw my hand didn't go off."

"You would think so," Carissa agreed with a slight nod. "But something is off." She frowned and looked around. "My instincts tell me there is more to this."

"How about this then?" Touma suggested. "If you can think of how Adam can manipulate space with his magic, maybe you could think of a way to verify your theory." Carissa turned to stare at him. "W-what?"

"That's actually a good idea," Carissa confessed and sounded impressed. "I didn't think you could strategize like that."

"Well," Touma replied and rubbed his head with his free hand. "I can't really tell you how magic works, but I have experience fighting magicians. Analyzing where I need to block or strike with my hand usually means the difference between life and death. The problem here is we can't be sure if there is even magic. Once we do, we can find out where to interrupt it."

"Heh, good point." Carissa sheathed her sword and rubbed her hand over the thin groove of the strike mark. She kept muttering to herself while examining every inch of it. Touma remained quiet to let her work. Interrupting her would only cause this to take longer. Carissa looked annoyed and began to examine the entire entrance to the tunnel. She ran her hand over every part she could reach, but still never let go of Touma's hand. Eventually, a grinned appeared on her face and she stepped back. "So that's it. Clever."

"So it was magic?" Touma asked.

"Yes," Carissa confirmed. "And I know why your hand didn't go off earlier." She picked up a stone from the ground. "Watch this." She lightly tossed the stone into the tunnel. Touma watched the stone fly through and then immediately vanished in midair.

"It vanished," Touma said astonished.

"The magic is only on the entrance ways to different tunnels," Carissa explained. "The tunnels are not magic. It seems this trap is designed to bend space and send anyone who walks through to another location."

"Then this maze is really a prison," Touma fumed. "Adam is only trying to keep us occupied while he finishes his task."

"Looks like it," Carissa agreed. "If he intends for all of us to get lost down here, he must have based this spell on when Moses was lost in the desert after leading the Israelites from Egypt. They were lost for, forty years I think. Being in an Australian desert must have enhanced the potency of the spell. Not that the specifics for the spell matters right now. We have a more convenient method to dispel it at our disposal." She looked at him. "Touch around the edges here," she ordered.

"If you say so," Touma muttered and stepped forward. He reached up and moved his hand along the edges of the entrance to the tunnel, a couple inches in. Nothing happened at first, until he moved his hand further in, and then the sound of breaking glass rang out. The tunnel in front of Touma instantly disappeared. A solid wall of dirt and rock replaced it about a foot into the previous entry way. Touma dropped his hand in shock and stared at it.

"Perfect," Carissa praised him.

"So what now?" Touma asked. "Are we just going to go around and keep sealing off tunnels?"

"That is the plan."

"What if we get trapped down here or something?"

"We will cross that bridge when we come to it." Carissa pulled him after her and Touma realized any objections were going to be ignored.

"Such misfortune," he muttered.

"What was that!?" Carissa snapped.

"Nothing."

* * *

"Help!"

Ruiko was running down a tunnel as fast as she could. Behind her, a man and woman in their late twenties were chasing her. The couple were tanned and wearing long sleeve shirts and pants. They would have looked completely normal, if they had not been swinging mining pickaxes at Ruiko. Both of them had a glazed look in their eyes and barely seemed to register what they were doing. Neither of them was tiring either. They were taller than Ruiko and slowly catching up to her.

 _How did this happen?_ Ruiko thought desperately and turned down a side tunnel. She had been working in the medical tent back at base camp gathering towels, when the plagues struck. She was lucky and managed to avoid the boils, vermin, and fiery hail. A couple nuns had been rushed into the tent during the boils. They must have had some allergic reaction of some kind and passed out from a fever. Ruiko's job was mainly to keep cool wet clothes on the patients. Agnese's forces had managed to purify some of the water back to normal from being turned into blood, and then the darkness hit them hard. Ruiko had tripped over a basin and bruised her knee. Eventually, she was able to see again, but was then forced to take cover in the tent when the white mist from the sky came down. When the mist disappeared, she finally thought the attack was over. The troops marched out and all she could do was hope her friends would make it back. Ruiko could not stop the shaking in her hands, even when the troops had moved out of sight. She had no idea what was happening at that point.

Then the earth opened up under the entire camp.

There was nothing she could have done to save herself or the others around them.

Ruiko could only fall into the black void deep within the earth.

When she woke up, she found herself to be all alone and her body ached all over. She staggered to her feet and had wandered around for several minutes, unsure of what to do. She tried her cellphone, but there was no signal. Without any lead, she did the only thing available to her; explore. Each tunnel looked exactly the same as the previous one and all were lit by green moss on the ceiling. There were no indications which way lead out and which ways were dead ends. Ruiko tried to keep track of her path, but quickly got confused. She was lost and she knew it. Ruiko was about to resort back to the basic survival strategy when you get lost, stay in one spot and wait for help. However, two people appeared from a side tunnel and saw her.

This led to her current predicament.

 _What should I do?_ Ruiko thought desperately to herself. _Are those two zombies or are they being controlled? If I fight back with my ability, could I stop them?_ Questions kept flashing through her head and doubts kept her from stopping. She was hoping she could lose them with her athletic ability, but the two people chasing her were not falling behind. _I can't keep this up._ The male behind her had almost caught up and was raising his weapon. She ducked down a side passage to dodge the blow and her eyes widened when she saw a familiar face.

"Duck!"

Ruiko obeyed instantly and dived down to the ground as Oriana Thomson held up a small pad of paper attached to what looked like a key ring. She bit into the pad and pulled out a single piece of paper with her teeth. The piece of paper started to glow and then turned into blue light. The light shot forward over Ruiko's head and exploded when it made contact with her pursuers. Ruiko didn't turn around, but she saw the shadows created from the flash and then felt a wave of freezing cold air. She shivered slightly, turned around, and gasped loudly.

The man and woman chasing her were now completely encased in ice.

"Did you…?" Ruiko trailed off weakly. She couldn't finish the sentence.

"Nope," Oriana answered. "They are only temporarily frozen. The magic affecting them is a mind altering type, so I could hardly kill them. They are being forced to work for Adam."

"You're the best onee-san," Ruiko told her and Oriana helped her up to her feet. "What should we do now? Besides those two, you are the only person I have run across."

"This place is quite vast," Oriana agreed. "I ran into another mind controlled native earlier. It's why I knew what happened to those two. It seems like Adam was bringing in people to work for him, but the magic… it's not his."

"You mean someone else is controlling them?" Ruiko asked and her eyes widened. "It has to be one of his companions."

"Precisely," Oriana replied. "But I bet a couple slaves are not all we are going to find down here." She grew solemn, frowned, and then turned to gaze down a tunnel. Ruiko kept her mouth shut and stared too, but also kept her ears open. Then she heard it.

 _Click, click, click._

It was the sound of something hard hitting rocks. It was soft, but Ruiko had a bad feeling about it. It didn't sound like a knight or nun, so it had to be something else Adam had set up down in his tunnels. "What is that?" Ruiko whispered.

"Not sure," Oriana answered. "But I rather not find out." She grabbed Ruiko's wrist. "This way, quick." She led Ruiko down a side tunnel and they kept running before making a couple more turns, until the sound was completely lost in the distance. "Whew... if we keep running into enemies, I'm going to run out of pages." She let go of Ruiko's hand and glanced at the small booklet in hers. "I should be good for a while, but I can't go unprepared against one of the bosses. I'm really not good for long drawn out battles."

"Sorry for making you waste a spell on me," Ruiko apologized.

"Don't sweat it," Oriana brushed off her words. "I helped because I wanted to." She looked around. "We should start looking for more of England's troops. If we continue to stay spread out, we are going to be easy pickings." She glanced down a tunnel for a moment. "Follow me," Oriana told Ruiko.

"Okay," Ruiko agreed quickly. Oriana stepped into the side tunnel and Ruiko was about to follow, when she stopped. Ruiko's mouth fell open and she rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

Oriana had disappeared.

"Onee-san!?" Ruiko called out, but no reply came back. _Where did she go? One second she was there, the next, gone. Maybe there's magic involved? Who am I kidding, of course there is._ She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and stepped into the side tunnel. She wasn't sure what would happen, but she expected something to. When nothing felt off, she opened her eyes. She turned around and saw the tunnel she had just left and the tunnel ahead of her looked exactly the same. _Did I not teleport away? Or did I and not notice?_ She peaked back around where she had come from, but couldn't tell if the tunnel was the same one or different. _I'm lost again._ She started walking because there wasn't much else to do. She did decide not to yell out anymore because she couldn't be sure of who, or what, would hear her. Minutes passed and Ruiko did not encounter anyone.

 _This sucks so much,_ Ruiko thought silently. _There's really nothing I can do. I level up, but a light breeze isn't going to do much against someone like Adam. He took on an entire army by himself!_ She sighed, sat down, and leaned against the wall. "What should I do?" she mumbled dejectedly. She felt like crying, but stopped herself. She had promised herself she wasn't going to feel sorry for herself anymore. Instead, she tried to focus on what she could do. Ruiko knew she couldn't do amazing things like Mikoto and Kuroko, nor did she have the unbridle courage Touma possessed. She wasn't a coward, but she knew what she was capable of. _No, I worked so hard to get stronger for this very reason._ She gritted her teeth and stared at the ground in front of her. She started doing the calculations and the air began to spin. Dust started to lift into the air and form a small cyclone in front of her. It wasn't large enough to incapacitate someone, but it could easily trip a person who was running. The cyclone shifted slightly and Ruiko frowned.

 _There's something interfering with my calculations,_ Ruiko thought. _The air in the tunnel should be still, so I didn't take into effect any… wind._ Her eyes widened and she turned to her right. The hallway was empty and Ruiko closed her eyes. _I don't feel any air currents, but my ability did. I'm an air manipulator, so maybe that's how I can track it. If there is a breeze, then there has to be an exit, right?_ She took a deep breath and held out her right hand. She started manipulating the air and felt it. A current of air she was not producing was now clearly visible to her. It was so faint, a normal person could not have noticed it. Ruiko felt a smile tug on her face, the first one in a long time. She finally found something she could do. She walked slowly and silently, as she tried to locate the source of the breeze.

 _I hope this isn't a trap,_ Ruiko thought. _The breeze seems to be unnatural._ She had to keep making random turns down different tunnels to follow it. Ruiko could not see or physically feel the air, so she had to trust her ability. After about five more tunnels, she saw something in the distance. It was a light, but it wasn't green. It was yellowish-white, like a normal street lamp color. _That has to be a way out!_ Ruiko thought excitedly. She started to run, but then stopped. _Hang on, it could be a trap. I should approach this carefully._ After everything she had witness, being careful was definitely the right choice for her. She moved as silently as she could down the tunnel and the light grew brighter. From her position, it looked like it was leading into a large room. The entranceway was as wide as the tunnel, so Ruiko really couldn't hide, but that didn't stop her from trying. She pressed herself up against the wall and looked into the room.

She gasped.

There were several familiar faces and an unfamiliar one.

* * *

"Burn them all!" Lessar suggested loudly.

"I was planning to without your prattle!" Leivinia yelled back.

They both turned to face the enemies rushing at them. The two girls were back to back. Leivinia held up her Symbolic Weapon in the shape of a wand and Lessar clutched her Steel Glove tightly. They had actually fallen into the same location, but it wasn't a tunnel. They were in a large underground room with around five tunnels leading into it. The girls had just gotten their bearings, after being thrown roughly down a hole, when they started arguing. Their argument attracted unwanted attention and summoned the things currently surrounding them. The creatures were horrible evil things no one wanted to encounter.

They were spiders.

Normal spiders would have been fine, but that was not the case. The smallest of them was easily the size of a large dog. The larger ones were the size of a car. The spiders were varying shades of brown, black, and grey, but all were hairy and had soulless black eyes. Their long thick legs made a soft click sound whenever they stepped on a rock. They continued to emerge in numbers from the side tunnels like a flood. They crawled up the walls and in seconds the girls were surrounded. The spiders snapped their fangs and began to slowly close in on them. It was obvious these spiders had greater intelligence than normal ones. They were working as a group to catch their prey.

"We should have left this open area when we had a chance," Leivinia mumbled.

"Whose fault was that?" Lessar asked. "I make one comment and you go all tsun-tsun on me."

"You said you were going to ambush the Imagine Breaker in one of the dark tunnels," Leivinia fumed. "Think about where we are but, no... you only ever think about your libido! We are trapped in one of Adam's defenses!" Her eyes kept darting back and forth at the spiders. She did not like spiders, but she shifted her view from creepy crawlies to enemies and her resolve remained firm. They weren't attacking yet, but she was prepared to burn them all the moment they tried.

"I merely pointed out Lover Boy would need companionship after these stressful events," Lessar huffed. "And he may not get a chance after the fight has been settled. Besides," she glanced back at Leivinia for a moment. "I invited you to join. Why does everyone ignore my good will?"

"Because you're a slut," Leivinia pointed out. "The boy runs away from aggressive girls like you."

"I just have a healthy sex drive," Lessar argued and then she grinned. "But it sounds like you think you know him. How about after this boring fight is finished, we both work together for the real battle?" She chuckled. "You obviously want to, even I can tell that."

"We can discuss it later," Leivinia finally relented.

"Hah!" Lessar laughed victoriously. Her sudden outburst startled the spiders and they pounced. Leivinia was ready for this and swung her wand. A ring of fire erupted around her and Lessar, and then started to spread outwards. The nearest spiders were instantly disintegrated, while the ones closing in were forced to back away. A high pitch screech echoed around the room as some of the spiders were only partially burned. The rest of them started scuttling around the room trying to find an opening and escape the blaze. One of the smaller ones climbed up on the ceiling and then leaped down at Leivinia. "Nice try!" Lessar shouted and swung her glove. She grabbed one of the spider's legs in midair and threw it into Leivinia's fire.

"Keep watching my back," Leivinia ordered. "And I'll clear the rest of them out." Her eyes narrowed at the remaining spiders. "Okay, you walking nightmares, it's time to die!" She jabbed her wand forward and a torrent of flames shot out. The spiders never stood a chance and kept burning as she moved the wand around the room. When all the pests were finally eradicated, Leivinia lowered her wand. "Heh," she laughed and brushed her hair back. "They thought they had us, but nope."

"I never did like spiders," Lessar added. "And I can't wait to leave this hellhole. Do you know normal spiders here grow to the size of cats and small dogs?"

"I almost think Adam has the right idea about this continent," Leivinia said. "Maybe burning it to the ground before the creatures here escape to somewhere important is the right idea."

"You know who won't like that," Lessar pointed out and swung her Steel Glove over her shoulders. "Do you really want him to stand against you?"

"I could beat him if I wanted to," Leivinia muttered, which caused Lessar to grin. "Shut up! We need to get going."

"Good idea," Lessar agreed. "The smell of burning hair is making me gag." She pulled her collar up over her face. "Sooner we get out, the better."

"All the passageways look the same," Leivinia noted. "Might as well go through this one." Lessar nodded and they walked into one of the tunnels. The tunnel was barren except for glowing green moss on the ceiling. It looked like to her the exact same moss that allowed them to see in the other room. The silence was slightly unnerving to her. "There are no noticeable signs of anyone else," Leivinia remarked. "Do you have any…?" Her voice trailed off when she turned around.

Lessar was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey slut!" Leivinia called out. "You better not have wandered off!" She received no answer and gritted her teeth. _Damn it,_ she thought and rubbed her head with her free hand. She was never going to let go of her weapon. _I should have guessed there would be more traps. Adam is separating everyone to make it easier to eliminate us. Lessar will be fine, she's tough, but the boy is going to go crazy in trying to find his noncombat oriented friends._ She walked through another tunnel and frowned. _It_ s _eems like there is magic at every intersection. Is it a random shift, or does Adam actually control where we end up at?_ She noticed a yellowish-white colored light to her right and squinted down the tunnel. _That's different, but it's probably a trap._ She heard something behind her and instantly turned around, while simultaneously raised her wand.

She was greeted by a mace and the Lotus Wand.

"Hang on!" Agnese cried out. "We are all on the same team."

"You shouldn't have snuck up on me," Leivinia pointed out and lowered her wand.

"Technically," William pointed out and slung his mace over his shoulder. "You came barreling out of a side tunnel due to Adam's magic."

"So you two know about it too?" Leivinia asked and raised an eyebrow.

"I lost several of my forces through a single entrance," Agnese explained. "It seems to randomly transport us to different locations in the maze. The magic also appears to be on every intersection with another tunnel. If you want to make sure you don't get separated, you have to be connected when you turn down another one. I ran into William here after he knocked out a couple enslaved natives."

"Adam seems to have a companion with mind altering magic," William added.

"What you said about the maze makes sense," Leivinia confirmed with Agnese. "It's consistent with what I witnessed. Lessar and I were separated the same way." She turned to William. "So it is mind control which drew them in, good to know." She looked over her shoulder toward the light at the end of the tunnel. "What do you think that is down there?"

"A trap," William answered simply.

"I thought so too," Leivinia agreed.

"But it's not like we have much of a choice," Agnese pointed out. "We can't walk aimlessly around here forever. Adam obviously wants us to gravitate toward that location." She grinned. "We may walk into a trap, but things won't go as he plans, right?" Leivinia grinned back, but William merely nodded. The three of them turned toward the light and started walking toward it. Every one of their weapons was drawn, because they were not taking chances. Even though they knew the light was a trap, they did not know what would be on the other side. They reached the exit of the tunnel, but did not enter the room, because they couldn't see anything from their position. Agnese and Leivinia grabbed the back of William's shirt to make sure they would not be separated in case magic was on the exit. The three of them walked in and looked around. It looked like they had entered a large underground room. Something white on the ceiling was generating the light and was bright enough to light up the entire room like it was the middle of the day. Agnese's eyes traveled to the far end of the room. "This isn't good."

"But we knew someone would face him," Leivinia added, after seeing what Agnese saw. An elderly man was standing at the far end of the room. His hair and beard were snow white and he was partially bald near his forehead, but the hair on the back of his head was shoulder length. Dark brown eyes stared at them, but they didn't seem to be cold. In fact, they seemed to be welcoming, but filled with a hint of sadness. The man was wearing a simple brown robe with an emblazoned cross on the front. He slowly started to walk toward the middle of the room, but his eyes never left them.

It was St. Peter.

William took a step forward and raised his mace. St. Peter merely gave him a short bow. There was no mockery in his action, only respect.

"Greetings," St. Peter spoke and looked at each one of them in turn. His voice wasn't loud, but full in tone, yet also kind. "But under the current circumstances, I doubt you feel very welcomed. I am truly sorry for Adam's behavior."

"Forgive me if I find that hard to believe," Agnese said and glanced behind him. "Especially since the exit behind you is blocked." A semitransparent wall of what appeared to be water was blocking the tunnel behind St. Peter. It was definitely suspicious to her.

"Sadly," St. Peter continued, and he lowered his eyes to the ground in sorrow. "I am being used to guard the exit. I can't disobey and let you pass."

"Then all we have to do is defeat you," Leivinia pointed out. "Once you fall, we can just walk out."

"I'm afraid such a thing is impossible for you," St. Peter told her with a heavy heart.

"Why?!" Leivinia demanded. "Do you have any idea who you are facing?!"

"I do," St. Peter confirmed. "Two young girls who are quite skilled for their age, accompanied by a man who is a Saint in the current era. Normally, such a team would be able to overcome every challenge thrown their way, but alas, you can't win this fight."

"Why not?" Agnese asked and her grip tightened on her wand. She drew a small dagger out of her habit with her free hand. Leivinia instinctively raised her wand, but did not attack. William slowly moved his mace and rested the end on the ground. He could feel something was wrong. St. Peter was not emitting even a single shred of darkness or hatred. In fact, he seemed to be the exact opposite, pure, kind, and hating violence, exactly like the legends. The feeling William got was that fighting him would not lead to a conclusion the girls would expect. It might have been his Saint body warning him, but he had to wait and see what was going to transpire.

"You see," St. Peter continued. "No magician can defeat me."

* * *

"Where did she go?" Lessar asked out loud to no one in particular. One second, Lessar had been following right behind Leivinia through a tunnel and the next she was alone. _I bet the tunnel entrances are rigged. Since she disappeared, I guess it's designed to separate us. Great._ She started walking down the tunnel, but kept her Steel Glove in the ready position. After the spiders, she was not keen on being caught off guard. The hallway was silent. Lessar eventually reached a dead end and was forced to turn down a side passage. She did this twice more, when she heard a sound that kept repeating. Lessar frowned and stopped to listen closely.

It was the sound of gunfire.

 _Finally, a sign._ Lessar turned left and ran down the tunnel, which slowly curved to the right, so she couldn't see who was fighting. Because of the corner, she almost ran right into Imouto, who was facing the other way. She had been backing up while firing her rifle at something and Lessar was finally able to see what. A large black spider was trying to approach them, but the rapid fire was keeping it at bay. A couple eyes had been hit, which seemed to be the only real damage the monster had taken. A flash of electricity flew at Lessar and she instinctively swung her Steel Glove and grabbed it all. "Duck!" Lessar yelled and Imouto obeyed. Lessar swung her glove once and the electricity ball being held at the end of her weapon flew over Imouto's head. It struck the spider directly in the face.

The explosion blew the spider's head off and the rest of the body collapsed.

"Thanks for the help Lessar, Misaka says gratefully." Imouto lowered her gun to her side. "The spider's hide was much too thick to cause any noticeable damage with this rifle. Oh, Misaka is sorry for shocking you Misaka adds apologetically."

"No problems," Lessar replied dismissively. "It worked out well in the end Sparky Junior."

"Misaka is now only sorry she wasn't able to shock you, Misaka mumbles irritated."

"I was also slightly at fault for sneaking up on you," Lessar continued. "You were focused so intently, it was obvious you would attack anyone who got close." Imouto nodded. "Did you manage to find anyone else before you were attacked?"

"Misaka was with a couple knights, Misaka admits. Misaka got separated mysteriously after walking into a tunnel shortly afterwards and has been wandering around since then."

"Adam set up traps on the tunnels," Lessar explained. "They seem to be sending us to random locations. If you go down another tunnel, make sure you are holding on to someone."

"Ah."

"Let's stick together until we find someone else," Lessar said. "In case we run into more of those things."

"Misaka is going to have nightmares for a while Misaka sighs. All those legs…"

"Let's stop talking about it then," Lessar suggested. "For now, we need to decide which direction we should be heading in."

"Well, Misaka saw an entranceway with a normal colored light instead of this green glow Misaka informs. Misaka was heading toward it until… the nightmare attacked."

"Hmm," Lessar murmured thoughtfully. "I don't really have a better idea. Be careful though, it's probably a trap." Imouto nodded in agreement and the two girls set off down the hall. They stepped over the charred remains of the giant spider and carefully observed their surroundings in case there were more. Lessar saw the normal yellowish-white light Imouto had been referring to. The light was too bright to see any details from so far away, so they had to get closer. They were less than ten feet from the entrance when Lessar whispered, "Be ready for anything."

"Understood Misaka agrees." The two stepped in and shielded their eyes from the light. Lessar held onto Imouto's sleeve in case a trap tried to separate them. Once they stepped past the entrance, they found themselves in a large empty opening instead of a tunnel. The light was coming from the ceiling, not outside, so it must have been created by magic too. The light wasn't blinding them anymore and they saw the room was empty.

Until something moved out of a tunnel to their left.

Lessar and Imouto raised their weapons simultaneously, but quickly lowered them once they saw who emerged. Two familiar blonde haired females glanced at them in surprised and also lowered their weapons. The younger of the two stepped forward.

"We didn't expect to see you two," Frenda exclaimed.

* * *

"Basically, why do these things always happen to me?!"

Frenda was running as fast as she could down a large tunnel. The last thing she had expected was for the earth beneath an entire army to open up and swallow everyone. She had been patiently waiting through insects, hail, blindness, and even a white mist that made the hairs on her head stand on end. Her goal was to shove a bomb into Adam's face and blow him up for all the annoyances he had caused her. She would wait as long as it took, but that did not mean she had to enjoy waiting. When the army finally moved out, she was ecstatic. Even though this was on a much larger scale, fighting was something she was used to. She simply would be taking orders from the knight commanders instead of Shizuri. Though, even the battle hardened soldiers did not expect the earth opening up underneath them.

 _They are supposed to be the expects on magic, pathetic._

She had woken up on a stone table in the middle of a large underground room. Her entire body hurt and she was surprised none of her bones were broken from the fall, especially since a rock hard surface was under her. After systematically checking all her joints, she reached under her skirt and double checked her arsenal. When she was sure everything was as she left it, she sat up and glanced at her surroundings. She was alone and briefly puzzled over the glowing moss on the ceiling. Movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention and she turned toward the floor. Frenda gasped and immediately stood up on the table. The floor around her was moving. Upon closer examination, Frenda realized it wasn't a floor.

Thousands of snakes were covering the ground.

"Eww!" Frenda whined and looked around. There were only two exits and she didn't see a hole in the ceiling where she should have fallen from. "Basically, not sure how I ended up here, but I'm not staying. Let's see, which one should I use?" She rubbed her chin for a minute. A normal explosive would easily clear the way to the nearest exit, but she couldn't guarantee the force from the explosion wouldn't send a couple snakes flying at her. The snakes were all different kinds, black, brown, silver, some were stripped, some were solid, but she had to assume they were all poisonous. Even if they weren't, erring on the side of caution would not be a bad thing here. She selected her grenade and lightly tossed it into the middle of the snakes in front of the exit. There was a small explosion, but the force was a lot weaker than a normal grenade.

Frenda had thrown an incendiary grenade.

Rather than explosive force, flames erupted when a white phosphorous chemical reaction made contact with the oxygen in the air. The flames would burn a couple thousand degrees for a very short time, but was more than enough to turn most of the snakes to ash. The other snakes not close enough to be burned completely were forced to retreat from the intense heat. This created a pathway for Frenda to escape on. She jumped over a few snakes near the edge of the stone table and took off running. The ground was still extremely hot and standing still would only cause her shoes to melt. She escaped the room and ran down an underground tunnel, also lit by the green moss. She only stopped to catch her breath when she was sure she was far enough away from the snakes. She turned down another tunnel and finally considered her position.

 _I'm alone and stuck deep in enemy territory,_ Frenda thought. _My explosives are still here, so that's one good thing. Basically, the most prudent option would be to find others and team up with them. All these tunnels look alike and I'm only going to be able to wander around blindly. I need a magician to detect any magical traps Adam's forces set up. They have to have set them up, the snake pit was proof of that._ She looked up and down the tunnel she was in. She reached under her skirt and pulled out a grenade. _Just in case._ She started walking down the tunnel and listened intently. Everything was silent and Frenda was sure she would have heard the thud of a knight's boots, so she turned down another tunnel. This one was also suspiciously empty and she continued to follow it. The path started to curve and Frenda froze. _What was that?_ She backed up when the sound grew louder.

It was a soft hissing sound and then the source came into view.

It was a snake, which Frenda expected.

What she didn't expect was it to be as thick as a trunk of a large tree.

The snake's tongue flickered out of its mouth and Frenda started retreating immediately. The snake was a combination of multiple shades of brown and black. The yellow eyes seemed to have zeroed in on Frenda and the snake opened its mouth. Two sharp fangs, almost the size of Frenda's arm, emerged and the snake hissed again. The snake was large enough to easily swallow her whole. The mouth closed and the snake began to slither toward Frenda with purpose.

"I'm not lunch!" Frenda yelled at the snake. Instead of throwing the grenade, she reached under her skirt and grabbed two handheld missiles with one hand. "Eat these instead!" She tossed them and their rockets kicked in. The missiles flew right at the snake and made direct contact with its face. The fiery explosion engulfed the head from view. "Hah, basically, I bet you didn't see that coming you stupid-…" Her words got caught in her throat. The fire and dust cleared to reveal a rather unharmed snake.

Though, it did look pissed.

"Crap!" Frenda yelled and started running the opposite direction. The snake hissed angrily and began chasing her. This was what led to her current predicament. The tunnel was long, but it was bound to end at some point and the snake appeared to be used to navigating the tunnel. _I'm not going to be able to escape, so I have to fight. If its skin is tough, how about on the inside?_ She turned and raised the grenade clutched tightly in her hand. The snake was moving at her much faster than should have been natural for a large creature in a small tunnel. The snake's mouth stretched open wide and was prepared to swallow Frenda whole. Frenda grinned and chucked the grenade into its gaping maw. Right before the snake managed to bite down on her, she dived down a side tunnel. Her last action was to cover her ears. After modifying her grenades, the explosion should have been deafening so close.

However, there was only silence.

"Huh?" Frenda muttered confused and look up. The tunnel she had just left appeared empty and quiet. Not only had there been no explosion, there was no hissing to indicate the snake was still alive. _Is there something up with these tunnels?_ Frenda stood up and dusted herself off. "Stupid snake!" she yelled. "You better be dead." There was no answer, but it wasn't like she expected any. "Don't tell me that snake was some kind of illusion and I wasted a bunch of bombs on it! Basically, I'm going to be so pissed!"

"It was probably real." Frenda jumped a foot in the air and turned around while simultaneously reaching down for another grenade. She froze when she saw the friendly face.

"You should give some warning before sneaking up on someone," Frenda scolded Oriana and placed a hand on her beating heart. "I almost blew you up by reflex."

"Well," Oriana replied with a smile. "I heard a familiar voice yelling and I came to help. So, what happened? I heard something about a snake."

"I was being chased by a huge snake," Frenda explained and separated her arms as far as they would go. "It was way more durable than it should have been, so I shoved a grenade down its throat. I jumped into this tunnel to avoid the explosion and snake guts." She frowned. "But nothing went off and the snake is gone. Basically, I think I might be losing it or the snake was an illusion."

"It was definitely real," Oriana reassured her. "There are a lot of things crawling around in these tunnels. I ran into a couple giant spiders a few minutes ago." Frenda shivered. "Then we also found the missing people, turns out they have been enslaved, so try to go easy on them."

"No promises, but why did the snake disappear?"

"It didn't disappear," Oriana explained. "You went through a transportation type magic placed at each tunnel intersection. Whenever you move from one tunnel to another, you get transported to a different location."

"Then why didn't the snake follow me?" Frenda asked. "Or at least pieces of it?"

"That is because the magic transports people to random locations," Oriana elaborated. "I met your friend Saten and we got separated because of that. The magic is really only noticeable if you lose your companions traveling with you. Alone, you don't notice anything since all the tunnels look identical. You need to make sure you are holding onto each other when entering another tunnel."

"Saten's missing?" Frenda bit the corner of the lip. _That's not good. I figured she would be stuck back in camp. Out of all of us, she's the most vulnerable and I actually like her. I don't really care about Birdway and Lessar._ While lost in thought, her eyes traveled to Oriana and down to her chest, which was about to burst out of her partially buttoned down shirt. _That's how she manages to hypnotize Kamijou. She's the only woman I have seen who makes that idiot turn into a drooling monkey. Maybe it's not a bad thing I'm still growing in that department. I just wish I didn't have to spend so much on bras._ She shook her head furiously. _Not the time._ "Basically, I hope you have an idea on what to do next, because I have no idea."

"This maze would be a lot easier to figure out if it didn't have a couple interesting tricks," Oriana said. "Let me know what you think after hearing this." Frenda nodded. "Some of the tunnels are like what you described, once you walk through it, everything behind you disappears and you find yourself in another location. However, other passageways allow sound to go through. It's how I found you. Why do you think that is?" Frenda only had to think about that for a fraction of a second.

"Adam wants us to follow his paths," Frenda answered. "We would naturally be drawn to sounds after being stuck in empty tunnels for too long. He plans to lead us somewhere, and I bet it's a trap."

"That's what I thought too," Oriana agreed. "So, any thoughts on what we should do?"

"Normal tactics dictate we should regroup with the rest of our forces," Frenda muttered. "However, I doubt we could do it while wandering around blindly. There is also a chance Adam can manipulate this maze of tunnels at will." She looked up at Oriana for confirmation. When she nodded, Frenda continued. "If he can, our only two options are stay still and let him throw whatever he has at us, or walk into his trap with our heads held high."

"Pretty much," Oriana laughed. "So I take it you like option two?"

"Adam's going to regret messing with us," Frenda declared. "The best way to crush his type is to walk into his trap and blow it apart. Once his grand master plan falls apart, they can't do anything."

"I doubt it will be that easy," Oriana said with a smirk. "But I like your enthusiasm. Also, we may be able to regroup with more people heading in that direction. Kill two birds with one stone. Sound good?"

"Agreed." Frenda decided to follow Oriana's lead. She was after all more familiar with magic and seemed to be able to detect something in the air Frenda could not. They traveled down tunnels and Oriana would motion when they had to turn down another. Before they entered any new passageway, Oriana always made sure Frenda had a firm grip on her. It was obvious she didn't want to lose anyone again. As they were making their way to whatever trap Adam had planned, Frenda had some time to think about her actions. She actually had a second reason for walking into Adam's trap. She figured Touma would be heading in that direction. _He doesn't think things through and just reacts, so it's obvious he's going to charge straight into the trap._ Frenda reasoned they would have to save him. Eventually, she saw what appeared to be normal colored yellowish-white light in the distance. "What's that up ahead?"

"Our destination," Oriana replied. "You ready?" Frenda nodded and pulled out a couple missiles from under her skirt. They moved silently in the direction of the light. Once they were close enough to make out the entrance to another area, Frenda grabbed onto Oriana's shirt before they stepped in. The area was not lit by the green moss and instead the white light was raining down from the ceiling of the large underground room they had just entered. It wasn't deserted and it appeared two other people had entered the room moments before them. The two girls had raised their weapons at Frenda and Oriana, but froze when they recognized each other.

"We didn't expect to see you two," Frenda exclaimed.

"Should have known we would run into others when we followed the path," Lessar answered. Her eyes fell onto Oriana. "I'm surprised you decided to join us."

"Not like I had much of a choice," Oriana pointed out. "The base camp sunk into the earth too. Figured I should help out if I want to get out alive."

"She's the only reason we were able to find this place," Frenda added. "I wouldn't have figured out about the tricks around the intersections."

"That was annoying," Lessar agreed. "Birdway and I were separated because of that. I would have liked her to stay with me. Her fire is great to deal with the spiders."

"Eww," Frenda shuddered. "I only dealt with a couple snakes, though the last one was gigantic."

"You dealt with a gigantic snake?" Lessar asked and raised an eyebrow while her eyes twinkled. Frenda opened her mouth to explain when she realized what Lessar was getting at. Her face flushed red with anger and embarrassment.

"Get your mind out of the gutter!" Lessar only laughed at her.

"Since we encounter giant spiders Misaka points out. A giant snake would not be unusual. However, Misaka does not understand where the gutter comes in. Was there a giant gutter underground? Misaka asks curiously." Lesser and Frenda opened their mouths to explain.

"As amusing as this is," Oriana interrupted before the two girls could start arguing. "We have more important things to attend to."

"Like the man who just entered the room Misaka interjects." At Imouto's words, all three of the girls turned. She was pointing up to a small ledge on the far wall of the underground area. All four of them had initially missed the ledge since no one had been moving to draw their attention. Now, a man stood up there and looked down at them. A white marble throne had also suddenly appeared and Imouto had not recalled seeing it there before. The man had brown hair and was wearing ornate red and gold armor. The gold armor piece mainly covered the chest and legs, while the red cloth covered his arms. Wrapped around his head was a small gold crown that was patterned after a circle of leaves. His expression was easily recognized as one full of superiority. His gaze only held contempt for the girls, as if they were insects who invaded his home.

"Who are you!?" Frenda yelled at him.

"The common folk should learn to address their superiors with a more humble tone," the man said. "But I suppose it would be too much to expect strangers from overseas to recognize me."

"Or we don't care," pointed out Lessar.

"Would you be so kind as to tell us who you are then?" Oriana asked. She was pretending to be polite, because it was much easier to fight other magicians if you knew information about them. Names can give national origins, which could narrow down the types of magic they use. It wasn't perfect, but you rarely knew everything about your opponent. A shred of information could grant a huge advantage if used properly.

"Finally," the man said and granted Oriana a small nod. "Someone with a shred of manners. My name is Julius Caesar, former ruler of the Roman Republic until I was betrayed. I now use my skill and knowledge for The Fallen."

"It's not like we care about your past!" Frenda declared. "Since you are with Adam, you are our enemy. All we have to do is blow you up and find a way out of this maze."

"You make it sound so easy," Julius yawned. "Bravery is not a bad thing, but there's a difference between that and recklessness. I do not fight alone. When I fight, my countrymen fight with me." He snapped his fingers. The sound of footsteps echoed from the tunnels on the far side of the room before around twenty people entered. They looked like normal civilians, men, women, and even a couple children who could not be more than fifteen or sixteen. Their clothes varied greatly, so it appeared they didn't get a chance to change before coming here. If the numbers wasn't bad enough, each one wielded a shield in one hand and a spear in the other. They marched in unison into the room and formed two rows. They all stopped simultaneously and the room went silent again.

"So you're the one who has been manipulating the missing citizens," Oriana accused and her eyes narrowed.

"Some are born to lead," Julius answered instead of confirming her statement. "Some are born to follow. I simply had to show them their true nature is to serve. They crave subjugation and I provide. It will always be much simpler when the intelligent rule over the masses."

"Slavery has been outlawed for years Misaka points out. While Misaka may not know the exact date for the continent of Australia, it is highly unlikely they still allow it." Imouto could easily ask the network to search the exact date when slavery was outlawed in Australia, but there was some strife between the Sisters and the request would most likely be denied. _Misaka should avoid asking the network for assistance unless the situation becomes dire._

"I make the laws here," Julius answered unperturbed.

"This could be tough," Lessar muttered. "It's one thing to fight willing enemies, another to fight mind control. I would get a bad taste in my mouth if I killed one of them."

"I trust you have subjugation tactics then?" Oriana asked.

"Naturally," Lessar confirmed.

"Misaka will provide cover fire when possible Misaka volunteers."

"What about you?" Lessar asked Frenda. "I seem to recall you being over excitable with your explosives."

"I'm a professional," Frenda answered with a sniff. She had already run through several scenarios in her mind. The easiest and most efficient tactic would be to blast the enslaved people out of their way and attack Julius. That would be the approach Shizuri would have ordered her to do. Because of the three other people she was with, along with what she thought Touma would say if she tried, that option was not available to her. _If Birdway was here, I could go all out. These three probably won't want to kill the bystanders. Thanks for making things so difficult. Subjugation without killing is a pain in the ass._ "Basically, I can adjust my tactics accordingly." She pulled out a grenade.

"Seems like vermin are unable to comprehend their place," Julius sighed. "Well, I knew this would happen." He raised his hand. "Troops, forward!" All of the mind controlled civilians raised their shields and lowered their spears in unison, before marching toward the four girls.

* * *

"It seems the holographic system being used to disguise the location has broken apart to reveal a mining site."

It turned out England's forces were not the only group monitoring the situation in Australia. Back in Academy City, a group was watching England's army approach Adam's base through a very powerful satellite camera. They couldn't get a perfect view from the angle, but they had a generic idea of what was happening. Five people were on computers in a semi-circle in front of a sixth. The sixth person was sitting down on a raised platform and monitoring the rest. This person was even more unusual because she was only a high school girl.

"Do we have a clear picture?" Seria asked and clicked a few buttons on her console.

"Since the cloud covering is gone," a man said without turning around. "We don't have to rely on infrared scans. England's army has stepped into the base." He clicked a button and his screen zoomed closer. "A man is standing on a gold disk, but we don't have the ability to hear what they are saying, unless we-..."

"I just detected a large seismic disturbance," a woman suddenly interrupted. "Directly under England's forces. Putting up on full screen now." Seria frowned and cross her arms as she glared at the information. The screen was showing the shockwaves originating from under the army, not heading toward them from another location. Another focal point of tremors erupted under the other section of the army that had separated from the main group.

 _They aren't near a fault line,_ Seria thought. _The enemy must have set up a device in preparation. Anything that could force a high pressure explosion at the right point would be able to achieve something like this, but I didn't think that kind of technology was widespread outside the city. I really should pay more attention to the news._ Her face grew dark when the screen changed to display visible graphics of the situation from the satellite. "What's happening?"

"It seems the tremors are leading to the earth breaking apart underneath England's forces." The man kept his eyes glued to his screen. "The infrastructure system of the excavation site should not have collapsed from a tremor of that magnitude. Not only that, we are losing all the heat signatures. The entire army is disappearing into nothing."

"It must be some form of spatial manipulation," another woman added. "Life signs and outlines are not fading out, but vanishing instantly. We would still be able to detect the human body. Hmm," she paused for a second. "The earth closed up again."

"So they have an earth manipulation ability too," Seria deduced. "Or a device capable of replicating that ability." She tried to act calm and passive, but she was screaming inside. _He was in that army! If anything happened to him…_ She had been monitoring Touma Kamijou while he had been out in the city last evening and noticed him meeting two girls besides the Railgun. One she was able to look up in Academy City's database, a girl named Lessar who was added as a guest only a short time ago, the other girl was an intruder who continued to sneak into the city. Seria monitored their conversation to a degree, but most of what they said did not make sense. They had mentioned magic. Since Seria knew magic did not exist, it must have been some kind of code. She made a note to talk to Misaki about it at a later date, but then that morning, she received a call that put her in charge of monitoring a situation in Australia. This was extremely unusual. She was only put in charge of matters involved with the city. That led to the current situation. "Can we send a stealth jet in to get a closer look?"

"We tried that before," the oldest man there answered. "Before you joined us, the last planes were shot down and we can't figure out how. Every system would just fail and they would fall to the ground, even the communication array. We can't send anything until we have a clearer picture of what kind of technology they are using. We can't detect anything."

 _If they are even using technology._ Seria surprised herself with that kind of thought. The idea something besides science existed was preposterous. For now, she had to focus on finding a way to make sure Touma got out of this alive. She knew he was there, but what exactly he was doing there was another story. "Keep monitoring the situation for any changes and prepare to send out the jets. We will hold them back until we are sure the sky is clear, but they need to be ready to launch immediately. I'm going to work on making sure we have clearance to turn that entire area into glass if things go south."

"Yes ma'am!" the other employees said in unison.

"Good," Seria muttered and reached for the phone. _If something happens to that boy, this organization will wish they were dead._

* * *

"Any idea how large this maze is?" Touma asked.

"No," Carissa answered curtly while waiting for Touma to negate another tunnel. "It could be stretched out over the entire desert or it could be spatial magic designed to place people in different space side by side and not even realize it. For now, focus on the task at hand. Every intersection we close in, we narrow down the route for us and anyone else who manages to find their way here."

"Your plans always seem to be doing more than one thing at a time," Touma remarked and heard his hand go off. The passageway disappeared behind a wall of rock and dirt. So far, they had only found one entrance that was not magically trapped. Carissa hypothesized it was because a maze has to have an exit, otherwise it isn't a maze. Touma was also still nervous about holding hands with Carissa constantly and his hand was sweating. If Carissa noticed, she didn't comment on it.

"Of course," Carissa snapped. "It's called multitasking. I'm a busy woman and have to budget my time accordingly."

"Must be tough being royalty," Touma commented.

"You don't know the half of it boy," Carissa sighed. "I'm not even Queen and most of my time is spent working with the military, as I possess the aspect of military might. Not that I mind, but I'm also expected to attend social occasions, and help settle disputes. It does get tedious after a while. I rarely get a moment to myself. Riméa is the one who sneaks off to enjoy her own company or whatever else she does. Villian… she enjoys conversing with people, so social obligations are kind of like a vacation for her."

"I take it you don't get vacations often then?" Touma joked and instantly shut up when she glared at him.

"I don't get that luxury," she hissed softly. "Isolation is the closest thing to that." Touma gulped.

"Sorry," Touma apologized and Carissa raised an eyebrow. "I had to stop you, not just for England, but for yourself too."

"Enough," Carissa cut him off. She wasn't looking at him, but Touma felt like she was done with that subject. "I heard it all from you before and from my mother about what you told her. I don't need another lecture. Besides, we have more important things to be worried about." Touma did not know Carissa felt like she could not look him in the eyes and decided to focus her attention elsewhere. "Negate this wall here." Touma nodded and obliged quickly. "I think even if we can't find an exit, negating enough sections will start to unravel Adam's spell."

"Like holes in a moth-eaten sweater?" Touma asked.

"Pretty much," Carissa confirmed. "His magic will eventually start to break apart and my forces may be able to find a way out of the maze to regroup. Heh, I thought Adam would be smarter than this. He should know what happens when you get left alone to do what you want." She looked around. "I expected us to get attacked already. Don't tell me we have to go to him before anything happens?"

"Please don't say that," Touma said desperately. "With my luck, we will be swarmed by the hundreds now."

"Quit being a downer," Carissa told him with a roll of her eyes. "Seriously, what do you think is going to happen? We already assumed we could run into zombies, plus some of Adam's minions, and you didn't freak out about that."

"You don't know about my luck," Touma told her. "I am cursed with horrible luck because of my hand. Being attacked by zombies would be good luck compared to what I normally have to go through. We will probably encounter a monster we couldn't imagine."

"There's a chance Adam might have achieved the level of magic god," Carissa reminded him. "That is the worst case scenario. Anything else is well within the scope of our expectations." She frowned. "But this thing about your luck, I don't believe it."

"Huh?"

"You managed to survive a civil war in England," Carissa pointed out. "And you actually managed to play a crucial part in it. Then you and your friends managed to come out of it relatively unharmed. Not only that, you had encountered Eve and Adam before, and still managed to survive. Plus, you managed to protect the Index Librorum Prohibitorum from countless enemies and you are still alive and kicking. That sounds pretty lucky to me."

"That's just it," Touma refuted and started venting before he knew what happened. "What kind of high school student goes through stuff like that? I didn't even know magic existed until a few months back. Then I start getting attacked by so many magicians without knowing half of what was happening. This isn't even counting what happens to me involving the science side, which is just as crazy. When I finally made friends, admittingly with some people who seemed to have it out for me, and we were headed to England for a vacation, we were suddenly drawn into a war. The trip was entirely because of me too. That is my kind of luck. I only survived because my friends were willing to help me to the point of risking their own lives, no matter how much I'm against it."

"I noticed that," Carissa muttered. "But my previous statement still stands."

"Why?"

"You are still alive," Carissa pointed out. "And from what you said, your friends still stick by you. Either you are a good leader to inspire loyalty in those around you, or you are lucky to have friends willing to risk their lives." Touma couldn't think of anything to respond to that and Carissa continued. "At least I now know what kind of environment you grew up in. It explains why you surpassed my expectations. Had I known, I doubt you would have been able to defeat me."

"Once your sentence is over," Touma told her. "Maybe you can have some downtime with your friends." Carissa turned slowly toward him and he paled under her glare. "You… you do have friends, right?"

"Of course I do," Carissa snapped. "It's just my position does not allow me the luxury of downtime anymore. When I was younger…" She sighed. "You wouldn't understand what it is like to be royalty."

"I suppose I don't," Touma admitted. "It doesn't sound like the kind of life I would like. I understand having to do things you don't enjoy, but I still don't think you should be forced into a position you don't want to be in."

"It's not bad most of the time," Carissa said offhandedly. "Maybe a little lone-…" She suddenly stopped and looked to her right. "Did you hear that?"

"No," Touma answered and turned to look down the tunnel. "What is it?"

"Shush," Carissa hissed at him and she frowned. "Negate this." Touma nodded and started moving his hand around the entrance. After about thirty seconds, he frowned too.

"My hand is not going off," he told her.

"Interesting," Carissa mused. "It seems like we have found the right tunnel." She grinned and pulled Touma in after her.

"Wait!" Touma cried as he struggled to keep up with her without tripping. The tunnel was curving and descending further down into the ground. "How do you know this is the right way?"

"There was no transportation magic," Carissa answered. "I told you before there had to be an exit. This must be it." She paused. "Well, it could also be a trap."

"Why are you grinning then?!" Touma demanded to know and Carissa laughed.

"If it is a trap," Carissa explained. "That means Adam has to have someone who he believes can defeat us. It might even be him. When we defeat the guard, it will sure to be a blow to his plans. It would be far more productive than just wandering around aimlessly. Oh," she pointed, "That room looks different." A yellowish-white light was coming from the exit of the tunnel. It was a drastic change from the green light from the moss on the ceiling. "You ready boy?"

"As ready as I will ever be," Touma sighed. The thought of his friends who were trapped in these tunnels rose up in his mind. He gathered his resolve and made a fist with his right hand. _There's no time to regret anything I have done. Adam has to be stopped, not only for them, but for everyone suffering at his hand._ "No," he amended. "I'm definitely ready to stop him."

"That's the face I remember," Carissa commented and noted the change in his tone. "Time to greet our host." She and Touma entered the room and looked around. Touma's mouth dropped in a combination of shock and awe.

The room must have been a snake hatchery.

Hundreds of snakes of all sizes were slithering in an out of holes in the walls, floor, and ceiling. The majorities were black and brown, but many of them were stripped with red or yellow. There were also pleated and diamond designs. Touma even saw a couple that were shades of blue and green. The snakes were also all different sizes. Some were normal sized, less than a meter long, but others were easily ten meters long and as thick as a small tree. They looked like they could swallow a man whole. Touma shuttered and gritted his teeth when he saw three abandoned suits of armor and a nun's habit. _We are too late…_

"Snakes?" Carissa asked out loud. "I expected… more. I suppose it will be easier for you to fight these than a human."

"Can we not and find another way?" Touma asked hopefully.

"No!"

"Thought so. How do you want to do this?"

"Hmm, I suppose we should see if these snakes are like the locust-…" She cut off when a voice echoed down from the ceiling and they looked up.

"It looks like we have more guests. Let's go down and greet them."

Touma gasped in horror with what he saw next.

There was a huge hole on the roof he had not noticed because of all the other snakes. It was easily six or seven meters wide and covered a good portion of the ceiling. That wasn't the issue though. Touma wasn't scared of the hole. What almost made hit soil himself was the head of an enormous snake that descended down from it. A snake that size could not exist naturally and it would be able to swallow a car without any issues. It was bright green with glowing yellow eyes. The small black slits in its eyes seemed to focus on Touma and Carissa. It hissed and a fork tongue flickered out of its mouth for a second, as if it tasted the air. The neck extended and the head lifted parallel to the floor. The scales on the back of the snake seemed to be slowly turning to blue. Before Touma could say anything, he received another surprise. A girl stood up on the head of the snake, a couple steps back from its eyes.

The girl was almost completely naked.

Touma wasn't sure what was covering the little bit of modesty the girl possessed. A thin strip of something that resembled scales wrapped around the girl's chest and around her lower half. Touma could not tell if it was cloth or actual scales. The scales were all different colors and seemed to change colors when he looked at them. He forced his eyes off her well-proportioned body and traveled to the girl's face. Her skin was a rich chocolate color and her hair was black, which reached down to her hip. Her face wasn't young, but she could hardly be called old. She might have been in her early twenties. The only unusual feature on her face was her eyes. They were snakelike, but also encompassed every color Touma could imagine. The girl was examining him intently and he felt like she could see right through him. He couldn't take his eyes away from hers.

"Who are you?!" Carissa demanded up at the girl. She had let go of Touma's hand and that is when his brain clicked back into gear. He had been mesmerized by the unknown girl's eyes.

"Issn't it cusstomary to introduce yoursself firsst before assking for ssomeone else'ss?" the girl asked. Her voice was light and feminine, but she seemed to be hissing slightly.

"You want to talk manners?" Carissa growled back. "After your boss threw us down here in the first place?"

"Adam can be rather extreme," the girl answered. "But he iss hardly my bosss." Touma frowned at this.

 _That is strange. If she's not working for him, why is she even here?_ Carissa seemed to have the same thought.

"Sounds like he either threw us into your lair," Carissa said and crossed her arms. "Or he is forcing you to work for him." The girl merely shrugged in response. "No answer, huh? Fine. My name is Carissa, second princess of England and leader of the allied forces against Adam. This boy here is Touma Kamijou, my… companion. Now then, who are you?"

"Wow," the girl remarked. "You are all the way from England? I never vissited your country, but I heard all about it. After all, your rulerss kept dropping off your citizenss here for yearss." Touma was confused, but he noticed Carissa was hanging on to every word, so he remained silent. "I'm not a fan of your tone, but you did give me your name, sso I will return the courtessy. My name iss Julunggul." Touma instantly knew something was wrong.

Carissa's face had paled and her expression turned solemn.

"What is it?" Touma whispered urgently.

"Our worst fears may have been confirmed," Carissa whispered back and Touma had to think about it a moment before it sunk in.

"Is she a magic-…?"

"Possibly," Carissa answered before he could finish. Her eyes narrowed at Julunggul. "So, you're saying you are the Rainbow Snake Goddess?"

"I'm ssurprissed," Julunggul replied and she looked startled. "Not many in thiss age remember me."

"I took it upon myself to research a basic understanding about the lore and traditions before arriving," Carissa said. "There was always the possibility Adam was using local magicians to help him."

"Who is she?" Touma asked urgently, a little louder this time.

"Julunggul," Carissa finally answered. "Also known as the Rainbow Snake Goddess. An important deity with the Aboriginal Australians and is their fertility goddess. She oversees the maturing and initiation of boys into manhood and is also associated with rebirth and weather. According to legends, when a rainbow is seen in the sky, it was said to be the Rainbow Serpent moving from one waterhole to another, and this legend explained why some waterholes never dried up when droughts struck."

"I do a lot more than that," Julunggul spoke up with a pout. "Though, the rite of manhood wass a very important occassion for the humanss here." She looked over at the armor lying in the corner of the room. "A few otherss arrived before you, but they were not in a talkative mood, sso my petss quickly devoured them."

"How could you?!" Touma roared out suddenly, which caused Carissa to flinch slightly in surprise. "What do you think a human life is?" Carissa glanced out of the corner of her eye at him.

 _I like the look in his eyes. That's the same strength I saw before, but it's not the time boy._

"A life iss a life," Julunggul replied with a shrug. "If you look at nature, many animalss eat each other to ssurvive. It iss the circle of life." Before Touma could reply, she continued. "But I'm more interessted in you."

"Me?" Touma was completely confused again, but his confusion was being replaced by anger. Julunggul didn't seem to see human lives as important.

"Your aura," Julunggul pointed out and sniffed the air. "The sstench of love and lusst iss sso potent around you. The connectionss between you and otherss have formed ssolid threadss and yet you have remained untouched, sstuck in your boyhood. I have never sseen anything like thiss."

"I… have no idea what you are talking about!" Touma lied forcefully. He did in fact have a few clues of what she was referring to. He had heard of threads being used to describe relationships before. The bonds he shared with his friends were strong, and then there were a couple girls, like Mikoto, Misaki, and Ruiko, who he had heard say they like him. Lust had to refer to Lessar. For some reason, she acted like she had the hormones and sex drive of easily a dozen girls going through puberty. "And what do you mean stuck in boyhood?"

"You are a virgin," Julunggul elaborated simply. Carissa had to suppress a smirk, but Touma's mouth fell open.

"Wha….? That has nothing to do with any of this!" Touma shouted as his face began to burn. "There is nothing wrong with a high school student being a virgin!"

"High sschool?" Julunggul looked confused. "Huh, I have been out of touch from human ssociety for quite a while." Her gaze focused on Touma. "It'ss not your age. That is not unussual. Your aura sshowing the connectionss you have formed with otherss iss far greater than anything I have sseen. A person with a ssingle thread ass ssolid ass yourss would be considered to have found a ssoulmate. Ssome ssocietiess may engage in ceremoniess before taking the sstep to manhood, but many would take the plunge much earlier. Ssomeone with multiple threadss sshould never be sstuck in boyhood." She sniffed the air. "And then there iss the interessting development of you posssesssing the Imagine Breaker. Adam wass right. You are unnatural." Her voice grew softer with ever word.

"You know about my hand?" Touma asked surprised. "I should have figured Adam told you."

"I knew about it before I met him," Julunggul corrected Touma. "But he knew about it before meeting me too. Did you think you were the first human who wielded it?" Touma kept his mouth shut. Anything he said would betray his ignorance and he had no idea who would have had the Imagine Breaker before him. He heard it has appeared a couple times in history, but he didn't know anything more than that.

"None of that matters right now," Carissa interrupted and stepped forward. "The only thing we have to deal with is getting past you and finding Adam." Her eyes narrowed and she raised her sword. "Just because you took the name of a magic god does not mean you actually are one."

"Excusse me?" Julunggul hissed. Her face twisted in a combination of irritation and anger. The air in the room instantly plunged. Touma gasped and saw his breath. At the same time, all the snakes on the ground and walls began to retreat into the countless holes. Touma did not think snakes could show fear, but he believed every one of them did not want to be anywhere near Julunggul. Then the air turned against him. His body was being crushed by the instantaneous pressure. He fell to his hands and knees. It was all he could do not to collapse on the ground. He could see Carissa was in a similar situation. His breath caught in his throat and he could no longer breathe. The air in his lungs refused to move. There was nothing he could do except wait for it to end or die. What felt like centuries, but was probably only a few seconds, the pressure lifted and he could breathe normally again. "I may have losst my sshard, but putting me on the ssame level of a human iss inssulting. You will remain quiet until I finissh talking with the boy. I have nothing more to ssay to you, bessidess that, you sshould be repenting for only adding to hiss ssituation."

 _Huh?_ Touma thought. _What does she mean Carissa is adding to my situation?_ Touma was lost, but he was sure of one thing. Julunggul was in a completely different league than he and Carissa were. He had to think of something fast. A direct confrontation would not work.

"Where wass I?" Julunggul mused. "Ah, yess." She turned to Touma. "We were told, if we encountered you, to capture you alive until the battle wass over."

"I figured that much," Touma replied. "We know Adam needs my hand for his plan. That doesn't mean I am going to sit back and let you do what you please." His eyes darted over to the armor and clothing left from the previous troops. "I won't let you kill anyone else. I'm going to stop you and then move onto Adam."

"That expresssion iss nice," Julunggul laughed. "Esspecially your eyess." She leaned forward on the head of the giant snake. "You sshould be grateful to have run into me. I am much nicer than Juliuss. While I keep you here, I wass planning to ssolve your little problem."

"What are you talking about?" Touma demanded, but he suddenly felt a chill down his back as she smiled deviously at him.

"You fell into thiss maze a boy." Julunggul licked her lips. "And, thankss to me, you will leave thiss place a man."

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Shizuri: …**

 **Accelerator: HAHAHAHA!**

 **Misaki: Noooo…**

 **Motoharu: Oh yes.**

 **Mikoto: You idiot! Run!**

 **Aogami: Kami-yan falls into a pit, so he gets closer to the princess and then gets a beautiful snake girl?! I hope your death is slow and painful! Why do you get every girl in the story!?**

 **Motoharu: Wait, what if Kami-yan disease only works because he hasn't take the next step?**

 **Aogami: Huh, I suppose that could be a possibility and we need that for our presentation in college, but I really don't want to check.**

 **Motoharu: Me neither. Yo, Accelerator!**

 **Accelerator: Go to hell.**

 **Aogami: Come on man, help your friends out.**

 **Accelerator: Fine, how about a warning. The hero's cheerleaders are about to kill you.**

 **(On the other side of the room, the two people smart enough not to get involved sat.)**

 **Kazari: Saten-san is finally realizing her potential.**

 **Jason: Now's the time for her to grow exponentially.**


	96. S4 Battle for Australia: Guardians

_**Touma could do nothing as Julunggul approached him. Her divine nature prevented his body from activating his flight response. Every breath he took caused his heart to beat faster and raised his body's temperature. Her scent was permeating every fiber of his being. The goddess reached up and placed both hands on his cheeks and pressed her lips against his. Touma could taste something fruity and his mind began to fade. Electricity coursed through his entire body. A mere touch from the divine stimulated his body to a degree no drug could ever hope to match. Julunggul broke the kiss and smiled. Touma only felt like he needed more from her, a single kiss was not enough to solve the rush of emotions flooding through him. Julunggul reached a single finger and tugged at his shirt. It started to rip as she slowly dragged her finger down. In the back of Touma's mind a small voice mentioned Carissa was still there, but he no longer cared. She could join if she wanted to. Julunggul finally reached his pants and continued to drag her finger downwards…**_

 **Eve! What are you doing?** _ **Writing.**_ **I see that, I meant what are you doing to my story?** _ **You were busy with that new series RWBY your friend showed you, so I wanted to help out.**_ **I told you a million times this fic is rated T. GO write your own M rated stuff.** _ **Did you not see the comments? Your readers want this!**_ **Not if you write it!** _ **Bull, they don't care. You could have hundreds of ghost writers and as long as it was good, they would stay.**_ **Give me the laptop Eve.** _ **Never!**_ **Get back here! Unlock this door now!** _ **When I finish and not a moment before.**_ **Dang it Eve, open up! I'll shut off the power so you can't recharge it! My laptop is old and can't hold a charge!** _ **Empty threat, I can make batteries.**_ **Arg! She is so frustrating! I can at least use my desktop to answer comments.**

 **Brosephg: I told you before, spoiling is half the fun. People should read the chapter before the reviews, duh. Those 'beasts' as you call them are ordinary Australian dangers. Carissa's and Touma's encounter could hardly be considered nasty. Love is a beautiful thing. Someone was finally going to do what is needed.**

 **Sasga Ainz: Tsundere little sisters, what are you going to do? Since Carissa is already blonde, does that mean she's already a super saiyan?**

 **Acpeters: I had to write down who was meeting who and who they lost to get everyone where they needed to be. As for Julunggal, she has a couple roles to fill. Magic gods have certain rules they have to follow to be a god, but the exact rules are different for each one. Othinus needed to give up an eye, so her shard would be something like that.**

 **Iceflame55: Everyone's over reacting. Once Touma becomes a man, he will want to be more intimate with all his girls.**

 **general ironox: The goddess could go back to AC with him in the form of a snake and fight the mighty Cat God Sphinx.**

 **wildarms13: All the fights were carefully planned out and designed. Or I just randomly assigned them. I will let you decide, haha.**

 **Seeker: No, no it will not. No matter what Eve tries. Woah there, I never said that. When he becomes a man, fireworks erupt everywhere and at least three girls in the bed with him.**

 **Whwsms: I think you missed Shizuri in your fantasy.**

 **Jujudude: There's always ways to bring people back to life if needed. You knowledge of history disgusts me. Nah just kidding, but that was an oversight on my part. Too late to fix it now though, so I shall plow onwards and pretend it wasn't important.**

 **Guest13: This isn't Canada. It's Australia. They deal with enough pain and kill dog size spiders every day.**

 **Agent Nine: I will not apologize for your dirty mind, but I will laugh at your comment.**

 **MightyImpulse: That would require the goddess to follow him back to Academy City in a small enough form so she could point out… Huh, we may never know.**

 **Simmering Teapot: Fluffy is special and can't be used to often or it loses appeal.**

 **Guest: The goddess is an Aboriginal Australia deity. Why she is working with the Fallen was hinted at last chapter and will be elaborated a little on this one. Armor is hard to digest, so naturally the goddess removes it for her pets. Those spiders are obviously just normal breeds that live in Australia. That is why Australians are so tough. When you fight car size spiders on a daily basis, you learn how to fight. I had someone write the M rated scene for it if people wanted to see it.**

 **Guest00: Seria is going to become important when Touma heads back to AC.**

 **Generation Zero: You have several very good questions and I feel I should write this chapter to only give half answers and fragmented views of her power. MUAHAHAHA. Julius was pretty easy to develop his magic and it's going to make a lot of sense when you read it. St. Peter was a lot harder. What kind of magic do you give someone who is really powerful but hates violence? Luckily, I have crazy friends who we bounce ideas off each other to eventually create his main power. This chapter, you will learn exactly what he means by 'no magician can defeat him.' Hundreds of FIVE_OVERS show up to wreck divine judgement.**

 **Salishious: Saten-san is on everyone's team. She doesn't believe in dividing her friends and allies. People seem to enjoy the nickname Snuggle-chan. Maybe she will make extended appearances. I feel if Touma becomes a man, he will be able to be more intimate with the ladies. So plenty of misfortune, but fortune with them.**

 **MightyImpulse: It healed him, but once he lost the mark, he went back to normal. The reason is he is to OP without the time limit.**

 **FrodoFighter: About the Ten Commandments, I thought a lot about that, but I feel like I would have to give a different spell for each one, and that's just too much work on my part. His law aspect already is similar and why on earth would he want to follow god's law? SATEN was useful! That's all we needed. Everything else is secondary. Kung-Fu-Jesus to describe Aqua, I like that. St. Peter will win without doing anything. People sure seem to be enjoying the little glimpse of Seria. There was a reason for that, I promise. I would also like to point out, Aogami would tap anything that is female, moves, and has a heartbeat… I hope he wants that last one. You do remember fluffy got owned by Othinus with a single hand right?**

 **xaxiel1572: Anytime someone says they read all the chapters, my first thought is, dang that must have taken awhile. Glad you liked it.**

 **Tardis42: Sexual tension might be while Carissa is so uptight all the time.**

 **GameCguru: Aphrodite is actually canon in the Index universe. Kamisato met her and we don't talk about him here. Everything else, that's all possible.**

 **Handsomistic1: I'm just going to imagine then your head exploded from the sheer awesomeness.**

 **321jaz: Do you know how hard it was to NOT use that line? Way harder than it should have been.**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly. Magic Gods own all so they can do what they want.**

* * *

"L-let's not g-get a-ahead of o-ourselves," Touma stuttered and took a step back once his body was no longer frozen from the shock of what he just heard. "We just met…" He trailed off as Julunggul stared intently at him with her rainbow eyes. If his concentration faltered for even a minute, he felt like he would be drawn into their divine grace, never to escape. The gargantuan snake lowered down to the ground and Julunggul stepped off. She slowly approached him, an amused look on her face.

"Hmm?" Julunggul asked and raised an eyebrow. "Why are you hessitant?" She smiled at him. "You don't even have to buy me dinner." She looked hesitant for a second. "I think that wass correct. I'm a little russty on the current sslang." She smiled at him and raised a hand up to put it lightly on Touma's cheek. His heart started beating faster as she leaned closer.

"It's not that," Touma replied quickly and diverted his eyes. His body felt heavy and it was hard to move. _I have to choose my words carefully. If she really is an all-powerful magic god, I can't risk making her angry._ "We only just met and don't know anything about each other." Her gaze turned curious and Touma gulped. He relaxed a fraction when eyes softened.

"You are ssweet," she hissed after a moment. "But don't worry. None of that matterss. My job iss to turn you into a man, one way or another."

"B-but," Touma stammered, as he tried to reason with her. "Shouldn't a first time be with someone you lo-…?"

"I can't watch this anymore," Carissa growled and raised her sword. Whatever foul magic Julunggul used had been dispelled by her irritation and anger. Her sword started to glow white and vibrated ever so slightly. She pulled her arm back and simultaneously leaped forward toward them. She unleashed a powerful thrust over Touma's shoulder and directly at Julunggul's face. Julunggul's rainbow eyes, previously full of amusement and curiosity, turned bored and irritable. Instead of dodging, she only shifted her head ever so slightly and opened her mouth.

Julunggul then bit down on the tip of Carissa's sword.

"How?" Carissa gasped in shock. Julunggul never even blinked. She only flicked her head to the right and the sword was yanked from Carissa's grasp. It flew across the room and clanked loudly as it hit and skidded on the ground. Julunggul opened her mouth and a forked tongue shot out at Carissa's neck. She managed to roll to the side to avoid it. A hissing escaped Julunggul's throat and hundreds of snakes pours out of the holes in the ground and began to cover Carissa. She was forced to freeze as many of them begun to bare their fangs.

"I'm getting tired of your pointlesss interruptionss," Julunggul hissed menacingly. "I sshould jusst feed you to my pet." She gestured with her head back to the giant snake. Its tongue flickered out briefly. "I'm pretty patient, but you are tessting me. If you had ssat quietly in a corner, you might have ssurvived. Actually, I am going to feed you to him." Her snake rose up and opened its mouth. Two fangs, larger than Touma's arm, emerged and it approached Carissa. The snakes around Carissa fled once more into their holes. However, Carissa did not show any fear on her face. Her expression was only one of contempt and defiance. She rose to her feet.

It was obvious her pride would not let her die on the ground. If she was going to die, it would be on her feet, but only after every available option was exhausted. She bent her knees in preparation. The moment the snake struck, she would have to jump to the side. Snakes could strike much faster than a normal person could follow, but the massive size of the snake should slow it down a bit. The snake swayed slightly as it watched her and then moved back slightly to get a better position. The fight could be over in a fraction of a second.

"Stop!" Touma shouted. Being so close to Julunggul's ear, he was surprised she didn't flinch, but she did make a slight movement with her finger. The snake stopped and slowly retreated into the vast hole in the ceiling. Julunggul must have decided neither of them were a big enough threat to warrant it. Julunggul moved her finger down Touma's neck slowly and he shivered. "Don't kill her," he pleaded, but she didn't answer. Instead, she opened her mouth and bit lightly into his neck. He felt a small pinch, like a shot, and a single drop of blood trickled down his neck. Julunggul used her tongue and licked it up. When her tongue hit the broken skin, he felt a wave of electricity course through his body. "Ah," he gasped involuntarily.

"Liked that, did you?" Julunggul asked mockingly. She knew he did, even if he wouldn't admit it. "I'm ssurprissed you are willing to keep fighting sso hard." She peered deeply into her eyes. "Why? Do you have ssomeone back home?" Touma saw images of many of his female friends flood to the front of his mind and he wasn't sure if Julunggul could see them or not.

"It's a lot more complicated than that," Touma admitted slowly. He could feel Carissa's eyes on him. Not only had he not been able to sort out his own feelings, there were plenty of other reasons why he hadn't, and couldn't, make a move on a girl. He never really had a chance to fully discuss them with anyone. "Besides," he continued. "I can't do it with someone I randomly met. If that is even what you mean." He narrowed his eyes. "I'm beginning to think this is a charade and you are trying to enact some kind of scheme." She laughed.

"If I'm not your type," Julunggul whispered softly. "I can change that." She peered deep into his eyes and he watched her change. His mouth fell open in shock, as he saw another Carissa stand in front of him. The image changed again into Mikoto, Misaki, Ruiko, Lessar, and kept alternating between all the girls he knew, including adult women. His stomach churned and his consciousness roared at him to end this.

"Please stop," Touma begged and forced his eyes away to the side. "Even if you look like people I know, you are not them. It's an insult."

"How do you ressisst?" Julunggul asked. "I can be anything or anyone you want, yet you fight. This ressisstance is why your threadss have not ssolidified. You are hurting otherss with your indecissivenesss. There iss a reasson I perform thesse ancient ritess." Touma felt a shred of guilt but said nothing. Julunggul looked at Carissa out of the corner of her eye. "Iss it her? Do you not like being watched, or…" Her eyes widened. "Sshe'ss important to you? Heh, my eyess don't lie."

"Yes," Touma said and he even surprised himself. He stared defiantly into Julunggul's eyes, so he missed Carissa's shocked and slightly confused expression. "It's hard to say we are friends, but we have history."

"Interessting," Julunggul mused. Her eyes brightened and she dropped her hand on his shoulder. Touma suddenly regained full use of his body and quickly stepped back. Julunggul didn't seem to mind and turned around. She walked over to Carissa, who immediately went into a defensive pose. She may not have had her sword, but Carissa had plenty of training in martial arts, plus whatever physical augmenting spells she had on her gear. Julunggul didn't seem to be worried at all though. A goddess was supposed to be able to manipulate the world with her will alone, so she had nothing to fear. Julunggul stopped a couple feet from Carissa and stared at her. "You are not a complete wasste of sspace," Julunggul stated. "I found a usse for you."

"Bite me," Carissa spat out. "Whatever you think is going on between me and the boy is just a sick delusion of yours."

"Don't tempt me," Julunggul hissed briefly. "Deny what you want, but the threadss are there. They actually sstrengthened ssince you arrived." She turned to glance back at Touma. "I'm going to give you a choice. You can either allow me to make you a man, and then you can leave, or you can become a man with her," she pointed to Carissa, "and then both of you can leave."

"You bitch!" Carissa fumed, but Julunggul ignored her.

"How can you say that with a straight face?!" Touma asked astonished.

"I'm a fertility goddesss," Julunggul reminded him. "That iss my primary function. All of Adam'ss orderss are ssecondary. Bessidess, by the time you finissh, I will have kept you here for a while." She snickered slightly. "Well, you might finissh quickly ssince it'ss your firsst time, though the princesss iss experienced." She snickered again and Carissa began to grind her teeth. "You might want to make a decission ssoon, before I change my mind."

"What would happen to Carissa if I went with option one?" Touma asked hesitantly, He didn't really want to choose either, but he noticed Julunggul didn't mention Carissa's fate.

"I'll feed thiss arrogant brat to my pet," Julunggul replied simply and pointed up to the vast hole in the ceiling. "Now decide quickly." Carissa made a fist with one hand and it looked like she desperately wanted to punch Julunggul in the face, but all three of them knew that action was going to amount to nothing.

"Doesn't she get a say in this?" Touma asked almost angrily and pointed to Carissa.

"Nope," Julunggul answered. "But I doubt sshe will mind. I only offered that choice becausse sshe hass feelingss for you."

"Now I know you are messing with me," Touma replied, almost shouting in disbelief. "There is no way that is true." He sighed. "Even in the middle of a large scale encounter, people still find the opportunity to make fun of me."

"It iss rather fun," admitted Julunggul. "But you dare to doubt the word of a god?" She glared at him for a moment and Touma shivered. He only relaxed when she smiled. "I ssupposse that reaction would be expected, few people ever meet an actual deity. I told you boy, I can ssee the sstringss that bind people together." Her eyes traveled to Carissa. "Bassed on itss dessign, sshe hass not come to termss with it yet." Touma felt his eyes involuntary fall on Carissa. A vein in her head was pulsing and it looked like she was ready to explode. However, faced against Julunggul's power, Touma wasn't sure she could do anything right now.

"I still think you might be mistaken," Touma muttered and the air instantly grew colder as she narrowed her eyes. "But who am I to doubt your word?" he amended quickly.

"Good recover," Julunggul said with a smile. "Now, option one, or option two?"

"I think that's obvious," Touma answered. Naturally, there was only one choice he could possibly give in this situation. He didn't like it, but there wasn't much of a choice. His only other option would be to try to convince Julunggul this entire thing was stupid and that teaming up against Adam was the better route. He opened his mouth to mention that, but he couldn't produce the words. Julunggul glanced at him suspiciously and Touma closed his mouth again. _I think she's only letting me answer her question, nothing else. How will I be able to persuade her? Should I try to touch her with my hand? Would that prevent her from using magic?_ She was a couple steps away and he saw firsthand how fast her reflexes were. He took a deep breath and continued the only response that made sense. It was the one where they could all get out alive. "Option two," he said and braced himself for the impact.

"What?!" Carissa snapped with a mixture of shock and disbelief.

"Ohoho!" Julunggul laughed and Touma was reminded of a certain ojou-sama from Academy City. "That sshould make her happy." She looked around. "But thiss area could hardly be conssidered an appropriate location for ssuch an important ceremony. In front of a goddesss no lesss. Not even a bed." She looked back at Touma. "Go sstart whatever your generation conssiderss the warmup while I find ssomething."

 _I'm going to die,_ Touma thought. When he learned what he would be helping with in Australia, this situation never occurred to him. He considered zombies, enslaved innocent people, and even for the possibility of death, but being forced to have sex with someone to live, that was a new one. Not only that, Carissa was one of the last people he could ever imagine this happening with. This was something Lessar would have set up, and it would have been a lie that his life depended on doing it. _Carissa is going to kill me._ He didn't know what to expect and his body started to move automatically toward her. He began to sweat profusely when she caught a glimpse of her face. Her lips were pressed tightly together, but otherwise her expression was neutral. He stopped a foot away from her and paled under her gaze.

"Do you have a plan?" she whispered softly, so Julunggul could not here.

"No," Touma admitted just as quietly. "I have no idea. Help." Carissa sighed.

"I suppose it was too much to expect you to come up with something," Carissa told him. Her voice was barely loud enough for him to here. She suddenly grabbed his shoulders and pulled him around. Hey body twisted around him and she kept her head between Touma and Julunggul. "She's watching. Don't let her see us talking."

"Okay, but what can we do? We obviously can't do what she was asking."

"Your conversation with her was childish and idiotic," Carissa told him. "But you bought time. Thanks to that, I managed to analyze her to an extent, her magic, moves, and personality."

"And you came up with a plan?" Touma asked hopefully.

"No." Touma's heart sunk at her confession. "However, there is a bright side. Her magic is not limitless, vast yes, but I could tell there was a limit. That means she's not a true god. It has to be because of the shard she mentioned she had lost."

"Can we take her?" Touma asked as he recollected everything he saw. "She seemed so confident and when she got irritated…" His voice trailed off. Carissa face darkened at his words. They had both felt the immense pressure of her power from just a look.

"Not as we are," she acknowledged. "Fighting her would require hours of planning or a squad of top tier magicians. If we had your acquaintances, William, or even George and Amelia, we might stand a chance. You can't use magic and I don't know how well your hand will work on her, especially since she knows about it."

"Then what can we do? I could act as a shield, while you-…"

"Stop," Carissa interrupted. "For now, play along." She let go of him and turned around. Julunggul was staring at them and then smiled. Something fell out of nowhere next to them. Touma turned to look at it, but Carissa barely acknowledged it. Only her eyes shifted slightly. A thick wool blanket had landed on the ground and spread out unnaturally flat. Carissa huffed and Touma could feel the aura of pride and determination he was used to seeing around her. "Really? Is that all? A goddess expects a young boy to become a man on a single blanket? And with royalty no less?"

"You sshould watch your tongue," Julunggul said dangerously. "Before I remove it." She put her arms behind her back and her expression softened as she stared at them. "I would apologize for the accommodationss, but I did not have much warning. Without my sshard, my view of the world iss limited." Touma frowned.

 _That's the second time I heard her mention this shard. What exactly is it?_

"However," Julunggul continued. "I sstill have the honor of a god. If you become a man with thiss woman, I will let you passs." She paused. "The longer you wait, the more of your men fall." She smiled. "That cloth will be ssofter than the floor, but the choice iss up to you."

"Your kindness knows no bounds," Carissa replied and Touma could hear the sarcasm permeating her words. Julunggul obviously did too, as her eye twitched slightly, but she didn't lower herself to Carissa's taunts. Carissa turned and stepped toward Touma. Before he could say anything, she did something he never would have expected. Her hands reached up faster than he could react and pushed him in the chest. He fell backwards onto the blanket and propped himself up with his arms.

"C-Carissa?" Touma stammered in surprised. "What are you doing?"

"Is your memory that bad?" Carissa mocked. "You were the one who decided our fate." She stepped onto the blanket and knelt down over him. Her face was drawing closer to him. Amusement was etched all over it, before she grabbed the side of his head and leaned in. Touma closed his eyes and felt her soft lips press against his. Then he felt her tongue slip inside of his mouth.

If not for their current situation, he might have enjoyed it.

"I'll give you two ssome privacy," Julunggul cooed. She instantly vanished and the room was empty except for Touma and Carissa. Carissa removed her lips and Touma gasped for air. The honest part of his male mind kind of wanted the kiss to last a little longer.

"Please wait!" he begged. "I'm not prepared for this!" Carissa bent down and bit his ear, hard. He felt a mixture of pain and a little pleasure.

"Shut up and listen," Carissa ordered. Her voice was barely a whisper into his ear. "We don't have much time." Touma briefly nodded to indicate he understood. "Good job with the acting." Touma did not bother to correct her. "The point was to get her to leave, but she's probably still watching us. We only have two options available. Play her game or fight back. I'm going to leave the choice up to you."

"Why me?" Touma asked in shock.

"Normal methods are not going to work here," Carissa answered. "And I don't have the tools at my disposal to devise a counterstrategy. I'm counting on your unorthodox methods to lead us to victory. The choice is going to determine if we succeed or die." Touma was momentarily speechless, as his mind worked in overdrive. It was difficult though, because a very attractive female was on top of him and breathing softly into his ear. His body was betraying him and he was terrified Carissa would find out.

 _Why me?_ he thought. _I don't have experience. Fighting seems to be out of the question. Julunggul stopped Carissa with barely any effort. Plus, we have no idea if my hand will negate anything useful on her. The other option is Carissa and I do it... No, don't even think about that. You only said that in the first place to prevent her from being killed. If you do it with her in this situation, you will be trash, even lower than trash. Think, you never accepted a choice if it wouldn't be right for anyone involved. Find the secret route that's always hidden. Fighting and intercourse are off the table, and I doubt we could run from her. This leaves only one other option for me. It's time to see what a goddess is really like._ "Neither," Touma finally answered.

"Boy," Carissa hissed. "Do you realize-…?"

"I have a third option," Touma interrupted.

"Are you confident in it?"

"Not at all, but it's better than the other two options."

"I find that almost insulting." Touma realized what he had implied.

"That's not why-…" he tried to explain.

"Yeah, whatever," Carissa sighed. "Hero, virgin, idiot, give me the excuses later. What is your plan?"

"Just follow my lead."

"You giving orders now?"

"This time," Touma muttered, hoping Carissa's pride wouldn't ruin this. "I need you to trust me." Carissa looked at him for a moment and it looked like she swallowed something sour. Touma had an inkling of the dilemma that was going through her mind. Carissa was used to leading, that was obvious. Now, she had to make the choice whether to trust the boy that had once been her enemy and ruined her opportunity to rule England or go with one of her ideas. Since she had admitted neither of her ideas were likely to succeed, she would have to cast aside her pride. Touma didn't think of it this way though. He did not want to destroy her pride, but to save everyone. Finally, she gave him an answer.

"You have not given me a reason to doubt you so far," Carissa told him. "Go, I'll follow this time." Touma eyes widened ever so slightly and nodded to her. He was determined not to waste this opportunity.

"I need to get up," Touma told her first. She rolled off of him and stood up too. Touma walked toward the center of the room and looked up at the ceiling. He had no idea where Julunggul had gone, nor could he see any signs of her, but his gut told him she was still watching. "Julunggul!" he called out. "I need to talk to you."

"Do you think you have the right to call a goddesss?" Julunggul's voice echoed around the room. "When you can't even follow a ssimple order?"

"This involves all of us," Touma informed her. "Including you." There was only silence for a minute, but Touma didn't break it. Carissa looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

 _Huh, when did he learn the secrets to negotiation?_

"Are you trying to perssuade me to join you two? How brave..." She trailed off and giggled. Touma's face paled and he determinedly kept his eyes off Carissa.

"It's not that," Touma explained quickly. "It's about all three of us being trapped here." At those words, Carissa frowned. She finally got her first insight into what he was going to try to do.

"Fine," Julunggul relented and reappeared a couple feet in front of him. She looked slightly annoyed, but mildly curious. "Let me hear it. However," her voice turned ice cold. "If thiss wasstess my time, I will kill you." Touma was surprised at how fast she could change her attitude.

 _This has to be worded carefully,_ Touma through to himself. One wrong word could spell their demise. He noticed the dirt around Julunggul began to get blown away. "I'm not sure how long you have been apart from the rest of human civilization, but time has changed when people consider it appropriate to become a 'man' as you put it." He took a deep breath when she raised an eye. "Normally, eighteen is when our society considers it okay to do those kinds of activities." He didn't want to mention that many times kids do it before then, but it was true society considered eighteen the magic number. He saw Julunggul roll her eyes and knew she could tell his words weren't completely honest.

"Lissten," Julunggul told him reassuringly. "It'ss okay to be nervouss. Mosst people are their firsst time."

"It's not that," Touma protested. He had no choice but to be honest. "I have always dreamed of my first time being with an attractive older woman, but it's not worth it if we aren't in love or being forced. It's wrong. Or maybe I'm too young for this."

"He is rather young for me," Carissa agreed. She had felt her lips twitch slightly at his compliment. "Give him two years or so to mature." Touma decided to ignore that.

"Your wordss do not affect the sstringss you have forged already," Julunggul pointed out. "Nor do they concern me. What did you mean by all three of uss being trapped here?" Her rainbow eyes drilled into his and Touma felt his mind get slightly foggy again. It was getting harder to think straight. Lying would be impossible in his condition. He would never be able to keep the lies straight. That might have actually been the purpose of her glare. Touma had been planning to tell the truth and this changed nothing.

"It's about the shard you mentioned," Touma continued and he knew he struck gold. Julunggul's face had darkened, but the room did not drop in temperature. He was on the right path, so he pushed on. "You said you lost it, but that's not really true either." Julunggul didn't confirm or deny this statement, but Carissa smirked. "I may not know what this 'shard' is, but I can tell it's important." He took a deep breath. This was the point he was worried about. "Adam took it, didn't he?" Carissa's smile faltered and Julunggul raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you ssay that?" Julunggul asked interestedly.

"We don't have reason to believe Adam has reached the level of magic god yet," Touma answered, as he recited what he had been told back at base camp. "So a majestic goddess like yourself would never serve him normally." _A little flattery probably won't hurt._ "That leaves one option. He stole your shard to force you to do his bidding."

"Clever boy," Julunggul purred. "If what you ssay iss true, what could you posssibly do?"

"I want to make a deal with you," Touma said and her eyes widened. She wasn't the only one in shock, because Carissa grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.

"Boy," she hissed. "Do you understand what you are doing? Magic gods may be all powerful, but they are just as fickle as humans. Do not make a deal you can't honor with them. It will only come back to haunt you."

"I know," Touma muttered back. "But this way, our goals will coincide." Carissa looked like she wanted to shake some sense into him, but then Julunggul spoke up.

"What kind of deal?" Touma stepped toward her and Carissa let him go.

"Our goal is to defeat Adam," Touma told her. "But I'm sure you know that. However, we should be able to help you in the process." Julunggul's eyes widened ever so slightly. "In exchange for letting us go and not killing anymore of our forces, I will take back your shard from Adam." He paused for only a moment. "I'm not strong enough to keep it from someone like yourself, so even if I wanted to use the shard against you, which I don't, you would be able to easy take it from me."

"Tempting," Julunggul mused, but it was more mocking than anything else. "What makess you think you have the kind of power to sstop him?"

"Because we have to," Touma answered simply. Carissa face palmed at that response. Then, to their surprise, Julunggul started laughing.

"You are really optamisstic," she finally said when she calmed down. She stepped toward him, put a hand on the side of his cheek, and stared into his eyes. Touma almost lost himself in the rainbow colors again, but he kept his resolve. "I like that expresssion. Thosse eyess, they remind me of him. Why I became…" Her voice trailed off and Touma tilted his head slightly. "Nothing." She removed her hand and turned around. "Your offer iss tempting, but I don't know if you have enough ressolve to accomplissh that feat."

"Then let me add my weight to his deal," Carissa suddenly spoke up and stepped up next to Touma. "I am royalty of England. My word should be enough for you. I promise to help this boy achieve his end of the deal. I have the resources of an entire country deeply entrenched in magic plus an army."

"Royalty are sstill humanss," Julunggul pointed out. "But their pride and honor tendss to causse them to keep their word." She looked up at the ceiling. "I accept your deal boy." Touma's heart slowed down in relief and even Carissa relaxed. "Though, you don't have to retrieve my sshard, desstroying it iss enough."

"Don't you need it though?" Touma asked surprised.

"I can make a new one if it iss desstroyed," Julunggul answered and waved her hand dismissively. "It jusst takess time." She smiled. "I'll make a sshow of good faith too." She looked up at the ceiling and Touma's eyes followed. The gigantic snake emerged once again and placed its head right above the ground. It made a strange noise and Touma instinctively took a step back. The snake opened its mouth and another sound came from the back of its throat. Touma suddenly realized what it was and he couldn't believe it.

 _Is that snake choking? Is that even possible for them?_ The sound grew louder and louder until something began to emerged. Touma watched as four people fell out of the snake and onto the ground, three adult men and one young girl. _Were those the people the armor and habit belonged to?_ The men, who he assumed were the knights, were only wearing shirts and tight fitting pants. The girl was not as lucky. She was only in her underwear, but all four of them were covered in… saliva? Touma didn't really want to think about it. _They won't be excited about that, but at least they are alive. Why?_ He looked at Julunggul, who winked back at him.

"Ssign of good faith," she repeated. "Though, they won't wake up unlesss you win." She pointed to a passageway behind her on the far side of the room. "You need to go through there to meet Adam."

"Thank you," Touma said and bowed to her. Carissa merely nodded her head. Touma didn't like the fact he had to leave unconscious allies back with her, but they didn't have much of a choice. Julunggul was temperamental to say the least, but she did not appear to be a villain like Adam. _She's just another pawn in Adam's plan, which is actually pretty disturbing. It says a lot about Adam's power if he can manipulate a goddess._ He turned to leave in the direction Julunggul pointed, but stopped when she spoke up.

"Before you go," Julunggul said. "A bit of advice."

"Yes?" Touma asked. He was grateful for help, no matter how small.

"Beware hiss wordss."

"Huh?" Touma was confused. "I'm not going to listen to his lies."

"You don't undersstand. The truth can be much more painful than liess could ever be." She disappeared before Touma could respond to the ominous statement. The large snake also disappeared back up into its hole. Touma made a small step to reach out toward the unconscious people, but Carissa stopped him. She shook her head and Touma understood the meaning. _Do not upset her._ He nodded reluctantly and they set off down the tunnel Julunggul had directed them towards. When they were out of earshot from the room, Touma finally could ask Carissa something.

"What do you think her warning meant?"

"Hard to say," Carissa answered. "He could be good at manipulating people. Neither of us had prolonged contact with him, so it's best not to dwell on it too much. It will probably make sense later, so keep it in mind. I could tell she was actually serious." The tunnel began to ascend up actual stairs and there was a tiny glint of light coming from the top. "It looks like we have reached the end. Be prepared, this is going to be an actual fight." They started up the stairs. "Don't think you can get off by trying to flirt with him like you did with Julunggul. Seriously," she sighed. "You are the only idiot to actually try something like that with a god."

"You make it sound like I tried to do that!" Touma protested. "How is this my fault we run into a goddess that governs over sex?"

"Because nothing that stupid has ever happened until I met you," Carissa pointed out.

"I don't want this crazy stuff to happen to me. I would be happy with a normal high school life!"

"Far too late for that, isn't it?"

"Tell me about it." Touma sighed. "You sound like some people I know back home. They say I flirt with every girl I meet."

"Oh?" Carissa said slightly amused and raised an eyebrow. "So if you had been able to contact Academy City about what was happening here, we could not expect a couple girls with powerful science abilities to come barreling to help you?" A little revenge at the boy's expense was perfectly rational. After all, what kind of young boy would refuse to be with her like he did? She knew why he did it, and she had to admit it worked, but her pride had taken a slight hit. She would have gone through with it if it was their only option. She wasn't inexperienced like he was.

"Uh…" Touma trailed off. That was probably true. Mikoto and Misaki would definitely come, even if they had to hijack a plane. They could too. Misaki would modify witnesses and Mikoto could control a lot of Academy City's planes with her electricity. Shizuri… Well, she was hard to read. She would probably come for more selfish reasons, mainly to get revenge on Adam and show up Carissa's forces again. Thinking about revenge, Accelerator might come to try to fight Adam. Jason would follow them, purely for his own amusement if nothing else. "My friends would definitely try to come. They understand how strong Adam is because they have faced Eve. We would need anyone available."

"Clever," she mumbled, more to herself. Touma never actually denied the female strike squad who seemed to be overly obsessed with him, something Carissa did not miss. Making fun of Touma was more about calming her own nerves before meeting Adam. It wasn't something she normally did. Usually, embarrassing people was a way to destroy their ego, like when a knight got too overconfident. Touma did not have this problem. In fact, he was one of the most down to earth people she had ever met, even after being involved in all the recent magic side events. Her only complaint is his belief everyone could be saved was way too optimistic, borderline insane. _Well, mother always said I needed a hobby that didn't involve the military. Making fun of this boy does sound like a pleasant recreational activity, assuming we all make it._ "Jokes aside, we are almost to the top. Have you prepared yourself?"

"Yes," Touma told her. "Sooner we beat him, the sooner everyone else can get out of that maze."

"You got that look in your eye," Carissa commented. "It's a good look on you, makes you look professional." Touma decided not to say anything to her compliment. "I'll try to decipher his powers as best as I can, but you need to follow my orders immediately. A second delay could spell defeat. Understand?"

"Yes."

"Good, it's time to finish this." They reached the top of stairs and stepped out into the light. Carissa blinked and found herself in another tunnel. Touma was nowhere to be found. "DAMN IT!" she roared. They had completely forgotten about Adam's magic. Julunggul had pointed them in the correct direction, so neither of them questioned if the magic was still on the entrances. It wasn't on the one leading out of the room. _He wanted to separate us,_ Carissa realized. _Boy, hold on until backup arrives. I'm counting on you._ She heard the sound of metal clanging and explosions in the distance. _A fight has broken out. That's my best shot of finding reinforcements._

* * *

"That's a big claim," Leivinia answered St. Peter's declaration with a smirk. She twirled her wand between her fingers. "You probably never met a magician like me before." Agnese rolled her eyes, but luckily Leivinia didn't see it. William didn't move, but his fingers tightened on his mace as the far end hit the ground. Leivinia did have skills and knowledge far beyond a normal magician anywhere near her age. Being the leader of the largest magic cabal was proof of that.

"Confidence is a good thing to have," St. Peter told her. "But overconfidence only leads to one's downfall." A vein throbbed in Leivinia's head at St. Peter nonchalant words. He must have noticed her displeasure. "I'm sorry if my words offended you. I am merely trying to help."

"You can help us by getting out of the way if you don't want to die again!" Leivinia yelled and pointed her wand threateningly at him.

"This doesn't feel right," Agnese whispered to William. "Fighting one of the twelve disciples makes it seem like we are the bad guys."

"Adam is once again perverting our religion," William replied. "But we are in a very precarious situation."

"And Birdway isn't helping," Agnese added and scowled at her back.

"Her actions will not disturb him," William pointed out. "Nor will her attacks succeed."

"What do you mean?" Agnese asked confused.

"I understand his words now."

"About how no magician can defeat him?"

"Yes. We were unprepared."

"Enough of this!" Leivinia finally snapped. "He's a pawn of Adam. It would be our duty to send him back to the afterlife." Her grip tightened on her wand. "I can't say I take pleasure in this, but I always wanted to see how a fared against a saint." Her smile didn't match her words. She jabbed her wand forward to engulf St. Peter in flames. She blinked.

Nothing happened.

 _What?_ Leivinia thought in shock. _How could I have made a mistake?_ Her wand required specific motions to use the elements, but shooting fire was one of the easiest things her weapon could do. For her to make such an amateur mistake was impossible. It wasn't like the wand was new to her. She jabbed her wand once more and again nothing happened. Her eyes narrowed when she realized what this meant. "Nun!" she turned around. "Try your weapon, quick!"

"Okay," Agnese agreed and hit the side of the Lotus Wand with a dagger. The Lotus Wand allowed its user to render attacks based on the effects that happen on the Lotus Wand, similar to the method that is used on voodoo dolls. By slashing it with a dagger, Agnese would transfer the strike against St. Peter's body. The only weakness was a very slight delay in the time between when she struck the weapon and the time it struck the location she aimed at. Touma had used that to his advantage, but St. Peter didn't even try to move. The strike should have been a perfect hit across his chest. Agnese lowered her weapons in surprise.

Nothing happened.

"My attack isn't working," Agnese told Leivinia.

"He must have disabled our weapon," Leivinia replied and then smirked to herself. "That's fine. I'm not a one trick phony like her…"

"Hey!" Agnese cried indignantly.

"…so let's see if you can handle some direct attacks," Leivinia continued as if she had not been interrupted. Her next choice of attacks was to summon a bolt of electricity. The characteristic of her electrical attack would normally bounce around like a pinball, so it was capable of taking down multiple opponents. Even if it was only one person this time, the electricity should be able to incapacitate him. She hadn't used this attack in a while, after observing the electrical powers of one of the girls from Academy City. That girl's power made her attack feel inferior, something she hated. Right now, that wasn't important. What was important was that they defeat St. Peter so they could move forward and crush Adam. Leivinia started the process of casting her magic, when she noticed the truth and stopped.

She was unable to refine mana.

 _That's impossible._ Birdway could not believe what had happened. It was one thing to disable magical items like her Symbolic Weapon and Agnese's Lotus Wand. Magical ceremonies could be disrupted easily too. To actively disable people from refining mana, that should not happen. The only exception to that rule would be the Imagine Breaker, but that required continual physical contact. Leivinia had never detected St. Peter using any spell to disable their refinement process. _Is this the level of an apostle? Or is this just the level he alone had reached?_ She turned around and looked back at Agnese.

"What?" she asked nervously. She saw Leivinia's face grow slightly pale and Agnese felt a shiver down her spine. _She realized something dangerous and it has shaken her. What could be so powerful for someone like her to lose confidence?_

"You understand our predicament?" William asked.

"You knew?" fumed Leivinia and she spun around to glare at him. "And you didn't warn us? In fact, WHY THE HELL DID YOU NOT TRY TO STOP IT?!"

"I would not have noticed if I didn't lose my strength," William pointed out calmly. He dropped the heavy mace and it hit the ground with a loud thud. His arm was shaking slightly. William was strong in his own right, but a five meter long metal mace was taxing without his saint strength. Wielding it properly would have been impossible at the moment. "It seems we are unable to use any kind of magic." Leivinia nodded and her face darkened.

"Really?" Agnese didn't believe that at first, but when she tried to refine her mana, she couldn't feel it. "Okay, so we can't use magic. Any ideas?" She was a little calmer than she should have been after her test, but only because William had pointed out the issue.

"Depends on how he actually accomplished this," Leivinia spat out and turned to him. "Coward! Removing our ability to fight with a surprise move while pretending to be person of character, what kind of magic did you use?" Leivinia didn't believe anyone would actually say, but there was a chance he would. _Be an idiot like the boy and spill your secrets. I need to learn this technique._

"In a way," St. Peter started off slowly. "You are right. I can only do this because I was a coward." He put his hands behind his back and looked more depressed than Agnese could have believed possible. "I was told that I would deny the Son of God three times before the rooster crows and I replied I would never do such a thing. Then when I was confronted, I denied I knew him. I did it not once, not twice, but three times. The last one was only a moment before the cry." He looked up at the ceiling. "Those that deny the Son of God before men will have the Son of God deny them before his father in heaven."

"The Denial of St. Peter," Agnese whispered. It was a famous story and reflected the emotional turmoil, turbulent emotions, and repentance by St. Peter. It detailed his struggle to redeem himself after he betrayed the Son of God by denying being associated with him to avoid punishment. William remained quiet and Leivinia scowled.

"Many people deny him," Leivinia replied and waved her hand dismissively. St. Peter looked at her and his eyes were full of remorse.

"It was perhaps my greatest mistake," St. Peter continued. "When denying the Son of God, you will effectively be denied before God by his son. God's blessings will no longer reach you. Magic was just an attempt for mankind to mimic God's power. My mistake, even after being in the very presence of the Son of God and promising I would not deny him, is the reason I can achieve this magic. I can impose my shame upon you to prevent you from being blessed by God, and thus using magic to imitate his power will be unobtainable from you. This magic is, in a way, a reflection of my own selfishness."

 _Sounds like it's not something I can use,_ Leivinia thought angrily. _Though, I suppose researching it won't hurt. Based on what happened, it prevents all mana from being refined and removes mana from weapons. Idol theory won't work either. It's even more annoying than the boy's hand._ "If you think you have won just because we can't use magic, think aga-…"

Leivinia was interrupted as William rushed passed her.

He ran towards St. Peter and aimed a fist at his head. St. Peter only moved his eyes as William's fist closed in. It would have been a clean hit if William's hand didn't seem to slow down and stop about an inch away from St. Peter's face. William frowned, took a step back, and brought a knee up towards St. Peter's stomach. The same thing happened. His knee was about to make a clean hit when it slowed down and stopped. William shifted behind his target and brought an elbow down at St. Peter's neck. Again, his blow stopped about an inch away. He frowned again and jumped backwards. The force of his blows were not being deflected, like they had against Accelerator, it just sort of disappeared. "A barrier?"

"No," St. Peter corrected gently. "I deplore violence. A spell had been placed on this room to reflect that. No one may physically strike another person while inside." He glanced over at William and nodded his head slightly.

"Physical attacks are useless," Leivinia muttered. "And he disabled our magic. Yet, some of his restrictions will also affect him." Her eyes widened when it dawned on her. "He's not trying to defeat us. He wants to trap us here."

"Yes," St. Peter confirmed. "Adam ordered me to detain all who aimed for the exit. I regretfully can't go against his orders, but I can still avoid deaths."

"Agnese," Leivinia ordered. "Fighting him directly isn't going to work. See if you can identify the magic he has on the exit."

"On it," Agnese said, as she moved around the room to the far end. She didn't turn her back to St. Peter, just in case this was all an act. William was also prepared himself to jump in between them. Agnese reached the exit and started to closely examine the water blocking the passageway. The water was flowing down from the top out of nowhere and disappeared when it hit the ground. _It's like part of a river. At least I can still read mana, this would be impossible without it. Running water was used for baptisms from some of the apostles. The mana seems to agree to that, but instead of being tied to God, it's being tied to the caster. Baptism saves the souls of people and can be considered the first step to the entrance … got it._ "Birdway!" she called out. "We won't be able to pass without his consent. It's acting like a gateway based on baptism, where instead of entrance to heaven, it's the entrance to the outside. His consent replaces the ceremony."

"Well done," St. Peter complimented her. "You managed to identify the spell much quicker than I thought you would. A rather simple spell, but solid in its applications."

 _Things just keep getting better and better,_ Leivinia thought bitterly. _With magic, we could break down that barrier blocking the entrance, but now William can't even use his saint abilities. That shouldn't be possible. Saint abilities are natural because his body is supposed to be similar to the Son of God. Though, now that I think about it, since St. Peter denied the Son of God, it's possible he can deny the saint power. Even though we know his spells, there is nothing we can do about it. Really, the best option is to retreat._ She glanced at the others. William was stone-faced like usual, he rarely betrayed an emotion, but Agnese looked like how she felt.

 _There's nothing we can do,_ Agnese thought. _If we had known about his magic, we could have attacked from a distance. In a confined space like this, there was no way to dodge. It was all planned out. We usually work with numbers against opponents, but that's so we can pool our magic together. We can't use physical or magical attacks now. Hmm, what if we attack with something that doesn't belong to us, like a rock? I don't really want to try because I seriously doubt a saint's magic would be so incomplete. We can either sit here and do nothing or retreat and find back up. I don't like it, but retreating seems to be the best option._

"I would not recommend going back into the tunnels," St. Peter suggested as if reading Agnese's mind. She flinched slightly. "Without the ability to use magic, you would not last long against her pets, his servants, or the magic infused local wildlife." Leivinia flinched ever so slightly at the thought of more spiders. She had actually hoped she and Lessar had taken out the nest and the numbers would be thinned out.

"I have a question," Agnese stated and turned to St. Peter. "Is it Adam who's controlling the natives, or someone else?"

"Someone else," he answered. Agnese was right in her deduction that St. Peter would answer her questions. To what point still remained to be seen. "Julius Caesar is guarding another exit. His magic enslaves those who are used to being dominated by others, regardless of by who. Friends, family, enemies, all are susceptible. The longer his magic runs wild, the larger the area affected." St. Peter paused and looked at the ground. "He is not as kind as I. Adam wants him to annihilate some of your best fighters and he was perfectly happy to accept."

"I'm surprised he didn't order you to kill us," Leivinia pointed out.

"My magic is not designed to kill. His orders cannot change something so set in stone, as much as he tried."

"Heh," Leivinia chucked for a moment. "First piece of good news since our encounter with you. Adam is definitely not a magic god. One of them would be able to force you to absolute submission." St. Peter sighed.

"If you continue to think along those lines," he warned. "You will fail in your objective. He is not to be taken lightly."

"We already saw his ability to mimic God's plagues," Leivinia snapped.

"No," St. Peter elaborated. "While that particular brand of magic is powerful, he wouldn't have gotten to where he is based on that alone."

"I thought Eve was the mastermind and Adam was the muscle," Agnese interrupted, slightly confused. "Well, until she betrayed him."

"Adam's greatest strength is in his words," St. Peter continued. "It's how he was able to manipulate a magic god." This announcement was met by silence. Agnese's face turned ashen, Leivinia gripped her hands into fists, and even William looked slightly alarmed.

"How?" Agnese asked. Leivinia and William were giving St. Peter their undivided attention.

"He tricked her out of her connection," St. Peter said cryptically. "With her power severely diminished, she had no choice but to serve him." He smiled for a moment. "Though, it is obvious she is not trying. It's more she was set to guard an exit like Julius and I were. She sent some of her pets into the tunnels, but she has no stake in our struggles. If you encounter her, best odds of survival are just to play along with her. She's pretty fickle."

"Damn it," Leivinia muttered. Normally, such a statement would be brushed off as foolish, but St. Peter hardly seemed to be one who told lies. _Every option available seems to be leading to a dead end._ Her eyes met William and she raised an eyebrow. He shook his head in response, and took a couple steps away from St. Peter. _He's thinking of something, but hasn't come up with anything yet._ She glanced over at Agnese, who shrugged back. _She's useless._ Leivinia walked backwards and leaned up against the wall. She crossed her arms and ran through every possibility available to them again. Retreating wasn't an option anymore because they can't use magic. Minutes passed in silence as the rest of her allies thought to themselves. St. Peter was the only one who seemed to be preoccupied with something else. He stared toward another tunnel and smiled warmly.

"Young lady," he said kindly. "Are you going to stand out in the dark tunnel all day, or would you like to come and wait with the rest of your friends?" Leivinia and Agnese were surprised and turned to see who St. Peter was talking to. William did not look surprise or, if he was, it was hidden well. There was the possibility he detected her before losing his saint powers. The person who stepped out into the room looked nervous, embarrassed, and a little scared, but still managed to give a weary smile.

Ruiko Saten finally revealed herself.

* * *

A couple explosions went off.

When Julius Caesar's troops charged, Frenda threw a couple grenades. Instead of throwing into the mobs, which she would have done normally if they weren't mind controlled, she threw them in front of the mobs, mainly in the center. The resulting explosions forced the people in the middle to hold up their shields and stop advancing, while the people on the side kept moving forward. This broke the solid wall of shields and spears. _Exactly as planned._ "Now!" Frenda shouted to the others.

"Nice job," Oriana replied and bit into the small ringlet of paper she held in her right hand. The piece of paper started to glow and a tornado of wind spun from her. The people on the left side of the mob were thrown backwards from the force. Some hit the ground and some hit the wall. It wasn't enough force to kill them, but it might be enough to knock them out.

"I got right!" Lessar declared and jumped forward. Unlike the others, she was a frontline fighter instead of a long distance attacker. She ducked under two spears and swung her Steel Glove. She connected with one of the men's legs and threw him into another. Both of them crashed into the people next to them. A man and woman from the second row jabbed at Lessar with their spears in response. She was forced to leap backwards to avoid them and then a hail of gunfire from behind her prevented the two from pursuing her. They ducked behind their shields as Lessar landed on her feet. "Thanks Sparky Junior," Lessar laughed as she looked over her shoulder. "Much appreciated."

"Misaka is going to let you get stabbed if you keep calling her that Misaka lies in order to express her disapproval."

"Aww, you like me!"

"Can you two flirt later?" Frenda asked. "Basically, they keep coming." She chucked a flash grenade into the middle of the disarray mob. The flash went off with a loud bang and a burst of white light. The people in the immediately vicinity covered their ears and shut their eyes, but those further away only covered their eyes. Oriana, Lessar, and Imouto were all far enough away, so they only had to divert their eyes.

"Unless they are completely knocked out, they will keep coming back," Oriana pointed out. One of the men had an arm twisted in a weird way and had dropped his shield because of it. Only one of the twenty people was down. A woman had collided into the wall because of Oriana's wind assault and had been knocked unconscious.

"They don't feel pain," Julius told them. "Their only purpose now is to follow my orders. They will fight until they can no longer move. Be careful though." He laughed. "They will walk through fire at the cost of their own bodies if it meant getting a chance to kill you."

"Bastard!" Lessar yelled up at him. "Why don't you shove a-…?!"

"Suck on this!" Frenda interrupted and threw a grenade at him. The explosion engulfed the balcony Julius was standing on for a moment. When the smoke cleared, he was still standing there and looked perfectly fine. "Barrier," she spat out.

"Leaders are protected by many lines of defense," Julius told her. "To get to me, you must get through all of them. Including," he held a hand out, "my subjects."

"Subjects my ass!" Lessar replied.

"Subjects are usually considered to be willing Misaka points out. As you have taken over their minds, a more correct term would be slaves or unwilling servants." Imouto aimed her gun and fired a couple shots to force one of the controlled men behind their shield.

"Not all subjects appreciate their rulers," Julius admitted. "But they are unsuited to lead. It is why they remain where they are." He held out a hand. "You no longer have to hold back! Take them out with everything you have!" The remaining men and women stood up. A couple had minor injuries and only one man was seriously injured. They raised their weapons and charged. Frenda didn't have time to use her grenades before the men had closed the gap.

 _I've seen this before,_ Frenda thought to herself. _Basically, under mind control, they can go past their limit but it causes a lot of damage to their muscles and bones. If they keep it up too long, they will all be permanently injured. I don't really care about them, but my life is in danger._ She ducked under one blow and then kicked upwards. She connected with the man's chin and then she spun around to avoid a jab from a woman. Frenda jumped up and delivered a blow to the woman's chest, which sent her flying backwards. _Been awhile since I've gotten some exercise like this._ Frenda was trained in martial arts, but recent battles had focused more on explosions rather than fists. _I wish I had my shoe blades though._ That's what she got for buying new boots. She kicked at another person, but he blocked it with his shield. She grabbed the man's shield and used it to slide in between his legs to avoid him spearing her into the ground. She then proceeded to kick him directly between the legs. _Ha, they do feel pain!_ The man had collapsed, but was struggling to his feet.

"Round them up!" Oriana ordered. "I have an idea." She pulled out another piece of paper with her teeth from the ring. It started to glow green and then shot out at the ground in front of five people moving toward her. Vines erupted from the ground and began to tangle them up. The struggled to free themselves, but the vines were too thick. They were straining their muscles against it though and the vines were beginning to slowly tear. "Hurry up you three!" she yelled at Lessar, Frenda, and Imouto.

"They no longer care for their safety Misaka answers urgently. Misaka can't fire any bullets without risk of serious injuries to them." Imouto kept firing off controlled blasts of electricity to temporarily stun the people approaching her. Lessar was trying to grab someone and use them to knock others back, but they kept getting back up.

"Sparky Junior!" Lessar called out. "Just like what we did in the tunnel. Give me everything you got!"

"Okay Misaka replied indicating her understanding." Bluish-white electricity began to flow all around her body. Imouto didn't normally generate this much electricity, as she was only a Level 2. Her gun had just as much stopping power as her electricity, unless she only wanted to paralyze. She raised her hand and all the electricity began to converge. Her hair started to stand up as the voltage increased. Her eyes met Lessar, who grinned and nodded. Imouto unleashed a bolt of electricity directly at Lessar. Lessar swung her Steel Glove and caught the electricity. The bolt of electricity converged into a concentrated ball at the hand like appendage.

"It's time for a show!" Lessar boasted and jumped into the air. She twisted her body in midair while bringing the tip of her weapon down in a sweeping motion. When the tip hit the ground the hand opened up and unleashed the concentrated ball of electricity. Because of the sweeping downward motion, most of the force of the sudden explosion hit the ground, but Lessar was a very skillful magician. The blow was tilted just enough so the explosion send a wave of dirt and rock toward the mind controlled victims. The force knocked a dozen or so backwards into a pile near the others. The blow wasn't enough to be life threatening, but they sure were not going to be feeling well when they woke up. Frenda kicked one last person and dropped a flash grenade. She turned, covered her hears, and ran.

"I'm clear!" she yelled after the grenade went off and blinded her enemies.

"Perfect!" Oriana called out and bit into another piece of paper. It glowed yellow and the ground beneath the pile of people suddenly turned into mud. Their weight caused them to sink, no matter how much they struggled. The mud seemed to churn, forcing their bodies into upright positions as they continued to sink. Once every one of the controlled natives were up to their necks, the mud hardened back into stone and dirt. No matter how much they struggled, they were unable to move from their prison. "And that is how you capture your targets. This lesson was free of charge."

"Well done Misaka praises." Imouto frowned and sparked up very slightly before stopping.

"Well, they were just normal people," Frenda pointed out. "Basically, the only difficulty was trying to incapacitate without hurting them too badly." She rubbed the side of her head for a moment.

"Which is surprising," Lessar muttered and looked up at Julius. "I expected you to increase their physical endurance or something."

"A ruler can't waste all his power on every minor individual," Julius replied unperturbed his first forces had been taken out relatively easily. "Resources are valuable, including magic, and should be used for maximize results." He smiled and was obviously mocking them.

"I take it reinforcements haven't arrive yet," Oriana commented and looked around. "I expected more from you in that regard, like elite troops or something. People like you always have guards like that."

"People like me?" Julius asked and raised an eyebrow.

"She means cowards," Lessar explained. "You force others to do your dirty work because you are too lazy or weak to do it yourself." Lessar, for a moment, was reminded of Misaki using mind control powers, but Lessar somewhat liked her, so there was a difference between her and Caesar.

"I was planning to put it a little more eloquently," Oriana said with a slight smirk. "But that was the gist of it."

"That thinking is the difference between leaders and followers," Julius sighed. "If a leader entered the front line every time a fight broke out, the odds of getting struck by a stray arrow would increase. What would happen to his people at his loss? Oda may have believed inspiring people from the front line works, but I have seen too many people fall with that kind of thinking. War is not kind or forgiving."

"You call this a war?" Lessar demanded. "It's more of you guys hiding and setting traps. We have you cornered."

"Brat," Julius said coldly and his eyes narrowed. "You have tried my patience with your ignorance. At least she understands manners." His eyes darted to Oriana for a second. "But your time is up. Adam wants you dead, so I will oblige. Kill them!" The last two words were an order, but Lessar and Oriana were confused at who the order was for.

Until they heard soft clicks of weapons and were forced to turn around.

Imouto had aimed her gun at Lessar and Frenda had grabbed two of her grenades before she faced Oriana.

"Sparky-...?" Lessar started to ask, but she was interrupted by Imouto opening fire. Lessar spun her Steel Glove while sprinting in a circle around Imouto. Each bullet hitting her weapon made a loud clang sound, but no noticeable damage occurred. "What are you doing?!" Imouto didn't answer and kept firing. A loud explosion from one of Frenda's grenade caused Lessar to glance over at Oriana.

"They have fallen to his magic!" Oriana answered. She had jumped back to avoid one grenade but the second one was heading right toward her. She bit a piece of paper and it glowed light-blue before the grenade went off. The explosion directly hit Oriana and she disappeared in a flash of smoke and fire. When the dust cleared, Oriana was still standing there, but her image flickered and then disappeared. She left behind an after image because she instantly appeared behind Frenda and threw a piece of paper at her. Frenda jumped and performed a summersault to avoid the attack. When the paper hit the ground, a sphere of water engulfed the area Frenda had been only a moment before. The plan was to capture Frenda and once she lost conscious, Oriana would dispel the magic. She ducked as a handheld missile sped past her and hit the wall. The explosion shook the entire room. _Those bombs sure have a kick to them._ She glared at Julius, who only seemed to be amused at their plight. Oriana was forced to roll out of the way to avoid Frenda's kick to the head.

"I bet you're wondering why those two have decided to join me," Julius commented mockingly. Oriana didn't say anything and continued to dodge Frenda while occasionally delivering her own kicks or punches back. Lessar just flicked him off and avoided a couple more rounds of gunfire. "Both of those girls seemed used to following orders, rather than giving them. The blonde girl was particularly easy. She's used to not thinking for herself. The other girl was more interesting. She's been a follower for most of her life and only recently started to think for herself. Was a little more challenging, but still quite manageable." He chuckled. "I hope you enjoy fighting your allies. I cut your force in half with a single move. These are results."

"When I catch you!" Lessar yelled. "I'm going to tear you apart for what you did to Sparky Junior!" A bolt of electricity came so close it made her hair stand up. "Was that shot from being controlled or your nickname?"

"A little of both," Julius informed her.

"Sparky Junior!" Lessar called out and tried to ignore the explosions from Frenda and Oriana's fight. "Come on. You can fight it." Imouto responded by shooting at her and caused Lessar to roll to the side. "I'll stop calling you by that nickname if you break his hold." Imouto moved her gun and then stopped. She reached up and grabbed her head and one of her eyes twitched slightly. Lessar's eyes widened. _Did that actually work?_ Imouto frowned and then suddenly spoke up in a more mechanical voice.

"Unauthorized access detected! Moderator has initiated override and reboot sequences! Misaka unit 10032 will now deactivate." Imouto dropped her gun and then collapsed unconscious onto the ground.

"What happened?!" Julius demanded. His hold on her wasn't just broken. It was more like another force from somewhere far away overrode the girl's brain. It didn't take the girl over like another mind manipulation magic, but instead just shut the girl down.

"That's what I would like to know," Lessar muttered dryly and crouched down next to Imouto. "Hey, wake up. Are you okay?" There was no response, so Lessar checked her vitals. _She's alive, just unconscious. Someone helped knock her out, but who?_ Another explosion jolted her back to the present situation. "Hey, how are you holding up?"

"Trying to incapacitate her without using all my magic is a pain," Oriana shouted back. "And she's really good with hand to hand combat… oomph." Frenda kicked her in the stomach. Oriana flew backwards hit the ground, but sprung back up to her feet. Frenda pulled out another grenade from under her skirt and prepared to throw it. Lessar charged forward and was prepared to grab it with her Steel Glove, when a movement distracted her for a second. A red blur had burst out of one of the tunnels leading into the room. The person surprised them all and brought down the hilt of the sword against the back of Frenda's head. Frenda collapsed onto the ground and the grenade rolled away harmlessly. Oriana and Lessar were shocked to see who had joined them.

It was Princess Carissa.

"Princess?" Oriana asked and then sighed. "You're a pleasant surprise."

"How did you know Frenda was being controlled?" Lessar asked shock.

"She was being controlled?" Carissa asked and then shrugged. "I simply removed one of the people who I believed would get in my way of some stress relief." Her eyes trailed up to Julius. "I'm a little upset right now."

 _That's an understatement,_ Lessar thought. The aura around Carissa was a black void. Even though her face was rather passive, the killing intent radiating from her was almost solid. _What on earth happened to her?_ Lessar had no way of knowing all the events that led up to Carissa's current mental state. First, she had been helpless against a goddess while Touma did everything. Then her pride took a hit when the boy would rather make deals than be with her, even if she understood his reasoning that forcing the situation was wrong. Plus, right before Carissa was about to acquire her much needed revenge against Adam, a momentarily lack of judgement caused her to be separated from the boy and arrived at another one of Adam's stooges. Her anger was directed more at herself and Adam, rather than Touma, but the others did not know this.

"Lessar," Oriana hissed and motioned toward the unconscious Imouto. With only a glance and a curt nod, Lessar picked up Imouto and threw her arm over her own shoulder. She stood up straight and dragged Imouto away from the center of the room to avoid being caught in… whatever Carissa and Julius were going to do. They were going to do something. That was obvious to everyone there. Oriana scooted around Carissa, out of range of any sudden strikes, and did the same for Frenda.

The silence permeated the air and it felt like breathing had become more difficult.

"Julius Caesar," Carissa finally spoke and her soft tense voice cut through the air. "I presume."

"At your service," Julius answered and bowed. The bow was not respectful, but only was used to mock her. Carissa's brow furrowed ever so slightly. "I'm surprised you were able to recognize me. Though, based on the fact you were called 'Princess' and by your demeanor, I assume you are Second Princess Carissa, leader of England's forces."

"The very same," Carissa replied in a voice of determined calm, her aura never subsiding. "The only reason I know who you are is because one of your associates mentioned your name and I recognize your armor's origin. Otherwise, I would never have recognized an outdated relic such as yourself." It was Julius's turn to scowl ever so slightly. "You controlled what, a small part of Europe before people turned on you?" She smiled. "Where was that again, Greece?" She smirked when Julius's face turned red.

"You dare to mock the might of Rome?" Julius fumed. "You know Greece was only a small part of its greatness."

"If it was so great," Carissa continued to mock. "Maybe your friends wouldn't have stabbed you so many times." She put a hand up to her mouth and laughed. "Et tu, Brute." A vein throbbed in Julius's head and his eye twitched. It took him a moment to calm down and his struggle amused Carissa slightly.

"You think you are so clever."

"I am."

"I don't think so," Julius continued and put his hands behind his back. The anger faded from his face. "You lead your troops into the middle of the desert, only to have Adam assault your base. Then you fell for one of the oldest tricks in the book when you finally drew near. Clever, nah. More like predictable."

"Whatever it takes to win," Carissa countered.

"You talk about winning?" Julius asked and smirked. The grin on Carissa's face slipped off. "And yet I heard an interesting story from Eve a little while ago." Carissa was now visibly displeased. Anything Eve said about her was sure to either mock or embarrass her. "You found one of the most powerful artifacts in existence and had all of England in your grasp, before you blew it. Who did you lose to again?" Carissa didn't say anything, which only amused him even more. "A single weak boy ruined your plan. How pathetic is that?" He seemed to have skipped the fact there were many church and Academy City forces who participated in the fight. "Though, all of it was exactly as Eve planned. You danced in the palm of her hand like a puppet. You know, maybe you are better suited to serving others than ruling." He laughed harshly and the only sign of irritation from Carissa was the fist she made in her free hand.

"You really have no idea," Carissa whispered.

"Huh?"

"Someone like you, who has never faced that boy in battle, has no right to call him weak."

"Have you lost your mind?" Julius asked incredulously. "He may have the Imagine Breaker, but his physical abilities are average. He only defeated magicians because they lacked the knowledge of his hand. If I stood against him, he would have fallen to my blade in seconds."

"Heh." To everyone's surprise Carissa started laughing. When she stopped, she looked up at Julius with only pity in her eyes. "You are too simple, no wonder you were betrayed. There are things that don't make sense in this world. I had to find that out the hard way. Facing that boy in battle… you can't use common sense against him. If I looked back at my plan, there were things I could improve on, but he should never have been able to defeat me. Everything was in my favor, but he managed to turn it around, even though his strength was inferior to mine. Numbers and logic do not apply to him. His words, action, and determination defy everything."

"I can attest to that," Lessar burst out laughing. "But that sure makes him hot." She shut up when Carissa turned her head ever so slightly to glare at her out of the corner of her eye.

"I fought him once too," Oriana added and seemed to be reminiscing about it for a second as she gazed off into the distance. "There's something special about him. He always stood back up, no matter how many times I knocked him down."

"Then you are just weak," Julius retorted.

"Big words coming from a tiny man hiding away on his balcony," Carissa replied. "If you never faced him, that only means you are inexperienced." She shrugged mockingly. "There's only one thing left to do. How about you come down here and face me? I have some pent up aggression I need to work out."

"Oh?" Julius mused. "Why would I do that? I could just send wave after wave of soldiers at you until you finally fall."

"Then all you would prove is how weak you are," Carissa pointed out. "I could easily defeat all your mind controlled servants, but that could hardly be considered fair. I'm prepared to face you as the princess of England. Do you not have the courage to face me as Julius Caesar of Rome?" She smiled. "Or," she couldn't resist mocking him once more, "are you chicken, Caesar?" His face flushed red in pent up anger. _Got him._

"Your arrogance will be your downfall." Julius was furious and his words shook slightly with suppress rage. "I will be down in a moment. I advise you settle your affairs before then." He turned and disappeared into the tunnel behind him. Carissa smiled to herself, glad things had turned out easier than she thought.

 _I figured I would have to defeat at least one wave of the enslaved natives,_ Carissa thought and glanced at the still struggling people stunk into the ground. She turned toward Lessar and Oriana. "You two will not interfere unless he brings backup. Understand?"

"Yes," they both agreed. The fire in Carissa's eyes told them if they tried to get involved, she would smite them down herself. The minutes passed and she crossed her arms in frustration.

 _That bastard is taking his time._ She tapped her foot impatiently and glanced around for any sign of him. Finally, she heard the sound of footsteps coming down a tunnel. Julius emerged and was wearing a full set of red and gold armor, including a helmet. Unlike the England's knights, his helmet showed his face. He also carried a large shield and a sword, which was broader than Carissa's blade. "I was beginning to think you were lost, or ran away with your tail between your legs."

"If you think I can't fight because of my magic," he replied. "You are sorely mistaken."

"Sooner we get started," Carissa continued. "The sooner we can-…"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

A young man's cry of pain echoed all across the room and tunnels. Carissa looked around in alarm, but did not see the source.

"Hang on!" Lessar yelled. "That sounded like Lover Boy!" Before Carissa or Oriana could reply, another male's voice echoed all around them.

"Imagine Breaker," Adam said, as clearly as if he was standing next to them. "Did you honestly think you could defeat me alone? I only require you alive, but that does not mean in one piece. It's time for you to learn the difference in power between us." Carissa's eyes went wide and she turned back to Julius.

He only smiled at her and then raised his sword.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Pierce: Kami-yan… you bastard! You had everything right there and you ran away! Now the princess and goddess are only going to chase you down!**

 **Motoharu: Clever plan Kami-yan, as expected of you.**

 **Misaki: You both don't understand my prince. He knows intercourse without love is meaningless. That is why I will be his first.**

 **Mikoto: Uh huh.**

 **Shizuri: After that demonstration, I am beginning to think he swings the other way.**

 **Accelerator: Oh he does.**

 **Shizuri: Huh?**

 **Accelerator: You should see how he acts around Kagere in class.**

 **Misaki: Wait, what?**

 **Motoharu: Whenever we get bored, Kagere pretends to be flirting with him, and Kami-yan, along with sensei, get really embarrassed.**

 **Jason: Remember my first day?**

 **Pierce: Haha, that was great.**

 **Mikoto: You are just messing with him. That's not real.**

 **Jason: I can tell you I have had more physical contact with him than you and Mugino-san.**

 **Mikoto and Shizuri: …**

 **Misaki: Uh, Uiharu-san? Your nose seems to be bleeding.**


	97. S4 Battle for Australia: Adam

**ATTENTION: During this chapter some characters may say things that are not aligned with current theology or beliefs. Please remember this is a FICTIONAL piece of literature and many FICTIONAL characters do not follow normal beliefs. At no point am I campaigning for or against any religion. This story is purely for entertainment purposes. There is no need for any insulting, bad mouthing, or whining about something I really don't care about. I have respect for all beliefs. I only put this warning because a couple people early on have mentioned they had issue with a few things. Thank you. Now, let's move on to the comments.**

 **Brosephg: He has to be a beta male. No Alpha would run away from that. I do like how you have completely different feelings for two of the Fallen, even if Eve always has the number one position in your heart.**

 **Jujudude: Knowing that I deprived you of sleep fills me with joy. I have a feeling you don't like Caesar. A magic god doesn't just disappear. I'm sure Julunggul will do something at some point to make Touma's life fun. I like your plot line. Maybe I'll make it an alternative ending. Ruiko Saten uses Friendship, it's super effective. Huh, you already know my last chapter? Who told you? Only two people knew that! I didn't see your story updated recently, but I'm going to steal all your clone names so I don't have to think of them. Muhahaha!**

 **anand891996: Huh, you are one of the few people who actually miss Jason. He's an OC, so I can throw him to the sidelines at any time. He will get an appearance with Kuroko after Australia. Character development arc after this for everyone.**

 **general ironox: Carissa is best girl.**

 **Simmering Teapot: There are ways magic gods can enter our world, usually by weakening themselves. Some information about that is in this chapter.**

 **Whwsms: The harem plan will explode in popularity after Touma talks with a single girl. It's all set up for the two harem sides to class without Touma's knowledge.**

 **Guest: 1) Was it Athena? It's been awhile, though she wasn't really part of Kamisato faction, she was just hit by the WR. 2) She has legs, but a god can probably make themselves look like whatever they want. 3) I have… other plans… for that. 4) Yes, there are quite a few, but I choose this one for a reason. Can't add too many magic gods or I'll have to add someone to clean them all up. 5) I don't recall a virtual on short story. 6) No, that's half the fun. 7) Depends who she is flirting with.**

 **Guest00: Jason's a fun character to write because it's easy for him to joke with everyone, yet he has a reason for it all. He's currently in the something stage of conquering the world.**

 **Liuen: Magic was sealed because it was an attempt to mimic Telesma, man's version of divine power. St. Peter's spell would work on all magic, though, it didn't come up, but it only works on people and their belongings, due to the nature of man turning their back to the Son of God and by proxy, God. Summoning can take a while to perform and Mark wasn't there with his cards.**

 **Salishious: Oh, he will, and that is when the harem plan can proceed. He will explain it all to one person who spreads it around. Snuggle-chan must be Touma's new roommate. Soon, all weakened magic gods will gather in Touma's room! You might need to do some research. Saten… read this chapter and you might understand where she is going. South Park: St. Peter was a rabbit.**

 **Acpeters: Oh, our goddess isn't done yet. There was a reason Ruiko Saten was pitted against St. Peter. Caesar definitely isn't my favorite Fallen member by far, but he has a purpose. Lots of your questions should be answered in this chapter. For every question answered, two more questions develop.**

 **wildarms13: Noooooooo! Here's the next chapter.**

 **Handsomistic1: No, that would only happen if he went through with it. Touma fought Wrath, Sloth, Herald, Cain, and Carissa with Curtana on the magic side. The lieutenants were fought by his friends. Skits at the end are always kind of fun when characters comment on the story.**

 **Guest13: Carissa is definitely best girl.**

 **MightyImpulse: Going to steal all the names from Jujudude when he isn't looking.**

 **shitty review: Someone is going to notice it, I'm thinking Leivinia. If they are about to face Aleister, it sounds like the end is drawing near, unless Laura jumps in with her plan. My only hope is they don't just throw a random powerful enemy in that comes out of nowhere for the purpose of extending the series.**

 **Agent Nine: Most wars are fought be people who don't want to fight only because their higher ups order them to.**

 **GameCguru: She does. I try to stop her, but she waits until I'm a sleep a lot. ERB did say that yes, but that's a common joke. It's like calling a General named Tso a chicken.**

 **FrodoFighter: Fluffy is a peace loving dragon that only wants to dance in fields of flowers. People force it to fight. I don't know if skeletal girls have the guts to do it with him. I enjoyed the modern day cultural references, but at the same time made it so it was obvious she wasn't used to them. Do you have some repressed desire for tables? What's your favorite design? Touma if you don't want a powerful snake goddess to pine over you, be honest and tell her so, otherwise don't complain when she sneaks into your dorm… oops, spoiler. St. Peter's fight was funny to me. You put the strongest fighters there who can't do anything against him. Lot of good questions about him and science, but that will be answered shortly. Caesar is an ass. No getting around it. He dominates those used to be followers, which Frenda and Imouto were. I wanted to put the waiting in because it shows Caesar doesn't care if others have to wait for him. He considers himself superior.**

 **Draigg99: Of course.**

 **Generation Zero: Yes, a TRUE magic god... Anyway, Adam is muscle yes, but having a brain would make him quite dangerous too. You make it sound so easy to defeat Adam. I doubt it will be that simple. There was a reason I set Saten against the Saint. No all fights can be solved with violence or brute force. Sometimes, you have to talk things out. Caesar made a very big mistake, which will be evident in this chapter, but he did his job. Bringing in cheap labor to find whatever Adam was looking for. The ending of Australia arc might surprise you with what happens, but can't give out to much for you now.**

 **xaxiel1572: I talked with someone about if Othinus was brought in. I could do destroying the universe thing, but it would be kind of repetitive. I have my own idea for a take on it, but make it different in a key way to represent the way Touma changed over the course of my story.**

 **321jaz: The craziness continues.**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly. Magic Gods own all so they can do what they want.**

* * *

Touma emerged from the tunnel outside in the bright sunlight.

"Finally," he gasped. "We are out-…" He instantly cut off when he noticed Carissa was no longer with him. "Damn it! There was a trap set up there too!" Touma looked around to try to get his bearings. It took a moment as his eyes had to adjust from the soft green glow in the tunnels to the bright daylight. He was out of the maze at last and it seemed like he was now on the surface right outside of the mining site. He vaguely could make out the pit ahead of him. _Huh, who's that?_ He squinted as his eyesight returned. A single lone figure was visible, but until his sight returned, they were nothing more than a dark blur. Then the black shirt and pants became apparent, along with the jet back hair of a person a little taller than Touma. When Touma recognized who it was, a chill ran through his spine. The air began to turn cold, which was an unnatural occurrence in the deserts of Australia during the day.

Touma had found his objective at the worst possible time.

He was alone.

"ADAM!" Touma bellowed and stepped forward. It didn't matter to him if he had to stand against Adam by himself, or if he had to stand against an entire army. Adam had to be stopped before more people were hurt. He was staring off into the pit in front of him with his back to Touma.

"There is no need to shout Imagine Breaker," Adam responded in a monotone. He never turned around. "I can hear you perfectly fine."

"I'm here to stop you," Touma continued and took another step. For some reason, his body felt heavy and it was hard to move forward, but he persisted.

"That much is obvious." The way Adam's voice betrayed no emotion worried Touma.

"Why do you sound so indifferent?" Touma asked. _Is it because he believes I can't win?_

"Your presence poses no threat to our plans," Adam replied. "You can't defeat me on your own and I can kill you at any time once you outlive your usefulness."

"There are others stronger than me," Touma retorted. "We are slowing taking out your allies, even the goddess tricked into serving you has agreed to let us pass so we can take her shard away from you."

"The enslavement of Julunggul was one of my finest moments," Adam commented. "Magic gods believe they are all powerful, but they are merely children who desire something they can never possess."

 _Does he really not care about anything?_ Touma thought to himself. _Come to think of it, this is the first time I have actually spoken with him at any lengths. The last few times he barely said anything except for his desire to kill is. Why is he so different now?_ "We have stood against everything you have thrown at us and survived," Touma continued. "Even the plagues you used to try to wipe out our army."

"Who said I was trying to wipe out your army with them?"

Touma froze.

"Wha-…!?" Touma stuttered for a moment before he managed to collect himself. "You did, multiple times!" He took a deep breath and realized what Adam was doing, or at least what he believed Adam was. "Your lies won't work on me. After your assault on the base camp, our forces endured and they will endure your maze too. I seriously doubt you would waste so much mana on magic that imitated God's plague if you didn't think it would stop us. You would have used something else." Touma did not know a lot about magic, unable to use it himself due to his right hand, but he knew enough magicians to have a basic understanding. Mana was refined from life force, which meant everyone had a limited amount they could use. Minus immortal beings like vampires who had virtually endless amounts. Touma might have considered Adam as an immortal being, if Eve had not mentioned they could die, but kept being reincarnated.

"I wonder if that's true," Adam continued, completely unperturbed by Touma's outburst. He crossed his arms behind his back, but still never turned around.

"What are you implying?" Touma finally asked.

"Tell me," Adam continued. "Why did God set those specific plagues upon Egypt?"

"It was to force the Egyptian Pharaoh to free the slaves," Touma answered. He had heard the story several times from various magicians.

"That is what the church teaches, yes," Adam confirmed. "But let me pose a question in response. With all of God's power, the ability to unleash cataclysmic disasters upon the world, revive the dead, and create the universe itself, why would he send plagues that caused only annoyances, hardship, and destruction, before the final plague which actually killed the Egyptians?"

"Obviously, he was trying to avoid death by showing his power," Touma answered. He was slightly confused at where this conversation was going. "He wanted the Pharaoh to let the slaves go without having to be forced to use the last one."

"If that is true," Adam pointed out. "Why did God harden the Pharaoh's heart?"

"What?"

"God hardened the Pharaoh's heart so he would not let the slaves go," Adam explained. "If God was going to manipulate the man, why not make it so he would free the slaves? That outcome would have resulted in even fewer deaths and suffering. Why didn't the omnipotent being choose that route?" Touma was silent for a moment.

"I… don't know," Touma admitted hesitantly. He hated to say that out loud in front of Adam, but Touma only had a basic understanding of the events. He never studied the bible. _I never heard of God doing that. It doesn't make any sense. Why would God want something and then do things to lead to the opposite result?_ His first instinct was to brush off Adam's words as lies or misrepresentation, but something stopped him. It was deep down in his very core, he knew. Adam was not lying. Unlike with Eve, who was impossible to discern truth from lies, Adam was easier to read. Touma felt Adam didn't want to kill him back at camp and that was why he stepped out into the light. The lies he told was only to keep Touma trapped. Now, his instincts were telling him the opposite and Touma learned to trust his instincts. _He's planning to tell me the truth or, I hope, his version of the truth._ He suddenly recalled Julunggul's words.

 _The truth can be much more painful than lies could ever be._

"God unleashed the plagues upon Egypt for two reasons: to mock and control."

"You are lucky I'm not very religious," Touma responded irritated. "If my friends on the magic side heard that kind of talk, they wouldn't take it lying down."

"Because they don't want to see the truth," Adam continued. "It would be too much to hope for that you have an understanding of the Gods of Egypt. The Egyptians worshiped a wide variety of gods and attributed their powers to the world around them. There was a god of the sun, the river, of childbirth, and countless more. The annual flooding of the Nile was evidence of their gods' power as it fertilized their crops to allow their civilization to thrive."

"What's that have to do with the plagues?" Touma didn't like talking while everyone else was still trapped in the maze below. However, he was still hesitant in engaging Adam directly by himself. As long as he was distracting Adam, Adam couldn't focus his attention on the others, which gave them a better odds of survival and escape. At least, that is what Touma hoped.

"I'm glad you asked," Adam replied, though his tone did not match his words and it dawned on Touma that Adam had steered him into this topic. "The ten plagues were not chosen at random. Each one was specifically designed to mock the Gods of Egypt. God wanted to show how powerless others were before him. Turning water to blood was a strike against Sobek , the god of the Nile, Anuket, goddess of the Nile, and Khnum, guardian of the Nile. The Nile was also believed to be the bloodstream of Osiris, who was reborn each year when the river flooded. Frogs were a strike against Heqet, the frog-headed goddess of birth. Frogs were believed to be sacred and not to be killed. Gnats mocked Set, the god of the desert, flies mocked Uatchit, the fly god, and the deaths of livestock were against the goddess Hathor and the god Apis, both of who are depicted as cattle." Adam finally turned around and Touma involuntarily shivered.

Adam's brown eyes were devoid of any light or warmth. Touma could not find the strength to speak, so Adam continued.

"The first five plagues were only a demonstration of God's power, and then he began the true torment. Boils mocked several gods that governed over health and disease, Sekhmet, Sunu, and Isis. Fiery hail from the sky mocked Nut, the sky goddess, Osiris, the crop fertility god, and Set, the storm god. Yes, Egypt's gods could govern over more than one domain. Swarms of locusts from the sky attacked those three deities once again. Darkness was a strike at one of the more famous deities, Ra, the sun god. Ra symbolized the Pharaoh himself, so God pointed out the leader of Egypt was nothing before his might. The final plague, the death of the firstborn, was directed at Isis, the protector of children." Adam once against paused, but Touma could not find the words. Adam purposely waited until mentioning the death of children to shock Touma.

"God showed the Egyptians and the rest of the world he was one to be feared. The church today tries to depict him as a kind and merciful god, but actions will always speak louder than words. They gloss over the suffering he caused by viewing it from only one side. Now, I would like to know from you. Why do you fight to protect a being who is willing to kill nations, including children? From what I know about you, you fight against those who wish to harm others." Touma finally found the strength to speak and fill his lungs with air.

"At what you said," Touma started off slowly, as he tried to weigh his words carefully. "I don't have a rebuttal, because I don't know enough about religion. From what I heard, the plagues saved the Israelite slaves and allowed their nation to thrive. Though, the point you mention about the observing events from a single side I can understand." He remembered the Level 6 experiment involving Accelerator and Mikoto. Scientists in Academy City and Accelerator had viewed the Sisters as dolls to be mass produced, but he and Mikoto had seen them as living beings. "As for why I fight to protect him, I was not thinking about that, but yes, I would protect God if I had to. I will protect anyone I see who needs help. The reason I stand against you is because you and Eve are causing so many people to suffer to achieve your own goals. That is why I fight." Touma stared defiantly at Adam for a moment. "Let me ask you a question now. Why do you care so much about Egypt? Wouldn't it be after your time if you are truly the original Adam, and the way you keep saying you are willing to kill everyone, you don't seem like the type to care about others." Adam waited a moment before replying.

"Because they suffered under the same oppressor I did," Adam answered and his tone grew cold. Touma actually shivered. "I saw the way God punished people when he could have easily solved the problem with less violent solutions. He cast Eve and me out of the Garden of Eden for disobeying a rule we could not understand, because he created us not to understand, knowing that we would one day eat the fruit of knowledge. When we did so, he cast us out and then our suffering continued endlessly. We were cursed to constantly be reborn into this world. You ask why I concern myself with them? It is because they stood where I did. They may not have been good people based on current society's standards, but it was the way things worked back then."

"You actually have feelings?" Touma asked in surprise. A hint of a frown appeared on Adam's face.

"I am not a machine," Adam replied calmly. "I simply have more self-control over my emotions than Eve does."

"So that's why Eve always seems to be the one who contacts us. Her emotional personality puts people at ease so she can gather information easier."

"No."

"Excuse me?" Touma thought he had figured that out. Eve was the face while Adam was the muscle, even though Eve was strong in her right.

"People are more relaxed around her because of her aspect," Adam explained.

"Aspect?"

"Eve represents life and the chaos that accompanies it. You cannot always predict what living things will do. I represent law and the absolute law of death that accompanies it. No matter how strong someone is, eventually, all things will pass. Well, except us." He sighed. "The reason Eve can manipulate others so easily is because people are much more likely to believe a beautiful lie, no matter how ridiculous, then they are to accept a painful truth. They enjoy the beauty of life but fear the inevitable truth of death." Adam lowered his arms to his side and started to step toward Touma. "The truth is that death considers all things equal. No matter your status, your power, your belief, death will one day come for you. It treats all equally, and that is why it is so terrifying." Touma instinctively took a step back as the air around Adam seemed to become stale. "Once God is taken care of, we too can walk with our heads held high and accept our fate."

"You actually want to die?!" Touma asked in shock. This was a new concept for him. All the stories of people trying to achieve immortality were to avoid death. _Why does he want to die? Many people would kill for merely an opportunity to live forever._

"Most would never understand unless they experience it themselves," Adam elaborated. "Those that thirst for eternal life do not understand the curse that accompanies it. Even the strongest man will eventually wish for their life to end. Humans are not meant to live forever."

"But you are willing to hurt so many people just to achieve your goal!" Touma pointed out. "That's why this is wrong. I can't understand why you want to die, no one should want to, but I can accept death as a part of life." He had a hard time grasping his head around someone wanting to die when they could always find a choice to live, but he had read a book about someone who discovered how to prevent himself from aging. He could only watch as his friends and family grew old around him and passed on, while he was left behind. "Then you _involved my friends_ in your struggle!"

"Did we?" Adam asked slowly. "Or is it possible they involved themselves."

"Nonsense!" Touma started to argue. He remembered the first time he met the Herald. He and Wrath has invaded the museum to steal an artifact, but Touma had intervened. Mikoto then followed him and they forced the Herald to retreat. _Saten-san was turned to stone because of one of their companions, so she was involved. It wasn't on purpose, but that disregard for others is what caused it._ The time at the tournament, Sloth had put the arena to sleep, but was only going after Touma. If it hadn't been for Misaki and Jason, he would have been captured. Then, the Sins had gone after him and his friends by taking their mutual friends in Rome. "Your men involved them when they used their power against innocent people."

"The first time Eve's puppet met you," Adam replied passively. "That was entirely accidental and then one of your friends willingly became involved. When Sloth was sent to retrieve you, your friends willingly involved themselves, which was the only reason all the ones cursed with the Sin Marks were sent. If you had just gone with our forces from the start, they would never have been so entwined in the magic side. In short," Adam paused. "Your desire to fight us is what caused your friends to get involved. Now that I think about it, Eve mentioned your trip to England was because of you too, was it not?"

"I…" Touma was momentarily stunned. The words Adam said were definitely true, but phrased in a way to make Touma look like the villain. _Is he trying to imply my selfishness puts others in danger?_ "You know I had no idea of anything you and Eve were planning. I'm not the one killing people! I'm not the bad guy here!"

"Are you trying to convince me, or yourself?" Touma glared at him and Adam shrugged. "You suggest you are not killing people? Let me enlighten you then. If you had come with us in the first place, our plans would have changed to gather the last couple wings. Because you resisted, we had to use force." Adam leaned forward and stared Touma directly in the eyes. "I killed countless people because you chose to resist us."

"You bastard!" Touma roared and charged. He made a fist and brought it back before aiming a punch directly at Adam's face. Adam sighed. Moving at speeds of a professional martial artist, he took his right hand, slipped it under Touma's fist, and grabbed his arm, right below the elbow, to guide the fist away from its target. Simultaneously, Adam's other hand moved and grabbed Touma's shoulder. Touma tried to protect himself, but Adam brought up a knee and buried it into Touma's gut. "Gack!" Touma coughed and spit flew out of his mouth to the ground. Adam did not show mercy and delivered an upper cut into Touma's chin with enough force to lift him off the ground. Touma flew backwards and landed on the ground with a thud. Touma was conscious, but it was hard to breath and his head was spinning.

"Yes," Adam continued, as if he had not been interrupted. "Choices have consequences, foreseeable and unforeseeable. You chose to resist us because you did not believe in our cause, and thus others died for your selfishness." Touma tried to speak but could only continue to cough loudly. "Oh, you probably don't know, but Eve set out her forces to kill all your friends last night."

"W-what?!" Touma gurgled and his thoughts focused on Adam's words before his entire body began to grow cold.

"Your friends have shown they will continue to interfere with our plans," Adam pointed out. "As long as you are a target. Thus, she is going to eliminate them."

"N-no!" Touma gasped and struggled to sit up. _Not them. I can deal with people attacking me, but I can't let my friends suffer for my actions. Adam's right, I put them all in danger._ He had never hated someone so much as he hated Adam right now. Something occurred to him when he managed to sit up and his head stopped spinning as fast. "H-how do you know this? Eve betrayed you."

"You believe that?"

Touma froze and his face paled. "It can't be…" It was the worst possible outcome. They had believed there was a chance of a trap, but when Adam spoke of Eve's betrayal, the chance had shrunk immensely. Adam's location, Eve's playful hint, and then Leivinia and Lessar picking him up, all had been a part of Eve's and Adam's plan.

"That was her plan," Adam said slowly and admired Touma's expression. "One of the few lies I had to tell. She had to get you away from that bastard's grasp and come to me. I only played along." The corners of his mouth twitched ever so slightly as Touma face turned, if possible, even paler. "We have been together since the dawn of man, and you thought we would betray each other? Such a thing no longer exists. Only we truly understand each other."

"Why are you telling me this?" Touma asked. He struggled to his feet, but Adam made no effort to stop him.

"I do not like lies," Adam continued. "Any I am forced to tell, I must confess them. It is who I am."

"Was Julunggul's shard a lie too?" Touma asked.

"No," Adam answered. "It is real, but it's probably not what you think."

"Try me." Touma's entire body was shaking at the thought of his friends' dilemma back in Academy City. _There's nothing you can do right now, so focus on what is in front of you. Mikoto and Misaki both have told you before you can trust them, Accelerator won't go down easily either, and Jason is resourceful enough to get out of any mess. Mugino might also be a target, but I saw firsthand how powerful she is, so I can believe in her too. Wait, if Adam is in communication with Eve and he said she was going to eliminate them last night, why did he not say they were dead. He doesn't like to lie, so things must not have gone their way either. Good job everyone. Once I finish with the job here, I'm going to head back and see you all again._

"The shard is not a physical item," Adam explained. "It's a connection to the Rainbow Snake's core." Touma must have looked confused because Adam sighed. "There is no original Rainbow Snake God or Goddess. The Rainbow Snake is merely something that has been passed down in legends of countless mythologies. Each legend attributes the snake with different significance and domains. In short Imagine Breaker, the Rainbow Snake Deity is one of the most powerful magic gods in all of history, formed from the gods of countless religions passed down through centuries of traditions. The shard she spoke to you about was her connection to the Rainbow Snake as a whole. Her power is severely diminished without it, but she is still a fearsome opponent. Why the Rainbow Snake split up, even I do not know."

"How did you take her shard then?" Touma asked and narrowed his eyes. "I promised her I would take it away from you."

"You would not understand the complex ritual I set up," Adam mocked, but still betrayed no emotions. "A more simplistic explanation would be I substituted myself as the host for the shard and separated her from the main body."

"So you became a magic god?" Touma asked. He feared the answer, but it was information he had to know.

"Never," Adam hissed and Touma was surprised to hear the first bit of anger from him. "I will never lower myself to the same level of those children. I took her shard into my body, but I will never use that accursed power."

"That's all I needed to hear," Touma muttered and charged Adam again. Adam didn't look disturbed in the slightest. Adam grabbed Touma's right arm again to prevent Touma's fist from connecting with his face. When Touma smiled, Adam raised an eyebrow. "I actually have a plan," Touma whispered.

"Really?" Adam asked and then a flash of light erupted from Touma's hand and engulfed both of them. The sound of shattering glass went off and Adam narrowed his eyes. Touma's smile didn't leave his face until Adam delivered a fist into his gut. Touma gasped and Adam grabbed Touma's shoulder. Touma felt his feet lift off the ground and the world spun as he was flipped in midair before being slammed onto the ground. Touma cried out in pain and then Adam let go of his shirt. "I forgot you have learned how to Roar. Not many hosts figure it out and you rarely used it."

"Heh," Touma laughed and then flinched as pain coursed through his back. "Did I destroy the shard?"

"You risked everything just for that?" Adam asked. "I could have easily ripped off your arm."

"I had a promise to fulfill," Touma explained simply.

"Ah, yes." Adam shook his head. "Most people who stand in my presence are too fearful to move. Do you not feel fear or are you just stupid?"

"I've been called stupid more times than I can count," Touma replied with a chuckled and then grimaced with pain again. It hurt to laugh. "Right now, my goal is in sight and I can't give up now. I will stop you."

"I see," Adam muttered. "Then I suppose you leave me no choice." Adam knelt down next to Touma and put both hands on Touma's left arm. "Again, your choices have consequences."

"Stop," Touma gasped. "Don't do it." He tried to move, but Adam had a vice grip on his arm and the pain was preventing sudden movements with the majority of his body.

"I shall use you as an example to all," Adam continued and used mage to connect to the maze below him. Their voices would now reverberate through the catacombs like a speaker system. Adam looked back at Touma's arm and then quickly moved his hands.

 _Crack!_

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Touma screamed in pain after his bone was broken.

"Imagine Breaker," Adam declared. He only said those two words so everyone in the maze knew who had suffered. "Did you honestly think you could defeat me alone? I only require you alive, but that does not mean in once piece. It's time for you to learn the difference in power between us." Touma almost fainted from the pain, but he forced his eyes open and stared at Adam though the water clouding his sight.

"Bite me!" Touma spat out the first two words that came to mind.

* * *

"Uh, hi?" Ruiko greeted nervously and waved. She really had no idea what else to say in this situation. She had observed the fight, but it wasn't like a lot happened. William had been the only person to attack and none of his blows had any impact. Everyone else mentioned being unable to use magic, but Ruiko had no idea how that was possible. It was not like she had any knowledge of magic. What she did understand was nothing was working against St. Peter.

"Saten?" Agnese asked in shock. "When did you get here?"

"Well," Ruiko replied. "I guess… the entire time?"

"Yet, you didn't try to help!" yelled Leivinia.

"There is no need to get worked up," William told Leivinia. "She is not a combat specialist. I doubt she had ever engaged in a fight of this caliber."

"That doesn't matter," Leivinia argued angrily. "She still has a tiny bit of power. It may not be mag…" Her eyes widened and she shut her mouth. There was no way she was going to reveal anything to St. Peter. Her eyes darted to Ruiko. _She may be our only hope._ She caught Agnese's gaze and they both nodded ever so slightly. Ruiko was slowly walking toward St. Peter and Leivinia started to scoot near her.

"Young lady," St. Peter addressed her again. "May I have your name?"

"Ruiko Saten," Ruiko replied automatically and Leivinia almost face palmed.

"Well met, I am St. Peter." The kindness never left his eyes. "I am sure you heard of everyone's predicament. If you wish, you may wait here with the others so you do not have to wander around in the tunnels full of horrors. There is a chance Adam will let you go after his objective is fulfilled." Leivinia scoffed.

"Saten," Agnese said. "He neutralized all of our magic, including our items. Unless he is either defeated or gives us permission to pass, we are stuck here. None of us can risk going back into the tunnels." Ruiko nodded in understanding.

"An accurate description of your predicament," St. Peter agreed and turned back to Ruiko. "Miss Saten, you will also be unable to use magic, nor can you inflict violence upon me."

"I know," Ruiko admitted. She looked at him and felt deeply conflicted. St. Peter was not facing them of his own free will. Adam had used his magic to revive him and force St. Peter to go against his nature. Ruiko felt pity and anger at his predicament. She wanted to help him, but she doubted anything she did could. Ruiko also didn't like violence. If she had to, she would fight, but fighting someone who was being forced to fight left a bad taste in her mouth. St. Peter also wasn't attacking her and even said they could wait here safely. _Do I actually have the power to do anything? If Birdway-san and Agnese-san couldn't, what makes me think I can?_ The image of her friends swam to the front of her mind, mainly those who had come to Australia with her. She took a deep breath and fortified her resolve. "But my friends are being attacked in Adam's maze, so we need to help them. There has to be a way."

"I'm sorry," St. Peter told her and his eyes showed he meant every word. "I can't let you proceed any further. You have to find a way to defeat me or find another exit."

"Strike him down," Leivinia called out. "You are the only one who can." Ruiko jerked her head stiffly to acknowledge her words.

"I'm sorry too," Ruiko whispered and held up a hand. The air started to spin around and she was forced to concentrate solely on her attack. This wasn't just creating a small gust of wind to blow clothes around. Ruiko was actually trying to create an attack strong enough to hurt another person. Even though St. Peter wasn't technically living, seeing him up close was enough to make Ruiko understand the gravity of her choice. The closest she ever came to attacking someone with her ability was diverting a strike from a sword back in England. Her clothes started to whip around as she focused every last bit of concentration into her attack. St. Peter's eyes widened slightly. His brown cloak started to whip around too as the wind reached him. Ruiko stepped forward and held a ball of swirling wind in her hand. Throwing the vortex would only result in a strong breeze after losing most of its raw power. _Please work._ Her stomach churned and she felt slightly sick. Ruiko closed her eyes, unable to watch what she was about to do, and thrust the ball of wind directly into St. Peter's chest.

A blast of wind erupted between her and St. Peter. It wasn't strong enough to knock anyone around them down, but Leivinia, Agnese, and William all felt it.

"Yes," Leivinia cheered and made a fist. _She's not as strong as the others, but a direct attack to the chest should have worked. Her greatest strength is how unthreatening she looks._

Her happiness was short lived though.

"You were able to use wind without mana," St. Peter said and put his hand lightly on Ruiko's hand pressed against his chest. He gentle removed it while Ruiko was too shocked to resist. St. Peter looked fine. His robe was slightly wrinkled from the wind, but there was no damage to his chest area. Ruiko's face paled and her mouth fell open. "Your shock is understandable. While you have the power to control wind, you used it for violence. While in my presence, all violence is prevented. I realize my earlier words might have made you believe I was only referring to physical blows. That was unintentional." He smiled at her. "Your effort was admirable."

"Thanks?" Ruiko replied in confusion and stepped back while pulling her hand out of his grasp. St. Peter sighed.

"I do not enjoy this, so please do not believe I am making fun of any of you."

"I believe you," Ruiko reassured him and he smiled once again. Ruiko could not come to hate St. Peter, but she still had to find some way to defeat him so they could all continue. Suddenly, a hand grabbed her shoulder and yanked her backwards. Ruiko was jolted out of her confusion and saw Leivinia dragging her to Agnese.

"That wasn't a bad attempt for an amateur," Leivinia told her. "But did you think a direct attack would seriously work?" She looked over at Agnese. "We did learn something though."

"Your wind originally interacted with St. Peter," Agnese explained. "Until you actually used it as an attack, which means his spell to prevent violence might be affected by intent."

"Now that we know that," Leivinia huffed. "I doubt we could try to accidently attack him. We would still have the intent."

"I have a suggestion," William said, as walked up to them. "Girl," he addressed Ruiko directly. "I would like you to just talk to him and get him to answer questions."

"Why her?" Leivinia asked indignantly, as she rounded on him. "She doesn't know anything about magic and won't know what to ask."

"Is it because of her personality?" Agnese asked. "From my experience, she never poses a threat and is easy to get along with." Agnese smiled at Ruiko, who could only think of giving a small smile back.

"That," William confirmed. "And because she doesn't know about magic."

"That doesn't make sense," Leivinia scolded. "Explain why that is important."

"She will not be able to make assumptions we who have studied magic would make," William pointed out quietly. "She will ask questions we will not think of. St. Peter appears to be willing to talk and having someone who can't use magic question him will not draw as much suspicion as one of us. We can pretend to be discussing plans while she could pretend to be a distraction. From his answers, we might be able to get a glimpse into either his power or Adam's." All three girls glanced at St. Peter, who only appeared to be gazing down one of the tunnels. "I do not believe we have many other choices since her attack did not succeed. He will not assault us with his magic, so talking appears to be the best option right now."

"What should I ask him?" Ruiko questioned nervously.

"Anything," Agnese explained. "About him, Adam, whatever you can think of that might be even a tiny bit useful."

"Just try not to be obvious," Leivinia warned. She was the one worried most about the plan. She didn't care about the chance St. Peter would attack Ruiko, she worried about Ruiko being too obvious in her intentions. If he realized what she was doing, he could lie or just not answer her questions. "We will be discussing what we learned and will signal you if we want you to press an issue."

"If you are sure," Ruiko said hesitantly. "I'll do my best."

"Good luck," Agnese said and patted Ruiko on the shoulder and then leaned closer to whisper. "It's something only you can do. Remember that."

 _No pressure,_ Ruiko thought, but she nodded. After all, this is what she wanted to do last night. Help out anyway she could. William and Leivinia watched her turn and walk slowly toward St. Peter, who turned and looked at her with a curious expression. "Excuse me," Ruiko asked him. "Since we are all stuck here, would you be willing to talk to pass the time?"

"Of course," he replied. "Would you care to talk standing or sitting?"

"Sitting sounds good," Ruiko answered and she sat down cross legged on the ground. St. Peter imitated her action and they faced each other. _Okay, what should I ask? This is so nerve wrecking. You would think fighting would be more mentally taxing, but I think it is actually more straightforward._ "So... umm… you are really St. Peter… then…"

"Yes, but take a deep breath and steady yourself. I'm not going to bite." Ruiko nodded and did what he suggested.

"I heard stories about you," Ruiko continued much calmer than she had been. "About the miracles you have performed and who you traveled with. I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about the Son of God."

"An interesting request," St. Peter commented with a nod of his head. "But not entirely unexpected. To many people, he appeared to be a kind and compassionate man. He hated to see people suffer. No matter what anyone did to him, he would be willing to forgive them. He was truthful and always kept his word. He lived the way he preached. He would never say one thing and then do the opposite. As his followers grew, we may have seen less of him, but he would always make time for us. Those that believed would always be able to find comfort around him. All the traits the church values now, he was a personification of." He smiled and looked up at the ceiling as he reminisced.

"I kind of know someone like that," Ruiko said softly and looked down at the ground in embarrassment. Touma swam to the front of her mind, a boy whose very presence comforted her. He would go to the ends of the earth to protect others and his word could be trusted to the letter. The advice he preached was how he lived his own life.

"A rare breed in this age," St. Peter told her. "I would treasure your time with him."

"I do."

"The Son of God's personality seemed perfect to many," St. Peter continued. "But those of us who knew him for a long time saw different sides of him too. He took enjoyment in all things, flowers, animals, and people. Laughing with even the smallest of creatures. He treasured his time with us and was saddened when he had to leave. His wit was also something to be desired. Human experiences were tied into his stories, while sharing truths of the Kingdom of Heaven. Above all, he was generous. Not only did he give his life for all of us, he would give everything he had to anyone who needed it. Every individual was important." St. Peter paused. "Then there was the feeling of the divine. When he was cheerful, we felt at peace, when he was forced to chastise someone, you could feel the world churn. It was those otherworldly signs that brought many people to believe, but it was his personality that caused them to stay." He sighed. "I feel that being forced to follow Adam's orders, I have disgraced his memory."

"It's not your fault though," Ruiko said quickly. "Adam is the one who violated the laws of nature."

"Yet, I continue to let him control me."

"How did Adam actually bring you back to life with all your memories?" Ruiko asked. "I was told normally necromancy creates a… false soul? I think that's right, and then puts it into the body."

"Normally, yes," he confirmed. "But Adam's aspect made from being created directly by God allows him to perform magic unattainable by normal humans."

"Aspect?" Ruiko had no idea what that meant, but she noticed Birdway, Agnese, and William seemed to be paying close attention from behind St. Peter. She hadn't realized they had moved to the other side of the room. _This seems like a topic they would need to know._

"Eve and Adam were the only two humans directly created by God," St. Peter explained. "Their very cores are different in ways we cannot understand, but they did not have their aspects at first. It was not until Eve was tempted to eat from the Tree of Knowledge and persuaded Adam to join her did the events that lead to the rise of mankind occur. God cast them out of the Garden of Eden, the paradise where they were born and spent their entire life. It was at that time they took their aspects. As only those two existed, their aspects had to coexist together. Adam took on the aspect of law, to remind himself of why he must follow the rules of the world. Eve was not able to take on that aspect because her core had been forcefully changed by temptation. She took on the aspect of chaos, where it is impossible to predict everything that will occur. Life was no longer strict and orderly outside the garden. Chaos ruled and the future was uncertain. Then Eve was tasked with creating new life, which only added more chaos into the world."

"Law and chaos," Ruiko murmured. There was an old saying where you can't have the idea of good without the idea of bad. _That could hold true with law and chaos. Would we be able to recognize one without the other? If law did not exist, would chaos then become the law? I didn't think this was going to get all philosophical._ She blinked, shook her head, and forced herself to focus on the task at hand. "So really those two are opposites in order to complement each other?

"A more accurate description would be they keep each other in check."

"If Eve's aspect of chaos ties with life," Ruiko contemplated. "That would explain why she can create things so easily with her book." St. Peter nodded. "Then if their powers kept each other in check, the opposite of life… would be death." He nodded again and Ruiko eye's widened. "Which is why he prefers magic like the Plague of the Firstborn."

"Well," St. Peter corrected gently. "That's more in align with Exodus being a section where God's law began to solidify in human civilization as a whole, but for someone without any magical training you are managing quite admirably in your reasoning."

"You know I'm not a magician?!" gasped Ruiko while he smiled at her. "Ah, I shouldn't be surprised. Where was I?" She frowned and thought for a moment. "Oh, yes. Adam controls death so that would encompass necromancy, which is what he did to you. Then with the power of his aspect from his core, he could go further than normal magicians."

"Death is one law in the world that would be impossible to overcome without the creation of magic," St. Peter said. "One of the many reasons it was. Mankind wanted to imitate God in order to achieve what they would not have been able to otherwise. It's kind of ironic. Adam represents law, but uses magic which corrupts and distorts the laws of the world. The distortion suits him though. He sees the world through a different perspective. Few can understand the pain he has gone though. He lived in paradise, but was cast out for breaking a law he didn't understand."

"Do you know a way to dispel his magic on you?" Ruiko finally asked.

"I do, but I have been forbidden to tell. I can neither speak, write, gesture, nor transmit it in anyway."

"I see," Ruiko said depressed.

"I wish I could help you reach your friends," St. Peter added.

"I do want to help them," Ruiko admitted. "Even though I know they can take care of themselves. I was actually thinking more about your predicament and freeing you."

"Mine?" For the first time, St. Peter actually looked surprised.

"You remember the person I mention before when you were talking about the Son of God?" He nodded. "He's the kind of guy who would never abandon another person. If he was in my position, he would do whatever it took to save you." Ruiko stared directly into St. Peter's eyes with determination and ignored Leivinia's face palm. "It's not your fault what happened, it's Adam's. Remember that. He is taking his anger out on all of us. The way you talked about the Son of God, there is no way someone so kind could be doing this of their own free will. Help us find a way to save everyone." St. Peter stared at her for a moment, his face unreadable.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The cry of pain echoing around the room interrupted them.

"What was that?!" Ruiko cried out in alarm.

"Your friend is in trouble," St. Peter muttered darkly.

"Imagine Breaker," Adam said, as clearly as if he was standing next to them. "Did you honestly think you could defeat me alone? I only require you alive, but that does not mean in once piece. It's time for you to learn the difference in power between us."

* * *

"Defiant to the end," Adam commented mildly. "Oh I really should kill you and end this charade, but you have proven time and time again to be quite useful." He pulled back his foot and kicked Touma in the side.

"Oof!" Touma grunted loudly. Adam was much stronger than a normal person and the force of the kick lifted him up into the air. He flew a meter and started rolling on the ground, which meant he fell on his broken arm. He stopped on his back and was barely conscious as he gazed up at the blue sky. His arm was on fire and now there was a sharp pain in his side. It took everything he had to stop crying out anymore. He prayed a rib did not break. Adam tossed him a bored expression.

"I expected more," Adam continued. "What happened to that confidence you had before?" He shook his head and turned away from Touma. The only reason he let everyone in the maze listen was to demoralize them. Even if Touma would not admit it, he had become a sort of symbol. A powerful individual who continue to fight against all odds to protect people he didn't know. The knights saw his courage, the nuns saw his power, and Carissa saw his determination. By showing them how their champion had fallen so easily, their will to fight back would break as easy as Touma's arm did. "You never stood a chance Imagine Breaker. Everything you did, everything your allies believed you did, was aligned with out plans. Eve never betrayed me. She just lured you all here. Today, I will finish what I came here to do and your army will be decimated." He paused and looked back at Touma. "I want to ask you again: Do you not feel fear in my presence or are you just stupid?" There was only silence, before Touma answered.

"Of course I'm afraid."

"You finally admit the truth," Adam replied after a moment to this surprising revolution. He didn't expect the boy to say it so easily. "All your bravery was naught before me."

"No," Touma continued slowly. "I've always been afraid."

"What?" Adam did not expect that answer.

"I have never walked into one of these situations without fear." Touma managed to sit up and stabilized himself with his right arm. "What kind of person could? I get pulled into things I never fully understand. I'm just a normal kid with a strange power. I'm not a super hero, I'm not invincible, and I'm not some savior. Yet, I get drawn into a battle for the fate of the world between servants of an archangel and God. Even before that, I got attacked by magicians without even knowing what magic was. I stumble into life and death battles way more than I should, even if they never involved me. I would be crazy if I walked into any of this without fear. I'm terrified way more than I ever let others know!"

"Then why-…?" Adam started to ask.

"Because none of that matters!" roared Touma. "Someone needed help and I was there! Why would I ignore someone just because I was afraid?! I would be lower than trash! No matter if my knees shake, my feet freeze, or I want to flee, I will keep moving forward! Every day people fight for their lives in battles we know nothing of. We all need help at some point, even if we refuse to ask." He struggled to his feet. It was difficult because his left arm was useless. "The knights and nuns trapped in your maze are all fighting for their lives to protect people, friends, family, and citizens. They believe in their cause so much, they are willing to give up their life. They are protecting innocents who can't stand against people like you, Adam. I am proud to stand beside all of them." He paused for breath. "You said all these events are because of my actions? There may be some truth to that, but you're the one who chose to go down that route when your first path failed. Someone with your power should have been able to figure out a peaceful solution. Then… you made a big mistake."

"Oh?" Adam asked in a monotone. "Do tell."

"You involved my friends."

Adam froze as Touma finally looked up, his eyes partially hidden by his sweaty and dirty hair. There was no indecisiveness in Touma's eyes that Adam had slowly been putting into him. They were unnaturally clear and were focused on the only person before them. It was probably a trick of the light, but Adam saw a red gleam in those eyes, almost beastlike. Anger radiated from them, but hatred was absence. _Righteous fury, as expected._ Adam did not fear the glare, he was too focused on something else. The air around the boy changed. No longer did Adam see the harmless creature that once stood before him. Now, the boy had become something more. It was something that could not be seen or heard, but was felt in the deepest parts of his soul.

Touma Kamijou's aura had changed.

Adam was not surprised at the transformation. It was a special trait he expected Touma to possess. Touma was not the first hero Adam had encountered. Heroes were quite diverse in both personality and background. Some would become stronger to protect people important to them, others would seek redemption for a past mistake, while few follow their own belief of right and wrong. There were even rare cases of someone trying to become a hero for fun. Not all heroes had happy endings though. Many died on their journey to protect people. Those without special powers or qualities that still insisted on rushing into the fire of conflict to protect a single child were no doubt heroes, but on a much smaller scale than the world would remember. There was only one trait that all true heroes possessed that Adam had witness over countless years.

Until they were dead, they would keep standing up to face their foe.

Again, this was not a surprise to Adam. His aspect of law would prevent anything going against the laws of the world from working. This trait of heroes was a natural occurrence, even if it seemed to defy logic and reason. However, he hesitated for a fraction of a second. There were two variables that were hard to account for and both involved the Imagine Breaker. The Imagine Breaker could actually neutralize Adam's aspect of law on the wielder. That would allow something that defied the laws of the world, like a miracle, to be able to occur, even if it wouldn't. The Imagine Breaker would neutralize any chance of that. The issue was, what would happen if laws preventing anything unnatural from occurring were destroyed, but simultaneously allowing unnatural things to occur but then get neutralized? Logic would dictate the fight would be won by the more powerful individual. As Adam had been able to crush Touma up to this point, all signs pointed to him. However, this fight could hardly be considered normal. Then the second issue popped up.

What happens when the Imagine Breaker is used by a hero?

The only person before Touma that Adam encountered personally, who wielded the Imagine Breaker, could hardly be considered a hero. Adam did not actually fight him, because the man had surrendered immediately. It had been centuries ago, or maybe even longer. Years blended together for a person who couldn't die. Now, an uncertain combination was standing before him. The natural trait of a hero was in the boy, along with the power of the Imagine Breaker, a creation made after the moment mankind discovered magic. Eve and Adam were not the first people to use magic, but they were the strongest, until mankind reached into a place they should not have. The boy had no special powers besides his hand and the hero trait, an unknown combination. The hero trait was normally seen as a person overcoming their limits to become stronger for a brief moment. What would happen if that trait and the Imagine Breaker combined? If Adam was as curious as Eve was about the way the world worked, he would have stepped forward and challenged the boy. Instead, Adam just stood there and looked at Touma, who had just stepped forward.

"I won't stop fighting until I'm sure my friends are safe," Touma continued. "No matter how many bones you break, no matter how much stronger you are than me, I won't give up. I will face you with my head held high. You can knock me down and I'll get right back up. I believe everyone in the maze is the same way. They will face your forces and win, so until they arrive, and I know they will, I will be the one to face you!" He took another step forward. His arm was screaming in pain and his side burned with fire after each breathe he took, but he would not falter.

Things were not going the way Adam would have preferred, but Eve did warn him the boy would take some work to manipulate. Adam had wanted the boy to demoralize England's army, but the boy had spectacularly countered him. If they had not been enemies, Adam might have been impressed. It wasn't like he had to kill the army, he just kind of wanted to. Only the boy had to stay alive. He demonstrated time and time again he would not willingly work for them, so he had to be tricked. The magic connecting their conversation to the maze was released, as it was no longer needed. Adam finally stopped mulling over his options as he saw the damaged, but not yet broken, boy continue to stagger toward him. All logic and reason would say Adam would win. The boy was on his last legs while Adam was at full strength. One well-placed blow would kill the boy and even a glancing blow would knock him out. Still, Adam knew the outcome if he attacked. From the monitoring of Touma Kamijou, he had seen the results when someone attacked the boy at this stage. The hero with the Imagine Breaker became a creature that should not exist. The existence defied all laws and reason. Experience told Adam what to do to disarm the beast.

Adam turned around and walked back toward the cliff, away from the boy.

"What are you doing?!" Touma demanded. The surprise of Adam's action confused him. He expected Adam to strike him again and he would be prepared to do… something. Touma wasn't sure what he would do, but figured his body could react like it has so many times before. Adam was walking away from him, but it didn't look like he was retreating. _What happened? Before, he was focused purely on me? Can he tell how injured I am?_ It was taking all his concentration to stand.

"Your presence tires me," Adam replied and stopped near the end of the cliff. "I feel it would just be easier to show you what I am doing here and you can understand how insignificant your efforts truly are." He was not retreating. He was only changing the flow of battle, which negated the activation of the hero trait.

"I'm going to stop you from obtaining it," Touma muttered angrily. "Showing it to me is just going to make my job simpler."

"It is a risk," Adam agreed. "But I do not believe you will be able to stop what I am excavating from this desolate place." He pointed down into the site. "You will understand Imagine Breaker. Right now, you only see pieces of our plan. Look at the final goal." Touma frowned and slowly walked forward. He grabbed his left arm with his right hand to stabilize it. The broken bone shouldn't be moving any more than necessary. Touma didn't trust Adam's motives, but the opportunity was too good to pass up. He staggered to the edge of the cliff and looked down.

"No," he gasped softly in shock.

"It does make you feel insignificant," Adam agreed.

* * *

The clang of metal against metal echoed across the room.

 _He's not bad,_ Carissa thought as her eyes met Julius's. She had to suppress a smile at the 'bite me' comment she heard from Touma. _I knew Adam couldn't be fought alone. Hold on boy, it shouldn't be long._ She pushed her blade against his and Julius was forced to take a step back to stabilize. Simultaneously, they both jumped backwards, as Adam's and Touma's conversation continued.

"…Oh I really should kill you and end this charade…" Carissa tried to block out anything unimportant so she could focus on the task at hand. She jumped toward Julius and made a quick flurry of jabs with her sword. One was parried by his sword and sparks flew form the collision, one was dodged by a hair's width, and two were blocked by his shield. Touma's painful cry echoed again and Julius capitalized on her second of distraction. He swung his sword vertically downwards and Carissa was forced to dodge to the left, However, Touma's cry had slowed her reflexes by a fraction of a second, which was all it took for a magically powered individual to get a grazing strike in. A few strands of Carissa's blonde hair fell to the ground.

"You seem distracted," Julius pointed out mockingly. "I didn't realize I was supposed to teach a brat how to fight today."

"I'm going to enjoy killing you," Carissa seethed and swung her sword. Several sparks erupted with a clang when her metal hit Julius's shield and a loud screeching sound echoed around the room as the sword slid down the shield. Carissa spun on her heel and kicked out against the metal wall. The force of her blow pushed Julius backwards and she continued to barrage him with another flurry of blows. She was forcing him on the defensive for now, but her attacks were not connecting. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't block the mocking voice of Adam in the background and that might have been slowing her reflexes.

"…Everything you did, everything your allies believed you did, was aligned with out plans. Eve never betrayed me. She just lured you all here…"

 _Bastard,_ Carissa thought when she heard Adam's words. She knew immediately what he was trying to do. _He's attacking the boy in his most vulnerable area, his mind. The boy can be determined to a fault, but I don't believe he's use to mental assaults like that. He takes the direct approach. If Adam can actually breaks the boy's focus… I have to hurry._ Julius's sword came very close to her shoulder and she was forced to pivot on one foot. She swung her sword upwards, knocked the other sword away from her, and immediately switched to her own strike. Again, her blade only met cold steel of the shield. _That shield is getting annoying._ Both of the fighters were similar, using magic to amplify their physical attributes, but their techniques were completely different. Carissa focused on quick strikes and fluid motions, while Julius used slower but more powerful blows and then the large shield to protect himself from counters. Carissa's ears twitched when she heard Adam ask if Touma felt fear. His response surprised her.

"Of course I'm afraid."

 _What?!_ Carissa was actually so shocked she jumped backwards from Julius to avoid fighting in her condition. _How did the boy fall so easily? He stood against me when I wielded Curtana, and yet Adam did something to make him waver?_ Her thoughts must have appeared on her face, because Julius grinned.

"Seems the Imagine Breaker discovered Adam's true nature," Julius laughed. "When he falls, what do you think will happen to your army?"

"They will still fight."

"Their morale will-…"

"I've always been afraid," Touma's voice continued and that stopped their argument. Julius frowned, but Carissa deliberately kept her face passive. Then the boy began to explain himself. Carissa listened, but couldn't stop a grin from tugging on the corner of her lips. She heard what the boy thought of himself. A normal kid, who was forcefully dragged into disputes between monsters, fought because someone needed help. He mentioned her forces, their desire to protect their own country and people. When he told Adam what his biggest mistake was, she froze. "You involved my friends." Those four words had sent shivers down her spine. Touma's words held a strength that even surpassed what he had said to her In England, about how he would save her. That tone was enough to say attacking his friends was a sure way to lose. She couldn't help herself. She threw back her head and laughed.

"What's so funny?!" Julius demanded angrily, but it wasn't Carissa who answered.

"You underestimated Lover Boy!" Lessar called out and punched the air. "You don't know the first thing about him! He won't lose that easily!"

"If he even could lose," Oriana added. "Judging from his words…" She paused and they heard him continue.

"…I won't give up. I will face you with my head held high. You can knock me down and I'll get right back up…."

"…Adam would have to kill him and we know that it isn't in the cards right now."

"You pests are getting annoying," Julius snapped.

"You sound pretty childish," Carissa laughed, as Touma finished his speech. "You know, I thought a person directly under Adam would be more powerful. You are decent, but not nearly as powerful as the last individual I encountered."

"Heh," Julius chuckled. "Maybe because I'm a better leader than a fighter. If you want, I can show you why-…" They were interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps making their way towards them. Through the tunnel Lessar and Imouto had entered the room from, six knights in full armor burst in, led by Amelia.

"Princess?" Amelia asked in surprise. It was obvious she and the knights had not expected to run into her.

"Ah, Amelia," Carissa mused. "I was about to finish up here and go rescue the boy."

"It didn't sound like he was backed into a corner yet!" Lessar called out, but they ignored her.

"I heard," Amelia admitted. "We all did. Their words appeared to be transmitted through the entire maze."

"An attempt of Adam to demoralize us," Carissa huffed. "And the boy splendidly rebuked him." Amelia actually nodded. She had heard it all and was rather impressed at Touma's speech. "We can hardly let him down after placing so much faith in us, can we?" Carissa's eyes widened slightly. "Amelia, counter behind now!" Amelia did not hesitate at all. She drew her sword, spun around, and deflected three swords aimed at her back.

"What are you fools doing!?" Amelia demanded.

"They have been taken over by Julius Caesar's magic!" Oriana yelled.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Carissa said rounding on him. "I thought you wanted to duel. I should have known better than to think garbage like you could keep your word."

"We are dueling," Julius corrected her. "They," he gestured to the others, "Are unneeded. They can die while we settle our fight." He smiled mockingly. "I must thank your companion. Bringing a bunch of men who are used to following orders makes my job much, much easier. Based on how easy it was to establish control, I figure I could take over ninety percent of your army still lost in the maze. A civil war would be rather interesting to watch. You know what I'm talking about, right?"

"You two," Carissa fumed and looked at Lessar and Oriana. "Help Amelia knock out those knights while I finish this bastard." Amelia could probably handle all six knights at once, but Carissa couldn't guarantee Julius didn't have the ability to increase their strength once they were under his control. _It would be just like him to hide that until the perfect opportunity._ They nodded and Carissa focused her attention back to Julius. She heard the sound of metal striking against metal, but she ignored it. Her eyes held fire and she held her sword slightly higher.

"In the end," Julius muttered and raised his sword. "We are all human and resort to our most basic instincts." He raised his shield and held his sword up.

"Indeed," Carissa agreed and lunged forward. Her sword struck against the shield and sparks flew off, while Julius brought his sword down toward her neck. She brought her sword up and pushed his blade to her left as she parried. Julius then pushed forward with his shield and caused her to lose her footing for a moment. He didn't fail to notice and swung his sword horizontally toward her side. She was forced to spin her sword and block it directly. _He's physically stronger than I am,_ she thought when she felt herself getting pushed back. _I can't keep trying to meet him with pure force._ Then she grinned. _I wanted to try this for a while._ She jumped back and moved into a fencer position. Her sword was thin enough to not be a liability when she held it out in front of her with one hand. Her other hand was hidden behind her back.

"What's wrong princess?" Julius asked. "Am I too strong for you?"

"That never once crossed my mind," Carissa replied instantly. "I'm only planning to end this quickly." She heard more footsteps approaching them. _Damn it, now is not the time for reinforcements. This bastard can take them over as soon as they arrive. Amelia and the others will soon be overwhelmed._ Julius noticed too, because he grinned maliciously.

"I see why," he said softly. "Maybe I should just leave and let your own troops handle you."

"That's why you resemble a chicken," Carissa pointed out again. Julius's face narrowed in anger and he rushed forward. _Perfect,_ Carissa thought, but kept her face passive. Julius thrust his sword straight at her heart. Instead of blocking or parrying, she stepped forward while dodging the blade by a fraction of an inch. She had to get close for this to work. While moving forward, she jabbed her sword at Julius's neck, but he only had to move his large shield upwards to block it. This left his arm open and she grinned while moving her other arm from behind her back. With her close proximity, Julius couldn't get his sword in the right angle to strike Carissa, so he stepped back to put distance between them. To his surprise, Carissa didn't push the advantage and instead retreated. His confusion was evident on his face and to the fact Carissa was smiling. She pointed a single finger at his left arm. His eyes slowly followed where she gestured. A small metal sphere had been shoved under his arm guard.

It was a grenade.

"You bitc-…!" Julius never finished his sentence as he was engulfed by an explosion.

"It was worth taking a couple of explosives from that girl," Carissa mused. While she was skilled in magic, she was not above using scientific weaponry. In fact, she enjoyed using them. After seeing Frenda's explosives in action, she had requisitioned several for herself last night. If enough time had passed, she was sure she would be able to strike Julius down with her own sword skills. The problem was Touma was currently in a life and death battle with Adam, which meant time was not on their side. The smoke cleared and Carissa wasn't surprised to see Julius still standing. He didn't look good though.

His entire left arm and shield were gone.

"You will pay for that!" he roared.

"Will I?" Carissa asked amused. "Without your shield, you won't be able to block my strikes."

"I can't believe royalty like you would resort to cheap tricks," Julius hissed. "Even after I accepted your duel request."

"Cheap tricks?" Carissa asked in a slightly irritated tone. "Let me explain something to you Caesar. We did not come here to play your games. We came here to crush Adam and his forces. I only antagonized you into a duel so I didn't have to waste time fighting your enslaved troops." Her eyes darkened and she looked at him with disdain. "You lost, now quietly accept that once more your name will be etched into history as one of the vanquished."

"Never!" Julius roared. "All troops, kill the princess and her allies!" The sound of hundreds of footsteps surrounded them from every tunnel. Carissa made the decision in an instance. She rushed forward and prepared to strike Julius with her sword before backup arrived, but was forced to stop. Spears had begun to rain down where she would have been if she had kept moving forward. Men and women started flooding out of tunnels. "My troops have always been nearby brat."

"Amelia," Carissa called over her shoulder.

"Yes?" Amelia replied respectfully, as she dodged three blades. Lessar jumped forward and grabbed one of the knights and threw him away from the others with her Steel Glove. Oriana tossed a piece of paper and crystal formations erupted from the ground, which separated the knights from Amelia.

"It is time to use _that_."

"Understood." Amelia turned back to Oriana and Lessar. "Cover me." Lessar jumped behind Amelia as she made her way toward Carissa. The knights were struggling to get around the crystal formation Oriana had made. Knowing Amelia was going to do something, another rain of spears flew at her from Julius's troops. Oriana tossed a piece of paper that quickly turned into a cyclone. The spears were drawn in and thrown back at the source. When Amelia stopped a couple meters away from Carissa, she pulled off a metal tube strapped to her back. Instead of a weapon, she pulled out a rolled up cloth and a collapsible metal pole. She unrolled the cloth to reveal it was actually a flag.

"What is that?" Julius asked suspiciously as his troops formed solid lines in front of him. "Do you think a moral boost is going to help you?"

"The boy already gave us a moral boost," Carissa pointed out with a smirk. "This is only one of many trump cards I prepared in advanced, but I'm sure not going to tell you what it is." Julius gritted his teeth. The flag was actually a copy of England's Union Jack, but the magic purpose behind it was completely different. The original Union Jack was the foundation for Curtana's power, but that power could not normally leave the borders of the United Kingdom. When Carissa was first told of the mission to Australia to fight Adam, she knew Curtana's power would be required to face him. This led to the flag in Amelia's possession. Nicknamed the Conqueror's Flag, it was designed to temporarily create a space that was considered part of the United Kingdom, regardless of distance.

There were a lot of problems with this method though. First, it could only be used in areas that were once part of the British Empire. All of the United Kingdom had once been part of it, so she had focused on that aspect. All of Australia had also once been part of the empire. There had been a time when the sun never set on the British Empire. Because this condition was met, the Queen of England could send out a burst of Telesma to the location. The force would burn the flag, but all the troops nearby would receive a short increase in power, as if they had been on actual United Kingdom soil. Another problem was the duration. Once the flag was burnt, the Telesma lasted one minute at best. Another issue was the area affected around the flag was pretty small, twenty meters or so at most. This time, the distance did not matter, as they were all nearby.

Amelia connected the flag to the pole and slammed it into the ground.

A second later, the flag burst into flame.

"My control," Julius muttered as he glanced at the knights shaking their heads. "You broke it over your troops."

"Don't have time to explain," Carissa replied and charged forward. Her body was light as the Telesma from Curtana Second engulfed her. Sure, it wasn't as much as when she wielded the Original, but her speed and strength multiplied several times over. More than enough to deal with a couple rows of mind controlled individuals and an overconfident ruler who died once before. She reached the first row of people with shields and swords. The second they tried to swing their blades at her, she jumped over them. Her heels slammed down on a couple of them as she used them as a platform to jump over the next row of people with spears. She grabbed one spear that would have actually hit her and broke it with her bare hand. She landed in front of the last row, and parried two blades with her own, before punching the guy in front of her. The force sent him flying several meters. Only Julius was left in front of her. Her sword began to vibrate slightly and glow with a bright white light as she charged forward at super human speeds. Julius swung his blade horizontally at her neck, but Carissa ducked under it. She pulled back her sword and thrust it forward.

The sword pierced Julius right in the heart.

"Heh," Julius gasped. "Using Telesma… because your own skills are inferior."

"Winning is all the matters," Carissa told him and she ripped the sword out of him. "Losing means death, as you just found out." She flicked her sword and the blood flew off onto the ground. Julius fell to his knees and all the mind controlled individuals behind Carissa collapsed too. "Which way to the surface?"

"Like I would tell you," Julius coughed. "Bitch… go to hell." His body began to glow with white light before it disappeared into a pile of dust.

"He kept his allegiance to the end," Carissa muttered. "I can respect that to some degree." She sheathed her sword and looked at the one tunnel Julius had come from. _That's probably the best bet._ She turned around and saw Amelia with five conscious knights. All of them saluted. Lessar and Oriana stood by the two unconscious girls. "Anything to report Amelia?"

"I assume you know our troops are spread out and the maze is transporting us to different locations." Carissa nodded. "I have not encountered anyone or anything of note so far until now."

"This was the second one of Adam's minions I encountered," Carissa said quickly and turned back to the tunnel. "We need to hurry through that tunnel there," she pointed, "and rescue the boy. I owe him for help against an earlier opponent."

"Of course," Amelia replied, though Carissa thought she heard something more.

"Leave one man to wake the others," Carissa ordered. "Everyone else, it's time to crush the bastard that started all of this." There was a collective yell in agreement and she, Amelia, Oriana, Lessar, and four knights stepped over the unconscious citizens and made their way toward the battle between Adam and Touma.

* * *

"No!" gasped Ruiko.

"That idiot!" Leivinia cried out angrily, but she looked concern. "He knew not to fight Adam alone!"

"Saten," Agnese called out. "Don't get distracted." William remained silent, but that was because he probably didn't have anything to add. Touma's cry echoed across the room again after Adam mocked him.

"Please," Ruiko begged and tears filled her eyes. "You have to let us through and help him. He's not only fighting for us, but everyone who is suffering because of Adam, including you."

"I truly wish I could," St. Peter replied and his tone was one of deepest regret.

"You know how much courage it takes for him to stand against-…" She stopped when she heard Touma's response to Adam asking if he felt fear.

"Of course I'm afraid."

Ruiko's heart nearly stopped. _How? He's the strongest, bravest guy I know. What could Adam have done to him?_ The way Touma had talked to her last night made her believe he knew something she didn't. He could afford not to be afraid because he knew what the outcome would be. Now, she found out he was afraid… that he had always been afraid. Touma's words kept flooding out as Ruiko listened.

"I have never walked into one of these situations without fear. What kind of person could?" Ruiko's ears perked up. While Touma was obviously addressing Adam, she felt like he was also addressing her too. Touma seemed to be releasing all his pent up stress as he mentioned how he was dragged into all these dangerous situations. Ruiko began to realize what it all meant. Touma had always been scared because he was like her. They considered themselves normal students. He didn't understand everything that was happening around him, yet he kept moving forward. She was surprised how he could continue to face those problems, when Touma answered her, and Adams, question. "Because none of that matters! Someone needed help and I was there! Why would I ignore someone just because I was afraid?!"

"Is that the friend you spoke of before?" St. Peter asked.

"Yes," Ruiko confirmed. She felt something well up inside of her. Pride in how Touma was able to face his fears, but something else too. It was courage. Thanks to his words, Ruiko finally understood. Touma was able to overcome all these challenges because others needed help. Even if he was afraid, that did not mean he could not act. _That's the kind of person I want to be,_ she reminded herself. _Someone who others can count on to help them, no matter how dangerous things had become._ Then Touma said four words that made her heart race when he informed Adam of his mistake.

"You involved my friends."

"A person like that is hard to find," St. Peter commented. "Courage in overcoming fear is a very difficult thing to do."

"I agree," Ruiko told him. "I know personally how hard it is to actually take that step." She looked at him while Touma's voice continued. Ruiko made a shaking fist when she heard him say he would continue to fight until his friends were safe. His words filled her with strength. Her eyes darted to Leivinia and Agnese, both of whom had small smiles on their face before they caught Ruiko's eye. Agnese gave her a slight nod in understanding, while Leivinia quickly made her face passive. William had a very curious look on his face as he stared up at the ceiling. It was almost like he regretted something. Everything went silent, and Ruiko wasn't sure why. Neither Adam nor Touma spoke again. "You are a Saint. Can you sit back and let someone like him suffer at the hands of Adam?"

"I have no choice," St. Peter replied. "I have gone over all options available to me. I do know several spells and rituals that would free me from his grasp, but I cannot perform them or tell others how to. The only spells I may cast are those designed to stop people from proceeding and prevent myself from being defeated."

"There has to be something you can think of," Ruiko continued. The knowledge that there was a way to remove Adam's hold on St. Peter filled her with hope. There had to be something Adam didn't plan for. Maybe she could jolt an idea in him since she didn't know any magic. "My friend, his name is Touma Kamijou, is the one fighting Adam. His luck may not be very good, but he always seems to be able to appreciate everything he has. His hand, as you know, was supposed to negate all supernatural things, including God's Miracles, but I think that only applies to himself. He never relies on miracles, but his own actions. From what I have seen, when he helps someone, a miracle always seems to occur. Maybe not for him, but everyone else experiences it. They manage to solve their problems without deaths and many of my friends are living much happier lives after meeting him. Maybe all we need is another miracle."

"Adam's aspect of law prevents miracles from occurring," St. Peter explained to her. "Miracles go against the laws of the world. Though, he is facing the Imagine Breaker…" He started mumbling to himself and Ruiko sat in silence. She couldn't be sure what he was doing, but something told her not to break the silence. "You are an interesting girl," St. Peter finally spoke up.

"W-what do you mean?" Ruiko asked startled.

"You care deeply for your friends," he answered kindly. "That is obvious and you want to help them anyway you can."

"I wish I was braver though," Ruiko mumbled.

"Nonsense," St. Peter reprimanded her. "As your friend stated, no same person would not feel fear in a situation like this. You are afraid, but you admit this to yourself. This is the first step to overcoming your fear. Then you must be willing to take the next step to protect someone. You revealed yourself after seeing how your companions were unable to defeat me. You managed to gather the courage to attack me, not out of anger or hatred, but purely the desire to save your friends."

"I didn't really want to hurt you," Ruiko admitted softly.

"That is what makes you special," St. Peter continued and smiled at her confusion. "You worry about your enemies."

"I don't consider you-…"

"Precisely my point. You care about everyone, even those you don't know. I knew a woman like that. She always saw the good in everyone. No matter who they were, Saint or sinner, rich or poor, she would always give them a chance for salvation. She was close to the Son of God and the two were very similar. She existed for a person to kneel down and pray for the safety of their families, friends, and companions… and sometimes even their enemies. Many people consider me the leader of the apostles and one of the greatest Saints, but I am nothing compared to her."

"Who… who was she?" Ruiko asked softly, but immediately yelped and scooted back on the ground when St. Peter started glowing brightly. "What's happening?!" She stood up.

"A miracle," St. Peter replied and rose to his feet. His entire body was glowing with a powerful, but oddly warm, light.

"I thought you said a miracle wasn't possible?" Ruiko asked. Leivinia shouted something, but her voice seemed so far away.

"It should be," St. Peter agreed. "But your friend, the one who possesses the Imagine Breaker, is fighting Adam. He is negating the aspect of law, which permeates the world around Adam. Miracles are not spells, they are events that can't be predetermined, and therefore Adam's orders do not apply to them. His aspect was the only thing keeping them at bay. Even being forcefully revived, my bond with the Son of God has not broken and he answered my prayer." He smiled and his body glowed brighter. "It was thanks to you my child."

"Me?" Ruiko mouthed in shock and pointed to herself.

"I was trapped by Adam's hatred and lost track of my faith. You reminded me of why I followed the Son of God. Many people can easily forget why they started on a path." He reached out a hand and put it on her shoulder. "You have a gift in making others remember why they are fighting. Thank you Ruiko Saten, for the kindness you have shown this old man who lost his way." He lowered his head and bowed. At the same time several men rushed into the room, only to stop in awe at the powerful light radiating from St. Peter. Then in a whisper so soft it was like the wind in Ruiko's ear, St. Peter continued. "I hope you and your friends find the happiness you truly deserve. I promise to watch over you all."

The light retracted and St. Peter disappeared.

The room felt much colder and emptier.

"What just happened?" a man asked and Ruiko turned to see George followed by half a dozen knights. Ruiko wasn't sure how to answer that question, but luckily the others took over.

"St. Peter had the power to prevent us using magic," Agnese explained. "We were lucky Saten showed up when she did or we would have all been trapped here."

"That light though," George pointed out. "Wasn't that from him? How did you manage to defeat him?"

"That's what I would like to know," Leivinia added and crossed her arm. "You were talking like we planned and we learned a lot of valuable information about Adam, but suddenly we couldn't understand your voices after he mentioned miracles. Then he started glowing and the room rose in temperature for a little bit. What did you two discuss during that time?"

"Well," Ruiko explained hesitantly. She wasn't entirely sure what she did. Before she could decide how to phrase her words, an unlikely person spoke up.

"She reminded him of who he was and what he stood for," William explained. "A pure soul could achieve something we could not." Before Agnese or Leivinia could respond to this statement, he turned to George. "Did you hear the conversation between Adam and the Imagine Breaker?"

"We did," George acknowledge and the other knights nodded. "It sounded like Adam was planning to use the boy's suffering to demoralize the troops, but he wouldn't give in. I have to say, my blood was boiling at his words, so I think it had the opposite effect."

"Speaking of which," Agnese interrupted. "The barrier protecting the passage is gone. We need to hurry and help him."

"Obviously," Leivinia said and brushed her hair back. "We can interrogate the girl later. For now, let's go rescue the idiot." She flicked her wand and a small string of flames shot out. "Good to know my magic is back." She walked toward the tunnel that was no longer blocked by water. Agnese shrugged and followed. George gave the other knights a brief gesture with his hand and they rushed off after the girls.

"Girl," George said as he passed Ruiko. "I don't know how you did, but to actually defeat a Saint without magic, that is the stuff of legends. Good job."

"I just…" Ruiko tried to explain, but George had already passed her and her voice trailed off. A large strong hand fell on her shoulder and she looked over at William.

"I would not forget what he told you," William told her quietly. "Few people can get advice from someone like him."

"You heard us?!" Ruiko exclaimed in surprise.

"I did," William confirmed.

"Do you know who the woman he referred to was?"

"I do, but it's best you not dwell on it. What he said about you is true, so if you want to honor him, keep that light you showed him."

"I will," Ruiko replied embarrassed.

"Now let us go and help your friend." Ruiko nodded and they both followed the others.

* * *

Touma could not believe what he saw.

When they discovered an excavation site, it became obvious Adam was looking for something. The exact 'what' was still a mystery. As far as Touma knew, all the wings except for the one in Academy City were in their possession. Based on the area Adam was mining and how many people were being controlled, Touma had assumed they were looking for a small object that could have been anywhere in the desert.

He had been wrong.

The thing they were extracting was enormous. It would have been several stories high, if it had not been lying down. From his position, Touma could see the outline of the entire structure. A white substance composed nearly all of it. It appeared to be a combination of stone and plastic but, unless he examined it closer, he couldn't tell for sure. It reminded him of the dark matter Teitoku had made. What he could see was the substance was roughly in the form of a human. There was a head with blank eyes, nose, and a mouth. There were waves on the scalp that resembled hair. The body was average build and had four appendages that acted as arms and legs. Gold and silver veins ran over the entire body forming intricate patterns. Without the veins, the sculpture would have been pretty ordinary. The most noticeable trait was right in the center of its chest. A large jewel was glowing slightly with pure white light. A large deep cut was in the gem, as if it had been stabbed. Even though it was clear out and the sun was rising above him, the light seemed to reach much further than it should have. Touma stared at it and felt slightly colder, like heat was being absorbed.

"What is that?" Touma asked. He couldn't tear is eyes away from the jewel. Minutes had passed and he hadn't even realized it.

"That, Imagine Breaker, is what remains of our lord," Adam replied.

"Huh?!" Touma jumped and managed to turn and look at Adam. He had assumed at first glance it was some kind of construct weapon.

"When the Archangel Michael ripped Lord Lucifer's wings from him and cast them into gems," Adam explained and Touma detected a very slight trace of anger in his voice. "He used the Sword of God and stabbed our lord in his core. The force of that attack cast Lucifer down from heaven and upon the earth. As the last light faded from his eyes, Michael raised his hand and the earth swallowed our lord. This forsaken land was to be his tomb." Adam actually made a fist. "All because our lord developed consciousness and questioned God." Adam turned to face Touma. "Are you capable of realizing why I came here looking for it?"

"You… need a body to fuse the wings into!" Touma gasped as it dawned on him.

"Correct," Adam confirmed. "For now, it is merely a statue, missing all the beauty and power of our lord in his prime. Once we have all the wings, we can merge them with this to reform him. Then his greatness will lead us against our greatest foe."

"You're insane!"

"Perhaps," Adam conceded. "When one lives too long, they very well might become insane without knowing. It was only recently, with the help of many unsuspecting people, that we have come so far. You helped us greatly in England. I must also thank the person who removed the Sword of God from our lord's core. Removing a weapon of God without being an angel or at least a Saint would not have been possible, even for us. The power would purify me into dust if I tried. It's almost like fate itself wants us to succeed."

"Someone removed the sword? Who would even know this is here?"

"I could care less as long as that person doesn't oppose us," Adam answered vaguely. "Many people used to know this area was not for the weak of heart. All those sayings the current generations mock about this land was based on old myths and legends that got warped over the years. People began colonizing and technology allowed them to move closer and closer to this place, the legend of a battle that nearly destroyed everything broken down into childish jokes."

Touma remained silent as he thought about what to do. His arm was burning and he was going to pass out eventually. _This is getting worse and worse. Everything is proceeding according to their plan and nothing we do seems to be stopping them. From his expression and words, he doesn't consider me a threat and, after what happened when we fought, I can't really blame him. At least I know more than I did before. If we could destroy that statue, his plan would fail. The question is, how can we destroy something like that easily? Maybe Carissa could call in an air strike or something. Though that jewel…_ His thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of footsteps coming up the stairs. He and Adam turned to see a group of people flood out of the tunnel.

"Finally," Carissa muttered and her eyes fell on them. "What the hell, boy? Are you just standing there chatting?"

"Spread out and surround him," Amelia ordered the knights.

"We heard your speech," Oriana said and smiled at Touma. "Have to say, you have a way of inspiring people." Touma's eyes widened and then he had to look away in embarrassment.

"Nice job, Lover Boy!" Lessar added. "I'll take a look at your arm when we are done." She licked her lips. "I'll also examine every other part of your…"

"NOT THE TIME, LESSAR!"

"So you managed to defeat Caesar," Adam commented. "That was not unexpected. He never was the most reliable man. His attitude got on the nerve of many people. Eve particularly did not like him."

"We don't care about your opinion of others," Carissa snapped. "Boy, give us all the information you learned on him."

"He's really strong physically!" Touma called back. "But that's not important! Adam's unearthed the body of Lucifer and is planning to use it as a host for all the wings!" Carissa's eyes widened. Before she could bark out an order, the ground began to shake and everyone began to stumble, except Adam.

"It seems we have finished," Adam remarked and then glanced at the others. "Did you honestly think I would devote all my effort to your feeble existences? We have much bigger targets." He raised a finger and pointed upwards. That's when Touma noticed.

"The body is beginning to fly upwards!" he warned the others. However, there wasn't much they could do. They did not have aerial support or long range ballistic missiles to blow Lucifer's body out of the sky. Oriana pulled out a piece of paper and threw it at the ground. A fist made of earth rose into the air and flew at Adam. His only response was to make a back handed motion. The earth grew dark and broke apart into dust before vanishing completely. The knights began to charge with their swords drawn, but all Adam had to do was take a single step and the earth shifted beneath their feet and knocked them backwards.

Touma saw the white stone form of an inactive archangel float higher and higher, but Touma noticed the arm was very close to where he was. He glanced over at Adam, who managed to knock away Amelia's and Carissa's blades of light. Lessar swung her Steel Glove at him and it shattered against his arm. Lessar used her tail to jump high into the air to avoid Adam's outstretched hand, which was going for her throat. Everything was moving in slow motion. Touma managed to catch Carissa's eye and he felt a grin form on his face. Carissa recognized that expression.

 _He's going to do something stupid._

"Sorry," Touma mouthed and turned around. Before Carissa could yell at him, he took a step back and ran toward the edge of the pit. He could have sworn he heard her yell 'idiot,' but he was too focused on the jump at hand. The target was the large jewel in the middle of Lucifer's chest. The problem was it was too far away to reach with a single jump and he couldn't ask for help because then Adam would know what he was planning. Also, a delay meant the body might rise higher than the pit where Touma could not reach it. He was planning to land on the arm and crawl toward the gem. _Please don't let me land on my left arm!_ With the body rising, Touma was hoping he could land on his feet and then lunge toward the core. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him.

 _Will my right hand negate the stone material?! Oh shit, I didn't think this through!_

Adam turned around and glanced down at him. Neither Touma nor the others could see his reaction or they might have tried to warn Touma.

Adam was grinning.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Misaki: Adam needs to be punished.**

 **Mikoto: Painfully.**

 **Pierce: Let's focus on something more pleasant.**

 **Accelerator: Like the fact Saten defeated a Saint without any real effort?**

 **Shizuri: Seems like the author had problem finishing the fight and pulled crap out.**

 **Motoharu: That may be true…**

 **Me: Hey!**

 **Motoharu: …but think how this is going to affect Saten-san in the long run.**

 **Mikoto: How?**

 **Jason: Well, she defeated a Saint by effectively… purifying him? If this gets out, many religious people are going to seek her out and ask her to bless them.**

 **Misaki: That could be serious.**

 **Jason: And if they see something, like her flipping skirts, they might actually believe that to be a religious activity.**

 **Kazari: Oh no!**

 **Shizuri: I doubt that would happen.**

 **Motoharu: I don't know, people worship really strange things.**

 **(**********)**

 **Notice: The Church of Skirt Flipping is holding an open house next week.**


	98. S4 Battle for Australia: Counter

**Hey everybody, it's been awhile since I updated this story. I have been pretty busy with several other projects, friends, work, and several other things that for legal and security reasons I can't go into. First, I would like to thank everyone for not doing a lot of flaming with the last chapter's topics. I know religion is a touchy subject for many and people seemed to understand where I was going with this. Second, the Australia arc is wrapping up nicely. Soon, we can get to important plot stuff, like the raffle and parents showing up. There are way too many ideas floating around in my brain and not enough hours in the day to write them all down. Any mind readers who can type well interested in a job? Third, this chapter is a little shorter than the last couple. Not because I gave up, but because it reached the stopping point earlier than I planned. Fourth, I do know NT18 is out. Thank you dozen or so people who reminded me about that. I have been rather busy and forgot about the release. There's a lot to learn in that one. I usually avoid talking about it too much for a while, as not to spoil it for anyone else who has not managed to read it yet. Now that my boring comments are finished, let's move to yours.**

 **Acpeters: There were some issues the site was having when uploading new chapters. Notifications were not being sent out. Touma may be manipulated easily, but his mental fortitude is strong. He won't let that stop him and will instead work to correct his mistakes. Ruiko is going to be a star on the magic side once that story gets out.**

 **anand891996: I'm expecting to see the webpage for that church any day now. It's amazing how things change when you look at a situation from the other side of the fence.**

 **ultron emperor: A good villain should be likeable. True, they may have a desire that goes against the norm, but if you can understand where they come from, they are much more interesting.**

 **Simmering Teapot: That was what St. Peter drew based on what he saw. Things get stolen a lot. Many people could have a special sword now. It's actually a pretty standard reasoning on the plagues. I had to do research on it. One line, and so many people notice it.**

 **Salishious: I will assume your head exploded from sheer awesomeness and then inflate my ego for a bit. The shard? Who knows? Touma doesn't even know what it is for sure. I'm sure if Aleister wanted Touma to stay in AC, he would keep him there. I could see Ruiko doing that. Fiamma seems like a good guess. Who else has a super awesome sword that can only be wielded by angels? Yes, she will. See below chapter on statue. Aogami founded the church. Possibly all three.**

 **Whwsms: Gasp! That's it. She doesn't use win, she uses purification.**

 **Cyber Dragon: She was never actually going to die, probably. When I wrote that, I was afraid I wrote myself into a corner. Then the story went off on a tangent and it worked out. I doubt Touma would ever willingly kill God. The title was chosen for a reason. Though, it was based on the original planned ending. Jason was based on a college suite mate I knew with a few tweaks. Zach is more based on my personality. Likes to troll and make fun, but is quite serious when you have to be.**

 **Brosephg: One day, I will get you to spoil things. Mark my words. It will happen before this story ends!**

 **MightyImpulse: Adam's plan involves so many people and groups. What happens will probably surprise you.**

 **Guest: 1) Thought she was? She was in the world created by the WR. 2) Haven't had time to read it yet. 3) Yes I did. 4) I never actually said that. How did you come to that conclusion? 5) I think Mesopotamia's religion is considered older. 6) Maybe. Might just change the hair color or something.**

 **GameCguru: Who does the church of skirt flipping follow? What is their deity(s)? As far as I know Jesus did not have a harem. Ruiko is definitely up there.**

 **wildarms13: Commentary is always fun when some people watch the scenes of others. Touma has a way with words. Actually, manipulating the IB is easy, keeping him on your side once he discovers the manipulation, well that is a mistake. I'm sure a magic god has more important things to do then follow a boy around and mess with him…. hahaha, who are we kidding. The gods probably have a game centered on him.**

 **Ddraig99: I do have an idea for the other vampire, but two things would have to happen first.**

 **Generation Zero: I'm glad you like Adam. He never got as much screen time as Eve. As for why he didn't use the power of a magic god, there are reasons which you won't learn until much later. He did underestimate Touma's resolve and allowed him to use Inspire. Ruiko won her battle for two reasons. She went a different direction instead of only violence. Two, she went through a lot of struggles and was saved because of her friends. She knows what it is like to be put in a corner and wanting someone to help. St. Peter could not be defeated with violence, so you have to find another way. This ending was actually hard to decide. I actually had a combat scene in the works, but it sucked and I discarded it. Julius was actually designed to be the weakest of the Fallen. His power was designed to cover a large area, not be for single person fights. He was also rash, which led to his downfall. A lot of people seem to think Fiamma has the sword. This actually makes sense. His third arm would probably allow him to wield the sword.**

 **Jujudude: Site had problems with notifications for a bit. I saw all the comments you put on your stories recently. I make up the story as I go and sometimes get ideas based on reader's comments. That is why I encourage them because they help me too. Sure, if I take some names, I'll be sure to site you. Hmm, a signed copy, tempting. Who is the deity(s) of the church? St. Peter was a fun fight and had a lot of important information. Touma Punch, the blow that awoken the devil. You have fun with that fanficseption. Harem endings are the best. Jaune in RWBY needs one. At least 5, but Renora has to be kept too.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: Carissa's totally in love with the boy now. A couple of chapters of character development and she will be completely under the Kami Disease. Doesn't Touma also have inspiring Speech and Not Living Your Life Correctly Punch?**

 **xaxiel1572: Wouldn't be our unlucky hero if he didn't. I KNOW RIGHT! If those kids would quit getting involved in every little thing, they could be living their normal school life.**

 **Guest: That one line and plenty of people pointed it out. Jason X Shirai will happen in, 2-3 chapters I think. It's not written yet, so there's only a draft in my head.**

 **Savaris: I wait until you are busy before I post. It was pretty obvious Adam wanted Touma there because they need the IB for something. I could probably have America get destroyed in this story and it would solve one problem of mine I haven't figured out. Ruiko is so underrated in stories that don't center on her. She has so many great qualities, but also vague enough to go so many different ways. This fic is rated T, but HAND HOLDING? You disgust me. That is like the most disgusting thing anyone could ever do. How can you even suggest such a horrible thing? This story would have to be rated MMM for that kind of content. I ask myself that same question. How did I get to his point? Drugs and alcohol I'm sure played a big part in it, but I don't remember.**

 **FrodoFighter: Your comment is a story in itself. Mafia kill people all the time for getting involved in stuff that does not concern them, even my accident. To be fair, he and Eve gave them the chance to stop bothering them in Rome and they could be left alone. But NOOOOOO, they wanted to get involved and thus understood the risks involved. I believe a giant tail is under Touma's left arm and he can use it to smack people around. Ruiko has learned a lot from Touma-sensei. Adam and Touma's interactions were fun to write. Adam knows all about the IB, yet Touma defies expectations. So experience says, when the flow goes against you, simply change the flow. Pfft, Deus ex machina? It was totally planned out and centered around several people doing things. (Whistles innocently.) This shows Ruiko has received training from the Purifier.**

 **ddraig99: I was under the impression she was already part of it.**

 **Syko-Soldier963: Everyone knows Shorts are more comfy and easier to wear. Kuroko was probably under some kind of spell. Adam did indeed say that. Miracles don't work on him. The magic side doesn't really know about most of that. The people who did are either dead or part of the Fallen. Eve and Adam aren't giving out that information. Besides, maybe it helps them somehow. Komori needs some alone time with our hero before that happens. Of course those two will.**

 **Master Knight Trolling: Good point. The magic side needs to see Touma's rage manifest in the dragon form and crush all the silly enemies.**

 **Chris: Adam's power was specifically designed to defeat Plot Armor. No miracles or special effects, just might against might. I know about the alternate worlds Touma, but I don't have a good point for it. Maybe a SS at some point.**

 **Jeeze, there was a lot of comments.**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly. Magic Gods own all so they can do what they want.**

* * *

The sound of people shouting was dulled by the wind rushing pass Touma's ears.

When it dawned on him how many problems trying to jump onto a floating statue in his condition there were, Touma started to panic. He was falling with nothing to grab onto and slow down. His left arm was broken and his right hand could possibly negate his landing. The surface of the statue's arm was uneven, but the hand was open, palm up. That was what Touma was aiming to land on. The fall was a lot longer than he would have liked, but the statue rising was quickly closing the gap. One thought kept him focused and managed to hold back his fear. _If I destroy this statue, this will all be over._ He bent his knees slightly in midair and prepared for the rough landing.

The impact sent a jolt throughout his entire body.

He actually managed to land on the palm of the hand. His feet hit the strange substance with a dull thud. The force of the impact was too much for his knees to take and keep him standing. He started to fall forward, but forced himself to lean back. The movement caused him to fall on his butt instead. It was the only way he could fall without forcing himself to use one of his hands. He felt a sharp pain in his side, as the rib that might have been broken by one of Adam's attacks flared up again, but he forced himself to ignore the stabbing sensation. The statue was still moving upwards and he had to hurry. Touma struggled to his feet, which was difficult without using his left arm or right hand, but managed to prop himself up with his right elbow. Once he stood up, he realized the statue had finally left the pit. He briefly saw countless eyes on him when he looked over his shoulder.

One set belonged to Adam, who had just raised a hand at him.

 _Oh crap, he's going to knock me off,_ Touma thought in desperation. He raised his right hand to block Adam's magic, when Carissa and a group of knights attacked. Adam was forced to turn and deal with them instead. Touma sighed in relief, but flinched when Carissa looked at him.

"Get moving!" she roared. "Destroy Lucifer's body!"

"Got it!" Touma turned and stepped forward. The body was still moving towards the clouds and he wasn't sure how high it would go or if the direction would suddenly change. Trying to walk across an uneven surface while moving would be difficult, especially when one broken arm couldn't move very well. The slightest jolt was causing him excruciating pain, like someone was stabbing the arm constantly. _I have to keep moving. Everyone else is still fighting to give me time._ He took a step onto the curved surface of the arm and then another one. The substance was sturdy, but it wasn't as solid as stone. It felt more like really hard plastic. At least it wasn't slippery, or this would have been impossible. He moved as fast as he could without the threat of tumbling off the side and to his death. Luckily, the arm was getting larger the closer he got to the torso. He was almost there, when he stumbled.

The statue had suddenly stopped rising.

It laid motionless horizontally, hundreds of meters above the ground. Touma looked over his shoulder and gulped. Everyone looked like dots scurrying around on the ground. More dots were appearing as he watched. _People are making their way out of Adam's maze. We can do this!_ He took a deep breath and turned back toward his goal. _I have a job only I can do. I have to succeed or everything we have done up to now will be pointless._ He stepped onto the torso and the larger flat surface was a welcome relief. The threat of falling had now significantly diminished. The cracked jewel in the center of the statue's chest was in sight. Touma took another step forward when the entire statute began to shake.

The cracked jewel started to glow.

The gold and silver veins interlaced throughout the entire structure began to glow too, as the light from the jewel traveled through them. Touma stopped and his eyes traced their patterns. The designs were hypnotic and seemed to be moving as he breathed. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, tore his eyes off the veins, and focused on his task. _Is the statue awakening? I thought they needed the wings first…. Oh shit. Did Eve get the last wing?_ Touma was suddenly filled with dread. If Eve had gotten the wing, that means Adam also succeeded. Lucifer was about to awaken and the army below would be within range when it became complete. If the stories were true, they wouldn't stand a chance. Everything seemed to ride on him. Touma was going to smash the gem with his hand and completely destroy Lucifer before it could wreak havoc on the world. He started to surge forward again.

 _wdpqLEAVEhfy!_

Touma froze as he heard it. A deep and resonating voice reverberated through his body, but it was also soft, as if it came from far away. He heard it, but not with his ears. It was his very body that felt something speak. The voice appeared in his mind and, while it was difficult to hear exactly what was being said, Touma understood the meaning. Touma was a trespasser on a being that was considered above him. He wasn't sure at first where the voice came from, but since no one was around him, that led to only one option. "You're alive?" he whispered.

 _wdpqLEAVEhfy!_

The voice pushed through his body again and Touma winced. It was even louder than the first time. He still couldn't make out where the voice originated from. Touma pushed himself forward, ever closer to the glowing jewel. The entire body shook again and Touma gulped, but his resolve remained firm. "I can't. You have to be stopped before you get a chance to kill anyone."

 _pbwxFREEDOMkjyu!_

This time the voice hurt. It wasn't physical pain, but mental. Touma felt the pain of being trapped for ages, unable to move, unable to think, and only able to feel. Pain erupted on Touma's back and chest. It felt like something had torn his skin off and stabbed him. With no warning, he collapsed to his knees as he gasped. The pain quickly faded, even before Touma could reach his hand toward his chest. He blinked the water out of his eyes and struggled to his feet once more. There was still a lingering sensation, but he couldn't see any lasting damage. Instead of trying to provoke the voice anymore, he rushed toward the jewel.

 _lihxDIEwqx!_

Everything stopped for Touma. He barely felt anything before he fell. There was no heartbeat left in his body. Blackness engulfed his vision and breathing was impossible. As he fell, he tried to bring his right hand up, but he passed out before he could. A second later, the sound of breaking glass woke him up, followed by sheer agony. He had fallen on his left arm, but his right hand was on his chest. He yelled out in pain before slamming his mouth shut. Crying was not going to help anyone. After he took a deep breath, he struggled to his feet, staging the entire time.

 _juiWHYdgr?_

Touma could feel the confusion at his struggle. From Lucifer's perception, Touma had no stake in this fight. The resurrection did not concern him. Yet, he was willing to fight through all sorts of pain and agony to kill him. Lucifer had done nothing to Touma and yet Touma wanted to kill him. "Because… you are planning to kill God," Touma explained through gasps of pain. He kept walking forward. The jewel was almost within reach. "Your servants… hurt my friends… hurt innocents… killed so many people. I only want… to stop you."

 _qmujRETRIBUTIONzqx!_

The answer surprised Touma. This was not a denial or an excuse. The voice told him flatly it had been wronged, so it was justified to seek out revenge. It would have been a childish argument, if all the emotions weren't flooding through Touma at the same time. He felt the resolve, the anger, the pain, the desire for freedom of its bonds. The voice was no longer going to listen to Touma. It was about to be reborn. There was a powerful swirling emotions of desire and hatred. Whatever sentience it had was gone, lost over the years of imprisonment or possibly shattered because it was not complete. In its eyes, Touma was an insect which violated sacred grounds. Touma did not have a choice in his current situation. He stepped up to the jewel and reached down.

"I'm sorry," Touma whispered. He hated what he was about to do.

 _kzqIGNORANCEgyj!_

The voice wasn't angry, scared, or even irritated. It merely sounded resigned, like it was arguing with a child. It actually made it easier for Touma to do what he was about to do. His hand made contact with the jewel. Along with the usual shattering sound, the jewel exploded into dust. The body shook violently for a second and Touma struggled to remain standing. Then, the statue disappeared. It literally vanished instantly. Touma looked down as gravity began to pull him toward the earth. It took another second before he realized his situation. He was hundreds of meters in the air… and was falling.

"SUCH MISFORTUNEEEEE!" he yelled as he began to descend. His body was bruised and broken, but that wasn't really an issue right now. Even if he had been completely fine, hitting the ground from this height would kill him. This was not a distance he could hope to survive. What made it worse was he was over the deep excavation site, which means the chance of being caught by an ally didn't look promising. He was picking up speed and the ground was rushing toward him at an alarming rate. _It looks like this is it for me. At least I stopped Lucifer from returning. My friends will be safe now. I'll leave stopping Adam up to Carissa then. I know she will succeed, she won't accept anything else otherwise._ His life began to flash before his eyes.

There were way too many unlucky moments, where he got hurt or embarrassed, but he didn't care about those. He mostly wanted to relive the moments with his friends. He enjoyed the time he spent with all of them, even if they poked fun of him a lot. _Guess I won't be able to get revenge on Aogami, Tsuchimikado, and Jason._ Then he saw all the female friends he made recently, Ruiko, who accompanied him to this wasteland, Misaki, who he could finally remember, Shizuri, who at least didn't try to kill him anymore, and Mikoto, who stood by him through every stupid thing he did. _I'm going to miss them all. Sorry I never sorted out my feelings… wait. I never actually replied to any of them. I sort of just said 'okay' and then other stuff happened. What kind of trash am I? I can't die until I give them a proper answer._ His eyes widened as he continued to fall. "Damn it! I want to liiiiiivvvveeee! I can't die without ever having a girlfriend!"

He suddenly was jerked upwards.

"Gack!" He was being pulled up by his shirt and pants. His collar had been stretched against his throat and choked him for a moment. There was also a stab of pain in his ribs again at the sudden change in direction. The ground stopped rushing toward him and he was rotated in the air, so he could see the army. He started to soar away from the hole and down toward them. Touma finally turned his head to see what had grabbed him and saw half a dozen large golden birds. Each of them had their talons embedded in his clothes. They were obviously magical, because normal birds would not possibly be able to fly while holding him. The wind whistling in his ears died down and he heard countless people cheering up at him. Most of the army seemed to have left the tunnels and Adam had his back against the pit. He was surrounded by the knights and nuns. For the first time since they encountered Adam, Touma seriously smiled. They were winning. The birds started to descend and Touma made out who they were bringing him too.

"Nice of you to drop in," Oriana laughed when he neared her. Instead of having the birds drop Touma on the ground, they brought him directly into her outstretched arms. He fell facedown into her ample bosom, while her arms went under his shoulders to keep him up. "Easy tiger, there will be plenty of time to flirt later." She must have been referencing how he didn't put up any fight to escape. Touma's face burned, when he could finally think properly, and he struggled to lift his head out of the soft pillows.

"Arm and ribs are broken," he gasped. "Pain is really bad…"

"We need a medic," Oriana called over her shoulder. "Now!"

"Touma!" Ruiko shouted and was next to Oriana a second later.

"Glad you are okay, Ruiko," Touma told her weakly.

"I heard what you were doing up there," Ruiko told him and sniffed. "You were so brave and, as Misaka-san would say, stupid."

"That's me," Touma admitted with a grin. "What about the others? Are they safe?"

"I'm here," a familiar voice interrupted before Ruiko could answer. Oriana and Ruiko turned to see Zach stopping a few feet away. "Lay him on the ground and I'll treat his wounds." Oriana gently set Touma down on his back and Zach leaned over him.

"Hey, Zach," Touma muttered. "Did we win yet?"

"Well," Zach replied and glanced over his shoulder. The fighting had stopped while Adam was staring up at the sky. A bunch of knights had been knocked out from an earlier assault, but their forces were only growing. "You destroyed Lucifer's body and managed to survive. I bet that shocked Adam. You shocked a lot of us too actually, when the body suddenly disappeared and then we heard your battle cry." A smirk appeared on his face and Touma knew what that was referring too.

"You heard that?" Touma asked embarrassed.

"Everyone heard it." Zach pulled out some strips of cloth while Touma groaned. "I'll save it for parties. Anyways, the princess is forming up everyone who just arrived. Adam is still powerful, but we are going to stop him. Thanks for all your work. Give me a second and I'll see to your injuries."

"Magic doesn't work on him remember," Ruiko pointed out. Her eyes had fallen on the cloth.

"We know," Zach brushed off her concern. "That is why we came prepared." He looked at Touma. "Grit your teeth. This is going to hurt for a moment." Touma jerked his head in response. Zach pulled up Touma's left sleeve and saw a bump under the skin. Ruiko gasped, but Zach took one of the strips and wrapped it around the arm. Once it was completed wrapped up, the cloth constricted. Touma let out a sharp gasp, but managed to avoid crying out in pain. A second later, his arm felt better.

"What did you do?" Touma asked and sat up. He grabbed his side with his hand and then looked at the cloth on his arm.

"It's one of the few ways we thought of being able to heal you," Zach explained. "Normal healing spells cover the entire body, so we had to get creative. The Princess was very specific about that. I believe her exact words were, 'the boy is going to do something stupid and end up injured. Find a way to work around his hand.' Something like that." He grinned. "Don't touch the cloth and it will continue to heal you. It's a little slower, so it takes time. Let's see your side." He pulled up Touma's shirt and wrapped another piece of cloth around his torso. There had been a very dark bruise forming on his side. "There we go." He stood up and reached out a hand to help Touma to his feet.

"Thanks a lot, Zach," Touma said gratefully and then found himself being hugged by Ruiko.

"Sorry," Ruiko apologized and let go of him very quickly. "I'm just really happy to see you in one piece."

"I'm glad to see you are okay too," Touma told her. "What about the others?"

"Misaka-san is still unconscious but okay," Ruiko said quickly. "Frenda woke up and disappeared into a group of knights. Birdway-san and Lessar are currently engaged with Adam."

"I have to help," Touma said and stepped forward.

"Take it easy," Zach told him and grabbed his shoulder, while Oriana grabbed his other one.

"This has turned into a military assault operation," Oriana added. "If you randomly charge in, you are only going to disrupt the order. Let the Princess handle this." Touma closed his mouth and admitted they were right. If the knights and Agnese Forces started casting magic over everyone, his hand would interfere with it. He glanced at Ruiko, who was watching him closely, and he nodded at her. She gripped her arms, but managed to return a smile, even if it was halfheartedly. She was trying to tell him he made the right decision. They were spared further conversation by Carissa, who had moved to the front of her forces.

"Surrender, Adam!" she yelled. "Your trap failed and Lucifer's body has been destroyed. You have lost!"

There was only silence, but many of the knights raised their weapons. Agnese whispered something to a couple other nuns while pointing. The nuns rushed off into different groups before she turned her attention back to Adam. Touma followed her example and turned his focus back to the man who caused all of this. Adam was still staring up into the sky, seemingly lost in thought. A sound came from him. It was harsh and grating. For a moment, Touma thought he had imagined it. Then he heard it again, but it was louder this time. Adam finally turned around and everyone realized what the noise was.

Adam was laughing.

The reason Touma didn't immediately recognize the sound of laughter was how unnatural it sounded. Adam must not have been used to laughing. The laughter continued and it slowly became more recognizable. It finally sounded human like, but deeper and darker. The laughter did not fill Touma with joy, but with dread. Something Adam desired had happened. The question was, what was it? Touma remembered Adam telling him about how he had been tricked by Eve. The feeling he did something Adam manipulated him into doing increase. _I destroyed the body of Lucifer, so how could that benefit him?_

"What is so funny?" Carissa demanded. The tension in the air thickened. Adam stopped laughing and his cold eyes turned towards her. A smile formed on his face and the temperature dropped.

"Did you not heed my earlier words?" Adam said slowly. "Everything that has happened has been part of our plans. The boy has completed my task. It was why we lured him here."

"You wanted to destroy the body of your lord?" Carissa asked in shock. A murmur rippled through the troops.

"The body was broken and decayed from being trapped in this wasteland," Adam explained. "Its former glory lost in time. A mere shadow of his former self. For our lord's return, we need a vessel, but his wings are bound to his old body. We could not create a new one while it still existed. However, it would be blasphemy for us to desecrate his remains. An angel's body can't be destroyed by normal means. Even being pierced by the Sword of God, the core still remained. There was only one true way to sever the connection between the wings and body." He raised a hand and pointed to Touma, who was far behind the lines of troops. "Imagine Breaker, once again you have demonstrated your worth to us. Without you, this would not have been possible."

"No!" Touma yelled over the shocked knights and nuns. "You have to be lying! You can't possibly create an archangel!"

"Am I really lying, boy?" Adam asked quietly, but his voice carried through the winds. It sent shivers down Touma's spine. "I told you we could fuse the wings to his original body, which was the truth, but not our intention. You know my power, so how about you say that again, if you truly believe it." Touma opened his mouth to argue. The words refused to come out, no matter how hard he tried. He knew Adam was not lying. The truth reverberated in every word. This wasn't like back at basecamp. Adam's words had the weight that could not be denied. He was aware of many people looking at him, but he still could not deny Adam's mocking response. "You are young and easily manipulated. Thank you for all the assistance you have provided us. We greatly appreciated it."

"You used him," Carissa seethed and the fingers on her hand gripping her sword had turned white.

"Of course," Adam acknowledged. "We will do whatever it takes to achieve our goal, which is why we tricked him into destroying the old body. Our ally has discovered a material to craft a brand new one, even more powerful than the original. Though, correct me if I am wrong, but did you not try to use him too?" The smile grew. "Do you really think you are better than us?" His eyes met Carissa's and she raised her sword in response. "You would fit in perfectly with our group."

"KILL HIM!"

All the troops began to move the second she shouted the command. Every one of them had been prepared to attack if Adam tried anything. Carissa's words were just another trigger. All they managed to move was a single step though, before the ground began to shake violently again. The earth rippled and churned, knocking many of them down. The roar of an avalanche echoed from the pit as huge amount of dirt and rock started to pour out of the tunnels. Clouds of dust erupted into the air as all the misplaced dirt started to reappear at an alarming rate. Whatever magic Adam had used, was being dissolved. A giant cloud of dust was rising into the air. The sun was blocked by a wall and it began to spread out. A tsunami of dirt was coming right at them.

"Get down!" Touma yelled and he wasn't the only one. Shields were raised as everyone crouched to protect themselves as much as possible from the storm. Touma used his shirt with his left hand to cover his mouth and held out his right hand. The wall hit them and Touma couldn't breathe. The storm was not magical in nature. It was a result of Adam dispelling his magic and all the dirt returning to the same general location at once. The dirt got into everything. He couldn't open his eyes at all and sounds disappeared as his ears filled up. Dirt got into his mouth and he gagged. Then as suddenly as the storm started, he felt it vanish. Touma tentatively opened his eyes and saw the storm had indeed finished. He, along with most of the troops, began to stand and Touma saw what happened. The entire pit was now filled in and there was not a single sign the maze had ever existed. _What about all the people still in the tunnels? Did they… ADAM!_ Adam had moved from his previous location and it took only a second for Touma to locate him.

Adam was standing on a small hill in the middle of where the pit had originally been.

"I have played with you all long enough," Adam declared and raised his hands. The sky darkened as pitch black clouds began to gather above them all. Red flames erupted as a burning inferno deep within the mass began to slip free. The clouds kept growing and covered the entire area. The sun was being completely blocked. It was the same type of clouds Adam had used before the flaming hail rained down upon their base camp. As if the sky heard the collective thoughts of the army below, lightning streaked across the sky and thunder boomed. The inferno grew brighter and flashes of fire punctuated the darkened sky. Adam was preparing to rain down destruction. Some of Agnese's forces began to panic.

"Shields up!" Touma heard George and Amelia yell.

"This won't end the same way as when you hid in your camp!" Adam's voice echoed loudly above all the shouting. He lowered one arm and reached out toward the ground in front of him. The motion was followed by the sound of breaking stone. Cracks began to form all over the surface of the ground and then widened. The ground looked like it just became glass and Adam had smashed it. The cracks continued to grow and surround Adam's hill in every direction.

From the cracks, hands began to appear.

"Let's see how you fair when I level the playing field," Adam continued. Countless people began to crawl out of the ground. Mostly men, but many were also women and children. Clothes were torn and decaying, but the bodies looked fresh and new. As soon as one emerged from the cracks, others followed. "Australia is an interesting place. A harsh unforgiving climate were countless perish. It makes a nice breeding ground for mindless servants. I have access to an almost unlimited amount of corpses. This is a more fitting battle than our small skirmishes underground, would you not agree? Armies of Lucifer against your forces following God?"

"Charge!" Carissa roared the order at her knights. England's forces clashed with Adam's army of the damned. Touma could do nothing except watch the opposing armies collide. The knights were pushing forward. They had armor and weapons, while the undead bodies were mostly unarmed. A few men had emerged from the ground with rusty spears and swords, but nothing noteworthy to the knights. Flashes of light and sounds of chanting came from the nuns as they struck with magic or enhanced the knights. The battle progressed slower than it should have when the fiery hail began to fall. If the knights were not prepared with shields, the explosion when the hail hit the ground blew away several of them. Touma watched and made a fist in frustration.

 _This is wrong,_ he thought. _Adam is desecrating corpses of people who had nothing to do with any of this. Sure we are winning, but destroying the bodies makes it shallow._ Touma's eyes traveled toward Adam, who was still standing on the hill and watching the fighting below. An arrow engulfed with white light flew at him, but he deflected it away with his hand. Then he smiled and Touma felt his heart sink. The smile didn't reach Adam's eyes and the air grew colder again. _He's up to something, but what?_ Adam raised his hands up into the air, and everything changed.

The sound of injured knights began to increase.

Adam's undead forces began to push back again Carissa's. Being zombies, they were much stronger than normal humans, which negated the difference between them and the knight's infused armor. Zombies were also much more resilient than people. A strike from a blade, which would have taken down a human, did nothing more than slow the zombie for a moment. They could lose appendages, get cut nearly in half, and take a stab in the heart without flinching. Even slicing off their head, which Touma had seen in many games is the only efficient way to kill them, did not halt their advance. Zach even muttered something about them not even having a false soul within them. Whatever Adam did to raise the corpses, was not anything like normal necromancy. They were a mindless horde bent on destruction. The bodies had to be completely crushed before they stopped moving, which took time. Another zombie would emerge from the ground while this was happening. If a knight was taken down, the zombies would pick up their weapon and use it against others.

"Why are they getting pushed back?" Ruiko asked Oriana desperately.

"For one the numbers," she answered. "They can replenish themselves as fast as we destroy them. Australia is a large continent with a long history, and plenty involved violence. We can't tell how long he had been gathering bodies for this moment, so we can't assume he will run out any time soon. The hail is also forcing us to act defensively. If we focus purely on offence, our back will get annihilated. Zombies are also durable, so they won't fall in one hit."

"Still," Zach mumbled. "The sudden turnaround was not expected. We knew and prepare for everything else."

"Adam raised his hands," Touma spoke up and pointed toward him. "His hands are still raised, look. As soon as he changed his posture, the flow of the fight changed." Zach and Oriana exchanged a look.

"You don't think…," Oriana muttered.

"Moses and the Amalekites?" Zach muttered back and she nodded. "I'll pass that information on to George." He rushed off into the army while Touma and Ruiko turned toward Oriana.

"Amalekites?" they asked together.

"When Moses led the Israelites from Egypt, they came across a group called the Amalekites," Oriana explained to them. "This group was violent and attacked the Israelites many times. During one battle, Moses was standing on a hill looking down at his people. He noticed something strange. When he had his hands raised, the Israelites were winning, when he lowered them, the Amalekites started to win. Naturally, he kept his hands up, but he was human. Fatigue eventually made him lower his arms. It was then others helped hold his arms up so the Israelites could win. While most of the Israelites believed the fight was won with their own strength, they were being infused with divine power." She looked over at Adam. "He's using magic, but his mana is such a warped version of Christianity, it is hard to decipher exactly what he is doing. I don't believe God would let him use divine power, so Adam must be using his own vast mana to supplement that power. Though, this is Adam we are talking about. He could have the knowledge to access it."

"So we have to knock him off the hill or get him to lower his arms?" Touma asked.

"Yep," Oriana confirmed. "That is easier said than done. Most range attacks are not strong enough for him to even flinch, let alone knock him down, and his zombies prevent our ground troops from moving forward."

"Adam really planned ahead," Ruiko muttered and flinched at the explosion when some of the hail fell nearby.

"He has been predicting all of our movements," Touma said through gritted teeth. "We are being manipulated for their goals."

"Which is why we can't let him escape this time," Oriana told them. "We can't give him time to keep planning. I'm running low on spells, so I'm in the reserve just like you." She looked at Touma. "I was never good at endurance battles. We leave that to the knights."

"Hey, Kamijou," a girl called out suddenly. Touma turned and saw Agnese rushing toward him.

"Agnese? Good to see-…" He was interrupted when she grabbed his arm and started pulling him after her.

"No time to talk," she said and continued walking. "We need you near the front."

"Wait!" Ruiko called out. "He's still injured."

"I already know," Agnese admitted and hesitated for a fraction of a second. "But this is the Princess's orders. We need his hand to reach Adam and win this."

"It's fine, Ruiko," Touma called over his shoulder to reassure her. "I'll be fine. They are professionals." Ruiko didn't look entirely convinced, but there wasn't much she could do. Oriana even put a hand on her shoulder to prevent her from speaking out again. Touma followed Agnese, as they weaved through the army. The sounds of metal banging, shouting, cries of pain, and cursing echoed all around him, but Touma kept his focus on making his way through to the location Agnese was taking him. It looked like they were heading into the center area, where Touma guessed Carissa was waiting for him. His instincts were spot on when he saw her mane of blonde hair.

"We're here," Agnese announced when she and Touma drew near.

"You may go back to your position," Carissa told her. "While I explain the situation to him." Agnese nodded, gave Touma a look with a combination of wishing him luck and nervousness, and then headed off into the army. Carissa whispered something to two nearby knights and they rushed off in different directions. "When the time comes, George and Amelia will order an all out charge against Adam. Do you know why we can't waste time on attrition warfare?" She was obviously speaking to Touma now, even if she didn't look at him. Her eyes were focused on the brawl ahead of her.

"Because," Touma responded and his thoughts turned back to what Oriana told him. "As long as Adam is standing on that hill and holding his arms up, his army will be winning."

"Correct," Carissa said with a smirk and finally turned toward him. "I'm planning to use a trick we prepared for a situation like this. It will give all of our forces a short burst of strength to assault Adam's position."

"Okay," Touma said slowly. "But why did you summon me here? Won't I get in the way of the spell? I thought that was why I was in the back."

"I am adapting to change," Carissa explained curtly. "Your hand may be essential to breaking through any surprises Adam has prepared if we do close in on him." She eyed the white cloth wrapped around Touma's arm. "Will your injuries pose a problem?"

"I feel fine," Touma reassured her. "Whatever this wrapping is, it set my broken arm up instantly." He moved it to show her. "I just have to avoid the pulse and it should be fine."

"Pulse? When you extend your hand's range?"

"Oh," Touma said and realized he never really explained it to her. "I can extend the range of my hand around me for an instant. The downside is I can't negate anything for two seconds afterwards. Adam called it something… the Roar, I believe."

"I should have remembered something as useful as that a lot earlier," Carissa chastised him irritably. "That ability could have been used on a few things." She shook her head. "Anyway, because you need to be prepared to break though Adam's defenses, we have to place you near the front. The reason you are next to me is so I can coordinate the spell to avoid you, so your hand can't interfere. The spell will affect the rest of my troops, but skip pass us." She pulled out her radio. "You may not even be needed if this works out, but this is Adam we are facing. We have to be prepared for everything." She turned the radio on. "Are you ready?"

"Amelia here, ready to go on your signal."

"George here, flags are ready."

 _Flags?_ Touma thought he might have misheard with all the sounds of battle around him.

"On my signal, reveal the Conqueror's Flags," Carissa said into the radio and disconnected. "Give them a moment to relay my order," she muttered, more to herself than Touma.

"What are these flags?" Touma asked.

"Remember how powerful the knights were in England?" she asked and he nodded. "The Conqueror's Flags are my own invention. It allows us to temporarily use the power of Curtana, even outside of the United Kingdom. Only in short bursts, so the timing has to be perfect. Each flag only affects a small area and lasts for at most a minute. In order for this charge to succeed, we are placing them periodically throughout my forces. I don't want you standing within range of any of them because I'm not exactly sure how your hand would react to the surge of Telesma."

"Why tell me all this?" Touma asked. He had been wandering about this for a while. Carissa was telling him a lot more then she used to. Before, it had been only what she needed to say to get him to talk. Now she was actually explaining everything. It was almost like she was training him in military procedures. "Normally, you would just tell me when to move."

"I almost considered that approach," admitted Carissa. Her eyes still focused on the fighting in front of her. She was obviously waiting for the right moment. "However, you have shown you are able to think strategically to a degree. By withholding information, you will most likely act in a way based on what you know and what you could infer based on what you have seen. If I tell you what is happening, you won't act stupidly and rush off on your own. Plus, this knowledge may come in useful if you ever work with me again."

"Do you believe we will have to work together in the future?" Touma asked surprised.

"Eve is still out there," Carissa pointed out. "Why? Do you dislike working alongside me?"

"It's kind of…" Touma paused as he thought of the right word. "Exhausting?" For a moment, Carissa's eyes flickered toward him and his stiffened. He wasn't sure how she would react.

"I suppose that's fair," Carissa finally spoke and Touma relaxed a hair. "I heard worse. Of course, they immediately regretted their words afterwards." Touma shivered. She held up her radio and scanned the front lines. "Deploy all the Conqueror's Flags, now!" Touma immediately glanced around in hopes of seeing what one looked like. Periodically throughout the army, flags were raised high above the troops. Touma recognized the red crosses on the blue and white background as the United Kingdom's flag. He had spent a week in England after all and learned quite a bit at a couple museums. The flags seemed to be a beacon of hope and Touma thought it was to inspire moral, along with granting them Curtana's power. When they suddenly exploded into flames, Touma jumped.

"I thought it was supposed to grant your troops Curtana's Telesma," Touma gasped. "Did Adam stop it?"

"All troops charge!" Carissa yelled into her radio before lowering it and turning to Touma. "Follow me and do not get separated." She began to rush forward and Touma had to run to keep up with her. "The flags exploded because they can't handle the transfer of Telesma for very long," Carissa explained. "It's why when we use them, we have to move immediately." Several knights and nuns parted to let them pass. "As of right now, my knights are now as strong as if they were standing in England." She gestured to the front line and Touma understood immediately.

Adam's zombies, which had been pushing England's army back, were now be blown away by the sudden surge of knights. Agnese's forces were part of the church and not the knights' organization, so they were not empowered by the Telesma. Instead, they moved aside and focused on long range attacks until the power wore off. The knights began to plow through the risen corpses Adam had desecrated and continued to close the distance to him. Carissa and Touma followed, but remained behind a solid wall of troops in case the zombies had a trick up their sleeves. Even with Telesma, as long as Adam managed to keep his arms up, they couldn't guarantee victory. Several explosions went off to the right and Touma was actually relieved.

 _I'm pretty sure that was Frenda,_ Touma thought. _The knights might have explosives, but they don't use it as their main attack._ In thirty seconds, they had covered over half of the distance to Adam. As long as the Telesma held, Touma believed they could reach him. This gave him a sliver of hope, but he had to keep his focus on the goal. Overconfidence was not needed right now. Adam already proved that he knew what they were capable of. It was entirely possible he had prepared something for this situation. As if answering Touma's thoughts, the sky above them roared. Instead of lightning, flames started to erupt out of the clouds. The hail had stopped, but that was only an ominous sign. The jets of flames from the clouds kept growing larger and seemed to be reaching down further and further. Touma suddenly shivered. He knew something was about to happen. "We need to fall back!" Touma shouted to Carissa over the roar of the fire above them and the battle in front.

"What are you talking about, boy?" Carissa asked skeptically, but she turned towards him.

"Adam's planning something!"

"How do you know?"

"I…don't," Touma admitted. "It's just a feeling, but Adam has been predicting our moves so far. I'm sure he knew this would happen and has a trap set up."

"You want me to order a retreat when we are so close to striking him down at last?" Carissa asked him and her voice turned cold. "If you are wrong, this could mean more of my men will die and we could possibly lose this battle entirely."

"I know," Touma agreed. "But I'm positive Adam is up to something."

Carissa stared at him for a fraction of a second, yet many thoughts were being processed in her mind. Right now, her forces were closing in on Adam and the Telesma would not last much longer from the Conqueror's Flags. If she pulled them back, they wouldn't be able to do this again, as they used up the remaining flags. The number of men sacrificed would be huge in trying to push back against his forces. However, if Touma was right and Adam was indeed planning something, she would suffer huge losses, maybe even losing her entire army. Retreat and try to keep fighting, or press forward and try to end the battle quickly. Those were her choices. Carissa had always been one to press the advantage when attacking and her instincts told her to finish this now. The only thing that caused her hesitation was the boy's feeling that Adam was up to something. The choice should have been clear, but one question was weighing the most on her mind.

 _How much do I trust the boy?_

The choice should have been easy. Carissa had always trusted in herself. Her plans always worked out, especially in Military matters, until she met him. Touma had always exceeded expectations and predictions, and it cost her Curtana Original. She should have hated him for that, but he even admitted he did it to save everyone, including her. All the skills she had accumulated over the years could not have predicted that. She grabbed her radio and held it up to her mouth, aware several nearby knights and a couple nuns were looking at her and waiting for the order. She could only see the expressions on the nuns' faces and they had a combination of determination and shock. While they were surprised at her conversation with Touma, they were prepared to follow either order. Carissa fully intended to order her troops to press the attack with everything they had.

"All troops," Carissa ordered into the radio. "Fall back!"

"What?!" The sounds of several shocked voices were head simultaneously on the line. Carissa even shocked herself. The words seemed to have come from someone else entirely when she said them.

"Did I stutter!?" she demanded. "All troops, fall back. Shield brigade, advance and cover the retreat. Start off with 200 meters and hold for further orders!" Her eyes glanced around as her entire army began to move in the opposite direction. She glared at Touma, who gulped.

"Thank you for trusting me," he told her.

"Understand this could jeopardize everything."

"I will take full responsibility."

"Those will be fine words on your epitaph." Touma gulped. He and Carissa hadn't moved much, but everyone else had. They were retreating as fast as they could, when something happened that removed the doubt from everyone's mind about her order. The sky above them roared to life and the red inferno intensified. The clouds began to spiral and then an enormous tornado made of bright reddish-orange flames shot down.

It impacted where the army would have been moments ago.

The red and orange inferno instantly disintegrated the zombies who were trying to follow them. It didn't stop and moved in a line between the armies. Only a wide trail of scorched earth and a wall of flames were left in its wake. The flames were obviously magically maintained, as there was nothing to burn that would cause the wall to reach easily twenty meters high. Another tornado fell from the sky and left a second trail and then a third. Both armies were now separated by several walls of flames.

"My God," Touma heard someone muttered.

"We were about to be caught in that."

 _That boy saved us,_ Carissa thought in shock. If they had kept up the momentum, most of their army would have been wiped out. Because she had followed Touma's instinct so quickly, it was Adam's forces that were burned away by the fire from the sky. The flames barely reached the front lines of troops, but the heat was much greater than normal fire could every produce. If it wasn't for their magical defenses and the wall of shield troops, some of the knights and nuns would have been scorched. Carissa could feel the heat on her face from several rows back. She was vaguely aware of the many shouts and sighs of relief, along with admiration for their leaders, who the troops believed were responsible for detecting the trap. _If they only knew a boy, with no magical ability, was able to sense the trap everyone else missed. A tornado from the sky and creating a wall of flames, that sounds like Adam is using this to buy time. God used it against the Egyptians to let Moses and the Israelites cross the sea._ She turned to where Touma had been, when she noticed he was gone. "Where did the boy go?!" she demanded. One person pointed and she turned to see Touma running.

He was heading directly to the wall of flames.

"You idiot!" Carissa yelled at him, but he ignored her. _He's going to pay for that._ "Stop him!" she shouted at a couple of the knights. They were too slow and Touma slipped between the last row of soldiers.

 _It's so hot!_ The thought passed through Touma's head as he ran between the knights. He hadn't even reached the wall of fire and the heat was suffocating. He heard Carissa yell at him to stop, but he ignored her and kept going. _I'm going to regret that later._ When a knight reached for him, he ducked under the arm and kept running. The heat continued to increase as he closed in on the wall. He reached out his right hand and touched the fire. The sound of breaking glass went off and a segment of the fire wall disappeared. The entire wall did not vanish, which meant whatever magic was being used had either different lines of mana, or several minor spells were being cast to replicate the effect. All that mattered to Touma was the wall was magical. The smoke entered his nostrils and he almost gagged, but he choked it down.

Thankfully, the tornado infernos had destroyed the zombies in his path. There was a short opening of burnt ground and then another wall of fire. Touma negated the second one without even slowing down. Behind this one, there were two of Adam's zombies. One of them had their entire left side burnt away, but it started walking toward him. The other one was more in one piece and was faster. Touma held out his hand and made contact with the zombie. The zombie disappeared in a cloud of dust with the sound of breaking glass. Touma repeated the process and ran toward the final wall. This wall disappeared as easy as the others and Touma stepped through it. The flames behind him closed up again and Touma gulped.

 _If I can knock Adam off the hill, we can win. I doubt I can do that alone, but I can at least force him to lower his arms._ This was the only opportunity he had to do this. Adam had planned for Carissa's forces to swarm toward his location and use the fire tornados to wipe them out. Because they had retreated and Adam's army followed them, his army was the one that was decimated by the attack. Touma figured there had to have been some kind of delay between targeting and the actual attack. Because Adam's army was in tatters, the three walls of fire were most likely designed to hold the army back while he replenished his. Touma only had a small window of opportunity to take advantage of this. He could see more people already emerging from the cracks.

"Adam!" Touma yelled as he jumped over several hands and kept charging forward. "I've come to stop this!" He finally reached the bottom of the hill Adam was standing on and looked up. There were actually a lot of zombies still standing behind the third wall, but they had separated to the sides and let him pass. _I should be relieved I don't have to fight them, but the fact Adam is letting me near is more worrisome._ He started to walk up the kill. _It's either a trap or he doesn't consider me a threat._

"Imagine Breaker," Adam finally acknowledged. "You are persistent. Stupid, but persistent. If you had turned around when our armies clashed, you could have survived."

"I thought you implied you knew how I think," Touma retorted and kept ascending the hill. "You know I won't leave a bunch of people in trouble."

"There was a small chance you could have learned from your past mistakes," Adam pointed out. He never lowered his hands. "Now you can watch your friends die one by one."

"I won't let that happen," Touma stated and started to move faster. He felt something grab his ankle and the force caused him to fall. He turned around and saw a hand sticking out of the ground. His right hand reached down instinctively and touched it, causing it to vaporize. Touma scrambled to his feet and kept making his way toward Adam. More hands emerged from the hill and Touma could not negate them fast enough. Numbers pulled him to the ground and the zombies began to pile on top of him. He couldn't raise his hand high enough to touch any of them when a hand held his arm down.

"Sit there and let me finish wiping out England's pathetic resistance," Adam told him. "I am actually going to enjoy it. They embraced the power of Michael, the monster who struck down my lord. It is only fitting I strike them down."

"You can't let go of a grudge," Touma growled, as he struggled against the bodies of the deceased. "Can you?"

"I'm only human," Adam replied and there was the slightest trace of regret in his voice. It was a reminder to him and Touma of who he really was. Touma couldn't move, but he had one ace up his sleeve. The downside is he would not be in shape to fight Adam. The walls of fire behind him began to fade and he had to make up his mind now, or the armies would clash once more. Before he could decide, the familiar roaring sound of an engine echoed over the battlefield.

Touma glanced up and saw two jet planes making their way toward them, along with a dozen of smaller vehicles closer to the ground.

* * *

 _About time,_ Carissa thought to herself, as she saw the approaching aircrafts. As soon as George reported St. Peter had been defeated, they passed a message onwards to Academy City using a radio empowered by magic. Even though this was England's mission, Academy City had been working with them behind the scenes. It was how they were able to take Touma out of the city without incident and how they monitored the situation using Academy City's satellites. St. Peter's Anti-Flight spell was what caused some of Academy City's earlier scouting planes to crash. Carissa had been told until that issue was resolved, they would not receive air support. A female in Academy City told her it would take time for help to arrive, but Carissa did not believe that. She knew they had aircrafts lying in wait. Eve and Adam had been a threat to both of their groups.

Two jets flew down under the clouds. Ever since the tornados came down, the inferno in the clouds had been disappearing. _They must have run out of mana or time._ This allowed the jets to enter the airspace without worrying about being hit. Carissa narrowed her eyes and used magic to examine the jets from a distance. They were not passenger jets. She smiled when she saw them. _Bombers._ Adam's army was about to have an unpleasant surprise. The jets' engines roared loudly as they flew over both groups. Small canisters rained down all around Adam's hill, but were accurate enough to avoid any casualties on England's side.

A barrage of explosions went off all over Adam's forces. The ground shook from the impact and the zombies were blown into pieces, before eventually crumbling into dust. Adam's army had been prepared to fight against ground forces, not air. Without long range magicians, they were vulnerable to being bombarded. If Adam dealt with them, he would be forced to turn his attention away from using his victory spell, which would allow Carissa's forces to reach him. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. The walls of fire finally disappeared, thanks to the efforts of the Agnese forces, and there was only one command left.

"All troops, forward!"

* * *

Frenda was unsure how she felt about this whole fiasco. She was able to blow up countless people without any repercussions. Even though they were zombies, they still had the appearance of humans. The issues she faced were with the numbers, who she worked with, and her supplies. Frenda was not use to fighting an army. Her previous experience dealt with assassinations and security against small groups. Her next issue was with the knights. Frenda was a mobile fighter who specialized in explosives and hand-to-hand combat. With the knights forming a wall, she couldn't move around like she wanted to. Her explosives also had to be thrown far enough away to avoid actually hitting her allies. All and all, it was a very frustrating situation. The numbers were also a problem because she had a limited number of explosives. She mainly used them when a large group of the zombies grouped up, but she had to act conservatively.

She had been surprised when one knight raised a flag near her. The act of raising moral seemed kind of pointless now. However, one of the nuns reassured her the flag would give the knights strength. _I can't understand these muscle heads. Not that I want to._ Frenda admitted she had to eat her words a moment later. The flags had burst into flames and the knights suddenly found their second wind. They started to blow apart the zombies with strength and speed several times greater than they had before. Frenda was a little irritated they didn't do this in the first place, but she accepted there was probably some trick to it. Magic seemed to focus on details more than abilities back in Academy City. Right when it seemed they were about to reach Adam, Frenda received a huge surprise.

The retreat order had been given.

This pissed her off immensely. Their goal was right in front of their eyes and now they were being forced to run away. _There better be a good reason for this._ Frenda was used to following orders though and retreated without a verbal complaint. She didn't want to try to stay and get swarmed by an army of zombies by herself anyway. There was always a reason for unusual orders like this and a moment later she saw why. The tornados of fire emerging from the inferno boiling up in the clouds would have wiped them all out. It was situations like that, learned from working with Shizuri, which taught her to follow those kinds of orders. Then the jets arrived and she grinned when she recognized the bombers from Academy City. Adam's forces began to get blown apart by the barrage and that was before the second wave of reinforcements arrived.

Academy City had sent a dozen or so FIVE_Overs, specifically, the Modelcase_"RAILGUN."

 _Looks like Academy City is finally joining the fight. Basically, I should have remembered they were working with England. At least they brought the big guns._ The FIVE_Overs resembledfive meter-long praying mantises. They had two arms, two legs, and two sickles that could fold if needed to help it stand up. Translucent wings spread out from the armor. The wings used ultrasonic waves to mix the air around the body to create an air flow that had a whirlpool-like effect. This created more buoyancy, which allowed it to fly with smaller wings than what would usually be required. A large cylinder-like storage container, used to hold lots of shells, rested on its back. There was also a shield on the front side of each of its front legs, with an artificial weapon placed between those shields. The main weapons were two three-barrel Gatling railguns. It was a power suit used to replicate Mikoto's Railgun, hence the name.

The FIVE_Overs could be piloted manually or by AI. Frenda could not tell which one this time without the suits opening up. The FIVE_Overs couldn't compete with supersonic fighters built to fly at high altitudes. They were made to attack ground targets, so they were limited to flying above the ground like an attack helicopter. Which was actually perfect in this case, as Adam and his army were all planted firmly on the ground. _If I remember right, they can shoot accurately up to a thousand meters. At the speed they are traveling, they should be firing any second._ Adam was out in the open and Frenda was looking forward to Adam being shredded into pieces. When Carissa finally gave the charge order, Frenda was ecstatic. The FIVE_Overs would crush Adam and all his forces near him from the sky and then the knights could rush him. That is when she finally saw Touma.

 _That idiot! He's right in the middle of the target zone!_

* * *

Leivinia and Lessar were also in the front lines. Lessar had lost her weapon when Adam shattered it with his bare hands, so she was stuck mimicking the spells of the Agnese forces. Besides some long range illusion spells, she didn't have a lot of experience with this. Of course, she was taught a few basic spells last night, but she was not accustomed to them. It was like using a sword when you are used to an axe. You could use the weapon, but it would be awkward and clumsy. Leivinia was under no such limitation and kept alternating between fire, wind, earth, and water attacks. Her weapon would keep changing shape based on which one was needed. Other than having to work around the clumsy knights, this battle was nothing unusual to her. Even the Conqueror's Flag was nothing that new to her, though Lessar took a moment to figure out the trick behind it. When they heard the retreat, both were slightly confused.

 _Aren't we winning?_ Lessar thought. _Why fall back now?_

 _Damn it,_ Leivinia growled internally. _Who messed up now?_

Neither regretted the order when the tornados fell from the sky and starting burning everything in their path. _So the Princess knew this was coming, impressive,_ Leivinia thought. Lessar's thought process was a lot simpler.

 _Thank god we didn't run into that._

The walls of fire left behind prevented them from seeing anything past it, but they did witness a lot of the zombies get roasted into dust. The main army couldn't continue forward until the walls were taken down. All of the nuns were working as fast as they could, so Leivinia and Lessar added their knowledge to the task. They located Agnese and managed to develop a spell that started to dissolve the wall. Once they worked out the specifics, they spread it to the remaining nuns and the finally managed to take down the walls. Then Academy City finally decided to join the fight. They watched the jets bombard the remaining zombies while a dozen smaller aircraft drew close.

 _Those are weird shaped crafts,_ Leivinia thought to herself, while Lessar just looked confused. Leivinia had more knowledge with advanced technology than she did, but even she didn't know what they were capable of. _I might have to investigate what Academy City has been crafting in case we need to borrow it later._ She shook her head when Carissa gave the charge order. _Another time then._

* * *

Many repeating earsplitting booms went off as the FIVE_Overs began to open fire.

The zombies were blow into pieces with absolutely no resistance. The remains might have crumbled into dust if they didn't dissolve from the energy of the rapid firing railguns. Flesh and bones, plus whatever magical defenses they might have had, were no match for Academy City's latest technology. Simultaneously, the knights were taking out the waves closest to them. Since the FIVE_Overs were up in the air and shooting downwards, as long as they didn't shoot too close, they wouldn't hit Carissa's forces. Once Adam's forces were thinned out, the FIVE_Overs turned their attention to Adam. Half of them fired directly at him and Adam was forced to take notice.

He lowered his hands and a white mist surrounded his body.

The railgun bullets hit the mist and bent to the side, away from his body.

Touma, who was on the side of the hill and being held down by several corpses, could not cover his ears. Each boom was deafening and kept getting louder as the FIVE_Overs approached. The zombies didn't seem to care and kept holding him down while the hill was slowly being torn apart by the blasts. Touma lowered his head to avoid any shrapnel from hitting him, but he kept looking up towards the fight. He could see the top half of Adam, who had a hand out to his side, with a white ball of mist forming in it. Adam's head followed one of the FIVE_Overs and then threw the white ball with a flick of his wrist. The ball flew much faster than it should have and connected with the FIVE_Overs in midflight. It stopped firing and the metal aircraft suddenly looked brown, almost like it had completely rusted. It kept moving forward from its previous momentum, but also began to fall because of gravity. It crashed into the ground and exploded in a burst of flames. Metal debris pieces flew in every direction.

"Seems like Aleister might not be to found of me," Adam said. "His toys have certainly improved." He created another white ball out of the mist and used it to take down one more FIVE_Over.

 _It almost looks like Adam is causing them to rust,_ Touma thought. _He wields death, and he did mention all things will pass at some point. Maybe his magic is causing them to age and break apart because they can't die like living things._ Another three FIVE_Overs were downed by Adam's magic. The sounds of battle behind him were also drawing closer. _I have to hurry while Adam is distracted, or he will turn his attention to the others._ He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. _This is going to hurt like hell._ Another explosion went off as another FIVE_Over was knocked out of the sky. Touma was prepared to use this, but that didn't mean he had to enjoy it. He focused and felt his hand pulse and then give off light. The pressure holding him down disappeared as the zombies vanished, and then came the downside.

The cloth binding his arm and rib fell off.

The pain returned almost instantly, especially in his arm. He had been warned the cloth would regenerate his wounds, not outright heal them. He reached down with his right hand and pushed himself up, careful not to put any pressure on his bruised rip or broken arm. His arm was at least still aligned, so there wasn't a bump under his skin. He would prefer to keep it that way. He looked up and shielded his face with his arm as another barrage of railguns were fired at Adam. Dirt and rocks were thrown everywhere as the bullets tore into the earth mounds when they were being diverted against Adam's shield. Touma knew how dangerous this was going to be.

 _Those guns will tear me apart if I get hit,_ he thought nervously. _My hand won't be able to protect me._ His eyes narrowed and he stepped forward. Adam was turned away from him. _He's not looking. It's now or never. Please let Academy City's technology be able to process I am not an enemy._ He charged when the rain of bullets stopped for a brief moment. He only had to cover twenty or so meters and he had the element of surprise on his side. With all the noise surrounding them, there was no way Adam should be able to hear him coming. Touma was only a couple steps away when Adam began to turn. For the first time, there was actually a modicum amount of surprise in his eyes. Touma drew back his fist and flung it forward.

The sound of glass shattering echoed from on top of the hill, as Touma made contact with the side of Adam's face.

The white mist shield was blown away from Touma's hand and the force sent Adam stumbling forward. He lost balance and began to tumble down the hill. Once he was about half way down, the FIVE_Overs began to open fire again. Touma was forced to cover his ears with his hand as the sound shook his head. He turned away in a combination of horror and disgust. Adam's body was being torn apart by the railguns and Touma began to feel vomit arise in his throat. Adam had to be stopped, but Touma did not want to kill him. _There had to be another way to end this. We stopped the battle in England without resorting to kill Carissa. Why could we not have done it here?_ The barrage of bullets finally died down and Touma saw his allies closing in out of the corner of his eye. A form arrived next to him and he felt a vicelike grip on his shoulder. The red armor and blonde hair told him who it was.

"Sorry about ignoring your order," Touma apologized immediately.

"I will overlook it this time," Carissa told him. "Because you produced results and you saved my forces from utter destruction." Her eyes narrowed as she watched the knights wipe out the last few zombies and start circling around the hill. The FIVE_Overs hovered nearby. Their pilots, who were either AI or remote controlled based on the fact no human body was found in the crashed ones, were not firing as long as Carissa's troops were in range. She glanced down at the shredded corpse of Adam and then toward Touma. "Your bandages came off. You need to replace them or your wound is going to get worst."

"They hurt like hell," Touma admitted. "But I think my bones are still aligned."

"Either way," Carissa told him. "We should get you to a medic. Can't have the MVP of the battle die on us." He looked up at her in surprise. "What? I give credit where credit is due." A moment later, George and Amelia showed up on the hill and a quick glance gave them the story.

"He's been defeated?" George asked.

"Looks like it," Amelia muttered. "That was a hell of a fight. Good call on the retreat order Princess."

"The boy was the one who noticed the trap," Carissa replied and crossed her arms. "I only made the call." Amelia's eyes widened in surprise. George looked stunned for a moment and then burst out laughing.

"Well done," he said and slapped Touma hard on the back. In his weakened state, Touma began to fall forward. It was only thanks to George's quick reflexes that allowed him to grab Touma's shirt and hold him up. "Sorry boy, forgot you would be tuckered out after that round."

"No problem," Touma gasped. The slap had hurt quite a bit. "Please don't do it again."

"Sweep the area for any other surprises," Carissa ordered. "Make sure there are no other surprises, and then we will take his body…" Touma stopped listening after that. His eyes fell on Adam's corpse again.

 _Why do I feel this isn't over,_ he thought to himself. The fight could not have been considered easy. Countless people had been injured, including him. _It's kind of… unsatisfying. Things just fell into place too easily. I'm glad he's beaten, but it was too simple for a finale. Even if he let down his guard, he shouldn't have fallen to a punch. I know he was stronger and faster than me._ Touma stared at the corpse. Something was bothering him about it. Then it hit him.

There was no blood.

The corpse was just flesh and bone, no liquid. Touma's eyes widened. For a moment, he thought the guy they had been fighting was a construct or decoy meant to take the brunt of their attacks. If this was true, that means Adam was either hiding from them or long gone. Both options were frightening. Adam had escaped from the entire army. He opened his mouth to tell Carissa, when he saw something move. It was slight, but something definitely moved. He stared at the corpse and then he started to panic. "Adam's still alive!" Carissa, Amelia, and George all turned including the nearby knights and nuns.

Adam's corpse began to rise.

Dark murky mud began to flow out of his wounds. The mud twisted into all the missing body parts. As the outline of Adam began to form, the corpse continued to rise. Once the mud was in place, it hardened and began to crack. The dried dirt flaked off and left smooth skin and cloth behind. Adam was reforming out of the earth itself. He flexed an arm and then shot a beam of light at two of the FIVE_Overs. Instead of turning brown and falling, they turned into dust. Adam's head then began to grow from his torso.

"God made the first man from dirt," Carissa muttered. "But this is insane." She grabbed her radio. "Do not consider Adam human anymore. He has begun to regenerate. We need to break him apart and find a way to stop him from returning." George and Amelia drew their weapons and stepped forward.

"You fought well," Adam's voice came out of the churning mud a moment before he finished reforming. The dirt dried out and a breeze blew the dust away. "However, play time is at an end. I have other things I need to be doing." He took a step forward and the ground beneath him rippled violently. Shockwaves ran through the earth and blew back the first couple rows of knights. White light flew from his hands at the FIVE_Overs in rapid succession. They didn't even get a chance to try to dodge in response. The shockwave hit the small hill Touma and the others were standing on and it began to shake, right before it started collapsing. It didn't fall like when they first arrived, it just leveled out, but Touma could not keep to his feet. If it wasn't for Carissa grabbing on to him, he would have fallen.

A cloud of dust filled his lung and blocked his sight.

"Ack," Touma coughed violently before the dust finally cleared. He rubbed his eyes and opened them to see Adam about ten meters away with a hand raised toward him.

"Your usefulness has been outweighed by your meddling," Adam told him. "Only death awaits you." His hand began to glow.

"Protect him!" Carissa yelled. George and Amelia jumped in front of Touma with their shields raised.

"Futile," Adam commented, slightly bored. "Die together then."

 _Crack!_

The sound of earth breaking from behind Adam could be heard for a moment.

"Who dares interfere!?" Adam demanded. George and Amelia lowered their shields in shock and Touma peaked around them. The light around Adam's hand had faded, but that wasn't what drew Touma's attention.

A flaming sword was sticking out of Adam's chest.

"You told me once miracles would not work against you," a mildly amused voice remarked. Adam twisted his head around to see who had stabbed him. A young man with a lanky physique, golden eyes, fiery red hair, and a red suit was standing behind him. His expression was calm, but his eyes seemed to be cold and calculating. A large red hand was sticking out of the man's shoulder. It could barely be called a hand, as it looked more like a malformed giant bird talon. "So I carefully set up a plan to take advantage of your moment of weakness. I only had to devise a spell to hide my presence underground and wait."

"Fiamma," Adam growled, showing a trace of emotion.

"You did well Princess," the man turned and addressed Carissa directly. "Pushing him this far was definitely not an easy task."

"Who are you?" Carissa asked coldly.

"How rude of me. I am Fiamma of the Right and I have come to remove this evil that has plagued this land." The flames on the sword grew brighter and slightly paler. Adam's body was slowly being devoured by them. "Adam can't be killed with normal methods. With my Holy Right and the flaming sword that symbolizes the Sword of God, I will end this the same way Lucifer was struck down by Michael." The flames continued to grow and Adam's entire body was engulfed.

"Bastard," Adam whispered. "I… will… return." The flames disappeared and only a few specks of dust fell to the ground. The sword disappeared, but the bird shaped claw attached to the man didn't. Touma didn't know why, but he had a feeling this man was not friendly, even if he had helped them.

"I should thank you I suppose," Carissa said and took a couple steps forward. "But I'm more interested in why the Roman Catholic Church sent a member of God's Right Seat here." Her sword was still clutched tightly in her hand.

 _Roman Catholic Church and God's Right Seat?_ Touma thought. _Oh crap, this could be bad. Please let him be on our side._

"Our job is to rid the world of evil," Fiamma explained passively. "Adam was a threat to us all. Without me, your forces would have been killed."

"Don't give me that," Carissa replied curtly. "You waited this long before showing yourself. Were you planning to let us wipe each other out?"

"I would have welcomed that gift," Fiamma admitted. "But there are two reasons. One, I waited until the perfect opportunity to strike him down. If he knew I was here, he would have taken precautions, being weakened by your constant assaults helped immensely. Two, he was a threat to my plans right then." Touma was confused at what Fiamma meant by that, but his question was answered a moment later.

"Princess," William warned and jumped up next to her. "That man is after the Imagine Breaker and will stop at nothing to acquire it."

"Aqua," Fiamma sighed and shook his head. "Or William, as you go by now. You had to speak up. This could have gone so much smoother without that comment." The red arm rose into the air.

"We are under attack by Fiamma of God's Right Seat," Amelia spoke into her radio. "All troops are ordered to engage. Take that bastard down!"

"Now we are going to have so many unnecessary deaths," Fiamma commented mildly and swung his third arm. "Hard way it is."

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Jason: So are we going to just stay back here and let those three hog the TV?**

 **Pierce: Do you really wanted to interrupt three of the strongest members of Kami-yan's harem?**

 **Accelerator: They are not bothering me, so why should I care?**

 **Kazari: They didn't say much since Kamijou-san fell from the statue.**

 **Motoharu: Because I'm sure Kami-yan's declaration won't come back to bite him at all.**

 **Pierce: Shame we can't use that line when we show up again, imagine the fun.**

 **Jason: We are going to have plenty of chances. They should be leaving Australia once this fight is settled and then we have the raffle.**

 **Pierce: He will be punished for daring to have all those girls when I can't get one!**

 **Accelerator: I'm just going to be there because Fukiyose will annoy me if I don't.**

 **Motoharu: It's definitely not to see Kami-yan's face when he sees how many girls are trying to win. Huh, huh?**

 **Accelerator: Shut up.**

 **Kazari: Did you guys set this up just to try to embarrass him?**

 **Motoharu: You have been dating Kagere for how long and have to ask that?**

 **Jason: I hide our more… extensive… antics from her… ow, fine. Yes and no. We always have ulterior motives, but we have to enjoy ourselves.**

 **Pierce: It's all part of our master plan for him to finally realize what has been happening all around him.**

 **Kazari: Oh… I feel I may have heard too much.**

 **Pierce: There's no escape now.**

 **Accelerator: You had to keep asking questions.**

 **Oh, two more chapters till 100!**


	99. S4 Battle for Australia: Fiamma

**Well, it's been several chapters, but the Australia arc is finally coming to an end. This chapter ends our hero's adventure in the deserted wasteland of, and I quote, Satan's Armpit. Definitely nothing will come of the adventure here and definitely no events will transpire that follows him back to Academy City. Definitely no deaths either. Definitely. I'll stop here, because I don't want to spoil anything. Side note, only one more chapter to hit the magical 100. Now, I want to give a quick opinion about NT18. I loved learning about the past through flashbacks, but I kind of felt a lot of information was presented without a full detailed description about it. Just a personal opinion and I still liked it. However, reading it made me believe Kamachi reads a lot of fanfiction. (A few people I talked to can see why I believe this.) He started mentioning Australia and Canada out of nowhere. I mean, what other group possibly makes fun of those two countries more than us and reddit? Plus some of the wording made me believe he reads out work. Kamachi, if you read this, please put "#Canadalies" in the author note of NT19.**

 **Brosephg: What? Adam is the savior trying to defeat the big bad guy sitting on top of his throne. Touma is just being evil and forcing his ideals on others. You love spoiling things no, don't you? I knew you would join the dark side at some point.**

 **Simmering Teapot: Well, it was mentioned in an earlier chapter Michael's sword and power were effective against Adam. The battle will be similar in some ways, but different because there is no aerial fortress.**

 **wildarms13: Hah, back up against the Holy Right. Probably not useful. Wow, you really want Vento as part of the Harem? Her personality needs some work.**

 **Eurigos: I cannot read that comment without an accent on 'tweest'.**

 **general ironox: Nah, he touches one and Touma flips out. That is all it takes.**

 **Lord Bamus: Breaks are for generic harem protagonists. Real men fight all the time.**

 **Whwsms: I'll be honest about the catch with Touma not returning confessions. I was talking with someone else and they pointed it out. I had been planning to deal with it when he returned to Academy City, but the life and death situation kind of screamed, perfect timing. Many flags were raised last chapter, haha. Of course, nothing will happen in chapter 100. Nice cool down one so 101 can be season 5.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: While Carissa's mother would like her daughter to marry, they exist in a time where she can't really force her. Queen Elizard is a very perceptive person.**

 **Master Knight Trolling: Yeah, I realized that and changed wording slightly. I need to stop drinking when I write chapters because I forget what I write. I don't understand how people can memorize stories. You didn't expect Fiamma? At least 50% of people were predicting Fiamma's arrival at any moment. I was disappointed the dragon never actually bit Fiamma's third arm in the LN.**

 **Anon: I refuse to admit I laughed.**

 **Cyber dragonarmy: One of the fun things about writing in the index universe is magic. You could always go, it's magic deal with it, or you can explain it using historical information. Latter is more fun. There are a few small mentions of things.**

 **xaxiel1572: Nah, Fiamma never died, he chased off Adam. Touma in this story has made a lot more close friends and they have become part of his daily life. He wants to return back to a normal life, which they are a part of. He also wants everyone else to be happy, so that is why he goes out of his way to find a solution that saves them all. The others have also begun to enjoy the lifestyle, so they are more likely to think of that. A few of them may have obsession over friendship as a guiding emotion though.**

 **Guest: 1) I fixed some of them, but a few I wanted to leave as is. 2) Who knows? Maybe we will find out eventually when I introduce a few new characters at some point. 3) Nope, worked on Griffin Sky in England in the LN. 4) That is a good question. 5) Not sure if I will. While it would be fun to have a Halloween party, I don't really have any ideas for plot that would differentiate it from other Halloween stories.**

 **Ospimpisons: Darksouls is a good game for casual gamers.**

 **Salishious: Yeah, I changed it slightly when someone told me that while I was sober. Touma had a break and you know what happened? He caused a civil war. No more breaks for him. Maybe a nap, but no breaks. Oh, I can tell you that information Touma blurted out will never leave him. Spoiler: I don't know yet. I make this up as I go.**

 **MightyImpluse: 10032 would be an interesting girlfriend. She wouldn't understand a lot of basic interactions and probably go further than a first date should allow. Mikoto and Misaki would both agree instantly too.**

 **Guest13: That sounds about right.**

 **Chris: Huh, paranoia something will happen and his friends keep thinking he's going crazy. End of the week he's huddled in a corner muttering the universe is going to get him.**

 **Anon Guest: Not as funny if you stretched it out like that.**

 **Darksoul: I never been good at writing Index. Just can't get into that personality like I can with some of the others. Everyone has things they are good and bad at.**

 **Generation Zero: Yep, the body being destroyed was something I figured most people wouldn't see coming. They would assume a seal had been placed on it. If your theory is correct, you can understand why that certain number two lived. The way Adam was built and his tie to the world, there was really no way to beat him with their current group. That is why Fiamma returned. If a plan is good, there is no reason to change it. Why take the chance an enemy can get a lucky strike when all it takes to win is a dagger in the back? Fiamma's power is a kind of cheat code.**

 **anapaula25972016: There was going to be one magician who might have done something with demons. Norse gods of kind of been done already with Othinus' group. If I use them, it will be cannon characters. There are no end of good stories in religious texts when you want to make some magic.**

 **Handsomistic1: 1) It would probably make Touma look more human and hero like to most. Conquering your fear and moving forward. 2) I doubt Touma will ever get the answer to that question. 3) It's just Fiamma without an archangel, I'm sure they can handle it. 4) NT is getting to the main battle between magic and science. 5) I have. It's good to know my work inspired others to make their own. 6) I really hope the British Halloween is in season 3. Carissa and Lessar will be revealed to the casual Index fans.**

 **Maxmotem: Well, we saw a very small part of the IB in those flashbacks, though Aleister has some fun information in there. Blood rituals were something I was going to do, but now that is canon I have to update the explanations. Laura is just misunderstood.**

 **Jujudude: We will see if it comes to that. You pretty much described season 5. Go ahead and write it up for me and I'll modify it to fit the rest of the plot.**

 **vietnamese guy: Because for some reason there is only 24 hours in a day and I have to sleep.**

 **RPGPersona: Hey you caught up. I have been watching you slowly review with an essay after each chapter and been enjoying it. Everyone did hear his cry and they definitely won't let him regret it. Just because Jason and Kakine are obviously plotting something, doesn't mean they are plotting something. "Adam can just raise his hands in the air like he just don't care." It's comments like these is why I love to see your reviews. When will Adam return? Find out on the next exciting episodes.**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

George and Amelia were among the few who were able to react fast enough.

They raised their shields in front of Touma and Carissa, as Fiamma's third arm slashed the air horizontally.

The power of the Holy Right shattered their shields into countless pieces. Every knight and nun around Fiamma were blown backwards into the others. The last Five_Over exploded in midair and its parts rained down on all the troops behind it. Besides the impact from the physical bodies of the troops and vehicle parts hitting the ground, there were no other signs Fiamma did anything. The earth did not shake, dirt was not knocked into the air, and the air did not move. If it hadn't been for Touma actually seeing the movement with his own eyes, though it turned into just a blur from how fast it moved, he wouldn't have even known Fiamma attacked. The strike was an attack that could not be seen and therefore could not be countered. Touma didn't know if even his Imagine Breaker could have negated the attack if he had managed to raise it in time.

It was a strike that ended everything it touched.

This was the power of the Holy Right Fiamma wielded. It derived its power from the right hand, one of the most symbolic gestures in Christianity. Archangel Michael struck down Lucifer with the Sword of God in his right hand, the Son of God used his right hand to heal the sick, and the Bible was written with the right hand. Fiamma's hand was capable of replicating the power of all of those original acts of the right hand. His Holy Right was as strong as it needed to be. It simply defeated whatever it targeted with the precise amount of force required, no more no less. No amount of strength or defense could stop it. Any man or woman who stood before it was removed. If Amelia and George had not stepped in, Touma and Carissa would have been struck down.

 _It's like a cheat code in a video game,_ Touma thought when he saw how easily Fiamma defeated so many. _He has the 'defeat' option when facing an enemy._ A movement caught his eye and Touma barely saw the blur rushing out of the troops. William raised his giant mace and swung it down at Fiamma. Somehow, he had managed to retreat behind a row of shield knights to avoid being struck. He had once been a member of God's Right Seat and was the closest to understanding Fiamma's power out of anyone there. Fiamma's eyes moved slightly, but his cocky expression did not flicker for even an instant. The red hand struck against William's mace.

The mace exploded into millions of shards, which flew away into the distance.

"William," Fiamma said mockingly and slammed him down into the ground with his Holy Right. "You abandoned your position as a member of God's Right Seat. Then you took steps to remove the power that position granted you. You can't use the Divine Mother's Mercy and now your power is only at the level of a normal Saint. Had you kept the power, you might have been able to strike down Adam yourself. I never asked, but why did you throw everything away?"

"You are mistaken in your ideals," William answered. "And I found something more important to protect from people like you."

"Your country?"

"More than that."

"Our mission is to save the world," Fiamma told him. "You are focusing too much on a part of it. I will save everyone when I fix the problems that arose in God's design thanks to humans."

"You are a fool," William grunted.

"Shame you have gone soft," Fiamma sighed. He slammed his third arm down and knocked our William. Fiamma then looked up and saw the knights beginning to approach him again, weapons drawn. Mana permeated the air as the Anglican nuns began to chant and cast protective spells to try to defend against his attack. _They will never learn._ It didn't matter how much they strengthened the knights or how powerful their attacks were. The Holy Right would instantly adjust and use the exact force needed to destroy everything it touched. Distance also did not matter, as his strike could reach everything when used. He swung his Holy Right once more and hundreds of people were again blown away by an invisible force that could not be dodged. Fiamma smirked and raised it once more to remove the last shred of resistance.

"Stop it!" Touma yelled and stepped forward. Carissa was near him with her sword also raised. She had been momentarily stunned by Fiamma's power. Fiamma slowly turned his attention back to Touma, his arm frozen in midair.

"Imagine Breaker," Fiamma greeted. "This is our first real meeting. As I said, I am Fiamma of the Right, leader of God's Right Seat. I have come here for two reasons, one of which has been accomplished already. The other reason is for your hand."

"Shut up!" Touma yelled at him. "Enough about my hand! Why the hell are you involving so many people in this fight?! First Academy City when you sent Vento, then you sent William to England, and now this?! When will it be enough?!" The battle against Adam had just ended and now another monster appeared and began to wipe out all of England's forces. Touma had no idea if they were alive or dead, but most were not moving. Anger was welling up within him and threatening to burst.

"I suppose I should let you in on at least that much," Fiamma stated and looked around. "But not here. If we try to talk, the Princess's troops will only interfere."

"Heh," Carissa spat out. "You are not leaving this place alive. It's too great of an opportunity to take you down away from the protection of your church."

"I would not have revealed myself if I believed you had the power to resist me," Fiamma told her nonchalantly. "Still, I rather not be interrupted." His third arm moved above him and seemed to point up toward the sky with one of its talons. A loud crack echoed around them and the earth began to shake.

 _Not again,_ Touma thought. He first believed Fiamma was about to bury them all in the ground like Adam did, but that was not the case. A crack began to form in the earth on either side of them, about twenty meters away, right in front of the closest knights. The cracks began to lengthen around them in a perfect circle. As soon as the two cracks met, the ground shook again, this time more violently. Touma stumbled slightly, as the shockwave passed through him, and then he felt a familiar pressure, the sensation of moving against gravity. He glanced to his right and saw the troops begin to sink beneath the edge of the circle. His brain finally clicked.

Fiamma was causing the ground beneath them to rise.

"Not again!" Touma cried out this time, as the island floated high into the air. Only he, Fiamma, and Carissa were on it.

"Don't panic," Carissa ordered and held up her blade in the ready position. "It is what he wants." She never let her guard down against Fiamma.

"Clever girl," Fiamma laughed. "But you two are in way out of your league."

"Adam said similar things," Carissa replied with a shadow of a smirk. Fiamma's eyebrow twitched, but did not respond to her taunts. Instead, he turned to Touma.

"The hand you wield is a very special power that has existed long before your time," Fiamma told him. "And I plan to use it to save our world."

"Save?!" Touma retorted angrily. "All I have seen members of God's Right Seat do is attack innocent people! William actually protected more people after he left your group."

"You are not looking at the big picture," Fiamma pointed out. "You only see what is around you. While your actions are noble, they do nothing to fix the underlying problem."

"And you are?" Carissa asked sarcastically.

"Our world has begun to crumble," Fiamma explained without revealing any trace of irritation. "Something has distorted the Laws of Our World and allowed events to transpire that should not have been able to. I believe you experienced one Imagine Breaker, the event known as Angel Fall."

"When Archangel Gabriel materialized in the human world?" Touma asked and Carissa frowned.

"Exactly," Fiamma confirmed with a nod. "An angel should never have been able to be randomly pulled into our world, especially one of the four archangels."

"It was an accident," Touma said. "No one could have predicted it."

"No one, indeed. However, when Gabriel formed, it went by a different name, Mikhail. An archangel's name represents its role created by God. The fact Gabriel was able to give itself a new name meant the four archangels' elements were beginning to merge together. Did you not find it strange Vento's element belonged to Archangel Uriel, who reigns over Earth, but she used the element of Wind, which belongs to Archangel Raphael."

Touma could only stare at him slightly confused. He knew each member of God's Right Seat were aligned with a particular archangel, but his knowledge stopped there. Vento had indeed used wind attacks with her weapon and William focused on water type magic. He knew Gabriel aligned with water, after the Angel Fall incident he had a basic understand of one of the archangels. If Uriel and Raphael were aligned to the other two members of Fiamma's group, that meant Fiamma had to be aligned with the last archangel. The one known as the most powerful and leader of the others, Michael. _That explains the incredible power he has in that weird arm of his._ Carissa was the one who spoke up instead.

"Your explanation is going to go over his head. He doesn't know enough about magic to understand what you are trying to tell him." Touma might have felt insulted, but he couldn't. It was the truth. Fiamma sighed in annoyance.

"Imagine the distortions as broken cogs in a machine," Fiamma dumbed down the explanation. "It is sometimes necessary to switch out gears and install new parts. Using your right hand, I will complete my Holy Right and be able to use the full power of Archangel Michael to fix this world of the distortion. I will wipe clean the cause of the problem first and fix the darkness it has installed in man. Think of it as a simpler version of Noah's ark. However, while the darkness remained after the flood, I will specifically target it. You have seen the power of my incomplete right hand. Imagine the power I will wield to correct the world when it is complete."

"And what on earth do you think caused this distortion?" Touma asked.

"All of our research pointed to one thing," Fiamma said seriously. "The distortion started with the creation of Academy City."

"What?!" Touma gasped in shock.

"It was slight at first," Fiamma continued. "But the larger Academy City became, the greater the distortions grew. It was hard to believe, so we investigated. The man who runs the city is this world's enemy."

"Our superintendent?"

"You know nothing of him or the sick experiments he runs," Fiamma spat, showing a trace of emotion. "When Vento was sent to your city, we saw our first glimpse of Academy City's darkness. He managed to distort everything in the city and create a false angel. It was an abomination-…"

"SHUT UP!" Touma roared suddenly, which caused Carissa to flinch slightly in surprise.

"Excuse me?" Fiamma asked.

"You don't know anything about Kazakiri!" Touma yelled furiously. "What she has gone through…!" His right hand clamped into a fist. "Don't you dare call her an abomination!" Carissa frowned at his words. She had heard Academy City had repelled Vento, but the details were sketchy. If Academy City had managed to make its own version of an angel, which was something she would have to investigate, that would definitely have been an insult to many on the magic side. Right now, she took everything Fiamma said with a grain of salt, but Touma's reaction told her something had happened. There wasn't much she could do against Fiamma's Holy Right, so she was content to listen and try to think of a counter strategy against him.

"While I have no specific quarrel with her," Fiamma amended. "Her existence is unfortunate. She was created as a puppet for another."

"No existence is unfortunate," Touma growled through gritted teeth. "Everyone tries their hardest to live with what they are given." Fiamma pissed him off so much with only words. Touma could tell Fiamma looked down at everyone else and only his ideals and purpose mattered. _I bet he tells himself only he can save the world to stroke his ego!_

"Yet the world is never fair," Fiamma finished. "Another reason the system needs tweaked." He shook his head. "It would be so much easier if you would just understand." The shadow of a smirk appeared on his face. "I heard the conversation you had with Adam, especially the part when he pointed out your actions caused only more harm in the long run." Touma's throat went dry. "You live in the moment, like most people. You are incapable of seeing what the consequences of your actions entail. It allows groups like The Fallen and Academy City to manipulate you."

"Like you did by waiting for us to finish each other off," Carissa pointed out annoyed.

"I took advantage of a poor decision," Fiamma countered. "I fought Adam before and knew his weaknesses, but you never bothered to request aid."

"You tricked William into trying to capture this boy," Carissa refuted and gestured to Touma. "There was no way we were going to let you in on anything."

"And you nearly paid the price," Fiamma continued. "If I had not arrived when I did, your forces would have been killed."

"You attacked them anyways!"

"After your officer ordered them to attack me first." Touma could hear Carissa's teeth grinding.

"How did you manage to defeat Adam?" Touma couldn't help but ask. While he was still furious at Fiamma, the fact he accomplished what they had been failing at was an important point. "He regenerated from all of our attacks until your sword pierced him. Were you the one who removed the Sword of God from the statue?" Carissa glanced over at him. Touma had not told her about everything Adam said and he must have missed what Fiamma said about his sword being a symbol.

"No human could wield the divine power of God without suffering backlash," Fiamma told him. "Even myself, who aligns with Michael. My Holy Right creates a sword that acts as a symbol. Adam has delved deeply into the power of Lucifer, so basic attacks won't keep him down. By hitting him with the power of Michael, the fallen angel's power became a curse for him. It was one of the few ways he could be defeated. She," he gestured to Carissa, "should understand this." She frowned and looked murderous. Fiamma turned his attention back to Touma. "After I acquire your hand, I will investigate what happened to the sword. Adam's words may carry truth, but they will not always mean what you believe."

"How could my hand possibly help you accomplish your goals?" Touma asked. "Wouldn't it just negate any magic you try to cast?"

"Only when used by the incompetent," Fiamma answered. "I have to process your hand to complete my own." The red arm flexed in the air next to him. "The Imagine Breaker is a pure point that represents the original world, before the distortion occurred. It is necessary to reset God's system. When my hand achieves full power, I will purify this world, by ridding it of evil and the source of the distortions."

"What will happen to the people you consider evil?" Touma asked, afraid to know the answer.

"They will be purged," Fiamma stated simply. "Including your accursed city."

"YOU BASTARD!" Touma roared and charged forward. "Nothing gives you that right!" Fiamma sighed and made a swiping motion with his hand. Touma instinctively raised his own. A force collided with Touma's body and sent him flying backwards, even though his hand had gone off. Instead of being completely crushed, he had only been knocked back toward Carissa. Touma scrambled back to his feet and was about to rush at Fiamma again, but Carissa stopped him by putting a vicelike grip on his shoulder.

"Calm down," she whispered. "He is trying to antagonize us. If he wanted to, he could break apart this island and send us falling to our deaths. We are almost as high as the statue took you." Touma gulped.

"I see my decision to keep you along for the ride was worth it," Fiamma commented. "He would keep interrupting and we would get nowhere. Explaining the situation to him was my way of showing I respect what he has done up to now."

"You know neither of us are going to submit to you," Carissa informed him. "Thinking he would be anything else but stubborn to the end was foolish. I know firsthand how thick he is."

"Hey!"

"There was a slight chance," Fiamma conceded. "But you are accurate in your assessment. He has been blinded to only what is around him. He has not seen the darkness that is slowly choking the world. It is like a weed growing and strangling the tree of life. Let it go on for too long and all will suffer in the end. Constant maintenance needs to be applied to prune away the dark desires of mankind; malice, jealousy, hatred, and more."

"And you think you are the one who has the authority to do so," Touma muttered.

"Naturally," Fiamma confirmed. "I was blessed with the power and decided to use it to help mankind. A noble goal, would you not agree?"

"No." The single world escaped from Touma's lips instantly.

"No?" Fiamma asked curiously. "Here I thought you would understand. There is not much difference between you and I. Both of us have unique right hands we use for the service of others. Of course, this service requires us to crush what they have worked so hard to obtain, but such is life. I figured if anyone could understand my burden, it would be you."

"We are nothing alike!" Touma stated firmly and his voice continued to grow louder. "I would never kill someone I disagreed with! If someone is doing something wrong, I will stop them and help them find another way. You only see others as a nuisance rather than allies. There are people who do bad things, but no one is beyond saving. You focus so much on what people do wrong, you fail to see what they do right; helping others, falling in love, and protecting people they care about." He made a fist and raised it up. "If you truly believe killing is the only solution to saving the world, then I am going to shatter that illusion of yours!" His head turned when he saw Carissa's blade move forward.

"We will attack him together," she told him and he nodded.

"Very well," Fiamma sighed. "If you won't listen to reason, I shall use force. You brought this on yourself." He raised his third arm into the air and it emitted a flash of light. An enormous flaming sword appeared, similar to what he speared Adam with, but massively larger. It was easily twenty meters long and could easily split the entire island. The heat beat down on Touma and he began to sweat. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see sweat roll down Carissa's face, but her sword never wavered. Fiamma's hand swung the sword vertically down at them and Touma reached up with his right hand.

The blade slammed down and the sound of breaking glass went off.

It kept going off again, and again, and again.

 _This hurts so much!_ Touma wailed internally. His hand had caught Fiamma's giant flaming sword, but it was taking everything he had to stay standing. His hand was negating the magic, but the sword was either too massive or too powerful for him to negate it completely. The weight and magical pressure was crushing down on him. Every bone and muscle in his body cried out in pain, and then an old injury reignited. His left arm wasn't taking the blunt of the blow, but his rib was right in the center of the force. His side exploded in pain, as if someone was stabbing him, while he tried to avoid being crushed or split in half. His vision blurred, but he gritted his teeth and continued to endure. Cracks appeared in the sword and slowly grew larger. It was turning into a clash of wills, one which Touma was all to accustomed too. A movement flew past him and Carissa charged at Fiamma.

She was aiming for him since he was focused on crushing Touma.

Fiamma frowned and a trace of annoyance crossed his face. His Holy Right was occupied by wielding the imitation Sword of God against Touma. Normally, the sheer power would crush any adversary, but the Imagine Breaker was a powerful force on its own. The boy could barely stand and yet the determination never left his face. He should have collapsed already. Through sheer willpower, he stayed on his feet. This gave Carissa the opening she needed to strike against Fiamma. She covered the distance between them in mere moments and drew back her blade. Fiamma was forced to let go of the sword. While his arm was incredibly strong, to the point of just being a win button in a video game, he still had to use it against an enemy. When he turned the hand on Carissa, the flaming sword began to break apart. The weight on Touma vanished and he could move, but his eyes widened in horror.

Carissa was out in the open and Fiamma was swinging his arm.

Fiamma's Holy Right could not be dodged. Each blow was like a miracle, a power that could not be explained. Adam may have been able to avoid it, but Carissa could not. The blow hit her full force and she was blown back while her sword shattered. Touma knew he would never be able to reach her in time, so his body moved automatically further behind her, before the blow had struck. Touma ran at full speed and managed to intercept Carissa as she flew backwards. Her body collided into him and they fell onto the ground. Carissa was lucky in this regard. Fiamma's attack would use the exact amount of power to defeat an enemy. When Carissa was thrown backwards and Touma caught her, she didn't hit the ground. That meant the force she would have taken was weakened by Touma's interference. She remained conscious, even if her body hurt. Touma was not quite as lucky.

He landed on his left arm.

If Touma had thought the pain in his side was bad, he was not prepared for the pain surging up his arm. The bone must have unaligned again. He cried out in pain and tears filled his eyes. _Damn it! It's going to fall apart!_ Carissa realized his plight and rolled off of him. When the weight lessoned, the arm now only felt like it was on fire, rather than being on fire and crushed simultaneously. Touma could at least stay conscious, but he kept teetering on the edge of passing out. Carissa helped him to his feet as Fiamma lowered his hand.

"This is getting boring," he said emotionlessly and his hand began to glow slightly again. An orb of light appeared. "Let's get rid of the unnecessary baggage, I only need your hand."

Touma's instincts warned him a moment before the beam of light fired. He reached forward with his hand and touched the beam. The knowledge the attack could not be negated passed through his mind. His hand began to burn the instant the light made contact. The attack was far too powerful for him to negate, or even hope to block outright. A fraction of a second passed and he felt his hand began to turn raw. The negation speed of the Imagine Breaker was being surpassed. While Touma and Carissa had not been disintegrated instantly, it was only going to be a few moments before they were. However, Fiamma could not have known Touma had another weapon in his arsenal.

Experience.

This wasn't the first attack Touma encountered he couldn't just negate. Instead of futilely trying to block the attack head on, Touma had another option. He opened his hand up completely and positioned it so it was facing slightly upwards. The beam of light reflected off his palm like it was a mirror. The light ricocheted into the air and split into multiple beams. The clouds above them were dissolved from the power. Touma was blinded slightly by the intensity, but the ground troops could clearly see the beacon that had formed. It let them know Touma and Carissa were still fighting. Fiamma finally ended the attack and Touma could lower his hand. Touma was panting and his hand was burned, but he was alive. He saw the look of surprise on Fiamma's face and he grinned. Touma really had to thank one of the most likely individuals for his ability to survive that last assault.

 _Next time I see Eve,_ Touma panted. _I have to thank her. If I hadn't fought Cain's concentrated light beam, I would never have known I could redirect these kinds of attacks. I bet Fiamma didn't know about that._

"Why won't you just stay down?!" Fiamma demanded and finally displayed some irritation.

"Because as soon as I quit," Touma replied and took a shaky step forward. "It's game over. Everyone I'm fighting for will be at the mercy of a madman. No matter how many times I'm pathetically knocked down, I will keep standing back up until you realize your mistake!"

"How can I realize a mistake when I am not wrong?" Fiamma asked, irritation coursing through his words. He swung his Holy Right once more, intending to finish Touma off. Touma replied by swinging his Imagine Breaker. The sound of glass shattering was heard and a gust of wind whipped his clothes around, but Touma was still standing. A faint frown crossed Fiamma's face and he swung his arm again faster. Once again, Touma blocked it by repeating the same gesture. The air on the flouting island changed and even Carissa felt it. She didn't have her sword anymore, so her attack options were limited. Fiamma, on the other hand, realized a contradiction.

He had tried to swing his Holy Right faster.

While theoretically that could be possible, it should never have to be the case. The Holy Right used the exact amount of force to defeat his enemies, no more and no less. Carissa survived because Touma took in part of the blow, but that was to be expected. There should have been no way Touma could have stopped his attack like he just did. Fiamma gritted his teeth and swung his hand again, willing it to move faster and stronger. Touma's determination never left his face and his hand blocked the invisible attack. _No, this isn't a coincidence. His hand is completely negating the miracles of my strike. It's just like when I faced Adam._ However, Fiamma would not give up, he would not panic, not when he was so close to his goal. _Besides his hand, he is nothing special._ He had seen Touma take damage and be unable to completely negate all of his attacks. Fiamma's arm was slowly weakening and unless he could make it perfect soon, he would never be able to fix the distortion in the world.

"If you were right," Touma argued. "You wouldn't have to resort to violence or trickery! People would willingly follow you!"

"Sadly," Fiamma replied. "Violence is one of the few things mankind understands. Even if you hate it, you can't argue that it works." His arm reached over and ripped a large chunk of dirt off from the island. The gesture was obvious to all. Fiamma was planning to crush them with physical force instead of magic. With a quick flick, the hand threw the chunk of earth at Touma and Carissa. Touma bolted to the left and Carissa dodged to the right. The ball of earth slammed down between them and Fiamma grinned. He accomplished what he had meant to.

 _Shit,_ Touma thought to himself. _I can't do anything against attacks like that. All my bones will break if I get hit once._ His left arm had numbed and he couldn't move it anymore. All it did was hang limply at his side.

"Surrender," Fiamma called out to him from the other side of the earth mound. "Or the Princess dies."

"Do not listen to the bastard!" Carissa roared at him before Touma heard her gasp involuntarily in pain. Touma rushed around the mound until he saw them. Fiamma seemed to have instantly moved behind Carissa. It was possible he had teleported. The problem was his third arm was now crushing Carissa in its grasp while pushing her into the ground.

"Carissa!" Touma yelled out in panic. "Let her go, Fiamma!"

"If you give me what I want," Fiamma replied seriously. To demonstrate their position, the talon like fingers on his arm tightened and Carissa's face contorted in pain. She refused to give him anymore satisfaction and kept her mouth shut. "I am getting tired of our game and have many other things to do."

"You coward!" Touma yelled at him.

"This is what will happen," Fiamma continued. "You will cease your foolish attempts at opposing me, surrender your hand, and I will leave. You and the Princess will be free to go, along with the rest of her troops, assuming you do not try to stop me. Otherwise, I will annihilate them all."

"How do I know you will keep your promise once you take my hand?" Touma asked.

"You don't," Fiamma conceded. "But if you refuse, I will kill her now." His grip tightened again and Carissa flinched.

"Boy!" Carissa gasped loudly. "This is an order! Do not give him your hand!"

Touma looked from Fiamma to her. He saw the situation from both angles. If he gave Fiamma the Imagine Breaker, Fiamma would be able to execute his plan. The plan would lead to the destruction of his home, his friends, and countless civilians who were not involved. This was not counting all the other people around the world who Fiamma considered corrupted. The only positive aspect was Carissa and the rest of her troops would survive, if Fiamma kept his word. There was no evidence he would. Touma knew the steps God's Right Seat would take and they stepped on anyone who they considered a problem. There was the possibility Fiamma would kill them all anyways. He had proven they were no real match for him. It was thanks to the Imagine Breaker they lasted as long as they did. If they survived, there might be a small chance they could stop Fiamma later.

Carissa's order was more aligned with what he would normally do. Touma had to continue to fight, regardless of what Fiamma threatened them with. The issue was, if he did that, Carissa's life was on the line. There was no way he could reach her fast enough to stop one of those invisible strikes. He didn't even know how he blocked them before. His arm moved automatically. Another problem with this choice was Touma had no idea if they could win. Fiamma only had to kill Carissa and then crush Touma with earth, before picking up the remains of the Imagine Breaker. He had already showed he could handle the troops far below them. Fiamma's plan would come to fruition just like in option one if he succeeded.

There were no good options.

"What will it be?" Fiamma asked.

Touma took one last look at Fiamma's look of superiority and then traveled down to Carissa, who glared daggers at him. He sighed. There was only one choice he could select and there were still a lot of unknown variables.

He hoped it was the right one.

"You can have my hand," Touma stated, a lot calmer than he felt.

"Excellent," Fiamma praised, but he couldn't get another word out.

"YOU IDIOT!" Carissa roared. This was an accomplishment as Fiamma was still crushing her with his arm. "I gave you a direct order as your superior officer!"

"Sorry," Touma apologized. "But you aren't my superior anymore."

"What the-…!"

"Zach explained a few basic rules to me," Touma elaborated quickly. "One was about hostage situations, because there was a chance Adam would capture people. When a person is held hostage, they lose all authority they had, regardless of position. You can't order anyone around in this situation." If the situation had not been so dire, Touma might have smirked at the expression Carissa gave him. It was a combination of shock, that he actually remembered some of the army's procedures, and rage, that he dared to talk back to her. Then there was a tiny bit of respect mixed in. She started choking on her words, so Fiamma spoke up instead.

"You really showed her," Fiamma said between his laughter. "I bet she wasn't expecting that. I wasn't either, actually. I was betting you would charge at me wildly and try to strike me down."

"I considered that," Touma admitted.

"You doomed us all, boy," Carissa growled.

"I have a plan," Touma reassured her. "It's a long shot though." Carissa made eye contact with him and then fell silent. His eyes had not given up, so Carissa was going to place their fate in him.

"A plan that will fail like all your others," Fiamma pointed out. "Hold out your arm and I will sever your hand." Touma took a deep breath and stuck out his arm perpendicular to his body.

 _Please let this work,_ Touma thought silently. _This is the first time I actually want you to come out._

"Too easy," Fiamma laughed and then his Holy Right let go of Carissa. It moved above Fiamma and opened up. A large sword composed entirely of blinding light formed. It wasn't as large and intimidating as the burning sword Fiamma had used earlier, but Touma was forced to squint as the light hurt his eyes slightly. To him, this sword actually looked more inline of what he pictured the Sword of God should have been. Fiamma's smile widened as the sword was raised. Touma flinched slightly, but did not lower his arm. Fiamma swung the sword and Touma closed his eyes.

There was a slight thud and then burning agony.

"AHHHH!" Touma yelled as he fell to his knees. His left arm was broken and now his right hand was gone, along with an inch or two below it. It took every ounce of energy for him to open his eye and see Fiamma next to him. Fiamma reached down and picked up Touma's severed arm with the Holy Right. He then turned and walked away, while the Imagine Breaker began to fuse into his third arm. It appeared as if he no longer cared about Touma's or Carissa's fate. Touma could feel the blood began to leak out of his stump. Part of the flesh was seared from the sword, which is why he wasn't going to bleed out anytime soon.

Nothing else happened.

This confused Touma.

"I was a little hasty," Fiamma muttered. "I needed this opportunity though. A few more preparations before I can completely integrate its power into mine is a small price to pay."

 _Why?_ Touma thought desperately. _Why will you not come out? You have every other time._ This was the first time he tried to summon the dragon hidden in his arm. He knew next to nothing about it and hadn't been able to have Jason examine it any further. This was the last hope he had to defeat Fiamma and save everyone. Now, it looked like his plan failed. Fiamma had the Imagine Breaker and was about to leave. The only upside was they had a little time before Fiamma could use his newfound power. He was only vaguely away of Carissa trying to rise to her feet and was focused on him. _She put her faith in me and I failed. I doomed so many people because of my blunder._

"It looks like I have to capture the Index Librorum Prohibitorum," Fiamma continued to muttered, as he glanced at his third arm. "I need the knowledge on how to process the hand. At least my arm has stopped deteriorating, so my power won't diminish any further. That bastard Adam caused the process to accelerate."

"Stop!" Touma gasped.

"Still alive?" Fiamma asked in a bored tone. His head moved slightly so he could see Touma out of the corner of his eye. "Surprising, but you should count yourself lucky. I have no further business with you."

"I still have some with you," Touma gasped again. It was taking everything to remain conscious. "Leave Index alone! She has nothing to do with this!"

"Not purposely," Fiamma corrected him. "But the Anglican Church brought her into this when they made her. Her knowledge is needed by countless people, now including myself. She will provide me the instructions to perfect my power now that I have the Imagine Breaker."

"She won't agree to it!" Touma told him.

"She won't have a choice," Fiamma said with a yawn. "I stole a remote control that will allow me to control her, and thus have access to the 103,000 grimoires. I was planning to capture her in England, when you were outside the range of Academy City, but Adam forced my plans to change. Everything his group did seemed to interfere with my goal directly. I wish to save this world by fixing the system. They wish to simply destroy the system. Saving is much harder to do. Thanks again for weakening him so I could end his life. It's only because of that, I am allowing you all to live. You won't be able to make it back to Academy City before I do. She will be property of the Roman Catholic Church from now on. Remember, she never belonged with you."

"Shut up." Touma whispered.

"What did you say?!" Fiamma snapped at him and Carissa frowned.

 _Boy,_ she thought. _Be careful what you say. A single flick of that arm will kill you._

"I said shut up!" Touma roared. His legs were shaking as he stood up, but the anger at Fiamma was clouding out all the pain caused by his injuries. "Don't you dare touch her!" The hatred he felt toward Fiamma kept intensifying. "She's a person and doesn't belong to anyone! Her life has been full of kidnap attempts, imprisonment, and loneliness. She finally made friends and can act like a normal girl! Now you want to take all that away from her?! You bastard! No person could claim to be good when they are willing to do that! That is pure evil! You can take her happiness over my cold dead body!"

"That can be arranged," Fiamma said and turned toward Touma. The boy irritated him. Touma dared to call him evil when Fiamma sacrificed much to get to where he was. All the training, the studying, the time it took to bring countless organizations under his influence was not something done at a whim. God's Right Seat's purpose was to save the world by purifying the Original Sin and bringing mankind into an age of prosperity. Just like when God wiped the slate clean with the great flood, there would be some sacrifice so mankind as a whole would thrive. Fiamma was going to let the boy live and keep his promise, but now that boy was planning to continue fighting. Fiamma knew he would follow him wherever he went, so it was time to end this. He raised his Holy Right and swung it to erase the defeated boy's existence.

The strike was deflected.

 _The strike was deflected!_

Fiamma was in shock. Without the Imagine Breaker, Touma should have been unable to do anything against the attack. Touma did not raise his arm, he did not try to dodge, he didn't even move. Some force surrounded him and knocked away the Holy Right's miracle strike that ended everything it touched. The invisible force began to grow and Fiamma sensed it before he saw it. The air seemed to shimmer and warp before his very eyes. Touma's face was slightly covered by his dirty sweaty hair, but Fiamma could swear his eyes were flashing red. The blood on his arm began to float and rise into the air. Something large and invisible was forming. It was like a creature was being called by Touma's determination, his desire to triumph over Fiamma. The blood outline continued to grow and even Carissa noticed it.

The head began to form.

Blood dripped down from its fangs. The reptilian eyes focused purely on Fiamma and the mouth opened slightly wider. The air began to warp more and the outline became more distinct. The air grew cold and all pleasant feelings Fiamma had at acquiring the Imagine Breaker began to fade. Carissa's mouth fell open at the creature's appearance. Neither of them knew this monster existed. Touma knew about it, but it wasn't like he understood it. The few times it formed, it crushed his opponent and disappeared. This was Touma's final gamble and the first time he was going to consciously rely on it. The dragon's mouth opened wider.

An earth shattering roar escaped its throat.

The sound forced Carissa and Fiamma to cover their ears. It was loud enough that even the ground troops heard it. While Touma and Carissa had been facing Fiamma, the army had been trying to save those struck by Fiamma's earlier assault and find a way to help bring down his floating island. Their spells were not working. Either Fiamma had a way to block them or his magic was just too powerful for theirs. Hope was dwindling fast, yet reignited when they saw a beacon of light form in the sky. A sign their leader and the boy were still fighting. The army kept up doing what they could when the roar reached them. Fear and panic rose up at the unknown sound. Hundreds of heads looked up and waited with bated breath at the outcome of the fight.

The fear on the island was much more potent.

Carissa was paralyzed and the head wasn't even paying attention to her. She had never encountered a creature like that. It had no mana, yet exuded a presence that surpassed even things she had been able to do with Curtana. Her eyes darted to the boy, who was barely managing to stay on his feet. A strong breeze looked like it could knock him down. Yet, he had an aura that defied logic and said he would never stay down. _That boy had a trump card like this hidden away? I can understand why he didn't want to use it, but he managed to defeat me without releasing it._

"What the hell is that?!" Fiamma yelled and took a step back. His body was wracked with fear and even his Holy Right seemed to diminish in the creature's presence. _This can't be possible. My Holy Right wields miracles that can defeat any foe. How can it be pushed back by this… thing?_ "Answer me Touma Kamijou!"

Touma didn't say anything, but the creature continued to grow as it emerged from his stump of an arm.

"You…," Fiamma sputtered and the he realized Touma's state. "Are not even conscious, are you?" Touma did not answer and swayed slightly. The dragon seemed to be the one keeping him up. "Fine then, I don't know what you did to create that, but you are only sealing your demise!" Fiamma raised his Holy Right and the gigantic flaming sword appeared. Like last time, it was more than capable of cutting the island in half. The creature was a dragon, a beast in countless legends. They were monsters that were supposed to be leagues above mankind.

It wasn't like they were invincible though.

There were plenty of legends were dragons were slain by powerful knights, magicians, and even normal people with clever strategies. Of course, most of these stories the main hero had some kind of powerful weapon to use against them. The legend of St. George was one of the most famous. He had used a holy sword to slay the beast and rescue the princess. Fiamma had his own holy sword, one that symbolized the most powerful of weapons. The sword created by God himself. The blade was supposed to be able to cut through anything. After seeing the sword strike down Lucifer, God was supposed to have created a shield that was the only thing the sword would not be able to cut. Fiamma's copy was also infused with the power of his Holy Right, a power that imitated the Archangel Michael. With this power at his fingertips, Fiamma believed he could strike the dragon down. A feat like this would make him a legend. The flaming sword was brought down and the dragon slammed its jaw shut on the blade.

The sword shattered.

Fiamma could only watch in silence, his eyes wide, as the broken shards of his sword rained down all around them. The pieces hit the ground and shattered into dust that sparkled in the light momentarily, before disappearing into nothingness. Fiamma took a step back as he examined the beast. The head turned towards him and the slits of its eyes widened. Fiamma could only see hatred. His eyes traveled to the mouth of the dragon. It seemed to have swallowed a good portion of his sword and then the jaw opened once more. The rows of razor sharp teeth had not been dulled, burned, or broken. In fact, they seemed more defined, as if the power it consumed brought it closer to life. The symbol of the most powerful weapon in existence had been broken by a simple bite.

This was a fact not lost on Fiamma.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" he shouted. "Nothing like that could exist! What the hell are you?! You lost the Imagine Breaker, so this can't be part of its power!" Touma gave no sign Fiamma's words reached him and the dragon obviously didn't care. It only opened its mouth and roared once more. Waves of panic flooded Fiamma again and he continued to step back. The dragon must have sensed his weakness and surged forward. Fiamma swung his arm in a combination of desperation and fear. His Holy Right was supposed to generate the exact amount of power needed to defeat his enemy, no more and no less. The dragon should have been eliminated with his attack.

This action turned out to be a fatal mistake.

The dragon sunk its fangs into Fiamma's Holy Right.

"AHHHHH!" Fiamma yelled as he felt every ounce of pain course through him. His arm was connected to his body, but this was the first time he felt pain with it. The arm may have been deteriorating, but it's not like there were a lot of people who could actually challenge him. Adam had been the first person he met that could actually stop his Holy Right. Cracks had begun to form from Adam's death grip, but there was no pain involved, just the knowledge his arm was breaking. The dragon's teeth was actually causing irreconcilable damage and his arm must have been screaming in pain, for the feeling to actually back track into Fiamma's body. Fear overtook all rational decision and he retreated backwards, while trying to dislodge his hand.

His decision was followed by a sickening ripping sound.

Half of Fiamma's third arm was still trapped in the dragon's mouth.

"You… monster…," Fiamma panted and blinked several times, as the pain began to subside. The power from his arm began to fade away and Fiamma could feel it breaking apart. If he put the arm away, the creature would devour him. Though, even if it was out, it wasn't like the broken remains stood a chance. The dragon's eyes did not show a single shred of mercy. The jaws opened wide, the pieces of Fiamma's arm had vanished, and it prepared to tear into him. Fiamma couldn't get his third arm to swing like normal, so he was absolutely defenseless. _Shit!_

"No."

The voice was soft, but determination rang in that single word. The dragon's jaws were only a few feet away from Fiamma's face and he swore he smelled the rancid breath. Then it suddenly stopped. The eyes widened in surprise and the head rose up into the air. It slowly turned an eye back to the source of the noise. Fiamma followed its gaze and saw Touma stumbling forward. The boy had regained consciousness and seemed to have found his voice. Fiamma thought Touma was trying to say something to him, but received a surprise.

 _The boy is talking to the dragon._

"I won't become like him," Touma gasped. His voice was still weak in volume, but rang with purpose. "You will not kill!" Fiamma and Carissa couldn't believe what was happening.

The dragon's power was overwhelming. Even against Fiamma's cheat level Holy Right, the dragon had effortlessly crushed it. It was as if the creature was designed to destroy all adversity without discrimination. Somehow, Touma managed to stop the head from finishing off Fiamma. It only took a moment to see how. Carissa felt it too. Another force was emerging from Touma. An unexplainable force seemed to be pulling the dragon back. This new power was devastating the overwhelming power the dragon possessed. The dragon did not roar, it did not try to fight, but let the power draw it back into Touma's arm. Then flesh began to appear on the stump of his arm, while Fiamma felt the remaining power of his arm begin to vanish.

 _The Imagine Breaker is returning to him!_

The Imagine Breaker was a unique existence and could not be in two places simultaneously. Touma's new power had called the semi devoured hand in Fiamma's arm back to him. Fiamma's arm was almost completely gone and Touma's hand was just about to fully form. When his hand finally returned, Touma flexed his fingers and then raised his head. He saw Carissa standing, a bewildered expression on her face, and then he gazed back to Fiamma. Fiamma's arm was gone, along with the pressure he had exuded. Without his Holy Right, Fiamma was a normal magician, even if his knowledge was greater than most.

"It's over Fiamma," Touma told him. "You have lost."

"Do you have any idea what you have done?!" Fiamma roared at him, all composure lost like his arm. "How many years of planning have gone into this!? How many lives have been sacrificed!? Then you go and ruin it with… whatever the hell that was?!"

"If you can't even beat me!" Touma yelled back. "Then you obviously don't have the power to save the world!" Fiamma blinked.

"You have no idea what you are talking about!"

"I don't have the power to save everyone!" Touma yelled. "No matter how much I try and want to! I have seen people hurt because I was weak! You had this amazing power and choose to lie, manipulate, and kill others! If you had put that power to good use, you would have been able to save so many! You tried to say mankind was evil, well maybe you aren't any better!"

"You have no idea what you are talking about!" Fiamma roared back. "Saving the world isn't as easy as waving a wand and shouting! It's a complex puzzle full of complications because of people like you and your damn city! If I could just…" He paused. For the first time, Fiamma felt doubt, something Touma picked up on.

"You…," Touma realized. "Doubted if you actually had the power to save the world, didn't you?"

"Shut up!"

"You kept telling yourself you had the strongest ability and that you alone had the power to save everyone," Touma continued. "So much so you believed it completely. Anytime someone tried to tell you otherwise, you crushed them with that arm of yours. Am I close?"

"Shut up!" Fiamma roared again. He ran forward and delivered a punch to Touma's face. Fiamma could hardly be considered a strong individual. In a straight brawl, Touma would have easily won. He was used to physical exertion. This time he was injured and exhausted. Fiamma's weak punch caused him to stumbled backwards, but he managed to stay on his feet. Touma wiped a small trickle of blood from his mouth and looked back up Fiamma. "You know nothing about me," Fiamma growled.

"I know you are too busy looking at what people do wrong instead of right," Touma replied and made a fist. He drew it back and then swung it forward. A dull thud was heard when it connected with Fiamma's cheek. He stumbled back and looked up, his own blood coming out of his mouth.

"Are you going to keep making excuses for what evil people do?" Fiamma asked. "Your city is a cesspool, people around the world starve, and yet countries would rather war than have help." He swung another fist, which collided with the side of Touma's face.

"Of course not," Touma growled back. "I have seen the kind of dark deeds people do, but I have also have seen the good they do too!" He swung his fist and knocked Fiamma back again. "People who risk their lives for others. Those that give up everything for someone they never met before. We all are responsible for our own choices."

"And I chose to keep trying to right this world!" Fiamma declared and delivered another punch.

"That's your problem!" The sound of another punch was heard. "The world is not wrong! I chose to believe people are good and some make the wrong decisions!"

"There will always be people who will in the current world!" There was another thud.

"Then it's up to people like us with the power to help them!" The thuds kept coming.

"I was until you interfered!"

"No, I'm going to set you on the right path! One without deaths!"

"Optimistic fool!"

"Pessimist!"

Carissa only stood there and watched the absurdity. Both of them had powers far beyond what could be considered normal and yet they had been reduced to trading punches and insults. Her body hurt, but she could move again. The thought of jumping in and stopping this fight crossed her mind. However, she didn't, which wasn't like her. At first she couldn't, as the dragon and Holy Right were above her. Now, Fiamma and Touma were at a level she could easily knock down. She felt like if she interfered, she would destroy all the work Touma did in facing Fiamma. In the past, she would have without a second thought. The first priority was always to defeat her enemy. Meeting Touma changed all of that. Watching the childish display between the two did annoyed her though and a single thought went through her mind.

 _Men are idiots._

Touma finally delivered an uppercut into Fiamma's jaw. Fiamma's body lifted into the air for a second and he fell backwards, spread-eagle, on the ground. He groaned, but did not move. All of his strength was used up and his head was reeling from the blow. Touma lowered his arm and it hung loosely at his side. He was sore, exhausted, and the adrenaline was beginning to fade, which meant all of the pain in his left arm, rib, and now face was coming back. He and Fiamma had not been dodging the other's blows on purpose. This fight was a battle between beliefs, rather than pure power. Fiamma had finally fallen. Touma swayed and his eyes flickered. He was about to fall, when an arm reached behind him and kept him standing.

"A real man stands till the end," she told him quietly. Up close she noticed his left eye was slightly swollen, there was a cut on his cheek, and several bruises covered his face.

"Heh." Fiamma let out a week chuckle. "It seems like I have actually lost. All of that work, wasted. To think I would be bested by another person with an equally unusual power and dream."

"You must have a low opinion of him," Carissa commented. "If you think he is your equal."

"You still have a choice," Touma told him.

"Not likely," Fiamma laughed, still unable to move. "I will be locked away for the rest of my life or killed." Touma looked over at Carissa, and she knew exactly what he was trying to ask her.

"Most likely," Carissa admitted.

"I'll accept my death," Fiamma stated calmly.

"No!" Touma yelled as loudly as he could. Carissa didn't even flinch. "You won't be able to make up for the mistakes you made if you end your life. People can change. One of my best friends was tricked into doing a lot of terrible things, but he's grown. He's done a lot to make up for it, even risked his own life for a stranger. It might take people a long time to trust you, but you can't deny how much you have done. Your knowledge and skills could save countless lives, if you are willing." Fiamma looked at him for a moment in silence, before he finally responded.

"I wish I had talked to you earlier."

"This kid makes some interesting speeches," Carissa agreed.

The ground beneath their feet began to shake and she looked around.

"What's happening?" Touma asked.

"Seems like my magic weakened enough for your men to tear us out of the sky," Fiamma explained. "Be prepared to plummet."

"Ah, shit," Touma groaned.

"I agree."

"Of all times for my radio to be broken!" Carissa fumed. The floating island beneath them shook violently again and then it began to fall. They felt their weight lesson as they too began to fall with it. The acceleration increased and Touma suddenly felt dizzy. Everything blurred and then went dark.

* * *

Touma grudgingly opened his eyes, as he tried to ignore the continuous pounding in his head. He had to blink several times to figure out where he was. What he knew for sure was he was lying on his back and staring at the roof of a tent. _How did I get here? The last thing I remember was we started falling out of the sky._ _Oh, that's right. We beat Fiamma. So there's some good news._ A couple seconds passed before Touma tried to sit up. He was lying down on a large cot, covered in a thin sheet. His left arm felt stiff and he saw a thin cast wrapped around it. _Well, I did break it, destroyed the healing bandages, and then fell on it a couple times. I'm surprised it's still attached._ He looked to his left and received a surprise.

Ruiko was sleeping with her head on her arms at the side of his cot.

Behind her, Imouto, Lessar, and Frenda all sat in other chairs, their heads on each other's shoulders. They were also sleeping. Touma didn't blame them. It had been a long day for everyone. Leivinia and Agnese were most likely doing something constructive with the other troops. Touma felt relieved to see his friends. Imouto, Frenda, and Ruiko were the ones who had the least experience with the magic side. The fact they made it meant the future was looking bright. They didn't seem that injured either compared to him, which he was perfectly okay with. He watched Ruiko sleeping for a minute longer before knowing what he had to do.

"Hey, Ruiko," Touma said gentle and shook her arm. "Time to get up."

"Already?" Ruiko mumbled and looked up sleepily. She saw Touma smiling at her and her face went red. "You're awake!" she suddenly shouted while pushing back against the cot. The force sent her falling backwards and hit the ground with a bang. The shout and sound of a falling chair woke up the others with a start, and they promptly fell out of their chairs too. Well, Frenda fell off and Lessar jumped into the air before landing on Imouto, which knocked them both onto the ground. Ruiko picked herself up and leaned up against the cot. "I'm so glad you are okay," she said with a tiny bit of water in her eyes. "You have been asleep for hours." Touma didn't have time to respond before the others crowded around him.

"You not only fought Adam singlehandedly," Lessar cheered. "But also managed to defeat Fiamma of the Right by yourself! I heard Carissa tell Amelia and George all about it!"

"Basically," Frenda added. "You were reckless and stupid, but managed to keep your promise about staying alive." She was actually smiling at him when she said it.

"Misaka is glad you have returned safely, MISAKA adds happily."

"What happened when the island fell?" Touma asked. "I blacked out."

"Agnese's forces had been trying to take down the island shortly after you started fighting," Lessar explained. "It wasn't until near the end the Anti-Flight Spells had any effect."

"We heard something that sounded like a roar," Frenda added. "Everyone around us suddenly became fearful and no one knew what caused it. Basically, all we could see from our position was something that looked like flames and a tall beacon of light."

"Fiamma had a lot of really flashy attacks," Touma explained and raised his right hand. "It was lucky my hand could negate or reflect them. That arm of his eventually deteriorated, which allowed us to win." He moved his legs over the side of the cot, so he was sitting up and the girls all sat back down in their seats to continue talking. "Seems like he couldn't keep that power up forever." Lessar, Frenda, and Ruiko seemed to take accept his answer, but Imouto stared at him intently. It was hard for Touma to know if she knew he was holding stuff back or was just watching to make sure he was okay. "But enough about me. I'm glad you all are alright and got out of the maze in one piece."

"Frenda and Misaka fought a man by the name of Julius Caesar, Misaka reiterates. However, Misaka was hit by a mental assault and was knocked unconscious. Misaka never saw the final battle, Misaka states ashamed."

"I was knocked out too," Frenda admitted sheepishly. "But I managed to wake up for the final fight. Used up most of my remaining explosives. Glad everything is over. I need to restock back home."

"At least there weren't any lasting effects," Touma sighed in relief. "Eve and Adam were always working together, so their companions would have to be powerful to keep up with them. There's no shame in it." Frenda didn't look entirely convinced, but smiled slightly at his attempt to cheer her up. Imouto only diverted eye contact, so Touma turned to Lessar and Ruiko. "What about you two?"

"I was also part of the fight against Caesar," Lessar informed him. "But I saw the fight all the way through."

"I was with Birdway-san, Agnese, and William-san," Ruiko answered. "We fought St. Peter." There was a short silence that followed her announcement.

"I take it you won," Touma finally said when he found his voice. "What was he like?"

"He was..," Ruiko said and hesitated. _How should I phrase this?_ "A lot like you actually."

"Like me?"

"For one he could prevent people from using magic," Lessar volunteered the information. "He also crafted a spell to prevent any violence for occurring in his presence. Shoot, if he actually had any skills with the ladies, I could have sworn he was the future you." Touma spluttered in indignation, while Lessar and Frenda laughed. "Birdway went over it in detail while you were asleep."

"I got to talk to him since we couldn't fight him," Ruiko continued, her ears red. "He told us a bit about Adam's history and power. I passed on that information to Agnese and she said she will make sure the people at top know. He also told me a little about Eve, but not as much as Adam."

"Saten is considered a celebrity now," Lessar pointed out.

"Huh?" Touma asked and turned to look at her. "Why?"

"It's not really a big deal," Ruiko muttered sheepishly and looked at the ground.

"From what Misaka understands, it appears this St. Peter was an incredibly important historical figure and Saten-san managed to defeat him, not with violence, but through…. purification? Misaka explains as best as she can."

"I didn't understand it much either," Frenda added.

"I only talked to him and he remembered what he truly believed in," Ruiko continued quietly. "It was thanks to you fighting Adam that the magic on St. Peter had weakened."

"George and some of his men saw the ending," Lessar elaborated. "They saw her speaking with St. Peter and then he disappeared in a flash of light. Agnese and Birdway filled them in on what they saw and the rumors spread once Fiamma was beaten."

"What happened to Fiamma?" Touma asked. "Did he survive?"

"The Princess's forces bound him up and shipped him back to England for trial," Frenda told him. "He has to answer for his crimes now that he is in custody."

"Surprised they did that much," Lessar admitted out loud. "I would have sworn she would have executed him immediately."

"That man did defeat Adam for us, Misaka points out. It is possible that alone caused him to earn a trial." The girls shrugged, since none of them knew. Touma had his suspicion though.

 _Does she remember what we talked about at the end?_ he thought. _Maybe she is actually going to give him a chance at redemption._ The fact Carissa did not immediately execute Fiamma showed she had changed drastically from when Touma first met her. He wasn't going to bring it up though, in case she heard about it. Carissa would probably not appreciate it if he made her look soft. He decided to steer the conversation away from these dangerous waters. "So what now? Adam and Fiamma are beaten. What happens to us? Are Agnese and Birdway okay?"

"Agnese is with her forces and tending to the injured," Ruiko answered one of his questions. "Birdway-san is fine, but she retreated to a private tent to make some calls."

"Sounds like them," Touma admitted. _I need to make sure I talk to Agnese before I leave. She wanted to tell me something last night._

"How are you feeling?" Frenda finally asked. "Basically, you took the most damage out of our group."

"Besides my arm being in this cast," Touma said and raised his left arm. "I feel fine, maybe a little tired." He frowned and looked at the cast. "I'm surprised I still have to wear this."

"Your arm was a mess," Lessar explained. "And you already know most of our healing spells don't work on you. Your arm is wrapped in a bandage that is accelerating the healing process. The cast is to make sure you don't accidently touch it. Normally, damage like this would take weeks to heal, but you should be fine in a day or two. Your chest was wrapped up too, but the rib healed smoothly."

"That's a relief," Touma sighed. "I have to thank them for going to such extent to make sure I could be healed."

"After that fight," Frenda laughed. "I doubt anyone is going to suggest you did not pull your weight."

"Misaka noticed a lot of the knights talking about your deeds, Misaka adds happily. They see you as a hero and symbol."

"I'm not a hero," Touma muttered. "I just did what…."

"Bull," Frenda snapped. "Don't try to give us that noble reasoning speech you love to say."

"Acting all humble just increases your appearance of a hero," Lessar added.

"Risking your life to protect us is pretty much the dictionary definition of a hero, Misaka informs."

"I'm going to have to agree with them," Ruiko laughed.

"If everyone is going to gang up on me," Touma muttered, but he felt a small smile begin to form. The girls laughed and even Imouto's calm face twitched slightly. "I won't say anything more about the subject." He stood up and stretched. "I still want to see what's happening now."

"You really need your rest," Ruiko spoke up and stepped in front of him. "You did so much already, it's time to take a break."

"Constant stress is not good for your mental state, Misaka says seriously. The savior should relax and stop worrying for a little bit." Frenda and Lessar pushed Touma back onto the cot.

"I feel like you all plotted against me while I was sleeping," Touma muttered with false bitterness in his voice.

"We might have," Frenda said with an amused grin.

"We definitely did not discuss tying you down if you were too persistent, Misaka lies."

"You don't need to tell him that," Frenda hissed at her.

"Misaka did not, Misaka corrects you. Misaka said we did not discuss it." Frenda face palmed, but Touma gave a slight chuckle.

"I thought you might be bored lying in bed," Lessar said. "So I brought some things for you to occupy yourself with." She shoved a ball of brightly colored fabric into Touma's chest, who took it automatically. "There's nothing wrong with your right hand, so you will be fine." The other girls were confused for a moment, because Lessar had not told any of them her plan. Touma was just as confused, until what he had in his hand became apparent. His eyes widened in shock.

"Ahhhh!" he yelled and tossed the cloth ball at the far end of the cot away from him. The ball separated into separate articles of clothing.

Specifically, four different pairs of panties.

One was white, one was blue and white striped, one was black, and one was light blue. The girls were silent as they watched the panties fall. Their faces looked at Touma's stunned expression and then turned to Lessar, who looked immensely pleased with herself. Imouto, Frenda, and Ruiko's hands moved down and touched their pants. Their expressions instantly changed from shock at Lessar's action to a combination of embarrassment and disbelief. Their faces flushed red, and even Imouto had a pink tinged.

"What did you do Lessar?" Touma asked in almost a whisper. The feeling in the air indicated things were about to get chaotic.

"I leveled up," Lessar told him and made a victory sign with her hand. "I used to only be able to remove my own underwear without removing anything else. Now, I can do it to others. After your confession, I figured this might help you decide." Silence followed her words and then something clicked in the others girls' minds.

"EHHHH!?"

"Those are ours!" Frenda virtually screamed.

"How?!" Ruiko asked in disbelief, her hands double checking against her pants.

"Impressive, Misaka compliments. Misaka never felt you steal her underwear. In the future, please ask permission first, Misaka admonishes. Misaka is feeling rather warm now."

"LESSAR!" Touma yelled at her. "Of all the…!"

"Die!" Frenda yelled and delivered a kick at Lessar, who jumped back in response. The tent was large enough for Lessar to move out of reach, but would quickly be cornered if things got serious.

"You have to be faster than that," Lessar told her with a laugh. "Besides, don't you think Lover Boy would like them? They are still warm." Ruiko backed away and hid her face with her hands. Touma could only watch as Lessar dug her own grave.

"Help me out," Frenda said to Imouto. "Let's teach her a lesson."

"Understood, Misaka responds." The two of them began to unleash a barrage of punches and kicks while Lessar did what she could to dodge. During the confusion, Ruiko grabbed her underwear and Touma's pleas for them to stop fell on deaf ears. Imouto managed to grab Lessar's arm and Frenda kicked Lessar in the gut. The force of the blow sent Lessar flying onto the cot next to Touma.

"I give, I give!" Lessar called out. "I don't have my weapon to defend myself. I will even offer you two a gift." She held up a pair of green boxers. "You can have Lover Boy's underwear as an apology." Everyone in the tent froze. Touma was the first to move and check his own pants.

"How… when… why?!" Touma spluttered. Frenda's eyes went wide when she realized Lessar was telling the truth.

"Misaka accepts your apology and gift, Misaka says quickly before the others can receive the prize."

"Lessar," Ruiko spoke up. Her voice was shaking slightly. "You have to stop taking underwear. It's stealing."

"Do you want it?" Lessar asked and held it out to her. Ruiko squeaked something incoherently and Lessar laughed. "Well Sparky Junior accepted first." She tossed the pair of boxers up into the air. Imouto held out her hand to prepare to catch it, when Touma jumped up off the cot. He reached up to grab the pair of boxers when Lessar thought of a devious idea. She reached over and slipped her finger into one of the belt loops on Touma's pants. As Touma rose from the cot, Lessar tugged on the loop.

Countless things happened in the span of a couple seconds.

One thing Lessar had not predicted was the flaps to the tent opening.

"I take it from the shouting the boy woke-…" Carissa stepped in, followed by Leivinia and George. Her words froze when she saw the events transpire. Everyone turned when she entered, but Touma had already moved too far. He had jumped up to grab his boxers, with Lessar holding onto his pants. He had managed to it grab his underwear, but then stumbled as his pants fell around his ankles. If that didn't make the situation worse, Touma fell directly onto Imouto and knocked them both down. Everyone else just stared. Touma blinked several times and saw his face inches away from Imouto.

"Ah! Sorry!" Touma apologized quickly and scooted backwards from her, only to realize he just revealed himself and his lack of lower clothes to everyone present.

The effects were instantaneous.

Blood gushed out of Frenda's nose as she glanced down.

Lessar wolf whistled.

Ruiko hid her face behind her hands, but there was a small crack in her fingers.

Imouto instinctively uploaded the scene to the Network. She did not want to ever lose this moment. This caused many things to get accidently broken by Sisters around the world.

Leivinia tried not to show emotion, but her face flushed bright red. Her eyes never left Touma.

 _Seems like Zach was right about him having a harem,_ George thought.

Carissa didn't say anything, but her eyes lingered on Touma.

Touma was mortified when he realized his predicament. He tried to cover himself up and yanked his pants out of Lessar's grasp. _Why me?_ he cried silently. He was about to die of embarrassment. It was definitely all Lessar's fault, but he was ultimately the one who was revealed. Then he received a surprise. Carissa was actually smirking. He was about to try to defend himself when she spoke.

"I can see now why you are so confident."

Touma almost passed out right there.

* * *

"So did Fiamma really get sent back to England?" Touma asked. After everyone calmed down and Touma threw out the girls, some more forcefully than others, he got dressed and followed Carissa, Leivinia, and George into another tent where Amelia was waiting. During their brief walk, Touma noticed the camp had been set up again, though it was much more barren than it had been last night. The point of this meeting was to answer Touma's questions, since everyone agreed he would have them, without giving him information that would be considered classified. It was also better he heard it directly from them instead of garbled versions from others. Touma felt like they were referring to the rumors that were spreading through the knights.

"Yes," Carissa confirmed. "After much deliberation, we decided his knowledge was too valuable for an immediate execution."

"I was against this," Leivinia added and crossed her arms. "He is way too dangerous to try to keep imprisoned."

"Based on our observation," George pointed out. "Fiamma has lost all desire to fight and has surrendered willingly. That arm of his is also currently unusable. Your concern is noted but, ultimately, this is our decision." His eyes turned back to Touma. "Whatever you did to him seems to have had a lasting effect."

"I only made him see he was mistaken in his goal," Touma muttered.

"The Princess said something similar," Leivinia added. "Though some of the details were rather sketchy."

"Are you implying I am withholding important information?" Carissa asked coldly.

"I'm certainly not implying I enjoy your company," Leivinia muttered. She and Carissa stared at each other intently and nothing good was going to come from it. Everyone else knew that for certain.

"The details were more than enough," George interrupted before the fighting could escalate. "We don't fully understand Fiamma's power because the Roman Catholic Church holds a great deal of secrets. The Princess's decision to interrogate him could save many lives down the line." Touma did not know for sure, but he guessed Carissa left out details about the dragon. "We would have been in serious trouble without Mr. Kamijou's assistance. Not just with Fiamma, but throughout the entire engagement with Adam." He turned toward Amelia. "Didn't you have something to say?" Amelia sighed and her fierce expression, which she wore most of the time Touma had seen her, faltered.

"Hah," Leivinia laughed. "She's not used to admitting she was wrong, is she?"

"Go on," Carissa ordered. Her face was expressionless, but there was a dangerous gleam in her eye.

"I'm sorry for believing you were nothing more than a liability," Amelia finally said. "We normally do not allow outsiders to join in military operations, let alone children." Touma felt a slight twinge of irritation, but he couldn't exactly correct the truth. "And I can't say you gave the most professional first impression." George and Carissa looked like they were about to say something, but Touma went first.

"I can't argue with that," he admitted and Leivinia grinned.

"But you proved yourself time and time again," Amelia continued. "Not only did you destroy the barrier, our main objective, but you showed remarkable courage and decision making skills during our engagement. Your insight helped us against the plagues and you fought Adam by yourself, which gave us time to take out his allies. Then your quick decision saved our troops from his trap. After Fiamma ambushed us, you once again faced an opponent with overwhelming power. You still won, even with your body in its condition. I have to admit you surprised me."

"If you keep talking like that, Amelia," George said with a huge grin. "People might get the impression you have fallen for our guest."

"No wonder your troops are always the source of rumors," Amelia snapped and rounded on him. "You undisciplined attitude is why they can't remain serious for any length of time."

"And your Spartan methods is why your men flinch at every little thing," George replied. "They expect us to yell at them every day."

"You have to be firm to develop discipline. Your men are immature."

"Sometimes you have to let them actually have fun and relax."

"Do they argue often like this?" Touma mouthed to Carissa. He knew George had a sense of humor but. when he started arguing with Amelia, Touma was reminded of some of Jason's and Kuroko antics. Carissa didn't say anything, though her eye twitched. That involuntary gesture alone answered his question. Leivinia was watching the exchange with amusement etched on her face.

"Shut up you two." Carissa finally had enough. "You do this after every assignment." Both of them fell silent and her eyes darted back to Touma. "We are getting off track from the purpose of why we are even here. Do you have any more questions?"

"What happened to all the people who were enslaved by Adam?" Touma asked. "Did they make it out of the maze before it collapsed?" He dreaded the answer, but he had to know their fate.

"When Adam released his control that held the maze together," Leivinia explained. "The spatial magic pushed everything that had been swallowed up back to the surface, our troops, supplies, vehicles, and even the enslaved civilians. There were some enlarged wildlife, but they shrunk to normal size almost immediately." She shivered slightly. Touma decided it was better not to ask, but he assumed some snakes were involved.

"Phew." Touma let out a sigh of relief. "Glad to hear that piece of good news."

"It worked out well in the end," Amelia added. "We did not expect Adam to collapse the magic like that. You pushed him into it."

"Though, that leaves the issue about creating a new body for Lucifer," George added and the atmosphere darkened in an instant. "He mentioned an ally of theirs who can make one."

"All we have to do is find that person and crush them like Adam," Leivinia pointed out. "Eve is still out there and our spies show she is still mulling around in Academy City."

"Speaking of which," Touma interrupted. "When would my friends and I be able to return home?"

"A jet is being sent here later this evening to pick you all up," Carissa answered. "Our contact with your city advised having you all return at night will cause less attention."

"Try not to cause too much trouble," Leivinia said. "Even without Adam, Eve is quite powerful by herself. Don't purposely go looking for her."

"Are you not coming back with us?" Touma asked surprised.

"No, why? Are you going to miss me?" She winked at him and Touma tried to splutter out an answer. "I have other things I have to do back in England for a couple days, and then I will return to Academy City."

"The fact New Light and the Dawn-Colored Sunlight have been allowed to remain in Academy City is a blessing indeed," George spoke up. "With tensions between the magic and science sides, we can hardly send an army to help you fight Eve."

"I can understand that," Touma admitted. "Several magicians have snuck in and caused a lot of problems."

"More than you might think," mumbled Amelia. Touma looked at her confused and Amelia went silent. However, a quick nod from Carissa caused her to continue. "Your city has given the Anglican Church several magicians who have invaded your city, but our investigations have shown several magicians have vanished. They might not be dead," she said quickly when Touma opened his mouth. "They just disappeared. It's possible they escaped our radar."

"Weird," Touma agreed. "Normally Stiyl pulls me into any series magic side events." _Jason mentioned he was part of a group that was supposed to deal with magicians. Would he know something about the disappearances?_

"You should not have to worry about them," Carissa said, as if she read his mind. "Instead, prioritize any actions taken by Eve over anything else. If you see anything, let one of the magicians stationed near you to contact us. We will have a more complete picture of their plan."

"No problem," Touma replied. "After facing Adam, I rather just have a couple normal days without a life or death struggle." Leivinia and George actually laughed, and even Amelia and Carissa smirked at this. "Maye I go? I want to let me friends know we will be heading back home tonight."

"You may go," Carissa granted and waved her hands. "Everyone else, you may go too. I need to make a private call." Leivinia rolled her eyes and got up to leave. George and Amelia gave Carissa a quick salute and also made to leave.

"Oh," George said and put his arm over Touma's shoulders, as they began to leave the tent. "As thanks for helping us out so much, I feel I should warn you before you arrive back at your city."

"What is it?" Touma asked nervously.

"Zach recorded your confession when you fell off Lucifer's body," George explained right outside the tent, so Carissa could still hear everything clearly. "He sent it to a couple of your friends."

"WHAT?!"

"Seems he has been in contact with them for a while."

"I MEAN, WHY DID HE SEND IT TO THEM!? HE HAS NO IDEA WHAT THEY ARE CAPABLE OF WITH SOMETHING LIKE THAT!"

"Probably for his own amusement."

"I'm going to kill him." Touma already knew everyone heard him yelling he wanted a girlfriend. Lessar was sure to bring it up constantly at the most inopportune time, but Ruiko and Frenda might be mature enough to avoid mentioning it. Imouto said she had been knocked out, so there was a chance she didn't hear about it yet.

"This is why I said his men are immature," Amelia groaned.

"Lighten up, Amelia," George said with a laugh.

Their voices grew softer as they moved further away, until Carissa could no longer make out what they said. She sighed and grudgingly stood up in her chair. She really didn't want to make this call, but she didn't have much of a choice. She walked up to the tent flap and pressed down on a rune stitched into the fabric. It was simply an Algiz, a rune of protection. By stitching it on the tents, it could be activated by simply touching and igniting it with one's mana. Since it was on the inside of the tent, the main purpose was it provided protection against unwanted intrusion or eavesdropping. Without using pure magical might to break through the tent, which would alert everyone in the vicinity, only the Imagine Breaker and possibly Index could access her tent. She walked back to the table and set up the laptop once more. She sat down and frowned slightly when her mother's face appeared.

"Hello, Carissa," Elizard said. "Can you hear me?"

"You are coming in clear," Carissa answered.

"Excellent, now I take it since you have already provided the briefing about what transpired, you have something else to report?"

"Two things," Carissa confirmed and held up two fingers. "The first one is more serious, so I am going to start there. I left something out of the report because of its sensitive nature."

"Oh?" Elizard actually looked curious and Carissa knew why. When Carissa filled out her reports, she always made sure they were one hundred percent accurate, in case she ever needed to review them. Her serious nature would not allow even a single mistake. Also, lying on status reports could be a court martial offense and she was still on probation due to her earlier actions. "What could have happened to require such an action?"

"It involved the battle against Fiamma of the Right on top of his floating isle."

"I noticed it seemed a little… convenient in its ending where Fiamma's power happened to break down," Elizard admitted. "A member of God's Right Seat would not have broken so easily. Something serious happened that can't be made public knowledge, even to the other officers, right?" Carissa nodded.

"We were getting overpowered," Carissa explained. "Fiamma's hand was unlike anything I had seen before. It could defeat anyone in a single blow, except for the boy of course. Fiamma decided he was wasting too much time actually fighting and took me hostage. The boy was willing to give him the Imagine Breaker if he let me go." Elizard opened her mouth, but Carissa continued, her tone growing slightly louder to block any interruption. "His hand was severed and then… something emerged."

"Something?" Elizard asked and Carissa explained what she saw. The head of a dragon grew out of Touma's arm, outlined in blood, and then pretty much devoured Fiamma's magic and arm. It was a force that overwhelmed everything in its path. To make the situation even stranger, right before it finished off Fiamma, Touma had used a different power to make it disappear, and then _regrew_ his arm. Carissa also provided a short overview of the exchanged of blows and argument that followed until Fiamma finally fell. Elizard listened silently until Carissa finished. "Did you ask the boy about what that was?"

"I considered it," Carissa admitted. "However, asking the boy about a creature that lives in his arm could hardly be something to mention in public. Then he was asleep for a couple hours, so the window of opportunity faded fast. Now, I doubt I could get him alone without drawing suspicion. I was hoping he would offer the information on his own, but he seems to be able to keep a secret at least."

"I see." Elizard rubbed her chin in thought. Carissa noticed she was unusually serious. "I appreciate the information and I do think this requires further investigation. I know a few people who can research the phenomenon for me and it won't get spread around. Do you think this dragon is part of the boy's hand, or a separate entity?"

"I think it has to be a separate entity," Carissa answered. "Fiamma wanted to fuse the Imagine Breaker into his own arm. The dragon showed up after the hand was severed. Either Fiamma did not understand the link between the hand and beast, or the dragon is separate. I think separate entities is the more likely choice."

"This information shall be classified," Elizard declared and Carissa nodded. "Do not engage the boy about this yet. If a situation arises where we need to know, then you can ask him, but I have the feeling he doesn't know about it."

"Actually," Carissa corrected her. "I think he knows about it." Elizard's eyes widened slightly.

"Why is that?"

"It's… also a feeling I had," Carissa said hesitantly. "When he was given the option of sacrificing his arm, I saw something in his expression that he was prepared to make a big gamble. I think that dragon was the gamble."

"I see." Elizard was silent for a moment. "That makes this more interesting, but also more troublesome. He is using a power he doesn't understand. It helped us this time, but it could backfire on us in the future. Very curious." She snapped back to the present. "Anything else you left out of the report?"

"No."

"Then what was the second item you wished to discuss?"

"It's about your forceful interference into my personal life." Carissa dreaded having to discuss this, ever since she made the decision it had to be done. Her mother's eyes widened in surprise and the devious smirk that formed only solidified her fears.

"Oh? Are you going to tell me off again?"

"You know what I am going to say."

"I have no idea, dear. Please enlighten me." Carissa could hear the amusement in her mother's voice.

"Are you serious about trying to make that boy a suitor?" Carissa finally asked directly. Elizard's smile broadened.

"At first it was supposed to be a joke on my end," Elizard admitted. "But after observing your reaction to anything relating to him, and your determination to frighten away all other possible candidates, I think he would make a fine choice." She picked up a packet of papers. "Based on your reports, he fought Adam by himself, destroyed the statue of Lucifer, saved our forces from annihilation by detecting a trap, and defeated a member of God's Right seat. All in a single day."

"I am not denying his accomplishments are not impressive," Carissa said defensively.

"Even when you nearly killed him and his companions in England," Elizard continued. "He still wanted to save you. He looked past everything you did because he saw the good in you, your desire to protect your country, even if you went down the wrong path."

"Again, it's not an issue of his accomplishments."

"The troops respect him," Elizard pointed out. "George and I discussed this already. After today's events, there should be no complaints."

"You don't seem to-…"

"There is no law that says a princess has to marry an English citizen either. It would be simple enough to bring him here after he finishes school."

"You are pointing out one of the main problems."

"And this is?"

"It's the damn age!" Carissa finally stated clearly. "Even if I had feelings for him, which I am not saying I do, he's still in high school! That gap is way too wide! He's not even eighteen!"

"So if he was eighteen, the issue would be moot?" Carissa did not say anything and Elizard gave an exasperated sigh. "He will be seventeen soon enough and an engagement can last until he turns eighteen and out of school." Carissa opened her mouth to speak, but Elizard cut her off. "I have had some of my people keep in contact with a young man from Academy City. He's working with the Anglican Church and I know Mr. Kamijou's birthday is fast approaching. As long as you are both adults, the age isn't really that important. Plenty of relationships have survived with greater ranges and others have broken apart with the same."

"Tsk," Carissa muttered. "You really want this to happen, don't you?"

"I want my daughter to be happy," Elizard corrected gently. "Yet you are too occupied with work to satisfy your other desires. Before you try to deny it, I know you want to find someone, but you set your standards impossibly high."

"I refuse to be seen in the company of garbage," Carissa snapped.

"Yet you are fine being seen with that boy?" Carissa did not have a comeback for that and diverted her eyes. "There's an expression I don't see often. You actually look like the young girl I remember so fondly."

"Shut up!"

"Would you like me to initiate the next step?"

"Huh?"

"Would you like me to set the events in motion for him to be a suitor?" Elizard amended.

"You really are serious about this," Carissa muttered darkly.

"Of course I am," Elizard confirmed, her face losing all trace of amusement. "He is the first male you actually showed interest in since _him_ and I can't let this pass."

"I could argue my interest stemmed from something completely different," Carissa retorted. "But what makes you think the boy is going to agree to this? You know he isn't the type to be forced or bribed and, from what I have seen, he always has a flock of girls chasing him."

"That is so unlike you," Elizard pointed out and the amusement returned to her voice. "If you wanted something, you always went ahead and took it. Now you are worried about what others think?" Carissa scowled and Elizard gave a short laugh. "I figured you will need to talk with him about this if you expect to have a chance. I am sure you will find a way to convince him. Oh, by the way, his friend said he was into older, well-developed women, so you have that on your side."

"I'm going to find your contact and tear off his manhood," Carissa muttered.

"That might make Mr. Kamijou think less of you," Elizard stated rationally. "So I would advise against such an action. Now, my daughter, would you like me to set up Mr. Kamijou as a possible suitor? I need to know now." Carissa glared at the screen in front of her and sat there in silence. A minute passed as she considered the options that laid before her.

"Fine."

"Excellent," Elizard cheered and clapped her hands together. "When you return, you will have to pack immediately. You need a vacation after all the work you have done the last few days. Academy City is hosting a demonstration on several new high tech mobile suits I am sure you would enjoy seeing. It would be a great chance for you to relax and meet up with your friends in Academy City."

"Wait, what?!" Carissa yelled.

"I hope to see you soon, safe and sound," Elizard said, as if Carissa didn't question her. "Bye." The connection broke and Carissa was left staring at a blank screen.

 _My mother is the devil incarnate,_ Carissa fumed silently. She wanted to break something, but everything in the tent was needed. _She purposely moved the conversation in a way I couldn't deny her words. I agreed to her plan in a moment of weakness. As long as I don't meet that boy before he leaves, I should be able to avoid any new rumors. Hmm, that reminds me._ She pulled out her radio. "George, send Zach to the command tent."

"Roger." Carissa turned off her radio.

"He still needs a lesson from his antics earlier." She grinned and started rummaging around in her trunk.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter. Only one more chapter till the magic 100.**

 **Next chapter we shall return to Academy City and see what our other group of people have been doing.**

 **Misaki: Huh, it looks like we are going to have to take down England again.**

 **Mikoto: We actually have time to plan this time, so it will be easier.**

 **Shizuri: Never thought I would see the day you two are willing to cause mass destruction when someone's life isn't at risk.**

 **Misaki: Someone's life IS at risk!**

 **Mikoto: The princess is a sadist.**

 **Shizuri: I would love to join in the destruction of a country, but I have some plans for this weekend. It's sure to put me ahead of you two.**

 **Mikoto & Misaki: What are you planning?!**

 **Motoharu: We should get ready too. The raffle is coming up fast.**

 **Pierce: Soon, he will have no choice but to admit his alternative persona is real.**

 **Kazari: Yay, Saten-san is finally returning home.**

 **Jason: Might be a chapter or two, because we still have some unfinished business.**


	100. S4 Aftermath

**At last, it is a momentous occasion that this story has at last reached 100 chapters! When I started this story, I was planning to make it long and exciting, but I didn't think I would reach this point when I first set out. I really want to thank all the people who have followed since the beginning and everyone who discovered it and managed to reach the end. Your support and comments really helped me reach this point. 100 chapters! Best of all, these aren't short chapters, they are of decent length. Funny enough, this chapter also represents the end of Season Four. It was not planned this way, it just happened. When I write, I usually only have a vague idea of what I want to happen and let things flow together. This season just happened to end here. With Australia done, this chapter is moving back to Academy City to resolve some issues, along with maybe showing the first sign of a couple popular characters. People have been asking for them and I have been waiting for this moment. As soon as one thing is resolved, more problems arise. That's the Index universe in a nutshell, isn't it?**

 **general ironox: I always enjoyed those types of fight. Two power people throwing away ungodly strength to resolve their issues with good old flesh and blood. Touma will never be safe, especially in Academy City.**

 **Acpeters: Lessar has pictures.**

 **plantkingman1: I think a lot of girls won't be that happy with Carissa's arrival.**

 **Iceflame55: Too late, he's dead.**

 **Chris: I think your definition of men is the same definition of idiot. I'm pretty sure the Delta Squad and several other people would enjoy watching Touma suffer regardless of who caused it.**

 **Salishious: You will get your wish. This is the wrap up chapter for Academy City after the fight. So it's starting the night before Touma takes out Adam and Fiamma and moves to the next day.**

 **Cyber dragonarmy: I wouldn't doubt Elizard planned this all. Before a TV show though, they will either write a book or manga and then it gets turned into an anime. It would be a top seller for sure. Oh, and for my judgment on you, death!**

 **akd48: I don't know. There is one opportunity I know of, but not sure if the situation would really call for it. If it is used too much, it loses appeal.**

 **Whwsms: Fluffy was important to so many people. Though, Lessar and the Queen were a close second.**

 **wildarms13: Ah, so Vento is your type of girl? I understand. Fiamma's hand was eaten by a dragon, I think it's pretty much shot. Season Five is going to have so much shenanigans going on. Once Accelerator learns of it from Last Order, everyone dies. Lessar will have to distribute hard copies.**

 **Mizericordia: I keep telling myself I wanted to do something with Awaki, but the situation didn't occur much. She got a few small scenes earlier on and nothing came from it. Not sure when she will have a chance. There are always small changes that make it so plot works out better.**

 **Guest: Sadly, it takes time to write and I can't do it too much or I get tired of it. I only write when I feel like writing and stop when I'm not.**

 **GameCguru: There is a reason WW3 isn't in this one. Another large scale fight will take its place at some point. Touma telling his parents he is marrying into royalty would be such a great phone call.**

 **Anon Guest: Yep, Fiamma will get his own harem soon. He's in a high enough position to change the Holy Doctrine of Vatican Law. Everyone ends up in Touma's harem eventually if you are not living your life correctly. Fluffy only comes out during conflict. Touma willingly gave up his arm to stop the fight and it worked, until Fiamma opened his mouth. Obviously.**

 **Guest: Orianna gets time in 'plot' not plot.**

 **Liuen: I was rather proud of that.**

 **Guest: Probably not, unless Carissa's ex snaps and discovers an artifact of immense power and goes on a killing spree for revenge. Doubt that would happen though.**

 **Jujudude: Touma is going to have to do something about all those girls. Either accept the harem, or go with them one at a time and see which one is best for him. I suppose Motoharu could make a game show of it. As for Kuroko x Jason, stuff happens. It's been one hundreds chapters, so it's not like it's been rushed. Not sure how often Touya will appear, but maybe Kuroko can talk to her for a bit.**

 **Simmering Teapot: We should change that. Hot goddess with power or without? Goodbye? Goddess's don't say goodbye. They take what they desire. Touma complains about luck, but I guess he can get some good luck once in a while.**

 **Guest00: So far, Accelerator does not have access to the network. Mikoto might be able to at some point if she starts learning how. Worst is sure to tell Accelerator EXACTLY what happened when Last Order passes out in the middle of the floor from that image. The disturbance in the force is being saved for ONE very special situation involving Touma's mom. The very world will shake.**

 **Sergioqsc: There is a reason I didn't have him summon Gabriel. Though, I can't give much more because it would ruin something far down the road. Oriana will always appear during the best times. Also, Touma's battle cry will bite him constantly.**

 **RPGPersona: Always a pleasure to read your comments. I have to say I always look forward to them. Careful, don't give away plot points to people. Touma will have to spin the Wheel of Misfortune to decide what he gets turned into. God, Lucifer, Touya, a sedan, etc. Remember, Fiamma's plan was years in the making, but then the Fallen get involved and you have to change things around. Organizations love to interfere with each other. Ruiko's involvement is going to cause some interesting situations in the future. Not many people can defeat one of the most powerful Saints. Comfortable bath tub? That just takes a couple girls to act as pillows obviously. It's Lessar, pondering how she does things is useless. Zach's revenge will set forth a chain of events that lead to death or a harem. Carissa x Touma. There are not enough fanfics with them.**

 **Agent Nine: Oh? You are interested in male fan service?**

 **Handsomistic1: Many of us are sure he does. I notice everyone comments on Accelerator's reaction to Imouto uploading the picture.**

 **Kuvukiland: Fiamma only wins by cheating, so if you negate the cheat code, he's weak.**

 **Generation Zero: As a prisoner, there is a chance for redemption for Fiamma. He can fight side by side with Touma against Eve. Problem is, if I want to introduce more characters, some previous characters have to be beaten.**

 **321jaz: It seemed longer in the series because of the Star and angel. Woah, I never said that. Someone else will just have to cause an Armageddon.**

 **Knight of the Iron Hammer Vita: Nope, neither of them appeared yet. Should be soon if they do.**

 **Guest: 1) She might have implied it was big. 2) Goes to live with Touma. 3) Kill him or make sure he doesn't talk about it. 4) Probably not, I got that out of my system.**

 **A certain guest: Since no one will tell our hero about the dragon, any of those could be true. Aiwass definitely needs to come out and troll some people.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: I could see Motoharu and Jason talking about it like that in front of Carissa and Mikoto. Just to annoy them but, at the same time, act like they are really discussing it.**

 **Master Knight Trolling chapter: Has to stay a secret for now. The raffle is going to be so much fun to write, but I think it's obvious why Touma didn't mention Deep Blood. He doesn't want to risk her life and she hated killing vampires. Church won't for many reasons, but I doubt Index would want to get a friend involved on the magic side who's not already.**

 **Savaris: To be fair, Mugino needed a rival. Mii hasn't been involved enough yet. Well, a few serious issues need to be resolved, but plenty of humor in this chapter too. One of the reasons I love reading comments is people can give ideas that are way out in left field, but it triggers something in my mind that allows me to solve an issue or create a fun situation. I know he reads them. He totally quoted my fic in his work! Accelerator will learn, oh he will learn, and Worst will say the hero is bigger to piss him off more.**

 **One above God: I had to think of a way to write that clean but have everyone understand it perfectly. It worked out well.**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

Mikoto was lying on her bed, unable to quiet her thoughts. It was virtually impossible to even consider sleeping. All she could do was rest her tired and sore body, while she waited for some kind of news on her friends. Kuroko had rushed off for some reason and Mikoto fretted over why for a while. It felt like Kuroko had been suppressing her true thoughts and finally exploded. Kuroko had been unconscious for the fight with Juliet, so Juliet shouldn't have been able to goad her. With Juliet gone, any magic she tried to cast would be ineffective, wouldn't it? _I have no idea. I don't even know what Juliet 'tried' to do, except for her saying it would kill Kuroko._ Her eyes drifted over to the metal ball on her desk. It contained whatever was left of Juliet and it didn't seem to show any sign of life. Mikoto sighed and wished Kuroko would contact her.

Her phone started ringing.

Mikoto bolted upright and lunged for her phone sitting on her bedside table. Her body protested at the sudden movement, but she ignored the pain. _Please be Kuroko!_ She grabbed the phone and flipped it open, but completely ignored her caller ID. "Kuroko?" she asked hopefully.

"Sorry," a familiar voice said. "It's Jason."

"Kagere-san?!" Mikoto exclaimed. "Oh, I'm glad to hear from you. Do you know what happened in the city tonight? Are you and Uiharu-san okay?"

"We are fine," Jason replied quickly. "Nothing happened. Our phones were off because we were watching a movie. Saten-san has been away and Kazari was lonely."

"I know she's gone, but listen, Juliet attacked-…"

"I know," Jason interrupted.

"You know?!" Mikoto almost screeched. "Who told you?!"

"I ran into Kuroko a little while ago." His voice was calm, but Mikoto could hear a strain in it.

"She's okay then…" Mikoto trailed off and collapsed onto her bed and her eyes began to tear up. "I'm so glad. Can… can I talk to her?"

"Now would not be a good time," Jason said solemnly.

"Why? She's not hurt, right?"

"Not, physically." There was a pause. "Let me explain. You are familiar with the play Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, it's a play that focuses heavily on love and emotions. Juliet named herself off of that because she's always loved emotional movies and plays since she was a kid. Her _ability_ ," The way he articulated that word told Mikoto not to say magic over the phone. "I believe, allows her to manipulate emotions. She changed Kuroko's love for you into hate. What I can't understand is why it seems to be moving so slowly. Usually an _ability_ like that takes affect instantaneously."

"She slammed her head against a pole to knock herself unconscious," Mikoto remembered. "She must have realized something was wrong." There was another pause.

"That would explain it," Jason muttered. "That power was incomplete and partially changed her thoughts. Her memories are intact, but she appears to feel disgust and hate instead of love when she thinks of you."

"Where are you two?" Mikoto asked.

"I found her on the streets, out in the rain. I took her to my apartment and she's currently in the bathroom now, drying off."

"Couldn't you have taken her to Uiharu-san's dorm?" Mikoto asked hesitantly. _This isn't good. Kagere doesn't know Kuroko has feelings for him. If she's not emotionally stable because of Juliet's magic, there could be an accident, one we may never recover from._ She waited for Jason's answer and heard a loud sigh.

"I considered that," he admitted. "But I'm not sure of the full ramifications of Juliet's incomplete power. If Kuroko suddenly goes wild, do you truly believe Kazari could stop her?" Mikoto didn't answer and her silence was enough. Both of them knew the kind of destruction a teleporter could cause if they did not have restraint. "With my shadow ability bending dimensions, I can contain her if she does. There really isn't much choice until she's cured."

"I can understand that," Mikoto acknowledged. "How long do you think it will be before you can help her?"

"I… don't think I can."

"EHH?!" Mikoto gasped. "But you always seem to know what to do, even if it takes you a little bit to do some research."

"I have never meddled with mind manipulation," Jason explained. "It's a precise art and probably different from Shokuhou-san's ability. I'm planning to take her to Index and have her design the spell. She would be faster and more thorough than I could be."

"Be careful," Mikoto warned. "You know Kuroko and I were attacked, but I also found out Shokuhou and Accelerator were also attacked. Eve's forces seem to be targeting us and it's possible Mugino was a target as well, since she was with us in England. Juliet was so powerful and she wasn't anywhere near as strong as Cain. I lost control and everything went dark for a while. I can't remember most of what happened until the end. If it wasn't for Kazakiri-san saving me, I would have died. When I returned, transformed, I'm not even sure how I did it, but Juliet would not give up. She kept trying to kill me and Kuroko. Even when her body was being destroyed, she would not stop." Her voice kept growing more and more hysterical. "I could have dropped the electrical barrier, but I didn't. She wouldn't stop. I… I think she's dead and it was all my fault!"

"Stop!" The single world broke her out of her state. "Listen to me Misaka-san. I am going to say this once, this is not your fault. Juliet… is not the Emiko I knew. Eve took her memory and twisted it into what she is now. Please, do not blame yourself for what happened. Kuroko did mention something about her… remains? What did she mean by that?"

"There was a small orb consisting of her remaining shadow. I sealed it up in a metal ball with an electrical loop. I don't know what to do with it."

"I'll pick it up tomorrow," Jason told her. "We have no idea what that is and it would be safer in my hands." He sighed. "Kuroko won't be cured until tomorrow at the earliest too."

"Why aren't you taking her to Index tonight?!" Mikoto demanded surprised.

"Several reasons," Jason explained. "First, we have no idea if Eve and more of her forces are still moving around in the city. Second, there have been notices on the Anti-Skill channels about several disturbances in the city. I think it's because of your fights. We need to keep a low profile right now. There… may be suspicions you lot were involved if they were tracking AIM fields. Not sure if I can do anything to stop that."

"I'll keep that in mind," Mikoto said. "If I say I was attacked, it shouldn't escalate too much."

"I hope so," Jason sighed on the other end. He sounded exhausted. "Oh, it's also raining, so crossing the city would be a pain. Not like I would let it stop me, but it's another minor reason. I plan to send an excuse to your school about Kuroko's absence. If anyone asks you about her, say it's a Judgment thing."

"Okay," Mikoto agreed. "Kagere, thanks for finding her. We contacted everyone else when we realized Eve was targeting us, but then we tried to reach you and Uiharu-san and couldn't…" Her voice trailed off.

"She sort of found me," Jason corrected her with a forced chuckle and then paused. "Sounds like she's done. I should go. Not sure how she will react if she finds me talking to you. Is there anything else, real quick?"

"There is," Mikoto admitted. She didn't really want to tell him this, but the situation called for it. _Please forgive me Kuroko._ "A few moments before Juliet attacked, Kuroko and I were talking."

"Okay?"

"About you."

"Me? Was it insulting?" For a second, Mikoto heard a brief moment of amusement in Jason's voice. This actually made what Mikoto was going to tell him even harder.

"No," she said slowly. "Listen, I really shouldn't be the one telling you this, but due to circumstances, Kuroko has… feelings for you."

"Like anger and frustration?"

"Be serious for a minute," Mikoto snapped and then calmed down. She knew this was the usual Jason and she did appreciate him trying to make everything normal now that the situation was under control. "She and I were talking, and Kuroko likes you, as in more than a friend. I believe she has actually fallen for you, and this is not a joke." She added that last part quickly.

There was only silence on the line.

"Are… are you still there?"

"Do you really think I didn't notice?" Jason asked quietly.

"You knew?!" Mikoto gasped.

"I'm not oblivious like Touma is," Jason huffed. "I have known for a while. It's just," his voice grew softer, "how am I supposed to react to that? She never actually told me."

"You could have…," Mikoto tried to say, but found herself trailing off. There really was no good answer. "I see your point."

"I promised myself I would treat her exactly like I always did," Jason continued. "If she tells me, then I can talk to her about it." He sighed. "I'm beginning to see what Touma goes through."

"Hey!"

"Hush, you know it's true."

"Still." Mikoto sighed too. "Well, I wanted to warn you, but if you know, I trust you." She paused. "Wish our friends outside the city would return home soon."

"Kazari told me about them and I'm sure they are fine. He won't let anything happen to them."

"No, he definitely won't." They both knew Touma and his resolve. "I should get going then."

"Misaka-san," Jason said sternly. "Get some rest. After what you went through, you need it. I'll do what I can on my end."

"Thanks," Mikoto replied. She hung up and fell back onto her bed. _Things are going to get complicated, but it could have been a lot worse. At least Kuroko is safe, but I hope nothing happens between them. It could jeopardize their relationship with Uiharu-san._ She took a deep breath and turned her thoughts back to what happened earlier. She wouldn't be able to sleep anytime soon and needed something to distract her. _Tomorrow, I'm going to have to get a full explanation from Shokuhou. She couldn't give me everything over the phone. She needs to know about the wing too…. Crap! I forgot to tell Kagere-san about what Uiharu-san told me. I guess I will tell him tomorrow, with Shokuhou and probably Accelerator. He is involved in this enough too._ She made a mental note to make sure to reach out to all of them tomorrow. It would not be a good idea to use phones, since they could be monitored that way.

At last, her thoughts turned to the transformation. She knew what it was, to some degree. She had shifted toward Level 6, without outside assistance, or at least any she could identify. The choker in Italy had been a onetime thing and broke soon after using it. _I mentioned I transformed to Kagere-san, I hope he understood what I meant. I need to ask him about it._ She shivered slightly. _I wish Touma was here. Being around him always makes me feel better._ The memories of being in the Imaginary Number District with Hyouka swam to the surface of her mind. Mikoto had no idea how she got there, but the end result was what surprised her. With the Level 6 shift involving her, her mind should have been destroyed once she reached a certain stage, and yet her mind had been miraculously clear near the end. It was like she changed.

 _Or evolved._

The thought echoed in her mind. _Why? Juliet could have easily assassinated us, yet she announced her presence. Then she spent all that time antagonizing me. Could Eve have ordered her not to kill me outright? If so, why?_ Mikoto was not great at these kinds of schemes, which were something Misaki and Shizuri excelled at. She always preferred the direct approach. _It's no use thinking too hard about this. I probably won't be able to figure out the extent of Eve's scheme. I'll tell the others what I know and see if they can piece it together._ She rolled over on her side. _Kagere-san is right, I should get some rest, but I don't feel like I can sleep._ Her eyes fell on something on the top of her dresser.

It was the DVD Jason had given to her, Misaki, and Kuroko.

 _You know, I haven't watched that yet,_ she mused and sat up. She had no idea what was on it, but it would hopefully take her mind off fighting Juliet. Mikoto stood up, walked over, and put the DVD in her TV, before sitting back down on her bed. Motoharu's face showed up on the screen first and Mikoto frowned.

The good news, it took her mind off the earlier events.

The bad news, she probably wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon because of embarrassment.

* * *

Misaki was currently mulling around in her own room.

Unlike Mikoto, Misaki had a lot more information gleamed from her battle with Arthur. She knew Eve wanted her forces to push them to the limit of their abilities so they would transform. _The question is, why? Curiosity, maybe? She would have seen mine in England, so that explains why I was targeted, but the others were too. Eve must have believed we all could transform, though that raises several more questions. Does she understand what this transformation is? What purpose did she want to know if the others could transform? There is also a chance someone else could be pulling the strings._ She shuddered. _I don't think someone like Eve is easily manipulated, so maybe it's a deal. She does make them._ Her eyes widened. _This isn't good. The magic side wouldn't be interested in science abilities, so that means Eve has to be working with someone on the science side. It explains so much, like how she knows about the Imaginary Number District._ She crossed her arms and sat on her bed. _How should I go about this? I was advised not to do anything to attract attention._

Misaki knew she would have to talk about this with the others. Knowingly or not, they will most likely have caught onto their own traces of information. Once they shared it, Misaki would be able to piece together a rough idea of Eve's plan, hopefully. She even had a slight advantage over the others, because she had direct contact with Seria Kumokawa. It was thanks to Seria that Misaki had known Touma, Ruiko, Frenda, and Lessar had left the city. She passed it onto Mikoto as a courtesy. There were a few pieces of information kept private, until they could speak face to face. Misaki knew Touma and the others had gone to Australia, but she wasn't sure of the exact reason, except it had to deal with the magic side. Seria did not believe in magic, so Misaki actually knew more than her about that.

 _The biggest problem is our fight with Eve forces actually caused the city to take full notice,_ Misaki thought to herself and glanced at the mirror. She looked exhausted and would normally go to sleep immediately, but she had to run through what she knew one more time to spot any patterns. _She told me to avoid drawing attention to myself and limit the use of my power. AIM field tracking is annoying and hard to avoid if I can't see the people operating it. Well, I can't say I don't enjoy a break, but I wish my prince was here. Interesting stuff always happens around him and the normal gossip here doesn't compare._ She smiled and fell back on her bed. _Look at me, not too long ago, all I cared about was remaining on top of everything. Now, I just want to be with one person. Though, some of our friends are pretty nice too. Heh, our friends. How weird._ She chuckled to herself and stared at the ceiling for a moment. She was too full of adrenaline to sleep. _What should I do now?_

Her eyes fell on a DVD she meant to watch.

 _Huh, I completely forgot Kagere gave me that. He said it was important to watch and I have time now. So, why not?_ She didn't watch a ton of TV and therefore did not have a TV in her room. She had to use her laptop to view the DVD. Jason had advised them to watch it in private and Misaki instantly understood why. Motoharu doing a documentary on Touma was bound to be inappropriate to certain audiences. Misaki, on the other hand, enjoyed it tremendously. _I look good in that outfit. Wish I had the opportunity to bring it back from England with me._ There was one other part of the video she loved and planned to mention it constantly.

Mikoto was an adorable drunk.

* * *

"Thanks for picking me up," Kikyou Yoshikawa said, as the car pulled up to the apartment.

"I was on my way back anyways," Aiho Yomikawa replied dismissively. "Wish I could have joined you at the bar, but it wouldn't have mattered if I had gone with. They pulled everyone off their normal duties to investigate several areas."

"What happened?"

"If I had to give my opinion," Aiho said seriously. "I would say we were attacked. Three streets and countless buildings have been destroyed, along with a park that looked like someone dropped a bomb on it. We had to divert so much man power to keep anyone still on the streets away from those areas. Then I heard rumors of a couple deaths, but I was unable to confirm them." She rubbed her head with her free hand. "What the hell happened tonight? There were no witnesses either. Destruction like that should have drawn attention."

"Any leads?" Kikyou asked. "Sounds like it had to be a high level ability user." She paused. "Do you think Accelerator was involved?"

"My gut tells me he definitely was," Aiho confirmed. "But the higher ups refused to tell us anything. They are covering something up." They got out of the car and headed up toward the apartment. "We were limited to ensuring the perimeter was secure and no one else would get involved. Everything was quiet when we were notified, so the fights couldn't have lasted very long."

"I doubt Accelerator would have destroyed an entire block for fun," Kikyou muttered thoughtfully. "He may be reckless, but you know he has mellowed out since attending school."

"It's possible someone attacked him or Last Order," Aiho admitted. "It's only because of that possibility, I'm not slamming open this door and yelling at him." She unlocked the front door and they stepped inside. Most of the lights were off, except for a hallway one. It was just bright enough for them to see. Aiho glanced down and saw several pairs of shoes by the front door. "Looks like he's back at least… and with guests."

"Who do you think?" Kikyou whispered and a small smirk began to form on her face.

"Probably Estelle," Aiho answered quietly and stepped into the living room. "Yep, definitely her." Kikyou joined her and saw Estelle fast asleep on the couch. She was wrapped up in a blanket, so only her head was visible. However, the two adults could infer she might not be fully dressed, because her black cloak and a sleeveless white blouse were draped over a chair. The clothes were muddy and torn in a few places. Knowing what Estelle was like, she probably didn't want to get the couch dirty. "Someone needs to teach her a little modesty around kids her own age."

"Heh," Kikyou let out an involuntary chuckle. "You think Accelerator would actually try something?"

"Nope," Aiho laughed, but quickly stifled it, as not to wake Estelle. "He would probably roll his eyes and get annoyed. Last Order would freak out though. She gets so embarrassed about nudity. At least she's young, so she has an excuse. Accelerator needs to lighten up and enjoy his youth while he has it." She turned down the hallway and started to check on the others. Worst was sleeping in her bed, but her hair looked messier than usual, but there could be countless explanations for that. The fact she was here and not out causing mischief was a blessing in itself. There was only a fifty percent chance she ever made curfew. "Worst is sleeping," she called back quietly over her shoulder.

"Last Order isn't in her bed," Kikyou reported. "She probably snuck into Accelerator's room."

"Sounds about right." Kikyou walked over to Accelerator's room and cracked the door open. There was a moment of silence, before she turned around.

"You might want to see this, Aiho." Her voice was somewhat serious.

"What did he do now?" Aiho sighed and looked over Kikyou's shoulder. Her mouth fell open.

Accelerator had company in his bed.

He was sleeping on his side, near the edge, with his back to the others. His shirt was shredded a bit with what looked like dried blood on it. On the other side of the bed was an attractive girl with silver hair. She was sleeping on her back comfortably, though her long-sleeved sports shirt and miniskirt were slightly dirty and torn. Last Order was between them, still in her dress, which was in a similar state. She was snuggled up next to Accelerator, back to back, but she was gripping the other girl's arm tightly. The three of them looked like they had arrived at the apartment and collapsed on the bed, before falling asleep.

"Who's the new girl?" Kikyou asked.

"I believe her name was Bayloupe," Aiho mumbled. "Last Order showed as a few pictures with her when they returned from England."

"Oh, that's right. So, you think they were the cause of the destruction?"

"I know they were involved," Aiho confirmed. "Look at their state, but I don't really want to interrupt them when they look so comfortable. Can you believe Accelerator willingly brought girls back to his room? He's maturing so fast."

"I'm going to get the camera."

"I wouldn't expect anything else." It only took a moment for Kikyou to return and start taking pictures of the scene in front of them. "When they go to school, we have to do laundry. Those sheets are filthy."

"You know we have to do something else too," Kikyou reminded her.

"I know," Aiho replied. They glanced at each other and large grins formed on their faces. "He's going to need _the_ _talk_."

"The way he acted when I first met him," Kikyou remarked. "I never thought I would have to explain to him about the birds and bees."

"How do you want to go about doing this?" Aiho asked, as she shut the door behind him. "Corner him when he returns from school tomorrow?"

"Sounds good," Kikyou said. "It will give me time to prepare the charts and diagrams. We may be too late, if he already made the mistake."

"Then he will have to take responsibility," Aiho said seriously. "I know I tell students they need to live and make mistakes to learn, but I'm pretty sure Accelerator is smart enough to avoid something like that."

"I don't know," Kikyou pointed out. "Since he was injured and his power weakened, his hormones may be slightly more active." Aiho raised an eyebrow.

* * *

"How's Mugino doing?" Shiage asked from the couch, when Saiai walked in.

"Takitsubo-san is watching over her," Saiai informed him and threw herself down on the far end of the couch. "Mugino has regained consciousness, but her AIM field is acting up and Takitsubo-san has to make sure it doesn't explode." Saiai eyed Shiage for a moment. "What about your back? You super got cut when you acted the hero to save her."

"It was pretty shallow," Shiage shrugged, but winced slightly from the pain. They had sterilized the gash on his back and wrapped it up. It was probably going to leave a scar, but otherwise would heal up fine. "Speaking of exploding, what happened to Mugino when she faced Oda Nobunaga?"

"That's not up to me to tell you," Saiai snapped. "Besides, I super only found out about it when you were playing hide and seek with him. I will say this, Mugino is breaking into a level above 5." Shiage's mouth fell open.

"She's trying to reach level 6?!"

"I think she's doing more than trying," Saiai laughed. "After that last display, her power is in a completely different league, even against magicians."

"You told me about England," Shiage muttered and slumped down in his seat. "But I had a hard time picturing something as insane as what you described. After seeing Mugino fight that guy, it all makes sense." He sighed. "They are in a league I could never possibly reach."

"Nope," Saiai agreed bluntly. "But to be fair, I super can't either. I'm far closer than you though."

"Thanks for the pep talk," Shiage grumbled sarcastically. "Keep it up and I might think you actually appreciate me." Saiai scoffed at him.

"You are a super useful distraction when someone is attacking us," Saiai pointed out. Shiage didn't respond to this and reached for the remote to the TV. "Oh, I do have something I want to ask you."

"I'm going to regret this, but what?"

"You and Takitsubo-san have started talking to each other on a first name basis," Saiai pointed out with a grin. Shiage tried to keep his face passive, but he felt a lump form in his throat. "You two are like that, huh?" She placed her index finger and thumb on her left hand together to form a circle. She then took the pointer finger on her right hand and moved it in and out of the circle. Shiage started to splutter and she laughed. "I super knew it! Still not sure what she could possibly see in you."

"No, we aren't!" Shiage denied. "I only recently asked her out and she agreed."

"Oh," Saiai said and looked downtrodden at the news. She perked right back up when she thought of something. "Have you two kissed yet?" Shiage's eyes widened and he looked away. Saiai noticed his reaction and gasped. "You did!"

"Only a cheek kiss," Shiage mumbled. "It wasn't a big deal."

"You know Mugino will super want to know about this," Saiai pointed out.

"Why?" asked Shiage in surprise.

"A relationship between team members could cause complications during missions," Saiai pointed out with a tone indicating it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Think you could super ignore her if her life was in danger to accomplish your assigned task? One slip up could cost us." Shiage was silent and Saiai shrugged. "Just telling you now. I super don't want Takitsubo-san to get hurt. She can't be replaced."

"And I can?"

"Mugino would just kidnap another level 0 off the street."

"She would," Shiage admitted depressed. He had been hoping after everything he did, his position with ITEM would be more secured. At the least, get a little more respect from the others. The fact Rikou was willing to date him was one of the silver linings in his life. The door behind them suddenly opened and they turned around to see Rikou walk in. She shut the door quietly behind her.

"How is she?" Saiai asked instantly.

"…It took a while," Rikou admitted. "But I convinced her to rest up. She will discuss our next step tomorrow." Her eyes darted to Shiage. "…How are your wounds?" Rikou was nervous, but she wasn't good at conveying feelings. Shiage had gotten cut in the back when he pushed her out of the way of Oda's attack. If he hadn't, she would have been killed. There was also a slight awkwardness between them since Shiage had asked her out and she agreed. The kiss she gave him was for luck and her way of cementing their promise. Now that the threat had passed, things were a little awkward.

"It was only a shallow cut…," Shiage informed her and waved his hand nonchalantly.

"Look at you trying to act big," muttered Saiai.

"Sterilized, wrapped up, and a few pain killers was all it took," Shiage finished.

"…That's good," Rikou said with a nod. "Kinuhata, how about you?"

"Few bruises," Saiai shrugged. "Nothing big, but enough about that." She turned around on the couch and gazed at Rikou. "Hamazura is trying to convince me you two are together, is it true? If he's lying, I'm super going to break his arm." Shiage flinched and Rikou tilted her head slightly.

"…We are," she acknowledged. Rikou almost sounded confused at why Saiai didn't believe Shiage.

"Wow," Saiai muttered and slumped in her seat. "First, the princess's sword in England, Oda Nobunaga coming back from the dead, Mugino's transformation, and now, Hamazura has a girlfriend." She raised her arms in frustration. "Has the world gone super crazy?"

"You make it sound like I'm a loner," Shiage muttered. "I was popular during my Skill-Out days."

"Sure you were," Saiai laughed. Shiage glared at her and she only laughed harder. Rikou frowned slightly and walked around the couch, before sitting between them, but closer to Shiage. Saiai stopped laughing and stared when Rikou looked over at her. Shiage took the opportunity to stick his tongue out at her. When Rikou then turned to look at him, Saiai flicked him off.

"I'm glad we all made it out," Shiage finally said. "For a while, I thought we were screwed." He felt Rikou's hand on his arm and glanced over. She was staring at him intensely. The look was actually pretty normal for her, but Shiage could tell something was up. He couldn't tell that Rikou was actually a little jealous at how he and Saiai could needle each other like they were close friends.

"You can always trust Mugino to have a backup plan," Saiai replied and Rikou nodded. Though, it hadn't been so much a backup plan. It was a last resort that should never have come to fruition. Rikou knew that, but Saiai had only been given the basics. Shiage had no idea what the transformation had been about and it was up to Shizuri to enlighten him.

"…There is one more thing," Rikou said. "Mugino believes there may have been more to that attack than we thought." Shiage and Saiai raised an eyebrow and Rikou shrugged. She hadn't been told much else. That announcement did mean one thing, because they knew Shizuri wanted to speak to them tomorrow.

It was going to be a busy day.

"Oh," Shiage remembered and pulled a flier off the table in front of him. "Wasn't sure if Mugino would be interested in this. There's a raffle that involved the Level 5 Kami."

* * *

 _What am I doing?_

Kuroko was leaning up against the wall of the shower stall, as the hot water continued to fall down upon her. She was in a perpetual state of confusion, as thoughts constantly ran through her head about the earlier events. She had run away from Mikoto, because she couldn't take the hate that had welled up when they were in close proximity. She didn't understand why. Anytime her memories turned to a time she found enjoyable with Mikoto, she suddenly felt disgust and hatred. The conflict was tearing her apart. Logic and emotions were on opposite sides of an argument. She had barely registered the rain coming down and she had no idea what to do. Her world was crashing down around her and she was about to fall apart completely, until she ran into him.

Jason.

It was a cruel twist of fate. She had just admitted she liked him to Mikoto and now he was the only one around she could find comfort with. She knew she couldn't be with him because of Kazari, but that did not stop her feelings. At the sight of him, all the walls she had constantly erected around her heart collapsed. She rushed forward and embraced him. "Help me." Those two words were all she could utter and they didn't sound like her. Her confidence was gone and she had barely whispered. _Help me,_ she pleaded silently. _I need someone._ To her surprise, he didn't ask any questions there. He hugged her, used his shadow to protect them from the rain, and escorted her to his apartment. When the apartment building came into view, Kuroko finally found her voice.

She spilled everything she remembered that happened, since Juliet arrived.

Jason let her rant and only occasionally asked a question to clarify something. How he could grasp anything she rambled about eluded her now. Her words were inconsistent, she backtracked, and skipped things constantly. He seemed to have gotten enough though and reassured her she was safe. When they stepped into his apartment, he guided her to the bathroom and pushed her in, promising to find her something to wear to get out of her wet clothes. The hot water felt good and she dragged out the shower as long as possible. She did hear the bathroom door creak slightly and something get thrown in. _Was it bad that part of me was hoping he would sneak in to peek?_ A quick slap to her cheeks drove the thoughts out of her mind. _Don't do anything you will regret._ She sighed and stepped out of the shower, after making sure he was gone, and dried off with a towel.

 _He gave me options,_ she mused and glanced at the pile of clothes. There were shirts, shorts, and pants of a variety of designs. She rummaged through them, but they were all going to be too big for her. She held up one of the larger shirts and sniffed it. _At least they are clean, but it's going to reveal so much. I bet he would like... I can't. Uiharu is with him. I can't do that to one of my friends._ Her eyes darted to the wall where a white robe hung up. _Huh, that might work better._ She put on the robe and examined herself in the mirror. It took a few adjustments with the belt, but everything was covered. _It's a little big, but it's not dragging on the floor. Rolling up the sleeves and tightening the belt seem to be working. Who would have thought I would ever do this in a boy's room? Things really have changed._ She opened the door and stopped when he head Jason's voice.

"…go. Not sure how she will react if she finds me talking to you. Is there anything else, real quick?"

 _He must be talking to 'her',_ Kuroko thought and a flash of anger went through her. It wasn't anger at Jason, but at Mikoto. It was a type of anger she was used to feeling, as she used to connect it with Touma. The anger was caused by someone taking up Mikoto's, and now Jason's time. She took several deep breaths and listened to the one sided conversation. _They are talking about someone, probably me, but he mentioned Uiharu._ Knowing Jason was worried about her made her feel slightly calmer. _Don't think about 'her' and focus on him and Uiharu. Keep calm and act like a proper lady._ She took another couple deep breaths and mentally prepared herself, before she walked out. Her hair was now straight down, as she didn't have time or the energy to put it back in pigtails.

"Good timing," Jason said and turned to her. "The tea is just about ready."

"Thanks," Kuroko mumbled and sat down on the couch. "I hope you don't mind me using your robe. The other clothes didn't really fit."

"I figured they wouldn't," Jason admitted. "That's why I gave you several different ones. I'm glad you found something though." Kuroko noticed his gaze travel up and down her for a moment, before he diverted his eyes.

"Oh?" she asked smirking. "Are you embarrassed at seeing a girl wear your clothes? You saw us all in swimsuits before."

"There's something about-…" Jason started to reply, before instantly stopping. "Sorry, can't give you that satisfaction. I'm not easily shaken." They looked at each other and both let out involuntary chuckles. Jason put down the tea on the table and sat down in a chair across from her. Kuroko would have preferred him next to her, but she didn't say anything and instead took a cup of tea.

 _This is nice,_ Kuroko thought to herself as she sipped it. The tea filled her body with warmth. It was cheaper than what Tokiwadai would use and it was a little stronger than what she preferred, but it was fine. They sipped their tea in silence, both waiting for the other to speak up first. Kuroko diverted her eyes toward the ground to indicate she didn't want to break the silence. This situation continued for several more minutes and then Jason gave in.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better," Kuroko mumbled.

"While you were showering," Jason said. "I contacted one of our friends to find out more about what happened and I have a pretty good idea now." Kuroko noticed he didn't mention Mikoto and she was thankful for that.

"So you know why?" Kuroko asked and paused, as she tried to find the right words. "I feel this way?"

"Juliet's magic," Jason explained after a long sigh. "She excels with magic that is based on emotion. She loved Shakespearean works and that is probably one of the reasons she chose her name. Romeo and Juliet was a play based on love between two people from families stuck in a feud. It gets really emotional near the end, like a lot of Shakespearean plays. Her magic is based on how those plays manipulate emotions. Based on what I detected and your actions, I'm guessing she changed love and admiration into hate and disgust. She was trying to get you to turn on your friend." A small smile formed on his face. "But your quick thinking stopped her from succeeding with that. The magic on you is kind of… incomplete… best word I can think of right now. It's what is causing so much confusion."

"Can you cure me?" Kuroko asked hopefully.

"No," Jason replied and his eyes widened when Kuroko's expression became morose. "Sorry, I meant I don't know how, but Index would undoubtedly be able to help. Tomorrow, we are going to her and she will make you as good as new."

"Best news I have had for a while," Kuroko said. "I was not sure how long I could feel this way and now I only have to hold off until tomorrow."

"I wish I could help you out now," Jason muttered.

"Thanks," Kuroko told him again, almost as quietly. "For everything."

"You're my friend," Jason told her. "I think? We have a weird relationship where half the time we argue and the other half we fight life or death struggles."

"That's…" Kuroko tried to argue and then trailed off. "A pretty accurate description, actually." Both of them made eye contact and burst out laughing. "But yeah, we are friends. Except when you annoy me, then we are enemies."

"So fifty percent of the time?"

"Exactly." Kuroko sipped her tea. "So what now? Am I going to… stay here?"

"I figured you were going to," Jason confirmed with a nod. "There is a chance Juliet's magic might have some other effect I don't know about and make you act… unpredictably. It would be better for you to be near someone who can handle you if such a situation occurs."

"That logic is sound," Kuroko agreed and then narrowed her eyes. "Oh, you think you can handle me?"

"I'm sure we both know the answer to that," Jason replied mildly, but there was a definite smirk on his face. "Our previous fights should be evidence enough."

"You don't always win," Kuroko protested and Jason raised an eyebrow. "Now that I think about it, I recall a small bet where you have to do something I say." Jason's smile faltered. "It was because, oh yes, I could capture you?"

"You actually remembered that," Jason remarked and sounded slightly impressed. "You never told me what you wanted me to do, so I thought you forgot."

"I have some ideas written down," Kuroko told him with a grin. "Shokuhou-san had some interesting suggestions. I feel like you might have done something to her she wants revenge for." Jason only whistled innocently. "But part of me just wants you to dress up as a girl in public for a day."

"You know I would look damn good in drag," Jason replied and winked. "Try not to get addicted to it, if you make me do that." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"It might be that and something else combined in one interesting punishment," Kuroko said secretly. She didn't elaborate anymore and Jason began to look slightly interested. Kuroko decided to change the subject and looked around for any idea. She didn't want him to prepare before she got her revenge from the Kuroneko costume. Even though it embarrassed her to no end, she didn't hate Jason for it. They constantly needled each other, but it was fine because they were friends. "Your apartment looks cleaner than the last time I was here." She smirked when he scowled.

"Because everyone thought they should point it out," Jason said in a voice of determine calm. "I did hire some help."

"Maybe you should learn how to clean up after yourself," Kuroko suggested, as she continued to needle him.

"And ruin my manicure?" Jason fake gasped and held a hand over his heart. Kuroko couldn't stifle a giggle. "The city sends me crap here all the time, and I'm pretty busy with school and everything else. Because of that, I can't hire any normal cleaning service. The city had to perform an extensive background check on someone before they can work here. They sent a weird maid who comes two to three times a week to clean up."

"What do you mean by weird?" Kuroko asked interestedly.

"Personality wise," Jason explained. "She's fine, confident, prideful and cheerful. She's also skilled, so no complaints in her ability to actual do her job. Most of the time she's in and out before I even see her. It is the outfit she wears… a maid with a yellow and black uniform. Every time I see her, I'm reminded of a giant bumblebee." Kuroko eye's widened and she started laughing.

"I could see how that would be distracting," she finally admitted. Jason rolled his eyes and she giggled. Kuroko enjoyed talking with him. Their conversations now were exactly the same as usual, so it put a sense of normality in her. This calmed her down greatly. They continued talking and making fun of each other, until it grew late and Jason finally brought her mind back to her current situation.

"I think it's time," Jason muttered and glanced at the clock on the wall. "You can have my room and I'll sleep on the couch."

"I can't do that," Kuroko protested. "It's not fair to you, after everything you have done for me."

"Nope," Jason denied and raised up a hand. "Your concern is appreciated but ultimately ignored." Kuroko scowled at him. "You are the guest, so you get the main room. I don't have a guest room, but the couch pulls out into a bed, so I'm not going to be uncomfortable."

"Well," Kuroko relented. "If you are sure."

"Were you going to suggest we share a bed?" Jason asked and raised an eyebrow.

"NO!" Kuroko nearly shouted. _I probably wouldn't have said no if you suggested it though._ She diverted her eyes and looked at the ground, as her cheeks burned. "I would have accepted the couch." She was sure Jason would capitalize on her words and expression but, to her surprise, he didn't.

"That would make me a rude host," Jason laughed. "Besides, the door locks, so you will have a little more privacy." Kuroko's blush deepened and Jason yawned. "I'm going to throw your clothes in the dryer."

"I'll do it," Kuroko volunteered quickly. _My underwear is in that pile._ Jason seemed to realize that and looked away.

"Dryer's in that room over there," he told her with a gesture. Kuroko watched him pick up the tray with their cups and take it to the sink, before she rushed into the bathroom to retrieve her clothes. Once she moved them into the dryer, she headed back to meet him. "Try to get some rest." She turned around in surprise as Jason put his hand on her shoulder. "Mind manipulation has always been a personal peeve of mine, but it's even worse when applied poorly. If you need anything, let me know, and please, do not run off."

"I don't plan to," Kuroko mumbled. Her heart was beating really fast at the touch. _Calm down, it's Juliet's magic messing with your emotions. Don't let them run out of control. You like him, but acting like this is definitely not you._ "I am too tired to go anywhere. Some quiet will help me think." Jason nodded in understanding and Kuroko entered his room. She had been in here before under, unusual, circumstances. Thanks to Eve's body swap magic, she had woken up here once before, in Jason's body, with fewer clothes than someone would wear normally. _I wonder if he would sleep that way in the other room._ Her face burned at the memory and she quickly tried to distract herself. She started looking around his room. Because of the previous events, she never really examined it.

 _There's less clutter than I thought,_ Kuroko laughed silently to herself. _Thought guys would have a lot of junk or games lying around._ The room wasn't huge, but it was a respectable size. A single bed with blue sheets was against the back wall, with a bedside table next to it. A desk was against another wall with an expensive looking computer on it and a stack of papers. That was something Kuroko expected to see and she vaguely remembered it the last time she was here. There was a set of drawers that contains his clothes, which she had frantically pulled stuff out of last time, and a half full bookcase next to it. Then there was only one other thing in the room, a large standing mirror. It must have been some kind of antique, because the wood frame looked scratched and worn. She stepped in front of it to examine herself. _I look better._ She posed a couple times in front of the mirror and smiled when she remembered Jason acting nervous the first time he saw her in the robe. Inspiration struck and she checked under the bed on a whim. Nothing was there and she sighed in disappointment.

Without much to do, she collapsed on the bed and tried to fall asleep.

A couple hours passed and the storm began to disperse. The heavy rain died down and only an occasional lightning strike lit up the sky. Jason was fast asleep under a sheet on the pullout couch. The apartment was quiet, until a slight creak punctured the silence. The door to his bedroom opened slowly. Kuroko stepped out and walked silently toward where Jason was sleeping. She stood over him and looked down. A lightning strike lit up the sky and revealed her. Her hair was disheveled and her eyes looked slightly glazed over. She was still wearing the robe, but it was slowly loosening. She took a deep breath, pulled up the corner of the sheet, and slipped into the bed.

* * *

Mikoto woke up the following morning and felt horrible.

She didn't get much sleep. Every time she fell asleep, one of two things played in her dreams. The first was her argument with Kuroko. It kept blowing out of proportion and ending in a fight, or her running away and then getting hurt. She knew it was silly. The fight ended with Kuroko meeting Jason, so she was safe, and Mikoto understood Kuroko's emotions were confused due to Juliet's magic. There was no reason for her to be worried, but she couldn't help it. Her friend was in pain and there wasn't anything she could do. The second thing that played in her dream was the video. _Tsuchimikado is going to pay_. It was so embarrassing to her. She had never been drunk before and made a fool of herself. The worst part was she knew Touma had seen it. He had told them about the video, but didn't go into details about how they acted drunk. He only told them he destroyed the memory cards. _He should have known his friend made backups._ Jason was at least kind enough to warn her and… _Oh no, Shokuhou knows about this! I'm never going to live this down._

Not wanting to accidently run into Misaki, Mikoto bolted out of bed and got ready as fast as she could. She showered, changed, grabbed her books, and rushed out of the dorm before most of the other residents. _There is no way I'm going to risk seeing her this morning. Maybe once I calm down, I'll talk to her this evening about yesterday. For now, I want to be alone._ Instead of grabbing breakfast at the dorms, she headed straight toward school. Normally, Mikoto would have Kuroko teleport them to Tokiwadai, so they could sleep in and arrive right before classes started. Now, she was actually leaving earlier than she needed to. The train was barely at twenty five percent capacity, as most students wouldn't have left for school yet. She stared at her phone for a while, hoping for any of her friends to contact her. There were no messages. She had no idea how Kuroko was doing or what Touma and Ruiko were up to. She leaned back in her seat and stared at the ceiling until her stop, lost in thought.

After she entered her school, she headed toward the cafeteria to pick up breakfast. She barely could stomach anything, but managed to down a few pieces of toast. A few other girls were there too and they definitely noticed her. Mikoto was a level 5, so she was easily recognizable, and she guessed what they were thinking. _I'm usually with Kuroko and rarely come to school early._ _As long as they don't think we had a fight, there won't be any crazy rumors._ She raised her head and automatically smiled when one girl approached her. Her suspicions were quickly confirmed.

"Hello, Misaka-san," the girl said. "It is unusual to see you here this early and without Shirai-san. Is everything okay?"

"I am fine," Mikoto lied. "Kuroko happened to receive an emergency call to help Judgment this morning and it woke me up. I couldn't go back to sleep and decided to arrive early."

"I'm glad," the girl replied and smiled kindly at her. "We were worried. Would you like to sit with us?"

"Thank you for the kind offer," Mikoto replied. "But as soon as I am finished, I will probably head to the library and read until class starts." The girl accepted her answer with a nod and turned around to rejoin her friends. Mikoto didn't like lying, but she could hardly tell anyone what happened. Mikoto pulled out her phone and sent a quick message to Jason asking for an update, before leaving the cafeteria. She didn't really want to go to the library, but there wasn't really another place to go. There was at least something to do there, unlike the empty classrooms. She had just entered the library and began to walk among the bookshelves, when an announcement rang through the school.

"Mikoto Misaka, please report to the principal's office immediately. Thank you."

 _What now?_ Mikoto silently fumed and left the library. The timing was a little too coincidental. She rarely came to school this early. _Even if they knew Kuroko wasn't going to show up today and didn't buy the Judgment excuse, it's too early for that. Class doesn't start for a while._ Suddenly, Jason's warning from the previous night flashed through her mind.

 _There… may be suspicions you lot were involved if they were tracking AIM fields._

 _This could be bad,_ Mikoto realized. She had no idea what they knew and anything she said might incriminate her. It was self-defense, but she could hardly say a magician attacked her. Once she arrived at the principal's office, a quick knock was all it took for her to be allowed in. "You called for me?" Mikoto asked respectfully. The principal sat behind her desk and sighed. Two uniformed Anti-Skill members were standing against the wall to her left. One was male and one female.

"Thank you for coming so quickly, Misaka-san," her principal said. "Please, have a seat." Mikoto didn't say anything and did as requested. "Do you know why you were called here?" Mikoto lied and shook her head. "I will make this fast then. The city has requested your and Shokuhou-san's attendance in an important investigation. You had left the dorms before we had the opportunity to reach you. I was not informed of the nature of the inquiry, but Anti-Skill has been asked to escort you to another location to answer a few questions." She frowned and turned to the two officers. "I would prefer one of my staff is there to make sure my students are being treated fairly."

"Sorry, ma'am," the male Anti-Skill officer replied. "We were instructed to _only_ escort those being questioned." The principal turned back to Mikoto.

"I know this is unusual," she told Mikoto. "But please cooperate. Remember, even outside of our buildings, you are representing Tokiwadai." Mikoto nodded, but her insides were seething.

 _Representing Tokiwadai,_ Mikoto thought angrily. _That's all the people in the city really care about, their reputation._ She followed the officers to a car and sat in the back while they drove. The officers could tell she wasn't interested in talking and decided not to question her on the ride over. _I have no idea what to say. Should I say I was attacked by someone with an ability I never saw before? But if I describe Juliet's power, it might incriminate Kagere-san, because of similarities. It also won't explain all the damage, since I can't tell them of my transformation._ While they drove off, her thoughts kept spinning around in her mind, as she thought about what kind of questions she would be asked and how to respond. _This is the kind of thing Shokuhou excels at. I know I'm going to say something wrong._ The car stopped and they got out.

"Through here, miss," the female officer told Mikoto and led her into a large building. There were not a lot of people present, but a few men in suits eyed them as they passed. "This is the waiting room," the woman continued. "You will wait here with the others, until further notice."

"Others?" Mikoto asked, but there was no reply as she stepped in. The door shut behind her and her question was answered by someone else.

"MIIIISSSAAAKKKAAA!" Misaki called out in a sickly sweet voice. Mikoto flinched and turned. Misaki was waving to her from a seat and seemed excited to meet her. In two other chairs, looking significantly less pleased, were Accelerator and Shizuri. They were sitting around a table in separate chairs. Accelerator had his headphones on and only opened an eye to acknowledge Mikoto's presence. Shizuri looked up from her magazine and scowled at Mikoto, before looking back down at it. They had never gotten along, so Mikoto didn't expect anything else. She took the available seat across the table from Shizuri and sat down. Misaki on the right and Accelerator was on the left. "You weren't at the dorms," Misaki pointed out.

"One time I actually head to school early," Mikoto replied evenly. "Then they want us to go somewhere else. A warning would have been nice."

"I agree," Misaki concurred with a nod. "I'm missing a precious day of classes and time with my friends. Whoever ordered us here hasn't spoken to us since we arrived."

"There goes my question about if you know why we are here," Mikoto sighed. "How long have you been waiting before I arrived?"

"Fifteen minutes?" Misaki guessed. "I was about to leave for school when our dorm manager contacted me. Then I was escorted here to meet those two." She turned and smiled at them. "I haven't seen Mugino-san in a while, but I don't think she appreciated my kindness."

"Your cheerfulness annoys me," Shizuri muttered and turned a page.

"Annoys me too," Accelerator agreed. "Shut up, all of you."

"Such charmers," Mikoto commented, with a roll her eyes.

"See what I had to put up with?!" Misaki cried.

"Heh," Mikoto chuckled. "I can imagine how much fun the people sent to pick up those two had."

"I tried to see if I could make him wet himself," Accelerator reminisced. The truth had been a little more complicated. When a man had arrived to escort Accelerator from his apartment to this location, a pissed Aiho had been the one to greet him. Pissed might have been an understatement. She was furious she had not been contacted as a member of Anti-Skill. The man tried to reason with her and not get his ass kicked, when Accelerator emerged. He had been in a slightly better mood that morning and agreed to go, despite Aiho's warnings. As soon as he sat in the car with the man, Accelerator immediately interrogated him about what the city wanted him for. He only had to threaten to break every bone in the man's body, before he got the answers he needed. The city knew the four of them had been involved in the destruction of the city and they were going to be questioned as why. "It was easier than I thought."

"They really should send higher caliber grunts if they want to get us to do anything," Shizuri laughed evilly. She had actually been warned about an hour before the woman who was to escort her arrived. Her contact from the dark side of Academy City reached out to let her know the city was going to interrogate her about her fight yesterday. Shizuri was planning to kill the person who arrived, but the contact advised against an act. The city wasn't likely to do anything and a few people at top were planning to smooth everything over. At most, they would get some kind of minor probation. Still, it didn't stop Shizuri from threatening her escort with several green orbs. After a few minutes of the woman pleading for her life, Shizuri finally complied.

So, all four of them knew why they were here, to varying degrees. Accelerator and Shizuri knew for sure, while it didn't take a genius for Mikoto and Misaki to know too. They weren't going to talk about the fights yesterday, and now there was proof to the others Shizuri had been involved. It was obvious they were being monitored. To pretend to be innocent, there was still something they had to do.

They had to play dumb.

"So why are we hear then?" Mikoto asked. "Anyone know?" Shizuri actually raised an eyebrow at her dumb question, even though she knew why Mikoto asked it. Accelerator and Misaki turned to her. While Accelerator looked bored, Misaki seemed bubbly at her conversation.

"Probably some dumb experiment," Accelerator said with a yawn.

"Makes sense," Shizuri agreed. "Though, they usually have specialized labs for each one of our abilities. Maybe they finally realized they are all incompetent and someone intelligent took charge."

"Now that you mention it," Misaki mused. "None of us usually hang out together and previous experiments have been individualized. The only group ones we participate in are the periodic evaluations. It was after one of those is when I got moved up to number 4." Shizuri growled a little at that.

"You won't stay there very long," she warned.

"I don't really care about the rank," Misaki told her with a smile. "I was simply pointing out bringing us together was a deviation from the norm. Misaka and I even go to the same school, but we didn't hang out very much. At least, until recently. Which leads me to this thought, what new connection would the four of us have that we didn't have a while back." _They are definitely listening in on us, so a little misdirection wouldn't hurt._ The point was to not talk about the fighting, but anything else. Accelerator and Shizuri actually looked up with attention and they frowned. _I know you two understand who I'm talking about,_ Misaki thought and then beamed at them all. _One of you just say it._ Interestedly enough, Mikoto was the one who spoke up.

"Him?" Mikoto wanted to clarify. _Are you trying to get him in trouble? I thought you cared about him, Shokuhou!_

"Yep," Misaki confirmed. "The new level 5 has been kind of chummy with us." _Sorry, my prince. Someone is protecting your identity, so we can try to get the city to think Kami was up to something._ She could tell the others were getting on board, because Accelerator and Shizuri began to grin.

"Thinking back," Accelerator mumbled. "Since I met that bastard, it has been one fuck up after another." _Hah, damn hero can get in a little more trouble. He's used to it and it's not like the city has been smart enough to unmask him. It's like they broadcast their incompetence._

"Since that idiot became a level 5," Shizuri pointed out. "He has gotten a big head. I still haven't gotten my revenge from that interview. He disappears completely off the radar and reappears. Heh, I bet he does a bunch of illegal stuff with that kind of skill." She wasn't actually mad at Touma for those remarks. He had given her a vacation as an apology. _The fight with the princess led to a very interesting chain of events. Life's a lot more interesting now. Though, if I can cause him some trouble when he adopts that ridiculous persona, it's worth a laugh or two._

"He's not that bad," Mikoto protested, but Misaki shushed her.

"I bet they are asking us about him," Misaki theorized out loud.

"And if they try to blame us for something," Accelerator added maliciously. "We can blame him for everything."

"Sounds good," Shizuri laughed.

"You guys are all just…," Mikoto sighed, unable to finish the sentence.

"You know you love us," Misaki giggled.

"Like a toothache."

"Hate you too, Third Rate," Accelerator remarked. "Go walk in front of a bus."

"If any of you died," Shizuri commented and turned back to her magazine. "I wouldn't even send flowers."

"Isn't it nice how we are all bonding?" Misaki asked Mikoto. "It's just like how we used to be."

"Way too similar," Mikoto admitted dryly. The conversation died down and she picked up a magazine to occupy her time. There wasn't anything that really suited her fancy, but it was something to do. If nothing happened soon, someone was going to crack, probably her. The time moved so slowly. Accelerator was almost asleep, Shizuri looked bored, and Misaki was occupied with a fashion magazine. There were no signs of anyone coming to talk with them, until a loud burst of static echoed in the room. All four of them strengthened up and looked around, before they heard voices.

"… and you know the power they wield. Any one of them could kill in an instant."

"Now they are joining forces."

"You guys are paranoid," a very familiar voice said. Mikoto heard it just yesterday, while Misaki, Accelerator, and Shizuri all perked up. This conversation obviously wasn't supposed to be heard on their end, so the four of them were interested in what was happening.

"If you are going to spend so much time in their company, why don't you go and question them."

"Cowards," the familiar voice said with a laugh. "Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san are pretty harmless, unless you attack someone in front of them. Then they just incapacitate you. Accelerator is like a puppy, all bark, though if you bait him too far, you will get bitten." Accelerator scowled and glared at Shizuri, who had a huge grin on her face. "Okay, I will give you Mugino-san. She scares me a little too." Shizuri laughed triumphantly, as the other three glared at her.

"If you are so confident, I order you to go and find out what happened yesterday. Get their side."

"Fine, whatever." Another burst of static occurred and everything went silent.

"What-…?" Mikoto tried to ask, but the other three all cut her off with a jerk of their head. _Oh right, can't let people know we heard that._ A minute later, the door behind her opened and Accelerator, Misaki, and Mikoto turned around. Shizuri's grin faded when she saw who walked in. All four of them knew the male who stepped into the room.

"You four really like to make additional work for me," Jason sighed. He was wearing a lab coat over a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. "Almost as much as Kami."

* * *

That night, something happened in Australia.

The forces of England had retreated from the location of the battle after thoroughly examining the area. One of the supersonic jets had stopped by and picked up Touma and his friends, now that the threat of being knocked out of the sky was gone. Of course, Touma, Frenda, Ruiko, Lessar, and Imouto protested, but there really wasn't another option available. It would be several days before they could get a flight to Japan otherwise. Surprisingly, since Leivinia wasn't going back with them, Oriana took one of the seats. It seems she needed to be back in Japan as soon as possible. Carissa and the knights had started to head back too, but their trip would be a lot slower. Besides the lack of plant life in the immediate vicinity, there were no signs Adam or Fiamma had fought them. The sun had set and a cool wind blew dust across the quiet landscape. The wildlife had not returned yet, but then a small crack echoed in the silence.

A human hand shot out of the ground.

The crack on the ground split, and then grew larger and wider. The hand pushed down on the earth and a human body rose up. A head full of black hair emerged, followed by a completely naked male body. The male stood up in the darkness and stretched. He gazed up at the sky, filling up with stars, as the last threads of light from the horizon disappeared. The man reached out a hand and clenched it. "My mission succeeded, but I didn't expect Fiamma to show up. That sword of his is a pain. If they had blessed the land before stabbing me, it would have taken years for me to be reborn."

Adam was alive.

"I'm surprised someone like you made a mistake one would expect from a novice," a female voice said.

He was not alone.

"Have you come to mock me, Othinus?" Adam asked and turned around. A small group of people had appeared behind him. The girl who spoke, Othinus, appeared to be around fourteen years old with long, wave blonde hair. She was dressed in a black revealing outfit, a low-cut neck line that went down below her navel. There was also a long black cape, red on the inside, and a pointed, wide brimmed hat, much like a witch's hat. To complete the ensemble, there was an eye-patch over her right eye.

"Such an action is beneath me," Othinus told him. "I merely grew curious. How could humans push you so far? Your plan never interfered with mine, so I didn't pay much attention. You and Eve have been playing this game for eons, and yet you were on the verge of losing. I want to know why."

"Afraid these _humans_ will rebel against you?"

"I am not afraid. I only do not want to be inconvenienced." She watched him closely with her good eye. "They may need to be destroyed, before I finalize my own goals."

"Are you really in that position without your spear?" Adam asked. Othinus frowned and instantly appeared right in front of him. She reached up a hand and grabbed his neck, before lifting him a couple inches off the ground.

"Be careful what you say next," Othinus warned.

"You are a child." Adam's words were strong and blunt. How he could speak with his neck being crushed was a mystery. "The route you are taking will not give you what you truly desire. The sandbox will not change with your ascension."

"If you will not give me what I asked for," Othinus replied coldly. "Then you are of no use to me." She gripped tighter and Adam's entire body began to glow pure white. A second later, he vanished into nothing. There were no remains, not even dust. Whatever the girl did, she erased his very being.

"I don't see why you made a big deal about him," a male from behind Othinus commented. He was a thin white-skinned boy, dressed in primarily yellow and black, with a tight-fitting shirt and pants, as well as a dark stole around his shoulders. His eyes were blue and he had waist length blond hair. Two belts on his waist crossed each other and his gloves were fingerless. He was quite feminine in his appearance and could easily have been a girl who was wearing male clothes. "You took care of him instantly."

"Idiot," another girl with swarthy skin next to the boy snapped. She wore overalls on her bare skin and did not seem to be wearing any undergarments. Her silver hair was braided, her ears pierced with large circular earrings, and she wore glasses. "You know the risk of her using magic."

"I wanted to make sure he was out of the picture," Othinus explained. "Being unable to answer my questions, he was of no use. Regardless, he will be reborn in a few years. There is no escape from his fate. Do not take him lightly if you cross paths with him in the future, Thor. He and Eve are one of the most powerful beings, short of Magic Gods, you will ever face."

"I don't care so much about him," Thor laughed and put his hands behind his head. "I want to fight the Imagine Breaker. He not only fought Adam to a standstill, but took out Fiamma too. It should be a fun match."

"You may do as you wish," Othinus told him. "As long as it does not interfere with our true goal."

"Yes!"

"Are you ready to depart?" the dark-skinned girl asked. Behind her, a cylinder made of heavy stone, with a diameter of 55 cm and a height of about a meter, started to shake violently. She turned to it and frowned. "Something is coming."

"Of course," Othinus confirmed. "I doubt she would ignore my arrival." Her eyes moved to the ground in front of them and she watched as a giant hole began to form. The dirt fell away into the unknown, before an enormous rainbow colored snake began to rise out of it. Thor and the dark-skinned girl watched in apprehensive, but Othinus only looked resolute. The snake rested its head on the ground outside the hole and opened its mouth. A woman in her early twenties with rich chocolate skin and long black hair stepped daintily off the tongue and onto the ground. She stretched, but the thin strips of changing colored scales covering only the bare minimum didn't move at all. The girl smiled and focused her ever-changing, rainbow colored eyes on Othinus, before walking over to her. She stopped a couple feet away and there was a moment of silence.

"Othi-chan!" the girl squealed and broke it. "It hass been too long!" She embraced Othinus tightly, amid the gasps of her companions.

"Julunggul," Othinus replied coolly.

"How are you?"

"Closer to my goal," Othinus answered. "I temporarily removed Adam from the picture and Eve is too busy with her plans to bother with mine." Her eyes narrowed. "Why would you work with him in the first place?" Julunggul smiled.

"Jusst a little wager," Julunggul explained. "I wass bored and it sseemed interessting. What he did meanss nothing to me." She narrowed her eyes back at Othinus. "You know, many aren't happy about your plan. I know why you are doing thiss and I can keep uss off your back, but I don't sspeak for the otherss. For old timess ssake."

"Much appreciated," Othinus replied, almost kindly. Julunggul's eyes softened.

"I sstill do not believe thiss will give you what you want."

"Adam said the same thing, but he was foolish."

"Jusst conssider it." Othinus only huffed and Julunggul grinned. "I know what you need insstead!"

"If you say sex or any variation of it," Othinus snapped. "I will smite you down where you stand. Without your shard, you are nothing to me."

"You wouldn't rissk it," Julunggul laughed. "Bessidess, it only takess about fifty yearss to reforge it. For an immortal, that iss nothing. In my weakened sstate, I have much more freedom without the chance of messing around with the phassess." She winked at Othinus. "But are you really ssure? I could find the perfect guy for you. One you are fated to be with. Help get rid of all that pent up sstresss."

"I make my own fate," Othinus answered, her voice ice cold. "With this new freedom, what are your plans? Understand, if you interfere with me, I won't hold back. Our history won't change that."

"I don't plan to sstick around," Julunggul informed her. "I found ssomeone." She winked again. "He'ss pretty average looking, but hiss eyess and ssoul… yum. Haven't sseen ssomeone liked him in forever. There are countlesss threadss connected to him and I want to ssee why he iss sstill a virgin. Maybe get a chance to take it for myself. Heh, he actually ressissted my charmss."

"Poor boy," Othinus said in a tone that indicated she couldn't care less. "To incur the wrath of your libido."

"More than that," Julunggul pointed out. "He iss a challenge. My duty demandss I help." She turned and started walking toward her pet. "Pluss, it'ss kind of fun." Othinus watched her climb back into the snake's mouth and then it began to stretch upwards into the sky. The snake's head grew smaller and smaller until it disappeared into the clouds. The body kept rising out of the hole and it was several minutes before the end of the tail appeared. The snake eventually disappeared, but the shadow of a rainbow was left in its wake. It wasn't until Julunggul vanished completely, Thor spoke.

"An old friend?"

"Acquaintance at best," Othinus answered. "Far too clingy for my taste, but she's not against me. Knowing her, I almost feel sorry for the man she found."

"Are we finished here?" the other girl asked.

"Yes," Othinus confirmed. "Let us head back. We have much work to do."

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Season Four is now wrapped up. New characters introduced and most of the previous issues have been resolved. I am free now, so I can start planning the next season… or get drunk and party with friends for the fourth of July. Yep, that sounds better. Alcohol and explosives, nothing could go wrong.**

 **Touma: Whew, everything has calmed down on our end.**

 **Pierce: Welcome back to the lounge Kami-yan. Did you enjoy flirting with the princess?**

 **Touma: I didn't flirt with her!**

 **Motoharu: Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san beg to differ.**

 **Touma: Oh crap, did they see everything?**

 **Motoharu: Yes, including the stuff you didn't see. Lessar, you are my hero.**

 **Lessar: I am pretty great!**

 **Ruiko: From what we saw today, everyone back home is alive, but there are some unresolved issues.**

 **Kazari: Shirai-san is in trouble and might be doing something bad!**

 **Ruiko: Calm down Uiharu, this fic is rated T, the author won't do anything.**

 **Pierce: You know, several other authors just put a notice on top of chapters that may be M rated.**

 **Kazari: …**

 **Ruiko: …**

 **Touma: Not cool, guys!**

 **Frenda: Hope Mugino doesn't blame anything on me when I get back. This was purely accidental.**

 **Imouto: Misaka is not eager to meet the other Sisters, Misaka admits.**

 **Lessar: Don't worry! To break the ice, I have pictures of Lover Boy's wardrobe mishap. Only 1000 yen each.**

 **Imouto: Misaka will take one.**

 **Frenda: I'll take one.**

 **Ruiko: … me too.**

 **Oriana: Same.**

 **Leivinia: Ten copies here. They are great blackmail material.**

 **Elizard: I need four. One for each of my daughters.**

 **Kazari: England has four princesses?**

 **Elizard: Well, one's for me.**

 **Touma: ... I give up.**

 **Pierce: Good, because a goddess is coming for you.**


	101. S5 Reunion

**You guys are so lucky August is the next month and not April. If it was, I would have posted a short note saying I was going to discontinue this story as an April Fool's joke. I was going to see what kind of comments that announcement would have given before I uploaded the real chapter. I was sure the hate would be interesting to read due to the fact Othinus just made an appearance.**

 **Anyway, back to the main topic on hand. Season 5 had begun. It has been almost a month sense last chapter, so I hope this was worth the wait. Nothing like a nice long chapter to open a new arc, right? The Australia arc is finally done and everyone is going to be reunited. That took longer than I planned, but I feel it was worth the effort. This next Season will focus heavily with issues within Academy City and resolve some lose ends, while another group enters the fray to cause even more problems. Two things I noticed people really liked last chapter were Othinus showing up and Accelerator getting the talk. I suppose both could be important, somehow. As for the story progress, when I originally thought of this story, it was only going to be five seasons. Now, I'm looking at a minimum of seven, but I think eight is more likely. So with a haphazard guess, this story has passed the halfway point. All good things have to end sometime. Adding more for the sake of only extending the story can easily ruin it. There is still plenty of time and excitement ahead before then, so everyone who has continued this far, prepare for a lot more. Also, thank you for sticking around and commenting. I really like the fact I can return the favor by letting others enjoy what I write, because of how much I enjoy what others have written. One final note, due to budget issues, the next could chapters will have advertisement. You may be able to scroll down, but without your support, there will only be more. Kuroneko Ice Cream is our main sponsor.**

 **MrQuestionMark: Huh, who is this guy? Couldn't be that one guy who writes ACUL0. He doesn't comment much unless I hit a milestone…. Oh. Last chapter was my 100** **th** **, so it all makes sense. I knew you would like Othinus finally arriving. I have quite a few ideas involving her in this AU line. Australians watch anime. What do you think a bored magic god does? She turns on Hulu and watches TV shows.**

 **Mizericordia: When I started this story, I told myself not to half-ass it. This was never planned to be a short story, but finding the time to write can be a challenge. If you enjoy what you make though, it never feels like work. Aleister makes other people do most of the work, he only steps in when he has to. Not sure what will be worse for Touma. Othinus, Carissa, or his mom showing up. Imouto is fun to write and can easily cause other people to be forced to take action with her bluntness. As for Kakine, there is a clue in this chapter about his fate. I figure people take the time to comment on a story, I could give out some kind of acknowledgement I read them. Some chapters, it has gotten a little longer with the number of reviews.**

 **321jaz: Conversations are touch. Hard to make them flow smoothly and not machine like. Still a few chapters from seeing Thor in action. A couple other issues have to be resolved first. Dang it… you just mentions on what Jason was going to do soon. Blood rituals in NT18 solidified his magic.**

 **general ironox: Funny enough, they had more serious conversations this chapter instead of the video. It will pop up soon enough. Poor Accelerator. The talk is pretty rough. I'm toying with her walking in and announcing Touma got her pregnant, just to write everyone's reaction.**

 **wildarms13: End of a season can resolve a lot of issues, but also a perfect opportunity to add some foreshadowing of future seasons.**

 **Agent Nine: Now I wish I had written something like that. Maybe if Motoharu finds out he can make that joke. I'm not going to do the infinite hells, but there will be a challenge of some kind. Touma has changed from canon and thus, needs something more unique for him. But you should remember, Index is actually a battle series, it's just a lot of people like to focus on the slice of life and relationship aspects.**

 **Whwsms: Accelerator's talk will be heard by the incarnation of evil… Worst. Everyone will learn about it soon enough. Shizuri will never let him live it down. No, it would be funnier if they trick Komoe sensei into giving Touma the talk. Or maybe have her explain it to the class due to all the relationships forming. Well, the maid does have some ties to a few important people in Academy City, so it only made sense and it gives me flexibility in the future. When I researched that snake goddess, I realized she was going to play a big role in this story.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: My friends and I bond the same way. Someone is nice, someone is rational, and the rest of us insult each other. Seems like everyone loves Othinus. Sometimes you need a goddess in your harem to get really kinky.**

 **Destati69: All at once? That must have been fun.**

 **Guest: 1) It was fine, I might change a few if I do the omake, but overall it was interesting. 2) Probably missed it. 3) I could. 4) Othinus is aware of gods, but that remains to be seen. 5) M rated? Hah. We are talking about XXX rated with every fetish. 6) She tried a couple times, but Touma kept breaking it.**

 **The Wolf Paladin: I started the story before I reached Othinus in the LNs, so I had to wait for a good opportunity to add her. Things will change because Touma is not the same person as he is in canon due to previous events.**

 **Cyber dragonarmy: If his organs still work, donate them to a hospital. There might be some kids who need them.**

 **Anon Guest: I have to say she's hot for him. Not only cause he could resist her, but because of his unique situations with thousands of relationships. Your idea would cause the world to divide into two groups. They will be 'The Way of the Tou-Man' vs the 'Church of Skirt Flipping.'**

 **Salishious: Omg, Smuggle-chan can totally tell Mikoto and Misaki about hers and Othinus' relationships. Proving BFFs are the same, no matter how strong you are. Oh, there is lots of misfortune for our hero. We finally see him again in this chapter, and a sneak preview at what is about to happen to the poor boy. Elizard talking to Touma's parents, that would be great.**

 **GameCguru: The game show has been made already by someone. It's called Total Drama Harem and HAS NOT BEEN UPDATED RECENTLY! I hope he sees this.**

 **Guest13: I hope Touma has legendary endurance. He will need it.**

 **Lord Bamus: What's the top ten on your list?**

 **Guest00: What to do. Drink heavily and pretend I never read it? Haha. I did it for a bit, but kind of lost interest. Now the space is reserved for advertisement. Maybe I'll bring it back after someone becomes an important character in a chapter and give them a chance to answer questions after that.**

 **Chris: Eve is still kicking, but everything you referenced is going to happen.**

 **Tardis42: That will be explained this chapter. Touma might not connect the dots anytime soon. He and his friends escaped unharmed, so I doubt that will be the first thing he wants to ask about.**

 **RPGPersona: The issue with Kuroko was she could teleport away in an instant if she didn't want to be somewhere. Unless you keep her knocked out or mind controlled, which Mikoto would definitely not want. Mikoto and Kuroko have gone through some important stuff here. Accelerator's situation was my favorite part too. Takitsubo will have a couple opportunities for some interesting bonding with Shiage. I'm sure Jason can treat a girl sneaking into his bed in a more professional way than Touma. Remember, when in trouble, blame Kami. Julunggul's purpose is a little more complicated than just joining a harem.**

 **xaxiel1572: A wild Othinus appears. I hope you have a master ball handy.**

 **Handsomistic1: 1) Ew, that seems like a lot of work on my part. I suppose I could try I suppose. Give me some time and I might do it. Or I will leave it to a reader who is kind enough to do it for me. 2) Definitely. 3) She has fangs, so probably.**

 **Generation Zero: There's still the final outcome of the level 5 involvement though. Jason works for the city, so he does what they make him do, on his own terms as much as possible. After Othinus arrived, Thor does seem to be the person people like to reference. Who wouldn't like a girly guy with electrical abilities that could overwhelm the Railgun. In the LN, the gods have mentioned what happens to the mortal realm when they accidently release some of their power. They create special objects like magic mirrors. It warps the world, even if they don't mean to. By restricting their power in different ways, it's the only way they can prevent that. The reason I dislike Kamisato and the WR is that he was too powerful and we missed out on so many cool gods.**

 **Jujudude: They have to see Saten flip skirts first. You gave me an awesome idea for Thor, Snuggle-chan, Touma, and Othinus. Can't say anymore though. As for Touma's mom, he is going to meet one special girl first and cause a huge misunderstanding. The girls will start taking more drastic steps in this season. Why does everyone want Kamiko to reappear? It was supposed to be a funny joke, not a constant reoccurring theme. Yuna would be a good choice to win the day with Kami. But don't forget, after this weekend, next weekend is the other half of the schools festivals and they are sure to invite Kami. Rejoice, for this chapter is long.**

 **FrodoFighter: I feel you write these long comments to make me respond. Poor Jason, I feel like you think he's up to something bad. A lot of magicians tend to understand other branches of magic, even if they can't get into details. The theme for Eve's group is it doesn't have to be based on religion. Gives me a lot to work with. Because Jason would still have feels for them if she used her magic on them like that and he could try to cure them. Dead is dead. No, Misaki was right. Mikoto is the most adorable drunk. Accelerator is a nice guy now. No more random destruction. They have way too much fun with Accelerator. "A girl wearing a boy's clothing is kinda similar to a conquered fortress which has your flag on top of it." Best line you have ever given me. If you put Adam in concrete and let's say he did not have to breath, his magic would cause the concreate to decay. Death takes even the strongest material. Nothing natural lasts forever. Thor is a fun character to use when you want someone to fight. As for the goddess sleepover, it turns out Ling-Ling was the life of the party.**

 **Geust's Account: What? Of course they mix. You won't hold back when drunk. I don't know. I haven't felt like doing them, but someone else asked about them. I'll think about it once our budget is solid.**

 **UltimatebadassOVERLORDsayan: Well, I think it actually exists outside of what we understand as sexes. Trying to rationalize it as male or female is too closed minded. However, it would probably transform into a girl if it was trying to get close to Touma. Yandere might not fit it, since it wouldn't act sweet and suddenly go crazy. It would be obvious it would strike anyone who approaches it. It would transform into a boy if it just wanted to learn about the world. This is not counting the other dragon heads.**

 **Simmering Teapot: Huh, you reached the chapter the same day I'm preparing to update. Thor should be worried if he annoys Snuggle-chan when she's flirting with Touma. Kongo Mitsuko shall return, because she is such a great friend of Touma Kamijou. She needs a fake date at some point to impress her friends, like Kuroko. Eve will do stuff too. She's a hard worker, but still makes time for fun.**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

Kuroko turned over on the bed and tried to ignore the bright light that seemed to fall directly on her face.

 _The sun never hits my face in the morning,_ Kuroko thought to herself and pulled the covers over her head. Suddenly, it dawned on her. Everything that happened last night flooded into her mind. Her feelings, running from Mikoto, finding Jason, spending the night, and there was even a foggy memory of getting up in the middle of the night. Her eyes shot open and she froze. _Please tell me that last part was a dream._ She didn't see anyone else under the covers and sighed, before sitting up. She blinked and found herself in the main room on the pullout couch. The robe she was wearing started to fall off and she quickly tightened it. However, Jason was nowhere to be seen. The only sign he must still have been there was a kettle of water sat boiling on the stove. Her head still hurt slightly and embarrassment welled up within her at the thought of sneaking into Jason's bed, but otherwise she felt like she had a restful night's sleep. She scooted over to the side of the bed and was just about to get up, when she heard Jason's voice.

"…not a good time," he said frustrated and Kuroko leaned toward the sound. He was in the bathroom, but the door was cracked. "Okay, I know that already, but I have something else to take care of… no, I know this is important, but… Dang it, listen to me. Why do I have to be there?" There was a long pause as Kuroko watched him step out. He didn't glance over at her, being too focused on the person at the other end of the line. "You think I can control them? Just because I know… No, I swear I will do everything in my power to see you b… Good, as long as you know." Jason hung up and threw the phone into a chair. He was looking more peeved than Kuroko could remember seeing him, outside of a fight.

"Something wrong?" she asked. She gave an involuntary chuckle, as Jason jumped in surprise. He had forgotten she was there.

"So many things," he groaned and walked into the kitchen, before rummaging around for a mug. "Good chunk of the city has been destroyed because of Eve's minion's fight with several level 5s and the cities forces. Now, someone at top wants to blame it all on our friends."

"Why?" Kuroko asked confused, ignoring the angry voice in the back of her mind telling her Mikoto deserved it. Misaki, Accelerator, and probably Mugino had to have been involved somehow.

"Academy City can track AIM fields," Jason explained. "From their end, all the destruction was in the same locations as the level 5s. Besides my boss witnessing a fight personally, the others only have one capable person. Some people at the top want to blame them for everything. That means they could all be locked away indefinitely. Do you think someone like Accelerator or Mugino is going to accept that?"

"They would fight back and only solidify those views," Kuroko whispered.

"Exactly," Jason agreed. "Now, I'm expected to go and figure out what happened, which we both know what occurred, but those idiots don't, and try to do some damage control. Worst of all, they expect me there ASAP, which interferes with what I was planning to do today."

"What was that?" Kuroko asked. She wasn't used to seeing Jason so irritable, but she supposed after last night, the work he would be expected to do was probably pretty intense.

"I wanted to take you to Index so she could help you, but I can't reach her and now there's no time to drive in the opposite direction from where I need to go. Someone will be here in twenty minutes to pick me up and I was warned by my superior to be there, regardless." He banged his head on the counter. "I hate them all so much."

"Is… is there anything I can do to help?" Kuroko asked tentatively.

"Not unless you want to come and take notes for me," Jason mumbled sarcastically, still not lifting his head up. Making breakfast was all but forgotten. Kuroko tilted her head and stared at him for a moment.

"Okay." A moment of silence passed and Jason tilted his head to look at her out of one eye.

"…What?"

"You said last night there might be side effects of Juliet's magic," Kuroko pointed out. "So you wanted me nearby in case something happened. If we can't reach Index, than I have to go with you." She actually had an ulterior motive. Kuroko wanted to learn more about Jason, so she figured why not start now. She also enjoyed spending time with him, but she wouldn't tell him that. "My writing is also clear and legible, so my note taking should not be a problem. Some of my teachers are… not the most exciting individuals, thus you won't have to worry about me falling asleep if the meeting is dull."

"There's going to be classified information," Jason pointed out.

"I'm part of Judgment," Kuroko refuted. "I'm used to keeping certain things quiet." Jason blinked and a small smile formed on his face.

"When did you get so good at arguing?" he asked.

"Hanging around with you and those idiots you consider friends," Kuroko replied with a smirk and crossed her arms. Jason straightened up and stared intently at her for a moment. _He's actually considering it._ She was surprised when he sighed and shook his head.

"Sorry," he told her. "I can't let you."

"Why not?!" she demanded.

"Because," Jason stated. "There will most likely be a lot of higher-ups there. If you show up, you will be recognized and there is no doubt some people will try to make your life living hell. I won't allow that."

"Maybe I don't care."

"Well, I do." Kuroko's cheeks flushed, but she stared determinedly at him. "I do a lot to make sure none of them bother Kazari. Given a chance, people would try to use her to get to me, and she's not even involved in my work. Imagine what would happen if _you_ showed up to this meeting." Kuroko frowned, his words made sense, but she knew him better than that. If he wanted to do something, he could make it happen.

"Couldn't you… disguise me or something?" Kuroko asked. "You guys do it to the ape all the time."

"You are really adamant about this," Jason answered after a moment. "Aren't you?"

"I can be stubborn too," she replied with a grin.

"Why?"

"What do you mean why?"

"Why do you want to help me so much? You know I would find a way to solve this myself."

"Because-…" Kuroko replied, but stopped herself. _What should I say? That I like him? It's not a good time, but he can be just as stubborn._ "You need to accept when one of your friends are trying to help! You always complain about work, so you should be jumping at the chance to share the burden." Jason opened his mouth, but Kuroko cut him off. "No buts, just accept it. You did so much for me yesterday and I want to help you with this. Not just as a repayment, but because you are my friend." Jason opened his mouth again, shut it, and then rubbed his face. _Hah,_ she thought triumphantly. He rarely was ever rendered speechless.

"Alright," he relented and walked over to where his phone was resting. "Give me a moment." Kuroko smirked smugly as she watched him dial. "Kat, I have a favor to ask you." Kuroko could swear she saw a vein twitch in his head. "Yes, fine, I'll buy you two since this is none work related. You know Kuroko Shirai?" Kuroko frowned, because she didn't know anyone named Kat. "Don't give me that, I know you spy on me when you're bored." Kuroko's eyes widened. "Do you think you could get her a disguise so she could take notes for me at a meeting without attracting attention?" There was a long pause while the person on the other end responded. "I'll send you the address, but I swear it better be normal. This isn't time for fun. We can embarrass her later."

"Hey!" Jason only grinned.

"Thanks," Jason told Kat. "No, I won't forget." He hung up and texted Kat the location. "Okay, she will have a disguise for you when we arrive."

"Who is Kat anyways?" Kuroko asked.

"One of the few people in my department," Jason explained with a shrug. "We just got another guy, but he's not happy and wouldn't do something non-work related for me. I have to bribe Kat with manga from a horrible genre for her to help." Kuroko raised an eyebrow. "She only reads Yaoi trash." Kuroko's face turned red. "What, are you embarrassed about that? Imagine me, who has to buy that crap for her,"

"I'm getting a picture of you buying it," Kuroko told him. "Then sending it to everyone we know."

"Then I'm releasing to the news who the Kuroneko mascot really is," Jason threatened. They stared at each other with straight faces, but both of them were struggling not to laugh. They wouldn't do anything that bad to each other. Well, Kuroko might take the picture and share it with a few friends, but it wouldn't get out. Finally, Jason broke the standoff. "Your clothes are still in the laundry room. I would advise not wearing the Tokiwadai jacket. It stands out to much. Once we meet up with Kat, you shouldn't attract attention anymore." Kuroko nodded and stood up to retrieve her clothes, when she decided it was time to apologize.

"Jason," Kuroko muttered. "Sorry I snuck into your bed last night."

"I didn't know you were a sleepwalker," Jason commented, but he diverted his eyes. "Learned something new."

"I'm not-…" Kuroko started to say and then snapped her mouth shut. _Is he giving me a way out? He doesn't know I have fallen for him, so maybe he just thought it was Juliet's magic. Though, I thought it was just my feelings on her, not on everyone else. Wow, he really is giving me a way out. Maybe I should tell the truth instead._ She couldn't bring herself to confess yet. It wasn't like her. She had always been honest with her feelings, but this was something more. It wasn't the right time and she had to talk to Kazari first. "I was out of it yesterday," Kuroko admitted. "The stress must have caused it. I hope I didn't do anything to you."

"You were gripping my arm for a while," Jason shrugged. "But eventually let me go. Nothing big." Kuroko sighed internally, but part of her was suspicious. Jason was still not looking her in the eye. She had no way to call him out on it right now, without dying from embarrassment or causing a rift in their friendship. Instead, she said sorry one more time and went to retrieve her clothes.

 _One day, I will find out what happened. I have to know._

* * *

The ride to the meeting was uneventful.

A black SUV with tinted windows arrived to pick them up. Kuroko stared out the window while Jason talked to the driver. Instead of parking in front of a large skyscraper, they pulled around the back. Right when they stopped, the back door open and a girl with dirty blonde hair peaked out.

"Good," Jason mumbled. "As efficient as ever." He turned to Kuroko. "Get in quick and follow her. I'm going up to my office to change." Kuroko nodded and they entered the building. Jason went one way and she followed the girl, who she assumed was Kat, up the stairs. At first glance, the girl did not seem very… respectable? She obviously had bedhead with part of her hair in the back sticking up. Her clothes consisted of wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt. Kuroko flinched slightly when Kat grabbed her hand out of the blue.

"Don't let go," Kat whispered and they walked into a main hallway. Kuroko figured someone would comment on them, but no one even spared them a glance. They reached a dark office and Kat led them in. She turned the lock before flipping the light on. She then gestured for Kuroko to follow her to the closet, before she pulled the door open. "Here," Kat said and pushed a casual dress into Kuroko's hands. "Do you think this will fit?"

"It looks like it will," Kuroko nodded, holding up the blue and white dress. "Where did you get it?"

"Not important," Kat told her. "Our time is limited." She pulled open a desk drawer with a couple hair care products and a folded sheet. "Sit down, I need to dye your hair."

"Wait, wha-…?" Kuroko tried to protest, but Kat pushed her down.

"You don't want to be recognized," she pointed out and threw the sheet over Kuroko's clothes. Kat started using the dye and working it into Kuroko's long hair.

 _I feel like they did this to the ape,_ Kuroko thought, remembering all the weird colors his hair turned when he dressed as Kami. There wasn't much to do while Kat worked on her hair, so she tried to start up a conversation. "Why did no one seem to notice us when we walked by them?"

"My ability is Stealth Field," Kat answered bored. "I can't be detected by sight, sound, infer red, pretty much anything. I can extend the range to others, but it gets weaker the more people there are. One won't change much, but five is my limit. Anything passed that and up to ten is only sight."

"Sounds convenient," Kuroko commented.

"It does allow me to sneak away from some of the people Kagere has to work with," Kat said and smirked slightly.

"How long have you worked with him?"

"Not terribly long," Kat answered. "He came back to the city recently and I was tasked to help him. We don't have a lot of people in our area, so the higher-ups make him do a lot. I'm surprised he even sleeps, since he wanted to attend high school."

"Really?" Kuroko asked confused. "He always seems to complain about work, but he never let it interfere with doing anything he wanted to do."

"He is good at micromanaging his time," Kat said with a shrug. "We just got a new person, so we are showing him the ropes. Once he knows what to do, it should lighten our load."

"That's good," Kuroko mumbled. _Does he really work that hard? I always called him a slacker who only pretends to work._

"Done," Kat announced and gestured to the mirror. Kuroko turned and saw her hair had been dyed black and pulled into a side ponytail. Kuroko didn't even notice her hair being styled. Kat was a master at her job. "Now, get changed. This won't give you a perfect disguise, but most people won't spare you a second glance. They will be too focused on the task at hand. You can wear heels, right?"

"Of course I can," scoffed Kuroko indignantly. She quickly changed and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked different, but she could still tell it was her and it would not hold up to anyone who scrutinized her closely. There was a knock at the door and Kat answered it.

"She's ready," Kat informed Jason, as he stepped inside. He was only wearing a white lab coat over his shirt and jeans.

"Thanks for doing this so fast," Jason said to her with a nod.

"Remember, you owe me."

"I'll get you your porn," he sighed.

"It's not porn," Kat huffed indignantly. "It's art."

"That is what they all say," Jason laughed and then turned to Kuroko. "You sure you want to do this?" he asked. "It's not too late to back out."

"I said I would help and I will," Kuroko declared. "So stop trying to make me doubt myself."

"Okay," Jason relented and handed her a tablet and a piece of paper. "Use this to write down notes. I really only need you to write down what people say. That way, I can focus on people's reactions and any evidence they show." Kuroko nodded. "The paper has a small magic circle on it to help keep your disguise. It will distort your features in other people's eyes, so you will look slightly different, but you need to keep it on you at all times." She nodded and stuck the paper into her dress. "Well, it's time to go meet those old farts who make our lives miserable." Kuroko looked around and frowned.

"Kat disappeared," she pointed out.

"Yeah," Jason acknowledged. "She does that. She will be back in time to help you get out when we are done." Kuroko nodded and felt relieved. They left the office and took the elevator to one of the top floors. The entire time, Jason kept whispering stuff to her. "Don't talk unless someone addresses you directly, but don't give more information than absolutely needed. Try to stay as inconspicuous as possible. I'll do my best to keep attention off you."

"Calm down," Kuroko told him and slapped him on the back. "It's not like you to be nervous like that."

"I'm usually not," he admitted. "But I'm not normally risking you in the process."

"Risking me? You mean them trying to use me to make you do stuff?"

"Exactly."

"I would like to see them try."

"Please, don't tempt fate. They are devious bastards." Kuroko smirked at him and Jason gave a reluctant grin. The elevator dinged and the door opened. The two of them walked down a hallway until they reached the room at the end. Jason took a deep breath and turned to Kuroko. "You are going to see a side of me I save for work, don't freak out." Kuroko rolled her eyes and he grinned. "Don't say I didn't warn you." He pushed open the door and they walked inside.

"You're late," an old man said immediately. Kuroko glanced around the room. There was only one long table with six people sitting down, two women and four men, all easily over forty. Three were on one side and two were on the other, with an empty chair, where Kuroko assumed Jason was to sit. Each place had a screen in front of them. The final man was sitting by himself on the far end of the table and was staring at Jason.

"It's not like I was woken up first thing in the morning," Jason replied amused. "Only to find out someone was incompetent in stopping large scale destruction of Academy City." Kuroko was surprised by the abrupt change in his attitude.

"We are going to discuss that right now," the man said and continued to glare at him. "Who is the girl behind you?"

"The only note taker I could find on such short notice," Jason answered with a shrug. "If you had called me _last_ night, I would have had more time." He sat down in his chair at the table and gestured to Kuroko to sit down in a chair behind him. "Okay, so what's the huge pressing issue involving the level 5s that require me to have to be here?" Kuroko was shocked at Jason's lack of respect, but she kept her mouth shut and prepared to take notes. The man pressed a button and two screens emerged from the wall behind him. One had a picture of a destroyed park, while the other revealed a room with Accelerator, Shizuri, and Misaki.

"Last night," the man explained to everyone. "Five disturbances took place simultaneously in Academy City." The screen behind him started swapping between pictures of the park, streets, and a crater next to some train tracks. "The resulting damage has been exponential. However, even with the wide spread destruction, casualties were almost nonexistence. All civilians had mysterious left the area shortly before the fighting began."

"Did we find out why?" one of the others asked.

"Interviews did not yield much," the man acknowledged. "None of the people knew why they left, only that they did." He hit a button on his computer and the screen displaying the destruction changed. The screen now showed several people being interviewed and they all said roughly the same thing.

"I felt like I had to leave and couldn't resist."

"I thought I was late for an appointment and then remembered I didn't have one."

"I had a bad feeling when I was heading back and decided not to."

"They were obviously under the control of a mental ability," the man continued when the last interview finished. "Which leaves us to the main topic of discussion for this meeting."

"It would have to be an extremely powerful ability user," one of the women stated and her eyes flickered to the screen displaying three of the level 5s. "You think Mental Out was involved?"

"We know she was involved," the man explained. "Everyone, turn your attention to your own monitors." Kuroko noticed Jason was actually paying attention and swiping across the screen as he examined the data. "Our equipment tracked the AIM fields of the individuals at each location. Each incident had a level 5 right in the middle. Accelerator, Railgun, Mental Out, Meltdowner, and Number Seven were all involved."

 _I didn't know Sogiita was involved in this,_ Kuroko thought. _Was he being targeted too?_ As if answering her question, the man continued.

"Number Seven was cleared of any wrongdoing already, due to his arrival in helping Academy City forces deal with a malfunctioning power suit. It seems the AI had been corrupted and started attacking anything that moved. It was one of the reasons our forces were delayed in arriving at the other locations."

"So that leaves the other four," someone muttered. "What were they doing and was anyone else involved?"

"Two other AIM fields were detected with Mental Out. They were identified as her classmates, but fluctuated and weakened slightly, indicating they had been knocked out. Accelerator had two individuals identified as electromasters, but I was informed they had been cleared due to age. The Railgun's roommate had been identified too, but again, she had been knocked out shortly after the fight escalated." Kuroko flinched slightly. "Meltdowner had her usual companions with her."

"Who were they fighting?" another person asked.

"We did not detect any AIM fields in the vicinity capable of clashing against any of the level 5s," the man answered. "Upon examination of the areas where the fight took place, we identified the unique kind of destruction each of the level 5s abilities could cause. The reason we have summoned them here is that, if we determine there is likely cause for concern about their stability, each will be isolated until further notice." Kuroko noticed Jason's face darkened.

 _They are not going to like that,_ Kuroko thought.

"Obviously, they are a threat," one of the other men said and pounded his fist on the table. "We only tolerate their destructive tendencies because of the information we can gather from them. It was only a matter of time before they snapped and attacked the city itself."

"Hold on," the older of the two women stated and turned to the man. "You can't accuse them without proof. While it's true they tend to go a little overboard, when was the last time you heard of them causing this much destruction. They are smart enough to know this would not be overlooked."

"They keep pushing the boundaries because we are too lenient," the man snapped at her. "Pardon my rudeness, but you don't deal with the cleanup. My area does. The number of reports I have to read dealing with people being electrocuted, broken bones, memory issues, along with destructions of buildings and streets is ridiculous. They have been doing holding back recently, but I knew it was only a matter of time. We need to show this will not be tolerated." All the men and women continued to argue and discuss possible repercussions for the level 5s taking part in the destruction of Academy City. The man at the end of the table answered questions and kept periodically glaring at Jason.

 _I see why he complains,_ Kuroko thought to herself as she tried to keep up with the rapid conversations. She didn't know the other people's names, so she gave them seat numbers and identified everyone by them. Jason didn't seem to be involved in the discussion, but was shifting through the photos and information on his monitor, lost in thought. _He said he would take care of it, but I don't see how. Academy City doesn't believe in magic, so it's not like that excuse would work._ The discussion grew more heated, but then consensus seemed to agree the level 5s had to be monitored for a while.

"Someone has been quiet," the man at the end of the table announced suddenly and everyone turned to him. "Jason Kagere, you normally would try to find a flaw in anything we discussed. Why so quiet now?"

"Just checking a few things before I show off you incompetence," Jason said smugly and hit his monitor again. Kuroko saw the man's face flash red with rage. "There we go, I'm ready. Turn your attention to the main screen." Everyone looked and he continued. "I noticed several strange patterns at the scenes of a couple of the fights, the biggest clue involved Mental Out." The picture of a crater next to the train tracks appeared. "From the map, this was where a train station had been before the fight, now it's gone. Mental Out does not have that kind of power, but I have to ask if the two people with her would be able to do this?"

"No," one of the men answered. "Neither's ability would be capable of that within the time frame. An advanced large scale explosive had to go off to remove the debris. Physically destroying the station would have left behind rubble."

"Which would be weird for Mental Out," Jason pointed out. "When has she ever used explosives like that?" The room was silent. "There was also the strange phenomenon of all the areas experiencing civilians being manipulated. She could not have been in four places at once. It would have been suspicious if it was only in her area. Because of this, I examined the other scenes for unusual signs. Accelerator's fight had the second most obvious issue." He changed the picture on the screen to the park where a giant circle of sand had formed. "He turned the ground into a sand trap. I have never seen him use his ability like that before. Look," he pointed. "There are signs of the ground being broken up by him in the background. He has done that plenty of times before, but turning dirt into sand, I can't picture how he would do that."

"Now that you mentioned it," the woman next to him said. "I suppose if he sat there and tried to use his ability to destroy the ground over and over again, it would allow something similar, but I doubt it would turn into sand as fine as that."

"It seems unusual for him," Jason continued. "He could just plow straight forward against any adversity. Next is Meltdowner's fight." The screen changed again to show a destroyed street. "This is an interesting scene. You can see where Meltdowner fire from her location here," he used a pointed to indicate the ground. "The street was melted slightly and you can see the craters in the distance. "The weird part is this line here." He highlighted a deep groove in the ground. "It's too neat and fine for one of her attacks. There are no signs of melting to indicate extreme heat." He changed to a couple other photos. "The same kind of damage is evident in other photos too. It looks more like a wind ability created a vacuum blade."

 _Nice,_ Kuroko thought, as the group continued to discuss this point of view. _He didn't mention magic, but pointed out the destruction left behind are inconsistent._ Once the conversation settled down, Jason moved on to the last scene.

"Not entirely sure what happened here," Jason admitted and flashed a few pictures across the scene. "There is definitely electrical damage here and a couple things have been cut, which I suppose could be done with her iron sand. The issue involves these buildings." He flipped to the last picture. "It looks like a good chunk of these buildings were disintegrated. This doesn't coincide with what the Railgun is capable of. Her railgun attack couldn't cause that kind of area damage." The conversation started again and everyone fell into agreement.

"So what do you think happened?" the man at the head of the table asked.

"I think someone initiated a simultaneous attack on them," Jason explained. "While the AI power suit was going out of control. In fact, that timing seems oddly suspicious. Wouldn't you agree?"

The room fell silent for a moment.

"There were no other AIM fields," one of the men stated. "And no remains of any machines that could have warranted a fight of that caliber. What on earth do you think could have happened?"

"It's possible some person or group is after the level 5s," Jason said flatly. Kuroko was not the only one who drew in a sharp breath. The head scientist leaned forward and looked directly at Jason.

"Who do you think could have the power to face a level 5?" he asked slowly and deliberately. "A hidden individual like Kami? Or maybe someone from _outside the city_?" Jason stared defiantly back at him.

"You know damn well what I mean," Jason replied curtly. "I was forced into this position for a reason. If you believe that Academy City is the only group that is working on abilities, you are a fool. America won't let Japan stay ahead of them for long and Europe has begun their own group already. I bet it's some fringe group trying to prove their abilities are superior to ours." Kuroko was behind Jason, so only she noticed. But Jason's shadow was unfurling from his pants leg and messing with the electrical wires under the table. They appeared to be connected to the intercom.

"None of those groups are anywhere near our technology," one of the other men pointed out. "It's much more likely those children decided their powers allow them do anything they want."

"That is paranoia at best," Jason dismissed casually. "Unless you have proof, then it is only speculation. Has anyone actually talked to them?" When he asked that question, he gestured to the screen. For the first time, Kuroko noticed Mikoto had arrived. She had been too focused on trying to take notes. The man Jason was talking too spluttered in indignation, but was saved by the man next to him.

"As an ability user, yourself," he said to Jason. "You understand the responsibility of your gift. Their abilities are something in a completely different league than your own. As a scientist, you understand both sides of this argument. You know how much data their gifts give us, and you know the power they wield. Any one of them could kill in an instant."

"Now they are joining forces," the previous man said.

"You guys are paranoid," Jason repeated.

"If you are going to spend so much time in their company," one of the women suggested. "Why don't you go and question them."

"Cowards," Jason laughed. "Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san are pretty harmless, unless you attack someone in front of them. Then they just incapacitate you. Accelerator is like a puppy, all bark, though if you bait him too far, you will get bitten. Okay, I will give you Mugino-san. She scares me a little too." Kuroko couldn't believe the way he was talking about Accelerator and Shizuri. Though, truth be told, they scared her a little too. They tended to be a little more violent than Mikoto and Misaki.

"If you are so confident," the head scientist said. "I order you to go and find out what happened yesterday. Get their side."

"Fine, whatever." Jason stood up and Kuroko saw his shadow retract. "Feel free to listen to make sure I don't _jeopardize_ or _betray_ , or whatever you think I do when you have your back turns. I know you don't trust me at all."

"Trust is earned, boy," he told Jason. "You may be intelligent and skilled, but that does not equate trust." Jason rolled his eyes and moved to leave. Kuroko was about to ask if she should stay here, but he was gone before she could say anything. One of the woman glanced at her for a second, but everyone else seemed to have turned their attention to the room watching the level 5s. Kuroko imitated them and this time, she heard some sound.

 _Okay, Jason. How are you going to get them out of this mess?_

* * *

"Let's get this over with," Jason sighed in front of four of the level 5s. None of them talked much when he arrived and revealed himself. Misaki actually said hi and Mikoto gave a small wave, but Accelerator and Shizuri only glared at him. "Do you four know why you are here?"

"Nope," Accelerator denied.

"They told us nothing," Shizuri snapped.

"Sadly, no," Misaki answered.

"No," Mikoto lied and shook her head.

"Well," Jason continued. "I figured as much." A smirk appeared on Accelerator's and Shizuri's face. He grabbed a chair, turned it around and sat down on it backwards while facing them. "Last night, at roughly the same time, the four of you were involved in some kind of altercation, which led to the destruction of several large areas in the city. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"It was Kami's fault," Accelerator replied immediately.

"Definitely his," Shizuri agreed. Misaki had to try really hard not to laugh or giggle. In some twisted way, it was the truth. Touma had been the first one to meet Eve's group and slowly dragged the others with him. Mikoto did not find the situation funny, but she was also worried about Kuroko's condition, so she didn't speak. Jason blinked in surprise.

"Ooookay?" he said and marked something down on his own tablet. "You know, I wouldn't doubt that, not with all the crazy stuff he gets involved in. It always makes more work for me." He typed a few more things. "But, for the old guys listening in on us, let's go into a little more detail." Those words were more than a light jab at the higher-ups. It was a warning that they were indeed being monitored. "What happened yesterday to warrant the destruction of the city? Before you lie and say you were not involved, the city identified your AIM fields at each location. Now, please explain what happened." The four level 5s looked at each other and nodded. They had to tell the truth, or at least part of it.

"I was attacked," Mikoto replied.

"Likewise," Misaki agreed. "And we assume Accelerator-san and Mugino-san were too." They gave a noncommittal jerk of their heads.

"Interesting," Jason muttered and tilted his head slightly. "Did you recognize these people?"

"No," Misaki answered. "It was the first time I met the guy who attacked me."

"What about the rest of you?"

"Never saw the asshole before," Accelerator muttered.

"Bastard's gone now," Shizuri added.

"The girl who attacked me was different," Mikoto finally added.

"If this is true," Jason said thoughtfully. "I need to know about the people who attacked you. What were they like? What did they fight you with? Was it some kind of weapon or was it an ability?" He looked at each one of them in turn, but no one volunteered. "Fine, we go in order. Accelerator, you can go first." Accelerator glared at him, but Jason only raised an eyebrow.

 _He knows what happened,_ Accelerator thought. _And warned us. That means he is looking for us to say something specific. I can't mention the magic shit, but if I pretend it was an ability of some kind, it would make my actions self-defense to the city. Not that I really care, but it would save me and the brats some trouble._ "Some old guy showed up and said he was sent to kill me," Accelerator said, choosing not to give a name. After all, what kind of assassin gave their name? "He had the ability to manipulate earth and plants. We fought and I won. Left a mess in our wake, but shit happens. That's it."

"Did he use any noticeable technology or was it purely an ability?"

"I did not see any technology."

"Okay," Jason said and touched his tablet. "Mugino-san, what about you?"

"Almost identical," she said. "Except that guy had the ability to swing a sword and cut everything in its path." _So we are going to ability route, huh? Easily enough and I won't have people breathing down my neck. I wonder if I can get this bastard in trouble while I'm at it._ "But you know this already, don't you?"

"I was briefed before coming here," Jason commented nonchalantly. "Two questions, what did he want, and when you said cut, was it like a wind blade or…?"

"He wanted to kill me and I only noticed the cut when it hit a solid object."

"Great," Jason muttered dryly. "A guy with a sword who can cut things at a distance. Shokuhou-san, you are up."

"Lovely," Misaki said sweetly. "I was at the train station with a couple of my friends and we were attacked by an adult male with blonde hair, along with several masked individuals. They assaulted us and we had no choice but to defend ourselves. During the altercation, we were forced to retreat and an explosion went off. If we had been in the station, we would have been killed. They must have cleared everyone else out, because no one came to our assistance before the explosion. Then they disappeared after that. I bet they knew the noise would attract attention."

"Thank you for being more cooperative than those two," Jason said politely. He glared at Accelerator and Shizuri, neither of who looked the least bit apologetic.

"Of course. I only want to help catch these people." Misaki immediately understood what everyone was doing. _No mention of magic, check. Explain damages, check. Now hopefully Misaka will follow our example. She seems a little out of it since she arrived. Something must have happened. I'll talk to her once we are cleared._ She smiled at Jason and looked innocent. All she was doing in the eyes of anyone watching was explaining how some criminals attacked her.

"I appreciate it," Jason told her and smiled. His eyes then turned to Mikoto. "Misaka-san, your turn."

"Kuroko and I were walking back to the dorms when a girl attacked us," Mikoto said slowly. She was not as skilled as the others in omitting information, but she at least had examples to follow. Her conversation with Jason last night helped too. _He wants enough information to help clear us, so I have to make sure not to incriminate us in any way._ "The girl only said she wanted to kill us. Kuroko was knocked out early on to protect me and I was forced to try to escape with her. The girl could transform her body into blades and armor. The blades were able to cut through pretty much anything and the armor was resistance to electricity and my iron sand. Eventually, I managed to stop her and she disappeared. Kuroko woke up and we headed back to our dorm." It wasn't exactly a lie, as everything did happen, but it was omitting a lot of important information.

"Thank you," Jason said and hit a few buttons on his screen. "I noticed something interesting involving your AIM fields. Each one of them began to fluctuate wildly for a short time during these fights. Did you experience anything… unusual?"

"Pssh," Accelerator said dismissively. "None of us track AIM fields. A good life or death struggle gets my blood moving though."

"I can agree with that," Shizuri laughed and Mikoto frowned at them.

"Nothing I haven't seen before," Misaki said with a shrug. "But I was more focused on the guy trying to hurt me."

"Well then," Jason mumbled and swiped his tablet. "In your opinion, were these people who attacked you from this city? You guys said they were mostly adult males with abilities, yet college students tend to be the most common older individuals."

"They were definitely from outside the city," Misaki said instantly. "The man I fought wanted me to go down quietly so he and his companions could leave."

"He was Japanese," Shizuri admitted. "But he definitely wasn't from around here."

"Guy I fought was probably from some no name crap hole," Accelerator mumbled.

"No," was all Mikoto said.

"One final question," Jason said. "After these fights, why did none of you think to contact Anti-Skill about being attacked? Students being attacked should have been reported immediately, even if it was only to Judgment."

"Because this is nothing new," Accelerator stated simply and glared at Jason. "I get attacked constantly by people thinking they would be considered the strongest if they beat me. The amount of time I would waste waiting for the idiots working security in this city to do their job would leave me with no time to do anything else. If they want to take care of trash that injures themselves, let them."

"I agree with the albino," Shizuri added and pointed to Accelerator.

"Go die in a ditch."

"After you." She turned back to Jason. "People always want to fight a level 5. They usually learn their lesson immediately afterwards, so there's no point in doing something as boring as reporting it."

"I was worried about Kuroko and didn't think of it," Mikoto admitted. "We just wanted to get out of there. I think she was planning to write a Judgment report today."

"While Accelerator-san and Mugino-san have good points," Misaki finished. "Their vulgar reasoning could use some adjustment." They glared at her. "Some people do falsely believe that if they defeat us, it would mean they are a level 5. No matter how much they are informed it is based on ability, not combat prowess. I know you are quite skilled in that regard, but there is no indication that is enough to make you a level 5, no offense."

"None taken," Jason replied and waved her on. "Please continue."

"So we eventually became dull to it," Misaki continued. "The city usually arrests those that instigated the fight if any destruction occurred. While these guys were tougher than run-of-the-mill students, we had no real reason to act any differently if we did not need medical attention."

"Very well, Shokuhou-san," Jason said and hit a few more buttons. "Thank you for those details. I'm hoping this question and answer session will be over soon-…"

"You mean interrogation," Shizuri spat.

"Do I look like someone who could interrogate anyone?" Jason asked with a grin. "I'm too adorable." Misaki and Mikoto gave an involuntary chuckle.

"Hasn't stopped me from wanting to punch you at school," Accelerator mumbled.

"Speaking of that," Jason said and glanced at his pad. "They are debating about letting you go and, if they do, you will be excused from classes for the rest of the day to go home and get some rest."

"That sounds nice," Mikoto said. She actually wouldn't mind that. It had been a long night with little sleep.

"I wouldn't mind that," Misaki agreed.

"A few hours to relax before the brats return," Accelerator mumbled. "I like the sound of that." Shizuri crossed her arms and glared at Jason.

"So," Jason remarked conversationally. "What was with those earlier comments about Kami? Was he involved in this?" Mikoto stared at him in disbelief.

 _I thought the whole purpose of this was not to get any of us in trouble_ , she thought. _He even knows Touma is out of the city. What is he planning?_ Misaki was thinking along the same lines, but she could disguise her expression better. Accelerator and Shizuri were not as kind.

"He probably got involved with the wrong people," Accelerator scoffed. "And now we have to deal with the fallout. Bastard keeps opening his mouth and causing problems."

"If he was here," Shizuri added. "I would teach him the meaning of respect." A green orb appeared in her hand, but then extinguished it a second later.

"It's probably not a good idea to threaten people here," Jason remarked mildly, but he was grinning with amusement.

"Don't care," Shizuri snapped.

"Just blame him for whatever they are trying to pin on us," Accelerator suggested. "I want to go back to sleep."

"Kami does make some very broad claims," Misaki added. "A couple of my friends were rather insulted."

"Stop it, guys," Mikoto told them, slightly annoyed. "He wasn't involved and you know it."

"Kami fades in and out of sight easily enough," Jason pointed out. "He could be doing a lot. Guess I have to keep an eye out for him." He shook his head. "For some reason, only I seem to run into him often enough. The rest of the city officials can never locate him when needed." This time, there was a collective smirk on everyone's faces, even Mikoto gave an unwilling one. They sat in silence for a minute, while Jason tapped on his tablet, and then a voice came through a speaker into the room.

"Accelerator, Mental Out, Meltdowner, and Railgun," a man stated. "We appreciate your cooperation in this investigation. Please accept our apologies for earlier today. With security of the city at stake, we had to determine your safety and level of involvement…"

"Bullshit," Accelerator and Shizuri muttered.

"…Based on your testimonies," the man continued. "We believe there is sufficient evidence you acted in self-defense."

"Damn right," Mikoto heard Jason mutter.

"For now, you are free to go. However, your actions will be monitored and we advise for you all to learn some restraint. If new evidence arises that you have or plan to cause more destruction to our city, know we will be forced to administer discipline."

"I would like to see you try," Accelerator mumbled.

"I don't plan to," Misaki announced sweetly. "I like to avoid conflict."

"Sure you do," Shizuri said sarcastically with a roll of her eyes.

"May we go now?" Mikoto asked.

"Kagere-san will escort you out." There was a slight buzz of static as the speaker shut off.

"Of course I will," Jason muttered and stood up. "Well, looks like you are cleared for now." The other four stood up too. "Please try to keep property damage to a minimum."

"When have I ever caused property damage?" Shizuri asked innocently. Mikoto was not the only one who rolled her eyes.

"I'm pretty sure you have a quota to meet every day," Misaki said and Shizuri made a rude gesture.

"As much fun as this was," Accelerator told the others as they neared to the exit. "I hope I never have to see you brats again."

"Is that your way of saying you adore us?" Misaki asked sweetly.

"It's my way of saying you haven't earned a face in the wall yet," Accelerator snapped.

"Have you gone soft on us?" Shizuri asked with a mocking laugh, which caused Accelerator to growl at her.

"Your social skills haven't changed," Mikoto mumbled to herself. They reached the exit and she turned to Jason. She opened her mouth and tried to ask the question that had been on her mind the entire meeting. _I have to know how Kuroko is._ "Kagere, how-…?"

"It was nice seeing you again," Jason interrupted her and reached out to shake her hand. "I hope you don't run into more trouble anytime soon." He smiled and waved, before turning around and walking back into the building. Mikoto had frozen and her hand was clenched tightly in a fist. She walked out of the building to see Misaki waiting for her.

"I figured we could walk back together," Misaki suggested. "Accelerator-san and Mugino-san do not make good company, sadly. Besides safety in numbers, we can talk about last night."

"Yeah," Mikoto agreed as they walked down the street. "But maybe we should grab the other two before they disappear." She looked up at Misaki's curious expression. "Here." Mikoto passed a piece of paper in her hand over to Misaki, who took it and frowned slightly.

"Do you know where this is?"

"Unfortunately." The words on the paper Jason gave her were painfully clear.

 _One hour, meet where Mugino and Kami fought._

* * *

"We're here," Shizuri stated irritated. "Now, where is he?"

"It's only been forty-five minutes," Mikoto told her. "Besides, it's probably only a rough estimate." She, Shizuri, Misaki, and Accelerator were all standing around on the shore near the river, a bridge a short way in the distance. It was a pretty good place to have a private discussion. No one would be able to sneak up on them and, with school being in session, the number of people who would possibly approach them were limited.

"I think this gives us the opportunity to discuss a few things before he arrives too," Misaki added. "Kagere-san works for the city, so he probably wants to talk about what their plans are that involve us. For now, we need to talk about last night. Obviously, we were all attacked by Eve's forces, right?"

"Quit stating the obvious," Accelerator snapped. "I fought a damn vampire, or at least he called himself one. He was the one who stopped Kagere's ex bitch last time. He bit Last Order and I have Bayloupe watching her, but if there is any lasting damage, I'm going to that damn nun. The hero also has some explaining to do about a classmate." He gritted his teeth and Misaki looked at him curiously.

"Can't even protect a brat," laughed Shizuri, only for Accelerator to turn his glare toward her. "There's the look I remember. My opponent called himself Oda Nobunaga." She sneered when Misaki and Mikoto stared at her. "Yep, the legendary one. I took him down."

"They sure like to take grandiose names," Misaki commented. "I fought Arthur Pendragon-…"

"Wait," Mikoto recognized. "As in King Arthur?"

"The very same," Misaki confirmed. "He even wielded Excalibur. That blade was what destroyed the train station. I had to convince him and Lancelot to leave."

"We know what you mean by convince," Shizuri pointed out.

"Physical violence is beneath me," huffed Misaki.

"More along the lines you pass out after any physical activity," Mikoto said with a grin. Misaki scowled at her. "I faced Juliet, but managed to incapacitate her, I think."

"You think?" Accelerator asked annoyed.

"Well," Mikoto said and scratched her cheek. "She turned into a small black orb, so I'm really not sure."

"I prefer to make sure my enemies are gone by hitting them with my ability directly," Shizuri said.

"And that is why we don't trust you," muttered Mikoto.

"The exact details on how we won our fight may be relevant in a minute," Misaki interrupted and stepped between everyone. "However, a piece of information I discovered about Eve's plan involves us."

"You mean how she ordered her goons to push us to our limits and see if we change?" Shizuri asked with a slight grin.

"You know?!" Misaki gasped. "Here I thought it was because I managed to see a few memories."

"He was not exactly subtle about it," Shizuri muttered. "He did everything he could to piss me off, even saying a level 0 was more of a challenge than me, and it wasn't even Kamijou and his bullshit hand."

"Juliet was the same way," Mikoto agreed. "Her words, her actions, they were specifically targeting me emotionally, to get me angry. She purposely targeted Kuroko first and then me."

"That makes sense," Accelerator mumbled. "Cain was rather focused on attacking the brat over me. He obviously was sent to kill me, but also to turn Last Order." He frowned. "Eve's plan involves the brat and when I see her again, I'm going to rip her to pieces."

"I'm not sure how Last Order fits in," Misaki admitted. "But I'm a firm believer she wanted to see if we all could transform. We _know_ she saw my transformation in England. This had to be a test to see what kind of power our transformation toward level 6 granted us. The question is, why?"

"Scout her enemies because she knew we would get in the way?" Mikoto asked.

"That would be stupid," Shizuri spat out. "As much as I hate to admit it, she is much smarter than that. Making us stronger, even to sate her curiosity, would only add risks to her plans. Her minions should have been skilled enough to assassinate us if they didn't reveal themselves. The fact that they did, proves Eve was after something more."

"Keep up, third rate," Accelerator added.

"Shut up!" she snapped back at him.

"This led me to only one conclusion," Misaki continued. "I don't believe Eve has a full grasp of what science side abilities are, as she is part of the magic side. For her to have beyond a basic understanding, indicates someone in Academy City is feeding her information."

"Why would someone do that?" Mikoto asked.

"Money, power, fame," Accelerator stated. "Take your pick. This city is full of greedy bastards."

"Touma and Saten-san told us Eve would make deals with people," Misaki continued and nodded toward Accelerator. "Since they first saw the fluctuations in my readings after England, to any transformations you guys experienced in the city before yesterday, there has to be someone interested in making a level 6. If Eve promised them something, I bet they would agree."

"You make a lot of sense," Shizuri agreed grudgingly. "Regardless of how well-known some of those people are, they need allies. The more powerful allies they can get, the more they are willing to trade. Betraying the city to satisfy themselves would be a common occurrence."

"Great," Mikoto muttered to herself. "Now, we have spies to deal with too."

"And it won't be easy to look for them," Misaki added. "Because of the disturbance, our actions will be closely monitored for a while. I bet our AIM fields are being tracked as we speak. "

"So we can't just have her scan everyone we meet," Accelerator said and jabbed his thumb toward Misaki.

"That would be inefficient and taxing," Misaki replied.

"Then what should we do?" Mikoto asked.

"We find out information from the other side," Shizuri said and pointed. "Here comes our source now." The other three turned to see Jason walking toward them. He had changed out of the lab coat and was wearing normal jeans and a T-shirt. All four of them stared at him impatiently until he joined them. "You're late," Shizuri snapped.

"I have five minutes," Jason retorted.

"Did everything work out?" Misaki asked.

"Best as I could hope for," Jason said to her with a nod. "Thanks for playing along and answering some of those leading questions. We had enough evidence showing someone else was there because the scenes showed damage unrelated to your abilities, especially yours. They were having a hard time trying to figure out how _Mental Out_ erased a train station."

"I'm pretty exceptional," Misaki said with a wink.

"About damn time the city realized that," Accelerator mumbled. "It should have been obvious."

"Oh, they did," Jason admitted and the four of them turned towards him. "However, I believe a couple people wanted you guys to get blamed for it. You see, while they tracked your AIM fields, each of them changed, pretty drastically, and they probably wanted to run experiments on you."

"That… might actually relate to what we were just discussing," Mikoto said and Jason looked at her in confusion. It only took her and Misaki a couple minutes to explain their suspicion, with Accelerator and Shizuri commenting occasionally with snide remarks. "So?" Mikoto asked. "What do you think?"

"Has to be Ricane," Jason mumbled.

"Who?!" the other four asked.

"Scientist," Jason answered. "Sogiita actually met him in Rome. He had the Mark of Gluttony. Turns out, after some digging, we found out he made clones of himself and copied his memories before transferring it back to his main body in cryogenic stasis."

"So he's been working with Eve," Accelerator shrugged. "What proof do you have that the bastard is trying to make us transform?"

"Because he was the one who started giving out those illegal boosting drugs," Jason answered simply.

"You mean the ones Judgment had been working on stopping?" Mikoto gasped. "But I thought they didn't have any leads. The supply dried up recently."

"Anti-Skill keeps a lot of secrets from Judgment," Jason said with a shrug. "Something about children not being involved." He rolled his eyes. "Anyways, he had released those drugs into the civilian populace. Turns out he was manipulating Kakine along the way." Mugino and Accelerator raised an eyebrow. "Probably promised him power."

"He did," Accelerator confirmed. "It also explains how he used magic. If this Ricane was working for Eve, he would have access to both."

"Fucking dark matter clones," Shizuri spat out. "It allowed him to bypass those conflicting laws you told us about."

"It was pretty ingenious," Jason admitted. "But once Kakine was defeated, Ricane lost his heavy hitter and had to disappear underground."

"Did he also steal that one long range communication device?" Mikoto asked. "Kuroko mentioned that when she was taking your spot." Shizuri glanced over at her. She was the only one who had not been involved in the body swap.

"The Dimensional Transmission Emitter Console?" Jason asked. "Huh, I forgot about that with everything going on. Yeah, I think he has that if Kakine's group was the one who stole it."

"So we have a scientist with intimate knowledge of magic," Misaki mumbled. "Along with possible clones that can use magic."

"What did he specialize in?" Shizuri asked. "Was he heavily involved in ability research?"

"Well, no," Jason replied.

"Huh?" Shizuri growled. "You better not be shitting me!"

"He specialized in robotics," Jason explained. "Machines, AI, advanced technology, you name it. If it wasn't for him actually making that drug, I wouldn't have believed it either. Anti-Skill confiscated a lot of it before Kakine was defeated. It worked, but the side effects were horrible." Shizuri briefly met his eyes.

 _So that's how he acquired those drugs,_ Shizuri thought to herself. _He must have worked with those drugs to measure the dosage. Combine that with the transformation Mental Out went through in England and that he works for the Research Division. It explains how he could get the drug to transform me, but I don't need it anymore. However, that puts him in the perfect place to be a spy too. If he is, it has to be the long con. He nearly died a couple times and was saved by one of the others._ It was her nature not to trust others. _I'll have to watch him closely. It seems unlikely, but there is a chance he could slip up, if he is with Eve._

"Well," Accelerator said. "We keep finding new questions and none of us have answers. I'm bored, so I'm going to leave. Don't bother me unless you have some real news." _Have to make sure the brats okay and what Bayloupe has to say on the diagnostics. Can't believe I woke up right next to her. We were exhausted, but still… that is not like me._ Jason and Misaki waved goodbye, but he ignored them.

"It is a waste of my time to stay any longer," Shizuri added and left without another word.

"They are right in a way," Misaki added. "We really shouldn't stay grouped together like this without reason. It looks suspicious. I'm going to head back to the dorms. It was nice to see you Kagere-san and thanks for all the help. I'll talk to you later, Misaka!"

"Sure," Mikoto replied and nodded as Misaki gave a cheerful wave and left. Mikoto purposely stayed behind until the others were out of earshot. Jason didn't make any move to leave and waited patiently. _Glad he knows what I want to ask._ She turned to him and opened her mouth. "Is Kur-…?"

"She's fine."

"Really?" Mikoto gasped and her legs started shaking. She fell backwards onto the grass and landed on her butt. "Thank god." Jason smiled and sat down across from her.

"I was late because I had to take Kuroko over to Index first," Jason explained. "I was going to do this first thing in the morning, but then I was ordered to go to that meeting. I had to bring her with me."

"Wait, Kuroko was there?!"

"Disguised," Jason added with a chuckle. "She heard the entire discussion, including what happened before I talked to you guys. I think she actually believes I do real work now."

"Yeah, I doubt that," Mikoto replied and couldn't resist laughing. Everything was brighter knowing Kuroko was in good hands.

"Anyways," Jason continued. "Index was at Touma's dorm and I told her what I knew. Turns out, Itsuwa was also there and I didn't know. I'm really bad at keeping track of magicians." He muttered the last part and Mikoto had to hold back a smirk. "But they said it would be an easy fix for her. I trust them both, so expect Kuroko to return soon."

"Finally," Mikoto sighed in relief. "Everything can go back to normal." She then frowned. "Actually, will she remember everything that happened?" Jason nodded. "No, things won't go back to normal. We will have to have a serious talk." She looked closely at Jason. "Did… did she try anything when she was at your place?"

"Not really," Jason said with a shrug. "We mostly talked, but she didn't do anything crazy like confess."

"What would you have done if she did?" Mikoto prodded.

"I'm… not sure," Jason admitted. "I would try to pass it off as the magic messing with her, but if she really got serious, I would have to try to let her down easily I suppose."

"That's what I figured." Mikoto stood up. "Thanks, for everything Kagere-san. For helping Kuroko, for your interference with the city, for listening to me vent, thank you."

"It's what friends are for," Jason replied dismissively.

"I guess so," Mikoto admitted. "Would you happen to know when Touma will return?"

"Sadly, I do not. He needs to return soon though. The raffle won't be the same without him."

* * *

"He's back!"

Accelerator knew something was wrong the moment he reentered the apartment. He had not gone straight back and mulled around the city for a bit before grabbing some lunch. When the door opened and he heard Worst's excited yelling, his danger sense went off. The door closed behind him and he stepped into the living room. "What is going on?" he asked suspiciously.

Aiho was standing in the middle of the room, while Kikyou fiddled with a projector. This wouldn't have been that unusual, except it was a school day. Aiho should have been teaching gym at his school. What was even more suspicious was that Bayloupe and Estelle were both here. They were sitting in two separate chairs. Estelle smiled and greeted him, but she looked slightly confused at what was happening. Bayloupe only nodded her head at him, but diverted her eyes. Worst had the largest smile her had ever seen on her face when she looked at him. The danger alarms in his mind blared louder. There was the faint sound of music coming down the hall from Last Order's room, though her door was closed. He raised an eyebrow as Aiho turned to him.

"We didn't expect you back so soon," she said. "But I guess it doesn't make much difference. Kikyou is almost done."

"With what?" he asked. "And why are you even here?"

"Day off," Aiho replied dismissively. "Had to work late last night and that was my reward."

"Again, what the hell is this?" Accelerator asked and gestured to the projector.

"I'll get to that in a moment," she told him. "Go ahead and have a seat." He glared at her, but sat down in the open chair next to Bayloupe.

"You are going to love this," Worst whispered excitedly to him. "Misaka was waiting all morning for you to return." She was virtually bouncing on the balls of her feet.

 _Damn it,_ Accelerator thought. _This is going to suck. Anytime Worst is happy, it only means bad news._

"I'm not sure what is going on either," Estelle whispered to him. "They only talked to us and said they had something to show everyone when you got back." Accelerator turned his eyes toward Bayloupe. Estelle was naïve in many ways, especially about anything relating to nudity, but Bayloupe was smart. By her expression and determination not to look at him directly, he knew something was up.

"They asked us what happened last night and why we were here," Bayloupe whispered back softly. Accelerator could barely hear her and her lips didn't seem to move much. "We couldn't tell them about our side, so I may have had to… embellish some details."

"What did you say?" Accelerator demanded in an undertone through gritted teeth.

"All done!" Kikyou announced and stood up. The grin on her face made Accelerator flinch. "Take it away, Aiho."

"Okay," Aiho announced and clapped her hands together. "Last Order is in her room with the music turned up because this conversation is for adults." More warning bells went off for Accelerator. "When Kikyou and I returned yesterday, we were surprised to say the least."

"I still find it hard to believe Accelerator brought two girls over to spend the night," Kikyou added with a chuckle.

"I would prefer some notice before you bring friends over," Aiho continued and looked directly at Accelerator. "But they explained the situation." She crossed her arms. "Bayloupe made it quite clear it was self-defense when you five were attacked."

"We were definitely attacked first," Estelle agreed. "If it wasn't for master, we would have been killed." Accelerator face palmed when she called him that. No matter how many times he told her not to, she kept at it. Since Aiho and Kikyou did not seem to mention it, she must have explained why she called him that to them at some point.

"Some idiot thought he could take me," Accelerator yawned and made a dismissive motion with his hand.

"So we figured," Aiho agreed. "Bringing guests wasn't the problem and I'm actually glad you did. It showed how much you have matured since you arrived. The old you would have just left them there."

"You make it sound like I'm a monster," Accelerator muttered. _I used to be, so it's really not inaccurate._

"Indifferent or uncaring would be a better word," Kikyou said. "You usually ignored people."

"Master may not necessary be happy to get involved," Estelle argued. "But if he sees someone in trouble, he will step in."

"He helped my friends and me back in England," Bayloupe added. "Though, I think he was pressured by someone else." Accelerator glared at her and she smirked at him.

"Misaka thinks he was just trying to get into your pants," Worst sneered and Accelerator threw a cushion at her. Bayloupe tried to keep a calm demeanor, but her cheeks flushed slightly.

"We are getting off track," Aiho interrupted firmly. "The point I was trying to make was we were not concerned about you bringing friends over. What we," she glanced over at Kikyou, who was smiling, " _were_ concerned about was the fact we found you in bed with a girl."

"I told you nothing happened," Bayloupe stated defiantly. "We were exhausted and collapsed. We didn't wake up until this morning." She had exhausted herself healing everyone that night. It was the reason Accelerator did not have to go to a hospital.

"Last Order wanted to sleep with her," Accelerator said quickly. "But must have followed me."

"Suuuuure," Worst commented sarcastically.

"Regardless what may or may not have happened," Aiho continued with a huge grin. A vein in Accelerator's head throbbed. "You were still found in the same bed with your girlfriend." Accelerator blinked.

"My…WHAT?!" Accelerator shouted, the second his brain processed the information.

"No need to be embarrassed," Kikyou laughed and winked at him. "It all made sense when we found out. Worst was particularly interested."

"Still can't believe it," Worst admitted. "She's somewhat attractive. Why on earth would she want to be with a scrawny loser like you?"

"Fuck you," Accelerator told her.

"Misaka might be willing to have a threesome," Worst laughed. "But saying that in front of your girlfriend? Tou-san grew some balls." Accelerator turned to Bayloupe.

"What else did you tell them?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"Nothing much," Bayloupe replied nervously. "It was the only way to answer all their questions." Accelerator thought about it for a moment. It actually would be a good cover story. Last Order had possibly been turned into a vampire and Bayloupe would be watching her until they could find a cure. It gave them an excuse to travel together. Bayloupe also provided information on the magic side if Jason was not around. All and all, it wasn't that bad of a plan. If he was honest with himself, it could have been a lot worst. He didn't hate Bayloupe and actually found her tolerable. If it had been someone like the third, fourth, or fifth rate, he would have had to kill everybody there.

"So you found out," Accelerator sighed and resigned himself to the lie.

"Aww," Kikyou said to Aiho. "He's embarrassed."

"I bet they were waiting for him to get the nerve to tell us," Aiho whispered back, but loud enough for all of them to hear. Worst was laughing hysterically and Accelerator was gripping the armrests of the chair with enough force that they were at risk of snapping.

"I knew they were friends," Estelle admitted. "But I didn't know master was dating her. Congratulations."

"Whatever," Accelerator said and turned to Bayloupe. His eyes flashed and she tried to apologize without saying a word.

"Where were we?" Aiho asked Kikyou.

"They were in a bed together," Kikyou replied instantly. "So that is why we have to do this."

"Right." Aiho turned back to the others. "Anyway, you are all high school students, so this type of behavior is to be expected…."

"Huh?" Accelerator, Worst, Bayloupe, and Estelle asked in unison.

"…Which is why we set this presentation up," Aiho continued. She gestured to Kikyou and the projector.

"Nooo," Accelerator began to panic when someone clicked in his brain.

"It's about time you guys had _the talk_ ," Aiho finished. "And learn about male and female reactions, along with the consequences."

"Tada," Kikyou announced and hit a button on the remote in her hand. The lights in the room went off and the projector turned on. The presentation appeared on the wall with a very obvious title.

 _Sex Education, Why the Hell Should We Care?_

"FUCK THIS!" Accelerator roared. His protest was drowned out by Worst's hysterical laughter.

* * *

"Queen!" a group of girls called out when they arrived at the café.

"Hello," Misaki greeted her friends, as she set down her cup of tea. She was sitting outside at a table under a large umbrella. Because of her absence, she had received numerous messages asking why. Instead of trying to explain to everyone, she decided it would be easier to just talk to a group of her closest members of her clique. They had to wait until after school, which gave her time for some much deserved rest, and then travel to one of her favorite café's near their school for a cup of tea. "Sorry about the sudden disappearance, but the city requested my attendance at the last minute." Six girls sat down around the table.

"That was rather rude on their part," one of them said, after they had ordered.

"Sometimes things happen that do not allow for advanced notice," Misaki replied mildly.

"You are so understanding, Queen," another girl told her, beaming. Misaki gave her a small smile. While she did enjoy spending time with the girls, she had been getting used to hanging out with Touma, Mikoto, and all their friends recently. They were a lot more blunt about their opinions, rather than reserved and agreeable. A couple months ago, she would never have imagined she actually would enjoy their company. Both groups had their appeal, but it surprised Misaki how she could miss both groups.

"I can't go into a lot of details," Misaki explained. "But several of the other level 5s were there, Misaka, Accelerator-san, and Mugino-san. The city was just informing us about our new schedules and personnel who may work with us." She added that last part in case Jason would have to meet with her randomly. Last few times, she had to use her power to persuade the other girls to let them talk. "I'll try to keep you up to date if something happens, but my schedule may be a little disorganized over the next few weeks."

"Thank you for letting us know," one of the other girls said. "We won't have to worry now, but you can come to us if you ever need help."

"I know," Misaki replied and smiled at her, causing the girl to blush slightly.

"Queen," the girl with lilac hair in ringlets asked her. "Do you have any plans to attend the raffle involving Kami on Saturday? Since you missed class, I feel I should inform you most of our school are talking about it. They are quite excited and hoping they can win the prize of having him visit."

"Hmm," Misaki mused in pretend thought. A finger delicately pressed against her cheek. "I think I will," she finally admitted. "If our classmates desire his attendance, it would be rude for me not to assist. It might even be better for me to escort him around, being a level 5. Our classmates all know proper etiquette, but many of them lack experience with young men."

"Your presence would be most welcomed."

"Though, I'm worried about Kami being at our school." Misaki turned to the other girl who just spoke up.

"What do you mean?" she asked kindly. "You can speak freely about any concerns."

"I remember when he had that interview," the girl explained hesitantly. "I'm worried he might try something. From what we seen, he is not the most… well-mannered individual. He might try to take advantage of those who do not understand males." If she had said that about Touma, Misaki doubted they would be friends anymore, but because this was about Kami, she controlled herself.

"Misaka and I talked to him," Misaki reassured her, determinedly keeping her voice calm. "Turns out, while he is a level 5, his relationship with his classmates is very strong. He tends to get roped into their ideas and one of them wanted him to say that during the interview, if he was asked about that. The time during the crime event, he was just staying in character so his friends could receive the extra credit they needed. He is not nearly as bad as those two appearances made him out to be."

"Oh," the girl replied, clearly embarrassed. "I jumped to conclusions and I apologize. If he is as you say, I have no reservations about this. Would you like us to assist you?"

"We will have to judge how popular the raffle is," Misaki answered seriously. "I have the feeling this will be much more complicated than a simple game should be. We may have to rely on luck."

* * *

It had been a long day for Mikoto. She spent nearly all of it in her room, trying to sleep. Jason had returned with her briefly to retrieve the ball Juliet was in. Once Mikoto gave it to him, he left, leaving her alone. She kept tossing and turning in her bed, worries about Kuroko and what Eve was planning kept her up. After what felt like an eternity, Mikoto instantly sat up on the bed, when she heard the door to her room opened.

"Kuroko!" Mikoto cried out when she walked in. Kuroko grinned sheepishly and closed the door behind her.

"Hi, onee-sama," Kuroko whispered. "I'm b-…" She was interrupted when Mikoto bolted over and embraced her in a tight hug.

"I'm so glad you're back!" Mikoto exclaimed through her tears. "I was so worried." She did not let go for over a minute and Kuroko returned the hug just as tightly. "Are…are you cured?"

"Index took care of," Kuroko confirmed. "She broke apart Juliet's spell and Itsuwa performed the magic. It only took a little time for them to gather the items they needed for the spell." Mikoto sat down on her bed and Kuroko on hers.

"So," Mikoto said hesitantly. "What all happened since you left last night?"

"I was in a bad place," Kuroko admitted. "Juliet's magic was messing with all of my emotions." Mikoto nodded, because Jason had told her that already. "I still remember hating you, but when I think back, I can't really understand why I hated you. My feelings for you now haven't changed from before. When I left, I had no idea what I was going to do. If I hadn't run into Jason… I don't know what would have happened." She looked at the floor and Mikoto got up to sit next to her. She put a reassuring arm around Kuroko's shoulder. "Thanks," Kuroko mumbled and wiped her eyes.

"Do you want to continue?" Mikoto asked. "I can understand if you want to wait."

"I can," Kuroko reassured her. "He took me back to his place, so I could dry off and avoid catching a cold. After that, we talked for a bit and he let me stay the night. This morning, he was forced to attend a meeting with some other people. You know the one. I convinced him to let me tag along."

"He mentioned you were there," Mikoto admitted. "So you really heard everything?"

"Yeah," Kuroko confirmed. "I was still under Juliet's magic, so I got angry for no reason when you spoke, but I managed to hold on. We teleported to the ape's dorm right after Jason managed to escape." A small smile appeared on her face. "I found out today he actually does work. All this time, I accused him of just goofing around."

"I told you he works occasionally," Mikoto said with a roll of her eyes. They both had a short laugh about that. The laughter died out and there was an awkward silence between them. The argument last night was still fresh in their mind. They turned to each other and spoke simultaneously.

"I'm sorry!" They both blinked and looked confused.

"I was the one who overreacted to everything and hurt you when I ran off," Kuroko protested.

"I should have done more to find you," Mikoto retaliated. "You were in pain and I could only stay here."

"There wasn't anything you could have done!"

"That just made it worse." They stared at each other, both thinking about what they could say.

"Maybe we could say both of us were in the wrong?" Kuroko suggested. Mikoto blinked and smiled.

"Okay," she agreed. "As long as we promise not to blame ourselves too much."

"Deal." They hugged again.

"Kuroko," Mikoto said. "No matter what happens, you are my best friend, so I promise to try to stop hiding anything from you. You have told me I don't have to shoulder everything alone, and I shouldn't." Kuroko smiled brightly at her.

"Thank you," Kuroko told her. "You have no idea what that means to me. Knowing I can support you through any storm." She hugged Mikoto tightly again. "You are my best friend too." Mikoto hugged her back and then something occurred to her.

"You haven't tried to grope me," Mikoto mumbled, not realizing she said that out loud.

"Huh?" Kuroko asked confused and they broke apart.

"Nothing," Mikoto replied quickly, but diverted her eyes. Kuroko narrowed her own suspiciously and then smirked.

"Oh? Did you want me to?"

"W-what, no!" Mikoto denied. "It's just, I know we can have serious talks, but you tend to try something at the end. I was just confused for a moment, so you don't have to try anything to prove you are okay." Kuroko laughed and then grew serious.

"If we are being honest," Kuroko admitted and rubbed the back of her head. Mikoto raised an eyebrow and Kuroko gulped. "Index and Itsuwa might have finished curing me over two hours ago." Mikoto sat in silence for a moment.

"What?" She looked slightly hurt that Kuroko didn't come to her immediately.

"I… had to do some thinking," Kuroko mumbled and looked away. "Once my head was cleared, I had to think about these emotions inside of me."

"I see," Mikoto mumbled when it dawned on her. _This had to happen eventually._

"Onee-sama," Kuroko continued. "You are amazing, smart, beautiful, caring, and perfect in almost every way. I have admired you since we first met. I tried to show you how I felt, even knowing you did not feel the same way about me."

"Kuroko…" Mikoto said softly.

"Please let me finish," Kuroko interrupted and Mikoto went silent. "I held onto the belief that your feelings would change, but they didn't. Instead, you met the ape and fell for him. I admit, I was devastated when I first found out, but I still believed this was just a temporary thing. I realize now I was only fooling myself. You would never be attracted to me in the same way." Mikoto opened her mouth, but Kuroko kept pressing forward. "I had to force myself not to show it. Then something happened. I found myself feeling weird around someone else. It wasn't the same type of feelings I had with you, it was more embarrassing and made me feel… uncomfortable, but in a good way."

"Kagere-san?" Mikoto asked hesitantly. She wanted to be absolutely sure and Kuroko confirmed it quickly with a nod.

"I found him so annoying at the beginning," Kuroko sighed and flopped back on the bed. "But he grew on me. Confident, willing to help us with problems, strong, and funny… do not tell him I said that, ever! I know we argue a bit, but I kind of enjoy it. He doesn't let people push him around. I have seen how he treats Uiharu and that is what makes this so difficult." She covered her eyes with her arm. "Onee-sama, I fell for him and I think this is my first real crush. My feelings for you are more admiration, like an idol or older sister. You are still a really important person in my life, but it's not romantic I think. I probably feel that way about Jason as you feel about the ape." Mikoto smiled and laid down right next to Kuroko.

"It sounds like it," Mikoto admitted. "So, how do you want to do go about this? You always acted so confidently when you expressed yourself around me."

"I want to tell him," Kuroko stated with passion. "But how could I? If he was single, this would be easy, but he's with Uiharu. She's my closest friend after you. If I tell Jason I like him, it could ruin our friendship."

"Keeping it bottled up inside is only going to hurt more in the long run," Mikoto countered. "I did that and it was only by accident he found out. That made it so much more embarrassing."

"I don't want to lose any of my friends," Kuroko complained. "Why does love have to be so hard?"

"One of life's great mysteries," Mikoto muttered with a grin. "So, are you going to keep calling me onee-sama, or use my actually name now?"

"I think I'll keep calling you onee-sama," Kuroko replied with a smirk.

"Why?"

"Because you're still special to me," Kuroko answered. "As I said, I admire you like an older sister, so it's appropriate."

"That's fine, I was just curious." They sat in silence, but enjoyed each other's company, as they mentally ran over everything they discussed and went through over the past twenty-four hours.

"I think," Kuroko announced suddenly. "Tomorrow, I'm going to talk to Uiharu. I don't want to lose my friend, but I'm afraid I'll act differently and make a mistake if I don't do anything."

"Would you like me to go with you?" Mikoto asked.

"Thank you, but no. This is something I have to do myself." Kuroko took a deep breath. "At least Jason doesn't know I liked him, or last night would have been uncomfortable."

"Errrr," Mikoto trailed off and Kuroko glanced at her.

"What was that noise?" Kuroko asked suspiciously.

"You see…," Mikoto started. It only took fifteen seconds to explain what she learned last night. After two minutes of silence, she looked over at her friend. Kuroko had not moved and her eyes were blank. _I think she broke._ A second later, Mikoto almost went deaf.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE KNOWS!?"

* * *

"I'm baaaaack," Frenda announced. The sun had set in Academy City by the time she burst into the safe house. She doubted anyone was asleep this early and she knew Saiai would be excited to see her back. The door shut automatically behind her and she looked around. Only Shiage and Rikou were in the room. Shiage was watching TV on the couch and Rikou had been sleeping in a chair. Frenda's announcement had jolted Rikou awake.

"…Oh, Frenda," Rikou said and yawned. "It is good to see you back."

"Good to be back," Frenda agreed. "Basically, I have so much to tell you guys."

"Frenda," Shiage said hesitantly.

"What do you want, Hamazura?" Frenda snapped at him, as she walked toward them. Shiage muttered a single word in warning.

 _Run!_

Frenda opened her mouth to respond, but a hand fell on her shoulder and gripped her like iron. She turned around and froze in fear.

"You are finally back," Shizuri hissed. "I'm pretty sure I told you I wanted constant updates."

"We had no reception in Australia," Frenda squeaked in order to avoid death. "Basically, I had no way of contacting you."

"I see," Shizuri replied and Frenda, for a brief moment, thought she would get out of this alive, but then Shizuri continued. "Yet you did not notify me when you approached or arrived in the city?"

"Eep," squeaked Frenda again and then tried to play it off. She hit the side of her head slightly with her first, turned around and smiled. "Oops, I forgot?"

"Your memory needs some work then," Shizuri told her coldly. She started drag Frenda into the back room. "You and I will work on that after a very long talk."

"Please don't kill me, Mugino!" Frenda cried out, before they disappeared when the door closed.

"I super would not want to be in her shoes," Saiai commented, as she stepped out of the kitchen with a bag of chips. "Mugino has not been in a good mood all day."

"She just wants to find out what Frenda witnessed," Shiage said optimistically. "She won't kill her, right?" A loud scream interrupted them.

Saiai shrugged.

* * *

Imouto was happy to be back in Academy City, but she was still feeling slightly sour. Night had fallen when they landed in the city and everyone was exhausted. As she, Touma, Ruiko, Frenda, Lessar, and Oriana started going their separate ways, Oriana leaned it and gave Touma a kiss on the forehead as thanks for all his help. The results were immediate. Lessar refused to be outdone and jumped at the stunned boy to deliver her own version of a thank you kiss. It took the combination of Frenda, Ruiko, and Imouto to stop her. Imouto didn't trust Lessar going home with Touma, but he assured her they would be fine. Imouto grudgingly left after that. On the way back, she felt someone watching her. Her hand reached for her gun, as she simultaneously turned around. The sight that greeted her was an exact copy of her.

"Hello, Misaka 19090, Misaka 10032 greets nervously."

"The fact you did not know it was Misaka until you turned, Misaka 19090 states. Shows that you have still refused to reconnect to the network and have not been fulfilling your end of the agreement."

"Misaka does not know what you mean, Misaka 10032 lies. Misaka made sure to update the network with any physical contact."

"That was used as a display of dominance, Misaka 19090 refutes. You will drop your weapon and come with Misaka for questioning."

"If Misaka refuses? Misaka 10032 asks."

"Then we will use force, Misaka 19090 states flatly." From side streets, five more Sisters emerged, all wielding their goggles and weapons.

 _This is not good._ Imouto raised her own weapon in response.

* * *

"Guess who's back!" Ruiko declared after barging into her room. She briefly heard her name a second before a flowery blur crashed into her.

"I'm so glad you are safe, Saten-san," Kazari cheered, after embracing her best friend with a hug. She blinked away her watery eyes and then began to pound her fists on Ruiko's chest. "How could you just up and leave like that? You barely gave me any information! Baka!"

"I didn't have much choice," Ruiko apologized and they both sat down to talk. It was late, but both ignored the time. "I ran into Frenda at the supermarket and we were heading back, when we saw Touma, Lessar, and two other girls." Touma had asked her not to talk about Mikoto's sister until after they talked with Mikoto. "We followed them and got dragged along."

"Where did you go?" Kazari asked. "You said it was far away, so I assumed it was out of the city."

"Australia." Kazari's eyes widened in shock and it took a long time to explain what happened. Ruiko left a few things out, stuff like sharing a bed in the hotel room and Touma's wardrobe malfunction. Kazari listened in fascination as Ruiko explained how they flew to Australia on a hypersonic jet, traveled into the desert, and met up with Carissa's forces. She gasped when Ruiko described Adam's assault and looked shocked when Ruiko described the battle in the tunnels. Kazari only asked a few questions, so Ruiko could keep the story flow up. The final battle with Adam left Kazari transfixed. When Ruiko finally finished Kazari embraced her again. "What's this for?"

"You have been through so much," Kazari explained.

"This is kind of what I wished for." Ruiko rubbed the back of her neck. "Now that I actually took part, I have a hard time seeing how Touma can continue to jump into situations like this so readily. It gave me a newfound respect for him, along with people like you and Shirai-san. You all risk your own safety for others, even complete strangers."

"Heh," Kazari chuckled. "Don't worry. You have the same crazy desire the rest of us have to help others."

"Is that a good thing?" Ruiko asked with a grin. "Always causing others to worry?"

"As long as you come back," Kazari replied.

"It does feel good to be back," Ruiko admitted and fell back onto her bed. "Hey Uiharu, you know what I have been up to the last few days, what about you?"

"Huh?"

"What have you been doing?"

"Mostly hanging out with Jason," Kazari replied. "It was too quiet without you."

"I'll make sure to make plenty of noise the next few days then," Ruiko laughed.

"Please don't," Kazari pleaded. "People will complain again. Oh, I almost forgot. I did have a meeting with the city about a possible job."

"Right," Ruiko remembered. "How did it go? I bet they were super impress at your skills."

"Kind of," Kazari admitted. She never really liked to brag. "They offered me a position and gave me a couple days to think about it. My boss is a little… unusual, but is really smart and important within the city. I am worried if I accept this job, I might have to give up Judgment duties."

"And you don't want to leave Konori-san and Shirai-san?" Ruiko asked knowingly.

"Yeah." Kazari briefly thought about the warning Jason gave her, but he promised to watch out for her if she wanted to do this. She would also be able to confide with him if something made her uncomfortable there.

"What do you want to do though?" Ruiko asked.

"I don't know."

"I know you do," Ruiko told her and crossed her arms. "You want to accept this job because you feel like you would be helping the city even more than what you are doing now. Not only that, you love working with computers and the idea of being able to use Academy City's supercomputers probably excites you." Ruiko grinned. "I bet you also want to see what it is like working for the city to understand more of what Jason's life is like, right?" She added a wink.

"W-wha-…!" Kazari spluttered, as her face flushed. She calmed herself down, looked at the ground, and nodded. "You know me too well."

"We have been best friends for a long time," Ruiko pointed out with a laugh.

"True."

"You know," Ruiko continued. "You could ask to accept the job on a trial basis and see if it is a good fit for you. If it's not, you can always quit."

"That's… a great idea," Kazari admitted. She stared at Ruiko for a minute. "Who are you and what have you done to my friend?"

"Hey!" Ruiko protested and then grinned deviously. "I see how it is." Before Kazari could react, Ruiko moved in front of her and flipped up her skirt. "Strawberries? Haven't seen that one in a while."

"SATEN-SAN!" Kazari cried out, as she pushed down her skirt.

"I missed that," Ruiko sighed with happiness and sat back down on her bed. "It is so stressful without you around."

"I really wish you could find another activity that did not involve skirt flipping," Kazari complained, but she smiled. "It is good to have you back," she said again.

"It is good to be back," Ruiko repeated.

"You know what," Kazari stated and fire flashed in her eyes. "I think you are right. I need to stop doubting myself and take this once in a lifetime opportunity. Tomorrow, I'm going to call and accept that job. I'm going to be brave like you!"

"Knew you would," Ruiko said and gave her friend a thumbs up. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to pass out. It has been a long day. We can hang… out…. tomorrow…" She toppled back onto the bed and fell asleep a moment later.

Kazari rolled her eyes, smiled, and pulled a blanket over her.

* * *

Jason was sitting in his apartment, the metal orb Mikoto had given him resting on the table in front of him. A look of concentration evident on his face as several shadow tendrils reached for the orb. He cut and pulled the top open. The electricity discharged with a small spark. Carefully, like peeling an orange, Jason removed the rest of the metal. The remains were exactly like Mikoto told him. The small black orb was floating an inch or so above the table. He leaned forward and examined it. _It resembles my shadow ability perfectly._ He frowned and one of his shadow tendrils moved forward slowly. He stopped when it was about half an inch away, took a deep breath, and then gentle touched the black orb with his own shadow.

* * *

"Would you please let go?" Touma pleaded for the twelfth time.

"You know the price," Lessar stated. She was being carried piggyback style with her legs wrapped tightly around Touma. She was upset Oriana beat her by kissing him and the others had stopped her from showing him what a true kiss was like. The reason she was being carried was she was exhausted and jumped on his back when the others had left. He only put up with her because she promised not to do anything else to him, while she was being carried. She knew he was just as tired as she was, so she made a deal with him. If he kissed her on the lips for at least five seconds, Lessar learned from her mistake last time, she would walk instead. "Or you could try to force me off."

"I'm sure you could kick my butt twenty different ways if we fought," Touma sighed.

"While that sounds really kinky," Lessar laughed and Touma's ears burned. "I'm too tired for that." Touma's apartment came into view and Lessar was impressed Touma was actually willing to carry her this far. _His endurance is amazing. I really want to make use of that._

"I hope Index is okay," Touma muttered. "Itsuwa willing to stay and look after her was a huge load off my mind."

"It's not like the church was going to leave her alone," Lessar pointed out. "Magicians can break into Academy City, you know?"

"All too well," he admitted.

"And speaking of load," Lessar said deviously. "Don't you have another load you want to get off? I can help you with it." Touma did not humor her with a response.

They arrived at his dorm and Lessar finally hopped off his back, so he could unlock the door. As soon as his hand pressed against the door to push it open, the sound of breaking glass was heard. He blinked and looked at Lessar, who nodded for him to enter. Touma stepped in and a movement to his left caught his eye. He turned to see Itsuwa freeze, her spear only a foot away from Touma. "Ah!"

"I'm so sorry," Itsuwa apologized and, in an instant, her spear disappeared as she disassembled it. "The barrier was forcefully broken and I didn't know when you would be back. There was a possibility it might have been an enemy magician." She stepped back and let Touma and Lessar in.

"Did I hear Touma yell!?" Index called out from the other room. She bounded over and her eyes went wide. Touma suddenly covered his head.

"I'm sorry for leaving, Index!" he cried. "Please don't be angry!"

"Why would I be angry?" Index asked. Touma blinked and lowered his arms.

"You normally get mad when I disappear without warning," Touma muttered.

"That's because no one knows where you are," Index reprimanded him and wagged a finger. "You leave me alone without food, so I starve. I have to go out and try to find a kind person to share some! When you do return, you are covered in injuries! That is why I get mad. I get worried for you." She huffed and crossed her arms. "But Itsuwa explained the church needed your help and I couldn't argue."

"Thanks for taking care of her," Touma told Itsuwa, who smiled.

"It was no problem at all," she replied. "If it is okay, I may have to impose myself on your hospitality for a little while longer. The church is still worried about Eve hiding within the city."

"Of course," Touma replied. "I'm glad to have you, but we are going to have rough sleeping arrangements with you and Lessar here."

"That will not be a problem," Itsuwa responded, trying not to let the comment, about Touma glad to have her here, bother her. "I know you only have one bed, so I brought a futon with me. It's pretty comfortable and doesn't take up much room."

"You are a life saver!" Touma cried and leaned up against the wall, while he wiped the gratitude from his eyes.

"I take it everything went well?" Itsuwa asked Lessar, as she tried to avoid looking at Touma's grateful expression.

"Yep," Lessar confirmed with a thumbs up. "Most of what happened we accounted for, but then the Roman Catholic Church decided to send Fiamma of the Right." Itsuwa's eyes went wide and Lessar laughed. "Wasn't any problem for Lover Boy here. After wrecking Adam's assault on our base, he goes and fights Adam one on one to let our scattered troops regroup. Then when Fiamma arrives and captures him and the princess, Lover Boy takes him on in a fight and pulverizes his face. Fiamma is now in England's custody and Adam is gone. Fiamma actually helped us by killing Adam with a giant flaming sword." Touma looked at the ground and Itsuwa decided to change the subject.

"You can tell me the details tomorrow," she told Lessar and then turned to Touma. "You both look pretty drained. We ate already, but would either of you like something? It wouldn't be any problem to whip something up."

"I think sleep is more preferable for me," Touma admitted. "We ate before traveling here, though, the army food was… Zach was right about it. Let's not have that anytime soon." Itsuwa was about to giggle, but the look on his and Lessar's faces caused her to hold it in.

"I need some sleep too," Lessar agreed and then grabbed Touma's arm. "Let's sleep together. It will be fun and it's not like we haven't done it already."

"W-wha-...!?" spluttered Touma. He blinked and realized what she was referring too. "Don't say things people will misunderstand!"

"What's there to misunderstand?" Lessar asked innocently and tilted her head. Touma would have considered it cute, if her words weren't going to send him to the morgue. "We slept in the same bed, cuddled up, and even saw your morning wo-…"

"No you didn't!" Touma shouted, but his denial only exacerbated Lessar's teasing.

"I'm sure there is a misunderstanding here," Itsuwa said, trying to resolve the situation. It failed, miserably.

"When his pants were down, he flashed us," Lessar told Itsuwa. "The princess even saw it. I have to say, it was rather impressive. Could be tough to take it all at once." She winked at Itsuwa, whose jaw just hit the floor.

"Toooouummmaaa," Index growled warningly. Her eyes were red, her unnaturally sharp teeth flashed, and a dark aura surrounded her. "Explain yourself!"

"It was Lessar's fault!"

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Lessar lied and whistled. "Your pants fell purely by accident the day you decided to go commando." Itsuwa's face turned scarlet.

"That was because you stole-… wait, Index! Don't do it! Let me explain… AHHHH! Get her off, get her off!" His pleas went unanswered for several minutes, as Index refused to release her jaws of death upon the poor boy's head. Lessar was laughing too much and Itsuwa was still in shock from the revelation. Her imagination was running wild. It was a lot like what Kazari did.

* * *

An hour later, everyone was fast asleep. Index and Lessar were sharing a bed, while Itsuwa used her futon. Touma was lying in the tub like usual. Due to exhaustion, it felt like a five-star mattress. None of them noticed the uninvited visitor arrive. The window to the bathroom creaked open an inch and a small, brightly colored, snake slipped in. Nothing touched the window, but it closed once the snake was inside. The small serpent looked around and slid along the floor until it was right next to the tub. The end of Touma's blanket hung over the side and the snake raised its head, before disappearing under the corner.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **I wonder how much foreshadowing you guys caught during this chapter. Some was obvious, but some may have only been a sentence long. Jason actually got some screen time, but it had to be done to lead to some character development along with a few important pieces of information. If anyone was keeping track of dates, this night finished our Thursday, which means next chapter will start Friday morning. Can anyone remember why Friday was important?**

 **P.S. I was going to do a skit down here showing Accelerator in a Sex Ed class, but I figured you, the readers, warped brains could easily imagine something way funnier than what I could write.**

 **Insert Your Scene Here**

 **Pretend It Was My Idea**

 **Compliment**


	102. S5 Talking with Snakes

**Snuggle-chan seems to be the primary focus based on comments. Have to admit, Touma needed a goddess to help him out with his situation. Otherwise, he won't get anywhere. Guess this entire chapter should be devoted to those two. This chapter is the first of many that I have been looking forward to for a long time. The raffle is going to cause so many problems and get new people involved, including some old faces who hadn't shown up recently. However, there is one big event that will occur before and during the raffle that some of you may find a little more interesting. It might even start a war. Lots of humor in this chapter, which kind of made up for a pretty crappy week. This chapter would have been out earlier, but a combination of not feeling well the last few days and my fifteen year old dog passing away, I didn't really feel like writing. Anyway, enough about my problems, you guys didn't come here to read about those. Let's move to the comments, after a brief word from our sponsors.**

* * *

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* * *

 **Acpeters: The main reason I rewound the clock was to show what happened to Kuroko. I figured the Sex Ed scene reached the point where everyone could just use their imagination. Oh, his friends won't let him live that down for sure.**

 **The Wolf Paladin: I'm planning to use our resident snake goddess as a way to make certain people act to avoid some NT events. Jason knows, that was the scariest thought Kuroko had in that chapter. Eh, Bayloupe is pretty hot. Nothing to complain about. Othinus has a lot of uses and will defiantly be different than the LN.**

 **Iceflame55: Technically, isn't bad luck still luck?**

 **Cyber dragonarmy: Well, Misaka-san, you could always tie him up and drop him off in front of ITEM. They probably need a new errand boy. Would be a good punishment for him.**

 **general ironox: I think he will regret it more that they were caught in the same bed. Carissa will have to wait a few chapters. This is a snuggle chapter.**

 **wildarms13: Worst would just say he had one, regardless of truth. Torturing the readers with anticipation is how I have fun.**

 **Whwsms: All ability users in Academy City are just research subjects. People forget that a lot. Accelerator probably tried to use his reflection to stop hearing things, but there's a time limit to that. You don't cure Yanderes, you just learn to live with them. Kakine will make an appearance this weekend for sure, the question is, when? I wonder if Oriana will teach Lessar how to seduce people. Wasn't a shout out, all girls want to end up in the bathtub with Touma.**

 **Salishious: Your comment is causing some brain damage when I pictured what you wrote. Touma's mom is going to cause a new situation to occur.**

 **Jujudude: Kuroko has some soul searching to do, along with some conversations with people. Kamiko could be one of them. MILFs have a purpose and it will cause a lot of problems. Touma wouldn't like to date two people as each persona, mainly because he would feel like he's cheating. Fake dates might be possible though. You obviously have NO idea what Snuggle-chan's goal is. This chapter will be an eye opener. I always thought that would be a fun fanfiction to read. Go ahead and write it.**

 **Anon Guest: Accelerator vomits on the floor. Now, if it was someone else… who knows?**

 **plantkingman1: Huh, maybe? This chapter may or may not be devoted to her.**

 **anand891996: Harems simply allow me to avoid making a decision.**

 **GameCguru: Touma loves to remove death flags from character. Mugino is probably the only one who actually has a clue Jason may not be what he appears to be.**

 **FCJ69: …. I definitely did not forget and had to slip it in this chapter. Nope, was all purposely planned.**

 **Handsomistic1: If story is relevant for the reader, I'm perfectly okay in rewinding the clock to show what happened. Uiharu has some interesting fantasies, so maybe? Sharing is caring, right?**

 **Guest: 1) Some outfits I may prefer to make them simpler, but I would still need to think of a setting for everything to take place. 2) Are they ever not up to something? Motoharu more than Pierce though. Your skit wasn't bad, but I had a slightly different wake up scene in mind.**

 **The Ultimate Impulse: The reason I decided not to actually write the Sex Ed class was because I felt readers could imagine something far funnier than what I could write.**

 **A certain guest: Misfortune? If a hot girl wakes up in your bed, I'm pretty sure that's fortune. Infinite Hells wouldn't work, but a single hell would. Long stories cause individuals to change based on events, otherwise it gets a little boring if characters stay static. Aiwass showed up once and I'm current debating how to have him show up again. Someone should put a metal lock over Touma's lower half to protect the prize so many are gunning for. Science can only go so far, so what they discovered could only be a small part of the IB. Anti-AIM doesn't negate magic, so there has to be something else. If you use science to try to rationalize something outside of science, you only get so far. Jason's research actually was used already by Noukan, so Aleister is fully aware of this.**

 **xaxiel1572: Gunha used his guts to travel and Kanzaki is off resting.**

 **Generation Zero: Wasn't a lie, it was only not saying as much as they could. Noukan was with Gunha, so he could easily say, ignore him. At least all of the Level 5s know not to talk about sensitive things around just anyone now. This next arc is going to focus more on the science side enemies for a bit before moving back to Eve's fun. Aleister is watching, but he only reacts when he is required to. Eh, if I have to do something, I'll send Touma and some random people to America to fight Othinus. I think California would be a fun place. I do like battle royal arcs. There are always more than two sides who are fighting.**

 **Mizericordia: I'm sure they read my fanfic and steal my ideas.**

 **Kuvukiland: I had my Sex Ed class in high school, so wouldn't that be rated T?**

 **FrodoFighter: I think you could make them longer, haha. Kat's ability is personal and requires touch. Unless Touma touched her or someone she was clocking with his right hand, he couldn't detect her. However, touch would cause her to be revealed instantly. I needed a non-combat ability that an intelligence gather could use, but I suppose it could be used for assassination if needed. Yeah, I saw that mistake I made. Sheesh, I don't remember half of what I write. Maybe there are side effects? Estelle? Know better? HA! Accelerator obviously wants to confess to Bayloupe though. I just imagined Kuroko laying on her bed and staring at the ceiling in horror all night. Poor Imouto, one of the other clones will have to replace her. Yep, I decree Uiharu is a patron Saint of the Church of Skirt Flipping. You caught on to a few scenes with the mothers, but not everything. Prepare for some fun.**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

There's something about sleeping in your own bed after a vacation that makes you feel great. The familiarity gives you peace of mind. Even if said bed was only a bathtub. While Touma's sleeping arrangements may not have been ideal, it was what he was used to and he found himself having the most restful night's sleep since he left for Australia. The peace had been interrupted by the annoying blaring of his alarm clock. He groaned and reached over to shut it off automatically, not even bothering to open his eyes. He was comfortable, way more than he should have been, though a little warm. Something twitched under his blanket and his eyes shot open. He had been living with Lessar long enough to know what that meant. He looked down, grabbed the edge of the blanket, and ripped it off. "Lessar, how many…?" His voice trailed off when he saw it wasn't her.

Rainbow snake eyes met his own.

"Hello," Julunggul greeted him. "Did you misss me?" Touma's eyes widened and his mouth fell open. A few seconds passed as he took in the mostly naked form of the young woman in front of him, smooth chocolate skin, raven hair, and the changing scales tastefully covering her modestly. His brain finally clicked and his shock burst out of him.

"AHHHHHHHH!"

"That was Kamijou-kun!" Touma heard Itsuwa shout from the other room. His scream had woken up the others.

"We're coming, Lover Boy!" Lessar yelled and there was a thud as someone hit the door.

"It's locked!" Itsuwa told her.

"Out of the way!" The bathroom door was ripped off its hinges, as Lessar grabbed the handle with her new Steel Glove. She had crafted herself a new one out of backup parts yesterday before their plane arrived. The door was thrown unceremoniously across the bedroom. Lessar and Itsuwa stood ready with their weapons, while Index stood behind them. Their faces turned from alarm to shock when they saw Touma. He was still laying in the bathtub with a very attractive, almost naked girl on top of him. Touma suddenly realized those three had never seen Julunggul before.

"Tooouuuummmaaaa," Index growled dangerously and flashed her teeth, a second before her eyes widened. A trace of fear appeared on her face. Before she could say or do anything else, Itsuwa held out a hand.

"Stay back, Index," she warned. "Kamijou-kun, be careful. That girl is dangerous."

"Lover Boy," Lessar ordered. "Hold her down, while I take her out." Touma opened his mouth to warn her, but his words were stopped when Julunggul put a finger on his lips.

"I'll take care of thiss," she whispered and turned to the other three. "Enough." That one word combined with her glare was able to stop everything. Lessar, Itsuwa, and Index grew silent and their weapons were lowered. "Good girlss," Julunggul mused. Touma noticed their eyes seemed to be slightly glazed over.

 _I remember looking into her eyes,_ Touma thought. _She clouds your mind and makes it hard to think._

"The three of you will turn around and leave," Julunggul continued. "Go about your normal routine, while thiss boy and I talk. You will not interrupt uss. Undersstand?" The girls nodded mechanically. "Put the door back on too, sso we can have ssome alone time." Lessar picked up the door and set it back into place, even though it wasn't being reattached. Julunggul turned back to Touma and smiled. "What do you think of my sskill?"

"What did you do to them?" Touma demanded.

"A little ssuggesstion," Julunggul explained. "It will give uss ssome privacy." She tilted her head. "Unlesss you are into people watching. Iss that what turnss you on?"

"Wha-…!?" spluttered Touma.

"Are you imagining them sstaring at uss and cheering?" Julunggul licked her lips. "Getting freaky in front of your friendss?"

"NO!" He began to panic.

"I'm joking," Julunggul explained finally.

"Holy shit, I thought you were serious."

"I could be, if you want."

"No!"

"Your little man ssayss differently." She shifted on his lap.

"It's a natural reaction I can't control!"

"Aww." Julunggul stared at him in thought.

"I don't like the fact you controlled my friends," Touma replied honestly. "But thank you for not hurting them." She gave a curt nod as acknowledgement.

"I'm a very nonviolent goddesss," Julunggul laughed. "Unlesss you anger me or I'm hungry."

"Do magic gods eat?"

"We don't need to eat food. I prefer ssomething elsse." Her eyes flickered downwards.

"Why are you here?" Touma asked nervously, trying to ignore the hungry remark and changing topics.

"You." A single word escaped her lips, but it was full of passion.

"Me?" Touma asked confused. "Why? I thought we had a deal. I destroyed the shard Adam held, so you could be free. Didn't I accomplish that?"

"Oh, you did," Julunggul confirmed. "My power wass weakened becausse of that, but it will return. No, I'm here for a more… perssonal reasson." Touma gulped and she moved her face closer to his. "I came here to learn about you."

"Huh?" Touma was completely confused. Julunggul's eyes were sparkling and shifting between colors. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't look away. They were so hypnotizing.

"You marched into my lair," Julunggul explained, her eyes never wavering or even blinking. "With the intoxicating sscent of love and lusst permeating the air around you. A boy on the border of becoming a man, with all your raging hormoness, and yet you ressissted me. If that wass not bad enough, you ssomehow managed to forge connecting mate threadss between yoursself and many otherss. Ssomething people are lucky to create only one of, and you were able to acquire a ridiculouss amount. You have your pick of perfect ssoulmatess. I want to know, how are you sstill a virgin!? Ssome wait until marriage in thiss age, but they never have more than one or two of thesse sstrings."

"I'm not sure how to tell you this," Touma answered hesitantly. "I used to believe no girl would fall for someone like me because of all of my misfortune. It was only recently I learned a couple girls actually like me that way and I haven't been able to sort out my feelings for them. Haven't been able to answer them at all, actually." He muttered the last part dejectedly.

"Why not jusst have ssex with ssomeone then for pleassure?" Julunggul asked curiously.

"Because that would be disrespecting the girl," Touma replied instantly. "I can't just do it without love being involved. It's not right. People deserve to be treated with respect. The feelings should be mutual." Julunggul tilted her head and the smiled warmly at him. "Besides, it's my friends who like me. If I go out with one of them, it would strain our relationship with the others. I treasure all my friends too much for that to happen. That was why I was even in Australia in the first place, because Adam's plans would lead to them getting hurt."

"I ssee," she mused. "Want to know a ssecret?"

"I figure you are going to tell me anyways," Touma sighed.

"Ssoulmate threadss are only created when two people have true feelingss for each other and they are compatible," Julunggul explained seriously. "Even if thosse feelingss are not consscioussly recognized. You care about them and they care about you. A thread then getss formed. The more you two care for each other, the sstronger the thread becomess. You may have many threadss, but only a handful are sstrong enough to be conssidered true connectionss. Though, handful in thiss casse iss sstill way more than a normal persson sshould ever have. You are rather unique in another asspect though. You sseem to posssesss the ability to be perfectly compatible with almosst anyone."

"So I'm making these threads unconsciously?" Touma asked bewildered. "How?"

"You like them back," Julunggul stated simply. "Were you not lisstening? You care for them and they care for you. Not all relationsshipss have to end in ssex. Friendss, enemiess, teacherss, parentss, are all typess of relationsshipss you have. They are all different color threadss, but I'm only interessted in the bright red oness."

"Those are the…" Touma trailed off.

"Ssexual conquestss."

"I don't have those!"

"I meant love threadss that can end in that."

"You did that on purpose!"

"Maaaybe," Julunggul giggled. "But I want to ssee the girlss on the other end of the red oness."

"And how are you going to do that?" Touma asked, knowing he would not like the answer.

"The eassiesst way would be to follow them," Julunggul pointed out. "It would only take me a moment." She sighed and began to whine. "But that would be ssoooo boring!" She looked back into Touma's eyes. "Insstead, I'm going to follow you around. Meet them in persson and examine your interactionss."

"Err, what do you mean by follow?"

"Don't worry," Julunggul reassured him and patted his cheek with her hand. "I need to observe you in a normal environment. I can transsform into a ssmall ssnake and hang out in your pocket. Jusst act naturally and I'll occassionally whissper sstuff about the girlss ass we meet."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Deeply perssonal and intimate sstuff." Julunggul smiled. "Their three ssizess, underwear color, chance they would jump you the ssecond you assked if they wanted to."

"That sounds wrong on so many levels!" Touma shouted.

"Huh, I thought a boy around your age would like that."

"I would… I mean I think about it… but to actually do it is wrong!"

"Knew you weren't gay."

"I never pretended to be."

"I don't know. You fight awfully hard againsst me trying to get you laid with a female."

"And I told you why!" Touma retorted strongly. He leaned back in the tub and sighed. "Why are you even doing this?"

"What do you mean?" Julunggul asked curiously.

"Why are you trying to get me laid so badly?"

"I told you before," Julunggul said sternly. "You are an anomaly. Ass a fertility goddesss, it iss my ssworn duty to guide boyss into manhood. Normally, moving around requiress a lot of work to avoid accidently messsing with the world due to my power, but with my sshard desstroyed, I can take a… vacation? Yeah, a vacation, and take a more active role. I only want to help you."

"Can I politely refuse your help?" Touma asked hopefully.

"Yess."

"Dang… wait, I can?!"

"I'm not going to force you."

"Really?" Touma couldn't believe it when she nodded. "You… are a lot more reasonable than I was afraid you would be. Okay, I appreciate the offer, but I really-…"

"However," Julunggul interrupted and she held a finger up to Touma's lips. "If I am unable to examine ssuch an interessting ssubject, I might find mysself getting bored and irritated. After traveling sso far from my homeland, I will have to find ssomething to entertain mysself. It iss a large city, sso that sshouldn't be too hard, but I might want to get revenge on you. Probably won't attack your friendss, they didn't do anything wrong, but embarrasssing you? Perfectly acceptable. I think I would sshow up in your classs and tell everyone I'm pregnant with your child. That would causse ssome interessting missundersstandingss, wouldn't it?" Touma's eyes widened in fear, something she did not miss. "The choice iss yourss though. When I remove my finger, let me know if you will accept my help or if you will pussh me away." She removed her finger from his lips.

"…wish I could do something to repay you for your generosity in helping me with my problematic love life."

"That'ss what I thought."

"Were you serious about not actually meddling with my friends?" Touma asked. "You just want to observe?" He may not be able to do anything to forcefully stop Julunggul from doing what she wanted, but he could try to perform as much damage control as possible.

"I wass," Julunggul confirmed. "I want to ssee what your life iss like normally."

"If that's all," Touma conceded. "I don't see why you can't." _My friends can never find out about this and I hope she doesn't try to make this too perverted._ He imagined what Lessar would do with that kind of power.

"Sso what'ss with the letter in your pantss pocket?" Julunggul asked.

"Letter?" Touma repeated and then his eyes widened. He had forgotten. He wasn't able to get some private time with Agnese for her to tell him what she had wanted to before he had to leave. Instead, she passed him a letter telling him to read it when he was safely back in Academy City and away from prying eyes. With Lessar traveling back with him and then collapsing in the bathtub in exhaustion, he didn't have time to read it yet. "Oh, right. A friend gave me it to read, _privately_." He emphasized the word.

"I can't read it then?" Julunggul asked with a pout. "But there'ss sso much feelingss imbued in it."

"If you drop it," Touma said. "I'll read it after school today." Julunggul smirked and then nodded. _Hah, whatever Agnese wanted to tell me should be between us._

"One more thing," Julunggul added. "With ssuch closse proximity, I can read your thoughtss."

 _Fuck!_

"If you insist," Julunggul told him and licked his cheek. A shiver ran down his spine.

"Such misfortune…"

* * *

Touma regretted his deal with Julunggul before he even reached his school.

 _That girl likes you, that one too. She's interested, but it's only on a curiosity level right now._ Touma tried hard to ignore Julunggul's voice as he walked to class. She had some weird ideas about how many girls like him. Once his school came into view, she pointed out nearly three out of every four girls he encountered. At least she was polite with her commentary. If he talked with someone, she remained silent most of the time so he could concentrate. One thing he noticed, since they started communicating telepathically, was Julunggul's words no longer contained the hissing sound he associated with her. He attributed it to her no longer needing her very snakelike tongue.

 _I think you are misreading things,_ Touma thought, knowing she could hear him. As long as he didn't touch his head with his right hand, this would continue. _I think I helped her out once, but I never even spoke to those two._ He felt Julunggul squirm in his jacket pocket. She had transformed into a tiny snake to travel with him.

 _I'm a goddess,_ she retorted. _I don't 'misread' things. You did something to attract their interest. Sometimes, small things can add up, opening doors, helping people with a problem, just being nice._

 _I wish getting a girlfriend was that easy,_ Touma laughed silently. _When a girl finally does confess, she turns out to be a friend and then a couple of my other friends confess right afterwards. Why is love so complicated?_

 _Keeps me employed,_ Julunggul laughed. _You know, I've never been to a school before, except what I have seen on TV._

 _Wait, gods watch TV?_ Touma was shocked.

 _All the time. We have sleepovers and watch funny movies before we mess with the lives of mortals._

…

 _Just kidding._

 _Wow,_ Touma sighed. _You almost had me going there for-…_

 _Gods don't need to sleep._

… _You know what. Just tell me, how much TV have you seen? No wait, before that, how did you even watch TV when you were out in a desert?_

 _I don't live there you know,_ Julunggul reprimanded him. Touma quickly apologized. _I just happened to be there when you showed up. I can travel anywhere I wish, but I usually send out familiars so I can keep track of humanity's progresses. Some of them found interesting shows and I watch them. My favorite genre is anime, so you can't believe how excited I was when you were from Japan._

 _That… explains way more than it should. Please don't try to use anime logic in real life._

 _You will be surprised what works from those shows… attention, someone approaches._ Touma was surprised when she suddenly went quiet. He had just entered his school and began to walk down the hall, when a girl called out to him.

"Kamijou-san!"

"Senpai?" Touma turned around to see Seria approaching. He smiled and waved to her when she reached him. "Hello."

"I heard you missed school the last couple of days," Seria stated, a look of concern on her face. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he reassured her. "I was just feeling under the weather." She leaned forward and looked at him closely, which caused his ears to burn.

"You have some bags under your eyes. Have you been getting enough sleep?"

"Last night was pretty restful," Touma admitted. _At least, until I woke up._ He heard Julunggul snicker in the back of his mind. "But I've missed too much school this year already. I'll sleep more this weekend."

"Take it easy," Seria advised him. "I would hate for you to collapse from stress." She smiled at him and he felt his heart beat faster. She was really quite attractive. "Oh, would you care to join me for lunch on the roof?" The question jolted Touma out of his stupor.

"You want me, to join you?" he asked, slightly dazed.

"Of course, I enjoy your company and accidently made a little too much food today. A growing young man like yourself could probably use the extra nutrients." Boys always have a hard time resisting the call of food. She knew this.

"Sure," Touma agreed. "I'll meet you up there."

"Excellent," Seria beamed and waved goodbye to him. "I have to get to class. It was nice talking to you."

"Likewise." He watched her leave and then headed to his own classroom. _Yes, alone time with senpai! She's so kind, smart, and attractive._

 _And the girl is one step away from grabbing you in the hallway and ravaging you while everyone watches,_ Julunggul interrupted his thoughts.

 _AHHH! Stop popping in out of nowhere! And senpai isn't like that. She's just a really caring person._

 _Sure,_ Julunggul replied disbelievingly. _Does she act that way around everyone else?_

 _She was really nice to my friends during an interschool game not too long ago,_ Touma explained. _She also gives me great advice._

 _Keep telling yourself that,_ Julunggul sniffed. _You never appreciate my advice._

 _Your…advice… was to grab every girl with a thread and make them my mate._

 _Which is something any male who wasn't gay would love._

 _I'm not gay!_

 _Then go mate with some girls!_

 _I'm ignoring you._ Touma blocked out her complaining and nonspecific threats as he entered his classroom. A good portion of his classmates had arrived already, including Accelerator, Pierce, and Motoharu. Accelerator's head was on his desk and he was surrounded by a dark aura. The intensity was even enough to keep Motoharu and Pierce from bothering him. Touma frowned and approached his two friends. "What's up with him?"

"No idea," Pierce replied. "He was like this when we arrived."

"Maybe his girlfriend dumped him?" Motoharu suggested. Accelerator's head turned slightly and he glared at them out of the corner of his eye. "Huh, we might be on the right track." He blinked and turned back to Touma. "Woah, man, you're back!" He acted as if Touma had returned after a month.

"Did you enjoy the last two days hanging out with all your lady friends?" Pierce asked and raised an eyebrow.

"Shut up!" Touma snapped. "I was not feeling well. Still not actually, but I can't afford to miss any more school."

"You're such a good student, Kami-yan," Motoharu laughed. "Maybe Komoe-sensei will go easy on you." He knew what Touma had gone through and wanted to congratulate him, but this was not the time or place for it.

"I hope so," Touma agreed and sat down at his desk. "I don't fancy spending my entire weekend doing homework."

"Maybe you could get Misaka-san to tutor you," Motoharu snickered.

"I might have to," Touma muttered and quickly took the fun out of the teasing. He didn't do it on purpose, he was just tired.

"Besides," Pierce interrupted with an evil grin. They were going to get him, one way or another. What were friends for? "You won't have time to be stuck doing homework all weekend."

"Why?" Touma asked suspiciously.

"The festival," Pierce pointed out. "Don't you remember?"

"Oh." It all came back to Touma. "Our class is doing that raffle, right?"

"Yep. Should be easy to set up, but we have to plan shifts."

"We put posters up all around the city and we know there is a lot of interest in the prize," Motoharu added. "We're going to make a killing!"

"What's the prize?" Touma could not contain his curiosity. "Thought we didn't want to spend much."

"Aogami and I took care of everything," Motoharu bragged.

"It's not going to cost us a penny," Pierce explained.

"What's the prize?" Touma asked again, but the two only shared a look and began to laugh. Fearing the worst, he turned to Accelerator. "Hey, do you know?"

"Go to hell," Accelerator growled, as he looked up. "You have no idea the shit I had to go through because of you." He reached up to grab Touma's throat, but Touma backed away quickly. Motoharu and Pierce watched interestedly. "Just remembered, you have some fucking explaining to do!"

"About what?" Touma asked. "I haven't been around!"

"Not here," Accelerator hissed and his eyes darted toward Aisa. Touma was still confused. "During break." He set his head back down and the dark aura returned. Something was bothering him, but Touma was afraid to find out what. "Your anguish is going to make me feel better." He was worried about the brat for a couple reasons. One, she was still a vampire, even though Bayloupe was trying everything, and, two, she had been avoiding making eye contact with him since yesterday.

"What anguish!?" Touma demanded and Accelerator pointed a single finger toward their two friends. Touma rounded on them. "What did you two do?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"Oh," Motoharu replied dismissively. "Nothing important, but you will find out soon enough." Before Touma could punch them, Jason entered the classroom and temporarily distracted him. Touma stared at Jason because he didn't look like himself. He had dark bags under his bloodshot eyes, and wasn't smiling. It was like he was just going through the motions, even his walking seemed to be lacking motivation. Without acknowledging the four of them, he sat down and went to sleep.

"Jason," Touma said and poked his shoulder. "You look like crap."

"Fuck you," Jason mumbled.

"Shut up, hero," Accelerator snapped. "I'm trying to sleep."

"They must have been up late with their girlfriends," Motoharu pointed out.

"Damn them and their luck," Pierce muttered darkly. "They have the nerve to keep rubbing it in our faces."

"At least they aren't rubbing their harems in our faces like Kami-yan," Motoharu replied with a nod of his head.

"I have not rubbed my harem in anyone's faces!" Touma yelled.

"So you admit you have one!" shouted Pierce, as he pointed at Touma.

"No!" he denied quickly. "That was-…"

"You can't deny it," Motoharu interrupted. "Remember, our wager is still in effect."

"I hate both of you so much," Touma growled.

"Yet your life would be so boring without us," Pierce replied and Motoharu laughed. Touma glared at them as they took their seats, before he put his own head down.

 _Your friends seem like interesting people,_ Julunggul commented. _The two sleeping have several strong threads to rival yours, while the blue hair one is an anomaly like yourself._

 _What do you mean like me?_ Touma asked confused. _Does he have all these relationship threads to every girl too? How is that even possible? It's… Aogami!_

 _No,_ Julunggul corrected him. _He has zero threads indicating any relationships that could result in a soulmate. It's only ones like friends, family, enemies, and coworker._

 _I… believe that completely. He has the tendency to disgust girls with his weird fetishes._

 _Maybe I should discuss those with him at some point. I might be able to help._

 _Please, don't._ Touma could not beg hard enough. He was spared further conversation when Komoe walked in with Seiri right behind her, carrying a box.

"Good morning, class!" Komoe exclaimed brightly. "I hope you are all doing well… Kamijou-chan?! You're back!"

"Hello, sensei," Touma replied. "Wasn't feeling very well the last few days and didn't want to infect the class. But I couldn't afford to miss anymore."

"I appreciate your dedication to your education," Komoe told him. "You can pick up the work you missed after class."

"Thanks." She missed the sighing from the poor boy due to several people snickering. "Class," Komoe continued and clapped her hands. "Tomorrow, as you well know, is the festival and we have to get ready. Interestingly, our class has become quite well-known and we are right by the entrance to the school, so our booth has to look nice. The school is hoping we will attract new students. Since we decided on a raffle, the set up shouldn't be that difficult. The grounds are open to visitors at nine, so we should probably be here around eight."

"Least we don't have to start tonight," someone laughed and several people agreed.

"We need a few things," Seiri told the class. "Tables we can borrow from the school, that won't be an issue, but we need to print out tickets and find a container we can randomly draw from. I was going to use an old bingo one, but _someone_ ," her eyes fell on Motoharu, _"_ assured me it would not be big enough. So Tsuchimikado and Aogami can be in charge of that."

"Accelerator and Kagere are the only help we need," Motoharu added, which earned glares from the two people trying to sleep.

"That leaves tickets and a schedule for people to sell them," Seiri continued. She pulled out a piece of paper. "We need to have four to five people per shift. With thirty people, we should be able to easily man two hour shifts, plus setup and closing."

"We will need everyone at closing to prevent the riot!" a guy called out.

"A friend of mine told me her entire school is talking about this," a girl added and Seiri nodded.

"Everyone needs to sign up for one shift or set up, plus closing," Seiri ordered. "You are free to enjoy the festivities, however you do it outside of your designated times." She looked around. "Any problems?" There was some chatter, but everyone agreed. While Seiri always sort of dictated, they admitted her schedule was fair to everyone involved.

"Umm." A lone voice echoed from the back of the classroom and everyone turned to see Touma raising his hand. "What exactly is the prize to warrant a large turnout? Those two won't tell me." He pointed to Motoharu and Pierce, who were holding back their laughter with their hands over their mouths. Seiri looked at him, to the others, and then backed at him. She sighed and resigned herself.

"Those idiots managed to get the city to agree to allow the level 5 Kami to visit the winner's school on Monday," Seiri explained. Touma's mouth fell open, while the class burst out in laughter and cheers. Accelerator and Jason actually raised their heads to join in.

"We will need you to dress up as him and do the final drawing," Komoe continued, once the class quieted down. "Kami won't be available." Touma finally snapped back to reality and shook his head. If he had not remembered the rest of the class believed he just acted as a double for Kami, he would have mentioned something to blow his cover.

"I can't do that!" he cried out. "What if someone recognizes me!?"

"You managed to avoid it before," Jason pointed out.

"So shut up and do it," Accelerator finished.

"What if we offer Accelerator as a second place prize if we sell over a set number of tickets!?" someone yelled out. Accelerator sat up straight at that.

"Who wants to die?" he snapped. "Show yourself!" No one volunteered.

"Too late," Pierce said. "We couldn't get the required permission slips signed in time."

"How many people are we expecting?" Touma asked Jason.

"Everyone." Touma stared at him, as he smirked and then yawned.

"Lack of sleep?" Touma asked.

"Was talking to an old friend and lost track of time," Jason replied with a shrug, before dropping his head back down on the table.

"So not fair," Touma muttered. If he fell asleep, Komoe would have woken him up immediately. While it was true Jason and Accelerator were far beyond the rest of the class in academics, they should still have been required to pay attention. _This is going to suck. How many people will I know who would be there? What if their classmate wins and I have to go to their school? An all-girls' school will be insane. Maybe I'll get lucky and attend a normal school like mine._

 _You're optimistic,_ Julunggul mused.

 _I thought you were just going to observe,_ Touma thought back at her.

 _I'm taking notes and will present them to you at the end of the day._

 _Are you just doing that because I took you to my school?_

 _And I thought of something fun to do with it._

 _It better not be you dressed up as a teacher._

 _No, better. A sexy teacher._

 _You need to stop watching anime._ Touma groaned out loud when he heard her laugh. A couple people near him glanced over, but they figured it was only because of his job in tomorrow's raffle. The signup sheet was getting passed around and, by the time it reached Touma, the only shifts open were setup and, of course, closing. Since the school festival was supposed to close at five, the ticket sales would end at four forty-five and the drawing would be held exactly at five.

He prayed his friends did not know about this.

How we fool ourselves.

* * *

"Hello, senpai!" Touma called out, after he opened the door to the roof.

"Welcome, Kamijou-san," Seria replied cheerfully. She had a blanket set out for them to sit on. Touma sat down beside her and she passed him a small box. "Here you go. I hope you enjoy it."

"I'm sure I will, thank you." Touma opened it up and immediately dug into the dish of rice, vegetables, and chicken. His own lunch box only consisted of a couple sandwiches and some fruit, courtesy of Itsuwa trying to make him something with the skim remains in his dorm. "It has been awhile since we talked like this, hasn't it?"

"Oh, yes," Seria agreed. "I believe it was during the crime event. Did you and your friends receive enough extra credit?"

"More than enough," he replied, after swallowing. The food was great. "Those points have gone a long way to stop me from having to repeat due to missing so many classes."

"Speaking of missing classes," Seria said and a slight frown appeared on her face. "You missed the last… two days? If I am correct?"

"Just a stomach bug," Touma said dismissively. "I was stuck in the restroom most of the time, so I couldn't make it to class."

"I wish I knew," Seria said and lowered her eyes. "I would have made you something a little lighter than this."

"Oh, no," Touma reassured her quickly and waved his hand out in front of him. "I'm fine now and actually really hungry. Didn't eat much while I was sick, so this is great."

"I'm glad to hear that," Seria giggled. _He's so cute, even when he lies to avoid bringing anyone else into his problems. Getting involved in other people's problems must work up an appetite._ She had a rough idea of what he had been up to the last few days, but she had to act like a caring and concerned senpai for him. She watched him in silence for a minute while he ate lunch, thinking. The FIVE_Overs had been her doing and she saw a lot of things that were hard to explain. She needed more information about who that one guy was that Touma fought when the ground rose into the air. There must have been some hidden rockets set up on the underside of the island. It explained why the one man emerged from the ground. The giant swords appearing out of nowhere were another matter, including the arm that was torn apart by shimmering air. She knew Touma wouldn't be able to explain and she couldn't even question him without blowing her own secrets. For now, she would have some fun teasing him and possible discover his feelings on some more personal topics. "Did you at least try to study to keep up with your school work?"

"Er, of course." Touma lied and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Tsk, tsk," Seria reprimanded him gently and wagged a finger at him. "School is important, you know? But, I'll look the other way this time if you promise to work hard."

"I will," Touma promised. They continued to chat a little more about school. When they reached the topic of friends, a change came over him. He looked off into the distance and his eyes seemed to glaze over. She frowned, not sure what he was thinking about, but she could tell one thing. It was something serious. She waited for a moment to see if he would come back, but he didn't. For fun, she waved her hand in front of him, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Something troubling you?" Seria finally asked. Her voice started him back to the present.

"Nothing important," Touma answered, but it wasn't convincing.

"You're not fooling anyone," Seria said sternly. "Something is on your mind." Touma bit the corner of his lip and looked like he was having an internal argument with himself. She didn't know about Julunggul, even if she wasn't the cause of Touma's condition.

"It's something I have to deal with myself," Touma finally answered.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"… I don't know if I can."

"It couldn't hurt to tell me," Seria prodded. _I want to know what's troubling him._ "Worst case would be I can't do anything, but I bet I can at least help you with some advice. Talking about it might even make you feel better. I'm all ears and I promise to keep anything you say a secret."

"I… thank you, senpai," Touma mumbled and diverted his eyes. "I realized something when… I was home sick." He grabbed his head in frustration. "This is so embarrassing." Seria tilted her head slightly, but remained silent. "Well, this is the situation. A couple weeks ago, a girl confessed to me." Seria blinked.

"And?" she asked, trying very hard to sound confused. Seria knew all this from her conversations with Misaki. "What did you tell her?"

"That's just it!" Touma cried out. "I never gave her a real answer! I was so shocked, my mind kind of shut down and I muttered something like, okay. She even said she would wait for me to come up with a response and hasn't pressured me since then, even if she has told me on several occasions that she's in love with me." Seria raised an eyebrow.

"It sounds like something is preventing you from giving her an answer," Seria remarked.

"Where do I start?" Touma sighed and fell backwards. "First, she's a close friend. There were… reasons we haven't seen each other in a while." Seria knew _all_ about that. "But as soon as we met up again, we got wrapped up in some crazy adventure and she fell for me all over again."

"She sounds like quite a catch." Touma had _no_ idea how tough that was for her to say with a straight face.

"Before I could wrap my head around her confession," Touma continued, after a quick nod. "I accidently found out two of my other close friends like me. It's like my entire world has suddenly flipped upside down."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because… it's me!" Touma acted like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I don't have that kind of luck. Only misfortune befalls me. Something like having attractive, talented, intelligent, caring, funny, and all around amazing girls attracted to me shouldn't exist. I'm nothing special. Average looking, barely passing class, no real talents, poor, nothing remarkable about me, and I get tricked all the time by everyone. There's no real reason for girls to like me."

"Stop it!" Seria commanded angrily.

"Sorry," Touma apologized meekly. "I didn't mean to vent." He usually kept everything bottled inside.

"That's not it," she corrected him. "I want you to stop putting yourself down like that."

"Huh?" Touma looked at her confused.

"Why is it so hard to believe a girl could like you?" Seria asked. "You are one of the kindest people I know. You go out of your way to help anyone, no matter how big or small their problem is. I've personally seen it, though I have heard some pretty interesting rumors about your deeds. You don't think your friends hang out with you because you are a boring person, do you? They see something about you that they enjoy being around. As for your looks, people notice different things. I, for one, find your spiky hair quite cute."

"You're just saying that," muttered Touma, turning around so she didn't see his embarrassment.

"I mean it," Seria emphasized. "You have good points, so many I can't count them all, but don't try comparing yourself to other people."

"This feels weird," Touma said and sat up again.

"Why?"

"I remember telling people they should enjoy what they have and not get jealous over others." Sure, many of those were low levels who believed the only way to garner respect was to act out with violence. Skill-Out was the main perpetrator of that, but Touma would stand up to anyone who tried to hurt other people. He did not discriminate against people based on levels or position.

"Maybe you should take your own advice then," Seria suggested with a small smile.

"I should," Touma agreed. They sat in silence. "Thanks for setting me straight."

"I only did what you did for so many others," Seria replied mildly. "Now, since you stopped beating yourself up, let's go back to your original problem. You have three girls who like you and you aren't sure how to respond. What do you want to do about that?"

"I don't know," Touma admitted. "I'm… I'm afraid if I choose one, it will ruin my friendship with the others. There have been some… rivalries between two of them. Then there is the fact all three of them are also friends, so it might drive a wedge in theirs."

"I see," Seria muttered. She knew Misaki and Mikoto would definitely fight over Touma. If he dated one, it would definitely cause some issues to arise between them. She also knew about Ruiko and her feelings. _I think I see the underlying issue now. The problem is, if I tell him outright, it might ruin my chance with him. This has to be handled delicately._ "Go on. I can tell there's more."

"I'm also worried," Touma continued. "Because my friends kept telling me I have a harem and countless girls are chasing after me. After finding out several girls actually like me, I'm beginning to question if I was wrong and they were actually right. What if I have been missing signs other girls like me because of my cluelessness? I have no idea what I'm looking for in a girlfriend. I could have missed the perfect girl because I refused to see the obvious."

 _Interesting._ Seria sipped her drink before answering. _He is a high school boy, no matter how noble he is. It would be unusual not to think about the perfect girlfriend. If only he noticed the one right in front of him._ "I suppose that is a possibility," Seria admitted and Touma slumped dejectedly. "But it's also possible, now that you realized it, you could start fresh and try to find a girl you truly wish to be with." Touma looked up.

"What do you mean?"

"I feel like your problem is not that a couple girls like you," Seria pointed out. "It's that those girls are your friends and each other's. You are so worried about how everyone else will react to your decision, that you are ignoring the most important person involved in that decision."

"Who?"

"You!" she pointed to him.

"Huh?" Touma was lost. "I thought this was my decision. So aren't I already part of the equation?"

"You are," Seria agreed. "From what you told me, you are worried about them. You need to pay more attention to what _you_ want. If you want a girlfriend, you need to find someone who makes you happy, someone you want to be with, not what other people want. I know your nature makes you want to worry about others and I love that about you, but you are hurting yourself with that mindset. You are suppressing your own feelings just to spare someone else's. It's not good for you and I don't like seeing you suffer like that."

"Then what should I do?" Touma asked. "I can't change who I am."

"There is no easy answer," Seria told him truthfully. "You have to decide what to do. Will you choose the girl you love and risk alienating others, or will you try to avoid the issue and risk yourself, along with their friendships."

"I keep hoping it might just be a crush and they would move on to someone better," Touma mumbled.

"Don't start that again," Seria reprimanded. "I told you not to put yourself down." He nodded quickly. "It's possible they might have a crush, but crushes don't last long. You said it has been several weeks, so there is a chance their feelings might be genuine, especially if they have known you far longer than that."

"Seems like I'm right back where I started," Touma pointed out.

"Not quite," Seria corrected him with a small smile. "You have more information than you did. Sadly, it's only going to get tougher from here. You need to be honest with yourself about what you really want. You can lie to me, you can lie to others, but you can't lie to yourself if you want this problem solved. Someone might get hurt by your decision, but you shouldn't deny your own happiness so others can have some false hope. They won't find true happiness that way." That was the key line there. Touma fought for others to be happy. If he had to make a decision to help them, he would make it, no matter how impossible.

"I will take your advice into consideration," Touma thanked her. "I really appreciate all your help."

"I'm always willing to help you anyway I can," Seria replied and, this time, her smile was sincere.

"And I can't thank you enough," Touma continued. "For lunch, for listening to my problems, for everything." He set down the empty box and Seria packed it away with hers. "Aogami and Tsuchimikado kept saying you fell in love with me since the crime events. Isn't that crazy?" Touma laughed, but Seria didn't. He thought that piece of information would lighten the mood. He couldn't have been more wrong.

 _Now's the time._ "It's not," she said quietly. Touma stopped laughing and stared at her.

"Huh?"

"I do like you, a lot." Touma blinked and his mouth fell open. Seria could only giggle at how cute he looked. "You didn't think I would invite you up to the roof multiple times if I didn't, did you?"

"But… you can't… joke… what?!" Touma couldn't form sentences and continued to splutter out random words.

"I have liked you for a while," Seria continued. "Shokuhou and I are longtime friends and I know about how you couldn't remember her. As a testament of our friendship, I promised not to chase you until you were cured. That way, you could choose fairly if you wanted to date one of us over the other. I had to hide my feelings for you. That's why I didn't want you to go through the same pain I did. I really should have confessed to you." She was laying it on thick and, from the shocked look still etched on Touma's face, it was working.

"I want to say this is just a joke and you are messing with me," Touma mumbled. "But it feels like you are telling the truth."

"You have become observant," Seria pointed out and stood up. "I don't expect an answer, not after dropping this bomb on you and our conversation. I only hope you can discover what you really desire and follow through. Just remember, if you don't decide on _one_ girl, there are always options available to you."

"Senpai…," Touma trailed off. "I don't know what to say."

"When a girl truly loves a boy," Seria whispered and leaned down to whisper in his ear. "She accepts him, faults and all, while only wishing for them to be happy together." She kissed him on the cheek and then proceeded to leave the frozen Touma alone on the roof. When the door shut behind her, she pulled out her phone and sent a short message to Misaki.

 _He's back and will either confess to someone or will be open to Plan B._ A reply came back almost instantly.

 _Understood._

Seria smiled and put her phone away. Her words and actions were specifically ordered in a way to strike at Touma's core. She left him after confessing, but made sure she would be constantly on his mind with that kiss. The selfless actions she weaved into her words would only grow the longer Touma thought about it. As a safeguard, she left a small clue about what Plan B truly entailed. It might not be the best solution, but it would make her happy. If for some reason, Touma decided to choose someone unrelated to her or Misaki, well, that was what soap opera mode was for. _Accidents happen all the time._

Back on the roof, Touma had fallen backwards again and stared up at the sky in quiet contemplation.

 _When have I lost control of my life?_ He stared at the passing clouds. _Have I really been as dense as my friends said?_

 _I did tell you about your threads,_ Julunggul answered. _But you never lost control._

 _Think so?_

 _Can't lose what you never had._

 _Now I feel worse._

 _I suppose I can explain so you don't start moping around,_ Julunggul continued. _I can't get an accurate reading of your life if you do. While sexual activity can be controlled, love and desires can't. You like what you like and hate what you don't. If you desire someone, you can't really change those feelings consciously. They will change on their own. When a girl likes you, it's only because you did something they approve of. I suppose you could change who you are, but that is harder than you would think, and all that would do is create the opportunity for someone else to fall for you._

 _What do you think I should do then?_ Touma asked. _Besides mating._ He added that last part quickly.

 _Why won't you just do what every other guy in your position would do?!_

 _I doubt they all would._

 _Well, the vast majority would._ Julunggul sighed. _I could lay everything out for you step by step, but that girl was right. It would be better for you to find out yourself. It means more if you do so._

 _So you can be reasonable._

 _Don't sound so shocked. I have lived a long time. Turning boys into men is just one of my specialties. I am now really curious about who will finally claim you as theirs. Think I'm going to stick around till then._

 _You won't leave until… I have sex?!_

 _Isn't that just what I said?_ There was a pause and she moved around in his pocket. _Why are you in the fetal position?_

"This is a dream," Touma mumbled. "This is only a dream. I'll wake up any moment."

 _Great,_ Julunggul sighed. _He relapsed and there was so much progress._ Something caught her attention and she smiled. _Another one approaches with his friend._ She didn't pass that information along to Touma though. She wanted to see what would happen. The door to the roof burst open and an unlikely pair burst in. Accelerator stomped out first, while pulling Aisa with him. This was quite a feat, as one arm still held his crutch. It didn't look like Aisa was struggling to break free, but her expression wasn't happy about the situation.

"Finally found you!" Accelerator snapped.

"Accelerator?" Touma asked in surprise and scrambled to his feet. "Himegami-san?"

"Hello," Aisa told him.

"Answer this question, you fucking hero," Accelerator demanded. "What is her power?" He pointed directly to Aisa after letting her go.

"Why?" Touma asked nervously and gave her a quick glance. She lowered her eyes and mouthed two words.

' _He knows.'_

"Don't ask questions and just fucking tell me!" Accelerator grabbed Touma by the collar. "I know you know. Everything related to this magic side shit always comes back to you in this city." Touma's eyes widened and Adam's words come back to haunt him.

 _Your desire to fight us is what caused your friends to get involved._

"Answer me!" Touma had been silent for a minute as the entire conversation flashed through his mind. He finally stared back at Accelerator.

"It's her ability," Touma finally said. "She should be the one to tell you."

"I figured you would say that crap," Accelerator growled and then smirked. "She already told me. I just want to verify her bullshit."

"Really?" Touma asked. He didn't expect Aisa to tell anyone.

"I didn't really intend to tell him," Aisa corrected Accelerator's words. "We sort of ran into a situation where I had no choice, but to kill one." Her expression grew dark and she stared at the ground.

"I'm sorry," Touma mumbled.

"Feel sorry later," Accelerator interrupted. "She managed to kill Cain. You know, Eve's fucking _vampire_!"

"I heard Eve's forces attacked the city," Touma informed him. "But after we defeated Adam, the church told me we pushed them out. Our friends survived, so I didn't put much thought into who she attacked with."

"Let me tell you then," Accelerator said. "His claim of immortality wasn't too far off, but it was still just a stupid claim. I was about to kill him," Touma flinched. "Stop being a baby, you knew this was going to happen. He's fucking insane. He was planning to devour the blood of innocent people in the city to regain his strength to fight me." Accelerator suddenly decided to spare Touma the knowledge that a couple people had been drained. It wasn't a sign of friendship, of course, but that Accelerator didn't want to mention he let Cain escape for a short time. "I was going to stop him from killing her," he pointed to Aisa, "when she told me not to. A single bite into her neck and he exploded. He… fucking… exploded!"

"Deep Blood?" Touma asked Aisa, who nodded. Touma had never seen her ability in action, but he knew about it. He helped her escape a crazy alchemist before she joined his class. "Himegami-san's blood has the power to kill vampires. They can't resist it, even if they know what it does."

"And you didn't think to tell us about it?" Accelerator asked incredulously. "Let's say, WHEN HE FIRST FUCKING SHOWED UP?!" He was cussing a lot more then he had recently, which could easily be attributed to how pissed off he was today.

"Because that power had already caused her so much grief!" Touma answered aggressively. "She told me about it. How she didn't want to kill anymore. Vampires are people too. They have hopes and feelings and yet they are attracted to her, only to meet their demised. When I first met her, she was being used by a magician. The church made her a necklace that keeps her power at bay, and you have the nerve to ask me to get her involved?! Where do you get off?!" Accelerator's eyes opened in surprise.

 _Aggressive,_ Julunggul commented. _The stress of the last few days must have really been piling up._

 _Shut up!_

That was a mistake.

 _What did you say!?_ Touma felt his blood freeze, the air stopped flowing into his lungs, and a burning fire in his pocket began to burn him through his clothes. _I am a goddess and will be treated with the respect I am due! Now, I will give you one chance to beg for forgiveness before I wipe your pathetic city off this map!_

 _I'm sorry, almighty Julunggul,_ Touma quickly apologized, fully aware of what he did in a moment of anger. _My brain was being overloaded by everything that happened today and I took out my frustration on you. Someone as beautiful, kind, intelligent, and powerful like you doesn't deserve that kind of disrespect. Please don't kill me._

 _That's better,_ Julunggul said smugly. _I would pay attention to your friend. His momentary disbelief at your outburst is subsiding into anger._ Touma focused on Accelerator and saw his eyes flash dangerously.

"Where do I get off?!" Accelerator roared. "Because you held back some important information, Last Order was bitten!"

"She… was bitten?" The color drained from Touma's face.

"And now she has fangs!" Accelerator continued. "Bayloupe is watching over her, but if she can't fix it, your damn nun better be able to!" He pushed against Touma and let go of his collar. "Keeping information from us is going to get someone killed!"

"I'm right here," Aisa said. "Can I say something?" Neither of the guys glanced at her.

"I… you're right," Touma admitted. "I have been keeping secrets, but I can't keep getting more people involved in this. You have the power to defend yourself, but not everyone does. Remember, the two sides are supposed to stay separate."

"I couldn't care less about the idiots on both side!" Accelerator snapped. "I don't know them! What I do care about is if those brats are attacked!"

"Excuse me," Aisa tried to say again, to no avail.

"Damn it," Touma muttered angrily. He clenched his hand into a fist. "I can stop by after school to see if my hand will negate it."

"Not can, will." Accelerator frowned and glared at him for a moment. "Bring the nun too. It will save some time if your hand doesn't work. Come after eight, Yomikawa and Yoshikawa should be out by then."

"We will be there," Touma promised.

"If you're not," Accelerator warned. "I'm coming from you. No amount of girlfriends will protect you."

"His life is a Galge, but I want to say something." No one even acknowledged Aisa.

"Don't start with that," Touma replied irritated. "I get enough of it from the others." Accelerator smirked.

"I'm not going to say that you need to tell me everything," Accelerator added. "I don't care about your personal life. But, if there is something that will involve those brats under my supervision, you will warn me. Or else, I will make you regret it. _Understand_?"

"Yes," Touma answered. "Since Eve targeted you guys, I can't keep stuff quiet anymore."

"Good." Accelerator crossed his arms. "At least you took care of Adam, right? He's not coming back."

"I wasn't the one to finish him," Touma admitted. "But he's gone."

"As long as I can focus…"

"Excuse me!" Aisa finally raised her voice. Touma and Accelerator turned toward her in surprise.

"You're still here?" Accelerator asked.

"What is it?" Touma asked.

"I know I don't have a strong presence, but I would appreciate it if you didn't talk about me when I'm right next to you." Aisa took a deep breath. _Remember what Seiri said, project and make your feelings known. You have an opportunity now._ "Kamijou kept my ability a secret because of my insistence. I had some… traumatic experiences when I was younger with it. It is no wonder he didn't come to me when a vampire arrived."

"That's no excuse," Accelerator snapped.

"He kept a promise to me," Aisa continued. "However, you're right too, Accelerator-san. If I knew people's lives were at stake, I would have helped."

"Sorry," Touma apologized. "I made the decision I thought you would want, not the one you should have been able to decide for yourself."

"I appreciate your desire to keep me safe," Aisa reassured him. "But you can ask me anytime if you need help with them. Thank you, that's all I wanted to say." She turned and left the roof. When the door shut behind her, Accelerator glanced over at Touma.

"Huh, I think that's the most I ever heard her say."

"Some people find she blends into the background," Touma admitted. "I think Fukiyose is rubbing off on her. Maybe she can finally come out of her shell."

"Whatever." Accelerator rolled his eyes and made his way to the rooftop door. "What she does doesn't concern me, though I have to make sure the brat stays away from her. Your stupidity, however, does, as it tends to affect me in some way. I think some revenge is in order, like maybe tell your friends about you being up here alone with a girl." Touma's face paled.

"How… how do you know that?" Touma asked, trying to keep calm. _Play it cool._ "You and Himegami were the ones who came up together."

 _Smooth,_ Julunggul laughed.

"Look down, idiot." Touma obliged.

He was still standing on Seria's blanket.

"Crap."

"Sucks to be you, hero."

* * *

"You won't believe this!" Motoharu shouted, as he burst into the classroom.

"What is it now?" Touma moaned. The class was about half full, being that the afternoon break had just started. Most of the afternoon had already been filled with Motoharu and Pierce needling him about being alone on the roof with a girl. He managed to keep who a secret for now, but he had a feeling those two would find out, or get Jason to do it. Though, Jason had been out of it most of the day. Mostly playing on his phone and not talking nearly as much as he used to. Accelerator watched Touma's suffering with some amusement, but mostly kept to himself. Touma had been trying to get a head start on his homework, but because breaks were so short, he was not getting very far and figured he should just give up.

"I found out something juicy about our grumpy resident level 5," Motoharu declared and sat down with the rest of them. Accelerator turned slowly and his eyes flashed red.

"You finally found out what type of girl he prefers?" Pierce asked. "And there are none of them in the city?"

"Better," Motoharu answered with a grin.

"He has a fetish that puts Aogami's to shame?" Jason asked curiously. He actually looked up from his phone.

"Slightly lower than that."

"I have a feeling whatever you tell us is going to lead to you getting killed," Touma muttered. "Might as well get it over with." He put his papers away to avoid them getting ruined in the crossfire.

"I ran into Yomikawa-sensei," Motoharu explained. "Turns out two nights ago, Accelerator brought his girlfriend home." The entire class was paying attention now and Accelerator's face grew paler, if that was even possible.

"So?" Jason asked. "We suspected he had one for a while. Nothing new." There was a murmur of agreement from the class.

"Did you find out who?" Pierce asked excitedly.

"I did," Motoharu confirmed. "Bayloupe, you know, Lessar's friend from our trip to England. She's here visiting."

"Not bad," Jason said. "She's pretty hot and has the attitude to put up with Accelerator."

"Bite me!" Accelerator snapped.

"I didn't know you two got together," Touma said surprised.

"Shut up, hero." If that was the extent of Motoharu's announcement, things would have been fine. Accelerator and Bayloupe were pretending to be together while she was here to make it easier for her to stick around Last Order. Since Eve was targeting her, they needed a magician and Jason couldn't hang around all the time. However, Motoharu must have decided he was tired of the world of the living and wanted to pass on, because he continued to dig his own grave.

"That's not the important news though," Motoharu continued. "It seems like sensei found the two of them in a… compromising… situation." The class fell silent. Touma's and Jason's mouth fell open.

"Accelerator!" Pierce cried out. "You sly dog! All this time you let us make fun of Kami-yan, and you were off with your own special girl! I thought you were just playing the field there for a while. Kami-yan disease is one thing, but then Kagere and now you have a girlfriend!" Tears flowed from his face. "What about us normal people?! Why can't we have a girlfriend!?"

"I have a girlfriend," a guy called out.

"No one asked you!" Pierce shouted.

"Nothing happened, idiots," Accelerator said and pretended to yawn. A vein throbbed in his head though and he was about to snap. "She helped me out with the brat and I let her crash at my place."

"That's not what I heard," Motoharu continued and his grin widened. "I mean, you had a limited number of beds…"

"One more word and I will throw you out the window," Accelerator threatened. Motoharu took that one last chance and threw it out the window instead.

"Yomikawa-sensei was forced to give them the sex talk yesterday!" Motoharu declared loudly to the class.

The room was dead silent.

The sound of raucous laughter followed a second later when the classroom exploded. Boys and girls were unable to hold back their amusement at the thought of the strongest level 5 being forced to have the sex talk with his girlfriend. Jason had fallen out of his chair laughing and Touma would have been glad to see him returning to his old self, if he hadn't been trying his hardest to avoid his own laughter. Pierce had stood up and high fived Motoharu, while they both continued to laugh at Accelerator's misfortune. Accelerator slowly stood up and his hand gripped his desk hard enough it threatened to break. Before he could say anything, Seiri rushed in.

"Why are you idiots so loud!? It's disturbing the other classes!"

"Just talking about how Yomikawa-sensei mentioned Accelerator had to have the talk because he was found in bed with his girlfriend," Motoharu answered. He raised his hand and made a circle with his thumb and index finger while sticking the index finger of his other hand inside of it.

"That's it!" Accelerator roared and stood up. "You're dead!" He flipped the switch on his choker and the desk he was in broke in half. Motoharu had already disappeared out the door at Accelerator's first word. He had no choice but to pursue him. The door bang loudly against the wall and he was gone, but everyone else heard shouting in the distance.

"And I just told him he was supposed to keep destruction to a minimum," complained Jason, as he put his head back on the table and started mumbling to himself.

"Why do you idiots have to antagonize him to participate in your stupid shenanigans?" Seiri asked annoyed.

"Technically," Pierce corrected her. "It was just Tsuchimikado who told us."

"We had no proof it was true without talking to sensei," Touma added.

"But we knew he had one," Pierce finished. "We have a name and witnesses now."

"Huh," Seiri conceded. "He didn't seem like the type to have one. He's a little rough around the edges."

"But that's why you are the Iron Wall Girl," Pierce pointed out. "One of the only females to be able to resist Kami-yan disease…"

"Which doesn't exist!" Touma interjected.

"… and also was able to actually talk with the strongest level 5," Pierce continued, as if he hadn't been interrupted. "You're one of the only people he talks to outside of us." He indicated himself, Touma, and Jason.

"I felt he needed someone sane to talk to," Seiri replied with a shrug.

"Or…" Pierce winked at her. "Maybe someone liked him and went out of her way to establish herself?" The rest of the class started whispering.

"What are you implying?" Seiri asked coldly, her eyes narrowing. Aisa, who no one had noticed entered with Seiri, backed away.

"I think our Iron Wall Girl finally cracked and fell for our resident albi-…" Pierce was interrupted as a book flew through the air and hit him square in the face. The force of the projectile knocked him out of the chair and he crashed into the ground.

"Anyone else want to say something stupid?" she asked the rest of the class. No one said anything and they diverted their gaze. She sighed. "Now I have to go and inform a teacher Accelerator is trying to kill Tsuchimikado. Hopefully, we can stop them before the damage grows too much. He will need a new desk at least." She indicated the pile of rubble that used to be a desk. She turned and left the room, but not before giving Pierce one last death glare. Touma waited until he was sure she was gone and turned to Pierce.

"Why do you antagonize her like that?" he asked.

"For fun," Pierce answered immediately. "Plus, I don't think she knows yet, so I need to make sure she at least will think about it for a little bit."

"That's pretty wise," Aisa muttered. "She never mentioned anyone she likes and avoids the topic." _Even though she encourages me to be more forward._ Only Touma really noticed her, but he missed her words due to everyone else whispering. He did turn to her and tilted his head in confusion.

 _Does she like him?_ Touma mouthed silently.

Aisa only shrugged.

* * *

 _Ten more minutes._

Touma's eyes were glued onto the clock at the front of the room. The second hand seemed to be moving slower and slower. The day had dragged on for far too long. Missing a couple days of school did not help his academics. He was barely keeping up with everything else that continued to happen to him and now he was a couple days behind. That meant he didn't know what was being taught until he completed the large pile of homework he was assigned. With the raffle taking up most of Saturday, his weekend was shot. He also realized in the middle of class he hadn't talked to Mikoto or Misaki, even though he knew they had been attacked by Eve's group. He sent a group message to both of them, but it had to be vague, since he didn't want to mention any sensitive information over unsecure messages if he could help it. Shizuri and Frenda had warned him multiple times phones could be easily monitored. Instead, his message was deliberately vague with some truth mixed in.

 _Mikoto, Misaki, I'm finally free, but my homework situation is at disaster level. Help! If you two are free after the festival tomorrow, please help me and we could hang out when done._

 _Mugino would be proud,_ Touma thought, after he had sent the message. The girls were smarter than he was, so they should understand he wanted to talk. Both of them replied they would be free then in less than thirty seconds. The fact they knew about the festival did not surprise him, since he was sure his friends would make sure every girl in the city knew. Touma's plan now was to go home, get started on some homework, visit Accelerator, and hopefully get to bed before Julunggul did anything to him. Most of the afternoon, she had been relatively quiet. This was a welcome relief, but he dreaded what would happen when he went home. He didn't want her to meet Mikoto and Misaki, though he realized it was going to be inevitable. It took a great deal of effort to tear his eyes away from the clock and then he looked out the window. Class was about done, so Komoe was erasing the board. His eyes fell to the school gate and he noticed there was a single woman getting let in.

His mouth fell open.

 _Why is she here!?_ Touma thought in a combination of shock and confusion. Either because of his luck, or the fact he was obviously staring out the window, Pierce noticed him. He leaned over and quickly found what Touma was staring at. A smile crossed his face.

"Wow, Kami-yan!" Pierce said a lot louder than he needed to. It was purely to grab the class's attention. "One of your harem members have come to pick you up? And older to boot? Nice job, you bastard!" Touma felt sick, as a large number of the boys, and a few girls, in the class crowded around the windows to see who arrived. They had already witness Tokiwadai girls arrive to see him, so everyone believed there was a high probability this new woman would be for Touma too.

"1000 yen she's here for Kamijou," someone said.

"No one is stupid enough to take that bet," another person scoffed.

"Is she in college?" a girl asked.

"Does he have no shame?" muttered Aisa.

"Damn," Jason complimented. "She's hot."

"Don't let your girl hear that," Motoharu laughed.

"Just because I have a girlfriend, doesn't mean I can't appreciate art."

"Guys…," Touma growled, but everyone ignored him.

"Why does he get all the babes?" a guy moaned.

"I hope I can look that good when I'm in college," a girl mumbled.

"Everyone needs to stop ogling a guest!" Seiri ordered. "Return to your seats." No one paid her much attention because of the scene in front of them.

"You all really should," Komoe added weakly, her voice not able to rise above the noise. "Class will be out in only a few more minutes."

"How often does an older woman come to pick up Kami-yan?" Pierce asked Seiri. "It's usually younger girls."

"It's still none of your business," Seiri replied curtly.

"Class is almost over," Motoharu said dismissively. "Let us have fun seeing Kami-yan's newest conquest." Touma couldn't take it anymore.

"THAT'S MY MOM, YOU IDIOTS!" Touma roared. The class fell silent. Jason was the first one to find his voice.

"She's still hot." Touma punched him and knocked him to the floor.

"So he obviously didn't get his looks from her," Accelerator yawned. He was one of the few who didn't get up. Pierce and Motoharu gave him a thumbs up.

"Damn, Kamijou," someone asked. "Was she a teenage mother?"

"NO!"

"His whole family is full of surprises," laughed Motoharu.

"Sensei!" Touma called out. "My mother is here for some reason. May I leave now to find out why?"

"Go ahead," Komoe agreed. "Have a good weekend and try to get all your work done."

"Will do." Touma grabbed his stuff and bolted out of the room. He could still here his classmates laughing and his ears burned. _Bunch of assholes, all of them._

 _Male bonding has always been interesting._

 _Now you talk? What have you been doing this afternoon?_

 _Sleeping._

 _Sleeping…? Didn't you say gods didn't need to sleep?_

 _Did I?_

 _Urgh, I'm done._ He heard her giggle and then grow silent again. Touma rushed toward the office before the bell could ring. Traveling through the halls when everyone else was trying to leave was always slow and difficult. He managed to reach the main office a second before the bell rang. He took a few steps in and saw his mom sitting in a chair. Her full name was Shiina Kamijou and she looked a lot younger than she really was. Shiina was an elegant woman with shoulder length brown hair. She was wearing an ankle length white dress, a cardigan, and had a white brimmed hat in her lap, which was covering a lilac handbag. One side of the bag seemed to have started to rip. Shiina's most obvious trait was her calm ladylike aura she exuded, but Touma knew better. He had seen what happens when she thought his dad started to flirt with other women.

"I was just about to contact your classroom," the secretary told Touma, as she set down the phone.

"I saw her enter the school grounds," Touma replied and turned to his mother. "Hey, mom. I don't mean to be rude, but why are you here? Is everything okay at home?"

"Everything is fine, Touma-san," Shiina reassured him. "I had been looking for a chance to visit you and a friend of mine also happened to be visiting her family in Academy City this weekend. I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to come. Your father had to work overseas unfortunately."

"I see," Touma muttered. He didn't really question who his mom's friend was. She tended to be well connected. However, he was worried about if she needed a place to stay. He couldn't offer his own dorm room with all his current guests. In fact, his mother didn't even know he was housing several girls. She hadn't asked about Index, but he was sure the topic would come up eventually. There was also the issue with his homework and the raffle. The entire weekend was going to be a hectic mess.

"My, my," Shiina commented mildly. "Is my presence a bother for you?"

"Of course not," Touma answered quickly. "I just wished you had told me ahead of time. I have a lot going on this weekend."

"The school festival?" Touma nodded. "I saw several signs about that. I assume your class has a stall?"

"We are doing a raffle. I only have to help set up and close, so I should be free during the day."

"That works out perfectly," Shiina said with a smile. "My friend and I were going to meet for lunch and I was hoping you would come."

"I don't have any problem with that," Touma said. He loved his parents and it wasn't like he got to spend much time with them, since he lived in the dorms in a different city. "What happened to your bag?"

"The strangest thing," Shiina answered and placed a hand on her cheek. "I had just arrived and was trying to hail a cab, when I felt a gust of wind and my bag tore. I thought someone must have used their ability, but no one was around. It was old, so it was only a matter of time. I was hoping this evening you could show me around the city and possibly to a store where I might purchase a new one. It seems like ages since the sport's festival and the city is quite confusing."

"I know a mall that's pretty close," Touma said thoughtfully. He rubbed his chin. "Yeah, a couple of my friends shop there and they are normally up to date with fashion. I think they have bags."

"My, my," Shiina remarked and the air around her grew cold. "Are those friends of yours female? If so, I trust you are treating them with respect and not playing around with their young maiden hearts."

"There's no way I would do that," Touma protested quickly. Though a small voice in the back of his mind pointed out not answering confessions was pretty close to that. "They are friends, so we hang out and we sometimes do what they want to do." His mom gave an approving nod.

"I am glad to see you acting so mature," she praised. "Part of me was worried you would take after your father in that regard."

"Should we get going?" Touma asked, keen on changing the topic. "I can hold your bag to make sure nothing falls out. Academy City is a big place and students do have a curfew."

"Of course, I wouldn't want my son to get into trouble." Touma led his mother out of the school, thankfully most of the students had left already. Being a Friday, people were eager to start having fun and some still had to prepare for the festival. Little did Touma know, a dark cloud was watching him. Light glinted off the sunglasses of Motoharu, who was leaning up against the school building, out of sight. He watched Touma and Shiina leave, before pulling out his phone. Motoharu briefly thought of letting people know Touma's mom was visiting, but he figured that information would spread soon enough. Besides, the delay might make the entire situation more entertaining due to timing. Instead, he sent a different message to as many girls as he could.

 _Touma's greatest hit._ A short file was attached to the message that contained a certain individual's Australian proclamation. Motoharu then left to go and visit Kanzaki.

* * *

 _Your mother seems nice,_ Julunggul remarked.

 _She is normally,_ Touma admitted. _But she can turn pretty scary._ Touma was sitting on a familiar bench in the mall while his mother shopped for a new handbag. He hated going into women's clothing stores and Shiina didn't force him to. She promised to be quick, so Touma was planning to appreciate the time off his feet, before he finished giving her a tour of the city. _Why do you even care? I thought you were on some mission for me to have sex with… oh, hell noooo! That is not happening!_

 _Get your mind out of the gutter,_ Julunggul reprimanded. _While a mother might be an option, it should never be your own. It should be a different… what's the current term again… MILF?_

 _Now I'm picturing what my friends would do if they ever discover this conversation,_ Touma thought distressed. _I might have to take up drinking._

 _Unless you tell them,_ Julunggul pointed out. _They won't find out._

 _I'm more worried someone will read my mind,_ he muttered. _Thanks for being silent this afternoon, so I could concentrate in class._

 _I'm supposed to only be observing, but I can't resist commenting. I think I see what has to be done now, but I'm hoping we will meet some of your closer mates._

 _Will you quit calling them mates? They are people too, along with being some of my closest friends._

 _You humans need to stop being so prude. Men used to love the idea of having multiple partners. What happened?_

 _Sex became more about a committed relationship rather than producing heirs because medical technology and knowledge of healthy diets allow us to live longer._ Touma couldn't see Julunggul, but he felt her blink in surprise at his explanation.

 _That was pretty wise, coming from you._

 _It was something in one of my history classes._

 _I should pay more attention to human's technological advancements. I'm a little behind. I'll send out more familiars and pay attention while I follow you around._

 _Speaking of paying attention._ Something just occurred to Touma. _Jason and Tsuchimikado didn't seem to notice you at all. Why is that?_

 _There is a simple explanation for that,_ Julunggul answered. _I'm a goddess, they are mortal. My power is far beyond there's. It is child's play to hide myself. The only reason your roommates knew I was a magician was because I wasn't bothering to hide myself then._

 _Good news, I guess. They won't get involved._

 _People are easy to fool, but pure memories are tough. The whole alive dead thing can get tricky._

 _What are you talking about?_

 _Nothing, just rambling to myself. Well, I'm tired, going to take a nap. Have fun with what happens next._

 _Why did you sound so ominous? Besides, you said you don't have to sleep!_ He heard the sound of gentle snoring. _I know you're faking. Tell me what is about to happen!_

"Kamijou?" a familiar voice asked. "What are you doing here?" Touma spun around on the bench and saw Shizuri holding a shopping bag.

"Sitting down," Touma replied, before he could stop himself.

"You know damn well what I meant," snapped Shizuri. "I heard what you have been up to the last few days, Frenda told me. Figured you would be trying to rest up after that excitement." It took a lot of self-control not to blast Touma in the middle of a crowded mall.

"I was planning to," Touma admitted. "Especially with our class participating in the festival tomorrow."

"Heard about that too." The corner of Shizuri's lip twitched upwards. "Going to embarrass yourself again?"

"Probably."

"Did you hear about what happened here while you were gone?"

"I got the gist of it from Accelerator and the church," Touma confirmed. "Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Shizuri asked. Her voice was slightly angry, but it was more that he thought she wouldn't be compared to just asking the question. "I'm a level 5."

"I'm glad then," Touma sighed. "When I heard everyone was attack, I was afraid one of my friends got hurt." Shizuri raised an eyebrow.

 _He considers us friends,_ she thought in amusement. She had to consider that somehow they had become friends. They didn't really have the coworker atmosphere, like she did with the rest of her team, but they were closer than strangers or master and subordinate. _I guess I can live with that, if he doesn't annoy me too much, like inviting me to hang out with the Railgun and Mental Out._

"Touma-san!" Shiina called out to him. "I'm all finished… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation with your friend." Shizuri's eyes traveled over the young woman for a moment and then moved back to Touma.

"Who's that?" Shizuri muttered.

"My mom," Touma whispered back. "She surprised me after school today."

 _His mom? Damn, she must have had him during high school._ A devious thought passed through her mind that even surprised her. Shizuri wasn't entirely sure what she would gain from this, but the idea made her feel weird, in a good way. She was going to use the piece of information she received from the idiot with the sunglasses.

"My, my, why don't you introduce us," Shiina suggested to Touma. Something about the way her eyes bore into him, made him think he did something wrong.

"Of course," Touma answered quickly. "Mugino, this is my mother, Shiina Kamijou. Mom, this is Shizuri Mugino-…"

"His girlfriend," Shizuri interrupted and clutched his arm tightly against her.

Time seemed to stand still as Touma's brain crashed.

Throughout the world, a ripple passed through the minds of countless young women, as they all simultaneously felt the urge to maim someone.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Mikoto: ….**

 **Misaki: …**

 **Ruiko: …**

 **Accelerator: HAHAHAHA.**

 **Motoharu: When she said she had big plans for this season, even I didn't expect this.**

 **Pierce: A clash between Mugino and Kami-yan's mom. The new epic showdown.**

 **Frenda: Mugino… basically, I'm not sure what to say.**

 **Carissa: How about, I shall remove you from the picture?**

 **Misaki/ Mikoto/ Frenda: What are you doing here?!**

 **Carissa: My mother has also dropped some surprises on me.**

 **Kazari: Should… we do something? There is electricity shooting out of all their eyes.**

 **Jason: No, I think we should back away slowly and escape through that door.**


	103. S5 Boys and Girls IV

**Been awhile since I've done a Boys and Girls chapter. Well, Shizuri Mugino's declaration seemed to be the focus of most comments, which I figured was going to happen. The end result of that probably won't end well, but there is a chance all will work out. There are really limited scenes and descriptions of Touma's mom in the anime and LN, so I have quite a bit of leeway in her personality. The important part of this chapter though is how everyone reacts to the news, along with what Motoharu decided to send out, he wasn't very nice to poor Touma. I'm also glad Julunggul seems to be a big hit, but in hindsight, I should have expected that. A fertility goddess that actually is helping Touma with girls, I mean who wouldn't like her? I'm sure this chapter will indicate how the weekend is going to go, with the raffle, villains, and Touma's love life. Enough boring chatter, I guess. Time to move onto the vast number of comments. If I didn't enjoy reading all the reader's comments, this author note section wouldn't be getting so big. I do apologize if my response isn't extremely long in some cases.**

 **general ironox: That is going to be an ongoing part of the plot for sure.**

 **Agent Nine: It had to have happened sometime. The trick was the timing. I tried to think what issues would stop Touma from actively returning a girl's feelings. Luck was a big part of it and his selflessness. He wouldn't want to drag people into his problems, but it's kind of late for that now. Seria is one of the girls who seems to be able to understand him well enough to let him speak, even if she could point out what his words might have implied. She was a good person to vent too. Wait until Touma's and Mikoto's moms meet up with all the misunderstandings abound.**

 **Whwsms: Level 5 power, compatibility. Seria is quite clever, I'm sure it's a combination. She does care about Touma, even if she really likes teasing him. With Shizuri, I actually see her introducing herself for her own gain AND to see Touma squirm. We will have to see what happens with his mom, you may or may not realize what she knows this chapter.**

 **Acpeters: It's going to blow your mind.**

 **Wanderer No.96: Isn't misfortune how Touma's life gets liven up? I hoped people would enjoy that proclamation. Reason it was at the end so it stood out.**

 **The Wolf Paladin: This is all part of the harem plan, unless Touma decides to grab a random girl. Not sure what I want to do with Seria. Going to let the chips fall where they may.**

 **wildarms13: I write when I can, but I'm glad you are looking forward to this season. It is getting a little hard to keep track of everything, but it all ties together.**

 **amirread97: It's still up in the air.**

 **anand891996: I'll consider it.**

 **Guest: 1) Well, somethings I had planned did change, but this ship is still a tossup. Aogami does like to joke a lot though. 2) Yes, there was a conversation in an earlier chapter where they discussed visiting. 3) Things are going to grow serious soon. Many people will be involved.**

 **Cyber dragonarmy: I want to know what happens next now.**

 **Mizericordia: He wouldn't be himself if he got a break. He got an incredibly attractive girlfriend, second to Carissa, what kind of misfortune is that? I can see that conversation now.  
Touma: "Mom?" Shiina: "Yes?" Touma: "I have a harem and Mugino is the alpha." It's hard to interrogate someone if you don't know what they know. He knew Touma knew about Aisa, but he had no way of knowing what else Touma knew that could affect Last Order. Accelerator could learn most of what was happening in Australia due to what the Misaka Network knew. **

**Jujudude: 1) When she gives Touma her extensive notes, I'm sure that will come up. 2) She's rather polite and makes sure Touma acts normally, for the most part. 3) Well, there will be more updates. Hmm, I'm imagining Touma's mom on a throne now and each girl presents their offering for Touma.**

 **Salishious: Nah, Carissa's appearance is already planned out. Remember, Aogami once worked as a mascot, so it's logical he has coworkers. Out of everything you listed in looking forward, I think "Satan and Touma talking to Mikoto regarding her sisters" is going to be the most interesting for me to write. How do they tell Saten that Accelerator killed all those clones of Mikoto?**

 **Chen: It's going to happen.**

 **Guest: Aleister and Aiwass have popcorn and are watching on an upside down TV.**

 **The Ultimate Impulse: Othinus will be important, but the chain of event will be pretty different. Julunggul isn't in love with Touma, she is interested in the fact someone like him exists.**

 **Guest00: Oh, Seria has a lot of yandere tendencies. No one ever wants to see Soap Opera Mode.**

 **Master Knight Trolling: I have way too many characters to add Otohime. I have to make cuts sometimes.**

 **plantkingman1: Well, obviously. There might be more though.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: Oh god, Snuggle-chan is going to have a field day when she sees that thread. Touma's mom is going to see a lot of people and many things will be said. Accelerator won the bet. He believed Shizuri would be the only one who could actually get through the hero's denseness. Everyone owes him money.**

 **Handsomistic1: She could force Touma, but it would kind of defeat the purpose of turning him into a man. He has to do it himself. Most of the others will find out Shizuri is pretending to be his girlfriend, it wouldn't be quite as misfortunate without that happening.**

 **Tardis42: Ruiko didn't tell him yet, she tried in England, but then they were interrupted by Carissa's group being attacked. However, Touma knows she likes him because at the Tokiwadai beach trip where she admitted it.**

 **Anon: While that would be very funny. I have so many characters already that I have to cut back at some point.**

 **xaxiel1572: It will be amusing for us. You know pretending to be the boyfriend of a level 5 will draw attention, especially from girls that like him.**

 **A certain guest: Rensa might be able to be equipped with the technology to make the Anti-AIM wavelength, though it's a lot weaker than the true IB. There is a limit to what can be learned about the IB with only science. Because of the events and putting more faith in others, the infinite hell Othinus put him through in the LN won't occur like normal. Due to different events and slight changes based on this, I have other plans for her. I thought about making a small scene with Road, but I think I'm going to skip it. Too much to do already. That plot seems more in line with a crack fic than this one.**

 **NigmaShady: 1) If they do go to America, it will be to San Francisco. 2) Index will be hesitant at first, but I think if she realizes she will be able to stay with Touma and get fed constantly, she would join. 3) Well, Kami Disease can affect Gods and I suppose it could affect Vento if the right flags were raised, but not sure how it would affect Gabriel.**

 **Generation Zero: Taming is not really the situation here. Heh, pokedex. If only life was that easy for people to determine who liked them. When you go to fight bosses, you fight smarter, not harder. Learn their weakness and use that. Maybe I have plans that require a chibi vampire? Shizuri saw an opportunity and took it, something she is really skilled at. Mikoto wouldn't have done that, Misaki might have though. Anyway, timing is everything. Ricane is going to be the main baddy at the start, and will cause a chain of events to bring back some people and introduce new ones. I want to get Touma to allow research more and he even admitted he was okay with it, but never been any time with everything that has been happening. Thor is definitely going to show up soon, he has to fight the guy who beat Adam and Fiamma.**

 **Pickles and Ice: That is a very important question. 1) No 2) Maybe 3) No 4) No 5) No, she doesn't go to a school. 6) No 7) Maybe 8) Yes 9) Better be, then we can see Carissa. 10) No**

 **aGuestfromGreece45: Reality isn't nearly as cool as fiction. Touma may get to fight an archangel, will have to wait and see. If Jason gets discovered that he wants to do fun things, some may disapprove. No, Touma's dead either way.**

 **FrodoFighter: Isn't pretty much everything worse than waking up with a half-naked girl on top of you? Snuggle-chan was comfy and let her guard down, she won't do that again. You know how legends always say snakes can hypnotize people, yeah, like that. You're welcome. Touma needs his cheerleading group. Violent gods are those that cause destruction for the sake of destruction or boredom. Snuggle-chan has to have a reason to cause violence. Otherwise, she's very mellow. Touma is the perfect synonym for Ditto (See Pokemon Crossover). She's going to give him detailed notes about every girl she saw when Touma gets home and then the fun talk can occur. That joke is too easy. Anime, corrupting even gods. Obviously, it's Aogami's ability. Nah, we are going to use a train car or something. Local head crab, I like that. People do seem like want Fukiyose with Touma. The reason they didn't know what his mom looked like was because when I rewatched the anime and checked the LN/manga, Touma's parents didn't spend a lot of time with him, they even said that. So limited interactions there. (Plus it was funnier.) It's just the Will, Snuggle-chan could take it. No, there is the third option you didn't think of, that combines the two. That's an idea, every girl they meet says Touma's their boyfriend.**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

"You would think people have better things to do than talk about us," Kuroko scoffed as she set her tray down next to Mikoto. "The entire morning I was barraged with questions about why you were called to the principal's office and then did not return to class. Why does everyone assume I know? I was absent yesterday too."

"They love rumors," Mikoto remarked and dug into her own lunch. "And they know we are best friends, so they expect us to know what the other is up to. If you ignore those rumors, they eventually die down. Besides," she lowered her voice. "You actually do know." Mikoto grinned and Kuroko felt herself smile slightly too.

"But they don't _know_ that."

"We were also both gone the same day. It would be a pretty easy connection."

"I realize that," Kuroko sighed. "But they could at least give us the benefit of the doubt and not ask about it. Besides, most of the questions were if you were okay and would be back today."

"I had to deal with people asking me something similar," Mikoto replied. "I appreciate their concern, but it was only for one day. There are perfectly normal reasons for missing class."

"You can't expect a level 5 to disappear without causing suspicion," Misaki commented suddenly from behind them. Kuroko and Mikoto turned around to see her and three of her clique members.

"Hello, Shokuhou-san," Kuroko greeted and Mikoto gave a slight nod.

"Do you mind if I sit with you two?" Misaki asked politely. "I have a couple things I wish to discuss with Misaka." Mikoto was suspicious because Misaki normally would just sit down next to them without asking, but Mikoto attributed it to everyone around them watching. Misaki had to keep up her public image. Reluctantly, Mikoto agreed. Misaki smiled at her and turned to her clique. "Do you mind? This is kind of a private conversation."

"Of course," one of the girls said. "We will be over there if you need us for anything." They turned and left while Misaki sat down.

"What is it, Shokuhou?" Mikoto asked. "Is it concerning what we discussed yesterday?" Misaki nodded and her eyes darted to Kuroko.

"Does she…?"

"She does." Kuroko nodded in confirmation too.

"Okay, that saves us time," Misaki whispered. "I was talking to my friends about the festival tomorrow and one of them heard some rumors about Skill-Out." Kuroko and Mikoto leaned closer. "Seems like they aren't as inactive as people think. They just haven't been doing anything obviously illegal. She heard a couple people mention a meeting, but they disappeared around a corner before she could see their faces."

"That's worrisome," Kuroko mumbled. "We at Judgment never believed Skill-Out just disappeared, but we hoped they were losing support."

"This is interesting," Mikoto interrupted. "But what does that have to do with what we discussed yesterday?"

"The scientist who supplied Skill-Out with that drug to increase their levels was never caught," Misaki explained. "There supply was confiscated though. I bet he is still leading them and controlling their movements."

"So when they finally make their move," Mikoto realized. "It's going to be a big one."

"And possibly have something to do with Eve," Kuroko added worriedly.

"Exactly," Misaki agreed. "It's too soon to discover _what_ they are going to do, but they have to be doing something. I want you to pass it on to the others, especially Kagere-san. He has access to Anti-Skill information and might know more. Avoid using phone messages unless situation is dire." Her eyes moved to Kuroko. "I was hoping you could watch Judgment channels too."

"I have been doing that already," Kuroko replied. "Mainly trying to find any signs of Eve's group, but I can watch out for this too. Uiharu will be more than happy to help."

"Kuroko and I are planning to meet up with Uiharu-san and Saten-san tomorrow for the festival," Mikoto remembered. "We were going to visit Touma's class…" She rubbed her forehead in frustration, but a slight grin formed on her face. "Seriously, I can't believe they pulled that off, but it works for us. We can tell the others then. Kagere-san should be there too." Mikoto turned at the sound of Kuroko's head hitting the table.

"I forgot we were meeting everyone there," Kuroko mumbled. "Our school isn't participating until next week."

"Do you think you can face him?" Mikoto asked worriedly.

"Well, he doesn't know that I know, so maybe?"

"I feel like I'm missing something here," Misaki mused and put a finger to her cheek.

"Doesn't really concern you," Mikoto told her instantly.

"She reacted when you mentioned seeing Kagere-san." Misaki pointed out and easily put the pieces together. A grin formed on her face. "Sooo…" she continued with a singsong voice. "Does he know you like him?"

"Who told you I liked him?!" Kuroko exclaimed. Mikoto face palmed.

 _Now she knows for sure._

"I'm pretty sure we _all_ know," Misaki giggled. "It was really obvious. We were just waiting for you to realize that."

"Let's say I do," Kuroko huffed. "What is it to you?"

"Merely curious about my friends," Misaki replied instantly. "And I'm also a little worried. You and Uiharu-san are such close friends, so this could be messy." Kuroko's lips tightened for a moment.

"Tell me about it," she finally muttered.

"Just don't go to her for advice," Mikoto warned. "She will give you some weird ideas." _Like giving him a harem. Seriously, I can't believe she told me that._

"How rude," Misaki huffed, as she crossed her arms and pretended to pout. "I'll have you know, girls come to me for advice all the time."

"Then you use your power to figure out what to say," Mikoto refuted. Misaki only winked at her.

"I appreciate your offer," Kuroko replied, aware of Mikoto and Misaki glaring at each other. "But I have a plan and this is something I have to do it myself." Misaki nodded in understanding.

"Was that all you wanted to tell us?" Mikoto asked.

"No." Misaki shook her head. "I have good news. Touma returned late last night." Mikoto's eyes widened.

"Really?!" Mikoto grew suspicious. "How do you know?"

"I have my ways." Misaki did not elaborate. She only knew he returned because Seria had told her a few moments before Misaki arrived at their table he was back. Of course, there was the rest of Seria's cryptic message that caused some concern. _He will either choose someone soon or the harem plan may be able to bear fruit,_ Misaki thought. _There is a lot of risk here and I know she did something to give her an advantage._ Mikoto glared at her even more, aware she wasn't going to elaborate.

"I take it you are going to participate in the raffle then," Kuroko sighed, before a fight started. "Most of our school is."

"Naturally," Misaki confirmed. "I would like nothing more than to help my fellow classmates meet Kami..."

"Sure," Mikoto and Kuroko muttered. Neither of them believed that for an instant.

"…and as a fellow level 5," Misaki continued, as if she had not been interrupted. "I can relate to his position the best and be able to act as a proper guide, while also keeping everyone else in check. While we may all know how to act around company, Kami has… a way with people. If you know what I mean." They did.

"I'm a level 5 too," Mikoto pointed out. "Why couldn't I act as a guide?"

"Oh, Misaka," Misaki laughed and waved her hand. "You're so funny. You don't participate in many of the large social events and prefer hanging out with your small group of friends. I doubt you could present yourself in a way to make everyone else behave around him, while keeping those with less pure intentions away. You will be taking the spotlight in front of everyone. Can you handle that?"

"I could," Mikoto refuted. "What about you? Don't you always try to manipulate things from the background?"

"That is what I prefer," Misaki explained. "However, I understand my position as a role model to others. If they need me to step up, I will."

"So will I," Mikoto replied coldly.

"Well then," Misaki said sweetly. "May the best girl win. Shirai-san, it was nice to talk to you again. I'm going to go chat with my other friends. It has been fun." He got up and left, leaving Mikoto gritting her teeth slightly. Kuroko watched her in silence for a few moments to let her calm down, before speaking.

"Please tell me you won't spend a fortune on that raffle to beat her," Kuroko pleaded.

"Huh?" Mikoto looked confused and turned towards Kuroko.

"I know you receive a generous stipend from the city," Kuroko continued. "But that is no reason to spend it all on this game. It's not like you can't see him whenever you want to anyways." Her eyes narrowed. "As long as he doesn't try anything."

"Kuroko," Mikoto said slowly and gazed at her intently. "I thought you were over that…. delusion of him."

"Just because I don't plan to assault him for hanging around you," Kuroko huffed. "Doesn't mean I can't be worried something might happen. He is a boy after all." Mikoto gave a grudging smile.

"I think Touma's going to be glad to hear that," she replied. "He mentioned he was worried you were going to teleport your spikes into him."

"I still might if he doesn't treat you with respect," Kuroko huffed again.

"I'm pretty sure that only applies to a couple of his male friends he doesn't treat with respect," Mikoto laughed. "Oh, don't worry about me over doing it at the raffle either. I set aside a fair amount, yes, but it's one of the only splurges I have done in forever."

"As long as you remember that," Kuroko relented. With the topic closed, both of them talked about classes for a bit while they finished their lunch. The bell was about to ring, when Mikoto changed the subject to after school.

"Want to do anything after class?" Mikoto asked. "Or do you have Judgment?"

"Judgment," Kuroko confirmed. "My alibi yesterday was I was doing a mission for the city, remember?" Mikoto nodded. "Well, I still have to write the report on it."

"How…?" Mikoto knew what really happened and she had no idea how Kuroko was going to write something that did not occur. Any evidence she wrote up would be easily identified as fake if anyone wanted to verify it.

"I have the details," Kuroko answered. "Just have to put it in report form. Shouldn't take long and then I'm on standby if anyone needs assistance. Otherwise, it will be just me and Uiharu, with maybe Konori-senpai."

"I'm sure Saten-san will be there too," Mikoto pointed out. _If Touma returned, that means she also did._ Kuroko laughed. "Guess I'm on my own then. I'll find something to do."

"Something to do with you usually involved three things," Kuroko said and smirked. "Gekota, shocking people, or him. Sometimes more than one of the above." Mikoto stuck her tongue out at her.

"I might go see him." Mikoto shrugged and tried to play it off, while Kuroko bit the corner of her lip. She may have started to move on, but some lingering feeling still remained. "You need to figure out what to say to Uiharu-san."

"I'm hoping she will be free after our shifts," Kuroko agreed. "We have a lot to discuss."

* * *

Mikoto was not prepared for what was about to happen when she was asked to come to the front office when school ended.

"Mikoto!" a familiar young woman called out to her the second she stepped in.

"Mom?!" Mikoto exclaimed in shock. At first glance, the young women looked to be more like Mikoto's older sister instead of her mom, which many people were shocked when they found out. She would not look out of place along university students. The woman's name was Misuzu Misaka and Mikoto did indeed take after her. She had roughly the same brown hair, which was slightly longer and reached her shoulders, while having the exact same brown eyes. Her facial features were very similar too, though there was a slight age difference. There was one big difference between the two, something Mikoto was rather sensitive about. Her mom was incredibly well endowed.

"Surprise!" Misuzu laughed and wrapped Mikoto in a tight embrace. "I can't believe how adorable your expression is!" Mikoto fidgeted in her mom's grasp, while a vein flickered in her forehead. Her face was being pressed up against a chest she wished she had.

"Get off, mom!" Mikoto cried and pushed her off. "Can't you see you're embarrassing me?!"

"Can't a mom express her love for her daughter?" Misuzu asked with a grin.

"Sure, but her daughter doesn't need to be suffocated." Mikoto took a couple deep breaths. "You didn't tell me you were coming and then suddenly showed up at school without warning. How did you think I was going to respond?"

"Cry out _Mama_ and then jumped into my arms like when you were a kid?" Misuzu suggested. "I miss those days. You really have become more independent."

"Because I've grown up and the city gives us a lot of independence," Mikoto sighed. "Why did you suddenly decide to visit without letting me know?"

"A friend of mine was planning on visiting her son this weekend," Misuzu explained, completely unabashed. "I've been looking for a reason to visit my cute Mikoto again, so this was a perfect opportunity to meet up with her too. We plan to meet up tomorrow for a couple hours, and I was hoping to spend this evening with you."

"I suppose that's okay," Mikoto relented. She had received a text from Touma that afternoon during class. It was about needing help with homework, but there was more. He wanted to meet up with her and Misaki after the raffle drawing tomorrow to 'hang out'. For him to be that forward, there was something he needed to discuss with them and they needed to talk with him too. "My afternoon is pretty free, since Kuroko is busy with Judgment."

"Are you and her still experimenting?" Misuzu snickered.

"Mom!" Mikoto cried out indignantly. "We are just roommates and friends! We are not like that!"

"I know," Misuzu reassured her daughter. "You like that one exceptional young man. Speaking of which, how's your relationship with him coming along." Her smile only grew when Mikoto's eyes widened and her face flushed. "Oh, I didn't know you progressed that far. Did you ask him out?" She waited for Mikoto to compose herself after spluttering incomprehensible sentences.

"Why…? What…? Gah…! How…?" Mikoto finally steadied her nerves. "It's… complicated."

"I see." Misuzu stared at Mikoto deep in thought for a moment. "Well, why don't you tell your mother all about it and I'll see if I can help." She put her arm around Mikoto's shoulders as they began to leave the school. "But, does he know you like him? You used to be all tsundere around him."

"I'm not a tsundere!"

"Of course not, dear, but you didn't answer my question. Does he know?" Mikoto gave a very brief nod. "That's a step in the right direction." She squealed slightly. "My little Mikoto is growing up." Misuzu's eyes lowered slightly and a smirk tugged at her lips. "Well, some areas at least."

"W-what are you implying?!" Mikoto demanded angrily. Her arms crossed over her chest.

"I don't know," Misuzu replied sarcastically, as she crossed her own arms under her prominent chest to accentuate it. "What could I be implying?"

"You're so incorrigible," Mikoto growled. "You said I was growing up, maybe you need to as well."

"Come now," Misuzu apologized. "I was just teasing. Let's focus more on your situation and then we can have some mother daughter time."

"Fine," Mikoto relented. "I suppose it's possible you might have a good idea or two, as long as you don't actually talk to him." Misuzu smiled. Mikoto had no idea who Misuzu's friend was and she was planning on keeping it a secret as long as possible. A beep interrupted their conversation and Mikoto automatically pulled out her phone. "Huh? Tsuchimikado-san sent me a message. Strange."

"Who's that?" Misuzu asked interestedly. "Another boy? You wouldn't happen to be stringing a couple boys along?"

"G-get your mind out of the gutter!" Mikoto stuttered in shock. "He's just a classmate of Touma-…"

"Oh, first name basis and no honorifics? Mikoto, you fox. Your relationship is coming along well."

"Mom!" Mikoto huffed indignantly and then decided it was better to continue as if her mom did not interrupt. "He was one of the many invited to our trip to England. You know, the one I told you about."

"Yes, go on."

"Most of us exchanged numbers during the trip in case we got separated and needed to regroup," Mikoto continued. "That's why I have it, but he normally doesn't send me much." She opened the message and noticed there was an attached sound file, while the text only read, 'Touma's greatest hit'. She opened it and held her phone up to her ear. The message was short, but a little loud, and she recognized the panicked voice.

" _I can't die without ever having a girlfriend!"_

Mikoto froze, while her brain processed the new information. Not only were his words resonating within her, the fact he had gotten himself into some kind of trouble was evident too. She had no idea what he was doing while he was outside of Academy City, but it had to be related to magicians. _Tomorrow, he better explain himself,_ Mikoto thought in a combination of anger and embarrassment. It had not escaped her notice that the main thing Touma thought about when he believed he was going to die was getting a girlfriend. That meant Mikoto had a chance and she needed to take it. She would have been a lot more worried about him if Misaki had not told her at lunch Touma had returned last night. A slight cough next to her brought Mikoto back to reality and she turned in horror toward her mom. From the look on her face, she had heard everything.

"If I'm not mistaken," Misuzu said amused. "That was Kamijou-san saying something about wanting a girlfriend."

"His friends must have recorded him saying that or dared him to say it," Mikoto tried to deflect quickly. "They are always trying to embarrass him."

"Uh huh." Misuzu didn't believe her for a moment. "If that's true, why is your face so red?"

"Eh!?" Mikoto quickly covered her face with her hands and turned away. "It's not!"

"I'm glad I arrived when I did," Misuzu told Mikoto. "We have a lot to talk about. I'll give you some advice after you tell me everything that has happened so far." Mikoto gulped as her mom guided her out of the school grounds.

* * *

When Kuroko walked into her Judgment office, she received a surprise.

"Why are they here?" Kuroko asked Kazari and Mii, as she gestured to Jason and Ruiko, while avoiding their eyes.

"Saten-san was… sick the last two days," Kazari explained, but Kuroko head the pause in her words.

 _Oh, right. Onee-sama said Shokuhou-san heard Saten-san was with the ape. Uiharu-doesn't know that I know._

"So she came here?" Kuroko asked confused.

"I have to make sure she catches up on all her work," Kazari elaborated. "She was struggling in a few classes, so missing a couple days made her fall behind. I asked Jason to help her study while we work."

"He's a slave driver," Ruiko complained. "And doesn't trust me at all. Look!" She gestured to her leg and Kuroko saw a shadow tendril wrapped around her ankle.

"She tried to run away when Kazari told her what she would be doing," Jason answered Kuroko's surprised look. "She can leave when we are caught up." He yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"Are you okay?" Kuroko asked concerned. She finally looked directly at him.

"Lack of sleep last night," Jason informed her. "Busy time with work and things."

"Maybe you should get some sleep," Ruiko suggested and pointed to the couch in the office.

"Sure, after you finish all your work." Ruiko groaned at him.

"Here," Mii offered and set down a cup of coffee. "This should help."

"Thank you so much," Jason replied and took a large swig.

"I actually believe that now," Kuroko told Jason. The room grew silent as everyone stared at her. "What?"

"You actually believe he's tired from _working_?" Kazari asked in shocked, while Ruiko gaped at her.

"Why is that so hard to believe?" Kuroko demanded. "You two always trust him when he says that."

"Because you always complain he only pretends to work and goofs off all the time," Mii pointed out. "And that the only time he works is to cause you grief." She grinned, as Kuroko shook her head violently at her.

"I don't believe that for a moment," Jason interjected, but his voice was nothing but humorous. "Kuroko, complain about me? Preposterous." Everyone except Kuroko started laughing, though she did roll her eyes.

"So has there been anything happening today?" Kuroko asked Mii.

"We are mostly on standby," Mii informed her. "Though, did you hear about what happened two days ago? Seems like several areas of the city took massive damage." Kuroko flinched for a fraction of a second and she could feel Jason's eyes flicker towards her.

"I did," Kuroko answered. "I missed class yesterday because I was helping Anti-Skill with the investigation. They requested a teleporter to help navigate some of the destruction." She sighed to be convincing. "I have to write up my report on that today too."

"Do you know what happened?" Kazari asked. "Jason and I were watching a movie, so we didn't hear what happened until after it had concluded." Ruiko looked up at Jason and winked. Jason replied with a grin and a quick nod.

"It was some kind of fight," Kuroko informed her. There was some information she could not tell the others. "Who, they didn't tell me, but I have to say it had to be a _high level_ at each location." Kazari's eyes widened, but she gave a brief nod to let Kuroko know she understood her words. Mii and Ruiko missed the hint. "There was also the possibility of bombs having been planted, based on the amount of damage. Whoever initiated the assault must have been preparing for a while."

"It is troubling," Mii commented. "But Anti-Skill hasn't requested anymore help from Judgment and the areas have been blocked off, pending reconstruction efforts. We need to focus on our main duty of keeping the streets safe and orderly. Especially since Uiharu-san is changing to part-time."

"Part-time?" Kuroko and Jason asked in surprise.

"Well, we are all technically part time," Mii amended. "But her hours are going to be really restricted." She turned to Kazari. "Go ahead and tell them what you told me."

"You see," Kazari tried to explain, but her voice grew softer under everyone staring. Ruiko gave her a thumbs up to try to give her confidence. "A while back I was offered a job because a couple higher ups in the city noticed my computer skills during those attempted thefts when the riots were occurring. It was when Shirai-san intercepted those members trying to steal the communication device."

"I remember," Kuroko muttered. "They managed to get away."

"During that," Kazari continued. "I had to hack into a secure facility to slow down an intruder."

"Heh," Jason laughed. "Secure is putting it mildly. One person wanted to track you down and arrest you, but we persuaded him otherwise. Emergencies like that trump normal procedures."

"Really?" Kazari asked and Jason nodded. She flushed before continuing. "Anyway, I was offered a job to help with Academy City security and I've finally settled on accepting."

"We talked about it last night," Ruiko added. "I thought it would be a good opportunity for her."

"Congratulations," Jason told her, before getting up and giving her a hug. He then leaned down and whispered into her ear. "Remember what we talked about, right? Come to me if you have any problems." Kazari nodded and hugged him back, before Jason took his seat again.

"Are you only going to be around occasionally then?" Kuroko asked.

"Yes," Kazari confirmed. "I don't know my schedule, but I called them today. I'm going to start Monday after school and they will have more information then." She looked between Kuroko and Mii. "I still want to help out when I can."

"And you are welcomed to anytime you are available," Mii reassured her. "Without you, Shirai-san will never finish her paperwork…"

"Hey!" Kuroko protested indignantly while Kazari giggled.

"… and I'm putting in a request for another member," Mii finished. "We will be a little shorthanded until then, but it's nothing a branch office hasn't had to experience before."

"I'm proud of you, Uiharu," Kuroko said and hugged her. "You were always so much help. I'm going to miss you being my partner though. Try to visit often."

"It's not like I'm going to disappear," Kazari replied. "We can still hang out anytime."

"I'll have a few papers I will need you to sign in a minute indicating change of status," Mii added. "Shirai-san, you should finish that one report too, in case something happens."

"Fine," Kuroko groaned and sat down at her desk. Jason and Ruiko turned back to their work, while Kazari typed away on her computer and Mii started printing out forms. Kuroko started scribing down the partially true facts and the obvious fake ones on the paper in front of her. She was almost finished, when her mind began to wonder. Her plan had been ruined. She didn't want to see Jason before talking to Kazari. She managed to act naturally around the others, mostly because they had something to talk about, but now she felt warm and it was hard not to turn around and stare at him. _If he and Uiharu don't go back together, I can pull Uiharu away and talk to her. But what should I even say? I thought about it last night, but it's going to be tough saying it out loud. I'm still not sure how she will react to this. All I can hope is that whatever the outcome, our friendship remains._ A loud grown from Ruiko caused her to turn around.

"Can we take a break?" Ruiko moaned, as her head hit the table.

"Hmm," Jason mused and glanced over at Kazari. "What do you think?"

"Don't let her go," Kazari warned. "But I think she deserves one." She got up and handed Ruiko a cup of tea.

"Thanks," Ruiko said gratefully and sipped the drink. "Why do I have to do so much tonight? We have all weekend."

"Because the festival is going to take up most of tomorrow," Kazari explained. "And then Jason, Shirai-san, and I all have Judgment training on Sunday."

 _Forgot about that,_ Kuroko thought to herself. _It was delayed a week due to the riots, thefts, and drugs running rampant._

"I would study while you guys were training," Ruiko protested.

"Would you?" Kazari asked, a knowing gleam in her eyes.

"Yes!"

"Hmm," Kazari mused. "I suppose we can put it to a vote." She turned to Kuroko, Jason, and Mii. "Can you raise your hand if you think Saten-san would study when we weren't making her?" Ruiko raised her hand, but no one else did. She looked around pleadingly, but no one came to her aid. After putting her hand down, she sighed.

"None of you believe in me," Ruiko sighed depressed.

"We believe in your ability to learn," Jason corrected her. "It's just your willpower to focus on schoolwork is easily distracted by other things. Like a passing butterfly." Ruiko stuck her tongue out at him.

"You would definitely leave your dorm for some reason and forget about your work," Kuroko added.

"Your friends know you too well," Mii commented and passed Kazari a piece of paper.

"It's true," Ruiko laughed. "I'm lucky in that regard." She absent mindedly pulled out her phone and noticed she missed a message. She frowned in thought when she saw who it was from. "Hey, Kagere."

"Hmm?"

"Do you know why Tsuchimikado-san would be messaging me?" Ruiko asked. "He doesn't normally."

"Probably has something to do with Touma's mom showing up at school," Jason answered nonchalantly.

"His mom?" Ruiko repeated in surprise. Kazari, Kuroko, and, surprisingly, Mii all listened intently.

"Yeah," Jason confirmed. "She arrived right before class let out. Everyone was surprised at how ho… young she was." He changed direction when he noticed Kazari raise an eyebrow.

"But what's that have to do with Tsuchimikado-san contacting Saten-san?" Kazari asked.

"It's Tsuchimikado," Jason answered in a tone that those two words should explain everything. "He probably sent it to every girl he could who likes or he thinks that they like, Touma. I bet he will find it amusing to see them trying to get his mom's approval." He snorted slightly and tried to keep his face straight. "That might be fun to see actually," he muttered to himself.

"Oh, no," Kazari muttered.

"It sounds like something he would do," Kuroko agreed.

"Tsuchimikado-san is a friend of Kamijou-san, correct?" Mii asked and the others nodded. "I know a few guys in my high school that act that way to each other. They have a different kind of friendship than girls do."

"Mostly insult based humor," Jason added and then he raised an eyebrow. "You interested in Touma, Konori-san?" Ruiko's head snapped and looked over at Mii, while Kuroko and Kazari couldn't contain their curiosity either.

"Well," Mii admitted, as she diverted her eyes. "He's pretty nice and I do admire the way he's willing to help anyone he comes across, even without being part of Judgment. He also saved me that one time. However," she raised a finger. "It's not like I know him that well, so I have no idea if we would be compatible." Jason shrugged.

"That's always something to consider, I suppose," he acknowledged. "Quite a few people didn't think Kazari and I were compatible and we have been together for a while." Kazari beamed at him. "Sometimes you have to take risks." Mii seemed to get lost in thought for a second and Ruiko's voice took over the silence.

"Touma's greatest hit." Ruiko shrugged and opened the attached sound file.

" _I can't die without ever having a girlfriend!"_

Everyone stared at Ruiko's phone in shock.

"Okay," Jason said in disbelief. "That's a thing."

 _How did Tsuchimikado-san get that recording?_ Ruiko thought bewildered. She had been there when he actually said that line, but it was one of those more desperate, life flashing before your eyes, kind of things. _Who could have actually recorded it?_

"Umm," Kazari interrupted. "If he sent that to Saten-san…"

"…he sent it to every girl he could," Jason finished.

"Oh, boy," Kuroko fretted. _Onee-sama is going to be mad._ "Should I start warning the rest of the Judgment branches?"

"You probably should," Jason agreed. "It's best they don't get involved."

"Hold on," Mii interrupted. "You are making it sound like there's going to be a war over him." The girls and Jason glanced at each other.

"It's happened before," Jason laughed. "There are some aggressive girls that like him. Touma has always been kind of dense to realizing girls' feelings." He shrugged. "It's now up to him to decide what he wants to do."

"When you say aggressive," Mii questioned. "Would it get violent?" Jason nodded and she rubbed her temple. "Okay, are you going to take care of it or will we receive a Judgment report in a few minutes?"

"I kind of wanted to watch," Jason admitted and Kazari walked over to poke him in the side. "Fine, I'll make sure nothing gets too out of hand." Kazari patted him on the back.

"I'm going to warn him about this," Ruiko said and started messaging Touma.

"Finally," Kuroko praised. "A sensible solution."

"Going to have to call this study session short," Jason declared and released Ruiko from his shadow. He gave Kazari a quick peck goodbye, waved to the others, and left.

"I need to get going too," Ruiko told them. "I have to… catch a sale." She added the last part rather lamely.

"If you are going to lie," Kuroko sighed. "At least make it convincing."

"Good luck in impressing Kamijou-san's mom," Kazari added. Ruiko grinned sheepishly, gathered her stuff, and rushed out the door.

"I feel you two have seen this before," Mii commented.

"We spent a week in England with everyone," Kuroko pointed out. "It was hard to miss stuff like this."

"I hope Saten-san can finally express her feelings," Kazari said worriedly. "I have been trying to encourage her, but Jason was right about this also being Kamijou-san's decision on who he wants to be with."

"I can tell Kamijou-san is a very nice person," Mii stated. "He won't make a decision like that lightly. I hope whoever he chooses makes him happy." She left the room and Kazari and Kuroko looked at each other.

"I think… she likes him too," Kazari said hesitantly.

"I should have seen this coming," Kuroko sighed. "That ape seems to attract every girl he helps."

"I like him as a person," Kazari said and gave a slight giggle. "But I don't like him like that."

"That's probably a good thing," Kuroko responded. "Jason wouldn't take kindly of the ape taking you from him." They both laughed. Kazari was about to go back to her desk, when Kuroko continued. "Oh, Uiharu?"

"Yes?"

"After our shift ends," Kuroko said slowly. This was tough, no matter how much she practiced. "I need to talk to you about something important. It might take a while."

"Of course, Shirai-san," Kazari replied instantly. "You can tell me anything."

Kuroko flinched slightly.

* * *

"That's hilarious!" Lessar laughed, after Bayloupe finished explaining everything that happened yesterday.

"It was mortifying," Bayloupe replied with a scowl. "I think he was about to kill everyone." The two of them were standing in Accelerator's apartment's kitchen, while Last Order and Worst were playing video games. Accelerator was due back any minute and they had no idea what to do about Last Order's condition. Vampires weren't supposed to exist, so there was no real research material they knew of, especially in a city of science. Right now, besides fangs and accidently discovering Last Order had accelerated healing abilities, she was exactly the same. The only reason Bayloupe found out about it was because Last Order had complained constantly about being stuck in the house all day and wanted to go outside. Bayloupe finally caved when Worst only aggravated the situation.

Bayloupe had no idea how Accelerator could deal with Worst.

She was worse than Lessar.

While Last Order played at the park, Bayloupe had to withstand a constant barrage of sex jokes, insults, and pranks against both of them and random people. It was like Worst's primary function was to cause misfortune to everyone around her. Bayloupe at least found out why Accelerator always seemed disgruntled and tired. Though, Last Order managed to use up her pent up energy on the playground, so there was a silver lining in all this. On the way back, Bayloupe ran into a bored Lessar, who tagged along with them. Back at the apartment, the sisters started playing a video game, while the two magicians changed rooms and talked about more serious issues.

"I wish you had recorded that talk," Lessar continued, unable to hold back her laughter. "I would totally have set it up in Lover Boy's apartment when he got back."

"Worst tried that," Bayloupe informed her, a smile forming on her own face. "Accelerator destroyed her phone an instant later."

"But it was pretty clever to claim to be his girlfriend," Lessar continued. "Not only is it natural to hang around him, but you even managed to sleep in the same house as him." She gave Bayloupe a thumbs up. "Next time, you should sneak into his bed naked."

"I'm not you," Bayloupe snapped. "Throwing myself at every attractive guy who walks by."

"So you admit you find him hot!" Lessar exclaimed triumphantly. Bayloupe cursed under her breath.

"Unless you have any useful information for me," Bayloupe said coldly. "You might as well leave, or I'll tell Worst some embarrassing stories about you and let her have fun."

"I mainly wanted to see how you were holding up after the fight with Cain," Lessar protested and then lowered her voice. "How's the girl?"

"There's nothing wrong with her," Bayloupe replied and shrugged. "Except being a vampire. She hasn't shown any sign of wanting to drink blood though."

"As long as you don't teach her how to refine mana," Lessar pointed out. "I doubt she will pose a threat to anyone."

"I'm worried about what other groups will do if they find out a vampire actually exists," Bayloupe said darkly. "Accelerator sure won't give her up and it's going to cause a lot of attention if they go wild."

"True," Lessar conceded. "I wouldn't wish the types of experimentation they would do to her on anyone." She shook her head. "So, what are you going to do about her condition?"

"I talked to Accelerator and he said he was going to bring Index if I couldn't find a way to reverse her vampirism." Bayloupe sighed. "I actually hope she can help, because I have no idea where to start. Cain was killed and she didn't change back, which meant the theory that killing the head vampire does not work. All the other ways to purify one either ends in their death or uses some magical item that may or may not exist."

"No use dwelling on what you can't do," Lessar responded brightly. "Might as well focus on what you can." She grinned and nodded knowingly. "You should totally dress up in a maid outfit, wait for him to come home, and say 'Welcome Home Master'."

"Yeah… no."

"You're no fun," Lessar muttered dejectedly. "You didn't even bring my cosplay outfits or my edible panties."

"Only sluts need edible panties," Bayloupe reprimanded.

"Promiscuous," Lessar corrected. Before Bayloupe could respond to that, the front door opened and Accelerator walked in. His eyes fell onto them first and then he noticed Last Order and Worst playing video games in the living room. Lessar turned to him. "Hello! Fun day at school?"

"Don't make me ban you from here," Accelerator replied curtly and then turned to Bayloupe. "What's the status on the brat?" He set down a bag of drinks and chips on the counter.

"No luck, I'm afraid," Bayloupe answered with a shake of her head. "Vampires are… were only myths. Index may be our last resort."

"Figured," Accelerator agreed. "I told the hero to bring her here tonight, so set up whatever you need to by then." Bayloupe nodded. "You never did give me a run down on what changes being a vampire means. Do we have to watch out for her wanting blood?"

"I haven't seen any signs of it yet," Bayloupe told him. "But I've seen accelerated healing. That's part of vampire's high regenerative properties and doesn't require the refinement of mana. Because of that, she won't be able to use magic. This regeneration is so potent though, that she will not likely age."

"WHAT?!" The three of them turned to see Last Order and Worst peering around the corner of the doorway at them. Last Order had been unable to contain her surprise. "What do you mean MISAKA won't age!? MISAKA cries out in panic as MISAKA eyes widen in fear."

"Damn it!" Accelerator muttered angrily.

"What did she mean by that!? MISAKA asks again as MISAKA demands answers." She may have been demanding, but she had rushed forward and grabbed the hem of Accelerator's shirt.

"That bite you took when we were attacked," Bayloupe said slowly, looking at Accelerator to make sure she could tell him, or at least receive some clue as to what to say. "Infected you." Last Order's eyes widened.

"That guy developed some kind of stimulant to increase healing and prevent the aging process," Accelerator interjected, before Last Order started bawling. "When he bit you, some of it transferred from his body to yours."

"MISAKA understands that, MISAKA replies. But MISAKA wants to know about the not aging part. Are you saying MISAKA's body will never grow up like her onee-sama?"

"And your chest will never get bigger like Misaka's either," Worst added with a snicker. Accelerator covered his ears instantly, but the others weren't fast enough.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Last Order ran from the kitchen toward her room. The door slammed behind her and they heard her crying. Lessar and Bayloupe ears were still ringing from her volume.

"Dammit, Worst!" Accelerator roared. She only laughed and went back to the video game. Worst never really cared about anyone else. Karma did strike though and Worst felt some of Last Order's negative emotions flow into her from the Misaka Network, so she couldn't concentrate on the game as much.

"Even I'm not that mean," Lessar whistled. "I just embarrass people."

"I got this," Bayloupe volunteered and walked forward. She could sense the smug look on Lessar's face. It was obvious to both of them Bayloupe was using this opportunity to score points with Last Order, and those points would transfer to Accelerator too. Bayloupe also knew Accelerator wasn't the best person for this kind of emotional support. She reached the door of Last Order's room and knocked. The sniffling on the other side stopped, but there was no sign the door was going to be opened. She knocked again. "Last Order? Can I come in?"

"Go away! MISAKA cries angrily."

"I just want to talk." There was no answer. "Listen, your situation is only temporary. We are in the process of removing it, but it will take a little time. Worst is just being a bratty sister. Accelerator and I will be here for you if you need anything. Don't go to Lessar though, she's almost as bad a Worst."

"Hey!" Lessar called down the hall.

"Really? MISAKA asks quietly as MISAKA tries to stifle her giggles."

"Yeah," Bayloupe said. "I have to deal with her antics all the time. No matter how much I discipline her, she keeps acting like a slut."

"Coming from the one who keeps slapping my ass!" Lessar called out again.

"Shut up!" Accelerator yelled at Lessar.

"So why don't you come out?" Bayloupe pressed on. "Accelerator brought some drinks and, knowing him, he got you something." The door creaked open and Last Order stood in front of her.

"Are you serious about being able to fix MISAKA? MISAKA asks worriedly as MISAKA looks at you through tear filled eyes."

"I am," Bayloupe answered. "Accelerator even invited Index over for you to hang out with tonight."

"Really?" Last Order looked even more surprised than she had when she found out she wasn't going to age.

"Surprised me too." They both chuckled. "You were right about him pretending to be mean. He cares about you a lot." Bayloupe held out a hand. "So why don't we go back and explain what we plan to do?" Last Order tilted her head, took Bayloupe's hand, and smiled as they walked back to the kitchen.

"You take care of it?" Accelerator asked and Bayloupe nodded. Lessar was busy stuffing her face with a bag of chips and a canned drink in front of her. It took an offering of food to shut her up. "Here, brat." Accelerator pushed a can toward her. "Your favorite." He glanced over at Bayloupe before pushing a can of ice tea toward her. "You said you liked this brand, right?"

"Thank you! MISAKA replies happily as MISAKA takes her favorite drink." She popped the top and drank deeply.

"Thanks," Bayloupe echoed, surprised at Accelerator's thoughtfulness and attention to detail. Lessar winked at her, but she ignored her. Accelerator glanced over at Last Order and frowned.

"What's wrong?" He noticed she had set down her can and looked confused.

"It's… everything MISAKA has been eating or drinking has been tasting bland, MISAKA admits as MISAKA is depressed her favorite drink was affected by it. It's been getting worse." Accelerator, Bayloupe, and Lessar glanced at each other.

"Side effect?" Lessar asked.

"Looks like it," Bayloupe agreed.

"You're going to have to deal with it, brat," Accelerator told Last Order. "Once you're cured, I'll treat you to whatever you want to eat after."

"Really!? MISAKA asks excitedly. MISAKA will hold you to that and not let you retract your words, MISAKA adds as MISAKA points at you to indicate the seriousness of the promise."

"Whatever," Accelerator answered, but Last Order took that as an affirmative. Bayloupe held back her amusement, but then something occurred to her and she needed to tell them, before an accident happened.

"Oh," Bayloupe added. "One last thing. Last Order, you were infected when Cain bit you. Please take care and not bite anyone else, just in case this can spread."

"MISAKA can spread her affliction to others? MISAKA asks curiously in order to clarify. Such as not being able to age."

"It's possible," Bayloupe confirmed. "But we don't want this too. We don't know all the side effects it could cause in the long run."

"Even if you think it would be funny," Lessar added.

"I see, MISAKA mutters to herself. If MISAKA bites Accelerator, that means he and MISAKA could be together forever and never age. It might be worth it, MISAKA adds as MISAKA tries to convince herself." Accelerator stood up, walked over to her, and karate chopped her on the head. "OW! Child abuse! MISAKA cries."

"No biting, _anyone_!" Accelerator told her coldly. "Even as a joke. Don't even show your fangs to people."

"Okay, MISAKA mutters dejectedly." She shuffled off to the living room to distract herself with video games.

"There better be a cure," Accelerator growled. "I can avoid being bitten, but if she snaps like Cain did near the end, someone else could be turned. The last thing we need is Academy City to be overwhelmed with vampires. Too much trash in the city that doesn't deserve that much power."

"If anyone can tell us how to cure her," Bayloupe reassured him. "Index can. I doubt the Anglican Church will refuse help either. Not only do they owe you guys, but they wouldn't want a vampire free in Academy City."

"Damn right they owe us," Accelerator snapped. "We saved their asses in England, and then because they can't deal with their own side, we have people like Eve running around freely. At least you guys fucked Adam up."

"He's definitely dead," Lessar agreed. "Giant flaming sword through the chest tends to do that." She started to mess around on her phone. "Hey, who's Tsuchimikado? Name sounds familiar."

"The blonde idiot with sunglasses," Accelerator answered curtly.

"Ah, right."

"Why?"

"He somehow acquired Lover Boy's deepest darkest confession," Lessar informed him and put her phone on the table. "He shouted this when he fell off a floating statue of Lucifer." She turned the volume up and hit the play button.

" _I can't die without ever having a girlfriend!"_

"He does sound like he's about to die," Bayloupe commented.

"I'm surprised the idiot managed to get that," Accelerator laughed.

"He must have a contact in England's military," Lessar said with a shrug. "No idea why he sent it to me. I already have it as my ringtone."

"Knowing him," Accelerator answered. "He just sent it to every girl he could. The damn hero is going to have his hands full shortly."

"Won't that cause a lot of problem for the city?" Bayloupe asked. "Not just including Kamijou?"

"It will," Accelerator confirmed. "Especially with the hero's mom showing up. I bet the idiot did this purely for entertainment-…"

"Hang on!" Lessar demanded and slammed her hands down on the table. "What did you say about his mom?"

"Huh?" Accelerator raised an eyebrow and then realized why she wanted to know. It was at that moment he understood why Motoharu decided to send that message today. "His mom showed up right at the end of class and they left together. I bet she's here for a few days."

"Why wasn't I informed earlier?!" Lessar cried and grabbed her hair. "Everyone knows one of the most important things is to impress your target's family. I need to get his mom to approve of me, and then he won't have anywhere to retreat to." She ran to the front door and grabbed her shoes. "Sorry, Bayloupe. I've got to run. Don't forget to use protection!" She ran out before either could reply.

"That girl…," Bayloupe muttered. "Doesn't she understand if the guy doesn't want her, she can't force him to?"

"Who cares?" Accelerator asked uninterested. "Not our problem and the damn hero deserves it for keeping secrets."

* * *

"Hey, Frenda?" Shiage asked.

"What do you want!?" Frenda and Saiai were playing a card game and Frenda was losing.

"Where's Mugino?" Shiage asked. "She's the one who said we were to meet after school."

"She left class early because it was a waste of time," Frenda explained and threw a card at Saiai. "There was a sale she wanted to catch, since she needed new underwear." Shiage blinked in surprise and his mouth fell open.

"Hah," Saiai laughed and turned to look at him. "Now he's super imagining Mugino in sexy lingerie."

"No, I'm not!" Shiage lied desperately. He totally was.

"I wonder what color and design his male brain is imagining," Frenda added mockingly. "Basically, Takitsubo, your boyfriend is a huge pervert." Shiage turned to see Rikou stir in her chair, the magazine on her face fell off as she woke up.

"…is he?" Rikou asked groggily.

"Lies and slander!" Shiage cried out.

"Eww," Saiai grimaced, though it was obviously faked. "You better not be imagining us that way. If you are, I'm telling Mugino. She'll set you straight."

"Don't make up stories that will get me killed!" Shiage demanded. "Besides, why would I imagine you naked?"

"Because I'm super hot," Saiai answered and put a hand behind her head. Shiage scoffed and her eyes narrowed. "What was that? Do you want me to super kick your ass?" Shiage backed away and then felt someone grab his arm.

"…It's okay," Rikou told him. "I know you wouldn't cheat on me." Shiage rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. Rikou pulled him away from the other two girls and they sat down on the couch. Shiage let Rikou choose the TV channel, but she never let go of his arm.

"I'm still worried about those two," Frenda muttered to Saiai. "Basically, she's extremely possessive. If he gets in trouble on a mission, she might abandon her assigned duties."

"Mugino said she didn't care," Saiai shrugged. "Relationships are fine as long as we don't let them interfere with our work." She grinned. "What about you? This means you can super go out with Kamijou. When are you going to ask him?"

"W-when are you going to confess to Accelerator?" Frenda reflected. "Basically, you barely interact with him."

"He's different," Saiai answered. "If you push too hard, he shuts you down. You have to super get him to be interested in you. Besides, he and I have gotten physical."

"Uh huh," Frenda replied and grinned. "I win." She threw down her cards and Saiai made a rude gesture. "Basically, I bet he caught you and accidently touched you. Kamijou has seen me naked at least twice and seemed to enjoy the view."

"Only because I super pranked you two," Saiai countered. She leaned back and sighed. "Things have been slow lately, so why don't we try something fun?"

"Like what?"

"A small wager." Frenda's eyes lit up.

"Kind of what Kamijou's friends did to him?"

"Exactly."

"What's the bet?"

"The first one of us who can super get a date with those two, wins," Saiai explained. "It also has to be a real date, no fake date or friend outing. There will be no time limit."

"Sounds okay so far," Frenda mumbled thinking. This would give her the push she needed to tell Touma she liked him, instead of just following Shizuri's lead in teasing him. Saiai knew she liked him, regardless how much Frenda denied it, so she had given up denying it. "Though, that's only the first half. Basically, what happens to the loser?"

"Loser has to…" Saiai paused and thought about it, her eyes finally falling on Shiage. She leaned forward and continued at a whisper. "Give Hamazura a lap dance in their underwear."

"Ewww!"

"It has to be bad enough to be a real punishment," Saiai pointed out. "It would be super hilarious."

"I feel like Takitsubo is going to kill us if she catches wind of this," Frenda muttered.

"Then we don't let her find out." Saiai held out her hand. "So, do we have a bet?" Frenda hesitated for a fraction of a second, before grinning and shaking hands.

"It's a bet."

"Someone seems confident," Saiai pointed out and stared at Frenda's expression.

"Oh, I was reminded of something important earlier today," Frenda declared and pulled out her phone. "You see, Kamijou admitted something important in Australia." Saiai frowned and Frenda opened the electronic attachment.

" _I can't die without ever having a girlfriend!"_

Saiai sat in stunned silence, but the recording attracted Shaige's and Rikou's attention.

"Good luck," Frenda told Saiai and winked.

"You played me!" Saiai accused.

"This was all your idea!" Frenda refuted. "Basically, if Mugino didn't say we had to be here, I would be out of here. Lessar is rooming with him and you know how big of a whore she is." Rikou looked at Shiage, who shrugged.

 _Not sure if Boss is lucky or unlucky. I should warn him about that recording._

* * *

Touma walked in a daze behind his mom chatting with Shizuri, the bag Shizuri had brought clutched tightly in his hand.

"Could you tell me how you and my son first met?" Shiina asked.

"Of course," Shizuri replied in cheerful voice, completely different from her normal tone. Touma only heard this tone when she was teasing him or trying to get someone into trouble. "It was around a month ago. We ran into each other completely by accident. Neither of us were watching where we were going. That day had not been going well for me and I snapped at him rather harshly. When I look back at that moment, I was being rather rude. Anyway, he had rushed off after apologizing and I realized he had dropped a textbook. I had to hurry and meet some friends, so I didn't get a chance to drop it off at the lost and found, but luck was on our side. I ran into him two days later and gave it back. We started to run into each other more times than natural, so we exchanged numbers."

 _None of that happened!_ Touma thought to himself. _Except the part about snapping at me. You tried to blast me with your ability! Okay, the part about us hanging out more was true too, but mom can never find out about how we really met or the stuff we went through._

"How interesting," Shiina commented mildly. Her face was unreadable. "Did you accompanying him when he won a trip to England?"

"He invited me," Shizuri confirmed. "Along with some of my closest friends. I was a little surprised, since we weren't dating at the time, but it was a very enjoyable trip. We normally don't leave the city, so being able to spend my break in another country was quite an experience."

"Everyone should get a chance to see the world," Shiina agreed. "My husband gets the opportunity due to his work, and I occasionally accompany him."

"Shame he couldn't be here," Shizuri said. "I would have liked to meet him."

"I'm sure he would have liked to meet you too," Shiina reassured her. "I have to admit, I was a little surprised when you introduced yourself. Touma never mentioned he was interested in anyone and then he suddenly finds a very attractive young lady."

"Thank you," Shizuri said gratefully. "I'm sure people have told you how young and beautiful you are. When I saw you, I almost mistook you as Touma's sister."

 _She only uses my first name when she teases me, but who is this girl talking to my mom? Mugino is acting like Misaki!_

"My, my, such kind words," Shiina replied. "But I am curious. How long have you and Touma-san been official?"

"Only a couple days. I asked and he finally said yes." Shizuri put a hand up to her cheek. "It's most likely why he didn't have time to contact you. I actually hinted I wanted to be more than friends several times, but he never appeared to notice. So I decided to take the direct approach before another girl did." She turned and smiled at Touma, in a way so only he saw the devious smirk on her face.

"Oh, dear," Shiina fretted. "He inherited that from his father. He was always a little oblivious around women and would unconsciously flirt with them." She sighed. "He still is and I have to gently remind him not to." Touma shivered and even Shizuri felt the air grow slightly colder.

"Mom!" Touma interjected a little louder than intended. "I'm not oblivious."

"I'm afraid you were," Shiina informed him. "The last time your father and I were here, we noticed." Touma fell silent again and prayed his mom wouldn't tell Shizuri too many things to embarrass him. Julunggul was snickering in the back of his mind, clearly enjoying the situation.

"Perhaps you could give me some pointers," Shizuri remarked. "There are some younger girls who don't seem to understand he's taken. I'm afraid they might try something drastic."

"Constant vigilance is the key," Shiina explained. "But why don't we find somewhere nice to have an early dinner while we talk. Would you happen to know such a place?"

"There's a diner my friends and I frequently visit that prepares a salmon dish I quite enjoy," Shizuri offered.

"My, my, that sounds wonderful." Shiina turned to Touma. "Are you agreeable?"

"Sure," Touma answered without much enthusiasm. Shiina and Shizuri both noticed his reaction, so Shizuri took the opportunity to score some points.

"You've been there before," Shizuri reassured him and wrapped her arms around his. "It will be fun. Your mom is a wonderful person and I'm sure she has a lot of interesting stories."

"Oh, you mean before Touma-san arrived at Academy City?" Shiina asked and Shizuri nodded. "I have several stories you will enjoy hearing."

 _Dang it,_ Touma realized too late. _That was Mugino's plan. She wants to embarrass me again._ He opened his mouth to protest, but Shizuri dug her fingers into his arm hard enough that he flinched. The message was clear.

 _There will be no arguing._

 _Well, at least mom seems to be enjoying herself. She will only be here for the weekend, so this shouldn't get too out of hand. It's not like Mugino actually means anything serious by this._

 _You keep surprising me on how dense you are,_ Julunggul commented, the first words she said since his mom met Shizuri. Touma ignored her.

* * *

Touma may have received free food, but he paid for it in another way.

Ignoring his protest, his mom told Shizuri several stories of when he was a kid, ones he didn't even remember. Worst of all, she had pictures saved on a tablet. She and Shizuri were laughing at several short videos, while Touma's head banged on the table. His mother may emit a high class noble aura, but she was still a mom. Somehow, she and Shizuri had hit it off. It seriously made no sense to him. Shizuri was the last person he would ever think of getting along with his mom. He was messing around on his phone, trying to ignore the embarrassing stories and avoiding anyone seeing his embarrassed expression. He did receive a weird message from Ruiko and it didn't make a lot of sense, but it made him realize more misfortune was going to happen.

 _Tsuchimikado-san got a recording of you when we were out and is sending it to people._

He didn't have to know what the recording was to know Motoharu had thrown him under the bus. This might even explain why Shizuri was acting so friendly. It couldn't have been about his mom visiting, since Ruiko mentioned 'when we were out'. Every danger sense was going off and he figured he should find out the extent of Motoharu's plan. He sat up straight, pushed his chair out, and stood up. "Bathroom," he told Shiina and Shizuri. Neither said anything and he managed to get away. The bathroom was, thankfully, clear and Touma pulled out his phone. "Ruiko?"

"I'm glad you called, sorry I couldn't put everything into that message."

"No, it was fine. What did Tsuchimikado send?"

"You know when you fell off that statue?" Touma sucked in a breath full of air.

 _Crap!_

"It was that confession."

"Ruiko… you have no idea how much that information helped me," Touma replied, eternally grateful. "If there is anything on earth I can do to repay you…"

"You don't have to," Ruiko told him quickly. "I only did it because you're a close friend and it was the right thing to do."

"That's sure to get you points," a voice on Ruiko's end laughed.

"Ruiko, who's with you?" Touma asked.

"Err, Jason."

"Hey, man."

"Why?" Touma had to ask and face palmed.

"We were worried about you," Jason explained.

"Ruiko might, but why are _you_ helping?" Touma elaborated.

"Am I that untrustworthy?"

"Yes."

"Fine, long story short, the level 5s are virtually on probation and one more large incident could cause some problems. It is imperative they avoid fights as much as possible. When we found out Tsuchimikado sent out that recording, I'm worried some girls might react a little… aggressively. Saten-san lied to her friends and tried to hunt you down too."

"Hey! I was the one who wanted to warn him!"

"And he appreciates it, but let us talk."

"You know, that explains so much right now," Touma muttered.

"Why?" Jason and Ruiko asked together.

"Eh, Mugino met my mom and… stuff happened."

"She didn't… hurt her, right?" Ruiko asked hesitantly.

"Oh, no!" Touma answered immediately. "Nothing like that. It's… something else." He heard snickering.

"She wouldn't happen to have…?" Jason asked. "Said she was your girlfriend to your mom?" Touma fell silent because Jason hit the nail on the head. When he didn't reply, Ruiko gasped and Jason burst out laughing. "Oh my god! She did! Hahaha, this is great!" He sobered for a moment. "But also really bad."

"Why?" Touma asked confused. While it was a hassle for him, he didn't see how it would be bad for anyone else.

"Don't do anything that might cause her to do anything destructive," Jason warned. "I haven't heard from Misaka-san or Shokuhou-san, but I'm worried if those two find out what she did, things could get messy. You know their rivalry."

"Misaka-san wouldn't do anything like that," Ruiko protested. "The most she would do is tell your mom the truth by accident."

"That could cause a chain reaction I really would not like to go down," Jason told her.

"Well," Touma informed him. "So far, it hasn't been going badly. She's getting along with mom really well, a little too well to be honest." There was silence and he wished he could see what Jason and Ruiko were doing.

"Is… your mom scary?" Ruiko asked.

"What? No! She's really nice."

"Hmm, well, good luck to you," Jason told him. "I'm planning to be on duty tonight, so you better keep your harem in line."

"I don't-…" Touma protested.

"Bet," Jason interrupted and the phone went dead.

"Such misfortune," Touma sighed. _Damn it!_ _At least they warned me. I don't want Mikoto, Misaki, or Mugino to get in trouble, so I guess pretending to be her boyfriend for two days won't kill anyone. Hopefully._ He threw some water on his face and left the bathroom. The second the door closed behind him, someone crash into him from the side and he fell against a wall. Temporarily stunned, it took him a second to recognize who ran into him. The voice gave her away first.

"Found you, Lover Boy!" Lessar exclaimed.

"Ow, shit. Lessar?" Touma glanced over his shoulder, but they were out of line of sight of his mom and Shizuri.

"Heard your mom was visiting," Lessar told him excitedly. "So I thought, why not introduce myself to my future mother-in-law?"

"Huh?" Touma asked confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Naturally," Lessar explained. "You are going to choose me, a fit young girl who is willing to try anything. And I mean _anything_. Though, I wouldn't mind too much if you wanted another girl on the side for us to get kinky with."

"Keep your voice down," hushed Touma in a state of panic.

"Oh, why?" Lessar pushed off him and peered around the corner. "Is that Mugino and…? Wow your mom looks so young."

"I hear that a lot," Touma dismissed the compliment. "So why are you really here?"

"I told you," Lessar huffed and put her hands on her hips. "I wanted to meet your mom and show myself off."

"Lessar… now's not the time for your antics. Please be serious. If you want to meet my mom, that's fine, but don't try to do any of…. that." He gestured wildly to her.

"What do you mean?" Lessar asked in a sultry tone, as she pressed herself up against him. "You don't want me to be myself around her?" Lessar looked up at him. "Do you hate me that much?" she continued, with tears in her eyes.

"It's not that!" Touma denied. He hated the fact he was so weak against tears. "I actually find you fun to be around, but it's all the adult talk you do."

"I am an adult," Lessar replied. "In fact, I'm willing to show you just how much I am." She leaned forward and licked his ear, which caused him to shiver, and then she whispered into it. "I'm not wearing any underwear. Want to see?"

"Eh!" Touma cried, as his brain started to fry. Lessar giggled and wrapped her hand around his neck. She was about to continue, when she felt it. A dark presence appeared behind her and sweat started forming on her brow. She looked up and saw Touma's face had gone ashen, his eyes wide. Lessar quickly turned around and saw what had frightened him.

She almost wet herself too.

Shiina and Shizuri were watching them. Shiina held a hand up to her cheek, but the dark aura was pressing down upon Lessar like gravity. Her expression didn't show any malevolence, only surprise and disappointment, but Lessar could swear she saw the grim reaper behind her. Shizuri was not nearly as calm. Her hair was rising in the air and an evil grim adorned her face. In her hand, behind Shiina, was a green orb floating dangerously. Her eyes were flashing with rage and she was a hair's breath away from firing. Lessar and Touma both gulped.

"This could be bad," Lessar muttered.

"You think?" Touma hissed.

"My, my," Shiina said, her voice light, but with an edge like a knife. "We were worried when you took so long and then heard some raised voices. Would you care to explain this situation, Touma-san?"

"I would love to hear this," Shizuri added, another green orb appearing in her hand. "You couldn't have possibly thought about ditching me for some floozy, right? Especially after I just met your darling mother."

"Floozy?!" huffed Lessar indignantly. "I'll let you know, I'm quite picky who I'm willing to partner with."

"Lessar," Touma hissed again. "Be quiet. You are only going to make things worse." He turned to his mom. "This is my friend Lessar," he told her, as he pushed her off. "Where she comes from, they greet each other a lot more physically than we do." His eyes fell on a smirking Lessar. "Way too much, I keep telling you that."

"I haven't seen you in ages," Lessar lied convincingly, looking slightly disappointed. "But I can see you're busy." She started scooting out of the way. Lessar may have been bold, but she wasn't stupid and suicidal. In a direct confrontation with Shizuri, she would lose. The Meltdowner attacks were pure destruction in concentrated form. She didn't even have her Steel Glove handy. The second problem was Touma's mom. For some reason, her dark aura continued to send shivers down Lessar's spine. There was something she didn't understand about it. _Maybe all mothers are secretly demons when it comes to their kids._ It's not like Lessar knew her own mom and she didn't interact with many others. For now, retreat and observation was in order. "I'll catch you later. Call me!" She bolted out of the store before anyone could respond.

Touma realized too late, once she left, there was no one to distract the dark gazes of the two women before him.

"You know, Mugino-san," Shiina stated, not removing her eyes from Touma. "I may have misunderstood the severity of your early statement about this. Would you like me to tell you how I chased away the other women from my husband?"

"That would be greatly appreciated," Shizuri replied. "Any tips you could spare would help." The green orbs disappeared and she seemed slightly less angry, but her dark aura still remained.

"And you, Touma-san," Shiina continued. "I understand your kindness makes it hard to say no to girls, but letting them flirt with you like that is not only upsetting Mugino-san, but it also isn't fair to them to give them false hope. Do we need to have that talk again?"

"No, mom," Touma said meekly.

"I should hope not," Shiina said and turned to Shizuri. "Come, we have much to discuss."

"Of course." Shizuri and Shiina headed back to their seats talking, while Touma made a realization.

 _Is…Mugino what my mom was like when she was younger?_ He blinked and thought about how his mom was proper around company, yet had the ability to make sure his dad didn't fool around with girls, on purpose or accidentally. She was also comfortable enough with her body to wear risqué clothing his dad bought her. Some of those swimsuits would make Kuroko's choices seem prudish. He couldn't recall hearing about his mom doing anything bad when she was his age though. His mind traveled to the kind of person Shizuri would be when she grew up and managed to suppress her violent tendencies. He knew it was possible, since Accelerator had mellowed out tremendously since they first met. Shizuri was already a very attracted person physically, and his male brain transferred that information to her adult version too.

 _Huh, you actually have a normal imagination of a boy your age,_ Julunggul commented, highly amused.

 _Don't look, it was an accident!_

 _Is that why she's only wearing underwear and sitting on a bed?_

 _I didn't imagine that…. crap, now you are making me…. it's your fault!_

Little did Touma, Shizuri, or Shiina know, someone else in the diner had been monitoring them closely. A man in an old suit reading the paper had not turned the page in quite a while. He barely moved, except to sip at a cup of coffee. The strange thing about him was the golden stars in his eyes. When Shizuri made an amused laugh and clutched Touma's arm, the man's grip on the paper tightened. A slow rip was traveling down the middle of it, before the stars disappeared when Touma's group left. Outside the diner, a random woman's eyes suddenly changed to contain golden stars and she began to follow them from a safe distance.

* * *

"I trust everything occurred without a hitch?"

"All the crates have been delivered to the designated locations, Doctor." A high school boy with a larger build, wide shoulders, and short black hair replied, as he stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. On the other side of the room, behind a table, an old bald man with white hair sat, surrounded by computers. He barely glanced up from his work. "It would have been easier if you just let Sadoa or Chikako meet with you. It's hard for me to travel all over the place quickly."

"The less people who know about me, the better," Ricane replied. "Sadoa does not have the needed patience to discuss strategy, he is better out in the field. Chikako was a close second, due to her ability to relay information, I even provided her with the information to perform two-way communication, but she doesn't have the natural ability to plan long term strategies. I provide her with the required information to direct the groups under her. Speaking of which, have there been any problems?"

"None" the boy replied. "We met with several Skill-Out groups and provided their leader with samples of the drug. From there, they joined willingly. Many groups actually started to contact _us_. They are eager to prove themselves in order to obtain more of that drug."

"It will take time to remake it from scratch, since the city confiscated my research." Ricane actually turned to the boy. "You all will receive exactly what you deserve, as long as you follow my directions, precisely."

"About those crates you had us place… are they bombs?" Ricane leaned forward and looked the boy straight in the eyes.

"If I said yes, what would you do?" The boy remained silent, but made a fist. Ricane smirked and leaned back. "No, they are not." The boy relaxed. "I would not resort to such crude methods. They are simply a new way of communication that the city would not be able to track or intercept. Our movements will be invisible to all but us. That is why I had you all stay under the radar. If a branch got busted and the equipment found, the next stage will be ruined."

"What is the next stage?"

"Patience," Ricane reassured him. "All will be revealed in due time. However, we are ready to start the next step."

"Which is?"

"A little misdirection." He pulled out a folder from a drawer and pushed it toward the boy. "This is what needs to happen next." The boy started reading and his eyebrows began to furrow.

"Graffiti?" Ricane didn't answer and he continued to read. "This is easy enough to do, but what you want us to write seems to moving away from our goals. Stuff like 'The Fallen will Rise' and 'Power Should not be Withheld' are fine, but why 'Eve will return'? Who is Eve?"

"Eve is a friend of mine," Ricane laughed. "But as I said, it's misdirection. We need to make her name and the Fallen common household words. The city can't possibly go through every conversation they record, so they search for keywords. Too many, and security can't keep up. We will be free to operate at our leisure."

"You really have thought of everything." The boy was impressed and he was defiantly going to tell the others. _With the Doctor's help, we might actually be able to change this entire city._ "Anything else?"

"There is," Ricane confirmed. "And this task will actually be a little aggressive. I hope that won't be a problem."

"Most of us are used to that kind of work," the boy replied with a sour taste in his mouth.

"There is one other scientist residing in this city who has access to a vast amount of information, both from inside and outside of Academy City. It is essential we bring him to our side." Ricane stood up, put his hands on his back and turned away. "The problem lies in the fact he despises me. We tend to be on opposite ends of the scientific spectrum of what is considered ethical."

"It sounds like you want us to kidnap him."

"No!" Ricane suddenly grew stern. "I don't believe you will be able to, and such an action would be detrimental to you and me."

"Then what? Bribes, blackmail, threats?"

"He has one main weakness we can exploit," Ricane laughed. "The kid has grown soft." The boy frowned and then turned toward a picture on a screen Ricane pointed too.

"We will be kidnapping these two in order to draw him to me," Ricane declared. The picture showed two young girls, who had to be in middle school. One was wearing a Tokiwadai uniform and tawny hair tied into two extravagant pigtails. The other one had a black hair with a flower band on it.

"I recognize one of them," the boy said slowly. "She's a teleporter for Judgment. Quite a few friends of mine were arrested by her. She's rumored to be a demon."

"The other girl is her partner," Ricane explained. "She's not a threat, but an important piece. I would like you to bring them both to me, unharmed."

"Easier said than done," he replied dryly.

"Don't fret," Ricane reassured him. "While your enhanced abilities could probably subdue them, I have a much more, subtle, plan prepared. I'll need Sadoa and Chikako for it, but I expect it to go smoothly. We have a little time."

"You haven't disappointed us so far," the boy sighed. "I trust you know what you are doing still."

"I know _exactly_ what I'm doing," Ricane replied. "You may go and pass on my orders." The boy left and Ricane sat back down. _Children are so easily manipulated. A small promise of power and a demonstration is all you need to get them to do what you want. This is going to be interesting. I wonder if the city will believe Eve is recruiting Skill-Out to her faction. Their faces would be priceless._ He stretched and clicked a button on a computer to reveal his target. _It's been awhile since I got to do a comprehensive study of a magician. I will find out how to artificially create mana. Kakine decided to become useless and making another clone will take too long._

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Last scene is a continuation of chapter 79. Reason I'm telling you is because the information will become relevant and it has been awhile due to Eve's and Adam's shenanigans. The scene I'm really looking forward to writing is Uiharu and Kuroko. I hope I can do it justice. Either that, or trick Mr.? into doing it for me since he is good at those scenes. Then there is Touma's situation. It won't get out of hand… probably. Haha, who are we kidding?**


	104. S5 Harem Route: Unlocked

**Well, this is the moment so many people have been waiting for. All the action, the adventure, the romance, and comedy has come together to give the most important chapter of the series. The title should say it all. I found someone who was willing to do some proofreading for me in this chapter, (hubb2001) so you all can decide if he's any good or not. He will be fired if it's not perfect. Only reason is because I'm really busy and reviewing will take way to long this time. It was actually one of his reddit comments that directed me to a discord server where I met a couple people who have become high skilled unpaid interns. They occasionally act out scenes for my amusement and I run possible ideas by them. I'm sure they will recognize a few things in this chapter they mentioned and I hope they are proud their contributions have been noted. (They still take a lot of tweaking by me to get them to work though.) Blah, you guys don't care about this stuff up here after reading the title. Let's keep going forward.**

 **aGuestfromGreece45: Nah, death is totally a natural things in all this. It's only thanks to having much smarter and skilled friends.**

 **anand891996: I have Kakine's big entrance, but you have to remember, not even a week passed since he blew up.**

 **Bluejack222: Pssh, what could possible go wrong?**

 **Sergio644: Shizuri Mugino does not get written enough, except by Silverfang88. So there's plenty of room to maneuver with her.**

 **Mizericordia: Shizuri and Touma's mom are way too similar. I have never been good at writing Index, so I guess I have been kind of avoiding her. Maybe she, Last Order, and Fremea could have an adventure. All those other girls will eventually take the lead, though the Imouto army is sure to raise some eyebrows. Game of Touma, that would be worth watching. Though, wouldn't the girls keep killing each other?**

 **Guest: The clock is counting down, that is true.**

 **wildarms13: I know, right? The similarities are perfect. Don't worry, Mikoto is one of the lucky ones. She is going to get a chance to be alone with Touma and his mom.**

 **Guest 13: Silly meatbags and their mating rituals.**

 **amirread97: Accelerator should join the others and just make the harem. Purely to rub it into two classmates that annoy him.**

 **Savaris: You seem pretty confident Mikoto will win. The true alpha may not have arrived yet. Many will enter the ring, but few will leave, except in the harem of the one true king. Pssh, Uiharu is obviously going to kill Kuroko. It's the quiet ones you have to watch out for. They snap out of nowhere. I really wish I had drawing skills to show Shizuri and Touma's mom together.**

 **general ironox: Or maybe everyone will just accept the harem? Nah, that's no fun. Destruction!**

 **Cyber dragonarmy: Huh? You're still alive? Mugino must have been slacking. Now she can't win the hand of Touma, all because you are alive.** _ **Passes note to ITEM**_ **. Nothing to see here folks. Frenda and Saiai should keep you occupied. Avoid the dungeon though.**

 **Guest: 1) Othinus is more popular for sure because she is canon. Julunggul is just popular now because she does what every fan wants to do. 2) I seriously doubt she's a virgin, but with her magic, she could become one at any time. Think there is another god of sexuality and beauty. 3) None of us know what she is thinking and struggling to work out feelings is always good character development. 4) It was only temporary. 5) Of course. 6) I don't remember, but it works here and I wouldn't doubt if she did. 7) Huh, maybe she did.**

 **Driugenesis: Mugino has declared her property already, it's just Touma is hard to control.**

 **Salishious: I'm not that predictable. It's much more complicated than that. Ricane is familiar with Academy City's security and Jason would approve of that nightgown. Shizuri does not know Seria personally. Huh, I like that idea with Ruiko and Accelerator. Worst takes pictures of it to mock him too. I'm pretty sure it is obvious who Ricane is going after.**

 **Syko-Soldier963: Declare them a harem and then run away screaming "Such Misfortune!" The details are fuzzy for him at the end. Everyone likes Jason, so I'm sure Kakine will too, eventually. Tsuchimikado is getting more than punched and Ricane is a Kihara.**

 **Kami: You just lost the game.**

 **xaxiel1572: Remember, you need to read responsibly. People might think you are going crazy.**

 **Agent Nine: Had to happen eventually.**

 **Generation Zero: This slice of life will probably lead Touma closer to death than any of his earlier adventures. Ricane is experienced with Academy City technology. What we saw was one small snippet of his plan. He is only going to tell Skill-Out what they need to know. Anything else is only known to him. By apprentices, do you mean disposable pawns once they run out of uses, like Kakine? Aleister doesn't like magic gods, but she's been staying with Touma, and that is hard to mess with. As long as she doesn't disturb his plans, he can ignore a weaken one. Otherwise, he can get rid of her whenever. Heh, there will be robots. Thor will show up before Othinus, spoiler there haha.**

 **shiroryuu012: All harem fics will lead to this point eventually.**

 **FrodoFighter: Hello, unpaid intern number one. It's just Sogiita. He ignores common sense. Trying to figure out how to respond to most of your comment, as we discussed most of it in discord. Mikoto's mom is very perceptive. She met him a couple times, the diner with his parents, the time she was drunk, and then the big fight with Skill-Out where Touma mat Hamazura. She was also happy to know Mikoto was friends with him at the end all that. Plus, knowing her daughter loved him made him more memorable. I hyped everything up for you in discord, so let's see if you really like it now.**

 **Destati69: Well, maybe that one person who is writing the adult scenarios of this story could do that. Eh, eh?**

 **Handsomistic1: The moms are tight, it's the harem members you have to watch out for.**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

Touma was mortified by being forced to listen to his mom telling Shizuri stories about her early adventures with his dad. Touma was easily embarrassed, his friends took advantage of that, but this was one of the few times he wanted to crawl under a rock and disappear. What was worse was he was beginning to see more and more resemblance between the two. Touma had no idea his mom had been borderline delinquent during her school days, let alone someone who could keep many others at bay. Shiina also instructed Shizuri on how to recognize threats and people just being friendly.

"…and many of them decided to pursue romantic interests elsewhere after finding a few tacks in their shoes," Shiina finished. "There were a few who didn't learn their lessons and my… pranks… grew more intense."

"Wow," Shizuri said, sounding impressed. "Touma never mentioned his mom was such a rebel. Though, I still have a hard time picturing you out of school. You look so young."

"My, my, you flatter me," Shiina giggled. "But I do look back from time to time and regret what I did to those poor girls. It was rather childish of me. There was probably other ways I could have convinced them to leave my future husband alone."

"Would you do it again if there wasn't?"

"Of course. Love makes a girl do crazy things."

"You mom is amazing," Shizuri told Touma, aware of how uncomfortable this made him. Shiina giggled and Touma moaned.

"Mom," he said. "Is this really appropriate conversation with Mugino?"

"It wouldn't be necessary if you didn't take after your father," Shiina reprimanded him and raised an eyebrow. "I'm also surprised you are addressing her so formally."

"I told him he could use my first name," Shizuri spoke up. "But he's been a little uncomfortable with it, so Mugino is fine."

 _She told me that once before,_ Touma thought to himself, but was wise enough to keep his mouth clamped shut. _But that was purely to piss off Mikoto and Misaki that one time._ "Still," Touma pleaded. "Can we change the topic?"

"I think we are making him uncomfortable," Shiina commented mildly.

"It's adorable," Shizuri laughed and Touma felt his ears burn. "But we should humor him. Is there anything you wish to see that I might be able to help with? I can also leave if you wish to spend time with him. You don't visit Academy City, correct?" Touma could only gape at how accommodating Shizuri was acting. He knew she was a good actor, as seen when he accompanied her to the auction, but that was to gain something. He couldn't see what her long term plan was now. She was acting like his actual girlfriend in front of his mom. There was no way she actually wanted to be, could there?

"We live in Japan," Shiina informed her. "But you know how difficult it can be to visit for recreational purposes." Shizuri nodded. "Plus, his father travels a lot so our free weekends are limited." She held a finger up to her cheek. "I was hoping Touma could spend most of the day tomorrow with me, though I was going to meet a friend for lunch and her daughter. Would you like to come?"

"I would love to," Shizuri responded. "Thank you." Her eyes darted to Touma. "But isn't your class doing that auction for the festival? Will you have time?"

"I only need to be there for setting up and closing," Touma admitted reluctantly. He didn't even care who is mom was meeting, but he could at least get a free lunch out of it. There was a silver lining in everything. "Should only be an hour or so both times."

"Excellent," Shiina said and clapped her hands together. "Oh, I was wondering, it is possible my friend and I might want to go shopping. I really enjoy that dress of yours. Would you be willing to show me what stores you shop at? I'm pretty sure my son wouldn't be aware of the best stores."

"I would be delighted," Shizuri answered. "I know many that carry top of the line fashions and a couple of them are nearby. In fact," she smiled and turned to Touma. Shiina might have missed it, but Touma didn't. It was a sadistic smile, one that would only lead to more humiliation for him. He gulped as she continued. "Touma even accompanied my friends and me to one of those. This was before we started dating and he volunteered to carry our bags." Touma had to think hard about this and finally remembered that embarrassing situation. If it hadn't been for Accelerator saving him, things would have gotten violent between Shizuri, Misaki, and Mikoto. "They have a wide selection and I'm sure you and your friend will find their choices impressive."

"Why don't you lead the way, dear?" Shiina said and Touma had no choice but to follow.

They had reached the familiar mall and Touma once again cringed as he passed displays with prices. His parents were well off, but Touma had to learn to be thrifty because the stipend he received from the city for being a level 0 was minuscule. It was only thanks to his dad sending him money he was able to survive with Index as a roommate, though Itsuwa and Kaori had eased his burden greatly. Still, Shizuri made money working for the city and he bet her stipend was a ridiculous sum too. As she always appeared to be updated on fashion, Touma also figured a sizable portion of that money went to clothes. His mom seemed to be discussing something about a dress in a window, before entering the store itself. As neither of them, thankfully, motioned for him to follow, he took a seat on a bench outside the store and waited, glad he wasn't forced to go in. He wasn't the only one out there and several other guys were waiting for wives or girlfriends.

They shared a look briefly, from one man to another.

Touma had found people who could understand his suffering. He felt kind of lucky but, at the same time, he knew what that meant. The universe didn't let him feel lucky for long and would rearrange itself to make him misfortunate. It wasn't something he could change, so experience told him all he could do was enjoy the moment and take what life threw at him like a man. His mom was enjoying herself and he knew he would have to tell her the truth eventually, or things were going to get out of hand. Lessar may have retreated earlier, but he was sure she would reappear with greater determination. Barely ten minutes at passed, when the universe decided he had enough and Touma felt two hands cover his eyes from behind him.

"Guess who~?" a bubbly girl's voice told him. The tone gave it away, but Touma was intimately familiar with the voice. She was also one of the few people who would do something like that. The gloves covering the girl's skin was also a dead giveaway.

"Misaki?"

"Correct!" Misaki confirmed and removed her hands.

"So he does call you by your first name," another familiar voice commented and Touma's eyes widened. He immediately turned around and confirmed his suspicions.

"Senpai?" he gaped, stunned at her sudden appearance. He rarely saw her outside of school. Misaki was still wearing her Tokiwadai uniform and Seria was wearing her school sailor uniform with its standard skirt changed for a "defensive" long one. Touma's ears began to burn, because it had been earlier today that he vented his feelings to Seria and she kissed him.

"Why do you sound so surprised?" she asked, laughing slightly. "I told you before Shokuhou-san and I are friends. We finally found some time to meet up and go shopping, when look who we see."

"It really was a pleasant surprise," Misaki added and then a girl Touma had missed because of shock coughed. "Oh, yes, this is our friend Ayu Mitsuari."

"We have met before," the girl told him. "My name is Ayu Mitsuari."

"Yeah," Touma replied sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. He could hardly tell her he had lost his memories. Only Mikoto, Misaki, Index, and the Heaven Canceller know about it. If she was sure Touma had met her before, who was he to question it. Ayu was very pretty and he didn't want to upset her. She had long, wavy, chocolate-colored hair, as fluffy as cotton candy. Her breasts were smaller than Misaki's but larger than Mikoto's. He found his eyes traveling down her red shirt and white skirt to stop at her legs. They were more than just long and slender, they seemed to shine. He quickly looked up before someone accused him of being a pervert. The gleam in Misaki's eyes told Touma he had been too late. He also noticed that Ayu seemed to be inspecting him closely, like she was looking for something, a sign of recognition, perhaps.

Little did Touma know, Ayu knew all about his memory issue. Misaki had been talking with her several times over the last few weeks. They may have once been enemies, but Touma had saved her in the end and she did not harbor any ill intentions toward Misaki about the past. It wasn't her fault Ayu got passed up to be a level 5. What she would have been upset about was Misaki moving onto Touma. Ayu had been stuck in the Reformatory due to her previous actions and missed some of the current events. Misaki, with some help from Seria, informed her of everything up to now, like how Touma can remember Misaki now, but had lost his memory due to an accident after saving someone. She believed this because it was exactly like the Touma she remembered.

"Shokuhou has told me all about you," Ayu continued and smiled. "I think she might have a small crush on you." Misaki gave her friend a push and Touma chuckled awkwardly. "I don't blame her, I like you a lot too." Touma's laugh suddenly turned to a cough. The way Ayu said those last few words, it sounded more like a claim. Misaki raised an eyebrow at her and Ayu smirked back.

"Careful," Misaki warned.

"Now, now, you two," Seria reprimanded. "Don't scare the poor boy away. I'm sure he has a lot on his mind." She turned and winked at him, which made Touma's ears burn more. From the sound of it, Seria had not told Misaki about their conversation, and Touma wasn't sure if that was good or bad. He then made the decision this was something he had to tell her in person. "So, Kamijou-san, what brings you here? Didn't I suggest you should catch up on your rest?"

"Things took a strange turn," Touma sighed. "My mom randomly showed up at school and now-…"

"Your mother?" Misaki asked innocently and then she clapped her hands together before smiling. "I would love to meet her. Is she here?"

"Ah, no!" Touma answered instantly. The surprise and hurt in Misaki's expression made him feel like trash. She only wanted to meet his mom and he had snapped at her. It was a completely innocent request. He could feel Seria and Ayu's eyes on him and he gulped. "I mean, I'm not against it, but now is not a good time."

"Why?" Misaki asked and put a lot of worry into her voice. "You aren't in some kind of trouble?" To Touma, he believed she noticed him acting strangely, which Misaki was quite skilled at, and she wanted to help. The real reason was Misaki knew _exactly_ what was going on. She heard Shizuri make the declaration about being his girlfriend to his mother.

This would not stand!

If Touma had chosen Shizuri of his own free will, Misaki would try to accept it. She figured Shizuri would eventually hurt Touma and push him away. At that time, Misaki would be there to comfort him and he would realize she was the one for him. If Touma and Shizuri actually worked out, she would be happy that he was happy. Seria would be in a similar mindset and the two of them would have to keep Ayu in line, until she accepted it too. However, forcing her Prince to pretend to be a boyfriend in front of his mother was completely unacceptable. Once Misaki heard those heretical words, she contacted Seria and Ayu to meet up and devise a plan. That did not take long at all with their intelligence and skill. The plan was simple, but it was going to be incredibly embarrassing for all of them. Misaki was prepared.

She would also apologize earnestly to Touma afterwards and do whatever it took to make it up to him.

 _Anything_.

"Nothing like that," Touma answered. "I promise to explain everything after-…"

"Why don't you explain it now?" a deadly serious voice suggested. Touma and the three girls turned around to see Shiina and Shizuri upon them. "Just like your father, I turn around and he's surrounded by a group of young ladies."

"If it isn't Shokuhou-san," Shizuri added stiffly. "You still trying to bother him?"

"Bother?" Misaki asked irritated. "He was quite happy to see us."

"U-uh," Touma stammered for a moment. "Mom, these are my friends, Misaki Shokuhou, Ayu Mitsuari, and Seria Kumokawa. Kumokawa-san is also my senpai at school. Everyone, this is my mother, Shiina Kamijou."

"It's nice to meet you, Kamijou-san," Misaki, Seria and Ayu said in unison.

"Likewise," Shiina replied mildly. "It's nice to see Touma-san has many friends."

"I don't mean to be rude-…" Shizuri started to say, though it was obvious to Touma her words were a lie.

"Yet rudeness occurs surprisingly often," muttered Misaki, just loud enough for Shizuri to here.

"…But why are you all interrupting us?" Shizuri continued through clenched teeth. It was obvious Shizuri wanted to blast them, but she was forced to behave herself in front of Touma's mother. If her stare could kill, Misaki would have been dead already. The look in her eye said this wasn't going to end well for them.

"I actually heard your mother was visiting," Misaki answered and gestured toward Seria.

"Sorry, Kamijou," Seria apologized. "Some classmates of yours made it a rather big deal. I doubt anyone at school doesn't know."

"And when they mentioned to me about meeting up with you," Ayu continued. "I wanted to come too." Her eyes fell on Shiina. "I had no idea your mother was so young."

"You flatter me," Shiina replied and smiled, though there was still a slightly dark presence around her, but it seemed to be directed to Touma, who was next to her.

"But it's true," Misaki added flatteringly. "Touma never mentioned how pretty you look. I'm sure you have some amazing beauty tips."

"My, my," Shiina complimented. "Such charming girls. I don't think any of you need any tips."

"Now you're flattering us," Seria giggled. "But really it is an honor to meet you. I'm sure you have many stories about my adorable kōhai, but I am worried about him. He has been under the weather the last few days and he really should be resting."

"Touma-san," Shiina reprimanded and turned toward him. "You didn't mention you had been sick." She reached over and held a hand to his head.

"Mom," Touma protested aware everyone was watching him, amusement in their eyes. His ears had been burning so much this evening, he began to wonder if they would ever go back to normal. "I'm fine. It was just a stomach bug and it passed."

"If you are sure," Shiina relented, but still sounded worried. "I won't press the issue, but tell me if you start feeling ill again." Touma nodded.

"Hmm," Shizuri mused and saw a way to get the three of them away from the unpleasant company. _Nice, a way out while keeping up my persona._ "Maybe some rest would be good for him. I can accompany him back to his dorm." She scooted over and held onto Touma's arm, making sure to keep his arm against the side of her chest to claim her dominance. Misaki noticed this and immediately grabbed his other arm.

"Oh," Misaki interjected. "It's fine. I'll accompany him back. You already spent so much time with him, it's my turn now."

"There's a reason I spend time with him," Shizuri growled and Touma felt like a rabbit between two tigers.

"As do we all," Misaki replied.

"Touma-san," Shiina suddenly said seriously. Her dark aura increased and everyone suddenly felt chills go down their spines. "What have your father and I taught you about treating girls? I trust you haven't been leading any of them on."

"Of course not!" protested Touma. "I would never do that!"

"It's true," Ayu agreed. "We have known him long enough that he would never cheat on someone." Shiina glanced over at her and Seria nodded.

"None of us have been led on," Seria added. "Our relationship is… complicated, to say the least and will take time to explain."

"Complicated?" Shizuri hissed. "There's nothing complicated about this." She didn't even know Seria, but her instincts told her the girl was dangerous. Something in her eyes gave it away that she had interactions with the underbelly of Academy City. The Ayu girl wasn't much better. As friends of Misaki, it was almost to be expected.

"Would you care to explain?" Shiina asked. "I was under the impression Mugino-san here was Touma-san's girlfriend." Shizuri was about to blast all three of them and Touma responded by grabbing her wrist with his right hand to ensure that didn't happen.

"It might be time to tell her the truth," he whispered and Shizuri raised an eyebrow. However, Misaki interrupted before any of them could."

"She is," Misaki agreed suddenly.

Shizuri's and Touma's head swiveled so fast, their necks popped.

"Then what is your relationship with my son?" Shiina asked. "I take it you three are more than just friends, based on your actions."

"It is a little complicated," Misaki giggled. "You see, we are also his girlfriends."

"What?!" Shizuri snapped.

Touma's mouth fell open as he gazed in shock at her.

Shiina Kamijou raised an eyebrow and said a single word.

"Explain."

* * *

"Should we help?" Ruiko asked uncertainly, as she watched the scene between Touma, Shizuri, Touma's mother, Misaki, Seria, and the brown haired girl.

"Not yet," Jason replied from across the small table. "I'm only planning to interfere if things get out of hand. Right now, it's only a potential explosion level now." They were sitting outside a smoothie joint in the mall, out of the way as to not be noticed.

"You just want your smoothie," Ruiko accused. "And we have to wait for it."

"Judge me after you had one," Jason refuted, as the server arrived and handed him a mango one and Ruiko a strawberry. She sipped it and her eyes went wide. "Told you."

"My point still stands."

"And didn't we have to wait for you to change your clothes?" Jason prodded. Ruiko flushed and looked down through her sunglasses at her brown trench coat and hat.

"Not all of us can change appearances with their ability," Ruiko countered. Jason had used his shadow to turn his hair black so he didn't stand out as much. "So what's happening? I can't read lips, and I can't hear from here." She looked at the small handheld listening device Jason was holding. He had an earbud in one ear connected to the device and it was pointed at Touma and the girls.

"Shokuhou-san just told them they were all Touma's girlfriend," Jason answered and looked confused.

"What?" Ruiko gasped quietly.

"You need to get over there and join them."

"B-but-…"

"Relax, I'm joking." Jason frowned. "What is her plan?" he muttered. "Shokuhou-san always has one."

"What is it going to take to make you jump in?" Ruiko asked.

"When it looks like Mugino-san is going to start blasting or you run over there and admit your love for Touma publically."

Ruiko stuck her red tongue out at him and returned to her smoothie, all while watching Touma try to get out of his predicament.

* * *

Touma was let go as Misaki walked up to his mom and started talking. Shizuri had actually dropped his arm in shock. This was the last thing either of them expected. Misaki had been shown to be possessive ever since Touma had regained the ability to remember her. She may have joked about her and Mikoto teaming up to make him happy, but she never actually did anything to show she had been serious. Of course, Touma had been completely oblivious to Misaki's harem plan if Touma didn't choose her. Mikoto and Ruiko were the only two others close to him that knew about it, but neither of them had taken the next step in trying to bring it to fruition. Touma didn't even know that they knew.

"… and because Touma is a gentleman," Misaki continued to explain while Shiina listened patiently. "He never dreamed of doing anything remotely similar to cheating. It actually took him awhile to realize we liked him." She held up a finger to her check. "It was cute in a way, but some of us, myself included, desired more than just being friends. However, he was hesitant because of multiple reasons, which we understood, one of which included not wanting to jeopardize our friendship." Shiina nodded in understanding. "As we cared about that too, we started talking among ourselves in order to ensure we weren't going to do something rash…"

Shizuri couldn't do much more than gape as she listened to Misaki explain why they had all decided to become his girlfriend. _What the hell is this shit? I thought I finally found a way to corner the idiot and then Mental Out decides she's willing to share? The fuck?! There has to be some long term plan with her. She never does anything on the fly. Think, how could pretending to be part of a group dating Kamijou benefit her?_ Besides being able to stay near him, she couldn't come up with any other possibilities. That one reason didn't seem to be enough though. Staying friends would have caused the same outcome. The only other option might be it will give her a chance to have sex with him in the long run. _That might be why. She was always kind of a slut._

"Do you think this is actually going to work?" Ayu whispered to Seria.

"Give her a moment," Seria whispered back. "We rehearsed this and you know how good she is at persuasion, even without her power." Ayu nodded in agreement. "He may not immediately accept this, but at the very least he will fully consider it, along with preventing Mugino-san from one-upping us." Ayu frowned in thought and nodded again. She didn't want Shizuri to get ahead and Ayu cared deeply for Touma after he saved her and prevented her from killing Misaki. She spent a good amount of time in the Reformatory, but she didn't expect Misaki to forgive her. She knew Touma would, now that she was on the right path. Imagine her surprise when Misaki and Seria approached her and started talking about a possible harem in order to not only pacify the number of girls around him, but also alleviate Touma's fears of ruining friendships by choosing one girl.

Seria was laughing internally as she watched his expression frozen in bewilderment. _He is so adorable when he has no idea what to do. It was obvious he was only going along with Mugino-san, but now he doesn't know how to refute Shokuhou without directly calling her a liar._ She bit the corner of her lip to avoid smirking. _I bet his male hormones are preventing him from denying it now. Boys are such simple creatures._

 _He always would hurt himself if it meant keeping someone else happy,_ Ayu thought to herself, as she watched the exchange. Being only a level 3, though her mental ability was similar to Misaki's, she was a little worried about standing near Shizuri, especially after what she knew about her. Among the level 5s, she was almost as destructive as Accelerator was. Fighting a level 5 took a lot of preparation and, even then, it could fail. However, Misaki and Seria seemed confident enough nothing would happen in this public location, so Ayu kept her worries to herself.

"…and with everything going on," Misaki continued. "We haven't had time to work out the minute details and we needed to be sure everything on our end was cleared up before we talked to Touma. It would only cause trouble if a couple girls began to fight, he would hate that. We were planning to talk to him tonight about it as a surprise, but then a classmate of his informed us his mother had arrived. There was some discussion on if we should wait or let his mother in on it, since it would only be polite, rather than having you find out on your own at an inconvenient time." Shiina raised an eyebrow. "Mugino-san jumped the gun and didn't explain everything properly." Misaki sighed and turned to Shizuri. "I know you were eager, but suddenly proclaiming you were his girlfriend ends up with situations like this."

"I just couldn't wait," Shizuri replied through clench teeth. She sent Misaki a glare that would destroy lesser beings. A look that said, _I will kill you!_

"Did you think about my son's reaction?" Shiina asked Misaki, her voice still somewhat cold. "Knowing him, and by his expression, this entire situation is a shock for him."

"The original plan was to invite him to dinner and discuss everything with him," Misaki explained, unabashed. "But Mugino-san's action caused the plan to change." Misaki bowed her head. "I apologize for the confusion and the sudden confrontation." She glanced back toward Ayu and Seria and they bowed too. Shizuri clicked her tongue impatiently. "I had hoped to present our idea in a more professional manner."

"My, my," Shiina commented, her expression still unreadable. "Not only polite, but intelligent. You really thought this through and seemed to be prepared for everything. Now, I have a few more questions."

"Of course," Misaki replied, her smile never leaving her face. "I know I kind of got appointed to the speaker, but we will answer any questions. We really hoped to win your approval."

"What if my son decides that he is not interested in multiple partners?"

 _As if that would happen, he's a guy._ The thought ran through all of their heads, though in different degrees of politeness.

"Then we would respect his wishes," Seria answered. "It is entirely up to him what will happen from here on out."

"Even if he decides on someone else," Ayu lied. There was no way she was going to accept that. A chance finally opened up for her to be with him that she was not going to let it pass.

"We only wish for his happiness," Misaki continued. "Whether he accepts our proposal or not. We can at least remain as friends."

"It's never that easy," Shiina told her and Misaki nodded, her smile faltering to betray her true desires. "One last thing…"

Touma's brain was finally beginning to process what was happening. He could deal with Shizuri pretending to be his girlfriend, even if it was embarrassing. He could deal with his mom telling Shizuri persona stories about him that she was sure to mention at every opportunity. He could deal with the girls arguing about it because he knew Misaki's feelings. This... proposal… was on an entirely different level. His friends had teased him forever about having a harem and he always shut them down. Even after he found out a couple girls liked him, that didn't mean he had a harem. It wasn't uncommon for some people to have a lot of admirers, Touma was just surprised it was him this time.

This revelation was an entirely different level.

Misaki, Seria, and Ayu, a girl Touma didn't remember and he hated the fact she had memories with him he couldn't recall, said they were willing to enter a harem with him. It made no sense. Why would they be willing to share him among several people? _It's like I'm cheating on one of them for others, even if they agree. Misaki may have made some teasing comments, but would she really do this?_ He tried to think about this rationally, but having several highly attractive girls in front of him talking about a harem made it hard to not imagine a couple of interesting scenarios. One of which involved a large bed at night. He shook his head and focused. _Maybe it was to get me off from pretending to be Mugino's boyfriend. That seems plausible. As if those three, especially senpai, would do something like that._

It was a little awkward about how seriously his mother was asking Misaki about it.

Her answers didn't do anything to back up his belief they were joking though.

 _It's not like this situation could be anymore awkward,_ Touma sighed. _Even if Mikoto showed up._ His brain was still slightly overheated from everything that had happened today or he would have remembered. The universe will always make it worse.

And it was all too happy to oblige.

"I'm back!" a young, familiar, female voice declared an instant before Touma felt someone jump on his back. Touma twisted his neck around, aware every pair of eyes were now focused on him.

"L-Lessar!" Touma stammered. "You're back?!"

"I'm never far away, Lover boy," Lessar informed him, ignoring all the pairs of angry eyes watching her. "I had decided that even if the scary girl was your girlfriend, I would be fine as a mistress." Touma coughed and Shiina's glare hardened on him. "But then I hear you are going with a harem? I'm definitely joining. You can make me your top girl and I'll keep the others in line."

"W-what?!" Touma saw his life flash before his eyes. _Such misfortune!_

* * *

"What's she saying?" Ruiko whispered for the umpteenth time. Jason was the only one with a listening device.

"Shokuhou-san is explaining the harem plan to Touma's mom," Jason reported. "She's making some sound arguments."

"So she was actually serious?" Ruiko gasped. "I mean, Misaka-san told me they had talked about it once and we joked about it a bit, but she was serious?"

"Maybe," Jason replied. "I'm surprised. She seems like the possessive type and wouldn't want to share." He grinned. "It's good news for you and Misaka-san though. You won't have to fight over him." Ruiko flushed.

"Sometimes I wish Uiharu didn't tell you I liked him."

"Please," Jason scoffed. 'It was as obvious as Misaka-san liking him. You two are open books."

"True," Ruiko admitted. "It's why we get along so well."

"Yep," Jason laughed. "You sure you don't want to go over there and join the harem shenanigans? This time, it's not just us making fun of him."

"I… think I'll pass for now," Ruiko mumbled. "I never actually confessed to him and I want to tell him that privately first. I tried a couple times, but it never really worked out."

"I understand," Jason said and held up a hand. "If you need help getting rid of the people around him, Kazari and I can probably take care of that."

"What are you after?" Ruiko asked suspiciously.

"I want to see how big of a harem Touma can actually manage," Jason replied with a wink. "My class had a pool going which girl would win Touma's heart and, in case of a harem ending, the girl that becomes the alpha will be considered the winner."

"Alpha?"

"Never mind," Jason said quickly and his eyes widened. "Ah, crap! I'm going to have to get involved."

"Huh, why?" Ruiko asked alarmed and she turned to stare at the group. They were all still talking.

"Lessar." Ruiko looked past the group and saw Lessar sneaking behind a group of shoppers, before breaking off and jumping on Touma's back. "Well, this is sure to get rowdy now." Jason stood up and Ruiko imitated his action.

"What are you going to do?"

"We can sneak around the fountain there to get closer, then I'll jump in if things get bad."

* * *

"I think I have an understanding now," Shiina told Misaki. "Thank you." There was a rather tense moment where every girl there had been about to attack Lesser for daring to jump on Touma. The term she used was only an initial shock. Moving quickly, Seria hit a point in Lessar's back temporarily paralyzing her, while Ayu pulled her off and kept her mouth covered. Touma thought he saw a tiny green flash of light from Shizuri and Misaki reaching into her bag.

"It was my pleasure," Misaki replied sweetly. "Though, I wish the circumstances were slightly better."

"Things rarely go as planned," Shiina remarked mildly and then turned to Touma. "I know we were planning to spend some time with Mugino-san, but I think after this display, you and I need to have a serious talk, mother to son. Don't you agree?" The darkness around her intensified and everyone except Shizuri broke out in a cold sweat. She was too used to the dark side to react, but she felt the intensity too.

"Y-yes," Touma replied shakily and gulped. _Well, I'm dead._ He turned to the others. "We should… umm… talk about this some other time? Mom and I really need to talk privately."

"Of course," Misaki replied sweetly.

"Go ahead," Shizuri added and gestured with her hand.

"We will talk to you soon," Seria told Touma. "We really have to explain ourselves."

"Be safe." Ayu finished, struggling slightly as Lessar's appendages began to recover.

"I'll catch you all later." Touma replied over his shoulder, as his mother led him away. _I hope._ He walked away with an expression of one being led to a firing squad. His mother's face was mostly unreadable, and she was even smiling slightly, but the impressive dark aura still lingered. The girls watch in silence until he and Shiina were out of sight. Shizuri was the first one to speak and she rounded on the others.

"What the fuck do you think you are doing?!" She demanded.

"Trying to establish my position." Lessar gasped, breaking free of Ayu.

"Just saying hi-…," Misaki started to say.

" _Bullshit_! Drop the act, you bitch." Shizuri glared at her with fire in her eyes, her fingers flexing like she wanted to strange Misaki. The smile faded from Misaki's face and her eyes grew cold. Seria and Ayu watched with interest. It was rare for Misaki to show her true emotions.

"Very well," Misaki relented, cross her arms, and tapped her foot. "I overhead you lying to Touma's mother and I had to put my foot down. I could possibly overlook you forcing him on a fake date to fool someone, several of us have done that, but to actively try to insert yourself forcefully in his life through his mom, unacceptable."

"I have a feeling you don't like my methods?" Shizuri remarked, smirking.

"I don't like _you_ ," Misaki corrected her. "You're rude, selfish, violent and I have no doubt you are just using Touma for your own end. I thought for a while you might actually have developed feelings like a normal human being, but you only show fake affection when someone else is near. It's purely a display to embarrass him and anger others. I can at least tolerate others around him, if they actually have genuine feelings." Shizuri snorted and rolled her eyes.

"I'm surprised at how bad your information is," Shizuri laughed. "That's unusual for you." Misaki raised an eyebrow.

"Explain." Shizuri leaned forward and looked Misaki directly in the eyes. Her own eyes flashed with superiority.

"I do like him," Shizuri hissed. "And anything I want, I will get. Regardless of who stands in my way." Misaki's eyes flashed dangerously and she reached into her purse. Ayu's face contorted with rage and she held up her phone. Her ability, Mental Stinger, was almost exactly Like Mental Out, though it was only level 3. Ayu preferred using a phone as a focusing device over remotes. Lessar also immediately felt the tension in the air change and assembled her Steel Glove in an instant. Seria was able to remain the calmest, but put a hand on Ayu's shoulder, while stealthily reaching into a hidden compartment of her uniform. "Put that away," Shizuri snapped at Ayu and Lessar. "You should know you don't stand a chance and Mental Out here can't affect me with her powers."

"So you can blast me with those lasers?' Lessar asked. "No way. I'll leave when I'm guaranteed a spot."

"Apologize for what you said," Ayu ordered furiously. "He's not something for you to just own."

"Seems like another girl he _saved_ ," Shizuri sneered. "You should stay away from him if you know what's good for you."

"Bite me," Ayu hissed.

"So what now?" Shizuri asked sarcastically and held out her hand. A green orb appeared. "Are we doing to decide here and now, or are you losers going to leave?"

"Don't make me kick your ass," Lessar answered.

"You really are crude," Misaki sighed and her eyes flashed. "You really-…"

"Naturally," Seria interrupted. "A fight between two level 5s in a mall is sure to draw attention. Someone is going to stop you two before it gets out of hand. Right?" She turned to look at someone and everyone else briefly gazed in that direction.

"Pretty sure you shouldn't trust me to be an impartial ref in these situations," Jason answered, as he walked up to them. Ruiko was a good five steps behind him. "But she's right. You both know not to do this, especially now. Don't tell me you forgot already."

"Shut up!" Shizuri snapped. "Stay out of this."

"Hmm," Misaki said thoughtfully, her eyes focused on Shizuri. "Perhaps Kagere-san is right. We hardly have the luxury to play around like this." Her mild tone replaced her early serious one.

"There's no need to fight," Ruiko piped up. "I'm sure this can be settled peacefully."

"Who are those two?" Ayu whispered to Seria.

"Ruiko Saten is a friend of Kamijou and Shokuhou," Seria whispered back. "Just recently reached level 2. Jason Kagere is the one to watch out for. He's a close friend of Kamijou and works part time for Anti-Skill and some of the higher ups. He can be pretty underhanded when he wants to be."

"Does she…?"

"Yes."

"Great, another one." Seria chuckled at that.

"You know what," Shizuri snapped and the green orb in her hand vanished. Misaki and Ayu lowered their own devices. "This is a waste of my valuable time and the hassle after our fight will be even worse. We will deal with this later." She turned and left without another word. The girls frowned after her, but Jason seemed pleased with the outcome.

"Lessar," he said. "Good to see you."

"Hey!" Lessar replied, as she disassembled her Steel Glove. "Been awhile. Did you hear? Accelerator and Bayloupe are finally together!"

"What?!" Ruiko and Misaki asked in surprise. Seria could not resist smiling this time and Ayu just looked confused.

"I heard," Jason confirmed. "Tsuchimikado found out and made sure _everyone_ knew."

"That he did," Seria agreed. "So, since you were listening to everything that happened-…"

"He was?" Ayu asked. She had been too preoccupied trying to catch up with everything happening. Seria and Misaki knew more and were able to spend more attention to their surroundings.

"We noticed him and Saten-san at the smoothie place watching us," Misaki answered helpfully.

"We were that obvious?" Ruiko asked embarrassed.

"You were," Seria explained. "That trench coat and hat stood out. Rule one for trailing someone, blend in with the crowd."

"Told you," Jason said triumphantly.

"Okay, okay, you were right," Ruiko relented.

"I usually am."

"Since you two heard everything," Misaki continued. "I take it you are up to speed on what is happening, so I would like your opinion. What do you think?"

"About time," Jason said immediately. "I had next month for the harem route, but I'm okay with Aogami winning."

"I mean about the odds of success," Misaki elaborated with a roll of her eyes. She couldn't help smirking though.

"That could be tough to say," Jason admitted. "Touma is rather adamant about not having a harem, but I don't think he can deny it." He rubbed his chin. "Address his concerns about feeling it's not fair to you girls and he might agree. Though, you're going to have to include Misaka-san in this. She's probably not going to be willing to stand on the sidelines."

"I figured," Misaki sighed. "And we already knew about his concerns. He explained them already to Kumokawa."

"Then I don't see a problem," Jason laughed. "It's entirely up to him though."

"Like any guy would say no to this." Ayu scoffed and Misaki laughed.

"What about you Saten-san?" Seria asked Ruiko.

"W-what about me?" she stammered. Seria smiled at her.

"It's obvious you like Kamijou," Seria pointed out. "And you know about our plans. So I wanted to know, what are you going to do? Have you confessed to him yet?"

"No," Ruiko admitted and pressed her index fingers together. "I tried a couple times, but things happened that caused it to slip from my mind."

"Heh," Seria giggled. "Yeah, those kinds of things do seem to happen around him."

"I kind of knew about Shokuhou-san's plan," Ruiko continued. "She had mentioned it to Misaka-san and Misaka-san mentioned it to me. We didn't think she was that serious and joked about it for a bit. I really didn't think she was serious."

"Well," Seria mused. "I know you spend a lot of time with Kamijou and the others, so would you like me to explain the details of our plan?"

"I…er… wha-…?" Ruiko mumbled, unable to string together an answer.

"She will," Jason volunteered for her. "Help her get the courage to take the next step." He waved goodbye and started walking away. Misaki and Seria waved back.

"Will do," Lessar said and saluted, before turning to the other girls. "Naturally, you are going to let me in, right?"

"I have a feeling you will find a way to get in, regardless of what we say," Misaki answered.

"Yep."

"Hi," Ayu introduced herself. "Name's Ayu Mitsuari. How do you know Kamijou?"

"Ruiko Saten," Ruiko introduced herself and briefly shook hands. "We met a couple times, but I didn't get to know him until after we brought our friends together. Kagere-san is dating my best friend, Uiharu."

"He didn't do anything to help you in some way?" Ayu pressed, trying to uncover more information.

"Well, some stuff did happen…," Ruiko mumbled.

"Now, ladies," Misaki interrupted and patted their shoulders. "There will be plenty of time to discuss everything over some tea. I don't know about you, but I'm getting a little tired of standing out in the open." She turned to Ruiko. "If you are curious, I could use my ability to show you our plan instantly and then we can answer your questions."

"That might save some time," Ruiko admitted. "But I think we should find some place to sit. I feel like I could faint from some of the information you are going to provide."

"She's pretty clever." laughed Seria.

"Well then," Misaki said and put her arms around Ayu and Ruiko. "Let's have a nice long girl talk tonight." The girls turned and left, and Ruiko was dragged along kind of reluctantly. Exiting another entrance to the mall, Jason was proud of his good deed for the day and was planning to go home and try to get to sleep. Assuming the voices in his head would stop arguing about completely useless things.

* * *

Across Academy City, Kuroko and Kazari were slowly taking the scenic route back through the park. Kazari was waiting for Kuroko to initiate the conversation, but she noticed Kuroko seemed to be struggling with herself. This was an unusual occurrence, as Kuroko had always been very vocal about her concerns, and it worried Kazari. Whatever was bothering her friend had to be important. It was either very personal or she was in some kind of trouble. Kazari reasoned it was most like personal, as she figured Kuroko would go to Mikoto first if she was in trouble. With the lack of indication they were going to start anytime soon, Kazari bit the bullet and spoke first.

"So, Shirai-san," Kazari remarked, in what she hope was a conversational tone. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"It's…" Kuroko took a deep breath. _Here goes nothing_. "It's about your boyfriend." Kazari made note that Kuroko said _your boyfriend_ , instead of Jason by name.

"Jason?" Kazari asked and then sighed. "What has he done now?" She looked over at Kuroko. "Shirai-san, whatever you might think of him, I want you to know that even if he may embarrass someone, he never does anything with a lasting effect. I know that you and him don't exactly see eye to eye, but I want you to know that he always has our best interests at heart, whatever he ends up doing, and he only teases in good fun."

"I know that," Kuroko reassured her. "Even that stupid thing with that cat costume never got traced back to me. And you can relax, Uiharu. I'm not planning to say anything bad about your boyfriend." _I'm more worried it's going to upset 'you'._

"Shirai-san?" Kazari bit the corner of her lip. "You're acting a bit strange. You're calling Jason my boyfriend…like you're trying to underline an important fact in your mind. You and he have been on a first name basis for ages. It's like you're trying to separate and categorize him into something to emphasize what he is. That he's MY boyfriend. It's a little disconcerting."

"Hahaha" Kuroko laughed, trying to play it off. "Is that what I sound like? _…Damnit. I told myself I would go down this path and by golly I am going to do it! I'm Kuroko Shirai and I never back down on anything! How can I approach this when I am still acting uncertain about myself in the first place?! Wait a minute, that's it_. "Uiharu," she said suddenly. "I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to be as honest as you can."

"What are you-…?"

"Please, promise me you will be honest."

"O…K…? I promise."

"What do you like about your boyfriend?"

"Huh?" Whatever Kazari was expecting, it wasn't that.

"Uiharu, please. I need you to answer the question. Don't ask why." Kazari saw the determination in Kuroko's eyes and nodded.

"Th-that's kind of a hard question Shirai-san. I like Tokiwadai and high class ladies, but there is no one 'thing' about them that I like. I like the air, the culture, the high class posh nature of how everyone holds themselves; likes and dislikes aren't something that can necessarily be broken down into individual little factors. The same is said for Jason."

"And here I thought you were going to say _everything_ ," Kuroko snickered.

"Oh, no. I do like everything about him."

"…then why not just say that?" Kuroko asked.

"Because then you wouldn't understand," Kazari elaborated. "I do like everything about Jason. But…just saying that would not give justice to the feelings that I have for him. He's annoying at times-…"

"Hah! That he is."

"He's sarcastic-…"

"Constantly! "

"Sometimes he can be a bit rude and doesn't recognize boundaries-…"

"Are we making a list? Because you forget arrogant and full of himself." Kazari couldn't help giggling at how sure Kuroko sounded.

"At times, yes. Though, the way you describe him is a bit harsh. Of course, I didn't know all this about him. When I first met him at Joseph's, I barely knew him and yet he seemed to be able to tell I wasn't the most outgoing individual. Yet, he was friendly and talked to me, without being overbearing. There was a time when you were arguing with him I may have begun to feel he was the same as you described, but, as I spent time with him and got to know him better, I realized that there was a charm in those things. Jason is sarcastic, annoying, arrogant and full of himself, yes… but, when I look at the things that we learned about him and his past…the fact that he can be all of those things is amazing."

"…"

"I mean, look at what happened to him!" Kazari continued, noticing Kuroko's blank look. "After all that, he did not break. He stood up and he's sarcastic, annoying, arrogant and full of himself but he is also kind. He is caring and he has the capability to hold onto the things that he loves. He joined everyone in traveling to England to rescue his friends. He is determined, unbroken and would do anything for those that he wants to protect. He is a bit like Kamijou-san in this sense, but he's not. He is his own person. To be honest…to me, that is amazing."

"Amazing?"

"What do I know of pain and suffering?" Kazari asked. "Sure, ever since Jason and Kamijou-san have entered into our lives, the things we have seen aren't exactly what we probably expected, but the things that we are a part of have been amazing! And experiencing those things, I can only look at Jason and think that the things that he has faced have been worse. So much worse. And while every one of us struggled, Jason was always there…laughing, smiling and fighting alongside us. He never abandoned us and he stood by our side through thick and thin. Even though this is a drop in the ocean for him, he's by my side now and despite the pain that he's been through, he stuck onto it and found hope in love. He found hope in loving me. Even after losing everything."

"It's kind of foolish," Kuroko said and looked up at the sky. "He knows what kind of pain it can be to lose everything and yet he still wants to keep trying."

"I don't know what I would have done if I was I that situation," Kazari admitted. "But I thought about it a lot after Kamijou-san told us his past and after we met Juliet. I… probably would have shut down, but he did not. For the things and the pain that he has been through, he picked up the pieces of his broken heart, a heart that has all the right in the world to feel pain and withdraw, and put it back together again. He's willing to try knowing he could be hurt. Maybe that does make him a fool."

Uiharu stopped walking and turned to Kuroko.

"He is a fool for choosing the path that can get him hurt again. But so is everyone who gets hurt in life and keeps on trying. Humans are fools, but there's really something special about that. Jason has gone through a lot and there are some parts of him others may find annoying, but I wouldn't change a single thing about the person he become. It is because of those parts, those small parts that make up 'everything' that I chose him. I said to you, Shirai-san, that I like everything about him. But at the same time, I don't want to limit the things that I like about him to just that word. Doing so would be lazy…and for the things that I…that Jason have been through, I can't just say one or two word to sum up my feelings for him."

"Heh," Kuroko said and turned away. "You sound a lot like Shokuhou-san."

"How so?"

"I asked her once when I was trying to find out what she and onee-sama saw in the ape," Kuroko explained. "I only saw him as plain, stubborn, stupid, vulgar, and someone who sticks his nose where it doesn't belong. Not anywhere near good enough for onee-sama. Shokuhou-san admitted he had his faults, but she still loved him. Why? It was because when you love someone, you love them. Their good points, their bad points, everything that made up their very being is what you fall for. If they were missing one trait, they wouldn't be the same person."

"Pretty much," Kazari confirmed. "She's a lot more experienced than we are. This is my first real relationship and it was really hard to explain. I think Misaka-san had trouble explaining why she liked Kamijou-san. People tend to talk about certain traits they find attractive in people, but you have to dig for them to explain the real reason. Even if you don't understand that completely -…"

"I do."

"…I'm sorry, what?"

"I do understand." _Ah…so this is it. I can't put it off forever._

"Understand…what?" Kazari looked confused.

"Those feelings." _That was what was confusing me and making this so difficult. I knew that I liked him… I accepted that I liked him. ..but it was the why. I never understood why I liked him, but I understand now._ "I understand those feelings of yours, Uiharu."

"R-really?" Kazari asked surprised. "T-that's great. I was afraid I wasn't really explaining myself properly. If that's the case, then can I selfishly ask, hehehe, that you perhaps, maybe, be a bit more lenient around him? I know that he can sometimes be sarcastic and a little annoying, but there are qualities about him, like I said that-…"

"I understand those feelings of yours because I have them."

"…What?!"

"Uiharu…I have feelings for Jason." _I finally told her._ She felt similar to when she first admitted her feelings toward Mikoto. A huge weight had been lifted off her chest, but now a stone fell into her stomach when she saw Kazari's expression. Kazari only stared at her, her eyes out of focus, and pure shock etched in every feature. A few moments passed and Kuroko tentatively reached forward to tap her friend. "Uiharu?"

"Whaaa?!" Kazari exclaimed, snapping back to reality and causing Kuroko to yank back her hand. "How? When? W-what about the ones that you have for Misaka-san? W-why are you suddenly saying about Jason?"

 _She's denying it. Then again, I was no different_. "Onee-sama… is after that ape. That race is lost and I found out the one I am running in, is the one that I never once thought myself to have entered in the first place. The one…with your boyfriend." She gulped, but held her gave firm.

"…You're categorizing him… as mine. You…you don't want to ruin our friendship…" Kuroko nodded.

"It's why this was so hard," Kuroko explained. "Uiharu, I can't let my feelings slide. I can't ignore them. Everything you have said about him is right. Your boyfriend is sarcastic, annoying, arrogant and full of himself but he's kind. He's been to hell and back and yet, when I find myself down, he pulls me up. He uses his attitude to make me laugh when I'm sad and will make time to let me vent." She sighed and looked at the ground. "How he manages to still be able to feel after everything he has been through, it baffles me. He is cocky, but amazing at the same time, and the confidence that he has in the things he does and the things that he has seen… I cannot even remotely hope to match." Kuroko looked up and stared at Uiharu.

"I couldn't bring myself to like him at first, but we began to spend more and more time together because our friends are so intertwined. I saw him do so much for you, for others, for me… and my feelings changed. I didn't recognize it at first, it was so gradual. They turned and went in a direction that I never thought they would. It was so minor at first, I found myself beginning to enjoy his company, talking to him more, and then eventually actively wanting to spend time with him. By the time I realized what happened, it was too late. I fell for your boyfriend, Uiharu. I fell for everything about him, as cheap as using that word is. And…and I want you to forgive me."

"Forgive?" Uiharu asked.

"I betrayed our friendship," Kuroko answered. "I fell for your boyfriend and a friend shouldn't do that. I should have just been happy for you."

"Sh-Shirai-san…"

"Please forgive me. I don't care if you want to yell at me, berate me, curse at me, or even hit me. I don't care, as long as I can make this right. I don't want to lose you as one of my closest friends."

"Raise your head… please."

"Uiharu?" Shirai looked up and into Kazari's eyes. She expected to see shock, disgust, or even hatred, but she saw none of that. There was only understanding and sympathy.

"Shirai-san, there is nothing to forgive."

"What?" _What is she talking about?_

"You fell for Jason. …A-and as arrogant as this might sound, I don't blame you. I have a wonderful eye for men." The corner of her mouth twitched and Kuroko blinked.

"I take it back. If he's rubbed off on you this much, then there's no hope for this conversation."

"I wouldn't be talking as someone who fell for him!" Kazari protested. "But in all seriousness, please keep your head raised."

"W-why?"

"Shirai-san, I want you to realize that I love Jason. With all my heart. Do you understand that?"

"Y-Yes, of course," Kuroko acknowledged. "That's why I had to-…"

"Let me finish. The things you mentioned about Jason, I can also tell that your feelings are no lie. You…honestly love him don't you?

"Love might be going a little far…" Kuroko mumbled.

"Shirai-san."

"…..I do."

"….Then that is all there is to it."

"What?!"

"Jason chose me, Shirai-san," Kazari told her. "Which means that, for him, I make him happy. But if it comes down to it, what I really want is for Jason to be happy as well. I can't say that I'm the perfect one for him, even if I feel that it is the case for me. I'm not Shokuhou-san and I can't read his mind. But what I do know is that Jason definitely knows that you love him."

"I know, onee-sama mentioned it recently," Kuroko answered with a nod.

"I think he might have known a lot longer than that," admitted Kazari.

"W-why would you say that?"

"He's not … oblivious, like Kamijou-san," Kazari explained slowly, as she tried to explain herself carefully. "And I don't think you would be able to ignore the feelings you have for him. Even if you don't mean too, you would probably express yourself in a way that others would begin to notice. It would not be healthy to keep those feelings hidden. If Jason has not confronted you about it, he either things the feelings would pass or is waiting for you to tell him. I think you should do the latter."

"B-but if I tell him, then he'll reject you and go for me!"

"…Okay, now I can't tell which one he has rubbed off more on: you or me." Kuroko flushed in embarrassment. "Whatever the case is, you need to tell him your feelings, Shirai-san. Because then, and only then, will both of you be able to be happy. I don't want you years later to look back and think what might have happened."

"What do you mean by both of us?" Kuroko asked and raised an eyebrow. "I can understand me, but him?'

"I've notice how close both of you have become lately," Kazari admitted. "Part of me was happy you two were beginning to get along, but I was also a little nervous. I admit, I was a little envious seeing how happy he got when the two of you were teasing each other."

"I think that was just amusement."

"That may be," Kazari agreed. "But I also noticed your expression under the embarrassment. You enjoyed his company."

"I'm sure you were just reading a little too much into it."

"I want Jason to be happy," Kazari continued, as if she had not been interrupted. "That alone…is the only thing I truly desire. If he chooses me in the process, then that will make me over the moon, but if you confess to him and he chooses you…then that will be what makes him the happiest." She looked away and there was a hint of sadness and Kuroko felt a twinge of guilt. "I would be sad, yes, but his happiness is more important than my selfishness."

 _It shouldn't be,_ Kuroko thought.

"Alternatively," Kazari continued and her face began to turn crimson "…if he wanted to choose the both of us…" Her words were almost a whisper.

"Doesn't this-…," Kuroko started to say and then her brain clicked after hearing Kazari's words. _What did she say?! She can't be serious…_ "No."

"No?"

"Isn't this the same as a situation as with that ape?"

"But isn't that in the best interests of Kamijou-san?" Kazari questioned. "To make him happy? What I'm suggesting, Shirai-san, is that we let Jason choose. And for whatever he chooses, the other holds no hard feelings."

"Are… you OK with this?"

"Jason is happy. And that, Shirai-san, is the only thing that I need."

"That's not what I asked."

"I… would be hurt," Kazari finally admitted. "After all the time together, I would like to think it was special. However, as I said, I want him to be happy from the depths of my heart. If he would be happier with you, then he should be with you." She took a deep breath. "I was actually interested in Kamijou-san's situation because I wanted to see if having multiple partners was actually achievable in the real world. Plenty of books play around with the subject, but they require all the pieces to fit perfectly together."

"…I don't believe this," Kuroko muttered. "He was right. You really do have an… interesting imagination. You actually pictured yourself as part of a harem."

"He promised he wouldn't tell!" Kazari protested and Kuroko smirked.

"He didn't, you did." Kazari's mouth fell open and then she diverted eye contact.

"He really has been rubbing off on us," Kazari pouted.

"He has…" They stood in an awkward silence for a little bit.

"So, Shirai-san. Do we have a deal? Whatever he chooses, we won't hate each other."

"Heh," Kuroko snickered.

"…?"

"You really are…a great girlfriend. "

"The best," Kazari said proudly and puffed out her chest.

"No hard feelings? "

"No hard feelings."

"…Uiharu?"

"Yes?"

"…Thank you."

"What are friends for?" They ended their conversation with a hug and Kuroko vowed she would tell Jason how she felt by the time the weekend ended.

* * *

Touma was sitting at a table with his mother and the sun was just beginning to set. Curfew wasn't for another two hours, so they had time. Touma could feel his mother's eyes on him and he couldn't look at her. How could he? His mother had caught him lying to her about having a girlfriend. If that hadn't been bad enough, his mother found out a group of his friends, and some he wasn't very familiar with, had been setting up a plan to get him together with all of them. At least Misaki had convinced his mother it was their idea and not his. Still, there was one main thought crossing his mind.

 _Misaki and senpai are willing to be part of a harem? My harem? This doesn't make sense._

"So," Shiina spoke up and snapped Touma back to earth. "It has been an interesting day, has it not?"

"Mom, are you mad at me?"

"Mad? No, just disappointed." Shiina looked at him and Touma felt horrible. "Why did you lie to me? I would not have had an issue with you not have a girlfriend yet. You only just started high school."

"It was kind of complicated," Touma admitted. "Mugino and I… are friends." _I think._ "But I think she might have been doing it to embarrass me. I had no idea she was trying to take Misaki's plan into her own hands. Shoot, I didn't even know that plan existed." _Also, Mugino might kill me if I don't let her do what she wants._

"Then why didn't you correct her?" Shiina asked, staring intently at him.

"Umm… I guess… I'm not sure?" Touma struggled to find an answer. "I think because I thought I knew why she was doing it and I didn't want you to hate her. Even if she embarrasses me, she is a friend."

"I see," mused Shiina. "Could it perhaps be more than that?"

"What do you mean?"

"You are a teenage boy, Touma-san," Shiina told him. "It's only natural for you to be interested in the opposite sex."

"I know, but what's that have to do with this?"

"Perhaps," continued Shiina. "You subconsciously wanted a girlfriend and when she volunteered for the position, you ran with it."

"That's definitely not what happened!" Touma protested. "I mean…," he amended as Shiina raised an eyebrow delicately. "I wouldn't say no to a girlfriend, but… as you saw, there are a lot of complicated issues."

"Shokuhou-san was rather details about it," Shiina agreed. "Why don't you tell me what happened in your own words?"

"It's kind of embarrassing," Touma mumbled.

"I insist." Shiina was smiling, but her dark aura reignited and Touma knew he had no choice. He gulped and started to explain.

"Well…" Touma wasn't sure where to start and finally decided on his classmates. "I guess it started when my classmates kept making fun of me about having a harem. They thought just because I helped out a couple girls they all suddenly fell in love with me. I always dismissed them and figured it was just their way of making fun of me, since we make fun of each other all the time. Recently, we sort of… ran into some trouble."

"Trouble?"

"Nothing big," Touma said quickly and waved his hands out in front of him. _She can't learn about the magic side._ "Well, a friend and I worked together to solve the issue and we grew closer. You remember Mikoto Misaka, right?" Shiina nodded. "It was her. About a week or so later, I met up with Misaki, who I had not seen in a long time." _Maybe, I can't really remember._ "Everything kind of changed after that. Misaki and Mikoto…"

 _Huh, so he's close to Misuzu's daughter,"_ Shiina thought. _That should make tomorrow a surprise. For everyone._

"…are kind of rivals, being level 5s and top of their year. I sort of accidently found out they both had feelings for me, along with Ruiko, who I can introduce you to. Then a lot of crazy stuff happened and I found out other girls actually like me _too_. It's all so much to take in."

"I would have thought you would be happy to have so many attractive girls interested in you."

"I am! Don't get me wrong. It's just…" He struggled to find the right word. "I don't know what to say. They are my friends and I value my relationship with them, but I never expected them for fall for me. My guy friends could hardly be trustworthy. When they confessed to me, I didn't know how to react, yet they didn't push the issue. They gave me space and let me figure it out myself, while still expressing their feelings to me without being overbearing. I hate how indecisive I am being about it. There were so many problems plaguing me whenever I thought about it and had no idea what to do. Then I talked to Kumokawa-senpai about it and she gave me some good advice. She really helped me narrow down an insecurity of mine and told me what I had to hear."

"What was it?"

"I needed to be honest with myself about what I want. I can lie to other people, but I can't lie to myself if I want to solve this dilemma. I can't deny my own happiness. One of the main reasons I'm having so much trouble with the confessions is a lot of the girls are friends with each other. Not only would my relationship change if I go out with them, but their friendship might change. I don't want that to happen."

"Hmm," Shiina mused. "Your senpai is a wise beyond her years. I know you always want to help other people, I love that part of you, but she's right. Your father and I have always been worried you neglect yourself for others. We hate to see you hurt and hoped Academy City would help reduce the number of situations you find yourself in."

"Heh," Touma chuckled. "My luck wouldn't be deterred by something as simple as a location change."

"There you go again about your luck," Shiina sighed. "I would have hoped being in a city devoted purely to science you would stop believing in things like that." Her eyes twinkled. "Are you actually saying having so many young ladies interested in you is a bad thing?"

"Yes…no…maybe? I don't know!" Touma threw his hands up into the air. "I'm flattered to be liked by a bunch of girls who really are superior to me in every way, intelligence, look, personality, you name it. But anything I do is just going to lead to others being hurt and I don't know what to do. Mom, help me!" Shiina actually looked surprised and then smiled warmly at him.

"You know you can call me whenever you need advice," Shiina told him. "Not just when I visit. I'll help you in any way I can but, ultimately, the final decision will always be yours." Touma nodded. "Now I want to see if I understand the situation. First, you have several young ladies interested in you, but they are your friends and you are having a hard time getting past that. Second, you believe they deserve someone better than you and don't want to drag them down. Third, you found out Shokuhou-san and several others have gone behind your back in order to discuss the possibility of sharing you. Did I miss anything?"

"There is my misfortune I'm afraid of spreading to them," Touma muttered.

"We can ignore the second concern," Shiina continued, as if Touma had not said anything. "You should never feel inadequate about yourself next to someone else. Don't worry about how special they are, but focus on being the best person you can be." Touma nodded. "You mentioned you discussed your first concern with Kumokawa-san, correct?"

"Yes."

"And she stated you needed to decide for yourself what would make you happy."

"Pretty much."

"Interesting," Shiina mused. _That vague advice could possibly backfire if Touma-san decided to pursue someone else. She must have confidence in their plan or she said something he didn't consider important, but she hopes it will subconsciously stick with him._ "Did you think about her advice?"

"It was kind of hard not to," Touma admitted. "I definitely want a girlfriend at some point. A couple of my friends have them and they seem happy. It may be selfish, but I do want what they have."

"My, my. You know Touma-san, it's okay to be selfish from time to time."

"I guess, but I don't want others to be hurt by my selfishness." Shiina tilted her head slightly and shook her head.

"I… like and dislike that attitude of yours. I love the fact you care so deeply about others, it shows your kind and caring side but, as a mother, I hate to see you torture yourself and hold yourself back from finding happiness."

"Sorry," Touma apologized. "This is why this whole mess is so complicated. Because of me."

"Let's talk about the third point for a moment," Shiina recommended. "What do you think of Shokuhou-san's plan?"

"It's… it's crazy!" Touma exclaimed. "How would that even work? Manga always shows it a huge hassle and people fight all the time. With everything that happens to me, I don't think I could deal with that, but it's all second to the main reason. It's not fair to them! It's going to feel like I'm cheating on them. I know they care about me and I care about them, but this… this is just impossible."

"She seemed pretty sure of herself," Shiina mused. "And the detailed discussion was impressive. I believe this is more than wishful thinking on their end. They are actually willing to go through with it."

"….What do you think about it, mom?" Touma asked hesitantly. "It's weird right."

"…"

"See, even you don't like it."

"It's not what I saw when I pictured you beginning to date," Shiina explained. "I have always believed in monogamous relationships. When your father and I had started to date, there were a few girls with similar mindsets as Shokuhou-san, but I fought back against them to ensure he was mine and mine alone. Time's change I suppose."

"Are…are you actually considering Misaki's proposal?"

"I'm trying to keep an open mind," Shiina corrected him. "And that is only because of what I learned today. The first is you are not trying to pressure those young ladies into this. If you had, I would be putting a stop to it, not that a son of mine would ever do something like that."

"O-of course not!"

"You are actually the one who is most hesitant about it," Shiina continued. "This means you are willing to think about it seriously. The second reason is Shokuhou-san promised that they would respect your decision as final. She and the others wish to discuss it with you and then let you decide. If you do not wish to participate in it, they will accept that and no longer push the issue. If you do… well, I expect you to treat all of them with the utmost respect." Her dark aura flared up for a moment and Touma sweat dropped.

"How are you so calm about this?" Touma asked. _What is going on? Is there something in the water?_

"It… may be unusual for most people," Shiina replied. "And it may not be what I imagined for you, but I am your mother. What I care about is your happiness and wellbeing. If this is what you want, I will support you. If you do not want this, I will make sure the girls drop it." Her aura flared and Touma flinched. "While I may not be fully comfortable with the first option, this is your life, not mine. But if you ever need advice or help, your father and I are only a phone call away."

"Thanks, mom," Touma said gratefully. "I will."

"It's a shame though," Shiina commented mildly.

"What is?"

"I really liked Mugino-san. She reminded me so much of me when I was her age."

"…Gah!"

"Bold, intelligent, and she's very attractive," Shiina continued. "What did you do to have her fall for you? She told me something about it, but I want you to tell me."

 _Crap, I don't remember what Mugino told her,_ Touma thought in panic. He figured a very broad overview would be fine. "I ran into her randomly one day when she was having a very bad day. I guess I must have helped her out, because we met again and sort of begun hanging out more."

"I'm glad you were able to help her out with whatever was troubling her. In my experience, if you let problems stew, they only get worse."

 _That would explain a lot about her personality._

"So what are you going to tell Shokuhou-san?" Shiina asked seriously. "She was planning to talk to you about her plan in depths this weekend."

"I think… I will hear her out," Touma conceded. "If she was able to gather the courage to even offer such an insane proposal, I should have the decency to hear her out. I have no idea how she plans for this to work and I'm going to decline."

"I wonder if it will be that straightforward."

"What do you mean by that?"

"She seems to know you well," Shiina pointed out. "I'm sure she realizes you will be hesitant and has prepared to address those insecurities."

"That won't…" He realized who he was talking about. "Oh. My. God! She would! She's really smart and good at reading people, even without her ability." He grabbed his head. "Any argument I could think of, she would have a dozen reasons why it doesn't matter."

"You really have an interesting collection of friends," Shiina laughed lightly. "Don't let her force you into anything you do not wish to do. If she tries, she will have me to answer to."

Across the city, Misaki felt a shiver down her spine.

"She wouldn't," Touma defended her instantly. "Misaki has always been really considerate of my feelings. She never pushed me into anything." _Only a surprise kiss once in a while._

"Whatever you choose, I only wish you find the happiness you deserve." Shiina looked at him and smiled. Touma nodded his head and looked down, unable to respond to that. "Well, now that we settled that issue, I do have somewhere I want you to accompany me tomorrow."

"Sure, but I have to help my class set up and tear down our festival booth."

"There shouldn't be any conflict," Shiina reassured him. "I was meeting a friend for lunch and I wanted you to come."

"Okay. I can be there."

"Excellent. Oh, the restaurant we were planning to go to is a little upscale. Do you still have nice clothes?"

"Umm," Touma said thinking. He had an old suit still, but the really nice one Shizuri had gotten him had been torn when he was with Mitsuko Kongou. "My suit is rather old, but I think it's still wearable."

"Make sure you choose a tie that matches," Shiina told him. "Other than that, an old suit shouldn't be an issue."

"Okay, mom."

"Very good." She beamed at him. "I'll pick you up at your dorm, but I feel like I occupied enough of your evening. Why don't you go back to your dorm and get some rest? Your friends did say you were not feeling well the last few days."

"Mom, I told you I was fine."

"It doesn't hurt to be on the safe side," Shiina reprimanded sternly. "Besides, I only have to head back to my hotel room and unpack. You really don't need to be there."

"If you're sure," Touma muttered and then yawned. "Maybe I should get some rest."

"Go home, dear. I'll see you tomorrow." Touma bid farewell and left, leaving his mother to call a taxi to take her to the hotel. In the back seat, she began rummaging through her bag to find the hotel key, when she remembered the letter. _Oh, my. I forgot to give him this and tell him about the phone call his father and I received from the Queen._

* * *

"Didn't you promisse your friend you were going to help him?"

Touma was about halfway to his house when the female voice whispered into his ears.

"Ahh!" Touma yelled out in surprise and fell over. He looked up and saw a familiar set of rainbow colored snake eyes on the girl's face. The girl may have looked to be in her early twenties, with smooth chocolate colored skin, black hair, and a curvy body, but Touma knew who she truly was. Julunggul winked at him and help him up. "Did you have to sneak up on me?"

"Aww, did you forget I had been here the entire time?"

"Yes," Touma admitted and then he took in the rest of Julunggul's appearance. "Thank you for not showing up in your usual outfit."

"Heh," Julunggul smirked. "Your mother and that girl were looking through clothing sstoress, sso I figured I might ass well update my fasshion." She was wearing a white V-neck lace-up shirt with skin tight blue jeans. Her jeans had several tears periodically through them, which told Touma they were on purpose. The girl could have been a fashion model, if Touma didn't understand the power she wielded with a mere thought. She smiled and Touma's warning bells in his head went off. "Sso, do you believe me now?"

"About…?"

"The threadss that ssurround you, of coursse. You ssaw what thosse girlss did. Are you sstill going to deny it?"

"… Things are complicated, I'll give you that."

"I have to ssay," Julunggul continued. "Today wass very interessting." A notepad appeared in her hand and she opened it. "I have a lot of information to sshare with you about what I obsserved, but then you went and talked about all your problemss with otherss, sso a lot of thiss iss going to be repetitiouss." The notepad disappeared. "But now I'm interessted in what'ss going to happen with your harem. It'ss ssure to be entertaining."

"I'm glad my love life is weird enough to amuse you," Touma said sarcastically.

"The livess of mortalss are alwayss amussing," Julunggul laughed and then turned to look at him. "But enough about that. Insstead of heading home and ssleeping, don't you have a promissess to keep?"

"Promise….crap! I need to bring Index over to Accelerator."

"You did forget," Julunggul snickered.

"I-I would have remembered," Touma protested. _Or Accelerator would tear apart my dorm room._ "But thanks for reminding me."

"I'm ssure there will be plenty of opportunitiess for you to pay me back," Julunggul purred into his ear. Touma felt his ears burn and looked away. He was not ready for today. He was saved from further embarrassment when Julunggul looked down the street. "Have to go, have fun." She disappeared and Touma frowned.

 _Why did she…?_ Touma's confusion was quickly answered when a black convertible pulled up next to him. Inside was an incredible attractive blonde haired woman in limited clothing. She lowered her sunglasses and winked at him.

"Hah, I thought that was you."

"Oriana-san?!" Touma exclaimed.

"Onee-san," Oriana corrected sternly.

"Right, sorry," Touma apologized. "You're still here?"

"I go where ever I'm being paid to go," she laughed. "What about you? Heading somewhere?"

"Need to head back to my dorm and pick up Index," Touma answered.

"Want a lift?" Oriana asked.

"I don't really want to impose."

"It's no trouble," Oriana laughed again. "Not working right now and I'm more than happy to help you out."

"Thank you." Touma moved around the car and sat in the passenger seat. The second he was buckled up, Oriana took off. Touma sat in silence and Oriana took note. "Something up? I figured you would be happy to be back in Academy City."

"Don't get me wrong, I am," Touma told her. "It's just today has been a lot longer than I thought it would be. I… learned a few things and then found out one of my friends got hurt by Eve's minion. We need Index to take a look at her. You know she was active in the city while we were facing Adam."

"I heard," Oriana confirmed. "So what happened?"

"Cain bit Last Order," Touma muttered. "Misaka's sister." He used Misaka because Oriana never met Mikoto, only Misaka 10032. Oriana almost swerved off the road.

"What?!" she exclaimed. "I heard Eve had someone called Cain, but someone was bitten?!"

"Cain was defeated," Touma exclaimed quickly. "And we thought it was over. But Last Order has been showing signs of Vampirism and Lessar's friends weren't able to cure her. We need Index to check her out."

"Got it," Oriana said and floored the pedal. She took corners so fast, Touma began to fear for his life. He was so glad his seatbelt was tightly fashioned. "When I picked you up, I thought I was only going to do you a favor, but this is so much more."

"Everything crazy in the world happens to me," Touma sighed.

 _Offer her a kiss as payment for the ride,_ Julunggul suggested in his mind.

 _You're still here?_ Touma thought.

 _You know it._

"That would explain that woman who disappeared next to you as I approached," Oriana commented mildly, but Touma felt her eyes fall on him. "So, who was that?"

"Such misfortune," Touma muttered.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **To understand the difficulty of unlocking harems, here is rough outline with examples of who can make a harem at that level.**

 **Difficulty: Child (Kakeru Kamisato)**

 **Difficulty: Easy (Touma Kamijou)**

 **Difficulty: Medium (Jason Kagere)**

 **Difficulty: Hard (Mikoto Misaka)**

 **Difficulty: Brutal (Accelerator)**

 **Difficulty: Impossible (Pierce Aogami) (Seriously, this is impossible.)**

 **Finally, special thanks to MrQuestionMark for his input with the Kuroko and Kazari scene. I had problems limiting which direction I wanted to take it and he gave me a good compromise.**


	105. S5 Secrets Revealed

**Well, I figured most of the comments would be about our favorite unlucky hero finally realizing he had unlocked the harem route. It was a little bit of a surprise for him, but I think it went well. Being forced to ask your mom for help really does mean things are getting desperate, especially for a high school boy. This will be an important point for him though. He is one of the few people to get the option to form a harem. Now, how many will be willing to join or try to steal him for themselves remains to be see, Not only that, can the harem actually survive or will the girls tear each other apart? Most stories only look at the funny side of harems, not the realistic problems. I had a couple interesting private comments about harems, and some I had no answer to what I received. So if I didn't reply to you, that's the reason. Touma's kind of special, so he might be able to work out the problems.**

 **Then we have the important and exciting news. Index III has been announced. Hopefully, they will do the series justice and introduce new characters to a wider fan base. This is, of course, assuming terrible things don't occur and cause it to get canceled. We can only hope. I expect a lot more fanfictions to get started once it comes out though. But enough babbling, let's move on.**

 **hubb2001: You and Frodo need to be careful not to spoiler too much for the others. I may not be able to lower your salary, but I can deny you food for a bad job. The quiet girls have the best imaginations. Huh, I should learn how to pronounce Julunggul properly. I only had to write it.**

 **TazalTerminals: This event is going to reverberate down a very long chain of events.**

 **Blues: The reason this is hard is because nearly all her fans are girls. She is not into girls. Thus, it is considered hard because you have to get her into girls. She also is not one to really consider a harem and does not go after boys.**

 **deathmask83: Well, after she eventually shows up, there is a chance.**

 **anand891996: Mikoto has her own chain of events going on that will sure to be interesting.**

 **SilverFang88: You still are the undisputed ruler of the Shizuri x Touma pairing. It's a lot easier to really focus on relationships when you only have two main people. If it makes you feel better, your original piece is what made me want to add Shizuri into my piece. Maybe when this is all done, I'll focus on a single pairing in a new story. People started waiting something besides Mikoto or Othinus and she was available. Still not as good as Carissa. I made sure Shiina pointed out she did not enjoy the idea, but she also understands it will be Touma's decision in the end. A mother really just wants her children to be happy. Of course, the angry mother-in-law towering over the girls who dared to corrupt her pure and innocent son might be a thing. I need to bring the Birdway sisters back soon too. So much going on.**

 **Kuvukiland: I wanted the harem to occur somewhat naturally, rather than just, boom, harem. I kind of want to know a little more about her than just the two chapters or so before I add her. Her adventure with Last Order wasn't too bad.**

 **aGuestfromGreece45: Those first few things you mentioned are basic anime rules. Aogami getting a harem can't be written naturally. The amount of effort it would take to make it happen is beyond my skills.**

 **wildarms13: Touma's mom had to find out eventually. If you can't get the mother's blessing, things get exponentially more difficult. Also, by telling his mother in front of Touma, he could see how serious Misaki was being. Touma might have been able to pass it off as a joke in front of just his friends. Carissa's grand entrance is already planned and will be glorious along with some of Gremlin. A magic god might be willing to watch over Touma at some point.**

 **Cyber dragonarmy: How are you still alive? I paid good money to get rid of you. Someone is going to pay for this. Maybe I can send you to Leivinia Birdway. She at least knows how to get a job done.**

 **Whwsms: Short and to the point? I take pride in the length of my chapters.**

 **Guest00: Touma made the mistake of planning to meet up with Misaki and Mikoto after the raffle. It's going to be awkward.**

 **Guest: I briefly considered introducing her, but with how many people I have already planned to introduce and have already, the numbers are getting a little insane. I also had a better option available that fits in with what else goes on.**

 **Salishious: Lessar was also going to be one of the first to find out. She likes to be involved. The guys would joke about an Alpha, but will the other girls really accept the Alpha? His mom knows people. The queen is just one of many. Huh, for Saturday? Maybe four chapters or so? Then Sunday is going to have another 4-5 things happen. It's a busy weekend.**

 **Mizericordia: I had foreshadowed her about 3-4 times. One time I explained her backstory. As for the timing, when I started this story, I had forgotten the Japanese school year is different than American. I wanted it to start in the spring, so for the most part, the overall ages will not be that important. The story will not go on long enough to make it so. Only like a month has passed so far. They will enter summer break and the story will end somewhere in there. I'm pretty sure Lessar will just be happy to be included. Mikoto got the ending of this chapter and will have a big part in the next one. Crack fics are fun, but I do limit them in this one.**

 **general ironox: His mom will wonder when he has time to do all his school work.**

 **Acpeters: Touma made the mistake of asking Misaki and Mikoto to help him study. I'm sure this will be a topic of discussion too. The luncheon will happen, very shortly. You like the trio? Huh, you may be unhappy in the coming chapters. Chibi vampires are always a means to an end. I debated her trying to bite people, but I didn't want to deal with a horde of them.**

 **Handsomistic1: The queen is proactive. Subconsciously, Kazari may be slightly perverted. The luncheon is sure to mention the raffle.**

 **Guest: 1) Eventually. He's done a few of them and gave me the corrections. I just have to find time to actually check them and make sure he's just not being stupid. Nah, you can keep working if you want. Hubb still misses things and gets punished with no dinner. 2) Touma doesn't take what she says seriously anymore. 3) Uhhh, no? Though if you want the M rated spinoff go and check our Destari's story. It's lemons… with plot.**

 **akd48: That was what I was going for.**

 **Bluejack222: I flipped a coin to see if he lived.**

 **Guest 13: Mugino needs assistance for sure. She is doing pretty well by herself though.**

 **Guest: No spoilers! People sometimes read these comments!**

 **Noise: Now we wait.**

 **shiroryuu012: Kamisato sucks and just shows up instantly with a harem after having his power for a couple days.**

 **Destati69: Hey, it's the guy who writes the spinoff. Always looking forward to more of your antics.**

 **Jujudude: Most of those girls will appear during the raffle. As for Komoe, still working out how I want her to admit she has feelings for her adorable student.**

 **amirread97: Yanderes are amazing in bed. It's worth it. Carissa's visit is planned while five other things happen. Can't have just one thing happen at a time.**

 **DEVIL ADITYA: Did you create an account just to comment with a name? I have other projects I am working on. I update a couple times a month, but it's not just one story. My secret to writing is I try to let events unfold on their own. I have a rough idea of what I want to happen and then just let the story do what it wants to get there. Don't try to force things or it turns out bad. You have several more NT stories to read.**

 **Generation Zero: Touma's mother is in a tough spot. You want to tell your son what is best for him, but at the same time he needs to make his own mistakes and decide what he wants. Glad I'm not one. Touma's dad would just say something like: treat them well. You raised up the point in how the Touma in my story differs from the LN. Based on experiences, he is changing, even if he doesn't realize it. I did move the Mental Out arc forward so Ayu could appear, but I didn't pull her out of nowhere. I mentioned her 3-4 times. If something was bothering Aleister about what these kids were doing, you know he would step in. As for Kuroko and Kazari, does anything really turn out that easy? Even if Jason agrees, I'm sure stuff would happen during the relationship. I should have Laura order Stiyl to do something. She likes to boss him around.**

 **xaxiel1572: His mother doesn't seem like the kind to freak out easily.**

 **Master Knight Trolling: Yuna wins.**

 **Agent Nine: She based her opinion on the information he gave her. Incomplete information can come up with bad solutions.**

 **FrodoFighter: Finally! You know I can't update without your comment. The title did kind of give away the plot, didn't it? Shiina is just an older, mellowed out Shizuri. Touma should be proud he bagged a high class girl. It's a good thing. "7th circle of hell." These kind of comments are why I always wait for you. Touma does seem to shrug off things that will come to bite him in the butt. He should ask questions more often. You would think Shiina would know Touma would take after his dad and not be surprised there were three more girls. I should make the Mother Scoreboard and put it at the end of the chapters. I figured you would be the one to comment on her clothes. I was rather happy with how the Kuroko/ Uiharu talk went. Mr? helped so much. Now that you say that, asking a mom for help is kind of a cheat code. I never said Knight Leader wasn't the one who delivered the letter. Oriana is always ready to help Touma by driving him around. The thing is, Mikoto is not into girls. It's hard because she has to be convinced to like girls. She could probably persuade them all to join Touma's harem though.**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

Touma was really glad that Oriana had picked him up. They were going to arrive at Accelerator's house in record time. Speed limits, vehicle lanes, none of that mattered in the least for Oriana Thomson. All her passengers kept thanking God for seatbelts. Touma was sitting in the front passenger seat, while Itsuwa and Index sat behind them. Touma only had to give his two roommates a short explanation about Last Order being bit by Cain for them to rush out after him. Index was murmuring to herself, but Itsuwa leaned forward to speak to him.

"I'm not sure what I can do about vampirism," Itsuwa said. "But I heard Bayloupe is staying with them from Lessar. The four of us should be able to think of something. The thing is-…"

"Vampires aren't supposed to exist?" Touma finished.

"Well, yes."

"Index mentioned that when we fought Cain," Touma explained. "We think Eve might have created him."

"That's not something I want to think about," Oriana sighed, as she turned a corner. "But the fact we aren't being besieged by multiples of him, there's probably some reason why she can't, or at least isn't."

"There is probably some kind of ritual for a powerful being, like Cain," Index interjected. "We have to assume she can make another one, if she actually made him, but we have no evidence on when she can do that. Her power is corrupted Christianity and I haven't explored it in depth. I wish I could get her book and see what it says."

"Any ideas on how to cure Last Order?" Touma asked Index.

"Nothing she would survive," Index muttered, slightly angry. It was anger directed at herself for having all this knowledge and not being able to use it. "I have limited knowledge on Vampires, but I'm hoping an examination of the mana lines within last Order's body would provide some clues on what to do. There are some items that also might work, but only two of them have been found and getting them would be a huge hassle."

"We should have tried to take him down earlier instead of waiting," Touma growled. "Now someone got hurt because we couldn't finish the fight."

"Would you have been able to kill him?" Itsuwa asked quietly.

"…No."

"That's what I thought," Itsuwa continued. "You are willing to fight for people, but you won't stoop to killing."

"I was hoping my hand might have been able to cure him somehow," Touma muttered. "From what I heard from Index, he has been suffering for a long time."

"He's not the real Cain," Index reassured him. "It's just another puppet."

"I… don't know about that." Touma's tone made them all look at him, and almost caused the car to hit a parked vehicle.

"Why do you say that?"

"We met him," Touma explained. "And he felt more human than a puppet. I also have some… reserves, about just labeling people puppets." The Sister project ran through his mind. The Misaka clones had been considered dolls and slaughtered by Accelerator, who was led to believe they weren't real people. So many deaths were attributed to that kind of thinking. "He seemed truly alive."

"It was probably one of Eve's plans," Itsuwa explained. "Make them real enough so people hesitate and give them the advantage."

"Maybe…" Touma looked out the window. The anger he saw in Cain's eyes, there was something more to it. "Right around the corner there," Touma direct Oriana. She did as instructed and pulled over to the side of the street. The four of them exited the vehicle and walked up to the front door of Accelerator's apartment. "Onee-san, Accelerator's pretty brash, so try not to let what he says get to you. He usually doesn't mean it." Oriana rolled her eyes. "Just saying." He rang the doorbell.

"About fucking time!" They heard Accelerator yell. "That better be him or I swear he won't be able to work for a year." The door flew open and Accelerator looked at Touma. "Finally. Get in." He stepped back and let them all in. His eyes raised when he saw Itsuwa, who he recognized, and Oriana. "Didn't think you would be bringing members of your harem."

"Shush!" Touma warned frantically. Luckily, Index didn't hear, as she rushed into the living room with Last Order, Worst, and Bayloupe. Itsuwa must have heard, because she flushed slightly, before moving on. Oriana, on the other hand, stopped, grinned, and turned around.

"Huh?" Oriana asked. "Has he been bragging about me again? I have to say, when I first met him, he seemed pretty harmless." She winked at Accelerator and pressed herself on Touma's back. Her height put her chest right at the back of his head. "But he's pretty frisky in a bed, if you know what I mean." She laughed, patted Touma on the back, and headed toward the others.

"Why does she do that?" Touma sighed, completely red faced. He liked how soft they were.

"At least you updated to a real woman from those brats," Accelerator said through a yawn.

"She is pretty hot-… what?!" Touma spun around toward Accelerator.

"I said what the fuck took you so long. Clean out your damn ears!" The two of them entered the room and watched the girls talk. Until Touma was called, he wasn't going to try to use his hand in case it made something worse.

"So Misaka has fangs now, MISAKA brags as MISAKA reveols her theef!" Last Order used one of her hands to pull back the side of her mouth in the middle of the sentence to reveal the small fangs.

"I heard," Index said. She and Last Order gave a quick elaborate handshake they must have developed at some point. "Can you hold still while I check you out?"

"Sure, MISAKA agrees. But what are you going to do? Something involving magic? Misaka asks nervously."

"Just reading it," Index reassured her. "I'll tell you we are going to do anything." She started to mumble after placing a hand on Last Order's head. Worst looked bored and displayed it by moving around sloppily on the couch. Oriana sat down on the chair and began to whisper to her. Worst actually grinned and whispered back, which caused Accelerator to mentally note to be on the lookout for antics. Itsuwa and Bayloupe moved over to the boys.

"She's actually reading her body's magical flow?" Bayloupe asked Itsuwa.

"It's something only she would be able to do," Itsuwa confirmed. "One mistake in the examination would give you a completely different end result."

"What exactly is she doing?" Accelerator asked.

"Ley Lines are magical currents of power that run through the earth," Itsuwa explained. "Using a number alignment involving terrain and monuments, among other geographical interests. They can be changed, but it's really delicate work."

"Disaster level consequences," Bayloupe added. "Humans capable of using magic have their own… pseudo Ley Lines? I guess it would be a good comparison. That is what Index is reviewing."

"Why?" Touma asked. "I assume she has mana in her body because of the Vampire bite, right?" The girls nodded.

"Think of it like a medical chart," Itsuwa elaborated. "When reviewed, it explains everything about their magical capability and status. It's really elaborate and requires extensive knowledge. Bayloupe-san and I would not be able to do something like that."

"Never even thought of trying it," Bayloupe added.

"Will it work?" Accelerator asked impatiently.

"We will have to wait and see." Accelerator frowned at Bayloupe's words and his eyes darted to Index and Last Order and then toward Oriana and Worst. The second group was likely to cause problems, but he didn't know much about Oriana. Worst was probably asking for ways to increase her whorish demeanor to bother him more efficiently. The new woman was highly attractive, even he could see that. Index was at least working, which kept him quiet or he probably would have cursed a lot more. The air had changed when she started muttering. It had grown thick and slightly ominous.

 _It won't,_ Julunggul whispered into Touma's mind.

 _Why…? Hang on, you're a magic god, can't you cure Last Order?_

 _Asking a favor of a magic god? Do you have an offering?_

 _Offering?_

 _Of course,_ Julunggul said and pretended to gasp in horror at his ignorance. _You must present a god with a worthy offering or we don't answer._ Touma waited in silence. _Fine, you got us. Offerings meant nothing, we just pretended they did. It was mostly if we were interested or not. But you still have to give me something._

 _What do you want?_ Touma sighed internally. He knew the answer.

 _Would you part with your virginity?_ Touma could feel the smug satisfaction in her tone. She obviously didn't think he would bite.

… _Fine._

 _Heh, I knew that was too… huh?!_ For the first time, Touma felt the goddess experience true shock.

 _We should have stopped Cain earlier,_ Touma explained. _It was our mistake. We thought he was beaten. If I had asked a certain someone to help us defeat a vampire, she could have truly ended the fight. Because of my stubbornness, Last Order was bitten. I should be the one to make the sacrifice._

 _I almost feel offended you consider that a sacrifice. Many would kill to be in your spot._

 _So, can you cure her?_

 _No._

 _What?! But you-…_

 _Let me explain,_ Julunggul interrupted. _Vampires are an interesting concept. They are not magic gods, but can still claim immortality. They have been around since Cain was cursed. His descendants only continued to wield the curse. Magic gods came afterwards. We may be stronger, but the way they are grounded in the world makes it tricky. If I had my full power, I might be able to do something. Now, even overlapping spell after spell of the level of angels, it would not cure her. Plus, it would make me sleepy. I get irritable when I am tired._

 _Is there really nothing we can do then?_

 _I never said that. You could-…_

"Finished," Index announced.

"So what's wrong with MISAKA? MISAKA asks nervously as MISAKA fears the answer. Do you know the cure?"

"Nothing is wrong with you," Index reassured her and embraced her tightly in a hug. "The man who bit you is the one at fault. I need to talk with others for a minute, but I promise you that you will be back to your normal self. Then we can play video games. I think I know how to beat you in that racing game."

"MISAKA also got DDR, MISAKA informs. It has all the popular songs and a motion detector."

"She's terrible at it too," Worst interjected. "You could win blindfolded."

"Am not! MISAKA protests as MISAKA stamps her feet." While Worst and Last Order began to argue, Index slipped over to the rest, followed by Oriana, who was interested in the situation.

"Touma," Index stated. "For now, please don't touch her with your right hand. The situation is complicated and I'm worried what the sudden negation will do to her body."

"What's the deal?" Accelerator demanded.

"She has definitely become a vampire," Index explained. "The mana lines in her body are completely different than a normal person's. The issue is, the design shouldn't be possible and all my knowledge is saying no living being should be able to survive with this combination. It's the reason I don't want Touma's hand to negate the lines. It could cause backlash in her normal body at the sudden change. The only thing I could seriously recommend that would work, is the Holy Grail, but there are way too many side effects to want to use it."

"Can you possibly untangle the lines?" Itsuwa asked. "Or guide us how to do so?"

"No," Index said and stamped her foot. Touma could tell what this foot stomp meant. Index was angry at herself, not the others. All that knowledge was at her disposal, but was useless. "Trying to untangle it is going to put her life at risk. Even if I was willing to risk it, it would take years of precise work to possibly do something. There is no easy solution."

"Damn it," Accelerator growled. "Next time I see that bitch that caused all this, I'm tearing her to pieces."

"Does she have a taste for blood yet?" Oriana asked curiously.

"Not that I can tell." Index shook her head. "Though, I hardly have another vampire to compare her too. This is all theory and it's like her body completely contradicts what should be."

"I came to a similar conclusion," Bayloupe agreed. "For all intents and purposes, there is nothing wrong with her, except she's a vampire when she should be human."

"Is there a way we can at least suppress the vampire tendencies?" asked Itsuwa.

"That would make more options available," Index mused, as she thought it over. "And would make sure she doesn't acquire a taste for blood. I'm sure Last Order wouldn't want to drink that stuff." The girls put their heads together while Accelerator walked over to Worst and Last Order to break up the fight. It worked, for a second, before Worst slapped his butt and started another argument.

 _Quetzalcoatl Tlamacazqui,_ Julunggul said suddenly

"Catchakowla ?"

"Bless you," Itsuwa told him. She must have thought she sneezed.

 _For the love of…,_ Julunggul thought exasperatedly. _Repeat after me. Quet…_

"Quet..

… _zal…_

"… _zal…"_

… _coat…_

"…coat…"

… _l._

"…l."

… _Tlama…_

"…Tlama…"

… _caz…_

"…caz…"

… _qui."_

"…qui."

"What about them?" Index asked.

"What about, huh?" Touma suddenly realized everyone was staring at him.

"The Quetzalcoatl Tlamacazqui," Bayloupe said impatiently. "The Aztec high priests, the one you _just_ mentioned."

"Errr…" Touma stammered, thinking fast.

 _Repeat after me,_ Julunggul ordered again.

"You see," Touma told the others quickly. "They have this urn that's supposed to seal up things, right? Could we use that?"

"That… is actually a smart idea," Index murmured, her eyes widening. "Great job, Touma. It would be quick and risk free to use it."

"We have to find one," Bayloupe pointed out. "Most Aztec artifacts are locked away in museums."

"If someone going to tell me what the fuck these high priest and an urn is supposed to accomplish?!" Accelerator snapped.

"The Quetzalcoatl Tlamacazqui were the most important priests of the Aztecs," Itsuwa explained to him. "They were the messengers to, as their names indicated, Quetzalcoatl. He was their creator deity, having contributed essentially to the creation of Mankind…"

 _And here's why so many religions are at each other's throats,_ Touma thought. _They argue which one of theirs made everything._

 _Given enough phases,_ Julunggul commented offhandedly. _Every god made man._

 _Huh?_

 _It's not important._

"..The form he appeared as was of a feathered serpent and became the boundary-maker between the earth and sky," Itsuwa finished.

 _So that's how you know about him,_ Touma thought. _He was a serpent._

 _All the serpent gods know each other,_ Julunggul stated.

 _Did you have a fling or something?_ Touma joked.

 _Once, and the result led to the sinking of Atlantis._

 _WHAT?!_ The sound of laughter echoed in his mind. _Dang, you got me again._

 _It's so easy. Now listen to your friend's explaining the important information._ Touma shook his head and saw that Index was going into more detailed explanation for him and Accelerator.

"…the urns assigned to these priests had multiple uses. They were mainly used for rituals to either pass on the blessing of Quetzalcoatl or for people to make offerings to him. Once full, the priests would take it away to send it to him, otherwise it would be sealed away. The thing is, some religious members went further than just offering part of their harvest, hunt, or craft. They offered a part of themselves. It was usually when they were near death, they offered the attribute of themselves that they considered their best one to him. It was a sign of loyalty and humility. A sign that they considered Quetzalcoatl greater than their best qualities."

 _Wait a second,_ Touma thought. _This sounds familiar. No… that urn of his… he can't have it._

 _I smelled Quetzalcoatl on him_ , Julunggul explained. _It was faint, but the presence was on his body. He cast rituals to seal things. If I'm correct, he stored genders mostly, and then there was a time he stole the ability to lie._

 _Most of that makes sense, but why the ability to lie?_

 _Maybe he wanted to question someone? I wasn't browsing his mind. It was only the remains of what was on him._

"So this urn might be able to seal the attribute of vampire?" Accelerator asked. This was so stupid, but he had to entertain magic. He had seen enough of it to realize stupid things were actually possible.

"Theoretically," Index answered. "There's no reason why it shouldn't, but we need to take vampirism with caution. I can't advise getting rid of the trait once it is sealed. What would happen next is completely unknown. For all we know, it could randomly transport to a new host."

"So we keep it in the urn until we know what to do with it," Bayloupe stated impatiently. "But that still doesn't solve the most important issue. We need to _find_ one."

"At least we have a plan," Itsuwa said in order to try to raise morals. "It was very clever of Kamijou-kun to think of that."

"Speaking of which," Oriana said suspiciously and turned to him. "That knowledge isn't common for non-magicians, so how did you know of the urn?"

"She brings up a good point, Touma," Index added. "The urn aside, how did you know the exact title of the high priest?" Touma felt sweat form on his brow as all the girls and Accelerator stared at him.

"You see… well, it's kind of a long story…" Touma wasn't sure how to tell them. He could have made something up about knowing an urn that did that, but saying the name was something else entirely.

 _If you say I told you,_ Julunggul laughed. _I'm going to take credit by appearing and introducing myself personally. Do any of them take offense to nudity?_

 _I wasn't going to!_ Touma protested. The pause wasn't helping his case and then Worst made a comment.

"I think he has been seeing another magician girl on the side," Worst interjected with a laugh. "Bet he's been taking some _private_ lessons from her. Like Tou-san has been to get a girlfriend." She jabbed her thumb towards Bayloupe. "All those times they were _hanging_ _out_ , it was obviously just to pick up chicks." The temperature in the room dropped as the girls turned toward the only two boys. If Touma could think logically, he should have run. Instead, he had to fight back.

"Lies and slander!" Touma cried in his defense.

"Toouummmaaa," Index warned dangerously.

"She is lying!" Touma told her, as he pointed at the laughing Worst. "Accelerator and I have NEVER gone to pick up girls."

"I have to deal with you on a regular basis," Accelerator snapped at Worst. "What makes you think I would want any more annoyances in my life?"

"MISAKA is inclined to believe them, MISAKA says as MISAKA relays the information she knows. Accelerator would not do something so troublesome and the Savior does not have to flirt for girls to fall for him." Touma wasn't sure if this was a compliment or not.

"So how did you learn about the urn," Itsuwa asked, trying to keep the topic civil. She put a hand on Index's shoulder to stop her from biting Touma so he could answer.

"I know someone who has one," Touma finally sighed. "He's showed it to me before."

"Who!?" Index, Bayloupe, Oriana, and Itsuwa asked simultaneously. Accelerator raised an eyebrow when Touma sighed.

"He?" Accelerator asked and Touma nodded. "It's one of two people then. Which idiot is it?"

"Jason."

"Okay." Accelerator pulled out his phone and dialed. Everyone watched in silence as it rang.

"I finally get a chance to sleep and you call?" Touma could barely hear Jason's voice. "What do you want?"

"You will bring that urn of yours to my apartment in ten minutes," Accelerator ordered. "Or else."

"What urn-…?"

"YOU KNOW DAMN WELL WHICH URN!" Accelerator exploded and everyone jumped a couple feet into the air. "The hero told me all about it! You will fucking get it over here now so we can use it on Last Order or I swear I will go over to your fucking apartment and shove it so far up your ass…" His colorful rant went on for a little bit before he had to take a breath.

"Fine… I'm on my way."

* * *

No one was killed that night. Jason did arrive promptly with the urn. He unpacked it in the living room and Index examined it to make sure it was the real deal. Once she verified its authenticity, she got to work with Jason identifying what he normally did with it and if it had to be changed. Bayloupe and Itsuwa switched out with him when he had given Index everything he knew. Touma then introduced Oriana and everything went downhill.

"Where did you meet this attractive onee-san?" Jason asked him.

"He's such a gentleman," Oriana cooed and put her arm around his shoulder to pull him into her chest. "Cute too!" The plus side for Touma was that this time it was Jason who was getting embarrassed.

"I appreciate the compliment," Jason muttered, struggling to get out of her grip. "But I have a girlfriend and I know Touma is very possessive about his harem." Oriana laughed and let him go. However, something strange happened that Jason and Accelerator noted.

Touma didn't deny anything.

The two of them exchanged a glance that said the same thing. _Something happened._ It wasn't the time to make fun of him for it, so they let it slide.

"Where did you get this urn anyways?" Accelerator asked Jason.

"Old teacher of mine from Russia," Jason said with a shrug. "It's great for pranks, but also is nice when I need to question people, especially illegal magicians who enter the city." His eyes fell onto Oriana.

"I'm allowed to be here this time," she told him immediately.

"Oh, I know. I pretended to read the paperwork. I'm more worried about when Birdway-san comes back."

"Lessar did say she was planning to come back," Bayloupe called over her shoulder. "That true?"

"As far as I know," Touma confirmed nervously. "But it's not like any of us could convince her to do something she didn't want to."

"True," Bayloupe agreed.

"If you two help out here," Index told Itsuwa and Bayloupe. "The three of you can recite the spell together to increase the effectiveness. Hey, Jason! What do you normally use as the catalyst?"

"A t-shirt."

"Last Order," Index called over to her friend. "Can you get me one of your dresses you don't mind not wearing for a while?"

"Sure thing, MISAKA replies as MISAKA makes a snappy salute." She rushed off and returned with a white and green dress. Index took it and placed it into the urn. Then she started to direct Itsuwa and Bayloupe on the song. Jason already knew it, so he could remain talking to the others. Worst had fallen asleep on the couch, now that no one was paying attention to her antics.

"I'm rather surprised you thought of something like this," Jason muttered to Touma. "I would never have thought of using that urn to act as a cure, albeit temporarily."

"We were all shocked at the hero's insight," Accelerator pointed out.

"I don't know," Oriana mused. "I was only surprised he knew the name of your urn. He tends to think outside the box when he has to. I've witnessed that plenty of times." Jason blinked and frowned and Touma knew what that was about.

 _He knew he never told me the name,_ Touma thought in panic. _Please don't mention it._ To his relief, Jason switched topics to understand what had been happening up to his arrival. About fifteen minutes later, Index called for him. Touma watched as Jason, Bayloupe, and Itsuwa positioned themselves around the urn on their knees and began to chant, though it more closely resembled singing. Accelerator's eyebrow rose when Last Order started to glow and the air seemed to churn with the melody of the song. When they finally finished, Index placed the lid back on the urn and Last Order stopped glowing.

"Did it work? MISAKA asks confused. MISAKA does not feel any different."

"Open your mouth," Index instructed.

"AHHHHHHH!"

"No fangs," Bayloupe said with a smile, as she looked over Index's shoulder.

"And your mana lines have reverted back to normal," Index added. "As long as the vampire trait remains sealed, you should stay this way."

"Brat," Accelerator said as he walked into the kitchen for a second. He came back with a can of her favorite drink. "Try it." He tossed it to her and she caught it. With a single sip, her eyes lit up.

"Yay! MISAKA cries excitedly as MISAKA began to jump around to express her happiness. It tastes like it used to." Worst jerked awake and looked annoyed.

"Guess the moderator is fixed," Worst said with a yawn. "Misaka is going to sleep if no one is going to get in trouble. Plenty of mischief to cause tomorrow."

"Do you really have to cause problems?" Bayloupe asked.

"Yes." Worst slammed the door to her room.

"If everything is resolved," Touma said, and tried to stifle a yawn. "I think we should get going. Tomorrow is going to be a long day for us."

"Crap," Accelerator muttered. "The stupid festival shit. If I'm not there, that girl is going to keep annoying me for who knows how long."

"Yeah," Touma agreed. "You can't argue with Fukiyose." _I have so much other stuff to worry about though._ Accelerator must have been able to read his thoughts, or at least his depression.

"Your misery should be entertaining at least." Touma groaned and Accelerator laughed.

"Can Index spend the night? MISAKA asks suddenly as MISAKA and Index finished their secret discussion. We can hang out while you set up and then come see you when the festival starts."

"Can I?" Index asked Touma.

"It's up to Accelerator," Touma replied. "It's his house."

"You brats really want to make this more annoying for me," Accelerator groaned. "Who's going to watch you two… and Worst?"

"I can," Bayloupe responded. "It's not that big of a deal. You usually let Worst do whatever she wants anyways if it doesn't affect us."

"Don't encourage them," he growled. Index and Last Order looked at him with big sad eyes. "Fine, but you two are her responsibility." He pointed toward Bayloupe. "Oh, and speaking of you. If you accompany them to the festival, some of the idiots will try to ask you stupid questions."

"About?"

"You being his girlfriend," Jason explained with a grin. "Most of the class didn't believe it when we found out."

"Oh, so simple answers then?"

"Try to avoid answering them as much as possible," Touma advised. "They have the ability to turn everything you say into something perverted." Jason laughed.

"I really should just skip it," Accelerator mumbled.

"Kagere-san," Itsuwa spoke up. "What do you want to do with the urn?"

"I'll take it back with me," Jason answered. "I have a spot where it will remain safe. Let me know when you come up with a more permanent solution."

"Take care," Index told him. "Thank you so much for letting us use it."

"Thank you for returning MISAKA back to normal, MISAKA thanks gratefully as MISAKA bows her head in respect."

"Stop, you two are making me blush."

"I heard he has a girlfriend," Oriana added and winked to them. "You might be too late to thank him properly." Last Order and Index tilted their heads in confusion and she opened her mouth to explain.

"Get out!" Accelerator yelled. "I am not in the mood to deal with another one tonight!"

"I have to get going anyways," Oriana laughed and she turned toward Jason, Touma, and Itsuwa. "Sorry, I really am running late. I won't be able to take you back."

"It's no problem," Touma said dismissively. "You helped plenty."

"Thank you for the ride earlier," Itsuwa said gratefully.

"Eh, I can cut across town pretty easily," Jason said with a shrug. The four of them said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Accelerator made sure the door was locked behind them before plopping down on the couch.

 _This fucking garbage is finally done, maybe I get some rest._ The good thing with Index being over is that most of the time she and Last Order would do things on their own without him. He only had to go with them when they wanted to go somewhere. He closed his eyes, but opened one when Bayloupe sat down on the couch next to him. Last Order was showing Index her new games and they were starting up the consul. They had an hour or two before they needed to sleep, so it wasn't a big deal. "Keep the volume down so I can sleep, brats."

"Okay," they chanted back.

"You act tough," Bayloupe whispered to him. "But the more time I spend here, the more I see how much you like everyone."

"Shut up or I'll kick you out too."

* * *

Jason was several blocks away before he pulled out his phone. His other arm was carefully and firmly holding onto the box with the urn, but as a precaution, his shadow was wrapped around it too. This might have been a completely normal action for anyone, but there was something special about his phone. The call he was making was not on normal electronic channels, it wasn't even a science channel. A small rune on the phone started to glow, but the phone never turned on. "It was easier than expected," Jason said to the person on the other end. The rune not only transmitted the connection, but protected their conversation from being heard by outside means.

"Oh?" the young female voice said with a giggle. "Do tell."

"I didn't even have to pretend to come up with the idea," Jason explained. "They called me to fix her. I have the attribute sealed away until we are ready for it."

"Perfect. It's best they forget about it for now and worry about other things. We can release it back into her when we are ready to grab the final wing."

"I almost feel bad for that poor girl." the female laughed. "To constantly be used by others, such a sad fate."

"Aren't all of us being used by someone else?" Jason asked.

"True. Life is a lot like chess in that regard. You think you are making a good move, but most of the time, you are being manipulated to do so by someone better."

"I do have one cause for concern," Jason muttered.

"What is it?" The voice actually grew serious. The person on the other end noted Jason's change in tone.

"Touma Kamijou somehow knew the name of the urn without me telling him."

"Perhaps you offhandedly mentioned it to him?"

"No, I know for a fact I did not."

"That is disturbing then." The female voice went silent for a moment. "I'll take a look and see if someone is leaking information under us. For now, I think you deserve a break."

"About time. You may help me occasionally, but I'm the one who has to keep up my place here too."

"How's Juliet doing?"

"Much better now that her emotions are in check," Jason sighed and paused. "She says hi by the way and… she's not sorry to hear about Adam."

"Adam will be back in time. I'm just glad she's happy. See, I always fulfill my promises."

"Yeah, just watch out for the twists and fine print."

"I shouldn't have anything big for you this weekend, but afterwards, I want you to take care of a problem stationed in the city. I recommend brainstorming a bit when you have time."

"What do I need to do?"

"The Saint, Kaori Kanzaki, is becoming a nuisance. I want her out of the picture."

"You certainly don't give me easy tasks," Jason groaned.

"By herself, her power is great, but still easily manageable. The thing is, power stacks up and I want to remove the key pieces. You will take their bishop, so we may prepare to strike the king."

"Direct assault won't work for me," Jason sighed. "I'll think about it a bit and get back to you. May need something made."

"I accept that."

"Thanks for not making me do anything this weekend though. Way too much stuff going on."

"Aww, don't tell me you enjoy your new life?"

"It has its high points," Jason laughed. "I like a few things about it."

"You aren't going to betray me, right?" The girl's voice grew cold.

"Not unless killing God somehow makes smoothies disappear. Found a place that makes the best ones."

* * *

The next day was supposed to be one of excitement, but Touma was dreading every moment the second he woke up.

It was the day of the festival.

This was the day that could possibly mark the end of his life. He had been prepared to do some silly carnival game and even prayed that Jason's idea of a kissing booth would be shut down. Now, he wasn't sure if this idea was any better. The raffle itself wouldn't be that horrible, but the day he would be spending at another person's school would be. What made it so horrible was he would have to keep up the masquerade of being Kami the Harem King, right after he found out Misaki was actually trying to get him a harem for some crazy reason. Lessar had also woken up early and disappeared, which was never a good sign. There were so many things he was worried about as he got dressed.

 _Who on earth would want to win a day with Kami?_ Touma thought desperately. _I don't think it's going to be nearly as popular as my friends think, I hope. Misaki and Mikoto will probably buy a few, Ruiko too, but most girls would probably dislike the idea of being around a player like him. Some girls at the high school might be interested, they were a lot more mature and a couple of them might think Kami would be fun to hang out with. I bet it will be mostly guys who think Kami can teach them to make a harem or something stupid like that. Maybe up their social status by hanging out with a level 5. Mikoto complains about how people only see her as some kind of idol rather than who she is. Wait, my class was convinced I'm not Kami, but if I'm gone Monday when Kami is supposed to be at another school, it's going to be obvious! Crap. I'll have to think of some kind of excuse._

"Are you okay?" Itsuwa asked worriedly. "You seem tired. Couldn't sleep?" Touma realized he had mechanically walked into the kitchen.

"No," he lied. True, today was going to be hectic, but the reason he couldn't sleep was because he read the letter Agnese had given him. His resident snake goddess had been right. It was a love letter. Touma was also sure the stuff written down was frowned upon for nuns and that was why he was supposed to open it in secret. "It's just today is going to be a really long day and I need to talk to several people about some sensitive topics. Then my class is having a big raffle as part of the festivities, so I have to help out there too." He yawned and stretched, before sitting down at the table. Itsuwa put a plate of scrambled eggs and vegetables in front of him. "I know I have told you this before, but Itsuwa, thank you so much for all that you do here. You will make a great wife to some lucky guy."

"I-it's n-no t-trouble at a-all," stammered Itsuwa, beet red. She turned and put her hands to her cheeks when Touma was busy digging into his food. _Calm down, it's his kind nature to compliment you. You know what you have to do. Try to get alone with him today, even if it's only a short time, and have fun._ "I did hear about the festival. It looked like fun and I was planning to escort Index around, but she will be hanging out with Last Order, Accelerator, and Bayloupe, so my day is pretty free. If you are free for a little bit, would you like to visit part of it together?" She held her breath waiting for an answer.

"I have to set up," Touma muttered to himself. "Then I promised to meet a few others before I have to meet my mom…"

 _His mom?_

"…and there's no telling how long that will be, but then I don't have to be anywhere until closing." _I really do owe her a lot and Itsuwa is so nice. It's calming to be around her._ "Sure, Itsuwa. It will be fun to hang out. Would around two be okay?"

"T-that will be fine," She answered immediately. "Where would you like to meet?"

"I'm not sure where my mom's taking me to meet her friend," Touma admitted. "Can I call you when I'm free and we can decide from there?"

"I'm okay with that." Itsuwa beamed at him as he stood up.

"The food was delicious," Touma told her. "I have to get going or Fukiyose is going to kill me."

"Good luck and try to have some fun." Itsuwa watched him leave and then put his plate in the sink. She wasn't sure what to do now. The courage of asking Touma out had faded and, even though he was mainly doing it as her friend, it was a start. After she took a deep breath, she picked up her phone and made the decision.

It was time for some advice from the other Amakusa.

* * *

"Huh," Seiri commented in surprise and stared at her phone. "You're actually on time."

"Why do you sound so surprised?" Touma asked, slightly hurt. "I'm only late some of the time."

"Because when you are late moral drops," Seiri pointed out and made a note on her clipboard. "The others actually arrived already and are out back getting the raffle container." She sighed. "They wouldn't tell me what they are using, so do you know?"

"I don't," Touma admitted and they both rubbed their noses.

"It's going to be stupid, isn't it?"

"Probably." Seiri looked at him and then looked around to make sure none was close enough to eavesdrop.

"I've wanted to say this for some time now," She told him. "But I'm glad you seem to be improving."

"Improving? You mean like in school?"

"Well, yes," Seiri agreed. "You haven't been assigned nearly as many supplementary classes, right?" Touma nodded. "I'm glad to see you taking your studies seriously, but I also noticed you don't get involved in your friends' antics nearly as much anymore."

"They still rope me in," Touma chuckled. "It can be a little annoying at times, but they are still my best friends. I actually enjoy some of our arguments."

"I did say nearly as much," Seiri pointed out. "What I'm trying to say, is you seem to be maturing and, while you still come in depressed now and then, you seem to be happier overall."

"You think?" Touma asked.

"Pretty sure," Seiri replied. Her voice lowered. "I think it's because you seem to have a lot more friends. While I do not condone the actions you and the idiot trio take most of the time," her glare intensified for a moment and Touma sweat drop, "but I did notice a lot of people seem to be hanging around you. I've seen you on the streets from time to time and noticed you with other people." Touma noticed she didn't mention if they were boys or girls. "And I believe they are having a positive impact on you."

 _Really?_ Touma thought. He took note that the past several weeks were pretty crazy, but a lot had happened. His relationship with Mikoto changed dynamic by accident and he met several smart and talented individuals. Misaki had helped him several times and even Shizuri had an impact on him, ignoring the life or death situations around her. "Now that you say it, I think you're right. I still have a lot of bad luck, but the high points more than make up for it."

"Finally," Seiri said triumphantly and poke him in the chest. "I've been telling you for ages to stop blaming bad luck on your shortcomings. You need to work on improving yourself to overcome those."

 _My bad luck is beyond my control,_ Touma thought and stared at his hand unconsciously. "That might be harder than you-…ow!" Seiri flicked him in the head.

"No excuses!" She put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "Just work harder. Maybe change your diet to something healthier and you won't be so sluggish all the time." Touma remained silent because previous experience told him if he opened his mouth again, he was going to get punched. "Follow me, Kamijou," she ordered suddenly. "We need to make sure the tables and chairs are available and that the money boxes are secure. I'm going to have to be here all day to make sure people count right." Touma frowned when he heard her mutter the last part.

"Wait, Fukiyose," Touma said carefully. "Are you actually planning to work our booth, all day?"

"Of course," she declared. "Someone has to make sure no one tries to steal and can make basic change."

"But, it's a festival," Touma protested. "You should get out and enjoy yourself. Have some fun."

"There are plenty of opportunities to have fun," Seiri informed him. "But responsibilities come first."

"But-…"

"What do you suggest then?" Seiri asked him sternly. "Leave it to Aogami and Tsuchimikado? I could trust Kagere and Accelerator to man it, but they already plan to leave after they set up."

"We are in high school," Touma pointed out. "I'm pretty sure most of the people in our class can count money. Besides, you won't be able to be everywhere at once and, if you believe the rest of the class's wild theories of how popular this is going to be, you won't be able to keep up."

"Who's going to keep order then?"

"Isn't that why we have multiple people there?" Touma asked. "And the teachers are patrolling the grounds, so it shouldn't get to out of hand." Seiri raised an eyebrow and Touma saw an opportunity. "Jason and I, along with a group of our friends, are planning to enjoy the festival after we set up. Why don't you join us? At least for a little bit. Think of it as… a break?"

"Seriously, that's the best you could come up with?" Seiri rolled her eyes.

"Everyone deserves a break," Touma pressed on. "An hour or two won't hurt and I think we can trust the rest of our class."

"Hmm," Seiri murmured in thought. "I suppose I can trust them for that long, as we have a log of who showed up if they decide to help themselves to some money." She pursed her lips. "Alright, I guess that does sound like fun. Though, can I invite Aisa along? She could use some social interactions with people."

"Sure." Touma didn't have any problem with Aisa and he actually agreed with Seiri. Aisa didn't have much presence and only occasionally hung out with Index. It would be good for her to meet other people. He and Jason were supposed to meet Mikoto, Kuroko, Ruiko, and Uiharu, plus he figured with his luck a few other people would see them at some point. "I don't see any problem with that."

"Then let's get to work," Seiri said, though she looked slightly more cheerful. "Everything still needs to be set up and procedures for money collecting need to be established." She looked over her shoulder. "I'm worried because I had to leave them alone. It's been quiet, far too quiet."

"They won't do any…. No, they definitely are up to something. We should stop them." As if to answer their fears, Jason came running out from around the school and slid to a stop about thirty feet from the main entrance. He held a walkie-talkie up to his mouth the second he stopped.

"In position. Go ahead and send it, over."

"Accelerator has launched it. Repeat, Accelerator has launched it, over." Touma recognized Motoharu's voice.

"What are they-…?" Seiri's question was quickly answered when they saw something fly over the school building. It was a large metal container and was heading straight toward Jason. This was what he must have been expecting because his shadow emerged and wrapped around the container the second it was in range. It a single fluid motion, he twirled in and set it down lightly on the ground. A second object flew over the building and Accelerator landed on the ground, leaving only a small indention as he controlled his descent.

"Aim was perfect," Jason told him.

"Naturally." Accelerator sounded like anything else would have been impossible.

"WHAT DO YOU TWO THINK YOU ARE DOING?!" Seiri roared at them, causing Touma to jump.

"The thing was heavy so it was faster to do this than carry it around the school," Accelerator answered, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What if someone got hurt?!" Seiri demanded.

"That is why I came here to catch it and make sure the area was clear," Jason explained. Motoharu and Aogami suddenly ran out from the side of the school.

"Did you get it?!" Pierce called out and Jason gave a thumbs up.

"Looks like our plan went without a hitch," Motoharu laughed.

"You idiots!" Seiri yelled. "At the very least, give some warning!"

"Hey, Kami-yan!" Motoharu greeted, acting as if Seiri wasn't yelling at them. "So you decided to make it? What you think of the raffle container?"

"Does it have to be that big?" Touma asked and shook his head. The pure metal container was easily three times the size of the ones he saw on TV. It would be hard for him to reach the bottom if the opening was on the top. There was a crank on one side to keep mixing everything up. "Do you really think this raffle is going to need that size?"

"Kami-yan, Kami-yan," Pierce explained and through his arm over Touma's shoulders. "You underestimate the popularity of Kami the Harem King. This might not even be big enough, but if it fills up, we will just have to end the raffle."

"We have tons of ticket rolls made too," Motoharu added. "So all we have left is the tables and layout." His eyes flickered to Seiri. "I assume Fukiyose-sama has that planned out."

"I do," huffed Seiri. "The stuff should have been delivered into room 122. Let's go get them. Accelerator, can you stay here and watch our spot? I heard a couple other classes wanting to try to steal it since it's right by the entrance."

"Whatever." If he didn't have to do anything, Accelerator wasn't going to complain that much.

Touma, Seiri, Aogami, Motoharu, and Jason worked together to remove half a dozen tables, some rope off lines, and chairs. It wasn't hard work, but they had to move quickly to get everything set up in time before the festival started and the school ground gates opened to the public. Touma had to admit, they had the perfect spot. As soon as the visitors entered their school grounds, their raffle would be the first thing they saw. Touma and Seiri helped straighten out the tables and anchor them to the ground, something Motoharu suggested as a just in case thing. Jason set up the chairs, while Motoharu and Pierce put up a large free standing signs around and a huge poster on the school building directly behind them. No one would miss their booth. Accelerator didn't have to do much, because as long as he wasn't using his power, he still needed the crutch.

Once their booth was ready and the ropes set up to form two lines to funnel their visitors, they stepped back to admire their work. Their plan was simple. Two lines to speed up traffic and each side had a money collector. The collector would then pass a piece of paper to the ticket handler, who would then count out tickets. The buyer would fill out their name, school, and student ID number before they could put the ticket in the raffle container. The tables at the side were set up with pens for them to use. It might be slightly time consuming, but they didn't want to risk just having a ticket stub that could be lost. Whoever won had to be present and present their student ID, otherwise, another ticket would be drawn.

"Looks ready," Seiri told them and then glanced at her watch. "We still have thirty minutes before the festival officially starts and the first group to relieve us should be here in fifteen minutes or so, or else." Everyone except Accelerator gulped at the thought of what would happen if someone skived off on their duties.

"Seems like most of the booths are ready," Motoharu pointed out. "And a lot of them are capitalizing on the fact we have Kami as a prize in our raffle. One stall was selling paintings and are willing to do portraits of people for a little extra. Lot of them have Kami with other people in them." Touma muttered incomprehensibly under his breath at this.

"Might have to drop by when Kazari arrives," Jason said with a shrug. "A personal portrait sounds like a nice gift."

"Yeah, yeah," Pierce said irritated and punched Jason's shoulder. "You have a girlfriend, don't rub it in." Jason punched him back.

"At least I don't have a harem and rub that into people's faces," he replied instantly.

"True," Motoharu agreed. "Only a jerk does that." All three pairs of eyes fell onto Touma.

"What?!" Touma demanded. "That bet of yours may still be in effect, but you know damn well what I would say!"

"Kagere and I saw him with a blonde woman who wore very little clothes," Accelerator added conversationally. Everyone turned to him and Touma's mouth fell open in shock.

"Why?!" he wailed at the betrayal. Accelerator only shrugged.

"Thomson-san was… well, daaamn is the only good word to describe her," Jason admitted. "She also had Touma call her onee-san."

"Bastard!" Motoharu and Pierce yelled out simultaneously and a fist fight between the three of them started.

"Just…why?" Seiri asked Accelerator and Jason.

"Why, what?" Accelerator asked with false innocence.

"That woman was really hot," Jason said. "Everything I said was true."

"You do know there is something as giving unnecessary information, right?" Seiri pointed out and Jason only shrugged. The fighting between the Delta Force members began to escalate into a verbal match about what waifus were considered top tier and Seiri made a fist. "One second, I need to make the idiots realize their mistake." She walked over and proceeded to teach those three who was really in charge.

"How's Last Order?" Jason asked.

"Normal when I left," Accelerator muttered back.

"That's good."

"Why did you even have that urn anyways?"

"To prank Touma."

That was all the information Accelerator needed.

* * *

"Hi guys!" Ruiko greeted Touma and Jason brightly.

"Hey," Touma greeted her back and Jason waved. "Is Mikoto not with you?" he asked confused. The second the clock struck the top of the hour and the school gates opened, a crowd flooded in. As everyone in his class expected, a good portion of them headed toward the raffle booth. Touma saw so many people he did not know quickly file to get a chance to enter. Seiri went off to talk to Aisa about joining Touma and his friends, while he and Jason waited for the others. Ruiko, Kazari, and Kuroko showed up about ten minutes after opening.

"Something came up," Kuroko explained. "She really wanted to come, but will be occupied until this afternoon." Kuroko actually knew why. Mikoto had frantically explained the situation to her last night about her mother coming to town. Due to some family time, Mikoto was not able to go with them to visit Touma's stall that morning for some reason. The exact reason was never really explained by Mikoto. However, when Kuroko asked if she was okay with her coming, Mikoto told her to go meet the others. The only reason Kuroko wasn't too worried was Mikoto promised they would hang out that afternoon. "So your booth is really popular," she commented conversationally.

"We knew it would be," laughed Jason and threw an arm around Kazari. "At least we aren't stuck distributing tickets. I'm sure it's going to get a lot busier once attendance picks up. Speaking of which," he turned to Ruiko. "You might want to get in line."

"Oh, right! I'll be right back." She rushed off and got into line, but it would be a little bit before she managed to actually buy the tickets.

"She is jealous you haven't visited our school yet, Kamijou-san," Kazari giggled. "I gave her a little bit of my money to help her out but, judging from that line, it's not going to help a lot."

"Well," Touma muttered, aware Kuroko was glaring at him. "Every time I visited another school, there's usually been a weird reason why. I'm sure if aliens or something attack your school, I'll be stuck in the middle of it." Kazari giggled again and there was even a trace of a smirk on Kuroko's face.

"We kept the ticket prices down," Jason admitted. "So everyone could easily answer, but that might come back to bite us if certain people decide to spend all their money." Everyone nodded because one girl came to mind.

 _Misaki Shokuhou._

"There's still luck," Touma pointed out. "I mean, I could never win, but others could." Jason laughed. "Oh, I hope you all don't mind, but two classmates of ours are going to join us."

"I don't have any problems with that," Kazari said. "Do we know them?"

"You've seen Fukiyose-sama," Jason said. "The only one who can strike fear into Accelerator."

"And you," Kuroko pointed out. Jason winked at her and she immediately looked away from him. Jason's amusement faded slightly and he seemed concerned.

"She can be pretty scary," Jason admitted.

"Who can be scary?" Seiri asked, appearing behind him. Kuroko and Kazari's eyes widened and Touma instinctively stepped back. Jason's face paling was the only sign he gave that he was actually afraid. His words hid his true feeling and kept up his calm demeanor.

"Accelerator," he replied instantly.

"He's gotten better," Seiri admitted with a sigh. "But he still has a long way to go." She turned to Kazari and Kuroko. "Hello," she greeted them. "Uiharu, right?" Kazari nodded. "I met you after the cops and robber game, do you remember me?"

"It's kind of hard not to," Kazari replied with a smile. "You had a strong impression of Jason and the others." Jason looked away and whistled innocently. "This is Kuroko Shirai, a friend of ours and Ruiko Saten is currently in line for your raffle." Kuroko waved and Seiri responded with a nod. "Shirai-san, this is Seiri Fukiyose, Jason's and Kamijou-san's classmate."

"And this is Aisa Himegami," Seiri introduce the girl next to her. From Kazari's expression, Touma noted she hadn't seen the girl. "My friend and a classmate of ours too."

"It's nice to meet you," Aisa said and Touma regretted she was aware that his friends didn't realize she had been there.

"Likewise," Kazari and Kuroko replied and shook hands.

"Thanks for letting us come along," Aisa told Touma.

"It was no problem," Touma answered dismissively. "You know how Fukiyose is, she won't take a break and overwork herself. We had to get her away for a little bit."

"True," Aisa agreed and Seiri huffed in indignation.

"Someone has to be tough in the class," Seiri argued.

"We still have the bruises to prove it," laughed Jason.

"Err," Kuroko asked Seiri. "How physical do you get with them?"

"Sometimes they get into a physical fight and have to be knocked out," Seiri responded evenly.

"Oh, that's fine then," Kuroko agreed. "Uiharu-san and I are part of Judgment, so we have to make sure a line is drawn. After spending time with those boys, they definitely need a stern fist guiding them."

"I'm pretty sure Judgment frowns on you for resorting to that kind of force," Jason said.

"And we get the extra forms to fill out for excessive use of force," Kazari added. "Pretty sure we have gotten the most complaints about that than any other branch."

"If they would just surrender when I tell them to," Kuroko protested. "No one would be hurt."

"And if people would just not break laws," Aisa added. "You would be out of a job."

"Exactly!" Kuroko cried and pointed toward her. "Then I could focus on school work and other important things."

"Like revenge?" Jason asked innocently.

"Yes-…. I mean s-shut up!" He laughed at her reaction and then stopped when Kuroko didn't seem to have a reaction to continue the needling. Again, a frown flickered on his face.

"So what is the plan today?" Seiri asked Touma.

"I think we were mostly going to wonder around the festival," Touma explained. "Visit the other classes first before we start to check out the other school. None of us are really bound. Anyone can leave when they feel they need to. I'm meeting my mother for lunch so I have to scram around eleven."

"Oh, yeah," Seiri responded interestedly. "You seemed kind of surprised she arrived when she did. Is everything okay at home?"

"Everything is fine," Touma laughed. This was entirely true. A lot more things were going wrong around him here than at home. "She wanted to visit me for some time. It was supposed to be a surprise on her part and she's planning to visit a friend this weekend too, so it was a calculated arrival." _At least Julunggul has been quiet._ Touma felt his pocket and realized her snake form wasn't actually there. _Oh, no! Where could she be? Please don't cause any trouble and just be at my dorm sleeping. I don't recall her interrupting me at all._

"She seems pretty refined," Seiri commented. "Why the huge difference?"

"And I'm not?" Touma joked. She raised an eyebrow. "Alright, fine. I take after my dad, but I found out my mom was the one who asked him, so he must have done something to attract her." Unknown to him, the others were listening interestedly. He and Seiri might have continued if Ruiko had not chosen at the moment to return.

"I'm back!" she announced and turned to Seiri and Aisa. "Oh, hello! I'm Ruiko Saten. Are you two friends of Kagere-san or Touma?"

 _She's pretty close to him,_ Aisa thought, noting Ruiko using Touma's first name. _They must have gone through something big together. How am I supposed to face someone so cheerful?_

"Seiri Fukiyose and this is Aisa Himegami," Seiri introduced them. "We are Kagere's and Kamijou's classmates."

"She's the friend everyone has that keeps them in line," Jason explained. He looked away when Seiri's head turned toward him.

"Nice to meet you," Ruiko told them. "Uiharu told me about meeting you. Sorry I had snuck out before."

"Everyone tried to run," Seiri acknowledged. "So it wasn't a big deal. We all know who the real masterminds behind it were." Kuroko and Kazari turned toward Jason, but the others glanced over their shoulders to look for Motoharu and Aogami.

"Should we get going?" Touma asked, eying the increasing line of people at the raffle. "Before our school fair gets too crowded."

"Sure," Jason agreed. "There's a second year class doing some paintings I want to stop at and I know Kazari wants to check out the stalls that sell sweets."

"Hey!" Kazari cried indignantly. "That may be true, but you don't have to say it! It's limit's off mode today. I've been good all week in preparation for this festival."

"And the Judgment training tomorrow?" Kuroko asked.

"That too."

"Kamijou is correct that we should be going," Seiri interrupted. "It's only going to get more crowded so we should see as much as we can."

"And maybe find a way to get closer to him," Aisa muttered, but no one else heard her. They started to move as a group, conversing like friends do, when Kazari and Kuroko fell a couple paces back and started talking in hushed voices.

"You need to get him alone and tell him," Kazari whispered. "I noticed he's always suspicious of the way you are acting."

"I know," Kuroko muttered back. "But it's not like I can say anything with the others nearby."

"Well, Kamijou-san is going to disappear around lunch," Kazari pointed out. "And I bet his classmates will head off on their own around then too. I can drag Saten-san off somewhere, but the rest is up to you. Do you think you can do it?" Kuroko looked at Jason's back and took a deep breath.

"No… but I'm still going to."

* * *

"Mother," Mikoto complained again. "Why are we doing this? I have several dresses for formal occasions."

"Because a young lady can't wear the same dresses for every event," Misuzu replied without turning around. "Variety is the spice of life." She started to peruse a rack of dresses looking for one to complement Mikoto's eyes. The shop they were in was on the sixth floor on the Dianoid, a place Mikoto would never find herself shopping at. This was supposed to be for the rich and famous. While it was true her family was wealthy, Mikoto preferred clothes that were comfortable, not fashionable. "You have that nice white one, but it it's way too conservative. You should show off your legs a little. How about this one?" She held up a pink frilly dress that wouldn't go below Mikoto's knees.

"…eww, no." Mikoto shook her head. That dress was way too girly for her.

"Hmm, you're right. It doesn't compliment your body frame correctly."

"W-would you stop saying that?!"

"Don't be silly, Mikoto," Misuzu said calmly and waved her hand as the attendant put the dress back. "Every woman has a different body and each type of dress is designed to complement it. While you may be lacking in some areas, you have other areas to make up for it." Mikoto's face flushed in a combination of anger and embarrassment. "Besides, from what you told me, you need all the help you can get to attract that young man's attention."

"It's not like I'm trying to attract that idiot's attention," Mikoto mumbled.

"Dear, your tsundere is showing."

"I'm not a tsundere!"

"You are." Misuzu said with a sigh. "And from what you told me, you have gotten better and actually managed to confess. That is a huge step, but you also told me about the situation. If you want to move ahead of the other girls, you have to take the initiative. Are you confident that you can keep the boy's attention when competing against the others?"

"…" Mikoto remained silent as her mind thought back to the others girls. As much as she didn't like to admit it, she was envious of many of the girls surrounding Touma, especially Misaki. Her chest had not grown much recently and, no matter how many times she keeps telling herself it would happen, it was still a touchy subject. Having a fellow classmate and level 5 constantly reference it didn't help. Her mother also seemed to constantly reference it too, though there was less malicious intent there. Touma's friends also had mentioned several times he preferred older, well-developed girls. With how many of those types seemed to surround him, Mikoto was beginning to think this was true. It was an uphill battle.

Misuzu was smart enough to understand what her silence meant.

"You're a very smart girl," Misuzu continued and held up a yellow dress. "But you are still young and don't really have experience with boys, let alone love. That's why I'm trying to help you." She accepted a yellow dress from the attendant and held it up in front of Mikoto. "Do you have this in red?" The attended nodded, took the dress, and walked to the back.

"And you think a simple change of clothes is going to work?" Mikoto asked.

"Men are simple creatures," Misuzu laughed. "While long term relationships require more than just looks, they get easily distracted by appearance. Having the right outfit for the occasion is essential." Mikoto suddenly had flashbacks to Kuroko and the most revealing, see through articles of clothing she owned. The number of occasions Kuroko had tried to jump Mikoto when her guard was down was too numerous to count. She shivered slightly.

 _Whatever happens, I will NOT go that far. I don't want a guy wanting me just because I throw myself at him. Besides, Touma's not into that._ She briefly wondered how he and her other friends were enjoying the festival. Misuzu turned to her and, like most mothers, seemed to understand what was troubling her.

"Are you upset about spending time with me instead of your friends at the festival?" Misuzu asked.

"W-what?!" Mikoto exclaimed. "O-of course not!"

"Mikoto…"

"Maybe a little," Mikoto mumbled. "I had to cancel our plans with my best friends." She suddenly looked horrified at what she was implying. "Not that I don't mind you coming to visit," she added quickly. "I just wish you told me ahead of time."

"I understand," Misuzu told her. "Everyone goes through the stage where they rather hang out with anyone else except their mother. They don't consider it cool or popular." She smirked at Mikoto. "But I always thought you didn't care about such things. Don't you still like that one frog?"

"Gekota is the perfect mascot," Mikoto retorted and crossed her arms in irritation. "Don't you dare badmouth him."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Misuzu replied. "I was only pointing out that some may not find your own interests endearing. Does he know?"

"He knows," Mikoto huffed. _Though, while he never outright said it, I know he considers it somewhat childish. Unlike Kuroko, who tells me constantly._ "But he's not the type of person to put someone down for their interests."

"I actually know that," Misuzu informed Mikoto. "Our conversation before I left last time was definitely proof of that."

"Before you left?" Mikoto asked confused and Misuzu held a hand up to her mouth. "What do you mean by that?" Her eyes narrowed at her mother.

"Well," Misuzu responded thinking. "He and I might have had a talk about you before I left the city." Mikoto's face turned deathly pale.

"What… did… you… say… to… him?!" Mikoto demanded in a hushed voice of barely concealed horror and rage.

"Details are a little fuzzy," Misuzu reminisced. "It was a long time ago and I was a little tipsy." It was the time she was almost kidnapped and Touma had saved her. She had been debating about withdrawing Mikoto from Academy City, but decided against it because she was happy her daughter had such great friends like that boy.

"Oh, no…" Mikoto's face turned, if possible, paler and her legs wobbled. The room began to spin.

"Relax," Misuzu reassured her with a laugh. "It was merely about how happy I was that you made such a good friend like him. There was nothing embarrassing about it."

 _Easy for you to say,_ Mikoto thought. _That was back when I shocked him almost every time we met. I mean, he kind of deserved it with how he worded things. He was virtually saying, Mikoto, shock me, but still…_

"You know my friend we are meeting for lunch today?" Misuzu asked.

"Yes," Mikoto replied with a role of her eyes. "That's why we are here. You wanted me to have a new dress for some reason."

"I may have been hiding one piece of information from you," Misuzu said and scratched her cheek embarrassed. "You see, my friend is-…"

"Excuse me." They were interrupted by the attendant, who had just arrived with a dress in her arms. "We did have a red one available in that size."

"Great, thank you." Misuzu replied and took it from her. She passed it to Mikoto and pushed her into the changing area. "Try this on and let me see how it looks. It might need a few adjustments." She nodded to the attendant.

"I will get the tools ready," she told Misuzu and disappeared again.

"Do I really have to?" Mikoto protested. "And what were you saying about your friend?"

"I'll tell you once you are changed." Misuzu pushed Mikoto in. "Don't dawdle."

Mikoto reluctantly did as she was told and changed out of her school uniform. The red dress wasn't as revealing as she thought it was, but it was shoulderless. A thin strap wrapped around her neck to hold it up. The upper part of her back was also uncovered, but it didn't go low enough for her to make her uncomfortable, just slightly embarrassed. The front was high enough to completely cover her chest and the dress extended just passed her knees. She looked in the mirror and spun around to get a full view. This was not something she would ever wear if she could help it, but the honest part of herself did think she looked good. It was even longer enough to wear shorts under it without anyone knowing.

 _I hate to admit it, but mom's knowledgeable about fashion, even if she doesn't dress herself up. I wonder if Touma would like to see me in this._ Her face flushed at the thought. _He probably wouldn't make a scene, he saw everyone in a bathing suit before._ Her face flushed more. _Well, we are just meeting my mom's friend, it's not like anything is going to happen. Once I can escape, I'll meet up with Kuroko and the others for some fun at the festival. Next weekend is our time and I know I'm going to be roped into it because I'm a level 5._ She didn't dislike her classmates. In fact, they were kind of cheerful around her, but she could tell they still admired her because of her level and they acted differently. She wished everyone would treat her like everyone else.

"You decent?" Misuzu's voice came through the door.

"Yes." Misuzu walked in and walked around Mikoto. Her eyes moving up and down.

"I was right," she mumbled. "That does fit you well." She stopped and looked directly at Mikoto. "What do you think? Please, be honest."

"It's… not bad," Mikoto admitted. "I'm just not used to wearing this."

"I tried to find something conservative enough to remain in your comfort zone," Misuzu explained. "But exotic enough to be able to attract his attention." Mikoto was slightly surprised at her mom's insight. In hindsight, she should have. Her mom may annoy her constantly, but she was still a mom and she cared about her daughter.

"I…appreciate it?" Mikoto said, slightly unsure how thankful she should be. "Now, what were you saying about your friend? Who is she anyways? You never actually told me." Misuzu smiled and Mikoto felt an ominous presence in the air.

"So you will be prepared and understand why I'm doing this. My friend happens to be…"

When she finished, Mikoto's mouth fell open.

* * *

"Did you have fun with your friends?" Shiina asked. She and Touma were just leaving his apartment. Touma had to meet his mom at his dorm so he could change into his suit. It was a little old, but his mom assured him it would be enough for a simple restaurant. Shiina had arrived in a cab and the two of them took off after she fixed his tie.

"I usually do," Touma answered. "We hang out a lot, but one of my close friends had something come and couldn't show. But it was probably a good thing because one of my friends found something… err, interesting she might not have been too impressed about."

The festival started off well enough. Touma, Ruiko, Kuroko, Seiri, Aisa, Jason, and Uiharu had gone from stall to stall, eating weird food, playing games, seeing exhibits, and even participated in a quiz bowl. The last stall they visited were painting portraits of people and had a large number of premade ones for people to purchase. Ruiko decided it would be fun to get a memento and convinced everyone to join in on one. The artist must have had an ability to help him, because he finished in roughly five minutes, yet generated a full colored masterpiece. Things could have ended there, but Jason noticed there were a lot of paintings of Kami being sold, so he started rummaging through them. Everyone else besides Kazari just talked while waiting for him to finish. He eventually arrived with two paintings wrapped under his arm.

The problem was Kazari was red faced.

This was suspicious.

Seiri had noticed it too and commented on it, but Jason and Kazari refused to talk about it. Kuroko, unable to resist snuck up behind him and teleported the paintings out of his grasp. Before he could react, she opened them to reveal two works that were sure to get someone killed. If not him, it would be the artist who made them.

The first one was one that caused everyone to stare at in disbelief. It was a picture of Kami, sitting on a golden thrown with his head propped up with an arm. Luckily, there was no connection between the fake and Touma, or he might have been in trouble because of who was also on the painting. It seems the artist had watched the cop and robber games, because kneeling next to the throne on each side, where two girls. Two well-known level 5 girls. Mikoto was on one side and Misaki was on the other. Both of them were wearing their school uniform, while Kami was wearing his normal disguise. Jason immediately defended his choice of buying it by saying it was purely to keep other people from getting it and spreading it around.

He was immediately hit by Seiri, who then marched off toward the painting booth to have a word with them.

Jason got up and then Kuroko revealed the second painting. It was of Kami too, but the other person in in made everyone besides Kazari and Jason mouths fall open. Kazari had covered her red face with her hands, but she was peeking through her fingers. Touma had been momentarily stunned and then felt the urge to vomit. He was embraced with Accelerator on a bed. Luckily they were fully clothed, but Touma immediately reached forward to destroy it. A shadow tendril yanked it out of Kuroko's hand, wrapped it up, and Jason refused to get rid of it.

 _Like anyone would believe he was buying that for someone at work,_ Touma thought to himself, as he relieved the moment. _That was a lame excuse. He's normally better than that. I'm surprised Shirai-san didn't chew him out on it._

"I see," Shiina commented. "So who was your friend who couldn't make it? Was it someone I met yesterday?"

"No, no, no," Touma answered instantly. "It was Mikoto. Her friend told us why she couldn't show."

"Oh, yes," Shiina recalled. "She seemed like a very nice girl and quite fond of you the last time we met."

"Err… yeah." Touma felt hot all of a sudden and turned away from her. Shiina noticed how embarrassed he got and her mother sense told her everything.

 _Since she's one of the ones to actually confess,_ Shiina thought. _He gets embarrassed thinking about it and still worries about. I hope he doesn't freak out when he finds out who we are meeting. It will be good for them to talk. Let's change the topic for now and have him relax. I'll talk to him about the call and letter after lunch._ "It seems like Misaka-san is not the only one who has conflicting plans. I contacted Mugino-san and asked if she still wanted to join us for lunch, but she apologized and said something had come up and would not be able to."

"You still offered for her to come after what you found out?"

"I did invite her," Shiina pointed out. "And, as your father says, when you make a promise, you keep it." Touma nodded. "I suppose it makes things easier though. We can have a nice meal and catch up without being interrupted."

"So mom, who is this friend of yours?"

"Someone I have not seen in ages," Shiina laughed. "She had just gone back to a university to study and her daughter goes to school here. You might have seen her around."

"Oh," Touma said. _Great, with my luck, it's probably going to be really uncomfortable if the girl shows up and I know her. Such misfortune. My luck would not allow anything else._ They continued to talk, thankfully much less serious or embarrassing topics, until the cab pulled up in front of a restaurant with a French name Touma would botch if he tried to pronounce it.

"Here we are," Shiina announced. Touma got out and helped his mom out of the cab. "Such a gentleman, I'm glad we taught you so well." Touma rubbed his neck sheepishly and then passed the cab driver the money. When the driver pulled away, Shiina turned to Touma. "Now, Touma-san, please remember to be polite and remember your manners. They have been known to remove customers who are overly loud, so please remember to keep your voice down."

"Yes, mom," Touma promised. They entered the restaurant and Touma did his best to act confident, while following his mother. The maître d' confirmed their reservation and had them lead to their table. The restaurant was dimly lit and there was a string quartet playing on one side of the room. This was a restaurant Touma could see people like Shizuri or Misaki going to. It was much too fancy for him and he felt out of place. There were only a few other guests, but a couple of them looked at him as he passed. He swore he heard them laughing at his old suit. He then looked to see the table they were heading too and his mouth fell open in shock. Shiina's friend was already there and with her daughter. As he expected, they were familiar.

It was Mikoto and her mother.

They turned when he and Shiina approached and Misuzu waved. From the angle they approached, Touma had a complete view of Mikoto. He had only seen Mikoto wear a white dress once for a performance, so this was a relatively new experience. The dress was bright red and revealed a lot more skin than Mikoto usually showed, unless she was at the beach. The thing is, swimsuits and dresses are two completely different things. Any true man would understand that. The dress seemed made for Mikoto and highlighted her fair skin and athletic build, while still being feminine. She also must have been wearing more makeup than usual, because her face seemed to sparkle. Her normal hair clip had been replaced with a more eloquent one. Only one word passed through his mind.

 _Beautiful_.

His reaction didn't last long and he sat down trying to act calm, but it was long enough for Misuzu. She whispered to Mikoto soft enough that neither Touma nor Shiina heard it.

"I told you clothes are important."

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.**

 **Next real chapter will be their lunch date and then everyone else's adventures when dealing with the raffle. There is also that letter Touma's mom has. I'm sure that will be discussed too. The reason I said real chapter is because I have come up with a Halloween chapter I'm going to start working on. Thanks to discord, I have an idea for a fun special.**

 **Shizuri: Screw that. Halloween special is just an excuse to try to get us to wear revealing outfits.**

 **Motoharu: It's perfect!**

 **Pierce: I love the author!**

 **Mikoto: He's not seriously going to do that. I bet the costumes will be normal.**

 **Misaki: I wouldn't mind revealing, but I'm a little more focused on your lunch date Misaka.**

 **Mikoto: Wasn't my fault! My mother planned this.**

 **Misaki: So will you swear nothing will come of this?**

 **Mikoto: …no?**

 **Misaki: Okay then. I will take drastic measures.**

 **Accelerator: This will be good.**

 **Motoharu: You should probably be more concerned about the Halloween special.**

 **Accelerator: Why?**

 **Motoharu: Because Frenda and Kinuhata are giving Worst and Last Order ideas for group costumes.**

 **Accelerator: Fuck!**


	106. SS A Night to Never Forget

**Well, this time I seemed to have pulled a MrQuestionmark with this chapter. It's twice as long as a normal chapter. I seriously thought about making this a two shot, but was advised against it. This was only supposed to be a holiday special and two chapters would break the flow of the main story too much. I also considered making this into its own Halloween story. It could easily be 6-10 chapters if I did everything my brain imagined. Couldn't even get to the four horsemen in this one. Oh, a reminder! This is purely an SS and has no bearing on the main story's timing. I try to keep people's reactions to each other the same, but other than that, anything discussed in these will not carry over. I feel some people might have forgotten that. Let's do a quick comment section and you can get to the** _ **monster**_ **of a chapter. Monster… hehe. Get it? Because it's Halloween?**

 **Bluejack222: Those paintings will be important later on.**

 **The Wolf Paladin: We will see how everyone reacts. I want to give Aisa and Seiri some more spotlight, but it's hard for me. Everyone can write certain characters better than others.**

 **Guest: You are one of the few people who actually wants Jason to be a good guy.**

 **anand891996: I work hard to make sure he doesn't hog the spotlight. He has his roles for when I need certain things to happen. Mikoto and Misaki are… closer? Misaki still doesn't completely want Mikoto as part of the harem, but she will probably accept it. Mikoto finding out the harem is being treated seriously is going to be fun. She and Ruiko didn't really go much with it originally.**

 **Whwsms: The letter is probably going to cause more destruction than anything else you mentioned.**

 **Guest13: Jason and Eve's relationship is complicated. They both have goals they can achieve by working together. Snuggle-chan is anything but annoying. Shizuri gets a little bit, but she's not the kind of girl to blush easily.**

 **wildarms13: The Carissa hype is real, but it will be after the raffle. Everything about Jason will make sense eventually, but then it will be near the end of the story.**

 **Salishious: How did you know all that was about to happen? Besides, Accelerator is still going to murder some people over that painting before the sisters manage to get their own copy. What could Eve do with Touma's mom? Using alcohol again seems lazy.**

 **Cyber dragonarmy: I'm not even sure what's happening anymore.**

 **general ironox: Something will always happen. Death will follow.**

 **DivineDemonDragon: I found someone who drew one picture, not sure if they will draw more. Will have to see.**

 **edinosaur22: She's definitely up to something.**

 **naruhinasakufan1: It's been a while since I've seen you. Still waiting for that update of yours btw. That skit was actually what was going to happen soon.**

 **aGuestfromGreece45: One thing I really like about this story is I have so many things going at once. It can be a curse sometimes because I might forget about something.**

 **Jujudude: The winner has already been decided because of what I can do with her. It may or may not be Yuna. You make it sound easy to 'Take out a Saint.' Remember, Eve has been playing this game for a long time. Someone may mess with her plan, but she just makes an adjustment and goes back to doing it. I'm working Seiri in slowly. Hmm, with a bunch of rich girlfriends, I'm sure a new apartment would be easy to acquire. Maybe if his dorm room blew up again.**

 **Guest: I have it. It was useful for many people so I didn't have to think of something.**

 **xaxiel1572: Touma is the kind of person not to think what he does is amazing. He truly believes anyone in his position would do it. It's only natural to help others who need it.**

 **Sergio644: I'm better Touma's mother mentions it offhandedly to get a reaction and help Mikoto confess her feelings. The lunch date will not go smoothly though.**

 **Generation Zero: Well, it was an Urn of a God and it's not permanent. It also means that urn can't be used again for fun. Magic Gods appear often, but you missed the small hint about how. "Given enough phases, every deity made mankind." Won't give out more if people have no read the LNs because it is a HUGE spoiler. It's not a magic god tied to Jason, but I did put a few hints on who it is. No name yet, but you should be able to guess. The power of friendship and self-worth! This is the reason I won't do the endless hells. He doesn't need to push from the Will to be selfish. Have a more… evil plan for the new Touma Kamijou. The AAA has most of the Five_Over weapons. Could add Meltdowner I suppose.**

 **DEVIL ADITYA: Hopefully nothing cancels it. Remember, only a student can win the raffle.**

 **ReyKingKaiser: Waiting to see what the LN says about that before I devote anything.**

 **FrodoFighter: Okay, essay time. We all know you are Kamikoto fan through and through. "how hot Oriana is." Important plot point. Hey! Male tsunderes are people too and they just want people to love them, but they are shy inside so they act tough. Snuggle-chan is a very modest magic god. She doesn't like to show off, unless it's her body. "We all know that Accel has the habit of putting on some skintight shiny leotard and dance." I died here. Is it bad if Last Order knows the truth before Touma does? Jason vs Kanzaki. Should be a good fight. It's like batman vs superman. "Touma is some kind of mascot?" Yes, yes he is. Hey, Saten spending her pocket money to win a raffle to bring her 'sometimes' boyfriend to school is perfectly reasonable. It was obvious you like Mikoto and her Mom's moment, based on all the quotes. Kat is going to frame that painting above her mantle. Always knew you would love the ending.**

 **Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.**

* * *

"There's no use in trying to run," Motoharu told Touma. "You aren't getting out of this."

"We won't let you," Pierce added.

"Why won't you let me just stay inside on Halloween!?" Touma demanded. "With All the black cats around, I can't risk it!"

"You believe in superstitious nonsense like bad luck from cats?" Accelerator asked incredulously. "What are you, five?"

"Can you honestly say after everything you have learned recently," Touma challenged. "That stuff like bad luck omens can't be real?" Accelerator crossed his arms and huffed, but didn't respond. "This Kamijou can't take that risk. Can you imagine what would happen if my luck got worse?"

"Girls would rain down from the sky?" Jason guessed and everyone except Touma laughed.

"You underestimate it and I have learned what happens when I do," Touma warned. "We would probably disturb some ancient Halloween spirits that would rise from the grave and try to destroy the city."

"I think you have been hanging around that adorable little nun of yours too much," Pierce laughed. "Her superstitious beliefs are rubbing off on you."

 _I really want to see Stiyl's face if he heard Aogami call Index that,_ Motoharu thought. "Ignoring your luck," Motoharu continued. "You know how rude it is to deny them your presence after they sent us such a nice invitation?"

"They don't want me," Touma protested. "They want Kami."

"Same thing," Jason said.

"You guys know that. They do not!"

"Quit being a baby," Accelerator snapped. "You let these idiots get you into it. You deal with the fall out."

"As if you are one to talk!" Touma accused. "You get sucked up into their stupid plans too."

"Nah," Accelerator dismissed with a wave of his hand. "I only go along because I get to watch you suffer." Motoharu and Pierce grinned at each other, while Jason messaged people on his phone. The entire reason the five of them gathered was to discuss the letters they received. Each of the letters were obviously from the same sender, as they were orange and black Halloween theme invitations. Touma glanced down at his own letter and read it again silent. It was handwritten in fancy calligraphy, rather than being typed up.

 _Dear Kami-sama,_

 _We cordially invite you and your friends to Tokiwadai High School's annual Halloween formal, to take place at 6pm Halloween night. There will be dancing, food, and games to celebrate the holiday. We sincerely hope you can attend and, should you accept, have a pleasant time. For your convenience, we have also sent invitations to Misaka-sama, Shokuhou-sama, and Accelerator-sama, along with your other friends. You may bring guests as we do not know all your acquaintances that were not in attendance during the game. Our formal is also a costume party and everyone in attendance will be required to wear one for entry. Please let us know if you are able to attend._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Yuna Ishikawa_

 _Tokiwadai High School Elected Representative._

 _P.S. I take no pleasure in reminding you that your friend, Pierce Aogami, has been banned from the Tokiwadai premises since his action after the Cop and Robbers' game, henceforth called 'The Incident'. In hopes it might sway your opinion, he has been given an opportunity to attend, only on his assurance he will behave himself in a proper manner. Again, we take no pleasure in this reminder and hope we can all have a pleasant formal._

Touma was a little surprised about the invitation he received yesterday, but he shouldn't have been that surprised. Kami had been extremely popular when we first arrived at that school and he occasionally had to be seen in public. The girls must have thought it was their duty to repay him for the attention and entertainment he had given them. He also had suspicion that Yuna orchestrated this because there was another piece of paper. The note on this one was most likely written without the advice or consent of the other girls.

 _Kami-sama,_

 _Sorry for the formalities, but our customs dictate such an action. We are really looking forward to seeing you and your friends again. The reason for this note is I wanted to give you a friendly reminder. While some of us have real world experiences, some of the students here have very little interactions with boys. You might want to make sure your costume is not to stimulating, though I doubt Hanabi would mind too much. Let me know if you can make it._

 _Yuna Ishikawa_

Her number was written right below her name. Touma finished reading and glanced over at Pierce. "I never did find out how you two kept Fukiyose and Anti-Skill from tracking me down after that game. What exactly is 'The Incident'?"

"Don't worry about it," Pierce answered and waved his hand dismissively. "It's over and I promise to behave." Touma eyed him in silence. "Hey, just because I love all girls, doesn't mean I harass them. 'The Incident' was a complete misunderstanding. The collateral damage would have been avoidable if there hadn't been one." Touma looked at the others for confirmation.

"I wasn't there," Jason answered.

"I don't care," Accelerator explained.

"It allowed you all to escape," Motoharu pointed out. "You should be praising us for our quick thinking." Pierce nodded in agreement.

"No." The decision from the rest of them was unanimous.

"If they invited Mikoto and Misaki," Touma muttered. "I bet the others will be coming too." He turned to Accelerator. "Are you really coming?"

"No," he snapped. "The brat wants to go trick or treating with the nun and someone has to chaperone. Do you forget how much trouble those two can get into?" Touma opened his mouth, shut it, and nodded.

"Not to worry," Motoharu told them. "Kanzaki told me she was going to go with Index, so that should be covered." Accelerator stared at him for a moment before making a clicking noise with his tongue. "Hah, knew he would try to weasel out of this."

"We didn't even have to blackmail him," Pierce commented. The killing intent emitting from Accelerator would have caused normal people to release their bowels.

"To be fair," Jason piped up. "He might need to stay back to monitor Worst. Wasn't she planning to rob children of their candy?"

"Maybe we should tell her about the party," Touma suggested. He saw where this was going. If he was going to suffer, he could at least get a little payback against Accelerator for all the times his offhanded comments got him into trouble. "That way, he could keep an eye on her." Accelerator's killing glare turned toward him.

"Don't you even think about it," Accelerator warned with pure venom in his voice. "I'll kill you, or at the very least tell that nun of yours some of your… escapades."

"He's getting better at threats," Motoharu whispered to the other two. Pierce and Jason nodded.

"No matter what we do," Touma told Accelerator. "Those three are going to drag us into it."

"We could kill them and hide the bodies," he suggested.

"…. Wait until after the party and see if they deserve it," Touma replied.

"Fine," Accelerator relented. "I'll go, if only to get away from Worst and the other brats. It's the damn high school, so their might be someone somewhat intelligent to talk to. Not like I get it here."

"I'm hurt," Jason cried in pretend aguish. Accelerator flipped him off.

"Now than," Pierce said. "The most important part of Halloween, besides seeing girls in sexy costumes and candy, our costumes."

"We are not doing a fucking group thig," Accelerator snapped.

"Of course not," Motoharu agreed. "But instead of letting you guys choose boring costumes, we came up with something interesting." Pierce pulled out a hat with five pieces of paper in it. "You will be deciding the costume of the person you draw."

"No!" Touma and Accelerator denied instantly. Jason seemed mildly interested.

"What if we add some restrictions?" Pierce said. "Like no female costumes and nothing to elaborate so it fits in a budget. Unless someone is willing to fund the costume?"

"You two are planning something," Touma accused.

"Nah," Motoharu denied. "We just like to have fun."

"I'm okay with this," Jason said, after a minute.

"Why!?" Accelerator demanded. "You have worked with them enough against this damn hero here for you to realize this idiot's way of thinking."

"I have no idea what to dress up as," Jason replied. "And Kazari told me she, Kuroko, Misaka-san, and Saten-san were planning to do some group costume for Halloween." He laughed. "Besides, if you really hate whatever is chosen for you, it's not like we can force you, right?" He leaned over to Accelerator and began to whisper. "Besides, whoever gets Touma is the real winner."

"I heard that!" Touma shouted.

"Humph…. Fine." Accelerator relented and crossed his arms.

"Am I the only hold out?" Touma asked incredulously. Everyone else nodded and he threw his hands into the air. "Alright, but I warned you. This is all on you!" He pointed to Jason and Accelerator.

"Who wants to go first?" Pierce asked and held out the hat. Accelerator was surprisingly first, but it was mostly to get it over with. Touma and Jason followed with Motoharu and Pierce taking the last two. Touma looked down and saw that he had Pierce. Pierce had Accelerator, who had Jason, who had Motoharu, and Motoharu had Touma by default. "Okay, we have one week to get the costumes, so we need to let everyone know tonight."

"That's fine," Touma agreed. "I'm going to regret this, I just know it. Please remember this Kamijou is poor and I can't afford anything fancy."

"Oh," Motoharu said with a sly grin. "That will _not_ be an issue."

 _I'm going to regret this,_ Touma realized immediately. Every warning sign went off in his mind.

* * *

"I can't believe they invited us too," Kazari exclaimed excitedly.

"You and Saten-san were part of the game," Mikoto pointed out. "So they knew you were our friends."

"Shame Shirai-san wasn't with us," Ruiko laughed and looked over at Kuroko. "But you are obviously coming with us, right?"

"Naturally," Kuroko replied and put her hand on her chest. "Onee-sama invited me immediately upon receiving the invitation." Mikoto had actually just mentioned it, but they both knew if Mikoto was going, she was taking her.

"So any ideas what we are going as?" Ruiko asked. "I drew up a blank for a group idea."

"Same," Kazari said.

"Kuroko and I did come up with one," Mikoto said tentatively. "How about detectives from the Victorian era? We can get the black and brown coats and caps easily enough, plus it will be warm for the cooler weather. Add some magnifying glasses and it will be a simple, but unique idea." She frowned. "We were debating what kind of costumes we expected to see at the high school. Our school's parties tend to be a little…" She struggled on how to explain it to Ruiko and Kazari.

"Rich and uptight?" Ruiko asked. "Sorry," she added apologetically when Kazari elbowed her in the side.

"In a way," Kuroko spoke up. "You're right. Dances are really formal at our school. I'm not sure how the high school compares, but it will probably be similar. Though, Ishikawa-san is rather unusual."

"She's like one of the guys," Mikoto agreed, referring to Touma and his friends. "Speaking of which, how many guests do you think they are bringing? We invited Birdway-san and she said her sister is in town, so she will probably come too."

"Jason didn't mention any guests," Kazari said. "But Accelerator-san might bring Last Order and Worst. Maybe classmates?"

"I'm worried about the ones we know," Kuroko sighed. "Didn't one of the ape's friends do something to get in serious trouble?"

"I vaguely recall hearing about some kind of incident," Ruiko confirmed. "But the details were few and sketchy."

"It's probably best we don't ask," Mikoto declared and the other girls nodded. _I bet Shokuhou knows if I really had to find out._ "But what do you think of our costume idea?"

"I like it," Ruiko declared instantly. "Detectives are cool and it totally suits us."

"I have no problems with it," Kazari added. "There was a cute pumpkin costume I was thinking about, but this is much better."

"We don't have a lot of extra spending cash," Ruiko admits. "We might have bought a little too much candy." Kazari and Ruiko did not make eye contact, but Mikoto and Kuroko got the message.

"I'm sure we can find a place that rents out the jackets," Kuroko reassured them. "The caps are easy enough to get…"

"Oh, if it isn't Shirai-san and Misaka-san," a confident female voice interrupted.

"…Oh, no." Kuroko grimaced for a second before turning around. "Hello, Kongou-san."

"Uiharu-san," Mitsuko greeted. "Saten-san. It is good to see you again."

"Likewise," they repeated.

"How are you four this fine day?" Mitsuko asked, as she unfolded her fan in front of her face.

"Pretty good," Mikoto answered. "We actually got invited to Tokiwadai High School's Halloween party and we were just settled on our costumes."

"That sounds interesting," Mitsuko replied curiously. "What are you going as?"

"Victorian Detectives," Kazari answered. "Unique and has a touch of class."

"A great decision," Mitsuko complemented and Mikoto, Kazari, and Ruiko beamed at her.

"Don't let us hold you up," Kuroko said rudely, but tried to cover it up. "I'm sure you have someone important to meet."

"Wannai and Awatsuki are currently working hard at their swim club," Mitsuko answered. "So I'm free for the moment."

"Actually," Ruiko spoke up suddenly. "You know Kongou-san, we can bring guests with us to the party. If you are free, would you like to come?" Kuroko shook her head vigorously when Mitsuko wasn't looking at her.

"Really?" Mitsuko sounded surprised and even raised an eyebrow.

"That's a great idea," Kazari added and clapped her hands together, ignoring Kuroko. "Wannai-san and Awatsuki-san can come too, assuming they are free."

"We really haven't done anything together for some time," Mikoto added in thought. "Sounds fun, actually. Are you free?"

"I would have to verify with my schedule," Mitsuko replied. "I am usually very busy, b-but I think I will be free. Halloween Eve, right?"

"At six, but we plan to meet up around five-thirty," Mikoto explained. "A costume is required, so I hope you have enough time."

"Hmm," Mitsuko murmured and tapped her shin with her fan. "That should be enough time and there are some simple, yet extravagant costumes I should be able to procure easily enough." She turned to the others. "I'll be happy to come with you. Thank you for the invite."

"Great," Kuroko moaned under her breath.

* * *

"So you aren't coming trick or treating with MISAKA? MISAKA asks in shock as MISAKA stares at you in disbelief."

"My idiotic classmates are dragging me to some lame party," Accelerator sighed from the couch. "With a bunch of brats, the original included."

"Can MISAKA come? MISAKA asks."

"You're too young," Accelerator lied. "Besides, if you come you won't get all that candy with the nun and that blonde girl."

"Her name is Fremea, MISAKA informs you as MISAKA knows it will take a long time for you to remember her name. And you are right about the free candy, MISAKA mutters to herself."

"Then it's okay if Misaka comes with you?" Worst asked sarcastically, after sticking her head into the living room. "Misaka should be old enough if the original is allowed to attend."

"You aren't going because then it will be an even bigger pain in the ass for me," Accelerator snapped.

"Now Misaka has to go. Misaka will sneak in if necessary."

"If you show up," Accelerator pointed out. "You won't be able to go tricking people and taking candy."

"Don't encourage her!" Aiho called from the kitchen.

"That is a tough decision," Worst mused. "Torture you or torture innocent kids? Misaka is leaning toward you."

"Good," Accelerator snapped. "Maybe the damn hero can save you and you will fall for him. Spend your life making him miserable."

"Aww," Worst cooed. "No need to be jealous. You're the only one for Misaka." A cough interrupted her and she turned toward Bayloupe. "Even if you have a girlfriend living with you. Is she going with you?"

"I haven't invited anyone," huffed Accelerator, but then he caught Aiho's eye from the kitchen. She was staring at him and it wouldn't be the first time Accelerator suspected she knew he and Bayloupe weren't really a couple. He had to act weird occasionally to make Aiho believe their lie. Trying to make up something else would be a hassle and Worst would never let him live that lie down. "The idiots and I decided to do to go. So, Bayloupe, you coming? It's on Halloween, but you need a costume."

"Huh?" Bayloupe was surprised he actually invited her. "Er, sure. Lessar had brought costumes for us so I can just take one of them. She's probably going to join us if Kamijou is there."

"He will be." Accelerator surprised her by chuckling. "But he might be in disguise." Bayloupe looked confused.

* * *

Frenda, Saiai, Shiage, and Rikou were staying far away from Shizuri, who was mumbling to herself while watching the news. They had been doing mission after mission and finally got a break. The problem was Halloween was fast approaching and none of them really celebrated it. Shiage was the only one who actually somewhat enjoyed it because a lot of girls took the opportunity to dress up in sexy outfits. The girls were too old to trick or treat and Shizuri hated the fact so many sluts were out there in public. She may enjoy showing off her body from time to time, but there was a time and place for everything. She had been really moody lately and snapped at the others for the slightest provocation.

This also meant Shiage had been hit by many different objects in a span of a couple hours.

"She's been running us ragged," Frenda complained quietly. Just because she hated doing back to back missions, doesn't mean she was brave enough to tell Shizuri that face to face. "Basically, I'm exhausted. We can't keep this up." She hadn't even seen much of her sister except when she said she was going trick or treating with friends.

"We super need to find out why she suddenly decided to accept too many missions," Saiai sighed. "It happens occasionally, but this is ridiculous."

"…perhaps she is upset for some reason?" Rikou suggested.

"Heh." Shiage forced a laugh. "Maybe she's upset she hasn't seen the boss lately." He went back to the manga he was reading before realizing the others were staring at him. "What?"

"…that seems possible," Rikou muttered.

"It seems unlikely," Saiai added. "When was the last time any of us super saw Kamijou, anyways?"

"We hung out with some of his friends last week," Shiage answered. "Guys' night."

"Yeah, we don't care about you guys getting together and hacking off." Saiai turned to the others. "I meant the important people." Shiage flicked her off and she stuck her tongue out at her. Rikou shrugged and Saiai and then patted Shiage on the back.

"He accompanied me on a shopping trip after I ran into some thugs," Frenda reminisced. "He pretended to be my boyfriend and then I persuaded him to help carry bags."

"He's a pushover most of the time," Saiai agreed. "But it's always a shock when he actually stands up to Mugino. Maybe we have to have him super join us on a mission?"

"Might be tough," Shiage commented and popped open a bag of chips. "I heard he got invited to a Halloween party as Kami. Bunch of his friends got invited too. Don't think they said which school it was, but I couldn't accept his invitation because… well, Mugino." When he and Rikou started dating, she had told him about Touma's alternate persona and he had found it hilarious like everyone else.

"That's it," Saiai declared, but forcefully kept her excitement down as to not alert Shizuri. "We have to get him to invite Mugino. She will be too busy trying to get a costume, we won't have time to think about missions. At least, for a little bit."

"I don't think she will," Frenda said. "Basically, she's not into school parties. I wouldn't mind going with him though." Saiai grinned and made a circle with one hand and put her index finger of her other hand through it. Frenda replied with a rude gesture.

"So it's settled," Saiai declared. "Hamazura, tell him to invite Mugino." Shiage opened his mouth to argue but quickly closed it when Saiai and Frenda glared at him. There was no point in arguing with them when they were like this. Shiage sighed, pulled out his phone, and typed a quick message.

 _Hey boss, you got a minute?_ He received a reply a few moments later.

 _Hey, sure. What's up?  
_

 _You see, Mugino has been kind of overworking herself._

 _She does seem the kind of person to do that._

 _We were wondering if you might be able to help convince her to take a break._

 _I could try, but you know she doesn't like to listen to others. No idea how right now._

 _Actually, could you invite her to that party you mentioned?_

 _Thought you were busy?_

 _Busy because of Mugino overworking us. Get her to come and the rest of ITEM will come too._

 _Well, I suppose. You all have gone through some crazy stuff because of me. Give me a minute._

"He's going to try," Shiage informed the others.

"…it will be an uphill battle," Rikou said and put her head on the table.

"So… a costume party," Frenda mused to herself. "Basically, that means I need a costume that will dazzle everyone."

"Good point," Saiai agreed. 'We don't have much time."

"Look!" Frenda ordered in a hushed voice while pointing to Shizuri. Everyone grew quiet and turned to see Shizuri pick up her phone that had just buzzed. They could see part of her face and she had raised an eyebrow. Shizuri sent a message and received one a few seconds later. She actually frowned this time and continued to send messages back and forth. Frenda was sure there was actually a small smirk on Shizuri's face. She finally set her phone down and looked up at the ceiling.

"Did it work?" Shiage asked.

"Be quiet," Frenda and Saiai snapped.

"Hey!" Shizuri snapped and everyone sat up straight.

"What is it?" Saiai asked. "Do we super have another mission?"

"No," Shizuri replied. "Kamijou invited us to a stupid Halloween costume party. Figured we could use a break. Any of you interested?"

"Any restrictions?" Frenda asked.

"It's at Tokiwadai High," Shizuri said. "So full of those naïve rich girls. Anything risqué would be hilarious." She kicked the table in front of her and it moved a couple feet. "That idiot decided to only give us a couple days to fucking find costumes. It's like his brain doesn't work half the time." Frenda and Saiai turned to each other and grinned.

"Mugino," Shiage volunteered. An idea had come to him. A suicidal, insane idea that might get him killed, but this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Not only could he possibly get his girlfriend in this costume, but the others too. He might be able to pass it off as a way to get attract attention and possible embarrass Touma. _Sorry boss. I can't let this chance slip through my fingers._ "I actually have a suggestion."

Frenda and Saiai would just be casualties.

* * *

"Thanks for inviting us," Patricia told Mikoto, Ruiko, Kazari, and Kuroko. Mitsuko and her friends were walking right behind them, talking excitedly among themselves. "I don't know many people around my age here, so attending a party with friends is going to be fun." Mikoto had invited Patricia and her sister to the party as their guests. They occasionally hung out, but she was often busy with her research work and therefore did not have a lot of free time. She was currently wearing a white dress down to her ankles. Attached to her back was a pair of white wings and then a halo was suspended above her head from a small pole attached to her back. She had come as an angel. "Love the group costumes by the way."

"Thanks," Mikoto replied. "It wasn't a problem." She and the others had found the brown pants and jackets, along with the caps. They had been granted permission to take a couple magnifying glasses from school to use as part of the outfit.

"I kind of owe you too," Ruiko said to Leivinia. "For letting me come on that one trip." Leivinia nodded in agreement. "So how did you two decide who was wearing which?"

"As the responsible older sister, I let her choose first," Leivinia answered. She was wearing a similar style red dress, but instead of angel wings, she had a pair of red devil wings and a tail. A headband with two horns adorned her head. She also carried a red pitchfork in one hand. "If I took the one she wanted, she would start crying."

"N-no I wouldn't!" Patricia protested. "And you aren't that much older!"

"But I am older," Leivinia said triumphantly.

"How has work been?" Kazari asked Patricia.

"About the same," Patricia answered after thinking about it. "You have the busy days and the slow days, but I find everything I've been learning fascinating, so it's not really work."

"When did you four meet those two?" Mitsuko asked Kuroko. "And does she really do research for the city?"

"She has a P.H.D already," Kuroko replied mildly. "And we met Patricia-san through another one of our friends. They work together occasionally." She decided to leave a lot of information about Jason, including the fact she had believed he was cheating on Kazari for Patricia. Kuroko glanced over her shoulder at Mitsuko, Kinuho, and Maaya. The three of them were clothed in typical European princess style and wore dresses in red, green, and blue respectively.

"That… is impressive," Mitsuko admitted. "Of course, to be complemented by one such as I is a huge honor."

"Yeah, yeah." Kuroko wasn't interested in arguing with her today. Not with her friends close by. Besides, they had just reached the gate to Tokiwadai High School and it opened up right when they walked up. There were lights on everywhere in typical orange filter. Decorations of Jack-o-lanterns, friendly ghosts, and typical Halloween decorations covered the grounds. Music could be heard coming from the gym and there was a lit stone walkway leading to the entrance. Three girls greeted them and Mikoto, Kazari, and Ruiko recognized them.

"Welcome!" Yuna greeted them, while Hibiki and Hanabi waved. "Right on time, great!" She was wearing a white nurse's outfit complete with hat and skirt. Attached to her hip was a small bag with what she considered props for her costume. It wasn't terribly revealing, the shirt had short sleeves, but the skirt was extremely short, even by Tokiwadai uniform standards. Hibiki and Hanabi were wearing long red and black dresses, equipped with a high collar, and a cloak. When they talked, small pairs of fangs were visible. They had dressed up as vampires. "Misaka-san, Uiharu-san, Saten-san, a pleasure to see you all. Who are your guests?" There was a short break as everyone introduced themselves.

"Did the others not arrive with you?" Hanabi asked and looked passed them. "We thought you, Kami-san, Accelerator-san, and Shokuhou-san would all come together."

"I think the guys are planning to come together," Mikoto replied.

"They are," Kazari confirmed. "Jason just texted me they are almost here."

"We might as well wait for them," Ruiko suggested.

"I hope those guys took the advice about dressing appropriately," Hibiki sighed. "I swear, if they come half naked…"

"Would they do that?" Patricia asked. Kazari and Ruiko remained silent.

"…well…" Mikoto could not truly answer her. Kuroko was the one to speak.

"I'm sure _Kami_ will be dressed up in something stupid," Kuroko said. "His friends will pressure him into it."

"Oh, definitely," Leivinia laughed. "I am looking forward to seeing this." Hibiki rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"They are guys," Mitsuko pointed out. "What did you expect?"

"I never attended a party with boys our age," Kinuho said. "This is exciting."

"Are they really as wild as you say?" Maaya asked Mitsuko.

"They are," Mitsuko replied and stood up straight. "Though there are a couple who can behave like gentlemen when they need to."

"Just be careful when they are in groups," Yuna warned. "Boy's lose IQ points when they are together because they like to one up each other." All the girls laughed at this.

"Looks like Shokuhou-san just arrived," Hanabi announced. "And…wow." The other girls all turned around and their mouths fell open. Misaki had only arrived with two other girls, but it was her outfit that was giving them looks.

"Hello," Misaki greeted them and smiled. Her eyes fell onto Mikoto and she suddenly felt a swarm of irritation at the superior look in Misaki's eyes. Misaki could tell the girls were admiring her outfit. It was a white and black maid outfit, with several major alterations. Intersecting strings were across her stomach, instead of being solid cloth. There was some red on the fringes of the bottom half of the outfit. Long white spider web gloves and socks covered most of the skin on her arms and legs. There was also a pair of tall white rabbit ears on her head. "It's not too much?" she asked innocently and spun around. "I had to make a few modifications from the original design and even added a slightly longer skirt." If that was what she considered a longer skirt, most of the others could only imagine what it was before." The two girls behind her were wearing much more normal black and white maid uniforms.

"Wow!" Kazari said in awe. "It's so bold."

"I'm glad you took our advice and made it more suitable for the party," Hibiki stated. "But still…"

"It's Halloween," Misaki laughed. "We can be a little more bold than usual."

 _Little more, she says._ Mikoto was not amused. She knew what this was all about.

"Looks like someone is trying to get some attention," Leivinia pointed out, her eyes on Misaki's chest.

"It certain will," Patricia added. "Are you trying to impress someone?"

"A girl has to have some secrets," Misaki replied with a wink. Mikoto and Kuroko looked at each other and sighed. "I don't believe we have met. I'm Misaki Shokuhou." Everyone quickly introduced themselves, though Misaki definitely felt Leivinia knew her from their brief greeting. Mitsuko and her friends awe was more what Misaki was used too when introducing herself. While they were used to Mikoto and her friends, Misaki was an entirely different person. A few polite compliments on their dresses and receiving a few in return were enough to break the ice.

"It's good to see you were able to make it," Yuna said to Misaki.

"I could hardly turn down an invitation like this," Misaki replied sweetly. "Especially since were kind enough to invite so many of my friends."

"Most of our school voted to invite everyone," Hanabi explained. "Normally, boys are not allowed, but a few students," her eyes fell on Yuna, "worked out to persuade the principal."

"Nice one," Ruiko said to Yuna and gave a thumbs up.

"It was actually pretty easy when I presented a petition with over ninety-five percent of the students signing," Yuna told them.

"It probably helps that your school is outside the school gardens," Mitsuko pointed out. "The security isn't nearly as high."

"You will be surprised," Hibiki said. "They have caught quite a few boys trying to sneak in and they were punished pretty harshly."

"Boys do try to sneak into the School Gardens," Kinuho said reasonably. "I heard there are one to two cases a week."

"Then there was the boy who snuck into the dorms to see a girl," Maaya added. "Not sure what happened to him." Everyone had turned to them and missed Mikoto and Misaki exchange a look in silence. Touma's escapades were becoming widely known and there wasn't a lot they could do about it except try to keep the person anonymous.

"So we only have Kami, Accelerator, their friends, and any guests they brought with them," Yuna said and looked at a piece of paper. "Would you all like to join the party now or wait for them out here?"

"I think we should wait," Mikoto said instantly.

"I agree," Misaki added. "It would be rude not to." The only person who didn't seem interested in waiting was Leivinia, but Patricia quickly convinced her to. They didn't have to wait long before they heard voices on the other side of the wall.

"… come on, we still have a chance to turn around and do something normal!"

"Quit being a baby, you will be the life of the party."

"Boss, you will get all the girls in that."

"Unlike Hamazura because he's super dressed like a kid."

"I can't believe he convinced you all to dress up like that. Losers."

"Shut it, albino. He invited as at the last minute."

"Hang on. We have to make the announcement."

"No, not that. I'll knock some sense-…" The last person's words were muffled by something. A second later, two boys walked out from behind the school wall and through the gate. Motoharu and Pierce stopped the second they say the girls.

"Oh, hey!" Pierce acknowledged them with a wave and a grin. Many of them thought he would dress in some kind of perverted costume, especially Yuna, Hibiki, and Hanabi after The Incident. Instead, he was dressed in a blue and white shirt and blue jeans. A red and white cap was on his head, along with a Pikachu plushy attached to his shoulder. On his belt, several toy pokeballs hung down. "This makes things easier. We were just about to announce Kami's presence to the party."

"Where is he?" Yuna asked.

"He tried to run," Motoharu laughed. "And we wouldn't have that." The girls looked at each other. Compared to Pierce, Motoharu was dressed a lot more elaborately. He was in a full length white robe that was teal on one side. A gold belt was tied around his waist, along with gold markings and trim. A white symbol in the middle looked like three drops spinning around inside a half circle. He had sandals and a very tall pointed hat. He was holding a golden staff, with the top in a large circle around a golden sun. Several rings hung from the circle and purple robe was tied about halfway up it. He was dressed up at an Onmyouji, a practitioner of The Way of Yin and Yang. This would have to be explained to the girls at some point, but most of them figured he was some kind of priest.

"Bring him in!" Pierce yelled over his shoulder. The sound of a struggle was heard before one person was pushed out from behind the wall and in front of the gate. All the girls' mouths fell open in shock and they could only stare.

The girls who know him well could tell the masked individual was Touma, though the black kanji saying Kami on the red cape was a dead giveaway. Touma was wearing gold helmet, bracers, and greaves. He was also wearing a red kilt to cover his lower body, but didn't even reach his knees. This was the only compromise the others would let him have. In one hand, he held a large bronze shield and the other a basic spear. An iridescent lens on the helmet obscured the face from the masses and most likely his embarrassment. No one doubted what he was, a Spartan hoplite. The reason they were staring, and a few of them might have been drooling slightly, was he had no chest armor.

Actually, nothing was covering his chest.

"Err… hey everyone?" he said nervously and waved his hand with the spear. Everyone was silent for a moment before someone burst out laughing.

"AHAHAHA!" Leivinia had to hold her side from laughing. "It was worth coming just to see this!"

"Birdway?" Touma asked surprised. "Why are you here?"

"My sister was invited," Leivinia explained and jabbed a thumb to Patricia. "I only tagged along."

"Hello," Patricia said waving. "It's… nice to meet you?" Everyone was beginning to get over their stunned stupor. Kazari and Ruiko had begun to giggle, while Kuroko face palmed. Mitsuko, Kinuho, and Maaya were still staring. Out of all of them, they had the least experience with boys, especially half naked ones. It was probably a good think Mitsuko did not recognize who Kami really was.

"We even warned you to dress appropriately!" Hibiki yelled at him. "Don't you know what that means?"

"Not sure what you are talking about?" a snide voice answered her. Everyone turned to see the rest of Touma's group walking up. Leading the way was Accelerator. It was obvious he didn't put any effort into his costume. He was wearing a pair of white wolf ears and had attached a take to the back of his pants. Other than that, it was his normal clothes. Only the guys knew the true purpose of the costume. It was actually designed to be a group costume with Last Order and Worst. Last Order was trick or treating as little red riding hood and Worst had dressed up as a hunter. Aiko had taken a lot of pictures before he left and he swore to kill anyone outside of the immediate group who lived in his apartment. "Maybe you are just too much of a prude?"

"You actually decided to show up?" Hibiki asked. "Didn't have anyone else to hang out with?"

"I did," Accelerator laughed mockingly. He was going to enjoy bringing her down a few. "But she was interested in coming." He pointed to Bayloupe, who had just walked up. She looked at him confused.

"Huh?" She was wearing a black and blue skin tight outfit with black wings and horns. Lessar decided that all of her costumes had to be sexy and thus, they were all succubi. Bayloupe had grabbed the least revealing one and it was still a little uncomfortable, but she put up with it. She could have sworn she caught Accelerator watching her occasionally out of the corner of his eye. Even if he was irritable, Lessar was right, he was still a guy. "Right. I thought it would be fun and I knew Lessar was going to be coming anyways. Someone has to keep an eye on her." Hibiki's eyes widened in shock.

"No one has to keep an eye on me," Lessar protested and everyone turned to look at her. She was in a similar outfit to Bayloupe, except in purple and black. Though, Lessar didn't fill it out quite as well, not that she would ever believe that. When everyone saw her, many started to snicker. She had her arms tied to her side my Jason's shadow and the owner of the shadow was walking up from behind her. "You can let me go anytime now."

"We tried that," Jason pointed out. "And then you tried to do things to Kami."

"Well, duh," Lessar said with a roll of her eyes. "Did you see his bare chest? Who could resist that?'

"Yes, yes," Jason agreed in a monotone. "I will be dreaming of it for weeks." Kazari giggled and walked to him. "But I suppose I can let you go for now." Lessar grinned when his shadow retracted.

"I like your costume," Kazari told him. "Caesar?"

"Yep," Jason confirmed. "We randomly drew a lottery to determine who selected everyone's costume for fun. Accelerator got me and just said some office from another and Julius Caesar was common enough to find a costume for that." He was wearing bronze armor designed to look antique over a red shirt with a red cape. He had a small circular wreath made of interlocking branches on his head."

"Who chose the ape's costume?" Kuroko asked.

"Tsuchimikado."

"Of course he did."

Meanwhile, Touma had been swarmed by the girls. Misaki, Mikoto, Ruiko, Yuna had to drag Hanabi over, and Lessar. "Sorry we are late," Touma told them. "We had to wait for a few people."

"Uh huh," Mikoto said. "Was it you?"

"It was us," Shiage informed them. The girls had been too busy staring at Touma, they completely missed the large white rabbit. Only Shiage's face was visible in his costume and whiskers had been drawn on.

"Everyone," Touma announced. "This is Shiage Hamazura, a friend of mine. And most of you know Mugino and her friends." Mikoto and Misaki coughed when they saw what the girls behind Shiage were wearing.

They were all dressed up as bunny girls.

"Seems like we had similar ideas," Misaki commented in a voice of determined calm.

"Indeed," Shizuri answered curtly. Her skin tight leotard was purple and she had attached a white puffball tail and ears. The others had different color leotards, but otherwise looked the same. Frenda was red, Saiai was white, and Rikou was black. Rikou however, was standing deliberately next to Shiage and closely watched any girls approaching him. "We didn't get a lot of time to prepare when… Kami… invited us. Hamazura thought it would be funny to suggest this and, of course, we had to stick him in his own."

"Better than wearing the blue version of your costumes," he muttered.

"But you look so fluffy," Patricia said. "I could just give you a hug." Rikou moved closer to Shiage and gripped his arm tightly.

"I can't believe how bold they are," Maaya said to Mitsuko. "I would never be able to wear something like that in public."

"Even our swimsuits cover more," Kinuho added.

"Well," Mitsuko said, quickly recovering. "I could have worn a costume like that, but I was under the impression this was a high class party from Tokiwadai High. Also, I would dress to the same level as you two anyways. We are friends and should stick together."

"You're so thoughtful," Kinuho beamed and Maaya nodded.

"Of course," Mitsuko laughed nervously. She seriously doubted if she could wear something like that to a party if it wasn't for a modeling job. Her body was naturally flawless, but having people, especially boys, ogling her body would be embarrassing. Besides, the only boy she really knows well wouldn't do something like that and she was kind of disappointed she didn't invite him to come.

"Isn't it cold without a shirt?" Ruiko asked Touma. The girls had seen his chest before, but something about wearing armor made it look more muscular.

"A little," Touma admitted. "But the weather is a little warmer than it has been."

"Looks like some people decided to dress boring," Frenda said and gestured to Mikoto and Ruiko. "Basically, Halloween is supposed to be a time to dress naughty."

"We have some modesty," huffed Mikoto.

"Come on," Touma interrupted. "Let's not argue and have fun at the party."

"He's right," Yuna added and stepped into the middle of them. "Besides, we have a costume contest for individual and groups. You can settle your argument there."

"We are super going to win," Saiai declared and glanced over at Accelerator. He had turned away from Hibiki and walked over to Motoharu and Pierce, who were talking in low voices. Everyone began to introduce themselves to the people they didn't know and Hibiki took the opportunity to asked Bayloupe a question that had been bothering her.

"Are you really his girlfriend?" Hibiki asked. Bayloupe turned to her and they looked at each other in the eyes.

"Yes," Bayloupe answered.

"Okay," Hibiki said softly in a tone that revealed her surprise and skepticism. "How?"

"I kind of want to hear about that too," Saiai said and the other two turned to her. They hadn't seen her approach. While they continued talking, Mikoto, Misaki and Shizuri were beginning to have a heated discussion once Touma went over to talk to Hanabi and Yuna.

"I can't believe you two dressed up like… that," Mikoto hissed. "It's obvious why you did it."

"Sounds like someone is jealous," Misaki said and held a hand up to her mouth. "Just because we have the body to fill out these kinds of outfits, doesn't mean you should be jealous."

"Even though your childish demeanor still shows," Shizuri stated smugly. "You should have seen the way he looked at me when I arrived."

"Are you trying to convince me or yourself?" Misaki asked, as her eyes narrowed.

Leivinia watched her sister talking with several of the people there, but she preferred to stay back. It wasn't like Leivinia wasn't a social person, she just was picky on who she would socialize with. Most of the people there she knew, either by actually observing them or reading reports. A lot of them would just be a bother, so she didn't care about them. What she did pay attention too was some of the outfits of certain girls. The way their chests bounced with each movement and her hand subconsciously touched her own. _Bunch of sluts, I should have worn something more noticeable._

* * *

"Trick or treat!"

Index, Last order, Hyouka, and Freama Seivelun, the little sister of Frenda, held out their bags as Komoe opened the door with a bowl of candy. She was wearing her pink bunny pajamas that doubled as a Halloween costume. In fact, that was one of the main reasons she had her parents buy it in the first place when she was a child. Since she never really grew in size, it became a comfortable every day pajamas and occasional costume.

"Hello, Index, Last Order!" Komoe greeted them enthusiastically. "I thought I would be seeing you here."

"Hehe," Index laughed. "We are planning to hit everywhere."

"I bet you are," Komoe laughed as she passed out the candy. "Let me see." She eyed Index's blue and white costume and Hyouka's black and gold one. "Magical girls?" They nodded happy and she turned to Last Order, who was wearing a red cape and her bag was actually a picnic basket. Her dress under the cape was red and white. "Little red riding hood?"

"Yep, MISAKA answers happily. Accelerator is dressed up as the wolf but he was invited to a high school party MISAKA says sadly as MISAKA droops her head."

"Then he is missing out on all the candy," Komoe told her and Last Order quickly agreed. She turned to the last girl. Freama was wearing a purple and pink stripped dress with a hood that contained two cat ears in the same color. A tail was attached to the back and two fuzzy boots completed the outfit. "I'm not sure what you are," Komoe stated apologetically. "But that costume looks really nice."

"I'm the Cheshire Cat," Freama explained and her smile never left her face.

"Oh! From Alice in Wonderland. I see it now. It's a great choice."

"I know," Freama agreed and puffed out her chest. "I worked hard on it, nyah!" Her smile flickered. "Isn't it boring to be stuck inside instead of trick or treating? You look around my age, so why don't you come with us, nyah?" Everyone grew silent.

"I-I'm a teacher!" Komoe declared, but was unable to contain a slight stutter. "I'm much older than you!"

"Huh?" Freama asked. "Do you know it's wrong to lie, nyah?"

"It's the truth!" Komoe declared.

"It's true," Index said. "She's Touma's teacher."

"She is," Hyouka also confirmed. "I have seen her working at the school."

"See," Komoe said to Freama, who tilted her head.

"But-…"

"The city experimented on her and stopped the aging process, MISAKA explains sadly as MISAKA hangs her head dejectedly."

"You know that is not true!" Komoe told her and Last Order covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. Komoe sighed when she realized it was a joke. "Accelerator's sense of humor has been rubbing off on you." Last Order only grinned back. "Okay everyone, have fun and stay safe." She closed the door and the girls left.

"I can't believe how much candy we are getting," Index said happily and quickly ate a handful. "And we barely even started!"

"Halloween in the best, MISAKA agrees. We should aim to get enough candy to last the entire year!"

"Or at least until Christmas when we get more, nyah," Freama corrected her. The girls laughed, but the fourth girl was silent.

Hyouka was pretty shy, but she would open up among her friends. Last Order and Freama were nice enough and Hyouka enjoyed their company, but they didn't know what she was. Most people would probably think she was a monster and she was glad Index did not tell them about what she really was. To index, she was a friend, and that was all that mattered. She treasured that. As a mark of their friendship, Index turned to her.

"Are you okay, Hyouka?" she asked. "You have been rather quiet."

"I'm fine," Hyouka lied and quickly came up with a reason for her silence on the spot. "I'm just not entirely comfortable with this outfit. It's a little revealing." The three girls looked her over again. Her stomach was bare and the chest piece didn't quite cover her rather large chest. Her lower part was covered, but it was rather tight and she shifted occasionally from discomfort. Last Order put a hand on her chest and sighed. Worst would always point out the size different to bother her, but Hyouka didn't have a single mean bone in her body.

"But you look great," Index protested.

"I keep seeing guys look at me," Hyouka mumbled.

"Guys will always look at girls, MISAKA explains. Trust MISAKA. It's programmed into their DNA. You should take it as a compliment MISAKA adds as MISAKA wishes a certain guy would look at her." She mumbled the last part.

"Besides," Freama piped up. "If any guys bother you, we will take care of them. Nyah! It's time for us girls to be the heroes!" Hyouka's eyes widened and she started to laugh.

"Thanks," she said to them. "I feel better now. Who's ready for the next area? I think we got all the apartments here."

"I am!" The other three said in unison. Last Order and Freama grabbed onto Hyouka's arms and dragged her along. Index ran alongside them, happy all her friends were getting along so well. Behind the four girls, almost completely forgotten, were two older girls, Kaori Kanzaki and Floris. Both of them were in costumes they would rather not have been seen in, so they made sure not to draw attention to themselves. It wasn't possible though, especially Kaori. She had been tricked by Motoharu and Floris had been forced into one of Lessar's costumes. They had been told they had to wear costumes to accompany Index and her friends. With Eve in the city, Index could not be left alone.

They were rather upset after discovering the lie by watching other older people escorting younger ones.

Kaori only had one outfit, the black and white Erotic Fallen Angel Maid Outfit.

Floris had been stuck with the red and black succubus outfit.

"At least they are having fun," Kaori muttered to herself, after giving a group of high schoolers a glare that was almost capable of freezing blood when she caught them staring.

"Easy for you to say," Floris growled slightly. "Index is your close friend. I don't have any close relationship with any of them. I'm only doing this because Lancis volunteered to pass out candy and Bayloupe needed someone to help watch Last Order. Since she's snuck off with Accelerator to some party."

"You have a point," Kaori agreed. She had made a grave mistake. Motoharu had told her about the party he was going to attend with Touma. He had even offered to bring her along as his guest. Suspecting a trap, Kaori refused the offer and volunteered to watch over Index, even though Itsuwa had been willing to. Instead, Itsuwa then took over the role of passing out candy to the kids. Kaori realized now she should have accepted the offer, even if it meant showing Touma the outfit again. "But you know Index is going to be a prime target wandering around like this."

"True," Floris conceded. "This is the perfect chance for Eve to strike." She frowned and adjusted her outfit that was bunching up uncomfortably. "I'm going to kill Lessar," she muttered.

"I have to kill a pervert too," Kaori agreed. The two followed the other four girls, but still kept their distance. They were more chaperones than anything else. She looked around at all the kids in costumes and then felt the air change. The scent in the wind felt stale for a second and the temperature dropped. "Did you feel that?" she asked Floris, not sure if she had just imagined it or if Motoharu had been talking about her behind her back.

"For a second," Floris confirmed and glanced around. "Thought I might have imagined it, but if you felt it too… any ideas on what that was?"

"No," Kaori said with a shake of her head. "And Index didn't seem to have noticed anything, but she's being distracted. Keep on guard." Floris nodded and the two of them inched slightly closer to the other girls.

* * *

"Are you actually working tonight?" Kikyou asked Aiho. "Thought you were off."

"I was," Aiho confirmed and started to change out of her leopard Amazonian dress into normal clothes. "With the kids gone, figured I could have a break while you passed out candy. That call just now, I need to check in."

"Kids getting out of hand?"

"Not sure," Aiho replied and paused. Kikyou frowned at her expression. "Tessou confirmed there are just as many vandals as last year. Egging, teepeeing, you name it. There is also a suspect stealing candy from children who suspiciously fit Worst's description."

"Suspiciously," Kikyou repeated and adjusted her own leopard Amazonian dress. They both laughed for a moment. "We both know she did it."

"I like to give her the benefit of the doubt until we have proof," Aiho countered. "But this was within expectations, it was something else Tessou told me."

"What was it? Ghosts sighting?" Aiho grinned slightly.

"Could be," Aiho agreed and Kikyou frowned. She knew Aiho wasn't a believer in ghosts and spirits. "Decorations seem to have been moved to another. It's like they are shifting from outside the city and slowly being moved to the inside."

"Sounds like an elaborate prank by kids," Kikyou pointed out. "Just harmless fun."

"That's what I said," Aiho agreed. "But no one can figure out how so many decorations have been moved without anyone seeing them. This isn't just one or two pumpkins or ghost lamps being moved, hundreds of decorations are being swapped and more every minute."

"High level ability user? Teleportation or psychokinesis?"

"Possibly." Aiho grabbed her jacket. "I wouldn't go if it was just that. There were reports of a couple kids being attacked."

"Attacked?" Kikyou sat up straight. "By who?"

"Probably the pranksters moving the decoration," Aiho said coldly. "Reports said the decorations came to life. A scarecrow attacked a couple elementary school kids and a couple pumpkins attacked a middle schooler. I'm going to help stop this before it gets out of hand."

"Good luck." Aiho waved goodbye to Kikyou and left, the door slamming shut behind her. Kikyou rolled her eyes and went back to watching TV until more trick or treaters showed up. She glanced at her digital camera on the table next to her and flipped through the pictures. She stopped at one where Accelerator had last Order in his lap and Worst was leaning up against the chair he was sitting in. All were in their Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale costumes. Accelerator didn't look too happy, but the other two did. Kikyou flipped to the next picture and saw Accelerator and Bayloupe leaning against each other awkwardly. Kikyou chuckled to herself.

 _I should send a copy of these to his friends._

* * *

Inside the windowless building Aleister was monitoring Academy City like usual. Halloween was not something he partook in, but he noticed a pattern that should not have been there. Every major Halloween party a school threw had to be approved by the city. Sure there were small ones all over the place made by friends for friends, but they wouldn't generate enough collective belief to do anything. Looking at the pattern, he noticed one began to form and he frowned. Some of the schools had moved slightly on the grounds but not enough for most people to notice. Being able to move an entire building including underground pipes without setting off sensory alarms was not an easy feat, especially for half a dozen schools. He checked the security cameras and saw a young blonde girl using paper to move the schools.

 _Eve._

He should have known. She had been a constant thorn in his side, but she never directly went against his own plans. In fact, her appearance actually accelerated some advancements of his own, so he hadn't gone out to specifically eradicate her, until she actually attacked the level 5s. Noukan had forced her to retreat and she hadn't done anything suspicious except frequently visiting a certain smoothie stand. He turned his attention back to the chart with lights indicating the major Halloween parties. Aleister immediately spotted a pattern, but there was one light that didn't belong. The light flickered off and the natural circuit was formed.

 _So that was her plan. The Imagine Breaker is at that location and caused the resonance to break. The mana lines in the city are connecting to form that magic circle. There are three reasons for her to do this, one of which would affect me. If this is just her way of having fun, I will leave it to Anti-Skill. Should she be serious, I will have him deal with it. Sending Noukan out again will only give Eve more insight into his being._

Due to Eve's meddling, all the parties in the city formed a magic circle, with the one Touma Kamijou was attending being canceled. This circle might not have been a big deal, if not for the timing. Halloween was actually a pretty spiritual holiday, which was lost on the vast majority of today's youth. The holiday begins the three-day observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed. It marked the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or the 'darker half' of the year. It was seen as a liminal time, when the boundary between this world and the Otherworld thinned. This meant the Aos Sí Celtic 'spirits' or 'fairies', could more easily come into our world and were particularly active

The Aos Sí were both respected and feared, with individuals often invoking the protection of God when approaching their dwellings. It was believed that the Aos Sí needed to be propitiated to ensure that the people and their livestock survived the winter. Offerings of food and drink, or portions of the crops, were left outside for them. The souls of the dead were also said to revisit their homes seeking hospitality. Places were set at the dinner table and by the fire to welcome them. The belief that the souls of the dead return home on one night of the year and must be appeased was found in many cultures throughout the world.

This is how trick or treat started.

Over the years, the holiday devolved into fun for children, rather than spiritual significance. However, the reason why so many people believed the dead rose on this day was because the ley lines within the earth changed ever so slightly. They would pass through towns and cities, while the mana collected the beliefs of the masses. The collection of beliefs merged with the mana and caused many strange occurrences, such as objects moving, apparitions people swore where family members, and spooking animals. This natural occurrence was about to cause some problems with the current position of Eve's magic circle. Her circle was a focusing device to channel the ley line energy right under the windowless building.

Even though the supernatural was not vastly believed in Academy City, during Halloween, a lot of students began to believe in ghosts and ghouls at least a little. Even older students would occasional have subconscious beliefs, like thinking something is there when it's not or imagining ghost stories when telling kids. Weak or not, these beliefs were being pooled together at the parties, and the ley lines were feeding it with mana. The collection was going to pool under Aleister's building and spread out through the city. The beliefs of ghost, spirits, and demons would begin to manifest and, from some of the radio calls Anti-Skill was passing out, decorations were beginning to collect the mana and come to life.

Aleister was more than a little annoyed.

* * *

Let it be reminded that Touma Kamijou, aka Kami the Harem King, was a teenage boy.

He may never have had a girlfriend, but that did not mean he didn't want one. Like most boys his age, he wanted one. The problem was he had considered himself plain and unlucky. This mentality kept him from noticing if a girl showed interest in him. His friends had pointed it out for ever, but he never believed him. Once he knew a couple girls liked him, he was a little more open. However, he was never prepared for this. Touma Kamijou might have been plain, but Kami was a unique existence that everyone wanted to meet. This is why it was not a smart idea for him to go into a school for a party.

A school full of hormonal girls.

Actually, scratch that. It was a great idea for normal people. Touma on the other hand…

"Can we slow down?!" He asked Yuna, as she pulled him through the crowd to meet everyone.

"Everyone wants to meet you," Yuna explained. "It's best to introduce you quickly so you can enjoy the party the rest of the time." Touma had to admit she had a point. The second he and his friends had walked in, all other action ceased. The high school girls in their variety of costumes turned to stare at him for a moment. A second later, the gym erupted in welcome. None of them necessarily shouted, it was just the numbers. Once they had swarmed him, he lost sight of most of the people he came with. Mikoto, Lessar, and Misaki seemed to be the ones trying to stay near. Two of them being level 5s, it kept the attention rather focused for the first twenty minutes or so. The others introduced themselves to random people and began to spread out.

"They seem to be enjoying themselves," Patricia giggled, as she Kazari, Jason, Kuroko, Ruiko and Leivinia went to grab some punch. They had finally escaped the high school girls and could talk among themselves for a little bit.

"If you enjoy being pulled around by your wrist," Leivinia commented. "Then yes, he should be."

"He won't take any action on his own," Jason laughed. "Someone has to push him. We can't be around forever." By we, he meant the guys. "Right?" He nudged Ruiko in the side.

"People don't know the real him," Ruiko said quickly. "They just see him for the mask."

"So you know him?" Kazari asked with a gleam in her eyes. "I thought we only met him once?"

"Oh, no," Kuroko moaned when Ruiko turned to Kazari in shock. "Jason's been rubbing off on her."

"Guilty," Jason snickered and put his arm around her. "Soon, she's going to act just like me."

"My nightmares are going to become real," Kuroko muttered and Kazari giggled.

"Just don't kick him in the head," Patricia warned.

"Kick in the head?" Kazari and Ruiko asked in confusion, even Leivinia looked interested.

"You didn't tell them?" Patricia asked Jason.

"Didn't really see the reason too," Jason said with a shrug. "It was a misunderstanding." Kuroko was actually a little shocked at the thoughtfulness. Mikoto didn't tell Kazari and Ruiko for obvious reasons how they met Patricia, but she expected Jason to tell Kazari at some point. Jason ruined the moment a second later. "But it's a funny story. You should definitely tell it." Ignoring Kuroko's protest, Patricia went on about how they met. Kazari was a little shocked, but Ruiko found it hilarious. Leivinia only half listened and peered around at the others.

 _These parties are so boring,_ she thought. _And I have to wait for the hype to die around Kamijou before I move in._ She saw Lessar trying to get as much skin time as possible between introductions, while Mikoto and Misaki looked peeved. Yuna seemed to find it funny and Hanabi had the obvious twinge of jealousy on her face. _She should learn to act instead of being so passive._ Her eyes traveled to the far wall where Accelerator was leaning. Bayloupe, Hibiki and Saiai were the only girls near him, but a group of high school girls were a little off, constantly stealing glances at him. _Heh, they couldn't be more obvious or desperate. The albino doesn't want to be here and only tolerates those three._

Leivinia glanced around to find the final level 5. She was the one Leivinia was most interested in. Shizuri's eyes held the darkness and experience Leivinia could appreciate. She quickly located her target on the other side of the gym with Frenda, Shiage, and Rikou. A small group of girls were talking to her and she was replying with a cheerful expression, but the smile never reached her eyes. Leivinia could tell Shizuri did not want to be here. Frenda seemed to be more used to these things and Leivinia passed over her. Shiage seemed to be attracting a lot of attention in his childish outfit, which the Tokiwadai girls seemed to find cute. Leivinia wouldn't admit it, but it was kind of appealing. His girlfriend seemed to register the threat and pulled at his arm until he joined her on the dance floor. _Can't believe those girls are willing to dress like sluts. Desperate much? At least one of them realizes the boys are popular._

She glanced over at Jason, who seemed to be gathering a bit of attention. Kazari definitely noticed it, because she scooted closer to him. A moment later, probably because he noticed her discomfort, he took her hand and they moved to the dance floor. A couple other girls started offering to dance with Ruiko, Patricia, and Kuroko. Leivinia declined and glanced over at the group of three girls she did not know very well that came with her. Kongou and her friends seemed to be having a pleasant conversation with a group of girls. That wasn't a surprise to her. They were all spoiled rich girls. A sudden movement caught the corner of her eye and she saw one of the girls slap Pierce across the cheek while Motoharu shook his head and laughed.

 _Why am I here?_ Leivinia knew the answer. One, it would allow her to spend time with her sister, which work constantly kept them separated. The second, she wanted to bother Touma. It was a lot of fun and she had a kind of sadistic side, which her minions found out if they dared disobey or embarrass her. Mark had to be taught that many times. A shiver went down her spine out of nowhere and she frowned. She didn't sense anything, but her instincts were usually right. Something was happening, even if it wasn't related to a magician. She pulled out her phone from a hidden pocket and sent a message to Mark to keep her updated.

* * *

"Why did you come if you didn't want to be here?" Bayloupe asked Accelerator.

"Those idiots would spend the next month annoying me if I didn't," Accelerator muttered. "I'm biting the bullet."

"You should have stayed away," Hibiki told him. "You are bringing down the vibe."

"Annoying you was only a bonus," Accelerator continued. "Why are you even over here?"

"Someone has to make sure you don't do something stupid," Hibiki explained curtly and the mumbled the second half. "And to make sure no one else does anything stupid."

"What do you think he's going to do?" Bayloupe asked.

"Blow up the gym like he did to our school yard last time."

"Blow up a building?" Accelerator laughed. "When have I ever done that?"

"When you and I met the number two," Saiai volunteered. "That building super blew up."

"Huh." Accelerator thought about it for a moment. "Oh, yeah. Wasn't my fault though, he did it." He looked over at Saiai. "You weren't completely useless that fight."

"I have known you long enough to know that's a compliment coming from you," Saiai scoffed, but grinned internally.

"Careful brat," Accelerator growled. "I'm not afraid to sending you flying." Saiai stuck her tongue out at him.

"Bring it," she challenged. As the two of them continued to argue, Hibiki leaned next to Bayloupe.

"Is he forcing you to be his girlfriend?" Hibiki asked. "If he is, let me know. I'll find a way to take care of this."

"No," Bayloupe answered. This was actually true. Accelerator was not forcing this charade, they had agreed on it for other reasons. _This girl is pretty persistent. I can understand the initial shock if they actually know Accelerator, but she's on this a lot more than most. Oh… he, I know why. She likes him. This will be fun._ No one could say Bayloupe didn't know how to claim her territory. Lessar was the teaser, Bayloupe was the leader. "Actually," Bayloupe whispered to Hibiki, who had to lean closer to hear. "I approached him and didn't let up until he said yes." Hibiki's eyes widened. "I'm dressed up as a succubus for a reason, and I don't take kindly when someone else tries to take my prize."

Hibiki wasn't able to respond to that declaration for a moment, until her brain clicked. "Heh, I'm not one to give up without a fight."

"He doesn't even register you except for a target of his irritation," Bayloupe told her. "Just give up and stop bothering him."

"You really are a demoness," Hibiki hissed. "Did you throw yourself naked at him?"

"Didn't have to," Bayloupe huffed superiority. "When you look as good as I do, nothing is out of reach." Hibiki opened her mouth red faced, but before she could say anything, she and Bayloupe noticed something. Accelerator had followed Saiai to the refreshment area.

"How did that happen?!" They asked in unison.

* * *

"How did that happen?" Frenda asked Shizuri in shock, when she noticed Saiai and Accelerator moving together across the gym. "Basically, what did she bribe him with?"

"About time," Shizuri answered with a yawn. "I was wondering when she was going to asked him. She's not exactly oblivious. It might actually be beneficial if he gets close to her. We might be able to use him."

"If you say so." Frenda looked around the gym. "How long do we have to stay? Basically, it's boring here."

"I don't like it either," snapped Shizuri and then quickly replaced her expression with false kindness as a couple people passed. "But think of it as practice for blending in."

 _These costumes don't exactly blend in,_ Frenda though, but didn't voice her concern for fear of death. "Kamijou is still stuck surrounded by people."

"We knew he would be. The brats here rarely interact with boys. In fact, all the guys here are getting notice, except for the blue haired idiot."

"So what are you planning to do, Mugino?"

"I feel like dancing," Shizuri declared and started to walk toward the dance floor. Frenda watched her march up to Shiage and Rikou to cut in. Rikou slunk off next to Frenda and she could have sworn there was a dark shadow on Rikou's face.

 _Second Kamijou is free, I should cut in._ Frenda made a fist in determination as she glanced over at Touma.

* * *

"Could you do me a favor?" Kazari asked Jason.

"Sure. What is it?"

"Can you ask Shirai-san if she wants to dance?"

"That's an unusual request," Jason whispered to her. The two of them began to make their way off the dance floor. "What brought this on?"

"She's been off with Leivinia-san," Kazari pointed out. "And constantly glancing at Misaka-san with Kamij- I mean Kami-san." She decided to not mention it to Jason that Kuroko kept glancing at them too. "I bet she's lonely since Misaka-san is… preoccupied with Shokuhou-san. At least Leivinia-san has done a little with Patricia-san." The sisters told everyone they could refer to them with their first names tonight to avoid confusion when addressing them. "I feel bad she's not enjoying herself."

"Wouldn't it be better for Misaka-san to help out? We could let her know."

"It's just…," Kazari carefully phrased her words. "You have a way in cheering her up."

"Ah." Jason understood. "Okay." He spun around on his foot. "I'll lay on the charm." Kazari immediately moved to reduce this dangerous situation.

"You could probably dial it back a bit," she suggested.

"Nope," he replied with a laugh. "I always go all out." Kazari sighed, but she still smiled. Regardless how much Jason and Kuroko argued, she knew they enjoyed each other's' company. She walked over to the refreshments, grabbed some punch, and walked over to Ruiko, who seemed to be talking about a couple rumors involving the school.

"Hey, Uiharu," Ruiko greeted her. "Taking a break?"

"Little tired," Kazari answered. "Figured Jason might want to talk to someone else while I got something to drink." Ruiko chuckled when she located him talking to Kuroko.

"You got a good guy," one of the girl's told Kazari. "Not bad looking, interesting, and funny."

"Not as cute as the guy in the bunny suit," one of the others pointed out. "But his girlfriend is so possessive. She watches anyone who approaches him like a hawk. That's definitely a turn off."

"Do you think there's any truth to the rumors about the level 5s dating Kami-sama?" a third girl asked. "They haven't left his side since they arrived. Don't know who that third girl is though."

"Her name's Lessar," Kazari explained. "We met her when our group vacationed in England during break. She's visiting Academy City for a little bit."

"That makes sense," the first girl said with a nod. "She's been saying a few things that don't make a lot of sense, but must be slightly vulgar based on everyone's reactions."

"They… probably were," Ruiko admitted. "She tends to take jokes a little far. But you can learn a lot from her once you get passed that."

"What can you tell us about the other two guys with Kami-sama?" the second girl piped up again. "They are funny, but the one with blue hair is kind of creepy."

"We don't know a lot about him actually," Kazari admitted. "He wasn't with us. Tsuchimikado-san is smart, but I think he uses his brains to tease Kami-san more often than he should. He's funny when he wants to be and can be serious and resourceful when the situation calls for it."

"I think you only see them when they are not at their best," Ruiko added. "We were told guys seem to get dumber the more of them there are. It's some kind of male thing."

"Hibiki says the same thing," the first girl agreed. All the girls laughed and moved onto other subjects. Kazari was having fun, but she continued to keep an eye on Kuroko and Jason. She wasn't necessary possessive, but that didn't mean she didn't get jealous if other girls tried to approach her boyfriend. Most of them were just being nice with their guests, but some obviously had other ideas. She trusted Jason not to fall for their advances, but logic didn't always apply to romance.

* * *

"Sup Kuroko," Jason greeted, as he slid next to her.

"Oh, it's you. What do you want?" Kuroko was kind of bored. Mikoto was busy with the ape and she had promised not to try to get between them. Kazari had been busy with Jason and Kuroko was not nearly as sociable like Ruiko. Ruiko could pretty much enter any group and talk to them like old friends. Shizuri and her friends were out, which only left the Birdway sisters. Patricia was nice enough, but quickly got lost into the party. Leivinia was more reserved and they only had a quick conversation before that dried up. Most of the Tokiwadai girls wanted to talk about the boys attending, something she didn't really want to at this time. Mitsuko was Kuroko's rival, even if she didn't act like it. Though her friends were classmates of Kuroko, Kuroko wouldn't be able to talk to them without drawing Mitsuko's attention. Instead, she occasionally socialized with random girls.

"Thought you looked bored and came to cheer you up."

"Uh huh." She looked at up skeptically. "It was Uiharu, wasn't it?"

"She pointed it out, but I agreed." Jason wasn't laughing at her and she noted this. "Everyone sort of ran off and did their own thing, and the costume contest isn't for another hour. So how about you and I dance a bit, to kill some time?"

"I'm good," Kuroko declined. "You can tell Uiharu you talked to me..." Her words died off when Jason held a finger up in front of her face

"You seem to misunderstand me," Jason told her. "I'm not going to take no for an answer about that dance. The only thing up for discussion is the reason."

"And if I continue to say no?" Kuroko asked, a challenging smirk escaping her lips. She felt the familiar spark begun to light up inside her.

"Then I will make a scene," Jason warned. "Be prepared for utmost humiliation. Maybe if I get down on one knee and ask for this dance in a booming voice to everyone around us?"

"You wouldn't," Kuroko stated, but her face paled.

"Try me."

They stared at each other for a moment, neither backing down.

"Fine." Kuroko finally relented and held out her hand. Jason took it and led her to the dance floor. She could hear a few girls point to them and she remembered some of the high school girls were interested in Jason. Being by the refreshments allowed her to hear a lot of the gossip. Guys visiting an all-girls' school was sure to draw those kinds of conversations. They took their place and Kuroko was only planning to move along to the beat.

Before she knew it, she found herself having fun. The music wasn't overly fast, so they wouldn't get exhausted, but wasn't a slow song, where they would have to hold each other and dance close. It would be awkward for several reasons. One, Kuroko was not his girlfriend and Kazari was nearby, probably watching them. The second was all her complicated feelings she hadn't confessed yet. If she confessed here, everyone would see and it would be incredibly awkward. Part of her wanted to see what he would do in this situation, but she was sure he would find a way to turn it around. Another part wanted her to be in a more serious setting because she needed his honest answer. Instead, they talked while dancing together and somehow managed to avoid arguing.

"Thanks," she muttered.

"Hmm?" Jason raised an eyebrow.

"For worrying about me," Kuroko admitted. "And for cheering me up. I'm having fun."

"Knew you would," Jason laughed. "Hanging out with friends makes everything better."

"Getting tired," Kuroko told him. "After this song, I'll probably go and hang out with the others. Hibiki-san looks like she wants to rant about Accelerator and I can share stories about you."

"I knew you cared." They both laughed. "So Hibiki and Accelerator, huh. Will be tough now that he and Bayloupe are-…" He stopped when his pocket started beeping. He pulled out his phone, glanced at the number for a second, before growing serious. "Shit," he mumbled.

"Work?" Kuroko asked.

"If it was I would ignore them," Jason muttered darkly. "It's my boss, so something big must have happened. Need to find a private place. If anyone asks, can you make something up for me?"

"Sure." They left the dance floor together after Jason answered his phone, but then he slipped into the hallway toward the rest of the school while Kuroko headed toward the others.

* * *

"I think that's everyone," Yuna finally declared and Touma slumped up against a wall.

"Where do you get all that energy?" Touma gasped. Mikoto and Misaki sat down on some chairs next to them and Lessar didn't seem phased at all.

"Nutrient supplements," Yuna answered and pointed to the pouch on her hip. "But a powerful Spartan shouldn't be complaining about a little socializing. We did invite you after all. I'm sure someone in your position knew what he was signing up for."

"Your logic is exactly like my friends," Touma sighed and everyone laughed.

"Remember when I warned you about how people notice level 5s?" Mikoto asked him. "This is what happens when you stand out like you did."

"That's funny," Misaki added with a grin. "I recall saying the same thing."

"Rub it in you two," Touma grumbled and they snickered. _I need to make sure they don't hang around Aogami and Tsuchimikado anymore. They are remembering how much fun it is to tease me._

"He is the most recent level 5," Hanabi pointed out. "It's only natural for him to be used to a different set of standards."

"He secretly likes the attention," Lessar laughed. "And only pretends not to." She suddenly appeared in front of him. "So the powerful Spartan is tried, huh? Maybe he needs a little rubbing to feel better?" She took her hand and moved it down Touma's exposed chat. He flinched and jumped away.

"What are… why is your hand wet!?" Touma demanded.

"Take a guess," Lessar answered seductively with a wink.

"W-wha…?!" Mikoto and Hanabi stammered, her young mind immediately going to the worse possible reason.

"She wet her hand in the water fountain when we passed it," Misaki stated amused. She couldn't see Touma's cute embarrassed face, so she settled with Mikoto's adorable embarrassed face.

"You noticed it too?" Yuna asked with a laugh. "I was wondering what she was planning by doing that."

"I was a little occupied trying to remember everyone," Touma sighed.

"I don't think anyone expects you to remember everyone," Hanabi pointed out. "They just want to say hi and take pictures." Touma nodded. That was a thing. So many girls forced him to take selfies with them.

"And admire those abs," Yuna added and pointed to them. Hanabi blushed but did not look away. "You must work out a lot." Her eyes turned to Mikoto and Misaki. "As fellow level 5s," she said with a smirk. "Have you seen his training regimen?"

"I heard Misaka chased him across the city occasionally," Misaki said instantly.

"Don't bring that up!" Mikoto cried.

"Bet she tried to get physical," Lessar giggled.

"That sounds like a story I want to hear," Yuna said. "So, what was it about?" Mikoto opened her mouth to answer, but nothing came out. She didn't want to admit it was her selfishness in both not knowing his power, but the fact she couldn't affect him at all with her power.

"It was kind of my fault," Touma volunteered, sensing her discomfort. "I did something stupid and she found out her electricity didn't work on me. Instead of telling her, I ran and she chased me to figure out why."

"Is that so?" Misaki asked, a finger on her cheek. "It doesn't seem that ladylike for a Tokiwadai student. Perhaps there was another reason?" She was having so much fun teasing the two of them. Yuna's interest and Hanabi's embarrassment only made it all the sweeter. Lessar was… well Lessar. Her presence was more for her own pleasure than Misaki's

"No!" Mikoto denied and then quickly changed tactics. _Two can play at this game._ "Someone sounds a little jealous they couldn't join in because they can barely run two blocks."

"A lady is delicate," Misaki huffed.

"Oh!" Lessar stated and her ears twitched. "I love this song. Come on, Lover Boy! Let's dance!" Lessar grabbed Touma's hand and pulled him toward the dance floor before he could protest.

"W-wait!" Hanabi called out, but she was far too late. They were out of her reach. "I was too late."

"Don't think like that," Yuna told her reassuringly. "He seems like the kind of guy who will dance with anyone who wants to dance with him." She turned to Misaki and Mikoto. "Right?"

"He would," Misaki agreed. "But we need to make sure he knows."

"Nonverbal clues tend to go over his head," Mikoto added. _Maybe a slow dance will come on when it's my turn?_ Her cheeks flushed.

"See?" Yuna asked Hanabi, who nodded. "Great." She pushed her. "Get out there and be prepared to grab him the second this song is over."

"B-but-…!"

"No buts, get out there!" Hanabi hesitated for another fraction of a second, but slipped into the dance floor near Touma and Lessar. "Shy friends, am I right?"

"Yeah," Mikoto agreed. "Uiharu-san is only dating Kagere-san because Saten-san pushed her into it."

"Ishikawa –san?" Misaki asked.

"Yuna's fine."

"Well, Yuna-san," Misaki corrected. "I was wondering, what do you think of Kami?" Mikoto's ears twitched and she turned toward Misaki. There was a calculating look on her face as she stared at Yuna.

"He's cool," Yuna answered with a shrug. "A lot nicer than I expected…. considering his position and moniker. Hanabi really likes him, but Hibiki definitely thinks he is up to something. I believe he's too honest for that and she's just being paranoid."

"So you're not into him like Hanabi-san is?" Misaki asked to clarify.

"Nah." Yuna waved his hand. "Just as a friend and someone fun to hang out with. Besides, I found a cute guy I kind of want to ask out. I would have invited him tonight, but I don't have his number."

"Who?" Mikoto asked. "Do we know him?"

"Not sure," Yuna admitted. "He's a friend of Accelerator and I met him only once." Her eyes sparkled. "Speaking of which, he is here. I bet he has his number." She was mumbling to herself and brightened up. "Going to see if he does. I'll tell you more about him later." She took off.

"Friend of Accelerator," Misaki murmured thoughtfully. "That certainly narrows it down. It can't be any of the guys here… oh, for the love of… It has to be."

"Who…? Oh." It dawned on Mikoto who she was referring too. "Of course it is. Seriously, just _one_ day without some random girl falling for him…" She face palmed in resignation.

"It seems I'm going to have to watch him closer," Misaki mused. "But for now, I'm going to see if I can dance with him. Maybe have a short private conversation there."

"You better not try anything," Mikoto warned.

"Me? Try anything? I would never." Mikoto didn't believe her for a second.

* * *

Touma found himself in the middle of the dance floor with Lessar. Even though the music was some popular song, Lessar was taking advantage of it to get as much skin time as possible. Touma had to keep his distance, but she rarely let go of his hand. He noticed a couple other girls watching him, but he tried to ignore their stares and was so glad his helmet was covering his face.

"Having fun with all the attention, though?" Lessar asked with a knowing grin on her face.

"You know the answer to that question," Touma said exasperatedly. "I'm not the kind of person who likes being the center of attention like that. However," Lessar raised an eyebrow, "I do like the fact we are doing a perfectly normal thing for once, attending a party instead of racing off trying to stop some crazy person from blowing up the moon or something."

"So who's doing that?" Lessar asked curiously. "Didn't think the Moon Goddess cult was that desperate yet."

"What?!" Lessar started to laugh and he knew he got played. "Anyway, I am enjoying attending the party with everyone. Even if some of you tend to be focusing on adult things."

"I knew those blondes were up to something," Lessar agreed. "Two are after you and the one in the bunny suit brought his girlfriend. I wonder why?" She added that last line somewhat mockingly and Touma sighed. However, his indignation quickly turned to alarm when Lessar grew serious. "Just as a precaution, I heard from Floris something weird is in the air. It might be nothing, but thought you should know."

"Any suspects, is it Eve?" Touma was preparing himself for the worst.

"Nothing definite. Could just be the souls of the dead returning to the world of the living for some fun." Lessar grinned at him. "It's what the true spirit of Halloween is about, besides dressing up sexily for parties. Don't I look good?"

"Yeah, yeah, you look great."

"I look better with it off," Lessar whispered as the song came to an end. "And you are already half out of your costume. Maybe we should sneak into the rest of the school and dirty a teacher's de-…"

"Excuse me," Hanabi's voice interrupted and she glided between them. "It's my turn to dance with him, sorry." Before either of them could say anything she pulled him after her between two other groups. Once she was sure Lessar wasn't following, she stopped. "Sorry for interrupting, but I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get a chance to dance with you. I hope that's okay. I mean, if you don't want to…"

"It's fine," Touma quickly reassured her. Hanabi was quiet, kind, rather attractive, and a year older than him. "I would love too." He missed the flush of her cheeks at those words. They started dancing when the next song started up. Their bodies were close, but they weren't touching.

"I noticed everyone here seems to be a good dancer," Touma said to her.

"Ah one of our classes involves dancing," Hanabi explained. "It's mostly classical stuff, but we learn how to read the flow of songs and move accordingly. They consider it to be essential of proper young ladies."

"Do you like those kinds of classes?" Touma asked.

"Some of it is useful," Hanabi admitted. "But there's skills we learn I doubt I will ever really use once I graduate. Hibiki complains about them all the time and things it perpetuates stereotypes."

"Mikoto mentioned something similar once a long time ago," Touma admitted. "Can't say I really understand it."

"Heh, what can you do? It's only a small part of the curriculum and I like most of the other subjects."

"That's more than most people care to admit," Touma replied and they both laughed. Once they started talking, Hanabi opened up, something Touma was used to. He noticed she was rather hesitant to start conversations, even if she was willing to answer questions. As soon as the song finished, he found himself grabbed by other girl.

"My turn," Misaki said in a sweet voice, but Hanabi could tell it was a command to her. Hanabi waved to Touma and scooted off the dance floor. "Finally! I've wanted to do this with you since we got here."

"Really?"

"Don't you know?" she asked. "It's our first dance."

"Huh." Touma thought about it for a moment. "You're right."

"Remember this date," Misaki warned him. "I'm going to quiz you sometime in the future."

"Please, don't," he begged. "I'm terrible at dates!" She laughed and he relaxed.

"Don't worry," Misaki reassured him. "You'll have enough problems remembering more important dates like birthdays soon enough."

"What do you mean by that?" Touma asked confused.

"Oh, it will all be clear soon enough." Touma couldn't get much more out of her and the song eventually ended. He tried during most of the dance not to stare at her revealing costume, but the gleam in her eye told me she knew, but didn't comment on it. Misaki didn't even try to stop a random girl from coming up to him. Touma was getting tired, but he could tell there were many people who wanted to dance, so he had to endure. After three more girls, he came face to face with a familiar individual. Of course, his blood ran cold when he saw her eyes.

"Thought you could just ignore me after the invitation?" Shizuri asked him, as the song started up.

"It wasn't like I had a choice," Touma protested.

"Save it," Shizuri ordered and rolled her eyes. "I'm used to how easy you get roped into stupid things. For now, enjoy spending time with me. I know I'm going to enjoy getting away from those annoying brats who kept wanting to talk to me." Touma remained silent as Shizuri ranted about how she rather be doing something constructive. When she finally stopped, Touma took the opportunity to ask something he had been wondering for a while.

"Eh, Mugino?" He asked and her eyes bore into his. "I'm curious, about your group's costume…"

"It's your fault," Shizuri said bluntly.

"My fault? How is it my fault?"

"You barely gave us anytime to decide on costumes," Shizuri told him coolly. "It was a last minute thing. If it wasn't for Hamazura… I still got my revenge on him. Since he wanted a bunny theme, he got a bunny theme."

"Well, regardless," Touma continued. "You look great. Purple really suits you."

"Of course." Her tone was brisk, but she was slightly mollified. "The colors were based on who could pull it off. Takitsubo and I were drawing a lot of attention before we met up with you. Seriously, boys only think with their dicks. If we weren't in a hurry, I would have blasted them."

"Thanks for not killing them," Touma told her. "And not all guys are like that."

"You better be grateful," Shizuri told him and tabbed his chest with the back of her hand. "I'll forgive you for waiting until the last minute because I could tell you appreciated it" She smirked and Touma looked away. "But I'm expecting a list of what you like about me besides my looks in two days."

"Huh, why?"

"Prove me wrong, if you can." She turned and left, right before the song ended and Frenda appeared next to him.

"What did she talk to you about?" Frenda asked, as the next song started up.

"Hamazura's costume solution," Touma said.

"It was totally a selfish act on his part," Frenda sniffed and adjusted her bunny ears. "But we decided not to kill him and go along with the idea. Basically, we make these outfits look good." Touma almost said she and Saiai weren't filling it out quite as good as the other two, but that would be shooting himself in the foot. Frenda at least had something dare, unlike Saiai. Motoharu and Pierce discussed it in details at school once. Saiai would have killed them both if she found out. Maybe he should save that as a panic device to save his life.

"You do look good," Touma admitted, after omitting the slightly nullifying information. "I was shocked when you showed up in those."

"Normally I would kill a guy for looking at me with lewd eyes," Frenda laughed. "But I'll make an exception for you. Basically, you only mean it as a compliment."

"Thanks-…"

"But sneak a peek at my underwear again and a grenade is going down your pants," Frenda finished. "Clear?"

"Crystal." The two of them began to dance and Frenda actually held his hand as he spun her around. Frenda's natural foot work, Touma's height over her, and the upbeat song all worked in perfect sync. They drew a lot more glances their way, but it was more in admiration rather than curiosity. The song stopped and they let go, panting slightly. He barely managed to get a few breaths in before Ruiko took his hand.

"Quick," she whispered. "Before someone else takes a turn." They changed positions before the next song started up and began to do a moderately smooth dance. "We should spend more time with Yuna's friends," Ruiko told him. "They know so many rumors I never heard off."

"Glad you are enjoying yourself," Touma laughed. "How's everyone else?"

"Everyone seems to have found something to do," Ruiko said. "I'm not sure if we will get first in the costume contest though, lots of amazing group ones. Though, I think you have the solo one in the bag."

"I wonder why," Touma muttered dryly, all too aware many girls were still looking at him. "I should have worn a shirt."

"But then we can't see all those muscles you got saving people," Ruiko giggled, even as she flushed with embarrassment at those words.

"To be honest," Touma whispered. "I got these from running away from delinquents and getting out of bed in the morning." Ruiko snorted and quickly covered her mouth.

"Funny," Ruiko said, still chuckling. "But seriously, I think you won. The other guys have nice costumes, but you draw the attention. There are some amazing prizes too. Worth thousands of yen. Can you believe that?"

"Well, they are Tokiwadai," Touma reminded her. "This kind of stuff is probably pretty cheap for them."

"True," Ruiko conceded. "We hang out with Misaka-san so much, I kind of forget she's an ojou-sama."

"That's _why_ we hang out so often," Touma pointed out. "She only wants to be treated like the rest of us."

"I know," Ruiko agreed. "Maybe I should do something for her, just to show I appreciate her."

"Try dropping the san from her name," Touma suggested. "Be more familiar with her."

"Maybe I should." Ruiko thought about it for a moment. "Sounds good, actually. Uiharu may like to be formal, but I'm not. We got on a first name basis pretty fast, didn't we?"

"We did," Touma concurred. "After the museum incident interrupted our first date…" He trailed off. That was technically a date, not a fake one like he had gone on with Mikoto and Misaki before.

"Yeah… I remember that," Ruiko muttered. "Shame that it happened. The exhibit… was really interesting." The song ended and she quickly excused herself. The thought to follow her flashed through Touma's mom, but Mikoto chose the moment to walk up to him.

"What happened?" She asked.

"We remembered something embarrassing," Touma said and tried to laugh.

"Let me guess," Mikoto said smugly. "You put your foot in your mouth?"

"You know me so well, Biribiri." He couldn't resist.

"That nickname!" she hissed. She poked him in the chest with a single finger. "I know how to bypass your hand now. Would you care to repeat that?"

"Oh great, Misaka-sama. Your wisdom and insight has seen through my charade and I humbly apologize for my mistake. I will do anything to earn your forgiveness."

"I-idiot!" Mikoto stammered, sparkling a little. "People are staring." Touma glanced around and say people were beginning to turn toward them.

"Umm, Mikoto," Touma said carefully. "Your hand… it's still on my chest." Mikoto eye's widened and she pulled it back. Before either could say anything, the DJ spoke up through the PA system.

"Let's slow it down," he announced. "It's time to find a partner."

 _Of course,_ Touma thought to himself. He didn't know how to slow dance and he figured Mikoto would wait until a more casual song was playing. TO his surprise, she took his hands without saying a word and began to move with the music. Touma let her lead and they began to spin slowly around. Her face was red and, if it wasn't for his disguise, his face would probably be the same color. The music continued and Touma could feel Mikoto right up against him. They still weren't talking and Touma could feel her hand trembling slightly in his. He gave her hand a slight squeeze and he saw her flinch. Mikoto looked up at him and smiled. He smiled back and she could just make it out from her position. The dance became a lot less awkward but, as soon as the music ended, Mikoto took off. Touma had to decline a few people asking for dance. "Sorry, I need to take a short break."

Instead of waiting over by the refreshments, Touma slipped out the door into the hallway leading into Tokiwadai High School's main building. He really just wanted some alone time and to rest. The attention was getting to him. _So this is what Accelerator, Mikoto, and Misaki go through on a daily basis. At least I can remove the mask._ He got a drink from the fountain and leaned up against the wall to rest. He was so preoccupied he didn't even notice the door open and a little devil entered.

"Here I thought you didn't like attention," Leivinia laughed. "Yet there you were, being the life of the party."

"You know I didn't have a choice."

"One always has a choice," Leivinia corrected him. "You simply choose to let others dictate it for you." She leaned up against the wall next to him.

"It's more that I enjoy spending time with people that doesn't involve life and death struggles," he retorted.

"Heh, I can relate." She glanced at him when he remained silent. "What? I love my sister and do everything I can to keep her out of the magic side." She grinned. "Don't you dare try flirting with her either or you will end up six feet under."

"One," Touma told her and held up a finger. "I don't know how to flirt. Two, you really are the textbook definition of an older sister. You sure you are wearing the right costume? Maybe you need the angel one."

"Try sassing me some more," Leivinia warned him and pressed a finger into his chest. "And I'll show you how much of a devil I can be." Touma gulped. "Anyway," she continued. "Just letting you know I'm heading out. Something requires my attention. Let Patricia know if she asks. I'll be back if possible."

"What's going on?" Touma asked. "Do you need help?"

"My cabal is more than capable of handling day to day issues," Leivinia snapped. "But don't worry, if I need you, I will get you. This is not negotiable."

"Of course it isn't."

"Good. You are learning." She turned and left him alone, choosing to escape out a back exit to avoid drawing attention to herself. Touma began to worry and his fears increase when two people entered the hallway from the gym.

"Hey, Kami-yan!" Motoharu greeted him.

"Hope you aren't too tired from all the dancing," laughed Jason.

"What do you guys want?" Touma asked. "I'm trying to relax for a few minutes before going back in there.

"Well," Motoharu said and his tone betrayed he was hiding something. "Your help might be required. Never mind, it is required. We have a… situation."

"Situation?" Touma clarified. "You mean a magic side situation?"

"You know us too well," Jason answered. "But, yes. It seems like an army of ghosts, ghouls, zombies, pumpkins, all the Halloween stuff is marching against Academy City."

"We traced their appearance to ley line energy being focused onto the windowless building," Motoharu continued. "The decorations coming to life and the Halloween spirits are making their way there. What will happen if they get there, we don't know, and we don't want to find out. We are going to use your hand to disrupt the flow into the building and allow the ley lines to resort back to their original position. Any questions?"

"One," Touma admitted. "What drugs are you two on?" This caused the other two to laugh.

"As much as I enjoy a good practical joke," Jason told him and his smiled vanished. This was a big warning sign for Touma. "This isn't the time. We can explain what's happening in detail on the way."

"You're serious?" Touma asked in shock.

"Deadly," Motoharu said with a nod. "Kanzaki and Itsuwa have already engaged several groups converging on the target, but there are so many, they can only slow them down. We might need more help. Speaking of which," he turned around. "You might as well come out instead of listening secretly." Touma and Jason turned to see who Motoharu was referring too. From the door, Kazari stepped out, looking embarrassed.

"Kazari?" Jason asked. "What are you doing?"

"I saw you chatting on your phone with a serious look on your face," she admitted. "And you sought out Tsuchimikado-san to discuss something quietly. I figured there was some kind of trouble."

"You can read me too well," Jason told her with a kind smile. "Did you hear everything?" She nodded.

"Do you want me to get the others?" she asked. "They would be more than willing to help."

"If we all disappear," Touma worried. "It's going to draw attention. The others may try to find out where we went. Ishikawa-san definitely won't just sit back and wait. If they see Halloween spirits and decorations coming to life, it's not going to be good for the separation between sides."

"Plus with how many there are in every direction," Jason added. "We need a small army to form a complete wall."

"Hmm," Motoharu pondered this for a moment. "What if we make them believe there is a reason for the invasion?"

"Huh?" The other three looked at him.

"I have an idea," Motoharu said with a grin. "Is there a Judgment or Anti-Skill branch office nearby?"

"There is Judgment office," Kazari confirmed. "Why? Do you need access to our channels?"

"Kind of," Motoharu told her. "But we definitely need your hacking skills. You see," his grin widened, "it's time for another Public Service Announcement from Kami-yan."

* * *

"…so the activities we attribute to ghosts are actually peoples' beliefs being materialized by ley lines passing through the area?" Kazari asked, as she, Jason, Touma, and Motoharu ran down the street towards the Judgment branch office after escaping unnoticed from the high school.

"Pretty much," Jason answered. He and Motoharu had given her and Touma a more detailed explanation and Motoharu's plan. "A lot of magic is based on beliefs and ley lines are really just raw magical energy."

"So why is there an army of Halloween decorations coming to life this year?" Touma asked.

"There must be some kind of focusing device directing the energy toward the windowless building," Motoharu theorized. "Kanzaki said they were heading the way. A lot of kids thought it was a parade, but then the decorations got violent. Anti-Skill has been dispatched and is holding down several areas, but it's only going to continue until we stop it. The problem is, getting close enough to the center through all the madness if going to take time. Hence, this is why I suggested we do this."

"I bet you could come up with a better idea that didn't rely on me to do this," Touma refuted. Motoharu only shrugged in response.

"Do you think you can do this?" Jason asked.

"You have Anti-Skill codes," Kazari told him. "That will let me bypass pretty much everything, but it's going to show you were the one to do this."

"Eh, I can talk my way out of trouble."

"Fine," Touma relented. "Let's do this." They arrived at the Judgment branch office and Kazari opened it with her ID card. They stumbled in and she made their way to the computer. Jason started rummaging around in a closet for equipment, while Motoharu started writing down the script. Touma moved a chair in front of a blank wall, so no one could tell where they were and waited. In less than five minutes, everyone was ready. Kazari monitoring the signals, Jason holding the camera, and Motoharu passed over the notepad.

"It's time for Kami-yan to return to the big screen!" Motoharu declared. "Lights, camera, act…!" he was interrupted by the door to the office bursting open.

* * *

"Any luck?" Mikoto asked Ruiko and Kuroko.

"No," Ruiko replied. "But Uiharu is gone too."

"Along with Jason and Tsuchimikado," Kuroko added. "They are up to something and dragged Uiharu into it, obviously."

"Where could they have gone," Misaki muttered. _I should have been watching closer. It's obvious he would get drawn into something._

"No one's seen him since he left the dance floor," Yuna confirmed, appearing next to them. "A few people are beginning to ask what happened to him."

"I bet he got captured," Accelerator laughed. He hadn't really gone out looking for Touma. "Then the other three went after him. Or they just didn't care about the party and bailed, which I'm thinking of doing."

"Leave then," Hibiki told him. "No one will care."

"You know you would miss me," Accelerator told her with a smirk. She rolled her eyes in response. Bayloupe looked down at her phone. She knew a little of the situation due to Floris's warning, but she couldn't tell the others as long as non-related people were nearby.

"I hope they are okay," Hanabi fretted. "The boys aside, Uiharu-san wouldn't just leave without a reason. Right?"

"She definitely would not," Ruiko confirmed. "I'm thinking Accelerator is closest to what happened."

"So we need to go find him," Mikoto stated. "Do any of you know someone with a tracking ability?"

"Yes," said Shizuri, from right behind her, which caused Mikoto to jump. "I happen to know what happened to those four." She, Shiage, Rikou, and Saiai had walked up toward them, obviously knowing what their situation was about.

"Then why don't you enlighten us?" Misaki asked impatiently.

"Seems the four of them left a few minutes ago and are in a building a couple blocks away," Shizuri answered with a tone of superiority. "If you had been paying attention, you would have noticed them sneaking out the back entrance. I sent Frenda to investigate. She should be messaging me any moment."

"You didn't try to stop them?" Mikoto asked.

"Why should I have?" Shizuri asked. "I'm not their babysitter. I do enough of that with Hamazura."

"Hey!" he said indignantly.

"Frenda super volunteered for reconnaissance duty too," Saiai left.

"Frenda has made contact with them," Rikou confirmed, as she stared out the window.

"Wow," Lessar said and no one had noticed when she joined them. "I didn't think that quiet girl was like that. Sneaking out with three guys, that's impressive. But they were planning to have a good time." Every girl except Shizuri and Rikou choked and turned toward her in shock.

"Why is the gutter the first place you go to?!" Kuroko demanded.

"All of your minds went there too," Lessar pointed out. She had a point, so the others tried to ignore her.

"Why would they leave though," Yuna mused. "I thought we were doing a good job entertaining them."

"You were," Ruiko reassured her. "We were all having a blast. It's just Kami… tends to get wrapped up in a lot of things."

"That is an understatement," Misaki, Mikoto, Shizuri, Accelerator, and Kuroko muttered in unison. Saiai's phone beeped and she pulled it out. A frown formed on her face when she read the message.

"She says we super need to turn on a TV to any channel," Saiai told the others. "Something about an emergency announcement." Yuna, Hanabi, and Hibiki immediately turned and waved to one girl to get her attention. Everyone else glanced at each other with the same thought on their mind.

 _Yep, he's in trouble._

"Call down the movie screen and turn it to channel 8," Yuna told the girl, who nodded. The lights dimmed and a large screen began to descend on the far wall. Everyone in the gym grew quiet. From what Mikoto and the others inferred was the screen was going to show the results of the costume contest, so everyone was confused at why it was being lowered already. Once the screen had finished descending, it flashed a couple times and settled on channel 8. There were several audible gasps when they saw who it was, including a few cheers.

Kami, in all his half naked glory, was sitting on a chair and holding a notepad in his hands.

"What is he doing now?" Mikoto asked out loud.

"Something stupid," Accelerator and Shizuri said.

"Or hilarious," Yuna offered as a counter argument.

"It's going to be both," Saiai said and Mikoto and Misaki silently agreed.

"Attention Academy City," Touma addressed them. "This is an emergency announcement brought to you by me, Kami the Harem King, and is being relayed on all channels. As you know, tonight is Halloween, a time for fun, games, and candy, but there is a lot more to this holiday. Throughout the years, it has been a time for cultures all over the world to celebrate and respect the dead, while keeping the monsters and ghosts away. Tonight, the wall separated the living and the dead is at it's thinnest and I took advantage of this."

"Huh?" The confusion was evident among the girls and guys at the party. That was obvious for those who did not know Touma personally, but even among his friends they were not sure what was going on. Accelerator, Shizuri, and Misaki began to suspect the magic side first. After all, it was the only time Touma ever started talking about cultures and beliefs.

"My companions and I set up a large scale game for you," Touma continued. "Using some _special_ technology, the Halloween decorations the city has so carefully have begun to come alive with the spirits of the dead and are running amuck throughout Academy City."

"What!?" If someone wasn't confused, they defiantly were now.

"Spirits of the dead?" Ruiko asked the others.

"Shhh!" Mikoto and Misaki shushed her. Hanabi and Hibiki looked at each other in bewilderment, but Yuna was grinning from ear to ear.

"Ghosts, monsters, spirits, figments of your imagination," Touma continued on the big screen. "Whatever you want to call them, are running amuck in the city. It will be up to anyone interested in participating to stop them. The rules are pretty simple. I will have people monitoring the entire city to keep track of each individual's accomplishments. Keeping the monsters from bothering children, destroying them before they reach hidden objectives, and other things are all involved in the scoring process. Whoever gets the top score will receive a special prize."

"Super tell us the prize already!" Saiai yelled.

"The individual who has the greatest participation score will be able to ask me for any one favor," Touma said, after a pause when he seemed to glance off the screen. It sounded like a couple people were trying to muffle their laughs. "And I mean anything. Money, power, fame, nothing is off the table as long as I can provide it. You could even find out…" There was a definite pause here as he glanced over at the people out of view of the camera. "My true identity…"

There was no silencing the obvious gasps this time.

"This message will be repeating throughout the evening to ensure everyone has a chance to see this," Touma finished. "Good luck, have fun, and stay safe." The screen flickered and only gray static with the message ' _please stay tuned'_ moving across it.

"I will never understand what passes through his mind," Mikoto sighed and facepalmed.

"Obviously there is more to this then a game," Misaki whispered to her. "It has to be the other side. Maybe her…?"

"Would not doubt that," Mikoto muttered back. "But why get everyone involved? He always tries to keep others away." Misaki did not have an answer to that, but she did glance around at all the exciting muttering.

"We have to participate," Yuna told Hanabi excitedly. "I knew something amazing would happen if we invited him."

"It does seem like fun," Hanabi agreed. "And that prize…"

"Wait!" Hibiki yelled out and they stopped talking. "How do we even know this is real? Maybe it's a trick of some kind?"

"That… is a good point," Yuna admitted. "Hey Cera!" A girl turned to look at her. "Can you check to see if this event is actually happening?" The girl nodded and turned to face a wall. She stared in silence for a moment, before her eyes widened.

"It is!" she cried. "The pumpkin patch we set up is moving out into the streets!"

"Heh," Yuna laughed. "I want to know how he does this, but I'll settle with finding out his identity." She rushed to the front of the gym and grabbed a mic. "Ladies," she said and everyone turned toward her. "As you heard, a great opportunity has befallen us. We have a chance to learn Kami's secret identity." The girls cheered. "While this game may be as couth as we are used too, it's a chance to… let our hair down." A lot of people laughed. "What do you say, girls? Are we in?" The cheers answered her question. "Okay, you know the drill. Divide into balance teams, support, offensive, and communications…"

"I think they have done this before," Ruiko whispered to Kuroko.

"Obviously," she sighed back. "I take it you are going to take part?"

"Of course." Ruiko puffed out her chest. "I may not have some high level ability, but I can take a bat and knock down a few things. I have to at least try. Even if I don't win, it sounds like a lot of fun."

"Blowing things up without repercussions?" Saiai said to Shizuri and Rikou. "Sounds super therapeutic."

"Hmm," Shizuri muttered. "I suppose so." She glanced at her phone and started dialing. "First, I'm going to get the true scope of things from Frenda, and then we can decide what to do." Rikou nodded and Saiai grinned.

"Well then," Misaki smiled and started walking away. "I'm off. Call me if you need help."

"Where are you going?!" Mikoto demanded and reached forward to grab her arm.

"Going to take part in the competition," Misaki said in a false bewildered tone. "Were you not listening?"

"That's not what I was referring too," Mikoto told her. "Your ability isn't suited for direct combat. You're going to look for him."

"Actually," Misaki corrected her. "I was not."

"Huh?" Mikoto was honestly confused now.

"For whatever reason," Misaki explained in a hushed whisper. "He is asking for help to fight these… decorations that have come alive. We both know it's from the other side, so he is probably trying to stop whatever is causing it. He wants us to stem the tide. As for fighting, I have my ways." She grinned.

"Using other people," Mikoto sighed. "But you have a point. He might ask us directly if he needs us." Misaki nodded. "Fine. I'll do my part, if you do yours."

"I'm glad we are such good friends," Misaki beamed and embraced Mikoto in a hug.

"Get off me!" Mikoto pushed her away. Once Misaki was safely off her, she turned to Kuroko. "Can you transport us to an area that needs help?"

"I can," Kuroko replied. "Then I'm going to scout the area and see if anyone needs help." They smiled at each other.

"Not sure if I can do anything," Patricia told them. "I'm not a combatant, but I wish you all luck."

"Don't worry," Ruiko reassured her. "After this is over, we can hang out, eat candy, and watch scary movies. Uiharu gets scared easily and it's fun to watch."

"I would love too," Patricia beamed. "Though, I'm probably not that much better at watching scary movies."

"That only increases the fun," Ruiko laughed.

"You going to?" Bayloupe asked Accelerator.

"Knowing the brats," he muttered. "They are going to get stuck in the middle of it and expect me to help them."

"Which you will," she pointed out with a smirk.

"Shut it," Accelerator snapped. "You coming, or what?"

"You actually want me to come?" Bayloupe asked with a smirk.

"I figured you know what the hell is actually happening. Tell me on the way."

"You assume a lot, but I do. Also, Lessar took off immediately, so she's either trying to find him or is planning to get the most points to make him do something. Never quite sure if she understands everything or just goes with the flow." They two of them took off and Hibiki suddenly tailed them.

"Why are you following?" Accelerator asked irritated.

"Because your friend is the cause of this," Hibiki huffed. "And I'm suspicious you know more then what you are letting on."

"Oh, he definitely is," Accelerator laughed. "But I don't pay attention to what he does unless it affects me. Do what you want though, no skin off my back." A little distance away from the others, Mitsuko was talking with her friends.

"Are you going to participate?" Kinuho asked Mitsuko. "I think you would do well."

"Naturally," Mitsuko agreed. "But I'm not sure what to ask. I'm really not that interested in seeing Kami's face."

"I'm sure you will think of something," Maaya reassured her.

"For now," Kinuho added. "Everyone else is taking part, we should definitely help."

"You are right," Mitsuko said to her. "If we work together as a team, I'm sure we can win."

"Right!" Kinuho and Maaya cheered.

* * *

"I can't believe you made me do this," Touma sighed in defeat.

"Mope later," Jason told him. "We have work to do." He started to walk toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Frenda asked.

"Higher ups want me to guard a certain area," Jason sighed. "Leaving everything up to you three. Kazari, keep everyone up to date on movements, and make sure our friends know what's going on when you get a chance. Some of them are going to be upset with Touma if you don't."

"Please, Uiharu-san," Touma begged and she nodded.

"Good luck," Kazari said.

"If anything happens to her," Jason warned Touma and Motoharu. "Both of you better not return."

"I can take care of myself!" Kazari protested, but Jason only laughed and winked at her before leaving the office.

"We need to make our way toward the windowless building," Motoharu told Touma. "Let's get to it. We have a bit of a jog."

"I'm coming too," Frenda declared.

"Are you sure?" Touma asked. "It's not like you're responsible for this."

"I'm not going to miss a chance to blow things up," Frenda sniffed. "And if the city falls, Mugino and I will be out of a job. Basically, you are part of our group now, so we work together."

"Thanks, Frenda," Touma told her gratefully.

"And it doesn't hurt you offered that prize," Frenda laughed. "It's going to have to go to someone or their will be a riot. Basically, you have to say someone got the most points and, by the fact only you three and Kagere can technically be judges, by odds of winning are pretty good."

"Sneaky," Motoharu laughed. "Nice."

"You three should hurry," Kazari told them. "Seems like Kamijou-san's announcement is spreading pretty fast. Some eager groups have already engaged some of the targets."

"Let's go then," Touma told the other two and they took off. Kazari had given them a route to avoid most of the Halloween 'spirits' to make the trip easier, but they had a ways to go. They began to hear a lot of shouting from a couple streets over and Touma suddenly felt a twinge of guilt. They didn't really have much choice in involving everyone else, but if anyone got hurt, he knew it was because of him. Motoharu must have read his mind, because he spoke up.

"We had to get help, Kami-yan," Motoharu informed him. "The longer these things run amuck, the more ley line energy they are absorbing. Right now, they are probably just minor annoyances, but eventually they will become a threat to other people's' lives. Halloween beliefs tend to get stronger the later it gets due to people's natural aversion to the dark."

"Just because I know, doesn't mean I like it," Touma muttered.

"Question," Frenda asked. "If all these people are fighting Halloween decorations that have come to life, wouldn't some of them start thinking some of these things might be real? Especially if they get stronger?"

"…"

"Well?" Touma prodded.

"We should probably hurry." Motoharu's response caused them all the pick up their pace. The windowless building eventually came into view from a distance and they turned a corner.

Only to be blocked by a wall of monsters.

Living jack-o-lanterns moved on green vines, zombies shuffled their feet, inflatable ghosts hovered a couple inches off the ground, witches flew on broomsticks escorted by crows, plastic monsters stumbled around. Touma, Frenda, and Motoharu skidded to a stop, but their presence alerted the monsters. They turned around, saw them, and they immediately began to approach them, groaning, shrieking, and cackling. Touma was about to turn and try to find another way around them, but the side routes would take too long. There wasn't that many of these things. Before he could make a decision, Frenda rushed ahead.

"I got this!" she yelled. She reached down at the hem of her costume and a number of small handheld rockets appeared. She threw her hands out and the rockets went off. A chain of explosions indicated her weapons hit their mark and the path was clear, except for a few stray pieces still moving. One jack-o-lantern was still intact, but it was off to the side and they were able to pass them unharmed. "I'm great, aren't I?"

"That was perfect," Touma told her impressed. "But where do you keep your explosives? You're outfit is skin tight?"

"Trade secret," Frenda laughed, though her cheeks flushed when she saw him look her over.

"Isn't it obvious, Kami-yan?" Motoharu asked. "She must have some kind of dimensional panties she keeps her bombs stored in."

"W-what?!" Frenda spluttered.

"That actually explains it," Touma agreed. "She usually reaches under her skirt to retrieve them."

"Her power probably involves space distortion or something," Motoharu continued. "Being skin tight might make it easier to manipulate."

"Do you think the color matters?" Touma asked.

"I bet it doesn't hurt."

"SHUT UP BOTH OF YOU!" Frenda roared. "One more word about my underwear and I'm shoving an explosive into your mouth!" That shut up the two of them for a moment, but then Motoharu had to tempt fate.

"If Kami-yan touched your panties, would his hand go off?"

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Motoharu took off with Frenda right behind him. Touma sighed to himself and followed, relieved he wasn't on the end of the threat this time. If it had just been Frenda and him, there would have been a misunderstanding and he would be in trouble. Secretly, he was kind of wondering if there was any truth to Frenda having dimensional panties. "I know you're thinking about my underwear!" Frenda yelled over her shoulder. "You're next!"

 _Shit._

At the speed they were running, they were going to get to the windowless building in less than ten minutes. At least, until they turned the corner and came face to face with a two story tall inflatable black and red dragon and were forced to stop. On the far side of it, a group of twenty students were grouped together. Frenda didn't hesitate and chucked an explosion at the dragon's back. The explosion went off in a flash but, when it faded, there wasn't even a mark. The beast only roared.

"Isn't it some inflatable piece of junk?" Frenda asked. "Basically, how could it withstand an explosion? The previous ones didn't."

"Whoever is on the other side!" they heard someone yell way louder than then a normal person. "Nothing we do is working on it! The scales almost seem real!"

"That is definitely not good," Motoharu fretted. "The stronger ones are making people believe there is more to this and their belief is making the ley line effects stronger."

"So these creatures are going to keep getting bigger until we can't handle them," Touma growled in frustration.

"Reason we need to get to the focal point quickly."

"I'll handle the dragon and then we can-…" Touma started to say, but was interrupted when the dragon flicked its tail at them. A car was tossed high into the air and was coming right down toward them.

"Scatter!" Touma yelled. The three of them began to move, but their retreat was made unnecessary as a green beam flew over their heads and disintegrated the car. Touma turned around and saw a figure that both installed fear and relieved him.

"Mugino!" Frenda called out excitedly.

"She sure times things well," Motoharu commented impressed. Behind her, Saiai and Rikou followed and, further back, Shiage was waiting for in a car. Since they had walked to meet Touma and his friends, they must have commandeered that one.

"You!" Shizuri said and pointed to Touma. "Explain!"

"Magical ley lines are causing the beliefs in Halloween spirits to materialize and possess things," Touma explained in a rush. "The longer this occurs, the stronger the magic is going to get. I need to get to the windowless building to stop it. Until then, we need to stop as many of these living decorations as possible so they don't get to the focal point."

"Eve's doing?"

"Probably," Touma answered.

"Okay. Hamazura!" she yelled over her shoulder. "Take Kamijou and his idiot to their destination!" Motoharu didn't even make acknowledgement at the insult. "Frenda, you are with us."

"Gotcha!" Frenda exclaimed.

"It's super like vandalism without any punishment," Saiai laughed.

"Thanks, Mugino," Touma called out of the window, after he and Motoharu entered the car. "I'll make it up to you!"

"Oh, you will," was her response.

"Have fun destroying everything, Mugino-san." Motoharu called out. "Try to keep structural damage to a minimum if you can. Bye, Dimensional Panty-san!"

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Frenda yelled as Shiage drove them away.

"Sorry for him!" Touma cried out to her and then turned to Motoharu. "Why?"

"If we repeat it enough," Motoharu told him. "You will make a slip up one day in front of her." Touma growled at her while Shiage laughed.

"What is with the name?" he asked them.

Back with the rest of ITEM, Saiai was looking Frenda over.

"Sooooo," she said in a singsong voice. "Care to explain the nickname?"

"NO!"

"Shut up you two," Shizuri growled. "We have a mission to do." Then she grinned, which was never a good sign for someone. Shizuri walked forward toward the dragon and half a dozen green orbs appeared around her. A second later, they fired and passed through the dragon like it was paper. Instead of blood or guts, it fell apart with a loud pop. Cheers echoed down the street as the dragon disappeared. The group of students started rushing toward them.

"Nice job!"

"You must be at least a level 4!"

"The Bunny Brigade is a sight for sore eyes!"

A green beam nearly missed the boy who decided to smart off.

"Hey! That almost hit me!" Another couple green orbs appeared.

"Next one won't," Shizuri warned with a dark look in her eye.

"Oh, boy," Saiai and Frenda sighed. Rikou only shrugged.

* * *

"Thiss iss way more entertaining than I thought it would be," Julunggul laughed, as she sat on the rooftop next to a blonde girl. Sitting might have been the wrong word though, as her lower body was that of a snake, instead of a human. She was already slightly snake-like, so she dressed up as Lamia for the occasion. The two of them were eating out of a bowl of candy, watching the students, Anti-Skill, and random people fighting against the Halloween horrors. "A very interessting idea to sspice up the holiday."

"You know me," Eve laughed. She was wearing a pink robe like dress with some white semi-transparent cloth attaching to her arms. A golden tiara like item sat on her head and she wore fancy sandals. She was dressed up like Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of beauty. If she was older, she might have filled out the dress better. In her current form, she looked kind of plain. No one would tell her that, or at least tell her that and not regret it at some point. "I always try to make sure people can have fun, even when I'm working."

"Any other reasson?" Julunggul asked suspiciously. "Maybe to bother ssomeone?"

"It's sure to raise Aleister's blood pressure a lot too," Eve admitted and roared with laughter. "He's been mean to me when all I want is to be friends." She looked over at Julunggul. "You aren't upset I ruined the Imagine Breaker's harem party?"

"He wouldn't have done anything," Julunggul reassured her. "He knowss the girlss want him, but he lackss the courage to continue. It will take time, but he will break. I am here to make ssure of that." She grinned. "And to messs with him. Adam mentioned you had a lot of fun toying with him and I can ssee why."

"He's cute when he is embarrassed," Eve acknowledged. "So, what do you say we… speed things up so we get some larger enemies to spawn?"

"Zombie ssnakes and ssome sspiderss?" Julunggul suggested.

"You read my mind."

* * *

"I'm never going to get used to magic crap," Shiage sighed.

"You never do," Touma laughed dryly. "You kind of just have to go with it and hope it gets better." He wished he could change out of the Kami disguise, but because the car did not belong to them, there were no extra clothes available. He had to be content with driving in a car with darker windows.

"To each his own," Motoharu laughed, highly amused. "Good job at getting Mugino-san to take care of that dragon. We have to assume more of those will appear as the night goes on. We have to destroy the source."

"So the windowless building is the source?" Shiage asked.

"It's being used as the focal point," Motoharu corrected him. "Whoever is causing this phenomenon is most likely there."

"Normally, I prefer to run away from crazy shit like this," moaned Shiage. "But Mugino and the boss both want me to, not much I can say."

"I'll make it up to you," Touma promised.

"Maybe the two of you could go on a double da-... HARD LEFT NOW!" Shiage followed Motoharu's order my instinct and something half the size of the car landed on the road where they would have been. Before they could take a look at the large black creature, another one landed on the front of the car and they had a perfect look.

A large black spider about half the size of the care was smashing against the glass. Cracks were running across the entire windshield. It's red glowing eyes had no trace of a soul, but there was liquid dripping down from its mouth. Its hairy legs were impaled into the side of the vehicle. It's head smashed against the windshield again and part of the fangs broke through.

"Abandon ship!" Touma yelled and the three guys threw open the doors. They tucked and rolled as the car continued to move forward and crash into a light post. The spider was stuck between the metal, but was squirming to get out. Touma struggled to his feet, his back hurting and his head ringing, when he realized their situation. Half a dozen large spiders were surrounding them and a couple more were climbing down the buildings. "Any bright ideas?"

"Touch them with your hand and it should make them lifeless," Motoharu advised.

"I only got enough ammo for one, maybe two!" Shiage yelled.

"Great," Touma moaned. _Never did like spiders and now the larger ones._ The spiders began to grow close when they heard two female voices.

"DUCK!"

Touma, Motoharu, and Shiage ducked as a couple silver strings flashed above them. Touma blinked and realized they weren't strings, but wires. The wires cut all the spiders on the street into tiny pieces, which fell apart into the paper mache, string, metal and whatever else the original decorations were made from. The remaining spiders on the wall hesitated for a moment and then more began to appear from the top of the ceiling.

"Seriously!" Shiage. yelled out angrily. "Who would make so many Halloween spider decorations that size?!" Touma, on the other hand, turned around to thank the people who had helped them.

"Thank you-," Touma started to say when words failed him for a moment and he blurted out something instead. "A fairy and a Fallen Angel Ero Maid?!"

"I am not a fallen angel, I am not erotic, and I am not a maid!" Touma recognized the voice of Kaori. They drew closer and Touma also recognized Itsuwa in the pink fairy maid outfit. "I… know I'm dressed like this, but it's all Tsuchimikado's fault! Even so, the first words out of your mouth shouldn't be 'Fallen Angel Ero Maid' when you see me!"

"Sorry!" Touma yelled and prepared to cover his head.

"You're shock is understandable," Itsuwa told him and he noticed she was panting a little. Kaori's saint power made it easier to run long distances, but Itsuwa was a normal girl. "With everything coming to life, it takes a moment for people to recognize their allies. Index informed us what is happening. Are you heading to the source?"

"That's the plan," Touma confirmed.

"Go then," Kaori told him. "We will cover you." Itsuwa raised her blade and moved to the left of the street, while Itsuwa wished them luck and moved toward the right side of the street, with her spear prepared to strike. Touma, Motoharu, and Shiage were clear and they ran as fast as they could, since their car was broken.

"Boss," Shiage told Touma. "Your angel girl was pretty hot. The fairy wasn't too bad either."

"You're welcome," Motoharu laughed. "I convinced her to wear that maid uniform for Kami-yan."

"We're only friends!" Touma protested.

"Sure," the other two replied sarcastically. The rest of the road was clear, so that had to mean the army of decorations hadn't made their way to the building yet. They three of them would not be able to tell, but a good part of that was due to two groups. Anti-Skill had blocked off several main roads and then Kami's announcement had caused the streets to swarm with interested students. They finally rounded around the last corner and were forced to stop and examine the situation. They slowly approached the windowless building and looked around.

The entire area was covered by an enormous pumpkin patch. Thick green vines were crawling up the sides of the building and had already reached three stories high. The pumpkins grew bigger the closer they got, ranging from ones that fit in the palm of your hand to ones the size of cars. The weirdest thing was once the pumpkins started to get the size of a watermelon, jack-o-lantern faces. Not cut mind you, the faces started forming naturally. The largest ones were actually glowing, as if a fire was lit inside of them.

"The air is thick with magic," Motoharu muttered. "Kami-yan, try touching one of the pumpkins. Touma nodded and reached down. With the sound of breaking glass, the pumpkin disappeared and the vine near it decayed into brown dust. A few seconds later, it started to grow again.

"If they are drawing the mana from ley lines," Touma pointed out. "Aren't they just drawing energy faster than I can negate?"

"I figured they would," Motoharu agreed. "But I wanted to try."

"Why?"

"Never underestimate the power of simple solutions," Motoharu reprimanded.

"Something moved," Shiage warned them and pointed in the direction. "Over there!" Touma and Motoharu turned to see what Shiage was indicating. One of the pumpkins was shaking and began to lift upwards.

Beneath it was a skeleton.

Not a skeleton that might have been carrying the pumpkin. From the neck down, there were only human bones assembled into a proper skeleton. What was actually connecting the bones together was anyone's guess. Whatever it was, it didn't prevent the bones from moving seamlessly. The skeleton rose to its full height, easily over seven feet, and seemed to stretch. One bony hand tapped the side of the pumpkin, which rested on the neck like a head. It was even roughly the same size as a normal head too, though a little wider. The skeleton turned around to face the three boys and Touma saw the pumpkin was actually a jack-o-lantern. Orange light flooded out of its triangle eyes, nose, and blocked teeth. When the thing noticed them, it started walking forward, Unlike the zombies, it's movements were graceful, easily bypassing all the vines and pumpkin around him.

"What is that!?" Shiage demanded.

"The boss," Motoharu answered.

"Lovely night, isn't it?" the thing asked them. The words made it sound like an adult male and, while the mouth didn't move, the light behind his teeth flickered with every word.

"You can talk?!" Touma asked in bewilderment and Shiage gaped in astonishment.

 _Higher level intelligence from a being created my ley line energy is a bad sign,_ Motoharu thought silently.

"Of course," the thing continued. "My name is Jack and welcome to my pumpkin patch." Touma could swear the haunted grin on its face widened. "You will never leave."

* * *

 _There's no end to them,_ Mikoto thought annoyed, as she electrified another dozen living pumpkins and ghosts. While there were plenty of others helping out, only a few of them were high enough level to wipe out groups. Most of them could only take down one at a time or they were using makeshift weapons, like baseball bats. She magnetized her body and propelled up a building to get an overview of the area. Most of the roads were taken care of. _People really want that prize from Touma,_ she thought, slightly amused. _But I doubt this is a game. Technology couldn't do something like this, so that leaves magic. Bet it was Eve and that's why Touma needed help._ Her phone started beeping and she answered it. "Hello?"

"Misaka-san," Kazari's slightly panicked voice came through. "I'm glad I reached you. You're the only one close enough to handle a big threat."

"Direction?" Mikoto asked and moved across the rooftops, as Kazari relayed the instructions. "Do you know what is going on?"

"I little bit," Kazari admitted. "You probably figured out this is magic…"

"Mmmhmm."

"…and the longer this goes on, the stronger these decoration are going to grow," Kazari continued. "Kamijou-san and Tsuchimikado-san should be at the source now. We only need to hold on until they finish."

"So what am I facing…never mind, I have confirmation. Keep me up to date." Mikoto hung up, looked down at the street below her, and flinched.

A large snake with rotting skin was moving along the overturned cars and broken streetlamps. Its body was easily a meter in diameter. People were running away and shouting. A dumpster flew through the air and hit the snake in the head, but all that action did was anger it. It turned toward the girl who threw it and Mikoto gasped.

"Look out Kongou!" she yelled and jumped off the building. She wasn't going to make it in time. Mitsuko backed up and fired a trashcan into the snake's mouth, but it only disappeared down its throat. Mikoto was being propelled my magnetism, but the snake was too fast and closing in on Mitsuko. Right when the snake opened its mouth to swallow her, a blur zipped between them and the snake's fangs hit nothing but thin air. Mikoto grabbed a lamp post and watched Kinuho and Maaya zipping along the street on a small amount of water that moved with them. They were holding Mitsuko up between them. Mikoto landed down next to them in relief. "Is everyone okay?"

"I think it might have eaten a few people," Kinuho said worriedly. "If it wasn't for Kongou, quite a few others would have been too."

"She distracted it and, when it gave chase, everyone else managed to get away," Maaya added.

"I had to hold back," Mitsuko told Mikoto with a frown. "Too much force and it would cause way too much collateral damage if it dodges. Then we also can't attack the body, for risk of harming the other students. I had to aim for the head, but it's a lot tougher than a normal reptile."

"Let me handle it," Mikoto said to them and reached into her pocket. The snake had raised its head and looked around. Once it saw them, it began to slither over. Mikoto positioned herself so only the road was behind the snake from her line of fire. "You should cover your ears," she warned the others, who quickly covered them. The snake raised its head high above her, opened its mouth, hissed, and lunged. Mikoto smiled and fired the coin in her hand.

 _Boom_!

The snake's head exploded and the body fell to the ground. What was once rotting flesh was now paper mache, wirings, and motors. As the body transformed back, fists and feet began to kick their way out of the lower body. Mikoto, Mitsuko, Kinuho and Maaya helped the trapped people out. A thin green slime covered their bodies and the girls quickly wiped their hands off on anything they could reach. It was disgusting and Mikoto was secretly glad she had not been eaten.

"Thank you for the help!" one of the rescued girls said. "Ugh, I need a shower so badly."

"It's not a problem," Mitsuko reassured her. "It's the least someone in our position could do."

"Aren't you the Railgun?" a boy asked Mikoto.

"Oh, yeah," Mikoto answered and tried to stay humble.

"Since you know Kami," he said. "Do you know how he made these things? I could swear we were in a living organism and then suddenly it's only a torn Halloween decoration."

"Sorry." Mikoto shook her head. "No idea. He didn't tell us anything. Anyway, I'm off to see if anyone else needs help. Be careful, everyone." She waved goodbye and took off down a side street toward where she heard more people shouting. _Seriously, hurry up and solve this you idiot._

* * *

"Next year let's petition to not decorate the city!" Hibiki yelled, as she froze several zombies.

"I don't think we will get very far!" Hanabi called back. The burning remains of several evil clowns surrounded her. "Everyone else seems to be enjoying it. I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes a regular thing."

"Oh, god, I hope not." Hibiki was not interested in doing this every year. Yuna had run off with a group of girls to who knows where and now it was up to her and Hanabi to handle a main street. Sure, there were plenty of other girls helping, but none of them had the offensive capabilities they did. She was pissed at the fact Accelerator and Bayloupe had escaped her. They had rounded a corner and disappeared. There was no choice left except to return to Hanabi.

Screams of terror came from in front of the sisters and they looked up.

Ten girls were running from what seemed to be a swarm of roaches running along the ground and flying through the air. Hibiki and Hanabi's faces paled. Terror overwhelmed their senses and it delayed their abilities until they were too late. Flames exploded in a panic around Hanabi. Hibiki actually hated roaches too, but she had always been the one to remove insects from their room. The secret was, she was actually terrified of them too. It was just, as the older one, she had to put up a strong front for her sister. Now, her mind went blank at the horror in front of her. Once Hanabi tired out from her random explosions, she would be in the same position.

 _Let me help out,_ a sweet voice echoed in her mind.

 _What… who? Shokuhou-san?_ Hibiki thought in confusion.

 _Bingo! I'm going to temporarily dial down the fear in you two so you can take care of those bugs. I really don't like them much either._

 _Can't blame you there,_ Hibiki admitted and she found herself able to move again. While she still didn't like roaches, the fear had vanished. A quick glance over at Hanabi indicated she was feeling the same way. They made eye contact, smiled, and turned their attention to the horde. In one swift motion, fire and ice made quick work of the vile insects.

 _I wonder what the purpose of this is,_ Misaki thought to herself. She was sitting on a balcony overlooking several major streets. Using her ability, she would help out groups of people by organizing them, reducing fear levels, or letting them know people needed help. This was how she fought. Straight on brute force was Mikoto's forte, not hers. Because of her position as virtually a communication tower, she actually saw a lot of fighting though other people's minds. The fact the creatures seemed real until they were destroyed actually interested her. Her ability only worked on humans, so she couldn't even scan them to see how alive they really were.

 _Imagine what we could achieve if we could harness magic,_ Misaki mused. _Making decorations move would be a simple task, but to turn them lifelike until they are destroyed is fascinating. The problem is, when this happens, some magician is doing this for a purpose and Touma will find himself in the middle of it. It's obvious why he made this fake contest. We keep the things at bay, while he solves the problem. Be careful my prince and don't do anything too drastic. Heh, I know that's a foolish wish. I believe in your success though. You have never failed me before._

* * *

"Hold the line!" Ruiko called out to the group of low level ability users. It was obvious to tell that because all of them were using makeshift weapons out of bats, sports rackets, sticks, pipes, pretty much anything they could find and none of them had any noticeable powers. She brought down her pat and smashed a two foot tall ghost. They numbered roughly thirty against seemingly endless mobs of smaller decorations. "Come on Patricia-san," Ruiko laughed. "Take a swing."

"Doesn't this seem… strange, Saten-san?" Patricia asked. "How did Kami-san manage to pull this off? Nanobots or microfiber skeletons could make things move, but to give the illusion of life and have the very fundamental make up change on destruction is amazing. I really want to study this when I have some free time. Do you think he will show me what he did?"

"Eh, maybe?" Ruiko answered with a combination of a laugh and uncertainty. _Can't tell her about the magic side. Leivinia-san was very clear about that._ "For now, try to enjoy the Halloween fun." Patricia didn't look convinced and stayed back, clutching the metal rod in her hand. Ruiko gave her a smile and immediately a black cat that pounced at her. Patricia looked on as all the other kids kept hitting the living decorations.

 _Should I?_ she thought to herself. Leivinia would definitely tell her to stop being a coward, but this wasn't something simple like trying weird looking food or going to a new store. Patricia was a scientist and she loved to learn and create, not destroy. Instead of smashing all these things, they should capture a few of them and see how they were created. _Kami-san is an interesting person. I bet he and my sister would get along great._ She giggled at the thought. _I still want to meet that one guy she talks about so fondly. I never got a name._ Her eyes widened when she saw a dented pumpkin stand back up behind Ruiko and stretch out its vines toward her. "Watch out!" Ruiko turned, but Patricia had already begun to move.

A thick squish was heard when he pole smashed the pumpkin and the force of her blow sent guts onto her angel costume and Ruiko's detective one. They stared at each other for a moment and then Ruiko burst out laughing.

"Wow, that was a nice hit! See, I knew you could do it."

"Thanks," Patricia said meekly and blushed. "It was going for you and I sort of just reacted."

"Thanks for that. So?" Ruiko leaned over and her eyes twinkled. "How do you feel?"

"Exhilarated?" Patricia tried to explain. "Energized? Thrilled? I haven't done something like that before." She was panting slightly, but her eyes were sparkling. "I… want to do it some more."

"Well," Ruiko said and grabbed her hand. "We have plenty of time and targets! It's time to show these monsters what happens when they mess with us!"

"Yeah!" Patricia cheered and they waded back into the thicket.

High on adrenaline, neither of them bothered to question how a young girl, not the most physically active person around, managed to smash a pumpkin with a single blow. Overlooking them, another blonde girl had been watching them and just put her own wand away. Leivinia smiled when she saw how excited Patricia was at destroying the pumpkin. _Maybe now she won't be such a cry baby anymore._ She stood up, stretched, and looked off toward the windowless building. _He hasn't finished this yet? Did he stop for a snack or something?_

* * *

"This isn't your pumpkin patch!" Touma yelled out. "This area belongs to Academy City and all its residents!"

"That is where you are wrong, human," Jack told them and the light in his mouth darkened. "I was born here and my comrades will be born here. You and your kin are trespassing. We will defend our home with our lives." Touma flinched.

"It's not really alive," Motoharu reminded Touma. "It's the mana from ley lines being channeled collecting thoughts and emotions from people."

"Everyone is fighting to give us time," Shiage added. "We can afford to talk, boss."

"Even so," Touma muttered. The fact this creature could talk to them and appear to think did not sit well on his stomach. He took an uncertain step forward. "If you don't move, more will come and they probably won't be as reasonable."

"Let them," Jack laughed. "The power here fuels our growth and, soon, no one will be able to stop us." He turned to stare Touma directly in the eyes. His pumpkin head expression didn't change, but Touma felt himself grow cold. "Their bodies will act as fertilizer!"

"If you think you can threaten innocent people!" Touma yelled. "I'll shatter that Illusion of yours!" He charged forward, but thick vines erupted out of the concrete and wrapped around his legs. He couldn't react fast enough and fell down. He looked up and saw Motoharu and Shiage finished getting wrapped up, before being lifted into the air.

"Looks like we are a little _tied_ up at the moment," Motoharu called down to him. "Up to you, Kami-yan!"

"I should have stayed in bed today!" Shiage cried out.

The sound of breaking glass went off again, as the vines started to wrap around Touma and eventually touched his right hand. The main vine disappeared and smaller vines near him wilted. _I cut off part of the magic, but there's too much to negate it all. I bet Jack is acting as a focal point to distribute it somehow. I have to get to him._ Fueled by determination and a plan, he sprung to his feet and charged forward again. Jack jumped several meters backwards effortlessly. This was most likely caused by the fact he had no body fat, so he didn't weigh much. Atkins diet probably.

"An insect that kills our lifelines," Jack mused as Touma rushed him. "Maybe you should burn?" The effects were instantaneous and only Touma's danger sense warned him in time.

Jets of fire erupted from several of the pumpkins at Touma.

"Shit!" Touma muttered and held out his hand. The flames disappeared the moment they hit his hand, but he had to back up or some of the flames would reach him around his shield. Eventually the fire ceased and Touma stood there panting, glad the heat was finally gone. Sweat glistened on his torso.

"Such persistence," Jack commented. "But you need to leave. Your power of death is not wanted here."

"It's not death-…!" Touma tried to explain when a vine wrapped around his foot and threw him backwards into a wall of a nearby building. "AHH!" he cried out involuntarily. His entire body ached, but nothing felt broken as he tried to scramble to his feet. The pumpkin vines were still crawling up the walls next to him and more pumpkins were growing at alarming rates. If they didn't do something, Jack's pumpkin patch would be creating more of him. He grabbed his helmet and threw it to the ground next to him. It only limited his line of sight and its weight slowed him down.

"Circle of life, you know," Jack told him. "Organics grow, die, and become nourishment for more organics. Accept your fate."

"Never!" Touma declared. "My friends and countless others are fighting to give me time to stop you and I won't let them down!" He pushed himself up and off the wall.

"You are-…," Jack began to say when another, much louder voice, interrupted them.

"WELL SAID!" the voice boomed and it sounded to Touma like it was coming from the building behind him. "That took a lot of GUUUUTTTTSSSSS!"

The wall next to Touma exploded.

There was only one person with that catchphrase.

Gunha had joined the battle.

Pieces of the metal and concrete building rained down upon Jack and his garden. Pumpkins exploded, vines were cut, and Jack got hit by a large piece of metal right in the head. Touma glanced over, relieved for the backup, when he stopped. Gunha was wearing a costume, but it definitely was not suited for Halloween. He was wearing a white fur trimmed red jacket and pants with a broad buckled belt, a matching hat, and black boots. A thick white beard was attached to his face and he had a large brown bag roughly the size of him slung over a shoulder filled with something Touma didn't know. Instead of thanking Gunha for his timely arrival, Touma changed direction.

"What are you wearing?!"

"A costume," Gunha answered, looking at Touma as if he was crazy. "It is Halloween, you know."

"But…but… SANTA CLAUS?!" Touma cried out. "That's like… the furthest thing from Halloween as possible!"

"Exactly!" boomed Gunha. "Think about it! I will be the only one with this costume and I have a huge bag of candy to give out to all the child errors who are too young to go trick or treating. They deserve to have a fun holiday too."

"That's… a nice idea, actually." Suddenly, Touma remembered they were in the middle of the fight and he turned away from Gunha. "We can discuss that later, right now, we have Jack to deal with."

"Actually," Motoharu interjected and appeared next to them. "Seems like our friend's sudden arrival was outside Jack's plan. A piece of debris pierced his head and he withered away. Look," he pointed to the pumpkin patch. "Everything is receding. Jack was the lynchpin and everything should return to normal now that he is gone."

"I am never going out on Halloween ever again," Shiage groaned and rubbed his head. He looked around. "That was kind of… anticlimactic."

"Well friends," Gunha said. "It was a pleasure to see you, but I must be off and deliver these treats to the kids. Have fun and show everyone your guts this Halloween!" He bounded off into the distance and quickly disappeared.

"He has a few screws loose," Shiage said. "Doesn't he?"

"I think everyone around me is crazy," Touma muttered.

"Hey! I'm the only reasonable one in ITE… I see your point, boss."

"Heh," Motoharu chuckled and examined the hole in the wall Gunha had made. "This reminds me of the Aogami Incident at Tokiwadai High."

"Are you ever going to tell me what happened!?" Touma demanded.

"Nope," Motoharu answered. "But Hamazura, if you want to know, I can let you in on it if you never tell Kami-yan."

"Sure." Motoharu grinned, put his arm around Shiage's shoulders and started whispering into his ear. Shiage snorted loudly and Touma made a fist.

"If you think you can keep it a secret from me forever!" he yelled. "I'm going to shatter that illusion of yours!" Touma chased after his two friends, completely oblivious to a camera on the windowless building watching them.

* * *

"BOOOOO!" Eve cried and fell backwards waving her legs and arms. "He ruined what should have been a great fight. I hate that guy soooo much!"

"It'ss not like you could make the bosss too sstrong," Julunggul pointed out. "The kidss need their rest. I did enjoy sseeing you sselect a pumpkin on a headlesss sskeleton, nice choice."

"I had a hard time narrowing the choices down," Eve admitted. "But I needed something that would remain relatively stationary." She grinned. "I hope Aleister's blood pressure went up as he watched this.

* * *

Just as Motoharu predicted, with Jack's demise, all the living Halloween decorations began to turn back to their original forms. It started off slow, but spread out from the windowless building. As the swarms of monsters began to fall, a cheer echoed across the city as the kids who had participated raised their hands in triumph. The excitement was short lived though, because now that the unauthorized event was over, keyword being unauthorized. This meant the adults who had been busy dealing with a large number of the decorations were now free.

Anti-Skill was especially not pleased.

The first thing they did was impose an immediate curfew and all the students were forced to their dorms. Most didn't seem to mind though, as many were tired and a lot had fun. Once the students were off the streets, the cleaning bots were set to work overtime. Many streets had to be barricaded because of the sheer amount of debris. The higher ups knew they couldn't let an vandalism like this go unpunished, as they were under the impression Kami was responsible for this, so the following day, every student had to help clean up the city. It was a one day thing, except for a few select students who were deemed to hold more responsibility for the destruction.

This is why, two days later, Touma was in an orange vest picking up trash while Mikoto leaned up against the park wall and watched.

"How long do you have to do community service?" Mikoto asked and then bit into her ice cream.

"Two weeks," Touma groaned. "Two hours after class each day and five on weekends."

"Did you really expect to get away with it?" Mikoto asked. "This wasn't an isolated incident to get swept under the rub. The _entire_ city was involved."

"That's what confused me," Touma explained and turned to her. "If they higher ups don't know I'm Kami, then why was I punished?" Mikoto frowned in thought and then shrugged.

"Maybe because your friends were involved," Mikoto guessed. "So they considered you were too." Touma conceded that point. Pierce, Motoharu, Jason, and even Accelerator were being similarly punished. How they got Accelerator to do community work, Touma would never know. After all, Accelerator had destroyed part of a city block because something was about to catch Last Order. She and Index had been separated from Floris after Kaori left due to the confusion.

"Still not fair," Touma said. "Such misfortune."

"I have something that might cheer you up," Mikoto suggested and Touma raised an eyebrow. "Kuroko told me something funny after we got ushered back to the dorms. She had gone to find Kagere-san, thinking he had something to do with this or could at least tell her what was happening." Touma nodded because it was sound logic. Jason was the magician Kuroko knew the best. "Well, she found him in a fight with a Grim Reaper." She grinned. "The fight was tough, or so I was told and she said she saved his life." They both laughed, knowing Jason and Kuroko were constantly trying to one up each other.

"Jason admitted Kuroko found him," Touma confirmed. "But he only mentioned they had to stay in a specific area due to his boss's order."

"We probably won't find out what really happen, knowing those two." Mikoto finished her ice cream and stared at Touma for a moment. "I would have thought Kagere-san's punishment would have been longer, since Uiharu-san mentioned he was blamed for her hacking the city's security due to her using his codes."

"I have no doubt he knows people," Touma muttered, slightly bitter. "Oh well, at least the night ended without a casualty." A few people sported really superficial wounds, but he hadn't heard of anyone seriously hurt.

"Even if it was dangerous and caused by the magic side," Mikoto told him in hopes to cheer him up. "People had a lot of fun. They will be talking about this for ages." She grinned. "Think we can set this up against next year?"

"Do not suggest that to the others," Touma pleaded. "I can't go through all that again." He glared at her as she laughed. "Very funny, Biribiri." That sobered her up and she sparked slightly.

"I was going to buy you some ice cream," Mikoto huffed. "But if that's how you are going to act…."

"I deeply apologize Mikoto-sama," Touma told her, unable to keep from smirking slightly. "This lonely Kamijou-san doesn't deserve such kindness."

"Humph," Mikoto grunted pleased, as she blushed and looked away. "At least you know how to apologize."

"With my luck," Touma reminded her. "I have to do it a lot."

"There is one other thing I was wondering," Mikoto said and looked back at him.

"Oh? What is it?"

"Who won Kami's contest?" Mikoto's amused expression never faltered.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter. Also, enjoy the new cover art made by… he never gave me his ID for whichever art account he uses! He goes by Sponge on discord. When I find out his info, I'll give him credit.**

 **Tokiwadai High School Incident #78:**

 **On the evening of the city wide crime event, the eighth level 5, Kami, and his companions invaded the school grounds and took roughly twenty students hostage. Others were later captured and held with our students. After Anti-Skill disbursed the intruders for causing traffic jams around the school grounds, one individual stayed behind and conducted themselves in a way that was unacceptable to our renown institution. Said individual invaded our students' privacy, stole their property, and caused collateral damage. Pierce Aogami has been official forbidden to enter the school grounds, regardless of future events that may allow entry.**

 _ **Aogami here, I just wanted to clear a few things up. All I did was burp and everyone overreacted. Sure, I may have been in the girls' locker room but it was to move everyone's attention away from my good friend Kami. It's not my fault the lockers magically opened and panties formed a makeshift armor around me. My head was vulnerable you know. Then I was forced to run away as Hibiki-san tried to kill me with ice shards. Totally an overreaction on her part, am I right? Well, I burst into another section of the locker room where a couple girls were cleaning their uniform from dirt caused by Accelerator's fun. They had the nerve to go commando. How is that my fault? Well, once an ice shard nearly impaled my skull, I was forced to break through a wall or two to escape with my life. I was the victim here! Then of course Kami-yan gets all the girls! He better not complain about his bad luck again.**_


End file.
